Chapter 44

DENNIS SAT on the tractor seat Wednesday morning. It wasn’t where he expected to be. Randy had directed him to Abe Abernathy’s field, helped him hook up the disk, and set him loose. He’d said the men’s group had taken on Abe’s farm as a project for the summer and were hiring Dennis to do the work.

Abe himself was hardly getting around this spring. Dennis would be responsible for taking care of the field and working on various maintenance projects around the farm. The house and the barns all needed painting. The yard needed maintenance. And the equipment needed to be serviced. Randy assured Dennis that a member of the men’s group would come by each morning to check on anything he needed and to give instructions. It wasn’t that Dennis would be at the Abernathy farm all the time or that he’d necessarily be alone. The women were hiring the girls to rotate in and out of the house every day to cook and clean and provide companionship. When it came time for big projects, like painting the house, the men would all come out to help. And Dennis was expected to be off the farm by four o’clock to lead workouts at the school.

All that, Dennis could comprehend and reluctantly agreed to take the pay being offered because he wouldn’t have time for any other jobs. The fields wouldn’t be too much work, though he expected to get two cuttings of timothy off the property. What was preoccupying Dennis as he drove the tractor back and forth to disk the spring clover into the ground, was the fight he’d had with Debbie the night before.

Her father had renewed his offer to fund the workout website, this time by means of taking up all the rotating ad space on the site. He offered to pay “significantly more” for the space than what was paid through the automated ad rotations that came with the site. Payment would not be based on click-through.

Dennis said he didn’t think that was an honest way to handle it and would certainly violate the IaHSAA and NCAA rules regarding being paid for his athletic work. He turned the tables on Lon by asking what business rivals his company had that would stoop to paying a team to pressure the Wolverines. That had to have cost the kind of money Lon was so willing to throw around.

Lon did not take kindly to the suggestion that his company could make the kind of payoff that act would take. He didn’t even believe Warner Affiliated Farms would stoop that low, even though they’d tried several dirty tricks to keep AgCentral from building in Bartley. Lon suggested it was Warner that had cut fences on Mr. Johnson’s property and let the pigs out.

At that, Dennis started questioning Lon on how he’d make payments to a team like he assumed might have been made to the Bulldogs. Lon started to answer and then got angry that Dennis would lump AgCentral in with the kind of actions he admitted Warner might have taken.

Dennis begged off dessert on the grounds he needed to get home to read to Peg. Once he was out of the house, Debbie lit into him for being disrespectful to her father who was only trying to help him and the school, but Dennis was an ungrateful bastard and she didn’t want to be his girlfriend any longer.

And that left Dennis on the tractor, disking the hayfield to get ready for planting. Number Twelve made it clear that she was through.

He was surprised to see Lana waiting next to the field and glanced at his phone to discover it was past noon. He hadn’t even considered eating lunch, let alone that a girlfriend would bring it to him. He shut off the tractor and approached her tentatively—unsure of himself after Debbie’s breakup. Lana solved that by rushing to him and hugging him fiercely.

“Everyone knows,” she said. “She called each of us this morning and gave us an earful. When she was done, none of us regretted the breakup.”

“I’m sorry,” he said. “I didn’t mean to insult them or to cause a rift with Debbie.”

“Nat says she thinks Debbie’s been looking for the right opportunity ever since basketball season ended. That’s why she didn’t run track and was missing so often for practice,” Lana said. “We all need to toughen up. I don’t think Debbie is the only one we’ll lose.”

“Don’t tell me. I don’t want to imagine losing any of you. Lana, are you going to break up with me?”

“No! I’m going to move heaven and earth to stay with you. What you’re going to get from me this summer is a deeper relationship, not a breakup. Dennis, I love you. I want to make love with you. If you were willing, I’d say right now. In fact, I thought I was going to until Debbie called. I didn’t think it would be a good idea to associate losing my virginity with her breaking up with us.”

“Lana, I love you so much I can hardly stand it. I want to make love to you. I want to be your man.”

“And Natalie’s. And Brenda’s. And Amy’s,” Lana laughed. “But you know what? I’m fine with that. I love them as much as I love you.”

