Adam's Journey

Stormy, I could close my eyes and feel like I was right there with Adam. I'm telling you, you have a magical way with words. You could probably do pretty well for yourself as an author.

It'll be interesting to see how you get Adam's ass back on the boat, and how he is received by Kristi when they're reunited. Knowing how much she loves him, and knowing how he's struggling with this new phase of their relationship, Adam's knee jerk reaction to Ty's comments has to be upsetting to her. I'm guessing she's frantically trying to find out where he is right now. I'd be surprised if she looked at Adam's departure as a free pass for more sex with the two boys. It seems like they're both in unchartered water here, pardon the pun.

Awesome job Stormy, thanks for entertaining us.

cd - Honestly, I'm never really sure. I do have a few ideas to flesh out, however.

peak - Thanks. I'm a little exhausted from all the sex, thought maybe I should do a little more story instead for awhile.

GH - That's a very kind comment, it means a lot coming from you, and I do appreciate your wise words by PM as well. That you are enjoying the story brings me a great deal of gratification, as I have enjoyed yours for so long! Not really sure now why I just lurked and didn't comment on other's work for so many months, as posting comments and reading and replying to them has turned out to be so much fun. I owe you a belated apology for that; it was probably very rude, though unintentionally so.

TrF2 - Wow, a quote, even! Thanks again for all of your support and positive comments. I honestly wasn't sure when Adam dove off the boat just what the hell he thought he was doing, but I have a little better idea now. He needed time to clear his head, and maybe his conscience.

I put my hands behind my head and looked up at the stars, letting my body relax against the warmth of the rock. I don't know if someone turned down the distant music, or if my mind just tuned it out, but it seemed to become more faint, less obtrusive. I could hear the other sounds now, the ones around me. Something skittered across the rock above and to my left, a mouse maybe, or a lizard, and a few tiny pebbles clattered down. The duck grumbled again, perhaps talking in its sleep, and small ripples, driven by the light breeze, made soft liquid sounds against the shore.

In the distance, almost out of earshot, a coyote yipped, and another, closer but still not close, replied. I've always loved that sound, the wild, lonesome quality of it, and at times, like now, it suited my mood perfectly. I sighed, wallowing in my melancholy as I thought about Kristi.

She was all I could think about, and I recognized that she had me completely, that I was hers and would do anything she asked; that as much as I couldn't imagine life without her in those first few pain-wracked hours or days following my discovery of her infidelity, now I knew that life without her was out of the question. I'd never imagined myself becoming such a sop for a woman, but then I'd never imagined such a woman.

If it's true, as some say, that the perfect woman for every man is out there just waiting to be discovered, then it must also be true that most are fortunate to never discover them. At the moment I was not at all sure that the love was worth the anguish, the pleasure worth the pain. I sat up with a rueful chuckle, knowing inside it was all worth it and determined to put my maudlin philosophical moment behind me. As my old coaches used to say, walk it off! I should probably swallow my pride - again - and swim back to the boat with both my head and my cock hanging in shame! Fortunately the water was cold enough that the latter wouldn't hang very far.

Looking back toward the boats I was surprised to see the moonlight reflecting off the broad V-shaped ripples of someone swimming toward me, almost halfway between the boats and the shore. I hoped it wasn't Ty, coming with further insults or a meaningless apology; I wasn't ready for either, and felt pretty sure that blood would flow if he showed up now.

I soon recognized the fast, smooth, almost splashless stroke as Kristi, and joy and relief that she was coming to me mingled with confusion; I had no idea what to say to her! She approached rapidly, on very much the same trajectory that I had followed when I swam over, and when she reached the spot where she could stand she did so, the water coming up to just below her bare breasts.

"Adam, are you here?" She sounded slightly breathless from the exertion of her swim.

"I'm over here babe." Her head turned to the sound of my voice, and she spotted me sitting on the rock and began to walk up, out of the water. She looked like some sort of watery nymph, a siren or mermaid or something emerging from the lake. Her wet skin shone with the reflected moonlight, the light and shadows playing in a hypnotic grayscale upon the angles and curves of her form. Her wet hair was dark, absorbing the light as it had the water, and the shadows below her nose, brows, and cheekbones lent an other-worldly quality to her beauty.

The upper curves of her breasts were almost white in the moon's reflected light, erect nipples slightly darker, and there were pools of dark blue shadows beneath and along her ribs, a small vertical oval of darkness at her navel and a deep navy V at the junction of her thighs. She was a goddess of water and night, and I was holding my breath again.

For some reason a part of the verse at the end of the Moody Blues' song Nights in White Satin ran through my head, you know, the one that goes something like:

Cold hearted orb that rules the night
removes the colours from our sight.
Red is gray, and yellow white
and we decide which is right
and which is an illusion.

Corny, perhaps, but it seemed appropriate because she was so ethereal I wasn't entirely sure she wasn't an illusion. The illusion stopped in front of me, dripping water onto the rock and looking down at me. Then she shivered. I'm prettty sure illusions don't shiver.

"Adam, are you OK?"

I laughed. "Wow, the Goddess of the Lake, talking to me! Yeah, I'm OK, I just needed to be alone."

"Do you want me to leave?"

"No! Alone with you is good. How did you find me?"

It was her turn to laugh. "I watched you swim away. Me and Kori. When you walked up on shore that lily-white ass of yours was like a beacon in the night. I knew where you got out of the water and just headed there. You should probably try get a little sun on that butt sometime."

I chuckled. "I'll keep that in mind. So you and Kori were keeping tabs on me?"

"We walked across to Miguel's boat so we could see you. Can I sit with you? I'm kinda cold."

"Oh, sure!" I felt bad; I'd seen her shiver, I should have thought to warm her. "Here, the rock is still fairly warm from the sun, and you can get up against me. You'll feel fine once you dry off, and it doesn't take very long in this dry air."

She sat and snuggled up against my side. Her skin was cold and covered in goose bumps, her erect nipples caused by the cold for a change. I put my arm around her shoulders and pulled her close, feeling another shiver ripple through her. She leaned her head into my shoulder.
"Boy, you left too soon Adam, you missed all the fun."

I considered that. "No, no as I recall I was there for a good bit of the fun. I may have missed some, but certainly not all!"

She laughed. "You goober. You missed seeing Ty get the snot whacked out of him. Verbally speaking, that is."

"How else would you speak if not verbally? But what do you mean?"

She looked at me. "Must you?"

"Sorry. Go on. "

"I'm glad you haven't lost your sense of humor, bad as it is. Anyhow, you'd of loved it! After you dressed him down and left, Ronnie jumped down his throat, then Kori, then Britt, Pam, and Doug, and then even his buddy Cody was all over him for being such an ass! I was going to kick him around a little myself, but I couldn't get a word in edgewise."

I was amazed, and a little chagrined that they had all felt the need to rush to my defense. "Really? They did that?"

"Oh yeah! Ronnie really ripped him a new one. By the time they were done he felt about two inches tall, he felt like crap. He kept trying to apologize, but nobody would let him."

I was moved that Ronnie had so vigorously gone after my tormentor. I felt confident that if it had come to blows I could have held my own against Ty and probably beaten him. He was shorter and more muscular, but I was considerably bigger, had reach on him, and knew how to fight a little. Ronnie was used to winning with his brain and might have been in trouble, but had gone in swinging from the sound of it! I recalled how concerned - almost heartbroken - he'd been when it looked like Kristi and I might be through, and realized he'd seen Ty as a threat to our successful reunion. He's a good friend.

"I can't believe they all did that for me. I'm glad they knocked him down a peg, he deserved it."

She didn't say anything for a moment, then spoke softly. "Yeah, probably. He did say one thing in his own defense that made sense." I looked at her, wondering if she was going to defend him. She went on. "He didn't know it was our first time, Adam. He had no way of knowing how hard that had been for you, to see me do all that for the first time. He had no way of knowing that it was the first time you'd ever made love to me after another man, or the first time you did, you know, what you did."

I hadn't considered that at all. Still... "Yeah, but he was still being an ass."

"True Adam, I won't argue that, but he thought he was just kidding you a little, he figured we were old pros at this - understandable given that you were entertaining two women - and he was just poking a little fun. He just didn't know how, um, tenuous the whole thing was for you."

Now I started to feel bad. It made sense when she put it like that, and he and I had kind of bonded earlier, which had made it all the more shocking when he attempted to humiliate me! I knew I'd overreacted, but now I was beginning to find out how much. Damn, it's crazy what a small failure of communication can cause! Of course the fact that I knew Kristi liked him and had enjoyed his sexual attentions, and the fact that I knew he seriously wanted her, didn't make it any easier.

I looked at her. "You really like him, don't you?"

She shrugged. "Yeah, he's really pretty OK, I think. He just shoots his mouth off without thinking sometimes, which is what Cody told him."

"You really enjoyed fucking him, huh?"

She shrugged again, "I'm not going to lie to you to protect your feelings Adam. Yes, I enjoyed fucking him. He has a special cock, it felt really good inside, he made me cum, and I liked it. Yours felt even better. It always does Adam, partly because, well, because you're big. I like that. But mostly because it's you, and I love you, and having you inside of me is the best thing ever. Ever! OK?"

I was a little choked up. "Yeah, OK, and I love you too. I'm getting there, alright?"

She smiled and kissed my cheek, and I turned and kissed her, long, soft, and sweet. When we parted, she said "And you liked that Britt girl, didn't you? 'Fess up!"

I smiled at her. "Yeah, I did. Pam too, but Britt was very exciting for me for some reason. That was kind of fun, but Kristi, watching you was amazing! God, that was so hot, you are so damn beautiful when you're cumming, and I got to watch! I hate to say it, but in the spirit of complete honesty, I loved it!"

She smiled. "I'm so glad. Britt really liked you too, in case you're wondering. She was the one that sent me after you, that said I should go find you."

"Really?" For some reason I found that thought very satisfying.

