Chapter 30

The rest of the week followed similarly. We would go skiing in the day, return home and either join my dad or Kim for dinner half the time, or eat at my place. On Friday night I handed Kent a copy of the adventure I had made for TSR, and he said he would add it to his collection. “I actually talked to them the other day when my distributor said he had never heard of that. They are sending me five packs and said they were considering republishing it soon in an updated version for Second Edition. The gal asked me how I had heard of it, and she laughed when I mentioned your name.”

“Let me guess, you got ahold of the PR department and talked to Ginger.” He nodded and I smiled. “Yeah, she was my escort when I was at Origins a few years ago. That was something her and I cooked up together, mostly to get new players interested in the game. We gave away thousands of those in Japan at our conventions, and we added hundreds of new players. In fact, you might want to try and get a convention going up here if you can. Pick a holiday weekend that is not big for family, like Martin Luther King or Columbus Day. In fact, I would suggest you wait until after the casino is built and talk to Jackie over there.” Jackie had been talking with Karen, but they both came over after she heard her name.

I repeated what I had said, and she nodded enthusiastically. “Oh yes, I am already trying to talk them into allowing Pete to do a theater type presentation up here. Combining that with a game convention would actually be a great idea I think. Let me know later on, and maybe we can do something next year Kent.”

Most of the eight new players were High School students, but three were from the college. I made a few changes and Kim was playing Kaos, and Jackie a dwarf thief. Most everybody had a fun time, and I had a feeling that most would become regular players.

I told Kent as we were packing up that while the NPC was not really Kaos for copyright reasons, he was free to use Kaos if he wanted to do so. “My usual company and TSR made an agreement about that. Since these really are listed at $5 each and TSR literally gives them away for almost nothing, they gave them permission to use the concepts I made. So long as the idea is not profit but to gain new players. You can start them with that, then go right into your own adventures, or that book of starter adventures I made.”

Kent said that sounded great, and he was going to get back into seriously trying to do new groups each month. I suggested he reach out to the High School and College newspapers. “Heck, even hit the Junior High one. For those, stress how figuring probabilities and actions having consequences as a key part of the game. I bet at least some will come in if you do that.”

He said he would do that, and soon Jackie and I were heading home. Once there she and I were quickly in bed. And after going down on her for two orgasms, she straddled my hips and rode me like a cowgirl until we were both well satisfied.

Thankfully I talked Jackie out of going to the bar on New Year, so we instead went on the night before. I saw several old friends. And even saw that Harry was there, holding court at the bar and having several drinks as he regaled to some of the college kids about his “glory years”. I shook my head and did a little dancing with Jackie until around 10 when I asked if we could go home.

“Bars not your thing Pete?” she asked as we went to my truck. “No, not really,” I answered. “All too often I run across people like Harry there, or people that want to fight or get drunk. I don’t like to fight, and if I get drunk I want to do it at home. No fool idiot is going to want to pick a fight with me there for no reason. But I have to admit, Betty Hatcher sure surprised me.”

Betty was a girl I knew from school. She was on the ski team also, and one of the best female skiers on the team. A year behind me, I remembered her as small, thin, and being really good at the speed events. The Betty tonight, though. She was, just not the same Betty.

“Yeah, you missed the last few years of school. She was on the flag team, and got caught in the back seat of a car after a game with one of the football players from the other team. Let’s just say that after that, her dating-girlfriend potential was largely shot, and she kinda became the school pump. One of the girls used to joke that if she had made a necklace with a pearl representing each of the cherries she had copped in her last two years, she could have draped it around her neck three times and it still would have reached below her tits each time. She was even going through the Sophomores when she was a Senior, she really seemed to have a thing for being the first for a lot of guys.”

I shook my head and said that was sad. “Yeah, after she graduated she got a job at Grand Central, and since then she spends most nights at the bar. And I am sure her necklace if it was real would be even longer now, with those she had found at Idaho State. The only difference between her and a whore is that she gives it away. Now she’s getting fat. She must be close to 200 pounds now, and only those who have beer goggles or can’t find anybody else take her home.”

