Chapter 32

SUNDAY, July 7, 1991

I saw some of Sunday before I ever got a chance to sleep. Between the extra adrenaline of racing for the first time, and a few Mountain Dews drank too late in the night, I was wired for sound.

Before we finally bid goodbye to everyone at the track and brought the car back to the shop, I was directed to stop at the pit gate to pick up my winnings for the night. I was handed an envelope with $125 in it. I had finished 12th that night, the first of my racing career.

I brought the cash to hand to grandpa. He looked at the finishing order and counted out the cash. He handed me $50 in cash back.

“What’s this for?”

“Your paycheck,” he grinned.

“I get paid?”

“You have expenses. Gettin’ to the track, pit passes, all that safety gear.”

“True, but this costs you much more,” I shrugged.

“That’s why you only get 40 percent,” he laughed. “Don’t plan on gettin’ rich this way though. The best way to make one million dollars in racing is to start with five million.”

When I did find sleep, I slept well. Pleasant dreams of beautiful girls I knew, all gathered around me in victory lane.

Dad let me sleep in until 10 a.m. on Sunday. My day. Sundays are supposed to be my own, right?

“We, uh, had to call Betsy this morning to let her know you won’t be at tutoring unless it rains this week,” dad said quietly.

“Huh?” I replied groggily, having just woke up.

“We have to spray beans this week. Fields are going to canopy on a week or two, and we gotta get out there. We start Monday.” Ah, the joys of soybean farming. Soybeans don’t perform well with weeds in the fields. Farmers are left with the options of walking the fields and hand-pulling weeds, or using chemicals applied directly to the weeds. That meant a team of people riding a sprayer, with modified paint guns applying chemical to the troublesome weeds. It wasn’t exactly back-breaking work, but it was tedious, hot and a great chance to cover yourself in toxic chemicals that killed weeds in hours.

For today, I’d was expected at the race shop for post-race work.

Before I left for the shop, I made a quick call to an ecstatic Autumn and set up an ice cream date for later that day.

Back at the shop, grandpa had rolled the car out of the trailer. It sat mostly glistening in the sun, a spray of dried mud under and on top of the wing, and a light coating of it on all of the blunt surfaces of the car.

Grandpa set up the power washer while I pulled all of the panels off the car and took my seat padding out. Then it was nearly an hour of power washing the car until it looked like new again.

We rolled the car inside and put some of the panels back on. Grandpa slid a tray under the motor and drained the oil, then had me remove the oil filter.

He handed me a special tool that sliced the whole cover off the filter. Once that job was done, he looked it over carefully for any metal filings that would indicate wear inside the engine. Detecting none, we added quart after quart of oil back into the engine, put the hood back on and set the car up on stands for the week ahead.

“Oil’s clean, you didn’t put much wear on the tires and you didn’t wreck it. That’s a good weekend.”

“Not bad,” I grinned.

I let grandpa take me to lunch at the diner again. We had a couple of conversations with people who were at the races the night before. I was congratulated again, and they said they looked forward to seeing me race more.

By 1:30, I was ready to head home.

Back at home, I chanced a quick nap before ice cream time came. My slumber interrupted, not once, but twice with phone calls to my new line. Shelby called to bug me, bored on a sleepy Sunday. I told her she could come nap with me, but she politely declined. I told her she’d probably talk too much for me to sleep anyway. The distance between our houses likely saved me a sharp punch to the arm.

Mandy called later to apologize for showing up at the races with Deedee, and to a lesser degree with Lexie. I told her we were all in the same class and ran in the same circles and that we’d all have to get used to being around each other. I actually talked about how I felt completely over Deedee. Mandy was strangely quiet over that part, but I assumed it was something she liked hearing.

Mandy was, in no uncertain terms, also ready to see me again. Naughty innuendo and promises of great pleasure purred from her lips as she badgered me into a promise to get together. I finally relented and promised her Friday night. I made no promises about what we’d do, or where we’d go, but Friday night was for her.

She seemed placated and pleased for the time being, and let me fall back to sleep. I tossed and turned, thinking I needed to place some restrictions on open phone time for the sake of my Sundays.

