Ten Years Have Got Behind

It was Jeremy who broke the silence. "So how long did it take to get used to this?"

"Not as long as I thought," Ellie said, reasoning that it was true -- there was no need for him to know this was only the second time she'd done it. "Honestly, it's all such a relief after where I've been, with my ex-husband, you know, something totally different and a little taboo was really welcome!"

"Yes, Matt told me you got divorced. I'm sorry."

"I'm not. It was a mistake and I learned from it." Once again Ellie was itching to touch him, but she resisted the temptation. "A lot of what you knew about me before was a mistake. I feel like I'm still learning who I am."

"That's one advantage to being a loser in high school," Jeremy said. "You do learn a lot about yourself early on."

"You weren't a loser!" Ellie finally gave in to temptation and touched his arm. "It's the people who made you feel like one who were the losers. Including me, I guess."

"You weren't too bad," Jeremy said. "The worst I can remember you doing is going along with guys like Matt when they picked on me."

"That's still bad enough," Ellie said. "And I'm sorry." Not half as sorry as she felt for herself, as she thought of what she knew about Matt's plans for April.

"Thanks. It's fine, honest. I mean, if I could make up with Matt of all people..."

"Yeah, I'm still pretty amazed you did!" Ellie said. "I don't know how you did that."

"Well, when I found out he was gay, I figured he must've been pretty miserable himself back then," Jeremy said. "So it made sense that he'd take it out on me. Not that I can ever forget some of the stuff he did, but I get it, you know?"

"Honestly, I'm not sure I do," Ellie said. "When I think of the way he treated you, he and his buddies..." All of whom would be in on Matt's disgusting joke!

"Well, look at it this way," Jeremy said. "Yes, it was terrible at the time. But like our family counselor said --"

"Family counselor?" Ellie couldn't help herself -- it was none of her business, but then weren't they both naked anyway?

Jeremy nodded. "The bullying was a big strain on my family. My parents couldn't understand why I hated school so much, and I was too ashamed to tell them how I was being treated...but like our counselor said, that's all the more reason to let it go. If I let it still have any power over me, it'd mean all the misery was for nothing, you know?"

"Wow," Ellie said. "I guess I do, yes." She was more outraged than ever at Matt's plans, but she still couldn't think of a way out.

"And hey, I did make my escape, didn't I? To Paris, and now to Saint Mark's. And if my younger self ever knew I'd be playing look but don't touch with you..." He looked her in the eye and burst into laughter, and she followed suit. It felt good. "You have aged beautifully, Ellie."

"Thank you!" She looked down at herself. The invitation to go ahead and touch hung there in the air, but she just couldn't do it when she thought of Matt's plans. "Very nice penis you have there."

"Lovely bush you've got."

"Do you really think so?" She patted it affectionately, half-hoping he'd help himself to a feel, but he didn't. "I was just thinking the other day, maybe I ought to start waxing."

"No! I mean, it's your body, but I hate the bare look. A full bush is so much more dignified. And sexy."

"God, I was such a fool in high school, to never notice you!" Ellie had to clamp her hands together to keep them to herself.

"Well, it's not too late, and I'd say we're definitely going to get to know one another better," Jeremy said.

"I'm looking forward to that," Ellie said, all the while castigating herself privately.

They enjoyed a long, comfortable soak, and then Jeremy treated her to some Chinese takeout for dinner. He turned in early, owing to the jetlag, and so Ellie was alone with the television for company when Scotty and Matt got home. "Welcome back," she said, far more politely than she felt.

"So how did the new roommate bonding go?" Matt asked.

"Too well."

"Too well?" Scotty asked, taking his favorite seat beside her on the couch. "Too much of a good thing already?"

"Yeah, just what does that mean?" Matt asked, sitting on her other side.

"Matt, you and the guys -- and me too -- we did real damage back then," Ellie said. "Even his family was hurt, dealing with his problems."

"I know what you're getting at, and the answer is no," Matt said. "You think Adam's family wasn't hurt?"

"Even if they were, it's not like he's going to know anything about this!" Ellie said. "You didn't invite Adam to this stupid joke of yours, did you?"

"Never heard from him again after high school," Matt admitted. "I don't even know where he is now. But that's beside the point."

"Dear, is whatever he did to this Adam really so horrible?" Scotty asked.

"He didn't do anything to Adam!" Ellie said.

"Didn't do anything for him," Matt corrected. He stood up. "And look, it's not like we're going any real damage. The guys'll laugh at him, but then he never has to see them -- or me or you -- again."

