The Rock
23 Speech
SCHOOL WAS QUIET. Even the twins seemed to turn and go a different direction when any of us were near. I didn’t like the idea that people were afraid of us, but Geoff was openly hanging out with Kevin and Leonard and no one was hassling any of them. I noted that most of the younger cousins were wearing their belts subtly integrated into their daily wear. A couple of the girls had tied them with four-in-hand knots around their necks. They were pulled through the belt loops of jeans and tied as a jacket closure. I had a feeling belts would be standard wear among our cousins in school next year. I needed to talk to Whitney about getting them all some basic training. I’d talk to Coach about it, too.
My afternoons were mostly spent with Hannah, reviewing things for her final exams. Ms. Hammer was kindly spacing them out so she wouldn’t have everything in the last week of school. I took her into school twice a week to take a test in the back of one of Ms. Hammer’s classes. The results of a test were always ready by the end of her next test. She was passing all her classes and doing well. I was proud of her.
“Let’s go for a ride this afternoon,” I suggested on Thursday. Friday, I’d be gone all day to the State Speech Contest. It had been north of Indy last year but this year we’d be competing at IU in Bloomington. That was pretty cool. I thought maybe I could drive a few of my hearthmates with me and we could spend the weekend camped out at the new house. Anna had closed on it the previous Monday and we could actually start work. Of course, some of us were going to have to allow study time because all our exams were the next week. I only had three, but most seniors had at least six. Hannah had three more.
“Really? Is it okay?” Hannah asked.
“When has it ever not been okay, sweetie?”
“Well, I was supposed to be studying and I felt guilty going out to be with the horses.”
I held out my hand and she took it as we walked out to the barn. It was a spectacular day with clear blue skies and about 70 degrees. It felt good to have our boots on.
“You don’t ever have to feel guilty about spending time with the horses,” I said. “In fact, I’m making a new rule. Brian’s Unwritten Rule Number 67-A.”
“Are there that many?”
“I don’t know. I’ve never written them down to count.”
“So what’s the rule? I’m pretty sure I should write this one down.”
“No one should ever feel guilty about spending time with horses,” I said. “We’re going to take these kids to the farm with us.”
“The ranch,” Hannah corrected me.
“Huh?”
“Rose said it will be called El Rancho del Corazón.”
“Well, Rose would know, wouldn’t she?” We both laughed. “Anyway, with these three kids going to Bloomington with us, we need to make sure they are always taken care of. We won’t be able to leave it up to whoever happens to remember. Like the day when we all went to Bloomington over spring break. Dad took care of them after we’d all left and then let me know in no uncertain terms that it wasn’t his job.”
“Oh no! My poor Silk.” Hannah rushed into the stall and hugged the white horse. She nickered softly. She was spending a lot of time in the barn lately, even when Rika and Jingo were outside munching the fresh spring grass. I stepped out and whistled the other two horses into the barn.
“We’re going to need a horse manager. Not necessarily to do all the work, but to keep track of who is on duty and to make sure it is done,” I said.
“Are you implying that being your television producer might not be job enough for me?” Hannah asked. I could hear a lightness in her tone that I craved.
“No such thing! I was going to ask you what you thought about who would be best to handle it. Sam, Jennifer, Courtney, and I all love the horses and I think Liz has developed a real liking for them, even though she hasn’t had as much experience,” I said. “This is the kind of thing that I need another opinion on before I go off and just do it all myself.”
“We’re going to need more horses,” she said as if it were the logical answer.
“Um… we’re still trying to figure out how to take care of these, I think.”
“Oh, we don’t need more horses this summer, but the people you named are those who have spent a lot of time at your house and around the horses. Rose and Whitney and Sora are going to be living a hundred feet from these ‘kids,’ as you call them. So will Doug, Doreen, Rhiannon, Carl, Louise, and Brenda. Sure, not all of them are going to become avid riders any more than we will all become martial artists. But if we have a trail for riding around our property that they all helped groom and we decide to go out for a Saturday afternoon ride, we’d have to take turns or ride double. People are going to want to be involved with the horses if they are near.”
“And as a result, there are going to be more people who will be able to care for them, too,” I surmised.
