Chapter 36: Can’t Touch This

Saturday May 6
I stared at the chaos that was my apartment. Who knew you could collect so much stuff in eighteen short years? Today’s goal was to pack up everything I wouldn’t need when I left to film my movies.

I also had to pack for my roommate. I thought my kids had a lot of toys, but I would put up Duke’s hoard against all of theirs. He supervised while I kept adding to the big pile of his treasures in the middle of the living room. He’d either lost or hidden his stuff all over my apartment. I won’t even begin to describe what I found under the couch.

“Do you really need all this?” I asked him.

Duke looked back at me like I made as much sense as a parent in a Charlie Brown show. ‘Wawawawawaa.’

I opened a box and began to chuck toys into it. I spotted another one next to his crate. When I turned back, he had a teddy bear in his mouth and looked guilty. I couldn’t be that heartless. It wasn’t his fault that he had so many toys, after all. I might have bought them at some point in time.

“You can keep that one out, but no more,” I said.

He and his bear went into his crate. I must have sounded cross, and that was his go-to place when he was in trouble. I wrote on the side that it was Duke’s toys and sealed it up before more were grabbed and hidden.

I heard the door open, and soon my mom’s head appeared.

“You about done in here?” she asked.

“What about my TV?” I asked. “Should I leave it for Melanie?”

“No, the girls claimed it for the pool house. I told them they could have your gaming console, too. You won’t need it if you plan to study and play sports at college.”

I bit my tongue on that one. I’d been looking for an excuse to get the newest model, anyway. As far as TVs were concerned, I would talk to the guys once we got to Oklahoma and figure out what worked best for the room.

We’d been promised that we could all live together in the athletic dorm in one of their triples. They were basically set up like a small apartment with three single bedrooms that featured en suite bathrooms. The private bathroom would be a blessing because those two could make a mess, and I didn’t plan to pick up after them.

I stopped and thought about it for a moment. Maybe I should just get a TV for my bedroom. I didn’t feel like getting a giant-screen TV and having our suite suddenly become hangout central. The dorm had a common room with a movie-screen-sized TV that could serve that function. When I went to my apartment, I wanted to escape from everyone so I could unwind and study. I figured I would want something similar at school.

“I’m almost done. Once baseball is over, I’ll pack all that gear up, and I should be good.”

“All right. Now go help your dad in the basement.”

God only knew what was down there.

“Can’t we hire movers to do that?” I asked.

“Quit your whining and do as I say.”

I was adding to my catalog of things NOT to say to my little ones. That one went to the top of the list. The sad part was I knew at some point I would get frustrated and say those very words. I gave her a smile and saluted.

“Don’t start with me,” Mom warned.

“We should make Phil come help,” I suggested.

“Not happening. He would break something,” Mom said, and left me with Duke.

He probably would.

“Come on, Buddy. We get to go help Dad in the basement.”

Duke was clueless. He wagged his tail like I’d told him he had to find the kitty.

I was busy assembling boxes as my dad stood in the middle of the basement, looking stunned.

“Tell me again why I agreed to move,” he said.

“It had something to do with winters,” I reminded him.

“I think some of this stuff is from when we moved in. We didn’t know what to do with it then.”

“You do know that Habitat will come to haul it all away so they can sell it in their thrift store,” I proposed as an alternative to my ‘movers’ suggestion.

“I’m making a new rule. If we don’t use something for two years, it has to go.”

“Want me to call them?” I asked as I saw a glimmer of hope.

“Yeah. We can sort through this and figure out what goes with us. Your mom would kill me if I just donated everything,” Dad reasoned.

It was good that we did. Dad found some treasures from his childhood. He used to collect coins in those books where you put in one for each year. He had stacks of them. We also uncovered old vinyl records, photo albums, and a quilt his great-grandmother had made for him.

“Look what I found!” I announced excitedly.

I held up a Jart, a game Greg and I had found years ago in some corner of the basement. It may have been left behind by the previous owners. Our dad had finally banned us from playing with them.