“You only named three,” Dennis chuckled.

“They’re the ones I’m sure of.”

They sat on the ground and ate the lunch she’d prepared. And then they lay on the ground and made out, kissing and petting until Lana’s phone buzzed and she jumped to get back to work.

“I love you, Lana.”

“I love you, Dennis. Don’t worry about lunches. Someone will come out to feed you and stuff every day.”

“And stuff?”

She grinned at him and scampered away.

Natalie, Daniella, and Roberta were at Dennis’s house for dinner that night. Dennis quickly kissed each of them and went to shower after his day in the field. When a hand reached into the shower and rubbed his back, he assumed it was Natalie. He turned to kiss her and found Daniella, instead. She didn’t say anything, but passionately kissed him and stroked him to full hardness. She turned her back and pressed her hands against the wall as Dennis entered her from behind. The feeling was exquisite and the two humped against each other until both were gasping out their orgasms. Dennis felt like he’d never stop pumping in her tight hot pussy. He finally withdrew and Daniella smashed her lips against his once more.

“They say every woman should feel that at least once,” she gasped in his ear. She pulled away from him and looked down at the come running out of her pussy.

“Oh, shit! I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. I planned it that way.” She held her lips open and directed the water onto them to wash the semen away. “I wanted ... I wanted ... I ... Oh, Dennis. We’re leaving and I wanted my last time with a man to be special.”

“What? Leaving? Last time?” Dennis spluttered. Daniella crushed herself to him again and began to sob on his shoulder.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t want to think it would ever happen, but summer basketball camp starts Tuesday at State. Donna’s been working hard since DMACC got out to find us a place to live. We’re moving our things to the new apartment tomorrow. We’re ... We have to break up with you. And all the girls,” Daniella said. Dennis had a feeling Daniella would miss the girls most.

“Well, crap. This is turning out to be a lousy week,” he sighed.

“After we got Debbie’s message this morning, we didn’t want to do it tonight, but we’re all packed and ready to go. If it wasn’t for the meet over the weekend, we’d have gone right after graduation. Dennis, I’m so sorry. I love you. I never thought I’d love a boy. And I doubt I’ll ever love another one. But Donna is...”

“Yeah. I know what Donna is,” Dennis laughed. “She’s wanted you for a year and a half.”

“Don’t I know it. She’s done everything possible to convince us. Me, really. But, Dennis, we’ve been faithful. I don’t think I’ll last the weekend with her without spreading my legs. I’d have invited you, but even though Donna likes you, she is absolutely a gold star lesbian.”

“And you’re bi,” Dennis sighed. They got out of the shower and toweled each other.

“I’m a little more lesbian than bi. I was caught up in the whole group thing and you were a very nice part of it. But I don’t think there will be another cock in my future. Roberta, on the other hand, is a little more straight than bi. Please, do for her what you just did for me.” Daniella pushed Dennis toward his room where he found Roberta lying naked on his bed, crying.

“Hey, honey,” Dennis whispered as he sat beside her and kissed her hair. “It’s okay. You don’t have to cry. I understand. I’m not mad.”

Roberta raised up and pushed her lips against his and probed for his tongue—all the time choking back sobs and sniffling her nose.

“I ... don’t want to break up,” she finally cried. “I want to take you with me. I want to take all the girls with me. I don’t want to leave!”

“Oh, geez, Roberta! Are they making you?”

“No. Yes. Not really. I just have to go. Everything we practiced, all the races we ran, all the games we played ... All the time it was so we could go to State and play with Eva and Zoe. We talked about it from the day they left and went to State. They called us after every game. This is the one opportunity we’ll have to do what we always wanted to do and have both sets of Armor twins on the court at the same time.”

“That sounds so awesome,” Dennis agreed.

“But why do we have to leave? Why can’t you come with us?”

“We’ve always known, honey. From the very first, we knew you and Daniella would go off to State to be with Zoe and Eva. And we knew we’d be separated. Even if we were the same year, it’s not that likely I’d get a letter of commitment from State. I’m not what they go out recruiting. I’ve always just wanted what was best for you and the fulfillment of your dreams.”