Podcasts about Fuck

Headlines says we eat too many microplastics, upon hearing this one said…”Fuck that homie” -Fat Boy Hey JUG, let's do some Facebook Fussin

What if scheduling joy was just as important as your to-do list? In this episode, Lesley Logan shares five intentional days to reset your life each month, a powerful community win from Tami-Adrian George on launching her coaching program, and a reminder that even organizing a closet can be a bold act of self-love. Because every little win means you're showing up and that's worth celebrating.If you have any questions about this episode or want to get some of the resources we mentioned, head over to LesleyLogan.co/podcast https://lesleylogan.co/podcast/. If you have any comments or questions about the Be It pod shoot us a message at beit@lesleylogan.co mailto:beit@lesleylogan.co. And as always, if you're enjoying the show please share it with someone who you think would enjoy it as well. It is your continued support that will help us continue to help others. Thank you so much! Never miss another show by subscribing at LesleyLogan.co/subscribe https://lesleylogan.co/podcast/#follow-subscribe-free.In this episode you will learn about:Five intentional self-care days to add to your monthly calendar.Celebrating imperfect but meaningful progress in your business.Why sharing your new venture builds support and alignment.Finding value in everyday wins like organizing your closet.The ripple effect of sharing wins and giving yourself credit.Episode References/Links:Submit your wins or questions - https://beitpod.com/questions5 Non-Negotiable Days - https://www.instagram.com/p/DKIAyz6ym8R/Tami-Adrian George's Website - https://www.tagpilates.com If you enjoyed this episode, make sure and give us a five star rating and leave us a review on iTunes, Podcast Addict, Podchaser or Castbox. https://lovethepodcast.com/BITYSIDEALS! DEALS! DEALS! DEALS! https://onlinepilatesclasses.com/memberships/perks/#equipmentCheck out all our Preferred Vendors & Special Deals from Clair Sparrow, Sensate, Lyfefuel BeeKeeper's Naturals, Sauna Space, HigherDose, AG1 and ToeSox https://onlinepilatesclasses.com/memberships/perks/#equipmentBe in the know with all the workshops at OPC https://workshops.onlinepilatesclasses.com/lp-workshop-waitlistBe It Till You See It Podcast Survey https://pod.lesleylogan.co/be-it-podcasts-surveyBe a part of Lesley's Pilates Mentorship https://lesleylogan.co/elevate/FREE Ditching Busy Webinar https://ditchingbusy.com/ Resources:Watch the Be It Till You See It podcast on YouTube! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCq08HES7xLMvVa3Fy5DR8-gLesley Logan website https://lesleylogan.co/Be It Till You See It Podcast https://lesleylogan.co/podcast/Online Pilates Classes by Lesley Logan https://onlinepilatesclasses.com/Online Pilates Classes by Lesley Logan on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjogqXLnfyhS5VlU4rdzlnQProfitable Pilates https://profitablepilates.com/about/Follow Us on Social Media:Instagram https://www.instagram.com/lesley.logan/The Be It Till You See It Podcast YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCq08HES7xLMvVa3Fy5DR8-gFacebook https://www.facebook.com/llogan.pilatesLinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/lesley-logan/The OPC YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/@OnlinePilatesClasses Episode Transcript:Lesley Logan 0:00  It's Fuck Yeah Friday. Brad Crowell 0:01  Fuck yeah. Lesley Logan 0:02  Get ready for some wins. Welcome to the Be It Till You See It podcast where we talk about taking messy action, knowing that perfect is boring. I'm Lesley Logan, Pilates instructor and fitness business coach. I've trained thousands of people around the world and the number one thing I see stopping people from achieving anything is self-doubt. My friends, action brings clarity and it's the antidote to fear. Each week, my guest will bring bold, executable, intrinsic and targeted steps that you can use to put yourself first and Be It Till You See It. It's a practice, not a perfect. Let's get started. Lesley Logan 0:48  Hi, Be It, babe. Happy Friday. How are you? What's going on? I'm still on the road as you're listening to this, so I recorded early, and so these are some of the wins that I did before I left for tour. But I actually think that it's a lot of fun and still worth listening to because same reason, I love to share your win. Sometimes they're a month or so after you've sent them in, and then you get to hear them go, oh my God, I did do that. And they get to re-celebrate this amazing thing that you did. So I'm going to re-celebrate what I did, in my view, but first, just so you know, you can actually send your wins. An easier way, go to beitpod.com/questions, I know that sounds weird, but you can put your question or win it or both, right, we answer your questions on the Thursday episode. We share your wins on the Friday episode. But first we share something that inspired me, and I thought you guys needed to hear about this. Lesley Logan 1:35  Okay, so it says five non-negotiable days you should schedule every month. All right, so this, I'll put the link in the show notes so you can actually see it for yourself. But it said there's five days that you have in here each month, right? So that would be 12 times a year, ideally. So you need to Get It Together Day that's a day to clear the clutter, physically, mentally and digitally. This can be paying your bills, organizing your inbox, or doing meal prep. It's boring, but it's a kind of maintenance that keeps life from spiraling out of control. I couldn't agree more. I love this Get It Together Day so it's already being scheduled in to the life that we live. It's kind of like, oh, let's pick a Saturday or a Sunday to, like, declutter a closet, right? So then we have Unplugged Day. So you need a day, it's 24 hours where you avoid technology as much as possible. So put down your phone and go for a hike, spend time with people or person, or read a book. The world will fall apart while you're offline, but your mental health might improve. I often use unplug days on planes because it's a little easier. But I also do play a video game. So, you know, find a day or half day or six hours where it's like, I'm not going to be like, using my technology, all right, be safe, but also figure like, get creative, right? Hey, the next day, Be a Tourist Day. Be a tourist in your own city day. How cool. When was the last time you explored your city like it wasn't just where you lived? There's a new location or try a restaurant you've never been to? Routine makes time fly, but exploration slows it down. See the world around you with fresh eyes. I couldn't agree more. We have been trying out new bars and new restaurants, and as I literally record this, I have a text message from a friend where I'm supposed to re-find a restaurant because I booked us a reservation and the restaurant canceled it, and as rude as they always are, they didn't tell us why. So now we're trying to figure out a new place to eat, and it's like, oh well, I'll just be a tourist that day. That sounds fun to me. Okay. Reconnection Day. Life gets busy, but relationships are what make it meaningful. Take at least one day per month to reconnect with people who matter, no agenda, no hidden motive, just real human connection. I mean, you can probably, like, combine some days, right? You have Reconnection Day with an unplugged day. Pick some friends, go for a hike, right? You could be a tourist too. Oh, my God, all these different things you could do. So if you like. I'm too busy for these days. Well, get creative. You know, like the world is what you see. I'm just gonna be really honest with you, and I think this is the last one, Mini Adventure Day. You don't need a plane ticket to have an adventure. Do something small that's new but feels exciting. Take a new route home, try a new class, or visit a museum, break your routine and make your days more story-worthy. So I'm just truly obsessed with this. I'm actually keeping this safe for myself. Just make sure that I'm finding ways to do these things in my busy calendar. You're gonna hear in the wins this month, like where I've actually done these things before I saw this, and I'm like, oh, I really love those things and look at me. I had a Reconnection Day. So anyways, I hope this inspires you. Lesley Logan 4:24  Now, let's do a win of yours. So this one was sent in from Tami-Adrian George. She actually has an episode coming up. She is a OPC teacher and an Agency member, and we have a really fun program coming out with her. So if your Pilates instructor wants to teach in people's homes, we've got something. So this one was from a little bit ago, but I'm sharing it now, and she says new website is done mostly just a few annoying bits to clean up, but messy action is my traction tag pilates.com. Spent a week getting the best hugs from college boy being home for spring break. Soft rollout for my biz. Coaching, have skill, will travel. The method is going well. There isn't much out there exclusively for traveling to instructors. And I want to take a quick moment in the sessions of my regulars to let them know that although they be seeing me more on my feet about coaching, I'm still 100% committed to their customized programs. I ask them to be sure to let me know early about their travel vacation plans so we can book their virtual sessions that will often fall a bit outside of the normal schedule with time zone changes, I expected a bit of pushback, and got none, just love and support. Made a new IG teacher friend who's in Thailand named Tick when I DM-ed him to thank him for following and asked how he found me, he sent a picture of LL's flashcards. That's so cool. Oh my God, so fun. So I love all these different little wins in here. I just wanna break them down, because you guys, she is celebrating a website that's mostly done, right, like oftentimes we wait to celebrate until everything is perfectly tied up in a boat that is not gonna happen. I'm literally looking at a pile of coats that I move from one closet to what's gonna be the next closet, and I'm still celebrating that I got them from one closet, right? We have to give ourselves permission to be in process and in progress. I also love that she is celebrating like, the little moments with her son being home, like it's really sometimes we want more of other people's time. We don't always get it. So when you celebrate the time you do have, it does make it feel so special. And then she is working on a new program, and I love that she is sharing that with people who it doesn't even apply to, so that they know what's going on and that she's still committed to them. Because oftentimes we're like, oh, let me make this precious. Let me hold on to this thing that I'm doing and not tell anyone about it, because I don't want them to know because in case it fails. No, tell people about it. Tell why they're doing it, tell how they're part of it, because you have no idea how they might know. Plus, universe responds to us talking about the things we're doing. So love all these wins. And also, if you are in business and you're listening to this, if you do get new followers, it's really important to sometimes find out how they found you, because it lets you know where you should be spending your time. So, way to go. I love that they have my flashcards in Thailand. Thanks for letting me know, Tami. Lesley Logan 7:04  All right, a win of mine. So I'll go with this one. I cleaned out a closet, and when I, right, like we were just talking about those coats. So we have this closet that's by the front door. I'm sure we, like everyone has closets they're by the front door. Anyways, this closet was like the dog closet, plus the coat closet, plus the shoe closet, plus my weight vest closet, and it's just kind of like it's too small for how many things it's supposed to hold. And in the wintertime, we need our big coats to be in there, and that is no longer something we need in there. So I pulled all the big coats out because we're not going to need until October, November. Anyways, and so they didn't quite make it into the podcast room closet, where all the other coats are, because we need to make room. We need to make space. And so I talked to Brad about this. I said, hey, before we leave for tour, we have to go through this closet. Okay? Because there's now this closet is a coat closet, slash the gift closet, slash your music equipment closet. So can we, like do that one of the weekends, and I'm sharing this with you. We're in the process of this win being another win, so we've done one win. The coat closet by the front door, easy to use, tons of space. Can't even believe it, like, so much room. We also donated a bunch of dog stuff to this shelter that takes care of homeless people's dogs. We had a bunch of toys that Bayon doesn't like, and since Gaia and August have passed, like we have all this extra stuff. We have one dog now, and we used to have three, so we have a lot of extra stuff. So we started to donate a ton of dog stuff that was used and gently used to another charity. So you can, you can find all with all the wins I'm having out of cleaning one closet out and, no, it's not done, the project's not done. But you know what? I can't wait in my life for things to be done before I celebrate. Life would be way too hard. There's way too much stuff going on. I just want to remind you of that each and every week, my loves, you're doing a really great job, and nothing is ever going to be perfectly done. Ever. You're going to realize, oh, like, the Reformer flashcards have gone through like three or four reprints. We've sold out, reprinted, sold out, reprinted. And on the third reprint, we discovered that there's a misspelled word no one has ever told us about, right? So here I thought we're done with that, and we're not. We have to reprint it. We'll wait till the next print. We'll fix that one word. But I just want to give you permission to celebrate that you pulled a coat from one closet and you got it into the room where it's supposed to go. Congratulations, right? Lesley Logan 9:24  So, send your wins in and share this with a person who needs to, needs inspiration that good things do happen to good people who put themselves out there and put themselves in process. They really, really, really do. And I do hope that I get to see you in person at some point, either on our summer tour, our upcoming winter tour in the U.K. next month, on our retreat, like, let's spend some time together because I love that the podcasts and our platforms allow us to reach people all around the world, but I truly love getting to meet you in person and hearing more about what you need and how we could support you. Helps us pick up the guests for this podcast. It helps us design classes on OPC. It's all part of it, right? So we want to meet you. So definitely reach out for information on any of the in-person events that we're doing, and send your wins or your questions or both to beitpod.com/questions. Thank you so much and have an amazing day. Oh, you know what to do, Be It Till You See It. Lesley Logan 10:17  That's all I got for this episode of the Be It Till You See It Podcast. One thing that would help both myself and future listeners is for you to rate the show and leave a review and follow or subscribe for free wherever you listen to your podcast. Also, make sure to introduce yourself over at the Be It Pod on Instagram. I would love to know more about you. Share this episode with whoever you think needs to hear it. Help us and others Be It Till You See It. Have an awesome day. Be It Till You See It is a production of The Bloom Podcast Network. If you want to leave us a message or a question that we might read on another episode, you can text us at +1-310-905-5534 or send a DM on Instagram @BeItPod.Brad Crowell 11:00  It's written, filmed, and recorded by your host, Lesley Logan, and me, Brad Crowell.Lesley Logan 11:05  It is transcribed, produced and edited by the epic team at Disenyo.co.Brad Crowell 11:09  Our theme music is by Ali at Apex Production Music and our branding by designer and artist, Gianfranco Cioffi.Lesley Logan 11:16  Special thanks to Melissa Solomon for creating our visuals.Brad Crowell 11:20  Also to Angelina Herico for adding all of our content to our website. And finally to Meridith Root for keeping us all on point and on time.Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/be-it-till-you-see-it/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Mission Accomplished: Rob O'Neill on SEAL Team Six, Leadership, and Life After the Battlefield.  In this week's episode, Marcus and Melanie Luttrell meet with one of the most highly decorated combat veterans of our time—Robert J. O'Neill. With an incredible 400+ combat missions under his belt, Rob's experiences span across Liberia, The Balkans, The Persian Gulf, Indian Ocean, Ukraine, Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. As a Navy SEAL, Rob served in SEAL Team Two, SEAL Team Four, and spent eight years with the legendary SEAL Team Six. Rob's heroic career is underscored by 53 decorations, including two Silver Stars for gallantry, four Bronze Stars with Valor for heroism, and a host of other prestigious commendations. His resume of skills includes elite qualifications like Military Free-Fall Jumpmaster, Naval Special Warfare Scout/Sniper, and Master Naval Parachutist, among many others. In this episode, we dive deep into Rob's role in some of the most significant military operations in recent history: Operation Red Wings, which saw the rescue of the Lone Survivor, Marcus Luttrell The lead jumper in the daring rescue of Captain Richard Phillips from Somali pirates Operation Neptune's Spear, the mission that brought down Osama bin Laden Beyond the battlefield, Rob is the co-founder of the Special Operators Transition Foundation, a non-profit dedicated to helping special operations veterans transition to successful careers in corporate America. He is also the author of the best-selling memoir, THE OPERATOR: Firing the Shots that Killed Osama bin Laden and My Years as a SEAL Team Warrior. Throughout his post-military career, Rob has become a prominent public speaker, security consultant, and media contributor, sharing expert insights on military strategy and terrorism. Whether speaking to survivors of 9/11 or delivering keynote speeches to business leaders, Rob translates his elite training into actionable lessons on leadership, resilience, and success. Join us as we explore Rob O'Neill's incredible journey from the frontlines to the boardroom and hear his thoughts on leadership, transition, and how to thrive under pressure. Tune in to hear the untold stories and actionable advice from one of America's most decorated heroes! In This Episode You Will Hear: • I don't think I could beat Marcus at arm wrestling if I can't pick up a bowling ball. (1:58) • You do realize there's a thing called old man strength? (5:53) • [Rob O'Neil] I have a podcast as well, called “The Operator.” We're called The Operator because if you're doing anything, you're an operator. (6:18) • Having a big man to kick your ass and teach you wind a bobbin; you realize there is skill here. (9:59) • When people quit BUDS, it's not because “this is hard”. [It's because] I'm tired of the broken foot.; I'm tired of the shin splints; I'm tired of my dislocated shoulder; I'm tired. (21:20) • In BUDS, one of the biggest problems is eating too much. Like I want 5 cheeseburgers, but we have a 4-mile run afterwards. (26:35) • [Rob] and for everyone that doesn't know, can you explain what a SDV is? (39:20) [Marcus] Imagine a mini submarine and shrink it down. The difference is that a submarine is dry inside, and the SDV is completely full of water. (39:23) • Listen to Marcus discuss the details of being in an SDV for 8 hours. Talk about ultimate torture - If you have a deep freeze in your garage, fill that sucker full of water, crawl in there and sit down for 8 hours. (40:32) • The first time I got in there, I was terrified. (45:29) • [Marcus] There's stuff that happens to us out there. Sometimes safety gets in the way of it. (58:49) • [After falling down the mountain during Operation Red Wings] I could hear that stream running. I've got to get me water, but I kept thinking I can't drink out of it, because my buddies are in it. (81:07) • If you want to make God laugh, tell Him what your plan is. (92:04) • [Marcus] Bro, when you saw that son of a bitch's face [Osama Bin Laden], what was the first thing you saw? [Rob O'Neal] I saw his nose. He was skinny, wearing white – tall. (95:22 ) • My nickname was “Nisro” (Navy SEAL Rob O'Neal). When they asked “Who got him?” They go “Nisro,” and they said “Fuck! We're never gonna hear the end of it.” (97:30) Support Robert:   - IG: mchooyah - Host of The Operator Podcast Support TNQ   - IG: team_neverquit , marcusluttrell , melanieluttrell , huntero13   -  https://www.patreon.com/teamneverquit Sponsors:   - dripdrop.com/TNQ    -  cargurus.com/TNQ    - armslist.com/TNQ   - partnersinbuilding.com - Navyfederal.org        -    - You can find Cremo's new line of antiperspirants and deodorants at Target or Target.com    - WARFARE IN THEATERS APRIL 11th Watch Trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JER0Fkyy3tw First Look Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-3DWuqiAUKg&t=3s    -   - PXGapparel.com/TNQ   - bruntworkwear.com/TNQ    - Selectquote.com/TNQ    - Groundnews.com/TNQ    - You can find Cremo's new line of antiperspirants and deodorants at Target or Target.com    - shipsticks.com/TNQ    - Robinhood.com/gold    - strawberry.me/TNQ    - stopboxusa.com {TNQ}    - ghostbed.com/TNQ [TNQ]   -  kalshi.com/TNQ   -  joinbilt.com/TNQ    - Tonal.com [TNQ]   - greenlight.com/TNQ   - PDSDebt.com/TNQ   - drinkAG1.com/TNQ   - Shadyrays.com [TNQ]   - qualialife.com/TNQ [TNQ]   - Hims.com/TNQ   - Shopify.com/TNQ   - Aura.com/TNQ   - Policygenius.com   - TAKELEAN.com [TNQ]   - usejoymode.com [TNQ]

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Quaranteam-Northwest: Part 8 Summer Plans Based on a post by Break The Bar. Listen to the ► Podcast at Explicit Novels.  At dinner I checked in with Ivy first, then Vanessa when she had finished for the day and joined us. I also made a point of stopping to check in with Dani to see what she was thinking about her new co-team members, who she thought would work out fine, and Kyla. "I think she's a lot quieter than the rest of us," Dani told me as we sat side by side near Leo's RV. "Which isn't a bad thing, obviously. She isn't as used to being around girls like us though. Erica worked with strippers because of her job, along with all sorts of other crazy people, so it's whatever for her. Kyla obviously isn't used to how open we all are about sex things." I pressed my lips together and nodded, watching her as she sat in a group with Erica, Vanessa and Aria chatting. She was obviously engaged, but didn't offer much to the conversation and seemed happy to listen. "Anything else?" I asked. "Anything weird come up?" "No. Should I be watching for something?" Danielle asked. "No, no," I assured her. "I just; Erica, Ivy, Vanessa; it's working. It's crazy, but it's working. I'm worried about Kyla messing that up." "It should be fine," Dani said, patting me on the shoulder. "Erica will Mom them into shape if things get out of whack, and if she's the problem you can just spank her until she apologizes." That made me snort and shake my head with a grin. "You and her talk too much." "Or maybe we don't talk enough," Dani grinned. We folded ourselves back into the larger conversations, me joining the group with Kyla while Dani went to sit with Leo, India and Ivy. As the sun was setting we busted out the fire pit and Vanessa pointed me towards the nearest brush piles I could harvest some wood from; it seemed she'd handily directed some of her workers to pile it within easy walking distance. Then, once the fire was crackling and we all had our drinks of choice, we told the new women our story. We started with Leo and I, then how Erica had joined us for quarantine. We both teased her about hearing her masturbating, which until that moment she hadn't realized had been the case and made her blush. Then we talked about the land lease, the construction, and the introduction of Dani, Vanessa, and Ivy. Vanessa told us how fucking crazy she thought we were at first, but after that first night around the fire she'd realized something weird but special was going on so she stopped judging and started getting a little jealous. Then Ivy told her perspective, stepping into a life with Erica and me. Then we had to tell the story of Vanessa joining us, which got rushed over really quickly and then had to be retold because even Dani hadn't gotten all the details. I'd purposefully sat beside Kyla around the fire, Erica taking the spot on the other side of me. As India and Aria started ragging on Vanessa for not giving them the full story in the initial car ride when they met her, Kyla leaned over to me. "Can we talk? In private?" "Sure," I said, nodding towards our RV. I leaned back in the other direction to Erica and kissed her cheek, and she met my eye and nodded. Inside the RV Kyla had taken the Murphey seat this time so I sat on the bench opposite her. "You still feeling alright?" I asked her. "No," she laughed. Inside, in the more steady light of the RV, I could see she was flushed even with her slightly darker Filipina skin. "I feel like I've got a fever, but it's concentrated in all my erogenous zones. I don't even like women but that story about Vanessa has me..." She blew out a long breath. "I don't know how much more sex talk I can take before I snap." "I can ask them to stop if you want. Or we can have that conversation if you think you're ready." "I'm; Yeah, I'm ready to talk," she said. She took another deep breath and sat up straighter, putting her hands on her knees like she was trying to focus herself. "You can ask anything you want, and I'll try to answer," I promised her. "I don't have questions," she said. "Well, I actually have lots of questions, but they aren't important right this second. Seeing you with Erica and Ivy, and meeting Vanessa. Hearing the way Leo and Danielle talk about you. I think I know what I'd be getting into if I do this with you. And to be honest, it sounds pretty greater considering the other options that the world seems to be moving toward right now. But I never want to be someone who just takes the easy thing because it's in front of them. I know a lot about you now, but you don't know much about me. And I'll tell you, pretty much anything you want to know, but there's something I need to know if you're Okay with. More than my past, more than whatever your government is worried about." "The only way to know is to ask," I said, trying not to let my own nerves out. Kyla, who had been steady throughout the day, was showing signs of anxiety amidst her hard pressure to keep herself under control. "If I don't like it, we can try and find someone else as soon as possible." "I don't want,” She bit her tongue, cutting herself off, and took a breath. "Harrison. If I do this, if I imprint on you, this is my out. I've been doing everything my father wanted since I was a kid. The only escape I ever had was through dance, and even that he took control of to make sure I was getting the best lessons and tutors and going to the best camps and schools. And even then, he and NICA used it as well. My entire life I've been pushed and trained and taught and used because I didn't matter and my country and my service did. I want a new life, Harri. But I want that life the way I want it. I want a big family. I was an only child, and my parents tolerated each other at best in a political marriage. I want six kids at least, more if we can. Fuck, I'll pop out an even dozen and be happy. Or maybe not, maybe I'll be happy earlier than that, but I know I want a lot of kids to love on and raise in a big, supportive family. "If you can handle that, and if Erica can handle that because I know she's going to need to agree to it too, then I swear to God I'll be loyal to you and only to you. My father, NICA, my country; I can leave them all behind and in the dust if you can promise me we'll try to make my dream life happen. And I promise I'll be the best, hottest housewife I can be for as long as you can keep me barefoot and pregnant. I'll make sure I'm fit and tight and everything I can be for you in between pregnancies, but God I want this, Harri. I've never told anyone this before, but I want it so fucking bad." I didn't know what to say. She was practically sobbing in her earnest desire for what she was asking. I just slid down to my knees on the floor of the RV and wrapped my arms around her and Kyla clutched at me as she panted hard. Not crying, but desperately trying to control herself. "Kyla, I would be an extremely lucky man if I can give that all to you," I said. "And I want to tell you yes right away, but you're right. I do need to check with Erica first. Do you want me to call her in to ask her now?" She hesitated a moment, then nodded and sat back on the chair, sucking in a deep and unsteady breath. I stood up and opened the RV door, sticking my head out. All three of my women looked over to me and I made what I hoped was a reassuring smile, then locked eyes with Erica and motioned her over with a head jerk. She joined us, shutting the RV door behind her. "What's up?" she asked. "Everything Okay?" I looked at Kyla. "Do you want me to ask, or you?" "I; You," she said after hesitating. I turned to Erica and reached out, holding her hand. "So, I know we had our conversation earlier, but I didn't realize this was coming or maybe we would have talked about it more seriously. Kyla is ready to join us, but she has an ask. Because of her own family past, one thing she wants more than anything is to have kids. A whole bunch of them. So she wants to know if you and I are Okay with that and willing for that to happen, or if we should try to find her someone else who can help her get the life she wants." Erica's eyes had widened as I was speaking and her jaw worked a few times before she could find the right words. Then she turned to Kyla and looked at her for a long, long moment before putting a hand on her shoulder. "That's the most important thing for you?" she asked quietly. Kyla nodded, then looked up to meet Erica's gaze. "More than anything else. And I want to do that with Harrison; God, I haven't even known him a day but it's like I can see it right there in front of me. He'd make a great husband and an even better father. I just know he's yours more than either of the others, and I couldn't risk saying yes to him without you saying yes to this." "God, fuck," Erica sighed, and I realized she was tearing up as well. She looked to me. "Yes, obviously, if it's what she needs then yes. But I guess now I need to stop taking the pill because I'm not just gonna sit by and not be in the running for the first mother of your child." Now it was my turn to be surprised. "But we just,” She kissed me to shut me up. "It doesn't matter," she said. "I love you, you love me. If the world implodes and we're all shot off into space, I still won't regret making a kid with you." She turned to Kyla. "Are you going to love him?" "I'm going to try," she said. "And I'll work harder at it than my parents ever did." "Then yes," Erica said. "But, and I'll only ever say this once and you need to listen to me closely, if this isn't the truth and you hurt Harrison or me or anyone else here then I swear to everything in heaven and hell that I will end you. Do we understand each other?" Kyla nodded, taking her seriously. "I do, and I won't." "Okay," Erica said, and leaned down and kissed her on the forehead. "You clearly need a fuck, so unless you've suddenly turned Bi then I should leave you to it." She turned to me and kissed me hard, and I hugged her to keep her close. "You're sure?" I asked her in a whisper. She nodded. "Rock her world, babe. Show her why she's one of the four luckiest women on the planet." She kissed my cheek, squeezed my fingers in hers, and then stepped away and out of the RV. Kyla looked like she was going to jump out of her seat. "So,” I started. Kyla stood up abruptly and grabbed me by the face, smashing her plush lips to mine. I naturally grabbed her by the waist as we started making out right there in the middle of the RV. She'd been wearing that bulky coverall the entire day and now she started to scramble to try and get it unzipped and off at the same time as trying to get me to get my shirt off, which just turned into an awkward mess of her hands moving back and forth between us. "Stop, stop," I murmured, pulling my lips from hers. She actually whined a little in her throat and then blinked in surprise at her own reaction. I picked her up and she wrapped her legs around my waist as I carried her back towards the bed. Like this, she was taller than me and she bent down to kiss me some more, making it hard for me to navigate. Thankfully it was a straight shot, and there wasn't a lip at the door to the bedroom area that I needed to duck under or step over. I found the bed with my shin and stopped and lowered her down onto it so we lay somewhere in the middle, me on top of her as we kept making out. Once we were done I pulled away and tugged off my shirt. "Fuck," she groaned, looking at me hungrily. "Not what you're used to?" I asked. She shook her head. "No, so much better." She raised her hands to my stomach and up to my chest, letting her fingers play through my chest hair. I couldn't help myself and I reached down and unzipped the coverall down to her belly button. Underneath, all she had on was a set of black bra and panties. On the one hand, I was starting to get mesmerized by her body very quickly, but on the other, I remembered in the back of my mind that she hadn't arrived with any luggage. I lifted her from under her arms and she let me help her pull the coveralls off, then raised her ass so I could pull them from her legs as well. I crashed back down onto her, now feeling her smooth skin on mine. Her body was everything I would have expected from a dancer; smooth and sleek all over, with toned muscling and a sort of feline grace as she moved around. "Where; are; your clothes; and things?" I asked between kisses. "They said; they would bring; them up; from Cali,” she replied. Then she stopped the kissing and looked up at me. "Seriously, I've got this fucking craving for your cock right now like I can't believe, Harri. I need you to fuck me so fucking bad." "Okay," I said, and then kissed her again as I reached under her to unsnap her bra. When she realized what I wanted she didn't even bother with the snap, she just yanked the black cups off her tits and the whole thing over her head. Her tits were a perfect size for my big hands to palm, a bit bigger than Ivy's but much smaller than Erica's, and her dark brown areolas were smooth and a little puffy, with two perfect nubs for nipples. I sucked on one, feeling how hard they were, but she was stretching to try and get my shorts off of me. She needed the imprinting. We could always explore each other more in the future. I leaned away from her, one hand still on her tit and holding her down, as I shoved down my shorts and boxers. For her part, she pushed her panties down to her knees and I pulled them the rest of the way off. Her cunt was a gorgeous brown, flushed darker than the skin above and slick with her chemically-induced horniness. Even her clit hood was a little pulled back, the softer pink of her clit just visible from being swollen. She was entirely bare, and I wondered if that was a personal choice or a seduction tactic she'd been told to follow. Not that I cared at the moment. I wanted to eat her out and taste her. I wanted to make this last, to wow her like Erica had said. Fuck, let's be real, I wanted to impress the seductive honey trap spy with my sex skills. "Fuck my brains out," Kyla demanded. "Fuck me until I can only ever think of you. Take me and make me yours, you fucking massive wall of American god." I could impress her later. Her cunt accepted my cock like a perfectly tailored suit. I slid in, and even though she was tight and her muscles were firm as hell as they clenched at me she was also extremely willing. That changed when I was almost all the way in though, but not from want of trying. Kyla came, her entire body rolling and arching as her cunt clenched down enough to almost start forcing my cock out. She grabbed me around the shoulder and hugged herself up, clinging to me, and her hips roiled as she thrust hard up and down. Her eyes were squeezed shut, her lips curled in an ugly snarl for a long moment, until the orgasm passed and she let go of me, falling a couple of inches back to the bed with a 'whumph.' "H-Holy fuck," she panted, looking up at me in confusion. "What was that? That,” She blinked rapidly. "Did no one tell you about the first orgasm?" I asked her. She shook her head, still blinking like she was trying to gain her focus. "Fuck me and tell me," she said. I started to slow-thrust, enjoying the delicious warmth of her as I leaned down a bit more, pressing my full body against hers as she spread her legs wider for me. "They told Erica in the information session that she should expect a massive orgasm the first time she ingested a man's precum, and the biggest one of her life when they ingest their actual cum." "She got an information session?" Kyla panted, looking slightly alarmed. "You didn't?" I asked, equally alarmed. We'd both stopped thrusting at each other, not sure what to do. "Fuck it, fucking fuck me," she said and rolled her body to get my cock deeper inside her again. I wasn't going to argue with that. We fucked like that, mutually, for a bit and then I took some more control and went up high on my hands for better leverage and started to fuck her harder. Kyla moaned and panted beneath me, then raised her lips up and sucked on one of my nipples, which was an oddly pleasurable surprise, and then she took some of my hairy pec muscle between her teeth and bit me lightly as she came again. "Ow," I said when she dropped back to the bed again. "Sorry," she panted. "I just; you're really fucking good." Huh, maybe I can impress the spy, I thought. "I'm getting closer," I told her. I'd had... well, not the most amount of sex I'd had in a day, but a bunch, so I wasn't entirely surprised I was lasting as long as I was. "Do you want to try something else?" "I want to try everything with you," she gasped and kissed me. "But... let me..." I disengaged with her, which made her moan like a whore, and she scrambled around on the bed until she was at the bottom corner on her back. Then she spread her legs wide into a full split, and then even wider until she had one leg practically parallel with her torso and the other was way out to the other side. If she was a clock, she would have been showing 10 o'clock. "Fuck me hard. Use my hole," she said, licking her lips. "Get your cock back inside; yes! Oh, fuck, Harrison. Make my cunt fucking squirm. Make your cunt squirm. It's yours now. I'm yours. My whole body. Fuck! I've never felt it like this before. I've never felt anything like this." I was crushing down into her in big, hard strokes and I could feel her cunt squishing with her juices and my balls slapping against her ass cheeks. I was hovering over her and a bead of sweat had trailed down to the end of my nose. Kyla opened her mouth and stuck her tongue out, licking it off of me. I lowered the rest of the way to her and kissed her hard, then hugged her tightly as I started pumping short and quick, barely leaving her cunt. "I can't wait to fall in love with you," I whispered to her. "I can't wait to make babies with you, and start a family." "Do it," she gasped. "Put a baby in me. Make my womb yours forever. Breed me, make me your breeding wife-whore. Love me, may-ari. Oh, fucking; that's what you are, you beautiful big bastard. You're my may-ari. My owner. I choose you. I choose; I,” I couldn't have stopped from coming in her if my life depended on it. She was pushing towards her own orgasm already, and her years of dance and other physical activity had turned her core into a vice that sucked at my cock like a hoover. I came as she lost her grip on her words, chanting about choosing me. She came as well, a scream quenched in her throat as her entire body flexed and tensed. I filled her up, releasing over and over in her, but I finished before she did and just went right back to fucking her since my cock hadn't gone soft yet and she was still coming. I only stopped when she went slack, her legs falling back to a more natural position, and her face went from that clenched teeth-gritting tension to a soft, satisfied smile. "Imprinting. Imprinting. Imprinting." I pulled away from her slowly, making sure she wasn't going to fall from the bed, and found that the entire bottom corner and the edge of the mattress were wet and sticky with juices. Along with my legs, crotch and hips. "Great, another squirter," I sighed. Not that I actually minded, but it just meant we'd be doing even more laundry in the tiny machine the RV held. I stood and, once I felt like I could be coordinated enough, I picked Kyla up in a cradle and lifted her higher on the bed and tucked her in. She was in the fetal position, still mumbling the imprinting sequence with that smile. I had to grab a new pair of shorts since mine had ended up in the splash zone, and I didn't bother putting on a shirt but did wipe myself down with some wet paper towel. Stumbling out of the RV, I was greeted by catcalls and applause. Looking around, the fire was still going and someone had stocked it higher with wood. Erica, Dani and Vanessa were all sitting in the Adirondack chairs, and Ivy was sitting curled up in Erica's lap. "Where are Leo and the girls?" I asked, trying my best not to let them show the embarrassment I knew they were going for with their teasing. "Aria and India were going to fuck, and invited Leo to watch," Dani smirked. "So I assume he's in there either jerking off, or fucking." "I don't need to picture that," Erica rolled her eyes. I stepped over and kissed Vanessa as she leaned her head back and reached up to hug me around the neck. Then I slipped around the circle to Ivy and Erica and kissed both of them. Dani opened her arms to me as well, so I hugged her and she kissed my cheek. "Congrats," she said as I pulled away. "Pops." "Oh, God," I groaned and looked at Erica. "You told them?" "Was I supposed to keep it a secret?" she countered. "I needed to talk it out with someone." Vanessa had stood from her chair and gestured for me to take her seat and went inside the RV, coming back out with some more beers. She passed them around and then sat on my lap similar to the way Ivy was with Erica. We sat that way for a while talking as the night sky played out above us. I'd always loved looking up at the sky out on the property, away from any major sources of light pollution. Now spotlights were lighting up the construction area a hundred yards away, where men and women were working through the night. The view was dimmed, and I wondered if it would ever be as clear again as it had been a month ago. Dani slipped off to bed first, and Vanessa grumbled that she had to be up in the morning for work so the rest of us went quickly. We never had discussed the sleeping arrangements, so I ended up sleeping next to Kyla, with Erica pressing her back to my side and holding my arm under her and around her stomach, with Vanessa spooning up to her and Ivy on the end on her back, snuggled partially under Vanessa. I knocked on the door and set the two big brown paper bags down on the stoop and backed away. The house wasn't 'old' per se, located in a neighborhood that had been developed almost twenty-five years ago, and hadn't been updated since it was first built. To be fair, there hadn't ever exactly been a housing boom in the area, so other than the one-off builds it was probably one of the newest places around. The inner front door opened and Mary looked out cautiously, then in surprise as she saw me. She hadn't texted me like I'd asked her to, and it had almost been a week since I'd seen her in the parking lot at the grocery store. She looked a little better, though not by much, and I wondered how far she'd been able to stretch that $70 I'd been able to give her then. "Harri?" she asked in surprise. "Hey, Mary," I said with a little wave. "How did you; Is this;?" "It wasn't that hard, Mary," I said. "I just made a couple of calls. You never texted me." "I know, I,” she hesitated, and then hung her head. "I was so embarrassed." "You don't need to be," I told her. "You're in a tough spot, and I'm not. I want to help out." "Mom? Who's at the door?" came a little voice from inside. A boy poked his head around Mary's hip, looking cute and curious. "It's an old friend of Mommies," Mary said. "He's just here to say hello." "Hey there buddy," I said, smiling as I pulled my mask down and waved, then let the mask snap back up and played like it had rocked me. The kid giggled. "My name is Harrison, but everyone calls me Harri on account of my big beard and hair." "That's a funny name," the kid said. "If you got rid of your beard, what would they call you?" "Hmm, that's a good question!" I said. "I don't know. Maybe you should ask your Mom, she knew me when I didn't have a beard." "We still called him Harri, baby," Mary said, smiling down at the boy and running her fingers through his hair. The kid had keen eyes and noticed the bags on the stoop and the food inside. "Is that for us?" "It is, kiddo," I said. "Could you help your Mom get it inside?" "Sure!" he said. Mary sighed and opened the screen door for him, and the kid came out in his socks and hefted up one of the bags and started carrying it in. "Harri, you don't need to,” "I made sure there are some snacks for the kids in there," I said, pretending like she hadn't been talking. "I know they aren't nutritious, but I figured you can bribe some good behavior for some Oreos and stuff every once in a while. There's also a bottle of merlot in that other one there, so you may not want the kiddo to lift it. He's a cute kid, by the way. I've got an order in down at the butcher's that I'm supposed to pick up tomorrow, so I'll be by sometime tomorrow afternoon with some meat for you guys too. Maybe I can meet your little girl then? Charlie, right?" Mary looked like she was about to cry, and I didn't want to push her over the edge so I tried to make it all like it wasn't a big deal. "Alright, Mary. See you tomorrow. Let me know if you need anything specific and I'll see what I can do, alright? Tell the kiddo not to eat all the gummy worms at once." I was halfway down the driveway to my truck when the screen door opened again. "Harri," Mary called. I looked back and she was standing on the porch, looking at me with tears brimming in her eyes and a happy frown on her face. From this distance, without a mask, I could still see her as the little button-nosed cheerleader I'd known. "Thank you." I just winked and waved, heading back to my truck. "That was really kind of you," Kyla said as I got in. "It's nothing," I said. "I knew her in high school and her husband's been missing for a while." Kyla took one of my hands from the steering wheel and wrapped her fingers in mine, looking at it. The casual intimacy was still new; the first couple days after her imprinting had been us feeling each other out, and her getting comfortable with the general openness to sex that was our new life. I'd made it a point to spend time with her, both sexually and non-sexually, each day and we were slowly starting to find a soft groove. "That's still kindness, Harri," she said. "You're sure she needs it? I don't want to see you getting taken advantage of." "I'm sure," I said. "Okay," Kyla nodded. "Then we'll help her. Now, let's continue this tour. I want to know everything I can about this little podunk, backwoods town I've been shipped off to." "Well, the first thing you should know is that I'm pretty sure it isn't big enough to be considered a town. Maybe a village?" "Oh, God," she laughed. "Not if you consider all the construction workers moving in." "True. I bet we're close to half-againing the local population at this point. Vanessa said we'll hit a thousand by the end of the week." "With that many," Kyla said. "We should have our house in, what, a few months?" "No idea," I said. "No fucking idea." "Fuck, it's already June," I groaned. It was hot as balls and I was regretting putting on my 'go out into the world' getup. "How did you miss the 1st?" Erica asked, also done up in her gear. "How did we miss Memorial Day?" I countered. "Oh, shit," Leo said, standing up from where he'd been sitting over near his RV. "You're right, we did miss Memorial Day. Should we do something?" "Like what?" I asked. "We could throw a party," Ivy suggested. "We could all dress up fancy and have a dance?" The surveyors had been needing Leo and me less and less lately and I was starting to get a little twitchy with how little I had to do. Quarantine before all of this really kicked off had been one thing, but now we didn't even have our big wide backyard to ourselves. When Erica had mentioned that she wanted to take a drive into Portland to pick up some things from the tattoo parlor and check her apartment I'd jumped on the chance and we'd made the plan. The girls were already starting to excitedly talk about planning our late Memorial Day celebration as I stretched and sighed, checking my watch. We'd been planning to leave right after lunch and it was already 3pm. Vanessa had taken an extended break since she'd worked late the night before and we'd had some one-on-one fun in the RV, which had been sorely needed for her. Where the rest of us were struggling to find things to keep busy and motivated, the last week had seen more and more responsibility and work landing in Vanessa's lap as the construction crews started to show up and move into the barracks. It meant there was an entirely new crew of cleaners, maintenance workers and delivery people under her supervision along with her 'gorillas.' Not to mention her wrangling of the other foremen and administrators on-site as her father handled the top-end details of the job. Every day it seemed like new equipment and supplies were being delivered and a third barracks was quickly being erected as even more hands were around. But an hour with Vanessa had delayed us, and when I was finally ready to go Dani was busy with Leo over at their place, and since she was coming with us Erica and I had to wait. Then Erica and Kyla were ensconced in a private conversation in our RV when Dani emerged ready to go, so we lost another half hour before the three of us were all finally dressed and prepped to leave. "Okay," I said loudly, trying to cut through the multiple party-related conversations. "We're all agreed we'll do a Memorial Day thing, but we're burning daylight. Erica and Dani, let's go." We took my truck, only needing one vehicle since we weren't hauling a ton of stuff like the last time. As we pulled around the site offices I spotted Vanessa walking with one of the other foremen in conversation and gave her a little double honk. She smiled and waved. Driving down the old driveway path there were now a half dozen wide offshoots winding off into the trees and closer to the highway there were big swathes of ground that had been cleared and were starting to get flattened by scrapers and excavators. Vanessa had mentioned that we'd end up with a couple of strip malls worth of stores to help provide for the eventual community; a convenience store, a clinic, a dentist, that sort of thing. Right at the end of the driveway a guard hut had been erected, little more than a fancy roadside fruit stall that could barely fit two people inside. I pulled up next to it and Erica rolled down the window. "Hey Patrick," I said, waving to the construction worker manning the booth and tracking the ins and outs. "Hey folks," the older guy said with a grin. He was supposed to be on the road crews but had arrived earlier than needed. I'd asked him once if standing in the guard booth all day working a clipboard was boring and he assured me that after three decades manning a 'Slow/Stop' sign in the middle of roads through sun, rain and sleet, the booth and the clipboard were welcome. "We'll be out for a few hours," I said. "Sounds good," he replied and made a note on his clipboard. Then he wiped at his eyes and cleared his throat, blinking. "Y'all didn't say anything about how bad the pollen got up here. I think my allergies are kicking up and I didn't bring any of my meds, I thought the North West was supposed to be wet." "It usually is. We'll pick you something up," Erica offered. "We need to stop at a pharmacy anyways." "We do?" I asked. "We do," Erica said, patting me on the knee. "Hah," Patrick laughed. "And here I thought you was some sort of Big Dog, Harri. But you're as whipped by your women as the rest of us." "See you in a bit, Patrick," I said. He waved us off, then covered his mouth to cough a little. "Poor guy," Dani said. "I'd hate if I had allergies like that." "We'll get him fixed up," I said as I pulled onto the highway and started heading in the direction of Portland. "It's been weirdly dry and hot so I'm betting the dust from the brush cutting is doing it to him." And I didn't think anything more of it. Erica unlocked the metal grate that pulled down over the front of the tattoo parlor and lifted it up on the rollers enough to uncover the door. The good news was that the whole thing with the 'Autonomous Zone' seemed to have burned itself out and Portland was no longer hosting big protests at the moment. The bad news was that only happened after a week of riots and several news-worthy moments of violence and vandalism. Thankfully the parlor wasn't on one of the major routes the riots had travelled down and there didn't seem to be any damage other than sprayed graffiti on the grate and some of the glass windows behind it. I'd pulled my truck right up over the curb and parked us as close as possible. The streets were as empty of people moving around as the last time we'd come into the city, except there was more trash. I'd seen old newsreels of when there had been major strikes in New York City back in the early 80s and it wasn't exactly that bad, but another couple of weeks and it might get there. Someone must have been doing collections, they were just overburdened or understaffed or something. I had to nudge a pile out of the way with the front of my truck to wedge into the open space, but it almost immediately proved worth it as a trio of ambulances came burning down the street with their lights running. If I'd parked on the street one of them would have needed to swerve out of the way and who knew if those extra seconds would be the difference between life or death for someone; not to mention the potential of the ambulance not swerving fast enough and clipping my truck. Inside the tattoo parlor Erica went straight to her bay and started unhooking and gathering her equipment. Dani was looking around at the place, grinning as she examined the wild decor. She would call out questions to Erica, who would tell her who had done what mural, or the brief story behind the broken surfboard hanging from the ceiling and the skateboard deck covered in almost a hundred different signatures. I spotted a photo on the wall and realized it was of Erica and all of her staff at the most recent DragonCon where they had put up a booth and done live tattooing. Erica had said beforehand she thought it might be a waste of time, but the owner of the parlor was a huge nerd and wanted to do it so it was her job to organize. I never had found out how it went, but she looked happy in the photo. I grabbed the frame from the wall and brought it over to her. "Do you want to bring this, too?" I asked. She glanced at it and paused her work, then smiled and hugged me. "That's sweet, Harri. Yes, absolutely." She took the frame and put it in one of the boxes we'd brought for her to carry stuff, then turned to me. "Hey, could you just empty all those drawers there into the boxes? Don't just dump them, but there isn't anything particularly fragile. It's mostly inks and cleaner solutions and stuff." "Sure," I said. "Thanks, babe," she said and kissed my cheek. "Dani and I are just going to slip through to next door." "Oh, God," I groaned. I hadn't realized that was her plan. "Don't worry," she grinned. "It'll all be fun for you, I promise." The owner of the tattoo parlor also owned the sex shop next door and had installed a door between the two since the clientele crossed over fairly consistently. Erica led Dani through the door, opening it with her key, and I could hear them laughing and giggling. By the time I was done with the drawers Erica had pointed out, placing what seemed like hundreds of little vials and bottles of inks and other liquids into the boxes along with some other art supplies, they hadn't come back. I went to the door and opened it, looking in. Erica glanced over, grinning as she held another box and Dani was placing something inside. "You want any porn, babe?" "What do I need porn for?" I asked. "I dunno," she said. "Variety?" "Ooh, this one is called 'Big Black Booties 15,'" Dani said, grabbing a DVD from a nearby shelf and waving it at me. "You don't have that kind of variety yet, Harri." I snorted and shook my head. "I'm perfectly happy with the booties at my disposal, thank you." Dani shrugged and put the DVD in the box. "I'll see if Leo wants it." "Gag!" Erica laughed, making them both start giggling. I had a feeling that was a running joke between them. "How are we paying for this stuff?" I asked. "Everything is turned off and we don't have any cash." "Artie told me I could Venmo him at a 75% discount," Erica said. "Plus anything with an expiry date I could have for free. So we've got a lot of lube now, along with a bunch of penis-shaped candy and some candy underwear." I sighed and shook my head. "Oh my God, we should take her with us," Dani said, pointing up on a high shelf where a creepily lifelike sex doll was sitting. "I think you mean rescue her," Erica said. "Harri, help me get her down." "Really?" I asked. "Yes," they both demanded. When we packed up the truck we had two boxes of Erica's tattoo gear and other possessions from the shop, another full box of Sex Shop stuff, and Dani was sitting in the back next to 'Sexy Susan' who had also happened to get dressed in a sexy nurse costume. They thought it was fucking hilarious, I just thought 'Sexy Susan' was a little creepy. Dani stayed down in the truck, taking the front seat as I pointed out that the 1911 was in its case under the passenger seat if she needed it, while Erica and I headed up to her apartment. The elevator had an 'out of order' sign on it, and Erica had to use her key to the building to get into the stairwell which she said she'd never had to do before. That was an immediate red flag to me, but I kept my cool to try and not worry her. "You know," Erica said as we climbed the stairs. All our sex cardio seemed to be paying off because we weren't puffing from the exertion yet. "You haven't officially asked me to move in yet." "What?' I asked. "Leo and I,” "That wasn't asking me to move in permanently," Erica cut me off. "That was just for quarantine." I rolled my eyes, knowing where she was going with this. At the next floor I grabbed her by the waist and pulled her to me, pulling down my mask and hers and kissing her hard and deep. "Erica Lacosta, will you move in with me forever and ever?" I asked her. "Yes," she grinned. "Yes, I will." She kissed me lightly to seal it, then sighed and we raised our masks and started climbing more stairs. "With that out of the way, I should really try and find a way out of my lease. Just because you have money doesn't mean I should be wasting mine on a place I'm not ever planning on moving back into." "I'll help with some research," I said. "I know there's all the clamor about halting eviction notices, but maybe there's something that will help. I could text Miriam, see if Captain Bloomberg knows anything offhand." "Hmm, maybe,” Erica started, but stopped as we reached her floor and found that door locked as well. "What the fuck?" she sighed and unlocked it. "Let me go first," I said. "Why? It's just..." As we entered the corridor Erica trailed off, seeing the tracks of dirty footprints in the hall and the spray paint on the walls. She immediately started to move forward, but I grabbed her arm and stopped her. "Wait," I said. "Look." I pointed at the big circles on the walls next to each door, but she clearly didn't understand what I was pointing out. "Those are FEMA search and rescue marks." Erica blinked once and was obviously unsure of what to say. "Let's just take it slow," I said. We walked down the hallway. Some of the doors were shut, but others looked like they'd been kicked in. "What do they mean?" Erica asked me, looking at the circles and the scribbles of letters and numbers on the walls. Each circle had an X dividing it into four parts, and each quadrant was marked. "The top part is the date the location was searched," I said. "5-24 means it happened May 24th, so a little over a week and a half ago. The left side is who did the search, the numbers are probably a military code for a National Guard unit. If it said PPD that would be the Portland police, or CDC or DEA or whoever. The right side is if there are any hazards." I pointed to one of the doors that were kicked in. "NE means 'No Entry.'" Then I pointed to another. "F/W means there's contaminated food and water." I pointed at another door, this one wasn't kicked in. "A 0 means no hazards. "What are the bottom parts?" Erica asked. I frowned and swallowed. "The crossed 0 means no one found. DB or DOA means dead bodies. LB means live people are, or were, inside." Erica looked at the carnage of the corridor, her eyes scanning the doors of her neighbors as she weighed the number of DBs. There weren't many 0s, but about half of the apartments were labelled LB and hadn't been kicked open. Half. We got to Erica's place around the hall corner, passing the old lady Diane's door. It was kicked in and labelled NE, DB. Erica poked the door with her boot and it swung in. Inside, other than the dirty boot prints, it looked generally neat and tidy... other than the pool of dark something that had dried on the kitchen linoleum. I grabbed Erica and held her as she gasped and her knees went weak. I pulled her away from the door and she saw that her own apartment had also been kicked in, but was labelled 0 hazards and 0 bodies. We went in and she sat down on the couch, burying her head in her hands. Kneeling in front of her, I cradled her head on my shoulder and hugged her tightly as the reality of the world settled on her. She cried, though not as long as she probably needed, as I talked her through what had probably happened. Enough people had gotten sick and called emergency services that they came to do a sweep of the building. They knocked on every door, and anywhere someone didn't answer they kicked it in. Then I assumed they had extracted the bodies. "I need to get out of here," Erica breathed. "Okay," I said. "Do you need me to grab anything? Did we forget anything last time?" "No, nothing," she shook her head. "Just get me out of here." I picked her up and carried her out. Erica wasn't Ivy or Vanessa, or even Kyla. She was a full-figured woman. But I carried her every fucking step, down every stair. She stopped me right at the doors to the building and had me let her down. "I don't want Dani to see me like this," she said. "Why?" I asked. "She would understand." "I know," she said, blinking under her ski goggles. "But if she sees me like this, she'll start thinking about what might be happening back home for her, and she doesn't need that." I held Erica's hand at the door for another minute as she breathed deeply and got control of herself, and finally she smiled at me and it actually travelled up to her eyes. "Thanks, babe," she said. "Love you," I said. "You too," she said and touched her forehead to mine since we were both masked and goggled. "Hey, Charlie," I grinned, waving to the little four-year-old as she sprawled in Mary's arms and waved back with her little grin. "Hi," she chirped. "Okay," Mary said, setting her daughter down. "Scoot, you. Let Mommy talk with Harri for a second. Go see what your brother is doing." "Okay," Charlie said and pounded off in the way only a four-year-old could. "You're looking more like yourself, Mary," I said. I was standing off the porch and we kept the screen door closed, but I had my mask lowered so she could see my face. She smiled softly and shrugged. "I don't feel like it, but thanks." "How are the kids doing?" I asked. "Well, I regret letting them eat sugar again," she smirked a little. "But they're good. Better than me, anyways, though Thomas misses his friends from school and keeps asking when he can go back to class." She laughed and wiped under one eye. "He used to hate going to school every morning, now it's all he wants to do." "We'll get there eventually," I assured her. "What about you? How are you doing?"

