April And Her Friends Ch 07

And that's how it went. Melody burned to ask April to let her have Kumar more than once a week, but was too shy to do so.

She'll think me a sex-crazed nympho,

she thought to herself, even though it struck her as deeply unfair that both April and Carolyn had Kumar three times a week and she only once. But as the weeks passed, another thing bothered her—and the other women as well:

Was Kumar going to move permanently to Seattle or not?

He had been very cagey about how his "work" was progressing on that front. He was clearly making good contacts with tech firms in the area—not least of which was Microsoft, whose huge campus in Redmond he visited several times—but as the days stretched on, he refused to say whether those contacts would be sufficient for him to uproot himself from Ithaca and come all the way across the country.

None of the women had the courage to ask him about the matter, as they were all terrified to receive a negative answer. In fact, they did everything they could to avoid the subject, while at the same time being supremely frustrated that Kumar himself didn't provide even the slightest clue as to his situation.

On a Thursday in mid-August—just two days before he was scheduled to head home, and about ten days before April and Melody were to begin freshman orientation at the university—the women's feelings almost boiled over. During dinner, the three females were looking almost haggard with expectation and foreboding. Even Carolyn, all too experienced as she was in being deserted by a man, had an ashen expression, and the usually bubbly April could hardly speak a word. They were all just looking at Kumar, begging him to put them out of their misery. It was Melody whose secret thought was echoed in the minds of the other two:

God, it would almost be a relief if he were to tell us he was just going home and not coming back—at least we'd

know,

and not be held in this horrible state of suspense.

But as the quartet was settling down to a dinner that none of them seemed to want, Kumar finally broke his silence.

He extended a hand over to Carolyn, sitting next to him, and said almost inaudibly: "Is there room for me in this house?"

Carolyn at first didn't understand the full impact of his words. When she did so, she seemed to grow dizzy and wondered if she was going to faint.

"You mean . . .?" She couldn't say anything more.

"I believe I can move here permanently, if you'll have me." That final phrase took in the two young women as well.

It was April who let out a whoop of joy as if she were cheering on her favorite football team. She flew up from her chair and flopped onto Kumar's lap, holding his head close to her chest. The other two women were scarcely less enthusiastic, wrapping Kumar in a clumsy embrace on either side of him. The sensation of three women's breasts, even if underneath clothing, all pressing against his face and head was certainly an unusual one, but he was not inclined to complain.

After the women had calmed down a bit and resumed their seats, Carolyn looked at Kumar as if he were a mischievous schoolboy and said: "Why did it take you so long to decide? God, we were all going crazy waiting for you to make up your mind. Weren't we, girls?"

April and Melody nodded their heads vigorously.

Kumar had the good grace to look abashed. "Well, gee, I didn't think it was as bad as that." Ignoring eye-rollings from all three women, he went on quickly: "It was just that—that I wasn't really

sure

I could do my work here. In fact, I'm

still

not absolutely sure. A lot of the companies I've been in touch with haven't explicitly said they want my services. They—"

"Well,

we

want your services!" April had the audacity to say.

Kumar blushed and continued speaking as if she hadn't uttered. "They seem impressed with me, but in some cases nothing definite has been put on the table. So it's going to be a little unnerving for me, at least at the start."

"Kumar," Carolyn said, "you'll have a roof over your head. That's something, isn't it?"

"I'm not going to freeload off of anyone's generosity—especially a woman's," he said sharply. Carolyn gave him a look that said:

My God, Kumar, we're not living in the nineteenth century! Do you really think you're going to be something like a "kept man"?

"Anyway," he went on resolutely, "I have some savings—quite a lot of them, in fact. So overall I think it's going to be okay."

And everyone had to be satisfied with that. Melody made sure to express her approval of Kumar's move by some particularly energetic acts during their post-dinner lovemaking. Carolyn—who drifted into the master bedroom after Melody left, with the smell of sex still pungently in the air and in the bed—was inclined to see if he was up for any more cuddling but suspected the poor man was probably exhausted, both physically and emotionally.

But April wouldn't take no for an answer the next night, making him perform almost beyond his capacity.

And then he went back to Ithaca.

