Chapter 14

William was in the kitchen-watching Marguerite prepare dinner while Ed was in the pool swimming thirty laps. Although it was typically a difficult thing to do, Ed grinned broadly as he swam. He enjoyed being home. It had taken him almost five minutes to settle in and feel comfortable. He was looking forward to remaining at home for good even though this was just a short visit.

A low moan echoed through the pool room with sufficient volume that Ed could hear it over the splashing created by swimming. Ed tried to ignore the activities taking place just a few yards away, but he couldn’t resist the temptation. He glanced over to the side of the pool and chuckled.

In a poolside chair, Captain Jones was getting his cock sucked by the diminutive Mona. She had approached him with her eyes focused on his cock. Without a hello or acknowledgment of the man, she had knelt between his legs and gazed upon his cock as if in worship. He had been warned about this particular behavior of Mona’s, but hadn’t believed Ed. Seeing her between his legs, he didn’t know how to react.

During the past few months, Captain Jones had rejected all offers of sex, despite his real need for release, believing they were being offered in pity for his injury. He couldn’t stand the idea of a ‘pity fuck.’ With Mona, there was no chance that her interest was pity. He doubted that she even noticed his amputated leg. Too horny to put up much of a fight, the soldier accepted her attention.

It didn’t take long before he released his come into her mouth with a groan. Too much time had gone by to last long. She backed off his cock and looked up at him, seeing him for the first time. Breathless, he said, “Thank you, Ma’am. You have no idea how much I needed to be touched by a sexy woman in that manner.”

Months of therapy to control her fixation had just been undermined by five minutes of inattention. Mona was furious with herself for having lost control once again, but his statement chased away the majority of her anger. She didn’t know why his words touched her, but they had touched her deeply. She bit her lip and looked up at his face afraid of what she would observe. Seeing the expression of real appreciation on his face, she was surprised to hear herself saying, “It was my pleasure.”

Hoping that she now saw him the person, rather than as a cock, he asked, “Would you mind sitting here with me for a while?”

Surprised by the offer, Mona wanted to accept since he was the most handsome man she had met since Ed Biggers. Considering her recent behavior, she had expected him to chase her away. As she was about to answer, Ed asked, “When’s Marguerite serving dinner?”

Reminded of her kitchen duties, Mona replied, “Normal dinner time. I was just about to go back there.”

The lie hurt, but Ed let it pass without comment although Nathan noticed his grimace. Nathan suggested, “Maybe we can get together later.”

“Sure,” answered Mona as she stood up and headed towards the door. She paused upon reaching it and looked back at Nathan wondering if he was the one. Deciding it was too early to know, she raced off to the kitchen.

After watching her leave, Ed climbed out of the pool and sat beside Captain Jones. He had not heard much of their conversation other than Nathan’s invitation for her to join him by the pool.

Sighing, Ed said, “Be careful. She’s far more fragile than you might think.”

Nathan had watched Mona run from the room and thought about what would make a woman act in that manner. He had noticed the change in expression when he had said that she was a sexy woman. In a soft voice, he said, “Fragile? Yes, I’d say she’s very fragile. More than that though, she’s desperate. She’s the kind of woman who will agree to a gang-bang just so men would see her as an adult woman.”

“Pardon?”

“She doesn’t feel like a woman,” answered Nathan feeling the rightness of his answer. He trusted his intuition more than logic.

“I don’t understand,” replied Ed looking at the soldier in confusion. He wondered why she wouldn’t feel like a woman since she was a woman.

“She’s small, flat chested, and has almost no curves on her body. She doesn’t feel like a woman and feels a need to prove it somehow. How does a woman prove to herself and others that she’s a woman rather than a little girl? She has sex.”

“That sounds like some kind of pop psychology answer,” commented Ed wondering if the young man was correct.

Talking to himself, Nathan said, “If she grows her hair out, she looks like a little girl. If she wears it short, then she looks like a little boy. Either way, she isn’t viewed as an adult. She probably believes that the only men who would be interested in her are probably pedophiles and they would demand she act like a little girl. That’s the last thing that she wants.”