By that time we got home, and we were soon making love ourselves. And I knew that I was with by far a much nicer piece of ass than Betty ever would have been. Because at least with Jackie, it was both mutual attraction and mutual affection, not simply wanting to get off. But I would not deny that even in Junior High, I would sometimes watch her ass as she was going through the gates. And sometimes even got a small thrill at the Ski camps. Where as a Sophomore and helping coach the kids still in Junior High, I would rest my hands on her hips in order to get her to turn them a bit more into turns.

The Betty I remembered was cute, and just starting to grow into what I suspected was hotness. The Betty now, she was just sad and pathetic. And the entire time there I tried to avoid her gaze, hoping she would not recognize me.

The next day we were skiing the easy winding trail known as “Pebble Lane”, and Jackie took off into the trees. I followed her, and she actually pulled off into an area of trees that was out of sight of both the lift and trail. She grinned at me as she popped her bindings and with a saucy wiggle of her bottom walked into a shallow tree well and behind the tree. I wasted no time doing the same and soon caught up to her.

Jackie smiled at me and took me into her arms, kissing me deeply as she pushed me so that my back was against the tree. Our bodies were sliding together in a sexy way, with the nylon of our ski outfits making a soft noise as she rubbed her body up and down against mine. It had been warm at around 25, so we both had our jackets mostly unzipped, and I felt her rubbing her belly against my cock, which was growing stiffer as our tongues caressed each other. I reached into her jacket and felt her breast through her sweater and, she moaned as I rubbed the front with my thumb, pressing in more firmly than I would normally so she could feel it through all the layers of clothes we had on.

I could not quite feel her nipple grow hard, but I had a feeling I was on the right spot by how she was reacting. Thankfully neither of us were wearing “Farmer John” outfits anymore, and when she rotated her body and reached down, her hand slid inside of my pants and was quickly inside my long underwear. And I felt her almost cold hands grasping my cock. And a moment later I was doing the same thing, my fingers gliding over her black thatch as I started to explore between her thighs.

This was faster than any time before, being outside and the risk of being discovered prevented us from savoring this time together. Her hand was around me and stroking quickly as I slid two fingers inside and used my thumb to stroke her clit. I was getting close as she pressed our bodies together and lifted one thigh and rocked her hips against my fingers, very quickly shuddering as she lightly bit my tongue, her orgasm washing over her body and covering my fingers with more wetness.

I heard her boot thunk against the ground as she dropped her thigh, knowing it must not have been easy holding it up like that with the weight of the ski boot on her foot. After all, each boot must have been around five pounds. Jackie then pushed my pants and long underwear down past my hips and I felt the cold air on my cock as she started stroking me faster. She moved away and I felt my fingers slip out of her. Jackie grinned as she looked into my eyes, then dropped to her knees.

She quickly took most of my length into her mouth, and one cool hand cupped my balls as the other reached behind to grasp my bottom. She started pulling, so I pushed in, then her pulling had me pull back. At her urging, I was soon fucking her mouth, and she held her head mostly still as I was doing all the work, sliding in and out of her mouth as she licked and sucked as I entered and then exited. I raised my hand up and was looking into her eyes as I licked and sucked each of my fingers, savoring the taste of Jackie on them as I moved faster, finally reaching down and placing both hands on her head, lightly holding her and whispering I was getting close.

Jackie started moaning, and with a last grunt in warning, I came. I might have collapsed if I was not leaning back against the tree. She continued to lick my cock as she gently sucked, then pulled back and smiled up at me. I helped pull her back up and kissed her deeply, as each of us arranged our clothing back into place. Finally, with a grin at each other, we headed back to where we had put our skis. And after cleaning off our boots we stepped back into them and continued on the rest of the run.

When we next got on the lift, I held her tight and said that had been amazing. She giggled and softly bit my ear, and said she had really enjoyed it also. “And I will not deny, that had long been a fantasy of mine. I think since the first time I was aware of what sucking cock was, I would have a fantasy of sucking yours while skiing.”

