Chapter 18

Monday, April 1, 2002

When I awoke, I was aware of soft movement in the bed, soft sounds of passion. I was a little surprised, because I was lying there not involved. Then I heard JR murmur, "I'm glad you like this."

Shannon sighed. "What's not to like?" Her breath caught and I knew she'd had a climax. "When Tom did this the first time, I couldn't believe how good it felt. Oh Joanna, I like this so much!"

JR giggled lightly, but I could tell her mouth was busy. "Tom's the best. Mom's almost as good. Dad too. Jennifer as well, if she takes a few more lessons from Tom."

"I feel bad. I like this, love this; I wish I wanted to do it back."

There was another gasp from Shannon. "Mmmm," she murmured.

"Shannon, Tom might be the best there is at going down on a girl, but when it comes to finger fucking, no one, no one at all, is close to what you do. Trust me Shannon, do me the way you do me best, and I'll go down on you all you want."

Shannon's breathing took off, rapid and shallow, until she was gasping. I heard JR chuckle. "We'll wake Tom up yet."

"Ahhhhh, yesssss!" Shannon muttered. "And he should sleep. It must have been horrible, what happened yesterday."

I felt the bed move; I realized JR was getting off the end. "I'm going to get some sleep, Shannon. Later, come to my room and we can do this again."

Shannon got up, went to her. I could see them kissing in the dim light of the room. After a second, Shannon whispered in wonder, "Joanna... I'm falling in love with you."

Joanna sighed and I could see the kiss was going into overdrive; I saw JR's hands running over Shannon's butt, hot and horny. After a few minutes, I heard JR come loudly; evidently Shannon had been fingering her during the kiss. "Night, sweet Shannon. I want you. Again and again." Then JR was gone, silently out the door.

Shannon crawled back into the bed, rolled in next to me and put her arm around my chest, drawing herself close. It was like earlier; I was warm, loved, and that sufficed for me. I was asleep again moments later.

The next time I awoke was much later, and I was alone in bed. Mary knocked again on the door and repeated my name. "I'm awake," I told her, and getting up to let her in.

"Ellen wanted me to wake you up if you weren't already," she said. This morning Mary was wearing black slacks and a nice blouse.

I smiled at her and patted the bed. Mary laughed and shook her head. "Ms. Johannsen will be here in about forty-five minutes. You need a shower, then get dressed and have a little breakfast. I'm off to work in a few minutes. Dave is staying here to run you around until you can get your car. It's going to be a long day, I'm afraid."

I stroked her cheek and grinned. "I'll save some energy for later."

She nodded, her eyes searching mine. "I met you little more than a week ago.

"I still don't know what I've liked the most about it. Making love to you. Making love to Ellen, to David." She kissed me lightly. "Most amazing, I think, is being seduced by Elizabeth. My own daughter, the virgin." Our eyes met as she shook her head in wonder. "I know Ellen has been with Joanna and Jennifer, Penny with her mom. But shy Elizabeth with me, like that..." She shook her head. "And tomorrow, Elizabeth wants us to sleep together. You, me and her."

I blinked. Mary sensed my hesitation and shrugged. "I told her I didn't think it would work; I don't see how it would work with three people trying to love each other at once."

I was tempted to say that in my experience, mostly not all that well, but decided at the last minute that there were some things Mary didn't need to know.

Mary turned serious. "What with one thing and another yesterday, I didn't get to tell you. We're going to have a memorial service for Bill tomorrow morning. Ellen and Dave have begged off, so has Jennifer. JR said she'd ride with you."

"No problem," I told Mary. JR knew me better than anyone, she knew I'd go. I could tell Mary wasn't comfortable asking me, but it didn't matter. Of all the things I'd learned since Tony asked me to escort Marsha to a basketball game and a dance, being there for a friend was what I'd learned first and best.

Mary grinned suddenly. "Now, get going! We both have things to do! Places to go! And if Elizabeth wants to try this, I'll try it." I nodded, and she was gone.

I showered, put on jeans and a better shirt than usual.

The meeting with Eleanor Johannsen took almost two hours, going over the legal issues involved with becoming foster parents for Jenny. Dad and our lawyer, Bill Carstairs, did most of the talking, Jenny and I did most of the sitting quietly. JR, Elizabeth and Shannon spent most of the morning in the pool.

That finished almost in time for lunch; the lawyer told me that I had an appointment downtown with the police at one. After that, Dad and I conferred. I had my police interview and I had to pick up my car from Sue Ellen's. The girls wanted to be dropped off at Scottsdale Mall for the afternoon.

Dad drove them there first, and gave JR money for lunch at the food court. Dad and I ate a Church's Fried Chicken place for lunch, followed by another hour with the police.

They finally had someone competent to ask questions; although when I said something about it later, Bill Carstairs told me it was a deputy city attorney who'd been the intelligent one asking questions, not one of the detectives.

Afterwards, I asked Dad if we could stop off and visit Janey before we got my car.

Sure enough, there were a few cheerleaders there, including Gloria and Sue Ellen. Sue Ellen all but dragged me in to see Janey.

Janey was lying on her side, and when she saw me she grimaced. "I suppose if any guy should see me like this, it should be you." I wasn't sure what she meant; Sam's disgusting words still echoed in my ears. Janey waved at her midsection. "The bastard shot me in the ass. In one side, out the other."

I blushed, and Janey laughed. "Stupid son of a bitch!" Janey looked at me, shaking her finger at me in anger. "I wish you'd have killed him!"

