Chapter 41: A Proposition

November 2, 2002, Chicago, Illinois

🎤 Birgit

"What's bugging you?" Ashley asked when I went into the sunroom after both Peter and Philip had left. "Besides no cuddle time this morning?"

"I'm just frustrated," I said.

"Peter not satisfying you?" Ashley teased.

"He's fine."

"Can't get Philip to see past you being fourteen?"

"It's more complicated," I replied. "I think he might never have kissed a girl before he met me."

"Whoa!" Ashley gasped. "He's like twenty!"

"And a total nerd. He likes to play with his sword, and I don't mean euphemistically! I mean, I get that guys like different stuff than girls, but he'd rather play Dungeons & Dragons and go to Society for Creative Anachronism meetings than go on dates!"

"He's gone on dates with you!" Ashley protested. "Like almost every Friday!"

"Will you stop interfering with my attempt to have a snit?!"

Ashley laughed, "What's the real reason? It's Dad, isn't it? You're still trying to figure out his reason for saying 'no' to you, well, besides your big mouth!"

"Grrr!" I growled.

"You need to learn to be less obviously forceful," Ashley said. "You're about as subtle as a nuclear bomb! You'd be amazed at how much you could learn if you stay quiet, watch, and listen!"

"You think you know?" I asked.

Ashley shrugged, "I have a theory, but it's not something I would ever say out loud, even to you."

"Why not?"

"Because it's just a theory, and I have zero proof. May I point out that you also say stuff without considering if it's profitable to say it?"

"You're a pain in the butt!" I groused.

"And also correct!" Ashley declared.

"What-ever!" I huffed and walked away, heading to my room.

I sat down, unsure of what I wanted to do, so I opened my diary and began writing.

🎤 Steve

"Would you like me to walk you to Starbucks?" I asked Talia/Elizabeth when we finished breakfast.

"No, it's better to not be seen together," she replied. "It's early, but I think I'll head there now."

I nodded and walked her to the door.

"Good girl entered; bad girl leaves!" Talia/Elizabeth said.

"Allow me to extend an offer to visit at any time. I realize you don't intend to, but you never know how life will turn out."

"Thanks. If you hear from a girl who identifies herself as Blanchette, that's my friend."

I laughed, knowing the reference to Little Red Riding Hood.

"And I'm the wolf?" I asked.

"Being 'eaten' by you was NOT a bad thing!" Talia/Elizabeth declared.

"I enjoyed it as well! I'm curious about what you'll do when you graduate."

"Early childhood education — pre-school. It doesn't require a teaching certificate. Once I have a job, I'll work on the requirements for a teaching certificate."

"Good luck with your visit home."

"Thanks."

She left, and as soon as she reached the sidewalk, I closed the door and went to my study. I'd just sat down when the phone rang with a 614 area code, but Caller ID didn't show a name, though that often happened with numbers between the Baby Bells. It was impossible for anyone in Ohio to know what had just happened, as Talia/Elizabeth couldn't have even made it to Starbucks in the time it had taken the phone to ring after she left. I picked up the handset.

"Steve Adams."

"Paul Reynolds."

"Hi, Paul! Good news?"

"I have the final occupancy permit for the new units in my hands. We're still waiting on some pieces of furniture and furnishings, but we'll have them by mid-December in time for our first rentals on January 1st."

"That's great! And renovating the original building?"

"Still on track to start February 1st with a completion date of April 30th. Thanks for the tip on the completion bonus."

"You're welcome. That worked really well when my house was renovated before we moved in."

"I'd like you to be our first guest in the suite in the new building. Sheriff Emmy, Doctor Mike, and Lou would all like to see you. Any chance you're free the first full weekend in December?"

I checked my calendar, and it was free. Of course, I wasn't sure I wanted to visit Rutherford any time soon, but I did have business with Paul and Liz and with Lou, so it would have to happen, eventually.

"I could probably swing that," I replied.

"Bring as many of your clan as you want! There's plenty of room. Just let me know."

"Let me speak with them. Jess normally has Saturday and Sunday shifts, but I'm sure she'd love to visit with Doctor Mike. They usually only see each other at medical conferences."

"Vickie Northrup said to say 'hi' as well and said you should let her know if you'll be in town."

"You can let everyone know once I discuss it with the family. See if Lou will book his dining room for everyone you mentioned; families, too, including kids, if that works."

"I'll give Lou a call and see if we can swing that Saturday evening. I know he'll move the earth for you."

"Thanks, Paul. I'll call in the next few days."

