Chapter 41

While Jeff lay in the recliner in the living room dozing, and Frank and Dave shot the bull by the fire, Jeff's young wives had changed their minds about showing the rest of the suite to Kathy and Linda. Instead, they had elected to suggest that the two try out their whirlpool, or relax in their new suite. There was more than a little matchmaking going on and the general consensus was that Kathy had a better chance with Bill if she and Linda's relationship deepened.

Evie walked into the game room where Jeff's four young wives were in a huddle. "Okay, what's going on?" she teased. "Suddenly the four of you suggest that Kathy and Linda try out their new whirlpool, or 'you might just want to be alone to get used to your new suite.' Wasn't that the way you worded it?"

The girls all turned as one, smiling with their Cheshire grins.

"Oh, we did something else," Arlene, the lead conspirator, said.

"Well, what?" Evie finally gave up and asked when they obviously weren't going to tell until she did so.

"We stole the top to Linda's bikini," Jennie said, as if that explained everything.

"Uh, so now she can't go swimming in the pool," Evie said, knowing that wasn't the answer.

"Now," Melissa said, almost jumping up and down with enthusiasm, "they'll have to get in the whirlpool nude."

"So, big deal. Both of them are female. They've seen boobs before," Evie said, a slight frown on her face. Then it hit her. "Oh..."

"Yeah," Arlene interrupted, "it might not make a bit of difference. But we suspect that since they only know each other from the plane and whatever interaction they've had when they were in hotels together, we doubt that they've taken a bath together. So we suspect that both of them will wear a bikini when they sit in the whirlpool. Kathy might not want to set a 'bad' example for Linda, and Linda being a little shy around Kathy..."

"Oh, we know that Linda takes showers around other girls at school, but Kathy is older. We suspect that they'll feel a little uncomfortable around each other. When Linda can't find her top, something will have to change."

Evie grinned at them. "Well, they could just decide to not use the whirlpool since Linda can't find her top, or... use the whirlpool separately."

"But not using it would be an insult to us after spending all that money to refurbish the suite," Ann said with a grin. "And we don't think they'll go for the second option. It would make them look too — well, you know."

"And it's just a wee bit intimate when you're sitting in that water with your tits floating for the other person to see," Jennie said.

"So what can I do to help," Evie said pulling up a chair.

Linda hung up all her clothes, then turned the bag upside down. I know I put both parts of my bikini in my bag. I know I did. Frustrated, she looked inside all her clothes, thinking the top had somehow become entangled with her other clothing and was clinging to the inside of something. No luck.

Now what do I do? Kathy's filling the whirlpool and if I go in there and say I can't sit in the tub with her, she's going to think I'm just a little girl. I saw her put her bikini on the bed, so she's obviously going to wear it for the same reason I was going to wear mine. Except, she's prettier than I am, so she's probably wearing it so she doesn't hurt my feelings. I'll just tell her that I've changed my mind.

Stepping out of her bedroom, Linda met Kathy coming toward her wearing her bikini. Oh, wow. She looks good. Now what do I do? Don't cry. She'll think you're a little kid for sure.

"You're not ready?" Kathy said as she realized that Linda hadn't put on her bikini.

Deciding to be honest about it, Linda answered. "Well, I... can't find the top to my bikini. I know I put both pieces in, but obviously I didn't."

"So. I really didn't want to wear this thing, anyway," Kathy said, turning back to her bedroom while reaching behind her to pull the bow on her top. "Come on. Hurry up. The Jacuzzi is big enough to swim in," she finished disappearing toward the bath.

Linda hurried back into her bedroom and took her clothes off. I shower in front of girls all the time. We laugh and cut up together while we do it. I don't think anything about it, usually. But Kathy is a woman. A beautiful woman. Steeling herself, she marched out of her bedroom toward the whirlpool. I'm not going to sit in my room like a little kid. She'll just have to laugh if she wants to. Taking a breath, focusing, trying desperately to keep her hands away from her groin and boobs and appear relaxed, she held her shoulders back and walked into the bath area.

Kathy, already sitting in the swirling water getting ready to pour bubble bath in, looked up as Linda walked in. Oh, crap. She's beautiful. I feel like a cow beside her. Her breasts are so perky that I want to cry when I look in that mirror and see mine.

"I waited to put the bubble bath in. Do you want to use yours or mine?"

"Either..." Linda said, but it didn't sound right, even to her. "Either one is just fine with me," she tried again after clearing her throat, then stepped daintily into the tub.

Linda walked down the short steps and sat on one of the underwater seats just as Kathy was doing.

