Chapter 34: Sammy and the Baldwin Sisters

We repeated the same steps as the previous week, stopping at Suzanne's apartment for lunch and for her to change clothes before going to the club to tee off at 1:30. I attempted to reach Jessica Baldwin but had to leave a message with her mother, saying that something had come up which would prevent me from making our appointment to play tennis. I could not think of a way to tell Mrs. Baldwin that Jessica had promised to meet me in order to discuss the symbolism of Hemmingway's fish. Somehow I thought I was missing a golden opportunity to discover more about Jessica than her opinion.

Our round went faster than the previous Tuesday. I also played better. Suzanne restricted her advice to only one remark. "I hope you grow to appreciate the life your uncle has made for you. I dare say you won't receive the same guidance at home that we've given you here. But John's your guardian, not me."

"I'm going to miss you Aunt Suzanne," I said and watched her blush.

"Don't be a smart ass," she answered, giving me a poke on the arm.

We had to wait an hour for Mr. Oldham to join us and he arrived early. Suzanne gushed about how well I played that day. The conversation turned to business during dinner. Mr. Oldham wanted a progress report from me on my job at his office, my landscaping duties and my reading list. I tried to make my report sound positive. The few hours I spent at his office flew by and I was getting along well with the members of the I.S. department; with Ned's help the park never looked better and I had checked off two more books on my reading list since the last time he saw it. I unfolded the paper that I always carried in my pocket and handed it to him.

"What's this?" Mr. Oldham asked, handing the paper to Suzanne so she could see what he was talking about.

Shit! I thought, having forgotten about writing 'The Hemmingway Reader' and 'A Farewell to Arms, ' at the bottom of the page, books that I had borrowed from his study.

"A Farewell to Arms is not on the list," he said, stating the obvious. He didn't look happy with me. Shit, why did I show him the paper?

"He's going above and beyond John," Suzanne said in support of me, handing the list back to me.

"Have you read it?" Mr. Oldham asked her.

"A Farewell to Arms? Yes, of course but it was a long time ago," she said thoughtfully. "Oh John, don't tell me you're concerned the subject is too provocative for Sammy to read?"

Suzanne's attempt to defend me was for naught. Mr. Oldham disregarded her and turned his full attention to me. "What made you divert your attention from the reading list I developed for you Sammy?"

I had no reason, not one that would be acceptable to Mr. Oldham in his present state of mind. I hesitated, trying to think of something to say that would appease him. "I'm going to read everything on the list Sir."

"That does not answer my question, does it?" I had never seen Mr. Oldham react this way to something I said before, not even when I pleaded to do something that he restricted me from doing.

"No Sir," I answered, wondering what he wanted me to say.

"What possessed you to use your valuable time reading something that was not required?"

I wasn't sure why I went into his study looking for other books by Hemmingway and then it struck me. "It was the fish Sir."

This struck Suzanne as funny but Mr. Oldham remained soberly thoughtful. "The fish in 'The Old Man and the Sea?'"

"Yes Sir. Jessica said there was a deeper meaning than just catching the fish and working so hard to bring it home. I was trying to understand what she meant so I could talk to her about it and she wouldn't think I was stupid."

This struck Mr. Oldham as amusing and I heard Suzanne sigh. "Jessica's one of the Baldwin sisters," she said and Mr. Oldham nodded.

"That's commendable Sammy. You extended yourself to have a woman think well of you. That's something you learned on your own that I could never teach you." Mr. Oldham said.

We finished the meal on a pleasant note, Mr. Oldham giving Suzanne a goodnight kiss and her asking if I wanted to transfer my clubs from her car to Mr. Oldham's trunk. I said to leave them in her car, assuming our Tuesday afternoon golf date was permanent.

I phoned the Baldwin home and was told that the family was just sitting down to dinner. Mrs. Baldwin ask which one of her daughters I wanted to speak with and when I said it was Jessica she told me to wait an hour and a half to call again because Jessica had kitchen duty that evening.

"Where were you?" She asked when I called back exactly ninety minutes after my first call.

"I had to do something with my aunt," I said.

"Not this afternoon, just now. I've been waiting for you to call back."

"You're mother said to wait until you finished the dishes."

"Silly, you could have called an hour ago. I can talk on the phone and clean up the kitchen at the same time."

"I was just doing what your mother told me," I said, not liking that she had called me silly.

"What are you reading?" She sounded interested, like there was something behind her question.

"Robert Browning. Can I see you tomorrow?"

"Robert Browning, not one of my favorites but he's okay. No, not tomorrow, that's Jeanie's day."

"What?"

Jessica lowered her voice and spoke confidentially. "She's blackmailing us Sammy. She overheard Cindy telling me what you two did and she's going to tell mom about it if we don't let her spend time with you. We're all going to have to tolerate her Sammy."

