Chapter 29

I was fine with staying away from tempting Tonya. After all, ‘out of sight, out of mind.’ The problem was that our families didn’t hold the same opinion and surprisingly, that even included Cindi. It all started with Aunt Olga and Nana. Olga told Nana what a good impression I had made on her daughter, son-in-law and granddaughter. Then she casually mentioned how lovely it would be if I took Tonya to the big Gala the PNA (Polish National Alliance) lodge was throwing. Papa and Nana were active members and strong supporters of the PNA, ever since their days in Milwaukee.

Nana took up the cause with Papa and Olga recruited Tater. Tater explained to Cindi how important the event was to her grandmother and how nice if it would be if I took his sister to it. He explained that she needed an escort she liked enough not to injure, when she received the scholarship the lodge was awarding her. I don’t know what else Cindi had on her mind because she jumped on the bandwagon with both feet. Cindi told me she had spoken with the twins on the phone and they had seconded her motion that I go.

“It’s the right thing to do, Johnny. I’ll even go with Tater in case you need protection,” she said with a mischievous laugh.

So on the last Saturday of June, I pulled my truck into the Tiplitski’s yard. The whole thing was pretty old world in that I was here for an arranged date orchestrated by Tonya’s grandmother and my Nana. I hadn’t even called Tonya to ask her if she wanted to go with me. I just showed up at the time I was told to be there. Tonya answered the door herself, the first time a first date had ever done that for me.

“I’m ready, let’s get this over with,” she said tersely as she started out the door.

I held up my hand and stopped her. I told her I wasn’t raised like that, and I was at least going to say hello to her parents. She stepped back inside the house and called her parents. Mr. and Mrs. Tiplitski were just about to head out the door themselves. They were somewhat surprised that I’d asked to greet them but, hell, this was Olga and Nana’s show, so I was going to use the manners I’d been taught. Tonya looked good in black slacks and a red top. The top was loose yet it still failed to mask that she was seriously packing.

The PNA lodge in Spotsatula had evolved over time into a community center for the now diverse population of the area. It still had strong Polish fraternal roots, but nowadays anyone could join. The women of the lodge had cooked up a feast for the event and a local band was set to play after the festivities.

Cindi, Tater, Tonya, and I shared a table all evening. I behaved myself like a gentleman with Tonya, my grandmother could be proud of me. Tonya and I sat there in silence most of the evening. She surprised me by accepting my invitation to dance and compounded the surprise by dancing really close. She actually grinned when she saw my startled look.

“I figure we are safe enough here, so why not?” She said lightly.

Then in one minute she said more to me than all of the hours we’d spent together before.

“Listen, I want you to know that the only problem I have with you is your timing. You’ll know what I’m talking about in a little while. Plus, I know you are a good guy and you aren’t going to cheat on your other women. But here’s something to think about, next time you are with one of those skinny little waifs. I’m as good as I am big, and I don’t have one single inhibition in me. It just takes the right man to bring all that out. If things were different, you’d probably be that man.”

By the time she finished her little speech I was so hard I had a lump in my throat. She smiled knowingly at me and led the way back to our table. I found out what she meant about timing when she received her scholarship from the lodge. The lodge awarded her a scholarship for a thousand dollars, a nice little gift but nothing as extraordinary as she had made it sound. Tonya stood there and the lodge president called Jake and Melissa Turner forward. I hadn’t even seen them sitting across the room. Melissa took the microphone.

“As you all know, Tonya is planning on going to veterinary school, and you also know she has worked for our vet, Doctor Stiles, since she was fourteen. Jake and I have great respect for her ambition and abilities. After speaking with Doc Stiles, we made her this proposal. If she will stay here and work with Doc Stiles with the objective of taking over his practice when he retires, TnT Ranch will pay her tuition, room, board and expenses for as long as she is in school and receiving good grades.”

Holy Cow! A six or seven-year free ride at the University of Florida had to be worth a lot of money and a practice to walk into as a partner on graduation would set her up for life. No wonder she didn’t have time for my tired Bohunk ass. Deafening applause followed after about five seconds of stunned silence. For the next fifteen minutes Tonya was surrounded by well-wishers, chief among them her dumbfounded family. Tonya had not let slip a word about what was coming up to anyone. When the band started back up, I asked Tonya to dance. She accepted and we made it out to the floor. The lights had been dimmed and the mood on the dance floor was intimate and relaxed. Then a hand tapped me on the shoulder.

