Foolish Wisdom
30 New Year
THE NEW YEAR’S EVE PARTY at the Gordons’ house was fun again this year. In addition to the original twenty-three of us, Lamar accompanied Renee, and Elaine’s brother Cam joined us. Lionel carried his chair downstairs and Doug and Carl did a cradle of their hands that Cam sat in as they carried him. We had a blast, dancing, playing games, and eating. Cam was the only one without a partner, but Doreen came up to him just before midnight and whispered in his ear. He grinned. They’d known each other before Cam’s accident and Doreen perched on his lap as we counted down the seconds. Each of the other guys had a girl, but I was piled on by ten of them. There was such a lot of kissing going on that I was never completely sure which of my girlfriends had her tongue in my mouth. Or her boob in my hand. Seems like there was a lot of feely going on as well.
Soon after the magic hour rang, the adults began shifting around upstairs. We got Cam up there and resettled and I heard Mom talking in the kitchen.
“Really, John. There will be ten girls. And there are five parents. They have their agreement and not one of them has ever broken it. They will all have proper sleepwear on. Let her join the fun.” Cassie’s dad mumbled something and I had a feeling it didn’t go over that well.
After all the adults had left, my ten girlfriends and I loaded in my parents’ car, Bill’s car, Sarah’s car, and Elaine’s car. I was surprised when Cassie slid into the back seat of Mom and Dad’s car next to me. She grabbed my arm and showed me the bag she’d packed ‘just in case.’ Her parents had consented.
“At least this way I won’t have to sneak out in the middle of the night and walk alone through the dark woods to get to your house,” she whispered.
“You wouldn’t! Would you?”
“I’d try to call you first so you and your white charger could come and rescue me.” I could just imagine trying to ride Silk through ten inches of snow in a dark wood to meet Cassie somewhere. I was glad her parents gave her permission. “Do we rotate sleeping next to you during the night?” she asked.
“Um… I don’t know. Hannah usually has a plan.”
I politely went to change into my pajamas in the bathroom while the girls laughed and giggled upstairs. Bill and Crystal, of course, were staying in the guest room. Anna was in Mom and Dad’s room, but not all the girls knew that. I think they’d been pretty circumspect at the party, too, and Anna was probably about to get her New Year’s kisses. First, though, she and Mom and Crystal inspected everyone’s sleepwear and the arrangement of blankets and pillows on the floor of my room.
“You all know that we trust you and that you have your agreement,” Mom said to us. “Please remember, though, that no matter what your feelings are, not every one of you is at the same level of development in his or her relationship. Some of you are fifteen, some sixteen, one seventeen, and one eighteen. That’s a big range of experience. I know I shouldn’t have to say any of what I’m saying, but Mr. and Mrs. Clinton practically made me promise to sleep in the same room with you all. You would never intentionally do anything to hurt another person tonight, but please be extra respectful of each other so we can continue to have these gatherings.”
“And whether you are the daughter or son of one of us moms or not,” Anna added, “please understand that you can come to us at any time if you are uncomfortable or if you just want to talk. No questions asked.” I went to Mom and hugged her. I gave her a kiss on the cheek and did the same to Anna and then to Crystal. Behind me, all ten of my girlfriends did the same thing. The women left and I was alone—reasonably—with my ten.
“Um… before we start deciding how we’re going to sleep, I’d like to say something,” I began. “It’s officially January one. Things have changed a lot in the past year and a half since we formed the dating group. Our whole group is still together but most everyone has paired up. I don’t want you all to feel like you lost the lottery or something and got me by default. I love having you all as girlfriends, but we haven’t signed a lifelong marriage contract or anything and as hard as it is for me to say it, I’ll understand if any of you find another boyfriend and stop being my girlfriend.”
“Boooo,” Jennifer hissed.
