Chapter 61

It was 11:00 and nobody had come to take Jill home. We untangled ourselves from the couch and each other and got ready to go over to her house. It felt so good to be able to hold her. Of course, we did a little more than hold each other. Not too much, Sara and Mary were around and about.

She'd settled down when I told her I wanted her to spend Saturday and Sunday with me. What would it take for her to really get that she's the only woman I had any interest in?

We got in my new car and took our time going home. John said we had to leave at 11 but he didn't specify an arrival time. I wasn't about to take advantage; the last thing I wanted was for Jill to be grounded when she was spending the next night and possibly the one after that at my house. But I didn't break any speed records, either. Jill was snuggled up to me, holding onto my arm the whole way. I was getting used to steering with my left hand.

We got to her house and I saw John's Beemer in the driveway. I parked the car and went around to let Jill out. We took our time walking up the path to her front door, my arm around her shoulders, her head against my chest. When we got to her front porch, she turned and wrapped her arms around me. It was obvious she wanted a kiss and she wasn't going to invite me in. Which was just as well because I probably wouldn't have left for an hour or two.

She leaned into me, her mouth slightly open and closed her eyes. That was her signal that she wanted a kiss that would knock her socks off and she was willing and eager to return the favor. Neither of us disappointed the other.

She grabbed her key out of her pants pocket but the doorknob turned when she tried it. She said "Goodnight, Jack. I'll see you tomorrow night," as she went inside, closing the door softly after she was past it.

I looked at the closed door for a few seconds, turned around and walked back to the car. On the way home it hit me. I could drive to school from now on.

I reflected on our evening on the couch. Between kisses, I'd discovered a whole new world in Jill's life. We talked about volleyball and her involvement in it. In her eighth summer, she started attending a local day camp that was set up to give kids from 6 to 14 something to do while she was out of school... She went four days a week and the highlight was the volleyball games. She got interested in the sport and kept an eye out for any matches that were on ESPN, watching and learning. Over the years she implemented a lot of the stuff she saw and developed her own style. She had turned into an ace player and had even been approached by a scout from USC early this year. No offers yet, but he told her if she kept going like this he was definitely interested in talking to her in a couple of years. The fact that she was carrying a 4.0 grade average didn't hurt, either.

It was fun watching her talk about volleyball. Her whole face would light up. I had no idea she had that much passion and excitement about anything. She told me about the other girls and how she had helped them improve over the last year and I could see the pride in her face. I jokingly said she should compete in the next Olympics and she seriously answered that she had made inquiries into it but couldn't handle the time away from school in order to train with the team.

I discovered something after that talk. Jill and I were closer than we had been before. Our kisses had a little more intimacy, her body felt more desirable as I held it, her skin was a little softer. She'd let me further into her world. Actually, I let myself go into it. She would have been willing for me to come in any time, I just had to show some interest. It was humbling to realize how self centered I'd been. Almost like using her, taking her for granted, being more interested in her as a body, a thing than as a person. I learned that true love involves the whole person. And that physical love became better, the more you knew of that person.

I got home and pulled in the driveway next to Mom's new Lexus. John was an influence on her whether she wanted to admit it or not. She never would have treated herself to a car like that if he hadn't bought his hundred thousand dollar BMW. She'd worked her ass off since Dad died. She deserved a little luxury.

It was after midnight when I got home. I didn't see Mom so I walked down the hall. Her door was open and she was nowhere around. Maybe she and John finally decided to go for it. She'd jokingly talked about taking him to bed once even though she constantly denied wanting a serious relationship with him. I sure wasn't going to push her one way or the other. She was a big girl. I don't think I'd ever seen her dressed like she was tonight. Up till now, she'd just been Mom. Tonight, she'd been hot!

I was headed back down the hall when my bedroom door opened and a sleepy Sara looked around it.

"Oh, hi Jack." She came into the hallway. She was dressed in a filmy nightgown that came down to just below her butt cheeks. She had some panties on that had legs that came down about three inches. It didn't show anything, but it didn't hide much, either. If I wasn't head over heels in love with Jill, I probably would have considered making some kind of move on her. My body was interested but I took control of it.

"Hi Sara. Did I wake you?"

"Uh, no, I was just..."

"Sara? Why won't people just admit they were asleep? It's not anything to be ashamed of."

"You're right. I was asleep and you woke me, you dweeb."

"That's better. Now go back to sleep before I do something we'll both regret." I pulled her head toward me and kissed her forehead.

She grinned at me and went back in the room, closing the door slowly. For the second time in the last hour, I got the picture of a girl leaning up against a door, sighing with a smile on her face.

I swung by the bathroom and gave my toothbrush a workout and threw some water on my face. It was too late to take a shower. I figured I'd take one in the morning.

My guardian angel must have been looking after me. My alarm clock was on the table next to the couch and the pillow, sheets and blanket were in a neat pile at one end. Two minutes after I got there I was sound asleep.

The alarm went off a couple of minutes later. I looked at it and five and a half hours had passed. One more reason for the two of us to stay in the same place.

I got out of bed and made my way outside. Queenie came up to me, wagging her tail. She was good natured dog. She reminded me of Lassie. I reached over the gate, gave her a quick pat, then went into the garage and got some clothes out of the wardrobe.

I went inside, poured myself a glass of orange juice and got into the bathroom before the rush. I used the toilet, took a quick shower, shaved and got dressed. I was shaving every couple of days now. When I shaved off that first peach fuzz, it was a big deal. Now, a couple of years later, it was getting to be a chore. Maybe I'd grow beard. This hacking up my face every other day was starting to be a pain.

I had some eggs and bacon going when Mary and Sara walked in. Sara was dressed as she had been last night.