Chapter 80

Thursday-Friday, July 12-13

WHAT THE FUCK!?!?!?

“Pregnant!?!?!?”

“I thought you knew,” Marie said, genuinely surprised. “Julia said she was going to talk to you.”

“I haven’t heard from Julia since the day she caught us in your little corner,” I said.

Fuck. It wouldn’t do me any good to panic now. I was too fucked out to run for it. Six times since Tuesday evening. It was now Thursday afternoon.

It was like she planned it this way. Then I realized that on some level she had — little snippets that didn’t mean much at the time, but carried loads of significance in hindsight.

“This is what you’re here to do.”

“I want you to pack me full of sperm. And when you’re ready, I want you to do it again.”

“You’re going to fill me up with come ‘til it’s leaking out of my ears.”

Now I knew what brand of fun the little waif had in mind. This was a whole different plane of existence from Kacie saying she understood the desire to have my baby.

“Sweetie, I’m barely 17,” I said. “How am I going to help you raise a baby?”

“You aren’t,” Marie said. “Julia is.”

I was having a hard time getting my head around this.

It seems that for all her desire to get her ass the hell out of Elk City, Marie did retain one thing from her hometown — she really did want to settle down and start squeezing out babies.

“Julia and I have been talking about it for a few years now,” the waif said. “After same-sex marriage was legalized in this state, she promised we’d get married if I got pregnant. I finally made up my mind last fall and my gynecologist set me up on a program to improve the chances of conception — diet, vitamins, exercise. We were planning on artificial insemination before you came along.”

“Me?”

“After Julia told me about you, I couldn’t wait to meet you,” she said. “When you helped me with those folders I dropped, I was ready to take you to bed right then. I had to go jill off after I heard what Mrs. Jenson had to say about you.”

“How sure are you?” I asked.

“Well, nothing’s 100 percent,” she said. “It will be a couple of weeks or more before we know anything, but I’m fairly confident. My cycle has been pretty regular since I was, like, 14 and I started ovulating yesterday. I’ve never used any form of chemical birth control, so there’s nothing to get out of my system. You’re the first guy I’ve ever let in without a condom.”

I’d never even thought of using condoms. I had a hard dick. She had a wet hole. What was there to think about?

God! What was I going to tell my parents? Morgan? Arlene?

Being on George Patterson’s hit list seemed preferable. At least it would be over with quickly.

“I need to talk to Julia,” I said.

“She won’t be available until tomorrow morning,” Marie said. “We’re supposed to meet her at 8:30. Then you’re supposed to get your hair done.”

This was as bad as the night school let out, only I was already awake when the dream turned into a nightmare. I was never going to be able to sleep again.

Or so I thought. The repeated physical exertion took a toll and I dozed off despite all the angst. I awoke in midafternoon, alone in the bed. I pulled on my boxers and went downstairs to find Marie wearing her robe in the kitchen having some yogurt.

“Feeling better?” she asked.

“Not really,” I said. “This is a lot to take in.”

“This is something I really want,” she said, wrapping me in a hug. “If it’s not you, it’s a straw of frozen semen from a sperm bank. This way is more fun.”

“Are you in position to care for a child?” I asked.

“Julia’s financially secure as long as people keep wearing clothes,” Marie said. “She and I already decided I’d stay at home until a child is at least in first grade, maybe longer. If we decide to have more, the clock gets reset. I’ve always wanted at least three. I could space them out every couple of years and still be done before I’m 30.”

I sat down, pulled the waif onto my lap and just stared into space for an indeterminable amount of time.

“Would I be part of their life?” I finally asked.

“That’s something we’ll talk about,” she said. “There’s a chance you won’t be around much with the kind of offers you’re going to get.”

I just sighed and rested my head on Marie’s shoulder. She ran a hand through my hair and kissed me on top of my head. And then my forehead. And then my cheek.

All of a sudden, the little brunette was sitting astride me with her tongue down my throat. Her position caused the front of her robe to separate, revealing she wore nothing underneath. I groaned as she reached into the fly of my boxers and grasped my rapidly inflating dick.

I was bound for hell anyway, I thought. I may as well enjoy the ride.

Marie stroked me to hardness, rose up and sank down on me with a moan as we continued to gnaw at each other’s mouths. She didn’t start bouncing up and down, instead using her internal muscles to squeeze in the most delightful way. My head fell back with a loud groan, breaking our kiss.

“Couldn’t hurt to add another dose just in case,” she purred as she slowly rocked back and forth.

I was beginning to believe Kacie’s claim that women became hornier during ovulation. I tried not to slump in the chair as Marie rode through a tremor and intensified her efforts. A couple more of those and I was pushing several million more of my little swimmers into the hunt for her egg.

We sat there touching foreheads as we recovered. I was going to need another nap. Marie gave me a sweet kiss after getting her breathing under control.

“If I was going to wind up with a guy, I’d want it to be you,” she said. “But Julia gives me everything I want, everything I need. Except one thing. I hope you can understand that.”

In other words, don’t count on this being a regular thing. Which, given the way my life had been going the last couple of months, was probably for the best.

We got up before we started dripping all over the floor and headed to the master suite for a shower. It was pushing 5 o’clock and Tia Connie’s breakfast tacos were starting to wear off, so we dressed and headed out for dinner.

Marie gave me directions to a nice steakhouse, which sounded like a good idea. I was in the mood for red meat. Lots of it. I’d been burning too many calories this week.

After dinner, Marie took me to an outdoor sculpture exhibit that had been set up along a jogging path in a park. Some of the pieces were set up near man-made ponds to reflect off the water. I had no idea what they were meant to represent, but there were some interesting designs.

It was almost 9 when we got back to the townhouse. We needed to be out of here by 8 a.m. to make the meeting with Julia and spent the next hour or so packing our things. We each left out a set of clothes and the toiletries we would need.

I took the bags downstairs, putting mine in the trunk of the roadster. Marie’s were placed in the entry hall, where they’d be collected by someone from the agency. The brunette was nude, having put away everything except the clothes she would wear in the morning. I still wore the slacks and boxers I’d worn for dinner. They’d be good enough to get me through tomorrow.

Taking my hand, Marie led me to the third floor and the master suite. We’d spend our last night at the townhouse in its king bed. I stripped to the skin, turned off the lights and joined Marie under the covers. She snuggled close as we settled in.

I was in a drowsy state when she spoke up.

“One more time just to make sure?” she asked.

I’m going to hate myself in the morning, I thought as I rolled over to fulfill her request.

It wasn’t fair. I was developing a real emotional attachment to this woman even though she told me we had no future together. The mere idea that she wanted to give birth to my child touched something at the very core of my being.

This was as good on a spiritual level as any of my times with other women, including Kacie. We stared into each other’s eyes as if we were looking into our souls. It seemed to have the same effect on Marie as she repeatedly arched her back and cried out while clutching me tight.

Her final reaction as I achieved my release was, if anything, stronger than the one she’d had during our midday coupling. I rolled off and pulled her trembling form close to me. It took several minutes for her to regain control.

“Oh, God,” she whimpered. “I don’t know if I can handle twins.”

I slept well considering the circumstances. Getting my nut three times in one day and holding a pretty girl in my arms seemed to help ease my mind. Or at least numb me to reality.