Chapter 76: Or Is It Triple Now?

April 2, 1984, McKinley, Ohio

"«Ты говоришь по-русски» (Ty govorish po-russki)?" I asked when I recovered from the double shock. ("You speak Russian?")

"«Удивлены» (udivleny)?"

"I don't think 'surprised' even scratches the surface!" I replied in English, not wanting to give up any nuances of my speech. "What's your full name?"

"Larisa Sergeyevna Federova. I was named for 'Lara' in Doctor Zhivago, but I go by Laura Sera Bragg. My parents divorced when I was little, and both remarried. My mom changed her and my legal name to Bragg, which is my stepdad's name."

"Are you Orthodox? I asked.

"Duh!" she laughed, squeezing her vaginal muscles around my slowly-softening shaft. "But I haven't been to church since I was little."

"Where are you from?"

"Outside Duquesne, Pennsylvania; it's not far from Pittsburgh."

"Where were you baptized?"

"Saint Nicholas in McKees Rocks, which is about thirty minutes from where we live now, but only about ten minutes from where my parents lived when I was born, which was West View. You?"

"Holy Transfiguration in West Monroe, about forty-five minutes from here. I currently attend Saint Michael the Archangel here in McKinley. I'm a subdeacon."

"Very interesting."

"How much did you know about me before today?"

"I knew you were Russian, went to church regularly, and that was about it."

"So why wait seven months to talk to me?"

"You always had a girl around, and the cute Japanese girl scooped you up right after orientation! But I saw her with another guy, and pretty soon, I knew Clarissa was lesbian; well, maybe she's bi, but everyone said you guys were just friends. And then I had the perfect opening to talk to you."

"What's your major?"

"MRS!" she teased.

"Besides that!" I chuckled.

"Math, but for secondary ed. I want to teach High School. You're going to be a doctor, right?"

"Yes."

"So, now what?" I asked.

Laura laughed, "You fuck me again! Then if you want, you ask me out. If not, you received a proper 'thank you' for saving my life, and I received a proper fucking for my first time!"

"No designs?" I asked.

"Other than losing my virginity? No! I'm not THAT way! Besides, I'm a Freshman, and you have something like five more years of school, right?"

"Yes. And then Residency."

"How soon can you go again?" she asked as I finally slipped from her.

"It doesn't take too long," I replied. "And licking you will help make me hard."

"Uhm, did you forget?"

I chuckled, "No. I kissed YOU after I performed oral sex on you, and you didn't complain!"

"My mind was totally elsewhere!"

I rolled Laura gently off me, then moved so I could enjoy her small breasts, something I'd been interrupted doing the previous night. Laura enjoyed the attention, though I was sure she enjoyed the OTHER attention from my mouth even more. I pleasured her to three orgasms with my lips and tongue before I was hard, and at her request, entered her in the missionary position and gave her a good, moderate fucking, leading to exquisite mutual orgasms as her soft, slick pussy clung tightly to my rock-hard shaft. As before, I rolled us over and stayed inside Laura, with her on top of me.

"Did you need an excuse?" I asked.

"You mean for my first time?"

"Yes."

"Sort of. I dated some during High School, but guys were way more interested in girls with huge chests, and I certainly wasn't about to get a reputation as being 'easy'. None of the guys who asked me out really did much for me. I mean, it's not that they were jerks, but none of them made me tingle when I kissed them. I had fun going out but drew the line at doing more than kissing, not that guys were beating down the door to touch my almost flat chest.

"I graduated and dated a guy from school for most of the Summer, but it wasn't going anywhere. Then I came to Taft, and Sarah and I met and became friends. We double-dated a lot, but neither of us found a guy we really wanted to be with. As I said, we met Ted and Miles at the bowling alley, which was kind of our hangout for most of the school year, but neither of us thought they were the guys we wanted to be with. They're fun, and they're nice, but that's all.

"We had both seen you at the orientation, and basically that night, we both said we wanted a guy like you — upperclassman, cool, smart, funny, talented, and confident. Sarah would have probably done it with you on stage in front of the student body! But I figured out you were Russian, and that gave me dibs, but as I said, I saw you with other girls, and that kind of put things on hold."