For now, it was time to pick up Autumn and have ice cream.

I rumbled the Mustang right into her driveway, certain I’d have to step inside to meet the parents. I needn’t have worried.

She took a quick peek out her front door. A warm smile spread over her pretty face, this time adorned with sunglasses. Her hair was straightened, an unusual look for her coppery locks.

She stepped back into the house for a moment, her slender hand still on the door frame. Then she appeared again and hurriedly closed the door. I could see her outfit for the first time. She was wearing a green tank top over short cutoffs. The overall effect made her look like she was all legs, arms, red hair and white teeth. I started to get out of the car to open the door for her, but she would have none of it, shrugging as she got to the passenger side of the car and boldly opening the door like she rode with me all the time. In truth, this was her first time in the car.

“Sexy!” she exclaimed as she bounced into the seat, grinning at me over her sunglasses.

“Thanks,” I said in all modesty.

“I was talking to the car,” she deadpanned.

“Of course,” I smiled. “Your first time meeting Sally.”

“Sally?” she laughed. “Nice name, but I thought he looked more like a Vincent, or a Blake.

I made a rude noise with my tongue, then shook my head at the pretty girl.

“She’s a ‘she.’ She’s from the 60s, not a romance novel, and she’s all mine.”

“Can I drive her?” she said with an expectant look.

“Can you drive a stick?”

Autumn looked forlornly at the console and the four-speed.

“Nope.”

“Well there you go,” I shrugged, putting the car in reverse. “Now put your lap belt on like a good girl.”

“Oh yeah, my parents are likely watching,” she said conspiratorially.

“I don’t do it for parents, I do it for the safety of pretty girls,” I grinned.

I found the highway running through town a few blocks away, and we were off to the big city, just 20 miles away.

Even with the windows down and the radio playing, we made conversation. We flirted lightly. She asked where we were getting ice cream, and I was evasive about the location. She made the mistake of asking me how the first race went, and got nearly the full story before we pulled up to the Dairy Dream.

Yep, the Dairy Dream. Dairy Queen knockoff, you could say. All of the frills of the giant, with less cost for the owner. It was an older, slightly run-down building I remembered from my childhood. It was adorned with a dancing neon ice cream cone you could see for quite a distance. My parents favored the fresh strawberry malts. I preferred the banana split, and loved their chili dogs. You could even get a foot-long chili dog!

I parked and shut the car off. It was no use trying to get out and get the door for the redhead, she was having no chivalry. It was occuring to me that since I had never really taken a girl on a date, maybe that wasn’t what I was supposed to do anyway.

And while she opened and closed her own door, she did take my hand as we walked up to the little ice cream shop. That little tingle crept up my lower back. I rather liked having her slender hand encased in my thicker one.

The cranked up air conditioning was a shock to the system as we walked inside. It was surprisingly quiet inside for a Sunday afternoon, but it was the middle of the afternoon. We stood holding hands in front of the big board, making the big decision. She went with a chocolate mint shake. I went with the banana split and a water. Surprisingly, she let me pay.

“Next time, I pay,” she said ominously.

“I’ll allow it,” I said with a chuckle. ‘Next time’ always sounded good to me.

We picked a table and waited across from each other, Autumn already had goosebumps from the frigid air in the place. I slid deeper into the booth on my side and indicated she could sit next to me.

With a smile, she practically leaped at the chance, bumping her hip into mine and wrapping her arm around mine for warmth.

“Parker?” was called from the cashier window. Autumn hopped up and grabbed our order, bringing it back to the table. She slid my banana split and water toward me, and popped a straw into her shake and hollowed out her cheeks for a sip.

“Mmmmmmm,” she moaned. “It’s so good!”

Three mounds of ice cream towered over a split banana in the plastic dish in front of me. Chocolate, pineapple and strawberry sauces were covered in a halo of whipped cream, and a cherry topped the whole ridiculous dessert. I went for the cherry first, making sure to press it further into the whipped cream before I set it between my lips and pulled the stem from the cherry, then savored it.

Autumn was grinning at me over her sunglasses again.

“You sure do like cherries,” she winked.

