Vivian Laaning Ch. 55

When Vivian returned home after her exciting tryst with Drew Trees, she was in very good spirits. She had now in fact succeeded in having sex with four of her five law school study group colleagues. The ravishing black beauty Shamunda Gauff was her first conquest. Then the gay couple Luigi Benedetti and Guy Gordon were the next to succumb to her charms. And now with the completion of the seduction of Drew Trees there was only Esther Westerhausen left in the group for Vivian to entice into sex.

Her goal to fuck every member of her study group started off as a lark. In fact it resulted from a whimsical boast to her sister, Erica. Now that she had in fact come so far in achieving her challenging quest, Vivian became anxious and determined to fully complete her stated mission.

Esther Westerhausen, though proved to be a very hard nut to crack. For one thing during any of the group study sessions, her contributions were strictly on topic. She never volunteered anything personal about herself. All that Esther was willing to say about herself was that she hailed from Kentucky, and played cello in her spare time. She invariably did come to the group's Saturday night excursions to a bar near the campus after the afternoon study sessions at the library. Everyone on those occasions had a bite to eat and stayed around for some drinks. For all if them it was a pleasant time to relax from the stress of the intensive legal study.

Usually during these Saturday night get-togethers, Shamunda, was the first to depart from the group as she had a girlfriend with whom she preferred to spend some leisure time. Similarly since Guy and Luigi were an item, they invariably departed from the scene soon after Shamunda. So that left Drew and Esther to keep Vivian company. Most of the time, Esther left before Drew, but sometimes Drew left before leaving Esther and Vivian alone.

On those occasions Vivian was able to extract some more personal information. Mind you Esther was still very close mouthed about her situation as Vivian certainly revealed a lot more about her life to Esther than the other way around. Vivian did learn that Esther had three older brothers. They were all three of them US Navy officers, two of them having graduated from the Naval Academy at Annapolis MD. The other one obtained a law degree from the University of Kentucky and subsequently became a navy JAG Corps officer.

Esther's father was a sexiest who could not countenance women in the military except for traditional support roles. Consequently, Esther was not encouraged, in fact was directed not to apply for Annapolis like two of her brothers. Even becoming a JAG officer like her one brother was not expected of her. Vivian got the impression that Esther's father was of the domineering type similar to the way her friend Angela described her father.

Esther grew up in Lexington and attended the University of Kentucky, where she earned a B.A. in Music degree. Thus, her first year at law school, at the age of twenty-two, was the first time she resided anywhere else than in her family's home. This information went a long way to explain Esther's extreme reticence, and it made it more difficult for Vivian to read her character.

For one thing, Vivian could not be sure whether Esther was a virgin or not. Given the control her parents, especially her father, had over her, it would not be surprising if indeed she had not yet had any sex. However her demeanor during these Saturday night bar visits suggested that she possibly had some sexual experience. She did not blush or feel offended if anyone in the group would offer a sexual joke or flirt with a sexual double entendre. Mind you, she did not respond in kind.

The other sexual puzzling thing about Esther was that her sexual orientation was not readily discernable. Given the majority preference of the general population, there did not appear to be any reason to suggest that Esther was not straight. Still there were little telltale signs exhibited by Esther that one might infer she was a lesbian. Without being the least bit specific about her sexual adventures, Vivian tried to draw Esther in, by relating in general scope her own sexual experience. But Esther did not take the hint and respond in similar confessions. She was truly an enigma.

Then one Saturday night in late February, as Esther and Vivian were the sole remaining group members in the bar, a break through in Esther's reticence occurred. It started with Vivian saying:

"Knowing that you play the cello, you might be interested in knowing that my sister and I saw the recital performed by Ophelia Hartley here at the school this past Tuesday. Her recital was given as an advance teaser for her engagement with the Chicago Symphony this weekend. I understand she will be performing the concerto by Antonín Dvorák along with a couple by Vivaldi. I would have liked to have seen that as well but I could not afford the time never mind the expense."

"So you actually like classical music?"

