Chapter 132

January 20, 2018

Dear Ms. Diary,

[Written January 21-22]

The last thing I remember last night was Lana curling into my right side, an arm across my belly. I woke feeling myself curled into the back side of someone. Once it dawned on me that I was on my right side, I knew I was curled into Lana. I admit that the situation sent a jolt to my libido, so I unabashedly pushed my pelvis more tightly into her ass and tightened my left arm around her. She moaned quietly.

Since I could hear no one stirring, I chanced whispering, “May I,” as I moved my left hand to her right breast and held it lightly.

She moaned again, then nodded, so I began playing lightly with that breast. She released a long breath with a slight groan, and I could just about imagine the look on her face, her eyes shut, her head tilted slightly up and back. I did nothing but that, running my fingers lightly over that breast and purposefully avoiding the nipple, as were I to tweak or pinch it, I thought she might moan too loudly. She gave out sporadic soft, little sighs.

Apparently, I drifted off to sleep, as I woke to movement in the bed. Keeping my eyes shut, I analyzed my position. My left hand was still wrapped around Lana’s right breast, and I was still tucked tightly into her back side, so I figured I had not gone down for long. Someone behind me sat up. I waited and when she gingerly climbed out of bed, I could see Civia’s naked form walk quietly through in the soft light of early morning creeping into the room.

I whispered, “You still awake?” When Lana nodded in response, I whispered, “Civia went to the bathroom.”

Again, she nodded, so I snaked my right hand to Lana’s back, thence down that back to her right ass cheek and lightly fondled it.

Her response was a louder, moan with a hitch in it, after which I whispered in her left ear, “You are so lovely. I love your body. You’re so firm and your skin feels wonderful under my hand.”

That comment occasioned another hitched moan, this one a little louder. With that and the probable imminent return of Civia, I whispered, “More later,” then pulled my hands off her and began working my way into a sitting position.

Once seated, I turned to my left to see Liya’s dark eyes shining at me, and she mouthed/whispered, “Jumping the gun a bit?”

I nodded at her then showed her my eyes closing and head tilting back a bit. When I opened my eyes, she was grinning at me ... as Heather padded into the room in her lovely birthday suit.

As she began climbing onto the mattress, she nodded at Lana and said, “I passed Civia heading upstairs where she’ll run into Celeste and Meka beginning on waffles.”

I responded, “I was sort of expecting to hear you through the ceiling.”

“Yeah, I thought being right above you was probably a bad idea, so we went to the attic mattress. I can’t wait to get all the new mattresses here. The one up there ... has seen better days.”

Liya riposted, “You managed to notice that with Meka in your bed?”

Heather grinned at her and replied, “I noticed it only in passing last night and when I woke this morning. Holy shit that was good last night! I’m so freaking glad she’s joined us. However, other than Dad, I haven’t made love with anyone that tall. It makes 69 difficult. It’s easier to get at, at least, Dad’s cockhead in 69, unlike Meka’s pussy. Unfortunately, that’s just not possible for me, which makes me a little sad. But I won’t at all mind camping between her legs while someone else gets to ride her tongue.”

Lana suddenly said, “Stop it. Stop it. Oh, goddess, I want all that!”

The outburst caused the rest of the girls to rouse. Lana, now sitting up, put both hands over her mouth as she mumbled, “I’m sorry.”

I sighed in my head as I thought that we would probably have to Go5 gangbang her as soon as Civia departed, just to take the edge off, because she was all edge.

Heather crawled to Lana and enveloped her as she said, “And you’ll have all that, with all of us. You just need a little more patience.”

Before Lana could beg forgiveness for waking the others, “Sorry about that. I ... kind of got her worked up.” I shrugged, then said, “If it’s any consolation, you’re all going to love stroking her skin. It feels so lovely.”

“Oh, goddess! She nearly made me orgasm just by touching me lightly.” She shrugged, then added, “Not really, but oh, hell, that felt incredible. I’ve never had anyone touch me so ... tenderly, so ... lovingly. I’m never leaving if I can find a way to make that happen.”

