Chapter 22: Because of Me

September 19, 1992, Chicago, Illinois

“I can come home straight after breakfast if you want me to,” I said as I dressed on Saturday morning.

“It’s fine,” Jessica said. “I was just making sure she wasn’t getting the wrong idea. She’s a ‘dalliance’ and I don’t think she’s someone you should be with long-term.”

“I agree,” I said. “I’d thought she’d have a boyfriend over the summer, but maybe they really are all losers. I’m going to encourage her to come to the Rap Session tomorrow. Maybe she’ll meet a guy. I heard from a few of the kids and there will be some new faces.”

“I wish I didn’t have to miss them. I really enjoyed them. But duty calls!”

“I take it you’re on this schedule for at least the rest of the year?”

“Yes. Neela’s boyfriend has his similar shift all the way to the end of December.”

“OK. I’ll see you in a few hours.”

“Have fun, Tiger. You turned down something WAY more fun recently.”

“I think it was the right decision. That crowd is just too dangerous. I could see someone threatening to call the cops to gain an advantage. Can you imagine?”

“I don’t want to! What time are we leaving for the wedding?”

“When the limo gets here,” I chuckled. “Jeri said it will pick us up at 2:00pm, and then bring us home whenever the party ends. She offered us a suite at the hotel, but I declined because you need to be to work tomorrow at 10:00am and I thought you’d prefer to sleep in our bed.”

“You thought right! You’re OK with that, Kara?”

“The bed I want to be in is the one you two are in. I don’t care where it is!”

“The wedding is Lutheran?” Jessica asked.

“With a last name like Lundgren, you have to ask THAT question?” I chuckled.

“True! OK. See you for karate!”

I kissed both my wives and headed for the diner on Hyde Park Avenue. Crystal was waiting for me in a booth that would normally be in her area.

“Do you work today?” I asked after greeting her.

“Yes. 11:30 am to 4:00pm, my usual Saturday and Sunday hours. I need time for homework and studying. And I have the same three five-hour shifts during the week I had last year.”

The waitress came to the table and chatted briefly with Crystal, then took our orders. I gave very specific instructions because they didn’t offer a no-carb breakfast, so I built mine from a bacon and egg breakfast, making substitutions for the hash browns and toast.

“What’s with that?” Crystal asked.

“A very low-carb diet because of some minor health issues,” I said. “It’s why you see me eating salads and drinking water.”

“What about cholesterol?”

I chuckled, “If you control your carbohydrate and sugar intake, your cholesterol stays in check. I know that goes against conventional wisdom, but the doctors I know don’t agree with ‘conventional’ wisdom.”

“Where do you get your calories?”

“Proteins and fat. It’s called a ketogenic diet and works well for people with diabetes, as well as people like me. I had fairly severe mood swings at one point.”

“Bipolar?” she asked.

“Mildly. But diet, exercise, stress reduction, and sufficient sleep keep it controlled. My little sister has it as well. I’m pretty sure my mom does, but she won’t even consider being evaluated.”

“What about your kids?”

“They’re on a similar diet, though not nearly as extreme.”

Our food arrived a few minutes later and we started eating. We talked about her summer vacation, her course load, my business, and my family.

“So the guys at home were not worth it?”

“No. But there’s a guy in one of my sociology classes who keeps sitting next to me. Hopefully he’ll actually talk to me!”

“Talk to him,” I chuckled. “That does work, you know! Ask him for coffee!”

We finished eating and after I paid we walked outside. Crystal stopped me at the sidewalk.

“I got assigned a roommate yesterday. She’s there now, so I guess I’ll need to give you a rain check.”

“You might have thought to say something BEFORE we left the diner,” I said. “I wouldn’t get mad. Stuff happens.”

“Sorry. I was afraid you would think I misled you or chickened out.”

“Crystal, honesty is the only way this works. With me, or anyone else. I wouldn’t be upset. But I do have an alternative if you’re open to it.”

“What’s that?”

“My company keeps a studio apartment for employees or Board members who are in town. There’s nobody using it right now.”

“Your own little hideaway?” she smirked.

“Are we going?” I asked with a smile.

She took my hand, “Lay on, Macduff!”

I chuckled, “I will NEVER say enough!”

“Me either!” she giggled.

Fifteen minutes later, I was reclined on the bed and Crystal was gently sucking on me. One arm was thrown over me and her hand cupped my butt, while the other was lightly stroking my shaft and my sack. Every few minutes she released me, kissed along the entire shaft, then took me back into her mouth just a bit more than before. She had advanced to a point where she had about three-quarters of me in her and had begun sucking harder and sliding her tongue a bit. Her mouth felt REALLY good and the light brushes of her fingers were building my pleasure.

