Chapter 45

LEANNE BROUGHT DENNIS his lunch on Friday. Dennis had finished planting and was working in the barn on cleaning all the equipment and making sure it was in top shape for the summer. The big new mower for the school had been moved to a new equipment building between the football field and the baseball field. Bart Matthews had maintained the fields while school was still in session, but he graduated and now George Samuels, a local baseball fan, was taking care of the baseball and softball fields. They looked sharp and both teams had played double-headers on them the previous day.

“Hi, girlfriend! I’m so glad I get to see you at lunch once in a while. We haven’t spent anywhere near enough time together,” Dennis said as he hugged Leanne.

“Yeah, um ... hi. Don’t expect the same level of being happy to see me that the other girls give. We can kiss a little,” Leanne said.

“Honey, do you feel pressured? How can I take the pressure off?”

“A little, I guess. It’s not that I don’t want to fool around at all, but I look at Nat and Brenda and Amy and Judith and think, ‘What do they have left to look forward to?’ It’s like they’re sixteen and seventeen years old and they’ve already done everything. I want to look forward to stuff a little more.”

“I think you’re right,” Dennis said. “It all seemed to happen so fast.”

“Well, you’ve got another girl’s pussy to look forward to. When I make love, I don’t expect to ever have another boy. I certainly wouldn’t be looking forward to it,” Leanne said as she set out their lunch. “I do look forward to you, though.” She leaned across the picnic and kissed him, then handed him a sandwich.

“Without saying I’m not looking forward to making love to you, is there a way of saying I’m not really looking forward to another pussy? I really really enjoy being with my girlfriends. I love the buildup and the teasing. When it comes, I love the sex, but the other stuff is just as important, or even more so. Don’t let anyone pressure you into moving faster than you want to. Including me.”

“You’re so sweet, Dennis. I’d just like a normal girlfriend/boyfriend experience where we go out on dates and talk on the phone and make out a little. You know?”

“We don’t really do any of that, do we?” Dennis sighed.

“Sometimes. I’d like it to be more often. But other people who are dating don’t seem to go out as much as we do. All their dates are to watch us play ball!”

“School events are big for dates. I loved going out with my girlfriends to the football games. It was fun.”

Dennis had more to think about over the Memorial Day weekend. Tuesday, he would begin regular workouts at the track. These would ostensibly be for baseball and softball players, but everyone was invited. He thought it was unlikely anyone would attend now that school was out.

Over the weekend, though, he had girlfriends to attend to. They arranged a picnic day at Tori’s farm on Saturday and all played basketball until they were hot and sweaty. Then they stripped and ran through the shower stall. There was a lot of tickling and rubbing and kissing going on.

“Do you mind if I just sort of skip over you and play with our girlfriends?” Rosie whispered to him. “I mean, it’s okay to be naked here with you and know that you look at me the same way I look at the other girls, but I guess boys just don’t interest me anymore.”

“Rosie, my love for you is not conditional on sex or a physical relationship,” Dennis said. “No always means no. We’re glad you are a girlfriend.”

She smiled and gave him a quick peck on the cheek before going to join Tori. Dennis thought about how different the group was now that there were ten instead of thirteen. The dynamic was reshaping. Rosie only wanted girlfriends—not a boyfriend. Leanne wanted to tease and date, but not have sex. He wasn’t sure yet about Diane. And Lana...

“Can you come over after church tomorrow?” she whispered as she hugged her naked body against his beneath the shower. “Please?” She thrust her hips forward to rub against his erect cock.

“Sunday dinner with the family?” he asked.

“No. Just with me. Mom and Dad went to Minneapolis with Nils and Sophie for the big music festival. It was all I could do not to drag you away from the others this afternoon.”

“You want me? Just me?”

“Alone with me. In my bed. Until Monday morning.”

“Yes, my love. A thousand times yes.”

Olivia’s investigation uncovered the conspiracy. She sent the links and assessment to Dennis. He read through them, getting angrier as he read. He stepped out of Tori’s barn into the dark of night and made a call.

