92: Rose

"I wasn't scared until I saw it."

"I'm getting that a lot lately," I sighed. Sam was cuddled in bed with me early Friday morning. I had to get up soon and head to work, picking up Cassie on the way. We were making another fair favorite on the show today: grilled corn on the cob. I'd served it every night this week at home and I was getting pretty good at it. But last night, Sam had asked if she could have a night alone in bed with me. She was getting a little nervous about showing Princess at the fair, but that wasn't what she was worried about.

"You know, I never actually saw ... a Jack in a Jill before. When we were with you with Whitney, I ... didn't look. I kissed you just imagining that it was me you were making love to. And we had so much emotional trauma that week. I couldn't separate any of it. We're supposed to be smart about all this, right? But I never imagined what it was really like."

"Honey, you know Sora and I were ... well, we were burning off steam more than making love. It isn't always that ... violent."

"Yeah. But Nicki was just as scared when she saw you with Liz and that wasn't violent either."

"No. I kind of assumed that was just Nicki."

"Huh-uh. It's facing the reality that you are thinking of letting a man put himself inside you. Not just a man. You. That cock that we watched part those pussy lips is going to slide into me. It's going to open my virgin pussy and pump inside me. All of a sudden, it's scary." I just held my silky lover beside me. She hadn't been at all hesitant about letting me eat her virgin pussy. But she was suddenly a little slower about the idea of making love. "Do you mind that I'm taking more time than I thought I would?"

"Oh, Cutie. You know that isn't the case. I never want to rush anyone. It seemed like ... Well, once Whitney and I broke the ice there was a mad rush to lose virginity. I knew Liz would be on my doorstep the minute she turned seventeen. I was surprised when Donna slept with me. Amazed when Sora claimed me. I never expected that. Then Brenda and my special time with Courtney. I felt a little like I was out of control. I'm glad to slow down some. But little love, don't think that means I don't want to make love with you. I love you, Samantha."

"Oh, Brian. I love you, too. And I want to make love to you. It was just a shock to actually see you ... in a girl's vagina and coming with her. It was exciting and terrifying. I still want it, but I want to think about how to make it special for you and me. You will probably be the only boy who ever puts his penis in me. I'm not like Liz. Oh, I love to eat Jennifer and Courtney and you know how much I love Rhonda. But I can't imagine another boy with me—not even one of our clan members."

"We'll wait as long as you want, sweetheart. I love you. Nothing means more to me than your happiness."

"Except the happiness of everyone in our family. I know you have to get up and go to work. Did you talk to her this morning?"

"Um ... yeah."

"Darling, we know you talk to her every morning. You've been doing it for years. I wish I had the connection that you have. Do you think she hears you?"

"It's pretty dumb, isn't it?"

"No, love. It's faithful. She is a part of our family. We will always love her."

Miss Polly: Everyone loves roasted or grilled corn on the cob at the fair, Brian. Shall we get these ears husked?

Me: I've got a different method, Miss Polly. I told my sister before she got married that there's no such thing as fast food. If it's worth eating, it's worth taking the time to cook it right. You know, that's what Bill James discovered at the Tally Ho. Those prime ribs cook for nearly twelve hours and still come out rare. So Cassie and I have prepared corn in different stages this morning and we already have some cooking on our Jenn-Air grill here in the kitchen. Of course, this week I've been cooking this every night on the charcoal grill, so we're sure it works.

Miss P: Cassie, what are the stages that you are showing?

Cassie: First is corn with the outer dry husk peeled off. We don't want things catching fire on the grill. Then we have corn soaking in water.

Me: Grandpa Frost always said that you need to have the water boiling when you pick the sweet corn or it's not fresh. Corn dries out quickly in the supermarket or even when you buy it at a roadside stand. We figure that soaking it about twenty minutes restores enough moisture for the grill.

Cassie: Of course, we've got corn cooking on the grill in two batches. I've been tending it through the show so we have a batch that is about ready to come off the grill and another that has been on the grill for twenty minutes.

Me: It takes about forty-five minutes on a medium low grill to cook the corn. And we keep the grill covered so it retains as much moisture as possible. See how the husks are charred? That's why we soaked it first.

Miss P: But you didn't remove any of the silk. My recipes all say that you should peel the husk back, remove the silk, and then tie the husk back in place.

Me: That's really part of what makes the corn dry. Nature has already sealed the corn in a protective pouch. If we open the pouch and then try to reseal it, it just won't be as tight and will dry out faster on the grill.

Miss P: Then how do you get the silk off?

Cassie: Brian has a very funny story about corn silk. Did you know that plants have...

Me: Cassie! We can't say that on television. Let's take one of these ears that are ready off the grill. Cassie, will you get the rest off the grill? They'll keep cooking for another five minutes, but this is good for a start. Now here's where you need a really good, sharp knife, like our Chicago Cutlery French knife. Grasp the corn at the top with your kitchen mitt—remember it's hot—and then about a quarter to half-an-inch from the stem, cut straight through the husk, corn, and cob. Now grasp the silky end firmly and shake the corn out of the husk. The silk all comes off with the husk and we have corn ready to butter.

