Chapter 2

“Hey there,” Sam grinned as I set her down on my bed. I had been threatened, sulked at, and promised fabulous riches into carrying her one full pace from my computer chair to my bed. I had one arm under her knees, one arm behind her shoulder blades. She hung on, cinching her grip incrementally tighter. Her hands were as tight as they could be behind my neck. She didn’t seem scared that I would drop her. She just wanted to pull herself against me. Alex pulled the blankets further down. I was able to lay Sam down with her ankle safely on the mattress. She let go slowly. “Thanks for rescuing me.”

“You’re welcome,” I grinned back. Max was right behind me. Far closer than I’d have wagered. I was startled by her hand on the small of my back. I turned; her not-quite-a-smile shone in the candlelight. She shoved her jeans down.

“Sam’s a little drunk.” Max swayed to her left and I reached for her waist to steady her. She folded, giggling.

“She’s not the only one,” I observed. “You guys gonna have enough blankets?”

“We’ll have you to keep us warm,” Max murmured, and yanked off her top as I turned my reddened face away. Sam was smirking at me. She patted my mattress.

“Gene!” I turned at Alex’s voice as Max stumbled into her, off-balance from how energetically she had undressed. I rushed over and kept her from falling. Alex rubbed my hands, and pushed her friend to lay Max’s weight on my chest.

I realized I was holding her in my arms. Her eyes were huge, bright blue in the candlelight. She looked up at me, then almost-smiled and began to rise on her toes, but I directed her down onto my bed. I forced myself to look away and ask, “Do you got her, Sam?”

“I have her, Gene!” Sam giggled and inched forward. She wrapped her arms around Max and pulled her along to the middle of the bed. Sam still wore her shirt and panties, and I could see her bra strap. Max was stripped down to a simple black cotton bra and underwear set. She kept eye contact with me, expectantly.

I have been less than in tune with women most of my life. These girls were firing signals even I could follow. Yet, I still saw them as teenagers, almost kids. Too young for me, but had there been just one, I might have doubted my resolve. Luckily, or so I told myself, I was unwilling to deal with the bullshit that might come from making a move on any one girl and snubbing the other two. A little bit of self-interest on my part protected all four of us. The thought of a threesome or foursome was beyond me and my inebriated state.

“You next and I’ll take the outside?” Alex rubbed my shoulder. I was happy to smile and turn my head to look at her. She was still dressed. I gave her a hug. She squeezed back.

“I’m taking the chair,” I said for the whatever-numberth time. “You’re--”

“The most sober!” she interjected. I didn’t believe her. Sam may have been in better shape. Alex was getting a bit red-cheeked. She ran her fingers around the hem of her sweater. I walked her to the side of the bed.

“Good night, girls,” I said.

“I never got a hug!” Sam exclaimed with genuine dismay.

“I can’t go around to the other side to hug you, Sam,” I pointed out: the mattress was right up against the wall.

I put my hand on Alex’s back and said, “I’ll see you in the morning. If you need another Advil, I’ll fetch it for you.” Sam still looked sad, so I reached across Max and squeezed Sam’s shoulder. Her face relaxed when I touched her. Max rubbed my forearm. “Sweet dreams, girls.”

“Don’t sleep in the chair!” Alex started to pull her shirt up, and turned her eyes away. Her hands shook. I touched her wrists. She had bared half of her navel. She looked up at me.

“Look after the girls for me,” I told her, and sidestepped around her, giving her time to get under the blankets while I grabbed one for myself from a big rubber tote in the closet.

“Good night, Gene!” Sam shouted.

“I’ll see you in the morning, Gene...” Max promised.

“Gene?” Alex called out and I turned. She had stripped off her pants. Her body was amazing but she was still a teenager. I smiled for her; I couldn’t not. Her white bra would’ve been see-through in better light. Her panties too, no doubt. “Good night.”

“Good night, Alexa, Maxine, and Samantha.” I hastily added the last two names. Alex crawled into bed, and Sam carried the blankets over all three girls. “Good night, Gene!”’s murmured into the night.

“There’s no reason for him to be over there by himself,” Max complained.

“My ankle still hurts. One of you will have to go,” Sam muttered, in a tone that was envious, frustrated, and wounded.

“Girls...” I mumbled. I was exhausted in most of the good ways. I had napped in this chair so often, it was trivial to stretch out and get comfy. My feet sprawled onto the table, kicking our card pile off of the edge. I could’ve, should’ve, gone out like a light. The power came back on. Why were my ceiling lights so bright?

“I’ll get it!” I staggered up.

“Are you sleeping fully dressed?” Max sat up, exposingAlex’s bra as the blankets rolled back. Alex’s nipples were pushing up on the fabric. “Take your clothes off, you freak!”

I turned my back on them to get the lights. That, hardly even a snapshot of an aroused 19-year-old, wasn’t going to be leaving my mind until I was deep into Alzheimer’s. “Do you want me to blow out the candles?”

“No, I want you to sleep well,” Max growled. “You can’t do that in jeans.”

“I’m taking my shirt off,” Sam announced. The struggling on the bed made me laugh. I stepped on the heels of my socks and unbuttoned my jeans. I kept my shirt on. Sam’s was tossed over Alex onto the coffee table. Max’s bra followed. I wasn’t flashed. Alex had pulled the blankets up to their chins.

