Sandy Ch. 07

After a moment's look at the board, she grinned at me and sent off two of mine, grinning at me again as she fumbled at the button again, making it pop open, revealing the center of her bra - and more of herself. As I was about to say something, she snickered and said innocently:

"Oh, that wasn't supposed to happen," and buttoned up two of the three buttons as she smiled at me, adding softly:

"I wondered if that would work, but I had to wait until you noticed."

This time, she smiled more sweetly as I noisily threw my dice. I couldn't make a move, and complained loudly and then whispered as she threw hers:

"That's cheating."

"I know; I just wanted to try it."

"Vixen!"

She just grinned and went on to win the game, the last one. We returned to our parents, who asked who had won. I replied that I hadn't counted. My sister grinned and said:

"But I did. I won more than he, and really beat him the last game.

"Button up your blouse, dear," Mother said. As my sister did up the top button, Mother added:

"I don't think you should wear that one any more; it's a little too small."

"Yes, Mother," she replied and then said that she was going to read in bed. After she had said good night to our parents she turned and winked at me as she bid me good night and then went off.

I started to read the paper, but then remembered that Sandy must have been talking to Vivienne and found myself rereading paragraphs to try to follow the articles with thoughts about them distracting me, also wondering about Martha and her brother. Did she really want to with him? Would she find a way to confirm that in a letter? If she wanted to? So that just my sister and I understood? The letter would be to her.

My thoughts didn't change much after that one, just returned to Sandy and Vivienne. I was turning the pages of the paper just to keep from staring at one for too long. Finally my parents suggested that it was bed time and we went to our respective rooms.

I decided to try not to think about Sandy and Vivienne; I had done that two nights before, and any variation on that would just increase the disappointment if we ended up going to dinner. Instead, I tried to recall if maybe I had come as many times with Pam and Sukie as I had with Sandy, either that Saturday afternoon or the next morning. It was difficult to remember, and I didn't think so, but it was fun trying to recall everything we had done.

After breakfast the next morning, I was more curious than just looking forward to meeting Sandy again; she could have bad news. This time she was waiting at the downtown corner of the street I took to her avenue. Her broad smile, however, suggested good news, tempered, however, a bit by her first remark after we had greeted each other, again with a kiss.

"I don't think we will have to go to dinner, but I'm not sure. It was a little funny. When I came home - with more beer and eggs ...," she grinned at me:

"... and some other groceries, she was in the shower. I thought she would have been home longer, but there had been a delay. So after announcing that I was home, I quickly dumped the groceries and got undressed, figuring that a little nudity would be a good start, and she knew that I always showered when I got home from work, so that wouldn't be unusual."

"And after last weekend ..."

"And Monday evening, yeah. So she was just a little surprised when I came into the bathroom like that. By then she was drying herself, but then said: 'I guess so; I sort of forgot - not really - ...' and she smiled: "just the old routine of coming home and not thinking about anything much,' and she smiled again with a snort and added: 'I remember, ...' and she snorted again: "especially with you standing there ... like that.' 'I didn't mean to surprise you, ...' I replied: 'just my routine, too.' That wasn't quite true, of course, but I noticed that she didn't have her bathrobe in the bathroom, suggesting that her 'old routine' when alone didn't include it."

"That's nice ... to know."

"Yeah, that was what I was thinking. So then I showered. When I came out, she was wearing shorts and a shirt and smiled as she saw me and asked if I wanted a beer, remarking that I had bought some. 'Yes, please,' I replied and told her to find the cold ones. When I joined her, she asked about the beer, and I told her that we had drunk several Wednesday evening. She snorted with a smile, and we drank, and then she said: 'You two don't miss a lick. Tuesday evening, too?'"

I snickered at Vivienne's remark, and Sandy glanced at me with a grin and continued:

"Hm-hmm! Yeah, that's what I did, too, and then Viv realized what she had said and snickered, herself, and said: 'Well, I didn't mean it that literally,' 'Just Wednesday,' I replied, and we both laughed and had another drink from our beers."

"We sure didn't, ... you, especially. Sounds good."

