Chapter 110: last hours of freedom

By the end of the day Mike would have my apartment, and me wired for pictures and sound. I needed to explain everything to Cheryl. Hopefully, Lois and the others would have nothing compromising to say to me, or me to them. Cheryl on the other hand might get outed by accident. If that happened, it would be difficult for me to cover.

Since I had Cheryl on my mind the night before, I hadn't slept well at all. When she arrived I tried to find the right time to explain. I waited until the bikes were parked outside, and we were seated at at table inside of Hardee's before I began my explanation. It was hard for me to concentrate with her wearing that very tight thermal top and tight jeans. In just three days she had gone from a well fitting soft knit tee shirt, to a tight thermal top like mine. I had nothing to put in my top compared to Cheryl, whose top runeth over.

She was showing off her body and who could blame her. The top was so full that no one took their eyes off her. She obviously enjoyed the attention any woman would have. If I had her body, I would be doing the exact same thing or much worse.

"You have obviously been shopping," I observed.

"Yes I have. Do you like my outfit? We sorta match," she said.

"Honey there is no way we are ever going to match. You could wear a flour bag and be gorgeous and I could wear a Paris gown and look like a pig. But yes I love the outfit on you. Mine is pure function, but on you it just glam as hell."

"Why thank you Maxine, Even if I did have to force the compliment from you, I appreciate it." Cheryl said.

"You should be able to tell how I feel about you from the way I look at you, You should also be able to tell from the smile I wear, when men look at you the way they do. I think you are beautiful and I'm proud to be in your company." The little speech would help her self image, I hoped.

"I know, I just needed to hear you say it one time." she smiled at me and I almost melted. I was going to have a problem, but we needed to work things out quickly.

"Cheryl, starting sometime today they are going to have me and my apartment wired for sound and pictures. People will be following me, and maybe even you, with a camera and listening to all our conversations. They are going to be looking for things to make a good TV show. Those are things you might want to keep off TV. So be careful what you say and when you say it. Always think before you speak, or do anything you might regret seeing on TV. Trust me you have to be very aware. I went through all this a few months back." I said it then waited to see if she would tell me anything,

"When I signed the release I read it very carefully. I even had Johnathan's lawyer read it. He was very careful to explain it all to me. I am pretty good at keeping secrets." she informed me.

After eighteen years inside, she would be damn good at keeping secrets. "Okay, I just wanted you to know this would be your last chance to speak freely. After this morning just be aware." I said.

She got very serious and a hardness came into her eyes as she said, "Maxine, I am always aware."

After she made that announcement she returned to having her breakfast with a smile. The smile was for her audience. The group of men who were fascinated by her long blond hair and her big boobs. I couldn't say that I blamed them a bit.

"Now, I want to have easier access to my bike. How are we going to manage that?" It was the most assertive thing I had heard her say.

"I will have to give it some thought," I answered. I could not give her any control at all. I knew that for sure.

"Right now Johnathan's driver comes over from Tryon twice a week to drive me around. I would like to change that to an on call status. So it's important that I arrange my own transportation. I don't really want the hassle of a car, so I need access to the bike all the time."

"I have a rule about things stored outside the apartment, but maybe I can figure something out."

"Maybe I should go back and get the bike with the removable engine?" she asked.

"You don't want to store that engine inside your apartment. They smell of gasoline. Actually all you guys need storage, I should have thought of that when I converted the place. Let me do some research and I'll figure out something. In the meantime get your self a good lock and a bike cover. You can store it on the side of your apartment. Park all the way back by the fence in the rear corner. You can get a little protection from the winds back there. We can get you a small sealed container to keep a quart or so of premix gasoline under the cover as well."

"Very cool, so are you ready to go walk?" she asked smiling. She obviously felt that she had won a round. I could tell I needed to be careful not to let her take control. It was another good reason not to become her lover.

We were about half way through our first lap, when she asked, "Where did you get your trailer, I want one of those."

"The preacher's bike shop can make you one for about a hundred bucks," I suggested.

"Very good, I will give him a call when we get back. I bet he can find me the right kind of bike cover as well." she said.

"He most likely has one in stock." I agreed.

We were sitting on a bench sharing the last of the coffee before we started the ride for home, when she asked, "When did you find out?"

I looked at her and wanted to ask, find out what, but I knew better. I wouldn't want her to play games with me. "One of my friends told me yesterday. Not all of it by any means, just the cold on paper facts."