Chapter 14

The drive to Albuquerque was uneventful. We got a late start because one of Tina's professors changed his mind and held class when he'd originally said he was going to cancel it. We took the Deming to Hatch cut between I-10 and I-25, but since I'd already factored it into our travel time, it didn't help much. Dinner ended up being fast food in Truth or Consequences, New Mexico, and it was mid-evening before we arrived at Sharon's parents' place.

It didn't help that I got mildly lost in the winding subdivision her parents lived in near the base of Sandia Peak. Being purely a residential neighborhood, we couldn't find any phones either, though I probably would have had to surrender my "guy's license" if I'd actually stopped to get better directions. In the end, I made one dumb turn that turned out to be the right turn. Tina spotted some people sitting on their front porch and they turned out to be Sharon and her parents. We had made it.

We piled out of the car and made our introductions. Sharon greeted both Tina and me with hugs, saying she was really glad to meet my girlfriend. Her enthusiasm seemed contagious as both her parents hugged us welcome as well. I stepped back, a little shaken by the strength of her father's grip. He immediately offered to help with the luggage, while Sharon's mom asked Tina about the drive.

"You okay?" Sharon asked, pulling me aside. "We were starting to worry."

"We're fine," I said. "Got a late start and a little lost."

"I'll drive to Santa Fe tomorrow, then," Sharon said.

I shrugged. I wouldn't mind the time out from behind the wheel.

As we walked in the door, Sharon's dad carried Tina's bags down the hall while her mom poured us some iced tea.

"All set!" Sharon's dad announced after having stolen my bag away. "Tina, you'll be staying with Sharon in the guest room and, Joe, you're in Sharon's room, since that's only a single bed."

"What?" I asked.

"Tina's father called this afternoon and asked about the sleeping arrangements," Sharon's mom explained. "We thought this would be best."

"Okay," I replied, trying to make light of it. When I caught Sharon's eyes, she tilted her head and shrugged. There was really no way to talk about it in front of her parents, so I just shrugged back.

I'd met Mr. and Mrs. Meyers before briefly and they'd struck me as solid folks who perhaps doted on their only child a bit too much. Nothing in the evening's conversation contradicted that first impression. They asked about school and gushed in admiration as Tina talked about working over half time on top of her classes, before sharing how pleased they were at Sharon's hard work the previous semester. Similarly, they enjoyed hearing how Tina and I had met, but somehow the story became how Sharon had gotten us together by pushing me to ask Tina out. I was both bemused and amused when we all called it a night.

Both Sharon's room and the guest bedroom lay at one end of a hall with the Meyers' bedroom on the other end. We said our goodnights and headed to our assigned rooms. I started unpacking and Sharon opened the door and poked her head in a moment later.

"I'm sorry, Joe," she said. "When Tina's dad called, I was at the store. He talked to my mom for a little bit, saying he wanted to thank them and to know a little about the people who were generously hosting his daughter for a weekend. He apparently charmed my mother because they talked for some time. Somewhere in the conversation, he said he was surprised that we had two guest rooms. Mom said they didn't and ... well..."

"It's okay," I said. "I've met Mr. Delgado. I can't imagine your mom standing up to him."

"We'll figure some way for you and Tina to have some time together," Sharon promised.

I nodded, though I didn't expect much.

"Well, see you in the morning," Sharon said.

I said goodnight and she left, closing the door softly behind her.

"So why didn't you object to the sleeping arrangements?" Sherri asked.

"I didn't think I could."

"Why not? You and Tina are both adults. You had an established relationship. It wouldn't have been too difficult to tell Sharon's parents that, while you respected Mr. Delgado's wishes, the sleeping arrangements weren't really his business."

I sighed.

"It's not that easy," I said.

"Why not?" Sherri pushed.

I snorted.

"I suppose it was easy for you," I said. "Making your own sleeping arrangements."

"It was," Sherri replied.

I stopped and stared at her for a moment.

"My mom had no problem with my lovers spending the night in my bed. As long as we didn't make too much noise and were discreet around my little brother."

I just shook my head.

"You must have had a unique adolescence," I said. "Most parents I know would freak."

Sherri nodded in acknowledgement.

"I'm not saying that you should have objected," she said after a pause. "I'm asking why you didn't."

"You think it's because I didn't have the nerve?"

"Did you?"

"Actually, I probably ... no, I don't know. It was irrelevant because I sensed pretty quickly that objecting would only cause problems with Sharon's parents. And we were guests, after all."

"Nothing wrong with being good guests," Sherri quipped.

"Well, I'm not sure how good of a guest I was," I said. "I know you're not supposed to pry into other people's things..."

