It was a beautiful late fall day in Indiana, with the sun a bright auburn as it started its descent in the sky. Traci wanted to enjoy another sunset while sitting in the glider near the edge of the pond Jason had built about a quarter-mile from the house.
At 72 and suffering from Alzheimer's, Traci was extremely frail, yet she insisted upon walking the trail to the glider, of course holding on to Jason's arm very tightly. He let her pick her spot first on the glider and helped her sit, then he sat to her left.
It was crisp, maybe 32 degrees, and like she had done so often in the past 12 years, Traci snuggled into Jason's ribs, with her face against his chest, as he swung his right arm around her shoulders. The pair sat together silently for about five minutes before she looked up at him and said - in the voice that told him she was 18 again or thereabouts, "I love you, Jason."
He looked down on her smiling face, hugged her tighter to his body, and replied as usual, "You're not so bad yourself, Kid."
She snuggled in a nick tighter. "Mmmmm hhhhh..."
++++++++++
Growing up, Jason couldn't remember a time when Traci wasn't a part of his life. Their families lived two houses apart, and she was just two weeks younger than him. They were best friends from the time they were about 3, and remained that way through the "icky" years of farts and cooties. Traci gave Jason his first real kiss, and after waiting until they were both 18, they gave their virginities to each other.
Their parents were as happy with their children being close as they were: where you found one, the other was sure to be close by. Jason, an only child, was an older brother to Traci's sister, Katie, four years her junior. They were regular dinner guests at each other's homes. Through the years, others had tried to steal away one or the other as their own, but none was ever successful. From the time the two were 12, their mothers had joked that they were making wedding arrangements.
It might have gone on to be a great fairy tale come true for all except for college. Traci wanted to be a teacher, and was quickly accepted at the University of Southern Indiana in the southwest corner of Indiana. Jason wanted to earn a degree in engineering, and got accepted to Purdue University. Since neither was allowed by their parents to take their cars to college for their freshman years, the almost four hours of driving distance between them might as well have been the length of the country.
"This will be good for them. A little separation will let them see the world from a new vantage point," was the consensus from the parents.
Jason, however, wasn't convinced the parents were right. Traci was a beautiful girl, blonde hair, blue-eyed with a curvaceous cheerleader body. He knew his brethren; they were going to be all over Traci. He brought up the subject almost every day for the last two weeks before they both had to leave for school. Traci downplayed Jason's worries, however, right up until they night before both left for school.
The pair was eating dinner at Traci's house with her family when Traci spoke up.
"I don't think we should be exclusive to each other while we're away at college," she told him. "We need to get the full college experience, and I don't think we can do that if we're holding back because of each other."
Jason stopped chewing his food immediately and looked like he was going to throw up.
"Jase, are you OK buddy? You look like someone just shot your dog," spoke up Katie.
"Oh, come on, don't be a drama queen, for God's sake," said Traci's father, Allan. "You two will survive."
Jason sat stock still, while Traci continued.
"We'll be together like always when we're home, but when we're away at college, we'll both be free to date whoever we want. You'd get to go out with a different girl each weekend, if that's what you want. And what girl wouldn't want you? As long as you don't get carried away ..."
She purposely left the last part unfinished in front of her parents.
Jason was 6-1, 185 pounds of athletic muscle, with light brown, wavy hair and cool blue eyes. If not for being together with Traci, he might have been their high school's heartthrob. He was a star receiver in football and also earned letters in basketball and baseball. Many a girl in the Fort Wayne area would have been in the bidding for his attentions.
With everybody at the table staring at him, Jason finally found his voice, telling all concerned he was not on board with this plan.
"Whose genius idea was this?" he sarcastically asked.
"There's no need to go there, Son," replied Allan. "Why don't you just calm down and we'll see how this plays out."
Jason knew that with her father on her side, he was defeated. He didn't say another word for the remainder of the evening, and instead of the big good bye kiss Traci was anticipating when he left, Jason gave her a chaste peck on the lips and told her he would call her when he got to Purdue.
"It will be OK, Jason. You'll see. We'll be as good as we always were," Traci said as he left the Branches' home.
Jason's parents were watching TV in the family room when he got home. They could tell something was wrong the minute their son walked in the room. He huffed down on the sofa.
"The world end and somebody not tell us?" Jason's father joked, trying to lighten the mood.
"At least my world," Jason responded back. He then relayed the conversation he just had with Traci.
