Chapter 28: Sunday, Sept. 9

I awoke slowly Sunday morning. Marie was already up and gone, but I didn’t hear any sounds from the kitchen. I’d slept well, all things considered. Now, I was looking forward to a lazy day.

I’d need to go over everything for tomorrow’s tests at some point, but that could wait. The only other items on my agenda were watching NFL season openers — the locals were playing a late-afternoon game on the road — finding Marie appropriate neckwear and dinner with the Pattersons.

Marie came through the door in one of her house dresses and chivied me out of bed.

“You need to get up,” she said. “It’s after 8 and your mother said you need to get back on schedule so you can be on time for school tomorrow. What do you want for breakfast?”

Mom was communicating with Marie? I guess that was better than having her over here giving the orders personally.

“Some cereal will be fine,” I groaned as I rolled out of bed. “Let me hit the bathroom first.”

I took care of business and dressed in cargo shorts, a T-shirt and deck shoes, then staggered back to the little kitchen.

“Are you going to have anything?” I asked as I worked around Marie to get what I needed.

“I’ve already eaten and done two loads of laundry while you were having your lie-in,” she said.

Well, Arlene had said Marie was a morning person. I hoped I could survive a week with the little waif.

I filled a bowl, added milk and headed to the table, which was cleared. I’d have to remember to ask Marie about the location of my backpack. I’d just sat down when I realized I hadn’t grabbed a spoon. Marie came to my rescue in addition to bringing me a glass of pineapple juice.

“Thank you,” I said, thinking I was going to have to demonstrate the benefits of my “male health” regimen one of these days.

“What do you have planned today?” she asked as she sat down with a cup of coffee.

I hadn’t even noticed there was now a coffee maker on the counter. The limited space was almost filled with appliances — a small microwave and a small George Foreman grill in addition to the toaster oven I’d used maybe twice. There were only two sockets on that side, meaning you couldn’t run everything at the same time without an extension plug. It probably wouldn’t be a good thing to try. I’m sure doing so would trip the breakers.

“I thought we could go to the mall and find you something the pet owners would recognize,” I said. “I have a little studying to do, the football game I want to watch starts about 3:30 and I’ve been invited to dinner at the Pattersons this evening. Mr. Patterson said he’d talk to me about last night.”

“What happened last night? You didn’t get Staci in trouble, did you?” she asked warily.

“Not as long as her implant still works,” I said. “There was a little situation at the dance and both Mr. and Mrs. Patterson showed up.”

“What happened?” Marie demanded again, so I told her about Billy Ray Harkrider’s behavior and what appeared to be a drug bust.

She surprised me with a sweet kiss when I mentioned keeping Billy Ray from hitting Bonnie.

“What was that for?” I asked after she pulled her tongue out of my mouth.

“For doing the right thing,” Marie said with a blush. “But now you’re going to have another girl wanting a piece of you. I almost wish you weren’t so gallant.”

Gallant? Me? Not hardly, I thought.

“Well, she lives an hour or so away, so it’s not like we’ll see each other much,” I said. “And she knows I’m dating Staci.”

“Who knew you were dating Morgan, but that didn’t keep her from rewarding you,” Marie said as she crawled into my lap. “Just like it didn’t keep me from rewarding you last week.”

The next kiss was a little more heated. I took the opportunity to check if Marie was dressed properly for the apartment by running a hand up her inner thigh, causing the little waif to squirm enticingly.

Just as I was about to find out, my phone rang. It was still sitting on the nightstand next to the bed. Marie hopped off my lap and answered it just before it went to voicemail. I was just a couple of steps behind.

“It’s Mrs. Jenson,” Marie whispered as she handed me the phone.

“How’re things in The Big Apple?” I asked.

“Bustling,” Arlene answered. “Why do I get the feeling I was interrupting something?”

“Just breakfast,” I said.

“Uh huh,” the redhead replied, sounding unconvinced. I could sense the smirk.

She proceeded to catch me up on her itinerary for the week. It sounded like there’d be lots of runways involved.

“I’d better let you get back to your breakfast,” she snarked. “Wouldn’t want it to go cold.”

“It’ll be fine,” I said. “You two take care up there in the wilds of Manhattan.”

The cereal was fine, if a little soggy. Marie had cooled down some, though.

“You need to finish eating and get on with your studying,” she said, doing a pretty fair job of channeling my mother. “The mall doesn’t open until noon on Sundays. I can finish up the laundry before we go.”