“Hmm, that might be really difficult to do, Much easier if done like that, and not while actually skiing down the slope.” I said, and she giggled and bit my ear.

“Not while actually skiing, bastard! No, while you and I had been skiing, up here somewhere. I would watch as you warmed up before every race, and how tight your race outfit was, and how I could see your bulge as you were stretching and warming up before you took your turn at the gate. And I would sometimes fantasize about something like what just happened. Normally my fantasies about you were not so boldly sexual, but that is one I have had since I was 13.”

“Hmm, and any others you care to share with me? We still have a couple of minutes until the chair reaches the top.” She smiled at me and simply said “No”, then kissed me until the chair flattened out at the top and we quickly got off.

We skied until it started to get dark, and after having a hot spiced wine we got into the truck and headed home. Once showered and dressed we had dinner with her parents. It was a lot of fun, and her mom took special delight in teasing Jackie about her crush on me. “Jacqueline was so cute at that age Pete,” her mom told me. “She would never miss a race, and whenever I took her and her brother skating, she would immediately look for you in the crowd.” Jackie looked suitably embarrassed at that.

Later on when we were alone for a few minutes, her mom asked me when I was returning. I said I had no idea, but I hoped to come up again in the summer, and again in the fall. And then she outright asked me if I was playing her “little girl”. And I spent several minutes assuring her that I was not at all. And that Jackie was well aware, and even the one that propositioned me with being my girlfriend for the holiday.

“Ma’am, we have talked about this. She knows I will not be returning here to live for many years yet. And she is the one that made me promise that if we were both single, we would be together again whenever I came up. But she is not waiting for me, and I would be surprised if come Spring she is still single.” She nodded and smiled, and kissed my cheek.

“Pete, that is all I can ever ask. My daughter is not a virgin of 13 anymore, and I could no more tell her what to do about her life than I could her brother. And I have no doubts this was her idea, she has had a crush on you since she was old enough to have crushes. So long as you are honest, I have no problem. But if I find out you are leading her on, you will have hell to pay.”

“I would never do anything to hurt Jackie. But if you feel like I have, I honestly will submit myself to you.” She chuckled and said that it would not be her.

“Darla is my eldest Cousin, she is the oldest of the daughters in my generation. I will simply let her know, and let her deal with it. But don’t worry, it’s not like she’s a virgin, I just want to make sure you were not using her crush from when she was a girl against her.”

“If anything, it is the other way around. She pursued me, and I tried to dissuade her. Not that I do not find her an amazing woman, but because I am not ready to settle down here yet. And I did not want her to think that she might cause me to up and return home.” At that time Jackie and her dad came in, so I simply said “I do plan on moving back up here, but not until I retire. And to be honest, I can’t see myself lasting in LA for more than maybe ten to fifteen years. But I’m still way too young to retire, although I literally could at any time.”

Her dad then started asking me more about what I was actually doing in LA. So I told them about my business and growing it from a shop that sold old used computers, to one that was not a thriving one with a lot of work in on-site service.

“Oh, kind of like appliance or TV repair.”

“Yes sir, kinda similar. But our work is normally a lot faster, one hour at $40 an hour is our normal field charge. Most of our bills are under $200, and I split the labor charges with the techs 50-50. I pretty much have five full-time field techs now, and another ten I call in if needed. Plus three techs that mostly work in the shop, and three administrative staff that mostly work the office.”

“Wow, so eleven full-time employees? That’s rather impressive at your age. You have taken on a lot for so young.”

I laughed. “Oh, Julie actually does most of that. She actually runs most of the day-to-day operations of the retail side, and Sue handles most of the same on the repair side.”

“So two women run your business?” Jackie’s mom asked.

“Hmm, yes and no. Think of it as an orchestra, and one is my star violin player, and the other is the star sax player. I am the conductor, and mostly am involved in making sure that they all work together, and figure out what songs we are playing next, in what style. I may pick something as the next song, and tell them to play it bombastic like Sousa, or softer like Beethoven. I trust them in that I can give them their directions, and know they will do their part flawlessly, and ask me if they have any questions.”

