Night Music in the Park

Jessi came around the corner from the front of the house. Mr. Berger hurriedly hid his cigarette behind his back.

'Don't bother, Dad. Do you really think Mom and I don't know you come out to the driveway to smoke? Sometimes you're such a putz, Dad.'

Mr. Berger smiled and affectionately gently patted Jessi's cheek with an open hand. 'I'm going inside before your mother comes out, too.' Before he left, he gave Jessi a kiss on the forehead.

'Your breath smells horrible, Dad. Make sure your brush your teeth before you kiss Mom,' Jessi said as she waved the air in front of her face. 'Dad, I'm going to give Gabe a ride home. I won't be gone long.'

'Okay. I'll tell your mother,' he said before he disappeared around the corner.

'It's only a few minutes to my house on foot, Jessi. I don't need a ride.'

'I know. But you're not getting away without telling me what you think.'

The quick walk to my house took no time in Jessi's car. We sat and talked in my driveway until my father stuck his head out and pointed to the watch he didn't wear. Neither of us had any ideas that we thought would help Rebekah. The only thing we came up with was to just treat her like we always did but provide whatever help we could when she needed it.

When I got inside, I got questioned about why I was late. I briefly told them what happened to Rebekah and explained that she was staying at the Berger's until she could reconcile with her parents. Then I begged off to get to my homework. I finally got to bed after one. I was a zombie for the first two classes the next day. Fortunately, it didn't turn out to be a big deal. When Rebekah got to AP Lit, she seemed fine. She squeezed my hand just before she sat at her desk but otherwise everything seemed okay.

I took Mom's minivan the following Sunday afternoon and drove Rebekah to her parents' house. I stayed in the car while she got her clothes and a few other things she wanted. The night she left, she took only the clothes she wore and her practice horn. The silver Vincent Bach was an inheritance from her grandfather, and she wasn't about to leave it behind. I stayed in the car and waited while Mr. Turnbull glared at me while Rebekah ran back and forth. I offered to help but she steadfastly insisted I stay in the car to avoid testing her father's temper.

Rebekah never reconciled with her parents. She went to visit them one night in early March and found the house they rented empty. She reached out to the church they attended and were told only that they told the minister they were moving and gave no forwarding address. They never mentioned Rebekah to him. He had just assumed she was moving with them. I could tell she was devastated but she never once complained.

The next two months flew by. Rebekah quickly got a job working in a coffee shop on Saturday and Sunday. Rebekah became a regular at my house. Sometimes she'd only come to rehearse. Other times, my mother insisted we invite her to dinner. She spent Easter Sunday with us. I spent Passover with her at the Berger's. My Aunt Willie bought a new car and lent her old one to Rebekah to use until she left for college. Rebekah wasn't sure she was going to be able to go, but Aunt Willie shrugged it off and told her not to give up on her dream yet. We practiced every night, sometimes at her place, sometimes at my house. Everything came together for both the Spring concert and the Regional concert.

The Spring concert went off without a hitch. The two weeks between the Spring concert and the Regionals were hell. Mr. Hadden drove us relentlessly but still managed to make it fun. In the end, we won the Regional and got to represent the district at States. We didn't win States, but came in a respectable fourth, the school's best showing ever. Mr. Hadden broke with tradition and instead of nominating only one instrumentalist from a group, he nominated both Rebekah and me for trumpet on the All State Band. We were both selected along with Tom Rigney on alto sax and Terry Southerland on oboe. We were the only school to have more than two musicians selected All State.

Rebekah and I grew much closer after she was thrown out of her parents' house. It wasn't long before we were known around school as a couple. We also began acting that way whenever we were together. Our affection for each other soon grew heated. We experimented but didn't progress beyond masturbation. Aunt Willie's old car was a Mini. Not exactly the best vehicle for the time-tested high school ritual of going parking. Once Rebekah had a car to use, my folks made us use her car any time we went somewhere together. I pitched in gas money whenever fuel was needed. Mr. and Mrs. Berger usually left us alone when I visited but one or the other checked on us often enough that Rebekah never allowed anything to get too affectionate at her place.