“Don’t do that, Jenny, my love. Mom really had it right. We aren’t all at the same developmental stage and people change. You should all know that you will always be my friend even if you decide not to be my girlfriend. That being said, I got each of my girlfriends a little present. It’s not a Christmas present. It’s a girlfriend present. Four of you haven’t received yours yet and since the other six know what’s coming, I’d like to give Whitney, Liz, Sam, and Cassie their presents.” I led the four girls to the edge of my bed and had them sit on the edge. I was just going to put the bracelets on them, but Hannah was right beside me with the bottle of oil. Well, it certainly wouldn’t hurt to massage their feet a little. I hoped Whitney’s big feet didn’t use all the oil! I was sure she was a size eleven now and that was two sizes bigger than my feet. Still, Sam had to wear something like a size three. Her feet were so tiny. It was just part of how different my girls each were. I started rubbing the oil into their feet, between their toes, and up their lower legs.
“I loved this part,” Hannah sighed. I glanced down and noticed she was wearing socks. All four girls on the bed sighed as I rubbed their feet even though I had to be careful with Liz’s because they were so ticklish.
“What a nice present,” Whitney sighed. “May I ask for another after the next game?”
“Honey, you can have a foot rub anytime you want,” I laughed. “But that wasn’t the present. It was just getting you ready for it.” Hannah was right beside me again and handed me the box with Whitney’s name on it. I kissed each of Whitney’s toes and licked up the inside of her arch as I put the bracelet on her ankle. Then I went on to Samantha, dodged Liz’s foot when she reflexively kicked as I kissed her, and watched Cassie’s eyes as I kissed her toes and fastened on the bracelet.
“Does this mean we’re like your slaves, now?” Samantha giggled. “What would you have of me, master?”
“God, no!” I practically shouted. “Please don’t think that. I just wanted you to each have something that you could wear or not wear and that wouldn’t be too obvious if you wanted it to be hidden. You don’t have to wear them all the time or anything. I just wanted you to know that I love you all. And I love each one of you. And thank you to Courtney for helping me to figure that out. I love you.”
“We love you, too, Brian,” Courtney responded. “I love you.” She kissed me, followed by each of my girlfriends giving me a friendly kiss and saying ‘I love you.’
All the ritual things being taken care of, we finally worked out the sleeping arrangement and decided that the four girls I hadn’t had dates with in the past week would be the ones who got to sleep closest to me, taking up residence with Whitney and Cassie each pillowed on an arm and Samantha and Liz sharing my stomach as a pillow. Rose glanced around the room, caught my eye and nodded toward my legs with her eyebrow raised. Oh no! I shook my head slightly and she joined the other five girls wagon-wheeled around my head. We laughed and talked in the dark for another half hour before we all dropped off to sleep. Even though it was Saturday morning, there was no newspaper on New Years’ Day. That didn’t stop Hannah and me from both popping our eyes open at four-thirty. We were staring upside down at each other as she lay in the wagon-wheel with her face next to mine. Everyone else was sound asleep.
“No papers?” I whispered.
“Holiday. No bread?”
“Bill promised to make breakfast this morning.”
“Nothing to do but lie here and look at each other?”
“Our special time, with all our lovers lying around us.”
“Love you, Brian.” She wiggled a little closer and we went back to sleep, cheek-to-cheek.
Because Labor Day had been the seventh of September, school hadn’t started until the eighth—almost a week later than usual. The departing school board had already set the calendar for next school year, and school would be starting the twenty-ninth of August in the fall. And, to be fair, it wasn’t just our school. All the public schools in the county would be starting on that date. Harrison Military Academy and Bishop O’Dell Catholic School would continue to start after Labor Day, or so I’d heard. What it meant for us this year, though, was that in order to get out of school with graduation the third Sunday of June, our semester break was truncated. We got out of school on Thursday the twenty-first through Monday the twenty-fifth. Some parents who were gung-ho on early spring ski trips to the Rockies were pulling their kids out early so they could have the full week and two weekends. It was a screwed-up school year. It was a screwed-up county tournament, too. The first JV game was Wednesday night. We played and lucked out by drawing Potawatomi for the first game. We had the advantage of hosting the tournament on our court this year.
