Emily: by, Joe Rogue 'this skinny little shit, right here.'

The necessary shit. (If that sounded disdainful, it was.)

This is a work of fiction. Any resemblances to actual events, characters, persons, alive or dead or beings of Earth or the multiverse, past, present or future, is purely coincidental. Unless, of course, I'm psychic, in which case this a work of non-fiction. But I highly doubt that, I'm not that attuned. I mean if I was, I’d have won Powerball by now and been able to afford creative writing classes and a proofreader.

Be forewarned, these writings, may trigger some issue, or issues, you have. Either by the language used or it’s content in general. If you are one to get bothered by every little thing, just close it now and step away, from wherever the hell it is that you are reading this.

All the participants are of legal age in any state or country, in regards to the actions and experiences they have or go through. If someone is being breastfed by their mother, it's because they're hungry and they're still at that age that that's where their meals are served.

EMILY

----- C1 - Thursday ----- Why? I'll tell you why. Or. The One, Who Waltzed Herself In.

The aged pine of the floors and walls was aglow in the gold of the late morning sun. There were tables and chairs made of branches and rough hewn wood. A vibrant, musky, smokiness hinted of history, awakening a sense of rugged perseverance. It brought back memories. Five big picture windows framed a view, of a distinctly Adirondak, regional scene. Above that, four invocations, on stained glass, captured the essence of an early settlers lifestyle. From hunting and fishing, to farming and harvest celebrations. There were trophy mounts scattered on the walls.

A prized moose head, the centerpiece, displayed proudly over a massive stone fireplace.

The next thing to grab my attention, was the chatter. Or, more accurately, the incessant drone of strangers thrust together, in an attempt to fashion a familiarity. Thirty, or so, individual souls, danced through a maze of bodies and chairs, seeking a bond of one sort or another.

We had been sent here, by our prospective employer as a kind of a secondary job interview. The magazine, we all had applied to, had expanded their offices to the east coast, and brought their new age ideology, of the weird coast, with them.

We were bused up to this place, a fairly old Adirondak Lodge, from NYC, and were now tasked with divvying up our own room assignments. Most of the others here, were in their twenties, barely out of college and still rapped up in their petty, insular bullshit.

Me? I was 45, had just left my photography job, at another magazine, where I photographed strippers. I was looking for something outdoorsy, more nature based. Which, is what led me to this. Why a photographer would need to be part of this little bit of weirdness I don't know. But they liked my stage photos and, after inquiring about my work ethic, insisted I attend.

"It would be fun." they said.

So there I sat, watching the cliches and the cliques, all find each other, and separate themselves into little cabals. That's when I noticed her, for the second time. She was a little taller than the average, I'd say around five eight, a little thick of build. She sported lightly tinted glasses, a touch nerdy, without the tape. She moved slow and methodical, in an oversized, white, button down, cotton shirt and a black, midcalf-length, skirt. Both of which had a subtle, graceful motion, when she turned, or looked through her computer bag. The cheeks on her face were round, not pudgy. Her lips were thin, still she was cute, in a geeky girl next door kinda way.

The first time I noticed her was on the bus. She was quiet and reserved and looked to the ground, like she was in thought, barely establishing eye contact with anyone. The couple of times I heard her talk she seemed to stutter. This appeared to make the barely adult aged, majority of the group, edgy. They stopped talking to her, altogether, about fifteen minutes into the trip.

Now she sat, on the bench against the wall, a few feet from me. She pulled out her computer and clicked away, getting lost in her digital world. The others were chit chatting, finding a fit. I didn't fit and honestly I didn't want to. So I waited to see who was left to share a room with.

Just then a blonde haired kid walked up. I think his name was Jeremy or Jaime, he said it often, and loud enough that it sounded like you should have known him. It just made me not want to pay attention. He walked right past her, and asked me if I'd room with him. I told him, no thanks, I need a bit of quiet around me.

She heard our conversation and looked our way. I caught her eye, looked at her and nod a question, and she just nodded back.

"I'm Joe," I offered.

"Emmm-mily," she offered back..

I went to the front desk, retrieved two keys, made my way back and presented one to her. She looked at the key absently, then took it, as matter of fact. Almost relieved. She gathered her things and stood up. I pointed at the biggest suitcase and held out my hand, she handed it to me with a quizzing, but grateful, look.

We made our way down the hall, toward the last room on the right. "You should know before we get to the room I sleep in the nude," I told her.

She looked puzzled but not put off.

"Don't worry though I have a pair of shorts for trips to the bathroom."

She awkwardly grinned and shied her face away and shut the door behind us.

This was the first day, of this week long curiosity, and was pretty much just settling in. There was a half hour orientation that started at eight, til then, and after, you were on your own.

The room was a little more spacious than most of the hotels I had stayed in during my travels. It had the same wood floors and walls as the lobby, except these walls were pickled mission maple. A three by eight window, overlooked the mountains edge. You could just catch the sparkling ripples of the Hudson and the sporadic villages and towns of the country side beyond it.

The bed situation was a bit odd. One was a single, the other was a double. They both had deep maple headboards. The decor and design were more, of a country style bed and breakfast, than that of a big box motel. It was the second time I felt positive about my decision to come.

I was just about to ask which bed she wanted, when I noticed her stuff on the single. 'Easy enough,' I thought.

I put her suitcase on the stand by her bed.

"Th-Th-Thank you."

"My pleasure."

I put my bag on the valet next to the double. I turned to see her looking out the window. The sunlight illuminated through her shirt, revealing a very nice curve and slope, of a delightful set of breasts, and a very smooth stomach. She turned and caught me looking, but it didn't look like it registered what had caught my eye.

I turned my gaze out the window, and realized, "Oh, That sunrise is gonna be absolutely stunning."

"Mmmhmm," She agreeably replied.

Seven o'clock came and my stomach was rumbling. It was four hours since I last ate. And that was just some beef jerky and a bag of chips, shortly after we settled in.

"You hungry Em?"

"A li- little,"

"Care to be my dinner date?"

She gave me an odd look then scrunched up her shoulders.

We grabbed some food and sat outside on a picnic table. We ate, side by side. The conversation was quiet and sparse.

We chatted briefly, the getting to know each other banter. Without the date night uneasiness. Her stutter was bad, at first, but after a few minutes she started talking a little slower and it became kind of lyrical. It was never unnerving or off putting, to listen to. But now, oddly enough, I found it had a cadence. A rhythm that made it a touch on the charming side of cute. Enjoyable. Like it pleasurably, intermingled my brain somehow.

With a few minutes to spare, we made our way to the orientation. After we found out what was planned for the week, no I'm not going to bore you with it, we left and headed back to our room.

I grabbed my camera and tripod and told her I was going to go for a walk, and that if she cared to join me she was more than welcome. She gave me another odd look, not suspicious but puzzled. Then she picked herself up and followed me out. We walked to the end of the property, by a trail that seemed to head out across the mountainside. I set my stuff up by an old rock wall, that looked like it could have been there since, before the revolutionary war. She sat on the edge and just looked out over the water, while I snapped some shots, of the stars, the river, and the dotted, town lights beyond. I turned my camera in her direction and took some candids of her, against the full force, of a brilliant night sky. She noticed that I was taking her picture, blushed and hid away.

"Sorry, it was really nice imagery, the light up here just warms up the scenery."

"Ittts oh--kay, I'm ju just nnot use ta-to th theee attent ten-shion."

She didn't hide when I took a couple more. But she seemed to try and pretend it wasn't really happening. Not in an uncomfortable way. Or even an, if I ignore it it will go away, way. More of a Why? Sort of way.

We stayed in silence, while I gathered my equipment, then walked back to our room, stopping, to scent a name, or listen to a call.

There was a hickory smell coming from the kitchen. There was lilac, a hint of mushroom, and the subtlest undertone of water weed. And horse shit. Owl, Frog, Deer, Coyote, or maybe it was somebody's hound.

We found our way to bed.

"Thanks for the company."

"YaYou too."

----- C2 - Friday ----- The best part of waking up, Isn't Folger's Or. You can leave your bonnet on.

Friday came, and the sun rise, was beyond stunning. It was the only good part, until much later in the day. A day that was filled with games and tests, and some, 'sharing' exercises. It was boring as hell. And I still didn't get what it had to do with anything but childish fun. This was the summer camp crap I did as a kid.

Emily joined me again for dinner and once again it was pleasantly quiet. We went to our room and I changed in the bathroom. I guess she had changed real quick and hopped into bed. When I returned she was under the covers, lost in her laptop, with this intense glare. I crawled under the sheets took off my shorts and dropped them on the floor, then I opened up my laptop and sorted through the pictures from the night before. I proofed through them fast. Just to see if anything caught my eye. Some did. One or two definitely made me smile.

After scrolling through the folder, I decided a distraction was in order. I put a cd on the tray and settled in, to enjoy an episode or two. Just as the theme song started to play I felt her perk up and look my way.

"Fffffire-fly?"

"Yep, I figured I had enough time this week to see it, and Serenity, one more time."

She told me it was one of her favorites and asked me, "Ca can I wa wa-tch with you?"

"Sure come on over."

She got out of bed, and took my breath away. She was wearing a tank top and boy shorts, both of which she filled out very nicely. Yes, she was a thicker girl, not fat, there wasn't an ounce of that on her, she was more warrior goddess thick. Drop dead farm girl gorgeous comes to mind. Her proportions were quite enjoyable. What I guessed was a b-cup under her oversized shirts was a very nice, small, b-cup. They sat strong on her chest. Her stomach was full, but flat, and her hips were pleasantly solid, giving way to enticingly voluptuous legs. She crossed the room and climbed onto the bed. Unaware of the way, she had my blood warming. I fluffed up the extra pillow and she leaned back against the headboard beside me.

I hit restart and turned the volume up a bit.

During the first episode, with both of us reciting our favorite lines mind you, she made herself a bit more comfortable, and her head made itself a home on my shoulder. Her stutter seemed to fade as the show went on. When I noticed that, I also realized, she didn't stutter once, when she was reciting the lines.

She twisted and stretched and I straightened out my arm, she rolled over a bit and curled into my chest. My arm found its way around her back and over hers. At the beginning of the second, two of my fingers stroked her lower arm. She shivered and I felt her skin go bumpy.

"Was that me or the cold?"

"Mamaybe a bbit of both,"

"Close your eyes."

She gave me a look then closed them, mostly. I got out of bed, grabbed the comforter off hers, covered her with it, then made my way back under the sheets. She pulled the comforter over both of us and we continued the show. When the second episode came to a close, I asked her if she wanted to see the pictures from the night before. She agreed. I started ACDsee, pulled up the photo folder and hit slideshow. When we got to the ones that I had shot of her, she looked at me and a smile, blushed, across her face. She asked if she could have a copy, so I put them onto a cd-rom and gave it to her. She placed it on the night stand and settled back into me.

"You know, you haven't stuttered for close to an hour now."

"Really?"

"Yep. Somewhere near the end of episode one it started to mellow, it was almost gone by the time Mal said, 'We are just too pretty for God to let us die.'

She smiled but stayed quiet, like she was studying her memories or putting together clues. I kissed the top of her head.

She sighed, curled in closer, pulling me tight.

"Can I get under the covers with you?"

"You can, just give me a sec, let me put my shorts on."

"It's okay."

Then, as if to even things up, she took off her tank top and climbed under the sheets, nuzzling against me. Her body was soft and firm and warm. Her hair smelled like honey. She quietly hushed out a comfortable breath, then softly drifted, with her head under my chin. I heard another sigh of contentment, then her breathing went steady and slow. I took of her glasses and slipped away, shortly after.

----- C3 - Saturday ----- Fun, Games, and other things. Or. The One, Who Settled In.

Sometime before sunrise, the shifting of the mattress stirred me awake. I opened my eyes and she was looking down at me, brushing the hair from my face. Her eyes were a deep dark brown with shining flecks of gold.

"What time is it?"

"Ssix thirty."

I yawned and stretched and my whole spine cracked.

Her eyes popped open.

"What was that?"

"Ungh. That, is the spoils, of a very, misspent youth." And a rather tumultuous adulthood.

"Do you… need a ma-massage?" she asked shyly.

"I would love one, maybe tonight though. This early would make me drag all day. And only, if I could return the favor,"

She smiled and gave it a thought and then just said, "Mmmhmm."

I kissed her forehead. She shivered and lifted herself up, tempting my eyes with both her stare and her breasts. Her areolae were a rich, dark, chocolate color, between a quarter and half dollar in diameter, with a slightly conical rise out from her pale honeyed breasts. Her nipples were about as thick as my pinkie and at least a half inch in length. Together, they were a mouthwatering sight. Dark chocolate mouthwatering.

I reached to her face and she brushed her cheek into my palm. I leaned up to her and my lips were met with a hunger and a gasp. Our tongues danced and our bodies melded together. I tested her boundaries and feathered my hand to her breast. She offered it back and teased my palm with her nipple. Pushing herself right into it. My other hand found a full, firm cheek. I felt her fingers stroke my flesh and nervously wrap around it.

She giggled, "It's a lot bigger than it looked before." Then she realized that she'd said that out loud and went crimson.

"That's how mine works. I'm a grower not a shower. Wait? Did you sneak a peak while I was sleeping?"

"No," she wasn't lying, "I snuck a peak when you got the blanket from my bed."

See? Not lying.

Her cheeks were bright red and she looked at my chest. I propped up her chin and kissed her again. When the kiss broke I looked into her eyes, "Good morning to you too. C'mon let's go take a shower, we still got this… thing to do today."

"Glad I'm not the only one who thinks this is...."

"What the fuck were they thinking?" I offered.

"Yeah, that too." she chuckled.

It was the first time I heard her really laugh. Her smile out shined the twilight outside. With it's beauty and welcoming, not it's luminescence.

We got out of bed. I turned her around, hugging her from behind while we watched the sunrise. She took my hands in hers and pulled one to her ribs and the other, to sit just under her breast.

After a nice hot shower we went and had breakfast, then we started the second day of, fun, games, and all the other things you did at these supposedly, productivity-enhancing-experiences.

Those events ended at two. We had four hours until a presentation at six, then we'd be on our own again. Thank God.

Since we were on two different squads, I hadn't seen much of her all day. She was already in our room by the time I returned. I told her my plans. She seemed eager for some interaction, so I asked her along.

We had a late lunch, by the spice garden, and walked around the grounds for a few. Somehow I talked her into going for a swim in the indoor pool. She didn't have any swim wear but the lodge had a small shop, so we went shopping. She nervously settled on a white two piece with a wrap. I guess she liked the way my eyes widened, as she held it up to her frame.

After a nice swim we laid out to get some sun, then grabbed a table and had some dinner. I got up to refill our drinks and when I returned Jaime/Jeremy/J-Dog, whatever, was in my seat and putting on the charm. I watched her face and studied her reaction. I figured he was more her age, I was close to twice it, so… But it seemed, this, wasn't the one.

Then again I kinda knew that yesterday morning. Benefit of the doubt. Eye contact can tell you a lot.

Her eyes were withdrawn. No, not withdrawn, they were guarded, protective. He asked her something quietly, and I heard her stutter a return.

I walked closer to the table. She looked up and said, "Hi." He puffed.

"Are you gonna eat the rest of my lunch too or just try and ruin my company?" I asked him.

He whispered something to her and stood up. I sat down. He hovered as I took a bite. She slipped her arm around me and nuzzled her chin to my shoulder. I kissed her temple.

"Yeyesterday," she whispered, "he wawalked right by me and asked someone else to room with him. Now he wawants to… be with me."

I laughed. "Well in his defense," I said a little louder, "in this outfit, I want to fuck you too. But then again, I kinda wanted to bang you when you first got on that bus."

She looked at me with a shocked expression.

"What? There was just something about the way you made that nerdy, all business, outfit move. It, stirred me a bit."

She blushed and put her head in my chest. He finally caught the hint and left. She mumbled something I didn't quite hear.

"What?" I asked.

She put her head next to my ear and quietly said, "Do yyyou really wwwant to?"

"What?"

"Do that."

"Fuck you?"

"Yes."

"Nah. Fucking is using someone like your hand. I just used that word to get under his skin. But I really, would love, to have sex with you."

"Input required."

"You don't know why?"

"No."

"Because you're a sweetheart, Em. You're smart, you're nice, you're comfortable to be around. You're as sexy as anyone I've ever met, you're warm, and you smell wonderful. And, you know my favorite show, probably better than I do."

"I've never been with anyone that way."

"Why not?"

"Cause I'm fat and ugly and I stutter." She cited them off like facts from a research paper.

"Em, you are far from fat and you are very far from ugly. In fact you are quite pretty in a classic way. And even if you still stuttered around me, I'd be fine with that. I found it kind of endearing."

"But I am fat."

"No, you're not. You're a bit plump. Full figured, but in a really nice way, a really solid way. A really sexy way. I'll tell you what. Pose for me. Then, with an open mind, you look at the pictures like, they were someone you never met. See yourself as I see you, and I think you'll be pleasantly surprised."

"Naked?"

"Hmmmm." I thought about this seriously and artistically, "How about you leave this outfit on, put that black skirt and white blouse on top. We'll start there, then let me undress you along the way. I want you nude, not naked."

"There's a difference?"

"Yes, a big one. And it has nothing to do with your state of dress."

"Hmm? Explain please."

"Hmmnnn? Okay, how's this. Last night and this morning, when you were half undressed in bed with me, you were nude-ish. A few minutes ago, even with more clothes on, with shit brick over there, you were naked."

"So, uncomfortable: naked, and comfortable: nude?"

"In the most basic sense, yeah. But there's more to it than that. It's a mindset, a confidence, a nonchalance, a strength. If you're naked you are bare to the world and vulnerable to it's criticisms and judgments, it becomes a weight that eats at you. But if you're nude, well that's an art-form all of it's own. So what do you say? When we get to our room we catch a couple more episodes, then we have a little camera fun and see where this night takes us?"

"Tonight?"

"Yeah. We'll go to this presentation, just like we are. Then go back to our room and enjoy our evening. We did promise each other a massage."

"I didn't forget." she grinned.

"Good. Oooh, It looks like it might be a nude massage."

"Will you be too?"

"Em. You don't mind being called that by the way, do you?"

"No. I kind of like it. It's, warm, familiar."

"Well then, Em, I will be nude as soon as we get back to the room."

"Can I undress you?"

"It would only be fair."

"Okay? But can't we go back to the room and get a little more dressed before the presentation."

"Nah. Let's go like this. I want you to see the eyes of the guys in the room. I want you to see how many of them sneak peeks. Oh wait, maybe we should, they might not officially hire us if we show up like this. Might be too distracting, or against some company policy bullshit."

"I'm not worried about that."

"You're not?"

"Not really. I don't know if I like this company that much. You've been the only one that even made an attempt to get to know me, after hearing me speak. And this thing, is just weird. Do you want to work for them?"

"I haven't really wanted to, since they sprung this on me as a prerequisite. And definitely not after experiencing it and the school yard mentality most of these people share. If this is their idea of how a work place should flow. I might as well go back to cleaning toilets or painting houses, they're a lot more rewarding."

"Then why did you come?"

"I figured I'd see what it was all about. What's life, if not testing out new things, and experiencing what's outside your wheel house? Besides, I knew the scenery up here was nice, and there's more stars in the sky this far from the city. And if I need to bail, I have some friends up this way. The trip was free. The air is fresh. So, what's to lose? Right now, I am really glad I did."

"Me too."

"So, You wanna maybe, misbehave a little?"

"Okay."

When we arrived at the presentation most everyone was there. Oddly enough, we weren't the only ones in 'vacation by the sea' attire. I guess there wasn't a memo. But we'd wait and see if there was one tomorrow.

And, just like I had anticipated, many of the boys had a less than chivalrous gaze. Even some of the girls had looks. Some with just a hint of jealousy, one or two in flat out lust. Emily started out with half her body pressed behind mine, using me like a shield, but by the time we all started to get seated, her posture was a little taller, and her grip on my arm, a tad more sensual, than supported.

The meeting was more a, look at how great we are, smoke show, than anything of real substance. Most of our fellow recruits seemed to eat it all up. It just made me even less excited about the prospect of working for them. I think Emily thought I was fading half way through. Which I probably was. No. Not old age. Boredom. She grabbed my thigh and gave me a squeeze. I sat up, all attentive like, then pulled her a little closer. THAT caught the curiosity of a couple of the people on the podium. The meeting wrapped up, somewhere around a quarter after six.

We walked back to our room, pressed side by side.

"Well, that was boring as fuck."

"What was that supposed to accomplish? Are all companies like this with new employees."

"Not in my day, most of the places I worked for, told you things, about the direction they wanted to go, and asked you questions to see how you could help, or if you thought you'd be a fit for each other. This just seemed like they were bragging about, what a great place they are to work for and, how lucky you are to be chosen."

"It was a little cultish wasn't it?"

"Just a touch."

"Still, I can see the appeal it may have for some people my age. I mean we grew up with fantasy video games, She-ra and He-man, and the like. Most of the people I grew up with, seemed to have a very detached view of things."

"Honey, I grew up with Tolkien, Brooks, Greco-Roman Mythologies, Catholocism, The Kings and Queens of Egypt, Star Wars, Star Trek, and Dungeons and Dragons."

"You played D&D?"

"Since it first came out. Still do on occasion."

"And yet the appeal of being chosen doesn't pique your interest?"

"Look, You can't expect to wield supreme executive power just 'cause some watery tart threw a sword at you!"

"Oh My God, you didn't just," her eyes perked up, she got a mischievous look, "Wait. How do you know so much about swallows?"

"Well, you have to know these things when you're a king, you know."

We got to our door laughing and I spun her around and gently leaned her against it. I brushed my forehead against hers.

"And there's, another reason to add to the list, of why I really want to have sex with you."

"Ni." She smiled brighter.

"Tease."

She slid her hands up my waist, around my back and up to my shoulders and pulled me in tighter. Her kiss was passionate, tender and giving. I slid my hands under her bikini bottom and grabbed two handfuls of flesh. Her ass was hot and firm and homey. She arched her back and pressed her abdomen into my crotch. I found my key, mid buss, and pressed it to the lock, with a twist the door opened and we sidled inside.

She backed away a few inches and put her fingers to my waist band and hesitated. I pulled at the string and undid the knot. Slowly and anxiously she slid the shorts down my leg, eyeing every inch of bare flesh with anticipation. When she got them to my knees she let them drop, eyeing my half hard cock with curiosity and want.

"Can I..." she inquired.

"I'll tell you what, why don't we pretend like we've been lovers forever and not ask, just do."

"Mmmm. Okay."

She gripped my shaft and raised it straight up then pressed her face to it. I twitched and she giggled. Her lips were soft and heated. I felt the moist warmth of her breath on my base and then a coolness shivered through me when she exhaled. She stuck out her tongue and tasted me. Tiny licks teased just under the crown, then a warm, wet, encompassing friction, surrounded it's entirety, and slowly slid down. She stopped and watched my eyes. The corner of her lips rose. She slid up, then back down again deeper.

I motioned her by her hair and gently pulled her away and up.

"We have all night to enjoy that. So let's make it fun. C'mon, there's another two episodes to get through."

We sat on my bed under the covers. She sat between my legs using me like a chair. I teased her neck with my teeth, she teased my cock with her ass. Halfway through the second episode. my hand tickled it's way up her inner thigh, and I slid it along the cloth covering her mound. It was humid and hot, in that gap between her thighs. She moaned as I slid my hand through the fabric, pressing it enticingly into her sit.

When the show finished, I put away my laptop and grabbed my camera. She went and put on that oversized shirt and black skirt. The outfit wore the very first day. I threw on a pair of jeans and a very well worn Bike Week tee.

We went out side and I sat in the grass while she leaned on the rock wall, propped up by her elbows. Getting lost in a scene that seemed to roll for miles. She told me about all the things she was seeing. An eagle, a deer, cars across the water. Sail boats winding their way through the river. Tugs hauling cargo. A, "What's this?"

"What's it look like."

"It's colorful, metallic looking, a really stunning shade of green, with blue. It has four long transparent wings and huge eyes on a very big head."

"Sounds like a Dragon fly."

"Pretty. Do they sting?"

"Sting. No. They don't have one. They might bite if you really piss them off, but for the most part they're harmless. And even if they did bite, you'd barely feel it."

She held out her hand. It flew away, hovered, darted left to right, then it felt out her warmth and landed on her thumb. She studied it until it flew away.

While she was watching the sky, or checking out the fauna, I'd sneak a shot of her now and then. I unbuttoned her shirt and repeated the same. By the time that I had removed her skirt she had caught on to me. But she just kept enjoying the view and ignored the lens, even if she was looking right at me, while we bantered. She was a little nervous, when I undid her top, leaving her breasts exposed. But we were fairly hidden.

Besides the sticks and leaves would give us ample warning of anyone approaching. Especially city kids.

The shadows, of the leaves and limbs, created a surreal landscape on her skin. I walked over to her and posed her against a tree then knelt before her and slowly teased her bottoms off. She gasped when I blew on her exposed, dark, pink flesh. The fading sunlight glistened off her wetness. I breathed her in and felt myself stir. It was intoxicating. I slid my hand up the back of her leg and put a firm suckling kiss right on her clit. She bucked up and into my mouth. I looked up to her face and her smile was bright, framed in flush. Her eyes watered, with joy and wonder.

I backed up and pointed out some flowers. I watched her experience the beauty around her, snapping a few more candids until the sun was gone. I dressed her slowly. Worshiping her body with my lips and fingers. Her essence was embedded in my skin long before I was finished.

She put her hand down the back pocket of my jeans as we walked back to the lodge. We went to the front desk, got a menu and ordered room service.

I got an idea and borrowed their phone. This was when cellphones were still problematic in the hills and landlines were still the predominant way of communication. So, I paid the five bucks usage fee and made a couple calls.

"Checking up on things at home?"

"Nah. I told you ,I have some friends up this way and since the next couple of days we're pretty much done by four, I figured I'd see, if I could borrow a means of exploring the area. There's a waterfall, not far from here and a nice swimming hole too. I figured we could enjoy some time away from these confines. If you'd like to?"

"Can we get one of those cheap barbecues and have a cook out?"

"We can do that. Or we can do something better."

The old lady, that handled room service, was knocking at our door, just as we came around the corner. She was grandmotherly kind, and countrified nice. We chatted a bit, then she said her good byes, with the hope that we enjoyed our meals. We pushed the cart inside then slowly undressed each other and sat down on my bed.

We had country fried steak and hash browns, with fresh brewed iced tea and coffee. It was homemade and fresh and decadent in creamy, thick, gravied richness.

When the meal was finished we freshened up with a shower. Washing each other under the warm spray, like we were paying homage to our very own deities.

I flopped on the bed, face down, and waited. She knew what I was after, so, she just climbed over me and straddled my upper legs. Her hands worked a well needed pleasure into my back, and down. There was a caring warmth to her touch that worked it's way into my knots. She had me roll over and worked her way up. When she was done I pulled her down to me and we kissed and groped and turned things higher.

I rolled her onto her back and had her turn over. I repeated the course she had done to me. A little slower and a bit more practiced. Until I got to her ankles. I had her face up and proceeded to massage her right foot. I hit a spot that caused her to gasp. So I pressed again. A little firmer. Her legs spread a little and her butt rolled into the mattress. 'Interesting,' I thought. Once more and her back rose, her eyes went wide. I kept teasing it and kneading it. Her breath became labored. Her eyes got a strange, almost panicked, look.

"Can someone??? Uh Joe? I think I'm gonna... Oh shit Joe."

I decided right then, to do something I'd never done before. But I figured, what the hell, she's enjoying this, let's see if we can add to the pleasure. And it was THERE, looking like it wanted it. So, I took her big toe in my teeth. And gave it a nibble. Just as I pressed both my thumbs into that spot that was giving her so much chaos. I pushed in, right were the arch and the ball meet, then up. She let out a long low moan and her body started to spasm. Her lips grew thicker and parted and I could see a shininess drip down to the inner curve of her ass. The more I teased with my teeth and thumbs, the more she shook, and the wetter she got.

She was pushed up by her elbows moaning and shaking, her eyes were glued to mine, then they rolled back, and she came. Fucking Hard.

Her body went taut and her other leg shook and trembled. The wetness between her leg was undeniably growing.

She gasped once more then frantically pleaded, "Please, No more, too much."

I pressed a couple more times but lighter, she jumped and twisted and squealed and giggled, then I stopped and gave her her peace.

Her breath was laboured, her entire body had a pinker hue, her neck was a bright, rich red. She laid there just staring at me with wide wild eyes, and very sweat glistened skin.

I moved up to her.

"You okay in there?"

She grabbed me and threw me on my back, and kissed me with a fire. I could feel the slickness of her lips and the bump of her clit, grinding against my now steeled flesh. Her tongue sucked the breath right out of me. I felt her hand grip me.

Her breasts rubbed my chest, her ass rose up and her heat encompassed my head, and in one solid thrust, she pushed herself around me. Her eyes got wide and she grimaced. Her body tensed, and those soulful brown eyes watered up, as she settled herself against my stomach.

I reached up and brushed a drop from her cheek. She smiled, brought her lips to mine, then slowly ground her hooded nub into my skin. The circular grind became a back and forth rub. She was purring and growling in my mouth. Maybe it was me that was growling. I dunno, I couldn't tell. It all felt like it was coming from the same throat.

I could feel her tightness milking at my core. Everything around me was hot, wet and flexing. Her fingers dug in my back and my ribs. She was hovering and tensing.

Her movements became purposeful, passionate and rhythmic. Her lips left my mouth and found their way to my neck. Her teeth gently bit into a tender spot at the back of my jaw.

