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Second eBook Edition

ISBN 978-1-939275-13-4

Part I

One

“I’ve been led to believe that you have created works so far beyond what is on display here that we won’t see them for twenty years,” Bob Bowers said as we toured around gallery.

Geez! What does the man want? I’d just completed a massive outdoor mural painting at SCU and the 8x4-foot rendering was sitting in the middle of the gallery with a $15,000 reserve bid on it. It was the night before Kate’s and my first gallery opening and we were previewing it with family and friends. But Bob Bowers was the art critic who almost single-handedly launched my career. I was still exhausted, but I owed the guy big-time. I took a deep breath.

“Oh, I’ve got some things that will be coming out before that,” I said. “That piece titled Pet? It’s part of a work that’s as big as the mural rendering and will be the center of the next exhibit.” I was damned proud of the painting I’d done of Amy, Sonia, and Rio and managed to get it in the catalogue for this show.

“And you, Katarina,” Bob continued as he turned to Kate, “have an amazing hand. I wouldn’t be surprised if that painting of the jeweler’s hands brought in more than any of Tony’s paintings. It’s stunning. Who is the model?”

“My mother,” Kate said. “She’s right over there. She’d be happy to tell you all about what she’s doing in the painting.” It wasn’t the same piece as the one that was over Gypsy’s mantel, but Kate had done another piece featuring her mother in her workshop that was more than stunning. The love and care that Gypsy was taking in pounding out a silver choker was matched by the love and care Kate had taken in painting it.

“Two youngsters have burst on the Seattle art scene with the impact of Kurt Cobain on Seattle music. If you miss this exhibition, you miss the future of Seattle art,” Mom read from the newspaper on Friday morning. Bob Bowers’s review of our opening was filled with accolades. It included the history of our work back to the Rhapsody Suite and my mural at PCAD last year. The opening tonight would be by invitation only. The public would be held outside the gallery and admitted just one or two at a time as invited guests left.

“I’m going back to bed now,” I said. “Wake me tomorrow morning when it’s all over, ’kay?” I left the room. I really did want to sleep through the whole thing. I remember how excited I was last July when I talked to Clarice about it the first time. It had been almost a year and so much had happened that I didn’t care anymore. I wanted to hide my head under the covers and just sleep through it.

“Lover? Nap time is over, sweetie.” I opened my eyes slowly. I was sandwiched between Melody and Lissa. What a nice way to wake up.

“Where’s Kate?” I asked.

“She’s down with Wendy. I think she feels the same way you do. I don’t know if it was a good idea to have you sharing a debut exhibition,” Lissa said. “I hope she doesn’t feel like she’s second fiddle.”

“Oh geez, no!” I moaned. “I’d never have even finished the wall if it wasn’t for Kate. I need to go to her.”

“Here,” Melody said. “Take your clothes with you. You can dress together and commiserate.”

I went to Wendy’s room and knocked. Wendy came to the door and looked to see who it was before she opened the door fully. She gave me a relieved smile. Kate was sitting in her panties, staring at the mirror. Wendy pushed me toward her.

“Hey, Kitten,” I said. “Want to run away to Tahiti with me?”

“Yes please,” she sighed, leaning back against me. “Can we take our lovers with us and hide out down there for a few years?”

“Sounds like a dream come true.” I leaned over and kissed the top of her head, massaging her shoulders. She touched my hands and pulled them down her front until I’d cupped her breasts. She sighed.

“I still remember the first time,” she said, leaning back against me.

“I will never forget, but you can always remind me.” We looked at each other’s eyes in the mirror. “What are you wearing tonight, love?”

“I thought I’d toss on a t-shirt and my bib overalls,” Kate said.

“Going to call maximum attention to yourself, huh?”

“Oh. I didn’t think about that. Maybe the trio would all dress the same. I should wear the dress that Melody made for me. Help me put it on?” I picked the purple cocktail dress up from the bed and held it.

“This looks familiar.”

“She used the dress I wore to the party last spring as a pattern” Kate said. “She’s so sweet.” I zipped up the back of the silky dress then kissed her bare shoulder. “I can’t wait for you to take it off of me.” I turned to kiss her—so soft and sweet and gentle.

After the dedication of the wall and the accolades that accompanied it, the gallery opening was anticlimactic. Poor Tony. I got glad-handed and Clarice took inquiries for both Kate and me to do various commissions. My oils and acrylics were drawing higher bids than Kate’s charcoals and pastels, but her oils were creating a real stir. We’ve got such different styles that there wasn’t much crossover between the people who wanted her paintings and the people who wanted mine.

They had priced things differently than what I thought was going to happen. Clarice and I had talked about the value of our paintings and placed them in the two-to-five thousand range, depending on the medium, size, and subject. My two commissioned portraits had been done for between twenty-five hundred and three thousand, so I figured that would be a good expectation. The Gallery had set “reserve bids.” If a patron wanted to buy a piece, she had to make an offer that was at least as high as the reserve bid. If another patron offered more, then there was an auction. The auction was held in the gallery director’s office and I saw a steady stream of people going in. Occasionally a gallery runner would come out and place a “sold” tag next to a painting.

“I’m Neil Stedman,” a guy introduced himself, shaking our hands. I thought he spent too long holding on to Kate, but she didn’t seem to mind. He was about six-two with movie star good looks and I hated him already. “I’m a promoter from New York. I’d like to represent you two and get you some bigger events.”

“We have an agent,” I said.

“That’s great for the Seattle market if this is where you want to stay,” Neil said. “It’s obvious that you don’t understand how the larger art world works, so we should talk. We could get you into one of the big houses in New York with exclusive representation. I’ll be in town over the weekend, so why don’t we get together tomorrow.”

“Thank you,” Kate said, taking his card. I took the card and shoved it in my pocket without looking at it.

“What’s your number, Katarina?” he asked. Before I could stop her she’d rattled it off. He flipped open an iPhone and entered it. “Tony?” he asked. I quickly gave him Clarice’s number. I was looking around frantically and caught Lissa’s eye. She swooped in to the rescue.

“You need to hydrate, lovers,” she said stepping between Kate and Neil. “There are a hundred more people who want to say hi to you.”

“Was he for real?” Kate asked as we snuggled into bed. We’d opted to all join together on the mattresses in the big bedroom. Kate, Lissa, Melody, and I were on the big bed, and to my surprise, our entourage, including Beth and Allison, were all snuggled up together on the mattress on the floor. It was almost like our adventure in Nebraska at Christmas.

“Guys like that are predators,” Lissa said. “Jack and I encountered them all the time when I was modeling. They call themselves promoters, agents, representatives, publicists, and anything else that will get them your business or into your panties. Let Clarice handle him.”

“I wish I hadn’t given him my number,” Kate said. Our phones both rang. Before Kate could answer, Melody hit reject. I answered mine and Clarice started in the middle of a sentence, as usual.

“Target was exceeded. And don’t talk to the fake rep from New York. I’ve already had him run and he has a reputation. So here are the numbers,” she said. I switched her to speaker phone. “All but three pieces are sold. That’s three pieces between the two of you. Since the only offers were under the reserve bid, they will still be for sale at the agreed prices at the gallery. Congratulations, you two.”

“Wow! Thanks, Clarice,” Kate said.

“That’s great news,” I said.

“I know you have me on speaker phone. Do you want the net broadcast to the room?” she asked.

“Um… We’ll probably tell everyone, but why don’t you text us the number and we’ll let people know, okay?” I said.

“Sure, Tony. It’s on its way. I just want to say congratulations again. You are on your way to great things. Now get back to your… whoever is with you… and enjoy yourselves.” Clarice hung up and both Kate’s and my phones buzzed with text messages. We looked at the messages and then up at each other. I know our mouths were wide open.

“Tony? Does yours say the same as mine?” Kate squeaked. We traded phones. Kate’s phone rang again and I rejected the call from the New York number. This was going to be a real pain. But the numbers in our text messages were the same.

“Well?” Melody asked.

“I think we’re finally able to contribute to the household income with something other than our scholarship housing allowances,” I said. We handed our phones to Melody and Lissa and they looked at the numbers. Melody can dance and squeal even when she’s in bed.

“Are you going to share any of that with the party on the floor?”

Kate’s phone rang again and I saw Melody reject the call then do something else on Kate’s phone with a determined grin on her face. She handed the phone back to Kate and just said, “There. Blocked him.”

“Well, there’s information that concerns you, Bree,” I said. “You might even want to contact Eric and the rest of the committee.”

“What?”

“An anonymous donor bought the rendering for the mural and donated it to Seattle Art Museum,” I said. “You know the proceeds from that sale don’t generate a commission for either Clarice or the gallery. It all goes to the homeless fund.”

“Wonderful!” Bree shouted.

“Yeah,” I answered. “He paid $50,000.”

