Chapter 11: Jos – Part 3

Wednesday Day and Evening

Diana said to me, “They know how I feel about you and they wanted our first time to be great for both of us.”

“As I told her, what happens if I have fallen in love with someone other than you?”

“Have you?” There was that sad and scared look I had seen over the past few days.

“I have very strong feelings for three ladies, and I haven’t spent any time with Sasha yet. I see Tasha as a wonderful woman and a very close friend. I could easily ask her to be my one and only when we get home. Jos has touched something in me that I didn’t know was there. Today I actually told her that I loved her. You are a wonderful woman and while you don’t have the best of attributes compared to the others, overall I think you are the best woman here.”

“You told Jos that you love her?” Diana asked with some trepidation.

“I did.”

“Was it while you were making love?” Now she sounded fearful.

“No, it was not at a time when I was emotionally weak. I said it and I meant it. I could say it to Tasha as well, I just haven’t yet. And Diana, I could say it to you as well, but not before our date. Now do you understand why I reacted like I did when Jos said what she said?”

“So, I still have a chance?”

“As much as anyone,” Diana didn’t smile at that, but I wasn’t going to give any ground on this issue.

“Now, I have a date to finish. Where can I find Jos?”

“She is in her cabin ... packing,” Diana said.

“Packing?” I asked.

“She thinks that she ruined it for you and me.”

I didn’t say a word and walked out the door and went down two cabins and knocked on the door. Lissa opened the door and cautiously smiled.

“Is Jos ready for our date?” I asked as cheerfully as I could.

“What?” Lissa asked.

“Jos and I have a date to finish.”

Lissa looked a little down when I said that. I’m sure that she was looking forward to me putting a halt to everything, so she could get home and be on a level playing field. Lissa opened the door and looked at the bed where Jos was stuffing towels into her bag. I walked to her and tapped her on the shoulder.

“Are you ready to go?” I tried to sound cheerful again.

“Yes. I’m sorry, Mick. I’ll be leaving as soon as I’m done.”

“Leaving? What are you talking about? Was I really that bad a date?”

“No. What? No, you are not a bad date.”

“Then let’s go. We have a date to finish and we’ve wasted a big chunk of the day.”

Jos blinked a few times, then flew into my arms. She kissed me, hugged me tight and kissed me again.

“Do we need to ask Lissa to excuse us?”

“What? Um ... no ... Mick?”

“Yes?”

“I’m starving.”

“Come on then. I already ate, but I will be happy to make you a big bowl of corn flakes.”

“Could I have bacon and eggs?”

“Sure, but that is going to make the corn flakes taste really funny,” I looked at her with a straight face until she caught on that I was joking.

“Mick, I really am sorry,” she said on the verge of honest tears.

“Jos, you are not in this boat by yourself. All of you ladies made plans without me. As I told Diana this morning, my mom made choices for my dad and me, and ruined our lives. No one, not you, not Diana, not anyone, is going to make life choices for me. I make those choices. If you are clear on that, I would love to join you for breakfast, then go somewhere and see how our date ends.”

Jos took my hand and walked as close to me as she could without putting her arm around me. When we got to the clubhouse, I took the lead and had her sit at a table.

“Jos, what would you like to drink?”

“Orange juice please.”

“Coming up.”

I poured us two big glasses of OJ and, after setting them on our table, I went to make her bacon and eggs. After I made enough for me too, I returned to the table, set down the two plates and pulled my chair right next to hers.

“Now, what is the plan for the day, now that we don’t have to worry about getting me ready to be Diana’s love interest?”

“Really? We ruined it for the two of you?”

“Jos, that assumes that there WAS a two of us. Don’t make that assumption. Maybe the way this is working, it ruined OUR chances.”

“Our?”

“It could happen, unless you tell me that you and I are out of the question. But if you do that, it better be because you don’t want to love me, and not because you want to clear the field for Diana.”

“OK. Then today will be spent trying to get you to fall in love with me,” Jos sounded eager to take on the challenge.

“Good. Give it your best shot and let the chips fall where they may. After breakfast would you join me for a walk around the camp? You missed a beautiful morning in The Glade.”

“You were in The Glade this morning?”

“Yeah, after I walked out on you, I went to Diana’s cabin and found she and Tasha were asleep, so I quietly grabbed a towel and went to The Glade. The valleys were half buried in fog and the hills looked like islands covered in silver. It was beautiful. And it gave me some time to sort things out.”

“Do you feel sorted now?”

“I feel much better. In hindsight, I wish you could have been with me. The view and the serenity would have been a marvelous background to make love.”

“Make love? As in make love?”

“I’m new at all of this, but I only know one meaning for the phrase.”

“But your first is supposed to be with Diana.”

“Jos, I’m not going to lose my temper over what you just said. I’m going to have my first time whenever I want to have my first time, and with whom I want to have it. If you play your cards right, it could be today, and with you.”

