The Terror of The Inferno
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March 28, 1995, Chicago, Illinois
“Happy birthday, Kara!” I said when I returned from my run with Gina on Tuesday morning.
“Happy birthday, Kara!” Jessica said as well.
“Thank you both! And thank you for taking the day off!”
I chuckled, “When I asked you what you wanted for your birthday, you said you didn’t need anything. So Jessica and I decided to give you what you WANT!”
“And what is that?” she asked impishly.
Jessica laughed, “For us to wear you out, but we’re not sure that’s possible!”
“And have Abbie film it!” I added.
“That might be a bit much, Tiger!”
“For you and me, maybe, but not for our wife!”
“Are we going to talk or make love?” Kara asked.
“I need a shower first. Shall we?”
“Yes!” she exclaimed, scrambling from the bed and following me into the bathroom.
Jessica was right behind her, and once I adjusted the shower spray the three of us got in. The girls grabbed the soap and shampoo and began washing me. I enjoyed the soft hands roaming over my head and body, and rinsed off when they finished. I pulled Kara into a tight embrace, and Jessica stepped behind her and put her arms around both of us, at least as far as she could.
“We love you, Kara,” Jessica said, kissing her shoulder.
“Yes, we do!” I agreed, giving Kara a quick kiss on the lips.
“Prove it!” she hissed.
“Tell us, Kara,” Jessica said. “Whatever you want!”
Kara sighed contentedly, stroking my dick, as Jessica continued her kisses up Kara’s neck, flicking her tongue on Kara’s earlobe.
I released her and turned off the spray. We quickly dried off and moved to the bed. I moved the pillows against the headboard and leaned against it. Two mouths quickly got me hard and then Kara straddled me, facing away. She grasped my shaft, rubbed it along her labia, then impaled herself on me. She leaned back a bit, and I reached around to cup her wonderful breasts. This had become a favorite position when the goal was ultimate pleasure, and it was no different this time. Kara rocked her hips and I felt Jessica’s tongue move along the exposed part of my shaft, tracing gentle circles around where Kara and I joined.
“Ungh,” Kara groaned just a few minutes after we began.
“One,” I whispered.
“Thirty-one?” Kara giggled.
“You greedy hussy!” Jessica teased, lifting her head.
“It’s my birthday!” Kara sighed.
I ran my hand down between Kara’s legs and drew small circles over Kara’s clit, as Jessica moved to kiss me, then latched onto Kara’s nipple and sucked gently. Kara moaned softly and shuddered. Fifteen years after her first orgasm, she still had them easily and achieving thirty-one was not out of the question. We’d come close before, and I was determined to fulfill her birthday wish.
“Two...” I whispered.
Jessica kissed her way down Kara’s stomach and once again I felt her tongue move along my shaft. Her lips brushed my hand, so I moved it out of the way, and returned it to my wife’s luscious breast. Kara had a series of small orgasms, and I counted them off. As I got closer, Kara moved more forcefully, squeezing her muscles tightly around my shaft.
“Cum in me,” she hissed when I said, “twenty.”
I felt Jessica’s tongue on my shaft again and her hand on my balls. She squeezed lightly, just enough to take me over the edge, and I groaned as I pulsed and fired jets of cum into Kara’s pussy, which spasmed hard after the second spurt. When our orgasms passed, Kara gently lifted off me, and moved next to me.
“Jess, I want to taste you,” Kara said.
We shifted so that Jessica could straddle Kara’s face and lower her pussy to Kara’s waiting lips. I got up and went to the closet and got the ‘personal massager’ from the toy bag, and came back to the bed. I got between Kara’s legs, turned on the vibrator, and gently inserted it into her sopping pussy. I lowered my lips to her clit, took it into my mouth and sucked gently, causing Kara to groan, though it was muffled by Jessica’s pussy.
I began slowly fucking Kara with the vibrator while I lashed her clit with my tongue. Kara bucked her hips and groaned again, as her walls spasmed around the vibrating plastic. Kara’s tongue worked its magic, and Jessica shuddered and came a moment later. Using my lips and tongue, plus the ‘personal massager’, we reached thirty-one.