Quaranteam-Northwest: Part 7 Hillbilly Tactics. Based on a post by Break The Bar. Listen to the ► Podcast at Explicit Novels.   The TV flashed, losing a digital telephone ring, and I grabbed the remote from the table and accepted the call. "Hey, Harrison," said the man on the other end. He was another lab coat, and as best I could tell from the blurry background he was likely in the same facility or even the same room as Doctor Varma had been. This guy looked like he'd stepped right out of a corny television show though; he was blubbery in the way that a guy could be after a couple of decades of slow physical decline, with a burst of thinning silver hair that just needed the black streaks and some smudges on his face to look like he'd been catoonishly blown up. The bit of scraggly, messy scruff on his chin that looked unplanned made me a little self-conscious of my own currently messy beard. Erica had wanted me to grow mine out a bit so she could decide if she liked it longer or shorter, and Ivy didn't care, so I was looking even more like a mountain man than usual. "I'm Doctor McKenna, but you can call me Bill," he continued. "You're on Doc Varma's team?" I asked, putting two and two together. "Yep," he nodded. "I was supposed to do the follow-up interview with you but got caught up with some of the numbers in your case. Charlotte and I have both reviewed the content. Sounds like you had a bit of a wild time, huh? And don't worry, we're all getting pretty used to the graphic nature of our work these days so you didn't offend or embarrass anyone." "Well, that's something at least," I said. "I never thought I'd be having a conversation like that with a doctor. Or anyone." He got a wry grin at this and held up a hand to ease me. "Believe me, Harrison. I've been with the team from the start and we have had more than a few of these sorts of conversations based on the nature of the vaccine. Yours is definitely up there as a novel case of details, but it's only personal for you, not us." I just nodded, not knowing what to say. I hadn't considered how often sex must come up in their day-to-day work if they were specialists. "Now, I have; well, I can't say it's good nor bad news," Doctor Bill said. "Interesting for us, for sure. As I'm sure you're aware, as you have two partners already, the vaccine is supposed to only be transmissible from women to men for the purposes of diluting the effects on men. To be frank, no one here on the team had considered the possibility of transferring and initiating a bonding process from one woman to another through female ejaculate. It doesn't help that most of the science community, those that would even think of it, haven't exactly spent time studying female ejaculate to begin with. So your situation wasn't tested for, but as far as we can tell it still shouldn't have been able to happen." "So what does that mean, doc?" I asked. "It means that you, or one of your current partners, or some combination, integrated with the vaccine and imprinting process in an exceptional way. A variant response is how we're categorizing it at the moment, and to be frank it's not even one of the most surprising ones we've encountered as the testing continues to broaden. As best we can tell from your interview, it's likely that Miss Peters was vaccinated through the oral ingestion of the female ejaculate; all the markers of a normal imprinting process occur when you began actual sex together. "Now, the really interesting part of this on my end is obviously the fact that this happened at all, but following the results of the blood tests from the Testing facility up where you are, and the preliminary tests we've completed on the samples that got flown down to us here, we've found that it isn't likely to be a phenomenon that is worth pursuing. Unfortunately, while Miss Peters is certainly going to be imprinted on you to some degree, it also seems that the efficacy of the vaccine in her system will be well under our current rates. Right now our projection is that she will only have an efficacy rate of about thirty-five to forty per cent, while a woman who has undergone our current best practices has an efficacy of somewhere around the eightieth percentile." I had to rub my forehead and close my eyes for a long moment as I tried to parse everything he was saying. "So what does that mean, Doctor Bill?" I asked. "It means that Miss Peters is now part of your 'Team,' he said. "That's what I've been calling the groups of imprinted people colloquially around here, anyways. But where your other two partners have a high likelihood of staving off the Duo Halo virus, if Miss Peters is exposed she is about half as likely to resist initial infection or gain serious aid in fighting off an infection she catches." "So we've put her at risk by having casual sex with her," I said. "Fuck me, this is exactly the kind of shit that I was worried about when she asked to join in with us." "Yes and no," he said. "To be frank, it's entirely possible that her integration with the vaccine will grow and normalize over time with repeated exposure to you. The staff up there will book some follow-up blood draws to check in on that. One of the many things were are trying to understand about the vaccine is how sex bolsters imprinted partners. Generally, we haven't seen that happen for women, since they can't have more than one imprinted male partner, but the more partners men are in contact with the more efficacy we're seeing." "So you're saying she's stuck with me," I said. "She asked for no-strings-attached, and she got trapped into a sexual relationship." "You could look at it that way," he said. "But,” "But," Doc Varma said, coming into view on his end of the call and hovering over his shoulder. "I would remind you, Mr. Black, that she did choose to initiate a group sexual encounter with you and your partners. And once she is awake from the imprinting process, I would not be surprised if she feels content with the overall situation following any initial panic or shock." I leaned back in my chair and stared at the ceiling for a moment. "You know, when I first heard about this from Erica, I told her it sounded like some sort of brainwashing mind control shit? I couldn't believe she'd gotten the vaccine. But then everything was going so well that I stopped thinking about it. And Ivy was happy, and Erica's brother was partnered and they were both extremely happy. But this,” I sighed heavily and looked at the two scientists on the screen. "This is some fucked up, B-movie supervillain kind of shit. You guys realize that, right? Like, where is James Bond in all of this?" Bill frowned, but Doc Varma smirked just a little. "Yes," she said. "We are aware of how inappropriate many of the factors of the vaccine are, Mr. Black. It is a marvel of modern medicine, but we are still grappling with the necessities that come along with it." Together they ran me through what I needed to expect moving forward. Vanessa was going to be monitored until she woke up, so I would be spending the night where I was at. She'd get a complete physical, and they'd take more blood for testing before she'd be released into my care and we were brought back home. Then, depending on what she wanted, she would either be able to live with Erica, Ivy and I, or she could maintain some distance for the time being and only come to see me for the sexual encounters she would require. We would both receive follow-up check-ins from someone on the Vaccine testing team to draw more blood periodically to check if Vanessa's efficacy was changing, or if mine was. We hit the grocery store next, which ended up only allowing two people inside in a party at once. Dani wanted to look for some specific stuff, and Vanessa hadn't had her own kitchen to cook in for almost two years since she'd been eating cafeteria food on industrial construction sites, so I decided to hang out in the truck while they went in. I sent them with my credit card and reminded them of the staples we needed. They got in line outside the store, and I decided to enjoy the warmth of the afternoon and open the gate of my truck so I could sit outside. I watched Dani and Vanessa from across the parking lot, keeping one eye on them while I could. I could tell they were talking from the small hand motions. Neither of them talked with their hands like Erica or Leo did, but everything seemed friendly between them. "Excuse me?" I turned and realized I'd tunnel-visioned and completely lost track of my surroundings because a woman was standing about ten paces away from me. That wasn't like me at all. She was nervous, wringing her wrists as she stood awkwardly. She was a little scrawny, her clothes hanging off of her, and the eyes above her rough-looking mask were... not sunken, but sort of sad. "I'm sorry to bother you, Harri," she said. "I was just wondering if maybe you could spare a couple bucks? Things aren't really going well right now, and I've got my kids..." Living in Portland, I'd seen my fair share of homeless folks and beggars. Some of them were pushy and agitated, and others entirely shut down from their addictions. This woman didn't look homeless, but she definitely looked down on her luck. And down for enough time that it showed. She wasn't wearing even basic earrings but had the holes in her ears. There was a slightly less tan ring on her finger where I assumed a wedding band used to sit, but it was fading. Every major city in the United States had a homeless population. Some were worse than others, I knew that. The further south along the coast, the warmer it got, and the bigger the population. But out here in the sticks? In Jewell? Sure, we had the occasional drifter moving through. I'd never seen someone begging before. Things were really getting bad. "Uh, yeah, I can," I said, reaching for my wallet in my pocket. "I'm sorry, you know me but I'm not immediately recognizing you. Maybe it's the mask." She took a couple steps forward as I said I could spare her some cash, but looked away as I asked who she was. I kicked myself, realizing that her situation was embarrassing enough as it was. "Maybe you don't remember me," the woman said. "I was a year ahead of you in high school. Mary Duncan?" "Of course I remember you, Mary," I said. "It's just been a long time. You were a cheerleader I think, right? You did all the flips. You were really graceful." "Thanks," she said, and I could tell she was blushing behind her mask. I didn't have too much cash on me compared to what I used to carry for emergencies. I used to be a cash-only guy, at least around town. Knowing what my bank account looked like, I just pulled what I had and slipped down from the gate of my truck and set the bills on it, stepping back. "No offence, I don't think you stink or anything," I tried to joke. Mary's eyes went wide when she saw the bills, and she mumbled something as she stepped forward and I backed off a bit more so she could take them. It was maybe seventy dollars, but as she quickly looked through the bills I saw her get teary, and then she clutched the cash to her chest and collapsed to her knees, crying. I wanted to go and comfort her. Give her a hug. She was clearly overwhelmed and in a bad way, and back when we were in school she'd always been a cute, button-nosed girl with a soft smile and a big laugh. But I couldn't go to her. I couldn't rub her back or pat her shoulder or give her a hug. The best I could do was squat down from several feet away to get closer to her level. "Mary?" I asked. She sniffed hard and rubbed at her eyes. "Oh my God, I'm so embarrassed," she said. "You don't need to be," I said. "You said you have kids, right? How many?" "Two," she said. "Thomas is six now, and looks like his dad. My little girl Charlie is four. She wanted to go to school like her big brother this fall but..." But the schools were closed, and who knew how long they would be closed for? "And their Dad?" I asked. She sniffed hard again. "He went up to Portland to look for work after we both got laid off at the start of quarantine," she said. "I haven't heard from him since." "Fuck," I breathed out, hopefully not loud enough for her to hear. The guy could have abandoned his family like a shit, or just been overwhelmed and trying to find a way to make it right. Or he could be dead. "Mary, I'm sorry you're going through this. And I'm sorry if this touches another sore spot, but is your phone still active?" She nodded, touching the ragged little purse. I asked her to take it out and I immediately recognized that she'd probably downgraded her phone at a pawn shop, it was a beat-up old model barely above a flip phone. I gave her my number. "Call me the next time you need groceries, Okay?" I said. "Or if there's an emergency. Seriously, Mary." "I applied for food stamps, and welfare, but I haven't heard anything back," she said pitifully, like she was trying to explain her shitty situation. There wasn't any explaining. "The system is probably overloaded," I said softly. "Mary. I'm not pulling your leg. Go get groceries for you and your kids. I'll figure something out for you for next week, Okay?" "Harri, I can't just; I don't want to,” It was fucking stupid, but this woman who I remembered as that sweet girl was broken. I stood up and went to her, and pulled her to her feet and hugged her. She was tiny, and bony, in my arms. She'd probably been feeding her kids everything she could and taking the bare minimum for herself. "Stop," I said quietly as I held her, and she cried a little again. "You're doing what you can in a terrible situation, Mary. I'm doing Okay. Let me help." "Thank you," she whispered into my shirt, then sniffed behind her mask again and stepped away. 'Thank you, Harri." "Text me," I reminded her. "So that I have your number." "I will," she nodded. "I will." She left, headed towards the line outside the store, and I watched her go. Hopefully I wasn't going to pay for that moment of kindness with my life. But what was the point of being vaccinated and wealthy if I couldn't help a hurting woman? I sat back on the gate of my truck and saw the two big paper bags holding the meat I'd just bought. Hundreds of dollars' worth. I could have given her some, along with the cash. One of the chickens and some of the sausages. Kids liked sausage, right? Then I could practically hear my Mom's voice in the back of my mind. She'd been the giver in the family before she died. The volunteer. And she'd always said that you couldn't do your best for others without taking care of your family first. Seventy dollars would carry Mary and her kids for a few days at least. I could set up an account with Mason, connect her with Mrs. Branston for eggs, and cover her bill. I doubted I could do the same at the grocery store, but meat was always the most expensive part of meals anyways. I could drop a couple hundred bucks with her to help cover her other staples every few weeks. I looked down at my sweater, hoping again that I wasn't going to pay for this with sickness and death. What did those docs say? Eighty per cent effective, with more for each partner? I had three partners now, so I had to be like ninety per cent covered, right? The rest of my wait in the parking lot, unfortunately, wasn't peaceful. A guy with some parking lot road rage pounded on his horn at a woman who was loading her car. A half dozen teens skated through on skateboards, whooping and hollering and skirting by too close to people. None of them were wearing masks, and I saw a few of them spitting near people or fake coughing just to get a reaction out of them. I was trying to decide if I should call the emergency line, but they were gone as quickly as they arrived. Teens, rebellious and angry at the world, and most importantly bored and left to their own devices. Thankfully since I'd parked at the back of the lot they didn't really come near me. I did end up calling 911 when the fight broke out though. Two women were yelling at each other as they exited the store, both of them with full carts. I had no idea what they were shouting, but they definitely got the attention of everyone in the parking lot and the line. Then one lady pivoted and smacked her buggy into the other lady, and that one grabbed something out of the other's cart and threw it. "911 Emergency Services. Where is the emergency located?" "Yeah, I'm at the Green Grocer in Jewell," I said. "My name is Harrison Black. I need police services, a fight has broken out between two women in the parking lot and it's gotten physical." I could hear typing on the other end of the line. "I've dispatched a cruiser, sir, but the arrival time is at least twenty minutes. Is anyone's life in danger?" "Other than the pandemic?" I sighed. The women were grappled at this point, both of them trying to throw punches. "Hard to say. Neither of them are backing down and they've got a hold of each other and are swinging." "If you can, try to keep anyone else from getting involved, sir," the operator said. "And remember to keep your distance." "Fuck," I said as one of the ladies connected cleanly with the nose of the other. Blood started streaming down that one's face but it didn't stop her from clawing at the other with a snarl. "It's getting worse. There's blood now. Look, I'm not saying you have the authority to let me do this, but I've got my handgun in the truck and could pop one into the ground to spook them and try and disperse the issue." There was a long moment of silence on the other end of the line. "..... I mean, I'm not going to tell you to do that.... But..." "Understood," I said. I gave the operator my number, since I was sure the police were going to want to follow up with me, and then slammed the gate of my truck closed and went to the passenger side. Dani had returned the 1911 to its case thankfully, so I quickly slammed the magazine home and did a quick check to see it had one chambered before walking across the parking lot with the pistol held low and to the side. The women were scrapping on the ground at this point. A crowd had formed, not so close to each other to be shoulder to shoulder, but closer than they should have been. "Hey!" I shouted over the noise in my best military voice, but only the closest few people glanced over at me. One saw my gun and his eyes went wide. I sighed and shook my head, then pointed the muzzle at one of the little end-row barriers that had a sprig of a garden inside the concrete curb and pulled the trigger. The loud popping boom of the discharge quieted everyone real quick, including the fighting ladies as they all looked over at me. "Get the fuck out of here," I shouted. People scattered, including the two fighting ladies as they scrambled to recover their carts. I was pretty sure several items had gone missing from their shopping bags in the ruckus, claimed by other people who felt they needed them more. I just shook my head as I flipped the safety on and tucked the 1911 into the pocket on the front of my sweater. There were still a few people in line at the front of the store, along with an employee monitoring it, so I went over. It turned out to be the same teen as that time I'd been here with Erica and almost gotten in a fight myself. I gave him my name and let him know the police were already on their way. He said it wasn't the first fistfight he'd seen break out this week, let alone in the last month. "Kid," I said. "This job ain't worth your life." He shrugged. "I'm saving for college, and the bonus pay I'm getting as a front-line worker is adding up quickly." "College ain't worth your life either. Just saying." Dani and Vanessa came out of the store a little while later. I'd already returned the 1911 to its case and was sitting on the tailgate of my truck again. I explained to them what happened, both with Mary and with the fight. And I admitted to hugging Mary despite the danger. "I can walk home from here," I said. "We probably shouldn't get into the truck together. I'll need to,” "Harri," Vanessa interrupted me. "Shut up and get in the car. You're not in any danger, right? You're vaccinated. We're both vaccinated." "Yeah, but you are way less covered than the rest of us," I said. "It's not a big deal. It'll take a couple of hours of walking." Vanessa took it into her own hands and practically tackled me. "Oops, too late." "Vanessa!" I said in a panic and looked at Dani for help. "Lady made her decision," Dani shrugged. "We can either live in fear of it, or just do our best." So I ended up driving again, praying that Mary wasn't sick, which would mean I wasn't carrying it. I felt like an idiot all over again for hugging her, for risking everything to comfort her. But then I'd also seen that look on her face and I knew she'd needed it. Our last stop of the trip was Mrs. Branston's, but when I pulled into the front of her long gravel driveway I noticed that she hadn't put the flat of eggs I'd asked for in the usual spot. Frowning, I pulled out my phone and called her, but it went to voicemail immediately. "That's weird," I said. "Mrs. Branston is always home." "You want to go check on her, don't you," Vanessa said, not really a question. "Well, she's seventy and lives alone," I said. "She's not exactly ancient, but she's no spring chicken either." "Alright, let's go see what's up," Dani said. Then turned to Vanessa. "You're staying here though." "What?" Vanessa said. "Why?" "Because you already took one risk today, and I'm starting to like you too much to let you do two in a day," Dani smirked, then pulled up her mask. "Ugh, fine," Vanessa sighed. "Crack the windows for me at least." I did her one better and left the truck running with the AC on. Dani and I walked up the drive. It was long, but nowhere near as long as mine had been. The Branston's had built their house almost forty years ago; Victor Branston had worked at the local lumber mill, and his wife Hailey had started their side business of raising chickens and eggs after they built their single-story ranch house and barn. They'd had a son who had died in a drunk driving accident when I was still a kid, and a daughter who had moved away when I was still in middle school. At the top of the drive I tried calling again, and with no answer, Dani and I went to the front door and I knocked, then stepped back. "Mrs. Branston!" I called loudly. "You home?" Again, no answer. Shaking my head, I frowned beneath my mask and furrowed my brow. Her car was parked in front of the house, so she wasn't out. "Let's check in some windows," Dani suggested. "If she fell and broke her hip or something she might not be able to reach her phone." So that's what we did. It felt rude, peeking in her windows like that, but I let the MP side of me take over. I was looking into her kitchen when Dani gasped and motioned me to the other end of the side of the house. She was holding a gloved hand over her mask. I rushed over and looked in. It was Mrs. Branston's bedroom, and she was lying in the bed completely still. There was a dark stain around her mouth and nose and on the edge of some of the sheets. I recognized the dried blood. It looked like she'd been coughing it up. "Fuck," I sighed, stepping back from the window. Her sallow skin. Her sunken eyes. It was haunting. I called Emergency Services for the second time in less than an hour and reported it. "What do we do now?" Dani asked. "I'd say call her family, but I don't know her daughter's number. I think Mrs. Branston said she moved out east somewhere," I said. "We'll need to leave that to the police. Other than that?" I shrugged and looked around at the property. Hailey Branston had lived here going on forty years. Now there was no one. My eyes settled on the barn. "If nothing else, we should feed the chickens," I said. "No need for them to starve to death." "Good idea," Dani nodded and followed me towards the barn. Now, my worry had been that the chickens might be dead. I really wasn't sure how long it would take for chickens to starve to death, so I was preparing myself for the stink of not only a chicken coop but of dead bodies. What I wasn't prepared for was for the place to be empty. "What the fuck?" "This is weird," Dani said, looking at the rows and rows of empty cages. It was obvious this was a chicken operation. Just the bird poo around was enough to point to that. But there weren't any chickens. "How do fifty chickens just up and vanish?" I asked, wandering deeper into the barn. "It's not just the chickens," Dani said behind me. She was standing at a big bin near the front door with a big 'feed' label on it. She'd lifted the lid. "All their food is gone too except for a bit of mess at the bottom." I just shook my head, frowning as I looked around. Maybe there was some sort of metaphor here about Haily Branston's life, but all I was seeing was a crime scene. "Who the fuck finds out an old woman is dead, and instead of reporting it they steal all her chickens?" "An asshole," Dani said. "Assholes," I corrected. "This would have taken forever if it was just one person. There had to be at least two, probably more." I sighed. "Alright, we need to get out of here. We'll report it to the police when they get here." Dani and I went back down to Vanessa, filling her in on what we'd seen, and then waited. Thirty minutes later I called Emergency Services again on the non-emergency line, asking for an update on when we could expect someone to come out. "I'm sorry sir, but all our services are currently dispatched at the moment with active issues," the operator said. "We've got your report on file, and an ambulance will be dispatched when police are available. We have your name and number on file, we don't need you to stay on location." That was definitely not the norm for someone calling in a dead body, and it made me worried. "Alright," I said. "I just need to add something to the report then. After my previous call we checked in on Mrs. Branston's agricultural livestock. Someone has stolen all her chickens." "I'm... sorry?" the operator said. "Someone stole fifty-odd chickens," I clarified. There was another long moment of quiet from the other end of the line. "Chickens?" "Yeah, chickens," I said. A long sigh. "Alright, I added it to the report. Have a good day, sir." "You,” the operator hung up. "-too." "That sounded like it went great," Vanessa said sarcastically. "Yeah," I said, wondering what the fuck was happening to my home town. "I can't say that it did." Vanessa came jogging down from the office portables when the black sedan came rolling around the bunkhouses. After we'd gotten back from our big run, and Erica had berated me for taking a risk with Mary even while telling me how sweet a man I was, things had settled down. Leo's new partners had slept through the day with their imprinting, but we'd grilled up some extra sausages in case they woke up in the night and were hungry. I'd spent some time late in the afternoon with Ivy, and that night I'd slept with Vanessa on one side of me, and Ivy on the other while Erica spooned up behind her and rested a hand on my chest. We'd all been naked, but nothing overtly sexual had happened Vanessa had gone back to work in the morning, the first to wake up, and as she got ready and dug through her luggage Erica got up and made her coffee. The smell woke me up, and I realized it was 5:30 in the morning. It looked like our schedule was going to be changing with Vanessa in our lives. Breakfast was a quiet affair later in the morning; at least, quiet for us. Leo's RV was visibly rocking, and I had to assume Aria and India were up and the four of them were getting better acquainted. By the time Vanessa came back around for her breakfast break I'd already come in Erica, but Ivy had held off; apparently, the three of them had talked, and Vanessa only had about fifteen minutes for her breakfast break which meant a quicker-than-usual blowjob was necessary if she wanted some fun with her food. By mid-morning things had quieted down over at Leo's RV, and I'd left a platter of food wrapped with tinfoil on a chair next to the door. Ivy was just starting to get handsy with me, sitting on my lap and giggling with that look in her eye, distracting me from my drawing, when the crunch of tires outside the compound perked us up. The sedan ground to a halt, and Vanessa quickly came down to stand with Erica and Ivy and me. Agent Sourpuss was the driver again, and she just narrowed her eyes at us for a moment before turning back and speaking into the back seat. The door opened, and a woman in that same hooded coverall getup stepped out. "Hi," I said, stepping forward and offering her my hand. "I'm Harrison." "Kyla," she said through her mask, taking my hand and shaking it lightly. "I'm not really sure what you were expecting," I said. "I know things are weird and changing a lot for everyone, so if anything sounds like a problem just let us know and we can figure it out. The first of which is that, ah, these are my partners Erica, Ivy and Vanessa." "Allo!" Ivy said, stepping forward and wrapping the woman up in a hug. Ivy was still the shortest and most petite of the women, with Kyla standing around the same height as Vanessa. "Hi," Erica said, smiling warmly but not stepping forward, which I knew was because she knew the secret. In any other circumstance she likely would have been trying as hard as Ivy to be welcoming in an effort to dispel the weirdness. Agent Sourpuss rolled down the window. "Hey, you need to stop being so touchy. Protocol says you need to imprint as soon as possible." I sighed, glaring at her a little. "I hear you. Let's just make sure this is all Okay with her, yeah?" I turned back to Kyla, whose eyes were a little wide as she cautiously accepted the hug from Ivy. "Um, hello," she said, looking around at the construction site, and our ridiculous-looking compound. "There's a lot for us to explain," I said. "I can see that," she said. The more she talked, the more I heard a slight accent. It wasn't strong, not like Dani's, and I had to assume being the daughter of an Ambassador meant she'd grown up at least part of her life in the US or other places. Not to mention any training she'd received. "Are you Okay with this?" Erica asked her. "The idea of sharing space with a group of us?" "For what it's worth, I'm the newest and stumbled into it by accident, but it works for me," Vanessa chipped in. Kyla looked around again, then back at Sourpuss, and finally back to me. "It's the way things are," she said. "I can make it work." "Well, if you change your mind, you have until we start the imprinting process," I said. "Just say something and we can try to find you someone, or somewhere, else." She shook her head, then turned to Sourpuss again. "You can go." "Fine by me," the Agent muttered, raising her window and pulling the car away. I was almost sure I heard her mutter something about never wanting to come back again. "Come in," Erica said, gesturing to the fabric-draped entryway. "We'll show you around and can tell you what's up." Kyla followed Erica and Ivy in, but Vanessa hung back. "I need to get back to work," she said. "I'll come meet her later if you haven't dicked her down yet." I snorted and shook my head at her crassness. The only people who could get close to matching military folks in that way turned out to be construction workers. "Everything going Okay?" I asked. "Yeah, it's fine. Just getting the animals back in order after being away. They're going to be moving workers into the bunkhouses in the next few days so there's a lot to get ready," she said. She reached over and squeezed my hand for a second, but didn't step in for a kiss even though I could see her glance at my lips. "See you later?" "Absolutely," I said, and she started marching back towards the office portables. When I ducked back into our compound, Erica and Ivy had arranged the deck chairs into a semi-circle and Ivy was coming out of our place with a quartet of beers from the fridge. Erica was just gesturing for Kyla to take a seat. "We're all vaccinated," she was saying. "So if you want to get out of that getup you can." Kyla sat and sighed, lowering her hood and then taking off her medical mask. She was gorgeous. Her hair was a natural silky black with that smooth quality that Native Americans and East Asian folks shared, and she had cute little apple cheeks when she smiled softly in thanks as she accepted a beer from Ivy. Her skin was naturally tan, and she'd done her makeup to accent her ethnicity a bit rather than downplaying it, and knowing what I knew about her I wondered if that was a move to try and distract or seduce me. She had espionage training. She knew how to use her assets. "So Harrison," she nodded to me, then pointed at Ivy. "Ivy, and..." she looked at Erica. "Sorry, something with an E, right?" "Erica," my girlfriend clarified for her with a smile. "Right, Erica," Kyla said. "And the other was Vanessa?" "Right," I nodded. "Vanessa is actually a forewoman with the construction crews, so she had to get back to work." "Okay," she nodded. "And you all live in these trailers?" "RVs," I said. "And it's just temporary. My family owned this land for generations, and recently the government leased it from me and is building a residential compound. We'll be getting a house, and for now we've got these luxury RVs. But, uh, we're actually only living in that one. The other one is occupied by my friend and Erica's brother Leo and his partners." "So there's going to be five of us in there?" Kyla asked, raising an eyebrow as she looked over the RV. "Yes," Ivy said with a smile. "It's very nice on the inside. And the bed is very cozy." "The bed?" Kyla said, emphasizing the singular. "That's, uh, another thing," I said. "This is a little rude but, well Erica, Ivy and Vanessa are all bisexual. Are you;?" "I'm straight," she said. Erica just nodded, though I could tell out of the corner of my eye that Ivy was a little disappointed but tried to hide it. "That's perfectly fine," I said. "We'll figure out a sleeping arrangement so that you're comfortable." "I,” Kyla started, then glanced at Erica and Ivy for a moment and seemed to change her mind. "Look, I'm stepping into your thing here already, so I don't want to be a bitch. But could I just... Could I talk for a moment with the guy who I'm going to be bonding DNA with or whatever?" "Yes, absolutely," Erica said. "Do you want to go inside, or should we?" Kyla glanced over at Leo's RV. "Maybe we should," she said and stood up. I stood as well, patted Ivy's shoulder and met a glance from Erica as she tried to warn me to be careful without saying anything. Kyla and I went to the RV, and I opened the door for her and followed her in. "Sorry about the mess," I said. "Vanessa just moved in yesterday and we're trying to figure out what to keep here, and what to move into the storage containers." "It's... fine," Kyla said. She was looking down the length of the RV, through the open door to the bed. I could only imagine what she was thinking. "Let's just sit here," I said, offering her the bench as I took the chair by the Murphey table. I wasn't going to mention that we used the bench for fucking almost as much as the bed. "Ask me anything," I said as we sat. "I know this is all weird, and you must have a thousand questions and concerns." "I do," she said, and leaned back on the leather bench and took a deep breath. I just met her eyes as she looked me over again. Then she took a swig of her beer. "What do you do for money? How does all of this work?" she asked. "Well, up until a few weeks ago, my family house was about fifty yards that way," I pointed. "Right where that first big bunkhouse building is. I worked remotely as a concept artist, and Erica's brother Leo was my roommate. Erica joined us out here for quarantine. The federal government came and wanted to buy my land, but I negotiated a lease with them instead and they paid me a lot of money for it, along with building me, Leo and my sister houses. So if you're worried about finances living out here, you don't need to. I'm not stingy, though I'd prefer if we don't get super extravagant. I'd rather us be wealthy for a long time than super-rich for a short one, and with five people on the team... Well, yeah." "The team?" she asked. "It feels a little weird to call it a family right now," I said. "What with all the changes happening so fast. I think that's how most of us will end up, but I don't want to presume anything." She frowned, looking me up and down again. When she got that look on her face she was fierce and calculating. Focused. Then it broke and she cocked her head to the side just a touch. "Did they tell you I was coming?" "Um, yeah," I nodded. "I got a warning yesterday that you'd be here sometime in the next couple of days." She nodded slowly. "Okay. I mean, obviously we'll need to figure some things out, but I think I can live with... this. I'd like to wait a day and get to know you all a bit more before we do the imprinting though. I'm not really a 'sleep with a guy on the first day' kind of girl." "I'd be happy to wait as long as you like," I said. "But, ah, you may want to talk with the others about that feeling you've got. Apparently, it'll just keep getting stronger." "Right," Kyla nodded slowly. "Okay. I'll keep that in mind." Voices rose outside. Not angry, just a little animated. "Sounds like Leo and his girls are finally coming outside," I said. "I think you'll like Danielle, she's a pretty open book. I can't make any promises about the two new women though, they arrived yesterday and I haven't had a chance to meet them properly." "That sounds good," she said. "Any other questions, or do you want to go meet them?" I asked. "Um, yeah, actually," she said. She was still giving me a slightly weird, considering look. "Do you know?" "Know what?" I asked, trying to poker face without poker facing. She kept eyeing me. "Who I am." I sighed a little. "I was told that you're the daughter of an Ambassador," I said, covering the big lie with a little truth. "Does that bother you?" she asked. "Why would it?" I replied. "I'm part Native, part Japanese, I travelled a decent chunk of the world when I was in the military. In the US, you growing up in another country is about as different as if you grew up in an east coast city." "That's not what I meant," Kyla said, sitting forward and leaning her elbows on her knees, staring right at me. "I meant does it bother you that I'm a spy?" The problem with going toe to toe with a spy was that all of my usual methods of evaluating someone were already going off. As a teen I'd been a bit of a hillbilly, I'd been an athlete, and I'd been a kid from a family with generational grudge issues. Then I'd joined the military and I learned about professional backstabbing and politics, and then I'd become an MP and really saw some of the dumb and vile crap that Man could do to each other. I'd been trained to be aware, alert, and suspicious. Seven years out of the military had softened me, I was sure. But not that much. Maybe Grierson shouldn't have told me about Kyla's background. I was trying my best to not be suspicious, which I bet if I saw myself back on a recording I would have seen as a red flag. If I hadn't known about her, I could have just accepted her and hopefully my natural and trained instincts would have picked up on anything fishy. I sighed a little huff of a chuckle and leaned back in the Murphey chair, looking at Kyla across the RV. I'd been doing my best not to just really stare at her, to make a judgement scan of her to really assess her. Maybe that gave me away. Maybe not. She was beautiful, but I'd already judged that. Her Filipino heritage was strong, but wasn't so different from the natives that I'd grown up around that it seemed out of place or exotic to me. Not to mention the plenty of varied Asians I'd lived around in Portland. She was still wearing the bulky coverall so it was hard to judge her athleticism, but just the way she sat told me she was a physical person. She was sitting on the bench, which wasn't particularly tall, but her feet were pressed to the ground by the balls of her feet and toes, her heels raised. Even though she was leaning forward with her elbows on her knees she also wasn't slouching at all. She was a coiled spring, but with a loose tension. She wasn't on edge, but was a calmly controlled nervous. "It does," I said, answering the question she'd stunned me with for a moment. 'Does it bother you that I'm a spy?' Who asked that? Was it a game, or a test? Was she trying to be truthful because of the situation, or was she running a long con to gain my trust to inevitably betray me? How calculated was this move, and what were the variables? Was it a move at all? "But not the way you might think," I continued. "It's funny, I don't even know how much they told you about me. I think I mentioned outside that I was in the military at one point. I was an MP before I was discharged. You are exactly the kind of person I would have been worried about for an important part of my life. But now? Honestly, Kyla, I just don't want you to fuck up the family dynamic we're trying to build here. I don't want you to put any of the people out there in danger, on purpose or by accident, if you plan on trying to do something for your father or NICA." She gave me a long look back, evaluating what I said. If we were sitting across from each other with a chessboard between us, or cards, I would have said she was trying to read if I was bluffing or not. But this wasn't a game, and there weren't stakes on the line, and I thankfully got the impression she wasn't trying to read me. At least, not like that. She was reading me, but she was trying to form her opinion of me, just like I was trying to with her. "Have you ever killed anyone?" she asked me. I pressed my lips together and nodded. "I didn't see as much combat as others, but I got in a few firefights," I said. "I had a few confirmed kills, and likely several more unconfirmed. And one of my investigations as an MP turned into a shootout with some human traffickers that ended... badly. Fuck, I haven't talked about that with anyone since I got out. I'd prefer you not bring it up with the girls, or Leo. Please." "I won't," she said quietly. "Have you?" I asked. "No," she shook her. "I mean, I have enough training that I could, but that wasn't ever supposed to be my job. I; I'd rather maybe talk about my story if I get more comfortable with you, but I've never carried more than a knife and a can of mace in my purse for self-protection and haven't ever needed to use either of them." "Does it bother you that I know?" I asked her. "I feel like it should, but I don't think it does," Kyla said, pursing her lips a little in thought after she said it. "I just spent the last four years living a secret life, but I've always lived a double life. You know, which means... I don't know what it means. Which is a first." "I told Erica," I said. "I wasn't supposed to, I don't think, but she can read me like a book and I didn't want to keep it from her anyways." Kyla smiled a little. "I could tell," she said. "I only picked up on little things from you because of the way she was acting." That made me chuckle a little. "Well, at least that's something. I'm not a complete waste." "So what now?" she asked. "You know that I know that you know. Do we need to set some ground rules or anything?"

