Chapter 55

“It doesn’t matter whether you’re the lion or a gazelle—when the sun comes up, you’d better be running.”
—Christopher McDougall, Born to Run

MY HIGHLY ANTICIPATED private time with Desi never materialized. I fell.

It was my own stupid fault. I was concentrating entirely too much on Livy’s bouncing ponytail ten yards ahead of me as we did timed splits and tripped over my own feet. Faceplant right on the asphalt.

V1 didn’t run track, but we’d all been out on the cinder track around the football field in gym class and football practice. A fall on that track meant you were picking cinders out of your skin for days. At least the artificial surface the V3 track didn’t fall apart when I hit it. It wasn’t actually asphalt, but some kind of composite material that was probably more durable than asphalt. They should surface roads with this stuff. No more potholes.

Nonetheless, I failed to catch myself in any reasonable manner, slid, tumbled, and rolled on the track, whacking my head on the inside dirt as I rolled off the track. What a fucking klutz!

Jock was at my side before I’d caught my breath and tried to move. So were a couple of my teammates who’d been behind me.

“I’m okay. Just stupid. I’m okay,” I kept muttering. That wasn’t good enough for Jock. He checked the several areas of road rash on my arms and legs and told me not to move while he checked my eyes and to see if I’d broken anything. Then he was on his cell phone to my mother!

“My assessment is that there is nothing broken and only a few lesions. Most guys I’d have just get up and walk it off. With Jacob’s history, I wanted to consult with you first.”

While Jock was talking to my mother, Livy strode up, having cut across the football field when she saw it was me who was down. Embarrassing, but having her kneel down and lean over me was nice.

“Rachel will kill me if I let anything happen to you on the track. Are you okay?”

“Yeah. I’ll be fine. There was nothing you could have done. You were ten yards ahead of me.”

“Damn, but those scrapes are going to hurt.”

“I can tell already,” I laughed.

“Okay, sport. Take it easy getting up. Let me know if there are any pains I haven’t checked on. Your mother is on her way to take you to the doctor. The rest of you slackers get back in motion and keep your feet under you,” Jock yelled at the rest of the team. “Jacob, just have a seat on the bench until your mother gets here and let me know if you start feeling woozy.”

Which is how I ended up in Doctor Jordan’s office instead of Desi’s bed Thursday afternoon.

“I thought those tracks weren’t supposed to cause injury,” Rachel said when she saw me for our math class in the morning. “Your face is a mess.”

“I guess the track is meant for shoes and not for faces. I feel like such an idiot.”

“Your girlfriends are going to flip.”

“Brittany already did. We have English with Ms. Levy first period. Even Ms. Levy suggested that a sedentary life might be healthier for me.”

“Will you still be able to go out tonight?”

“Yeah. Aside from being scolded for being a klutz by both my mother and my doctor, I’m fine.” We settled into our seats and I leaned toward her so I could lower my voice. “Everything is in working order.”

“Well, that’s a relief.”

“I was halfway around the track before I even knew someone was down. We aren’t supposed to cut across the football field during practice but I didn’t get tackled,” Livy laughed as we all settled at our table for lunch. Beca had taken my hand as we left US History and hadn’t let go yet as she leaned against me at the table. There was still too much chaos in the cafeteria to take advantage of the taco salads they were serving, so we’d all brought lunches from home. I don’t know why, but I turned and kissed the top of Beca’s head. “That’s so sweet,” Livy said.

“I told you, Jacob and Beca are the glue that holds us together,” Rachel said.

“Why don’t we just gather at my house tonight?” Joan asked. “Surely you can’t expect Jacob to roller skate tonight.”

“That’s true. How about it, honey? Want to spend the evening being cuddled and pampered by all your girlfriends?” I could hardly say no to that.

“All well and good for you,” Desi said miserably. “Dad is picking me up after school and we’ve got a four-hour drive back to Kentucky for the weekend. I’m a serving wench for King Arthur Saturday and Sunday.”

“How much longer do you have to work every weekend?” Brittany asked.

“This weekend and next weekend in Kentucky and then Labor Day weekend with Jacob at ComicCon. Then I’m free until Fort Wayne PopCon between Christmas and New Year’s.”

“It sounds like a lot of work, but it also sounds fun,” Brittany said. “Maybe I should try cosplay.”

The subject was off my injury and before we knew it, we were headed back to class. My date for the evening had been changed from intimate time with Rachel to ... intimate time with all my girlfriends except Desi. And Livy. Just because she ate lunch with us and ran with me didn’t mean she was one of my girlfriends.

“You’re still too banged up to race this weekend,” Jock said. “Lighten up your run Saturday morning and focus on your stride. You’ve slipped into limping again and that will wreck your back.”

