Chapter 22

Dan's turn:

I came home to find my Nikki and her whole group sitting round the dining room table. Here "Hey, Baby!" was intermingled with "Hi, Mister Dan" from the rest of the group.

"Don't try to tell me you all are studying," I smiled.

Kellen spoke up. "It's almost like a habit, being here, but no, we're just hangin' out! I guess there are a lot of ways that kids can cope with high school and family and stuff. I really like this one!"

I saw Nikki smile. Nikki's previous year at school had been a subject of much conversation and I knew that her last year had not been pleasant. This year, she'd said, was so much better.

"Yessir," Bret added. "Has been. Hate to see Nikki moving on, but we'll figure out how to do this next year." I noted the way that Bret glanced sideways at Holly. He was reassuring himself.

Nikki kept me up to date on the latest in the 'Holly-Bret' thing and as time went on, it was indeed a 'thing'. "She stopped mooing over every one of those 'all full of himself' guys at school, you know, like the one that used 'er. Bret treats her like a princess and she treats him like a prince and they both recognize each other's MINDS."

"That's unusual for a couple of high school juniors," I said.

"Apparently. I don't know if it'll last. You know how high schoolers can be. But they sure do fit together. One of the few of those things where it doesn't seem like one's using the other." Her eyes connected with mine. "Of course, you and me, we define that idea, don't we."

"But only one of us is a high schooler."

"Uh-huh," she said. "And as the girl from a disadvantaged background, I COULD be using you. And YOU, as a middle-aged guy from a failed marriage, YOU could be taking advantage of me." She folded her arms for a second to emphasize the point, then unfolded them and half-climbed over me, wrapping her arms around me as best she could. "But I totally, irrevocably love you..."

"And I incontrovertibly adore you," I said.

"So all those presuppositions (I loved her expanding vocabulary) about relationships are fine as long as you realize that those are RANGES of activity and there's room for outliers on the curve." Nikki knew me and she knew that I found her discussions interesting. She planted a kiss on my lips and pulled back, smiling, gave her cute head a shake to move a stray strand of hair from her cheek. "You and me ... You and I, we're outliers. Waaay off from that big bump on the bell curve."

I untrapped my arms to complicate our hug. Kissed her back. "I'm so glad I have you, Nikki. You're remarkable."

"And so are you, my love," she said. "But Holly and Bret ... who knows?"

"Exactly," I said. "I know of some high-school romances that went on to be long, happy marriages. Outliers."

"Uh-huh. If I was going into sociology or psychology, it would be interesting to study that whole high school romance thing." She smiled softly. "It's a whole lot easier to do that when I can come home at the end of the day KNOWING that I'm not a participant, no matter how often I get asked..."

"Still getting asked?" I questioned. Another conversation we'd had pretty regularly. At first I was apprehensive. Now? A lot less so. My Nikki was upper-tier cute, especially now that she could dress well, and she CARED that her appearance was neat and her demeanor had gone from that of a somewhat worried outsider to a confident, happy teen. Naturally I find her attractive now, but if I was a typical high school boy, I would have found her attractive also.

"Yep! The presence of my wedding band and the fact that everybody with half a brain knows I'm married, that doesn't stop some guys." She giggled. "One of 'em actually hit on me while I was talking with Slade and his girlfriend of the week."

"Oh, yeah? How'd that go?"

Giggle. "Slade just listened at first when I said 'No, thank you, I'm married' but when the guy got a bit persistent, Slade just put his arm around my shoulder and told 'im, 'Nikki's, like, one of my best friends and I know her husband, and if he leaves enough of you after HE kicks your ass, I am going to take care of the rest... ' and the guy's eyes got real big and he said, 'Dude ... Cain't blame me for tryin' ... Sorrrrryyyyy!'"

"Slade did that in front of his own girlfriend?"

"Everybody knows about Slade and me and the rest of the gang. He invited his girlfriend to come to the study group, but apparently she's not the academic type. Poor Slade. He does have that problem. Being a jock, he has 'em lined up..."

"I dunno," I said. "When I was in high school, I only dreamed about having that problem."

She got her smile going. "I'm glad you didn't. Makes you all the much better for ME. But it's been a while since anybody tried. And now, with that academic thing, it's almost like I got IQ cooties or something. Guys afraid that if they stand too close, they'll start reading books without pictures or something."