I rolled her over and she wrapped herself tight around me. I leaned in and pulled her butt up to my thighs, feeling my abdomen against the swell of her sex.

"Oh fuck Joe, I think… I'm gonna...." I increased my speed, her whole body surrounded me, in. I felt a warm wetness smooth down my legs. Her body shook "...cum."

It was all I needed. I just let it go."

Her body vibrated through me, around me as she tightened her grip. I pulsed and drove hard. Exploding inside her as she shook and moaned and found my mouth again. I collapsed on top of her. Spent.

We laid there, exhausted and disheveled. I rolled off her and she curled into me. After a couple minutes of heavy breathing, I finally recovered my wits. Sort of.

"Holy fuck that was hot."

She giggled.

I looked into her eyes and we both burst into laughter.

"Aphprodite! I haven't cum that fast in years."

"Well we have kinda been teasing each other since last night."

"True. I need a drink. Water?"

"Yes, please."

I went to get up. My knees weren't having it.

"Gimme a couple, I'm still a bit..."

"Wobbly?"

"Yeah that definition will suffice."

She pulled me up to her breast, took my hand and held it against my stomach, "Thank you."

"For what?"

"Making my first time special, and fun. And enlightening."

"Enlightening?"

"Mmhmm. I didn't know a foot rub could do that."

"Neither did I and I've given a few."

"I could tell. You have firm, patient, and very caring hands."

"Practice, practice, practice."

"Lot of women huh?"

"No not really, I mean, when I was teens early twenties, I tried banging everything I could. But I learned that, being with someone, you actually give a shit about, made everything so much more enjoyable. So unless I liked you, and wanted to spend time with you, it wasn't any better than jerking off. And it wasn't worth the emptiness, or that shit feeling guilt, afterwards. Since then, there's only been a handful of relationships. Even so, only two of them enjoyed, and needed, foot massages. One was a ballerina, the other a bartender."

"That's it? Just two?"

"Hmm? Oh. No. You do know how I got this job don't you?"

"Yes! You were a photographer for another magazine."

"I photographed strippers on stage."

"Input received."

"Well, I guess, I wasn't like most of the 'professionals' those girls met. My boss used to get complaints about the other photographer and the two before me. But I was friendly, without being a completely selfish douche-bag, or a pervert. I joked, I teased but I wasn't there to get laid. If it was offered and I really liked her, I wouldn't have turned it down. But for the most part, I just did my shit and moved on. I was working. So the girls didn't mind shooting with me again, on a return, when they switched clubs or became headliners or even for their own publicity stuff. One day one of them told me, her feet were killing her, so I offered, she accepted and… shit."

"Shit?"

"Yeah, shit! I just had a thought. I could have made a second income, on all the times that followed. Oh well, hindsight."

"I know I would have paid for that, even without the orgasm."

"Thank you. So that really was your first time?"

"Mmhmm."

"Well, I am honored. Did I do a passable job?"

"Mmmmhmm."

"Cool. How are you feeling down there?"

"A little sore. It burns. A lot. But it also feels good around it."

"Well if it still hurts later I can kiss it to try and make it feel better."

"I might hold you to that."

"Please do. I love the way you taste."

She turned beat and kissed my cheek. I gathered my strength put on some clothes, and went down to the cafeteria, to get us some water and juice. She was sleeping comfortably when I got back.

She was on her stomach, over the covers facing away from me, her left leg was straight, her right bent up slightly and curved back inwards. Her left arm was arched under one pillow, above her head, and her right was stretched out over another, where my chest had been. Her right breast was pressing out from under her ribs, tucked in the space beyond the pillows edge. I got my camera and took some shots from different angles, then got undressed and crawled into bed with her. She stirred and hummed.

"Mmmmm, Hi."

"Sorry, didn't mean to wake you."

She stretched and rolled onto her back, "Mmmm that's okay I just needed a nap."

"I got some water and orange juice."

"Orange juice sounds great, if you wanna share."

"I would happily, but I got two of each, just in case."

"How long was I out?" she asked in between sips.

"Half hour maybe. Let's see about five, ten minutes to get dressed, go to the cafeteria, and come back, then about fifteen, twenty, minutes of camera fun, so yeah about that. Oh. Fresh squeezed."

"What did you shoot? Oh, this is good."

"You. Yeah it is."

"You took pics of me sleeping?"

"Yep. Wanna see them? Oh shit. We still have to see the ones from outside yet."

I pulled the card from my camera, slipped it into the usb adapter on my laptop and pulled up the folder. I found the first pic from earlier, "Now remember, look at these like you're looking at 'this girl's' portfolio. It's not you, just some model," then I turned the laptop to her view. She studied them in quiet. Smiling now and then, "You're pretty good."

"Thanks. It helps when the model is comfortable, and even more so, when she's hot."

"I'm not hot."

"Really? Hold on a sec. Let me find…"

I scrolled through the next five pics, taking my time doing it. When I got to one of her totally undressed. Her hands above her head. Her body askew to my view, almost at forty five degrees. Her back was bent to the right as she stretched to the sky, with both hands. Just stretching a breeze into her limbs. And feeling that cool down her spine.

"… Her."

"Here's someone I shot a bit ago. Close your eyes and tell me what you think of her."

She did and I turned the screen towards her.

"Now take a look."

She looked the image up and down, even traced the lines of her ass on the screen. "She's very pretty."

"She's you."

"That's me?"

"Unless someone else was in the woods with us, yeah."

She looked at the face and studied it hard. When she turned to me, she had a smile and tears in her eyes.

"Keep going."

She went pic by pic studying everyone with a different eye. Then, she got to the ones on the bed. A line of emotion slicked it's way down her cheek, ending in a single drop below her chin. She turned and looked in my face.

"They're beautiful."

"You're beautiful. And Now, you see you as I do."

She stared back at the screen in awe, "Thank you," she broke.

"No. Thank you! That's some of the best imagery I have ever had the pleasure to capture."

She put the lap top on the night table and leaned back into me. She stared at the photo on the screen until the monitor went dark. Then she turned to me and kissed me with tear flavored lips. Her kisses were soft and sweet, salty and passionate. We wrapped each other up and drifted off, to a very comfortable place.

----- C4 - Sunday ----- How boring is your fucking day, if… Or. You Requested A Cook Out?

I woke up the next morning with the pinkish glow of dawn in my eyes, and a warm, wet, pressure around, a very hard member of my immediate family. I looked down and saw her black hair draped across the sides of my stomach. It was flowing like black water against me, as her head bobbed up and down. She felt me stir and looked up and smiled with her eyes. It was a devious sight.

Watching my cock slick in and out of her mouth, while she hungrily teased, was a very, very nice wake up call. She kissed her way up to my lips, "Hi." I didn't get the reply out before her mouth was on mine.

When she finally came up for air I greeted her back. "Morning to you too."

"I hope you don't mind."

"Mind? If I had gotten up first, you'd have been on the receiving end of that."

"Hmmm, I may have to sleep in late tomorrow."

"What time is it anyway."

"Time to take a shower and go do the silliness."

"Fuck me."

We were a little late to the festivities, a shower that should have taken half the time ended up a little longer than normal, but others were later than we were, so nobody gave us any shit. She was actually the first one for her crew. This day, was just as, fucking boring, as the last two.

The only fun I had was with Pamela. She was this stringy little strawberry blonde. She was borderline anorexic but toned and she filled out her shirt, rather disproportionately. I had been partnered with her for the three legged race. We devastated the competition. We took our time, taking big steps, with her calling out a cadence of "outside, inside". It wasn't even fair. The closest pair wasn't even at the second turn around, when we looked back over the finish line.

How boring is your fucking day, if you're bragging about winning a family funday race?

Emily got paired with a meat head that tried dragging her through the course. But her spirits seemed unvarnished, at the end of it all.

After we sponge bathed and teased each other for a bit, I took out my lenses and popped on my frames. Think Wild Thing Ricky Vaughn, without the skulls. Yet.

"Why are you wearing glasses?"

"You, are about to find out."

"Contacts?"

"Yeah. They work better for the camera, and they don't give life that fishbowl feel."

"I can't wear em. Something about my irises. But I only need them for far away. That's why they're always on my head when I'm reading or coding."

We arrived outside to the front of the hotel. About half the others were there, waiting for the lodge shuttle, to go to The General store.

As if on cue, I heard the sweet sound that I was waiting for. Half a minute later three Harleys and a beat to shit ford van, with a trailer on the back, pulled up and came to a stop. Emily looked at me with 'what the fuck' eyes, when I took her waist and made a bee line. The others shied away from the horror.

When the bikes shut down you could have heard a feather hit the grass.

The biggest ugliest one of the group looked at me and just grunted.

"Wolf."

"Tank."

"Who's the geek?"

"Tank, Emily. Emily, Tank. That's Meat and Wifey over there, and that's Big Frank. What the fuck Big? You're ridin a sporty?"

"Yep. Took your advice. This thing gets great mileage and is so much better on the tight windies… (that's pronounced wine dees) …than the gold wing. She's still my touring ride, but locally this girl is fine. He leaned to his right, this is Beccah."

"Nice to meet," I looked at Tank, "Dude you're step mom's gonna be half your age."

"Mmmphf." Tank took a step forward and grabbed me like a rag doll, "Missed you fucker."

"Missed you too sasquatch. Wheres Thunder?"

"Supply wagon."

The door to the beater opened and one cowboy boot slipped into view. Then another. And then, there she was, Thor's, motherfuckin, twin sister. Six feet of cut and sculpted beauty, in jean shorts and a cut off tank top, that I kinda felt sorry for, and wouldn't mind having been, at the very same time.

"Well, if it isn't the Skinny Scary Wolf."

"Damn Little Red. You get sexier every time I see ya. You're still with that gargoyle eh?"

"Yeah you know how it is with stray dogs, they follow you home, you feed em and clean em and,"

"the next thing you know, they're sleeping on your bed." We both continued.

She wrapped me up and my head almost disappeared in her chest. "Sam as much as I would love to die right here, you're breaking my ribs."

"Oh please you love it. Who's this? She's cute."

"Emily, Sam. Sam, Emily"

"Nice to meet you sunshine."

"Na-nice to mameet ya-you too. Ga-god you are ga-ga-ga-gorgeous." Emily stammered.

"You're a bit of heaven yourself there."

Emily's face, rushed.

"What's with the civs?" Meat asked.

"Team building exercise."

"Seriously?"

"Yepper."

"Come on let's get outta here," Sam chuckled, "these kids look like they'll need a diaper change, we hang out any longer."

We went around to the back of the van and sitting on the trailer was a slightly chopped sporty, with a fatbob tank and baby apes. It was polished flat black with black cut off pipes and a deep brown, leather king and queen seat, ending in a short, padded back rest. The scroll work in gold resembled a horse, birthing out of a fire.

"Isn't that Taz's ride? I thought I was getting Tricks old beast."

Meat handed me the keys, "Trick's in Canada, Taz is in Kuwait, three months left in his tour. We all take turns keeping her from dying from loneliness. As per his request, Its your turn, mother fucker."

"Who dinged the fender?"

"His old lady. Which is why we've, been given this quest."

After the bike was rolled off the trailer, Meat handed me a helmet then handed Emily hers.

"I'm m ga-going on n thhhthat?"

"Yes ma'am," Meat replied.

"bbbut I dow-nt know hahow to."

"For you. It's easy. All milady has to do, is keep her back straight, and not fall off." He said it with a flourish.

"Damn Meat, you still doing that renaissance gig?"

"Hell yeah bro, the pays good, the times are good, and the women are fine."

"And they don't mind showing some titty at the end of the day." Wifey chimed.

"Still a bit of a perv eh Lane?"

"A bit? Don't insult me. I was a paid professional. Just like you. Now get your skinny ass over here and give me a hug, fuzznuts."

"How could I refuse such a charming invitation."

The crack and rumble, that resounded, when all four bikes started up, shook the windows at the lodge's entrance. I'm pretty sure it filled up some of those hypothetical diapers too.

Emily hesitantly slid into the seat behind me. "He's right you know. All you need to do is hold onto me, and make like your back is part of the bike, don't lean or make sudden movements just relax, hold on and go with it. If you don't like it, Sam can drive you back."

"Okay." she timidly replied.

I could feel her shaking a bit, so I gave her a quick kiss, "Lean forward a bit and stick your crotch in the seat." She did and I revved the engine.

Her eyes went wide. "Oh."

"Yeah, if you get nervous, just do that til it passes," I said, with the same devious look she had this morning.

I pulled in the clutch lever, kicked the sporty down into first, twisted the throttle and released the clutch, in a slow, smooth, motion, she rolled onto the black top like a breeze on the water. Ahhh there's her balance. God I missed that.

Half an hour later, we pulled up this dirt road, that broke into a clearing, by a pond. Emily had this calm yet energized look in her eyes. She stretched and breathed in deep.

She wrapped her arms around me.

"When you said you were getting us a ride for a couple days. This was not what I expected, at all."

"How'd you like it?"

"Scary. But amazing."

"Yeah it is. And if your really, really lucky, it never fucking changes."

Sam pulled in with the chase truck and we unloaded the grill and the coolers.

Once the fire was started and all the prep work finished, we all stripped down to nothing and jumped in the

"Ice! Mother! Fucking! Cold!"

water,

"Damn! A warning woulda been nice. The last time I was here it was almost warm."

"Shit bro. The last time you were here we didn't have the same winter. And it was summer. This year was a cluster fuck. There's still snow in the pile up in my yard. And some on the ridge by the falls"

Emily had been hesitant at first, but when she realized that it was natural for this crew, she joined right in. When she broke the surface she was in shock. Her nipples looked painfully taut, they were about a quarter inch longer than their excited state and their skin had an overstretched sheen. Her arms were wrapped around herself so tight, I swore her hands touched at her spine, "fa fa fa freezing."

She had goosebumps everywhere, but then again we all did. She suffered through it though. And enjoyed it as well.

When we had enough, of this uncomfortably, energizing refreshment, we made our way back to the towels and the heat. We put our pants on, grabbed some beer and warmed up by the grill. The sun was warm, so nobody bothered with shirts, not even Em. The steaks and potatoes smelled like heaven on that apple-wood fire. They tasted even better on the tongue.

After we ate, we took the coals from the grill and put them in the pit, with some scattered logs we had foraged by the treeline. The fire was warm enough that we had to sit five feet away by the time the sun, was even thinking about setting. Emily was stretched up against me, her bare back against my chest, staring at the twi-night sky. Her hair smelled like rainwater and wind.

We chatted and joked and talked about the future. We reminisced and planned and remembered those we lost. Then the boys got up to load the truck. I joined them.

The girls stayed behind to chit chat.

Sam called Emily to sit with her on the log.

"So how did you meet Joe?"

"We mamet on Thursday at this ss sstupid thing."

Meat gave me a look, "My sister used to stutter like that, after she saw her best friend get hit by a car."

"I don't know why she does. I figure if she wants to tell me she will."

"I noticed she doesn't stutter when she talks to you, or if she's pressed up against you."

"I kind of miss it."

He quirked a look.

"I found it cute. Sue me. Give her a bit though, I think she's warming up to you guys. It's faded already if you hadn't noticed."

He just nodded.

"Thursday?" Sam asked in typical Sam tone. Booming. Not so much in volume as in presence

"Mmmhmm."

"That's it? Really?."

Then she told them, pretty much everything that lead to this exact moment. In a condensed version. Keeping her sentences short. Not to be cold. That's the impression some get of her. It's more, to suffer you less at the stagger in her speech.

"Mmmhmm. How did you mmm-meet him?"

"Funny story that..." Big Frank piped in.

You know what? I didn't make introductions. Not really. Sorry about that. I'm not inhospitable, just slow to the calling sometimes. And this is the perfect time for it. So here goes.

Big Frank, was in his eighties, he was a barrel of a man who looked no older than fifty and acted no older than twenty-five. He was about five-foot-four, five - five. Gruff and stumpy. And loved to listen to himself talk. But only if it was in his experience.

Tank, his son, in contrast, was a fucking behemoth. He stood at six foot eleven and weighed in about three twenty. He wasn't muscular, but the boy could carry an engine block across a four car garage, like you were taking a grocery bag to your house. I know, I watched him do it. He was in his early fifties. A quiet giant that was as smart as Tesla. He acted like he was three hundred years old and fifteen, at the same time.

Meat? Well Meat was just Meat. His given name was Travis. He worked as a barbarian in one of those medieval tourist traps and did ren-faires, whenever they came around. He was good with his hands mechanically, as is almost anybody that rides a hog as a lifestyle, and he was pretty crafty, artisanal when it came to leather. He was also one of the few people I played D&D with. His crew always allowed me to jump in a game, whenever I came up to visit. He was slow to temper but fucking explosive if you set him off. He was six foot even, around one eighty and built like a brick fucking wall.

Lani or Wifey as we all called her, was Meat's wife. And step sister. Their parents met at their wedding and married eight months later. She was a petite little waif, with a fire. She had done some porn in her younger days, but decided to go into advertising, instead of getting her tits done. She was sharp as a tack, cunning as a fox and, when she put her mind to it, she could charm a leopard out of his, or her, spots.

Those two were the youngest of the old bunch maxing out around thirty five. Except for Beccah. Whom I'd just met. She seemed to be early thirties, late twenties. She was quiet, and cute, a little goth, a little punk. She was tall and slender with an innocent air. But there was something in her eyes that let you know her life before, was NOT, all peachy and keen.

Then there was Sam, the thunder goddess. She had a confidence and a truth to her. She took no shit from anyone. She wasn't a bitch. But if you drew her ire you'd wake up in a world of hurt. She had legs for miles, a tight ripped stomach and c-cup breasts that sat proud on her chest, even at forty-five years of age. Her long hair was a rich, red, strawberry blonde that framed bright green eyes, that, like Beccah's, had a look of 'survived it' but unlike Beccah's, had a look of "bring it, I'm right here'.

Now back to Frank, he's still talking. I'll skip ahead to the part where I arrive, about four hundred miles after this story started. You'll thank me later.

"...it was about twenty, thirty miles from the North Carolina border. And I hear this rumbling pulling up next to me. I look to my right and see this skinny, long haired, little shit, on a black metallic sporty. It's got dark gray to silver-tip flames, on a peanut tank. It's a two gallon tank, and he's loaded for bear. There's a tent, a sleeping roll, an old army duffle, saddle bags and I'm pretty sure the kitchen sink was strapped to that bitch bar too. He just nods and stays right beside me. A few miles up I wave, point to my tank and point at the exit sign, to tell him I'm pulling off. Adios. He follows me up to the rest stop, gets some gas and asks if I'm hungry. I said, yeah what the hell. Well we get to talking and he says he's heading back to NY too, helped a friend out in N'arlens, hit bike week, time to get back to the grind. He saw my plates and figured, why don't we ride up together. Turns out, we both pretty much ride long trips solo, just because no one else can make the time. But neither of us has an aversion to riding with others. So we headed back north.

We get to Maryland and he says he needs to stop in, and see a few people, that helped him when he wrecked a couple years back. We end up getting invited to this, back woods, mud puddle, cluster fuck of a drag race. And we have ourselves a time. I think I had more fun at that little shin dig, than the big boys'.

Anywho, we cross the NY border two days later and I ask him if he feels like riding some more. He just says, what the hell, more miles. By the way, how many miles did you end up with on that sporty?"

"A hundred and fifty thousand before I did the top end rebuild, about one seventy five before the bottom end got sloppy and I had to tear her down."

"Damn. She served you well."

"Oh she ain't done. She's in a few pieces in my basement. I had the crankshaft done, a couple years ago. Then life kicked in, and the cycle of windmills took over."

"The cycle of windmills?" Emily asked.

She was met with a chorus.

"When you got the time, you ain't got the money. When you got the money, you ain't got the time?"

I didn't need to answer.

"Oh," she smiled, "Okay, but why windmills?"

"The propeller spins but that ship goes nowhere." I explained, she just chuckled.

And! Back to Frank…

"So. We pull into town, a little before midnight. I know my son is out doin his thing, so we head over to his favorite watering hole. We shoot some pool and drink some beer. I pull out around one, to dig out a cot, so fuzznuts can crash at my place."

"That cot? Seriously you had to include the cot?"

"What was wrong with the cot?"

"What wasn't wrong with any of em?"

"Kept ya off the floor didn't it? " and right into "I'm not three streets away when the cops go whipping by me, in the other direction. Did you ever just get one of those feelings?"

"Mmmhmm."

"Well I followed it that night. I headed back. It seems my son's new girlfriend, had an ex. An ex that thought of her as property. That dopey shit, of a son of mine, knew, but didn't care. Not that I can blame him now, but I didn't know her well at the time. Well this stupid fuck goes in with two of his friends and… You know what, Meat was there, let him go from here. Meat."

"You know the story ole man just tell it."

"Nah. You know I don't like hearsay."

"No, but you do love to hear yourself orate."

"Just tell the story, Meatball."

"Yeah yeah. Grumpy old… So, me and Trevor, that's my brother."

Insight check. Meat aka Travis… Yes he's a barbarian. Yes he does Renfaires, Yes he plays D&D and larps, but for some reason he gets All Travis, when he has to tell a story.

"Me and Trevor, are in the back shooting darts. When we hear this ruckus. We missed the start up and we have no idea what's brewing. So we get a little closer. All of a sudden, we see this body, flying in the air from the bar. It slams into the biggest one of the bunch..."

"Mmmmphf."

"...Excuse me. It slams into the biggest one of the bunch, that wasn't Tank sized, and yanks him. Right off Tank's back. Two seconds later we see that same body getting lifted off the ground in a choke hold. And then we see legs, up in the air, and then they disappear, and they slam down, and something goes crack. We heard a scream, you would have thought, whoever was screaming, got a rough cut two by four shoved up his ass the way he…"

"He'd know what that sounded like." Tank, put out there.

It took a silent step.

"Touche motherfucker."

Then a few steps more.

"Assholes. Anyway, the little dudes now standing, up and out of the choke hold and he turns. Now we see it's the guy Big Frank rode in with. He squares up and punches… What the hell was his name again?"

"Jester." Sam spits out.

"Jester. That's right. The fool. Fitting. I never realized how fitting til now. Anyway he punches this fool right in the throat, hard, and then he gets hit with a bar stool. And the little fucker don't flinch."

"Lucky for me those seats had Tank ass on em for years, so they weren't in great shape. And we are talking, years, he's old."

Tank looked up and pondered my words. Then he pursed his mouth, scrunched his brow, looked into space and nodded. Like that was a reasonable explanation as to how I survived. And then, "Asshole."

"Maybe. And yes he is. Still, like I said he don't flinch. He just turns around, rushes the dude, drops to a crouch and with both fists hits him square in the stomach, right above the crotch and pushes straight up through his chest, to his chin, howling the whole way up. The guy just crumpled. Then another guy comes blastin through the door but by then, we were in it. The bartender was in it, the kitchen staff was in it, our barmates were in it. Hell, I think even the Easter bunny was in it. The bar staff was tossing people and this little fuck right here, is going for the new guy. And now me and Travis, are hysterical, because Tanks got him by the shoulder and the belt, and he's dragging THAT mountainous monstrosity, while he's heading toward his prey. I wish I had a camcorder that night just for that."

I look at Emily, "The human body produces roughly the same amount of adrenaline no matter your size, imagine all that juice in this frame."

"Is that a fact? I don't think that's a fact." Meat states.

"So you guys, won?"

"Oh hell no," Both me and Tank blurt out, "we got our asses kicked." We just look at each other and laughed.

Then Tank looks Emily right in the face, "The only way you win is to not let it start, but if it starts you best be ready to die. Surviving it is the only righteous out come. Averting it is always the preference."

"Damn Tank you get a job at Hallmark's Art of War division?"

"Do they have that?"

And Meat points at me,

"His left eye was a grapefruit, his right hand looked like a balloon and he had a welt across both shoulder blades"

"Had to sleep on my stomach with my head cocked, for over a week. The ride home the next day was hell. But it was nothing compared to that fucking cot."

"Builds character."

"Asshole."

He points to Francis, "Tank had two broken ribs and a hairline fracture to the jaw. The cops showed up and arrested all of them cum buckets for parole violations. Good times."

"That wasn't good times Travis." Tank interrupted, "If you all didn't step in we'd have been in shit."

"You know what was good times?" Sam chimed, "Two years later my Little Skinny Scary Wolf here, comes up for Big franks birthday. He comes to help me pick up the food we catered. And who is sitting at the bar?"

Everyone is smiling, except Emily, Beccah, and me. I'm clueless.

I remember, white strings, fading off denim, and this shape of white against blue that had a symmetry similar to one of those hula girl bobbleheads, and the string was wiggling just this certain way… getting the food and leaving. I have no clue of any drama, in my brain.

"Jester," she continues.

Still no clue.

"He sees me, gets all big and it looked like he was gonna come over and try and... I don't know what that asshole was thinking of doing. As I'm reaching for a mug, he sees him, behind me, and his face goes white, and his crotch gets all dark."

"He pissed himself?" Beccah asks.

"Pissed himself and took off like he saw the Horseman of Sleepy Hollow. Hobble, hobble, stumble, bang right out the back exit. Like the piece of shit he is."

"How come you never told me that." I asked.

"You didn't know?"

"Nope. But then, I might have been too busy checking out your ass. Those Daisy Dukes are still etched in my brain. The way that Hula girl just quaked." Sam turned red, Tank burst out laughing and everyone else ensued.

Except Beccah she just looked shocked.

"I've never seen you turn that color before."

And the laughter got louder.

"Assholes."

The banter continued and Emily's stutter drifted away as the minutes passed. Meat gave me a look when he realized it. It was like he had passed some test. He was proud. Fuck we all were.

The conversation faded and the time passed. Tank asked me about something, something during the week. And we all tried to shore up plans for the last day. When I had to fulfill my part of the quest, and hand off Taz's ride.

Then Em and I rode back to the lodge. We got there somewhere after eleven, so I shut the bike off at the lodge entrance and wheeled it to the door beside our room.

"You have fun?"

"Yes. They're very nice."

"Yeah they are. But don't let that get around, people will think you're weird."

"People already think I'm weird."

"You are weird. That's why those crazy bastards love you."

"So what does that say about you?"

"Around you and them, It says I'm home. So what would you like to do? I'm kinda pumped from that ride. Been a while since, I heard the wind like that."

"Me too. Hmm. I would like, to take a walk down that trail we saw yesterday, but I'm kind of cold."

"Sorry about that. If I had known it was going to be this late, I'd have bought a jacket for ya."

"You're not cold?"

"Nah. My bike was all I had for four years. In New York. I could ride in the winter with just a flannel shirt and be comfortable. Most of the time. Let's go. I need to stop by the front desk first. Do you have a sweater?"

"No. I packed like an idiot. I thought this was going to be more business than casual."

"Well, I'm certain I packed some flannel shirts in the duffle somewhere. I'll get you one if I did."

"Thanks."

"No worries."

"Joe? Was, there anything, you, wanted to do?"

"I'm tactical, A walk with you sounds nice. And, when we get back, how would you feel about, umm, letting me eat your pussy, until you pull my fucking ears off."

The woman at the front counter lifted her head up at that last comment. She was the same one who brought us our dinner the night before.

"Oh sorry, I didn't hear you guys come in." she had a touch of a grin.

"Yeah, sorry if we broke the peace this afternoon or if that, was a little offensive."

"Oh no need, I'm used to it, on both fronts. There's a couple races and conventions up the road every spring. We don't mind the rumble. Besides my husband still has his old Vincent at home. We heard em coming in, so we were ready for the leavin."

"Vincet huh, that's some vintage steel, I had a chance to push a Black Shadow up a street one day, and tear off down that same one a few hours later. That is a scary, scary, scary motorcycle."

"She still purrs like a kitten. Now what can I do you for?"

"I have a bit of a dilemma."

"Go on."

"I need a safe spot to store my buddy's ride. Somewhere away from prying eyes and thoughtless backsides. Mostly the backsides. Can I maybe store it in the equipment barn?"

"Yeah, people don't know their butts from a toadstool sometimes. Do they?" She turned around and disappeared into the office, sporting a self amused, shake of the head. A couple seconds later she returned and handed me a key, with a giggle, "It took til I was eighty nine but I finally turned into my mother. You're at the end of the hall, right?"

"Yep."

"This opens the side door, it locks automatically when you close it. Just wheel it in your room, I'll get you a tarp, to park it on."

I smiled, "Now I can see why they'd come back here."

"Some are like family. And if a local lent you one of theirs. Wait? Did you walk it in?"

"Yeah. I didn't want to disturb the guests."

"Thank you, for that considerate gesture. But between you and me, most of them are nothing but snot nosed brats. And if they don't like my house rules, fuck em. Great, now I have to put a quarter in the jar."

Emily chuckled. The old lady just winked.

She brought the tarp to our room and, after looking at the unused single and the more than disheveled double, she put her detective skills to work and had the night guy take the single away.

Turns out she owned the place, with her husband. They had it since they first married. At first business was good all year round, then the times changed, people changed, highways changed and things started to slow.

Her husband decided to open to a market that was not wanted by most. Since he rode, he knew what events were coming within riding distance, and advertised in biker mags accordingly. Then the summer business, as a vacation spot, was fading. Everyone wanted the beach and the tropics and the theme parks. The 'family in nature' thing was not cool anymore. It was her grandson that gave them the idea to get into the convention/corporate market. Between those two alone they could keep their staff full all year long. Winter ski season was all a big bonus.

"You know you should get into that internet thing."

"I don't know about that. Seems fly by night."

