Chapter 8

As Jason was opening the door to our room, my cell phone jangled. It was buried in the depths of my large purse, a purse I'd started referring to as the Black Hole of Phoenix. Seemingly, whatever went into it could never be found again, including my cell phone.

I hurried inside the room while digging around in the black hole for the phone, planning to dump the purse's contents on the bed to give me a visual reference for my search, when the phone stopped ringing.

"Dad, most likely. Calling to check up on me," I said to Jason. "He'll call back." He'd also want to know why I hadn't answered his first call, what I was doing, where I was, and when I'd be home. I dreaded the conversation.

I'd noticed this morning before I left the house that Dad's normally protective attitude regarding his teenaged daughter had accelerated to over-protective. Contrary to his calm demeanor, the incident in the restaurant last night had frightened him. No doubt without Ms. Cornwell's scintillating personality and lush body captivating his attention, he'd have called to check on me sooner.

I dumped the purse, located the phone, and shoved everything back into the black hole.

The phone rang again, but it wasn't my father calling.

"Hi," I said after Barbie greeted me.

"It's Barbie," I mouthed to Jason. He grinned. He liked Barbie, too. He considered Terry a fool for screwing up his relationship with Barbie, and various thoughts I'd intercepted previously indicated he didn't consider bisexual females perverted. Just the opposite. The concept excited him. He didn't understand bisexuality in men because the idea of sex with another man repelled him. His attitude reflected a double standard, but I didn't hold it against him, and for males who weren't uptight about sex, Jason wasn't far from the norm, at least according to the thoughts I'd read over the years.

"What are you doing tonight? Are you busy with Jason?"

"Yep. What about you?"

"At loose ends. I still need to find a new boyfriend."

While I talked with Barbie, I watched Jason strip. Nice, I thought. We're starting to be comfortable with each other while naked.

"I'm going to wash off the chlorine," Jason said.

I put my hand over the mouthpiece on the telephone. "If you're still in the shower I'll join you when I finish talking with Barbie."

I watched him walk into the bathroom. If one of us had a world-class ass it had to be Jason.

"Are you with Jason right now?" Barbie asked interrupting my thoughts, which had strayed to the upcoming ass-fuck.

"Yes. He took your suggestion last night seriously, the one about getting a room. We're at the Biltmore."

"You're kidding!"

"I kid you not. Cool, huh?"

"More than cool! Jeez! I'm jealous. I've never... I've only... I'm jealous. Are you spending the night with him?"

"That's my plan."

"Does your dad know your plan?"

"No. I'll tell him later - make it a fait accompli."

"He'll have a hissy fit."

"Probably."

"He'll ground you for the rest of your life."

"Probably."

She sighed. "If I were you, I'd do the same thing."

Orgasm times three kept popping into my mind. I ignored the urge. "Gotta go. Jason's in the shower washing off the chlorine from the pool." I chuckled. "I need to wash away some chlorine myself. Do you think he'll mind if I joined him?"

"Hah! Naughty! Nasty, even. Go for it, girlfriend."

"Bye. I'll call you tomorrow."

"Okay. Details, Katy. I'll want details."

"Uh-uh. I don't kiss and tell."

She groaned with disappointment. "Figures. Have fun. I would in your shoes, or lack of shoes, lack of clothes, lack of inhibitions. Ah, hell, just have fun. I'm jealous."

I said goodbye, stripped and was on my way to join Jason in the shower when my cell phone rang again.

"Hello, cupcake. I called you a few minutes ago, but you didn't answer."

"That's 'cause the Black Hole of Phoenix sucked up my phone in its vortex."

"Huh?"

"Never mind. I wasn't able to get to the phone before you hung up. How was your date, or is it still underway?"

"Fine. Claire and I are still at the cocktail party, but it's winding down. I'd like you to meet Claire... ah, Ms. Cornwell, Katy. Would you join us for dinner? You may invite Jason, if you wish."

He was up to something, was being too magnanimous. I wished we were face to face so I could read his thoughts. "I don't know, Dad. Jason is flying to Albuquerque Tuesday, which doesn't leave us much private, quality time together."

He didn't respond, and the silence drew out. Dad understood the value of silence. I didn't learn how it could be used until years later. I caved.

"I'll speak with Jason and call you back."

"Thank you, sweetheart. This dinner tonight is important to me."

"Your turn," Jason said cheerily as he emerged from the bathroom. His flaccid, long cock waved back and forth as he briskly dried his scalp with a towel. Cute.

"I'll call you back in five, Dad," I said into the telephone and pushed the end button.

"Sorry," Jason said, blushing. "I didn't realize you were still on the phone, let alone speaking with your father."

"No problem. He made the call I missed earlier, and he not only called to check up on me but also to invite us to dinner with him and his girlfriend."

"What did you tell him?"

Before I responded, I checked Jason's thoughts. Surprisingly, he didn't mind. He figured after dinner we'd return to the room, make love one more time, and he'd still get me home by my midnight curfew. I decided I needed to clarify a few issues with him.

"I told him you were leaving Tuesday, which didn't leave us much time to be alone together, but I also told him I'd discuss it with you and call him back."

"Your Dad doesn't seem like the kind of man who would stick his nose in where it's not wanted..."

"When it comes to me, he sticks his nose in whether it's wanted or not."

"Let me finish. He knows we're lovers. We made that fact patently clear yesterday afternoon when he walked in on us and you were naked and I was half-dressed. We've been alone all day, and he let you use the pickup knowing full well we'd have sex somehow, somewhere while we were alone. I don't think his invitation tonight was made to keep us apart."

