Chapter 64

Karen finished undressing, stepped out of the shade and laid her clothes on the motorcycle seat, then she turned toward me and stood there with the sunlight gleaming off her naked body.

It made me gasp. She almost looked angelic, except that angels weren’t supposed to be sexy, and Karen definitely looked sexy – very sexy. I was hard as a rock by the time I got my clothes off. We looked at each other for a moment before I stepped forward and took her in my arms. We lightly kissed then we stood still for a minute, holding each other. I could feel the sun on my shoulders, but a warm breeze was wafting over us, and the combination of sensations and emotions was downright magical.

I was soon tightly holding her against me, and my cock was trapped between us. I was thinking about how glad I was to be with her, when she moved back slightly, bent down, and took its head into her mouth. I closed my eyes and lost myself to the feeling as she lavished the head with her tongue and let her fingertips dance along the shaft. It was feeling too good, and I knew that I couldn’t stand very much of this, so I reached down, put my hands under her arms, and lifted her high above me.

She giggled as she looked down at me, but her eyes showed pure lust. She put her arms around my neck, wrapped her legs around me, and pulled herself to me. The sight of her naked body so close kicked my heartbeat into high gear. I moved my hands away from her body so that I could grab my hard cock in one hand and pull that curvy body of hers down with the other. The head of my erection was nudging the wetness of her opening within seconds, then I pulled her farther down. We both groaned as I buried myself inside her. We stood nearly motionless for a while as we savored the feeling.

I slowly began walking us toward the tree hours, days, or minutes later. We jostled and rubbed against each other on the way, of course, but that only intensified the feeling. Karen kept babbling “Yesoyesoyes,” so I figured that she was enjoying herself at least as much as I was. Her eyes got big as I settled her on her back, and she moaned, “More. Ohgodmore.”

I remembered how badly worried I’d been by yesterday’s blood scare though, so I was determined to be gentle with her. I moved in and out of her in long, smooth strokes, kissing and fondling her as we slowly and luxuriantly made love.

We went on for what seemed a long time. Long enough that Karen stiffened up and went “Mmmm!” several times, anyway. I felt exquisite ripples around my hardness every time she did that. I finally couldn’t hold back any longer. I think that my orgasm triggered a big one for her, because I felt the heat of her wetness wash over me when I emptied myself into her. We lay for a while without moving.

She eventually said, “Uhh, could you move a little?” I rolled off of her, and she reached behind and rubbed her back where a twig had been poking her. I made a joke about the ‘Princess and the Pea’, but she didn’t seem amused, so I told her, “I’ll kiss your boo-boo and make it better.” I had to twist my body a little to do it, but I was able to plant my lips where she’d rubbed herself, just below her right shoulder blade. She almost instantly threw herself against me and shuddered. I figured that it was because she was caught up in the moment, so I held her tightly and stroked her head until she seemed to settle down. I wondered if this would be a good time to talk about going steady, but I didn’t want to make her cry again.

I ran my fingers through her hair and hugged her every so often while we rested instead. We both enjoyed that, but our little hideaway started to get too cool for nudity after a while. I questioningly looked at Karen, and she nodded. We got up, dressed, put things away, and climbed back on the Honda. I couldn’t help smiling as I started the bike. This had been a great day after all. I silently congratulated myself on my good luck in finding a girl like Karen several times on the ride back. My smile got bigger every time I thought that. I soon felt like I could light up half of LA with that smile.

She hugged me tightly all the way back to her house, and she grabbed me and squeezed me so tightly it actually hurt a little when we got there and I put the bike on the side stand. I said, “I’ll call you later,” after a minute.

She was silent for a minute, then with a strange, sad look, she said, “Dad and I are going to visit Clair tonight. We may stay overnight.”

Surprised, I said, “But tomorrow is a school day!”

She gave me an extra squeeze, said, “I know,” and ran into the house. She left so quickly that it surprised me, but I thought that maybe she had to go to the bathroom.

Dinner at home was fun. There were only three of us, and we talked and laughed the whole time. We watched TV after dinner until Amy reminded us about any homework that needed doing, so I went to my room. I actually did have to do some reading for science class, so I picked the textbook up, but the thought of Karen’s sweet face and naked body kept popping up. I badly wanted to call her and tell her how much I’d enjoyed our romantic time together, but I remembered what she’d said about visiting Clair. I decided that I had better not bother her while she was with her dad. I went to crawl into bed around eleven, and I remembered the computer print of her dancing in Vegas, so I looked at it for a while, and went to sleep thinking about her.

I saw one of her friends at lunch the next day, and asked if she had seen her. She said that Karen wasn’t in school today, so I figured that she and her dad had stayed near the hospital. I called her number when I got home. No one answered -- not even an answering machine. I figured that it was just unplugged. She wasn’t at school again on Tuesday. I called her at lunch and again when I got home. There still was no answer. I was in the front house looking for a snack when Erin came in and said, “I brought the mail in. There’s a letter for you.”

