Chapter 15

Before his first class started, David stepped into a restroom, locked a stall door behind him, and arranged himself on the john so he wouldn't fall over when he became unconscious.

His mother was just exiting the Hyatt Regency when he connected with her.

After he touched her, she said, "There you are, you naughty boy. I hoped you'd contact me before school started. Walk with me to the convention center, or float, or whatever it is you do, and we can talk on the way. Did your old mom shock you this morning?"

"No, but you certainly excited me. That was the sexiest sight I've ever seen."

"You did more than watch, David. If you aren't careful, you'll wake up one of these days and find out you're fickle. Why didn't you connect with me last night? Were you too busy fucking your sister?"

"Hah! I wish. I was too busy trying to defend an indefensible position."

"Do tell."

He quickly related the circumstances. "So I ended up just holding her while she wept. She cried herself to sleep."

"Darla was correct, you know. Plain and simple, you molested Barbara, David. What you did to her was very wrong."

"I know, and I'm truly repentant. I can promise you, like I promised Darla, that I'll never do anything like that again with anyone. By the way, Darla pushed me into a corner this morning after I visited you. She put me in a position of either lying to her or confessing that you and I had messed around. I confessed."

"Oh, no! David how could you?"

"I told her I didn't feel like I had a right to tell her anything about us without getting your permission first, but... Damn it! I didn't tell all, Mom, but I did admit to masturbating you with imaginary fingers."

"Fuck! How did she react?"

"Surprisingly, she didn't fly into a rage, which confused me. I'm still confused. I don't think men and women think alike at all."

Carol laughed. "That's for sure. How did she push you into the corner."

"If you could see me now, you'd know I was feeling really guilty. When I returned to my body after visiting you this morning, Darla was standing next to me. I was extremely aroused by what I'd just witnessed, and my... let's just say I immediately became as hard as I've ever been. Darla wanted to know why, so I told her I'd just watched you get it on with a guy."

"David! You didn't!"

"Sorry. She became furious, believing I was so excited because I'd visited Ellen or Barbara, not you. I don't lie very well, so I told her the truth."

"How did Darla react?"

"She surprised me again. She became hot, Mom, very excited, which finally led us to the discussion that forced me to either lie to her or admit I'd psychically played with your pussy. Curiously, that discussion evolved into a conversation about Darla's bisexuality."

"Jesus!"

"Yeah. How do you feel about Darla's bisexuality? I know you're aware of it. Remember I listened to the two of you in the car when you picked her up at the gym."

Carol wasn't prepared to answer his question. "I don't know. I haven't really given it any thought. Ask me again later."

"Fair enough. I need to go, or I'll be late for my first class." David stopped his mother from walking, took her into his invisible arms and kissed her thoroughly. "Bye, Mom. I'll connect with you again later."

She felt the pressure of his imaginary arms disappear and knew her son would instantly reenter his body about five hundred miles from where she stood. Amazing!

Carol reeled not only from her son's psychic embrace but also from all the new information he'd dumped on her. He'd told his sister he'd watched his mother having sex with a man and then later admitted to his sister that he'd diddled his own mother's pussy, which evidently led to a discussion about his sister's bisexuality. Carol noticed major gaps in his story, so many she couldn't followed the logic jumps from one revelation to the next. She'd try to fill in the gaps when he next visited her.

As she entered the convention center she asked herself how she really felt about Darla's bisexuality. David had asked her and would ask her again, and he'd expect an answer next time. In her mind, she pictured Darla and Ellen, and the mental images she imagined didn't repel her; rather, they excited her. No, her daughter's bisexuality didn't upset her.

Thinking back to her high school days, Carol remembered she'd had a couple of girlfriends who were bisexual. Heck, in college, she'd also had a friend who was a lesbian. At the time, she'd been curious about what it would be like to have sex with another girl, but not curious enough to cause it happen. However, she believed the only reason she didn't explore sex with a girl in her youth was because she was so into boys. Men, too, she thought with a chuckle. She certainly was no blushing virgin when she met George. Still, she didn't look at sex with another female as repulsive. In fact, her daughter's bisexuality rekindled her curiosity, and if the right situation developed she decided she wouldn't be opposed to trying sex with a woman.

Darla was hurrying to meet David for lunch when a hulk stepped in front of her. Looking up, she recognized Lou Hunter, a senior she'd met through Ellen.

"Hi, Darla," he said.

"Hello," she replied and waited, but he didn't step to the side so she could proceed. "I'm meeting my brother, Lou, and I'm late."

"Oh, ah, yes. I... ah, Darla to you have a date for the prom?"

"No." She just about added she wasn't allowed to date yet, but then she remembered her mother had relaxed the age-sixteen dating rule. A few seconds later, she regretted the omission.

"Would you like to go with me? I mean..."

