Chapter 33: Circumstances l

-- FRIDAY, MAY 12, 2006, FINALS WEEK --

"Hey there, stranger," Bert greeted me with a fist bump at our usual intersection, and he hooked his thumbs into the straps of his backpack. "How are you feeling?"

"Been better; been worse," I replied with a shrug.

"You ready for this?" he asked, nodding his head up the hill toward Cheit Hall and the first of our last undergraduate Final Exams. Spring Finals Week was structured for graduating Seniors to start our exams early and finish by the middle of next week so that our grades would be computed in time before next Saturday's Commencement ceremonies.

I sighed, followed his gaze, and started walking in that direction. "Ready? Not so much."

"I take it you haven't gotten a whole lot of studying done the last couple of days," Bert commented as he fell into step alongside me.

"Barely cracked open a book."

"And yet you'll still get a higher grade on this Final than I will." Bert shook his head ruefully. "That's fairness for you."

I snorted. "I doubt it."

"Whatever. Not that it's important, of course. All that matters is that we graduate, right?"

I nodded. "Exactly. I'm just trying to survive the next few days."

"Well I'm sure you'll have plenty of help staying alive. I am led to believe there are a disproportionate number of ridiculously gorgeous females with a vested interest in your continued existence," he drawled laconically.

I rolled my eyes.

"And you also have one not-so-attractive but no less loyal male who wants to make sure you come out of the next week or so alive and kicking," he added with a smile. At my arched eyebrow, he chuckled and added, "Yes, me. I got your back, dude."

I smirked and shook my head. "And what has brought about this sudden declaration of bro-affection?"

Bert grinned. "Kim called me last night. Had quite the interesting story to tell. 'Self-Interest'? Really? That's corny, even for you."

I shrugged. "It's sincere. I gave her a choice, nothing more."

"You gave her a commitment, and that's serious."

"Well, it's not an engagement ring."

Bert gave me an odd look. "Maybe not, but it's not very far off, either."

I shrugged again. "She's pregnant with my baby. A commitment to taking care of both her and my son was the least I should do. Presenting her with that collar was the easy part."

"Presenting it in front of her father could NOT have been easy. Doing that had to take balls of steel."

I chuckled and shook my head wryly. "Well, I was a little amped up at the time. But I didn't do it just for drama's sake. It got the point across, and even with the challenge of doing it in front of her father, that was still the easy part."

"And the hard part?"

I set my jaw and gave Bert a serious look. "Following through. Recognizing that my life isn't just about my life anymore. Frankly, it never was. Like you said, there are people who have a vested interest in my continued survival, people who depend on me having a role in their lives. I've long talked to myself about being mindful of the consequences of my actions, but for too long I've been more concerned with the impact my actions have on ME and not enough on how they impact everyone else. 'What's the worst that can happen?' I told myself. Anything short of death, I figured, was survivable and a learning experience. But even though I somehow managed to NOT get myself killed six days ago, I still fucked up a lot of other peoples' lives. I can't live like that anymore. I have to do a better job of considering everyone else, chief among them: Kim and my son."

Bert nodded silently, processing all of that.

"By the way," I began, changing the subject. "I don't think I properly thanked you for handling the Capstone presentation without me."

"Thank Sasha. She pretty much took over all of your section."

"I did. Still, thank you."

Bert shrugged. "No biggie. Just one more thing I'm glad is out of the way."

"Well let's get this Final done, and then you'll have two things out of the way."

"And then I'll be halfway there," Bert muttered, almost to himself.

Bert had four classes this semester, but I knew him too well and something in his tone told me he wasn't talking only about being halfway done with those. "Halfway to what?"

Bert blinked in surprise, and looked over at me like he hadn't realized he'd said that aloud. Immediately nervous, he blushed and tried to shake it off, babbling, "Ah, nothing, nothing. C'mon man, we gotta get going."

"No ... what?" I pressed, my curiosity piqued. I reached out with one arm and stopped him.

"Seriously, we've got a Final in ten minutes and I don't want to distract you. It's nothing."

"It's not 'nothing', and you not telling me is going to distract me even more. C'mon, dude. Spill."

Bert sighed, glanced around to make sure no one was immediately around us, and he stepped in a little closer. "You can't tell anyone."

I snorted. "If you're gonna be this bad about hiding your little 'halfway there' comments, I won't have to worry."

"BEN!"

"Fine, fine ... I'm your best buddy. I swear I won't tell."

"Not even Sasha. Not even Adrienne. You sure you can do that?"

I smirked and shook my head. "Okay now you're hyping it way too much. All this build-up and you're gonna reveal some dirty secret that's not even gonna make me blink, aren't you?"

Bert rolled his eyes, dug into his pocket, and pulled out a black velvet jewelry box. With two hands, he opened it and showed me a sparkling diamond solitaire ring inside.

My jaw was on the ground, but I managed to pick it back up as I leaned forward and gawked, "Oh my gawd. I may have given Kim a commitment, but that is an engagement ring."

Bert nodded with a bit of a hopeful smile.

"For Lynne?"

"No, for Kady you dumbass."

"I ... but ... You guys have only been together for what..."

"Almost ten months."

"And you're already proposing?"

He smirked. "What, you're going to lecture me about rushing to the altar?"

"But when? How?"

Bert snapped the box closed and shoved it back into his pocket. "Not until after I graduate, at the earliest. I was thinking of waiting until Lynne's graduation in June, but to be honest I'm not entirely sure I can keep this under wraps that long. So now I'm wondering if I should do it over a nice dinner, or maybe after I get MY diploma and she meets me at the end of the ramp coming off stage. I've had this thing for a week already and it's been burning a hole in my pocket ever since. Might need to borrow those balls of steel if you know what I mean."

I blinked rapidly. "Does she have any idea?"

Bert shook his head. "I don't think so. Course, the longer I sit on this the more awkward I'm eventually gonna get. But I'm more careful around her, at least. Plus, I usually leave it at home, where no one can find it. But I wanted to bring it to school today as a memento of what's really motivating me to get through the end of school."

"End of school? Thought you were getting your MBA?"

"I am. And she's still getting her Masters at Stanford, too. But this is my commitment to her. I don't plan on rushing us into a wedding, and I'm perfectly comfortable having a long, long engagement if that's what's best for us. But I already know I'm never going to find a woman in the world any better than Lynne. Hanging around you I've had the opportunity to see quite a few other options, to have tempting thoughts about those ridiculously gorgeous females who are always orbiting around you. But I wouldn't trade any of them for Lynne, not even for the lot of them. Not for Adrienne, not even for Kim. Because Lynne means the world to me, and because – like you've told me over and again – she chose ME."

"Damn straight," I said with a smile. A sudden thought occurred. "Wait, do your parents know?"

"You kidding me? Like I would just spring this on them. I told my Mom what I was thinking of doing, and she was all for it. Mom loves Lynne just as much as everyone else seems to."

