A Well Lived Life Book 9 AnalaChapter 32 A Well Lived Life Part III
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August, 1983, Chicago, Illinois
Friday went by quickly at school, and we were starting to get into the routine again. I talked to Julia and Stephie at lunch about dinner that evening, and Julia said that she’d take care of it. I had all the ingredients and a recipe, so she was totally comfortable. I hadn’t quite figured out the logistics with cooking dinner for Anala, though I had put up a note saying I needed the ‘Indian’ room that evening. In the end, I figured that Anala and I could do a late dinner, eating around 8:00pm. We’d use the sauna before dinner, cook, eat, and then we could stay in the ‘Indian’ room or go up to my room.
After we got home from class I quickly showered and changed and drove back to Bridgeport. I decided that in the future it would make more sense just to pick up Anala on the way home instead of making the drive again. Anala was ready when I arrived and we exchanged a quick kiss before walking back to my car for the short drive back to Hyde Park, during which I explained the plan for the evening. We went upstairs to my room to change, then went back down to the ‘Indian’ room to hang out. I was happy, but not surprised, to see a pot of tea and two cups waiting for us. I guessed that either Stephie or Julia had prepared it. Anala poured the tea and we sat on pillows at the low table.
“I told Jennifer I was ready to move to the next stage,” I told Anala, once we’d settled
“And how did she respond?”
“About like I expected - happy and anticipating being together after Christmas.”
“I can understand that desire!” she said with a smile. “Has anything else changed?”
“Stephie and I finally ended things last night. She’s going to talk to her friend down in Georgia and tell him that she’s ready to move beyond friendship with him.”
“And this was after you told her about Jennifer, right?”
“Yes,” I said.
“You see, you made your decision and you communicated it. And she evaluated the situation and made up her mind. Just as I told you I would do.”
“And?” I asked.
“You’ve only just told me. Unlike you, I can’t make snap judgments and decisions. For you, that mostly works when we’re talking about anything other than relationships. When you do it with your relationships, disaster often follows, though not right away. Is there anything else?”
“I think I finally broke the spell that Becky had over me since we were fourteen. It only took five years!”
“And why were you able to do that now?”
“I suspect because I’ve focused my attention on moving forward with Jennifer.”
“That makes sense, doesn’t it? And if I understand things, Jennifer is OK with you being with other girls? She would not object to you being with me?”
“Correct. I even asked her specifically about you. Jennifer has always been fine with me being with other girls, except for Becky, of course, just like I’ve been fine with her pursuing her relationships with girls she’s interested in.”
“And you both agree that will continue should you marry?”
“Yes.”
“Then it’s safe to move forward with her as you say. You do have other girls to deal with as well, especially your friends Tatyana, Karin and Sofia.”
“I know. I’m seeing Tatyana next weekend. I think we both agree that the gulf between us is too wide to bridge at this point, and maybe forever. In a sense, she’s the easiest to deal with because she’s always known that it would be another five years before we could truly be together, and at that point we’d see where we were. The others are more difficult.”
“Then you must tell them what you’ve told me, and let them make their own decisions. It might surprise you what they decide. But, and this is important, you know that all kinds of things may change. You could end up married to someone you don’t even know right now, or to someone you do that you would never have expected.”
“I know. But I have to try to move forward with Jennifer. On the plus side, I won’t see the girls in Sweden until next year, so I have time to work things through.”
“Have you been reading?”
“I finished the Merton book. And I’ve read Sun Tzu as well. Do you have other suggestions?”
“That, I think is up to you to explore. What interests you? You seem to have some kind of affinity for things Russian, and not just Tanya. Perhaps something by Dostoyevsky? In fact, perhaps The Brothers Karamazov would be a good choice. It deals with faith, doubt, reason, and God. All things with which you struggle.”
“I’m not sure struggle is the right word, but that does make sense. I’m actually not unhappy with my current position on those topics, though, as you’ve seen, it’s subject to change.”
“True. How is school so far?”
“It’s the first week. I’m just getting back into the swing of things.”
I heard Julia calling everyone to dinner and suggested that Anala and I head to the sauna. She agreed and we went to the basement. Because there were others in the house, we changed in the bathroom, then hung our robes outside the sauna door and went in.
“What will your friends say about this?” she grinned.
“Nothing. Saturday and Sunday are ‘towels required’ because we have some people who are uncomfortable with public nudity, but the rest of the week it’s optional, and everyone knows I sit naked in here. Besides, they’ll all be eating now.”
