Chapter 48

Joe helped Mom then Sarah, while I got the chair for Kalista, and we were sitting around the table waiting for our drinks. Joe brought them to us, and turned to the ladies asking them for a drink order.

Joe is about six foot six, blond with blue eyes and probably in his thirties. Sarah and he ... had a moment I believe, but I saw Mom grab her by the arm.

Mom and Sarah both ordered a beer while Kalista got a soda. We were all staring at each other, waiting for the first volley.

Kalista said excitedly, “So, what have you danced to, so far?”

“‘Feeling Good’ and ‘Marry You’ - if we can stay, I’d like to do a dance with you, Princess?” I said looking at my mother who was really looking marvelous, including some pretty earrings.

I got up and kneeled next to her and said, “I’m sorry mom. I woke up with a hitch in my get-along, as you used to say, and I wanted to take my girl out dancing. I found this place on the computer and it was close. What do you think of Joe the Bouncer?” I asked.

She blushed, as she said, “I’ve already got someone who cares for me, I don’t need anything or anybody else. You kids got really lucky tonight!”

“No he hasn’t ... but he might?” Claire said not really helping matters at all.

I held my mom for a bit as she shrugged off my arms and said, “Oh you - go dance!” Sarah nestled up to her as I got my little sister up to go.

I grabbed K by the hand and walked back in, this time to strains of, “Kal-lee, Kal-lee, Kal-lee” as we walked back up to the DJ and asked, “Do you have Katy Perry’s ‘Firework?’”

He had a surprised look on his face, but said, “Yeah?”

I walked Kalista out, ready to perform one of our newest routines, that nobody had yet seen. She looked nervous - I kissed her on the cheek and nodded to the DJ.

After it started, K fell into that rhythm that amazes me, with her hips really startling the crowd, as we performed this Cha-Cha for a crowd, for the first time. She was smiling and dancing while looking straight into my soul. When she did one of her Rondés, the crowd went bonkers; applauding each time she did it. They started singing with Katy, as we did the routine with a higher energy than before, I threw her into a couple of spot spins, again making the crowd go absolutely berserk as the song ended cold.

She went up to me about to lay a big one on me, but I reminded her of our ‘crowd rule.’ We bowed to the group and went back to our Party of Five.

“Kalista, remember when people are closer than thirty feet away, you and I can’t kiss on the lips, it sends the wrong vibe,” I said.

“Sorry Charles - that was so amazing! The electricity in that room was ... frikking amazing,” K said.

“So have you got it all out of your system, Charles?” Annie asked still looking a little pissed.

“I think so, Wow! What a lot of fun, I think at least one person in there was smoking pot?” I said.

“And how would you know what pot smells like, young man?” Sarah said with a snicker in her voice.

“Back at the Summer Memory’s Dance, there were some kids, who had gone off to smoke a joint - they asked me to join them, but I said ‘No.’ I smelled their breath and that’s how I found out what Mary Jane smells like.”

As we left, I shook Joes’ hand, and told him we may be back.

I took my girl’s hand as we all walked back to our hotel. Not having had anything to eat for a while, I asked if our lovely chaperones would like to join ‘The Talent’ for dinner. Mom knew when I used that term I was being facetious, but the rest of them looked at me in amazement, as Claire and I laughed at all of them for a change.

We went into the Dockside Restaurant and had a late dinner, and then headed off to our rooms. As we were walking up to their room, Mom pulled me aside and said, “Charles - everything worked out OK, and I’m not against you two going out like that, but a heads-up would be a great relief in the future. Not all places are like that, you know.”

“I understand completely Mom, it’s just that I had the chance to be out with the woman I love - I’d have protected her if anybody had gotten fresh,” I said getting emotional.

“Goodnight Charles, see you at ten in the morning - goodnight Claire,” mom said smiling.

“G’night Annie,” Claire said in return.

We headed up to our room in the elevator. It was a very different elevator trip from before. We held each other’s hand, but said nothing to one another.

As I opened our door, I asked Claire, “Was there any moment tonight that you felt uncomfortable, because of the fact we were alone in a bar?”

“To be truthful Charles, I wasn’t sure,” she said, “I went along with you and we had a blast. However, I see what your mother is saying about this, that someone could have just grabbed me, I guess, and hurt me, taken me, or worse.”

