Loosening Up Bk. 08 Ch. 01-05

Matt and Rose knew everything there was to know about the Circle and about sex. They'd both promised to abide by the 'Not Yet' rule until all relevant parents had given them a go ahead. Neither seemed upset at that ruling. If anything, Rose seemed to breath a little easier. Matt was very laid back so it was difficult to tell whether he was affected at all. He did agree with no qualifications. Dave suspected they were just fine enjoying all the variety available on 'third base'.

After some conversation with the younger kids and ensuring that a few of the nearby adults would keep any eye on them, the young couple took over an empty chaise in the shade and laydown together. Rose snuggled into Matt's side and they talked and dozed in the bright sunlight.

Heather came by Dave and hooked him into a kiss. "Hi husband."

"Hi wife. I was just looking at how cute and yet adult Matt and Rose are."

Heather spied the pair. "Yes, and I'm not ready to be a grandmother just yet. I am certain that their hormones are well into high gear. Matter of fact, I was looking for Athena to talk to her about getting Rose on birth control if she's not already."

"You don't know?"

"No, do you?"

Dave shook his head. Let's go together. Athena was sitting with Taylor and Alec near where all the younger kids were congregated splashing each other in the pool. The two of them sat down and joined the others.

Heather launched right in. "Athena, is Rose on birth control?"

The pretty brunette shook her head. "No, not yet. Scarlett needs to give me a signal. She trusts Rose when she says they're not having sex."

Dave pulled his phone from his pocket and hit number six on his speed dial. A moment later his movie star wife answered her cell. "Hi Dave. What's up?"

"Where are you now?"

Scarlett replied over some noise behind her, "Of all places, I'm in Morocco. This place is the pits -- scenic and touristy, but we're a little off the beaten track where we're filming. Sand in every direction, but I have cellphone coverage; go figure."

"Are you safe?"

"I think so. I have two round-the-clock bodyguards armed to the teeth with the threat of God and Allah in them if I so much as get a hangnail."

"Good. Let me put Heather on the phone. We're trying to avoid an issue otherwise things are good."

Heather took the phone and explained about her concern about Matt and Rose, raging hormones, and the teen's ability to easily find comfortable quarters to consummate the burgeoning adult relationship despite being in that category.

Scarlett said, "Do it. Let me confirm to Athena. She has medical power of attorney for Rose. Dave does, too. Either could take her tomorrow to our doctor and get her set up. I'm of a mind to double cover with both pill and IUD. Neither is supposedly one hundred percent, but together if she remembers to take the pills the odds become infinitesimal. I don't need a grandchild just yet."

Heather laughed and said that she'd made the same remark only a few moments earlier. Athena got the message.

After the call ended, Dave told Athena, "If you don't have the time to take her, I'll break away from work. I think Adesh could fit her in with just a phone call. Everybody in the Circle is on his favorite list. I don't see him here today. Tim Faurst could do it, too."

Athena agreed and said she had the time and means to do it first thing. Since school was out Rose wouldn't even need to miss classes.

Matthew had just finished his middle year in high school. The classes seemed to come easily to him, and he was a near straight 'A' student, but just about the most laid-back kid in his class. Rose challenged him every step of the way. She had good grades as well, and had just finished her year. She'd be in the same school Matt went to in late August.

The discussion had been a wake-up call for Dave. He'd been coasting on all of his kids, being the friendly dad that was available but not insistent. He rarely had a harsh word for any of his kids, in part because he wasn't that involved in their lives. He was wrapped up in EneRG and the adult part of the Circle life. The children were just 'around' part of the time.

Because they lived in the house, he was a little more involved with Matt, John, Brittany, Robert, and Andrea. He'd had more children by other women in the Circle and been even less involved with them. Where had his head been?

* * * * *

After three weeks back at work from his June second honeymoon, Dave felt as though he'd never taken any time off. EneRG was humming along at a rapid pace and new contract after new contract arrived for the hyper-efficient batteries, they were manufacturing at about a dozen plants all over the world.