We sat quietly for a bit while the steam built. I was feeling pretty good about how things were going and despite the sadness I felt about the situation with Stephie, I knew that in the long run it was best for both of us. I wondered, though, what Anala was thinking. We were close to taking a step that would change our relationship in a way that could not be undone, and I had to be sure she was still OK with that.
“Anala, are you still OK with moving forward, despite what I told you about Jennifer?” I asked.
She smiled, “There is a long path before us which neither of us knows where it ends. I prefer the path to be filled with passion and pleasure. I am unable to predict the future any more than you are. I placed myself under your control, Steve. The decision is yours.”
I nodded and we sat silently until it was time to get out. I adjusted the controls and we donned our robes and went up to my bathroom to shower. We stood under the cool spray together, then dried off, dressed, and went to the kitchen to prepare our meal. Katy and Cindi were just finishing the dishes and I introduced Anala to them. As they moved around the kitchen cleaning up, Cindi managed to brush against me a few times and give me a saucy look. She and Katy left within a few minutes and Anala and I set about cooking our meal.
After we ate, we made some tea from the small box that she’d given me the previous time. She promised to replenish it when it ran out, which I was happy about because there was no way I could buy it in the store. We took our tea up to my room and sat on the loveseat with the teapot on the end of my computer desk.
“You said you were going to see your Russian friend next weekend. Are you going to Boston?” Anala asked, sipping her tea.
“No, we’re meeting in DC because her dad wants to see me and the head of their security detail wants to see me as well, and introduce me to her husband and daughter.”
“It seems you’ve made quite the impression on them!”
“I guess so. I’ve really enjoyed their company and in some ways I’m sad that things have worked out as they have. There’s just something special about Tanya.”
“She’s exotic and different, like Birgit was, and like I am. That attracts you, Steve, and that’s good, but it’s not a basis for a relationship any more than your friend Cindi’s overt sexuality is.”
“You noticed?” I grinned.
“She’s pretty obvious. I saw her ‘accidentally’,” she said, making air quotes, “rub her chest on your back. Are you involved with her?”
I chuckled, “No. We tease a lot, but nothing has happened. She has this agreement with her best friends back home that they’ll have one crazy fling right before they each get married. She told me she wants it to be with me.”
Anala laughed, “An interesting idea, but not one I could contemplate. You, on the other hand, it sort of fits the way you live your life. And actually the reaction of the other girl is more interesting.”
“Ah, yes,” I said, “the enigmatic Katy.”
“So you are aware of her feelings for you,” she said.
“Yes. But given what she needs, there’s no way forward for us sexually, or any other way, for that matter.”
“She wants you very, very badly, Steve. I could see it in her eyes. She is extremely jealous of me.”
“How can she be jealous? She doesn’t want what you have, or what anyone else has, with me. She needs a guy who can totally commit to her, and only her, with no exceptions. That’s not me and probably never will be. We’ve talked about it. She even used me as a subject for her class on human sexuality, so she knows my full history.”
“Be that as it may, she wants you. If you ask her, she’ll come to your bed in a heartbeat.”
“I know that. And I can’t ask her because it wouldn’t be ethical or right. She made it clear what she wants and that she isn’t interested in a one-time thing.”
“I’m pretty sure that she’s lying to herself for some reason.”
“Even if she is, it’s not my place to ask her.”
“The tension is going to grow until you do it, or she moves out. I don’t see any other way.”
“How the hell do you know that?” I asked.
“Have I been wrong yet?” she asked with a twinkle in her eye. “I watch; I listen; I contemplate. I talk far less than you do and listen far more. I suspect your friends Bethany and Sofia do that as well. You would do well to emulate that, at least some of the time. Just watch, listen, and contemplate.”
“No, you haven’t been wrong yet. But there’s a first time for everything!” I chuckled.
We finished our tea and I took the cup from Anala and set it on the desk next to the teapot. I’d have to get a warmer to keep in the room so that the tea would stay hot, but that was for another day.
“What is your desire, Steve?” Anala asked.
“The Sutra says to take things slowly, so tonight I’d like to simply lie in bed together and kiss and touch gently.”
“And you do not need release? You will not be frustrated?”
“No, I won’t,” I replied. “We’ll get there, Anala.”
She sighed, “You are far more patient than I expected. Sadly.”
“Ah, so it’s YOU who is frustrated and in need of release!” I grinned.
“Yes,” she said simply.
“Then perhaps I can kiss you enough to solve that,” I said, standing and pulling her into my arms.
“You will taste my essence?” she asked
“Yes, I really want to,” I said.
“And may I taste yours?”
“Yes.”
