Chapter 32

Rick braced himself and took a run at something even more dangerous -- Jean! "Mom, we've got to talk."

"Dear?"

"I met this girl..."

"WHAT?" Jean's eyes popped.

"C'mon, Mom, you know this shit isn't going to last! You said so yourself!"

"Well, yes, but..."

"And I can't take Candace to the Prom -- or Beth -- or Louise..."

"I know, Son, but..."

"I know better than to blow this, okay? It's totally separate!" Rick insisted.

"Well, it is until she doesn't put out one day and you go to see one of us ... Women sense that kind of thing, Dear." Jean argued.

"Well, she's not putting out right now, and I haven't stepped in it..."

"The time will come, Dear -- and after she does, she'll be VERY sensitive..."

"Yeah, I know..." Rick's glance condemned her.

"What do you want to do then, Dear?" Jean sighed.

"I thought I'd invite her here -- maybe go swimming. It probably wouldn't hurt if you were here..." Rick eyed his mother sidelong.

"Why?"

"She's afraid we'll do our own version of Little Red Riding Hood -- with me as the wolf!" Rick grinned at his own wit.

"I see..." Jean grinned back. "What if she decides that she WANTS to be eaten?"

"Well..." Rick rolled his eyes.

Jean ran her hand through her son's curls and said, "In the afternoon, okay?" Then she got up and walked out, saddened. This thing hadn't lasted very long -- was Toby asking Beth the same question? Would it end quickly, or drag on forever, but be gone, anyway? She needed him more than ever -- but did he need her?

"Sally?"

"Lon?" Surprise caused Sally's voice to climb to a squeak. It was silly, actually -- if Teela was talking to her, Rick was talking to him. Why was she surprised?

"Hey, are you doing anything tomorrow?"

"Well, no, not much..."

"Want to come up to my place and go swimming? My Mama will be here," he added hurriedly.

"Are you sure? My Mom..." Sally began.

"No, I'm sure -- want me to have her tell you?"

"Uh, no, that's okay." Sally felt a little foolish -- did she really WANT that kind of protection?

"So it's okay?"

"Yeah."

"I'll come by about one, okay?"

"Sure."

"See you then."

"Okay. Bye!" Sally started digging in drawers, then headed down to the laundry room.

Her mother watched her breeze through from the kitchen. "What are you looking for?"

"My swimsuits, Mom. Have you seen them?"

"You're going swimming?"

"Well, yes..." Sally rolled her eyes. "That's what you usually wear swimsuits for -- that and beauty contests..."

"If you're going to be nasty, Dear, I'll not tell you where I put them!" Eleanor Harkness told her daughter.

"All right! Yes! I've been invited swimming!"

"Which suit do you want?"

"Well, not the one with the skirt ... The blue -- no, maybe not that one..."

"So, what's the name of that blond boy?"

"Er, what?"

"Dear, there is a boy in this, or you'd have asked for your black one-piece and been done with it! Do you think I'm an idiot?"

Sally opened her mouth, closed it, looked disgusted. "Well..."

"Am I right, or am I right?"

"Okay, okay!"

"Where are you going to be swimming, then?"

Sally hung her head. "His house. His mother will be there! He swore to me!"

"Do you trust him?"

"Yeah, pretty much. He's passed the Teela test..."

"What is he, a eunuch?" Eleanor laughed.

"No, but he has this friend ... The friend thinks he's nuts to want to go out with me..."

"That's not nice..." Eleanor frowned. "And how is it a reference?"

"Well, the other guy sort of indicated that he was really interested in me, not just..." Sally dropped her eyes. "Part of it was the guy telling Teela that he thinks it's just insane -- I'm not his type."

"Not the blond boy's type?"

"No, the other guy." Sally grinned. "But then, HE'S got Teela on the run!"

"Teela? Some boy is chasing Teela? HE needs to have his head examined!" Eleanor chortled.

"Oh, Mom, they're so cute! You should see them! He sets her off and then trips her up -- it's a sight!" Sally's eyes shone.

"It's hard to imagine..." Eleanor shook her head. "So what's with the blond boy? You were pretty shaky the other day..."

"I ... think he's being honest with me," Sally murmured hesitantly. "He just says he likes me and he's been pretty cool..."

"They generally start out that way," Eleanor sighed. Sally was going to get hurt sometime -- probably several times, in Eleanor's opinion. But she didn't have to stand around and watch...

"Well, he's taking his time."

"Is he really interested?"

"He says he is. His friend says he is..."

Eleanor grimaced. "Has sex come up?"

"Well, yeah."