“Where’s my backpack?” I asked as I shoveled in another spoonful. “My books are in it.”

“I put on the chair in the front room,” she said. “Let me get it. You finish your breakfast.”

Marie bustled her way up front and returned momentarily with my bag, which she set in the chair she’d been using.

“Do you have rocks in this thing?” she grunted as she set it down. “That’s heavy!”

Before I could swallow a mouthful of cereal and answer, she was on her way out to resume doing laundry. With nothing better to do, I pulled my Economics book out of the bag and started studying as I finished eating.

After going over everything for a couple of hours, I’d finally had enough. I put the books away, took my dishes to the sink and rinsed them out, then headed to the front room and placed my backpack next to the easy chair. It was almost 11 a.m. and the pregame shows were going on three networks. I settled for the channel the locals would be on this afternoon and got comfortable.

Marie came back about 11:30 with an armload of laundry, which she arranged on the shelves.

“Need any help carrying that stuff?” I asked as she turned to go.

“Would you mind?” she replied. “We could get to the mall and be back before your game starts.”

I followed her up to the house and into the laundry room. Everything had already been folded or hung, it just needed to be delivered to the appropriate place.

Marie had me pick up a basket filled with Arlene’s undergarments — the cup size of the bras pretty much told me they weren’t Marie’s — then started stacking casual wear on top.

“Think you can carry that?” she asked, grabbing a load of hanging clothes.

“I don’t know,” I hedged. “Those underwires are pretty heavy.”

“Well, mine won’t be as bad,” she snarked. “C’mon.”

I followed the little waif to the master suite, where she directed me to place the basket on the bed as she began putting things away. I had no clue what went where, anyway. Most of the time I’d been in this room with these garments, I’d been more concerned with getting Arlene out of them.

Two more trips had all the redhead’s laundry delivered. Marie’s clothing took us only one. I was again put to work transporting underwear while she carried a week’s worth of house dresses to her room in the northeast corner of the house.

“Do you need to finish dressing?” I asked, placing the basket atop her dresser.

“I already did,” she said. “Fresh out of the dryer.”

“Maybe I should check,” I said, stepping up behind her and lifting the hem of her dress.

“Stop that,” she ordered, batting my hands away. “The mall will be open by the time we get there. You can wait until we get back.”

I still took the opportunity to run a hand down her back, eliciting a shiver before I encountered her bra strap. A hand on her bum indicated she was wearing panties, too.

“Told you so,” she huffed as she again swatted at my hands.

With laundry detail out of the way, we headed back to the apartment to get what I would need for the trip. Marie agreed we should take the Beemer since it was shaping up to be a sunny day. She liked riding around with the top down as much as I did.

The mall was just getting cranked up for the day as we pulled in. Marie led me directly to a chic boutique that should have exactly what we needed. We were the only customers in the place and the salesgirl was more than attentive. I guess even a few cents commission on what we’d buy was better than standing at the counter all day hoping for someone to come in.

Marie opted for a little black silk choker with a Velcro fastening. The salesgirl was quick to point out an almost identical one on the next rack that had a little ring in front to which a pendant could be attached.

“Want to look at pendants?” I asked.

“Could we?” Marie asked shyly. Heck, it wasn’t like I’d be expected to buy her the Hope Diamond. At least not in this place.

The salesgirl led us over to a display case and pulled out a tray of ornaments, several of which were logos of some of the big fashion houses like Gucci and Chanel. Marie selected a silver Dolce & Gabbana logo pendant — an interlocking DG — that wasn’t too big, but big enough. The salesgirl attached it to the choker, then I fastened it around Marie’s neck.

The little waif beamed as she examined herself in a little mirror on the counter. I think she’d made her decision.

“Would you like me to wrap that up?” the salesgirl asked.

“I think she wants to wear it home,” I said as Marie continued to peruse her reflection.

The salesgirl grabbed another choker and pendant so she could ring up the prices and met me and my card at the register. I’d spent more on some lunches than I did on this purchase, but Marie seemed pleased.

“Thank you, Daddy,” Marie squealed, jumping up to give me a little smooch and causing the pendant to bounce and swing, as we headed out.

“You’re welcome, baby,” I replied with a smile. “Want to get some lunch while we’re out?”

The offer was met with acceptance and we headed back to the car discussing our options. Marie wanted something we could take back to the apartment, so we swung through the nearest Rosa’s and got a selection of tacos and burritos. We were back at the apartment before any of the early NFL games reached the third quarter.