The eleven of us, all in just our skin, ate waffles in the dining room. We still had too few chairs for everyone, so Heather and Liya shared chairs with, respectively, Lana and Cera, while Celeste, who had eaten most of her breakfast, had begun kitchen cleanup.

I finished the last bite of my waffle, asked Celeste to join us, then announced, “Listen up. We have a special treat for everyone today. Since it is likely that most or all of us will be spending a lot of time in this house...” I was interrupted by general cheering, but carried on after a short time with, “The entire family and gang will be shopping for the ... wherewithal to make our house what we want of it. We’re shopping for things like new drapes, area rugs, computers, etc., etc., etc.”

Again, I was interrupted, this time by questions and concerns voiced all at once, so I held up my hands, then said, “I’ll answer some of those partial questions that I figured out from you all talking at once.” I looked around the table with a grin, then added, “Liya, with some help from Gracey, has designed what this house will become. Some of you have seen the basics, such as floor plans, but Liya’s going to explain about electronics and some other features.”

“Gracey and I have put together the plan for running optical fiber through the house so that we’ll have great, secure access to the world and on which the construction crew has already begun work. We’ll also have an in-house intercom that will work off our phones but will have some static access to that in places like the kitchen, basement, attic, and that huge communal bathroom on the second floor.”

Liya waited through excited reactions and mumbled questions until she held up her hands, then continued with, “Those of you that have been on the second floor recently will notice that nearly everything up there has been taken apart, the inner walls have come out, and nearly everything up there is under reconstruction. That floor is seeing the most-extensive revamping, and the completion of the work up there will take the longest, not finishing until 9 February or so. Once it’s done, we’ll have three bathrooms up there, one each in the two master bedrooms and a very large one that will have a shower nearly twice the size of the one on the second floor of the W house.

“Skipping this floor for now, the basement will see a lot of changes, although they’ll be simpler, much simpler than the changes to the second floor. Down there, we’ll have another large communal bathroom with another huge shower like the one on the second floor. We’ll have just a single bedroom down there, but it will occupy most of the east half of the basement and will include a huge closet.” She held up her hand, again, to cut off the various exclamations and whatnot, then said, “We’ll have a single bed in that room, and Dad ... Charlie ... let me know yesterday that our plans for that bed have been finalized and the company building it will start on it next week. It’s supposed to be arriving in the first week of February. With that, we will be able to sleep the entire Gang in a single bed if we so choose, as it will be 15 feet by 20 feet and will incorporate a new, ingenious sheet system that will enable us to sleep in a circle of sorts, our feet in the middle.”

That caused a hullaballoo at which Liya grinned around the table as she waited for the chance to continue.

“Gracey produced the original idea and gross parameters of how to make a bed large enough for the entire Gang without stringing us out side-by-side along the entire east wall of the basement. The bed company that refined the design and will be producing our bed has noted in their official paperwork that this is Gracey’s design, and she will accrue a percentage of the profits from subsequent sales.”

The previous hullaballoo was nothing compared to the one created by that last sentence. Liya was grinning at Gracey across the table, and Gracey was obviously torn among excitement created by the Gang in her achievement, embarrassment of that excitement being generated toward her, and a third part I could not quite suss.

Once things died down, Liya added, “Of course, who knows how many others will need a bed to hold a bunch of girls like we want?” After some chuckles, she finished with, “We’ll be getting commercial-grade washers and dryers for the laundry room, the need partly caused by the huge sheets of the Gracey-designed Super-duper Humongous Monstrosity, for which we’ll probably need a shorter moniker. The kitchen will be gutted next week, and we’ll be getting new appliances, so one of our tasks tomorrow will be to move everything from the fridge and all the food, utensils, dishware, pots and pans, et cetera, to the W house.”

After Liya finished, I looked around the table at the mix of wonder and happiness, then took my turn on the floor.

