Johnny Pulaski Chapter 15

Posted: March 29, 2006 - 09:51:44 am

It was five in the afternoon when I pulled into our driveway. I had

detoured by my grandparents' to look in on Jethro before going home. The

doofus was happy to see me and blithely ignored me scolding him about

digging up the yard. When left alone, Jethro found ways to amuse

himself, usually by swiping anything not nailed down and burying it in

the yard. I had to get the shovel, check that he hadn't buried anything

vital and cover up the holes.

My sister pulled into the drive right behind me. She called me over and

handed me a grocery bag from the 24/7 Winn-Dixie.

"We are cooking dinner for Mom and Dad tonight. We are going to make it

romantic for them, and then disappear."

I was all for her plan, as much as I groused about it, I still liked

seeing Mom and Dad all loving and frisky again. The only fallacy I saw

to the plan was Katrina cooking. For all her accomplishments, Katrina

was less than adroit in the kitchen. She used to make up all these weird

recipes when she was younger; some of her concoctions would gag a

maggot. She has always loved vegetables, so the nasty tasting green crap

found it's way into everything. She once made Hamburger Helper by

substituting broccoli for the hamburger. I told my parents if she

committed another atrocity like that, I'd move in with Nana and Papa.

I should have known my sister, as usual, had a plan. She started pulling

food from the bag when we were in the kitchen, cooked food from the

Winn-Dixie deli. She smiled at me when I heaved a sigh of relief.

"Don't say it Bro, don't even think it."

Katrina had bought precooked Cornish game hens and all the fixings. She

even bought premade salads. She carefully took everything out of its

carton or box and put on serving dishes. She stuck the dishes in the

oven and set the temp to low. We set the table while everything was

warming up. Katrina even broke out candles and the wine bucket. She

produced a bottle of chilled Chardonnay out of one of the bags and put

it in the bucket. She also pulled a huge liter and a half bottle of

Riunite part way out of the same bag. I gave her a questioning look.

"Roxie has a fake ID, this is for us later," she whispered conspiratorially.

With the table set we went back to the kitchen and sat in the nook,

talking about trivial things while the food heated. Katrina said she was

actually looking forward to going back to the academy now. She thought

that once soccer practice started things would get even better. She told

me that she would be home in a couple of months for spring break; if it

was impossible for her to get away she made me promise to go out to

Colorado instead.

At five-thirty or so we put the food on the table, opened the wine and

lit the candles. When we went into the family room to get our parents,

they looked almost too peaceful to disturb. Mom was sitting on the end

of the couch reading some report; Dad was stretched out napping with his

head in her lap. Mom was idly playing with his hair as she read. The

folks were very pleased with Katrina's surprise; they gave us big hugs

as we made our exit. I had to smile as I saw Dad's ears turn red at

Katrina's parting comment.

"After you finish supper maybe you can christen the backseat of the

Ghetto Cruiser," she teased.

I followed Katrina to our grandparents' house and again carried in a

couple of grocery bags. Katrina put the Riunite in the freezer then

pulled a huge t-bone steak and a package of chicken breasts out of the bag.

"I killed them and dragged them home, so you get to cook them," she said.

I nodded manfully; it would be my first solo attempt at charring flesh

on Papa's gas grill. I did all the things I remembered Papa doing to the

meat before I went outside. Katrina handed me this giant dog bone for

Jethro before I went through the door. I fired up Papa's big Jen-Air

grill and as it was heating up, I pulled the shrink-wrap off Jethro's

treat. The bone had to have been half the thighbone of a very large cow.

The bone was a mouthful, even for Jethro. When the grill was hot enough,

I flung the steak and chicken breasts on it and wandered back into the

house.

Katrina was standing at the counter making salads when I came in. She

looked over her shoulder and shot me a smile when I wigwagged my

eyebrows like Groucho Marx. She knew she was the cause of my reaction

because she had shed her jeans and was wearing a super short miniskirt

and her two-inch dress uniform heels. She wasn't wearing stockings but

her bare legs looked damned good anyway. When she turned her head back

around I stepped behind her and kissed the side of her slender neck. In

the heels we were exactly the same height.

"Damn Trina, you have the longest, shapeliest legs I've ever seen."

"Thanks Bro, I borrowed the skirt from Roxie, it is short on her but on

me it's scandalous. I figured you'd like it though."

