Chapter 22

Mom said I could skip school Thursday if I wanted to but I didn’t see any profit in that. She took me in and let my carpool friends know that she would pick me up and drop me off for a while. Porter isn’t that big of a school and word of Aquaman on crutches got around pretty quickly.

At lunch, I sat with the squad. All I wanted to do was eat lunch without telling the story again. I’d already told it four different ways to see if anyone noticed but they didn’t. I’d just started to eat and Kim was about to tell how it happened when Coach Hamilton came to our table.

“Hey, Aquaman, I hear you had a bit of a mishap. Broke a flipper, is that it?”

“Yes, sir.” I knew he was going to ask. “Six weeks is pretty much the standard guess. Maybe more maybe less.”

“Sorry to hear that. Listen, I just wanted to tell you that you were pretty impressive at practice. Would it hurt more or less if I told you we would have had a spot for you on varsity?”

“Probably more.”

“Well, Pierce, you looked good, but not quite good enough to make the team this year. Maybe next. How’s that?”

“Perfect, Coach. Thanks.”

He started to get up but settled back again and leaned forward. “Listen. I was going to pull you up to varsity. You can hit and you’ve got a good reputation for fielding and a solid arm. All good. But Barber tells me your understanding of the game is, let’s say, a bit naive. We’ve got a spot for you on the bench for varsity games if you like. Might help you get up to speed, perhaps gain a better understanding of the game. Or you could just catch some Braves games on TV.”

“Yes sir. Thanks Coach. That sounds good.”

“Great. No need to go to practice and don’t feel like you have to make our games. If you make it to one or all, I think it would help. Let’s hope you set a record for recovery, Pierce,” he said, I thanked him, he patted my forearm and left.

Kim told the story without embellishment or making me look silly. I knew I had looked silly but she made it seem like I was rescuing her from the rain. There was only one thing left to do. Let the squad sign my cast. Later that day, I noticed someone had printed, IWFYS, and it didn’t take a genius to figure out that it stood for ‘I would fuck you silly’ or that it was printed with the same pen as Mel. Nice to have a fan club. Claire had his work cut out for him.

That afternoon, I sat in the bleachers and watched the cheerleaders practice. I hadn’t really seen them doing their routine for a couple of weeks. Varsity was going to compete and the JV squad was trying to learn the routine so they would fit in, when they made varsity. I noticed that Kim had taken a more active role in throwing Fling. I knew they called cheerleaders who do what Fling did, flyers, and they had the highest rate of injury. Usually, it was a foot or ankle injury from a bad landing. Part of Spot’s job was to keep her from getting injured. Where was Spot when I needed her?

After practice, we walked out to the parking lot for Mom to pick us up. Kim offered to carry my books but I had a backpack. I gave her a look and she never offered again. We went to our house and Mom and Kim lifted while I sat in the den with my foot elevated with ice on it. This totally sucked. I couldn’t walk far. I wasn’t supposed to lift for at least a week and then only pull. Kim had a car and a permit but she needed another driver in the car for another two months. There had to be a solution to this. I tried to think what Franklin would do and came up empty. I tried to think what Ronnie would do and came up emptier, if that’s even a word. I grabbed the Yellow Pages and started flipping through them for ideas. I’d sort of haphazardly flipped pages until I got to G. The answer was obvious. I think a little lightbulb must have gone on over my head. I made one call and the solution was on its way. Literally, on its way.

I walked out to the gym with a huge smile on my face and was greeted with those, what-are-you-up-to looks from both of them. I watched them lift and since it was a push day, there was not much I could do. I did sit-ups and leg raises until my stomach hurt. That was a lot of sit-ups. Most people don’t realize that swimming impacts your body in a couple of non-obvious ways. First, unless you swim backstroke, your neck grows. I’d put an inch on my neck since the start of the season. I knew that because none of my dress shirts fit any more. Second, all that breathing works your core and your ability to do sit-ups takes a giant leap. Mine did, at any rate.

After doing a bunch of sit-ups I walked over to the mirror and checked out my abs. Son of a gun. I had a six pack. I’d never really thought about it before but there it was.

“Hey, Kim, check this out,” I said over my shoulder. “I have a six pack.”

“I know.”

