Chapter 6: The First Steps

The morning passed quickly. I took a shorter run and spent some extra time stretching and doing calisthenics before the rest of the family got up. No one was up so I snuck into Allison's room. Kneeling by the bed, I leaned over and gently kissed her mouth. She moved a little, then I felt more than saw her eyes open. She started to react, then realized it was me. One hand came up to grip the back of my head and she pressed her tongue against my lips, seeking entrance. I opened my mouth to meet her half way. As my tongue touched hers I slid my hand up to knead at her left breast while we kissed. I rubbed it lightly through the material and pinched the nipple as it started to swell, all the while swirling my tongue around to explore the contours of her mouth. This was my first real kiss. And it was different from the one in my dreams. It only took a second to pin it down. The taste of her mouth was different.

"Umm," she whispered, breaking the kiss. "Now that is the way to wake up in the morning. Good morning to you too. I'm guessing no one else is up yet?"

"Congratulations, you got it first try. Even if someone gets up, you have an appointment with Dr. Walters today for your physical, so I can say I was just making sure you were up."

"Oh I'm up. What about you, are you "up" this morning?" I hadn't been but I was getting there fast.

"Tease," I whispered. Then I moved my hand off of her breast and tweaked her ribs. Her body jerked in the usual response, one arm coming in to protect the other flashing across her body to slap my hand away.

"Okay, okay. I'll be good!"

"You'd better be." I said, kissing her once more on the forehead. "Now how about you shake that cute little butt of yours out of bed?" I got up and headed off to the bathroom for my shower. I was about halfway there when she caught up with me.

"Wait," she whispered, "I gotta go!" She was wearing her usual bed wear, a long t-shirt and panties. Just before she closed the bathroom door she flipped the back of her shirt up, flashing her panties at me and gave a little wiggle. I just rolled my eyes at her. She covered her mouth to stifle the giggle and shut the door.

As I was standing patiently, my parent's door opened and my dad came out in his running clothes.

"Top of the morning to you James. What's with the bathroom?"

"Morning dad, I woke Allison up to remind her she had to be ready for her physical. I guess I should have waited because now I'll probably be late for school."

"I heard that!" came the angry voice through the door.

Dad just laughed and shook his head, "And on that happy note, I think I will make for higher ground. No sense both of us getting caught in the blast. See you in a bit. Tell your mother I took the long run this morning."

"Sure, have a good run."

As the garage door closed, the bathroom door opened and out came Allison. She had her nose up and was very astutely not looking at me as she swaggered past. I gave her a quick slap on the butt and bolted through the door to safety.

"Why you!" But she was too late. "I'll get you for that!"

I heard mom's door open, "You'll get who for what?"

"Jimmy hit me! There I was just walking down the hall, minding my own business, and out of nowhere that evil boy assaulted my person! He actually touched me! And not in a polite manner at all! And I am going to seek redress for his effrontery."

"Right, why is it I think there is more to the story than that?"

"Mother, I'm shocked!" she said in her most insulted voice. "That you would doubt your own daughter in a matter such as this. I realize that he is your first born but to approve such barbaric behavior, why, I just can't believe it. It was an unprovoked and unwarranted attack I tell you. I would have fought back but it came so unexpectedly and there simply was not time."

"I see. James Edward Matthews," she said, raising her voice. "How dare you assault your sister in such a fashion, especially when she was unprepared."

"That's more like it," Allison said, suddenly sounding much more agreeable.

"Next time," mom continued, "wait 'til she's ready. Then turn her over your knee and wail her good! Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes ma'am!" I yelled through the door. It may have come out a little garbled as I was just finishing brushing my teeth.

"Mother!" Allison whined.

"Now get yourself dressed." Again she raised her voice. "Breakfast in twenty minutes, be there or go hungry!"

"Sure thing mom. Dad said to tell you he was taking the long run this morning so he will be a little later than usual," I yelled as I turned on the shower.

"Thank you dear. And good morning," came the reply. There may have been more but I was already getting into the shower and the sound of the running water drowned out any further comments. Eighteen minutes later I presented myself, dressed and ready to eat. Despite the severity of her injuries, Allison had somehow managed to arrive ahead of me.

"Why good morning Allison," I said teasingly. "I trust you slept well."

"Hmph!" came the reply. "I am not talking to you, you brute!"

"Oh, gee. That's too bad. I don't suppose you would tell me what I did to deserve such treatment? So I can be sure to do it again every chance I get." As I was speaking I had walked behind her chair. I bent down quickly and blew a sloppy wet raspberry on her neck just below her right ear, then pulled out the chair next to her and sat down.

"Oooh yuck! Mom! Jimmy's giving me cooties!" Mom just rolled her eyes and did a masterful job of ignoring the whole exchange.

Eggs, toast and juice magically appeared before us, curtailing any comments that might have been forthcoming. I wolfed down the eggs and toast. Then, just as I took a big drink from my juice, Allison reached into my lap and grabbed me right by the crotch. Suddenly juice was shooting everywhere. Mom turned around but by then Allison was just sitting there looking like the perfect little angel.