“Hey, Johnny Pulaski, mind if I cut in?”

I turned my head and was startled to see Jake and Melissa Turner standing behind me. I glanced at Tonya and when she nodded, I stepped back and released her.

“Sure, Mr. Turner,” I said.

“It’s Jake to you, Johnny,” he said as he extended Melissa’s hand toward me.

I took her hand and gave one of my grandfather’s patented little bows. I thought I was being gallant as hell.

“No way, Mister Turner! My grandfather would skin me alive if I called you that,” I said breezily.

He laughed and he and Tonya danced off.

“I hope I can keep from stepping on your toes, Ma’am,” I said.

She tossed her thick mane of midnight black tresses and gave me a throaty laugh that made Kong lurch in my pants.

“Somehow, Johnny, I don’t think that will be a problem for you. From what Nina and my nieces tell me, you are quite coordinated.”

She didn’t dance with me in the formal way I expected, instead, she put both hands on my shoulders and moved close enough to be intimate yet not plastered against me. It reminded me of the dances in Junior High. I instinctively put my hands on the flare of her womanly hips. She maintained a lot of eye contact as we danced and chatted, she had a way of making me feel as if I was the only guy she cared to talk to in the entire world.

“So, Johnny, you have definitely made an impression on my nieces and cousins. You know with all the unusual abilities that my husband’s family has, I’m modestly informed of the empathy connection that the Buckley women seem to have. Some of the men have it too, but it only seems to affect Buckley women. Elaine and Nina said you can make a connection with almost anyone, is that true?”

“Yes, Ma’am. I can feel almost immediately how strong a connection will be. For instance, with Shelia, it was almost imperceptible; but with the twins, it is huge.”

“Really? How would our connection be?”

“Stronger than most, you have an exceptionally vivid aura.”

“So send me something,” she challenged.

“I’m not sure that’s a good idea, Missus Turner. You have a strong effect on me for some reason and I might embarrass us both by what I send you.”

She gave me that throaty laugh again and kissed my cheek. “What a marvelously sweet thing to say. No wonder you shook Tonya up last week. Jacob and I are very, very fond of her, you know. But back to my ‘tingle,’ as I think Elaine calls it. After what you just said I am more curious than ever, so do it ... please?”

I could certainly see why Melissa Thornton Turner was such a success. That ‘please’ was accompanied by this look that could have gotten me to rob a gas station. I agreed and told her we needed to get a little closer. She moved tighter against me unhesitatingly and didn’t flinch when I put my cheek against hers. I put my lips next to her ear and sent her a medium sized signal of how sexy I thought she was. At least I thought it was medium sized but judging from how Melissa sucked in her breath and shivered in my arms, I might have overdone it. She was still for a few seconds them leaned back and gave me some more of those smoldering, almost purple colored, eyes.

“You did that with Tonya? No wonder she is hot for you.”

“No, Ma’am,” I said emphatically. “I do not do that to women to seduce them. That would suck! Besides, even though there was a lot of attraction between Tonya and me, I am in a committed relationship.”

“I wish you had been around when our daughter was sixteen,” she said somberly.

At the mention of her daughter, I could feel the waves of sadness rolling off Mrs. Turner.

“I’m around now, anytime you need me,” I promised.

Reflexively I countered her sadness by sending her a bigger dose of calm and contentment. I think sending her feelings of calmness surprised her more than the dose of arousal. She pulled my head down and kissed me on the cheek.

“Thank you for that, Johnny; and thank you for doing the right thing with Tonya. And while I’m at it, thanks for being so good to the twins and Nina. I know all about your plural relationship with them and that cute little Asian girl. I think relationships like that are the best.”

Before I could reply the song ended. I escorted Missus Turner back to her table and seated her as Mister Turner did the same with Tonya. Missus Turner dug a fancy cell phone out of her purse and asked me for my phone number. I gave her my home and cell numbers, and then went back to my table. Melissa Turner’s comments about Tonya and then her remark about plural relationships had me thinking. Could it be that the Turners were having some sort of relationship with Tonya? It sure explained a lot of things if they were, and I knew from personal experience that Jake’s family was very opened minded about sex. I knew it wasn’t really any of my business, but you know how curiosity is. I decided to try a little experiment, so the next slow song I pulled Tonya back onto the dance floor.

