Chapter 34

The last half of May, 1980, it seemed like Gina’s father worked seven days a week. His new TV station planned to go on the air June 1, and they still had a lot of work to do. Gina and I studied for our exams and looked forward to the end of school.

In addition, I spent as much time as I could at the construction site of the Coulters’ new house. Steve Easterbrook was often on-site, and I had a bad habit of following him around like a puppy. Gina and I stopped by every day on our way home from school. Gina wasn’t all that interested in the dirt and construction mess, but she knew how much I looked forward to our afternoon visits.

Every time Steve was there, I felt a rush of anticipation. He could tell how excited I was, and he always took the time to answer my questions, show me drawings, or explain what was going on. They were a little behind schedule because of rain delays (it was spring, after all), but the weather had turned nice and the house was finally “under roof.”

When the brick masons arrived to start laying the house’s façade, I immediately thought of Dennis Raeford. Watching the masons work was actually cool, so I asked them if I could try laying a few bricks. Since I was with Steve, the lead mason didn’t object. The man even took the time to show me how to do it.

It didn’t take many bricks before I gained an appreciation for how difficult their work was. It took me ten minutes to lay ten bricks. When I stepped back, proud of my line, I realized that in ten minutes, one of the professional masons had laid more than fifty bricks. And where his were razor-straight, mine were an uneven mess. In short, my bricklaying skills left a lot to be desired.

“You’d better go ahead and take those down,” I said to the lead mason. “I guess they’re a disaster.”

He grinned at Steve and then began pulling my bricks off his neat, orderly wall. “It takes practice, sonny,” he said with a grin. “Layin’ brick ain’t easy.”

“I bet you can lay bricks almost as good as he can,” I said to Steve, dismayed. If I couldn’t do something as seemingly simple as put one brick next to another, how could I ever hope to be an architect?

“Not on your life,” he answered immediately. “Oh, I can lay brick, but I’m not much better than you.”

“Then how’d you become an architect?”

“Paul,” he explained patiently, “I know how to do most of the different jobs, but I’m not an expert at any of them. My skill is design, and knowing what needs to happen, and when. I understand building codes, and design techniques to create a desired effect. I may not be able to lay bricks like Jimmy, but I can tell you about load-bearing walls, residential traffic patterns, and stuff like that. It’s my responsibility to get the overall project done, not each individual job. I see the whole project in my head.”

“I do that too!”

“Do what?”

“See the whole thing,” I said, my excitement building. “The very first time I saw the plans, I knew what the house was going to look like. I could see it, in my head!”

“That’s what it takes to be a good architect, Paul.”

“Really?”

He nodded reassuringly.

“Cool.”

When we looked up, Gina was grinning at us.

“Are you ready to go, pitter-pat man?” she asked me, her eyes twinkling. “We have an English final to study for. And I’ll be worse than Lady Macbeth if we don’t get to it soon.”

“‘Out, damned spot!’” Steve quoted with a grin, making a shooing motion. “‘Out, I say!’”

Gina and I spent the rest of the weekend studying. To my surprise, I actually made an A plus on my English final. I did well on my other finals too. And when it became clear that I was probably going to succeed at my parents’ car-for-grades challenge, I started looking in the newspaper for used cars. Mom and Dad told me how much I could spend, and I diligently began making a list.

At the end of the school year, when I got the rest of my grades, only one of them surprised me. Instead of making a B in Spanish, I actually made an A minus. I made an A in Honors American History, an A plus in Honors English, an A in Art, a B in Physics, and a B plus in Algebra II.

That was a 3.67 GPA, and I was getting a car!

Actually, I didn’t really want a car. I wanted a Jeep CJ-5. I found a couple I liked, but I kept coming back to one in particular. It was a ‘74 CJ-5, with a V8 and a 3-speed transmission. It had bigger tires and a couple of inches of lift, but nothing too redneck-looking. It was midnight blue, with the original tan soft top, doors, and bikini top.

It was at a used car dealer’s lot, so my dad went with me to look at it. When we took it to our family mechanic, he examined it and said it was in good condition. It would need to have the brake pads and air filter replaced, but other than that, it was fine.