I turned to watch her start a set of dumbbell front raises. When she finished, I asked, “What do you mean, you know? They’re new. It’s new. Whatever.”

“No, it isn’t. You’ve had that since before regionals at any rate. Probably earlier.”

“Why didn’t I notice?” I asked.

“Because you’re not vain. Let me see,” Mom said as a flatbed truck pulled into the driveway.

Mom stopped what she was doing, turned and walked out to the truck. “What are you doing?” she asked the driver.

“Delivery for Mr. Ronald Pierce,” he said handing her a paper and dropping the lift.

“Jack. What’s going on?”

“They brought my golf cart.”

“What do you mean your golf cart?”

“I can’t walk fast. I can’t ride my bike. Kim can’t drive without an older person in the car. I needed some transportation.”

“So, you’re buying a golf cart?”

“Sign here, please. Any questions for me?” I signed and shook my head.

“No. I’m renting one for two months. By the way, no one cancelled Dad’s club membership. You should probably start golfing or cancel it. I put this on his membership and I’ll pay you back. Two months, two hundred bucks and they get the cart back before summer and the season gets going,” I said with a giant grin. I slid into the seat.

“Do you even know how to drive one of these?”

“Of course. Mom, in the last month or so I’ve driven go carts, a Bobcat and an excavator. How hard could it be?” I asked as I pressed the pedal and shot backwards. “Okay. I might want to read the manual a little first.” I had watched the driver back it off the lift. Why didn’t it dawn on me the cart had a reverse?

“I don’t know whether to laugh or cry,” she said.

I looked over the cart while she was making the big decision. Key, gas, brake, steering wheel, parking brake, mirror, recharging plug. That was about it. Oh, and forward or reverse. No problem. Kim slid in beside me, smiling.

“Okay. I’m choosing to laugh. First, nice job of problem solving. Second, I’m glad you discovered Ronnie’s membership is still active, and third, next time you do something like this, you just might want to check with the person who cooks your meals. Healthier for you if you do.”

“Thanks Mom. I’m going to run Kim home.”

“Wait a minute. Assuming you can figure out how to make it go forward, what are the laws on these things?”

“I checked before I rented it. In South Carolina you’re supposed to be within a mile of a golf course but the cops don’t really care as long as you stay on residential streets. Tada.”

“I can’t believe I’m letting you do this. Call me when you get there.”

“I’m a student driver. Kim’s already has a permit so she’s my teacher. We’ll be fine,” I said and accelerated to the street. I saw Mom looking at us in the rearview mirror and realized we had a rearview mirror.

“This is so totally not fair,” Kim said. “I have a permit and a truck but you get to drive me before I drive you. How fast will this thing go, anyway?”

“No idea. Faster than my bike. This is pretty cool. What time is it?”

“It just turned four, why? It’s early.”

We went zinging down the street like it was the most normal thing in the world. Easy. It was a quick trip and I pulled into the driveway and followed Kim inside. We kissed in the entryway. We always kissed in the entryway. I took her hand and hobbled back to her bedroom. I’d left my crutches in the garage.

“What do you have in mind?” she asked in that drawn out sort of way that meant she was suspicious.

I turned her to face me, backed her against the bed and pushed her back onto it, then followed her. We kissed again and I let my hands roam over her body.

“You please me,” I said. “Everything about you pleases me. I love how soft your hair is and the wavy way it falls on your shoulders is perfect. I love how you’re working out to get that mystery biker babe Vee. That pleases me. Your smile and your lips, oh, and your tongue. Your tongue definitely pleases me. Plus, dimples.” I ran my hand from below her boobs down to the top of her shorts. She was enjoying it and starting to squirm a little.

I slid my hand down to cup her pussy and simply held it. “It pleases me that you allow me to do this.” I slid my hand under her shorts, feeling the wispy hair of her bush beneath my fingers. “And this.”

I started to pull her shorts off but she didn’t raise her hips to make it easier. “What are you doing? I’m all sweaty. All yucky.”

I inhaled and smiled. “Off, please,” I said and tried again and she helped and I heard her shoes thud on the floor as she kicked them off. I turned sideways to her and started moving down.

“Jack. I’m serious. I’m all sweaty.”

