What Makes The World Go Around

"What the matter, Rafe?" Jill asked, snapping me out of my reverie.

I faked a smile and said, "Nothing at all. I was just listening to you guys talk."

Dan shook his head and said, "I have an idea. It's early yet, let's play a game."

Angela perked up and clapped her hands, "I love games."

"Great! It's settled," Jill chirped. She looked at Dan, he looked at her and they smiled and said in unison, "Never Have I Ever."

Angela paled and groaned, "Whoa, I don't know..."

"Nope. You agreed and it's our house, our rules." Jill was adamant. "Now, since it's a work night and Rafe is a light weight, we'll just play with our fingers instead of shots. Hold up ten fingers to start and lower one of your fingers for having done it, okay?"

"Okay," Angela meekly agreed. I had no idea what was going on.

After they explained how to play to me, it sounded fun, so I wasn't as down about it as Angela was. I didn't have to wait too long to find out what her issue was. Boy, I was naïve.

"Never have I ever had sex in public," Jill started.

"Whoa!" I groaned. "It's one of those games?"

Dan laughed. Angela put down one finger and glared at Jill.

Dan smiled and said, "Never have I ever...drank Malort."

Malort was a nasty liquor. I had it once when I was not told what it was. So, I dropped a finger as did Angela.

Angela went next, stared Jill right in the eye, and said, "Never have I ever sucked someone's toes."

"Bitch!" Jill grunted and put a finger down. Dan put one down as well, and I began to wonder about their sex life.

"My turn?" I asked. "Um, never have I ever watched a Brad Pitt movie." I hoped to tone the game down, but everyone just groaned at me as they put a finger down.

Jill stuck her tongue out at me and said, "I call bullshit. You've never seen one Brad Pitt movie?"

"Nope," I said. "Amy never liked...well, I never cared for him."

Jill gave me a sweet smile and said, "Never have I ever kissed one of my teachers."

Angela got mad and said, "If you think you're going to embarrass me in front of Rafe, I can do worse to you."

She put one of her fingers down and I wondered what that story was.

"I kissed my Calculus teacher's cheek when he allowed me to take a test I missed. My father had just died."

"Ooh, low blow, Jill," Dan moaned.

"All's fair in love and games," Jill slurred. I wondered how hard the drinks were hitting her. Angela clearly warned her it could get ugly for her.

Dan said, "Never have I ever given a blow job."

"Hey!" the ladies griped.

"All's fair in love and games," Dan chided and both ladies lowered a finger.

Jill looked at Angela as she was thinking of her turn and all of a sudden paled at the smirk on Angela's face.

"Never have I ever used a strap-on dildo on someone."

"Hey," Dan shrieked as he glared at his wife.

I was shocked even more when both Dan and Jill lowered a finger. I was about to ask about that when Dan said, "Well, since these two have decided to play mean, I'll tell you that I have a get up where I can put my penis in one hole and a dildo in another of Jill's holes at the same time."

I smiled at the visual. "Enough said." And then I realized Jill had put her finger down too. I looked at her and she just shrugged her shoulders. Dan looked redder than normal. To each their own, I guess. I really wondered about what went on in their bedroom with that confession.

"Never have I ever had white wine with steak," I proposed on my turn.

"God, damn it!" Dan and Jill said in unison. To my surprise, Angela also put a finger down.

"Angela?" I questioned the lady that worked in a wine store.

"I was here for dinner one warm summer night, and we all had chilled white wine. When dinner was served, we just kept drinking the refreshing Pinot Grigio with the steaks."

I laughed as everyone put down another finger.

Angela only had four fingers left when Jill looked her straight in the eye and said, "Never have I ever had a gang bang."

"You, fucking bitch! You're supposed to be my friend. How could you do that to me?" Angela yelled and ran into another room.

Dan said, "What the hell are you doing, Jill?"

She started crying. "I'm sorry. I think I drank too much." She hurried off and I heard knocking on a door down the hall.

Dan looked at me and said, "If you want to go, I'll make sure Angela gets home all right."

I shook my head, "No, I'm her date. I'm responsible for her. What the hell happened there, Dan?"

"I really don't know, man. I know Jill's drunk, but that was uncalled for."

He looked at my face and continued, "Wait! Don't get the wrong idea. Angela's not some slut. She was drugged in college and was taken advantage of. She didn't choose to be date raped."

"Holy fuck! She was raped, and Jill though that was okay to bring up in a game? On our first date?"

