. 16

Author's note:

This is, in all its seven parts and their many chapters, one very,

very

long story. If long stories bother you, I suggest you read something else.

No part of this story is written so as to stand on its own. I strongly suggest that you start with

the beginning of Part 1

and read sequentially—giving up at any point you choose, of course.

All sexual activity portrayed anywhere in this story involves only people at least eighteen years old.

This entire story is posted only on literotica.com. Any other public posting without my permission in writing is a violation of my copyright.

Monday morning arrived with an alarm. I hopped out of bed and into my briefs, gave Sam a quick peck on the lips, told her, "I've got to run," and did literally run for the lavatory.

She arrived herself as I was washing my hands, so I waited for her. I couldn't get back into her room without her, after all. She came out of the stall and washed her hands, and we walked back. Even tousled and sleepy as she was, she was beautiful. Her nightgown, which she only wore for being out in public—at least when I was around—was opaque, but did little to disguise her figure. Even with a light directly behind her, there was no silhouette visible, but as she moved it tended to cling to her.

We shaved our separate areas and cleaned up, and she looked at the time. "If we have a quickie now, you're likely to be late for running with Jenny. Can you be satisfied with something in the shower?"

"If I get to do this first." I gave her a big kiss, squeezing her ass a little. She kissed me again when I stopped, but then we broke it off to get dressed. I marveled again at how this beautiful woman—a woman, for all that we always said "girl"—had changed from being my enemy to loving me so deeply, for no reason except that something had made her realize that she was seriously wrong and somehow had to stop and turn around.

Even with stopping to chat briefly with Miss Milliken, we were out a few minutes before Jenny arrived. She was still there a few minutes before the signal, but she looked sleepy and tousled enough that I said, "I hope he was good to you, and worth it, whoever he was." She glared at me for a moment, then said, "I deserve that, I guess."

We stretched and started running. When we were a good way ahead of Sam, Jenny said, "So you can screw anyone you want, all these different girls, but if I go with someone else, just once in a while, you make snide comments."

I had no idea where this was coming from. I said, "I'm sorry, Jenny, I don't know what you thought I meant, but I only meant I hoped he was good enough to you to make up for the lost sleep." She made no reply, but I could see that this hadn't helped. I didn't know what I could say that would make it better, so I kept my mouth shut.

A bit farther on, she said,, "So you had Sam, and I was just supposed to be alone, and wait for you to find a little time for me? And then get nothing but a quickie, so that you could have fun and still get your beauty rest?"

Again I didn't know what to say, but Jenny was clearly waiting for an answer. I said, "We only had a quickie as it was. And then nothing this morning, so I could be on time for you."

"So now it's somehow my fault that you didn't get what you wanted! You poor, deprived thing!"

I didn't think that anything I said would be well received, so I didn't say anything at all. That obviously was no better. Jenny was visibly getting more angry, and I still had no idea what the problem was. Finally, as we headed toward the end of a lap, she was crying, and she said, "I've had it. Whenever you decide you have time for me—not me and Sam, not me and Claire, or me and Barbara, or me and Moira, or me and Rosa, not to mention Mary and Heather and Janet and Madison and Molly and Ginny and Linda and who knows who else!—you can come and find me and see if I have time for you!" And she left the course and started back.

I didn't know which would be worse, following her or not following her. It was obvious that neither would make things any better. I continued around the course for another lap. I was feeling so hurt that I just didn't care. I was near crying myself. When I caught up with Sam, I slowed down to her pace.

"Where's Jenny?"

"She got mad at me, and I really don't have a clue about why, but she just dumped on me and went back in."

She looked at me with concern and said, "Do you want to tell me about it? And do you want to keep going, or stop and go in?"

"Let's keep going. Don't let me speed you up faster than you can go, I'm upset enough to do that without meaning to. But yes, I need to talk about it, and you're the only one I can talk to about this." So I told her the entire conversation, as best I could, and by the end I was crying. I had pushed her speed up a little too much, too. I noticed her breathing and said, "Sorry, I was afraid that would happen!" and slowed down a little.