"Yes Adam, really. You really liked her big milk filled jugs didn't you? Be honest."

I shrugged. "Yeah, OK, I did. But I love yours Kristi, every time I see your tits I marvel at the perfection. Seriously, I do." That was true, I did.

She smiled. "You know, if we knocked me up I could maybe get big tits like that too. Would you like that?"

I laughed. "Probably, but I'm not sure big hooters are reason enough to bring a child into the world. Other factors should probably be considered."

She laughed. "Well duh! I like kids and want to have some eventually. Maybe one or two. Someday. Don't you want to father a child sometime too, to have kids of your own?"

Oh God! There it was, the five hundred pound gorilla in the room, something I'd needed to tell her for a long time, now out on the table. Every minute I'd procrastinated had made it worse, to the point where I couldn't see how I'd ever be able to tell her about Izzy, but here it was, right between us, big and ugly in the night.

My voice was shaky. "Kristi, baby, there is something we need to talk about, something I need to tell you. God, I feel like such an ass, such a fucking liar! Kristi, there's this woman... I have a son, his name is Cody, and you're probably going to hate me."

OMG. The elephant in the room suddenly hollering. Trust you, after all this time, to bring this one up.

I liked the swim across to him, by the way. I didn't think it would work any other way. It is all part of Adam's Journey (I know, the title you are using on Lit.).

This is such a great story Stormy, I think you could tone down the sex scenes a bit and the plot would still work as a really great mainstream film script.

Dear Stormy,
You never cease to amaze and intrigue, are you working to a rough plan or does it just flow? In any case the hand is masterful, and I just add my voice to the clamour from all the other aficianado's

peak - I had to get Adam's dirty little secret out in the open sometime, if he and Kristi were ever going to go forward. As for toning down the sex scenes, I suspect some might find that blasphemous!! I do understand what you're saying though, and I appreciate the compliment.

oliverra, thanks. The story pretty much just flows from a very general idea in my head. I kind of have a loose concept of where I want it to go, and then just flesh it out. Sometimes with lots of flesh. I'm so glad you're enjoying it.
________________________________________________________

Something in my tone of voice stopped her cold, and she stared at me, her face going even more pale, if possible, in the moonlight. I saw her eyes widen, and she said "Oh my god, Cody, you don't mean..." she paused, then frowned. "Wait, he can't be more than eight or nine years younger than you, how could you possibly be..."

It dawned on me what she was saying, what she was thinking. I hadn't even considered that she might so misconstrue what I was trying to tell her. "Oh no Kristi, not him! Not that Cody! The one I'm talking about is only four years old, and he lives in Texas. God, did you think I was telling you that you'd been screwing my son all evening?"

She laughed shakily. "For a second, yeah. Don't do that to me." Her face went serious again. "How could you have a son, four years old, and me not know about it?"

I sighed heavily. "I never told you. I wanted to. I started to, several times, but it always just seemed like the time wasn't right, and then too much time passed and it seemed like I was hiding it..."

"Because you were. The question is why. Adam, four years - well, four years and nine months ago - we didn't even know each other. Why should that be so hard to tell me? Do you see him? Do you have any kind of custody, or pay child support? Will I get to meet him?"

I could see I was botching this, making it worse. "No Kristi, no, it's not that way at all. He has a mother and a father, he's my son in a biological sense, but I've never been involved in raising him. It was a favor for a very special friend, something I could do for her. And her husband. They wanted another child, and he'd been sick and was infertile."

She frowned. "So you donated a little sperm. Did you really think that would bother me? I mean, if it was now I'd expect you to tell me, but I guess it would still be OK if it helped someone, and this was years ago." She chuckled. "Think how much sperm you donated just tonight alone, you could have fathered thousands of kids!"

That was a horrifying thought! Still, I wasn't making myself understood.
"Kristi, listen. First, I didn't donate sperm in the traditional sense. Well, I guess it really actually was the traditional way. I got her pregnant, the old fashioned way, at their request." She opened her mouth to speak, but I held up my hand. "Just listen. No you and me didn't know each other yet, and I was divorced from Lisa. So second, it wasn't the son I was hiding from you, that I couldn't discuss. It was the woman, his mother. Izzy. Isabel. She's somebody very special to me, and has been for a very long time. And third, the reason I couldn't seem to tell you about her is because I still see her sometimes. We still see each other. We still love each other."
I felt her stiffen and pull away from me. "Baby, I didn't tell you about Cody because I couldn't tell you about Izzy. I didn't know how. I still don't, but I need to. Will you listen?"

She looked at me, and even in the night I could see fear and pain in her eyes. "You love her?"

"Yes. I do."

"More than you love me?"

"No. Oh god no! Not more than, not even in the same way! I love her very much, but differently. It's just very different, what she and I share. It's hard to explain."

She still stared at me, her eyes dark. I was hurting her, I knew that, and it was the last thing I ever wanted to do. I had known this would be difficult, and painful, and my stalling had made it so much worse. I just wanted to take her in my arms and hold her, but I knew that was not going to happen, not right now.

"Do you sleep with her, Adam?"

"Oh, Kristi. Yes. Sometimes. Occasionally."

"Since we've been together?"

"Yes."

I had been expecting her anger, but still her vehemence surprised me. "Goddamn you Adam, you made me feel like such trash, like such a whore for what I did, and you've been fucking some little tramp this whole time! How could you do that? You made me feel like dirt! How could you be such a fucking hypocrite?" She was angry, truly angry, and I knew it was completely justified. She stood and moved away from me. I took offense to her calling Izzy a tramp, but had the sense to not spring to her defense. Not right then.

She went on. "And you tell me you love her. Is that supposed to make it OK, is that supposed to make me feel better? Well, it doesn't! It makes it worse! At least with the guy I screwed we had no illusions that it was anything but sex. That's the problem with you, every time your dick gets hard you think you fall in love with whatever woman it's pointing at!"

That seemed unnecessarily harsh! "Please baby, just listen. I need to tell you all about it. I've wanted to for so long, but I've been a coward. If you'll just listen, maybe you'll understand. I pray you'll understand. I never meant to hurt you, and I never should have kept this hidden, I know that." She was just watching me, her face angry, hurting. "Kori and Ron told me to tell you right off, they've been pushing me to all along. I should have listened, but I thought if you and I didn't last it didn't matter, and then we did, and it was too late!"

She looked at me. "Kori and Ron know about this?"

"Yes. They've met her, years ago."

"And they didn't tell me?"

I shrugged. "It was my responsibility, and I blew it. They wouldn't betray my trust, even though they love you. Will you let me explain?"

She blew air out between pursed lips. "You have five minutes."

"Neither of us is wearing a watch. How will you...?

"I'll know. The clock is running."

"It might take more than five minutes."

"You're wasting your time."

"Phew! You're tough! Let's see, where to start..."

So, I started at the beginning. I told her about Izzy and I being born four days apart, in neighboring homes. About growing up together, bonded, joined, sharing our childhood times and families. About how we came to feel part of us was missing whenever we were not together. About learning, and sharing, and experimenting and growing. I told her about how I would come to Izzy's defense when she needed me, and how we were always there for each other, throughout our lives.

I knew that five minutes had come and gone, but she didn't stop me. She eventually sat down opposite me, close, where she could look into my face, watch my eyes as I spoke. I hoped I could make her understand, but she gave no indication of whether or not I was reaching her, except to let me go on talking. I took that as a positive sign.

Occasionally, rarely, she stopped me to ask a question or clarify a point. Mostly she let me talk. I told her stories, funny and sad, about our shared youth. I told her about how, when Izzy's beloved grandmother died when she and I were ten years old, I'd held her while she cried. The adults had been busy, distracted with funeral plans and contacting relatives and friends, all the rush of responsibilities big and small that come with the death of a loved one, all needing attention before one can take time to mourn.

They had put the children to bed that night, still hurting and confused, and Izzy had snuck out and come to me in my room in the house next door, across the yard. It was a long-standing secret that we did this, and I let her in my window as always. Before that night we had just shared time and secrets, late at night, maybe telling stories, playing a game, or playing a little doctor, still fascinated with the differences in each other's bodies - especially then, as her's began to develop!

That night she had just needed me to hold her, to be there for her while she cried, to try to take some of her pain. And I had, laying on my bed I had held her while she sobbed, and I had thought my heart would break to see her's so broken, and I hadn't thought she would ever stop crying.

We cried together, and she finally fell into an exhausted sleep, and I had stayed awake all night to hold her, to protect her, knowing in my little ten year old mind that as long as I was awake to protect her no more pain and hurt and sorrow could find her. I kept it away, all night, while she slept in my arms.

And then early in the morning, just before it began to get light, I woke her up, knowing I had to but not wanting to wake her to sorrow and pain again. She had to sneak back home, before everyone was up, but we hugged, and kissed, and we knew that something more, something big had grown between us, bonding us together. Now, as an adult, I recognize that she just needed the reassurance of love, the reaffirmation of life, and someone with whom to share her sorrow, but then I was her protector, her knight in the night, and I had gladly and proudly stood my watch.

And now I had to try to make Kristi understand how it had been, how it still was with Izzy and me. How do you explain to the most important woman in your life about the other most important woman in your life? Especially when you are sometimes the bumbling, inarticulate fool that I knew myself to be?

Very, very well written S. I was on the edge of my seat reading it and I've still no idea which way Kristi is going to jump.

My vote though... goes to her accepting it with strings. However powerful, Izzy's tale is a potent part of Adam's past. It can't dictate or threaten his future unless he lets it do so. Kristi must be his future. I just hope you let them meet and become friends. That would be cool. Vote over.

Stormy

Very nicely done. I love the way you resolved the crisis with Ty on the boat. I also like your approach to the issue if Izzy.

Nice work.