What was not to like? She gave a little shiver when I kissed her neck

again and said, "Thank you." I could have stayed there ogling her all

evening but my stomach reminded me about the big slab of dead cow with

my name on it, searing on the grill. Twenty minutes later we were

sitting cozily in the nook chowing down.

"So what are your plans for tomorrow?" Katrina asked.

"Uh, well, I have guests coming over," I said.

"Guests as in more than one girl?"

I nodded affirmatively. "Caroline and Amanda."

She repeated herself, "Two girls?"

I nodded again hoping she'd let the matter drop. She didn't; she

badgered me until I gave her a heavily edited version of the two girls

and me.

I dropped my fork when Katrina nodded and said, "Been there, done that."

"Really?" I squeaked.

"Yes, really," she chuckled, "it's not that uncommon nowadays. It has

been a while since I have been with a woman, I'm definitely male

oriented, but every so often I meet a woman that I'm attracted to. Being

in the academy I don't act on any of them, though, because of Borkowski

starting the lesbian rumor. That little Caroline is full of surprises,

isn't she? She is as big a horndog as you are."

"She's not the only one full of surprises," I said.

After dinner we retired to the family room. Katrina broke open the

Riunite and poured us a water glass full on ice. It was the first time

I'd ever had the stuff and I had to admit it was pretty good. It tasted

like slightly tart Seven-Up. Katrina and I (after the second glass,

mostly Katrina) swilled the wine and talked about relationships. I told

her about my difficulties with Shelia Cavanaugh. She shared with me the

dilemma she had finding a guy she could relate to, feel comfortable with

and still be sexually attracted to. She sat down her glass next to the

almost empty bottle and turned more toward me.

"So far, Baby Brother, you are the only one who has met all three

requirements. Isn't that a hoot?"

I figured it was the wine talking and disregarded most of what she said.

"What about Buck Gomez, he seems your type."

Katrina glanced at me sharply. "Buck comes close but he is like Mom, way

too involved in his work. We decided that it was too risky trying to

carry on something while I was a cadet. If we were found out it would

end his career and I'd be out on my ass. He was only the second closest

to you, though, the first was Richie Caldwell."

My ears perked up at that, but she didn't divulge any more information.

I guess the wine has loosened my tongue as well.

"Must be genetic because I'm about half way in love with his mom."

Now it was Katrina's ears perking up. "Ms Drake, the lady on television?"

I nodded but didn't go in detail. "Of course I'm half way in love with

Rachael, too. And probably more than half way in love with you.'

We went to bed about midnight; I had to help Katrina, as she was a

little wobbly. My sister was pretty funny when she had had a few. She

kept giggling about everything. I stripped down to my shorts as she

fumbled with her clothes. Finally she gave up and flopped on the bed.

'You take them off, Johnny, ' she slurred, "they wont cooperate with me."

I managed to get her unclothed down to her thong and under the covers.

She snuggled up to me, kissed me on the cheek, and was out like a light.

I thought Katrina would be hung over the next morning. Instead, she got

up all motivated and went for a run. I was sitting in the kitchen with

coffee and the newspaper when she came back. She gave me a sweaty little

kiss on the cheek and did a few stretches. When she bent at the waist

and wrapped her arms around her knees I was highly impressed. She was as

limber as a contortionist. I commented on it.

"I've always been limber and the martial arts training helps. Wanna see

something I learned watching Ms Fitness America on ESPN?"

When I said sure, she dropped to the floor in a push up position then

scissored her left leg up over her left shoulder. She did a couple of

push-ups that way then swapped legs and did a few more. I thought it was

about the coolest thing I'd seen in a while. Being a horny teenage guy,

I immediately though of some interesting sexual applications for a

talent like that. I applauded her performance and she curtsied cutely.

"Thank you, now I'm going to take a nice hot shower," she said.

"Need someone to wash your back?" I asked hopefully.

She laughed and swatted my arm as she headed out of the kitchen.

"I'll be out in about fifteen minutes. Mom and I are going to hit the

after Christmas sales today. Ask me nice and I might buy some stockings."

I skipped Mass and puttered around cleaning the house as I waited for

Amanda and Caroline. They arrived at one; by one-fifteen we were all

naked on the bed. I was a horny boy after going without for four days

and having Katrina around me so much. Thankfully, Caroline and Amanda

were in about the same state. Caroline, as usual, was orchestrating the

festivities. Before you know it I was in Amanda for the first time

without a rubber as she crouched above Caroline in a torrid sixty-nine.