When Sam had caught her breath enough to talk, she said, "I think maybe I see what's going on, but I shouldn't say anything to you until I can talk to Jenny. And there definitely won't be a chance for that this morning. I doubt she'll sit anywhere near us at breakfast or lunch, but if she does, be your usual courteous self but otherwise say as little as possible, to her or to anyone. When you see her in class, you behave normally, greet her, but don't say a word to her you don't have to. And this isn't your fault, it's mine actually, but I know it's going to be really hard on you. I don't think you can do anything to help, but I think I can, if I can catch her alone. I know she won't make that easy, though."

After a little while, she asked me, "Will this mean no quickie in the shower? If you were a girl, well, you'd be able, obviously, but you sure wouldn't feel like it. As it is, I don't know how this will affect you, that way. On the one hand, sometimes it seems like everything turns boys on, no matter what, but on the other hand I remember our first day as partners, so I know from experience that being hurt can keep you from being aroused."

We ran for a while longer while I thought about it. "I just don't know. It would really comfort me some, I think, but I'll have to see."

"Well, you just make sure you understand that I'll be OK either way. I was looking forward to it, a lot, but if it won't help don't you dare try just for my sake! You were patient with me for years, I can live with disappointment for a little while if I have to. I'm sorry to say that Jenny is acting a lot like I did. But it's different inside her than it was with me. I, um, I was getting a kick out of it, but she's feeling as torn up inside as you are.

"I've had to realize, I had fallen in love with you somewhere early on, and I just wasn't letting it hurt me when I treated you like that. But she knows she loves you and you love her. She's hurting enough to want to hurt you back, but that hurts her too because she knows it's wrong. I avoided that part of it by just not letting myself admit it was wrong."

We ran on, and went in when the time came. Not much good as an exercise session for me, but I needed Sam's company, even without any more talking. In spite of being hot and sweaty—Sam way more than me, of course—we hugged for a long, long minute before we went in. My tears had run dry, but I felt like they might start again at any time.

We collected clothes and stuff from Sam's room and headed for the showers. Jenny wasn't in evidence, probably having showered earlier, or maybe being in the other shower room. Or one of the boys', I supposed. We did have a quickie, which I'm pretty sure Sam enjoyed a lot more than I did, but it really was a comfort for me.

While we were in Sam's room, getting ready to head for breakfast, there was a knock at the door. It was Jenny. She had a load of stuff, clothes, study and class materials, and other things I had had in her room—right down to my toothbrush, as I found later. She didn't say anything. She just walked up to me, handed it all to me in a big, untidy mass, turned away, and walked out. She turned in the direction of the cafeteria. I spent just enough time sorting it all out to get it a bit organized and separate out what I would need later that day. Sam told me just to leave the rest on her desk for the time being.

Before we went to breakfast, though, she took me in her arms and held me, until finally I started crying. She held me while I cried on her shoulder, until I ran down. I quickly washed my face, and we went to breakfast.

Miss Milliken was at the monitor's desk as usual, and as she made a notation on her chart she said to me, "You know you're late."

I said, "I know."

"You're always about as careful about that as it's possible to be, so please don't take this personally. I'm supposed to warn you that repeated violations will mean removal of visitation privileges, both your privilege to be here and the privilege of any girl to visit your room. I'm afraid that I'm also supposed to ask whether you had any good reason for not being out on time."

"I don't."

Sam said, "He does too! It's just not an acceptable excuse from the official point of view. But so that you know, his partner—his other partner—just dumped him without warning, and he was standing in my room crying on my shoulder when the signals sounded. And yes, that can't count as a good reason, it's like 'My dog ate my homework.' But sometimes dogs actually do eat people's homework."

Miss Milliken was looking shocked. "I'm sorry to hear that, um, Morris. Truly. And it's another cliché, but I do mean it, I hope you get things fixed up. I've had opportunity to see how you love her. And you too, Bruja. I know he loves you too, I mean, but I know you love him as well. I wish I could help, but I don't see any way I could."

