Welcome Back Baby

"Well, kind of," Doug said, throwing an arm around Amber. He introduced them. "Amber, this is Larry, an old frat brother from Maryland. Like me, he's still single."

"Yeah, we're two of the holdouts," Larry said with a chuckle.

She stuck out her hand. "Nice meeting you, Larry."

"And nice meeting you," he said, grinning like he was about to devour his favorite meal. His widening eyes danced all over her. "Do you go to college around here?"

"She works," Doug cut in.

"At modeling, I bet," Larry said, still ogling.

Amber, while flattered, was also annoyed—she didn't like feeling put on display. "No, I work at Elite. It's a dry cleaner." She could see Larry's mouth drop, as if he was either disappointed or sorry he asked. She couldn't tell which.

"Oh. Well, nothing wrong with that, I suppose. Nice meeting you."

Doug and Amber took loungers next to each other, then began rubbing on sunscreen. While applying Coppertone to Doug's back, Amber said, "I hope I didn't embarrass you."

"Why, because of what you do? Nah. Did you see his mouth hang open? It's obvious he thinks you're as hot as I do. Now, let me get your back."

Sitting on the lounger, Amber liked the way Doug applied the sunscreen in wide swirls. "Ooo, that feels good," she said.

"And you smell good," he said. "By the way, can you swim?"

"I can. My mom took my sister and me to the Y for lessons when we were little."

Just as Doug finished lathering Amber's back, a middle-aged couple approached, a man and woman. The man, about Doug's height, had a full head of gray-white hair and appeared like he took care of himself. In fact, he looked in better shape than the younger Larry. The woman looked fit also in her beach robe, open wide enough to expose her one-piece black swimsuit. Her gray hair, worn down to her shoulders, curled at the ends.

Doug stood up and said, "Mom and dad, I'd like you to meet Amber."

Amber stood up, feeling a little nervous. Doug hadn't told her that his parents would show up. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree, Amber thought. Looking at his dad, it was obvious where Doug got his good looks from, right down to the copious body hair.

"Hi Amber," his mom said, "I'm Janet Gibbens, and this this my husband, Marshall." They shook hands, and then Janet asked if Amber lived in the area.

"In the city, like me, mom," Doug cut in.

"Oh, whereabouts?" Marshall asked.

Amber turned to Doug, as if to ask if it was okay to answer. When he didn't, she said, "Not far from the Charles Carroll mansion. You know, the man who was the last surviving member to sign the Declaration of Independence." Amber felt proud that she remembered that fact from a history lesson in middle school.

"I didn't know that," Janet said.

"Well I did," Marshall said. He wore a scowl. "Southwest Baltimore, you mean? Pig Town?"

"Yes," Amber said, trying not to show that she was put off by his condescending tone and the look of disapproval he flashed Doug.

Clearly uncomfortable with where this was going, Doug said, "Look, folks, it's getting hot out here. Let's jump into liquid."

Amber thought that was a great idea, hot as she was feeling—in more ways than one. She and Doug hit the pool, while his parents took loungers a few feet away. They swam a few laps, splashed each other and then stayed by the side of the pool, immersed in water up to their necks.

Amber didn't mince words. "Doug, I get the sense that your dad has a problem with me. Or maybe not with me, but with where I come from. Like it's beneath you to be interested in a girl who comes from Pig Town. I thought you told me that your parents don't care who you date."

"They don't, really. Listen, dad can be a bit of a snob about certain things. Mom to a lesser extent, but she's got some of that. Don't worry about it. Once they get to know you, you'll feel welcome."

"So why aren't you like that?" she asked, extending her legs and splashing with her feet.

"I try to judge people on who they are and what they become, not necessarily where they come from. Besides, when it comes to having fun, does it really matter?"

Amber thought about that for a few moments. Then: "So, if things got serious with us, or let's say you got serious with some other girl of my background, then it might matter?"

"Oh, I don't know, Amber, it might or might not. We've just started seeing each other. I mean, we haven't even slept together yet."

A wishy-washy answer. Still, she thought it best not to push. As he implied, "serious" talk like that was irrelevant so early on in their relationship. Right now, fun was the name of the game, enjoying the nice weather and being with Doug in his element, even though it wasn't her element, as his dad had made abundantly clear. By the way he acted, she couldn't picture Marshall Gibbens ever making her feel welcome. Well, as Doug said, she shouldn't worry about it. She did feel that the next time Doug brought her back to his place, she'd be ready to sleep with him. Could he please her the way Frank had, she wondered.

She got her chance to find out sooner than she expected. After showering, she got dressed and got into Doug's car for the ride home. But before he turned the ignition, he leaned over for a kiss, a kiss that turned into a hot and heavy make-out on the club parking lot. Then Doug said, "I don't know about you, but I've been horny as can be ever since you changed into that bikini. Do you have to be home at a certain time?"