"If even you don't think it's any big thing, why do it?" Ellie asked.

"You didn't see the way Adam looked at me that day," Matt grumbled. "Good night."

"Dare I ask," Scotty said quietly once they were alone, "Just what did Jeremy do to this Adam that's so horrible? Or didn't do?"

"Adam was another one of Matt's gang, like he said," Ellie began. "From about the third grade, the six of them: Matt, Jason, Mike, Chris, Eddie -- and Adam, always getting into trouble and spoiling everything for the other kids."

"Eddie?" Scotty asked. "Matt's never mentioned him."

"The summer before senior year, he was killed in a car accident," Ellie said. "He wrapped his mother's car around an oak tree and he wasn't wearing his seatbelt."

"Drunk?" Scotty asked.

Ellie nodded. "And guess who gave him the beer from his dad's stash?" She pointed down the hall at Matt and Scotty's bedroom.

"Explains why he's such a Nazi about drinking and driving," Scotty said. "Never even a sip of wine when we're out for dinner."

"Right," Ellie said. "Anyway, like he said, Adam was the star athlete of the bunch. Jeremy was the runt of the whole class. Even some of the girls could beat him at most sports, you know?"

"I know exactly what that's like," Scotty said with a grin that Ellie could read all too well.

"Yeah, I've been thinking you and Jeremy would get along great, if only..."

"I don't support what Matt's doing at all," Scotty reassured her. "But I can't change his mind any more than you can."

"I know," Ellie said. "I've known him longer than you have."

"But this Adam?"

"Right, Adam," Ellie went on. "Seventh grade, after school. Jeremy's out riding his bike, and he rides past a park near our school. Matt and Adam are there horsing around, and they see Jeremy, who's smart enough to avoid them. Matt gets a brilliant idea to put one over on Jeremy and have something new to tease him about at school. He tells Adam to lie on the ground and look like he's fallen out of a tree, and he calls out, 'Hey, Jeremy, help!'"

"And Jeremy fell for it?"

"Yes, he swung his bike around and came racing across the grass at them, and then Adam stands up and they both laugh their asses off at him -- 'You sucker! You think we'd ask for your help anyway?' Jeremy just steers his bike around and leaves without a word, and he goes on with his ride around the edge of the park."

"That's it?!"

"No. Then Adam climbs the tree again, and he gets, I don't know, ten or fifteen feet up, and then he really does fall out. I guess he landed on his shoulder. Now Matt's yelling for help again, only this time it's for real, and Jeremy's close enough to hear. I guess they actually made eye contact, and Matt calls, 'Really, this time I mean it!' But Jeremy just shook his head and rode off."

"Oh, no, dear."

"Well, look, he had no way of knowing. In any case, a woman came by walking her dog a minute or two later and Matt got her to call an ambulance. Adam's shoulder was broken, and he recovered but he could never throw quite as well again. He didn't even make varsity in high school."

"That's what Matt's so pissed off about?" Scotty was horrified. "It's not like he's the one who pushed Adam out of the tree or anything."

"And it wouldn't have been any less broken if he hadn't ignored Matt," Ellie said.

"Not to mention Matt's the one who cried wolf in the first place."

"So now you see why I feel so crummy about being wrapped up in this!" Ellie said. "But if he kicks me out of the house..."

"Let me think on this, dear," Scotty said, and he kissed her cheek and stood up.

"I don't think even you can talk him out of it," Ellie said.

"Me neither," Scotty said. "But maybe I can help you turn the tables."

"Scotty, thank you!"

"Don't thank me yet. But I'll try. Good night."

Sunday morning found Ellie up and out of the house before any awkward questions could arise about showering together. She got paid extra for her reluctant willingness to work the early shift on the mall's busiest day. When she returned home in midafternoon, it was unseasonably hot and she found all three of the guys out on the deck. "What's up?" she asked, strolling out to greet them.

"Jeremy here agreed to help us with prepping for the big party next weekend," Matt said. "Can't remember if I told you, I finally decided to buy those wooden deck chairs I always wanted." He pointed to one that was already assembled, and Ellie saw Jeremy was hard at work on another.

"I've got to admit, Matt, I've got mixed feelings about Jason and Mike and Chris," Jeremy said.

"Oh, they're all looking forward to apologizing to you too," Matt said. "And they'll all be happy to see you again, too, Ellie."

"Especially the way you'll be dressed," Scotty quipped.