After eating at the little table, I wandered to the front room and turned on the TV. I don’t even remember which game was on as Marie pushed me into the easy chair and climbed into my lap.

“I think you mentioned something about making sure I was properly dressed,” she husked as she closed in for a sizzling kiss.

I began working on the buttons of her dress, quickly exposing her bra. I was getting better at manipulating the clasp between the cups and soon had a hand on a bare boob as she shifted to straddle me.

With Marie supporting herself on her knees, I slid a hand up the back of her thigh until I encountered her panties. I reached the waistband and began tugging the fabric over her butt as the little waif whimpered and squirmed.

I had the garment down to midthigh when there was a knock on the door, causing Marie to jump off my lap with a squeak and try to run to the bathroom while pulling up her panties. I was afraid she might fall and hurt herself.

“Open up, dude,” I heard Jed call out. “I brought pizza!”

“Just a sec,” I responded, trying to adjust the lump in my shorts.

I waited until Marie was safely out of sight before letting my friend in. He had two large boxes in his hands and a quizzical look on his face.

“To what do I owe the honor?” I asked as Jed stepped inside.

“I’m not interrupting anything, am I?” he asked. “All your girlfriends were having lunch at the club. I know because I was there with Keri and Erin.”

“You had lunch and then picked up two large pizzas?” I asked. Jed really would weigh 300 pounds if he kept eating like that.

“For the game,” he said. “I had a light lunch. This’ll be my supper. The girls wanted to spend some time together across the way and I get to be their chauffeur. I thought we could watch the game here without our dads stealing our snackage.

“Also, your mom asked me to check on you.”

“Figures,” I grunted as I went and grabbed the two chairs from the dining nook, dragging them back up front. Jed placed the pizzas on one and headed to the kitchen to grab some drinks.

“Whatcha want, dude?” he shouted, sounding like his head was already stuck in the fridge.

“I’m good,” I called back. “We just got done with lunch ourselves.”

“We?” Jed asked as he came around the corner with a couple of cans of soda.

Before I could answer, Marie came out of the bathroom with her dress put back in order and her underwear in her hands.

“Oh, hey, Marie,” he said. Until that moment, I hadn’t realized my buddy had met Arlene’s housekeeper, but it made sense he would have by now if he’d made many visits to his own lovenest.

Jed’s expression showed he hadn’t put all the pieces together as Marie came back up front, dropped her undergarments in the hamper and reclaimed her spot in my lap, snuggling close with her head on my chest.

“No fuckin’ way, dude,” he exclaimed as he followed and claimed the vacant chair.

“Marie is the mystery girl you’ve been wondering about,” I said, stroking her hair and forgetting all about the game on TV.

“Do all your other girlfriends know?” Jed asked.

“Yes,” I answered. “And I have their approval.”

“How long has this been goin’ on?” he asked.

I told of how I’d met Marie through the modeling agency, leaving out the naughty parts, and how she’d come to work for Arlene following Julia Fairchild’s arrest.

“So, you two just hooked up?” he asked.

“It’s a little more complicated than that,” I said.

“How complicated?”

I took a deep breath and considered what to say. This really wouldn’t be as scandalous as some of the other secrets Jed had learned in this apartment, like the fact my sister was a regular visitor.

“Marie’s a submissive,” I finally said. “She picked me to be her new Dom. There are some rather unsavory characters out there who would take advantage of her if she was on her own. We’ve already encountered one.”

“So you’re, what, her master or something?” he asked.

“I’m the Dominant person in her life,” I said. “Marie’s seeing a therapist, but she still feels she needs someone to make decisions for her. I’m more of a safety net than anything. It’s not like I use whips and chains on her.”

“Yet,” Marie giggled.

“Hush, you,” I commanded with a swat on her butt, now covered only by the thin fabric of the house dress. “You wouldn’t want Jed to see me give you a spanking, would you?”

“Ummm...” the little minx said like she was actually considering it.

“Marie has certain ... needs,” I told Jed, who looked like his head was about to explode. “I do what I can to meet them, but I’m still learning.”

“Sounds kinky,” Jed said.

“I guess it depends on your definition,” I said. “My main concern is protecting her from sexual predators. There are some nasty folks out there who would try to take her as a pet if I let her out without some way of identifying her as protected.”

“How do you do that?”

Marie sat up and proudly displayed her choker and pendant.

“It’s not a slave collar, but the types who actually put collars on their pets will recognize it,” I said. “Some of the real sickos have their pets tattooed or even branded. Ms. Fairchild had Marie tattooed and pierced.”