“I’m getting close,” I said softly.

She released me and moved up to kiss me. Our tongues tangled a bit and she broke the kiss.

“OK,” she said.

She moved down and slowly took me deep into her mouth. She gagged a bit and backed off, then wrapped two fingers around my shaft. She began slowly bobbing, licking and sucking, using her fingers as a stop so she didn’t gag. After about a minute, I felt the cum rising and tensed just enough that Crystal knew it was time.

She continued bobbing and a few seconds later, the first spurt flew into her mouth. I was surprised when she didn’t stop bobbing and sucking, and felt her swallow as the second spurt shot into her mouth. She swallowed again, and continued bobbing, licking, and sucking until I finished. She made one more long bob, then released me. I pulled her to me and kissed her, pressing my tongue deeply into her mouth.

“Was that OK?” she asked when we finally broke the kiss.

“That was fantastic, especially for a first time!” I grinned.

“You’re right,” she giggled. “Better than caviar.”

I chuckled, “Worse than pâté?”

“No, better. It didn’t taste bad at all. If you want, I’ll do it again before you have to go home.”

“That’s up to you, but once I recover, I’d rather fuck you senseless. Your choice!”

She kissed me, “If you’re offering to fuck my brains out, I’m not going to pass on that!”

Once I recovered, I did exactly that. Afterwards, we enjoyed a nice shower together, changed the sheets on the bed and put the soiled sheets and wet towels in a laundry bag for me to take home. I locked up the apartment and we went down the steps and out to the sidewalk.

“If that’s the reward for a good blowjob, you can have all the blowjobs you want,” she giggled when I kissed her goodbye.

“You know this can’t be a regular or permanent thing,” I said.

“At least once more? Please?”

“I think that would be OK.”

She gave me another kiss and she headed back to the dorms and I walked home, carrying the laundry bag. When I arrived home, I started the washer, then got dressed for karate. My wives and I walked to the dojo, and we had our usual practice.

“Steve, do you have a moment?” Sensei Jim asked.

“Yes, Sensei!” I said and followed him to his office.

“Sensei Ichirou would like you to come to his dojo on Saturdays for the next two months. His most senior black belts both left for college and his next senior one just went into the hospital with appendicitis. He has a couple of brown belts who are close to promotion, and you can help them. In exchange, he offered to help you learn a little Japanese and instruct you about Japanese culture.”

“I don’t see a problem with that,” I said. “And it does allay one major fear I had.”

“Of making a complete ass of yourself with Sensei Hiro?” he grinned.

“Exactly!” I chuckled. “The only problem is that I have to be in San Francisco on October 3rd.”

I was also supposed to be in Kohler with Bethany, but we could always have our ‘reunion’ as she was calling it in Chicago if necessary. I’d have to talk to her, but I knew she’d understand.

“I’ll tell Sensei Ichirou that you’ll be there next week, will miss a week, then be there for the rest of the Saturdays until Thanksgiving. That’s when his black belt should be fully able to practice again.”

“Thank you, Sensei!”

I bowed and left his office and explained to Jessica and Kara what had transpired.

“You’re sure Bethany will be OK?” Jessica asked.

“I think so,” I said.

“You could take her to San Francisco with you,” Kara suggested.

“I could, though she couldn’t attend the User Group meetings as my date without drawing all kinds of unwanted attention.”

“Ask her if she’s OK with that,” Jessica said. “I can’t go without trading days and I do NOT want to do that because I’m already in debt for Thanksgiving.”

“Got it, Babe. I’ll offer it as an exchange for the weekend in Kohler and see what she says.”

We walked home and when we went inside, I saw two girls I didn’t recognize with Samantha.

“Steve! These are my new friends Ellie and Mary!” she said.

“Hi!” I said.

“Hi, Mr. Adams!” they said.

“Just call me Steve, please! Elizabeth and Mary? I see your parents were very traditional! Is there a Joseph in your homeroom?”

Mary laughed, “Two. And two other girls named Mary!”

“Are they having lunch with us, Samantha?”

“Yes, if that’s OK.”

“It is. I need to go shower. I’ll see you three at lunch!”

Fifteen minutes later we were all eating lunch. Mostly it was sandwiches, but I simply ate my meat, cheese, tomatoes, and lettuce without bread. I’d found that the fewer carbs I ate, the better I felt, and I knew I’d be having wedding cake later, to be polite, as well as not having control of the meal. The only thing that bugged me was not having chips, but I had some walnuts and pecans, as well as some blueberries and fresh broccoli.

