Chapter 9B

While I lay there, grappling with my emotions, Steve gradually recovered and unfolded to lie on his back on the sweat-stained mat.

"Oh. My. God." He said, with equal heavy emphasis on each word.

"Did you like that?" I asked, begging for compliments.

"That was awesome! I've never really just 'let go' like that before. Are you all right? I didn't hurt you?"

"No, Steve. I'm fine. It takes a lot more than that to hurt me." I immediately regretted blurting out the truth, but he was too preoccupied to pursue it. "You were pretty awesome, too." I said to get him back on the subject.

"Thanks, but... Damn! I didn't know... I mean... you. That felt like... I dunno."

I smiled. Steve was clearly confused by the way I had turned the tables on him. He was used to being the fucker and the girl the fuckee that it was hard for him to come to terms with a different outcome. I occurred to me that perhaps I no longer needed to carry through with my plan to convince him that a girl could be worthy of his respect in the weight room, when I had just demonstrated that a girl could be his equal in bed.

I sat up and swung my leg over his and sat on his thighs. I picked up his completely limp cock and started stroking it tenderly.

"Any fight left in Big Steve?" I asked coyly. If he could get it up again after all that, I would admit defeat and go willingly to his harem.

"You got it all, baby. I've got nothing left." He confessed.

I grinned and stretched out full-length on him, stretching and rubbing my body on his like a cat on a rug. I was content.

When Steve had regained his strength, he reached for his clothes, but before he could get them, I picked up his and mine both and slid off the stack of mats onto the stairs. I led him down to the door to the locker room on the floor below where I pulled it open and stepped boldly naked into the echoing concrete and tile room.

I almost hoped that someone would catch me and Steve sneaking through the boys' locker room with the obvious signs of recent sex still drying on my thighs and my chin. I wanted to drag him by the cock down the main hall of the classroom building so that everyone could see us.

I settled for dragging him into the showers so we could get cleaned up and presentable before going back out into the world again. If someone wandered in and surprised us before we finished, well that would just be too bad.

I was washing Steve's back before I realized what I was doing. When I started soaping him up, he looked over his shoulder at me but said nothing. By unspoken consent, I washed all the places I could reach and he did the rest. With one major exception, I used the same method I would have in the girls' shower. When it was my turn, I handed Steve the soap. He took it and looked at me with uncertainty in his eyes. I turned my back to let him start there and he did, after much hesitation. He was so clumsy that I almost would have thought he had never held a bar of soap before.

"You do know how to work a bar of soap, don't you?" I asked with a mock-incredulous tone.

"Give me a break, I never did this before."

"You never showered? I can believe that!"

He pinched my rear for insulting him and I yipped and turned so he could do my front. When confronted with the more interesting bits, he became even more hesitant and clumsy. The second time he dropped the soap, I couldn't keep my mouth shut.

"I'd have thought you would've learned not to drop the soap in the shower by now." I said.

"You're making me nervous." He growled. "Hold still!"

"I am holding still. You know you can use more force than that. I'm not made of glass."

"You certainly aren't. I'm sorry, I've never washed a girl before."

"I can tell. I think that breast is clean enough, if you want to move on to the other one."

"Right. Sorry. I feel like I'm washing a statue by Rembrandt."

It was such a nice thing to say that I hated to correct him.

"Rembrandt was a painter. But thanks, anyway."

He finished soaping me down and stood straight again. He backed off a step to survey his work and said, "I mean it. You are the most beautiful girl I've ever met."

I really didn't know how to respond to that, so I covered by rinsing off while I thought about it. I started to say something flippant, to make a joke, but I didn't because I didn't want to cheapen his compliment. He seemed perfectly sincere, too. He was staring at me almost as intently as Mr. Locke had. That was something to which I knew how to react. I stepped out of the spray and struck a few poses that I had practiced in the mirror, holding each one and slowly moving to the next. Steve seemed to appreciate the show, if his slack jaw and unblinking stare was any indication.

While I was posing, amid the haze of water and steam, I noticed a flicker of movement at the entrance to the shower room. It looked like someone had been peeking around the corner at us and had just ducked back. It looked like my fantasy of getting caught with Steve was going to come true. But why would they hide? If it was one of the coaches, they should be screaming bloody murder. If it was a student, there should be whistling and finger-pointing. Who would peek-and-run?

We dried off and I reluctantly got dressed when Steve did. We were sitting on a wooden bench in front of a row of lockers after putting our shoes on when I realized that Steve and I were just staring at each other. I wondered if we were thinking the same thing.

"Penny for your thoughts?" I asked.

He dropped his gaze to the worn concrete floor while he composed his thoughts. "I was thinking how much I'm going to miss you," he said.

"What?" I said, confused. "When?"

"As soon as you are out of my sight."

