Getting Even Pt. 02

I stroked her hair again, but didn't take hold of her head, or try to steer her. Soon enough, I felt my climax building.

- "Kira - I'm -" I warned.

She clutched a handful of my ass, and pulled me even deeper, as I exploded in her mouth and throat.

After she'd drained every last drop and licked me clean, Kira slid back up to where she'd been before. I kissed her on the lips, and held her close.

- "I think you just killed me." I said.

- "Good."

I decided that I could go one morning without running, just before I felt asleep.

***

I woke up completely disoriented. I was alone in bed, it was 8:30, and I was almost certain that I could smell coffee.

I pulled on my track pants, and went to investigate.

There she was - in my kitchen - wearing only her shirt and those pretty little panties. Kira was slicing oranges, and squeezing them. Then she poured the juice into my Hoegaarden glasses (which she'd cleaned).

- "Good morning!" she said. "I hope you don't mind - I wanted to do something nice for you."

I came up behind her, and wrapped my arms around her waist.

- "You did last night." I said. "Don't you remember?"

- "Mmm... that was nice for me."

I wanted to molest her right there, but she was holding a knife, and there was coffee ready.

- "You really didn't have to do this." I told her.

- "I wanted to. Really - I just wanted to do something nice for you. All you have to do is enjoy it, and say thank you if you're happy."

Kira was a pleaser.

That was it. She was brought up, or conditioned, to make other people happy. I had a suspicion that it made her feel good, too. But I was the major beneficiary, today - and damned if I didn't feel like a million bucks.

- "I feel incredibly lucky." I told her. "To have you here."

- "Hold on to that thought."

- "I was wrong about you, Kira." I said. I thought you were... shy."

- "Well... I'm not an extrovert, when there are people around. I'm pretty good in one-on-one situations, though."

- "I'll say."

She just waved a hand at me. "You're bad."

We talked (and grinned a lot) through breakfast. Kira took a shower (I resisted the urge to join her; it was probably too early in our relationship). Afterwards, I drove her home.

- "When can I see you again?" I asked.

- "I'm free next weekend." she said. "And..."

- "And?"

- "I have Wednesday off. I have an appointment to go to in the early afternoon, but that's it."

- "So... Tuesday night?" I suggested.

She looked surprised. "No! You have your basketball game on Tuesday night. You shouldn't skip that. I was thinking... that you could come over to my place on Wednesday night. I'll have time to pick up some groceries, and cook a meal for us."

- "Really? That sounds wonderful."

- "Do you have food allergies that I don't know about?"

- "No - I'll eat just about anything."

- "It's a date, then." she said.

***

I felt pretty good for the first part of the week. Then came Wednesday, and I felt even better. Just thinking of Kira made me happy.

She hadn't told me what she was making, so I brought beer and wine. Kira greeted me with a hug, which I rapidly turned into a kiss, and a full body press. She pushed me back, but with a big smile.

- "It's my first time trying this recipe," she said, "so I'm not quite sure what to expect. If it makes you feel better, I have a backup plan that can be ready in ten minutes."

- "I'm sure that Plan A will be fine." I said. "What is Plan A? It smells great."

- "Eggplant parmigiana."

- "Cool." I had no idea what eggplant parmigiana was.

Turns out that it's actually pretty good, and that it goes with red wine. I complimented the cook - and deservedly so. Kira beamed; she could tell that the praise was genuine.

We decided to clean up before having coffee and dessert. Of course she'd made dessert - why was I surprised? I washed while she dried and put the dishes away.

- "Ben? Can I ask you something?"

- "Of course. As long as it's not about eggplant - that's still pretty new to me."

- "No. It's more... personal."

Oh. She was serious. "You can ask me anything, Kira."

- "I just... wanted to know. What kind of relationship would you like us to have?"

It's fair to say that I hadn't been expecting that particular question. But it was easy enough to figure out. There was only one possible answer: the truth.

- "I really like you, Kira. I'd like us to be exclusive, if that's okay with you."

- "Ben... that's where I hoped we were headed. And that's... what I want, too. I just wanted you to know: I'm on the pill. And I haven't been with anyone else for... over a year."

- "Ah - I... I used a condom with Millie."

- "I know." said Kira. "She told us. That's why I'm saying this - I don't think we need a condom. If that's... alright."

I dried my hands on her dish towel, and pulled her close.

