Chapter 3: The Morning After

I wasn't sure what time Gail woke in the morning, around six, I think. We smiled at each other, and then Gail squirmed around on the bed, bringing her mouth to my pussy and her pussy to my mouth. We made love again, but not for nearly as long as before. In the early morning light I could easily see every detail of what made her a woman; I could see where my tongue went, what gave her the most pleasure. I ran my palms over her round bottom, enjoying the play of her muscles beneath my hand and the knowledge that I was causing her growing arousal.

And Gail was using her tongue as she had last night, and my own emotions were a flame and fire inside me, swiftly rising until I came in an incandescent burst of sensations. In spite of the best will in the world, I was asleep again seconds later.

When I awoke, the sun was shining through the window and I was alone. I rolled over and looked at the clock; it was eight thirty. I rolled back, feeling sore muscles like I hadn't felt for years, but feeling warm and pleasant, sated with memories of hot gusts of hormones and pleasure. I sighed, even if I was a little glad that I was alone. I needed, I thought, time to think.

How could I have done what I'd done? I'd made love to a schoolgirl! Not just once, but over and over, and when I awoke, the first thing I wanted to do was make love to her again!

I meditated for a few minutes, and then laughed at myself. Laura Alban Hunt: wake up! Who made love to whom last night? Gail had made love to me. It was her choice as much as mine. It had been Gail's desire that matched or exceeded my own. What had Gail said last night? Making love to a woman was like falling off a bike? I hadn't really appreciated the thought before, but now I did.

Relax, let go. Enjoy. If the person you are with wants to be with you, that's all that it takes. Don't get in the way of nature and you'll be okay. I nodded to myself. Next question: had I fallen for Gail?

The warm, above all bright, sun of an Arizona morning cast the room in sharp relief of light and shadow. It seemed to make things clearer. I had to shake my head. No, I didn't think so. Gail had desires; I had desires. We'd been together and slaked them. There had been no protestations or statements of love and future fidelity. With a sudden certainty I knew I'd just had a one-night stand and why they were so popular.

Once or twice with Roger I'd been really, really horny, pushing past where he wanted to go -- far more common was the opposite. We had been, I thought, civilized lovers. Neither of us wanting to push the other places they didn't want to go and we would tell the other and we would nod and roll over and go to sleep. Still, we recognized particular hunger at times, and even if we hadn't wanted to, made love anyway. Last night and this morning had been like those times of particular hunger, at least for me.

The sun spun in its path, a ray of sunlight rammed into my eye socket. Like a spy ray in a bad science fiction novel, it skewered into my brain, dissecting my world. Roger is dead, Laura. Roger is dead, he's gone forever. Atomized. I sat up, hugging my knees. I swallowed a few times, fighting tears for a second, and then surrendering.

Remember Roger, Laura. But stop comparing everything in the world to him: not sex, not how he might have had one or two objections to his daughter becoming sexual, or his wife spending the night with a sixteen-year-old girl. So many, many things. I know what he thought; his thoughts were in my head. Stop using him as a crutch, Laura.

I heard a faint sound in the hall outside my bedroom; I had a second to wipe away the tears.

My bedroom door opened, Gail poked her head in. "Awake?"

"Yes." I felt like a gargoyle, all hard and twisted grimace, partly melted at the same time.

Gail grinned. "We have a surprise for you."

She opened the door, and I saw she was dressed in jeans and a blouse; I wasn't sure if I was disappointed or grateful. Susan came in with a tray, sat it down in front of me on the bed. Jamie was a step behind, carrying a glass of orange juice.

"Gail says it's a lot easier to get invited back," Susan told me, "serving our hostess breakfast in bed and cleaning up after ourselves before she gets up."

I was aware that I was nude and not completely covered. Aware that all sorts of stickiness covered portions of my anatomy, including some visible to Susan and Jamie. My daughter and her friend were obviously freshly showered, bright-eyed and perky happy. It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out why they were chipper.

