Chapter 62

Friday-Saturday, June 22-23

I got up and pulled the bedspread up to cover Bethany, then went to grab my boxers and cargo shorts from the bathroom before I opened the door for Jan. She rushed in with Arlene right behind. I had the feeling my time on earth had suddenly grown very short.

Jan sat on the bed and drew her daughter into a hug. I retrieved the kitchen chairs from the dining nook so Arlene and I would have somewhere to sit. It turned out to be a wasted effort.

“Why don’t we head back to the house and give them a chance to be alone,” Arlene said.

Barefoot and shirtless, I followed the redheaded goddess to her kitchen door.

“What did you do to that poor girl?” she asked. “We could hear her from the patio.”

“Nothing I haven’t done with you, Morgan or Kacie,” I said. “She knew what she wanted to happen, I just don’t think she was prepared for the reality of it. What have you been telling those girls?”

Arlene actually blushed.

“I told them it could be a wonderful experience with the right guy,” she said. “I can’t help it if they’ve all been thinking you were the right guy since before they knew what sex was all about.”

“Well, I don’t know if I’m going to make it through four more of them,” I said. “I’ve got Callie, both Erins and Staci to go, and that doesn’t count keeping up with you, Kacie, the Metzgers and Morgan when she gets back. I’ll be lucky to live long enough for Ms. Fairchild to make back her investment.”

“It is kind of getting out of hand,” she said, trying not to laugh at something she found extremely amusing.

“It’s not funny,” I said. “These girls have made me out to be some kind of sex god. There’s no way I can live up to their expectations.”

“You’re doing a pretty good job so far,” Arlene said. “I don’t think you realize what you’ve done to your girlfriend and your sister. You really have ruined them for anyone else. From the looks of things, you’ve ruined Jan and Bethany, too.”

I had no answer for that. Whatever happened to just having one girlfriend at a time? Morgan’s reaction to the situation was not likely to be positive, yet she was the main reason it had developed. Instead of just being content to go out with me, she’d had to flaunt it to her friends.

I just sat at Arlene’s kitchen table waiting for word I could retrieve the rest of my clothes. The redhead’s phone pinged with a message from Jan and she went to help her friend care for Bethany. A few minutes later, I was summoned back to the apartment.

Bethany had her top and skirt on and was holding her boots. She rushed to embrace me, locking me in a fierce kiss before her mother gently pried her away.

“I’ll take her home,” Jan said quietly. “Do you know what happened to her underwear?”

“Spoils of war,” I said, causing Jan’s nostrils to flare, “I’ll see you tomorrow night.”

Arlene moved closer as the mother and daughter exited my little sin bin.

“I’ll let you close up,” she said. “Will you be at the pool tomorrow?”

“Unless I’m told otherwise,” I said, pulling her close. “Can I trust you to handle the questions from the other girls?”

“That will be an interesting conversation,” she said. “I just hope they don’t all storm Bethany’s bedroom trying to get the story. I don’t think she’ll be joining us for a day or two.”

With that, Arlene gave me a kiss and headed back to the house, leaving me to take care of what was left here. I was sorely tempted to just spend the night, but didn’t want to have that conversation with my mother.

I made it home a little after 10:30 and immediately collapsed in my bed. I didn’t care if I did reek of Bethany’s pussy. It had been another very tiring day.

Saturday was just the latest in the string of mornings in which I had to force myself out of bed. I staggered to the shower and did my best to get clean enough to not arouse Mom’s suspicions.

I was only marginally functional as I made my way to the kitchen. Mom had apparently already embarked on a grocery excursion and Dad would of course be getting ready for his golf game. I never did see Kacie as I scrounged for breakfast. I settled for yogurt. Cereal was too much work this morning.

I walked to the club, wishing I could encounter the drinks cart and cadge a couple of Tia Connie’s creations. I got to the pool by 9 o’clock and was able to get a breakfast burrito that I consumed while making the rounds of the cabanas. It helped immensely.

