Chapter 8

I woke up alone. It took me a little while to remember why I was stretched out on the sleeper sofa. I reached out and caressed the mattress where Sherri had lain. Commotion from the kitchen told me she was still here. I slowly pulled myself to a sitting position, just as Sherri came around the corner carrying two steaming mugs.

A beautiful naked woman bearing coffee. I doubted there was a better morning sight possible.

"Good morning, Joe. Sleep well?"

I nodded. "More soundly than I expected."

"Better than the last couple of nights?"

"Now that you mention it..."

I sipped my coffee while taking peeks at Sherri's breasts.

"If you're going to look, Joe, look. Don't peek."

"You don't mind me staring?" I asked, surprised.

"If I did, I would have covered up." Sherri had a leer on her lips again.

"Well, then." I dropped my eyes and soaked in the sight of her breasts. Her nipples and the curves. I'd been admiring them for a few moments when Sherri took a long, slow, deep breath, which thrust her breasts out further. I smiled and looked up, meeting her eyes.

"Heavenly," I said.

Sherri laughed, full and deep, causing her chest to jiggle delightfully.

"I wouldn't use that word," she said. "But thanks."

"What word would you use?"

"Divine," she stated.

I looked at her and raised an eyebrow, which Sherri saw and ignored.

"I can't stay too long this morning," Sherri said. "I've got class in a couple of hours but I want to hear more of your story before I go."

"Oh? Well, I've got a lot to cover still. Can we continue tonight?"

"Maybe," she answered. "It depends on my homework load and whether the agency books me any appointments."

"Oh." I wasn't thrilled about that, and it must have shown on my face.

"Don't worry about it, Joe. That's then. We've still got some time now."

"True," I agreed. "So where was I?"

"New Year's morning."

"Ah..."

Sharon was lightly snoring when my bladder brought me to consciousness. The stumble to the bathroom confirmed that I'd had too much to drink. At least the throbbing in my head wasn't incapacitating. I found the aspirin in the bathroom without too much trouble. Instead of returning to Sharon's bed, I navigated my way to the living room couch. I stretched out and thought about Sharon's story.

Initially, I was furious about what had happened. The boys had gotten a young girl drunk and taken advantage of her! Hell, not just the guys—Kathy and Janie, too. They had to have planned the orgy. They probably enjoyed having sex with all those guys, I mused, switching partners or taking two on at once. I was sure the guys had enjoyed it—having all those females in one night.

That last thought made me queasy. I'd fantasized about orgies hundreds of times. Hell, if I admitted it, I was jealous of those guys. And Sharon had never said no. Would I have stopped when I saw she wasn't enjoying herself? Would I have even noticed?

Noise from the bathroom alerted me that Sharon was awake. I stood up, winced at the throbbing in my head, and wandered back to the bedroom. Sharon was sitting on the edge of the bed with her temples in her hands. She looked up and gave a wan smile.

"I had too much to drink last night," she said.

"That makes two of us," I replied, sitting down next to her. I gave her two aspirin and she grabbed some water from her nightstand.

"Thanks," Sharon said next.

"No problem. I needed the painkillers myself."

"For more than the aspirin."

"Okay. Then for what?"

"Staying."

"No problem. What are friends for?"

"Yeah."

I put my arm around Sharon and she nestled in.

"So what now?" I asked.

"Coffee. In a few minutes."

"Sounds good."

I continued to hold Sharon for a while until she gently pulled away. Then I padded after her into the kitchen. Sharon got the coffee maker going while I got some mugs out. When I turned around, Sharon was thumbing through the pictures I'd moved to the counter.

Sharon sighed. "I was going to suggest some more photos after the party, but..."

"That's all right," I interrupted. "We can do it some other time."

Sharon nodded. "When do you head back?"

"Sunday."

"Maybe we could get together Saturday?"

"Mmmm, my parents want to spend some time with me. How about Friday?"

"Great."

"Great."

The coffee was done about then and we sat in silence at the table as we sipped. Sharon seemed far away as she thought her private thoughts. My own mind drifted to Sunday and what I needed to do before I left. Idly, I wondered how hard the upcoming semester would be. Maybe it wouldn't be as bad as the previous year, particularly if I was still going out with Tina.

Tina. Oh, shit. How was I going to explain last night to Tina? I groaned at the thought that my drunkenness might have cost me her as well.

"What?" Sharon asked. Shaking out of my thoughts, I looked at her, confused.

