Chapter 32

The guys took Adam's car. Sean sat in the passenger seat and Walt lay across the backseat. Adam decided to get the hard part out of the way early.

"Are we OK about this morning?" he asked. There was a hint of nervousness in his voice that caught his friends off guard.

"I am," Walt said. "I don't think I'd want things to go further but I didn't mind getting a little attention from Allie and Sarah."

"Me, either," Sean put in. "I agree that going further would bother me. I mean, Allie, Sarah and Shelly are really lovely. But..."

"Yeah," Walt chimed in from the back. "It pissed me off to when I realized it. I'll deny this if you ever repeat it. I would prefer to make love to Mary than to anyone else. There. I said it."

Adam chuckled but Sean nodded.

"Well, I just worried that things went a little across the line," Adam admitted. "I probably was too, uh, well, intimate I guess is the right word with Rachelle. I wanted you to know from me before you heard it from her or from someone else."

"Adam," Sean said in a serious tone that worried the driver slightly. "Adam, if you hadn't done those things, she would have been hurt. I know you touched her breast – when she asked you to. I know you gave her butt a good rubbing – when she asked you to. I could tell from her gasps that you probably gave her a little thrill or two. I know she was the instigator. Not just with you but with all of them."

"I'm sure Mary didn't exactly lend a voice of reason to the discussion," Walt said. "And I'm sure she took the time to fondle you a bit under the guise of putting lotion on you. If it was anything like Allie did when she was on my back, it was harmless."

"That's the key, Adam," Sean said. "It's harmless. Shelly has seen Rachelle and I have sex before. I'm sure you have seen Mary and Walt when you were sharing a room."

"He was way cool," Walt said. "If things started to heat up, he would either pretend to be asleep and roll to face the opposite wall or go downstairs and sleep on the couch. We tried not to take advantage of the situation, too much. He was the same way."

Sean nodded.

"Rachelle and I would wait until we were sure Eric was asleep," he admitted. "Shelly was OK. It didn't really bother either of us because she was cool about it. Eric wasn't. He would try to screw Shelly while we were getting ready for bed, you know. It creeped me out. I was a little relieved when she stopped staying over."

"Lisa was that way with Adam," Walt offered. "I mean, now I know why. She wanted to use that big schlong to try to humiliate me. He always put her off and then he finally stopped inviting her to spend the night. I was glad to be rid of her, too. No offense, Adam."

"None taken," Adam replied. "I was glad to be rid of her too. I should have dropped her way earlier but, well, I guess it was easier not to. I'll not make that mistake again, let me tell you."

His friends nodded. They had never understood what Adam saw in Lisa, other than a super body. She wasn't friendly. She wasn't funny. She was the perfect piece of California eye candy. Adam deserved better and it appeared that he'd found it.

"So if the situation arises when we all wind up having sex in the same room, I don't think anyone will cringe and run away," Sean said, moving the conversation back to where it started. "But I don't envision myself ever being willing to swap partners. Does that make sense?"

"Perfectly," Adam said. Walt nodded from the backseat. "I'm probably not too keen on going past today. It was exciting to touch what I touched and see what I saw. But I think that is my limit."

Walt shook his head and laughed.

"The porn star is a bigger prude than we are," he joked. "I guess it's sort of like this, Adam. Over the past few days, everyone in our house has seen you having sex. On video, at least. It wouldn't be a big deal for any of us to see you having sex in person. Maybe with Shelly, it might. I mean, you know, because we haven't really seen her that way."

"Today was close," Sean said. "Jesus, Lord have mercy. I was looking at her when she opened that robe. I've seen her in a swimsuit before. She looked good. But today..."

He shook his head and blushed slightly.

"Until she sat down, I thought she was wearing a maxi pad or something," Sean continued. "But that was all her down there. I will admit, openly, that I would not mind seeing Shelly naked. I don't want to have sex with her. But I think I would like to see her that way just to remove the picture I have of her in my mind, the image of what I think she would look like."

"It's probably better than the image," Adam said. "It sure was for me. The first time I saw her get undressed, I was astounded. She is packing a lot of body."

"You know what's weird?" Walt asked. He answered before anyone else could. "Today, with Sarah and Allie, was even hotter than watching Ashley and Sahara on video. Honest to God, I found myself wondering what they looked like beneath those suits, forgetting altogether than I'd seen both of them completely nude not a day before. I didn't make the connection until we all were going our separate ways."

"Damn," Sean said with a laugh. "I didn't make it until just now. Even a minute ago when you said we'd seen Adam screwing on video, it didn't hit me that he was with the two girls who I rubbed down or got rubbed down by today."

"I guess that's a good thing," Adam admitted. "So, we're OK then?"

"We're OK," Sean said. "Let's just hope the girls don't decide that the new place is all clothing optional. We'll still be OK but I don't think any of will get a single thing accomplished if that group starts going without clothes. And if Rachelle decides she needs two hours of sex every day, I'm in trouble."