"I guess what you're saying is, 'Amber, how about coming back to my place where we can get naked and comfortable.' Am I right?"

"I couldn't have put it better myself. So, how bout it?"

Amber was too worked-up herself to resist. "Let's do it."

*****

There was no music this time and no nightcaps. Just a walk into his bedroom, where they both kicked off their shoes and then resumed what they were doing in the car, standing up on the thick carpet. The AC was on but, in anticipation of what was going to happen, Doug reached up and turned on the ceiling fan. Then they disrobed in the hurried way stage actors do changing wardrobes between scenes.

Hot as she was, Amber still wanted foreplay. Frank was so good at that, the skillful way he used his tongue on her "privates," as she called them, to where she was practically begging him to finally enter her. She expected that from Doug, or at least something close. But no, because after a token stab of his tongue on her boobs and a poke with his finger into her pussy, he was ready—ready enough to get between her legs and move his cock toward where he wanted it to go, presumably where she wanted it to go.

"Whoa there," she cried, "I'm not quite ready for that." She sat up and pointed at his fully erect cock. "Although I can see that you are."

He sat back on his heels, surprised, if not clueless. "You're wet, aren't you? I felt it myself."

She shook her head. "I might be wet, but I need some preliminary action first. A lot more than what you did. Do you not like foreplay?"

"Eating pussy, you mean?"

She looked sideways and gave another shake of her head. "I don't believe this. Ah, that would help. You don't do that?"

"I've done it but I can't say I like it. Frankly, it...well, let's just say I'd rather not. You should also know that I'm not a big fan of blow jobs either."

She deadpanned. "Imagine that."

Amber was getting turned off fast. It was less what he thought of giving and receiving oral than his belligerent attitude. Things were not going according to plan. Her once high expectations were deflating as fast as Doug's cock, she could see. She really liked this guy. Up until now, that is. She wanted to cry. Maybe she should leave his bed, get dressed and ask to be taken home. Or maybe not. She'd lived long enough to know that hasty decisions can lead to regret.

Doug glanced at his now flaccid cock and sighed. "Amber, does your boyfriend do that? Oral, I mean."

She didn't want to discuss Frank but felt Doug had forced her hand. "Yep, he sure does, and what's more, he likes it. He both gives and receives." She paused, struggling not to break down. "Do you not do sixty-nine either?"

"A quid pro quo, I think you're offering."

"A what? I never heard of that move."

"It's what sixty-nine is, Amber. Mutual oral sex in tandem."

'The apple doesn't fall far from the tree in more ways than one,' Amber thought. "You know, Doug, you said that in the same smart-ass way your dad talked to me earlier. Quid pro quo. Sounds Greek to me."

"It isn't. It's Latin."

"Well, excuse me. My high school never offered Latin as a language." Things had reached the point where she could no longer hold back her emotions. She swung around, sat on the edge of the bed and let her tears flow.

A frustrated Doug sat beside her and threw his arm around her. "Amber, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you. Look, if you want me to do oral on you, I will. And I'll let you do me if that's what you want."

"Oh, jeez, Doug," she said between sobs, "that's not why I'm so upset. It's your whole attitude about it and then talking down to me. Now I know how Frank felt."

"Frank? What do you mean?"

"I said something to him in a way that wasn't so nice. I'll leave it at that."

Doug heaved a big sigh of frustration and brushed a hand through his hair, from front to back. "Amber, again I'm sorry. It just goes to show how things can spiral out of control. I didn't expect things to end up like this."

"You and me both."

"So now what? You want me to take you home?"

She took a tissue from the night table, blew her nose and nodded. "Yeah, I think it's best. We're done here."

Little was said on the way back to Pig Town, and that gave Amber time to think about what just took place and if it would mean not going further with Doug. She was out of his league anyway. His dad might not be the nicest guy in the world, but maybe he was right in that a girl like her didn't belong with a guy like Doug. And then there was the way Doug handled himself in his bedroom—a total turnoff for her. Maybe she was being too hard on him, but that's the way she felt.

When he pulled up to her house, he asked, "So, I guess I won't be seeing you anymore except at the cleaners."

She took his hand. "I'm afraid that's the case. Look, I don't think this can work with us. You're a decent guy, just not...my type. And I don't think I'm your type either."

"Yeah, I guess we do have this huge cultural divide between us. That doesn't change my opinion of how beautiful I think you are, from your big blue eyes to a body that had the guys at my club turning their heads every time you walked by. Much to the annoyance of their wives, I might add. And I'll say it again, you're a sweet kid."

"Thanks. And you're the handsomeness guy who ever took me out."

"So you told me."

"And I meant every word. But looks aren't everything. You know that as well as me."

"Yeah, I do." He nodded as if resigned to this relationship ending before it really got started. Are you going back with Frank?"

