Chapter 64: A Serious Mindfuck

December 21, 2002, Chicago, Illinois

🎤 Birgit

"Birgit!" Tomás spluttered, coughing.

I'd 'forgotten' to swallow after he'd cum in my mouth during sixty-nine.

"You'll live," I said with a smirk. "But I promise not to do that again without asking."

"As if I'd agree!" Tomás protested. "It's just ... er, well, uhm, never mind."

"You were going to say 'gross' but knew I'd ask if you objected to having it in MY mouth, right?"

"Uh, yeah," he said sheepishly. "I realized that would be a dumb thing to say, given I liked you doing that."

"Well, for the rest of today, I'll only use my mouth to help you get hard, and you can fuck me as many times as you want! Any way you want."

"Any way?" he asked with a smirk.

I rolled my eyes, "If you can think it, I've probably done it at least once!"

"Seriously?"

"Seriously. And that includes being with a girl!"

"WHOA!" Tomás exclaimed. "You're bi?"

"No, I'm Birgit!" I replied, using my usual rejoinder to that question. "Sexuality is more complex than labels. I've experimented, and I strongly prefer guys, but girls are OK. And yes, I've had a threesome with a guy and a girl. And yes, I'd do that with you, if you want."

"A threesome?! Really?!"

"Boys and their fantasies!" I giggled. "But, yes, really. We'd just need to find a girl."

"You're the only one I know who will put ... er, have sex with me."

"Nice save," I said. "I'm not going to get on your case for not being politically correct! And I might know a girl, but I'm not sure if she'd be interested."

"Because of me?"

"No, because it's complicated."

I was thinking about Libby, but I wasn't sure if Lilibeth would be OK with that. I knew she'd tolerated Libby and Jesse, though I also knew from Jesse that it was basically over.

"But let's worry about that another time," I continued. "For now, let's fuck until dinner!"

"Yes!" Tomás readily agreed.

December 22, 2002, San Francisco, California

🎤 Steve

I had set the alarm for 4:00am so that Keiki and I had time for one final lovemaking session and a very intimate shower on Sunday morning. We had a light breakfast delivered by room service, and then I walked her down to the lobby where a driver from Golden Gate Livery, Raven's dad's company, was waiting.

"Thank you for a wonderful four days," Keiki said when we hugged.

"You're welcome. It was equally wonderful for me. And I do look forward to seeing you next Summer."

"Me, too! I'll let you know once I figure things out."

We hugged again, exchanged a quick kiss, and I walked out to the car with her. The driver held the door for her, she got in, he closed it, then got into the driver's seat. I returned her wave, and once the car disappeared up California Street, I went back inside and up to my room. I had about ninety minutes to kill, so I got out my laptop and connected to the internet. Almost immediately, adium pinged me.