“Yeah. If you’d like my help in organizing horse-care, I’m willing. In fact, more than willing. Taking care of horses isn’t work like what I’m going to be doing producing your show,” she said. “Brian, Silk loves me. She doesn’t know what a terrible person I am. Even though I tell her and cry in her mane she doesn’t even care. I know you say the same thing, but when I doubt… when I can’t stand myself a moment longer… I trust Silk to love me.”
“I love you, Hannah,” I whispered.
“I know, Brian. I believe you. I love you, too. I don’t know why it is so much easier to believe in Silk’s love than a person’s. Any person. I would give my tears, rip out my hair, lay open my chest and rip out my heart if I could just be a real person again. If I could just love and be loved without questioning.”
I dropped the brush in Jingo’s stall and leaned against the big horse. Those words. It could be that she just adapted them from reading the poem I was going to recite in competition tomorrow.
Or maybe it was Hannah who wrote it.
Cassie, Josh, Jen, Court, and Sam rode with me to Bloomington in the morning. Hannah was waiting for her sister to arrive and they would come down with Mary, Rose, and Whitney. Liz and Nikki had already declared it a motorcycle day. Elaine was already out of school and was starting a summer session on Tuesday after Memorial Day. They’d be in an intensive rehearsal and production period for the month of June with a dinner theater performance of The Fantasticks the weekend of the 29th. She was planning to meet us in Bloomington and come to the competition. She’d been a champion at dramatic interpretation when she was at St. Joe Valley. Most of the clan and part of the tribe would be at the farm… ranch… this weekend.
I hadn’t planned to stay through the whole competition, but Cassie was competing in debate and that would take all day. We were on the road plenty early and got to Bloomington at the same time as the bus with the rest of our team. I went for a walk to practice my poetry recitation a few times. Sam immediately grabbed my hand and walked with me, not saying anything but just walking with me. We eventually sat and I practiced aloud.
My interpretation was completely different than what I had rehearsed with Ms. Streeter. I could feel what was going on in the poem. When I finished my recitation, Sam was openly weeping. I guess I was, too.
“Brian Frost,” the lead judge called me to the podium. I took my papers with me to the podium, then ignored them.
“Fair Trade by Nat Hart,” I said softly.
“Speak up, please,” a judge said. “There is a microphone if you desire it.” I nodded and cleared my throat. Then started over. Before I was through the first stanza, I was out from behind the podium and looking individually into the eyes of each judge in turn as I spoke.
All my money,
My clothes, my home, my car,
My jewelry and precious keepsakes.
My wealth.
Take it all.
Take it all and let me have one night of joy—
One night to forget my sorrow.
My sweat,
My callouses, blisters, and stiffened joints,
My cuts and scrapes and bruises.
My blood.
Take it!
Take it all and let me feel free and hopeful—
One day of glimmering light in this darkness.
My teeth.
What have I to chew?
My eyes. My ears. My tongue.
The nails from my fingers.
Take it all.
Take it all and give me one moment of love—
One second to know that I am human.
My hands.
Tear the sinews of my joints.
My feet. My head. My heart.
My life.
Take it.
Take it all and give me peace—
One blink of silence in my mind.
My mind?
What use have I for thoughts?
My tears. My sorrow. My despair.
My soul.
Take it all.
Take it all and give me death—
One single eternity filled with my regret.
There was a little stirring among the competitors and audience when I’d finished. I let them settle before I started on the second piece. I’d learned something about cadence and the rapidity of words from my previous competitions and the pace of the second poem was a stark contrast to the simple elongated syllables of the first poem. I fired out the words like a machine-gun pointed accusingly at every member of the audience. In fact, I couldn’t stay in one place. The podium was on the same level as the judges and the chairs and I walked right out into the audience as I spit the words out at them.
Execution by Nat Hart
You dare say you love me,
You sanctimonious charlatan spouting God’s holy words
Turned to daggers by your tongue
To cut and pierce the sacrificial lamb
Lying on the altar before you?
Hallelujah to the messenger—
The message lying forgotten on the floor
Where the feet of the faithful
Grind the words of the prophet to dust
And leave the blood of the innocent in their path.
Praise the almighty judge, jury, and executioner,
Dispatching the criminal with too little pain—
Must be humane—
When she deserves stoning—
Dismemberment by the angry mob.
Your words say love
But your eyes say burn the witch at the stake.
Your hands hold the candle—
Not a vigil but tinder
To light the fagots beneath her feet.