It had taken long enough that I had recovered, and I tapped Jessica on the shoulder. She moved aside, and I climbed on top of Kara and gently slid into her. We made love slowly, and languorously, for fifteen minutes, with Jessica lying next to us. When I came, I moved off. Jessica and I snuggled close to Kara, cuddling her.
“Breakfast?” I asked about ten minutes later.
“No,” Kara sighed. “Jess, I want to do something we almost never do. I want you to make love to me like Steve just did.”
“Whatever you want, Kara,” Jessica agreed.
I got up and went to the closet. I got out the harness and the largest dildo, and slipped it into place. I took the strap-on to Jessica who put it on, then climbed between Kara’s legs. I looked on as she rubbed the dildo along Kara’s lower lips, then slowly pushed it in until it was fully embedded. Kara wrapped her legs around Jessica, and Jessica lowered her face so they could kiss. I very much enjoyed watching the extremely erotic movements as Jessica slid the fake dick in and out of Kara’s pussy.
I changed positions a few times, watching their tongues tangle, their breasts mashed together, and Jessica’s sexy butt moving up and down as she thrust in and out of Kara. I would have loved to take Jessica from behind, but Kara hadn’t asked me to, and with Kara’s legs wrapped tightly around Jessica, there really wasn’t a way for me to do that, so I simply enjoyed the sexy action unfolding before my eyes.
A few minutes later, Kara groaned into Jessica’s mouth and broke the kiss. She whispered into Jessica’s ear and they repositioned themselves so that Jessica was on her back, and Kara was impaled on the large dildo. Kara leaned forward and kissed Jessica softly, then broke the kiss.
“Steve,” she hissed, “fuck my cute little ass!”
I went to the nightstand and got the tube of K-Y jelly, liberally spread it over my rock-hard erection, and got behind Kara. I positioned myself against her rear entrance and pushed hard, burying myself in her tight backside. Kara bent down to kiss Jessica and after a few tentative movements, we developed a slow rhythm, with the dildo creating interesting sensations on my dick.
A few minutes later, Kara groaned and shuddered as she had another orgasm. She broke the kiss with Jessica and ground hard against her.
“Cum for me, Snuggle Bear,” Kara gasped.
I let my pleasure build until I reached the pinnacle, and pushed deeply into Kara’s rear as cum exploded from my dick. Kara groaned loudly and had a huge orgasm, then collapsed against Jessica. I gently extracted myself, and went to the bathroom to clean up. I got into the shower, and just as I’d finished washing myself, my wives joined me. First, Jessica and I washed Kara, then Kara and I washed Jessica.
“NOW are we ready for breakfast?” I asked playfully.
Ten minutes later, we were in the kitchen. I made breakfast for the three of us, and after we ate, we went to the sauna to relax.
“Not a bad start to the day,” Kara teased as steam hissed from the rocks.
“She’s hopeless,” Jessica laughed. “I swear, she could wear out a squad of Marines!”
I chuckled, “Two squads!”
“Poor babies,” Kara teased. “You suffer SO much!”
“Was she like this when you met her?” Jessica asked.
“Yes!” I chuckled. “She just had to discover that part of her and set it loose!”
Kara laughed, “It didn’t take very long for that to happen! And YOU have no room to talk, Jess!”
“So what’s the plan for the rest of the day?” I asked.
“Sex, lunch, sex, dinner at Alex’s place, and more sex! Any objections?”
“No!” Jessica and I both exclaimed.
March 30, 1995, Chicago, Illinois
“Steve, I have Arthur Drake on the phone for you,” Kimmy announced on Thursday morning.
“Arthur Drake? From Boston?”
“Yes.”
“Put him through,” please.
He was on the line a few seconds later.
“Art? Steve Adams. What can I do for you?”
“I had a strange call yesterday, which I dismissed until Jefferson came to talk to me this morning.”
“Who was the call from?”
“A Dante Puccini.”
“What did HE want?” I asked warily.
“He asked me if we could provide custom programming for electronic test equipment. It appears he’s calling big custom programming shops on the East and West coasts.”
“OK. That doesn’t surprise me, really. He’s trying to seize control of the company he founded and sold, and wants to line up someone to replace NIKA. What did he want with Jefferson?”
“I have him here with me. Let me put the call on speaker.”
I heard a click and then some background noise.
“Steve? It’s Jefferson.”
“Hi. What’s up?”