"Even though she's not Korean?"

"We live in a modern world," Bert replied with a shrug. "Have you told YOUR parents? About Kim and the collar?"

"Yes, I called in the morning and told them what I was planning to do about Kim and living together and raising our baby, and I also called them last night after everything was done. I think my parents expected it, but they knew I had some issues with Kim's dad and they're both relieved I've seemingly resolved them. But no, I didn't tell them about the collar. No reason to throw that in there."

"You called in the morning? What if they'd said no?"

I snorted. "They didn't, so it's a moot point. But even if they had, I'm a grown 22-year-old man making my own decisions."

"I just thought after what you said about your parents giving you that lecture and all..."

I shook my head. "I'll do a better job of keeping them informed, and I'm sure they would have said something on that phone call if I was WAY off, but my parents did raise me to be independent and make my own decisions. Besides, this is MY life. It's just like you and Lynne, or are you gonna tell me that if your parents disapproved, you wouldn't marry her anyway."

Bert thought about that. "Huh ... I guess you're right."

I nodded. "Well then. I suppose congratulations are in order for you."

Bert grinned. "And you. But first," Bert added, starting to walk toward class once again. "We've got to survive the next few days."

I smirked and shook my head. "If you really want to propose after you get your diploma, you'll have to survive the next WEEK. And if you keep bringing that jewelry box to school, there's no WAY you're gonna keep this a secret that long, not from Sasha or Adrienne."

"Doesn't matter in the end," Bert sighed. "I just need to keep it a secret from Lynne."

I elbowed him. "Well, and Lynne has to say 'yes'."

Bert gulped. "That too."

About three hours later, Bert and I walked out of the Cheit lecture hall feeling a little more haggard but still fairly confident in ourselves. Our Final Exam wasn't nearly as bad as either of us had worried, and since our Isakova Capstone was already over with as well, I patted him on the back, saying, "Two classes down, two to go, right?"

He nodded and patted his pocket. "Halfway there. Wish I had your schedule now; you've only got one more Final left."

"On Tuesday. Then I'm home free." I smiled and said, "Let's go meet the girls."

Bert nodded and gestured for me to lead the way. Sasha had an afternoon Final, and since Paige was an academic Junior she didn't have any Finals until next week, so both of them were meeting us at our usual Thai joint. But before we could walk out the front doors I heard my name being called.

"Benjamin!"

I turned around and popped my eyebrows in surprise to see Viktoriya marching quickly toward us. Although my most recent memories of her had been fictionally far-fetched ones of fucking her brains out over the desk in her office, I knew I hadn't actually seen her since leaving her office after class on May 5th, when she'd declared her profound disappointment in me not stepping up and commanding Kim to come home with me. With that disappointment in mind, I took a deep breath and prepared to go on the defensive, but before I could say anything she walked up and wrapped her arms around me in a fierce hug.

"Are you alright?" she asked right into my ear.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm fine." I returned her hug and patted her shoulder gently. I didn't feel embarrassed that a bunch of my classmates were watching Professor Ice hug me; pretty much everyone knew I was her Teacher's Pet by now. Besides, I'd been getting plenty of strange looks and awkward questions ever since I'd removed the baseball cap I wasn't allowed to wear during the exam and everyone had gotten a look at my new buzz cut and head bandage.

Breaking the hug, Viktoriya pulled back but kept her hands on my shoulders. Giving me a firm look, she took a deep breath and stated, "I owe you an apology. I was wrong."

I frowned. "Wrong about what?"

"Wrong about Kim. Wrong about you. I do not like to admit it, but even I can be mistaken about these things."

I smirked and shook my head. "You weren't wrong. Everything you said made sense, and I DID need to man up and go get her. Maybe she didn't need me to command her like you thought, but you were certainly right about everything else."

She thought about that and nodded. "I suppose."

"I still want to thank you, for giving me a kick in the butt. I needed it."

She gave me a wry grin and drawled in a mischievous tone, "I will be happy to kick you in the butt, anytime." Her Russian accent somehow made the statement even sexier than it already was.

I smirked and shook my head, and I looked around to find that my classmates had circled in a little too close for comfort. Inclining my head toward the exit, I asked, "Were you on your way out?"

She glanced around as well, noted the crowd, and nodded. Together with Bert, we headed for the exit and once outside, she looked at me and asked, "So what happens now?"

"With Kim?"

"With you."

"Well, first I've got to graduate. Then I get a job. Gonna have a family to provide for. I'm sorry, but that means I won't be returning in the fall for my MBA. I'll have my withdrawal paperwork in before the end of next week."

Viktoriya pursed her lips and nodded. "Kim told me as much. I cannot say I am pleased, but I understood your withdrawal would be likely should you ever take ownership of her."

I smirked and shook my head. "Not taking 'ownership' of her."

"You know what I mean." She sighed. "I suppose it was a lose-lose situation for me from the beginning. I would have been disappointed in you if you did NOT take responsibility for her, and now that you have I am still losing you as a student."

"I'd like to think it was a win-win situation for you. Either you got to keep me as a student, or you got to see Kim taken care of. As it is, I'm taking care of Kim and hey, you still get to keep Bert over there as a student."

Bert's eyebrows popped up at the sound of his name, and Viktoriya laughed. "That is true. You have been one of my favorite students, Robert," she told him.

I leaned in, covered my mouth with one hand, and whispered so that Bert couldn't hear, "But hands off him, okay? I'm rather fond of his girlfriend."

Viktoriya gave me a delicious smile and replied, "No need. In this win-win situation, you will soon no longer be my student, but this also means that you will soon no longer be my student."

My eyebrows popped, and suddenly that fantasy of bending Viktoriya over her desk didn't seem so far-fetched.

-- SATURDAY, MAY 13, 2006 --

The news of Bert's impending proposal, finishing off another academic course, and the promise of a future hookup with my gorgeous older professor were just the start of a really great Friday filled with friends, family, and fun. But the merriness of Friday eventually gave way to a much more solemn Saturday.

The bow of the sleek sailboat bobbed up and down with the swell of open ocean waves. Our departure from the San Francisco pier had been quite calm, but after passing beneath the Golden Gate Bridge and cruising out into the Pacific Ocean, the water had steadily become more and more tempestuous, although the boat's crew assured us the weather posed no threat.

We'd cast off amidst a typical San Francisco fog which hung around even this late in the afternoon. The sky had been overcast all day, somber weather for a somber occasion. But as we moved further and further away from the coastline, the omnipresent gray began to give way to patches of blue sky, until finally the setting sun itself began to shine through.

Eventually, the sun broke into full view, the clouds gradually retreating behind us as we moved on and on. As the bright star dipped toward the horizon, it painted the sky and cast the receding clouds with brilliantly warm colors that surrounded us with light. And only then did we finally come to a stop, bobbing gently on the waves.

