Chapter 49: The Rap Session

January 19, 1992, Chicago, Illinois

“Do you mind if I join you for the Rap Session?” Kara asked.

“Of course not! You’re always welcome.”

“I think the topic is interesting!” Kara giggled.

I laughed, “Of course you do! Who told you?”

“Abbie. She figured I’d get a kick out of it. She arranged for Josie to take the kids to ‘open play’ at the Y during the Rap Session. Sarah is helping Josie. I guess Abbie was afraid Birgit would try to join in!”

“You know her!” I grinned. “But I don’t know that it will get to that point. It’s a discussion.”

Kara smirked, “Uh-huh. That’s why Cindi will be here!”

“She’s actually wanted to join us for a long time, but Chris always said ‘no’. He used to join us on Sundays back in the day, but he changed over the years.”

“I still don’t understand him. Cindi told me he cheated on her with two different girls, and then he’s suddenly all moral?”

“I’m not sure that was the order,” I said. “I think both indiscretions happened after she got pregnant. The change in attitude happened before that. My theory is that once he started seeing Cindi as a wife and mother, that’s when he started to change, and it got crazy when she became pregnant, and he only saw her as a mom.”

“You never had that problem! In fact, you LIKE pregnant women!”

“That’s Donna’s fault!” I grinned. “There was something so sexy about making love to her when she was pregnant that it just kind of imprinted on my brain. But I guess that’s done, now.”

“Steve?” Jennifer called out as she came in the back door.

“In the sunroom!” I called back.

“Hi Kara. May I borrow him for two minutes before the Rap Session?”

“You know from personal experience it takes WAY more than two minutes!” Kara teased, then nodded, “Sure.”

Jennifer and I both laughed and we went to my study. I shut the door and nodded towards the wingback chairs. We sat down.

“What’s up?”

“Josie and Larry are negotiating,” Jennifer smirked. “He’s agreed in principle, but the issue is the number of, uhm, encounters. Drew isn’t totally thrilled with the idea, but I guess Josie spoke with him and, in the end, he agreed.”

“That sounds suspiciously like acquiescence, and you know my take on that.”

“I do. That’s actually why I wanted to talk to you. I was thinking of talking to Drew, but if he changes his mind, Josie is going to be pretty upset, especially if she finds out it was me who caused it.”

“You’re worried about Larry and Drew, obviously.”

“Obviously. You know how this goes. You made your rule for a damned good reason.”

“Yes, MRS. JOSIE DOLAN,” I said, emphasizing my point, even though Jennifer and Josie each used their own family names.

Jennifer smiled, “I’ll cross that bridge when it’s time. With the ‘acquiescence’ idea in mind. You know I’m in full agreement with you on that. Please don’t take this the wrong way, but an out-of-this-world sexual experience isn’t worth wrecking my marriage over.”

“I’d be worried if it was, and if I thought that was a serious risk, I’d turn YOU down, Jen! It’s the exact reason Kathy and I have drawn a clear line, never, ever to be crossed. It would, eventually, wreck her marriage, and I am not signing up for that.”

“The same reason you didn’t move about six-and-a-half inches closer to Trudy Spencer, so to speak,” Jennifer smirked.

“Precisely. Back to the question, I don’t see how you can not talk to Drew. Even if it prevents Larry from helping with Josie’s request. I think you two would survive that. I’m not sure Larry and Drew would survive if Drew isn’t completely behind this.”

“That’s what I thought,” she said. “Thanks for listening.”

“You’re welcome.”

We left my study and went to find Kara. The first of our Rap Session guests arrived, and by 2:00pm we had nearly thirty people in the great room.

“The topic for today is social views on nudity and sex,” I said, and saw Abbie, Cindi, and Kara all smirk.

“I want to ask a couple of questions before the discussion. How many of you think it’s OK for women to breastfeed in public? And I mean without a blanket covering the kid? And anywhere the woman thinks it’s OK?”

Unsurprisingly, there were only seven hands raised. Also unsurprisingly, it got a reaction from the most militant person I knew on the topic.

“Are you fucking kidding me?!” Elyse demanded. “What the hell is wrong with you people?”

“Elyse...” I chuckled, but was cut off before I could continue.

“ELYSE!” Jorge shouted angrily, causing everybody to look at him in surprise. “And who the fuck are you to demand everyone kowtow to YOUR ideas of what is right? Just because YOU think the world rotates around you, doesn’t mean EVERYONE believes it, nor does it mean YOU have to bully people into thinking the same way!”

For a tense moment, they stared at each other. I’d been shocked at the outburst from Jorge, from one of the quietest people I knew. I started to speak but Jorge held his hand up.

“Now, I happen to believe much the same way you do, but I would not unload both barrels on the first exchange,” he said. Then he turned to Job, “Now Job, what do you find wrong about a woman feeding her baby anyplace, anywhere?”