Ed listened as Nathan talked to himself. It was an interesting theory, but he wasn’t sure that he believed it. Nathan continued his monologue. “Her body is too small to get implants of any significant size. Anything beyond an A cup would look ridiculous and she knows it.”

Interrupting the stream of consciousness, Ed asked, “So what would you do?”

“I’d ask her to wear business suits, make up, and to wear her hair in a style that is very mature,” answered Nathan.

“Interesting,” replied Ed. After a moment of thought, he said, “I doubt she can find a business suit that is her size. She’s probably wears a size zero.”

Nathan was silent for a minute as he considered what Ed had said. The odds were high that Ed was correct. After a minute, he said, “If you will excuse me for a minute, I have some errands to run.”

Smiling at the obvious nature of the errands that Nathan was undertaking, Ed said, “Dinner is around seven.”

“Thanks,” replied the soldier as he headed to his room to get dressed. He had a lot to do before they left for the desert the next morning.

Ed sat in the poolside chair wondering what Nathan had seen in Mona that he had missed. He wasn’t alone in the pool room for long. Claire along with Dan entered the room from the outside entrance. Claire was dressed in a very nice red dress. It was cut low on the top and flowed down to her knees. Dan was wearing a tailored suit that actually made him look handsome despite ears that stuck out. Seeing the pair of them together, Ed asked, “What’s up?”

“Just got back from work,” said Dan.

“Yeah, they threw a party for him to celebrate his promotion,” added Claire. She had an arm wrapped around his arm and was leaning against him in a very friendly manner. She looked over at him with more than a little pride in her eyes.

The nude martial arts lessons of Ling and Claire had torn down the wall that Dan had built to hide from women. That had allowed him to more fully experience life at home and at work. Breaking out of his cubbyhole with a vengeance, he dealt with customers, management, and team members directly. Dan had taken the initiative on a couple of very high profile projects. There wasn’t anyone to take the credit away from him. He was forceful in getting recognition and it had paid off. In the process, he had shocked all of those who had worked with him in the past.

Raising an eyebrow, Ed realized that Claire had gone to the celebration with Dan. From the way that she was hanging on him, he wondered if something was going on between the two. As if Dan heard Ed’s unasked question, he said, “We’re engaged.”

“Really?” asked Ed very surprised by the news. They’d only known each other for a couple of months and figured that it would be years before shy Dan would reach the point where he was capable of proposing.

“Yes,” answered Claire with a grin. She’d had a lot of fun breaking Dan out of his shell and discovered that she really liked the man who emerged. He was interesting, bright, witty, caring, gentle, and supportive. When he turned his attention to her, she had his entire attention. It was almost scary at times, but definitely appreciated in bed.

“I proposed a week ago,” said Dan looking down at his girlfriend. She was fierce, strong, and confident. Being in bed with her was like making love to fire and he found that he enjoyed taking the risk of getting burned.

“And I took a whole millisecond to say yes,” she said with a grin. Her prejudice against mixed marriages was a thing of the past. She had found that love was colorblind. It had been an amazing revelation.

“Dan, are you still going with us for the week?” asked Ed wondering if his engagement to Claire had changed Dan’s plans.

“You bet,” said Dan, “I’ve been looking forward to this ever since you called. I even went out and purchased a trailer for the ATV.”

“We could have put it in the back of our trailer,” said Ed wondering why Dan would bother to spend so much money for a trailer when he had a perfectly good one.

“No, a trailer to pull behind the ATV. I can put a fifty-five gallon drum for water on it and there’s still enough room to carry all of the food. It’s all ready to go,” replied Dan. He had spent the previous evening packing the trailer. He’d spent a fortune at the sporting goods store.

“Oh, I never thought of getting one of those.”

Claire had handled outfitting them for the trip with the help of Walt. It had been an interesting experience for a city girl. She said, “I purchased two ATVs just like you requested. Why didn’t you want three of them?”