“I do,” I admitted. “But I like getting down to the rest of the dessert too.”

I dug in, enjoying my dessert before it melted into a flood of mixed flavors.

Autumn was finding it too cold to comfortably take in her shake.

“You wanna take this outside?” I offered.

“Sure,” she smiled.

We stepped outside into the warm summer sun again and found a little red picnic table. We sat on opposite sides of the table, but she offered me her hand again, and I took it gladly, our fingers intertwined as we enjoyed ice cream. With my dish empty, Autumn offered her shake to me. I declined, and we tossed our trash and headed back to the car.

This time I did get to open her door, and closed it for her too. I slid into my seat with a slight feeling of victory over that. She grinned, even in defeat.

“So what are doing?” she asked pointedly, turning her whole body toward me.

“Uh, well I didn’t plan anything other than ice cream, but we could cruise around some or head back to town?”

“No,” she shook her head slightly, still smiling. “What are we doing?”

‘Oh, uh well, we had ice cream and we’re spending time together,” I offered hopefully.

“True,” she said with an air of confidence. “But what are we really doing?” She leaned toward me meaningfully.

I felt a sudden lump in my throat, palm sweat would soon follow.

“Autumn, are you asking me to define what we are?”

She was silent for a moment, then took my hand in hers again in reassurance.

“Yes and no,” she replied, closing her eyes under her sunglasses.

“Is this about Mandy?” I asked softly.

“Sort of,” she said reluctantly.

I took a deep breath, then let it out in a soft huff. “I’m seeing her Friday night,” I admitted. She um, she showed up at the race last night.”

“I see,” she said.

“Uh, we got together last Friday night at a party as well,” I admitted.

“I know,” she smiled, shaking her head at me a little.

I let the tension rest in the air between for a few seconds before ending the silence.

“Is that not going to be OK for you?”

Her reaction wasn’t instant, as if she were really thinking about what I asked her for the first time.

“I think I’m OK with that part,” she said, chewing her lower lip a little in a way I found very cute.

“What part are you not OK with?” I took a chance asking.

“I dunno, maybe this,” she said in honest confusion, indicating the air between us.

“Dating?”

“Dating.” she nodded. “Not that I don’t want to date you, I do, I want to be with you, but I know you won’t pick a girlfriend until after school starts, so while I do want to be with you, I don’t want to go on these like, ‘dates.’ Does that make sense?”

“Sort of,” I said dejectedly, feeling pretty shitty about myself. “I should have known it was too much to ask, and I feel bad putting you in this position. I guess I was really enjoying spending time with you, and this will sound weird but I’ve never actually like done ‘official’ dating like this with my own car and all that.”

A shy smile spread over her face and the delight in her eyes could not be hidden by the cheap sunglasses.

“I didn’t say I didn’t want to be with you. I guess the ‘dating’ part seems weird. Like I know you’ll be doing something like this with Mandy, or someone else. Like it makes this part less genuine.”

I let that sink in a little. I still didn’t fully understand. She was a girl speaking in girl language after all.

“I want you to know that I genuinely do like you, and I find you really interesting. I guess I wanted to try the dating thing with you, but if the whole situation doesn’t work for you, I respect that. I know I would feel weird about it if you were dating another guy.”

“How do you know I’m not,” she said with surprising sass, and a hearty laugh.

“I guess I don’t,” I said in surprise, laughing at her boldness.

“Look, Jake, I know you value communication, so let me be as blunt as I can. I don’t have to be the popular jock’s arm candy. I sort of like being a little more out of the spotlight. But I do want to be with you. If you actually want to date me when your little egg timer goes off this fall, I’d love that, and I’d do it in a heartbeat. But we can have a summer fling and get to know each other better, no strings or milkshakes attached. Like you said when you laid down ‘the rules,’ in the end, I want us to be friends.”

That was suddenly a lot to think about, and the look of surprise on my face was a great source of mirth for the suddenly open and bold redhead. She held her hand over her mouth and tried to stifle a giggle.

I gave her a crooked smile in defeat. “I guess I read you entirely wrong, but I was really enjoying this.”