He said it would take him at least three or four weeks to get his affairs in order, pack up his things (most of his furniture he would sell or give away), and make the big move. For the girls that was okay, because they soon became swept up in the daunting process of becoming undergraduates. April would be living at home, but Melody was moving into a coed dorm with a female roommate, and that—along with orientation—distracted her enough that she didn't think too often about the gaping absence of Kumar from various parts of her body.

Kumar returned for good in mid-September, getting comfortably lodged in Carolyn's house. Reserved as she was, she didn't outwardly show it, but she was supremely thrilled at once again cohabiting with a man. Those six years of marriage to Jeremy had, on the whole, been deeply satisfying, and she had gloried in suddenly being both a wife and a mother, even if the child in question was not the product of her own womb. Of course, April had been quite a handful, and Jeremy had been notably deficient in the discipline department where his daughter was concerned; toward the end, he almost acted as if he was in some weird way afraid of April, avoiding her company or at least making sure he was never alone with her. Carolyn could tell that April had been hurt and confused by that, but she figured it was just something to do with the early midlife crisis that Jeremy was apparently suffering—and that eventually led him, three years ago, to desert the two women in his life without any coherent explanation.

But now Kumar had restored to Carolyn a sense of her importance in a man's life, especially as April was on the threshold of full adulthood. She was not quite clear in her own mind why she didn't care that Kumar was intimate with both her and April—and with Melody, who still insisted on her Thursday night meetings with her lover, which now included an overnight stay—but that's just how it was. Carolyn thought of herself as an easy-going, even-tempered woman who didn't freak out unnecessarily and who refused to succumb to envy or jealousy. She was confident in her own status as a desirable woman—and Kumar had emphasized in no uncertain terms how much he loved her and found her satisfying to him in every way.

As the months passed, the four of them settled into a workable pattern. Melody even started spending Sunday nights at the house, having dinner with the others and snuggling up with April while Kumar and Carolyn were in the master bedroom. Both the girls were working hard at their schoolwork, which was exponentially more challenging than what they had done in high school; and Sunday nights were a good chance to chill before the onslaught of classes and assignments began all over again the next day.

April had made no secret of wanting to do a bit more than merely snuggling with Melody. ("I mean, we seem like adolescents in a slumber party!") She had found her impromptu lesbian fling with Lindsey and Maryann more stimulating than she was willing to admit publicly (

but what's wrong with being bisexual?—in fact, it's kind of fashionable

), but Melody still seemed a bit resistant.

There was one Sunday in mid-December when, as the two of them were in the comfortable queen-size bed, with Melody on the verge of drifting off to sleep, lying flat on her back, April impudently turned to her and gave her a sloppy kiss on the mouth.

Melody's eyes popped open and she made a strange little choking sound. "April, what are you doing? I'm trying to sleep."

"You looked so cute lying there," she cooed, boldly extending a hand to stroke one of Melody's small breasts over her flannel nightgown.

"Oh, April, stop it! I'm not interested."

"Why not? It'll be fun."

"Not to me."

"Oh, come on! Don't tell me you've never wanted to lick a girl's pussy."

Melody gave her friend a sour look. "It's not exactly been high on my agenda."

"Well, you should try it. As Kumar says, every girl's pussy tastes different."

"Glad to know that, but I don't need any firsthand experience on that point."

"Oh, you party-pooper!"

It was just at that point that some cries—both male and female—could be heard emerging from the master bedroom. Both the girls smiled at that.

"Gee, wouldn't you like to see what they're doing?" April said.

"

That's

something I might be interested in," Melody said without thinking. Then, shaking her head vigorously, she added: "No, that's terrible. How could we even think of invading their privacy that way?"

"Yeah, you're right," April admitted. "Anyway, we have a pretty good idea what they're doing. I mean, he does pretty much the same things to us, doesn't he?"

"I guess he does."

"You're now good with rear entry?"

"Sure—I like it."

"Doesn't hurt?"

"No, not much. Maybe a little uncomfortable sometimes, but that's it."

"He slips right into me."

"Good for you."

"You swallow his come?"

"Sometimes."

"You like that?"

"Mmm, not a whole lot. It's so salty! But I know he likes it when a girl does that."