“Tom? Um ... Sheriff, I think we have evidence regarding the brawl and the Bulldogs allegedly holding Bartley girls to force the Wolverines to lose every match.”

“What have you got, Dennis?”

“I’ll send you the links. There was only half a dozen on either side who were being manipulated. They just brought their friends in on it when it looked like a brawl. Some Bulldog girls were also involved because their boyfriends were dating Angelines. The Bulldogs were paid by a guy named Emmet Marx. He claimed to represent a big company who wanted to see the Wolverines humiliated. He paid for weekends away with their girlfriends. Provided girls for guys who didn’t have a girlfriend. Paid cash bonuses for every game the Wolverines lost. As close as I can figure, the six guys raked in about ten grand apiece,” Dennis said.

“Send me the evidence. This is big, Dennis. We’ve been getting accusations from the boys on one side and denials from the boys on the other. If we can put pressure on the boys to confirm what you just said, we can find this Emmet Marx guy and nail him. If it was sponsored by a corporation, the Attorney General will get involved. Maybe the FTC and IRS,” Tom said. “Don’t include anything about where or how you got this information. I’m dealing with it as a confidential informant.”

“Thanks, sir. We’ll all feel better when this is closed down.”

“You can bet that includes me,” Tom said. “Ah ... Dennis, were you and the girls planning to cook and clean at your mother’s house tomorrow?”

“Um ... I was going to tell Mom I’d be gone after church. And for the night.”

“Could you mention to the girls that they don’t need to cook and clean tomorrow?”

The penny dropped and Dennis smiled.

“Do you need me to take Peg somewhere?”

“We’ve got that covered.”

“I’ll pass the word. Goodnight, Tom.”

At church, Dennis was antsy. They all enjoyed Peg’s singing and her jubilant information that Mrs. Thompson was taking her to Des Moines that afternoon to learn more music and sing at a church there in the evening.

The girls all kissed Dennis and Lana, with quite a number of giggles going around. They all headed for Amy’s house for Sunday brunch and games before they needed to go home. Natalie was going up to State Monday to see where her sisters were living. She promised to return that night. The other girls, it seemed, all had something to do with their families. Dennis and Lana got in his car and drove to her house.

“Um ... Would you like to go out to eat or something?” Dennis asked nervously.

“I have lunch prepared. It just needs to be warmed up,” Lana answered. They sat quietly in the car for a moment.

“Lana...” “Dennis...” they said at the same time. Both giggled. Dennis motioned for Lana to go ahead.

“We said that when the time was right, we’d have a place to go together. I think the time is right. And we have a whole house and my bed available to us. Come in, my love. Come in and make love to me.”

There wasn’t much Dennis could say to that invitation but to lean across the console and kiss his girlfriend. They got out of the car and went into the house.

They didn’t rush to Lana’s bed. Lana heated the lunch casserole as they talked about the schedule for the week and who was working when at the Abernathys’. Dennis indicated that Mr. Dobson was going to help him change the oil in all the machinery in the morning and tune up the tractor. Lana told him that the hay field he’d worked in the year before was all wheat this year, so there wouldn’t be much to do there until late August.

It was a domestic conversation and Dennis imagined they would one day be talking about their children as they sat at the table and ate Sunday dinner. They cleared the table and carefully washed the dishes, making sure the kitchen was spotless. Then Lana turned to him at the kitchen sink and lifted her lips to his to kiss.

The kiss was sweet and deep, leaving both teens breathless. Lana’s eyes sparkled as she looked into his eyes and took his hand to lead him to her bedroom.

Once there, they sat on the bed facing each other, neither sure how to proceed. Lana made a questioning face as she shrugged and both started giggling again.

“Is it always so hard to get started?” she asked.

“I hope not. It’s just ... Lana, you’re so pretty. I just don’t want to do anything that might hurt you or make you uncomfortable.”