Chapter 11: Day 1, concluded

The women's teasing of Luanne for her obvious change of heart eventually let up, and her tormentors broke up into several small groups, who sat around exchanging stories. Steve got a chance to chat with Antonia, and made up for their lack of pillow talk by asking her about her history. She talked about the problems she'd had growing up biracial. Her Korean family rejected Antonia and her mother because her father was African American, and her father's family couldn't understand what had possessed him to marry an Asian. "Not that they used that word, of course. I about puked the first time I heard one of my uncles piss and moan about how bigoted Whites were when he'd just finished berating my father for marrying a 'gook'."

Steve looked at her sympathetically. "I was lucky in that. I grew up in a completely White, middle and working class area. There weren't any racial minorities for miles. We had the Catholics to look down on, but that was pretty mild compared to what you and your parent's families have had to deal with. So I wasn't immersed in racial slurs like some people were. And I started reading SF at an early age, which was written to a great extent by people to whom racism was completely beneath contempt. They were writing about relationships between aliens, not different colors of human, so they got away with an awful lot, and the underlying assumptions just got into my head without me even realizing it.

"The only good thing to come out of this is that I expect the species to be back to just one 'race' in just a few generations. Trying to maintain 'purity' will require so much inbreeding that their effective fertility will drop. My grandchildren will be a bunch of different colors, but I'll bet their grandchildren will all be about the same color."

Antonia looked at him, and smiled. "I'm sure your grandkids will look just like you think they will, because their parents will inherit your attitudes. But I'll bet there will be other people who will look like they're a pure race, even though they have a mixed heritage. You underestimate the effects of sexual selection. Once they get the chance, women will pick a mate who's attractive to them, and in general women of one race are attracted to men of the same race. There are exceptions, especially among African Americans, since so many of them have a White ancestor or two, but it's the way to bet.

"Of course, if you can convince enough people that it's tacky to marry someone the same color as yourself, that might help. Society trumps biology, at least for some people."

Steve looked at her thoughtfully. "I hadn't considered sexual selection. I'm not the first man to have forgotten it either; Darwin's peers had lots of cultural baggage getting in the way of the idea that women's choices mattered, and I guess I'm not all that much better. Enough deep thinking for now, I'm thirsty. Can I get you something?"

Antonia declined, and Steve went off to the replicator to get a beverage.

Steve wasn't aware of it, but that little chat did more to cement the women's respect for him, and their growing love, than anything else he'd said or done. First of all, he was talking to a woman about an intellectual matter as an equal, and admitting it when she had a better grasp of the subject than he did. Second, he was treating her with respect despite the fact that he'd already 'gotten what he wanted' from her. And last but not least, the offer to get her a drink obviously wasn't an attempt to curry favor, but simple courtesy.

Steve mingled freely the rest of the afternoon, flirting and talking seriously in turn with all of the women, and earning more points by treating the ones he'd had sex with no differently than the ones he hadn't. That could have gone just as strongly against him, but didn't because he was showing equal affection and attention to the as-yet uninitiated, rather than ignoring his conquests.

Dinner was another pot-luck, but only about half of the women selected dishes; that let the women get proper portions of things without feeling like they were overeating. The mood wasn't quite as light as the previous day's; Bev's revelations about the 'mind control ray' had put a bit of a damper on things. But the general mood was still positive, as evidenced by the laughter when Steve made a big production of yawning and saying how tired he was, and how he expected to go straight to sleep, then spoiled the performance by snickering at the looks of dismay on Rachel and Latisha's faces.

The two women were seated side-by-side; he walked up to them and offered each a hand. "I really was planning on going to sleep early, but if we go to bed now, there's plenty of time to play before that. Are you ready?" He glanced at each in turn, Rachel first, and saw the YES in their eyes. He helped them both to their feet, turned, and put an arm around each of them. "Good night, ladies," he told the rest of the room, and the three soon-to-be lovers left the room.

When they got to Steve's bedroom, he took them to the couch and set them down, then sat between them, and drew them against his sides. "OK, I've said this before, but I'm going to repeat it until I'm sure everyone's heard and accepted it. I'm pushy in bed, I take charge and go where I think we'll both find pleasure. If I guess wrong, or get out of hand, I want you to tell me that what I'm doing hurts, or doesn't feel good, or that you don't like it, or you'd rather try it another time, or whatever. On the other hand, if you enjoy something, say so. If you can't bring yourself to say "Do that again", then just moan louder when it's better.

