Mural
Twelve
“IT’S ALWAYS GOOD to get feedback from your peers. What did your friends think of your new status?” In spite of me blowing off our meeting, Dean Peterson didn’t seem upset with me. He was casually eating his sandwich and drinking an iced tea while we talked.
“I haven’t told anyone.”
“Does that mean you still aren’t sure that you want to take this opportunity?”
“No sir. I do want to take advantage of this and I want to thank you for considering me. I just haven’t had a chance to talk to anyone except my coach since we spoke. I had a lot of… well, I didn’t respond too well when I met Mr. Jacobson and John Gilbert at the club. I was feeling pressured and sort of blew up at them. I haven’t been able to talk to Mr. Jacobson since to apologize, but I did start training with John. I’m hoping the school will still consider me for this program.”
“Tony, that was well-said. You do need to apologize to Sam, though I think he understood what was going on. I warned him that it was too soon to approach you, but he was so enthused that he wanted to go right over and watch you practice. Nothing has changed regarding the offer, but I needed to hear from you that you accept.”
“I accept, sir. I won’t let you down.”
“Tony, have you been to student counseling services?” I looked at Dean Peterson.
“I’m not crazy, Dean. I just got a little upset is all. Lissa helped me see what was going on.”
“Then you are aware that over half of the incoming freshman population suffers from the same things that you have been? Loneliness, depression, feelings of inadequacy, stress, isolation.”
“How do you know I felt all that?” I suspected Lissa had talked to him and it pissed me off a little. She had no right to discuss what I told her in confidence.
“Like I said, over half… I could list symptoms one after another and even plot on a calendar within a week when students would feel them. I’m not minimizing it or suggesting that your problems are typical. It affects each student differently, some more than others. I’m only suggesting that there are people here who would listen to you and understand. They might even help. It’s up to you, of course.”
“Thank you, sir. I’ll make an appointment.”
“Don’t forget to write it in your calendar and then look at it.” He smiled at me. “By the way, you mentioned Lissa. I wasn’t sure, but I assume you mean Coach Grant.”
“Yes sir. I’ve known her for quite a while before she was my coach. Is it improper to refer to her by her first name now?”
“Possibly when you are at a competition. People should know your relationship is a coaching one.” He breathed a sigh, shook his head a little, and then went on. “Tony, I don’t mean to pry, but do you have more of a relationship with Miss Grant than just friends and fellow athletes?” I swallowed hard. I didn’t want to get Lissa in trouble, but I had a hard time just lying to the Dean about it.
“Sir?”
“Okay. I’ll withdraw the question. Relationships between faculty and students are frowned upon and faculty members risk their jobs if they become involved with a student. I get pretty protective of students in that regard. And it is my student that I am concerned about here. However, Coach Grant is not a faculty member. The college does not pay her. Nor does SCU. She’s a volunteer and a well-known member of the athletic community. Since she is still quite a young woman, I will not pretend to monitor your relationship. But be careful, Tony. It’s not unusual for athletes to worship their coaches. Just track how many Olympic athletes are married to their coaches. Make sure you are making choices based on what you want and not on what a beautiful woman can convince you to do. Do you understand me?”
“Yes, sir. Thank you, sir.”
“You are still very formal with me. I used to play a little racquetball myself, you know. I wouldn’t mind coming down to the club to volley with you some time if you don’t mind. I’ll wait until after the Intercollegiate, though.”
“Thank you, sir. I’d be happy to play you some day.”
“Tony, take Melody onto the court and work with her on her backhand for a while. I want to see the ball in motion, but you two need to talk. Don’t get wild. Now go.” Lissa summarily sent us into the racquetball court and plopped down outside to start stretching.
I served to Melody’s backhand and she swung wildly.
“It’s the same as a forehand swing,” I said. “Just not quite as powerful. When you bring the racquet back, concentrate on keeping it perpendicular to the floor. The tendency is to let it drift down at an angle. Then when you swing you don’t have as much surface area ready to meet the ball. Try it again.” I served again and the next time she made contact. I lobbed two more to her. Her returns were becoming more dependable.
“Why did you go to Lissa without me?” The question came just before I served and I couldn’t answer until she’d returned it and the echo died.
“I was really upset. I blew up at some people who were really important and Lissa calmed me down. We went to her house to cool down and talk.” Serve. Return.
“Couldn’t you talk to me?”
“Lissa was a part of what I was upset about. I couldn’t even see straight when she took me out of the club.” Serve. Return.
“The stuff with the Dean? Are you in trouble, Tony?”
“Not exactly. But it was so overwhelming I didn’t know what to do.” Serve. Return.
I stopped and turned toward Melody before she could ask her next question and just shook my head. She waited.
“I wanted to tell you Thursday morning when I saw you. Then I realized how badly I messed things up. So I haven’t told anyone. I was waiting for you. The school has given me an opportunity to earn a double degree in a new program with SCU,” I said. “And they want me to play in the National Intercollegiate Racquetball Championships next month. I know I should have been shouting and screaming and rushing to tell you, but all I could see on Wednesday was more stress and pressure. I’ve hated college ever since I got here. Lissa talked me down after I blew up at SCU’s athletic director and helped me see that it wasn’t really about college. Until you and I got together, I felt so alone I couldn’t stand it. And then Lissa was a part of what we had and I never thought about being with her as separate from being with you. I wasn’t trying to cut you out and I didn’t think of it as cheating because I can’t think of life without both of you. I’m still so confused I can hardly breathe when I talk about it. Melody, I love you and I love Lissa. Does that make me some kind of freak?”