- "You make me feel wonderful, Kira." I said. "I've been in a great mood for weeks - and it's all because of you. I'd like to make you feel good, too. I don't need anyone else. I don't want anyone else. I just want more of you."

She didn't answer, except to wrap her arms around me, and to rest her head on my chest.

- "You make me happy." she whispered.

- "Then we're even." I said.

After a few kisses, and a few caresses, we remembered where we were, and what we were doing. I finished washing the last of the dishes, and Kira sat me down so that she could serve coffee and dessert.

- "Tiramisu? You're going to spoil me."

- "That's the idea." she said, with a smile.

We took our coffees into her living room. I complimented Kira on her luxurious couch. She was pleased to let me know that she'd only had it for 6 months, but was really happy with it.

This was just pleasant conversation. We both knew where we were going. But I was also gathering information: if the sofa was only 6 months old, and Kira hadn't been with anyone else for a year, then it was virgin territory - and desperately needed to be broken in.

I let her finish her coffee before I kissed her. It was like an old-fashioned necking session on the couch, until I began to strip her of her clothes. I let her keep her socks on.

Kira didn't protest as I worked her onto her stomach, so that I could kiss the backs of her legs, and run my nails and my tongue up and down her calves and thighs. By the time I reached her core, she was fully primed.

There are times to go slow, to tease and prolong. Then there are times to read your partner, and go where she wants to be taken.

Kira was ready to go off. It might have been from my attentions, or it might been have been from our earlier conversation. I ran my tongue up her lower lips, and then attacked her clit. She came hard.

I was hard, too. I slid one of her decorative pillows under her hips. The plan was to christen her couch - not stain it. Those pillows, though - they were expendable.

Kira gasped as I entered her from behind - bareback. I didn't give her time to change her mind, or to think of something I might like better. This was what I wanted, and I took it. It just happened to be what she wanted, too.

***

- "Good for you, man." said Marco.

I'd just told my buddies that I'd been seeing Kira for three weeks.

- "Surprised you didn't go after Anita." said Luke. "Thought she was more your type."

- "Well... you got to her first." I said, trying to make light of it.

- "Yeah." said Luke. He was still holding a grudge for the way she'd unceremoniously dumped him, after what turned out to be a one-night stand.

It made me wonder what might have happened if I'd called Anita that Sunday night - the day after we met. Would she have gone to the hockey game with me? Would she have used and discarded me, as she did with Luke? Or would she be my girlfriend now?

It didn't matter. I was with Kira, and I had zero complaints. She continued to amaze me.

We got together at my place on Friday night. We ordered in food, and watched a couple of old movies. I picked one, she chose the other.

- "Yours was pretty good." she said.

- "But yours was much better."

- "Well..."

I tickled her until she gave in and admitted that her movie was better. That led to some grappling on the floor, and a passionate wrestling / fucking session.

- "Is it just me," I asked, afterwards, "or is our lovemaking getting even better? I mean... our first time was great, but this was... amazing."

- "I'm not sure that this one counts as lovemaking." she said. "That's not a complaint, though."

We went to bed. I just couldn't keep my hands off her, which led to some much more gentle, more sedate... lovemaking.

At approximately 7:30 A.M., on Saturday morning, Kira woke me up.

- "Isn't it about time for your run?" she said.

- "Huh?"

- "You've been skipping your runs, whenever you've been with me."

Kira didn't miss anything. I couldn't get away with a single thing, because she remembered every word I said. She'd noticed that I'd been giving up my morning runs, so that I could sleep in with her.

There she was, dressed in running gear, with the most restrictive sports bra I'd ever seen in my life.

My girlfriend wanted to go running with me. How could I argue with that?

Of course, it ended up as a moderate jog. Kira wasn't a runner. She couldn't be, with a chest like hers - she'd have done herself a serious injury. Even with the reinforced heavy-duty sports bra, it could have been painful or even dangerous for her.

She hadn't done much jogging, either. Her form was stiff and mechanical. Kira also realized how much I was holding back. We covered about a kilometer and a half before I stopped.

- "I'm sorry." she said. "I didn't realize how bad of an idea this was."

- "It was a wonderful idea." I told her. "You did this to please me. It's not your thing at all, but you did it to make me happy. How could I be upset at that?"

I picked her up in my arms, plastering her sweaty body against mine. Then I kissed her.