"Part of what makes you my perfect little Nikki," I said.

But back to the group sitting around my table. There was Maddie, the first to join the study group. Maddie is the same age as my Nikki and similarly intelligent. "A lot of this is Nikki's fault, anyway," she said, smiling.

Nikki feigned an exasperated gasp. "How's it MY fault?"

Kellen picked up the pleasant banter. "Because poor little Maddie would've taken 'er 3.9 and played 'I'm working soooo hard... ' in class and spent another two years in high school. Instead, she got tied in with the 'Nikki's Gang' academic express and everybody started watching her. Next thing you know, she's graduating with YOU!" Kellen smiled smugly. "Of course, so am I!"

Slade was smiling. "Mister Dan, I hope that some day I can look at a bunch of people in my life that I've helped as much as you an' Nikki do. I mean, really!"

"I'm sure you will, son. And it'll be some magical way that's particular to Mister Slade Carruthers."

"Gosh, thank you, Mister Dan," he said. "Yaknow, you an' Nikki taught me more than algebra and chemistry and stuff. I've..." he glanced around the table, Nikki, Bret, Kellen, Holly, me, and he took a breath. "I think I'm giving up on ... uh ... bimbos..."

Kellen gasped along with Holly. Nikki was unusually smug, indicating to me that she knew more of this revelation than the others knew. Bret said, "Dude..."

"No, seriously," he said. "Bret, you ... Mister Dan, y'all know what I'm sayin'. Click. When you meet a girl, it's supposed to click. How's it gonna click if the most important thing in her life is 'my mom is sooooo unreal! She won't let me even get my nose pierced!"

Kellen laughed out loud, then tried to stifle herself. Her hand reached over and touched Slade's forearm. "I know who you're talking about, buddy. I wondered what you saw in her..."

Bret smirked and interjected, "You don't have to look too awfully hard..."

"That's just it," Slade said. "Fake versus genuine. She ... the one you're talking about, it was all about the outside. Yeah, she's cute. Pretty. But not any prettier than you, Kellen, except in a different way. Or you, Holly."

Holly's face lit up in direct proportion to Bret's face darkening. Slade saw both. "No, don't even think it, you two. Y'all belong together! But yaknow, it's ... like, there comes a time when you just, you know, want to TALK to somebody and there she is, all about..." he took a breath, "STUPID stuff!"

I was inwardly amused at seeing this revelation being espoused by a just turned seventeen year old boy. I didn't let the amusement show. Instead, I said, "Some guys never learn that, Slade. And there are plenty of girls out there to feed the sentiment if that's what you want to do."

Holly slapped Bret lightly on the back of his head. "YOU don't want to do THAT, do you, darlin'!"

Bret grinned. Boy knew what side HIS bread was buttered on. Nikki had explained to me some biographical details about Bret, not athletic, socially awkward, shy, and basically hopeless until Holly saw something in him. And now I kept seeing them making puppy-dog eyes at each other. Cute. I hoped they would stay good for each other.

Slade continued, "It's just not worth it. I mean, if I keep this sort of thing up, a decent girl won't ... I mean, TALK! You can't walk around showin' each other off to your friends all day. And you can't ... makin' out ... sex ... At the end of the day, who is it you're gonna TALK with?"

Nikki started giggling. "Slade Carruthers! Have you been followin' me around eavesdropping and taking notes?"

Slade looked quizzically at her. "W-wha?"

"I've been asked about this whole relationship thing all year, ever since poor little Nikki turned up at school wearing a wedding band. And yes, I've been asked about the 'sex thing', and about the 'showing your friends thing' and I always come back to the 'who can you talk with' thing." She smiled. "It's interesting that you made this discovery. I know people who didn't figure that out when they were thirty-something." She smirked and looked at me.

I added to her comment. "I know guys in their sixties that haven't figured that out. Seems to me that women are more likely to figure it out, though."

Nikki smiled. "I figured it out when I was fifteen. Fortunately MY guy is pleasant to look at, as well..." She glanced at Holly, who blushed and turned away slightly.

