Chapter 31: Unwarranted Accusations

December 10, 1982, Circleville, Ohio

"Will you come to my eighteenth birthday party on January 5th?" Katy asked.

"I'll have to skip Vespers, but I will if you want me here."

"It would make me very happy."

"Then I'll be here! What's the plan for tonight?"

"Chinese, if that's OK."

"Sure."

"And then we could see Airplane II."

"I loved the first one, so sure!" I replied enthusiastically.

"Shall we go?"

I took her hand, and we walked out to the car. After opening the passenger door for her, helping her in, and then closing the door, I walked around to the driver's side and got in.

"My parents will be at a Christmas party next Friday, so I planned to cook at home, if that's OK."

"Of course."

"We could use the sauna if you wanted."

"I suppose," I grinned knowingly.

Katy laughed, "That is EXACTLY what I had in mind!"

We had a nice Chinese meal, then went to see the movie. While I didn't find it as funny as the first movie, there were a few excellent gags, and I enjoyed William Shatner as Commander Buck Murdock and the references to Star Trek, as well as the Mission: Impossible reference with Peter Graves, who had played Mr. Phelps on Mission: Impossible. On the way back to her house, Katy told me she enjoyed the movie as well, and when we arrived, she led me to the basement.

"Your parents?" I asked.

"They won't bother us. We'll wear towels wrapped around us when we go in, but they've been known to slip off on occasion!"

"And if they slip off and your parents happen to come in?"

"They never have, even when I've been in there with friends and with mixed sexes. They're cool so long as we all have towels wrapped around us."

"But you implied...

"You'll just have to be creative, Mike!" she said with a soft laugh. "Besides, they're absolutely sure we've already done it, so from their perspective, the horse is out of the barn!"

We each went separately into the bathroom to change and then went into the sauna. Katy's towel was wrapped to show off a bit of cleavage, which meant it also showed off most of her legs. Mine was wrapped around my waist and went nearly to my knees. Katy poured water on the stones, which had warmed up while we changed, and light steam hissed upwards.

"Oh, look," she teased, "my hand accidentally slipped into your towel!"

She had lightly grasped my flaccid shaft, and a few strokes encouraged the blood to flow to the right place. With a slight flick of her wrist, the towel moved, and my erection popped into view.

"Oops!" she laughed, then leaned down and slowly took me into her mouth.

Katy slowly bobbed up and down, licking and sucking, and I felt her gently close her hand around my scrotum. A few well-timed gentle squeezes, combined with the wonderful feeling of her warm mouth, soon had me right on the edge. Katy recognized the signs and began bobbing faster and sucking harder until she achieved her goal, and I filled her mouth with hot, sticky semen.

Katy eventually slowed her pace, then swallowed. She released me and sat up for a long, deep French kiss. I slid my hand along her inner thigh, finding her other lips dripping with juices. I broke our kiss and moved to the lower bench in front of Katy. She spread her legs, causing the towel to move and reveal her lovely blonde pubic hair and perfectly formed labia.

I looked up, smiled, then gently ran my tongue along her lower lips before pressing it into her tight, silky entrance. I closed my mouth on her clit, and sucked gently, teasing it with my tongue. The blowjob she had given me had Katy fairly worked up, so it didn't take long for me to give her an orgasm, but I knew one wasn't enough! After the third one, I sat up, and we exchanged another long, deep French kiss.

"And the towels never left our bodies," she declared firmly, sliding close so I could put my arm around her.

"I could swear to that in court without any trouble," I chuckled. "But would your mom and dad buy it?"

"I told you what they think, so it's sort of not a problem. I mean, sure, I don't want to be blatant about it, but I'm sure they expected us to at least make out a bit."

"Let's just not upset them, please."

Katy laughed and shook her head, "You mean the parents who were going to be cool with us living together? THOSE parents?"

"Well, if you look at it THAT way, I guess they probably wouldn't overreact."

"Exactly. Are you ready for your exams?"

"Latin is the only one that has the potential for being overly difficult, but I took Latin in High School, which has been a huge help. For my other classes, I just need a B or better on the exams. For Latin, I could actually get a C on the exam and still be OK because I have a nearly perfect score."

"If you want to hear something totally wild, ask my mom to speak Finnish. It's totally different from Germanic, Romance, or Slavic languages. There's also some relation to Estonian, but I don't know much about that."

"Really?"

"Really. Here's counting to five: «yksi, kaksi, kolme, neljä, viisi»."

"OK, that sounds nothing like Spanish, German, Latin, or Russian."

"Here's a phrase for you: «Minä rakastan sinua». That means 'I love you'."

"Again, nothing like the others."

"Mom tried to teach me some Finnish, but beyond that and a couple of other phrases, it's hopeless! She says Hungarian is the closest language in Europe to Finnish, but it isn't super close like, say, German and Dutch are. One of the few phrases I can say is «Minä tahdon kernaasti puhua suomen kieltä, en minä taida» which means 'I want to speak Finnish, but I can't'."