"Yeah, I think most guys are like that."

A sudden thought occurred to Melody. "You don't have sex with him every night you're with him, do you?"

"Heavens, no!" April cried. "If both Mom and I did that, his thing would probably fall off. I do it maybe twice out of the three nights a week that he's in my bed."

"That's still a lot!"

"Is it?"

"Well, sure! Think about it. I obviously do it when I'm with him once a week, and your mom probably does it at least once a week. With you doing it twice a week, that's four times a week for him, and maybe more!"

"He seems to be able to handle it."

"I suppose."

"He hasn't shown any, um, lessening in his passion for you, has he?"

"No, not at all."

In fact, Melody reflected that Kumar's ardor for her seemed more fervent than ever—and she had to believe that it was for April and Carolyn also.

What stamina he must have!

"You love him, don't you?" April said quietly.

Melody flushed before replying, "Of course I do."

"And he loves you?"

"He says so—a lot."

"I'm glad."

Melody looked over to April. "Why do you even ask? It's obvious he loves all three of us."

"Yeah, I know . . ." April began, sounding as if she had meant to say more.

"April," Melody said, "you're keeping something from me."

"No, I'm not!" April protested. "Really I'm not!"

"Then why are you asking these questions?"

For some inexplicable reason April gave Melody a look of overriding pity, as if her friend had some terminal illness.

"April, come on! You're freaking me out!"

"Look, Melody, it's just this." April let out a huge sigh before going on. "In these past months Kumar and my mom have gotten really close—I mean,

really

close."

"They were close before!" Melody cried.

"Not like this. It's like they're totally on the same wavelength. I've never seen my mom like this before—I mean, it's almost as if she

glows,

she's so happy."

"Well, that's great, isn't it?"

Isn't it great to have the love of a good man?

"Of course it is. But—" April stopped abruptly.

"But what?" Melody said, a sudden fear overtaking her.

"I just think," April said heavily, "both of us needed to be prepared."

"Prepared for what?"

"I think"—April's voice descended to a whisper—"he's going to ask my mom to marry him."

Melody, reflecting on this whole scene later, thought she might have passed out for a second or two. "He—he's told you that?"

"Well, no, but I'm pretty sure it's going to happen."

Melody stared up at the ceiling. "So—what does that mean for us?" She chided herself for being so selfish (

shouldn't I be happy for Carolyn?

), but her own devotion to Kumar was such that she now couldn't imagine life without him.

April smiled, as if saying,

I'm thinking the same thing, girl.

"Maybe nothing."

"Nothing? What do you mean, nothing?"

"I don't see why things have to change. Even if they get married, I don't think my mom will suddenly demand that he kick us out of his bed. She wouldn't do that."

"You sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure."

"So what's the big deal?"

"Maybe it

isn't

a big deal. I just don't know. I mean, it's not as if Kumar ever had any intention of marrying one of

us!

That idea's just too ridiculous."

Melody had nothing to say to that. In fact, "that idea" was exactly what had flitted through her mind on more than one occasion. She knew it was absurd to think that a man of thirty-four—smart, handsome, and established in his career—would consider marrying an eighteen- or nineteen-year-old like herself; but somehow she couldn't get the fantasy out of her mind, and she had repeatedly envisioned walking down the aisle and linking her life permanently with his.

But, if what April was saying was true, then that fantasy really was the most ridiculous thing in the world.

Melody had to swallow before she could speak. "I—I don't care. I'd just wish them all the happiness they deserve."

"Well, so do I. He's always going to be in our lives, isn't he?"

"Of course he is."

But Melody had a sinking feeling that she wasn't as sure of that as she sounded.

*

The whole idea of marriage—to Carolyn—had been flitting through Kumar's mind too; but with his native caution and unwillingness to hurt anyone, he put off the issue far longer than he should have. As fall turned to winter, and the girls began their second quarter of schoolwork after the Christmas break, he was looking for the best time to address the matter, realizing that not just two people's lives were at stake, but four.

