Mike & Karen Ch. 05

"I'm not loaning Alex my underwear. You're on your own, squirt."

Alexa quietly hiked up the thong and then put on the jeans, trying to resent the perfect fit, but failing. She then dressed Alex and made them both presentable before they joined the older couple at the desk. It was Karen's office, of course, so nothing actually needed arranging, but they had done the youngsters the decency of given them some momentary privacy. Alexa was positively glowing, whereas Alex was wearing a barely concealed smug smirk.

"I have no idea how you two managed to get away with your relationship right under our noses through just about the whole summer," Karen sighed. "It is so obvious now, looking at the two of you."

"Parent visors, obviously," Alexa quipped, holding her hands behind her back and rocking back and forth on her heels with a saucy smile, her cheeks still rosy. "I mean, I'm glad we did, and sorry we had to, and not glad that we did, and we --"

"Alli, you're orgasm-babbling, darling," Karen chided. "Well, we can't have the two of you seen together in your current condition. Alex, drive home with your father, and I'll take Alli home in your car."

"Ja wohl, mein mommandant," he said cheerfully, turning and kissing his aunt lovingly before exiting the office with his father. Karen smirked as she looked at her little sister, smiling dreamily at the door.

"I know that look," she mused, walking around her desk and opening a drawer to pull out a bottle of old vine Zinfandel, along with two small glasses. "I still get it every time Michael kisses me."

"We got really lucky, didn't we, Kar?" Alexa sighed, accepting a half-full glass from her sister and leaning against the desk while she sipped, still staring at the now-closed door. "The DeBourne men are the best thing to ever happen to the Gordon-Blackwell women."

Karen nodded as she sat in her chair behind the desk, gesturing for Alexa to pull over another one. Alexa avoided the chair she had just fucked Alex in, and sat next to her sister, enjoying the caress of the strong, dark wine on her tongue. It was almost sensual, especially in her present mood. Perfection.

"It was certainly a losing battle for me," Karen agreed. "Not that I put up much of a fight. Once I realized that I could very easily fall for that oversized joker, I didn't resist it, per se, so much as I kept opening up other doors and venues for myself, to give myself options, or at least pretend I had options."

Alexa giggled. "My willpower was shot mere days in. You showed a lot more self-control than I cared to. It still amazes me on occasion that you don't hate me, I gotta admit."

"Alli, we couldn't possibly," Karen replied. "Okay, maybe if you'd ground him up and put him in a soup, I'd be upset about that. But you two falling in love? Speaking from personal experience, I know what you were up against. Just because you're related to him doesn't mean that you're immune to the destiny of DeBourne men. You'll see what I mean when you meet the others."

"I can't wait," Alexa sighed, running her fingers through her long, golden locks as she sat sideways in her chair and looked at her sister. "It's like getting back more of my family that I've never met."

"You won't remember, since you were newly born, but you have indeed met them," Karen mentioned. "They were all there when you were born: Orion, Annette, Connor, Ronnie, Josh, Stevie, Cam ..."

"Will they come down here, or will we go up to Kapuskasing to meet them?" asked the younger sister.

"Oh, I'm sure they'd happily come down, but knowing Michael, we'd take a road trip up," Karen answered. "Surprise them. A surprise DeBourne bash has to be experienced; there's no decent way to simply describe it."

"Think they'd mind if we brought Freja and Jeanie along?" Alexa queried. "Freja's my family, and I love Jeanie, y'know."

Karen smiled. "Of course we'll bring them. They're family, after all, even if they're crazy."

Alexa's eyes shone, bordering on tears. "I've really led a charmed life, haven't I, Kar? Nothing truly terrible has ever happened to me. I guess that's why I ran when I thought my world had crashed; I just felt so guilty and wanted to bring all the hurt with me and away from you and Mike and Alex."

"Noble, if somewhat misguided," Karen replied in a reassuring tone, smiling at her sister. "Truth be told, my life was pretty charmed in most ways too, at least until dad began to lose his marbles. Not only did I have to watch his degeneration, but I had to fight off the ravening wolves who were Blackwell family members, eager to take the controlling interest in the business away from him. I have never been more thankful for Michael than during those days, let me tell you. He was my rock that I leaned on for survival. He kept me strong, when it came to dealing with them, fighting for our family's integrity."