The feeling was so indescribably good that I didn't last long but Amanda

was right with me, moaning her own climax as I gushed into her.

As soon as I pulled out of Amanda, Caroline rolled the bigger girl onto

her back. "Watch this," Caroline said. I was bug-eyed as Caroline

bunched up her fingers and started working them into Amanda sperm

slippery snatch. When her fingers were in to the third knuckle, Caroline

folded her thumb inside her fingers and rotated her slim hand until it

sunk into Amanda. I was worried it might be hurting Amanda but she was

actually humping up, moaning for more. Caroline used her other hand on

Amanda's clit. The dual stimulation soon had Amanda screaming like a

banshee and flopping all over the bed.

So okay, the sex was great and, yes, Amanda and I went around the world.

For two hours we fucked and sucked and had wild monkey sex. Of special

interest to me was the way Caroline completely dominated Amanda. It was

as if Amanda had no will of her own when it came to dealing with

Caroline and sex. I wasn't too sure how I felt about that. Sure, I knew

it was Caroline's nature to be the aggressor when it came to sex. But

the way she ordered Amanda around and the way Amanda slavishly complied

was disconcerting. Amanda spent almost the entire afternoon with her

face between Caroline's legs. I was going to have a private talk with

each of them soon.

I was bushed when the girls left so I took a shower and a short power

nap. I woke up at five and called Dee. I hadn't bothered her on

Christmas day with her family, so I still had her gift certificate for

the photographer out in my truck. It turned out that she was shopping at

the mall also and had just run into my Mom and Katrina. We agreed to

meet up Tuesday afternoon and exchange gifts. We couldn't get together

tomorrow, Monday, because Katrina was flying out at noon. The thought of

my sister leaving made me sad. It was fantastic having her around and I

was going to miss the hell out of her.

At six that evening I went back to our house and we had a nice family

dinner. The four of us joked and reminisced. Mom and Dad were a little

subdued because Mom was flying out tomorrow too. Yet we were all happy

because, as a family, we were even closer than before. Katrina and I

hung out until ten, I kept Katrina company while she packed then we left

to give our parents some privacy for their last night together.

We were both quiet as we prepared for bed. Katrina stripped while I was

facing away removing my own clothes. When I slipped between the sheets

she was already there. I lay on my back propped up against the headboard

and she molded herself against my side.

"You changed the sheets," she said.

"Yeah, once a week whether they need it or not," I answered blithely.

"I see. So it didn't have anything to do with you rolling around in them

with two other girls, huh?"

"Not a thing."

"Well, they feel and smell nice, thanks."

"Not a problem."

The conversation lagged at that point, even though we were both wide

awake. I was thinking about how natural she felt in my arms and how

lonely it would be not waking up next to her. Katrina must have been

thinking something similar because she sighed and sniffed.

"Turn off the light and snuggle with me Johnny."

I flipped off the bedside lamp and burrowed under the covers. Katrina

turned on her side facing me and tugged me until I was nose to nose with

her. She bracketed my face with her hands and kissed me tenderly on my lips.

"I'm going to miss you Johnny. I feel closer to you than I have ever

felt with anyone in my life."

I told her I felt almost exactly the same way. She smiled at that and

kissed me gently again. We decided that we would stay in close touch

from now on, more phone calls, more e-mails. We ended up sleeping as if

we were intertwined snakes. She wrapped her long lean body around me and

held me tight.

"This has got to last me until I see you again," she explained.

One thing about growing up, you learn stuff every day. In one short week

I learned that my sister was not the invincible super woman I'd always

thought. Neither was she some aloof, preoccupied brainiac ala our

Mother. I didn't mind she had a vulnerable side, I was just glad I could

be there for her.

The next morning we all said our goodbyes at our house at ten in the

morning. Dad was driving Mom down to Patrick Air Force Base to catch the

daily flight to the Johnson Space Center in Houston. I was taking

Katrina to catch her one o'clock fight from Orlando. She had to change

planes in Dallas but would still be in Colorado Springs before dark. I

walked Katrina all the way to the security checkpoint. I was the envy of

a lot of men as she clung to me there in the concourse. She kissed me

fiercely and repeatedly and even cried a little. It must have been

allergens in the air or something because my eyes were watery too. I'll

spare you the details of how miserable my night was; but I will share

with you that Katrina called me at midnight saying she couldn't sleep

either.

