Chapter 29

FRIDAY, JULY 5, 1991

“Jake, wake up. Do you have plans this morning?”

“Wha?”

Roused from rather pleasant dreams of pretty redheads and curvy raven-haired beauties, I rubbed the sleep from my eyes to consider the source of this rude awakening.

“Dad?”

“Jake, wake up!”

I shook my head groggily, wondering what strenuous farm chore awaited me outside.

“Yeah?”

“Any plans this morning?”

I guess not.”

“Good,” dad grinned. “Someone from the phone company will be here sometime between now and noon to install your line.”

“Oh! Awesome!” I chirped, realizing my duty wouldn’t be a difficult one at all.

I grabbed a quick shower and got ready for the day, hoping the line would be installed by mid-morning. I tidied my room in anticipation, knowing I wanted the phone right on my nightstand.

As the wait drew on, I made myself some cereal for breakfast and continued to wait. Some spare breakfast dishes awaited cleaning in the sink, so I cleared out the dishwasher and filled it with the dirty ones.

I wandered through my room again, studying the Mustang model Josh had given me for my birthday. I toyed with the idea of opening it and working on it, but I had promised my younger brother we’d work on it together. I better not even remove the cellophane wrapping on the box.

In the family room, I settled in for the last half of “The Price is Right.” Bob Barker always put me to sleep, and that Friday was no exception. I awoke to the phone ringing.

“Hello?”

“Parker, you still in for tonight?” Beast got right to the point.

“What’s tonight?” I replied groggily.

“The party in Fork Rapids. I’m not supposed to show up without you.”

“That’s unfortunate for you,” I said slyly.

“Come on! Why wouldn’t you want to go?”

“I can think of a couple of reasons, but why am I supposed to go again? Who is hosting?”

“Stacey Prentice, and Mollie Storz will be there too,” Beast was trying to sell. “Remember the note on my window earlier in the week? That was from Mandy. I’m sure she’ll be there too.”

“Alright, I’ll go. When are we leaving?”

“That was all it took?” Beast teased. “Mandy Prentice?”

“No, that’s not all it’s going to take,” I countered. “Bring me some Miller Lite.”

“You drive a hard bargain, sir,” Beast complained. “But I’ll make it happen.”

“Deal,” I said flatly. “What time?”

“Be ready at 5,” Beast warned. “And try to save some girls for Tree and me.”

“I’ll see what I can do,” I laughed.

At 11:34 a.m. a local telephone company pickup truck pulled down the driveway. George gave the truck a half-hearted woof, and wagged his tail when the driver got out. The slender gentleman gave George a scratch behind the ears, which did much to endear himself to our supposed protector and guardian. That old golden retriever was lucky he had a good personality.

It took only 10 minutes for the guy to hook up my new phone and answering machine, testing the line by calling from the kitchen.

“There ya go,” he said flatly. “That should do it.”

I thanked him and led him out, where George awaited another scratch behind the ears. The man drove off, leaving me free for the rest of the day.

Dad and I had burgers for lunch, and I wanted to make a call before I knew she’d likely be back out working.

“Hello?”

“Hi, Little Britches.”

“Hi, Dork,”

“Guess what?”

“Oh, I don’t know, some sports thing, or some car thing, or some girl thing. What is it?”

“I can call later if you’re busy,” I teased.

“No, just kidding. Spill.”

“I just called you on my line. You are first!”

“Well thank you,” Shelby gushed with a little pride. “I’m so happy you chose me first.”

I gave her my number, and told her not to go giving it out to every friend with a crush on me.

“Just most of them?” she teased.

“Just the hot ones,” I said snarkily.

“You’re terrible!”

“I have to have some standards,” I said flatly.

“Speaking of standards, how was your date with Autumn last night?” she asked coyly.

“Not a date. Far from it. But I did have a very nice time.”

“She said much the same,” Shelby giggled.

“Is there any point to discussing this?” I complained. “You seem to have all the details already.”

“Just her side,” Shelby admitted. “I wanna hear your side too.”

“Well first off, she has changed her look a bit.”

