99: Adoption

I hoped for it but I didn't dare expect it. Teams were posted in front of the Coaches' office when Whitney and I got in to work out at six-thirty. We ran before we got to school, but it was the first morning that we didn't get to shower together in a long time.

I'd made varsity.

What a dream. Coach Mitchell moved me up to varsity for the last games of the season and the championships, but I was a gimmick to him. I knew that Coach Hancock wouldn't have put me on that team if he didn't want me to play. I joined Lionel, Josh, Carl, Doug, Derek, Barry, Bert, Rich, George, Del, Tommy, and Steve. There was room for two more players on the team when we moved to the last weeks of the season. It was a cinch I'd be wearing number thirteen. Ha ha.

"So are we agreed that everyone should get in?" Rose asked. I never realized what a natural leader she was. It was always Brenda who had been the glue that held our group together in elementary school. Then it was Cassie who ascended to leadership of our class after the great debate. But it was Rose who kept people organized and focused when the clan was together. Everyone voted yes.

"I feel a little bad that we just make them a part of the clan without some ... I dunno ... guidance or mentoring or something," I said. "I mean, if my numbers are correct, this brings us to 38 in the clan. That's a fifty percent gain in our membership. If we just say 'you're a part now' and don't do anything to really integrate them, what good will it be?" There was a lot of head-nodding.

"What if we adopted them?" Doug asked. "I mean, we're organized into roughly four casas. And that's another subject we should discuss. We need to have a way to refer to the casas. But there's Carl, Louise, and Brenda; me, Doreen, and Rachel; Lionel, Sugar, Lamar, and Renee; you and everybody else." That got a little bit of a laugh.

"Wait," Josh said. "Not to be picky, but neither Geoff nor I are part of a casa. I don't think that means we aren't included, just that we aren't part of one of yours and we haven't established our own. Maybe someday."

"Besides," I said, "I really don't know if we can support another member in our casa. There's already thirteen of us."

"The rest of us could absorb more, though, if they want to be in our casas," Louise said. "I really liked those four kids we went out with. It's not like they'd necessarily become even compañera to us. They have each other for that. But we could still be hearthmates."

"If it wasn't strictly up to us to do this, I guess I'm okay with it," I said. "Check with each one and give them the option of one of your three casas or of being a cousin in the clan without a casa. Geoff and Josh, could you kind of be special friends with the ones who elect not to join a house?"

"Yes, patrón," Geoff said. I sighed.

"What is this patrón stuff all about? George started it the other night and now you are all doing it," I said.

"It's Portugese. The patrón is the leader," Rose said. "He's the head of the clan."

"I don't remember electing anyone to head the clan," I said.

"Brian. Friend," Josh said softly. Everyone turned their attention to him. "I don't think it's an elected position. You can hire managers and elect presidents, but a leader is the one who leads." He looked at each of the others gathered at our table. There were a lot of nods. "It's not who we say you are; it's who you are."

"But..."

"Don't protest, Brian," Rose said. "Even that would show your leadership and we'd do whatever you said." I let that sink in. It felt like a lot of responsibility. At the same time, I'd always felt responsible for this group. They were my ... my clan.

"Could we minimize the use of the term?" I asked. "We really don't need titles unless we're talking about a relationship, like compañera or hearthmate. It would make me more comfortable." There were a lot of nods again. Whitney put a hand on my shoulder.

"We've got to go." I stood and ate the rest of my pizza slice as we carried our trays to the conveyor belt and left.

With workouts at six-thirty in the morning, school, college classes, and basketball, my day was more than twelve hours from the time I left in the morning till the time I got home at night. Mixed into that, I was spending the extra time between arriving at IUSB and my first class studying and preparing my recipes for the Saturday taping. If a girlfriend showed up in the evening, we were studying until we were too exhausted to do anything in bed. Even Jennifer and Courtney were low-key that week. Most of my casa showed up Thursday evening to help get things ready for the party on Saturday. We weren't going to be able to do much on Friday night because of the football game. Saturday morning, I'd be taping, though pretty much the whole clan intended to be at my house finishing the prep work for Saturday night.

