Triptych
Thirty-nine
LATHER, RINSE, REPEAT. That’s the way my week went. Class, class, class, practice, homework. The first break in the monotony of my schedule was Friday at nine-thirty when I met with Clarice.
She wasn’t happy.
I hadn’t done any work on the Singhs’ portrait since my sketch last Saturday. I promised that I’d have studio time on Saturday afternoon, but that this was reality now that I was back in classes. I was only going to get to paint in my studio about once or, at best, twice a week. I was really surprised, though, when she faced me with another issue.
“You aren’t taking advantage of Wendy, are you?”
“Clarice! Why would you even think that? Wendy’s my friend.”
“She’s staying at your house. She served everyone at your party. She was cleaning the kitchen and mopping the floors when I left Saturday night. She looked like a servant.”
“How much do you know about Wendy?” I asked point-blank.
“Enough to tell that she’s been abused in the past and has lost every shred of her confidence. She is not the same girl that was working here a year and a half ago.”
“I don’t think she’s the same girl that was working here last spring,” I said. “She’s gone through shit. She’s still very closed and private about what happened, but I gather that her ex-boyfriend not only beat her, he robbed her. We’re very careful not to give her orders and we’re trying to provide a safe environment for her to recover in.”
“That’s a relief to hear, Tony. I’m not close to Wendy, but I see her every day and I can tell she’s hurting. Please let me know if there is anything I can do.”
“I’ll do that, Clarice. I’m glad you are concerned. She says she has a new place to live at the end of the month, just after classes at the U start next week. She’s looking forward to it.”
“Good. Now go get some painting done.”
“Can’t. I’ve got class. See you next week.”
I dropped into the ice bath at SCU and groaned. As good for me as it was supposed to be, this was not relaxing. And why did my muscles hurt so much anyway? Oh. Yeah. I was working out two hours a day at the club and another hour a day in Sports Conditioning. Man, I hope I won’t be this sore when Opens start. I squeezed my eyes shut as the ice started to leach away the aches. It seemed like I was only in there a minute before I was being shaken.
“Hey, don’t fall asleep in the tub!” Bree said. “I’m not big enough to haul your ass out. Climb out and dip into the still bath for ten minutes.”
“Bree? What are you doing…? Oh, yeah.” I kept forgetting that the sports therapy room was co-ed. It had doors connecting from both the men’s and women’s locker rooms. That’s why we wore shorts. “Do you get to boss me around?”
“What do you think a manager does?” she laughed. “Ten minutes in the still tub, then dry off, put on a dry pair of shorts or jockeys and go into massage room two.”
She turned on her heel and went into the women’s locker room. Her tight buns made her warm-ups look good. I couldn’t help but notice.
The water in the still bath isn’t as hot as the spa, but it felt like boiling to my ice-conditioned body. Still, there was something about feeling life return to my limbs after they’d been frozen stiff. The ten minutes was over too soon and I headed into the locker room to get dry shorts on. When I got to the massage room, the table looked so comfortable that I just stretched out on it and buried my face in the cradle at the end.
Someplace along the line I heard the door open and shut and felt hands start on my neck and softly stroke down to my waist. It was gentle at first, but by the third stroke, I could feel the pressure building as my muscles gave way beneath strong fingers. I groaned. After the long strokes, she started on my neck.
She? Yeah, I could tell. Either a girl or a really small guy. Her hands were strong, but small.
“Now, repeat after me.”
“Bree? Why are you doing a massage?”
“It’s part of my training. Repeat. Trapezius.” She worked the big muscle across my shoulders and I muttered the word. It did feel good and she was digging her fingers in just right.
“Rhomboid major,” she said as she moved down and under my shoulder blade.
“Rhomboid major,” I repeated.
“Deltoid.” Her hands moved outward across the top of my shoulder joint as I repeated the word. She moved down the back side of my shoulder.
“Ow! What the hell was that?” I screamed when she pushed her thumbs in at the base of my shoulder.
“Oh! Um… Teres major, I think,” she said. “Sorry. I didn’t know it would be so sore.” She didn’t let up, though and in a few seconds the pain eased and I could feel the muscle loosening.
“What’s with repeating the names of the muscles?” I asked.
“I thought as long as I was working on them, we might as well memorize them for anatomy. I’m looking at the chart while I give you a rub-down.”
