Chapter 16

I awoke at six thirty; thinking a little exercise would be good for me. After using the bathroom, I was getting ready to walk to the pool when Maggie came in from the bed and breakfast kitchen. She asked, "Can I go with you for a little while Tommy? We're caught up over there and I could use some exercise too."

Down at the pool, we swam hard for fifteen minutes and decided that a shower would be good. We were sharing a showerhead, teasing each other a little as we washed. Maggie had me as stiff as a board and was attempting to maneuver me into her when Mr. and Mrs. Franks came in. All I could think of was 'I'm going to get kicked out for sure.'

Instead, Mrs. Franks grinned at us and said, "I just love to play in our morning shower." With that said, she proceeded to get Mr. Franks very erect then turned and quickly had him buried in her.

Margaret saw the exchange, so she to turned and had me enter her from the back. She was so excited she was going off continuously until she just slumped against the wall. Maggie said, "Oh so good, Tommy, just right."

I didn't come, but I enjoyed myself a great deal. As we were leaving, the Franks were down to the short strokes. Maggie walked over to Mr. Franks and gave him a kiss and squeezed his balls while reaching between Mrs. Franks' legs to tweak her clit. That's all it took. The older couple began coming quickly.

Back at the house, people were up and around. Maggie went back to the bed and breakfast kitchen, where we all visited to get some pancakes and sausage that were the big items on the menu this morning.

Zena and I needed to get into the office, while Shannon wanted to be at the bar early as the music people were going to do some modifications today. Joanie and Betsy said they would come in around noon and bring Shannon lunch.

Before Zena and I took off, Shannon got me alone and thanked me for being so gentle with her the night before and for not expecting anything for myself. She gave me a sweet kiss and went back to the kitchen to see people off.

Zena asked, "Can I ride with you today, or do you have a lot of on site stuff today?"

"Nothing outside today, Babe. Let's take the Jeep and enjoy how open it is."

On the way in, Zena was telling me about how Shannon was becoming more of a lover than she had expected but that she had wanted Shannon to be ours, together. She mentioned that Shannon was talking more and more about how she felt about us as a couple and what we meant to her.

The office was busy today and when lunch rolled around, Bert said he wanted Zena and I to eat with him and a client. We were to meet him upstairs in the executive club.

Zena and I were being ushered in when we realized who the client was. Veronica was sitting with Bert, enjoying a drink when we walked up.

Veronica said, "How are the newlyweds? You two look happy and healthy. Bert tells me about how you bought a bar and came to be friends with Sandy Mahoney. I should tell you both that Sandy comes from, and with, a strange family. Her father used to be recognized as the local Don of all the Mafia type of families in the area. It seems that he has become what he wants everyone to believe as hundred percent legitimate, but I wouldn't cross him, just to be on the safe side. The whole family is involved in businesses that relate to the restaurant and bar world. Did you go into business with her, borrow money from her?"

"No Ma'am, Bert advanced me some money. I had enough to cover what I needed, but couldn't get to it at the time."

"Veronica," Zena said, "Tom negotiated a good deal for himself and us, and for no more outlay than the cost of the liquor license and inventory, was able to go into business immediately. You saw how busy we were yesterday evening, hopefully we can keep it up."

Bert told Veronica, "Tom said he wants to try to rent out the bar for corporate parties or other functions in the evening or on weekend days. I think he'll find that evenings may be out as most corporate events begin before seven-thirty or eight."

"That is a good idea, Tom. You'll have to find out whether that will be feasible as you go along. Good luck to you two, you will need it to keep the place open."

We had lunch and progressed to discuss a building that was due for nearly a sixty- percent turnover in lessees. Veronica wanted to make sure the new lessees were happy with their build-outs so the transitions would be smooth.

I offered, "Veronica, the build-outs should go fine. Work is not plentiful, so contractors and subs are going to do a first rate job. As long as we know exactly what a customer wants, it's my job to make sure they get it. I can tell you that I will personally be going over each plan and verify that any unusual wants are taken care of."