NIKAStephanie: Hi!
NIKASteve: Hi! What's up?
NIKAStephanie: Cole, Nichols, and Smith.
NIKASteve: Ugh. Now what?
NIKAStephanie: They want a meeting.
NIKASteve: Why would we do that? We can't admit liability, and we'll win, anyway.
NIKAStephanie: Probably win. You know what might happen with a jury.
NIKASteve: I don't think it gets that far, and we can draw it out for a long time, which doesn't help them. Why throw them a lifeline?
NIKAStephanie: You certainly sound like my brother! Take no prisoners!
NIKASteve: Dante, the Brauns, et al. But you know I look for win-win, if possible. It's only when it's not possible that I go for the jugular.
NIKAStephanie: True. Ned, Jamie, and Liz say we should hear them out.
NIKASteve: True. When?
NIKAStephanie: Tomorrow morning at 8:00am. Ned, Liz, and I will fly out this afternoon if you agree.
NIKASteve: The day before Christmas Eve? Seriously?
NIKAStephanie: I know, but we can fly back tomorrow afternoon. If you weren't there, I'd have pushed it until January.
NIKASteve: When did you find out?
NIKAStephanie: They sent a courier to McCarthy/Jenkins late yesterday. Ned received the documents about forty-five minutes ago and called the contact at Cole. Then he called Liz at home, who called me.
NIKASteve: Are they asking for tomorrow?
NIKAStephanie: No. That was my idea because you're already there. Is it really a big deal to stay an extra day if we can make this go away?
NIKASteve: Even before we file our reply? I don't get why they want a meeting now.
NIKAStephanie: Liz speculates they ran the suit by someone outside the firm who told them it's a loser.
NIKASteve: My gut instinct is to make them sweat.
NIKAStephanie: Liz called it! 😛 Ned suggests it's better to make it go away now, if we can.
NIKASteve: Offering what?
NIKAStephanie: No idea. I suppose it depends on how far you'll go.
NIKASteve: All the way! 😎
NIKAStephanie: 🙄 You did that already unless I miss my guess!
NIKASteve: What-ever!
NIKAStephanie: What do you say?
NIKASteve: All three lawyers say take the meeting, right?
NIKAStephanie: Yes. Liz said to say that, as your Consigliere, she strongly advises having the meeting.
NIKASteve: I have dinner plans for tomorrow in Chicago that I'll have to change.
NIKAStephanie: Can you do that?
NIKASteve: Yes, but who is going to tell Birgit she doesn't get Dad cuddles tomorrow?
NIKAStephanie: Not me!
NIKASteve: Coward! I suppose I can stay one more night in my suite here.
NIKAStephanie: But your friend left, right?
NIKASteve: Yes.
NIKAStephanie: You'll live!
NIKASteve: Possibly.
NIKAStephanie: Let me call Liesel and get the ball rolling. Late dinner?
NIKASteve: Sure. I'll make reservations at Ruth's Chris for 9:00pm.
NIKAStephanie: Perfect.
NIKASteve: Later.
NIKAStephanie: Later.

I minimized adium and picked up my mobile phone to call the twenty-four-hour number for Windy City Travel. I explained I needed another day and asked them to change the airline reservations. I let them know I'd contact Golden Gate Livery, and once they confirmed my flight for Monday afternoon at 3:00pm, I hung up and used the house phone to call reception to extend my stay one night. They accommodated me, as I knew they would, given I had a guarantee of a room due to my club status.

That out of the way, I called Kara to let her know I'd be staying another day, then used the VPN to connect to the office server so I could re-read the complaint from Cole, Nichols, and Smith. As I read, I made notes, then looked over the notes Liz had compiled from conversations with the support team. There was literally nothing I could see on which Cole, Nichols, and Smith could hang their hats, but given some of the claims were made under California law, there might be some nuance I was missing.

I checked to see if Nadia was online, but she wasn't, so I simply sent her a message that said I'd been delayed in California and would be in touch when I returned to Chicago. I was positive she'd be disappointed, but given the circumstances, there wasn't much choice, and business had to come first.

Just after 7:00am, I dialed the number for Golden Gate Livery and arranged to change my car from Sunday to Monday, and set the pickup at the Cole, Nichols, and Smith office rather than the Mark Hopkins. Once that was confirmed, I hung up, and not two minutes later, my phone rang.

"Hi, it's Raven. Is there a problem?"

"No. Something came up with a customer, so I rescheduled for tomorrow."

"OK! The dispatcher simply sent a text to say the pickup was canceled. I'll call and make sure I get your ride tomorrow. Same thing?"

"No, the pickup is at the customer at noon."

"OK. I'll get the address from the dispatcher. See you in about twenty minutes."

"Great!"

We said 'goodbye', and I hung up. I brushed my teeth, gargled with Listerine, then shut down my computer. I called Housekeeping to have the room made up while I was at breakfast, and they promised to take care of it. Once I hung up, I headed down to the lobby to wait for Raven, who arrived at 7:30am as promised.

"Ready to go?" she asked.

"I am. Where to?"

"How far can I go with teasing?"

"All the way," I chuckled. "Just say whatever smart-ass thing popped into your head."

"In response to 'Ready to go?' I'd say, 'To your room, and you eat me?'" she asked with a smirk.

"I'm sure it would be tasty, but to even consider it, there are prerequisites."