Nestled beneath my left arm, Sasha covered her mouth and her cheeks bulged for a moment. I stroked her opposite arm and asked quietly, "Seasick?"

She blinked and looked up at me for a moment, replying, "Nauseous, yes; but not from the ocean."

I sighed and nodded my understanding. Our purpose for coming way out here had been weighing heavily on everyone's minds. We hadn't spoken our thoughts aloud much, but I could tell everyone was thinking about it at some point or another. We tried to focus on the good things in memory, the happy moments that defined the way Cameron and Elyse had lived, and not the horrible ways in which they'd died.

To that end, I'd done a lot of talking with our additional guests. Amber had told me that some of Cameron's friends would be joining us to scatter our dearly departed friends' ashes at sea, but I hadn't really known them personally, not even Rebecca. In addition to the one ex-girlfriend of Carter's I'd known about, I'd been introduced to Kelly, Mary, and Audrey. I'd been told that Carter's other girlfriends Judene and Jessica had already split town with some guy named Chad, but I didn't really care to follow-up on that topic.

Kelly had started the conversation, asking for my version of the events that transpired that fateful Sixth of May. She told me that she'd been one of Cameron's oldest remaining friends, that she'd also received a desperate text message, and that she'd also arrived at Carter's mansion that night looking for a way to help her friend. She'd been in the Ready Room with Rebecca, trying to get information out of her old co-girlfriend when the gunshots had gone off. She'd been one of the first ones on the scene immediately after, holding Cameron's lifeless body in her arms and pleading with her not to go away.

Kelly thanked me for trying to rescue Cameron, and wouldn't accept my apology for not saving her. I told her Cameron wouldn't have shot herself in the first place if I hadn't been there, but she brushed off my words by saying that only Carter could be blamed for the situation Cameron had been in. The rest of the girls agreed, although I thought I saw Audrey giving me some dark looks after that.

We switched gears and started remembering the good times with Elyse and Cameron. Adrienne and I recalled the gorgeous, confident young woman who'd taken an innocent, scared 12-year-old and molded her into the high school's next Queen Bee. Adrienne spoke of her one-time best friend, and she forgave that best friend for everything that had come after. Kelly and Rebecca talked about early life with Cameron and Carter, and I had to admit I felt bad for a guy who'd lost his mother and put so much effort and energy into caring for her comatose body. Plus, it was interesting to hear about a family dynamic that was in many ways similar to my own, and yet also so very different. A part of me didn't want to talk about it, wanted to just put everything behind me and forget it all ever happened. But a part of me HAD to talk about it, HAD to know just what it was about Carter and Cameron and their relationship that ultimately led to that night when everybody died.

Kelly told me about their "sibling" relationship. Rebecca, Mary, and Audrey told me everything they knew about life in the harem, about Cameron's imprisonment, and Elyse's return to Casa de Carter in a last-gasp effort to feed her addiction.

Our conversation ended when I started revisiting the memory of watching Cameron shoot herself, of witnessing the life flash out of her eyes as the gun went off. It was joined by a vision of Elyse, her eyes wide in terror as the meth lab around her exploded into flaming heat that burned the skin off her flesh and melted her face. Those two horrors haunted me, and in the end Adrienne and Sasha had to pull me back and reassure me that everything would be alright. They'd gotten my head screwed back on straight, and a little fresh air did wonders for clearing my mind. So did the spectacular sunset. But then it was Sasha's turn to get a little nauseous thinking about the ugliness of everything, and it was my turn to help her.

With the sails dropped, the skipper turned on the engine and steered the boat in a broad circle while the girls scattered flowers in our wake. Once a full circuit had been completed, the boat steered into the middle of the ring of flowers and we collected on the starboard side, facing the setting sun which was now only minutes away from touching down into the water on the far horizon.

Amber said a few words. So did Adrienne. When she came back, Adrienne squeezed my hand and gave me a look, asking if I wanted to say anything. I did, actually. In the morning I'd worked up a little speech about meeting 'Serena Grey' on my doorstep, a broken girl who had lost her way, and how that broken girl had saved my life, found redemption, and once again became the 'Elyse Laughton' I used to know. But the words caught in my throat, and in the end I simply mumbled, "I'm so sorry."

Adrienne squeezed my hand again, and Kelly stepped up to say something. Rebecca went last, and she went on a little longer than the others, although I don't really remember exactly what she said.

When Rebecca was done, the sun was about halfway below the horizon. Amber and Adrienne did the honors of holding the two handcrafted boxes that held Cameron's and Elyse's ashes, respectively. They bid their friends a final goodbye, opened the boxes, and poured out the girls' earthly remains.

Sasha cried the whole time. Adrienne held it together until we got home. But even she let the waterworks flow once the three of us were in bed.

Surprisingly, I didn't cry anymore. The next day, Adrienne joked that I'd probably cried more in the last week than in the previous twenty-two years of my life, and my tear ducts had simply run dry. But in the moment, I simply felt too tired to cry anymore. I was sad, yes. But I'd beaten myself up for a week already, asking myself what I could have done differently and swallowing the regret that came with realizing I hadn't done so.

Cameron was gone.

Elyse was gone.

Their bodies had finally been put to rest, and nothing I could ever do would bring them back.

So the only choice I had left was to move on.

-- SUNDAY, MAY 14, 2006 --

"Right pick, right pick!"

Hearing the warning, my foot moved forward as well as to the right as I stepped around the screen that Nick had set. Since I hadn't been picked off, I was in great position to turn and track Mike's right shoulder as he collected the ball at the three-point line and launched into his shooting motion. Twisting my shoulders, I extended my left arm out as far as I could into his path. And I was rewarded with the feeling of the basketball thumping off my left wrist as it was deflected out of bounds into the fence that separated the Fukuzaki's yard from their neighbors.

"Yes! Great block!" John Fukuzaki, the eldest son cheered as he raised his hand to me for a high-five.

I clapped John's hand with my own and smiled. It felt really good to be up and about again, really using my body without restrictions. Now a week since my little "incident", I was feeling just about normal. I'd stopped taking the painkillers that had been emblazoned with warning labels to not operate heavy machinery or drive a car. My head wound had healed to the point where merely turning my head rapidly in one direction or the other wouldn't cause me to wince as the skin was tugged. And free of the mind-fogging effects of my drugs, I actually forgot sometimes that I even had a head wound to protect.

"Hey! No fair helping out your boyfriend if you're not even on the court!" Mike complained in the direction of the barbecue island where Kim, Mr. Fukuzaki, John's wife Mary, and their son Samuel (Jesus) were hanging out while grilling dinner.

Looking anything but apologetic, Kim shrugged and replied, "You shouldn't have taken such an obvious shot."

Mike glowered at his sister before glancing over at me, complaining, "You're a bad influence on her, you know? I liked it better when she'd just stay quiet instead of talking back."

