Chapter 19: Not the Weakest of the Herd!

September 6, 2002, Chicago, Illinois

🎤 Steve

"You have about fifteen hours before I have to leave for the dojo," I said to Julie when we got into the room.

"Anything goes?"

"So long as there are no permanent injuries or visible marks, and it only involves you and me."

"So, the foursome with two of my best friends is out?" Julie smirked.

I chuckled, "If they're single and can show a recent clean STI test, go for it! Well, with one condition."

"What's that?"

"You put your tongue anywhere I do!"

Julie squealed and smacked my arm, "Not in this lifetime!"

"You do realize I was teasing, right?"

"Were you?"

"Yes. I've had sex with a group of girls where the girls didn't do anything with each other, or at most kissed, and there is no way I'd try to get you to do something you weren't comfortable doing."

"It's not about comfort!"

"No judging," I said firmly. "Just because it's not for you doesn't mean it's not for anyone else. Remember, each person's sexual expression is personal and individual."

"Including my daughter's," Julie said. "And that's a difficult thing to wrap my head around."

"It is for most parents," I replied. "Did you have your talk with her?"

"Not yet. I don't want the talk to feel forced."

"So, other than calling two friends?" I asked.

"I asked for an experience I'd never forget, and it needs to top last time!"

"And the toys?"

Julie smirked, "You'll need to explain how to do it, but I want to peg you!"

"Whirlpool first?"

"Yes!"

🎤 Jesse

"Just walk me home, please," Angelina said when I asked her what she wanted to do when A Knight's Tale ended.

I nodded, and we left the house, and once we were on the sidewalk, I felt I had to ask.

"Were you hoping we'd go steady?" I asked.

"Yes," Angelina admitted.

"You do remember I told you that wasn't in the cards, right?"

"Yes, but we get along great, we really like each other, and we both really enjoy sex with each other!"

"That's all true, but it's not enough to make me want to go steady with anyone at this point. You know how well CeCe and I got along, and we weren't steady."

"Because you like having sex with lots of girls. I get it, but you like it with me, and I do everything you want!"

"It's not about sex," I replied. "Remember what I said about friends earlier? That's totally true. I want to be free to spend time with whomever I want, whenever I want, without having to worry about a girlfriend objecting or being upset or whatever. And that would be true even if the only way I could have sex was going steady."

"I don't believe you!" Angelina protested.

"Whether or not you believe something has zero effect on whether it is true or not. The decision is yours. We can continue as we are or not."

"You don't care?"

"I do care, but I was clear about my limits before your «quince» and nothing has changed."

Angelina was silent the rest of the way to her house, and when we arrived, she simply went inside. I shrugged and turned for home.

September 7, 2002, Chicago, Illinois

🎤 Steve

"Details!" Kara demanded when I arrived home to get ready for karate.

I laughed, "Good morning, sexy wife!"

"Good morning! Spill!"

I took her hand and led her up to the master bedroom so I could change into my gi.

"We had a very nice dinner, great conversation, and enjoyed each other's company," I said, putting the bag of toys on the closet shelf.

"Snuggle Bear..." Kara said, trying to sound threatening.

"We also had breakfast this morning and used the whirlpool."

"You are frustrating!"

"I know," I replied with a grin.

"Steve..." she whined. "Tell me!"

"Seriously? Whinging?" I asked.

"Well, I can't bribe you, so I thought I'd try annoying you!" Kara replied with a silly smile.

"That doesn't even work for the kids," I chuckled. "I'm immune. To answer your question, double penetration using toys while I fucked her mouth, she pegged me, and we otherwise did our best to fuck each other unconscious. More importantly, though, we had a good conversation, and I think she's in a very good place now that her divorce from Jack is final. I fully expect to see her with a boyfriend soon."

"Is she going to allow Tiffany to have her fantasy 'expert deflowering'?"