“While Rhee’s and my parents own this house, it is, essentially, ours. Charlie, Sandy, and Carol have entrusted us, the Gang of which you’re each a part – and more on that later, with this house. It is ours, the Gang’s.” I let that sink in for quite a few moments, then continued with, “Unfortunately, the Spiderman adage applies here: With great power, comes great responsibility. We are responsible for the house’s upkeep, ensuring that its value increases rather than decreases through our stewardship.

“I find it unfortunate that Brett, Char, and Kim are not with us, but I ... or others ... will apprise them of what I make sure we all know here, today. This is our house. Please treat it as a valued possession. As Gang members, each of you and all of you are welcome here at any time, as you are owners. Some of us will be permanent residents here, while others will come and go at the vicissitudes of your obligations to your genetic families. Finally in this vein, please note that while Celeste and Meka are here ostensibly as den mothers of a sort as part of Rhee’s and my parents’ responsibility over us and over a house they own, Celeste and Meka would much prefer to be loved and co-equal sisters. Please don’t make them be den mothers.”

I looked around the table with a serious expression and got nods and/or serious expressions from the others.

“Gracey and Liya have agreed to be the points of contact for any problems with the house as a facility. If one of us discovers something that isn’t working, whether a toilet or a computer or whatever, if you cannot solve the problem immediately, you should take the problem to one or both of them. If neither is immediately available, then contact whomever is easiest to reach among Celeste, Meka, Rhee, and me. If, for whatever reasons, you cannot reach any of us, contact one of the parents. I’ll be passing out paper and electronic versions of the Gang’s and our larger family’s contact info.” Again, I looked around the table, then continued with, “I’m getting somewhat close to the end of the serious stuff.”

There was much nervous tittering and chuckling.

“All of us here, as well as Brett, Char, and Kim, have committed to the Gang, which has, seemingly suddenly, become something more, much more, than the group of four goofy girls that my parents tagged originally as the ‘Gang of Four.’ We added Heather some three years after the instigation of that Gang of Four, then added Civia a month or two later. Since then, we’ve come to know and love a variety of very special girls and women ... and one incredible boy. The four original girls that thought the title of ‘Gang of Four’ as just a lark and began using Robert’s Rules of Order as a funny way to both make fun of rigid groups and tongue-in-cheek get Gang business done has become something else. We’ve reached the point that many or most of us think of this group as a second family, a family of our choice rather than of our relatedness.

“Carol recently said something that resonated with me, and I hope it does with you, too. I’m paraphrasing, but I’m sure her original sentiments are contained in what I say: ‘Adopted families that one creates out of choice are often more enjoyable and sometimes more cohesive than those to which one is born.’ I find the family to which I was born to be thoroughly enjoyable and very cohesive, and I am not giving that family up, so I see this family here ranged around me as my second family, but one that has a strong, hopefully unbreakable, connection to my first family. Others of us have first families that are not so enjoyable and not so cohesive. Most of us have experienced families that are somewhat intermediate in those categories. I and some of the others here want this second family to be as long-lived as a genetic family, people with whom we grow, learning and loving ... and ageing together. How that would work, I have no idea, but I am committed to figuring that out and to trying to make it work. Again, I’ve not discussed the Gang in this depth with all of you, but I have discussed it, off and on, with the members of the Gang of Five, with whom I live every day. The other four are also committed to this vision of our second family and we particularly welcome all of you that can imagine this for your future. If you cannot see that now, perhaps, with more time in our midst, more time to see this working out, you will come to share our vision.”

I looked around the table once more, then finished with, “I love every one of you and I will do whatever I can to keep us together so long as we all wish to remain together.”

Many conversations broke out among neighbors at the table and across the table. They slowly came to an end as each person became aware that Lana had stood from her chair at one end of the table.

Once everyone was looking at her, she said, “I am, by months, the newest among this group of friends, with my residence in Elkton still being less than a month in length. As I’ve said to some of you, I’ve felt I’ve known you longer than I really have due to my many and extensive conversations with Brett about you girls. My immediate genetic family is one such as Beth described of hers. That family has a direct and strong connection to Brett’s family through our respective mothers, who are still close sisters and best friends; our two immediate families have always been close. Anyway, I’ve felt I’ve known you from the many long conversations Brett and I have had, something I know you girls would have thought impossible with him until very recently.”