***

Tuesday basketball. I played quite well. Luke was back to his normal self. It was Marco who seemed out of sorts. He missed a couple of easy layups, and fired a pass about eight feet wide of his nearest teammate.

We went for beers afterwards, as usual.

- "So - you and Kira?" said Luke.

I didn't know how to describe our relationship in less than 1,000 words. I didn't want to try to pigeonhole her, either.

- "She's awesome." I said.

Marco waited until Luke went for a piss. Tiny bladder, that guy.

- "Ben - I... ah, I have to ask. Would you be okay if I went out with Anita? She asked me, to be honest. I just wanted to know how you felt about it."

I have to admit it: I felt a small twinge, like a pulled muscle, in my lower stomach. But then I realized how cool it was of Marco to check in with me, when I'd just said how happy I was with Kira. Anita was in the past. She'd made her own decisions, and if she wanted to make another choice, it really wasn't anything to do with me. I had Kira.

- "You're a good guy, Marco. I appreciate you asking. But I'm good. You go ahead."

- "Thanks, man. I still have to clear it with Luke. But I wanted to check in with you, first."

- "We're good." I assured him.

Luke came back from the can.

- "You guys look so serious." he said. "Who died?"

- "Anita asked Marco out." I said. "He wanted to know if you and I were okay with it before he gave her an answer."

Marco shot me a grateful look. Luke frowned, and then managed a half-smile.

- "Yeah. That's cool. I don't own her, man." It wasn't a glowing endorsement, but I figured that Luke would get over it, in time.

Kira and I grew even closer. Yes, I wanted to have sex with her every time I saw her. But I was also happy just to hold her close.

My phone rang late Sunday afternoon. I didn't recognize the number, but my phone did.

- "Hello?"

- "Hey, Ben!"

It was a female voice. I probably hesitated too long.

"It's Anita - how're you doing?"

- "Oh! Hey, Anita. Sorry - I didn't recognize your voice right away."

- "Ouch!" she said. "Gotta fix that. How goes?"

- "Good. Good. You?"

- "Glad to hear it. Listen, Ben... I have a little problem, and I was hoping you could help me out with it."

- "Sure - what do you need?"

- "Well, I'm having a little gathering up at the cottage. It's supposed to be a 'play on the lake' day - you know, swim, maybe a little water-skiing - followed by two tables of euchre and exotic drinks at night."

She had me at water-skiing (and then again at euchre), two pastimes I love. I don't mean to brag, but I'm actually pretty good at both.

- "How can I help?"

- "I have three couples lined up." said Anita. "We desperately need a fourth. Any chance you and Kira could join us? I know it's short notice, but if for some reason Kira couldn't make it, or doesn't want to come, I have more than one girlfriend who'd be happy to come solo - in her place."

- "Ah - I don't know about that last bit, Anita - but I'll definitely talk to Kira, and then get back to you."

- "Cool, Ben. Hey - just don't wait too long, okay? If you can't make it, I need time to find someone else."

- "I'll get right on it."

Kira and I were getting together for a movie (and, I hoped, wrestling) night. I told her that Anita had called, and explained the whole cottage weekend idea.

Kira frowned. I was surprised by her reaction.

- "That's odd." she said.

- "How so?"

- "I wonder why she didn't call me, and then ask me to invite you."

She was right: that was odd. I'd momentarily forgotten that Anita and Kira were friends (and friends of Millie). "Umm - well, she's seeing Marco now, so maybe he suggested me."

- "Mmm." Kira didn't seem completely convinced.

- "Well, either way - what do you think?"

- "This is something you'd really enjoy?" she asked.

- "I love water-skiing - haven't done any since I moved here. And Euchre? It's a way of life back home. I probably started playing when I was like, eight or nine years old."

Kira smiled. "So this would be a lot of fun?"

- "You know it. I mean... if you wanted to."

- "It could be fun." said Kira. Then she frowned again. "Is it hard... to learn how to play euchre? Because... you'd have to teach me."

Now, you're going to look at me funny. I can see some of you rolling your eyes already.

No - proficiency in euchre is not a relationship deal-breaker. Most of the time, anyway. Alright, try this: what if one partner liked to drink (alcohol), and the other partner was a teetotaller? What if one likes sex, and the other...

