Chapter 8: Innocence and Anatomy

Sunday, July 12, 2009, 10:00 PM

“I’m in the moooood ... for love...”, Tricia sang quietly to herself as she primped in her bathroom getting ready for bed. “Simply because ... you’re near me!” She had already brushed her teeth and rinsed out her mouth with mouth wash, and was now just fluffing out her hair.

She was wearing a loose red babydoll which was tight enough up top to give her some support and fabulous cleavage, and matching red panties. She normally didn’t wear makeup to bed, but tonight was a special occasion. Just a touch of blush and lipstick. She stepped back and admired her reflection. “Damn, girl! Subtle much?” She twisted back and forth checking out her curves and watched the babydoll bloom out as she spun. Poor boy, he doesn’t stand a chance tonight. He’s going to go nuts for me ... Oh hell, he’d probably go nuts if I wore a burlap sack tonight.

She air-kissed her reflection and turned to the door. She could feel a rush of excitement flood her senses. It surprised her. She didn’t really expect to get this excited over so young a lover, but Joey moved something in her. She wasn’t sure what it was, but she was really looking forward to tonight. She reached down into her panties and gave herself an exploratory check. It shocked her. She was moist already.

Wow Joey. You’ve got me going already. How about that? The prospect, now that she thought about it, of taking this young boy and turning him into a man, secretly thrilled her. She imagined his nervousness and excitement to come. A young virgin, pulled headfirst into the enveloping pleasures of the flesh, eager, clumsy, and overjoyed ... it gave her goosebumps to be his first.

I wonder if I’m going to have an orgasm. Probably not. He’ll probably come the moment I touch him. It’ll be over pretty quickly. She expected that thought to be disappointing, yet it actually made her tingle more. We’ll probably have to do this with him over several nights to work his way up into pleasuring me.

She shuddered for a moment. Get a grip girl! This isn’t about getting me off. Keep your eyes on the prize! Book deal! Avoid paradox! Get him to push powers into me, and send the message. Yes. That’s it ... That’s it ... Oh yes ... Yessssss...

Tricia suddenly realized she was fingering herself. She didn’t even know she was doing it. She squirmed, extracted her hand, readjusted her panties, and put her hand on the doorknob.

Well, here we go. And in one grand gesture she opened the door and swung out, posing sexily in the door frame. She looked at Joey, and gave him a sultry, inviting smile.

“Hey there,” she said softly. “Ready for bed?”

Joey was sitting cross-legged on the bed wearing his new pajamas, and sat a bit hunched over as if he had been worrying about something. He glanced at Tricia, shuddered at her sight, and immediately looked away from her.

Tricia prowled into the room. “You know, I don’t know how I’m going to get to sleep tonight. I normally don’t wear so much to bed.” She lay down and stretched out luxuriously. “I usually sleep in the nude.”

Joey didn’t look at her. He kept his eyes averted. He’s scared. It made her tingle. I should be a little gentler. “Hey.” She reached out and tapped him. “I’m not used to sharing a bed with a man who’s not paying attention to me. What’s on your mind?”

He inhaled and shook. “How...” he started.

How? How what? How do we get this started? How sweet. She smiled as she pondered his innocence.

“How ... did you find me?” he finally asked.

Tricia frowned. “How did I find you?” Not the question I was expecting. What do you mean?”

“How did you know who I was?”

He still didn’t look at her. Tricia tilted her head and wondered what he was worried about. He continued. “I mean ... What did I do wrong?” He finally looked at her. “In the movie...” he said, referring to ‘The Incredibles’ which they had just finished watching that night, “ ... they were hiding, and they were still found. And ... they almost lost the baby.”

“Oh. Well...” Tricia began. “ ... when my boss gave me that assignment, I did a lot of research. I found nearly every photograph, every video, every eyewitness account of your father and you, and compiled it all.” She saw he looked worried. He’s scared. But it’s not me. He’s worried that someone else might have found him, or someone else may still find him. Anyone could have done that research. But what did I do differently? Well, for one thing, I got the time-travel message that pointed me in the right direction. But did anything else happen? ... Yes!

“But that wasn’t enough. I think it was meeting you at the site that did it. Especially when you told me to fuck myself.” She grinned.

“I shouldn’t have been there...” he said. “ ... and I shouldn’t have said that. I’m sorry.”

“No, I think you needed to be there. It was an important day, and an important place. And you needed to say that to me. I deserved it.” She smiled. “You know, that’s now three times you’ve said something that put me in my place. That segment, the shoes, Quantum Knight’s secret...” She gave him a grin. “I swear, sometimes I wonder why you put up with me. You must really like me, don’t you?” She poked him playfully.

