April and Her Friends

"Mom, where've you been?" April cried when Carolyn returned to her room. "You were gone for

ages!"

"It wasn't that long," Carolyn said defensively. "I guess I lost track of time."

"What were you talking about? You were away for, like, more than an hour!"

"Oh, just this and that. He's a very interesting man."

But while April was taking in what her stepmother was saying, she was also scrutinizing her as if looking at a perplexing slide in a microscope. Now she slowly walked over to Carolyn and said:

"Why are you all red?"

"I'm not red!" Carolyn exclaimed.

"You

are!

What happened—did you do some laps in the hallway, or what?"

"Oh, you're being silly, April."

April boldly went up to her stepmother and actually sniffed her face and neck. Carolyn drew back in alarm, but not fast enough.

"What the—?" April said in ferocious puzzlement. "Mom, did you—did you

sleep

with him?"

Carolyn flushed, turning even redder than she already was. "That—that's ridiculous!"

"You

did!

Mom, you're so naughty!"

April was saying all this with a broad grin on her face—and that, to Carolyn, was the only gratifying point in this whole mortifying conversation.

"Dear," she said, looking away, "you have no right to say that."

"Well, Mom, what I

will

say is, it's about time."

"What's

that

supposed to mean?"

"Oh, Mom, you know what I mean. You really didn't have to be celibate all this time after Daddy left."

"You shouldn't speak that way to me! Anyway, how do you know I was celibate?"

"It's pretty obvious. Did I ever see you bring a single man home in all these three years, or hear of you going out with anyone?"

"I—I just wasn't interested!"

"Mom, don't give me that. I know you were."

"What—what do you mean?"

April didn't elaborate, but perhaps she didn't need to. She wasn't quite so brazen as to admit to overhearing Carolyn make strange sounds at various times when she thought she was in the privacy of her own bedroom.

"Never mind about that," April said loftily. "How was it?"

"How was what?"

"You know—with Kumar."

"There's no way I'm going to tell you!"

"Why not? He probably told you about me." It was only now that April realized that she herself hadn't told Carolyn what had happened between herself and Kumar earlier in the afternoon. "Or did he?"

"I got it out of him," Carolyn muttered. "And on that point, young lady, I have a lot to say! Why did you lie to me about your vast experience with boys?"

"I didn't lie," April said uncomfortably. "I never said I'd gone all the way with a guy."

"Maybe not in so many words, but you certainly implied it. I thought you'd lost your virginity years ago! So what's up with that?"

April started walking agitatedly around the room. "Oh, Mom, it was a lot of things. I guess part it was I was just wanting to tease you. I mean, you seemed so uptight about sex and men and all that."

"I wasn't uptight!"

"Yes, you were. I know it must have been horrible when Daddy left, but you just seemed to retreat into yourself. God, I thought you were going to go off and join a convent!"

"Don't be silly, April. I had you to take care of—and you were quite a handful!"

And still are.

"I know," April said ruefully. "And I'm sorry about that. Just teenage rebellion, I guess."

"Is that what you call it?"

"I suppose."

"So what did you do with all those guys you went out with?"

"I think you can guess."

"A lot of mouth action, would you say?"

"Mom, that's disgusting!"

"It's disgusting when I

talk

about it, but it's not disgusting when you

do

it?"

"Mom, I really don't want to talk about that. I want to know what you and Kumar did."

"Well," Carolyn said snidely, "I guess it was pretty much what you two did."

"Really?" April said, her eyes wide open. "You mean—front and back?"

"Yup."

"Omigod, Mom! I can't believe he had the energy!"

"Well, he did."

"How'd you like it?"

"Like what?"

"You know—the back way."

"Um, not so much. It hurt."

"Yeah, it hurt me too. But he—made it better."

"Yes, he did that to me too."

"Really? He made you come?"

"

Yes!

Do I have to spell it out for you?"

"He's quite something, isn't he?" April said dreamily.

"Yes, he is," Carolyn said quietly.

April looked pensively at her stepmother. "You really like him, don't you?"

"What a way to put it! You're not in high school anymore, and I'm certainly not!" Settling down, Carolyn went on: "I feel a lot for him. I think you do too."

"Yes, I do."

"So . . . it's a little complicated."

"I guess." But April brightened suddenly and said: "So are we going to alternate?"

"What on earth do you mean?"