Carolyn, for her part, was getting worked up. There were times when she seemed unwontedly short-tempered, both where April and Kumar were concerned. Little things seemed to bother her when they hadn't before. She would give Kumar looks that anyone more familiar with women's hearts would have understood in a second—looks of longing, even pleading, mixed with a touch of confusion, regret, and even anger.

It was early in February, after a particularly vigorous session of lovemaking (front, rear, and sixty-nine), that Kumar and Carolyn lay on the big bed in the master bedroom, drenched in sweat and physically drained. Both were staring up at the ceiling as if finding something inexpressibly compelling up there.

"That was quite something," Kumar said.

"Yeah, I thought so," Carolyn said without smiling.

"You've really started to take charge," he said admiringly. "It's all I can do to keep up."

"Is that right?" Carolyn said indifferently. "Well, I guess I'm just comfortable with you." Then she added weightily: "You've become a fixture here."

"Have I?" he asked naively.

"Of course you have!" she said impatiently.

They lapsed into silence, although it was finally beginning to dawn on Kumar that Carolyn expected him to say something. As he glanced over to her, he saw a tension in her jaw that had rarely been there when they had first become intimate, but was now visible more and more frequently.

He licked his lips and said in a croaking voice, "What's your general opinion on . . . marriage?"

A hot flush coursed through Carolyn's entire body, and she wasn't entirely certain she had heard him correctly. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Are you asking an abstract question as part of a sociological survey, or what?

Kumar didn't answer, but just gazed at Carolyn plaintively.

She turned to him, her patented smirk spreading across her face. With a little frown she said, "Is that your clumsy way of proposing?"

He broke out in a crooked smile that always wrung her heart. "I guess it is."

She propped herself on an elbow, making sure he had a good look at her exposed breasts. "Well, you'd better do it right—not in that mealy-mouthed way."

"Yes, ma'am." He didn't know if he should somehow slink to the floor and get on his knees, but he didn't think that would be entirely necessary. "Will you marry me, Carolyn?"

"Of course I will, you silly man!" she cried, and dumped her body directly onto his, kissing him all over his face and grabbing his head with both hands in frustration. "God, what took you so long?"

"I guess I wasn't sure whether you wanted me," he managed to whisper.

"Not sure! Good Lord, how could I have made it any more obvious! For a man who has had a fair amount of experience with women—young and old—you're still pretty clueless about how women feel!"

"I suppose I am."

"Well, at least it's settled," she said with emphatic satisfaction. And with that, she slipped Kumar's half-erect cock into her pussy. She wasn't expecting any more action, but she just felt that at this all-important moment she wanted to fuse his body with hers in a way that put a kind of seal on their impending legal union.

He was content to let his cock—now hardening by the second—to remain in her, as he wrapped his arms around her and squeezed her bottom vigorously.

"There's more to it than that, of course," he said a bit ruefully.

"You're referring to . . .?" she said—but she knew the answer to that.

"The girls."

"Yes—the girls."

"Although," Kumar said in almost a whine, "I don't see why this should bother them any. I mean, nothing has to change. Does it?" That last query was stated wistfully, and Kumar could hardly bear to look directly at Carolyn.

"If that's what you want," she said evasively, still relishing the feel of his cock inside her.

"But is it what

you

want? I can stop—"

"No, no, there's no need for that."

"They'd get over it."

"Kumar, aren't you forgetting that you deflowered both of them? That's a big deal—you said so yourself. They're pretty devoted to you."

"I know," he said almost miserably. "But I still don't see why they should be upset by something like this. I mean, marrying one of

them

was never in the cards."

"My dear man, you've obviously never been an eighteen-year-old girl. I wouldn't be at all surprised if one, or the other, or

both

of them thought that was

exactly

what was in the offing."

"But surely not April?"

"Why not?"

"But where would that put you?"

"Oh, I'm sure she would have been very generous and let you continue poking your mother-in-law!"

"Carolyn, please—that's pretty rude."

"But it wasn't her I was thinking about."

"No," Kumar said lugubriously, "I wasn't either."

"Look," Carolyn said, working hard to put the best face on things, "I think it'll be fine. They'll—"

"Will you tell them?" Kumar interrupted.

"Tell them what?"

"You know—about our engagement."

"Not on your life, buster! This is your job."