There was silence in the room for all of three seconds before everyone piled onto the big bed, jumping, screaming, kissing, and… Whoa! Doing a lot of other things. Kate and I were at the bottom of a lot of loving. I don’t know how we managed it, but I think all ten of us spent the night in the not-so-big-anymore bed.

Two

After a week of attempting to bask in the glow, Kate and I got back to work. We needed a lot of pictures ready for our shows during the holiday season. Six months away!

It was fun to work on something creative for a change. Working on the mural of Tent City became—not drudgery, but… The inspiration and creative part was done before I faced the eighty-foot-wide wall. I didn’t want to produce anything on that scale again. I started inspired, become overwhelmed, spent most of my time panicked, and concluded with relief. I don’t want to spend my life in that cycle.

“Will it disturb you if we work in the studio at the same time?”

I was going through my Bacchanalia sketches to decide which piece I wanted to work on next. It was too bad Pet had sold at the first exhibition. I only had photos of it to refer to as I worked on the rest of the suite. I had three canvases that I’d managed to sketch during rainy days and I wanted to bring my models back for additional posing. Today I was working on the overall theme—sketching and visualizing.

“Of course not,” I said, happy to have company in the studio. “Uh… Who is we?”

“Willow, Sunday, Rainbow, and me,” Kate laughed.

“How did you end up with such a normal-sounding name?”

“Mama got to me before the hippies did,” she laughed. “And who ever said Katarina Mirela Holsinger was a normal-sounding name?” I kissed my lover and we lost our place in the conversation.

“So,” I said, regaining my breath, “what are you four working on?”

“I’m going to try to put them together in a portrait,” Kate said.

“Their whole bodies?”

“Doc wants me to work on capturing more on my canvas than my pinpoint vision.”

“You mean you’re going to paint something larger than the mole next to Rainbow’s left nipple?” I laughed. “I love that piece, by the way. I love everything you paint, Kitten.”

“Yes, but maybe Doc’s right. I need to explore more abstraction and see how the rest of the scene fits. My sibs have agreed to help me.”

“Well, I don’t mind. I don’t have anyone scheduled for posing until next week. I’m just working on the story-flow,” I said.

“You won’t be distracted by their beautiful nude bodies?”

“Nude? You’re doing them nude?”

“Their request.”

“I’ll do my best not to stare… all the time,” I panted. The three sixteen-year-olds were beautiful kids. They’d relaxed into our household in the month they’d been with us, picking up chores and responsibilities as naturally as if they’d been raised with us. I still loved the image in my mind of the three of them dancing naked in the background as Kate and Wendy danced near my drums. I might have to paint that.

The day in the studio was fun. I had half-a-dozen sketchbooks with roughs and sketches of the various tableaus in Bacchanalia and a large, comprehensive sketch that I was ready to paint on an eight-by-four-foot canvas similar to the mural wall rendering. Something held me back and I hadn’t started yet. I’d erased portions and added new vignettes. It still wasn’t there, but it was getting closer. I wasn’t sure I’d have the whole thing for a show in December, though.

I spent most of the afternoon in my chair in the studio, making notes and sketching out additions. I was perfectly positioned to watch Kate pose and draw the three teens. I tried not to stare, but they were all so damned beautiful. I don’t mean model-like beauty like Lissa, but a fresh innocence that lit their faces when they looked at each other. It inspired me and I started sketching.

Kate had built a set from cushions and the chaise that we often used. It was the kind of scene I’d create, with lots of drapery and soft, low light. Sunday sat with Rainbow lying across her and Willow partially on each of them. They seemed to take joy in being naked together, even though their sister was watching and sketching them. I went for a cup of coffee and passed behind Kate. I laughed to myself. The three were sprawled in front of her on the chair, fully nude, but Kate’s drawing only showed their faces as they looked at each other, talking softly.

As I returned to my chair, Rainbow’s eyes followed me. I went back to sketching and caught a motion out of the corner of my eye. I looked up and saw that Rainbow was still looking at me with an evil glint in her eye. Ever so slowly, her legs parted. From Kate’s perspective, I doubt that she noticed the minor shift, especially as focused as she was on their faces. From my angle, I was looking directly into her crotch. Lying on her left thigh, like an arrow pointing the way, Willow’s erection twitched occasionally. And damn, the kid’s hung! They were aroused, even though they kept their pose for the most part.

We worked for about four hours. As everyone got dressed, I asked if they’d be up for another posing session. I got grins all the way around.

“I think I’ve unleashed monsters,” Kate sighed.

“We think you’re wonderful,” Sunday said. “Thank you both—and the whole family—for letting us come to live with you. Even if Rainbow is a big tease.” Rainbow had the good grace to blush and I promised I’d tell Kate about it later.

“Anybody speak Spanish?” I asked as I opened a letter that had come in the mail.

“Silly boy,” Allie said. “You know that I do. Oh look! I got one, too.” She ripped her letter open and began to read. “La Federación Internacional de Racquetball y la Federación Dominicana de Racquetball tienen el honor de invitarlos a participar en el IRF CAMPEONATO MUNDIAL ELITE DE RACQUETBALL—SANTO DOMINGO.”

“Right,” I said. “What’s it mean?”

“You know what it is,” she laughed. The whole family gathered around and Allison translated. “The International Racquetball Federation and the Dominican Racquetball Federation have the honor to invite you to participate in the IRF ELITE WORLD RACQUETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP—SANTO DOMINGO.”

“Hey, it’s no more expensive than Opens. Just a hundred bucks to register,” I said.

“Registering isn’t the expensive part of this tournament,” Lissa laughed. “You have to get there, first.”

“Where is Santo Domingo?” I asked.

“World map time,” Melody sang. She had her laptop open with a map in one window and airfares in another. “Here we are. That little island just east of Cuba.”

“That’s a long flight,” Allison said.

“You guys have your passports?” Kate asked.

“It’s still never been used,” I said.

“You’ve never been out of the country?” Allison asked. Disbelief was written all over her face. I just shook my head.

“We’re all going to start traveling soon,” Melody said. “But look at these airfares.”

I looked at the screen and gasped.

“That’s one of the reasons I’ve never been out of the country! A thousand bucks just to fly coach for… what?… twelve hours? Oh man.”

“It’s only eight hours in the air,” Lissa said calmly. “There’s a four-hour layover in Miami.”

“And a hundred twenty a night? How long is the tournament?”

“The dates are the fourth through the eleventh. That’s seven days. Figure at least a day ahead of time—no, make it two days—to get used to the change in climate and time zone,” Lissa said. “I did a photo shoot at Playa El Tesorillo near San Cristobal years ago. God, it was fun!”

“Yeah, but nine days. That’s another thousand. Plus food.”

“That’s what sponsorships are made for,” Lissa said.

“What?” Allison and I looked at each other blankly.

“World’s will be the international debut forum for Ice Queen Sportswear. As our official representatives, the company is picking up first class airfare and a hotel suite for our two Intercollegiate champions in Santo Domingo. Book ’em, Melody,” Lissa said.

“What? Doesn’t something like that require a board decision?”

“Nope,” Melody answered. “It’s a directive of the chief executive.”

“You guys!” Allie was practically whimpering beside me. We collapsed on Lissa and Melody, hugging them and kissing them.

“Better not book the flights yet,” Kate said. “According to this letter attached, you are supposed to be in Stockton, California for ten days of training before the team departs for Santo Domingo from LA. Gosh, you guys are going to be gone a long time!”

“I think we can arrange some company for the two of you in California,” Lissa said. “I’ve wanted to work with Coach Dan Elliot for a couple of years. I plan to learn all I can that week.”

“I’ve sent off our offer of new team uniforms to the USAR which makes Raquethon and us co-sponsors of Team USA,” Melody added.

While we were talking, a hand slipped into mine. I glanced up to see Kate smiling at me. It would be okay.

“Come on. It will be fun and you two need the competition and practice more than I do. There aren’t that many summer tournaments,” Lissa said. Allison and I wagged our heads in confusion.

“But we don’t play doubles,” Allie said. “I don’t even know how.”

“And I play doubles with you,” I complained. “Allie and I would need weeks to get ready.”

“You’re getting a crash course,” Lissa said. “There aren’t any other tournaments before you leave. You need to play against competition and this will be a fun tournament. You’ll get five matches, win or lose. It’s round robin. I talked the tournament director into letting you in.”

“Can we practice a little first?” I asked. Allie and I had been focusing our play time competing with each other. I knew how much we’d have to adjust to play in partnership. This was going to be brutal, but Lissa was firm. We were headed to Friday Harbor for the Rusty Pollock Memorial Tournament this weekend. We needed some practice time.

Ever since the big deposit in our bank account after our gallery opening, I’d been convinced that I was an artist and all I had to do was paint. But now I had to also be a racquetball player—and a good one. Practice took priority for the foreseeable future. That sucked.