We kissed deeply for a few minutes then helped each other out of our clothes. I scooped Anala into my arms and laid her on the bed. She smiled up at me as I looked over her petite, sexy body with her chocolate brown nipples and areolae and her neatly trimmed pubic hair that highlighted the full lips of her most intimate place. I bent down to kiss her lips, then got into bed next to her and began exploring her body with my lips and tongue. I savored the feel of her small breasts and hard nipples as I kissed, licked, and sucked them. Anala caressed the back of my head with her hand as I moved back and forth between breasts.
I regretted taking my mouth away from her chest, but I had a more interesting and more intoxicating place in mind for my lips and tongue. I kissed my way downwards, stopping at her stomach to gently probe her navel with my tongue, causing her to giggle softly. After a few swirls of my tongue I continued down to nuzzle her pubic hair, then placed a soft kiss on the top of her slit, just barely touching it with my lips. I caught my first whiff of her, an intoxicating, exotic smell that promised to taste like nothing I had tasted before.
Anala spread her legs invitingly and I moved so that my face was between them, and took in the beauty of her yoni. It was small, like she was, with full lips, slightly darker in color than her light brown skin. Anala sighed deeply as I ran my tongue gently along her labia. I planted several kisses at the point where her labia joined, then slowly extended my tongue to separate her lower lips, then pressed deeply into her. The heat was intense and my tongue was quickly covered with spicy juices that caused my dick to become as hard as a steel rod.
As I moved my tongue and my lips, I listened to Anala’s soft moans to work out what gave her the most pleasure. I slowly developed a rhythmic sequence of motions and Anala placed her hand behind my head. She pressed softly and ran her fingers through my hair as I pleasured her with my tongue. When her breathing grew more rapid and her moans became more continuous, I began gently sucking and licking her clit, causing her to slowly raise and lower her hips, and press me firmly against her with her hand.
Anala’s breathing grew ragged and then she cried out, loudly, and pulled my face hard against her pussy. She squeezed her thighs against my face and raised her hips. She groaned as her body shook and she began gasping for breath. I continued licking and sucking until she relaxed, then moved up to kiss her deeply. She greedily accepted my tongue into her mouth, sucking hard and swirling her tongue around mine. After a minute, we broke the kiss and she gasped for breath.
“I was right,” she said between heavy breaths.
I kissed her again, then moved off her and pulled her tightly to me in my usual cuddling position. I slid my hand down to cup her firm butt cheek, running my finger gently along the cleft at the top. Anala sighed and pressed herself firmly against me, and rested her head on my chest. Her breathing slowly returned to normal and she raised her head and turned to look at me.
“What do you want me to do?” she asked.
“I want you to use your mouth to pleasure me,” I said.
“Have you tasted your own essence before?” she asked.
“Yes,” I said.
Without a word, she lowered her head to my chest and began gently licking and sucking on my nipples as I had done to her. The pleasure was intense, and very few girls had done that. Unbelievably I got even harder and felt like I might cum just from her sucking on my nipples and the thought of her soft tongue on my dick. I took several deep breaths and let them out to try to reduce the urges I was feeling.
Anala kissed her way down my chest and stomach and swirled her tongue in my navel like I had in hers, then continued down to my pubic hair. She lifted her head and planted a soft kiss on my glans, then kissed her way down my shaft. I jumped a bit when Anala ran her tongue over my sack. She opened her mouth and sucked gently on my balls, which very nearly put me over the top. Deep breaths kept things under control, but I was afraid that the first touch of her tongue to my glans would cause me to lose control.
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March, 1984, Chicago, Illinois “You really want to do that?” I asked. “Yes. And I want you to spank me like we did that day in the apartment.” “I’m not sure about that,” I said. “You did it before, Steve. I’m asking you to do it. It excited me then and I’m excited by the thought of it now. Now, let’s get your toys, borrow Elyse’s toy, and have some fun!” “You’re sure about this?” “God dammit, Steve!” Bethany growled in frustration. “Will you please quit fighting me on this! I am NOT...
November, 1984, Chicago, Illinois I spent Saturday afternoon working on a paper for my literature class, as well as writing a project summary report for Scott’s class. Around 3:30pm Bert and Callie came to my office door to ask for help with their assignment in the C-programming class. I had them come in and sit down, and was amused that Callie took the chair furthest from me despite being the first to walk into the room. It reminded me of what Elyse had said about her. “So what’s the...