"You shouldn't eat your food so fast James. Here," she said, throwing me a dish towel.

"Yeah Jimmy," Allison chimed in. "Don't be such a pig." I've never wanted to strangle her so much in my life as at that moment. "Better get that before it drips on the floor or you'll have to mop after school," she said, smiling sweetly.

I finished wiping up the mess and headed off to school. Allison gave me a wink and blew me a kiss as I headed out the door. Nah, I guess I'll let her live.

The first two periods flew by. As soon as break started I grabbed Mark and headed off to find Coach Jenkins.

"Oh dude, this is going to be so embarrassing! I don't even know what to say," Mark complained as we approached the gym.

"Better think of something quick big guy, there she is now." I raised my voice as I waved to her. "Miss Jenkins! Have you got a second?" As we got closer I reached out my hand in greeting.

"Good morning Mr. Matthews. To what do I owe the pleasure of this meeting?" she inquired as she shook my hand.

"Actually Coach, I wanted to introduce you to my good friend Mark Davis. He had bit of a problem the other day and he needs to talk to you about it. Don't you Mark?" I said, placing the ball squarely in his court.

"Um, that's right Coach, I mean Miss Jenkins. I just wanted to... well actually, I mean what happened is..." Mark sputtered.

"Mark! Just tell her what happened."

"I'm getting to it dude, just give me a minute. What I was trying to say Miss Jenkins is that the other day at registration some guys were saying some stuff about you. It wasn't really nice, and well, I kind of repeated it to my mom and Jimmy at lunch. And my mom like totally freaked out and yelled at me and told me I had to apologize. So that's why I'm here." Mark stood there with his head hanging down and looking like he expected the firing squad to show up any minute.

Miss Jenkins just looked at him for a second. "What kind of things were they saying?"

If he was nervous before, he was sweating bullets now. "Well, actually it was that you, uh, well that you..."

"That I'm a lesbian?" she offered.

"Yeah, but they didn't say it that way. They said you were a dyke. And when I mentioned it in front of my mom she about ripped my head off."

"Your mother sounds like someone I might like to meet some day. That is a word I really don't like. It conjures up such a negative image."

"That's what my mom said. That and since it's not something that I know but just something I overheard someone else say that it's just gossip and I should apologize for spreading it. So that's why I'm here, to apologize for gossiping about you that way."

"Really? Well then I would definitely like to meet her someday. Tell you what. Why don't we see if we can make a fresh start? Mr. Mark Davis, how do you do? I am Melinda Jenkins. I'm one of the PE teachers. I also work with the girl's cross-country team and coach girls basketball. And just so you know, I am a lesbian. I hope that doesn't bother you." She stuck out her hand.

A little tentatively Mark took her hand and shook it. "Pleased to meet you Miss Jenkins. I'm Mark Davis, freshman dork! And aside from maybe it being unfair competition I don't care if you are a lesbian or not. And I promise that in the future not only will I not listen to gossip like that, I will step up and try to stop it from spreading further. And you'll probably meet my parents eventually, my sister Shannon starts here next year and she plays basketball."

"You're Shannon Davis' bother! Then I am really pleased to meet you. She is an awesome player and I can't wait to get her on my team. It's just about time for the bell, boys, you'd better head for your next class. It was nice meeting you Mark. It takes a big man to do what you just did. And while I'm used to it, I would appreciate any help you can give in controlling the rumors and gossip about me. James, a pleasure to see you again."

I shook her hand and we headed off to our next class. The next two periods flew by pretty quickly, and then it was time for lunch and to see about talking to Mr. Shelby. I grabbed a burrito and a carton of milk from the snack bar and headed over to the teacher's lounge. They had tables set up outside with big umbrellas so that the teachers could enjoy the sunshine. Mr. Shelby was talking to someone I didn't know. He glanced at me as I approached and as I got closer I heard him say something like, "that's fascinating, really. I'll have to look into that." Then shook the guys hand and said, "Could you excuse me, I have to meet with a student about a personal matter."

"Good morning Mr. Matthews. Glad you could make it. Let's have a seat over hear where we can talk privately," he said loudly as he steered me towards a table off to one side. "Jimmy, thank God you came. I was afraid I was going to have to listen to that idiot talk about politics all lunch hour. So, how is high school going so far?"

"Okay I guess. Some of it's good, some of it is so boring it's hard to stay awake, but all in all it's been okay."

"Glad to hear it. So tell me about your fascination with dreams. Why are you so interested?"

I had given a lot of thought to what I wanted to say. More to what I didn't want to say. Even more than that to whom I said it to. Mr. Shelby saw my hesitation and waited patiently.

"I'm a sleepwalker." There, that was pretty safe. He didn't have to know that I did it without leaving my bed and that a lot of my "walking" seemed to be taking place in other people's dreams.