“Yes, she has,” Shelby agreed. “She’s been talking about it this summer. She has completely changed her bedroom, her wardrobe and she’s got contacts now. She says she’s ready for a, um, meta-something.”

“A metamorphosis?” I asked.

“That’s the word!”

“It’s like when a caterpillar changes into a butterfly.”

“Ah, makes sense. Very appropriate for her.”

“Agreed.”

“So, what did you think of your butterfly last night?”

I gave the question a bit of thought first.

“I’d have to describe a creature more predatory. She had the whole scene laid out for me. Already had the fire going. Supplies for S’mores. And her backyard had practically no view of the fireworks. She just wanted me back there to--”

“Create your own fireworks? Yeah, she had it all planned out,” Shelby admitted. “So you had a good time?”

“I did.”

“And you want to see her again?”

“I do.”

“What about Mandy?”

“Yes. Going to a party she’ll be at tonight.”

“Ahhhh, going to play with fire?”

“Being with Autumn is already playing with fire,” I countered. “I do need to have a chat with her about the rules.” “Rules, huh?”

“Yeah, she said you already warned her?”

“I did,” Shelby said mockingly. “I warned her that you think you, as a boy, get to set the rules.”

“I do,” I said with confidence. “I’m not dating anyone seriously until school starts, unless you change your mind.”

“Nope, not changing my mind,” Shelby said flatly.

“Then until school starts, I date no one seriously. If either, or both of them have a problem with me hanging out with other girls, that will be their problem.”

“I see,” Shelby said, seemingly lost in thought. “What about when school starts?”

“Then, again, unless you change your mind, I will date someone seriously.”

“So which one will you choose?”

“To date seriously? Oh, neither.”

“Not Autumn or Mandy?”

“Probably not.”

“And I’m not going to be your girlfriend,” Shelby added. “So who is the mystery girl?”

“A man has to have some secrets,” I said evasively.

“You’re not thinking about dating Deedee again, are you?” Shelby asked with a hint of growl in her voice.

“Nope. That ship has sailed. Although, if she found a way to minimize Lexie in her life, I’d consider it.”

“Consider me knocking some sense into you if you ‘consider’ that again,” Shelby threatened.

“Why don’t you get a ladder and try,” I teased.

“I don’t need a ladder to bring you down to my level. I know exactly where to hurt you.”

“Yes, yes you do,” I said accusingly.

“Oh,” Shelby said quietly. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s OK,” I said, trying to diffuse. “I understand what you’re trying to do, but sometimes I think you’re wasting our time, and it won’t matter anyway.”

“Trust my plan,” she said confidently. “I see all.”

“I might not fully trust your plan, but I do trust your advice. What do I do about Autumn and Mandy?”

“Hmmmmm,” Shelby pondered noisily from her side of the line. “Take your time. Have fun. Don’t break hearts.”

“I think I can handle two out of those three.”

“You should try to stay friends with both girls. They both like you a lot, and they will support you in the future. You want them on your side.”

“I suppose I do,” I admitted. “Not that I planned to hurt anyone.”

“Of course you don’t, you’re just clumsy sometimes.”

“Right,” I complained. “Hey, what if I didn’t see Mandy or Autumn? What if you and me secretly got together for some fun?”

“Jacob, I’m doing my very best to keep you at arm’s length. Until I can control myself a little better, we have to just be strictly friends. It’s too hard.”

“I’m sorry,” I apologized. “I didn’t mean to make it difficult.”

“You have no idea how much I want to, but I have to stay strong.”

“You don’t HAVE to,” I complained.

“I do,” Shelby replied. “It will all be worth it in the end.”

“I don’t feel like it’s fair though,” I took a chance, knowing this was as much as we’d discussed this tender subject since we made love. “I go off with other girls, and you do nothing?”

“I know how to take care of myself,” Shelby said shyly, then her tone gained some steel. “And your head is about ten sizes too big if you think I do nothing but pine for you all day. I have my own interests. I have my own goals. Yes, you’re a part of my future, but I do not dwell on you, or pine for you endlessly.”

“OK, no pining,” I laughed. “So what do I do about Autumn next?”