“It makes us both freaks because I love you and I love Lissa, too. I just thought you’d chosen her instead of me, and that she’d chosen you instead of me. I’m sorry.”
Serve. Return.
“Tony, are you going to play in the Championships?”
“Yeah.”
“And you’ve agreed to do the double degree?”
“Yeah. That’s what Dean wanted to talk to me about this noon.”
“How are you going to afford it all? How will you ever get the work done?”
“I’m scared to death, Mel. I’m scared I’ll fail everyone. They offered me a full ride scholarship and Lissa helped me start to get organized. But, Melody, I know I can’t do it if you aren’t with me, too.” Her racquet fell to the floor just before I served and the ball went whizzing past her as she launched herself at me. Before I knew what was happening, Melody’s lips were plastered against mine and her legs were wrapped around my waist. I kissed her like she was the first drop of water from a mountain stream. I drank her in. I held her and stroked her hair and back. It was heaven and I only barely heard the door close behind us. Melody and I turned our heads together to see Lissa leaning against the back wall.
She looked relieved and sad at the same time. She was looking at us with a half-smile and her lower lip caught between her teeth and I thought I saw the glint of a tear in her eye. It was the first time I think I ever saw her look uncertain. I looked at Melody and she put her feet on the ground. She nodded and we both rushed Lissa and swept her into a hug and covered her face with kisses. In seconds, we were all giggling and kissing each other. When we finally stopped for air, I looked at the two women I’d fallen madly in love with. We had to find a way to make sure each of us knew what our relationship was. I had an inspiration. I took Melody’s hand and pulled her so we were facing Lissa.
“Lissa. I… we were wondering. Would you go steady with us?” I thought she’d split her sides laughing. She looked at us and hugged us both.
“Yes, I’d love to go steady with you both. I can’t believe it, but I think I’m in love with both of you.” I thought Lissa had been the instigator of all this at one time, but then I thought we’d done pretty well at declaring what we wanted. There was still something missing, though. Melody seemed to pick up on it right away. She pulled away and took hold of Lissa’s hand and the two looked at me.
“Tony, Lissa and I were wondering if you’d like to go steady with us. We really, really like you.” I felt this silly grin spread across my face and it almost locked my jaw too tight to answer.
“Yes,” I croaked out. “I’d love to go steady with the two of you. I love you both.” We all collapsed in on each other with more kisses and hugs, then Lissa took the lead and grabbed me by the hand. We stood facing Melody and Lissa spoke.
“Melody, Tony and I really like you and we were hoping that you’d maybe like to go steady with us.” Mel was giggling so hard now that she had trouble getting the words out. Tears were running down her cheeks. I couldn’t tell if it was just because she was happy or because she was laughing so hard.
“Tony and Lissa, I love you both and I would love to go steady with you!”
It was almost two hours later that we got to Lissa’s house and were all immersed in the spa. We each had a liter bottle of water and Lissa was insisting that we had to drink all of it before we could leave the spa and play. We were doing a pretty good job of playing in the spa, though. Someone was kissing someone or groping someone or lying on someone all the time. I soon discovered that I got as much pleasure out of seeing Lissa and Melody kissing or hugging each other as I got out of kissing either one of them.
And there was something else. I had a feeling that it took a while to identify. Of course I felt sexy and loved. I felt happy. But under all that I felt something else and I finally decided that it was hope. All the time I’d been depressed this year, I’d felt so hopeless—like I’d just set foot on a path that I could never change and I would be miserable for the rest of my life. Now I felt hope that things would be better, that I wouldn’t be lonely, and I wouldn’t be a failure in everything. I drank a little more water and savored the feeling. I was so spaced out, just thinking about it that I almost inhaled a lungful of water when the two girls swept in on me and dunked me.
After dinner, we made love. We weren’t frantic or so hot and horny that we couldn’t wait for each other. We were passionate, but we were exploring how to be a three-person couple. Does that make sense? We had to figure out who got what body part. And the disagreements weren’t all about who got the one cock among the three of us. I smashed noses with Melody when we both dove into Lissa’s pussy from opposite directions. We discovered that our laughing sent a new kind of vibration through Lissa and she came as Melody kissed me with our cheeks resting on her labia.
That didn’t stop us from turning our heads and both sticking our tongues into her as far as we could reach. Oh god! To feel Melody’s tongue sliding against mine while we both licked at Lissa’s clit was so incredible that I came. Melody felt me splashing against her stomach and it set her off and when she screamed into Lissa’s pussy, Lissa came again.
Best of all, though was the three of us cuddled together with our arms around each other as we went to sleep about midnight. I lay awake a few minutes after their breathing had settled into the even cadence of sleep and tears ran down my cheeks. My life wasn’t going to hell.
Or at least if it was, it was going in a luxury limo instead of a handbasket!
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