“I don’t care, Baby. You smell good to me. You feel good to me.” She tried to pull me back up but I wasn’t going. “It’s been too long, Baby. Let me.” She still tugged against me. “Baby, really, there is no way I could please you as much as you please me but let me try,” I said and kissed her belly.

I was on her left side and slid down so my body was perpendicular to hers. I ran my right hand up and down her legs and could feel the results of her workouts. I slid my hand under her thigh and gently pulled it. She let her legs slide apart a little. I kissed along her bikini tan line and then lower, enjoying her musky scent.

She tried to stop me one last time. “Jack, at least let me, oh, oh,” and she moaned. The fight was over. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you. Oh, that’s nice.”

I pressed my lips against hers, wetting them. At that angle, our lips matched and I kissed her. She really began to squirm and she lifted her butt off the bed toward me. I slipped my tongue between her lips and she gasped. I sucked her lips into my mouth, holding first one and then the other between my lips and running my tongue from top to bottom and back. I had no idea what she was worried about. If this was her all yucky, sweaty, I was fine with it.

“Oh, god, Jack, whatever you do, don’t stop doing that. Feels so good. So, so good.”

I darted my tongue into her and she lifted up again. Any thought I had of making this last vanished as she held my face against her. I let my lips slide higher until they circled her clit and I sucked gently. She was ready. I continued to suck and then flicked her clit with my tongue and she shook and shook and then she really shuddered. I heard the breath go out of her as she contracted once hard and then many more times after that in quick succession, and all the while she held my face to her pussy and called my name while I munched like a hungry man.

When her orgasm was over, except for aftershocks, I stopped working my tongue and just held my lips tightly against her. As she relaxed, I eased up until finally I took my mouth off of her.

“I’m Jell-O. That was so nice. You need to gargle now, for sure.”

“Stop. I’m happy. Nothing gives me more pleasure than to do that for you.”

“Nothing? What about when I do that for you?”

“That feels good and I like it but nothing gives me more pleasure than doing that for you. By the way, you’re all sweaty.” I climbed up so we could see each other’s faces. “The way you feel - so tender, so responsive to me. You’re so hot and wet with desire, for me and that’s just crazy. I love that. I love the way you taste and the way you smell. You smell like woman. My woman. Only mine. No one else can taste or smell what I can. You are my personal feast. I love the sounds you make and I especially love when you talk to me and tell me how good I’m making you feel. All of that and more gives me pleasure.”

“That’s nice. So, so nice.”

“You’re intoxicating, Baby. And you’re mine. I feel full. My heart is ready to explode.”

“I bet I know what else is ready to explode. Let me do that for you.”

I wanted her to but I wanted something even more. “Not today, Baby. Just you.”

“Why not? I want to.”

“I know. I like that you do. But sometimes I don’t want to trade orgasms. I want to please you right now without getting anything back besides the happiness I get from pleasing you.”

“But don’t...”

“Nope. If I never had another orgasm, if my dick were gone or broken or whatever, I’d still want to do that for you, not just to make you feel good, but because it makes me feel so good.”

“But you still want too...”

“Make love to you? More than anything in the world. When we have all day.”

“I want that to ... but this felt pretty special too. I am so sorry you don’t get to play baseball.”

“That came out of nowhere.”

“It happens. My mind works funny.”

“Mine too. Was that nice for you, Baby? Could I have done something different? Something better?”

“Besides put your dick inside me? No. You’re all I know Jack. You could be the best or worst lover in the world and I wouldn’t know. You’re the best lover I’ve ever known.”

I climbed up next to her and hugged her close. We carefully wrapped our legs together, keeping my cast on the bottom, and she grabbed my butt and pulled me tight against her.

“This is nice, Jack. You can do this for me without me returning the favor under two conditions. First, that you don’t do this too often. I like to please you, too. And, you let me please you without getting anything in return. I feel so good right now. I feel loved.”

“That was the idea.”

“It worked. I’m all mushy inside,” she said and tried to snuggle closer but it was physically impossible to get any closer. She leaned back to get eye contact with me. “Jack, don’t go anywhere.”

“I can stay a little longer but I have to leave soon.”

“That’s not what I mean.”

“Ah, no. Not going anywhere,” I said and she wrapped me up tightly again.

Except for an impossibly stiff dick, I felt pretty good. We kissed.

“You’re salty,” she said.

“No, you’re salty.”