Mike's smirk belied any sense of actual annoyance, and as he returned to the top of the key he cracked at his sister, "Mind the kid, not the game."

Kim sighed and glanced at me for a moment. I'd noticed how her attention kept drifting over to the game, as "Jesus" was pretty well occupied in his toys. Plus, I could see the wistful expression on her face, the kind of look someone had when they wished they could join the game.

"How about next game we play 3-on-3?" I suggested. "We get Kim and you get your Dad."

Nick made a face. "Are you kidding me? Dad would kill us if anyone so much as touched her, let alone fouled her."

Mike added, "He hasn't let her play since she came home pregnant. Too dangerous."

"That's kind of my point," I replied. "C'mon, let her at least stand in the corner and shoot threes. You can have your dad guard her and then it's all on him."

"Yeah, right," Mike scoffed. "She knows we won't touch her and she'll just drive the lane for an uncontested layup."

"There's no fun in that, either. I get that she can't play 2-on-2, since there's no way to avoid contact," I agreed. "But 3-on-3? We could make it work. No contact, and at least she can participate."

Putting the ball on his hip, Mike looked thoughtful and exchanged a glance with his brothers. It was John, the eldest, who finally turned around and called out, "Hey Dad? What do you think about you and Kim joining us for 3-on-3?"

Mr. Fukuzaki had his back to us as he looked over the grill, but he turned and frowned at his son. "Kim? Playing?"

"Sure. You've kept her on lockdown for more than three months already." John didn't bother to explain any more. Despite having his back to us, we were all pretty sure their dad had heard every word of our little exchange.

At first, Mr. Fukuzaki glowered at me (with an expression quite similar to Mike's initial glower at Kim, actually). He knew I'd made the suggestion to let Kim play despite his standing orders that she not. Since I knew I wasn't exactly on his good side – and maybe it was too soon for me to start pushing his boundaries like this – I was prepared for him to shoot the idea down cold. But to everyone's surprise, after taking a deep breath he looked over at John's wife and said, "Mary, can you please watch the steaks?"

"Of course!" Mary replied and shot a glance at Kim with an almost giddy smile.

For her part, Kim was suddenly scrutinizing the patio tiles beneath her feet, biting her lip and not daring to hope for what she thought was about to happen.

But a moment later, Mr. Fukuzaki said calmly, "Go get dressed."

Though she kept her eyes downcast, there was no mistaking the way Kim's face lit up as a big smile split her face almost from ear to ear. "Yes, sir," she replied demurely, just managing to contain her delight. But before she dashed into the house, she glanced at me with a happy face that on its own almost made all the emotional turmoil I'd gone through to get her back worthwhile.

Watching his daughter go with such enthusiasm, Mr. Fukuzaki chuckled to himself before taking a deep breath and looking back at me. He didn't say anything. He didn't need to say anything. But before he went into the house to change himself, he inclined his head ever so slightly and gave me a little smile.

-- MONDAY, MAY 15, 2006, FINALS WEEK --

Spending Sunday with the Fukuzakis had done wonders for taking my mind off the past and letting me live in the present with hope for the future. Sasha and Adrienne had both encouraged me to go, and I was thankful for the break, but Monday was my turn to do something for them to take their minds off Elyse and Cameron.

Although Sasha had an afternoon Final and chose to spend the morning at the Tri-Delt house to focus on studying, I took Adrienne out on an impromptu wine tasting tour of Napa Valley wineries that included a picnic lunch on a blanket beneath a secluded, shady tree. Dessert was Adrienne's pussy on that very same blanket, and while "our way" of making love was usually pretty hot and heavy, that afternoon we were definitely more in a "soft and tender" kind of mood.

We returned in time for dinner, and afterwards a much refreshed Adrienne volunteered to stay home while I took my girlfriend out to go mini-golfing. Yes, I got my hole-in-one to win a free game. And yes, Sasha jumped into my arms squealing in delight as the bells and alarms went off around us. For a couple of hours, at least, we got to forget about our troubles and just enjoy being young. But only for a couple of hours, and then it was back home to study one last time.

For Sasha and me both, there was one more Final to go.

-- TUESDAY, MAY 16, 2006, FINALS WEEK --

I thrust forward a final time, closing my eyes and bowing my head as I grunted out my orgasm, feeling the delight of a quart of spunk flowing out of me and into Adrienne's suddenly spasming pussy. My pelvis pivoted forward with my knees as fulcrums such that my feet came off the bed, all of my weight and energy being put into that final deep thrust. And I kept my cock buried at full depth down the gorgeous supermodel's vaginal canal, straining with my back and leg muscles while I spat out glob after glob of boiling cum into the deepest recesses of the most desirable pussy in the world.

"Ohhhh ... migawwwddd..." Adrienne groaned in response while she pressed her right cheek into the pillow beneath her. She lay flat and face-down beneath me, her arms and knees both spread to the sides. A small puddle of drool darkened the sheets, and the quivering from her lower lip eventually expanded into a full shiver across her body as her orgasm rippled down to her toes and fingertips.

Like a light bulb going dim, I felt the energy of my climax fade from me, as did the tension in my shoulders and chest. Slowly, my fingers released their grip on the edge of the mattress where it met the headboard, and I relaxed my forearms from the strain of using them as the primary method of driving my entire body back and forth while pounding my cock into my lover's snatch from behind. I let my head fall all the way forward until my forehead was pressed against her right shoulder blade. And with a satisfied moan, I lowered the rest of my body down until my naked chest was pressed tight against her equally naked back.

"That one felt just about normal 'Big Ben'," Adrienne sighed in satisfaction. "You're getting your stamina back."

"Playing my way back into game shape," I mumbled while taking deep breaths. I extended my neck so that I could plant a tender kiss on her cheek.

She hummed happily and turned her face further so that our lips could meet. With my cock still snugly embedded inside her, I hooked my legs around the outsides of hers and drew them together beneath me. At the same time, I stretched my arms out to place my palms on the backs of her hands, interlacing our fingers together and drawing them toward her face.

"Mmm..." Adrienne hummed as she felt me giving her a full-body hug. "I wish I could feel like this forever."

"That WOULD be great, but unfortunately it's not gonna happen today. I've got one more Final this morning, the very last one."

Adrienne sighed and muttered, "And I've got to get to work, too."

"The go-go-go life of an in-demand supermodel."

"Yeah ... Always working. But you know what the bright side is now?"

"What's that?"

She turned her head and used her fingers to bring the back of my hand to her lips. "I get to see you again tonight."

"Absolutely."

"We'll celebrate the end of your academic career. Sasha's too."

I chuckled. "Absolutely."

"Gawd. Why the hell did I ever move away from you in the first place when I could have had this to look forward to every day of my life?"

"I have no fucking clue. But that's all in the past now. I'm here. You're here. And you and I are NEVER going to be apart again, right?"