“Don’t get me wrong, Jake, I’m not sure I could say no to you, but I guess I’m telling you we don’t have to go on dates. We can skip right to the good stuff.”

I couldn’t help but blush slightly at her. She was basking in a victory over me.

“As you wish,” I teased, as I slid the key into the ignition and fired the engine.

The sun was starting to set lower in the sky as I started hunting around for a place to park. I was hesitant to use one of the spots Mel and I had frequented over the late fall and winter. Autumn and I had driven closer to our town, and she had driven herself closer to me. She was touching me everywhere, telling me I was all she could think about since Friday, and how much she wanted me more. We were only two miles from the old cleared out farmstead holding only a lonely grain bin. In a fever, I headed for it.

Once there, I was delighted to discover I could turn into the field driveway and park behind the grain bin with a wall of tall corn around us, like a great green fortification. We could not be seen unless you drove right up into the place and looked.

I had hardly turned off the car before she launched herself into me, planting a sizzling kiss of need on my lips. She had my lap belt off and was fiddling with the button on my shorts before I could even think.

A light breeze blew through the tall corn, slapping leaves together like light applause as I slid my seat back, hunched my hips up to let her pull my shorts down and attack my cock with her mouth.

Autumn moaned in pleasure around my cock as she slipped her mouth down it.

I laid back against the black vinyl of my seat, feeling the ultimate feeling of relaxation. Careful not to push her head, I ran my fingers in her coppery red hair, caressing it as she sensed my shift in need, and slowed her pace in turn.

“You like that,” she asked, letting my cock pop lewdly out of her mouth.

“I’m just not sure yet,” I shrugged. “I need a bit more to be sure.”

The number of times she’d done this could still be counted on one hand, but she was doing her level best at it. She made long, languid licks up and down the base of my shaft, followed by intense little butterfly licks on the sensitive head. She studied my reactions as she tried different things, and applied each piece of new knowledge as she went along.

I couldn’t help myself, but run my hands over her ass, cupping each skinny cheek and caressing her in encouragement. She wiggled her narrow hips for me, looking up mirthfully as she pushed my cock back into her mouth for more.

It felt great, amazing even, but there was no way I was going to succumb early this way.

“Would you like a turn?”

“I thought you’d never ask,” she practically cheered, looking around the car, and contemplating how to go about it.

“Back seat. Clothes off,” I added bruskly.

Autumn chewed her lower lip and started pulling her top off. I joined her, ripping my muscle shirt over my head and dropping it on the shifter handle.

The moment her small breasts were free, I leaned in and gave both puffy nipples a quick lick in appreciation.

“Tickles! Stop!”

I sat back with a grin and let her finish wriggling out of her jean shorts. Before me was a very naked and lithe redhead, with a gracefully slender neck and expressive hazel eyes. Those eyes were fiery with need. I didn’t make her wait long, practically chasing her into the back seat as she slipped between the front seats. I shoved both front seats forward, and gently moved Autumn into the corner in a sitting position. I knelt behind the driver seat as best I could and ran my tongue down her inner thigh.

“Whuh!” she gasped, not ready for the sensation on her soft, pale skin.

I slowed my advance as I neared her neatly trimmed pubic hair, then gave her a soft, experimental lick.

“Ooooh,” she called out in pleasure, then ran her slender fingers through my short hair and caressed my head.

I had a purpose that day. I was going to hold back as much as possible, and not make a girl over-sensitive for once. I had to focus as best as I could.

That meant avoiding direct contact with her swollen little clit, and within a few minutes of tongue torture, she was getting frustrated. She tried to move my head around to suit her needs, but I was evasive, even letting her know I knew what I was doing, but I wasn’t ready for her to finish yet.

“This is all I’ve been able,” she gasped. “To think about since Friday. Now please. Finish me again!”

I licked my middle finger to moisten it, then slipped it gently inside her, turning my hand around.

She groaned again at the unexpected but welcome intrusion and bucked her hips at me slowly, almost in time to my slowly thrusting finger.

“Patience,” I smiled, pausing only for a moment as I flicked my tongue over her clit.

She groaned in pleasure and frustration, wrapping her long legs around my back.