“Yessir. I’m sorry to disappoint you.”

“I’ll still run with you Sunday morning if you want,” Livy said. I grinned at her. I almost told her she was the reason I fell.

“Just don’t try to set any race records on Sunday,” Jock laughed. “Do that Saturday morning.”

I got the royal treatment Friday night. We all went out to dinner at Sara’s Restaurant and then headed to Joan’s for a movie. Season three of Last Hope was just released on Netflix and we settled down to just veg out. I was more interested in making out with Rachel but saw that with Joan and Beca occupied with each other, poor Brittany was odd man out. Not to worry. Rachel called her over to us before I could say anything.

“Um ... is it okay?” she asked as she settled next to me.

“Let me ask,” I said. “Are you really our girlfriend? I mean mine? Rachel’s? Beca’s? Joan’s?”

“And Desi’s,” Brittany added as she nodded her head. “I want to be but I’m so inexperienced. And a little afraid.”

“Honey, none of us are going to try to make you do something you aren’t ready for,” Rachel said. “But when we’re all together like this, you should never hesitate to come cuddle up to any of us. Even if we’re making out like Joan and Beca are.” She said that loud enough to get the girls’ attention and they both looked at us and blushed. “I think that even if we’re naked and making love, if we’re with the rest of you, you are welcome to join in.”

“Rachel!” Beca exclaimed. Brittany buried her face against my shoulder. “You are so wicked! Um ... Do you mean it?”

“Yes, Kitten. I mean it.” It was the first time I’d heard Rachel use my pet name for Beca. “You know, I’m a little weird, I guess. I just think that I look at the four of you ... and Desi ... and I think I’d do anything for any of you. I don’t want to hide the fact that Jacob and I are lovers. I don’t want Joan to hide it, either. Or you and Joan. I’m ... I really feel ... I love you.”

Joan and Beca got up from their chair and joined us on the sofa. Beca settled immediately into Rachel’s lap and gave her a kiss that was so intense I could feel the heat adding up on the sofa. Of course, that could also be because of Joan in my lap. The kiss she gave me raised the temp a few degrees as well. I had my right hand on the inside of her bare leg and felt it joined by another. Brittany was looking up at the two of us with a question in her eyes. She looked like she was still uncertain about whether she was welcome. Joan smiled at her and leaned forward to give our youngest girlfriend a gentle kiss that Brittany welcomed. We didn’t try to grope Joan, but just having our hands joined on her bare leg was very intimate.

17 August 2019

I feel like I’m letting my team down. Jock has reassured me that is not the case. Injuries are common in a sport like this. Now that school has started, the team has grown, too. A lot of athletes weren’t back from their summer vacations before the first meet. I guess that gave me a chance to shine where I wouldn’t have had the opportunity if the real runners were competing.

Of course, I’ll go to the meet today and cheer on the team. Livy. Shit! No sense kidding myself about being interested in any other teammate than her. I’ve always had a thing for tall thin girls. That she’s blonde, athletic, and nice doesn’t enter into it. Much.

And what’s with her and Rachel? I mean, I’d never heard Rachel mention her before, but all of a sudden, Livy is a fixture at our table and is an old friend of Rachel’s. And how am I supposed to respond? Rachel is bringing the other girlfriends to join us at the meet. Even though I’m not racing today, I still have to ride the team bus. Jock will have me checking equipment, timers, and uniforms before I start helping the team cool down and get stretched out. The thought of stretching with Livy makes me think of how my stretches went with Nanette. That makes me ... Yeah.

I wonder what Nanette meant to imply when she said the age of consent in Indiana is sixteen. Maybe I’ll find out in a couple of months.

Anyway, Livy hits me in the primal core of my being. My response to her is non-rational. I keep looking for my older wiser self to chime in and control my behavior, but he just blathers ‘Hubba hubba hubba!’ Some help.

Livy was a few steps behind her competition Saturday morning. We all had to remind ourselves that we were running against three of the top teams in the three counties that surrounded us—Huntington, Bluffton, and Columbia City. The girls did better than the guys did. I didn’t think I could have helped our fourth place finish. Huntington University has a nice cross country trail a mile north of the campus. I really wished I’d been able to run there and was going to talk to Nanette about coming out for a Saturday run the next time I didn’t have a meet on Saturday. The trail is all groomed grass. It’s a little sexist that they mark the trail for 5k for women and 5 miles for men, but it’s beautiful slightly rolling terrain. Everybody loved running on it.

I met each of our runners with a bottle of water and a towel as he or she crossed the finish line. We were all able to meet friends and family in the short social time after the race and my girlfriends had no qualms about giving sweaty Livy a big hug. I saw Rachel give her a nice kiss right on the lips. Hmm.