That was another comment for which I had no comeback. I slid down the bench and swung my legs over his and hopped onto his lap. I leaned against him and he put his arms around me. I nuzzled his chest and when I turned my face up to his, he kissed me. It was one of the most tender, loving kisses I had ever received. It wasn't overtly sexual. It wasn't a prelude to something or the start of a make-out session. The only other person who had ever kissed me like that was Bambi. When it was over, I opened my eyes and saw Steve staring deeply into them. If the eyes are the window to the soul, then that must have been what he was looking for, because he was looking way past my baby-blues.

It started making me self-conscious and I jumped down off his lap.

"When will I see you again?" He asked. He sounded worried that I might disappear on him.

"I guess it will be tomorrow. I'll see you at lunch. If you don't mind me and my sexy outfit in the weight room."

"OK. Tomorrow, then. When do you think we can..." He trailed off, but he was clear enough. I had been wondering the same thing. Today had been awesome, for a lot of reasons. We both wanted to do it again just as soon as possible.

"As soon as possible," I said. "But I have commitments for this weekend. I have made promises and I will not break my word."

"I can understand that. I respect that."

Somehow his use of the 'R' word made me happier than anything else he could possibly have said. And it hadn't been something I had manipulated him into, or coerced out of him. It had been over something true and honest. I blinked back tears and we started to leave.

At the entrance to the locker room there was a folding yellow sign blocking the way. It said, "Caution: Caustic Chemicals in Use, Do Not Enter". It was the sign the janitor used when he was disinfecting the locker room floor. But there was no sign of the janitor. Someone had set out the sign to make sure Steve and I were not disturbed. It was almost certainly the same person who had seen us in the shower.

I didn't have long to wonder about it. When we walked out of the building into the bright daylight, the mystery was solved. Jim was sitting on a broad balustrade flanking the entrance to the building. He was trying to look casual, but I knew he hadn't been there for very long.

"Hi, Jim!" I said.

"Hey, Sam. Hi, Steve."

Steve returned to his gentlemanly ways. He held out his hand to Jim and they shook. Neither tried to break the other's hand or anything foolish, so I was relieved. I hadn't been sure Steve had grasped my explanation of my relationship with Jim and I didn't want to have to break up any hormonal displays of who the bigger ape was in the tribe. Jim would either get his head handed to him, or I would have to kick some Wojeski butt. Neither outcome appealed to me.

Either Steve had one of those flashes of insight that happen to every one once in a blue moon, or I owed him an apology for thinking he wasn't as smart as he really was, because he said to Jim, "So, you must be the one who put out the sign. Thanks."

"No problemo." Jim said, dismissing Steve's gratitude with a wave of his hand.

"So what are you doing here, Jim?" I asked.

"Well," he said, "Bud and Jolene went over to watch baseball practice, and Neeka went to work, so I thought I'd hang out in case you needed anything."

"That was certainly thoughtful of you," I said. "How did you know where we were?"

"Neeka told me before she left. You know sometimes she seems almost psychic."

He either already knew, and was putting me on, or he was just putting 2 and 2 together. He already knew enough to be able to deduce the owner of any unusual abilities around that turned up.

"Neeka Morgan?" Steve asked. No one had given him a cast list, so he couldn't be blamed for coming in late with the information.

"Yes," I said. "Neeka is my best friend. The one Jim is seeing."

"Man, she's one of the hottest chicks in the Senior class! You lucky SOB!" Steve said to Jim.

His appraisal of Neeka wasn't news to either Jim or me, but it's always nice to have someone agree with your opinion. Jim grinned at Steve's heartfelt comment.

I thought it would be best if I got Jim and Steve separated before Steve started asking too many questions about how helpful Jim had been, or why.

"Steve? If you have time, I'd like to go over and watch practice with Bud and Jolene."

"Sure! Jim? You going to come along?" Steve asked.

I jumped in before Jim could answer. "Jim, isn't Mom home by herself with the workmen? Don't you think it would be a good idea for you to keep her company with all those strange men in the house?"

"Uh. Yeah, Sam. That's a very good idea. I'm sure she would like me to sit with her. That's very considerate of you to think of that."

Jim and I were talking way over Steve's head, and doing a poor job of it, but Jim needed something to do besides spying on me and wishing he were with Neeka. Bambi was due some attention from someone for all the work she had been doing lately, and Jim was just the person she needed it from. Maybe a regression to infancy would relax him.

Steve and I walked the few blocks to the park where baseball practice was held. Unlike the football stadium and practice field, which were in the same block, and basketball, which was played in the gym; baseball at our school got second-class treatment. The team had to practice on one of the three diamonds over at the municipal park. These were poor facilities at best. The wire backstops all shared the same supports. There were no dugouts, only concrete benches on each side of the infield. Earthen embankments separated the fields. There were no bleachers, so spectators had to sit on the ground to watch.