GH

Peak and GH nailed it. I also loved the fact that Kristi swam over to Adam. I think we all understand her angst at learning about the "other woman". Hopefully she'll let Adam explain everything and as Peak said, accept it "with strings". We know she wants to continue sampling the forbidden fruit, maybe that will become part of the work in progress as this relationship tries to move forward.

Excellent job as always Stormy.

Now how see how much will this cost Adam....
contdoc

Thanks peak, the Kristi/Adam/Izzy thing is tough. The situation has to give somewhere, because Izzy and her husband have asked Adam to father another child for them, an attempt to have a little girl to go with their 3 boys, and he promised he would. She is in his life still, and he has to deal with that. I wish I knew how, but am confident it will come. Eventually.

Thanks GH. You know how it is - those last two segments just felt good to write, I liked the way they turned out, and your comment helps greatly to validate that for me because I value your opinion. Occasionally it seems to flow easily and come together. Thanks again.

TrF2, thanks. Adam and Kristi have some work to do on this screwed up relationship, I think! They're too good together to let it die without a fight. And maybe a peace treaty of some sort.

We will indeed cd. I hope it's not a price too high to pay, but I can see some things Kristi might ask of him that could make the whole thing crash down. I honestly haven't figured it out yet.

I had hoped to post another chapter tonight, but got home too late and wanted to send a note to GH, which was more important at this time. I hope to post another few chapters over the next few days, if my thoughts will organize enough for the words to come. Sorry for the short delay, I'm just a little hung up right now and hoping the dam will break. Thanks for your patience, all.

I continued speaking, telling Kristi about various experiences that Izzy and I had shared growing up, about the many happy hours I'd spent hanging out with her at her parent's restaurant in Chicago's Little Italy, on the famed Taylor Street. Izzy's grandparents had started it long before, and by the time she and I terrorized the place the family had been running it for almost fifty years. Her sister and one of her brothers run it still, to this day, and whenever I'm in Chicago fine Italian food and a bottle of Chianti at Esposito's is always in my plans. Even with Izzy in Houston, it's a place where, like on Cheers, everybody knows my name and I feel welcomed by family.

I explained to Kristi that I was as much a part of Izzy's ethnic Italian family as she was of my mixed white bread one, and how we had been as much brother and sister as friends as we grew up. That was one of the few places that Kristi interrupted me.

"Wait Adam, just wait a sec. If you two were like brother and sister, at what point did that taboo relationship start to seem like a good idea?"

I gave a rueful chuckle. "At the normal time, when all the hormones started to flow. We weren't really brother and sister you know, we just grew up that way. She developed way ahead of me, but we were always very open with each other and she was so fascinated with the changes she couldn't wait to show me." I laughed again. "I'd always get pretty excited about that, although at that point I don't think I had any clue why that was."

Kristi actually laughed at that, a hopeful sign, and prodded me a bit. "Adam, I'm still not always sure you know. She actually shared all the changes with you, everything she was going through?"

"Yeah, pretty much."

"Huh. You must have been really close, for her to share that. I found the whole thing very traumatic and embarrassing and just wanted to hide under my bed until it was over. All those changes to my body, the bleeding, all that - I was only eleven, and it was awful."

"It sure turned out well!"

"Don't try to flatter your way out of this. Go on."

I thought for a moment. "Well, suffice to say that when hair started to sprout in the most unusual places, considerable hilarity ensued, and then those nifty breasts, and how tender she was - we couldn't even play tackle football that whole autumn."

Kristi scoffed "Nifty breasts! Jesus!"

"The problem was, for about a year and a half, almost two years, she was more a woman and I was still a kid, and that was the one time we drifted apart. Her interests changed and we fought a lot. She started to become interested in the older boys, the ones that had grown up and changed, and she was ready to, um, what's the expression, "to put aside childish things", and I wasn't. Not at all. It was hell, and I was devastated most of the time, especially seeing her talking to the older guys. Even kissing one, once, and ignoring me.

Kristi looked at me oddly when I said that, but I rushed on. "I was persistent and hung around even when she wanted me to go away, and eventually I hit that adolescent phase and she got to be the one amazed and amused by all the changes that my body was going through." I chuckled at a sudden memory. "Her family was Catholic, and Izzy once said if I converted from Methodist to Catholic they'd have to change the name of their church to "Our Lady of the Perpetual Boner" - and she was pretty much right, it seemed a constant problem at that point."

Kristi just shook her head.

"Anyhow, we watched each other mature, and eventually we started to touch and we experimented, we learned, we guided each other to what felt good and what felt incredible - it was all at least good - and this powerful urge just took over, it was all we could think about for a few years. We would sneak off anytime, anywhere to have time alone to touch. She'd make me cum, which was no challenge of course, but she was fascinated by it and I naturally loved it, and she taught me how to touch her and what amazing things I had the power to do to her body. Most of what I know about women I probably learned from her."

Kristi frowned. "Well, I suppose I do owe her for that. She was a good teacher."

I shrugged. "Yeah, well, we spent a lot of time at it."

"Adam, what I don't understand is if you two were so much in love, if you still are, as you say, why aren't you together? Why did you marry Lisa? Why are you with me?"

I shook my head. "She married Paul first, well before I married Lisa. I don't know, I think we knew even then that this perfect relationship we had wouldn't survive marriage. Maybe it was just instinct, but we weren't husband and wife material, not for each other. It would have wrecked us. This way was better."

"When did you know that? How?"

I'd thought long and hard about that myself, and I told her the only thing I'd ever been able to figure out. "When we started actually dating each other, I guess. You know, dances, movies, dinners, that kind of stuff. We had a great time, we enjoyed it and it seemed like we each knew what the other was thinking before they thought it, but there was no danger, no sparks, no fear of the unknown to spice things up. So we started dating other people."

Kristi looked at me pensively for a moment, then said softly "You mean she started dating other guys, don't you Adam?"

Kristi was right, of course, but... "Well yeah, she did first, but she was cute, and built, and got hit on a lot, so it was only natural. And anyhow, I dated other girls too, eventually." Even to me that had sounded very defensive.

"How long Adam? How long did she date others before you did?"

"I don't know, not long. A few months, maybe a year. I don't remember."

"Did that make you mad? Were you jealous of them?"

It had been intensely painful when it first happened, and I didn't much want to relive something I'd buried long ago, but I knew I needed to be as completely honest with Kristi as I could or my chances to save our relationship would crumble. "Yeah Kristi, I was angry and hurt, at first, and wanted to do something violent, but Izzy made me understand. She explained about why and how we needed to see others, to see if what we had was real love, and all that. And she was right. And anyhow, she still came over to my room late at night when she would get home from her dates and we'd talk half the night."

"Did you talk about her dates?"

"Uh, yeah, I guess. Sometimes."

"A lot?"

"That depends on what you consider a lot. A fair amount, I guess. Why?"

Kristi shook her head. "Nothing, I was just curious. Was she screwing these guys?"

"No. Well, not usually. Maybe if she dated the same guy for awhile, but she didn't want to be known as the class slut. I guess she slept with a few of them." I really hadn't wanted to go back through all this!

"And she'd tell you all about her date? In how much detail?"

I shrugged. "A lot of detail. Izzy was always very open, she told me everything. I didn't mind, at least I got to spend time with her. And it was kind of exciting, sharing it with her, and I could tell her what the guys were saying, and who was planning to ask her out and all that. It was like I was her spy in the enemy camp, and then later she did the same for me, with the girls."

"Stay focused Adam. Was she still fucking you too?"

I laughed. "Yeah, every chance we got. Fucking plus lots of other stuff, but we kept it very secret, nobody knew, we never told anyone, ever."

"So you knew all about her being with other guys but nobody knew about the two of you. You had to keep that secret." She paused, then went on. "What kind of stuff would she tell you?"

I laughed again. "Well first of all she said she was surprised by how small most guys cocks were."

Kristi actually laughed out loud! "No doubt! She was spoiled, I know the feeling. Guys like you are probably not a best first experience, it tends to raise a girl's expectations unrealistically." She paused, looking at me, as if debating whether to ask her next question. "Would you and her make love even then, even after she'd had some other guy that same night?"

I nodded. "Sure, we weren't about to let an opportunity go to waste. Plus, it always seemed to leave her very horny, and I guess that rubbed off on me, because we'd be all over each other before she could even finish telling me about it. It was a little weird at first, but we both seemed to like it."

"Uh huh. Well. Adam, I'm so glad you convinced me to stay and listen to your story. I'm starting to understand a few things, to see things more clearly. Please go on."

I did, happily! It sounded like she was maybe going to understand how it was with me and Izzy, and I was elated to think that she might, just might, even accept the situation! I prattled on into the night, sitting naked on the warm rock with this gloriously beautiful woman, also naked, and she watched me closely as I spoke, asking some questions, and the moon moved slowly across the sky toward the western horizon.

The night here was crystalline, not the murky darkness that passes for night in the city, and I absorbed every minute facet of Kristi's beauty as I spoke to her, amazed at the way the moonlight and shadows played with her features. She was any woman and every woman, the light playing tricks on my eyes, but all of them were breathtakingly beautiful, and I wanted to tell her that. Except I knew it would sound a little corny if I tried to say it out loud, and she'd think I was just dodging her questions, so instead I told her the rest of the tale of me and Izzy, and what had passed between us over the years.

Stormy

Lisa was out for the evening. I was on my own, but I was tired and didn't feel like writing. I wanted another scotch before I went to bed and I was looking for something to read. And then you posted this magnificent little piece.

You really are an outstanding writer.

Thank you

GH

Stormy.

What GH said, and what I've been telling you all along. You really know how to weave a story, and your literary skills are superb. Thank you for this latest chapter, it's excellent.

I just went back and checked because I was curious. You started writing the houseboat party right around September 1. Amazing how much work went into just that one episode in this wonderful story.

I'm glad that Kristi and Adam are working through this. It looks like their love for one another may override everything else. Seems that Kristi is getting Adam to admit that his relationship with Izzy may have laid the foundation for his deep seated curiosity with the cuckold lifestyle.