“Are there many women in your line of work down there? I know of damned few up here.”

“Not really. In fact, Julie I went to school with, she was the first outsider I hired when I needed help in running the shop. At that time she knew nothing about computers, she was working at a dress shop. But she became Dee’s assistant in the administrative side. I immediately had Dee start to groom her as a replacement, as Dee actually held things down before her and dad moved up here. Think of me as George Flushing. He is the lawyer, he ultimately makes all of the decisions. But do you think he could have done as well as he did without Barbara? Or my mom when she was still alive? Like him, I rely upon the women that run by business. But I picked them for their ability. Three of us that work there are also Veterans, and one of the gals that runs the store part is the wife of one of my techs who is a vet. I simply hire the person who is best for the job.”

We talked for a bit more, then Jackie and I headed on home. She apologized for the grilling, and I squeezed her hand. “Jackie, it’s alright. Your mom mostly wanted to make sure I was not trying to use your crush as a way to have my way with you, and your dad is doing the dad thing and making sure I am stable and secure. And I bet she is telling him to back off now.”

We went into the Big House, and the party had already started. All of the hands were down also, and the women had once again made a feast. Several of the hands came up and thanked me for all that I had done for them. And as it was clear still outside I had two of them take me up the hill and show me what all they had done since I had last taken a good look.

They did so, and I noticed that all of them were living in newer looking trailers now. “Yep, we are the full-timers, five of us now. Jake and me put up that gazebo at the end of fall. We discussed trying to run a gas line up here, but we all decided to just use propane for the gas grill we are going to build in the spring. When your dad bought that big dish, he made the same agreement that you did with the antenna though. If we did the work and put it in, we were welcome to tap into the feed and use it for free.”

The other guy was an older guy named Stan. He asked when I was hiring more hands to work the spread. I simply laughed. “Stan, if you want to know about that, ask Dave or my dad. They are the ones that run all of this, you might say I just write the checks.”

He looked at me, and asked why I did the living arrangements the way I did. “Oh, that’s easy. My original plan was to put in two RV pads down at the bottom, for my motorhome and maybe one for my dad for when I took vacations. Dave was already working on getting the land working again, and asked if the hands could use those as one back then already had that cab-over camper. I just told Dave to do the same thing up here for you all to use. I value all of you guys, and I’ve worked the range myself. It does not cost much to give you all more than just a place to park your rig, and it gives you a reason I hope to stay with us instead of moving on because somebody else offers you another $50 a week.”

Stan laughed and spit on the ground. “Hell, I have had guys offer me $100 more a week come spring calving, I told them to go fuck a bear. I was just starting when Dave was still riding stock. And worked for him off and on for years. He’s honest, and fair. I was asking because we all know guys that ask, and would love to come up and work here. Even though half the time we are not even here but at his spread or the co-op land, you got the best setup any of us have ever seen.”

“Well, bunkhouses are dead and gone. You all no longer have a horse and a saddle, you have a truck and a trailer. The reason for the roof was as I said was for me. To help keep the RV cooler in summer, warmer in winter, and so it would last longer. And it was not all that expensive, so I provide you all the same thing. Same with water and power. One of the guys asked last year if they could put up the antenna, I made the proposal that I would pay for it all, on the condition they ran it to all the buildings and pads. In fact, when you are ready for the grill, talk to my dad. I bet he has some ideas there, and tell him I suggest that you all put in a large propane tank. I bet he’ll do it.”

Jake then asked about putting in a smokehouse. I once again smiled. “OK, just so we are clear on my philosophy, Jake. And no, I am not a Communist, I detest it. But having been in the military, I do believe in ‘Communal Living’. What you see around here is proof of that. I approve, but the decision is Dave and dad’s. If you do, they will likely pay for materials, and you will need to build it. But remember, it will be for use by all. Stan, has my dad started his fish fry’s yet?”