Chapter 47

Getting up, I went for a long run, probably about 10 miles. I set a sedate pace as I took the time to contemplate the conversation with Mr. Singh.

I got what he was saying about there being something deep inside of me. My worry was about letting it loose, and then not being able to put it back in its box. The other issue was would I be able to control and harness it without losing myself to it. I could only see what happened and go from there.

Making it back to the house, I cleaned up and then went about doing the couple of chores off the new list Mom left.

Not all of the list was done when I heard the dog barking in the backyard, which meant that someone had pulled up the driveway. I put the broom away and went out to the garage.

They were getting out of the car when Grandfather looked at me.

“Get the luggage out of the car and bring it in the house.”

They walked past me and into the house. It took three trips as their luggage and boxes were heavy as hell. I put everything in the dining room and waited. Grandmother came back out and gave me a hug and kiss.

“It’s so good to see you, can you bring everything to our room?”

“No problem.” I passed Grandfather in the hall as I took the suitcases and boxes to Randall’s room. He’d bitched up a storm again for having to give up his room.

Finishing up, I got a couple of glasses of sweet tea and set them out on the table, then sat and waited till Grandfather came into the kitchen. Grandmother had to be doing something with their luggage.

“So how are you doing Barnim?”

“Good Grandfather. I’ve got one more final tomorrow and then summer school is over. My school schedule is set for the coming year, so other than that, just working and getting ready for Saturday.”

“That’s good. So how is everything going towards your ultimate goal?”

“On schedule as much as it can be.”

“So, let’s talk about the one glitch that it looks like you won’t be able to take care of yourself, getting stationed in Hawaii.”

“I told you Piotr, you need to do whatever you can do to make that happen.” Seemed Grandmother had come back into the kitchen.

I turned to see her carrying a bunch of clothes that included my Hawaiian shirts. I shot Grandfather a “what the hell” look. Seems Grandmother was in on the plan as well now.

“She’s my wife, I don’t keep secrets from her.”

“If he tried, I’d root them out anyways. Don’t worry your extremely large hard head. I won’t tell your mother. Now try on these shirts.”

There was some bantering back and forth as I tried the shirts on, they fit perfectly now that they’d been taken in some. Grandfather looked at me with an intense glare that seemed to be scrutinizing me, looking for something. Then he laid his idea out for me.

“So, I know someone in the Secretary of the Navy office. They more than likely would be able to assure your being stationed in Hawaii.”

“That’s good, but you said it like there’s more to it than that?”

“There is. The Marine Corps is a small service, and it’s going to get out and get around that you were given this station on a silver platter. Getting stationed in Hawaii is a big deal, and Marines who have been waiting on it will be passed over to give you that slot.”

Well, that wasn’t going to endear me to a lot of people. This was something that I hadn’t anticipated. These were people that I’d have to trust with my life and vice versa. I’d need to think about this and get a broader range of advice on.

“So, what do you think I should do?”

“If I was in your place Barnim, I’d probably take the help, realizing that there’s going to be a lot of different reactions, aside from those who you jump in front of and their friends.”

“Barnim.”

I looked over at Grandmother.

“I say you do it and don’t worry about what anyone else thinks or says.”

“Carma.”

“Well, it’s what I think.”

I had to laugh at her giving her opinion, plus this was opposite of her normal reaction of worrying about what everyone else thinks about you. Grandmother was going to give her kids and grandkids her point of view regardless of whether you wanted it or asked for it. Grandfather sat there for a minute with his fingers rubbing his temples.

“Barnim, there are going to people who aren’t going to like you, and oddly enough some who are going to want to be your friend because of how you got there.”

I knew he was right. The question was did I want to deal with all the fallout that was going to be caused by this one decision. Would I be able to spot the fake people who wanted to be my friend just to gain something from a perceived association with me? There were sides of this that I hadn’t anticipated. I watched Grandmother get up and start browsing through the kitchen cabinets.

“Barnim, there will be people who will want to be your friend so that whoever helped you will possibly help them. They might do something small for you so that you will owe them down the road.”

There was a pause which might have been a normal thing or was for dramatic effect. Knowing Grandfather either reason was plausible.

“Then there’s the flip side of the coin, which will most likely be the largest group of people. These people will automatically dislike you and judge you without knowing you. You got what their friend wanted, and you didn’t have to work for it. You’ll have to work dramatically harder than everyone else and still likely not be accepted.”

“All that even though it’s someone from the Navy helping me out.”

I was baiting him a bit to try and add a bit of levity to the conversation.

“Even more so. You realize that the Marine Corps is a part of the Department of the Navy.”

“Yes, I do. The Men’s department.”

He chuckled a bit shaking his head. “You’ve been hanging around Mr. Pope way too much.”

I happened to glance at the clock, it was just after noon. I needed to get ready for my appointment at Nordstrom’s.

“Well, I hate to cut this short, but I have an appointment to get ready for and it’s a long drive. Can you let Mom know that I probably won’t be home for dinner.”

