Island Fever Ch. 37

Chapter 37: "Share"

*****

One of my true passions in life (aside from beautiful women) has always been the game of baseball. Even now, at the age of 39, the romance is still going quite strong for me. Playing, watching, listening and reading about baseball has been an integral part of my daily routine since I was a small child. I still remember relishing every opportunity I had to play catch with my big brother, Dan, when I was a youngster, or riding my bicycle to the local park to play a couple of disjointed innings with a group of friends.

I also still remember the first professional baseball game that I went to. May 11, 1985 was the date, and my hometown team, the Cincinnati Reds, played host to the Houston Astros. I remember looking up at the old, dilapidated structure once known as Riverfront Stadium as I went through the turnstile for the very first time, and thinking that it was a palace. A magical palace which, up to that point in my young and impressionable life, I had only seen on television. I came oh-so-close to catching a foul ball during batting practice that, to this day, I can still see the ball coming right at me. A little side note of that game, even though Cincinnati lost, was that Reds' star shortstop Dave Concepcion notched hit number 2,000 of his career. That is what I remember most.

The wonder of the game - baseball - still gets to me today. Even in the days of November, December, January and February - commonly referred to as professional baseball's hot stove league - I check the Internet quite frequently to stay up to date on what new development has occurred in the sport, who has been signed, who has been traded.

One of my favorite all-time movies, Field of Dreams, had a definite baseball flavor to it. Although the movie is a bit corny, I have probably watched it 200 times. In recent years, I have often wondered if Field of Dreams was a metaphor for living out our own field of dreams. Was creating a clearing done to allow the dream to materialize? In the movie, the main character - played by Kevin Costner - cleared away his entire crop of corn to build a baseball field on his family farm. Do we need to clear away our own inner corn field to see the dreams that capture our hearts and then create a path to reach those dreams?

But I digress. Here on the island, I had my very own field of dreams - sort of. A main feature of the athletic complex, located just outside of the mansion, was a batting cage with five different pitching machines. There was a net, which encircled the entire hitting area, along with underground pipes and a central hopper. The cement surface inside of the hitting area was sloped, which resulted in all loose baseballs eventually finding their way into a pipe and then the hopper itself. Once there, they were loaded into the pitching machine that was currently in use.

Ever since I had it first installed several years ago, the batting cage had been a great stress reliever for me. I would come out here once a week and take about 100 swings before finally tiring and deciding to call it quits. What is the sound that all batters want to hear? That bang, that square hit, that crack of the bat. You know, as a batter, that you have just launched one. You know that the ball is taking off; exploding from your bat. It is a great feeling.

I figured that a good way to put my back to the ultimate test, and see if it is truly healed or not, was to venture out to the aforementioned batting cage and take some swings. If I made it through with no discomfort, I could throw all caution to the wind and not worry about my back anymore.

No more than ten minutes after I began taking my cuts with the bat, I found myself with some unexpected (but welcomed) company. The lovely and opulent Devon had decided to grace me with her presence. She made her way up to the cage behind me, but stayed outside of the netted barrier to ensure her safety. I glanced back at Devon and offered her a brief nod and smile, but otherwise remained focused on blistering those 40 mile-per-hour pitches from the automated machine.

"I never quite understood the appeal of this game," Devon eventually said to me, breaking my concentration.

I took a step back and then turned toward Devon, all the while twirling the bat about as if it were a baton. "Let me guess, sweetheart ... you have never played baseball. Right?"

Devon shrugged her shoulders. "I guess I have found more necessary things to do with my time over the years than slap a piece of horsehide with a stick."

I laughed at her choice of words, but then shook my head and motioned for her to step closer. "Come in here, Devon."

The 27-year-old again shrugged her shoulders, but then complied with my request by opening the nearby cage door and joining me inside. I stepped further away from the batter's box and gently pulled Devon into my arms. I spun her around, so her back was to my front, and then placed both of her hands upon the handle of the bat. Devon turned her head and shot me a curious glance as I guided her toward home plate.

"Give it a try," I suggested, as a pitch went by.

"Are you serious?"