“Oh, yeah. Okay, it wasn’t that bad, I guess.” She sighed in contentment and then we got up. “Oh, Baby, you must be in pain,” she said when she saw my dick tenting my shorts obscenely.

“Actually, I kind of am. I need to get home and get some anti-inflammatories in me again.”

“I know we have some here.”

“Short trip and I’ll be fine. I wonder if anti-inflammatories will make this go down,” I said and we both laughed. I hobbled out to my cart and drove home without adult supervision and didn’t hit anything. Life was good, except for the throbbing pain in my foot.

I parked the golf cart in the garage, grabbed my crutches and walked to the house. As I was about to step inside, I licked my lips. Kim. I stepped inside without thinking. There was no way I could get within twenty feet of Mom. She’d smell Kim and see the erection that was once again, gaining steam since I’d tasted Kim on my lips.

“Dinner’s on, Sport. I hope you’re hungry.”

It was everything I could do to keep from saying ‘No thanks, I just ate’ but instead I hollered, “My stomach’s messed up a little. Start without me and I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

I speed-hobbled to my room and into the bathroom. I licked my lips again and tried to inhale. The taste was there but I couldn’t pick up her smell. I inhaled as deeply as I could but couldn’t catch that elusive whiff I’d been worried about. When I scratched my chin, I caught it. Her scent was on my fingers and I was rock hard. I closed my eyes, licked my lips and smelled her on my fingers. Ten strokes later and I blasted a million baby makers across the sink and onto the mirror. I’d had that boner for the better part of the afternoon and it sure felt good to get some relief.

Ten minutes later, I’d cleaned up the bathroom, washed my hands and face and gargled. I hated to rinse away her scent but I couldn’t risk having Mom smell Kim on me. I had to figure a way to keep the smell of Kim.

I was so wrapped up in my thoughts that Mom asked me three times how my stomach was before I was aware of the question.

“How’s your stomach? This is kind of spicy. Is it going to be alright? I can scramble some eggs for you.”

“No. Better. This is fine. I’m fine. Thanks.”

“Okay. I don’t mind. How was your day? Any problems getting around or did the golf cart solve that problem.”

“No problems. Coach Hamilton talked to me at lunch. He invited me to games with the team and is certain I’ll be on the varsity team next year. He pretty much said I would have been on it this year. That’s the way it goes.”

“I’m so sorry, Jack. That’s pretty good, though. No. It’s better than pretty good. Your first year of swimming and you go to regionals and that wasn’t even in the event you’d been training for. And then the varsity baseball coach gives you a shot at the team and you make it, even if you didn’t get to play. Have you told Franklin?”

“No. I totally forgot. I’ll call him in a couple of minutes.”

“You seem preoccupied. What’s on your mind?” she asked and looked at me. I rolled my eyes. “Ah. Stupid question. Kim.”

“All. The. Time.”

“Well, you’ve got a pretty good reason. She’s a keeper.”

“I’m kind of limited on what I can do with this cast on. It will be nice to shrink it to that boot thing.”

“Patience, Buddy. Baseball is over for the season for you. You’re not getting that back. There’s nothing else you need to worry about. Be patient. You’ll have it off in time for the wedding and you’re a freshman so you can’t go to the Prom. Relax and enjoy your golf cart freedom.”

“Yeah, I guess that’s true enough. I forgot to plug it in to recharge. I should go do that.”

“I can do that. And I’ve got dishes. It’s not just walking. It’s being on your feet. Keep it elevated as much as you can. That’s going to help keep swelling down and you’ll heal faster. That’s what you want, right?” I nodded and Mom went to plug in the cart.

I went to the library and called Franklin. I had a lot to bring him up to speed on. He didn’t know how well I’d done, first with JV and then the varsity team during my tryout. He didn’t know that I’d broken my foot and he cracked up when I told him I rented a golf cart on Dad’s club membership. ‘Brilliant’ he called it. He said he’d have to figure out something different for Saturday.

I took my meds and fell asleep in no time.

On Friday, my injury was old news, and, thankfully, life could return to something resembling normal. If I couldn’t play sports, I’d focus on academics. I’d been getting As in everything but a little padding never hurt. I thought I’d hit the guidance counselor on Monday and do a little research. Kim and I sat together at lunch and I told her what I wanted to do and we agreed to go together. We talked about all kinds of things but she seemed antsy the whole time.

