Masquerade Effect

"Oh my gosh, Maddie," he exclaimed almost whiny. He gave me a big kiss, which I was hoping he wouldn't do in front of Lana and especially his family if they were behind him.

"What was that for?" He pointed his finger above my head, only for me to discover Lana holding mistletoe above us.

"Good luck." I gave my sister a look.

"You devil." She shrugged and let out a soft laugh.

"You must be Lana." How observant.

"So you're the apple of her eye, huh? Sorry she didn't tell you I was tagging along, I hope that's okay." I was hoping she'd let me say the latter half of that.

"It's fine if you don't mind sharing a bed. Come on in!" It was about 9:15 mountain time since we were now hour ahead of home and school. Gordie guided us through the main floor of the two-story bungalow to the dining room.

"We have company," he announced to parents and younger sister Amelia.

"This is Maddie and her sister Lana." It was clear Gordie was a spitting image of his father, Wes whose first name was Wojtek and got anglicized.

"Welcome, it's wonderful to meet you both," Wes said in a deep, booming voice.

"We've heard so much about you, Maddie."

Hettie or Jadwiga, Gordie's mom, was maybe 5 foot 3. Brunette, fair skin, modestly dressed. The kind of woman I'd want to be in a relationship with if she were a lot closer to my age. His parents were in their late 50s/early 60s. While they may have been born in the Ukraine, they had Polish first names as well. "Thanks for having us Mr. and Mrs. Szczeranek." Amelia was sitting and ignoring us, she was giving a nervous vibe.

"Please, sit. sit!" Gordie seemed eager to make a good impression of us for his family. They evidently were finishing up breakfast, but offered to make something for Lana and I. As it started, they knew me to be lesbian and seemed to be okay with that, though the subject didn't come up.

It was a conservative house in a conservative province, so their acceptance was a welcomed change from similar Republican places back in the States. I guess a lot of other neighbors have had disputes with the NDP-registered neighbors next door, according to Gordie. Lana and I kept getting grilled with questions, mostly from Mr. S. But we enjoyed our impromptu breakfast of those thin crepes the Poles call "naleśniki" which sounds more Greek than Polish. "Mel, be polite," I heard Hettie tell her daughter.

"I hear you're a dancer." All that I got was a "yeah." for my trouble. "What if I told you I did tap and ballet just like you." Just then, I inspired myself for something. More on that later.

"Did you do gymnastics too?" Now things were picking up.

"We both did," Lana beat me to the punch. We spent a few more minutes with Mel talking about ballet and gymnastics before his parents had to drop her off at a slumber party after they all went to Wes' brother's house for Christmas.

"Could you tell Uncle Charlie that I'll be by later and likely after you leave to drop off Mel? And give them the 411 so I don't get bombarded with the usual." The old 'you're single' abuse?

"Of course, Tex," came the approval from his dad as he's helped finish clearing the table. I didn't hear it often, but I've always heard it in cowboy-ish areas even if it wasn't exclusive to those areas. Even Gordie wasn't sure why his dad called him Tex.

We said our goodbyes to Gordie's family as they walked out the door and formulated our plan for the day and the week. Tomorrow was another holiday in Canada - Boxing Day. Like Black Friday (as a non-holiday) in the US, Boxing Day has come to be known for shopping, to which point we were going to a trip to the biggest mall in North America, the West Edmonton Mall. But for now, we were just talking it easy. As he gave us a tour of the home, he does of our belongings into our room which was the last stop. After we got settled, we joined him in the family room which almost looked like a den. He had the Oilers/Canucks game on. He took the time to light the fireplace with a platter of s'mores fixings accompanied by mugs of boiled water for our choice of hot chocolate or apple cider.

"Oh, good. Your down here. make yourselves comfortable and grab a mug. You could use some down time after a trip like that." I was impressed by him.

"I was hoping you hasn't made eggnog," I let slip. "Why would I want to torture anyone with that?" He has a point.

"This is all really nice of you, Gordie, to be taking care of us like this." I playful hit Lana for that.

"What?" She deserved it.

"Leave that talk to me, boyfriend-stealer." It felt that, anyway.

"Relax, Mads. I mean okay your hot Gordie, but I'm not sexually motivated like sis here." Oh she was gonna get it but I got interrupted.