Karen has those little stick-on return labels that she puts on letters. They have butterflies on them, and I immediately thought of her tattoo. Anticipating a love note of some kind, I tore the letter open.

It read,

My love.

I’m sending this letter because I would never be able to say these things to you in person. I’ll be at my uncle’s house in Paris by the time you read this. I’m going to finish this semester with a private tutor, and I’ll enroll in a school over here next year. Dad and I have been talking about this for a long time. His business is growing, and he’s gone now more than ever, and now that the place where Clair is staying allows him to visit, he spends time there whenever he can. I’ve been holding off on this because of you. You’re all I think about and all I dream about, but I can’t go on any longer. You’re more than just a guy to me. You’re a shining star. You mean more to me than you could possibly know, and I would love to be with you forever, but I know that it would never last. You need more than me! You deserve more than I can give you. I’ve watched other girls and you when they didn’t know that I was around. I was amazed at how they act around you. You don’t go after them; you just stand there and they come to you. It’s not something that you deliberately do; women are just drawn to you. I wanted to hate them for it, but I couldn’t. It’s the way it was with me.

The time you showed me in Las Vegas was more than fun. It was a fantasy beyond anything that I could have imagined. You were perfect in every way. You showed me things and let me behave in ways that I had only dreamed about, and you were always there to watch over and protect me in case things went wrong, but what did I do for you? I tried to show you how much you mean to me through sex, but we both know that sex is not enough, and that’s all I have to give you right now.

I talked with both Kristen and Amy about you. Kristen is a wonderful girl, and she really is in love with you, but she’s so career-minded that she’s willing to put her love aside while she chases her dream. I can tell that she’s not out of your life by a long shot, though. Amy is wonderful, too. She’s also a part of your life, but in another way. It seems that you and she have some kind of history. I don’t know what it is, but I get the feeling that she’s even closer to you than Kristen.

Both girls told me to stay with you. They said that you seemed happy with me, and they said that I should enjoy being with you for as long as possible, but I can’t. I simply can’t. I want you forever, or not at all. I never thought that I was a jealous person, but I get terrified every time that I see you even look at another girl. It felt like my world was coming apart the other night, when I heard on your answering machine that Molly and her sister were coming into town, and when I saw Amy go into your room later on, I thought my heart would break. I was relieved after I talked to Amy, and she explained that nothing really happened, but I knew right then that I couldn’t go through that much pain again, and that’s bound to happen if I stay with you. I’ve seen some of the girls you’ve been with. Every one is exceptional. Molly, Kristen, and Amy are the kind of girls who you should be with. They are beyond beautiful. I can’t compete with them. I’m ... well, I’m just me, and it’s just going to be a matter of time before you realize it.

I can’t go on like this. It hurts too much, and I’ve grown too used to you being my shield against the world. It’s time that I grew up. I’ll be back some day. Maybe I’ll be able to meet you as an equal by then.

Please don’t be mad at me. I love you. I love you.

Karen.

I went numb -- so numb that I couldn’t move or even breathe for a minute. It was like someone had pulled the world out from under me. How could she do this? How could she be gone? I wanted to dash over to her house and have her tell me that it was a mistake, a cruel joke. I ran to my car and drove over there as fast as I could. I flew up her long driveway, skidded to a stop, and her dad was waiting for me when I got to the door.

We sat on the front steps of his beautiful house and we talked. He told me that he was going to miss her too, and that he had pleaded with her to stay, but he knew how she felt about me, and said that he understood why she did it. He said that she would be back someday, and it could still happen if we were meant to be together. That didn’t make me feel better, then he added that I was still young, and I would get over her, but it certainly didn’t feel that way right now.

We talked about Clair for a while. I asked how she was doing, and he said that she didn’t even recognize him for a while, but she seemed to get better every day. His face was really sad when he said it, and I don’t think that I realized just how much he loved her until right then.

The only good that came from our conversation was the fact that he wasn’t lecturing me. He was talking to me ‘man to man’. Dad had begun doing that lately, but it wasn’t until now that I realized that I was actually growing up. It was a good feeling, but it was kind of scary.

I drove back to the house feeling lost and confused. No one had ever left me before. It was always me who decided that I should move on. I thought of Sam, and I wondered if she had felt this kind of loss when she found me covered with the scent of another woman. I was suddenly ashamed of myself, and I felt even worse now.

Amy and Erin were both surprised when I got to the house and told them what had happened. Erin hugged me and told me that she was sorry. Amy sort of looked off into the distance and shook her head. I said to her, “You and Kristen knew that she was going to leave, didn’t you?”