“I’m riding my horse,” answered Ed feeling that it seeing the desert from atop a horse was an essential part of being in the desert. William didn’t have enough experience on horseback to go the whole trip and Captain Jones wasn’t ready to learn how to ride with an artificial leg. Getting tired of looking up at the couple, he pointed to the pool chairs and said, “Have a seat.”

Claire, uncomfortable about the invitation, sat down while Dan fetched another chair. He put it next to hers so that he could hold her hand. Claire looked over at Ed amazed at the ease with which he sat naked in front of two dressed people. She didn’t have a problem when everyone else was naked, but when she was the only one undressed she quickly dressed.

Attentive to his girlfriend, Dan noticed that she was staring at Ed. He smiled as he deduced exactly where she was looking. He couldn’t blame her for staring at Ed’s cock -- it was very large. It didn’t really bother him since he was quite secure in his relationship with Claire.

Ed drained his glass of iced tea and went over to refill it at the mini-refrigerator. He called over, “Do you want some iced tea?”

Answering for both of them, Dan said, “Sure. We’d love some.”

Claire leaned over and whispered, “I work here. Maybe I should go.”

“I’m sure that it’s okay. Stay here for a little while longer,” whispered Dan understanding how she felt.

Playing host, Ed refilled his glass and fixed two more. Holding the three glasses together, he carried them over to the little table and set them down. He grabbed his glass and returned to his seat. Getting comfortable, he said, “So, Claire. What do you think about your fiancée running off for a week?”

After taking a sip of her tea, she answered, “Well, if he was running off with a couple of blondes, I’d be a little concerned. Not too concerned, though.”

“A little?” asked Dan acting as if he were hurt. His smile demonstrated that it was all an act.

“Okay, a lot,” she replied with a giggle.

Ed watched the interaction between the two. There were times when they looked at each other that he was willing to swear that the love they felt was almost visible. Thinking about what each of them had been like when he first met them, it seemed to him as if people were changing for the better at a faster rate than in the past.

William entered the room and went over to where his father was seated. On arriving at the house, the boy had set aside his robe and put on blue jeans, shirt, and boots. His hair had grown to a length that was almost long enough to put in a braid. The transformation between the Druid College and Arizona had been amazing. At the Druid College, he looked like a Druid. Around the house, he exhibited his Native American Heritage without any hint of being a Druid.

Claire had watched William enter the room. This was her first time to meet the young boy although she remembered that he had called from the college to tell Ed to hire her. In a voice that she would use with most children, she said, “Hello, there. You must be William.”

Turning to Claire, William raised an eyebrow and studied her. His gaze was so direct that it took her by surprise. He replied, “Yes, I must be. There are exactly two children in this house, Lucy Gold and William Carter. You already know Lucy, ergo I must be William Carter. Impeccable logic.”

“William!” Ed chastised.

Sitting back in her chair, Claire realized that William wasn’t putting her down, but was making a point. He was not to be treated like a child. She interrupted, “He’s right, I was treating him like a little kid.”

Smiling, William said, “It’s a pleasure to meet you Claire. I see that you have become lovers with Betsy’s hero. She’s going to be crushed. I think she was a little infatuated with Dan.”

Claire stared at William wondering how he knew that Dan was her lover. Recovering, she said, “I’m sure Dan will let her down gently.”

Turning to Dan, William said, “It’s an honor to meet someone who would risk his life to save my little sister.”

“You’re welcome. It’s a pleasure to finally meet you. I’ve heard a lot about you from Sarah,” replied Dan. Previously, he would have sworn that William was Sarah’s own child from the way that she talked about him. After watching the boy, he understood Sarah’s exuberance and started to believe that she had been rather restrained in her comments.

“My cousin Sarah tends to exaggerate about all of the children in our family,” said William.

“From what I have seen and heard, each of you is remarkable in your own way,” said Dan. He grinned and said, “Of course, I’ve heard that Betsy is the laziest among you.”