Chapter 36: Much Ado About Nothing

March 25, 2002, Chicago, Illinois

🎤 Jesse

“Yes,” I said. “Let’s go downstairs.”

“The basement?” Francesca asked.

“Dad had it finished last year. It’s my rec room and has a special drying room for my hockey gear.”

“OK.”

We went downstairs, and she sat on the couch and I chose to sit in one of the TV chairs, turning it to face Francesca, rather than it facing the TV.

“Who was that girl the other day?” she asked.

“Cecelia Carpenter, the starting first baseman for the softball team.”

“How long have you been seeing her?”

“About two months. But we’re not a couple. I was seeing Adi until her dad basically said we either had to be a couple or break up. And I’m seeing a girl from church.”

“And you’re fucking all of them?” she said accusingly.

“You know I won’t answer that question,” I said firmly.

“Which means you are.”

“No, it means I’m not answering. It’s the same answer I gave when everyone knew you and I were having sex.”

“CeCe was in your room. And your hair was wet when you came downstairs.”

I shrugged, “Assume whatever you want. I’m seeing several girls and I’m not interested in a steady girlfriend right now.”

“I thought that was because you were waiting for me!”

“In the beginning, probably. But I tried going steady a few times, and it just didn’t work for me. Mostly it was parents, but for some, it was also the girl. You know I have lots of female friends and I won’t change that, so a possessive or jealous girl is not for me.”

“Are you accusing ME of being that way?”

“No. Our relationship was different. Things changed after your mom moved you to Iowa.”

“She’s such a bitch! She ruined my life!”

I wanted to say ‘Bullshit!’ but that wouldn’t help at all, and would just upset Francesca even more. Francesca’s life was NOT ruined because she was living with her dad and being treated as a young adult, and had a bright future ahead of her. The only thing that had been ‘ruined’ was our relationship, and as upsetting as that might be to Francesca, it wasn’t the end of the world.

“I think,” I said carefully, “that you mean she ruined our relationship. You seem to be doing OK, otherwise.”

“But we were going to marry and have kids and grandkids and live happily ever after!” Francesca protested. “That’s all ruined now!”

I couldn’t disagree with that, really, because I had felt the same way when they’d moved to Iowa. But everything had changed, and I wasn’t willing to tie myself down the way I had been. My relationship with Francesca had grown naturally before it was shattered. Now, trying again would feel forced, and I didn’t even know if it was possible. Before she had been forced to move to Iowa, our relationship had basically been effortless — it just happened, and that was WAY different from making a decision to make a commitment which Francesca would assume would lead to that idyllic future she’d imagined.

“I don’t know what to say,” I replied. “Because I’m different now and life is different now.”

“You’re an asshole, Jesse Block!” she growled.

She got up, walked quickly to the stairs, and left the basement. I waited until I heard the door slam, then went upstairs just as my moms were coming down from their bedroom.

“That didn’t sound good,” Mom Two observed.

“I was called an asshole because I said I’ve changed and that my life was different now.”

“You’re not going to give her a chance?” Mom One asked.

“No,” I said, shaking my head. “That would be a bad idea. I don’t feel the same way about her, and if I were to ever go out on a date with her, she’d assume that would lead directly to marriage, kids, grandkids, and living happily ever after.”

“I’m assuming she said that, or something similar?” Mom Two asked.

“Pretty much that,” I said. “She said her life was ruined by her mom, too. But I don’t think that’s entirely true because she’s living with her dad, and ought to have a bright future. What she meant was that her dream about me was ruined.”

“So it’s not worth trying?” Mom Two asked.

“Trying what? The minute I ask her out, she’s going to assume what I said. That makes the entire thing forced, instead of developing naturally. And how will she feel if I decide I’d rather be with CeCe or some other girl in the future? I think that’ll be even worse than just saying ‘no’ now.”

“That makes sense,” Mom One said. “How was your date?”

“I’m going to ask her out again,” I said with a grin.

Both my moms laughed. I excused myself and headed back to the main house.

“She looked pissed!” Ashley observed when I came into the house.

“Spying on me?” I asked.

“Who? Little ol’ innocent me?” she asked sweetly.

I laughed, “You may be innocent now, but in about four years, look out world!”