Dad started negotiating with the car dealer, and ended up getting the Jeep for $200 less when he agreed to buy a second car. Dad hated leaving his Corvette at the airport whenever he flew long trips, so he wanted to get something cheap to use as an “airport car.” In addition to my Jeep, we bought a ‘65 Volkswagen Karmann Ghia (which the mechanic also said was in good condition).

Dad and I drove our new cars home and then I took him back to get his Corvette, which the dealer had diligently tried to get Dad to trade in. When we returned the second time, Mom and Erin came out to admire the two new cars.

Gina knew I wanted a Jeep, but she was pleasantly surprised when she saw it. I guess she probably thought I wanted some goofy Army jeep, or a mailman’s Jeep. When she saw what I had actually picked out, she thought it was cool.

“It fits your personality,” she said.

“Thanks.”

For my seventeenth birthday, we had another big party, this time at our house. Once again, we cooked out and invited Scott, Shannon, and Heather. The three of them seemed to be getting used to being nude—Scott and Shannon only had to slip away to the bathroom once.

Susan called while we were still cooking, and I talked to her for about ten minutes. She said she was looking forward to seeing all of us in a few weeks. And she said she had a big surprise—sort of a birthday gift—for me at camp. A few minutes later, Gina came into the office, so I let her talk to Susan for a few minutes.

When Gina handed the phone back to me, she looked around carefully. Our families and friends were all outside, so no one could see us. With a grin, she dropped to her knees and took my limp penis into her mouth. On the phone, I could almost hear Susan grinning at me.

“Is she sucking you?” the older woman asked.

“Oh, yeah,” I half-grunted.

“I asked her to give you a blowjob for me, since I can’t be there to do it in person.”

“Oh ... thanks.”

For the next few minutes, Susan merely listened as I groaned softly, lost in the sensations as Gina ran her lips and tongue over my length. Where we were standing—or kneeling—I had a good view of the back door, and I would probably be able to see anyone coming into the house before he saw us. But the danger added to my arousal, and I came quickly.

“Happy birthday,” Susan said over the phone.

“Happy birthday from Susan,” Gina unknowingly echoed with a satisfied grin.

Gina and Susan talked for a couple of minutes, and Gina lovingly described the taste of my semen. The two of them were teasing me, but I enjoyed it. Finally, Susan wished me a happy birthday again, and we hung up.

When we came back outside, Mom glanced at my red cock and then looked at Gina. Instead of reproaching us, Mom merely rolled her eyes and grinned.

Later, Mom and Erin put a big red ribbon on my new Jeep and my parents ceremoniously gave me the keys. The Coulters got me a really nice backpack with a compact aluminum frame. The new pack held twice as much as my daypack, and with the frame, the weight was distributed better, so it felt lighter.

Scott and Shannon gave me a couple of albums I wanted, Blondie and Queen. Heather’s present was the coolest “game” I’d ever seen, a Rubik’s Cube. My dad finally had to tell me to put down my new toy and pay attention to our guests. I hate to say it, but I think he only wanted me to put down the Cube so he could play with it.

And even though I expected it, I acted surprised when I opened Gina and Kendall’s gift, a silver ring with “P-G-K ‘80” engraved inside it. Since Gina wore my class ring—heavily padded so it wouldn’t slip off her finger—she knew what size ring to get me. Gina and Heather also whispered that they had another gift for me, once again, “for later.”

A little later, Kendall called. I went inside to talk to her in private. She was home from school and was really looking forward to seeing me when her family came to camp.

“What are you doing before then?” I asked.

“Nothing really. Just helping around the house. Why?”

“Why don’t you come spend a week down here? My dad’s got to fly about two weeks of trips, so we won’t be leaving for camp until almost the end of June. If it’s okay with your parents, you could stay in our guest bedroom.”

“Really?”

“Sure,” I said confidently. “I don’t see why not. I mean, I’ll have to ask my parents, but I think they’d love to have you.”

“Oh, my goodness, Paul, that would be wonderful!”

“I could even drive up and get you,” I said. Then I told her about my new Jeep.

“Let me ask my parents. Can I call you back? Later tonight?”

“Sure.”

“Oh, Paul,” she said, “I love you so much.”

“I love you too, sweetheart.”

“I’ll call you. Later.”

