Chapter 65: Summer of ‘93, Part I

June 12, 1993, Chicago, Illinois

“How was the movie?” I asked Samantha on Saturday morning.

“Totally cool!” she replied. “It was like the dinosaurs were real. I mean, obviously they aren’t, but the graphics work was amazing!”

“And the plot?”

“Hokey, but entertaining. I think you’ll like it.”

“Too scary for the boys?”

“I think Jesse would be fine, and probably Matthew. I wouldn’t take Nicholas, Michael, or Albert.”

“Scary how?”

“Being chased and eaten by dinosaurs! The two oldest ones will cheer for the dinos! And you’ll cheer when the lawyer gets eaten by a T-Rex!”

I laughed hard, “Count on it! And of course the boys will cheer! They’re boys. How was the date otherwise?”

“He’s very nice and very polite. He got a nice good night kiss.”

“Just be careful,” I said. “You’re an adult and have to make your own decisions, but be careful.”

“I will.”

“What time will the girls be here?”

“They’ll be here for lunch and dinner.”

“OK. I’ll see you when I get back from karate.”

I hugged Samantha then went to say goodbye to Kara and the kids before heading to breakfast with the guys. We had our usual enjoyable breakfast and when we finished, I asked Brian to talk.

“Is this where you ask what my intentions are towards your daughter?” he grinned.

I laughed, “Good one! I suppose I seem like the overprotective father, though I’m only twelve years older than she is, so that doesn’t really work!”

“How bad are things with her parents?”

“Bad,” I said. “Bad enough that she transferred from Sacred Heart in Winnetka to Mother McCauley for her Senior year and moved out of the house. I’ve encouraged her to work on her relationship with her mom, and she’s doing that. We’re hoping to see you at dinner tomorrow night.”

“Samantha invited me, and she sounded like one of the Commanders or Captains giving orders!”

“She’s a very determined girl who knows what she wants. But remember, she just graduated from High School.”

He nodded, “Karl and Howard were very clear with me that you were protective and had a black belt in karate!”

I laughed, “She’s more likely to dismember you than I am! Don’t piss her off!”

“Never! I’ll see you for dinner tomorrow!”

We shook hands and I headed home. I got ready for karate, and Kara and I walked to the dojo. I let Sensei Jim know that we’d be in Iron Mountain starting the following Saturday and would miss a week of class. He made a note on his calendar and said he hoped we had a nice vacation. He asked about Jessica but I had no news for him.

After class, Kara, the kids, and I had lunch with Samantha, Ellie, Liz, and Mary. Once lunch was finished, the girls disappeared into the basement and I went with Jennifer to watch one of Jesse’s hockey games. When that finished, we went back home and I spent time with Kara and the kids until dinner. After dinner, everyone hung out in the great room for a bit, and then the girls asked if I was interested in a sauna.

“It has to be ‘Weekend’ rules,” I said, looking at Samantha.

“OK,” she said. “Kara, you could join us if you wanted.”

“No, I’ll stay with the kids, if that’s OK with Steve.”

“It’s fine,” I said. “I’ll meet all of you downstairs!”

I went upstairs and Kara followed me into our room.

“Why the bathing suits?” Kara asked.

“I want to make sure the girls are comfortable and don’t make any bad assumptions. And I was thinking for a couple of months it would be better if I wasn’t naked around Samantha. Eventually it’ll be OK, and she hasn’t shown any signs of regressing, but I want to be very careful.”

“Speaking of the girls, Liz very obviously wants you! I could see it in her eyes.”

I nodded, “She has a crush on me, I suppose is the right way to say it. And she VERY much enjoyed sex and sleeping in my bed.”

“I figured that was what it was. Would you want to be with her again?”

“Kara...” I sighed.

“No, please don’t take that the wrong way. I’m asking because I think she’ll ask. You need to decide what to say to her.”

“I’m not sure it’s wise to turn it into anything beyond the weekend in St. Martin,” I said.

“Because of her or because of you?”

“Probably both.”

“Was Mary one of the girls?”

“No, she’s one of the ones who weren’t ready. And that’s cool. Why?”

“I’m just curious,” Kara said. “I’m trying to make sure you’re happy, healthy, and stable. I know you miss Jessica and I don’t want you to get into any kind of funk or go manic. It’s better to have you act in a controlled, reasonable way. Speaking of which, what did you decide about Jodie?”

“Nothing. We’ll talk to her and play it by ear,” I said. “You know what I really want.”

“I do. But please don’t fixate on that.”

