Chapter 48

Shortly afterward, I loaded the bike onto a trailer I had built, loaded the systems and tools into the back, and headed to Idaho. Once there I loaded everything into the RV, and the next morning headed to Missouri.

The drive was not bad, only dull. Once I passed into Central Wyoming, it was flat and boring. But two days later I pulled into town and went straight to the printing facility. Brad met me there, and soon we had everything unloaded. I asked him where a campground was nearby, and was surprised when he had me pull into the back. And right there was a set of full hookups, sweet. I joked with Brad that he wanted to save on his expense account, and he laughed.

“Naw, I park my own rig here most of the time. The wife and kids are out visiting family back east, so there is no reason for you not to use it.” Thankfully he had listened to my advice, and his IT gal was well versed in what was what. And three days later it was done and I headed on down the Mississippi.

Oh god, the next day was dull as hell. I pulled into a rest area just across the Louisiana border, and by 8 was entering Texas. And I pulled into another rest area to sleep just after entering New Mexico. Holy hell, over 15 hours in a single state! At least by going west I saw the mile markers counting down.

The next day I was pulling in at Flying Buffalo, and after unloading everything drove to a campground nearby and drove around for a bit. The next morning I was there early, and we got to work. And as I was doing the install, I explained to them why they really needed to get a real IT staff. At least one person, who knew and understood things like this, or was willing to learn it.

“You can have them handle the BBS, the network, and help plan out future computer expansions. But you really are at the point that you should consider that.” Thankfully they wrote a lot of notes, and also suggestions on what to look for in finding a “computer geek”.

It was almost two weeks later when I pulled back to the ranch, and after Kim helped me clean the RV we stuck it under the cover. And after another family dinner, I left the next morning to head home. At least that project was finally done, even if it took way longer than I expected.

That summer things finally settled down into a routine. Once a month either I would send a truck to Idaho with things they needed, or Jeff would send a truck down to pick them up. And sales were already exceeding our initial expectations.

Simplot, Albertson’s, Intermountain Gas, about half of the major companies in Idaho were buying our systems. We even started doing a three year lease agreement, which increased the price of the computers but also had two other effects. We would have to provide a greater level of support, and it meant that at the end of three years we would get the systems back.

And in one of the biggest things I pushed was finally achieved when we got Microsoft and Novell Certification. Nothing major, but as we were now running advertisements in trade magazines, hopefully seeing the growing list of software certifications might help businesses take us more seriously.

In July, I was a bit surprised to see Heather at the rink. And this time I had a full dance card, as I skated with Amber first. And she did seem more flirty than she had in the past. And we agreed to have dinner together the next week, something we had been doing semi-regularly now. And my next skate was with Heather. She griped a bit about her ex, and how her classes were going well. She even thanked me for the necklace I had given her for her birthday. I know she was more than hinting that she was now 18, but I was not sure if I wanted to try seeing her again.

What surprised me a bit was when I noticed that Pat and Amber were skating together. I guess it was flattering for both Pat and myself, having so many to skate with us. I did however promise to meet up with Amber at Magic Mountain the next day.

At the next couples skate, Pat came up and smiled at me as she took my hand. She giggled when I asked her if she had been having a good time, and she nodded. “And it seems like we are both arranging dates for next week.” I raised my eyebrow at her, and she blushed and nodded. “You have one with Amber on Tuesday, I have one on Wednesday. And I imagine you also have one with Heather?”

“Yep, tomorrow at Magic Mountain. She works until 4, so we will be getting together after that.” We joked and flirted the rest of the skate, and both of us admitted it was flattering to have younger girls flirting with us. Then she turned to skate backward in front of me and moved in close. “Pete, why have we never gone anywhere further?”

I rested my hands on her hips and smiled at her. “Well Pat, I think it was like we both have said. Neither of us felt that real spark, other than as friends. And damned if I know why. In IRC we have done all kinds of crazy things together, but for some reason, we have just never gone any farther in real life. And I think we would have some real problems trying to repeat some of those things for real.”

She blushed and turned visibly darker, something not really easy with her complexion. “Like last night,” she softly said, and I nodded. That had been an interesting session. A new room had forked off of the TorD room called “Truth or Dare Unlimited”. In this room, instead of 15 minutes the dares were given a time limit of 30 minutes, with overtime being 45. And the night before, Apple had been given a dare to take on two people at once. That one was very surprising, as she had EV put on a strap-on dildo and seated herself on top of her. And after riding her for a few minutes, called me over to fill her other hole.

