Chapter 16

Saturday, March 30, 2002

We slept in past eight, then made love again, Mom on top, riding me hard. We had a leisurely shower, a leisurely breakfast that Jenny and Dad joined.

By 9:30, Dad and I were off to Mary's to meet the lawyer; it was a long, excruciatingly dull morning. The policemen were the same ones from the other day at the hospital; Surly and Polite. They managed to piss everyone off, including our lawyer, before they were finished. Finally, they were done, and gone out the door.

A bit later Mary, Shannon and Elizabeth had finished packing for their sojourn; they drove over to our house for a late lunch.

When we got home, Mom handed me a silver cell phone. JR flashed hers at me, a dark blue one. Even Jenny had one, lighter blue for her. Mom had programmed in a few numbers to start with, I did a couple more for Tony and Sue Ellen.

After lunch, Mary and Elizabeth left to make funeral arrangements for her husband; Shannon shook her head when asked if she was going along. Instead, she did something remarkable.

I've heard violins all my life; my parents love music, particularly classical music. My own tastes pretty much match theirs; I've never gotten very excited about music that has unintelligible lyrics and the music is nothing but drums and guitars.

Shannon didn't play anything like that! She put up her music stand, put some music on it, and then tuned her violin. I was sitting on the couch with JR and Jenny, the three of us reading. We didn't read long because Shannon was utterly wonderful. After a few minutes Mom and Dad had come in and were sitting quietly on the other couch, Mom snuggled up next to Dad, her feet curled up on the sofa.

Shannon played for the better part of an hour, solid pieces. Bach, Mozart, Debussy; all kinds of composers.

Finally she did a little curtsey, and we all clapped loudly.

"Now I'm going to practice," she told us. "Comments aren't wanted or needed."

"You play really well, Shannon," Mom told her.

"Yes," the rest of us chorused.

Shannon reached down and picked up some of the sheet music she'd been playing from. "Notes. You can teach someone to play all the right notes on a violin... that takes a year or two. Another couple of years to get them to play notes the right length. After that, it's just the souls of the composer and musician and how each sees the music. How the music expressed."

I'd seen sheet music before; it had always been a mystery to me. "If it's all written down, how does it come out different?"

"Just like two people can't read the same lines from a play or poem the same, two people can't play a piece of music the same." She grinned. "And some musicians take what the composer wrote as just the starting place, and add a lot of themselves to it."

She must have seen I still wasn't sure. "I can say, 'Come here, Tom.' My tone is soft and even. I can say, 'Come here, Tom!' and raise my voice; it doesn't mean the same thing. You can put embellishments into music, just like when you're talking. Slurring words and notes together, adding an extra note just to make it sound better, or slightly change the meaning. 'Can you come here, Tom?'"

That made sense. "Well, you speak really good with your violin!" I told Shannon.

She practiced another half hour, and then said she was tired and was going to take a nap.

I was feeling mellow and wonderful, a nap sounded like a good idea to me, so around two I laid down on my bed; both JR and Jenny curled up with me. We just slept, only kissing lightly for a few seconds first.

Mom woke us up around three thirty, Jenny and I got first dibs on the shower, and by four we were dressed. Jenny was wearing shorts and a t-shirt; I put on jeans and a t-shirt as well. We packed toothbrushes and some other things in a small bag that Dad lent us; then we bid everyone else goodbye. Dad made sure I had two copies of the map, and the phone number of the hotel programmed into my phone.

We pulled up at Sue Ellen's a quarter past the hour; there were more cars there than I ever remembered seeing. We knocked on the door, and Sue Ellen met us and waved us in.

"Would you believe, Tom, that you're the last?"

"Of course we're the last," I said with a laugh, "we just got here."

"No silly, you're the last of the people we invited. Must be some horny people here! Wanting to get started early!"

"Me!" Jenny said primly, and Sue Ellen giggled, eyeing Jenny.

"Come on into the family room." She led the way; I looked around. Quite a crowd.

Janey nodded to me, then got up. "I wanted to say a few words before things got going; I'd thought I wouldn't be getting around to that until closer to five. Oh well..." There were chuckles.

"First things first. I've been a bitch the last couple of years; no two ways to look at it. I joined the cheerleaders, made the squad my first year. I saw nothing wrong with the initiation rites; chowing down on my teammates, having them go down on me. I mean, I like these things; I did before I ever got to high school.