I climbed back into my chair. I was in a warm and happy place. I just wasn’t asleep.

“Sam?” Alex whispered. It could’ve been hours later, or minutes. I leaned more towards minutes. “Sam, are you asleep?”

“No, Max’s elbow’s in my ribs.”

“At least my feet aren’t freezing.”

“What is it, Alex?” Sam asked.

“Oh, can I ask you something?”

“If you roll Max over and be the big spoon. I can’t get comfortable on this side with my ankle still sore.” The subsequent body-rolling, spring-squeaking, and girl-murmuring was hypnotic. I almost slept.

“Wah!” Sam yelped, and pulled me partway out of a dream.

“Shh ... you’ll wake Gene up, sweetheart...” Max whispered.

“You just undid my bra!” Sam hissed and woke me all the way up. A pink undergarment flew from the bed and landed on my crotch.

“You’re easier to cuddle without the wire,” Max explained.

“Sam?” Alex whispered.

“What is it?” she sighed, quavering.

“I was thinking about thanking Gene. He’s been super kind and warm.” I could feel my smile pulling apart my face. “I just, you know, wanted advice. About guys.”

“About guys? I wanna help!” Max whispered, excitedly. “I wanna get this right for Gene.”

“You’ve had even less luck with guys than me, Max,” Alex replied.

“I’ve read a lot of books,” Max said shyly.

“Sam...” Alex moved on from Max. “Boys like blowjobs, right?”

My ears were now all the way on fire. I rolled, trying to keep up the facade of sleep while reminding the girls of my presence enough to perhaps shut down the conversation. Either they didn’t notice me move, or they wouldn’t let me stop them.

“Probably, I’m not--”

“What’s the best way to give one?” Alex was whispering but excited. I could’ve answered her question in one word: ‘immediately’. I tried to ignore my erection. I wasn’t about to extort some teen for sex because I’d done something nice for her. That’s a bit too evil for me. I took a loud deep breath. They didn’t notice.

“With your mouth.” Sam sounded more embarrassed than snarky.

“OK, that’s cute, but--”

“I don’t know! I never did anything like that!” Now Sam sounded panicky. “I’ve never done, you know ... much of anything.”

“Really?” I could hear the smile in Alex’s voice. “I had a couple of boyfriends in high school, but I never ... I am too, you know.”

“I haven’t even been on a date. I’m such a loser,” Max admitted reluctantly.

“No, you’re not a loser!” Sam squeaked.

“I just went out with the two boys,” Alex said. “What about you?”

“I dated five boys, two of them kissed me.” Sam took a breath. “They were pushy, and grabby. They stopped when I finally told them to, but then Charlie said I was ‘a prudey little ice queen’ and Graham called me ‘The High Bitch of Repression’. With capitals! No one tried to date me after that.”

“That sucks,” Max said.

“Gene’s not grabby, and I’m not afraid of trying to learn.” Sam sounded brave the way she was speaking. I wanted to interject, but I was afraid I’d spook Max. I kept quiet.

“Still, I figured you’d done more than me, but I figured you’d done ... you know, a lot more,” Alex said.

Sam coughed. “Um. Why ... why would you think that?” she said in a slow, wobbly voice.

“You’re so much prettier than me. And you go to a lot more parties.”

“I’m not prettier,” Sam mumbled.

The girls quieted down and I felt I was going to get some real sleep. Alex sighed, “I hope Gene’s not expecting something too amazing.”

“Gene’s not expecting anything,” Max said. “I’m with Sam, I’m not afraid of learning.”

While the ‘Never Have I Ever’ cards in Sociables had been drinkless turns for the girls, I hadn’t suspected they were virgins. I appreciated their impatience to learn, but I’d never been with an inexperienced girl. They had dreams and ideas of what was coming, and I had no clue how to meet any of those expectations. I might’ve felt worse, but I hadn’t made a move on any of them. I had only made the one sex joke. I squashed down the lizard-brain part of me that slavered at the thought of breaking in a new girl! They were confused, they were competing, they were curious. Alex would roll back on her crush in the sober morning. I closed my eyes tighter.

They were good kids, nice girls. I was glad to have met them. I’d wish them well in the morning. Depending on the state of the streets, I’d walk them to their dorms or I’d hire them a cab. That would be it. There was no way in hell I was diving down the rabbit hole of teenaged virgins.

“I wish I’d been brave enough to flash him,” Max whispered. “I was scared he thought I was ugly. I was so glad when he finished his second drink and finally checked out my tits. It would’ve been nothing to just show him, right?”

“You’re not ugly,” Sam insisted.

“Nothing? I’d be nervous as hell!” Alex squeed. “You’re incredibly pretty, you should do it. I’d be so jealous.”

“Thanks,” Max murmured. “I wish he had a bigger bed.”

“Then he could join us?” Sam asked.

“No, he’d still try to be a gentleman, but we could wear him down some. He shouldn’t have to sleep alone,” Max answered. I was quite proud that I was recognized as a gentleman. I told myself that’s why Alex had been confident enough to experiment and show some of herself to me. I made women comfortable, safe.