We decided it was just too cold, rainy, and windy to have a fire. We had a gas fireplace in the family room and agreed that would be enough to declare us all present at the hearth. I focused my time Thursday night baking. I made pies and cookies. We had to eat one pumpkin pie with whipped cream as a break. The girls frosted cookies, cleaned the house from top to bottom—including my room and the upstairs bathroom—and decorated.

Decorations. There was a subtle difference in the decorations this year. We'd had a Halloween party almost every year with typical cobwebs, gross things hidden in the candy bowl, hay bales outside, and jack-o-lanterns. We'd reached some kind of consensus that this year the party wouldn't be about Halloween. It was about our clan. With Moms' and Dad's permission, the gang cleared all the furniture out of the family room. Instead, everyone brought pillows and cushions. It was a lot like the New Year's Eve parties at Rhonda's house used to be. If this worked, maybe we could have a clan party for New Year's Eve, too. That gave me a little pang.

I'd kissed all my girlfriends goodnight, washed up the last of the baking dishes, and went in to kiss Jen and Court.

"G'night, love," Jen yawned. She barely had the energy to give me a kiss.

"Goodnight, Brian," Courtney whispered. She kissed me with more enthusiasm, then rolled over to cuddle up to Jen. They were both asleep while I was watching. God, I loved those girls. I dragged myself upstairs brushed my teeth. I dumped all my clothes in the hamper and headed for bed.

I thought I'd kissed all my girlfriends goodnight. There was definitely one in my bed. I pulled back the covers to get in.

"Cassie?" I whispered. She was lying there naked. In my bed.

"Brian, my compañera. Uh ... if it's too difficult, I'll leave. But, can I give you permission to sleep naked with me and to hold and touch me in any way except penetration? Would it be okay?"

"Cassie, I promised..."

"You promised not to do anything against my will and not to encourage me to go against either my religion or my father's wishes. No one forced me into this bed. You didn't even know I'd be here, so you couldn't encourage my behavior. You did not promise my father to enforce his wishes on me. So will you please come to bed and make love to me except with no penetration? Please, Brian?"

I crawled into the bed and took Cassie in my arms. There was no way to answer her except with my kisses and they showed plenty of intent. Cassie melted against me, her blossoming breasts pressed against my chest and her pussy hair rubbed against my cock. I petted her bare back and ran my hands across her bottom. She moaned into my mouth. Or perhaps that was my moan.

Cassie had filled out in the past few months—slightly larger breasts and shapelier legs—but she could still be described as coltish. If Brenda was an early bloomer, then Cassie was most definitely a late bloomer. Part of that, of course, had been the conservative nature of her home, but physically, she was still becoming the woman she would be. Her body was filled with the promise of beauty—pure, simple, uncomplicated beauty. And she was in my arms and responding to my touch.

"I might not last until you touch me, Brian. I was pretty keyed up already when you came up and I'd been playing with myself. If you just kiss me ... and hold me against you ... and touch my breasts ... I think ... I'll ... Ohhh!" I think Cassie was trying to tell me she was about to come. She practically smothered me with kisses, frantically seeking my lips and then my eyes, my cheeks and then my nose. I managed to hold off my own orgasm, pushing back a little so my cock wasn't so tightly rubbing against her tummy.

"Cassie, you are so sweet and loving and excitable. So pretty. So much my compañera. You know that I love you, don't you?"

"I do know, Brian. Did you know that I love you, too? I've loved you since the day you took my hand at Brenda's party. Sometimes I empathize with Robyn. It is so hard to love you so much and know that we will never walk down a church aisle and be husband and wife." Shit! What can I say? She was right. I would never abandon the rest of my cónyuge to get married. To anyone. I squeezed her more tightly to me.

"We could have a fire celebration. Even invite your parents like Samantha did."

"I could never do that to them," she sighed. "There are some things that are just bred into a person. I will have a husband and I will love him, forsaking all others." She kissed me so soulfully that I could feel the yearning in her. I could also feel the increased contact with my cock as she rubbed against me. "May I touch you, Brian? May I watch you climax and feel you in my hand?" I nodded. She moved back slightly and I rolled to my back. She touched me tentatively and I tried not to jerk but it still jumped a little. "Has a life of its own, doesn't it?" she giggled.

"Cass, with your delicate little hands wrapped around me, I'm not going to last long. Are you sure you want to do this?"