And after taking me in her mouth for several minutes, had me move to the back and slide my cock up her ass. More than a few in the room gasped as I did that, and EV and I proceeded to fuck her senseless. We did go into overtime, and at the end Apple told me when I announced I was close that she wanted me to pull out and cum in her mouth. I did so, and she then said she was opening her mouth so everybody could see my cum inside, then she kissed EV. EV then blushed in the room, and after a few prods from Apple’s tongue she opened her mouth, showing us that Apple had given her my gift.

I thought back to that for a moment and smiled as I looked into Pat’s eyes. “You know, I think I know what the thing might even be. I am on the dominant side, and you are also. Oh, not like that clod MasterWolfen and his girlfriend over there, but there is no denying that you love playing Mistress to a degree over Amber.” She seemed to ponder that for a moment and nodded.

“It’s funny, but you may be right. I have certainly never been like that in life, but in there I do come across that way.”

“Especially with Amber,” I said. Pat nodded, and I teased that maybe we should arrange a double date with Heather and Amber. Pat looked at me and giggled, and shook her head. We both looked over at the other two girls, and they were skating hand in hand on the other side of the rink.

“Pete, if we did that, I am almost afraid of what would happen. I know you enough by now, you would be a perfect gentleman. You would treat all three of us very respectfully, and it would drive all three of us crazy. You talk about being a Dominant, yet you are the softest one I have ever met. Given the right circumstances in the game, you can become a real beast and move us around like toys. Yet toys that love being played with, nothing ever that we do not love. If you were ever to push in real, you could probably have all three of us.”

I looked at her closely, and she moved her body against mine. I could feel the tips of her breasts against my chest, and I sank into her dark brown eyes. “Yes, even me. Heather, I know for sure. The way she moves and acts around you, I can tell she wants you in her panties. Amber, I bet if you played your cards right also. You have shown her something she never experienced before. You of course do not know she is EV as far as she is aware, but she has told me that she loves how you control her, but never make her feel trapped. Did you really tell her that you do not like to cum until after your partner does?”

“Uh-huh, sure did. And it’s true. But that is also just our biology. When making love, you girls can reach orgasm over and over again. Us guys, we generally only get one, then it’s over. Nature was really unfair that way. I can probably count the number of times I have made love in the last decade and not had an orgasm on a single hand. But you girls, I’m sure it has happened a lot.”

“Yes, pretty much. But as you said, we can also cum several times. If you were to count every single occasion, I probably came about half the time. But overall, I have cum more times than my partners mostly. Because I might be in one of those moods and cum two or three times, but they only do once. And even if I did not, it felt really good and I enjoyed it.”

She licked her lips, and moved her face to press against mine and whispered “And if we ever did do a double date, I just have this suspicion that you would end up having all three of us. And as much as that might seem thrilling, I am going to take a pass on that. I have still not actually made love to another woman, and do not want my first time if I have one to be like that.”

I whispered back that maybe we should arrange it for next week after her date with Amber, and she giggled, whispering “Nasty boy” into my ear before pulling back. “No, we are not doing anything like that. We are going to see that new Robin Hood movie, then probably hang out for a bit.”

At the last couple skate, I continued to skate with Pat, and I saw that Amber and Heather were still skating together. Pat saw me watching them, and I looked back into her face and saw her grinning. “You know they are sometimes lovers, right? Amber told me, they end up together once a month or so. It’s kind of funny, if you think about it. Between real life and in the game, she has been with all three of us.”

“Sometimes two of us at once.”

“Uh-huh. I have no idea if Heather over there plays, and I have been looking. I have of course talked to MissNemo a few times, but she never goes in the game rooms. At least, not under that name. But there are a couple of girls I have been trying to watch, one of them might be her. Like that girl a week or so back, Shoppy.”

I laughed and told her ShopGirl was from Arizona. “We even talked about that after our last encounter.”

“That one where you said you took her out into the desert and fucked her silly on the hood of your car after you picked her up hitchhiking?”

“Yep. I saw that her ISP was in Yuma, so I made it a real place. It is a small gully near the mountains, on the edge of the Marine air base. You remember how when I was telling the story where I said I pulled off of a road and turned south? She sent me an immediate message demanding to know how I knew where she lived. I taught her how to use the commands to show the ISP, and told her I had been stationed there four years ago.”

“Wow, did she calm down after that?”

“She did, especially when I told her I was only there for a few months, and why I had left. Turns out she remembers the accident, she even rode by with her mom while they were cutting me out of my truck. She said she remembers seeing my car all crushed against the side of the building. We still talk sometimes, and she is glad I am doing better. I even told her to look up the name of the guy in that accident, and the owner of my ISP. That calmed her down a lot, because she told me a few days later, and they were both the same. I assured her I had no idea who she was, but she knew who I was so there was no way I was stalking her.”