"You're beautiful," Kathy said before she realized it. Then, "Uh, don't take that wrong. It was an honest compliment. I'm not into girls," she finished, knowing that she was blushing by the heat in her face.

"You really mean that about me... being beautiful, don't you?" Linda said, staring back at Kathy.

"Well, sure I do. I'm surprised that your dad hasn't had to do something drastic to the boys around your house. You're going to make some guy very, very happy one of these days."

"No one has even asked me for a date," Linda said, the sadness in her voice obvious.

"Linda, I'm not that experienced, even though I'm twenty-six, but sometimes boys, particularly the nice boys, are intimidated by a pretty girl, especially when the boys are your age. One of them will get enough gumption one of these days, then they'll be lining up to ask you out."

"Do you really think I'm pretty? I mean... I didn't want to come in here nude because you're so beautiful, and I feel like the ugly duckling."

"Baby, if we both walked into a room full of guys, they wouldn't even know I was there after they saw you."

"Boy, as my dad would say, 'it's getting deep in here, '" she said, giggling, "and I'm not talking about the water."

"Okay," Kathy laughed, "Are we just going to sit here staring at each other's boobs, or are you going to pour the bubble bath in?" Kathy finished, handing Linda the bottle.

Laughing, Linda grabbed the bubble bath and poured some near one of the jets. Putting the cap back on as the wonderful smell rose with the bubbles, she put the bottle on the side and turned back to Kathy. "Uh, Kathy. I... don't have anybody to talk to much any more," she hesitantly said as she cupped a handful of bubbles, then blew gently into them. "I mean... my best friend moved out of state. Mother isn't around any more, and even when she was for the last year or so, she hardly talked to me at all. I don't have any school friends close by, and my casual pals that I hung around with are dating, and don't have much time for me anymore. Since I've changed schools... everybody tells me something different about sex. Well, it seems that way. Now, I find out that Mr. Matthews has seven wives."

Kathy picked up a bath sponge and tossed it to Linda, then got one for herself.

Linda, sliding down farther in the water, hesitated, absently swirling the sponge around. "What do you think about the Matthews? I mean, they seem nice, but..."

To give herself time to think, Kathy turned to the controls and upped the pressure on the jets. Staring into the bubbles, she said, "They have been very nice to me. They have gone out of their way to treat me like a person, not a servant, as I've been treated from time to time by some of the people we've had on the plane. Particularly that... senator."

Linda, now running the sponge over her shoulders and neck, looked over at Kathy. "I know they spent a lot of time making that video for me. After we did ours for our class presentation, well... theirs made ours look like something kids would do, like I said..." Laughing, she continued, "but they didn't have to do that for me. I know they did it to make me feel a little better because of Mother, but still... Then they give us this beautiful suite and that basket full of stuff. I don't even know them. How could they do that for me?"

Kathy moved a little and discovered that one of the jets wasn't that far from her groin. Slowly, she inched closer. "I'm just as flabbergasted as you are," she said, using the word because her mother used to like it, "and remember, they didn't have to do anything for me, either. But, then again, Mr. Wainwright reimbursed me for my training, paid off all my bills, and gave me a tremendous bonus. I guess there are some nice rich people in this world, and we happen to know some of them."

Kathy knew what was coming when Linda opened her mouth to ask, as Linda focused on Kathy's face and said, "What do you think about their... marriage?"

Even though Kathy had been dreading the question, she found herself saying, "When they added Dr. Boswell to their marriage, it was the most beautiful wedding I have ever seen. I was so thrilled that I nearly cried my eyes out."

"I know that Dad went to a wedding, but tell me about it, please."

Kathy spent the next ten minutes describing everything she could remember about the wedding, in detail, answering a number of questions from Linda about various things that happened during the event and wanting to know what Kathy thought about them.

"But how can Mr. Matthews... uh, I mean."

Kathy just glanced away and let Linda stumble on, wondering how in the world she would answer, knowing that she wasn't sure, herself.

"... I mean, well, this friend of mine said that this boy she went out with was going to do it to her and he... was going to put it in her, but when he touched her it... squirted. And he couldn't get it stiff again," she finished, blushing furiously. "How can Mr. Matthews? I mean, do they all sleep with him? No, that can't be. They couldn't all fit into the same bed. Do you suppose they have separate bedrooms and he just... visits another wife each night?"

Kathy smiled back at the teenager. "They showed me their suite. Their bedroom is monstrous, and their bed is unbelievable. It's obvious that they all sleep together."

"But how could one guy..."