"Please?" Susan asked, and I nodded. Anything reasonable, daughter mine, and it's yours. Anything at all. I have no idea what I will say to you if you ask me what I did last night.

"See, piece of cake," Gail told the duo. "Laura, enjoy. Take your time getting up. We'll be done in a bit."

"I need a shower, too," I said, my mind on my personal grunginess.

I saw an embarrassed look on Susan's face. "What?" I asked.

"We sorta used up all the hot water. We're heating some on the stove for dishes. But it's going to be a while before you can have a hot shower."

"I'll manage," I told her.

Then the three were gone and I was left with two eggs, over easy, sausage links and two pancakes drowned in maple syrup. Susan, I thought, had told them what I like. It was a genuinely nice thing; I'd planned on spending the morning getting things cleaned up, breakfast hadn't been something I'd thought about.

I made a mental bet with myself. I'd gotten to know Gail very, very well last night. I'd known Susan her entire life. I was certain I wasn't going to find any mess out there at all.

I was just drying off when Gail stuck her head in the bathroom; I saw her eyes go to my breasts, and then saw her smile. "One of the moms just showed up, I told her you were in the shower. I led her through the family room, to the kitchen where we were finishing cleaning up to show off our good deed." She grinned and I grinned back.

I rushed then, getting dressed and going out to say hello. The woman thanked me, and then vanished with her daughter.

In the next hour there was a steady stream of parents, all moms. Linda arrived in mid-flow. "Don't suppose you have some tea?" she asked.

Susan giggled. "Mom always has tea made."

Susan went to fetch it from the fridge, while Linda looked around the kitchen.

"Well, you survived a dozen teenagers. No visible signs of a tornado."

"It wasn't that bad; in fact, they were perfect." I waved at the tidy kitchen. "Less maintenance than just Susan and myself."

We both chuckled, and Susan stuck out her tongue.

Gail came over to us. "My mom's here. Thanks Laura."

I met her eyes, asking if she'd be back. "I'll call later this week," Gail told me. "Thanks a million, I had a good time, everyone had a good time."

"You're welcome anytime, Gail," I said, feeling oddly embarrassed at what I thought was my manifestly obvious desire to get back in bed with Gail again as soon as I could.

Gail went out of the room, Susan and Jamie trailing along with her, all talking animatedly. Linda seemed in no hurry to leave the kitchen, so we stayed behind.

Linda sighed, and I looked at her. "My sister is many things, Laura. Many things. Uptight and straight as an arrow, those things among the others. Did I mention not broad-minded at all?"

Did Linda have any idea of what had happened? I had a feeling she had some idea. Linda changed the topic to school and teachers, which left me greatly relieved.

A few minutes later the last of the others left and Susan and Jamie came in the kitchen. "Can I stay a bit longer, Mom? Can I swim?" Jamie asked Linda.

"You want to swim in a day-old yucky suit?" Linda asked in disbelief.

I saw Jamie glance at Susan. My daughter looked at me. "Can we skinny-dip, Mom?" Susan asked.

I nodded, and Linda added, "Work on tan lines, girls. Not boiling the water out of the pool."

Susan blushed, and then the two of them were gone.

Linda's eyes met mine. "Ah, teen love! So sweet!"

"I told you I didn't make cheer in high school. I didn't make it into bed until graduate school." I held her eyes. "I don't begrudge Susan anything I missed. I just want her to be happy."

"Happy is good! I told Jamie relationships are swell, but that grades were more important. If her grades slip then that's it! No relationships! No cheerleading, either. A powerful, powerful motivator." She waved towards the back, where we could hear laughs and splashes. "It has worked really well. The cheer squad at Scottsdale has the highest GPA of any extracurricular activity at school, with the exception of the chess club. Jamie's grades, always good, are virtually perfect."

I laughed, nodding.

She smiled too. "It isn't as much of a bother as some think to have these sleepovers. Still, there's such a thing as too much of a good thing. So, this is the fourth since last fall. Too many parents are like my sister."