Patty felt uncomfortable being the only person clothed, so she excused herself and undressed, stacking her clothes into a neat pile on one of the lounge chairs.
Kristen excused herself from the table, and told the girls where the sauna was and how to operate it. She then told me to come with her.
Kristen led me to her bedroom, the two of us not saying a word as she did so.
As soon as her door was closed, Kristen said, "It’s not just the tickets, is it, Jim?"
"No," I admitted.
"Out with it. Tell me what’s gotten you into this funk?"
"I was thinking about how I wouldn’t see any of you after next summer. You’ll all be going to college. Then, what will I do? You’ll meet somebody your own age and date and get married. Everything has been mostly nice the past couple of weeks, but it won’t stay that way."
"Wrong," Kristen said. "First, Patty will still be around. The community college she wants to go to is just a few miles away. She’ll be living at home, most likely.
"Second, I may go to college. I haven’t decided where, or even when. Third, I’ve already met somebody and he’s not my own age, just a year or so younger. I am dating him, and if he wants to, we’ll both get married. Everything that’s so nice will continue to be nice."
I was stunned.
"Now, does that make you feel better?" Kristen asked.
"What do you mean, you haven’t decided where or when?"
Kristen smiled. "There’s no law that says you have to go to college immediately after high school. I know a lot of people that travel to Europe or someplace else for a year or two before starting college."
"Even if you did that," I pointed out, "you’ll still be away."
"You don’t HAVE to travel, you lovable numb skull!"
"Huh?"
"I can stay here," Kristen said. "I could even go to the community college with Patty. I can wait for you to graduate and we could attend college together."
"You’d do that for me?" I asked.
"Of course, Jim."
"And you’re not pissed about the thing in the hot tub?"
Kristen looked exasperated. "No. I’d like you to help me with it, but I was able to get relief. Don’t you remember?"
I smiled as I remembered our brief encounter in the changing room.
"I guess I’m just worried about nothing?"
Kristen didn’t answer, but kissed me.
I loved this girl. And she really loved me. How could I have felt so lousy just a few moments before?
We broke the kiss, and Kristen grinned. "I have something I want to teach you. It’s called a sixty-nine."
It was almost an hour before we returned to the girls at the pool. Nobody said anything about our being gone, but I got knowing looks from everybody except my step-sister.
The table had been cleared. I looked at Kristen. Had a servant come in while the girls were skinny dipping?
Kristen apparently read my mind. "Edgar came in and cleared everything when the girls were in the sauna."
"He walked in on everybody?" I asked.
"No, silly," Kristen laughed. "But we have motion detectors. When there was no activity in the pool area, Edgar knew it was safe to come in and clean up."
"Neat system you have here."
"You get used to it," Kristen grinned.
We were all dressed and in Kristen’s play room when Mr. Swift arrived. Billy announced his arrival on the intercom to Kristen.
Kristen’s father shook my hand, and raised his eyebrows when Kristen introduced me as her boy friend. He greeted all of us, and smiled as he noticed we were playing some form of rummy game. "Is Kristen beating your pants off, yet? She’s the sharpest card player I’ve ever met, and I’ve met quite a few in Vegas."
"Yeah," I grinned. "I tried playing gin rummy with her the other day. Didn’t get close to winning."
"Well," Mr. Swift said, "If you know what you’re up against, I’ll let you guys get back to your game."
"It was nice meeting you," I said. The other girls said more or less the same.
Mrs. Swift arrived about a half hour later, and greeted us much the same. She also warned us all about Kristen’s card playing ability.
At about six o’clock, Billy paged Kristen again.
"Yes, Billy?" Kristen said.
"Your father wants you and your friends to know that he’s got barbecue chicken on the deck for dinner."
"Is it ready now?"
"Yes, Miss Swift."
"Tell him we’ll be right there."
I hadn’t expected to be having dinner with Kristen’s parents, but none of us protested.
Kristen’s father had changed into a pair of shorts and a T-shirt. Her mother was dressed in a light dress, similar to the ones that the girls were all wearing.
There was chicken, French fries, a tossed salad, and glasses of lemonade set up on a larger picnic table than the one we had eaten at earlier.
The food was delicious, and I found Kristen’s parents to be extremely nice to all of us. I didn’t know what I had really expected; I knew that they were rich, and I didn’t know how rich people acted. Apparently, they were the same as everybody else.
Kristen drove me and Merry home, and I was once again relegated to the back seat of Kristen’s Camaro.
I invited Kristen in, and my parents greeted Kristen warmly, just as Kristen’s parents had greeted Merry and me. Merry bubbled over, telling everybody how wonderful Kristen’s house was, how she had an indoor pool and a hot tub and even a sauna. She described Kristen’s parents, and all our friends. She did not, however, mention anything about nudity or the time I spent alone with Kristen.
All in all, with the exception of my feeling sorry for myself during lunch, it had been a wonderful day.
Chapter 14
Kristen arrived at my house with Patty the next morning. I heard the girls arrive, and was waiting for them when they came into my room.
Immediately, I handed Kristen a ticket.
"You have one wish."
Patty looked at me, surprised. She knew how I had almost ruined Kristen’s life with those, and had thought I’d never use one on her again. She hadn’t been privy to the conversation that Kristen and I had the previous day, however.
"Kristen, you are no longer obligated to have my dick or my sperm in your mouth in order to achieve orgasm."
"Your wish is my command."
Kristen looked at her hand, and noticed the ticket. "Did you… you know?"
"Yes," I said. "I’d like to use another one, with your permission. I need to find out something about these tickets, and I’ve found that people under its power can explain things to me about them."
"I trust you," Kristen said, holding out her hand.
I handed her another ticket.
"You have one wish."
"I need you to explain how these tickets work. For instance, I wished for your addiction to be gone, but you seem to still seem to be fixated on my dick, and you still seem to have urges. I also want you to be aware of what you’re telling me." I had added this last part because people explaining the tickets to me didn’t seem to have any recollection of me making a wish, or their responses.
"Your wish is my command," Kristen intoned.
"So, what’s up with the addiction?" I asked.
"The tickets do work, but the problem is that they all work," Kristen explained. "No one ticket can be stronger than another. That means, you cannot use a ticket to override the effects of another one."