Jarts were lawn darts with big metal pointy tips that you tried to throw into a circle on the grass in the backyard. We’d been caught playing chicken with them. It did get your blood pumping when one of the Jarts was thrown straight up, and you had to stand still as it came crashing back to earth.

Dad had probably been right because it was only a matter of time before one of them got buried into the top of one of our heads.

“I thought I put those in the trash,” Dad said.

“I remember they were a lot of fun.”

“Do you trust Coby with them?” Dad asked.

He really was a fun-sucker. I put them in the trash.

About two hours later, Mom found us relaxing while we drank iced tea in lawn chairs out back.

“You can’t seriously be done with the basement.”

“Dad instituted the two-year rule,” I offered.

I think Dad was about to have one of his headaches by the way he rubbed his forehead.

“Since he’s not talking,” Mom said, referring to my dad, “you tell me what the two-year rule is.”

“If you don’t use something for two years, you donate it. Habitat is on their way to clean out the basement.”

Mom mumbled that Dad had something that might not get used for the next two years and left us.

“That went well,” I said brightly.

Dad got up and went into the house. From the volume of conversation, he should have stayed outside with me. When Habitat arrived, I took the guys to the basement and showed them what was fair game. One of them whined about not wanting to take it all. I told them that if they didn’t, they didn’t get any of it. I was sure there were other charity thrift stores that would pick up. He finally relented.

Mom got over her snit and let Habitat take all the other stuff we’d planned to give to charity. I was in shock when they had to get another truck. Like I said, we’d collected a lot of stuff over the years.

I was able to slip the leash of my security because no one had told Manaia what Cassidy was up to on the weekends. Since Cassidy had volunteered at the large animal clinic, I called Pam to see if she wanted to go out tonight. She said that she and Tracy were meeting up. I told her to invite Tracy to come along.

After I picked up Pam, we drove to State to get Tracy at her dorm.

“Where do you want to go for dinner?” I asked them once Tracy was in the car.

“Cassidy said she liked the Green Door Bistro,” Pam suggested.

“Where’s that?” Tracy asked.

“It’s a new place that just opened. It’s a mix of fancy with down-home,” Pam said.

I kept my comments to myself about how she’d answered Tracy’s question about ‘where’ the restaurant was located. It was such a girl answer, totally confusing to guys.

“Did you like it?” Tracy asked.

“I had a rib eye that was better than anything I’ve ever gotten around here. I wouldn’t mind going back,” I said.

“It’s settled, then,” Pam said.

“How was Prom?” Tracy asked.

“Pam and I were Queen and King,” I shared.

“As if that were in doubt,” Tracy said, dismissing me, and then asked Pam, “How was your date?”

“Honestly?” Pam asked as she glanced over at me.

“Don’t look at me,” I said.

“Don was sort of boring. His sister got out of hand, and he had to take her home, so he missed about half of the dance. When he got back, all he wanted to do was talk to his friends,” Pam said.

“So, a complete waste?” Tracy asked.

“Pretty much. Cassidy can have him back. I think I’m still within the thirty-day return window,” Pam shared.

“I thought he dumped her. Why would she want him back?” Tracy asked.

None of us had an answer to that.

After we ordered and got our drinks, Tracy pulled a wrapped package out of her enormous purse and handed it to me.

“What’s this?” I asked.

“Just open it,” Tracy said.

Tracy had to have had it wrapped at the store because it was done so nicely. I took my time to undo the tape so as not to damage the gold paper. I opened the package and saw what was inside, and smiled.

“She got it published,” I announced.

Jocelyn, Tracy’s roommate and Destiny’s cousin, had exhibited her photographs at an art show at the Krannert Art Museum, where she’d showcased a technique called ‘mirrored images.’ She’d explained that they represented the duality of life and showed that there were always two sides to every story.

I’d encouraged her to make them into a coffee-table book, and her professor, Dr. Garrison, agreed. I’d sent her to Mr. Hill, for whom I’d done a lot of modeling work, because he owned his own advertising company. I figured he would know how she could get her book published.

“She wrote something inside the cover for you,” Tracy said.

I opened it and read it.

“She said you could swing by,” Tracy said.

