Chapter 6

I awoke to a very soft knock at my bedroom door. My internal clock told me that I had only been sleeping for about an hour. After a deep yarn, I told Rose to come in.

"Were you sleeping?" she asked nervously.

I replied, "Yeah, but it's all right. The light switch is to your right."

"I'm sorry; I'll let you get back to sleep."

"Don't be silly. How could I get back to sleep if I think you have something on your mind," I said as I rolled over and turned on the lamp that was beside my bed.

Her hair was wet and she was wearing the sweats I had lent her. Her face no longer showed any traces of the turmoil she had gone through a couple hours ago. Even from the distance from the bed to the doorway, I could still see sadness in her eyes. I could also see from her body language she was torn between entering and fleeing the room.

She timidly approached the bed and sat down on the foot of it. She sat there for a minute, trying to work up the courage to say what was on her mind. I just looked at her and gave her a reinsuring smile. When she finally spoke, I had to strain my ears to hear her.

"Would you mind holding me again?"

I gave her a bigger smile and said, "Of course I wouldn't mind holding such a wonderful and caring person such as you. But before I could do that, you need to do me a favor."

She hesitated before saying, "What?"

"I need for you to grab a pair of sweatpants and a tee shirt from my dresser. I am sure that Traci would understand me holding you, but might have a problem with me holding you while I was naked."

A combination of surprise, shock, and amusement washed over her face and she quickly jumped to complete the task. I directed her to which drawers contained what items. She brought them to me and I slipped them on under the covers. I then scooted over and patted the spot where I had just been. She hesitated for a moment before drawing back the covers and joining me. I had her cross her arms across her chest and face away from me. When she did that, I wrapped my arms around hers and pulled her back into my chest. While I was not erect, I did keep my lower part of my body away from hers. I did not want to frighten her with inappropriate contact. Right now, she needed comfort.

After a little while, I felt some of the tension leave her body. She told me that she had tried to get to sleep, but there was so much on her mind. I told her maybe I could help her work out some things and it might make it easier for her to get to sleep. First was where could she live. I told her that she was welcome to stay here for as long as she needed. She was worried about having stuff to wear. I said that a shopping trip to the mall was in order. When I mentioned tomorrow, she asked how she was going to explain to her friends why she was kicked out. I told her that I was pretty sure that if her friends could not accept her for who she was, then they were not her friends in the first place. She asked would she have to leave if Traci got upset and did not want her here. I told her that the Traci I knew would not get upset. She was also worried about paying for stuff like clothes and food. I told her as long as she was a guest in my house, she would not have to worry about that, within reason. I wasn't going to buy her a Gucci handbag or a diamond necklace. I couldn't see her smile, but I swore I could feel it. I also told her that if she was truly worried, she could always keep a ledger and pay me back later. She could always get a part time job when she reached sixteen on the condition that she kept her grades up. She said she could always drop out of school and start working now.

"Actually, you can't. You are still a minor and have to attend school. In addition, I know that I said that you could stay here as long as you needed, but there is one condition. You must stay enrolled in high school and do the best you can in your classes."

She said she understood. We also talked about some minor issues and with each answer; it seemed that she would get less tense. She finally drifted off to sleep. I soon followed after her.

It was a little past 9:30 when the phone rung and woke us up. Since it was closer to Rose, she picked up the receiver and handed it to me. I thanked her and said hello. There was a slight pause before Traci asked whom was I thanking.

"Oh, just a wonderful young woman that was sleeping with me. Would you like to talk to her?" I replied, looking at Rose. Surprise and then amusement crossed her face. Rose choose to get even with me by giggling exactly the same way that Fran does, a girl that Rose knew Traci was slightly jealous of.

Traci's voice could have frozen the ninth plane of hell as she said no; she would be right over instead. She hung up before I could say goodbye. I handed the phone back to Rose and told her that I needed to get up and answer the door. I didn't even have my feet on the floor when I heard the doorbell start ringing.

When I opened the door, Traci started to breeze right past me. I grabbed her arm and pulled her into a tight embrace, kissing her deeply. We kissed for about ten seconds and she relaxed a little bit, but pushed me away.

"Blah, you taste like cigarettes. If you think some awful tasting kiss will keep me from some hussy in your bed, your sorely mistaken," she said, but at least she was not moving to the bedroom.

"No, I don't. Sorry about not brushing my teeth. I didn't get a chance to do that yet. I need to tell you a few things before you go in there."

I explained to her the events of last night, omitting the reason why Rose's mother kicked her out. She of course picked up on that and wanted to know, but I told her that she would need to talk to Rose. I also told Traci that I believed she possessed a big heart and that I doubted I would be disappointed in her reaction. Before she could pester me with more questions, I took her hand and brought her back to the bedroom. When we got there, Rose was sitting up in the bed, her knees brought up to her chest and her arms wrapped around them. The fear and worry that had washed away hours ago was back with a vengeance. I told the two girls that I would let them talk in private and was going to make a light breakfast.

I figured some scrambled eggs and toast would hold us over until lunch. When the girls had not come to the kitchen, I kept the eggs on a low heat and started doing the prep work for lunch. I had decided on the menu last night and while four separate entrees was a great deal of work, it would be well worth it. Almost a half hour had gone by from when I escorted Traci to the bedroom when the girls showed up into the kitchen.

Traci came up to me, gave me a playful punch, and said, "I have forgiven Rose for sleeping with you, but I have not forgiven you for sleeping with Rose. I wanted to be the first girl you slept with."