“I’m doing my best not to,” I said.

I kissed her and hugged her, then went to the basement to join the girls in the sauna. Samantha had set the controls so I only had to wait a couple of minutes before ladling water on to the rocks to create the steam. I sat down on the empty towel on the upper bench between Liz and Mary, with Samantha and Ellie on the lower bench just to the sides of the other two girls.

“What are you girls doing for the summer?” I asked.

“Just hanging out,” Ellie said.

“Working at McDonald’s,” Mary said, making a face.

“Working at Jewel,” Liz said.

“If I remember, Liz, you’re going to Notre Dame and studying poly-sci as pre-law; Mary you’re going to Boston College and studying marketing; and Ellie, you’re going to Rosary to be an English teacher.”

“Wow!” Ellie exclaimed. “Good memory!”

“For important stuff!” I said.

“Samantha invited us to go to St. Martin again next summer,” Ellie said impishly, “Want to go?”

I chuckled, “I’m not sure what’s going on, but even if I did, it probably wouldn’t be like it was over Memorial Day.”

“Why?” Liz asked, sounding disappointed.

“I’m trying to sort things out with my family. It’s very complicated. Memorial Day weekend was special.”

“I thought so, too,” Liz said quietly. “I really liked being there.”

I was in a slight quandary as my first inclination was to put my arm around her to acknowledge what she was saying, and to confirm the special time we’d had. But I was also concerned about her emotional state, as I didn’t want to encourage anything. The caring side won out over the careful side and I put my arm around Liz. She sighed deeply and rested her head on my shoulder. We sat quietly, with only the sound of hissing steam and shallow breathing disturbing the silence.

I thought back to Stephanie’s friend, Trish, who had a similar reaction to having sex with me back when I was a Senior in High School. She’d admitted that she’d fallen in love with me and I’d gently and carefully talked to her and helped her deal with those feelings that couldn’t be fulfilled. If that’s what Liz was really feeling, rather than a crush, it would be dangerous to even have my arm around her as I did now. The other danger was turning the crush into something more, and I had to be careful about that.

That said, of the girls I’d been with in St. Martin, she was certainly the one I’d want to have again. She made love the way I liked, very slow, and very sweet; unhurried and gentle. Sleeping in the same bed with her had been wonderful. And despite all of those feelings on my part, I had to be very careful of her feelings. In fact, those were paramount. And despite Kara’s encouragement, they’d override any other considerations.

About twenty minutes overall had elapsed when Samantha got up and motioned for Mary and Ellie to come with her.

“Stay and talk,” Samantha said to Liz and me.

It didn’t surprise me that Samantha and Liz had spoken, and based on what Kara had said earlier, it was entirely possible that Samantha or Liz, or both of them, had talked to Kara while I was at Jesse’s hockey game. The question was, what exactly did Liz want, and what should I do about it?

“Did you want to talk?” I asked.

“Yes,” Liz said softly. “I was hoping you liked me enough to keep doing it.”

“Liz, are you falling in love with me?” I asked.

“I don’t know what I feel,” she said. “I like you, a lot. But it really doesn’t matter how I feel because you already have a family.”

My mind was drawn back to Jennie’s warning - that sex changes us in ways that are often unpredictable. That made me wonder how Louise was doing. That was something I’d need to talk to Samantha about. But here and now, I had a very emotional girl next to me who I needed to help.

“Let’s see if we can sort this out,” I said. “In a perfect world, what would you want?”

“To hide you in my closet and bring you out every night!” she giggled. “Mom and Dad would NEVER approve of me dating someone who was 30!”

“I did say a perfect world.”

She was quiet for a couple of minutes, “It’s hard to say, because my perfect world includes a law degree, which means seven years of school. And it includes kids of my own.”

She was thinking, and that was a good thing.

“OK, so given that, then what?”

“I feel like a silly little girl. Like I’m twelve and have a crush on a movie star! You know, like we talked about in St. Martin.”

A VERY good sign. She’d diagnosed her own issues and THAT made me feel much better.

“What does the adult Liz say to the pre-teen Liz?”

“Well, the pre-teen Liz couldn’t do the things I did with you!” she giggled. “I suppose the answer is I had an affair with my crush and now I need to quit acting like a little kid about it.”

“Very good. That’s very adult!”

“Do you think we could ‘adult’ one last time?” she giggled.

Unless I was being totally played, which didn’t seem to be the case, I didn’t see any harm in it. I got up and went to the door. Liz pouted until she saw me hang a sign on the door and then come back to her.