“So, you don’t think I could have kept any of those things from happening to you - I’d die to protect you - that’s how much I care for you! I guess Mom was right, it was a bit impulsive, wasn’t it?” I said almost in tears.

“Oh Charles, don’t ever stop being impulsive, I really like most of your impulses - you know that,” she teased.

We walked over to the bed, I turned her around and undid the back of her dress for her and shooed her off to change for bed. She grabbed the shirt I just took off and smiled and walked into the bathroom. I stripped down into my boxers and climbed into bed. She came out looking amazing with my shirt on - a single button holding it on her. She climbed into bed and we fell asleep, with her right up behind me, just like every other night.

I don’t believe I could fall asleep without her behind me, nowadays.

Our rehearsal the next day went well, and the ladies were more than satisfied about all the numbers, including the Disco routine. We also went through our encore piece, providing Michael and Sarah an opportunity to flirt while they sang together.

I saw Mom keeping an eye on the two of them, with nothing, too terribly overt happening.

The performance that night was amazing, with Michael starting off with his moody but jazzy sounding version of ‘What a Wonderful World,’ and K and I followed it up with our ‘Best Foxtrot EVER’ to Michaels’ rhythmic version of ‘Everything.’ All through the evening, the crowd got up and applauded for us all.

When Claire and I got up to dance to Josh Groban’s haunting version of ‘You Raise Me Up,’ the crowd stood up in anticipation, and stayed standing through our entire routine. I’d developed a new hold for us to use, starting with this song. My hands were high, above her hips and her hands were holding mine. Claire called it our ‘Sugar bowl hold.’

Even though I was focused on Claire during this routine, I caught, out of the corner of my eye, our audience swaying to the song as we poured our emotions out in this dance.

When the break and key change came along, we switched to the traditional ‘closed hold,’ and the applause started ... for the entire last minute and a half of the song, we stayed true to our original choreography, but finished dancing and kissing at the same time, causing our standing ovation to become a cheering one as well.

Vancouver loved Charles & Claire - and the Sparkling Kalista.

Michael came out and got them all to sit down.

“Charles, how many days?” he asked.

“404, Michael,” I replied. Claire smiled at me.

“Ladies and gentlemen, next year, 404 days from today, on October 15^th, 2015, these two magical performers ... are getting married,” he said.

There was a gasp throughout the audience with this wedding announcement. Michael went on, “If you’d like to celebrate and be there with them, going on sale starting today are 110,000 invitations - all you have to do to get one, is go to their website and order a complete set of their 20 beautiful posters. If you do that, you’ll receive a Golden Ticket to present to enter their Wedding at the Ohio Stadium, in Columbus, Ohio on October 15^th next year - that same day is also Kalista’s Birthday, she turns eleven that day.”

Kalista came out to cheers and shouts and we all bowed to Michael, to his orchestra, and to the first of many sold-out audiences on this Tour.

All through our first month on the International Something Special Tour, while traveling through the provinces of Canada, we had audience after audience - just like that first one.

Ken had called to tell me that the orders were going out better than expected, regarding the hand stuffing of the Wedding Ticket. He’d said that they could barely print the posters fast enough to accommodate both the regular orders and the WeddingPAK, as it was being called. Every day, all 1,100 allotted Wedding Tickets sold out, and there wasn’t anybody buying blocks of them in any kind of quantities, as I’d been so worried about.

Our cancelled two weeks in South America were replaced with four performances in San Francisco, then four in Hawaii as well. We’ll travel to Australia and have four days to ourselves before the performances start there. We’ll be in Australia to celebrate Kalista’s tenth Birthday. I’m getting as anxious over that as she is.

We touched down at San Francisco International Airport, finding out we’re performing in the Grand Ballroom of the South San Francisco Convention Center. Sarah announced we were staying at The Pacifica Beach Resort, albeit a bit pricy according to her. We’ll be there for six days, one to rest, one to rehearse and four performances. We hadn’t changed our set list since we started the ISS, so I figured we’d adjust it a little.

We checked into the hotel, with Claire and I getting our own room with a Jacuzzi, Kalista got her own room - connected to ours - and Annie and Sarah got their own room, on a separate floor of the hotel.