And you pray for God to have mercy on her soul
While you delight in the smell of her flesh
Roasting and charring in the inferno,
Thinking thoughts of eternal damnation
And torment for the wicked.
You have nothing on me.
You have no word that can condemn me
More than I condemn myself.
You have no punishment that I would not willingly
Inflict upon my own body and laugh.
Your holy words, your holy vows,
Your holy water and holier than thous
Are wasted where the condemned
Is filled with such self-loathing
That your punishment is nothing to compare.
And yet I suffer not the judgment you declare
As much as the fact that you dare judge me
And find me wanting by your scales of blind justice—
The balance in one hand measuring the crime,
The sword in the other rejoicing in execution.
My head on the block, yet you hesitate,
For letting the blade fall will end my misery
And leave you with yours.
Who then will you turn on
To assuage your guilt for crimes unspoken?
Damn you to hell and damn me to heaven;
I will not submit.
I will not surrender my holy pain
For your righteous revenge.
And so we suffer—together.
Usually, there is a smattering of polite applause at the end of a recitation. Sometimes, if people really like a performance even the other competitors will join in a solid ovation. All I got was silence and a few sniffles.
And a lot of tears.
“It was her, wasn’t it?” Sam asked as she hugged me after the competition. “I could hear her speaking through you. I could hear her voice crying out to us. Oh, Brian, I love her so much. What can I do?”
“What we’ve been doing, love. Just love her and hold her. She’s coming back.”
“That was not the interpretation you practiced with me, Brian,” Ms. Streeter said when she caught up to us. “It was heartfelt, but I don’t think you won the competition this year. Judges and audience members don’t like to be attacked and called sanctimonious charlatans even if it is what the poem calls for.”
“I hope you weren’t counting on a trophy,” I laughed. “It doesn’t make a difference to me. The first time I competed you told me why you let me read the poems I did. The same still holds. She deserved to be heard.”
“So you figured out the mystery.”
“If not, I found a source of that kind of pain. All I could do was let it flow through me.”
“You did a good job, Brian. I don’t care whether you won or not, either.”
I got third. Cassie’s debate team dominated the forensics tournament again. There was a young actress who reminded me a lot of Elaine who won the Dramatic Reading event. As a team, we got second in the overall competition.
Cassie and Josh joined us after the awards and we headed for the ranch.
“Houston, we have a problem,” Jen said as we approached the ranch. There were flashing red lights near the house and as we approached, we could see a sheriff’s car. The rest of our casa were sitting on the ground in front of a deputy while he talked into the mike that was stretched from the front of his car. He saw us pull in and said something quickly into the mike then tossed it into the car and turned to face us. I turned the car so we were facing away from him and pulled my license out of my pocket.
“Jen, bring the folder. Everybody else stay in the car until we signal it’s okay. I’ll whistle but don’t make any fast moves.” I opened my door and held my license up so he could see it as I got out of the car on the driver’s side and Jen did the same on the passenger side. Sam sat in the middle front seat with Cassie, Josh, and Courtney in back. They all looked terrified. The deputy had his hand on his sidearm but hadn’t moved to draw it. I’d turned the car so that we were fully visible when we opened the doors and he could see our hands.
“Who are you? You’d best get back in your car and leave before the rest of the deputies arrive.”
“We’re the tenants, sir. May we approach? We have I.D. and a copy of our lease. You are holding our friends,” I said.
“Come here slowly and keep your hands where I can see them.”
Jen and I approached with our hands held out in front of us. He kept his back to his car and stood where he could see both of us and the girls sitting on the ground. He took my license and the folder and motioned us to join the others.
“How many still in the car?”
“Four.”
“Call them over.” I whistled. Sam got out first so she was visible and stepped away from the car before they opened the back doors. Then she was joined by Courtney. Josh and Cassie got out on the other side. “You kids are getting too clever for your own good.” He tossed my license and the folder into the car without looking at them and motioned the others to join us on the ground.
“What’s going on?” Jen asked. “My mother owns this ranch and we’ve leased it from her.”
“Likely story,” he said. “I’ve seen more fake ID and paperwork in my career than you will ever manage to generate. This time I’m running the whole lot of you in and you can find out what jail looks like. You’ll be spending a lot of time there.”
“What’s the charge, officer?” Rose asked.