Allison and I headed for the court where Brent and Franklin were waiting to take us on. It was embarrassing. Brent and Franklin had moved up to serious competition and Lissa convinced them to compete in Friday Harbor as well, even though it was the weekend after spring quarter ended at SCU.

Playing with Allison was similar to my first outing playing with Lissa. We stumbled all over and I was seriously concerned we’d injure ourselves. The two guys nailed us in three straight games and then Lissa had us split up. She put Tonya and Bree in with Brent and Franklin and had Allie and me work on just reading each other. Of course, that meant contact and Lissa went so far as to get a couple of those exercise bands from the fitness center and literally tie our waists together. She gave us room to stretch the band about four feet. And she made us play that way for an hour, just hitting the ball to each other. Staying out of the way of each other’s swing slowed us down.

When I came out of the club Tuesday night after three hours of practice, I just wanted to go home and eat. I was exhausted and starved. I was not happy when Lissa fastened the two of us together again.

“Hey! What gives?” I asked.

“You and Allie need to learn to connect. You do it with me on the court. You do it with Kate when you paint. You do it with Melody when you’re having sex.” We all laughed at that one. It did seem that Melody and I always knew what the other wanted or needed when we were making love. But this wasn’t the same. As we struggled to get in the car, Lissa continued. “I’m keeping you strapped together for the rest of the week. If you need personal time, that can be arranged, but basically, you’re going to know when Allie is moving as soon as she does. You’ll know the pressure on her bladder and when she needs to pee. You’ll know exactly how she moves when I eat her to orgasm. And Allie’s going to know you the same way.

“But I have painting to do, too.”

“And I have to meet with my director at the Wagon Wheel. They want me to start rehearsing to open right after Labor Day,” Allie said.

“Like I said, if you need personal time, we can make that arrangement, but if you can arrange your times right, Allie should listen to your music with you and move with you while you paint. Tony, you should stand with Allie on stage while she auditions. That might be going a little too far,” Lissa laughed. “But now you need to figure out how to buckle your seatbelts and then get home for food and a hot tub.”

We succeeded. Don’t ask me how. We almost fell in the tub, but we managed to get in and out. I swear that Allison’s hips were moving in synch with mine as she humped Lissa’s face and I buried myself in Melody. On Wednesday we disconnected long enough for Allie to go to her meeting and me to paint before we reconnected on the court. Thursday, Allie listened to my music and moved with me while I painted. A little later, I stood with her while she had a voice lesson. That was weird. I started breathing in time with her.

We looked bizarre as we all drove up to Anacortes to catch the ferry to Friday Harbor. There were five of us, so we took the Escape. We had rooms at the Friday Harbor House, ate at the welcome dinner, and went to bed that night with Allie and me still lashed together. Lissa didn’t let us out of our get-up until it was time to walk onto the court for our first match.

We did well. We won three of our five matches and ended up in third place. Brent and Franklin won second in their meet. And we had a great time doing it. That night, Allie and I connected in a different way and had no problem reading each other’s moves.

Three

“You guys are going to have to figure out how to be together,” Lissa said. Allie and I looked at her blankly. “I know. You’re together. But when you are down on the island, you’ll be together without us. I had more in mind than racquetball when I tied you together this week. You need to depend on each other when you’re on tour.”

“I think we got past the part about feeling tense with each other,” Allie said. “What else do you have in mind?”

We all walked into the house and Lissa called “Family meeting!” Wendy and Kate came up from the basement and Melody and Bree poked their heads out of the kitchen. Whitney was in Louisiana to be with her family for a few days before Olympic trials.

“Hi, sweetheart,” Melody said, kissing Lissa and then me. Kate took the opposite approach and kissed me first. Wendy held back and waited until I reached out to her. She didn’t try to kiss me, but melted against my side. Allison got a faceful of Melody as soon as her lips were free. “How’d our weary warriors do this weekend?” Melody asked.

“We all had a great weekend and tournament,” I started, but Lissa glanced at me and I left it at that.

“Wendy and Bree, you need to be in on this, too,” Lissa said as she pulled Kate and Melody to the sofa. I settled back in my recliner. “Guys, we all have fun together. We all love each other. In fact, it’s great to have the extra mattress in the bedroom and all be in there together.”

We heard the front door close and caught a glimpse of the trips headed for the stairs.

“Sunday, Willow, Rainbow, come join us,” Lissa called. Well it couldn’t be too bad if she was calling the teens to the meeting, too. “You all might face this kind of thing someday. You should get a start at figuring out how to deal with it.”

“Lissa,” I said, “you’re sounding ominous and none of us have a clue what’s going on. Did we do something wrong this weekend?”

“Oh god, no!” Lissa said as the teens settled on the floor. “I just realized as we were driving home what it means that World’s are coming up. You kids won’t know what we’re talking about all the time, but do the rest of you remember what early summer was like last year?”

“You mean when I was in prison in Boston?” Melody cracked.

“And I was doing time in Nebraska,” I said.

“And I had two boys out of school,” Lissa said.

“I was here by myself part of the time,” Kate added.

“You only had two kids,” Allie said. “When I left Chicago, I reported to work at camp in Kansas and had forty kids at a time.”

“I was scared,” Wendy said quietly. Her grip on my arm tightened.

“God, I wish I’d known you better then,” Bree said. “I don’t think I left my room for two weeks.” She reached across me and touched Wendy’s cheek, eliciting a weak smile. “But at least I had a room.”

“Why bring up such a painful time for all of us, Lissa?” I asked.

“Here’s the thing, Tony. You and Allison are hitting the road next month. You’ll be gone for about four weeks—first to California and then to the Dominican Republic. Whitney’s trials start this weekend and then, win or lose, she’s headed to the Olympics either to compete or to watch. We’re going to be scattered again. Only this time, we’ll all know that you have someone important with you. It’s going to be hard for any of us to go to bed at night—even with each other—and not think of you and Allison together in Santo Domingo. And I can tell you for a fact that it is a sunny, sexy paradise in the Caribbean and I for one am going to be insanely jealous.”

I could feel Wendy’s grip on my arm and her shaking. I pulled her down onto my lap and held her.

“Uh… I don’t know if this helps or makes it worse,” Kate started. We all shifted our attention. “Well, I talked to Mama Gypsy after our exhibition. Tony and I made a lot of money. I know that Tony’s share goes straight into the partnership and you all know that I’ve been reluctant to become a full member. Someday I’ll explain that better—I hope. Mama said to set aside part of my earnings after I’d made my contribution to household expenses and do something special just for myself.”

“I agree,” Lissa said. “Jack had me do the same thing with my first modeling check. It wasn’t that much, but I took Mom and Dad to Disneyland. I’m sure I didn’t pay for everything, but everyone made a big thing about how I’d provided a fun week for my family. Since I lost them a few months later, I always treasured that time.”

“Well, I was thinking something similar. I haven’t been around the racquetball scene a lot except for some local tournaments. But I thought maybe I could take Wendy with me and we could go to watch Tony and Allison in World’s. If it would be okay with you two and you didn’t feel we were infringing on your private time,” Kate said.

Allison grinned at me.

“If you don’t mind us teasing each other and letting off steam after the events, I certainly don’t have any objections,” Allie said.

“That would at least make it like four in each location,” Melody said. “We’d all have company.”

“Only three,” Lissa said sadly. “Whitney will be at the Olympics. She’s had opening ceremony tickets since the day they went on sale. This is a big deal for her, even if she doesn’t compete. She figured that if she does compete, the tickets would go to her parents.”

“Why don’t we go with her?” Bree asked. Everyone turned to look at us. Wendy had breathed a huge sigh of relief when Kate made her suggestion and tears were silently leaking from her eyes. “Well, I mean we might not be able to get tickets this late, but we’d be there and I’m sure even if she’s competing, Whitney could find some time to join us. She’s only trying for three events. We could have four people in the Caribbean and four in England.”

“Everybody gets a fun trip with loved ones,” I said.

“I like it,” Melody said.

“Just one thing,” I said. I had to lift Wendy out of my lap so I could stand up and go to Melody, Lissa, and Kate. “Kate, even though you haven’t joined the partnership, you are part of us—our family. Allison, Wendy, Bree, and in absentia Whitney, we are growing to love you more every day, but I think everyone realizes the difference between what we have with you right now and what the four of us together have. I’m sorry to be so blunt, but my life would in the shitter without these three women, no matter who else was with me. Splitting up to go with four people to each location is fun and something we’ll probably do even more often in the future. Clarice has already said that she’s sending Kate and me to opposite coasts for our winter shows. I’ll go to New York or Boston and Kate will be in either San Francisco or LA. So what I’m saying is that even when we’re split up, the four of us are a family and being in different places doesn’t mean we aren’t together.”

Wendy got up out of the recliner and came over to kneel in front of the four of us. I was a little worried about what she might have in mind. I don’t much like it when she goes all submissive.

