Chapter 7

“You really ready for this, honey?” I could see the signs of nervousness in Grant. “I know we’ve been talking about doing it, but we’ve had a lot going on today. We could wait for another night.”

We had spent a large part of the afternoon in the three students’ room, working mostly with Holden—Melissa and Jana had to duck out periodically for classes. Grant had gently, and successfully, helped Holden remember how he’d trained himself for the special moves we’d seen in his hanging class. It was crucial that Holden learn the teaching skills that would enable him to pass what he knew along to others. We had left the three with some reading assignments and returned to our room.

Grant looked around the room and gave me a tiny smile. “What, after all these preparations? Anyway, I’ve just got three months to get done everything I want to do.”

My quiet “Do you need me to leave?” was followed an instant later by a near panicked “NO!” from Grant. I’d felt I needed to offer, though I’d anticipated that response. After all these years, Grant still felt better in social situations if I was at least within sight, if not close enough to touch. Grant had some very friendly working relationships, with Shawna, for example; Grant was always comfortable when hanging was involved. Outside of that context, Grant seemed very close to Jana, and to a lesser extent to Jackie and Erland, but not really to anyone else.

There was a light tap at the door. Grant pressed his hand against his stomach as if settling butterflies, and took a deep breath. I waited for Grant to nod, and called out, “Come in.”

Shawna looked in the door, smiling. “Okay, I didn’t eat any dinner. Are we...” She stopped and shook her head slightly in surprise.

Grant had taken care of the ambiance on his own. He’d borrowed a table from the dorm parents’ room, and covered it with a beach towel as a tablecloth. There were two place settings: plates and wineglass-style goblets, borrowed from the cafeteria, and a large bottle of fruit juice. On the dresser beside the table was a large pizza box, enclosed in a leather pouch to seal in the heat.

The only other things on the table were two candles, providing the room with a dim, flickering light. The window blinds were closed.

Grant would have had a hard time saying to Shawna what kind of evening he hoped this would be tonight. The decor would allow him to skip over the explanation.

Shawna crept into the room, her mouth hanging slightly open. She was still shaking her head slightly. She looked briefly at me; I inclined my head toward Grant. He was running this show. “Grant...?”

Grant stepped close enough to take both of Shawna’s hands in his. He took one quick look at me for a little further fortification, and then looked back at his guest. “Shawna ... I apologized to you a long time ago for the way I was, with you, when we were roommates...”

Shawna said softly, “Yes, Grant. You did, and there’s really not anything else you need to say. We’re friends now. Everything’s okay, really.”

Grant shook his head briefly. “No, it’s not all taken care of yet. I did apologize to you, but I missed apologizing to myself, and that’s been a lot harder. Because I messed up something I could have had all this time, and I’ve been kicking myself about it. I mean ... I wouldn’t want to change anything that brought Amy into my life, but I hate that I had to hurt somebody to get there. And it did cost me something. Because, yes, of course we’re friends now. But we could have been much more than that.”

Shawna gaped at him for a moment, then edged just a little closer, still with Grant’s hands holding hers. Very softly, she said, “We still could, you know.”

Grant seemed to relax a little as he saw Shawna’s reaction. “So ... should I accept my apology to me?”

Shawna took another baby step closer. “I think you should.”

Their lips met, and fastened together, their mouths slowly opening. Their arms went around each other, their hands roaming up and down each other’s back as they continued kissing. Grant was making that soft moaning sound at the back of his throat that signaled he was very aroused, echoed now by a similar one from Shawna.

When Grant’s hands came together in Shawna’s back to unsnap her bra, I smiled and backed quietly toward the door, eased it open, and closed it from outside as softly as I could. The moaning from inside was growing louder.

I tapped at Jackie’s and Erland’s door, and heard Jackie’s, “Come in.”

I entered the room, and stopped. Jackie and Erland were naked, both sitting on the bed facing the television. Jackie was leaning back against the wall behind Erland, who was leaning back against her. Jackie had her arms and legs wrapped around Erland, her right forearm resting on Erland’s chest. Erland had his own arms folded around Jackie’s, each of his hands absently stroking one of Jackie’s arms, while he and Jackie watched the screen.

Jackie looked up and grinned. “So how’s it going over there?” She gestured with her head vaguely in the direction of Grant’s and my room.

I laughed. “It’s going really well. Look, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt you guys.” I started to back out.

Jackie smiled. “Don’t be silly. We’re just watching a movie. Come on in.”