Ashley smirked and walked away from the door where she’d been watching, and I headed back up to Albert’s room.

March 26, 2002, Chicago, Illinois

🎤 Steve

“Where are we going today?” Audrey asked after breakfast on Tuesday morning.

I’d slept with my wives, run, and cuddled Birgit, then we’d eaten breakfast. Kara and Jessica had left for work, and the kids had cleared out, as Jesse had asked for use of the house to entertain the softball team. I thought back to saunas I’d had in High School, and while they’d been fun, they hadn’t been with two dozen girls!

“Samantha’s condo.”

“Excellent! The balcony was fun!”

“Agreed! What were you going to do for the rest of the week?”

“Tomorrow I’m meeting up with a couple of girls from OSU who live in Chicago. They’re going to show me the town. After that, we’ll see. Can I reserve some time at the end of the week?”

“We have no plans for Friday evening, so we could spend a few hours together then.”

“Cool!”

We left the house and headed to the Gold Coast where Samantha had her condo, and after being allowed to get into the elevator by the security guard, we went up to Samantha’s floor. I let us in and was surprised to see Samantha.”

“Did we mis-communicate?” I asked.

Samantha laughed, “No. I just had a surprise phone call and was making arrangements. I was going to call you, but then I realized you’d be here before I left. Brian has orders bringing him back stateside. He’ll be in Chicago on leave for two weeks, then go to Norfolk for a month, then he’ll be back at RTC Great Lakes.”

“Excellent! What about Howard?”

“He received orders for the Seventh Fleet.”

“Ouch. Yokosuka or Sasebo?”

“Singapore, actually. He’ll be the XO for Commander, Logistics Group, Western Pacific. They’re based in Sembawang, Singapore, and have been for ten years.”

“Not TDY, right?”

“Right. Actual XO. The current XO put in his retirement papers and they were approved a week ago. Howard received his orders last Friday.”

“What was Jeri’s reaction?”

“I haven’t spoken to her since the Board meeting last week. Brian told me when he called this morning. Anyway, I’ll leave you two to whatever it is you plan to do!”

“Have tea and take in the awesome view from the balcony,” I replied with a grin.

“Uh-huh,” Samantha smirked. “I’ll be back around 6:00pm. Rachel is out for the day.”

“We’ll be gone by the time you get home,” I said. “We’re going to the house for dinner.”

Samantha left, and Audrey and I immediately set about fulfilling her desires.

🎤 Jesse

CeCe arrived just after 9:00am to help me set up for the arrival of the rest of the team. Nearly all the girls who had been at the last sauna gathering would attend, though Kyra was in Florida with her parents. In addition to CeCe, Brenna, Tyra, Keisha, Luna, Isabella, Shelly, Elena, Julieta, Destinee, Ayana, Jazlyn, Chung-Cha, Jody, and Daniela, five other team members had told CeCe they would attend — Brandi, Simone, Tanisha, Sheila, and D’Andra.

One of the intriguing things about the gathering was that half the team was African American, and I’d never been with a black girl. It was just the way things had worked out, really, as I hung out with people from every ethnicity in the school, and my best guy friend was black. While I agreed with CeCe that it wasn’t likely that the girls would go through with it, part of me hoped they would.

“Worst-case scenario is you get to see basically the entire team naked!” CeCe observed.

“I’ve seen most of them!” I chuckled. “And not to be a jerk, but I’ve seen so many naked girls at this point that it just doesn’t have the same effect as it would if that weren’t so. And remember, I was taught that nudity does not imply sex as well.”

“So you’re weird! But I think we established that without any question!”

“Want to know what I was thinking?”

“About the chances of having sex with twenty girls!”

I laughed, “Besides that!”

“No. What?”

“I’ve never been with a black girl.”

“The parts are all in the same place!” CeCe said, laughing. “And we’re all pink on the inside!”

“Duh! It was just a thought! You know Kwame is my best male friend, and Lee is pretty close.”

“I know! You don’t usually even mention race, which was why I found it amusing.”

There weren’t enough towels for everyone to have their own, so we unfolded them completely, then folded them in half lengthwise, and put them on the benches. That gave us room for twenty, without anyone having to sit on the floor. When we finished, we played a few rounds of pool, then I turned on the sauna and we went upstairs to wait for the team to arrive.