"Uh huh. Tell me."

"Well, I asked him, flat out, what he was up to, and told him I'm not easy. He said ... He said that he wasn't ruling it out -- and that basically, if he did, what would that say about where he was going? You don't get serious about a girl you're not thinking about having sex with." Sally shrugged. "I figure he's right -- if I'm not desirable, what is he up to? Like he said -- if he didn't find me sexually attractive, wouldn't that be kind of an insult?"

"He sounds pretty slick to me..."

"Well, when I pressed him about it, he said, 'I thought we were going to a movie?' and that was kind of the end of it."

Eleanor blinked. "Well, he's patient, I guess. But -- forgive me, Dear -- why you?"

Sally sighed. "I asked. He said a couple of strange things. First, he said experience had shifted his perspective. Later, I asked him what that meant and he said he wasn't into Barbie dolls. Odd, huh?"

Eleanor frowned. "Very. Somewhat reassuring, though. Has he had any girlfriends you're aware of?"

"No."

"Hmmm. Well ... So how many other kids are going to be at this pool party?"

"I don't know."

"One?" Her mother eyed her over her eyeglasses.

"Maybe." Sally looked away.

"Do you feel that safe?" her mother asked.

"He swore to me..." Sally insisted. "He said I could talk to her!"

"Dear," Eleanor sighed, "Don't sell yourself short..."

"No, of course not!"

Eleanor eyed her daughter. "The blue bikini is in the bathroom closet."

"Thanks, Mom!" Sally kissed her mother on the cheek and dashed upstairs to see if the bikini still fit.

"Hey, Munchkin!"

"Rick?"

"Who else has your crypt code?"

"Awright, Smartass!" Teela growled.

"Ooooo! Elvira wants to bite!" Rick taunted. "But to do that you have to come within reach..."

"Lucky you -- you're on the other end of the phone!"

"Well, I don't have to be. Why don't you come up to my house tomorrow and we'll swim in my pool for a while? I can show you my crypt, and we can hang out for a while in an empty closet..."

"Are you serious?" Teela asked, incredulous.

"Where ELSE am I gonna get blood that fresh?"

"Awright, I'm not a vampire!"

"You sure aren't!" Rick chuckled, "but you make a seriously fine victim! I put my lips on your neck and..."

"Okay, okay!" The collapse of her defenses that occurred every time he did that was embarrassing.

"So come swimming. Seriously, my mom will be around to make sure I don't drain you dry."

"I dunno..."

"What's the problem?" Rick's voice turned serious.

"Poppa..." Teela lived with her dad; Momma had been prone to depression. Whether that day when she was ten had been an accident or suicide wasn't clear, but officially, she'd fallen...

"Drag him along, if you have to -- we'll keep it clean. Although we might kill each other if we can't kiss, occasionally..."

"No, it's okay." Poppa didn't have the tools to raise a daughter; she was more or less living proof. She would avoid the issue with him. "Where?"

"I'll come get you," Rick replied. "About one?"

"Yeah, okay."

"See you then. Stock up -- I don't want you a quart low!" Rick's chuckle closed off the conversation.

Teela put down the phone and sat there, letting it all soak in. He'd called! She had a date with a boy! Jeezus! What the FUCK was she gonna wear!

About five p.m., Terence sidled up to his mother. "Uh, Mama? You got Candace's number?"

Louise eyed her eldest son. "Yeah ... Which one do you want to talk to?"

"Beth." Terence looked away.

"She's gonna be working at eleven, Boy. She might be sleeping!" Louise and Beth were starting four days of graveyard shift work. Louise was off for a nap in a few minutes, herself...

"Well, maybe she slept before..."

"Maybe. Here. Write 'em down -- I'm done pimping for you." She handed him a slip of paper. "Even if Candace says yes, it's no if Beth isn't available."

"Yes, Ma'am."

"What about your brother?"

"Not tonight, he says." Actually, Damian had asked Terence to inquire as to Candace's availability on Monday -- but not to let on it was for him...

Louise nodded. "Be careful in front of your father." Fred was in watching sports on television. "If he finds out you have a girlfriend, he'll probably be thrilled -- but he might get nosy. If you tell him you're getting pussy from an older woman, then he might want you to share..."

"Yes, Ma'am." Hiding shit from Pa rankled -- but it was necessary...

"Candace?"

"Yes?" The reply over the phone was cautious.

"This is, um, Terence..."

"Oh, hi, Hon," Candace replied, mildly relieved. "What can I do for you?"

"I wanted to ask about seeing Beth..."

"Oh." Mild disappointment. "Tonight?"