“Tony, I once promised you that I would never take Kate away from you. Kate, I make the same promise to you. And to you, Melody. And to you, Lissa. I know I’m more involved with Tony and Kate, but the four of you mean the world to me and I will do anything I can to protect your relationship—even if it means giving up my own,” Wendy said. I was floored. Before we could respond Bree knelt beside Wendy.

“Melody, we’ve never said anything quite like that, but I love you and I love Tony and I’m awful damn close to loving Lissa and Kate and Wendy. I promise I will never try to take any of you away from the others and I will do anything I can to help and protect your relationship—even if it means giving up my own. Nice words, Wendy. I really needed to say them, too,” Bree finished. She hugged Wendy and I could see the two had forged an intimate bond.

“Hell, I’ve got a girlfriend,” Allie said. “But yeah. What they said. Kate, I know we haven’t been as intimate as I’ve been with Tony, Melody, and Lissa, but loving each other doesn’t mean we all have to have sex with each other. And God! Wendy, after that speech you gave at the dedication, I start crying every time I look at you. I want you for my friend. And Bree, I’ve had fantasies about you ever since you attacked me in Tony’s room in Tempe. I love the games we play and someday I hope I’ll have a real relationship with someone that is like yours. And if the tall skinny one doesn’t agree with the terms when she gets back from Louisiana, I bet the three of us can make her see reason.”

The tall skinny one got back from the Bayou and was too hyped up about National Trials to even think about her relationship with the rest of us. Lissa, Whitney, and I headed for Eugene, on Thursday. Another carload was coming next weekend. Whitney’s events were at each end of the meet. Hundred meter hurdles had qualifiers on Friday.

Geez! Remind me not to get in a situation where I need to run away from that girl! She won her first heat on Friday in the hundred meter hurdles with a time of 12.88. I mean she was flying. It wasn’t the fastest time out there, either. These are big-time serious athletes and not just college students. I was stunned at the number of athletes who listed themselves as being ‘from’ Nike. Whitney was definitely in the big leagues here like Lissa and I were in amateur racquetball.

Saturday at three-fifteen, Whitney flew in the semi-finals with a new personal best of 12.70. And she got second! I had no concept of how long thirteen seconds were, or how incredibly fast. Lissa and I were both hoarse by the end of the race, and crying all over each other. Whitney didn’t come to sit with us and laugh and joke during the interim before her last race. She and her coach were off someplace stretching, relaxing, and getting pumped for the five-forty-five finals.

Whitney couldn’t quite make it in the finals. Damn! She was chasing the leaders, and half the field when you looked at them. In reality, there was just twenty-four hundredths of a second separating first and last. Whitney was sixth which made her the third alternate for an Olympic berth. All three of Team USA’s top runners would have to be unable to run in order for Whitney to be called to London. She was heart-broken and Lissa and I just sandwiched her between us and held her all night long.

“I ran faster than her in the semis! I could have beaten her. I could have done it,” Whitney cried. But as all of us know, what we could have done and what we did can be two different things.

Melody, Bree, Kate, and Wendy got to Eugene on Thursday in plenty of time to get seats for the 400 meter hurdles at five-thirty. Whitney was in the third heat. Want fast girls? Forget pick-up bars.

Whitney ran a personal best 56.72. She hadn’t been running 400 meter hurdles that long. All her high school races had been 200 meter. She came in third and moved on to the finals on Friday. Of course, she couldn’t stay with us Thursday night as she was on a strict regimen between events. The six of us remaining all piled into the king-size bed in our hotel room and spent the night snuggling with each other. There wasn’t a lot of sex (yeah, what’s a lot to one guy with five beautiful girls in his bed?) but we just all wanted to touch each other as much as possible. We all craved just being in touch with each other.

On Friday, we got to the field and looked at our program realizing what Whitney was up against today. The 400-meter semi-finals were at 3:20. The long jump qualifiers started at 3:30. This was going to be hell. When Whitney walked up to her starting blocks in the first heat, she stood up and looked around. When she saw us waving and shouting, she smiled, nodded her head once, and settled into her blocks.

“Blow it off, Whitney,” I heard Lissa breathe. “Focus on the long jump. You can do it.”

Well, Whitney couldn’t hear her and it wouldn’t have made a difference. You can’t tell a thoroughbred to lose a race. Whitney ran a personal best 56.18. It was only good enough for sixth and she bowed her head with a sigh when she realized she was out of competition for even an alternate berth in the 400.

It took about thirty seconds for her to catch her breath, spot her coach, and refocus on the long jump.

She fouled her first jump. That race just took a lot out of her concentration. But that gave her a few minutes to catch her breath and settle down before the next jump. In long jump they take your best jump out of three. Whitney’s third jump was a qualifying 6.4 meters. She was still in the hunt for an Olympic selection.

She had Saturday off and joined us for a late breakfast.

“You look sad, baby,” Lissa said as they hugged.

“I’m just thinking about spending another four years training,” Whitney said. “If I was just two years older…”

“That would just make you older,” I said. “You should be glad you’re young and ready to kick some old-lady butt.” We all laughed.

“You’d think. And if any of those ‘old ladies’ wanted to race me to you and Lissa, I’d beat their asses. But they’ve got two to four years of experience and training on me. I’m nowhere near my peak yet, but I could be past it by the time the next Olympics come around,” Whitney sighed. “By the next Olympic trials, I’ll have gone from being pretty, smart, and fast to being smart and pretty fast.”

“You’ve got the world ahead of you, baby,” Lissa said. “Believe me; we’ll all help you get there.”

Sadly, Whitney’s words were prophetic. On Sunday she leaped 6.45 meters, but that was only good for tenth. The winner, our Team USA representative, launched a 7.15-meter jump.

After the event, Whitney gathered up her gear and dragged herself over to where we were still recovering from the way we’d been yelling.

“Can we go home now?” she asked. We loaded into the two cars and headed for Seattle.

Four

“So, how many dates you got tonight?” Howard asked as he soaped up my face. I only do this when I’m going out with for something special and tonight was a concert at the zoo.

“Well, let me see,” I said. “There’s the wives, Melody and Lissa, and our girlfriend Kate.”

“When are you going to marry her?” Donna asked as she watched, waiting for her chance to get her hands on my hair.

“Kate’s special. She probably won’t want to join the partnership until we’re out of school,” I said. “We’re working on her, though.”

“Okay, so the four of you?” Howard asked.

“Well, then there’s our girlfriends, Allison, Bree, Wendy, and Whitney,” I said.

“So each of you in the central four has a girlfriend?” Donna asked.

“Well, Wendy is Kate’s girlfriend. Bree is Melody’s girlfriend. Allison and Whitney are both kind of Lissa’s girlfriends. She’s insatiable.”

“And yours?”

“Oh, I’m just along for the ride.”

“What a bullshitter,” Howard laughed. The last time I was in, he was sure I’d lost all my girlfriends.

“Howard, look at this,” Donna said softly as she finished using that vacuum thing on my neck. Right on time, Melody, Kate and Lissa walked into the barbershop. Allison, Wendy, Bree, and Whitney were following right behind.

“Holy Mother of God!” Howard said. “Whatever that kid’s got, I want me some of it.”

“In your dreams, Howard. In your dreams,” Donna said. “What are you doing tonight, anyway, big guy?”

I handed the money to Donna as my girlfriends stepped up one at a time to get a kiss and feel my baby-smooth cheeks. We left the barbershop in a group and I saw Donna wrap an arm around Howard.

It was a different dynamic at the zoo than it was when we were here last summer. Last summer it had been our first date with Kate and the four of us were so head-over-heels in love that I was swept away by the environment and did a new and colorful sketch that would start me on the way to painting things other than reclining nudes. This time, I didn’t pull out a sketchbook at all, but we were caught up in the torch and twang of K.D. Lang as we ate a down-home picnic of fried chicken, potato salad, and soft drinks. Being the upright male amidst seven glorious, sexily-clad ladies, made me the obvious envy of a lot of guys and several gals. Kisses were shared liberally among us. We held hands and joined a crowd two-stepping around the edge before collapsing on our blanket in a Gordian knot of arms and legs.

“Attention, everyone!” Kate said as she stood naked at the foot of the bed. That was enough to get the attention of the other seven of us in bed. Wait, where’s Wendy? “You all might not know it, but the Fourth of July is an important holiday for more reasons than Independence Day. The Fourth is also the official anniversary of Tony, Melody, and Lissa. They were blessed by a minister in Nebraska. So I think we should wish them all a happy anniversary.”

Wendy walked in the door with a little cake and a candle glowing in the middle. We had a raucous celebration after the three of us blew out the candle. I didn’t know people blew out candles on an anniversary cake, but we did. We all ate cake and then there was a little game of find the crumbs, played with tongues. I don’t think there were any cake crumbs in some of the places I found tongues. We went to sleep a happy and exhausted crew.