“Hey K, want to join Claire and I in our nice big Jacuzzi Tub?” I said knocking on her door.

“I have got my own tub, but thanks anyway - maybe later. Lock the door if you want privacy - I understand,” Kalista said through the connecting door.

“OK!” we said together.

I started the Jacuzzi tub, putting some bubble stuff in it, as I saw a goddess walk into the bathroom, wearing absolutely nothing.

She got in the tub, and smiled up at me, saying, “Oooh, Charles this feels so good ... come on in?”

Dropping my boxers, making sure we had towels ... I got in, sliding in behind her - getting underneath her.

She took my hands and placed them on the upper portion of her breasts.

“Isn’t that a beautiful view?” she said, looking out the window.

I wasn’t.

“Yes, I can see the hills of San Francisco right in front of me,” I responded.

“What ... oh – you! So, you like the view from where you are?”

“Yeah, I can’t wait to climb those hills.”

“There is a flatland as well for you to explore,” she said with a giggle. “Along with a deep cavern.”

“Yowser,” I said moving my hands down to her usual panty line, at the edge of her forest.

“We’ll be in Australia for Kalista’s birthday, Charles - What do you have planned, if anything?” Claire asked turning around so we were face-to-face now, and chest-to-chest.

“I haven’t planned anything past making out in the tub with my fiancée - come here?” I said.

We placed our lips to each other and very slowly, I had my hands on her back moving them down to her delightful, but dangerous butt.

While we were kissing each other, probing our tongues into each other’s mouths, I reached pulled her butt cheeks all the way up against me. This was indeed our most sexually charged moment in our young lives together, our kisses growing deeper, and me getting firmer.

I pulled myself out from under her, and got out of the tub, barely catching my breath. There were still a lot of bubbles in the tub.

“Charles, that was soooo close - wasn’t it?” she said with her eyes closed. I couldn’t see her hands.

I watched my future spouse become hopelessly aroused by what came oh, too close to happening.

“Charles,” she said so very breathlessly with her eyes still closed, “I have been on the pill for over 45 days now - Anytime, I am all yours.”

I left the bathroom and changed into my boxers, completely hard, less than ten feet from my naked fiancée. For a split second the vision of us together formed in my mind. I almost broke my promise to ‘the Moms,’ Kalista, and Claire. I put on sweats and went out on our balcony.

Fifteen minutes later, she joined me outside on the balcony, in one of the fluffy white robes the hotel provided.

“Penny for your thoughts, Lover?” she said suspiciously eager for a response. She was running her hands over my chest as we talked.

“Are you wearing anything under that robe, Sweet Rack?” I asked.

“What if I wasn’t Big Boner? What would you do if I were completely naked underneath this robe? Would you kiss me - or more?” She articulated with a really nasty grin on her face.

“Claire, you know how close we just got in the tub, are you really going to press this? My head is a jumble of feelings, emotions, promises made - to each other and to both of our Mothers. As much as I want you ... we must wait. Please wait for me - I’ll wait for you, all right?”

She dropped the robe, showing she had on her Orgy shirt and, I hoped some panties. I laughed as I walked up to her and smiled at this vision of loveliness.

We made out on the balcony for a while, then I took her by her hand, we went back inside and crawled into bed and fell asleep, snuggling.

My phone rang!

“Hey Mom, how’s it hanging?” I said seeing her name pop-up on my cell.

“Maybe I should ask you that, Lover?” she responded with a snort. “Meet you guys in the lobby in 60 minutes, OK?”

“Sure thing, Beautiful. How was your first night alone with your new best friend?” I asked.

“Very nice thank you very much. How about you two?”

“We took a luxurious bath together, lots of bubbles - lots of kisses. She has a suit that goes completely transparent when wet, she ended up in the tub virtually naked.”

“What!” I believe my mother was gasping.

“Alone - but she asked and I was a ‘good boy’ - kinda. See you in 60, Beautiful,” I said hanging up.

Claire was awake by now and had turned to listen to my side of the conversation.

“So, you don’t want me naked in the tub again?” she said with a fake pout on her face.

“No, that’s the only tub I want you to wear in the tub, when we’re alone.”

“Take a shower first, Lover - I have some business to take care of, including taking my birth control pill,” she said.

“OK,” I said as I grabbed a change of boxers and went into the bathroom.

