Chapter 10

When I woke up on Saturday, early morning light filtered through the sheers. Kendall, as usual, was sprawled on one side of the large bed. Susan was curled up next to me, her arm over my chest.

Unfortunately, I had to go to the bathroom. I tried to gently extract myself, but Susan stirred when I moved her arm.

“What time is it?” she asked softly.

“Early,” I said. Then, “Sorry, I gotta go to the bathroom.”

She nodded and then yawned. “Me too,” she said.

With that, she turned back the sheet and swung her legs over the side of the bed. Then she waited for me expectantly.

“You can go first,” I said.

“Nonsense,” she said, gesturing. “Come on.”

“Um ... okay.”

I got out of bed and then padded after her. At the bathroom door, I paused, but she beckoned me inside. I’d seen women use the bathroom before, but it felt weird to accompany her, especially at her request.

“While we’re both awake, more or less,” she explained as she gestured for me to shut the door behind us, “I wanted to talk.”

Then, without any hesitation, she lifted the toilet lid and sat down. She kept her legs demurely together, but I heard the stream of urine as it hit the porcelain bowl. I simply stood there, rooted to the spot; it seemed wrong to be in the bathroom with her, but it was somehow naughty and exciting at the same time. When she was done, she wiped herself and flushed.

“It’s all yours,” she said as she stood.

For an awkward moment, I waited for her to leave.

“Do you mind if I stay?” she finally asked.

“Um ... no ... it’s no problem,” I said, with as much confidence as I could muster. To my surprise, she moved to my side when I lifted the toilet seat. I glanced at her warily. When she reached down and grasped my limp penis, however, I almost jumped out of my skin.

“I used to do this with Jack sometimes,” she said, unperturbed. “When I was younger, I wondered what it felt like to go to the bathroom standing up.” Then she hefted my dick for emphasis. “It’s kind of sexy, don’t you think? And it’s very intimate.” When I hesitated, she glanced up at me. “I’m sorry, do you want me to leave?”

I shook my head. Then I concentrated on releasing a stream of urine. Normally, I didn’t have to concentrate, but with Susan holding my dick, I guess I was a little nervous. Her hand was warm and soft, but it was also different. Finally, I relaxed enough to let nature take its course.

It seemed to take forever to empty my bladder. Every time Susan’s hand shifted—no matter how slightly—I shivered. When the stream finally trickled to a stop, she gently shook my penis. Then she used a small wad of toilet paper to blot the tip.

“That was kind of fun,” she said as I flushed.

Weird, I thought with a nod. But yeah, it was fun.

When I turned to face her, she arched an eyebrow, and I had the sudden urge to fuck her.

Before she could say anything else, I backed her against the counter. She hissed as her ass pressed against the cold surface, but then sighed when my hands found her breasts. While I played with her nipples, she stroked my cock.

Without words, I lifted her onto the counter and knelt between her legs. She ran her fingers through my hair as I gently tongued her labia. With my hands on her inner thighs, I spread her pussy and then licked her slit. She gasped when I gently circled her clit with my tongue.

For the next several minutes, I lavished attention on her pussy. My tongue darted into her and then drove toward her hooded clit. I kissed her. I sucked her. I slid two fingers into her and felt the heat of her arousal.

Finally, I stood, my erection aimed at her shiny slit. She sensed my urgency and gripped my shaft, guiding me to her opening. With one powerful lunge, I buried myself to the root. As I began thrusting, she leaned back and braced herself with her arms.

After barely a minute of powerful thrusts, I buried myself and bathed her insides with hot semen. My orgasm wasn’t as powerful as my cock-ring-induced climax from the night before, but it was just as satisfying. When my spurts turned to gushes and then finally stopped, I held myself inside her and simply panted.

“Wow,” she said. “Where did that come from?”

“Sorry.”

“Oh, don’t be. Sometimes I like a fast, hard fuck,” she added.

I felt bad that I’d only worried about my own orgasm, so I apologized again. “Um ... give me a few minutes,” I said sheepishly, “and I can go again.”

“I don’t doubt it,” she said. “But I’m fine for now. I really do want to talk to you.”

“You were serious about that?”

She nodded.

I swallowed to get some moisture back in my mouth and then pulled my pussy-slick cock from within her. Unbidden, she reached for a washcloth. Then she gently dried my cock and cleaned herself. It seemed like she was using the task as an excuse to gather her thoughts.