I smiled at her and gave her a tender kiss. I did not want to lie to her and tell her that Rose was by far not the first person I slept with. It was odd; it had been engraved into me how to lie effortlessly without regret or remorse. For some reason, I found it difficult to do that with Traci. Never in my life had I ever felt guilt, even after some of the stuff I had done on my training missions. Now, I understood what that emotion felt like. Being around Traci opened me up to all types of new feelings, a majority of them positive, but a few negative as well.

When I broke the kiss, she demanded the next time I kissed her on the lips, I had better of brushed my teeth. I told her that she had another set of lips that I could kiss that she wouldn't taste my breath. Rose giggled, this time normally, at Traci's reaction and my quick dash from the kitchen.

I abbreviated my morning routine to smoking half a Camel, emptying my bladder, and brushing my teeth. I decided to wear a pair of jeans and a polo shirt since I knew we would be heading to the mall after lunch. When I got back to the kitchen, Traci was still red from my comment, but allowed me to give her a probing kiss to prove my mouth was fresh. I asked Rose if she wanted a kiss to see that I had brushed my teeth. I was still holding Traci to prevent her from hitting me so she ended up giving me a light kick in the shin. It was a good thing that Rose declined or I think Traci would not have been so light with the kick she would have given her.

We ate the eggs and toast with a glass of juice. Rose insisted on taking care of the clean up so Traci helped me with the lunch. I was glad I went with making four different entrees because I received a kiss on the cheek from Traci as a reward. When Rose was done with the dishes, she joined us making the entrees. We chatted about mundane things until Traci asked how Rose knew my number. I had just presumed that Traci must have mentioned it to her but Rose said she just called information. I had presumed the number was private, but that answered the question of how the Green Party got a hold of the number.

We were done with everything and it was still fifteen minutes before the other two girls were to arrive. I went back to the bedroom to retrieve my Camels. When the girls saw that, they told me I had to smoke in the backyard. Forced out of my own home, I knew it was an argument I could not win. Taught that retreat was a valid option when faced with certain doom, I did.

I chained smoke three cigarettes before I went back inside. Pollyanna and Traci were in the living room and Rose was nowhere to be seen. Traci said that Rose and Michelle went back to the master bedroom to talk. I went to an empty bathroom to rinse my mouth out with mouthwash and rejoined the girls in the living room. Since I was unsure how much information Rose had told Traci, I decided not to ask Pollyanna how she was handling it. When the two girls returned from bedroom, Pollyanna launched herself from the couch and ran into Rose's arms. From the reaction of the other two, I gathered that Rose did indeed fill in those details. After the two girls had stopped hugging, Pollyanna looked nervous and asked the three of us if we still liked her. That comment lead to a group hug as we assured her that she was dumb to even think such a thing.

The two recently 'outed' girls were still a little nervous while we ate lunch, but the rest of us made sure to reassure them. Rose insisted on doing the dishes as a way repay my hospitality. After she refused my repeated insistences that she did not need to do stuff like that I said I should just buy her a sexy French maid outfit. That earned me a playful punch from Traci. When Pollyanna agreed that she wanted to see that, she got one from Rose. We all had a nice chuckle and I brought up the task of getting to the mall, it was Michelle that suggested she could ask her mom to drive us there since she owned a minivan. Michelle checked with Rose and Pollyanna if it was okay if she told her mom why Rose was kicked out. Rose did not mind, but Pollyanna did not want anybody outside of us knowing about her until she talked to her parents. She was still unsure if she could tell them or not. Michelle nodded and called her mom.

I grabbed my keys, wallet, checkbook, and slipped on my Birkenstocks while Michelle talked to her mom. When I returned, I asked if we needed to go next door and Michelle said that it was not necessary, her mom knew that we were over here. Her mom was a little concerned at first that I lived alone, but she trusted her daughter's judgment.

Michelle was keeping an eye out for her mom's minivan and she informed us when pulled up in front of the house. The girls rushed out and as I turn on the alarm, I made a mental note to tell Rose the formula to figure out the right code to disarm it. When I got into the minivan, I introduced myself to Mrs. Weller and thanked her for helping us. She told me I could call her Jean and she apologized to Rose for not making sure she got into the house last night and this was small penance for that. She also told Rose that she was always welcomed at her house and could stay there if she needed to. Rose was visibly moved by Jean's compassion.

Jean moved the topic of conversation to me and I gave her the standard background. I noticed that the uneasy feelings that I had when I lied to Traci were not present when I told them to Jean. She said that with my classes and extracurricular activities that it must be difficult to take care of housework. I said that it was, but now that I had a sexy live-in maid, it should be easier. That earned an elbow from Traci and a dope slap from Rose. Jean chuckled at the joke and the antics that it provoked.

Jean was going to just drop us off and pick us up later when I insisted she join us. She didn't want to intrude. I told her that it would not be an intrusion and that since I was already shopping with four beautiful ladies, another beautiful lady would make it even better. She blushed slightly at that remark and I think it intrigued her enough to tag along.

The mall was located fifteen miles south of Central City in a town that had twice the population. It was two stories tall and was anchored by three major stores. It pretty much formed the letter 'T'. We started at one of the major stores, Sears, and worked our way through. I had read that guys don't like to shop as much as girls do, but I wasn't one of them. Maybe it was because I had not been shopping before, but I found it most enjoyable. The girls didn't even mind me stopping to look in the men's clothing stores. They even made suggestions on possible wardrobe additions, but we made sure we stuck with the main mission objective.

Jean wanted to help pay for some of the clothes, but I told her that I would take care of it. I explained that Rose had refused any charity and was insistent that she would pay me back. When the girls were busy trying on some outfits, I suggested to Jean that she might be able to get away with an early Christmas or Birthday present. She smiled and agreed, saying she had all of the girl's birthdays written down at home. I asked her if she could pass that information on to me and she said she would.