Dan shook his head. "I don't know what's going through her mind right now. Wait here. I'll go check on them."

I needed to keep busy, so I took our plates and utensils to the sink. I looked around and saw that the cake was still out, so I put the cover on and put it away. I knew I was avoiding thinking about what I heard, but I didn't care. I tried as hard as I could not to judge Angela and I would let her talk it out if she desired.

When the kitchen was clean, I filled my wine glass and walked back into the living room. I took my jacket and tie off as the night was clearly over and sat on Dan's favorite recliner.

He was the first to walk back in and headed straight to his liquor cabinet and poured himself a hefty glass of scotch. He pulled a couple of cigars out of his humidor and sat on the floor in front of his fireplace.

"Join me?" he asked, and I accepted as I sat on the floor beside him.

He handed me a Cuban Montecristo number 4 and his lighter. They were small cigars, so we wouldn't be there all night with them.

I handed the lighter back and he sighed. "Rafe, she's desperately afraid that you won't want to see her again."

I took a puff of the smokey goodness and said, "I'm not the kind of guy where her being raped would stop me from seeing her again. How could she possibly have controlled that situation?"

"You're a good man, Rafe. She really does deserve a guy like you. She's lived..."

"Hey," Jill said from behind us. "Rafe, could you come with me please?"

"Of course," I said and set the wine and cigar on the edge of the fireplace.

Jill stopped me from walking past her, and said, "Rafe, she likes you a lot. Be gentle, okay?"

I nodded and made my way past her into the guest bedroom where Angela holed up.

"Hey," I said as I walked into the room.

"Hi," she said sadly.

"Look, I'm not sure how that game is supposed to be played, but you had four fingers left." I smiled and hoped she took it as I meant it.

"Rafe, I..."

"Wait, please. This is just our first date. A conversation like that should at least be third date material, don't you think?"

She looked at me as if I were crazy. "You want to see me again?"

I sat on the bed next to her and said, "Angela, not one thing I heard tonight has scared me away from seeing you again." I meant it and I hoped she realized that.

She sighed and said, "It isn't what you think."

"Shh," I whispered. I touched her cheek and said, "Angela, you can tell me the story, or you can hold it back. Either way, what happened before I dated you is the past. Do you understand?"

She nodded.

It was easy for me to say that; I already knew she had been drugged. She didn't know I knew that, and I felt bad suddenly. I couldn't let her think I was some saint that didn't care about her past.

"Dan told me you were drugged and raped in college. I promise you, that doesn't change how I feel about you one bit."

She looked at me and forced a smile, "I knew you weren't that perfect."

I laughed. "No, I'm far from perfect. What I am is a man that likes a woman and would like to take her out again, if she'll agree?"

She smiled brighter that time, and said, "I'd love to see you again."

"Good," I said. "That's settled. I've got a cigar I started out there that I'd like to finish. Are you up to sitting with me by the fire?"

"As long as you hold me, I'm yours."

I took her hand and led her out to the living room. Jill had refreshed our drinks and Dan smiled when Angela sat and snuggled into me. What a crazy night.

There was no more talk about what happened, and Jill and Angela didn't speak to each other except for specific answers to questions. I felt sad about that. There was a definite fracture in their friendship, and I couldn't imagine how they could repair such a thing.

We were in my car on the way back to her home, when she said, "Taylor's father was one of the men at that gang bang. I have no idea which of them it was. He's never known his father."

"I told you about my wife, right?"

She nodded..

"Sometimes really shitty things happen to good people."

She didn't say anything, but I could tell she was crying.

When I stopped the car in her driveway, she leaned over and kissed my cheek.

"I had a mostly good time tonight, but that's not your fault. Thank you."

I took her hand and kissed it. "I did too, I'm sorry to break this to you but I don't put out on the first date."

She giggled, and said, "Walk me to my door, stud."

Just as she was about to go into her house, I pulled her in for a kiss. As far as first kisses go, it was nice. It wasn't Princess Bride list worthy, but it left me wanting more.

"Mm, not bad, Rafe. Not bad. Good night."

I watched her close the door and smiled as I walked back to my car. I was amazed at how I went from not wanting to date, to being desperate to see her again.

*****

I opened the door to my house and Bobby was immediately on my case.

"How did it go? What did she look like? Tell me you have a picture to show me, Dad?"

I shook my head and said, "Everything was fine. I walked her to her door, kissed her chastely, and asked her if she'd like to see me again."