She kept up the process for half an hour, thoroughly covering my back and arms. She was really pretty good and I was feeling less sore than I had when we started. I had a feeling that we were both learning the muscles pretty well, too. When she reached my waist she stopped and gave me a smack on the butt.
“That’s it for today,” she said. “So far my classes have only covered back and arms. Next week, legs. Go shower and get out of here. I know you’ve got plans tonight.” I turned my head as she opened the door. She was still dressed in her warm-ups, but instead of a sweatshirt she had a tank-top on and she was sweating.
“Uh, Bree? Thanks,” I said.
“See you Monday, Tony.”
Friday night used to be date night. But there was something much more calm and enjoyable about family dinner night. Well, scratch calm. There were five adults and two kids at the dining room table. Lissa and Wendy had put together a huge pot of spaghetti sauce and pasta. I sat between Damon and Kate. Wendy and Melody were between the boys. Lissa had Kate on one side and Drew on the other. For a moment I considered starting a game of Musical Meals, but it looked like Lissa could read my mind and gave me a stern look. Then we both giggled.
We talked about school and what was going on. Wendy was working the late shift tonight instead of the early dinner crowd so she had a few minutes to enjoy the time with us. She hadn’t put on much weight yet and still looked painfully thin, but she was definitely more relaxed and didn’t jump to run to the kitchen when Damon asked for more milk. I got the honors for that one. When I sat back down, I felt Kate gently pat my thigh. When I looked, I saw that neither of her hands were above the table and by the look on Lissa’s face I guessed she was getting the same treatment.
It was good. I had a ton of reading to do and needed to put the finishing touches on my first paper for Critical Reading. The dishes had to be done and the food put away. The boys had to be scrubbed, storied, and put to bed. Wendy rushed out of the house to go to work.
And then it was the four of us.
Melody came over and sat in my lap in the recliner and just cuddled in. Kate and Lissa cuddled on the sofa. I kissed Mel long and sweetly, just relishing the taste of her lips. We made out for a few minutes and saw that Kate and Lissa were doing the same thing.
“No homework tonight, okay guys?” Lissa pled.
“It’s date night,” Melody said. “Can’t do homework on date night.”
“I can sacrifice one night of painting,” Kate said. “For date night.”
They all three looked at me.
“No one’s ever accused me of being too dedicated to my schoolwork,” I said. “I might have to do reading in the morning before Pilates, though.” Melody pecked me on the lips and got off my lap. Lissa pushed me back into my chair and sat on me. Now Melody and Kate were on the sofa holding hands and kissing.
I smiled as Lissa’s lips met mine.
“I’ve had entirely too much court time with you and not enough courting time,” she said into my mouth.
“I agree. I love you, Lissa.”
Nobody was keeping track of time. There was a lot of kissing and fondling going on. Every once in a while, someone would crack a joke, or mention something that we needed to do this weekend, or tell a story from class. Eventually, Lissa and Melody were stretched out next to each other on the sofa. Melody had managed to get Lissa’s shirt off and was busy sucking on a nipple. Kate was in my arms in the recliner and she was exploring my mouth with her tongue.
“We haven’t even gotten you moved in this week,” I whispered to Kate. “I could bring the car over and help tomorrow afternoon.”
“What?” she asked.
“Help you move your stuff from the dorm over here with us, Kitten,” I explained.
“Why?”
“I assumed you’d want to be here with us,” I said. What’s going on?
“Assume makes an ass out of u and me,” she intoned. “Hey guys,” she called, interrupting Lissa’s exploration into Melody’s panties.
“What’s up?” Lissa asked.
“Um… we never talked about this and I know I’ve been presumptuous about being with you and all,” Kate began.
“Are you kidding?” Melody laughed. “You know we want you.”
“Yeah, but… well… I’m not planning to move in, you know?”
We were all shocked into silence. It wasn’t just me.
Kate forged on.
“I’m… uh… not ready for that. I mean, I like my life at school. I love being here with you, too, but I don’t want to cut off everything that’s going on in my life. I want to keep dating and making love and coming to spend the night… or kidnapping one of you to spend the night with me…” She looked meaningfully at Melody. They’d spent Monday night together at the dorm. “But I don’t want to… like… get married right now. Is that okay?”
I didn’t know what to say. Of course it was okay if that’s what she wanted. I’d been thinking about how we needed a bigger closet if we were going to add another person, or that maybe we’d need to convert the downstairs into our dressing rooms. But none of us had actually talked to Kate about moving in. I did the only thing I could think of.
