Chapter 27: Double Your Pleasure; Double Your Fun

October 27, 2001, Chicago, Illinois

🎤 Steve

“The kids are all set,” I said to Kara and Jessica when I returned to the house. “I arranged with Terry to check on them once during the evening, just out of an abundance of caution.”

“I think Kara should do it,” Jessica smirked.

“Oh, right, and make Birgit even MORE annoyed?”

“She’s too busy being annoyed at her dad for depriving her of her rightful second candy bar!” Jessica said, laughing.

“It won’t last,” Kara declared ruefully. “And I don’t believe she let it interfere with her cuddle time.”

“Even Birgit can’t interfere with Birgit’s cuddle time!” I chuckled. “I think everything is ready.”

“Hello, Adams family!” Kurt called out from the foyer.

My wives and I went to greet him and Kathy, the girls hugging both of them, while I shook hands with Kurt and hugged Kathy.

“Still sexy as ever!” I whispered in her ear.

“Liar!” she whispered back, but squeezed her arms tightly around me.

“We left the kids next door,” Kurt said. “Who’s chaperoning?”

“Officially? Nobody. Unofficially? María Cristina and Mike will wander over at some point, and so will Suzanne. Neither of those will set off Birgit’s ‘parent’ alarm. Terry plans to check on them, too.”

“Kristin asked about the adult party,” Kathy said, “but I encouraged her to hang out with the teens and younger kids. Who’s babysitting in the coach house?”

“Two girls who are daughters of one of Josie’s co-workers,” Kara replied. “They’re fifteen and thirteen. But they’ll only have six or seven kids to watch.”

“Can anyone join this party?” Terry asked as he and Penny came through the front door.

“It’ll be awfully crowded in the foyer,” I chuckled.

“You’re still here, Steve?” Karl asked as he and Ginny came in the front door.

“Why wouldn’t I be?”

“I figured you and your boys would be off somewhere plotting the revolution after Bush signed the ‘Patriot Act’, yesterday.”

“A bunch of it is flat out unconstitutional, so hopefully the courts will strike it down and we can delay the revolution.”

“I agree with you, though fear is a strong motivator, and might well lead to the courts giving the government a pass.”

“I know. But I promised not to discuss politics, so let’s just get the party started!”

We all moved further into the house and a steady stream of guests began, with most of them dropping kids at Penny’s, but a few, like Samantha, took their kids to the coach house. Samantha was flying solo, as were most of the Navy wives. MC was fortunate that Mike had not received a TDY assignment, and Kirk had just been assigned to Great Lakes, so he wasn’t likely to be moved soon, though, with the military, you could never be sure.

There were very few costumes, though Jackie and Jamie continued their tradition of wearing one every year, and were dressed as ‘Star Fleet’ officers.

“Gold and blue,” I chuckled. “No red shirt?”

“What? And die before the first dance?” Jackie asked, causing everyone to laugh.

Stephanie arrived with Joel, and introduced him all around. He was a good-looking guy in his mid-thirties, and his physique was what I’d expect from a Master carpenter - tall, muscular, but not ‘buff’, with blonde hair, blue eyes, and the crushing grip of a man who worked with his hands.

“I hear you took Jesse driving immediately after he got his permit,” Terry said as we headed upstairs.

“Why do you think he asked me to take him, not one of his moms?”

“I think I’ll stay off the streets,” he said soberly. “I mean, you taught Penny to drive...”

“Hey!” Penny groused. “I drive just fine!”

“Two ‘red light camera’ tickets, two illegal u-turn tickets, and a speeding ticket for twenty-over on LSD!”

“Not to come to Penny’s defense,” I said with a grin, “but we all know the ‘red light camera’ tickets are pure bullshit! They reduced the length of the yellow lights everywhere they installed those infernal camera systems with the express purpose of increasing the number of fines! It’s an exercise in revenue generation and I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s political corruption involved.”

“It would be a miracle if there wasn’t!” Kurt declared.

“Isn’t it about time to send another governor to jail?” Penny asked.

“I’ll take any wagers on George Ryan,” I said, “but I’m taking the ‘going to jail’ bet. I’ll even lay five-to-one on your money.”

“Anyone who takes THAT action should just hand Steve their money right now!” Pete declared.

“Inside information, Deputy Marshal?” I asked with a grin.

“Ask the US Attorney!” he replied.