Now Adrienne craned her head around enough to peck my lips again. "Never again, Tiger. Never again."

Feeling a gas bubble coming on, I sat up straight, tapped my chest twice, and then cut loose with a loud, "[BRAAAAAP]."

Adrienne giggled. Sasha rolled her eyes and commented, "Didn't we talk about this burping thing?"

Tapping my chest again to make sure I'd gotten it all out, I shrugged and replied, "When it's coming, it's coming. And it's not like I burped in your face."

"What happened to caring about how you come off in front of me and still trying to impress me?"

I waved a hand. "Ship has sailed on the burping. You should be glad that despite living with me for the last few months I still try to contain my farts until you're out of the room."

"Eww." Both Sasha AND Adrienne made faces this time, but both were also grinning moments later.

"If anything," I continued. "You should be appreciative. Burping after a meal is considered quite the compliment in many cultures."

"Yeah, not this one," Sasha commented dryly.

"Well then, I shall compliment you the old-fashioned way," I stated theatrically, with a rolling wave of my right hand and a short head bow. "Thank you very much for the waffles, my dear. They were delicious."

"You're most welcome," she replied with a smile and a head bow of her own.

I grinned. "Should I expect this treatment for the foreseeable future? One of you goes downstairs to make breakfast while the other stays with me for morning sex?"

The girls looked at each other, smirked, and turned back to face me. Adrienne adopted a wide-eyed innocent look and said, "I kinda like this rotation."

Sasha grinned and added, "I agree. Tomorrow morning YOU'RE making breakfast, and A.D. and I will stay in bed for sex. Good plan!" She raised her hand, and Adrienne clapped it in a high five.

"Hey!" I protested, but with a grin.

Adrienne shrugged. "You're pretty much healthy now. We're lifting Mom's moratorium on you defying death by being with five feet of an open flame, so no more excuses. Time for you to put those Project Ben skills back to work."

"Aww ... I was getting to like being waited on hand and foot."

Exactly why did I want to learn how to cook for myself again? Oh, yeah. Amber dared me to.

Stupid Amber.

"Well I'll continue waiting on you for today at least. I'll clean up the dishes," Adrienne offered. "You two had better get off to your last Final."

Sasha nodded at me and she turned around to get her roller bag. I started pushing back from the table as well, but I still had a final piece of waffle on my plate. I grabbed it, shoved it in my mouth, and stood up while simultaneously raising the strap of my messenger bag over my head and onto my opposite shoulder. "Shall we?" I asked Sasha with my mouth full.

It came out, "Shuhwee?"

With a chuckle, Sasha reached up to poke my full cheek, but I'd learned a little bit this year, and I kept my mouth sealed to prevent crumbs from dribbling down my shirt.

She grinned, pecked my lips, and nodded her head. "Let's go."

"Ace! Game! Set! Match! Boo-yah!" Dropping my Xbox 360 controller to the floor, I raised my arms in triumph.

"That's B.S. man," Bert sighed as he slumped in his seat. "I tried the safest return shot possible and didn't get a racquet on it? I think this game is rigged."

"Don't blame me. It's your game."

"We're switching controllers."

"What?"

"That's three matches in a row. We're switching controllers."

"And give up my lucky controller?" I snorted. "No way."

"Hellooo..." Paige drawled in annoyance from just a few feet away from us. "Somebody here still has Finals to study for. Two somebodies, Bert."

"Like YOU weren't goofing off thirty minutes ago," Bert cracked back.

"Yeah, well I've pretty much got my straight-A's in the bag." Paige smirked. "YOU on the other hand, need to actually do well on this test. It's your last one. Surely you can keep your focus long enough to survive just one more test."

"I DID focus for two hours already," Bert insisted. "I deserved a break."

"A break long enough to play three tennis matches in a row?"

He shrugged. "Final isn't until tomorrow morning anyway."

"Yeah, well it's starting to get pretty late," Paige muttered while looking up at the grandfather clock. "My tummy's grumbling, which means that you and I should be thinking about dinner and Ben should be getting ready for his hot date tonight."

"It's not a 'date'. Adrienne's just taking me and Sasha out to celebrate the end of our Finals."

"You, Sasha, and Adrienne ... having dinner at a nice restaurant ... and probably having sex together afterwards. Three people or not, how is that NOT a date?" Paige smirked and glanced over at Bert. "You want a ride to the BART station?"

"Ungh..." Bert clapped both hands over his eyes and sagged against the backrest. After rubbing his face a couple of times, he took a deep breath, sat up, and nodded. "Yeah, thanks. But this isn't over, Ben. I want a rematch tomorrow afternoon after MY Final."

I chuckled and waved at him. "Sure thing, dude. But I'm keeping MY controller. Gonna sharpie it with my name so you can't switch them up on me."

"You do that and you'll owe me fifty bucks to buy a new one."

I smirked and waved him on. He busied himself with putting his books into his backpack while I packed away the Xbox controllers beneath the TV. When I stood up, Paige was waiting to hug me, and I bent down so she could peck my lips. "See ya tomorrow, Red. Say 'hi' to the family for me, especially April."

"Sure thing," she replied with a grin before turning and heading for the hallway.

Bert fist bumped me and I gave him a serious look. "You'll do fine. One last test and it's all over. Well, the academics at least."

"Yeah, until August and then it's right back to the grind. Seriously, it's gonna feel weird attending classes without you."

"Relax. Isakova will be good to you."

"But not like she was good to you."

I smirked. "Maybe not, but you're still one of her favorite students. You'll be fine. Besides, you're getting ahead of yourself. Still have one more Final tomorrow morning."

"I know, I know. Last one..." He patted his pocket.

I glanced at Paige for a moment before leaning in so that she couldn't see or hear me, and I asked beneath my breath, "You decide when to do it?"

"Commencement, as I'm coming off stage," he muttered right back. "Xboxing de-stresses me from more than just academics."

I smirked and nodded, clapping him on the shoulder. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Right. See you tomorrow." With a smile, Bert turned and headed out.

I followed my friends to the door, and Paige stopped one last time to give me another peck on the lips.

"You enjoy yourself tonight. I picked out the restaurant myself," she said brightly, a naughty twinkle in her eyes.

I frowned and growled in a warning tone, "Paige..."

"Relax. It's all good." She giggled and waved me off before waggling her eyebrows and adding in an ominous tone, "Trust me..."

Shaking my head, I waved my friends goodbye as they stepped off the porch and headed for Paige's car. I locked the door behind them, and was heading back down the hallway to return to the living room when my phone chimed to tell me I'd received a text message. I'd left the phone itself on the end table next to the sofa, so I retrieved it and flipped it open to read the message from Adrienne.

Chez Panisse. 7pm sharp.