For two weeks, life was routine. Up early, breakfast, and read to the boys. Studio all morning, working beside Kate.

About two o’clock, I went to the club with Lissa, Whitney, and Allie. We warmed up, played hard, and Lissa criticized everything we did. In a good way, of course. It seemed like the better we played, the more little things she had for us to work on. I spent one afternoon five feet from the wall returning balls I couldn’t see coming. I got hit in the face so many times my left cheek was black and blue. By the end of the session I could hear the ball coming and move to where I needed to be.

We were as ready as we were ever going to be and John arranged an invitational at the club. He kept it small, inviting top players from the area to participate in the round-robin tournament. Allison and I did well. Neither of us lost a match, even though we’d managed to get some incredible players to come to the tournament. I came off the court after my first match and saw Karl Higgendorfer warming up. I hadn’t seen him since our surprise match-up before Nationals.

“How’d you get into this tournament?” I asked as we shook hands.

“Got an invitation from the Ice Queen. Can’t refuse to appear when the queen summons,” he laughed.

“How are classes going?”

“Tiring. I’m only taking an extra day to come out here to play and then it’s back to the grind on Monday. They don’t give med students a break,” he said. I remembered my time at the med school here in Seattle sketching the dissection of a cadaver with a shudder.

“Hey. Anybody special in your life?” I asked.

“No time. Why?”

“Just wanted to know before I set you up tonight,” I laughed. I ran to my locker and called Amanda. Yeah, she guessed she could come over to watch a match and go to dinner tonight if I could promise dancing and drumming. Well, little lies.

Karl and I met again in the last match of the day and we were both at the top of our game. We both dropped into our zones so easily that it was a joy to play. The match was tight and I took the last game by two points. We were both damned proud.

“Karl, we’re headed to our favorite restaurant tonight and you are coming with us,” I said in the locker room.

“Um… I wouldn’t dream of saying no, but I’ve got to ask you. Do you know that gorgeous brunette with the electric blue eyes that came to watch the last match? You know you wouldn’t have won if I hadn’t been thinking about her,” he said.

“Ah. My strategy worked,” I said. “She’s your date tonight.”

“She’s what?”

“She doesn’t know it yet, though, so please don’t blow it as soon as you meet her, okay, Doc?” I laughed.

“Tell me about her,” he demanded.

“Senior, pre-med, beautiful, and sharp as a scalpel. That’s all you need to know before I introduce you.”

“Uh, Tony?” Amanda said as she approached me in the restaurant.

“Geez. I invite you out and you don’t even talk to me. What’s up?”

“As if you didn’t know, you ass. I just wanted to tell you I won’t make it for drumming and dancing tonight.”

“Oh, well that’s too bad. I’m glad you could join us for dinner.”

Amanda plopped down wiggling between Kate and me.

“Is he for real, Tony?” she asked. “I know you planned this, but I’m not sure I’m ready for anything serious. He’s just so nice.”

“He’s a good guy, Amanda. I don’t know if he’s right for you, but I just knew that you’d like to get to know each other. He’s a couple of years ahead, but that could be advantageous, too. And you’re on opposite coasts for the next year. You can’t get so involved that you neglect your studies,” I said. “If you like him, enjoy the company. If you don’t, come over and do some drumming.”

Amanda glanced over to see Karl in an intense conversation with Allison. She leaned over and gave me a quick kiss.

“I miss studying with you, Tony,” she said. “Thanks for watching out for me.”

The three teens stood nervously at the foot of our bed. Melody, Kate, Lissa, and I had just gotten out of the hot tub and crawled into bed. It was about the first time this summer that it had just been the four of us, with Allison in a rehearsal, Wendy working, and Bree and Whitney in a meeting with Coach Jacobson. We’d barely crawled into bed when there was a knock at the door and three naked teens entered the room.

I just assumed they wanted to use the hot tub, but they came to the foot of the bed to address us.

“It looks like you’ve adopted the family uniform,” Kate laughed.

“Well, it’s just us,” Sunday ventured. “I mean, none of your… um… girlfriends are here.”

“Even if they were, it would be okay,” I said. “What’s up? You want to use the tub?”

They looked at each other and Willow and Rainbow nodded toward Sunday to continue.

“Tony. Everybody. We didn’t realize you had such a busy summer coming up when we asked to come and stay with you,” she said. “I guess none of us knew when we talked about it. But we never meant to be an extra burden to you. And with all of you leaving, we don’t want to impose. We were thinking that if you wanted us to, you could drop us off at the train station tomorrow and we’ll go back to Oregon, or something.” I was shocked.

“Are you tired of your big adventure?” Kate asked softly. “Had enough of the city and ready to go back to live on the commune again.”

“No!” Willow said. His mouth worked some more, but no other words came out.

“We love it here,” Rainbow supplied. “None of us want to leave, but you’ll all be gone.”

“Oh dear,” Lissa said. “I didn’t think. I assumed you’d love the opportunity to be independent. I didn’t think that you’d feel abandoned.”

“We don’t feel abandoned,” Sunday said. “We just thought you wouldn’t want us here without you to supervise.”

“Do we do that?” I asked. “Who didn’t tell me we were supposed to supervise the Trips? I feel terrible that I haven’t been doing any supervising. Kate have you been supervising?” I was having a hard time keeping a straight face. Kate was smiling and Melody was outright laughing. “I’m serious guys. Didn’t you go out and get summer jobs? Was I supposed to go with you? Did Melody along when you bought new clothes?” I didn’t know if the teens were going to laugh or cry. They looked like they were struggling with their own facial expressions.

“Um… no,” Willow whispered. That’s the only word he’d said so far since they came into the room.

“Willow,” Kate said softly, “Sunday, Rainbow. We never thought that it would look like we were all leaving, so you’d have to, too. I kind of thought you’d jump at the chance to live together for a couple of weeks with nobody around but you. I know you’ll keep the house up and not wreck it. You’ve all been super-responsible for two months living with us. I think I speak for us all when I say we trust you. If you don’t want to spend two weeks without us, then we can work it out so someone else comes in to stay, but, it’s up to you.”

“Really?” Rainbow asked. “You’d let us stay here without you?”

“Really,” Lissa said.

“You guys are so cute!” Melody squealed. “I don’t mean that to be condescending, but it’s been harder for me to keep from being Miss Bossypants and telling you everything you should do while you are staying with us. But there’s never been a reason. Now there is. So I’m telling you that the four of us and our entourage are going to be gone for a while this summer. We’re leaving the house in your care and expect you to live here and treat it as your home. If you choose to refuse this assignment, I’m going to self-destruct in ten seconds. Got it?”

The teens finally got the message and broke out in laughter as they jumped on the bed to kiss each of us and say thank you. I’d even got used to having Willow give me a kiss over the past few weeks. I don’t think he was gay in the least, but he just didn’t make a distinction between me and my wives. It was okay.

If anything, Stockton, California was even hotter than Tempe. It was ninety-four degrees when we got there Monday. It was ninety-nine when we flew out for the Dominican Republic a little over a week later. Even the air conditioned club felt like a sauna. Lissa flew down with Allison and me, but the rest of the family were flying to London, so she only stayed two days. Allison and I were truly on our own.

There were six men and six women on the U.S. Team roster, but only three women and four men were headed to World’s. We were in rare company and we got schooled. There was no requirement that everyone on the team be there so I about fell on my butt when I walked into my first training match on Friday after Lissa had gone home and found I was facing Randy Lewis. Holy shit! I was playing the best I ever have and he took me down like he wasn’t even trying. Coach Elliot had us paired up twice that day and I was considering giving up racquetball. You just wouldn’t believe it.

Randy was the reigning National and World Champion. I asked him why he was even here at the training camp.

“Oh, my coach is working with the junior team this week, so I came here to get warmed up,” he said. Arnie Redman was almost as famous in racquetball circles Randy.

“It’s not hard to get warm in this weather,” I laughed.

“How serious are you about racquetball?” Randy asked.

“I love to play,” I answered, not sure where he was going.

“Want to make a career of it?”

“Well, not exactly. It’s helping pay for college, but I’m an artist and sometimes it’s a real struggle to make time for both.”

“I don’t know whether to be pissed or relieved,” Randy sighed. “On one hand, you’ve got raw talent that could be refined into something great. You’d just have to dedicate yourself to it. Playing pro racquetball is like any other job. You get up in the morning and start working, whether it’s conditioning, endurance, or skills. You’re never at the level you could achieve. Each time you enter a tournament, you ship a product and the prize money is your paycheck.”

“I can relate to that, I guess. I have to paint every day or I’ve got nothing for the next show. Sometimes, I just paint for the sheer joy.”

“That’s racquetball all right,” Randy said. “On the other hand, I’m relieved that I won’t have you to compete against in the pros. It’s going to be bad enough holding on with that kid out East that’s been making a mark. Brian Summers took the Elite National Singles title. We were all a little disappointed that we didn’t get to see a matchup between the two of you. If he decides to go pro, he’s going to be better than Karl Higgendorfer and a threat to all us older players.”