Thanks again.

TrF2

GH and TrF2, thanks to you both, you know how much I appreciate your comments and input. It's odd how the story just kind of turned in this direction. I really hadn't thought it out very far ahead, and was not sure where I wanted to go. It sort of took on a life of it's own.

I also just found out that a word that sounds very much like 'insist', but which means sexual relations within a family is apparently auto-rejected by this site, regardless of how innocently it's used. (see paragraph 3 of the above installment) Much like the word 'grape', should one carelessly omit the 'g'. Odd how much you can say and portray, while a few words are banned entirely. Is there a list of the seven deadly words somewhere?
__________________________________________________________

"Well, we pretty much followed this pattern all the way through high school, dating others and still being together a lot. Friends with benefits, I guess is what you'd call it. We remained very close, we shared everything, we still went out, sometimes."

She looked at me. "But you did date other girls?"

"Yes, of course. Izzy was going out quite a bit, she wasn't always free to be with me. I was tall, not too awful ugly, and kind of had a reputation as a decent guy. The girls that liked the 'bad boys' weren't interested, but I dated."

"Did you get laid a lot?"

"I just told you the bad girls weren't interested in me. But yeah, a few times. Maybe not a lot, until late in my senior year. No matter what anyone tells you, the girls are just as horny as the boys at that age. Mostly we petted and played. A little oral. It usually stopped short of actually doing it."

Kristi laughed. "Doing it! You sound like you're still in high school!"

I bristled a little. "Didn't you get laid in high school?"

"Oh, of course. I was horny, just like you said. But we're discussing you right now. What changed in your senior year?"

I really didn't want to explain that! "Well, Izzy and I shared everything about our dates. She not only told me all about the guys she went out with, she told me which girls were most likely to put out, which ones ever mentioned me or talked to friends about guys they liked. High school soap opera and intrigue, that kind of stuff, you know. And then, there was the incident."

She perked up. "The Incident? That just sounds like it should be capitalized. What happened?"

"Let's just say it was horribly painful and embarrassing and let it go at that, can we?"

"Oh come on Adam, you can't tell me that much and expect me to drop it. Tell me!"

I sighed. "OK. You'll probably think it's hilarious and that I'm over-reacting, but bear in mind I was just a dumb high school kid. I suppose it should be funny to me now, after all these years. It is, a little, I suppose. But it was horrible then."

"Just tell me. I promise not to laugh."

I looked at her dubiously. "Sure, whatever." I thought about how to tell her. "OK, picture this. We went to a pretty nice high school, pretty wealthy part of town. Our school had great athletic facilities, including an olympic pool and diving well, and we always won championships in those sports and stuff like golf, and tennis. Basketball not so much, or football, we were pretty weak at those, but we didn't have a lot of black students."

She laughed. "Kind of racist, aren't you?"

"You know me better than that. Just brutally honest, is all. So, do you want to hear this or not?" She nodded and mimed zipping her lips. "Anyhow, Izzy and I decided we would take the lifesaving course in our senior year - we were both already good swimmers - because we thought it would be fun to get lifeguard jobs at the beach or pool that next summer before college. We registered for the class, which wound up being about twelve of us, and it seemed to be going swimmingly."

"Hah! That's dumb, but go on."

I smiled, glad she had been caught by the bad pun. "Well, that class was co-ed, because it was always so few students. Most regular swim classes were unisex and had instructors of the same sex and separate scheduled pool times, but for lifesaving certification they tag teamed, the male instructor, Mr. Reed sometimes and the female instructor, Ms. Tanaklos the rest of the time. Reed was good, everyone liked him, but Tanaklos was a terror. We called her the Tank, because she was built like one, skinny legs and butt, barrel waist, huge bust and shoulders, you know, the linebacker look."

She was looking at me blankly. "Adam, is this going anywhere? We don't have all night."

"I'll be happy to quit now if you like. And why don't we have all night? Do you have an appointment or something?"

"Mmm, you're right, we do have all night. Please go on."

"OK. Well, it was pretty widely accepted that the Tank was a dyke. She seemed to hate men in general and high school boys in particular, and the girls were always a little freaked about the way she'd watch them in the showers and when they were getting dressed. Just creepy, you know, and not very likeable."
I paused, thinking back. "We had to wear school-issue swimsuits for all classes, because they needed to have us in someting fast-drying so that the locker rooms wouldn't always smell mildewy and moldy. Regular suits, in lockers, would get nasty pretty fast, but these were thin and didn't hold much water. They dried quick. They were also universally hated because they didn't leave much to the imagination, if you know what I mean. Bad enough in the unisex classes, very embarrassing in the lifesaving class. I guess if you were on the swim team you got used to it, but most of us weren't. To make it worse, for the regular swim classes the suits were navy blue; for lifesaving class we had to wear red to differentiate ourselves, I guess so we'd feel special. The blue hid a little. The red didn't."

Kristi nodded knowingly. "I'll bet the girls hated the nipple factor and the boys the shrinkage factor if the water was cold. Surely it couldn't have bothered you too much."

I stared at her. "You're joking, right? I was a high school kid Kristi, I just wanted to blend in. You don't want to stand out as some kind of freak that people can target for harrassment. What's the saying - I wanted to be different, just like everyone else. I wore a jock under my suit, always. We weren't allowed to because of the mildew problem, but I snuck it in and snuck it home to dry, almost every day, I needed it just to kind of cover me up, you know? Keep everything tied down to one little bulge, my security underwear. Are you bored yet?"

"No, go on."

"Damn! Anyhow, that day, the day of The Incident, I forgot it at home. I was a little psyched out by that, but I figured as long as we stayed in the water I'd be OK. We had the Tank that day, luck of the draw. We started with the usual thirty minute swim, no touching sides or bottom. You could swim, tread water, float, whatever, but no touching the sides. We were in the deep well by the boards. The class was seven girls, five guys, including me and Izzy."

I took a deep breath. "When we completed the half hour she called us all to the side and had us get up on the deck to work on resuscitation technique. One guy, Chuck, had to play the drowning victim, and she picked Izzy to resuscitate him. With the suits wet they hid even less than usual, and almost as soon as Izz started to pump his chest he sprung a hard-on. Everyone knew, the girls were all snickering. Plus, with Izzy bent over him and her butt in the air, that thin red nylon did nothing to hide her pussy. Cameltoe country, for sure, and she's pretty busty, so it wasn't Chuck's fault! No way he could help it!"

Kristi looked puzzled. "And that was traumatic for you, that this guy got aroused while your Izzy was touching him?"

"No. No, not that. The problem was I started to get aroused. I could feel it, I knew it was happening, I was screaming at myself in my head trying to make it stop, but there were seven girls in cold, wet, clingy suits there, hard nipples galore, Izzy bent over Chuck with his stiffy, and my teenage hormones just took over. I crossed my hands in front of me, the usual male defensive posture in those suits - the girls always kept their arms crossed over their chests - but my so-called friend Rob noticed, and that's all it took. He whispers 'Hey, look, Mule's got wood!' "

Kristi nodded. "Oh. I see. That was kind of mean, for a friend."

"Well, yeah, but what are friends for if not to embarrass each other? Anyhow, the word spread fast, and everyone was looking, the guys snickering at me, the girls craning their necks and whispering. I was dying a thousand deaths of embarrassment, my whole body probably blushing, and trying to keep my hands covering me without actually clutching it. I'm still surprised I had enough blood to get hard and blush like I was at the same time."

Kristi laughed.

"Hey, you promised!"

"Oops, sorry. But that was funny."

"Whatever. Anyhow, it was horrible, I was hugely hard and couldn't get it to stop, this big old tent pole in my trunks, trying its best to reach my left hip. Then the Tank caught on and yelled at everyone to shut up. She figured out I was the root of the problem, probably because I was about glowing red by then! So she calls me up front, sees my problem, and forces me to turn and face the class, hands at my sides, while she rips me apart."

Kristi looked shocked. "Oh Adam, my god! That's sexual harrassment! You should have sued her! And the school!"

"Yeah, well, probably. Right then all I wanted to do was drown myself in the pool. She goes on this tirade about nasty, filthy boys that can't control their own bodies, and how all the girls should be careful or some dirty, evil man will hurt them and despoil them, and how women are subjugated just because men have a big nasty penis - and the whole time I'm standing there, my cock about to poke out the waist of my suit, horribly humiliated, horribly aroused, everyone looking at me. I was afraid I was going to cum, right there in front of them all, I was so hard. I think everyone felt sorry for me by then. Nobody was laughing anymore. But everyone was too shocked and helpless to do anything."

I smiled. "Except Izzy. She finally got over her initial shock and came flying out of nowhere! She gets right up in the Tank's face, tiny little Izzy facing down this monster, and she starts screaming right back at her!"

Kristi looked impressed. "Really? She did that?"

"Oh yeah! The first thing I heard was 'You fat cow, leave him alone!', and then there she was, between me and the Tank! She starts calling her a nasty old hateful bull-dyke, telling her that what happened to me was a totally natural reaction and just because she was afraid of cocks didn't mean that everyone was, and that she was the freak and not me, that all the girls knew how she ogled them all the time, and that everyone hated her. I thought they were going to come to blows, but Izzy was so mad she just might have whipped the tar out of that damn old bitch. I may have loved her more at that moment than ever before, she was just on fire!"

Kristi nodded. "I can understand that. She was pretty brave to do that, huh? What happened next?"

"Izz took over. She told all of us to go to the locker rooms, which we unquestioningly did, while she kept up her screaming match with the Tank. We stopped by the doors to watch, and when the Tank finally stomped away, everyone started clapping! Then Izzy comes and grabs my hand and leads me out into the halls - still in our swimsuits, thankfully I'd gone limp by then - and straight to Principal Jensen's office where she launches into him, telling him the whole story! He was speechless, this little firebrand in her sexy swimsuit reading him the riot act about the whole incident. She was really something."