"Relax you two, it's 'Home Alone' time." Talk about blast from the past.

"Man I haven't seen that in a long time." Neither had Lana.

"Then settle in under the covers."

CH 18 - A Change of Scenery

Nearing the end of the movie with the rest of the Szczeraneks at Uncle Charlie's, he started to move his left hand to my lap. Both of us under cover of blanket, I followed by being a little more direct and putting my hand on his crotch. In our state of semi-arousal, we started making out as Lana had dozed off. But she managed to wake up near the end. Neither of us noticed her awaken, but when I did it was only to discover she had been fingering herself to us. "Lana, are you..." I totally caught her off guard. "What? No."

"Yes you are. I'm appalled." And disappointed, honestly. But before I could record my disapproval, Gordie have his two cents.

"Oh what's the harm, Maddie? Sometimes urges are urges, no matter how. And, if it's that hot in here, let's all of us make our way upstairs. I can see attractiveness runs in the family." I was shocked that such words coming from him. Totally out of character on his part. But he is still a man, I guess... We tore upstairs in a flash and he and I picked up where we left off and Lana continued pleasing herself. It looks like there was no turning back if she was present, so I was going to make her lose her shit. I unzipped his jeans to reveal Christmas themed boxers and continued to pull those off too.

The gasp that came of her mouth was epic. I was only gonna tug him to start, but she couldn't help herself and went for his sack. At least that didn't stop him from undressing me from the waist up to play with my boobs. "Better than you imagined, Ms. Lana?" OMG, he was dirty talking to my sister who could only let it an "mhm" since she was too busy with below. "Hold your fire," I told Gordie, but that also caught Lana's attention. She undressed herself completely. I waited for her to do so because the point was to surprise him with her. Before she could get back to his junk, I started to make out with her. My lesbian instinct was kicking in, probably because it had been some time since if been with a woman. This was turning into a mini-orgy of epic proportions.

"But Maddie."

"Forget who we are for a minute," I told her despite the objection.

I'd figured by the end, I'd let her have him in her since I get him all the time. I slipped a condom into his hand as I whispered "give her hell." With my blessing, he got right to work while I picked up masturbating where Lana left off herself. The next 20 minutes were bliss for her. He made her cum four or five times. That was at least once every five minutes. She clearly was missing her sex life. The screamer that she was the one way I wish I was, but I was the cute moaner. "Oh yeah, get it sis," I led on as she was still screaming. She couldn't contain the ecstasy and sexual frustration that was built in her.

"OH SHIT!"

She got close again. He was going to be her trophy for best sexual encounter. "Yeah, yeah, yeah." And I was gonna help her get there again.

"You take my boyfriend's cock, you naughty girl." Boy was she in trouble

"AAAAAAAHHHHH!" She can't AGAIN! It almost put me to shame.

"Bathroom. Now," she barked to him. both he and I followed. "I want you on my tits." She took off the condom like a woman on a mission. his such was between her breasts in no time. His breathing was picking up as a result, which prompted her to slap the shaft on both nipples. Without warning, he finally spilt his load across her chest. "Can I bring you home?"

"What the hell just happened?!" Gordie finally came to.

"I think you broke her," I said.

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry Lana." I think he started to weep in a state of guilt.

"It's okay, it was my fault in the first place." And it was.

"But that doesn't excuse complicity on my part." What a modest guy. I had to interject

"Hey, we ought to freshen up before your uncle's."

"I'm not showering with either of you." I gave him the impression apparently.

"Who said that? No, just not smelling like sex." He showed us around Red Deer after we made ourselves presentable enough. It was one of those bonding scenes in your ordinary chick flick - me laughing, us sharing an ice cream. The stuff that makes for great memories. His parents were back without Mel by the time we had returned and we all got a good night's sleep, still dwelling on the events of the early afternoon from the day before. We enjoyed another family breakfast before we drove off to Edmonton.

It was just after nine when we skipped out. "Anything else you wanna do besides the West Edmonton?" The mask was going to be a half day event bring it was so big. I had one thing for sure.

"I wanna go to the Royal Alberta Museum!" I wanted to see what might help me for my required archaeology class as part of my curriculum but was still generally interested, the bug gallery in particular.

"I want to shop on Whyte Street for local stuff even though we'll be at the West Edmonton." It seemed like our day was filling up pretty fast,

"Anyone interested in seeing the ice castles?" That caught Lana's attention.