"You groaned."

"I was thinking about Tina."

"Okay..."

"I was wondering what I should tell her about what I did last night."

"Why should you tell her anything?" Sharon asked. "Nothing happened."

"Okay," I admitted. "Nothing happened."

"And nothing's going to happen," Sharon stated. Her voice had gone cold and her eyes had narrowed. "We're just friends."

I glanced over at the pile of pictures. Nothing?

"You should definitely keep seeing her," Sharon said, not noticing where my gaze had gone. "It's good for you to be dating someone besides Alicia."

I shot her a dark glare.

"Hey, I only mentioned her," Sharon said. "Besides, if you don't keep seeing Tina, how can I live vicariously?"

"Uh, by going on dates yourself?"

Sharon snorted. "The guys I've dated recently aren't worth it."

"You never went out with me."

"True," she said. "But I'm not going to lose a friend by turning him into a boyfriend again."

I was trying to figure out if she was referring to Allen or not when Sharon continued.

"I really don't know what it is about guys. The ones you like don't seem to get the hint you're interested and the creeps and losers can't seem to get the hint that you're not."

"Maybe you shouldn't hint," I suggested.

Sharon glared at me hard. I shrank back in my seat.

"You don't know what it's like being a girl, Joe. If you're too forward, you're a slut. If you're not forward enough, nothing happens."

"Well, not much I can say to that."

Sharon sighed. "I'd become a nun if I thought I could stand the celibacy."

"You can always take things into your own hands," I suggested.

"I do that," she said, "but it gets old fast."

"Well, I'm trying to provide some different stimulation to help with that."

For the first time in the morning, Sharon grinned at me.

"Yes, you do do that."

"I'll try to keep being of service."

"Good," Sharon replied. "And I do want to hear all about your adventures with Tina."

"Will do."

Sharon was still smiling as the conversation lulled.

"So what now?" I asked.

"Shower and then breakfast," she said. "I think Dot's Diner is open this morning."

"Sounds good. You first in the shower or me?"

"Me. That way I can work on my hair while you're showering."

"All right."

Sharon smiled, took a long sip of coffee, and then stood. I sat at the table, feeling the pain meds kick in, as I listened to her bustle about and then start the water in the shower.

I figured I could at least gather up my stuff while I was waiting for my turn in the bathroom. I didn't have much stuff out in the living room, so I wandered back to Sharon's bedroom where I'd dropped some of my outer clothes. I gathered them up into a small pile and then sat down on the edge of the bed. Not having much to do, I just started looking around.

Sharon's bedroom wasn't as heavily decorated as I'd expected. Maybe it was because it was so crowded. After the queen-sized bed, vanity dresser, and computer table, there wasn't much space for anything else. The teddy bear that had been so photogenic a few weeks ago sat smugly on the chair in front of the computer. I guessed he probably lived on the bed when visitors weren't around. Beyond the teddy bear, next to the computer, Sharon had hung a photo collage of about a dozen pictures inside a single frame. I moved closer for a better look.

Almost all of the pictures were of Sharon and Allen. Most were of them together, dressed up like they were going out, or hanging out casually cuddling. I remembered taking a couple of them myself, when Sharon had passed me the camera before she and Allen went out on the town. There were also some pictures of Allen by himself, all smiling, all looking like there wasn't a care in the world. The final picture was just of Sharon's face, smiling dreamily into the camera. I wondered what might have happened just before it was shot.

The water stopped so I backed away from the desk. A moment later Sharon entered wrapped in a towel.

"Your turn."

"Great!"

I headed into the bathroom, shed my clothes, and hopped in. I adjusted the water so it was a little hotter than Sharon had set for herself. I had just reached for the soap when the bathroom door opened.

"I'm going to work on my hair now, okay?" Sharon called through the shower curtain.

"Sure!" I answered. I was a little self-conscious about her being just a thin piece of plastic away from naked me, but we'd been in this position before. Shortly, the blow dryer started. I got soaped up just in time for the roar to stop and Sharon to call out to me.

"You know, Joe, we've already done photo shoots with all the lingerie I own. We might need to go shopping Friday."

I swallowed hard. My offer from a few months ago, 'I'll buy it if you'll model it', came screaming back to mind and collided with the awareness of my bank account balance. Sharon could bankrupt me with one good trip to Christina's Lingerie or Victoria's Secret. I thought fast.

"Or we could take them somewhere besides your apartment," I suggested. "Who says we have to use the blank wall as our main backdrop?"