We met up with K and the Moms downstairs. I had some changes to the set list in my head.

We got to the Grand Ballroom of the South San Francisco Convention Center and saw Michael and his musical troupe setting up.

I walked over to Michael and said, “It’s time to shake up the list a little, OK with you?”

“Sure, just let me sing at least one of my own songs, all right?” he said with a laugh.

“Absotively - Posilutely, Michael. Oh, by the way our Tour after we’re married has been renamed ‘The Honeymoon Tour;’ it’s two years long, 626 performances in 443 cities across ALL 50 states. We’re finalizing the cities in the coming month. If we time it right, we’ll be married, 18 years old, in our new home that we have already got, ready to start making babies, when we get home from it,” I said causing Claire to first blush, and then she came up to me and gave me a kiss.

“Damn right,” she confirmed.

Annie, Sarah and Kalista heard a lot of this for the first time.

“Sarah - get ready - I feel a set list coming on,” Kalista remarked.

“OK, First set,”

“Anema E Core:

The Orchestra – No Dancing”

“For Good:

Piped In - All 3 of us”

“Everything:

The Orchestra - Charles & Kallie”

“Marry You:

Piped in - Charles & Claire”

Claire ran up to me and gave me a bunch of kisses all over my face, causing everyone else to laugh while I was attacked by really soft lips.

“Sorry,” she said.

“No, you’re not - but that’s OK,” I rebutted.

“My Heart Will Go on:

Piped in - Claire & Kallie”

“Feeling Good:

The Orchestra - Charles & Claire”

“The Best is Yet to Come:

The Orchestra – No Dancing”

“All I Do is Dream of You:

The Orchestra - Charles & K”

“The Prayer:

Piped In - Charles & Claire”

“Refuse to Dance:

Piped In - Charles & Kallie”

“Home:

The Orchestra - Charles & Claire”

“Crazy Little Thing:

The Orchestra - Charles & Kallie”

“I am Not That Girl:

Piped In - Kallie, Charles & Claire”

“We have a few songs to learn, but it shouldn’t be too bad, Sarah what’s the time, I know it’s 13 songs, but swapping things around conflugled me a little.”

“13 songs, 49 minutes, 29 seconds - the list has been sent to Michael, ready for set 2, Mr. Newman,” she said with a smile and a little laugh.

“OK, Set 2.”

“Mack the Knife:

Mr. Michael Bublé & The Orchestra”

“You Raise Me Up:

Piped In - Charles & Claire”

“Your Nobody:

The Orchestra - Charles & Claire”

“Real Emotion:

Piped In - Charles & Kallie”

“Until it’s Time for You to Go:

Alan, Charles & Claire”

“Eso Beso:

Piped In - Charles, Claire & Kallie”

“You Light Up My Life:

Piped In - Charles & Kallie”

“Georgia on my Mind:

The Orchestra”

“Charles, I haven’t sung that in quite a while?” Michael said.

“Well then, you have some homework, don’t you?” I said laughing.

“I guess I do,” Michael said with his orchestra all laughing at that, especially Alan, his pianist.

“Daddy’s Little Girl:

The Orchestra - Claire”

“Yesterday:

Piped In - Charles & Kalista”

“Crazy Love:

The Orchestra - Charles & Claire”

“Footloose:

Piped In - Charles & Claire”

“Can’t Help Falling in Love:

The Orchestra - Charles & Kallie”

“AND BACK WHERE IT BELONGS,

“The Time of My Life:

The Orchestra - Charles & Claire”

“Sarah - the details please?” I asked.

“Well, Mr. Newman - I am sorry to say Set 2 is longer than Set 1, which is breaking a long tradition of Charles, Claire, Kallie, and Michael.”

“How much longer?” I said scratching my head, trying to figure out how I did that?

“Six - whole – seconds,” She drew out, laughing so hard Annie added a few snorts herself. “13 songs - 49 minutes 35 seconds.”

“Well, Michael - how do those set lists work for you?” I asked.

“Fine, but you have at least three songs to learn from scratch don’t you?” he responded.

“Yeah, but that will only take a couple of hours, while you are working on your stuff,” I said. “Sarah, send him Set 2, please?”