Elyse fumed, but settled back down.

“Sorry,” she said. “But seriously, Job? What is wrong with me feeding my baby?”

“Uh,” he said nervously looking around for support from ANYONE, but they were all shrunk back in their seats or looking at the floor. “I, uh, just think it’s strange.”

I mentally willed Elyse to stay calm. Jorge had made a very good point. The Rap Sessions were supposed to be about a free exchange of ideas. That said, it was the hottest of her hot buttons. Now if she could just stay calm...

“You do realize women have been feeding babies since there have been women and babies, right?” she asked testily. “Hundreds of thousands of years? It’s just a teat. Or do you think it’s a play toy for you? And THAT’S why you’re offended by it?”

Well, at least it was SAID calmly, if confrontationally.

“Uhm, no, but...”

“I don’t believe you,” Elyse said. “I bet you think about sex when you see tits. Period.”

“Elyse,” Abbie laughed, obviously trying to defuse the tense situation. “He’s a college Junior! Everything is about sex!”

“The only difference between college boys and High School boys is their age!” Laurie, now a college Freshman, said with a laugh. “All they can think about is sex!”

“And the other guys don’t?” he said defensively.

“Not always,” Henry said. “I’ve been in the sauna with a bunch of these women and if I even THOUGHT about sex, I’d be seeing stars from getting clubbed over the head!”

“How can you NOT think about sex?” Job protested.

“It’s about your attitude,” Jorge said. “You can admire a beautiful form without thinking about having sex with the women in question, or if you do think about sex, you keep it to yourself. That means, your eyes don’t bug out and you don’t stare. When I’ve drawn some of these women, even in sexy poses, it’s about art, not sex.”

“You see,” Patricia said, “you, and I mean all of you, not just Job, have been taught that nudity and sex go together. Let me ask you all this - how many of you have been naked in a mixed-sex situation that did NOT involve sex?”

As I expected, those who had been in the sauna with us raised our hands, plus a couple others, but it was less than half.

“Job, you didn’t raise your hand. Why?”

“I, uh, never had the opportunity.”

“And why do you think that might be?”

He slowly smiled, “Because I only equate being naked with sex.”

“Very good,” Patricia said with a soft smile, then she looked at me and winked. “And how many of you would be comfortable getting naked right here, right now?”

Kara’s hand shot up, with Cindi’s going up almost as quickly. Elyse, Jorge, Henry, Abbie, Patricia, Jennifer, Becka, Claire, and Laurie raised their hands, as did one of the college guys, Bill. The rest all looked shocked.

“Seriously?” Jack asked, looking at Cindi. “You’d all just strip off right here?”

“Yes,” Cindi said sweetly. “And then I’d put your eyes out with that hot fireplace poker over there for staring and drooling.”

“Cindi...” I chuckled.

He gulped and looked down, “Uh, sorry.”

“But how do you not stare?” Michelle York, a Freshman, asked. “I kind of expect guys to stare.”

“It’s normal,” Jack said.

“Is it?” I asked. “It’s one thing to notice a nice body; it’s a very different thing to OGLE it. How do you think girls feel when you look at them that way?”

“Uh, well, bad I guess, given that you asked it that way,” Jack said.

“I’m not a piece of meat!” Cindi said. “I’m a successful business executive and I make excellent money. I’m also intelligent, and a decent programmer, though I don’t do that much anymore. How do you think I feel walking into a business meeting and having every guy in the room undress me with their eyes?”

“Uh, bad.”

“And you, Michelle,” I asked, “do you LIKE being stared at? Always? And only thought of as a life support system for breasts and a vagina?”

There was raucous laughter from nearly everyone in the room.

“Uh no,” she said. “Not when you put it that way.”

“Are we THAT bad?” Job asked.

“Yes!” came a chorus from most of the girls in the room.

“Let’s try an experiment,” Kara smirked. “Wait just a minute.”

She got up and went to the kitchen and came back with a timer.

“We have about ninety minutes left. There’s a nice warm fire. I’m going to set the timer for seven minutes. When the bell rings, you have to either take off a piece of clothing or leave. Socks count together as one item. If you get caught staring, you have to leave. If you don’t participate at least somewhat in the discussion, you have to leave. We’ll see who’s left here in an hour.”

“Uh, who decides if we’re staring?” Jack asked.

“The girls,” Kara said. “But we’ll be fair. Right girls?”

There were several voices agreeing with her, but not all of them. I was curious as to who would actually be around at the end.

“I’m not sure I want to play this game,” Carissa, a Sophomore said nervously.

“Nobody is going to force you,” I said. “And nobody will think less of you if you leave. We all have our limits. This is about testing those limits, right Kara?”

