Redwood Nine Ch. 02

Lenny came out of the bedroom, with Lorraine trailing behind, both still half asleep, both with only their pants on. Lorraine didn't care about everyone seeing her breasts, the need for modesty, worn off after yesterday.

"What's up? You fuckers in the mood to party already?"

JT went over to him and shook his hand, then explained what happened. Lenny perked up quickly, the talk of trouble bringing him around to full alertness. Lorraine wasn't as bothered by the news and went around hugging and kissing everyone hello.

"I can make coffee, would everyone like some?"

There was a hearty round of yeses from everyone, so Lorraine went in and was followed by all the girls, except Suzy, who stayed by JT's side. The small house became filled with smoke, as they all lit up cigarettes, so the guys went out back and talked about their business, while the girls talked about so much inside, it was a steady din of chatter coming through the walls. JT could see Suzy's face looking at him through the window, wishing she was out there with him, instead of being in chatterbox central inside. The old percolator sat on the counter bubbling away, as the girls talked about the guys, the sex and naturally how good they were.

Outside, the talk was of a more serious nature. The subject of what to do about the Impala, what to do about Wally's stash of contraband and what to do about finding a place to crash on Sunday night, becoming the main focus of discussion. Lenny seemed to be far enough removed to have clarity, despite just waking up a half hour earlier.

"Look, here's the deal. Wally, you got no reason to be worried, brother. Whatever is going on, it ain't about you, or you'd be in cuffs and a cell already, right? It has to be something else that went on. Who knows what happened while you guys were sleeping, could be some asshole came in and started a hassle with the clerk."

Wally thought on it a bit, weighing the plausibility of it.

"Shit, I wonder if old man Henderson came in and surprised Harold. Harold gets drink every Saturday night, because the weekend day manager is his cousin, who he helped get the job for him, so he won't say anything. The old man hates boozers, so no telling what he'd do if he came in and found Harold passed out drunk, instead of his cousin. Shit, probably give him a whack with the Louisville Slugger, he keeps behind the counter."

By sheer coincidence, that was very close to what had actually happened. Old man Henderson did indeed show up and catch Harold passed out, with an empty bottle of bourbon beside him and the stench of it reeking off of him. Instead of taking the bat to him, he was beating on him with his fists and kicking him, once he was down on the floor, when Harold's cousin, Lorne showed up. Not knowing who it was at first, that was beating his cousin, he grabbed the bat and swung at the man's head for a home run. It was only after he hit him again two more times, that he saw the face and recognized who it was, but by then, blood and grey matter had decided the outcome and old man Henderson lay dead. It sobered Harold up enough to call the cops and go over their story, to blame it all on the dead man, because he couldn't deny anything they said.

"Okay, there you go, Wally. Nothing to have a shit about, man. Just wait until we see what's happening and then worry, cool?"

Wally could see he was over-reacting and heard the calm in JT's voice.

"Yeah, cool. How long should we wait, before we go back and see?"

"Give it a bit to play out, Wally and then Otto, Keith and I can take a ride out and see what's going on. We can pretend we're just looking for rooms and check things out. What number is your room? We can see if there's any interest in it."

"I'm in ten, JT and Piney used eleven."

"Hey Lenny, you and Otto need to see if you can check on the Impala, see if it's okay."

"Yeah, we can do that. Okay, after a cup of coffee and a smoke or two, we'll head out and see how our day is looking. Find out what the girls are doing and if they're hanging out, or they need to go. Wouldn't mind a repeat of the Circle, if they stay."

That had all the guys discussing the possibilities and letting the threat of trouble fall away. Suzy was first out of the door with two cups of coffee in her hands and two lit cigarettes in her mouth, followed by the others, as they brought them out a cup each. It was black, no sugar, but the caffeine was a welcome boost. JT took a cigarette from her mouth and a cup from her hand and gave her a small kiss.

"Thanks, Babe."

"You're welcome, Lover."

JT looked at the twinkling in Suzy's eyes, her body language an offering of herself to him. JT pulled her to him and she cuddled in happily. The other girls were getting much the same treatment as well, the guys buttering them up for later. Wally felt how Ann-Marie was pressing into him and knew she didn't want to leave, so he asked the others.

"Do you girls need to go home, or can you hang out with us some more?"

That got the guys to hold onto their women a little tighter, hoping they felt their desire, as they looked at them. The girls started looking among themselves and then Suzy piped up first.