“Trespassing and creating a nuisance.”
“The only one who doesn’t actually belong here is you, sir,” Jen spoke up. “Did someone file a complaint?”
“I can see a college pot party forming without needing a complaint. I’ve chased enough kids off this property in the past year that you should have wised up by now. This time we’re pressing charges.”
Two more county cars came tearing into the drive with lights flashing. Three deputies jumped out and pulled their side arms. I slapped my hands behind my head and everyone followed suit. If I’d been on my feet I’d have sprawled on the ground but moving like that would look like an escape from where we were sitting.
“What’s this?” our deputy asked as he watched us. He hadn’t looked back to see the drawn guns.
“Your backup has drawn their arms on unarmed teenagers, legally residing on their property. We have nothing more to say until our lawyers are with us,” I said quickly. Rose’s dad had put us all through this drill after Denise was killed. The deputy glanced at his backup. He was getting nervous.
“Put your guns away,” he snapped. “No one here is a threat.”
“What the hell is going on, David?” the officer who arrived alone asked. There was something different about him.
“I caught these kids setting up a tent here on the Wilkerson place, Sheriff,” our deputy said. “While I was calling in the status, six more arrived. There’s probably more on the way.”
“What are you kids doing here?” the Sheriff asked. I nodded toward Jen.
“My mother purchased and closed on this property last Monday,” Jen said. “She leased it to us so we would all have a place to stay when we come here to college next year. We’re here to start getting the place in shape this weekend and to talk to a couple of contractors.”
“Next year? You claim to be high school kids?” the sheriff asked. “What school?”
“St. Joe Valley in Mishawaka.”
“You have any proof?”
“We gave the deputy Brian’s license and our lease. He wasn’t interested in looking at it.”
“David?”
“You know these kids are getting smarter. Why should I waste time looking at papers? They could pull anything while I was distracted.”
“And you are getting dumber. Where is that lease and driver’s license?” David turned and grabbed the two items from the seat of his car. “Why is this the only ID among all these… what are there? Fifteen of you?” The sheriff could count. He looked at my license. “Brian Frost?”
“Yessir,” I said. He looked at my picture and back at me. “Rural Route 2, Mishawaka, Indiana. Age eighteen. The rest of you are eighteen and from Mishawaka?” Rose looked at me and I nodded. Her dad was the lawyer.
“Sheriff, two of us are seventeen. Three are in college. One here, one at UIndy, and one at Oberlin. They are part of our… extended family.”
“My license says Evansville,” Hannah said.
“Mine’s from Ohio. I’m the Oberlin student,” Sarah added.
“Why are you here from Evansville?”
“I moved back to Mishawaka and have a guardian there who approved my presence,” Hannah said. “I just haven’t driven or needed a license and never thought about changing my address.”
“Okay. I appreciate you all sitting there so no one gets twitchy. Would you all get out your licenses and pass them to you… uh… Brian. Please understand that your safety and ours depends on you maintaining order and not making sudden moves. Brian, when you have everyone’s license, please bring them to Deputy Smith so he can call them in to verify. You. What is your name?”
“Jennifer Pratt.”
“And you say your mother owns the property? I saw the sold sign go up a month ago and wondered when we were going to meet the new owners. Please join Brian when he comes here and let’s take a look at your lease. Phillips and Connor, take a look around and make sure there are no drugs.”
“Respectfully, Sheriff,” Rose said, “that is not legal. You have no search warrants and open yourselves to civil suit and possible criminal proceedings stemming from drawing on peaceful teenagers legally on their rightful property and illegal search and seizure.”
“What are you? A lawyer?”
“My father and Nicolette’s father are our lawyers. They are likely to make a dramatic appearance when we are allowed to make a phone call.” Rose was sharp. I think her father was hoping she’d follow in his footsteps.
“Belay that order, deputies. You, join Jennifer and Brian when they approach the car,” he said, pointing at Rose. I had everyone’s license and stood up. Jennifer and Rose came with me
It took about half an hour of going through the papers and the deputy calling in our licenses to make sure none of us were runaways or wanted for something. I think they’d have been happy to find an unpaid parking ticket, but even Nikki and Liz with their motorcycles were clean.