“I think you can handle what she has planned for you,” Shelby said quietly. “I would hold on for dear life if she gets you into her bedroom though. She’ll try to wear you out.”

“Oh my,” I said instinctively.

“Yeah, she doesn’t want to be a virgin anymore. Part of her makeover,” Shelby confided. “And she is ecstatic that you’re single and interested in her. You are interested in her, yes?”

“I am, oddly. Never thought of her as ‘my type’ before, but maybe it’s time to expand what ‘my type’ is? She’s a very interesting girl.”

“Good boy,” Shelby mockingly praised me. “Be good to Mandy too. She said she started falling for you when you and Deedee were together. She said she would never try to take you from her, but once Deedee dumped you, it’s been about the only thing on her mind.”

“But I told her the rules too?”

“Yes, yes you did. But she can always hope, and she does. As long as she has hope, you have another girl who is very into you, and ready for more.”

Thoughts of Mandy casually admitting to me that she was a virgin at Lea’s party floated through my mind. Did she want me for the same reason as Autumn?

“Well, Chatty Cathy, it’s about time for me to work on some horses. What are you up to the rest of the day?”

“Well, I thought I’d call Autumn, then I have to go to that party later.”

“Well, have fun then,” Shelby said in a sing-song voice. “And be safe.”

I knew what that meant.

“You know I will,” I chided her.

“I trust you will,” she teased. “It will all be worth it in the end.”

“Bye, Little Britches.”

“Bye, Dork.”

I was halfway to town before the warm tingles faded away a little. I called an ecstatic Autumn, who casually said I could come see her at her house, since no one was was home for the day, although either parent could get off work early, so it was a bit of a dicey situation.

I parked around the corner from her house, casually walking up the sidewalk to ring her doorbell.

I could hear quick footsteps at the door. She opened it a crack and peered out, checking out the empty street, then practically pulled me inside.

“Hi,” I grinned.

“Hi yourself,” she said breathlessly.

She was in a light tan summer dress today. Barefoot, with her flame hair up in a wild mane of big curls. Her pale skin looked soft and smooth and her hazel eyes had a flicker of golden flecks in them. She had applied a small, tasteful amount of makeup.

“So...” I said shyly, not even sure if I should take my shoes off.

“So,” She replied with a silly grin, then tackled me against the backside of her front door, pulling my face down to hers for an intense kiss.

I put my hands around her tiny waist, pulling her hips against me as she darted her tongue deftly against my lips. Her intensity was already at a 9 out of 10.

I came up for air, resting my forehead against hers. Both of us were practically panting with lust.

“Is there somewhere we can talk for a bit before we go too wild?”

Autumn looked into my eyes with an intense look, before looking down again.

“Yes, follow me.”

She grabbed me by the hand and led me to what would have been Mel’s room in her mirror version of this house. It was uncanny. She led me into a medium-sized bedroom and shut the door behind her. I took a brief look around, then sat on the end of the bed and patted the spot next to me.

“The talk?” she smiled shyly.

“Yeah, the talk,” I shrugged.

Her room was certainly interesting. The windows were right where they would be in Mel’s room, only Autumn had brand new curtains, with a matching bedspread in a modern design. There were no stuffed animals, no dolls, no boy band posters, no unicorns and the color pink was nowhere to be found. The walls were a flat tan, and her only real decor was a collage of photos pinned to a big cork board over her modest and neat desk. A pair of tall bookcases, jammed with hard and soft cover titles, dominated one corner of the room. The rest was pretty much spotless, and I had a feeling she had prepared for company.

Autumn took the short steps to the bed slowly, almost like a condemned prisoner.

“Oh, it’s not so bad,” I tried to comfort her as she sat down cross legged on the bed, facing me, her hand holding the hem of her short dress down. She ran her fingers through her long, curly red hair and tilted her head to listen to what I had to say.

Sensing no further need for preamble, I dove in feet first.

“So today is like a week since Deedee broke up with me. Not that I’m counting the days or anything,” I said, looking her in the eye. “I’ve been in one really serious relationship, and one somewhat serious relationship. It’s too soon to be in a serious one again.”