"Yeah..."

"Well, she's working late, I think, but if she's game, tell her I said okay."

"Great!" Damian, listening over the speakerphone, waved his hands; Terence continued, "What about you? Are you doing anything tomorrow?"

"You stud, you!" Candace chortled. "No, the usual, watching TV, working on my tan ... Lon is having some girl over from school in the afternoon, so we would have to be, um, circumspect..." The idea of introducing him as the pool boy flashed through her head, but it probably wouldn't work -- the girl might know him -- AND it wouldn't be nice... "Still, it might add a little spice to things..."

"Cool!" Terence grinned. Damian grinned even wider; Candace was going to get a surprise... "Well, thanks -- I'll talk to you later..."

"Have fun, Hon. Get her once for me. In fact, unless she has a serious excuse, tell her I said make time for you!"

"Thanks, Candace! Bye!" Terence hung up.

Damian smacked a fist into his palm. "Got you, you little bitch!"

"Dude, don't fuck shit up..." Terence warned.

"It'll be cool. If she can't avoid me, she'll roll over. I won't ruin anything." Damian promised. "Call Beth."

"Beth?" The call found her lounging in the den. She was slept out, and was going to have to put in her work shift and the early morning with the girls before she would be tired enough to sleep through the day tomorrow...

"Yes?" She got a limited number of calls from boys...

"It's, um, Terence..."

"Sweetie! How are you?" Genuine pleasure flooded from her; Terence was such a nice boy...

"I'm fine. Say, uh, I hear you're workin' late, but..." Terence stammered.

"You want to come see an old fat woman? Goody! When can you come?" Beth asked.

"Well, how 'bout now?"

"Sure! I'll call Mistress..."

"Already did. She said give you one for her," Terence supplied.

"Well, you need an address, then ... Got something to write on?" She rattled it off. "Need directions?" They went back and forth a bit, then Beth said, "Is it just you, Sweetie, or should I expect Damian?"

"Well, it was just me, but..."

"No, no! Don't get me wrong! I just wanted to be prepared! I didn't mean it to sound like you weren't enough..."

But Damian had his head cocked; apparently, he was rethinking his earlier decision ... He asked Terence in gestures...

"Hang on a sec, willya, Beth?" Terence turned to Damian. "So?"

"I haven't had any of that ass..." Damian replied.

"Hey, I'm thinking it'll be both of us, okay? We can, like, do a cleanup, and you can give Little Bro a little ass..."

"Or a lot," Beth chuckled. "You want to be here for the enema, then? Didn't see enough before?"

"Yeah," Terence admitted.

"Okay, I'll wait. Better hurry, it'll cut into our playtime..."

"We're comin'!"

"Bye!"

Ten minutes later, Fred looked up to see his sons hitting the door. "Where you two goin'?"

"Go visit a friend," Terence replied.

"Awright. When you back?"

"Before too late," Terence replied. "Mama knows the number."

"Cool." Fred turned back to the TV. They were good boys...

Toby let them in. "Ma's all hot and bothered. You guys have fun, okay?"

"Cool. Where ya headed?" Terence asked.

"I can't play here, so I'll go see Jean..."

"Cool. Say hi for us."

"Sure." It was a compliment to the boys that Toby had no problem leaving Ma home with them -- but he DID have an ace in the hole...

Beth met them in a light robe. "Come to my room, boys! Do you need to take the edge off? I could suck you..."

"Yeah, cool..." Terence murmured. This might be the time he got a real look at Beth's technique; Little Bro wouldn't mind...

"Let's get you two out of those jeans..." Beth tossed a couple of pillows on the floor and knelt on them, shrugging out of her robe.

She started tugging at Terence's jeans, but he waved her at Damian, "I wanna watch..."

"Okay."

Damian raised an eyebrow. Big Bro was slipping -- or he trusted Beth a LOT! What HAD they done in the bathroom the other day? But Beth's lips surrounded his cock head and he quit worrying any too much, kicking out of his running shoes and helping her shove his jeans down his legs. "Fuck, that's good!" Beth clasped his thighs to her and bent her head to straighten her neck -- and Damian's cock disappeared to the root between her lips!

Big Bro was down there, watching, bug-eyed. Damian shook his head; Big Bro was DEFINITELY fucking up! But he was down there, muttering about how fucking wild it was...

Beth took him from tip to root a half-dozen times in succession -- something he'd never seen even in videos -- before backing off and swallowing a mouthful of spit. "It's not hard, if you position your neck right -- and if you can override your gag reflex! Want some more?" She was asking Damian, but eyeing Terence.