"Are you asking me to be your date for the prom?" Darla asked, somewhat stunned.

"Yeah."

What should she say? She could refuse and tell him she wasn't allowed to date yet. On the other hand, accepting the date might be the best way to keep her mother from separating her and her brother. Also, the prom was a month away. She could accept and cancel later if necessary. In any case, she couldn't accept the date without talking to David first.

"Lou, I'd love to go to the prom with you, but I need my mother's approval first. She has this rule about no dating until I'm sixteen, but for the prom I think she'll relax the rule. Unfortunately, she's out of town until Sunday night. May I get back to you with an answer on Monday?"

"Sure," he said and beamed.

"Great. Listen. I really appreciate you asking me." She glanced at her wristwatch. "I'm late. Catch me at school on Monday or give me a call Monday after school and I'll give you an answer. Do you have my number?"

"No."

Darla tore off a piece of paper from her notebook and jotted her phone number. "There you are. Gotta run. Bye."

Carol finished writing up an order and handed a copy to the buyer.

"I'm sure you'll be happy with the ristras and wheat, Ms. Billings. They'll be delivered in two weeks, and I'll check with you in a month to see if you'd like to reorder."

After Ms. Billings left the booth, Carol glanced around. She'd had buyers stacked up one after the other all morning, and she needed a break. Kyle Trent, one of her manufacturers located in Albuquerque, worked the booth with her for the Albuquerque show, but he wasn't in sight. He tended to wander in and out of the booth. She couldn't berate him, though, because without his help, she'd have needed to hire a temp to help her, which she tried to avoid whenever possible.

Her search for Kyle did give her a view of a slim, young woman standing in the center of the booth studying the chile ristra display. She looked stunning with long, streaked blonde hair, most of it flowing down her back, but some cascaded to the front over her right shoulder, which pulled Carol's eyes to her pert breasts, obviously unfettered by a bra. She had large nipples easily viewed under a clingy, light purple sundress. Her gray eyes were striking, picking up some purple from the dress, and flecks of gold sparkled in the gray. A couple of inches taller than Carol, she appeared quite young, in her early-twenties, Carol guessed, mostly because she still had girlish hips. Her runway model's body was nearly perfect, except her calves looked slightly underdeveloped.

Carol's earlier decision came to mind. Was this the woman? The silent question made her blush. She felt her blood run hot, and her heart rate quickened a little.

"May I help you?" Carol asked.

The woman turned to her and flashed a winning smile. Her teeth were brilliantly white, but her two front teeth were separated by a tiny gap, which gave her pretty face character without marring her beauty.

"Hi. I wondered if your daughter, Darla, was here with you for the show? I met her during the March OASIS Show in Phoenix. My name is Denise Montgomery, by the way."

"No, Darla helped me at my booth on a Saturday because we live in the Phoenix area. Darla's in school, and I don't take her or my son out of school to help me with my business."

"Oh." She smiled again. "Darla helped us take down our booth in Phoenix, and Mr. Welch ask me to check if she wanted to earn some extra money again."

"Yes, I remember know. Do you work for Jason Welch?" Welch was a manufacturer who worked his own booth at trade shows. He owned Southwest Pottery, an account Carol had tried to attract for years. Denise must be one of the showgirls Welch hired as eye candy for the shows. He certainly picked a winner with this one, Carol added silently, though showgirls weren't needed for gift shows because most of the buyers were woman.

"Yes. Well, I should get back to the booth."

Why not? "Denise, ah hell, I'll just blurt it out. Would you join me for a drink at the close of the show today? I'd like to talk with you about your boss."

The young woman smiled. "I'd like to join you for a drink, Carol, as long as we do NOT talk about Mr. Welch."

Carol returned Denise's smile. "Even better, I'll meet you at the bar in the Hyatt Regency about six-thirty."

With a nod, Denise turned and strolled from the booth. For the first time in her life, Carol avidly watched another woman sway as she walked away from her.

Was Denise the woman?

"Lou Hunter, huh?" David said with a grimace. "Yeah, I know Lou. Fuck, I actually like him. He's a jock, but doesn't act like one." Why couldn't Darla's first date be with an asshole? David heard the little green monster perched on his shoulder laughing his fucking head off.

"I won't accept the date if you say no, David. I just thought a date to the prom might be helpful when we develop our plan on Sunday to stop Mom from separating us."

"Yeah." He pursed his lips. "Unfortunately, you're correct. I should take a girl to the prom, too. If we each present Mom with dates when she gets back, she'd know we're serious about satisfying her contingencies, and we'll need something strong like dates to the prom to counter our broken promises."

"David, maybe we shouldn't tell her we broke our promises."

"Hah! She'll know the second she walks in the door."

Darla grimaced. "Probably."