It was a lonely feeling waking up in bed by myself Tuesday morning. I

shook off feeling sorry for myself, though, and concentrated on

straightening up the house and taking care of Jethro. Dee pulled up at

ten in a car I'd never seem before. She was wearing her black wig, a

long trench coat and big wrap-around sunglasses. Seeing her in disguise,

it dawned on me that my grandparents' nosy neighbors must be salivating

in anticipation of telling Nana and Papa about all the women I'd had

here. Dee rang the doorbell and I let her in. She gave me a hug and kiss.

"Sorry about all the intrigue, but half the Republican party lives in

this neighborhood. I figure I better be safe than sorry. How're your leg

and arm?"

I showed her the almost completely healed wounds and told her my only

complaint was that my calf itched a lot. I think the itching was from

the Dermabond adhesive the doctor use to close the skin on my calf and

arm. He said it would start releasing itself after seven or eight days.

I hoped the itch wasn't from my body absorbing the dissolving sutures

they used to close the wound under the skin layer because that was

supposed to take up to six weeks.

Dee was wearing the outfit she had worn to work under the trench coat.

She had on this burgundy colored, soft knit dress that covered her up,

but subtly hugged her curvaceously compact body. We sat together on the

couch catching up on each other's lives. I told her how great it had

been having Katrina and Mom home and how sad I felt about them leaving.

She was happy for me because my family seemed to have mysteriously

reconnected. Things hadn't been so good for her. She said her husband,

Jack, was still trying to reconcile. He was doing everything he could

think of. The problem Dee had was that all the years of affairs, and the

lies he'd told, had killed any feelings she had for him.

She blushingly admitted to having sex with him after she made him go get

a blood test. She said she had even tried to enjoy it and with the aid

of her fingers had a small orgasm. The problem was that without any

feeling for him it was pretty much as if she was just masturbating with

his dick. There were scores of reasons for them to stay together, she

said, but love was not one of them. I listened to her without comment; I

didn't really know what to say. To my way of thinking, she would be best

served by getting rid of him, but who was I to tell her that? Nothing

was cut and dried for her; everything had to be balanced by how it would

affect her children, her career, and her political aspirations. I was

sure in no hurry to grow up and have to make those kinds choices myself.

"The difference between my life now and a year ago is that you've made

me stronger and more assured of myself, Johnny. I can accept what's

happening and know it's not because of something I failed to do. I can

live with the way we are now and even find some happiness in it because

of the strength you've given me. Sometimes I'm really glad that you are

so young, because if you were even ten years older, I'd chuck everything

and run off with you in a heartbeat."

All I could think of in answer to her declaration was to kiss her. She

came into my arms hungrily, her passion evident. It was a chore getting

her out of her work clothes. She had a giggling fit while I was

wrestling with her pantyhose. When I groused about them she said wore

them under the dress so there wouldn't be any panty lines. She mollified

me somewhat when she told me she was too anxious to see me to go home

and change. Dee-Dee wanted a lot of love that day, it took my very best

effort until she was finally sated. After a final climax she weakly

pushed my head out of her muff. I crawled up the bed and held her as her

breathing returned to normal. I covered us up and she fell asleep

immediately.

I was wide awake however, my mind full of questions, and a good measure

of self-doubt. What kept nagging my conscience was Dee's marriage. If

Mr. Caldwell was doing the right things to keep his marriage together,

how was I helping by sleeping with his wife? Yeah, yeah, I heard what

Dee-Dee said about their love being dead, but if I was out of the

picture maybe it could be resuscitated. Then again if their love was

truly DOA, I would be denying Dee the only outlet for her feelings if I

bowed out of her life. Overarching all of that was the fact that I was

more than a little in love with her.

Admitting that opened a different door for my thoughts to go skittering

through. Was it possible to love more than one woman at a time, or was I

mistaking something else for love? Sure, I had feelings for all the

women in my life, but for Dee, Rachael and Katrina I felt something

stronger. Something that went beyond the bond we shared, something more

emotional. Aw Geez, I was starting to get a headache from every question

leading to two more. I took a couple of deep breaths and scooted my butt

tighter against Dee. She sighed in her sleep and kissed my back. I

decided that I wasn't going to figure any of that stuff out anytime soon

and promptly fell asleep.