May, 1984, Chicago, Illinois In the morning, after Jackie and I had slept cuddled together, and I ran, and then showered, we had breakfast together. After breakfast, I helped her load her car with the stuff that she was taking home, and box up the stuff that she’d leave behind. We moved the boxes to my walk-through closet so that the room was ready for Sofia when she arrived in August. “I’m going to miss you,” I said, as we walked out to her car. “I’ll miss you too, but I’ll be around. I’m...
November 1984, Chicago, Illinois When Sofia, Wen, and Leila returned home, I started making dinner. Jorge and George arrived just as I was getting everything on the table. After dinner, we went to the video store and rented The Star Chamber and Twilight’s Last Gleaming for a movie night. I popped popcorn and when I sat down, I sat between Bethany and Sofia, which to me seemed like the safest place in the room. George sat in Jorge’s lap and the rest of the girls spread out around the room....
March, 1984, Chicago, Illinois On Tuesday morning, after we ate breakfast, I baked a cake for Stephanie’s birthday. We’d gone shopping on Monday to get the fixings for fried chicken and homemade biscuits, which was the meal that she’d requested. When the cake was in the oven, I put the chicken in a large bowl with slightly salted water to soak, and then Stephanie and I went up to my room. “So, Squirt, what would you like for your birthday?” I grinned. “The same thing I got on my fourteenth...
February, 1984, Chicago, Illinois Joyce’s words rang in my ears, and I felt dizzy and nauseated. “I had a Pap smear that came back abnormal. I think I might have cancer.” I was glad I was sitting down because my knees were weak. My hands were shaking as well. “Joyce, I apologize for everything. I mean that. Why didn’t you tell me?” “I was going to, and then I found out about you and Connie and I just got so angry I couldn’t think straight.” “You said ‘might’. What does that mean?” I...
January, 1984, Chicago, Illinois Thankfully, Wednesday wasn’t a tough day, and I was home by 2:30pm. I had quite a bit of reading to do, so I made a pot of tea and went to the ‘Indian’ room with my textbooks. About an hour later, Elyse joined me, and Julia came in shortly after her. My mind began to wander and I realized just how much I missed having Stephie around. There wasn’t much I could do about it now, except to adapt to the new reality. As much as I liked and wanted a constant...
November, 1984, Chicago, Illinois Friday was a lazy day around the house. Sofia booked her flight home, and wasn’t very happy with what she had to do. “We have finals on the 21st, so I have to stay until then. The only reasonable time to leave is Friday night at 5:00pm. That gets me to Heathrow the next morning, and then I take a flight to Landvetter. Mom wants me home Saturday night for a dinner at her parents’ house. I’m going to be a complete zombie!” “Is your Friday exam early or...
August, 1984, Chicago, Illinois “«Hej»,” I replied, laughing. “Elyse, why did you hide Malin from me?” “I didn’t. She had a boyfriend for the last two years and spent her free time with him. They broke up at the end of last quarter.” “Still, you could have brought her around at least once. You know I like speaking Swedish.” “«Min kille var en som var mycket svartsjuk»,” Malin said. (“My boyfriend was the jealous-type.”) “«Synd. Vad hände?»” (“Sad. What happened?”) She laughed, “«Tro det...
July, 1984, Chicago, Illinois On Thursday morning, Jackie and I ate breakfast together, and then she left to head home. I started a load of laundry and then walked to the shop to pick up my rented tux. As I turned the corner onto Woodlawn, I saw a black sedan parked in front of the house and two men in suits standing on my front porch. I sighed. It had to be the FBI. I continued up the street and up the steps to my porch. “Mr. Adams, do you have a few minutes to talk?” Agent Feldman asked,...
October, 1984, Chicago, Illinois Kara let out a long sigh, “I suppose I have to.” “That’s up to you, but Bethany thinks you should tell me.” “She’s probably right. Only Doctor Mercer knew about it before today. It’s something you can never, ever repeat and something we won’t talk about ever again.” “I certainly promise never to repeat it. As for not ever talking about it again, I suppose that’s OK, but it’s hard to agree to that in advance.” “It doesn’t ever need to be talked about...
April, 1984, Chicago, Illinois On Monday afternoon I received a call from Ivan Voronin’s secretary letting me know the details for the trip. Minister Voronin and his daughter would arrive on Sunday afternoon, and a limo would bring them to my house. The limo would pick up Minister Voronin at midnight, to take him to his hotel, and Tatyana would stay at my house. A limo would pick her up on Tuesday morning to take her to meet her father. I asked about Colonel Anisimova and was told that she...