"Of course I'm serious." Standing directly behind Devon with my hands covering her own upon the bat, I got her into a proper hitter's stance and helped her with a couple of practice swings. "Don't strangle the bat, Devon," I added, offering her some friendly advice. "All you want to do is shake hands with it." My voice changed as I mused, "Hello Mr. Bat ... pleased to make your acquaintance. Oh no, Miss Devon ... the pleasure is all mine."

Devon giggled at me. "What?"

"We wanna go hips before hands," I coached her. "Okay? We want to stride forward and turn. Block everything else out of your mind. Hips before hands, stride forward, turn." I placed my hands upon Devon's waistline to put her into the proper motion. "Hips before hands. Got it?"

She nodded her head. "I guess."

I tightened the grip of my hands upon her own. "One more time, dear. Hips before hands. Right?"

"Yeah."

"Yeah, what?"

"Hips before hands," she told me.

"We are gonna wait on the next pitch, sweetheart, and keep our eyes on the ball."

"All right."

"Then we're gonna make contact ... not gonna even think."

"Okay."

"We're just going to let it fly, Devon. Okay?"

"Yep."

I smiled. "Say goodbye, baseball."

I helped Devon take what may have very well been her first-ever swing at a live pitch, but we missed terribly. After two more horrible misses, we finally made contact. Devon was credited with a weak dribbler toward the side.

"That's a mighty fine piece of ash you got there."

Devon momentarily glanced back at me and offered a wicked, yet playful, look. "What did you just say?"

"The bat, Devon. The bat..."

I released my grip upon her hands and allowed Devon, who was chuckling at me, to take some swings on her own. On the fifth pitch, she hit a line drive (sort of) back toward the pitching machine. It was her best contact yet.

"Excellent!" I praised her. "Now, what you may find happening as you concentrate on that little, round ball, the rest of the world and everything in it will just fade away." Devon barely tipped the following pitch as I kept talking, "All of your everyday concerns ... how you didn't get that nice leather jacket you wanted on your birthday this year. How you threw away your career as a project manager to come to this island and eventually fall in a love with a very strange, albeit witty and charming man such as myself. How your collection of pornographic videos has somehow outgrown your collection of music downloads." Devon whacked the next pitch as I ended, "Oh wait ... that last one is my problem, sweetheart. Not yours."

Devon wiggled her hips in an exaggerated manner and spoke with conviction, "Shut up, Jeremy. I'm playing baseball."

--

"Did you have a good time during your picnic up at the lava beds with Trish and Amy earlier?" I asked Devon a few moments later, after she had become quite winded and decided that swinging a baseball bat no longer interested her.

"I sure did," Devon responded, taking a seat beside me on the bench just outside of the cage.

"How did Trish and Amy get along?"

She shrugged her shoulders at me. "They seemed fine. I think whatever bitterness or jealousy there was between them concerning Lindsay in the past is just that - in the past. I think they ironed out their differences a couple of days ago, actually. Trish and Amy seem focused on the future." Devon flashed a dazzling, brilliant smile, then reached out and grasped my hand. "Krissy said you were looking for me? That is why I came out here to the batting cage."

"I've just been looking for the opportunity to spend some one-on-one time with you," were my words, which brought another smile to Devon's pristine face. "I have been so focused on the others as of late; trying to get them to stay and commit - Trish and Amy, obviously, and Pamela before them, and of course I put so much focus and energy onto Krissy." I frowned momentarily, then continued, "I have been neglecting you as of late, Devon, and I am sorry."

"I don't feel neglected," she cooed back at me. "It's not like you've been ignoring me. I see you every single day; we talk, we laugh, we have our intimate moments. I understand why you have putting a lot of time and effort into Trish and Amy, Jeremy, and Pamela before them. The clock is ticking. If they were to stay with us, you only had so much time to convince them. With me, you already knew that I was staying. I am not going anywhere." Devon paused, but then added, "Let me say, though ... I for one am glad that Pamela is NOT here anymore. I did not like her."

"Why is that?"