"Wait! I was teasing, but you gave a serious answer?"

"Because you weren't actually teasing. By couching it as teasing, you gave me an out and left yourself an out if it fell flat or if I took it seriously and you weren't serious."

"Are you always this difficult?" Raven asked, sounding slightly exasperated.

"Usually more!" I chuckled.

"OK, I'll play along. What prerequisites?"

"A recent clean STI test is mandatory, as it's a condition of my freedom to manage my life as I see fit, which includes 'hooking up', as you called it. And that's true no matter how much or how little experience you might have. Let's go have breakfast because my room is being made up now. We can continue the conversation if you want to."

"If you're OK with going across the Bay, Fred's Coffee Shop in Sausalito is my favorite place. I've eaten there at least once a week for four years, and my family has gone there since I was little. It'll take about twenty-five minutes."

"I'm game," I replied. "It's been some time since I've been on the Golden Gate Bridge."

"When was the last time?"

"1972! About eight years before you were born!"

"And you're so ancient at thirty-nine?"

"No, just pointing out how long ago it was!"

"You can ride up front," she said.

"Thanks."

We got into the car, and she pulled out of the parking court and turned onto California Street to head for Van Ness, which would take us toward the Golden Gate Bridge.

"I have to ask — if someone has no experience, why would they need an STI test?"

"Several reasons. First, anyone born before about 1986 might have been exposed to HIV without knowing it. Second, there are other ways to contract STIs, even if it's improbable. Third, people aren't always honest. My legal wife is a nationally renowned trauma surgeon at University of Chicago Hospital, and she set the mandatory rule."

"You know, you didn't mention what the other wives and moms do. You told me what the girlfriends do."

"Kara, the Senior Wife, is a tenured professor in chemistry at the University of Chicago and is one of the leading experts in academia on polymer chemistry, and works closely with researchers at Stanford; she's the mother of Birgit and Stephie. Suzanne is in college and plans to go to law school. Jennifer, that's Jesse's mom, has a Master's in electrical engineering and works for a test equipment design and manufacturing firm; her spouse is a civil engineer who works for the City of Evanston. Elyse, the mother of Matthew and Michael, has a Master's in Finance and is my company CFO. Jessica's kids are Albert and Ashley."

"Crazy! So, have girls lied to you about it?"

"It has happened, with certain extenuating circumstances, but given my views about sex, omissions aren't lies, nor is declining to answer. For some girls, virginity is a big deal; for others, it isn't."

"Why do I get the impression from that statement that you've had your share of virgins?"

"I have," I replied. "But virginity is more a state of mind than anything. Sure, a physical act changes your state, but really, in the end, it's purely self-perception."

"Interesting. Can you explain further?"

"In the obvious, most common case, vaginal intercourse is the act of transition. But, pray tell, how does a gay man or lesbian lose their virginity? Or, perhaps more relevant, if a heterosexual couple engaged in mutual oral sex, are they still virgins? And what about anal sex?"

Raven was quiet for a moment, then nodded, "I get it. I'm not sure what the answer is for gays or lesbians."

"Neither am I, which is why I said it's self-perception. Nobody can define it for you except you. Another thing to think about — is a girl who is raped a virgin?"

"Uhm, obviously not, right?"

"Rape is an act of violence, not sex. She hasn't had sex; she's been assaulted."

"That's a very interesting take. I'm going to assume you have a friend or relative who was raped, and you've discussed it?"

"My best friend in High School, who is now Doctor Bethany Krajick, wrote a book titled Why Me? A Woman's Guide to Surviving Sexual Abuse, Rape, and Incest. She was raped at thirteen, which was about a year before I met her. I helped her through her counseling and recovery and learned the true nature of rape."

"I've learned more from you in the past ten minutes than any other ten minutes in my entire life!"

"Age and experience have their value," I replied with a grin.

Raven laughed, "One more time — I don't think you're old!"

"I'm going to guess from context that your dad is about five years older than I am, but your mom is roughly the same age as I am, at least as the story went."