"We carefully avoided that topic," I said, "but Julie did commit to having a heart-to-heart mother/daughter conversation when we spoke last week."

"Somebody should convince Birgit those talks are a good idea!" Kara complained.

"I thought you two were getting along just fine," I said.

"We are, but I wish she would talk to me even more."

"I understand, but one of the most important principles in child rearing is that the kids have to be free to define the terms of their relationship, both with us and with others."

"Says the dad who is worshiped by his children!"

"I think you might want to ask Stephie or Albert about that!" I replied. "And you know what Jesse and Birgit would say if you accused them of holding such an odious opinion!"

"Oh, please!" Kara protested. "Jesse is an act, and you know it! He has to maintain 'cool' at any price! And Birgit, despite her disappointment about her lack of an 'expert birthday deflowering', still worships you! As for Albert, he looks down his nose at anyone who isn't as 'squared away' as he, Commander Shaughnessy, and General Dima are! And Stephie is better now that Nicholas is living at home."

"True. But I'll tell you a secret — Birgit will realize she needs her mom."

"She has Katy as a surrogate!"

"Yes, but what I said is still true. Look at how my relationship with Jesse plays out. Mostly, he doesn't need a dad except as a competitor to dethrone, but on occasion, he needs my advice. And I'm OK with that because he's a really good kid. They all are."

"It's different for moms," Kara sighed. "Well, normal moms. Jess is a trauma surgeon, and there is nothing normal about surgeons!"

I chuckled, "No kidding!"

I finished changing into my gi, and we went downstairs to join Suzanne and my daughters for the walk to the dojo.

🎤 Birgit

"Did you meet any guys at school this week?" Naomi asked when the Girl Gang got together on Saturday afternoon.

"None worth talking about," I replied, then teased, "Did you?"

Naomi laughed, "At Maria? Right!"

"You could always play for the correct team!" Lilibeth teased.

"Totally not my thing!" Naomi declared.

"Any port in a storm!" Libby exclaimed. "I have WAY more options for dates doing it my way! And girls are soft and cuddly, right Lilibeth?"

"Yes!"

"Nobody cuddles the way my dad does," I said. "It's different, obviously."

"For you!" Tiffany declared.

"What are we doing today?" Hannah asked.

"The only movie that even looks halfway decent is Signs," Lilibeth said, "but it's science fiction about an alien invasion."

"Ugh," Missy replied. "No thanks!"

There was a general agreement, including Lilibeth, that we'd do something else.

"How about mini golf?" Zaida suggested. "There's a really good one just north of the Loop if everyone can go into the city."

We all agreed, and after everyone checked with their parents, we headed for the Metra train to take us into the city. It took nearly an hour from when we left the house to get to the mini golf course on Randolph Street, not too far from Lake Michigan. We got our clubs and balls and went to the first hole. We had to play in groups of four, per the course rules, so we split into three groups, with Tiffany, Naomi, and Hannah playing in my group with me.

"The guy behind the counter was a hunk!" Tiffany exclaimed.

"So go for it!" Hannah suggested.

"I have other plans!" Tiffany declared.

"Tiff," I warned.

"I didn't say what the plans were!" she protested.

"How old do you think he is?" Naomi asked.

"Around twenty, I'd guess," Tiffany replied.

"I bet he'd be interested in scoring!" I giggled. "But fewest strokes loses!"

The girls laughed.

"What's par, Birgit?" Naomi asked.

"Hundreds if you train the boy correctly! Or if he's an older guy and has lots of experience!"

"Hundreds?" Hannah asked. "The other girls I know who've done it say it lasts like two minutes!"

I giggled, "I'm just a good teacher!"

"Would you do it with the guy at the counter?"

"He's cute, but he didn't seem interested in us."

It was our turn to play the hole, so we had to stop talking. Hannah did best, only needing two shots, while the rest of us needed three. We had to wait for the group that had Lilibeth, Libby, Cynthia, and Laurie to finish before we could play the second hole.