"I know it sounds stupid, but it never occurred to me that other people might not feel the same way about it," she nodded to me. "Tom Ferguson took me to task last week, raised my consciousness, so to speak. At first, I was pissed; I'd just offered to have real sex with a boy, the very first time I'd ever wanted to. And not only did he turn me down, he told me I was wrong for forcing people to be like me.

"I thought he was full of shit." She looked around the room, before laughing bitterly. "Someone was sure full of it, me." She tapped herself on the chest.

"Tom told me Sue Ellen didn't like being with girls all that much. That was news to me; I've liked Sue Ellen since the first time I saw her. She was the person I wanted when I had a chance. I went and asked her if what Tom said was true, or if she'd bull-shitted him or something.

"Sue Ellen set me straight. Oh, she likes me. Likes me a lot." The two of them traded grins. "She likes sex a lot, too."

"Amen," Tony added, and everyone laughed.

"No, this is serious," Janey said. "She'd gotten pissed at me because she didn't like jerking off just any guy and didn't like going down on just any girl. And that's what we did. Used to do, because it's going to be different next year. I promise. Of course, I'm a senior and out of here; we had a team meeting, Sue Ellen's back on the squad. I hope she's captain of the squad next year. I do.

"So, here we are. People Sue Ellen and I know personally, or known personally to people we trust. Eight couples, four individuals and your two hostesses. That's twenty-two altogether, for you football players." There were smiles; I looked around again. Tony and Jack Scott. Actually, not a large number of football players. And Jack Scott was really the star of the baseball team.

"We're here to have fun. Sex, too." More smiles. "Simple rules. If someone says no, well, that's no. This is a coercion free zone. Also booze and drug free zone. Sue Ellen's parents are paranoid about losing their house because someone smoked a joint; not going to happen, is it?" There were a lot of nods.

"There is a cooler with sodas and juice stuff here." She waved at a big Coleman cooler in a corner. "There's more in the kitchen, plus ice tea and lemonade. This isn't our house, and we are not pigs. Use something, put it away. Empty a can, put it in the recycling. Use a glass; the dishwasher is in the kitchen. If it's full, turn it on. If you have some coffee and empty the pot, make a new one. Simple little things.

"Around ten or so, we'll order pizza and Chinese takeout. Whoever answers the door will be dressed; the rest of the time, it's up to you. Please do not go wandering around outside, starkers, except around the pool. Somehow we forgot to mention swim wear," she grinned and there were laughs.

"Sue Ellen's parent's room is out of bounds. Her room and two guest rooms are okay. One of the guest rooms has two double beds, for those who don't mind someone else maybe seeing how you work. By the pool is the pool house; there are five dressing rooms, each with a couch that folds out to a small bed. They are folded out." More smiles. "Most of the furniture has sheets or blankets on them; if they get too gross, there's a laundry basket in the kitchen, and more sheets and blankets on the table next to it.

"This room and the home theater, through there," she pointed to the door. "Feel free to be as frisky as you want; understanding that you aren't going to necessarily have any privacy. That's a personal choice of the people involved. If it bugs you, if anything bugs you, please do us a favor and leave. Once you leave, please don't come back.

"Second to last, Sue Ellen wants us to wind things up by one tomorrow afternoon. If you stay past that, you will be put on the cleanup squad. And last, but not least." She held up several decks of cards. "This is for our icebreaker. A little strip poker. We will break up into two groups of seven and one group of eight and play until there is a winner and a bunch of naked losers."

That brought guffaws from everyone. "We range in age from eighth grade to seniors; eight guys and fourteen girls. There are four girls here who are lesbians. Myself, Jennifer Reese," She pointed to Jenny, "Michelle Paz," Another girl, vaguely oriental; I didn't recognize her. Michelle had long black hair down to the middle of her back, pretty cute. I mentally sighed, she would have been nice!

"And," Janey went on, "Gaby Sanchez." A girl I did recognize from the cheerleading squad. Short, also black hair, but short, very short.

"Guys, if one of us comes on to you, what you do is your affair. But please, don't try to start something with one of us. Our choice, not yours," she motioned towards Sue Ellen. "Maestro, the rest of the introductions, then the ah, pairings for the card games."