"Mom never told me why she took me away so suddenly, telling no one where we were going," Alexa sighed. "Not even me. I guess she considered it so intensely private a matter between her and dad that she never wanted anyone else to know."

"Mom was one of the strongest women I ever knew," Karen agreed, nodding somberly. "Her and Annette, Michael's mother. But you're right, something terrible must have finally happened, because she didn't dare tell us where she'd gone, and the note she left behind only said that she loved us; it gave no clues. It just said to trust her."

Alexa wiped at the corner of her eye. "She didn't want anyone to know. She loved dad so much, Kar. Sure, she had lovers when we were in Europe, but there was only ever dad in her heart. She never let me forget how magnificent a man he had been. She just never told me what drove her away."

"She wanted me to remember him as he was when they were together and happy," Karen said wistfully. "Not tainted by whatever happened. I imagine that's why she never told you, either. Bless her for trying, Alli. You're back with us now, and not knowing is hardly the end of the world."

"True," Alexa agreed, taking another sip and lightening up considerably. "After all, if I hadn't gone away, Alex probably wouldn't be named after me, and I never would have just been smitten by him in an airport terminal and fallen in love."

"Like I said, I understand about inevitable ..." Karen agreed, refilling their glasses.

***

"So mom really started going to the pub and singing karaoke of her own volition?" Alex asked as he sat in the passenger seat while his father drove them home.

"She chose to, yes, but that's not how she explained it to me, either," Mike replied, turning them off the highway. "She said that she grudgingly ended up doing it because it would make me happy, even though we were a long way off from being an item yet."

"I still think it's funny how hard you two fought it," Alex chuckled. "You're the most perfect couple I can think of, and you made it so difficult for yourselves."

"It's a scary thing to fall that hard," Mike said, still driving. "You know that as well as I do. To be honest, I rather envy the mindset you and Alli are allowed to have these days about just going for it. Even back in the mid-Eighties, it wasn't as simple as that, especially when you consider how different our backgrounds were."

"Which is why mom voluntarily doing something as goofy as karaoke is so funny to me."

"Well, sometimes, the goddess comes down from the mountain to celebrate with her mortals," Mike pointed out.

"Is that what mom is for you?" Alex laughed. "A goddess on a mountain? What does that make you?"

"I'm the great dragon who is eternally and slavishly devoted to her, protecting her and making the world perfect and safe for her," Mike said, his voice carrying an undertone of purpose and seriousness. "Nobody's ever been luckier than me."

"How does mom see things, then?" Alex asked.

"Guess you'd better ask her," his father replied. "I'd never presume to know the mind of a goddess."

***

"Me?" Karen mused, while her little sister sat next to her, curiosity in her eyes. "Oh, I'm just the girl who climbed the mountain, so that she could see the great dragon that ruled the earth," she said simply. "His eyes met mine and I've never wanted to be away from him. The girl turned into a little bird so that she could always fly around him and sing to him, to make him happy. And at night, she rests on the mountain while he watches over her."

"That's so romantic," Alexa sighed, her eyes dreamy at the thought. "You're everything Alex and I aspire to be as a couple."

Karen smiled and squeezed her sister's hand. "Have faith, and you two will be so very much more ..."

***

"Well, look at that," Karen mused as she walked down the hall with Lisa, Mona and Janet. Behind them strode Mike, pacing himself so that he didn't step on any of them. "You drew me naked and nobody expired in shock."

"Will wonders never cease?" Lisa laughed. "I'm still blown away by how readily Kar suddenly turns into Lady Godiva. Seems like more of a Janet thing to me."

"I have never been shy about my body," Karen replied, shrugging. "I am perhaps just not flagrant about it, like so many girls in this day and age. It's a work of art to be marvelled at, or a shrine to be worshipped at."

"Said she modestly," Mona quipped, smacking Karen on the behind while the all walked. Mike just followed quietly. "So, big man: Was it everything that every guy on campus dreams of?"

Karen blushed slightly, not knowing how DeBourne would answer that question. If his answer was honest, it would be either boring or embarrassing for him. If he chose to be snarky, he'd be doing it at her expense, and she didn't see that happening either.