You think I'm exaggerating? When I was a kid, my folks were barely getting by. An evening's entertainment was a case of beer, a bottle of cheap rye whiskey, maybe some pretzels... and cards. They couldn't afford to go out. They couldn't get dressed up to go out, because they couldn't get dressed up. Cards were like a religion. There were the bridge fanatics, and then there were the everyday people, who played euchre.

Ask a euchre player what it's like to play with a rookie. 'Oh, could you explain that rule again?' 'Sorry I'm taking so long, but if I order up my partner, does that mean that I have to go alone?' That's the point where the veteran players throw in their cards, and start drinking heavily (okay - more heavily than usual).

- "I'd be happy to teach you." I said. What can I say? I was completely infatuated with Kira - but I also wanted to go to Anita's cottage.

Kira hesitated - like she wanted to say something. But then she agreed to go with me.

***

Anita looked ridiculously good in a bikini. She already had a gorgeous tan, and the taut scraps of fabric that made up her top only accentuated how hard they were working to contain her firm, high breasts.

Her friends were reasonably hot, too, but nothing to lose your mind about. Kira... well, she didn't have a spectacular bikini. She wore a one-piece that did a good job of containing her amazing chest, but it didn't do much for the rest of her body.

It didn't help that her skin was so white. Pale white. If she'd dyed her brown hair black, Kira could have made the transition to Goth girl almost instantaneously.

Going to the beach was... a mixed blessing. Kira needed a lot of sunscreen (which I was I was only too happy to apply). She was also game to try water-skiing. Anita drove the boat, and she started off easy enough for the neophytes, like Kira and Marco.

Kira made three valiant attempts to get up on the skis (one of which resulted in a rather dramatic faceplant) before she called it quits. Marco was only marginally better. Anita ran a couple of intermediate runs for her friends before she challenged me.

- "You've skied before?"

- "A few times." I said.

- "Let's see what you've got."

I was a little rusty. My first run ended rather abruptly, in a ferocious wipeout. But I was ready for a second. I dropped a ski, and started cutting across the wake. Nothing crazy, no showboating - but Anita seemed impressed.

"Ben! You've been hiding some skills!"

I did the modest, self-deprecating thing. Anita then got a friend to drive the boat, and asked me to spot for her. That's basically just sitting in the back of the boat, and letting the driver know when/if she falls.

Anita was amazing. When had she had time to read LeGuin, or follow hockey? This girl was a water-skiing goddess. I'd suspected that she was athletic, but... my God.

When we finally got back to shore, I remembered my girlfriend, who was beginning to burn. I applied another layer of sunscreen on her.

- "You had fun?"

- "Yeah. It was pretty cool." I admitted.

- "I had no idea that you were so good at it." said Kira.

- "Hey - there's still a lot I don't know about you, too."

- "Mmm." She didn't sound fully convinced.

We all ended up back at the cottage. Showers were taken, and clothes were changed. I found myself on the wide upper deck, admiring the view out over the lake, when Anita came out. She was wearing flip flops, cut-off jean shorts, and a halter top.

- "Enjoying yourself?"

- "Very much." I said. I passed her two twenties. "For gas." I said.

- "Absolutely not." she said.

- "Absolutely yes." I said. "Don't make me leave it in the boat, or in your kitchen drawer."

- "You wouldn't."

- "I would."

Anita grinned. "You can ski."

- "Nothing like you. You were like... some kind of water-nymph."

She laughed. "Water-nymph? I like that."

- "Great spot you've got here." I said. "The lake is beautiful."

- "Yeah. It's pretty fantastic." Anita sidled up next to me, leaning on the deck railing. "You know, you could come up here anytime you like."

There it was. I had quite a bit in common with Anita - shared interests, things in common. But every once in a while, she said or did something to make me feel uncomfortable. I was with Kira - Anita's friend. Anita was with Marco - my friend. I excused myself, and went back to the room I was sharing with my girlfriend.

Dinner was nice. Steaks, mushrooms, baked potatoes. All too soon, it was time for the cards. I'd been looking forward to it - but also dreading it.

I needn't have worried.

Kira made a few gaffes, and we lost several games. She was still struggling with the basics, and never noticed my discards - or those of our opponents. She passed with a strong hand a couple of times. I have to say, though, that she did better than I'd expected.

Marco was the main disaster. He was nervous, and then flustered. He quickly progressed to a complete shit-show. Kira and I finished third. With a little more luck, we might have taken 2nd place. But that didn't matter at all.