Veronica looked at me, "You know, Tom, I believe you. You are refreshing to have in the business. Bert and I deal with so many shysters and double talkers that we suspect everyone and every situation. It's nice to have you and Zena handling my business for me."

Bert sat back and looked at Veronica, "Whew, Veronica, that's some compliment to lay on someone. I don't think you tell two people a year they do a good job."

"It's the truth, Bert," Veronica stated. "Every lessee that Tom's worked with has been happy at their acceptance. Tom's done an excellent job. Zena sets them up and sells them, and Tommy takes over the build-out. Bert, you have a dynamic duo."

Bert laughed saying, "Now you two are being compared to comic book characters."

I smiled and said, "Thanks, but Zena is the one that sells the deal. We both make sure the customer is taken care of after that."

After lunch, Zena and I had some projects to work on and a little after five, we migrated over to The Office. Once again the place was packed. SRO, standing room only, and probably over capacity for about an hour and a half. Zena and I sat with some people from legal and chatted about whatever came to mind.

Around seven, the place began emptying and by seven forty-five, Shannon announced last call to a small group that was still at a group of tables. The person who was assuming the leadership role for the group said, "If you sell us one more drink, none of us will be able to walk out of here. Only one of us can still drive and he has to get the rest of us home. This is a great place, we'll see you tomorrow."

The girls had already been cleaning up tables and only had the four tables that were emptying to clean. Jake and a young black girl came from the back, saying the kitchen was clean. Jake introduced the girl to me, "Mr. Parks, this is my cousin, Jean. She's worked in a bar kitchen before and has some short order experience. Jean, this is Mr. Parks, the owner of the place."

The girl was nervous but shook my hand then blurted out, "Please, Mr. Parks, please keep me, let me work. I need the money so bad."

Trying to figure out why she was so nervous, I said, "First call me Tom or Tommy, please. Second, if Jake and Shannon say you you're doing a good job, I would never consider letting you go. Hopefully you'll be happy to stay here and work."

"Oh, I will, I will sir. I really want and need this job," Jean said.

Jean went to help the girls finish vacuuming and mopping the main floor, while Jake stood next to me. "Tom, that girl has had a hard time this past year. She was forced into a brothel down in Mississippi, but was able to run away. She's hidden from her people and supported herself while moving toward Tampa, where she knew I was after getting out of prison."

I was curious, "Why did she have to hide from her own family?"

Jake was nodding his head as he explained, "Down in the swamps, families don't put a big value on female children. Boys can work and bring home money, but girl children are considered almost a burden, they become chattels. As soon as they are big enough, not necessarily old enough, they are sent out to earn money for the family in the old fashioned way. If possible, they often sell a girl to a brothel in the area. The family gets some money, and gets rid of another mouth to feed all in one deal."

Jake paused before continuing, "Jean and I were always buddies when we were young. When I was old enough to work the fields, I was sent with the part of the family that were migrant workers. If I didn't earn enough for the day, I would get beat. I lasted a year, till I was fourteen when I ran away. I lived on the streets until I tried to rob the gas station when I was eighteen. So you see, life for both of us hasn't been that wonderful. Now that she's here, I hope she can have a good life. We both want to finish high school and with the shorter hours here, we will have the chance."

"That's nice you're helping her, Jake. Shannon can use you both, so enjoy working with Shannon and do a good job for her. She'll show you her appreciation."

"Thank you, Mr. Parks, ah, Tom. Jean and I will be the best bar backs and kitchen help you'll ever find."

We were all home having supper by nine. As a group, we did go down to the pool for some exercise and a short sit in the hot tub to relax. Shannon brought up our hours, "You two don't have to come to the bar every night. You need to come home here to relax and be with each other. As I get the bar settled down, I won't come in until around noon, while Joan and Betsy won't have to be in until one-thirty. I'm not telling you not to come in, but don't feel obligated to stay till closing."