"Sweet!" he said and high-fived me.

"Simmer down, Son. I like her and she likes me. Where it goes, is yet to be seen."

"Don't sweat it, Dad. She likes you, you like her, it's all biscuits and gravy from here."

He bounced off to his room and I shouted, "Hey!"

He stopped and turned, "Sup, Dad?"

"Do I have to check the video?"

He smirked and said, "Dad, I think it's better that you just trust me."

He walked upstairs and I sighed. I never had such experiences when I was in high school. I was a geek, and he was one of the A-list crowd. I decided to trust him and not watch the tapes. Yeah, I know. Of course, she came over, I did trust him to be safe, however. He was a good kid.

*****

A few days later, my presentation went great, and we won the new contract. The bonus would be amazing for me, and Dan was high fiving anyone who was near him. Dan's team's hard work came through for me in spades and I made sure the bosses knew that he was the driving force for that.

I had just sat down at my desk when I got a text from Angela.

"Congrats, Rafe! I'm so happy for you."

I figured Dan told Jill and she told Angela.

I responded, "Thank you. Will you join me for a celebratory dinner tonight?"

"I'd like that."

I texted her the details and leaned back in my chair. Life was certainly looking up for me and I hoped Angela would join me for the ride.

Dan knocked on my door and said, "Hey, Rafe! Got a minute?"

"Sure," I answered and pointed to a chair for him.

"Listen, Jill and I have talked, and we think telling you some stuff about Angela is appropriate. I wanted to tell you the other night, but we were interrupted."

I leaned forward and said, "Okay."

"You already know about the rape. Well, I'm not sure if you wondered about why a smoking hot woman like her is still single."

"I did actually," I answered. "I figured there was a divorce in there somewhere."

He shook his head. "After the incident at school, she was an emotional wreck. We met her a few years later and she was in counseling, but she was afraid of men. Like, if there were men in a room, she wouldn't go in alone. She got over that hurdle eventually but wouldn't date anyone. That was until two years ago. Two years ago, she had made enough progress and built enough confidence back, that she started to go out on dates. Her problem was that she couldn't trust any of them."

"Wow!" I said. "She seemed perfectly fine to me?"

"Oh, she is. It's just that she doesn't trust men yet."

"That's shocking. She seemed so outgoing, even when we were alone in my car."

"Yeah, she doesn't think that she'll get raped again, she just doesn't go farther than a couple of dates with each guy she's seen."

"I get it, but why tell me all this?" I couldn't figure out if he were trying to warn me or just scare me away from her.

"We think you're gonna be the one to break through. We wanted to let you know what we know so you can understand that if she tries to end things with you, it's not you that's the reason. Frankly, we want you to fight through that and make it to the promised land."

"You're rooting for me, huh?"

He smiled and said, "Oh, yeah. More than you know. We love her to death and really want her to be happy."

Just when I was getting comfortable with the idea of dating her, I got a curveball thrown at me. I had to decide if I wanted to put in the effort or wait for her to dump me and go back to the lonely solitude I had before she bounced into my life. I wasn't sure it was worth it.

*****

"What's wrong, Rafe? You seem preoccupied tonight?" Angela asked as I ignored my bisque.

"Hm? Sorry. I guess I am anxious tonight. How's the bisque?"

"It's good, not that you'd know," she smiled, and her eyes twinkled.

I shrugged and took a spoonful. "It is good. There's a lot of lobster in there."

She asked, "I was wondering if you were going to the boys' game in Springfield tomorrow."

I nodded, "Yeah. We're staying the night. How about you?"

"Mm, hm. I took the day off to go. Would you mind if we went together? I mean, I know we just started..."

"Sounds fun. We're leaving bright and early at 6:30."

She smiled and said, "I've already picked up some road junk food. Taylor and I like to make it a fun road trip, you know?"

"Yeah, I've got ours as well. Bobby usually sleeps in the car, but he'll wake up for snacks on long trips."

"Where are you staying?" she asked shyly.

"The Residence Inn."

"Oh." She looked disappointed.

"What's the matter?" I asked.

"That one was expensive. I can't afford..."

"No problem. Cancel your room. I'll take care of getting you into the Residence with us."

"Rafe, that's..."

"Forget it, it's not a big deal and we should be together since we're in the same car." I was already on my phone pulling up the hotel online.

"Okay, thank you."

"There, all set," I said as I put the phone in my pocket.