"When did you find out?"

"I saw your baptismal cross when it was outside your T-shirt, and there were a couple of things you said which implied it. Then I saw your icons, and I knew for sure. That's when Sarah agreed I could pursue you. But Kimiko was there before I really had a chance to get to know you. You were hanging out with Clarissa, the Greek girl, and the other girl, Sandy, I think. Plus, that professor's daughter you sing with."

"This is her room," I said.

"No way!"

"Yes. This is Doctor Blahnik's house. She's my guitar teacher, and the two of them decided to basically take me under their wings. I plan to live here during medical school, and maybe even next year if I decide not to be RA."

"Several questions! Which medical school?"

"McKinley. That's my first choice, and I should get it. Next?"

"Next year?"

"Did you see the flyers about the meeting?"

"Yes."

"That's me. I'm challenging the rules on overnight guests."

"And now you have a new reason! Well, assuming you're interested in a, what did you call it? A 'deliciously tight' pussy?"

"Then I have a question for you."

She smiled sillily, "I've never given a blowjob but if I can get that thing in my mouth, I'll swallow!"

"Good to know," I said with a grin, "but that wasn't the question!"

"Then it has to be church."

"Yes, but it's even more complicated than you might guess."

"The word on the floor is you attend pretty much every service."

"Yes, but as the commercial says, 'but wait, there's more!' — the bishop intends to ordain me a deacon, preferably right after I finish my undergrad degree."

"You mean, like, just over a year from now?" Lara asked, surprised.

"Yes."

She sat up, and I slipped from her.

"You mean you have to marry in the next year? Or never marry?"

"You can forget the 'never marry' part! The last hour should tell you my opinion of chastity!"

Laura laughed, "True. So what happens?"

"The bishop waits."

"But that means you're actively looking for a wife, doesn't it?"

"Not just yet, but once the semester is over, I'll evaluate the playing field."

"Not for love?"

I shook my head, "As weird as it sounds, that's not nearly enough. She's going to have to deal with the rigors of medical school and the even worse rigors of Residency. During medical school, between classes, homework, studying, church, and sleeping, I'll have almost no time. In Residency, there are thirty-six-hour shifts. That leaves very little time for family, of whatever form. I'll have no money, except what I've saved, until Residency, and then I'll have significant loans to repay. I need someone who can put up with that, put up with being a deacon's wife, and who can adjust her desire to have kids to that kind of schedule."

"You aren't asking for much."

"That's the problem. There was a girl from my church back home I thought was the right girl, but she doesn't want to wait five or six years to even start trying to have kids, and even if she did, I don't think she could handle the feelings of neglect."

"But you're in love with each other?"

"Yes, and we sat down and talked about it, not just once, but multiple times, and we don't think it's worth the risk. We'd rather be very close friends than end up with a failed marriage. That's another point that I need to make clear. My three closest friends in the world are female, and I expect that to be true for the rest of my life."

"You're not doing a very good sales job, you realize that, don't you?"

"I know. But if I'm not clear up front, I'm setting myself up for a disaster. Have I scared you off?"

"Almost! When I pulled down your underwear!"

"Flattery will get you everywhere!"

"What's left to get beyond lying naked on top of you after you expertly fucked me? Twice!"

"Your MRS?"

"Talk about skipping to the end of the book!"

"YOU asked! And you're the one who told me about wanting your MRS! Though I suspect you were teasing."

"I suppose I did! And I was, to a point. May I tell you something?"

"Sure."

"I REALLY like lying here on you, with your arms around me."

"I'm certainly not going to object to you saying that, and I'm enjoying holding you. I suppose that takes us to the question."

"What next?"

"A joint shower seems appropriate."

Laura laughed, "Yes, and it seems like fun, too! And then?"

"Come join us for dinner," I said. "I suppose all we can do is take it from there."

"I do need to tell you a couple of things. One you'll find amusing and the other, well..."

"Let's take the amusing one first."

"When Sarah and I agreed on dibs, it was on the condition that no matter what happened, she got an opportunity."