“Dante asked me some questions about the legal software. I didn’t tell him anything, but you need to know something he said. He said he wanted me to agree to come to work for him.”
“He’s starting a software company?”
“No. I can’t prove it, but I think he’s trying to buy Lone Star.”
“Son of a bitch!” I swore. “Can you tell me exactly what he said?”
“He said he needed someone who really understood how NIKA’s software worked to be a lead software engineer at a company he was buying. When I asked about moving, he was cagey, but in the end, said it was in the Southwest. I know your main competitors are Lone Star, the company in Atlanta, and that new company in Vancouver. That only leaves one option in my mind. Well, unless he goes for one of the really small start-ups.”
“I wondered what his next move was going to be,” I replied. “And both of those make sense. Art, what did you tell Dante?”
“That we’d need more details and need a look at the equipment, and we’d need to speak to the electrical engineers. He hemmed and hawed about when that could happen, which made me suspicious. When Jefferson came to talk to me, he told me about the work you did for Dante’s old company.”
“Which I very much appreciate.”
“You should thank Jefferson. He’s the one who insisted I call you. And strongly encouraged me to turn down Dante’s request.”
“Art, it’s a fool’s errand,” I said. “Even if Dante somehow gets back control of his company, which I don’t believe is even remotely possible, all the patents on the testing equipment, as well as all the software copyrights, are held by an LLC which licenses them back to the company. You’d have to start completely from scratch, and you’d have to deal with my legal team when the LLC enforced its intellectual property rights. That’s not a threat against you, but against Dante. You’d get sucked into it, though.”
“That’s a headache I don’t need,” Art said.
“Jefferson, how did you leave things with Dante?” I asked.
“I told him I wasn’t interested.”
“Do me a favor,” I said. “Call him back and tell him you’ve reconsidered.”
“You want me to feed you information?”
“Yes.”
“Given how you treated me after what I did to you, of course I’ll do it. But I’ll never go to work for him.”
“Honestly, that’s up to you, but I’d certainly advise against it. Just make him believe you would for now.”
“Got it.”
“Art, I owe you a favor. A big one. Just let me know.”
“Will do.”
“Thank you both for the heads-up.”
“You’re welcome,” they both replied.
They disconnected the call and I hung up. I needed to think about the best way to deal with the issue. I could simply call Brad Giesma at Lone Star and talk to him directly, but if he was negotiating with Dante, he wouldn’t be able to talk to me about it, and if Dante used his usual business acumen, he’d have asked for an exclusive right to negotiate. I’d done that with BLS when we’d bought them out.
That said, I had no idea if Lone Star really was for sale. If it was, did I want to buy them out? I could certainly get the financing, but I wasn’t sure I wanted to nearly double the size of NIKA overnight. BLS had been less than half our size, and integrating and converting their customers had taken longer than we’d planned, and we’d run into some hiccups along the way. Doing the same with Lone Star would be even more challenging, and we’d likely have to run the two organizations in parallel for a long time.
“What the heck was that about?” Penny asked, interrupting my thoughts.
“I’m not totally sure,” I said. “I think Dante is playing more games. Keep it to yourself, please, until I decide what to do.”
“You should have let Sam, Charlie, and me take him out when he made his pass at Sam!”
“That thought has crossed my mind once or twice. Nose back to the grindstone, Pretty Penny! We have a release to get out.”
“What about you?”
“I sent the revised common backend code to Elizabeth for testing right before I went home yesterday. I’m waiting for the bug reports to come back. In the meantime, I’m doing CEO stuff and now dealing with the next chapter in Dante’s ‘Inferno’.”
Penny laughed, “Which Circle of Hell are we in now?”
“The Ninth, of course, ‘Treachery’; though I suppose the Eighth, ‘Fraud’ could apply.”
“Isn’t the Eighth the one with the seducers?” Penny teased.
I laughed, “Yes, along with hypocrites, thieves, sowers of discord, liars, and, my personal favorite, those guilty of barratry.”
“I always thought lawyers should be in the Ninth Circle!” Penny laughed. “I know YOU do!”
“Only certain ones. Remember, they do keep us in food, clothing, houses, nice cars, and all the other stuff.”
“True. So now what?”
“I’m not sure. I need to think about it.”
“Are you going to tell Melissa?”