"You know—you spend one night with him, and then I spend the next night, and so on until the vacation's over?"

Carolyn felt a little queasy over that idea but said: "Yes, I suppose."

"It'll be fun, Mom!" April said cheerily. "Maybe we could even . . ."

"What?"

"You know . . . the three of us . . .?"

"No!"

Carolyn said emphatically. "Absolutely not, April. Where do you get such ideas?"

"Oh, Mom, it wouldn't be such a big deal."

"I think you need to wash your mouth out with soap. Anyway," Carolyn said, stalking to the bathroom, "I just want to go to bed. I'm exhausted."

*

And that's how it went. The three of them spent large portions of the day doing all kinds of touristy things, then having dinner at various charming restaurants. That first night after Kumar's double dose of intimacy, April determined that it was her turn to spend a whole night with him, and she snatched up some toiletries and a change of clothes, stuffed them in a little carryall, and left her room, saying loudly, "Bye, Mom! See you in the morning."

When Kumar let her into his room, he was dressed only in a thin robe. That made April feel a little bit like an escort whom some wealthy man had summoned for his pleasure, but she didn't mind. And yet, Kumar shocked and disappointed her when he said:

"You know, April, we don't really have to do anything tonight. We can just cuddle."

"You—you don't want me?" she said, utterly crestfallen.

"No, no! I didn't mean that!" He quickly took her in her arms to stanch any incipient flow of tears. "You're such a treasure—you must know that. I'm just wondering if—you know, if you're . . . sore."

"Well, I am a little," April admitted. "But not too sore!"

So they got down to business. Kumar was still determined to be gentle with her, for he felt that April was just putting a brave face on things and not wanting to admit her inexperience in full-fledged sex with a man. As he peeled off her clothes and let his own robe fall to the ground, he started to lead April to the bed. But she stopped him and fell to her knees.

"April," he chided, "you don't need to do it that way."

She looked up at him. "You don't like it this way?"

"I didn't say that. It's just that—some women think it's too submissive."

"Oh, that's ridiculous," she said, and the next thing he knew she had popped his cock almost halfway into her mouth.

She worked over that cock with her mouth, tongue, and fingers until it was hard, and she didn't neglect that fascinating sac that hung down behind it. Sometimes she even put that sac into her mouth, sucking one testicle and then both as if they were huge marbles that she was rolling around in her mouth. She knew she must be on to something, if his sighs and moans were any indication.

Their lovemaking was a paradoxical mix—tender yet frenzied, gentle yet forceful, leisurely yet agitated. She was happy to take him lying on her back, but later signaled that she wanted to ride him; so he flipped over onto his back, lying flat while she squatted over his cock and thrust herself on it like a hobbyhorse. She was rewarded with a violent ejaculation on his part, as he shot his seed copiously into her.

Later he gave her a long session of cunnilingus, and in her dizziness and confusion she felt she may have come not once but twice as he licked and sucked and stroked with skill and empathy. Now she was ready for a second round, and she insisted that he enter her anus again. She was determined to get used to this procedure, not only to please him but as a point of pride in herself.

Still later, they had a long session of sixty-nine, culminating in mutual climaxes. It was, of course, not by any stretch of the imagination the first time that April had had a man send jets of his salty discharge down her throat, but she felt that this session was particularly meaningful as a confirmation of the bond she had established with him.

As they were resting, snuggling in each other's arms, Kumar said:

"You know, your mom"—by now he was ready to go along with April's frank admission that Carolyn was her real mother, by virtue of having taken care of her over the past nine years—"was pretty peeved that you deceived her about your, um, experience."

"Oh, I just like to tease her. She's a bit of a prude—at least I thought she was, before last night!"

"Yes, well, she seemed to think you enjoyed making her think you were something of a . . ." Kumar didn't have the courage to finish.

"A nympho?" April said bluntly. "Well, maybe I was—and am."

"But you—you didn't actually

do

anything, did you?"

"Oh, I did plenty, my man!"

"Like—like what?"

"Oh, mostly just cocksucking. I mean, it's so easy to get boys of that age to come that way."

"April, you're not exactly a lot older than the boys you were, um, servicing."

"Maybe not, but they

seemed

a lot younger—as far as sex was concerned, anyway."

"Pardon my asking, but exactly how many did you do?"

"Oh, gosh, I don't know. It's not as if I kept count!"

"Take a guess. How many?"

