For disclaimers see Part I
 
 

It was 4:30 on Thursday, and Dave had just finished his last day with UPS.  Actually, he had finished up around 2, but a few of his buddies had insisted on taking him down to Stan's for a few beers.  He was in a wonderful mood, relieved that he would finally be devoting all of his time to his dream. Since he had actually started working on the course, some four years ago, he had been working every spare minute on flattening, planning, sloping, running water lines in the old cow pasture, walking miles and miles every day, picking up stones from the earth he had tilled in the old tractor. There were times he would come home from work, and with a canvas sack slipped over his shoulder, walk a small stretch of land, picking up even the smallest stones until the sun had gone from the sky. He was determined to make the ground as pristine as possible, for the second summer he began to plant grass seed, a special blend, that would grow green and sturdy, and hold up through the harsh winters of this region. It would take two summers to get the ground cleaned, the grass planted.  He and Nelson used the tractor to pull down the smaller of saplings that interfered with the fairways and greens of the course, but he had done this as little as possible, and regretted every plant, every bush and patch of crabgrass that gave its life in the name of his 9 holed vision.

This past summer, Sara had come home, and extended his vision much farther than he could even imagine. The grass was growing strong and lithe by then, but she had a special touch of some sort with everything growing on the land.  She seemed to know just how much water each individual green  needed, how much fertilizer to lay down without scorching the tender grass.  She framed holes with flowering shrubs, and lined fairway fringes with sparkling wildflowers.

The 9th hole was her particular favorite. It was her oasis.  It lay near a small pond, with lily pads, leaping bullfrogs, cat-o-nine tails and reeds.  One day late last summer when Dave came home, tired from work, she and Nelson led him over to the pond, and not without a little fanfare,  pressed a control knob hidden in some tall grass.  Dave stood, enthralled, as a pulsating tower of water shot out of the pond, ever higher, almost 20 feet into the air, its falling looking like multicolored streamers in the sunset of the day. It was then, and only then, as Dave stood grinning at this beautiful sight, that he knew, with an absolute confidence, that his little pipe dream was going to be a success.  It was his sister's considerable effort that was going to set his little cow pasture apart from all the other converted cow pastures in the area.  He knew he could never thank her for it,  never be able to adequately voice his gratitude to her.  So he did what a brother could do. He loved her with all of his heart, and silently vowed that whatever he could do for her, whatever she needed, he would try his best to make sure she got it.

Damn, get a couple of beers in me, and I turn into an old softy sap. Dave grinned, and climbed the three stairs that led to the small entrance on the side of Fort Lafayette High. He knew all of his most treasured ones were in this building, and he wanted to share his exuberance of the day with them.  He made his way down to the theatre entrance, and opened the door. There he saw Chloe, in jeans and hooded sweatshirt, standing off to one side of the stage, watching a gawky redheaded teenage girl, singing to an equally ungainly teenage boy, somewhat oddly dressed in baggy chinos, a Dr. Dre T-shirt, his head topped off with a cowboy hat. Chloe saw the light enter the theatre when the door opened and saw Dave peering at her. She and  waved at him, wordlessly, to come join her on the stage.  As Dave strolled  down the aisle to the stage, he recognized the song that the teenaged pair were rehearsing. Ah,  'I Cain't Say No',  these two must be Will and Ado Annie. He climbed the small steps to the stage. Dave slipped his arm around Chloe's waist in greeting and stood quietly leaning against her as the pair finished their song, Will twirling Ado Annie, then sweeping her down for a passionate kiss.

 That is how it was supposed to be.  Chloe's bossy nature, cleverly disguised under a director's mantle, asserted itself.

"Justin, she doesn't have cooties.  Wait a minute, you don't even know what cooties are, do you?  OK. You're supposed to be half crazy for the girl, you look like you're afraid she's going to, I don't know, nip you or something during the whole song.  She's not a crocodile.  And Mo, this girl is lust driven. You're playing her like you're a singing Mother Theresa. This is not the 'Sound of Music' .  It's I CAN'T Say No, not  'I'd Really Rather Not, Thank You, Anyways'."  There has to be some spark, all the way through the song, too, you both have to be wildly flirting, touching, eyeballing each other, not acting like you'd rather be anywhere else. Get a gleam in your eye."

Chloe rolled her eyes at the still grinning Dave. "Ben," called Chloe to the pianist, " Start it right before the last verse."  She turned to Mo and Justin again. "OK, I want to see it like you have the HOTS for each other. Do it. Impress me."

Marcy, Doris and Sara were coming up the hall from the gymnasium.  Sara had given the kids there 15 minutes; she wanted a few of them to put on their costumes so she could see how they moved around in them. Marcy had suggested they come up and see how Chloe was doing with the reticent lovers, Mo and Justin.  Sara had no complaints about going to see Chloe, she had a few questions to ask her that had come up since their meeting on Monday.  She hadn't seen her yet today, she'd gone directly to the gym, and started practice. Marcy had shown up in the gym to ask about some props needed for some dance sequences. Doris showed up because, well, she was Doris, and it was her job to be everywhere.