“Is everything okay with you and Gina?” she finally asked.

I shrugged noncommittally.

“Have you talked to her about it?”

Once again, I shrugged.

She waited patiently for a better answer.

“Not really,” I said at last. “I mean, we hardly ever see each other anymore.” Then I explained about our conflicting class schedules. “And lately,” I added, “she’s always got something to do with Chi Omega. So even if she does have any free time, it’s taken up by her sorority.”

Susan nodded in understanding.

“And she’s got a new friend,” I continued sourly. “Regan.”

“You don’t like her, I take it?”

“She’s all right, I guess. I mean, Gina likes her. But...”

“But what?”

I explained about the trip to the sex shop, and the aftermath.

“It sounds like you had your hopes up, and didn’t like not getting your way,” she said evenly.

My jaw dropped. That wasn’t the reaction of sympathy that I’d expected.

“It sounds like Regan put Gina in an awkward position,” Susan continued, “but that still doesn’t mean you should’ve expected to get lucky.”

“That’s what Kendall said,” I grumbled.

“Mmm hmm. And while I don’t think Gina made the right decision, I can’t fault her for it.”

“Huh?” I blurted, a little bewildered. I also hoped I didn’t look as betrayed as I felt.

“Women are under a lot of pressure to conform,” she said gently. Then she sat up straight, her expression sober. “Be seen, not heard,” she said, almost lecturing. “Get married. Be a good wife. Have children. Be a good mother. Defer to your husband. And so on,” she said. Then she softened her tone and continued. “When a man goes against society, he’s an innovator ... or a maverick. When a woman does it, she’s obviously misguided, or worse, a bitch. So you need to understand that Gina’s under a lot of pressure to conform.”

“Not from me,” I said defensively.

“You might not think so, but I’d bet that she does.”

“I bet she doesn’t.”

She held up a soothing hand. “You don’t mean to, I know, but you still put pressure on her. It’s not the only pressure, though. Think about your own life. What kind of pressure are you under?”

“None, really,” I said with a shrug.

“What about your Design professor?” Before I could answer, she continued. “And what about your other classes? How about your parents? Do they expect you to do well in college?”

I nodded.

“Are you working out regularly? Why? Because you want to keep up your physique. How about your friends? You hang out with them, and you play sports, right?”

“Yes, but...”

“You wanted to join a fraternity. Why? Because you liked the guys? But did you also want them to like you?”

“I guess,” I said.

“Do you spend time with Gina? With Kendall? How much? When? Do you know if they want you to spend more time with them?”

I reluctantly nodded. Even though I already spent a lot of time with Kendall, I knew she’d be happy to spend even more time with me. And Gina hardly got to see me at all, a fact that she had pointed out (rather miserably).

“So you’re under a lot of pressure too,” Susan said earnestly. “It’s pressure to do well in school, from your professors, your parents, and yourself. It’s pressure from your friends and peers, to play sports, join a fraternity, and other things. It’s pressure from Gina and Kendall, to spend more time with them, to give a part of yourself and to share a part of them in return. And finally, it’s pressure from yourself, to work out, to watch your weight, to have friends and do things that interest you.”

“Yeah, I guess.”

“Gina’s under the same pressures,” she said. “Pressure from her family, her professors, her friends, her sorority sisters, herself, and you.”

“I guess I hadn’t thought about it that way,” I said.

“But for Gina, it’s probably worse. She’s under pressure from society as a whole. If she wants to be a doctor, she’s entering a man’s world. Trust me, I know what it’s like to be a woman in a man’s world. Gina’s going to have to be twice as good as any of them if she wants to succeed. It’s the same with Kendall, but she’s older. And...”

“And what?”

“She’s more ... mature,” Susan said quietly. “She thinks about things instead of simply reacting. Gina’s impulsive. And with the pressure she’s under—the same pressure you’re all under—she might not make the best decisions.”

“So what am I supposed to do? Should I let her off the hook simply because society is putting a lot of pressure on her?”

“No, not at all. But you need to understand that she is under a lot of pressure. You adapt to new situations easily. She doesn’t. I’m surprised Kendall hasn’t told you that about Gina.”

“She has,” I said.

To my surprise, Susan’s eyes widened.