Mr. Alvarez welcomed me back and the guys who were working the morning shift peppered me with questions about Malibu and bikini models. They didn’t believe me when I said it was all work on the shoot, no fooling around.

Things were busy from the moment the gates opened. Molly Harris immediately demanded her airplane ride, chastising me severely for leaving her to go without FOR THREE WHOLE DAYS! I provided backup where needed and helped Jeremy and Fabrice with an early restocking run before a handful of cheerleaders, including Staci, came on at noon.

The newest member of the Gang of Eight greeted me with a little kiss in the stockroom away from both of our groups. Most of the cheerleaders wouldn’t start until midafternoon, working a party that was expected to go until at least 8 p.m.

Staci wanted to know all about my trip and I filled her in as quickly as possible. She was another one who seemed to think I was skimping on the glamour. I really needed to get all the girls together so I could just tell the story once.

Arlene arrived a little after noon. I went to see if there was an update on Bethany’s condition.

“According to her mother, she’s been floating on a cloud all morning,” the redhead told me. “You’ve set the bar pretty high with her.”

Well, Kacie said she had been about as bad as Morgan where I was concerned. A month of watching the two of us together seemed to have raised the little blonde’s expectations. I hoped the other girls weren’t going to be like this. I might be the one to ask George Patterson to make me disappear at this rate.

With Morgan at camp, Staci working, Bethany indisposed and Keri and Erin B. off at tournaments, Arlene didn’t have near her usual contingent of acolytes. Kacie showed up about 1 o’clock with Callie and Erin A. arriving shortly after. I was the subject of some strange looks when they learned Bethany would not be in attendance today.

Work prevented me from having any in-depth discussions with them, which was a good thing as far as I was concerned. I didn’t think the dwindling number of virgins in the group needed to be privy to the details of my sex life.

I was among a handful of early arrivals sent home at 4 p.m. and was eternally grateful. I headed straight to my room and was out almost instantly. The nap did me a world of good as I got up about 6 and began getting ready to go out with Jan Metzger. I hoped she wasn’t expecting another blow-by-blow replay of my date with her daughter like she’d had Tuesday. I’d probably need another nap right in the middle of it.

Jan immediately pulled me in for a kiss when I arrived, setting the tone for our evening. She was wearing a little sleeveless zip-up top that had the zipper pulled low enough to be interesting, what looked like skorts and flat sandals. I was able to slow things down enough to be allowed to check on Bethany, who’d spent the whole day in her room. When I knocked on her door, Beth’s face lit up like she’d just gotten the Christmas present she’d been hoping for.

The little blonde was wearing a loose half shirt, obviously braless, and a pair of jogging shorts. She got off her bed to pull me inside her room, the decor of which left no doubt that it was the abode of a girly-girl, and plastered herself to me as she tried to touch my tonsils with her tongue.

“I’m sorry I wasn’t at the pool today,” she said as she tried to pull even closer. “I was barely able to make it downstairs for breakfast. I still feel a little sore. Is it always like that?”

“I doubt it,” I said, running a hand over the curve of her ass. “Next time won’t be so new for you.”

“When will that be?” she asked. “You’re going out with Erin Bennett on Monday and you still have to make plans with the other three girls. Morgan will be back in a week and Mom and Arlene are going to want their turns, too.”

Thanks for reminding me, I thought.

“We’ll just have to see how things fall,” I said. “Maybe this will convince all of you to get together and come up with a plan.

“I’m glad you’re feeling better. I’ve got to go.”

She gave me another kiss and I slid a hand under her shirt to cup a boob, causing her to groan and pull away.

“Get out of here,” she ordered, pushing me toward the door. “I don’t think I can handle anything else for a couple of days.”

I met up with Jan downstairs to see what her preference for the evening was.

“Let’s just grab some Subway and visit your secret hideaway,” she said, dragging me toward the door. “I want to see what’s so special about the place. I never thought I’d be jealous of my daughter for losing her virginity. At least it wasn’t in the back seat of a Toyota on some dirt road out in the country.”