Jan

'You go ahead and get the water started; I'll be there in just a minute.'

With that, she got up, and headed into the bathroom, closing the door part way after she got in. I took a minute to clean up the bed a bit, and dump our empty bottles in the wastebasket.

When I got to the bathroom, I rapped on the door, and heard 'Uh, give me just a second, okay?', followed by the sound of the toilet flushing.

Smiling to myself, I announced 'Okay, your second is up.'

'Yeah, yeah, yeah, There's always a comedian. Okay, come on in.'

I did, and saw that she was halfway through the shower door, and had the water running. When she'd gotten it adjusted to her preference, she went on in, and closed the door behind her.

Over the noise of the water, I told her 'Okay, my turn. No peeking!'

'Like I'd want to!' was the reply.

When I flushed the toilet, I heard her gasp, in anticipation of a temperature change; it didn't happen, and when I opened the door and got in with her (happily, she had it just short of scalding), the first thing out of her mouth was to ask me why.

I had to explain to her that all of the water spigots in the house were on a common line that had a pressurized reservoir, to help maintain a constant pressure, even if there was a sudden change, like a toilet flushing.

'You though of everything about this place, didn't you?', she asked as she scrubbed my back (oh, ecstasy!).

'Probably not – but then, if I did forget something, I haven't noticed it yet, either.'

A bit later, when she started to wash her hair, I asked if I could do it – she had a luxurious mane that went well past her shoulders, slightly curly, and almost brick red in color. She readily agreed, and I spent the next few minutes savoring how soft and thick it was, even with the shampoo rinsed out of it.

When we were both satisfied at how well we'd cleaned each other, she shut the water off, and we got out to dry off, using the thick, heavy cotton (Turkish?) towels I favored. As she was drying me off, she asked 'What kind of lubricant was that? I was afraid that it was going to, uh, be with me for a while, but it washed right off in the shower.'

'Oh, it's water-soluble. I've tried the petroleum-based stuff, but like you say, it tends to stay around longer than I like, so I went with the other.'

When we were both dry, and after she'd borrowed Kelly's hair dryer, we were both ready to leave the bathroom. When we did, she saw that I'd cleaned things up a bit, and quickly offered to change the sheets – 'I wouldn't want to use them after someone else left them like that, and I'm not going to do it to them!'. I started to get them, but she didn't hesitate to ask me where they were, and then tell me to go on into the den – she'd be there is a jiffy. I liked her attitude, and sense of responsibility, and did as she said.

When I entered the den alone, all of them looked behind me, for Robyn. I told them that she'd stayed behind for a little bit, to clean up – without specifying who or what was being cleaned up. They accepted it, and Kelly and Susan made room for me on the couch, between them.

Once I was seated, Jan asked if I was hungry or thirsty. I admitted to a little of both, and when she started for the kitchen, added that Robyn might be, too. Jan simply gave me the Goober look, and said'Of course!' before continuing on her way. Having been thoroughly put in my place, I simply sat back and listened to the rest of them as they chatted – and found out that Sandra had found out about girls with Kelly while Susan, Candice, and Jan had been talking and trying to ignore them.

A couple minutes later, I heard the tinkling of glass as Jan brought in a tray of sodas, a beer (apparently for me), and a couple of sandwiches.

A few seconds later, Robyn came in, as well. Jan told her that the other sandwich was hers – I'd already latched on to one, and taken a big bite out of it – and that there were plenty of drinks left, to just help herself. Kelly opened the beer, and when I'd swallowed the bite of sandwich I'd taken, handed it to me, and I thanked her.

All of us sat around in the den like that while Robyn and I refueled and refreshed ourselves. The others mostly chatted among themselves, but didn't hesitate to include us at strategic moments – such as when we didn't have food in our mouths. In general, it was as though Robyn and I had never left: they acknowledged that we were hungry and thirsty, and made accommodations for those facts; but otherwise seemed to take no notice of WHY we were hungry and thirsty. I wasn't worried about it, either way – I knew that Kelly and Jan were simply too courteous and polite to make anything of it, and suspected that Sandra would follow their example. As the seconds went by, I could visibly see Robyn relax as no one made any fuss about her presence or absence.

It was only when Robyn and I had finished eating that any of them bothered us – and even then, it was low- key: Kelly turned to ask Robyn something, and then looked at her again, more closely. In a quiet voice, and as Jan listened, Kelly asked her'You got it, didn't you?'

Robyn nodded, and that was all Kelly needed. She smiled at Robyn, as did Jan, and asked the question she'd meant to ask. A minute or so later, Sandra turned to Robyn, too, and paused. The two of them shared a Look, then a smile, and Sandra went back to what she'd been doing. So subtle was it that Susan and Candice never seemed to notice that any of it had happened.

As I listened to them, I noticed that Susan was casually pulling herself out of the conversation, and easing in my direction. I helped by moving over a bit under the guise of resettling myself on the couch, so that she wouldn't have to move as far, and could speak to me quietly without the others overhearing her. When she realized what I'd done, she smiled at me, and finally scooted over next to me. She looked around quickly, and saw that none of the others were going to take notice, and relaxed a bit as she leaned toward me.

'Dan, can I talk to you?'

'Of course. Would you like someplace a little quieter?'

'Uh, yeah, if we could.'

'Sure, Come on.'

I took her by the hand, and told the others'There's something I want Susan to help me with. We'll be back in a bit.' The others simply nodded, and went back to what they were talking about.

To my eye, she was visibly relieved that I'd taken the onus for our absence; I led her back to the second bedroom, and sat down with her on the edge of the bed. She glanced toward the door, and I went over and closed it, then sitting back down so that we were not quite facing each other directly.

Taking her hand in mine, I gently asked her 'What is it you want to talk about? Is something wrong?'

She smiled briefly, and said 'No, there's nothing wrong, exactly.'

'Then what's on your mind, then, exactly?', mildly teasing her.

She smiled at my efforts, and said 'There's something that I think I have to talk to you about.'

'What's that?'

'Uh, it's about tonight, and what you've been doing with Sandra and Robyn.'

'Is it something you want to say, or something you want to know?', I asked.

She hesitated, and answered 'It's something I have to say. But it's kind of awkward, and I don't want to hurt your feelings by saying it wrong.'

With that, her eyes started to tear up.

'Susan, it's okay, really. I'm a big boy, now' – a brief smile crossed her face – 'and I don't hurt so easy. And you just told me it's awkward, so I know that it's something you might have to explain to me so I can understand it. I can see that it's something important to you, and I care about you, so I promise you that I'll listen to what you have to say very carefully, and not jump to any sudden decisions or anything, okay?'

She looked at me, and saw the concern I had for her, and nodded.

'So what is it that you wanted to tell me?', I asked.

She hesitated a moment, and said 'While you were, uh, gone with Sandra and Robyn, the rest of us were in the den, talking about stuff. I mean, just all kinds of stuff; but when Candice or I asked, Kelly and Jan were also willing to talk to us about them, and you. And while they were talking, I realized that, as much as I thought I loved you, I don't think that I would be happy sharing you the way they do. And when I thought of that, I realized that I'm just not ready to, uh, do all of that. I mean, you're nice and kind and all of that; and I'm sure that everything they said about you being patient and gentle is true – but I'm just not ready for that, yet!' – and with that, she pretty much fell apart. Crying in deep, racking sobs, she all but collapsed in on herself, as if she was imploding.

I took her hand, holding it, and after a few seconds, she let me draw her onto my lap and into my arms, where i held her and softly stroked her back, and whispered reassurance to her, until she'd gotten herself under control