“Betting on an Illinois governor going to Federal prison is about as close to a sure thing as exists!” Jamie declared.

“Or a Congressman,” I added as we entered the attic room. “But forget politics! It’s party time!”

I put on the music and opened the liquor cabinet, fixing myself a San Pellegrino with lime, a club soda with lemon for Jessica, and pouring a glass of white wine for Kara.

“I see that sour face, Tiger,” Jessica said when I handed her the glass with her club soda.

“A pleasure of life I am not happy to forgo!”

“You’ll just have to drown your sorrows with the blonde Midwest farmer’s daughter!”

I chuckled, “Nebraska is the Great Plains, not the Midwest, and Nickie’s dad isn’t a farmer.”

“What-ever!” Jessica huffed, sounding so much like our daughters.

“You know me,” I grinned. “I’m nothing if not pedantic!”

“I’m surprised our daughters didn’t complain about the lack of dances with you,” Kara observed.

“The chance to have an ‘unsupervised’ party overcame that obstacle in about two seconds,” I chuckled. “I did ask Libby to remind Rachel that it would be a VERY bad idea to try to sneak over here for a dance.”

“I can’t believe Carla can’t see that she’s basically ensuring Rachel cuts off all contact the minute she moves out,” Kara said. “And it’s not like Carla has any leverage at all, given Rachel has her college paid for and earns her own spending money working at Blockbuster.”

“She’s not the only parent to completely lose their mind over teenage sexuality,” I replied. “We’ve seen it over and over. And it’s the main reason for not making exceptions to the under-eighteen rule except in extremely limited circumstances, if any.”

“You’re going to turn down Kristin’s request?” Jessica asked.

“I haven’t decided,” I replied. “But if I turn her down, that pretty much says ‘no exceptions’ because if there are any parents saner than Kurt and Kathy, I don’t know who they are.”

“Elaine Heath and Mary Sarcu,” Jessica said. “Though I know you meant most of the parents of teenage girls.”

“Not to mention, despite the flirting cheerleaders, most High School girls aren’t even remotely interested in men in their late thirties.”

“Most,” Kara tittered. “I saw they enticed you into buying more candy!”

“Enticed?” I chuckled. “Right. I bought the candy because I love you and I know you both enjoy it.”

“And you rubbed your daughter’s nose in it again!” Kara giggled.

“Miss Birgit thinks she’s the supreme ruler of the universe, but that doesn’t make it so!”

“So, are you going to the pizza party?” Kara asked with a smirk and an arched eyebrow.

“If there was ever a reason to take the propranolol, that temptation is probably the best one there is.”

“You have to write out the fantasy!” Kara insisted.

“Nah, I think I’ll ditch the drugs, eat a couple of those candy bars, and use the resulting mania to get a dozen V-cards!”

“Or not,” Jessica replied.

“Just kidding, Babe, and you know it. The talk I had with Liz on Friday made it clear that making exceptions to rules is risky.”

“The one woman on the planet with whom you never argue,” Jessica declared. “Ever. Jamie was on your case for years and made no real headway. She’s come in and set you straight in just over a year.”

“Which is why he hired her,” Suzanne declared, having walked over a few seconds before I’d mentioned Liz.

“You’ve helped, too,” Kara declared.

“I’ve always been a team project,” I chuckled.

“Speaking of teams,” Jessica said, “I see Leigh is very much interested in her sailor.”

“She is,” I agreed. “And taking it slow. That said, she reset our relationship quite firmly about an hour ago.”

“Oh?” Kara asked.

“She called me ‘Dad’ when I asked about her date. We negotiated and decided on ‘Sensei’. In terms of relationships, I’ve taken her as far as we could go, but as she said, I helped her become the adult she needed to be, something her parents were unwilling or unable to do.”

“That sounds similar to Holly and Natalie,” Jessica observed. “Though Natalie’s timeframe is graduation, and no sooner.”

“I’m not setting any artificial time limits,” I said, “but as Suzanne and I discussed, I don’t plan on replacing either Leigh or Natalie when the time comes. Will there be dalliances? Of course. Will there be ‘random deflowerings’? Much less likely given the need to be very careful with girls under eighteen, not to mention the age gap is making that less and less likely every day.”

“But social trends are providing opportunities even with upperclassmen,” Suzanne interjected. “The rite of passage has been so demonized that a lot of girls and guys in college are virgins with little experience of any kind.”