I'd gotten undressed and was sitting on the edge of Sharon's bed. Despite being ready for sleep, I wasn't tired. Still a little pumped up from the road, I guessed. I should have brought a book, but I hadn't expected to be sleeping alone. Restless, I wondered if Sharon might have left something in her room that would suit.

She'd stripped the room pretty bare, of course, moving most of her stuff up to her apartment in Boulder. One wall still held certificates and other memorabilia from high school and some stuffed animals held court in a far corner. The bookshelves were empty of actual books, containing only small knick-knacks or other reminders of time past.

One of the nightstand drawers did sit open about an inch. I could see paper through that gap, so I pulled it open. Several computer printed pages stared up at me. Pulling them out, I realized they were from one of the story packets I'd sent Sharon. The pages were slightly crumpled around the edges and the top sheet was in the middle of a story, about halfway through a long sex scene.

Oh.

Definitely reading material, but not stuff I could admit to Sharon that I'd found.

I paged through the stack. There were a handful of stories, and I realized that they were from several of the packets I'd sent her. Apparently she'd extracted the ones she'd liked the most. A couple had small water stains on them, splashed drops long since dried. A page at the bottom was different, though.

Sharon had stuck a page of lined notebook paper into the stack with various comments in her own writing. "Standing, leaning on cab. Sitting on gate, gate down. Bending over gate, back to camera" and a few more. I set the sheet down.

Sharon had actually started planning out shots for our next photo session. The one that was supposed to happen this trip, but wasn't going to now.

I picked up the sheet again and glanced down the rest of the list. Some of the notes were a little cryptic. What did "sideways" mean? Sharon had crossed a few lines out. A line at the bottom was explicitly clear, though.

"Driver's seat, holding steering wheel. Picture through side window, smiling at camera. Topless?"

I set the paper down again, shaking a little.

Despite all the no's and refusals, Sharon was considering posing topless for me. Had considered. That wasn't going to happen with Tina along. Wasn't going to happen now that I was with Tina, I corrected myself.

That didn't matter to my erection. The images of Sharon, topless in the cab of a truck kept running in front of my eyes. I carefully put the paper back in the nightstand and lay back on the bed. I tried to will myself to sleep. No luck. I tried to push the images of Sharon out of my head—all our past photo shoots and all the ones I'd wanted to do. No luck either.

In the end, I gave in. I slowly masturbated to an explosive climax, biting my lip to avoid making any noise. That seemed to do the trick. I was tired enough afterwards to fall asleep.

"Didn't you say you earlier that you felt guilty masturbating to fantasies about Sharon?" Sherri asked. I shrugged sheepishly.

"Yeah," I admitted. "The guilt faded over time."

"Over time? So you masturbated to Sharon's pictures several more times than you've told me about?"

"Yeah." I didn't look at Sherri as I felt my face flush.

"There's nothing wrong with that," Sherri said. "I told you that in the first place."

"Well, it didn't feel right," I said defensively. "I mean, Sharon had always said how much she valued my friendship and how she saw me only as a friend. She wouldn't have liked it."

"But you never asked."

"No. I was always too scared."

"Scared of what?"

I studied my fingernails, not answering. Sherri let the pause lengthen.

"Scared of what?" she prompted again.

"Don't push me," I warned.

Sherri paused.

"I'm sorry, Joe," she finally said. "Sometimes I have to push, or men won't say what they really need to say."

"Well, I don't like it," I snapped.

Sherri didn't say anything, just kept looking at me. I slowly calmed down and closed my eyes.

"I'm sorry for my outburst," I said.

"That's okay," Sherri said, reaching over and taking my hand. "Tell me more about Albuquerque."

The next morning, I beat the women to the dining room. Mr. and Mrs. Meyers were already up, sipping coffee and reading the newspaper. Mrs. Meyers offered to fix me an egg and I politely declined.

"I should wait for Sharon and Tina," I said.

"Oh, they might be a while," Mrs. Meyers said. "I poked my head in a little earlier and they were both dead to the world."

I raised my eyebrows and checked the clock.

"Oh, don't worry," Mrs. Meyers said, "you'll still have plenty of time in Santa Fe. It's only an hour's drive."

I already knew that, but just smiled at Mrs. Meyers and nodded my head.

Having little else to do, I borrowed some of the sections of the paper from Mr. Meyers. I finished it and was halfway through a People magazine when we heard a shower running in the distance. A few minutes later, Sharon wandered in wearing sweats and with her hair a mess.

"Hey," she said as she went to get herself some coffee.

"Hey, yourself," I replied.

"Did you sleep well, honey?" Mrs. Meyers asked.

Sharon nodded.

"Tina and I stayed up a long time talking," she explained. "I really like her, Joe!"

"I'm glad to hear that," I said.

Sharon smiled and sipped her coffee.