“I was disappointed that I couldn’t make National Singles, but that was one of those instances where I had a deadline for an art project and there just wasn’t an option,” I said.

“Well, no offense, but don’t count on more than a day in competition in Santo Domingo,” Randy said. “It’s like any other seeded tournament and the lowest ranked competitors face the top ranked competitors in the first round. You’re not the lowest, so at least it won’t be me that you face in the first round, but amateurs almost never progress into the round of thirty-two at World’s.”

He was a nice guy, but after our five minutes of talking he was off to lift weights. His focus on the sport is phenomenal. I thought back on our games over the past hour and realized he was probably taking it easy on me. He did allow me to score a couple of times.

Allison and I watched the opening ceremonies for the Olympics Friday night and Skyped Whitney, Lissa, Melody, and Bree in London. The broadcast was delayed until prime time on the West Coast, so by the time it wound down at eleven our time, it was already eight in the morning for them and they were planning their day. We never did see them in the crowd, but what are the chances that you’d see a specific individual on camera in that venue. Allison and I settled into bed.

“What a day!” Allison said. “Heard you got schooled by Randy.”

“Yeah. I don’t know about you, but there’s a whole order of magnitude between me and his level. It looks like it will stay that way.”

“I know what you mean. I played Hannah DeMarco. Probably got the same talk. How much of it do you think was just psyching us out?”

“Probably some, but there’s a lot of truth in it. I don’t think I can be on the top of the heap in both art and racquetball,” I said. “I’m not likely to make it to the top in either if I try for both.”

“You can be at the top of my heap,” she said pulling me toward her. I rolled with her and came to rest pillowed on her awesome girls. It was officially the weekend and even though we’d go in to work out Saturday, it wasn’t a required training day. That meant that Allie and I could play late and not worry about when we got up in the morning. I showed my approval with a long, deep kiss.

“This reminds me a little of Chicago,” I said.

“I hope it doesn’t end with you saying it isn’t right,” Allie laughed. “I loved what it inspired you to paint, and I treasure the drawing, but I’d like to feel you in me tonight.”

“I’d like that, too. I was thinking more about how we’re alone together. Lissa left Wednesday, but we’ve been too busy and too exhausted to just enjoy each other’s company. I’d like to spend some time just connecting with you,” I said.

“Should I get the rubber bands and tie us together?” she whispered as we kissed again.

“I’ve got a better idea,” I said between kisses. “How about if we connect this way?” I slid into her and she moaned deep in her throat.

“Do you think we can anticipate each other’s moves?” she said, pushing her pelvis toward me.

“I think we need to practice. A lot.”

“Could be a full time job.”

“At least for the weekend,” I said.

“That’s all I’m asking for.” For a few moments we relaxed into a rhythm that built toward climax as we moved together. “Tony, darling. I meant what I said about not coming between you and your real family. Bree and Wendy meant it, too. But I do love you. In so many ways, you changed my life for the better. I love you.” There was no way to say the words without letting our orgasms take control of our bodies.

And I loved Allie, too. I could almost imagine a different set of circumstances that would have made us a couple, but every time I thought of that, there was a huge hole that was empty. If we’d tried to fill that hole for each other, I think we’d have been frustrated no end. But relaxed like this—knowing that even when we were alone, we were surrounded by the love of our other partners—it was easy to lose myself in Allie’s willing heart and body.

Five

We got into LAX at eight in the morning before the rest of the team arrived so we could meet Kate and Wendy. After we got checked in by Copa Airlines, we went to the gate to meet the rest of the team transferring to the same flight.

“No Ice Queen?” Coach Elliot asked.

“She’s in London at the Olympics,” I said. “She sent these delegates in her place. This is Wendy and this is Kate. Coach Elliot.”

“We all have our little entourage,” Coach said. “Welcome to Team USA.”

About twelve hours later, after a four-hour layover in Panama, we landed in Santo Domingo. By the time we were out of customs, it was after one in the morning and fortunately Coach had transportation passes to hand to the cab drivers that got us all to our hotel. The concierge looked at us a little strangely when Kate, Wendy, Allie, and I all checked into the same room. But it was beautiful. We were told to sleep in, relax in the morning, have lunch and meet as a team at six for dinner. Sleeping with four of us in a bed felt like home and I dropped off to sleep listening to Kate and Wendy softly making love.

We took the day on Friday to go to the arena to warm up. Then we all changed into our uniforms and went to dinner with the other competitors. Being mostly English speakers, we hung together. Allie conversed with some of the other contestants and I nudged Kate and Wendy to point out Portia Lupino, the Mexican queen of the courts. I have to say, she is pretty damned cute. Kate was scanning the room like she was waiting for someone specific. A young man and woman sat at a table nearby and looked totally lost. Kate got up to go talk to them—in some language that I didn’t recognize. Allie and Wendy both shrugged and shook their heads. We watched as Kate invited them to join us.

“This is Bianca and Costi Stanescu,” Kate said by way of introduction. “They are here from Romania and don’t speak any Spanish or English. Please be friendly.” Then she turned to the couple and rattled off a phrase in the language that I now assumed must be Romanian that her mother taught her and introduced us. I leaned over to Kate.

“How did you know?”

“I was looking at the program and saw them listed. I saw them come in alone and they looked uncomfortable. So I guessed,” Kate said.

“And you happen to speak Romanian,” I laughed. “One more reason to love you.”

We laughed and Kate translated the conversation to our guests.

“You know, it’s called a World Championship, but there is hardly ever anyone from Europe who comes. There’s a team from Ireland and one from England. The competition draws several from Asia. I think everyone else who is here is from the Western Hemisphere,” Randy commented. “We won’t see most of the European competition until the World Games next summer.”

Kate was so busy translating that she wasn’t getting anything to eat. There was a good speaker—in Spanish with an English translator. Kate did her best to keep up translating the translation to our new friends. All of a sudden, Allie and Wendy erupted in laughter. I was a little nonplussed because what I heard didn’t completely make sense. I glanced at Kate, who looked just as confused.

“He mistranslated,” Wendy said. “It sort of made sense, but the speaker said ‘sportsmanship’ and the translator said ‘deportment.’ Technically you could use that word, but it came off sounding like we should ship everyone out.”

“You speak Spanish?” I said.

“Yes sir,” Wendy said softly. I squeezed her hand, but people were talking around us and beginning to move. We headed toward the hotel with the team and our new friends. Kate was talking to Randy and Hannah on one side with the Stanescus on the other. She was saying something about how excited they were to meet the greatest players in the world and hoped they won the championship. If this kept up, Kate was going to be very busy this week!

“I’m so sorry, master,” Wendy said softly as we stood in the shower. She pulled away from my raging hard-on and left it dangling. “If I go any further, I will be in violation of the family rules for tournament play. I have noted, however, that the singles tournament ends on Tuesday and you are not entered in the team competition that starts on Thursday. Therefore, I will be most pleased to serve you in any way at that time.”

Allison and I had been playing so much with each other during our time in Stockton that I’d conveniently forgotten the “tease but don’t come” tradition of competition. I don’t like Wendy acting so submissive, but it was obvious that she was playing up the role today precisely to enhance the teasing. And it was working. I seriously wondered if I’d be able to take the court without having my boner point the way.

My first match was with the Irish champion. He was ranked twenty-second in the tournament and played with both fervor and style. It wasn’t like playing Randy, where everything he hit couldn’t be returned. He handled me in straight games, even though one of them was tight. My first match at World’s and I was out.

Well, out is a relative expression. We were playing Olympic brackets, meaning that even though I was out for the championship, I wasn’t done playing. I moved to the red bracket with a match early Sunday.

Allison stood up well in her first match, taking one of the three games from her Honduran opponent. At the end of the match, though, Allie had also moved to the red bracket. I was waiting with water and a towel when she stepped off the court. She spoke in Spanish to congratulate Rita and then turned to look at me with a big grin on her face.

“We played in the World Racquetball Championships!” she said, laughing. “You and me, Tony. We played in World’s!” It was infectious. I was laughing, too, and soon we were joined by Kate and Wendy as we headed back for the hotel. It was amazing. College kids from Nebraska and Kansas who were unknown a year ago, and we just played in the World Championships. How freakin’ cool is that?

We spent the afternoon at the courts watching the second round of play in the top bracket. Randy demolished his Guatemala opponent. Then we watched Hannah take out her Panamanian opponent 15/1 and 15/0. Hannah was leaving no doubt in anyone’s mind that she was here to win a World Championship. Unfortunately, Mexican champion Portia Lupino, who had beaten Hannah in Opens, took out her Peruvian opponent by the same score. We were already seeing a preview of what the final match would be like. Super Girl meets Wonder Woman in a replay of the Opens final. That alone was going to be worth the trip to the Dominican Republic.