Sue Ellen moved forward, stuck out her chest. Wow and double wow! Her nipples were obviously hard, showing through her t-shirt. "Tom Ferguson, who, although he doesn't know it, is the spiritual father of this party. Janey wanted a venue where he was going to have a tough time telling her no." I blushed, but Sue Ellen went on. "My bud, Tony Richardson. We're still friends, gonna be friends until the day we die." She went through the names, starting with the boys. Since Gloria wasn't there, I suspected she had indeed, been grounded.

"Now, we'll get on with the games," Sue Ellen grinned, and held up a thin deck of cards. "I have here, a special deck; eight aces, seven deuces and seven treys. Each of us will draw a card. Aces will meet here," she pointed to a spot off to one side. "Deuces in the theater and treys around the kitchen table."

She smiled. "Janey and I talked about it. We figure boys have shoes and socks, jeans, shorts and a shirt. Seven pieces of clothes. Girls, shoes, most likely no socks, jeans and undies, blouse and bra. Six pieces. Guys first, how many of you have a number other than seven?"

Only Tony raised his hand. "Six," he reported. "I figured, who needs to know if I wear jockey shorts or boxers? Eh? Really?" The room dissolved in laughter.

Then Sue Ellen asked the girls; several were wearing socks, several, like Jenny and Sue Ellen, weren't wearing bras. Girls with socks, got a start on undressing, Sue Ellen had them take off their shoes. Then Janey picked up a box, and started passing out dark blue baseball caps to all of the girls. Each cap had the letters 'SE & J's Party.' on the front; braless girls got two.

"Magic hats, ladies," Sue Ellen said with a grin. "When you lose, find someone to give it to. To show who you'd like to ah, talk to, first."

We all stood up, walked up to Sue Ellen and picked a card. I got an ace, Jenny a three. "Good luck and happy hunting," I whispered to her.

"You too," Jenny told me.

I joined with the other members of the group. Gaby Sanchez and Jack Scott were the only ones I knew half well. Sue Ellen handed me the cards. "You start the deal, pass it to your left, after each hand. Seven-card stud. Whoever has the highest hand chooses who loses something; whoever loses chooses what they lose. If you run out of clothes, you're out. Last person in, will play the other two winners in a showoff, er showdown." She giggled, and then vanished.

Jack looked at us, macho captain of the baseball team, a decent running back. Trying to take command.

"I'm Jack Scott," he waved to me.

"Tom Ferguson."

The girl next to me said she was Mindy Foraker. She was the shortest person in the room, very thin, with shoulder length blonde hair. Next person was Phil Frazier, a lanky redhead, well over six feet. The next girl intrigued me; her eyes were the same color as Mary's, hazel; her eyes were round, mesmerizing. I thought she was about Jenny's age, but I wasn't sure. "Katrina Foleyeva," she introduced herself.

The next girl said, "Fleur Winois." Fleur was almost as busty as Sue Ellen, but much shorter, and much stockier, looked to be a freshman or sophomore. Anna Jackson was a light-skinned black; I'd seen her on the cheerleader squad, but had never talked to her. She was tall and willowy thin, her hair done up in elegant braids; not dreadlocks, but French braids.

The last girl was another blonde, pretty and cute at the same time. "Fay Church."

I saw Gaby give Fay a little smile, saw the smile in return. And so, I thought, it starts. I shuffled the cards, Mindy cut them. When my hand touched hers, there was a small spark; static from the rug. I saw her look at me and smile. I smiled back. Oh yes! I was going to need all my strength for this!

Jack won the first hand, nodded at Fay. "You." Evidently, Jack hadn't seen the exchange; he was surprised to get a shoe. Gaby won the next hand; and she picked Fay too. This time, Fay handed her baseball cap to Gaby. Leaned across the table and they kissed. Well, I hoped Jack got the message.

And, echoing the thought, after that the girls ganged up on Jack. With five people gunning for him, he quickly went out. However, in there I won a hand and smiled at Mindy. "You." She handed me her hat, still smiling. Cool! I smiled back and put the cap on my head.

It was pretty clear pretty quickly who was embarrassed about losing clothing essentials and who was not. Phil picked Anna Jackson, and she promptly doffed her blouse, revealing that she was one of the girls without a bra. I tried not to obviously stare, but Anna was the first black girl I'd seen anywhere close to nude; she had really nice breasts, peach shaped, with nipples that were much blacker than the rest of her skin, small and tight. Now that I could see them, they looked erect, too.

