Chapter 17

There were three days left in music camp, and Morton Blakely wasn't looking forward to going home. The reason? Patty Robertson.

To his peers in high school, Morton fit the classic definition of a geek. But his "geek type" depended on the class where they encountered him. In math class he was a math geek. To others he was a computer geek. He was also known as a music geek and a science geek. Few realized the breadth of his geek-ness.

He had a few close friends, but he was a curve wrecker in whatever class he took, and as such wasn't widely popular. His friends tended to be geeks who were exceptionally gifted in something he found interesting. He was somewhat shy, and didn't do anything to call attention to himself. Connecting easily with other geeks, and staying under the non-geek's radar, was just fine with him.

At first, Morton had thought that Patty Robertson would fit into that pattern as well. But for once, he'd found a geek so talented that even he was intimidated. Here at music camp, she was the belle of the ball. The instructors had greeted her with enthusiasm and respect, having worked with her in prior years.

Morton was further intrigued because he'd first recognized her from their school's honors calculus class, where she also excelled. As they got to know each other, he learned she was also an accomplished painter. He had never met a diverse geek like himself before, let alone one so beautiful.

Morton had to concede that the respect the music camp's instructors showed Patty was warranted. She intuitively grasped advanced concepts and approaches to arranging music that were difficult for him to fathom. Her revisions to musical arrangements always improved the piece's performance potential. For him to understand how she did it, so that he could improve his own skills, required hours of studying what had taken her minutes to complete.

Patty was working hard at camp to understand her own "how's and why's." Collaborating with musicians she found fairly easy — they could intuitively grasp the value of her suggestions. But in trying to explain the improvements to conductors, other arrangers, and most importantly, producers (the "finance jerks," or "suits" as they were referred to by musicians), she struggled.

Patty and Morton's strengths were naturally complimentary. She struggled with documentation and technical examination of music. He struggled to perceive opportunities and approaches for improving the music in the first place. They made a great team, and Morton was learning much more than he had hoped for.

It was apparent that Patty valued his differing talents as well. Such was her stature at the camp, that when a professor suggested they work with different partners on an assignment, a look from her caused the suggestion to be withdrawn, never to be made again. Several times during the camp, the instructors had to chase them out of the classrooms, with stern instructions to stop talking music and go to bed!

Morton also found Patty to be impulsive, impatient, and passionate about whatever she did.

He was fascinated.

Patty was equally fascinated by Morton. The more they talked, the more she was able to peel back his self protective geek layers, the more interested she became. She knew that he must peg the IQ meter at the top end of its travel. She could see that under his ill fitting clothes he had a lean and powerful physique. She could tell that he was attracted to her mind as well as her body. But he didn't become a tongue-tied idiot around her, like boys her age; or immediately begin scheming to get into her pants, like older boys.

The only other boy her age that had been like that had been Bobby Taylor. And she'd sure fucked that up, hadn't she?

She sensed somehow that Morton was sexually experienced. Perhaps it was his calm in talking to her, even though she knew he was often looking at her ass and legs.

She decided he had, for lack of a better term, an "aura of fuck." Somehow she knew that he would be a good lover. As the camp progressed, she found herself fantasizing more and more about having him between her legs, leveraging his long, strong arms and legs to drive into her. When she went to bed after being with him all day, she wished she had packed her vibrator.

Patty's instincts about Morton were correct, though she might have been shocked at where his experience came from. Morton had never been on a real date before. He had rarely thought about it at all, before he met Patty.

He didn't have to.

He had three sisters, and at least one of them had been fucking him regularly since he was twelve. It was sort of a family tradition. His parents believed that siblings who slept together would form a bond that would last a lifetime, and that his sisters, if he kept them happy, would not sleep around with just any guy.

His two oldest sisters were out of the house now, leaving only Leticia, a year younger than Morton. She was insatiable, and he thanked God she was the only one left he had to keep happy.

Patty and Morton had just finished their dinner at the cafeteria. They were walking back towards the classrooms, while everyone else was drifting towards their cabins, the outdoor fire pits, or the gym. They had already largely finished the camp's last assignment, but out of habit were going back to the classrooms to do some more work, more learning, more discussing.

As they approached the door, Patty stopped abruptly. "Hey," she said.

"What?" he replied.

"Let's take the night off," she suggested, to his surprise.

"Oh? Well, sure that's cool. I'm a little tired too."

She smiled and shook her head.

"I'd like to go for a walk," she said. "We've been cooped up inside all week, and we're already done with tomorrow's assignment. And the next day's assignment," she added with a chuckle. "Want to come? If you're not too tired, that is."

"No, that's a good idea," he said, and they turned away to take one of the trails that wound through the woods around the camp.

After they had walked silently for many minutes, Morton said, "I don't think I've asked you what classes you're taking this year. Maybe we'll have math together again." He could tell that Patty was nervous about something.

"Yeah, that'd be cool. I'm taking the next honors section. You too?"

"Yup. Great, then I can pay more attention to see if you're a math goddess too," he teased her. The instructors at the camp fawned over her so much, that Morton had privately been calling her the music princess or music goddess, when others couldn't overhear them.

To his surprise she didn't rise to the bait and call him by one of her standard insult names for him: math geek or music geek. She really was preoccupied, he realized.

"Ya'll okay?" he asked, beginning to be concerned.

"What? Yeah, I'm fine," she replied. She could see he didn't believe her, but was relieved that he didn't press the issue. He was a smart boy, after all.

"Morton, are you, uh, you know, dating anyone?" she finally managed to say haltingly.

"Me? No, no I'm not. You?" he replied.

She was silent again for a few minutes. Morton waited patiently.

"I kind of broke up with my boyfriend a few months ago," she finally said.

He waited a bit to see if she would offer any further clarification. When none was offered, he said simply, "Kind of?"

She sighed. "We had a fight, and he said we should wait and see if we want to get back together again when school starts."

"Oh," he replied, like it was the most natural thing in the world. "So are you going to get back together with him?" he asked.

"I don't know," she replied truthfully. "I think I would like to - but I don't think he will."

They walked in silence for a while. Then Morton asked, "What did you fight about?"

Patty frowned. Of course Morton didn't ask why she wanted to get back together with Bobby. He was too smart for that. He asked why they broke up in the first place. Root cause analysis, she thought distractedly. Shit. Well, what the fuck. Why not tell him?

"I, uh, I went to an art show with another guy without telling him. And he found out about my girlfriend."

Morton's eyes went wide, and he stared at her with a huge grin on his face.