All I could think of was the braces. Jeanie was only thirteen, way too young for me. That little shit, I thought. "I won't do it," I stated emphatically.

"We're not even suggesting you do anything erotic with her, just entertain her. If you want to spend time with Cindy and me you have to abide by Jeanie's terms. It's only every third day," she said, still speaking softly, appealing to my male curiosity.

"Does that mean I won't see you until Friday? I wanted to talk to you about the fish?"

"Meet me in front of my house in ten minutes. Bring Browning," she said, hanging the phone up before I could protest, not that I had anything to protest about.

Mr. Oldham didn't comment when I told him I was going out for a while. He must have seen the book and flashlight I was carrying but didn't say anything. Nor did he ask which Baldwin sister I was meeting.

Jessica told me to bring Browning. Why? The streetlights were not bright enough to see the print and there were none with park benches beneath them anyway. Could it mean she was going to the cottage with me? To read Robert Browning?

It was 8:15 when we met in front of her house. We walked directly to the cottage without my having to suggest it. We took turns reading Browning poems, most of which were not on my reading list, until 9 p.m. when Jessica made her move. She set the book aside and reached for my belt. I helped her with my pants and shorts, leaving my shirt until later. She sucked my cock with the reading lamp still burning but wanted me to turn if off before I undressed her.

'Don't compare them, ' I told myself when it occurred to me that Jessica's nipples were even more responsive to my touch than Cindy's had seemed. I tried to put Cindy's tummy out of my mind as I moved down, dragging my lips across Jessica's midsection and to her soft moist pussy lips. I did take note that Jessica was less vocal, more reserved, more difficult to please, but very appreciative of my efforts as I worked to make our first time together a memorable one.

"Cindy was right, you're good," she said after she regained her power of speech.

I removed my shirt and took my place next to her on the couch, the towel protecting the fabric. "Does Cindy tell you everything?"

"I don't know. You tell me, did you really short change her?" She was flicking my nipple with her tongue.

"What do you mean?" I asked, absent-mindedly letting her tongue consume my attention.

"Cindy said she ask if you had a prophylactic and you said you weren't going to do it with her. Is that right?"

"I didn't think she was ready. She told me before that what she wanted was for us to get better acquainted so I let her play with my cock," I answered.

"Do I get to play with your cock?" She asked teasingly.

"You already did that," I said, making Jessica giggle.

"Are you going to short change me too or do you have a prophylactic?"

I got up, stumbled around in the dark and found a rubber. "Do you know me well enough for this?" I asked, taking my place between her spread legs. Jessica answered by pulling me down to her for a kiss while checking that I had the rubber on securely. We fucked for ten minutes before she made a sound. "This is nice," she said and I agreed with her. She said nothing more until she advised me that she was ready to come.

"I told my mom I would only be gone a couple of hours," she said, looking at her watch. We had to walk fast to get her home on time.

"Can I see you tomorrow night?" I asked when we neared the Baldwin home.

"I can't see you again until Friday. Tonight was an exception but Jeanie was firm about our agreement. She wants equal time or she goes to mom."

"This sucks," I said.

Jessica stopped walking. "No, it doesn't suck. No sucking. You're not to do more with her than kiss a little, understand?"

I had to laugh at the way she was waiting for me to agree not to violate her sister. I had no intentions of doing more with Jeanie than a kiss or two. "Does she expect me to take her to the cottage? How long will she want to be with me? What will I do with her?"

Jessica considered my question regarding how long my session with Jeanie would last. We decided upon a two hour limit, the drawback being that we would have to abide by the same limit, Jessica and I, Cindy and I. Would two hours be enough?

"Talk to her. Talk about anything. Entertain her. Don't look at your watch. Remember, she has the power to break up our little party. You can do whatever Cindy wants you to do but keep your hands off Jeanie. Okay?"

I assured Jessica that I understood the rules. We kissed at her front door and I walked home, amazed at the turn my life was taking. I had fucked Jessica Baldwin, the girl that called me the lawn boy when we first met; the girl I thought was out of my league. I had fucked Jessica Baldwin and she liked it. And she told me it was okay for me to fuck her sister. The only drawback was the every third day when I would be forced to suffer through two hours with Jeanie.

Jeanie insisted that we go to the cottage. She went from room to room before returning to where I was sitting on the couch. "What do you do with my sisters when you come here?" She asked, taking a seat very near me.

"Last night Jessica and I read poems to each other from this book," I said, thumbing through the Robert Browning book.

"What do you do with Cindy?"

"We dance and fool around," I said, motioning to Alice's tape player, which she had left for me, saying it might come in handy. If she only knew that it already had. "Would you like to dance?"