"Flirt with him!" Naomi suggested. "See what happens."

"The same thing that always happens when I flirt with older guys," I complained. "They all think I'm too young!"

"I wish all adults were like your parents," Naomi said.

"Then maybe we wouldn't have dumb laws that try to tell us what we can do with our bodies!" Tiffany exclaimed. "Seriously? Seventeen to legally have sex? And laws against abortion? There are way too many control freaks in the world!"

"Your mom isn't too bad," I observed. "She seems to have mellowed a lot lately!"

"And you know why!" Tiffany exclaimed.

"Why?" Naomi asked.

"Tiff," I warned.

"Well, that explained it!" Naomi giggled. "Tiff's mom got what we all desperately want!"

"Just remember the rules," I cautioned.

🎤 Jesse

"You don't want to do it with me?" Viktoria whined into the phone.

"Of course I do!" I replied. "But it's not like I can come to your house and pick you up! Your dad would lock you in your room if he saw me pull into the driveway and would never allow me in the front door!"

"It's not my fault!" she protested.

It actually was because of the lie she'd told about me in a fit of pique, but saying that wouldn't help.

"I didn't say it was!" I countered. "But you have to figure out what to do about your dad. I can't fix that. If you can figure out a way to get together, let me know."

"You can use the car anytime, right?"

"Yes, though it's best if I know the day before."

"I'll call you soon! I promise!"

We said 'goodbye', and I went back to playing video games with Albert and Nicholas.

We'd played for about ten minutes when I heard the doorbell, then heard the door at the top of the stairs out of the Duck's Nest open.

"Jesse, you have a visitor," Mom One called down.

I handed the controller to Nicholas and went up to see who had shown up unannounced.

"Hi!" Estefana exclaimed. "Are you busy?"

"I was playing video games with my brother and a friend," I replied.

"I thought maybe we could do something today," she said invitingly.

"I don't have plans after dinner if you want to hang out," I suggested.

"You'd rather play video games than..."

"It's not cool to kick my brother and my friend out so we can hang out."

Estefana pouted but then asked, "What time?"

"If you wanted to grab burgers, we could do that. Come by around 5:30pm."

"OK. I'll come back then," she said.

She left, and I headed back towards the door to the basement.

"You sent her away?" Mom Two asked.

"Only temporarily," I replied with a grin. "I didn't think it was cool to kick Albert and Nicholas out of the house because a cheerleader was making a 'booty call'!"

Both my moms laughed.

"You're too much!" Mom Two declared.

"I know!" I replied smugly, then went downstairs before they could respond.

🎤 Matthew

"There's nothing playing at the movies," I said as Chelsea and I were making dinner, "but the Shakespeare Rep is putting on A Midsummer Night's Dream, if you want to see it."

"That would be cool!" Chelsea agreed. "Can we get tickets?"

"They usually don't sell out," I said. "Let me call the box office and check."

I wiped my hands on a dishrag, picked up the newspaper, found the ad for the show, and dialed the number listed for the box office. They had tickets available, so I used the Visa Dad had arranged for me to have and reserved two tickets.

"All set," I said when I hung up the phone.

"Who pays the credit card?"

"Dad or Mom. I'm not totally sure how they divide it, but they both make enough money that it's not a big deal, and Eduardo makes even more than they do combined."

"That's the one I can't believe!"

"OK, but if you place a guy in a CEO position and your fee is twenty-five percent of his compensation, which is in the millions, it's almost like printing money! Before the September 11 attacks, every partner made at least a million bucks a year. The attacks hurt business, but it's starting to come back. He might have a bad year and make only half a mil."

"Unreal. I think it would take a decade for my mom or dad to earn that kind of money."

"We're not going to be swimming in cash while I'm in the Navy and you're teaching, but we'll be fine. We won't have any debt, which is the most important part of living comfortably and being able to save. Not to mention the bonuses the Navy offers for nucs."