“Probably not. My dad got on me pretty good about stuff like that. Tell her thanks, but I’m trying to be a better man.”

I could tell neither girl bought that one.

“Be sure to thank her for the book. I hope it sells well,” I added.

“I’ll tell her,” Tracy assured me.

“Come to think of it, give me her number, and I’ll thank her personally,” I decided.

“There’s my favorite slut,” Tracy said.

“Bite me, Princess. It would mean more if I did it personally.”

“Whatev,” Tracy fired back.

Our food came, and I talked to them about moving to LA.

“Cindy has gotten busy and has the condo close to ready. When do you gals plan to move in?” I asked.

“Probably the middle of August. We were, along with Cassidy, talking about spending at least a week to get settled before school started,” Pam shared.

“Let Lexi know when you finally decide, and I’ll get the Mustang delivered.”

“Someone’s getting lucky tonight,” Tracy all but purred.

“Back off. You just got to play with him at your lake house. He asked me out tonight,” Pam told her friend.

“We could share him,” Tracy suggested.

“Do I get a vote in this?” I asked.

At that point, Mr. Happy suggested that I shut up because he REALLY wanted them both.

“No. You just get me tonight,” Pam said.

I was sincerely hoping that this was how college would be. None of this expecting or wishing you would score after your date. It should be all spelled out up front. As soon as I thought that, the big brain reengaged. It knew better than to ever think a woman knew what she wanted before a date. My wish was a pipe dream, at best.

“You know our boy. You won’t be enough to satisfy him. I’ll even wait until you beg him to stop,” Tracy said, making a reasonable request.

“IF, and that’s a big if, he needs more, I’ll call you,” Pam said.

“But I’m your best friend,” Tracy tried.

“Maybe when I thank Jocelyn...” I began.

“I was just kidding when I suggested that. You don’t want to just be another notch in her lipstick case. Maybe we can hook up before you leave,” Tracy said, whether to console me or get me back on track, I didn’t know.

Pam stuck her tongue out at her best friend.

“He loves me best.”

I was reconsidering having told her that. Then she smiled at me, and it all came back.

We dropped Tracy off since she claimed she had to study for finals. Both Pam and I did too, but Chrissy’s article jumped to mind. It was best to have some stress relief before we delved into test-taking.

I’d been told Friday that if my grades held, I would be valedictorian. I had no doubt they would. Vice Principal Palm requested that I write out my speech so he could review it. I planned to do that tonight. Well, I guess not exactly: I decided I would just do an Internet search, find one, and give that to him on Monday to get him off my back.

I didn’t plan to do anything controversial, but I wasn’t in the mood for the school administration to tell me what I could or couldn’t say.

Then I had a brilliant idea: I would ask my publicist to come up with something. If I paid him anyway, why not put him to work? At the very least, he always had good ideas that I could craft into my speech.

Once we got to my apartment, Pam looked shocked.

“I guess I knew you were leaving after next weekend; this just made it real.”

There were boxes stacked along the walls, all labeled as to what went where.

“I fly to London next Sunday night to start filming.”

Pam got a little teary-eyed, which affected me. My schedule was to film my movies and then go to Oklahoma for school starting spring semester. I might only see her when I went to our new home in Malibu. She was someone I would miss.

“We’ll stay in touch through video chat,” I assured her. “Plus, you’re about to go off on a grand adventure of your own. You’ll meet all kinds of people when you go to Loyola Marymount. Tracy and Cassidy will be there too.”

“I know. It’s just a lot of change.”

I could see why she was worried. While I’d gone off on my own to football, baseball, and modeling camps, I’d also filmed several projects that took me away from home. Pam had never been away from her mom. Once she moved out, and began to live on her own, it would be daunting. She might even get homesick. But I was confident that she would be okay with her friends around her.

I suggested we watch a movie on streaming video. Pam agreed, so I made us some popcorn and got us drinks as we settled on the couch. The movie started, and she gave me a shy look.

“Can Mr. Happy come out to play?” she asked as she grasped him through my jeans.