“The property is leased to ‘Casa del Fuego’ and you are all listed as ‘Managing Members.’ What is that all about?” Sheriff Donaldson asked us. The deputies had all been dismissed, but the sheriff stuck around to watch us finish putting up the tent and get dinner ready. The property already had a fire pit as many farm properties in Indiana do. I guessed that at one time they burned their trash there, but it had been well cleaned out like the rest of the property before it went up for sale.
“Mr. Davis—that’s Rose’s father—deals primarily with real estate law, but he’s pretty knowledgeable all the way around. He and Mr. Duval—that’s Nicolette’s dad—decided that we needed some type of legal protection that would enable us to function as a single economic unit. Actually, the Limited Liability Company is only a month old although we’ve all functioned as a unit for several months now,” I said. “With each of us as Managing Members, we can function a lot like any other family. If we have a leak in the roof, any member of the LLC can call a contractor and commit to getting the repair done.”
“Sounds risky. What if one of you decides to install a swimming pool?” he asked.
“In a marriage, what happens if the wife decides to install a swimming pool?”
“Yes, but that’s marriage. That involves a level of trust that a bunch of friends…” He stopped and looked around at us. Samantha brought him a plate of food and Whitney brought me one. They raised an eyebrow at me and I nodded. First Whitney and then Sam bent to give me a gentle kiss. It wasn’t a sexy kiss, but very comfortable. The sheriff looked at me. “And your parents know about this?”
“Yes, sir. You know, we’d like to have a good relationship with the sheriff’s department. I really appreciated what Deputy Smith said about having chased people off the property in the past. I never thought about how vulnerable we might be out here. I’d love to know that the sheriff is keeping an eye on things,” I said. “There are going to be a total of fifteen of us living here by the end of summer. Maybe more next year. We are all pretty easy going. None of us drink or use illegal drugs. Our lifestyle might be different than other people, but we are law-abiding citizens. We’d like to think we will be the type of people you are glad to have in your county and that you’d be watching out for us like you do for other residents.”
“That house scarcely looks like it will hold fifteen. This chicken is really good, by the way.”
“Thanks. That’s one of our cousin’s recipes and she came over yesterday to cook it up. Uh, we won’t all be living in the house,” I added.
“Going to remodel the barn?”
“No, sir. We have contractors coming out tomorrow to look at the remodeling we need inside and to estimate the foundation we need outside. We plan to move a modular duplex out here as soon as the slab is poured.”
“I don’t know if that’s legal.”
“There are no zoning restrictions. As long as we have permits, we can construct additional dwellings on our property. Since they are county permits and not city permits, they don’t even cost that much. We have to be careful of having adequate water and septic for all the people dwelling here. And electric, of course,” I said.
“Why not just redo the barn?” he asked. I could see he was assessing the possibilities of the ranch the same way we had.
“Well, that would make it difficult on our horses,” I laughed. “By the way, do you know who sells local hay? There is absolutely nothing in the barn and after graduation in two weeks, we plan to bring the horses and some of us will start living here full-time.”
“Marshall Jacobs is your new next-door neighbor. He doesn’t raise livestock anymore because he says the fields pay better with hay. I’ll mention you’ll need some. Do you know how much?”
“The horses will graze most of the summer, but by fall we’d like to put in about 300 bales. We’ll be looking for straw bedding and oats as well. We won’t be raising cattle unless someone in the clan decides they want to have a milk cow. I’d expect a couple of dogs by the end of summer, though. You know girls and animals. If we didn’t agree to talk everything out before purchases were made, we’d have an entire petting zoo out here.”
The sheriff nodded and watched everyone work together to clean up the dinner dishes. We had water, but not hot water. Rose came up to me and kissed me lovingly.
“Cónyuge, can we light the fire now?” she asked. She was wearing her red gi and I noticed that about half our group was in gis now.
“I’ll be right there,” I said, then turned to the sheriff. “Care to join me?”
“I’ll watch you light the fire, but then I’d better get on my way. Are you all martial artists?”
“Not all. The gis are just a household uniform. One of the things we like about the location is its seclusion. We’re not directly visible from the road or any of our neighbors here at the fire. Sometimes we forget to put the gi on.”
“What was that she called you?” he asked as I knelt in front of the fire and lit our paraffin and sawdust fire-starter.
“Oh. Cónyuge. Roughly, it means ‘mate.’”
“You are a mate with all the girls? I see there is another boy.”
