Chapter 10

Tess came by early and gave Adam a blowjob. What was adorable was that she was walking a little funny. Although everyone else had taken care of their ski rentals the night before when they first arrived, I still had to rent mine.

As I walked over to the ski rental shop Tiffany, Janice, and Miss Wilson were also just walking up. All of us rented our equipment and ended up waiting for each other. Stowe is a very steep mountain with very few beginner slopes. We all rode up to the top of a long blue run called Switchback. It was a run commonly used to start the day, to make sure that your legs are 'under you'. As I rode the lift, I saw Tess in her bright pink jacket, followed by Mika in her tight white ski suit, and pointed them out to Tiffany

I'd made plans to meet the gang at the lodge, for lunch at noon, but it was only 8:30, so I hung out with Tiffany, Janice, and Rhonda. The snow was still falling and building on the base, but there was plenty of coverage on the slopes. We were riding on the lift when I asked Tiffany where she was from.

"I grew up in New York City. My dad works for E. J. Patterson, where he's in charge of one of their investment groups. I think that he does research or something. I grew up in the big city, but we also have a summer place in the Hampton's. It isn't the same one as Julie, but it's out on Long Island."

"That's cool. I know Adam is looking for an internship over the summer with an investment firm. Everyone knows about E.J. Patterson. Do you think you could talk to your dad for him?"

"Sure. I think he might come up, for the big swim meet, in a couple of weeks. I can talk to him ahead of time, and set up an interview or meeting when he's in town."

"That would be cool. I hope it works out."

"Me too. Adam is a nice guy and really smart." She looked around, as if someone was hanging on the back of the chair lift, and then said, "He isn't too bad in bed either. He's not as good as you, but not bad."

"I'll take your word for it."

She laughed at that, and when we reached the top of the mountain, we skied off the lift. We waited for Janice and Rhonda to arrive. We then made sure that our gear was in order before taking off down Upper Liftline. This was our first black diamond run of the day. Because I had skied while I was in Japan, I was in practice. So I held back and helped all three of the ladies once or twice, as we skied straight through from Liftline to Lower Liftline.

We all skied, had fun, and when noon rolled around, we were all ready for a break and some food. Tiffany found a seat next to Adam to tell him about my suggestion, so I took the opportunity to sit next to Janice. Rhonda (Miss Wilson) sat over by Mika and Tess. As we sat there, I asked Janice why Rhonda was sitting away from her.

"She wants everyone to know that we're roommates, and not lovers."

I whispered to her, "How does your roommate like your new strap-on?"

She looked to make sure no one heard my whisper and then whispered back, "She loves it. She also likes guys, but with her living on campus during the week, it's hard to meet people outside of school."

"So you help her out while she continues to look."

"I don't talk about what we might or might not do in private."

"That's why they call it private. You skied well out on the slopes today."

"So did you, superman. Thank you for coming to everyone's rescue, as we left our gear all over the slopes."

"I was happy to help. It's always good to help a friend in need. Sometimes to really help you need to buy a special harness."

She blushed at that, and told me to shut up and eat. After lunch, the two groups joined, and we skied until dinner. I rode the lift with a few different people, and we all looked out for each other. Lynnie was the weakest skier, so I tended to give her more help than the other skiers. Adam hung back with me, so we could pick up hats, goggles and skis after the wipeouts, and help them put themselves back together and pointed downhill.

Adam felt excited about Tiffany's offer to talk with her dad about an internship, and thanked me, for bringing it up to her. I told him not to worry about it, and I wished him the best.

We all had dinner after which Julie suggested that we all meet at the hot tub for a soak. There were many hot tubs, so we got a big one that held ten. The nine of us sat down, and agreed that the heat felt good after a long day on the slopes. I ended up between Tiffany and Mika, but it was very relaxed atmosphere, and sex didn't come up, as an option. After the hot tub, we all went back to our rooms and changed. Adam said he'd see me later and left. About five minutes later Mika knocked on my door. I guess that Adam and I had traded roommates. I kissed Mika and told her I was happy to see her.

We were still standing by the door when there was another knock. I checked the peephole before opening the door for Tiffany.

"Do you want to hang out or something?"

"Or something. We'd love to."

She stepped in to see Mika, and said, "I'm sorry, I didn't want to interrupt."

I looked at Mika when I said, "We have room for one more if it's OK with you."

"I had fun last time. We can try it again."

Mika said, "I didn't bring any toys, but I can still take care of you other ways." She stepped up to the taller thin girl, kissed her on the lips before putting her hand behind Tiffany's head. She then opened her mouth, so it could become a French kiss. I went instantly hard.

They both spent the night. Miss Wilson came by at midnight, for the bed check, and after she peeked in, she saw Mika and Tiffany naked. She said it looked good to her. I hope the teacher checking Tess's room felt the same way. I later found out it was Janice and she let it go.

Sunday we skied from 8 AM to 11 AM, then checked out, and headed back to school. It was a fun weekend. Nadia was on the girls' basketball team. Since they had a Friday and Saturday tournament, she missed going on the skiing trip, but found me when we returned. She took me up to my room, so I could give her what she'd been missing for almost a month.

After a couple of rounds of wrestling, Nadia and I got up and went to the living room. Julie said, "Nadia, you're from New York City aren't you?"

"Close enough. I don't live in the city, but my dad has businesses there, so I go there quite often."

"Nick has an apartment on the west side of Central Park. How long would it take Adam to travel down to Wall Street in the morning?"

"That's a tough question. What time, taxi, subway or car, is he at the north or south end of the park. I'd plan an hour and hope for thirty minutes. The city is constant, so once you figure it out I think he'll be set. When I work for my dad, I travel on the same train every day, and usually stand next to the same person. It's like not having assigned seat in class, but we always sit in the same seats any ways."