The threesome moved quickly down the hall, for time was a wastin', there was a show to put on.  Marcy grabbed the theatre door and they entered. They all halted, as one unit, staring.  On stage, in the spotlight, was Dave D' Amico, singing to Chloe in a rich baritone voice, while the pianist played. He gently twirled her left, then switched hands, and twirled her in front of him again. As he finished the lyric, he put his arms around her, and as he sang the last words, he bent her back farther, then farther, his head ever closer to hers. He drew the last note out, and as soon as it was finished, he kissed her, long and hard.  Long. Long. Long. And Hard. He then swooped her back up into a standing position. Chloe looked positively dazed. Dave smiled a toothy, satisfied grin, and boasted to Mo and Justin, who were watching just out of the spotlight. " See? Now THAT'S how you KISS the girl!"

Marcy squinted at her boyfriend and her best friend. Do straight people get toaster ovens for turning gay people straight?

Sara glared at her brother and her almost girlfriend. Is it matricide? Patricide? Fratricide? I can never remember.

Doris Raeburn looked at that blushing Chloe Donahue and that dazzling hunk,  David D' Amico.  Uh huh. Yep. Uh huh.

Dave put his arm around Chloe's waist, and finally noticed the little audience in the aisle up by the theatre entrance.  "Hey," he called up to them, "C'mon down here.  I was just giving a little demonstration," and he puffed his chest out in exaggeration, "on how to knock the socks off of a girl."

Chloe, who limply had her arm around Dave's waist, mostly for support, indeed felt like she was sockless, shoeless even.  When she had given in to Dave's playful demand that the two of them show Mo and Justin 'how it was done', she hadn't expected to be twirled like that, much less crooned to by a very enthusiastic Dave, and last but not least, she had not expected that bent back, full on, open mouthed, molar cleaning, long, long, kiss Dave had laid on her. So her eyes were still trying to focus, and her lungs were still gasping for oxygen when the threesome of Doris, Sara and Marcy made their way to the stage.

Chloe was running her tongue along her lips to make sure they were still attached when Doris Raeburn announced their arrival. "Chloe, dear, no wonder you like directing these things ... I love your choice in an assistant!"

Marcy and Sara, standing away from the group, turned and looked at the wolfishly grinning Dave, and the clearly befuddled Chloe, who gave both of them a weak, blushing smile.

Marcy crossed her arms in front of her. "Hey, Mo, Justin, Ben? Take a break. All this learning has to be a tiring experience for all of you. Be back in 10."

Dave, still in his ebullient mood, said, "Hey, if I can help out in any other way, Chloe, just ask, OK?" He gave her a broad wink and smiled.

"Uh, thanks, Dave. I'll keep that in mind."

Doris and Dave seemed to be the only cheery people in the group.  Everyone else seemed to be carefully eying each other, Marcy; Sara, then Sara; Chloe, then Marcy; Chloe, then both Marcy and Sara; Dave. Doris examined everyone, one at a time.  Dave, his cheerfulness aided by the four or five beers he had, wasn't really focusing on anyone, but he was giving it a manful try. The only one not looking at anyone was Chloe.  She was having somewhat of a religious experience. I didn't do anything wrong, but I feel like I'm guilty for some reason. And I'm not even Catholic.

A voice called from the front of the theatre. "Mrs. Raeburn? Phone for you, in your office."

Damn damn damn. Just when it was getting good. "On my way dear." Doris took one last look at the group on the stage, and sighed. She headed off the side exit to go to her office.

Marcy, ever the reactionist, shot Chloe a piercing look, and then shot her smart remark at Dave. "Well, I never knew you could be so entertaining.  Three stars in the family."  She turned on her heel, and marched off the stage, and started up the aisle.

Dave, seeing that his sweetpea seemed to be a little perturbed about something, ambled off the stage after her.

Sara was standing quietly, a few feet from Chloe.  Chloe lifted her head to explain the prior awkward event to her, then dropped it again. I don't need to explain anything to her. Why is she looking at me like I should?

Sara cleared her throat, it didn't help, her voice still sounded a bit hoarse. "You want me to send Heather, Nelson and Jeanette up here today? They have their routines pretty much set for 'Surrey with the Fringe on Top'.  You said you wanted to see it, singing, acting and dancing, today. I think they can do it. If you want."

"Sure. Send them all up. I'll send Mo and Justin down to you."

"All right then."  Sara hopped off the edge of the stage, and began walking up the aisle.

"Sara?"

Sara stopped and gazed up at Chloe, on the stage, hair aglow in the light. "Yes, Chloe?"

Chloe looked at her, and then looked away and waved her off. "Never mind. It'll keep."

Sara looked at her again, and then walked the rest of the way up the aisle, and out of the theatre.

Sara passed her somewhat confused brother in the hallway.  He was standing in front of Marcy, who looked like she was going to explode from trying to hold it all in.