Erland grinned at me. “It’s that funny one where this guy is going to snuff his wife in the backyard, and everything keeps going more and more wrong.”

I closed the door and looked at the screen. “Do they snuff the actress for real?”

Jackie shrugged. “I’ve never seen it. All I know is the premise. It just started.”

I started toward them, and decided I was overdressed. I stripped out of my uniform and panties and stacked them neatly in the corner. I came over and climbed onto the bed, snuggling up against my friends from the side, snaking my right arm behind Jackie’s back against the wall, resting my left arm across Erland’s stomach, and cradling my head in the gap between Jackie’s and Erland’s left shoulders. Then I turned to look at the screen. “So what’s happened so far?”

The Next Morning

I awoke in Jackie’s arms. I kissed her, then slid down to the hideaway bed and made love with Erland. Afterwards I dressed in last night’s clothes, kissed both my friends, promised to meet them at breakfast, and tiptoed across the hall to my own room.

I opened the door quietly and peeked inside. Grant and Shawna were still asleep, naked, their bodies tangled together, each with a hand cupping the back of the other’s head, holding it close.

Grant, facing me, opened one eye partway, his lips curling up in a sleepy smile. “Hi, honey. Pizza got a little cool, but it was still good.”

In front of me Shawna, her back to me, began stirring, and gave Grant a squeeze and a kiss. She turned her head and beamed at me. “Hi, Amy. The pizza got a little cool...” She wrinkled her nose. “That’s echoing in my head. Did Grant already say that?”

I laughed and nodded. “I’m all caught up on the pizza story. You guys want to join Jackie and Erland at breakfast?”

Both of them stretched and groaned, rolling away from each other and sitting up. Shawna rubbed her eyes and reached for her panties. “My shampoo’s across the hall. Let me shower over there and get some fresh clothes, and I’ll meet you guys at the caf.” She gave Grant a soft kiss, stroking his face, then stood and hugged me. She said, “See you in a little bit,” and left the room.

I took off my clothes again and went into the bathroom to run the shower. Grant met me in the stall, smiling. As we soaped each other, Grant began, “Honey, would it be okay if we asked Shawna...”

I hugged Grant’s slippery body. “Absolutely. I’d love having her as a roommate.”

Two Weeks Later

Grant and I sat holding hands in the third row of seats in the academy limo. In the back of my mind, I hoped Clancy was doing okay. He should be hanging in the class demonstration about now, the first member of his class to go. Last night, Wendi had asked me to help her break the news to Clancy. He was very upset at first, but listened as I repeated what I had said to Susan in the same situation, three years ago. I had also suggested that Clancy and his roommate perform a short skit, as had become common since Susan’s demo. Clancy had hugged me, and was discussing ideas with his roommate when I left.

I knew that Holden would be there at the demonstration. The Dean had given permission for that, even though Holden was no longer a member of the class—any learning experience would be very useful to him. And I was sure Holden’s diary would contain a long entry by this evening.

I returned my attention to my fellow graduates in the limo as they burst into another round of laughter. Shawna, holding Grant’s other hand, said, “We should see if one of us can get appointed to the board of directors. Whoever gets in can hire the rest of us.” Jackie and Erland, in the seat in front of us, laughed again.

Erland laughed harder than the rest, his eyes full of that special brightness I always saw in students on the way to their hanging show. He had been unusually talkative all morning, obviously excited. Now he wondered aloud, “What changes should we make in the company, when we’re running it?”

Jackie, her arm around the love of her life, giggled. “More jobs for sublings!”

Shawna shouted above the laughter, “Not just jobs—supervisory jobs!”

Erland had been bought by a large corporation, to be hanged at the chairman’s estate. Erland would entertain him, the CEO and the Chief Financial Officer in his preparation tent on the grounds of the estate. After Erland’s hanging, the other four of us would service the other board members, vice presidents, and department heads—a total of sixteen men and women, equally divided among the four of us. The client had paid extra for the sexual services of the four students, in addition to the purchase price of the Noosemeister.

Grant asked Erland, “What are they going to do with your head?”

Shawna put in, “I’ve heard this guy has a room full of trophy heads from subling hunts. He won’t just put you in with them, will he?” None of the Noosemeisters had anything against sublings who volunteered for hunts; they were usually just trying to earn a little extra money for the families they were leaving behind, and hoping for a still bigger prize if they survived the hunt, rare as that was. But a Noosemeister’s professional pride made them feel deserving of an individual place of honor in their owner’s home.