Samantha’s new friends seemed nice, and I thought she’d improved greatly on the girls she’d hung out with from the Foundation. I didn’t know any of her friends from her old school, so couldn’t make a comparison, but based on what she’d told me, I figured not being around them was no great loss.

“You’re really a black belt?” Ellie asked Kara.

“Yes. I just got mine recently. Steve’s had his for a few years.”

“I never met a girl black belt before!”

“There are two others in our school,” Kara said. “And both of them are higher ranked than me. Steve’s the highest, except our sensei.”

“That’s cool. My brother does judo, but I never got into anything like that. I play the saxophone in the concert band, and that takes a lot of time.”

“What do you do, Mary?” Kara asked.

“Volleyball and track,” Mary said. “I used to play the flute but I hated it so my mom let me quit. Do you all work?”

“I’m a professor of chemistry at UofC,” Kara said. “Jessica is a doctor. She’s a surgical Resident at the hospital at UofC. Steve runs his own computer company and Elyse works for him. Bethany is a doctor at the hospital as well, but in psychology. And Abbie is our full-time nanny.”

“Wow!” Ellie said. “My mom stays home like Mary’s mom. Most of our friends are like that, too.”

“My dad works but my mom stays home,” Samantha said. “But you know I had problems at home so I’m living with Steve and his family.”

“I have four little brothers,” Mary said. “I know how crazy that is! This must be crazier!”

“No girls?” Birgit asked.

“Just me!” Mary said. “Ellie has two little sisters and an older brother.”

“Good Catholics,” I chuckled.

“You have seven!” Mary protested.

“I was raised Catholic,” I said. “So I know what you’re supposed to do! Though I think they might object to the number of moms involved!”

Everyone laughed.

“How long are your friends staying?” Jessica asked.

“Only until about 1:30pm. I need about half-an-hour to get ready for the wedding.”

“Girls, you’re welcome to visit any time!” Jessica said.

We finished lunch and after we cleaned up, Bethany and I went to my study to talk.

“My Sensei asked me to help out at another dojo every Saturday until Thanksgiving, and I can’t really say ‘no’,” I said.

“You’re cancelling next weekend?” she sighed, sounding very disappointed.

“Jessica suggested I take you to San Francisco with me. The only downside would be that you couldn’t be my date for dinner. You could attend if you wanted, just not as my date.”

“I’d have to miss two days, right?”

“Friday and Monday. Also, I’m having dinner with my old professor from IIT on Saturday, but you could come along. We’d have Thursday night, Friday night, all of Saturday except lunch, all of Sunday, and Monday morning. In a suite at the Mark Hopkins.”

Bethany smiled, “Sign me up!”

“The travel agent is open today. I’ll call right now. You should call Kohler and cancel. If you can’t get your deposit back, let me know.”

“It’s less than a week; I can get all but $100 back. Don’t worry about it.”

She left and I picked up the phone and dialed the travel agent. Barney wasn’t working, but I was able to get Bethany a ticket on NIKA’s account. I’d work out the details with Elyse later. I also managed to get her comped a first-class seat. And changed my hotel reservation from one to two. After I hung up, I went to spend some time with the kids before it was time to get dressed for the wedding.

“Limo’s here,” Abbie called out.

My wives, Samantha, and I headed out into the street and got into the limo. The driver shut the door and got into the front and pulled away from the house.

“Three dates,” Kara giggled. “Not bad!”

“Except only you two get to sleep with him tonight!” Samantha pouted.

“He’s available to you if you want him and he agrees,” Jessica said. “That was the agreement. If you want a regular night, that’s OK, too.”

Samantha smiled, “Maybe. I was just thinking of the fact that you both can sleep in his arms. He cuddles really nicely.”

“Oh yes, he does!” Kara agreed.

I knew that Samantha was still struggling with whether she needed me to be a dad or a lover. I could do either, but I couldn’t do both. I wasn’t even sure what my preference was. In the end, Samantha would have to decide what she needed from me, and I’d provide it.

The wedding at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church was traditional in every respect, including a dozen naval officers with swords drawn making an arch for Howard and Jeri to walk under. They returned to the church for additional photos while the rest of us headed to the reception. They arrived about ninety minutes later, and dinner was served almost immediately. After dinner and the usual dances, the dance floor was opened. I limited myself to dancing only with my wives, Samantha, and one dance with Jeri.