"Ooh, I missed that." But not mine.

"Yes - can we, can we, can we?!" That brought out the little kid in me I hadn't seen in me since the end of summer break.

"Of course we can." That took up the entire day and the day after we went to Banff. Seeing as it was a three hour trip one way, we spent the night. We did almost everything you could in the day and a half there. Of course, Gordie wanted to get us to try curling. But it was one of the most renown and beautiful buildings I personally had ever seen, even if it was a curling club. We shared a few laughs and followed up by dinner. It was one of the best meals I'd ever had in my life, having watched a gorgeous sunset to boot. Sunrise the following morning was spectacular too. Gordie showed us around Red Deer the couple days after coming back from Banff before having to fly back home. This quickly became my favorite trip and one that I'll cherish forever.

CH 19 - The Olympics

This had to be the biggest moment in modern Szczeranek family history dated back to at least the 7th Century with direct lineage to King Jan III Sobieski in the early 1600s. Exactly how his Ukrainian family settled in the Ukraine is still a family mystery other than an arranged hierarchal marriage likely had something to do with it. His currently living family were from nearby regions of Poland and a couple border towns in the Ukraine, so it was extra special and they had a lot of reason to attend and boy in number did they! Fifty in total at any time. We spent a decent amount of time meeting them at their homes since it was a few days before the curling events had started. It was hard to spot him during the opening ceremony as Canada walked out with their large delegation considering he wasn't a flag bearer. After the opening fixtures on day one of the curling tournament, Gordie and company beat Germany and lost to Norway. They would go on to lose back-to-back on the afternoon of day 4 and the following morning and win their last two to finish 7-3.

Gordie was friends with the Polish team that happened to win the national qualifier so it was a little bittersweet for him but hoped they could make the playoffs regardless. The other two losses were to Great Britain and Sweden. Because Canadian qualifiers involve so many participants, no team has returned to an Olympics, so this needed to last if Gordie never returned. Finishing third behind Norway and China, the 4th place Swedish team was on the menu, despite finishing with the same record probably with the strongest team on paper. Taking an early lead, Gordie's boys survived a late scare. They now had to play Norway, who lost the double elimination game to a resilient Chinese team.

The week outside of the curling center was filled with interacting with a lot of the other Olympians (which was kinda cool), the American gymnasts not the last of which. Mel and I saw them compete at least once. The afternoon of one of day off between the tournament and the playoffs we had a trip to the lake at Morskie Oko in the morning followed by lunch back in town with the family. That was before he and I had our own romantic dinner looking upon the Tatra of the northern Carpathian Mountains. I didn't want to leave the restaurant, especially considering I hadn't been able to spend too much time with him, though we had managed a considerable amount even if it wasn't alone just he and I. I swear he emptied his wallet on me that night. Though I'd be lying if I said I had expected that we'd have more time together. Too bad I couldn't spend the night in bed with him.

As I had before the start of each day, I kissed him good luck as they arrived at the curling center, having been the last off the bus so as to provide cover. But this was different. A win guaranteed a silver medal. The older Norwegian bunch was a team Gordie had tremendous admiration and respect for since he started in curling. In the end, it was bronze or bust with Norway getting a rematch with China while Gordie's Canada got Sweden again. As I kissed him luck for the last time these Olympics, I told him that I was proud of him and that I would still love him. As it were, they fell behind and kept tying the score until the end. And it worked in their favor going to an extra end. They were going to do it. As the team had in Vancouver three months ago, the exaltation of joy that followed handshakes was loud, only this time heard around the world on international television.

We waited for the boys to make it up to our suite. Jenny of course was waiting at the door. She loved showing off Conrad. It was just us and maybe the Swedes left in the arena though I think they already met up and left. The boys showed up about 25 minutes after the finish. Hugs were had. I of course was meeting up on the down low. We were obliged to attend the gold medal game that Norway ultimately won, except now sitting next to my best friend, his teammates, their significant others, our families. Before the start of the last end, the boys had to leave our suite so they'd be ready for the medal ceremony. I may or may not have cried when they announced his name after the rest of the team. We all stood as the Norwegian anthem played following their receiving of the gold medals.