No doubt about it, I thought. There's not a girl sitting in front of me this second I wouldn't want to do it with. Fleur maybe, was the exception. Even Fleur sat and looked backed at me with an interested, contemplative expression. Like she was wondering what it would be like to be with me. Again, I tried not to smile. The math was, I thought, simply superb. The party was slated to last more than twenty hours. Fourteen girls, of whom four were nominally lesbian; of course I was moderately sure that Jenny was going to be with a guy this weekend, if no one else, me. I was also tolerably sure at some point in time I'd be with Janey. That was still more than an hour apiece, almost two hours. Plenty of time to do the job right.

The thing to do, I thought, was get past the card game, get started. I turned my attention back to the game. Once Jack was out and Anna was bare from the waist up, people started getting more into the spirit of things, although it was obvious Gaby and Fleur were not going to be comfortable, nude. Fay was almost as nervous; Mindy was, I thought, curious. So was Katrina.

Phil was trying to appear blase, like he got naked with a group of horny girls every day. Kind of the attitude I was trying to show.

I was picked twice in a row by Anna, and was shoe-less. Phil won again, and Anna pulled off her jeans. Anna was wearing French cut panties; which, she showed off, turning her back to us while she was taking off her jeans. From behind, they barely covered anything, revealing ass cheeks that were, I thought, even more spectacular than Jenny's.

Any time Gaby or Fay won, they would choose the other; still it took a while for anyone other than Anna to get to the interesting point, and that was Fay. She took off her blouse, showing a filmy bra. Katrina smiled slightly when I chose her, and she too skipped the usual order, and took off her t-shirt. Katrina's breasts were again, very, very nice. Hemispheres, but small, with very tiny nipples that were almost the same color as her skin.

I realized I was in danger of sensory overload; too much of a good thing! I was getting to be like a kid in a candy store; unable to decide what I wanted more, what to pick first. I smiled at Mindy again, and she smiled back. Well, I'd picked, so the rest was waiting.

Anna got on another roll, winning three straight hands; Phil lost everything but his jeans and shorts. Fay won again, and picked Phil. Boxer guy, but his erection was sticking out. Fay giggled, some of the other girls smiled. Phil, showing his true mettle, didn't wilt.

Gaby won, and she too picked Phil. He doffed his shorts, smiled at the group, but stayed in the circle, even if he wasn't playing any more.

Down to six people, things started to pick up. Anna won again, picked Gaby; I won and picked Gaby. She giggled, took of her own shirt, revealing nice, braless breasts. Katrina won, and picked Anna, who promptly took off her panties, revealing a thick mat of pussy hair that obscured just about everything between her legs. Anna won twice more, and picked Katrina both times. Katrina was wearing pale blue panties that bunched up between her legs, more clearly revealing her feminine anatomy than you could see looking at Anna, who wasn't wearing anything. Katrina took off her panties with a small blush, and then she too stayed in the circle.

Gaby went out, then Fleur won twice in a row, and Fay was out. I looked at Anna, who was giggling, then at Mindy. I'd lost my shoes and a sock by that point. Anna had shoes and socks; obviously expecting not to be chosen again. It was, I thought, pretty clear that Anna was using strategy to win; it had never occurred to me to try.

Mindy was at the edge of losing significant clothes. I won, and picked Mindy, the second time I'd picked on her. She shed her blouse. Mindy's breasts were small, little more than puffy nipples; they looked like the breasts of someone eleven or twelve. Fleur won and chose Mindy, who also was wearing blue panties. Fay won and Mindy was out; a pussy as bare as JR's.

Fleur won and chose Anna, who generously doffed a shoe. I won, and made her take off her other. Anna won twice in a row, and Fleur was suddenly down to panties. Fleur was stocky, and had breasts that were perhaps the least appealing of any I'd seen; like pudding, sagging already. A thick waist, her hips were only marginally wider than her waist.

I won and picked Fleur. Her pussy hair was a surprise; like Sue Ellen's, a neatly trimmed vertical bar. On Fleur, though, it was easy to see why: she had the most dramatic tan lines, showing that pussy hair anyplace else would have stuck out of her swim suit. I blinked; Sue Ellen didn't have tan lines! How many times had I come over here to swim? A billion or more; never a hint of skinny-dipping. Obviously, I'd missed something there.