"In fact, if you agree, I'd like to tell her during a trip on Sunday morning before she leaves Albuquerque. Mom never stays angry very long. By the time she gets back Sunday night, she'll be over her hissy fit."

Darla nodded. "Do it." With a sigh, she added, "Do you have a girl in mind to ask to the prom?" Her big, dark eyes gazed up at him with trepidation.

"Ellen is the most logical choice, but Barbara is a candidate."

Darla groaned.

"I don't really care," David added. "You choose."

"Neither. Ask Harriet Wilson."

David laughed. "Fine, if you turn down Lou and ask Todd Chambers."

Unkindly, Chambers was known as Two-ton Todd, and the Wilson girl had acquired a like nickname, but at one-quarter the Chambers' boy's weight.

"Okay," Darla said, "I get the point, but I refuse to choose for you. Both Ellen and Barbara will try to trip you so you fall between their legs. Ellen has had the hots for you for quite a while, and if I read Barbara's signals correctly, she's ready to give it up, and you're her choice to receive the wondrous gift. Fuck!"

"Not long ago, you advised me to date a girl younger than me. Does your advice still hold?"

"Not necessarily. I gave you that advice because I believed you were such an innocent when it came to girls. The advice no longer applies - if it ever did."

David laughed wickedly.

"What?"

"I could ask them both."

She hit him on the arm. "Shameless! You're completely without shame, David. Though it's not a bad idea. Maybe they could get it on with each other and leave you alone." She shook her head. "No, they'd both want you to join them."

"Do you have a coin?"

"Why?"

"Let's flip. Heads, I ask Ellen. Tails, Barbara gets the nod."

"David, would you be a dear and ask someone besides Ellen or Barbara?"

"Who?"

"I don't care. She can even be beautiful and smart. I'll not put any restraints on your choice except I'd prefer you exclude Ellen and Barbara."

"Of course I'll honor your wish, but I'd like to know why. You know I won't fuck either one of them. They can trip me all they want. The only lovely legs I'll fall between are yours."

"Because you can visit them."

"Oh."

"And because you can visit them, I know you feel close to them. You're already part of their lives. They just don't know it. You wouldn't start out as close with another girl, as intimate, and that levels the playing field for me."

"Your wish is my command, pretty one."

"God, I want to kiss you right now."

David's last class of the day was his favorite, a computer lab. He'd completed the assignment for the day in half the allotted time and glanced around the room. Mrs. Jones, the teacher, allowed the students to interact and help each other, and David noticed Lloyd Seabrook leaning over Cheryl Hogan's shoulder. Cheryl didn't look happy. Lloyd was a jock, like Lou, but unlike Lou, Lloyd acted like a jock; in other words, he was usually obnoxious.

David stood and strolled to the pair. "Hi, Lloyd," David said and then acknowledged Cheryl. "When you have a minute, Cheryl. I have a question."

"I have a minute right now," she said and jumped up from her chair.

Lloyd frowned but somehow contained his normal bluster as Cheryl walked with David to his computer.

"Thanks," Cheryl said with a smile. "You rescued a damsel in distress."

David laughed. "Hardly. You could handle Lloyd blindfolded with your hands tied behind your back." He grabbed a vacant chair and placed it next to his in front of the computer he was working on.

When she sat, David noticed her legs, shapely legs, slim but with curves in all the right places, like the rest of her body, he suddenly realized. He didn't know Cheryl well. This was the first class he'd had with her, but she'd always been pleasant with him, and she was probably the smartest person in the room.

Not just smart, though, he decided. She's beautiful, too. Her breasts were larger than he preferred, but he liked her long, sensuous neck, and the smattering of freckles across her nose and cheeks appealed to him. Cascading auburn hair framed her pretty face and brilliant green eyes. David guessed she'd been a tomboy when she was younger.

"You had a question," Cheryl said, obviously noticing his studied glance.

She didn't appear upset over his ungentlemanly stare, though. "Yes, if you don't have a date for the prom, would you be interested in going with me?"

Her wide smile enhanced her healthy beauty. "I'd love to go to the prom with you, David, but..."

"But?"

"My parents have a no-dating rule until I'm sixteen."

He'd forgotten the computer lab was made up of students from freshman to seniors. Cheryl must be Darla's age. Interesting.

"If you don't mind waiting for an answer," she quickly added, "after school, I'll ask my parents if they'll let me go. I turn sixteen two weeks after the prom."

"No problem. May I have your phone number? I'll call you sometime this evening."

"May I call you? It's just that..."

She laughed, interrupted her sentence. He liked her laugh. It wasn't giggly. She allowed her laugh happen instead of trying to contain it like many girls, and the sound was pleasing, not irritating. Ellen had an irritating laugh, he remembered.

"Well, I expect a battle," she added by way of explanation. "It would be best if I called you when the skirmish is over."