Kristi agreed. "It sounds like it! So what happened after that?"

I shrugged. "Nothing. I mean, they asked me if my parents needed to be called, or if I wanted the Tank called in to the office, but I just wanted it over with. I just wanted it to end so I could try to forget it. Which I obviously never did. The Tank disappeared. I don't know if she was fired, transferred, killed - I just know she was never seen around our school again, so some good did come of it, I suppose. And so that's The Incident you wanted to know about."

"Adam, I can't believe you thought I'd laugh about that! That's a terrible story, that woman should have been shot!"

"I agree. So, anyhow..."

"But what does that have to do with you getting laid more in your senior year?"

"Oh yeah, I forgot about that part."

Stormy.
Truly brilliant.

When you write it down, I'm sure we can all remember similarly embarassing incidents from our childhoods, but to get the emotions so right. Well, I'm sure we all squirmed with you (sorry, Adam) there.

And another of your trademark endings ..

WOW, bad memories about locker rooms. The Mule is human.
contdoc

Stormy,
I'm deeply impressed and that since weeks (or months).
Looking forward for the next part,
regards Story

Thanks peak. The funny thing is, I had alluded to that incident way back in the very first installment of this story lo so many months ago. I never imagined at the time that it would be this far down the road that I would tell of it. It's another of my annoying tangents with which y'all are so familiar by now! Glad you enjoyed it.

Yeah cd, high school can be brutal - it's a tough age. Thanks for responding!

Thanks story, I'm glad you're still with us and enjoying the story. I'm planning to post another chapter now - hope you enjoy it as well!
____________________________________________________

"Well babe, it's a funny thing. I was trying to forget the whole thing and praying it would just pass quietly, but no such luck. Before that happened, mostly my friends called me Mule, but afterward that nickname spread throughout the school. Everyone - even a lot of the girls - started calling me that. It was really embarrassing for awhile, until I started to get used to it."

Kristi nodded understandingly. "That can be a traumatic period, that age group. Kids are mean! So many changes, and then to have that happen too..."

I laughed. "Oh, don't get me wrong, it could have been much worse! You remember Chuck, the kid that got the woody when Izzy was resuscitating him? Well, he earned a new nickname too."

"Oh no! Really? I kind of hate to ask..."

"Yup. Good old Upchuck. From that point on he was Upchuck. It started out like 'Hey, I heard you got it up, Chuck', and it just stuck. All in all I'd much rather have been Mule. Izzy got a little grief too, for turning on ol' Upchuck, but mostly she was a hero. Rumors went around that her family had put out a contract on the Tank, had her whacked."

Kristi laughed. "That's insane! Surely they couldn't have been serious?"

I chuckled. "Well, semi-, I guess. In those days, if you ran a good joint on Taylor Street, had great Italian food, mob guys were pretty regular customers. They had both well-known and reputed Mafia guys come in all the time, it was kind of a point of pride in Little Italy. If those guys didn't eat at your place, it wasn't a very good place."

She stared at me. "You're actually serious!"

"Oh yeah! Her dad, Joey, had his wall of fame, you know, pictures of all the famous celebrities that had eaten there. You've seen 'em - actors, singers, jocks, politicians, all that kind of stuff, all autographed, hanging on the wall. He had a number of the well-known mob guys up there, with the celebs. Lots of jocks too, Chicago has had a lot of greats over the years." I chuckled again. "Old Joey, he used to hang all the politicians in the bathrooms, or in the hall just outside. He hated those guys, always said that was better than they deserved, but they never seemed to catch on, they just kept letting him take their pictures."

Kristi shook her head. "So do you think they really did? Have the Tank killed, I mean?"

"Oh, no, I'm sure they didn't! She was way beneath notice for those guys, and Izzy's family wouldn't get involved in something like that. I'm sure they just moved her to another school. It was a huge district."

"Jeez Adam, you've led an interesting life. It's a shame you never told me any of this before. But then I guess you couldn't, if you were going to keep Izzy secret, could you?"

"No, but I never intended to keep her a secret! I really didn't! I wanted to tell you, I waited for the right time, and somehow it slipped past me. It got to be too late to tell you, I didn't know how. I fucked up, Kristi. I fucked up bad, and I couldn't be more sorry. Do you think you can ever forgive me?"

She raised her head and looked at me. We stared straight into each others eyes for several seconds before she spoke. "I don't know yet Adam. It's partly the fact that you lied to me and covered this up, but it's also the way you made me feel when I screwed up! That was hard anyhow, hearing you call me those names, even though I knew I deserved it. But the fact that you could do that knowing full well what you were doing with Izzy, that's just cruel. I never thought of you as cruel before, Adam. One of the things I admired about you was that you were always so kind to everyone, so caring. Empathetic, I guess. Never cruel."

She was right, and it hurt that she was. I could feel myself choking up, hating myself anew for the way I'd hurt her, for being such a hypocrite. "It was anger Kristi. Just pure shock and anger, and hurt. I wanted to hurt you then, at that moment, but even as I screamed at you I knew I was wrong, that I was as guilty as you were. Maybe more so. I spent a lot longer hating myself after that than I did being angry with you, if that helps any."

"Not particularly, but it's good to know you still have a conscience. I hope you lost sleep."

"I did. Lots - I was a zombie for awhile."

"Well, we can talk more about that later. Finish telling me about you and Izzy, why you didn't wind up married to her. I still don't get that. Where were we...oh yeah! The part about the Mule starting to get lucky with the girls!"

I laughed, relieved to change the subject back to ancient history. "Oh yeah, that! Well, it started out innocently enough, the first few days - a week or so even - after the incident, no big deal. Nothing really changed, except I kept getting these looks from people, some I knew, some I didn't, really. It was like everyone was walking on eggshells. Then one day I'm at home, a Saturday, I'm out mowing the lawn. This girl from school walks up, Angie. I knew her from around, but we'd barely spoken before." I paused. "Boy, I'm getting thirsty. I wish one of us had brought some water along."

Kristi sighed. "Yeah, me too. I'm also getting cold. Can I sit by you again?"

Eagerly, I said "Sure!" Maybe too eagerly.

"It doesn't mean anything Adam, I'm just cold. Finish your story and we can swim back and get something to drink, and maybe eat. And warm up."
She snuggled against my side for warmth, and I put an arm over her shoulders and pulled her to me. She was a little cold, but it felt very good to hold her.

"Anyhow, this Angie walks up and I'm all sweaty from pushing the mower, and she looks all cool and beautiful. She was a great girl, class president, cheerleader type, very popular, always very cool and self-possessed. Very mature. I turn off the mower and she says "Hi Adam". I'm a little mystified, but I say hi. Then it kind of went something like this:"

"Looks like you're working pretty hard."

"Nah, not too bad. I told my dad I'd get this done today. So, what are you up to?"

"Oh, not much. I just wanted to say hi."

"Oh. Well, hi back."

(Giggles) "Adam, me and a couple of the girls were talking, and we just want you to know that we think what the Tank did to you was really horrible! We always hated her."

(Me, blushing furiously) "Oh, well, thanks. I appreciate it. It was pretty bad."

"I'm sure it was! I'd have just died if anyone embarrassed me like that!"

"Well, I did consider drowning myself in the pool. But Izzy saved me."

"I think she's pretty special, and so brave. She sure likes you! Um, Adam? Gosh, I can't believe I'm saying this! Um, is it uh, really as big as, you know, as everyone says?"

(Now I'm really blushing) "Uh, jeez Angie! I don't know. What are they saying?"

(Giggles again) "Big, Adam, they're saying really big. Can I see it?"

"Angie! Damn, Angie! I can't believe you said that!"

"Oh c'mon Adam! We drew straws, all my friends are curious."

"I guess you lost, huh?"

"No, I won. C'mon Adam, show me. I can't go back to my friends until I find out! They all want to know."

Kristi interrupted me. "And so you showed her?"

"Well, not right away, but she was very persistent! We went beside the house, behind some bushes, and I showed her. Then she asked if she could touch it, and one thing led to another, and there you have it!" I shook my head. "And anyhow Kristi, that's kind of how it went, variations on that theme throughout the rest of my senior year. I got a lot of handjobs, some blowjobs, got laid a little. Not as much as you might think. The name Mule was cemented in school lore." I laughed. "It may still be revered."

Krsiti cracked up. "That's so funny! And of course you played it for all it was worth, I'm sure!"

I chuckled. "Well, I was still a horny high school kid! But I don't think I played it all that well, I wasn't that smooth, but there seemed to be a lot of curiousity out there. I remember one girl, Carla, she was kind of a wild one. Smoked, drank, always riding around with guys on motorcycles. Never would even gave me the time of day before. She just walks up one day and says 'Hey Mule, you're taking me out this Friday night. Pick me up at about seven. You'll be out late.' So I picked her up. She was right, I was out late. I got well and truly laid that night! Holy shit, that girl liked to fuck!"

Kristi smiled. "So you were basically a man-slut."

"I guess. Izzy called me boy-toy, or boy-slut. We still had our late night get-togethers, I still had to give her a detailed report of all my dates, and she'd give me the blow-by-blow of all hers. So to speak. She pretty much dated two different guys over the course of that year - not at the same time, but both for quite awhile, kind of going steady, I guess."

"But she was still screwing you too, right?"

"Sure, we never quit doing that! I was young, I had a lot more stamina in those days."

"Humph! You still do pretty good!"

"Oh. Thanks. So we ultimately wound up going off to college in different states. That was incredibly hard, we'd never been apart for more than a week or two before. We both struggled with that, we were so lonely in the middle of thousands of other students. It was tough, I hated it. We both did."

"I'll bet. But you stayed close, your friendship, I mean."

"Yeah, we wrote, called, emailed. We would get together whenever we could, holidays, long weekends, summers. It was always like we'd never been apart, we were just us again, the moment we'd touch."