Now it was Anna and I. And the Gods of Cards decided that she'd won enough, and I won three straight hands and she was out.

Sue Ellen, wearing only a t-shirt, was standing a few feet away, and she grinned. "I always knew Tom Ferguson was good. Only in the last few days have I come to learn how tough he is to beat!" She gestured to me. "But now, we have to find out who is the real champ." A girl I didn't know came in, wearing just a bra.

"Tom has a little advantage," Sue Ellen said, as she started shuffling cards. "On the other hand, we outnumber him." Everyone had gathered around, even Jack, although he was holding hands with a girl I knew faintly, Jean Whitman. Tall and buxom, blonde hair.

However, the cards ran straight for me. I won two hands, putting out Sue Ellen first, and then the other girl, Emily Church, Fay's younger sister. Sue Ellen waved to Janey, who tossed Sue Ellen a wadded up t-shirt; Sue Ellen fielded it and held it up. On the front was a picture of the Venus d'Milo, and then she showed the back with a picture of Michelangelo's David. Over David was the legend, 'SE & J's Party' and beneath, 'Poker Champion.'

"Go ahead," Sue Ellen said, "put it on." I stood up and pulled it on. Sue Ellen came up, put her hand on my shoulder. "Good job." Her grip tightened. "Now pants him girl!" Janey dropped in front of me, undid my jeans and hauled them down, revealing that I was definitely interested in all of the feminine pulchritude around me.

From her position, Janey reached out, ran her fingers along my boner. "Cute," she said drolly, "for a guy." Everyone laughed at that, and for a change, I didn't blush.

"I'd say you were cute too," I told Janey, and then my eyes went to Mindy. "But you might get ideas." More chuckles; no doubt about it though, Janey had shot me a zinger and all I'd managed was a pretty lame return.

Janey stood up. "I think it's time to get this party under way!" I glanced around; saw Jenny in conversation with Katrina from the group I'd been in. Janey was talking to Michelle, again I was curious because Michelle looked vaguely oriental, but at the same time she had a Spanish name. Sue Ellen had her arm around a guy I didn't know, and Tony was looking soulfully at Anna Jackson.

I turned to Mindy, and she smiled, nodding at my shirt. "A Champion! Cool!" I lifted the shirt over my head, tossed it on my other things.

"Want to check out the pool?" I asked, and she smiled and nodded.

We went outside. It was still afternoon; the sun was almost hot, the air was still. Mindy nodded at the pool house. "Sure," I said, my stomach suddenly in my throat. It was all well and good to come to an orgy, but now I was going to partake of my first partner. I felt nervous, more nervous than when I'd first seen Marsha Richardson.

That brought a thought to me. My God! I haven't written to her, except the once! As quick as that thought was, the riposte was as fast. I wrote her last; why hadn't I heard back?

Nonetheless, I followed Mindy outside, around the pool and into the pool house. Four of the five doors were still open; she made a beeline for the one farthest from the one already in use.

When we were in the room, the bed neatly made, Mindy turned to me. "Tom?"

"Mindy," I replied earnestly.

"Can I tell you something?" she asked.

"Sure," I replied, curious what she wanted to talk about.

"Could we sit on the bed for a bit? Make out -- pretend we were at a movie or something?"

"Sure," I repeated. I sat down next to her, smiled, and she smiled back. I leaned close, kissed Mindy lightly. She hesitated for a second, and then kissed back. In spite of my own feelings, I realized that Mindy wasn't as ready as I was for what was slated to happen next; I kept the kiss understated, less than full bore. This seemed to suit Mindy, for she did the same thing.

We spent a good half hour, sitting on the bed, kissing. Finally, Mindy pulled back. "I said I had something to say."

I smiled at her. "I'd say, we've been communicating just fine for the last few minutes."

She smiled before turning more serious. "Last summer I met Gordon; he was nice, very nice. I liked him. We went on two dates during the summer; on the second date, he very shyly tried to hold my hand. After a bit, I very shyly let him." I nodded as if I knew all of this. "We dated after school started, going slowly."

Mindy took a deep breath. "On the day after Thanksgiving, we did it. Went all the way." I thought for a second, Mindy was going to cry. "Gordon came; easily. A few minutes, he came again. Easily. I never got close. The week before Christmas, we did it again. He came, and then he came again. I didn't get close. On New Year's Eve, the same thing."