With a match under our belts, we were more relaxed at dinner. We connected our phones to the hotel WiFi and sent half a dozen messages to London. Lissa said they’d been following the live results and she was proud of us.

Costi had also fallen in the first round and would be playing in the red bracket. Bianca had survived her first match, but fell in the round of sixteen and would be in the women’s red bracket. We’d all be playing near the same time, though none of us had checked to see what the lineups were. Coach Elliot brought the news to us at our table. Allison and I would both be playing against Koreans who had looked tough during close first round matches.

Coach was great. He followed Kate’s lead and adopted the Romanians as part of our extended group. With Kate translating, he told Costi that he’d face the Dominican national champion. He even gave Costi a couple of tips for playing him, which Costi took seriously. Bianca would face the Peruvian, who was still stinging from her loss to Portia Lupino. Coach complimented Bianca’s play and encouraged her.

Bedtime was both easier and more intense than it had been the night before. Somehow, it was easier to tolerate the teasing that Kate and Wendy inflicted on us mercilessly. But the excitement of having played our first matches made it harder to sleep.

My first match in the morning was a disaster. My Korean opponent lit me up like a pinball machine. I got a few points in, but not enough to tell. I dropped to the white bracket and would play the first round in the afternoon. Allison fared little better, lasting through three games, but still dropping to the white bracket. Costi got slammed, but Bianca pulled out a victory to move to the round of sixteen.

That meant that we were all playing again in the afternoon.

Bianca was tired after her hard-won battle in the round of thirty-two and couldn’t pull out a victory this time. As luck would have it, though, she drew a bye in the white round of sixteen. That made our evening a celebratory one. Allie, Costi, and I had each pulled out first round victories in our new bracket, so we all moved to the white quarter-finals on Monday. We played in the World Championships and all would play in the quarter-finals in our bracket. We were having a blast, but from now on, out was out.

I suppose it was inevitable that questions would be asked and that we’d all be sitting around while Kate did her best to translate things that weren’t in her normal Romanian vocabulary. Costi and Bianca had figured out that we all not only shared a room, but shared a bed.

Kate had a difficult time explaining our ritual of teasing during a competition. We were all laughing as she kept saying things in both English and Romanian and Allie or Wendy put in the occasional Spanish word as Kate searched for equivalent meanings. Both Costi and Bianca were nodding, though, and occasionally laughing. Then the two of them surprised us by both stripping off their t-shirts. There were four gasps as we saw what was unveiled. Bianca was a touch shorter than Kate and Wendy at maybe five-three. She had coal black hair and huge dark brown eyes. When she stripped off her shirt, two perfectly-shaped, small breasts with round, tan nipples against milky white skin met our eyes. She looked as muscular as a gymnast. In fact, I swear she had washboard abs. Costi had short black hair and almost always a shadow of a beard. He might be an inch shorter than me and is extremely muscular. Tattooed up the inside of his right forearm are the words “No Mercy.” And, of course, he was ripped.

Bianca was babbling and Kate turned to us with a barely suppressed grin.

“She says this will make our men more virile,” Kate said. “They want to play tease, too.”

“They do understand that it doesn’t go beyond teasing, don’t they?” I asked. Kate said something then turned to me.

“Bianca says she allows no other man to touch her nor does she touch any other men, but you may look and imagine,” Kate said. Bianca was still talking. Kate blushed and continued. “On the other hand, she has nothing against playing with other women.”

“As long as they understand it’s up to the other women,” Allie said, “then this could be fun.” She stripped off her t-shirt and sports bra in one move and released those incredible tits. This time it was Bianca and Costi who gasped. I could see a tent forming in Costi’s pants. Wendy looked over at me and leaned in close.

“If you tell me to take my shirt off, I will,” she said. Kate was removing hers and for a moment I was too lost in what I was seeing to respond. Costi’s eyes were bouncing back and forth between Kate and Allison, but Bianca was looking directly at me.

“Tiger, please bring me my sketchbook and then let’s join our models and take our shirts off.” Wendy ran to the drawer where Kate and I had drawing supplies and Kate rapidly began explaining Bianca and Costi what was happening.

“Camera?” Costi asked.

“No,” Kate said, shaking her head. “Not fotografie. Drawing. Desen.”

“Ohh.” Costi said. Wendy handed me the sketchbook.

“Let me help you with your shirt, Tiger,” I said. I pulled her tee off and then unfastened her bra. She returned the gesture and took off my shirt. Without the shirt, her silver collar stood out to anyone who could see past her breasts.

I directed people around and got them in a position that would show that we were all together but were still two different groups before I rapidly sketched. In twenty minutes, I had a drawing that I could show everyone and Bianca and Costi were pleased with what they saw. We managed to get them out the door then so we could all go to bed.

Monday was it for me. My Honduran opponent took me 15/6 and 15/13. I thought I was going to pull out that second game, but he put on a surge that blasted past my two-point lead at 13/11 and took four straight points to win. Still, I was proud to have played in World’s and all of Team USA had gathered to watch and congratulate me. We all moved as a group to the next court and watched Allison battle it out with the Guatamalan. Allie fought hard, but went down 15/14 and 15/10. We all celebrated and were joined by Costi and Bianca. While I was playing, Costi had lost his own battle. Bianca, on the other hand, emerged victorious and was headed for the afternoon’s semi-final.

The higher level matches that night were too good to miss. Bianca lost her semi-final match, but it was a good contest and she would play the consolation final on Tuesday. Now that the rest of us were out of the competition, we were all relaxed and able to enjoy watching. Watching Bianca was pure pleasure. Having seen what was under that outfit the night before left me daydreaming about her while I watched her play and I quickly sketched out a few action poses.

The women’s gold bracket looked like it had been staged to bring Hannah DeMarco and Portia Lupino face to face in the finals. They each had one other opponent to face tomorrow before they could hammer at each other to prove who was the real world champion. Hannah still stung over being defeated at Opens by Portia and it looked like a rematch was forthcoming. On the men’s side, it looked like Randy could end up facing our teammate John Williams. Both were headed to the semi-finals tomorrow after resounding victories in the quarters.

“No teasing tonight,” Kate told our Romanian friends as we left them at their door. “We are past the competition and officially on vacation.”

We’d managed to connect to Lissa, Melody, Bree, and Whitney after Allison and I had finished the competition earlier in the day. Our London contingent was promising to join us in spirit as we broke celibacy tonight, but I suspected that by this time they were sound asleep. So it was a different feeling as Allison, Kate, Wendy, and I got ready for bed. I wasn’t completely sure how this was going to work. Teasing was one thing, but were we going to level up tonight?

The thing was that Melody and Lissa played together and each played with their girlfriends. I suspected that Whitney and Bree were just fine with crossing partners and even pleasuring each other. For our part, though, neither Kate nor Wendy had ever gone beyond a little teasing with Allison. Of course, they had each other and I could play with Allison—in fact, I knew I would be playing with her—but I wanted to spend time with my girlfriends, too.

Wendy dragged me to the shower before Allison and Kate could get there. With the hot water rinsing away both the sweat and excitement of the day, Wendy pressed herself against me in a lather of soapsuds.

“How may I please you, master?” she asked.

“Tiger, you know…”

“Please, Tony. Tell me what to do, tonight. Let me be your servant. I’ve felt so detached for the past couple of weeks while you were in California and then in competition. Please anchor me,” she whispered.

“I’m still getting used to this, Tiger,” I said. “Of course I want you. You’ve been such a good tease this week, keeping us all on edge. You deserve a reward. Would you like to swallow me?”

“Oh yes, master,” she said. There was real joy in what she was saying and in the enthusiasm with which she swallowed my cock. How twisted is this? But Wendy didn’t ask for much. Just release from any responsibility for what she was doing and praise for doing it well. How could I deny her that? Especially when she was making me feel so good while doing it.

“I’m getting close, Tiger. This feels so good. I’m sorry I can’t last any longer for you. Oh, Tiger. God! I love you.” I flooded her mouth as she continued to suck and nurse on my cock under the falling water.

“Did you mean it, Tony?” she asked as she rose from my cock to hug me again. “Do you love me?”

“I mean it, Tiger,” I said. “I love you.”

I never thought that I’d see what I did when we walked out of the bathroom. Allison and Kate were locked in a sixty-nine and seconds after we emerged, both were howling out their climaxes. Well, I guess some of my concerns were for naught.

Six

And then it was over. Our new friends flew back to Romania. Team USA headed to California and we caught a connecting flight to Seattle. Lissa, Melody, Bree, and Whitney got back from London on Sunday afternoon and we spent a week recovering.