“Let’s skip the depressing social commentary and dance! Wives?”

“Yes!” they both squealed.

I laughed because all three of us could act like teenagers at times, something which fit exactly with the comment Liz had made about men compared to teenagers. But none of us felt old, and even though Jess had turned forty in May, she didn’t look it, and more importantly, didn’t act it except in situations which required it, mostly at the hospital or when she was teaching.

My wives and I danced to three songs, and then I danced with Suzanne before putting on a mix CD that had moderate tempo songs so that I could dance with the Navy ‘widows’ whose men were away. After five chaste dances, Samantha grabbed me for a ‘proper’ dance to a slower song.

“Brian won’t object,” she said as we held each other and swayed to the music. “And I’ll tell him.”

“Things are going to escalate,” I said. “It’s just a matter of time.”

“You’re just full of good news.”

“I read that in the investment advisory report Bo sent out last week!”

“OK, so it’s not news!” Samantha said with a soft laugh. “But it’s still not good!”

“No, it’s not,” I agreed. “We’ve basically been at war for twelve years, and I don’t see any end in sight. But I resolved not to talk politics tonight because, well, USA Patriot Act.”

“Ugh. Do NOT get me started on that!”

“Exactly. How about we just enjoy our dance!”

“Agreed!”

Samantha moved just a smidge closer so that more of our bodies touched, and when the song finished, she kissed my cheek, winked, and we parted. I changed the CD to one that had a good mix of slow and fast songs, then, after checking with Julius, asked Liz to dance. We kept a chaste distance between us, to ensure nobody was offended, upset, or got the wrong idea.

“You’re so funny!” Liz said as we moved a bit around the dance floor. “You don’t need Julius’ permission to ask me to dance!”

“Actually, I do, even if you don’t think it’s necessary. It’s vital for to me to send the correct message, especially given how closely you and I work. Not to mention the occasional whacks on the nose with the rolled-up newspaper when I pee on the floor!”

Liz laughed softly, “Men can be housebroken, if you’re diligent with the training and correction!”

It was my turn to laugh, “I can see that with me, but Julius?”

Liz smirked, “Does not seem to understand the relationship between dirty clothes and a hamper!”

I laughed again, “Most bachelors have a very different view on laundry from most women I know!”

“I bet you weren’t like that.”

“No, but I learned to do laundry and clean and cook out of self-defense.”

“Your mom,” Liz said flatly.

“Yes. I’d say ‘unfortunately’, but despite her being who she was, the skills were very important. It’s perverse, but I’m a better cook, housekeeper, husband, and father because of her.”

“Don’t you mean in spite of?”

“No. Negative lessons are still lessons. It took me a long, long time to break myself from trying to please her or prove her wrong.”

“That which doesn’t kill you makes you stronger?”

“Something like that. I hope Julius doesn’t object to you and me being work-husband and work-wife.”

Liz laughed softly, “It kind of came with the territory, and so long as we don’t cross the uncrossable line, which we won’t, there isn’t a problem.”

We finished our dance, and I decided to ask Astrid to dance. She was two inches taller than I was, which made it a bit weird, as I’d never danced with a girl taller than me.

“How are things at the fire department?” I asked as we danced to a slow song, close, but not too close.

“I can’t believe the number of gunshot wounds! In eight years as a firefighter in Sweden, I had seen two, both of whom were shot by the police, which is something very rare.”

“We don’t get too many elk tramplings or polar bear bites in Chicago!” I chuckled.

“I work in Stockholm, you «jävla idiot»!” Astrid exclaimed.

“I see you’ve spoken to Sofia!”

“And your daughter! She told us all about you that first day we were here!”

“Now I’m really worried!”

“She’s more like a Swedish girl than the American ones I’ve met. I’m shocked at how immature teenagers are here.”

“Something I’m hoping to change, though I fear I’m fighting a losing battle. So, other than the gunshot wounds?”

“I find it amusing how concerned the other firefighters’ wives are about a female in the company. I’m a lesbian, for heaven’s sake!”

I chuckled, “And a gorgeous blonde Swedish girl!”

Astrid shook her head, “I’m completely uninterested in male genitalia. Never have been, never will be. And men are WAY too concerned about it!”

“I know quite a few straight women who would agree with you!”

We finished our dance, and then I asked Ingrid to dance. She danced closer, but I knew she was no more interested in guys than her «sambo» was.