Blending Our Lives.by T. Foxal. Listen to the ► Podcast at Connected.Chapter 20.The next morning I was awakened by a beautiful sensation on my hardened shaft. Carrie was licking and sucking me. When my hand caressed her face, she popped off of it and looked at me. “I couldn't help it Babe. It was so hard and wanting attention. Lay back and enjoy.”I smiled at her and said, “You know, if you are quiet, I too, could be licking and sucking something as you do that.” She smiled and moved so we could 69. As her damp panty clad cunt came down to me, my fingers moved the fabric to the side and I began enjoying her sexy slit.It wasn't long before Carrie's body stiffened and she began to cum. I have no idea how she kept from yelling out, like she usually does, but she managed. I was already close when she started cumming, and that just helped me along, because about a minute later I was ejaculating into her mouth, which she somehow kept in and swallowed. After taking one last lick, she came off of me and moved so we could kiss. It was a very passionate kiss, that we both could taste our handy work. After kissing, she looked at me and said, “Good Morning Honey. I like this new mouthwash we use.”, then giggled softly.After resting a bit, I had to get up and pee. Carrie just snuggled back under the covers and smiled at me. It was only 6:30 in the morning, but I was up now. I told her I needed some coffee. She said that I should make two cups and bring one back for her. I looked down at her and said, “You getting used to this morning service young lady?” “You betcha Baby.” then directed me to where the coffee pods were for her Keurig.As I entered the kitchen, lo and behold, Chief was sitting at the table, drinking coffee and reading the newspaper. I didn't even think that the paper was even delivered anymore. I red the news online. “Morning Chief” He looked up and said, “Morning Mark.” Good sign I thought. At least he didn't call me Shitbird, or any other name.I got my coffee and started to get Carrie her's. John cleared his throat and told me to take a seat. “So Mark. Tell me what's up with my little girl. I know they found some spot on one of her ovaries.”“Trust me John. That's about all I know. It took some prying to get that out of her. Hell, she was going to send me packing because of this. No way would I walk away from her, especially with something like that. But, I think it is just a cyst, that time and some meds will take care of.”He just stared then said, “Mark. Honestly, I am an overprotective father, and grandfather. I just want only the best for my two girls. I know you and I like you. You have always been a man about things and someone I can trust, unlike that fuck knuckle she was married too. I never trusted that guy from the first day I met him. I know from just looking at Carrie, she is in love with you, and judging how you look at her, the same is true for you. All I ask, is don't play games with her. Either be all in, or all out. I don't want her hurt again. As for her cyst, or whatever it is, I'm sure it is nothing. Connie has had those in the past.”“Sir. And I mean sir as respect as her father. We both know that we had to call officers sir, but we both know they couldn't fight their way out of a paper bag, with a knife and directions on where to cut. But John, truthfully, this is the real deal for us and me. I have never let a woman into my life before. I saw too much when I was in. How they were in love but deployment after deployment, took a toll on those marriages and most ended in divorce, so I never got into that situation. But your daughter has my heart and soul now and I will do anything for her.”He chuckled then said, “Well, I am not complaining. I've seen the same as you. I got real lucky with Connie. We have been together almost 43 years now, married 42 of them. She is the love of my life. Best thing that ever happened to me. How she endured all of my deployments, I'll never know. But I never took her for granted. Every time I was gone, I hurt inside, but I'd never show you assholes that side of me. I made sure when I was home, that she, and Carrie were the only things important to me. And I always acted like we were dating. We had date night a couple times a week. I don't mean sex either. Taking her to dinner, or a movie, or anything that she had an interest in. You do that, and you'll have a very happy home life. And, the sex is great too, even to this day.”“Yeah Chief, Really? Last night?” I said and laughed. He just chuckled and told me “Hey. When she wants it, who am I to deny her”, then laughed again.“Deny Who?” we both heard, and there, standing near us was Carrie. She walked over and behind her dad. Put her arms around him and kissed his head. “Morning Daddy. So who weren't you denying.”“Nothing Princess. Some things you don't need to know.” then laughed. She looked at me and said, “Glad I wasn't dying of thirst Honey” then shot me a glare. “Sorry Babe. But your dad wanted to speak with me. Here, let me get yours now.”, then laughed. Her dad then chimed in, “Christ Carrie, you broke him already. 20 years in the Marines and never broke the man, and you do it in two weeks.”“Mwah? Not me. But you know those Gyrene's, they sometimes need direction. They're not as cool as us Navy people.” then laughed, which made us all laugh. I was glad to see her sense of humor back, and the twinkle in her eye.We were gone most of the day. There was a huge craft show at this one park they we stayed at for most of the afternoon. I did learn that John got into woodworking as a hobby now. He said he always wanted to do that, but being away so long, he never found the time. At one point, I found myself with Connie, while Carrie was with her dad, looking at something a few booths down from us.“Mark. I am so happy you came into Carrie's life. I have never seen her this alive before, except when she took in Jenny. I know that you are worried about her, with whatever this growth is. As I told her last night, it is probably nothing, but a simple cyst. I have had 4 in my lifetime, and they always go away. The specialist will know better on Tuesday. I bet they don't even do an exploratory on her. Her lab results will tell the tale. Her doctor should have eased her mind some, but some reason didn't. Just be there for her, no matter what. That's all I ask.”I told her I would. After a bit we headed to this little Italian place her parents knew of, for dinner. John picked up this tab, although I was willing too, but he told me my money was no good tonight. I did invite them to join us the next day at my sister's, but Connie said they already had made plans to spend the day with Jenny and Alan.After dinner we headed back to Carrie's. I stated I needed to go home and get some clothes. Carrie offered to go with me. But I told her stay and enjoy her time with her parents. I wouldn't be long. Just needed to shave and shower and get some more clothes. I was back within an hour. We stayed up some and chatted more, then we all retired to bed. After the I love you's, Carrie said she wished we were alone right now, and that she needed me inside her. I just held her close and told her soon Baby, soon.Chapter 21.We left for my sister's around noon. The get together was to start at 1pm, but I wanted to see Ann before any others arrived. I knew she would just love Carrie, there was no question in my mind. She'd probably love any woman who could tie me down. Ann and my brother in law have been married 18 years. They have two kids, Kyle, who will turn 16 in November, and Katie, who turned 14 yesterday. They have a very nice and modern house, which they moved into a few years back.Ann met us at the door, when we pulled into the drive. She is 41, same as Carrie, and stands 5'6, 130 pounds. She has dirty blond hair, and blue eyes. She is a spit fire too. Never afraid to speak her mind and tell you like it is. She has tried, unsuccessfully, to fix me up with a multitude of her friends or single neighbors. Nothing ever came to pass with them. A few became sex buddy's, but that was it. None ever made my heart beat fast, or my stomach tighten up in a knot, like Carrie does.After the introductions were made, and a few cracks about how Carrie somehow managed to corral me in, the girls went off to the kitchen, while Brad, Kyle and I went to the family room to watch some football. Eventually, my uncle and aunt showed up, along with 2 of their kids and grandkids. Also was some of my sister's neighbors and friends too. Two of which I had dated, but nothing was ever said around Carrie. At one point, Ann got me alone and said, “I love that woman. She is so right for you. You better not fuck this up little brother.”We stayed until after eating and cake was served, and presents opened. I did not what to get a 14 year old, so I went the safe way and got her a card with $100 visa gift card. She loved that. I signed the card from Uncle Mark and Carrie. When she gave me a hug and a kiss, she whispered in my ear, “I like her Unc. I hope she will be my aunt one day.” I just smiled at her, knowing full well that was my plan too.Carrie's parents left Tuesday morning, to visit, and stay with Connie's sister Bev. Connie did tell me to call her if there was anything wrong, after the doctor visit. I did not stay Monday night at Carrie's. I figure they all needed a break from me. Of course Carrie really did not like that, but I thought it best. We've laid a lot on her parents by being together as a couple and actually sleeping together.I went with Carrie to the doctor's office and sat with her in the waiting room. The whole time, I held her hand and at times, felt as though she was crushing mine, because she was so nervous. Once she was called, I stayed in the waiting room. About forty minutes later, a nurse called for me to come with her. She led me to an office that had Carrie and the doctor.I looked at Carrie and she was smiling. The doctor introduced himself to me, and I did the same. He then looked over some papers, then looked at Carrie.“Ms. Reynolds, you can rest assured that you do not have any tumor, benign, or cancerous. It is what we call a functional cyst. It is a sack that usually contains an egg, then releases that egg during your monthly cycle. The sack normally then goes away. Well this one did not, as of yet. They sometimes don't, which is what has happened to you. It may take a few weeks, but it will go away, and when you come back in three weeks, if it hasn't, we'll give you some medication that will help with that process. Otherwise, you are very healthy. If you have stopped having intimate relations, like many women do at this time, you are very safe to resume, and did not need to stop in the first place. I only say this, because that is the first question I am usually asked.” he said with a slight chuckle.As we were driving home, Carrie was all smiles. This was a huge relief for her, and me too. Maybe our lives could get back on track, after this slight derailment. I asked her if she was hungry, but she said no. She just wanted to get home.After arriving, she excused herself and went upstairs. Lord knows what she was doing, but I finally heard heard coming down the stairs. When I looked up, there she stood, with this white lace Baby doll outfit on. You talk about sexy looking. “Oh My Sweetie. You look absolutely beautiful and very sexy”“Thank you Honey. I feel absolutely sexy right now and I need you to make love to me all afternoon.”She grabbed my hand and led me upstairs to her bed. I did not waste any time in disrobing. My cock was as hard as a rock, before my boxers hit the floor. As I stripped, Carrie got on the bed and lay there, with her legs spread wide, inviting me to take her. Her white thong barely covered her moist sex, and the top did not hide the excitement she felt , with her nipples already hard as pebbles on her beautiful tits.I kneeled between her legs and slipped my fingers under her thongs waistband and gently tugged them down and off of her body. Her labia was glistening in the afternoon sunlight, filtering through the window. I leaned in and blew on her sex, which elicited a moan from her. Then lightly licked her swollen lips. “Later Baby. I need you inside me now” she softly said.I rubbed my head all over her soaking wet slit and then slowly inserted the head. “Oh Gawd” she moaned out. I slowly inched my way into her inner being, which was so soft, and so hot. “God. You feel so good Carrie.”My mouth lowered to her chest, as I sucked in one fabric cover tit. She arched her back some, like she was giving me her tit. I then sucked the other one, which made her moan so loud. Then I moved up and started kissing her. Her legs wrapped around me and we made slow, and very passionate love to one another. Neither of could hold back though. We were like teenagers doing it for the first time, and erupted in orgasm. I shot first. As I was shooting my love juice deep inside her, Carrie crushed me with her legs as this set her off on her own orgasm. Her nails dug into my back, but neither of us cared. My grip around her neck was tight as well. I felt like I hadn't cum in ages. As we settled down, we lay in each other's arms, panting from our euphoric bliss.I was still inside her, and surprisingly, still hard as well. I gently rolled us over, so she was now on top. Our lips still together. Our tongues exploring every inch of tongue. I loved her kisses, but best of all, I loved her more than ever. She sat up on me and looked down at me, smiling. Then slowly removed her teddy from her body, exposing her beautiful tits to me.“My God. You are so beautiful Carrie. You can stay her all day like this.” I told her. She smiled then said, “I had all intentions of doing this all day.” then she started to giggle. I asked what was so funny.“Last night, after we went to bed, I was laying here missing the hell out of you by the way, but I had to endure another night of my parents going at it. You have no idea how horny that made me.” she exclaimed. I asked, “Did you take care of that?”She sort of blushed, then laughed and said, “Yeah. I did. All I could think of was you, making love to me. This sure beats my fingers, or any toy I have.”I chuckled and said, “Wish I could have watched that. That would be so sexy to see.”“Maybe one day I will let you watch. But right now, Fuck me Babe. Fuck me so good”Later that evening, after napping and then showering together, we headed out to dinner at a local bar and grill. Afterwards, I brought her over to my house for the first time.She was in awe of it, just coming down the driveway. The house is big. It is 4 bedroom, Victorian style farm house. It was, at one time, 5 bedrooms. But my grandfather combined two bedrooms into one and made a new master bath in one portion of it. Otherwise, it only had one bathroom.When we entered the house and I turned on the lights, Carrie sort of gasped. I asked what was wrong, but she just smiled and said, “I'm waiting for June Cleaver to come out of the kitchen with her pearls and high heels on. God Mark, this is so 60's looking.”“I know, but it serves it purpose for me, at this time. I do plan on buying furniture, just never got around to doing it. Ann bitches at me all the time. Come on with me, while I gather some clothes for the morning.”We went upstairs to the master bedroom. When she saw the furniture up there, she really gasped. “Oh My Mark. This stuff is gorgeous. Please don't replace this. This stuff has to be from the 20's. I just love the bed.”“Yeah. Gramps said his father built it.” The bed was a big four poster and had matching dressers and nightstands. It was old, but finely built and well maintained.As I was gathering things, she laid out on the bed. “You know, maybe this weekend, we stay here and let the kids have the condo. I'd love to make love to you right here. Also, pack up some underwear and some shirts and pants, so you can leave them at my place.”“Sounds like a plan to me. Where does Alan live anyways?” I asked“He actually lives with his mom. Close by campus. She is divorced for years now. I am actually pretty friends with her. We have gone out for drinks a few times and have had dinners at each other's places. She just adores Jenny, which makes it a whole lot nicer.”After a few more minutes, we left and went back to Carrie's. Of course we made love again that night, and early the next morning, before she had to leave for work. This arrangement worked out quite well for us.Chapter 22.By Thanksgiving time, we were comfortably into our relationship. Most nights were spent at her place, and most weekends were spent at mine. There wasn't a night we did not spend together. I was hooked on her. I never, in a million years, could believe I could wake up every morning with someone. This felt awesome to me and so special. I loved looking at her while she slept. I also enjoyed just sitting with her at night reading, or just watching TV, then retire to bed. The best part is when she folds herself into me and falls asleep. I love that most.Thanksgiving is time for family. This year though, I was spending dinner with Carrie, Jenny and Alan, and Alan's mom, Brenda. I usually would be at Ann's, but she understood. I did tell Ann we would be over after dinner to visit.Carrie and Brenda did all the cooking. Alan and I set the table, but then retired to the couch to watch some football. Jenny was out with the ladies, so this left only Alan and I alone. As we watched, Alan and I would talk some. He was a nice young man and had his head together. He told he would be graduating in the spring and already had a job lined up. He wanted to work a while before he went for his Masters.Then he looked around to see where the ladies were, and saw they were still very busy in the kitchen. “Mr. Roberts, Mark. I… I want to ask Jenny to marry me this Christmas. Do I ask her mom beforehand?”“Well Alan. To be honest, I think that would be a great idea. Are you absolutely sure of this? This is a huge step in your life?” He smiled and said, “Oh yeah. I have never been sure of anything like this. I love her so much and can't wait to start our lives together.”“Tell you what. You get Carrie alone one day soon and ask her. I'm sure she will give her blessing. But, she's not the one you need the blessing from. You know who that belongs to.” I told him.He chuckled, then said, “Yeah. I kind of had a feeling you would say that. But I don't know when I will ever see them before Christmas. That's not something you ask over the phone.”I laughed, then said back to him. “Oh you are so right there. That old bastard would kill you if you did it like that. When can you get a Friday off in the next couple of weeks?”He shrugged his shoulders, “I guess any Friday. I usually have labs on those days, so no biggie, why?”I shook my head. “Between you and I, and I mean this, you don't say a word to Jenny. I too, plan on asking Carrie to marry me. So pick a Friday. We'll tell our fine ladies we are doing a guy thing that day, which we are. But we'll fly down to Florida, and ask the Chief and Connie in person.”“Oh wow Mark. But I can't afford that. Heck, the ring I want to get is a bit over my budget.”“Don't worry about the flight, I'll handle that. Where did you get the ring, or see it?He smiled and said, “Over at the mall, at Kay Jewelers. It's only a half carat, but one day, I'll get her a bigger one.”“Look, tomorrow, the girls are going shopping with my sister, god help me. So why don't you come with me. A friend of mine is a jeweler and has a lot of nice rings. We'll figure it out from there.” He just nodded, and as he was about to speak Jenny popped in.“What are you two talking about. It looks like a very deep conversation.” We both laughed and said football.Dinner was excellent, but the people really made it nice. By the end of the meal, we were all tired. I helped, as did Alan, wish dishes. We figured the girls spent all morning in there fixing it, it's the least we could do. Thank God for dishwashers.That night and Ann's, Carrie and Ann talked nonstop. Jenny and Alan had also come along, but weren't staying long. I was very happy that Carrie and her family were so accepted by my family. Ann and Brad made them feel right at home. I announced that Christmas Eve dinner was at my house this year. Ann, of course, had to bust my balls and ask what take out I was using.“I'll have you know, I am a pretty damn good cook, huh Honey?” Carrie smiled, “Oh Yeah. He actually is. I was very surprised. Jarheads usually know only a couple of things. Walk, March, shoot guns and eat.” then laughed. “Nice Squid. Real Nice”Katie then asked, “Mom? What's a Jarhead?” which made us all start busting out in laughter.“Well Pumpkin, it's like this. See a Marine is a very special person. He, or she, is the very best and people in the other services are very jealous of us. So they call us very derogatory names, to make them feel better about the lowly service they belong too, like the Navy. Squids are so jealous.” then laughed.Carrie was rolling her eyes, then said “Dream on Jarhead. We are just smart enough to stay on a boat, while you get all the crap jobs on land. But, I still love ya.”Once home and lying in bed, Carrie told what a great day she had. She just loves my sister and feels rather close to her. She also said she was so glad that they even accepted Jenny and Alan. I told her that I was glad that they have accepted her as well, and that spending the day with her and Jenny, and Alan's family made this pretty special to me.“Carrie. I don't want any secrets between us, so I need to tell you this.” “Uh Oh” was her response. “It's not bad, not bad at all. Alan is going to come ask you for permission to marry Jenny”Carrie got to her knees, “Really? When? Oh my God. I knew that they would do this.”“Not sure when he is going to ask you, but I do know it is Christmas time he asking her. He's pretty much laid out his life and how he sees it, and he does have a good head on his shoulders. He said they would wait until Jenny graduates in a year and a half.”Carrie was still on her knees, but crying now. “I am so happy for them. Jenny wants to marry him, that I am sure of. She loves him as much as I love you. I just told her when the time comes, be smart, and wait on having kids. Enjoy being a couple, because once kids come, it's whole new ballgame.”“Now you better act surprised about this. He is so scared of what you may say.”“I will. I promise. He has nothing to fear from me, it's gonna be a YES”, then leaned down and kissed me. That kiss turn into a hot, passionate kiss, which led to a love making session. Can't wait to see what she is like when I ask her the same thing.Chapter 23.The next morning Carrie was up and out the door by 7am. I knew I had most of the day to myself, so I got dressed and headed over to my place. Alan and I were to meet at the jewelers around noon.Alan was right on time as we entered the building, which was in one of those strip style shopping centers. My friend, John, was behind the counter when he saw me walk in. After a few good minutes of catching up he directed us to the engagement ring area . Alan stated he had $1200 to spend. John showed him quite a few rings in that price range. He was looking for a pear shaped style. I saw one that was one carat and asked the price. John said he could let that one go for $1800. Alan said it looked great, but he couldn't afford it.“Do you think Jenny would like it?” “Yeah. She's love that.” he said. “Well then, get it. I'll make up the difference. My future stepdaughter should have the best.” “Mark. I promise to repay you as quick as I can.” “You pay me when you can afford too, and nothing sooner. We'll be family for many years to come.”Then John directed me to this one ring. It was marquis shaped with 6 small diamonds around it. It just screamed Carrie to me. It was set in a platinum band, which I already knew she liked. It wasn't to pretentious, or gaudy. John said I could have that one for five grand , normally $6500 for it. He said it was a size 8, but I am not sure of her size. He said, no matter, just bring it in after I give it to her and he would resize it, unless I could find out her size. I chuckled to myself, and thought, I should call her ex and ask.After leaving there, we grabbed a sandwich and beer at this one bar and grill I knew. Then headed over to my house to see about flights to Florida. Alan was so excited, and kept thanking me over and over. I knew now the kid's father had very little to do with him, since the divorce. He's been gone from their lives for almost 12 years now. So this felt pretty good, acting like a father figure to him. Kids coming out of boot camp are kind of like this. They look up to the sergeants when you get them in your platoon. So I know the look all too well, except I'm not going to yell at this one.Once at my house, we went online and found a flight, non-stop to Pensacola, that got us there by 10am, and then one returning at 2:30, arriving back here at 5pm. Before I made the purchase, I called Connie. She had given me her cell number before they left back in October.After the obligatory how are you's and how's Carrie. I told her my plan. I really wanted to surprise them both, but had to make sure they would be home that day. It would have sucked to fly down and find they were gone.“Oh Mark. You are such a good man. John will be so happy you did this. I know he likes and respects you. He has been hoping you would do something like this, marrying his little girl. But to fly all the way down here to ask his permission, well, you'll be at the top of his list. You already are on mine. I promise I won't say a word either.”We hung up after that, and I hit the button to buy the tickets. I didn't tell Connie about Alan coming or his question too. That should make the old man really feel good. Tickets for both of us, just set me back a grand, but it was worth it. I told Alan this one is on me, which he protested too, but I told him tough, get over it.Later that night, while in my bed, Carrie told me about her day with Ann, and shopping. She said she thinks this will be the best Christmas ever for her. Ann told her what she thought I needed and clothes sizes and such. I can just imagine what Ann helped her pick out. I got to admit, when it comes to clothes for me, Ann knew what I liked.Since that few days back in October, when I thought she wanted to call this whole thing off, we have grown closer. Although we are not in our early twenties, we still made love quite a bit. Four or five times a week. But just going to bed with her and waking in the morning and see her next to me, was like heaven. I could care less about the sex actually. That was the bonus. Great thing too, is that she loves sex and on the weekends, it was two or three times a day, unless her monthly friend showed up, but even then, when it first starts, she isn't opposed to doing it in the shower. That has happened twice since we started.Weekends too, was when naughty Carrie comes to play. She is very boisterous, and loves talking dirty. She is always a lady outside of the home, but inside, she gets down right slutty. One evening I let her tie me up to the post of my bed. She teased quite a bit that night. 69ing with me, but having her sex hover above my face, where I couldn't reach it. While she played with my cock. Then she'd lower herself down to let me lick her for about thirty seconds, then pull away again. It drove me insane with lust. When she finally turned around and lowered herself onto me, she rode me like a bull. The whole time asking me how her cunt felt and did I want to cum, and things like that. It was fun and adventurous for us, and we both love it. I really think she has a Domme side to her, deep down.Chapter 24.A few nights before Alan and I took off to Florida, I fibbed a bit and told Carrie that on Friday I was going to help Brad close up their cabin, that he and Ann have by a lake near us. Ann knew of my plans and was willing to go along with it. I told her that Alan was going to help too and that we should be back by 6 that evening. Since the cabin is only 20 minutes from the airport, I was going to swing by before our flight, and move a few chairs on the porch, to a shed he had. That way, I really didn't lie. I hate lying to her.We arrived in Florida about ten minutes early, which was good. I rented a car and was at John and Connie's in no time, thanks to GPS. The look on John's face was priceless when he opened the door and saw both of us standing there. Of course, he thought something was wrong.“What in the world are you two doing down here? Are the girls  okay?”I laughed and said all is fine with them. He let us in and we took a seat on the couch. “Well? What's up. You didn't fly down here for your health.”“John. Connie. I came down here to ask permission to marry your daughter.”“You flew down here just to ask that? What the hell, you could have called on the phone and saved time and money Shitbird.”“No John. You deserve more respect than that. If I am doing this, I want to do it right. So, do I have your permission?”He looked at Connie, who shook her head yes, then said, “Mark. I would be proud to call you my son in law. I may seem gruff at times, but I do like you and respect you, and I know you will treat my daughter good, which is all I can ask for. Connie and I want only the best for her, and Jenny too. So yes, you have our permission.”We shook hands and he actually gave me a hug, and of course Connie did too. Then John asked,“Did you need a wingman, bringing Alan down with you?”“No sir”, Alan said. “I would like permission too, to ask your granddaughter to be my wife.”“Jesus H. Christ. Both of you? Well son, are you sure you are ready for a step like this. That is one person I never want to see hurt, besides my wife and daughter.”“Sir. I have never been so sure of anything in my life. I graduate in May and have a job already lined up and Jenny graduates the following year, and then we would marry.”After looking at his wife again, who stood there smiling, he spoke, “Then I guess I see no point in denying you her hand. Promise me you will always take care of her and love her with all your heart, like we do.”“I promise Mr. Reynolds, I swear.” He chuckled, “I bet you were as nervous as a cat in a room full of rocking chairs to ask me this. Both of you clowns, so help me God, if you ever hurt those girls, I will hunt you down and hurt you real bad, and if I am too old, I still know people who can do it. You know the last one Carrie was with, the asshole, the best I could do is have him shipped to San Diego. I wanted to have him put on that team in the Aleutians (Alaska), but the CO thought that would not be a good fit for that team.”We stayed and had lunch with them, then got back to the airport with plenty of time. We did ask if they could come up for Christmas. They had plans for a few days later that week, but said they would be up on Christmas Eve, which I thought was perfect. We also planned on surprising the girls with their presence , that evening at my house since I was cooking dinner that night. John did make a crack about eating before he got there, in case my meal sucked.I got to Carrie's around 6:30, and we went to eat, then to my place. We just cuddled on the couch that night, then went to bed. I was pretty tired, and she completely understood, so we just fell asleep in each other's arms.The next day, we met Jenny and Alan back at Carrie's and headed over to this tree farm to cut down two Christmas tree's They take you out on a wagon, then when you find and cut it down, pick you up and bring you back to the Chalet, where you pay. The four of us had a great time and Carrie, and Jenny were giddy most of the day. I dropped the kids off at Carrie's and helped put the tree in its stand. Jenny was going to start decorating it, while Carrie and I did the same at my place. This is the first tree I have decorated in over twenty years. I was usually never home for the holidays, or if I was, it was for a few days and it was spent with mom and Ann.It took most of the afternoon and part of the evening to string lights and attach the antique ornaments my grandmother had at the house. Carrie did run out to the store and bought ribbon and bows, and some garland too. While we did this, she had Christmas music playing in the background and I had a fire lit in the fireplace. What was real nice, was that it was now snowing some. Not heavy, but a nice downfall, just like you would see in any Christmas movie.We were both dressed in jeans and sweaters, but she looks a lot cuter than I do, in hers. After we finished and ate delivered pizza, we retired to the couch, which faces the fireplace, and the tree, all lit up, standing in the corner by it. Carrie sat next to me, sipping wine, with her legs curled under her. We talked about what we needed to get for people. I had told her I wasn't sure what to get Ann and Brad, or even Jenny and Alan. I did buy the kids laptops for each of them. Ann had only one computer, which they all shared, so this would help out in that department. I know Ann and Brad were going to buy Kyle a used truck, for when he passed his driver's license test. He was taking the driver's ed course now.Carrie said she would help with Ann and Brad, but I didn't need to get Jenny anything. I told her to stop there. She is part of you and she deserves presents as well. Carrie did tell me she is going to get Jenny a car, after the first of the year. Right now, she didn't have one, but she was taking an internship at this one accounting agency, and needed one for that. Then we started kissing, which led to more kissing. I stopped, and got up.“Hold that thought”, I said. Then went to the back closet and pulled out my sleeping bag. I came back in and unrolled it, and unzipped it. I laid it out over the oval rug in front of the fireplace and went and took her by the hand and had her stand up.“Umm, I like how you think Mr. Roberts.” I slowly removed her sweater, then her bra. Of course I had to suck her tits a few times, before unbuttoning her jeans and slowly peeled them down, exposing her black thong. With me now on my knees, I used my teeth to pull her thongs down, and when they hit the floor, she stepped out of them. I didn't even bother with her socks. Now naked, I leaned in and lightly licked her sex, tasting her juices that she was already emitting. God, I love how she taste.She pulled me up then and pulled my sweater over my head and then my t-shirt. She now got on her knees and removed my jeans and then my boxers. When my engorged member sprung free, she licked it a few times, especially on the tip. “Yummy” she said.I had her lay on the sleeping bag, and she readily spread her legs for me, letting me gaze at her beauty. The Christmas lights, and the glow of the fire made her especially beautiful. I wasted little time in going down on her. I wanted her to orgasm in my mouth. I needed to taste her. I stayed down there for a long while. Bringing her off two times, before I kissed my way back up to her mouth, stopping along the way to such each tit into my mouth, which I knew she loved having done.As I kissed her passionately, I made sure my weight was not fully on her, and my hardened member lay at her opening, ready to enter paradise. Her hips gyrated below me, trying hard to have me enter her.“Baby. Please put it in. I need you so bad. I love you”I too, couldn't wait any longer and slid in. Once I was fully in, we both moaned out. We then proceeded to make slow love to one another. We had no rush to this, just two people, deeply in love, joined together, making us one. I have no idea how long we made love for, but it had to have lasted at least a good fifteen minutes. We were lost in each other, until Carrie finally moaned out “Oh God, I'm cumming Baby.” I didn't last too much longer and started shooting my seed deep within her. “I love you baby.” I said as I was cumming.After we calmed a bit, I noticed I was still hard and rolled us over so she was on top. I looked at her, as she sat up. The firelight danced over her skin. She looked incredible to me. “My God Baby, you look so beautiful” I said. “You are beautiful Mark. I love you so much. This is going to be the best holiday ever.” I smiled, and thought, “If you only knew my Love”Chapter 25.The next two weeks flew by. I had talked with Connie a couple of times. She said she told Carrie that they were going to New Orleans to visit with friends down there, from their Navy days. Carrie was a little bummed, but understood. Connie said their flight got in at 4pm that day. Jenny was going to pick them up and bring them over a little past 7, on that evening, along with Alan's mom. Ann was going to meet them out front, so they could follow her up the drive, without lights on. Very clandestine like. I had told Ann to wait until I turned the kitchen and dining room lights out, before sneaking in the back door, and to stay in the dining room until I actually proposed to Carrie. God I was nervous now. This to me, was the biggest leap of faith I would ever take in my life.Carrie came over around 5, on Christmas Eve. She was wearing this beautiful red dress that made her look like a Goddess. Had no one been coming over, I would have taken her then and there.“My God. You are more beautiful than I have ever seen you Ms. Reynolds.” I told her. She smiled and said, “You are just biased, and you want to get into my panties JH. Thank You though. Compliments are always welcome. I love you.”She helped me prepare the rest of dinner. We were having Standing Prime Rib, mashed potatoes, rolls, gravy, and a bean casserole that Carrie prepared. We then set the table for 8, on the dining room table. This table was big enough to feed a platoon on. Everything was almost ready.It was now just coming on 7pm. The roast was done and I removed it from the oven, to let it sit a while before carving. Carrie was standing near me, sipping a glass of wine. I reached the light switch and turned it off, and then walked into the dining room and did the same there. The only light was from the tree and fireplace.I went to the stereo and put on Carrie's favorite artist, Shania Twain. I took Carrie's hand and led her to the middle of the living room, as the music started. I took her glass and set it down, then pulled her into my arms and started to dance to “From This Moment On”As we danced, I made sure her head was not turned so she could see into the dining room. Towards the end of the dance I softly sang the lyrics to her.You're the reason I believe in loveAnd you're the answer to my prayers from up aboveAll we need is just the two of usMy dreams came true because of youFrom this moment as long as I liveI will love you, I promise you thisThere is nothing I wouldn't giveFrom this momentI will love you as long as I liveFrom this moment on.As the music started to end, I looked into her eyes, which were now glazed over with tears, and got to my knee. With her one hand in my, I looked up at her, then reached into my sport coat, and pulled out the ring.“Carolyn Ann. I love you more than life itself, and like the lyrics said, I can't wait to start living my life with you. Would you do me the honor and be my wife, and I your husband?”Her whole body tremble as I awaited her answer. “Oh My God Sweetheart, Yes”I stood and pulled her into me and we kissed a long and very passionate kiss. Just then, our combined family's started clapping and cheering. Carrie broke the kiss and saw her mom and dad coming towards us, with Jenny and Alan, then Ann and her family.Carrie broke from me and ran to her mom and hugged her tight, then her dad. She was now full out crying, and since she yes, it must be from joy. Connie then hugged me and told me how beautiful that scene just was. Jenny and Carrie were hugging and crying together now. Brad and Alan both shook my hand. Ann went up and hugged Carrie and welcomed her to the family, then she came to me.“Brother. You sometimes shock the hell out of me. I never knew you could be this romantic” Then kissed me and told me she loves me and I better take care of that woman, always.John finally came over to me, “Mark. Never in a million years would I have thought I'd be calling you son. But you know what, I am glad I am. You are the type of man I would want for a son. Welcome aboard to our family Son.” then hugged me. I could have sworn I saw a tear in his eye.Dinner was excellent and everyone was in a very festive mood. Carrie made a toast, after saying grace before dinner. “To the best Christmas ever. To Ann and Brad, and the kids, I am so grateful to be part of your lives now. You have made me feel part of your family since the day I met you. To you, mom and dad, and you Jenny, for always being there for me and teaching what love really is, so I can now share that with my future husband Mark, who I plan on growing very old with. I love you all”After dinner, the girls shooed us away and told us to relax while they did the dishes. Connie said it was only fair, since I did the cooking. It was well past 9pm when we were all together in the living room. Carrie and I already decided we would open our gifts the next morning, at her place with Jenny and Alan, and now her dad and mom. But we still had to exchange gifts with Ann and the family.Carrie handed out our gifts to them. To Ann, Carrie picked out a couple of sweaters and we got her a $200 visa gift card, so she could buy what she wanted for herself. We got Brad a new fishing reel and a $200 visa gift card. The gift cards were in a Christmas card signed Mark and Carrie. The kids each got a laptop and $100 gift cards. When they opened the cards, their mom asked what was written. Of course they could care less about what was written but said it was from “Uncle Mark and Aunt Carrie” I had signed all of the cards, but Carrie had no idea I wrote that. She squeezed my hand tightly then.Alan and Jenny were sitting by the tree and had opened their presents from my sister. Then Alan reached around the tree and produced a box, and handed it to Jenny. “Please open this Honey.”Jenny was now sort of kneeling and slowly opened the box. Inside was a figurine of a bride. Around the head and neck, was the ring he bought a few weeks back. Jenny just Gasped. Alan was kneeling now too and took her hand.“I was going to wait until the morning, but I just can't. I want everyone to see and hear this. Jennifer Lynn, would you marry me and become my wife and the mother, someday, to our children”Jenny broke down and started crying, but finally said “Yes”, then actually tackled him and started kissing him. Jenny was over the moon now, as was Carrie and Connie, and Alan's mom. Lots of excitement this night, that's for sure. I went out to the fridge and took out 2 bottles of champagne that I had snuck in the back and opened them. With John's help, we gave everyone a glass, including the kids and toasted to a merry Christmas.Katie made me chuckle when she asked if Jenny was now their cousin. I said officially, no, not until Carrie and I marry, but yeah, she is. “Oh Cool. I don't have any girl cousins”, which made us all laugh.I was sitting in the one arm chair, and Carrie in my lap. Of course she had to wiggle her ass a few times, which wasn't the best thing to do, because Mr. happy liked the attention and started to rise. I whispered in her ear, “Keep it up and I'll take you upstairs and take care of this problem I am having.” She giggled and said, “Promises. Promises”Then Carrie asked, “Mark. Did you ask my dad for permission?” I just smiled and said, “Oh Yeah. I'm not that dumb. Actually. Remember two weeks ago when I was helping Brad at the cabin?” she nodded, “Well, Alan and I did go there at 5:30am. I can see Alan is not the type that likes getting up at Oh Dark Thirty either, but, we did go over there. Moved three things to the shed, then left for the airport. We flew down to Florida, got to your parents by 11, had lunch, asked Chief and your mom for their blessings, then back up here by 5 that evening, and you two fine ladies weren't the wiser. So before you say anything, we did not lie, but did not disclose our whole agenda. No way could I lie to you Babe.”John was laughing as I was recounting that day. “Oh yeah, I open the door to find these two Shitbirds. My first thought was something happened to one of you, but then Mark sorted it out for me. Connie already knew he was coming. But I'll tell you. I couldn't ask for two finer men to take care of my girls, than these two.After that, everyone started to leave. We told them we'd be over in the morning, and to not open stuff without us there. As soon as we saw the lights of their cars fade away, Carrie turned off the lights and pulled me upstairs.Carrie turned on the lamp, next to the bed, then turned off the overhead lights. She seductively stripped down for me, and I just stood there in amazement. Once naked, she stood there. So I stripped as well. Not as seductive as she had done, but still slow. I stood a foot away from here and she took both of my hands in hers.She smiled at me, “Baby, you have no idea how lucky I feel and so loved right now. What you see in front of you, is yours, until the day we die. I am all yours.”I smiled at her then, and said, “Babe. For the life of me, I don't know how I ever got as lucky to be with a beautiful person, as you are. I don't mean just in looks, but the whole essence of you. You are my life, and no one will ever come between us. I Love you Carrie”She led me to the bed and we lay beside each other. Her newly ringed hand reached around the shaft of my member and held it gently. “I love this ring Baby. And, quite frankly, it looks really good right now. When did you know you wanted to marry me?”My eyes looked into hers, “Honestly, I wish I could say that first kiss on Whiteface Mountain. But it wasn't then. I knew at that point I had a shot with you though. But, it was the night I made you dinner and drew your bath. I knew then, when you said I love you back to me, that this was it. And, it's gotten better every day since.”She crawled up on top of me, and without any help from our hands, slipped my hard member into her waiting sex. Looking up at her, after we both moaned, “When did you know this was real for us?”“When we kissed on that rock. There was just something about it. But when we made love that Saturday night in the cabin and professed our love to each other. I knew in my heart then. But finally, when you stuck by me, with that stupid ordeal back in October, I knew this man was it.”“Baby, there was no way I was walking away from you. Not then , not ever. Were you surprised this happened tonight?” I asked.She grinned, “Yes and no. I thought maybe tomorrow, and if not then, then Valentine's Day. But tonight threw me. But picking one of my favorite songs to dance too, then asking me then, well it made me speechless. Then to have our whole family here too. You made this the best Christmas I have ever had.”Carrie started pumping up and down on me now. She didn't want to talk anymore. She wanted to complete our love making. It really did not take us long either. Throughout the whole time, our lips were locked together, until we were both ready to cum.“Oh God Baby. I have to cum” I spoke out loudly. “Cum Baby. Give me it all. I Love You Mark”I started cumming deep inside her, and about half way through, she started cumming. My hands were holding her ass as she did. I could feel goosebumps on her cheeks, as she let loose with her orgasm. It was very powerful too. Her whole body was wiggling around as our orgasms continued.We kissed one last time, then both told each other I love you. I wouldn't let her leave me though and she settled in on top of me and we both fell asleep.Chapter 26.Christmas Day saw us going all over the place. First, I took Carrie out to the barn out back. Inside was my old 93 Ford Mustang Boss. I bought this right after boot camp. It was rarity that I got to drive it much. Sometimes, six months would elapse before it got driven. The most use I got out of it was when I was stationed at Quantico. When I moved back here, after getting out, I bought my truck. So this car just sits, except for an occasional spin. It's silver with black interior, and has the 5 liter engine, which is a small V8. The only enhancement it has, is a new radio that has Bluetooth for the phone. It is in mint condition and only has 22,000 miles on it.Carrie asked where did I get this. So I told her about its history. Then I told her I was going to give this to Jenny. “Oh My God Mark. You can't do that. This is an antique, isn't it?”“No. Not yet. Couple of more years. But she needs a car and I never use it. So why not let someone, who I happen to like and is going to be my daughter one day, have it.”“You amaze me JH. You don't have a selfish bone in your body. And you are right, she is going to have you for a father one day. I know she likes that idea too. The ex was never really close with her in the first place, and when I kicked him out, he has never even tried to contact her. Just be patient with her and love her Mark. That's all I ask.”I knew I was going to do this too, after Carrie said she had to buy a car for her. So I had it checked out at the garage I go too, and had new tires put on it. So it was good to go. She'll just have to watch driving in snow. Rear wheel drive and snow don't always mix well.When we arrived that morning, everyone was up. Connie had made cinnamon buns and coffee, which we all enjoyed, while opening presents. After all the presents were opened, I handed Jenny a small gift bag. “From us” I said. Her eyes got real big when she saw they keys. Then ran to the front door and opened it. When she saw the car, she squealed with excitement. This girl was in a fuzzy robe and put on sneakers and ran out to it. Then came back inside and ran up to me and hugged me.“Thank You so much Mark” then planted kisses all over my cheeks. Then she thanked her mom. I told her it was hers to use and to be careful with it. I then told her we would help with insurance and stuff like that. But it is her responsibility to maintain it. “You guys are the best. Come Papa. let me show you my new car.” she said. Jenny, Alan, and John trudged out into the cold. I told Connie that the car is old, but nowhere near the mileage that the old Seadog has on him. Connie winked at me and said, “You know Mark. I think you are going to make one great father.”That New Year's Eve, we were invited to a couple of parties, but we begged off and stayed home. We made dinner together. Watched some movies, then made love at midnight. We did talk about Carrie moving in here, with me. She readily agreed, and two weeks later, she moved in. Jenny and Alan moved into her condo. All Carrie asked of them was to make sure no babies were produced yet. At some point, once the kids were established, and found their own place after they were married, she would sell the condo. Luckily for us, this was not a drain on finances. She made almost $100 grand a year at her job and mine was bringing in almost double that, and this house was paid for.We did settle down and bought new furniture for all over. I let that up to her, and Ann helped out. Those two become thick as thieves. If I was to ever argue with Carrie, I'd never win, but we never argue. We do discuss stuff and come to common ground. One thing was constant though, and that was our love making. I made sure we had at least one date night a week, and I always try to be romantic.The first weekend in October, Carrie and I married. When Carrie got married the first time, it was in front of a judge. So she never had a real wedding, and, her parents weren't there for it, depriving her dad the chance to give her away.The one thing she did ask me to wear was my dress blues. I had to check to make sure that I was still allowed, and found out that it was  okay for that. I had to bring that out of mothballs. I even had the sword. MY uni had 5 gold service stripes indicating 20 years, plus a lot of ribbons and medals on the pocket area.John too, wore his dress blues, or winter uniform. Now he had 9 gold sleeve stripes, since he was just shy of 40 years in. His front pocket area had to weigh a ton with all the service ribbons and medals. He wore blue, so he wouldn't upstage his daughter, in her white dress.Seeing her come down the aisle, with her father, was one of the best days of my life. She was radiant and so beautiful. She picked From This Moment On as her entrance song, instead of the traditional wedding march. Jenny served as her maid of honor, and Brad served as my best man. Alan and Ann were in it as well, as was Kyle and Katie. We both have a small circle of friends, and limited family, so the reception wasn't really big, maybe 50 people in all, but we all had a great time. We spent our first night of the honeymoon, in my uncle's cabin, after climbing up Whiteface Mountain and kissed on that very same rock, where we did the first time.I do remember, as I stood there, at the altar, holding Carrie's hands and was reciting her vows to me, all I thought was,“All this, because I bumped into a this beautiful woman at the ranger's station, who just happened to be a bit clumsy and sprain her ankle later, on a path near the cabin I was staying at. Life is good.”by T. Foxal.

Quaranteam-Northwest: Part 6 Lab Results and Quarantines Based on a post by Break The Bar. Listen to the ► Podcast at Explicit Novels.   The Docs signed off, leaving me alone in the little meeting room again. Not knowing when I would be able to leave, I decided to try and fall back on one of my old military instincts; sleep when you can. So I got comfortable in the chair, closed my eyes, and let myself drift into a fitful, not-quite-soothing sleep. "Harri," someone said, and I woke with a start as my shoulder was touched. "Urm," I grunted, and sniffed in a breath as I blinked rapidly and looked around. I was still in the room, and Miriam was smiling at me. She was dressed in fatigues here in the military office complex instead of her service dress blues and her hair was up in a standard military bun hidden beneath the standard issue cap. "Just like a grunt to take any reason for a nap," she grinned at me. "Come on. We can talk in my office." I stood, yawned and stretched, feeling something pop in my back and my shoulder from the uncomfortable position I'd been in. "Lead the way, Lieutenant Colonel," I said. She rolled her eyes at me a little but didn't say anything, just opening the door and walking through. I followed her back into that hallway where Brent had clocked me. He wasn't in the waiting room at the end of the hall. "Is Brent,” I started to ask. "He's waiting on another floor," Miriam said. "Refuses to leave until he sees his daughter is alright. It's making operations slow down over at the construction site, but I can't blame him." "Neither can I," I said, touching the tenderness of my black eye. Miriam led me through several very plain corridors lined with doors. None of them had windows to see in, and most had nameplate mounts but lacked names, and instead were labelled with numbers. It struck me as secretive, and that meant I was probably in the Air Force part of the building and not the Vaccine Test Center part. If they were trying to make people feel at ease joining an experimental program, these plain walls and doors forming a maze were not the way to do it. Confounding an enemy trying to sneak through this part of the building, though? It was perfect. I followed Miriam until she stopped at a seemingly random door and opened it, leading me into a large office. It had a large bank of windows, but extra-heavy curtains had been hung over them and were drawn shut to the point I wondered if they were nailed in place. One wall was entirely covered in a whiteboard with all sorts of coded writing on it. There were two desks in the room; the main desk was scattered with papers and a computer terminal, with a plush office chair tucked in behind it. The second desk had more stuff on it, but in neater piles, and Captain Bloomberg was sitting behind it at work. She glanced up at us as we entered and gave me a slightly judgmental look, before going back to the printout she was reading. The rest of the office space was dominated by file shelving units, a gun safe, and a leather couch that looked uncomfortable but was probably soft as hell. "Captain, could you give us five?" Miriam asked. "Of course, Ma'am," she nodded, set down the papers face-down and stepped around her desk to the door. She shot Miriam a quick look, and Miriam gave her one back, and the Captain left. If I had to guess it was to do with the fact that the office was probably full of classified material and information and the Captain was silently reminding her superior officer not to let me poke around or leave me alone in there. "Sit, please," Miriam sighed once the door was closed and we were alone, gesturing at the couch. I did, instantly sinking into it, and she sat on the other end and turned to me. "So, now that we know it's not life-threatening, you feel ready to get teased yet?" I snorted a little and scratched at my beard. "It's still a little raw," I admitted. "Just like how you fucked her?" Miriam asked with a grin. "Sorry, that's the only one." I shook my head and chuckled. There were few kinds of people who could be as morbidly crude and insulting, and mean it in the best way, as a military friend. "Seriously, Harri," she said. "I got a briefing on it. She's fine, you're fine. No one is in trouble." "Tell that to her father," I said. "And I can't blame him for probably wanting to kill me." "Yeah, well, tough shit for him," Miriam said. "We've expanded his Need to Know status and gave him some more info on the vaccine to calm him down. He's not happy, but he's not worried anymore. Seriously though, did you have to go and fuck my lead civilian contractor's daughter?" "We were friendly with her," I said, and let out a long breath. "Erica said she thought Vanessa might be a little interested. I don't think either of us expected her to show up on our proverbial doorstep and ask for a foursome." "I always did think Erica was a smart woman after we met," Miriam said. "Though I figured you'd lost a few brain cells since you weren't dating her at the time." "There's a whole story behind that," I said, waving her off. "I'm sure there is," Miriam smiled. "Doesn't mean it's a good excuse though." "Well, Vanessa seems to think you have a crush on me after she met you for all of two minutes," I shot back at her. Miriam flushed for a moment but didn't look away from me, still in command in her own office. "Vanessa might have been doing a bit of projecting," she said. "I'm not into hillbillies with bushy beards and big guts." "Ouch," I laughed, holding my stomach. Sure, I wasn't in the peak physical form I'd been in coming out of the military, but I hadn't gone that soft. Miriam and I continued to chat and laugh for a few more minutes until the Captain came back and then Miriam let me borrow some sound-cancelling headphones and hang out on their couch while they were working. They had food ordered in and Miriam and I ate dinner together while Captain Bloomberg ate as she kept working at her desk. It wasn't until I noticed that the faint bit of light leaking around the edges of the curtains was dimming that it had been a long day and I hadn't been able to contact Erica and Ivy. I asked Miriam if I could have my phone back just to update them, and she and the Captain had to discuss it for a long moment before they decided they could probably do the texting for me, but for security protocols I couldn't be given control of the phone. When my phone powered on it took a long moment for it to connect to service, and then it started buzzing like crazy and a bunch of messages came in. Miriam was holding it, and her eyes went a little wide as the message notification scrolled by. "Um," she said. "Well, it looks like you and your partners are... happy together." "Oh no," I groaned. "What did they send?" "Well, you have a whole bunch of messages from Brent Peters chewing you out, so there's that," Miriam said. "But, uh, well, there are photos from your partners." "Sorry," I shrugged, once again finding my face heating up at the exposure of my sex life. "It's fine," Miriam said. "It was my idea to do the texting anyways." She tapped around on the phone for a moment. "Alright, I'll just say 'Harri isn't allowed to use his phone right now. This is Miriam Abarbanel. He is fine, no trouble. Vanessa is also fine and healthy. They will return tomorrow.'" "That's fine," I said with a nod. I would have liked to tell them more, and that I loved them. And that they shouldn't have been trying to send me whatever scandalous photos they had considering I was in military custody at the moment. Miriam hit send and a minute later another text came through and she opened it, immediately rolling her eyes and setting my phone down. "What?" I asked. "Erica sent another photo, and I think it was for me," she said. "What? Really?" I asked. Miriam opened the photo again and turned my phone around to show me. Erica and Ivy were both sunbathing in the chairs, topless. The third Adirondack had a name tag written on a piece of paper and taped to the back of the chair that red 'Vanessa.' Beside it, they had put out another lawn chair and had quickly put another nametag on it that said 'Miriam.' I couldn't help the little snort of laughter that came out of me, and I covered my mouth to try and stop from giggling a bit. "I'm sorry," I said. Miriam laughed once and set my phone down. "You know, Erica is the right kind of trouble for you I think," she said. "You haven't spent enough time with Ivy," I countered. "That girl is mischievous. I bet the Vanessa one was Erica's idea to try and cheer her up, and the other one was Ivy." "If you've got any pictures from that Danielle woman, I wouldn't mind checking those out," Captain Bloomberg said from over at her desk. "Laura," Miriam said, a little shocked. "What? I told you when we first saw her, that woman could turn a bigoted granny gay," Laura said. "That's fair," Miriam said thoughtfully. "Hey, no arguments from me," I said. Miriam and the Captain ended up finishing their work days, though Miriam told me that she was on call 24/7 anyways and they stayed in apartments lower in the building. She offered to try and find me a free one to rest overnight, but I asked her if I could see Vanessa and stay in whatever medical room she was in. I didn't want her to wake up from the process and be alone. This started a silent conversation of sharp looks between Miriam and Laura, until Laura sighed. "She's not alone. Her father hasn't left her side since we let him see her. This is... let's call it a legal grey area at the moment. Technically you're not even extended family, so he would get precedent on deciding who can be there," she said. "But under the circumstances of the Vaccine imprinting, there's been some debate going around the legal circles of what constitutes a civil union. The matter's still up in the air, but there's a case to be made that you and she are now more intimately connected than she and her father. So I guess the question is do you want to push the issue?" "Oh, fuck," I groaned, and had to massage the bridge of my nose. "On the one hand, yes I want to see her. On the other, Brent deserves to be pissed at me and worried about her. Can I just talk to him?" "Honestly, Harri," Miriam said. "I think you should probably leave that whole conversation to Vanessa and how she wants to have it. Doesn't matter how much you defend yourself, you're still the guy that fucked that man's daughter in a pretty... degenerate seems too strong, but pervy is too weak. Anyways, you fucking her like that brought her here, and he's now aware that she's going to be intimately connected to you for a while." I puffed out my cheeks and let the air blow out slowly, unsure of what to do. "I can try talking to him," Laura offered. "But honestly, I don't know if it would do any good." "It's fine," I finally conceded. "He can be there, just find me another room where I can crash, and let me know when she's awake?" "I'll leave a standing order with the nurses," Miriam nodded. So, as Miriam and Laura finished up for the day, they sent for the night sentry who patrolled the floor and let him know I would be in the staff break room and was allowed to eat out of the cupboards and use the washrooms. Once the airman was gone Laura excused herself and left me with Miriam. "It was nice having you around, Harri," she grinned, dropping her command facade again. She put her hand on my upper arm and grinned, giving me a wink. "And I was joking when I called you fat." "Yeah, well, you really hurt my feelings," I fake-cried, making her laugh. "I'll see you tomorrow before you leave, alright? And I still expect that beer next time I'm up at the site," she said and gave me a peck on the cheek. "You got it," I said, and pecked her back. "And thank you for all of this today, by the way." "Happy to help," she said, and then escorted me to the room where I would spend the next seven hours. The sentry woke me up around four in the morning. I had Cheeto dust on my shirt and fingers, the bag I'd found in the staff room cupboard almost empty and crumpled up on my chest. "Sir, I've been asked to bring you down to the medical wing," he said. "Fuck," I said, blinking awake and standing up. "Uh, give me a second." I went into the men's washroom and quickly washed my hands and my face, and tried to get myself straightened out. Looking in the mirror, I could tell that I'd been running on empty for a bit, but I didn't look as bad as I might have if I hadn't been getting in some light napping at least. The airman brought me to the elevator and punched a button for about a dozen floors down, and when we stepped off of it, it was clear that we were in a more public-facing area, though the number of armed airmen on guard was actually higher. The floor was still quiet, this early in the morning, and generally featured a lot more stuff. There were glass panes and windows everywhere and the place looked like what I would picture a medical bay would in a not-too-distant future medical show. There were a few nurses around, but most of the rooms and beds were empty. We passed by one room that was sealed up with a little yellow light near the handle flashing 'Quarantine Active.' That got me gulping and moving. We turned a corner and I saw her. Vanessa was sitting up in a hospital bed, an IV drip hooked in to one arm. She was in a hospital gown and didn't have any of her usual makeup on, so she looked... sick wasn't the right word. She looked different enough that I noticed it, but it was like seeing Erica without her makeup that first time. It was different but I liked seeing the natural her. "Vanessa, I'm,” I started, but then she threw a magazine at my head. "Harri, I swear to God if you try and apologize to me, I'll throw another one," Vanessa said. She had a stack of a few of them on a little rolling bedside stand, where she also had a tray from a shitty cafeteria meal. "You look good, Vee," I said, changing my mind. She blushed and smiled. "No, I don't. Liar." "Okay, you look as good as someone in a hospital bed can," I said. "Come sit, Harri," she said, shifting herself in the bed and patting beside her. I did, and she took my hand in one of hers and lifted the other to brush a finger against my bruised eye. "The night nurse told me what happened when I woke up." I opened my mouth to apologize again but remembered what she'd said and clicked it shut. She smirked and squeezed my fingers. "Good, you're learning." "So you're not pissed off?" I asked. Vanessa leaned her head back on the pillows propping her up, taking a deep breath. "Maybe at the world, a little. But at you? Or Erica and Ivy? No. I went in there knowing what I was asking for, and you told me the risk. I decided getting off with you three was worth it." She broke into a small smile. "And from what I remember, it was pretty fantastic." "It was," I chuckled. "I mean, wild and filthy, but fantastic." She was looking at me, searching my face for something. I couldn't tell if she found it or not. "I spoke to my Dad. He told me he decked you pretty good but I wasn't expecting a full-on shiner." "He definitely got me," I said, touching my eye. "Wasn't as bad as I felt I deserved." "Yeah, well I told him if he does it again I'll deck him," she said. "And that if he tries to take any revenge on you, he's just punishing me." "Does that mean what I think it means?" I asked. She brought my hand up to her chest and put it over her heart. "Harri, I'm stuck with you no matter what at this point, but if you guys will have me I'd like to move into your crammed RV life. I thought you and Erica were cool since we met, and we know we're sexually compatible. The way I see it, I can either fight this thing just for the sake of fighting, or I can get on board the Harrison train and enjoy the ride." "Vanessa, I; God, I wish I had my phone right now," I said. "There's a picture the girls sent that you'll want to see." Vanessa rolled her eyes and her smile grew. "Oh, I got several pictures," Vanessa said. "I've already seen them. Why don't you have your phone?" "I was up on a secure floor," I said. "Lieutenant Colonel Abarbanel was actually the one to see them when she helped me message back that we were Okay." "Then you have some surprises waiting for you I think," Vanessa grinned. "But for now, you're all mine." She pulled me towards her and guided me into a kiss. Then she whispered into my lips as our noses rubbed against each other. "Pull the privacy screen around us." "Here? Really?" I asked. "My nurse actually encouraged it," Vanessa said. "She said we just need to try and keep it down." I stood up and went to the curtain built into the rolling track around Vanessa's bed and pulled it around us, blocking out the rest of the room, and the hallway beyond the glass observation doors. When I turned back to her, Vanessa was shrugging out of her hospital gown, her cute little tits jiggling. I kicked off my shoes and got up on the hospital bed with her, picking her up a bit and sliding her down into a laying position and tucking my head down to suck on one of her nipples. "Oh, Harri," she crooned, her hand running through my hair. Her nipples got hard quickly as I played my tongue over them, feeling the little boob around it tug and pull as I moved around. I popped off and raised my lips to hers again, giving her a kiss. "I didn't get to spend that much time telling you how beautiful and sexy I think you are," I said between kisses. "Harri, you don't need to lie," she said. "My boobs are tiny. I'm used to; Ah, fuck!" I cut her off by grabbing the tit I hadn't sucked on, squeezing it hard enough to make her hiss a little bit. I'd seen she liked a little rough pawing and play during the foursome, so I used it now to make a point. "If you ever tell me these aren't perfect, I'll spank you so hard you'll have my handprint on your ass for a week." "Fuck, Harri; Fuck," she groaned as I let my grip on her tit loosen, and then bent down and took that nipple into my mouth as well. "Fine. You like my tits. I believe you." "Don't just believe me," I said. "Vanessa, you said you thought Erica and I were cool when we first met. Well, I thought you were fascinating. This gorgeous, tough woman who knew how to take charge and make things happen. Beautiful from head to toe even when you were trying to downplay it for work. Now, you're going to lay back so that I can explore every inch of your gorgeous, perfect body." She looked like she was somewhere between beaming happily and crying, but she nodded. I started back up at her lips and kissed around her jaw and down her neck to her collar bone. Then down to her chest, where I teased her nipples some more, rolling one between my fingers while I tongued and lightly nibbled on the other. Once they were both standing proud and weren't about to go down, I helped her pull the hospital gown off until it was hanging from the arm with the IV in it, revealing the rest of her body to me. I kissed down her stomach to her bellybutton and pressed my forehead against her, kissing her fit stomach softly, then moving lower. I got to the point between her belly button and her mound where her scar was, and the Strength tattoo. I took my time there, kissing it, and tracing my finger along the letters of the tattoo. I turned back to look up at her face and she was pensive, staring at me with this worried look like I was going to change my mind about her. "Perfect," I told her again, "And strong as hell." My lips went further, down onto her mound where a smattering of hairs were poking out. She'd obviously shaved herself in the past, but not as recently as I bet she would have liked. But I didn't care, and I kissed along the stubble of her pubic hair, letting it play against my lips as my beard played against her skin. She spread her legs for me, and I slipped around on the bed so I was laying between them on my stomach, looking up at her. "Do you want me to do this here?" I asked her. "Harri, I want your cock inside me like nothing else," she said. "We'll get there," I grinned, and began to explore her cunt with my lips and tongue. I took my time, softly kissing and licking, searching every nook and cranny of her outer and inner labia. Then I did it again, sucking a little harder, nibbling just a touch, finding the sweet spots that made her legs quiver or her breath catch in a hiccup or gasp. Then I went deeper, peeling her open with my fingers to see the soft pink of her hole, and tasted and teased her. She mewled for me, clawing at the bed. I kept needing to move her leg back as it came up and wanted to curl in towards me until I just planted my hand on her thigh and pushed her open, holding her leg wide. Then I did the same to the other leg, pushing them back further, and I slowly licked from her hole up her lips to her clit hood, teasing the tip of my tongue under it before pushing it back with my upper lip and prodding her clit softly. "Making me... ugh!" Vanessa grunted with a girlish tone, gasping for air. I did it again and watched as another little orgasm rolled through her, her cunt flexing as her abdominal muscles clenched. Moving lower I kissed the inner curve of her ass cheek and looked up from between her legs to meet her gaze. She watched me, a little surprised, as I practically buried my nose in her cunt so that I could drive my tongue against her asshole. Her brow furrowed as I did it, and one eye twtiched as I teased the outer ring, then centered on it and nudged the tip of my tongue a little deeper. "Not here," she gasped suddenly, and I stopped. "I; not here," she said again. "Okay," I said, moving up from her ass and kissing the crook of her thigh. "Just like that?" she asked. "What kind of guys have you been seeing that don't stop when you say no?" I asked back. She blinked. "The kind who don't eat ass, and rarely eat cunt," she said. "So the wrong kind." "Then let me ask you; what do you want me to do now?" She closed her eyes and blew out a long breath through pursed lips, before opening them. "Get your pants off and fuck me while we make out. I want to feel you on top of me." I grinned and slipped off the bed, undoing my belt and kicking my pants off. I was already hard, and she was wet from my exploratory oral, so I got back up on the bed and got over her in a standard missionary position. "Like this?" I asked her. She reached down and got my cock in position, and wrapped a leg around my waist and ass to pull me into her. "Like this," she said with a grin as I slowly penetrated deeper into her. Vanessa was hot and clenched my cock in a rippling sensation as I drove in, slowly fucking into her until I was buried to my root. She grabbed my beard in her hand and pulled me into a kiss as we stayed still and connected. "Ow," I muttered into the kiss. "Sorry," she laughed, releasing my beard. "It's fine," I said and kissed her deeply. We made out, our tongues doing more work than my cock for a long moment, until we started grinding against each other. The rhythm built up slowly, less a pounding than a sensuous back and forth that felt more like dancing. Well, the best kind of dancing where my cock was inside of a beautiful woman. Our kiss broke as we panted against each other. "More," she gasped. "More what?" "More weight," she said. "I want to feel you." I lowered myself from my elbows, letting my body press down against hers like a too-heavy weighted blanket. "Umm," she groaned somewhere at the back of her throat. Her body felt tense under mine, but slowly loosened. I kissed the side of her neck, and she ran the heel of her foot down my leg and then back up to my butt. The soft whoosh of the glass door opening outside of the privacy curtain made us both stop moving. "Vanessa, you good in there?" asked a woman. "Yep," she said. "So good. Perfect." There was a long moment of silence, and then, "Oh. Sorry for interrupting. If you and Mr. Black can finish up, your Father was hoping to see you. I can stall him for ten minutes?" "Thanks," Vanessa called back, biting her lips. Two soft footsteps and the door whooshed again, settling closed. "Oh my God," Vanessa groaned. "I can do a lot in ten minutes," I said with a grin. "No, we have less than that," she sighed. "I need to get cleaned up and dressed first, and you need to be out of here before he gets here. But first I need you to fuck me hard and fast and give me your cum." So that's what I did. I raised up higher again to gain the leverage I needed and I started pounding into her with hard, steady strokes. Vanessa gasped, and soon we were back in that rolling rhythm of our hips except it was way more fucking than dancing. Our eyes never left each other, and when I went in for another kiss she bit my lip as she started to come. That pushed me towards my own edge, and I got myself there by reaching down and strumming my thumb against her clit just as she was coming down, pushing her right back into a second wave of orgasm as her body clenched and I released. "Fuck," I growled, thrusting my hips forward and emptying my balls into her. "Fuck, Vanessa!" She arched her back, silently screaming before she exhaled hard and released the tension. We both lay there panting for a long moment. "I really want to fuck you again," I said. "Right now. I'm still hard as a rock for you." "I can feel that, you fucking caveman," Vanessa laughed, cock drunk for the moment. "But I need to clean up and you need to go." "One more thing," I said, and kissed her again. I got my clothes on first and then helped her find and put on her pants. She hadn't worn underwear when she had come to visit us the morning before when this whole thing kicked off, so now she was going to be leaking my cum into her jeans. Her shirt was there as well, but she was still hooked up to the IV, which meant I had to leave the room and send a nurse to help her. I stopped at the edge of the privacy curtain, looking back at her. "Go," she motioned to me. "I'm not leaving. You can see my tits any time you want." Maybe I was cunt drunk, but I wanted to tell her I loved her. I just grinned and blew her a kiss and a wink before slipping out. Once she couldn't see me, I shook my head. I thought orgasms were supposed to give you post-nut clarity, I thought. I almost blurted that out, and no matter how compatible we were sexually I knew that wasn't the right thing to say at the moment. I found the nurse, who went to help Vanessa, while another one brought me back to the elevator where I was met by the night sentry again. He brought me back up to the waiting room I'd been in before, and I flopped onto the couch. "Harri. Harri, we need to stop meeting like this," Miriam said, and I blinked awake again as she was standing over me and smirking. "Fuck," I grunted. "What time is it?" "Just past 0600," she said. "We've got a couple of cars ready to drive you back home." "A couple?" I frowned. "Brent left earlier in his own vehicle," Miriam said. "But we're sending you back with two more partners for your friend Leo. I already spoke with Vanessa and she said she wanted to ride with them to try and help them stay calm through their vaccination." I closed my eyes again as I parsed what she was saying. "Okay, hold on. Leo is getting two new partners?" "From what I red they are a bisexual couple who wanted to stay together," Miriam said. I wiped the sleep from my eyes and sucked in a big breath through my nose. "Well, at least mine isn't the only RV that's going to be packed to the gills." Miriam brought me down to the underground garage for the building and handed my phone back to me. Two black SUV were idling, the windows all tinted to the point that I couldn't see a single thing inside including the drivers. I turned back to Miriam. "Just another day?" I asked her. "Hell no," she smirked. "You, Harrison Black, as the biggest pain in my ass since I took this posting." Then she pulled me into a hug. "But I wouldn't change a God damn thing about it. I'll see you once our on-site office is up and running." "I'm looking forward to it," I said, giving her a squeeze back. "Lieutenant Colonel." "That's Miriam to you, soldier," she said, pulling back with a smirk and kissing me on the cheek. The elevator bingled and I was shocked, or really mildly surprised, to see Agent Sourpuss leading two women bundled up in hooded jumpsuits with masks on. Sourpuss took one look at me and sneered, directing the two women to the front SUV and climbing in with them. "What was that about?" I asked. "Oh, she's pissed off because she keeps getting seconded to us for transportation detail," Miriam said. "I have no idea why, but she isn't happy about it." "No; Technically I'm pretty sure that was my fault, actually. But I meant the whole bundled up get up." "First, why am I not surprised you're a pain in the ass for other people as well? And second, it's new protocols coming up from California and the first testing area. I guess there have been some questions around whether vaccinated but unbonded women could contract or become carriers for the virus. It's the latest back and forth between the scientists." "Speaking of which," I said. "I know why I don't need to be all bundled up, but why don't you? Are you imprinted on someone?" "Me? No," Miriam said. "Not yet, anyway. I'll do it when they push the order out, for now we're still technically in the testing phase for a bit longer. Everyone who leaves the building and re-enters without being vaccinated is getting blood tested and quarantined; it sucks, but it leaves us able to work functionally instead of talking to each other through hazmat suits." The elevator bingled again, and this time it was Vanessa who stepped out as a sentry gestured her towards the front SUV. She saw me immediately and veered off course, coming to me. I wrapped her up in a hug and noticed Miriam giving me a hard-to-read look. "Hey," I said to Vanessa. "I hear you're playing therapy animal for Leo's new partners." "They asked me to," Vanessa said. "From what I understand, the nurses don't think the woman who is supposed to be doing it does a very good job at calming nerves." Miriam snorted a little but covered it with a cough, looking at me. "Well, I feel like I'm missing out on some more alone time with you, but I understand why," I said. "Do me a favor and try and feel them out a bit, see what they're like." "I will," she smirked and went on her tiptoes to give me a peck on the lips. "They're going to be our neighbors, after all." "Yes they are," I grinned and patted her butt. "See you at home?" "Fuck. Home," Vanessa said, backing away from me. "I haven't had one of those in a while. It's gonna be weird." She turned and strode to the SUV and got in the back. "That one might be trouble," Miriam said. "They're all trouble," I laughed. "See you sooner than later?" "Sooner than later," she grinned and winked. I went to the back SUV, which was apparently my personal chauffeur for the sole reason that Agent Sourpuss couldn't find an ounce of empathy in her. Hopefully there's a partition between the front and the back, I thought. I can check those pictures Erica and Ivy were sending me. When I opened the back door of the SUV to get in I had to stop. "Ah," I said. "That explains a lot." I slid in and shut the door. "Agent Grierson." The craggy-faced Agent smirked and nodded. "Harrison. When I heard there was an anomalous vaccination issue, I decided to check it out and lo and behold, it's my favorite redneck." "Did you just come to check-in, or are you looking to offload some more government cash on me?" I asked. The SUVs started moving, pulling out of the garage and into downtown Portland. "Kid, you know I don't need to come to see you to check in," he said. "And I don't have the time to just come shoot the shit, no matter how much I'd enjoy a good fuckin' day off once in a while. I'm here to ask a favor." "Well now you're just being coy," I said. "You know that I know you didn't have to let that lease thing through instead of a flat purchase, so you've got me cornered." "Well, the good news is that I'm not asking you to do anything underhanded," Grierson said. "I noticed you've recently taken on a security consulting contract and your clearance has been restored. I'm going to open it up a little bit more here, if that's alright with you." "Playful, then coy, then asking my permission? Jesus fuck, what are you about to ask me to do?" "Alright, kid. Here's the deal," Grierson sighed. "Sometime in the next few days you're going to get a new partner delivered to you. What I need you to do is keep an eye on her. She's the daughter of the Ambassador from the Philippines, and officially we've run her through the Oracle matching system as a diplomatic courtesy. What no one else knows, including people in that building we just left, is that her Oracle results didn't matter. I'm placing her with you, and scattering a few other Filipino nationals in safe little corners of the country, as a deal with the NICA." "Wait, that's the..." I had to wrack my brain going back to my Military Police training. "Isn't that the CIA of the Philippines?" "A much lesser version, yes," Grierson said. "On the official unofficial paperwork, it's a spy deal. We're going to take care of some of their valuable people who are here, and they're going to take care of some of our valuable people who are over there. The unofficial unofficial deal is that we don't have anyone over there, and the government of the Philippines is going to let us stage our latest espionage attempts into China from their shores. There's a fucking information blackout coming out of China right now, and other than satellite images we've got nothing on what's going on in there." "Okay, hold on," I said. "So am I taking in this Ambassador's daughter as payment for the US Government?" "No, you're taking her in because Kyla Bautista is also secretly a spy who just graduated from the University of Southern California with a degree in dance, and while she was there we suspect she turned at least four different Professors and research assistants into assets for NICA for Intellectual Property espionage. I'm scooping her up and putting her with you because you're so far off the radar that no one would think you're keeping an eye on her, and so that the Chinese can't find her if they figure out what's going on and want some revenge. But most of all, I'm putting her with you because, despite your record and stupid career choices after you left the military, you have the mindset to keep an eye on her without her or anyone else knowing that's what's going on." "This is all well and good, Grierson," I said. "But I've got three women imprinted on me already, one of them by mistake. How the hell am I supposed to add a fourth woman into the mix?" Grierson snorted. "Kid, I got news for you. By this time next year, I'd bet all that money I just put into your bank account that you'll look back and think what a naive question that was." I sighed and shook my head slowly. "What does her father think of her getting matched off like that? Does he even know?" "Oh, he was pissed until he got cut in on an early vaccination as well for his wife, along with his long-time second in command who he's been having an affair with, and his additional American mistress who is very black and very formidable, neither of whom the wife knows about. He seems to think it'll be fine." "Jesus," I sighed, shaking my head. "So what, is the OGA offering to pay me for spy sitting?" "No," Grierson said. "But there is an upside." "What's that?" "Like I said, Kyla Bautista graduated with a degree in dance. If I wasn't too fucking busy being ethical, I'd have just put her in my house. The woman is something else." "That's gross," I said, my face twisting in mild disgust. "It's reality, kid. Game it out; people need to fuck to save their lives. Even before this shit show people put a value on beauty over pretty much anything else. What do you think it's going to be like when the entire country is getting matched up?" "I don't know," I sighed. "That's; I don't even want to think about it." "And that's why they pay me and my people the big bucks," Grierson said. He tapped on the glass partition that separated us from the front seat, and the SUV began to pull over. "I'm not asking you to do anything you wouldn't have anyways. Just keep an eye on her for me, alright?" "Fine," I said. "But if she takes one look at me and asks for someone else, I can't do anything about that. I'm not forcing some woman into this." "Won't be a problem," Grierson said. The SUV came to a stop, and he stepped out. "Grierson," I said, and he turned back. "Miriam said someone pulled some strings to get her assigned where she is. Was that you?" "What?" Grierson raised an eyebrow. "You think I like you that much, kid?" "That wasn't an answer," I said. "Well, if it was me, I think maybe you owe me another one still," he said, then shut the door. Another car had pulled up behind us, which he got into, and it pulled a big U-turn in the middle of the empty street and drove back the way we'd come. The driver of my ride pulled back onto the street and sped up to catch the other SUV in our mini convoy, and I was left to my thoughts. I sighed and opened my phone. I didn't want to think about this Grierson thing. If it happened, then it happened and we'd deal with it. I went to my messages and opened the ones from Erica and Ivy. "Fucking hell," I sighed, looking at the lewd pictures and knowing that Miriam had seen them. "What am I going to do with three women?" Or four? Or more? I was going to need a bigger bed, and quickly. I stretched, feeling several somethings in my back and shoulders pop, as I got out of the back of the nondescript black SUV and felt the gravel of the construction site crunch under my boots. The place was bustling since we'd arrived mid-morning, and I saw more than a few of the workers taking looks over at me and starting to talk to each other. The rumor mill must have been burning hard since Vanessa had gotten carted off in a military helicopter and flown away. First things first, however, was to not unload two vaccinated-but-unbonded women into the middle of a construction site. I flashed a quick thumbs up through the passenger side window at whoever my driver had been; I'd never seen a face or heard a voice; and jogged up to the other vehicle and knocked on the passenger window. Agent Sourpuss rolled it down a moment later, scowling at me from the driver's seat. "What?" "I know you haven't been here for a bit," I said. "But if you drive around to the right over there you'll see our RVs and our little compound. Dropping the ladies off there would probably cause less of a, uh, scene." I could tell she wanted to argue with me but knew I was right. Instead of answering she just stabbed her finger down on the window button beside her and closed it in my face, then pulled the SUV around and headed in the direction I'd pointed. I walked along behind, and we rounded the second big bunkhouse building that was looking just about finished now and headed towards our compound. By the time Agent Sourpuss put the vehicle in park Erica and Ivy were already ducking out from behind the sheets hung between the corner of the RV and the storage container that we'd deemed the 'front door.' Leo and Danielle were right behind them. I wanted to go to my women, but I held myself back and instead opened the rear door of the SUV. Inside I saw that Vanessa was sitting in the middle row bucket seat, and I leaned in and kissed her quickly before offering her a hand down. "Don't go getting all chivalrous on me now, Harri," Vanessa grinned as she accepted my hand and swung out onto her feet. She looked back into the vehicle. "Come on, ladies. Leo's out here waiting for you." The two women, practically swimming in their baggy, hooded coveralls and masked up to boot, unbuckled and started climbing between the seats. I, however, was suddenly a little busy as I was hugged from behind by a small form that could only be Ivy. Beside me, Erica was pulling Vanessa into a hug as well. "I'm so sorry, hon," Erica said, squeezing the shorter woman tightly. "If I'd had any reasonable idea that this would happen,” "It's fine, Erica," Vanessa said, squeezing her back and giving her a kiss on the cheek. "Seriously. We'll talk about it, but I'm Okay with it if you are." "Hey you," I said in the meanwhile, turning at the waist to wrap my arm around Ivy's shoulder and hug her to me. "Hello, mon amour," Ivy sighed. "I missed you." "I missed you too, I've," I said, and leaned down and gave the short blonde a quick kiss. The first of the women had reached the door of the car, and Ivy let me go so that I could offer her a hand down. All I could see of her were her eyes and the skin around them; she was white but tanned heavily, and had soft grey eyes that were flicking around. "Let me help, miss," I said. She accepted, her gloved hand taking mine for a moment to step down, and I ushered her directly towards Leo and Dani. "This is Leo, and his better half Danielle." "Hey," Leo scolded me playfully, giving me a little punch on the arm as he grinned. "Hey, hon," Dani said, pulling the woman into a hug that seemed to surprise her. I turned back and Erica was helping the next woman down; she was white and paler than the first, and had dark green eyes. Soon she was getting the same hugging welcome as the first from Dani, as Leo looked both a little bashful and a little excited. "How about we head in and talk?" Erica suggested to everyone. "Ladies, Leo is my brother so I might be biased, but you're in good hands. And if he ends up sucking, then Dani's got you." "Hell yeah I do," Dani chuckled, nudging Leo with an elbow. "I wouldn't mind getting handled by either of you," the tan woman said through her mask. "God damn, girl. Your tits don't quit." "Thanks for noticing," Dani grinned and winked. She took both women by the hand and started leading them into the compound. "Come on, let's get you two fucked and settled." "Now that's one hell of a welcome offer," the other woman laughed. I laughed a little too, hearing the two as Leo quickly jogged ahead to hold the fabric door open for them. "Seriously, those two are gonna be something else," Vanessa said, shaking her head. "You got to talk with them?" Erica asked. "The whole ride here," Vanessa said. "Their names are Aria and India. Aria seems a little sweeter and the more rational one, while India is a hippy kid from hippy parents. They said they've been girlfriends for three years, and up until last year they 'worked' as sugar babies while Aria was finishing up her master's of communications." "Jesus," Erica sighed with a rueful smirk. "They're going to eat Leo alive."

