Chapter 9

I awoke with a start. The circulation to my arm had gotten cut off and needles of pain were shooting through it. I slowly extracted it and scooted a little back from Angie so I could shake and massage it. She continued to slumber, unperturbed.

Watching her, I thought back to the night before. It had been perfect. In fact the whole courtship had been nearly perfect. Things were going extremely well.

That thought caught in my throat. Things never went this well for me, not like they did for the beautiful people! I started to feel the panic in my belly. I was suddenly sure that I'd blow things with Angie. I tried to calm down, taking some deep breaths. I was being irrational, I knew I was. There wasn't any reason I didn't deserve good things too. I kept trying to remind myself that I was a pretty decent guy, and that a woman like Angie would be happy to be with me. I tried to avoid wondering what was wrong with her since she wasn't running away. It was irrational, I knew.

I concentrated harder on my breathing, forcing myself to physically calm down. I was lucky to have Angie, I knew. I'd had enough bad luck. Wasn't it my turn to have some good luck? That thought comforted me. I let my mind wander back to all the things that had gone wrong when I was a kid. Yes, I deserved this after having survived all that. I was able to calm myself down a little more. Slowly, my pulse and breathing returned to normal. I didn't actually fall asleep again, but I know I dozed.

When I next awoke, it was from Angie snuggling into my side. It was brighter, so I knew it must be morning. Angie was only partially awake, her eyes still bleary when she opened them and smiled. I wrapped my arm around her, pulling her close, as we continued to hatch.

As the room slowly brightened, Angie's breathing became more regular and she started to slowly caress my chest. She skimmed over the scars as if they weren't even there. I started returning the caresses, once again marveling at the touch of skin on skin. Angie turned up and met my eyes.

"Good morning," she said.

"Definitely a good morning," I replied.

"Glad you stayed?"

"Absolutely!"

"Good."

With that, Angie returned to running her hand over my torso, pushing the sheets aside as needed. As she slid a little lower, the proximity stirred other things to life. At first I was mildly embarrassed at my growing erection, but then realized that was silly. She already knew what I looked like naked, what difference did it make whether I was hard or not?

After a while, it became clear that Angie was deliberately trying to provoke an erection. As I got harder, she teased me even more, dancing her fingers down and around but never quite touching my cock. I groaned and Angie looked up at me.

"You're up early this morning," she teased.

I groaned at her pun and pulled her close for a kiss. She returned it and stopped her teasing, wrapping her hand around my shaft. The kisses turned hotter and soon I was reaching for another condom. Once it was on, Angie pushed me on my back and straddled me.

Our sex was tender and slow. Angie kept eye contact and she continued to raise and lower herself. She leaned forward frequently to kiss me, until her hair cascaded in the way, and then she'd lean back. Our sex was ... I began to get a sense of where the term "making love" had come from. Oh Gawd, could Angie actually feel that way about me?

Angie distracted me by leaning forward for another kiss. I arched my back up and started kissing down her neck, searching for her breasts. I was only able to find them for a moment before Angie pulled back, sitting up again.

"Switch?" she asked.

I nodded. With a little bit of acrobatics, we maneuvered into the missionary position, and Angie wrapped her arms and legs around me. I began to thrust, slowly, and then built up the pace.

"I want you to come," Angie whispered in my ear.

I pulled back and looked at her, surprised.

"Come for me," she repeated.

I nodded and sped up a little. I soon began to gasp as my orgasm took me. When I'd recovered, I pulled out and collapsed beside her.

"You didn't orgasm," I said.

Angie shrugged her shoulders.

"I came last night."

"You didn't come this morning."

"That's all right. I really wanted to feel you have your orgasm." She gave me a quick kiss and then got up and headed for the bathroom.

"I believe someone was going to fix me breakfast?" she called just before she disappeared through the door.

I nodded and got myself cleaned up and into the kitchen. This time Angie watched me cook. The conversation was pleasant, but I couldn't keep thinking about the morning sex. Had I blown it by not giving her an orgasm? The way she looked at me while she was riding me—could she really love me? I hoped that my distractions didn't show and that my worries would fade with time.