She smiled at the various smiles and chuckles her last sentence created, then continued with, “Like Beth, I did not come to this group with any animus to my close family, but because being an only child and with few good friends in the small town in which we lived, my loneliness was alleviated only by somewhat frequent visits of Brett’s family to mine and vice-versa. From talking with Brett about various of you, I came to long, perhaps even desperately, for friends such as he described you girls being with each other and, surprisingly to me, Brett.

“I know, even if some of you might not admit it, that I’ve come across as someone too eager, too ... desperate to fit myself into your group friendship. I apologize for any angst that may have caused among you, but I assure you that I am not typically that ... flighty, that ... desperate. I will settle down, because, even though I’ve known her for such a short time, I, too, want what Beth set out as her vision of us. Beth, I, too, will do whatever I can to keep us together.”

When she sat, there was much exclaiming, even clapping, about and for Lana’s words.

Before anyone else could get it in her mind to mimic Lana’s statement of devotion, I introduced my next topic.

“I hereby call this business meeting of the Gang of a number I wish to discuss in this venue.”

That surprised some, although a few knew I was going to do this.

“While we may have action items to bring to the table, I would like to discuss in open session two features of what I consider to be a single topic. Those are the thoughts elucidated by that...” I furrowed my brow, turned to Rhee, and asked, “What was that ... denigratory term your father used about people? It starts with a ‘w’.”

Rhee smiled and answered, “Wanker.”

“That’s it! The first aspect I want us to discuss is your thoughts on that pie-in-the-sky thesis set out by that dreaming wanker, Beth.” There was some chuckling, but I talked over it with, “The other is a discussion about what we call our group.” I looked around at expectant faces, so continued with, “Please throw out any opinions you have about what I proposed for us. Don’t be timid. I probably won’t be hurt by any negative comments, unless they’re extreme. Please let me ... and the others know about how you think our future ... both short- and long-term ... would pan out or ought to pan out.”

Heather immediately stood and stated, “Although Beth might not admit it, my family was probably the model for her statements about the not-so-enjoyable, not-so-cohesive end of the variety in genetic families. I can assure you that I had no choice in that family and did not at all enjoy that family. I’ll also say that I’ve enjoyed virtually every minute of my family time since Charlie, Sandy, and Carol effectively adopted me into their now-conjoined subsets of our greater family. Also, like Beth, I’m sure that I will be part of that conjoined family for the rest of my life and will certainly glory all the rest of my days that I am part of it, for that family brought me this family.

“I’ve experienced enjoyable family life only since June, but I’m thoroughly addicted to the feelings of safety; security; and, above all else, openly expressed love that I’ve enjoyed since those crazy parents of ours essentially adopted me. There can be no better example of the positives of a created, adopted family than mine, and that is what has me believing in this, my third family, but, in my heart, only my second family. I’m in it until my last breath.”

She sat amidst the silence created by her avowal, although Lana stood again.

“I’ve already stated my thoughts about Beth’s ... dream, although outside of the business meeting of this entity. Please refer to transcripts of my statements by rewinding your brains to a few minutes ago and replaying the tape.”

She sat amidst the laughter, back-slapping, and hand-patting created by her statement. I grinned at her as I thought that she would make a great addition to the ... whatever ... once she calmed down after finally getting sex with someone other than herself. Although I had not discussed this with her at all, I was relieved and delighted when Celeste stood. At least, I hoped that I would be relieved and delighted.

“I’m considerably older than you girls, except for Meka, so you and, particularly Beth, are wondering about my thoughts on Beth’s thesis. I’ll start with announcing that my genetic family was probably not very similar to Heather’s from what she’s told me, and I’m sure she’s told me nowhere near all of it, but probably more like Heather’s than Beth’s. Like Lana, for various reasons, most of them of my own creation during my semi-wasted high-school era, I’ve been lonely for a few years, with only one good friend and some reasonable acquaintances trying to fill a void that I’ve felt in that time but refused to acknowledge.