"Just go home Dave, and sleep it off, " Marcy hissed.

"But honey, I was going to get a ride from you ... one of the guys dropped me off here."

Sara stopped in her tracks when she heard this exchange. She ignored her brother, and whispered in Marcy's ear. "We could, between the two of us, probably get him to fit in the trunk of your Miata."  She looked to Marcy for her reaction to this idea.

"Only if we cut him in half first. Can we get him down to the wood shop?"

Sara tossed her uncomprehending brother a wasted sneer. "I've got to get back to rehearsals. Good luck with Mr. Love Machine, Marse."  She patted Marcy on the back, and strode up the hall.

Dave, propped against the wall with one hand, suddenly felt  ... not so good. "I think I gotta sit down." And he decided that right there was a good a place as any.

Marcy caught his slide down, and hooked his arm around her shoulder. "Hang on, I thought you said you four or five beers ..." She hoisted him into a better position, and looked around. The closest place to take him would be back into the theatre. "We're going back into the theatre. You can sit down in there."

"Well, and then a shot for every 5 years at UPS ...  "

Marcy groaned and moved the tall man along. She freed a hand, and yanked open the theatre door, and half carried, half stumbled with the increasingly heavier man down to the front row. Chloe, coming out of the wings, saw Marcy depositing Dave in a seat.

Marcy propped up Dave as best she could, and she left him sitting there with his head propped in one hand, elbow on the armrest. He moaned once, then immediately dozed off.  She walked over to the stage, and Chloe stepped up to the edge to meet her. Marcy looked up, and fixed her friend with a withering stare. "Listen, 'Miss Lips', you get to babysit him until 6.  I have to get back down there and fool with some costumes."  She took another look at Dave and started up the aisle.

"Marcy?"

Marcy turned a fierce look on her friend. "Yes, Chloe?"

Chloe looked at her, and then looked away and waved her off. "Never mind. It'll keep."

Marcy looked at her again, and then walked the rest of the way up the aisle, and out of the theatre.

Doris Raeburn, finally off of the phone, decided to go play catch up on what she had missed in the theatre.

She slowly opened the theatre door, and snuck a peak in there, and she saw Chloe, standing alone on the stage, whirling a bit, singing lowly, as an apparently enchanted Dave D' Amico looked on from the front row, head propped on his arm.  Doris was just about to enter the rest of the way, when a voice called down the hall.

"Mrs. Raeburn?  Mrs. Hoderman's on the phone. In your office."

Damn. Damn. Damn.

Nelson, Jeanette and Heather passed a strangely smirking Mrs. Raeburn in the hallway on their way to the theatre.

When they entered, Nelson was startled to see what seemed to be his father sitting in the front row. The threesome went down the aisle, and Nelson stopped and looked at his peacefully slumbering dad.

"Nelson, up here. We need to get started." Chloe called softly.  Nelson went up on the stage, and nodded his head in the direction of the front row.

Chloe came up to him, and whispered. "Passed out."

Nelson nodded his understanding. "Oh, Ms. Donahue. Marcy told me to tell you ... uh... she said you were in charge of getting Dad home tonight. She has something she has to do.  I wish I could do it, but I'm already full up with Aunt Sara and Jeanette ..."  He looked at her quizzically as he continued. "She said, 'Tell Miss Lips to haul Mr. Kisses sweet butt home.'  I didn't know what she meant, but she repeated it, she said you'd know what it means. "

Chloe rubbed her face in her hands. She was about to say something, but thought better of it.

He looked at her. "Yes, Ms. Donahue?"

She looked at him, and then looked away and waved him off. "Never mind. It'll keep."
 

When Heather, Justin, Justin, and Jason were leaving the school for the evening, there, on the far side of the dim parking lot was Ms. Donahue, with a tall man's arms tight around her, leaned up against her Subaru.  It looked like she was getting into the back seat with him.

Justin enthused, "Whoohoo! Would ya look at that! Right here, in the school parking lot!"

Justin replied, "Yeah, I wish we were closer."

Heather squinted. "Isn't that Nelson's dad?"

Jason queried, "I thought he and the art teacher had something going?"

Justin smirked "Not anymore, apparently. Or maybe she doesn't know."

Heather shuddered. "Let's get out of here. This isn't right."

Justin, Justin, and Jason groaned. "Girls."

Sara came out of the house when she heard Chloe's car come into the drive. She came out of the house and stood by Chloe's door as she got out.

"Chloe, I didn't even know about any of this until after Nelson had dropped off Jeanette, and by then, we figured it was too late to get back to the school to help out ..."

Chloe slammed her car door shut. She opened the back seat door, and both Chloe and Sara peered into see a still sleeping Dave curled up like a rather large child on the back seat.  Sara reached in, and got  hold of his arm, and with a mighty pull, she maneuvered him into an upright position.  Nelson had also appeared, and he ducked his head under his dad's arm, and pulled him into a standing position. Sara got under Dave's other arm, and they both adjusted until they had a good grip on him.