“No problem.”

“Thanks Grandfather.” I gave him and Grandmother a hug before going upstairs to get ready.

Finally, pulling out of the driveway at 1:15, it was midday, so traffic wasn’t horrible. I made good time and pulled into the Nordstrom’s parking lot at about 2:40.

I had a few minutes, so I went window shopping in Perimeter Mall. I did notice that the Radio Shack had the bigger brick style Nokia cell phones for sale. They weren’t the good ones with the Snake game, but it was a start. Once I got stationed somewhere, picking one up would be a priority. Thinking about it, I remembered how ridiculous the cell phone contracts were in the 90’s.

Making my way into Nordstrom’s, I saw a girl that I vaguely remembered from the prior two appointments.

“You’re the 3 o’clock; just head into the dressing room and have a seat, someone will be with you in a moment.”

“Thank you.”

I walked into the large dressing room. It hadn’t changed in a year other than some new low backed lounging chairs. Taking a seat, I knew I was spending money today and placing the bet on my fight could backfire. Losing a thousand dollars would make everything tight for a good while, but it would be OK. I learned in the first go round, never bet more than you’re willing to lose.

A pair of cold hands on my neck snapped me out of it.

“What the hell?”

“It’s good to see you too Barnim.”

Leaning my head back, I was looking at an upside-down Tera.

“The least you could have done was warmed your hands first.”

“I could have, but it wouldn’t have been as much fun.”

Standing up, I suddenly had a warm soft woman wrapped around my waist. Looking down at her, she’d changed her hair drastically. It was cut shoulder length, a lot shorter than the last time I saw her with a lot of blond highlights in her dark hair. The fact it was pulled into super short pigtails sent a twitch along my cock. There was a lot said by those grey eyes looking at me.

“Please tell me you don’t have a girlfriend?”

Well, that told me that I was probably going to get laid pretty soon.

“No, I’m a free agent at the moment.”

“Good, so am I. Let’s get you fitted for some new clothes and we’ll talk as that’s going on. So, what are you looking for?”

I explained what I was looking for and that it was mostly stuff that should be replaced occasionally. Underwear, undershirts and socks along with a pair of pants, and some casual and dress shirts.

Tera left, and after a bit, came back with a clothing rack. I was kind of shocked that half of the shirts were of varying shades of pink. I had nothing against guys who wore pink, it wasn’t my style.

“Well, it looks like a nice selection, though you may wanna try again.”

“Let me guess, it’s the pink isn’t it?”

“Yep.”

“I didn’t’ think that you were so insecure?”

“Not insecure, just know what I like. I’ll wait.” Tera headed back out with the clothes rack. She was back a lot quicker this time.

As I was trying stuff on, we were talking about our respective last relationships. Hers ended just after graduation. She was going to Kennesaw State University and the ex was going to Syracuse University. It seemed he wasn’t willing to be in a long-distance relationship, and surprisingly she was good with it.

I could understand her relationship issue and Tera was shocked when I relayed what had ended my relationship.

“That’s horrible.”

“It is what it is.”

She pulled me into a hug. “I’m so sorry.”

“No need for you to be, I’m moving on. Let’s discuss something happier.”

“OK. So, what are you doing after the appointment.”

“Nothing in particular. I thought I might grab a bite to eat.”

Slowly, her hand started sliding along my cock through my pants. I was almost instantly hard.

“I haven’t felt anything this big in over a year. It’s almost like a distant dream when I think about it.”

“Not a dream now.”

“Well, how about after we’re done here, we go grab something to eat. Then you can follow me to my apartment and fuck the shit of me.”

“That’s something that I can definitely get behind.”

“Oh, you’re definitely going to get behind something.”

“Ugh, that was horribly cheesy.”

We got back to dealing with the clothes I needed. Tera kept grazing my cock anytime she could. I was in a constant state of arousal the whole time. Every time I’d try to touch her, she’d glide just out of reach. It took about another 1/2 hr to get everything I needed and to the register to check out. Leaving a decent tip, I was told to wait for her in my truck.

About 15 minutes later she came out and got into a Ford Tempo that was a of couple years old. Following her out of the parking lot, we ended up at a Chi Chi’s restaurant for an early dinner, seeing as it was only 5:30PM. We talked about a bunch of different things, though one was unexpected.

Tera actually brought up the possibility of us dating. It was a bad idea, given that her relationship with her last boyfriend ended for the same reason. She was shocked when I told her about graduating early and enlisting in the Marines. She understood my apprehensions about a relationship while being able to be stationed anywhere on the globe.

I figured she would be sowing her wild oats during college and that was a recipe for disaster when combined with a long-distance relationship. Would I date her? Hell yeah, though I don’t know who would be first choice for a new girlfriend, her or Kiku. They both were sexy as all get out, very intelligent, caring and a little funny. Kiku had that whole have a baby thing going on, and that was a good bit troubling. My original thought that a long-distance relationship would only end up in disaster came back to me.