After the party, all the teenagers hopped in my new Jeep and went to meet Kelly, Livy, Mike, and his new girlfriend, Debbie. At our favorite pizza parlor, we hung out for a while and talked about the end of school—which had been two days before—and what it felt like to be seniors.

Later, we returned to my house so Scott and Shannon could pick up his car. Then, Gina and Heather looked at me with matching twinkles in their eyes. Gina asked me to drive us to her house. Once there, we almost immediately headed up to her room. Her parents had taken Erin and Leah out to a movie, so we had the house to ourselves.

In Gina’s room, she and Heather showed me the first of their private presents, a pair of silk pajama bottoms. At their urging, I put them on. I especially enjoyed it when the girls decided to see how they felt and started fondling me. Then they pushed me onto the bed so I could watch their slow striptease. When they were nude, they dragged me into the master bathroom.

Once there, my second private present was to watch them shave themselves. Heather was getting comfortable with Gina touching her, but the blonde girl still didn’t seem to be interested in returning the favor. While they spread themselves open, I unbuttoned the pajamas’ fly and extracted my erection. Once they were both clean-shaven, they took me back to Gina’s room for my third and final private present.

Heather wanted me to take her virginity.

Over the final weeks of school, I had realized that Heather was working up to something big, but I had no idea how big. I thought it had been letting Gina go down on her, but I was wrong. I wanted to simply jump in bed with her and screw her silly, but my conscience kicked in, and I asked if she was sure.

“I’m sure,” she said.

She was as horny as I’d ever seen her, and I quickly realized that she wanted to have sex because she was ready, not because she thought that’s what I wanted. Heather had seen Gina and me together—many times—so she decided I would be The One.

The two girls had been using “Pinky” for several months. In addition, Heather had been giving me blowjobs and I had gone down on her almost as often. So she thought she knew what to expect. But when she spread her legs, she looked a little nervous.

I slowed down and kissed up her body, taking time to tickle the backs of her knees, the sensitive skin on her inner thighs, the insides of her wrists. With my erection bumping her inner thigh, I nuzzled her neck and kissed her earlobes until she gasped, clutching my head and grinding her hips against my stomach. Then I moved lower and sucked her nipples, marveling at how firm her breasts were despite their size. When I began licking her freshly shaved slit, she quickly grew slippery.

As I looked up, Gina was smiling at us and playing with herself. At her gesture, I returned my attention to Heather. Fifteen minutes later, the curvy blonde gasped and shuddered with her first orgasm of the night. When I continued licking her smooth pussy, she begged me to fuck her.

I moved between her legs and teased her with my hard shaft, rubbing its length along her channel. Then I set the tip at her opening and eased forward. She was so worked up that her pussy was practically gushing. My cock slid home with ease, spreading her virginal lips and caressing her sensitive inner ridges.

“Oh ... my ... God,” Heather gasped.

“See what I mean?” Gina asked the blonde girl.

“Oh, yes,” Heather hissed, lightly clawing my back. “This is so much better than your vibrator.”

She wasn’t on the pill, so I needed to be careful and not come inside her, but I knew I could keep things under control. Her pussy quickly adjusted to my girth and she urged me to start moving within her. When I did, her fingernails dug into my back and she moaned in pleasure.

For the next couple of hours, Heather, Gina, and I enjoyed ourselves. Heather’s pussy was a little sore after the second time we had sex, but she was more than happy to help Gina suck me off. Gina stayed dripping-wet the entire night, and once again seemed to be in sexual overdrive. When I finally drove home, a little before midnight, I was completely drained and Heather was a very satisfied non-virgin.

When Mom heard me at my bedroom door, she came out of her room and walked toward me, rubbing her eyes sleepily.

“Did you have fun tonight?” she asked, standing on tiptoe to kiss my cheek. Then her eyes widened as she smelled Gina and Heather on my face. “I guess you did.”

I felt my face heating.

“Kendall called,” Mom continued. “She sounded pretty excited. She wanted you to call her back, if you got home before midnight.”

I quickly looked at my watch. I had about five minutes.

“She mentioned something about coming to visit,” Mom prompted.

“Oops.”

“Was there something you wanted to ask us?”

“Um, yeah,” I said. Then I asked if Kendall could come visit for a week and stay in our guest bedroom.