I noted that the text had been sent to both me and Sasha. My girlfriend had spent the afternoon at the Tri-Delt house to hang out with her friends while I videogamed with Bert. Closing up my phone, I headed for the stairs to go get ready while wracking my brain for why Chez Panisse was setting off alarms in the back of my mind. I mean, of course I'd heard of the restaurant – everyone in Berkeley had – but the name was dredging up a very specific memory that I couldn't quite put my finger on. And three steps up the stairs, I finally remembered.

Valentine's Day. Freshman Year. It was the night I'd returned home expecting to take Adrienne out for a dinner at the expensive but highly-rated restaurant, only to find that she'd set me up on a date with Paige instead. It had been an incredible night during which Paige surrendered her virginity to me while Adrienne had gone out with Grace Choi. And the following morning I'd woken up to find Adrienne sitting on the couch apologizing for falling in love with someone else.

Although things had obviously worked out in the end, that night had been a turning point in my relationships with both girls. It wasn't a night I was particularly fond of, despite the incredible sex. And the thought of returning to the restaurant didn't particularly appeal until I thought about it a little more.

This was my second chance to have the dinner I'd planned with Adrienne. I'd never actually made it to the restaurant with her, and while a visit tonight would NOT be a romantic date to re-kindle our boyfriend/girlfriend relationship of freshman year, I didn't really mind the idea of FINALLY having the meal I'd originally wanted.

Having Sasha with us only made the idea sweeter. Bringing my NEW girlfriend to such a fine restaurant, especially when Sasha and I had been out on precious few formal "dates" as it was, did appeal to me. I especially liked the idea of the three of us sharing a romantic meal and then all three of us going up to my bedroom together. It wasn't about spending a special evening with Adrienne OR Paige anymore; my life had come to a point where there was room for more than just one special woman in it at the same time. There was some irony in the choice of restaurant, but it was a good choice, and I was glad Paige had thought to suggest it to Adrienne. And I figured there was no way in hell Adrienne would complicate THIS night with the involvement of a third woman.

Turned out, I was wrong.

Sasha came home, the two of us got dressed for a ritzy dinner, and we drove out in the Mustang before 7pm to meet Adrienne at Chez Panisse. When we arrived, we found that she'd already gotten a table.

But she wasn't alone.

Sitting beside Adrienne against the wall, chatting and giggling with a wine glass in her hand, was Amber.

"Oh ... my... fuck..." I grunted, straining at the edge of my control. Forcing myself to focus, it took all of my concentration to navigate Amber's black BMW 645ci convertible down the road without hitting either the cars parked on the curb or the oncoming traffic in the next lane. But despite my best efforts, I genuinely worried that we wouldn't make it home without incident, especially since the girl bobbing her head up and down on my prick picked up speed and tightened her lips while sucking even harder, her fingers scratching my balls as she attempted to coax out my load.

"C'mon, seriously! We're almost there!" I whined.

"Don't set him off just yet," Adrienne warned from the back seat. "He doesn't have his usual staying power and we need him to last as long as he can if we're gonna be fully satisfied tonight."

Sasha groaned around my cock and picked her head up. Wiping her mouth with the back of her hand, she looked into the backseat and continued to breathe heavily while watching the two gorgeous blondes continue to make out and paw at each other.

By now, Adrienne and Amber were practically half-naked. Though I'd done my best to concentrate on the road ahead of me, in simple fact the two of them were among the sexiest, most desirable females I'd ever met. Both were strong, aggressive, passionate women who simply exuded sex appeal through their pores. Both had stared at me like hungry predators smelling blood in the air, and I was only too familiar with the pleasures that could be had once they decided to wring every drop of sexual delight they could from my body. Listening to them attack each other in the back seat, stripping clothing, locking lips, and muttering words like "suck" and "juicy" and "nipples" had gotten me rock hard in my slacks. I could only imagine how much of a turn-on it would have been to watch them directly, instead of with fleeting glances in the rear-view mirror while hoping an oncoming car's headlights would provide enough illumination to see something. At least I could make an educated guess, given that Sasha had been watching and gotten turned-on enough to unzip my fly and start going to town on me.

Even after finding Amber at the Chez Panisse table with Adrienne, there was no way I could have expected the night to turn out this way. She was more or less a total stranger to Adrienne and Sasha, and the last time the four of us were together was three days ago on a sailboat as we put Elyse's and Cameron's bodies to rest. Not exactly the sort of factors that lent themselves to an orgiastic foursome.

But I hadn't factored in that Adrienne and Amber had already planned this evening, and had already spent the afternoon getting to know each other beyond the tragedy. The pair of blondes had bonded over the things they had in common, which included their fondness of me, and they'd apparently found their personalities and temperaments quite compatibly similar.

I also hadn't factored in the girls' highly-sexual natures, and that all three of them saw no problems with overcoming the emotions of personal tragedy through sexual healing.

And I certainly hadn't factored in plentiful alcohol. Adrienne and Amber had arrived early and were already a full bottle of wine down. Plenty more bottles followed after the first, and Sasha had been quick to join the party. Only I kept myself reserved, having a single glass upon arrival and then abstaining for the remainder of the evening with the knowledge that somebody would have to drive us home. In hindsight it was a very good thing I remained sober, because otherwise I wouldn't have been able to keep myself from fucking Amber that night. The last time I'd gotten drunk, I wound up sodomizing another man's girlfriend. And while Amber was technically a single woman, I knew her heart belonged to someone else.

As the only sober one of us at the end of the evening, I already knew we'd have to share one car. Now both Adrienne and Amber are 5'10", so we ended up in Amber's Beemer because Adrienne had the bright idea that the 645ci would have a slightly less-cramped back seat than the Mustang.

Not true. Turns out the Mustang's back seat is a tad bit bigger, but that's not the point. The point IS that Adrienne and Amber barely fit back there, at least until Amber climbed into Adrienne's lap behind the driver's seat while both women extended their legs behind the front passenger seat. The valet's jaw dropped when Amber turned her face and started making out with Adrienne right then and there, although she paused to glare at the poor guy and bark, "What the hell are YOU looking at?"

The valet stammered and averted his eyes, but couldn't help himself from looking back and gawking about three seconds later. Figuring I should get us moving before Amber got out of the car to bitch him out even further, I hustled Sasha into the front seat and drove off.

It wasn't a very long drive to get home, but it felt longer with all the audible thumping, moaning, and wet-smacking sounds coming from right behind my head. I also got an elbow or two against the back of my skull, and of course the driver's seat got jostled quite a bit. And then of course, Sasha got it into her head to unzip me and give me a blowjob for the final few blocks, so I found myself driving the razor's edge of getting home as fast as possible before I blew my nut without killing everyone inside, especially since I was the only one wearing a seatbelt.

I managed to park us safely, and the ladies were only too happy to get out of the cramped car and sprint into the house with their dresses rather hastily tugged back over exposed breasts and asses. I was the last one to leave the vehicle, actually, and as I locked up and turned to see Adrienne giggling as she excitedly shoved her key into the lock on the front door, I found myself deflating somewhat.

