Chapter 25

"Did you have any idea it was a bad mistake at the time?" Sherri asked.

I grimaced. "Not consciously. In retrospect, though, I spent a lot of time talking myself into it."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I spent a lot of time justifying it, and basically coming up with reasons why Sharon and Tina would enjoy posing together. Why we'd all have fun, even if there was no touching between Sharon and me. I told myself that I was just planning out the conversations with them and making sure I could cope with any concerns they brought up."

I sighed. "In hindsight, though, I think those arguments were really to cope with my own concerns."

"Which were?"

"That I was doing the right thing. Though at the time, I think I was most worried that one of them would say 'no.'" I rolled my eyes. "I guess that should have been a clue. If I had to pick my words that carefully, maybe my underlying request wasn't a good thing."

"Well, that's a good warning sign, but it's not always true." She paused, and then chuckled. "I can think of some cases where I spent a while picking my words, but in general, you're right. If you're spending a lot of time choosing your words carefully, you probably should consider why."

"I certainly didn't when I was trying to set up the photo session..."

I knew my biggest problem was going to be logistics: we were in three different cities. I doubted either of them would travel just for a photo session. Of course, they'd be traveling for more than that, wouldn't they? It'd also be for the social aspects and whatever else we did while we were together. We'd had fun wandering Santa Fe and I was sure I could think of things that were equally enjoyable.

Though probably not in Tucson. Okay, maybe Sharon would enjoy the Sonora Desert Museum and driving over to Tombstone, but I certainly didn't feel any desire to go play tourist in a town I'd fled from. Besides, we didn't have a good place to stay or do the photo shoot, since Tina still lived in the dorms with Marcy.

Colorado probably wouldn't work either. My parents would insist on my staying with them and on meeting Tina. That probably wasn't too bad, I realized. I didn't mind their meeting her. But it would cut down the time we could spend with Sharon. Unlike her parents, mine would insist on doing something all together instead of just feeding us breakfast and sending us on our way.

No, D.C. made the most sense. There were enough attractions to keep us busy during the day and my apartment would work fine for the photo shoot. It was bare enough that we'd have no trouble coming up with a suitable backdrop.

Except I'd still need to get the women here. I'd have to pay for Tina's plane ticket, and maybe Sharon's too, since she made a lot less money than I now did. And I'd need a place for everyone to sleep. The air mattress was on its last legs and I really needed to upgrade to something better. And I'd have to feed everyone, and ... the logistics were going to require some careful thought.

Of course, they'd be moot if the women didn't agree to it. I decided to float the idea by Sharon first. I waited until about halfway through our next weekly phone call, when she'd already caught me up on her trials and tribulations at work.

"Hey," I said, "I was thinking, how would you like to come to D.C.?"

"I'd love it," she said, "but I'm broke."

"You're not completely broke."

"But plane tickets are expensive."

"True," I said, "but I'm sure we can figure something out. I'm just tired of seeing the city by myself. Besides, there are some nice restaurants I want to go to, and I don't want to go alone."

Sharon laughed. "You're offering to take me out fancy? I accept!"

"Great!"

"I'm surprised you didn't ask Tina, though," Sharon said, her voice more calm.

"Actually," I said, "I was thinking about asking you both. We had such a good time in Santa Fe. I thought we could have a lot of fun together, exploring the city."

Sharon chuckled. "I'll bet. But at some point, I'm just a third wheel."

"Nah, that won't happen."

She snorted. "Yeah, right. I'm sure you'd have a much more romantic dinner with Tina alone than with me around."

"Well, probably. But I wasn't thinking of a romantic dinner anyway. More sexy and playful."

"Which would be..."

I took a deep breath. "I was hoping you'd bring your garter belt. I love the idea of sitting at a table in a fancy restaurant with two gorgeous women, knowing they're both wearing garter belts."

"Hmm..."

"I'll pay for the plane ticket," I said. "And besides, you said you'd do almost anything if I mailed that letter to Allen."

"And this is what you want?"

"Well, mostly. There is one other thing."

"Yeah?"

"Nothing you haven't done before," I said, trying to sound reassuring. "I want to take some pictures while you're here."

"What type?"

"Nudes and lingerie," I said. "Like before. To get me a little more practice."

"I'll consider it," she said. "When were you thinking?"

"Early January, before Tina's spring semester starts up."

"And her dad won't be a problem?"

"I don't think so," I said. "Remember the Grand Canyon trip I told you about?"

"Yeah, but the fact that he agreed to it then doesn't mean he'll agree to it this time."

"I'm not worried," I said. "Worst case, Tina doesn't come and it's just you and me going out on the town."

Sharon chuckled. "Like I said, I'll think about it."

I sensed that there was nothing more to say for the moment, so I changed the subject and asked her about her dating life. She had nothing really new to report other than she'd gotten a letter from Justin. This was the third in the past year and none of them had said much. As a result, she wasn't sure how to interpret his interest in her, and we spent a while guessing and conjecturing before we wound down the call.