"Thank you, Miss Milliken. We really do need to go eat now so that we can get to class in time. And I'll try hard not to be late leaving again, but it's obvious that I'm in for a hard time for a while."

We collected food and went to sit with our usual friends. Jenny was nowhere to be seen during any of this, I kept looking surreptitiously around all the while, but the cafeteria was a big place.

Jim was there when we arrived, and he greeted Sam and me—addressing Sam as Bruja. I looked at her, but she didn't say anything, and, well, close as I was to Jim, it wasn't my business to push them onto first names.

After a moment, Jim said, "Jenny on a diet? She sure doesn't need to lose any weight."

Ouch. "As far as I know, she's eating breakfast right now. Somewhere. The only diet I know about is that I'm no longer on the menu, I guess."

Jim looked kind of startled, and concerned. He reached across our end of the table and gave my shoulder a squeeze. "I'm really sorry to hear that, buddy. I guess it would be tactless to say, 'There's no understanding women,' in present company, but I do know you pretty well, and so I have to wonder about her." He looked at Sam. "Bruja, he takes things hard. I know you've been really good for him. I hope you can somehow hold him together."

I was about to start crying again. Sam put her arm around me and squeezed. "I'm doing my best."

I didn't say another word during breakfast. We'd started rather late, so most people were leaving as we finished. They left us one tray and our dishes that still had food. We finished eating, took our dishes back, gathered our stuff, and kissed quickly. "Meet you for lunch?" I said.

"You better be there!"

I knew I would see Jenny in classes. I didn't have any hopes that she would sit with me—which was well, because she didn't. Sam did, in the classes we shared.

I got chewed out a lot by the instructors for my answers and for not contributing. It wasn't really any consolation that Jenny got much the same comments. I would have much preferred she did well than badly, and that she be happy than unhappy. But if she had seemed happy, it would have hurt me that much more, and I assumed her preoccupation was because she was as tangled up inside as I was.

At the end of our last class of the morning, I tried to walk with Jenny and talk, but she just ignored me, and she headed straight into the girls' wing when we reached the cafeteria. I took my stuff to my room, picking up what I would need for the afternoon. I wouldn't need clothes from there, since Sam had the ones that had been in both her room and Jenny's. I took my things out to the cafeteria entrance and waited. I happened to spot Jenny across the room, talking to some people, but decided I had better not try to intrude.

This all felt reminiscent of my relationship with Wilma during three years, except that Jenny was actually treating me worse than Wilma ever had. And I didn't have three years to try to repair things. I could only hope that Sam would somehow manage to be as effective an ambassador as Jenny had eventually been with Wilma. I was a little afraid that Jenny would just refuse to talk to Sam, though.

Sam came in, and we put our stuff where we usually sat. Jenny, of course, was part of that "we", and this was just another reminder. We went off to collect food, and came back and sat down. Between still being showered with extra-large portions, and not having a partner to keep me honest about exercise, I was going to put on weight fast, but I felt too weary to care. The food tasted good, but I just didn't get the enjoyment I usually did.

Afternoon classes went like the morning ones, with my being chewed out for not paying attention, but I couldn't make myself care too much. And Jenny came in for the same, in the class she was also in. Finally it was time for gym.

My partner this time was Kitty Morris again. At least it wasn't Jenny, which would at best have been awkward and might have been disastrous.

As we waited for all the partners to be assigned, I told her, "You know, if you hadn't killed yourself with your pace the last time, you would have made it ahead of me. Take it slower this time, and you likely will."

She said to me, pretty quietly, "At this point I'd much rather you caught me. I would have thought you'd know that."

She took off when the first whistle sounded. This time she didn't run faster than she could keep up, anyway. When the boys' signal sounded, I followed, as fast as I was sure I could maintain once around—again, trying to leave a little for the end. I gained on her steadily, and caught her not too much beyond halfway. We moved off the course, far enough for a little privacy.

"You've gotten faster since the last time," she said. "OK, I could have gone a little faster, but I wanted you to catch me, I told you. But you might have caught me no matter what. You probably would have."

"The way things are going, that won't last. I've lost my running partner and my motivation, it seems."