I woke up when Dee tried to slip out of bed. I tightened my hold on her

so she couldn't move.

"You are not going anywhere," I growled.

"I'd love to stay right here, Baby, but I have to go potty."

"Really? So if instead of letting you up, I did this..."

I rolled her over and blew a raspberry on her stomach then started

tickling her. She shrieked and tried to squirm away.

"Let me up or I'll pee the bed," she giggled breathlessly.

I relented and let her up. Still giggling, she dashed to the bathroom. I

heard the seat go down and a loud sigh before the funny spishing noise

women make started.

"I'm going to get you for that, Johnny Pulaski," she yelled.

We took a fast shower and got dressed. When we were dressed we went back

to the family room and exchanged gifts. Dee loved the idea of getting

boudoir photos taken. She said she'd get some sexy ones for me and some

glamour shots for herself. She gave me a stainless steel and gold Seiko

divers watch, it was very nice and I could tell, very expensive. I

protested her spending so much money but she brushed it off.

"Johnny that thing isn't worth a tenth of what our time means to me.

Just think of me when you wear it, Okay?"

Dee had to leave at three, her Hummer was at the dealership being

serviced; the car she drove up in was a loaner. She didn't want to go,

and I didn't want her too. We hugged and kissed at the door for a long

time, unsure of when we'd get to see each other again.

After Dee left I had just enough time to get Jethro to the vets to get

his stitches removed. Jethro was definitely a Pulaski; he healed up as

quickly as I did. I was happy that the vet didn't shave him again to

remove the stitches. The Doofus's hair was growing back on his ear, leg

and neck; he looked almost good as new. Maybe Papa would only half

murder me now.

I drove from the vet's office straight to my house to have dinner with

my Dad. We called out for pizza and watched some fishing shows on the

outdoor channel. I couldn't help but tell Dad how much happier I was

that Mom and he seemed to be getting along so well. He said he felt the

same way, not only about Mom and him, but also about Katrina and me. Dad

hit the rack around ten because tomorrow was a workday. I snagged my

laptop and Jethro then went to my grandparents'.

I hooked up my computer to Papa's house phone and checked my e-mails. I

surfed the net for a while but nothing really caught my interest. At

eleven I sent Katrina a text message through the Cingular web site. I

asked her to call me when she got a chance. All our family's cell phones

were on some sort of family plan so Katrina and I could talk all we

wanted with each other for free. She surprised me by calling me back

immediately. She told me about her adventures skiing. It took her only

half a day of instruction on the bunny and beginners slopes before she

was challenging the intermediate runs. She said she was having a good

time but that she really missed me. I told her likewise. Before she hung

up she whispered she missed me in bed most especially.

I was at Kayla's door the next morning at nine. It was a typical Florida

early winter day. The temperature was hovering in the low sixties with a

forecast high of seventy-five. In short, it was gorgeous. If you

questioned me about it, I would have had to admit that I was excited

about taking Emma to the zoo. Mother and daughter were both ready when I

rang the doorbell, so we got off in good shape. I threw the backpack

Kayla was carrying into the back of my truck and hooked Emma's booster

seat in the center of my seat. It took us about forty-five minutes to

get to the Central Florida Zoo in Sanford. Emma was as excited about the

zoo as I had hoped she would be. She told me every animal she knew and

asked if there were any of them at the zoo.

The zoo was also everything I had expected. Emma walked between Kayla

and me holding our hands, her brown eyes the size of saucers. Emma was

amazed by everything but she was enthralled by the butterfly garden. We

spent a good twenty minutes in the big greenhouse as clouds of brightly

colored butterflies fluttered around us. I managed to snap the best

photo I ever took just as a big yellow butterfly landed on Emma's

outstretched finger. The look of wonder on her face still gives me

goosebumps. We ate lunch at a picnic table away from the raucous

birthday parties. We had peanut butter and jelly sandwiches Emma proudly

said she helped make.

I was polishing off my second PB&J when my cell phone rang. It was

Rachael telling me she just landed in Orlando and asking me to meet her

at her house.

"I can't right now, I'm on a date at the zoo."

"Oh, so I have competition," she said lightly.

"Serious competition for sure. My date is the prettiest, sweetest girl

I've ever been out with."

"Oh," Rachael said, not so breezily this time.

