Chapter 7

Elaina was in the kitchen preparing dinner that Saturday evening, while Rob was spending his time cleaning the already clean apartment. She came out to see what he was up to after she'd put the meal in the oven.

"Sweeting, stop," she said with amusement in her voice. "It's as clean as it's ever been. Just stop. What's got into you anyway?"

"I don't know," he complained. "I can't seem to keep still."

"You're not nervous, are you?" she laughed. "It's not like Dawn has never been here before. Relax." He perched himself on the edge of the recliner, rubbing his hands together fretfully.

Elaina headed to the shower to get ready for their dinner date with Dawn. Rob had showered and dressed seemingly hours ago, but it was really only about thirty minutes. He was wearing dark jeans with a black crew-necked pullover and loafers on his feet. He'd let his hair grow out over the last few months, and now it was long enough to brush back instead of parting it, the ends tickling the back of his neck. He mused that if it got much longer, he could put it in a ponytail. An image of Willie Nelson crossed his mind and he snorted.

"What?"

He turned his head to the sound of Elaina's voice and saw her standing naked and dripping, toweling off her head. He watched, fascinated by the way her body shimmied as she scrubbed at her hair.

"Rob?" she called from under the towel.

"Nothing," he said, shaking his head to clear his thoughts. "Just thinking I need a haircut."

"No!" she exclaimed. "Don't do that! It's perfect just as it is now." She dropped the towel and walked over, running her hands through his hair. When she reached the back, she gathered up the hair at his neck. "Wait here."

"Where else would I wait?" he mumbled. She shot him a glance.

She grabbed her towel off the floor and headed to the bedroom. A few minutes later, she came out dressed in her buckskin outfit, her hair brushed out. She had a short black ribbon draped over her fingers, his brush in her other hand.

"Turn around," she ordered briskly. He obliged, finding it easier for her to reach if he knelt on the recliner. She gathered his hair off the back of his neck, dragging the brush through the strands. He felt a few brief tugs then a tightness to his hair.

"There," she declared, "All done."

He reached back to check on what she'd done and found he now had a ponytail.

"Really?" he said disgustedly. "A ponytail? How eighties can you get?"

"Never mind that," she gently chided. "Go look in the mirror."

He got up, tugging fretfully at his tail. He stopped and frowned when he caught his image in the mirror. His hair had always been straight and lain flat on his head. With the ribbon pulling the hair tight, it accentuated the bones of his face, making him look more austere. He turned his head to see the ribbon, thinking it might be too feminine, and discovered she tied it in an intricate knot that actually looked quite dashing. The ponytail itself was low on the nape, draping down toward his collar.

"All right," he admitted reluctantly, "It's not as bad as I thought it would be. You're going to have to tie this thing for me from now on. There's no way I can do this myself."

Elaina clapped her hands gleefully at his acceptance of her grooming, and she promised it would be no trouble for her.

"Oh shit!" she suddenly cried. "Dinner!" She dashed off to rescue their meal, with Rob following slowly after. When he got to the kitchen, he found her happily humming away as she poured a glaze over the Cornish game hens roasting in the oven. She pushed the rack back in and closed the oven, then stirred something in a pot on the range.

"That smells wonderful," Rob said, turning her around and gathering his little lover in his arms. She leaned back to look at his face, smiling happily at his expression. "Elaina," he said, his voice tinged with concern, "How are you going to hide not eating tonight?"

"Simple, really," she answered. "I'll serve the hens with the stuffing already pulled out onto the plate. As I 'eat, ' I'll stuff the carcass on my plate. Of course, you'll have the bulk of my stuffing on your plate, so there'll be plenty of room." She patted his chest. "See? I've got it all figured out."

She broke away from his grasp to attend to the stove while he went to sit at the table, pondering her plan. He couldn't find a flaw and that worried him.

There was a knock at the door, and Elaina hustled out to welcome their guest. Rob stood to follow. Dawn came in wearing her white parka, baggy dark-green capris showing underneath. She had on tall rubber boots against the slush from the last snowfall, which she removed after entering. She pulled a pair of soft mukluks from the pockets of her coat, laughing at Elaina's comment of what a clever girl she was.

She hung her coat and turned to show off the loose green-silk blouse she wore, the neckline draping down and exposing a delicious expanse of creamy cleavage. She wore a gold necklace with a green gemstone pendant, unnecessarily drawing the eye to her cleavage. She smiled coyly when she caught Rob looking.

Elaina pulled her into a hug and got a warm kiss for her efforts.

"Dinner smells wonderful," Dawn said, leaning back in Elaina's arms. "I can't wait to eat. I'm starved." Elaina drew a breath at the innocent pressure of Dawn's mons against hers, and lowered her eyelids to hide the nascent arousal she was feeling.

Dawn next turned to Rob, taking him in her arms to kiss him. She exclaimed when her hand encountered his ponytail.

"Rob! A ponytail?" she gasped. She turned his head with her finger and murmured when she saw it. "I love a ponytail on a man," she cooed. She drew a breath and hummed. "It's just so ... sexy," she purred.