One part of the job that he hadn't expected was the amount of travel involved in the job. The power sources for the various products that were being introduced with EneRG cells in them were too important to those companies for them to just call and place an order. Oh no! They had to be romanced and had to romance EneRG. This called for no end of meetings, discussions, drafts of contracts, many lawyers, and so on until there was a major rite of signing of contracts. Usually, the CEO of EneRG was expected to be the signatory to those commitments despite the cost and travel involved.

Thus, Dave awoke in Honolulu after a long flight the day before. Worse, he knew he'd hate the red eye flight back to the west coast of the U.S. where he could reconnect with his own corporate jet. With careful scheduling JR and Alice were visiting the Phoenix plant and would pick him up in Los Angeles for a flight home. Alice wanted the pilot-in-command time, and he might just get some left seat time himself.

The gentlemen from one part of Toshiba showed up on schedule and the signing was a grand event in a large boardroom like conference room in the Intercontinental Hotel. In the posh surrounding both EneRG and Toshiba had representatives carefully lay out the copies of the contracts they would each sign. The legal work had long ago been finalized. This ceremony was the culmination of all that legal wrangling.

Special pens were produced that probably cost upwards of several hundred a piece. Each company made a special presentation of their pen to the CEO of the other company. The pens were unwrapped with great ceremony and protocol, as well as the constant expression of gratitude for the thoughtfulness of each other for souvenir of the august occasion.

Of course, Dave would have gladly signed the contract with a twenty-cent BIC pen that happened to be lying around.

The signings were done with a great flourish, however. The minions carefully ensured that everything was signed in the proper place and that all copies were as they should be. Photographers captured the moment. When all was done, there arrived a celebration of champagne with pate. With much bowing and further expressions of how great this union of the two companies would be, there were toasts, more drinking, and sampling of other appetizers. A robust dinner was then served in the boardroom with fine china, stemware, and silver.

Dave moderated his meal and shied away from the liquor and wine. He would want to preserve the zero-blood alcohol content in his system when he was at the controls of the Cessna Citation. Even with Alice conceding to fly second-in-command or co-pilot, he wanted to be at the top of his game. Fortunately, the Toshiba executives understood his concern and excused his sobriety. Meanwhile, they drank until their eyes were nearly crossed.

Dave caught a ten-p.m. flight from Hawaii to LAX that would arrive about seven the next morning. The illusion of a full night's sleep was just that. At best, he'd get about four hours of dozing in the first-class seating on the United Airlines flight.

Dave connected with Alice and JR at Signature Flight Services at LAX. After a short wait while the plane was refueled and preflighted again, he took over and got his clearance to Circle Airport direct from LAX after contacting Departure Control. He taxied the small jet and waited for takeoff clearance that took about fifteen minutes. Nine a.m. was not the most relaxed time of day for the airport.

Once enroute at flight level 330, Dave noted they'd picked up a tailwind that was giving them a ground speed close to 700 miles per hour. This was great during the two hours they were able to stay in the jet stream. They did have to tolerate some mild turbulence.

Alice grilled him most of the way across the country with questions appropriate to getting his jet certification. The questions came fast and furious, especially when he had some other workload to deal with. How will you know you've had a hydraulic failure? What are the first symptoms of cabin depressurization? What's the maximum rate of descent you can use in an emergency? If your electronic panel goes dark what do you do? Where are the circuit breakers for the radio? Can you take this plane faster than the speed of sound? The questions were endless but important.

Well before nearing Florida they lost the stiff tailwind and were back on normal propulsion. They completed the flight to landing at Circle Airport right at six p.m. After shutting down Alice made appropriate notations in Dave's logbook. By then JR had the stairs deployed and some of the luggage on the tarmac in front of Hangar 2. This time it was Pam and Sean who came racing down to the hangar in two golf carts to greet the new arrivals and help with any luggage.

Within a half hour Dave was back on the patio in shorts and a t-shirt enjoying a wine cooler. He briefly checked in with Adam Timms and they talked about his readiness to have his FAA check ride in the Citation. Alice thought Dave was ready, too, so Adam promised to make arrangements within the next few days.