"Yep, too bad she's only four or I'd run off with her."

Rachael laughed and told me to bring my date by her house so she could

see what she was up against. I asked her to meet us at Pizza Hut at six

instead. Kayla pretended not to be eavesdropping but I knew she was

dying of curiosity. I flipped my phone closed and turned towards her.

"Girlfriend?" Kayla asked.

"A girl I date occasionally. I hope I wasn't presuming too much by

asking her to meet us, but I figured a big messy pizza would top off

Emma's day perfectly."

Our next stop was the domestic animal feeding area, better known as the

petting zoo. I bought a couple of bags of sliced carrots that Emma had a

ball feeding to the goats and sheep. We were all alone at the petting

zoo so the attendant brought out a big flop eared bunny for Emma to

hold. There wasn't a parent in the place who came close to the number of

pictures I took that day. Emma wasn't crazy about the herpetarium

because of the snakes but she laughed like crazy at the monkey's antics

in the primate center. We made one last stop at the petting zoo, this

time Emma got to hold a small yellow chick. Emma held it tenderly to her

chest and giggled when it peeped to her.

We left the zoo when it closed at five. Emma was asleep leaning against

me before we were out of the parking lot. We made it to Pizza Hut at ten

till six. Thankfully Emma was still in a happy mood when Kayla woke her

up. We found an empty booth and had just gotten Emma situated with some

crayons and a coloring menu when Rachael walked in. I was sitting

opposite Kayla and Emma in the booth, my back to the door. Kayla spotted

her when she came in looking around for me.

"Is that your girl at the door?"

I craned my neck around and waved. Rachael smiled hugely and walked

over. She looked very good in a pair of black butt-huggers tucked into

tan high-heeled boots. Her ash blonde hair hung down just past her

shoulders and had a soft wave to it; it contrasted nicely with her red

sweater. I stood up and we shared a small kiss before I introduced her

to Emma and Kayla. Kayla and Rachael hit it off right away. In only

minutes they were exchanging life stories. I tuned them out as Emma and

I doodled on the menu. We ordered when the waitress came around; Kayla

and Rachael both went yuck when I ordered my usual meat lovers pizza

with Jalapenos.

Rachael sat close to me while we ate and held my hand a lot but she

didn't act all possessive. I paid the check and we were out of there by

seven. I walked Rachael to her car as Kayla led Emma to my truck. I

asked Rachael if she would spend the night with me at my grandparents'

house. She gave me an eager nod and a serious kiss for an answer. I

walked back to my truck feeling even better than I had, if that were

humanly possible. As soon as I drove out of the lot, Emma started

nodding off and Kayla started talking softly.

"She's beautiful, Johnny, no wonder you aren't hitting on me. And she is

crazy about you."

"I haven't hit on you because I am a gentleman. And for what it's worth,

I think you are beautiful too. I like it that you two got along. I think

you and Rachael could both use a good friend. That's in addition to me,

not in place of me, I hope."

She chuckled. "I don't think Emma would let me not be your friend, you

are her knight in shining armor. Besides, I kind of like having a guy

around that isn't trying to get me in bed all the time."

"Yet," I amended.

She smacked me on the arm and called me an asshole. I was glad that she

felt we were friends enough to do that. I carried Emma and her booster

seat into the house. I guess the fifteen-minute nap had revived her

because she jumped up on the couch with Huggie Bear and grabbed the

television remote. She did tear her eyes off Jimmy Neutron long enough

to give me a hug and goodbye kiss. Kayla walked me to the door and did

the same.

"Thank you, Johnny, for making the day so special for Emma. I know it's

all she's going to talk about for a week at least."

I told her with absolute sincerity that the pleasure had been mostly

mine. I also told her that if she stumbled across something else Emma

would enjoy, I would love to tag along.

I arrived at Papa and Nana's about seven-thirty and took care of Jethro.

I debated leaving him outside because I was having company, but what the

hell it was his house. Rachael arrived at eight carrying a medium sized

overnight bag. I greeted her at the door and took the bag. I showed her

the bedroom and bathroom, dropped her bag on the bed and went back to

the family room. Jethro seemed smitten with Rachael; he was on his best

behavior and followed her around like a puppy. He was even circumspect

about sniffing her; it was most unusual behavior for him.

Rachael put her things away in the bathroom and joined me on the couch.