Cassie wrapped an arm around me as we faced the camera for the sign-off. "Remember, girlfriend. No matter what, I still love you." When I saw the tape, I discovered she winked.

"What's our backup plan?" Brenda asked. It was Saturday afternoon and about fifteen of us were gathered on the floor of my bedroom filling out college application forms. "Mr. Jonas said that no matter what we wanted, we should all make three applications—one to our school of choice, one to our backup if all else fails, and one to our 'reach' school. Like you should apply to Harvard, Brian."

"I'm not going to Harvard," I said. "For now, I want to stay right here. So, I'd have to say that IU is my school of choice. I'm choosing Manchester College as my fallback. It's a small school, not too far from home, and if you can pay they'll accept you. For me, my reach school is Notre Dame. It's not that I think it's that much harder to get into than IU, but I know we can study what we want to and not really leave home. It's only five miles from here."

"After IU do we all need the same fallback and reach schools?"

"I don't think so," I answered Carl. "If we don't all get into the same school, it seems like that will be a pretty clear indication that we aren't going to the same place. So you might as well pick something that really interests you."

"Hey! IU interests me!"

"I know, buddy. But you'd probably be able to play ball at Manchester ... or any Division III school. Think about it, anyway." Everybody was banking on IU. We were all pretty sure that Lionel would be going there. We weren't sure what Sugar was planning on. She hadn't expressed an interest in going to college. Josh hadn't shown up today and I made a mental note to call him and get together soon. I knew he was still hurting and I didn't want him to feel isolated. It was so hard. Hey, man. Sorry your girlfriend got raped and killed. Want to go shoot some hoops? Hell, maybe that's what he needed.

"Is there a way to state in our essays that we are part of a group marriage and all want to go to the same school?" Rachel asked.

"That would be an interesting way to start an essay," Samantha said. "What did you say in yours, Jennifer?"

"Sort of dazzled them with bullshit," Jen answered. "I think they look mostly to see if you can actually write full sentences with proper punctuation and follow a theme or subject from one end to the other. I don't think they read the content at all."

"I'm glad I don't have to write any of that stuff," Liz said. "There's a perfectly fine School of Cosmetology in Bloomington."

"You're going to beauty school?" Courtney asked. "That's cool."

"I'm going to become an esthetician. What I want to know is where we're going to live," Liz said. There was sudden and complete silence in the room as we looked at each other. Somehow, I'd just assumed that we'd live in school dormitories like Lamar and Renee had their first year. Elaine moved into an apartment with three other girls her second year in school. Jennifer and Courtney planned to share a dorm room this fall. Sora had said she was starting in the dorm but would pledge a sorority as soon as she could. But staying in a dorm didn't help Liz or Sugar or Doreen or anyone planning to move with us but not actually enroll at IU. Shit!

"I love you," I said to Whitney on the phone Sunday night. "I miss you so much."

"Mmmhmm. It's really different being away at camp this summer," she said. "Last year, I didn't know what I was missing. This year I keep thinking, 'If I was home, I could be making love with Brian.' It makes it a lot harder to be away."

"No kidding." We laughed a little.

"Brian, are we still ... lovers?"

"Oh, Whitney! I will be your lover for as long as you will have me. Do you doubt that?"

"No. I never doubt you, Bri. But when we started, we made a couple agreements. When you are with the others, are you using protection?"

"Yeah. Everyone recognizes the dangers of unprotected sex. Even though we are all exclusive within our group, it's a big clan. No one wants to be accidentally exposed to something. You are the only girl my bare cock has been in."

"Good. Now I'd like to make an exception to the rule," Whitney said.

"Have you met someone, Whit?" I fought the tremble in my voice. Was Whitney telling me she wanted to have unprotected sex with someone else?

"Don't be an idiot! I'm at camp with a bunch of girls and if I wanted a girl for a lover I've got plenty of willing partners at home. They don't do a thing for me and I'm really not interested in finding a guy. I'm talking about an exception for you."

"But I don't need an exception. Whitney, I'm fine with using condoms with Sora and Liz."

"And Brenda and Courtney and Jennifer and Samantha. I know, Brian. But not with Rose."

"Rose and I haven't been intimate like that," I defended myself.

"Brian, Rose loves you like nobody else in our group. She doesn't mind playing with the girls when you are with them, but she has absolutely no interest in ever having any lover but you. You are going to be lovers soon." I knew that. The only thing that had kept Rose and me apart was lack of opportunity. I'd written her another story this week about how we were stranded on a desert island and held each other as we made love. Pretty far-fetched, but I was running out of romantic ideas. "When you make love to Rose, don't worry about being covered."

"Well, I'm still concerned about birth control failure and health and everything, Whitney."

"There's always a danger but, Brian, Rose deserves all of you. You've built things between you with this expectation more than even you and I did. We all know that there's something special there and I've polled the girlfriends. We're all in agreement that even if we all have to use condoms, Rose doesn't. Face it. The only reason we don't use them is because I was first. We always assumed that as others were added, we'd use condoms, too. For now and the foreseeable future, Rose is the exception to the rule."