Blending Our Lives.by T. Foxal. Listen to the ► Podcast at Connected.Chapter 20.The next morning I was awakened by a beautiful sensation on my hardened shaft. Carrie was licking and sucking me. When my hand caressed her face, she popped off of it and looked at me. “I couldn't help it Babe. It was so hard and wanting attention. Lay back and enjoy.”I smiled at her and said, “You know, if you are quiet, I too, could be licking and sucking something as you do that.” She smiled and moved so we could 69. As her damp panty clad cunt came down to me, my fingers moved the fabric to the side and I began enjoying her sexy slit.It wasn't long before Carrie's body stiffened and she began to cum. I have no idea how she kept from yelling out, like she usually does, but she managed. I was already close when she started cumming, and that just helped me along, because about a minute later I was ejaculating into her mouth, which she somehow kept in and swallowed. After taking one last lick, she came off of me and moved so we could kiss. It was a very passionate kiss, that we both could taste our handy work. After kissing, she looked at me and said, “Good Morning Honey. I like this new mouthwash we use.”, then giggled softly.After resting a bit, I had to get up and pee. Carrie just snuggled back under the covers and smiled at me. It was only 6:30 in the morning, but I was up now. I told her I needed some coffee. She said that I should make two cups and bring one back for her. I looked down at her and said, “You getting used to this morning service young lady?” “You betcha Baby.” then directed me to where the coffee pods were for her Keurig.As I entered the kitchen, lo and behold, Chief was sitting at the table, drinking coffee and reading the newspaper. I didn't even think that the paper was even delivered anymore. I red the news online. “Morning Chief” He looked up and said, “Morning Mark.” Good sign I thought. At least he didn't call me Shitbird, or any other name.I got my coffee and started to get Carrie her's. John cleared his throat and told me to take a seat. “So Mark. Tell me what's up with my little girl. I know they found some spot on one of her ovaries.”“Trust me John. That's about all I know. It took some prying to get that out of her. Hell, she was going to send me packing because of this. No way would I walk away from her, especially with something like that. But, I think it is just a cyst, that time and some meds will take care of.”He just stared then said, “Mark. Honestly, I am an overprotective father, and grandfather. I just want only the best for my two girls. I know you and I like you. You have always been a man about things and someone I can trust, unlike that fuck knuckle she was married too. I never trusted that guy from the first day I met him. I know from just looking at Carrie, she is in love with you, and judging how you look at her, the same is true for you. All I ask, is don't play games with her. Either be all in, or all out. I don't want her hurt again. As for her cyst, or whatever it is, I'm sure it is nothing. Connie has had those in the past.”“Sir. And I mean sir as respect as her father. We both know that we had to call officers sir, but we both know they couldn't fight their way out of a paper bag, with a knife and directions on where to cut. But John, truthfully, this is the real deal for us and me. I have never let a woman into my life before. I saw too much when I was in. How they were in love but deployment after deployment, took a toll on those marriages and most ended in divorce, so I never got into that situation. But your daughter has my heart and soul now and I will do anything for her.”He chuckled then said, “Well, I am not complaining. I've seen the same as you. I got real lucky with Connie. We have been together almost 43 years now, married 42 of them. She is the love of my life. Best thing that ever happened to me. How she endured all of my deployments, I'll never know. But I never took her for granted. Every time I was gone, I hurt inside, but I'd never show you assholes that side of me. I made sure when I was home, that she, and Carrie were the only things important to me. And I always acted like we were dating. We had date night a couple times a week. I don't mean sex either. Taking her to dinner, or a movie, or anything that she had an interest in. You do that, and you'll have a very happy home life. And, the sex is great too, even to this day.”“Yeah Chief, Really? Last night?” I said and laughed. He just chuckled and told me “Hey. When she wants it, who am I to deny her”, then laughed again.“Deny Who?” we both heard, and there, standing near us was Carrie. She walked over and behind her dad. Put her arms around him and kissed his head. “Morning Daddy. So who weren't you denying.”“Nothing Princess. Some things you don't need to know.” then laughed. She looked at me and said, “Glad I wasn't dying of thirst Honey” then shot me a glare. “Sorry Babe. But your dad wanted to speak with me. Here, let me get yours now.”, then laughed. Her dad then chimed in, “Christ Carrie, you broke him already. 20 years in the Marines and never broke the man, and you do it in two weeks.”“Mwah? Not me. But you know those Gyrene's, they sometimes need direction. They're not as cool as us Navy people.” then laughed, which made us all laugh. I was glad to see her sense of humor back, and the twinkle in her eye.We were gone most of the day. There was a huge craft show at this one park they we stayed at for most of the afternoon. I did learn that John got into woodworking as a hobby now. He said he always wanted to do that, but being away so long, he never found the time. At one point, I found myself with Connie, while Carrie was with her dad, looking at something a few booths down from us.“Mark. I am so happy you came into Carrie's life. I have never seen her this alive before, except when she took in Jenny. I know that you are worried about her, with whatever this growth is. As I told her last night, it is probably nothing, but a simple cyst. I have had 4 in my lifetime, and they always go away. The specialist will know better on Tuesday. I bet they don't even do an exploratory on her. Her lab results will tell the tale. Her doctor should have eased her mind some, but some reason didn't. Just be there for her, no matter what. That's all I ask.”I told her I would. After a bit we headed to this little Italian place her parents knew of, for dinner. John picked up this tab, although I was willing too, but he told me my money was no good tonight. I did invite them to join us the next day at my sister's, but Connie said they already had made plans to spend the day with Jenny and Alan.After dinner we headed back to Carrie's. I stated I needed to go home and get some clothes. Carrie offered to go with me. But I told her stay and enjoy her time with her parents. I wouldn't be long. Just needed to shave and shower and get some more clothes. I was back within an hour. We stayed up some and chatted more, then we all retired to bed. After the I love you's, Carrie said she wished we were alone right now, and that she needed me inside her. I just held her close and told her soon Baby, soon.Chapter 21.We left for my sister's around noon. The get together was to start at 1pm, but I wanted to see Ann before any others arrived. I knew she would just love Carrie, there was no question in my mind. She'd probably love any woman who could tie me down. Ann and my brother in law have been married 18 years. They have two kids, Kyle, who will turn 16 in November, and Katie, who turned 14 yesterday. They have a very nice and modern house, which they moved into a few years back.Ann met us at the door, when we pulled into the drive. She is 41, same as Carrie, and stands 5'6, 130 pounds. She has dirty blond hair, and blue eyes. She is a spit fire too. Never afraid to speak her mind and tell you like it is. She has tried, unsuccessfully, to fix me up with a multitude of her friends or single neighbors. Nothing ever came to pass with them. A few became sex buddy's, but that was it. None ever made my heart beat fast, or my stomach tighten up in a knot, like Carrie does.After the introductions were made, and a few cracks about how Carrie somehow managed to corral me in, the girls went off to the kitchen, while Brad, Kyle and I went to the family room to watch some football. Eventually, my uncle and aunt showed up, along with 2 of their kids and grandkids. Also was some of my sister's neighbors and friends too. Two of which I had dated, but nothing was ever said around Carrie. At one point, Ann got me alone and said, “I love that woman. She is so right for you. You better not fuck this up little brother.”We stayed until after eating and cake was served, and presents opened. I did not what to get a 14 year old, so I went the safe way and got her a card with $100 visa gift card. She loved that. I signed the card from Uncle Mark and Carrie. When she gave me a hug and a kiss, she whispered in my ear, “I like her Unc. I hope she will be my aunt one day.” I just smiled at her, knowing full well that was my plan too.Carrie's parents left Tuesday morning, to visit, and stay with Connie's sister Bev. Connie did tell me to call her if there was anything wrong, after the doctor visit. I did not stay Monday night at Carrie's. I figure they all needed a break from me. Of course Carrie really did not like that, but I thought it best. We've laid a lot on her parents by being together as a couple and actually sleeping together.I went with Carrie to the doctor's office and sat with her in the waiting room. The whole time, I held her hand and at times, felt as though she was crushing mine, because she was so nervous. Once she was called, I stayed in the waiting room. About forty minutes later, a nurse called for me to come with her. She led me to an office that had Carrie and the doctor.I looked at Carrie and she was smiling. The doctor introduced himself to me, and I did the same. He then looked over some papers, then looked at Carrie.“Ms. Reynolds, you can rest assured that you do not have any tumor, benign, or cancerous. It is what we call a functional cyst. It is a sack that usually contains an egg, then releases that egg during your monthly cycle. The sack normally then goes away. Well this one did not, as of yet. They sometimes don't, which is what has happened to you. It may take a few weeks, but it will go away, and when you come back in three weeks, if it hasn't, we'll give you some medication that will help with that process. Otherwise, you are very healthy. If you have stopped having intimate relations, like many women do at this time, you are very safe to resume, and did not need to stop in the first place. I only say this, because that is the first question I am usually asked.” he said with a slight chuckle.As we were driving home, Carrie was all smiles. This was a huge relief for her, and me too. Maybe our lives could get back on track, after this slight derailment. I asked her if she was hungry, but she said no. She just wanted to get home.After arriving, she excused herself and went upstairs. Lord knows what she was doing, but I finally heard heard coming down the stairs. When I looked up, there she stood, with this white lace Baby doll outfit on. You talk about sexy looking. “Oh My Sweetie. You look absolutely beautiful and very sexy”“Thank you Honey. I feel absolutely sexy right now and I need you to make love to me all afternoon.”She grabbed my hand and led me upstairs to her bed. I did not waste any time in disrobing. My cock was as hard as a rock, before my boxers hit the floor. As I stripped, Carrie got on the bed and lay there, with her legs spread wide, inviting me to take her. Her white thong barely covered her moist sex, and the top did not hide the excitement she felt , with her nipples already hard as pebbles on her beautiful tits.I kneeled between her legs and slipped my fingers under her thongs waistband and gently tugged them down and off of her body. Her labia was glistening in the afternoon sunlight, filtering through the window. I leaned in and blew on her sex, which elicited a moan from her. Then lightly licked her swollen lips. “Later Baby. I need you inside me now” she softly said.I rubbed my head all over her soaking wet slit and then slowly inserted the head. “Oh Gawd” she moaned out. I slowly inched my way into her inner being, which was so soft, and so hot. “God. You feel so good Carrie.”My mouth lowered to her chest, as I sucked in one fabric cover tit. She arched her back some, like she was giving me her tit. I then sucked the other one, which made her moan so loud. Then I moved up and started kissing her. Her legs wrapped around me and we made slow, and very passionate love to one another. Neither of could hold back though. We were like teenagers doing it for the first time, and erupted in orgasm. I shot first. As I was shooting my love juice deep inside her, Carrie crushed me with her legs as this set her off on her own orgasm. Her nails dug into my back, but neither of us cared. My grip around her neck was tight as well. I felt like I hadn't cum in ages. As we settled down, we lay in each other's arms, panting from our euphoric bliss.I was still inside her, and surprisingly, still hard as well. I gently rolled us over, so she was now on top. Our lips still together. Our tongues exploring every inch of tongue. I loved her kisses, but best of all, I loved her more than ever. She sat up on me and looked down at me, smiling. Then slowly removed her teddy from her body, exposing her beautiful tits to me.“My God. You are so beautiful Carrie. You can stay her all day like this.” I told her. She smiled then said, “I had all intentions of doing this all day.” then she started to giggle. I asked what was so funny.“Last night, after we went to bed, I was laying here missing the hell out of you by the way, but I had to endure another night of my parents going at it. You have no idea how horny that made me.” she exclaimed. I asked, “Did you take care of that?”She sort of blushed, then laughed and said, “Yeah. I did. All I could think of was you, making love to me. This sure beats my fingers, or any toy I have.”I chuckled and said, “Wish I could have watched that. That would be so sexy to see.”“Maybe one day I will let you watch. But right now, Fuck me Babe. Fuck me so good”Later that evening, after napping and then showering together, we headed out to dinner at a local bar and grill. Afterwards, I brought her over to my house for the first time.She was in awe of it, just coming down the driveway. The house is big. It is 4 bedroom, Victorian style farm house. It was, at one time, 5 bedrooms. But my grandfather combined two bedrooms into one and made a new master bath in one portion of it. Otherwise, it only had one bathroom.When we entered the house and I turned on the lights, Carrie sort of gasped. I asked what was wrong, but she just smiled and said, “I'm waiting for June Cleaver to come out of the kitchen with her pearls and high heels on. God Mark, this is so 60's looking.”“I know, but it serves it purpose for me, at this time. I do plan on buying furniture, just never got around to doing it. Ann bitches at me all the time. Come on with me, while I gather some clothes for the morning.”We went upstairs to the master bedroom. When she saw the furniture up there, she really gasped. “Oh My Mark. This stuff is gorgeous. Please don't replace this. This stuff has to be from the 20's. I just love the bed.”“Yeah. Gramps said his father built it.” The bed was a big four poster and had matching dressers and nightstands. It was old, but finely built and well maintained.As I was gathering things, she laid out on the bed. “You know, maybe this weekend, we stay here and let the kids have the condo. I'd love to make love to you right here. Also, pack up some underwear and some shirts and pants, so you can leave them at my place.”“Sounds like a plan to me. Where does Alan live anyways?” I asked“He actually lives with his mom. Close by campus. She is divorced for years now. I am actually pretty friends with her. We have gone out for drinks a few times and have had dinners at each other's places. She just adores Jenny, which makes it a whole lot nicer.”After a few more minutes, we left and went back to Carrie's. Of course we made love again that night, and early the next morning, before she had to leave for work. This arrangement worked out quite well for us.Chapter 22.By Thanksgiving time, we were comfortably into our relationship. Most nights were spent at her place, and most weekends were spent at mine. There wasn't a night we did not spend together. I was hooked on her. I never, in a million years, could believe I could wake up every morning with someone. This felt awesome to me and so special. I loved looking at her while she slept. I also enjoyed just sitting with her at night reading, or just watching TV, then retire to bed. The best part is when she folds herself into me and falls asleep. I love that most.Thanksgiving is time for family. This year though, I was spending dinner with Carrie, Jenny and Alan, and Alan's mom, Brenda. I usually would be at Ann's, but she understood. I did tell Ann we would be over after dinner to visit.Carrie and Brenda did all the cooking. Alan and I set the table, but then retired to the couch to watch some football. Jenny was out with the ladies, so this left only Alan and I alone. As we watched, Alan and I would talk some. He was a nice young man and had his head together. He told he would be graduating in the spring and already had a job lined up. He wanted to work a while before he went for his Masters.Then he looked around to see where the ladies were, and saw they were still very busy in the kitchen. “Mr. Roberts, Mark. I… I want to ask Jenny to marry me this Christmas. Do I ask her mom beforehand?”“Well Alan. To be honest, I think that would be a great idea. Are you absolutely sure of this? This is a huge step in your life?” He smiled and said, “Oh yeah. I have never been sure of anything like this. I love her so much and can't wait to start our lives together.”“Tell you what. You get Carrie alone one day soon and ask her. I'm sure she will give her blessing. But, she's not the one you need the blessing from. You know who that belongs to.” I told him.He chuckled, then said, “Yeah. I kind of had a feeling you would say that. But I don't know when I will ever see them before Christmas. That's not something you ask over the phone.”I laughed, then said back to him. “Oh you are so right there. That old bastard would kill you if you did it like that. When can you get a Friday off in the next couple of weeks?”He shrugged his shoulders, “I guess any Friday. I usually have labs on those days, so no biggie, why?”I shook my head. “Between you and I, and I mean this, you don't say a word to Jenny. I too, plan on asking Carrie to marry me. So pick a Friday. We'll tell our fine ladies we are doing a guy thing that day, which we are. But we'll fly down to Florida, and ask the Chief and Connie in person.”“Oh wow Mark. But I can't afford that. Heck, the ring I want to get is a bit over my budget.”“Don't worry about the flight, I'll handle that. Where did you get the ring, or see it?He smiled and said, “Over at the mall, at Kay Jewelers. It's only a half carat, but one day, I'll get her a bigger one.”“Look, tomorrow, the girls are going shopping with my sister, god help me. So why don't you come with me. A friend of mine is a jeweler and has a lot of nice rings. We'll figure it out from there.” He just nodded, and as he was about to speak Jenny popped in.“What are you two talking about. It looks like a very deep conversation.” We both laughed and said football.Dinner was excellent, but the people really made it nice. By the end of the meal, we were all tired. I helped, as did Alan, wish dishes. We figured the girls spent all morning in there fixing it, it's the least we could do. Thank God for dishwashers.That night and Ann's, Carrie and Ann talked nonstop. Jenny and Alan had also come along, but weren't staying long. I was very happy that Carrie and her family were so accepted by my family. Ann and Brad made them feel right at home. I announced that Christmas Eve dinner was at my house this year. Ann, of course, had to bust my balls and ask what take out I was using.“I'll have you know, I am a pretty damn good cook, huh Honey?” Carrie smiled, “Oh Yeah. He actually is. I was very surprised. Jarheads usually know only a couple of things. Walk, March, shoot guns and eat.” then laughed. “Nice Squid. Real Nice”Katie then asked, “Mom? What's a Jarhead?” which made us all start busting out in laughter.“Well Pumpkin, it's like this. See a Marine is a very special person. He, or she, is the very best and people in the other services are very jealous of us. So they call us very derogatory names, to make them feel better about the lowly service they belong too, like the Navy. Squids are so jealous.” then laughed.Carrie was rolling her eyes, then said “Dream on Jarhead. We are just smart enough to stay on a boat, while you get all the crap jobs on land. But, I still love ya.”Once home and lying in bed, Carrie told what a great day she had. She just loves my sister and feels rather close to her. She also said she was so glad that they even accepted Jenny and Alan. I told her that I was glad that they have accepted her as well, and that spending the day with her and Jenny, and Alan's family made this pretty special to me.“Carrie. I don't want any secrets between us, so I need to tell you this.” “Uh Oh” was her response. “It's not bad, not bad at all. Alan is going to come ask you for permission to marry Jenny”Carrie got to her knees, “Really? When? Oh my God. I knew that they would do this.”“Not sure when he is going to ask you, but I do know it is Christmas time he asking her. He's pretty much laid out his life and how he sees it, and he does have a good head on his shoulders. He said they would wait until Jenny graduates in a year and a half.”Carrie was still on her knees, but crying now. “I am so happy for them. Jenny wants to marry him, that I am sure of. She loves him as much as I love you. I just told her when the time comes, be smart, and wait on having kids. Enjoy being a couple, because once kids come, it's whole new ballgame.”“Now you better act surprised about this. He is so scared of what you may say.”“I will. I promise. He has nothing to fear from me, it's gonna be a YES”, then leaned down and kissed me. That kiss turn into a hot, passionate kiss, which led to a love making session. Can't wait to see what she is like when I ask her the same thing.Chapter 23.The next morning Carrie was up and out the door by 7am. I knew I had most of the day to myself, so I got dressed and headed over to my place. Alan and I were to meet at the jewelers around noon.Alan was right on time as we entered the building, which was in one of those strip style shopping centers. My friend, John, was behind the counter when he saw me walk in. After a few good minutes of catching up he directed us to the engagement ring area . Alan stated he had $1200 to spend. John showed him quite a few rings in that price range. He was looking for a pear shaped style. I saw one that was one carat and asked the price. John said he could let that one go for $1800. Alan said it looked great, but he couldn't afford it.“Do you think Jenny would like it?” “Yeah. She's love that.” he said. “Well then, get it. I'll make up the difference. My future stepdaughter should have the best.” “Mark. I promise to repay you as quick as I can.” “You pay me when you can afford too, and nothing sooner. We'll be family for many years to come.”Then John directed me to this one ring. It was marquis shaped with 6 small diamonds around it. It just screamed Carrie to me. It was set in a platinum band, which I already knew she liked. It wasn't to pretentious, or gaudy. John said I could have that one for five grand , normally $6500 for it. He said it was a size 8, but I am not sure of her size. He said, no matter, just bring it in after I give it to her and he would resize it, unless I could find out her size. I chuckled to myself, and thought, I should call her ex and ask.After leaving there, we grabbed a sandwich and beer at this one bar and grill I knew. Then headed over to my house to see about flights to Florida. Alan was so excited, and kept thanking me over and over. I knew now the kid's father had very little to do with him, since the divorce. He's been gone from their lives for almost 12 years now. So this felt pretty good, acting like a father figure to him. Kids coming out of boot camp are kind of like this. They look up to the sergeants when you get them in your platoon. So I know the look all too well, except I'm not going to yell at this one.Once at my house, we went online and found a flight, non-stop to Pensacola, that got us there by 10am, and then one returning at 2:30, arriving back here at 5pm. Before I made the purchase, I called Connie. She had given me her cell number before they left back in October.After the obligatory how are you's and how's Carrie. I told her my plan. I really wanted to surprise them both, but had to make sure they would be home that day. It would have sucked to fly down and find they were gone.“Oh Mark. You are such a good man. John will be so happy you did this. I know he likes and respects you. He has been hoping you would do something like this, marrying his little girl. But to fly all the way down here to ask his permission, well, you'll be at the top of his list. You already are on mine. I promise I won't say a word either.”We hung up after that, and I hit the button to buy the tickets. I didn't tell Connie about Alan coming or his question too. That should make the old man really feel good. Tickets for both of us, just set me back a grand, but it was worth it. I told Alan this one is on me, which he protested too, but I told him tough, get over it.Later that night, while in my bed, Carrie told me about her day with Ann, and shopping. She said she thinks this will be the best Christmas ever for her. Ann told her what she thought I needed and clothes sizes and such. I can just imagine what Ann helped her pick out. I got to admit, when it comes to clothes for me, Ann knew what I liked.Since that few days back in October, when I thought she wanted to call this whole thing off, we have grown closer. Although we are not in our early twenties, we still made love quite a bit. Four or five times a week. But just going to bed with her and waking in the morning and see her next to me, was like heaven. I could care less about the sex actually. That was the bonus. Great thing too, is that she loves sex and on the weekends, it was two or three times a day, unless her monthly friend showed up, but even then, when it first starts, she isn't opposed to doing it in the shower. That has happened twice since we started.Weekends too, was when naughty Carrie comes to play. She is very boisterous, and loves talking dirty. She is always a lady outside of the home, but inside, she gets down right slutty. One evening I let her tie me up to the post of my bed. She teased quite a bit that night. 69ing with me, but having her sex hover above my face, where I couldn't reach it. While she played with my cock. Then she'd lower herself down to let me lick her for about thirty seconds, then pull away again. It drove me insane with lust. When she finally turned around and lowered herself onto me, she rode me like a bull. The whole time asking me how her cunt felt and did I want to cum, and things like that. It was fun and adventurous for us, and we both love it. I really think she has a Domme side to her, deep down.Chapter 24.A few nights before Alan and I took off to Florida, I fibbed a bit and told Carrie that on Friday I was going to help Brad close up their cabin, that he and Ann have by a lake near us. Ann knew of my plans and was willing to go along with it. I told her that Alan was going to help too and that we should be back by 6 that evening. Since the cabin is only 20 minutes from the airport, I was going to swing by before our flight, and move a few chairs on the porch, to a shed he had. That way, I really didn't lie. I hate lying to her.We arrived in Florida about ten minutes early, which was good. I rented a car and was at John and Connie's in no time, thanks to GPS. The look on John's face was priceless when he opened the door and saw both of us standing there. Of course, he thought something was wrong.“What in the world are you two doing down here? Are the girls  okay?”I laughed and said all is fine with them. He let us in and we took a seat on the couch. “Well? What's up. You didn't fly down here for your health.”“John. Connie. I came down here to ask permission to marry your daughter.”“You flew down here just to ask that? What the hell, you could have called on the phone and saved time and money Shitbird.”“No John. You deserve more respect than that. If I am doing this, I want to do it right. So, do I have your permission?”He looked at Connie, who shook her head yes, then said, “Mark. I would be proud to call you my son in law. I may seem gruff at times, but I do like you and respect you, and I know you will treat my daughter good, which is all I can ask for. Connie and I want only the best for her, and Jenny too. So yes, you have our permission.”We shook hands and he actually gave me a hug, and of course Connie did too. Then John asked,“Did you need a wingman, bringing Alan down with you?”“No sir”, Alan said. “I would like permission too, to ask your granddaughter to be my wife.”“Jesus H. Christ. Both of you? Well son, are you sure you are ready for a step like this. That is one person I never want to see hurt, besides my wife and daughter.”“Sir. I have never been so sure of anything in my life. I graduate in May and have a job already lined up and Jenny graduates the following year, and then we would marry.”After looking at his wife again, who stood there smiling, he spoke, “Then I guess I see no point in denying you her hand. Promise me you will always take care of her and love her with all your heart, like we do.”“I promise Mr. Reynolds, I swear.” He chuckled, “I bet you were as nervous as a cat in a room full of rocking chairs to ask me this. Both of you clowns, so help me God, if you ever hurt those girls, I will hunt you down and hurt you real bad, and if I am too old, I still know people who can do it. You know the last one Carrie was with, the asshole, the best I could do is have him shipped to San Diego. I wanted to have him put on that team in the Aleutians (Alaska), but the CO thought that would not be a good fit for that team.”We stayed and had lunch with them, then got back to the airport with plenty of time. We did ask if they could come up for Christmas. They had plans for a few days later that week, but said they would be up on Christmas Eve, which I thought was perfect. We also planned on surprising the girls with their presence , that evening at my house since I was cooking dinner that night. John did make a crack about eating before he got there, in case my meal sucked.I got to Carrie's around 6:30, and we went to eat, then to my place. We just cuddled on the couch that night, then went to bed. I was pretty tired, and she completely understood, so we just fell asleep in each other's arms.The next day, we met Jenny and Alan back at Carrie's and headed over to this tree farm to cut down two Christmas tree's They take you out on a wagon, then when you find and cut it down, pick you up and bring you back to the Chalet, where you pay. The four of us had a great time and Carrie, and Jenny were giddy most of the day. I dropped the kids off at Carrie's and helped put the tree in its stand. Jenny was going to start decorating it, while Carrie and I did the same at my place. This is the first tree I have decorated in over twenty years. I was usually never home for the holidays, or if I was, it was for a few days and it was spent with mom and Ann.It took most of the afternoon and part of the evening to string lights and attach the antique ornaments my grandmother had at the house. Carrie did run out to the store and bought ribbon and bows, and some garland too. While we did this, she had Christmas music playing in the background and I had a fire lit in the fireplace. What was real nice, was that it was now snowing some. Not heavy, but a nice downfall, just like you would see in any Christmas movie.We were both dressed in jeans and sweaters, but she looks a lot cuter than I do, in hers. After we finished and ate delivered pizza, we retired to the couch, which faces the fireplace, and the tree, all lit up, standing in the corner by it. Carrie sat next to me, sipping wine, with her legs curled under her. We talked about what we needed to get for people. I had told her I wasn't sure what to get Ann and Brad, or even Jenny and Alan. I did buy the kids laptops for each of them. Ann had only one computer, which they all shared, so this would help out in that department. I know Ann and Brad were going to buy Kyle a used truck, for when he passed his driver's license test. He was taking the driver's ed course now.Carrie said she would help with Ann and Brad, but I didn't need to get Jenny anything. I told her to stop there. She is part of you and she deserves presents as well. Carrie did tell me she is going to get Jenny a car, after the first of the year. Right now, she didn't have one, but she was taking an internship at this one accounting agency, and needed one for that. Then we started kissing, which led to more kissing. I stopped, and got up.“Hold that thought”, I said. Then went to the back closet and pulled out my sleeping bag. I came back in and unrolled it, and unzipped it. I laid it out over the oval rug in front of the fireplace and went and took her by the hand and had her stand up.“Umm, I like how you think Mr. Roberts.” I slowly removed her sweater, then her bra. Of course I had to suck her tits a few times, before unbuttoning her jeans and slowly peeled them down, exposing her black thong. With me now on my knees, I used my teeth to pull her thongs down, and when they hit the floor, she stepped out of them. I didn't even bother with her socks. Now naked, I leaned in and lightly licked her sex, tasting her juices that she was already emitting. God, I love how she taste.She pulled me up then and pulled my sweater over my head and then my t-shirt. She now got on her knees and removed my jeans and then my boxers. When my engorged member sprung free, she licked it a few times, especially on the tip. “Yummy” she said.I had her lay on the sleeping bag, and she readily spread her legs for me, letting me gaze at her beauty. The Christmas lights, and the glow of the fire made her especially beautiful. I wasted little time in going down on her. I wanted her to orgasm in my mouth. I needed to taste her. I stayed down there for a long while. Bringing her off two times, before I kissed my way back up to her mouth, stopping along the way to such each tit into my mouth, which I knew she loved having done.As I kissed her passionately, I made sure my weight was not fully on her, and my hardened member lay at her opening, ready to enter paradise. Her hips gyrated below me, trying hard to have me enter her.“Baby. Please put it in. I need you so bad. I love you”I too, couldn't wait any longer and slid in. Once I was fully in, we both moaned out. We then proceeded to make slow love to one another. We had no rush to this, just two people, deeply in love, joined together, making us one. I have no idea how long we made love for, but it had to have lasted at least a good fifteen minutes. We were lost in each other, until Carrie finally moaned out “Oh God, I'm cumming Baby.” I didn't last too much longer and started shooting my seed deep within her. “I love you baby.” I said as I was cumming.After we calmed a bit, I noticed I was still hard and rolled us over so she was on top. I looked at her, as she sat up. The firelight danced over her skin. She looked incredible to me. “My God Baby, you look so beautiful” I said. “You are beautiful Mark. I love you so much. This is going to be the best holiday ever.” I smiled, and thought, “If you only knew my Love”Chapter 25.The next two weeks flew by. I had talked with Connie a couple of times. She said she told Carrie that they were going to New Orleans to visit with friends down there, from their Navy days. Carrie was a little bummed, but understood. Connie said their flight got in at 4pm that day. Jenny was going to pick them up and bring them over a little past 7, on that evening, along with Alan's mom. Ann was going to meet them out front, so they could follow her up the drive, without lights on. Very clandestine like. I had told Ann to wait until I turned the kitchen and dining room lights out, before sneaking in the back door, and to stay in the dining room until I actually proposed to Carrie. God I was nervous now. This to me, was the biggest leap of faith I would ever take in my life.Carrie came over around 5, on Christmas Eve. She was wearing this beautiful red dress that made her look like a Goddess. Had no one been coming over, I would have taken her then and there.“My God. You are more beautiful than I have ever seen you Ms. Reynolds.” I told her. She smiled and said, “You are just biased, and you want to get into my panties JH. Thank You though. Compliments are always welcome. I love you.”She helped me prepare the rest of dinner. We were having Standing Prime Rib, mashed potatoes, rolls, gravy, and a bean casserole that Carrie prepared. We then set the table for 8, on the dining room table. This table was big enough to feed a platoon on. Everything was almost ready.It was now just coming on 7pm. The roast was done and I removed it from the oven, to let it sit a while before carving. Carrie was standing near me, sipping a glass of wine. I reached the light switch and turned it off, and then walked into the dining room and did the same there. The only light was from the tree and fireplace.I went to the stereo and put on Carrie's favorite artist, Shania Twain. I took Carrie's hand and led her to the middle of the living room, as the music started. I took her glass and set it down, then pulled her into my arms and started to dance to “From This Moment On”As we danced, I made sure her head was not turned so she could see into the dining room. Towards the end of the dance I softly sang the lyrics to her.You're the reason I believe in loveAnd you're the answer to my prayers from up aboveAll we need is just the two of usMy dreams came true because of youFrom this moment as long as I liveI will love you, I promise you thisThere is nothing I wouldn't giveFrom this momentI will love you as long as I liveFrom this moment on.As the music started to end, I looked into her eyes, which were now glazed over with tears, and got to my knee. With her one hand in my, I looked up at her, then reached into my sport coat, and pulled out the ring.“Carolyn Ann. I love you more than life itself, and like the lyrics said, I can't wait to start living my life with you. Would you do me the honor and be my wife, and I your husband?”Her whole body tremble as I awaited her answer. “Oh My God Sweetheart, Yes”I stood and pulled her into me and we kissed a long and very passionate kiss. Just then, our combined family's started clapping and cheering. Carrie broke the kiss and saw her mom and dad coming towards us, with Jenny and Alan, then Ann and her family.Carrie broke from me and ran to her mom and hugged her tight, then her dad. She was now full out crying, and since she yes, it must be from joy. Connie then hugged me and told me how beautiful that scene just was. Jenny and Carrie were hugging and crying together now. Brad and Alan both shook my hand. Ann went up and hugged Carrie and welcomed her to the family, then she came to me.“Brother. You sometimes shock the hell out of me. I never knew you could be this romantic” Then kissed me and told me she loves me and I better take care of that woman, always.John finally came over to me, “Mark. Never in a million years would I have thought I'd be calling you son. But you know what, I am glad I am. You are the type of man I would want for a son. Welcome aboard to our family Son.” then hugged me. I could have sworn I saw a tear in his eye.Dinner was excellent and everyone was in a very festive mood. Carrie made a toast, after saying grace before dinner. “To the best Christmas ever. To Ann and Brad, and the kids, I am so grateful to be part of your lives now. You have made me feel part of your family since the day I met you. To you, mom and dad, and you Jenny, for always being there for me and teaching what love really is, so I can now share that with my future husband Mark, who I plan on growing very old with. I love you all”After dinner, the girls shooed us away and told us to relax while they did the dishes. Connie said it was only fair, since I did the cooking. It was well past 9pm when we were all together in the living room. Carrie and I already decided we would open our gifts the next morning, at her place with Jenny and Alan, and now her dad and mom. But we still had to exchange gifts with Ann and the family.Carrie handed out our gifts to them. To Ann, Carrie picked out a couple of sweaters and we got her a $200 visa gift card, so she could buy what she wanted for herself. We got Brad a new fishing reel and a $200 visa gift card. The gift cards were in a Christmas card signed Mark and Carrie. The kids each got a laptop and $100 gift cards. When they opened the cards, their mom asked what was written. Of course they could care less about what was written but said it was from “Uncle Mark and Aunt Carrie” I had signed all of the cards, but Carrie had no idea I wrote that. She squeezed my hand tightly then.Alan and Jenny were sitting by the tree and had opened their presents from my sister. Then Alan reached around the tree and produced a box, and handed it to Jenny. “Please open this Honey.”Jenny was now sort of kneeling and slowly opened the box. Inside was a figurine of a bride. Around the head and neck, was the ring he bought a few weeks back. Jenny just Gasped. Alan was kneeling now too and took her hand.“I was going to wait until the morning, but I just can't. I want everyone to see and hear this. Jennifer Lynn, would you marry me and become my wife and the mother, someday, to our children”Jenny broke down and started crying, but finally said “Yes”, then actually tackled him and started kissing him. Jenny was over the moon now, as was Carrie and Connie, and Alan's mom. Lots of excitement this night, that's for sure. I went out to the fridge and took out 2 bottles of champagne that I had snuck in the back and opened them. With John's help, we gave everyone a glass, including the kids and toasted to a merry Christmas.Katie made me chuckle when she asked if Jenny was now their cousin. I said officially, no, not until Carrie and I marry, but yeah, she is. “Oh Cool. I don't have any girl cousins”, which made us all laugh.I was sitting in the one arm chair, and Carrie in my lap. Of course she had to wiggle her ass a few times, which wasn't the best thing to do, because Mr. happy liked the attention and started to rise. I whispered in her ear, “Keep it up and I'll take you upstairs and take care of this problem I am having.” She giggled and said, “Promises. Promises”Then Carrie asked, “Mark. Did you ask my dad for permission?” I just smiled and said, “Oh Yeah. I'm not that dumb. Actually. Remember two weeks ago when I was helping Brad at the cabin?” she nodded, “Well, Alan and I did go there at 5:30am. I can see Alan is not the type that likes getting up at Oh Dark Thirty either, but, we did go over there. Moved three things to the shed, then left for the airport. We flew down to Florida, got to your parents by 11, had lunch, asked Chief and your mom for their blessings, then back up here by 5 that evening, and you two fine ladies weren't the wiser. So before you say anything, we did not lie, but did not disclose our whole agenda. No way could I lie to you Babe.”John was laughing as I was recounting that day. “Oh yeah, I open the door to find these two Shitbirds. My first thought was something happened to one of you, but then Mark sorted it out for me. Connie already knew he was coming. But I'll tell you. I couldn't ask for two finer men to take care of my girls, than these two.After that, everyone started to leave. We told them we'd be over in the morning, and to not open stuff without us there. As soon as we saw the lights of their cars fade away, Carrie turned off the lights and pulled me upstairs.Carrie turned on the lamp, next to the bed, then turned off the overhead lights. She seductively stripped down for me, and I just stood there in amazement. Once naked, she stood there. So I stripped as well. Not as seductive as she had done, but still slow. I stood a foot away from here and she took both of my hands in hers.She smiled at me, “Baby, you have no idea how lucky I feel and so loved right now. What you see in front of you, is yours, until the day we die. I am all yours.”I smiled at her then, and said, “Babe. For the life of me, I don't know how I ever got as lucky to be with a beautiful person, as you are. I don't mean just in looks, but the whole essence of you. You are my life, and no one will ever come between us. I Love you Carrie”She led me to the bed and we lay beside each other. Her newly ringed hand reached around the shaft of my member and held it gently. “I love this ring Baby. And, quite frankly, it looks really good right now. When did you know you wanted to marry me?”My eyes looked into hers, “Honestly, I wish I could say that first kiss on Whiteface Mountain. But it wasn't then. I knew at that point I had a shot with you though. But, it was the night I made you dinner and drew your bath. I knew then, when you said I love you back to me, that this was it. And, it's gotten better every day since.”She crawled up on top of me, and without any help from our hands, slipped my hard member into her waiting sex. Looking up at her, after we both moaned, “When did you know this was real for us?”“When we kissed on that rock. There was just something about it. But when we made love that Saturday night in the cabin and professed our love to each other. I knew in my heart then. But finally, when you stuck by me, with that stupid ordeal back in October, I knew this man was it.”“Baby, there was no way I was walking away from you. Not then , not ever. Were you surprised this happened tonight?” I asked.She grinned, “Yes and no. I thought maybe tomorrow, and if not then, then Valentine's Day. But tonight threw me. But picking one of my favorite songs to dance too, then asking me then, well it made me speechless. Then to have our whole family here too. You made this the best Christmas I have ever had.”Carrie started pumping up and down on me now. She didn't want to talk anymore. She wanted to complete our love making. It really did not take us long either. Throughout the whole time, our lips were locked together, until we were both ready to cum.“Oh God Baby. I have to cum” I spoke out loudly. “Cum Baby. Give me it all. I Love You Mark”I started cumming deep inside her, and about half way through, she started cumming. My hands were holding her ass as she did. I could feel goosebumps on her cheeks, as she let loose with her orgasm. It was very powerful too. Her whole body was wiggling around as our orgasms continued.We kissed one last time, then both told each other I love you. I wouldn't let her leave me though and she settled in on top of me and we both fell asleep.Chapter 26.Christmas Day saw us going all over the place. First, I took Carrie out to the barn out back. Inside was my old 93 Ford Mustang Boss. I bought this right after boot camp. It was rarity that I got to drive it much. Sometimes, six months would elapse before it got driven. The most use I got out of it was when I was stationed at Quantico. When I moved back here, after getting out, I bought my truck. So this car just sits, except for an occasional spin. It's silver with black interior, and has the 5 liter engine, which is a small V8. The only enhancement it has, is a new radio that has Bluetooth for the phone. It is in mint condition and only has 22,000 miles on it.Carrie asked where did I get this. So I told her about its history. Then I told her I was going to give this to Jenny. “Oh My God Mark. You can't do that. This is an antique, isn't it?”“No. Not yet. Couple of more years. But she needs a car and I never use it. So why not let someone, who I happen to like and is going to be my daughter one day, have it.”“You amaze me JH. You don't have a selfish bone in your body. And you are right, she is going to have you for a father one day. I know she likes that idea too. The ex was never really close with her in the first place, and when I kicked him out, he has never even tried to contact her. Just be patient with her and love her Mark. That's all I ask.”I knew I was going to do this too, after Carrie said she had to buy a car for her. So I had it checked out at the garage I go too, and had new tires put on it. So it was good to go. She'll just have to watch driving in snow. Rear wheel drive and snow don't always mix well.When we arrived that morning, everyone was up. Connie had made cinnamon buns and coffee, which we all enjoyed, while opening presents. After all the presents were opened, I handed Jenny a small gift bag. “From us” I said. Her eyes got real big when she saw they keys. Then ran to the front door and opened it. When she saw the car, she squealed with excitement. This girl was in a fuzzy robe and put on sneakers and ran out to it. Then came back inside and ran up to me and hugged me.“Thank You so much Mark” then planted kisses all over my cheeks. Then she thanked her mom. I told her it was hers to use and to be careful with it. I then told her we would help with insurance and stuff like that. But it is her responsibility to maintain it. “You guys are the best. Come Papa. let me show you my new car.” she said. Jenny, Alan, and John trudged out into the cold. I told Connie that the car is old, but nowhere near the mileage that the old Seadog has on him. Connie winked at me and said, “You know Mark. I think you are going to make one great father.”That New Year's Eve, we were invited to a couple of parties, but we begged off and stayed home. We made dinner together. Watched some movies, then made love at midnight. We did talk about Carrie moving in here, with me. She readily agreed, and two weeks later, she moved in. Jenny and Alan moved into her condo. All Carrie asked of them was to make sure no babies were produced yet. At some point, once the kids were established, and found their own place after they were married, she would sell the condo. Luckily for us, this was not a drain on finances. She made almost $100 grand a year at her job and mine was bringing in almost double that, and this house was paid for.We did settle down and bought new furniture for all over. I let that up to her, and Ann helped out. Those two become thick as thieves. If I was to ever argue with Carrie, I'd never win, but we never argue. We do discuss stuff and come to common ground. One thing was constant though, and that was our love making. I made sure we had at least one date night a week, and I always try to be romantic.The first weekend in October, Carrie and I married. When Carrie got married the first time, it was in front of a judge. So she never had a real wedding, and, her parents weren't there for it, depriving her dad the chance to give her away.The one thing she did ask me to wear was my dress blues. I had to check to make sure that I was still allowed, and found out that it was  okay for that. I had to bring that out of mothballs. I even had the sword. MY uni had 5 gold service stripes indicating 20 years, plus a lot of ribbons and medals on the pocket area.John too, wore his dress blues, or winter uniform. Now he had 9 gold sleeve stripes, since he was just shy of 40 years in. His front pocket area had to weigh a ton with all the service ribbons and medals. He wore blue, so he wouldn't upstage his daughter, in her white dress.Seeing her come down the aisle, with her father, was one of the best days of my life. She was radiant and so beautiful. She picked From This Moment On as her entrance song, instead of the traditional wedding march. Jenny served as her maid of honor, and Brad served as my best man. Alan and Ann were in it as well, as was Kyle and Katie. We both have a small circle of friends, and limited family, so the reception wasn't really big, maybe 50 people in all, but we all had a great time. We spent our first night of the honeymoon, in my uncle's cabin, after climbing up Whiteface Mountain and kissed on that very same rock, where we did the first time.I do remember, as I stood there, at the altar, holding Carrie's hands and was reciting her vows to me, all I thought was,“All this, because I bumped into a this beautiful woman at the ranger's station, who just happened to be a bit clumsy and sprain her ankle later, on a path near the cabin I was staying at. Life is good.”by T. Foxal.