"And you kept right on having sex with each other?"

I laughed. "Whenever we could! My roommate, Michael, must have had some tough nights, even though we tried to be quiet."

"But you both kept seeing other people?"

"Sure. Her, mostly, she always had a boyfriend. I was more off and on. My nickname and legend didn't follow me there so I lost my advantage."

Kristi laughed. "You could have worn a t-shirt with 'MULE' on it. So she kept screwing you, even when she had boyfriends?"

"Of course. It just seemed natural. It was what we'd always done. It was one way we communicated, a way we stayed so closely bonded, I guess. Plus, we were both horny and we really liked each other's bodies. It was recreational."

"Adam, I'm kind of seeing a pattern here. Although I still can't believe you'd screw with your roommate right there in the room. That doesn't seem like you."

"We were young and horny, and we tried to be somewhat discreet, but where else could we go? But yeah, that probably was a little unkind. She did him once though, because we felt so guilty for making him horny all night."

Letting your keyboard cool off after the houseboat party Stormy? It must still be smouldering. Excellent writing as always, I love the give and take between these two. Seems like a lot of us have those horrible locker room memories, don't we? There was always that Mule in one of our gym classes back in high school. Unfortunately, it wasn't me.

I see so many different ways you can go with this story. We still have Tiffany hanging out there, Pops, Izzy, Ron and Kori, (it's only fair that Ron gets a chance to sample some of Kristi's charms, after all, Adam and Kori went at it............). Like I said, so many different ways to go.

Thanks Stormy

This is like the calm before the storm and Kristy has a bone to pick... Now who's bone will it be?
contdoc

Stormy

Excellent! I love the wrinkle with the roommate.

GH

Stormy,

It just keeps getting better.

TrF2, thanks. I turned a fan on my keyboard, but the smoke alarm in the hall kept going off. Thought it best to cool it down for awhile. I'll PM you later about something.

cd, that's hilarious! Great comment!

Thanks GH, and the roommate wrinkle stems from a somewhat similar actual experience! I had to add it.

qetta, thanks for the comment. Even if not better, it at least keeps getting longer! I'm pleased that you enjoy it!
____________________________________________________________


"So, to make a long story short..."

Kristi laughed. "Way too late for that, Adam. I think it's getting light out."

Unthinking, I looked to the east. "It is not, it can't be much past two o'clock, maybe two thirty."

"I was just kidding."

"Oh. Duh. Well, anyhow, we pretty much followed that pattern of holidays, summers, and long weekends until our senior year, and..."

Kristi cut in. "Wait, wait a second! You can't just drop that bomb about her screwing your roommate and then skip over it! What happened there? I mean, how did that come about?"

"You just said this whole tale was getting too long. I had to omit something!"

"OK, fine. But not that! Spill it - were you there? Did she put on a show for you?"

I laughed. "I knew you'd have to hear that part, you're just too kinky!"

"Well, fuck you and the horse you rode in on! I thought that was one of the things you loved about me."

"It is. One of the many things. It was really no big deal. We'd gone out clubbing that night, the three of us. Michael is a great guy, and he and Izzy got along well. He never really minded her staying with me for a night or two, I don't think, despite the aural erotica we put him through. I told you Michael is black, didn't I?"

"Adam how come every time you mention Michael you remind me he's black? Are you trying to establish your non-bigoted bona fides?"

"No, no, I just can never remember how much we've ever talked about him. And it is germane to this particular story."

She glanced at me. "Germane, huh?"

"What, so I like to flex my vocabulary occasionally. Use it or lose it, right? Anyhow, hopefully you'll meet him someday and then I'll remember you know all about him - he's also pretty short, not much taller than Izzy, who is five three. Michael is maybe five foot five or so. Okay, so he's dancing with Izz while I sit one out, and they're dancing close together, Izzy teasing him a little by squeezing his ass and pressing her tits against him, and he's trying to rest his head on her chest, they're both laughing and having fun, he's kind of pulling her against him. You know, rubbing up against her and all. We've had a couple of drinks by this point."

"And this didn't bother you?"

"No. Izzy... well, Izzy had always dated other guys, since we reached puberty, pretty much. I struggled at the beginning, the first few times, but this was years later. She was my closest friend, my best buddy, my confidant, almost my sister, like I said, but she wasn't my girl. Not anymore. We had sex whenever we could, it seemed like, but I had no claim on her. It's a weird relationship, I know."

Kristi shook her head. "I'll say! OK, go on."

"Fine. We had a few drinks, a little fun, then we go back to our apartment and go to bed. We can hear Michael across the room, breathing deep, almost snoring, so we know he's asleep, so Izzy and me start up, and I'm inside of her, moving real slow, touching her nipples, and she's muffling her little sounds in the pillow, and we stop for a second. And we hear these noises, you know the kind. It can only be Michael jerking off, the unmistakable repetitive blanket rustling and skin slapping sounds."

Kristi snorted. "Poor guy! Can you blame him, after being teased all evening?"

"No. But Izzy giggled, and the room went dead silent. You could have heard a pin drop, were anyone dropping pins at that moment."

I felt rather than saw Kristi shake her head.

"Then Izzy calls out 'Michael?' Nothing, dead silence, so she tries again. This time he waits a few seconds, then we hear this tentative 'What?', and Izz says 'Are you OK?' Bear in mind, she and I are locked together in this twin bed, me way up inside of her, and she's busy talking to my roomie. I just wanted her to be quiet and let him get back to sleep, or to jerking off, or whatever! I had my goal in sight. So he says, 'Yeah, I'm fine', and I assume she'll let it drop."

Kristi looked up at me. "This all actually happened?"

"I swear, no shit! But that was when she just blew me away! She says 'Michael, would you like a blowjob?' If I thought it was quiet in the room before, it was a tomb now! I almost came inside her when she said that! After a few seconds we hear this choked little voice whisper 'Sure, if it's OK with you guys', and Izzy just slips right off me, leaving my wet hard one sticking up in the air, and goes padding across the room to his bed. The room is dim, just the light from our clocks and a little leaking in around the shade, but I see her kneel down beside his bed, and then she says 'Wow that's really hard! And big! Were we turning you on?'"

I paused for a moment, thinking back on it. Also noticing that my ass was getting pretty sore from sitting on the hard rock. "Kristi, my butt's hurting. Could we maybe lay back a little here, I could hold you and keep you warmer that way." She agreed, and I laid back on the rock, which was still giving off a little warmth. I wiggled around a little until I found a reasonably comfortable spot, and Kristi formed herself tightly to my side, pressing in for warmth with her head on my shoulder and putting one long, sleek leg over me and across my groin. My flaccid sex against the cool, smooth skin of her inner thigh made my stomach flutter.

"Where was I? Oh yeah! So he says 'Yes, always.' and I start to see her head bob up and down over his middle, and I hear him gasp and moan. Then Izzy starts making all these wet, slurpy sounds, and moaning, all this stuff she usually doesn't do, and I figure wow, she's really getting turned on!"

Kristi stopped me. "Were you still hard?"

"Oh, god yes! Extremely! Then she says 'Michael, I've never sucked a black guy before. Can we turn on a light so I can see you?' He says OK, so she tells me to turn on a light. I think that was when it dawned on me that she was doing this for my benefit, the sounds she made, the light and all, she wanted me to see her doing this, to know what was happening. She'll swear to this day that's not true, but I know it was."

"What did you do?"

"I turned on my light, of course!"

Kristi laughed. "I should have known! You're such a horndog! Was he hung, you know, like black guys supposedly are?"

"Michael was decently endowed, I guess. Especially for his size. Remember, we'd lived together for years, it wasn't the first time I'd seen his pecker."

Kristi snickered "Even hard?"

"Morning wood, babe. When you wake up and have to pee like a race horse, it's usually hard. We'd both made that morning run many times. He was probably six inches or so flopping limp, maybe about eight or a little more hard. Looks big on a short guy. Big ol' black nuts. Izzy seemed perfectly happy with it."

Kristi laughed at my cavalier description. "I've never understood the fascination some white women have with black guys. It's just another cock, what difference does it make what color it is?"

I was kind of surprised. "I don't think you ever mentioned that you've fucked any black guys."

"I haven't. I think black cocks are kind of funny looking. You know, in the movies. There was this black stripper at a party I went to once, he was built, and pretty hung, but I thought his cock was kind of ugly. It just didn't look right." She paused, as though remembering. "He did stay hard for a couple of hours, that was impressive."

"Huh." I didn't know what to say to that. "I guess they still work the same, don't you think?"

"I suppose. Anyhow, back to your story."

"Right. Well, she starts blowing him, stroking his cock while she sucks his balls, all the stuff to put on a good show. She kneeling with her ass toward me, her pussy all puffy, and I can see that she's so wet she's almost dripping! This is really turning her on, whether it's the hard cock in her mouth or the fact that she's teasing me with this show. Michael is in heaven, he's moaning and groaning, his cock in her mouth and all wet and all. In about two minutes he's cumming, shooting his load in Izzy's mouth, and she pulls off him and jerks the rest of his jizz all over her chest, rubbing it all into her nipples and all with his dick. If I'd of touched myself I would have cum, that was so damn hot!"

Kristi writhed against me. "I can tell you liked it. You do realize that you're totally hard just from repeating that, don't you?"

"Umm. Well, partly. Your leg rubbing on me probably had something to do with it."

"Sure it did. Remember that you're just keeping me warm. I'm still plenty pissed off at you, so don't get any ideas."

"No, I know."

"If it helps any, I'm soaking wet from that story too, so don't feel bad. I do feel warmer."

I groaned. "Ohhhh god! Yeah Kristi, that's a huge help!"

She laughed. "So what happened next?"