"Of course! Just because my sister and I are farmer's daughters doesn't mean we are rubes. I'll have you know that we have a full size piano in our farm house. And although neither my sister nor I play it, our brother does. But our mother is the proficient one in our family. To offset her arduous duties of the farm she will often play Beethoven's sonatas. Of course my favorite is the 'Moonlight Sonata'; I could listen to it endlessly."

Esther ruefully answered:

"I didn't mean anything by it. It's just that only a minority of people like classical music so I just had assumed no one in our group including you had no interest. You have to acknowledge that when I had mentioned that I played the cello to the group, no one followed up with any questions."

"Oh no Esther I wasn't offended. I was just teasing. I always like to defeat stereotypical notions, especially the ones ascribed as to the merits and perceived shortcomings of being a farmer's daughter."

"Anyway it's funny you should mention the Moonlight Sonata."

"How so?"

"Well I don't know if you are aware of it, but the Music Department presents free concerts every Thursday afternoon at school's Fulton Hall. The performers are students and/or faculty of the University. It just so happens that my girl friend from Lexington, who plays the piano and I, are scheduled to perform next Thursday. It also just so happens that we will perform inter alia the Moonlight Sonata scored for both piano and cello.

"Do you think you would like to come and see us perform? You know we don't have a study session scheduled and we're done with classes for that day before the start of our recital. Of course we don't pretend to be anywhere near the caliber of Ms Hartley's abilities, who is incidently one of my role models. Still I think you'll enjoy it."

"Oh sure I'd be delighted to come. You say you will accompanied by your girl friend from Lexington? Is she making the trip then just for this concert?"

"Oh no! She's a student here as well. Her name, by the way, is Anastasia Beers, but do call her Anastasia as she hates being called Anna, Annie or Ann or any other derivative thereof. You see we both were students of music at the University of Kentucky. But whereas I was admitted to the law school, Anastasia was accepted for the graduate studies program of the Music Department."

Vivian then answered, "Great I'll look forward to your concert with great anticipation."

Next Thursday, Vivian arrived at Fulton Hall for Esther's recital. Esther first came on stage dressed in a floor length, beaded detail lace, peplum bodice, tiered skirt dress. The dress was light purple in color, and Esther looked fabulous! Normally in the every day milieu of the law school class room and the group study sessions, Esther was mostly nondescript. She wasn't ugly, but she wasn't pretty either. She kind of reminded Vivian of Erin Falconbridge her first lesbian lover. However in this gown Esther was fetching. She had let her below the shoulder hair down, to provide a wholesome all female appeal. To Vivian's mind Esther appeared just yummy, which reinforced her desire to seduce the cellist. Obviously with her friend along it seem to be impossible to do so today. However Vivian vowed to herself that she would not rest until she eventually scored with Esther.

Esther took her seat, picked up her cello and did a quick tune-up, while awaiting her accompanist. Then Anastasia Beers strolled on to the stage, casually caressing Esther's back on the way to seat herself at the grand piano. What initially caught the audience's attention was Anastasia's stunning good looks! She was biracial; Asian- White and embodied the complete package of glorious female allure pertaining to each race.

However besides her physical attractiveness her apparel caused even more notice. Everyone in the audience gasped at Anastasia's extremely provocative attire. She was dressed in an outlandishly short mini dress that just barely covered what needed to be covered. The dress did fully clothe her arms, shoulders and back, but was cut low enough to offer a generous glimpse of her ample cleavage. The main color of her dress was the darkest blue possible, and covered with glittering, and shimmering green and ivory sequins. Her stockings were so diaphanous that the members of the audience could not ascertain with any amount of certainty whether she was bare legged.

Arguably Anastasia's most incongruent article of clothing were her patent leather pumps that featured 120 mm (almost five inches) shiny stiletto heels. Esther was also wearing high heels but not only were they hidden by her dress, but of course she did not require to utilize her feet when playing her instrument. Vivian thus, was in some doubt that Anastasia could effectively handle the piano petals with her high heels. Perhaps she would remove them and play bare footed.