Raven nodded, "You have a good memory, and yes, my dad is forty-five."

"Mine is eighty-five."

"Wow! You're the youngest?"

"Eldest. He didn't marry until he was forty-four; Mom was twenty-five."

"Single until then?"

"Yes. He served in the Navy during World War II, then worked for the OSS and CIA. He met my mom right after he left the CIA."

"An agent?"

"Yes. In Cuba, of all places. He left when Castro overthrew Batista."

"My family is pretty boring by comparison. To continue our conversation, in this hypothetical future, what other prerequisites?"

"My wives are entitled to any details, and reporting is mandatory."

"Including ratings?" Raven asked.

I chuckled, "No. My personal policy is to not compare."

"How can you not?"

"I don't do so intentionally, and I never vocalize the unintentional comparisons. Also, overnight stays require advance approval from my wives. There also used to be a requirement that I use rubbers, but that went away once I had a vasectomy after my youngest daughter was born."

"I still find it strange that you're allowed to hook up."

"My situation is unique in my experience. I don't know anyone else with the kind of relationships I have or the freedom I have."

"So what happens to the girls who you hook up with?" Raven inquired.

"Many become mentees, some work for me, some are close friends, some attend my Philosophy Club, and others are disciples, if you will, spreading my special brand of subversiveness."

"I have to ask, what's so special about you?"

"I think I'll turn that around and ask why you decided to ask me to have lunch and breakfast and to get to know me better?"

"I've never met anyone like you, and there was just something about you that I can't explain. Just a feeling, but I can't put my finger on what or why."

"A vibe?"

"Yeah, that would be a good word. Plus, your eyes; they just seem to draw me in. Add in the interesting conversation, and I couldn't not."

"And what did you hope to gain?" I asked.

"I actually have no idea," Raven said as she pulled into the parking lot for Fred's Coffee Shop. "I'm curious about your motives."

"Honestly? I had the time to kill, and I always like to meet new people. Friends and contacts are the key to happiness in my personal life and success in business."

"And it gets you laid."

I chuckled, "That, too. And I thought it was possible that's what you wanted, but the ball was totally in your court because, believe it or not, I don't pursue."

"I call bullshit!"

"You've done that a few times and been wrong every time! I've pursued exactly one girl in my entire life, and that's Kara, my Senior Wife."

"No way!" Raven protested. "Just no way!"

"Who made the first move?" I asked.

"I suppose you want me to say that I did."

"What I want you to say is the truth or at least your perception of it. Should we go inside?"

We got out of the car, walked into the restaurant, and were told we had a fifteen-minute wait. It was nice enough to stand outside, so we did that, away from the small gaggle of others waiting on a table.

"As you ponder the answer to my question about the first move, consider that how it usually begins is a smart-ass comment like the one you made earlier."

"But you were referring to Wednesday, right?"

"Was I? Think it through."

She cocked her head, looked at me, then shook it, "I'm not sure what you're getting at."

"On Wednesday, you made the first move towards friendship of some kind by asking me to have lunch. Today, you made the first move towards a physical relationship."

"You're making some serious assumptions!"

"Not at all. Teasing or not, serious or not, it was a step that way. And the thing is, even if you meant it simply as teasing with no intent, it changed the entire character of our interaction. And that's true whichever way this progresses. Do you agree you made both first moves, even if there was no intent?"

"You've backed me into a corner from which there is no real escape except to agree with you."

"You could refuse to accept it," I said. "After all, your perception is true for you."

"But if I refuse to accept it, we'll have breakfast, and after I take you back to the hotel, I won't see you again."

"What makes you say that?"

"Because that's the feeling I get from you — that you expect honesty, even if it's embarrassing or self-deprecating."

"That's true."

"So refusing to acknowledge you're correct would be the end."

"Would it?"

"Are you messing with me?" Raven asked.

"Do you want an honest answer?"

"I think I have to say 'yes'."

"This is what I call a mindfuck. The goal is to tie you up in knots mentally to get you to see the world in a new way because reality is not what you perceive it to be."

"And you said you weren't a cult leader!"