I chuckled, "And you don't have a problem with that?"

"I had no claim on you then, and I don't have one at the moment, and what would I be if I went back on an agreement? You obviously aren't bound by the agreement, but she WILL ask or offer, or however, she wants to handle it."

"I don't think 'amusing' does that justice, but I'll accept that description. What's the other thing."

"I'm a very, very good student. I scored 1580 on my SAT and had a 35 composite on the ACT. I had a 4.0 GPA for school. Not High School. School."

"And you want to teach High School?"

"Yes, but we can discuss the reasons for my career choice later. There's one important thing you need to know."

"OK."

"I skipped second and third grades."

My brain did the math instantly and my first reaction was I wasn't going to be arrested. My second was that she LOOKED young but didn't act young.

"When's your birthday," I asked.

"May 17th."

"1967?"

"Yes. Are you upset?"

"It's a good thing I have a strong heart or the double shock might have done me in. Or is it triple now?"

"You didn't answer."

"I don't think I'm upset. How does slightly disoriented grab you?"

"Better than upset. There was never a good time to tell you, which wouldn't have prevented us from being here. And I'm not just talking about sex, but talking seriously about a relationship. Don't get me wrong, you haven't asked me out and you've given me stuff to think about, so I'm not trying to pretend that my very personal 'thank you' card is anything more than a great first time. I think if I had told you, that would have been the end of it, because you might have treated me like a little kid."

I took a deep breath and let it out.

"Maybe. It certainly would have given me serious pause, but given my very specific criteria, even a girl who is sixteen has to be considered viable, IF she could marry before I was ordained."

"I'm emancipated, so I don't need my parents' signatures. I needed to do that to be able to live in the dorms."

"Why do I feel I'm being completely outsmarted by a sixteen-year-old?"

"Because I'm probably smarter than you are."

"And you think THAT is a good sales job?" I asked with a grin.

"You're extremely intelligent, Mike. You need an extremely intelligent wife and extremely intelligent friends. Who do you hang out with?"

"Mostly pre-med, plus a few others who are going to do research instead of going down the MD path."

"All excellent students?"

"Yes. Our entire study group has a 4.0 GPA."

"Are you the smartest?"

I shrugged as best I could, lying on my back, "Some people seem to think so, at least with regard to book learning."

"If you want common sense, you came to the WRONG person!" Laura laughed. "I've been accused of being too logical and too analytical and not applying basic common sense."

"Join the club," I replied. "So, teaching?"

"I think they're doing it wrong. We should be providing every possible opportunity to the most gifted students, and that's where we should focus our resources. Yes, everyone should have access to a basic education, but gifted students, from any background, any social class, any race, any gender, should be our priority. Somewhere, in some inner-city ghetto, is the kid who can cure cancer, and the system is failing to find them and get them into a school that will let them actually achieve to the level of their giftedness. I want to help find those kids."

"Did someone help you that way?" I asked.

"My first-grade teacher who realized my potential. She's still my mentor."

"Is she the one who got you to skip grades?"

"Yes. She wanted to move me to fifth, but my stepdad felt that starting High School at eleven and graduating at fifteen would have caused big problems with social adjustment because I'd be going through puberty during my Sophomore or Junior year. Skipping two grades made it Freshman year, and there were a few late bloomers, so I wasn't the only girl without boobs. Not that I ever got any to speak of!"

"I kept growing until nineteen," I said.

"My regular doctor, and my pediatrician before her, say I'm done growing. So, this is me, basically flat-chested, no curves. I take it," her eyes twinkled, "the 'deliciously tight' pussy makes up for that?"

I chuckled, "It's a nice bonus, but I go for personality. It's WAY more important."

"I'd call that a line most of the time, but I think you're being truthful."

"You have me more than a bit off-kilter," I said.

"I do that to people," she smiled. "It's what my counselor called 'being too smart for my own good'."

"Guidance counselor?"

"Yes, but she's also a licensed clinical psychologist. Not because I'm crazy — well, I am — but because of skipping grades. I liked talking to her, so I continued seeing her. I see her when I go home, just to touch base, make sure I'm dealing OK with the adult world, and so on."