To reiterate, aside from her sexy outfit, Anastasia was absolutely gorgeous! She had jet black hair, which was even longer in length as Esther's brown hair. Anastasia's pulchritude was so pronounced, that Vivian surmised she would still be alluring even when caught in her most haggard condition. She seemed to walk with purpose, exhibiting the sheerest confidence of herself, that prompted witnesses to turn their heads to simply admire her presence.

Once Anastasia was seated the two of them started playing without any preliminary vocal introduction. And Anastasia did manage to play with her high heels intact. The first piece they played was the delightful Schubert's lied 'Stänchen' also titled 'Sérénade' as arranged for cello and piano. This was followed by Esther's promised Beethoven's 'Moonlight Sonata' also as arranged for a cello and a piano. From Vivian's perspective the addition of the cello to Beethoven's original piano only score, provided a richer and more majestic sound.

In watching the two perform, Vivian formed the impression that Esther was truly in her element. She was totally into the music, and her passion in performing was prominently on display. She wondered if music was her true desire and that her legal study was kind of a secondary interest to her. Still there was no denying that Esther was an excellent law student. She achieved the highest grades in the study group at the end of the first semester, even surprisingly surpassing Drew Trees. In fact she scored in the top five of the entire first year class. By contrast, Vivian could discern that her playing of the cello was not at the level of Ophelia Hartley, but then again that was not a fair comparison. Ms Hartley was an acknowledged world renowned cellist. In any case Vivian did intend to question Esther further about her preferences and life goals, especially since music surely seemed to be more than a minor diversion for her.

In addition to those pieces, Esther and Anastasia completed their one hour concert with a couple of Vivian's cello sonatas. When they were done they received enthusiastic applause as their performance was virtually flawless. Vivian was truly entertained as well. In fact she was surprised at the excellence of their performance. As already noted it was short of the mark of the gifted professional musicians such as Ms Hartley, but the music produced by Esther and Anastasia was remarkably high class. Vivian was of the opinion they were good enough to play professionally if they so desired.

Vivian then went to greet Esther and Anastasia to congratulate them on their fine performance. When she got to them, they were in good spirits and smiling broadly. They were surrounded by admirers mostly by music students known to Anastasia. Everyone was pleased with their effort, and Esther and Anastasia respond to all with giddy exuberance. Esther spotted Vivian approaching, and so waved her over:

"Vivian! Great to see you! I'm glad you could make it. Did you enjoy our recital? Hope you weren't bored?"

"Oh no! I wasn't bored at all. The music was terrific and you guys were magnificent!"

"Vivian, let me introduce you to my partner Anastasia Beers. Anastasia this is Vivian Laaning. "

Anastasia answered:

"Pleased to meet you Vivian. Esther has told me so much about you. She says you are the most intriguing and interesting person in you law school study group."

"Really? I'm flattered, I think. I have to say from my viewpoint that Esther is the most enigmatic person of our group. It takes a lot of effort to pry any interesting personal facts from her."

Anastasia responded:

"Yes Esther is naturally very shy and keeps to herself generally. Perhaps, though, tonight you will get to know her better."

Unmindful that Anastasia and Vivian were talking to each other as if she wasn't present, Esther jumped in and said:

"Yes tonight can be a special night indeed! Anastasia and I have reserved a table at "Fogo de Chão" a downtown Brazilian steakhouse in anticipation of celebrating our very first recital together here in Chicago. Of course had we bombed we would have cancelled the reservation, and drowned our sorrows at The Pub instead.

"But I can modestly assert that we did not bomb. We aced it! So we're going. Would you Vivian, dear please join us? I think I can speak for Anastasia in that we would love to have your company to our celebration. It would be our treat."

Anastasia piped in:

"Oh yes Vivian, speaking for myself, I would be delighted in your company. I'm always eager to sharing my time with intriguing and interesting persons."

Vivian was inwardly bemused by Anastasia's quip. She seemed to have the kind of wit that Vivian could only laud. That day the only afternoon class they had was cancelled due to the unexpected absence of the professor, who had to deal with a last minute personal emergency. The class was rescheduled for Saturday. Vivian had taken the opportunity to return to her apartment and change her clothes. She put one of her favorite dresses, a burgundy colored, V-neck, knee-length, chiffon cocktail dress with ruffle. She was glad she did as she would not thereby look out of place compared to the elegant attire of both Esther and Anastasia. So she accepted"

"Thank you for your invitation. I accept! How can I resist a meal with such delightful musicians as dinner companions?"