I let my words soak in with her, gauging her reaction to them. She kept listening intently, making no remarks.

“So the thing is, I do like you, and I am interested in you, and I want to get to know you better. But we’re not going to be boyfriend and girlfriend, at least not until sometime after school starts.”

A small smile crossed her mouth and her eyes lit up slightly, as if she’d heard all this before.

“And you’ve already heard all this, so you aren’t surprised?”

“Kind of,” She admitted, not looking at me.

“I hope you’re not disappointed, or feel like I led you on last night.”

Then her eyes were on mine, and her little smile grew.

“You did nothing wrong last night,” she shook her head slowly. “I was a little disappointed in myself, but you didn’t do anything wrong.”

“OK?” I said with a shrug. “Why were you disappointed?”

“I had things planned out, and you actually showed up, and I could hardly contain myself or stick to the plan.”

“What was the plan?”

“To give you a little taste, and have you begging for more.”

“Well, um, you did that quite well,” I admitted.

“But you’re back here having this ‘talk,’ instead of just begging for more.”

For some reason, the words ‘begging’ and ‘more’ sounded incredibly sexy coming from her pert little lips.

“It takes a lot to make me beg,” I said with a little husk in my voice.

“Then I have more work to do,” she said teasingly.

“So you don’t just want me, you want me to fall for you?”

Autumn pulled her long legs up to her chest and exhaled, resting her chin on her knees.

“I guess that’s true,” she admitted. “A girl can dream, right?”

“A girl can dream,” I agreed. “But the most important thing to me is that we’re still friends in two months.”

“That’s,” she paused. “Kind of sweet.”

“Look, there’s just under two months of summer left. Lot’s of time. But I don’t want to lead you on. It’s more important to me that we stay friends no matter what happens today, or the rest of the summer.”

“I get that,” she said.

“So if we spend time together this summer, my only expectation of you is that you don’t hate me because I broke your heart when school starts. I am going to, um, date casually this summer. No strings. No boyfriend-girlfriend.”

She nodded in understanding.

“But I need to know what you expect of me?”

Autumn pondered my question with her eyes closed, still resting her chin on her knees.

“Honesty,” she said finally. “Honesty about how you feel about me. About what else you’re doing with other girls,” she rolled her eyes slightly, but still grinned.

“That makes me a little uncomfortable, because I don’t kiss and tell,” I said in earnest.

“You don’t have to go into specifics, just be honest with me. If you’re falling for Mandy and you want to date Mandy seriously, I want you to tell me. If you fall for me, and you want to be my boyfriend, be honest with me. That’s all I ask.”

“I can do that,” I admitted.

“Deal,” she said with a giggle.

“Want to shake on it?” I offered.

“I’d rather kiss,” she enthused.

Then Autumn Kent nearly knocked me out with one of the most shocking things a girl has done for or to me. Cute, waifish Autumn stared into my eyes and watched my reaction as she slowly spread her knees apart and revealed to me that she was not wearing any panties.

“Oh! I, uh!” I stammered for words where none were needed. My eyes drifted down the open part of her summery dress and zeroed in on her narrow little peach, pressed together as her legs had been pressed together. She had a light red triangle of pubic hair at the top of a very puffy and pretty little pussy. Other than the stray freckle on her body, her pale skin was clean and perfect.

My eyes moved back up to hers, and she had nothing but pure lust in her eyes as she watched my reaction.

“Wow,” was my breathless last word. Smooth, I know.

Words didn’t matter any longer. She was on me like a second skin, rising to her knees to lavish kisses on my lips and face. I took her in my arms and held her against me, hungrily accepting her kisses.

She moaned and writhed against me, her scent was in my nostrils, driving me to another level of intensity.

I reached my hand under the short hem of her dress and cupped her hot pussy in the palm of my hand. Her reaction was instant and loud, as she sucked in her breath and gave out a high-pitched squeal of pleasure that seemed to surprise both of us.

She raced back to kissing, pulling at my T-shirt to rip it over my head and discard it. Her hands were all over my back and chest as she began to rhythmically gyrate her pussy into my palm. I could feel the lightest wetness at the edges of her smooth lips. More so yet when I let the soft pad of my middle finger dip just inside her labia, fingering a slick channel of hot, soft skin.