"I'm seeing one, too. It started when my sister had some serious problems a few years ago, and I've gone back for help, and now, a friend of mine who was diagnosed with a mental illness is seeing her, and I'm participating in her treatment, as a friend. Oh, and I'm probably just as crazy as you are."

"Let's take our shower and then go to dinner. I assume Sarah can join us?"

"Sure. Did you know her before?"

"No, as I said earlier, we met at Taft. She was my random roommate assignment. She's from Portsmouth, Ohio. We hit it off right away and became friends."

"And competitors!" I grinned.

"I have her at a severe disadvantage in anything other than fucking! You'll have to judge that one! If you want to, that is."

"Let's get our shower, girl who says she's smarter than me!"

Laura laughed and moved off of me. We got out of bed and went into the bathroom. I adjusted the temperature in the shower, and then we got in and stood under the spray. I took the bottle of shampoo from the small shelf and poured a small amount into my hands, then gently worked it into a lather in her long, black hair.

"Mmmmm, that's nice. You have a very gentle touch."

When I finished lathering her hair, I rinsed my hands in the spray, then soaped Laura's entire body before having her rinse off. Once the soap and shampoo were rinsed away, Laura washed me in the same way I'd washed her, and after I rinsed off, we dried each other and then got dressed. She helped me change the bed linen, and I took the soiled set to the laundry room and put them in the washing machine. I left a note for Doctor Blahnik to move them to the dryer, and then Laura and I left the house for the walk back to campus.

"How many kids do you want?" she asked. "And when?"

"Two has always seemed to be the right number, but I'm not opposed to more. When to have them is really a question of practicality. The most reasonable time, at least given my financial situation and schooling, is probably when I start my Residency."

"Which is 1989, right?"

"Yes."

"I'll easily finish my undergraduate degree and student teaching by 1988, have a job, and be working on my Master's, which I should finish by 1990. I'd be twenty-two and you'd be twenty-seven."

"That is how the math works," I replied with a grin. "All those math classes seem to have paid off!"

"Ha, ha! Any OTHER issues I need to consider? I mean, other than having to decide to get married in just over a year?"

"Let's see — medical school, Residency, church, ordination, kids, female best friends. I think that covers it."

"And how long do I have to make this decision?"

"You're making a BIG assumption!" I replied.

"If I check every box on your list AND you enjoy having sex with me, I don't think I'm making an assumption at all."

"A reasonable point," I agreed.

"And I think we're both smart enough to find ways to keep it interesting. And if not, I know there are plenty of books available to give us ideas!"

I chuckled, "You were pretty confident for an inexperienced sixteen-year-old."

"I also happen to be fearless, in case you didn't notice."

"I hadn't, but looking back over our interactions, I can see it."

"So, how long?"

"I made a commitment to someone that I wouldn't make any decisions before the end of the semester, and most likely not before the end of the Summer. And, despite your comment about 'checking all the boxes,' we do still need to talk and really get to know each other."

"Because having my insides feel like they were put through a blender doesn't qualify?" she asked mirthfully.

"There's 'knowing' and 'knowing'," I replied. "Are you feeling OK?"

"Uncomfortable, but I think that's normal. Obviously, my hymen had disappeared at some point because there wasn't any blood, but literally nothing had been in there, not even a finger, before you entered me."

"Did you masturbate?"

"From around age thirteen, but gentle rubbing works best."

"Are you going home for the Summer?"

"Yes. My stepdad plans pretty elaborate vacations every Summer. This year, we're going on a month-long Caribbean cruise starting in early June."

"Speaking of vacations, that reminds me — Clarissa and I plan to backpack around Europe for a month right after graduation. It'll be the last vacation we have until sometime after we're Residents."

"Have you been?"

"No, but some friends have, and they encouraged me to go then because it really will be the last freedom I have for about seven years."

"Or the rest of your life!"

I chuckled, "That freedom I don't need, believe it or not."

"Speaking of that, you have to decide about Sarah for YOU, not for me. If you don't want to, that's totally cool, but it has to be about you. I don't want a reputation of going back on my word."