Chapter 15

“It kind of happened by accident,” said Erica in her opening statement. “I was all depressed about not having any boobs and boys not paying any attention to me, so I complained about it to him.”

“You mean this girl you know was in that situation,” Veronica reminded her.

“Right. It was this friend of mine.”

Veronica promptly abandoned her own insistence on this being hypothetical.

“When was this? You’ve had boobs for a long time, now,” said Veronica. “And what guy would you know who you could talk to about that?”

“I’m getting to that,” said Erica. “Give me a minute. I’m scared.”

“Don’t be scared. Did he force you?”

“No, it was nothing like that. If anything I forced him.”

“How could you force a guy?”

“Would you let me tell you this my way?” yipped Erica.

The black girl subsided and motioned with her head to go on.

“So, I told him all this and he said I was silly because he thought I was sexy and other guys would, too. And I said he had to prove it and ... well ... he showed me he had a boner.”

“Oh my gosh,” sighed Veronica. “Robby did the same thing last year.”

“I want to hear about that, but let me go on,” said Erica.

“Yes. Please. This sounds fascinating.”

“So anyway, I said that if I caused it, he had to let me see it. And he did. And then I had to touch it. And after that I wanted to touch it some more and I kind of wore him down.”

“Wore him down,” mused Veronica. “I’m trying to imagine a guy who had to be worn down.”

“Well ... that’s the part I’m scared about.” The tension was too much so she just blurted it out. “It was Uncle Bob.”

Veronica blinked a dozen times.

“Wow,” she sighed. “I’ve always thought he was so cool.”

“He is cool,” said Erica. “He didn’t want to do more, but I kept pestering him and I wanted to know what stuff was like and eventually, he did some things. But we didn’t have sex for two years. I didn’t want to and he didn’t pressure me to. He made me ... um ... happy ... in other ways.”

“This is like déjà vu all over again,” said Veronica. “That’s exactly what happened with Robby and me last year!”

“Yeah, well, I was happy with that until I turned sixteen. I wanted him to have sex with me as my present that year.”

“I was at that party, and I’m pretty sure I’d remember you opening that present,” said Veronica.

“Actually, we did it before the party,” sighed Erica. “Do you remember me being late getting there? That’s why.”

“Your mom said you were out doing some last minute shopping,” said Veronica. “So you lied to her.”

“That’s part of what makes this so complicated,” said Erica, softly. “She kind of ... knew ... what was happening.”

“No way! They got married! How could she marry a man she knew was doing that with you?!”

“I told you it was complicated. She found us together one day and we talked about it for a long time and she decided that it wasn’t hurting me. I think she was relieved that I wasn’t experimenting with some random guy. She knew he’d never hurt me and she was right. He never pushed me or tried to get me to do anything I didn’t want to do.”

“This is crazy,” said Veronica. “What kind of stuff did you do with him?”

“He kind of gave me massages,” said Erica. “Sexy massages. And I’d have an orgasm and then I’d do something for him to make him happy, too.”

“So he rubbed you off,” said Veronica.

“It was more than that,” sighed Erica. “He’d spend an hour just touching my boobs, and kissing me, and then he’d put a finger in me and make me go crazy.”

“Robby did that to me last year,” said Veronica, softly. “I felt so slutty.”

“You’re not a slut. It feels good. It’s supposed to feel good.”

“So what did you do for him? Jerk him off?” That’s what Robby wanted me to do.”

“Yes ... and other things.”

“Go on,” said her friend, breathlessly.

“I ... um ... sucked him.”

“Oh man!” groaned Veronica, falling backwards to bounce on the mattress. She sat up again effortlessly. “What was that like? Was it nasty?”

“No, not at all!” said Erica. “I love doing that!”

“But doesn’t it taste nasty?”

“Not to me,” said Erica, shrugging. “And the noises he makes get me so hot. I recommend it. I really do. But I love him, and maybe that makes a difference. I can’t imagine doing that for any other guy.”

“And your Mom knew about this?”

“That’s another part of the complicated part. When she found out, they spent like a whole week arguing about it. She talked to me about it for hours, too, and listened when I told her how I felt about things. And I guess, along the way, he told her he thought she was sexy, too. I mean they had known each other ever since high school and he was my dad’s brother and all that. He helped us a lot when my dad died and he was always over at the house. So she knew him - really knew him - and she figured out that he wasn’t molesting me. The way Mom told it, she said she kept alternating between being angry and horny, because she hadn’t done anything with a man since Daddy died.”

Erica swallowed.

“Anyway, they decided to kiss just to prove there wasn’t any chemistry.” She blinked. “Except there was chemistry and they realized they were in love. That’s when things got rolling toward getting married.”

“So you had to stop,” said Veronica.

“Not exactly,” said Erica, uncomfortably.

“Oh, I can’t wait to hear this part,” said Veronica, but there was no sarcasm in her voice.

“Mom knew you can’t just stop, once you find that kind of relationship with a man. She knew if I didn’t do things with him, that I’d find some boy to do them with and she didn’t want that. So we kind of ... um ... shared him.”

Again, Veronica fell backwards and bounced. This time she lay there for ten or fifteen seconds, before sitting up again.

“If things hadn’t happened with Robby and Randy, I wouldn’t understand. But I get it! They’re sharing me!”

“I’m so glad you understand,” sighed Erica.

“I didn’t say I understand everything. I’m still trying to imagine you and your mother getting along and not being jealous of each other.”

“I think that’s because Uncle Bob is so good at loving us. I don’t mean the sex. He’s just so caring and attentive and he listens to us both. It’s kind of like what it must be like when you have kids. You love them all. I mean you have enough love for all of them equally. Does that make sense?”

Veronica nodded.

“Yeah, it does,” she said. “So, let me get this right. They got married right around the time you turned sixteen. So she and he were doing it before that, probably, and then you wanted him to do it to you for your sixteenth. I’m trying to imagine this, but I can’t.”

“That was also the same time Mom figured out she was pregnant,” said Erica. “She was on the pill, but it didn’t work. She’s still nervous about me being on these,” she picked up the container of birth control pills, “because she’s afraid they won’t work for me and I’ll get pregnant, too.”

“Do you worry about it?”

“No.” Erica shook her head. She decided Veronica had heard plenty, and didn’t need to know that she wanted to have Bob’s baby some day.

“So, how does that work?” asked Veronica. “I mean after they got married you were all living in the same house.”

“Sometimes he sleeps with her and sometimes he sleeps with me,” said Erica, shrugging again.

“This is so hard to believe,” sighed Veronica.

“So you get why I didn’t tell you about all this before.”

“I get it,” said Veronica. “I’m glad you told me, now, though.”

“Okay, now it’s your turn,” said Erica.

Veronica laughed.

“Compared to you, my sex life sounds boring. Last year, when Robby took me out all those times, we had a lot of fun. I already had a little crush on him. I could tell he liked me, but all he did at first was kiss me. I loved that, and one time while we were kissing, his hand brushed my boob. I asked him if he did that on purpose and he admitted he did. So after that, I started asking him what he wanted to do, but was afraid I’d get mad about.