Even though I’d expected this, I was caught off guard. Usually, Pam wasn’t the aggressive type. On top of being mildly surprised, I was a little irritated with Lisa Felton for sharing in her personal blog that I’d named my dick.

“Slow down, Pam.”

I said one thing, but my hips rocked upward to increase the contact. I sucked in my breath as she worked to open my zipper. Pam reached into the opening of my boxers, and her fingers grazed the rock-hard length of my cock.

“Wow,” was all I got out before she had my pants undone.

Before I could utter another word, she’d twisted around and grabbed my jeans and boxers. I lifted my butt and let Pam pull them down my hips. Mr. Happy stood up and waved at her seconds before she wrapped her hand around the shaft. I had visions of dead kittens and math equations going through my head to keep me from embarrassing myself right then.

Pam ruined my cool when she leaned down and took me into her mouth.

“Frick!” I moaned, giving my warning right before I unleashed.

Pam came up coughing.

“What the hell, David?” she complained.

“I told you to slow down,” I said and then tried a different approach. “You’re just too hot. Besides, now I’ll last longer.”

She gave me a calculated look. In turn, I gave her my best sexy smile.

“How come you’re wearing more clothes than me?” I asked playfully.

“If I’m too hot with my clothes on...” she said with raised eyebrows.

“I promise to make it up to you.”

“You promise?”

“Yes, it’ll be worth your while,” I assured her.

Pam got off the couch and did a little striptease for me. It merely reminded me why my California surfer girl had come in second in the Miss California Teen contest. She was smoking hot.

“Wow,” I said again.

“Hold that thought,” I continued as I jumped up and went to my bedroom to get a condom.

I put it on and had her get onto the couch with her legs spread. I wanted to make sure she was ready, so I went down on her. Pam and I had been together enough that we knew what to do to each other to furnish pleasure. She began to squirm from my efforts.

“I want you to put your cock inside of me. Now!” Pam cried as her orgasm took her.

She was breathtaking, lost to her own pleasure. It was all I could do to wait for her to catch her breath. When I thought she had come back to earth, I took Mr. Happy into my hand and pressed the head into her entrance. I waited for a second. It took every ounce of my self-control to wait until she was ready. Pam looked me in the eye and gave me a little nod. With a steady push, I thrust all the way in.

This was it. Nirvana. Bliss. Me. Right now. Us together, at this moment. Her wet heat wrapped around me. It all felt so incredibly good.

Her fingers threaded their way into my hair. I grabbed her hips and gave her a tentative thrust. I watched for the signs that she had adjusted to my invasion and made little movements in and out until I saw her relax into being so filled. The moment she was ready, I began to thrust.

As we made love, she became an active participant. Pam adjusted her hips so I could sink deeper. It became a team effort as she rose to meet me. We set a steady pace. The goal was a marathon session, not a sprint, at that point.

Pam and I always meshed sexually. The giving and receiving of pleasure had been our goal from the first time we shared our bodies. I took a moment to lean back and observe my defined abs going down to where we were joined. Her body under me was glorious. I loved the look of pure bliss on her face as her breasts made a little wobble each time we came together.

I tried to take in every sensation since this might be our last for quite a while. The flush that darkened the skin of Pam’s chest; the little squeaks she made; the scent of mint from her shampoo; her luscious lips that were begging to be kissed. I couldn’t resist the invitation as I dipped my head to her mouth and captured her lips as we made love.

Our mouths came together in a hard, sloppy, glorious kiss. It just added to what was happening.

I reached down and slid my hands under her thighs to lift them higher.

“Wrap them around my hips,” I encouraged her.

I’ve never had her do that before, but she got the idea and crossed her ankles around my waist.

“Is that how you want it?”

“Exactly,” I assured her.

When I began to thrust again, she got it and groaned her pleasure. I let my head fall back as I felt myself approach the point of no return. I held off, though, as I waited for Pam to get there first. From the way she began to huff, I could tell she was close, too. I began to drive harder and deeper, hitting that magic spot within her that tripped a switch.

“Hand to heart, you’re the best,” she shared.