Alison drops her new single "Iwannaliveinadream", alongside tracks from AVELLO, Wooli, ILLENIUM, Yellow Claw, Ninajirachi, Fred Again.., Mary Droppinz & more!Don't forget to rate & review on all of your favorite podcast apps! Post your comments on twitter @awonderland #RADIOWONDERLANDTracklist:Alison Wonderland - Iwannaliveinadream 00:00ILLENIUM & HAYLA - In My Arms (Wooli Remix) 00:45RayJhin ft. LÉA - Reach The Light 03:58Bafu - Genesis Sequence 06:24Yellow Claw - Take It All 09:32Skybreak - ANXIETY 12:19Virtual Riot & Viperactive - What U Got 15:05WHIPPED CREAM - collide 17:26Koven - Gold 19:23GRiZ ft. Flowdan - Coast 2 Coast 21:42Ninajirachi - Infohazard 25:34Ely Oaks & LAVINIA - Borderline (AVELLO Remix) 28:25Fred again.., Skepta, PlaqueBoyMax, Denzel Curry, Hanumankind & That Mexican OT - Victory Lap Four 32:45Skybreak & Subten - STONE KOLD 35:03Mary Droppinz - Drop In 39:10Boombox Cartel, MIRZHA & Insowmya - Manzil 41:34Dillon Francis & Marten Hørger - Cut The Midrange 44:01Proppa, Rich DietZ & Smith & Sorren - Work 47:31What So Not & Daktyl ft. Riz La Vie - Wash Over 49:46Fabian Mazur - Cash 52:29Alison Wonderland - Again? Fuck. 54:14PinkPantheress - Illegal (Nia Archives Remix) 56:52Emma Louise & Flume - Easy Goodbye 59:03

Carrie and Mark settle in to everyday life.by T. Foxal. Listen to the ► Podcast at Connected.“Oh Mark. I have never been made love to like that ever. It was perfect. Everything you have done so far has been perfect for me. I don't think you have one selfish bone in your body. I need to know though, are you scared of all of this?”“Carrie, I have never been more scared in my life. Not even over in the sandpit, with bullets flying all around. Had you not said I love you back to me, when I made my declaration, I would have been crushed. I've never, ever let anyone into my heart, like I have let you in. Am I scared now? A little. I know you said it the other night. Well, you told me to catch up with you because you were already there. But over time, I thought you may have some misgivings for saying, since we were in the heat of the moment then. But all the little things you have been doing, or saying, led me to believe you really were. And, I wanted to make it special for you. This whole day when you weren't around me, all I could think of was you. I wondered what you were thinking when you took your bath before, or what you were doing and thinking when you left this morning. Let's face it, we haven't been alone with our own thoughts for a week now.”She leaned in and kissed me lightly on the lips, then said, “Mark. I knew from that first kiss. Then when we made love the first time, I was in heaven. It wasn't sex between us. It was more. Since that time, we have done nothing but make love and my heart races every time I see you. I was so scared when I said that the other night. Did I push you away from me? Would you just say, screw this, I'm outta here. But the big thing for me was when we were at the winery, and you went up to the bar to get us those samples. Your eyes smiled at me the whole time. You didn't even look at that girl, who I thought was really hot, but just kept looking at me. You made love to me right then. Am I scared. Yes. I want this more than anything, but I don't want to be hurt again. I lived that. But, you are not him. You are so much more than he could ever be. I was eye candy for him, and a fuck, and nothing more. My heart is now yours, please don't hurt it.”I rolled to my side and looked deep into her hazel eyes, then kissed her. “You know what turned me on the most today?” “No, Baby, I don't” “When I saw you after you came back from your day in town. My God, you looked so sexy and stunning to me. You are such a beautiful woman, and not just physically, but all around. I wanted to take you then, but then that would have downplayed this evening. I never tried to be romantic with anyone before, and I so wanted to seduce you tonight.”She giggled. “Well Mr. Marine. You succeeded in every way tonight. I'll tell you. When I saw the robe, then the candles lit by the bathtub, I got super horny. I wanted you so bad then. Then when I shaved down there, I felt incredibly sexy. I even came after that. But when we took off our robes and I saw you in those boxers, I damn near raped you. But dancing really did me in. I almost told you then I loved you. But I am glad I waited now.”As she talked, her hand was now on my cock, stroking it back to life. When I was hard again, she leaned in and kissed me, then pushed me to my back. She kneeled and straddled me and slowly sat down on me, engulfing me with her velvet like inner walls of her sex.“Baby?” she whispered. “This has been an amazing night. But now I need to be a little naughty. A couple should be able to let loose some and enjoy sex too. I love lovemaking, but I also love to fuck Mark. But only with someone I want to give myself too, completely. I want to fuck your beautiful cock. I want to feel your cum spray deep inside me and, I want cum all over it. Fuck me Baby. Make me your Lover.”I arched my back up and drove in deep in her. “Oh Fuck. You are so deep.” She started moving up and down, faster and faster. “Oh god I love this. My favorite position too.”She leaned down and started smothering me with kisses. Moaning as we fucked. I did too. Her head slipped to the side of mine and whispered. “You like my tight little cunt, don't you Babe. Your cock is a perfect fit for it. My cunt loves your cock. Oh God Mark. ““Oh God Babe. Your cunt is so tight. I love it and always will. Fuck me Carrie.”She sat up and started grinding hard on me now. Neither of us was going to last long. I sat up and took her one tit in my mouth and sucked hard.“Oh Christ. Suck my tits Baby. I Love that so much”She started pounding me harder now, as I continued sucking it, then switched to the other. Her arm went behind my head and pulled me in tighter. My hands were holding her luscious ass as I did this. My one hand went exploring and touched her ass, which made her moan really loud. I slipped it down to her cunt and got it wet as the finger rubbed against her lips and my cock. Then I brought it up to her brown hole and slipped it in.“Oh Fuck Baby. Yes. God I love you”She started cumming a minute later. Her head and body shook as she came hard, but somehow, she maintain the rhythm we had going. I was now getting close myself and could feel my balls tighten up, signaling my impending orgasm. “Oh Shit Carrie, I'm going to cum” I yelled out.She slammed down one last time, and then jumped off. Her mouth was over my cock in no time and was starting to suck me, when I erupted in her mouth. I had to have shot 5 or 6 good ropes into her hungry mouth. She didn't spill a drop, except at the end, a little dribbled out the side.She was kneeling now, getting ready to wipe her mouth, when I grabbed her wrist and gently pulled her to me and I licked it off of her face and then kissed her. The kiss was so hot and passionate. We were lost in that kiss for minutes, until she broke away, panting hard.We both lay on our backs now, still in a euphoric bliss from our love making. Carrie was very quiet. At first I thought she fell asleep, until I felt her hand grasp mine and squeeze it.“Are you  okay Carrie?”, I asked. “Actually, I am on cloud nine, as they say. I've never been made love too, like this, then opening up and letting go like that. I just hope you don't think I am some sort of slut. I want to explore all there is with you sexually and lovingly too.”“Babe. You are hardly a slut. Sex to me, is supposed to be fun too. You were amazing. But our love making, well, it's beyond words. To me, you are an angel. Quite the lady too. In bed, we can do whatever we please, as long as we both agree on whatever we do. One thing though, I can never share you with anyone. I don't believe I get jealous, but I could never share you with anyone, man or woman. I knew a couple in the service that did that. Got into swinging. No way. Not with someone I love and respect, like I do you. But just so you know, I really enjoyed the naughty Carrie. She is fun.”“Umm.. I may have to let her out more often then. Cuz naughty Markie, was turning me on too. But, you will never have to fear me wanting another. I am quite happy with who I am with. I will never deny you in bed either. Except, when I am sick, or you are sick. Sex just doesn't seem like fun then. But that's about it.”“Yeah, being sick and wanting sex, just doesn't seem to go hand in hand. I will never deny you as well. But, I'm a guy, so the prospect of me saying no is quite low.”She giggled, then said, “Well. Mister. You better never hold out in the oral department anymore. Oh Christ. That was unbelievable. I could take that all day long. And, I love giving too. I love how you taste.”“You're turning me on again Honey. How do you feel right now?” I asked“Horny” she giggled then. “Honestly. And don't freak when I say this. But I feel as though I am on a Honeymoon and you took your virgin bride to sexual highs she never knew existed.”I did chuckle. “Nothing wrong with that. To me, you are a virgin, or at least were. I don't care about your past. You are my first, and dare I say, only love for me.”“I like that” she replied. Then said, “Where do you see us in a year?”“Honestly. I never look to the future too much. But, I have been lately. I hope that you will be with me in a year, and maybe, just maybe, if you haven't tired of my Jarhead ass, we are right back here, spending it as a true honeymoon”She folded into my arms and kissed my cheek. “I think that could be a real possibility. This Squid actually has thought about it, and she doesn't think she'll ever tire of you. Piss me off at times, Yes, but never tire.”I then laughed, and she asked what was funny. “God, if your Dad could see us right now. He'd hang me.”“Nah. He knows I like you a great deal. He doesn't know we professed love yet. But he does like you, Mom told me that. Jenny knows too. I talked with her this morning. I sent her a selfie, after I got my hair done. She called right after seeing it. Then she starts out by saying, “Damn Mom, you look hot. I think someone is in love.” She's a pretty smart girl actually. I was supposed to face time with her earlier, but someone had me a tad busy. She wants to see you and talk with you.”“Oh great. She's the one person that scares me the most, and I want on my side. More so, than even your parents. Go ahead and call her now. It's only 10pm.”She giggled again. “Uh No. We better wait until tomorrow. This is the first time her and her boyfriend Alan have been alone for a long time. He was with his family last weekend. They have dated for a year now, so I am pretty sure, they are in the same place you and I are right now, naked and in bed.”“You  okay with that? I asked. “Oh yes. I like him a lot. He treats her with so much respect and I know they love one another. He's a good kid and dotes after Jenny. His world revolves around her. He is studying to become a food scientist. If they can last the ups and downs of college and still remain in love, I could easily see them married one day. Only time will tell. And don't worry about her liking you, she will. She knows I do, and so far have made me extremely happy.”She got up then and walked to the bathroom. Then came back with our robes. “Let's go cuddle on the couch, enjoy some wine and TV, before we call it a night.” And so we did.Chapter 15.It was morning now, almost 8:30. I never sleep this late. The only reason I was up was because I had to pee so bad. Carrie was still sound asleep. She was curled up and looked so peaceful. My thought was, “What in God's name does she see in me. I'm nobody special. Yes, I am in good shape and I do treat her with respect, but she is absolutely beautiful and had I known of her, somewhere else, I would have never even attempted to approach her. I wasn't in her league, or so I thought”But here I am, one week after meeting her, and totally in love. I could not even fathom life without her in it. But reality would soon be creeping up on us. I knew she would be leaving mid-week. Would this all end after she left, and had time to really think this through? Only time will tell.I padded to the kitchen and made coffee. As it brewed I stood looking out the back door window. The skies were an ugly gray. Rain was falling. We knew this was coming, after viewing the weather report last night. Today and tomorrow, rain.I then toasted a few bagels, and got out the cream cheese. Made us both coffee, and took it to the bedroom. As I walked in, Carrie was yawning and stretching. Her tit were in plain view, and look so delicious to me. She sat up, not bothering to cover up. “Good sign” I thought.“Good Morning Sweetheart. I thought you may enjoy some breakfast in bed” I said to her.“Oh Wow. I could definitely get used to this. Especially if you lose that robe.”We sat and enjoyed our breakfast. We also started talking about this coming week. Since it was raining today, we decided to go into town and take in a movie and then dinner at some restaurant. On Monday, we were to hike Algonquin Peak, but if it is raining, we'll need to find something else to do.She then said, “You know I leave Wednesday. I have a doctor's appointment on Thursday that I made months ago, and I can't reschedule. It just takes so long to get in to see her.”“I know you were leaving then. But, I also am going to leave that day, with you. No sense hanging around here. Be bored to death, and I know me, all I'll think of is you the whole time.”“Awe. You are so sweet to me. But this is your vacation and you had it all planned out. Stay and at least hike some more of these mountains. I'll feel bad if you miss out on that.” she said with a pouty face.I just smiled at her and told her no, it was best I do head home. I had some major cleaning to do at my place. The house I have is actually an older farm house that was my grandparents. My grandmother outlived my mom and when she died, it was left to me and Ann. Ann didn't want it, so to be fair, I paid her the half she would have received, if we had sold it.The house was nice, but very outdated. Even the furniture was from the 60's. To me, it was cool, but my needs are simple. Ann has been bugging me for almost a year now to at least get some new furniture, if not update the whole place. My office is actually the dining room.I tell you this because I have never brought anyone there, especially a date. So bringing Carrie there, as it looks right now, is totally out of the question. As I told her this, she just laughed. She asked if I keep it clean, or was I a typical guy, and let things go until I can't stand it anymore. I told her I always keep it clean, it's just very outdated.“You big lug, I don't care about stuff like that. I will care if it smells like the gym on board a ship smells like. That is so gross.” and we both laughed.We finished our coffee and bagels, and set our cups and napkins on the nightstand. She pulled the cover down and asked me to slide in. We started kissing and making out some, when her phone rang. “Perfect timing” I thought. She looked at the phone and said, “It's Jenny. Hope all is alright. She is never up this early.”“She hit some button and I saw Jenny's face appear on the screen. Luckily, Carrie had the sheet up above her tit, and I was safely off to the side.“Hi Sweetheart”“Hi Mom. Hope I am not disturbing you.”“No Sweetie. You're good. We were just having breakfast.”“Oh. In bed too. I take it Marine guy is nearby.”Carrie laughed, “If you must know young Jen, he is right here, and his name is Mark, not Marine guy. But you knew that” “Hey just giving you a hard time. Hi Mark.” Carrie moved the phone over to where I could see her and she see me. I had just put the robe back on, so I was decent.“Hi Jenny. Very nice to meet you. I must say, you are as pretty as your mother.”Jen smiled; “Thank you. I hope to get to meet you when you two get back from your little vacation.”“I would say that is a very good possibility, unless your Mom gets rid of me by then. Lots of mountain tops she could push me off of, up here.” I said with a laugh.Carrie turned the phone back to her and said, “What did you two do this weekend? Is Alan still there?”Jen smiled this sly smile “Yeah. He is still asleep. We went to dinner and a late movie, then came back here. The main reason I am calling is that Papa called a bit ago, or I'd be sleeping too. He and grandma are coming up next weekend”My eyes got real big, but Carrie just chuckled, “That's great. When are they coming in?”“Friday evening, and staying here for a few days, then going to aunty Bev's for a few days. And Mark. Papa had a message for you. “Don't crap where you eat son.” He said you'd understand completely.”I just shook my head. Great. He's gonna shit when he hears his daughter and I are now dating.Carrie was laughing now. Jen wanted to know what that was about. Carrie said she'd tell her when she sees her this week. They carried on for a few more minutes as Jen filled her in on stuff. Now Jen did look somewhat similar to her mom, from what I could see on the phone. That same light caramel color, with long flowing brown hair, and a gorgeous smile. Alan should consider himself a very lucky man. They signed off then after saying goodbye's and Jen saying bye to me too, telling me to take very good care of her mother, or else.I asked, “Are you sure she isn't your blood daughter? You two look so much alike.”“I wish she was. But No. Her parents were Puerto Rican, so the skin color is close. She shorted too, only 5 foot 3. She is an angel. You think Dad dotes over me? Wait till you see him around Jenny. I feel bad for Alan. He's met Dad twice now and is scared shitless of him. But Daddy wants only the best for his girls.”“Yeah, well, I am wondering now what is he going to say about us being together. He still scares the shit out of me.”She laughed, “Oh I don't know. I'll let you know after I tell him how you been having your way with me this whole week.” then laughed some more. She then opened his robe, grabbed his semi stiff member and stroke it.She giggled, the looked at him and stated, “Umm, I wonder what he'd say if he knew I was doing this.”, as she lowered her head to my manhood and sucked the head in.“Oh God Carrie.”The PromiseCarrie and Mark settle in to everyday life, once they return from their week and a half camping and hiking trip, after finding love in those mountains.I asked, “Are you sure she isn't your blood daughter? You two look so much alike.”“I wish she was. But No. Her parents were Puerto Rican, so the skin color is close. She shorter too, only 5 foot 3.. She is an angel. You think Dad dotes over me? Wait till you see him around Jenny. I feel bad for Alan. He's met Dad twice now and is scared shitless of him. But Daddy wants only the best for his girls.”“Yeah, well, I am wondering now what is he going to say about us being together. He still scares the shit out of me.”She laughed, “Oh I don't know. I'll let you know after I tell him how you been having your way with me this whole week.” then laughed some more. She then opened my robe, grabbed my semi stiff member and stroke it.She giggled, the looked at him and stated, “Umm, I wonder what he'd say if he knew I was doing this.”, as she lowered her head to my manhood and sucked the head in.“Oh God Carrie.”Chapter 16.The rest of that day, and into Monday, it did nothing but rain. So exploring any of the mountain tops was curtailed. We pretty much hung around the cabin in just our robes that day. The only time we dressed was to go to dinner, down into town. Neither of us felt like cooking. It was very hard for me to resist getting Carrie naked and just making love all day, but she needed to know that our relationship, that we both professed our love for each other, was more than just a physical thing, but also emotional.You see Carrie is a very beautiful woman. She is 5 foot 7, 130 pounds, with caramel colored skin, almost like Halle Berry skin tone. Her hair is short now too, with blonde highlights mixed in with her brown hair. Totally sexy in my eyes. She has amazing legs that are long and toned and a great ass. What turns me on the most is her tits. They are a large A, or small B cup. I love a woman with small tits.I am 5 foot 10, 175 pounds, and been told by many, a handsome man. I keep in shape, and that is because after spending 20 years in the Marines, you get used to working out. It's just ingrained into your fabric. I was single too, for all of those years. Never had a serious relationship, except for a semi one, back in my 20's, when I lived with a girl for a few months. But she didn't enjoy my deployments too much and wanted more. It was mostly a sex thing for us, and a place for us both to crash, when we were screwing.But now, a week and a half later, I am totally in love with this goddess, and she with me as well. What is funny too, I know her parents, or to be more specific, her father. He was a Master Chief in the Navy, and was on the aircraft Carrier Lincoln at the same time I was, years ago, when I was a Staff Sergeant in the Marines. Great guy too, but could scare the hell out of you. Carrie too, was in the Navy back then, but I do not think we ever crossed paths, since she worked on base, and, was also married back then to a Seal, which she now divorced from.Like I said earlier, we only got dressed that Sunday for dinner, then that Monday, a day we were supposed to visit another Adirondacks peak, it rained as well. We did go driving around and admired the countryside and had a fine dinner at the Italian restaurant we found the previous week.Then on Tuesday, we decided to go horseback riding. We found a place about 20 minutes from the cabin, near Lake Clear. We had a great time exploring the area by horseback. I have to admit, my ass was quite sore by the time we got through, as was Carrie's. There was a few times I would hang back, behind her and admire her ass as it bounced up and down in the saddle.She looked back one time and caught me. “God, don't you ever tire of looking at my big ass?”I just chuckled and told her, “Hell No. I love your ass, and it is hardly big. Remind me later to massage it for you, because if mine is sore, I know yours has to be.”“Maybe I will let you. Not sure if I want you touching it later. Now get up her next to me.” then whispered to me, after I got close, “You be a good boy, and I'll let you see it naked later.”, then laughed and rode away from me.After our ride, we stopped in this tavern that also featured home cooked meals. We both decided on burgers and fries. Normally, we both try to stay away from fried foods, but, as we both found out from talking, we like to cheat on occasion.By the time we got back to the cabin, nighttime was upon us and this was our last night together. I know we both pledged our love to one another, but after tonight, she may get a dose of reality when she got back home, and say, “No way” to being in a relationship. For me, I was all in. I never wanted anything more in my life, than to be with this beautiful, smart, witty and energetic woman.After getting into the cabin, I started a fire in the fireplace and Carrie went off to the bedroom, to get ready to shower. After I had a nice fire going, she came out in her robe and asked me to join her. As we washed each other down, removing the horse smell from our bodies, we kissed and held each other. We both took turns drying each other, then donned our robes and made our way to the couch. Before I sat down, I went and got us each a glass of wine.“Mark?” she said, and I looked at her. She had a tear on her cheek, for which I lightly brushed away. “What's wrong Honey?” I asked.“This is our last night here. This has been the best vacation I have ever experienced. Had you told me two weeks ago that I would meet the man of my dreams, I would have said you are so full of shit. But here I am, sitting next to you. I am so in love with you and I am also scared silly about tomorrow.” she explainedI knew what she meant, when she said she is scared. I am too. We get back to our real lives and the fantasy just fades away. She was deeply hurt all those years ago and opening up and allowing someone in, has to be tough for her to do. For me, it is a new experience. One I have never had before. If it does end, it will hurt, but I know I can move on from it, I think.“Carrie. I'm scared too. Once we are home and reality sets in for you, you may say, screw this. I have never opened up to anyone in my life, except for you. I just hope that you will grow with me. I'm going to make mistakes. You may want something, but I'm too stupid to know and understand, but like anything in life, you learn. One thing I will promise you and this is I will always be true to only you. I love you and will never do anything to hurt you.”“Oh Mark. No man has ever made me feel this way. We'll take each day as it comes and just know I will never hurt you as well. But be forewarned now, I can get bitchy. I don't mean to be, but it happens and when it does, just leave me be, and I will be fine. I think the hardest part of tomorrow is going to be not being with you, especially at night. After a week of sharing a bed together, and feeling so close to you, it is going to suck not having your arms around me tomorrow night, or this weekend. If I didn't have that appointment Thursday, I'd let you stay with me tomorrow, but I know us, we make love, and since this is a gynecologist I am seeing, sex wouldn't be the most prudent thing for me to do. And then this weekend, with my parents in town, I'm not sure what they'd say about us sleeping together.”I laughed, “Yeah, I could just see the look on your dad's face when we told them goodnight and padded off to bed. As for sex. We don't always have to have it you know. I mean I'll never turn it down, but I also know there is more to us than just sex. But tomorrow after we get home, and then at night, we'll probably both be too tired to do anything. Plus, like I said, I need to straighten up the place. One thing though. On Thursday, I would like to take you and Jenny to dinner, Alan too. That way, she has someone there who she is comfortable with, just in case she can't stand me.”“Oh Stop. She is going to love you. I'll call her tomorrow and set it up. Now! Take me to bed for the last time here and hold me Baby. I want to fall asleep in your arms.”Chapter 17.We got up early for some reason, and took a shower together. I still marvel at this exceptionally beautiful woman. She makes my heart race anytime I am near here. And when we are naked, it quadruples in magnitude. We did not have sex, but we did hold and caress each other until the water started turning cold.We were then packed and on our way home. She drove in front of me for the next 4 hours. We did talk on the phone a couple of times. The last time was just before my exit, which is a couple before hers. I called her and told her I would call her later and that I loved her. I could hear in her voice, a hitch, just like I had in mine. I missed her already and I had just exited from the roadway.Once I was home, I did a load of laundry, then went and started dusting and vacuuming the place. Not a thing I do a lot of. Of course my sister always comes over and does it at times, and bitches me out when she does. I then cut the grass, which was needed after two weeks of not touching it. It takes two hours to cut this lawn, and that's with a tractor. While I was cutting, I did miss a call from Carrie. She also texted me, just saying she was thinking of me and loved me. I texted back apologizing that I didn't answer her and explained why, and that I would call her later.We did talk around 6 that evening. She too was busy with housework and laundry. She strip the beds, not knowing which bed Jenny and Alan slept in. I had to laugh at that. She chuckled too but said, “It's one thing to sleep in our wet spot, but I'm surely not sleeping in theirs.” Which made me laugh hard.About 10 that night, I called her. She was lying in bed, reading a book. She conveyed to me that Jenny was ecstatic over meeting us for dinner and really happy I had included Alan. They were going to meet us at Carrie's at 6pm tomorrow. I told Carrie we would try Delmonico's Steakhouse, which was kind of close to her.She chuckled and said, “Oh fancy place. You know, you don't have to take us there. There's a nice restaurant right down the street from us.”“That's cool. But I want too. How many college kids can go to a place like this. Plus I have always wanted to try it, but, I'm not going alone. Ann said the food is excellent there.”“Speaking of Ann, did you call her and inform her that you are bringing someone Sunday?” she asked.“Oh yeah. She is so excited now. She can't wait to meet you. I told her that your parents were going to be in from Florida and I didn't know what plans they had that day. She said to bring them along too. The more the merrier.”Carried giggled, then said, “I don't know if your sister has a clue what Dad can be like. Just don't bring up politics. He thinks they are all thieves and liars.” which made me laugh.Then she got quiet. “Anything wrong? You are quiet now “ She sighed, “No, just missing lying next to you, with your arms around me. I feel so safe then. I love you Mark”“I love you too, Carolyn, and I do miss being with you. It was a very long day without you near me.” I told her.“It was a long day for me as well. I don't know how or why this happened between us, but I am so happy that you are in my life now. Maybe tomorrow night, you can spend it here with me, if you want too.” she said.“I think that can be arranged. You know what I do miss? You calling me Jarhead. When you say it, it means something to me.”“I told you, after last weekend, I was done calling you that, but if you insist, I'll just call you JH.”“I insist Squid. Now get some sleep. Just know, I love you Carrie and I am holding you in my dreams tonight.”Chapter 18.I knew Carrie had an appointment at 11am, so I didn't want to bother her, but did send her a text, after I got up and said good morning and I love you. She replied instantly to it, saying she was about to shower and get ready and she loved me too.I was pretty proud of myself. I dusted and swept the whole house. Not that I am a slob, but those are two jobs I really don't enjoy doing. Hell, living alone and never having people over, except for my sister, afforded me the luxury of not caring too much to do that. But with Carrie in my life, I guess I need to change my way of thinking.I then immersed myself in a project that I had been working on for this one company. I needed to do something to keep my mind occupied, since I would not be seeing her until later in the afternoon. I was surprised though, that by 3pm, I hadn't heard anything from her. I hope all went well with her doc appointment.I had told her that I would be over by 5:30, so we could spend some time alone, before Jenny and Alan showed up. By 4:30, I was shaved, and showered, then dressed for the evening. Since it was cool out, I wore dark blue pants, and lighter blue shirt, with a dark blue sport coat. I wanted to look good for when I met Jenny, and convey, I'm not some unkempt slob, who was dating her mother. I'm generally a jeans and t-shirt, or sweatshirt, kind of guy.I couldn't stand the wait any longer and decided to arrive a bit sooner. I got to her house at 5:15, so just a little bit early. After ringing the doorbell a few times, Carrie finally opened the door. Although she smiled when she let me in, I could tell something was amiss with her. After a brief hug and quick kiss on the lips, we stood back from one another.Carrie was wearing a burgundy pleated dress. It came to just above the knees. The neckline plunged just a bit, with white lace around the edges, with short sleeves as well. She looked radiant.“Wow. You look absolutely beautiful Sweetie.” I told her. She just said thanks, but that was it. Then said she had to finish getting ready. My antennae was now up. I could sense something was wrong. This girl was always so bubbly, and that definitely was not the case now. So I just walked around her living room, looking at pictures on the wall of Jenny, and her parents, and some people I had no clue of who they were. Then just took a seat and waited for her.For me, this was something new. I did not know what to say or do. Did I do something wrong, that may have upset her? Who knew, but this was not the Carrie I just spent almost two weeks with, had fun with, and made love too on many occasions. So I'm basically a fish out of water now. I made up my mind to just go with the flow, and when she is ready to talk, I'll be there, and hopefully, understand what is going on.Of course, my fear was she was going to end this between us. She had time to reflect and said that this wasn't worth it. If that is how she felt, then who was I to pursue it any further. I don't want to be with someone who did not want the same as me. Sitting there waiting, makes your mind think weird ass things, like I just did. Then again, maybe it wasn't anything and she is just having a bad day, or is nervous about me meeting Jenny.She finally emerged from wherever she was in her condo. When I saw her, she looked the same, so I have no idea what else she could have been doing. She walked into her kitchen and got a bottle of water, then asked if I wanted one too, which I kindly said no too.I finally got the courage to ask, “Is there something wrong?”She looked at me and had a sullen look on her face, then finally said “No. Guess I am just tired from all the prodding and poking today. I'm sorry I am not more upbeat.”I got up and went to her and wrapped my arms around her, “If you want to cancel tonight, that would be okay with me. We keep go out with them some other time, when you are feeling more up to it.”“No. No. I am fine. It will be fine. We'll go have a fun night with them. Jenny is so looking forward to meeting you.” she said, as she pulled away from me and went into the living room. “We'll talk later tonight, when we get back.”I knew from how she stated it, something was wrong. But, being a dumb man, I have no clue as to what. I didn't want to piss her off by asking questions. Maybe something at the doc's. I guess when she is ready, she will let me know. I walked up next to her and grabbed her hand, just to let her know I was there for her. At that point, her front door opened and in walked Jenny and Alan.Jenny was definitely a looker. I would say 5 foot 3, maybe 110 pounds, brown hair and eyes, and the cutest dimples. She did have bigger boobs than her mom, but since she was adopted, that made sense. But the irony of how much the two looked alike was uncanny. Alan was a good looking guy too. He had that German look to him. Blond hair, blue eyes, chiseled face and stood about 6 foot, but maybe weighed 170 pounds, if that.After making the introductions and some small talk, we left her condo and headed to dinner in my truck.At dinner, Carrie seemed to be her normal self. Well, at least the normal I had seen for the last two weeks. Jenny was regaling us with stories from her college life and some of things her and Alan had been doing of late, except for the sex part. I don't think Carrie, or myself, needed or wanted to know those details.As dinner was finally coming to an end, I had to admit, I was kind of quiet. I just let the three of them guide the evening and the conversation. Jenny did inquire what I actually did for a living, so I explained it to her. She was impressed, as was Alan. I tried not to let my concerns for Carrie, or our budding relationship ruin the evening. In my heart though, I had a bad feeling, this would be the last time I would see these three people.Near the end of dinner, Carrie announced that she needed to use the ladies room. Alan also said he need to use the facility, which then left just me and Jenny. I wasn't sure what to say to her, so I let her make the first move on talking.  “okay Mark. What's up with mom? Did you two have an argument or something?” Jenny asked.I shook my head, “Jenny. I have no idea what is wrong tonight. When I arrived this evening, she was down for some reason and won't tell me why. Yesterday we were fine, but ever since her doctor visit, she has changed. Maybe she has done some thinking and decided a relationship is not what she wants. Until she tells me, I am in the dark.”Jenny reached over and touched my arm. “I don't know either, but I do know that she and I talked last night for an hour and she is head over heels in love with you, and says you are with her as well. Are you Mark? Are you in love with my Mom?”“Nothing has changed for how I feel for your mother Jenny. I am in love with her. But, if she has had a change of heart, then I will abide by her wishes. Maybe we moved too fast. I don't know. To be honest Jenny. I have never been in love before, so this is a new territory for me. But if she had time to reflect now, and feels this isn't what she wants, well, I don't want to force anything like that on her. I just want her happy.”Jenny just shook her head, “I can't believe her mind could change like that. Something must be wrong and she just needs time to process it. Maybe you two can talk later. When we get back to my mom's, Alan and I are going to leave, and give you two some space to talk. Oh, and by the way, Papa really does like you. He thinks you are a good man.”Just as she said that, Carrie was walking back. Alan came a minute later. The waitress came around and asked if any of us wanted dessert, but we all begged off, since our meals were so filling.On the way home, Carrie was pretty quiet. In fact, you could probably cut the tension with a knife, that was between us. Jenny and Alan were pretty quiet too. I'd have done anything to hear some funny story either of them may have had right then.After arriving back at Carrie's condo, we all got out and Jenny said that they needed to get going. Carrie said she wished they could stay longer, but the kids said they had some homework they needed to finish up, but would see us this weekend. Of course my mind didn't think I would be involved with this family get together.As they left, Carrie turned and headed to her door, and I followed. Once inside, she asked if I wanted anything to drink, which I kindly declined. She went to the kitchen and got a bottle of water then rejoined me in the living room. I wanted to get this over with, so I started it off.  “okay Carolyn, please tell me what is wrong. I need to know.” I said in a somber voice.“Let's sit” she said, and we both did. She faced me and I could see a tear starting to form in her eye. My stomach became a knot now. My fears were now becoming reality, at least in my mind.“I wish I knew where to start, but I have to say, that no man has ever made me feel the way you make me feel. But I really think we need to step back and take a break for now.”, then she started crying. I reach for her, but she backed away. That made it feel like a knife was just plunged into my heart.“Carrie. How can you go from being so in love, to wanting to take a break, just like that. There is more than what you are telling me. So please tell me what has caused this sudden change in feelings.”She was still sobbing, trying to get her emotions under control, then finally looked at me and said, “Mark. They found a growth on one of my ovaries today. After the Pelvic exam, she did and ultrasound and found it. They want me to see a specialist next Tuesday then do some testing.” then started crying again. This time she let me pull her towards me. I knew this isn't good, but this is also something that can be taken care of. I had a cousin once have something similar to this and they removed a cyst the size of an egg from her, and she was fine then.“It's  okay Carrie. I'm sure it's nothing that medicine or an operation can't take care of.” I told her.“And what if it isn't Mark? What if it is cancer. Why should you be saddled with that in your life. We've known each other not even two fucking weeks. Although the best two weeks of my life. But this is not something you need to be part of. Your best bet is to turn around, walk away and get on with your life, like I never existed.” and started crying again.I pulled her into me again and held her tight. Her head was buried in my shoulder, and I caressed her hair and let her cry. I mean, if I was in her position, I'd probably tell her the same things. But I may not know her completely, but what I know of her already, she has a fierce loyalty to people she cares for and loves, and I know she wouldn't walk away either.After letting her sob some more, I gently moved her back, and away from me, so I could speak to her. “Sweetheart. There is no way I am letting you do this alone. Granted, we have only known each other for two weeks, but in these two weeks, you have captured my heart with every fiber of your being. I am in love with you Missy. People who love one another don't turn tail and run because of something traumatic happens to the other person. You stand with them, be their support and showed them love, for that is the only thing that can help get you through this. I have been a Marine for all of my adult life and one thing that is ingrained in us, from the time of our first day in boot camp, is that you never let the man next to you, or when you are a sergeant, your platoon, you never abandon them. No man is ever left behind. You're wounded Honey, so I will not leave you behind, so get used to that. When this is all over and you still feel this way, then you can tell me to hit the bricks.”She just stared at me, and while trying to compose herself, she gripped my hand in hers. “It's not fair to you Mark. What if it is cancer and it can't be fixed, then what? You going to just wait around and watch me die? You could be out finding that right person, instead of babysitting me.”“Stop it Carrie. You have no idea what it is. It could be a simple cyst, that meds could take care of. But one thing I do know, I will be with you this Tuesday, and any other day you need to have something done. I will be the first person you see when you wake up. But I will be there and I will always be there for you. I love you.”“Mark. It's not fair.” she shouted, then started crying again. “You're right. It's not fair. But who said life is. But I am not walking away. In fact I am more in love with you now, than I was 20 minutes ago. I don't know about you, but I have every intention of growing old with you. We have too much to do with our lives. So baby doll, I am not leaving you, Not ever.”“Carrie. Do you love me?” I asked. “Damn you Jarhead. You know I do.” she said. “Good. Don't you ever hold back something like this again from me. I won't either from you. But Babe, we can only help one another if we are open and honest with each other. Why don't you go get ready for bed. I'm not going home tonight, but I will sleep on the couch.”She shook her head and got up. As she did, she reached for my hand, “You are not, nor will you ever sleep on the couch. Your place is beside me in bed. I'm so sorry for ever thinking you would want out of this. I do love you Mark. More than you will ever know”She led me up the stairs to her bedroom. We both stripped off of our clothes. I had on the white silk boxers she got me. She put on this long t-shirt with a Minion on the front. She looked cute. We both used her bathroom then climbed into bed, where she snuggled up to me and let me hold her close. Her head rested on my chest.“Mark?” she said softly. “Carrie?” I answered back. “I am sorry. I promise never to do that to you again. I'm also sorry I was a Debbie Downer tonight at dinner, and even before. I'm sure Jenny could tell something was wrong.”“Oh yeah she could. She thought that you and I had an argument. Your daughter is quite perceptive. After meeting her now, I have to say, you two do favor one another. Alan is one lucky man and judging how he dotes on her, he knows it too. They do make a nice couple. I just hope I made a good impression with her. I wasn't to talkative tonight.”“Well, I think you'll get a few more chances this weekend to really win her over. But I can tell she likes you already. If she talks a lot, she likes you. Had she just sat there and not talked much, then that means she doesn't want anything to do with you.”“You know, last night, I was so lonely without you next to me. I hugged my pillow thinking it was you. Except your body is a bit more muscular. I had so many plans for tonight, with us ending the night in bed making love. I want too, but I don't want to do that until we know what is going on down there.”My hand was stroking her back, when I said, “I don't know about you, but this is making love Baby. I'm not in this for the sex. I'm in this because of love. Holding you close, telling our feelings to each other, that is true love making in my book. I'm not too good with stuff like this, but I have never felt this way for another human being. We'll have plenty of time for lovemaking, and dare I say, some naughty sex.”She snuggled even closer and let her hand rub on my chest and belly. “Thank You. You make me feel so loved. I love you Mark. Oh and I like what you wore under your pants. You do look sexy in these boxers.”“I love you too Carolyn. Now get some sleep. We have a long weekend ahead of us. That is if you want me around all the time.”“Of course I want you around the whole time. Not sure about sleeping together. Daddy may have a hard time with that one.” then giggled.Chapter 19.In the morning we agreed to take separate showers instead of together. We both agreed it would be too tempting, had we gone in together. She did tease me though by removing her shirt and slowly saunter into the bathroom, giggling the whole way. I would say My Carrie was back.Her parents flight was due in at 4pm. I told Carrie I needed to catch up on a few things at the house, but would be back in time to go with her to pick them up. She must have texted me twenty times, just saying I love you. That made me feel good.I picked Carrie up at 3pm and went to the airport to meet her parents. She was very happy today. A far cry from yesterday's somber mood she was in. She was wearing a maroon cashmere sweater and black slacks. I too had black slacks on and a blue crew neck sweater. The whole trip there she held my hand, as she did once we were there and waited.Like all airports now, you had to wait down in the baggage area. It took about 10 minutes after their plane arrived, before we saw them coming down the escalator. Once Carrie spotted them, she pulled me along until they were on top of us, and went and hugged her mom, then her dad.Then Mrs. Reynolds gave me a hug and a kiss, and said I still looked like I did when we met in Norfolk all those years ago. Chief shook my hand then said, “You ain't giving me no damn hug son.” I just laughed and told him, “Not in your life you crotchety old bastard.” which made us all laugh.After arriving back at Carrie's, we saw that Jenny was there waiting for us. Alan was with her, but I could see the tension in his face. The old man did scare the shit out of him. I took him aside and told him, just to relax, but show no sign of fear to the chief. He eats that shit up. He sort of laughed and said, oh sure, easier said than done Mr. Roberts. I told him for now on, call me Mark. Save the mister for the other guy.We all then went to dinner, after the couple relaxed a bit after their flight. It was one of those chain restaurants. We all had a good time and of course, Chief had to regale us with stories when I was aboard the Lincoln. That's when Jenny asked about the “don't shit where you eat comment”, but cleaned it up some because of her mom and grandma there. Chief went on to explain about this one newly appointed petty officer I had an eye on. After he finished, everyone laughed, only because he made sound more colorful than it actually was.After we got back to Carrie's, the girls busied themselves in the kitchen, leaving myself, Alan, and the Chief alone in the living room. I could see Alan was a bit apprehensive about being in there. I'm sure he was never prepared for anything like this in college.  “okay you two Shitbirds.” chief started out. “Those three fine ladies in there mean the world to me. And two of them, for some ungodly reason happen to like you two. All I ever wanted for those two is complete happiness. If you can't give them that, leave now, otherwise, I need a promise to never ever hurt them, no matter what.”“You have my word on that Chief. Never doubt that.” I said, as the chief then nodded once to me. Alan then looked at him and said, “Sir, my only intention is to make Jenny happy, so I promise.” Chief just glared at him. Alan was unsure of what he said, but knew he didn't like something. I looked at Alan and said, “Alan. Relax. Just don't call Mr. Reynolds sir. Non Com's, noncommissioned officers, like we both were, do not like getting called sir, by anyone. And Chief, chill out, he isn't military.”Chief just chuckled. “Yeah, and don't call me Mr. Reynolds. Makes me feel old. Call me John for now on, or at least until you guys make it legal between those gals in there, then we'll figure out what you call me then. And Alan, you did good kid. You didn't break, like so many Seaman have, right out of boot camp.” then just smiled.Just then the girls came back from the kitchen with drinks. From that point on, the mood was light and cheerful. I just sat back and watched how this family interacted. They are like most families, I guess. Since it is just my sister and myself, except for an uncle and aunt and three cousin's, I really couldn't tell you what a big family is like. Mine though, is quite boisterous and not afraid of speaking their minds on any subject.About an hour went by when Jenny and Alan said their goodbye's. They were going to the football game the next afternoon and wanted to get some sleep. We sat up a bit more with John and Connie, telling a lot of what we did up in the mountains. Well, not everything, or I am sure, he'd have killed me by now.I was getting up, so I could make my leave too, when Carrie asked me to join her in the kitchen. I had no idea what she wanted, but went with the flow and followed her in.“I don't want you going back to your place tonight. You are sleeping with me, unless you don't want too.” she said, giving me her little pouty face she likes to do now and then.“I'm not sure how your parents will feel about that. I don't want to cause any trouble for you, or me either.”Carried just chuckled, “Don't worry about them. I am 41 you know. Plus, me and mom talked out here. She knows you and I have slept together from almost the beginning of us meeting. She is fine with it, and she'll take care of dad. As she put it, “That boy is over the moon for you Honey. Treat him good and he'll treat you like a queen.” So don't worry. But, we can't play around. That would be too weird.” and we both laughed softly at that.Carrie then grabbed my hand and walked towards the stairs, to go upstairs. “Night you two” she said as she passed by them. Her mom said night, but Chief just grunted something. I am pretty sure I will get an earful, next time we are alone.Once in the bedroom, Carrie went to her dresser and opened a drawer, pulled out pajamas. They were blue, red, and white checkerboard style print. She said she went shopping today and got these. She is wearing the top and the bottoms were for me. She stripped down to just her panties, which for once, were not thong style. She still looked sexy as all get out. I stripped too to my boxers and t-shirt. She then went to the bathroom and came out a few minutes later. I followed suit and did my business. She let me know there was a toothbrush on the sink for me, that she just got too.When I came back out, she was already in bed and awaited me. I crawled in next to her. We kissed and held each other close. Like I said when the first time we slept in a bed together, I could definitely get used to this.“Mark Honey. I need to apologize for yesterday. I was so wrong to try and push you away from me. I would have been crushed had you just said  okay, and left. But you didn't. That told me right there how much you love me. So thank you for being here for me. I love you Mark. It grows stronger every minute of the day. I wish right now we could make love, but until I know what is really up with this, we're going to have to take a rest from that. I hope you understand.”I leaned in and kissed her forehead and pulled her tighter to me. God, I love the way she feels.“Sweetheart, you need not apologize for anything. It has to be a shock to you, that is for sure. But, I will always be there for you, no matter what. We'll see this through, together. As for making love right now. This is making love, I believe. The sex is just the icing on the cake, so to speak. Plus, if you think I would have sex with you, with your parents just down the hall, you are crazy.”Carrie was just about to say something, when we both heard a light thumping sound. I started to chuckle, but Carrie said shush. It was definitely a rhythm thump going on.I chuckled and said, “You're kidding right?” Carrie laughed quietly and said, “Oh yeah. I think dad and mom are doing the horizontal hula. Trust me Hun. As far back as I can remember, they are one horny couple. I hope when I am their age, I still want it that much.”Carrie's hand reached under the waistband of my bottoms and boxers and started playing with Mr. happy. “God, I wish this was inside me now. “ She stroked it a few times so it was now almost hard. Then she rolled over on her side, so we could spoon. I too lay on my side and pulled her into me, so our bodies melded together. My hardness nestled up against her beautiful ass, which she then wiggled a bit. My arm lay over her and rested on her tummy. She took that hand and brought up, and inside her top and placed it on her one tit. My hand instantly enveloped her tit and held it gently. “God. I love your hand there” she cooed. “Night Mark. I love you” “I love you too Carrie”To be continued, by T. Foxal.

På många ställen i Sydeuropa har folk börjat protestera mot överturism. I Barcelona beskjuts turister med vattenpistol, i Aten står det "Fuck tourists" på fasaderna och i Paris har anställda på Louvren spontanstrejkat i protest. Samtidigt blir världens turister bara fler och fler. Hur länge kan kan turismen fortsätta som den gör? Programledare: Elinor Ahlborn. Med Ingmar Neveus, Europakorrespondent på DN.Producent: Mårten Trofast.