Joey grinned and blushed. She liked making him smile. But he got serious again. “You said you have pictures?”

“Uh-huh.”

“Sometimes I would see pictures of my dad on the TV sets in the stores. He would also show up on the magazines in the newsstands. I always wanted one, but I knew I couldn’t have one. I couldn’t keep any pictures of my dad. Someone might have found them.” He looked at her anxiously. “Can I ... can I see them sometime?”

Tricia nodded. “Sure.” He really misses his dad. “I’ve got videos too. I can show them to you.” She caught herself. “Well, not ALL of them. I think there are a few you really don’t need to see.”

Joey looked sad, and nodded. He looked away.

“How ... how did it happen?” he asked.

She frowned. “How did what happen?”

“The fire.”

“Oh...” She thought. “You never found out, did you?”

He shook his head.

“Well...” She paused. Not exactly one of the subjects I was expecting to explore tonight, but, he seems to need this. “What happened was, one of the bank robbers was a safe-cracker and he had an acetylene torch, and when your father came in and started attacking the robbers, this one man lit the torch and threw it. His costume caught on fire, and ... you know the rest.”

Joey nodded. He sat quietly for a moment. “I should have...”

“It’s not your fault. You didn’t know. It was an accident.”

He swallowed. She could tell he was breaking down, shaking a little. “What was ... what was his name?”

Tricia cocked her head. Why does he want to know that? Closure I guess. “Delgado. Marcelo Delgado. He was just hired to open the safe. He didn’t have a gun or anything.”

“Did they ... did they catch him?”

Tricia nodded. “Yeah. They caught him. They caught them all. He’s in prison now.”

Joey seemed to relax a bit with that news. “Good. So he’s in prison now for killing my dad?”

Tricia closed her eyes, and shook her head. “No. Just for the bank robbery.”

He turned to her. “What? Why?” he demanded.

She sighed. “Joey, you have to understand. What happened was an accident. It was nobody’s fault.”

“But he killed my dad!”

“No he didn’t, Joey. He was just part of the accident.” She paused. “They tried to charge him with murder, but his lawyer made a very good argument. It was ruled as self-defense. He was found innocent.”

Joey wasn’t taking that. “But WHY?” he cried. He was tearing up, getting upset.

Tricia sat up. Oh god, give me strength ... How do I explain this to him? “You have to know something. Your father, when he had those powers ... he hurt people. Sometimes badly.” She sighed to herself. That’s an understatement. He killed. He punched some thugs hard enough to crush their skulls and what he did to Desdemona was awful. He ripped her to pieces, literally. They still haven’t found all of her body.

Joey shuddered and looked away. “No...” he said. “He didn’t...” It did not sound convincing.

He knows. And he probably feels responsible. I’m not going to press him on this. “Delgado got scared, and he lit the torch and threw it just to distract your father so he could escape. He wasn’t trying to hurt your father. He actually believed your father was fire-proof. It was a well-known fact. Your father fought FireClaw and Desdemona, and neither of them could hurt him with fire. The jury believed that was all Delgado was trying to do, and ruled your father’s death as an accident.”

Joey rubbed his eyes. “He should die,” he said, his voice cracking.

Tricia shook her head. “No, Joey. That won’t help. That won’t bring your father back.”

Joey seemed to collapse on himself and started shaking as if he was trying hard to not cry. Tricia sighed and scooted closer to him. “Come here,” she said, opening her arms to him. He hesitated, and leaned in to her, and she held the shaking boy to her bosom. He sniffed and shuddered and occasionally jerked and gasped as he fought his crying.

“It’s okay ... It’s okay...” she whispered as she embraced him and caressed his head and back. His warm body was stiff against her at first, but soon relaxed into her. This strange feeling of contentment warmed Tricia’s heart. This is nice. This feels right. She pondered the feeling. Is this ... maternal? Hmm. I like it.

She rocked slightly as she held the boy and he quietly sobbed into her for another minute or so. His breathing soon became regular and controlled. The sniffing stopped, and he nuzzled into her chest. Tricia smiled. He’s getting interested ... Any moment now, and he’s going to make his move. She waited.

Joey moved his head, turning it upwards towards her. As he looked at her, she gave him a warm smile. She opened her mouth slightly, and leaned down a fraction of an inch towards his face.

He responded, and moved up slightly to meet her. He stared at her in wonder, and he licked his lips and opened his mouth as well.

They moved closer to each other just a bit more. He wants me. And the strange thing is, I want him too.

Joey’s face suddenly turned fearful, and a look of anguish came over him. “Ahhh...” he moaned, and he pulled away immediately, rolling on his back until he faced away from her, and curled up into a fetal position.