That distracted me enough to allow me to plow on. Pam began to raggedly gasp for breath, and I felt her start to shudder. This would be a big one. She clamped her thighs tighter, and I felt her heels dig into my backside. She was about to lose control, and her movements became erratic, as if she was trying to buck me off.

“David, oh God, oh God ... David!” Pam cried out.

A moment later, she began to chant.

“I’m coming, I’m coming, I’m coming.”

In my mind, the crowd roared. When I heard her say that, it was the hottest thing ever.

Pam and I had a connection that went beyond a bit of fun. She was the mother of my child, the girl I’d asked not once but twice to marry me. She’d been smart and turned me down, but that’s not the point. Being with Pam was always going to be something special to me.

Unbidden, I felt tears well up as the emotion of the moment took over. This was one of those rare moments you know you want to always remember.

Finally, I felt the inevitable happen. Yes! Hell, yes, this was us showing each other how much we meant to each other. I let out a low moan simply because I had to voice it. We were both rigid as we experienced the ultimate pleasure.

I was a little disappointed when she pulled off me and headed to the bathroom to clean up. I had a small smile touch my lips as I watched the sway of her hips. The movie quote, ‘I hate to see you go, but I love to watch you leave,’ came to mind. While she was gone, I disposed of the condom.

She came back out, climbed onto my lap, and gave me a searing kiss.

“That was simply perfect,” Pam announced.

“Do you think your mom will let you have a sleepover?” I asked.

“Oh, my. Do I need to call Tracy?”

“No. You’re more than enough for me,” I assured her.

“Right answer. Let me go call my mom and let her know not to expect me until morning.”

In my head, I did a fist pump.

Sunday May 7
I felt my bed move. At first, I thought it was Duke being bad, but then I remembered Pam had spent the night. I cracked my eyes open and saw it was still dark, though there was enough light that I could see she was getting dressed.

“You leaving me?” I asked as I stretched.

“I decided I didn’t want to do the walk of shame in the daylight.”

“I’ll get dressed and take you home,” I offered.

“How about you just give me your keys? I’ll bring your car back later.”

I had a momentary flash of her wrecking my car. The Demon was not something you wanted to drive for the first time in the middle of the night.

“No, I’ll take you,” I insisted.

I got dressed, and we made our way to the car. Precious was outside and looking miserable. One of the boys next door must have put her out and not let her back in. I reached down and picked her up.

“You want to spend the night in my apartment?” I asked the cat.

I went back and opened the door. Precious ran up the steps like she owned the place.

“Isn’t that the evil cat you’re always talking about?” Pam asked.

“She and I have come to an understanding. I treat her right, and she doesn’t claw me to death.”

When we were almost to Pam’s condo, she began to talk.

“I’m going to miss you.”

“Me too. Can I ask you a favor?” I inquired.

“Sure.”

“Can you look in on not just Coby, but all of them for me?”

“Because I’m your favorite?”

“Yes.”

“Then, yes. David?”

“Yes?

“Do you really love me the best?”

“Yes.”

That made her happy.

I came back to find Precious sprawled out on my pillow. I shook my head because I should’ve seen that one coming. She wasn’t happy when I flopped onto the bed next to her. I chuckled when the cat from hell decided she would rather sleep elsewhere than have me torment her. She’d just lost some of her street cred.

I woke when I heard my door open. At some point last night, Precious had decided she could sleep on my bed. I knew it had to be her mistress, Brit, by the way Precious got up and stretched. When Brit stuck her head in my door, the cat gave her a mournful meow in greeting.

“There’s my baby.”

“I found her in my drive at three in the morning. I convinced her to have a sleepover.”

“The bad man kidnapped you?” Brit asked and smirked at me as Precious told her mom about the horrors she’d been subjected to last night.

“Did someone let her out?” I asked.

“Bryan is looking guilty this morning.”

“Just don’t hurt him until we’re done winning state,” I suggested.

“I’ll take it under advisement, but I can’t promise anything.”

“Are you taking Precious with you when you go to school?” I asked.

“I’m moving into the dorms, and they don’t allow pets. Mom and Dad say they want me to find a home for her,” Brit admitted.