“What?” I asked apprehensively.

For a moment, she was silent, lost in thought. Finally, she looked up. “Do Gina and Kendall talk to each other?” she asked.

“Why?”

“Do they?”

“Of course they do,” I said, although I didn’t know for sure. As I thought about it, however, I couldn’t recall Kendall mentioning any conversations she’d had with Gina. Nor had Gina said anything about talking to Kendall. “Maybe they don’t,” I said after a moment.

Susan nodded in disappointment. “I always wondered about that,” she said. “But I didn’t want to bring it up, because you three seemed so happy.”

“Wondered about what?” I asked.

“I wondered if Gina and Kendall shared a real connection, or if they were simply connected through you.”

“Huh?”

“Think about your mom and me, and our relationship,” she said.

“What about it?”

“We love each other—we’re like sisters. As a matter of fact, in many ways, I’m closer to your mom than her sister is. Your mom and I share a bond. Our husbands had the same job, and shared the same dangers, but she and I have always been close.”

“And...?”

“Do Gina and Kendall have that same kind of relationship?” Susan asked.

“I guess.”

“Do they really?”

“Maybe not,” I reluctantly admitted. “I mean, except for both wanting to be doctors, they don’t really have much in common. Other than me, I mean.”

Susan nodded and remained silent, letting me work through my confused thoughts.

“Gina joined a sorority,” I said after a moment. “But Kendall detests Greeks. Gina’s impulsive; Kendall’s thoughtful. Gina’s wild and fun; Kendall’s more reserved. She’s just as fun, though,” I hastily added. “It’s just ... different with her. Gina knows me... really well. But sometimes I get the feeling that Kendall doesn’t understand why I do certain things.”

“Mmm hmm. They’re different young women.”

I nodded.

“And it worries me that they don’t talk to each other.”

“No kidding,” I agreed.

“I had hoped their relationship went beyond their love for you, but...” Her shrug spoke volumes.

“Why does my life have to be so complicated?” I complained.

“Their lives are pretty complicated too,” Susan said gently.

“Yeah, I guess you’re right,” I said. Then I looked up hopefully. “What should I do? I mean, I always thought Kendall and Gina really cared for each other.”

“I’m sure they do. But I think each of them cares more about her relationship with you.”

“So what should I do?” I asked again.

“I don’t know,” Susan said after a moment.

All of a sudden, I felt my chest tighten. I wasn’t used to hearing those words, especially from Susan. For years, she’d been my source of wisdom. If I had a problem, I knew that she would know the solution. If I were in doubt, I could always talk to her. With three little words, I was in uncharted territory.

“You can’t make two people love each other,” she said softly.

“No,” I said. With that admission, I had a much clearer picture of my relationships with the two girls. And worse, I had a crystal clear picture of their relationship with each other.

With the realization, however, things started to fall into place: Kendall’s reaction when Gina wanted to join a sorority; Gina’s resentment about the time I spent with Kendall; Kendall’s lack of enthusiasm about the cock ring (which I’d bought with Gina); Gina’s desire for friendship with Regan; and more. Individually, none of those things gave me cause to worry. Taken together, however, they were disturbing.

“Why does my life have to be so complicated?” I repeated.

“It’s all right,” Susan said, stroking my face. Then, softly, “Do you remember the conversation we had about committed relationships?”

I shrugged noncommittally.

“It’s difficult to have a committed relationship with two people. At some point, only one of them can be the most important person in your life. ‘Most important’ is one of those dreaded superlatives—two people can’t both be ‘most.’ When you were at camp, it wasn’t such an issue, because the three of you only spent a couple of weeks a year together. Now, however...”

“So ... what? Does this mean the end of my relationship with one of them?”

“It doesn’t have to,” she said. “You just need to be aware of the dynamics, and to make sure you maintain your relationship with both women. It sounds like you haven’t been spending as much time with Gina as you possibly could.”

I silently agreed.

“That may be one of the reasons she’s investing so much time in her friendship with Regan. Don’t you think?”

“I guess.”

“No, you know.”

After a moment, I nodded. “But what can I do if Kendall and Gina don’t have a relationship with each other?”

“Not much,” she admitted after a moment. “They’re friends, and they’re sometimes lovers, but not without you. You’re...”