For me, that meant painting. Kate and I went to the studio. I’d focused so much on racquetball in July that I felt I was months behind in producing the paintings for my show in December. I was finally happy with the sketch of Bacchanalia and was ready to start painting it. The suite of paintings that would go with it was a challenge, but my models all seemed to be happy to come in for a day and undress while I completed the sketches for the individual pieces. Especially since I was paying everyone who modeled now. I wanted all the sketches finished before Labor Day so I could just paint once school started.

Kate was ahead of me and I liked what I was seeing in her work. She was painting pieces that were broader in scope, but her attention to detail was just as important in the bigger works as in the smaller. The closer you got to one of her paintings, the more you could see. You could almost imagine getting a magnifying glass and seeing even more detail. I mentioned that and Kate abruptly stopped painting as she got a far-away look in her eye.

“You know,” she said, “that might be just what I need. You have entire images super-imposed over other images, but the idea of different levels of reality appearing tinier and tinier hasn’t had a lot of play in the past century.”

“You’ll be painting miniatures next,” I laughed. “I can imagine entire scenes painted on pinheads.”

“How many angels can Kate paint on the head of a pin?” she laughed. “Still…”

“Hey. It’s almost our birthday. What would you like to do to celebrate this year?”

“It would be hard to top last year,” she sighed. “Tony, I’m so happy I came to you all that night.”

“I know that I can speak for Mel and Liss when I say we’re happy, too,” I said. “But even more, I’m happy. Now we’re going to celebrate our birthdays and our anniversary on the same day.”

“I love you, Tony.”

“I love you, Kate.”

We kissed and allowed ourselves to float together, not trying to go beyond the kiss, but putting everything we had into it. I looked into her eyes and saw that pure burst of sunshine that came from her smile.

She pushed me toward my chair and I fell into it. Kate was on top of me in an instant. The little recliner in the studio was adequate. Kate pulled my shirt over my head and my hands slid up inside the oversized white shirt she used as a painter’s smock. I wasn’t surprised to find nothing under it but Kate. The feel of her skin beneath my palms caused the expected response in both of us and she had to struggle a little to get my pants down over my hard-on.

“Kitten, didn’t we just have a week of frolicking naked?”

“Mmmhmm. Did you get your fill?”

“I don’t think I’ll ever get my fill. I want to spend my life trying. Will you spend your life with me, darling?”

“Tony! I’m spending all the time I can with you.”

“You know what I’m talking about.” Kate kissed me deeply—a kiss I wanted to never end. I wanted her desperately, in my life, my bed, and my partnership. The word “wife” even crossed my mind. While we kissed, I felt the dual sensation of her pussy settling over my cock and her tears on my cheeks.

“Please don’t pressure me, Tony. Please just fill me. Make my life so there isn’t room for anything else. Love me. Please, love me.”

I did love her. Lying back in that chair as she rode me, kissed me, and wept on me, I made love to her. I filled my hands with her butt, then with her breasts. I got the smock open so I could kiss and suck her lovely nipples. Each lick brought her higher. I could hear the whine of her breath as she reached her peak. Her muscles clamped down on me as she ground against my pubic bone, and life flowed from me. I was barely still breathing when she collapsed, her eyes rolled into the back of her head. I caught her and held her naked breasts against my chest as I drifted off, the tears now coming from my eyes rather than hers.

What was I going to do with Kate?

“So,” I said as we recovered our composure and turned again to our canvases, “what shall we do to commemorate our first time and our birthdays? It’s only a month away. We need to celebrate.”

“I just did. I can’t think of anything I’d rather do than crawl in bed with my lovers. I can’t believe that just eleven months ago I was a virgin and now I have a beautiful man and three insatiable women to share my bed with each night.”

“Not to mention the occasional playmate,” I laughed, remembering catching her with Allison. “How about if the five of us go to Las Vegas for a long weekend? That has all the trimmings of a typical way to celebrate our twenty-first.”

Silence. I turned to look at Kate. She was staring at me. Her eyes were brimming with tears again. I couldn’t fathom what had come over her. I thought we got past the awkward part. We’d just been so happy a moment before. Las Vegas? Did she think I wanted to elope?

“What is it, Kitten?” I asked. I put down my pencils and caught her as she nearly collapsed with a sob. “Darling. It’s okay. What is it, sweetheart?”

“I… I… lied to you,” she sobbed. “I’m sorry. Please don’t hate me, Tony. I’m so sorry.”

“Kate! Kitten! I’m not going to hate you, no matter what. What do you mean you lied to me? Isn’t your birthday the same day as mine?”

“Yes. But I didn’t tell you the whole truth and now I have to and you’ll know. Everyone will know and you won’t want me anymore.”

I led Kate back to the recliner in which we’d so recently made love and settled her on my lap, petting her hair and whispering softly to her. We weren’t going to get any painting done today, but I didn’t care.

“Unless you are an axe murderer or a child-rapist, I don’t think there is anything you’ve ever done that could possibly make us hate you, Kitten. I’m going to forgive you right now for the lie, whatever it was. I promise I will never hold it against you. You don’t even have to tell me if you don’t want to.”

That resulted in renewed sobs, and when she’d finally settled a little she kept her head facing my chest.

“I can’t go to Las Vegas for our twenty-first birthday. It… isn’t my twenty-first. It’s only my nineteenth,” she gasped. “I’m sorry. I didn’t want you to know I wasn’t as old as you.”

“What? Why would that make a difference? We’re not going to be upset about… But you’re a junior in college. How old were you when you came to PCAD?”

“Sixteen. I was so scared someone would find out. I was so afraid when I fell in love with you that you’d think I was just a kid. I didn’t want Lissa to think she had taken a little girl to bed. What will she think, Tony? I waited for our birthday so I’d be eighteen when we made love. I’m still only eighteen.”

“Well, if you haven’t noticed, Lissa’s got another eighteen-year-old she’s been seeing lately, too.”

“Whitney turned nineteen in April. I’m even younger than her.”

“How did you manage to get into college when you were just sixteen?” I asked. “Oh, god, you were all alone here that Christmas and you were just seventeen? You poor kid.”

“I’m not a kid! Please don’t treat me like I’m just a kid now.” She pounded my chest with her fists, not hard, but emphatically.

“That’s not what I meant, Kitten. I think you are the most adult of all of us.” I said. “I’ll never use the term again.”

“I got here the same way Willow, Sunday, and Rainbow did. Rainbow will be seventeen in November and the twins in December. We’ve been emancipated. It’s part of why we all left the commune. We were adults and expected to pair up by the time we were eighteen,” Kate rattled. “When I went back at Christmas, there was a lot of pressure. That’s why I wanted you with me when I went back. The commune is a beautiful place to be a kid and great if you choose the lifestyle. But there’s pressure to conform to the standard if you choose not to leave.”

“So you were emancipated at sixteen?”

“That summer. I told Mama that I wasn’t going to stay and I wanted to go to college. She and Papa took me to Portland and signed the papers for my emancipation so I could manage my own life at college and so I would be considered completely independent when financial aid was determined. It’s why I got such a great scholarship. But I didn’t want anyone at school to know I was two years younger than them.”

“Kitten, I love you. Do you get it? It doesn’t make any difference to me how old you are. You could tell me you’re only sixteen now and I’d still be in love with you and I wouldn’t stop anything we are doing,” I said. “It explains something that I always wondered about, though.”

“What?”

“When we first met you never said anything to anyone. You answered questions with one word and walked away from anyone who approached you. I thought you were incredibly stuck up. Then, after the mural, I decided you were just shy and hiding. It made all of us want to coax you out of your shell. And that first kiss? Not the contest, but when I pinned your flower on—I fell in love with you that moment. Nothing you could say from that point on would ever have changed it. Please, Kitten, don’t pull away from us just because we’re old people. Nothing will ever change our love for you.”

“But you’ve done everything. Don’t you see? That kiss was my first. You had a normal childhood, went to a normal school and had friends and dates. I had a farm where the principle crop was marijuana. I don’t know anything except what I read in books.”

“Yet this book-learned kitten courted three people at once and won their hearts. She got her passport and traveled to Canada before she was eighteen. She had a gallery exhibition and earned nearly sixty thousand dollars. She took her girlfriend on an adventure to the Caribbean and booked us into a nude resort. She’s smart and talented and funny and beautiful and the most incredible woman I’ve ever met.”

“Will Wendy hate me? I couldn’t tell her either.”

“Wendy is still more of an innocent than even you. And she loves you like the rest of us. Kate, I understand the need to back off a little and not rush you now. But we… I will always love you.”

I’d never seen Kate so completely misjudge someone. I thought back about all the times when she’d pointed us in the right direction, been there for one of us or one of our friends, and guided us. I thought of the way she’d teased us and held us all at arm’s length until her eighteenth birthday and then let passion burst out like water from a fire hose. Her intuition about people like Wendy and Bree was spot on. But when it came to thinking that being two years younger would be a negative to any of us, she was completely mistaken.

That was a preview of Model Student 6: The Prodigal. To read the rest purchase the book.

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