“I can’t believe your parents wouldn’t want such a fine kitty to terrorize them while you’re at school,” I said.

“Dad says he loves me ... but not that much. I was hoping you would take her,” Brit said.

“Hell, no,” I said without hesitation.

“But she likes you, and she loves Duke. She all but raised him from a puppy,” Brit said as she batted her eyes at me.

“You would have to convince my parents because I’m not hauling her all over the world while I film my movies. Plus, she thinks she can either sleep on my pillow or my chest. I can’t have claw marks all over me if I’m going to be on camera,” I said to slow her roll.

She just got a big grin.

“Thanks, David. You’re the best.”

I had to blink a few times to figure out what just happened. I hadn’t agreed to take Precious, had I?

Mentally reviewing our conversation, I didn’t remember saying anything of the sort.

Brit made a hasty retreat with her charge before I could stop her. Then it dawned on me: I’d said she would have to convince my parents. I debated whether I should warn them. It might be more amusing if they were blindsided by this one.

Monday May 8
I turned in my valedictorian speech to Vice Principal Palm to get that out of the way. I’d surfed the Internet and found a couple that sounded okay and stole from them. I didn’t plan to actually use the one I submitted. He was just nervous about what I might say, and I was placating him. Or setting him up to be blindsided, I didn’t know which. I couldn’t understand his worry. Anyway, I’d given him something to look at to make him happy.

The baseball semifinals and finals were being played at State’s stadium. We’d drawn Marian Catholic as our opponent. In the other bracket, it was Central, which might be considered the home team because they were located just a few miles away from the stadium, and Benet Academy.

We would play in the first game, which started at one. The other contest would be played in prime time at seven tonight. The baseball team was let out of school at ten-thirty, while the rest of the student body was being released at noon. The Booster Club had offered buses to the game for anyone who wanted to go. From what we heard, we might get the whole student body to attend today’s game.

Our boosters had also arranged to send us to the game in style again. They had sack lunches ready for us as we got on. Once we arrived at State, we went to the locker room to get dressed.

I’d noticed that my brother had had an indelible grin on his face all morning. I went over to investigate and found Phil with his friends, Yuri and Roc.

“Why’s he so happy?” I asked.

“We think he got laid,” Roc answered.

“Hell, to the yeah!” Phil crowed as he danced around.

“Jill?” I asked.

“No, I met a college girl Saturday.”

I raised an eyebrow. While I wasn’t one to talk, I was curious about how the little dumbass had managed to pull that off.

“We went to a frat party,” Yuri said.

“Before you jump to conclusions, we didn’t drink,” Roc assured me, probably because of the look I gave them.

“Please tell me you used a condom,” I said to my brother.

His grin turned upside down.

“I think this will be a record for a Dawson. David at least waited to have his first baby until spring of his junior year,” Yuri said.

“If she would go with you...” Roc said with concern on his face, “you might want to get checked.”

Sometimes you didn’t even have to jump in to torment your little brother. His friends had done an excellent job for me.

“Do you want me to call your mom and have her set up an appointment so you can get tested for sexually transmitted infections?” I asked.

He called me a bad word and stormed off. I followed him and found him in the bathroom in one of the stalls.

“Dude, this is why you don’t share your exploits. People are going to poke fun at you,” I coached Phil.

“Get lost, David,” Phil said.

“I hate to say it, but I would get checked. I know a place where you can get it done, and no one has to know.”

“You do?”

I decided that I needed to be a big brother and help him.

“Believe me, it’s much better than having your mom go with you. That’s something that might have scarred me for life,” I shared.

I heard him chuckle.

“Look, I would even take you,” I offered.

Phil opened the stall so we could talk face-to-face.

“You’re not always a dick,” Phil admitted.

“That’s what brothers are, half dick and half there for you. It’s the latter half that you’ll appreciate as you get older. Both Greg and I will always look out for you,” I assured him.

“I’d like your help.”

I nodded.

“What happened with Jill?” I asked.

Phil had taken her to Prom, and I’d even provided him with a hotel room. If he was out trying to pick up a college girl, it must not have gone well with his ex.