She shuddered and sucked in her breath again, seemingly shocked at my invasion. But her reaction was nothing but positive, as she grabbed the hem of her dress and slipped it up over her slender body. She’d not bothered with panties or a bra in anticipation of my visit. In an instant, she was naked against me.

I held her body against me as she continued humping her pelvis into my palm, my finger dipping deeper into her slick channel. She paused for a moment as she felt all of my finger disappear inside her, a catch in her breath as I worked to curl my finger around to find the soft spongy ridges of her G-spot. Good lord she was tight, a serious resistance met my finger as I pressed it back toward my palm.

She had a look in her eyes that said ‘what are you doing to me,’ but they quickly rolled back into her eyelids as she shuddered once, then clamped her legs together on my wrist.

I felt like I was shaking hands with a titan, as her leg grip nearly crushed my wrist bones together. Her fingernails raked down my back as she pointed her chin up and loudly clipped her teeth shut.

“HNGUH!” She wailed into my ear, every muscle of her body bound tense as a powerful orgasm tore through her nervous system.

She gripped my wrist with not only her legs, but with her hand, forbidding me to move a millimeter as she fought to catch her breath.

I felt proud for giving her such a big orgasm, and for everything she felt comfortable doing up to that point. But I wasn’t near done with her.

“Oh God! Oh my God. Oh God!” she swore as she regained steady breathing.

I gently pulled my finger out from inside her, pulling my soaked palm away from her sex. I gripped her behind the small of her back and simply lifted her to the center of her bed, and manhandled her into a lying position with her head on her pillow.

I kicked off my shoes and tore my shorts off, leaving my underwear in place. She tilted her head questioningly as I moved my upper body between her legs and put my mouth to her inner thigh, kissing it softly as I made eye contact with my redheaded beauty.

She put her hands on her temples in disbelief and watched me take my first taste of her. I pressed the flat of my tongue against her soft pussy lips, and let the tip delve between them. She moaned in pleasure, arching her back to meet my intimate contact with her treasure. She had the familiar taste, the tangy, salty sweetness of wet pussy. Her skin smelled of pleasantly fruity lotions, and the inside of her was no less pleasant.

I watched her make balled fists of her hands as I started to rhythmically eat her out. She flopped her head back and moaned my name in appreciation. Her tiny breasts stood firm on top of her chest, her puffy nipples achingly hard. I set hands in motion to pleasure them, cupping both small boobs in my hands, I let her nipples free between my fingers before pinching down on both lightly.

That was just enough for a second, powerful orgasm to tear through the lithe girl’s body, her hips humping up into my face for just that extra something to bring her off.

A light, high-pitched squeal tore through the room again as her ass levitated off the bed, holding her own weight and much of mine as her little body tensed up like steel coils.

I should have known better from past experience, but my continued tongue lashing was no longer welcome on her ultra-sensitive clit, which I had just started to focus on with my tongue.

Both of her hands were on my face as she begged me to stop licking her.

“Can’t take it!” she husked. “Too sensitive!”

I gave her the intense look of a predator not quite done tasting his prey, then gently pushed away from her. I rolled off the foot of the bed and removed my underwear, then rustled through my shorts pocket for something I had brought for the occasion.

“Wait!” she said excitedly. “I have condoms!”

I held a gold foil up sheepishly for her to see and shrugged for effect.

“Me too.”

“Can I put it on you?” she asked shyly.

“Absolutely,” I said, knee-walking my way up between her thin splayed legs.

I tore the wrapper open, leaving the condom and lube safely inside the foil, and carefully handed it to her. She was taking a moment to get a good look at what I had to offer.

“Oh, shit,” she actually swore for the first time in my memory. “Where do you think you’re putting that?”

She sat up with the condom resting in her palm and a look of concern on her face.

“You’re big,” she said flatly, shaking her mane of red hair. “I’m not.”

“Autumn, if you get all nervous, you’re going to tense up. If you tense up, then it won’t happen. Can I show you how I know I’ll fit?”