"It is for now. But that's because there's so many people either making a ton and disappearing or wasting their money and time on stupidity, or getting taken for a ton and disappearing. I think Em and I could help you out." Emily gave me a curious face. "What? You think all I am is a pretty face with a camera? I designed ads, set up the online club directory, scanned in photos and even set up some individual pages."

"I'm impressed."

"Don't be. I mostly used Netscape Composer and cheated in some code."

"Will wonders never cease."

After Granny Hicks left, I grabbed Em a flannel from my travel bag. It fit her snug. It looked, alluring. There's just something about a girl in your shirt that just radiates a familiar fondness.

That and your shorts, or your jeans, or your tank tops. Especially the tank tops. Even if they don't fit you quite right anymore, it brings back some memorable imagery. Like that soft curved shadow that starts somewhere near her armpit and slopes it's way under the hem.

Sorry. My brains like a leaky bucket sometimes.

We walked down the trail under a brilliant night sky. We came to a clearing. A stone outcropping, of sorts, that overlooked the water and was covered in moss. Nice thick spongey moss. I laid down and she laid down beside me with her head on my stomach.

"I've never seen this many stars. It's almost dizzying."

"Yet another reason to get away from the cities."

I teased my hand down her belly and sneaked it under her jeans.

"Lyrids?"

"The light show?'

"Mmmhmm."

"I don't know all their names, but it could be."

My fingers brushed through her bush, and hunted for her clit. It was already pushing back its hood when I found it. She ground herself up and into it.

"We really don't see anything in that city do we?"

"Too bright, too domed. It makes it hard to see what's beyond itself."

She breathed in deep, "And everything just smells so… Shiny."

I played there for a while. Then she took my hand out, brought it up to her mouth, and kissed the back. Then she stood up and undid the the snaps and teased herself out of her jeans.

I got up and kissed her, just above the waistband, "Yeah it does," and slowly slid her panties down her thigh. I brushed my hands behind her, sliding my thumb across her skin, teasing the cloth down the curve of her ass, with a feathery touch down the back of her legs.

The cloth slipped to the moss.

She raised a foot and stepped out of them.

I rubbed my mouth into her hair and took her scent in. My right hand found the slope of her back and I pulled her into me. My left, felt it's way up, and palmed her heat. I found her clit on my tongue and sucked it gently. Her hands gripped my hair and tempted me closer. My fingers played in the folds of her heat, gathering her wetness on their tips. I licked her hood and nibbled on it's flesh.

She groaned, through hurried breath.

I slid my fingers inside and reveled in her taste.

She opened her legs inviting me deeper. My thumb found her ass and tested. She jumped but offered no sign to stop. Her breath was strained and staggered and vibrato.

With a firm but gentle push, my thumb probed into the tight, little bud between her cheeks.

She gasped and pushed her lips deeper around my fingers. I slid them in a little more. Then I felt her grimace and sneer. She sucked the air in deep, through clenched teeth.

'No warm fuzzy place for you tonight,' I silently informed my stiff friend.

'Dude, She tore herself UP on me.'

I know. I was there'

'She's got to be hurtin.'

'So you get it?'

'I wouldn't want you hurting me like that and she's really worth the wait. I liked being inside her.'

'A unanimous decision. We should run for congress.'

'Fuck that.'

My thumb, found this, fluid motion. A slow and methodical in and out, feeling her cues and going with her. Her honey, melted on my tongue. I tasted, between her folds and hungered.

When I found my tongue on her clit again, it was taut and smooth and stone. A gentle suck, a gentle nibble and a flick. Her knees were shaking, her body asway. When I palmed her sex, and sucked at the hardness under her hood, she ground into me and moaned, a long, drawn out, desire.

I felt that calling from miles inside. And now I had to answer for it. And I was quite okay with that.

She pressed herself even deeper into my mouth and trembled. Her honey flowed, down my chin, and she relaxed to her knees before me.

I twitched my hand and her eyes went wide.

I kissed her and she tasted herself on my face.

I slowly removed my thumb from inside her. It released with a gasp and a sigh and a ripple. She fell against me and I laid her down softly, on the moss.

After she'd settled, she started to shiver. I put her panties back on, gathered her jeans and belongings, then picked her up and carried her to our bed.

She was half sitting up, unbuttoning herself.

"Joe?"

"Yes Em."

"Where are my pants and shoes?"

"They're on your suitcase. Don't worry I made sure nobody saw. And even if they did this shirt covered more than some skirts I've seen."

"Oh. "

"You just noticed now?"

"I've been…"

"Foggy?"

"Mmmhmm."

I got us both undressed and laid down beside her, pulling the covers, up and over us both. She reached for me under the sheets and stroked me. I felt her lips on my neck.

She sensually worked her way down my throat. She sucked a nipple and sent shivers up my shaft. All the while, her warm slender fingers worked their way up and down me.

Patiently she tasted at my flesh, her strokes were getting me closer and she knew it. I felt a building deep inside. Her mouth, slowly surrounded my head. Her tongue lapped at the dew that presented itself. Causing my body to present her with more. She ground herself on my knee as she sucked, and raged me on.

I felt her moan. A tremble from her throat undulated around my shaft. I tensed her hair in my fingers and smoothed into her face. Slowly. Painstakingly slowly.

The motions and pressure on my leg increased.

She pulled her lips off me, "Are you?"

"Oh yeah."

"Good."

Then a tempo took over her. A desperate hurried tempo. Her hand followed in the same allegro measure that her hips had around my leg. I felt her release on my thigh, jerked up and froze, then flooded her mouth with my own. She sucked and swallowed and sucked some more. I let her go until it was just too much.

I pulled her off and she knew my intention.

She wrapped around tight and kissed the air back into me.

She let out one long breath on my ear, "I love this, Joe"

"Me too Em. Me too."

A calm quiet surrounded us. She shifted a little. The silence that followed, sounded like thought.

Her hand traced circles on my chest.

"What's buzzing in your brain?"

"They offered me a job."

"Isn't that why we're here?"

"Not these guys. Lani and Sam."

"That's a good thing."

"You're not mad?"

"Why would I be?"

"Because they asked… me?"

"Oh hell no. They've been asking me for years, but some friendships shouldn't become work relationships. They know I'm too… flighty. I'm a night owl and what they do doesn't mesh. I did quit a job to help them through a rough patch. But I don't do well in the nine to five, I'm drained by three. Get me up after noon and I'm still raring to go at three in the morning though. The only reason I'm half awake during this shit show is you."

"Me. Why? How?"

"You satisfy my night, you occupy my brain and you settle me in with your warmth. Besides a week or twenty I could handle. But I also know, from experience, my body would retaliate in six, or seven months."

"Really? I find I can handle different shifts. I haven't done midnight. Maybe that's my bane. It really gets to you?"

"Yeah, all my day jobs, even the ones I really enjoyed doing, never broke a year, not even close. But any noon to eight or four to twelve, or midnight, even the boring, grinding, dragging ones, they all went well passed, and the only reason I left them was because I found a better one. Not because I could barely get out of bed for a week or two and lost them. What do they want to do?"

"They want to start an internet service. A database kind of thing for parts suppliers and mechanics to swap, trade and buy."

"Well, they do that now, locally, with HD parts. After market and OEM. Might be a good idea to expand on it, get a broader spectrum."

"That's pretty much how they explained it to me. Is there good money in it though? Enough to get a small house, up here, maybe?"

"Don't let that chaser van fool ya. Mechanically, Iris is a beast. When you see Sam and Tank's, or Lani and Meat's, place. you'll get a good idea how good they do."

"You mean if?"

"No, I mean when. We're stopping by Tank's somewhere along the line. Maybe when we visit the falls. He asked me to stop by for something. That's if you want to go, that is."

"MMHMM. Welding."

"Welding. Thanks. And that's good, because I didn't wanna be the only one leafless on the rocks."

"How did she get that scar on her back?"

"Sam?"

"Mmmhmm."

"She didn't tell you?"

"I didn't ask. But she did say, if there was anything I wanted to know, to ask you. I think she caught me gawking."

"Even her silence is loud. Well it's not a secret. And if I don't tell you Big Frank will, so. I'll spare you that. You remember the bar fight story?"

"MMhm."

"You remember the part when Big Frank said 'property'?"

"Mmhmm."

"I know you do, I'm just trying to throttle the tale. Well that bar fight started a few months before. Sam met this guy and they started seeing each other. He came from money, old money, or so they implied. It turned out the old money wasn't, anymore and the family was involved in some real shady, and some outright nasty, shit. And they hid it, real well. I don't know the specifics. I was back downstate. So I just got the summary. Well that Jester asshole ran with a bunch of other assholes. About six months into the relationship he started getting possessive. She didn't see it until it was too late to keep herself from getting too deep. Because she found herself in it. He took her for a ride, and they ended up at a skank bar two towns over. She wanted to leave, he didn't. He got abusive. Then he told her, she was going to fuck his buddy in the back room. To pay off a bet HE lost. They struggled, he hit her. She was dragged into the back room and said 'buddy' started to rip her clothes off."

"Shit. I don't know if I wanna hear anymore"

"Give it a listen. Because Sam, is well you'll see. She wasn't as vulnerable or hurt as this guy thought. She turned and bit the guys cheek and ripped, then she stabbed him in the neck with a pencil, broke his nose with a mug and jumped out the back room window. She got carved up by the glass on her way out."

"That's… frack."

"Yeah it is. She made her way to another bar she knew, one she didn't hate. She was pretty fucked up. She got to the parking lot half naked. Her pants were ripped, her bra gone, she was holding her ribs, stumbling, dizzy and covered in blood. The next thing she knew some guy had her in his arms. He'd torn his favorite tee shirt into strips, and wrapped them around her like a bandage, and she was wearing his button up. And it smelled like, Old Spice. And him. He had carried her to his truck and was sliding her into the passenger seat. She smelled like hunger and he had to feed her. She had lost a lot of blood and had no fight left. So she just gave in to the inevitable. On the way to the hospital she talked him into taking her to her house..."

"Why?"

"She figured, if he was gonna rape her and dump her body somewhere he'd do it. But on the chance that he actually meant to help her, home was quicker. Her 'sixteenth sister, once removed three times convicted' was a field medic, home on leave, from some war torn shit hole, for a couple more days, and it was a lot closer than the nearest emergency room. She figured her friend could handle anything bad, and if needed, they had weapons and they both knew how to use em. And if it was instead, an act of kindness, she could patch her up quicker. The trip there was worth it. He carried her up the stairs, kicked at the door and helped Jolie sew her up."

"She's lucky."

"You remember what she said about stray dogs?"

"A bit."

"They follow you home, you clean em, you feed em, and the next thing you know…

"They're sleeping on your bed."

"Exactly. Technically it was Jolie who cleaned him up and fed him, but he was already a goner for Sam."

"So Tank was the guy."

"Who else do you think could carry that Amazonian across a parking lot, never mind, two stories up a set of stairs?"

"She ain't that big."

"I know, but the girl's made of something dense. So, Tank hung around and helped take care of her for a few days. Jolie was called back, but that oversized lap dog stuck around. Lost a good job because of it. But, he found a love. Born, of blood and kindness. Or he found a chick in a bar fight and hooked up. I prefer the former."

"So that bar fight story was true?"

"For the most part. I honestly don't remember dragging Tank across the floor. Or howling. Or anything after getting my air back and punching someone in the throat. But Sam was there and she solidified my nickname that night."

"Wolf?"

"Fuzznuts."

She laughed, "Why fuzznuts?"

"Cause I'm fuzzy and I'm nuts. I do remember being two feet off the ground though, staring at Tank's gruesome mug, and him just saying 'calm, it's finished'. With blood pouring down his face. That face. I had nightmares for three days."

"Hah, hmm that's mean."

"He loves it. Makes him feel like Chewy."

"So you don't remember the second guy."

"Nope, I kind of blanked between the bar stool and the beer breath. Oh before I forget, don't let his humility fool ya. I've seen that over stuffed teddy bear in action. If he had gotten real mad, seven guys like them would have left on gurneys. If he had recognized that, that fool I throat punched, was Jester, I'm pretty sure that bar would be rubble, and all those guys just grizzly notes in an obit. I on the other hand got my ass kicked and I thank God those other fuckers stepped in. Was it worth the damage I did and got? In this case, fuck yeah."

She sat quiet for a minute. Thinking. She rubbed her head against my chest, like the noise would make something click.

"So you think I should consider it?"

"You could do a lot worse than get in with them. There's very few things I would die to protect. What they all have together, how they are with those they love, their strength and their warmth, their acceptance, it's a precious rarity."

"You're talking me into it, you know."

"Good. Good people should be with good people. And rarities should find a safe and warm and loving home."

She cuddled up blanketing me with half her body. Her finger went back to tracing lines on my chest, "Joe."

"Yes Em."

"Would you make love to me?"

"I haven't stopped since our eyes met in the lobby on Thursday. But I had a long talk with my dick."

"Input definitely required."

"Okay, this is what we came up with. We sleep, as foreplay. We touch and tease when we can during the day. Then we nibble and taste and please any chance we get. Until you heal up a bit. Then when you're not sore anymore and can enjoy it, with out any discomfort, then, we'll make love that way, together. I mean just my finger going too deep hurt you and I don't want that. Neither does he. Besides I have no problem with this kind of intimacy. Sometimes it's more true, than the sex could ever be. And I like it."

She propped herself up and studied me. Then she just smiled, put her head on my chest, "Mmmmm."

"Oh I meant to tell you sorry for the butt thing. I should have asked."

"No. It's okay, We did kind of agree to not ask just do."

"Yeah but that's a spot some people get cringey over. I should have at least mentioned it."

"It's okay just do. I kind of enjoyed it. I don't know if I'd want anything… bigger… down there, but that was kinda nice. And I know you'd stop if I asked you to."

"Good."

----- C5 - Sunday ----- Revisited. Because It Wasn't Quite Fucking Monday. Or. The Wolf and the Jaguar.

Something woke me from a really good dream. I looked at the ceiling knowing only that I was awake. I tried shifting without disturbing my comforter. She was warm and soft and dreaming and I didn't want hers to end. She looked like she was having fun.

I failed.

Emily stretched beside me, "Hi."

"Hi. Oof. Roll up a bit, my arm is asleep."

"Sorry."

"Don't ever be sorry for that. If it means I woke up with you draped across me. That's a price I'll pay, any day."

And, it was a knock at the door, that woke me. And now, it caught both of our attentions.

"Yeah."

"It's Suzzanne from team builders."

"Gimme a sec." I crawled out of bed and slipped on my jeans. I heard Emily start to rise behind me. I kissed her and pulled the covers back on her. "Floors cold. Stay warm."

I opened the door.

"What's up?"

"Hi, sorry to wake you, but we have a problem."

"Come on in. Suze."

"It's Suzzanne."

She was blonde. Bleach blonde, the type of blonde that thinks that, because she's blonde, skinny and has boobs, you should worship in her brilliance and bow before her awesomeness. California Uber Alles. She was wearing the team building company's navy blue polo, black khakis and completely, impractical shoes. Pumps that probably cost more than the entire wardrobe I had up here. Her finger nails were the same color as her shirt. The exact same color.

"Okay 'Suzzanne'. What's up?"

"Joe, right?"

"Yeah."

"And you're Emily?"

"Yes. But you can call me Em, if you'd like, or Emily, whatever makes you happy."

"O-kayy, Emily... Didn't you have a stutter?"

"Mmmhmmm."

She looked confused. Like life altering circumstances confused.

"Good sex, I knocked it right out of her."

I felt the fingers before the pinch.

"Oww. Jeez Em, that's gonna leave a mark."

Suzzanne got real flustered and turned up the cold.

"I'll kiss it and make it better later."

"So, what's the problem?"

"We're missing someone." straight faced, annoyed.

"Did you call the cops?"

"Yes." The contempt was real, at me not the cops, "But they can't do anything, with out proof he didn't just leave. And there's no sign of any problem."

"Who was it?"

"Paul the big guy on red squad."

"My partner in the race yesterday?" Emily asked.

"Yes, that's him. When did you last see him?"

"After the race, we left. So I guess around the race was the last time."

"How about you?"

"Same I guess. No, no, he was out in the parking lot waiting for the bus when we split."

"Not at all after that?"

"Nope we went for a ride and didn't get back until elevenish."

"Joe," Emily sat up, "can you grab my robe?"

I grabbed her robe from her suit case, It was then that Suzzanne saw the bike sitting where the single bed used to be.

"Why is there a motorcycle in your room?"

"We didn't want her to get lonely. All by herself. Out in the cold." Em joked.

"And, she's a bit of a voyeur." I nodded in Em's direction.

Suzzanne just about shit herself at this point. I kinda felt bad. There's something so much better in there, you can see it, but she just pushes against it. It's right there, on the tip of her tongue. And she wants to say it, real bad. But not yet. She's stoic.

She departed, deadpan.

"I have to go, ask some of the other people. Is it possible you can meet us in the lobby."

"I'm there."

"Mmmhmm."

She turned to the door and fumbled with the knob. The door closed behind her. She dropped her clipboard in the hallway outside.

"Asshole."

On our side of the door all I could say was, "Welcome to the family, Suzzane. That girl needs to get laid."

"So does this one."

"Yeah but you know you have some coming."

"Mmmmhmmm."

"How you feeling in there by the way?"

"Much better. Still a bit sore. Not really painful anymore, just kind of itchy, itchy."

"Well, if it's only feeling itchy tonight, I'll scratch it for ya."

"Promise?"

"Consider me your personal cat post."

She stepped towards me and her robe fell open. I held her at arms length, "God did a great job bringing your parents together."

"Thanks." She said softly.

"Sorry. Bad memories."

"It's... I..." All of a sudden, in a breath, her resolve steeled and she got that look, she got the sense of something, "I'll tell you later."

Then she grabbed my ass.

"Let's go see what we can find out."

When we got to the lobby it was three thirty in the morning. There was about eight half sleepy people sitting around in a daze. Pamela was the only one who looked conscious enough to speak. So we walked on over.

"Any word on what the hell is going on?"

"Not a clue. The cops woke me and Carol up over an hour ago asking if we heard him leave."

"So he came back on the bus?"

"He never got on it. But he was here when we got back. He told his roommate he was going to take a nap around seven-ish, but he wasn't there when Chris went to change at eight."

"He's probably just off sucking cock somewhere."

"He's gay?"

"Oh I don't know, I just got a feeling about him yesterday."

"You psychic?"

"Hah. No. Psychotic maybe but definitely not psychic…"

Pamela tried holding back a laugh, due to the circumstances of our discussion's cause, but she couldn't help giggle a bit. I didn't think it was all that funny.

"You remember the three legged race?"

"Yeah."

"Well. You didn't like getting partnered with me and I had no like for you either. I tend to stand off. Til I get a read. That's just the way it is. That's me."

"OK. If we're going to be honest, true. You may continue."

"Thank you kindly. Ma'am. Even though we didn't like each other, we found a way to work together. I didn't dislike you, just because you were female and you didn't dislike me, just because I was a guy. We just had untested attitudes and lifestyles. The age gap didn't help. Anyway The one thing we had in common was, neither one of us wanted to be the reason we lost. I had an idea and you improved on it. We had fun with it. And we kicked some ass out there."

"Yeah we did. It was a major butt banging. But you're losing me."

"Well I watched Em's race, he was her partner. And he had a disdain. He took control, and practically dragged her through the mud. So I watched him for a bit and noticed that it wasn't her he had disdain for, it was her sex. He treated all the girls with distaste, but all the guys were met with friendly banter, and a little too much hands on communication."

"But he's a football player. He might just be used to that type of… uh"

Just then Suzie came up, clip board in hand, looking anything but confident, she looked perplexed and pissed, still she kept some control. Her cohort Darren looked even less sure of himself. She saw us talking and closed the distance.

"Camaraderie."

"Yes."

"True. Like I said it was just a feeling. It could be he just got fucked over by a girlfriend so bad, he's putting all of you in her ranks. I don't know. Maybe he found someone to hate fuck. Or just decided he needed to be alone. Who knows. Either way, if he's hurt or hurting someone he needs to be found."

Just then Suzie spoke up, "So you guys are thinking he just hooked up with somebody or just left unannounced?"

"Could be," Emily interjected, "we did."

"True! But you guys came back, and EVERYONE knew, you left. You definitely made an exit."

"It was that obvious huh?" I asked rather sarcastically.

"Yes."

"Okay. Listen if you and Darren are really, and I mean really worried, I might have a way of helping out. So go talk it over with him and if you both decide this needs resolving, tonight, come back and let me know and I'll see if I can help. Beyond running through the woods screaming his name with eight other people and flashlights, and bear, and coyote. And now I hear, mountain lions."

With that she shuffled off. I stopped paying attention when Darren ran his hands through his hair. I didn't need to watch the guy make himself bald.

"Oh Manners. Pamela this is Emily, Emily this is Pamela."

"Nice to meet you Emily."

"Nice, to meet you too - Pamela."

"It's just Pam or Pammy."

"Em, is fine."

"So you're stuck in the same room with this guy huh?"

"Worse," I said, "She's stuck in the same bed with me."

"Hah. I've seen you two together. That doesn't surprise me."

"Excuse me," Suzie said, " but how exactly can you help?"

"Are you guys that worried about him?"

"Yes."

"And you want this resolved? Because I'm probably gonna do this anyway."

"Yes."

"Alright then… God. He's gonna hate me for this. But now I have someone else to blame. Thanks Suzzanne."

I went to the front desk and borrowed their phone, again. I slid a five across the counter and Grampa Hicks just shuffled it back and waved it off, "I'll put it on their tab."

"Thanks."

I dialed the number and waited. The phone rang about fifteen times. Then, "WHAT?"

"It's Joe, Sorry to wake you."

"Hey, you didn't wake me... hold on… What??? It's Joe... Yeah... What? If you want to… then just keep... he can't see… So! What's up?"

"Now I'm even sorrier old man."

"Yeah yeah get to it peckerhead."

"Does Bob still have those hunting dogs."

"Yeah. Why?"

"Seems they lost one of the participants over here."

"Shit. He's out of town. I'll see if… hmmm, lemme call you back." Click. Doooooooooooommmmmm

I should have listened to that hmmm. But I didn't.

Five minutes later the front desk rang. "Hello, The Lodge On the River, William speaking.... Oh hey Frank how's things... There good here too, thanks... Sure... Next Sunday at seven.... I'll tell the missus... Yep... Look forward to it…" then he handed me the phone, "It's for you peckerhead."

"Thanks you old coot… Yeah Frank."

"You're lucky."

"Been living that my whole life."

"Haven't we all. See you in half an hour."

"Thanks, see you then."

At four twenty five a brand new, dark blue pick up, pulled in the lot. That should have given me a clue. A second clue.

Big Frank was in the passenger seat with Beccah on his lap, her feet out the window, barefoot, drinking a beer. Waving. The drivers door opened and a medium height, skinny, bald, black dude stepped out. And it clicked. He saw me walking to the truck, as he was turning to go around to the back. He took two steps, stopped and turned to face me, with a squint, "Joe?"

"The Nigerian, Fucking, Nightmare. Of course. How the fuck are ya?"

"Ha ha ha, Frank you sneaky bastard."

"Yup."

"Holy shit man. Come here let me look at you."

I closed the gap between us. Two hands, bigger than the frame would suggest, grabbed my elbows, "Still got your hair, both arms, legs work fine. Fingers work?"

I flexed them. "Yeah so far."

"Be nice if you remembered how to dial a phone with em. The only thing I miss up here is good reception." Then I was wrapped up in a firm embrace.

"Missed you too, Nim."

"Olofi smiles on us today."

"Seems like it. I thought you and Bob were training birders."

"We expanded to Search and Rescue. Have five in the field."

Frank leaned and yelled out the window. "You're lucky pup, He just got home."

"Come, help me get my Liffa."

Now most people you'd refer to as black aren't really. I've been a lot of places and I haven't met a 'black' one yet. They're somewhere between a light cafe mocha and a burnt umber. It's really a beautiful spectrum, the skin we bare. From a milky white to a deep dark brown and a whole array of wonderful tones in between. Nimbuwe, was the color of a really charred wood, not quite black but about as close as you could get with out actually being there. He stood about five foot seven and weighed all of a hundred twenty pounds. He had scars, on a good portion of his body. Some cuts, some burns, even a couple bullet holes. The place he was born, was to say the least, a tough place to live. Luckily he was adopted, along with his sister, by people who brought them back to the states. He never lost faith in his childhood religion. Even if, as he admits, the only thing he really knows, is that his Olofi is a messenger, between heaven and earth. And he likes that idea. For many reasons. And much to the character of the people that adopted him, they didn't fight it out of him. They figured he was a good soul and this Olofi was a good influence on him, so they just let it be. I met him when we were seventeen and we were brothers from, somewhere along the line. Not quite from the moment we first met. But definitely shortly after. When Frank's neighbor Bob said he was looking for help, training hounds for hunting, I introduced them. The Nigerian Nightmare had a natural gift that became a well honed talent. He's been up here ever since.

"You named the dog after your sister."

"Yes about time I get to boss her around. Don't tell her I said that, she'd have my hide."

"She'd tie you by your ankles and beat you like a pinata."

"That too. But that might be fun, even if she is my sister. Don't tell her that either."

We brought Liffa to Paul's room and gave her his scent. Socks.

Fifteen minutes later she tracked to the small barn and sat. I looked in the window, shook my head and turned away.

"Come on let's head back."

"Wrong place?"

"Nope he's here, he's just ... meditating."

"Oh. Hiding the salami?"

"You could say that."

"Ha ha."

(Yes. We're in our forties, and still the silly shit keeps us laughing and keeps us humble.)

Emily met us on the landing, along with a dozen or so curious faces. Suzzanne gave me the 'well' look.

"He's fine. Just needed some alone time."

I couldn't tell if the air produced from the crowd was born of relief, or boredom. At there not being a salacious scene. They dispersed to their rooms rather quickly.

Except Pam. She seemed to have had a little more curiosity than the rest. Emily gathered me in close and yawned.

"Double N, this is Emily and that's Pamela. Guys this is Nimbuwe."

"Pleased to make your acquaintance Emily, Pamela." he said with a bow, eyeing the strawberry blonde.

Yeah. Just wait for it.

Emily shook his hand, "Nice to meet you too." Then she bent down and pet Liffa on the head. The big, two toned brown dog practically knocked her on her butt pushing in for more attention.

Pamela just eyed him up and down, reading his scars like a romance novel, "Pam is fine," she looked to the dog. "That's not a Shepard, is it?"

"Malionois, Belgian not German."

"She's very, very, pretty. Aren't you girl?"

"Tough, spirited and loyal too. You, may be kindred in that as well?" Hook. Right where you want it.

"Me? Tough? No. Not me. You look like you survived some things though."

"Ha. I survived nothing. I lived through things. Yeah. But the promise of a sunrise as fair as what I see before me. That is what's kept me alive to this day." Line. Right where it should be.

"Charmer aren't you."

"Only. When I am charmed. Maybe, you would like to share some wine, under this wondrous sky and ask, what you want to ask." Sinker.

Now, let's see, if she decides to reel HIM in.

"I think I'd like that. Let me get my coat." And off she went.

"You never cease to amaze me."

"When you look like this…"

"You better know how to charm the wind. Yeah Yeah."

We made our way to the truck and waited for Pam. Frank and Beccah were fast asleep. I never thought I'd ever hear myself say this but Frank looked, happy and kinda cute, the way he held Beccah in her sleep. And she looked safe there.

I played with Liffa tossing sticks.

Emily stayed by the truck with Nim.

"Joe tells me you've been friends for a while."

"Twenty-six years almost to the day."

"Do you mind talking about those."

"They are remnants of war and hate and deception. Nothing that needs glorifying."

"They look like they hurt."

"Not anymore. Paper cuts hurt me more now, than even the memories of these. Besides, everyone has them. Some more than others. Some on the inside. I'm thinking you have a few too, on the inside."

The first thing I loved about Nim was his heart. The second was his intonation. He just had a different way of coloring his words. They came out lyrical and warm.

"Why would you say that?"

"Him. He likes you."

She narrowed her eye's, "Input required."

"I see his look. And he loves scarred people. The ones who still have their heart anyway. Sees the beauty in them. Sees their grace. Sees their strength. Sees their struggle. Sees himself a little."

"He does have a few too doesn't he."

"More than you can see. He's resilient. Most have faded. But yes he's eyed a few in the mirror. But maybe not more than you've seen yourself."

Em saw me walking, up to the spot were they sat in pow wow, "Hi," she spread her legs for me to sit.

"That dog tired me out, brother."

That's not true really. Voices carry this time of night… morning… whatever… and I was just starting to feel, a little… outed. Not in that way. Getting too old for this shit, maybe. But not that way.

I sat, she wrapped me up and put her head over my shoulder.

I brushed my beard against her ear.

"What are you two chatting about?"

"Knowledge and the Wolf." he said, with a nightmarish smile.

"Hearts and scars." She said, with a kiss.

Pam came walking up the path and finally asked the question she really wanted the answer to, "Did you guys really find Paul?"

"Liffa found Paul."

"And?"

"And what?"

"Were you right?"

"I don't know, I couldn't tell. He's was sleeping."

"Riiiiight. Oh well." She shook a bottle of wine in her hand, "Ready my dark prince charming."

"Olofi smiles once more We'll get together before you go. The pond?"

"Sounds good."

"Have fun."

"You as well my friend, tell Frank sweet dreams for me. And Thanks."

"Franks living the sweet dream, my brother. Believe it or not she is very good for him and he is very, good for her as well. She's a tuffass."