There was a tradition of a high school music festival every year two weeks after States and a few weeks before graduation. Hamecker Park is a huge city park on the outskirts of town with a lake for swimming and fishing, picnic benches, several playgrounds, and hiking trails. There's a big clearing in the woods that's a natural bowl with incredible acoustics. There's lights and a bandstand with power. The woods, the natural bowl, and its distance from residences means it's the perfect place for a party and loud music. The city and the Chamber of Commerce sponsor a series of free concerts every summer.

Each year, all four of the city's high school bands and choirs gather on a Saturday morning in May for a day-long impromptu music festival. The band and choir teachers show up during the day, but it's all about the students. They let the students do their thing and the teachers just enjoy the show. Sometimes one or two will sit in but they just go with the flow and let the students rule the day. During the day, the bands play for the crowds that inevitably find their way to the music.

The park closes at dark, but the city lets the graduating band and choir members stay in the park for an all-night party which turns into an all-night jam session. The police mostly leave the partiers alone. They just make a show of monitoring the party periodically to make sure there's no alcohol and everyone is safe. Reportedly there's never been a single fight but that's no surprise. The party is all band and choir geeks.

Rebekah had to work the day of the festival but managed to get someone to cover for her on Sunday. We made plans to meet at Hamecker Park when she got off at dinner time. I had a great time playing with the bands all day. We took on stuff we liked and hadn't ever played during a concert. Being practiced performers, we got the music we played mostly right. And when we couldn't get it right, we improvised.

At seven thirty, the police chief got up on stage and announced the park was closing for the night at eight. Everyone had to leave except graduating seniors and safety personnel. As the underclassmen and crowd gathered up their belongings and began to wander toward the parking lot, someone from the drummers yelled "Tusk!" and the drummers began playing the introductory beat. The choirs came in right on cue. Before long, every almost musician in the bowl was playing. We stretched the song out for a good twenty minutes. The drummers unquestionably stood out though if I'm allowed a little pride, the brass musicians weren't too shabby.

Once darkness fell, the party really got going. Some band musicians from all the schools also played keyboards, electric bass, and guitar. There was the equivalent of a small rock festival set up on the stage. When the rock band started playing, many of the wind instrument players were ready for a break. Rebekah and I left our instruments under the watchful eye of Jessi who sang with the choir. Rebekah grabbed my hand and led me to her car, parked near the edge of the woods. We grabbed some sodas and sandwiches out of a cooler for an impromptu picnic sitting inside the back hatch.

A policeman drove by on his rounds and saw us. He stopped and got out to check on us. 'What are you two up to?' he asked. His manner was genial, friendly but firm.

I had a mouthful of tuna on rye. 'Just having sandwiches and sodas,' Rebekah told him as we both held up our drinks.

'Mind if I look in the cooler?' he asked. He was polite but we could tell he meant business.

We both stepped aside after I opened the cooler. He shined his flashlight inside and pushed around the contents a bit. He smiled at us when he found a few more soda bottles and a container with more sandwiches. 'I'm sorry I had to look but it's my job,' he said. 'You two have fun tonight. I'm proud of you for adhering to the spirit of the night,' he added just before he got into his patrol car and drove off.

We finished our sandwiches and sodas and packed everything away for later. I was ready to go back to the music knowing we'd be alone together later. But Rebekah smiled at me. 'Mind if we take a little detour?' she asked. I had just enough time to nod before she reached behind the cooler and came up with a small duffle bag. 'C'mon,' she said, closed and locked the car then took my hand and ran toward a nearby path into the woods that lead away from the bowl to a small clearing that was occasionally used as a campsite. Some of the night's participants set up tents to use when things began to slow down or when they ran out of gas and decided to sleep.

There were two tents set up in the clearing. Rebekah led me to the one farthest away from the path, tucked into one corner. 'This one's us,' she said with a smile. 'I came here before work this morning with Jessi so we could set up. She's over there,' she added pointing to the other tent. 'She's going to lock our trumpets in her car if we don't make it back.'

I'm sure I had a stupid grin on my face. Rebecca and I had wanted to spend the night together for weeks. But it was just impossible. Mr. and Mrs. Berger were very protective. My mother worked from home. She came and went unpredictably. Since my parents knew Rebekah had a car, I didn't get to use one of theirs' if we went out. And that stupid Mini wasn't conducive to going all the way. It was something we discussed several times. We both wanted to. But Rebekah didn't want her first time to be in the cramped confines of Aunt Willie's 'Match Box' car.