At dinner, Bobbie came and sat beside him with her own dinner. She said, "I have two applicants I think will qualify as sous-chefs -- both men. They both have restaurant experience in something other than fast food, and are looking to change positions to something more challenging. In my initial interviews they expressed an interest in private duty meal prep rather than working in public restaurants. Both liked the size of the group, wouldn't mind working on a team, including volunteers, and wouldn't mind shifting hours around periodically to deal with other meal times such as breakfast or lunch."

Dave grinned, "How much did you tell them about the Circle?"

"Only the sterilized version -- number of people, those with special meals, and such. I just said we were a group of friendly professions that had created an unusual community that included child care, home schooling, and a common kitchen."

Dave said, "And you want me to do the next step with them?"

She nodded. "Yes. My feeling is that they'd live offsite for starters. I didn't get into their home life situation at all. One of the men studied cooking in Belgium, the other in New York. They're both in their mid-thirties. Both present well and are articulate. The one that studied in Europe I think is Slavic and has an accent, a little like Tatiana. I didn't ask, but we could try them out on each other incidental to you interviewing him."

"Have they seen the place?"

"No. I interviewed each of them over coffee at Starbucks downtown. Their current jobs are both in town."

"How're the numbers for this?"

Bobbie explained, "I again talked to Julie. The average salary for a sous-chef in this part of the country is about $40,000. If we add in some similar benefits to what I'm getting the overall burden on the treasury would be under $60,000 per person per year. When we talked to the Board, we estimated more like $150,000 for two of them, so we're a little under budget. I'd like to pickup someone else part-time in some way to also ease the burden. I'd start with these two if they want the job and you like them, and see where we go from there."

Consider it done. I'm in town this week. See whether we can meet here after four p.m. a couple of days. I'll come home early to interview, and you can show them the kitchen or vice versa. Maybe we can happen to have Tatiana around for the right interview, too. Let's see whether she uncovers something interesting about our European."

I hesitated and then launched in on a completely different topic. "Bobbie, I was going to come see you about a completely different topic -- basically, Logan."

Bobbie looked at me urging me to go on.

"I've realized that I haven't been a very good father or dad to him. Here he is almost seven and I'm just not around that much. I don't want to interfere in your family life, but do you wish me to be more involved in some way in Logan's life?"

Bobbie smiled and then leaned in and kissed Dave. "You are a great dad. You make sure to talk to him several times a week, you've taken him solo for ice cream to help bond, you play catch with him -- as frustrating as his motor skills are at this age, you took him to a baseball game in March that was a huge event in his life and that he still talks about, you babysit when Maddy and I want a night off, and you always play in the pool with him -- often on your shoulders. Don't feel the least bit guilty about your relationship with Logan. He knows you're his father and that you don't live with us. He accepts that. Maddy and I are happy without needing a further opinion about child rearing. Honestly, you're a good dad given our crazy lifestyle and living arrangements, and you don't need to be involved any further unless you want to be."

Dave nodded thoughtfully. "Thank you. I kind of realized all the kids are growing up so fast and ... well, there are things about them I don't know but feel I should."

"For example?" Bobbie asked.

"Heather and I were worrying about Matthew and Rose's affection and hormone levels. I didn't know whether Rose was on birth control. Shouldn't a father know that?"

Bobbie laughed, "NO! Emphatically, no!" She continued laughing. "I would have been mortified if my father knew whether I was or wasn't on the pill. I dated and knew he worried, but my primary interests were in my girlfriends. I was into college before I lost my cherry. So, to your concern, there are a lot -- repeat A LOT -- of things a father doesn't need to know about his daughter." After a pause, she asked, "So, what happened?"

"She's getting coverage this coming week. Athena will help. Scarlett recommended the pill and an IUD just to be sure."

Bobbie said, "And does Matthew know about the birds and bees, and condoms."

Dave nodded, "I told him that birds were uncooperative in wearing them and that bees punched through them with their stingers."

Bobbie gave him a little shove. "I'll take that as a yes. You're not schooling either of them in abstinence?"

He laughed, "Not only no, but hell no."