We took the day after to celebrate. A room was rented out for a Saturday brunch at the same restaurant Gordie and I went to for dinner the night we came back from the high mountains. Champagne was popped, the Coach proposed a toast, all was good. Coach Edward Geary looked like a nice enough guy. He was Gordie's coach from juniors. Now late 40s, coach had to retire early due to a variety of injuries that only allowed him to coach. He couldn't even participate in the Paralympics because it was a neuro-disability that could prove even more damaging when provoked.

After lunch, I was able to get permission to have guest clearance into their Olympic village residence (under Gordie's supervision of course) and I was going to be joined by Mel and Mr. S. As we were down in his room, I was able to sneak a kiss while his dad and sister were distracted. I wasn't going to be able to enjoy a passionate encounter in there, but at least I could say I managed to get something. And I had proof unbeknownst to Gordie, having taken a few selfies for my personal pleasure. My imagination suddenly had a new ambition that I had thought of so as to make the most of the opportunity. I was thankfully interrupted in my devilishly devised idea by the kiss having ended. I might have otherwise blown our cover.

"Hey Mel, do you wanna see if we can meet a few gymnasts?" Her eyes lit up.

"Really, we can?" It would be cool to come across some of the internationals.

"No promises, but I think I can do you good by that."

"That's pretty neat that you guys can interact like that with the other athletes," his dad chimed in.

"Well it probably means more to have good company if you come from a country that didn't send to many competitors." I tended to notice that in some of the individual events a little bit. As we walked across the village, wouldn't you know it Lilja Bogorova was walking by with one of the Canadian tennis players Gordie knew from Saskatoon, Reg Thompson, and American archer Tony Rossiter from Fargo. Reg spotted our delegation from a distance and waved us over.

"Hey fancy coming across you, Saranac," Reg greeted Gordie with a bro hug.

"Great to see you brother!" Reg introduced the rest of us gathered round to reach other.

"Are you gymnast," Bogorova asked Mel who had that star-struck look and could only not her head.

"Don't just stand there," Wes whispered in his daughter's ear.

"I'm... I'm a big fan." Bogorova took Mel's cap off and signed it having also taken a Sharpie from her own pocket.

"If you wouldn't mind," she said while doing.

"Yay, thank you!" Gordie offered his phone and took a selfie with his sister and the three Olympians.

"Hey, lets do this again in Lake Placid," suggested Tony as we headed back to our hotel after saying our goodbyes to the three athletes. That was where the Olympics would be during the next cycle.

"You're the best, Wally," Mel thanked him.

CH 20 - Escapades at 25,000 Feet

We ran into a few more of Gordie's Olympic friends out in town. Even the skip of Norway Curling, whom he had not yet meet at other international competitions. Torbjørn Hagen was a three time European champion twice runner-up, and had two Olympic golds and one bronze to his name. It was here, at age 51, Hagen told Gordie of his intent to retire at season's end. Gordie had asked if he would be their coach should he indeed retire from playing, to which Hagen happily accepted. They exchanged contact information, shook hands, and Torbjørn went his separate way.

The day after, the closing ceremony was in the afternoon and we had a red eye to Toronto from Heathrow on the team planes. But first we had to get to Krakow from Zakopane. I was still think of how to go about my new plan from the day prior in Gordie's Olympic cabin. In doing so, I had realized that basically as soon as we got to Toronto, he wasn't taking the flight home to Calgary. So were his parents and Mel. The Brier was in Trois-Rivières starting two days after we were set to land. I had to hurry up my strategizing.

Unlike years past, Canada had paid its Olympic athletes. It wasn't much, but that was compromised by allowing up to four family members by private charter and one of them were allowed on the team if you so wished. Most of the individual athletes were accompanied while the team athletes typically stayed in the company of their teammates on the way there. The return trip however was a different story. Since nobody was guaranteed to sit next to each other, I told Gordie to throw me a peace sign when he was moving about the plane in my direction since we both had aisle seats. We were going to have a brief stop at Heathrow from Krakow to refuel.

He peaced me a little over an hour into the flight. I gave him a minute to presumably number one, not that he was going to, before I followed him in. I had been horny for the fifteen minutes beforehand. My love canal was starting to swell and I wasn't doing anything. I scratched the door to the lavatory and he let me in, quickly closing and locking the door. "I was surprised you wanted in on this too," I whispered.