"Thanks, Chloe." Sara smiled sadly at her.

"Yeah, tanks, Choey," a suddenly awake Dave slurred.

Chloe sighed, and slammed the back door.

As soon as Nelson, Dave and Sara were safely away from the car, Chloe started the engine.  In her headlights she saw the three faces of the Family D'Amico. Each one sheepishly smiling at her, and waving goodbye.   She sighed again, and returned their wave as she pulled out into the night.

Marcy called around noon on Friday.

"Hey Sara."

"Hey Marcy. Dave's out in the garage. I'll go get him."

:"I don't want to talk to him. I called for you."

"Huh?"

"Good comeback. Listen. I know this is out of left field, but I need you to do something for me."

"Uh, sure, if I can. What is it?"

"I need you to go out with me tonight. I want to get shitfaced. You can get shitfaced, too, the more the merrier, as far as I'm concerned."

"Uh, Marse?  Isn't that something you should be doing with Chloe, or with Dave? You know, people that are friends of yours?

"Whatever gave you the impression you aren't a friend of mine?"

"Well, maybe that you treat me like dirt, you constantly put me down, and we do nothing but argue."

"Exactly."

"Huh?"

"Get with the program, girlfriend. That's how I treat my favorite people!   Are we on, or not?"

"What did you have in mind?"

"Dinner. Lots of cocktails. Then, whatever."

"Should I tell Dave?"

"Nah. It's girls night out!"

"Oh. I guess so. Alright."

"And Sara?  Dress up a little.  I don't get seen with just anybody, you know.  Leave the orange coveralls at home."

Sara smiled. Oh yeah?  "You too, Marcy.  Let's knock 'em dead."

"That's more like it!  See you at 7.  I'll pick you up at your house."

"See you then."  Sara hung up the phone.  Well, this is different.  What could it hurt?

Dave spent his first UPS-free Friday nursing a headache, upset stomach and vainly trying to remember what he had done given that his sister wasn't speaking to him.  He tried to call Marcy several times during the day, but she quite effectively blew him off by hanging up on him. Not being a deep thinker, Dave attributed their behavior to the fact that they were women,  as if that little fact in itself explained everything.

When Nelson got home from school, he avoided talking to Dave, too.  No one at school had said anything concrete to Nelson on the subject, but he got the feeling that his friends were looking at him with a mixture of sympathy and amusement, and Nelson didn't like that feeling one bit. They must know that Dad was trashedand passed out in the theatre. Nice going, Dad.

Chloe spent a good 5 hours looking for a missing receipt that Ron Johnson had called about and said was missing from the paperwork she had given him on Monday.  It totaled a whopping $18.62, but he acted as if Chloe was somehow being extremely derelict in her duties. By the time 5 o'clock rolled around, the missing receipt was still missing, and Chloe was royally pissed off.  She gave up, and went home. She thought it strange that she hadn't heard from Marcy, but quite accurately attributed it to the thought that Marcy was probably ticked off at her.  I'll explain all of this at rehearsals tomorrow.  It's 'dance day'.  We should have plenty of time to get this straightened out.

Dave was sitting in the kitchen, fixing himself a sandwich, when Nelson came in and announced he was leaving for his date with Jeanette.  He grabbed his coat, went out the door, and Dave looked at the clock. Hmm, almost 8, I should try calling Marcy again. He called her house, no answer, then called her cell phone and got the same result.  He decided to take a spin past her house. No little Miata was parked in the drive. Maybe she went out with Chloe.

Audra Simmons called Chloe that evening, and after some awkward moments, settled in to having a little girl talk, lesbian style. Chloe described some of the more interesting events of the last week, but left out the more damaging details of her problems with Sara. I guess I still feel protective of her. Chloe also told a bemused Audra about the '90 proof kiss' she had undergone with Dave the day before. Audra described the 'hijinx' that occurred during her trips to attend teacher union activities. She announced that teachers, as a lot, weren't great partyers because they were too concerned with their status as role models.  Chloe drily replied that surely wasn't the case at Fort Lafayette.  When Chloe got off the phone with Audra, it was nearly 10:30. She decided to take an over the counter sleeping aid, to get a good night's sleep. She spent  the remainder of the evening in bed, reading until the sleeping pills kicked in, and she zonked. Around 12:30,  she got a phone call from flustered sounding Dave.

"Chloe, it's Dave. Get dressed. We have to go on a rescue mission. I'm getting into my Explorer now, and I'll come get you."

Chloe, who had been sleeping deeply, was dimly alarmed at Dave's words. "Is anyone hurt? Is it Sara? Is it Nelson? Marcy?"

"Nobody's hurt. Nelson's not home yet.  I just got a call from my best friend Stan, and he requested I come down to his bar and pick up Marcy. Seems he thinks she's too drunk to drive."

Chloe shook her head, trying to clear it.  "This may be a stupid question, Dave, but isn't this something you could handle by yourself?"