I kissed her.
It was several minutes before anyone spoke again, but in that time Melody and Lissa had managed to get into the recliner with us and were kissing and petting, too.
“We love you, Kitten,” I said.
“Never any pressure,” Lissa said.
“Just love,” Melody joined.
“I love you,” Kate whispered. And we knew she meant all of us.
I woke up with my cock nestled between a couple very friendly butt-cheeks that were squeezing on it rhythmically. Lissa loves morning sex. I nudged forward a little to let her know I was with her and awake. Her head turned toward me and I opened my eyes a slit to look into the Melody’s violet depths. I was about to say something when she pressed her finger against my lips and turned back. I followed her gaze to the loveliest thing I think I’d ever seen. Lissa and Kate were wrapped together with legs and arms so entwined it wasn’t easy to tell which was which. Kate’s dark brown hair was interwoven with Lissa’s blonde. Their cheeks were pressed together and they slept peacefully.
Melody turned back to me and whispered, “Shower.”
I dragged myself out of bed with Melody right behind me. Once we were in the shower, our care in washing each other was loving and gentle and punctuated by a few delightful stabs deep inside Melody. God, what a great way to wake up in the morning!
We wrapped ourselves in fluffy robes and padded to the kitchen with one more look at our sleeping lovers.
“Lissa and Kate need some together time,” Melody said. “Kate wants face time with each of us. You just wouldn’t have believed Monday night,” she sighed. “We didn’t fall asleep until two. And we weren’t fucking the whole time. When Kate looks at me, it’s like when you look at me. I think she’s memorizing everything about me. I swear, I think she counted the freckles on my shoulders.”
“So, not fucking, huh?” I asked.
“I said not the whole time,” Melody giggled.
“Why don’t you bring the boys over to the studio this afternoon?” I suggested. “I’m going to go over to do some work on the Singhs’ painting, but I’m not going to be so deep that I can’t have company. Maybe we can go out to dinner and leave Kate and Lissa alone until bedtime.”
“You have to work at SCU for Tent City after Pilates this morning?”
“Yeah. I promised I’d be there for a couple hours, but I plan to go to the studio after lunch, about one o’clock.”
“Sounds like a deal. The boys love to go to the studio. It was so nice of you to fix easels for them.”
“Well, at least it’s easy to clean up there. We might need to put in a shower, though!” We laughed as we got our coffee ready and sipped it. Pretty soon, the urchins in question came padding down the hall with books in hand and popped into the kitchen.
“Story, Tony?”
“You betcha, buddies. Let’s go to the big chair,” I said.
“I think I’ll go crawl into bed next to our sweethearts for a little while. I just want to soak up some of that hot juju,” Melody said.
I settled into the chair and the boys crawled into my lap. As I opened the first book, Wendy padded out in a baggy t-shirt.
“Me, too?” she asked.
“Come on, Tiger,” I said, patting the arm of the chair. Drew scooted enough so Wendy could get comfortable and leaned back against her. She put one arm around him and the other around me, hugging me tightly. Her tousled hair was striped, but at this hour it certainly didn’t look sleek like the tiger she claimed to be. She’d come such a long way. When I read to the boys, she loved to cuddle up with us.
After Pilates, I headed over to SCU and got there just in time to help unload a flatbed truck full of wooden pallets. We were headed into the rainy season, and the palettes would raise the tents so they weren’t sitting directly on the ground.
Then we set about staking out the city according to the specifications the residents had given us. We were volunteers and SCU was the host, but Tent City is self-governing and they’re in charge of exactly what the place is supposed to look like, where everything is set up, and who does security patrol. Once we helped with moving things in next Saturday, we were officially no longer a part of the process. The one exception was the agreement that SCU students would provide an on-site liaison twenty-four hours a day. The student tent would be outside Tent City against the wall of the athletic pavilion. Our responsibilities would be limited to calling for help in an emergency and making sure the doors of the facility were unlocked during the hours designated for showers. If there was a severe storm or temperatures fell below thirty-two degrees, it would be our responsibility to unlock the building so those who wanted to could sleep inside.
We met with the representatives of Tent City and introduced ourselves. It put a sobering light on what we were doing. They were fiercely independent and didn’t consider themselves to be taking charity by living in temporary housing. They reminded me of Kate’s commune in Oregon—an independent community existing within a larger construct. I had a new respect for them.
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