Quaranteam-Northwest: Part 5 Lab work. Based on a post by Break The Bar. Listen to the ► Podcast at Explicit Novels.   Time went quickly, but also seemed to go nowhere at all; only three days after the final demise of the house we'd moved the RVs four times and I decided we needed to figure out something at least semi-permanent. Even a week in the same spot would be preferable to constant movement. The space where my house had stood was now full of stacks and pallets of supplies, and Vanessa had a crew of almost two dozen of her 'gorillas' working to erect what would become the first of a dozen temporary bunkhouses for the incoming construction workers. She still seemed to be the only foreman on site, so I went looking for Vanessa. I found her at the water truck, splashing some water onto the back of her neck as she took a quick break. It had turned even hotter over the week, spring slipping fully into summer, and we were all starting to boil when we were outside. I'd quickly abandoned the feeling of needing to 'dress up' for everyone and I was down to athletic shorts and one of my sleeveless workout shirts; one of the few that were still 'mine' considering both Erica and Ivy had taken to wearing them as well. Vanessa was the boss however and had to set the example for the rest of the crew, so she was still wearing the jeans, long-sleeved t-shirt and her reflective vest of a dutiful construction foreman. "Hey, got a second?" I asked. "Oh, hey Harrison," she said, looking up as she continued splashing water onto the back of her neck. "Sorry I haven't come to check with you and the girls today, we had three more loads this morning of barracks pilings I had to get sorted, and the fucking surveyors are still bitching about not knowing where the sewage lines are going to come onto the property, as if I can fucking answer that question for them or something." "When's your Dad supposed to finally get on site?" I asked. Her father was supposed to be the General Manager of the entire construction project, but so far I had yet to have seen him. "Fuck, a few days still at least," Vanessa sighed. "I'm getting tired as shit of the phone tag." "Well, sorry if this is a big ask and causes you more headaches; any chance we could project ahead a bit and figure out where we can stash the RVs and everything where we're not going to need to move them for a while? Moving everything around is annoying by itself, but I've also noticed some of your guys are spending a lot of time wandering by the RVs whenever the girls are outside." "Fucking gorillas," Vanessa grunted and grimaced. "I mean, on the one hand, I get it; they are either cooped up in the motel or here working. I'm not exactly thrilled with the situation either. But they could keep it in their fucking pants too, ya know?" "Look, if we can find a spot, the way I see it we can use the RVs and Containers to set up a yard for us that's blocked from view. Then we can have some privacy and not feel cooped up in the RVs, and your guys aren't tempted to let their eyes wander," I said. "I figure it's a win-win." Vanessa smiled and patted my arm. "Harri, as long as you keep the fucking indoors, I'll see what I can do about getting you guys some more privacy." "What do you mean?" I asked, suddenly a little worried that Erica and I might have gotten caught at the Willow tree after all, or that maybe a surveyor had wandered up near the Spring without us hearing. "Nothing, nothing," Vanessa said. "I just; you know we can see the RVs rocking a bit, right? And I don't know who it is, but someone over in your camp is a screamer. We can hear her when she really gets going. Once the guys even gave you a standing ovation." "Fuck," I coughed, shaking my head. "I'm sorry. I think it's something to do with the vaccine. I've had more sex in the last four days than I have in the last four years. Honestly, I don't even know how I'm doing it; I ain't old, but I'm not a teenager either." "Well, god bless the vaccine I guess," Vanessa smirked. "And good for you. Just do me a favor and keep it inside the RVs 'till we can get you that privacy. We don't need the entire site shutting down to listen to you fucking your girlfriends." I shook my head again with a self-deprecating smirk. "Um, deal. I hope." That made Vanessa chuckle, and we parted ways for the afternoon. The next day, she came back in the morning and explained the plan she had worked out with the Surveyors and one of the tree-clearing crews. By mid-afternoon, a new swathe of the back end of the hill was bare of trees, and a bulldozer scooped dirt into the holes left by ripped-up stumps. By the time Vanessa left that evening, two of the storage containers had been shifted around by the 'gorillas' and positioned in an L-shape for us in the new location, and Leo and I moved the RVs to form the other two sides of a square. When Vanessa came by the next morning we'd hung up some old, heavy blankets at the corners to maximize our privacy, busted out the lawn chairs and barbecue, and were on our way to turning the space into an outdoor living room. Leo and I even went so far as to rig up an old bell we'd salvaged from the barn on a wooden post with a metal knocker on a string to serve as a doorbell. Erica was the one to answer Vanessa's ring of the bell, and she swept aside the blanket curtain. "Welcome to Casa de Black," she declared. "Jesus," Vanessa said, walking into our new home base. "You guys didn't want to wait, did you?" "Why would we?" Leo asked. "We don't know how long we're going to be living like this, so might as well make the most of it." Leo had decided to make one last addition to our current set-up, and had pulled a loose slab of wood from the container holding all his tools and was carving 'Speak Friend and Enter' into it the makeshift sign with his handheld angle grinder. He'd already been talking about using his torch to burn the wood before giving it a clear lacquer coat. "What can we do for you, Vanessa?" I asked. "Need some breakfast?" "Actually?" Vanessa chewed on the inside of her cheek for a second and peeked back outside the yard. "Breakfast would be fucking great. They're feeding us at the motel, but it's been the same instant oatmeal every fucking morning." "Well, we've yet to have our egg hookup dry out on us," I said. Old Mrs. Branston lived about fifteen minutes down the highway and had been selling eggs to three generations of my family; through the pandemic and quarantine we'd set up a system where I called ahead and she dropped off two dozen eggs at the end of her driveway, and I left a ten dollar bill in her mailbox. "How do you like them? I think I'm getting pretty good at using the grill with a frying pan." We hosted Vanessa for about fifteen minutes as I fried her up some over-easy eggs and some toast to go with it, and she started devouring the first two so quickly that I put another two in the pan for her immediately. While I cooked, she shared the most recent gossip running through the construction crews. "So the latest group to come in said they got tested four times before even leaving the airport," she said around a mouthful. "They were basically flown into Portland, put in little hygienic pods inside the terminals until they'd tested negative all four times, then escorted to military transports. I guess the army is our taxi service or something, and there are members of the national guard currently standing watch at all of the motels. It's kind of fucked up and feels like a prison, honestly. We're not even supposed to mingle outside with each other, despite the fact that we all work together here all day." "Who's feeding you all?" Danielle asked. "Just the people already working out there seems like a lot." "Some catering service is making these prepackaged meals," Vanessa said. "The breakfasts are shit, and the lunches are whatever. The dinners are Okay though; microwavable, and waiting for us when we get off shift." "Have you heard anything else out there about the vaccine?" I asked. "Hmm-Hmm," Vanessa shook her head. "But I mean, I spend my time working." "I'm still not seeing much online," Leo said. "Little whispers on social media, but then it disappears before it gets going." "That's kinda fucked up," Erica said. "We know it's real. The government must be censoring the information or something. "Well, whenever it happens, I don't know what I'll do," Vanessa sighed. "I like working too much, being my own woman. I bring in more cash in a year than almost every other person I graduated high school with, I've been doing it for years, and I don't have any debts. I can't just get tied down to some guy." "You would be surprised, Vanessa," Ivy spoke up. "I am this way too, no? I left home to make my way, and I am happy doing it. But now I am happy here, and am also safe from the sickness. It is not how I saw my life going, but c'est la vie, non?" Vanessa shrugged, and we moved on to some other topics until her radio squawked and she had to run off back to her work. By lunchtime I'd already done another two quick guides into the hills for the surveyors and Leo had gotten his nerd-sign carved out and torched, and he was spray lacquering it outside the yard with a facemask and safety goggles on to cut the strong fumes. He stopped the sprayer when he saw me approaching and stepped away from the sign. "Hey, you able to help me out with hanging this tonight?" he asked me. "Of course," I said. "I gotta help you fly your nerd flag somehow." "Yeah, says the guy with the Lord of the Rings concept art cycling as his desktop screen," Leo rolled his eyes. "It's for my work," I said. "Top-notch inspiration." And then I realized I hadn't opened my laptop in days; not since I'd finished the questionnaire that had led to Erica choosing me. And Ivy for that matter. I hadn't checked emails, I hadn't reached out to contacts. Fuck, I hadn't even sent in my last work-for-hire backgrounds. "Whatever," Leo laughed and punched me in the arm. "Look, when you go in there, just know it wasn't my idea, Okay? I only helped them move the stuff." "What does that mean?" I asked. "You'll see," Leo said cryptically. I ducked through the blanket door and immediately saw what Leo was talking about. Space had been cleared in the center of our sheltered yard for three of the heavy Adirondack deck chairs, and laying in those chairs were Danielle, Erica and Ivy. Each of them was wearing a bikini and were glistening with sunscreen and sweat from the sun as they tanned. They had a Bluetooth speaker playing songs from their phones; I suspected Erica was trying to convince the younger two women of the virtues of mid-2000s pop punk. "Oh, good," Erica said, grinning as she saw me coming into the yard. She lifted her glass. "Um, excuse me, waiter? We could use a top-up, please." I snorted and shook my head, walking over. All three of the women were in two-piece swimsuits, though I suspected Danielle and Ivy's were possibly part of their stripping gear rather than actual bikinis. Both of their suits were more string than fabric and left little to the imagination. Erica's was a bit more conservative, though really not by that much because of her swathe of cleavage. "What are we drinking today, ladies?" I asked. "I made up a pitcher of sangria," Erica said. "It's in the fridge in our place. You would be the absolute love of my life if you were to go get it for us, please?" "I thought I already was the love of your life?" I asked with a smile. "You are," Erica smiled back. "But this will get you to the front of the line for my next life, too. How about that?" "Does that go for all of you?" I asked. "Absolutely," Ivy grinned. "I think I could definitely do worse," Danielle grinned. "But I think Leo might have something to say about that." "Harri can take my brother," Erica chuckled. "Don't worry, Danni. Just sell your future soul to Harri, what's the worst that could happen?" "Fine. My future love life for a refill of sangria," Danielle giggled. I fetched the pitcher and poured for the three women, unable to wipe the grin from my lips as I watched and listened to them bantering back and forth happily. By mid-afternoon, the tanning was over and after a quick fuck in the RV Erica and I were lounging in the Adirondacks, each of us with a sketchbook in hand. "What are you working on?" I asked. "I know you've been as frustrated as I have over the last month." "A tattoo design for Ivy," Erica said, her brow creased as she tapped her pencil against her lips thoughtfully. "Now that I have a future canvas, I feel like I can concentrate again. Plus the sex helps a lot." You laughed and nodded. "Got your creative juices flowing, huh?" "Got all my juices flowing, baby," she grinned at me. "What about you? I've got Ivy, and Danielle wants me to design something for her now, too. What's got you drawing again?" I smiled a little and shrugged. "Just figured out my muse," I said. "And what's that?" she asked. "Come on, don't be shy." I turned my sketchbook around so that Erica could see the portrait I had been sketching of her. She looked at it and blushed, biting her lower lip. "Just the most beautiful thing in the world," I told her. "You know," Erica said. "It kinda looks like you're drawing me naked." "That's cause I'm drawing you from the shoulders up," I said. "Yeah, but would you?" she asked. "Would I what? Draw you naked?" "Or Ivy?" "Are you asking me to draw you like one of my French girls?" I asked. Erica barked out a laugh at the reference and threw her pencil at me. "Yes, maybe I am," she said. "Now give me back my pencil." "You threw it at me," I said, fetching it off the ground. "Come and get it." We ended up in each other's arms and making out, me halfway to taking her back into the RV for round two, when someone rang the doorbell. "Who is it?" I shouted over the wall. "It's me," Vanessa called and ducked through the blanket door without waiting for a response. "Sorry, but we've got a problem," she said. "I think I'm going to need you down at the road again." "Fuck," I said. "Is it Kara?" "It's a lot more than that bitch," Vanessa said. I changed and this time Vanessa drove us both down in her company-branded pickup truck. Erica, having already staked her claim on me in front of Kara in her eyes, decided to hang back and let Ivy finish what I'd started. I was sure sending me away with that picture in my mind was done on purpose. As we were nearing the bottom of the driveway, I could hear the noise of the protest through the closed windows and over the engine of the truck. "Fuck me," I said. "Yeah," Vanessa nodded. The end of the driveway was packed with people, shoulder to shoulder, blocking traffic. They were three rows deep and singing a protest chant. Every single one of them was dressed in bright colors, showing their allegiance to the Band and proudly shouting for all they were worth. Opposing them, about ten feet up the drive, was a slim, single row of burly construction workers just watching the protest happen. "Those guys really can't let themselves get baited," I said. "If something happens, it doesn't matter who said what or what can hold up in court. There'll be big, scary motherfuckers showing up wanting to do some damage and I don't think your boys are ready for that." "I know, I already told them," Vanessa said. "But I'll tell them again. You'd be surprised how much threatening someone's big, fat bonus checks can keep them calm and focused." We got out of the truck and I walked down to the line of workers, rubbing at the stubble on my chin as I considered the protestors. There were easily fifty of them blocking the driveway, and there was already a backup of two flatbed trucks on the highway, plus a half dozen cars that looked more like they just wanted to get by rather than come in. Another thirty or so protestors were strung out on either side of the highway in both directions, holding up signs and doing the organizational things to keep the protestors going. "Pretty good turnout," I said offhandedly. "A lot bigger than last time." "When was the last time?" Vanessa asked. "Five years ago," I said. "Kara tried to sue for an injunction on my father's Will, and about a dozen protestors showed up to the courthouse the day she got shot down." "Any chance they'll get tired and go home?" Vanessa asked. I scanned the crowd and the vehicles parked up and down the highway. I already knew there were about thirty military-age males in the protest, and I could see people opening the backs of vans where I spotted supply caches of water and food. I could also see the determination on the faces of the crowd, and hear the declarations of a couple of different women holding loudspeakers. The rhetoric, and emotions, were ramped up more than usual. The anti-government hate was high, and now that they knew they weren't fighting Me but rather the Government it seemed to steel their resolve. "Not a shot," I said. I stepped forward and the shouting got louder. Likely every single person in that crowd knew who I was, while I had no idea who most of them were. But with every step I took, they shouted louder. Finally, halfway between the lines, they seemed to be at a fever pitch and I just stopped and waited. They kept going for a good five minutes before Kara pushed her way through and walked up to me, masked behind those bandanas again. "I told you this would happen," Kara said over the shouting and chanting. "You didn't think I could do it, but look at us. Look at us, Harrison! We will not let this happen to our land." "Kara," I said loudly. "How do you think this ends?" "Only one way," Kara shouted. "The Feds surrender to our rightful claim, and stop their colonization efforts, and we take back what's ours." "This is dangerous, Kara," I said, gesturing at the crowd. "What?" she shouted back. "I said this is dangerous, Kara," I shouted. "Every person here is in danger." "Are you threatening us?" Kara shouted, playing it up for the crowd behind her. "Going to kill us, like your family has done for generations?" "Jesus fuck," I said, shaking my head. "Kara, this doesn't end the way you think it does. I'm going to pray for you, honest to God." Kara just held up her middle finger at me, pointed her other at Vanessa behind me, and turned and walked away to the cheers of her people. I shrugged and went back to Vanessa. "Yeah, they aren't leaving," I said. "I already called my Dad," Vanessa said. "He's coming down and will want to meet with you." "Sure," I nodded. "If they let him through." About thirty minutes later the protesters were still going strong, and another three flatbeds with either supplies or heavy machinery were backed up on the highway, along with dozens of cars. Vanessa was doing as much as she could to keep her workers at least a dozen yards away from the crowd of protestors; the last thing she wanted was for them to need to get quarantined waiting on a half dozen new tests. Or worse, actually catch something. I did my best to help her juggle phones, calling various General Foremen to get incoming trucks rerouted to staging areas and to keep those that were stuck in the traffic in their cabs or else they couldn't enter the site. Eventually she got a call, spoke quickly and then hung up. "Harri, this might be a big ask, but could you do me a favor?" she asked. "The government paid me a lot of money for my land and doing favors," I said. "But you've gone out of your way plenty for me and Leo and the girls. Favors come free to you, Vee." She rolled her eyes. "Who told you my brothers call me that?" "No one, just felt natural," I chuckled. "I call Erica 'E' sometimes, and I'm sure I'll end up calling Ivy 'I've' at some point." "Alright, well, 'H,'" she said. "My dad is parked down at the edge of the property on the highway and doesn't want to get too close to the traffic. Could you hike out to him and bring him back?" "Sure," I said. I looked up at the sun and then out at the woods. "Um, from here... it's probably faster if I grab an ATV. Would he be squeamish about riding double with me?" Vanessa snorted. "He probably wouldn't be, but he's also got a gut the size of your ATVs so it would be a tight fit." "Alright, guess we're hiking. I can rough it and reach him in about twenty minutes," I said. "I'll take a smoother way back for him, so we'll get here in under an hour." "Got it, I'll let him know you're on your way. Thanks," she said, patting my arm. "Try to take it easy on him, he growls like a bear but he's still my Dad." "Hey, he's the big man in charge. Gotta keep him happy or else I'll find myself with the worst workers for my house, right?" "Very true," she laughed. I started hiking back up the driveway a little ways, and then diverted into the woods, hoping that the protestors would miss that I was skirting away from them. I was very glad I had changed from my lounging around clothes; rough jeans and my hiking boots were a lot sturdier in the rocky bush than athletic shorts and sandals. The raucousness of the protestors was quickly muffled by the forest to a dull roar, and it felt good to get away from them. It was weird. After spending months in isolation with Leo and Erica, we'd been getting used to so many people around again with the workers and adding Ivy and Danielle to our weird little family dynamic. But a crowd like that, all packed together? That was exactly what the quarantine orders were warning against. "Harrison!" My name cut through the muffle of the trees and shrubs, and I turned and saw Kara quickly jogging through the woods to catch up with me. "Kara, what the fuck are you doing? You're trespassing," I said. "So throw me off your land," Kara said, coming to a stop about ten feet from me and putting her hands on her hips. "Oh wait, that's right, it's not your land anymore." I rolled my eyes. "You can take off the bandanas if you want. We're fine this far apart." She did so, pulling them down to hang around her neck. Kara was still as beautiful as the day we'd broken up, though she'd grown up a lot. Where I was such a mix that it was hard to tell I had any Native American in my bloodstream, she had that classic warm skin tone and thick black hair. She'd been taking care of herself well, fit and a little thinner than Erica was, but with a similar strong jawline to my girlfriend. Her lips were as full as I remembered though, and I could almost feel her kissing me again like all those years ago behind the corner of the biology classroom in high school, or laying out in the back of my old beater pickup under the stars. "What's going on, Harri?" she asked me. "I thought we'd at least hit a status quo or something." "Oh, the one where you file a lawsuit against me every couple of years, and the judge shuts you down, but I keep having to rack up legal fees?" "No," she said. "Well, sort of. I thought we were keeping things above board. No games, no gimmicks. Not getting historical." I grimaced. "Well, we did," I said. "So what the fuck?" she said, throwing her arms wide. "What the fuck is all of this?" "Kara, think about it for one fucking second without your prejudice. Imagine I'm not just doing this as a 'Fuck You' from my family tree to the Band," I said. "A week ago I wouldn't have thought any of this would be happening. A week ago I was happily living my life and would have stayed that way straight through the end of the world if I had to. Do you seriously think I've done this on some whim?" "Why, then? What are they doing? What are they offering you?" she demanded. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you," I said. "And even if you did, I think you're too far into this already to walk it back with your people." "Try me," she said. "If you ever cared about me,” "Stop," I interrupted her. "You've used that line twice on me before, Kara. You used it when you broke up with me, and you used it again right after my father died. That line didn't work when I was at some of the lowest points in my life; do you seriously think I'll respond well to that here?" She grimaced, and I saw the realization in her eyes that I was right. That she had used that line before, and it had been pretty fucked up for her to do that. "I'm sorry," she said, and only partially through gritted teeth. "I shouldn't have done that." "Thank you," I said. My heart was pounding in my chest and I felt like I was in combat, just having this verbal sparring contest with her. I fucking hated her, but I also still knew she was the first girl I'd ever loved. The one that had broken my heart. The one that 'got away.' "Just explain it to me," Kara said, trying to be more even about it. "Please." I took a moment to breathe deeply. I wasn't barred from telling her anything. I'd tried to warn her when she'd shown up at the driveway before, but the thought of all those protestors at risk for the virus pushed me over the edge of trying to warn her again. "Kara, the government gave me the choice of accepting a huge payout for the land, or them kicking me out and taking it by eminent domain. Either way, they were going to take it and take it fast. I could either ride it, or die fighting it." "So what are they doing with it?" she asked. "Building homes," I said. "A whole gated community, it sounds like. Part of my payout was housing for myself, Leo and Valerie." "What the fuck? Why do they want a gated community way out here?" she asked. "Worst-case scenario shit," I said. "You mean the pandemic?" she asked. "Are you for fucking serious?" "Serious enough that my house got bulldozed a couple days ago," I said. "Gone. Like it was never even there." "This can't be real," Kara said. "This is absurd." "I told you that you wouldn't believe me," I said. "Well, if you were too much of a cunt to stop them, we will," Kara said, steeling herself again. "We'll have the local news down here by tomorrow, and if the Feds show up we'll have national news coverage by the end of the week." I had to try one more time. "Kara, this doesn't end the way you want it to. You're a dreamer, and I loved that about you when we were teens, but you know the real world doesn't just work like that." Kara narrowed her eyes. "Where are you going right now?" "What does that matter?" I asked. "Because I just followed you out into the woods after your little construction girlfriend was talking to you," she said. "She's not my girlfriend," I rolled my eyes. "Tell her that. She's flirting with you hard enough," Kara said. "I can see her doing it." "Even if she was, what does that have to do with you?" I asked. I knew I'd landed a blow because she got angry again. "Nothing," she said. "But I still want to know what you're doing." "I don't have to tell you that, Kara," I said. "I don't answer to you, I don't owe you anything, and I don't worship the ground you walk on. All I've got to say now is that you should go send all those people home, and hope that you haven't organized some super-spreader event here. For all the shit you've given me and my family, I don't want to see them all dead. I don't want to see you dead." Kara raised her bandanas again. "We're fighting the good fight. We're on the right side of this, Harrison. You're not." She turned and started walking back towards the road. "Fuck me," I sighed, shaking my head. That woman could still push my buttons almost fifteen years later. I pressed through the forest, making for the edge of the property and then diverting towards the road. When I reached it, I found a white and brown heavy pickup identical to Vanessa's idling on the gravel shoulder. The big guy in the driver's seat rolled down his window a crack. "What's up?" "I'm Harrison Black," I said. Another guy got out of the passenger seat and came around, slapping the hood. "Head on back to the motel," he said to the man in the truck. "I'll catch a ride back with my daughter." The guy in the truck nodded and waited for us both to back away before pulling a U-Turn and taking off down the highway. "So, you're the land guy, eh?" the man said, turning and offering me his hand. He was exactly as Vanessa had described; portly to the point of obese, with a gruff exterior that spoke of years handling his business in a rough industry and getting shit done. "I am," I said, taking his hand and shaking it firmly. "Your daughter has been fantastic to work with. Helpful and on task, and she keeps her guys in line." "I have no doubt," he said. "She grew up bossing her older brothers around and got the best of her mother and me. I'm Brent Peters, by the way. I'm sure we'll be speaking every once in a while through this project." "Good to meet you, sir," I said. "And I'm sure we will." I led Brent into the brush and got us through the roughest part until I could get us to one of the more used trails. It got a lot easier for him there, and once he had a chance to catch his breath he seemed to actually enjoy the chance to stretch his legs. He didn't know, or at least wasn't forthcoming, with any more information than Vanessa had been able to give about what was going on, but he did enjoy hearing about the sordid history of the land, my family and the Band. It took a little longer than I'd thought it would to get back to the driveway, Brent needing a couple of breaks, but we made it eventually. Vanessa grinned when she saw her father in a way that made me think she was going to run to him and hug him, but she never made the move. I had to assume that was a hard-trained response from her years working with the man; hugging your pops on a job site would probably lead to taking a lot of shit from your coworkers. Brent quickly got updated on the last hour of developments from Vanessa, and I saw his managerial side take over. Soon the line of construction workers were twenty yards back from the protestors, and he was stride-waddling forward with a medical mask stretched over his face. Kara met him halfway, and whatever they said seemed to go about as well as the talks I'd had with her myself. Again, she ended it by showing off for the protestors by giving him the double-birds. "Well, that went well," Brent sighed as he came back. "You were right, Harrison. They're stuck in. Wouldn't even help us get those trucks room to move or get out of the way of traffic." "She feels like she's got leverage," I guessed. "And they haven't had that on us for years now." "Well, I've officially done what I can," Brent said. "Time to do what every good GM does when shit like this happens." He took out his phone and started walking up the driveway away from Vanessa and me. "What's that?" I asked. "Call the client and tell them to un-fuck the situation," Vanessa smirked. The rest of the afternoon and evening was a long fucking day. There was no good way to get the workers on site off of it, and no good way to get new ones on, so Leo and I ended up walking several groups through the trails to get to the road in places out of sight of the protestors. And since the big crew vans were parked on site, Brent ended up getting access to school buses to come and pick up his guys. The second to last bus dropped off a dozen men who would take over watching the driveway and the protestors overnight; we'd already seen them breaking out tents and lanterns to hold their vigil; and the last bus out had Brent and Vanessa on board. "Client will be by in the morning," Brent said, and winked at me. "Don't you worry, bucko. You hold down the home front tonight, and the cavalry will be here in no time." "You got it," I said. "But whoever is coming, I suggest you make sure they know to take this seriously. The Band is riled up, and now they smell blood in the water. This isn't going away easily." "I'll pass that on to the Lieutenant Colonel," Brent nodded. He shook my hand again and stepped onto the bus. "See you tomorrow, H," Vanessa grinned at me. "Not if I see you first, Vee," I chuckled. She stepped up into the bus and I heard her voice raise immediately. "Alright, you Gorillas. Grab your fuckin' seats and stay there. I swear to Christ if one of you pisses me off, I'll confiscate your fuckin' dinner, got it?" I laughed, and could see the construction workers grinning in their seats as the bus did a three-point turn and pulled away. The sun was getting low when I finally hiked out of the bush and back into view of our little compound. Erica was waiting for me with a smile and a plate of stir fry. "What's the word, Harri?" "They're still down there," I said. "There are some workers keeping an eye on the driveway. Could you throw on a big pot of coffee for me and dig one of the thermoses out of storage?" "Harri, if they've got some of their workers down there, it's not your job to supervise. I'm sure Vanessa and her Dad left someone in charge." "They did," I said. "And I'm not going down there. I'm staying up here." I shoveled the stir fry down, relishing in the spicy kick Erica liked to cook with. Inside our little compound I gave Ivy a kiss, apologizing that I wouldn't be seeing her in bed for the night. Then I went to the storage container closest to my RV. The one with my gun safe. "What's the word?" Leo asked me when he found me. I had a lantern flashlight on and was loading rounds into my father's Model 700. "Jesus, Harri. What the fuck?" I doubted he was commenting on me loading the Remington hunting rifle. We'd used it plenty when we were hunting during deer season; it was a solid, reliable tool. No, I knew he was reacting to the other firearms I had out. My M9 was already holstered on my hip, a copy of my service sidearm that had served me so well through my tour and as an MP, and my DDM4V1 was laid out, waiting for me to do a quick check it was still in good order. "Just taking precautions," I said. I was already trying to get into the right mindset. "What does that even mean? What are you doing?" "There's about a hundred protesters down there, last I counted. More keep arriving," I told Leo, loading the last round into the 700 and checking the safety before setting it down. I fished a handful more.308's out of the ammo box in the safe and fed them into the bandolier shoulder strap for the hunting rifle. "Problem is, they're pissed off. Not just about the construction, but at all the other shit going on right now. And pissed-off people do dumb shit." "So what, you're going to go all Alamo on us?" Leo asked. "For real, Harri. Nothing's going to happen. They're down there, we're up here." "Leo," I said. "I'm not asking you to do anything you don't want to. The Bear shotgun is in my RV. Do me a favor and keep it handy tonight. If I miss something, I'd rather you have it than not." "Harri,” "Dude, just stop," I said. I'd finished with the.308s and started taking apart the DDM4V1 and giving it a quick clean. It was a budget purchase that I'd made prioritizing reliability over flashy shit, and the 'scary one' in my collection when it came to civilians. Erica hadn't even liked the idea of me owning it when we gave her the tour of my firearms and taught her the safety protocols for them. Leo had only ever fired it once. Both of the siblings had said the same thing; 'If you have the rifles and shotguns and the handgun, why do you need a machine gun?' This sort of thing was why I needed it. And it wasn't a 'machine gun.' "I'm not planning, or hoping, to kill someone tonight. If I have to use the DDM4 or my sidearm, something has gotten really fucked," I said. "But I'm also not taking any chances. Sometime tonight, there's going to be people sneaking up into the construction yard to cause mischief, and they aren't going to know the difference between the construction yard and where we're living. Maybe they hear us and they stay clear, or maybe they don't. I'm not taking that chance." Leo watched me cleaning my rifle, and glanced out at the darkening sky, and then back to me. "What should I do?" he asked. A wave of relief washed over me; it had been years since I'd served, and every instinct I had was telling me to do what I was doing, but that civilian part of my brain was second-guessing everything. Leo agreeing told me I was being logical, even if he didn't like it or I turned out to be wrong. "Just be with the girls tonight," I said. "I can handle the yard, you stay with them. Think of it like a shitty tower defense game. If I do my job, you'll never have to do anything." He nodded and left me to my work. Surprisingly, it was Danielle who came to see me next. "What can I do to help?" she asked. Her Australian accent was sounding stronger, the California valley girl part of it dropping with her serious demeanor. "Nothing, I've got it," I said. She'd caught me as I was strapping on my ghillie suit; another item that Leo and Erica had found silly to own considering we didn't need it for hunting deer. It had honestly been more of a gag item in my collection than anything until tonight. "Harrison, I'll remind you that my Dad was military, yeah?" she said. "I grew up outside the city. I know how to work a firearm." I took a breath and looked at her. Even at night, by the light of a lantern, she looked like an elven beauty despite the cutoff denim shorts and zippered knit sweater. "Can you handle a handgun?" I asked. "I've shot the head of an Eastern Brown from ten paces away when it was threatening to bite my dog," she said. "I assume that's a snake?" "A fucking poisonous one," Danielle said. "Alright," I nodded. "Under the passenger seat of my truck is a gun case with my pop's old 1911 and a couple of magazines. Hang on to it for tonight. Try not to freak out Erica or Ivy, and if you hear shots tonight don't let Leo come looking for me, let alone Erica and Ivy. If they leave the RVs it'll just make things worse." "Okay," she said with a serious nod, then stepped towards me, hugged me and gave me a kiss on the cheek. "Thanks." "For what?" I asked as she stepped back. "For being the man I figured you were," she said. "Leo's all mine and I'm happy with that, but like I told you; you remind me of all the good parts of my Dad. I'm glad I have Leo and you around." She left to fetch the pistol, and I finished strapping on the ghillie suit and slung my two rifles over my shoulders and closed the gun safe. When I was finished slamming the storage container closed, I turned around to find Ivy and Erica both looking at me with their arms crossed. "Both of you, huh?" I asked. "Yes, both of us," Erica said. "United front," Ivy said. "Look,” "Shut up, Harrison," Erica said, and then they were both hugging me while being careful around the firearms. "Just be careful." "Extra careful," Ivy said, burying her face into the strings of the ghillie suit in my chest and then immediately pulling back with a wince. "Ugh, this smells terrible." "Yeah, well it's not exactly the sort of thing you clean very often," I shrugged. "Whatever," Erica said and kissed me. Ivy kissed me as well, looking at me with those big eyes of hers with concern. "So you're not going to try and convince me this isn't necessary?" I asked. "Wouldn't do anything except lead to a fight we couldn't win," Erica said. "You're too stubborn not to do it." "And too brave," Ivy added. "That too," Erica smiled sadly. Then she handed me the big thermos of coffee. "Come back to us in one piece." "I will," I said. "Don't worry. But if you two hear anything tonight, if there's any gunfire, don't come looking for me. Just stay in the RVs and hunker down from the windows. If you come looking for me, you'll add more danger and not take it away, alright?" They both agreed, though I could tell Erica didn't like it. I could only imagine her sprinting across the construction yard, bullets flying everywhere, screaming my name as she worried I'd been shot. Hell, she'd probably pick me up and carry me to safety if it were true, but she'd also likely never get to me in the first place if things were that bad. I kissed them both again, then stalked off into the night. I ended up settling into a nook on the side of the hill to the south of the construction yard, with a clear view of about two-thirds of the yard and most importantly the RV compound. I unslung my rifles and carefully positioned myself in a comfortable prone position I was going to be able to manage for a long time. I'd never gone through Sniper training, but I'd picked up enough from my Bootcamp, talking with other soldiers and from movies to know a thing or two; not to mention years of hunting. So I cracked the thermos and took a sip of the hot, strong coffee, and started my watch. I saw them moving through the trees at around 02:30 in the morning down on the east side of the yard near the driveway. They must have skirted around the construction worker picket line and followed the driveway up, but they were still in the shadows so I couldn't tell how many there were, or what they were carrying. The only reason I spotted them early at all was because someone was flicking a flashlight up occasionally. I had the 700 cradled in my arms, and I slowly rolled into position but didn't sight down the scope yet. I didn't have any night vision gear, and while the simple Leopold scope easily gave me the range to tag anything moving down there, I wouldn't know what I was hitting. They stopped at the edge of the tree line, and I could only imagine the nerves they were feeling looking out over the open area. There were seven portables set up holding various offices now, and half a dozen big crew vans that had been left behind for the night along with some of the company pickup trucks. The pilings and supplies to erect the bigger barracks were also looming in the big, open space. "Just take a look and leave," I muttered quietly to myself, willing whoever was down there to not make this worse than it could be. Five minutes went by before a figure began to creep out of the tree line, crossing the rise of the hill and slipping towards the yard. From the distance I was at, I couldn't see them clearly enough other than to tell they were probably wearing a backpack; not a big deal in and of itself, but my training was screaming at me. 'Anything' meant anything. That backpack could hold weapons, or communications equipment, or even an I E D. I sighted in on the figure. It was a man, military age but young. I couldn't see much of his face between the black bandana over his nose and mouth and a ball cap backwards on his head. My finger tightened just a fraction on the trigger when I saw the flash of metal in his hand, but my hesitation saved his life; he was carrying a can of spray paint. He reached what he thought was the shelter of the first building; and it was shelter if he thought a guard was patrolling inside the yard. But I wasn't inside the yard, and instead I was looking at him dead on along the length of the building as he took off his backpack and then turned, motioning back towards the tree line. A half dozen more figures began quickly creeping across the hillside. I had a choice; if that backpack was full of spray-paint and that was all they were there to do, it would be annoying vandalism at worst as long

Carrie and Mark settle in to everyday life.by T. Foxal. Listen to the ► Podcast at Connected.“Oh Mark. I have never been made love to like that ever. It was perfect. Everything you have done so far has been perfect for me. I don't think you have one selfish bone in your body. I need to know though, are you scared of all of this?”“Carrie, I have never been more scared in my life. Not even over in the sandpit, with bullets flying all around. Had you not said I love you back to me, when I made my declaration, I would have been crushed. I've never, ever let anyone into my heart, like I have let you in. Am I scared now? A little. I know you said it the other night. Well, you told me to catch up with you because you were already there. But over time, I thought you may have some misgivings for saying, since we were in the heat of the moment then. But all the little things you have been doing, or saying, led me to believe you really were. And, I wanted to make it special for you. This whole day when you weren't around me, all I could think of was you. I wondered what you were thinking when you took your bath before, or what you were doing and thinking when you left this morning. Let's face it, we haven't been alone with our own thoughts for a week now.”She leaned in and kissed me lightly on the lips, then said, “Mark. I knew from that first kiss. Then when we made love the first time, I was in heaven. It wasn't sex between us. It was more. Since that time, we have done nothing but make love and my heart races every time I see you. I was so scared when I said that the other night. Did I push you away from me? Would you just say, screw this, I'm outta here. But the big thing for me was when we were at the winery, and you went up to the bar to get us those samples. Your eyes smiled at me the whole time. You didn't even look at that girl, who I thought was really hot, but just kept looking at me. You made love to me right then. Am I scared. Yes. I want this more than anything, but I don't want to be hurt again. I lived that. But, you are not him. You are so much more than he could ever be. I was eye candy for him, and a fuck, and nothing more. My heart is now yours, please don't hurt it.”I rolled to my side and looked deep into her hazel eyes, then kissed her. “You know what turned me on the most today?” “No, Baby, I don't” “When I saw you after you came back from your day in town. My God, you looked so sexy and stunning to me. You are such a beautiful woman, and not just physically, but all around. I wanted to take you then, but then that would have downplayed this evening. I never tried to be romantic with anyone before, and I so wanted to seduce you tonight.”She giggled. “Well Mr. Marine. You succeeded in every way tonight. I'll tell you. When I saw the robe, then the candles lit by the bathtub, I got super horny. I wanted you so bad then. Then when I shaved down there, I felt incredibly sexy. I even came after that. But when we took off our robes and I saw you in those boxers, I damn near raped you. But dancing really did me in. I almost told you then I loved you. But I am glad I waited now.”As she talked, her hand was now on my cock, stroking it back to life. When I was hard again, she leaned in and kissed me, then pushed me to my back. She kneeled and straddled me and slowly sat down on me, engulfing me with her velvet like inner walls of her sex.“Baby?” she whispered. “This has been an amazing night. But now I need to be a little naughty. A couple should be able to let loose some and enjoy sex too. I love lovemaking, but I also love to fuck Mark. But only with someone I want to give myself too, completely. I want to fuck your beautiful cock. I want to feel your cum spray deep inside me and, I want cum all over it. Fuck me Baby. Make me your Lover.”I arched my back up and drove in deep in her. “Oh Fuck. You are so deep.” She started moving up and down, faster and faster. “Oh god I love this. My favorite position too.”She leaned down and started smothering me with kisses. Moaning as we fucked. I did too. Her head slipped to the side of mine and whispered. “You like my tight little cunt, don't you Babe. Your cock is a perfect fit for it. My cunt loves your cock. Oh God Mark. ““Oh God Babe. Your cunt is so tight. I love it and always will. Fuck me Carrie.”She sat up and started grinding hard on me now. Neither of us was going to last long. I sat up and took her one tit in my mouth and sucked hard.“Oh Christ. Suck my tits Baby. I Love that so much”She started pounding me harder now, as I continued sucking it, then switched to the other. Her arm went behind my head and pulled me in tighter. My hands were holding her luscious ass as I did this. My one hand went exploring and touched her ass, which made her moan really loud. I slipped it down to her cunt and got it wet as the finger rubbed against her lips and my cock. Then I brought it up to her brown hole and slipped it in.“Oh Fuck Baby. Yes. God I love you”She started cumming a minute later. Her head and body shook as she came hard, but somehow, she maintain the rhythm we had going. I was now getting close myself and could feel my balls tighten up, signaling my impending orgasm. “Oh Shit Carrie, I'm going to cum” I yelled out.She slammed down one last time, and then jumped off. Her mouth was over my cock in no time and was starting to suck me, when I erupted in her mouth. I had to have shot 5 or 6 good ropes into her hungry mouth. She didn't spill a drop, except at the end, a little dribbled out the side.She was kneeling now, getting ready to wipe her mouth, when I grabbed her wrist and gently pulled her to me and I licked it off of her face and then kissed her. The kiss was so hot and passionate. We were lost in that kiss for minutes, until she broke away, panting hard.We both lay on our backs now, still in a euphoric bliss from our love making. Carrie was very quiet. At first I thought she fell asleep, until I felt her hand grasp mine and squeeze it.“Are you  okay Carrie?”, I asked. “Actually, I am on cloud nine, as they say. I've never been made love too, like this, then opening up and letting go like that. I just hope you don't think I am some sort of slut. I want to explore all there is with you sexually and lovingly too.”“Babe. You are hardly a slut. Sex to me, is supposed to be fun too. You were amazing. But our love making, well, it's beyond words. To me, you are an angel. Quite the lady too. In bed, we can do whatever we please, as long as we both agree on whatever we do. One thing though, I can never share you with anyone. I don't believe I get jealous, but I could never share you with anyone, man or woman. I knew a couple in the service that did that. Got into swinging. No way. Not with someone I love and respect, like I do you. But just so you know, I really enjoyed the naughty Carrie. She is fun.”“Umm.. I may have to let her out more often then. Cuz naughty Markie, was turning me on too. But, you will never have to fear me wanting another. I am quite happy with who I am with. I will never deny you in bed either. Except, when I am sick, or you are sick. Sex just doesn't seem like fun then. But that's about it.”“Yeah, being sick and wanting sex, just doesn't seem to go hand in hand. I will never deny you as well. But, I'm a guy, so the prospect of me saying no is quite low.”She giggled, then said, “Well. Mister. You better never hold out in the oral department anymore. Oh Christ. That was unbelievable. I could take that all day long. And, I love giving too. I love how you taste.”“You're turning me on again Honey. How do you feel right now?” I asked“Horny” she giggled then. “Honestly. And don't freak when I say this. But I feel as though I am on a Honeymoon and you took your virgin bride to sexual highs she never knew existed.”I did chuckle. “Nothing wrong with that. To me, you are a virgin, or at least were. I don't care about your past. You are my first, and dare I say, only love for me.”“I like that” she replied. Then said, “Where do you see us in a year?”“Honestly. I never look to the future too much. But, I have been lately. I hope that you will be with me in a year, and maybe, just maybe, if you haven't tired of my Jarhead ass, we are right back here, spending it as a true honeymoon”She folded into my arms and kissed my cheek. “I think that could be a real possibility. This Squid actually has thought about it, and she doesn't think she'll ever tire of you. Piss me off at times, Yes, but never tire.”I then laughed, and she asked what was funny. “God, if your Dad could see us right now. He'd hang me.”“Nah. He knows I like you a great deal. He doesn't know we professed love yet. But he does like you, Mom told me that. Jenny knows too. I talked with her this morning. I sent her a selfie, after I got my hair done. She called right after seeing it. Then she starts out by saying, “Damn Mom, you look hot. I think someone is in love.” She's a pretty smart girl actually. I was supposed to face time with her earlier, but someone had me a tad busy. She wants to see you and talk with you.”“Oh great. She's the one person that scares me the most, and I want on my side. More so, than even your parents. Go ahead and call her now. It's only 10pm.”She giggled again. “Uh No. We better wait until tomorrow. This is the first time her and her boyfriend Alan have been alone for a long time. He was with his family last weekend. They have dated for a year now, so I am pretty sure, they are in the same place you and I are right now, naked and in bed.”“You  okay with that? I asked. “Oh yes. I like him a lot. He treats her with so much respect and I know they love one another. He's a good kid and dotes after Jenny. His world revolves around her. He is studying to become a food scientist. If they can last the ups and downs of college and still remain in love, I could easily see them married one day. Only time will tell. And don't worry about her liking you, she will. She knows I do, and so far have made me extremely happy.”She got up then and walked to the bathroom. Then came back with our robes. “Let's go cuddle on the couch, enjoy some wine and TV, before we call it a night.” And so we did.Chapter 15.It was morning now, almost 8:30. I never sleep this late. The only reason I was up was because I had to pee so bad. Carrie was still sound asleep. She was curled up and looked so peaceful. My thought was, “What in God's name does she see in me. I'm nobody special. Yes, I am in good shape and I do treat her with respect, but she is absolutely beautiful and had I known of her, somewhere else, I would have never even attempted to approach her. I wasn't in her league, or so I thought”But here I am, one week after meeting her, and totally in love. I could not even fathom life without her in it. But reality would soon be creeping up on us. I knew she would be leaving mid-week. Would this all end after she left, and had time to really think this through? Only time will tell.I padded to the kitchen and made coffee. As it brewed I stood looking out the back door window. The skies were an ugly gray. Rain was falling. We knew this was coming, after viewing the weather report last night. Today and tomorrow, rain.I then toasted a few bagels, and got out the cream cheese. Made us both coffee, and took it to the bedroom. As I walked in, Carrie was yawning and stretching. Her tit were in plain view, and look so delicious to me. She sat up, not bothering to cover up. “Good sign” I thought.“Good Morning Sweetheart. I thought you may enjoy some breakfast in bed” I said to her.“Oh Wow. I could definitely get used to this. Especially if you lose that robe.”We sat and enjoyed our breakfast. We also started talking about this coming week. Since it was raining today, we decided to go into town and take in a movie and then dinner at some restaurant. On Monday, we were to hike Algonquin Peak, but if it is raining, we'll need to find something else to do.She then said, “You know I leave Wednesday. I have a doctor's appointment on Thursday that I made months ago, and I can't reschedule. It just takes so long to get in to see her.”“I know you were leaving then. But, I also am going to leave that day, with you. No sense hanging around here. Be bored to death, and I know me, all I'll think of is you the whole time.”“Awe. You are so sweet to me. But this is your vacation and you had it all planned out. Stay and at least hike some more of these mountains. I'll feel bad if you miss out on that.” she said with a pouty face.I just smiled at her and told her no, it was best I do head home. I had some major cleaning to do at my place. The house I have is actually an older farm house that was my grandparents. My grandmother outlived my mom and when she died, it was left to me and Ann. Ann didn't want it, so to be fair, I paid her the half she would have received, if we had sold it.The house was nice, but very outdated. Even the furniture was from the 60's. To me, it was cool, but my needs are simple. Ann has been bugging me for almost a year now to at least get some new furniture, if not update the whole place. My office is actually the dining room.I tell you this because I have never brought anyone there, especially a date. So bringing Carrie there, as it looks right now, is totally out of the question. As I told her this, she just laughed. She asked if I keep it clean, or was I a typical guy, and let things go until I can't stand it anymore. I told her I always keep it clean, it's just very outdated.“You big lug, I don't care about stuff like that. I will care if it smells like the gym on board a ship smells like. That is so gross.” and we both laughed.We finished our coffee and bagels, and set our cups and napkins on the nightstand. She pulled the cover down and asked me to slide in. We started kissing and making out some, when her phone rang. “Perfect timing” I thought. She looked at the phone and said, “It's Jenny. Hope all is alright. She is never up this early.”“She hit some button and I saw Jenny's face appear on the screen. Luckily, Carrie had the sheet up above her tit, and I was safely off to the side.“Hi Sweetheart”“Hi Mom. Hope I am not disturbing you.”“No Sweetie. You're good. We were just having breakfast.”“Oh. In bed too. I take it Marine guy is nearby.”Carrie laughed, “If you must know young Jen, he is right here, and his name is Mark, not Marine guy. But you knew that” “Hey just giving you a hard time. Hi Mark.” Carrie moved the phone over to where I could see her and she see me. I had just put the robe back on, so I was decent.“Hi Jenny. Very nice to meet you. I must say, you are as pretty as your mother.”Jen smiled; “Thank you. I hope to get to meet you when you two get back from your little vacation.”“I would say that is a very good possibility, unless your Mom gets rid of me by then. Lots of mountain tops she could push me off of, up here.” I said with a laugh.Carrie turned the phone back to her and said, “What did you two do this weekend? Is Alan still there?”Jen smiled this sly smile “Yeah. He is still asleep. We went to dinner and a late movie, then came back here. The main reason I am calling is that Papa called a bit ago, or I'd be sleeping too. He and grandma are coming up next weekend”My eyes got real big, but Carrie just chuckled, “That's great. When are they coming in?”“Friday evening, and staying here for a few days, then going to aunty Bev's for a few days. And Mark. Papa had a message for you. “Don't crap where you eat son.” He said you'd understand completely.”I just shook my head. Great. He's gonna shit when he hears his daughter and I are now dating.Carrie was laughing now. Jen wanted to know what that was about. Carrie said she'd tell her when she sees her this week. They carried on for a few more minutes as Jen filled her in on stuff. Now Jen did look somewhat similar to her mom, from what I could see on the phone. That same light caramel color, with long flowing brown hair, and a gorgeous smile. Alan should consider himself a very lucky man. They signed off then after saying goodbye's and Jen saying bye to me too, telling me to take very good care of her mother, or else.I asked, “Are you sure she isn't your blood daughter? You two look so much alike.”“I wish she was. But No. Her parents were Puerto Rican, so the skin color is close. She shorted too, only 5 foot 3. She is an angel. You think Dad dotes over me? Wait till you see him around Jenny. I feel bad for Alan. He's met Dad twice now and is scared shitless of him. But Daddy wants only the best for his girls.”“Yeah, well, I am wondering now what is he going to say about us being together. He still scares the shit out of me.”She laughed, “Oh I don't know. I'll let you know after I tell him how you been having your way with me this whole week.” then laughed some more. She then opened his robe, grabbed his semi stiff member and stroke it.She giggled, the looked at him and stated, “Umm, I wonder what he'd say if he knew I was doing this.”, as she lowered her head to my manhood and sucked the head in.“Oh God Carrie.”The PromiseCarrie and Mark settle in to everyday life, once they return from their week and a half camping and hiking trip, after finding love in those mountains.I asked, “Are you sure she isn't your blood daughter? You two look so much alike.”“I wish she was. But No. Her parents were Puerto Rican, so the skin color is close. She shorter too, only 5 foot 3.. She is an angel. You think Dad dotes over me? Wait till you see him around Jenny. I feel bad for Alan. He's met Dad twice now and is scared shitless of him. But Daddy wants only the best for his girls.”“Yeah, well, I am wondering now what is he going to say about us being together. He still scares the shit out of me.”She laughed, “Oh I don't know. I'll let you know after I tell him how you been having your way with me this whole week.” then laughed some more. She then opened my robe, grabbed my semi stiff member and stroke it.She giggled, the looked at him and stated, “Umm, I wonder what he'd say if he knew I was doing this.”, as she lowered her head to my manhood and sucked the head in.“Oh God Carrie.”Chapter 16.The rest of that day, and into Monday, it did nothing but rain. So exploring any of the mountain tops was curtailed. We pretty much hung around the cabin in just our robes that day. The only time we dressed was to go to dinner, down into town. Neither of us felt like cooking. It was very hard for me to resist getting Carrie naked and just making love all day, but she needed to know that our relationship, that we both professed our love for each other, was more than just a physical thing, but also emotional.You see Carrie is a very beautiful woman. She is 5 foot 7, 130 pounds, with caramel colored skin, almost like Halle Berry skin tone. Her hair is short now too, with blonde highlights mixed in with her brown hair. Totally sexy in my eyes. She has amazing legs that are long and toned and a great ass. What turns me on the most is her tits. They are a large A, or small B cup. I love a woman with small tits.I am 5 foot 10, 175 pounds, and been told by many, a handsome man. I keep in shape, and that is because after spending 20 years in the Marines, you get used to working out. It's just ingrained into your fabric. I was single too, for all of those years. Never had a serious relationship, except for a semi one, back in my 20's, when I lived with a girl for a few months. But she didn't enjoy my deployments too much and wanted more. It was mostly a sex thing for us, and a place for us both to crash, when we were screwing.But now, a week and a half later, I am totally in love with this goddess, and she with me as well. What is funny too, I know her parents, or to be more specific, her father. He was a Master Chief in the Navy, and was on the aircraft Carrier Lincoln at the same time I was, years ago, when I was a Staff Sergeant in the Marines. Great guy too, but could scare the hell out of you. Carrie too, was in the Navy back then, but I do not think we ever crossed paths, since she worked on base, and, was also married back then to a Seal, which she now divorced from.Like I said earlier, we only got dressed that Sunday for dinner, then that Monday, a day we were supposed to visit another Adirondacks peak, it rained as well. We did go driving around and admired the countryside and had a fine dinner at the Italian restaurant we found the previous week.Then on Tuesday, we decided to go horseback riding. We found a place about 20 minutes from the cabin, near Lake Clear. We had a great time exploring the area by horseback. I have to admit, my ass was quite sore by the time we got through, as was Carrie's. There was a few times I would hang back, behind her and admire her ass as it bounced up and down in the saddle.She looked back one time and caught me. “God, don't you ever tire of looking at my big ass?”I just chuckled and told her, “Hell No. I love your ass, and it is hardly big. Remind me later to massage it for you, because if mine is sore, I know yours has to be.”“Maybe I will let you. Not sure if I want you touching it later. Now get up her next to me.” then whispered to me, after I got close, “You be a good boy, and I'll let you see it naked later.”, then laughed and rode away from me.After our ride, we stopped in this tavern that also featured home cooked meals. We both decided on burgers and fries. Normally, we both try to stay away from fried foods, but, as we both found out from talking, we like to cheat on occasion.By the time we got back to the cabin, nighttime was upon us and this was our last night together. I know we both pledged our love to one another, but after tonight, she may get a dose of reality when she got back home, and say, “No way” to being in a relationship. For me, I was all in. I never wanted anything more in my life, than to be with this beautiful, smart, witty and energetic woman.After getting into the cabin, I started a fire in the fireplace and Carrie went off to the bedroom, to get ready to shower. After I had a nice fire going, she came out in her robe and asked me to join her. As we washed each other down, removing the horse smell from our bodies, we kissed and held each other. We both took turns drying each other, then donned our robes and made our way to the couch. Before I sat down, I went and got us each a glass of wine.“Mark?” she said, and I looked at her. She had a tear on her cheek, for which I lightly brushed away. “What's wrong Honey?” I asked.“This is our last night here. This has been the best vacation I have ever experienced. Had you told me two weeks ago that I would meet the man of my dreams, I would have said you are so full of shit. But here I am, sitting next to you. I am so in love with you and I am also scared silly about tomorrow.” she explainedI knew what she meant, when she said she is scared. I am too. We get back to our real lives and the fantasy just fades away. She was deeply hurt all those years ago and opening up and allowing someone in, has to be tough for her to do. For me, it is a new experience. One I have never had before. If it does end, it will hurt, but I know I can move on from it, I think.“Carrie. I'm scared too. Once we are home and reality sets in for you, you may say, screw this. I have never opened up to anyone in my life, except for you. I just hope that you will grow with me. I'm going to make mistakes. You may want something, but I'm too stupid to know and understand, but like anything in life, you learn. One thing I will promise you and this is I will always be true to only you. I love you and will never do anything to hurt you.”“Oh Mark. No man has ever made me feel this way. We'll take each day as it comes and just know I will never hurt you as well. But be forewarned now, I can get bitchy. I don't mean to be, but it happens and when it does, just leave me be, and I will be fine. I think the hardest part of tomorrow is going to be not being with you, especially at night. After a week of sharing a bed together, and feeling so close to you, it is going to suck not having your arms around me tomorrow night, or this weekend. If I didn't have that appointment Thursday, I'd let you stay with me tomorrow, but I know us, we make love, and since this is a gynecologist I am seeing, sex wouldn't be the most prudent thing for me to do. And then this weekend, with my parents in town, I'm not sure what they'd say about us sleeping together.”I laughed, “Yeah, I could just see the look on your dad's face when we told them goodnight and padded off to bed. As for sex. We don't always have to have it you know. I mean I'll never turn it down, but I also know there is more to us than just sex. But tomorrow after we get home, and then at night, we'll probably both be too tired to do anything. Plus, like I said, I need to straighten up the place. One thing though. On Thursday, I would like to take you and Jenny to dinner, Alan too. That way, she has someone there who she is comfortable with, just in case she can't stand me.”“Oh Stop. She is going to love you. I'll call her tomorrow and set it up. Now! Take me to bed for the last time here and hold me Baby. I want to fall asleep in your arms.”Chapter 17.We got up early for some reason, and took a shower together. I still marvel at this exceptionally beautiful woman. She makes my heart race anytime I am near here. And when we are naked, it quadruples in magnitude. We did not have sex, but we did hold and caress each other until the water started turning cold.We were then packed and on our way home. She drove in front of me for the next 4 hours. We did talk on the phone a couple of times. The last time was just before my exit, which is a couple before hers. I called her and told her I would call her later and that I loved her. I could hear in her voice, a hitch, just like I had in mine. I missed her already and I had just exited from the roadway.Once I was home, I did a load of laundry, then went and started dusting and vacuuming the place. Not a thing I do a lot of. Of course my sister always comes over and does it at times, and bitches me out when she does. I then cut the grass, which was needed after two weeks of not touching it. It takes two hours to cut this lawn, and that's with a tractor. While I was cutting, I did miss a call from Carrie. She also texted me, just saying she was thinking of me and loved me. I texted back apologizing that I didn't answer her and explained why, and that I would call her later.We did talk around 6 that evening. She too was busy with housework and laundry. She strip the beds, not knowing which bed Jenny and Alan slept in. I had to laugh at that. She chuckled too but said, “It's one thing to sleep in our wet spot, but I'm surely not sleeping in theirs.” Which made me laugh hard.About 10 that night, I called her. She was lying in bed, reading a book. She conveyed to me that Jenny was ecstatic over meeting us for dinner and really happy I had included Alan. They were going to meet us at Carrie's at 6pm tomorrow. I told Carrie we would try Delmonico's Steakhouse, which was kind of close to her.She chuckled and said, “Oh fancy place. You know, you don't have to take us there. There's a nice restaurant right down the street from us.”“That's cool. But I want too. How many college kids can go to a place like this. Plus I have always wanted to try it, but, I'm not going alone. Ann said the food is excellent there.”“Speaking of Ann, did you call her and inform her that you are bringing someone Sunday?” she asked.“Oh yeah. She is so excited now. She can't wait to meet you. I told her that your parents were going to be in from Florida and I didn't know what plans they had that day. She said to bring them along too. The more the merrier.”Carried giggled, then said, “I don't know if your sister has a clue what Dad can be like. Just don't bring up politics. He thinks they are all thieves and liars.” which made me laugh.Then she got quiet. “Anything wrong? You are quiet now “ She sighed, “No, just missing lying next to you, with your arms around me. I feel so safe then. I love you Mark”“I love you too, Carolyn, and I do miss being with you. It was a very long day without you near me.” I told her.“It was a long day for me as well. I don't know how or why this happened between us, but I am so happy that you are in my life now. Maybe tomorrow night, you can spend it here with me, if you want too.” she said.“I think that can be arranged. You know what I do miss? You calling me Jarhead. When you say it, it means something to me.”“I told you, after last weekend, I was done calling you that, but if you insist, I'll just call you JH.”“I insist Squid. Now get some sleep. Just know, I love you Carrie and I am holding you in my dreams tonight.”Chapter 18.I knew Carrie had an appointment at 11am, so I didn't want to bother her, but did send her a text, after I got up and said good morning and I love you. She replied instantly to it, saying she was about to shower and get ready and she loved me too.I was pretty proud of myself. I dusted and swept the whole house. Not that I am a slob, but those are two jobs I really don't enjoy doing. Hell, living alone and never having people over, except for my sister, afforded me the luxury of not caring too much to do that. But with Carrie in my life, I guess I need to change my way of thinking.I then immersed myself in a project that I had been working on for this one company. I needed to do something to keep my mind occupied, since I would not be seeing her until later in the afternoon. I was surprised though, that by 3pm, I hadn't heard anything from her. I hope all went well with her doc appointment.I had told her that I would be over by 5:30, so we could spend some time alone, before Jenny and Alan showed up. By 4:30, I was shaved, and showered, then dressed for the evening. Since it was cool out, I wore dark blue pants, and lighter blue shirt, with a dark blue sport coat. I wanted to look good for when I met Jenny, and convey, I'm not some unkempt slob, who was dating her mother. I'm generally a jeans and t-shirt, or sweatshirt, kind of guy.I couldn't stand the wait any longer and decided to arrive a bit sooner. I got to her house at 5:15, so just a little bit early. After ringing the doorbell a few times, Carrie finally opened the door. Although she smiled when she let me in, I could tell something was amiss with her. After a brief hug and quick kiss on the lips, we stood back from one another.Carrie was wearing a burgundy pleated dress. It came to just above the knees. The neckline plunged just a bit, with white lace around the edges, with short sleeves as well. She looked radiant.“Wow. You look absolutely beautiful Sweetie.” I told her. She just said thanks, but that was it. Then said she had to finish getting ready. My antennae was now up. I could sense something was wrong. This girl was always so bubbly, and that definitely was not the case now. So I just walked around her living room, looking at pictures on the wall of Jenny, and her parents, and some people I had no clue of who they were. Then just took a seat and waited for her.For me, this was something new. I did not know what to say or do. Did I do something wrong, that may have upset her? Who knew, but this was not the Carrie I just spent almost two weeks with, had fun with, and made love too on many occasions. So I'm basically a fish out of water now. I made up my mind to just go with the flow, and when she is ready to talk, I'll be there, and hopefully, understand what is going on.Of course, my fear was she was going to end this between us. She had time to reflect and said that this wasn't worth it. If that is how she felt, then who was I to pursue it any further. I don't want to be with someone who did not want the same as me. Sitting there waiting, makes your mind think weird ass things, like I just did. Then again, maybe it wasn't anything and she is just having a bad day, or is nervous about me meeting Jenny.She finally emerged from wherever she was in her condo. When I saw her, she looked the same, so I have no idea what else she could have been doing. She walked into her kitchen and got a bottle of water, then asked if I wanted one too, which I kindly said no too.I finally got the courage to ask, “Is there something wrong?”She looked at me and had a sullen look on her face, then finally said “No. Guess I am just tired from all the prodding and poking today. I'm sorry I am not more upbeat.”I got up and went to her and wrapped my arms around her, “If you want to cancel tonight, that would be okay with me. We keep go out with them some other time, when you are feeling more up to it.”“No. No. I am fine. It will be fine. We'll go have a fun night with them. Jenny is so looking forward to meeting you.” she said, as she pulled away from me and went into the living room. “We'll talk later tonight, when we get back.”I knew from how she stated it, something was wrong. But, being a dumb man, I have no clue as to what. I didn't want to piss her off by asking questions. Maybe something at the doc's. I guess when she is ready, she will let me know. I walked up next to her and grabbed her hand, just to let her know I was there for her. At that point, her front door opened and in walked Jenny and Alan.Jenny was definitely a looker. I would say 5 foot 3, maybe 110 pounds, brown hair and eyes, and the cutest dimples. She did have bigger boobs than her mom, but since she was adopted, that made sense. But the irony of how much the two looked alike was uncanny. Alan was a good looking guy too. He had that German look to him. Blond hair, blue eyes, chiseled face and stood about 6 foot, but maybe weighed 170 pounds, if that.After making the introductions and some small talk, we left her condo and headed to dinner in my truck.At dinner, Carrie seemed to be her normal self. Well, at least the normal I had seen for the last two weeks. Jenny was regaling us with stories from her college life and some of things her and Alan had been doing of late, except for the sex part. I don't think Carrie, or myself, needed or wanted to know those details.As dinner was finally coming to an end, I had to admit, I was kind of quiet. I just let the three of them guide the evening and the conversation. Jenny did inquire what I actually did for a living, so I explained it to her. She was impressed, as was Alan. I tried not to let my concerns for Carrie, or our budding relationship ruin the evening. In my heart though, I had a bad feeling, this would be the last time I would see these three people.Near the end of dinner, Carrie announced that she needed to use the ladies room. Alan also said he need to use the facility, which then left just me and Jenny. I wasn't sure what to say to her, so I let her make the first move on talking.  “okay Mark. What's up with mom? Did you two have an argument or something?” Jenny asked.I shook my head, “Jenny. I have no idea what is wrong tonight. When I arrived this evening, she was down for some reason and won't tell me why. Yesterday we were fine, but ever since her doctor visit, she has changed. Maybe she has done some thinking and decided a relationship is not what she wants. Until she tells me, I am in the dark.”Jenny reached over and touched my arm. “I don't know either, but I do know that she and I talked last night for an hour and she is head over heels in love with you, and says you are with her as well. Are you Mark? Are you in love with my Mom?”“Nothing has changed for how I feel for your mother Jenny. I am in love with her. But, if she has had a change of heart, then I will abide by her wishes. Maybe we moved too fast. I don't know. To be honest Jenny. I have never been in love before, so this is a new territory for me. But if she had time to reflect now, and feels this isn't what she wants, well, I don't want to force anything like that on her. I just want her happy.”Jenny just shook her head, “I can't believe her mind could change like that. Something must be wrong and she just needs time to process it. Maybe you two can talk later. When we get back to my mom's, Alan and I are going to leave, and give you two some space to talk. Oh, and by the way, Papa really does like you. He thinks you are a good man.”Just as she said that, Carrie was walking back. Alan came a minute later. The waitress came around and asked if any of us wanted dessert, but we all begged off, since our meals were so filling.On the way home, Carrie was pretty quiet. In fact, you could probably cut the tension with a knife, that was between us. Jenny and Alan were pretty quiet too. I'd have done anything to hear some funny story either of them may have had right then.After arriving back at Carrie's condo, we all got out and Jenny said that they needed to get going. Carrie said she wished they could stay longer, but the kids said they had some homework they needed to finish up, but would see us this weekend. Of course my mind didn't think I would be involved with this family get together.As they left, Carrie turned and headed to her door, and I followed. Once inside, she asked if I wanted anything to drink, which I kindly declined. She went to the kitchen and got a bottle of water then rejoined me in the living room. I wanted to get this over with, so I started it off.  “okay Carolyn, please tell me what is wrong. I need to know.” I said in a somber voice.“Let's sit” she said, and we both did. She faced me and I could see a tear starting to form in her eye. My stomach became a knot now. My fears were now becoming reality, at least in my mind.“I wish I knew where to start, but I have to say, that no man has ever made me feel the way you make me feel. But I really think we need to step back and take a break for now.”, then she started crying. I reach for her, but she backed away. That made it feel like a knife was just plunged into my heart.“Carrie. How can you go from being so in love, to wanting to take a break, just like that. There is more than what you are telling me. So please tell me what has caused this sudden change in feelings.”She was still sobbing, trying to get her emotions under control, then finally looked at me and said, “Mark. They found a growth on one of my ovaries today. After the Pelvic exam, she did and ultrasound and found it. They want me to see a specialist next Tuesday then do some testing.” then started crying again. This time she let me pull her towards me. I knew this isn't good, but this is also something that can be taken care of. I had a cousin once have something similar to this and they removed a cyst the size of an egg from her, and she was fine then.“It's  okay Carrie. I'm sure it's nothing that medicine or an operation can't take care of.” I told her.“And what if it isn't Mark? What if it is cancer. Why should you be saddled with that in your life. We've known each other not even two fucking weeks. Although the best two weeks of my life. But this is not something you need to be part of. Your best bet is to turn around, walk away and get on with your life, like I never existed.” and started crying again.I pulled her into me again and held her tight. Her head was buried in my shoulder, and I caressed her hair and let her cry. I mean, if I was in her position, I'd probably tell her the same things. But I may not know her completely, but what I know of her already, she has a fierce loyalty to people she cares for and loves, and I know she wouldn't walk away either.After letting her sob some more, I gently moved her back, and away from me, so I could speak to her. “Sweetheart. There is no way I am letting you do this alone. Granted, we have only known each other for two weeks, but in these two weeks, you have captured my heart with every fiber of your being. I am in love with you Missy. People who love one another don't turn tail and run because of something traumatic happens to the other person. You stand with them, be their support and showed them love, for that is the only thing that can help get you through this. I have been a Marine for all of my adult life and one thing that is ingrained in us, from the time of our first day in boot camp, is that you never let the man next to you, or when you are a sergeant, your platoon, you never abandon them. No man is ever left behind. You're wounded Honey, so I will not leave you behind, so get used to that. When this is all over and you still feel this way, then you can tell me to hit the bricks.”She just stared at me, and while trying to compose herself, she gripped my hand in hers. “It's not fair to you Mark. What if it is cancer and it can't be fixed, then what? You going to just wait around and watch me die? You could be out finding that right person, instead of babysitting me.”“Stop it Carrie. You have no idea what it is. It could be a simple cyst, that meds could take care of. But one thing I do know, I will be with you this Tuesday, and any other day you need to have something done. I will be the first person you see when you wake up. But I will be there and I will always be there for you. I love you.”“Mark. It's not fair.” she shouted, then started crying again. “You're right. It's not fair. But who said life is. But I am not walking away. In fact I am more in love with you now, than I was 20 minutes ago. I don't know about you, but I have every intention of growing old with you. We have too much to do with our lives. So baby doll, I am not leaving you, Not ever.”“Carrie. Do you love me?” I asked. “Damn you Jarhead. You know I do.” she said. “Good. Don't you ever hold back something like this again from me. I won't either from you. But Babe, we can only help one another if we are open and honest with each other. Why don't you go get ready for bed. I'm not going home tonight, but I will sleep on the couch.”She shook her head and got up. As she did, she reached for my hand, “You are not, nor will you ever sleep on the couch. Your place is beside me in bed. I'm so sorry for ever thinking you would want out of this. I do love you Mark. More than you will ever know”She led me up the stairs to her bedroom. We both stripped off of our clothes. I had on the white silk boxers she got me. She put on this long t-shirt with a Minion on the front. She looked cute. We both used her bathroom then climbed into bed, where she snuggled up to me and let me hold her close. Her head rested on my chest.“Mark?” she said softly. “Carrie?” I answered back. “I am sorry. I promise never to do that to you again. I'm also sorry I was a Debbie Downer tonight at dinner, and even before. I'm sure Jenny could tell something was wrong.”“Oh yeah she could. She thought that you and I had an argument. Your daughter is quite perceptive. After meeting her now, I have to say, you two do favor one another. Alan is one lucky man and judging how he dotes on her, he knows it too. They do make a nice couple. I just hope I made a good impression with her. I wasn't to talkative tonight.”“Well, I think you'll get a few more chances this weekend to really win her over. But I can tell she likes you already. If she talks a lot, she likes you. Had she just sat there and not talked much, then that means she doesn't want anything to do with you.”“You know, last night, I was so lonely without you next to me. I hugged my pillow thinking it was you. Except your body is a bit more muscular. I had so many plans for tonight, with us ending the night in bed making love. I want too, but I don't want to do that until we know what is going on down there.”My hand was stroking her back, when I said, “I don't know about you, but this is making love Baby. I'm not in this for the sex. I'm in this because of love. Holding you close, telling our feelings to each other, that is true love making in my book. I'm not too good with stuff like this, but I have never felt this way for another human being. We'll have plenty of time for lovemaking, and dare I say, some naughty sex.”She snuggled even closer and let her hand rub on my chest and belly. “Thank You. You make me feel so loved. I love you Mark. Oh and I like what you wore under your pants. You do look sexy in these boxers.”“I love you too Carolyn. Now get some sleep. We have a long weekend ahead of us. That is if you want me around all the time.”“Of course I want you around the whole time. Not sure about sleeping together. Daddy may have a hard time with that one.” then giggled.Chapter 19.In the morning we agreed to take separate showers instead of together. We both agreed it would be too tempting, had we gone in together. She did tease me though by removing her shirt and slowly saunter into the bathroom, giggling the whole way. I would say My Carrie was back.Her parents flight was due in at 4pm. I told Carrie I needed to catch up on a few things at the house, but would be back in time to go with her to pick them up. She must have texted me twenty times, just saying I love you. That made me feel good.I picked Carrie up at 3pm and went to the airport to meet her parents. She was very happy today. A far cry from yesterday's somber mood she was in. She was wearing a maroon cashmere sweater and black slacks. I too had black slacks on and a blue crew neck sweater. The whole trip there she held my hand, as she did once we were there and waited.Like all airports now, you had to wait down in the baggage area. It took about 10 minutes after their plane arrived, before we saw them coming down the escalator. Once Carrie spotted them, she pulled me along until they were on top of us, and went and hugged her mom, then her dad.Then Mrs. Reynolds gave me a hug and a kiss, and said I still looked like I did when we met in Norfolk all those years ago. Chief shook my hand then said, “You ain't giving me no damn hug son.” I just laughed and told him, “Not in your life you crotchety old bastard.” which made us all laugh.After arriving back at Carrie's, we saw that Jenny was there waiting for us. Alan was with her, but I could see the tension in his face. The old man did scare the shit out of him. I took him aside and told him, just to relax, but show no sign of fear to the chief. He eats that shit up. He sort of laughed and said, oh sure, easier said than done Mr. Roberts. I told him for now on, call me Mark. Save the mister for the other guy.We all then went to dinner, after the couple relaxed a bit after their flight. It was one of those chain restaurants. We all had a good time and of course, Chief had to regale us with stories when I was aboard the Lincoln. That's when Jenny asked about the “don't shit where you eat comment”, but cleaned it up some because of her mom and grandma there. Chief went on to explain about this one newly appointed petty officer I had an eye on. After he finished, everyone laughed, only because he made sound more colorful than it actually was.After we got back to Carrie's, the girls busied themselves in the kitchen, leaving myself, Alan, and the Chief alone in the living room. I could see Alan was a bit apprehensive about being in there. I'm sure he was never prepared for anything like this in college.  “okay you two Shitbirds.” chief started out. “Those three fine ladies in there mean the world to me. And two of them, for some ungodly reason happen to like you two. All I ever wanted for those two is complete happiness. If you can't give them that, leave now, otherwise, I need a promise to never ever hurt them, no matter what.”“You have my word on that Chief. Never doubt that.” I said, as the chief then nodded once to me. Alan then looked at him and said, “Sir, my only intention is to make Jenny happy, so I promise.” Chief just glared at him. Alan was unsure of what he said, but knew he didn't like something. I looked at Alan and said, “Alan. Relax. Just don't call Mr. Reynolds sir. Non Com's, noncommissioned officers, like we both were, do not like getting called sir, by anyone. And Chief, chill out, he isn't military.”Chief just chuckled. “Yeah, and don't call me Mr. Reynolds. Makes me feel old. Call me John for now on, or at least until you guys make it legal between those gals in there, then we'll figure out what you call me then. And Alan, you did good kid. You didn't break, like so many Seaman have, right out of boot camp.” then just smiled.Just then the girls came back from the kitchen with drinks. From that point on, the mood was light and cheerful. I just sat back and watched how this family interacted. They are like most families, I guess. Since it is just my sister and myself, except for an uncle and aunt and three cousin's, I really couldn't tell you what a big family is like. Mine though, is quite boisterous and not afraid of speaking their minds on any subject.About an hour went by when Jenny and Alan said their goodbye's. They were going to the football game the next afternoon and wanted to get some sleep. We sat up a bit more with John and Connie, telling a lot of what we did up in the mountains. Well, not everything, or I am sure, he'd have killed me by now.I was getting up, so I could make my leave too, when Carrie asked me to join her in the kitchen. I had no idea what she wanted, but went with the flow and followed her in.“I don't want you going back to your place tonight. You are sleeping with me, unless you don't want too.” she said, giving me her little pouty face she likes to do now and then.“I'm not sure how your parents will feel about that. I don't want to cause any trouble for you, or me either.”Carried just chuckled, “Don't worry about them. I am 41 you know. Plus, me and mom talked out here. She knows you and I have slept together from almost the beginning of us meeting. She is fine with it, and she'll take care of dad. As she put it, “That boy is over the moon for you Honey. Treat him good and he'll treat you like a queen.” So don't worry. But, we can't play around. That would be too weird.” and we both laughed softly at that.Carrie then grabbed my hand and walked towards the stairs, to go upstairs. “Night you two” she said as she passed by them. Her mom said night, but Chief just grunted something. I am pretty sure I will get an earful, next time we are alone.Once in the bedroom, Carrie went to her dresser and opened a drawer, pulled out pajamas. They were blue, red, and white checkerboard style print. She said she went shopping today and got these. She is wearing the top and the bottoms were for me. She stripped down to just her panties, which for once, were not thong style. She still looked sexy as all get out. I stripped too to my boxers and t-shirt. She then went to the bathroom and came out a few minutes later. I followed suit and did my business. She let me know there was a toothbrush on the sink for me, that she just got too.When I came back out, she was already in bed and awaited me. I crawled in next to her. We kissed and held each other close. Like I said when the first time we slept in a bed together, I could definitely get used to this.“Mark Honey. I need to apologize for yesterday. I was so wrong to try and push you away from me. I would have been crushed had you just said  okay, and left. But you didn't. That told me right there how much you love me. So thank you for being here for me. I love you Mark. It grows stronger every minute of the day. I wish right now we could make love, but until I know what is really up with this, we're going to have to take a rest from that. I hope you understand.”I leaned in and kissed her forehead and pulled her tighter to me. God, I love the way she feels.“Sweetheart, you need not apologize for anything. It has to be a shock to you, that is for sure. But, I will always be there for you, no matter what. We'll see this through, together. As for making love right now. This is making love, I believe. The sex is just the icing on the cake, so to speak. Plus, if you think I would have sex with you, with your parents just down the hall, you are crazy.”Carrie was just about to say something, when we both heard a light thumping sound. I started to chuckle, but Carrie said shush. It was definitely a rhythm thump going on.I chuckled and said, “You're kidding right?” Carrie laughed quietly and said, “Oh yeah. I think dad and mom are doing the horizontal hula. Trust me Hun. As far back as I can remember, they are one horny couple. I hope when I am their age, I still want it that much.”Carrie's hand reached under the waistband of my bottoms and boxers and started playing with Mr. happy. “God, I wish this was inside me now. “ She stroked it a few times so it was now almost hard. Then she rolled over on her side, so we could spoon. I too lay on my side and pulled her into me, so our bodies melded together. My hardness nestled up against her beautiful ass, which she then wiggled a bit. My arm lay over her and rested on her tummy. She took that hand and brought up, and inside her top and placed it on her one tit. My hand instantly enveloped her tit and held it gently. “God. I love your hand there” she cooed. “Night Mark. I love you” “I love you too Carrie”To be continued, by T. Foxal.

