Twenty-six

I WAS ABLE TO CONCENTRATE on my racquetball Tuesday afternoon and beat Allison, though we both worked hard. I agreed with Lissa about the intercollegiate tournament not having shown Allison at her best. And I have to admit—I missed a couple of shots because I was watching the jiggling on her chest settle down. Maybe they don’t make stronger sports bras.

“For heaven sake, Tony. You’ve already seen ‘em naked. Can’t you keep your eye on the ball?” she laughed at me.

“Geez, Allison. I’d never win a match if they didn’t separate men’s and women’s. You are so distracting,” I laughed right back at her. I’d been busted good and there was no way to pretend I wasn’t staring.

“Thank god we don’t have nude racquetball parties like I’ve heard some artists have. None of us would hit the ball,” she said as she wiggled her butt at me.

“All right, you two,” Lissa said, opening the court door and stepping in. “This is supposed to be practice, not foreplay. I think that’s enough, today. Tony, why don’t you get a shower and relax while I work out with Allison for a while.”

“I’m cutting it short tonight, darling,” I answered, giving her a kiss. “I have to go study for my Art History final tomorrow. I’m going to stay in the dorm tonight so I don’t disturb anybody.”

“Hmm. After Melody’s little escapade last night, are you sure there’ll be room for you in your dorm room? It’s a big bed, but really...” Lissa waggled her eyebrows at me.

“I’m going to have one of those chain things installed on the inside of my door,” I suggested.

“Like the one in the hotel room that you didn’t use?”

“Oh yeah.”

“Well, if no one else is volunteering, I’ll come keep you company,” Allison said. “It’s an awfully big bed to be alone in.”

“Appetizing as that idea is, I really have to study.” I kissed Lissa and Allison stood next with her lips puckered. I stepped back a step and Lissa kissed her. Allison’s eyes flew open.

“Oh!” she squeaked. “Every time I tell myself I’m not going to do that again, I get pushed off the wagon.” We laughed and I gave her a quick peck.

“I’ll call you and Melody later to say goodnight,” I said to Lissa.

I did okay on my history final. Not an ace, but I won the point. I’d missed Dr. Bychkova’s last Art History lecture while I was painting and, in a way, I was sorry it was over. I just wish the lectures hadn’t been so boring. My final project in Concepts was done and Ms. Brock suggested again that I take her 3D class next year. That reminded me that I needed to slate time with my SCU advisor to set my schedule there for the fall.

Another practice. Allison changed her tactics and I spent most of the match staring at her behind in a pair of ultrashort shorts. The big thing about this workout, though ... no, not that ... Lissa had us play facing the opposite direction so the glass wall was in front of us. That threw me off my game more than watching Allison’s cute ass did. Lissa said I needed to get used to playing the glass wall. Not easy, but it proved just as difficult for Allison.

I cuddled between Melody and Lissa Wednesday night and went to sleep before either of them had finished kissing me goodnight. What a party animal, huh? My Fundamentals final presentation was anticlimactic. I gave it, Doc said thank you, and called on the next student. Then I sat there and listened to eight more presentations before my last Fundamentals class was mercifully over. I handed in my Art Orientation paper and went to face my portfolio review committee.

You would think that by the time I got this far the portfolio review would be a breeze. Doc Henredon did a lot of nodding his head and saying, “Good.” Abe Ardmore picked at every page of my portfolio. I swear, he even asked about my choice of photo paper for the pictures of the mural. Prof. McIntyre seemed to need to prove that she wasn’t easy on me in front of the department chairman. Between the two of them, I felt pretty beat up by the time I got out of there with my suggested schedule for next fall. I noted 3D Concepts was on the list, but I was going to have to eliminate something in order to get my English and Science requirements in at SCU. This was going to be tough.

I took it out on Allison and Lissa during practice and they gave as good as they got. Lissa decided we weren’t getting tough enough and this would be the last hard practice before Chicago, so we played cutthroat. In racquetball, only the server can score, so in cutthroat, the server is always playing against the other two players. When the server is side-out, the next player in rotation serves and plays against the other two. A game of cutthroat is usually to twenty-one and has to be won by two points. I hadn’t worked so hard since Tempe. It was great. We called it quits at the end of an hour with none of us remembering what the score was.

When we finished the match, we hit the showers and an hour later three happy and refreshed people left the club. Outside, Melody pulled up in Lissa’s car with two very happy, bouncing boys in the back.

“Mommy! We had ice cream!” Drew blurted out as soon as we got into the car. Lissa raised an eyebrow at Melody, who was laughing.

“Busted! You just can’t keep a secret with little boys,” she laughed. “Molly said they ate a good dinner, so we went through Dairy Queen on the way over to pick you up.”

“Not that I couldn’t have told by looking at their faces,” Lissa said. She grabbed a sheet of paper towel from a roll in the back of the SUV and began seriously scrubbing each face. She licked a corner of the towel and used it to wipe some of the sticky mess off Drew’s cheek. “Mommy spit cleans anything,” she explained while the rest of us looked on in astonishment.

“Boys, this is Allison,” Lissa said when they were reasonably clean and we finally got settled in the car. “Allison, these are my little terrors, Drew and Damon.”

“It’s nice to meet you guys,” Allison said. “Mommy has told me so much about you.”

“Are you our girlfriend, too?” Damon asked. That brought a silence to the car. Allison glanced at each of us with terror on her face. She swallowed and answered in a weak voice.

“I’m a girl, but I’m just a friend-friend.”

“You can be our girlfriend,” Damon persisted. “It’s okay.” He caught hold of Allison as she moved to sit beside Lissa in the third row and hugged her to his car seat. She smiled.

“Wow!” she said. “I’ve never had such handsome boyfriends. Or so enthusiastic!” She reached over to the other car seat where Drew was anxiously holding out his arms and hugged him, too.

I kissed Melody quickly and she headed home.

Melody, with a little help from Molly, had pulled together a nice meatloaf and baked potato meal that was almost ready to come out of the oven when we got home. I read stories to the boys while Allison and Lissa had a glass of wine and put a salad together. Melody and I got the boys cleaned up a little more thoroughly and tucked them into bed.

It was after seven and I was starving when we finally sat down to dinner.

“Ah, the ultimate comfort food,” I said. Her meatloaf was so good it melted my heart as I looked at her. Neither Lissa nor Allison had said a word, but chewed with a look of ecstasy on their faces. I caught Lissa’s eye and we both jumped up and ran to either side of Melody. “Smooches for the cook!” I yelled as Lissa and I peppered her cheeks with kisses.

I looked at Allison and raised an eyebrow at her.