"She did, quiet him down a bit. That's something. Knowledge and the Wolf, huh?

"It would be nice. Tell them no charge.."

"That it would be. Thanks.."

We went back to the lodge. Found Suzzanne in the atrium and told her not to wake us. She asked how much they owed for the search. I told her, he said not to worry about it. He chalked it up as a training exercise. She promised to buy us dinner and asked what he liked to drink.

"Water, Wine, whiskey and women, and juice."

"Thanks, Em."

"You're Welcome, Joe."

Then she said her good nights.

"Oh Suzzanne, before I forget, if someone reports Pamela missing. She's... well let's just say she's catching the sunrise."

"That sounds like a euphemism for something."

"A euphemism? Hmm. No. I think taking a ride on the dark comet would be a euphemism."

"I didn't wanna know that."

"Yeah you did."

"Asshole. Thank you for the help. I'm going to bed. Night."

Emily bumped me, "You're bad."

"I'm only bad because she thinks, she can't have a sense of humor to live up to somebody else's expectation. She's been channeled into a tool that other people can use to better their pockets with. So, she looks down on others and all things they consider 'distasteful', without even knowing it. There's a caring there, like a big sister. A strength that's been molded into something cold. She just really needs to lighten up. Especially since she's family now."

"Didn't you kind of look down on her just now?"

"Nah. I'm just being me. I can be an asshole at times. Especially Tuesdays. No doubt. But I have a do unto others policy. I treat everyone as an equal and how I want to be treated and that includes, If I'm being a stuck up cunt then I'd want you to beat it out of me. I'm just tapping at the shell, giving her a place to push."

She just shook her head, smiled and stretched, "I'm exhausted. All this excitement… then crash... Nimmy seems nice."

"Nimmy. Nimmy is one of the finest people you'll ever meet on this fantastical rock. Especially when this rock goes into 'You Wanted Adventure?' or 'Godforsaken Shithole!' modes."

We barely got each other undressed before we flopped into bed, falling a sleep with both of our feets, firmly on the floor. (there's two sets of feet that's plural)

---- C6 - Monday ----- Proper. Is it really fuckin Monday? Or. Karma? Yes She Bites.

We woke up at eleven. I should clarify. I, woke up at eleven. Emily woke up about five, ten minutes later, gripping my hair and grinding her crotch in my face, shaking like an over loaded washing machine.

"Frack that tongue is good."

"It's all this pussy's doing. It's just so fucking tasty."

We showered, took a quick ride, to a place William said was cozy, ate, rode back, then crawled straight into bed. We didn't get out from under the covers again until episode twelve was rolling credits. We had a little catching up to do.

We stumbled on Mr. And Mrs. Hicks, out by their garden, so we pulled weeds and discussed the internet. They decided it wasn't for them. But we did get a taste of the history between these two.

The firsts they saw. The things they've lived through. The sacrifices they've endured and seen. It's funny, most of the most endured love stories from history are ended in tragedy or betrayal. I'm glad I learned the one that these two are in.

Darren came walking by, half dazed, as was the usual look for him since last night's debacle. So I called him over and teased him into getting his hands dirty. He took to it rather quick. It seemed more recall that first attempt. He was a lot more grounded when we were done.

Granny Hicks treated us to some of the best homemade ice cream I'd ever tasted.

I know that's cliche, but maybe later another ice cream will be presented, that's even better. Does it make it less cliche then? Does it make it less true now.

By the look on my companions faces it seemed to be the same for them. There's really something different between mechanically mixed and humanly fashioned that changes the feel of the flavor.

"Granny Mabe?"

"Yes?"

"Would you all mind if we used that big fire pit out by the picnic area?"

"Not at all. If you promise, not to burn my house down."

"I'm not going for a homecoming bonfire, just something a little comfortable."

"Feel free. There's wood behind your room a little further down. Bill can show ya where the sand and hose are."

"You guys are welcome to join us."

"That's kind of you to ask. And before you insist. It's Monday, phone calls with the grandkids, a nice quiet dinner and our favorite TV shows."

Grandpa Hicks, "That Sam Winchester really primes her pump."

"But you're the one that grinds the grain."

"I definitely married the right sister, the younger ones a rattler."

Emily laughed. Darren tried to hide it. I just shook my head, "Ahhh, to be old and in whatever it is you two are in."

Gramps, as he insisted that we call him,,, "Grandpa Hicks makes me sound like a character in one of those Wilder novels." ,,, helped us set fire. Then he left us to our own devices.

Darren came walking up a few minutes later with a tray full of pitchers, filled with beer, soda, and a juice mix, along with a bottle of wine and some plastic glasses in a plastic bag. There was three of us.

He set it up on a stump and proceeded to play bartender.

"Emily?"

"Juice for me please."

"Joe?"

"Juice sounds fine?"

Just as he was handing us our drinks Pamela and Suzie came waltzing up?

"I've got beer, wine, OJ with cranberry, and Coke."

Suzzanne took a wine and sat on the log next to Emily. Pam grabbed a beer and sat down on my other side. Darren poured himself a brew and sat down next to Suzzanne.

"You know we shouldn't be doing this," She half whispered, "If one of these kids is actually with home corp, we're fucked. This is so fucking stupid. Why am I fucking here?"

"Yeah about that. I don't know if I'm going to be with this company too much longer."

"What? Why not? What happened?"

"Nothing bad. I just realized, I'm just doing this job for the bank. I haven't really been happy since our second session and this is what? Twenty nine?."

"Twenty seven. So why now?"

"Gardening."

"Gardening?"

"Gardening. I used to help my mom out in hers. We'd laugh, talk about our day and toss mud at each other. Then she got sick and we moved to the city and that stopped. Today I was reminded just how much I missed that. I felt like she was just across the row. I felt like I was right where I needed to be."

"So what are you going to do?"

"I might stay here actually. They offered me a place."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Mabel… Granny Hicks… The lady that owns this place. She saw me staring at the garden, contemplating life, while we were getting the drinks. She offered me an ear and I told her what was on my mind. She told me that they were looking for someone to help William with the grounds-keeping. So, I think I might have to settle on being content rather than being rich."

"Oh wow."

"Olofi smiles on this day." Pam smiled.

"He just might be." I gave Pam a wink.

"Speaking of changes of the heart," my race partner continued, "I don't think I'll be heading back with you all either." Then she bumped into me, "Thank you."

"For what?"

"Introducing me to my dark prince."

"Wait? What?"

"He's going to Vermont, to pick up a couple of pups. He gets back Friday night. This ends on Thursday. I have the keys, now I just need the ride. Luckily I don't have much, so a taxi will do."

"Wait.. Hold on… first, I can get you a ride, not an issue. But more importantly, he gave you the keys?"

"Yes."

"To his house?"

"Yes."

"You're serious?"

"As a train wreck. We hit it off real well and he had me work with Liffa and she took to me, so he asked me to stay with him."

"Your talking about the dog, not his sister, right?"

"Yeah dummass."

I got up off my seat, got on my knees and genuflected, "Oh queen of queens, who came on the winds, and with her beauty and might, tamed the proud lonely jaguar. I bow before thee, Oh lady of improbabilities."

"Oh get up and stop being so melodramatic."

The night went on with small talks and laughter. This amber colored cutie, with big dark eyes, joined us. Marisol was her name, she worked at the lodge. She sat next to Darren and they spoke in whispers. Then she smiled real bright, kissed his cheek and stood up. They said their good nights and walked off hand in hand.

"Contentment before riches," I thought out loud, "I'm going to have to remember that. Good line. Simple line. True line."

Suzzanne grunted and groaned, "This is not going to look good on my report."

Emily and I both gave her a, "Why?"

"Because I lost a potential AND a partner, and we're not even half way through this event. Why are adults worse than kids?"

Pamela laughed, "Isn't that what your supposed to do on these things? Weed out the fodder?"

"I guess. But losing an employee of 'our' company isn't part of it."

"So? Maybe it should be. If you write your end report the right way, you might come out with a new position."

"What if I don't really want a new position? What if I don't know if I even want to continue."

"Go talk to Carol, my roommate, she's really, really good at wording things and working things out. She'll help you out."

"I'll ask her tomorrow."

"She's still up. And I think she'll be pleasantly surprised. to see you at the door."

"You think so?"

"I know so. She's a great people problemer. Bring her this puzzle. Go ahead. She loves a little word play challenge. Bring her a snickers, and she'll be at your beck and call."

"Okay. Thanks. Goodnight you all and you two still need to collect on that dinner."

"How about breakfast one morning?" I asked.

"Sure."

"But only if you join us." Emily added.

She hesitated but agreed and off she went in her typical hurried step.

Pamela was happy with herself. Proudly amused would be more accurate. Like she was both halves of an inside joke, "I don't know what Carol sees in that one. She's, just so fucking, stiff."

"Did you say, bring her some nickers?"

"Ha, no, that's funny, and it would work for that one too."

"So Carol's a sapph?"

"Totally. And she gets wet just at the mention of that girls name."

"She won't get mad at you if Suzzanne doesn't feel the same?" Em inquired.

"Oh hell no. She'll be happy. Just to have had her alone, for finger fodder later. Just one whiff of her hair and she'll be primed for a night. Or two. Shit. I just realized. If they hit it off I need to find other sleeping arrangements. Grrrr. Sometimes I'm too much of a smart ass for my own good."

I felt a bump and turned to see two big brown eyes questioning mine. I just cocked my head in Pam's direction and leaned back.

Emily leaned passed me and looked at Pam.

"You could crash in our room if you need to."

"Really? And I won't be interrupting any festivities?"

Why she looked at me for the answer I haven't a clue, "Nope, but we'll try to be quiet and covered, unless you want to watch. Gah. That's two."

"I'll make that feel better later, too."

"You're going to be busy for a week at this rate. The triage alone may take hours."

"Mmmhmm."

I couldn't help but kiss her head, she was too cute when she was devious.

"So how will you know if they're… occupied?"

"The old sock on a knob. In this case it'll be a yellow hair bow. But I'll listen for a minute, just in case."

"Umm Joe, I just remembered, we don't have an extra bed anymore."

"I heard you guys had a shiny metal roommate"

"I guess words travel fast when minds are simple. No problem I'm pretty sure we can wrangle a cot if it's needed, or get the old bed back."

"Thanks guys."

"No worries."

"Mmmhmm."

We stayed around the fire until it was embers.

About an hour by a fire is like three days of meditation.

I got the hose from the spigot and drowned down the coals. Emily and Pam were chatting away. Pam reached up and inspected Emily's hair and the dark haired girl blushed at whatever the blond had said. And the the dark haired girl just smiled, and you couldn't tell anymore, where the strawberry blonde's hair ended and her face began.

When I was sure I had drowned out the fire completely, I grabbed three sand buckets and covered the ash. The three of us picked up the mess and walked arm in arm, to the front desk.

"I really do thank you for introducing me to Nimbuwe."

"You guys introduced yourselves, I just got the names out of the way. Actually you can blame Big for that. I can't believe he invited you home. It's not that he's a player, he's just a very, very, very, wary man. You must have made quite the connection for him to take that leap."

"We barely had any wine, so I can't blame that. We just seemed to… magnetize? On some level, but it was like we didn't have to?"

"Good. Just make sure the gears stay oiled."

"Oh my gears get oiled just looking at the man."

"Ha ha." in tandem.

"Oh shit. I didn't mean that the way it sounded."

"Yeah, Yeah."

"I didn't, I mean… Alright, that gets me started, it's his voice that makes me, wet."

The kid at the front desk looked like a deer in headlights, "I um. What can I do for you." But he maintained a professionalism quite well.

"Be right back, don't start without me." Pamela took off to see if Carol had scored. With a cheeky grin, she skipped away.

"We might need a cot. Her room might need one less occupant tonight."

He caught the gist, but not the situation, "What room do you need the cot for?"

"Eleven. I'm Joe by the way, this is Emily, and that was Pam"

"Steve. Room eleven, that has a single and a double, why don't the girls just crash… oh wait you're the ones with the motorcycle. I took the single out for ya."

"Yep."

"Pretty ride by the way. I saw her over by the door."

"She is, but she's not mine. I'm just keeping her warm."

"I'm thinking of getting one, any suggestions."

"For riding around here?"

"Yeah."

"A sporty if you can, but then again I'm prejudiced. Get something simple, get a Honda or anything good on the turns. It all really depends on your comfort and needs. If you want to lay down or lay back. Speed or comfort? Test drive em."

"I've never ridden before."

"Then get yourself a sporty, It's what I learned on. They're pretty forgiving as long as you don't get too far ahead of yourself."

Pamela bounced up to the counter, looking like the cat that ate the canary.

"Yellow bow?" Emily asked.

"Nope. Some undies too tiny to be Carol's."

Steve tried pretending to ignore that, but the blood in his cheeks gave him away, "Soooooo a cot then?" But I couldn't tell if it was from embarrassment or trying not to laugh. There were tears.

"Looks like it."

"Okay. I'll meet you there."

When we turned the corner, to go down the hallway, the office door opened and out came a wheeled, fold up, with a mattress.

"Oh thank god it's not an army cot"

"Nope," Steve said, "These are actually pretty comfortable. They do squeak a little, if you toss and turn though, but it's not bad. I could get you an army…"

"NO. This will do nicely thank you."

We put the cot in our room and Steve kept eyeing the sporty. So I told him to have a seat and see how it felt. I even held the back so he could test the balance, and the feel of it with his feet on the pegs. He was like a kid on one of those quarter pony ride machines. I was waiting to hear a vroom vroom but he held back. He left happy.

Pam went to the bathroom to change, stopping by the door and her arms dropped, "I've got nothing to wear. All my clothes are in my room."

"That blue shirt is clean if you want it."

"And I have a pair of pajama pants if you'd like. Big suitcase, on top."

"Thanks. Hmm. They match. Nice."

By the time she got back Emily and I were under the covers, our clothes spread out on the floor and the desk and the valet. I had my laptop out, thinking we'd watch an episode or two until Pam crashed. She came into the room, in the borrowed clothes. The second from the top button, done, the rest of the shirt, tied just under her boobs.

"They good?"

"Nice, toasty, soft and airy. Thanks." She settled into the cot and wiggled. "Hmm. This might be one of the more comfortable things I've crashed on. I might have to steal it for the rest of the week. What are you guys watching?"

"Firefly." Emily answered.

"What's that?"

"A space western."

"A what?"

"Probably one of the most accurate portrayals, of a future human space world. So far."

"Can I watch with you?"

I looked at Em, she cracked a smile and nodded, then she clicked the menu and pointed with her chin.

"If you want we can start episode one. Well the episode that should have been first anyway."

"You wouldn't mind?"

"It's a Browncoat's duty to recruit new troops." Emily replied. Then she got all giddy and quick pecked me on the cheek.

Pam crossed the room and started pulling up the covers. "We're nude." I warned.

"I'm dressed." She laughed and crawled in next to me.

We watched the first two episodes over again. Reciting our favorite lines, again. Pam was thoroughly amused. By the two of us and the show. She was upset when we didn't start episode three. That is, until I told her, that the Nightmare had the collection, and would probably be more than happy to continue her basic training. She seemed quite pleased with that prospect.

She said she saw me outside, shooting the stars and asked if she could see some of my pictures. I flipped through some landscapes and the star shots. She critiqued a couple, in a negative light.

On this one, she was kind of brutal. I didn't blame her, It was an attempt that failed. Horribly.

"Sorry I didn't mean to hurt your feelings"

"You didn't. That was actually tame compared to what came out of my mind. I could actually add to that. I love constructive criticism. Even just downright rude comments. Most of which are my own. If you can explain and aren't just being a dick, I'm fine. And, if you're just being a dick, I see were it's coming from and take it as a compliment. Everybody has their own taste. And if I can learn your taste and show you one you like, or even better, connect with, well that's the whole point for me."

"I've already seen some I like."

"Thanks. But none of them really moved you. And the ones that were the worst, in your taste, maybe even both of ours, technically or artistically, well they're the ones, if you can tell me why, then I can do the opposite, and see where it goes. And if it doesn't and you can further me along and tweak me in the right direction, I'll tweak until I get there. It's the journey AND the destination. Don't let anybody tell you it's one or the other."

"Nobody's convinced me yet."

"I didn't think it was either of them. Until I was standing in an ice cold pond and loving it." Emily interjected

"What do you think now?"

"I can see the road and I can see where I want to be. I mean I've always seen where I want to be, but now I think it really is where I want to be. Alive, happy and living, if I'm alone, or among, people. What did Darren say? Contentment before riches?"

"Summarily."

I whispered a question in Emily's ear. She just nodded.

"You Sure?"

"Mmmhmm," she kissed my cheek.

I scrolled through the more celestial photos then stopped. I clicked to the pics of Emily on the rocks. Her shirt was undone. Eye's closed, touching the air like she was finding a line of code on her screen. She had gotya smile. Pam was silent. I looked at Emily. She was watching the screen and Pam's face. Then I clicked on one, a few later in the order. Em was completely nude. Not the borderline naked, comfortable to some degree, she had in the few before. No. This was something different.

She was not on full tip toe, just about halfway there, she was inspecting a flower, on a branch, about two feet over her head. Giving it a smell. She looked, like she belonged, just like that, forever. She was home. And her home was herself.

"That's beautiful. The way you captured the shadows like they were inbred her skin. The way her face is…" there was a long pause, "Fuck Em!"

Emily buried her head into me.

"Beautiful. Wow, Joe."

"It's all her. I'm just the lucky bastard that witnessed it."

I scrolled through a few more. Then I got to the ones of Emily sleeping.

"Mmm. I'm beginning to see what Carol is liking."

"You mean licking."

"Yeah. That too. Hopefully. For her. I'm going to bed now." And she got up and went to her cot and just sat there. Propped up on her elbows looking out our window.

"You know you can adjust that thing like a lounge chair."

"Really?" She turned and looked at the side of the cot, caught the idea of it and locked herself into a semi upright position. "Oh. This is nice. Hmmm."

"You're going to fodder aren't you."

"Fuck yes, and on Friday night I'm going to fodder the shit out of that friend of yours."

"Have fun. Try and keep the noise to a minimum will ya."

I brushed back Emily's hair. My chest was as wet as her face. She pulled herself up and softly spoke, "I want you inside me."

"I picked up some condoms."

"I can't get pregnant and don't say your sorry, cause your not and you shouldn't be. I just want you inside me. I know you're hard, I can feel you in my palm."

"You're better down there?"

"It's itchy and you promised you'd get in there and scratch it."

"Okay But, only if I get to do what I had planned to do on Saturday."

"Yes. Whatever it is. Yes."

"Good. You remember what to do if you got nervous."

"On the bike?"

"Yeah."

"Yes."

"Then. Slip into the seat. And take your time, this time."

She straddled over me and just touched her lips to mine. She teased the hell out of herself. And me. I just looked into her face and grit it all down.

Want to test your manhood? Just let your lover, tease herself with you. Let her use your dick like her very own fleshy sex toy. Let her grind and push and rub, all over it. Let her play. And if you can last until she's done; then you can consider yourself a man. Then try it with someone else in the room, watching and entertaining.

A moan beckoned, from across the room.

Pam had a hand down her pants, her other was cupping a breast, from under her shirt. She caught me looking. The bitch gave me a wink.

Emily turned to see what I was looking at, just as Pam was pulling down her pants. She got frustrated when the hem bound on her ankle and she started kicking her feet to try and get them off. It was… sexy? in a comical way.

Emily chortled and took me in unexpectedly, just about an inch, she gasped and pulled off.

And then it got, sexier.

"Still sore?"

"Not there. Definitely not there. I just want to explore."

"Lead on! My Captain."

She pulled me up and scooted my back to the wall. She threw two pillows to the corner of the bed, looking at the masturbating girl on the cot.

Pam didn't need to be asked twice. She stepped to the bed, propped the pillows up and settled in against the footboard. Emily turned and watched me watching, she kissed my temple, and turned back to the view of the splayed out voyeur. She pressed an ear to mine.

Pam was just staring into our eyes. Grinding her hand against her crotch.

Emily turned back and started teasing again.

Pam looked like she was engrossed in a thought. A thought too deep to be soley animal in nature. There was something she needed to know, or get out.

I felt the head of my cock, pop passed Emily's entrance. Then out, and back in again. We turned together and I, just took in her face. Her eyes closed, every time I was released, and her muscles tensed, grazing my crown. They widened as she pushed and tempted herself open. Her head rolled back as she constricted beyond my ridge, clamping tightly around my shaft.

Pam's thoughts finally took shape and came out sounding, something like, "Mmmmmmmm. I had that. This morning. I'd love that. Tonight." She noticed her wording was a tiny bit, off? "Not yours though! No offense."

"None taken."

"I meant I… felt like both of you... look, like you feel right now… Yourself… Myself… And just because I'm committed… shit... to one person… in the only WAY… that means anything… to me. Even if that person… I just met… a few hoursssmmmm… ago. Fuck. That doesn't mean… I can't enjoy myself…"

Emily slid half way down, slowly, "Ahhh yes there's the spot. That itchy, itchy spot."

"...when I'm with out himm… physically…"

"Oh yes right there, to the right ooongh."

I worked into her with slow movements, changing my angle. Right, left, up and back. Scratching at the place that once bled.

"A little more left, oh yeah ahhhhh. Mmmmm, Oh God, you are so fracking good for me."

"... oh that is so hot… besides I DON"T… think he'd mind… especially since he's… in my mine."

"He won't. Especially if you tell him…"

Emily sank down taking the rest of me in. "…oh fuck Em…"

Her tongue took my speech. Then it found my earlobe.

"…Trust me, just tell him, and show him… Preferably at the same, tiiime."

"Oh that sounds… yes…"

All the words gave way to passionate sounds and primal callings.

My beautiful geek rose up and fell on me, staring into my eyes, getting close so she could, focus. Her glasses on her head, holding her hair out of her face. Eyes filled, with joy and wonder. We both turned towards a, "Yes."

Pam's shirt had fallen. Down around her elbows. Her moans picked up speed. The fingers on her right hand slipped between her lips. Their counterparts pinched at her nipple with ambition. Her back tightened and lifted off the bed. She grabbed a pillow and stuffed it in her mouth and shook. Her forehead went crimson. Then her face followed.

Emily put her forehead to mine and purr-growled as she ground into me. Pam went stiff and froze. Her legs straightened, and her foot pressed hard into my ankle, twitching.

Emily bit into my ear, "I'm."

I rolled her onto her back and pulled her up. Her legs and arms pulled me in, crushing me down to her. She rocked with my tempo.

When her fingernails found purchase and her mouth found mine, she shuddered. Pam's toes traced down the back of my foot.

I jerked and my seed flowed into Emily as her orgasm flowed around mine. She held me inside her, kissing me softly and slowly. Her glasses cocked on her head. I took them off and laid them next to her and just stared. She brushed my face with the back of her fingers.

Muffled words caused us to turn and look at our voyeuristic guest. "What?" we both mused.

Pamela was laying comfortably on her side, half propped up on one elbow. Both her feet were wiggling between Emily's and mine. She lifted up her chin, pushed the pillow to her chest and smiled, "That was fucking hot. Between the sights, the sounds, the scent, and the memory of this morning, hmmmm."

" Just remember to share it with Nim."

"Oh I plan on it. You don't think he'd maybe like to watch too, do you?"

"Oh I know he would. If it was you and another chick, definitely. If it was you and him watching two girls, no doubt. But a guy and a girl? I don't know."

"What about you two and us?"

"Possibly. Maybe, in separate beds. Under the covers. With the lights low. Real low. Off preferably. Neither of us likes the look of boy parts. And we played roller hockey together. I've seen him nude, it's not a pretty sight."

"Hey! He's beautiful."

"In your eyes. Yes. Don't get me wrong, it's not his scars. Despite, or because of, them all, he is a handsome-ish dude. But he's got an Ugly Fucking Dick. There's no way I'd enjoy seeing that aardvark's snout bouncing around. Anywhere. Not even, in and out of your mouth."

"Funny. I guess I get that. You know, I've been with a couple more guys than I care to admit. And I just realized right now, the only two dicks I could identify soft, are yours and that beautiful man's. I also realized, almost all my sex life was, he's hard, he's in, he's off, he's gone. Until the other night. And now, that I've actually seen a soft one, looking at you soft, and how he is when he's soft, it's surprising that you're both about the same size when your hard. How's that work?"

"He's a shower, I'm a grower."

"Yeah you are. If he grew like you do, proportionally, I think you'd be visiting me in the hospital right now."

Emily chuckled, made herself more comfortable against me and yawned, "Well I think it's cute. The first time I felt it hard, it kinda scared me. The only thing I ever had in me, was two fingers and that's, a lot more than two fingers. And I love the way it grows. It's like, Jack and the Beanstalk. Literally. It's stimulating to watch happen."

"She likes it, I'm happy. She's the only person it needs to please besides me, and it's always done me just fine, in that department."

Pam locked the toes of her left foot in mine and grabbed Emily's with her right. She stretched and yawned, "You guys don't mind if I just, pass out right here, do you?"

"You're just gonna lay down there? Like a well trained pooch."

"I don't have the energy to go back all the way, over there. As much as I'd love to." She rolled her head off the bed and stared upside down at the cot. "I am definitely going to see if I can get that thing in my room tomorrow. It's cuddly, seriously, best thing I've ever laid on. Well, second best thing I ever laid on, best bed, let's call it that."

Emily nudged me and slid closer to the wall. I slid next to her and adjusted the blankets. Pam slinked up to our movements, twisted and settled in beside us. She wiggled a spot and tucked us in.

"And suppose Suzie decides to sleep over again?"

"Mmmm, Maybe they'll let me watch, that'd be something. Ooh ooh, even better, maybe they'd let me join em. Could be fun."

"Thinking of exploring the wild side are you?"

"Maybe. If they're as sensual and sexy as this one over here, then hell yeah," she reached over me and stroked Emily's arm. "Or, maybe we could play?" Emily took her hand in hers and locked fingers, "I might, like that."

Pam pushed her head into my shoulder. Her hand was holding Emily's, like a sisters, across my stomach, "I think I would tooooayyuhmmm."

It wasn't long, until the coziness of our situation, and the culmination of the acts before, prompted us all, to slip into something, refreshing. Sleepworthy.

----- C7 - Tuesday ----- That fucking cat. Or. The Code Breaker.

I woke the next day from a subtle movement to my right. My eyes opened to the sight of Pam stretching. She arched her back slightly, left to right, her breasts pushed up and away.

The sun was almost up, just around the last few minutes of twilight.

"Morning." I greeted, just to let her know I was awake.

"Yeah it is."

Emily's voice broke softly, "You have a cute snore."

Pam looked at her confused, "I, snore?"

"Mmmhmm. But it’s really cute, soothing."

Pam looked at me as if to confirm.

"It's more of a himnnnnnnnnnnn than a snore, " I offered.

"With an mmmmhhh at the end."

"What time is it?"

"Seven thirty," Pam answered. "What are you guys doing today?"

"I was thinking of grabbing some breakfast, then coming back and catching up on our show, then maybe going for a ride down to that cafe. Unless Miss Emily has anything she'd like to do."

"Nope. That sounds nice." She mumbled into my chest.

"What about you?"

"I'm going to wheel this cot to my room and interrogate Carol, before the day starts. Then maybe I'll join you guys for coffee, and I can gossip. Then, I'll go back to my room and read. Nimmy gave me a book. All his research on the types of dog training techniques and the different courses. I do want to do, the confidence course at two, though. That looks like fun."

"Is that what they were setting up on the other side of the field?"

"Yeah. Looks like a blast. Finally something challenging."

"Em? What do you think? A two o'clock date with a rope wall and some mud?"

"Mmmhmm." she perked.

Pam was looking out the window, wiggling into her team shorts.

She turned and caught Emily watching, "You keep looking at me like that and I'm going to have to hide my wet spot walking back to my room."

Em just smiled.

"Oh before I go," she stated, buttoning up her shirt, "I was wondering," she hit shift on the keyboard and scrolled back a few frames, "can I have a copy of that?", pointing at the picture of Emily and the flower.

I looked at Em. She nodded from under my arm. I got a paper and pen, 'dcim four three zero seven', "write down your e-mail, I'll copy all these to a cd and Em can send it to you."

"You don't need a cd, I have an sd card slot on the side."

"Seriously?"

Mmmhmm."

"Guess it's time for an upgrade. One less adaptor to worry about losing."

"You wouldn't mind if I had it printed and framed would you?"

I looked at Em. She nodded.

"Make us one too."

"Yes. Thanks and thanks for, a very wonderful evening." She sighed, then skipped to the door, pulling the cot behind her.

She met us in the dining room a short time later. Bouncing, with a sly grin across her face.

I'd seen that look before, in many, a mischievous eye. Usually just before someone said, touche, or asshole.

I nudged Em, "The Cheshire Cat's been naughty."

She caught my sight line and watched Pam walk up to our table.

"You've got canary feathers on your cheek there, feel like spitting them out?"

"Coffee first."

I poured her a cup and she swirled the sugar and milk with purpose. She took a big sip and put the cup down. "Ahhhhhhh. I'm gonna be coming here alot. And not just for this coffee, they have some of the best food I've ever scarfed."

Emily kept an expectant leer. For about a second, "What did you do?"