“No. Some of us are closer than others. I’d guess that Josh and Cassie—the cute girl that’s never more than a step from him—will probably get married eventually. They are both going to Bethel College up in Mishawaka.”
“Hmm. Those two gone. One’s still in high school. Two at other colleges. All the ones who will be living here aren’t even here yet, are they?”
“No, sir. Some are coming down tomorrow or Sunday, though. Some of our parents are coming down, too. It’s a pretty big clan,” I said. Talking to Sheriff Donaldson had been pretty relaxed after the other deputies left. He was a nice guy and was really taking time to get to know us. I’m not sure why he latched onto me other than mine was the first driver’s license he saw.
“Hmm. I’ll stop back.”
“Something else is on your mind,” I suggested.
“Yes. I’m trying to decide whether to introduce my daughter to you or if I should lock her up.”
When the sheriff left, the gis did disappear. I never got mine on in the first place. I dropped my clothes in the tent and just wandered out to the fire to dance and hold my loved ones. We didn’t stay out very late. It had been a more exhausting day than any of us anticipated. All our hearthmates except the six of us who had been at the speech competition had been on the ranch and setting things up when the deputy arrived.
“You should have seen him when I lay down on the ground with my hands and feet spread,” Sarah laughed. “He came in here with lights flashing and jumped out of the car with his hand on his gun. I just flattened out like you did in Evansville in December. Everyone else was so startled that they all hit the ground in the same way. He was embarrassed and had us all sit where we were. He started lecturing us and told us to sit while he called it in. That’s when you arrived.”
“It would be a terrible thing if we got off to a bad start with the sheriff’s department,” Josh said. “I realized while we were sitting there how many of my friends and people I loved would be out here in the country and isolated from just about everything. I’d like to think that the deputies were at least cruising by once in a while. Especially after what he said about kids hunting for abandoned property to party at.”
We called it a night and all just went into the tent to sack out wherever we landed. The tent had three ‘rooms’ in it. It was a family tent and there was a ‘room’ on either side of a large central area. I suppose that a couple with two kids could have the parents in one room, the kids on the other side, and use the center area for a table and chairs. The thing was huge. In our case, though, it looked like fifteen people would be scattered all through it. I was given a push toward the room on the left and found a nice nest with a foam mattress, blankets, and a few pillows. And two naked girls.
Only these weren’t my naked girls.
“Hmm. I think they must have pushed me into the wrong side,” I said, edging back toward the center room.
“Brian, don’t be silly. Come here and lie down between us,” Cassie said. She moved just far enough away from Mary to allow me room.
“I know Josh is here,” I said. “There isn’t a problem is there, Cassie?”
“No. But I need to ask you. Would you have a problem with Jennifer and Courtney uh… entertaining him for a while? I mean, they won’t have intercourse, but they love teasing him and he does need a little relief, too. Just like we won’t have intercourse, but we’ll make love, won’t we, Brian?”
“Yeah.” I had become so used to Josh being part of our group that it never shocked or bothered me to find him dancing with one of the other girls—even when they were naked. I know I’d go completely crazy if I were in his situation and no one wanted to go at least a little step further. “I understand. I’m still surprised that you aren’t a little jealous and taking things into your own hands.”
Mary giggled. Cassie rolled on top of me.
“You might be surprised,” she said before kissing me soundly.
“May I have that delicious boyfriend kiss?” Mary asked. “I’d very much like to be your compañera,”
“Would you really, Mary?”
“I’m not ready to go all the way or anything,” she said. “But I’d like to be close to you like I am with Cassie.”
“Is Cassie your compañera?” I asked.
“Yeah. I mean, we don’t do sex, but I don’t think I’d have survived this year without Cassie and I just want to be with her whenever I can.”
“That sounds like a compañera to me,” I laughed. I wrapped my arms around both girls and kissed Mary. She pulled my arm around her so I could touch her boob.
Cassie was more insistent and, in a few minutes, I was allowing both girls to pretty much tell me whatever they wanted by moving my hand around.
“Will you eat me?” Cassie whispered. I could hear the embarrassment in her voice.