"You and me both," Walt groaned. "I mean, it was great. But it was intense. I wanted nothing more than to roll over and go to sleep afterward. I was surprised to see Adam looking so healthy. I figured we'd find a withered up husk of a man when we got there. But look at him, he looks fresh as a daisy."

Adam didn't comment, but he offered a shit-eating grin and pulled on to the street that Sean had indicated.

The girls' conversation started out different.

"I want all the gory details of what went on down there this afternoon," Mary said as soon as their butts had hit the seat. Shelly sat up front with Rachelle and Mary was in the back of the SUV with Allie on one side and Sarah on the other.

"We talked, ate a rancid peanut butter sandwich and then talked some more," Sarah said.

Rachelle looked in the rear-view mirror at the backseat and then to Shelly on her right. None of the faces belied a hint of deception.

"Seriously," Shelly said. "We cuddled and talked. It was really nice, you know."

"Well, I for one wasn't interested in cuddling and talking when I got home," Rachelle stated. "I got me some lovin'."

The girls laughed.

"We got loving, too," Sarah said softly. "But it was more emotional loving than physical. Besides, we have a plan for tonight."

"We do?" Shelly asked. "Oh, what we were planning for last night. You've never really told us what it was."

"I will," Sarah said with a wink. "And no gory details for Mary, either."

"Bitch," Mary muttered. "I'll just tell you this, I was red, red, ready when I got out of the shower. Shelly about molested me when I was on the bottom. Then Adam..."

She shook her head.

"That boy is seriously built," she said, her face reddening. "I don't mean just down below. I mean every-fucking-where. When I was putting lotion on his back and shoulders, it was, well, it was hot. I actually had to move off of his legs so he wouldn't notice."

"Walt has nice muscles, too," Allie giggled. "I mean, you can tell he is strong, you know, like a bear."

"He is," Mary said.

"Sean was better built than I figured," Sarah admitted. "He always wears loose polos so I never really got a look. But he has nice legs and tight butt. You should really get him to wear tighter pants, Rachelle."

"I've tried," Rachelle answered with a sigh. "I was a little surprised at Sean. I figured he would get all tense and put a damper on things. He didn't seem interested in calling a quit to anything. I know I sure wasn't. Adam surprised me, too. When we set this up, I couldn't decide whether I wanted him to do me or I wanted to do him."

The girls chuckled and Rachelle shook her head slightly.

"I think I'm past that now," Rachelle said, blushing beneath her tanned skin. "I finally took Shelly's advice about not trying so hard. He was really nervous at first. I could tell that but I don't think it was because it was with me. I think he had the same worry about Sean as I did."

"Sean was putty in my hands," Sarah joked. "Actually, he was completely relaxed. He was super cool the whole time, even when I got a little frisky with him. I didn't go further than what we talked about but I think I could have and he would have played a long."

"Walt, too," Allie said. "I don't mean that badly. You know that, I hope. But he seemed alright with just about anything I did. But I also think we were just about to the edge of what he would permit."

"We were," Mary said. "He told me, in no uncertain terms, that a little touchy-grabby was OK but he didn't want it to progress past that."

"Sean, too," Rachelle put in. "What did Adam say?"

"He said he couldn't wait until he got you two naked and quivering beneath him," Shelly said – with a remarkably straight face. "He said he thought you two were seriously hot for him and that he could convince Walt and Sean to swap a little if we wanted."

Mary's mouth dropped but Rachelle pursed her lips.

"Bullshit," she said. "I'm not stepping in that minefield. I would bet that Adam was the most reluctant of all the guys. He managed to put my nipple back in my top without touching it or my breast. A perfectly good piece of happenstance tossed to hell. I got two minor brushes against my twat and a soft flick of my asshole. That's it from him.

"Hell, Sean was mauling Allie's ass like he was searching for buried treasure. If she hadn't kept her legs closed, he probably would have fingered her there. I saw Walt pawing at Sarah's tits. I did my best to touch Shelly everywhere I could reach. I saw Mary reach up Adam's trunks for a handful of his trunk. And I get a third of a second against my mound."

Rachelle turned her head to look out the side window at a stoplight.

"He really doesn't like me, does he?" she asked, unsure of whether she wanted to know the answer or not.

"That's one of the things we talked about," Shelly said. "He does like you but he doesn't know you. Today was the first time anyone actually explained to him what happened at the start of the school year and last summer. I think he has a better understanding know of why you acted that way toward him. He's promised to make an effort to get to know you. And not in the biblical sense, either, hussy."

Rachelle sighed deeply.

"I probably should have explained it myself," she confessed. "But I was embarrassed. I was biased against his looks. I would have been really pissed off if he had expressed prejudice toward me because my Mom is Hispanic. I was really embarrassed about what I thought and I decided I would just, you know, stop being a bitch to him. I guess it didn't work."

"It did, to a certain extent," Shelly consoled her friend. "But he thought you simply viewed him as some hick from the sticks. You two need to find some time just to sit and visit, particularly if today works out."