We said 'goodbye', and I hung up, then fired up my computer to make an entry in my journal. Once that was done, I read UseNet news, then just before 10:00am, Natalie, Yuriko, and I left for the ice rink to watch Jesse's game against Saint Patrick Catholic.

🎤 Stephie

"Kara Mom said she's going to bake cookies," Ashley said. "She sent me to ask if you want to help."

"Yes," I agreed.

I got up and followed my sister out of our room.

"Are you going to get back together with Nicholas?" Ashley asked.

"He's more interested in video games than he is in me!" I declared.

"For now! At some point, the testosterone will kick in, and he'll be interested in girls. The last thing you want is for him to be interested in someone else!"

"Like I care!"

"You will!"

"Just drop it, OK?" I asked.

"Sure," Ashley agreed.

We went into the kitchen, where Mom was getting things from cupboards so we could make cookies.

"I want to make almond cookies for Dad," Ashley said.

"I assumed," Mom said. "Stephie, do you want to make chocolate chip or sugar cookies?"

"Do we have M&Ms?" I asked.

"Yes."

"Then sugar cookies with M&Ms."

"Did you girls have fun at the party?" Mom asked.

"Yes!" Ashley exclaimed.

"It was boring," I said. "My friends and I ended up hanging out in Amber's room and playing games."

"If you didn't hate boys, you'd have WAY more fun!" Ashley said.

"Ashley," Mom said. "Let's not fight, please. Let's just bake cookies."

"Sorry, Kara Mom."

"Can anyone help?" Suzanne asked, coming into the kitchen.

"You can help me," Ashley said. "I'm baking almond cookies for Dad!"

"I'm baking almond cookies for Dad," I said, mocking my sister.

"Stephie!" Mom exclaimed. "What did I just say?"

"Sorry, Mom."

All of them thought Dad walked on water and could do no wrong, but I didn't believe that. He was a good dad, but he wasn't perfect, and it really annoyed me that basically every girl who came to the house wanted to have sex with him. Why couldn't he be satisfied with THREE wives?

But they all thought it was OK, and worse, Mom actually encouraged it! It was almost as if she liked it! None of that made sense to me, but there wasn't anything I could do about it because everyone else was fine with it. Birgit was the worst, though, because she approved of it, encouraged him, and, disgustingly, wanted to sleep with him herself!

"The M&Ms are in the pantry," Mom said.

"OK," I replied and went to get them.

🎤 Jesse

"Coach, can I make an announcement?" I asked when I walked into the locker room.

"About what?" he asked.

"A party with the girls' softball team at my house two weeks from today. Luna Alonso's dad will be there, along with my dad, and he asked me to invite you. Luna will invite the softball coach."

Coach laughed, "I'm not sure four chaperones are enough! But I'll be there to help keep you men out of trouble."

"Good luck with that, Coach!" Goalie Coach Mitchell exclaimed.

"Get me the details, Block. And get dressed."

"Yes, Coach!"

I sat down next to Pete and began dressing. Once everyone was in the locker room, Coach pointed to me, and I stood up.

"Two weeks from today, the 16th, Luna Alonso and I are hosting a party for our team and the girls' softball team at my Dad's house," I said. "Just the teams, and my dad, Luna's dad, Coach Nelson, and Ms. Jefferson, the softball coach, will chaperone."

The guys all cheered, and I sat down to finish dressing while Coach gave our usual pep talk and reminded everyone to stay in their lanes and cover their men. Saint Patrick was one of the worst teams in the league, but that didn't mean we could let up or lose focus. When Coach finished, we filed out of the locker room, past the bench, and onto the ice for our warmups.

The game was a complete mismatch, and I only needed to make seven saves while we scored five goals, with Nicholas scoring twice. We were still undefeated, and with four games to go before Christmas break, we were on track to win our league.

"That was pretty easy," Mom One said when I met her and Mom Two after the game.

"I was getting bored," I said. "I averaged about two saves per period."

"What are you doing this afternoon?" Libby asked.

"Brooke is coming over so we can do math homework."

"Right," Libby smirked. "There will be plenty of integration, but not the kind you can do in class!"

"We're actually doing math homework!"

"But not only math homework!"

"No comment," I replied with a smug smile.

I left the rink with my moms so we could get home and I could have lunch before Brooke arrived.

November 3, 2002, Chicago, Illinois

🎤 Steve

"What's the topic for today?" Jackson asked as he, Holly, Suzanne, Natalie, and I relaxed in the sauna before Philosophy Club.