On Thursday we didn’t play. The other two JV games were actually in the morning so they could get all four varsity games in on Thursday afternoon and evening. Friday, we met our nemesis, Whitcomb High, in the semi-final game and got stomped. We were just out-shot from every part of the court and I don’t think we ever managed to get a rebound. Well, at least with the new school classifications, we wouldn’t be meeting them in the sectionals. We’d face Portage in the consolation game Saturday afternoon, making it a contest between the schools farthest east and farthest west in the county. They were pretty ticked after losing a close game to Union High School in the semi-final. As the luck of the draw would have it, our varsity squad lost to Union in the first game on Thursday and was out for the tournament.
We had a bad attitude going into the consolation game Saturday afternoon. Portage was another tough school and they played a rough game. We were just there to play basketball and be good hosts. That didn’t mean we were there to get shoved around and beaten on all afternoon. We were down by seventeen at the end of the half and Coach Hancock wasn’t happy with us.
“You’ve got to stand your ground. Barry. Whitney. They’re pushing you all over under the boards. Have either of you picked up a rebound? Sean, you are going up against a heavier guy for the tip-off, but he doesn’t jump as well. He’s just jumping into you and knocking you out of the way. Jump toward him when the ball goes up. You’re going to have to take some hits. Brian and Bert. You’re going to have to gun more of them. Whitney, picks at the top of the key. Sean, move under the basket with Barry and let’s use our height where we’ve got it. They’re used to getting their way and you are all just getting out of it. Get in there and get some points and some rebounds.”
Well, that was inspiring. On the way back to the court I stopped and looked at Whitney. We stared each other in the eye and both said quietly, “Be a rock.”
Sean went up for the first tip and got knocked on his can. The whistle blew and both centers were called for fouls. Sean sank ours and the Portage center missed his. Whoopee. We were down by only sixteen. Our game changed and we started cutting the lead a little at a time. Barry actually got into the air to fight down a rebound now and then. The Portage Center got a surprise when he found Barry between him and the backboard as Whitney flew up to grab a rebound and send it down court to me for a fast break. We were getting it back, but halfway through the fourth quarter we were still down by eight. I brought the ball down court on our in-bounds with Bert pacing me to my right. My guard followed the ball as I snapped it over to Bert and he didn’t see Whitney run up between us. Bert took two steps and flipped the ball back to me. I stepped to Whitney’s right and launched it up for three points. Whistles blew and I looked over to see my guard lying on the floor. Whitney offered a hand to him, but he waved her off. The foul was on him for smashing into Whitney. She was a rock. And she sank her two shots.
Unfortunately, she became a target. Their forwards were bigger than us, at least heavier. It started getting really rough. There were four fouls in the next two minutes and they weren’t all against Portage. Still, Whitney was hanging in there and they couldn’t move her out of the way. One forward was called for charging when he slammed into her on the way to the basket. It was in the last couple seconds, though, that Whitney went up for a rebound and was rammed from both sides. She crumpled to the floor.
Yeah, they blew whistles. So what? Our bench emptied as Bert and I grabbed hold of their forwards. Their bench emptied. Whistles were blowing all over everyplace. We heard our coach bellowing at us. Their coach was screaming. There was some shoving, but somehow nobody threw a punch. Coach was over Whitney and Ms. Abernathy and Ms. Hammer, the cheer coaches, were both next to her to assist. The refs looked up at the clock. It had three seconds on it and we were down by five. They started the clock and the buzzer rang. Game over. They weren’t letting us out on the floor again. Whitney sat in the coach’s office with the cheer coaches while the guys showered and as soon as we were decent they led her to the shower. We all clapped for her.
She came out of the shower room already dressed. Nobody else from our school was playing today, so coach sent us all home. No reason to be there for a fourth-place trophy award. I drove and Whitney went with me to the car. I reached to give her a hug and she winced.
“Whitney? How bad is it? Do we need to go to the hospital and get x-rays?”
“I’m just bruised. I got hit like that once this summer. I’m a rock.”
“Let me see, hon,” I said when we were in the car. She pulled her coat open and pulled up the left side of her shirt. She was already black and blue. “My rock got bruised tonight. This looks terrible, Whit.”
“Some of it’s left over from last week’s game. And the guy from Whitcomb got me on both arms yesterday.”
“We’re going home. I’ve got some cream that will help.”
“Magic elixir from the Brian fount?” she asked playfully.