"Right now, Doug, I'm not sure what I'm going to do."

He leaned forward. "Can I kiss you goodbye?"

"Of course."

Her lips met his. She thought he was a damn good kisser. Why he had a problem with other stuff, she couldn't fathom.

She opened her car door, reached over and patted him on his arm. "You take care, okay?" Then she got out, watched him pull away, and by the time she entered the house, she began crying once again. It wasn't over the break with Doug but how she had treated Frank, how she had judged him and then let herself be seduced by the sort of money and status that defined Doug's world, a world she didn't belong to, nor could she ever fit into. Sure, she wanted to better herself, but a country club type gal she wasn't. She missed Frank, missed the way he held and kissed her, made love to her. If he refused to take her back, she couldn't blame him. But if she didn't at least try to reconcile, she'd regret it.

Sally, hearing her cry, came downstairs. "Mom, Doug's not for me," Amber said. When Sally pressed for specifics, Amber said, "Let's just say that he's not the guy I thought he was. He's nice, he's just not for me. His whole scene isn't for me. His dad looked down on me, like I wasn't good enough for his son. Well, maybe he's right, at least when it comes to money and social standing. Meanwhile, Frank will probably never take me back."

"You don't know that, honey. Call him. Or just go over there. Surprise him."

"Go over there? He might slam the door in my face. I'm afraid to."

Sally knew better, knew how much Frank loved Amber, knew he'd "take her back." And so, without Amber knowing, Sally called Frank and explained the situation. "Amber never stopped loving you, Frank. She just got caught up in something new, something beyond her raising. It was just a fling that went nowhere, one that she regrets, most of all because she fears it might have ruined what you and she had between you."

"I'll think about it," Frank said. "She hurt me pretty bad."

"I know she did, Frank. And she feels terrible about that. She wants to see you something awful, wants to make things right again. But she's afraid that you'll reject her. That you'll slam the door in her face, as she said. Just letting you know. But you do what you think is right."

Over the next couple days, Amber didn't have much on her mind except Frank Hill. She'd start to call him, then hang up before completing it. Maybe she'd wait until she saw him in the neighborhood. He lived close by; it was only a matter of time before they'd cross paths. She didn't have long to wait, for less than a week later, in the evening, after she had changed into her summer pajamas, she heard a knock on her door, the same rhythmic knock that Frank always used when he came over.

Positive it was him, Amber's stomach filled with butterflies. She was so nervous, she asked Sally to answer it. Sally did, while Amber, barefoot, stood a few feet behind, on the edge of hyperventilating. "Hi Frank. Yes, she's here." Sally moved aside. Seconds after he stepped into the living room, she said, "I'll leave you two alone."

Amber didn't even try to control her emotions. Through her tears, she said, "You're pissed at me, I know."

Frank stepped forward, reached up and ran his fingers through her hair. "You damn right, I'm pissed. I also love you." He gave her a kiss, then began to sing. "Welcome back baby, to the poor side of town." Pause. "My apologies to Johnny Rivers."

She knew the song. He had sung it enough in front of her. "It's nice to be back," she said, feeling more relaxed. "Let's go upstairs."

Amber couldn't help thinking back to the last time she and Frank were in her room. His slap to her face...Emotionally, it still hurt, as she knew what talking down to him made him feel. Frank wasn't pacing the floor this time, but sitting on the bed next to her, holding her hand. After moments of silence, he said, "So, what happened?" More singing: "That rich guy you've been seein,' must have put you down."

"No, Frank, it wasn't like the song," she insisted. "I broke it off with HIM. Well, it was sort of mutual, but it was my idea. And he didn't put me down. He wasn't my type. Nor was I his. End of story."

Frank nodded. "I see. Well, I've been doin' a lot of thinking in the meantime, wonderin' why you got involved with that dude in the first place. Maybe this ain't the only reason, but I've been holdin' you back. I got an attitude when you talked about takin' college courses. Big mistake on my part. You need to be all you think you can be, and I need to support you, not discourage you. The main thing is, I need to feel more secure about myself."

This touched Amber deeply. She knew Frank well enough to know that introspection wasn't his strong suit. Yet, from what he just said, he apparently had it in him. "You mean it, Frank? You really mean that?"

"I do. Hey, I ain't a changed man, nothin' like that. But when I take the time, I can see things I shoulda seen earlier."

Amber reached up and caressed his face, covered in a few days' stubble. "Frank, if my parents weren't home, I'd start tearing your clothes off."

He laughed. "And I'd let you. Then I'd pull down them sexy PJ shorts you're wearin' and go to town. You know, after all this, it would do us good to get away, to head for Ocean City or some place. Just you and me. Can you get off?"

"Sure can. I've got leave time saved up." When he started singing, Amber joined in:

"Oh, with you by my side, this world can't keep us down. Together we can make it baby, from the poor side of town."