“Once I order my thoughts.”
I spent the next two hours reviewing résumés, reading financial reports, and doing the things I’d normally do during my usual half-day dedicated to CEO work. As I worked, an idea formed in my mind. One that would help me discover the truth, and help NIKA without the risks associated with trying to outbid Dante for Lone Star, if that were even possible. I picked up the phone and dialed a number. Without saying anything that would give away what I was doing, I made a lunch appointment.
“I need you to do something for me,” I said when I sat down across from Samantha at Star of Siam.
“Anything. What’s up?”
“Get a rumor published in the Tribune‘s ‘Heard on the Street’ column for me.”
“Blue Horseshoe loves Anacott Steel?” she asked with a sly smile.
I laughed, “I started wearing suspenders because I thought Michael Douglas looked totally cool in them.”
“So what do you need published?”
“That someone is trying to buy Lone Star Systems in Dallas.”
She nodded, “Your competitor. Why not buy them yourself? I think I know where you could get the financing.”
I laughed, “Me, too. But doubling the size of the company overnight and taking on all their staff would fundamentally change NIKA in ways I couldn’t predict or probably control. I have a different strategy. If Lone Star is in play, I can use that as a competitive advantage.”
Samantha nodded, “You’re stable, you own your company, and you aren’t going to sell out. That creates FUD against Lone Star which you can exploit to win deals or take away customers.”
“The Microsoft strategy,” I said.
“Yes. They learned it from IBM and became even better at it than IBM. Gene Amdahl made that point in 1975 when he said, after leaving IBM, ‘FUD is the fear, uncertainty, and doubt that IBM sales people instill in the minds of potential customers who might be considering Amdahl products.’ My dad was an admirer of Amdahl for taking on IBM.”
“So can you do it?”
She nodded, “I’ll make a couple of phone calls. ‘Blue Horseshoe loves Lone Star Systems.’”
I chuckled, “That’s close enough to ‘Blue Star Airlines’ to make it even funnier!”
“Who’s buying them? Or trying to?”
“Dante Puccini, of course. He’s also trying to find a contract software company to do the custom programming if he gets control of M&M somehow.”
Samantha laughed, “Does he know about the intellectual property?”
I shook my head, “No.”
“Attorneys for the LLC will keep him tied up in the courts for a decade if he somehow pulls it off. Do you know if he’s tried to sow FUD with M&M customers?”
“I don’t. I’m going to talk to Melissa later, but I wanted to get this ball rolling.”
“You missed your true calling, Steve. You really should have taken my dad up on his offer to work for Spurgeon. Together we’d own the world.”
I chuckled, “You got the more conniving, devious sibling!”
Samantha shook her head, “That might be true, but you’re subtle, and subtlety is MUCH more dangerous. Look what you asked me to do. Subtle. And extremely effective. What’s your next play?”
“Once the rumor runs, Cindi will be in my office in an instant, seeking to take advantage of it. I’ll instruct her to do so, and then wait. I assume you know the Napoleon quote I’m thinking of?”
Samantha laughed, “Never interrupt your enemy while he’s making a mistake!”
“Exactly, though the Sun Tzu quote I taught you applies as well.”
“Hmm, you taught me several. I think the correct one for this instance would be ‘Making no mistakes is what establishes the certainty of victory, for it means conquering an enemy that is already defeated.’ But, for the overall situation, I think it’s ‘Thus it is that in war the victorious strategist only seeks battle after the victory has been won, whereas he who is destined to defeat first fights and afterwards looks for victory.’”
I nodded, “You’ve learned well!”
“If only you had been single when we met...”
“A logical fallacy.”
Samantha laughed, “You and your damned aversion to ‘What if?’!”
“It’s a hypothesis contrary to fact fallacy,” I grinned. “Steve Adams, single, at that point would have been a very different person.”
“True. You’ve taught me the difference between analyzing your past actions and speculation about creating different results.”
We finished our lunch, and Samantha promised to call me and let me know when she had spoken to her contact. We exchanged a hug, and I headed back to the office.
“Elizabeth was looking for you,” Kimmy said when I stopped at her desk. “She has a bug list.”
“I bet!” I laughed. “I’ll go see her. If Samantha calls, please find me. It’ll be important.”