The doorbell rang just before 10:00am and I opened the front door to admit Luna, Jazlyn, Shelly, and Chung-Cha. I didn’t bother closing the door, because I saw other girls coming down the street, and by 10:10am everyone had arrived. We all trooped to the basement, and I closed and locked the door behind us, having put the ‘privacy please’ sign on the basement door out of an abundance of caution. CeCe and I had verified everyone’s STI test at school the previous week, so we didn’t need to deal with that.

“Team!” Luna ordered. “Strip!”

I chuckled and as the girls began taking off their clothes, I began undressing. I did take note of the new girls, and all of them were in great shape, with mostly smallish boobs. Most of the team had shaved their pubes as well, and the ones who hadn’t had theirs neatly trimmed. When everyone was naked, we all went into the sauna. I ladled water onto the hot stones and then sat down next to CeCe.

“OK, this is just strange!” Simone said. “How can a Sophomore guy be in a room with twenty hot girls and NOT have a boner?”

I laughed, “I’ve been in the sauna naked since I was a baby, and I’ve seen scores of girls naked in the sauna. My entire family uses the sauna naked together, and we were taught that nudity does not imply sex.”

“You’re just pissed he didn’t get hard for YOU!” Shelly exclaimed.

“But will he get hard for YOU?” Luna asked.

“And that is up to you!” Shelly retorted. “Last time, you were the end of the chain!”

“Luna, Jazlyn, Kyra, Isabella, then Shelly!” Jody smirked. “That was the order, but Kyra’s not here.”

“YOU go first if you think it’s a good idea!”

“The captain should go first,” Jody countered. “She’s our leader, after all! And you all remember what we discussed!”

“You seriously expect me to give up my cherry in front of all of you?” Destinee asked.

“You wouldn’t be the only one,” Isabella replied.

“And you would? Seriously?”

“I said I’d do it if Luna and Shelly both did it,” Isabella said. “I’ll be his third cherry if he does both of them!”

“Hey!” Shelly protested.

Several of the girls laughed.

“So, you ARE all talk!” Elena declared. “But I also remember Isabella saying she’d pay to see you do it with Jesse!”

“Jesse,” Jazlyn asked, “are you up for this?”

“He’s not!” Simone declared. “Everyone can see that!”

“You all talk a lot, but nobody is doing anything!” Daniela declared. “So, how about it, Luna?”

The peer pressure bothered me, and I had to say something before things got out of hand. As fun as it might be, I could see things going horribly wrong if girls had their first times in front of a crowd, not to mention even I would need Viagra to have sex with twenty girls! And there was no way I could cum that many times, no matter what drug I took!

“Luna,” I counseled. “Don’t do something you might regret. And the same goes for the rest of you.”

She looked relieved, and I wondered just what had happened at the team meeting. CeCe had been light on the details, and I hadn’t pressed because she was positive the girls would, in the end, not go through with it.

“Seriously?” Jody asked. “You’d turn down the opportunity to get into every coochie in the sauna?”

“If someone would be hurt by it, yes,” I said. “I think it’s a better idea to just finish the sauna, then find something to do.”

“I think Jesse is right,” Chung-Cha said. “Remember the talk we had?”

“She’s right,” Brenna agreed.

The tide had turned, so to speak, and the girls were doing exactly what I’d expected them to do. None of them looked upset or angry, which told me they’d all basically expected it to turn out this way. If any of them were disappointed, it didn’t show, either.