We had no trouble finding Bud and Jolene. They were lying in the grass above third base. They were so absorbed in each other that neither looked up until Steve's shadow fell over them as he blocked out the sun.

"Hi, Bud! Hey, Jolene!" I said as they squinted up into the bright halo of light behind us.

"Hi, Sam," Jolene said. She sounded relieved. She and Bud were sitting well away from the rest of the sparse crowd. They had obviously been testing her limits and she was looking a little stressed. I looked around the grassy bank. The only other spectators on this side of the field were a few baseball-moms sitting closer to home plate. There were more people on the first-base side since it was closest to the parking lot. The situation was a very loose interpretation of 'in public' and a far cry from the crowded park they had gone to before. No wonder Jolene was stressed.

I wondered where Janice was now that Bud and Jolene were hanging out together so much. I started to ask, but I decided it could wait until Saturday. There was no reason to make Jolene any more uncomfortable.

Looking at Jolene and Bud, I realized that the party Saturday was likely going to include Bud. If he and Jolene paired off, I might need another guest to even things out. I suddenly remembered that I hadn't called Connie Falducci since she slipped me her phone number.

Returning to the introductions, I said, "Jolene you remember Steve, of course?"

Jolene smiled and blushed very prettily. "I sure do. Do you need your shirt back anytime soon, Steve?"

"No, you can keep it if you'd like to."

"Thank you, but my mom washed it, so most of the sentimental value is gone. I'll get it back to you. I'm just sorry I won the consolation prize," she added, with a sidelong glance at me.

"From my point of view, you were all winners," Steve said magnanimously.

"How gallant!" I said.

"I think I came in late on this," Bud said. "What are we talking about?"

"Jolene didn't tell you?" I said.

"No."

"It just never came up," Jolene said.

There was a long pause during which no explanation was forthcoming. I waited for Jolene. Jolene waited for me. Steve tried to look innocent. Bud looked around at each of us, becoming more curious by the second.

"Well..." I began.

"Please!" Steve said. "It's not something I'm proud of."

"What?" Jolene said in a shocked tone.

"Yeah, what?" Bud said.

"Steve has apologized for taking advantage of us," I explained to Jolene. "He feels that he coerced us."

Jolene and I both had a good laugh at that. While we were giggling, Bud waited impatiently for an explanation. He even looked at Steve, who just shook his head and smiled.

"OK, Bud. Jolene and I were having a little lunchtime party with Janice Dempsey and Sara Henderson. We were in this little storage room in the gym, when Sara gets the cute idea to throw our clothes out the window so we have to run through the building naked to get them back. We manage to sneak all the way out of the gym without being seen, getting more turned on every step of the way, understand? I mean here we are, starkers, in broad daylight, at school. And just when we think we've made all the way, here stands Steve with all our clothes in one hand and his cock in the other, telling us he'll give them back only if we give him some pussy."

"You sonnavagun!" Bud said. He held up his hand to give Steve a high-five, which Steve reluctantly accepted. "So, Sis, I guess you were the designated sacrifice?"

"Oh, no! He did all of us! Well, three of us, anyway. Jolene missed out." I said.

"Damn! You're the Man, Steve!" Bud exclaimed.

Steve looked like he hoped this didn't go any further. He could see that Bud and Jolene were into each other, and the next logical piece of information revealed would be the fact that Jolene had had her mouth all over his cock while he blew his load.

Everyone had their reasons for dropping this subject right where it was, so I decided to help out by changing the subject.

"We were all shocked as hell when Sara tossed our clothes," I said. "She said that she and her sister Lori do that sort of thing to each other all the time. Do any of you know of any other adventures the Hendersons might have had?"

I didn't really expect an answer to that. I knew Jolene didn't know anything about it, or she would've said something at the time. Bud had known the Hendersons longer than I had, and I expected him to say something. I was surprised when Steve was the one who spoke.

"I do," he said. "It was at the New Year's Eve party at Bobby McKinnon's house."

"I didn't know Bobby had a party on New Year's," I said. I was about to get mad over not being invited before I remembered that Yvette would never have let me go anyway.

"Well, the thing is; neither did his parents. They were in Tampa at a party and didn't get back until late the next day. Anyway, Bobby had scored a couple of cases of beer from somewhere and we were all ready to see the New Year in. Thinking back, it was probably more than a couple of cases, because we were pretty well blasted long before midnight. The Hendersons were going back and forth with this "dare you" stuff, but I didn't know what it was all about until I saw both of them go out to the pool. The next thing I know, they're both naked and in the water. Good thing the pool was heated. It must have been at least 60 degrees outside - too cool to be running around in the buff. And before you ask - yes. I did get in too. It was nice. You would have loved it, Sam."