“Something’s on your mind, Baby. What is it?” I asked. She handed me my crutches, grabbed my hand and tried to pull me to the door. “Slow down, Baby. I can use crutches or get pulled but not both.” She motioned for me to hurry and we went outside and shut the door behind us.

She slammed the door shut, pinned me against it and attacked me with kisses. This was nice. I let her. I felt like a lottery winner.

She finally slowed down enough to talk to me. She had a hand planted above my shoulders on either side. “You destroyed my central nervous system last night. Jack, that was the best. You were amazing.” I couldn’t really do anything but smile. “I needed that and you really, really made me feel good. I get wet just thinking about what you did to me. Your lips, oh, my gosh Jack. I was so, so, so fired up. That was definitely a varsity performance.”

“I love you Baby. You deserve my best.” She kissed me again. I told her, “When I went home, I could taste you on my lips and smell you on my hands. It took less than a minute for me to explode, while smelling and tasting you. I wish I could bottle that. So, fucking hot. Sorry. So hot.”

“You’re funny but I’m glad. You can taste me like last night any time you want.” I looked around surreptitiously. “Not now, you bozo. Almost anytime you want.”

The bell rang. “Want to skip the rest of the day and just make-out?”

“Yes, but I have an assignment to turn in and a test to take. Besides, skin on skin is best. I cannot believe I’m dating a freshman. What was I thinking?”

“You were thinking, ‘he’s young and inexperienced but I bet I can get him to go down on me.’ That’s what you were thinking.”

“Ha, ha. If I’d only known. How long do you have to wear this stupid thing?” I gave her the schedule and she groaned. “When we get married, how often are you going to treat me like you did last night.”

“Hard to tell. That’s years from now. Probably only twice a day.”

She grinned. “Okay. I can live with that. Jack, last night would fuel my fantasy life if I lived to a hundred.”

“Me too, Baby. Me too.”

We went to class and I’m sure she got there as late as I did. Crutches are a great excuse though. During my normal PE period, I went to guidance and requested for the two of us to get on the schedule on Monday, then went to the library to study.

That afternoon, I grabbed a book and went to the gym. Mom and Kim had a good pull workout and I cheered them on. I couldn’t do push or legs until next week but I could at least do some pull exercises. We went inside and Kim followed Mom to the kitchen to help her cook dinner. I followed them in, but only for a moment.

“I’m concerned, Baby, that you’re getting a little too chummy with the enemy,” I said and Mom laughed but Kim didn’t realize I was kidding her. She kept peeling potatoes and I went to the library. I sat in the recliner. It was a super comfortable chair that would recline nearly horizontal. I pushed back until I was essentially lying on my back.

I must have dozed a little because I woke up and Kim had straddled my legs and was lowering herself to lie on top of me. I watched her work to do it without waking me up. It was entertaining because she was concentrating so hard but also because she didn’t realize I was watching. The chair wasn’t really made for that but she was determined.

She was almost there but hadn’t looked up at my face yet. “Comfortable?” I asked.

“I will be in a minute.” She continued as though I was still asleep and hadn’t said that and finally lowered herself the rest of the way. “Am I crushing you?”

“Yes, but in a good way,” I said, talking as though I were dying under her incredible weight. “Actually, feels pretty good.”

“Good,” she whispered to me. “I want you to feel what I’ll feel when we consummate our relationship.”

“Well, don’t put it in me, whatever you do,” I whispered back.

“You’re impossible. Doofus. I love you.”

“I love you too. You can put it in but just a little.”

“You are impossible. This is supposed to be a tender moment.” She started to get up but I wrapped my arms around her and held her in place and she relaxed.

“You smell good.”

“I smell like dinner, you doofus.”

“This is actually pretty nice. What’s Mom doing and why isn’t she giving us grief for this?” I asked.

“Because I hadn’t seen you two until now. I’ll be back in a minute with a bucket of cold water.”

“A minute’s all I’d need,” I whispered to Kim.

“You are impossible,” she said and stood up before Mom could go for water. On the way up, she made sure to get her elbows into my stomach.

“You can’t hurt six-pack man. Oof. Okay, you can’t hurt six-pack man unless you do that. Ought to be ashamed of yourself, beating up cripples.”