"Me? Nothing… Really! I walked in nice and quiet. Honestly? I was expecting Suzie to be gone. And Carol up and getting ready. That's how it always worked in college. But, they weren't gone, or ready. They were still cuddled up, like cute little kittens, fast asleep. Their own little litter of two. The cot bumped into the night stand and Suzie woke up. She saw me, and damn near shit. She may have farted," she chuckled, "She stood up taking the blanket with her, leaving Carol, naked as a jay bird. Carol opened her eyes, saw Suzie's ass and smiled. Then she looked at me, with a very pleasant grin. I pushed Suzie back into bed and told her, 'you've got a few minutes, stay warm.' Then I pushed her over, 'ahh girl cuddle.' and I pulled us in nice and cozy. Haven't had one of those since junior high… After a few minutes Carol said, 'This is nice.' And Suzie actually hummed. Then I kissed them both on the forehead, got out of bed and told them they had five minutes to get ready for the first event. They scrambled in panic and were dressed and out the door in two. Suzie did get Carol in a bear hug with a big kiss before they left though. That was cute. Then I took a shower and came here."

"You do realize everyone is going to smell the sex on them all day." I informed her.

"I realized that when I was walking in here. Hence, the shit eating grin."

We laughed, we ate, then we went our separate ways.

Pam went to 'read'. Just kidding.

Em and I went and caught up to speed on our show. Around one o'clock we went for a quick ride, making it back in time, to don the stupid shorts and tees, that designated our 'groups' colors. Mine was light grey, Em's was red. The shorts looked good on her though, real good.

We met up with a light grey, Pam and studied the netting before us. A couple of kids bowed out and just walked away. After looking at that, twenty-five foot tall construction. Picturing their bodies broken on the other side.

There's worse things to fall off of.

Just take my word for that, don't try it yourself.

But these two at my left, they just seemed to be working out their own strategies. Em was steady, just working out the code. Pam, I don't know what she was thinking. And I don't think she should have been.

I made it over the wall in one shot. I'd done this before, a long while back. Lost a bit of the speed but the muscle mechanics were… Fluid. Surprisingly.

Emily, took it slow and steady, with a, first run of the code, anticipation. Climbing and getting her footing. Letting the next line of command propel her. Her tongue peeked out in concentration, now and then.

No, I didn't have my camera. Some moments, are only meant to be seen in the cinema of your soul anyway. They're private, that's what makes them special, personal.

She made it over the top and slowly climbed down the back end, landing at my feet with a big hug and a happy kiss. And 1; The Code Works Smile, complete with glow.

Pam stumbled a couple of times, at the bottom none the less. You could see the frustration build in the corner of her eyes. And then, she stopped thinking. She studied some of the others, patiently. Until she saw Paul, scramble up and over.

Then all you heard was, "Fuck! That!"

And the girl, cracked her neck, and broke even my speed, rolling herself over the bar and two handing her way down the back side, like a seasoned fucking SEAL. Hell hath no fury.

"That makes an old Marine nostalgic." We heard from behind. We turned to see William, with a look of admiration, on his face, "Nicely done Missy, nicely done indeed." Then he turned and walked away with a single "Ooorah." Pam did a little twirling dance with a bounce, "That was fuuuuun. Yes."

The next fifteen minutes was spent running through obstacles, crawling in the mud and scrambling over logs and short walls. By the time it was over we were sweaty, muddy, exhausted, and laying on the floor. Some laughing like school kids, others taking our stock. Suzzanne and Carol came stumble running through the finish and plopped down beside us gasping for air. It was the first time I saw Suzzanne participate, and not just judge.

"You two look good together covered in mud."

Suzzanne rolled on her back and stared at the clouds, "Holy shit, that was harder than I remember. I'm spent."

Carol leaned over her and wiped some dirt from her face, "I hope you're not too spent Suze. I've got plans for you later."

"So Suze is it now?" I laughed.

"Suze, Suzie, Sue, Sweet Ums, I don't give a damn anymore."

"Good for you."

"Somehow I feel, I have you two, to blame for last night."

"Us?"

"Yeah you! And the shy one with her hand in your shorts."

"Not us. Not immediately. Maybe, as co-conspirators, after the fact."

"Mmmhmm."

"See. It wasn't us. You can blame that all on the broomstick with the big boobs. She's the devious mastermind of that sordid plot. She even primed you up with a snickers."

She stretched her hand out to Pam's and held on to it with a squeeze. Then she pulled Carol down with her other, and gave herself to the brunette's full lips and willing tongue.

Darren came up limping, pushing hard on one leg. He half dove across, what was left of, the white chalk line. A few steps ahead of the once missing football player. Paul was pissed. Darren had a slight cut on his shin. He sat up and looked at the scene before him and just shook his head and flopped back to the ground. We were a mess.

Paul finally calmed and looked at Darren, "Good win. You're pretty damn fast for a desk jock."

"I played Lacrosse all through high school and college. Still go for a run every morning."

"Okay. Now I don't feel so bad."

Then he looked at me, all serious, a calm serious.

"Can I talk to you a sec."

"Yeah sure." I turned and gave Emily a kiss, "Take a walk?"

Before we were out of earshot I heard Darren ask, "Is this bad?"

Then I heard, Pamela answer, "For Paul, maybe."

When we got far enough away from prying ears.

Paul just looked at me and said, "I heard I caused quite a disturbance the other night."

"Yeah. You could have just told your roommate you'd be back in the morning, or left a note."

"Yeah. I should have let someone know I had… was fine. But dog's? Really?"

"One dog. But yeah, they were really freaked, and honestly, if I had gone for a walk and took a tumble, I'd want some one to do that for me. And if you were hurt and I didn't do anything, I'd feel like somebody, that I really don't want to be."

"I see your point. Anyway, that's not why I wanted to... I heard you were the one that found me."

"The dog found you."

"But you saw?"

"Enough."

"And yet you didn't."

"Why the fuck would I? I was asked to find you. And I did. All they needed to know was that you were alive. And that's all they got."

"Well, Thank You. Seriously. If there's anything I can do for you just ask."

"That's okay there big guy, she's got that covered." I kissed Em on the cheek.

He looked at Em, then he rattled and flustered, "Oh that's not… what I…" and then he stopped.

"Asshole."

"There is something you can do for me, though."

"Name it."

"Stop treating women like they all did you wrong."

"It's that obvious huh?"

"Stevie Wonder and Ray Charles, could sing a duet about it."

Emily laughed. Her, you're a dick, laugh. Paul just shook his head.

"Shit. I guess I'll have to put that at the top of my training regimen."

"You do that." "

"I think there's some one wanting to talk to you." Emily noticed.

He looked to a picnic table with a sole body looking our way. "Yeah."

"Hey."

He stopped and half turned.

"There's a nice cafe down the road. The foods good, there's tables out back with a nice view. The people that own the place seem like pretty decent folk. It's worth the walk."

"Thanks."

I walked back to the little gathering, All eyes on us. "What?"

"What was that all about?" Suzie asked.

"He just wanted to thank me for looking out."

"Mmhmm."

"He looked awful serious for gratitude." Pam chimed. The girl, just wouldn't let go of that bone.

"I think he realized that he fucked up, by just going off alone and not telling anyone. And had he been hurt, he'd be happy that someone looked out. Enough of that… You! You said, 'For Paul Maybe'. So what tales did the Nightmare fill your head with?"

"Me?. None, really, he just said you had all the brains of George Milton and the stupid strength…"

"of Lennie Small. Yeah, yeah yeah. And people wonder, why I call him, The Nightmare."

"He did tell me one story of a hockey game."

"Oh? Good Times?"

"Yup, When you tossed a guy three times your size over the boards into his teammates, because he cheap shot one of yours, from behind."

"Roller. Yeah not one of my proudest moments. And he was only like twice my size maybe one and a half. Top that off I was already riled up, because he ran me twice. Once in my crease. And nothing was called either time. Besides, she was one of my best defense man."

"She?" Darren questioned.

"The girl had great hands, and she was, fearless, blocking shots. She wasn't afraid to bang it up in the corners and she almost always came out with the puck. Even in the game we lost by ten she managed to come out plus two or more. I really wished she would have been more than a tournament buddy. My ice team could have learned a lot."

"Was she hurt bad?" Emily asked. Looking up from my lap.

"A little banged up. We took her to the locker room to let her assess herself. She came out at the end of the period, topless with a bag of blue slushee on her back, asking if anyone had any tiger balm. I ran to the locker, came back, she gave me a look, I rubbed some in and off she went. She came back on the rink a couple minutes later. Blocked eight shots and got the assist on the game winner."

"Seriously? She was that good?"

"Darren. The girl quit playing women's hockey in college and joined the men's club team, because she missed the grinding. She had seven brothers. Five older. She could have made the USW Olympic team if she could have just learned, to stop fuckin checking. But, that wasn't her style."

"One of the 'Where Are They Nows', huh?" he quipped.

"Oh no. Anyone who knows her, knows where she is. A small backwoods town tucked into a nice little resort, coaching college kids and NHL players. She's doing quite alright. And having all kinds of fun, knocking around the guys you see on TV getting the big bucks. She's happy."

William Hicks entered the field, with some plastic cups and a couple of pitchers of water and juice, and some ice packs. He sat them down, in the middle of the mess of bodies that we were.

"Thanks Bill. For all this. And for your service."

"It wasn't like I had a choice. Brothers and friends you know. But your welcome, and thanks for the mention."

"What time you got?"

"A tad after three I think."

"You think we could borrow your shuttle?"

"Can you handle three on the tree?"

"Been a while, but it should come back."

"Just don't grind her too much, I'll get you the keys, but you gotta have her back by eight."

"Thank you kindly Sir. Suzie, you're time keeper. Ok kids, get your swim suits, or not, it's clothing optional, be back here in ten."

"Ummm. I really shouldn't leave," Suzie argued, but the look on Carol's face, told me it was one, she was gonna lose. Suzie knew it too. "If they find out I took off they'll can me for sure after this fiasco. And… why am I time keeper?"

"Because you're the one who organized all this team building crap. And we have a schedule. So! Since you're in charge, You're in charge."

"Hey blondie," Gramps grunted, "If those guys give you shit, you call me. My daughter in law runs a party planning service in NYC. I seen your organizational work around here, seen the way you treat my family, I got your six."

Carol leaned over and whispered something in her ear, that made the girl shiver. "Lemme go wash up."

"You don't need to, that's what the pond's for."

Darren said he'd be right back and hobbled off towards the lodge.

Bill rode back with the shuttle. He gave me the keys and told me about Edith's little quirks and her load out.

Darren strolled up with Marisol in tow. William looked at them and just grinned, "You done for the day Missy?"

"I have a little left, but Auntie said it'd be okay, Darren said he'd help me finish when we got back."

"Well go on then and don't do nothing I wouldn't do."

"Well that leaves me open to a whole world of trouble don't it. Is that really the right way to say that?" she gibed back.

"You definitely got the sisters' genes. Thank God. Spark plug… have fun."

"Thanks, Gruncle Bill." She said with a quick peck.

Fifteen minutes later we pulled up to the pond. The seven of us stripped down to whatever we were comfortable with.

Suzie left her panties on, something about something.

"Fish."

"Thanks Em."

"Mmmhmm."

Carol was going to, just wear her bra, because she hated the way her boobs bounced in the water, but then she left her panties on too, because of Suzie's, said, 'fish'.

Darren left his shorts on.

Marisol was right there with, me, Emily, and Pam, in all of our glory.

The water was warmer than it was the other day, but was still chilly enough to be exhilarating. When we got out of the water that's when every one realized, "We forgot to bring towels," Carol shivered.

"Nah we're good,"

I walked back to the van and opened the doors, and grabbed everyone a blanket and a towel.

Then, Marisol came up and helped me pull out the cooler.

"Gruncle stocked us up, before he brought it around."

Marisol looked up from beside me, "You better not."

"Oh I think I will."

"You've got balls."

"And you don't."

"Touche."

"Spark plug."

"Asshole."

"Well, it is Tuesday."

"Oh god. What are you like the other six day's?"

"A really mellow, slightly sarcastic, now you're stuck with me, asshole."

"Shit! You're from that half of the family."

"Aren't we all."

"One can only hope."

Marisol opened the cooler and set out sandwiches, water, a handful of beers and a nice thermos of coffee. We tossed the blankets around and laid out in the afternoon sun, scarfing down some competitively seasoned deliciousness, with all the fixins you ever really need.

The sun was well passed it's apex but the day had warmed nicely and, without a breeze, the rays were hot and deep in your skin.

Marisol was wearing Darren's shirt. It was muddy and sweaty but that girl just didn't mind. Her butt kept peaking out beneath it while they played Frisbee. Not my usual style. But it had an Elven beauty to it. I could see the charm. And I didn't have my camera. Oh well, some moments, are only meant to be kept on the edges of your mind, just so you smile for no reason, making people wonder what you're up to.

Darren, still had his shorts on.

The two of them played their way to the water, sat on a stump, dipping their toes into the pond. Talking. Sometimes serious, sometimes laughing. They looked strong together.

Carol had stripped off her bra and panties as soon as the blanket was unfurled. She laid on her stomach next to an equally nude Suzie. Whom she too great pleasure into helping… unwind. The two of them chatted away, stealing a kiss every now and then. Coming back to earth only when they felt it's pull. Which to them was, when everyone stared.

Which is what we were doing now.

Pamela sat on her blanket, looking at the scenery. She occasionally glanced at all the couples and smiled, a distant smile. I held out my hand and she came over and took it. I pulled her in and she sat propped up by my side. My hand slid down Emily's back. She shivered and adjusted her pose. Pam took my arm and pulled it around her. Then she put her head on my chest and just watched Emily sleep. She reached out and brushed the hair from Em's face, "She's so beautiful. You're very lucky."

"Pam. I'm the luckiest mother fucker alive. I've got a spunky, hot, little sex pot of a friend, on one arm and a beautiful, sweetheart of a lover on the other and I'm surrounded, by life and warmth." Carol and Suzie giggled.

"…and joy."

"It doesn't get better than that, does it?"

"Yeah it does, if you let it."

"You know you still haven't explained to me, why you seemed so shocked that Nimmy asked me to stay up here?"

"Wow, you get a bone it doesn't make it to burying does it?"

"No. I grind it to pulp. And swallow."

"Alright, if it's like that. Honestly I'm not. I had a feeling just around the time you guys left. I've known Nim a very long time. Almost as long as you've been alive. He's a very cautious sole. Things happened to him, when he was a kid, that made him mistrust women a lot."

"Yes he told me about his brother and that person, she sold him out for some money."

"He told you that huh?"

"Yeah."

"It was to secure her family's safety too, that was the big part, he holds no grudge against her for that. But it did give him pause and that's really just a small part, of everything else. A very small part. I mean most of the things he saw affected people he barely knew. But he saw them. More importantly, he felt for them, because he was going through it too. He still does. Still, I've never heard him tell, that story to anyone, except me. And that night we were drunk and stoned to bejesus, after skydiving. Our first fly yourself home. The Cuervo Gold, The fine Columbian."

"Make, tonight, a wonderful thing."

"You can't know that song."

"Can. Do. And Love. He told me about his mother and father too."

"Hmm. You know you're the first lighter skinned girl I've ever seen him take a liking to."

"He's the first black guy I've ever been attracted to. And he is almost, black. His skin is so velvety and dark and he tastes like…."

"Pam!"

"really deli…"

"Pam!"

"Yeah."

"I really don't wanna know what he tastes like."

"Oh! Sorry. Afraid you'll get a taste for it."

"Not at all."

"You don't know what your missing."

"We'll take your word for that."

She brushed her fingers down Emily's arm and back up, "I never had a sister, or a brother. I've kept people at a distance for a long time. But this one, she just…"

"Opens a good book?"

"and tucks me in with it."

"You know you can stay with us tonight again. If you'd like…" I looked towards Em, her eyes were closed, she was breathing softly." …I think she'd enjoy that too."

"I don't know. I'd like to, but I'd be tempted too much to join. And I'm not… don't get me wrong here, if I didn't spend the kind of time I had with Nimmy, last night, I'd have been all over the two of you. You're not a bad looking guy, a girl could do worse. You're the first people I ever woke up in bed with… But I'm just not like that." Her fingers were tracing the curves of Emily's ass. Goosebumps rippled down her leg.

"If that night you had with Nimmy didn't happen, last night wouldn't have either. Not with you there. And I don't mean that offensively either."

"Thanks."

"It may have happened at a later time, if it was destined. I mean if it didn't happen you might have hooked up with Suze. That's the way things play out sometimes. Now, If you're worrying about me, don't. You're a sexy piece of ass. And the thought of being with the two of you, doesn't make me shrivel one bit. In fact, I'm fighting off the blood flow right now, just talking about NOT doing it with you. But, I'm a one woman atta time kinda guy. I like spiritually and physically, committed intimacy. And I don't covet what others have. That being said, if she wanted to experience that with you. I'd be thrilled that she had that chance. With you. Even, if I wasn't there that first time. But especially, if I got to watch her, explore."

"But you wouldn't join in?"

"When I joined in, it would be her, I'd be kissing, and touching, and feeling around me. Not you. This one here. She's, my world, right now. "

I felt a coolness drip down my ribs.

Emily raised up and kissed me deeply. She tasted like sea water. She pulled Pam in close.

Suzie piped up, rising to her official capacity, "It's almost seven thirty guys, let's wrap this up."

"Fuck. Just when it was getting started." Pam sat up on her feet, "If you're so rigid like that, how come you wouldn't be jealous of me and her."

"Because I can smell the two of you together and it's a very nice mix. You guys are cute and comfortable together and I can't be jealous of parts I don't have."

"You're weird."

"And what's that make you?"

"Good point."

We gathered the towels and blankets, picked up our trash, packed up the shuttle and got dressed. We pulled into the lodge with seven minutes to spare. I love good organization. The way it suaves it way through pandemonium, and arrives you at a destination a little before you're fucking up someones plans. But even that is a toss of the dice. Only in this case that die has infinite sides. And your not rolling it, just choosing where it may land.

Emily was helping me carry the cooler inside, "Wasn't that trip a lot longer the other day."

"We took the long way the other day, more wind, more rumble, more miles."

"Oh. I thought it might have been a bike, car thing"

"It is."

"Hmm. Not the way I was thinking though."

"Were you thinking along the line of whether the wind and openness caused a time slip, or a perceived one?"

"Mmhmm."

"You might be right there too."

Darren was hanging towels on a line. Pam and Suze were separating the trash. Future compost in one bin, garbage in another. Marisol showed us where to air out the cooler and helped Pam put towels in the washer.

"Hey Joe?"

"Yeah Dar."

"Thanks for showing us that place. Can you just go there anytime?"

"As far as I know. I think it's mostly empty during the week and maybe for a couple more week ends, but once the summer kicks in, the week ends get a few people. Mostly local kids but they keep to themselves. At least when we're there. Marisol you must have been there a time or two?"

"No. I was just telling Darren, I didn't even know it existed. I'm usually only up here for T-Day and Christmas winter break. Gruncle Bill strings this place up in white lights, a tree takes up most of that window, and he always bags some fresh wild turkey. And Auntie Mabel, well you had a taste."

"Yeah we did. That woman has some love in her spice rack."

"Yeah she does. I just started working here a few months ago. I would have loved to have started right after high school but my parents insisted on, at least, two years of, 'higher education'."

"She earned a four year degree in two and a half." Darren boasted for the girl.

"Well it's easier, when you got money behind you. And you don't fall In to the secondary high school party brain." the amber skinned girl continued, "My parents were, what some would call strict. My siblings and I called it Pioneer Bumpkin Camp. They let us date, as long as it didn't interfere. We were allowed one date and three phone calls a week. Cost me two boyfriends, but fuck them, if they couldn't see I was worth the wait. They gave me that too. They taught us to feel good in the accomplishment, to learn from our disappointments, to have a back up plan, and to just do what you need to do, even if you didn't know how it would fit in to your life's outcome. There's not much call for dressing down a deer in a corporate meeting, but it does give you the stomach to handle certain situations."

"Mine sheltered me to a point. I was skinny and sickly. But they also pushed me outside my comfort zone. They let me get hurt just to show me that it healed. The one thing they gave me, through it all though, was the ability to learn that same lesson, yours taught you, from life itself. It took me a lot longer to learn, than you did. We don't have this level of nature to absorb and see the cosmos in all it's turbulent ferocity. I'm just happy it eventually broke through my thick skull. Hey! Don't you still have work?"

"Oh crap. Yes. Thank you."

I looked at Em, "Wanna give them a hand?"

She shrugged and smiled, "Yes."

"No, no, you don't have too."

"Yeah I do. Ever since I stopped going to the events, I've added more work for this place, and your family has been real good, to everyone. So it's only right, to me, for me to earn my keep."

"Well since you put it that way, how can I argue. I'd kick my own butt for not doing the same. Come on."

I was washing dishes, yeah, I did it for a living as a kid. And sometimes, along with other things, in my travels.

Emily was drying and stacking. Darren was Marisol's extra two hands. Pamela was setting up place settings.

Carol and Suze, were over by the prep table, that they should have been cleaning, making sure all their body parts were still in the right places.

"You know OSHA hears about that, you're in a world of hurt."

That was Suze, giving me the finger.

The other five decided to take a breather and just watch this, rather tempestuous, scene play out.

"Ahh, young, woman love," Marisol voice-overed, "the ultimate exploration of self. Figuratively and somewhat literally. A time, when innocent youth, find out, how they want love to be, AND how they want to be loved. It sets a ground work for a search and a target for their hunt."

"I think this hunt is hanging on a wall over a fireplace."

"Yeah. That looks a lot deeper than when my roommate and her friend dabbled. But they were just doing it between guys."

"If life gives you lemons, fuck the lemonade, just eat it right out of the rind."

Pam looked over, "I like that. I'm stealing that."

"You would like it! It's the Nightmare's. Mine's a little more colorful. You'll have to steal that one from him."

"If that's the case, there's no theft necessary. What's mine is his, what's his is mine. I'm all in with this one. I'm tired of the playing pretend. Time to really enjoy something, that will require, no, fucking, effort."

"And there it is."

"What?"

"The thing."

"And that is?"

"A true self confidence, a real self trust, a grateful sense of self, and an honest pure sense of your own morality. That, and maybe a little belief that, 'When life shows you the ass, you can wait for the fart. Or. You can grab it by the hips and scare the living hell out of it.'."

"I'm stealin that too."

"It's yours."

"Thanks. You know? You're my favoritest, scary lookin', old guy, ever."

"And you're my favoritest, skinny little, crazy slut, ever."

"Would it make you feel bad If I told you, you were my second favourite?"

"Skinny little crazy slut? Not in the least."

"Good." She put an arm around my back, reached across my torso and took Emily's hand.

Marisol leaned back into Darren, "I've seen octopus fights that weren't this entangled."

"School?"

"Yeah, Animal Husbandry. Well, Zoology major, Animal husbandry minor."

"In two and a half years?"

"Yes, sir."

"God and Goddess bless you, whatever you believe that to be."

"Oh they did. Held my hand through the whole thirty months."

It was about five minutes later when Carol and Suzie realized it was quiet. They stopped kissing and slowly turned to look around the kitchen. They saw the five of us just watching. Then Suzie started laughing and we all remembered earth.

And got back to work.

Carol and Suzie started cleaning the table they had just desecrated. Marisol watched them work for a minute, then she stared at the table and sighed, "You know eating there in the morning isn't going to be the same anymore. At least not until this imagery fades."

"A shame they can't clean it and leave that scent behind."

"Yeah… OH! NO. No, no, no, no, no, no, no. I'd never finish breakfast, my panties would be a wreck… Oomph,,, There's something about the scent of two women together, that just… lingers. I'd come back to my room to study and those two would be going at it, I'd have to go hit the library to get anything done. No, no, no, can't have that. You know what? We're finished! And I'm going to do something I never did in college, I need to go do something, about this. Soooooooo, NIGHT all."

Everybody gave her their own personal adieu. She walked up to Darren, spoke right up against his ear, and wrapped herself around him. He braced her up. His mouth was occupied. So he just waved. And off they went.

While we were tidying up the last bits, Carol asked Pam if she was going back to their room. It was Emily that answered, "She's shiny."

Pam didn't dispute. She just bit her own lip.

We walked back to our rooms getting a few looks, from a handful of participants in the lobby. We were, pretty fucking loud. Bob Segar after party loud. Well two of us were.

When we got to the girl's room, Pam gave us a, "Be right out," and the three of them went in.

I don't think the door had shut all the way, before Pam reopened it and ushered us in. "Do you know how long that took?" She said, pointing at the two bodies, completely nude, entangled in hair and legs and pre-orgasmic grunts. "I made it to the bathroom, grabbed my stuff, put it in my suitcase and zipped it up. And when I turned around… That! I think they're on orgasm two already."

"Well. They have been teasing the shit out of each other for the last six hours." I thought out loud.

"And absolutely molesting each other for a good half hour, good point."

Emily was looking on with an unabashed curiosity, "Can you???" she queried Pam.

"No. And I don't think I want to try, I'd throw my hip out."

"Me neither. But, it looks… erotic."

"Mmm, Yeah it does. Too bad cranky here doesn't have his camera."

The two, if you could still call them separate entities, I mean they were connected, in more places, and wrapped around each other so tight, you could probably classify them as one being…

Sorry! Got lost there a sec.

The two girls, were so embroiled in each other, that for the second time, since we got back, they had no sense at all that they were, both, the center of a philosophical discussion, and an anatomical debate, between the two intrigued women flanking me.

"How?"

"I have no Idea."

"She's really flexible for a big girl."

"She's flexible for a, Snake."

Their bodies were slick and fevered. They both got quiet. And then a ripple grew. It started on the blonde and flowed across the brunette, then back. It got loud. Then repeated. Then got quiet. And repeated. A few times. They collapsed in a heap of humanity. Breathing heavy and deep.

As the gasps subsided a tenderness returned. And so did the notion, they weren't alone. Suzie giggled and hid her head in Carol's breast.

Carol's face was radiating a peaceful bliss, "Take a picture it'll last longer."

"I'll go get Nika and be right back," I half joked.

She looked at Suzie then back at me, "Hmm. Later. But only if we get copies."

"You can have the originals. But I may grab a copy of one or two."

She looked at Suze.

"Deal."

Pam and Emily were looking at each other, with an exceedingly, turned up interest. They both turned and looked right at me. Pam pulled me down and kissed my forehead. Em kissed me tenderly on the lips. Their heads brushed together and their lips almost met.

"You ready."

"Mmhm."

"Me too."

They tested and tasted and tendered. When the quick pecks and busses finally broke, they both put their hands around my back and escorted me to the hall. Pam had the cot in tow, for the second time today. I wondered, how many people thought of her as the crazy cot lady? Besides myself.

As we turned to head on, all we heard were giggles, softening, behind the closing door.

Other giggles took their place. Continuing, down the hall as we walked. Nervous, anxious, titters, that promised something fun between them. It echoed from their hearts, joyously off the walls.

The door clicked closed behind us. They hugged and kissed and undressed each other slowly.

I watched from the bathroom as I adjusted the heat. They were slow, in revealing things they had already seen, already bared. Anticipation and wonder seemed to blind their memory of that fact. They were patient with each other, unhurried and accepting.

The shower, was perfectly passed warm. I undressed and stepped into the stream. I closed my eyes and let the water burn the years.

I felt two hands slick up against my back, pressing a lather, with a friendly touch. Two more found my chest a little more sensually. I opened my eyes to see Emily. Burning. That look. That face. That life force.

When the last of the suds flowed off Emily's toes, we stepped out of the shower and wrapped ourselves up in one big terrycloth bundle. When we bumped into the bed, Emily's hand slipped around my hardness and she kissed Pam, slowly, down to the sheets. When she nuzzled herself, into a neatly trimmed, almost rose colored bush, she breathed deep. Then she turned her attention and took me knowingly with her mouth.

Pam just watched, with a passionate, transcendental, diligence. She adjusted her position and got a closer view. She reached out, with her right hand, and brushed Emily's hair from her face, bunching it up behind her neck. She kissed her on the jawline and cupped a breast in her left. Watching and teasing. Whispering.

Emily turned and kissed her.

I stepped back and watched them rise.

I slipped on my jeans, got my duffle and settled it up against the sissy bar. I retrieved my camera and a new card. Then I settled on the bike with my bare feet over the handle bars and my back pressed comfortably against the green canvas bag. I watched and snapped a shot now and then. They didn't seem to mind. Or maybe, they were so wrapped up they didn't even notice. They were attentive and tender. Gentle and inquisitive. They touched each other with words and an artisan's passion.

"I like to tease myself this way."

"Ooh that's nice. I like this way too."

"Oh shit, oh, mmm. That is nice. Hmm. Have you ever touched yourself here?"

"HUH. Mmmm, no but he did. Ooooohwaah."

"Yeah, I like it too. I love the way your eyes sparkle gold when I touch you."

"I love your breasts. They're just so full. How do you like these played with?"

"THAT's nice, Ooh that felt… hmm hm hmm You can definitely do that again."

They teased and tasted and nibbled and explored. Sometimes wrapped so tight you couldn't tell one from the other. Other times touching, only at the oddest spots, knee to knee, toe to toe, hair to hair, while they quietly took in each other, and strategized another onslaught.

"Whooo. Was that your tongue?"

"Mmhmm."

"Oh! You're a naughty girl."

"Uh hu."

Giggles mixed with moans and sighs, emerging into loving declarations. Sweat became scent and flooded the room in Venus's aphrodisia. The volume increased with every toss and turn. "Shit Em. You're gonna… oh God yes right…"

"Mmmmph mmmm mm mppph…"

"What?"

"I'm almost... Mmmph.""

"Oh right, there, yes. Oh yes, oh shit, shit, shit."

In a sensual struggle, of softness and fury, two bodies wrestled to find purchase on the edge. Clinging to it, as if, not to let it end, until the other relinquished her hold.