🎤 Birgit

DadsPumpkin: Hi!
KjellK88: Hi! How are you?
DadsPumpkin: Bored!
KjellK88: What time is it by you?
DadsPumpkin: «Klockan 14». (2:00pm)
KjellK88: Do you want to talk in Swedish?
DadsPumpkin: English is fine. Dad’s still teaching me. Did you make plans?
KjellK88: Camping, hiking, swimming and sailing. My friends are giving me a birthday party, and you’re invited.
DadsPumpkin: Cool! On your birthday?
KjellK88: On the 20th. Dad says you’ll be here then.
DadsPumpkin: Yes. When are we camping?
KjellK88: It depends. Are you going to Östersund with your dad?
DadsPumpkin: I’d rather stay with you and your friends. Dad will be OK with that.
KjellK88: Then 17th and 18th.
DadsPumpkin: Awesome! Where?
KjellK88: On an island in «Stockholms skärgård». We’ll sail and camp for two days.
DadsPumpkin: That sounds fun! I can’t wait!
KjellK88: Jesse is invited, too.
DadsPumpkin: I’ll tell him.
KjellK88: Two girls I know really want to meet him!
DadsPumpkin: I bet! 😜 But I won’t tell him!
KjellK88: OK.
DadsPumpkin: I need to go meet my friends, but I saw you online and had to chat!
KjellK88: I’m glad!
DadsPumpkin: «Hej då!» (Later!)
KjellK88: «Hej då! Och vi ses!» (Later! See you!)

I closed my IM client and added the camping trip to my calendar with a little star on the 18th. If I couldn’t convince Dad to give me the birthday present I wanted, I was going to give Kjell a birthday present he’d never forget! I closed down my computer and hurried downstairs to wait for Rachel to arrive so we could hang out with some of our friends.

March 28, 2002, Chicago, Illinois

🎤 Steve

“Happy birthday, Kara!” I said when I came back into the bedroom after running alone.

“Come make love to me!” she demanded.

“He should shower first,” Jessica suggested.

“Why? He’s just going to get all sweaty again!” Kara smirked.

“You did say ‘make love’ not ‘fuck’,” I countered. “Those things are very different, as you well know!”

“You mean how I changed what I wanted for our first time, right?”

“Yes.”

“Go rinse off and come make love to me. You two can fuck my brains out tonight after our dinner date!”

“Happy to oblige!” I said.

I went to the bathroom, quickly rinsed off the sweat, dried, then went back to the bedroom and climbed into the king-size bed with Kara and Jessica. We made love slowly and sweetly, with Jessica kissing each of us on occasion, and running her hands over my back and butt, as if to encourage me. Kara had four very good orgasms before I had my release, and after a bit of kissing, I went back to the shower. After dressing, I went downstairs so I could cuddle Birgit while Jessica made breakfast.

“How was Mom’s birthday fuck?” Birgit giggled when I walked into the sunroom.

“None of your business, nosy daughter!”

“Oh, please! We know you have sex!”

“Yes, but that does not entitle you to details!”

“I didn’t ask for details,” Birgit giggled. “I just asked you how it was! YOU went right to details, Dad!”

I laughed, “True. It was wonderful, as always.”

“Thanks for letting Jesse, my sisters, and me have friends over tonight without a babysitter!”

“You’re welcome. And that depends on you two being responsible.”

“No orgies, Dad! I promise!”

I laughed, “That is not what I meant, but I do remember the first time you asked what an orgy was!”

“And you told Mom you liked cuddles more than sex! Did you say that to make me happy?”

“No. It’s true, at least in some instances.”

“Me?”

“Yes, but I meant with your moms and Suzanne, too.”

“But doesn’t sex feel really good?”

“It does, but sometimes what we need is emotional support, and that’s where cuddling comes in. Don’t you feel better after we cuddle?”

“Always!”

“Me, too. And the same is true for your moms, Suzanne, and me. And Natalie, too. Different things fulfill different needs. Sometimes just being in the same room is enough.”

“I like when we’re together, even if we’re not cuddling.”

“That’s exactly what I was referring to.”

“I IMd with Kjell yesterday. I plan to stay in Stockholm when you go to Östersund. He and his friends planned to go sailing and camping in «Stockholms skärgård» and I want to go along. Jesse is invited, too.”

“I’ll make sure that the travel agent knows you two aren’t going with us, then.”

“And there’s a birthday party for Kjell his friends are throwing on the 20th.”

“Thanks for letting me know, but you and Jesse should make whatever plans you want, and just assume it’s OK so long as you’re with Kjell and his friends.”

“What about Nicholas?”

“That’s up to Bethany and Tom, but I think he’ll be allowed to hang out with you guys because he’s thirteen. You should have him ask his mom when she calls. Your sisters may as well, but I understand if you older kids want time without the little ones.”