"Guess you should've taken the course and found out, eh?" was his response. Perfect, thankfully. Mona protested the non-answer, but eventually gave up. They dropped her off at her Ren Art class, and then Lisa at Women's Studies. Karen, Janet and Mike continued on through the campus, until Mike was ready to split off outside his dorms.

"Well, then," Karen mentioned, turning and looking up at him. "In the interest of parity..."

Michael's expression soured. "You're joking, right?"

"Do I look like I'm joking?" Karen asked.

"Unfortunately, no, I can tell you're not."

"Parity between us, DeBourne, is one of the great balancing forces in this universe. It wouldn't do to have things knocked off-kilter, would it?" she reasoned. "Take your time, mentally prepare yourself, but make sure you show up."

"Yes, Your Highness ..." he muttered as he turned and walked through the doors into his dorm.

"You really shouldn't poke the bear like that," Janet snickered. "He could just turn around and eat you suddenly, you know."

"I can think of worse ways to die, I admit," Karen said simply as they resumed their walk.

***

"Oh, Miss Gordon!" said a throaty voice, calling after her down the hallway.

She turned and smiled genially. "Professor Graydon, what a pleasure. How may a humble physics student help the art department?"

"Oh, I do not need your help, my dear," he intoned as he caught up with her. "I meant to thank you for modelling for us a few weeks ago, is all. You were a splendid model and many of my students turned in their best works that day."

"I'm sure it's your teaching methods and not the reference material, sir," Karen replied. "The credit is yours, I assure you."

"I just thought that maybe you would care to come and see some of the works you inspired," he suggested. "I don't make a habit of showing the models, and they mostly do not care, but I would like for you to make an exception."

She considered and then nodded. "It can't hurt, I suppose. Lead on, sir."

Karen followed Professor Graydon back to his studio, where she had modelled for him some weeks before. He led her over to a corner of the room. Several canvasses were placed together, as if set aside. He began showing them to her, commenting on their various uses of form, abstraction, light and colour. She looked and nodded, guessing which ones were sketched or painted by women, and which were done by men.

"But this one ..." the professor said, pulling a particular one out of the group, "... I think you will find quite exceptional."

Karen stared, the breath subtly leaving her body.

"It looks like a Roman bust ..." she said quietly.

"Indeed," confirmed the professor, nodding. "It is not often one sees a portraiture in another medium than sculpted. But here it is, and the results are magnificent."

She tried not to gawk. She thought of the intent behind the Roman medium, how, unlike the Greeks, with their glorification of the whole human form, the Romans concentrated on the heads of their subjects, capturing expression and character in a way no other culture ever had.

The space was dominated by a black and white sketch of her from the collarbone up, her neck turned slightly and her eyes gazing into the distance. It was uncanny, but through the artist's use of shading, one could almost tell what colour her eyes were, the shade of her hair, and the blush of her lips and cheeks, even though it was simply charcoal on an off-white canvas.

Off to the side, a small, detailed image of her naked body sitting at rest took up the lower right corner, no more than a reference for the main thrust of the endeavour.

It was beyond beautiful. There was a reverence of the subject that gave her a chill.

"Remarkable, isn't it?" mused the professor, smiling as she stared. "It's good enough to be in a gallery. But I think you should take it."

She blinked. "Sh-shouldn't the person who actually did it take it back, then?"

He shook his head. "They didn't want it. Would you like to know who -"

"No, it's quite all right, professor," Karen interrupted, her mouth and throat dry. She was pretty damned sure that she already knew who it was. "I think I'd prefer to not know, if it's all the same to you. Sometimes, a little mystery in one's life s a good thing. But if they ever want it back for some reason, please inform me yourself, so I don't find out when they come to collect it."

"As you wish," he said, shrugging. "Allow me to at least wrap it and protect it for you."

She acquiesced to the suggestion, and was soon walking it down the hall, holding it as if she expected it to be stolen from her. She hurried back to her dorm room and stuck it under her bed, before sitting quietly and just staring blankly at the opposite wall for several minutes.

Would her heart never stop thundering?

"Heya, sexy," Lisa said cheerfully as she came in the door. "You look downright haunted. Everything okay?"

"Oh, yes, yes ... fine ..." Karen said distractedly before blushing. She hated getting caught staring off into space. "Just stuff on my mind, is all."