I shook my head. "Even now, I don't want that." I looked at her, and decided that the police could go fuck themselves. "Janey, Sam's parents are missing. The police think he killed them; they're going to charge him with first-degree murder; special circumstances and all of that. Sam's on course for a lethal injection in a couple of years."

She looked at me, and then shook her head. "I've never had much use for my father, but he told me something that I've never forgotten when Mom wanted him to call in sick for her, because she had a hangover. 'Never do someone else's dirty work for them. You make it easier for them the next time to have you do it for them.' Six weeks later, my mother was busted for DWI; she could have killed someone. I'm sorry, Tom, it was a stupid thing to say. I wish I'd had a shot at him, though."

She looked at Sue Ellen, Gloria and two other girls. "The rest of you, let me have some time with Tom." The cheerleaders promptly filed out.

"I'm sorry about the other night," Janey told me.

"You don't have anything to apologize for."

"Oh," Janey murmured, "Sue Ellen had some words for me about leaving early. I had to think; life's been a bitch lately, and that's no shit."

I nodded. "Yeah!" We traded looks of mutual understanding.

"I don't think I'll ever be with a guy, not even going down on them any more." She waved at my midsection. "But if I do, he's going to have a hell of an act to follow, Tom."

"I just try to do the best I can," I told her. "That, and since I didn't perform at all, I'll be easy to beat."

"All these years, I never gave a shit, never thought about other people. I thought everyone was like me, just wanting to have fun. Now I don't even have Sue Ellen." Janey grimaced. "She and Tony are going to get back together."

I shrugged; what about Sue Ellen and Mindy? They'd been pretty tight at the party.

"I'm going to be here for a while, they have to do reconstructive surgery on my ass," she said with a grimace. "Damned son of a bitch!

"But I'll be out by the middle of the month. Then I have to take it easy for another couple of weeks. That'll run it out until the end of May. I'm going to have a party, a Janey party. Sue Ellen and I learned a lot from our party. So not all night, and not an orgy. Just a party for friends. You and Jennifer are invited."

"Thanks, Janey," I told her. As I said that, a nurse came in the room, looked at me pointedly. I told Janey to take care, and went back out in the hallway. Sue Ellen took me by the hand and dragged me to an empty waiting room a ways down the hall.

"It's been hell, let me tell you," Sue Ellen told me. "My parents think I did okay, but Tony's father grounded him."

Sue Ellen grinned at me. "I reminded my parents that I'd asked for and gotten their permission for the party. That it wasn't my fault, or anyone else's fault that Sam crashed it. But, somehow a lot of parents didn't hear about it being a coed sleep over. I pointed out to my parents that they'd known and approved, and told me I didn't need to have a chaperone if we would behave responsibly. As far as I'm concerned, we did."

I nodded; I wasn't entirely sure about my own actions, but in general, I thought she was right.

"Now, Janey's going to have another party after school is out. Coed, but no sleep over. Chaperones, so probably no hanky panky."

I laughed. "Three weeks ago, that was the kind of party I went to. Shouldn't be a big deal now."

"Tony and I are getting back together Friday night," Sue Ellen said, looking at me.

"I heard," I told her.

"Good. Poor Tony," Sue Ellen sighed. "Fleur's parents are only in town until the end of the week. Tony's grounded, and his father is determined to enforce it. I think that situation is about to explode; not a Sam Reese type explosion, but more like a Jennifer-type explosion. My dad told Tony that if he wanted, he could stay at our place. Kind of like Jennifer and you guys."

I wasn't sure that would work, but it might give Tony a chance to work something out with his father. There sure were a lot of tangled strands. Sue Ellen patted my cheek, "And thanks, Tom, for stopping Sam."

"I had help, and you sure did your part, too!"

She nodded, leaned close and hugged me. I felt her nipples come erect under her blouse and I backed away, embarrassed. Sue Ellen grinned, her voice dropped to a whisper. "Tom, like I said, Friday night for Tony. Before then, I want to be with you again. I don't know where, I don't know when just yet, but..."

Sue Ellen left, and I was left shaking my head in wonder. Why was it that one girl after another wanted to go to bed with me?

I was still standing there thinking, when Gloria came in; she'd been waiting in the hall. "Tom."

"Hi, Gloria!" I said with pleasure. She was looking much better than the last time I'd seen her. That and she was wearing shorts and a tank top; very, very nice!

"I got grounded," she told me.

"I figured."

"Then yesterday, that thing at Sue Ellen's. My parents think we are all wild and crazy."

"Sam's not going to be around again. Ever," I said with confident assurance, although I did add to myself, 'unless the police screw it up again.'

"Yeah," Gloria looked at me. "I wish I'd been there."

"Your family would have totally freaked out," I told her.

"Oh yeah!" Gloria said with emphasis. She looked at me for a long moment. "Could we go out sometime? I only got grounded for a week. Sue Ellen and Janey really went to bat for me with my parents."

My first thought was sarcastic and unworthy; no I didn't need to get an appointment book to keep track of my assignations. I met her eyes. "I'd like that," I told her.

"This Friday? You don't think it's too forward, me asking?"

"No," I told Gloria, "it's not too forward. In fact, one of these days real soon now, I should try asking a girl out." I'd asked Shannon out, once. Other than that, it was always the other way; except Marsha and that had more or less been the other way, too.

I got her address and phone number, and then went down to where Dad was waiting. "Sorry it took so long," I told him.