Von Berlin-Schöneberg aus hat Jens Wohltorf zusammen mit seinem Co-Gründer eine globale Plattform für Chauffeurdienste aufgebaut, die hunderte Millionen Euro Jahresumsatz einfährt. Im OMR Podcast verrät der Blacklane-Gründer, warum der deutsche Markt dabei kaum eine Rolle spielt, was einen guten Chauffeur ausmacht, warum es im Segment der Premium-Fahrten keine Toleranz für Fuck-ups gibt und wie er das Business zum umfangreichen Concierge-Service ausbauen will.

To this, a glitch— A wish that I could just Push my forehead into his chest, I digress, though repressed sexually and interested This sickness is just what he senses as sensual —And I'm understanding of that. —Purpose. I still have four muses, Four mouses, No heads A sad nd four robots Four hoses of cards And no forwards Just haloy endings That I can't Exactly plan yet Fuck this planet It appears someone has badly damaged it No recompenses or divorce No compared, No doors, And no cubords No, Just dead bird in a box Covered in plaster And a disasterous ride With no happy ever after exactly Just another adventure in wonderland And wonder if perhaps You ever could even Know who I am What a clever disaster For sure this serves as serious Let's just get this The the rumble or the severed train above her is still somewhat of a numbing To the other corruption under This, too then, is a lesson unless It just ends and let it simmer But remember, If it isn't in her It'll be another Fondant farewell, When the dinner gets to convection temperatures in the oven, And you're not over her The dozens of doves and boxes of chocolate don't hold nothing to the love you have and the hand you hold And the heart you touch, So don't let it turn cold Don't let it turn over and thump either Don't let it burn And don't let it lower into Where you mind goes When you consider another And another Over or rather You know? Just aim for Satan and everything's great then. Put a cap to a cape then and everything degrades, Fair wealth, good culture, good heart, And all focus It goes out the window to dance with the wolves l Like a bowl full of nothing but meal worms, Not oats Look closer over your breakfast You never know even if you can trust your own mother at four years old But good, god, thank god for the Honor roll Or else how else would the world know mid you were at all all worth it at all of four And still under par, The gold course, of course Is all you know Don't let it go now When all you have Is time in your hands Distractions are hard handed But actual damage? Now, that's hard pass You wanted a song so much Just so the wrong world would call you up For hurting our kind Without ever having known what my mother named me mor why I have to change it Or what the baby calls me From so far north in a place calls home But I'm still not not So you get your rocks Slamming the door I'm at the rock In my mind Hoping for Something better You Wasted All My Time Over What! Don't you know How hard it is To be anything in the world But a pretty white slut! What a knife in the back What a curse on the world— Just to start wars so it never works out Or at the very worst Just keeps the first one going It doesn't get awesome Until I For Real Can block out the whole world Just to upset another? No I came in peace You made me anxious Hold in my waste At the aim of your hatred I heart my hard earned But now I've got nothing more Than the scars on your over opinionated Over offended War cries for her justice But only if it out does mine, Right? Actually, Fuck it I'm over it That's all the words I'm gonna waste on this till bitch You wanted my energy, so you stole it But becareful of What follows it —you're welcome. My license is revoked I've forgotten long ago by now how to break stroke And it's just a throat scratch, A dark dive And I'm trying to try it out a bit But love's a bitch And I don't really ever speak her language I've been distant and lost in translation, and most of all Impatient with the amount of time that it's taking Cause I hate that guy, he's a fly in my space thst just doesn't seem to go away until they mate and lay eggs to replace them. Ugh. It just goes on, It's whatever the buzz It's just all full of lamb and the talk of the town Is who you are now So, how I found out? A roundabout kick to the ass And a fax to the mayor, Before I realized He seems like a complete hater, bro. I have an eight year old, But I haven't seen him since he was five And I think I'm gonna die Cause everyone's nickel and diming me And all I happened to find Is a single penny, so that— Two hours of mixing, Once cent I made— By now he definitely hates me And has been trained to think I'm crazy But these days, living paycheck to oaucheck is a thankless job And the techno snobs are responsible for the upkeep of auschwitz. It seems like a colored woman with a dream should just Get behind the scenes Or a man that sees meaning in her So this is demeaning? Is it? Am I green, or am I greenlit— l And I clean, or am I cleaning Should I Charlie, or should I Sheen it? I could admit I seen it coming but I wanted to disagree with it, It's psychic intuition but all it is is kicking my ass Like I'm inside or the telivison. What's my last name!? I'm the hat man! Are you happy? No, I'm sad man l! And quite thirsty; Is it Thursday yet Or should I should I just get to drinking anywayy I hate all this thinking anyway; I miss l LA but seen it from the scenic route; I used to sleep on the bus and the train, But what I really want is a house And just to be left alone, Some grass to mow, And some to smoke, And a tree to grow, Just like the one from Pocahontas OH SHIT YO. Why, Hello Friend! Oh, this is where that Treepeople thing was going? Yes! No. No? No. No why. Cause we went broke . Went broke what. Trying to get you to— you know— No, I don't I know. You don't know? No? I've no idea… Oh; that's right, you haven't got a clue. {enter the multiverse)} what did you do at that afterparty Stephen?! I TOLD YOU, I DONT KNOW!!!! What does a girl have to do to get a little attention around here?! Here, have some liquid courage. Liquid courage!? Yeah! What's in this? oh, you know… No, I don't…. You— Why does it glow Yeah, I does that! Oh my god, it looks like one of those sparkle— lava lamps! Oh my god, yeah, you know. I'm not drinking that. Doesn't seem— drinkable. But it is— drinkable. Just because you can put it in your mouth and swallow it doesn't make it consumable. Oh—doesn't it? [beat] …You know what. That's fair! —it— yeah. You walked right into thst one. I— yeah. So come on? It got sparkles in it? What are these flecks. For all you know, it's bio degradable? Is that a gold fish at the bottom?! If he can handle it?! How are you alive? The goldfish to be fair seems tmmore alive than he should, perhaps. He looks the woman directly into the eye. He seems extremely concious even. Oh wow. Come on! Ok. Fine. But what do you do with the fish when the bottle's empty? I don't know. Never finished a bottle. What! Never really…though about it. Okay? So! Come on. He pours a shot. Shift changed , I should have made arrangements for a date at an earlier time But really there isn't a reason or realization to it I hate playing the game It must have been an off day when I made it up But that was so long ago now. I haven't put hard thought about it, But forgot I had further options to stop the violence than just talking about it I missed the opportunity to photog or model By tomorrow morning I'll be a little smaller But still broken If I think of any of those thoughts My heart opens up and swallows me whole Talk about a dilemma and not a problem I would probably dress as such as doll If I could afford the money But I'm dollar for dollar Out of dogital storage for my thoughts and performances. You know. So show your age, Nicki Minaj And Migos, the flash flooding Benito is bad Bunny, But you gotta go with the flow of the whitewater With the high collars and high bars If you are so highly throughout of To win an award And be obsessed over by other famous people's Lil bitz I told my ex I joined the army. My gigs kept having weird shit happen. I was like “something's not right.” I thought it was my ex trying to do oojabooja on me. So I told him I joined the army to try to see if the weird shit kept happening. I told that fool I joined the army — I didn't Say what army! Gods army bitatch!!! You the devil! Stop fuckin up my shit! It's 5 PM I'm waking up It's setting in That it's a contruct Not a curse, But there's no cure The demon days The auto wars As darkness falls upon us The Red Dawn soon becomes us OMG! RYAN SEACREST! Everyone forgot about you! I–thanks! *weird smile* Quickly! Get on the bus! We're already on our way to pick up K-FED. COPYRIGHT THE FESTiVAL PROJECT, INC. ™ ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. [The Festival Project ™] The Complex Collective © -Ū.

Did you ever get the feeling that it might be right? Cause I woke up in the shit, And then I paid attention with resentment Had this Patrick for a second amidst the witching hour For a glitch or an instance power, The list, with a mix of here and now Or here and there Whatever you rather, Dan But I guess for now you call me Hamm, Cause I will Jon' you in an hour After all the words have been said Over and over again, you just get cleverer with em Face it, This is considerable damages if by admission I have to press this red button Every time I take a dump Because of these microagressions And blatent intimidations, Racism and hatred, Cause somebody thinks it's okay To attack me when I'm naked And the justification is just that Genetically and empathetically One of us is deficit in the other— Guess which one How does it feel To feel And be real Or be realized So what's the deal With this meal And the plan To dance on the attacks Of your ancestors What's on the middle besides resentment And a clearer picture or each and every or other infinite spectrum? What's the problem with the problem with the kids today? They aren't that smart But they sure look good The problem is, They're all talk, All mouth, and no thoughts {Enter The Multiverse} Is there more? It appears so. Oh… (He takes a long and heavy drink) Its in here too, isn't it? Yes, its—everywhere, sir. All of a sudden, I'm sir to you? I feel as though there may be some impending legal action, and I'm just asserting my loyalty and respect so as to “go down with the ship.” If need be, uh… Well! …sir. You are a good page, aren't you? I hope so. Yeah. [The Festival Project ™} Ugh, I don't have time for this right now. VICKY MANSON is gross. She is a 45-year-old chain smoking trailer trash homebody who tends to menace others behind the “safety” of her computer keyboard, frequenting facebook to rage about email issues like politics and celebrity gossip, still attempting to torment Timmy Turner via trolling him using various social media outlets. She's been called to “Watch” TIMMY, serving out his house arrest sentence while his DAD leaves to attend POKER. {Enter The Multiverse) Copyright The Collective Complex © [The Festival Project, Inc. ™] © 2025 All Rights Reserved -Ū. ____ Omg. This is out of line. Agreed. Call regina. RE-GIIIIIIII-NAAAA!!! She ain't come Call again! [opening the window, yelling out into the project housing courtyard and echoing into all of existence.] REEGINAAAAAAAAAA! [The Festival Project ™] What. Damn. I was just gettin' my weave pressed…and dish soap. I love that new deli. Mm. Hmm. {Enter The Multiverse} We come from the ghetto We lived in each borough We live in every corner We live in these streets We loud in this bitch We proud in this bitch Don't come round this bitch Without a pot to piss in Taking pictures? Bitch, As God as my witness, A snitch is a snitch (but in a limited capacity, I get it, I'll help you win this, Ain't no case dismissed in this settlement This disturbance is egregious, Believe me, I've been causing a scene since 3 AM! Dayum! I might be somewhat prolific, Or even a genius, But right now I just want peace, A Peloton Ride And A peanut butter and Jelly sandwich But weight, i'm out of peanut butter My weight is getting out of hand, Don't know if that's a gangstalker, Or just another obsessive fan, Object, your honor to pardon your direct justification of this heinous hatred I'm helping the gentrification efforts and also Directly affected by them, Because i'm african american (Or half) But what is half to a racist? I take it as nothing less than hatred if each and every time I bathe Satan comes out to play And hey, Isn't it harassment if every time i'm in the bathroom The door slams, and this whore yaps Right outside my door To cause hate and bait me into Further establishing a race war, When all I wanted was a sauna, But i know i can't afford it, And I love New York, But honestly, I'm poor, So i just got bored with it. I probably should have been aborted. To this, a glitch— A wish that I could just Push my forehead into his chest, I digress, though repressed sexually and interested This sickness is just what he senses as sensual —And I'm understanding of that. —Purpose. I still have four muses, Four mouses, No heads A sad nd four robots Four hoses of cards And no forwards Just haloy endings That I can't Exactly plan yet Fuck this planet It appears someone has badly damaged it No recompenses or divorce No compared, No doors, And no cubords No, Just dead bird in a box Covered in plaster And a disasterous ride With no happy ever after exactly Just another adventure in wonderland And wonder if perhaps You ever could even Know who I am What a clever disaster For sure this serves as serious Let's just get this The the rumble or the severed train above her is still somewhat of a numbing To the other corruption under This, too then, is a lesson unless It just ends and let it simmer But remember, If it isn't in her It'll be another Fondant farewell, When the dinner gets to convection temperatures in the oven, And you're not over her The dozens of doves and boxes of chocolate don't hold nothing to the love you have and the hand you hold And the heart you touch, So don't let it turn cold Don't let it turn over and thump either Don't let it burn And don't let it lower into Where you mind goes When you consider another And another Over or rather You know? Just aim for Satan and everything's great then. Put a cap to a cape then and everything degrades, Fair wealth, good culture, good heart, And all focus It goes out the window to dance with the wolves l Like a bowl full of nothing but meal worms, Not oats Look closer over your breakfast You never know even if you can trust your own mother at four years old But good, god, thank god for the Honor roll Or else how else would the world know mid you were at all all worth it at all of four And still under par, The gold course, of course Is all you know Don't let it go now When all you have Is time in your hands Distractions are hard handed But actual damage? Now, that's hard pass You wanted a song so much Just so the wrong world would call you up For hurting our kind Without ever having known what my mother named me mor why I have to change it Or what the baby calls me From so far north in a place calls home But I'm still not not So you get your rocks Slamming the door I'm at the rock In my mind Hoping for Something better You Wasted All My Time Over What! Don't you know How hard it is To be anything in the world But a pretty white slut! What a knife in the back What a curse on the world— Just to start wars so it never works out Or at the very worst Just keeps the first one going It doesn't get awesome Until I For Real Can block out the whole world Just to upset another? No I came in peace You made me anxious Hold in my waste At the aim of your hatred I heart my hard earned But now I've got nothing more Than the scars on your over opinionated Over offended War cries for her justice But only if it out does mine, Right? Actually, Fuck it I'm over it That's all the words I'm gonna waste on this till bitch You wanted my energy, so you stole it But becareful of What follows it —you're welcome. My license is revoked I've forgotten long ago by now how to break stroke And it's just a throat scratch, A dark dive And I'm trying to try it out a bit But love's a bitch And I don't really ever speak her language I've been distant and lost in translation, and most of all Impatient with the amount of time that it's taking Cause I hate that guy, he's a fly in my space thst just doesn't seem to go away until they mate and lay eggs to replace them. Ugh. It just goes on, It's whatever the buzz It's just all full of lamb and the talk of the town Is who you are now So, how I found out? A roundabout kick to the ass And a fax to the mayor, Before I realized He seems like a complete hater, bro. I have an eight year old, But I haven't seen him since he was five And I think I'm gonna die Cause everyone's nickel and diming me And all I happened to find Is a single penny, so that— Two hours of mixing, Once cent I made— By now he definitely hates me And has been trained to think I'm crazy But these days, living paycheck to oaucheck is a thankless job And the techno snobs are responsible for the upkeep of auschwitz. It seems like a colored woman with a dream should just Get behind the scenes Or a man that sees meaning in her So this is demeaning? Is it? Am I green, or am I greenlit— l And I clean, or am I cleaning Should I Charlie, or should I Sheen it? I could admit I seen it coming but I wanted to disagree with it, It's psychic intuition but all it is is kicking my ass Like I'm inside or the telivison. What's my last name!? I'm the hat man! Are you happy? No, I'm sad man l! And quite thirsty; Is it Thursday yet Or should I should I just get to drinking anywayy I hate all this thinking anyway; I miss l LA but seen it from the scenic route; I used to sleep on the bus and the train, But what I really want is a house And just to be left alone, Some grass to mow, And some to smoke, And a tree to grow, Just like the one from Pocahontas OH SHIT YO. Why, Hello Friend! Oh, this is where that Treepeople thing was going? Yes! No. No? No. No why. Cause we went broke . Went broke what. Trying to get you to— you know— No, I don't I know. You don't know? No? I've no idea… Oh; that's right, you haven't got a clue. {enter the multiverse)} what did you do at that afterparty Stephen?! I TOLD YOU, I DONT KNOW!!!! What does a girl have to do to get a little attention around here?! Here, have some liquid courage. Liquid courage!? Yeah! What's in this? oh, you know… No, I don't…. You— Why does it glow Yeah, I does that! Oh my god, it looks like one of those sparkle— lava lamps! Oh my god, yeah, you know. I'm not drinking that. Doesn't seem— drinkable. But it is— drinkable. Just because you can put it in your mouth and swallow it doesn't make it consumable. Oh—doesn't it? [beat] …You know what. That's fair! —it— yeah. You walked right into thst one. I— yeah. So come on? It got sparkles in it? What are these flecks. For all you know, it's bio degradable? Is that a gold fish at the bottom?! If he can handle it?! How are you alive? The goldfish to be fair seems tmmore alive than he should, perhaps. He looks the woman directly into the eye. He seems extremely concious even. Oh wow. Come on! Ok. Fine. But what do you do with the fish when the bottle's empty? I don't know. Never finished a bottle. What! Never really…though about it. Okay? So! Come on. He pours a shot. Shift changed , I should have made arrangements for a date at an earlier time But really there isn't a reason or realization to it I hate playing the game It must have been an off day when I made it up But that was so long ago now. I haven't put hard thought about it, But forgot I had further options to stop the violence than just talking about it I missed the opportunity to photog or model By tomorrow morning I'll be a little smaller But still broken If I think of any of those thoughts My heart opens up and swallows me whole Talk about a dilemma and not a problem I would probably dress as such as doll If I could afford the money But I'm dollar for dollar Out of dogital storage for my thoughts and performances. You know. So show your age, Nicki Minaj And Migos, the flash flooding Benito is bad Bunny, But you gotta go with the flow of the whitewater With the high collars and high bars If you are so highly throughout of To win an award And be obsessed over by other famous people's Lil bitz I told my ex I joined the army. My gigs kept having weird shit happen. I was like “something's not right.” I thought it was my ex trying to do oojabooja on me. So I told him I joined the army to try to see if the weird shit kept happening. I told that fool I joined the army — I didn't Say what army! Gods army bitatch!!! You the devil! Stop fuckin up my shit! It's 5 PM I'm waking up It's setting in That it's a contruct Not a curse, But there's no cure The demon days The auto wars As darkness falls upon us The Red Dawn soon becomes us OMG! RYAN SEACREST! Everyone forgot about you! I–thanks! *weird smile* Quickly! Get on the bus! We're already on our way to pick up K-FED. COPYRIGHT THE FESTiVAL PROJECT, INC. ™ ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. [The Festival Project ™] The Complex Collective © -Ū.

Quaranteam-Northwest: Part 4 The House. Based on a post by Break The Bar. Listen to the ► Podcast at Explicit Novels. The pounding on the front door echoed through the house again, and I literally fell out of the bed trying to disentangle my foot from the mess of the sheets. Erica and I had stumbled inside late as fuck, trying to be quiet and not wake up Leo and Dani, and now I could see we'd tracked in dirt and grass with us. The sheets were filthy. I got shorts on and stood, shaking Erica by the shoulder. "What?" she groaned. "Someone is at the door, and it's sun up. The worker might need to start working. I'll close the door and give you as much time as I can, but could you at least put on a top in case anyone pops in here by accident?" "Let 'em look," Erica grunted. "What happened to those being my tits, and mine alone?" I grinned. "..... Fine," she said and held up a hand in the air. I found her a shirt and put it in her hand, and she started trying to get it on without lifting her head from the pillow or opening her eyes. I shut the bedroom door behind me and met up with Leo in the hallway; he was only slightly more dressed than I was, with a single sock and an undershirt over his shorts. "Mornin'" he grunted. "Yep," I said, and we headed for the door. When I opened it I was expecting Vanessa and her big 'gorilla' work crew, but instead it was Agent Sourpuss. It was even earlier in the day than I had expected. "What took you two so long?" she said, sneering at the two of us. "Never mind, come with me." She started walking around the house, so Leo and I followed barefoot. Just as we were stepping out and shutting the front door, the crew vans started pulling in, ferrying the surveyors and workers. A few of them called and waved, taunting us for looking like we were getting called to the Principal's office. "We have solved the temporary housing issue for you two," Agent Sourpuss said as we rounded the corner, and she presented us with the new additions to the backyard. Hunkered up next to the two sea cans that all of our stuff was being loaded into for storage were two brand new, state-of-the-art, still gleaming chrome and white from the lot, RVs. The two fuckers were huge. I had no idea how anyone other than an 18-wheeler truck driver could pilot one of them. They had to be worth at least a couple hundred thousand dollars each. "God damn," I said, coming awake. "One for each of us?" Leo asked. "You and your partners," the Agent said. "Follow me." We did, crossing the backyard as the Agent told us that we would need to be ready to move them at a moment's notice; our presence couldn't be allowed to slow down the construction process. We were also in charge of maintaining them, and organizing with the construction general manager when they arrived on site to make sure they were getting properly emptied (the septic) and filled (the fuel). "Mr. Lacoste, you have the one on the left," the Agent said, handing a set of keys to Leo. He actually giggled with glee, taking the keys and darting to his new home. "Mr. Black, yours is clearly the right. As is your new partner waiting for you inside," she said. I blinked. "I'm sorry, what?" "Your second partner drove with us this morning. She's waiting inside for you and is ready for imprinting. I suggest not making her wait too long." Agent Sourpuss then began to walk away, back to her car at the front of the house. "Wait, wait, wait," I said, following her. "I already have a partner. Erica and I are bonded or whatever." "Not how it works, Mr. Black," the Agent said, still walking. "You're rated at Tier Four, and you must have been somewhat open to a non-monogamous relationship, as is Miss Lacoste. Your new partner is suited to the two of you. You shouldn't keep her waiting." There wasn't any stopping her, so I diverted and headed back into the house. "Erica!" I called, heading for the stairs. "What?" she asked, rubbing the sleep from her eyes but coming out of my room dressed in my shirt from last night, and a pair of her shorts. "The Agent just dropped off the big ass RVs we're living in," I said. "And a woman who I'm supposed to bond with." "Oh, shit. That was fast," she said. "What do you mean, that was fast?" I asked. "You knew about this?" "I mean, they said at the information seminar that it was possible people would begin getting partnered into existing relationships based on the matchmaking and available matches," Erica said. We were heading down the stairs again. "I assumed since I'm Bi, and you're a guy, it wouldn't be unlikely we'd get someone else eventually. I didn't think it would be day three, obviously. Why would this person pick us over a single guy?" We got outside and to the RV, and I knocked. "It's open," called a voice. It was light and feminine, but with a distinct accent. I opened the door and mounted the steps, stopping when I saw the woman within, only for Erica to push me the rest of the way up so she could see as well. She was dark blonde, almost brunette, and her hair hung in waves down just past her shoulders. The woman was slight, and obviously so because all she was wearing was lingerie made up of thin mesh through which I could see her rosy pink nipples on her smallish tits, and lots of buckles for straps. The right side of her body was fresh and clean, though down the center of her abdomen, from under her chin all the way to her pubic mound, was a thin black line of a tattoo splitting her in half. On the left side of that tattoo her body was designed with black ink in floral tribal patterns, fleur-de-lis motifs and other designs. She was smiling demurely despite her dress and the fact that she was lounging in the sitting area of the RV, her legs splayed as she absently rubbed her twat through her mesh thong. "Bonjour," she said, grinning even brighter as Erica followed me in. Her accent was distinctly French Canadian and she couldn't be older than twenty-three. "My name is Ivy Gauthier, and I was expecting just a cock, but I am more than happy to make Mommy happy too if she wants to sit on my face." "Fuck," Erica said, and looked at me. "Can we keep her?" Ivy Erica, as usual, took to the rapidly changing social situation a little faster than I did. "So you're sure about all of this?" she asked the girl, Ivy. We were sitting in the lounge area of the RV that the government had delivered to us that morning. "Well, it is too late for me to back out now," Ivy said. She was French Canadian, with that very specific Quebecois accent that extended vowels and clipped some consonants. I only really knew the difference between hers and a traditional French-from-France accent because I'd once drank with a unit of French soldiers while I was deployed in Germany. "I have already been poked with the needles. I chose Harrison because he reminded me of a sexy version of the boys I grew up with in the north of Quebec. Very sexy lumberjack, yes?" Erica smirked, glancing at me and patting my knee. "Yes, very sexy woodsman." "As I said, I was not expecting a sexy woman as well, but I am the bisexual," Ivy continued. "In fact, Erica, you are very much my type." "And what type is that?" Erica asked. Ivy grinned but blushed, biting her lip for a moment as if she were embarrassed, but I could see the hunger in her big, expressive eyes. "Most girls in my job, they have what you call the 'Daddy Issues', yes? Well, my father made many mistakes, but was always very good to my sister et moil. An ex I have, she said I have 'Mommy Issues' instead. I like strong women, older than me, with tits and ass like yours." The little minx actually reached out and caressed the side of Erica's tit when she said it. "What job is it you've been working?" I asked, though I had a feeling I knew the general field. "I am a dancer," Ivy said, turning back to me and looking all the world like a worried teenager, rather than the seductive woman clad in mesh lingerie that was sitting between Erica and me. "I hope that is not so bad to you, Harrison. I know some men, they think it means I am dirty or spoiled. But I am not." Then she got another little lascivious smirk as she tilted her chin down looking up at you through her lashes. "Well, I could also be a very dirty girl for the right man. Or woman." She touched Erica's leg without looking. "Okay, seriously Ivy," I said. "Unless this is really who you are, and who you want to be, you can tone down the seduction. Erica and I aren't going to turn you away, but you have got to be real with us." Ivy frowned, and it was like she went through a little transformation as she absorbed what I said and metabolized it. She bit the inside of her cheek for a moment, then nodded and stood up, crossed to the murphy table that was in the kitchenette and pulled a robe I hadn't even noticed from where it was hanging. She wrapped it around herself quickly and then sat back down. "I am sorry," she said. "I am; this vaccine is making me very horny. I did not know what to expect, yes? I thought it best to treat you like private clients." "Oh, sweetie," Erica sighed. "I know. The nervousness, that little itch all over?" Ivy nodded. "Maybe let's start from the beginning," I suggested. "Just be honest with us." "I was being honest," Ivy said. "My name is Ivy Gauthier, I was born in a little town in northern Quebec and raised by my father and grandmother, along with my sister. I am an exotic dancer. I started in Montreal, and decided to try and do a tour of the USA. My visa was running out when the Quarantine happened. They said it would not be a problem if I took the experimental vaccine." "Wait, hold on," I said. "Fuck. Would you have taken the vaccine if you weren't worried about your visa?" Ivy thought about it and then shrugged. "I don't know? Maybe? I never had to think about it without the visa on the table." "This is fucked up," I said. "And it's too late to change anything," Erica said. "Harri, you know it's too late." "I know," I grunted. "But that doesn't mean I have to like it." "And you know if it's not you, it'll be someone else." I took in a long breath and nodded. "Ivy, I assume you went through the whole set of meetings and videos that Erica did, but I just have to ask; are you absolutely sure you want this?" Ivy pursed her lips, looking between Erica and me. Her hands were in her lap, most of her tattoos covered by the worn, velvet red robe she was wearing. She looked younger and older at the same time. She ended up looking to Erica. "Is he a good man?" "The best," Erica said immediately. "And is she a good woman?" Ivy asked me. I took Erica's hand in mine. "Better than anyone could ever deserve." "Then I am fine with this," Ivy said. "It is the end of the world, oui? Why should I not be with two sexy people who love each other, and will share their bed with me?" Erica laughed. "Well, she's direct." "Alright. You know what the next steps are?" I asked Ivy. "You fuck me, and I will become your; how did they say.? Umm, bonded something?" "We haven't figured out the right word yet either," Erica said. "For now, it might be easiest if you're just our fuckbuddy." "I like this," Ivy said. "You two are a couple, and I will be your fuckbuddy." The way she said it made it sound a little sillier, a little naughtier. This girl would have been dangerous if Erica and I weren't in the current situation. "You have some time," I said. "Would you rather wait a bit, or do it now?" "Now," Ivy said. "I would very much like to taste you, Erica. While Harrison fucks my ass." "Wow, that's very hot and specific," Erica said. Ivy smiled. "I am what you would say is an 'Anal Queen.' My father, he had children with three different women. It made me afraid of pregnancy, so I learned as a girl to prefer it in my butt." "Well, I guess you're getting to crush some ass, babe," Erica said, smirking and then kissing me on the cheek. "Hey, you know what?" I asked. "However you want it, Ivy, I'm happy to provide. Is there anything else you'd like us to know before we go to the bed?" Ivy stood up, slipping the robe back off of her and hanging it back up. "I can be very loud," she said. "Just a warning. And I like many things, but this time, I think we keep it to a simple threesome, yes? I will suck cock and eat cunt, and I would very much like to be fingered, and fucked in the ass." "So simple," Erica chuckled. "Ivy, I think Harrison is still a little hesitant; he is a natural protector, so don't think he's timid. He's just worried and doesn't want to take advantage." "Oh," Ivy said, looking at me for a moment with a cocked head, taking my measure. "Now I; Okay, yes, I understand." She came forward and pushed me back by the shoulders until I was sitting fully upright on the cushioned bench seat instead of leaning forward. Then she crawled into my lap, on her knees with them outside my legs, and sat her perky bum on my legs. "Harrison, I have told you I think you are sexy, yes? Well here, I will prove it." She took my hand and brought my fingers to her lips, taking my pointer and middle fingers and sucking on them lewdly, then bringing them down between us to her crotch. She pulled the mesh panties aside and put my fingers against her hole and pivoted, taking my two thick fingers into her clenching cunt. "I want to fuck you. And I will tell you another thing about me; I like a man who takes me how he wants. Throw me on the bed, put my legs behind my head. Make me your little pretzel girl as you fuck my ass. I am sure I will love this 'big brother' you in time, too. But I need you first to be my man." Then she kissed me, grinding on my fingers. I breathed in through my nose, and she pressed her chest against mine, and I reached around her with the hand that wasn't busy at her cunt and grabbed her ass firmly. "Umm, yes," she mumbled into my mouth. "Like that." "God, I hope I didn't look that fucking horny when I kissed you that first time," Erica said. She was still sitting on the other end of the L-shaped bench from us, watching me get frenched by the little French minx who had just fallen into our lives. I pulled back from the kiss, and Ivy looked at me with concern, searching my face. "Go kiss Erica," I said. She grinned and slipped from my lap, my fingers leaving her cunt, and slid right onto Erica's lap and pulled my girlfriend into a hard kiss as their disproportionate tits pressed together. Erica was much bustier than Ivy, though the younger woman's figure was just as sexy. As they started to make out I stood up, walking to the back of the RV and surveying the space. The back of the vehicle was dominated by the bedroom, which had what looked like a bed that was too big for the space. I pulled the blanket and top sheet off of it, knowing how Erica had a tendency to leave wet spots after fucking, and then kicked off my boots and returned to the women. "Alright, come here," I said, and lifted Ivy off of Erica and tossed her over my shoulder so I was carrying her ass forward. She howled a laugh, kicking her legs, and I offered Erica my other hand up. "She is going to be a lot of fun," Erica said. "I know," I said. "But I need to ask you, too. Is this what you want?" Erica smiled, almost sadly, and shrugged. "I told you I'd introduce you to a lot of strippers. I just didn't know it would happen so fast. Like she said, it's the end of the world, at least as we know it. Why not?" I nodded, and then bounced Ivy on my shoulder and gave her a soft spank on the butt. "What are you giggling so hard for?" "Nothing," she said. "Everything." "Crazy French girl," I said, and carried her to the end of the RV and tossed her on the bed like she wanted. She landed and immediately twisted and turned, biting her lip as she positioned herself on her stomach, looking at me eagerly as she slowly kicked her legs and her little bum bounced, humping the air a little. "Oh, I think she wants to suck your cock," Erica said, coming up behind me and resting her cheek on my shoulder. She reached around my waist and started lowering my shorts. "Is that what you want, Ivy?" Ivy nodded, grinning. "Well, I've got a surprise for a naughty girl. You are very lucky, because you picked a man who happens to have a very nice, fat cock." Erica said, and dropped my shorts, letting my mostly-hard cock out. "Oh, fuck," Ivy said, her eyes going happily large. "It is a very good cock." She looked up at Erica. "May I please suck the very good cock?" "Good manners," Erica said. "Yes, Ivy, you may suck Harrison. But from now on you should call it his fat cock." "Yes, mo" the rest of what she was saying became garbled as she leaned forward and spoke with the head of my cock between her lips, and came. She hadn't been expecting it, and her legs started to kick as she tensed up and pulled away from my cock, lowering her face to the bed. Then her body released all its tension and she sucked in a deep, ragged breath. "Woah!" she exhaled, loud and wordless, as a second wave of the orgasm passed through her. Erica reached around and ran her fingers through Ivy's hair as the smaller, younger woman rode a third and final wave of the vaccine-induced orgasm. She was left panting, and rolled over onto her back and looked back up at us in confusion and what looked like drunken delight. "What was that? I have never come so fast," she said in wonder "Didn't they tell you to expect that?" Erica asked. Ivy shook her head. "Huh, that's weird. They told my group," Erica said. "That was the imprinting process starting. Can you feel that ache, down in your clit? That's the vaccine too. Soon you'll feel it on your tongue, aching to get Harri's come anywhere you can inside you." "I already wanted this," Ivy said, her grin not slipping. She rolled back over onto her stomach and opened her mouth, but then hesitated. "Does this,” "No," I said, "Not every time." "Too bad, but also good," Ivy said. "It would be very hard to suck your cock if this happened every time." Then she took me back into her mouth and began bobbing her head quickly. I had a feeling she was actually a brunette and dyed her hair up to the dirty blonde she wore it. The dark undertones were more real than the light ones. Erica came around me now and slipped out of her shorts, going down to her panties and my shirt she'd been wearing, and got on her knees on the bed next to Ivy. She sat tall, and I kissed her as Ivy suckled on my cock. "Enjoy yourself, babe," Erica assured me. "We both want this." I raised an eyebrow and reached around her, grabbing her meatier ass. "You don't need to keep reassuring me, E. Or does 'mommy' need a good seeing to as well?" "Oh, I always need a good seeing to," Erica grinned. She started to lower down slowly, maintaining eye contact with me. "But first I think I need to make sure our naughty girl here knows how to treat you properly. Let me see you suck his cock, Ivy." Ivy beamed up at me, eyes flicking between my face and Erica's as the older woman leaned close. "Good, really slobber on that cock," Erica said softly, stroking Ivy's hair. "It's going to be cracking that cute little ass of yours open soon, so it needs to be very hard and very slippery." Ivy mumbled something unintelligible. "But don't forget his balls," Erica said. Ivy immediately took my cock from her mouth and lifted it with a hand, trying to take my sack between her lips but only fitting one nut as she tongued and worked her mouth. Erica took Ivy's place at my cock, putting her lips around the head and starting to blow me. "Oh, fuck, that's new," I groaned, looking down at both women staring up at me with smiles in their eyes. I put a hand on each of their heads. Ivy didn't let up, switching from one ball to the other as my cock rubbed across her face, but Erica popped off of the end and grinned at me before sliding back on the bed and taking up a position behind Ivy. "Now, what do we have here?" Erica asked, wrapping her fingers into the elastic band of Ivy's mesh panties. "Someone is a very naughty girl, dressing so slutty. Look, I can see everything! So what could possibly be the point of this?" She started pulling the panties down over Ivy's ass, and the younger woman shifted her hips eagerly, letting her do it. "Back to my cock now," I grunted, and Ivy followed my orders. Once I was back in her mouth, I ran my fingers down the side of her face, just watching as she looked up at me with adoringly needy eyes. Erica had gotten Ivy's panties off, and she tossed them aside as she knelt next to the pale girl and started to massage her upturned butt. "Ivy, you have a very cute ass," she said, stroking the girl's smooth skin. Just like her front, Ivy had a thin black line running down the middle of her spine, bisecting her from her hairline all the way down to her ass crack. On one side of the line her pale, smooth skin was flawless. On the other, she sported a collection of black tattoos; most of them flowery and nicely designed, a few of them more 'witchy' like flying crows and a jagged, leafless tree. "M'ank 'oo," Ivy mumbled around my cock, and wiggled her butt. Erica quickly sucked two fingers into her mouth and, biting the inside of her lip as she grinned, slipped them down between Ivy's legs and began slowly, teasingly fingering the younger woman's cunt. Ivy immediately responded by shuddering and starting to blow me faster, bobbing her head as she moaned with my cock in her mouth, pressing against the inside of her cheeks. "For a girl who prefers it in the ass, our naughty little girl gets very wet," Erica said to me. "Is that right?" I asked, and looked down at Ivy and her big eyes. "Do you get wet and ready for a cock even if you don't want one in that hole?" "Umm hmm," she hummed and nodded, then pulled her lips from my cock. "When I am ready, the right man will have a very good time with my naughty cunt." Erica leaned forward, bringing her lips to Ivy's ear from behind. "And what about Harrison? Is he the right man?" I could see the conflict warring in Ivy. She didn't know; her instincts were to shy away. But the vaccine, that need and horniness it had put in Erica, was in Ivy as well. She wanted me, wanted my cum. Wanted it inside her, to match with the vaccine. Chemically, she wanted to say yes. "You don't need to answer that," I told her reassuringly, stroking the side of her face again. Then I glanced at Erica, who raised an eyebrow at me, but I just shook my head. Ivy, a thankful look in her eyes, quickly went back to blowing me while Erica played with her cunt. Eventually I pulled away, and in one move picked up and flipped Ivy over onto her back. She giggled, and I was glad that she'd been honest with me about wanting to be thrown around in bed; I would have likely asked, or maybe told, her to move. Instead she seemed to really enjoy the manhandling. "Get the rest of the lingerie off," I said. The mesh bra did nothing to hide her perky, small boobs from me, but I wanted her naked. There was a practical element; once the bonding process was completed, she was going to zonk out and having that strappy lingerie on for hours and hours wouldn't be good for her or it. But there was also a primal thing in me that just wanted this strangely innocent, strangely filthy girl naked for me. She stripped quickly, and Erica took that time to peel off my shirt that she was wearing as well, revealing her bigger, heavy tits. "Oh, my," Ivy said, and sat up, reaching for Erica's chest. "You are so beautiful, Erica." Erica grinned and leaned forward a bit, allowing Ivy to press her face into Erica's cleavage. "She's like a horny teenage boy," Erica laughed. Ivy was kissing and licking her cleavage all over. "So am I, when it comes to you," I said, and slipped off the bed to stand behind her, kissing her on the cheek and then down to her neck while I reached around and cupped her tits from below, lifting them for Ivy to feast on. "Oh, god, this is heaven," Erica moaned, leaning her head back on my shoulder. "Have you ever done a threesome before?" I asked her quietly. "Once. Three women," she mumbled. "Not that great, really." "Too much fake cock?" I asked. "That, and tribbing is stupid. Doesn't do anything for me, and they both loved it." "Hear that, Ivy? No tribbing," I said. "But can I eat her cunt?" Ivy asked, coming up for air from the bounty of tits she was enjoying. "I think my answer is 'whenever you want,'" Erica laughed. "First I want more of your mouth," I said to Ivy. "Lay back down. And Erica, I'd love to see you eat her out." Erica grinned. "Ever seen a lesbian act in person before?" "Nothing more explicit than two drunk girls kissing to rile up some guys at a party," I said. Ivy had lain back, spreading her legs, and Erica knelt between them and slowly brought her face down to Ivy's bare cunt. It was pretty, almost like the clean and clinical specimen you would see in a biology textbook. "Do you want me to lick your cunt, Ivy?" Erica asked teasingly. "Yes, please," Ivy said and grabbed the bedspread in her fingers in anticipation. Erica went to work, and Ivy moaned loudly and wordlessly as her body tensed and then relaxed into the sensations. "Is it good," I asked. "Uh-huh," Ivy nodded and moaned. I knelt down next to her head and turned her face sideways, tapping my cock against her lips. She immediately opened them, and I slid between her lips and she began suckling. Then, after looking down and seeing the smile in Erica's eyes as she watched me getting blown while she ate cunt, I began to thrust lightly into Ivy's mouth. The dirty blonde dropped her jaw, and worked her tongue, and soon I was pumping steadily, treating her lips just roughly enough to feel divine. I reached down and palmed her tit, which so far had been almost entirely ignored. I happened to grab the tattooed side of her, where the boob itself was still a blank canvas but was surrounded by them dark patterns. Her nipple was a firm little nub in my palm, and her moaning on my cock changed to a higher pitch when I grabbed her more firmly, and then began playing with her nipple between my fingers. Erica, seeing the change in Ivy, mimicked me and reached up for her other tit and grabbed it as well. "Muh," Ivy moaned, but didn't try to pull away from my thrusting. She whined on my cock, thrusting her hips up and down, grinding against Erica's face. Then, seeing her coming to a peak, I thrust in and held my cock deep in her mouth, but not to the point of gagging her. I pinched the nipple I was holding, and Erica focused on her clit, and Ivy went off with a long shudder and another muffled howl. I pulled my cock from her mouth when she was coming down. "Keep going," I told Erica. "Get her there again." Then I stepped off of the bed and behind Erica, whose panty-clad ass was up in the air at the edge of the bed. I pulled her panties down to her thighs, set my cock against her puffy cunt, and thrust inside firmly, claiming her as mine again. "Yes, babe," Erica gasped into Ivy's cunt. "Fuck, yes, my fucking stud." "Oh, fuck," Ivy groaned, eyes half-closed as she grabbed at her own tits harshly and watched me fucking Erica from behind. Within five thrusts I was burying deep into my girlfriend at a good, steady pace. "You two are so fucking hot," Ivy said breathily, her accent turning every croon into a delightful sentence instead of something that might have come across as crude. I fucked Erica steadily, one hand on her hip and the other keeping hold of her wonderful ass, and she thrust back at me while trying to keep her lips and tongue working. I wanted Erica to feel how desirable I found her, even in this threesome with a brand new woman between us. I wanted her to know she wasn't just forced on me; she was a choice. She chose me, and I chose her back. Leaning forward, I let go of her waist and ass and grabbed her tits hanging below her, palming them and lifting their weight as she remained ass up and face down in Ivy's cunt. "I fucking love you, E," I said. "I love your body, I love your personality, and I love your mind. And right now, I really love how fucking sexual you are." "Fuck," Ivy groaned. "Fuck, that is so hot." Erica was starting to falter in her fucking back at me, which I knew meant she was getting close but I wanted to push her farther. "Ivy," I said. "It's almost time. How much prep does your ass need?" Ivy licked her lips, that carnal need growing inside of her with every passing minute. "For most guys, two fingers would be enough. But for you, I think three, if Mommy will do it for me?" "What do you think, 'mommy,'" I grinned. "Are you up for prepping her?" Erica slurped off of Ivy's cunt and flipped the girl onto her stomach, then spread her ass cheeks and spit onto her asshole. "For her, and to watch you fuck this cute little ass, absolutely," Erica said. I really couldn't see all that much of the oral portion of the prep, since I continued to fuck Erica. I slowed, and thrust deep and firm instead of faster and harder, and gave her the chance to work. Soon enough, Erica had two fingers in Ivy's ass and was adding a third. "Oh, mommy, yes," Ivy moaned. "Finger my ass. Spread my asshole for our man. God, I want that fat cock up my ass so badly. Harrison, please don't make me wait. Please don't back out, I need it so badly." "Who does this ass belong to now, Ivy?" Erica asked her. "Fuck, fuck," Ivy gasped. Erica slapped the side of her ass cheek. "Who does this ass belong to now, dirty little girl?" "Harrison," Ivy moaned. "Oh, fuck, Harrison. Fuck my ass. Take my ass. Take it. Take it." I pulled out of Erica, watching for just a moment as her cunt was split by me and didn't want to let go, then hopped back up on the bed. Erica pulled her fingers out of Ivy's hole, and I spun the younger woman around on the bed and pulled her up onto her hands and knees. Ivy dropped her face to the mattress as she reached back and held her ass cheeks open, her butthole winking at me. "Fuck my ass. Please, Butt fuck me. Own my butt," she panted. I placed my cock to her asshole and pressed forward. "Oh, fuck yes," Ivy almost howled. "Oh, it is so good. Merci, merci, oh fuck yes." I was halfway in when she finally clenched and I stopped. Erica, meanwhile, had shifted her seating on the bed so she was on her ass, and she spread her legs in front of Ivy's face. "Hey, now it's time for you to lick my cunt, dirty girl," she said. Ivy lifted her head and groaned as she tasted Erica for the first time, and as she did Ivy's ass relaxed, and I pushed in the rest of the way. "Yes," she mumbled. "Yes, fuck, so good. So full." I slowly pulled back out, then pushed back in. I'd tried anal before, once with a German girl I met off base, but it had been tough going. With Ivy, it was like she was just built different. She squeezed back at me, pushed to get me deeper. "She really is an Anal Queen," I gasped to Erica, who opened her eyes and grinned savagely at me. "I can't believe you're fucking her in the ass right now," she said. "Neither can I," I said, and started to properly thrust into that tight but forgiving asshole. "She's fucking good with her tongue, too," Erica groaned. "I can feel myself getting soaked." "Careful," I snickered. "There are the only sheets we have right now." "Oh, fuck off," Erica laughed. I had just started fucking into Ivy harder still, and she was sucking in deep breaths and moaning like a pornstar, when there was a loud banging on the main door of the RV. There was absolutely no way they couldn't hear what was happening in here, let alone that I had to assume the RV was rocking a bit. "Don't stop," Ivy gasped, lifting her face from Erica's cunt and begging me over her shoulder. "Please, keep fucking my ass. You can't stop. I need you to keep going." "Fuck, I was so close," Erica groaned, and the knocking happened again, banging on the door. Erica rolled off the bed. "You can't stop now, you might break her mind. I'll deal with this." "Yes, Harri, fuck me. So good, fuck my ass. Fuck my ass!" Ivy moaned, even fucking louder now that she didn't have Erica's cunt to muffle her. Erica stalked naked out into the main area of the RV, and she slipped on the robe that Ivy had been using earlier. She pulled it closed in the front and opened the door. "Hey, so this is awkward,” I could hear Vanessa say, but then I was shocked when instead of going outside to talk to her, Erica reached out and pulled her inside the RV. "Fuck, E! You didn't shut the door," I said. "Oh, shit. Sorry!" Erica called, and I only half believed her. There was one long moment of chaos where Vanessa was inside, looking down the length of the RV right at me as I was thrusting away, my nuts slapping against Ivy's cunt as I fucked her ass at speed. "Fuck," I grunted, and I made to pull out. "No, please, merde. Don't stop fucking my ass. Don't stop. Fuck my little ass. Come inside, I need you to come inside. Rempli-moi, mon homme. Mon cher. Fuck, mon amour!" I couldn't stop. I was so fucking close to coming, but I also had to move. So I did the only thing I could do; I wrapped my arms around Ivy's torso, fucked my cock as deep into her ass as I could, and picked her up and lifted her off of the bed. "Fuck, mon amour. I love you fucking my ass. Own my ass, mon amour. Fill me, fuck me," she babbled. I got us out of direct line of sight, pressing Ivy against the wall of the RV just next to the door to the bedroom, and I fumbled with one hand and slammed it shut as I kept thrusting into her. "Fuck. Fuck! I want you, I want it inside. Je veux croquer la pomme. Je suis très mouillée pour toi, mon amour. Fuck me. I love you?" she gasped the last words, like she was unsure, but enlightened by the idea. And then I came, pressing her up against the wood paneling and carpet of the RV walls. I came deep inside her ass, and she leaned back into me as her entire body shook. Her jaw was clenched tight, a small whine coming through almost like one of those dog whistles. "Sorry about that, Vanessa," I heard Erica talking through the walls. "We got a new vaccine partner who moved in with the RV. We were just, um, going through the bonding process." "That is; I mean, I'm sorry?" Vanessa mumbled. "It was obvious what was... happening, but we kind of need to get to work again. I wasn't expecting you to..." "That's totally my fault," Erica said. "I was a little fuck drunk; Harrison is very capable, and our new partner Ivy has a very skilled tongue." ".....Okay," Vanessa exhaled. That was when it felt more like I was holding Ivy up, rather than her standing on her own, and I carefully pulled my cock from her still-clenching butt and scooped her up in my arms. "Imprinting. Imprinting," she was mumbling. "Still fucking creepy," I grumbled, shaking my head as I looked at her in my arms. She was all woman, but like this I couldn't help but feel protective of the young woman who'd been forced into making choices that led her to my bed. The whole experience was amazing, but it was still... ugh. I set Ivy down on the bed and lay the sheet over her, and she curled up around a pillow and continued to mumble. This let me find and pull my shorts back on and exit the room. Erica was sitting on the murphy table, which she'd folded down, and Vanessa was sitting on the L-bench. "Vanessa, I am so sorry you got an eyeful of me like that," I said. "No, it's fine," Vanessa said, raising a hand. "You guys explained some of it last night, and Erica was just telling me again about the whole vaccine process and stuff. I didn't realize that's what this was and you couldn't, ah, interrupt the process." I nodded, and during the following brief conversation I apologized a couple more times. We quickly went through the plan for the day; which included finishing up all the rest of the moving out of the house so that it could be demolished the next morning. "And that's it," Vanessa nodded. "Uh, before I go; could I see her?" "You mean Ivy?" Erica asked. "Yeah," Vanessa said. "I mean, not if she's in a compromising position or whatever. But last night you and Leo talked about the 'imprinting' thing, and I'm probably going to have to do that eventually. I'd like to see it beforehand." I sucked my teeth for a moment, then nodded. "Sure, I think she should be decent." I led Vanessa to the back of the RV and opened the bedroom door. Ivy was still where I'd left her. Vanessa scooted around the outside of the bed, leaning forward and watching Ivy's face as she smiled and mumbled 'Imprinting' over and over. "That's freaky," Vanessa whispered, standing back up and coming out of the room. "But she's also gorgeous." "Just wait until you see her tattoos," Erica said. "She has some really interesting work done." "Yeah?" Vanessa asked. "Cool. I'm looking forward to meeting her." Erica smiled. "So, uh, how long before you need us?" "Like, twenty minutes ago," Vanessa smirked. "No," Erica shook her head. "I mean, how long until you need us." "Oh!" Vanessa said again, her eyes going wide. "Um.. another... fifteen minutes?" Erica smiled and winked. "I'll make it work." Vanessa, blushing, left the RV and shut the door behind her, while Erica turned and dropped the robe, revealing her naked body to me again. "I need you to fuck my orgasm back to life, babe," she said, staring hotly. "Fuck me fast and hard." I pulled her into my arms, laughing along with her as I glanced around the RV, deciding which part of the big luxury vehicle we should christen first. With Ivy safely tucked away in the back of the RV, and Erica and I working the knots out of her system quickly, it really was time to get to work. While Erica and I had been busy, Leo had been equally busy, going to wake up Danielle and show her their new temporary home as well. "Come on, rabbits," Erica called, knocking on the back window of their RV. "You would have been so pissed if he did that to you," I said. Erica laughed and shrugged. "Yeah, so?" "You two have a very different relationship than me and my sister," I said. The curtain on the window pulled aside a little, Leo glancing out and glaring at Erica. "Fuck off," he said, flashing her the finger. "We need to get to work!" Erica called again. Leo looked like he was about to say something snarky, but was pulled away and Danielle was now in the open corner of the window. "Sorry," she said, barely audible through the glass and over the sounds of construction work happening nearby. "I'll make sure we're quick." Her angelic face flashed us both a smile, and then she dropped the curtain. "Did you see what I saw?" Erica asked, turning to me. "You mean her whole naked tit?" I asked. "God damn, it's like that girl was manufactured to be 'Sexiest Woman Alive," Erica chuckled. "I don't know about that," I said, taking her hand and leading her away. "You'd give her a run for her money." "Compliments will serve you well, boyfriend," Erica smiled, squeezing my hand and winking. It turned out that the surveyors didn't need major tours again yet, so I was more free to help with the packing and the moving. Once Leo and Danielle joined us; letting us know the water pressure in the RV showers was pitiful at best; the work went quickly. We moved our clothing and things we knew we'd need sooner than later into the RVs, everything else got moved into the storage containers. A third container was dropped off to help with housing Leo's woodworking equipment, which gave us more space to start organizing things as well. How long did a house take to build? How long until they even started on our houses? These were the sorts of questions we just didn't have answers to, so we had to guess we would probably be in the RVs at least through the fall and winter and into next year. It was around the middle of the afternoon, and I was busy securing my father's old gun safe in the storage container with the woodworking tools, when I heard the telltale sound of another vehicle pulling up the driveway. Not three days ago, that sort of commotion would have had me wondering who it could be, and why they were out here in the middle of nowhere. And that wasn't just because of the pandemic quarantine; it had been that way my whole childhood. There were three kinds of visitors to the Black family ranch; expected, in need, and unwanted. Now I heard vans and trucks moving almost constantly, and there must have been thirty or more people working just within fifty yards and I'd only met half of them. It was strange. "Excuse me, Mr. Black?" A man asked. I turned from the gun safe and found a scraggly-looking kid, maybe all of twenty and looking like he was all bones and unkempt facial hair. He was wearing a reflective construction vest and had a hard hat tucked under one arm. "Just Harrison is fine," I said, shutting the safe and spinning the dial to lock it. "What can I do for you? Is Vanessa looking for me?" "Who? No, I don't think so," the kid said. "I'm with the grading crew working on the highway? There's, uh, some people who showed up demanding to talk to you." I took a breath and nodded. It could have been a couple of different people. "What did they look like?" "Well," he hesitated. "There were two women and three men, and they pulled up in a green pickup truck and a white panel van." "Kid, are they all Natives?" I asked. "Um, yeah," he said, clearly uncomfortable. He'd likely grown up somewhere far from a reservation, and probably in a major city, so his experience was limited to a little bubble. "Alright, I know what this is," I sighed. Part of me considered opening the gun safe back up, but I ended up figuring it would just make things worse. Guns usually did. It was tempting, though. I followed the kid out to the front and waved down Erica and Vanessa as they were talking on the front stoop of the house. "Hey, I need to head down to t