April seemed suddenly upset. "Why do you want to know?"

"I'm just curious."

"You—you'll think badly of me."

"Oh, come now, April. I won't."

"You really shouldn't care about these things. They all happened before you knew me."

"I know that—but I'd just like to know."

"Well, I really couldn't tell you!" April exploded. "Maybe . . . fifty, sixty."

"That many?" Kumar said weakly.

"Yeah, that many. My high school was huge, and there were lots of people there—maybe close to two thousand. My senior class was, like, five hundred. So there was no shortage of boys. Anyway, most of them I did just once."

"Really?"

"Well, of course a lot of them wanted me to do it again, but I told them where to get off!"

"But where . . . how . . .?"

"Oh, it was easy. At parties. At school."

"At

school?"

"Sure. There are lots of out-of-the-way places where I could just pull out a boy's thing and stick it in my mouth. And it didn't take more than a few minutes. A lot of these boys were on a hair trigger, you know what I mean?"

"Yeah, I guess I was that way too. But didn't you want a real

relationship

with any of them?"

"Frankly, no. They just didn't appeal to me that way. That's why . . ."

"Why what?"

"Oh, Kumar, you know what: that's why I didn't let them poke me."

"You were saving yourself?"

"Yes—for someone nice and sweet and smart and kind and sensitive. And that turned out to be you."

Kumar was deeply moved. He held her tightly and gave her a long kiss on the mouth.

"Hey, guy," she said, wriggling in his arms, "I can't breathe!"

"Sorry," he said, loosening his grip. "You're a remarkable young woman, April."

"That's sweet of you." She rested her head on his chest. "I—I hope this isn't going to be the end. I mean, after this vacation is over."

"I hope not too."

"What are we going to do?"

"We'll think of something."

And with that, Kumar urged April to go to sleep, and he went to sleep also.

*

And so it went, with April and Carolyn alternating in Kumar's bed every night. They took pity on the poor man and didn't insist on physical intimacy every single night; however much of a drought he had suffered (and he told both women it was only a few months), they didn't want to tax him beyond reasonable limits. The last night for the women (they would be flying home the next day; Kumar would be heading out the day after), it was Carolyn's final turn with him, and they were particularly passionate. They devoured each other's bodies as if they were starving; and one time, when Carolyn was riding Kumar, squatting over him and plunging down on his cock like a madwoman, the picture of her body, glistening all over with sweat, was one of the most beautiful things he had ever seen. Later, Kumar pummeled her bottom so hard that she let out harsh grunts with every thrust, culminating in a high-pitched squeal when he shot his load into her.

They collapsed in exhaustion, clinging to each other like shipwrecked sailors hanging on to a piece of driftwood. But Carolyn felt the time had come for some serious talk about the future.

"So," she gasped, "what happens now?"

Kumar chose to misunderstand her meaning. "Well, I guess you and April go home tomorrow."

"I know that," she said tartly. "I meant, what happens to

us?

Where does this relationship—with me and with her—go from here? Surely this isn't going to be it?"

"Good God, no!" he said, horrified.

"Then what?"

"I've been thinking about that. I think I'm reaching the stage where I can do a lot of my work remotely. All I need is my computer and some other gadgets. That means . . ."

"Yes?" she said, frustrated at his abrupt pause.

"That means I could move out to Seattle and be with you."

Carolyn was profoundly moved. She raised her head up from where it had been resting on his chest and looked him in the eyes. "You—you'd do that for me—for us?"

"Of course," he said airily. "It's a lot easier for me to move than you two. Anyway, Seattle doesn't exactly have a shortage of tech firms."

"Um, no, it doesn't. But—but when?"

"Well, I'd like to give it a try in a few weeks. Maybe spend a month out there just to make sure things go the way I expect. Would that be okay?"

"God, yes!" she enthused. "Come by anytime! The sooner the better!"

"Well, it'll take me two or three weeks to get ready to leave."

"Fine. April and I can wait." Now Carolyn paused. "Have you explained this to her?"

"No. I thought I'd leave that to you. But I get the impression she assumes something like that will happen."

"That figures. She always thinks things are going to be easier than they turn out to be."

"I'm hoping this will be easy."

"Cohabitation is never easy."

"And I have to warn you that I've actually never lived long-term with anyone. I've had a few live-in girlfriends, but they didn't last very long."

"Why not, may I ask?"