"I still don't like the idea of you being away for months and months on deployment!"

"I know, but be glad it's not boomers like Uncle Jake. They disappeared for up to six months at a time with no contact. Fast attacks put into port, so I'll be able to call you, and you might even be able to travel to Scotland or Portugal or wherever."

"That would be cool! But I'll still miss you. Changing subjects, would you write your play dates on the calendar so I know when they are?"

"We have play dates every time I'm here!"

"Goofball!"

"I'll put them on the calendar. I was thinking the best plan is for you to take the train after your last class on a Friday, then we stay at my house. You can take the train in on Monday morning, or ride in with Mom or Eduardo, if they're driving."

"That works."

🎤 Birgit

"I can't believe he ignored you!" Naomi exclaimed as the Girl Gang walked toward Ed Debevic's for dinner.

"Everyone has been brainwashed to think teenagers are the same as toddlers," I observed. "I see it everywhere, not just trying to flirt with older guys."

"Maybe he's gay?" Lilibeth suggested.

"It's possible," I replied. "But he was totally ignoring me."

"Maybe he's a virgin!" Libby said.

"These days?" I said ruefully. "It wouldn't surprise me despite him being college-age!"

We arrived at the restaurant, and it took a bit of time for them to set up for twelve of us. About ten minutes later, we were seated, and a waiter and waitress came to take our drink orders. When they brought them back, they began taking our orders. Unfortunately, the waiter, who was cute, couldn't sit down the way they usually did because we weren't sitting in a booth.

"What can I get for you?" he asked me.

"Your phone number!"

He laughed, "Aren't I supposed to ask you?"

"Maybe in the 1950s! I'm a modern liberated woman!"

"You look pretty young! How old are you?"

"Old enough to know what I want!" I declared.

"How about we start with what you want to eat?"

"Bleu cheeseburger and an order of fries," I replied.

He took my order, then moved on to Tiffany. Once the waiter and waitress had our orders, they left to put them in with the kitchen.

"Bold, Birgit!" Tiffany declared.

"Think he'll give you his number?" Missy asked.

"I have no clue," I replied. "He did say I was young."

"But not too young!" Naomi countered.

"You'd really do it with him?" Zaida asked.

"I'd hang out with him, and if he's a nice guy, I'd let him kiss me," I said. "And if the kiss made me tingle, then, yeah, I would!"

"You'd let some random guy be first?" she asked.

Tiffany, Naomi, and Lilibeth all laughed.

"I'm not a virgin about twenty times over!" I declared.

"You've had sex twenty times?!" she asked, shocked.

"What's the big deal?" I asked. "I was ready. I'm on the Pill, and it feels awesome!"

"Has anyone else done it?" Zaida asked.

"Me," Libby replied.

"And me," Rachel said.

"Me, too," Lilibeth added.

"My dad would kill me if I did that, and he ever found out! We're supposed to wait for our wedding night!"

I rolled my eyes, and so did several other girls.

"Says who?" Lilibeth demanded. "Men! That's who! It's all about controlling women! The same ones who say that try to prevent women from having abortions and block access to birth control! They want men to control women's bodies!"

"Zaida, does your dad get to choose who you marry?" Heather asked.

"That is the old way," she said. "In Syria, it used to be that way, but not as much anymore, except in small villages. My parents are from Damascus, and that doesn't really happen now."

"You're a Muslim?" Lilibeth asked.

"Yes. That's why I wear a headscarf. I follow the teachings of the Prophet, but my family is not as conservative as people from Saudi Arabia or as radical as in Iran. But that's the way I live, and I wouldn't tell anyone else to live the way I do."

Which was WAY better than the fundie Christians who were all up in my face about it, like Leah. I had half a mind to introduce Leah to Jesse so she could actually have a chance of seeing God! Fortunately, she was at Kenwood Academy, and I hadn't run into any fundies at the Lab School and hoped I wouldn't.