“She has your private line. Do you want me to pick up those calls or let them go to your voicemail?”
“Pick them up while I’m meeting with Elizabeth, please.”
“Will do!”
I turned and walked down the hall, then down the stairs and over to Elizabeth’s workstation.
“Kimmy said you had something for me?”
“Yes. Do you have time to meet?”
“Sure. Let’s go up to the ‘Orr’ room.”
“Eve Falvey will join us. She helped run through all the tests. Zeke was cool with her helping, and he said it’s OK for her to be away from the phones for thirty minutes.”
“OK. I’ll meet you in the ‘Orr’ room in a few minutes.”
I went back upstairs, got a bottle of San Pellegrino from the fridge in the break room, then went to my office to get my notes. I walked to the conference room to find Eve and Elizabeth waiting for me.
“Here’s the regression testing report,” Elizabeth said, handing me two sheets of paper.
“This looks pretty good,” I said. “At least I didn’t reintroduce any of our old bugs.”
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September 1982, Chicago, Illinois The weekend was quiet and besides homework, I worked on the program changes for Frank, called Karin, Tatyana, and Kara, and hung out with my usual study group. Monday was refreshingly normal. On Tuesday morning, I handed Katy my completed intake form. She put it in an envelope and stuck it in her bag. She said she’d let me know soon about the interview. On Tuesday afternoon, after having lunch with Stephie, I made my rounds and then I headed over to Sigma...
October 1982, Chicago, Illinois The drive back to Chicago was as uneventful as usual, and I arrived at the apartment just before 6:00pm. When I arrived, Elyse and Stephie were sitting on the couch and Jackie was sitting on the loveseat. Stephie hopped up as I opened the door and greeted me with a hug and a kiss. “Hi, Peaches!” I said. “Glad you’re home, Yankee!” “Hi, Steve,” Elyse and Jackie both said. “Hey,” I replied. “How was the weekend?” “Well, it was just Kurt with me, Stephie,...
June 11, 1989, Chicago, Illinois It was just after 3:00am when I kissed Trish goodbye. She’d been an enthusiastic, energetic, and adventurous lover. We’d done just about anything either of us could think of, though her breasts weren’t large enough for a tit-fuck. The last time had been in the shower where we’d ostensibly gone to clean up afterwards, but instead I ended up taking her from behind as she leaned against the wall of the shower. “I think I’ll have you again, Steve Adams,” she...
May 1978 The first couple of weeks in May were busy with school, work, and friends. Except for Becky, I didn’t even have any dates. But I was OK with that. Well, almost OK. I wanted to see Anna, but it likely wasn’t going to happen until school was out. I had tutoring sessions with Melanie, but she still wouldn’t talk to me about anything other than Spanish. Barely a hello. I was grateful for the tutoring, but it was maddening seeing my friend this way. I hoped someday she could understand...
March, 1982, Milford, Ohio As I drove along I-65, I thought about what Stephanie had asked for and what Bethany had said without even knowing about the request. Of course, because Bethany and I were so in tune, she might have actually had an idea that I was struggling with getting involved with my sister again. I kept turning it over and over in my mind and I kept coming to the same conclusion — that I shouldn’t do it. I was torn between doing what Stephanie wanted and doing what Kara and...
September 7, 1992, Chicago, Illinois “That went reasonably well,” Michelle said when her parents drove off. “There were a few times I thought my expression would give away something I shouldn’t. You were messing with me, weren’t you?” She grabbed both my hands and smiled, “I was telling the truth, in my own way. Thank you!” She leaned forward and kissed my cheek. “So, what’s left?” I asked. “To visit UofC tomorrow and formally withdraw from classes. To spend some time with you and your...
October 1981, Chicago, Illinois I arrived back at the apartment just before 10:00pm and saw the address for the party. I decided I wasn’t particularly interested in going so I put on some music, poured myself a glass of wine, and started reading more about Russia. I was alternating between the history and culture book and the Communist Party book, decided on the history and culture book for this time. I didn’t get much reading done because I was thinking about Tatyana, which led me to...
January 23, 1996, Chicago, Illinois “Father, bless!” I said, greeting Father Basil with upturned palms. “Bless you, Stephen,” he said as I kissed his hand. The waiter showed us to a quiet table along the wall of Roditys in Greektown. He took our drink orders and was back quickly. We placed our food orders right away and he left to put them in with the kitchen. “I’m not quite sure how to address this, so I’m just going to ask you bluntly. Are you the father of Michelle’s baby?” I shook my...