"I was considering the proposition that marriage is the most expensive way there is to have sex for free!" I said.

All the others laughed.

"Doubly so if you have kids!" Suzanne declared. "Which I do not! I'd much rather be the cool older sister or aunt!"

"So, the real topic?" Jackson asked, shaking his head.

"The proposition that if you need permission to exercise a right, it's no longer a right."

"Gun permits?" Natalie asked.

"That's one example," I replied. "And the intent is to actually discuss the idea that citizens have the right to earn a living with minimal, if any, government interference."

"That ought to set the progressives' heads spinning!" Suzanne declared.

"Except they actually agree," I countered. "The entire concept of a 'living wage' and unionization are specifically in defense of that idea, even if they aren't acknowledged by proponents in the same way philosophically."

"I always forget you actually support unionization," Holly said.

"What I object to is the government putting their thumb on the scale," I replied. "Unions are the proper response to the abusive type of capitalism I reject out of hand, but unions can be abusive of both their members and of capital. And public employees unions are abusive of taxpayers, especially in states like Illinois where there is constant self-dealing between the Combine and the public sector unions."

"You mean political donations from unions to the politicians who approve their salary and benefits package, right?" Natalie asked.

"Yes. If that were done in the private sector, it would be called bribery or illegal kickbacks and prosecuted without mercy. The same is true of actual insider trading by Members of Congress who are expressly exempt from insider trading statutes. There's a reason why investments by Congresscritters consistently outperform the market — they can trade on knowledge of backroom deals and classified information."

"Congress LOVES to exempt themselves from laws that apply to everyone else," Natalie said. "That was discussed in a poli-sci course I had last semester."

"How would you handle it, Steve?" Jackson asked. "I mean combatting insider trading in Congress?"

"Blind trusts with the trustees appointed by the governor of the Senator's or Representative's home state. And the penalty for trying to influence the trustee or feed them information is automatic expulsion from the House or Senate and disqualification from future office."

"Harsh!" Jackson declared. "But could they do that?"

"Yes. According to the Constitution, each body is the sole judge of the qualifications of their members and of their election returns. The House and Senate could refuse to seat anyone who had violated that rule, and it's perfectly Constitutional, even if the candidate won re-election. There was, in fact, a case where state election officials and the courts ruled that the Republican had won an election based on the election laws, but the House Democrats seated the Democrat. There was literally nothing that anyone could do about that because the courts have no jurisdiction."

"When did that happen?" Jackson inquired.

"In 1985, Richard D. McIntyre, a Republican, beat Frank McCloskey, a Democrat, by just over 400 votes in Indiana's 8th Congressional district. The House leadership ignored the state certification and performed their own partisan recount by their own standards, not those enshrined in Indiana law. There was literally nothing anyone could do, including the courts, which had to dismiss the case based on the Constitution. It was a raw abuse of power by Democrats."

"Shades of Al Gore," he said. "It seems to me Democrats have no legitimate right to complain about the 2000 election, given that happened."

"Everybody has a right to complain, especially about George Bush!" I chuckled. "But karma is a real bitch!"

"Going back to what you said about insider trading," Suzanne opined, "Nobody should go to DC to get rich."

"The revolving door with lobbyists and defense contractors has to be stopped as well," Natalie declared. "Not to mention the book deals that smell suspiciously like payoffs. When Senator Bedfellow gets a larger advance on their book than Tom Clancy or J. K. Rowling, you KNOW the game is rigged!"

"One of my professors quipped that next time, we should fight for representation without taxation!" Suzanne declared.

"He's not wrong!" I replied. "The 16th Amendment provided DC with, in effect, unlimited funds, and the 17th Amendment eliminated any control by the states because it turned Senate elections into popularity contests, which is the exact opposite of what was intended."

"You're fanatical on that topic!" Jackson said.

Natalie smirked, "A fanatic is one who can't change his mind and won't change the subject. That's Steve!"

"You know, I can get this kind of abuse from Birgit and Jesse!" I declared. "I don't need to invite my so-called Inner Circle into my sauna!"

"You love all of us!" Suzanne declared. "Not because we don't abuse you, but because we do!"

"You might have a point," I chuckled.

🎤 Birgit

"You're getting better!" I said to Bob after our second round.

"I could go home and call Meghan," Bob retorted.

"Speaking of which..."

"All I will say at this point is that she won't join us next Sunday. Anything else has to be between her and me."