“Girls, ‘Yesterday’ is going to be a Bolero, ‘Refuse to Dance’ is a Rhumba, and ‘The Prayer’ could be a syncopated Waltz. We can learn that, easy – Michael, do you need us to stick around?”

“No, Charles, go somewhere and learn your dances, see you tomorrow at nine am to rehearse the sets in sequence,” he replied.

In my best Rochester impersonation (Look him up!), I said, “All right, Mr. Bublé!”

He laughed, as my ladies all groaned ... Mom snorted.

I’d decided to look up something on the laptop and we got a cab and I gave him the address, which was closer than I realized but still, we paid him and walked into Tiffany’s Dance Studio.

The young lady behind the counter apparently recognized us and could hardly speak, but sputtered, “Y-y-yes, can I help you?”

“Yes,” I said. “Do you have an available room for us to learn some new routines for our performances at the Convention Center?”

“Sure, TIFFANY, come here?” she yelled.

The owner, Tiffany Henderson, ran in about to chew out her receptionist, but saw us instead and instantly broke into a great big smile.

“Welcome to Charles & Claire, I mean welcome to Tiffany’s Dance Academy - Wow, what can we do for you today?” she said getting it together. Tiffany’s about 25 or so, a pretty and shapely blonde.

“We need a room to learn some new routines we have just added to our Set list, and I found you on the Internet - great web site, by the way,” I said.

“Sure, do you have the time to watch some kids dance - I understand if you can’t, but meeting you guys could make them feel better about dancing,” she said clearly excited over us being there.

“Sounds like fun,” Kalista said to her. “Claire and I went to a place like this for about five months when we were little and learned some ballet. That was long before we met Charles and started dancing professionally.”

We followed Tiffany to a room full of young ladies, probably about six years old. The moment we walked in, they all started screaming, “Kallie - We love Kallie.”

Kalista walked amongst them, talking to some and just enjoying the adoration for a moment.

“Do you girls have a dance you’d like to show us?” Kalista asked them, sounding like a young teacher.

Tiffany jumped in and said, “They have a group recital to prepare for - would you like to see that?”

We all nodded yes.

We moved to the back of the room, alongside some parents who were waiting around. The music came on, and these dozen or so little girls all did some marvelous dance moves. When it was over, we all applauded loudly, causing big smiles on all their little faces.

K turned to me and said, “Charles, they just danced for us - why don’t we dance for them?”

All the kids got really quiet, and looked at me to hear my answer.

“Of course. We have to dance for all these beautiful future championship dancers,” I said eliciting a group giggle from everyone in the room. I saw my girls putting on their ballet slippers; I went to Sarah and told her ‘Big Blue Earth,’ which she got ready to play directly from the laptop.

The kids all sat down, with Tiffany and the parents alongside them. I nodded to Sarah and the music started, and the girls did their opening Arabesques and then went on to the rest of the routine. We often heard ‘ooohs’ ‘aahhs’ and ‘Oh My’ from our audience, even coming from Tiffany herself.

We were approaching the end and my girls were clearly crying, due to our very young audience, but they were still moving very crisply, with their feet, legs and arms being watched so very closely.

The music ended and everyone got up and cheered at me and my girls, starting a chant of ‘One more - One more’ over and over, until Tiffany interrupted them and asked, “Their time is almost up for the day, would you please perform one more for them - for us, please?”

“Certainly, and as much as they clearly love Kalista, we have a number that features her - how does that sound?” I asked Tiffany, who broke into tears and said, “What you three have done for dance is incredible! I didn’t have many boys until they saw you on YouTube and realized it was cool to dance. We have seven academies in the Bay area. You are welcome at any one, at any time!”

“Thank you, girls we have another number for you today, all right?” I asked. Some of these little girls are under five years old. So cute!

“All right,” they said as a group.

The music was ready and it began, with Claire and I doing our part as Kalista came in en pointe to a blast of hands clapping, although she stayed in her character. Claire and I backed up to give her the room, and she didn’t let us down. Her Jetés were crisp and her Developés were magnificent as I saw Tiffany pointing, and making it a teaching moment to the little redheaded girl in her lap, as the song ended.

A very loud ‘Yay, Kallie’ came from the girls as K came out and hugged every single one of them. We shook hands of the mothers and a few dads who’d come to pick up their daughters. Claire was clinging to me as I went from parent to parent, telling them how wonderful their daughters danced.