My gut fluttered constantly for the next week. I didn't want to talk to Tina until I knew Sharon's answer, and I knew I couldn't push Sharon by calling her early. I worked out some of my nerves by tackling the sleeping arrangements problem. I poked my head in the Jennifer's Convertibles store across the street from the Goddard main entrance and got lucky. They were having a sale and, after only a little agony, I bought the sleeper sofa. They promised to deliver it before Thanksgiving, which gave me plenty of time.

When Sharon called the next Wednesday, though, I couldn't help myself.

"So," I asked, "did you decide about the trip?"

"Yeah," she said. "If you're buying the plane ticket, I'll come. And I'll bring my garter belt and pose for you on one condition."

"Which is?"

"You don't push for anything more."

"I don't think anything more is likely to happen," I said, frowning to myself.

"It doesn't matter," she said, "after that misunderstanding on New Year's, I don't want you to get the idea that this is anything more than me helping you. As friends."

I almost started sputtering about New Year's, which had not been my fault, but caught myself before any words came out. She was saying yes, which was what mattered. And, come to think of it, I hadn't pushed in the past. Each time things had escalated, it had been Sharon's doing. Sharon, and the alcohol we'd drunk.

"Sure," I said. "I won't push."

"Good."

"However, I should be clear about one thing. I was thinking about having you and Tina pose together."

"I'm okay with that if she's okay with it."

"Thanks," I said. "This definitely pays back the letter."

"So what dates were you thinking about?"

"I was thinking about the weekend of January 7^th and 8^th, but I'll check with Tina and get back to you."

"Sounds good."

With that, our conversation once again slid to other topics. Sharon told me about the reply she'd sent to Justin, and how she'd kept the tone neutral and matter-of-fact. Since he'd written so infrequently, she didn't want to come across as too enthusiastic. On the other hand, he had written. She just wasn't sure what to make of him, but decided to wait and see. We talked about him for quite a while, once again with no resolution, before hanging up and calling it a night.

The next day I could barely concentrate on my work. I had to make the tougher phone call that evening.

"Hi, is Tina there? This is Joe," I asked, recognizing Marcy's voice when she answered the phone.

"Joe! How are you doing?"

"Fine," I said. "The job's going well. D.C.'s okay."

"I was wondering. You haven't called very often."

"Well, I wanted to give Tina a chance to, you know, go out with other guys."

Marcy snorted. "Yeah, like that's worked."

"What?"

"Not my place to tell you, Joe, but let's just say she's gonna be glad you called."

"So she's not there?"

"No, but she'll be back in an hour, if you want to call back."

"I'll do that."

I spent the next hour keeping busy in the kitchen, doing dishes and making grocery lists. My mind kept drifting back to Marcy's comment, but I didn't know enough to really speculate. Tina's letters hadn't said anything about going out with other guys these past couple of months. Maybe persuading her to come to D.C. wouldn't be that hard.

Apparently not, as I could hear the excitement in Tina's voice when I called back. We said our hellos and caught up a little on how each other was doing, before I took a deep breath.

"So," I said, "one of the reasons I called is that I wanted to see if you wanted to come out to D.C. in early January. My treat."

"Is this a romantic visit?"

"Well, parts of it will be."

"Well then I'd love to!"

"That's great," I said, "but let me give you the full scoop. You see, Sharon's coming out, and I got to thinking, 'Why shouldn't Tina come visit too?'"

"Oh, okay..."

"So I thought if you came out for a few days beforehand, we could spend some time just the two of us. Then when Sharon got here, we'd all have fun like we did in Santa Fe."

"Well, okay..."

"I want to show you the Smithsonian and the Memorials at night," I continued, not breaking my patter, "and show you DuPont Circle and Georgetown. I want to take you out for some fine dining and I even want to cook for you. I've got a couple of new recipes I've been trying."

Tina chuckled. "You're flying me across the country to cook for me?"

"You bet," I said. "Breakfast, of course." The leer in my voice wasn't too strong.

"So, when is this?"

"I was thinking you'd fly in on Wednesday the fifth of January. Sharon would arrive Friday afternoon the seventh and you'd both stay through the weekend."

"I want to come, but I'm going to have to talk to my dad."

"You do that," I said. "And let me know."

"Can you call me after Thanksgiving?" she asked. "I think I want to talk to him in person."

"No problem."

"Thanks."

"So, is it going to be a big Thanksgiving again this year?"

"The usual, about forty people."

The conversation turned to family and then school and then the minutiae of my job. I took the opportunity to tell her about some of the sights I'd seen in D.C. but hadn't previously mentioned and about some of my small adventures in learning my way around. After an hour, we said good night and gently hung up the phone.