“The conjoined family housing these five crazy girls provided the first real spark of family I’d experienced in many years. As I delivered pizzas to that house just across the big yard here, we chatted in their foyer more and more about many topics, possibly at the expense of my earning more delivery tips. I’d often be there for two or five or nearly ten minutes just talking with them, feeling the incredible ... family energy they exuded, feeling that I wanted only to close that front door ... in front of me, and just stay there with them. That family re-woke in me the energy, the passion I once felt in life and about my desired career path. That family got me living again.

“I made a mess of my time in high school. It’s a long and sordid tale. It’s a tale you’ll all probably hear, but not now, and not in this venue. What I want you to understand from me is that these girls, including Meka, have got me feeling as if I’m reliving – and doing a better job with it – my later high-school years, so I feel at times that I’m between Beth and Meka in age. I very much enjoyed my time among you when we hung out a couple times this month. The general maturity level you girls have mean that you come across as much older than your ages would suggest, and I particularly mean that about Civia, who is the most mature preteen I’ve ever known. She’s a rock star in my opinion. Look at her. Yes, she’s blushing at the compliment, but otherwise, she seems to think that sitting around with a bunch of girls older to much older than her while there’s nary a stitch of clothing on any of us is just how life is supposed to be lived. I think she’s what I’ve heard called an old soul, and among a group of girls that are, to a girl, more impressive than nearly all girls your age, she stands out.”

With Civia turning bright red at the attention focused on her, we stared at her until Celeste continued.

“With all that, why wouldn’t I want to join this group? Like Beth expressed somewhat obliquely, we cannot know what the future brings us. Most or all of you will go to college, but it’s unlikely that a single college or university would be the best option toward a chosen career for every girl sitting here, and Civia may have additional constraints of where she lives, where she works.

“I have much less time with you girls than anyone but Lana. However, like what I think Civia will feel if some possibilities come through for her, I’ll feel that here is where my heart will be for decades to come, even if the rest of my body is somewhere else. I’m in.”

When a few girls stood, I interjected, “I don’t know that we need to hear such an avowal from each girl here as the three preceding speakers presented. While it’s critical that we hear any strongly differing opinion and I’ll acknowledge anyone that wants to present such, I’d particularly like to hear the thoughts of either or both of Brit and Cera as, after Celeste and Lana, I probably know them least well.”

They looked at each other and, from Cera’s slight motion, I knew Brit had been elected. She stood.

“Like Heather’s and Celeste’s, my first family is less than stellar. It would be better if it were just Mom and me, but it would still not be anything like Beth’s. Adding in her husband’s sons makes the family quality dive steeply, perhaps as low as Heather’s. I know I’ve been withdrawn for years, as evidenced by the fact that Cera and I were in the same middle school but didn’t ever really talk with each other until both of us gravitated to the lunchroom table full of apparently happy freshman girls. Cera’s first family shares many more parameters with Beth’s than it does with mine, and I’d have been happy being adopted by her parents, with whom I get along well. Being adopted by this Gang is even better, as it brings an association with Beth’s and Rhee’s first families, conjoined, as well as more nebulous connections to Gracey’s and Liya’s first families. This Gang also provided entre to the larger clan of Central High soccer girls and what must be the nicest, prettiest boy I’ve ever known. My life is nearly infinitely better since I allowed them to assimilate me, and I am as in as I could possibly be. My life is here, with you, the best friends I’ve ever known.”

After Brit sat, I looked around the table a couple times, seeking indications that someone else would speak. I was looking at the other end of the table when Civia stood.