I felt a little defensive so I mentioned, "Since the bar is my first shot at a business venture, I feel like I should be doing more that what I am. You've proven yourself to be a decent manager and have a handle on what needs to be done, but I do want you to use me when you need to."

"I'll need your help for a lot of things, but not necessarily for the day to day operation. I know that Joanie and/or Betsy will probably find other jobs, so I need to be on the lookout for waitresses. When the word gets out that the girls are making as much as they are for a short shift, we'll have a lot of people to choose from. Most places have a short afternoon shift from eleven to six or seven, then the night people come on at six or so, but they don't get to leave until after the bar closes and is cleaned up. Usually the bar won't close until three, so they don't get to go home till almost six most of the time. Our place is great, because with enough help, we have most of the cleanup done by the time last call comes. That's how we're getting out of there so early."

"Okay, Zena and I won't second guess you and hang over your shoulder. But you have to remember, we both are interested in you personally, so we have been sticking around to make sure you're okay."

Shannon gave me a hug and said, "Thank you, that's the nicest thing you could have said."

Back in the cabin, Zena and Shannon had already gone to bed. Margaret and Betsy were talking with me while we had a snack. Margaret was talking about an idea she had to open a restaurant in front of the park. She said if it could be done, a restaurant could have two sides, a clothed side and the nude park side. She said that with the size and population of the park, she thought it might support a restaurant. It could also include a small lounge as well. She felt that the public side would do well as the area was becoming so built up.

I told her, "Maggie, we'll have to work out what it would cost to do something like that and then take it up with Mr. Franks and the other council members. Sounds like a good idea, but in our present economy, it might be tough to make something like that work."

"Think about it, Tommy," Margaret requested. "I'll try to put some numbers together and drive around some to look at other restaurants in the area and check their traffic."

When I went in to bed, Zena and Shannon were cuddled together, with Shannon in the middle of the bed. I brushed my teeth and slid under the covers. I lay just apart from Shannon, as I never quite know how she is going to react to me.

Zena whispered, "Go on, you said you wanted more."

Shannon kissed Zena before she turned to face me. She looked nervous but reached out to touch my arm. She said softly, "Will you hold me?"

I gently took her in my arms and held her while she became comfortable. Soon our bodies molded together in a warm hug. Shannon pulled her face back from mine and looked me in the eyes, "This feels nice. I like this a lot."

She closed her eyes and moved her face towards mine, so I moved toward her and enjoyed a very nice kiss. The longer the kiss lasted, the more restless she became, until her whole body shivered. The kiss also had another effect. I had become very hard, poking her as we kissed.

Shannon pulled her face from mine and buried it in my neck and shoulder, pulling me into her firmly, feeling my protrusion between us. She released me and rolled toward Zena, "You go to him; you know what to do with him. Come love him, Zena, I think he needs that, he needs you."

Zena climbed over the two of us to get on the other side of me, putting me in the middle now. When we had moved around a little, Zena lay on my one side while Shannon was still on my other. The difference now was that I was on my back. Zena and I kissed softly, with the kiss becoming more intense as it continued.

I could feel Zena reaching across me, holding Shannon against me. Zena lifted her face from mine and leaned over to kiss Shannon. While they kissed, I kissed Zena on the cheek, then Shannon the same way, trying to show each that I enjoyed being with them.

When they ended their kiss, Zena kissed me and lay her head on my shoulder, snuggling against me with my arm around her with one of her legs over mine. Shannon, seeing what Zena had done, copied her and I put my arm around her as well. Very tentatively, Shannon put a leg over mine, and as an almost reflex action, she pressed her body against mine.

Zena was tired and began breathing steadily, sleeping, and a little later Shannon slowly began breathing evenly too, indicating she was relaxed and sleeping. The way we were laying reminded me of when Bee had been with us and how many nights we had fallen asleep in this same position. I relaxed and let sleep come.