"Well, normally, yeah. But she's got Sara with her, who also is apparently three sheets to the wind, and I sure as hell can't handle the both of them.  See you in 10."

Chloe was too sleepy to even ponder the absurdity of the situation.  Dave picked her up, and he mostly spent the drive to Stan's Bar and Grill, describing his surprise at finding out that Marcy and Sara were together. He kept saying, over and over, "I didn't even think they liked each other."  Stan's was packed, it was the popular karaoke night, so Dave had to find a parking place quite far up the road.  He said to the small redhead, still being pretty quiet, on their walk to the entrance, " We'll just go in, grab them, and be out in 5 minutes. We'll have you back in bed in a half hour."  Chloe smiled, and rubbed her eyes as Dave opened the door for her.

The recorded strains of the beginnings of an old Carpenter's tune played through the speaker system. Dave first looked behind the bar for his friend Stan, who waved at him and pointed at the small stage area, lit with neon and a small spot, across the barroom floor. The bar was standing room only, and Dave put his arm around Chloe and moved her quickly through the crowded tables and standing, hooting patrons.  Dave, being much taller than Chloe, saw their quarry before Chloe did. He stopped for a moment, and then gripped Chloe's arm tighter as he moved them closer to the little stage. Chloe may not have seen them as soon as Dave did, but she soon heard them, and moments after that, Dave had maneuvered them to within view of the stage.

Sara, looking very much like a glamorous Vegas lounge singer, in deep cut black cocktail dress, was on the small stage, sitting on a high bar stool. Marcy, in a multi-patterned, tight slinky number of her own, was sitting comfortably in Sara's lap, her arm around her waist. They were both holding onto the microphone, fingers entwined.

Sara was singing, in her low smoky voice, and staring meaningfully into Marcy's eyes. "Love, look at the two of us, strangers, in many ways ..."

Marcy pulled the microphone towards her, and returned Sara's gaze. "Let's take a lifetime time to say, I knew you well ..."

And then they both turned their heads to the crowd and sang together, Sara harmonizing with Marcy, " ... for only time, will tell us so ... " and their eyes turned back to each other, and their foreheads touched as they finished, " ... and love may grow .... for all we know."

The crowd's whistling and stomping started before the last strains of the song faded away.  Sara grinned at Marcy, who hugged her, laid a fat smooch on Sara's cheek, and waved regally at the crowd, who was yelling "More! More! More!"

Stan had worked his way over to Dave and Chloe, who were twin images of the other, in that they were both staring, eyes wide, mouths hung open in some kind of mutual paralysis.  Stan clapped his hand on Dave's shoulder, and pulled him down low, so Chloe could hear what he was shouting. "They've been up there for almost 2 hours now.  Crowd loves them, I tried to shut them off but the crowd keeps buying them drinks, and throwing out requests."

He shook his head and he stopped to laugh. He continued, loudly. "That was pretty tame. You should have been here when they did  'I Touch Myself ' ... that was something to see."

Sara stumbled, in her high heels, on the long walk to the car. Chloe, who was keeping a light hand on Sara's higher than normal back to steady her, reached and tried to keep her from falling all the way, and grabbed Sara's ass in the process.  Sara, glassy eyed and grinning, looked down at Chloe and said "Fresh!" and continued her unsteady pace along the uneven sidewalk to the Explorer.  Dave had given up trying to walk Marcy, after about ten steps of her wandering off, he just leaned over, picked her up and slung her over his shoulder. She was bouncing up and down, grinning like, well what she was, a wild eyed drunk and waving at her new bestest friend Sara, who was trailing along behind them with Chloe.

"You and me, baby. You and me!  We killed 'em all!" she joyfully crowed. Her eyeballs were bouncing in perfect syncopation with her long curls.

Sara stumbled again as she tried to dip low enough to find Chloe's ear to confide, "I really LOVE her. She's the BEST!" She blew a kiss to Marcy, who caught it, and smacked it onto her cheek.

Dave stopped at the front passenger side of the Explorer, got his keys out, unlocked it, opened the door, and being mindful of Marcy's head, still managed to plop her down ungracefully into the front seat. He belted her in, and then turned and helped Chloe get Sara into the back seat. He then headed back around, and got into the driver's side. Chloe, pushing Sara over to the other side of the vehicle, searched around, and found her own seat belt and buckled it.

The ride to Marcy's was blissfully uneventful, although Chloe thought she might suffocate from the heat that was pouring through the SUV. They had been unable to find any coats for either Sara or Marcy, and Dave said that maybe they had left them in Marcy's car, wherever that might be. So Dave, being considerate of the flimsily dressed women's welfare, cranked up the heat. Chloe stole a few glances over Sara's way, and saw that although Sara's eyes were closed, she had a tiny smile on her face and seemed to be singing small snatches of songs to herself.

Chloe couldn't help but be awed by the way Sara looked.