"Second point. I don't gossip. What happens in this room is private, as far as I'm concerned. If you want to share notes with the other women, fine, but I won't tell anyone what we do, or what you liked, or what you asked for. I know that the mood out there is a bit hostile to girl-on-girl love, but if it so happens that the two of you enjoy that, and like to be watched, then go for it and I'll never tell. But if either one of you doesn't go that way, or does go that way but doesn't like being watched, then you don't have to do anything just to amuse me.

"Third and final point. I don't mind being watched, but it's not a turn-on either. Rachel's up first, Latisha, so if she doesn't mind then you can watch. Likewise, when it's your turn, if you don't mind and she wants to, she can watch us.

"This is my first threesome, so it might get a bit awkward. I'd like us all to get naked, and I'll play around with each of you a bit to get us on the right track, then I'll get down to business with Rachel. I'm thinking I'll bring her off first, then do the same for Latisha, before Rachel and I have intercourse. Once I've filled her, I'll clean up, and take care of Latisha as well. After that, we'll see if anyone's still in the mood."

Rachel smiled, "That wasn't the most romantic offer I've ever had..."

Latisha interjected, "Same for me."

Rachel continued, "But I'm certainly not going to turn it down." She stood up, then turned towards him, and held her arms away from her sides, inviting him to remove her shirt. He stood, and stepped up to her, but before he started to undress her, he put his arms around her and gave her a kiss. He hugged her tight, then released her, and started removing her top. Once he got it off, he raised his hands to her breasts, and began to stroke and squeeze them. Once she had a nice flush going, he lowered his hands to her hips, and slid her pants and thong down her legs. Going to his knee, he worked them off first one leg, then the other. Rising again, he took her in his arms, and kissed her while his hands kneaded and caressed her ass. By the time he let go and stepped back, she was breathing heavily, and the flush of her arousal completely covered her chest and the tops of her breasts. She was swaying slightly as she tried to catch her breath.

Steve led her to the bed, and helped her to lay down on one side of the bed. Then he turned to face Latisha, who had gotten up from the couch and was standing next to it, waiting for him. She was shivering, and though it was difficult to be sure given her complexion, he thought she was aroused as well. Once he got her clothes off, there was no doubt of her condition; the smell was quite obvious. Steve went through the same process as he had with Rachel, and with even greater success. He eased her down on the other side of the bed from Rachel, then stripped off his clothes, and crawled up the middle of the bed between them. He gave Latisha one last kiss, then turned to Rachel.

"Do you have any requests?" he asked, "Anything in particular you'd like to try?"

"No," Rachel replied, "I'll leave myself in your hands. You've done so well so far."

Steve began licking and suckling on Rachel's breasts, while his hand stroked her firm stomach. As her moans began to grow louder, and the smell of her arousal more intense, his hand moved down between her legs, and began to trace around her womanhood. By the time his finger was moving across her clit, he was biting and pulling on her nipples with his teeth and she was pushing her chest into his face as she writhed beneath him.

Steve suddenly plunged one of his fingers into her vagina, while his palm ground against her clit, and the rest of his fingers lay alongside her outer lips. He gave her nipples one last bite, and kissed her on the mouth, muting her screams as he curled his finger and searched the inside of her pussy for her G-spot. He wasn't sure if he found it, or if the pressure inside just compressed her clit against his palm enough to get her off, but get her off he did, and pretty spectacularly. She arched her back, then dropped to the bed, momentarily exhausted.

Steve pulled his finger out of Rachel's pussy, stuck it in his mouth to clean it, then took her into his arms while she calmed down. She looked him in the eye and said, "My God, that was good. Now be sure you're just as good to Latisha."

Steve smiled. "I love the way you're all looking out for each other. This could have been such a disaster if you'd pulled that barnyard pecking-order crap that I've seen in other situations."

He squeezed Rachel, then released her, and rolled over to find Latisha staring at them. When she met his eyes, she started a bit, then smiled. "If that felt half as good as it looked, I'm going to be a very happy woman soon." She looked down at his crotch, and said, "That thing looks like it will go off any minute. How about I disarm that little explosive, and then you can do for me what you've done for Rachel. By the time you've done that, you should be ready to put some of that baby juice of yours into her."