Chapter 8

Tuesday and Wednesday flew by quickly for some reason. I didn't do anything special, although I did manage to spend a lot of time on the phone trying to renew my contacts with some of my former university classmates. Most were surprised to hear from me, out of the blue as it were, and, to be truthful, a fair percentage that I contacted were unable to remember me at all. Of the ones who could place me, and who seemed happy that I'd taken the initiative to get back in touch, they'd both quit smoking pot. There really wasn't anyone at work that I knew well enough to even discuss marijuana with, although I was sure that quite a few indulged. I felt that I was stymied and had made all the effort to help Donna out that I reasonably could. I didn't want to place myself in jeopardy just so she could get high. All right, maybe my thoughts weren't that altruistic, but the result was the same, regardless.

Thursday, as I was pulling into my parking spot in the carport after work, I noticed Sandy standing by the gate leading to my front door. I got out and locked the door and started walking towards her. She gave me a smile and waited by my gate for me to approach.

"Hi Jim, Mom and Donna went shopping, is it Ok if I hang out with you 'til they get back?" she said this in a single breath and looked up expectantly for my answer.

"Hey, Sandy, yeah, sure, its fine with me, I'd welcome some company. Have you had dinner yet?" I went through the gate and unlocked my door.

"Mom said she'd bring me a burger and fries when she comes home. We ate lunch kind of late and I'm not really hungry now. But, you can eat and I'll keep you company." She closed the door behind her as she followed me in. I was in my kitchen by now and looking in the fridge to see what looked good. I found a frozen boneless rib-eye steak and decided to defrost it in the microwave before cooking it in the broiler. I nuked a potato and opened a can of corn and put that in a pan on a back burner to heat while I took a package of sliced mushrooms out of the crisper and pan sauteed them in some melted butter with a tad of garlic seasoning. In less than 20 minutes I was diving into a pretty fair dinner. Sandy seemed impressed that I looked like I knew my way around the kitchen. She even tried a piece of the steak and commented on how tender and flavorful it was. After I'd finished eating and had cleared away the mess, Sandy and I went into the living room and sat down. For once, someone in her family allowed me to sit in my favorite spot. I was working on my second beer, having had one before and with my dinner, and Sandy was drinking a Coke from the can. She was sitting on the middle cushion on my sofa but wasn't sitting that close to me. I was telling her a little about what I did at work when she broke in to tell me her news.

"Mom and Donna are doing a contest to see who sleeps with you first. And it isn't fair 'cause they said I was too young to play. The loser has to clean both the bathrooms every Saturday for three months." As soon as she said it, my first reaction was 'great, finally a contest I can wholeheartedly get behind and support.' My second reaction was a lot less positive.

"Really? What does the winner get?" Sandy looked like she didn't understand my question at first, but then she brightened and said, " Silly, the winner doesn't have to clean the bathrooms for three months." As she said it, I realized she was speaking the truth, even if unwittingly. I wasn't going to be the prize, just the means of securing the prize. I was certainly going to give this situation a lot of thought. While I was certainly willing, even anxious, to give up my virginity, I can't say I was too happy about being used as the finish line for a race. I thanked Sandy for telling me and made sure that she knew it was best that she not let Jill or Donna know that she'd told me. She looked troubled when she realized that she'd be in real hot water with her family if they found out that she'd told me about their bet. Five minutes later she decided, with no prompting from me, that it might be better if she was waiting at home when her sister and mother returned. She told me not to tell them that she'd seen me or been over to my house. I, of course, agreed, as it dovetailed nicely with my own need to seem unaware of what those two had cooked up for me. I walked her to the door and bent over to brush her cheek with my lips. As she was leaving, I thanked her for keeping me company and told her I hoped we could get together again soon.

Saturday, I was relaxing alone at the pool after finishing with my housecleaning chores. I had swum laps for about 15 minutes and was lying on one of the chaise lounges drying off in the sun. I heard the pool gate open and looked over to see who it might be. I saw Jill walking in. She had the same bikini on that she'd worn the last time we all came to the pool but she had a covering terry cloth robe over it this time. She looked good and was still wearing her hair combed back. She smiled as she walked over and set her stuff on the chaise next to mine.

"Hi Jim, how's the water?"