Chloe had seen Sara in T-shirts, sweatshirts, the occasional work shirt and jeans, but she had never seen her look anything like this before. She had make-up on, with lipstick, and her already long eyelashes seemed impossibly long.  Her hair, lustrous and free flowing, fell down over the thin straps of material that held up the extremely low cut black dress she barely wearing. The top cut below Sara's breasts, and Chloe valiantly struggled to keep her eyes off the rounded, soft exposed flesh there. The dress stopped mid thigh, and had a very nice cut up the hip that accentuated Sara's strong long legs. Chloe didn't know if it was the elevated heat in the vehicle that was making her squirm, or the thought that kept invading her mind, about how nice it would be to slip her hand under one of those small pieces of shimmering black fabric just barely covering that curved softness and ...

"We're here."  Dave grinned into the rearview mirror. Chloe sat upright and stared straight ahead. "I'll get her in the house. You keep doing such a good job watching my baby sister, I'll just get Marcy settled in, and be right back."

Chloe watched as Dave crossed in front of the vehicle, opened the door, and started gently extracting Marcy from her seat belt. He cooed soft words to her as she softly moaned her protests at having to be moved. He got her out, and carefully walked her up her front sidewalk to the front door. He unlocked the door, and they disappeared inside.

"Alone at last." murmured Sara, who had opened an eye was looking Chloe's way, one side of her mouth curled up into a sexy grin.

Chloe sucked her teeth and tried to keep her face a mask. "It would appear that way. Have fun tonight, did we?"

Sara let her head roll back against the headrest. "Oh, yeah, BIG fun."  She laughed at her own small joke. She turned to Chloe again. "What are you doing here? Hmm?  Why aren't you home, all snuggled up and warm ... in bed?"

Chloe was feeling way too tired to be spiteful. Plus, a major amount of her energy was being used to fight off the very erotic sensations she was feeling every time she looked at Sara.  She focused on Sara's upturned lips.  "Well, Dave called and asked me to come help. He thought you would be too much of a handful ... " and her eyes just naturally tracked to Sara's exposed cleavage again, and then she forcefully willed them back up to meet Sara's grinning countenance, "for him to handle the both of you.  So here I am."

"S'nice. Thank you."  Sara closed her eyes again, and let out a small sigh, that left her lips softy parted. Chloe's thoughts turned to a whole new area, as she imagined those lips, that mouth, that tongue ...

The front door opened, and Dave entered, seeing Chloe exactly the same way he had left her, sitting very upright, and staring straight ahead. The overhead light lit the smile on his face, and he looked at Sara, and then at Chloe. "Well, I got the Captain in bed, now we'll get you home, and I can get Tennille here back to the shack, too."

Chloe just nodded, and closed her eyes, too. The ride back to her house was quiet, the car warm and soon Chloe was dozing,  inhabiting a wonderfully hot and steamy dreamscape.  Erotic images of Sara, in that inviting dress, invaded her dream. There was Sara,  gently kissing and sucking down the length of her neck, and Chloe responded by using her hands to urge the unresisting Sara to straddle her.  Chloe slid her hands down from the center of Sara's long neck, down into that warm cleavage, then her hands parted and traveled outward, under the material that was covering what Chloe what so desperately wanted to possess. She heard Sara moan as her palms lightly traced a pattern on warm, pliant flesh. Chloe felt herself give her own moan in response, and her hands tightened around those giving mounds, gently increasing the pressure with each fluid squeeze. Chloe felt Sara's tongue trying to gain access to her mouth, and she opened it willingly, and felt that tongue dart deeply in and meet with her own. Sara's moans were increasing in frequency and duration as the kiss deepened and ...

"Ahem. You two want to get a room?" said Dave, trying as hard as he could not to look in the rearview mirror.

Chloe's eyes flew open to see what she suddenly knew was a reality, that Sara was straddling her, and looking down at her with such undisguised lust in her eyes that it drove all the breath out of Chloe.  Chloe's hands tightened in an involuntary reflex, and her palms felt the nipples beneath them harden anew.

"Oh, god!" Chloe yelped,  and she shoved Sara off her, into a satin heap onto the far side of the bench seat.

Sara gave her an amazed look of bewilderment.  "I thought you wanted ..." , she moaned in disappointment.

Chloe's hands were desperately searching for the seat belt release, and finally found it. She focused on Sara in embarrassed shock. "I'm so sorry ... I was asleep. I thought I was dreaming it ... " she looked up front and caught Dave's eyes glancing in the rearview mirror. Her embarrassment grew tenfold. "And Sara, your BROTHER is in the damned car ..."

Sara, still way beyond the boundaries of any semblance of sobriety, said "Oh, yeah, well ... I forgot all about him when you ..."

Chloe's hand was on the door, pushing it open. "Don't say it. Just DON'T say it." Chloe opened the door, hopped out, eased it shut, and trotted up the path to her front door.