December, 1984, Chicago, Illinois I was stirred awake by knuckles rapping hard against my door. I blinked several times and squinted to see the clock across the room. I’d been asleep nearly three hours. I dropped my head back to the pillow and sighed. “I was sleeping!” I rasped. “I don’t give a fuck what you were doing, Steve Adams! Open this door right the fuck now!” a stern voice said. That was Bethany’s voice! But she was in Madison! “Bethany?” I croaked. “Yes, you idiot! Open the...
April, 1984, Chicago, Illinois “Vanya, I am no diplomat, so I am not skilled in saying nothing while seeming to say something.” Ivan laughed and nodded, waiting for me to continue. “It would certainly change things,” I said. “It was our career choices that created the problem - I can’t become a Soviet Citizen and she couldn’t give up her plans. She and I agreed that our relationship would probably end when she went home in 1986. If that’s not going to happen, well, it certainly means that...
May, 1984, Chicago, Illinois I didn’t return Becky’s call; I called Jackie instead. I told her about what had happened with the phone message. “Let me get this straight. You didn’t make love with Penny, but you realized she’s the antidote to Becky?” “Yes. I thought about Penny so much, and was so focused on her, that Becky didn’t even cross my mind, and when I heard Becky’s phone message, I was annoyed, not because I’d missed lunch with her, but because I simply didn’t want anything to do...
August, 1984, Chicago, Illinois Stephanie made lunch for us and after we ate, I decided to use the whirlpool. I wasn’t turning on the sauna, so Stephanie kept her clothes on. She was wearing shorts, so she once again dangled her feet in the water while I let the warm water soothe my aching muscles. It wasn’t as bad as it had been, and I figured I would be feeling up to snuff in another day or so. “How long are you staying?” I asked my sister. “I figured I’d go home on Friday. I told...
June 1984, Milford, Ohio On Monday morning, Bethany, Josie, Jennifer, Stephanie, Zach and I all went to breakfast. We talked about the wedding and Stephanie filled me in on my mom’s reaction. “At church, she and Dad sat way in the back. You know his opinion of church, so no surprise there. At the reception, I think you saw her leave the room when Jennifer and Josie danced, and she wouldn’t come back. It was so stupid because later on, all the bridesmaids danced together, along with a bunch...
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...
June/July, 1984, Stockholm, Sweden I woke when the conductor announced that we were arriving in Stockholm. I was happy the announcement came early enough for me to be fully awake and clear my mind before the train arrived on the platform. My dream had replayed the last seven years, but in a disjointed fashion. The strongest memories had come first - seeing Birgit for the first time, making love to her, her death, seeing Karin for the first time, my night of passion with Karin, and Karin’s...
October, 1984, Chicago, Illinois Bethany was right - I did have some very surprising things happen in my life. And they never seemed to stop. On the other hand, Fate seemed to have taken a holiday and I was just fine with that. If she never came back, I’d be a very happy man. And given how things were going, I was pretty happy overall. I walked out the back door and down the brick path to the back door of the coach house. I knocked and Patience opened the door to let me in. As was usually...
August, 1984, Chicago, Illinois On Monday morning after my usual routine of running, a shower, and breakfast, Kara, Sofia, and I got into my car to head to IIT. I let Sofia drive so that she could get the practice and she was grateful. We arrived a bit earlier than Kara and I needed to so that Sofia had time to make it to her 9:00am class at Loyola. Once she was safely on the El, Kara and I went to the student center to get some coffee. “Will Sofia be OK taking the El?” Kara asked. “She’s...
November 1984, Chicago, Illinois I went back to the ‘Indian’ room and had just picked up the book when Alejandra came to the door. “Hi,” she said flashing me a huge smile. “Busy?” “I was just about to sit down and read,” I said. “I talked to Sofia,” she said. “Come sit with me,” I said, putting down my book. She sat in the basket chair closest to me and pulled her feet up into the chair with her. “You seem a bit, I’m not sure of the English word, but the Spanish word is...
November 1984, Chicago, Illinois The week before Thanksgiving flew by, both at work and at school. By Friday, Sensei Jim was satisfied that I was ready to rejoin the class, which I would do on Saturday morning. I arranged with Wen, George, and Jorge that I’d pick them up just before lunch on Saturday. Sofia had told me that both of her friends would be at the house on Friday evening, but would spend the first night in the guest rooms because Elyse and Kara weren’t leaving until Saturday...
November, 1984, Chicago, Illinois On Monday morning, just before Kara and I left for IIT, I called the union electrician to make arrangements to get him the new programs. He said he could stop by the house and pick them up that evening, and I could show him anything he needed to know. We were down to five weeks left in the semester, six if you counted Thanksgiving week when we didn’t have any classes. The only major things I had left to do were a paper on Islam for Mark’s class and to...