“My first family is very like that of Beth and Rhee, just smaller and less boisterous. Despite that, until I met Beth and Rhee and the rest of the premier soccer team, I didn’t know that I was lonely. Those two, along with their three adopted sisters, took me in, showed me how enjoyable and interesting and exciting life could be nearly every day when I had friends, as, even when apart, just remembering the good times with them in the past would get me thinking of the good times to come. Those friends also enabled me to learn a very valuable lesson just yesterday. Apparently, one can find friends in many places. Something of a ... corollary is that one does not need to rely on a single source of them. Is that right, Heather? Corollary?”

When Heather smiled and nodded at her, she smiled back.

“Even more importantly, perhaps, is that a person that seems interesting enough to be a friend at school, but at school only, may actually fit well with one’s other friends, because groups of friends generally share many characteristics, likes, interests. Why wouldn’t such friends that one’s kept at arm’s length be friends with the friends that one allows deeply into one’s being? While I don’t know how well or if Maren will fit with you, my other friends, in the long term, the ... possibility that she might is more than enough reason to pursue a closer friendship with her.

“As Celeste noted, I have a dream, a dream of playing soccer professionally, perhaps to be invited to try out for the national team. Until recently ... in fact, as recently as yesterday, I was seriously conflicted by the demands that my dream would entail and the wonderful friends ... sisters ... I’ve found in this Gang that I would need to leave behind to chase my dream. I’m still conflicted, but much less so because my experience yesterday taught me that, even if my career choices take me away from you, I still have the chance of having friends where my career takes me. Then, as I heard somewhere once, they have these things called planes [there was some low chuckling], and they would allow me to rejoin my sisters, my gangmates at nearly any time. To paraphrase Brit, I’m as in as I can be, allowing for the possibility that my life might take me away from physical proximity of my second family, perhaps often and for long periods of time. Thinking of that occasionally makes me sad, but I know my sisters would kick my butt for deciding not to chase my dream just because I don’t want to leave them, particularly since they’ve been spending energy teaching me, making me better able to catch that dream. I’m in.”

When she sat, she allowed the silent tears to fall that she’d fought against while she was speaking. Meka wrapped an arm around her, but didn’t pull her in, just allowed Civia to know that her friends were there for her.

I looked around to see that no one else wished to speak, so waited a solemn moment, then started in on my second point.

“I had a minor epiphany recently about our name. I ... and we ... got stuck on using a number in the gang name from simple inertia. The original name indicated our number, and we kept using a number solely because we’d always used a number. In talking with Kim yesterday, she came up with the term Gang of Whatever Number that, fortuitously, has a pronounceable word as an acronym ... GoWN, so I was going to propose we use that so that we could avoid changing the name every time we added more members. This morning, though, I wondered if we should take this opportunity at a time in which there seems little expectation to add more members soon to take another tack with a group self-identifier. I’d like to have some discussion on sticking with Gang of ... or going down a different road. I’m happy to entertain nearly all options. Anyone?”

Cera, with a huge smirk on her face, raised a hand.

“Yes, Cera?”

“Madame Chair...”

She stopped talking because, as she certainly expected, there was a chorus of chuckles, chortles, and even Meka’s guffaw. I smiled around the table, then looked at Cera as I waited for the commotion to die down.

“The Chair recognizes the esteemed Member from Parliament Lane,” which was met by smiles and a couple chuckles.

Cera grinned at me, then said, “I have no particular ... dog in this fight, but I also cannot come up with other options, on such short notice,” at which she pointedly looked at me and grinned, “but do have something of a concern about the Gang nomenclature. I looked up what was apparently Charlie’s reference for naming the first four the Gang of Four. It was a group of people close to Chairman Mao in China in the late years of his life and during the Cultural Revolution which cost so many their lives. The Gang of Four, which were simply the leading faces of a much larger effort, apparently were plotting something of a coup, which was unsuccessful.

“While I understand Charlie’s initial use of the term was meant entirely in fun, we may want to carefully consider whether we want to stay with inertia... [Celeste, Meka, Liya, and I laughed; Cera smiled at us] or coin a new term that lacks the ... negative implications of terms already in use in other situations. I’d like my esteemed colleagues [more chuckles] to have sufficient time to think carefully on the subject, because names are important.”