Rebekah stood on her toes and kissed me on the lips. It was just a quick, but tender kiss. 'Gabe,' she said with a shy smile after she kissed me, 'we're not going back.' Then she dropped her little duffle, wrapped her arms around my neck, hopped up, and encircled my waist with her legs. I pulled her close, helping to support her weight with my hands on her buttocks.

We stood there kissing passionately for what seemed like an eternity. The heat of our kisses quickly had me hard. Rebekah ground herself against me while we kissed. We were both breathless when we broke from kissing. Rebekah relaxed her grip around my waist and slid down to the ground. She rested her head and against my chest and pulled herself tightly to me. She held me for a moment. I felt my shirt get warm. When she looked up at me, even in the dim moonlight I could see her eyes were watery.

'Why are you crying?' I asked. 'Is something wrong?'

'No, I'm happy for the first time I can remember in a long time. Everything is better than I could have hoped for after my parents threw me out of the house and disappeared,' she said as she put her head against my chest again. 'I don't know what I would have done without Mr. and Mrs. Berger, and Jessi. Or your Aunt Willie.' She hesitated a moment. 'But especially, you Gabe.' She looked up at me again. 'I love you, Gabe. I know it's a stupid thing to say at eighteen, but I do.' Then she smiled. 'Stay here. I want to do something.'

Before I could say a word, she stood on her toes and kissed me quickly, bent down to pick up her duffle and hurried into the tent. A light came on just before she zipped the tent flaps closed again. 'Stay there! I won't be a minute!'

While I stood outside in anxious anticipation, I could hear Rebekah moving around inside the tent. The lantern cast a faint shadow of her movements on the tent. It was easy to see she was changing. After a couple of minutes, she called to me.

'Gabe, you can come in now.' Her voice was soft and a little shy. But there was desire there, too.

I unzipped the tent flap and ducked inside, crouching on my hands and knees in the low confines of the tent interior. I didn't look at her until I zipped the tent flaps closed again.

The small battery-powered lantern cast moody shadows inside the tent that would usually make the space seem a little gloomy. Rebekah was on her knees in the middle of two sleeping bags that had been zipped together. Her shoulder-length, normally carefully tended, red hair was a bit messy from changing in the tight confines of the tent. She wore a modestly opaque blue nightgown that ended just above her knees. It concealed more than it revealed. Modest or not, seeing Rebekah dressed for bed made my heart race. I felt light-headed and short of breath.

Even though Rebekah's face was shadowed, I could tell she blushed when I saw her. 'Are you okay, Gabe?' she asked softly.

When I was unable to respond immediately, the color in her face became even more pronounced. Already a petite little thing, she seemed to shrink before my eyes. It took me a moment to realize my speechless response made her even more nervous.

'Y-y-y-you're b-b-beautiful, Rebekah,' I somehow stammered.

Rebekah moved toward me awkwardly, the sleeping bags bunching up under her knees. She hugged me tightly and rested her head on my shoulder. After a moment, she squeezed hard and then released me. She backed away, moved sideways a little so we could look at each other. She played with the ties on her nightgown. She was nervous. But so was I.

When we were in the Mini, my shirt had been opened for her to explore my chest with her hands, lips, and tongue. She had held me in her hand, gently exploring my length. Tenderly teasing the transition between my glans, ridge, and hard shaft with her fingertips. She had held my testicles and rolled them gently inside their sac. She had held my shaft firmly, while she stroked my length until I exploded into her other hand. She sometimes gently spread my spend along my entire length, a sensation that was exquisitely stimulating.

I had run my fingers through her hair. Unbuttoned her blouse and traced the design pattern on her bra with my fingertips, listening to her sigh softly. Feeling her nipples harden against her bra cups. I had always fumbled with the hooks that secured her bra, eventually managing to release it so I could cup her breasts and feel her nipples grow harder and distend into my palm. I had licked and sucked on her hard nipples. Blown air at them so I could watch her areolae pucker and shrink. She had guided my hand up her inner thigh until I felt her heat and dampness. She had guided me in exploring the mysteries of that warm, moist place. Led me through the sparse forest that grew there. Showed me how to probe between her lips gently, helping to spread the slippery fluid gathered there. She guided my fingertips to her clitoris. Taught me how to tease it out of its hiding place and push her to the point where she was begging to feel my fingers inside her. Guided first one, and then a second finger inside her. Started by slowly moving them in and out. Gradually increasing the speed until she was writhing in ecstasy.