Kumar shrugged uneasily. "I don't know. Maybe I wasn't ready. Maybe I really didn't care for the women all that much."

"And—and you care for us?" Carolyn said, looking away.

A swell of emotion surged through Kumar. He took Carolyn's face in both hands, forced her to gaze at him, and said, "I love you, Carolyn. I love you more than I can say."

Her eyes filled with tears. "You do?" she said almost inaudibly.

"Of course! You must know."

"I—I wasn't sure. It's been so fast."

"I've gotten to know you—and April—a lot more intimately than I've ever known any other women. So I know."

He paused, waiting for a certain response on Carolyn's part. When it didn't come immediately, he pressed the issue. "Do you love me?"

Two huge tears fell from her eyes. "Yes," she whispered.

"Really?"

"Yes, really."

He smiled broadly. Swallowing hard, he said, "I'm glad."

He urged her to settle back down on his chest, kissing the top of her head from time to time. That's how they fell asleep.

*

On the plane ride home, Carolyn felt the need to discuss the state of affairs with her stepdaughter.

"So Kumar is going to come visit us in a few weeks."

"That's great, Mom! Is he going to move in?"

"April, dear, don't count your chickens before they're hatched. He's just going to stay a month or so, to see if he can do his work here. After that—well, let's hope for the best."

"I'm sure it will be wonderful! But I wish he could come sooner."

"Well, I'm not sure I'll mind the little break." She wriggled uncomfortably on her seat. "My

butt

could use a break."

"Yeah, mine too. I wonder why he likes that so much?"

"I don't know. He just does."

"But I think I'm getting used to it."

"Yeah, me too."

Carolyn eyed her stepdaughter askance. "So you're okay with this?" she said ambiguously.

April, like Kumar, professed not to understand. "With what?"

"With this

situation,

" she said insistently. Then, in a lower tone of voice, "With Kumar."

"Sure! What's not to like?"

"Oh, April, come on! This isn't just fun and games!"

"Isn't it?" April said teasingly.

"No. It's serious. It doesn't bother you that he and I—?"

"Look, Mom," April said in world-weary tones, "I really think you and Kumar have more in common than he and I do. He has things to say to you that he can't say to me."

"Just because we're older, you mean?"

"That's part of it."

"So you're okay with it?"

"

Yes!

I've said so, haven't I?" She hadn't, but somehow she thought she had.

"All right, just checking."

"I thought

you'd

be freaked out at the situation. I mean, a threesome—"

"That's

not

what this is!"

"Well, you know what I mean. I guess it's the old French idea—a

ménage à trois.

But it's no big deal."

"I think most people would think it's a pretty big deal! And they'd also, shall we say, not approve. Some people might even be appalled."

"Let them," April said dismissively. "That shouldn't mean anything to us."

"Well, all I can say is you'd better keep quiet about this. Don't blab to your friends. If this gets out, I could be in big trouble at my job. Can you imagine what the schools I work at would say?"

April giggled. "Yes, I guess they'd think we were a bunch of perverts."

"That's the very

least

they would say!"

"Oh, Mom, I know how to keep my mouth shut."

"Well, see that you do."

They settled into an uneasy silence, broken some minutes later when Carolyn said:

"What do you feel about him?"

April turned to look at her mother. "Mom, surely you know."

"I

don't

know."

"I love him, of course," as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "But that doesn't mean I want him all to myself."

"That—that's very broad-minded of you, dear."

"Well, it might be different if it was someone else but you. I mean, you're my mom! How could I object? I've been after you for years to get out into the dating world."

"April, I explained that to you. I was really thrown for a loop when your father left me. You really have no idea what that's like."

"Okay, I don't. But that was three years ago."

"That isn't a long time! Maybe to you it is, but not to someone as old and decrepit as I am."

"Mom, you're not decrepit!"

"I was being sarcastic. Anyway, I just wasn't in the mood. And you were quite a handful to deal with on your own."

"I know. I'm sorry I was such a bitch."

"April, don't use that word—

ever.

That's not what you were. You were just a bit—unruly."

"Okay, if you say so."

"And I suppose it was a good thing that I saved myself, otherwise I wouldn't have been so receptive to Kumar."

"So what do

you

feel about him?" April asked boldly.

Carolyn flushed. "You—you shouldn't ask me that."

"Why on earth not? You asked me!"

"I'm your mother—your stepmother. It's my right to ask."