The restaurant's fare was sumptuous yet simple: meat, lots of meat, lots of variety of meat and it was served in all you can eat portions. As Vivian was a hearty eater she imagined herself ensconced in culinary heaven. To her pleasant surprise her female companions tended to a similar disposition. They were tall women, shorter than Vivian but still definitely above average for women. Thus it was conceivable that they would have sizeable appetites. Still their body frame exhibited no hint of overindulgence. In fact Anastasia, although not thin by any stretch of the imagination, appeared to be slim and slender. No one viewing her could ever guess that she was actually overweight by government standards of ideal weight to height and sex ratio.

Vivian was delighted to discover that her two companions were not shy of imbibing alcohol either. Each one of the ladies consumed a full bottle (750 ML) of red wine during dinner in addition to a cocktail aperitif plus an after dinner drink as well. As a result their conversation was free flowing, very light hearted and increasingly became more personally orientated.

Anastasia's mother was native Korean and her father was an army doctor. In a tour of duty in South Korea, her father met and married her mother, who was a civilian nurse hired at the army hospital in Korea. Growing up as an army brat, Anastasia lead a nomadic life as her father was frequently assigned to various army bases throughout the world as well as stateside. Since Anastasia was born when both of her parents were in their late thirties, she was an only child. She admitted her biggest regret in life was not to have a sib, and that she hoped eventually to become a mother of at least two.

Just before Anastasia was to enter high school, her father was honorably discharged from the army having completed twenty-five years of service, He settled into private practice at his home town of Lexington, KY. Her mother for leisurely pleasure, played the piano, and consequently, Anastasia started learning to play from the age of six years. She proved to be an apt pupil, and was winning music competitions in her age groups. In high school she and Esther were the best musicians in the entire city. When she finished high school she along with Esther both enrolled in the music department at the University of Kentucky. Once she obtained her B.A. in Music, Anastasia gained admittance to the music graduate program at the University of Chicago. Anastasia was more interested in composing music rather than exclusively preforming in concerts. She also was not adverse to teaching music and that is why she decided to pursue graduate studies in music.

Being the best teen age musicians in their city, Esther and Anastasia naturally united in high school and performed in various amateur concerts during their high school and undergraduate years. This concert was the first one they had performed together since arriving in Chicago. Usually the performers at these weekly one hour concerts at Fulton Hall were students and faculty of the Music Department. Playing in these concerts was considered viewed as part of curriculum of the music students, although no grades were at stake. Anastasia had already performed three times previously. Since Esther was a proficient cellist and a student at the University, she was allowed to perform with Anastasia at this time. This prompted Vivian to ask:

"Well Esther, since you seemed to be just as focused in music as Anastasia, and to my mind, just as talented, it begs the question were you tempted to follow Anastasia's path of study instead of going to law school"

"Oh yes! Actually when I was in high school, I dreamed of becoming the next Jacqueline du Pré minus the multiple sclerosis, of course. And when I was in college I was set to partner with Anastasia. Unfortunately my father dashed all my dreams. He kept brow beating me by insisting musicians lead a hand to mouth existence. Sure some one like Jacqueline du Pré, or for that matter Ophelia Hartley did enjoy a lucrative career, but there is a rare cellist indeed that ever achieve that kind of world class status. Cruelly, he would continuously point out that no matter how hard I practiced, I did not have the talent that I could realistically hope to reach such status.

"Within my deep soul searching, I had to admit I was no Jacqueline du Pré or even an Ophelia Hartley. My main argument was that I wanted to do what Anastasia was considering. However, my father who is partner of the largest law firm in Lexington insisted that I should become a lawyer, and I would make lots of money working in his firm. He pointed out being a lawyer did not preclude me from continuing to play the cello to my heart's content, and perform either in amateur concerts or even professionally in my spare time.