I tried to focus on other things the next several weeks, but my thoughts kept drifting back to the possible visit. I found myself exploring D.C. more heavily on weekends, trying to identify places to take the ladies. My kitchen exploded with new cookbooks and new recipes, some of which required my tracking down ethnic grocery stores scattered around the city. The sleeper sofa arrived and I spent one night sleeping on it to make sure it was comfortable enough. For Thanksgiving, I joined some coworkers who were having a small celebration. With only eight of us, it was a far cry from Tina's mob. Finally, the following Monday, I called Tina back.

"Hey," I said after Marcy'd handed the phone to Tina. "How was Thanksgiving?"

"Good," she said, "and my dad said I can go."

"That's great," I said. "I'm surprised he didn't have a problem with it."

"Well ... he did. But he knew he couldn't stop me, so he gave in."

"Ah, I see. I'm still the guy who's corrupted his daughter."

"That's not quite right. Though, he did do the 'protective father' thing again, saying that you'd better not hurt me."

I chuckled. "Not likely."

"That's what I told him."

I paused. "So, you'll be able to come?"

"Yes! What do I need to do and what do I need to bring?"

"Well," I said, "I'll make the flight arrangements and have them send you the tickets. I think you don't have to do anything else for that. As for what to bring ... good walking shoes and clothes for going around town. It shouldn't be too cold, but you never know. And some nice clothes to go out fancy."

"Okay."

I took a deep breath. "I do have one special request, too."

"What?"

"Bring your garter belt and stockings."

Tina chuckled. "I'd love to."

I couldn't stop grinning ear to ear.

We chatted a little longer and agreed to talk again around Christmas. I hung up the phone and then the first thing the next morning I called a travel agent and made the airplane reservations. I checked the flight times with Sharon that night and she didn't have a problem with them, so on Wednesday I called the travel agent back and gave her my credit card to pay for the tickets. I was now committed.

"You didn't ask Tina about taking pictures," Sherri said.

I nodded, not meeting her eyes. "Not then, at least. I'd decided that was something to talk about in person, which is part of why I wanted her to come out early, before Sharon."

"Part of it?"

"Yeah, well, I also wanted to spend some time with just her, so I wasn't exactly lying when I told her that."

Sherri's eyes were cold, and she didn't speak.

"I really can't excuse what I did," I said. "I'm just trying to explain. To tell my story."

"Well, go on then."

I nodded, and took another deep breath before continuing.

December dragged. Each night, I lay in bed planning and scheming about the upcoming visit. Often, I jerked off to my fantasies. More than once, I dreamed about the weekend progressing beyond pictures.

Christmas itself was just a brief interruption. Since I was short on vacation time, I only went back for a couple of days. Sharon was in Albuquerque while I was in Colorado, so we didn't get together. Instead, I spent the time with my family, hanging around the house and sleeping in a lot.

I did call Tina on Christmas Day. We talked for over an hour and she mentioned that she'd gotten me a Christmas present. Something sexy, she said. That sent me into a small panic, trying to think of something for her. I didn't want to get her another necklace, and I wasn't sure I could find earrings to match the one I'd gotten her last year. After some furious shopping, I settled on a gold chain bracelet. It was elegant enough for a night out, but casual enough that she could wear it on more informal evenings. I only hoped it was close to what she'd gotten me.

It turned out it didn't matter. When January finally rolled around, Tina was just glad to see me. She came off the jetway at BWI and threw her arms around me as soon as she saw me, almost crushing the flowers I held. A big passionate kiss followed the hug, before she pulled back enough for us to speak.

"I guess you're happy to see me," I joked.

"Mmm, for me?" she replied, taking the flowers from my hands.

"You bet."

Her returned smile melted any remaining reservations about her visit. I pulled her close and kissed her again. When I pulled back, we were both grinning like idiots. Reluctantly, we turned and started walking toward baggage claim. Tina shifted her carry-on and the flowers so she could hold my hand.

"So what's the plan?" she asked as we walked.

"Well, tonight we just go back to my place, where I fix you dinner. Then we plan where we want to go tomorrow and Friday. Friday night, Sharon's plane is unfortunately late enough that we probably won't do much."

"That's not very long for her to be here," she said.

"Well, she couldn't get off from work."

"Huh. Seems like a lot of travel for just a weekend."

I shrugged, but didn't want to explain, so I moved on. "So, Saturday we spend more time in the city and Saturday night the three of us go out to a restaurant I've been reading great reviews about—The Old Angler's Inn." I didn't mention Sunday, since both women flew out that day, late in the afternoon. It really wasn't long enough, but it'd have to do.

"Sounds fun. Can we see the Air and Space Museum?"

"No problem," I said. "We can do that tomorrow. Are you hungry?"

She made a face. "I had airplane food."

"We can stop and get something if you'd like."

"No," she said, "I'd rather wait until ... after."

I grinned ear to ear.

Tina was true to her hint. The moment we'd stepped inside my apartment, she threw her arms around me and kissed me again. I returned her passion until I was almost gasping for breath.