Double Twist
Chapter 168
“Exerting yourself to the fullest within your individual limits: that’s the essence of running, and a metaphor for life—and for me, for writing as a whole. I believe many runners would agree.”
—Haruki Murakami, What I Talk About When I Talk About Running
28 SEPTEMBER 2021
I only did ten miles yesterday. Nanette says my goal this week is to stay loose and not try to set any land speed records until Saturday. Very funny. I’m glad she’s running the Covered Bridge Half Marathon with me. She could have entered the full marathon but I think she’s backing off her distance for a while. Emily is running the 5k. Jock is getting me out of school early on Friday so we can make the drive to Rockville and get in before dark. He wants us all to get a good night’s sleep before we run Saturday morning.
And we have a new addition at Mad Anthony that I get to try out this afternoon. There’s a new 10k course that starts and ends at the school. I’ve no idea how Jock or the athletic department got access rights to the wooded areas we’ll run through. He sent us out on a light jog yesterday to get a look at the trail. There are a couple of sections that run along paved road and a few that are on gravel roads, but most of the route is grass, including the part that runs under the power lines. That’s a little freaky, but we’ll get used to it. Today he wants us to do a swing pace run on the trail and pay attention to anywhere there’s a problem on the course. It will be my last 10k run with the team. We’re hosting the 10k sectionals on the seventh. The whole state tournament for 10k is separate from the standard cross country sectionals. From here on, I’m focused on the half marathons.
And orchestra. Our fall concert is on the fifth. Today and Thursday, I’ll be going straight from cross country practice to orchestra rehearsal. I guess LeBlanc got what he really wanted. I won’t be playing guitar at all during this concert. It will strictly be the viola da gamba. I guess it makes sense. It holds up much better to the overwhelming sound of the orchestra than the guitar does. Cindy and I aren’t doing a duet during this concert but we’ll each have short solos.
When are Cindy and I supposed to have time to put together a recording for October and an hour-long program for the California tour at Christmas?
“I’m bummed we won’t be able to watch you run this weekend,” Beca said. She sat on my right at our table and Brittany had me sandwiched in on the left. Both girls seemed especially cuddly today. I noticed Desi and Cindy were very cozy as well. It seemed so strange to be only five at our table this year.
“Is it my imagination or are we all a little clingy today?”
“Sometimes it hits me that I’m a senior and this is, like, it, you know?” Britt said. “It’s like the big countdown has begun and everything we know is going to end. We’ll be thrown out of the school and told to go serve our country. My youth is ending.”
“Um… we still have eight months of school left,” I sighed. “Not that I don’t share some of your same feelings, but I’d really like to focus on having fun as a high schooler for a while.” It seemed like the three years since I woke up in this body and this world had flown by. I was so focused on succeeding as a musician, I hadn’t even been writing anything but school assignments. Getting involved in this whole deputation thing with the National School had just made more pressure. I’d been given the opportunity to do my life over—granted a different life in a different reality—but I’d approached so much of it as if I was still eighty and not seventeen. My plan for the weekend was to run a wide-open race on Saturday and then fuck Nanette and Emily all night long. I didn’t want to think about careers or National Service or responsibility.
“Let’s have an orgy tonight,” Desi said. “Fuck studying. I’m sure Donna would go along with it. You don’t have to participate if you don’t want, Cindy. But you should know that if you come up to me with your clothes off, you’ll find my face between your legs pretty quickly.”
“Um… I still have to go home at ten,” Cindy squeaked. “School night rules. Can you finish by then?” We all laughed at her concern. Damn! I’d thumb wrestle Desi for the privilege of getting my face between those legs again. I’d been there once in Washington two and a half weeks ago. I was definitely interested in a return visit.
“I’ll coordinate with Donna,” Beca said, thumbing her phone. We had to leave the lunchroom and return to class. Cindy and I sat in our chairs in orchestra and LeBlanc started us right back into rehearsal.
Jock had me run a light 5k and work upper body for a while, but my practice was easy and I was feeling pretty fresh after I got a shower and headed out to the farm. The late September weather was glorious. It had been a sunny day in the mid-seventies and was only just beginning to cool down when I pulled into the drive. It was only about four-thirty and still almost three hours until sunset. When I walked around the deck to get to the back door, I saw a truly inspiring sight. All eight of my local girlfriends were dancing naked in the middle of the driving range. They were holding hands and skipping in a circle and laughing. I stopped by the back door and stripped, not bothering to go into the house. In a matter of a few minutes, I had joined the circle with Desi on one side of me and Sophie on the other as we laughed and skipped a zig-zag path around the well-maintained ten-acre lawn.
As we danced, we also got passed from person to person, getting more and more involved in the touches and kisses that went with dancing naked together. Beca jumped up and wrapped her legs around my waist and her arms around my neck as we kissed and danced around. I could feel my cock bouncing against her pussy and felt her stimulating herself as she bounced up and down. Then she was off and I had Donna in my arms, both of her butt cheeks held firmly in my hands as we kissed and gyrated, pretending to dance.