"Tell me what to do, Brian. Tell me so I'll know what pleases you. So I'll know what pleases men."

"Don't grip too hard. It's much better if your hand is sliding on it than pulling the skin up and down. Here. Here's a little oil."

"You like it slippery."

"Think about it."

"Oh, my. I'm going to want some more attention, too. But you first." Cassie knelt beside me stroking my cock. I reached up to touch her breasts and she smiled at me. "We've shared so much over the years, Brian," she whispered. "Thank you for sharing this with me." That was about all it took. She stroked down my cock and my juices came up. They spattered against her chin, her breasts, my chest, and over her hands. Cassie was panting with excitement as she watched my offering ejected from my cock.

"Cassie! That was so wonderful. Careful. Easy now. It gets really sensitive after I come. You can hold it, but just hold. No more stroking," I gasped. "Please." I really didn't want her to let go. Even as sensitive as my cock was, I wanted to remember the feeling of her hands on me. I had a feeling, this wasn't going to be repeated. At least, not much. I didn't think. Hell.

"Your stuff is everywhere!" she laughed. "We have to be careful where it goes. I'm not like, on anything."

Oh holy fucking shit! Cassie wasn't protected! I scrambled out of bed and ran to the bathroom.

"Don't touch anything!" I yelled at her. I ran hot water and squirted disinfectant soap on a washcloth then ran back to her. I could see a streak of my come running into her pubic hair. I attacked that first and then worked my way up her body, scrubbing the come off her with the soapy cloth. I finished with her hands and then pulled her toward the shower. I pushed her ahead of me into the hot water and she squealed.

"Brian! Stop! I have to go pee and the water is too hot." I reached around her to turn the temp down and kept her under the water.

"Not until your hands are scrubbed and we're sure there are no more sperm on you. If you really have to go, just do it where you're standing. Cassie, it's dangerous. Any sperm near your vagina are dangerous. If you have them on your hands when you wipe, that could be as bad as me coming in your pussy. Wash, Cassie, wash." I was crying. No. Not like Rhonda. Please don't be like Rhonda.

"Brian. Brian," she whispered. "My compañera. It's okay. I understand, but none got near me. Let's wash you off, too, so you can hold me, okay? Don't cry, Brian. If God gave me a virgin birth, I'd carry your child proudly. And if that was His will, no pills or condoms would prevent it. I'm sorry I frightened you. I'm sorry, Brian." She washed me with the anti-bacterial soap. If it kills bacteria, it should kill sperm, right? To make sure, I stepped in front of her and turned the temperature of the water up as high as I could stand it to rinse the soap off. We got out of the shower and I found clean towels for us. I didn't hand the towel to Cassie, I carefully dried her, silently worshiping her body as I touched it with the towel.

"I'm so sorry, Cassie. I should have thought about that before I ever crawled in bed. It was irresponsible of me."

"Um ... I really do have to pee. Are you going to watch or something?"

"Oh no! I'm sorry. I'll give you your privacy."

"Stop, Brian! You just showered me and dried me so lovingly. I want you here while I do it if you're okay with that."

"You do? Why?"

"Because maybe then you'd let me watch you?" she asked. "I've only seen pictures and you, Brian. I feel really ... blind." While she was talking to me she sat on the toilet and tinkled. Then she grabbed a little toilet paper and blotted herself dry. "See? That's all there is to girl-pee. How does a boy do it?" The little minx was acting like she was eight, but still there was a glimmer of hope that I'd show her. She was playing a game but really wanted to find out as well. I decided to play along.

"Well, it's a lot more complicated for guys," I said.

"Really? I always thought it was easier. Boys can pee anywhere. At least that's what they say."

"That's the problem. Not that they pee anywhere, but they pee everywhere. Take like now. I'm standing in front of the toilet with the lid up. I've got my hands in my towel drying my hair. It's not like a girl. I have to be pointed. Um ... you could do that for me since my hands are busy."

"Point it?"

"Mmmhmm. Just take hold gently and make sure it's pointed toward the bowl. Don't let me splash outside. My roommates hate it if there's pee on the floor." Cassie gingerly took hold of my cock and pointed it at the bowl.

"Does it just start then?"