After dinner, Kim and I were talking quietly in the library while Mom cleaned up.

“I’ve heard from a couple of my friends that losing their virginity was painful.”

“I’ve heard that. Tearing a hymen doesn’t sound pleasant.”

“Mine’s been gone a long time. Horseback riding. They meant that but that’s not all they meant. They said the boy they were with was really rough and it left them feeling empty afterwards.”

“I could understand that. I think they probably felt used rather than loved.”

“That’s it exactly.”

“I would never use you but I would still understand if you were afraid.”

“I’m not. But then, I think the girls I’ve talked to might have had their ideas about sex changed and not in a good way. And, I don’t know how long that would last. If the first time hurt so bad, why would you want to do it again? Especially if you were one of those lucky people who could give yourself an orgasm and actually knew what it felt like.”

“They didn’t have one when they lost their virginity?”

“I don’t think they even came close. They said they were all excited and then it sucked.”

“That does suck. Didn’t their boyfriends ... well, I guess they didn’t if it sucked. But it’s got you thinking.”

“A little. It got me thinking that it’s a bigger deal. I don’t know. I love you.”

“I love you, too. I don’t want to do it until you’re ready and you’re sure you’re ready, you know?”

“You know you could tell me that you wanted to tonight and we would, right?”

“Pretty much. Are any of the girls you talked with still going out with the boy they had sex with?”

“I don’t think so. No. No, now that I think about it, I’m sure they’re not.”

“See, why would I risk losing you? You already know how to make me feel good. Do you know any girls that say they’ve had sex and enjoyed it?”

“A couple. I think one is lying and the other might be telling the truth. I don’t think they have boyfriends that put them ahead of themselves.”

“I saw that in baseball.”

“What? That doesn’t make sense at all.”

“Yeah, it does. Baseball and swimming are so different. In swimming there are individual events and relays. You do your best no matter what and I think everybody cheers for the other guys on the team. But in baseball, there are some guys that would probably be okay if the team loses as long as they got a hit or whatever. It’s about them more than it’s about the team.”

“And you’re a team player.”

“I hope no one thinks I’m all about me.” We were quiet for a long time. “No one cried at Ronnie’s funeral. He was a good guy and all but he kind of sucked at relationships.”

“That was a pretty big change in topics. And you want people to cry at your funeral?”

“Yeah. I want people to value my friendship. If Franklin died, I’d be torn up, but when Dad died, nothing. I mean, I miss him and everything but to be honest, there wasn’t that much to miss. He left us his money. That was the most important thing about him.”

“Money’s nice.”

“But it’s just a thing. It’s a tool. Like a hammer.”

“Well, your dad left you a very nice, gold-plated hammer.”

“He did, but it’s still just a hammer. I’m grateful. Really grateful. I have choices that other kids don’t and that’s not a small thing.”

We were quiet for a long time and then Kim said, “The squad is really sad that you don’t get to play baseball.” I didn’t quite get it. “It was like a funeral for your freshman year of baseball. They didn’t cry over it but they were really sad for you. If you died, people would cry.”

“Me too.”

“I’m being serious, you goof. You do pretty good ... for a freshman.”

“I am so going to graduate in three.”

“It bugs you that I’m a year ahead.”

“No. Yes. No. A little. I should be the guy.”

“I get it. But the older we get, the less it will matter, right?”

“Yeah, but when I’m a hundred, you’ll be a hundred and one.”

“Will you still love me when I’m old and wrinkled?”

“Definitely.”

“Pretty certain of that.”

“Yeah. I’ll have cataracts or whatever.”

“Great. You are a serious goof.”

“That’s cause I’m a freshman.”

“Hey, you two. What are you talking about?” Mom asked as she came in.

“Cataracts,” I answered and waited for her to make sense of that one. We waited and she looked at us to see if we were serious.

“Do I even want to know how you got there?”

We told her and talked about what it meant to grow old together. She claimed she wasn’t old enough to have an opinion on the matter. Kim’s folks were. I told Mom that when she was old enough to have an opinion on the matter, that she would need to have someone she could have an opinion about.

“Ronnie’s funeral was pretty emotionless, wasn’t it?” she said after a long silence. Neither of us responded. “Want to hear something crazy?”