Chapter 13

Jake woke up Sunday morning at six-thirty, fresh, and rested. Debbie had come into his room immediately after Erika left and jumped his bones. Playing with Erika had gotten her motor running in high gear. Jake had gone to bed drained but happy. He woke up well-rested, grabbed his swimsuit and a towel, and went out to the pool. The propane pool heater had been installed and running for a couple of days.

Jake dropped his towel in a lounge chair and dove in. The water was perfect, cool, but not cold. Jake churned the water for twenty laps and then just floated around. He heard footfalls and looked up. Charles was standing by the pool.

“Mind some company?” Charles asked.

“Not at all, Dad, the water is just right.”

Charles slipped into the pool, swam a few thrashing laps, and then they both got out of the pool and dried off. Jake went in and got them coffee and they sat companionably in the loungers. Charles told him how the business was doing and how well the inventory control system was working. Charles jokingly asked him if he had any other ideas that would make them rich.

“As a matter of fact Dad, I do,” Jake said.

Then Jake outlined his vision of a chain of TFA Superstores, first in Florida, then the Southeast, and finally nationwide. Jake said they would need substantial capital to expand and suggested Charles approach Russell Thornton about it. Charles said he would think about it. It was a bold and very intriguing move.

“Jake, you sure have changed things around here for the better. It seems that when you came back so did the rest of my family. Your sisters have become amazing young women and your mother is the happiest she’s been in years. A man is never going to be happy if his wife isn’t, so I’m much happier now too.”

“I have a lot of making up left to do,” Jake said.

Charles changed the subject, “Gail Martin asks about you every day.”

“Really,” Jake said, “would you mind if I asked her out?”

Charles laughed, “When would you fit her in your schedule”?

Jake laughed with him and said, “Well, I’m only going to be only young once and if it kills me at least I’ll die smiling.”

Later that day, Cindy and Laurie sat with Jake and his sisters at Mass. All four girls looked extraordinarily sweet and innocent. Jack and Theresa Sorenson were going to visit Jack’s brother in Orlando after Mass. Cindy and Laurie were staying home to work on a school project. Cindy whispered to Jake that he should come over about one. He agreed and said he would see them then.

At one-ten, Jake leaned his ten-speed bicycle against the porch and knocked on the door. Cindy opened the door a crack peeked around it. When she saw it was Jake, she grabbed his hand and pulled him in.

Jake sat on the couch, Cindy sat on one side of him, and Laurie sat on the other. Both girls were suddenly shy and nervous. Jake sat and just talked with them and they loosened up when they understood that Jake was not going to pressure them. Soon they were both snuggled up against him and he had his arm around Cindy. Jake asked them if they had ever played ‘truth or dare.’ Neither had. Jake ran over the rules with them emphasizing that to take a dare meant doing anything the questioner wanted. They excitedly agreed and were soon sitting in a triangle on the floor.

Jake flipped a coin and Laurie went first. She looked at Cindy.

“Have you ever gone all the way?”

“No,” said Cindy.

Cindy asked Jake, “Are you having sex with anyone besides Sara?”

Boy, that Cindy was right to the point, thought Jake. “Dare,” he said.

“I dare you to kiss Laurie and feel her up for one minute.”

Jake turned to Laurie who was breathing hard in anticipation. He took her in his arms and gave her a searing kiss. His tongue probed her mouth as he gently cupped her hard little breast. She flinched as his hand found her swollen nipple then she relaxed and pushed her chest against his hand.

Cindy called out, “Time’s up.”

Laurie moaned in protest at the loss of his touch.

“You’re right, Cindy. He can really make out,” Laurie said dreamily.

Jake cleared his throat, “My turn,” he said, “what’s the farthest you have ever been with a boy.”

“Dare,” said Laurie. Now that she knew how the game was played she was going to say dare even if the question was innocent.

“Kiss Cindy like I did you for one minute,” dared Jake.

The game went on fairly innocently. Jake got both of their tops and bras off. They preened and strutted their nubile young bodies for him. But he did not let things go any further. After about and hour and a half he said he had to go home and the disappointed pair kissed him goodbye.

He stopped at the door and turned back to them.

“Take care of my girl, Laurie,” Jake said.

“I will,” Laurie said, her hand already down Cindy’s shorts.

Jake was at home by three and in the pool five minute later. By three-twenty his sisters and parents were in it also.

The sight of his wife and daughters in two-piece suits got Charles’ attention. He shook his head in wonder.

“When did all my womenfolk get so beautiful?” he asked no one in particular.

About four o’clock Charles jumped out of the pool and fired up the Weber. Once the coals had started, Helen went inside and brought back steaks for the chef to burn.

Jake played grab ass in the pool with the women while Charles labored over the grill. Jake copped a few feels and so did the girls, Helen included. He had to swim laps to let his erection subside.

After a nice dinner, Jake went to the kitchen to make phone calls. He spoke to Jody and Cindy, and then tried Sara. Sara was not at home or the hospital so he left a message at both places. He phoned Erika and they had a most pleasant chat. She said Sven commented on how nice and clean she had returned his car and they both had a good laugh. Jake asked what color dress she was wearing to the homecoming dance and she said dark blue. Jake asked her how hard it would be to ravish her in it. She told him not very. Jake turned the phone over to his sisters. Helen’s system made the phone available for everyone but made you focus your attention so you could get through in ten minutes.