Dave watched as Chloe safely entered her house, and pulled the car out and headed for home. Dave caught Sara's bleary scowl in his rearview mirror. She narrowed her eyes at him. He heard her, although she never spoke it aloud. Don't say it, just don't say it.

Saturday dawned with the promise of a beautiful, warm spring day, the kind of day that makes people think they may commit hari-kari if they are forced to remain indoors.  By ten AM, people were opening windows that had not been moved since October.  The stifled presence of winter quickly escaped out screened windows to be replaced by the breeze carrying in the freshness of the lake, the meanderings of birds and sounds of CD players blaring rap music, as teenagers, dressed in hastily found shorts, washed their cars.

Sara D' Amico, in her little house by the 8th hole, was unaware of the ambiance that the day carried.  She was too busy scrubbing her tongue with a toothbrush, trying to rid her mouth of the remains of Jim Beam and cigarettes. She gagged several times, and washed her mouth out liberally with  mouthwash, and repeated it again with another capful, just for good measure. Her head ached a little, her throat felt vaguely sore, and her eyes, well, they looked like she had watched a 'Little House On the Prairie' marathon, the episodes when Mary Ingalls goes blind.

She trudged the worn path from her house up to Dave and Nelson's and for the first time noticed the change in the air. I should have opened my windows before I left.  She was already nearly there, so she promptly shrugged and forgot about it. She entered the kitchen door to find both Nelson and Dave seated at the kitchen table, reading the newspaper. They both looked at her and grunted.  Rough night for everyone. She grunted in reply and poured herself a cup of coffee.

Over on the east side of town, Chloe had all her windows open wide.  She had been up since 7 AM, infused with a new  energy, that seemed to wake her and pull her from her bed.  Her sleep had been deep, and filled with images and emotions and desires that stole her mind and warmed her loins.  She awoke just before dawn, and feeling somewhat unsatisfied by the abrupt end of the dream but not the feelings they had evoked in her, found herself, to put it simply, in desperate need of relief, which with a skilled hand, she provided.  By her second cup of coffee, her romantic notions had turned to musings of a purely scientific, rational nature.  Oh, this is just great. I'm in trouble now.  I cop the greatest feel ever, get a mind blower of a kiss, and now I'm not going to be able to think or dream of anything else. I may as well give up, I'm useless.

At 11:45, newly washed cars were arriving in the parking lot at Lafayette High. Teenagers in shorts, too excited by the warm weather to want to enter the gymnasium yet, gathered around their cars in small groups and watched as others arrived. A small murmur of interest went through the small groups, as they saw the Subaru of their director arrive, followed in by a red Miata, and bringing up the rear was a green Ford pick-up truck.  Although all three vehicles arrived together, it seemed that the drivers took great pains in not parking anywhere near each other.  All the occupants of these vehicles got out, and the teenagers all watched covertly as all three adult women steered clear of each other in their trek to the building.  Sara stayed at Nelson's arm,  Chloe stopped and spoke to Mo Dean, and Marcy just trudged straight ahead, looking at no one, and up the stairs into the building.

Paul was already in the gymnasium when Marcy came in.  She walked up to him, and he noticed her rather unkempt appearance, and the black circles surrounding her eyes. She said two words to him. "Nurse's office." And she turned and headed in that direction, never to be seen again that afternoon.

Paul, whistling while he worked, was using a long pole to open the high gymnasium windows. Sara walked in, followed by Nelson and Jeanette, and they headed over to the table with the CD player on it. Sara put down her stack of CDs, and strolled over to Paul. "Good afternoon, Paul." she smiled. He smiled back, and resumed his whistling. "Paul?  Can the whistling. NOW." She gave him another smile and walked away. The whistling ceased.

Paul was opening the last window when Chloe entered, in yellow v-neck T-shirt and khaki shorts and sneakers. She walked over to greet him, and stood and watched as he propped the window open. He looked at her and smiled, "You look chipper today." Then he frowned, curious. "What's that on your neck?"

Chloe, confused, immediately went to the girls room, and returned a mere minute later, murderous eyes glued to the back of a long legged, blue jeaned, white T-shirted dance monkey.  Nearly everyone had arrived in the gym by then, and watched, with major interest, as their beloved little director stormed across the gym to stop behind their choreographer, and tap her very insistently on the shoulder.

Sara, chatting with one of the Justins, turned and saw a redfaced, redhaired woman glaring at her. "Hey Chloe, is there ..."

Chloe didn't wait for her to respond. She grabbed Sara by the wrist, and hauled her in the direction of the gym doors leading out into the hallway. Sara got the idea, and followed her without being dragged.

Chloe continued up the hallway, until she found an empty classroom that was open. She stopped and waited for Sara to catch up, and then entered, and after Sara came in, she closed the door, none too softly, behind them.

"What's up, Chloe?"

"THIS is what's up. THIS!"  Chloe was pointing to her neck, just below her right ear. The classroom was unlit, and sort of on the dim side, so Sara stepped up closer, and peered at the area Chloe was pointing to.

"I don't see anything."