"What's this place like?" Allie asked.

Rachelle shrugged.

"I have no idea," she replied. "The first I heard of it was the same time you did."

The first thing Walt noticed from the backseat of Adam's car when they pulled in front of the converted duplex was the door. The dwelling had a porch centered across the front but the door was off center by about four feet. He shook his head and wondered about the unusual configuration and about what other anomalies he might find inside.

Walt was not qualified to be a house inspector. He knew that as well as anyone. But he was qualified to take a look around the place and see if any major work needed done. Walt's father was a contractor in Lower Derby, Nevada, and he had spent almost every summer since he was 11 years old helping his father in one way or another. A door set that far off center wasn't normal and it might foretell many other unusual things inside that would cost a bundle if they needed repaired. Contractors do not like problems that can't be fixed the exact same way every time.

He sighed when he approached the porch. A sliding glass door occupied almost the entire right side of the porch – but rested not three feet from the front door.

"What the fuck is that about?" he wondered aloud.

"I'll show you when we go inside," Sean said. "I want to wait until everyone is here."

"Do you mind if I look around the outside?" Walt asked. "You know, at the foundation, potential drainage problems, the gutters."

"No, I'm glad you know about that sort of thing," Sean said. "Look guys, ask anything you want and look at anything you want. You don't need my permission. I know about location but I would need to hire someone to give me the low-down on the fixed assets."

Both men nodded and Walt started his walk around the house. Adam spent his time peering at the neighboring houses, of which there were very few, but which were packed closely together.

"Not much land," Adam remarked. He was a farm boy. He was used to having at least a few acres to play with.

"Almost none," Sean said. "It's why it was so easy for Rachelle's dad to pick it up. The bank foreclosed on it 18 months ago. The last appraisal was for almost $550,000. He got it for $410,000 because the bank wanted it off their books. He is willing to sell it to us in part to recoup his money but also in part because of the amount of money Rachelle made for him over the weekend. He only bought it as a favor to one of his friends at the bank who did him a good turn when he was first starting out. Well, that's one of the reasons. I'll touch on the others as we go through, if that's OK."

"Sure," Adam said. "I was just noticing how tight the other house was to it. I'm not, you know, cutting it down on anything."

Sean smiled. The house was odd. He would readily admit it to anyone. But it had a certain charm to it that impressed him. The neighborhood was decent. It wasn't going to be confused with Bel Air anytime soon but it also wasn't riddled with gang violence or small children running all over the place.

Walt had just finished his tour when the girls arrived.

"Any trouble with mudslides or erosion back there?" Walt asked.

Sean shook his head.

"According to anything I can find, no," he told him. "Did you look over the hill?"

Walt admitted he hadn't.

"There is a subdivision about 200 yards down over it," Sean mentioned. "If there had been trouble like that those houses would be gone."

"What's the building back there for?" Walt tried next.

Sean gave a slight chuckle.

"It's a garage, if you can believe it," Sean said. "I mean, that is what it was built for."

Walt looked at the houses on either side.

"Motorcycle?" he asked.

Sean pursed his lips and shook his head.

"The last owners had an agreement in principle to buy the land next door," Sean said. "They planned to demolish both houses and build something fancy that faced the side street we came in on. They got the garage under roof and the electric to it when the guy next door backed out. They fought a court battle for a year before the old man over there won. The owners said to hell with it, let it go into foreclosure and moved to Dallas, I heard."

The girls had parked in one of the two small spots in front of the house and came forward. They were all looking at the house with great interest.

"OK, now that everyone is here we can take a look at this," Sean said. "Before we go inside, I want to tell you how we came to be here. A few months ago, right before Christmas, Mike Cunningham decided he needed to diversify his holdings. He tasked me with looking around for low-end real estate that could be bought relatively cheaply and turned around quickly – in case the need for a quick infusion of cash in his other businesses became necessary.

"As you know, the economy has taken a toll not only on the housing market but on the auto industry. Mike is worried that having almost his entire net worth tied up in one sector is a bad idea. He's right. In the coming months, he's planning some other changes to his portfolio. But that's probably something we can talk about with him sometime. For now, back to what's in front of us.

"He and I looked at this house in January. It was a foreclosure from a local bank where Mike does a lot of business and they wanted it off their books. They took a loss on it just to be rid of it. It had occurred to me over the past few months that we were throwing money away by renting, particularly when rents are rising much faster than property taxes in this region. The landlords apparently didn't get the memo about the faltering economy. I held off mentioning it then well..."

He sighed and glanced at Shelly.

"Because I didn't want Eric moving in," he continued. "Sorry, but I think if we decide to start into something like this, we need to be completely honest with each other. I didn't want to be in a business venture – because that is what this will be – with someone like Eric Travers. I have nothing against Shelly, obviously. I wanted Walt and Mary involved but I also wanted Adam involved. We really couldn't do that so long as Eric remained our roommate and I could see Eric causing a shitload of problems for us down the road if we did something like this without him."

Sean took another deep breath.