Ellie laughed. "Just so they understand I'm not eighteen anymore." She wished she could strangle Matt, but she was careful not to let on.

"Why don't you be a good token female and go get us some iced tea or something?" Matt said.

"Hey, not cool, man," Jeremy said. "I can get my own drinks." He stood up, but Ellie waved him off.

"It's okay, Jeremy. I'll do it. After all, I can see all three of you working up an awful sweat. See you in the shower later?"

She wasn't sure if it was eagerness or rage that she saw in Matt's eyes as she turned to go to the kitchen. But right then she'd have settled for either.

On her return with the four glasses, Ellie sat in the completed chair and made small talk until the chairs were done and set in a semicircle around the deck. "It's almost like you want the guys to sit there and watch the hot tub," Ellie quipped.

"Rats, dear, she's onto us!" Scotty said. "We were planning to charge admission to watch you skinnydip in there."

"Let's discuss percentages, then," Ellie shot back, standing up. "But first, who's ready for a shower?"

"I'll see you in there, for sure," Jeremy said.

"Ditto," Scotty said, looking hard for some sign of homophobia from Jeremy; he was pleased to find none.

Matt said nothing. That was fine with Ellie.

In her room, Ellie wasn't finished undressing yet when she heard the shower start. She cracked her door and heard Matt and Scotty talking in the kitchen, so it must be Jeremy in the shower. Not wanting him to have to be alone with either of the guys, she hurried off the last of her clothes and threw her bathrobe on, and greeted him in the shower with a smile. "Something else, isn't it?" she asked as she slid her robe off and joined him in the spray.

"I can see why you like to share it," Jeremy said. But he was looking at Ellie's nude, wet body as he said it and once again he was rock hard.

Ellie was just about to invite him to soap up her breasts when Scotty appeared in the doorway, wearing not even a towel. She gave Jeremy a wry smile she hoped he would understand, and turned to greet Scotty.

"My my, aren't you the lucky guy, Jeremy?" Scotty said, eyeing Ellie up and down. "No offense, Ellie, but those are the first jugs I've seen in ages and I still can't understand how you ladies can carry those around all day long!"

"Scotty, you see my boobs every time you're in here!" She gave him a furtive look.

"Oh, right, of course!" Scotty did his best to look abashed, and they both hoped Jeremy was persuaded it wasn't really the first time they'd showered together. "Sorry, Jeremy, it's my way of cutting through the sexual tension that happens every time we're in here together."

"Just so Matt isn't jealous of either of you, huh?"

"I'm not jealous of anyone." They all turned to see Matt in the doorway, a towel wrapped around his waist. "We're all a big happy family here, aren't we?"

Ellie forced a smile and reminded herself that he had seen her naked before, and let him drink in the changes in her body since then. It felt anything but natural, but Jeremy seemed none the wiser.

"What was it you said to me in high school, Jer?" Matt said as he finally pulled his towel away and stepped into the spray. "About showering with the rest of the football team?"

"Hey, I was only giving back as good as I got," Jeremy said.

"That's cool, it was a great comeback," Matt said.

"Just what did you say to him, dear?" Scotty said to both of them; Ellie was also wondering.

"Oh, he was calling me gay because I sang in the choir while he was on the football team," Jeremy said.

"And he says -- and he's right, of course -- yeah, Matt, I sing in the choir," Matt recalled, soaping up his chest, which at least gave Ellie something else to admire. "He says, I go to concerts all over the place with all the girls in the choir, in their nice frilly dresses, and sometimes they fall asleep on my shoulder on the bus home, and meanwhile you're showering with a bunch of other sweaty guys in the locker room. And which of us is gay?" Matt burst into roaring laughter, and seeing it was okay with him, the other three did as well. "Jer, you're damn lucky Mrs. Wallace came in the room right then, or I'd have kicked your ass...but, oh look, you were right!"

"Must've been hard keeping it to yourself what you thought in the showers there," Jeremy said.

"Eh, you wouldn't say that if you'd seen those guys naked, Jer."

"Besides, you had me fooled," Ellie said.

"I still can't believe that," Matt said. Turning to Jeremy, he said, "It's you I feel sorry for right now. Must be tough to look and not touch."

"I never said he couldn't touch," Ellie said.

Jeremy looked delighted, but he didn't say anything.

"Really, if you want, Jeremy." Ellie picked up her tube of shower gel and squeezed out a generous serving over her breasts. "Have at!"