Chloe's hand shot out and flipped the nearby lightswitch on. "THIS."

Sara stepped up and looked again. She got a very big, sly smile on her face. "It's a hickey."

Chloe looked like she could strangle her with just her pinky fingers. "Thank you, Dr. D' Amico, for the diagnosis." she snarled.

Sara just smiled back at her. "What're you complaining about, you're the one who started it."

"I AM NOT."

"Are too."

"I did NOT start anything. YOU did. I was sleeping, and the next thing I know ..."

"You're running your hand up my thigh, and pulling me on top of you ..."

"How would YOU know, you were drunk ..."

"Not THAT drunk that I don't remember what happened ..."

"Wait a minute, I remember what happened, you were kissing my neck ... SEE!... I have proof! ... and then everything else started ..."

"That was after you snuck your hand across the seat, and up my thigh ... oh, right about here ... "

"I did not."

"Did too."

"I wouldn't do such a thing. I was asleep."

"I think you were acting out on some deep seated desires ... "

"WAS NOT!"

"I had no idea you were asleep. From what I could tell, you knew exactly what you were doing ..."  Sara grinned at the memory. "It sure FELT that way to me."

Chloe couldn't argue with that logic. She leaned up against the blackboard in defeat. "But what about this?" she said wearily. She pointed at her neck again.

Sara took a step closer. She could feel the heat coming off Chloe's body.   Sara placed her hands on the blackboard, on either sides of Chloe's shoulders, and leaned in, so she was almost nose to nose with Chloe. Chloe trembled, but did not move away.

Sara's eyes bored into the unblinking green of Chloe's. Her voice was husky.  "I promise that next time, I'll be more careful. I won't leave any marks, at least ones that anyone can see. As long as you promise me ... "  She backed away a mere breath, "... that next time, you will put your mouth where your hands were last night. I can still feel them on me, now."

Chloe was only human, after all. There was only so much she could take, and she had never heard a sweeter, sillier, or sexier promise. She wrapped her arms around Sara's neck, and hesitated only briefly before stating. "I promise."

Sara smiled, for at last her heart was free. She leaned in the remaining space, and lightly ran her tongue across Chloe's lips, moistening them, before she placed hers there, and the kiss began at last. The kiss began slowly, tenderly, both with the good intentions of not wanting to rush the other. But time and desire had effectively muted their ability to hold back. They  surged forward, unstoppable, each new thrust of tongue escalated their desire, multiplying it. Chloe's hand reached boldly for the breast it desired, and finding it brought the kiss a deeper urgency, a moan and another thrust of tongue, biting of lip, clashing of teeth. What had started slowly was stoked to a fever pitch in the mere flicker of time.  So long had they held back, it seemed impossible to slow down now. Gasping for breath, Sara dropped her head and began kissing Chloe below her hairline, and she dropped her hands and placed them on Chloes butt and lifted. Chloe's legs rose and wrapped themselves around Sara. Sara stopped kissing her neck, and pushed Chloe up against the blackboard, they were eye to fevered eye. Sara dove her tongue into Chloe's mouth again and swirled it, and was rewarded with a return thrust and a tightening of legs around Sara's waist. Chloe's hand was just about to slide up Sara's T-shirt when there was a noise in the hallway. Sara almost dropped her, but then slowly let Chloe slide her legs down to the floor. Their eyes locked, and they nervously watched the door for a moment, quietly catching their breath, and then when nothing happened, they returned their gaze to each other.

Smaller smiles grew into larger on both faces as they recognized and accepted the love and desire reflecting back and forth between their eyes.

"Wow." blinked Chloe. "That was the greatest two minutes of my life. I wonder what we could do with, say ... hours? Days?"

"Yeah."  Sara panted, and her hand reached out and stroked Chloe's warm cheek.  She ran her thumb across Chloe's nose, and down across her parted lips.  "The way my heart's pounding now, five minutes may be the death of me..." she said, her voice dropping, and looking a bit shy.

Chloe laughed softly. "You're feeling shy after what just happened  here?" Her lips kissed Sara's lingering thumb, and then she took it playfully in between her teeth and bit it.  Sara's heart, which had just settled down, began to beat a little faster, and then faster yet, as she watched Chloe pull her thumb into her mouth and began to softly suck on it, never taking her eyes off  Sara's. Sara felt a renewed jolt pass through her. And then she laughed, and pulled her warm and wet digit from Chloes mouth. Chloe gave her a mock frown, then grinned. "Soon, Sara. Soon."

They stepped away from each other, knowing that soon was not going to happen any time soon enough. There was dancing to be done. Both sighed. And smiled. Sara leaned and placed a soft kiss on Chloe's lips. "Let's  have some fun today, Chloe, it's springtime, and I'm in love." She watched a wonderful sparkle explode in Chloe's eyes. Chloe nodded, and after sneaking a giggling look up and down the hallway, they headed back up to the gym.
 

Continued in Part XIII

Email me with feedback: L.A. Tucker