"Well, it's already started but it has a lot farther to go to get out than with a girl. Just wait for it." I did have to pee but, of course, having Cassie holding my cock wasn't really helping. If I got hard again, I'd never pee. I relaxed and felt it make the trip down the tubes from wherever and finally a stream came out my cock. Cassie jerked when it started but managed to keep it pointed in the bowl. "And then give it a little shake to make sure it's all out," I directed. We laughed and she even grabbed a bit of toilet paper to blot it dry.

We went back to bed and I held Cassie. Of course, having her naked body next to mine was going to make me hard all night, but I wasn't going to go spraying semen around again.

"Cassie? Why did you want to do this with me instead of with Josh?"

"I think I'm falling in love with Josh."

"You only think?"

"I know I'm in love with you, and it's starting to feel that way with Josh. Like it's growing."

"So why not share this with your new love?"

"That might spoil it all. Brian, Josh is ... experienced. That's okay. I know he really loved Denise. Sometimes when we're together we just cry a little over her." There was a lump in my throat, too. "I don't want to have intercourse yet. Not until I know I'm with the man I'll spend my life with. And that doesn't mean that I'll wait until my wedding night. When I'm sure Josh is the one, all the barriers will come down. But when we're dating and getting to know each other, I want to know how things work so I don't accidentally do something that gets misinterpreted. Explicit permission only goes so far when you've reached our level. I know for a fact that we girls can give off a vibe that can be interpreted as a go-ahead. I want every step of our relationship to be deliberate. I don't want Josh to think I'm ready for something I'm not—and I don't want him to think I'm not ready for something I am. I just don't want to be ignorant about what I'm suggesting."

"I guess that makes sense. It just seems that you'd want to do this with the love of your life."

"I am. Oh, it's not that Josh is second place. It's that I know you are always going to care for me and love me and protect me no matter who my life mate is." She kissed me and I understood—at least a little.

"You are right. I'll always love you and I'll always protect you if I can. I've figured out that I can't be everyplace and I can't watch everyone that I love. But I'll be for you whatever you need me to be."

"Like right now?" she said. "Just talking about all this romantic stuff makes me all wet. I can feel it on my leg. But I'm wondering how I can tell you that I'd like you to touch me there."

"Cassie, may I touch you between your legs and show you with my fingers how much I love you?"

"Yes, Brian. Please show me with your fingers."

We all went to the game Friday night, but we were all too tired from the week to go to the dance. Rose, Liz, and Samantha all rode home with me after the game. Everybody had overnight bags. When we got home, Jennifer and Courtney were already upstairs. Whitney got there a few minutes later and we fixed a snack and took it to my room. We'd lost the game and it was a pretty low-key night. I realized that the girls with me were all the local girls in my casa that I'd gone all the way with—my cónyuge. It had been a near thing with Cassie Thursday night and Friday morning, but we stuck to no penetration and I kept my cock in a condom whenever we were playing. We all flopped down on the foam mattresses cuddling together randomly.

"My cónyuge," I said. "We all use condoms when we make love except Rose and me, right?"

"For now, it's the rule," Samantha said. "Maybe not always."

"Wait! Are you implying that I have sex with you, Brian? You've always been so rigid about never telling what goes on with a girl you date. And you're just announcing that I have sex with you?" Liz exclaimed. "I can't believe you'd wreck my reputation like that." She was sobbing. What the hell?

"Liz. Liz, honey, I'm sorry. Oh shit! What can I do? I'm so sorry." I didn't know what to do. This was so out of the blue.

"Well," she sobbed, "since you've made such a big deal out of just telling everyone what a slut I am, I think you should put one of those condoms on and put your dick in me while you finish the thought you started." The girls all started laughing and I felt a hand on my cock making sure I was good and hard. I'd been had. "That way we won't waste a bunch of time just talking when we could be screwing and talking at the same time."

"Liz, sometimes you give me heart failure."

"Yeah, but usually, it's when your cock is in me and I've just come." I couldn't see who was doing the manipulating, but a condom was being rolled onto my cock. "And since I'm 'lubricious, ' you know that my pussy is all wet and waiting for you. So just lie back while my hearthmates point your cock at it and I settle down." Oh, my god! Liz settled back onto my cock and sank until I was all in.