“Yes, she told us she was going to.” She shook her head again, “But I didn’t think that she would do it so soon, or without telling me first. I thought that she and I were closer than that.” Amy then did something unusual. She added, “I wonder if it was because she saw me go into your room the other night?”

I darted a glance at Erin. Amy put her hand on Erin’s arm when she saw me, and said, “It’s okay, I told her what happened. Real sisters don’t have secrets from each other.”

I thought about Karen’s letter, and the fact that she said that Amy had explained that nothing happened. Did Karen really believe her, or was that the thing that pushed her to leave right now? I guessed that I might never know. I also wondered if Amy said what she did in front of Erin because she wanted to create a closer bond between them. Whatever the reason, it seemed to work. Erin had a big smile on her face.

I went to my room and tried to do some homework, but I couldn’t get Karen out of my mind. I eventually decided to hit the exercise machine. My warm-up and stretches didn’t to much to clear my head though, so I loaded more weight on than I ever had before, and I began a damn serious workout. I worked harder and harder until I couldn’t think of anything but the machine. It was like I was in a trance. Amy had to buzz me several times before I realized that it was the intercom. She said dinner was ready, so I went inside. She had defrosted some of Mom’s chili and made a nice salad. I got some of the salad down, but Karen’s face kept jumping in front of me, and two bites of chili was all that I could manage.

The next few days were tough. I couldn’t get Karen out of my mind. The kids at school found out about her leaving of course, and several of them came to me to ask what had happened. I told them that it was a great educational opportunity that Karen just couldn’t pass up. Bill was exceptionally sympathetic. He said that he knew what she meant to me, and that he and Tess had talked about it at length. I asked how they were getting along. He got a dreamy look on his face. “She’s really great. I’m, uhh, thinking about asking her to go steady.”

“That’s great. She’s really a nice girl.”

“Yes, she is, but, umm.” He stopped talking, and stared at the ground. I waited for a few seconds, but he just kept staring. I asked, “Okay, what’s going on?”

It took a long time for him to answer, but he finally said, “She’s a different girl since she got that makeover. She shows up every day wearing makeup, and she told me that she spent a ton of money on new clothes.”

“Well, you’re the one who griped about her looking so plain.”

“I know, it’s just that, she uhh, seems to be looking at other guys a lot.”

“Is she looking at other guys, or are they looking at her?”

“Both, I guess.”

I wanted to say something wise that would make him feel better, but all I could think of was, “Yeah, relationships can be a bitch.”

Amy and I were in the kitchen getting ready for school Friday morning when she said, “Erin’s having dinner at Kelly’s house tonight, and Owen and I are going out with Bill and Tess. Do you have plans?”

I answered, “Yeah, I’m meeting some of the guys later.” I really wasn’t. I had hinted to some guys that I wasn’t doing anything, but they all had dates. I tried to relax when I got home from school, but I couldn’t get Karen out of my mind, so I got on the exercise machine. I went into the front house after a while. I wasn’t really hungry, but I was in the kitchen staring into the fridge when Amy came in. She was dressed in a nice skirt and blouse, so I figured that she was getting ready to go out. Now I was really bummed. Not because she was going out with Owen; it was just because she was going out to have fun, and I wasn’t. I went to my room and got back on the exercise machine. I was working up another sweat when when Amy popped in.

She shook her head and said, “I’m gonna call that machine ‘Killer’. Either you are gonna kill that thing the way that you treat it, or it’s gonna kill you. Owen is here to pick me up. Will you be okay?”

I pretended to look surprised as I turned around, and I said, “Gee, Mom, I didn’t expect you home until Sunday.”

She grinned, waved goodbye, and I suddenly was alone.

I sat around, trying not to think of Karen, but I kept seeing her face. How could she have left? Maybe some other girls are more attractive than she is, but any guy would be proud to be with her. I tried to think of what I should have done to convince her that she was the girl for me. I was angry all of a sudden. Who did she think she was, leaving me like she did? It isn’t fair!

I had to do something to get my mind off her, so I went out and washed my car. I carefully dried it, and I was cleaning out the inside, when I found some tickets to a movie Karen and I had seen. I threw them it the trash.

Then I stood there looking at the trashcan for a while. The movie was a comedy, and I remembered how we had laughed the whole way through it. Karen was reserved in most of the things she did. She walked with measured steps, and rarely yelled or talked loud. The only things that she did with abandon were laugh and make love. Thinking about how she made love hurt too much right now, but I could think about how she laughed. It was a rich, musical sound that seemed surprising coming from her small body.

I felt something on my cheek, and I wiped my hand across it. It was wet. Did I splash some water on myself? I couldn’t be crying, not over some dumb girl! I’m Pete Baker! I don’t cry over girls.