But all this had been done inside the cramped confines of Aunt Willie's Mini, usually parked a few blocks from school on a dead-end abandoned town road. We could rarely even recline the seats all the way. The back seat almost always held our book bags and trumpets. Our clothes had only ever been rearranged. Never completely removed. We'd never been able to lie back and relax while we explored each other. And though we were unquestionably eager, there was always a certain anxiety. A fear that someone might come along and catch us. These sessions had always been immensely enjoyable. Always resulting in ejaculation for me and orgasms for Rebekah. But as enjoyable as they were, we knew we were missing out on something more satisfying.

'Let's lie next to each other,' she said softly. 'I want to hold you close, Gabe. I want to feel your whole body against me. Without that stupid arm rest between us.' Then she added with a shy smile, 'But first, I want to take your clothes off.'

Rebekah's hands shook when she reached for the buttons on my shirt. I was glad there were only two that needed to be undone on the Henley shirt I wore that day. She just couldn't seem to get her fingers to work. Once she finished with the buttons though, she seemed to relax. Her hands didn't shake when she slid them under my shirt and pushed it up as she ran her hands along my ribcage. I had to help pull the shirt over my head, lest she tear my ears off in her haste to get it off.

Despite the obvious bulge in my shorts, getting them off was easy. I'd bummed a ride to the park with Tom Rigney, knowing I'd leave with Rebekah when the time came. I wore a pair of workout shorts with a couple of pockets. I had my driver's license and a few dollars in a money clip in my pocket. My cell phone was in my trumpet case. Rebekah simply pulled on the elastic waistband and pulled my shorts and jockeys down together. My erection slapped against my abdomen when it sprung free. Once I maneuvered out of them, Rebekah backed away to look at me.

To this day, I'm not sure about what there was about me that appealed to Rebekah. It had to be my personality. Or the way I treated her. I wasn't hideous but I wasn't much to look at. I was tall and gangly. Almost six-three and about a hundred-seventy pounds. I had a full head of wavy dark brown hair I kept at a length that brushed the top of my shoulders. I never fussed with it, just ran my fingers through it to make it presentable. I didn't have much facial hair, certainly not enough to grow a beard. I had, and still have, a pleasant, friendly face with a slightly lop-sided smile. But not one that anyone other than Rebekah, my mother, my grandmothers, Aunt Willie, and now my wife ever called handsome.

Rebekah, on the other hand, was gorgeous. Five-three. An angelically beautiful face with honey-brown eyes, pale freckles, and auburn hair with copper highlights. I often lost my train of thought when I saw them in sunlight. My heart skipped whenever she honored me with a whole-hearted smile. She had an athletic build on her petite frame, and though she was surprisingly strong, she never did anything more athletic than go on day hikes.

After I self-consciously watched Rebekah admiring her handiwork for a few minutes, I moved toward her and pulled her to me. She nuzzled right in for a moment, then backed away. 'Your turn,' she said softly but confidently as she knelt before me with her hands demurely behind her. But she never took her eyes off my face.

The first thing I did was untie the bow just below her neck and then untie the three below it. The overlapping panels fell apart, exposing the gap between her breasts, her navel, and the nearly see-through panties she was wearing. I never would have believed it possible, but my erection felt like it grew more rigid. I pushed the now loose nightgown off her shoulders. It fell away from her chest but didn't fall off. It caught at her elbows. I watched, mesmerized, as puffy nipples hardened before my eyes. It wasn't the first time I'd seen them. But it was the first time I'd seen them from in front of her, instead of from beside her in the cramped Mini seat.

Once Rebekah's breasts were exposed, I no longer wanted to just disrobe her. I wanted, no needed to hold her. When I reached out for her, she fell against me, as desperate to hold me as I was to hold her. Finally feeling her breasts and hard nipples against my chest was more wonderful than I ever imagined.