“But Mick, you and Diana...”

“Stop already!” I raised my voice before stopping to take a deep breath. “There is no me and Diana. There could have been if what was happening between her and me had been real. But it wasn’t. It was all make believe.”

“Not all of it, Mick. Diana really cares for you.”

“What about you? I seem to recall us telling each other that we loved each other.”

“Yeah, I felt bad about that.”

“Why? Because it wasn’t the truth?”

“No, because it was, and I felt like I was betraying a friend.”

“Well, that is no problem now. Let’s go to The Glade or the pond.”

After badly masking the shocked look on her face after what I said, Jos sat back in the chair.

“The pond. I feel like people watching today,” she said as she bit into her bacon.

I think that she was also sure that out at the pond, in front of God and families and everyone, I couldn’t entice her to teach me more about oral sex and therefore not betray Diana. I took the glasses and plates, washed them and put them in the drying rack.

“Let’s head to the pond. Maybe we can get there before the gang claims the raft.”

Jos stood with an apprehensive look on her face. I took her hand and we walked out of the club house and down the well-worn path to the pond. As we walked into the water it struck me that, because of the geothermal spring above the pond, this was the only water I had been in where my balls didn’t have to get used to the temperature before getting in.

We swam on our backs out to the raft, holding our towels over our heads. We climbed onto the big float, set down our towels and lay down next to each other. I placed my hand on top of her lower hip. If I spread out my fingers, the little finger would have been in the edge of her soft brown tuft.

“Jos, I do love you. I’m sorry if that upsets everyone’s plans for me. I could spend the rest of my life lying next to you like this.”

“Mick, I’m sorry, but this is terribly confusing and upsetting for me.” Jos confessed.

“I understand. I’ve seen too many occasions where a plan doesn’t survive first contact with the enemy.”

“The enemy? Are we that bad?” She asked in a worried tone.

“No,” I said in a soothing voice. “It’s what they taught us in the Army. You can plan all you want, but reality won’t stick to the plan. I’ve seen too many plans not come together during my life. Sorry that this one is not working out for you.”

“It’s not me I’m worried about, Mick. It’s Diana. She loves you so much.”

I looked at the beautiful woman next to me and rolled to face her.

“Jos, I haven’t been with any women, other than the ones here, in my whole life. After dealing with my mom and dad, I’m not really sure that I would know love if it jumped on me and began to suck my penis.”

“Cock.”

“Whatever,” I replied quickly to her correction. “The point I want to make is that I have feelings, but I have no idea if they are correct or not. I mean, I’m lying on a raft with a naked woman, in a nudist camp, and my actions are causing turmoil among another group of naked women, who are all either vying for my affections or trying to steer my affections towards another naked woman.”

“Sounds like any normal guy’s wet dream to me.”

“Wet dream?” I asked.

“Never mind. Ask me later,” Jos closed her eyes before dropping her head.

“So, does that mean that I’m not normal?”

“No, Mick. You are a normal guy in a very abnormal situation. That wonderful piece of man meat you lug around makes it clear that you are very normal. What you are is ignorant of how your emotions work. If another woman, a stranger, swam up to the raft and climbed out and began giving you a blowjob, would you fall in love with her?”

“No.”

“Why?”

“She would be a stranger. If I don’t know her, I can’t very well give her affection with any depth to it.”

“That’s a good answer. A very good answer.”

“Why?”

“Because it means that the quest for your affections are going to be limited to our group. You might very well walk away from this vacation feeling a great love for all five of us and that is good. The question is, will one or more of the girls touch your heart to an extent that will cause you to feel that you can’t live your life without her.”

“Does that mean that I have to leave and spend time away from all of you in order to find out which one I miss the most?”

“That’s a great question too. Mick, you know the old saying that absence makes the heart grow fonder, right?”

“I’ve heard it.”

“I guess the answer is that it might be necessary for you,” Jos explained. “People who have not had the traumatic issues that you have had with your mom, would have the life experience by this time to be able to answer all these questions. And they could answer them without having to go through the separation or with the separation being very short.”

“So, when I go home and go back to my solitary life, and I find that I miss you more than air, everyone will be OK with it?” I asked.

“I’ll have to admit that I would be hesitant to act at first. It would cause me many sleepless nights.”

“It would only be fair, I think. If I’m going to have sleepless nights making the decision, then you should share in the sleepless nights waiting for me to make them.”

“What do I tell Diana if I fall in love with you?”

“You tell her that you are in love with me, just as I would have to tell her if I fall in love with you,” I paused, looking into her eyes. “If it turns out that you are the one I love that much.”

“Mick, can you take me to The Hide-A-Way and make love to me without putting your cock in my pussy?”

“Yes, I can.”

“Then let’s go and find a nice spot. I want to feel everything you’ve got to offer short of intercourse. Make the betrayal of my friend worth it.”