I woke to the sounds of morning. Maggie was obviously getting up to go to the bed and breakfast kitchen. I slid from bed to say good morning to her before she left. She is always so appreciative of my attention and loves to have a hug.

After she left, I decided to take my shower so I could get to work early. Almost as soon as I turned on the shower, Zena, who was in a very loving mood, joined me, "We went to sleep too early last night. I had plans for you and us."

Zena's loving mood turned playful and we were soon joined, enjoying each other's bodies. When we were out of the shower drying, Shannon came in and gave each of us a kiss before using the toilet and getting into the shower.

Betsy was already up, dressed, and in the kitchen, saying she had an early job interview this morning at Busch Gardens. They were looking for an administrative assistant that she felt she was more than qualified for.

When Shannon came in the kitchen, she said, "That was a very nice night's sleep. I enjoyed sleeping like that."

When Betsy looked at her questioningly, Shannon said, "Zena and I went to sleep with out heads on Tommy's shoulders. It was nice to hug him and wrap us around him. He felt good."

Betsy smiled and said, "Tommy feels nice and firm doesn't he. I'm sure he enjoys your softness up against him too."

I smiled as Zena said, "We're becoming an old married couple. We snuggle up and go to sleep and don't get any loving in."

"Ah, but our mornings are wonderful," I said, remembering our shower together.

"Yep, they are," Zena smiled. "Shannon's will have to join us and find out how nice mornings can be."

"Perhaps," Shannon said, blushing. Then she turned to Betsy, "I wish you luck on your job interview, but I'll be disappointed to lose you at the bar."

Betsy said, "This job will be good as it's from six-thirty to three. I could still get to the bar by three-thirty to work the evening crowd. I would like to do that if I could."

Shannon said, "That would keep me from having to hire someone else for a while. That would work."

Joanie came in and crawled into a ball on my lap, saying, "Too bad you have to go to work. You could come back to bed with me for a while. There are some things I would like to practice with you."

"I need to practice doing some work for Bert today. Hopefully, I can stay caught up on all of the moves that are going on. I know of four buildings I need to look at today. How about you, Zena, busy day today?"

"Probably the same four buildings," Zena chuckled. "So far everything is going well and if these tenants are happy, they will all recommend others."

Even though we were both going to be out of the office today, Zena wanted to ride in together this morning. We took her car, as I could always use one of the company's trucks to go out to a site. Zena began talking as soon as we left the cabin. "Shannon is getting really close to wanting to know what it's like to be loved by you. I thought she might do it last night since she wanted to kiss and hug you last night. The way it worked out is probably even better, because she was able to relax with you and enjoy being close to you all night."

I told Zena how I felt, "I'm not really comfortable with Shannon yet. She's becoming more of a friend than before and I do feel she's curious about me, but I feel how afraid she is of me and she might possibly be afraid of all men. I don't want to do anything that will make her dislike me or men even more than she did."

"You won't, Honey," Zena said, squeezing my arm. "Shannon just has to find her way with you. She told me last night how much she cared for the both us. She said at first it was just me she was interested in but she realized she enjoyed the two of us together. You know me, Tommy, I love to play with girls and Shannon is a very nice playmate, but I want her to be your playmate too."

"Are you two becoming real close?"

"Not yet, but we're getting there," Zena said wistfully. "At first she wanted to be dominant, but as we've enjoyed each other, she has become more loving, move passive. We are becoming very compatible."

At work, Zena and I were busy the entire day running around to job sites and rushing back to the office to check on prints for another site. At four thirty, I was marking up one of the prints that a customer had a new want when Bert came into my office.

"Busy?" Bert asked.

"Just finishing, I need to copy this real quick so it can be in the job site bin for the morning. A customer wants some additions and is willing to pay for them. I don't want to disappoint the customer."