About half past seven the phone rang and Helen, who was passing by it, answered. She called Jake and said Vicki wanted to speak to him. Jake was delighted. He took the phone from Helen.

“This is Jake.”

“Hi, Daddy,” she said in a little girl voice.

“You can’t know that already, can you?” Jake asked.

She gave a sultry chuckle, “No, but I have this feeling.”

“Well in experiments of that type you have to keep trying until you get the results called for,” Jake said cryptically because Helen was puttering around nearby.

“Someone near you?” asked Vicki.

“That is correct.”

“Well, I have to go, anyway. I’ll dress just for you, tomorrow,” she promised.

Helen went into the laundry room so Jake was able to whisper, “No bra.”

“Yes, Jacob my love,” Vicki purred and broke the connection.

Helen walked into the kitchen just as he was hanging the receiver back on its hook.

“Who’s Vicki?” She asked casually.

“Mrs. Greer, one of my teachers,” Jake answered, “I did some work for her Saturday and she asked if I could help again next week.”

Helen’s eyebrows went up, an indication that the wheels were turning. Jake beat a hasty retreat to the living room before she could quiz him. He watched Bonanza with Charles and his sisters, then hit the rack.

The following week was a busy one. On Monday, Vicki started his week off right in a trim navy blue a-line skirt and light blue blouse with a high collar. Her hair was in a French braid and she wore two-inch heels.

He and his teammates were getting a lot of attention after their big upset of Central. Girls, especially seniors, were on Jake like wolves circling a wounded deer. Melissa Thornton quietly suggested he walk her to their second period class.

As they trudged down the hall, she softly asked him to escort her to her coming out party at the Country Club’s Fall Cotillion in a few weeks. Jakes immediately replied that he would be honored. In Palmdale, the Fall Cotillion was the social event that formally introduced seventeen and eighteen-year old girls to society. It was an old old-fashioned tradition to be sure, but one that had a certain innocent charm. His sister, Deborah Denise Turner, would be presented at the same affair.

Chemistry class was a cause for celebration. Erika, Scott, and Jake found the elusive second compound with one of the last experiments in their workbooks. They would all get at least a ‘B’ for the marking period. Class participation and homework could bring their grade up. Erika looked good in her usual conservative outfit. She made eye contact with Jake throughout lab and touched him whenever she could. When the bell rang the three headed for lunch. Erika was holding Jake’s hand.

Later, Jake was in the periodicals stack, looking at the ‘Wall Street Journal’ when Miss Doane tracked him down. She slid into the chair across from him at the research table. They exchanged pleasantries and she congratulated him for his performance Friday night.

“Mrs. Greer said you were the best student she has ever had,” Rebecca Doane said. “I agree. You are for me, also.”

“You both make it easy for me. You two are wonderful teachers,” Jake said sincerely.

“Victoria said you are the reason she is so much happier now. How did you do that?”

“I simply treat her the way everyone should, with respect and courtesy. She just needed someone to verify that she was a worthwhile person. I don’t think that happens at her home,” he said.

“What do you think would make me happy, Jacob?”

“Going to the ballet with me and dancing with me at homecoming,” he said without hesitation.

She beamed him a megawatt smile. “Yes to both.”

He leaned forward and whispered, “And finding me later for a kiss.”

She blushed, nodded, and went back to her desk.

Football practice was the hardest since the first week. Afterward, Coach had a team meeting. He stressed that they were as ripe to be upset as Central had been. Although homecoming opponents were traditionally picked to provide a victory for the home team, they could lose if they took their opponent too lightly. Then he showed film of Pine Hills High in action. It was a highlight film of sorts, showing Pine Hill doing everything right. Jake and his mates got the message. There would be no slacking up Friday afternoon. Nelson asked Jake to drop by his office after his shower.

Jake slipped into the chair in front of Coach Nelson’s desk.

“What’s up, Coach?”

“Jake I just want to thank you for introducing me to Sara. She is every thing you said and more.”

“So you two hit it off?”

“Oh yeah, we did!” Coach replied emphatically. “She’s a lot for you to give up.”

“She’s not mine to give up, she is my friend, and I want what’s best for her. I think that you are what’s best for her. Of course if you are bad to her I’ll hold you down while Vickie Greer cuts your balls off,” Jake said.

“I get your point Jake. Sara said that is how you would feel about us. Be careful about calling Mrs. Greer ‘Vickie’, she doesn’t allow anyone to call her that,” Coach admonished.

“Is that so,” Jake said as he was leaving.

Then he stopped at the door and turned to coach.

“By the way, your brother needs a new car.”

Coach Nelson sat back in his chair in astonishment.

Sara was his ride home today. He had figured she would be. His teammates were mostly gone and Sara was sitting in her car waiting for him. He got in the passenger seat and she gave him a kiss. They went directly toward Sara’s house. She told him that Helen said he could eat supper with Sara but he had to be home at eight-thirty. Christopher was at her Aunt Elizabeth’s. They talked about homecoming and other inconsequential things until they arrived at her house.

Once inside Sara grabbed him in a tight embrace and kissed him fiercely.

“What was that for? Not that I’m complaining,” said Jake.

“That is because I love you, and for introducing me to Brian.”

“He told me you two hit it off. I’m very happy for both of you. You are two of my favorite people,” Jake said, and he meant it.

“Jake, he is the person I want to spend the rest of my life with, and I think he feels the same way.”