June 29, 1995, Chicago, Illinois On Thursday, I finally had lunch with Melissa again, something I hadn’t been looking forward to. Much like with Cèlia, Melissa and I had passed an inflection point and I was left with sub-optimal paths forward. I’d been struggling with the possible solutions, and all of them had pitfalls. When I walked into Takumi, I had something of a plan. Whether it was good or not would only be known once everything played out. “I spoke to my wives,” I said after we’d...
December 5, 2000, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota “I had a good time last night,” I said. “I was surprised you invited a friend!” Mary laughed as we walked into the exam room, “Naomi had a good time as well. You know what a Resident’s life is like.” I nodded, “No social life.” “Exactly. You guys seemed to hit it off pretty well.” “Yes, but I’m not here for that!” “You’re everywhere for that, and you know it!” I couldn’t help but laugh. “Let’s just say that you hit the sweet spot -...
March 1980, Hovås/Göteborg, Sweden I woke early as usual, but just enjoyed being in bed with Katt. When she woke, she hopped out of bed and pulled a robe out of her closet and handed it to me. “There’s a spare toothbrush in the bathroom. Go have your shower, then we’ll have breakfast after I have my shower.” I quickly showered and brushed my teeth, and went back to Katt’s room. She went to shower and came back a few minutes later. She dressed, and I got a very good look at her sexy body...
April 5, 1997, Chicago, Illinois “You missed cuddles this morning!” Birgit said accusingly when I walked into the house about 9:30am. “I know, Pumpkin, but I had a work emergency and had to go see Aunt Joyce and Grandpa A.” “And now we have to get ready for karate!” “I know. We’ll have some family time this afternoon. I don’t have any plans.” “Good!” I hugged her and the rest of the kids, then went to find Kara. We hugged and kissed, and went straight upstairs to get ready for...
September 3, 1989, Chicago, Illinois “Good morning, Sensei,” I said, bowing to Sensei Jim. “Good morning!” he said waving me to a chair in his office. “How was your trip?” I asked. “Enlightening. I spent most of my time acting as a manservant to Sensei Robert and Sensei Hiro.” “He who will lead, must first serve,” I said. “Someday, I’m going to send you to Sensei Hiro, should he live long enough. You understand.” “Does that mean you are now 6th Dan?” I...
October 29, 2000, Chicago, Illinois Birgit followed me as far as the stairs, then scooted upstairs when I went to the front door and opened it. “Hi!” Sophie said. “Hi!” I replied and held the door open so she could come into the house. I closed the door behind her then led her to my study where I waited until she went in, and then walked in, closing the door behind me. I nodded to one of the wingback chairs, she sat down in one, and I sat down in the other. “Is something wrong?” she...
August, 1983, Chicago, Illinois I walked in the near 90°F heat to Carla’s place. I was grateful that the humidity of the morning had dropped significantly; otherwise the heat would have been unbearable. By the time I walked up the steps to the apartment over the photography studio and knocked on her door, I had broken into a light sweat. Carla answered almost immediately and invited me inside her studio apartment. The air was moderately cool, and the window air conditioner was running full...
July 1982, Milford, Ohio On Tuesday morning, I kissed Kara goodbye and headed to my parents’ house for my usual morning routine with my little sister. She was happy that I could spend the morning with her and asked to take a walk, so we weren’t in the house with my mom. “Let me guess — this walk will end in the clearing,” I said with a smile. “Yes,” she said, taking my hand as we walked down Overlook towards Klondyke. As usual, we turned around and walked back, taking the path to the...
March 13, 1994, Chicago, Illinois “Hi, Steve!” Ailea said when she opened the door. “Hi,” I replied, accepting the offered hug. There was no touching of lips, just of cheeks, and I wondered if I’d misread her intentions at her birthday lunch, or if, perhaps, she detected my reluctance to return the offered affection. “Lunch is ready, so go ahead and sit. I’ll bring it in from the kitchen.” I went to the low table, sat down, and a minute later, Ailea brought miso soup and sushi, our usual...