They had only faded somewhat when a different problem popped up. I was at work on Monday when my cell phone rang.

"John? This is Lynn. I need a favor."

"Sure! What is it?"

"It's Billy. The school called and said he'd been in a fight. They wanted me to come down, but I have a test in fifteen minutes and Billy's grandmother is in Portland this week. Can you go?"

"Sure." My gut was already churning. "Was he hurt?"

"They didn't say. It sounded more like he was in trouble and they wanted to talk with me about it."

"Oh. Then I definitely should go."

"Thanks. I knew his temporary babysitter wasn't going to be up to it."

I had to agree and we were soon off the phone. I drove down to the school feeling a mixture of anger, fear, and dread.

I was immediately shown into the assistant principal's office. Billy sat in a chair to one side, swinging his feet and staring at his shoes. I couldn't see any obvious marks on him. A stocky middle-aged man was standing up and moving around his desk to shake hands with me.

"I'm Mr. Henderson, the assistant principal."

"John Grant, friend of the family."

"Have a seat." He motioned to a guest chair.

I took it and looked over at Billy. He'd raised his head and looked at me. His lower lip was thrust out a little, almost trembling, but his eyes were fierce. He remained silent.

"So what's the problem?" I asked, once I'd gotten settled.

"It seems that Billy started a fight in the cafeteria today. Apparently two other boys were picking on another student and Billy came over and punched one of them. They exchanged a few blows before the cafeteria monitors could break it up."

"Who were the other boys?"

Mr. Henderson looked a little surprised at my question.

"Billy punched a boy named Jesse Jensen. The other boys involved were Frank Carpenter and Ralph Shepard."

"Ah."

"Fortunately, no one was seriously hurt. However, we can't have students starting fights in school."

"You said that Jesse and Frank were picking on Ralph?" I probed.

"They were apparently making comments about his weight and what he had chosen to eat for lunch. However, teasing does not justify starting a fight."

"Oh, please." I tried to keep my voice calm. It wouldn't do me any good to yell at Mr. Henderson. "That wasn't teasing, that was bullying. Jesse and Frank have been bullying Billy and Ralph and their friends for most of the year. You guys have done nothing to stop it and now you're punishing Billy for trying to stop it himself."

Mr. Henderson looked uncomfortable, but also determined.

"We can't have students starting fights in school."

"You can't have kids bullying other kids either," I shot back.

We stared at each other for several minutes. Mr. Henderson's eyes narrowed and his voice was more steely when he spoke again.

"In addition to starting the fight," Mr. Henderson continued, "Billy kept yelling "poopy dog!" as he hit Jesse. Billy won't say what that's about, but we don't tolerate such language in school."

"I'm afraid that's my fault," I admitted. "I told Billy that training bullies was like training dogs. You had to rub their nose in their poop when they shit in the wrong place." I quickly glanced at Billy and caught his mild shocked expression at my language. Oh well.

"Do you own a dog, Mr. Grant?"

"No."

"Because if you did, Mr. Grant, you'd know that that is not the way to train a dog. You have to firmly say 'No!' and then show them the correct behavior. It takes patience and persistence and kindness."

"I'd love to hear how Billy can have kindness when he's being bullied!" I retorted.

Mr. Henderson glared at me. I glared back.

"I'm suspending Billy for two days for starting the fight."

I nodded.

"I'll convey that to his mother. We'll have Billy back in school on Thursday."

Mr. Henderson leaned back, crossing his arms across his chest.

"You can go."

I motioned for Billy to get his book bag and stood up. Then I turned and looked at Mr. Henderson.

"So what happens to Frank and Jesse?" I asked.

Mr. Henderson first bit back his words, then apparently decided he could tell me.

"They will both get detention for a week," he said.

It was my turn to bite back words. Complaining about fairness wouldn't help.

That didn't prevent Billy from complaining when we got outside.