“The keystone,” I finished. “Without me, the whole thing falls apart.” Then I turned sullen. “Man, I don’t need this kind of pressure.”

“But it’s what you have,” she said. “You wanted a relationship with both of them, and you got it. Relationships take work to hold together. The effort is worthwhile, but no one ever said this was going to be easy.”

“TANSTAAFL,” I said.

“Excuse me?”

“Sorry,” I said. “There Ain’t No Such Thing As A Free Lunch.”

She nodded.

Then I laughed darkly.

“What’s so funny?” she asked.

“I was just thinking about one of my friends. You’ll meet him later today. I think my tuition free lunch is about to go away too.”

“Oh?”

I nodded. “My friend Trip has this business, and he’s already co-opted me as his partner. What he does is...”

Telling Susan about Trip’s summer job took my mind off my problems—my looming problems—with Kendall and Gina. Susan must have understood that, because she let me talk. I think it was the first time I realized that she didn’t have all the answers. As wise and experienced as she was, she wasn’t omniscient. And this was one problem I was going to have to solve for myself.

She knew it, and I knew it.

I just didn’t like it.

After a late breakfast, Susan, Kendall, and I got dressed and headed downstairs to meet Raymond. When he dropped us off at my dorm, Susan gave him the rest of the day off—with pay. With the pre-game traffic, it would be quicker to simply walk around campus anyway.

Upstairs, I gave Susan a tour of my room. Billy wasn’t there, and neither were T.J. and Glen, so we had the suite to ourselves. Kendall told Susan about the rooms in Clement as I changed into a pair of shorts and an Izod shirt.

“Were the rooms like this when you were in college?” Kendall asked.

“More or less,” Susan said. “Although I didn’t live in a dorm.”

“Oh?”

“Well,” Susan explained, “like you, I started college when I was seventeen. That was pretty uncommon in those days, 1957. Since I wasn’t eighteen yet, I lived with some friends of the family.”

“What was that like?” Kendall asked.

“It wasn’t bad. They had a daughter a year older than me who was also at the College of Charleston. And, that’s when I met Jack.”

“Was he also at the College of Charleston?”

“No,” Susan said with a grin at the memory, “he was a student at the Citadel, a military college nearby. The family I lived with had a son at the Citadel as well, and he brought Jack home for Thanksgiving dinner, since his parents were in Europe.”

“Was it love at first sight?” Kendall asked.

“Not at all,” Susan said. “At first, I thought he was too serious, too brooding.” Then she nodded at me. “He was a lot like Paul, a sourpuss.”

“I’m not a sourpuss,” I said as I tied my shoes.

“But Jack grew on me,” Susan continued, ignoring me. “He had such drive and ambition.”

“Like Paul,” Kendall said.

Susan winked at me and then nodded.

“I’m going across the hall to find Trip,” I interrupted. I knew the rest of the story, and I knew that Susan was only going to tease me more. Any time she talked about Jack, she teased me. I think it was her way of warding off grief.

In a nutshell, Jack had invited Susan on several dates, all of which she refused. Finally, she agreed to go with him to a formal Christmas dance at the Citadel. Much to her surprise, she thoroughly enjoyed herself. She liked the gala of a military ball, with all the pomp and ceremony. And, more importantly, she discovered that she liked Jack.

“He was thoughtful and intense,” she had once told me. “Smart, and very focused. He knew what he wanted, and he was determined to have it. Luckily, he wanted me.”

By February of 1958, she and Jack were an item. Shortly after her eighteenth birthday, in April, she found out she was pregnant (those were the days before the birth control pill, she explained). It didn’t matter that she and Jack weren’t married; she knew they were destined to be together. The day she told him she was pregnant, he proposed. Since Citadel men couldn’t marry, they had to wait two weeks until he graduated and received his commission as an Ensign in the Navy. Three days after that, however, they were married.

“And the rest,” Susan had recalled with a wistful grin, “is history.”

When I returned to my room with Trip in tow, Susan was reminiscing fondly. Not surprisingly, Kendall was caught up in the story.

“So that’s how I ended up getting my first ride in a Navy plane,” Susan finished with a laugh. “I don’t know if Jack was more worried about me, or the mess in the plane and what his instructor would do when he found out,” she added.

“Oh, bless your heart,” Kendall said. “But Jack should’ve known better than to fly a loop with a pregnant woman in the plane.”