"Hmmm. That's a thought..."

The renewed blow dryer drowned out any following words Sharon might have had. I finished rinsing and turned off the water. Sharon took a break in working on her hair at the same time.

"Here," Sharon called. "Let me get you a towel."

I thrust an arm out past the curtain and was rewarded with a handful of cotton. I pulled it back in and began drying off, just in time to hear the dryer roar again. I hesitated once I'd patted everything but my feet dry. I needed to step out, but Sharon hadn't vacated the bathroom. Furthermore, she couldn't hear me unless I shouted. I wasn't sure I wanted to do that, so I wrapped the towel around my waist and pushed the curtain aside.

Sharon waved to me in the mirror as I stepped out, but didn't stop teasing her hair with the comb and waving the blow dryer past it. She was wearing only a bra and panties, both plain and functional, and seemed fairly nonchalant. Well, why not? I'd seen her in just bra and panties before. I did my best to brush my feet without dropping the towel and settled for just rubbing them on the carpet. Then I scooped up my clothes and headed back into Sharon's bedroom where I finished getting dressed.

Sharon came back in, smiled, opened the dresser, and grabbed some jeans and a t-shirt.

"So, where do you think might make a good shoot?" she asked as she dressed.

"I ... uh ... I thought campus might be nice. Maybe something like the story you sent me, where she's wearing a garter belt under her coat."

Sharon chuckled. "You really liked that story, didn't you?"

"Absolutely."

"I'll think about it then."

With that, Sharon was dressed and we were off for breakfast. Dot's was indeed open but crowded. We had a pleasant meal where the conversation drifted to more mundane topics and afterwards I headed back to my parents' house.

I spent much of the rest of the day contemplating sites on campus where we might be able to take some decent photos. Since it was still break, I imagined that the stacks at the library might be deserted enough to work. We could probably also find a row of empty study carrels on the second floor. If the weather wasn't too cold, there were probably some spots around Old Main that would work well. If we were quick, we probably wouldn't get caught. Would Sharon be willing to take that risk?

She had in the showers with Allen, I realized. Maybe she would.

I didn't get much more musing before the phone rang that night after dinner.

"Hey, bud."

"Allen! What's up?"

"I've been wondering where you've been. You never called to say you were back in town."

"Uh, sorry man. I've been a little busy with family and such."

"That's okay," Allen said without a trace of annoyance. "Listen, my parents got me a new VCR for Christmas. You want the old one we had back in the dorm?"

"The one with the remote that didn't work? That rewound so slowly we thought about doing it by hand?"

"That one," he said. "I'll sell it to you for fifty bucks."

"Done. When do you want to get together?"

"How about Friday?"

"I'm getting together with Sharon then." I winced as soon as the words left my mouth. "How about Thursday?"

"That works," Allen said. "I'll swing by your parents' place at seven and we'll go get a drink."

When Thursday arrived, Allen was right on time. He'd saved the packing material for the VCR so I knew I'd be able to ship it to Tucson fairly easily. It had started snowing just a little before Allen had arrived. The streets weren't too slick yet, but we agreed we didn't want to drive too far just for a drink. We ended up at a Hooters not too far from my parents' house.

"I'm not sure I like these places," I commented as we walked in the door.

"What's not to like?" Allen asked.

"Well, for one, I'm not a buffalo wings fan and that's really all they do."

"We're not here for the food."

"True. But that's another thing. I hate the mixed message. The intentional ambiguity."

"What?"

"If they want us to ogle the girls," I said, "why not go all the way and make it like a strip club? Instead, they're playing this stupid game where we're here to look but we're not supposed to be openly admitting it. All nudge-nudge, wink-wink."

"So?"

"I hate that."

"Really?" Allen said. He grinned a little and licked his lips as a waitress in a very tight top and shorts shorter than I thought possible took our order.

"Really."

"So," Allen drawled as the waitress walked away, his eyes never leaving her, "exactly what are you doing with Sharon tomorrow?"

"Uhhh ... more photos, to be honest," I replied.

Allen turned to me, his grin broad.

"So are you two dating?"

"No. Actually I've had two dates with the girl from the poster shop in Tucson. Tina."

"Really?"

"Really."

"How's it going?"

"It's going fine," I said. "Both dates went extremely well. She's a great kisser, too." I couldn't keep the happy grin off my face and Allen chuckled when he saw it. "I'm supposed to call her when I get back in town."