I curled my middle finger up inside her, feeling the bumpy ridges of her G-spot just under her swollen clit. She immediately straightened her back and gasped for me.

“That’s it!” she said, finding a sexy tone in her voice. “Make me cum again!”

Her words were very encouraging, and I almost forgot my focus, whirling my tongue over her clit and working the soft pad of my fingertip inside her.

She almost got me, but I was able to hold off. I gave her inner thigh a kiss, and she whimpered, trying to pull my short hair and push my face to where she needed it.

“Patience,” I grinned in my own sexy voice, letting her know I was still in charge.

She actually groaned in frustration, tilting her pelvis up to meet my probing finger. She was getting incredibly wet inside. I could tell she was very close.

“You want me to make you cum?” I asked.

“Yes,” she moaned softly.

“You want me to make you cum?” I repeated, my words almost a threat.

“Yes!” she cried out in a frenzied voice.

“Tell me then,” I commanded her. “Tell me how much you need me to make you cum.”

“FUCK!” she yelled out, her fiery hazel eyes locking on mine. “Eat me! Make me cum, and then fuck me! Please! Make me cum and then fuck me. I need you to fuck me!”

Her words were like the most beautiful song I’d ever heard, and I planted my mouth over the top of her pussy, pulled my middle finger out of her and joined it with another, sliding both back inside her tight inner embrace. I put my left hand over her small right breast and let her nipple poke out between my fingers, then squeezed.

She stiffened incredibly below me, her body tensing up completely at my full assault. I made a vacuum with my mouth as my fingers worked magic inside her. I formed a suction and worked my tongue as fast as I could over her clit.

She writhed. She screamed. She squeezed my head, threatening to pop it open in the vice that was her long, supple legs. And she came. My God did she cum.

Her squeals, gaps and moans went quiet as her mouth opened wide in a silent scream. I watched her closely as she held her breath like that, her body stiff as steel. Then her fingers gripped and pulled my hair painfully, and she let out a scream that curdled my blood.

“SCCCCCCCCCRREEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!”

My assault was no longer enough. Her scream ended in a look of almost panic at me, and she held my head in place and frantically fucked my mouth with her pussy. She gasped for breath, bucked her hips and followed a very impressive orgasm with one I’ll never forget. She nearly broke and tore my fingers off as she took over, bodily pleasing herself with what parts of me she could reach. A sheen of sweat had appeared all over her body, and tears ran down her face as she slowed her gyrations down to a couple of aftershocks every few seconds. She panted openly, struggling to breath as she came down off a high I was both impressed and somewhat jealous of.

I doubted it possible for a man to experience one of those.

“I’m sorry,” she gasped as her breathing slowed down enough to form words. “Sorry.”

“Nothing to be sorry for,” I said, licking her taste from my lips. “That was a big one!”

“Uh, yeah,” she smiled in embarrassment. “I didn’t know I could do that.”

“Me either,” I offered.

My raging hardon, and her wet, inviting body reminded me that I still had work ahead.

Her body writhed beneath me, beckoning me, but I had something important to do first.

I turned and found my shorts, quickly rummaged through the pockets to find the condom I had purposely brought along. I quickly tore at the wrapper with my teeth, spitting a small piece of plastic into the air and carefully pulled out the lubricated condom.

Autumn watched in fascination as I studied the thing to discern which way it would roll, then pressed it over the angry head of my cock and slid it down neatly in a practiced roll.

I pulled Autumn down under me and kissed her hard as I slid the head of my cock to her entrance, and shoved forward probably a little less delicately than I should have.

“UGUH!” she complained as I pressed past her internal resistance and found my cock almost all of the way inside her in one push. It wasn’t brutal by any means, but she was still very tight, and I should have remembered that.

“Oh fuck,” she said in her honeyed voice. “That feels so good!”

We found a missionary rhythm, working together in unison to bring her off again and again. We changed positions, her first time in doggy-style, draped over the back of the front seat while I took her from behind, providing her my deepest penetration. She loved it. She pushed back with all her might, finding that unison rhythm again until she collapsed on the back of the seat again. We were both sweaty, heaving messes.