“Yes,” she replied with a silly smile.

I began to sense a setup. Abbie, Patricia, and Kara had most certainly talked. I was sure of it. I’d planned for a pure discussion. They obviously had other ideas. Jorge and I exchanged a look and he smiled and shrugged. That told me he wasn’t in on it. I didn’t have a problem with it, I just wished they had said something. Which made me think about my statement about being CEO. Was this something that should have been discussed first? Perhaps. But it was also something I could put a stop to without any harm done, by making a joke about it. Kara would know, and would let it pass. But I decided to go for it.

“Set the timer, Kara!” I grinned.

She did.

“Let’s talk about nude beaches, or topless beaches,” I said. “Has anyone been to one?”

Four hands, including mine, went up.

“How about skinny dipping? Even if it was at night and nobody could see you?”

About a quarter of the hands went up, including mine.

“What about a sauna or steam room? Mixed-sex or same sex doesn’t matter.”

The usual suspects hands went up, plus a couple of others. I asked them and they had been in a same-sex steam room at a Y or gym.

“How many of you have been naked with more than ten people of mixed sex who could see you, and you them?”

Again the usual suspects hands went up.

“Wow!” Michelle said. “Where?”

I chuckled, “At a minimum, they’ve all been in my sauna in the basement. We pretty much only use it naked except in rare circumstances.”

“What about your kids?”

“What about them?” Jennifer asked. “You have to TEACH kids to be embarrassed about their bodies. You have to TEACH them that sex and nudity always go together. Just like you have to teach them racism or homophobia.”

“But being gay is a sin!” Jack protested.

“Is it now?” Jennifer asked sweetly. “Because some book says so? Or some old celibate man in Rome? Or some preacher?”

“God says so!” he said firmly.

“Careful, Jack,” Becka warned gently. “I’d drop it. Right now.”

I was trying to think back as to what conversations he’d been part of, and realized that he hadn’t been in any that discussed this topic.

“Did I just really step in it?” he asked sheepishly. “I’m sorry if I did.”

I nodded, “Jennifer is married to a woman named Josie, and they have a son together. That’s my son Jesse you’ve seen occasionally.”

“Uh, well, color me embarrassed. Sorry.”

“I thought I warned you about that!” Becka said.

“You did, but it kind of slipped out. I’m here trying to understand other viewpoints. I messed up.”

The bell rang and I watched as everyone took off their socks, except Kara and Cindi, who both pulled off their sweaters revealing sexy bras. I knew for sure what would happen at the next bell, too! Kara reset the timer.

“That puts you miles above most people,” Jennifer said. “Apology accepted. Now I want to ask you a question. Who’s the most beautiful girl in the room?”

“I think I might get killed answering THAT question!” he grinned.

Everyone laughed.

“No you won’t,” Laurie giggled. “We all know who it is!”

He smiled, “Kara.”

“I agree,” Jennifer said, licking her lips hungrily, drawing laughter from a number of us.

Kara giggled and blew Jennifer a kiss.

Jennifer smiled and continued, “So a tougher question. Who’s the sexiest man in the room?”

“I can’t answer that!” he protested.

“Sure you can. I’m not asking you to have sex with the guy, just identify the sexiest man in the room.”

He pondered for a second, “Like from my perspective or what I think a girl would like?”

“Yours,” Jennifer answered.

He looked around, “I guess it would be Jorge.”

“I agree!” Jennifer said, repeating her hungry lip licking, causing even more laughter and an ostentatious wink from Jorge, who then smiled and blew her a kiss.

“Wait, I thought you were lesbian?” Jack protested.

“That doesn’t mean I can’t find Jorge sexy! He’s a good friend, and he IS sexy. He’s got that ‘Latin Lover’ thing going. Ask Cindi!”

Cindi laughed, “Oh does he ever! And the man can dance like you wouldn’t believe. Both vertical AND horizontal!”

“Enough!” Elyse laughed.

“No, please, I want to hear more!” Jorge replied happily. “Keep talking, Cindi!”

“Jack, did your masculinity change by answering my question?” Jennifer asked.

“Uh, no.”

“And did you suddenly desire to have sex with Jorge?”

“No!” he said firmly.

“Does the fact that I have sex with a girl hurt you in any way?”

“No, but ... never mind. I realize I’m not going to win this argument.”

“Good choice,” Becka said.

The bell rang and most people removed sweaters or shirts. Given how cold it was outside, all of the girls at least had on t-shirts under their sweaters, and most had blouses. All the guys had t-shirts or long-johns. Unsurprisingly, Kara and Cindi were bare-breasted. I suppressed a chuckle as several of the college guys fought mightily to get furtive looks but NOT get caught staring. Both Cindi and Kara were giggling, and Kara reset the timer.