“OK, so it’s not Shoppy. But trust me, I am still going to keep my eye out.”

At the end of the session, as was usual we had a caravan to the data center and a small party there afterward. Blake was there grilling hot dogs, and I was a bit surprised seeing Rob there also. It was Sue’s turn to work weekend, and he told me he was spending it up here with her.

Bunny said these little parties were good for several reasons, including that each time we did this we had several more people sign up. And most of those that attended also took the opportunity to pay their bill. And every other month or so it got us another BBS project, even though that was not as big as it had been just a year before. The Internet service had replaced all but the porn servers as our primary income.

Towards the end of the afternoon, Amber suggested we see The Rocketeer. I had not seen it yet, so I proposed we made an evening of it. She did not have class on Wednesday, so I said I would take that day off work, and I would pick her up and would make her dinner. We could then see it at the drive-in down here, then afterward I could take her home.

And when things were winding down, both Amber and Heather kissed my cheek before they left. And as had become common about half the time, I invited Pat over for steaks. As I was grilling them at my house a few hours later, she laughed as I told her about the dinner I had in San Francisco earlier in the year.

“Oh yes, we have those here also. You really do not go there for the food, you go there to be seen. It’s like a Yuppie breeding call. If you can afford to take a date to an $80 dollar a plate place and get such a tiny portion, it means you have lots of money. And are therefore a good catch. I have had a few guys take me to those, I normally end it right afterward. I know when we pull up in front of a place like that they are expecting me to pay them back for the meal before the night is over. No guy takes a gal to a dinner that will cost over $200, unless they think they deserve some pussy when it’s all over.”

I raised my beer and we clinked glasses. “Well, I would never do that. Then again, I also would never take a gal to a place like that in the first place. Sizzler Steakhouse is more my speed, to be honest. And if I want really good steaks, I would bring her here.”

“Got that right! Hell, these steaks are much better than those. And you cook them yourself and expect nothing at the end other than my company. It’s actually refreshing, to be honest. To be seen as a friend, and not just as pussy on call.”

I sighed softly. “I’m sorry so many men are assholes. Here, can you grab my beer please? I will bring in the meat.” We went back inside and I got out the potatoes and beets, and we sat down to eat. “You know there is a gal I am seeing sometimes in San Francisco. And for a while it seemed that every time I went to Idaho there was another one. But I in no way expect anything like that, and never felt the compulsion to chase after women like that. Hell, I respect women far more than that. And if anything, two of my ‘vacation shack-ups’ both admitted to me when the three of us were together that they were using me as much if not more than I was using them.”

Pat raised her eyebrow, and said “Aw, poor baby!”, then giggled as I laughed. “Oh yes, we were all so used at the end of that. But they both admitted that to them, I was ‘safe’. I lived far enough away that I would not cling, so it turned into fun for each of us. Let’s see, Jackie had a crush on me since she hit puberty. And she had also just gotten out of a bad marriage. So for her, I was a chance to have fun, and not get a reputation in town as many had forgotten I had even lived there by then. Lisa, we had dated for a bit, but as most 14 and 15 year old kids would. Kind of the same for her, some fun times, and I would be gone. Right before my last night with Lisa, Jackie came over and we had a few drinks together. It was rather eye-opening to have them both talk about being with me, right in front of me. But they both admitted they had pursued me and had enjoyed it a lot. And felt no jealousy.”

“Yes, I can see things being like that. Just fun between friends, it does not have to be a lifelong commitment. But I can tell you are not really comfortable with that, are you?” We had both finished, so I asked Pat to take a seat in the living room as I did the dishes. I put them all in the dishwasher, and when I came back saw that she had selected a bottle of red wine, and two glasses were on the coffee table. I sat next to her, and we both took a sip.

“Pete, we have known each other for almost a year now. And in all that time, you have treated me perfectly honorably. As well as Amber and Heather. In that time, I have dated more than a few guys. And while not celibate, neither am I some skank. I think we both want something more, and are still looking for it. I already have an incredible son, so I guess I have done my part for procreation. You, you are still looking. But all you are finding is girls that are not right, for various reasons. Am I right?”

I thought for a moment and nodded. “Yes, seems so. The best ones are all either taken, work for me, or both. The rest are either so far away that we can never get more than a night or two once a month or so, or so young it would never work.”

“So you have just settled on the once a month girl. Can you see yourself with her, long term?”