The Goddesses of Olympus, were having a competition.

Trying to work the other, passed the break, first.

Mouths opened in silence. And then, the grip was gone. They fell together and just kept pushing, until one last surge took their strength and gave them solace. And laughter. Quiet laughter. Soft declarations of,

"Mmmhmm."

Fingers twirled in black and blonde strands and brushed knowingly across widely grinning faces. A kiss. And then another. And then a softer one. A whisper and another soft echo of bliss. Four eyes turned and looked at me, with a satiated light, just as the shutter clicked, one last time, for the night.

I put the camera down and crossed the wooden floor, sat on the bed and leaned back to the headboard. Emily rose up, slowly, a glow on her face, and a smile in her eyes. She narrowed the distance and kissed me.

"She tastes good on your lips."

"She tastes good on hers too."

Pam sneaked a little closer, "You guys are making me feel like a fruit platter."

"You're more like Granny Hick's cheesecake, with apples, and a hint of clove." Emily teased, playing with the tab on my zipper, "Need input: Why do you have your pants on?"

"No reason in particular. Other than, bare ass and someone else's ride."

"Input received: No bare ass on friends seat, it's impolite. If it's not yours, no ass on seat. It's not nice."

"and could be hazardous to your health."

"Input Amended.

Pam fluffed her landing strip.

Emily looked down at her bush and pulled the hairs up, "Do you think I should trim mine like that?"

"Not for me. I love that full bush of yours."

"Me too," the little blonde pondered, "I might even grow mine back a little."

"I think I might trim it, a little. I think that looks fancier."

"But yours just looks so, womanly and it's nice, warm and tidy. And I love the way it feels against my cheeks."

I pulled Emily up against me, put my chin on her shoulder and looked down passed her breasts, grabbed a handful of her curly hairs, and gave a tug. "I love it just the way it is," I pulled it to the right and up.

"Mmmm. That's surprisingly relaxing. Hmmm that's nice."

Then I did circles.

"Hell. You could stop shaving under your arms and legs and I wouldn't care. It's kind of a turn on actually?"

"Really? You think so?"

"A little wild or tidy, yeah."

"I don't shave my legs, the hair never grew there."

"Lucky you." Pam offered.

"Why's that?"

"It's a chore and a half."

"Well, I always felt like I was missing out on some weird rite of passage."

"If I never had to pick up a razor again. That would be a happy day."

"Happy day to you then." I smiled, " Nim's of the same mind as me on that topic."

"Seriously?"

"As a blow out on I ninety five."

"This day just keeps getting better."

I pulled Emily tight and let my fingers dip lower between her legs. She was still wet with a mixture of, her own sex and Pamela's tongue. I cupped a breast and bit her shoulder. She ground her ass to my crotch, stroking me, between the top of her cheeks. She hummed and gazed into space as I kissed her behind her jaw.

I pushed Emily forward and kissed my way down her spine and started massaging her shoulders.

"You know? I never did get to finish giving you that massage. Hell. I never even got to your other foot."

She rolled her head on her neck slowly as I pushed my thumbs into her skin.

"I don't recall having minded. I did kind of molest you, after you did what you did down there."

She turned her attention to the blonde, who was attentively taking everything in, with her chin in her hands and her feet pressed up against her butt, "Did you know you could come from someone rubbing your feet?"

"No."

"Neither did I."

She relaxed out her breath as I gently pressed into her ribs and spine, pushing her a little more forward. I pushed my self flush with her and put my face next to hers. She rubbed her cheek against my scruff.

"You two are really, peaceful, together." Pam sighed. Positioning herself up against the wall, to get a more comfortable view.

"You look comfortable your self."

"Quite. Thank you."

"Mmmhmm."

I slid my hands up Em's sides, raising her hands above her head and guided her forward.

She turned her face toward the girl against the wall, and watched her touch all of her sensitive places. Her hair flowed to the mattress like slinky black strands of gold. I kissed my way down her back and let my tongue lead me, from her tailbone to her slit. She tensed, when the tip lightly grazed across her star. And again when it crossed that ridge of flesh below. And again when it slipped between her lips.

She looked back at me and caught me, staring from behind. Then she curved and kissed up the blonde's, thin yet muscular legs. I rose up and slid inside her, just as she buried her face between the athletic girls thighs.

My ears were greeted by three unified grunts.

I slid into Emily with long, slow strokes, as she suckled on her friend's wanting clit. Pamela caught my eye and she gave me a smile.

She was twirling her fingers through Emily's hair.

Then she locked her other fingers with mine. Around Emily's breast. Our foreheads touched and our tempo increased. A hand reached up and grabbed Pam's breast and squeezed. Her eyes went wide and glazed, then her chin hit my shoulder.

"Fuck," was the last intelligible word I heard.

She found herself back to the wall, and trembled. Holding tight to my hand and the full mound of flesh held in it.

Emily grunted and pushed back into me hard. Her ass cheeks parting then closing down with conviction. She leaned up and twisted her torso and kissed me, deep, with a shutter. And her breath in my lungs. Her hand grabbed at my ass, pulling me deeper, and my orgasm, flowed right into her. She pulled off me and turned pushing, me down, covering me completely with her form. She took Pam's hand and pulled her to us. Pam grabbed the blankets and cuddled us in.

----- C8 - Wednesday ----- Breakfast At Suzies. Or. The Girl Can Grind.

The room had a red purple air, when I opened my eyes, to a knock at our door.

Emily was still pressed over me, and Pam, well, Pam was half asleep, half playing walk about, with her fingers on Emily's butt. Walk up the hill, Ski down the hill.

I kissed Em's forehead and she looked up with half closed eyes. "Company." I said, shooting my look toward the hall. She rolled over and under, Pam was there to surround her.

I still had my pants on, so that was easy enough, just lift, buckle, zip.

"Yeah." I said opening the door. "Oh hey Steve."

"Have a note for you from the company lady."

"Cool. Thanks. You done for the day."

"Yeah. Sorry to wake ya. Have a good day."

I looked back at the two bodies huddled up, fast asleep. "You have a good one too."

I climbed back into bed and both girls stretched. Emily gave Pam a kiss, then she turned her lips attention to mine. "What do you have there?"

"A note from Suze."

"Enquiring?"

"She wants to buy us breakfast in a half hour. You gonna join us Pam?"

"No. I'm not much on breakfast. This early anyway. I might just set the cot up and stare out the window and read. You know, enjoy a nice lazy day in bed for a change. If you guys don't mind that is. The view is more open in this room than my old one."

"My room is your crash pad. Em?"

"Mmhmm."

We got up and showered and then I left for the meet up. Emily stayed and helped Pam set up some space. They were still in the shower when I left.

When I entered the eating hall I saw Suzie sitting at a table by the window. Her back to me. I grabbed a coffee from the nook and made my way over. I stopped just on the edge of her sight.

She had a look. A completely different look than her usually serious, hard-nosed countenance. It wasn't love requited, or even lust fulfilled. It was like something had returned. A sense of a purpose. An amused sense of the chaos and flow that's around us every moment. She was staring out the window like it was the backdrop her thoughts took shape on. She felt a presence and her attention fell on it, "Hey."

"Suze."

"You know. I used to hate that name. It always sounded, like a ditzy, fuck toy's name to me. Or one of those Barbie dolls you'd see on a screen test line. All, look at me, look at me. Ain't I pretty. Worship in my stunning fucking radiance."

"You know. That's how you came off the first time we met. Suzzanne."

"Really?"

"Oh, Yeah. Stiff, Holier than thou. Almost arrogant."

"And here I thought I was just maintaining a professional attitude. Why do people feel like we have to change to fit a position."

"Especially considering that, that you, is probably what got you there in the first place. So what changed your mind about it?"

"I found out… I like, being somebody's, ditzy, fuck toy."

"Can I tell you something about that?"

"I guess. As long as you're not gonna creep me out."

"Touche. I'm still up by six though."

"Asshole."

"Back to seven."

Three plates arrived with bacon and eggs and pancakes and hash browns and sausage and toast with fresh butter and homemade fucking jellies.

Marisol put them on our table with a really weird smile. She chuckled and turned away.

"Good morning Sparkie!"

"Yes." and she was gone.

"That was odd."

"I guess her breakfast was, damp." I received confused eyes, "She eats at that table… You were there, put it together. Anyway, what I wanted to say was. What you guys did last night, was far, far, far, from fucking. It was a spiritual awakening, wrapped up in a, wild abandon, with a side order of massive temporal distortion."

She lit up. The light bulb flashed and she remembered she had had an audience.

"That girl makes me forget there's a world outside her arms. I'm… hmmmph."

She looked up to the cloud line with a grin.

"Yep, Temporal Distortion. So, what's up?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well you look like you were heavy in thought. Not in a bad way. More like an amused at life kind of way."

"You know, you're a lot more intuitive than you let on."

"Forged from being on the outside looking in, as a youth, and refined by, being on the outside looking further out, as an adult."

"Oh you're an adult, huh."

"Don't let my Ivy League, boyish charms fool ya."

"Ha. It's nice meeting someone that doesn't take themself seriously."

"If you pay attention to life, she'll knock that right out of ya. If you're lucky."

"Or throw you on a bed and strip you of it." She joked.

"That too." I heartily agreed, watching a girl, in a black skirt and white tank top, walk into my view. She grabbed a coffee. Suze caught my eye and grinned, "She really got you huh?"

"When one being from two worlds, from two universes, crosses over and find themselves side by side in another place."

She mused, "Something about, this place?"

"If you consider, everywhere you happen to be, as, this place. Then yeah, this place."

Emily turned and saw us chat watching. She made her way across the floor and joined us.

"God I love the way she makes that skirt glide."

"She does have a certain grace. I noticed it when she was getting on the bus. Wow, that just flashed in my head. Man was my head up my ass."

"Took a look. Got a sense. But pushed it away instead of seeing where it leads."

"Yes."

"Yeah, Don't do that anymore, you'll be fine."

"One can only hope."

She sat on my lap sideways, "Hi," facing the thought filled blonde, "You look… different, this morning."

"Is it, THAT! Out there?"

"We were just getting to the source of that, maybe," I shared with my seat mate. Then I turned back to Suze, "So! What is going on? In that ditzy, fuck toy, brain of yours?"

"Jack ass… Are you always like this?"

"Only on Tuesdays."

"But today's… Nevermind.

We each took bites of our breakfast. And the conversation stopped. Until the last piece of grease was on the last piece of toast.

"That I'm gonna miss." Suze declared, "I think I gained ten pounds since we got here."

I looked her up and down, "Where?"

"In my ass."

"And her back."

"You sound happy about that."

"I am. I miss my sport weight. I looked good, I felt good. This. Isn't me. As much as people tell me I should love the way I look, I looked so much better the other way. To me. And then I go walking into a room to see where my life is going. And this girl, with the same body I used to love on me. She's flirting and I'm wondering why? Why me? She's honestly trying to help me with my problem. And there's something, right there. But why? And then we scroll to my old summer camp's memory page. And there I am in my volley ball gear. You know the cheesy ball under an arm pic.

I felt loss.

The next thing I know, I'm… undone, my flesh is bare and alive and I'm really just waking up. It honestly did feel like that, but I remember everything that led to it. Her hair, her touch, her taste, her nipples digging into my chest. Her eyes, her love, her warmth. She fed me and consumed me."

Emily watched Suzies face with a half cocked head.

Suze came back to earth.

"What?"

"Temporal Displacement flashback."

"Shit."

"Act One, Scene One. We were there for Act Two and Three. But thanks for catching us up."

"Mmmhmm."

"Oh right I keep forgetting that part. So where were… Shit. Okay. You were there, when Bill told me about his daughter in law, right?"

"Finally! Thank you Em."

"Mmhhhm."

"Catering company in the city. Carol got the info from him, while gramps was telling me Edith's quirks, and load out."

"Yeah. Well it turns out her office is three blocks away from Carol's apartment. She's walked passed it a few times going to her favorite pizza place."

"And?"

"And. Bill saw me in the lobby, about an hour and a half ago, rumbling through thoughts of my future. I still smelled like her, it just surrounds me… I'm so FUCKED…"

"In a very good way." Em completed.

"Yeah it is… Anyway he chatted me up some. Then he called her up. She interviewed me on the phone and hired me. Probationary. She's even got a spot for Carol if she wants. That girl may have saved my life."

"Man, you are really bad at this team building thing, aren't you."

"Nnnnn. Yeahah. I don't know what I was thinking with this. I ran summer camps for kids and this, seemed like a step in the 'mature' direction. Question mark. It just isn't… as fulfilling."

"You seem to be okay in the family building though."

"Thanks."

Emily was staring at a deer just passed the window, just listening. I pulled a strand of hair back from her face and kissed her temple. She wiggled in and got more settled.

"You guys are cute. The age between you gets lost when your together and your… there's such openness."

"We've been told. But you know, girls mature faster than boys. I figure we're on about the same level. She's got me in some ways."

"And he's more practiced in others."

"So we fit."

"Well I would love to stay here and chat. But I need to go wake someone up and tell her the news. Then get on with whatever this is. Just a couple more days. If you see her higher than ten feet off the ground later, give her a rope, please. I don't want that one floating away."

She kissed my cheek and shook, "That tickles. She's gotta grow that bush back." Then she gave Em a quick kiss too. Emily grabbed her by the hand before she could rise, "Wake her up with your head between her legs. It's a really nice way to get lulled from your sleep. Trust me."

"I'll… Hmmm… You guys are... Now I really have to go. Have a great day you two."

"You too, Suze."

"It already is and I think it just might get better." She laughed as she walked away.

"I'll get my camera and see you in a few."

"Tonight. I'll leave the curtains open."

"I'll sell tickets."

"Ha. You do that. I could use the money for the movers." And just like that she vanished around the corner.

"Did she just shake her ass at us?"

"Yes, I think she did." Emily got up, turned and straddled me. She put her arms around me and cuddled in, "You know. Good things seem to follow in your wake."

"Better things seem to follow in yours. Me, I don't see it quite like that. It's more like, I'm lucky enough to be where the good things are, or are about to happen. And if bad things abound, I just happened to be blessed with a desire to want to see them made better, and a surprising knack to somehow get them there. Some times. My save percentage isn't Vezina level, but it's a good deal above average."

"Hmmm. I think, even if it was only one out of a hundred, it'd still be worth it. There's always a chance the next will be number two."

"One can only hope. C'mon. We got some wind to grab."

We took a quick scoot to The Gen.

How can I give you a taste of The Gen?

It was stone and logs and windows without glass, only screens. And fold up storm shutters that folded down to display tables. It had a concrete slab to the left of the porch, with parking spots three feet wide. Which is where I was parked. In Big's spot. There was a hitching post and a trough to the right. It had a big, still usable, wagon bay, with sunken access to do undercarriage work. Under, Horse and Carriage, work. The rest of the parking lot was modest sized with spaces for maybe fifteen cars.The inside smelled like leather and spices and fertilizer and jerky and coffee and hay and… pickled something. Lot's of pickled somethings. It was stocked with, food stuffs, rifles, fishing supplies, garden and farm implements, almost every damn thing you might need, including clothes. Which jumped the spectrum from jeans and work shirts right up to country style chic. A lot of which were hand crafted, on commission. It was also the main Post Office, telegraph and notary and something else.

"Gas."

"Thanks Em. Gas! Alllll kinds of it. And I mean that, even in the most biological way."

"Mmhmm."

Emily searched through the racks for her size. It didn't take her long to find a healthy fit. It was the norm up this way. She bought a pair of jeans and some practical boots. Sarah showed her where to change.

I eyed up this nice, dark brown vest. It had decorative stitching and some nice buffalo-horn toggles. It was sloped, to a bit longer back than the front. Laces crossed the back with some flair. Looked like it was made for a horse riding. I handed her the bag through the door while she dressed.

I felt a hand grab my shoulder and spin me around. She was standing there with the jeans, undone, and the vest, unbuttoned. Sans bra. Like a cowgirl out on the range, just chillin. She kissed me hard and fast, then bounced back in.

No camera. That's picture's mine.

The hinges squeaked. She walked out, sniffing the leather all the way to the curb. My flannel shirt tied around her waist like a skirt. A thin white tank top stretched underneath her nose's fancy. She moved like, I love this. And greeted me the same.

We took the long winding road to town. Ending our trip, at the top of a decent sized driveway, in front of a modest, one story home. The screen door closed and the lady of the house came out, to greet us, "I've got to meet Lani at the bank real quick. You guys'll be here when I get back?", and then to leave us.

"More than likely."

"Good." She stepped back from her hug and held Emily at arms length, "Yeah. That's you. I have a pair of chaps that'll match that vest wonderfully. I'll fish em out when I get home."

"You don't have too."

"They haven't fit me since I was your size, starting high-school. They're broken in, but far from worn, and they're just sitting in the dresser, being lonely. Might be a bit tight. But tight is good for more reasons than none. (they don't get torn off as easy, being one.) Time they got a new home. And I think those legs will be a nice one for em. Gotta run. He's out back in the shed, gates open," and Thundera, was… I was gonna say quiet, but I could still hear her.

We opened the side gate and stepped into the backyard, through a fence that was flush with the back of the house. The view opened up into a wide open field about five times as long as it was wide. The cobblestone patio sleeked to the left and encircled a fifteen by twenty foot, rectangular pool. Sunken. A waterfall, maybe five foot high and eight foot long, looking like it just sprout up there, emptied it's waters over the far corner of the pool, in a steamy reunion.

"It's Wow." She meant that in her best Leeloooooo Dalll lass mooooltiiii pass. If you don't get it, that's your loss.

"Thanks Miss Emily."

"Mmmhmm."

"It's nothing like I pictured it when you told me the plans, that's fucken tits brother."

"It's nothing like we pictured it either. Sam tears up almost every time she walks out the slider."

"I love the way the water looks like it just appears."

"Like it materializes in a ball, right above the big stone. I'm taking pics this week. Em? Care to take your clothes off under that."

"Only if you take them off me."

"It's a deal. Those meatheads did good."

"This is All Beccah. Our contractor flaked and left us with a ton of materials in a heap. She put all this together. She saw all this stuff just waiting to become something and she did this. She even tied the system into the pool's heat and filtration. That's why you get that nice bit of steam, on days like this. It's all her vision, dad helped her with all the rock work. We came home to this. In a weekend. You're early, she's gonna think we're up to something."

"She left for the bank."

"That should be enough time."

"Why exactly do you need me to weld anyway? You're the one that taught me."

He held out his hands, "These mitts won't fit in some spots. And she'd be happy that you put something into it. She'll be even happier that I thought about askin you both."

"Then let's have some fun."

We went to the workshed. It was actually a prefab hanger, big enough for one, single engine plane. The four bikes barely took up any room. It was decorated with lifts and stands, work benches and tools. With an honest to god Ye Olde Americana type forge, tucked into the far left corner. I finished the more intricate welds and ground down any imperfections.

Emily softened up some of the hard edges with the Dremel, "I've never used power tools."

"Just find your tempo." Tank encouraged.

"That red switch there controls the speed. Adjust it up and down until it matches your hand speed and pressure. You'll know it, when you see an even line behind the bit and you feel the flow."

She gave an understanding nod and tested away.

When she found that flow, she got a gleam, she broke the code, "This has been a week, to say the least."

Tank was setting up the torch, "How so?"

"Hmmm? Where to start? First time with power tools. First time on a bike. First time at a party. First time having my picture taken other than school and parents. First time I've been nude in front of anyone but a doctor. First time skinny dipping. First time I haven't stuttered since I was eight. First time someone carried my suitcase… First kiss. First time with a boy. First time with a girl."

"And the adventure is just beginning."

"One can only hope."

"Not many people know this."

"Everybody knows this Squatch."

"Okay so a lot of people know this, Sam was actually my first. Not my first kiss. But my first anything beyond."

"Really? But you're???"

"Up there. Yep. I was a chubby kid. Not the pick of the litter. Then I got fat. I read a lot. My dad kept me active with work, but I was a bookworm. Then I got really fat. High school came and the spurt hit. I was laid up in bed, and in seven months, I went from four foot nothin to this."

"Ouch," Emily stretched.

"If getting a bar stool broken on your back is ouch. Then yeah, that, everywhere. I was lucky I had put on so much weight or I wouldn't have made it. I was hospitalized twice. I went back to school having to duck in the halls. Needless to say the women weren't exactly flocking. But by then I had gotten used to it and occupied myself with things I enjoyed. Dad gave me his old Panhead and she was my world. Then there was Sam. Fuzznuts. You tell her?"

"Yeah Sam told her to ask me quietly."

"Good, saved her from Dad's rambling. So where was I?"

"Sam."

"Thank's. There this girl stumbling through Packards. She's fucked up. Half dead. Filled with defiance. Seething with a need to survive, and a venom to not let those fuckers get the better of her. I took one look at her and for the first time, felt like I had missed something."

"You know squatch that's probably the most eloquent I've ever heard you. Didn't know you had it in ya."

"Laugh it up fuzznuts. I tone down my rhetoric around you, so you can com, pre, hend."

"Touche."

"You know what that Gruff, cranky, oratorial old man has to say."

"Asshole?"

"Yeah but he cheated, he said, 'Took me four tries to get it right, you got it right on the first, never thought I'd ever see it. You got me. Peckerhead."'

Tank heated the entire project up with an oxy-acetylene, flame thrower. When it had an all round glow, he dipped it in a vat of fifty weight. Oh, this was outside, way way way outside.

A two dimensional tree, separated, a pegasus, rearing up with wings expanded, and a phoenix, rising from it's own fire, facing away from each other. In wire frame. It's color was a deep blue, almost gun blue, with a noticeable prismatic sheen. And temper marks. The man has skills.

"Thanks for the help you two. Sam's been making quite the collection of earrings, they'll look tits hanging on this at swap."

Sam returned and found us in the back, laughing it up at the archery range. She grabbed Emily and disappeared into the house.

They came out of the house a few minutes later with beer and soda and juice. Emily was donning a new set of leg wear. They caressed her shape nicely and they matched the vest like the were made as a set. Even the lacing going down the back of the legs.

The four of us laid back in recliners. Emily and Sam discussed business. Me and Tank were just their seat cushions, staring into the night without a care.

"When you coming back up?"

"I don't know. I might stay a few days past this thing. I miss this, I need a refill bad. One of the people we met, Pam, needs a ride to Nim's. And I'm not going back with that bunch anyway. You haven't met Pam yet have you?"

"Nope."

"You're in for a treat. Reminds me of Lani. Her timing is a little advanced, but she's got Nim's keys."

"Seriously?"

"I wouldn't shit you about that. He wants to meet at the pond."

"And what about you."

"I'm all in…"

Sam got loud and Emily started laughing.

"...I do have to get back downstate eventually. Settle somethings, and do the logistics, we'll see where things fly. I'll definitely be this way come the fourth. Come hell or high water."

Sam broke our conversation, "Hey Frank, why don't you show Joe the newest addition."

"Meet me by the firing line. Sam got us a new fifty cal," he said, with a shit eating grin. It was a very unsettling look if you didn't know the man. Think crazed bear, with a, how sweet, fresh meat, leer.

"Damn bro. I feel like I'm the only goalie at a slap shot contest."

"At least you stayed up. Meat and Big both went on their asses. Nice group. Practicing?"

"Never. Ever since Boy Scouts, it's just something that felt, innate."

"All in huh."

"Fuck yeah."

"Good."

"Thanks."

The ladies came walking up with drinks. "Suffice it to say. I'd go through it all over again, to meet that man. It wasn't love at first sight, but it was love at first sight, with opened eyes."

"It was a bit different for me. It was like a moment that I realized I was still me and I had been the whole time. It wasn't like he changed or completed me or even made me shine. It was like, he grew out of me, like… "

"You and he, were always there, just idling?"

"Mmmhmm. Yeah, something like that."

Emily handed me a cola. I gave her a kiss and took a big draw, "Thanks. What are you two chattin' bout?"

"Things, boys don't understand."

"Oh. We understand. We just pretend not to."

"Cause we like to hear you girls explain it."

"You guys staying over?" Sam asked.

"Not tonight. Maybe after I bring that beast back. Speaking of which it's getting late and I don't want to cause anymore of a disturbance."

We finished our drinks, shot of a few more rounds. That fucker was loud. And kicked like a construction cone at fifty miles an hour. Trust me on that one too.

Then we headed off, back into the hills.

----- C- Chaos Factor - Over the hill ----- WTF Is That Sparkle. Or. Thank You.

We were half way back to the lodge, just crossing over a rise, when flashing lights broke the dark. I slowed passed a pick up with it's blinking lights on and caught another flash of light, reflecting off something shiny, in a shallow ravine on the other side of the road. I put the bike on it's stand, told Emily, I'd be right back and I ran across the street. There, I saw a guy looking at an upturned Jeep wagon. That's all. Just lookin. The tires were spinning, the engine was running and gas was dripping down the side. And the guy was just standing there.

"Is anyone inside?"

"Yes."

I took a quick look around. All the windows were still in tact. Not a crack. So I ran to the back grabbing all the handles on the way, even the tailgate didn't budge. I gave a quick search for a rock or anything that could possibly break in. Nothing. So I sat on the ground and kicked at the glass. All I managed to do, was push myself away.

After the third try I was about to… I don't know what I was about to do. Still don't. But it seemed I didn't have to find a recourse. Because I felt a body, press against my back. A flash of long black hair caught my peripheral. I heard heels kick into the dirt. The body pushed against me like a brace. I gave another kick and the window shattered.

I pointed to the gas.

Sharp, tiny shards bit into my skin as I crawled on my back through the wreck. I turned the ignition and the lights off. Then I tapped the suspended face awake. She woke up in a panic.

Somehow, I got her to focus and she stared at me with glazed and confused eyes.

"Listen. We need to get you out of here. I need you to tell me if anything hurts or if you can't feel where I'm touching."

She shook her head and focused.

"My knee throbs a little and I have a headache."

"Okay, I'm going to touch you now, I'll try to be gentle, just let me know if there's pain."

I did a quick assessment of her limbs and torso, her knee was swollen but not too bad, her ribs were tender on the right side. She had a small gash on her left shoulder. There were napkins in the car so I shoved them under her shirt and used her bra strap to hold em in place. She kept mumbling about her mother.

After I judged her condition, I decided it was more than worth the risk to move her. All we needed was an errant spark, lightning, a cigarette from a passing car and… I would rather not relive those visions. I unlocked her door and pushed it open. It stuck against the ravines rise and refused to budge. I unlocked the passenger door and it thankfully obliged, enough to let us out, anyway.

"Alright I am going to prop you up, with my back against your thighs, and undo your belt. When you're free, try and help me lower you down."

I pushed my shoulder blades up against her and undid her seat belt, then I cautiously lowered her to the roof. She managed to push enough with her good arm so I could crawl back and away. I got her out of the car and two more hands reached in to help me. Then two more showed up to help me out. She stood up, saw the guy, in the cops headlights by the road, and went to him. She hugged him.

Emily grabbed my waist and the cop asked us to wait by the bike.

"She's gonna need an ambulance, possible broken ribs, a pretty banged up knee, her left shoulder is gonna need stitches and there's a good possibility she has a concussion."

"It's on it's way, along with fire and rescue, I'll pass that on."

We walked back in the direction it looked like she drove from.

"Where are we going?" Em asked.

"She said her mother was in the car with her. She also said that her mother was driving, but just to be on the safe side, let's give a look and a listen."

"Do you think she flew out of the car? That would be horrible."

"Nah. There's no sign of that. I've heard people say that, someone took the wheel, or they felt like they were being carried, when they were asked, how the hell they survived, 'that'. I've even felt a presence guide me one or two, hundred times. My guardian angel better be getting a good paycheck. Maybe this one has a long gone relative that looks just like her mom."

"Hmm. I… I understand. Not to many people get it though. They give you weird looks just for thinking like that."

"Oh! They get it. They just don't want to admit it. Cause then they'd need to check themselves."

We got up to the top of the rise. Nothing. The ambulance pulled up and there was no more sense to listening anymore. So we walked back to the bike and sat in the grass.

"You're bleeding."

"Where?"

"Your shoulder."

I took a look, "I've had worse."

She shook her head, kissed mine and went to the meat wagon. She came back with some alcohol, saline, tape and gauze. I took the alcohol and poured it on my shoulder, and cringed. I think I may have even peed a little.

"That was to clean her blood off, not your wound," and she gingerly blotted and blew at the cuts. Washing them out with saline. Okay, that was a lot better. Still alcohol kills everything.

And cuts? They were more like bramble bites. Or irritated thorn scratches. Nothing more. But after I poured the alcohol on them it was like, paper cut with a nitrous boost. I think my eyes were close to bleeding.

Fire and Rescue and two tow trucks pulled up. The ambulance drove away. That guy, got back in his truck and followed. Orange lights flashed circles over head.

"Sorry to keep you waiting." The officer coughed.

We broke our kiss but not the hug.

"Before you ask, We can't help. All we saw was hazard lights and spinning tires."

He handed me a bundle,

"What's this?"

"A tee shirt, and a bag for yours."

"Is my shirt evidence now?"

"No. You smell like the 76."

"Oh. Thanks. Still, I got here and that guy already had his flashers on."

While I swapped my old Spartanburg Harley tank for a County Sheriff's half sleeve, with a pocket, the conversation continued.

"Yeah I figured. You two already helped enough. But I need to ask. Did you see any sign of anybody else having been in the car with her?"

"I did not. All the windows were in tact. All the doors were locked. No extra pocketbook, no shoes. Nothing. I tried keeping an ear out when we walked up the road. Nada. I don't think anyone was in the car with her. But if you have an extra flashlight I'll help you take a look."