"A relationship is as much about trust and respect as it is about love, Son," Jason's father replied. If she trusts and respects you as much as you trust and respect her, this won't be a problem. Don't get crazy anticipating the worst."
"I do trust her, Dad. I just don't trust anybody else, and I won't be there to watch over her."
"If you love something, let it go, Jason," his mother started, repeating the old saying.
But Jason was having none of that. He jumped off the sofa and headed upstairs to his bedroom while his mother was finishing the thought.
Jason and Traci texted almost every day and talked several times a week in the first few weeks of college. Both dropped off after that, but Jason understood that as his college life became busier. He hadn't dated anyone on campus, though, and hoped in his heart the same was true for Traci. As both had the same five days off for Thanksgiving, he guessed he would find out soon enough.
Jason got back to his house about noon on Wednesday, and after checking in with his mother, made a beeline to Traci's house. He knocked on the door and walked in, as was the kids' habit at this point, only to find, Rose, Traci's mom, alone in the kitchen.
"She's not home yet, Jason. She had a couple of things to do before she left campus. I'll send her over when she gets in," Rose said.
Jason looked crestfallen as he walked the 50 yards back to his house. Traci never said anything about staying late on Wednesday.
Traci never made it over to the Arnolds' house on Wednesday. Jason waited until 9 on Thanksgiving morning to go back to the Branches'.
The Branches were in their family room when Jason walked in. He got the usual greeting from Traci's parents, but Traci didn't jump up and head over to him as he expected. In fact, at first glance she seemed to flush, took a quick look at her mother and looked down. Then she apparently remembered she should rise and greet Jason as the "boyfriend" he was, at least when Traci was home.
She pecked him gently on the lips, still never looking Jason directly in the eyes.
"Sorry about not making it over yesterday. I didn't get in until 11 last night."
Traci's parents peppered Jason with questions about life at Purdue. Traci didn't say much about USI, or anything for that matter, he noticed. Even when they held hands on the sofa for a bit, Traci seemed to be a little off, and Jason noticed there didn't seem to be the usual bit of electricity he always felt when they held hands. When he left a couple of hours later to go back to his house, Jason knew Traci was no longer his. For the rest of the few days off, the pair didn't even try to sneak away someplace private for sex, as they had been doing on a fairly regular basis before they left for college.
The text and calls picked back up when they got back to school, and Traci seemed more like her usual self during the Christmas break. Jason gave her a gold pendant that spelled "Love," and she insisted he put it on her immediately after giving him a kiss that was about as passionate as they were going to get in front of her parents. Later, at Jason's house, when Jason's parents went out to see a movie, the two went up to Jason's room and made love, as they had done several times since giving their virginities to each other. About halfway through the session, Traci disengaged and told Jason to lie back on the bed. He did so hesitantly, but when Traci climbed on top and sank down cowgirl, the sensations running to Jason's hard dick made him almost forget that this was something she apparently learned at college. Prior to going off to school, the pair had made love missionary and doggy only. The session quickly changed from lovemaking to fucking as Traci's arousal multiplied and she rode Jason to two orgasms, and when Jason finally came it was the strongest orgasm of his young life.
Flush from the moment, Jason was driven by lust, but as his dick softened he became acutely aware that Traci's pussy wasn't quite as tight as it had been. He made a mental note to himself that either she had been having a lot of sex with a lot of guys, or just a lot of sex with someone with a big dick. Neither thought made him happy.
As it takes women longer to cool down than men, Traci was still too wrapped up in her orgasms to notice the quizzical look she was getting from Jason. She was pretty sure he suspected that she was having sex while at USI, but since in her mind she wasn't being too brazen about it, she wasn't worried about repercussions coming from it. After all, that was part the deal that he agreed to, wasn't it?
Traci did note that Jason seemed to hold back just a little when they got home in the summer. For his part, Jason knew that things were never going to be the same for the couple. Upon reflection, he knew that if he dated other girls, they were going to have some history, too. It's just that their history would have been made prior to dating Jason, not making it while being away from him at college.
Summer came and went and both children took their cars to school for their sophomore years. But if Jason thought he was going to be spending more time with Traci, he got several unpleasant surprises. Most times when he asked her if he could drive up to see her she was busy with school work or some event, and as for her driving down to see him, four hours was an awful long drive for her, she noted. He ended up taking one trip to USI each semester, and the time spent together seemed forced - not to mention there was no sex on either trip.