“Probably,” Susan agreed, “but I think he was having too much fun.” With that, she smoothly turned and looked at me expectantly.

“Trip,” I said, “this is my aunt, Susan. Susan, this is Trip.”

Susan smiled warmly as they shook hands and exchanged pleasantries.

“Trip?” Susan asked. “Are you a third?”

“Yes, ma’am,” he said. Then he drew himself up to his full height. “Franklin Davis Whitman, III, at your service.”

“Please, call me Susan,” she said.

“Of course ... Susan,” Trip said.

“‘Franklin’?” I asked him. I guess I’d always thought that “Trip” was his given name.

He merely nodded.

“When Cary called you that ... I mean, I thought you were from Franklin.”

“I am,” he said, grinning. “Although my father never saw the irony in the name.”

“Your father sounds like an interesting man,” Susan said, smoothly diverting the conversation.

As we headed downstairs and then toward Kendall’s apartment—so she could change clothes as well—Susan extracted the brief version of Trip’s life story. When the subject turned to his home renovation business, however, he really became animated.

“Are you really gonna be Trip’s partner next summer?” Kendall whispered.

“Probably,” I said.

“I’m so proud of you,” she gushed, hugging herself to my arm. Then she frowned.

“What?”

“If you do that, will you still come to camp?” she asked.

“I don’t know,” I said after a moment’s thought.

For a split second, she looked upset. Then she glanced toward Trip and Susan. When she looked back, she hugged me again. Finally, she gave me a kiss on the cheek.

“What was that for?” I asked.

“Because I love you.”

“I love you too,” I said, a little bewildered.

Kendall’s parents had parked their Winnebago in the usual location, along with several other Chattanooga and Knoxville police officers’ RVs. When we arrived, I introduced Trip to Adam, Melissa, and Drew. Then Kendall introduced Susan and Trip to her parents’ friends.

While the women chatted, Drew, Trip, and I hung out by the grill with the rest of the men. Even though UT was a dry campus, the guys all had cups of beer (someone always brought a keg, although they discreetly kept it inside one of the RVs). As long as everyone drank out of cups, no one was the wiser.

Besides, I thought, they’re cops. Who’s going to hassle them about having beer?

“Exactly,” Drew said, as if reading my mind. “Sometimes, it’s nice to be a cop’s kid. Unfortunately, as my dad says, ‘there are rules, and then there are laws.’ Since none of us are nineteen, we get to drink Cokes instead. Can I get y’all some?”

Trip and I nodded.

“So,” Trip said when Drew returned with the drinks, “Paul tells me you play football. Linebacker, right?”

Drew glanced at me and then nodded. “Do you play?” he asked Trip.

“Not anymore, but I played for six years—quarterback.”

Drew’s grin was feral. Then he laughed good-naturedly and clapped Trip on the shoulder. “Quarterback, huh?”

As they talked about football, I zoned out. After my early-morning conversation with Susan, I was worried about Gina. I realized how utterly alone she must have felt during our first weeks at school, and I felt guilty. So I was looking forward to seeing her before the game, if only to tell her that I missed her.

The game was scheduled to start at three o’clock, and as I checked my watch, the minutes seemed to drag by. Finally, around two thirty, Gina, Regan, and another girl arrived. They were dressed alike: white shorts and a Chi Omega t-shirt with the Greek letters in orange plaid.

Gina introduced the other girl as Margot. Like Regan, Margot was slim, blue-eyed, and blonde, with small, firm breasts and nice legs. Her face didn’t have Regan’s Nordic angles, but she was very pretty.

We made small talk for a minute or two, but as soon as I could, I pulled Gina aside. Regan and Margot were talking to Trip and Drew, and Kendall was talking to Susan—as well as keeping her distance from the sorority girls—so I didn’t think anyone saw Gina and me slip into the Paytons’ Winnebago. I didn’t want anyone to overhear us, either, so I ushered Gina into the RV’s tiny bathroom.

“What’s going on?” she asked.

“I just wanted to talk to you for a few minutes. Alone.”

“Sure,” she said with a nod. “But I can’t stay long. We have to meet some of the other pledges in about fifteen minutes. I’m sorry, but—”

“That’s cool,” I said, interrupting her. “What are you doing after the game, though?”

“After the game? Why?”