Tricia was stunned. “What is it? What’s wrong?”

“I...” he struggled. “I don’t know. I think I’m sick.”

“Sick? What? Are you in pain?”

He shook his head. “No. I don’t know ... It keeps...” He thrust his hands down into his groin.

Tricia was confused. “What’s the matter? What’s happening?” She looked down, trying to see exactly where he was pushing his hands, but his legs were in the way. “Is something wrong with your...”

The realization struck her like a thunderbolt. Oh My GOD! she yelled at herself. She looked up in her bedroom mirror and saw herself, this sexy vixen in a red babydoll nightgown curled over this frightened boy. Tricia you FUCKING IDIOT! She smacked her forehead in frustration. All this time I’ve been thinking he’s thirteen. He’s not. He’s EIGHT! He hasn’t had a father for five years! No one has explained this stuff to him!

Tricia leaned over the boy and shook him. “Joey? Joey! You’re all right! There’s nothing wrong with you.”

“No!” he whined.

“Your penis has gotten hard. It’s called an erection. It’s supposed to do that. It does not mean you’re sick. It means you’re healthy. It means you’re growing up.”

Joey uncurled a bit, and looked at her. He didn’t say anything, but he questioned her with his eyes.

Tricia sighed. “I’ll be right back. And we’re going to have a long talk, okay? I’m going to explain everything to you. But you’re all right. There’s nothing wrong. Okay?”

He nodded and uncurled a bit more.

Tricia got up and pulled on her robe. She pulled it tightly around herself, covering up her body. “I’ll be right back.” And she left her room.

She walked across the hallway and knocked on Annie’s door. “Annie?” she sighed. “Can I come in? I need something.”

“Come in,” Annie called.

Tricia went into Annie’s room and closed the door behind her. Annie was in bed, pushing herself up into a sitting position. “So? How goes the seduction?” she asked quietly.

“Oh, just swimmingly! Where’s your copy of Gray’s Anatomy?” Tricia asked as she looked in Annie’s bookshelf.

“With the rest of the DVDs. Which season do you want?”

“Hardback edition.”

Annie screwed up her face. “Bottom shelf ... Wait! Are you ... Are you giving him the TALK?”

Tricia found the book and gave Annie an exasperated smile and nod. “Yep!”

“Okh in vay!”

“He hasn’t learned anything about sex. He lost his dad when he was eight, and obviously hasn’t gotten close enough to anyone else for them to explain this to him.”

Annie nodded at the book. “So, I assume this means you’re going to show him pictures instead of showing him the real thing?”

Tricia went back to the door. “Yeah. I ... I can’t go through with it. Not tonight. I can’t take advantage of him like this!”

“Really?” Annie asked skeptically.

Tricia glared at her. “Yeah! What do you expect?”

“I expected you to take any advantage of him that you could. But this is just a side of you I’ve never seen before. I’m glad I was wrong about you. Good for you.”

Tricia sighed. “Thanks.” She opened the door. “Good night Annie.”

“Good luck.”

Tricia returned to her room. Joey was sitting up on the bed rubbing his eyes. Tricia tightened her robe around her once more and sat on the bed with him. “Okay. Joey? Do you know where babies come from?”

He nodded his head slightly. “From mothers?”

“And do you know why?”

He shook his head.

“Okay. Let me explain this to you.” And she opened the book.

She talked to him for an hour, explaining the entire sexual reproduction cycle, from the differences in anatomy and function, to pregnancy, birth, child development, puberty, and eventually sexual intercourse. She showed him many sections in the book, and although the text didn’t interest him much, the images captivated him. She caught him occasionally looking at her body curiously. She could tell he was imagining what he would find underneath her clothes.

When he finally understood the basic concept of a man’s erect penis pushing inside a woman’s vagina, he frowned and scrunched up his face. “Does that like, hurt?” he asked.

“Not usually,” she answered. “For a woman, it always hurts the very first time when her hymen is broken, but that doesn’t last long. And if they are doing everything right, if there’s enough lubrication and they are working together, it’s actually the most wonderful feeling.”

He thought about it. “Have you done this?”

She nodded. “Yes. Many times.”

“But you haven’t had a baby, right?”

She closed her eyes for a moment, and drew some strength. “No, I haven’t.” She paused for a moment. “Sex doesn’t always lead to pregnancy. It happens sometimes, but not always. In fact, if you use condoms and birth control, you’re pretty much guaranteed that the woman won’t get pregnant. I use condoms every time.”

He frowned. “But if you’re not going to get pregnant, why do you do it?”