"So when do you think you'll get going?" Mrs. Meyers asked Sharon. "Do you have time for breakfast?"

"We'll get going after Tina and I have both showered," Sharon said, tilting her head toward the hall where we could hear water running. "I imagine we can eat first." She settled into a chair near me, still nursing her coffee.

"So what did you two talk about?" I asked.

Her eyes flicked to where her mother was bustling about, getting eggs and bacon and toast going.

"This and that," Sharon replied. She didn't say anything more and I didn't press. After a while, she stood up and announced she was headed back to get her own shower.

Tina appeared about fifteen minutes, looking radiant and beautiful. She was dressed, her hair tied back, and smiling. Almost chipper, really.

"Good morning!" she said, as she entered the kitchen.

"Ready for some breakfast?" Mrs. Meyers asked.

Tina nodded and contemplated the food that Mrs. Meyers placed on the table before she could even sit down.

"Sharon said you guys stayed up late talking," I said.

"Oh, we did! She's so much fun. We had a great time!"

"I'm sorry I missed it."

Tina grinned. "I'm sure you are. But I'm kind of glad you weren't there. It felt more like a slumber party that way."

I glanced over at Mrs. Meyers, filling a plate of food for me. I decided not to comment on slumber parties. I was sure my prurient thoughts would be a little more than Mrs. Meyers could take.

We ate breakfast mostly in silence, as our mouths were continually full. Sharon joined us about halfway through and was still eating when Tina and I finished. We excused ourselves to pack up a little and walked back down the hall together. Tina followed me into Sharon's old room and closed the door behind her.

"You should have told me about the pictures, Joe."

"What?" Where was this coming from?

"You should have told me that Sharon was the one that posed for you."

"Uh, well, that was before you and I got together," I said. I was starting to sweat. "Sharon made it clear that nothing else was going to happen between us."

"I know. She said that she'd done it for fun. She also said there was no way she would do anything that might threaten your relationship with me."

I let out the breath I hadn't realized I was holding.

"But still, I should have heard it from you and not her."

"I'm, I'm sorry," I stammered. "I figured that since it was history, I didn't need to bring it up. I'm sorry."

"Well, it's okay. I don't actually mind that you did it. I just would have liked to know before I met her."

"I'm really sorry. It won't happen again."

"I believe you," Tina said. Then her cheeks brightened in a small smile. "Though it does sound like it was fun, at least from Sharon's description. Maybe you'll have to use a different model sometime."

"We could do that," I said.

"We could," Tina replied. Now she was definitely grinning, teasing.

"I'm going to go brush my teeth," she announced next and moved forward for a hug and a quick kiss before heading to the bathroom.

I sank back onto the bed, letting out a deep breath. I was shaking a little and my heart was pounding. I felt like I'd stepped on a landmine, but it hadn't gone boom. Sharon knew too many of my secrets and I hadn't told her what she could and couldn't tell other people. I suspected she'd be discreet in general, but it was too easy to imagine her believing Tina already knew things she didn't. Thank god I'd at least mentioned taking photos before. And thank god there were no other skeletons I needed to worry about.

In fact, this was probably good, I mused. If Sharon had talked about the picture taking, she'd obviously felt very comfortable with Tina. I wondered how x-rated their conversation the night before had gotten. That could be interesting to find out.

We still had to get going today, though. I pulled myself up and got ready to go.

Of course, the nervousness returned as we assembled in the kitchen. Both of the girls just smiled at me but didn't say anything as we headed out to the garage.

Was Tina really okay with the pictures? Or was she just waiting to dump me?

"Here's the truck," Sharon said when we walked into the garage. "I borrowed it from my uncle while he works on my Karmann Ghia."

It was a beaut. Big, lots of chrome, extended cab, bed liner. Sparkling clean too. I walked around and admired it.

"I can see why you thought it would work well for pictures," Tina said to Sharon as she walked around and looked at the bed.

"Yeah. It would work well, wouldn't it?" Sharon replied.

We got in, Tina in the middle and Sharon at the wheel, and headed off to Santa Fe.

"So," I began once we'd hit I-25, trying to keep my nerves steady, "it sounds like you two had quite the conversation last night."

Sharon and Tina looked at each other and grinned.

"We did," Sharon said, nodding.

"So what did you talk about?" I asked.

"All sorts of things," Tina said.

"You," Sharon added.

"Me? What did you say?"

"That's for us to know," Sharon replied, "and you not to find out."

"Hey!"

"Nothing bad," Tina reassured me. "In fact, Sharon was quite complimentary."

I looked at Sharon, who grinned and nodded.

"I've got your back, Joe," she said.

"Well, it sounds like you told her a lot, if you mentioned the photo sessions."

"You should have told her that yourself," Sharon said.

I glanced at Tina, who shot me a short glare and nodded.