His touch was just as gentle as she'd always imagined it would be, and she was once again thankful that her own symptoms of arousal weren't readily visible like a man's. "Th...thanks for letting me," he said as he soaped them up."

"No, thank you! It's been too long since I've had anyone to do this for me!" With the ice broken, she also scooped off some of the excess suds and rubbed his cock gently with them.

"Oooh!" Jeremy laughed. "Feels good!"

"Don't forget you're not alone!" Matt said.

"Neither are you, dear," Scotty said. "We've got our corner, they've got theirs." He stepped up to Matt, but Matt held up his hands.

"No, Scotty. Guys, if there's love blossoming here, take it to one of your rooms, would you?"

"Gladly!" Ellie said. "Let's rinse these off, Jeremy?"

Jeremy was all smiles and laughter as they shuffled down the hall in their bathrobes. But as soon as Ellie had shut them in her room, he said, "Sorry about that," and reached for the doorknob.

"Sorry about what?" Ellie asked. "That was beautiful. You have a nice touch, you know."

"Thanks." Jeremy laughed. "You can guess all the times I imagined doing that back then, you know. But I just figured you were trying to get us to give Matt and Scotty some space."

Though she knew she was only making matters worse, Ellie couldn't resist tearing her robe off and stepping up to take his robe sash in her hands. "It wasn't only that, Jeremy. You were always a really sweet guy, you still are, and here we've grown up and I know you like what you saw in there. I liked it too!"

She helped herself to a kiss, and he said nothing else as she made fast work of his robe. She welcomed his hands back on her breasts as she rubbed his chest just as eagerly. His touches had her deliciously aroused in no time, and soon she found herself longing for his fingers in her pussy. But he kept his hands above the belt. Finally, Ellie decided to take the lead -- she remembered well how shy he was, after all -- and she reached down and wrapped him gentle but tight in her fist.

"Oooh!" he squealed, almost girlishly, and opened his eyes. "You're good at that."

"I'm sure you are, too, and I'm getting almost frustrated here," she warned him.

"Sorry!" He laughed a bit, but did reward her with the coveted first tentative strokes on her vulva. Ellie exhaled loudly and wiggled, and welcomed his first finger inside her. His touch was divine, just firm enough and fast enough to keep her in a state of bliss but still in control as she rubbed his hardness affectionately.

She kissed him again, still moaning with his caresses, and nibbled his ear. "Come on," she whispered, and she tugged his cock like a leash. Her earlier concerns about the upcoming trick now forgotten with his magic touch, she fell back on the bed and spread her legs.

"Wow." Jeremy knelt between her thighs and looked her up and down. "Who ever would've imagined..."

"Never mind that!" Ellie held up her arms. "Come here!"

He was in her arms and in her vagina before she knew it. Everything she might have guessed about Jeremy back in high school was right. Slow and caring rhythm, looking and sounding awestruck with her, the very opposite of Matt's thuggish flailing away -- he had her feeling like singing opera. If her responses weren't nearly that elegant, every moan and grunt of pleasure was sincere. "So beautiful," she murmured. "Make it last!"

"As long as I can!" he rejoined.

There were no more words for the moment, as Ellie let the wonderful sensation wash over her again and again. Once she thought she heard Matt and Scotty passing in the hallway, but that only intensified her passionate moans -- she wanted them to hear it all! Jeremy heard it too, of course, and seemed to take it as a hint to go faster.

"That's it!" Ellie rubbed his hips to encourage him. "Faster!"

She came harder than she could recall doing in ages, and opened her eyes as the wave receded. "Now you! Come for me!"

"I will!" he grunted, and less than a minute later he did. Ellie didn't mind that his eyes were clenched shut as he did. He opened them and kissed her triumphantly as he came to a stop deep inside her.

"Beautiful," she whispered, and she kissed him again.

"So, how'd I live up to your long-ago fantasies?" Ellie asked, still clutching him within for the moment.

"Don't take this the wrong way, but I didn't really have any of you."

"Uh!" Ellie propped herself up on her elbow and gave him the sternest look she could in the tender moment.

"I had a crush on you for years, that's true!" Jeremy said. "But back then, there were girls I wanted to go out with, and girls I wanted to...you know. And never the twain shall meet."

"Because your love was ever so pure?"

"Probably something like that," Jeremy said. "I really don't understand even now. But when I fantasized about you, it was about holding hands and slow-dancing and snuggling on the couch, that sort of thing."

"So it was only the bad girls you wanted to sleep with?"

"Not necessarily. Remember Robin Franklin?"