Rob looked at Elaina and shrugged one-shouldered at her look of triumph. "You can thank Elaina for that," he admitted. "It was her idea."

"I believe I will," she responded and quickly turned back to Elaina. "Thank you, dear. That was a marvelous idea." Then she kissed her again.

Rob thought he'd detected a little extra sway beneath her blouse as she'd turned to Elaina. Dawn's breasts were slightly larger and fuller than Elaina's, and moved more easily when they were free of constraint. His suspicions were confirmed when he saw her nipples spiking the fabric when she stepped back from the kiss. Further confirmation came when she turned again and her nipples tracked independent of her motion. He saw Elaina watching him, and he smiled at her drooping eyelids, knowing that she'd seen it too.

Elaina hustled to the kitchen, telling Rob to entertain their guest while she served dinner. Dawn offered to help, but Elaina refused, telling her things were well in hand. A few minutes later, Elaina called them to eat, and they all sat down, with Rob and Dawn thanking her for the wonderful food.

Conversation flowed easily at the table. Rob related the experience with Brenda's boyfriend, ending with the declaration of truce. Dawn told of the meeting on Monday, saying that something had the branch manager seriously concerned. Elaina remained mostly silent, interjecting only when she had an opinion on something.

Elaina's plan seemed to work. By meal's end, Rob had managed to eat everything on his plate, and even ate some of hers when she made a transfer at the counter. There really wasn't much left that she had to hide in the carcass. Dawn helped with the dishes while Rob considered his collection of movies. He decided instead on soft music for atmosphere so they could continuing talking. Judging by the chatter in the kitchen, there was plenty left to talk about.

The women came out of the kitchen to join Rob on the couch. He'd arranged things so that Dawn ended up in the middle with Rob and Elaina bracketing her. It had been a while since they had been truly intimate, and Rob was planning on at least making out with Dawn. He was beginning to feel a need for her and he wanted to indulge a little.

It started out with them just talking on the couch. Rob began playing with Dawn's hair, running his fingers through the soft strands and massaging her scalp. She was beginning to act distracted, so he leaned in and kissed her. Elaina watched with a smile from the other side.

When they broke the kiss, Dawn said, "Kiss her too." He leaned across her lap to kiss Elaina, and he felt Dawn's soft breasts pressing against his ribs. She placed her hand on his back, cooing and rubbing, encouraging him to show his love. He leaned back when Elaina broke the kiss; Dawn left her hand where it was. Elaina leaned in now to kiss Dawn, not pressing her, but rather teasing her with little nips, sucking each lip in turn, kissing the corners of her mouth.

When she was done, Elaina turned to Rob. She leaned across Dawn's lap, and her unfettered breasts pressed against Dawn's. She showed more energy while kissing Rob, moving around fitfully, and coincidentally rubbing her breasts all over Dawn's. When she sat back, Dawn's nipples had seriously dimpled the silk of her blouse, and she was breathing heavily.

Rob felt the time was right, and he began by kissing her neck and throat, his fingers toying with the button at her cleavage. On the other side, Elaina was offering caresses to both of them, keeping herself to 'safe' zones on Dawn. Rob, however, was not so restricted, and he let his fingers drift from the top button into her cleavage, stroking along the inner slopes of her breasts and trailing down to play with a nipple through her blouse.

Dawn still hadn't objected and Rob figured he was good to go. He brought his hand back to the button and adroitly pushed it through the buttonhole. Dawn gasped at his advance but offered no resistance, so he continued to the next. When he reached the bottom, he tugged at the shirt, pulling the tail from her waistband and allowing him get to the final button.

Rob parted her blouse, feeling the cool silk slide through his hands. He took a moment to drag the fabric back and forth across her nipples, seeing them spike even more with the stimulation, then he pulled the panels aside, exposing her breasts to his starving eyes. Her breasts were fuller than Elaina's, but no more beautiful. Her breast filled his hand most satisfyingly, and he lifted it as if to weighing it with his hand. The heat of her womanly flesh warmed his hand, and he grazed her nipple with his thumb, eliciting another gasp from her. He looked up to see her gazing at him with a sleepy look, her eyes glazing with lust. He looked back to her breast, his eyes scanning the pale flesh. Her nipples were pink, as compared Elaina's dark nipples, the areola pale enough to blend with the surrounding flesh. It was only the goosebumps surrounding her nipple that allowed him to differentiate the areola from the rest of her breast.

He leaned down and took her nipple in his mouth. She placed her hand on his head, merely resting it there to let him know she liked what he was doing. He traced his tongue around the areola, then he curled his tongue to caress the nipple. She began lightly scratching his scalp, urging him to continue. He closed his lips around the nipple, nipping it gently with his teeth, then sucking hard. Her gasping moan encouraged him, and he suckled at the inviting teat. His free hand drifted up to enclose her other breast, kneading it and pinching the nipple as he sucked. Wondering at the silence above him, he lifted his eyes to see Elaina had her engaged in a soft kiss. He knew by the working of her throat that Dawn's tongue was involved.