I nodded, finding I wanted to punch this clueless Gordon moron in the nose. "That night Gordon told me he didn't want to go out with me any more, because I just laid there, I didn't care about him."

"Did you?" The question seemed to take her by surprise.

"I thought I did. I don't know. Does it matter? Most girls come when a boy is in her."

"That's not what I've heard," I told her. "I don't know all that many girls well enough to have talked about how it is with other guys, but I've heard that if neither the girl nor the boy know anything, the first few times can be bad. Or worse."

"Really?" I nodded. She smiled shyly. "But I mean, I didn't get close at all."

"Do you masturbate?" Again the question surprised her; Mindy blushed. "Do you?" My voice was low, and curious, not demanding or angry.

"Yes."

"And do you come?" I continued, and she nodded. "Then Mindy, the problem isn't with you, it's with the guy." I pursed my lips. "A lot of boys just want to use a girl as a masturbation aid; they don't care if she enjoys it or not." I reached out and ran my fingers lightly over one of her small breasts. "I care," I said simply.

She reached for my hand with one of her own; for a second I thought she was going to move it away. Instead, she pressed my hand harder against her breast. "I was so desperate, I was thinking I'd see if Janey..." Mindy's words were soft, but filled with longing and not a little desperation.

"Janey can probably help, too," I said with a grin. "But before that..." I leaned close and kissed her, this time much more wattage in the kiss, and I focused my attention on her fat nipple, rubbing it between my thumb and forefinger.

Inside my head, I was marveling how easy it was to be with someone new, someone I hardly knew. Marsha and I had spent an evening together first, basketball, and a dance, then together. Here, just a poker game and now this.

I switched attention to her other breast, sent my tongue into her mouth. Her arms were around me, hugging me tightly. After a few minutes, I pulled back the least bit and smiled at Mindy; her expression was that of a woman who was definitely getting there. I scooted down a bit, licking one of her fat nipples with my tongue, while my hands, now free, stroked her body, teasingly close, but not touching her pussy.

I continued to kiss her breasts, stroking her skin, which was smooth and fine. I kept getting closer and closer to the apex of her legs, until my fingers were trailing through the hollows of her hip, down to her inner thighs. I lifted my head for a second, saw a glazed, happy expression on Mindy's face; her eyes were closed. Much closer still, I thought.

Then I started kissing lower; I could tell when Mindy figured out where my tongue was headed, she gasped softly, but didn't say anything. I kissed liked I'd stroked; slowly growing closer to what I was sure by now was something she wanted. I'd run out of bed, but managed to find a half way comfortable point, half way off.

I checked out her pussy from inches away. Thin, almost invisible pubic hair, relatively longer than most girls, sparse and fine. Her clit was visible, although the tip was curved down, and hidden inside her. I placed a dainty kiss on it, then ran my tongue down the length. Mindy gasped again, and her fingers touched the top of my head.

I reached out, spread her pussy lips apart, sent my tongue questing for the tip of her clit. It wasn't easy to reach; in fact, I used my finger to lift it up so that I could get at it with my tongue. Then I was licking and sucking on it; Mindy got 'there' abruptly, gasping sharply, and then pressing my head down against her pussy.

I licked her clit some more, this time putting my finger inside her. Mindy moaned with pleasure, wiggling as I began to slowly finger fuck her, while still teasing the tip of her clit; which I had noticed was something that definitely got Mindy's attention. For the next few minutes, I steadily fingered her, until I switched my tongue and finger. My tongue, I found, didn't go in nearly as far into her as it did to someone like JR or Jenny; the angles were wrong. On the other hand, my finger had an easy time with her clit, and Mindy came again. Then again.

I blew lightly on her pussy, ran my tongue along her clit again, then slowly started kissing back north. The scene in Armageddon, which I hadn't really thought about much popped into my mind. I grinned, and agreed with Ben Affleck; the question about which was better: going north or going south, was best answered by doing both.

Mindy showered me with hot wet kisses, making it hard to concentrate on putting my erection where we both wanted it, and when it was there, she wrapped her legs around my midsection, pulling me even tighter into her. I moved against her, slowly building up steam; she came again, muffling her cry with her arm. Mindy's legs pulled against me harder; I only slowed a bit, getting close myself.