Chapter 7

Washington Times: The Academy of Sciences released a new study today that demonstrated the efficacy of abstinence-only education in decreasing unwanted teenage pregnancy. Unwanted pregnancies were down by 13% over the last three years. Critics charge that teenage marriages have skyrocketed and those pregnancies have been stripped from the statistics. Officials counter that the number of pregnancies among teenaged married couples is a trivial number and of no further moral concern.

Brendan rolled over and stared at the sleeping form sharing the bed. The skin on her shoulders was pale in the morning light. Her hair, which still defied gravity, sprang in every direction. Specks of highlights in her hair twinkled in his slightly unfocused eyes much to his delight. He reached out a finger to trace the sparkles but withdrew it before he touched her.

Autumn was settling in and there was a distinct chill in the air that kept both of them tucked under the covers. Brendan listened to the leaves on the trees outside the window rustling in the breeze, welcoming the rish-rish of their rubbing together that stirred memories of seasons long ago. The ripple of nostalgia warmed him.

He decided to ignore a slight headache and cotton mouth, and turned his attention to her even breathing. Brendan recalled his satisfaction at getting laid and a distinct disappointment that the sex hadn't been studded with fireworks. They had attacked each other with a passion, but as he dissected it in the clear light of morning, the fuel had been fear and desperation, at least on his part. Lust was such a fickle companion.

Maryanne had been beautiful. Her tapered leg muscles held up firm, rounded butt cheeks. Her stomach was flat from diet and exercise, and her small breasts had stood up proudly. Carly's body was strong but there was a bit of extra flesh at her stomach and thighs. Her breasts were bigger by far but they swayed and hung. Maryanne restrained herself while Carly dove in without reservation. Carly took what she wanted with hunger while Maryanne had ... He couldn't shake his never distant feeling of loneliness.

Brendan snuggled up to Carly and spooned her from behind. He left his hand resting on her shoulder while he shared her pillow. Carly stirred and pushed back into the warmth of his body.

"Morning," she mumbled.

Brendan had a morning hard-on, which Carly teased with a wiggle of her butt cheeks. "Someone's happy this morning," she said.

"Must be the company I keep," Brendan said. "Sorry to disappoint, but I've got a rotgut headache that could hammer nails into wood. You got anything for it?"

Carly pulled away and stretched, kicking off the sheets and exposing the entirety of her body to Brendan's eyes. Her breasts lay proudly on her chest with her ruddy nipples pointing up. She ran her fingers through her hair and let out a sigh.

"Must be contagious," she said to the ceiling. "I've got the same thing."

She pushed herself up from the bed. Telling Brendon to stay in bed, she gave his erection a squeeze to show her sincerity. He watched Carly walk into the hallway and turn towards the bathroom at the end of the hall. However, she stopped before she got to the bathroom and turned into another bedroom. A moment later she reappeared with some generic ibuprofen and a small glass of water which they shared.

Brendan watched her breasts sway as she sat on the side of the bed. He looked up to her face as she smiled.

"Like what you see, sailor?"

"Yes, ma'am, I surely do," Brendan said only to have his repartee ruined by a rumble in his stomach.

"Ah, I see that I worked you hard last night and we need to feed the beast. There are eggs in the fridge. Why don't you scramble up a couple for each of us while I use the bathroom?"

"You have eggs?" Brendan hadn't seen those precious white orbs in a long time. In prison, "eggs" were poured out of a carton. Paul's refrigerator was long on processed cheese in wholesale blocks and smaller cartons of egg product.

"Some of my private clients pay in barter," Carly said.

Brendan refrained from pursuing her cryptic comment. He had no wish to pry when he had not earned her trust.

"Let me pee first and then I'll cook. If you're nice to me, I'll wash my hands before cracking the eggs," Brendan said.

Carly gave a hearty laugh and, with a tap on his bicep, sent him on his way to the pot. As Brendan passed the other bedroom, the one with the door closed, he stealthily tried the knob but the door was locked. Moving on, he took a good long pee which was a bit unnaturally yellow, like the beer from last night.

A while later Brendan and Carly sat across from each other with empty plates and mostly empty coffee cups. He was suddenly feeling awkward, wondering if he was being a burden on her, her house, or her private time.

Carly appeared to have picked up on his mood.

"Regret coming home with me last night?" she asked.

Brendan immediately protested. "No, nothing like that. I had fun with you last night. No offense, but I really needed to get laid last night and I'm glad it was you."

"No offense taken, Danny. I'm glad to oblige, I think." Her delivery was a little dry.

Danny couldn't look her in the eye. "I'm worried that I'm imposing on you. I'm eating your food. I'm taking up your time. I'm not the safest guy to be around these days."

"Who picked up who last night, Danny?"

"You mean I didn't have to buy the first round of drinks?"

Carly snorted. "Are all the Capelli brothers such jerks?"

"Only my brother, Eddie. Paul and me, we have no problem hotwiring your car, peeping in your window, or leaving our dirty laundry on your floor, but we will clean up after ourselves and do the dishes."

"With such a description, Eddie must really be a prize. Seriously Danny, you're welcome here. Besides the teenage crush I had on you in eleventh grade, you did a courageous thing going to trial for what you believed. I followed the whole thing in the papers, day by day. A lot of us kept up with the trial."

Brendan shifted uncomfortably in his chair. After the first day of his release, even Paul didn't want to talk about the incarceration. Suddenly it was as if his conviction and jail sentence had become the big black family secret to be hidden in the back of closet. But while it was not a subject could talk about openly, it was constantly on his mind, Out of the blue, a one night stand was soliciting his thoughts.

"Carly, I lost everything. I lost my girlfriend, my job, and my future. I'm working for a shady factory and now I'm being tracked by the Department of Homeland Security. I'm living on my brother's couch and I've got to get out of there. He's got a wife and two kids and a business. If the feds decide to come down on him, it would be my fault."