“Sure,” Mom said without hesitation. “We’d love to have her.” Then she paused, thinking. “Do you want me to talk to her mother, to make sure everything’s okay?”

“Do you mind?”

“Not at all. But I’ll do it in the morning.” She kissed me on the cheek again. “I don’t know how you keep so many women happy at once, but they’re certainly lucky you do.”

“I dunno how I do it either,” I replied with a shrug. “I guess my parents raised me right.”

With that, she squeezed my arm and silently padded back to her room.

Once inside my bedroom, I quickly called Kendall. She answered, sleepily, on the first ring. As soon as she heard my voice, she perked up. I apologized for calling so late, and explained that I’d been out with Gina, Scott, Shannon, and other friends. I decided to tell her about Heather some other time.

While we talked, I took off my clothes and climbed into bed. Kendall’s parents had agreed to let her come visit, as long as it was okay with my parents. I told her about my mom’s offer to call her mom, and she said it was a good idea.

Then what we both intended to be a short conversation turned into four hours. We talked about UT, about the end of my junior year, about my SAT exam—I was surprised that I scored a 1350—and more. We also talked about her parents. Her father still didn’t realize she was having sex, but her mother obviously knew what was going on.

“I had no idea that my mom understood so much about me,” she said.

“See?”

“She’s been really cool about it too,” she said. “My dad didn’t want to let me come spend the week with you, but my mom talked him into it.” Then she sighed in wonder.

I chuckled softly.

“Yeah, Mr. Smug. I know, I know, you told me so.”

After that, we talked more about her relationship with her parents. With her away at school, she and her mother had grown very close. She still seemed to have a blind spot where her own emotions were concerned, but it was gradually shrinking as she began to “overcome some of her presuppositions,” as she put it.

Toward the end of our conversation, we were both joking about dirty phone calls, and one thing led to another. While I listened to her masturbate, I stroked myself. At my urging, she told me what she was doing, in a husky whisper. When the phone grew silent, I knew she was coming.

“It’s still better when you’re inside me,” she said, panting softly. Then, in exquisite detail, she told me how she wanted to straddle me and slide her pussy over my cock. She told me she’d hold my hands over her breasts and let me play with her nipples while she rocked against me.

“Oh, God,” I groaned. “I’m gonna come.” With a rush, I erupted, hot come splattering onto my stomach.

“If I were there,” she said, her voice sultry, “I’d clean you up.”

“If you were here, I wouldn’t need to be cleaned up. I’d’ve come inside you.”

She laughed tiredly and told me she loved me. I said I loved her and we talked for another fifteen minutes. But by then, 4:18 a.m., we were both incredibly sleepy, so we said goodnight.

My life was so hard. My parents were going to kill me for the four-hour long-distance phone call, but I was too happy to care.

The next week, I put the doors and top on the Jeep and then drove to Chattanooga to pick up Kendall. At first, my parents weren’t going to let me drive that far by myself, especially since I’d only been driving the Jeep for less than two weeks. But I promised to drive the speed limit and be careful, so they ultimately consented.

At Kendall’s house, we spent the afternoon with her mom and then had dinner with the entire family. Immediately after we finished eating, Drew got on the phone with his girlfriend. Adam, Melissa, Kendall and I then talked for a while in the living room.

About an hour later, we loaded Kendall’s suitcase into the back of the Jeep. When Adam asked me about it, I explained the car-for-grades challenge. Not only did he approve of my GPA, he even liked my choice in cars (since he drove a International Scout, which was similar to my Jeep).

After a little more small talk, Kendall and I said our goodbyes and climbed into the Jeep. It wasn’t the quietest or most comfortable car in the world, but Kendall thought it was great.

At my house, we unloaded Kendall’s things and I called Gina to let her know we were home safe. I invited her over, but she was cleaning house, and said she’d see us the following day. Lisa McGrath was supposed to come for a visit the next day. She planned to stay for a few days and then she and Gina were going back to Charleston for a week, to visit Lisa’s family.

After Kendall and I took a shower and got cleaned up, we fixed some popcorn and settled onto the couch to watch TV. My father had already left for his trip, but Mom joined us. On the way back from Chattanooga, Kendall and I had talked about how to ask my parents if she could spend the night with me. As it turned out, that wasn’t necessary.