"Baby, I'm no expert at this. I've had one... affair; I guess you could call it. I fell for this guy at college. I was too dumb and inexperienced to realize that all he wanted me for was convenient sex. I thought it was going to be wonderful, but even though I kept thinking it would get better, it didn't. But he only went one time. Then he didn't want anything to do with me until the next day. Just before graduation, he told me it was over. After graduation, he left for California and his family, I suppose."

Hesitating a moment, staring into space, she eventually continued, "I was devastated. But now, I realize that his leaving was the best thing that could have happened to me. I would have married him, and looking back, I now realize that he didn't care crap for me. He surely couldn't have taken care of seven women," she laughed, amazed that she could laugh a little about experiences that had hurt so badly at graduation.

Both embarrassed, they busied bathing themselves. As Kathy leaned back and unconsciously let her legs spread apart, the jet of water hit her pussy. "Oh, my," she whispered.

Sliding just a little forward, she tensed trying to act normal as she centered herself on the jet, then quickly moved as the sensation on her clit became too intense. Sitting up straighter to move away from the jet, she glanced at Linda, who was looking at her strangely. Glancing back at the control panel, she realized what some of the little lights meant. Trying to do it casually, she reached over and pressed the bottom to scroll around to Linda's seat control, then activated her "personal" jet.

Linda squeaked, looked down at the water, trying to see through the bubbles, then back at Kathy.

Kathy couldn't help it, she giggled, then when she tried to quit, the giggles threatened to get out of hand. Soon, Linda joined her, but as she did, she slid a little down in the seat, changing the angle of her body with that of the jet. The giggle turned into another sound as she hastily sat back upright.

"Looks like our whirlpool, Jacuzzi, or whatever this is has some... uh, hidden amenities," Linda said, laughing but embarrassed beyond measure.

"Maybe we shouldn't..." Linda started as she stood up, ready to get out of the water.

"I'm sorry," Kathy quickly said, grabbing Linda's hand, then turning to shut her jet off. "Please stay. I didn't mean to embarrass you. I was just playing."

Startling both of them, Linda slumped down in the seat next to Kathy and began to cry. "I don't know what's wrong with me. We've played around in the shower at school. One second things are funny, and the next, I'm crying my eyes out," she said trying to wipe her eyes with a bubble-covered hand."

"Linda, I'm sorry. You're fifteen; I should never have done that to you. I didn't think."

"Now you're doing it. I am not a little girl. I'm just so mixed up..."

Kathy grabbed a washcloth from a stack nearby and wiped at Linda's face. "Does the bubble bath hurt your eyes?" she asked, trying to blot the bubbles from around Linda's eyes.

"No," Linda sniffed, taking the cloth from Kathy and wiping her own face. "I know I'm acting like a kid. But Mother won't even talk to me. She just acts strange. I can't believe she's fucking around on my dad. He's the greatest, and he and my mom used to be so close, I guess you would say. Now she just snarls at him — and me." Her broken voice turned into uncontrollable sobs as Kathy grabbed her, pulling the teen toward her, cuddling her in her arms.

Patting Linda on the back, the pats turning into a slow stroking, Kathy kept quietly saying, "It will be all right. It will be all right. Everything will work out. Your dad loves you. I love you. It will be all right," as Linda hung on tighter and tighter.

Much later with Kathy in bed reading, Linda had tried to sleep, but couldn't get her mind off her mother. Sighing, she got up and put her jeans and top back on. Slipping on a pair of sneakers, she wandered out into the hallway thinking vaguely about getting a glass of milk from the kitchen. Taking a wrong turn, she walked in that direction for awhile before meeting Evie coming toward her.

"I was going to the kitchen to get a glass of milk, but I think I'm going the wrong way," she said as Evie neared.

Surprising Linda, Evie hugged her. "Just keep going the way you are, and listen carefully," she said, an unfathomable expression on her face. "You'll figure it out."

Evie walked on without another word. Linda looked down the hall the way she had been going, then back at Evie as she walked away. I'm almost certain that I'm going in the wrong direction. Why would she say that? Why "listen carefully?" Puzzled, hesitating a moment, she shrugged and went on. Maybe this is the right direction after all.

A little farther, a door was standing partway open and she could hear the sound of guitar music. It sounded live, and not a recording. As she looked inside the sitting room (a much smaller version of the living room on the other end of the building), she saw Mr. Henson, the contractor, playing an unusual-sounding guitar. Not wanting to interrupt, but enthralled with the music, she stood by the doorway, listening.

When the second piece ended, Dave said, "Come on in Linda. I won't bite. Well, at least, not too hard," he said laughing.