“Betrayal is not the right word. It would be if we both had been in on the plan, from the get-go. I was not a part of it, so I can fall for anyone I want, and no one can blame me for whoever I fall for, whether or not that person falls for me.”

“Let’s go,” she said.

I stood and offered my hand to Jos, and as she stood we saw the rest of the ladies walking to the clubhouse and watching us with a lot of interest. We swam to the shore, holding our towels high again, and walked out to the clubhouse. Inside the ladies were sitting quietly at a table. I led Jos to them, and we stood by Diana.

“Jos and I are going to go to The Hide-A-Way and make out for several hours. I’m going to try to make her fall in love with me. Tomorrow I’m going to try to make Sasha fall in love with me. When Diana and I have our date, I’m going to try to get her to fall in love with me. Then I’m going to ask Tasha to spend some time with me.”

“Why me?”

“Because when I was with you, I had no idea what was going on with you girls’ Plan A and I wasn’t trying to ‘do’ anything. I would like a day with you to see if I can get you to fall in love with me.”

Tasha looked down at the floor and in a very quiet voice mumbled, “Too late.”

I rubbed her shoulder and leaned over to kiss her on the lips.

“What about me?”

“Lissa, you already told me that you were in love with me and wanted to spend your life with me. Our positions are established. I wanted to lay all of this out before I took off with Jos. The truth of all this must be open and transparent. When it’s all over, some people are going to be hurt, some badly. Being open and truthful will, I hope, keep the pain to a minimum.”

Tasha spoke up. “Goes to show what you know, Mick. Whoever loves you, and is rejected, is going to hurt a lot, regardless of how honest you have been.”

“Tasha, that may be the case. But you know my history. You know where I’m coming from – the only place I know how to come from. It is the only way I can think of handling it. We’ll see you for dinner. If we’re late, one of you come to The Hide-A-Way and get us, please.”

I took Jos hand and led her out. I looked at her and she was looking back at Diana. I saw that sad look on Diana’s face again. This time it was shared by Lissa.

“Jos, I need to stop in my cabin and get some things. Do you need anything from yours? Suntan lotion? A thicker towel? A big stick in case you have to get it through my head that I’m going too fast or too far?”

“Suntan lotion is a good idea. Have you noticed any discomfort yet?”

“Yeah. You noticed the redness, huh?” I asked.

“Sunburned man meat is not a good thing.”

“When we get up the hill, you can use the sunblock on me,” I smiled at the thought.

“I have some with aloe, it should help a lot,” Jos patted my butt.

“Thanks. I love you.”

“I love you too, Mick. Meet you right back here.”

We split up and I went to the cabin to get my paper with the spreadsheet on it and a pen. I decided that I would show the sheet to Jos and let her know that she was in a close race for second with Tasha and let her know that Diana was out in front and see if that made her feel better.

I walked back out and met Jos, and her big bag, in the spot we had left from.

“May I please put something in your bag?”

“Sure, Mick. Something interesting?”

“I think that you will find it to be very interesting. Um ... Jos?”

“Yes, sweetie.”

“Sweetie. Nice. Jos, would you mind if we went to The Glade instead?”

“No. In a way it would be a bit of a relief. Then I would feel less like I was cheating on my friend.”

“You can’t cheat on Diana. No one has made any commitment. Jos, you are the only person, other than my dad, that I have ever said ‘I love you’ to. That is the closest to an emotional commitment I have ever come.”

Jos had her bag over her left shoulder with her towel, and I had my towel over my right shoulder. With our free hands we held on tight, feeling that there was something going on between us that was real and almost palpable.

“Jos, I like walking with you and holding hands.”

“It does feel nice. It does give me that little tingle in my tummy.”

“You know, I wanted to ask you about that. I have felt that a couple of times since I have been here. It isn’t exactly in my stomach and it isn’t in my genitals.”

“Balls.”

“No, not even in my balls. It is higher, but not in my stomach.”

“Yeah that’s the tingle. You feel it when you kiss a certain person, or even just touch them. Some people even feel it so intensely that they describe it like an electric shock.”

“Yes! I felt that.”

“Can I ask with who you felt it?”

“You can ask but I’m not going to tell you.”

“OK, Mr. Mystery Meat.”

I leaned over and kissed her lips and squeezed her hand. We got to The Glade to find several couples and a few individuals already up there. I looked at Jos and shrugged my shoulders.

“Go ahead and pick a spot,” I said.

“Where were you sitting this morning when you were watching the fog lift?”

“Way over there past where we were sitting,” I pointed.

“That’s a good spot.”

We walked over to the side of the hill with the edge that dropped off, smiling and nodding to the others we passed on the way. We set down our towels and sat next to each other.

“It’s a bit of an optical illusion. I was surprised at the number of hills. I never noticed it until this morning when the fog broke up the contours of the hills. If I win the lottery, I would seriously think about retiring to here.”