"Why? We can use condoms, too."

"They might not be available when the time is right," Whitney said, cryptically. "Don't let it be a barrier. Rose is protected."

Tuesday night, I called all the guys. We agreed to a Wednesday game at the school as soon as I got home from work about four. We'd play for a couple hours and then I'd grill steaks for the guys at home. We had a blast. Josh was still limping a little and you could tell he wasn't used to stretching up to make jumps and shots yet. I guess even after a broken rib heals there's scar tissue that builds up around it that can be painful to stretch out. I sure hoped Josh would be back to a hundred percent by the time the season started.

"I am so out of shape!" he exclaimed as he puffed down the court. "I've got to talk to my therapist."

"Um ... How does a shrink help you get in shape?" Geoff asked. It wasn't mean. I knew that Geoff was seeing a counsellor to help him deal with the stress and pressures that came with hiding his sexual orientation from everyone. Almost everyone. We talked frequently—maybe more than I talked with Doug, Carl, or Lionel. Sora, Rose, and Samantha were all on the inside now and were willing to cover with Geoff.

"Not my shrink, dummy! My physical therapist!" Josh actually laughed. Getting out and playing like this had really changed him in the couple hours we'd been together. "She stretches my muscles, gives me a ton of exercises to do, and massages the scar tissue every week. I've thought about that as a career. Maybe."

"Ooh! Hot, sweaty boys!" Jennifer laughed as we came into the house.

"Do we like that?" Samantha asked. "They kind of smell."

"There's a stack of clean towels at each shower," Courtney said. "Get in and get out. By the time you're done the steaks will be on the grill."

"You guys are cooking?" I said.

"No. We girls are cooking. Humor us. It's not often that we get two-to-one treatment from the guys in our clan!"

Well, I wasn't sure that having two of us guys for every girl was really a benefit for the girls. It seemed like it was just twice as much work for them. But we had great fun and a nice picnic.

"I think the girls finally got it right," Anna said as she sat with Mom and Dad. "Maybe we should talk to Harry about having his friends over."

"Do you really think that even with two of us we could handle another one like our man?" Mom asked. Dad blushed.

"That would be wasteful, wouldn't it?" Anna giggled. All the guys blushed. The girls just kept throwing steaks on our plates.

My Friday cooking demonstration with Brenda was another good time with great results. We made tater-twisters.

Miss Polly: You've got the deep fat fryer out today, Brian. What fair food are we making today?

Me: We're doing a variety of deep fried potatoes today, Miss Polly. We have three different cuts of potatoes that we'll be frying.

Miss P: These look complicated. How did you cut these?

Me: Brenda and I took a trip to the Kitchen Window this week and bought three little gadgets. The first is a French Fry Cutter. A lot of people peel their potatoes before they make French fries, but you'll find that the majority of fair vendors just scrub the potato and slice it.

Miss P: What kind of potatoes are we using?

Brenda: Almost any potato will work, but for big long French fries, we're using Idaho Russet potatoes.

Miss P: And now that you have it in strips, what are you doing?

Brenda: Water and hot oil don't mix well, so we blot the potatoes on a clean dry towel before Brian puts them into the oil.

We had fun. We showed the gadgets. We made French fries, curly fries, and twisters. Twisters are like a continuously cut potato chip that can be a mile long with a big potato. The gadget we used to cut them was just a blade with a screw on it that wound down into the potato as it made a continual spiral slice. When we were done, we cleaned up. Brenda waited patiently for an hour after lunch as Harvey and Miss Polly and I discussed our plans for the fair. Harvey had come up with the brilliant idea of having me go out and interview a food vendor each day at the fair and then we could show the difference between the recipes I'd given for home fair food and what we actually got from the vendors.

When Brenda and I got home, the girls were still out on the horses, as usual. All three horses would be shown in Western Pleasure and Western Horsemanship at the fair. Mom and Dad were at work. Even Anna had picked up a part-time summer job at the local garden center. The girls were all working lunch shifts at The White Spot and then coming home to ride.

Brenda and I headed straight for the bedroom.

"I love you, Brian. I love Carl and Louise just as much as ever, but you do something to complete my love life. Maybe my fantasy."

"I love you, too, Brenda. Tell me about your fantasy."

"That you are my enchanted prince and while I love my family, I serve you with my body and heart as well. And you are so generous to us that you bring us pleasure beyond measure."

"You know I'm not really an enchanted prince. Right?" Liz told me the story that Joanne used to convince the girls to be my protector back in fifth grade.

"We still play that you are. It's my opportunity to get royally fucked!"

"How about being royally made love to?" I asked. I had Brenda naked and she was pushing my underwear down. She smashed her big tits against my chest and hungrily kissed me.

"See, that's what I mean about you bringing us pleasure beyond measure. You care about me. You make love to me. Sometimes we get a little frantic about getting Tab A into Slot B, but even that is okay. Whether we're with Carl and Louise or just the two of us, you show how much you care. Louise even said that she was relieved that you were able to touch her while we made love. And don't try to tell me it wasn't an inspiration to you to watch Carl's cock slide into her. I felt the difference in my pussy."