When she tentatively entered, he continued, "Oh, well. I guess that little phrase is about worn out."

When Linda grinned at him, he motioned to a chair near him. "Do you play?"

"No," she said, shaking her head as she sat down, somehow feeling tongue-tied.

"Do you like the sound of the twelve-string?" Dave asked, reaching for his almost-empty cup of coffee.

Noticing the insulated carafe on a nearby table, Linda jumped up and took the couple of steps to reach it. "Would you like some more?" she asked, fighting not to blush, wondering why she felt so clumsy.

Smiling, Dave held his cup out. "Yeah, thanks. That would be nice."

Linda picked up the carafe, deciphered the mechanism, took Dave's cup and carefully filled it. Well, at least I didn't spill any. Why am I so nervous?

Handing the cup back to him, she set the carafe on the table. As she turned back toward her seat, Dave began to play again. Before Linda realized it, she had settled at his feet, watching his hands on the strings, listening to the chiming of the twelve-string, her head almost level with the guitar.

When he finished the song, Dave took a sip of his coffee. "Do you like the sound of the twelve-string?" he asked again.

"Uh huh. I never realized that I liked that... Is it called an acoustic guitar?"

"You got it in one. Although it does have an amp, but I'm not using it right now."

"But it sounds different — and all those strings..."

Chuckling, Dave pointed with his pick. "Notice that 'all those strings' are just six pairs of strings. A six-string — named that for obvious reasons — plays the same. Here I pick the strings just like I would with a regular six-string, but since the string pairs are so close together, I actually hit two strings instead of one. If you just look away from it and pick it just like you would a six-string, you don't even notice that you're hitting two strings each time, instead of one. The same thing for my left hand as I form the chords."

Dave pulled the pick slowly across the strings, sounding each pair separately. "Hand me that other guitar, please," he said, standing the twelve-string in its stand.

Linda came to her knees, turned and carefully took the other guitar from its stand and handed it to Dave.

"Now watch the pick and listen to the difference. Dave pulled the pick down across the six strings, sounding each separately with a C chord as he had done with the twelve-string.

"Hear the difference?" he asked, grinning.

"Oh, yeah. The twelve-string sounds... fuller. But the six-string sounds really nice, too."

"This is just my opinion, now, but to me a twelve-string can't be beaten on some music. Other music sounds terrible on it. A six-string sounds nice on everything, if it's played correctly for the song, but sometimes all that ringing of the twelve-string that sounds so good on some music, gets overbearing on other songs. Some guitarists won't play a twelve-string at all. They hate them. But to me, they can produce a sweet sound if you take care to play them the way they should be played."

"I knew as soon as I heard the guitar that whoever was playing was the person who played the background music for my video. How can you play like that? I watched you from the door. You seem so relaxed, like you were half-asleep, or something. But you knew that I was at the door."

Dave grinned at her and picked up his coffee cup, taking another sip. "Sometimes I close my eyes when I'm... listening to the guitar. I'm concentrating on how the music feels; what I need to do to make it more expressive. To make it feel right. Does that make any sense?"

"I guess. I wanted to get closer to the music when I was standing in the hallway, but I didn't want to interrupt."

"Linda, I'm sorry," Dave suddenly said putting the guitar on its stand and getting up, quickly setting his cup on the table. "Would you like something to drink? There's a small fridge over in the corner. I guess Jeff's... wives, or mine, uh, keep it stocked with a variety of soft drinks. What can I get for you?"

Looking up at him, Linda said, a smile on her face. "I know they're his wives," she said. "I'm not a little girl. And I can get..."

"Nonsense," Dave said, already halfway to the refrigerator.

"Uh, something without caffeine, I guess, if you have it. The reason I was up was because I couldn't sleep."

Opening the refrigerator, he looked inside and said, "There's grape and orange. They're the only ones without caffeine that I see."

"Orange would be fine."

A moment later, he broke the seal on the lid and unscrewed it part way before handing the drink to her. Sitting down, he took another sip of coffee before retrieving the six-string. "What would you like to hear?"

Linda smiled back at him. "I don't know. I've never listened to someone play a guitar before. I mean, I listen to music all the time, but it's not the kind of music that you have been playing... Uh, just play anything."

Dave played for a while, then as he finished his coffee and replaced the cup on the table, he looked at the almost enraptured girl sitting in front of him. Seeing women, especially young women, enthralled with a person in a band wasn't that unusual, but seeing her so obviously taken with the music was more. Looking down at her, trying to look her in the eyes and not let his vision drift to her breasts that seemed to defy gravity, he realized that he was feeling guilty.