April 3, 1997, Dallas, Texas “Remember what I said about drinking too much,” I said, as I poured bourbon into three cups. We’d stopped at a liquor store, bought a bottle of Blanton’s, and then returned to the small suite I’d reserved at the Westin. Deborah’s room was down the hall, and Krissy’s was two floors below. Krissy’s comment had caught me a bit off guard, but I hadn’t reacted visibly. I didn’t know her quite well enough to know if she’d been teasing with Deborah, so I was being...
March 28, 1991, Chicago, Illinois “This day belongs to you, Kara!” I said when the three of us woke on Thursday morning. “Happy birthday!” Jessica said. “Thanks,” Kara replied happily. “I think I’d like an amazing birthday fuck from our husband, and then a nice loving shower with my wife!” Kara said. “Do we have enough time?” I asked. Jessica giggled, “I set the alarm for thirty minutes earlier!” “Then let’s not waste any of it!” I said pulling Kara to me. Kara’s squeals as I plunged...
September 4, 2000, Chicago, Illinois On Monday morning I went to my study to make a surreptitious call to ensure that the surprise I’d planned for Kara was still going to happen, and after confirming that it was, Jesse, Matthew, Michael, and I began preparing for the Labor Day party by getting beer and soda into coolers, getting the grill ready, setting up tables and chairs in the backyard, and ensuring the liquor cabinets were stocked while my wives and daughters worked on food prep in the...
September 1, 1987, Chicago, Illinois “I heard that you have some kind of plan to help Ed,” I said to Connie. “There’s no plan,” she replied. “A witness who saw the shopkeeper alive after Ed left came forward.” That sounded convenient, and I wondered if the witness was real or someone that Anthony had put forward to solve the problem. Certainly, the videotape was real, because I couldn’t imagine how Anthony could have faked that, but the witness? Who knew? “So is he being released? Or is...
August 17, 1997, Chicago, Illinois We finished lunch and Marissa and the younger kids went to play, but Natalie sat with the adults to talk, with coffee, tea, or soft drinks. The Sarcus were very comfortable, but the Heaths were still struggling. But, vitally, they hadn’t left and hadn’t insisted Natalie leave the group. “Can you explain how you developed this attitude and approach?” Chris asked. I nodded, “It started when I was just a bit younger than Natalie. My mom was a total control...
July 1979 — Falkenberg, Sweden On Friday, when I got back from my run, Pam was in her bra and panties again. I whistled at her, she giggled, then finished dressing. I showered, and we went to breakfast and finished up our last day. Once class was done, we were pretty much free. On Saturday, we’d have several optional activities and then on Sunday we’d head back to our host families. After dinner on Friday, I took Pam’s hand and we walked towards the river. It was quiet and peaceful, and...
July 1980, Over the North Atlantic We reached cruising altitude, and I settled back to read my book. Pam raised the armrest between us, snuggled close to me and read as well. The cabin crew offered drinks, and I had my first Coke in a year! Meal service began about an hour and a half into the flight. After the cabin crew picked up the trays and offered drinks again, they passed once more, offering headsets for the movie. Trevor and Maria took them, but Pam and I didn’t, instead we turned on...
July 8, 1997, Chicago, Illinois “Is it really that surprising?” Leah asked. “I suppose not,” I replied. “I just didn’t read too much into the kiss on the cheek.” “I didn’t think it was a good idea to kiss you on the lips with all those people around, because I had no idea who they were or what they would think. You were VERY careful with our dance, so I kind of followed your lead.” Which showed very mature thinking on her part. Both of these girls were exactly the kind of students I...
November 8, 1993, Chicago, Illinois A dark fog swirled before my eyes as I tried to take stock. My head hurt, badly. I felt something on my face and realized, dimly, it was an oxygen mask. My right hand was uncomfortable and I recognized the feeling of an IV and pulse-oximeter. My left arm ached fiercely. On my chest I felt the pads and wires of an EKG. I didn’t feel anything else wrong as I continued taking inventory. I tried to open my eyes, but the fog didn’t clear. I tried to speak, but...
August, 1983, Chicago, Illinois In the morning Anala and I ran as we had the previous time, then showered together, carefully washing each other’s bodies in an intimate but non-sexual way. After our shower we went to the kitchen and I made breakfast and we sat down to eat. “Steve, may I make a suggestion?” she asked. “Sure.” “Broaden your circle of friends. Other than me, all of you are white, nominally Christian, 20-year-old Americans. And you don’t invite me to your Sunday...