“What’s the pendant mean?” Jed asked.

“I don’t know,” I said, looking at Marie, who tried to burrow into my chest. “It’s a Dolce & Gabbana logo, but I didn’t think to ask if it meant anything else. Marie?”

The little waif whined and squirmed closer. I had to wonder what significance the pendant had for her that she was so reluctant to share.

“Come on,” I said encouragingly. “Jed knows not to repeat anything he hears here in the apartment. He’s got a few secrets of his own.”

Marie mumbled something into my chest I couldn’t understand. I placed a finger under her chin and lifted her face so I could look in her eyes.

“What was that?” I asked as she began trembling.

“Daddy’s Girl,” she whispered as if she was afraid of what my reaction would be.

I just looked at her as a wave of emotions washed over her face. I couldn’t tell if she was afraid I would disapprove, laugh or what.

“That’s very sweet,” I said softly, placing a kiss on her forehead. “I’ll try to be a good daddy for you.”

“You already are,” she whimpered as she wrapped her arms around my torso and squeezed.

“Daddy?” Jed asked, sounding rather befuddled.

“Shut up and eat your pizza, dude,” I said.

Marie stayed cuddled on my lap as Jed watched whatever game was on. I concentrated on not coming in my shorts as the little waif squirmed atop my erection.

Jed did his best to answer Marie’s questions about football, but I don’t think she understood a whole lot. She admitted she’d never attended a game in high school and I doubt Julia spent weekend afternoons parked on the couch watching games on TV.

He did point out the positions we played when one team got in a four-receiver set.

“See No. 68, the big guy in the middle with his hand on the ball? That’s what I do,” he said. “That No. 19 standing out there by himself is kinda what Gary does when the coaches put him in.”

The next play was a field goal attempt, allowing us to further her education.

“I do the same thing the guy sending the ball between his legs is doing,” Jed said. “Gary’s the one who catches it and puts it on the ground for the kicker.”

“Doesn’t it hurt when they kick your hand?” she asked.

“You learn to get your hand out of the way,” I said. “See? He just has a finger on top of the ball away from the kicker’s foot. The kicker tries to hit the lower half of the ball.”

She still shivered at the thought of how close I came to getting kicked. I admitted I did, too, until I got better at the job.

About 2 o’clock, Jed asked me to turn down the TV sound and tuned the little clock-radio to the flagship station of the local team’s radio network. It was time for the pregame show.

Marie excused herself to check on things in the house. She said she’d see if Erin and Keri needed anything. I think she’d just had her fill of football.

Jed couldn’t help himself once she was out the door.

“You gotta tell me what this ‘Daddy’ shit’s about, dude,” he said.

“That’s what she wants to call me,” I said, remembering last Sunday afternoon with Marie and George Michael. “There’s a whole lot of psychology involved that I don’t pretend to understand. I just try to make sure she’s safe and happy. And I think you’ve got an idea of some of the things that make her happy.”

“Don’t let any of the guys know about her,” he said. “They already think you’ve got a harem full of sex slaves. Marie would be considered living proof.”

Now where could my teammates have gotten an idea like that?

“Does Coach know?” Jed asked.

“Yeah,” I sighed. “He met Marie last week when he came over to check the place out after I told him I’d be house sitting this week. He seems to think I’ll try to lure Stephanie over here.”

“Be careful around her,” Jed said. “Keri says she’s determined to get your attention. Coach warned us all during spring practice to stay away from her after she decided to be a trainer.”

“I most definitely do not need that in my life,” I moaned. “I’ve told him more than once that I have no intention of getting involved with a freshman, especially his daughter.”

“Just like you had no intention of getting involved with all your other lady friends,” my buddy snorted.

Our discussion was mercifully interrupted by the start of the local radio broadcast. Jed insisted we leave the TV sound off.

“I just don’t like these network guys,” he said. “You get better info from the local crew.”

The local crew sounded extremely optimistic after a winless preseason, but the prevailing opinion was the big names had gotten enough work in training camp to make up for their limited or total lack of playing time in those games.

I thought they could have used a couple more weeks of practice the way the opener went.

Two penalties on the first possession of the season left the locals with third-and-26 from their own 9-yard line. I was just glad that the punt made it beyond midfield. The defense started well, but roughed the passer on third-and-10 and gave up 16 yards on a second-and-17. Then they gave up a big play, almost 30 yards, into the red zone.