I frowned, though Bob couldn't see because my head was on his chest. I knew I wasn't entitled to that information, but I thought he should tell me, especially if he was going to invite her to be with us. Lilibeth and I shared basically everything, and the same was true of Tiffany. But I didn't want to fight with Bob, so I'd let it go.

"OK," I said, doing my best not to sound displeased. "I shouldn't have asked."

"Would you answer if I asked who you've had sex with?"

"Maybe," I replied. "There are two girls I basically share everything with. Kind of like you and Meghan. If you and I agreed to share everything, I would."

"What about privacy? I'm not saying you did anything wrong, mind you, because we did talk about it."

"I think if you had said 'tell nobody', that would be different," I said. "But there weren't any conditions, and we agreed we could tell our confidantes. It's not like I was telling the entire world."

"Besides what we've done, what else have you done?" Bob asked.

I giggled, "Wouldn't YOU like to know?!"

"Obviously, or I wouldn't have asked!"

"Anal, tit-fuck, and 'food play', which was chocolate sauce."

"Did you like it? I mean, anal?"

"It was really weird," I replied. "It's something I'd let a special guy do on occasion if he really wanted to do it. Is that something you want to do?"

"Er, I haven't really thought about it, so I don't know. The other stuff? Sure. Where did the guy cum for the tit-fuck?"

"On my face! It was pretty cool! Of course, you have to kiss me afterwards! Even if your cum is on my lips!"

Bob laughed, "You kissed me with a mouthful of my cum, so it's not like that's new!"

"Would you cum on my boobs and face and lick it all off?" I asked, running a finger along his slick, flaccid shaft.

"Seriously? You'd want me to do that?"

"Not adventurous and open-minded enough to do it?" I teased, cupping his balls.

"I'm trying to think of an equivalent, but you've already eaten pussy and promised to do it with Meghan if she's interested!"

"I'll try almost anything once," I replied. "Well, not scat or 'water sports'. You know what those are, right?"

"Totally gross!" Bob declared. "They were mentioned in the book, and I just shook my head. I guess it takes all kinds! Do you have toys?"

"A vibrator, and I'll use it on you if you let me!"

"You're dangerous!" Bob declared.

"I want to actually get a dildo and a harness. I think you can guess why."

"Not for Meghan, right?" Bob asked.

I gently licked his glans, "I mean, sure, I could, but you know exactly where I'd put it!"

"I was wrong. You aren't dangerous; you're frightening!"

"If my answers frighten you, then you should cease asking scary questions!" I giggled, quoting Jules from Pulp Fiction, then took his glans into my mouth and sucked hard while running my tongue all over it.

Bob groaned in response, and I cupped his balls, squeezed, and slowly took him completely into my mouth, something I could do when he was soft. Bob got hard quickly, and I had a decision to make. We'd already fucked twice, so I moved on top of him, put my pussy on his mouth, and as soon as I felt his tongue moving, I began bobbing my head up and down, stroking with one hand and gently squeezing his balls with the other.

Bob had great stamina, especially after one or two rounds, and he gave me two really good orgasms before I felt him pulse. I sucked hard and ran my tongue around the head of his dick while pumping him with my hand. I loved the feel of him spurting into my mouth, and sucked until I had every drop of his cum, then released him, turned, impaled myself on him, and French kissed him, allowing most of his cum to drain into his mouth. I ground against him as we kissed, bringing myself off for a third time.

"You just love doing that, don't you?" Bob asked when I finally broke the kiss.

"Yes!" I giggled. "But I like swallowing, too!"

"I suppose after what you just did..."

"A 'snowball'," I said, interrupting him. "That's what it's called."

"Is there anything you don't know?" Bob asked.

"I'm sure there is," I giggled, "but I know more than you, which is what counts! What were you going to say?"

"That I'll do all the stuff you asked about! The question is, will you?"

I laughed, "Including the harness and dildo?"

"You don't have those, do you?"

"No, but I could get them. I actually spoke to my aunt, who would get them for me, but she was worried about how a teenage guy would react."

"This teenage boy is both frightened and intrigued!" Bob declared. "Out of curiosity, if I let you do that..."

"You'd absolutely be special enough for that privilege!"

"You've had threesomes, but always two girls and a guy, right?"

"Yes. Always M-F-F. And to answer your next question, YES! I want two guys at once!"

"You, er, wouldn't expect them to do stuff with each other, would you?" Bob asked nervously.

I smirked, "I'd pay good money to see you give a blowjob!"

"NOT HAPPENING!" Bob declared.

"Bummer!" I declared. "But seriously, I want to, if I can find the right two guys. Would you?"