“I saw you put your suitcase in the guest bedroom,” Mom said to Kendall. “Did you want to stay in there?”

“We thought ... I mean... , “ Kendall said.

“I guess we were wondering if she could just sleep in my room,” I said. “But we didn’t know what you and Dad would say, so...”

Then Mom grinned at us. “You know you’re going to cause all sorts of problems for me, don’t you?”

“If ... I mean ... um ... if you don’t want us to...”

“It’s not that,” Mom said with a grin. “What am I going to tell Erin when she has a boyfriend she wants to sleep over?”

“Oh,” I said. “We hadn’t even thought of that.” Then I looked at Kendall. “Don’t tell me you did,” I accused.

Her shrug said she had thought about it.

“Don’t worry about it,” Mom replied, smiling to let me off the hook. “Your father and I have talked about it. When Erin has a boyfriend she’s having sex with, we’ll see. But he probably won’t be allowed to spend the night until she’s sixteen, and only if we know and trust the boy’s parents.”

“I guess it’s too bad Gina doesn’t have a brother,” I said.

“Good God, no,” Mom blurted. “Heaven help us if she did!” She and Kendall grinned at each other. “I’ll make sure Erin understands,” Mom continued. “So you two can sleep together, or not. You’re an adult,” she said to Kendall. Then she turned to me. “And you’re close enough. So I’ll leave it up to you to decide.”

“Oh,” I said. “That’s easy. I want Kendall to sleep with me.”

Kendall nodded in agreement.

The next day, Kendall, Gina, and I picked up Lisa at the airport. When we got back to Gina’s house, our sisters and a couple of their friends were there, lying out topless. As soon as their friends saw me, they immediately covered up. Erin and Leah merely grinned.

Since the four younger girls were at Gina’s, we decided to go hang out at my house. On the way there, I showed Kendall and Lisa the Coulters’ new house, which was still under construction.

Gina seemed bored with the house, but Kendall listened attentively as I pointed out little design features and details. Afterward, we climbed back into the Jeep and headed to my house. Mom was out shopping with Elizabeth and Scott Anderson’s mom, so we had the place to ourselves.

Since we had a privacy fence around the back yard, Gina and Lisa wanted to sunbathe nude. Kendall and I joined them. Soon enough, Gina and Lisa started fooling around. The rest of the afternoon was pretty much a blur of breasts, legs, and asses. I came three times and finally had to take a break. Kendall curled up in my lap and we snuggled as Gina and Lisa kept going.

The next two days were more of the same. One afternoon, when Mom and Erin were out shopping, Heather came over. I had my hands full with four girls. Fortunately, we only had a couple of hours. Otherwise, I think they would’ve kept going. Kendall realized I was getting tired and suggested that we relax and simply soak up the sun.

To be honest, it was a relief when we dropped off Gina and Lisa at the airport. Kendall and I spent the rest of our week relaxing. We enjoyed sleeping together and ended up talking about a lot of things: Gina, college, my last year in high school, wrestling, Kendall’s friends, her home life, and more.

When I finally drove Kendall home, I felt closer to her than ever. She wasn’t as sexually adventuresome as Gina, but we seemed to have a deeper connection. I loved both girls very much, but I was beginning to see major differences between them.

The last week of June, my family headed to camp. Susan was happy to see us, and I was looking forward to spending a week alone with her. The present she told me about turned out to be a new exercise building, on the shoulder of the hill the clubhouse sat on. Over the winter, construction workers had removed one of the shuffleboard courts and replaced it with a small, screened-in building with an Astroturf-covered floor.

In addition to a stationary bicycle, it had a complete set of free weights, with nearly a thousand pounds of plates and two racks of dumbbells. A friend of Susan’s from town had helped her pick out the equipment, including several weight machines and a treadmill.

It was partially a birthday present for me, but she knew the other camp members would benefit from it as well. She had even bought special chrome-plated weights and machines, to survive the humid climate in South Carolina.

After she showed me the weight room, we headed down to the lake to soak up some sun. We pulled loungers next to my parents and Susan told us about what was going on in her sons’ lives. She had gone to Annapolis for Kirk’s graduation and commissioning as a Navy Ensign. Following in his father’s footsteps, he had been selected for flight training, and was currently stationed at NAS Pensacola.