I had the radio playing low as we snuggled up and told each other about

our vacations so far. Kayla had told Rachael a little about the park

incident and I filled in the blanks. Rachael was appalled at the extent

of my injuries, insisting on looking at my calf and forearm. I

truthfully told her that I was mostly healed and Emma was worth every

stitch.

She told me about her Christmas in Rhode Island and about the goings on

among the rich and infamous in Newport. Her grandparents had arranged

for her to meet a slew of eligible young bachelors. She even went out

with two of the men but they both were conceited and full of themselves.

She said they had acted as if she was supposed to drop and spread her

legs just because they were Vanderbilts or Rockefellers. Despite all

that, she had a nice visit because her grandparents were sweethearts.

She said she told them about me in general terms omitting that I was

eight years younger than her. She laughed when she related that they

were the most impressed because I was the nephew of Viktor Pulaski, the

Count of Kaminski. It seems that Uncle Vic's wife Alexandra was the

niece of Rachael's grandfather's business partner. Being related to

royalty had elevated my stock considerably.

We moved from talking to making out on the couch. Rachael excused

herself after a few minutes of tongue wrestling.

"I'm going to slip into something more comfortable," she said. "Come

find me in ten minutes or so."

Man, that was a line out of my best stroke fantasy when I was thirteen!

I waited exactly ten minutes and two seconds before heading to the

bedroom. When I saw her lying on the bed, I begrudged myself those two

seconds. My eyes almost popped out of my head at the sight of her posed

so artfully. She was wearing a deep red opaque floor length negligee and

her golden hair was spread on top of the pillow she reclined against

like a halo. One knee was drawn up so that the silky crimson material

draped across her thighs. Her hands were at her sides, palms down on the

mattress and eyes were smoldering blue diamonds.

My hands shook as I shed my clothes down to my underwear. I crawled into

the bed with her and spent the next hour trying to show her how

beautiful and sexy she was. I know I'm tooting my own horn, but I think

my lovemaking was inspired that night. I think that Rachael might even

agree with me, especially since she came so hard once that she actually

fainted for almost a minute. I never have figured out what made sex with

Rachael so special. She certainly wasn't the best I ever had, or the

most responsive or even the tightest. Maybe it was that I loved her and

that she was my first; or maybe it was her vulnerability that made me

try so hard to please her.

As if the lovemaking thing was enough for me to think about, I was also

puzzled by how body shy she was. Oh she let me get her naked and feast

my eyes on her when we were in the throes of passion but afterward she

was right back in her negligee. For a woman who spent so much effort on

having the best body I'd ever seen, she sure spent a lot of time hiding

it. Rachael also wasn't a snuggler like Katrina or Dee-Dee but we did

fall asleep holding hands.

When I woke up the next morning, Rachael was leaning against the

headboard looking at me, her arms wrapped around her knees.

"Good morning," I said.

Her return greeting was nowhere near what I expected to hear. She looked

at me solemnly for a few seconds before speaking.

"Johnny, last night was the most wonderful night I can remember having.

You were so loving and romantic. No matter how I try to make it about

something else, all I can think about with you is love. You are

addicting, and I'm afraid that if I spend too much time with you I'll be

hooked."

"Is that such a bad thing?" I asked.

"Right now, yes it is. I've explained this to you before, Honey, neither

one of us are at a place in our lives where falling totally in love

would work. If I allowed myself to fall for you I'd want you totally to

myself and screw everyone and everything else."

"So what now, you dump me again?"

"No, I told you I needed you in my life, but right now it has to be in

small doses. Can you understand that?"

I lay there and thought about it for a few minutes and strangely enough,

I did understand. Rachael, for all her self-improvement, was still a

troubled and fragile person. It might take years for her to overcome all

that had happened to her at the hands of Jesse Wentworth, her asshole

ex-husband. I also saw what my grandfather had been telling me when I

was broken up when she trashed me a year ago. I decided that I would

accept her terms and be happy with the time we spent together in the

hopes that things would get better as time passed. I was going to have

to learn that trick she had of turning her feelings on and off at will

one day.

Rachael was pleased that I bought into her idea of rationing our time

together. She said she understood that it was going to be tough for us

both but I'd appreciate it in the long run. I had my doubts but gloomily

accepted her reasoning. I didn't really want to add Rachael to my list

of part time/some time lovers but what choice did I have?

/Edited by Bert/
Joe J
Chapter 16