We both snickered, smiling at each other as Sandy went on:

"Yeah, I thought so, too, and thought it would be a good time to mention that you were coming over again tomorrow - today - and told her. She looked thoughtful for a moment and then said: 'Maybe I should make myself scarce this time; three's a crowd.' 'He didn't think so,' I replied and took a drink, watching her. She snorted with a slight smile and then also drank and agreed: 'I guess not, ... but you might have.'

I chuckled with a nod. Sandy glanced around and lowered her voice:

"Oh, when I said that about you, her nipples popped out."

"How flattering. What did you say then?"

Sandy snickered more than before, grinning at me for a moment, and replied - again sotto voce:

"That you hadn't missed a lick, so I hadn't either. Viv laughed out loud, and I was chuckling at my successful turn of phrase. She had a sip of beer and then snorted and said: 'I know what you mean.' We both almost choked on our next sip of beer, still having to laugh."

"That was good, a real 'good idea'."

"Um-hmm, but when we had recovered, she said: 'I don't know ...' 'If you want to "make yourself scarce,"' ... I said: 'he insisted that he take us both to dinner.' 'To be fair,' Viv suggested. "Yeah, something like that, ... he's had two of your meals,' I replied, thinking I shouldn't pick up on what she'd said with a reference to 'sharing.'

"Um-hmm," I agreed, nodding.

"But she did, it seemed, chuckling slightly and after a moment saying: 'Yeah, I guess,' and paused and add: 'Sounds like you two have been planning this.'

"That bothered me - we had been." Sandy glanced over at me:

"But I tried to explain my way out of it by saying: 'Not really. It's your apartment; you shouldn't feel - ever - like you have to disappear. It's kind of unfair that he and I have hit it off so well, using your apartment, especially after your weekend didn't work out.' She snickered with a quick grin and replied: 'Well, you sort of made up for that - he did - and you, "sharing,"' and she snorted. 'It wasn't any sacrifice,' I replied, and we both chuckled and drank, finishing our beers. I expect that she was also recalling her comments about not missing any licks."

"I hope so. I sure tried not to."

Sandy almost laughed at loud and then went on:

"Then she asked if we wanted another beer, remarking: 'I think I need another one, if we keep talking about this.' Of course, I agreed - for the same reason. Oh, we were still standing in the kitchen, so I got two more cans from the fridge while Viv got out some crackers. We opened our cans and drank and had a couple of crackers in silence.

"By now it seemed clear that we were talking around the subject, both knowing what would happen if she didn't disappear first or insist on letting you take us to dinner."

"That could be interesting, too, all of us knowing we could be back in the apartment doing something else together."

"Um-hmm, maybe, but a sacrifice. Oh, she has her ... next week; I checked her pills."

"Hmm! Clever, does that ... - er - make her more 'interested'?"

"I don't know. ... Hm-hmm! I always am."

"I've noticed."

"Hm-hmm, I'm glad you have. I don't know, but at least she knows that she can't, ... if her schedule takes her somewhere where she could. ... Well, I guess she still could, but I don't think she would."

"Or he would."

"Have you done that?"

"No one ever asked me to."

"Yeah, I guess not; I don't think I would. ... Anyway, where were we?"

"In the kitchen with your second beers and eating crackers."

"Oh, yeah, and not saying anything - kind of funny after her suggesting that we wanted them if we were going to continue the conversation."

"Especially after her last comment, that was a direct reference to Monday evening."

"Um-hmm. Yeah, I was thinking about that, that we had gotten around to mentioning 'sharing' in that way - that she had really mentioned it, ... without saying that she didn't want to. Of course, I didn't expect her to come out and say she did."

"Of course not."

"Anyway, we just stood there, eating crackers and sipping beer, sort of as if to avoid talking, glancing at each other with noncommittal expressions. Yeah, she must have been thinking about it. Finally she said again softly, more to herself: 'I don't know,' and then asked what we wanted for supper. ... We're almost there. We didn't mention it again. She made conversation, talking about her flights, and after dinner, we watched TV."

"And this morning?"

"She just said: 'See you this evening,' but that is what she always says when she's not going to fly. I don't think she meant it to be ..., meant it that way. Then I was out the door. Maybe she thought about what she had said afterwards."

"We'll just have to see. See you at lunch."