“Cassie, as long as it doesn’t interfere with your relationship with Josh, I will make love to you in any way that you want. I love you.” I nipped her breast as I scooted my way down and kissed all over her tummy. Mary shifted so she could hold Cassie and pet her while I found my way through her fragrant bush. Cassie was one of the girls who trimmed her pubic hair but didn’t shave anything and I loved to touch her silky curls. She was wet and getting wetter as I scooped up her juices with my tongue. I avoided going straight to her clit. I’d known Cassie for years. She’d been my first girlfriend in sixth grade. But I’d never had my face down where I could explore her feminine folds. I’d touched her, but as far as I knew, this was her first cunnilingus. I opened her lower lips with my thumbs as I explored her opening with my tongue and felt her shudder.
“Brian,” she whispered, “you can put your finger… in me.” I jerked my head up. Cassie had told me a while back that she was a fully intact virgin and didn’t want any kind of penetration.
“But what about…?” I started.
“It’s gone now,” she said simply. “I gave it to my novia.”
“You and Josh are lovers now?”
“Yes. I wanted you to know first.”
“Oh, Cassie!” Mary squealed. Apparently, she hadn’t been present for the deflowering. I continued to lick, teasing the folds around her clit but never quite touching it. With her encouragement, I explored her with my fingers and slipped one inside her tight little channel. I had a momentary pang of jealousy when I thought about Josh’s cock parting those lips and then thought how stupid that was. Cassie was his novia and I was finger-fucking her. I disconnected my analytical brain that wanted to know how we could share together like this and just went for the enjoyment of making love to Cassie and feeling her pussy contracting around my finger as I explored and sought her most sensitive spot. I could tell when I’d reached it by the way Cassie arched her back and pushed her clit into my mouth. I obliged by flicking the little nub and Cassie started to wail. She was suddenly muffled and I lifted my eyes enough to see Mary stuffing a tit in Cassie’s mouth. I wondered if that was a new experience for Cassie, too. When Cassie’s thighs released my head from a near death-grip, I eased up and rolled to the side until I could hold her as we kissed again.
“Wow!” she said. “I never thought I would be one of them but I love having two lovers. I’ll do something for you when I catch my breath.” She stroked my rigid cock.
“Don’t bother,” Mary said. “I’ve got it covered.” She crawled over the top of me and started licking my cockhead as Cassie held it up to her. Mary’s pussy slowly descended on my mouth. I was pretty sure this one was still a virgin and I didn’t try to put anything in her pussy, but she was flooding me with so much pussy juice that it was like drinking from a fountain. Mary was close by the time she settled onto me and was humming when she took my cock into her mouth. Cassie never let go of it and Mary didn’t try to go too deep. She kept bobbing on the head and swirling her tongue around it while she hummed. I had both hands on her ass holding her down on my mouth and sped up my tongue work to make sure she was coming when I did. There was no way I could hold back any more. Cassie held my cock while I spurted into Mary’s mouth nearly choking her on her scream as she came and doused me with another load of her juices.
Cassie and Mary didn’t spend the night with me. After we held and kissed each other and came down from our orgasms and told each other over and over how much we loved each other, they crawled off to join Josh. Later I heard Cassie go off again and had a feeling Josh was doing the one thing I would never do with her.
Nikki and Liz demanded oral attention next. Liz is usually hungry to get my cock buried in her pussy as far as possible, but this time the two girls took turns sucking on me while I ate them until we’d all crashed on the shores of bliss again. I was knocked out after that. I went to sleep so deeply the whole place could have burned down and I wouldn’t have known.
I awoke feeling two girls pressed against me, their soft breasts resting on my arms. I opened my eyes and Hannah smiled at me. She didn’t say anything but just kissed me softly.
“I got third place in the poetry reading yesterday,” I whispered. “I changed my whole interpretation on the spur of the moment. I’m sorry I didn’t win. The poems deserved better than I gave them. But I had this sudden overwhelming understanding of them. It was like I could feel them—deep down inside. I could actually feel the pain and bitterness and sorrow. I can’t imagine how anyone can bear so much misery. And all I wanted to do was reach out and hold the author to let her know she didn’t bear it alone.”
Hannah still didn’t speak but she kissed me again and then crawled up until she was fully lying on top of me, nudging Rose over a little. Rose just put an arm over both of us and cuddled back up when Hannah had settled. On the other side, Sam moved closer to fill the space Hannah had left. We all settled back to sleep.
I hadn’t said I knew they were her poems. But I hoped she knew I had shared her pain.
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