"Well, she just kept right on sucking his cock! He's bucking and moaning like she's killing him, but he stays hard and she goes on sucking. She's so fucking turned on it's like she can't stop, and I can't take it anymore so I go crawling over behind her and stick it in! She's so wet I just slide right into her, and she cums instantly and almost screams, and then I'm fucking her, she's blowing Michael, and pretty soon - really soon - I'm cumming inside of her, she's cumming, he's shooting another load in her mouth. It was really awesome!"

"And then?"

"Then we collapse! I crawl back to bed, too weak to stand. She kisses Michael for a little while then crawls back in with me. She kisses me and I realize she has this overpowering cum breath. I say something about it, and so she breathes out real hard, right in my face! She says' Does it smell different than when it's yours?' It didn't, really, so I tell her that, so she says 'OK, then kiss me', so I do, and she sticks her tongue in my mouth. Kind of grossed me out a little, but I was too tired to care. She snuggles up against me, her tits are all sticky, but we fall sound asleep."

"We wake up the next morning, a little crusty in places, and go shower together. When we come out Michael is awake, and it was kind of awkward for awhile, and Izzy is a little hung over. But we go to breakfast at the IHOP, and by the time we're done, we're all fine together! It was as if it was really no different than dancing, just something fun we did on the spur of the moment. It seemed like it made her and Michael closer, they still talk to each other once in awhile."

Kristi shook her head. "So, just fun casual sex, huh?"

I shrugged. "Yeah, I guess."

"Did you wind up doing it a lot? Any replays?"

"No, never. Until the thing with Sue and Rick, I've never been with more than one person again. Well, and this evening, of course. And Izzy swears she never has either. It was a one-time wild night, just totally impulsive. I don't think we ever regretted it, but we never repeated it either. Of course, she met her husband-to-be, Paul, just a few weeks later, and that changed everything. I think for her, since then, it's been just him. And me, of course."

I felt Kristi tense up. "Yes, and you Adam. Of course. Don't forget about you."

There go those smoke alarms again. Didn't give that keyboard much time to cool off Stormy. Nice chapter, excellent job. Thanks.

its a great pleasure every time Love it,
story

Dear Stormy

You continue to do an extraordinary job. The developments take my breath away. It's so much fun reading.

I wonder how Adam will get punished eventually - Pops comes in my mind repeatedly when considering how things might develop. But I'm far from suggesting anything, that's just one of the miraculous things: the waiting time until your next installment is there - Fantasy. Your writings however top even that. All the time.

Cliffa
Cliffa

TrF2, thanks again. I had to tell you that part to tell you the next part. Funny how stories work that way!

Thanks for the note, story. It's very good to know you are enjoying it.

Thanks cliffa, it was meant to be a fun read, I'm glad it's working for you! I don't mind the suggestions, as long as nobody takes offense if the story goes in a different direction. I'm actually amazed at how often someone suggests something I was either considering or planning to include. Guess I'm not the only one here that's creatively perverted!
________________________________________________________


I looked at her, surprised at her tone of voice. It was almost as if she was a little angry or disgusted with me for the fact that Izzy and I had had a life before her!
"Hey, that's not fair! It just was that way Kristi, from childhood on we were always together, always part of each other's lives. If I had it to do over and I knew you would be in my future, would I do it differently? I could lie and say yes, but I don't know that I would, babe. Izzy and I seemed to provide something very important to each other. I think I'd be a totally different person without her influence, maybe one you wouldn't care for at all."

She shook her head. "I'm not entirely sure I care for you all that much right now!" She hesitated. "That wasn't fair. You're right, the people in our past do shape our lives and our personalities, and I've never loved anyone the way I did you."

My heart plummeted. "Did? As in past tense?"

She laughed. "Oops, slip of the tongue! Actually, that's what we need to decide now, tonight. That's what we're doing, isn't it? So go on, tell me about her husband."

I found her slip of the tongue excuse to be less than reassuring! "Well, she met him right after she got back from the trip I just told you about, the one with Michael involved, and I guess he started pursuing her pretty heavily." I laughed. "She tells me on the phone there's this nerd that keeps trying to hit on her, making all these awkward bids at conversation and trying to ask her out, but he keeps getting all tongue-tied. They were apparently assigned as lab partners in some science class and had to go in during the evenings and early mornings for some ongoing experiment they were monitoring. Forced togetherness, I guess you could say."

"So she didn't particularly like him, I guess?"

I shook my head. "Oh, I think she liked him all right, but she found his awkwardness pretty amusing. I told her she was awfully cruel to let him twist in the wind like that, but she just laughed." I smiled at the recollection; Izzy had never been afraid to use her feminine charms to beguile and confuse the guys! "I tried to tell her that he must really like her, to put himself through so much humiliation and potential disappointment. I think that helped turn the tide in his favor!"

Kristi looked at me. "So, let me be clear on this. You talked her into giving this guy, Paul, a shot, even though you loved her."

She made it a statement rather than a question, and I shrugged. "Yeah, I guess. I wasn't there to be with her, and I had no way of knowing that this time it would turn into something more than a brief relationship. The next time I saw her was a couple of months later over spring break - we met at South Padre Island that year - and all she did was talk about Paul!"

"Why didn't he go with her over spring break?"

I chuckled. "If you knew Paul you wouldn't ask that. Paul is not really a party kind of guy. He's very smart, and very loving, but he can be as dull as mashed potatoes. With no gravy. He's a great guy, don't get me wrong, and an incredible father and husband, but party animal? No."

I felt Kristi shiver and press more tightly against me, which was fine with me! "So she cut you off then, huh?"

"Well, no. OK, so we did do something besides talk about Paul, but we had several rainy days and had a lot of time to kill! But they were sleeping together by then and she told me all about it, what they did and how often, all the details. She even compared our techniques and, uh, our equipment. You know how telling me sex stories always seems to lead to sex? Well, so does she! I guess I'm just easy."

Kristi smiled. "Mmm-hmmm, and perverted. But I mean that in the very best way. Were they engaged yet?"

"No, not until that summer. That's when she cut me off. Me and anyone else. She was serious, she intended to be a loyal and faithful wife, and she had come to love Paul very deeply."

"Did you find that difficult? Did that hurt you?"

I shrugged. "Yeah, it did. A lot, at first. I refused to understand it, I guess, because we'd always had our sexual interludes before, even when she was dating someone else seriously, or I was. I didn't want this to be any different, but Izzy knew it was. She didn't want to risk losing Paul."

"And you were pissed off because you lost your little playmate."

"No, that's not it at all! Well, ok, that is it a little bit, but mostly I was afraid of losing the closeness, the friendship. And her, I guess. I just couldn't imagine life after Isabel, because I'd never had life before Isabel. We were always there for each other, Kristi, always, and now she couldn't be - or wouldn't be - anymore! That hurt a lot."

Kristi said softly. "You should have married her Adam. You let your one best lifetime partner marry someone else. Of course it hurt!"

I objected. "No, that wasn't it. I told you we always knew we couldn't get married without destroying our friendship, and that's true. Even when we'd fantasize about what our married lives might be like, it was never to each other! If we ever talked about marrying each other we'd always end up laughing our butts off. It was just too ridiculous to contemplate! Besides, I think I've found my one best lifetime partner. Finally."

Kristi sounded dubious. "If you say so. I think you're still hung up on her."

"I do care about her Kristi, I love her and I won't lie to you about that anymore, but I don't think I'm hung up on her." Kristi remained silent, so I went on. "So anyhow, I attended their wedding, as "an old friend of the family", and it was great to see all of them again. Izzy was stunning, gorgeous in her gown, and so completely happy! I panicked a little, I think. It just seemed so final, and I missed her so much already!"

Kristi touched me softly on my neck. "Do you want to stop talking about this for awhile? Take a break, maybe?"

It was tempting. "No. No, let's get it over with. You need to know this history, I've already waited too long. So, I danced with her, at the reception. It was a little weird, but my God, it felt so good to hold her! I really thought at the time that it would probably be the last time, ever, and that hurt so bad! I didn't want the music to end, but it did, far too soon, and I kissed her, and congratulated her and Paul, and then I left. I couldn't stand it anymore. I got totally and completely drunk that night, after I left there, and I stayed that way for the next week. I had a friend call in sick for me, but I was smashed out of my head the whole time. Last time I ever did that, by the way. Really stupid!"

"You were hurting, Adam. You were young and hurt and scared." I thought I heard her sniffle. "Your whole life was changing, that can be pretty traumatic. Getting drunk dulls the edges. What happened next?"

"I was deeply depressed. Make that hungover, sick, and depressed. I moped through the next couple of weeks, then one evening my phone rings and it's Izz! I was thrilled to hear from her, but she had heard about what a putz I was being and she read me the riot act over the phone." I laughed. "She can be quite colorful when she's pissed off, let me tell you! She cusses me out for treating her wedding like a funeral, and then she proceeds to tell me that we're still friends, we can still talk anytime, we can still share our innermost thoughts; we just can't have sex! And she thanked me for my gift."

"What did you get them?"

"Them? I don't remember, some expensive appliance or something. I remember it cost a lot, but it was for Izzy's wedding so that was OK. For her though, just for her, I'd made a photo album. It was all pictures of us, over the years, from two little babies sleeping in the same crib to two little pot-bellied naked kids in the wading pool, up through the skinned knees and missing teeth, her pigtail stage and my crewcut stage, playing waiter and cook at their restaurant, our high school trips and backpacking in the Rockies, her in her cheerleader outfit, dances and parties together, college fun at Key West and South Padre Island, football games. I went through hundreds of pictures, a lifetime on film. It took me days, but it was worth it. I wrote in the front 'For my one and only Izzy: Our lives.' Corny and melodramatic, I know. She loved it!"

I felt Kristi shake her head. "Adam, you amaze me sometimes! You can be such an insensitive clod, and then other times.... What did her husband think of that?"

"Oh, I gave it to her sister to give to her, I didn't just drop it on them! Izzy didn't show it to him until some time later, when she decided she had to tell him about us. She used the album to help explain to him about how it was, what we'd always been to each other. I like to think it helped."