When Cindy captured my lips, my cock was slick with precome and trapped between us. Holding her breasts and butt in my hands was heavenly and her hand snaked between us to stroke my slick cock.
“I really want you,” she said. “If we don’t get to make love tonight, we will soon. I wish I could sleep with you every night.”
“Mmm. We’d have company most of the time. I hope you are planning on that.”
“Oh, yeah! I think tonight, though, I’ve got a date with Desi.”
We moved apart and spun in the circle from partner to partner. Brittany did an imitation of Beca’s jump into my arms, wrapping legs around my waist. She’s a little bigger than her aunt, but was no problem at all to carry around. She had a different idea altogether of what would happen when we kissed. She pushed a hand between us to guide my cock directly to her opening and slid down on it.
“God, Brittany! What are you doing with your muscles?” I gasped as I felt her clamp and release with her pussy.
“I’m dancing with my pelvic floor,” she giggled. “Oh! You’re so deep.”
“I won’t be able to hold you like this for long. I’m getting weak.” I heard a loud smack and Brittany jumped on my cock. That was a great sensation.
“Ow! I’m being good!”
“I can see,” Nanette laughed from behind her. “I just don’t want Jacob injured before the race.” She wrapped her arms around us from behind Britt so the girl was held up by her posting position on my cock and I was kept from falling forward by Nanette’s support of the two of us. Brittany renewed her pelvic dance.
“Yes! Yes!” Britt cried as she bounced between Nanette and me. My voice echoed hers as I felt the full tension of an impending orgasm in my balls. Brittany slammed her mouth against mine and her tongue down my throat as her pussy vibrated with a powerful orgasm. My cock erupted in her.
That was it for me. With the helping support of Nan, I sank to my knees, Britt’s legs still around my waist. Once we were on the ground, we continued kissing and Nanette managed to maneuver into a position where she could join in the kisses. As we caught our breath, I saw the dancing had wound down and we were all in little clutches of lovers. I shrank out of Brittany’s hot pussy and felt our combined juices run down my balls.
“There’s food,” Donna called.
“Yeah. And yummy girls,” Beca added, kissing Emily. We all stood up and headed for the house.
“I wonder if we can get us all in my shower at once,” Donna giggled as Desi stroked her bottom and nibbled a shoulder.
Donna’s shower was big but getting all nine of us into it proved to be impossible, though a lot of fun trying. We had water all over the floor of the bathroom by the time we were finished and I’d had intimate contact with all eight girls, including running my fingers through Cindy’s slit.
We’d bought a supply of the hugest softest towels we could find and dried each other. Then we hit the kitchen and all joined in making up a huge salad. Donna had cubed ham and cheese that we sprinkled liberally over the top of our bowls before choosing the dressings we wanted.
I noticed we were only taking up about half the number of chairs as there were butts at the table. Cindy was straddling Desi, her small tiddies mashed up against Desi’s big boobs as they fed each other. Sophie sat across my lap and kept readjusting her position to be sure my cock was at attention. Beca was in a similar position with Donna as Emily and Nanette had Brittany lying across them. Bits of salad and a lot of dressing fell on Britt as they fed each other. Emily and Nanette had no difficulty licking the bits off her.
We’d called it an orgy and spent a couple of hours in the field making sure we’d kissed and groped all our mates, but by the time we’d finished eating, it was clear who was going to have sex with whom. After we’d cleaned up the food and dishes, we started drifting around to find places to get some serious loving in. I got seriously distracted when I saw Cindy push Desi down on the couch and straddle her in a sixty-nine. Sophie was pretty taken by the sight as well and we both knelt beside our girlfriends to pet them and caress their breasts and butts. But Sophie had other ideas for me. Beca and Donna had occupied the other end of the long sofa and after spending a few minutes giving them caresses like we had Cindy and Desi, Sophie pushed me back in the recliner and mounted me. Brittany, Nanette, and Emily were in a daisy chain in the middle of the floor.
Once Sophie sank down on my cock, I ceased to be aware of the other activities in the room.
“Mmm. We need nights like this,” Sophie said as she leaned forward to kiss me. “We need to remind each other that we love and are loved. I need to feel your cock in my pussy but I also need to taste Emily’s sweet juices on my tongue. I need to hold Desiree and let Brittany have her way with me. I need to know your cock has been in every willing pussy and that we are united in our love.”
“I need to dance with you in the moonlight and love you in the sun,” I said. I was going to continue, but Sophie made it impossible for me to put another thought together. She’s a dancer and unbelievably flexible. She pulled her right leg up to my shoulder and then stretched her left leg back along mine until she was pretty much doing the splits. That changed all the pressure along my cock and we rocked back and forth in that position for a minute before she continued. She lifted her right leg over my face and put it on my right shoulder. Now she was facing sideways on me and by putting her hands on the arm of the chair was able to lift and drop herself on me repeatedly. It did wonderful things for both of us.
But Sophie wasn’t done. She kept moving her legs in small increments until she was facing completely away from me with her legs stretched out on top of mine. She lay back along my chest until she was completely stretched out on me. I was still buried in her, though stroking in and out was limited. I could reach around her and play with her breasts and nipples while she twisted her head back to kiss me.