Kellen was little bit brazen, though, wading right in on Slade. "So tell me, Slade, my friend, is this epiphany a result of the departure of Miss Daley from your life, until, like the next honors graduate from the cheer academy?" Slade and cheerleaders was a common theme. She tossed her head, settled and stared at Slade.

"It's not about looks, Kellen. It's about the whole package, and looks're a part of it, for sure, but a bit of intelligence and a sense of humor, those are important, maybe more than looks."

Kellen wouldn't let him go, to the amusement of the rest of us. "So if you found, like, a poet-laureate that was ugly as a home-made booger, she'd be acceptable?" She made a show of puffing up. "Exactly what makes you think that a lady of intelligence and humor is gonna wanna mess with your big jock ass in the first place?"

Nikki made a pretty decent effort at suppressing a giggle. Bret's jaw dropped a little. Holly's giggle squeaked out.

Slade turned to me. "Mister Dan, you know what I mean, don't you?"

"Let 'is butt swing in the breeze, Mister Dan," Kellen said.

"No, Kellen. I think you skewered 'im pretty good. Slade, son, I understand what you're saying, but your choice of words was not particularly good for the venue in which you used them."

"I..." he started.

"You made it sound like you're the only one who had a say in the transaction. Like you're shopping for a commodity."

Kellen dove back in. "Yeah, bud ... Did you ever give a thought that your 'commodity' might be doing the same assessment of you?"

"Yeah," Holly jumped in. "I learned ... I get a say. Up to and including a veto!" She put her hand on Bret's shoulder. "And the right to initiate!" Her hand stroked his ear. He shook visibly.

Slade sighed. "Oh, so that's how it's gonna be. I come here, pour my very soul out before you, my friends, and you stab me in the heart and start picking apart the carcass."

"It's okay, Slade," Kellen said. "We actually understand what you said when we put it in the context of the gruntings of one of the school's star athletes." She smirked in emphasis. She turned to me. "See, Mister Dan? No study. Purely social."

"Except for Slade's bleeding carcass," Bret laughed. He looked at Holly and said to her, "Wanna get a coke on the way home?"

"Sure," she smiled.

The two of them left in Bret's little pickup truck. Kellen and Slade followed them up the road, each in a separate vehicle, as Nikki and I stood in the door, watching.

"Last time you'll see that," she said.

"See what?" I asked.

"Kellen and Slade in separate vehicles."

"You don't..." I started.

"You don't read things very well, love. That whole speech of Slade's, we all participated, but a ball was tossed to Miss Kellen. And her cutting him off at the knees, that was her acceptance. So don't be surprised if they show up in one car on Thursday."

"You think so?"

She leaned back against my chest, knowing I'd be there. I wrapped my arms around her, kissing the top of her head. "You have the nerve to doubt the foremost authority on relationships in our group? Maybe the whole school?"

"Ooooo-kayyyy," I said. "Where's OUR relationship going, then little one?"

"Soup and a sandwich for dinner, a little email time, then an early shower for both of us, followed by the requisite pleasurable coupling indicative of a healthy physical aspect to total love."

I love it when she sounds clinical.

We executed her routine handily. Email? Wasn't enough. I heard voices and understood that a Skype session with the sisterhood was underway. As was the usual case with these things, I paid little more attention than to note that the voices sounded happy, as was fitting. Four girls were within two or three weeks of graduating high school. While it was going on, I got to pet the cat.

The Skype session was short, a concession to three husbands and a fiance'. We retired to the shower. Together. Me and this beauty with the big blue eyes. All soapy, gropey, happy in the shower. I loved these things. I gladly traded shampooing that rich brown head of hair in return for a great back scrubbing. Well, it was a matter of mutual access. After the shower we had a routine that ended with the pair of us in bed, displacing the cat who knew that there was going to be (to him) an inconvenient amount of activity, after which he could find a place to nestle down for the night.

Might've been inconvenient for the cat but for me and my amazing young lady, it was bliss to a spiritual level. Started when she crawled onto the bed, completely nude, and I captured her, my hands on her hips. She reacted by rolling sideways onto her back, legs spread. I crawled in between them. She captured me, wrapping her legs around me, wiggling to put my dick tight between the lips of her pussy, rubbing, but dodging penetration as we kissed and caressed and loved each other.