“How is the game coming along?” I asked.

“In typical Paradox fashion,” Ingrid replied.

“Ugh,” I groaned. “How late?”

“You didn’t hear it from me, but mid-December.”

“That’s not TOO bad. Mac version?”

“Not up to us. Virtual Programming will do the conversion.”

“Which means months. I’ll probably buy the PC version and play on the gaming rig instead of waiting to play on my Macs.”

When we finished our dance, I asked Tessa to dance, and it was very clear from how she moved her body that she’d be happy to disappear from the dance floor for a very private dance. If, for some reason, Nickie turned down the offer I was likely to make, I’d absolutely consider being with Tessa another time.

After I danced with Tessa, I danced with Elsa, then Kim, then finally asked Nickie to dance to How Deep Is Your Love. When I held out my arms, she melted into them, pressing her body against mine. I wrapped my arms around her upper back and she wrapped hers around my waist. I hadn’t worked out the best way to ask her, but I was pretty sure that being blunt wasn’t the right approach. I let half the song pass before I spoke.

“You feel really good,” I said, squeezing my arms just a bit tighter.

“You really think so?” Nickie asked quietly.

I decided I was going to ask her, but had one minor obstacle - an STI test. I’d seen her test paper in the middle of August, and given everything that had been said, and the way Nickie was acting, I felt that was sufficient within the rules. She struck me as very inexperienced, and might even be a virgin.

“I do, and I’d really like to take you someplace private and make you feel really good.”

“OK,” she whispered, “but you have to promise to be very gentle.”

A statement that I was in LDB territory once again, something that never ceased to amaze me. But, given how society had changed, it didn’t surprise me, even though Nickie was a Senior in college. That also explained, at least in my mind, why she wanted me to ask.

When the song ended, I took her hand and moved towards the door to the stairs. Suzanne intercepted us and whispered that we should use her room. I nodded an acknowledgment and led Nickie down the stairs, along the hallway, and into Suzanne’s room. I’d have preferred the nanny room off the kitchen, but Natalie was more or less a permanent resident there on weekends, making it unavailable.

I closed and locked the door, then gently pulled Nickie into my arms so we could exchange our first kiss. Nickie parted her lips and I accepted the invitation, leading to a fierce French kiss. Nickie was a great kisser, and it was clear that she’d kissed before. I met no resistance when I pulled her blouse from her jeans, nor when I began unbuttoning it as we continued kissing, albeit a bit awkwardly because my hands were between us.

When the blouse was unbuttoned, I pushed it off Nickie’s shoulders and she lowered her arms to let it fall to the floor. I pulled her into an embrace, kissed her deeply, and unhooked her bra. I released her, slid the straps from her shoulders, and she let her bra fall away revealing her firm globes which drooped just the tiniest bit. I continued, and a minute later, she was completely naked. I pulled her to me for another kiss, and after a few seconds, she broke it and began undressing me.

Nickie surprised me when, after she helped me step out of my briefs, she grasped my semi-flaccid shaft and slowly took me into her mouth, her tongue making it quite obvious she had some experience with oral sex. The blowjob was excellent, by any standards, and I elected to let Nickie dictate just how far to take it, which resulted in her bringing me to the point of no return, then grasping my butt as she swirled her tongue around my glans and I blasted cum into her mouth. When my orgasm passed, she carefully licked me clean, then stood up for a deep French kiss.

“I thought Tessa was lying,” she said when we broke the kiss.

“I take it the ungrateful cads who received that kind of attention from you refused to kiss you?”

“One ungrateful cad on Prom night!” she said, laughing softly. “I wasn’t ready to go all the way, so that’s what he got, and a few more times, but he wouldn’t even kiss me goodnight afterwards.”

“A first-class idiot,” I replied, guiding her to the bed.

I ‘returned the favor’, feasting first on the large nipples of her firm breasts, then kissing my way down her body, across her mons, which was covered with a ‘landing strip’ of blonde hair. Nickie moaned softly as I spread her labia with my tongue, getting my first taste of her tangy juices. Not wanting to seem ungrateful, I was compelled to bring Nickie off three times before moving between her legs and positioning my glans against her sopping-wet labia. A quick kiss, followed by three gentle thrusts had me embedded deep in her hot, slick folds. For the next twenty minutes, we moved slowly together, with Nickie having two very good orgasms before I had my second one of the evening.