Things quieted down and Tiffany escorted us to a soundproof room we could learn our routines in. Less than 90 minutes later, we came out, satisfied we had a firm grasp of our three new routines. We said goodbye to Tiffany and her staff, and we headed off to lunch back at the hotel.

I needed a back and leg rub, and I asked Claire if I could ask Sarah to give me a deep tissue massage. Things are getting ‘complicated’ these days. Sarah said she’d be up to our room in a couple of minutes, so we went on up ahead and I stripped down to my boxers for Sarah.

Claire said she was going to take a bubble bath while I got my massage.

There was a knock on the door and I opened it to see Sarah wearing shorts and a t-shirt, just like before. She saw Claire looking at the fact that she was bra-less and said to her, “He didn’t mind last time, I can leave if you want me to, honey?”

Claire simply closed the door to the bathroom and started her bubble bath. I climbed up on the bed and flopped on my stomach.

Sarah leaned in and asked, “Is everything OK between the two of you?”

“Yeah, we had a ‘too close for comfort’ moment the other day but we talked it out.”

She started on my foot saying, “Do I want to know the details of your ‘moment,’ Charles?”

“Probably not, sufficed to say both our promise and her virginity are still very much intact?” I said perhaps too cavalierly.

I felt her hands grip me a little stronger than usual for a moment, but she slapped my butt and continued. It felt oh, so good - with the pops behind my legs and the original back pop all happening, thus contributing to my physical well-being. She gave me some extra pressure along the base of my neck, which really did the job.

With Claire only an un-lockable doorway away, Sarah gave me a quite awe-inspiring kiss before she left. As she left our room, Sarah yelled, “Bye Claire,” and she was gone.

“Charles, come in and join me,” Claire said.

“Are you decent?” I asked.

“Yes.”

I walked in and saw her bikini on the floor next to the tub.

“I asked you if you were decent?” I said annoyed a little.

“I am - but I am also naked, and a little horny?” She bit her lip and smiled.

“Yeah, I can imagine - Nothing happened between your mother and me, except a kiss after, OK?”

“I’m getting out, so be warned Lover,” she said.

She gripped the sides of the tub, as I stood there just waiting for something, but what - I wasn’t sure?

Looking directly at me the whole time, she got up, covered with bubbles and stepped out of the tub and walked over to me.

I put my arms out and she did as well, and we held each other tight. I felt material against me - she was trying to pull a fast one - so I took my hands and tightly grabbed her butt cheeks and pulled her right up against me.

I moved my lips to hers and we started making out right up against each other. We couldn’t stop kissing as we stayed like this for a very long time. I took my hands and reached behind her back and un-hooked her bikini top, but kept right up against her causing it to stay in place.

I rubbed my hands all over her back occasionally grabbing her butt cheek again, beneath the fabric. She did the same to me actually getting her hand inside the back of my boxers touching my bare bum for the first time. I knew this was as far as we should go, so I reached for the towel bar, grabbed a towel and dropped it in between us wrapping it around her.

I kissed her again and left the bathroom.

I was tired so, I quickly changed out of my now wet boxers into a dry pair, and crawled into bed. I set an alarm for two hours.

*******

I woke up hungry, but I carefully turned around and we were face to face, with her still asleep. Not able to resist this young lady, even for a second, I leaned into her and we were connected from our lips to our legs.

I felt my kiss getting a response from this redhead, and I rolled her on her back, but didn’t get up on top of her. We kissed for a good while, as we stayed as close together as we could, and I reached down to squeeze her butt, but there was no panty. I rubbed along the outside of her thigh, feeling her legs rub together as mine did as well, seemingly of their own accord.

I heard Claire saying something very quietly, but I had to get up closer to her lips.

“Charles - please Fuck Me?”

I rolled out of bed and started to cry.

Hearing those words, terrified me.

“Charles – Charles, wake up - Charles.”

“WHAT?”

“Charles, you were crying in your sleep - I didn’t know a person could do that,” I heard Claire talking very loud and very fast.

“Claire, what’s the last thing we did before I was asleep?” I asked breathing hard and horribly unsure of what’s real and what’s a dream.

“Charles, did you just have a dream?”