Adam said, "Thanks."

I asked, "What do you do, for your dad, and does he need help this summer?"

Everyone stopped to look at me. Looking back, I think they were all looking at me for different reasons. Nadia felt excited, because I was coming to the city and could spend more time near her. For Adam, it was because we could still be roommates. For Tess, it was for a different reason. She wouldn't have an apartment all alone with Adam. For Julie, it was because she'd heard rumors that Nadia's Dad was a big deal in organized crime.

Nadia broke the silence, and said, "He has a few companies. But I help him out with his cleaning business. He runs crews that clean commercial buildings. His employees, like most people, choose to take their vacations in the summer. So my job is to help cover for the people who are on vacation. He pays me well. Since my Aunt assigns the crews, he always tells them to give me the easy work. So I usually empty trashcans and vacuum. I never have to clean toilets, or wash windows. I can call her if you're interested in doing that type of work. You'd have to work at night, but from the look that Tess just gave you, I don't think that they'd mind if you were out at night."

Tess blushed at that comment. I asked, "What time do you start and finish, and how much do you they pay you?"

"In a few places we start around six. As businesses close, we move from place to place, or floor to floor. We finish around three, and we take a break to eat around eleven or twelve. They pay me cash under the table at ten bucks an hour. But you can't say anything, because most of them make six and must pay taxes. By me and hopefully you working, they won't have to hire as many fulltime workers."

"Could you ask your dad or aunt if they could use another fill-in under the same terms as you work?"

"That would be cool," Nadia said.

Everyone looked happy except Julie, but she was moody anyways.

Monday morning I was back in the pool with Bob, Tiffany, Kimberly, and Miss Wilson. Kimberly began, as an average swimmer, but she'd been climbing up the ranks to where she was the second best breaststroker on the team. She was usually gone when I got out, so I made sure to tell her how proud I was of her progress. She smiled and thanked me before we all got in the pool, and worked out. When I got out, Rhonda was waiting on me.

"That was nice what you said to Kimberly earlier. She's worked hard, and it's showing."

"I always mean to tell her, but she's always gone by the time I'm out of the pool."

"I'm glad you said something. She's been getting discouraged about not being the best. You're the best at the 500 m; Tiffany is the best at the 100 m backstroke and 100 m freestyle. Bob is the best at the 100 m freestyle. Kimberly is always second to Amanda."

"Kimberly is a freshman. Amanda will graduate and Kimberly will continue to improve."

"That's what I tell her. It was good to hear it from you."

"You look hot in that suit. If you weren't my coach and teacher, I'd be hitting on you so hard now."

"It sounds like you are."

"Well this is just talking. You need to find someone for yourself, so I don't always worry that you're all alone, in need of a man. It makes me want to come help you out. If you had a man then I could focus more on the young innocent girls."

"Do we have any innocent girls at this school?"

"Not that I know of."

"See you in class Nick."

That evening, I wrote a letter to my mom. I try to send at least a letter every week or two. I started the letter my telling her about New York in the summer. Then I told her how Adam and I were both looking for work. I also told her of the possibility that we both might stay at the apartment. In the letter, I told them about our big ski trip, and our swim meet from the weekend before. The following day, I dropped it in the outgoing mail.

From that point, I continued with my schedule of school, sports, and studying. Just as the second quarter was ending, the swim season was winding down. I ended up the quarter with another report card of straight 'A's'.

Tiffany Wells' father, Mike Wells, came up for our big meet. This meet controlled the exact placement of each swimmer and the teams. It also ranked their standing in our division. The meet was a two-day event. It had qualifying heats and finals in most events. The elimination heats would take place on Saturday. The final events would take place on Sunday.

I learned that the school had entered me in the 200 m IM and the 500 m freestyle. Luckily, both events had fewer people competing. But, for me, there was still one elimination heat in each event. I swam well enough to make it to the finals in each event. Tiffany made it to the finals in her events, as well.

Tiffany invited me to dinner with her family. I agreed, and Mr. Wells drove us to Portsmouth for dinner. He asked me several questions, some about family, others about the life in Japan, and specifically if we enjoyed living there. I asked him about working at one of the top five-brokerage firms in the country. He'd met with Adam Friday night. He told him that if he could afford to live in the city on five bucks an hour that he had a spot, as a summer intern.

Just as they were clearing the entrees, Mr. Wells stood and moved away from the table, and walked up to a man just entering the restaurant. The man followed him back to the table, and Mr. Wells introduced him to us all, as Steve Drake.

Mr. Wells said, "Steve lives here in Portsmouth, and designs some of the nicest sail boats in the world. He's designing one for Mr. Patterson."

I said, "That's cool. How did you learn how to do that?"

"I worked for my grandfather and father. I've taken some design classes, but mostly just working in the family business since I was ten."

Mrs. Wells said, "When did you start? Two years ago? You look so young to have the job of designing ships. Do you have a wife, or a girlfriend?"

Mr. Wells said, "Leave him alone. Tiffany isn't old enough to play the role of a match maker yet."

"I know other women."

"I don't have a wife or a girlfriend now, because I work ten or twelve-hour days during the week. I'm twenty-six, but have a lifetime of experience and criticism from my family when it comes to boat design."

I said, "I think it's very interesting what you do. Could I come by to see how your business operates sometime?"

"Sure, as long as you don't steal my ideas."

"It's a deal."

Mr. Wells bought a round of drinks, and he asked about the occasion for the visit. We talked about the swim meet and our school. He asked if either Tiffany or I rowed, and I told him that I'd be on the team starting this year. We talked some more about boats, and then we let him meet with some friends in the bar before Mr. Wells dropped us back at school.