I closed my eyes for a moment, and imagined Sakura. In her black silk dress, laughing as we rode a cable car up the hill and she slid against me because of the slope. Her body, sweaty and beautifully nude. With my cum leaking out of her in a thin trail leading from her pussy to her ass, then down her crack before dripping on the sheets. But I shook my head. “No, because she is likely never going to leave San Francisco. She does not even own a car, she loves living in that place. I think even LA would not be enough for her, she would have to move to a place like New York because that is probably the closest she would ever find to Frisco.”

“So once again, you both enjoy and use each other. Knowing it will go nowhere else. She gets an exciting lover that comes up for visits, you get a lover when you do go up there. But tell me, if not for that, could you be with her?”

I smiled and nodded. “Well, I told you how we met. I think it surprised us both how fast things moved. She’s smart, funny, and has a lot of drive. She is even saving money, in the hope of opening her own clothing store. Which once again would pin her in place up there. And I am not going to stay here in LA.”

She hummed, and I asked her what that meant. “Oh, it’s just interesting what you did not say. Pete, is she beautiful?” I smiled and nodded. “OK, tell me about her body.” So I described her, how long her hair was, straight and black. Her petite frame, her tight bottom, her small but firm breasts. Her slender fingers, even able to do the fine needlework on one of the dresses she had worn for me.

“Yes, you are indeed a romantic. You described her body as a lover, not as a man. Yes, I know the difference. No mention of her nipples or areola, nothing about if she shaves, or how tight her pussy is, nothing like that. What I call ‘Lover Eyes’, not ‘Man Eyes’. Now I am going to talk, you do nothing but nod or shake your head. Do you describe the girls in your life like this with your guy friends? Yep, I thought so. You idolize us. You put us up on pedestals, and basically try to worship us. And that’s not a bad thing, I would certainly rather have some guy doing that as opposed to walking all over us and treating us like shit. Fucking us and then leaving us, promising to get together again and never bother even calling.”

She finished her glass, and poured us both another. “Here is the thing though. We do like being up there, but we do not want to live there. You and I have talked lots, I think I know about almost every one of your past lovers. But they all have one thing in common for the most part. We are the ones that chased you, you did not chase us. Pete, do you know how frustrating that can be for us? We may want a boyfriend, we may just want a fun night in the sack. But we almost never chase after a guy. It’s just in our nature to wait and get caught, not the other way around. You put us all up there, and that is where we sit, unless we decide to get down off of the damned thing ourselves. Tell me I’m wrong.”

I leaned back and took a sip of wine, running my lovers through my head. Kim, she was the first. And she indeed did chase me, ultimately telling me we were together and I had no choice in the matter. I smiled at that. I did chase Holly, but that had not worked out. Then Linda, oh yes there was no doubt that Linda chased me. Jacki, yes, Jacki also. She even admitted it, telling me she had been interested in me for a while, but knew I had a girlfriend. Then supporting me when Linda crushed me.

Holly again, then Mandy. Of those two, there was no doubt. Both of them ramped things up more and more during that month, until by the time I had returned to Japan I had not only made love to each of them, we had even all done it in the same bed. Then Deb, that was also her after me. Admitting she wanted to be with me, and wanted to experience at least some of what Jacki and I had shared. Frannie, even before that after the Marine Corps Ball there remained a tension between us. We wanted each other, and had a great weekend before we left Japan. But we knew we would never be more than friends who had fucked.

Becky. That was probably the closest to where we each chased after the other. We both wanted each other, but I was more hesitant because I did not want her to think I was only after her for her body, and because Mandy and Holly were both taken. Even then I loved and respected her enough to never want her to think the was “Third Place”. Kelly? Oh, that was unquestionably her chasing me. She just wanted some dick, and I was there to give it to her. Jackie and Lisa from Idaho? That was also them wanting some dick, but also as friends. I was not just dick to them, but, I guess “friend dick”. Just as I guess to me they were “friend pussy”. Much more satisfying than another Kelly, but nothing as good as being with Sakura. And with her it was kind of the same, friends who fucked once again.

“You are seeing it, right? Let me guess, three or four who you really loved, the rest just people you had sex with. Now, just tell me a number. If you had a chance, no boyfriends or girlfriends, just the two of you with nobody else in the picture. How many would you want to become lovers with for life?”

And only five faces came to mind. Kim, Jacki, Holly, Mandy, Becky. I told her five of them, and she nodded. “And of the others, how many of them would be there if things were different?” Frannie, Sakura. I told her two, and she looked at me harder. “OK, out of how many total?”