Chapter 4 -- Sous-Chefs

The Friday night crowd was thick and mostly male. Many of the men seemed in the construction trades. The city continued to expand even despite the increasing number of articles in the news about rising tides and water levels.

Club Ecstasy was packed. A number of Circle members were associated with the nightclub a.k.a. strip club at most times. About thirty members of the Circle had pushed together several tables to park their drinks and snacks on while they watched some of their friends and lovers perform or hustle around the club waiting tables.

Christie breezed by the group and meted out a few kisses to those in her path. She was helping Jim out since he was short-handed. "Hi everybody. See you later. There's a surprise for you all tonight. Stay tuned." She flitted off after filling her tray with empties from adjacent tables so they could be filled up with the expensive beer again.

Jim Danforth came by and greeted his fellow Circle members. He was part owner and the working manager of the club. His co-owners were two billionaires that liked having the club as one of their toys: Owen Bennett and Mark Worthington. Mark had invested in another club north of Tampa named the Club Infinity for a while, but the clientele changed so he eventually sold out. He didn't want a club that attracted motorcycle gangs or roughnecks.

Friday was often amateur night. Exactly at eight o'clock as the first show started, Jim came out and announced a special treat. The DJ started the music and from either side of the stage Savannah and Samantha appeared. The identical twins were in schoolgirl uniforms that would get them kicked out of any real educational institution in the country. They both came out swinging some schoolbooks and looking cute as the devil with long blonde pigtails, short skits, tight blouses, miniature neckties, white knee socks, and Mary Jane shoes.

The two did some sexy posing with each other. Several men in the audience took pictures of them with their cellphones. They each skipped around the stage in opposite directions, and even then, the money started to hit the stage. Dave noted Big Benny, the bouncer, nearby to ensure good behavior of the patrons. Catcalls and offers of unbridled treats were hurled at the two young women.

They stopped in the middle of the stage and leaned in slightly to each other so they could have a kiss that was far from inappropriate. They each looked at the audience and gave a surprised look to communicate how nice the kiss had been. That furtive kiss led to another as their bodies neared each other.

The kisses got hotter and hotter, and their bodies more and more wrapped around each other. The two gorgeous blondes were grinding their crotches onto each other's legs, and then rubbing the other's tits. The noise level in the club rose especially high.

When the music took on a new tempo, one of the twins carefully started to undo the buttons on the other's white blouse. That girl removed the necktie on her twin. They then changed duties until both their blouses were hanging open revealing the lacy bras that were loaded with goodies.

More money got hurled onto the stage, especially from the Circle members who were cheering the loudest. Dave noted that the Phi Theta Rho alumni were especially enthusiastic about the twins.

With many cute dance steps and choreography, the twins gradually lost the rest of their clothing. They then demonstrated how two nude women could use the same stripper's pole to amuse and titillate the audience. More money resulted.

The girls then kissed quite passionately as the fourth long number of the set ended. The place broke into thunderous applause as the two schoolgirls took bows and even more revealing curtseys near the horny men. They gathered up their money from each side of the stage, picked up their clothes, and scampered backstage.

A few minutes later the twins reappeared wearing thongs and the small school vests that had been part of their school uniforms. The vests weren't buttoned. They circulated around the club avoiding the Circle soliciting lap dances. Conveniently when they got paid, the vests had small pockets to hold the cash.

Eventually, each of the twins started to circulate among the Circle members, kissing everybody profusely and promising a helluva lot more than a lap dance to anybody interested.

Dave ended with Samantha (?) in his lap, but more just for a place to sit and be comfortable than to entertain. She sighed, "That was a lot of work. Christie has been working with the two of us for a month to do just that simple little thing. I don't know how she did this all those years. She must have a lot of stamina."

Dave laughed, "But you did great. So did your sister. That was treat for everyone here. I hope you had fun. It looked like it."

"Oh, we did, even in rehearsal. Of course, in rehearsal we'd end up tribbing or some other lewd act that Jim told us we couldn't do on stage. We told him he needed a special night for special parties where wild sex was the motif."