The radio chattered from his car. "That might not be necessary. Can you hold on a bit longer just in case?"

"Em?"

"I'm fine."

"She's fine I'm fine."

He went to the car and pulled the mic to his face. A few words later and he made his way back, "False alarm."

"And, mom's fine."

"Been home all night."

"I had a hunch."

"You look familiar. From around here?"

"Nah, I do come up now and then, to see some, family, though."

"Anybody I might know? I've lived here a long time."

"Maybe. Big Frank and Tank, Sam and…"

"Stop. It just clicked."

"Yeah?"

"Big Frank's, fourth, twentieth birthday."

"Yeah! I survived that."

"Me too. Barely."

"Great now I'm having flashback hangover."

Emily laughed and smoothed the tape out.

"Ugh don't remind me… You know, I've know Sam since we where knee high. She told me what you did to Douglas."

"Douglas?"

"Jester."

"Figures he'd be a Douglas. Why do parents name their kids, Douglas. Am I to assume the position now?"

"Hah. NO! He's lucky I wasn't on duty that night. That weasley prick would have 'escaped my custody' and gotten lost in pieces in the landfill." he leaned past and looked at Em, "Sorry for the language, ma'am."

"No offense taken, Sir." She pulled the shirt over the bandage and worked it down.

"Whatever happened to pencil neck? I never gave him much thought til I was telling her the story."

"Hmm. He took eighty stitches to the face, lost his voice and half the use of his right arm. She caught him just right. When he was waiting trial, corrections officers found him in an empty cell, with his pants around his ankles and his face deep in a toilet."

"That's a shame?"

"What?"

"Look, I don't believe people, need to die, for their to be a positive change. But if God saw fit that he be removed from the planet… it's a shame that nobody had the courtesy to flush for him."

"Ha ha ha. Oh shit… Fuck. I needed that. He wouldn't have ever gotten out anyway. His dads in for life because of that night, his brothers and quite a number of their friends too."

"How so?"

"They tried pinning it on her as a robbery. Family names you know. But I 'know' Sam, so did half the other cops. We knew what she'd been through as a kid, we grew up with her. How she managed to stay righteous… I'll never know. She's a sweet heart and an ass buster, if she didn't earn it, it isn't hers. Theft, just wasn't her way. So instead of finding her, we got warrants for the bar. It was the location of the robbery, and we needed to investigate. Them chuckle heads didn't even consider covering their tracks. They were more worried about keeping their bread and butter from dying. Probable cause was a broken pencil and torn women's clothes. Blood, a broken window, three pounds of coke, right on the desk, meth, a ledger that lead to human trafficking and kiddie porn charges. I'm surprised you didn't read it in the papers."

"Not big on the articles, I just like the pictures. Not a big reader when it comes to the news."

"Can't blame ya. Alright, I kept you guys long enough and I have to write this mess up. Oh, I'm Henry by the way, my friends call me Hank."

"She's Em, I'm Joe. You be safe Hank, good meeting ya. Again ish."

"Nice to meet you Em. Good seeing you too… Wolf. You guys have a safe ride home. Shiny side up. Thanks for looking out."

"Not a problem, brother. Rubber side down."

We pulled up to the lodge and shut the bike down. It was two in the morning and the place was dark. We walked the bike up the drive, then to our room, and carefully rolled it to the tarp, trying our best, not to wake our sleeping guest.

She was curled up on her cot like a little bunny in it's burrow, over the covers, wearing nothing but her book.

We grabbed the extra blankets and tucked her in. Took a hot, hot shower and crawled into bed still damp.

"Thanks for the help tonight. I was at a loss."

"It was the least I could do. I've seen a look like that before. And I needed to be there."

"What look?'

"Like a part of you was about to die."

She crawled over me and kissed me. Then she put her nose to mine. I felt her fingers whisper through my hair pushing it passed my ear.

"She didn't even thank you did she."

"She was banged up. I doubt she…"

She shut me up, with a well placed hand, and an even better placed set of lips, "I'll say thank you for her."

"If it wasn't for you, that might have turned out much different, so it's only fair, I share the gratitude, back. Thank you."

"Mmmmhmm."

She rode me through three orgasms. When her fourth one came it dragged mine with it. We fell asleep damper than when we crawled into bed. She was still around me.



----- C9 - Thursday, the second time around ----- Once You Wake Up. Or. Bunkhouse And A Crazy Cot Lady.

I woke up to a nose using my chest like a scratch pad.

Pam was nestled beside me. But I knew that before I pried opened my eyes. She was staring, passed my chin, at Emily. She loved to watch her sleep.

"She's so beautiful, so content."

"You ain't half bad yourself this morning. You look like you had a very pleasant night."

"Yeah. That thing is really comfortable and I love falling asleep with a good book, even if it is a text book. Waking up, in the middle of a dream, to a very nice show, was kinda nice too," she winked, "You think they'd let me buy it?"

"The cot? They have them at The Gen, down the road."

"Good to know. But I really want that one. It has… memories. And it's already broken in."

"If it's so comfortable then why are you in this lumpy thing."

"I wanted a little more warmth," She jostled. "Thanks for tucking me in last night."

"No worries."

"You're welcommhmmmm." Emily stretched pulling the covers tighter.

"What do you have planned for the day?"

"I'm going to slip into something stringy and sit on the lounge reading. That book is very informative. That man can write. How about you?"

Emily twisted and got more comfortable, "Mr. Hicks, extra days." she reminded me.

"Good call. I'll be right back and let you know."

I sat up and Emily followed, she checked out my shoulder then gave it a kiss and flopped back into the warm pile of bedding. I threw on some jeans and an old Lynyrd Skynyrd tee and went out the door barefoot.

Gramps shot me a look as I stepped to the counter, "Good Mornin. Nice to see you're finally comfortable here. What can I do for?"

"Yeah it is, Yes I am and, I hope yours is too."

"Standin, breathin and nobody's shootin at me. What you need?"

"I was wondering about the possibility of staying a few more days."

"Welp, we're kinda booked up this week end. Next week we only have a handful of guests. Should be planning on bringing the horses over to thin out the grass and resupply some fertilizer. Let's see. You could have the bunk house. It's gotta pot belly, an icebox and a bathroom, with a tub though, no shower. We only use it these days for the kids when they come up around the holidays."

"And you wouldn't mind?"

"I'll have Marisol set you up with blankets and the like."

"A week?"

"Sure. As long as you need. You seem like you're at a bit of a crossroads. And Mare's taken a liking, So."

"Funny. It feels like more of a round-a-bout, that's been heading in a straight line."

"Ha Ha Ha. I hope you never lose that."

"Me too."

"If you want you can move your stuff in there tonight. I'll grab the keys for the room later."

"Nah. We're comfortable for now, besides we don't want to leave our roommate hanging."

"That feisty little filly from the rope wall? Don't worry about her, there's a ton of room in there, you'll all fit. That girls got what my dad used to call gumption. She beat my time hands down."

"That she does. She got me too. Speaking of, she may want to take a certain item of interest away from here. Is there anyway we can barter on that cot?"

"That's one of the oddest requests I've had in a long time. Maybe ever. I'll tell you what. I'll ring up The Gen and tell em you guys are going to pick up my order, you can take the shuttle, and I'll add one cot to the list. She can have it, or that one, for doing me that service. Then I can take Miss May to dinner."

"I'll let her know. And make sure you leave me a list of chores for the week. No good deed you know."

"I'll post em on the chalkboard in the mud room. You need transportation?"

"I might. As much as I'd like to hold on to that beautiful beast, I've been lucky so far, I'd hate to ding her."

"Well, there's an old Triumph in the shed, may need a little grease to fire up. She doesn't have the rumble but you're welcome to her. The plates are legal, at least they were. And if you ding her up it'd just add to her character."

"Enjoy dinner. Much appreciated, Gruncle."

"Don't mention it. Fuzznuts."

I got back to the room and my roommates were in the cot together, checking the pics on Em's laptop. "How'd it go?"

"Good. Real good. We have a week or more if we want. We have a ride, a new place to crash and some purpose to fill our days."

"You guys are staying here?" Pam asked, excitedly.

"Yep. You remember that big guy that came with the bikes."

"How could I not? I thought someone trained a yeti to ride a bike."

"Sasquatch actually, and he's gonna come and pick you up and take you to Nimbuwe's, and get you the lay of the land. Then he's gonna come get us, where we're dropping the bike off. And then he's going to bring us all back here. You can stay with us in the bunkhouse, or have the room to yourself, or stay at Nim's."

"You guys! Bunkhouse! Thanks."

"Not a problem little sister. You don't have a problem shoveling a bit of horse shit, do ya Em?"

"I.. don't.. think I would, I don't know, never done it. Horses? Where?"

"They're bringing them up on Monday, turns out they used to have trail rides, until the insurance went through the roof."

"You think we could ride them?"

"I don't know. We'll have to ask Sparkie later. Somewhere along the line we ALL need to go down to The Gen to pick up an order, as barter for somebody's cot. We'll ask her when we drop off the supplies."

"No fucking way. I get to keep this one though? Right?"

"If you want. You could try out the new one."

"No need," she kissed the mattress, "She's mine. She's all mine. Aren't you? My comfy wumfy bundle of cozy wozy joy… "

After Pam was done celebrating the newest addition to her life, we all jumped in the shower and washed each other up. There was nothing sexual about it. It was just innocent, good natured, caring, fun.

Pam put on a swimsuit and skipped out to the deck. I swear it was just a few pieces of string, tied somewhat strategically to resemble a swimsuit. Sorta? But she looked happy with it.

Emily and I went to grab some breakfast and spied Carol and Suze feeding each other cupcakes. They saw us at the coffee nook and Carol waved us over.

"How are my two favorite rug munchers today?"

Carol had a mouth full of food, that I swear was just a tickle away from spraying out. Her eyes were big.

Suze, looked depressed, "She's the only rug muncher here, I don't get to enjoy that, tickly, fuzzy feeling."

"Yet." Carol chimed, shoving a bite of cupcake in Suze's mouth.

Suze perked up. "Yemmph. Youff knuwff…" she swallowed, "I know you're trying to fatten me up, Carebear, but if you want THAT body, back on THESE bones, we're gonna need something healthier than cupcakes and Twinkies."

"Shall I get a cheesecake?"

Coffee, damn near came out of my nose. My three companions laughed so loud, people leaned back to get a better look.

After the curiosity and the merriment waned, Carol whispered in Suzie's ear. Suzie nodded, "They already know, they kind of knew before you. Sorry."

"That's okay, I'm actually flattered that you felt like sharing."

"I was really trying to let you know first, but they were just…"

"Pains in the ass?" I offered.

"I was thinking relentless, but that'll do too."

A few more minutes passed, and Pam joined us.

"I thought you weren't an, eat in the morning gal."

"It's twelve fifteen."

"Hmm. Go figure."

"You guys are still here from this morning?"

"Mmmhmm," Emily hummed, pulling Pam to her lap, "Bacon?"

"There some left?"

There wasn't, so we ordered another round of breakfast. Pam ordered breakfast and a big lunch. She caught me eyeing up her second burger. Her eyes went taut, she kept on chewing. I couldn't help but laugh.

She swallowed, "Hey I've watched you put down a good portion too, old man."

"I have a retarded metabolism."

"Me too."

"I tried that no eating breakfast trick. Sounds plausible in theory. But it doesn't work."

"I know. Nothing works. I can pound down food," she gestured at her shape, " and not an ounce."

"They used to tell me, 'wait until you hit thirty, then you'll be sorry'. That came and went, and still. I can eat five, six, meals a day, and nothing."

"How old, are you?"

"Three Fifteen in dog years, About seventeen in the brain. I'm curios though. If you can pound it down, then why not pound down breakfast too?"

"Divide by seven is forty… Hmmm. What? Oh! Why no breakfast… Because, by lunch time, I'm famished. I'm, energized hungry. The food tastes better and I can eat like a beast. Tearing into my food like a lioness after a good kill. I love it."

"I can see that, it's all over your face. All over it."

She just grinned and took another bite, "Mmmmmphf."

"I'm more of the three or four, take your time savoring it, meals a day kinda guy."

"I get that. Dinner is usually that way. A long, slow, meditative, relax and enjoy experience. And then there's dessert, ohh."

"Mmm. Especially when it's shared, off someone." I nodded at our two lesbian friends kissing the maple syrup away.

"Such a perv."

"I'll never deny that. But I will clarify, I, am a reflective perv."

"A what?"

"A reflective perv. See this girl right here?" Emily perked. "You've seen her, You've felt her."

"Yeah she has." Em grinned.

"She likes vanilla, mechanically speaking, but she's full blown jalapeno passionately. She just rides me and enjoys me, and she let's me love, touching and tasting all those places that make her shiver and warm all at once. We're soft, quiet and passionate and I'm home with that. Really home. It's like I'm the windows and she's the doors. Like she's the fireplace and I'm the firewood and together we're the warmth and the crackle of the hearth. But let's say you and I were together, and you… liked being spanked. Because you liked the tingle, the jolt. Well then, I'd be into spanking. Hell, even if you wanted me to pee on you, because you liked the feel of the warmth and wet rolling down your stomach, or your back. Then I would enjoy, the way that golden hued liquid, smoothed down your skin, reflecting the light off your spine, watching you move like I was washing out your stress…"

I was interrupted by a whispered, bite on my ear.

Pam had stopped chewing. She had a been there, twinkle.

Carol and Suzie appeared to be having the same discussion. As Em and I were. But whereas, Emily tweaked me an eye and I wrinkled my forehead, to which she wiggled her butt and I just nodded a 'sure', and then she eyed me a 'really?' and I eyed back an 'if you want', and then she kissed me. Their conversation was a little, well let's just say less subtle.

No. Let's say, oblivious, to their time and space in this world.

Listen in if you will.

"What?", low, but not quite, hushed.

Puppy dog eyes.

"Really?", not as quiet.

"Yeah. It might be fun, a little..." Puppy dog eyes, round two.

"It could be… visually, stimulating, to… Okay. But only if you… do…"

Both set of eyes smoothed across the table, mid sentence.

I looked at Suze.

"Temporal Displacement?"

"Yes. See what I mean? I am so fucking screwed."

"If it's any consolation, you have that effect on her too."

"I don't know. I think she knows there's a world out here that can see us, but she don't care. Because she really likes the attention."

They kissed an agreement.

I don't know, if it was about their own little world, or if there'd be some spanking or water sport in their near future. Or if it was just, that Carol really did like the attention. Or all three. Probably all three. But it was definitely at least one or two of those three. Unless I missed something. And frankly I don't care. Whatever puts wind under your wing and helps you fly.

Like an eagle.

Not a vulture.

A tree walked into a bar, and pulled up a table, "Fuzznuts."

"Sasquatch."

"Miss Em."

"Heya Tankie."

"So which one of these ladies is going to be regaling me with tales on how she charmed a Nimbuwe?"

"That'd be the one on Em's lap."

"Nice to meet you Pam."

"Nice to meet you Tankie."

"Francis Paul! Get your butt of my table."

"Sorry Mabel. Didn't want to break your little chairs."

"How you? Dad? Sam?"

"Good, good, and good with a bit of a quand'ry. She's going to the swap, she could use some Granny May right now. You all?"

"Good. Everybody's peachy. She Okay?"

"Yeah, It's just one of those things I can get, but can not fully empathize with. Wrong parts."

"Francis. That girl is as lucky to have you, as you are to have her."

"I'm luckier, she's got me with pretty though."

"A mangy raccoon has you with pretty."

I was slapped with a menu.

Granny has an arm.

I guess the agreement was sealed and Suzie perked up.

"Damn!!! Big!!! Fucking Huuge. Sorry… It's just…"

"That's Suze and the other one who just rejoined this world is Carol."

"Good meet."

"Don't run. That's with an e not an a."

Carol and Suzie laughed. All I got from Tank was, "Touche, mother fucker."

All you heard from Granny Hicks was, "Francis Paul. Quarter, jar… Shit."

We took that moment of lucidity to say our good day, before the other two got lost again.

We hit the road to drop off Reba, Taz's bike, at it's next destination. Finishing our part of the quest. We went the intermediary way. I didn't want to head right back. But, I also didn't want to push my luck. Too much.

Tank and Pam departed right behind us and split away at the crossroads.

We traded the paved road for a grass dotted trail and meandered our way to the falls. We parked. Undressed. And jumped into the pooling pond at the cataract's feet.

'Holy fuck! was it cold,' I'm saying that in my brain because literally there is no voice. Nothing, outside of primal, could bridge the gap between brain and tongue. It may have sounded like that, in my head, but I know it didn't come out like that. Why did I learn Undercommon?

We stood up staring at each other in total shock. I mean we both had a taste of the crispness that was the pond, but this was, Arctic.

She threw herself at me grabbing for warmth. She didn't find it, "Frack! You're freezing."

"Says the Snow Cone."

"We stood there, shaking, sputtering, teeth chattering. Then I heard two words, two daring, delicious words, "Once more?"

"Together."

"Always."

And down we went. Back into the frigid abyss. And up we came. And out we went, like Shaggy and Scoob with a ghost on their tail. I think I may have left some skin behind, on a rock. I don't think my balls have dropped all the way again. They're trying to hide just at the writing of this.

We scrambled for our clothes and hurried for their warmth.

I looked up to the top of the falls and, yes, there was snow. Sporadic piles of it jotted the ledge. But there was also something, more, interesting. Something my friend had omitted about the scene. A block of Ice. Jutting out from the cascade about two feet down.

'Asshole.' (that might have been out loud. It's debatable.)

By the time we got to our final destination we were nearing dry. Our hair was still damp, as were our butts, but for the most part, our clothes were the color they were when we first embarked on this journey. Meat was at his workbench, by the entrance of his four car garage. The same garage, that a certain Yeti carried a slant six engine, from a crumbling table to a mounting stand, like a newborn baby.

He was working on a weave of leather.

"Raining over the hill?"

"No. We stopped by the falls."

"Oh." He grinned, a sneaky, sarcastic, shit eating display, "Nice dip?"

"Asshole." (this was definitely out loud, no debate necessary)

"He he."

"What you got there?"

"A little something for Lani."

He held up a bag. A weave of light brown leather and a deep dark suede. It had a strap that looked long enough to hang the bag by your hip.

It was, "Damn. Nice fucking work."

Emily fingered the seams, "That is pretty. Makes me wish I was the pocketbook type."

"Thanks."

"Isn't her birthday in the fall?"

"Yep. She's been meeting with some of the ladies at the town council. The type that have to have the latest designer handbag. I figured I'd make her a one of a kind they could drool over."

"Are these solid gold dolphin clasps and buckles?" Emily inspected.

"Yeah. Sixteen carat, for strength. Sam threw them together. The dolphins separate with a twist. It's got a section for her laptop, a place for paperwork, and three compartments for her wallet and anything else she wants to carry with her."

"I didn't think Lani was the pocket book type. And I never thought she was materially competitive."

"She's not," he smirked, "I am. When it comes to her. It's more, an attache case. That I can see her getting behind. And I know, she'd just love to give those old, stuffy bints a rise. Just for points."

"Yeah because a one of a kind Meat bag trumps a Gucci any day."

"Dick."

"That was for the waterfall."

"Touche. I gotta go, the switch is over there, just make sure you're in the ready position before you hit it. And duck, a lot lower than you think you have to." He put the bag in a box and placed it on the shelf.

"You know? I may have to come up here and have you help me make new saddle bags, you want anything Em?"

"A backpack maybe, to match my Brownvest and chaps."

"Awesome. We'll make a weekend of it. Sorry I can't hang. Work. We'll meet when we meet."

"Here for at least another week."

"Well met."

"Well met."

We used his dryer to chase the last damp from our clothes, locked up and waited for our ride.

He wasn't kidding about the ducking and the garage door. I practically barrel rolled to Emily's feet, to avoid getting crushed.

Tank found us laid out on the lawn and beeped. Pam bounded out, grabbed Em by the hand and they slid into the back seat.

I hopped in the front.

"Finished the interior I see. Looks great."

"Yep. The bench seat-back, pushes forward and the whole thing slides up on a track. That fold out you made for ole Bessy, fits nicely behind it, and between the two it makes an excellent crash pad."

"Did you say Squatch Pad?

"I'm keeping that one."

"What?"

"Yes, Where to?"

"You got time to hit The Gen?"

"Gen it is."

The girls were chatting away in the back. About the waterfall and Pam's new digs. Tank gave me the grand tour of the 350. Leather head liner, oak trim, outlets for a hot plate or a heater. Or anything else you'd need power for. Brown exterior carpet on the floors. Deer hide and oak panels on the side walls.

The thing wasn't tricked out, it was simple but functional, and elegant.

We got to The Gen, picked up the supplies and met Marisol back behind the lodge. She helped us unload and pack everything away.

Tank took off for the rest of his day. And the four of us brought our stuff to the bunkhouse. Marisol helped carry Pam's bags. Pam happily guided her loyal cot behind.

The place was prairie plain, homey. Utilitarian, with a lived in feel. The front door swept into an open floor plan. A steadfast aroma, of baked breads and time, breathed into my head.

In the middle, was a big red carpet, a table and four cushioned chairs. An old teal blue fridge set off to the right wall, with a counter, a farm sink and cabinets to it's left. A pot belly stove sat atop a blue stone base, in the near left corner. A full bath, with a claw foot tub, supported one third of a loft, which housed three bunk beds, pushed up tight against the wall. A ladder of logs and slabs provided access. A double bed took up a portion of the remaining platform, but there was more than enough space to put Pam's cot, between it and the wardrobe. Now we just had to muscle it up there. Later. Seems my strawberry-blonde friend had other thoughts, for the now.

"This was Auntie and Gruncle's first home. It was a trade route inn, going back two centuries, give or take. They lived here for five years, while they rebuilt and expanded the lodge. My grandmother was born right there by that stove, during a Thanksgiving visit. Two of their kids were born in here too." Marisol entertained us with the home's history as we settled in. It was never stayed in by anybody famous, it was just one of those shelters for merchants of the road. And maybe one or two people who may, or may not, have kept an eye for British ships, down below.

When we had everything in order, she dragged us out back, to the little barn. She called it a shed, but a shed it was not. It was the same place a dog tracked a lost jock to, a couple nights ago. Marisol said something about the 'damn kids'. I couldn't help but chuckle, when she picked the mattress up and put it back on the stack.

Pam quirked an eyebrow at me.

The amber skinned girl lifted a horse blanket off a pile, revealing a well used, well cared for old bike. A two cylinder Bonnie, with short rise bars, in faded sea green and white, with a sway back seat.

I checked the fluids, tires and cables.

"How long since she's been started?"

"I don't know. Gruncle says it fires. I've tried a few times, she wants to catch but I don't think I have the weight."

I pulled the plugs and gave them a cleaning, found a gapper in the tool box and searched the shelves for a manual. Marisol offered, " nine millimeters."

I gave her a look.

"No I'm not a genius… 'An immediately handy access to intel, is always your best friend'… It's on the board by the tractor."

I looked up and in white chalk on slate was a whole bunch of gaps, fuel mixes, timing marks and torques, for a lot of the equipment in the room.

"Yeah it is."

With the plugs installed, I adjusted the choke and gave the throttle a twist. She fired up on the third kick. Without so much as a hiccup. She sounded strong.

I took her out, to check the brakes and suspension, then handed her off, to the girl with anticipating eyes. Marisol sparked a grin as she spirited on to the seat. She tested the clutch, wiggled the front wheel, then let it rise and rode off out of sight. A few minutes later we heard the bike get louder, saw the headlight bouncing. But all we could see, of it's petite rider, were her teeth, through all that mud.

"Gah, That was fun. Pffft. But now I need a shower and blech change before my shift and brush my teeth with lysol."

"Nah you'll be fine, just tell em you got into it with an earth elemental."

She looked herself up and down.

"And won. Have fun all."

Pam set up the cot by the porch swing, retrieved her book and lounged out to read. Me and Emily sat in a nice hot tub. It took awhile, but we finally chased the last of the chill from our bones.

The ambient light was fading when Pam came in. She stood in the doorway eyeing us up.

"How is it?"

"It's borderline hot, our second fill."

"There's room," Emily teased, "if you wanna hop in."

She stripped off her clothes and stepped in.

Emily stopped her mid sit and washed her legs, and her butt, then she pulled her down and sponged her back. Pam washed her own arms and chest. But that didn't stop Em from rinsing.

"You guys are gonna be all pruney."

"My feet already are."

"Mine too."

"Hmmmmm, a girl could get used to this," as she settled against the dark haired girls chest.

"So can a guy."

I just laid there, staring, between black and blond strands. The shadows of the leaves, on the window, danced across the panes with the breeze.

And just breath.

----- C10 - Thursday, After the calm ----- Night, and the hay ride. Or. Duality In A Fishbowl.

The rest of the day, and the next to follow, went by in a flash. We cut dead branches over the trails, set up a corral and a temporary stable, pulled bird nests from under the eaves and even managed to re-stain and shellac the windows of the lodge. With a few instructions from Gruncle, Darren took to the chainsaw like a pro.

That night we wrestled Pam's cot up the ladder. She arranged it perpendicular to our bed and watched, until she drifted.

Yet, somehow, we found her under our covers come morning.

The bus pulled up early Friday. Paul helped one of the girls, put her bags in the side compartment. And he didn't seem at all, pissy. He gave us a nod, and followed up the steps. Carol helped Suzie check off the list. They exchanged contacts with us and left side by side.

The Greyhound knock off departed. Minus three passengers.

A few hours later Nimbuwe showed up and helped Pam load her stuff in his truck. He wasn't even surprised when he saw her trailing a cot up the drive, like a puppy on a leash. We all have our thing.

And then the cars started rolling in.

The week end had arrived and the lodge was packed, with couples and families. Mostly there for the antique flea market and auction. We helped set up rooms, make beds and clean the kitchen. We weeded the garden, shored up the rock wall and even built a bridge across a shifted stream bed. It was tiring work, but well worth the effort. A good roof, a full belly, a knowing heart.

Three horses arrived, bright and early Monday. They went right to work nibbling the grass and shitting, everywhere. Marisol taught Emily and I how to ride, Darren rode bitch behind her. Scared witless with a smile on his face.

We rode down to The Gen on Wednesday. I was on Rocket, Emily rode Bramble, and Darren sat next to Marisol, behind Trixie, on the wagon. I didn't name them. If I had it would have been, Laurel and Lug and Ed. They weren't the smartest horses but they were friendly. We stocked up on hay and oats and casually made our way back. I took some pictures of Emily, in her jeans, vest and chaps, sans tank top, sitting happily on the Calico. Lug.

It was a warm, gentle evening, so we grabbed some blankets and made love in the woods out back.

She got quiet and melancholy.

"I watched my mother die. When I was six."

I kissed her head, she sighed.

"We were in town, shopping I think. She had just strapped me in and the next thing I know there's a strange guy in the car and she's bleeding. He's screaming and…"

All I could, do was tighten the hug.

"He stabbed her and drove out to the sticks. I tried… but he hit me. I woke up and he was… the fracking piece of shit was raping her… She saw me wake up and told me to run."

She sat up and looked in my face.

"She had that same look you did by the car. Like if she could just… not see me hurt… If she could just find a way."

I brushed her face and she put her head next to mine.

"He went for me and she bit his arm, he started banging her head on the window. She yelled at me to run. And I ran. Screaming at the top of my lungs in the middle of nowhere. I heard her voice hushing me, guiding me, telling me where to hide. I felt her hugging me. Rocking me. Then I heard her say, you're safe now. And I heard sirens and loud angry voices. I couldn't move. I felt myself stand up and start walking. I saw the car and her… she told me not too look but I did. The cops came and asked if I was hurt. I had no voice. The words were in my head, they wanted to come out, they just didn't. For two years. When they finally came back they were rattled and distorted."

"I wish you didn't have to go through that."

"But I did. And I lived. The cruelest part was the people afterwards. The pity, the silence, the questions. I felt ostracized. I got lost in my computer because it didn't ridicule me. There was no hey look it's Emmmmmmm mmmm emily."

"Kids can be little fucks sometimes."

"Kids? This was in college. I mean I know I wrapped myself up in a fortress, and social interaction was a bad taste in my psyche by then, but I never hurt anyone. Why would you do that? God, I gained weight eating my hormones away. But I found a love for scrlpting. The same words, that broke in my mouth, made things happen on the screen. Made them move and live and be beautiful. Like my mother was, like I wished I could be."

"I caught a glimpse of you the first night. Lost in a world of satisfaction. Every time I see you typing away, you get this intensity and when you triumph over some little tweak. You growled."

"Then there's that. One day, there was this guy. He was just there. Sitting on a bench. And he offered me a hand, his hand. He listened to me. He was comfortable around himself and me. He let me be me. He shares time with me. Even let's me sit with him enjoying a show. And then he kisses the top of my head and… I felt free. Like my mother was tucking me in. Right there with him and it felt like a part of me, had been…"

"Touched by a part that was always there?"

"Yes. And I felt beautiful, like my mother was. Like I always was. Does that make any sense?"

"When I was a kid. I had asthma. I was allergic to damn near everything. I was probably one more allergy away from being tossed in a bubble. I was pushed outside and marginalized as that weak skinny kid. It was the playground equivalent of taking a sick baby to the woods to die. The only interaction I had were with those that hit me. Then I started playing sports, some I didn't want to at first. But my dad said try em all, find one you love. And even though I was sometimes last pick, I was never the first cut. And I found something out about this body. It could take a hit, a good hit. It could take that hit and love it, then, get up and give it right back. It could be hurting real bad and move, right through it. I was the guy girls dared other girls to kiss. I was guy, some prick had a girl kiss, because she lost a wager. As a prank. And then had the balls to belittle me, he doesn't want 'trash' in the house, and pushes me out. I'm good. Until he pushes his girlfriend. And then everyone is looking at me differently. You ever hear something that goes 'Better they fear you than despise you?'"