"I'll stay, but I need to shower at least, first."

The others felt the same and it was discussed that Lenny, Keith and Otto would take off and check out the motel, while the girls took turns showering. When everyone was back and ready, they decided on going out to the lake and enjoy a day outside. Lenny went in and got dressed, while Otto and Keith sat on their bikes and waited for him. Cindy hopped on the back behind Otto and pretended she was riding with him, wrapping her arms around his waist and laying her head on his back.

"Ever been on the back of a bike, darlin'?"

"No, but I bet it's fun."

"Yeah, it's fun. Scary too, at times, but mostly, it's fun. When we go out to the lake, I'll let you ride with me, like that?"

"Oh Otto, I'd love to. I can't wait. Hurry back, okay."

Mary was rubbing up against Keith, asking him about riding with him later.

"Love to, darlin'. Been a lonely ride so far, so I'd love the company."

Mary began kissing Keith with numerous pecks about his face, letting him know how happy she was to be going. Despite Gloria's arm wrapped around his waist, Piney's interest was in Mary and his desire to have her beside him instead.

Cindy hugged Otto tightly from behind and then got off, when Lenny came out to get on his bike. She gave him a big kiss and then stood back with the others and watched, as Lenny, Keith and Otto got ready to start their bikes. They primed their kick starts, then Otto jumped down on his and the engine roared to life, the twin cylinders bellowing out, to obliterate the quiet, Sunday morning. Keith jumped down on his, doubling the deep pounding of the air. Lenny jumped down on his and it didn't start. He worked the starter again into position and kicked down hard, the engine almost catching.

"Need to tune that baby up, Lenny."

"Shut up, Piney. Why don't you start it then?"

Piney walked up and more or less pushed Lenny off his bike. He grabbed the bars and pumped the starter and then jumped down it, and sparked the engine to life. It ran a bit rough at first, black smoke belching out the exhaust. Piney revved the engine up, clearing it out, as the noise reverberated off all the walls around them. Once the engine ran smoother, he let it idle and got off of it. Lenny gave him a nasty look and then smiled happily.

"Thanks, brother. Now get the fuck off my bike."

Piney laughed at him and dismounted, then hugged him, clapping their hands on each others backs.

"Have a good ride, brother."

"Thanks man. See you guys soon. Peace."

Lenny held up his fingers in a vee, as did Otto and Keith, before they clutched and put the bikes in gear and rode down the driveway. Everyone gave them the same sign back and followed them down the driveway to the street. Lenny and Otto twisted the throttles and the bikes roared off in twin cylinder thunder, Keith twisting his throttle right after and catching up, the thumping of the engines changing with their shifts. JT and Piney stood and looked at them, feeling the need to be riding with them.

"Soon, Piney, that'll be all of us heading out like that. Riding as a club, as brothers."

Piney slung his arm over JT's shoulder, realizing more of JT's dream and what the club meant to them. Already he was getting familiar feelings, like he did back in "Nam, the ones that felt like family. They walked back around to the back and into the kitchen, refilling their cups with coffee from the urn and heading into the living room. Only the girls were there, sitting around and talking and drinking their coffees.

"Where's Wally and Ann-Marie?"

"In having a shower. The water heater isn't the best, so to save hot water, we can go in pairs."

"I like that idea, sweet cheeks."

Piney had Gloria shift over and fondled her, tickling her as well. Mary glanced over, trying to watch surreptitiously, the faint look of jealousy showing in her eyes. JT hugged Suzy to him, looking in her dark, brown eyes, as she looked into his matching shade.

"Scrub my back and I'll scrub yours."

"You can scrub me front and back, Baby."

"Hey, if you two are going to waste water, we're going first."

JT looked at Lorraine sitting on the couch and questioned her.

"Who's we?"

Lorraine looked at JT, then put her arms around Mary and Cindy.

"Us. We'll have a shower first, won't we, girls?"

Mary and Cindy looked at Lorraine and then to the couples and took a smug expression.

"Yeah, the three of us. The hot water will be finished when we are, so you guys will have to sit and make out, or something, while you're waiting."

The shower turned off and shortly after, Wally and Ann-Marie were scooting out with towels around them and into the bedroom. Lorraine took the girls hands and they got up together.

"Our turn. Ready girls?"

Lorraine looked at them and then started taking off her top. Cindy and Mary followed suit and by the time they were closing the door to the bathroom, they were down to their panties. The shower turned on and in a minute, giggling started and never stopped the whole time they were in.