"I'm sure! So, when exactly did you start screwing each other again? Because obviously you did!"

I laughed. "The very first time we saw each other! Mind, that was almost two years later! We had avoided seeing each other on purpose, I think, because we both knew deep inside what would happen. We talked on the phone pretty regularly, and emailed, but I had a trip I had to make to Houston, and I invited her to dinner - we had the best of intentions, just to see each other and talk, to catch up - but it happened. We never meant for it to, and we both felt terribly guilty, but I was in my room changing for dinner when she called from the lobby, and I asked her up. Big mistake, but it would have happened sooner or later anyhow. We never made it to dinner."

Kristi laughed. "Good god, Adam! If I check the American Journal of Psychiatry will I find your little friend there, written up as a case study of the perfect cuckoldress?"

I frowned and pulled away from her. "What's that supposed to mean?"

What can or could I say different to my comments in the past?
Nothing!! Just a wonderful phantastic story.
Not the best only I ever read, the longest also
Thank you so much for it
storyfan

Thanks story, I appreciate your support. I'm not sure being the longest means anything except that I'll probably never write bumper stickers! Or haiku. Maybe I'm just making up in volume for what I lack in ability!
_____________________________________________________________


As I pulled away, she turned and looked at me. "Oh come on, don't try to tell me you don't see it! You two grow up together, play doctor, mature a little and eventually start having sex - and then as soon as she can she's screwing someone else and coming back to tell you all about it! You do see that that's not a normal relationship, right?"

I shook my head. "No, it wasn't like that! We just always told each other everything. I think when you spend that much time together you just talk about stuff, you know, just anything."

Kristi moved further away, to where she could look at my face as we spoke. "But Adam, then you'd have sex with her after these other guys did, right?"

"Yeah, sometimes. Usually, I guess." I was starting to sense where she was going with this, and I felt my defenses start to go up. "It was no big deal, we just enjoyed touching each other."

"Uh-huh. She was cuckolding you, Adam. You were the number one guy in her life and she was cuckolding you. And rubbing your nose in it by forcing you to hear all about it!"

I smiled. "Well, she hardly forced me! I usually demanded that she tell me all, but I do think she enjoyed it too. She liked seeing the effect it had on me, it always made me so horny - and that made her so horny!"

Kristi snorted derisively. "Sure, because she had you trained! The perfect cuckoldress, like I said."

"I wish you'd quit saying that. Besides, nobody's perfect. And what makes you so sure she wasn't cuckolding them, with me? Maybe her other boyfriends were the cuckolds, if we're going to toss that term around."

She thought about that for a moment. "Ok, there's this. You knew all about them, but they didn't know she was fucking you, right?"

I shrugged. "I guess. People knew we were close friends. Some probably assumed we were more than that. But I think she always told her boyfriend, whoever it was at any given time, that he was her one and only. Which, of course, he wasn't."

Kristi frowned. "OK, maybe you have a point, since you say she pretty much had only one steady boyfriend - plus you - at any given time. She wasn't a complete tramp. But those guys didn't know they were cucks. If you were so important in her life, and you knew all about it, but the other guys didn't, that makes you the willing cuckold. I think. Maybe. It's a gray area for me."

I felt I'd won my case, although being found to be a 'willing cuckold' felt a little like a hollow victory. "I do see what you're saying about after she was married though. I guess we were - are - cuckolding Paul, although I don't think we ever thought of it that way. I don't think I'm the cuckold in that relationship."

Kristi quickly agreed. "Oh definitely not! You're the cuckolder, not the cuckoldee, in that set-up. That's what's so fascinating about all this, it's like she just very deftly maneuvered you from one role to the other. Very smooth, very slick." She suddenly snapped her fingers, the loud pop startling in the silence. "Wait, I have it!"

Startled, I said "You have what?"

"When she was sleeping with her boyfriends in high school, you were always the after-date guy, right?"

"Yeah, I guess. She'd usually sneak to my room, like we did."

"Lots of sloppy seconds for you, huh?" She laughed.

I thought back. "Well, sometimes. Quite a bit, I guess. She'd sometimes give them blowjobs, then her breath would smell like cum and her lips would feel all hot and puffy, other times they'd pull out and cum on her belly or tits; and condoms, they did use those fairly often. But yeah, she did show up full of cum a number of times and we'd have sex. But you know how much I love that, I've been inspired to a second round with you frequently just to enjoy the feel of that!"

She laughed again. "Don't I know it! But that's different, it's your own sloppy seconds. This was from other guys, and that didn't bother you?"

I shook my head. "No. Not after she got me all horny telling me about it! Plus, it just feels so damn good to push into that slick, wet, silky heat, you know? It's a great feeling, nothing like it!"

She smacked me on my leg with the back of her hand. "Look at you Adam! You're hard as a rock just from thinking and talking about it! If you get a massive erection like that just from thinking about getting another guys' sloppy seconds in your woman, I think you're a born cuckold."

I objected. "No way! That's just from thinking about how good it feels! And anyhow, when she was in college and would spend time with me, then she was sneaking out and fooling around on her boyfriend. He was the cuckold then, I guess, by your own standards."

"Oh, no doubt! These guys were totally unaware that she was screwing you right? They thought they were exclusive?"

"Yup, always. Well, except for one guy she was serious about for awhile, Larry. She asked him to get something from her purse, forgetting she still had half a box of Magnum condoms in there from being with me. From what she said about him, the last thing on earth he needed was Magnum size condoms, so he naturally got a little suspicious." I laughed. "That caused a pretty quick break up, when she told him about us and why she needed Magnums, but she was kind of over him anyway, by then."

"Wait, wait a second. She told you he was, um, under-endowed, even though he was her steady boyfriend at the time?"

I shrugged. "Of course, she always told me everything. I thought I mentioned that."

"Don't be a smart-ass!" She stood and started pacing. "Boy, she's good! What a little master of the sexual arts you found, the perfect little master cuckoldress, like I said. She played you like a drum, Adam. Can't you see it?"

Defensive again, I shook my head. "No Kristi, it wasn't like that! The whole thing just sort of evolved on it's own as we grew up, Izzy isn't some kind of diabolical master planner or something!"

She stopped me. "Oh, don't get me wrong Adam, I'm not criticizing! Far from it! I'm just very impressed with the way she was always able to keep two balls in the air at once. Well, technically four balls I guess, since she always had two men to serve her. You'll be glad to know that as of right now I'm not so much jealous of her as I am in awe of her!"

"Kristi, come on..."

"No, I mean it Adam! I want to meet this woman so that I can sit at her feet and learn from her! I mean, even after she had converted you from her cuckold to her lover, or bull, or whatever you want to call it, she was still mentally cuckolding you by telling you every little wet, juicy detail of her sex life with her boyfriends. That's just brilliant!"

I wanted to tell her that she was way off base, to make her see how it had really been and still was between me and Izzy, but I was finding her pacing back and forth in front of me, seemingly unaware of her own nudity, to be extremely distracting. It also was not helping to diminish my throbbingly hard erection.

"But Kristi, with Paul, when she cheated on him - when we did - it was awful! She didn't mean to do that, and I never intended to tempt her to break her vows, I swear!" That was true, it had been a very low point for Izzy and I, having to acknowledge what we'd done. It was not a proud moment. "It was more like it was just natural, we kissed, a friendly little peck, but then we just fell into each other's arms and into bed, and it happened, and then we felt like shit, like pond scum!"

Kristi stopped and looked at me, perhaps sensing my anguish. I still carried shame and regret for that night. "And yet now this man is spending his time and treasure raising a child that you fathered, Adam. Your child Adam, the guy that was fucking his wife, cuckolding him for some years before you were asked to father a child for them! You don't find that strange?"

The truth was, I'd found it very strange at the time. By now I'd grown accustomed to the idea, and it seemed normal. I told her that. "Besides Kristi, it was a favor to them. Paul couldn't, he's totally sterile now, and they desperately wanted more kids. As he pointed out, he and I are about the same height and build, same eye color. We look a fair bit alike. Cody looks just like his other kids to me, although Izzy says she can see me in him."

Kristi laughed, without humor. "God, Adam! Even a comment like that is her way of playing you, of reminding you what you two have together. I don't know if I can compete with that! If they'd even asked you to just donate sperm, but they didn't! They asked you to fuck her and knock her up so they could raise your child. That's just way out there, you know?"

I grabbed her arm and pulled her to me. I could see that she was getting worked up, that she was not understanding what my relationship to Izzy, and now to Paul, really was.

"Kristi, sit with me. Please? Let me explain, I've obviously not done very well so far. You probably need to meet Paul and Izzy to really understand, but let me try." She sat beside me and I put my arm around her again, trying to keep her warm as I thought for a moment. She didn't snuggle against me as she had earlier.

"Paul is her one and only, Kristi. I mean, he's really her one true love, her husband, lover, provider, father of her children - DNA notwithstanding - and if he told her to dump me she'd do it in a New York minute. He's just an amazing man, and he found himself an amazing woman. They're so deeply in love, even now, after some ten - almost eleven - years of marriage. It's what every couple aspires to, really, what they have."

Kristi didn't say anything, just sat and stared at the ground, so I went on. "And if they asked me to step back, to stay away, I would. But somehow, after that awful night that Izzy and I had, she knew what she had to do. She went home and told him about us, all about her and I, like I'm trying to do now, with you, and somehow she made him understand! She showed him the album I'd made, went through all the pictures. She made him understand that I was not a threat to their marriage, that she had chosen him over me, that he was the man she needed and that she and I could never be anything more than the very best and closest of friends."

Kristi spoke very softly. "And lovers, Adam. You are also lovers."

There was that, of course. Somehow I felt that I was botching this, badly, and that if I didn't start getting it right, and soon, that maybe what Kristi and I'd had would not survive past this night.