“Because Susan wanted to take us to dinner, and I think you should be there ... no, I want you to be there. Afterward, we were probably going to spend the night in Susan’s hotel room,” I said. Then I pulled her into my arms. “We missed you last night. I missed you last night.”

“Oh, Paul,” she said, “I wanted to be there, but I had to go to that dumb mixer.”

I lifted my eyebrows in question.

“Regan and her boyfriend got back together last night,” she explained. “So I had to fend off drunk Pikes all night, by myself.”

I tried not to bristle, but Gina knew me too well.

“Don’t worry,” she said. “I may play around with Regan, but you’re the only guy I want in my life.”

“Even though we haven’t seen each other much lately?” I asked rhetorically. “We need to change that. You and Kendall are the most important people in the world to me; I don’t want to lose you. And ... well...”

“I miss you too,” Gina said, echoing my thoughts.

As she tilted her head up, I lowered my own and our lips met. I pulled her body against mine and cupped her ass through her thin shorts. When we finally broke the kiss, we both grinned breathlessly.

“I’m supposed to go to this party tonight,” she said, “but ... I’ll skip it if you want me to.”

“Will you get in trouble?” I asked.

“Regan probably won’t be happy,” she said with a shrug. “But Rod’s got her totally wrapped around his finger, so she probably won’t even notice. And my big sister— oh my God, have I told you about her yet?” When I shook my head, she continued. “You’ll like her. Her name’s Jessica Roedeffer. She’s really cool. Anyway, I’ll tell Jessica that I can’t come to the party, and she’ll cover for me.”

“Good,” I said, “because I really want you with us tonight.”

“Oh?”

“Mmm hmm,” I said as I lowered my lips to hers. When we broke the kiss, I turned her around to face the bathroom’s small mirror. Then I hugged her from behind and pressed the lump of my erection into her ass. “I think you’re going to like the cock ring,” I whispered, my lips close to her ear.

She sighed and closed her eyes as I nuzzled her ear and neck.

When she practically melted into my arms, I ran my hands along her trim stomach. Then I popped the button on her shorts. She whimpered softly as my hand slid under the waistband of her panties. My fingers found her smooth slit and I gently teased the base of her clit.

“Oh, God,” she moaned softly, “you make me so hot.”

“Good,” I said. Then, in a husky whisper, I described the cock ring’s effects.

She moaned again as I told her how hard I came when I did finally climax. Then she suddenly turned and reached for my belt. After she extracted my burgeoning manhood, she knelt in front of me.

When she wrapped her lips around my glans, I had to steady myself with a hand on the wall. Just as she began sucking in earnest, however, someone knocked on the door.

Gina didn’t stop sucking.

“Occupied,” I said to whoever was on the other side of the door.

“Paul?” Kendall called softly.

“Yes,” I said, trying to modulate my voice so she wouldn’t realize I was getting a blowjob. I don’t know why I didn’t want Kendall to know that Gina and I were fooling around at the moment, but I didn’t.

“Regan’s asking about Gina,” Kendall said.

So Kendall knows Gina’s in here after all, I thought. No wonder she doesn’t sound all that happy. “Okay,” I said at last. Then I gritted my teeth in frustration; Gina’s lips and tongue felt incredibly good. “Tell her we’ll be right out,” I said.

“Okay,” Kendall said.

I was tempted to let my dick do the thinking, but I knew that would only cause more problems than the one it would solve. Gina had heard the message as well, but she didn’t want to stop any more than I did. Unfortunately, we both knew we’d have to. All too soon, she let my erection slip from her lips. Then she kissed the tip and smiled up at me.

“To be continued,” she said softly.

I nodded and then helped her to her feet. As I tucked my saliva-slick manhood into my shorts, she re-buttoned her own shorts. Then we made sure we were presentable.

“I’m really looking forward to spending time with you tonight,” she said as she glided into my arms. “Susan and Kendall are just icing on the cake.”

“And if you’re lucky,” I said with a roguish grin, “they’ll be icing on the cock too.” Then I lowered my lips to hers. Our kiss was tender, but passionate and full of promise.

“I’ll meet you back here after the game,” she said. “Okay?”

I nodded.

We kissed again, neither of us wanting the moment to end.

Ultimately, however, it did. I opened the bathroom door and we stepped into the RVs narrow aisle.