JT sat in an armchair and Suzy cuddled on his lap, while Piney sat on the end of the couch close to him and Gloria snuggled into him.

"I'm liking all of this, Piney. How about you?"

"I'm going to agree with you on that. Haven't spent a Sunday any better than I'm spending right now, in a long time."

"I wish the place in Lodi was bigger, we could have some good times there."

Suzy sat up and looked at JT.

"What's your place like now?"

JT lowered his eyes, almost in embarrassment, then looked at her again.

"It's a shitty one bedroom in a complex. Piney sleeps on the pull out bed in the living room."

"Well, technically JT, once I pull the bed out, I'm sleeping more in the kitchen."

They laughed at Piney's poke of humour to their situation.

"Let's just say, it'd be really crowded with the four of us there."

Wally and Ann-Marie came out of the bedroom, dressed and hair brushed and sat on the other end of the couch. Wally looked around and turned to JT.

"Where's the girls?"

"All three of them are in there now, can't you hear the giggling?"

Wally listened closer and then heard one of the girls shriek and then a round of giggles started again.

"The three of them are in there together? That's a lot of tits in the tub."

"Wally!"

Ann-Marie slapped his arm.

"What?"

Wally looked put out by her actions and looked at her offensively.

"That's not nice to say."

"Are you fucking kidding me? Every one of us here knows how big those tits are in there, they know how big your tits are too, so what's the hassle?"

Ann-Marie could see Wally was edging towards being pissed off and didn't want to start anything with him and spoil the day for everyone.

"Well, okay, but it just doesn't sound nice to hear."

Wally looked at her incredulously, trying to fathom why the word tits upset her.

"Are you fucked up, or what? Who here thinks tits is a bad thing to say? Come on, honestly, who thinks it's a bad thing to say?"

Everyone looked at Wally, shaking their heads no, or just shrugging.

"Tits, tits, tits, tits, tits, tits."

Ann-Marie just turned away from him and went into a huff on her own, knowing no one sided with her.

"Come on, Annie, don't be like that. I mean, what? We should all call them breasts, or boobs, jugs, what? It's just a name. Be thankful you have nice tits. You could be like me and have plain Jane tits."

Suzy grabbed her breasts and jiggled them.

"You have nice ones, they look okay."

"Nice what?"

Ann-Marie faltered, almost wanting to say breasts, or boobs and then looked at everyone quickly and shrugged.

"Okay, tits."

They cheered her and made her feel okay about saying it, by getting into a quick chorus of, Tits, tits, tits. Suzy took it a step further and took off her top and then bra, shaking them about. The guys cheered her and spawned the removal of Gloria's top as well. Piney was quite happy and went about fondling and massaging the soft masses. Ann-Marie knew it was a losing battle and undid the buttons on her jean vest and shucked it off. Wally's attitude changed as well and his smile reappeared, as he grabbed handfuls of her breasts, massaging them playfully.

"Tits, with a capital T, tits."

The guys were happily playing with the girls, who enjoyed the attention paid to them, then the door opened and three naked women came out giggling, soaking wet and trying to cover themselves, as they picked up their clothes. They noticed all the girls were topless, then stopped heading for the bedroom and just slipped their panties and jeans on. They came and joined them, sitting where they could.

"So, started on the fooling around early, huh.?"

Suzy spoke out before anyone else did.

"It's all Ann-Marie's fault. She didn't like Wally saying tits and one thing led to another and now we have our...tits out."

Lorraine looked around at all the bared breasts proudly on display and cheered.

"Let's here it for tits!"

A chorus of tits, tits, tits started again and breasts were being fondled by everyone, even the girls. The sound of Harleys coming down the street, had the guys cease their breast play and head out back. The girls stayed inside and watched, as Lenny, Keith and Otto rolled around and parked. The thunderous drone stopped and they dismounted, smiling. That had the other three feeling relaxed at what they had to relate to them. Lenny gave the command to head inside and start rolling, because they had some news to tell them.

The guys walked into the living room where the girls had went back into and saw them topless. Lenny immediately assumed the worst.

"Did you fuckers already do the circle jerk thing? You couldn't wait for us to get back?"

Lorraine pulled Lenny towards her, a surprised look on her face.

"What do you mean, already?"

That had the girls looking at him as well and the guys looking as guilty as Lenny.