June 23, 2000, Chicago, Illinois “Steve,” Kimmy said over the intercom, “I have a Suzanne Aavik for you.” “Thanks,” I replied. “Put her through, please.” A few seconds later, Suzanne was on the line. “Hi!” she exclaimed when I greeted her. “I’m in Chicago for three weeks. Can I still run away and join the circus?” I chuckled, “You might want to find out what the circus is actually like before you join! If you’re free, you’re welcome to come to the house tomorrow or Sunday and meet the...
March 1979 Monday was back to the normal routine of school. Debbie Courtney, who lived across the street and had turned fourteen the last week in February, started flirting more with me on the bus each day. Debbie Vaughn, who lived just down the street, would turn fourteen on March 16th and invited me to her birthday party. And Donna Woody, who lived just down the street in the other direction, would turn fourteen on March 20th. She had made it clear what she wanted for her birthday, and in...
June 2, 1990, Chicago, Illinois “My office, please,” Sensei Jim said after class on Saturday. I followed him to his office and waited for him to bid me to sit. He did, and I sat in the usual chair across from him. “She has a real problem, you know that, right?” he asked. “I do. That’s why I insisted she start seeing a counselor.” “I run a huge risk having her here with that kind of temper and her violent acts.” I nodded, “I understand. May I ask what you intend to do?” “I really don’t...
February 21, 1991, Chicago, Illinois “Hi, Sweetheart!” I said, greeting Bethany at the door. “Uncle Steve!” Nicholas exclaimed. I took him from his mom and he hugged me tightly. “Is Jesse with his moms?” Bethany asked. “Yes. They won’t bring him back over tonight so you and Nicholas can surprise him in the morning.” “Perfect!” “How was the drive up?” “The same as usual. Just a bit of traffic in Northern Indiana. Otherwise, smooth sailing. It was driving the other direction that was a...
November 4, 2000, Chicago, Illinois “Good morning, Sensei,” Miyu said when Kara, the girls, and I walked into the dojo on Saturday morning. “Good morning, Miyu.” “Do you have a moment, please?” I nodded and we went to the small practice room for privacy, as Sensei Jim had a family in his office. “What can I do for you?” “I need you to meet a young man,” she said. “I think you might be taking this ‘not do anything without permission’ a bit too far!” Miyu shook her head, “No, I’m not....
May 1979 The limo dropped me at home about 9:00pm. I took my stuff to my room, stripped, and hung up the tux. The rest of the things went into the hamper. I took a shower, put on shorts and a t-shirt, and walked down the hall into my dad’s office. I saw no reason to put this off any longer. “Stephen, you need to explain yourself!” my mom demanded. “I was in Mrs. McGrath’s, well, Mrs. Sanders’ now, wedding, as I said.” “You walked her down the aisle! You’re sixteen and not even related to...
November 3, 1990, Chicago, Illinois “I still don’t understand why you told everyone to leave Katy alone last night,” Elyse said on Saturday morning. “Because we weren’t going to talk her out of it. I could tell by the way she told us. I hoped letting her sleep on it would allow her to hear what we had to say. Obviously I was wrong.” “I was surprised that she wouldn’t talk to Jennifer at all,” Kara said. “I thought Jennifer would be the one to get her to listen to reason this morning.” I...
February, 1983, Chicago, Illinois Our first joining since the previous summer was slow and sweet, trying to express our deep love for each other through the motions of our bodies. When we finished, Karin held me tight and refused to let me move off of her. “Sleep there, please,” she whispered. I kissed her once more then adjusted my pillow so that I could rest my head next to hers. It wasn’t the most comfortable position, but it was what Karin wanted. The feel of her firm body under mine,...
July 3, 1996, Chicago, Illinois I blinked several times and took a breath before responding. It didn’t help. The best I could do was contain my visceral reaction at her completely out-of-line request and her wrong-headed assumptions when she had NO idea what had happened in my life the previous eight months. “What makes you think you can make that request after refusing to talk to me for nearly eight months? And equally importantly, without explaining Alexi? And without giving me the first...