"That just sounds totally weird to me, even with English, Russian, and Latin, and the bit of German we all pick up living in Ohio. Well, and the bit of Spanish we hear on TV. And the Greek we hear in church on occasion, too."

"Mom learned to speak Russian when she was in school in Finland, so that helped her talk to Dad when they first met, though they both could speak decent English. Now, we only use English at home unless Mom and Dad want to say something private when I'm in the room."

"Your Russian is THAT bad?"

Katy laughed, "Yes. It was never super important to me. I learned quite a bit when I was little, but I never used it, so I barely remember anything. Do you plan to teach your kids Russian?"

"Probably not. We're Americans, after all. I don't think anyone in my dad's family has spoken Dutch for close to two hundred years."

"What do you think of the Church getting rid of Slavonic?"

"I think almost nobody younger than about thirty understands it, except in families like Tasha's, where they speak Russian regularly at home, or in my case, where the priest taught me to read it when I started out as an acolyte. But Mom had taught me a lot of Russian by then, so it wasn't too difficult. We don't use Russian much, so I don't speak it very well. Anyway, the Church has always adapted to the local language. My grandparents are from the last full generation of Russian speakers, and when that generation passes, I think that'll be the end of it, except maybe in circumstances like funerals or prayers for the sick."

"So, no conflicts there!"

I shrugged, "I'm not sure why there would be. Being Russian is part of my heritage, but as I said, I'm an American. So is my mom, by birth, and my grandparents, by naturalization. Heck, they speak English most of the time these days."

"Some people who are very traditional, like you, make a big deal about it."

"If that were the case, I'd have to stop speaking like a retarded toddler," I chuckled.

"Before I forget, is my birthday a fasting day for you?"

"No. It's before Theophany, so we're good. But you know how I handle that, right?"

"Sure. But why give intentional offense?"

'Why?' indeed. I STILL hadn't come to terms with Jocelyn's behavior. Why not simply tell her parents 'no' and let that be the end of it? I would have been upset, but I also wouldn't have been hurt by what Katy called 'intentional offense'. I just couldn't seem to get my head around what was going on, though the whole notion that her severe trauma had caused behavioral changes made a lot of sense.

"I'd never want to ruin your birthday!" I replied. "To me, that would be the bigger offense!"

"I promise you won't ruin my birthday! I turn eighteen, and you'll be here! That's perfect!"

I smiled and squeezed my arm, which was around Katy's shoulders. We sat quietly for about ten minutes, then left the sauna. We took quick showers, then dressed, and Katy walked me out to my car. We hugged and kissed, and I headed back to McKinley.

December 11, 1982, McKinley, Ohio

"Are you out of your mind!" I growled at Emmy on Saturday morning.

"What?"

"Look, I know you think you're getting back at your dad, and if that's what you need to do, that's your business. But bringing HER with you? What were you thinking?"

"Jesus, Mike! She wants you! And she wants you to be her first! Like you were for me!"

"Have you been talking to her about stuff you shouldn't have?" I said, my eyes narrowing.

"Uh, well, uh, I guess."

"For heaven's sake, Emmy! You KNEW I wasn't interested in her! My suggestion, when she comes back from the bathroom, is you drive her home then come back if you must! I am NOT staying around to babysit her, and I sure as heck am not having sex with her. Not today. Not ANY day!"

"That wastes two hours!"

"Well, waste them!" I replied tersely.

Mindy walked into the room just then and smiled. I wasn't staying around or even getting into a discussion with her, so I went into my room, grabbed my study notes and textbooks, then locked my bedroom door and walked right past Mindy to the common area of the floor. I sat down at a table and took out my books, knowing others would eventually join me, and there would be safety in numbers, as it were.

"Mike?"

"Emmy, forget it," I sighed.

"But what's she supposed to do today?"

"You should have thought of that before you brought her with you! She can sit on the couch in the room while you and Clark do whatever it is you're going to do. But I'm NOT spending time with her, and I'm NOT getting involved with her. PERIOD. What is it about that statement that is unclear?"

"She's really upset."

"She shouldn't be. Well, unless somebody told her something which wasn't true. And that sure wasn't ME. I have studying to do. You go play, and Mindy can find something to entertain herself. And I do NOT mean me because, as I said, I have studying to do. YOU figure out how to deal with Mindy, as you apparently told her I was going to have sex with her today, which I decidedly am not."

Emmy scowled, turned away from me, and walked back to the room. I opened my Western Civ notebook and began reviewing the 'Code of Hammurabi', one of the first forms of codified law in the West. I didn't get very far before a very annoyed black man tapped my shoulder.

"Thanks a lot," Clark said sarcastically.

"What?"

"They left."

"Did YOU know she was bringing Mindy with her?"

"No. She just said she might bring a friend. I had no clue she'd bring that chick. But, White Boy, she's cute as hell, and those tits! Damn!"

"Trouble I do not need," I replied.

"What trouble? Banging some chick who's begging for it? There's a pattern there."