"Pamela hated Krissy," Devon sniped. "She was so jealous and angry because of what you and Krissy have together. Pamela had no interest in sharing, or even the thought of it. Pamela did not care for me all that particularly much either, to tell you the truth. Her whole thing was that she got to you, Jeremy, and was with you before me. Pamela had sex with you and laid her claim to you, so to speak, before you and I even touched each other. That was her big claim against me. Yet the one thing that Pamela just refused to realize was that you and Krissy have been together for a good four years. It was off-and-on, albeit, but your impending marriage with Krissy has been four years in the making."

"Krissy and I weren't supposed to be together, you know," I countered. "She and I have known each other and been great friends for four years. But that was just it - we were friends. Friends with benefits, mind you, but we weren't supposed to be a couple. I think that was part of Pamela's thinking, too, and why she was so upset at everything."

"It doesn't matter now," Devon shrugged. "The best thing that could have happened during these six weeks in paradise actually DID happen. That being, of course, you and Krissy winding up together. I'm not going to stand in your way or become jealous, Jeremy. I see what you and Krissy have with each other. It's magical. I am just happy to be a part of it. I care for you, obviously, and I care for Krissy. I feel honored that you two have allowed me into your lives. I hope to be on the same level as Krissy in your eyes one day, Jeremy. I trust that I will be. I know that I will be."

"What you and Krissy have together, Devon, is magical," I informed her. "The two of you are all over each other at every opportunity. I think you and Kristanna fell in love from the very outset, and never looked back."

"Krissy certainly is a very special and unique girl," Devon commented. "She is my ultimate fantasy come to life. I would do anything for her."

I smiled at those words. "What are your thoughts on Trish and Amy, and them perhaps staying with us long-term?"

"I have no problem with it," the 27-year-old answered. "I sort of agree with Krissy that I like the idea of one big, happy family. Krissy is my favorite of the three - by leaps and bounds - but that does not mean I cannot love and care for Trish and Amy. I already do love and care for them, and those feelings are growing. Trish is such a nice, nice person; the sweetest and most giving person I have ever met. Trish is sort of like the female version of you, Jeremy." My eyes went wide as she added, "And Amy? I like Amy a lot more now than I did a few weeks ago. I know that Amy has some mental health problems and issues, and you want to help guide her through them. Amy would go back to her old ways and bad habits if you were no longer a part of her life, Jeremy. She basically has to stay with us out of necessity."

"Are you okay with that, though? Is Devon [Last Name] okay with sharing me with multiple women?"

"Krissy and I are one," she began. "I may have trouble explaining this to you correctly, Jeremy, but I have such a good synergy and rapport with Krissy. When you are with Krissy, you are with me. When you are with me, you are also with Krissy. She and I have no secrets; we share everything. That is another thing. You have been worried about maybe neglecting me as of late. Strange as it may sound, I do not feel that way because each time you've been with Krissy, you have also been with me. Krissy and I are one; we share everything. We love each other, and get along together, that much." Devon shook her head and fretted, "You probably don't understand. It is impossible for me to explain it properly."

"I think I understand," I told her. "It is very unique, but I think it goes to how well you and Krissy are perfectly suited for each other. There is no jealousy or resentment, nor will there ever be. You and Krissy are truly happy to share everything for the rest of your lives."

Devon smiled and nodded her head. "Exactly."

"What about Trish and Amy? How do you feel about them?"

"I already told you that I love and care for them."

"But what about them and the whole sharing thing?"

"I'm not at the point with either of them that I am with Krissy," Devon explained. "But I'm not the jealous type. As I said, I like the idea of a big, happy family. Neither of them are anywhere near like Pamela. Trish is so passive and friendly. I actually believe that she fits in perfectly with the lifestyle that we want. Amy? As long as you keep Amy under control, Jeremy, I have zero issues with her and the idea of her being a long-term fixture in our lives."

"I think the medicine Amy is now taking is doing much more for her mood and outlook on things than I ever could," I offered. "The good doctor in Lima nailed it on the head with Amy. She has responded well to her medication, and has no lingering side-effects from taking it."

"I would like to one day look at and think of Trish and Amy the same way I do Krissy," Devon mused. "I want them to be on that level I spoke of earlier. But who knows? We do not want to rush into anything. Maybe one or both of them stay with us for six months, or a year, and then decide to go back to their old lives. I do not want that, but it is a possibility. Krissy is quick to point that out, too. The only two things that are truly guaranteed, Jeremy, is that one, you and Krissy are getting married and two, I will be with you and her during every step of the way."