When we were out on the dimly lit hardwood, I held her like I had Melissa Turner and pulled her even closer. She gave me this look.

“You know this can’t lead anywhere, Johnny, so don’t start something.”

I sent her a small dose of trust and told her I just wanted to dance and chat. She nodded and then she snuggled closer. I continued to send her increasingly stronger feelings of trust. Then with my cheek pressed against hers, I started talking.

“I really like the Turners and I think Melissa is incredibly sexy,” I said.

She didn’t reply but I could feel a little sexual blush from Tonya when I said that. Hmmm. I sent her some more trust and a little something to help her arousal.

“I wonder if she is as sexual as she seems?”

A fairly strong wave of lust flowing out of Tonya answered that question. I was enjoying this because I was not only learning about Tonya’s relationship with the Turners, I was also learning more about my little gift. I upped the ante just a little, Tonya unconsciously held me tighter, her big breasts pushing firmly against my chest for the first time.

“Just think, I had my hands this close to the ass that American men have lusted after for years. I wonder if it is still as nice as it looks in her clothes?”

Tonya’s big hips swished and her groin pushed against mine. If I hadn’t been listening closely, I’d have missed the barely perceptible “yes” that she breathed near my ear. I started replacing Tonya’s arousal with feelings of contentment and comfort, despite how much Kong was enjoying having Tonya pressed against him. She noticeably relaxed in my arms and we drifted apart slightly. Her head was resting on my shoulder when she finally said something.

“This is nice, Johnny, and you are a really nice guy. I hope we can stay friends. Like I said, the timing’s wrong now, but who knows about the future, could be we still have our day coming.”

I told her that I would always consider her my friend, just like I did Tater. Then I joked that I was just sorry that I missed getting to have my very first set of big un’s to play with.

She rubbed her upper body against my chest a couple of times and said, “You don’t know what you’re missing, I have big nipples and they are very sensitive.”

I gave a mock groan and slipped my hands up her sides until my thumbs were pressing lightly against the undersides of her breasts. She grinned and pulled back a little.

“Naughty, Naughty,’ she said, “Remember poor Billy Kessler.”

All in all, the evening was much nicer than I expected. Our table was easily the most fun in the place with Tater and Cindi to amuse everyone. Even the Turners joined us for a few minutes. Cindi tried hard not to be awe struck by meeting them while Tater asked Jake about the Army and in particular about being a paratrooper. Everyone knew that Jake Turner was a former army officer, hell; the local National Guard Armory was even named after him. Jake flat out told Tater that if he joined Jake’s old guard unit, he would guarantee that Tater went to jump school. And Turner mentioned that by joining the National Guard, Tater could also still attend college with the state footing the bill. Tater said the idea had a lot of merit.

I drove Tonya home at midnight and walked her to her door. She told me she had had a wonderful time and gave me a little kiss. Then she shocked the heck out of me by pulling my hands onto her breasts. I squeezed the pliant mounds in awestruck wonder. Even both my big old Pulaski hands couldn’t envelop even one of her firm melons.

“Your reward for being such a good guy,” she said before she slipped out of my grasp and disappeared through the door.

I drove home feeling good about the evening and myself. I had been a good boy. As I drove, I also thought about the enigmatic Turners. They just refused to fit any category I tried to put them in. They were rich as Midas yet they didn’t act it. They didn’t flaunt their considerable financial and political clout either. Jake reminded me a lot of my father and grandfather in how he dealt with people.

And then there was Melissa. Melissa Turner was Aphrodite, redux, pure and simple. I thought she was the epitome of what a woman should be and she seemed to think highly of me as well. I knew now that Jake Turner was telling the truth in all those speeches when he pinned his success at anything squarely on her. I had a feeling I wasn’t through dealing with the Turners. Why else would Missus Turner want my phone number?

June finally departed and July swept in hot and sticky. My life was on cruise control. It wasn’t bad. After all, I had Cindi, my luscious Lucy Liu look-a-like, but we both missed the other two people who completed us. Tater and I were still breaking our humps for Papa Pulaski but we both admitted that we were getting a hell of an education in the construction business. We didn’t spend much time away from work together as he had met some little red-necked barrel racing hottie from Deland and he was seriously smitten. He said that keeping Sarah happy after working all day was a chore because she spent most of every evening riding him as if he were Smarty Jones. Yee-haw!