"And one that's going to continue. See these books and papers? THESE are my life. Sandy is on the same page. Things are relatively calm in my life, and I aim to keep them that way. Mindy is NOT a way to keep them that way any more than Milena and her friends are. And before you tell me I'm doing college wrong, I'm getting straight A's, AND I have Sandy in my bed nearly every night. If that's doing it wrong, I'm not sure I want to do it right!"

"You couldn't take one for the team so I could get busy with Sweet Young Thing?"

"Nope. Heck, I bet there are a hundred guys in this dorm alone that would give her what she wanted. She's barking up the wrong tree. I'm sorry I messed up your plans for the day, but I didn't know anything about this until they walked into the room. Is Emmy coming back?"

"I'm not sure," he sighed. "I suppose I'll study."

"I am sorry. Maybe Amy will have pity on you!"

"Not likely. I guess it's just me and my economics textbook."

He went back to our room, and a few minutes later, Sandy and Clarissa walked over to the table.

"I thought we were studying in your room," Sandy said.

"I think it's safe to go in there now."

"Clark and Emmy?" Sandy laughed.

"Emmy brought Mindy. I made it clear to Emmy I was not happy with her. Now Clark's not happy with me because Emmy and Mindy left."

"Why would Emmy do that?"

"I think she was talking up my, uhm, skills. I'm not sure exactly what was said, but I told Emmy I wasn't even going to talk to Mindy, and they should leave. They did, and Clark isn't happy."

"Your skills?" Clarissa teased. "What do you say, Sandy?"

"That's QUITE enough, thank you!" I said firmly.

"Touchy, touchy!" Sandy laughed. "Come on, let's go put on some music and study biology and chemistry. Then you and Clarissa can study Latin and Western Civ."

We went into my room, and I unlocked the door to the bedroom and put on 1999 by Prince. The three of us sat down on one of the couches opposite Clark, who was stretched out on the other couch reading his economics textbook. We took out our books and began reading. About forty minutes later, Pete stuck his head in the door.

"Group study session tomorrow afternoon for biology and chemistry?"

"1:00pm," Clarissa replied. "In room 2B at the library, so we can use the big meeting tables."

He left, and about ten minutes later, the phone rang. I got up to answer it.

"What did you do to Mindy?" Liz demanded without even a greeting.

"Literally nothing. I didn't even say 'hello' to her! Emmy brought her here without my knowledge!"

"Mindy said you invited her!"

"I did no such thing! I don't know what Emmy's game is, but whatever it is, I'm not playing. I want you to tell Mindy in no uncertain terms that I'm not interested and I'll never be interested. Period. End of discussion."

"Something strange is going on," Liz said.

"No kidding. Mindy's your friend, so please, please put a stop to it. And whatever Emmy's game is, she needs to stop as well."

"Maybe Emmy was looking for cover," Liz said. "You know, she could say she was in McKinley to drive Mindy to see you."

"Her dad would STILL lose it. Anything to do with us will set him off because of Clark. I take it Mindy is with you?"

"Yes. Just so you know, Emmy's on her way back."

"Thanks, Liz. And do me a favor, talk to Mindy. Please."

"I'll try."

We said 'goodbye' and hung up.

"Your lucky day, Clark. Emmy's on her way back."

"Excellent!" he grinned, sitting up.

"And that means we three are going to the library to study. I want to avoid Emmy if possible."

"Probably a good idea," Clarissa agreed.

We gathered our books, and the girls went to get their coats. I got mine and met them at the elevator, and we headed to the library to complete our morning study period.

"This is going to go horribly wrong, isn't it?" Sandy asked.

I nodded, "That's what has me very concerned. Emmy is rebelling, which I understand, but the risks she's running are crazy."

"I think you need to reconsider your decision on getting a new roommate," Clarissa said.

"Moving mid-year is tough. What reason could I possibly give? An ex-girlfriend is dating my roommate, and her dad is a racist with a large collection of guns, who is likely to kill her AND Clark?"

"That might get her banned from campus, which would solve the problem."

"And somehow give Dean Parker some kind of ammunition against me? I don't think so! And if I reported Clark because the girls are under eighteen, that would only get him in trouble for violating the dorm rules, and I don't want to do that. Maybe I can get Liz to convince Emmy to stop coming here."

"I don't think there's anything we can do today," Sandy said. "And we need to study."

And except for lunch and dinner, and Angie and I going to Vespers, that's what we did for the rest of the day.

December 14, 1982, McKinley, Ohio

"What does your schedule look like for next semester?" Angie asked as the gang relaxed in my room on Tuesday.

"It's similar to this semester," I replied. "Though we have Mechanics instead of Western Civ. We decided to take Western Civ next year and get one of the physics classes out of the way."

"Isn't that a freshman-level class?" Robby asked.

"Yes," Clarissa replied, "but we need two physics classes for pre-med, though fortunately, neither of them has to be a lab class. We'll take one this year and one next. The second one covers Electricity and Magnetism."