"I've heard, 'Better to be feared than loved, if you can not be both.'"

"Machiavelli. Good quote. I always new I read a similar sentiment before. But I never connected the dots. Thanks."

"Mmmhmm."

"There's a truth to it. I didn't mind being feared. Not one bit. It gave me a peace, to find me. One day, I'm sitting on a overlook two hundred feet above the river. This river, but further south. The suns about to break the horizon. I heard a shuffle and there's a body next to me. Chillin. The sun rises, not one of the best, but nice enough. I lay back. He lays back. No words, nothing. We hear a scream. We both run toward it. Then we hear pain. And there's two coyotes bearing down and the guy by my sides says 'The one on the left, is mine.' and he bolts. I see a body holding it's leg. The one on the right sees me and hauls up, staring. I ask the guy if he's bit. He says no. I relay that to my, partner, for lack of a better term. The coyote is glaring at me. And all I can think is 'Okay! The trial of a Roman Gladiator it is!' and I guess I said it out loud, because the next thing I hear is, "This is Thursday from where I'm from." And I laughed.

And the coyote that was staring me down, sneering, sizing me up, and muscling his way in, he froze. Then, started backing away. So I stepped to him. And he took off, yipping. Then I hear a yelp and a whimper and number two goes running. We helped the guy out. My cohort in this unexpected adventure looks at me curiously … Em, we're not 20 miles from Manhattan, there hadn't been coyote's around there in years… He says, 'This, I did not expect today.' Then he went and got the Parkies, I splinted the guy up the best I could, and we went back to that spot. And just sat. Until I heard, 'Nimbuwe'. I replied Joe. And then these timeless words crossed my ears, 'Joe, Did I ever tell you the story of the hyena and the panther.' I said, 'Nope. But I have a funny feeling I'm gonna learn something new everyday, from now on.' Then I heard it, the only line that ever meant shit to me, 'One can only hope.'"

She lifted up her leg and traced a semicircular pinkness on her calf, "He was going after my next door neighbor's kid. I got that when I kicked him. He never came on our side of the street again."

"So. It's official, we traded war stories.

"Does that make us, Wash and Zoe? Or Mal and Zoe?"

"I think that makes us Joe and Em."

"I can live with that."

"So can I."

"So where was I?"

"Nimbuwe. First meet."

"It's so nice having the other half of my brain back. Okay. I was getting on a bus. There was this girl. Moving through the crowd, she got bumped a few times, but she pushed right on. With an 'excuse me.' Even if it was clearly the other persons fault or purpose. And then I see her again. On a bench. And there's a silent communication, like we can read each others minds and both of them are thinking, 'Dear God, please don't make me have to room with, 'The J Dog'…"

"YES. That's…. Hmmmm, Ha."

The next time I see this girl, she's looking out of a window, then she's crossing the floor, slipping into my bed, to watch an old TV show. She's warm and she's calm. She smells like honey and myrrh. She's beautiful and sweet and charming. From the moment she slid next to me, it was like she was meant to be there. Like it was her space, her domain. And then I wake up and she's over me, smiling. Claiming… Me, moving right into her spot. And I feel her warmth in my soul. Then her lips touched mine. And it was like a door, I had seen a hundred thousand times, just opened, and another piece of me walked out."

----- C11 - Thursday ----- Another or the next

Thursday's to do list had just three lines.

Miss Emily/Fuzznuts:

1 'Mabel went to swap. She may need someone to pick up some stuff with the shuttle. If you don't mind, let me or spark plug know."

2 'Your friend Nimbuwe called - Be at the pond around nine tonight.'

3 'Enjoy a lazy day. Don't do anything I wouldn't do.' and a Kilroy Was Here. (just the picture, not the words. Yes, the dick peeking over the wall.)

We went to the kitchen and found Marisol fidgeting around. We made breakfast and told her our plans so she'd know where to find us, if Mabel needed some hands. Darren was out, buying work clothes and tools at the tractor supply, then he had a few stops for William, he'd be back late. We talked Marisol into joining us for lunch. Then we went and did some laundry.

It was around a quarter passed four when Marisol knocked on the bunkhouse door. We told her it was open. She popped into the bathroom, leaned up against the door frame and just said, "Hey."

"How's you?"

"Relaxed. Not as relaxed as you two right now. But it was a nice mellow day."

"I love this tub?" Emily informed.

"Yeah I miss that, when we were kids all us cousins would be piled up in there, laughing and making a mess."

"Are you just here to reminisce, you gonna join us, or are we going for a ride?"

"I wish. I'd love to jump in there with you guys and just chill, but Mabel needs a pick up."

"You coming for the ride?"

"Hell yeah, I love the swap. Haven't been to it in years. I ain't missin this one."

She grabbed two towels off the rack. Emily stepped out of the bath and Marisol spun her around, dried her back and then wrapped her tight in it. I stepped out and she offered me the same. I turned, she pat my back dry then handed me both ends, from around my waist. We got dressed, listening to an insight on the fair and the plans for the night.

"We're going to the pond later, to meet up with my friend and the crazy cot lady, you and D wanna join us."

"Hah, I've been calling her that in my head for a week now. Sorry though, as much fun as that sounds, I have a date night. Dinner and Demo Derby. He already got the tickets or we would."

My two road partners shared the passenger seat. I was directed by Spark Plug GPS. I've seen county fairs smaller than this.

---

The Swap, as they called it, was a giant flea market, slash, estate sale, slash, swap meet, slash, museum alfresco. There was everything thing you could want or need, even some things you never knew anyone would need. From old muzzle loaders and hand cranked washers to canned fruit and handmade clothes, even some old Flathead v8 tractors that you'd swear were assembled by Henry himself. There were booths and displays and tractor rides, food and drink and people for miles.

We stopped by Sam's booth on the way to the load out. She thanked us so tight we practically merged. Then she caught eye of our company, "Marigold?"

"Heya cuz, been a spell."

"Last time I saw you you were knee high."

"I'm still knee high to you, Samarella."

We left those two to catch each other up and made our way to get a ticket for the load. Yes, there was a line for the big stuff. And our wait was over an hour. We made our way back. Marisol dragged us to her favorite booths. Granny Hicks stayed behind with Sam and met us just as we were tying down an old roll top desk. A five pound bag of jerky and we were ready for the road.

Mabel road up front with me, Emily and Marisol squeezed in the back, the latter on the former's lap on the floor. Showing each other their finds. Granny Hicks was unusually quiet.

"You chat with Sam?"

"Yes."

"She okay?"

"I'm sure she'll be fine."

"Are you okay?"

"Me? Oh don't mind me, I’m just waxing nostalgic."

"She's pregnant isn't she?"

She just gave me a look, not like I was wrong, more like, odd child.

"Her shoulders. They've displayed a bit. A lot of women I know, not all mind you, but a few, that's the first thing I sense, before I hear the words. And hers are getting a little rounder, fuller."

"Mine did too. Let's keep that between us."

"Mums the word. So I'm not far off."

"I hope not. You did put another stitch in the quilt though. I noticed a little, softer sparkle, a radiance. Beyond her typical… Aura."

"We call it the Boom. It'll be good for them. If any human could raise a Thor, it would be those two."

"Yeah. Francis is going to shit himself."

We laughed all the way up the drive. William looked at us with a conspiratorial eye. He was opening the back door when Mabel grabbed his sleeve and gave it a tug. He just followed her right back in. Not like he had much choice, it was that or ruin a perfectly good shirt.

"Uh oh. Gruncle is in truuubaaaal. What were you guys talking bout up there?"

"Nothing. We were just shooting the shit."

"Then why does Auntie Mabel have her feisty eyes?"

"Maybe she found the dirty picture booth or sampled some exotic spice."

"Oh is that how it is?"

"Yep. You'll find out soon enough. Right now it's not my place to say."

"She made you do the silent promise didn't she?"

"Nope. She just asked me nicely."

"That's even worse."

"I feel like I got off lucky."

"I'll find out soon huh?"

"Yep."

"You're off the hook."

"Thanks."

We unloaded the truck. Darren found us and gave us a hand, getting the roll top on to the back porch and restocking the pantry, with some down home goodness in bell jars. Marisol put up some coffee and cheesecake and we sat, four abreast, on the porch swing, in complete delicious silence. They took off for their date and we hopped on the Bonnie and head off for the pond. We had stories to catch and others to give life to.

----- C12 - Friday Nightfall ----- Rainfall, Wind and Knowledge

The Bonnie had a different heartbeat than I was used to. It was a little less throaty, a tiny bit steadier, with a slightly faster pulse. But she was smooth and sprightly, for an old girl.

About five to nine we veered left up a familiar dirt road.

"It felt quicker than the shuttle this time."

"Temporal distortion or lost in the ride."

"Maybe a little of both."

We could just see a flicker of firelight through the trees. The trail curved left and we could see the fire. A distant antonym to the darkness around it. A shadow danced where the stream broke the pines. The pond was silent and still. Mirroring the image of the sky above. A thin billow of smoke rising, tempted our eyes up the treeline. A turbulence shifted across a crisp sky, as if two fronts were touching like long lost loves. The stars, out in force, mesmerizing in their number. A wave of discordant temperatures, pulsed their brilliance, in a crystal clear shimmer. They found a balance, and rippled away. The fire called.

As did the two bodies, waving us, toward it's glow.

I felt her arms around me. In a cross, over my chest. Her chin on my right shoulder. Funny, the things you remember, like, how even with her helmet on, she is soft and warm and here.

We pulled up behind the pick up, saddled down and walked to the greet. An ice bucket. A bottle of champagne, opened, with four empty glasses. Two huge blankets spread out side by side. A gentle thump, thump. A head pops up, mouth open, tongue hanging. Thump, thump, thump. Back to her bone.

The warm embrace of a friend, long unseen.

"Olofi smiles."

"He just might be."

We raised our glasses and toasted to the chaos.

A cop car pulled up. Two cops got out. They saw the bike, the truck, and the champagne, in that order. They looked at the two old guys and the two younger ladies. Their interest was peeked. Then one of them spied something, and pointed it out to his partner.

"You're camping?"

"Yes sir."

"We are?" a pair of voices rang in surprise.

Then we caught the glimpse of two tents. "Hmmh, I guess we are."

They stayed for a few, probably just to size the situation up.

Can you blame them.

Nimbuwe offered them jerky. They declined. Lucky me.

They didn't know what they were missing. Give this Nigerian spices and meats, and the Nightmare just continues. In a delightfully heated, mouthwatering decadence.

I told them, I'd offer them donuts but the park rangers ate em. They bid their adieus. With the usual, you know, clean up, make sure that fires out, blah, blah, blah, bullshit. I mean, who the fuck, over the age of five, needs to be told that?

Their taillights vanished at the treeline and we found ourselves, once more.

The moon rose further in it's hunt. Sounds escaped the shadows and light. Life moved on around us.

The fire popped.

"She told me you know?"

"About her watching, and exploring?"

"That too."

"Did she give you a re-enactment?"

"Yeah. She did. I'll tell ya, I don't know what I did, for her to find me, but if it meant all these scars, doubled, it would be worth every one."

"They have a great thing with each other don't they?"

"It's friendly, it's fun. It's caring. It's cute"

I licked the glue and finished the roll,

"It's expeditionary, and down right sensual. You got a light?"

He reached in his pocket and tossed me some matches. "There's a spirit there too."

I fired up my cigarette and took a drag, "There's a lot of spirit there. But did you notice? Even though they're in their own thing, enmeshed in it actually, they still give us a look."

"The thank you for being here look?"

"Yeah and the, I hope you're having fun look"

"That one might be my favorite. But that's not what I was referring to before. I meant the poem. The Ode. The Vow."

"I knew when you said that two. And?"

"Thank You."

"My pleasure. Payback's a bitch. They really love teasing the hell out of each other, don't they."

"They could teach any man, a thing or two, this one included."

"Yeah, I'm learning a few tricks here myself. Oh well, A happy wife."

"and both halves of me are happy."

"I kinda paraphrased it you know."

"What?"

"The Ode. It was just a teaser. Kinda like you and that 'hint' by your truck the other night. But I didn't need it."

"This is good. Neither did I."

"You know. Sometime tonight, I think I'm going to take that one down to the pond. And, wash her feet. Slowly. Real, real, slowly. Then I'm going to sweep her off to bed. Wrap her up in a bundle. And rub her toes, one by one. Until, she rapes me."

Their trembles had subsided. Their sounds were forming sentences again. Sentences you could put on a page, anyway. They were pressed nose to nose. But they weren't kissing. They were talking, mouth to mouth, and giggling. Occasionally giving us the eye.

"What do you think they're conspiring, my friend?"

"I dunno. But I'm thinking it's probably devious. We should run. Fast"

"Ha ha ha…" he paused just to enjoy the view, then I felt his head lean in, "So! We're doing this?"

"Why, The fuck not?"

"Olofi smiles on this day."

"He just might be at that, my friend."

A silhouette rose, from a passionate canvas, and smoothed across the grass. She had a sway. A grace, she didn't even know she had. Her eyes were sparked, with gold and flames. Her skin was red from the rush and the firelight.

She settled down between my legs, fingered my zipper and played with the pull, "Why are your pants still on?"

"Mosquito netting."

"It's comfortable."

I sat up and she leaned back. "Comfortable I get, but Mosquito netting?" She wiggled her butt up against my crotch, "Ow."

"And that's why I tell you, be careful with your toys." She slipped the pull back under the denim flap. Smoothing it down. She wiggled back again and sighed. I grabbed a blanket and wrapped it around us like a yurt, "Mosquito netting."

"Hmmmmm. That's nice." She eyed the man beside me, "You see that girl over there? She requests the presence, of a certain, dark prince's company."

"Then without sorrow, I shall part and deliver him."

"Have fun. See you in two."

"I shall await your presence."

He walked across the divide with purpose. Looking back over his shoulder with a look in my direction. I nodded an affirmation.

I turned to Emily's side and slipped my arm under her knees. She cradled her arm around my neck and kissed me.

Pam wrapped an arm around her lover's shoulders and bit into his jaw. He scooped her up. He strode down to the shore and he stood her in the shallows.

I stood up, lifting Em with me, "We're gonna be late." and I carried her, til I was ankle deep.

She studied my eyes curiously, even when her feet touched the water.

I stepped back, took both her hands and looked her in the eyes…

"Under the water."

I heard a voice return from my left, "Upon the air."

"On terra firma, solid and true."

"Beneath the heavens, bright and mysterious."

We held out our hands to the others companion. They took them, eccentrically. We let ours go.

I went down to both knees and looked into Pam's eyes, "Queen of the Wind."

I put my head to her knees, "I bow to thee."

Then I straightened, and watched her cheeks turn up, "She, who came, on a Zephyr of calm, to tame the wild jaguar. I bid thee, welcome. My sister. Lady of Improbabilities."

Another voice, solemned out, with regard, "Queen of Knowledge." Emily watched him, with bright eyed amusement, as he placed his head to her legs.

"I bow to thee." She looked at me with interest then looked down and caught his eyes.

"She, who came, in a tempest of warmth, to free the wolf's solitary heart. I bid thee welcome. My sister. Lady of Wonder."

We stood up and offered them a hand. They took them, with wonderfully curious, anticipating smiles. We turned and offered their hands to each other, and offered ours to them.

They took accord. And gave themselves away.

I got down on one knee, Emily's hand touched my cheek, "Queen of Knowledge,"

I bent my head, chin to chest, "I bow to thee." her fingers gingerly brushed through my hair.

I looked up, right into her smile, "She who came, with timeless grace, to unlock the final bond of my mind, and united me. I bid thee welcome. My Beautiful Dream."

Pamela was quiet, stoic, and very welcoming. She rushed red when his words cut the dark, "Lady of the Wind. I bow to thee. She who, with open heart, cut loose the chains of my pain, and united me. I bid thee welcome. My Beautiful Breeze."

There was a stillness. A comfortable contemplative pause. I watched Emily follow the tracing of her fingertips on my face. She lowered herself to me, smiled, "Mmmhmm." Then she soothed with me down to the water, with a, "Hi."

We heard a splash and a tumble, Pam's voice broke through the air, "Yes. Fuck, yes."

And under the stars it was done.

"You guys are such goofballs."

"Yeah, but they're our goofballs."

"A girl, could get used to this."

"This one already has."

We collected ourselves and went back to the blankets, wearing our laughter like a robe. Nimbuwe went to his truck. Emily stripped me of my jeans and put them on a stick by the fire, to dry. My war forged friend returned, with a pile of comforters, furs and pillows. We nested them up and settled in. We raised our glasses to life, and all it's chaotic wonders. Under billions of twinkling eyes.

"Olofi smiles on this day." Pam endued.

"He just might be." The dark scarred man replied.

"Here's to hope." I toasted, "May God and Goddess, find their spark, rekindled tonight."

"Not too much though." Emily joked, "We wouldn't want a big bang to ruin a perfectly fine evening."

"Depends, on where it takes us."

"Hmm."

We celebrated our providence and those misfortunes that shaped us, as clouds gathered up in the sky.

"All the pain seen, All the trespasses faced, I wouldn't change a thing. Not in any of our lives."

Lips pressed to my face. Warm arms pulled me in tighter. Some logs settled and embers shot right up to the stars. Swirling in a dizzying spiral toward a new home.

"That sounds cold and heartless," The Queen of Knowledge spoke, "But I agree. As much as I would like to chase a day from my life, all I can do is be thankful, that, that burden, was mine and not someone elses."

"And as much as I would like to go back in time and change that day for you, I can't. And even if I could, I wouldn't. It's the marble and the chisel, you used to sculpt everything you've become."

"Not one scar, I would shed, and not have this night."

"All the times I spread my legs and let someone use me, to maybe feel a rush, a connection. Only to wake up to a heart, emptier than my bed. I'd shed those tears again, for just one sunrise, complete and whole."

The Lyrids burned streaks across the sky.

The moon peaked out behind a tuft of glowing white billow.

Pam sat up and breathed in deep, "My mother used to say those were angels, flying across the sky to give some one a miracle, moving so fast their wings trailed fire."

"Maybe some are. Maybe it's just shift change."

"Hmm." she grinned.

"I've read a lot of mythologies and religious texts. The oldest versions are epic tales of adventure, filled with imagery and wonders and puzzles to unravel. Then some guys get together and make a living from them. They change the words, change the function and wield it like a whip. And it's their truth, their words, their control. Not God's or Goddess's but theirs. And they force people away from the two things they should embrace. The two creators in all this have only One Command really."

"And what's that?"

"Nim?"

"With pleasure. Don't, be, a dick."

Emily laughed, "You know? That makes perfect sense. If you see someone hurting who needs help, don't be a dick, help em."

"And if someone is hurting you, or worse yet, going after someone you love, don’t be a dick, grab them by the short hairs and twist."

"You know most people are shaving their pubes these days."

"Then just reach in deeper and pull em out."

"Ow."

Knowledge turned toward Wind, "Yours is looking a little fuller these days."

"Mmmhmm, I can't wait til it's as bushy as yours."

"I await the pleasure of a jungle to roam myself," Nim grinned.

"So Wolf."

"Yes Windy."

"God and Goddess?"

"My Queen?"

"With pleasure, My King… Up and down, positive and negative, vacuum and pressure, north and south, infinitely outward and infinitely inward, masculine and feminine, dark and light, love and hate, everything has it's opposite."

"It's that simple. Huh. But what about us then? If that were true, shouldn't I be with Joe and you be with Nimmy."

"Sometimes those opposites are just two halves of a whole." I offered.

"It is like the air and the wood, one is solid, the other not, but you can't have a fire if they are not one." Nim chimed.

"Yeah, what Nim just said. If you look at the four of us. We are quiet, you two are a little less subtle. Em's the chain to my rock, you two, are the ship and the sail. Together, we don't stop the tide, but we also don't drift into more terrible seas."

The clouds slowly built, the air warmed and tingled. You could smell the ozone brewing.

Pam rested back and stretched, "You know. I never ever saw myself like this. I've fantasized what it would be like, to live in a world with dragons and orcs, or even like a Robin Hood. But I never pictured myself, actually on a pile of deer skins, under a fucking awesome sky, having fun with a… sister, while her man and mine watched. Listening to painted words as a campfire blazes. Delighting in the thought that we all fought the same dragon. In a way. And won. Feeling the strength and warmth of kindred spirits. Realizing, every day can be like this, if you just look hard enough to see it."

"What is the difference between saving someone, from getting trampled by a run away wagon in the old west, or pulling them out of the way of a hurried cab in Times Square?" I queried.

"Or taking on two coyotes in the suburban woods to help a stranger?" Pam jibed.

"Or kicking a dog to save the girl next door." I said cocking my head in Em's direction. She bit my shoulder and kissed my neck.

"Time is the difference, that is all." Nimbuwe answered. "The future and the past romanticize each other. But for some reason the present gets lost, in it's own familiarity."

A herald of light flashed across the clouds. The silence broke with a crack and a thunderous rumble. A drip and a sizzle. Then another. We gathered our things and shoved them in our tents. Liffa did circles on a pile of blankets. We covered her up. She thanked us with a thump, thump, thump.

The christening came and we embraced it. When we were thoroughly soaked we bid each other good morrow. They split the canvas and stepped into the dry.

I picked up my queen and carried her to the water, just as I had done, a few hours before. I sat her on a rock rising out from the ripples, took her feet in my hands and washed them in the rain. I offered her my neck and she took it. I carried her back to our tent, stepping gingerly through a face full of kisses. I settled her on the heap of fur and wrapped her tight. She eyed me with an expectant knowing, and smiled when I grabbed the foot that I missed one fateful night. She smiled even bigger when I found a spot, "Oooh right there," And I rubbed. And I pushed. And I prodded.

The blankets flew wide and I was thrown to my back. She rode me and teased me and then she let the dam break. I rolled her over, nibbled her neck and gave in. She took my seed with a final tremble and a groan.

She wrapped herself around me and wouldn't let me go.

Laughter and passion, we heard over a down pour. It crept to our ears from one tent away.

Emily yawned and stretched her arms over her head.

"They sound like their having fun too."

I could see a tuft of dark hair, growing in the shallows beside her breasts. I playfully teased it. She tickled and wiggled. So I gave a little tug.

Her eyes shot open, with a curious grin.

"Uhmmmm."

"Really, Em?"

I tugged a little more.

"Uh huh, hmmmm."

"Enlightening?"

"Mmhmm."

"Oh. This is gonna be fun."

----- C13 - Friday - The Sixty-first one, or there about ----- Time Moves In Splinters. Or. The One Who Whispers With Her Eyes.

A baby howled with joy, his father's beard tickled his bare belly.

I was standing in a field with an extra head on my shoulder.

There was a trellis of sticks, intertwined in a horseshoe, with white lace and Amico Crimson adorning its columns and arch. It gatewayed over a deep blue rug. Two rings of gold rope, side by side, laid empty on the carpeting's threads, in front of a podium fashioned much like the arbor. The sun was heavy and warm. The bodies around me, had a welcoming pull.

I'll catch you up to speed. Quick, so as not to bore you. This tale is pretty much at an end, or a beginning, or a middle or it could be off somewhere else completely. I don't know. That's the beauty of it. But, my telling of this yarn, is pretty near done.

Carol and Suze had moved into a nice little brownstone, about a month after they started both their new jobs. They visit the lodge, every chance they get, grabbing the same room and helping out where they can. They're still not allowed near the kitchen though. Not when Marisol's around anyway.

Darren stayed at the lodge and loves every minute of his content and simple life. Marisol is pregnant. The two of them have mud fights in the garden, and toil away, side by side, doing dishes at night.

Paul was one of the few who actually went to work for the magazine. He moved to NYC, Carol and Suze helped him find an apartment. He does a column on get-aways of a sport related nature and travels the country looking for regional oddities. Like pond hockey tournaments in Minnesota or snow mobile drag races, in the Iowa mud. His little friend? He decided college was delayed long enough. So he packed himself up and Paul moved him in.

Steve bought a bike, an old 883. Gruncle taught him the basics. Granny Hicks joins them for a ride, time to time. She's ecstatic about becoming a Great, Great, Auntie by the way.

Pamela and Nimbuwe? Well, what can I say about the Queen of the Wind and the Jaguar, except, they haven't missed a sunrise, since he returned.

And here they all were, in the same place but in a different world than when they met, surrounded by more than they ever knew they had.

Trevor, Meat's brother, was dressed as a warrior priest. Meat was regaled in his finest barbarian.

Mabel and William donned their Sunday best, holding hands on a very swollen tummy, waiting to feel a mystery kick.

"I wonder who's inside there?" Emily puzzled, in her best River Tam. I just pulled her tighter to me and smiled. Art always imitates life. It can't help itself.

Sam stopped what she was doing, and watched a grinning Sasquatch cradle a sleeping wonder in one massive, protective, paw.

Lani and Beccah were dressed up like Valkyrie, tossing flowers to the earth, creating a path of pastels on the grass.

Big Frank was just watching his grand kid sleep, with his feet up on a cooler, and a smile, cheek to cheek.

And there were more, intermingled in some way, sharing a joy, within someone else's dream. Like different spokes in a tapestry, brought together by the seers of this thing we call life.

We are the needles, time is the thread. Our choices the knots, the weavers hand led. Knit one line right, the flow we can ebb, purl two lines tight, we strengthen the web.

The din got quiet. Two bodies centered the attention around them. They walked the flowered path and stepped into the circles of gold at their feet. Carol was adorned in a white laced sundress. Without a stitch more underneath. Suzie was in black shorts with a matching, mid riff top. She'd put on some weight and some muscle. And honestly, she looked fucking good. But maybe that was just how she felt about herself coming through. It didn't matter, it worked for her. In a really nice way.

The ceremony was short and emotionally, to the point.

Suze had planned it, so it kinda had her style.

Carol's vows, were poetical and floral and teary. Suzie, pulled a slip of paper from her waist band, then ripped it up and handed the scraps to Trevor. She took Carol by the hand and looked in her eyes, and then she just, declared it.

"I love you Care, with all my fucking soul. So if you want me, just take me, like you did on our first night."

Carol wrapped her up in a big hungry kiss, then dragged her across the field, to their promissory tent. We didn't see them again until it was passed nightfall.

We heard them. A few times, but we didn't see them.

That's not wholly true, a couple of us did.

I stopped by to see if they needed food or drink, and to give them the sd card with their wedding pics.

Scotty beamed them up somewhere around the kiss shots.

Pam and Emily peeked in, then just made themselves home by my side. Emily up front, Pam right behind her. Hugging tight. Rocking.

I finally got around to taking the pics we had half-joked about at the lodge.

I don't think either of them has a spine, as we know it. Their just so, malleable and.. I mean some of the positions were just… ouch.

I'll let the Queens give you the gist.

"How does she…"

"I don't have a fucking clue."

"See that there? That still haunts me."

"Oh I hope you got a shot of that."

"I think I did."

"Good, I need to study that. For scientific purposes."

"Send me a copy too, I, don't think I could do that justice, with words."

"It looks like Tetris, gone wonky."

"Oooh that looks… hmm."

"Ooh. You wanna maybe, try that later?"

"You're on. But, Ummm, I think I need to go get my prince on right now. Sooo. Love ya both!"

I heard a smooch, felt one on my jaw, and off Pamela went, and then there were four.

Fingers twirled in my ear, then a whisper sent a shiver. I slipped the sd card to my laptop, copied three files, then put it with the other. We left the two lovers to their own happy time slip.

And went to forge one of our own quilter's making.

----- C14 - July ----- Straight on til… Or. Love In A Bucket, Warmth In A Shell.

Many moons have blessed the sky. Many miles passed under these wheels. And still, more miles lay before us.

But our destination, this day, was just a few yards away, we've been long gone, and our family's waiting.

We rode out through the trees, into a clearing alongside a stream. The first thing we saw was a mist, at the cascades feet. And the tendrils of steam rising up from the creek.

I felt her arms around me. In a cross, over my chest.

Her chin, on my right shoulder.

Funny, the things you remember. Like how, even with a helmet on, she is soft and warm and here. It was as if we were together for the first time. And all times. Just different rooms within ourselves among the pictures on the walls.

Her hairs gotten grayer. In a strip, along the side. It just enhances her mystique and frames her unique glow. And it definitely goes with her brown leather vest, the faded chaps and the backpack, that carries her world.

She is weathered and warm, much like the man she holds on to. How could he not be, with that light beside him.

The sunrise is just alighting on the falls.

Clouds were peaking all along the rolling hills. With a wide open sky in a band above. Then more clouds in an inverse gradient. It looked like snow peeked every crest along the horizon. Then mirrored itself back as if the heavens were a calm clear sea.

Nature, in all her waking glory. With a very odd twist to how it usually displays.

She ponders in my ear, "I wonder if God is amused, flattered, or insulted, when someone looks at a beautiful landscape and says, 'That looks, just like a Bob Ross painting'."

The trees looked happy.

And even if, we're miles away, or many, many, months apart, I know she's here.

And I know that she found me.

"My Queen. Have I ever told you, how much I love you."

"From the moment you held your hand out for my suitcase. And you remind me, everywhere we go. My King."

"Em."

"Yes, Joe."

"You ready to go home?"

"Always."

"Then, what do you say, we park this ole girl and share in one more adventure."

"Mmhmm."

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