“Um… no. This is for real. It’s especially for helping bruises. It’s called arnica. Some kind of herb. It actually works. Not like it’s instant, but it speeds the healing and it feels better.”
“Okay.” The music was gone from her voice and the pain was seeping through.
We got home and just went straight to my room. I got the cream from my bedside table and turned to Whitney. She bit her lower lip and looked down.
“Do you want to do this yourself instead of having me do it?” I asked softly. She shook her head. “We should take your shirt off, then, or it will just be bunched up under your arms.” She nodded.
“Help?” I reached over and helped pull the shirt up over her head. It was hard for her to even lift her arms. When it was off I realized she was topless.
“I’m sorry, Whitney. I didn’t realize you didn’t have a bra on. Lie down on your stomach, baby.” I pulled the sheets back on my bed. It was Saturday. I always changed the sheets on Saturday morning.
“It hurt too much to put it on,” she whispered.
“May I touch you to put the cream on you?” I asked. She lay down and then rolled over so she was lying on her back with her nipples pointing at the ceiling—and at me.
“Brian, my body belongs to you. You may touch me any way you need to or want to. Except I’m not sixteen yet. I don’t want to hide from you.”
“Oh, Whitney, sweetheart,” I said sitting beside her on the bed. I leaned over and kissed her lightly. “If I wasn’t so worried about your bruises, I would be getting really turned on right now. But I just want to make it better.” I warmed the cream in my hands and began gently rubbing it into the bruises on her sides, trying to make sure I covered them, but didn’t massage into her flesh and hurt her more. I remembered how sore I’d been with a cracked rib. She had bruises on her arms, too. And I made sure they were covered. “I love looking at your breasts, honey, but please roll over so I can get the bruises on your back.” It took her a little effort, but she was on her stomach and I covered two bruises beneath her shoulders. “Did I get everything?”
“Um… There might be a bruise on my leg.” I looked at her jeans. She rolled to her back again and reached for her snap. I kissed her again.
“Let me do it, sweetheart. Are you wearing panties?” We both giggled a little and she nodded. Damn. I unfastened her jeans and pulled them down. She raised her legs so I could get them all the way off. It wasn’t just a ruse. There really was a huge bruise on the side of her thigh. “Is it like this after every game, love?” I asked. I couldn’t believe she was hurting like this.
“Some are rougher than others. Tonight’s was tough. It looks worse than it is, though. My skin seems to bruise easily. It isn’t usually deep in to the muscle like it is this time.”
“You have incredible muscles, Whit. You are so beautiful.”
“Will you hold me?” I lay down beside her and she tugged at my sweatshirt. I pulled it and my T-shirt off so we could lie with our skin touching. “Pants are scratchy. Are you wearing underwear?” I laughed and pulled my jeans off then pulled the covers up over us. I just held her for a long time, avoiding spots where she was bruised as I petted her hair. When I got hard, she pushed up against me, not moving back and forth, but seeming to savor the feel of my hardness against her. We were both exhausted from the game and were soon asleep.
I woke up to a very warm girl pressing her breasts against me and rubbing up and down against my leg. I was sure she was awake, though she had her eyes closed and was breathing deeply.
“Do you need any help with that?” I whispered as I stroked her hair off her forehead.
“I woke up naked with my boyfriend and just lost control of what I was doing,” she whimpered. “I’m sorry.”
“I love you, Whitney. You can keep doing that all you want.” My hand traveled down her long torso until I cupped her butt.
“Would you… maybe you could rub… touch… with your hand?” I moved to the front of her hips and she rolled to her back, spreading her legs so I could easily touch her. I kissed my tall, basketball-playing girlfriend and touched her panty-covered crotch. I guess every girl is different when she comes. Some scream, some stiffen up like a board, some slap their legs together to make it stop. Whitney panted for a moment, shuddered, and totally relaxed. I wasn’t positive for a moment if she’d come. “Thank you, lover,” she said. “I can finally say that. I feel like you are my lover at last.” She pushed herself against my fingers and I continued to search out and rub her pleasure button. “I meant what I said, Brian. My body is yours. I hope you will touch me often.”
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