She grinned. “Because it is SO FUN!” She giggled. “Sex is the most amazing experience. It makes your body feel all tingly, and your heart race, and when you have an orgasm, oh, it’s the most intense pleasure.” She gave him a sly look. “You’re old enough. You’ve probably had an orgasm, even if you didn’t know what it was at the time. It’s that moment when your body feels really good, and you ejaculate. Your penis squirts out semen when you orgasm. And you can do it all by yourself. All you really need to do is to think about someone you really like.”

He blushed and looked away for a moment, She smiled, and then realized she was flirting. “Damn, girl! Cut it out! Now is not the time for that. He needs time to digest all this.

Joey pondered her answer. “So you ... you just do that for fun? Do you have, like a boyfriend?”

She shook her head. “Nobody now. But every once in a while I find someone. But it’s usually for fun.” She looked off, thinking. “Sometimes it’s not just for fun, but it’s like a little deal, you know? I do something nice for him, and he does something nice for me. It’s like at work, where my boss gets a little thrill, and I get a good story. But it’s harmless.”

She looked back at him. Joey had a strange look on his face. He was frowning.

“Oh,” he said. He was very quiet after that.

Tricia glanced at the clock. It was after eleven. “Speaking of work, I need to get to sleep. I’ve got work in the morning. You feeling better now?”

Joey nodded, but he was still frowning.

“Let’s go to sleep,” she said, and still wearing her robe she got under the covers. Joey got under the covers as well, and she turned off the light. “Good night, Joey.”

“Good night.”

They lay there for a couple of minutes.

“Tricia?” Joey whispered.

“Yes?”

“When you said that you have sex for fun ... well ... Shouldn’t you be in love?”

The question broadsided her. “Well ... you don’t have to, but, I guess it helps.”

“Oh. Okay.” Joey turned on his side, facing away from her.

And Tricia lay there stunned, for she had suddenly realized that she had been talking about sex for the past hour, and not once mentioned love. And she didn’t know what to think about that.

She was standing in front of the map, following the broad twisting colored lines, tracing the routes. “Where am I?” she asked. The labels were strange. They weren’t streets or sections of the city. She could see things like “Elementary” and “High School” and “College”, and she traced the path over to the intersection of “WKMB” and “J Harper”.

“I think I’m here...”

She followed the branching paths and lines on the map, and found a couple dead ends. But one path stretched out far, and she saw a street label. “Book Deal. That’s it,” she decided.

She checked the cost calculation chart, but the numbers were weird. They were all over the place. She couldn’t find the cost for the “Book Deal” station, and panicked as she heard the train coming in.

“Come on! Come ON! Not now! I haven’t gotten my pass yet!”

The train brakes squealed loudly in the underground station. Far louder than she had ever heard on a Metro train.

Tricia’s eyes snapped open. The alarm clock was squealing. She blinked, and rolled over to the clock and turned it off. It was six in the morning. Early morning sunlight crept in from around the window curtains, lighting the room.

Joey rolled over in the bed next to her. She smiled as she saw his face. Such an angel. He looked at her.

“Good morning,” she said.

“Morning,” he mumbled, smiling at her.

Tricia got out of bed, and mindlessly dropped her robe off as she lumbered to the bathroom. She took one last look at Joey. He was watching her, looking at her body.

There was a fairly large bump in the blanket around his groin level. Joey saw her see it, and immediately rolled on his side, hiding his morning erection.

Tricia grinned. “Don’t worry. It’s supposed to do that every morning. Get used to it.” And she walked into the bathroom.

“Okay, so I should be back around six...” Tricia said as she was getting ready to leave. “ ... unless I get a live broadcast assignment. I should be doing something tonight, since I got that footage yesterday. Probably will be just a taped segment I’ll put together this afternoon.”

Joey sat on the couch watching Tricia as she rushed around collecting her things. He nodded. “Okay.”

“Annie? Did you transfer that video from...” Tricia began.

“It’s on your flash drive,” she answered from the dining room.

“Thanks!” She picked up the flash drive from Annie’s laptop and put it in her purse. She turned to Joey. “Well, I’m off. I’ll see you tonight.” She smiled at him. “Don’t give her too much trouble, okay?”

Joey grinned. “Okay.”

“Bye Annie!” she called out.

“Bye!”

Tricia left. Annie wheeled into the living room, and she and Joey just looked at each other for a moment.

“So, it’s just you and me for the rest of the day,” she said with a grin.

He smiled at her shyly. “Do you have to go to work too?”

She nodded. “Yes, but don’t worry. I work here. I do a lot of telecommuting, which I really should get started on. So, feel free to entertain yourself.” She rolled over to her desk and opened her laptop.