I grabbed my helmet, jumped on the bike, and tore down the alley. I realized that I was going way too fast When I got to the intersection at the corner, so I worked the brakes hard and came to a full stop. I sat there thinking that acting stupid and getting hurt was not going to make me feel better, so I took off at a more reasonable speed and rode for a while. The quiet hum of the Magna’s powerful V4 engine and the warm wind brushing by me soon had me feeling better, so I headed back home for a shower and some of Mom’s chili.

I thought I’d give my homework another try after a nice big bowl, but my answering machine showed that I had a message. It was from Kaz. He’d called to remind me that the football booster club, the Spartan Stalwarts, were holding a raffle at Max’s Maxi-Burger, the local drive-in. I felt like slapping myself. I’d completely forgotten that I’d agreed to appear at the fundraiser. I threw a pair of Dockers and a nice shirt on. It was still warm outside, so I decided to take the bike. I saw some kids from school, but nobody I was close with when I got to the restaurant, so I picked a chair in the corner and ordered a Coke. I was a little surprised that none of the other football players were here yet.

A guy in his late twenties came over a few minutes later, and said, “You’re Pete Baker, right?” He introduced himself as ‘John’ when I nodded, and said that he ran the drive-in. I guess that I looked a little startled, because I’d heard that there was a real Max who owned the place. John grinned and explained that Max was his father, who was now very well off and spent most of his time playing golf and managing his investments. He had turned the restaurant over to John to give him real-world job experience. I blinked at that.

John grinned again, then asked me if I’d be willing to draw the winning tickets in the raffle. I know the surprise that I felt showed on my face. He told me that having one or more of the Spartans draw from the hat was sort of a tradition around here. The raffle winners would be happier if I drew their tickets since I’d played quarterback some during the past season, and neither Vince, nor the backup quarterback was available.

He then said something that really floored me. The Stalwarts thought that I was the odds-on favorite to start at quarterback next year, and they’d like me to do the drawing for next year’s raffle as well because of that. I was so flabbergasted that I agreed to show up for the drawing. This was the first that I’d heard anything about next year’s team, and certainly no one had suggested I would be the starting quarterback!

A few kids waved at me when they came in, but they must have known about the tradition John mentioned, because they left me alone. Five guys from the football team came in a short while later. They grabbed a table next to me and all asked about Karen. They had heard about her leaving, and wanted to know if her dad was still going to have the parties for the team. I told them that I didn’t know.

Kaz came into the place and walked up to me just as a voice from a loudspeaker said that the drawing for the raffle would begin in five minutes. Kaz grinned and said, “You’re up, Dude.” I looked back at him and asked, “Why me? You’ve been a starter for three seasons and an All-California player for two; you should do it.”

His grin vanished. “Nope. C’mon, we’re gonna show off the prizes. It’s a tradition, besides there’s other things involved. I’ll tell you about it later. You need to get in front of the camera with John, Mona, and a barrel full of tickets right now.” He pointed behind me.

I asked, “Who’s Mona?” but he had already moved toward a guy standing in front of a video camera on a tripod. I’d thought that Kaz was kidding about the barrel, but a couple of guys were indeed wheeling a barrel toward John. I made my way over to him. “Wow, that’s a lot of tickets. Hundreds, at least.”

John smiled. “Thousands. Almost all the sponsors find it worthwhile to support the raffle, so we don’t have much difficulty in getting them to supply prizes and sell tickets. We try to increase sales every year, and we generally do except for times when the economy’s in the tank. Kaz explained to me that you don’t know much about what’s going on, Pete. Don’t worry, Mona will help you. Now, c’mon, we’re almost ready to start the show. We’re on camera so that we can be seen live by most of our sponsors and ticket-buyers. It also lets us record the raffle to show that everything is kosher.”

John lifted a wireless microphone to his lips and said, “And now, everyone, please welcome the Sweeper Sprite!” The audience applauded as a very pretty brunette wearing an old-style bikini and carrying what looked like a new broom came up to us. She smiled and waved at the camera. The bikini barely covered things, and she had plenty of curves on her.

I turned a little so that the camera only got my profile after John started thanking the sponsors and listing what they had donated to the raffle. I barely moved my lips as I whispered, “You’re Mona, right?”

She whispered in return, “Yeah. Why?”

“I didn’t know about this show. No one gave me a script or even warned me.”

She muttered something that I couldn’t catch, then whispered. “Okay. Just remember that you’re ‘Mr. Lucky’ and smile a lot.”

I guessed that John had finished thanking all the sponsors, because he turned to me and asked, “Ready, Mister Lucky?”

I followed Mona’s advice; I smiled as I nodded. John started thanking all the athletes who’d agreed to help out at the various sponsoring locations. I quickly figured that the ‘Mr. Lucky’ title was part of the tradition that I was ignorant of, but I couldn’t help quietly asking Mona, “What’s the broom for?”