I let her recover for a few moments before pulling her back into the seat, still impaled deep inside her and let her writhe atop me for a while, grinding her ass into my abs as she worked her magic inside. She turned her head as far as she could and we kissed, our tongues dueling in pleasure as our bodies worked together for one last orgasm we would share. I reached around and gripped her breast in one hand and covered her pussy with the other, gently rubbing over the top as I gritted my teeth and felt my orgasm, far too long pent up, gush into the condom on great pulses.

We kept kissing as we came down from our shared orgasm. We held each other much more intensely, making out like the teenagers we were.

Poor Autumn was a mess. Both of our bodies were soaked in sweat, her long red hair stuck to her skin or mine like it was pasted in place. She’d clearly put some time into straightening it today, but her curls were almost all back.

We stopped kissing and stared at each other. I wondered what was going on behind those gold-flecked hazel eyes of hers, but she bore no expression to give a hint.

For me, I was mesmerized. I didn’t expect such a deep connection with Autumn. Either we were really good together sexually, or there was much more to us. Being only our second time together, I had to wonder what it was. We’d just reached a sexual level I’d only reached with Mel a few times. I didn’t expect that.

Autumn turned her naked body around on me, sliding her naked thighs over mine. Her legs were still quivering uncontrollably.

Facing me again, she gave me one sharp kiss.

“Thank you,” she smiled. “I had no idea it could be that good.”

“You were amazing,” I admitted. “Everything I could give you, you gave back.”

“Isn’t that how it’s supposed to work?” she grinned, then gave me a small peck.

“Ideally,” I admitted. “But it doesn’t always.”

She gave me a cocky smile, and one more soft kiss. I knew in an instant I had said too much, letting her know she was far ahead in the count against Mandy.

“It can happen any time,” I said off-handedly.

“I want it to happen every time,” she said confidently.

“Don’t we all,” I admitted.

I ran my thumb over her eyebrow, collecting an admirable amount of sweat from it before it could drop into her eye.

“What are we going to do about, uh, us?” I said, indicating our messy selves.

“I don’t suppose there’s a shower around here?” she joked.

“Uh, no, but there is a water hydrant,” I said almost jokingly. “Oh, and I do have a big towel in my bag in the trunk, just for the beach or the pool.”

The lightbulb seemed to go off for both of us. It would be a standup skinnydip, but maybe we could pull it off.

The race was on. I pulled the car close to the hydrant, which sat atop a circular concrete pad that held the weeds at bay. Both of us stood naked together at the hydrant, and I pulled the handle to give the water a close inspection before using it.

It belched out a few times, clearly coming from a piped source, then it came in a continuous stream. The water was clear, and very cold, and we took great joy in splashing each other in handfulls as we did more playing than cleaning. I held her body against mine and splashed the cold water all over her, cleaning her as best I could. She wriggled and tried to break free, but relented in the end, enjoying my warm body as she fought off the cold.

We shared the towel, and I got the short end of that deal as she needed it to wrap up her hair.

We dressed again, and I already missed having her naked flesh around at my pleasure to touch or simply look at.

We left for home a short while later. Autumn reclined in her seat, letting her toes dangle over my dashboard. She studied me over her sunglasses for a reaction, likely hoping to annoy me.

I let her have a little victory, smirking and shaking my head slightly.

“I’m only letting you do that because you’re the first girl I’ve had sex with in this car.”

“I am?” she asked in surprise.

“You are,” I admitted. “I mean, who knows what went on in here before I bought the car, but you’re my first in here.”

“That’s sweet,” she said, with a little smile.

I dropped her off at her house, and wondered for a moment how she might explain how she left the house with straight hair, and came home with damp curls. I’d leave that to her to figure out, because whatever thoughts she had of hiding what we were up to went out the window as she kissed me in full in the car right in front of her house.

We made out rather forcefully for at least a few minutes before she seemed to get both of us more worked up than we could do anything about. She huffed in frustration, and let me go.

“I don’t know why I do that to myself,” she said dejectedly. “I don’t know when I can do it again.”

“Soon,” I said. “Too bad you don’t like dates, or we could make one,” I teased.