Once Doug graduated, he planned to get a job with a microchip company in Austin and work on his Masters degree at UT. (When Susan said UT, she meant the University of Texas. When I said it, I meant the University of Tennessee. We had a few interesting misunderstandings before we straightened out our vocabulary and decided to call them simply Tennessee and Texas.)

Susan also told us about Stacy and Jason. They were living together in a small apartment in Columbia. Stacy was doing well in school, and had made the dean’s list both semesters. She had also earned a second year of her scholarship. Jason had finished his MBA and was studying to become a CPA.

Then Susan told us about her plans for her house and the camp in general. At her house, she wanted to replace the back porch roof with a pergola—with latticework sides—for her jasmine to climb. She also wanted to buy a hot tub to put under the new pergola.

For the camp itself, she planned to remove the remaining shuffleboard court and add an in-ground hot tub. In addition, she’d have the space to add an outdoor shower, which would serve the volleyball court, the hot tub, and the exercise building.

She and Gunny had also decided to start installing window-unit air conditioners in the motel-style buildings. Air conditioning the cabins would be trickier, because they would require larger units, but she planned to add ceiling fans to all of them.

Finally, Susan wanted to completely remodel Bernie Kestrel’s old house. Dwight Delozier had offered to take a look and give her an estimate on the cost of the job. He owned a small construction company in Spartanburg, and he’d be able to tell her what she needed to have done. Dwight had also offered to tear down her porch and build the pergola for her. When I immediately volunteered to help, she grinned.

“I was hoping you would,” she said.

“I like working with Dwight. Besides, it’ll give me some good experience.”

Then I told her about how I wanted to be an architect. My parents had heard it all before, but they still smiled at my enthusiasm. Susan listened attentively as I talked about the Coulters’ new house, how cool Steve Easterbrook was, and how I’d already learned a lot about different architectural styles.

When she asked me what made me decide to be an architect, I told her about how I could “see” the Coulters’ new house in my imagination. I couldn’t explain it very well, but whenever I thought about designing a building, or when I recognized an architectural style, it somehow felt right. Even though she grinned at my zeal, she took me seriously.

“So you’re really serious about becoming an architect?” she asked when I finally wound down.

“Oh, yes,” Mom interjected with a grin. “Sometimes, that’s all he talks about.”

Gina’s family arrived a week later. Unfortunately, her father had to stay in Atlanta and work. He would fly to Columbia and then drive to camp for the weekends, but he wouldn’t be able to spend more than a couple of days at a time. Kara was taking summer classes in order to graduate sooner, so Elizabeth, Gina, and Leah came to camp by themselves.

The same day, the Delozier family, the Dunbars, and the Nolan family arrived. Later that evening, Norm and Dee pulled in with their Airstream trailer.

Gina and I spent most of our time relaxing and enjoying the sun. We got together with Susan a couple of times, but Gina didn’t seem to be in sexual overdrive, which was nice. Mostly, we spent our time like the grown-up couples did: reading, sunning ourselves, swimming, and relaxing.

Dwight and I also took a look at the Kestrel house. Inside, he showed me all the things that would need to be replaced: most of the major appliances, most of the plumbing fixtures, and all the flooring. He explained each step of the proposed remodeling, which I soaked up like a sponge.

Then we locked the house and headed back to Susan’s. There, we looked at her back porch. Dwight said we could use the existing roof posts to support the pergola, which we’d build with pressure-treated four-by-fours for the headers and rails, and two-by-sixes for the actual rafters.

When Susan stepped outside, Dwight gave her a rough cost estimate on refurbishing the Kestrel house. Since the project would involve a crew of workers, Susan wanted it done in the off-season. She also gave us the go-ahead to build her pergola. That afternoon, Dwight and I borrowed Gunny Kershaw’s pickup truck and drove to town. At McMasters’ Hardware, we picked up the necessary building supplies.

As usual, Dwight had brought his tools with him to camp. (Since he often did projects for Susan, his family always stayed rent-free.) He even had an extra tool belt for me. In a day, we demolished the existing porch roof, squared off the support posts, and built the pergola. Susan and Gina kept us liberally supplied with lemonade, and we finished shortly before dinner.