After we had parted, I wondered if Sandy had noticed if Vivienne's nipples had been aroused again, maybe while they weren't talking, and then wondered how naked they had been together - or not - in the bathroom before they went to bed and in the morning. Maybe Vivienne hadn't gotten dressed yet before Sandy left.

During the morning, I was too busy to think about Vivienne. When I got to lunch, Sandy was already sitting with a couple of others, but there was a free seat, so I joined them. I immediately got the impression that one of the guys was interested in Sandy, maybe hoping to start something at the bar in the evening. After a minute or two, I recognized that she was playing coy, letting him do most of the talking, while I chatted with one of the girls.

She wasn't one I would have normally chosen, based on her looks, but I learned that she was a scholarship student, working her way through college, and had gotten the summer job without any connections, in contrast to most of us. She also seemed to have a more interesting job, one that used her math skills, really doing productive work instead of the bits and pieces of helping that I knew most of us were being occupied with.

Although she was very modest about what she was doing, it was obvious that she was making the most of her summer job, not just for the money but to put to use what she was learning in her math major. She knew that we all went to the bar on Friday, but didn't feel she could spend any money on that, which explained why she wasn't part of the social crowd. Although she seemed to appreciate my interest, indirectly it was clear that she knew we moved in different circles.

After lunch, it occurred to me how much most of the people I knew were on the inside track, even at Columbia. Of course, I knew some students who had scholarships, but only knew them superficially, hardly having considered what it meant to have to work one's way through college. With a lot more respect for them - and a little less for myself - I returned to my "bits and pieces" and spent the afternoon trying to justify my existence.

I was almost surprised when quitting time came, quickly clearing my desk and taking my razor to the men's room. Someone came in while I was shaving and grinned and asked if I had a heavy date.

"No, just a heavy beard," I replied, pleased when he laughed at my answer, but by then my thoughts were all questions about what would happen that evening: would Vivienne be there? If not, we knew what we would do, but if she were - and we wanted her to be - what then? Would she this time insist on accepting my invitation to dinner? But she had sort of expected to on Monday, or unconsciously suggested an alternative. Anything less than insisting would be suggestive - even having a cocktail, putting on some music, especially. And she knew that our going to dinner would be a sacrifice - Sandy had told her. No, she had just said that to me, but Vivienne still knew it would be.

By then, I had put my razor back in my desk and was on my way to meet Sandy.

"Hi. Oh, you're going to be surprised!" she greeted me with a grin.

"Pleasantly, I hope," I replied, observing that she had taken of her panty hose and as if by accident let my hand touch her ass.

"I kept them on this time," she murmured, grinning at me, and went on:

"Viv called after lunch and suggested a compromise: if you buy steaks and wine, she'll make another salad. Of course, I said you would."

"I sure will. Hm-hmm. That still doesn't count as taking you out to dinner; we can do that next week."

"That's what I thought, too, ... you know."

"Um-hmm. What else do you think?"

"She must know what she's suggesting - I mean - we almost said so yesterday."

"That's what I was thinking while I was shaving: anything less than her 'disappearing' would almost be an invitation, especially her suggesting another salad; that's what was the excuse Monday, even if she didn't know it when she was making it."

"Um-hmm, it sure was, and the music. Do you think she will already have put on mood music before we arrive?"

"That would sure be a nice way to let us know. When we were picking records was when I first touched her, and then she went off and took off her bra; she can't have forgotten that."

"I still don't know how it will start, though."

"Well, I'll take a shower as usual ..."

"And I'll chat with Vivienne - with a drink. Maybe something will develop from that."

"I hope so. ... Oh, how was the girl you were talking to at lunch? No one seems to know her very well."

I explained what I had learned about her and my subsequent thoughts, Sandy agreeing:

"Yeah, she's right - you're right. It's about the same at Sarah Lawrence. I hadn't really thought about it either, the extra effort that scholarship girls are putting in. And some of them are pretty bright - of course, that's why they got one - but we don't give them much recognition 'cause they're not in our crowd."

I agreed, and then we walked on in silence. I bought two good bottles of red wine and the best steaks the store had, and then we continued in silence, the tension increasing as we approached Sandy's and Vivienne's building. In the elevator, I again fondled Sandy's bottom. With a soft snort, she gave me questioning smile and nodded with an "um-hmm," and then we were at their floor.