"When were you planning on letting us know we were supposed to be doing that?"

Lenny stuttered and hesitated, looking at the other guys and found himself on his own to explain.

"Yeah, I admit it. We were talking about it outside before we left, so we didn't have time to tell you, okay?"

The guys knew it to be true and gave a spoken agreement to it. The girls looked at them and once again, had lasciviousness written on their faces.

"So maybe we can do that later? What do you say girls?"

The girls looked among themselves and intimated it might be possible, but never made anything look positive to the guys. Lorraine ended the moment and asked him what happened. Lenny broke away from looking at all the bared breasts and got back to what happened. JT and Piney rolled a joint each and lit them up, taking a hit and passing them in opposite directions. Lenny stayed standing and got their attention.

"We got to the motel and rode up to the office, but this cop stops us and asks what we want. I said we're looking for rooms and he said they wouldn't be renting out any rooms for a while. I asked him why and get this. Wally, know how you said old man Henderson would take a bat to Harold, if he caught him drunk?"

"Yeah, hates boozers, like I said."

"Seems he came in and found Harold passed out and started beating him and kicking him. His cousin, the day manager..."

"Yeah, Lorne. Total doorknob. Harold got him the job."

"Yeah, so he comes in and sees the old guy laying a beating on his cousin, so he goes and grabs the bat and does a Joe DiMaggio on the guy's head. Didn't know it was him, because they hardly ever see one another and didn't recognize him. Smacked him a couple of more times and 'Holy Grey Matter, Batman' the fucking guy is dead. So the cop says that anyone who is already there can stay, while the owner hires some new people. Looks like you guys have a room for a while. Just act like you've been there and say you've paid up for the week, Not your fault the guy is a drunk and didn't write it up. Maybe he was stealing from the till too. Cops will believe any bullshit you tell them, at this point."

They could see how the idea could work, as they sat and smoked the joints, smoke rings floating through the air. Suzy was stroking a length of JT's hair, when he looked at Lenny.

"You know what I was thinking. Since we start at Jake's tomorrow, why not bring your bike by and we can give it a tune up, so it'll run sweeter. Say hi to Jake, too."

"Yeah, maybe I'll do that. Fucking thing was hard to start again, on the way back."

"Hey JT, think I can bring my car around?"

"Get that noisy muffler fixed, Wally?"

"Yeah, hard to do things quietly, when my car is screaming at everyone to look at me."

"I'm sure Jake won't mind the extra business, might help us get steady jobs. I wouldn't mind working with him, I think I could learn a lot."

"Yeah, he knows his shit, man. Seen him raise some cars from the dead and get them running again. Knows how to make horsepower too. Seen a car he did up for a guy in town. Red '57 Belair, took the old 283 out and dropped in a 327 out of a wrecked Malibu. Threw in a cam and tweaked the four barrel, plus some other shit and this thing screamed. Smoked the tires up through first and second and got a good squawk hitting third. Do a buck thirty easy in the top end."

The girls were becoming bored with the car talk and wanted to have some fun instead, so Lorraine got up and made an announcement.

"Okay, we want to have some fun, instead of listening to you guys talking cars, so you have two choices. First one, we get dressed and go to the lake for a ride and get some burgers, cuz we're starving, that sounds good to us, or two, you guys sit and talk cars and we'll find some way to have fun ourselves. What do you say, one, or two.?"

Lorraine wiggled her two fingers at them, then all the girls joined her and stood beside her.

"Well shit guys, looks like we're going for a ride to the lake and getting some burgers. We'll take the 88 and cut off at 12 into Valley Springs, then take 26 and there's that great, little burger joint just before the cut off to New Hogan Lake. Get your tits covered girls, they won't let you out in public like that, why, I don't know, looks good to me."

The other guys agreed, disappointed to see all the breasts being covered up again. The girls teased them, but hugged and thanked them for taking them to the lake.

The guys who were riding, got their bikes started and steadied them, as their dates got on and wrapped their arms tightly around them. Everyone else piled into Wally's car and rolled the windows down. His radio crackled out a song through the broken speaker, but it was recognizable enough to enjoy. Lenny led the way and soon, they were on the road in a convoy, heading down to 88. People on the street stopped and looked at the motorcycles going by and the car full of people behind them. Heads shook on some, while others held a secret admiration for them. Rolling up to a stop sign, they were joined by a boy on a bicycle, who was eager to ride along with them.