"She’s big, Hon. Imposing. Little guys won’t want her. It would be easy to assume she’s fat … You put me next to her and it’s like putting Jean next to me — she comes out looking like Jumbo. She wouldn’t be in any demand…" Candace shrugged.
"What does she know, do you think?" Jean asked.
"Well, she knows about me, and she knows about Damian…" Candace replied, sighing. "He was … messing with my head again…"
"I told Terence he fucked up, tricking you like that," Louise offered.
"It doesn’t matter, I guess," Candace sighed. "Damian … Well, he isn’t hurting me…"
Just about everyone else shared a glance; Candace, deep in introspection, didn’t notice. Jean moved things forward, "Maybe we should ask the boys where things are?"
Beth shrugged. "Sally is coming to see me this afternoon for deep-throat lessons; how I got singled out as the Sex Ed instructor is beyond me … Terence will be there, I think … And maybe Damian."
Jean shrugged. "I guess that pretty much sets the bar for Sally … I’m surprised — she’s just going to dive in?"
"Well, no," Beth replied. "Lon pretty much indicated that she wouldn’t be available to Terence. Terence is for me…"
"I think she’s realized that Lon is serious — and that he’s worth keeping," Candace guessed. "I think she’s in 'I’ll do anything… ' mode. That will either go away over time, or Lon is going to have what amounts to a sex slave…"
"What does that mean for the group?" Jean wondered aloud.
"No guess," Candace replied. "Maybe we ought to ask the boys — or, better yet, the girls…"
"Why don’t we call the boys and ask them?" Jean offered. "We can meet them somewhere and try to get an idea what they’ve done and what they’re thinking…"
"We’re keeping you two up," Candace pointed out to Beth and Louise. "Is this a good idea?"
"We need to know if there is trouble brewing," Louise murmured. "How long can it take to grill them?"
"Not too long…" Candace offered the assumption. "I’ll call Lon — you get Rick, Jean. My house, or yours?"
"I haven’t hosted in a while," Jean offered.
"Okay." Both of them lifted phones.
Ten minutes later, a grumpy Lon was climbing into his trunks. "Damned bossy women!" He headed for the car.
Meanwhile, the women adjourned to Jean’s, picking up more coffee and pastries on the way out. Rick met them cautiously at the door. "What’s up?"
"Let’s wait for Lonnie, Hon," Candace said breezily. "Maybe Toby should be here?"
"Why?" Jean demanded. "He’s not involved."
"An independent opinion, maybe?" Candace insisted. She flicked a glance at Beth, who got on the phone.
"And my boys?" Louise asked.
"Do you want them here?" Candace asked.
Louise thought about it. "No," she decided. "It’s a waste of time."
"They’ll be a subject of conversation," Candace pointed out.
"Why?" Louise asked suspiciously.
Candace raised her eyebrows. What was THAT all about? "Well it should be asked whether the girls are expected to … offer themselves…"
"Oh." Louise flicked a guilty look at Beth. "I’m sure they’ll go with whatever answer they get."
"Okay." Candace was left wondering what secrets there were out there that she was not privy to.
Toby got there first, looked around, decided that he wasn’t a target, and sat down at the table. "Looks like a group meeting," he observed. "Who else is coming?"
"Lon," Candace answered shortly, then shifted back to the conversation she was having with Beth.
"And Terence and Damian?" Toby pressed.
"I’ll tell them how it comes out," Louise said, equally shortly, then opened a conversation with Jean. Toby got the point, poured coffee, and settled back. Rick sat looking nervous; Toby wondered if the girlfriend thing had backfired.
Lon came in after a bit, grumpy — he’d stayed up late and planned to sleep in. "Okay, what’s THIS?" he groused.
"We need to know about the girls," Candace took the lead.
"What about them?" Lon snarled.
"What do they know? And is it a problem?" Jean asked. "Richard, you can start."
Shit, ' Rick thought. "Teela knows … quite a bit. You started it, actually, when you headed out to the Carters yesterday — I had to make some explanations. I’d already kind of stepped in it by telling her I had other sources…"
"Damn near screwed ME, too!" Lon interjected — but was largely ignored due to reactions around the table.
Candace flicked a glance at Jean, then Louise. Toby looked like he had a finger in things, too. "What’s that all about?"
"Nothing much," Toby parried. "Louise and I had a date and Terence was at loose ends … I asked Jean to come by and even things out."
It was too pat — Candace didn’t believe it. But it undoubtedly fit the facts — and it wasn’t why they were there. She shifted to Rick. "Does she know names?"
"Enough," Rick nodded.
"Is there going to be a problem?"
"No, she’s fine with it…"
But Rick looked evasive. "Does she expect to participate?" Jean asked.
"Um, she kind of laid down the law," Rick answered.
"How?" Candace asked suspiciously.
"She said I couldn’t have sex with another woman unless she was in the room. I held out for the same from her."
"What does that mean, exactly, Sweetie?" Beth asked.
"We haven’t mapped it out, exactly," Rick answered uncomfortably. "It’s kind of a me first thing. I told her that I didn’t think I could just stop being in the group — that it would make people nervous and generate hard feelings. This was her answer. She won’t stop me, but she wants to be involved…"
"Is she gonna have sex with the boys?" Louise asked.
"That isn’t clear," Rick replied. "Maybe. We left the door open — because if I’m going to continue, she should be allowed. But…"
"You don’t like the idea," Candace finished.
"No."
"We’re not safe from her, you know," Candace pointed out.
"Yeah," Rick nodded. "But I think it’s okay, as long as WE’RE okay."
"We’ll need to know the second you’re not, for obvious reasons," Jean said mildly, adding, "I’ve met her, and she’s as cute as a button — but a little bit of a wild thing. She’s had a bad time, somehow, and dresses wildly and does other things in defense. If they break up nobody will believe some wild story from her, if you know what I mean. No offense, Rick."
"She lost her mother," Rick filled in.
"Okay," Candace nodded. "What do you suggest?"
"I could offer to drop out, but I’m not sure what she will want. Why don’t we wait and see? Maybe you will want to talk to her…" Rick offered.
"That probably won’t hurt," Jean nodded. "Are you seeing her today?"
"Yes."
"Invite her here tomorrow, then, to see us?"
"Are you sure you want it to happen here?" Candace asked. "If we invite Sally, too, you’re exposed…"
"She already knows," Jean swiveled her head to Lon. "Right?"
"Yeah." Lon tossed his hair back. "She knows just about everything — she’s even seen Mama and Damian."
"What does she expect?" Candace asked.
"Nothing," Lon replied. "She’s totally flip-flopped. All of the noises she was making are over with. We’re going to see Beth today, and Beth is gonna teach her deep-throat. After that — well, she’s a virgin…"
"Teela was, until yesterday," Rick popped up.
"Well, she wants THAT gone today, too!" Lon grinned despite himself.
"What about others?" Jean asked.
"Sally felt pretty bad about the way things went, early on. All that suspicion … She wants to make it up to me. Yesterday, she said if I wanted her to do dogs and ponies, all I had to do was ask … She also said that she didn’t feel qualified to tell me not to have sex with anyone else, because she had no experience and might not be able to compete. She’s scared to death she won’t be good enough…" Lon shook his head.