She smiled that lovely smile again.

*****

We couldn't talk much on the trip; our kids didn't fall asleep. They chatted the entire ride about the tournament, girls they were dating, pretty much everything except my new relationship with Angela.

About halfway there, the kids were talking about colleges, I had my arm on the center console, and Angela put her hand on top of mine. I looked over and she was looking out the window as if nothing was happening. I smiled and turned my hand over to interlock with hers. She didn't turn her head, but I saw the corner of her mouth curl up.

Taylor out of the blue changed the subject, "So, what's up with you two? Are you auditioning for the role of my dad?"

Angela was stunned silent, and before I could say anything, Bobby said, "Shut up, Dick! You're gonna ruin it."

"Hey, I just want to know. That's my mom, guy."

I looked in the rearview mirror and Taylor's eyes met mine, "No, the audition is over. I'm the new leading man."

Angela snickered, snapping out of her shock. "Taylor, I told you that I was going on dates with Rafe. We've been out twice and are enjoying each other's company."

"Deal with it," Bobby teased.

"It's not that I don't like you or anything, Mr. Morris. I just have to look out for my mom, you know?"

"I know, Taylor. Everything's going to be fine," I said, hoping he would drop the uncomfortable subject.

I should have expected something like that. He was a good kid and had spent his entire life being the man of the house. I was glad he was looking out for his mom's best interests. What Bobby and I had was a completely different situation and being guys, we didn't have to worry as much about that kind of thing.

"I'll worry about my dating life, okay, Taylor," Angela added with some snark.

"What dating life?" Taylor snapped back, which made Bobby laugh.

"Okay, can we cool the dating talk, please? Your mom and I are seeing each other and I'm sure if we continue to do so, you'll get more comfortable with my being around, all right?"

In the mirror, I could see him nod reluctantly. I looked at Angela, who was not happy with her son at that moment. I winked and squeezed her hand. She gave me a wan smile and went back to looking at windmills out the window.

*****

We were able to get adjoining rooms, and I handed Angela, Taylor, and Bobby their keys. When we stepped off the elevator, Bobby held the door and I saw him grab Taylor by the shoulder, leaving Angela and I a few steps ahead of them.

I got to the first door and Bobby and Taylor walked past us. "Where are you going, Bobby?" I asked.

My smart-ass son said, "In this room with Taylor."

"No, son, you're in here with..."

"Dad," he said cutting me off with a smirk, "I don't think it's appropriate for me to share a room with Ms. Masters."

Angela laughed, while Taylor wasn't amused. "Funny guy," she said as she opened the door to her room and pulled Taylor in by the shirt sleeve.

"Sorry, Dad. I tried," he shrugged as he walked in our room.

"Bobby, Angela and I aren't at the stage of sharing a room yet."

He laughed, "Why not? You're two grown adults and she's hotter than asphalt on a Summer day. Do I need to have the birds and the bees talk with you, old man? I mean, the body parts haven't changed since you were my age, and they go into the same places."

"Places? Watch your mouth, kid. I can still spank you."

"Ha! You never did before."

"You never gave me a reason before, but disrespecting Angela is a pretty damn good reason."

"Settle down, Pops. I didn't mean any disrespect. I'll apologize to her if you think I need to?"

"No, just watch it. I know we're a little more casual than most parents and children, but don't cross a line, got it?"

"Sorry, Pops. I'm starving. Are we going to lunch with them, or do you want to go out with Angela on your own?"

"Let's ask them."

I knocked on the adjoining door, and Angela opened it with a bright smile. "I was just thinking about you. Do you want to get some lunch?"

"That's why I knocked. Is Taylor hungry?"

She laughed, "He's eighteen. He's always hungry."

"Okay, shall we all eat together, or..."

"I think that would be nice," she interrupted.

"Okay, let's get some horseshoes," I answered, and Bobby cheered.

"Horseshoes?" she asked.

"Oh, man, they're awesome, Ms. Masters. You can get a hamburger patty or pretty much any kind of meat on bread and then they pile fries and cheese sauce on it. It's Heaven on a plate."

"Sounds fattening," she laughed.

"Oh, yeah!" Bobby said, which made Taylor laugh and Angela wince, and we headed out.

*****

After the boys finished their carb overload, we left for the tournament. It was a small, eight team single-elimination tournament, so if the boys took second or won it all, they would play three games. Their coach said there were a couple of tough teams from downstate there, so they'd have to play their best to have a chance.