"That's no fair!" he cried. "They got detention and I got suspended!"

I put my hand on his shoulder, steadying him.

"No, it's not fair," I answered. "But you still did the right thing."

"I got suspended!" Billy was starting to cry.

We were at the car now so I turned to him and put my hands on his shoulders.

"Yes, you got suspended. But you still did the right thing. Sometimes that happens; we get punished for doing the right thing. But we still have to do it."

Billy looked up at me, rubbing his eyes to push away the beginnings of tears.

"Look," I said. "You stopped Jesse from picking on Ralph. For today, if not a lot longer. That's a good thing. You did the right thing. It's just that sometimes we have to pay a price for doing the right thing. Kind of like buying a present. Today you bought Ralph a present by getting Jesse off his back. The price is two days suspension. Now it might be a higher price than you expected to pay, but I think it was worth it."

"You do?"

"I do."

Lynn wasn't so sure when she got home. She sent Billy to his room and demanded the full story from me. I told her everything, including my conversation in the parking lot with Billy.

"I don't like it, John. I don't want Billy thinking it's okay to get suspended."

"I don't think he will, unless you let it turn into a vacation."

"That's not going to happen. Billy's going to be grounded for a while!"

I nodded in acquiescence.

"Just don't make it too long. We don't want him to get the idea that he shouldn't defend his friends."

"He started the fight, John. I don't want him starting fights!"

"He threw the first punch," I corrected. "He didn't start it. Jesse started it, long ago if you remember."

Lynn scowled at me.

"Look, I'm not saying he should be let off the hook," I continued. "He needs to know that there are consequences for his actions and that he can't evade those consequences. I'm just asking that you don't pile onto those consequences. He's going through enough of a hard time as it is."

"He's not the only one."

I was startled by Lynn's non-sequitur.

"I'm ... I'm sorry, John. It's just ... well, I think I failed the test today and I need to do well in this class if I'm going to graduate in May..." Lynn paused to catch her breath.

"The reason Mom's in Portland is that she's looking for a house. She's decided she wants to move closer to her brothers and sister and she said she'll wait until after I graduate. If I don't graduate in May..."

"You and Billy will be fine," I reassured her.

"I know. It's just hard sometimes."

"Yeah, sometimes it is."

"Sometimes it is." Lynn forced a smile. She took a deep breath and composed herself. Then she reverted to a frown.

"I'm going to talk to Billy. Can you wait here?"

I nodded and she headed down the hall.

I wondered how long I should stay. I wanted to talk about the sex with Angie but maybe that was better left until our usual time on Thursday. Lynn took the decision out of my hands when she returned.

"I told Billy I was proud of him for standing up for Ralph but disappointed that he'd started a fight and gotten suspended. Billy said that was a price he had to pay and I said that I was glad he understood that because he was grounded while he was suspended."

"Not longer?"

"Not longer. Anyway, I think you should go, John. He's going to want to play with you if you're here and he doesn't need that temptation."

I nodded. "Let me say goodbye to him, then."

Lynn acquiesced and I went to Billy's room and reminded him of how proud of him I was before collecting farewell hugs from both of them and heading to my own home.

My own home. It felt pretty empty and spartan. I wondered what it would be like with Angie in it. That gave me an idea. I called and invited her to spend the Saturday night the 28^th, when I knew Ashley would be at her dad's. Angie was delighted to accept and joked that maybe it was her turn to cook breakfast for me. I reveled in that fantasy for the next couple of days.

Those days passed all too quickly. When Thursday arrived, I approached Lynn's door with some trepidation. The reality of Billy's suspension and my need to talk to Lynn about my poor sexual skills were foremost in my mind. My stomach churned a little, but just a little. It calmed when Lynn opened the door, obviously relaxed and smiling.

"Billy's okay. He's in his bedroom catching up on his homework."

"So no problems on his first day back?"

"Apparently not, but go talk to him."

With that I headed down the hall. Billy was hard at work at his desk when I poked my head in the door, but put his pencil down once he saw me.