“What did that say?”

“‘Privacy Please!’” I grinned.

She smiled, stood, and removed her bikini. I took off my swim trunks and sat back down, sliding forward so that Liz could wrap her legs around me. I put my arms around her and pulled her tightly to me, crushing her breasts between us. We kissed and Liz ground against me, sliding her labia along my hard shaft. As she had the first time in St. Martin, Liz lifted up, grasped me, and held me as she slowly lowered herself to fully engulf me.

Liz began to grind gently against me, and I kissed her neck and shoulders, as she had her head resting on my shoulder. She slowly worked herself to her first orgasm, never slowing or changing her slow movements. The gentle grasp of her tunnel and the small spasms would easily keep me hard for as long as she wished to do this. It was nearly twenty minutes later before she leaned back, put her hands on my shoulders, and began to move faster.

I bent my head down and caught one of her nipples in my mouth and lashed it hard with my tongue. Liz groaned and had a bigger orgasm, which only encouraged her to move even faster. When her final crushing orgasm hit, the strong spasms caused me to explode into her. When the pulses stopped, Liz leaned forward and put her head on my shoulder, just as she had done the first time.

“If you want, we can soak in the whirlpool,” I offered.

“Yes, please,” she sighed.

I filled the tub, adjusted the sauna controls, and we spent twenty minutes soaking in the swirling water with my arms wrapped tightly around her. When our time was up, I grabbed two towels and led her to the shower. We rinsed off, hugged, and exchanged what I was sure would be our final kiss.

“Thank you,” she said quietly. “That was exactly what I needed.”

“You’re welcome,” I said, kissing her nose.

Liz giggled and we got out of the shower. We dried, put on our robes, and went to get dressed.

“You did the right thing, Snuggle Bear,” Kara said as I dressed.

“So you DID talk to her,” I grinned.

“Yes, and I remember what you told me about your sister’s friend who was falling in love with you. I figured you could fix it.”

“I did,” I said. “She’s fine now.”

“Good! Can I get some of that later?”

“As much as you want!”

June 19, 1993, Iron Mountain, Michigan

“What’s the plan for today?” Elyse asked as we carried our bags into the cabin in Iron Mountain.

“Shopping and relaxation,” I said. “Jodie promised to bring us two dozen eggs later this afternoon.”

Elyse smirked.

“DO NOT SAY IT, BELGIUM!”

“Sorry,” she laughed. “It’s just so easy to tease you about it.”

“And we’re done with teasing!”

“We’re NEVER done with teasing! Heck, I didn’t even have to say it! You knew!”

“True. And you girls aren’t going to cut me any slack. What happens when it’s just you and Kara and nobody else?”

“We need to talk about that, Mr. Adams. You are not wired for that! And you know in a few years I’ll be moving to the ‘burbs. Even Kara knows you aren’t wired for pure monogamy.”

We put the bags down and went back out to the cars. Kara was keeping an eye on the kids while we unloaded my car and her minivan.

“We’ve tried several different configurations,” I said. “I’m curious about your opinion.”

“I think Kara’s probably right about her needing a third. When Jessica was sane, Kara was much happier. She liked having a girl who was that close. And you know she’s not strictly hetero from what happened with Joyce.”

“I think you’re probably right. I attributed Joyce to simple experimentation, but after seeing Kara with Jessica, and after what she told me a few weeks ago, I can see it.”

“Do you have any candidates?”

“I suggested that if that’s what Kara wanted, she needed to find the person. She would never select someone I wouldn’t be OK with, and if she needs the female companionship in that kind of intimate way, which it appears she does, then she needs to choose.”

“That’s how things with Joyce started right? The intimacy?”

“Joyce just pushed things too quickly, though in a sense, that was the seminal event that helped Kara break out of the old mold.”

“And all that makes me wonder how things might have been different if I could get past my mental block of being with another girl in bed.”

“It’s not a mental block; it’s who you are. You can’t change your sexuality any more than Jennifer can. Or I can. And if you try to force it, bad things are going to happen. Ask Jennifer about that.”

Elyse smiled, “Physician, heal thyself.”

I nodded, “I can’t change my sexuality, either.”

“Correct. So don’t force it. You had fun in St. Martin!”

“I did, but I don’t think that’s the way forward, either. I would have loved to have Samantha longer, but she needs me as a coach and mentor more than she does as a sex partner, especially given the fact I’m not a potential mate.”

“If Michelle hadn’t run away to the convent, she might have been a good choice.”