Jason's logic forced me to review Dad's invitation, especially his last comment. "This dinner tonight is important to me," he'd said. Jason could be right.

"Would you mind terribly if we had dinner with my dad and his new woman?"

He laughed. "Listen to you. You've never met his new woman, and you dislike her already. Shame on you, Katy."

I blushed. Jason was definitely right regarding my attitude about Ms. Cornwell. When merely thinking her name, the thought came through acerbically. "You didn't answer my question."

"No, I wouldn't mind. Frankly, I'm curious about the type of woman who attracted your father's fancy."

"Okay, I'll call and tell him we'll meet them on..."

"Won't you need to go home to change?" Jason asked interrupting me.

"Uh-uh." I nodded toward the closet. "I brought a sexy, little number with me to wear to dinner with you tonight. I'll meet with Dad and Ms. Cornwell on two conditions, Jason."

He raised his eyebrows, silently inquiring about my conditions. Emotionally, he felt confused. His thoughts told me that he hadn't realized we were negotiating.

"One, we return here after dinner."

"No problem."

"Two, I spend the night with you."

"Definitely... a problem."

My jaw dropped. His disagreement shocked me. "Why? Didn't you rent the room for the entire night?"

"I don't need to check out until Tuesday morning. Think, Katy. If you spend the night, how will your father react?"

I laughed. "Barbie said he'd throw a hissy fit and ground me for the rest of... Shit!"

He laughed gaily. "By gosh, I think you just figured it out. If you spend tonight with me, it'll be the last time we'll see each other. Worse, he could sic the cops on me. I'm twenty, an adult in the eyes of the law. You're seventeen, a minor. I could be arrested for statutory rape."

"Dad would never..."

"I agree. I just wanted you aware that if your father pressed the issue, I could find myself behind bars. Be that as it may, I want to be with you tonight, tomorrow, tomorrow night and Tuesday morning, not just tonight, so..."

"So I'll be sleeping alone in my bed tonight." My shoulders dipped. I felt dejected, but I couldn't fault Jason's logic.

He flashed his boyish grin. "Yep. Tomorrow night is another matter. I'd love to fall asleep with you lying next to me to wake up the next morning with you still in my arms, but like Barbie said, your father will punish you for defying him, as well he should, so the choice must be yours. You forced me to do the choosing, today. Tomorrow night, it's your turn."

"You'll be risking jail time."

He laughed. "Not really, but you'll risk being grounded for the rest of your life."

"Not really. I'll stay with you tomorrow night." I rushed into his arms and gave him a heartfelt kiss to seal the deal. I liked the way my college boy negotiated. I also liked the way his long one became longer.

Dad was pleased when I told him we'd join him and Ms. Cornwell for dinner.

"Thank, Jason. He talked me into it," I told him, which was true. We made arrangements to meet at Ruth's Chris Steak House on Camelback Road, fairly close to the Biltmore, which gave my lover ample time to make another choice. I hurried my shower.

When I returned to the bedroom, Jason was on his cell phone. "My mother," he said with his hand over the mouthpiece. He didn't look happy, so I read his thoughts. His sister, Sara, was in the hospital. She'd tried to commit suicide. I also realized my earlier assessment of Jason's attitude about her was mostly correct. She'd been mentally unstable for quite a few years, and he loved her deeply.

"Someone should be with her," Jason said and listened to his mother's response. What he heard filled him with anger. "I understand Maxie can't get away, Mother. What's your excuse?"

I wished I could hear his mother, but I could only hear Jason's side of the conversation and tune in on his thoughts and emotions.

"Not good enough. If you won't go to her, I will."

My heart almost stopped beating, and a feeling of dread washed over me. My four-day lover just turned into a two-day lover.

"So I lose my summer job. It's a crap job anyway. Mother, Sara might be a pain in the ass, but she's your daughter and my sister. She's family, and she needs us. If Dad were alive, he'd drop everything, even a winning hand in a large pot, and catch the next flight to Denver. Are you going, or not?"

He didn't want to go. He wanted to stay with me, but...

"Fine. I'll do what Dad would've done. I'll catch the next flight to Denver myself. For what it's worth, Mother, right now, I don't like you very much. I love you, but..."

He listened for a few seconds. "No, you're being unreasonable, not me. Goodbye, Mother. I need to call the airlines." He pushed the end button on his phone and threw it angrily to the bed. It bounced and fell to the plush carpet.

I felt a battle between anger and sorrow for the dominant emotion in Jason. He looked at me, and sorrow won. I rushed into his arms with my eyes smarting. From his emotions or mine, I couldn't tell. It didn't matter. We shared emotions.

"I'm so sorry, Katy. I can't go to dinner with you and your father."

"I know. I heard." Tears streamed from my eyes - my tears, not his.

He checked flights to Denver and booked one leaving in two hours, which meant we had to dress and leave the hotel immediately. He also needed to pick up the rest of his luggage at Terry's house. He drove us to the airport in Dad's pickup truck.

At the departure curb, I broke a promise and clung to him. I apologized, but continued to hold him tightly against me.

"I broke some promises, too, Katy. I promised you five days and gave you two. I promised I'd leave in style without looking back, and if I'd left on Tuesday, somehow I would have kept that promise. Leaving like this... Fuck style. I can't pretend I don't love you. I'm head over heels in love with you, Katy Owen, so when I get my sister settled, I'll be back. I owe you three days."

"I want more," I said breaking another promise, the one I made to my father. "I'm in love with you, too."

He emitted a quiet but passionate sound as he crushed me to him and kissed me fervently. We clung to each other.

"I'll call you every day," he said.

"You'd better, or I'll be calling you."