"Well, what are my chances of distracting you?" the slender redhead purred, gliding over and sitting beside her on her bed and leaning in. "After all, we haven't done it in nearly twenty-four hours."

Some minutes later, Karen was lying naked on her back with her legs spread, while Lisa lapped hungrily at her slick pussy. She moaned and sighed, squirming herself against her lover's mouth, but her mind was elsewhere, lost in thought about the portraiture. Even through her climax, Lisa never noticed Karen wasn't really there.

***

"It's only a paper moon, sailing over a cardboard sea.

But it wouldn't be make-believe, if you believed in me!

Now it's only a canvas sky, hangin' over a muslin tree.

But it wouldn't be make-believe, if you believed in me!"

"Y'know, I really don't mind these karaoke nights anymore," Janet mentioned as she watched the blond behemoth sing the classic song onstage. "T'be honest, it looks like Mike has caused the quality of the singing to go up a little, y'know? Because he's good at it, he's subtly influenced other people to try and not sound so shitty, I mean."

"They're still not great, mind, but at least we get these interludes with him," Mona agreed. "Weird though, that he's picked karaoke to be a hobby. Isn't he from some little town up north?"

"Yeah, I think he told me Kapuskasing," Janet replied. "Is that right, Kar? ... Kar?"

"Hm?" Karen murmured, turning to look at her friend.

"Jesus, what crazy physics do they have you working on?" Janet asked, making a wry face. "You've been a space cadet for days now, it's freaking me out."

"My deepest apologies," Karen said dryly. "Why was it that you ripped me away from my reveries?"

"I was just trying to remember where DeBourne was from," Janet explained. "Is it Kapuskasing?"

"Why am I supposed to know?" queried the auburn-haired girl. "I wasn't the one sleeping with him."

"Yes, but you remember everything you're told," Mona pointed out, gesturing with her beer. "There are some mornings that Janet can't remember which foot is her left."

Karen rolled her eyes. "If memory serves, he is indeed from Kapuskasing. Why are we pondering this?"

Mona shrugged. "We just thought it was a weird thing for someone from a small town to be into, y'know?"

"Not really," Karen sniffed. "It's northern Ontario, not the boreal forests of the Arctic."

"Wow, did you just defend your great rival?" Janet laughed. "Now I'm not so sure it's physics problems you're spaced out about."

"Oh, be serious." Karen almost snapped, giving her friend a look.

"Now that you mention it, she did acquiesce to coming to karaoke night pretty easily," Mona added, pouring gas on the fire and giggling. "Normally it's like pulling teeth."

The pair kept snickering while Karen scowled at the table. Lisa watched on quietly, smiling at her dear friend.

***

Michael stood outside the door to the classroom, wearing a long robe that barely covered his massive frame. He grumbled to himself, wondering why parity was always so damned important. People walking by in the hallway stared as much as they dared while passing him.

"You'd better get in there already, they're probably waiting on you."

He turned around and tried not to frown, as he saw Gordon looking up at him, several physics tomes pressed to her chest.

"Why aren't you in there and ready to draw?" he almost demanded.

"Oh, I'm not taking that course," Karen replied, shrugging. "I have no talent for the visual medium."

Michael could feel his eye twitching as she sauntered off. His hand gripped the brass knob of the door so tight, it almost bent under the pressure. He opened the door and walked in stiffly.

Karen stopped around the corner and leaned back against the wall, staring at the ceiling and sighing. Why did her heart pound in her chest every damn time she was near that infuriating man?

She bit her lip as she lowered her head and closed her eyes, wrestling with herself.

"Don't do it ... don't do it ... don't d- ... dammit ..."

Annoyed with herself, she walked back around the corner and down the hallway toward the door of the art room. Her heart was still thumping as she approached. She stood in front of the door, relieved that the professor had pulled the blind down to give the students privacy.

However, the blind was slightly askew, meaning that the interior was not totally blocked from view, if someone were to lean in close and look at the corner.

Karen glanced left and right down the hallway, making sure no one was approaching, and leaned in, looking inside the room.

She spun and threw herself against the wall beside the door, trying not to gasp and to control her breathing. Her eyes must have been wide as dinner plates, she was certain.

Dear God above, how many men suffered shortcomings to allow for that to exist?!