The LAST time I had dinner at Chez Panisse, I ended up having sex with another woman while Adrienne ALSO had sex with another woman, but the two of us weren't with each other. In hindsight, it hadn't been a very good night for our relationship, and even though I wasn't romantically involved with Adrienne anymore and even though my girlfriend was waiting for me, the déjà vu was putting quite the damper on my enthusiasm.

But the instant Sasha and I walked through the front door, I found Adrienne leaping into my arms. She's not a small woman, and I had to strain a bit to not drop her while she wrapped her legs around my waist and bent over to shove her tongue down my throat. And I wound up staggering over and planting her back against the wall where the Tri-Delt Charters used to be for support while I continued kissing her.

"Congratulations, Tiger," she finally gasped when we pulled our mouths apart, both of us panting for air. "You're finally gonna graduate."

"I was beginning to think you'd forgotten why we went to dinner in the first place."

She shook her head. "Nah. Just killing two birds with one stone. I knew I wanted to have a special celebration for you and Sasha, but Amber called me wanting to get together as well, and given the history between you two, I figured you wouldn't mind."

"Mind her being with us to celebrate? No. Dinner was fun, and it was really nice getting to talk to her without all of that ... sadness ... in the way. But if you were thinking of a foursome, I gotta tell you I don't think Amber and I can do that. Her heart belongs to David, and I don't wanna mess with that."

Adrienne grinned. "Don't worry; Amber told me the same thing. But even if you two don't hook up tonight, I don't think either of you would really mind watching each other, would you?"

I arched an eyebrow. "You're not scheming to set us up, are you? Like I can't see, and she can't see, and all of a sudden, 'Oops! Her pussy fell on my prick!'"

Adrienne laughed. "No, no. Nothing like that."

"You promise?"

Adrienne's eyes twinkled. "Trust me."

I groaned and promptly dropped her. Fortunately, she was expecting it and got her feet under herself in time.

Shaking my head wryly, I sighed and asked, "But were you sure Sasha wouldn't have a problem with Amber's presence?"

Adrienne rolled her eyes, grabbed my hand, and dragged me down the hallway. She stopped when we got to the living room archway, grabbed my cheek, and rotated it to face the nearest couch. Amber and Sasha were stretched atop it, arms wrapped around each other and sucking face. "Does that look like Sasha has a problem with Amber's presence?"

I chuckled and shook my head. "I suppose not."

I mentioned before about it being a good thing I was sober, because otherwise I wouldn't have been able to keep myself from fucking Amber. Thing is, even sober it was really, REALLY hard not to, because every time I felt my cock rise to full mast and my mushroom head began sniffing out fresh pussy, it felt like Amber's juicy wet snatch was within reach and oh so fucking tempting.

We started in the living room, with Adrienne bracing herself over the back of one couch and inviting me to just ram it into her from behind while we watched Sasha and Amber making out on the other couch. I pulled the shoulder straps of her dress down and filled my hands with those mouth-watering 36F melons, using them as hand-grips to really drive my hips forward while we watched my girlfriend peel Amber out of her dress and kneel on the floor to shove her face into the blonde's crotch.

Amber was the first one of us to climax, and she quickly divested Sasha of her clothing as well before laying the brunette across the couch beneath us and inviting Adrienne to bend over the backrest to suck at Sasha's boobs. In her heels, Adrienne was tall enough to do so without her feet leaving the floor, and I fucked her to her own orgasm, after which she reached back and gently pushed me away.

I took a break to catch my breath while Adrienne remained folded over the back of the couch, now molding her lips over Sasha's in wet, sloppy kisses. Meanwhile, Amber was kneeling on the floor returning the favor to Sasha with her face in the brunette's crotch, so when I circled around looking for somewhere to park my dick, it was Amber's juicy wet snatch that was most readily available.

But I couldn't do it. Couldn't even touch her, actually, because I knew that if I did so much as put my hand on Amber's naked back, I wouldn't be able to resist pinning her to the floor and slamming my dick as far as it would go inside her.

Fortunately, Sasha came to a quick climax with Adrienne and Amber working her from both ends, and she rolled off the couch to get to her feet and catch her breath. She was the only one fully naked at this point, since Amber still had on her bra and her heels while Adrienne was fully-dressed except for her panties dangling around an ankle. But the girls took care of that in quick order as Amber unsnapped her own bra before joining Sasha in stripping away Adrienne's clothing, until all three of them were as naked as the day they were born except for Amber's and Adrienne's shoes.

"Sasha, put your heels back on," I ordered in a deep, raspy voice.

My girlfriend glanced at the other two ladies for a moment before flashing me a grin, and she did as instructed while Adrienne and Amber sized each other up. The two of them had already made out and done quite a bit of petting in the car on the drive over here, but as yet they still had not had sex. And everyone in the room knew that little fact was about to change.

"Your room, Adrienne," I suggested with raised eyebrows. "You two can take the big bed while Sasha and I watch."

Grinning, Adrienne reached out with one hand and interlaced her fingers through Amber's. The slightly-older blonde from Stanford glanced back at me with a coy smile and raised her free hand to give me a teasing finger-wave as Adrienne led her across the living room, both sets of high heels making clacking sounds as they strutted on the hardwood floor.

"You've been fantasizing about that particular combination for a while, haven't you?" Sasha asked, elbowing me in the ribs.

I shrugged and replied, "I'd be lying if I said the thought didn't cross my mind almost immediately after Amber and I first hooked up. I'm sorry, I don't want to make you feel like--"

"Hey, don't worry about it. Same thought when through my head the first time I met Amber, only the thought was about ME and her."

I frowned. "But the first time you met Amber was ... at the hospital?"

Sasha shook her head and corrected, "At Lynne's pre-Thanksgiving party. I was quite horny that night, if you'll recall. And she's gorgeous."

"That she is," I said with a chuckle, remembering the sounds of Sasha having a threesome with Emily and Ricki in Lynne's bedroom, not to mention that being the night Sasha first seduced me. I interlaced my fingers through my girlfriend's and gave her hand a squeeze.

Sasha giggled and let me lead her into Adrienne's bedroom. The two blondes were already stretched across the bed, lying on their sides with their legs scissored together so that they could rub pussies while they made out. I tossed the daybed's pillows against the wall as a backrest before sitting against them. And Sasha was only too happy to straddle me reverse-cowgirl so we could both watch the show.

I wish I could explain how awesome Adrienne and Amber were together. Words can't describe it, really. I could try, but they'd only fall short. Maybe I could represent it as a visual: a 10-mile-away video of Berkeley, with a flash of light that fills the screen before fading away to reveal a glowing mushroom cloud rising into the air.