Eventually, Sophie managed to pull her legs back under her and lean forward in a reverse cowgirl sort of position. I held her perfect round bottom in my hands as she began to bounce. We’d been taking it easy up to this point, but now it was obvious Sophie was working up to a serious orgasm. When she came, there was nothing I could do but join her.
Nanette and Emily picked me up Friday at school right after my orchestra class at one o’clock. It didn’t make sense to take the truck with just the three of us and a four-hour drive. Of course, legally, Em was required to drive as the official school employee. So far, she was listed as a substitute bus driver but the office had promised her a regular route by Christmas. We took her Prius and Nan and I switched back and forth between shotgun and the back seat. I was fine in the back. The car had enough leg room and with just one back there, I could stretch out sideways.
We got into Rockville a little before six and found the Bed and Breakfast we were slated for. I guess they were accustomed to friends sharing a room in any combination during the Covered Bridge Festival. They had no difficulty with the three of us in a room with just one bed. As soon as we were settled in, we went out to eat. We had to wait about ten minutes to get a table at Benjamin’s but they moved people in and out of the restaurant pretty smoothly during the festival. We all filled up on spaghetti and meatballs. Em and Nan both had a beer but I contented myself with just water.
In the morning, we caught the race shuttle out to Rosedale. The full marathon started in Rockville and made a circuit. The half started at the halfway point in Rosedale and was one-way from there to Rockville. They started both races at the same time and assumed the half marathon runners would be finished long before the marathoners caught up with them. I guess most were. Em was running the 5k in town and promised to meet us at the finish line.
“So, what’s your strategy for this race?” Nanette asked. She could run fast, but I’d reached a point in my half marathon where I could outpace her, so we knew we wouldn’t be running together. I looked around for other high schoolers and noted a few jerseys from schools around the state. This race was far enough south that it drew competitors from the whole western side of the state, all the way down to Evansville. I figured I was probably the runner from the farthest point northeast in the state.
“Run,” I said. “I’m not even sure I’ll use the pacing watch. I’m just going to go out and run at what’s comfortable. Like Jock said, it isn’t important that I win the race or even improve over my last race. I’m already qualified for the state finals. I’m not used to running a lot of hills and this will give me a good testbed for the Pokagon run in two weeks.”
“Well, from what we saw driving down, the course isn’t as hilly as Jock led us to believe. I think the real hills are farther north in Turkey Run State Park. Plus, this is a pavement run with a few gravel sections. Pokagon is all dirt trails. It will be a different run,” Nan said.
“You think I should use the pacer?” I asked.
“No. I think you have a good idea in just seeing how well you can run without it. See if you can set your pace without the watch and we’ll measure the results afterward.”
There were about two hundred runners starting the half marathon at nine-thirty. I guessed about twenty were high school competitors. That seemed about right. Not every school had runners willing to tackle this distance and very few had more than one. It was a gun start from the elementary school parking lot. As long as you were behind the starting line that ran the full width of the parking lot, you were good, so we were pretty spread out. By the end of the parking lot, we had to fit through the entrance and turn to run through the heart of downtown Rosedale. By the time I hit the edge of town, runners were pretty spread out all the way back to the main intersection. I was pretty sure some of the runners I saw would be passed by marathoners before they reached the finish line. We crossed the first covered bridge at Coxville and from then on, we were truly on backroads through the country.
I picked a melody in my head and just set my pace according to it. I knew I was within the top twenty on the road and could see them stretched out ahead of me. I didn’t focus on catching them. I just ran my race.
That’s what’s so great about running a half marathon. You aren’t really racing against anyone but yourself. I was out there ignoring all the other runners and just going according to the music in my head. I didn’t even really pay attention to the mile markers on the route. I missed seeing several of them. If I passed a runner, I passed him—or her. If I got passed, I didn’t try to stave off the competition. I just ran.
I was genuinely surprised when I crossed the last bridge just inside Rockville and saw the finish line ahead. I didn’t even try to kick to improve my time or placement. I just ran into the chute and took my number. When I looked at my numbers, I discovered I’d run an almost perfect 7:15 pace to finish in 1:34:22.8. It was a personal best. I didn’t even have hopes of ever running faster than a 7:00 pace. But maybe I’d been limiting myself with the pacing watch.
Em was there to greet me and give me a bottle of water. We watched as Nanette came in at just under her marathon pace in an hour and forty-five minutes. She was thrilled when she saw my results, having expected to find me out of gas somewhere in the last five miles.
“I did much better than you did,” Nan laughed.
“What?”
“Well, just look at our times. I ran ten minutes longer than you did. It’s like you dropped out early.” We all got a good laugh out of that twist and started commenting about who we thought would run the longest. The first marathoners came in just under three hours. This wasn’t the kind of race that drew top elite runners but there’s nothing to be ashamed of if you are running twenty-six miles in three hours.
We picked up our medals and unofficial place documents. Official results would be tabulated and posted online within twenty-four hours. I came in fourteenth overall and was surprised to find I’d won the high school competition. That would please Jock, I thought.
Comments
Please feel free to send comments to the author at devon@devonlayne.com.