"Krissy says that she is going to marry you, sweetheart, shortly after she marries me."

Devon giggled. "Krissy also says that YOU are going to marry ME, Jeremy, in a super extravagant wedding in the Bahamas later this fall."

I chuckled at those words. "Krissy making plans for both of us behind our backs, huh? What a sneaky girl."

"Sneaky, but lovable," Devon giggled. She patted my leg with an open hand and swooned, "Rumor is that you had some fun with Krissy and Lindsay while the rest of us were having our picnic at the lava beds a couple of hours ago." Devon giggled again, then clarified, "Lindsay finally got the opportunity to properly thank you for helping her family out the way you have? That is what Krissy told me, at least."

"Yeah," I nodded. "Properly thank me ... with her mouth. Kristanna was really insistent on using that term."

"Krissy really enjoys seeing you with other girls," Devon smiled, reaching up and now touching my shoulder. "Do you realize just how much it turns Krissy on to watch other girls giving you pleasure? That is another reason why she is so gung-ho about this group marriage thing. What has Krissy always said to you? All she really, truly cares about, Jeremy, is seeing you happy. She has told you that forever."

I dipped my head for a brief moment, but then laughed and made eye contact with Devon once again. "I am definitely happy now. I have never been more happy in my entire life."

"Good," Devon nodded, her smile golden and radiant. "You deserve it. You really do."

"These past five weeks have been incredible," was my next remark. "My life has changed so much, so quickly..."

"How is your back? Is it feeling better?"

"Feeling fine," I answered. "That is what the batting practice in the cage was for. It was the litmus test for my back. I wanted to see if swinging the bat was going to aggravate the pulled muscle in my back or not. It didn't."

"So now you can get back to your normal activities?"

"Yes."

"I still wouldn't overdo it, though," Devon advised me. "Do you think Krissy is watching us right now?"

"In the voyeur room?" I specified. "Krissy said she was going to watch us all day long. I am sure she is."

"Where is the hidden camera around here?"

I pointed toward a huge tree across the way. "There."

Devon turned and waved her hand at the tree. "Hi Krissy! Just letting you know that I love you!" Devon blew a kiss toward the tree and snickered out, "Mooooo-wah! There you go, Krissy baby ... a kiss for you!" Then, Devon turned her focus back toward me. "I love you too, Jeremy."

I nodded my head. "The feeling is mutual."

Devon suddenly pouted. "I wish my first time with another woman was with Krissy! Camille was nice and all at the beginning, but ... I mean, Krissy is my girl. I am her girl. Our relationship would be even more special if she was my first-ever woman. I know she would have treated me so good."

"Kristanna is my girl too," I grinned. "So are you. I just don't want you to forget that."

Devon nodded. "I guess that means we will just have to share, then. Remember you are my guy. Krissy's, too." The 27-year-old pressed her lips to mine for a deep-rooted, pleasurable kiss. "Hmmmmm ... I cannot wait until you and Krissy get married! I just LOVE weddings! Can you just imagine what Krissy will look like with a wedding dress on?" Devon sighed at her own words. "Oh God ... she will be so gorgeous. A million times more than she already is!"

"Is that even possible?"

Devon nodded her head again. "Oh yes ... it is. A woman never looks any more beautiful than she does on her wedding day. Krissy already is a goddess. She will blow the whole church away when she makes that long walk down the aisle. Krissy will be a goddess multiplied by a million times."

I groaned at the mere thought. "I cannot wait, either. You get to be the maid of honor. It will be a great day."

"Krissy wants it to happen five weeks from now," Devon reminded me. "That is kind of ambitious if you ask me. Just five weeks to plan a wedding? Especially one in Norway? All of your family from Ohio and wherever else will need to fly overseas so they can be part of the big day."

"I have no doubt Krissy will have everything planned and ready to go. That is what you will learn about her, Devon. When Krissy sets her mind to something, she gets it done. Five weeks will be plenty of time for her to plan whatever she envisions. Krissy already has her own family, as well as her friends, working on it back in Norway as we speak."

"You're letting Krissy handle the wedding and its set-up?"