Maybe I could compare their coupling to the first time I saw Dawn and Adrienne make love to each other, in our clearing back at Morris Camp. But that was a different experience, the end-result of a lot of melodramatic angst after agonizing over having to choose between the two of them. It was also a union filled with love, a lot of raw emotions being shared between the three of us in a place that was almost sacred to us. And this was so much different.

This was lust: pure, unadulterated lust. Adrienne and Amber weren't making love because of me. They were FUCKING each other because they fucking wanted to FUCK. They took turns inflicting their sexual expertise on each other, Amber crowing about her medical training and Adrienne simply showing off the result of lots and LOTS of practice. There was no real emotion between them, just 100% passion. I groaned in erotic heat watching Amber gape her mouth open and moan ecstatically when Adrienne suckled on her neck while ramming a vibrator up Amber's snatch. I whimpered while Amber motorboated her face in Adrienne's massive melons. And I blew my load, my cock erupting into Sasha's tight cunt while she lay back against my chest and let me squeeze her big tits, at the sight of Adrienne and Amber screaming in mutual orgasm as they'd moved into a classic sixty-nine for their finale.

I lost count of how many times the girls came, including Sasha. All I really know is that it was a lot, because when they were done Adrienne rolled off of Amber and onto her back, gasping for oxygen while Amber looked like she'd passed out. Meanwhile, Sasha slumped bonelessly against my chest and pulled her fingers out of her crotch, pressing them between her lips so she could suck off the mingled juices from our mutual climax.

Adrienne was the first to recover when she realized I'd busted my nut inside of Sasha. She rolled off the bed, wordlessly knocked Sasha off of me and across the daybed, and nonchalantly stuck her tongue into my girlfriend's twat to hoover out the cumload.

Only after that was done did Adrienne turn and sit up beside me, sweat matting her hair across her forehead as she gasped and panted for breath with a silly grin spread across her face. Meanwhile, a groaning Sasha turned herself around and almost lazily slurped my cock back into her mouth, sucking at it like a pacifier.

Adrienne patted Sasha's head and grinned at me. "Congratulations, again. I realize there aren't a dozen Tri-Delts here with us, but I hope you don't mind celebrating the end of your academic career with just us."

"Wouldn't have it any other way," I sighed, shaking my head as I grinned right back. Gesturing to the dazed and naked blonde on the big bed, I added, "Having her here was surprise enough."

"You know Amber said she'd let you fuck her if you wanted," Adrienne commented. "She said she knew she shouldn't, but that celebrating this occasion with you is special. And maybe just this once wouldn't really count."

My cock suddenly jumped back to full hardness, enough that Sasha noticed and she giggled as she raised her head into a more upright position to bob up and down on my elongated shaft. But I took a deep breath and shook my head. "I can't, and she knows it. She's saving herself for him."

"But he doesn't want me," Amber muttered quietly, revealing that she wasn't unconscious, although her eyes were still closed. She was flat on her back, profiled to me left-to-right, and with a sigh she opened her eyes and also opened her legs, raising her knees into the air while letting her hands drift down to her crotch. "What's the point of saving myself if he won't take me back?"

"You don't know that yet," I stated firmly, although I hated myself for saying it.

"But I miss you, Ben," Amber replied, turning and staring at me with bleary eyes. Her left hand went up to cup her naked breast, and her right hand slid down to press her middle finger inside of herself. "I miss cock. I miss YOUR cock. I'm so drunk, and I'm so horny, and all those glorious orgasms Adrienne just gave me make me want your dick even MORE."

I inhaled sharply as Amber rotated on the bed, turning to face us and sliding her ass to the edge. She planted her stiletto heels on top of the mattress only inches away from her butt to either side, exposing her pink pussy to us and rather lewdly licking her fingers before pressing two of them into her canal. Her eyelids fluttered and she gasped at the penetration. And then she fixed that icy blue stare right at me as she whimpered, "Please, Ben. I need you."

My first instinct was to rip Sasha's head off my cock, leap onto the floor, and drive myself all the way into Amber's spread-open cunt. But I didn't. Instead I took a deep breath and sighed while replying, "You're drunk, and you're horny, and you're saying things you'll regret in the morning. Now maybe if I was drunk, too, I'd already be on top of you doing something we'd BOTH regret in the morning. But I'm not, and we won't."

Amber whimpered and added a third finger to her snatch.

Swallowing thickly, I gently cupped Sasha's cheek so that she'd look up at me, and gesturing with my eyes toward Amber I asked, "Can you? Please?"

Sasha grinned, pulled off my cock, and slid off the daybed. She took two steps over to the big bed before kneeling right between Amber's legs. The naked blonde shivered and pulled her fingers out of her snatch while the brunette brought her face only inches away from Amber's honey pot, but Sasha didn't close the gap. Instead, Sasha reached underneath the bed, retrieved an object from the already-open toy box Adrienne kept there, and abruptly shoved a thick dildo into Amber's cunt.

Amber screamed right around the same time Adrienne did. Even sober, the temptation to go over and fuck my ex-girlfriend was almost more than I could bear. So I slammed Adrienne flat on her back across the daybed when she wasn't expecting it, and a moment later slammed my cock nearly eight inches into her twat.

Ever since leaving the hospital and going through my recovery, I'd been a one-shot wonder when it came to sex. The combination of painkillers, antibiotics, lack of quality sleep, and general healing had sapped my staying power, but I'd been getting much better over the last few days. Still, I didn't expect to have three ejaculations tonight, not this soon after everything that had happened, but it turned out that I did. I suppose Amber's mere presence was motivation enough.

After pounding Adrienne to two climaxes, I pulled out and sprayed my second cumload all over her tits. After that, I slumped against the corner to watch Sasha enthusiastically lick it all up and snowball my semen back to Adrienne. Already pleased that I'd gotten off twice, I figured I was done for the night.

But just like before, the thought of porking Amber put some fresh lead into my pencil when she crawled over to me, put her face only inches away from mine, and whimpered, "Ben, please ... I need you deep inside me."

She didn't touch me. I didn't touch her. But her breath was hot on my cheeks and her lips got within millimeters of mine. Really, she was sexy enough that her mere proximity to me just about got me to give in. But just before we kissed, Sasha literally grabbed Amber by the shoulders and tossed the other girl onto the other bed while growling, "That's MY boyfriend, bitch!"

Sasha's face going from angry to giggly a split-second later removed any heat from her comment, but the words got through to Amber just the same. She curled into a little ball and started crying, and Adrienne went to her new friend with warm kisses and warmer words of comfort.

I caught my breath, realized just how close I'd come to losing control, and decided that the night was now over. But I've already told you I had three ejaculations tonight, and so far I've only told you about two.

See, after getting Amber calmed down and spending another minute whispering in her ear, Adrienne turned back to me with a silly smirk on her face.

"Hey, Tiger. I've got an idea."

"What's that?"

She giggled. "Trust me."