"If it looks like being permanent, I'd love to run with you, mornings. If I'm understanding you. I think we're well enough matched, for sure. But now, I'm looking forward to other partnership activities, where we've also seemed well matched, and I mean it. You have a job to do!"

So I undressed her and then myself, kissed her a bit, ate her pussy until she came, and managed to hold off coming myself until she came again, though that was a bit of a struggle for me. I knew she wouldn't have complained at all if I'd come too soon, but I would have found it really hard right then.

We walked on to the finish line holding hands. I gave her one more kiss, telling her, "Kitty, I'm so glad you're my friend. More than usual right now, but I meant all the time. That was wonderful, and I'm afraid I needed a little bit of wonderful right now."

She hesitated. "Phil, I don't know the situation. I gather Jenny isn't likely to find you so she can walk around with you, today. And I don't know about Sam, or any of the others. And I certainly don't have anything else ahead of me. Would you like me to walk with you? If some of the others show up, it won't bother me at all to just kind of fade away, and I don't need to act like I'm showing off that you're mine or anything. And it certainly won't bother me to watch you with anyone."

"I'd be very happy for some company, honestly. And thank you."

So we walked around looking over the forfeits. There were a normal number of them, not like the first couple of days of the game, but nothing like when the grass was very wet. I was to the point where I was starting to seriously look for interesting possibilities, when I came on Jenny.

Now, she hadn't ever been a forfeit before, and I couldn't help wondering whether she had done something on purpose today, for any of a lot of reasons. At any rate, her pussy was dripping as she sat there, so at least one had taken advantage of the situation. But there was no line, and no audience, at least not now.

"Kitty, would you mind kind of hanging back a little? I need to talk to her, and it's going to be awkward no matter what, I think."

She had the good sense not to hug me or give my arm a squeeze or anything of the kind. "I understand completely. I'll likely still be here when you're done, whatever the outcome."

I walked up to Jenny and sat on the ground next to her. "Jenny, I once told you if you were forfeit I'd try to be first in line," I said quietly. "Obviously I'm too late for that, but also obviously the situation has changed. You made it clear this morning that you don't want sex with me any more. I still don't understand what I said or did wrong, and for normal purposes I'll try to take you at your word. For now, though, well, if I ask, you're not supposed to say no, but I don't want to hide behind that as an excuse. I would love to have you welcoming me, but if I'm as unwelcome as you indicated, I'll just pass on by. You need to—. Excuse me. I need for you to tell me your wishes for this situation."

She looked at me expressionlessly. "As you say, if you want me, I'm here for the taking. I really wish you weren't here, and even more that I weren't. I'm not going to tell you what to do, beyond what I said this morning."

"I don't know how to interpret that except as a 'please don't touch me'—um, omit 'please'—and I'm sorry that's how you feel. I just want you to understand that I'm not saying I don't love you and want you. I do. And I'm willing to listen when you're willing to talk to me, later I mean. I love you."

I got up and walked away. Sam came up and took my arm. She said, "Well, you kept that pretty quiet—your side of it—but I think I heard it all. She's not giving you any help, that's for sure." And once again I was ready to cry.

Kitty came up, her face also full of concern. "Phil, I don't know what was said, but I saw from your face how much it hurt. I'm so sorry." She looked at Sam. "Do I need to go off on my own now?"

Sam said to her, "What do you mean? It looked to me like you were helping him hold together, and doing a good job of it. He'd like you here, and so would I. Feel free to go if you see someone you need to talk to or something, but we'd both love you to stay. If he's not too broken up for sex now, you can stay and watch or go, whichever is better for you."

I stopped and held her, putting my head on her shoulder, somehow managing to keep from crying. Eventually, we walked on, Sam holding my right arm, Kitty to my left side. We didn't talk much. A minute later, we came to where Linda Labelle was sitting on the ground.

Labelle was one of the two redheads Jenny had dragged me past that rainy Monday afternoon, and the one who had tempted me the past Friday, when I wanted to hold back what I could for the evening. I'd never really spoken to her before. I could see no one had taken a turn with her yet, today. No one was waiting.