To this, a glitch— A wish that I could just Push my forehead into his chest, I digress, though repressed sexually and interested This sickness is just what he senses as sensual —And I'm understanding of that. —Purpose. I still have four muses, Four mouses, No heads A sad nd four robots Four hoses of cards And no forwards Just haloy endings That I can't Exactly plan yet Fuck this planet It appears someone has badly damaged it No recompenses or divorce No compared, No doors, And no cubords No, Just dead bird in a box Covered in plaster And a disasterous ride With no happy ever after exactly Just another adventure in wonderland And wonder if perhaps You ever could even Know who I am What a clever disaster For sure this serves as serious Let's just get this The the rumble or the severed train above her is still somewhat of a numbing To the other corruption under This, too then, is a lesson unless It just ends and let it simmer But remember, If it isn't in her It'll be another Fondant farewell, When the dinner gets to convection temperatures in the oven, And you're not over her The dozens of doves and boxes of chocolate don't hold nothing to the love you have and the hand you hold And the heart you touch, So don't let it turn cold Don't let it turn over and thump either Don't let it burn And don't let it lower into Where you mind goes When you consider another And another Over or rather You know? Just aim for Satan and everything's great then. Put a cap to a cape then and everything degrades, Fair wealth, good culture, good heart, And all focus It goes out the window to dance with the wolves l Like a bowl full of nothing but meal worms, Not oats Look closer over your breakfast You never know even if you can trust your own mother at four years old But good, god, thank god for the Honor roll Or else how else would the world know mid you were at all all worth it at all of four And still under par, The gold course, of course Is all you know Don't let it go now When all you have Is time in your hands Distractions are hard handed But actual damage? Now, that's hard pass You wanted a song so much Just so the wrong world would call you up For hurting our kind Without ever having known what my mother named me mor why I have to change it Or what the baby calls me From so far north in a place calls home But I'm still not not So you get your rocks Slamming the door I'm at the rock In my mind Hoping for Something better You Wasted All My Time Over What! Don't you know How hard it is To be anything in the world But a pretty white slut! What a knife in the back What a curse on the world— Just to start wars so it never works out Or at the very worst Just keeps the first one going It doesn't get awesome Until I For Real Can block out the whole world Just to upset another? No I came in peace You made me anxious Hold in my waste At the aim of your hatred I heart my hard earned But now I've got nothing more Than the scars on your over opinionated Over offended War cries for her justice But only if it out does mine, Right? Actually, Fuck it I'm over it That's all the words I'm gonna waste on this till bitch You wanted my energy, so you stole it But becareful of What follows it —you're welcome. My license is revoked I've forgotten long ago by now how to break stroke And it's just a throat scratch, A dark dive And I'm trying to try it out a bit But love's a bitch And I don't really ever speak her language I've been distant and lost in translation, and most of all Impatient with the amount of time that it's taking Cause I hate that guy, he's a fly in my space thst just doesn't seem to go away until they mate and lay eggs to replace them. Ugh. It just goes on, It's whatever the buzz It's just all full of lamb and the talk of the town Is who you are now So, how I found out? A roundabout kick to the ass And a fax to the mayor, Before I realized He seems like a complete hater, bro. I have an eight year old, But I haven't seen him since he was five And I think I'm gonna die Cause everyone's nickel and diming me And all I happened to find Is a single penny, so that— Two hours of mixing, Once cent I made— By now he definitely hates me And has been trained to think I'm crazy But these days, living paycheck to oaucheck is a thankless job And the techno snobs are responsible for the upkeep of auschwitz. It seems like a colored woman with a dream should just Get behind the scenes Or a man that sees meaning in her So this is demeaning? Is it? Am I green, or am I greenlit— l And I clean, or am I cleaning Should I Charlie, or should I Sheen it? I could admit I seen it coming but I wanted to disagree with it, It's psychic intuition but all it is is kicking my ass Like I'm inside or the telivison. What's my last name!? I'm the hat man! Are you happy? No, I'm sad man l! And quite thirsty; Is it Thursday yet Or should I should I just get to drinking anywayy I hate all this thinking anyway; I miss l LA but seen it from the scenic route; I used to sleep on the bus and the train, But what I really want is a house And just to be left alone, Some grass to mow, And some to smoke, And a tree to grow, Just like the one from Pocahontas OH SHIT YO. Why, Hello Friend! Oh, this is where that Treepeople thing was going? Yes! No. No? No. No why. Cause we went broke . Went broke what. Trying to get you to— you know— No, I don't I know. You don't know? No? I've no idea… Oh; that's right, you haven't got a clue. {enter the multiverse)} what did you do at that afterparty Stephen?! I TOLD YOU, I DONT KNOW!!!! What does a girl have to do to get a little attention around here?! Here, have some liquid courage. Liquid courage!? Yeah! What's in this? oh, you know… No, I don't…. You— Why does it glow Yeah, I does that! Oh my god, it looks like one of those sparkle— lava lamps! Oh my god, yeah, you know. I'm not drinking that. Doesn't seem— drinkable. But it is— drinkable. Just because you can put it in your mouth and swallow it doesn't make it consumable. Oh—doesn't it? [beat] …You know what. That's fair! —it— yeah. You walked right into thst one. I— yeah. So come on? It got sparkles in it? What are these flecks. For all you know, it's bio degradable? Is that a gold fish at the bottom?! If he can handle it?! How are you alive? The goldfish to be fair seems tmmore alive than he should, perhaps. He looks the woman directly into the eye. He seems extremely concious even. Oh wow. Come on! Ok. Fine. But what do you do with the fish when the bottle's empty? I don't know. Never finished a bottle. What! Never really…though about it. Okay? So! Come on. He pours a shot. Shift changed , I should have made arrangements for a date at an earlier time But really there isn't a reason or realization to it I hate playing the game It must have been an off day when I made it up But that was so long ago now. I haven't put hard thought about it, But forgot I had further options to stop the violence than just talking about it I missed the opportunity to photog or model By tomorrow morning I'll be a little smaller But still broken If I think of any of those thoughts My heart opens up and swallows me whole Talk about a dilemma and not a problem I would probably dress as such as doll If I could afford the money But I'm dollar for dollar Out of dogital storage for my thoughts and performances. You know. So show your age, Nicki Minaj And Migos, the flash flooding Benito is bad Bunny, But you gotta go with the flow of the whitewater With the high collars and high bars If you are so highly throughout of To win an award And be obsessed over by other famous people's Lil bitz I told my ex I joined the army. My gigs kept having weird shit happen. I was like “something's not right.” I thought it was my ex trying to do oojabooja on me. So I told him I joined the army to try to see if the weird shit kept happening. I told that fool I joined the army — I didn't Say what army! Gods army bitatch!!! You the devil! Stop fuckin up my shit! It's 5 PM I'm waking up It's setting in That it's a contruct Not a curse, But there's no cure The demon days The auto wars As darkness falls upon us The Red Dawn soon becomes us OMG! RYAN SEACREST! Everyone forgot about you! I–thanks! *weird smile* Quickly! Get on the bus! We're already on our way to pick up K-FED. COPYRIGHT THE FESTiVAL PROJECT, INC. ™ ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. [The Festival Project ™] The Complex Collective © -Ū.

To this, a glitch— A wish that I could just Push my forehead into his chest, I digress, though repressed sexually and interested This sickness is just what he senses as sensual —And I'm understanding of that. —Purpose. I still have four muses, Four mouses, No heads A sad nd four robots Four hoses of cards And no forwards Just haloy endings That I can't Exactly plan yet Fuck this planet It appears someone has badly damaged it No recompenses or divorce No compared, No doors, And no cubords No, Just dead bird in a box Covered in plaster And a disasterous ride With no happy ever after exactly Just another adventure in wonderland And wonder if perhaps You ever could even Know who I am What a clever disaster For sure this serves as serious Let's just get this The the rumble or the severed train above her is still somewhat of a numbing To the other corruption under This, too then, is a lesson unless It just ends and let it simmer But remember, If it isn't in her It'll be another Fondant farewell, When the dinner gets to convection temperatures in the oven, And you're not over her The dozens of doves and boxes of chocolate don't hold nothing to the love you have and the hand you hold And the heart you touch, So don't let it turn cold Don't let it turn over and thump either Don't let it burn And don't let it lower into Where you mind goes When you consider another And another Over or rather You know? Just aim for Satan and everything's great then. Put a cap to a cape then and everything degrades, Fair wealth, good culture, good heart, And all focus It goes out the window to dance with the wolves l Like a bowl full of nothing but meal worms, Not oats Look closer over your breakfast You never know even if you can trust your own mother at four years old But good, god, thank god for the Honor roll Or else how else would the world know mid you were at all all worth it at all of four And still under par, The gold course, of course Is all you know Don't let it go now When all you have Is time in your hands Distractions are hard handed But actual damage? Now, that's hard pass You wanted a song so much Just so the wrong world would call you up For hurting our kind Without ever having known what my mother named me mor why I have to change it Or what the baby calls me From so far north in a place calls home But I'm still not not So you get your rocks Slamming the door I'm at the rock In my mind Hoping for Something better You Wasted All My Time Over What! Don't you know How hard it is To be anything in the world But a pretty white slut! What a knife in the back What a curse on the world— Just to start wars so it never works out Or at the very worst Just keeps the first one going It doesn't get awesome Until I For Real Can block out the whole world Just to upset another? No I came in peace You made me anxious Hold in my waste At the aim of your hatred I heart my hard earned But now I've got nothing more Than the scars on your over opinionated Over offended War cries for her justice But only if it out does mine, Right? Actually, Fuck it I'm over it That's all the words I'm gonna waste on this till bitch You wanted my energy, so you stole it But becareful of What follows it —you're welcome. My license is revoked I've forgotten long ago by now how to break stroke And it's just a throat scratch, A dark dive And I'm trying to try it out a bit But love's a bitch And I don't really ever speak her language I've been distant and lost in translation, and most of all Impatient with the amount of time that it's taking Cause I hate that guy, he's a fly in my space thst just doesn't seem to go away until they mate and lay eggs to replace them. Ugh. It just goes on, It's whatever the buzz It's just all full of lamb and the talk of the town Is who you are now So, how I found out? A roundabout kick to the ass And a fax to the mayor, Before I realized He seems like a complete hater, bro. I have an eight year old, But I haven't seen him since he was five And I think I'm gonna die Cause everyone's nickel and diming me And all I happened to find Is a single penny, so that— Two hours of mixing, Once cent I made— By now he definitely hates me And has been trained to think I'm crazy But these days, living paycheck to oaucheck is a thankless job And the techno snobs are responsible for the upkeep of auschwitz. It seems like a colored woman with a dream should just Get behind the scenes Or a man that sees meaning in her So this is demeaning? Is it? Am I green, or am I greenlit— l And I clean, or am I cleaning Should I Charlie, or should I Sheen it? I could admit I seen it coming but I wanted to disagree with it, It's psychic intuition but all it is is kicking my ass Like I'm inside or the telivison. What's my last name!? I'm the hat man! Are you happy? No, I'm sad man l! And quite thirsty; Is it Thursday yet Or should I should I just get to drinking anywayy I hate all this thinking anyway; I miss l LA but seen it from the scenic route; I used to sleep on the bus and the train, But what I really want is a house And just to be left alone, Some grass to mow, And some to smoke, And a tree to grow, Just like the one from Pocahontas OH SHIT YO. Why, Hello Friend! Oh, this is where that Treepeople thing was going? Yes! No. No? No. No why. Cause we went broke . Went broke what. Trying to get you to— you know— No, I don't I know. You don't know? No? I've no idea… Oh; that's right, you haven't got a clue. {enter the multiverse)} what did you do at that afterparty Stephen?! I TOLD YOU, I DONT KNOW!!!! What does a girl have to do to get a little attention around here?! Here, have some liquid courage. Liquid courage!? Yeah! What's in this? oh, you know… No, I don't…. You— Why does it glow Yeah, I does that! Oh my god, it looks like one of those sparkle— lava lamps! Oh my god, yeah, you know. I'm not drinking that. Doesn't seem— drinkable. But it is— drinkable. Just because you can put it in your mouth and swallow it doesn't make it consumable. Oh—doesn't it? [beat] …You know what. That's fair! —it— yeah. You walked right into thst one. I— yeah. So come on? It got sparkles in it? What are these flecks. For all you know, it's bio degradable? Is that a gold fish at the bottom?! If he can handle it?! How are you alive? The goldfish to be fair seems tmmore alive than he should, perhaps. He looks the woman directly into the eye. He seems extremely concious even. Oh wow. Come on! Ok. Fine. But what do you do with the fish when the bottle's empty? I don't know. Never finished a bottle. What! Never really…though about it. Okay? So! Come on. He pours a shot. Shift changed , I should have made arrangements for a date at an earlier time But really there isn't a reason or realization to it I hate playing the game It must have been an off day when I made it up But that was so long ago now. I haven't put hard thought about it, But forgot I had further options to stop the violence than just talking about it I missed the opportunity to photog or model By tomorrow morning I'll be a little smaller But still broken If I think of any of those thoughts My heart opens up and swallows me whole Talk about a dilemma and not a problem I would probably dress as such as doll If I could afford the money But I'm dollar for dollar Out of dogital storage for my thoughts and performances. You know. So show your age, Nicki Minaj And Migos, the flash flooding Benito is bad Bunny, But you gotta go with the flow of the whitewater With the high collars and high bars If you are so highly throughout of To win an award And be obsessed over by other famous people's Lil bitz I told my ex I joined the army. My gigs kept having weird shit happen. I was like “something's not right.” I thought it was my ex trying to do oojabooja on me. So I told him I joined the army to try to see if the weird shit kept happening. I told that fool I joined the army — I didn't Say what army! Gods army bitatch!!! You the devil! Stop fuckin up my shit! It's 5 PM I'm waking up It's setting in That it's a contruct Not a curse, But there's no cure The demon days The auto wars As darkness falls upon us The Red Dawn soon becomes us OMG! RYAN SEACREST! Everyone forgot about you! I–thanks! *weird smile* Quickly! Get on the bus! We're already on our way to pick up K-FED. COPYRIGHT THE FESTiVAL PROJECT, INC. ™ ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. [The Festival Project ™] The Complex Collective © -Ū.

Did you ever get the feeling that it might be right? Cause I woke up in the shit, And then I paid attention with resentment Had this Patrick for a second amidst the witching hour For a glitch or an instance power, The list, with a mix of here and now Or here and there Whatever you rather, Dan But I guess for now you call me Hamm, Cause I will Jon' you in an hour After all the words have been said Over and over again, you just get cleverer with em Face it, This is considerable damages if by admission I have to press this red button Every time I take a dump Because of these microagressions And blatent intimidations, Racism and hatred, Cause somebody thinks it's okay To attack me when I'm naked And the justification is just that Genetically and empathetically One of us is deficit in the other— Guess which one How does it feel To feel And be real Or be realized So what's the deal With this meal And the plan To dance on the attacks Of your ancestors What's on the middle besides resentment And a clearer picture or each and every or other infinite spectrum? What's the problem with the problem with the kids today? They aren't that smart But they sure look good The problem is, They're all talk, All mouth, and no thoughts {Enter The Multiverse} Is there more? It appears so. Oh… (He takes a long and heavy drink) Its in here too, isn't it? Yes, its—everywhere, sir. All of a sudden, I'm sir to you? I feel as though there may be some impending legal action, and I'm just asserting my loyalty and respect so as to “go down with the ship.” If need be, uh… Well! …sir. You are a good page, aren't you? I hope so. Yeah. [The Festival Project ™} Ugh, I don't have time for this right now. VICKY MANSON is gross. She is a 45-year-old chain smoking trailer trash homebody who tends to menace others behind the “safety” of her computer keyboard, frequenting facebook to rage about email issues like politics and celebrity gossip, still attempting to torment Timmy Turner via trolling him using various social media outlets. She's been called to “Watch” TIMMY, serving out his house arrest sentence while his DAD leaves to attend POKER. {Enter The Multiverse) Copyright The Collective Complex © [The Festival Project, Inc. ™] © 2025 All Rights Reserved -Ū. ____ Omg. This is out of line. Agreed. Call regina. RE-GIIIIIIII-NAAAA!!! She ain't come Call again! [opening the window, yelling out into the project housing courtyard and echoing into all of existence.] REEGINAAAAAAAAAA! [The Festival Project ™] What. Damn. I was just gettin' my weave pressed…and dish soap. I love that new deli. Mm. Hmm. {Enter The Multiverse} We come from the ghetto We lived in each borough We live in every corner We live in these streets We loud in this bitch We proud in this bitch Don't come round this bitch Without a pot to piss in Taking pictures? Bitch, As God as my witness, A snitch is a snitch (but in a limited capacity, I get it, I'll help you win this, Ain't no case dismissed in this settlement This disturbance is egregious, Believe me, I've been causing a scene since 3 AM! Dayum! I might be somewhat prolific, Or even a genius, But right now I just want peace, A Peloton Ride And A peanut butter and Jelly sandwich But weight, i'm out of peanut butter My weight is getting out of hand, Don't know if that's a gangstalker, Or just another obsessive fan, Object, your honor to pardon your direct justification of this heinous hatred I'm helping the gentrification efforts and also Directly affected by them, Because i'm african american (Or half) But what is half to a racist? I take it as nothing less than hatred if each and every time I bathe Satan comes out to play And hey, Isn't it harassment if every time i'm in the bathroom The door slams, and this whore yaps Right outside my door To cause hate and bait me into Further establishing a race war, When all I wanted was a sauna, But i know i can't afford it, And I love New York, But honestly, I'm poor, So i just got bored with it. I probably should have been aborted. To this, a glitch— A wish that I could just Push my forehead into his chest, I digress, though repressed sexually and interested This sickness is just what he senses as sensual —And I'm understanding of that. —Purpose. I still have four muses, Four mouses, No heads A sad nd four robots Four hoses of cards And no forwards Just haloy endings That I can't Exactly plan yet Fuck this planet It appears someone has badly damaged it No recompenses or divorce No compared, No doors, And no cubords No, Just dead bird in a box Covered in plaster And a disasterous ride With no happy ever after exactly Just another adventure in wonderland And wonder if perhaps You ever could even Know who I am What a clever disaster For sure this serves as serious Let's just get this The the rumble or the severed train above her is still somewhat of a numbing To the other corruption under This, too then, is a lesson unless It just ends and let it simmer But remember, If it isn't in her It'll be another Fondant farewell, When the dinner gets to convection temperatures in the oven, And you're not over her The dozens of doves and boxes of chocolate don't hold nothing to the love you have and the hand you hold And the heart you touch, So don't let it turn cold Don't let it turn over and thump either Don't let it burn And don't let it lower into Where you mind goes When you consider another And another Over or rather You know? Just aim for Satan and everything's great then. Put a cap to a cape then and everything degrades, Fair wealth, good culture, good heart, And all focus It goes out the window to dance with the wolves l Like a bowl full of nothing but meal worms, Not oats Look closer over your breakfast You never know even if you can trust your own mother at four years old But good, god, thank god for the Honor roll Or else how else would the world know mid you were at all all worth it at all of four And still under par, The gold course, of course Is all you know Don't let it go now When all you have Is time in your hands Distractions are hard handed But actual damage? Now, that's hard pass You wanted a song so much Just so the wrong world would call you up For hurting our kind Without ever having known what my mother named me mor why I have to change it Or what the baby calls me From so far north in a place calls home But I'm still not not So you get your rocks Slamming the door I'm at the rock In my mind Hoping for Something better You Wasted All My Time Over What! Don't you know How hard it is To be anything in the world But a pretty white slut! What a knife in the back What a curse on the world— Just to start wars so it never works out Or at the very worst Just keeps the first one going It doesn't get awesome Until I For Real Can block out the whole world Just to upset another? No I came in peace You made me anxious Hold in my waste At the aim of your hatred I heart my hard earned But now I've got nothing more Than the scars on your over opinionated Over offended War cries for her justice But only if it out does mine, Right? Actually, Fuck it I'm over it That's all the words I'm gonna waste on this till bitch You wanted my energy, so you stole it But becareful of What follows it —you're welcome. My license is revoked I've forgotten long ago by now how to break stroke And it's just a throat scratch, A dark dive And I'm trying to try it out a bit But love's a bitch And I don't really ever speak her language I've been distant and lost in translation, and most of all Impatient with the amount of time that it's taking Cause I hate that guy, he's a fly in my space thst just doesn't seem to go away until they mate and lay eggs to replace them. Ugh. It just goes on, It's whatever the buzz It's just all full of lamb and the talk of the town Is who you are now So, how I found out? A roundabout kick to the ass And a fax to the mayor, Before I realized He seems like a complete hater, bro. I have an eight year old, But I haven't seen him since he was five And I think I'm gonna die Cause everyone's nickel and diming me And all I happened to find Is a single penny, so that— Two hours of mixing, Once cent I made— By now he definitely hates me And has been trained to think I'm crazy But these days, living paycheck to oaucheck is a thankless job And the techno snobs are responsible for the upkeep of auschwitz. It seems like a colored woman with a dream should just Get behind the scenes Or a man that sees meaning in her So this is demeaning? Is it? Am I green, or am I greenlit— l And I clean, or am I cleaning Should I Charlie, or should I Sheen it? I could admit I seen it coming but I wanted to disagree with it, It's psychic intuition but all it is is kicking my ass Like I'm inside or the telivison. What's my last name!? I'm the hat man! Are you happy? No, I'm sad man l! And quite thirsty; Is it Thursday yet Or should I should I just get to drinking anywayy I hate all this thinking anyway; I miss l LA but seen it from the scenic route; I used to sleep on the bus and the train, But what I really want is a house And just to be left alone, Some grass to mow, And some to smoke, And a tree to grow, Just like the one from Pocahontas OH SHIT YO. Why, Hello Friend! Oh, this is where that Treepeople thing was going? Yes! No. No? No. No why. Cause we went broke . Went broke what. Trying to get you to— you know— No, I don't I know. You don't know? No? I've no idea… Oh; that's right, you haven't got a clue. {enter the multiverse)} what did you do at that afterparty Stephen?! I TOLD YOU, I DONT KNOW!!!! What does a girl have to do to get a little attention around here?! Here, have some liquid courage. Liquid courage!? Yeah! What's in this? oh, you know… No, I don't…. You— Why does it glow Yeah, I does that! Oh my god, it looks like one of those sparkle— lava lamps! Oh my god, yeah, you know. I'm not drinking that. Doesn't seem— drinkable. But it is— drinkable. Just because you can put it in your mouth and swallow it doesn't make it consumable. Oh—doesn't it? [beat] …You know what. That's fair! —it— yeah. You walked right into thst one. I— yeah. So come on? It got sparkles in it? What are these flecks. For all you know, it's bio degradable? Is that a gold fish at the bottom?! If he can handle it?! How are you alive? The goldfish to be fair seems tmmore alive than he should, perhaps. He looks the woman directly into the eye. He seems extremely concious even. Oh wow. Come on! Ok. Fine. But what do you do with the fish when the bottle's empty? I don't know. Never finished a bottle. What! Never really…though about it. Okay? So! Come on. He pours a shot. Shift changed , I should have made arrangements for a date at an earlier time But really there isn't a reason or realization to it I hate playing the game It must have been an off day when I made it up But that was so long ago now. I haven't put hard thought about it, But forgot I had further options to stop the violence than just talking about it I missed the opportunity to photog or model By tomorrow morning I'll be a little smaller But still broken If I think of any of those thoughts My heart opens up and swallows me whole Talk about a dilemma and not a problem I would probably dress as such as doll If I could afford the money But I'm dollar for dollar Out of dogital storage for my thoughts and performances. You know. So show your age, Nicki Minaj And Migos, the flash flooding Benito is bad Bunny, But you gotta go with the flow of the whitewater With the high collars and high bars If you are so highly throughout of To win an award And be obsessed over by other famous people's Lil bitz I told my ex I joined the army. My gigs kept having weird shit happen. I was like “something's not right.” I thought it was my ex trying to do oojabooja on me. So I told him I joined the army to try to see if the weird shit kept happening. I told that fool I joined the army — I didn't Say what army! Gods army bitatch!!! You the devil! Stop fuckin up my shit! It's 5 PM I'm waking up It's setting in That it's a contruct Not a curse, But there's no cure The demon days The auto wars As darkness falls upon us The Red Dawn soon becomes us OMG! RYAN SEACREST! Everyone forgot about you! I–thanks! *weird smile* Quickly! Get on the bus! We're already on our way to pick up K-FED. COPYRIGHT THE FESTiVAL PROJECT, INC. ™ ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. [The Festival Project ™] The Complex Collective © -Ū.

Did you ever get the feeling that it might be right? Cause I woke up in the shit, And then I paid attention with resentment Had this Patrick for a second amidst the witching hour For a glitch or an instance power, The list, with a mix of here and now Or here and there Whatever you rather, Dan But I guess for now you call me Hamm, Cause I will Jon' you in an hour After all the words have been said Over and over again, you just get cleverer with em Face it, This is considerable damages if by admission I have to press this red button Every time I take a dump Because of these microagressions And blatent intimidations, Racism and hatred, Cause somebody thinks it's okay To attack me when I'm naked And the justification is just that Genetically and empathetically One of us is deficit in the other— Guess which one How does it feel To feel And be real Or be realized So what's the deal With this meal And the plan To dance on the attacks Of your ancestors What's on the middle besides resentment And a clearer picture or each and every or other infinite spectrum? What's the problem with the problem with the kids today? They aren't that smart But they sure look good The problem is, They're all talk, All mouth, and no thoughts {Enter The Multiverse} Is there more? It appears so. Oh… (He takes a long and heavy drink) Its in here too, isn't it? Yes, its—everywhere, sir. All of a sudden, I'm sir to you? I feel as though there may be some impending legal action, and I'm just asserting my loyalty and respect so as to “go down with the ship.” If need be, uh… Well! …sir. You are a good page, aren't you? I hope so. Yeah. [The Festival Project ™} Ugh, I don't have time for this right now. VICKY MANSON is gross. She is a 45-year-old chain smoking trailer trash homebody who tends to menace others behind the “safety” of her computer keyboard, frequenting facebook to rage about email issues like politics and celebrity gossip, still attempting to torment Timmy Turner via trolling him using various social media outlets. She's been called to “Watch” TIMMY, serving out his house arrest sentence while his DAD leaves to attend POKER. {Enter The Multiverse) Copyright The Collective Complex © [The Festival Project, Inc. ™] © 2025 All Rights Reserved -Ū. ____ Omg. This is out of line. Agreed. Call regina. RE-GIIIIIIII-NAAAA!!! She ain't come Call again! [opening the window, yelling out into the project housing courtyard and echoing into all of existence.] REEGINAAAAAAAAAA! [The Festival Project ™] What. Damn. I was just gettin' my weave pressed…and dish soap. I love that new deli. Mm. Hmm. {Enter The Multiverse} We come from the ghetto We lived in each borough We live in every corner We live in these streets We loud in this bitch We proud in this bitch Don't come round this bitch Without a pot to piss in Taking pictures? Bitch, As God as my witness, A snitch is a snitch (but in a limited capacity, I get it, I'll help you win this, Ain't no case dismissed in this settlement This disturbance is egregious, Believe me, I've been causing a scene since 3 AM! Dayum! I might be somewhat prolific, Or even a genius, But right now I just want peace, A Peloton Ride And A peanut butter and Jelly sandwich But weight, i'm out of peanut butter My weight is getting out of hand, Don't know if that's a gangstalker, Or just another obsessive fan, Object, your honor to pardon your direct justification of this heinous hatred I'm helping the gentrification efforts and also Directly affected by them, Because i'm african american (Or half) But what is half to a racist? I take it as nothing less than hatred if each and every time I bathe Satan comes out to play And hey, Isn't it harassment if every time i'm in the bathroom The door slams, and this whore yaps Right outside my door To cause hate and bait me into Further establishing a race war, When all I wanted was a sauna, But i know i can't afford it, And I love New York, But honestly, I'm poor, So i just got bored with it. I probably should have been aborted. To this, a glitch— A wish that I could just Push my forehead into his chest, I digress, though repressed sexually and interested This sickness is just what he senses as sensual —And I'm understanding of that. —Purpose. I still have four muses, Four mouses, No heads A sad nd four robots Four hoses of cards And no forwards Just haloy endings That I can't Exactly plan yet Fuck this planet It appears someone has badly damaged it No recompenses or divorce No compared, No doors, And no cubords No, Just dead bird in a box Covered in plaster And a disasterous ride With no happy ever after exactly Just another adventure in wonderland And wonder if perhaps You ever could even Know who I am What a clever disaster For sure this serves as serious Let's just get this The the rumble or the severed train above her is still somewhat of a numbing To the other corruption under This, too then, is a lesson unless It just ends and let it simmer But remember, If it isn't in her It'll be another Fondant farewell, When the dinner gets to convection temperatures in the oven, And you're not over her The dozens of doves and boxes of chocolate don't hold nothing to the love you have and the hand you hold And the heart you touch, So don't let it turn cold Don't let it turn over and thump either Don't let it burn And don't let it lower into Where you mind goes When you consider another And another Over or rather You know? Just aim for Satan and everything's great then. Put a cap to a cape then and everything degrades, Fair wealth, good culture, good heart, And all focus It goes out the window to dance with the wolves l Like a bowl full of nothing but meal worms, Not oats Look closer over your breakfast You never know even if you can trust your own mother at four years old But good, god, thank god for the Honor roll Or else how else would the world know mid you were at all all worth it at all of four And still under par, The gold course, of course Is all you know Don't let it go now When all you have Is time in your hands Distractions are hard handed But actual damage? Now, that's hard pass You wanted a song so much Just so the wrong world would call you up For hurting our kind Without ever having known what my mother named me mor why I have to change it Or what the baby calls me From so far north in a place calls home But I'm still not not So you get your rocks Slamming the door I'm at the rock In my mind Hoping for Something better You Wasted All My Time Over What! Don't you know How hard it is To be anything in the world But a pretty white slut! What a knife in the back What a curse on the world— Just to start wars so it never works out Or at the very worst Just keeps the first one going It doesn't get awesome Until I For Real Can block out the whole world Just to upset another? No I came in peace You made me anxious Hold in my waste At the aim of your hatred I heart my hard earned But now I've got nothing more Than the scars on your over opinionated Over offended War cries for her justice But only if it out does mine, Right? Actually, Fuck it I'm over it That's all the words I'm gonna waste on this till bitch You wanted my energy, so you stole it But becareful of What follows it —you're welcome. My license is revoked I've forgotten long ago by now how to break stroke And it's just a throat scratch, A dark dive And I'm trying to try it out a bit But love's a bitch And I don't really ever speak her language I've been distant and lost in translation, and most of all Impatient with the amount of time that it's taking Cause I hate that guy, he's a fly in my space thst just doesn't seem to go away until they mate and lay eggs to replace them. Ugh. It just goes on, It's whatever the buzz It's just all full of lamb and the talk of the town Is who you are now So, how I found out? A roundabout kick to the ass And a fax to the mayor, Before I realized He seems like a complete hater, bro. I have an eight year old, But I haven't seen him since he was five And I think I'm gonna die Cause everyone's nickel and diming me And all I happened to find Is a single penny, so that— Two hours of mixing, Once cent I made— By now he definitely hates me And has been trained to think I'm crazy But these days, living paycheck to oaucheck is a thankless job And the techno snobs are responsible for the upkeep of auschwitz. It seems like a colored woman with a dream should just Get behind the scenes Or a man that sees meaning in her So this is demeaning? Is it? Am I green, or am I greenlit— l And I clean, or am I cleaning Should I Charlie, or should I Sheen it? I could admit I seen it coming but I wanted to disagree with it, It's psychic intuition but all it is is kicking my ass Like I'm inside or the telivison. What's my last name!? I'm the hat man! Are you happy? No, I'm sad man l! And quite thirsty; Is it Thursday yet Or should I should I just get to drinking anywayy I hate all this thinking anyway; I miss l LA but seen it from the scenic route; I used to sleep on the bus and the train, But what I really want is a house And just to be left alone, Some grass to mow, And some to smoke, And a tree to grow, Just like the one from Pocahontas OH SHIT YO. Why, Hello Friend! Oh, this is where that Treepeople thing was going? Yes! No. No? No. No why. Cause we went broke . Went broke what. Trying to get you to— you know— No, I don't I know. You don't know? No? I've no idea… Oh; that's right, you haven't got a clue. {enter the multiverse)} what did you do at that afterparty Stephen?! I TOLD YOU, I DONT KNOW!!!! What does a girl have to do to get a little attention around here?! Here, have some liquid courage. Liquid courage!? Yeah! What's in this? oh, you know… No, I don't…. You— Why does it glow Yeah, I does that! Oh my god, it looks like one of those sparkle— lava lamps! Oh my god, yeah, you know. I'm not drinking that. Doesn't seem— drinkable. But it is— drinkable. Just because you can put it in your mouth and swallow it doesn't make it consumable. Oh—doesn't it? [beat] …You know what. That's fair! —it— yeah. You walked right into thst one. I— yeah. So come on? It got sparkles in it? What are these flecks. For all you know, it's bio degradable? Is that a gold fish at the bottom?! If he can handle it?! How are you alive? The goldfish to be fair seems tmmore alive than he should, perhaps. He looks the woman directly into the eye. He seems extremely concious even. Oh wow. Come on! Ok. Fine. But what do you do with the fish when the bottle's empty? I don't know. Never finished a bottle. What! Never really…though about it. Okay? So! Come on. He pours a shot. Shift changed , I should have made arrangements for a date at an earlier time But really there isn't a reason or realization to it I hate playing the game It must have been an off day when I made it up But that was so long ago now. I haven't put hard thought about it, But forgot I had further options to stop the violence than just talking about it I missed the opportunity to photog or model By tomorrow morning I'll be a little smaller But still broken If I think of any of those thoughts My heart opens up and swallows me whole Talk about a dilemma and not a problem I would probably dress as such as doll If I could afford the money But I'm dollar for dollar Out of dogital storage for my thoughts and performances. You know. So show your age, Nicki Minaj And Migos, the flash flooding Benito is bad Bunny, But you gotta go with the flow of the whitewater With the high collars and high bars If you are so highly throughout of To win an award And be obsessed over by other famous people's Lil bitz I told my ex I joined the army. My gigs kept having weird shit happen. I was like “something's not right.” I thought it was my ex trying to do oojabooja on me. So I told him I joined the army to try to see if the weird shit kept happening. I told that fool I joined the army — I didn't Say what army! Gods army bitatch!!! You the devil! Stop fuckin up my shit! It's 5 PM I'm waking up It's setting in That it's a contruct Not a curse, But there's no cure The demon days The auto wars As darkness falls upon us The Red Dawn soon becomes us OMG! RYAN SEACREST! Everyone forgot about you! I–thanks! *weird smile* Quickly! Get on the bus! We're already on our way to pick up K-FED. COPYRIGHT THE FESTiVAL PROJECT, INC. ™ ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. [The Festival Project ™] The Complex Collective © -Ū.

All thing of (and on) topic and uncut!~Lauren's book ~True Crime Podcast Festival~CrimeCon~Idaho Four~Don't Fuck with Sisters~Lauren's Substack

0:37-Introductions 2:17-Overcommitted Jules 10:50-Head to Nate Jackson show 19:28-Break 20:25-VIP seating 23:37-Meeting Trenton 25:40-Pierre gets cut off 27:00-Nate Jackson performs 34:59-Meet and greet 40:51-Nate hooks up Trenton 43:05-Break 43:56-Fuck it what can go wrong story 51:31-Vote on Spotify 51:59-Pierre gets called out 54:20-Sign-offs 55:00-Bloopers -Follow the podcast: -P.O. Box 140281 Lakewood, CO 80214 -YouTube: What Can Go Wrong Podcast -Instagram: WhatCanGoWrongPodcast -TikTok: WhatCanGoWrongPodcast -Snapchat: WCGWCAST -Twitter/X: @WCGWCAST -Pierre IG: Pierre_WCGW

0:37-Introductions 2:17-Overcommitted Jules 10:50-Head to Nate Jackson show 19:28-Break 20:25-VIP seating 23:37-Meeting Trenton 25:40-Pierre gets cut off 27:00-Nate Jackson performs 34:59-Meet and greet 40:51-Nate hooks up Trenton 43:05-Break 43:56-Fuck it what can go wrong story 51:31-Vote on Spotify 51:59-Pierre gets called out 54:20-Sign-offs 55:00-Bloopers -Follow the podcast: -P.O. Box 140281 Lakewood, CO 80214 -YouTube: What Can Go Wrong Podcast -Instagram: WhatCanGoWrongPodcast -TikTok: WhatCanGoWrongPodcast -Snapchat: WCGWCAST -Twitter/X: @WCGWCAST -Pierre IG: Pierre_WCGW

Quaranteam-Northwest: Part 3 Change of Pace, Change of Place. Based on a post by Break The Bar. Listen to the ► Podcast at Explicit Novels.   I'm pretty sure it was only for a moment, but it could have been a couple minutes. When I came to, I was still inside Erica, and still mostly hard. I pulled out and was quickly followed by our leaking mess spilling onto the sheets. Erica didn't move, except for heavy breathing. Then she rolled onto her side, legs coming up into a fetal position, ass pointed back at me. Her messy, cummy twat peeked at me between her legs and butt cheeks. Sitting back on my ass, I blinked a few times and tried to re-center myself until I gave up and fell backwards, breathing hard and looking up at the ceiling. "God damn, E," I said. "That was something fucking else." No response. I rolled over, dragging myself up to lay next to her. "Erica?" Her eyes were closed and she was looking comfortable, if a little cold laying over the sheets. Her lips were moving, and when I got close enough it sounded like she was whispering, "Imprinting," over and over. "That's kinda fucked up," I said quietly, looking at her otherwise still face. She sounded like a computer program reporting on a status. The only thing that kept me from freaking out was the big, contented smile on her lips. I kissed her forehead, trying not to think about quite how fucked up things were, and then I rolled off the bed and stood up. Underwear and pants went back on, and I crossed the hall to the bathroom where I got a wet, warm washcloth and a towel. I returned to the room and carefully wiped down Erica's twat and ass of our mixed fluids, then wrapped her in a towel and picked her up. I carried her down the hall to my room and managed to get her under the covers. I'll admit, I also gave her tits another soft grope, just to convince myself this was all real. God, they're awesome. Leo was out of the house, which on second thought made me realize what I'd just done. I'd fucked his sister, and we hadn't really held back at all. If he and I had been hearing the 'biz' and soft moans of Erica masturbating I can only imagine the sounds that had been coming down through the old wooden timbers of the house. "Fuck," I sighed. Hopefully he had gone out to the workshop before we'd gotten started. It was still the middle of the afternoon so I went back to packing. It was weird, sorting through everything in the house. Also fucking annoying because I didn't even have many boxes to pack with, and I couldn't exactly just run out to the liquor or hardware store to get some. It was strange; I'd lived in the house for much of my life, and I'd lived in it with Leo for the past five years, but I still found traces of my parents and grandparents I hadn't thought about in ages. It had to have been an hour or two later when Leo came back into the house. He had rings of sweat on his t-shirt and looked like he was ready to punch something. "Hey," I said. I was kneeling down in the living room, busy scooping old VHS tapes out from the back of one of the big cupboards. They hadn't seen the light of day in probably twenty years, but I also felt like it was a waste to throw them out. Leo just looked at me from the doorway, kicking off his boots. "That was fucked up," I said. "Yeah, it was," he said. "You know I wouldn't just pump and dump her," I said. Leo twisted up his face in revulsion. "Fucking of course not. Jesus, Harrison. You're not an animal." "So why the fuck would you make her hold on to a high school agreement when she and I might have been good for each other, Leo?" "She told you that?" Leo's face dropped. "Yeah. She did," I said. "She shouldn't have. Not talking about it was part of the deal, too," Leo grunted. He peeled off his sweaty shirt and threw it towards the stairs, then headed towards the back of the house. "Where is she now?" "Upstairs. That's another thing we need to talk about, but I'm not done with this." Leo was pouring himself a drink from the tap. My father had gotten a new well drilled a couple of years before I was born, and then when I hit high school we'd gotten a pump system; I still couldn't believe we'd lived on hand-pumped well water until I was fourteen. Now, with a whole filtration system set up in the back shed we - It doesn't matter. It's all going away. That realization almost shook me out of the conversation. "What's left to talk about?" Leo asked me, leaning on the doorsill from the kitchen. "Leo, I've always liked your sister. This whole thing just... forced the issue. You get that, right? She's not betraying you. I'm not betraying you." Leo didn't answer at first, buying time by taking a drink from his glass before sighing. "Yeah. I know." "So what are you pissed about?" "Dude, she's still my sister. And you're my best friend. That's not how this is supposed to go! She's supposed to meet some guy that I don't really like, but I learn to tolerate him, and we make fun of him together behind their backs and talk about how she could do so much better." "Why is that how it's supposed to go?" I asked. "I don't know, man. That's just; That's how it was with my parents and aunts and uncles. My dad was an only child, but all my mom's sisters settled for mediocre guys. My parents tolerated them, and I got to hear all the family gossip and that's just how it was." "Leo," I said. "That's kind of fucked up that you would want that for Erica." "I don't want it for her, it was just... Look, I hear how stupid and dickish it is, as it's coming out of my mouth, Okay? But now it's going to be you two. He-man and... I don't know. Who's the lady in He-man?" "Dude, I have never watched He-man," I laughed. "Well, whatever. You're you. She's her," Leo said. "By the end of this quarantine bullshit you'll be together and I'll be out." "Leo. You're thinking glass-half-empty here," I said. "Erica and I get together, what else does that mean?" "I dunno," Leo said. "What?" "What does that make us?" Leo blinked. "Brothers-in-law?" He rolled his eyes, but I could see the smirk growing. "Brothers, Leo. Even better than best friends. Better than best friend roommates!" "Fine, fine," Leo sighed. "Okay, there's an upside. Just don't expect me to just... be Okay with you two getting frisky everywhere or something. You can be happy or whatever, just not right in my face, alright?" The sound of a car pulling up outside on the newly-widened gravel driveway crackled through the house. I stood up and headed for the door. "What was the other thing?" Leo asked me. "Something about Erica being upstairs?" "Yeah, yeah," I said, slipping on my sneakers. "She's in my room right now, kinda sleeping but not? This whole Vaccine thing has more to it, dude. Let me figure out what this is first." He grunted, giving me a questioning eyebrow raise and turned back to the kitchen to refill his water. Outside I found the same blacked-out, now dust-covered, town car that had dropped off Erica. The door opened and I blinked hard as a woman I could only describe as a cross between an elf and an angel stepped out of the back seat. She had long, wavy brunette hair and a face that I could only guess had matched up with Helen of Troy, with soft, full lips and wide eyes with a playful spark. She was wearing a simple, baggy white t-shirt that looked like it belonged to a guy my size, and with her slight frame she was practically swimming in it but somehow she made it look like a diaphanous dress. I couldn't even tell if she had anything else underneath it since the t-shirt came down low on her bare thighs. "Hey there," she said, grabbing what looked like a solid camper's backpack from inside the car and walking over to me. When she got closer she only somehow got more beautiful, but I also saw... something. That look in her eye. The way her lips were slightly parted, and she was breathing a little more shallow. "You're Leo?" she asked. She had an accent, but I couldn't place it. "No. Harrison. Leo's inside," I said. She eye fucked me for a moment, took in a breath and breathed it out through pursed lips, then headed past me into the house without another word. "God damn," I said. "Yeah, she's running a little hot," Agent Sourpuss said. She'd gotten out of the driver's seat of the car and came around. "Got the shot at the same time as Miss Lacoste, but it turned out the guy she was originally going to be paired with got infected sometime in the past few days. We found him dead in his penthouse when we tried to drop her off." "Fuck," I said. And not because of the story. The woman had walked up the front steps of the porch, slung her bag onto it and had been stripping off her shirt as she walked into the house. I didn't see anything but bare back and a pair of tight booty shorts painted onto a slim, perky ass, but I was fucking jealous. "How is Miss Lacoste?" The agent asked. "Did the bonding process work?" "Um," I said, shaking my head and turning to the woman. "Uh, yeah. If you mean she didn't really tell us much but made it clear she needed sex, and now she's upstairs asleep in my bed muttering 'Imprinting' over and over." "Good, good," the Agent said. "Working as intended, then." "No," I said, shaking my head. "Not good. I said she's muttering 'imprinting' over and over. What the fuck is up with that?" "Look, Mr. Black, it's a long fucking story. And one you're not cleared for," the Agent said. "I'm sure one day you'll read a book about it or something. For now, just get out of my face. Alright?" "You can't seriously expect people to just go along with this. It sounds like... like,” "Brainwashing?" The Agent asked. Then snorted and started heading back to her car. "I don't have time to hold your hand through this. Like I said, just do what they say and enjoy your new fucking world. We'll be in touch." She slammed the door, the engine turned over, and she peeled out and drove back down the driveway. "What the fuck," I said. "What the fuck? What. The fuck?" I headed back into the house and stopped before kicking off my shoes. "Oh, fuck yes!" the woman shouted. "Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God," Leo yelled. They were upstairs. It hadn't been more than two minutes. I could hear them clearly. Fuck. Doesn't have a problem when it's not his sister, I thought, shaking my head. I went for a walk. I made dinner an hour later, and Leo managed to come downstairs to eat. He mumbled something about getting struck by lightning, but once he'd gotten some food in him he'd shrugged. "I dunno, man. She just walked up to me, holding her shirt, and said, 'Take me up to your room and fuck me.' I didn't even get her name. Now she's doing that 'imprinting' thing and it's freaking me out a bit." "Yeah," I nodded. "Yeah. Erica was doing that too. That lady agent dropped off your girl, didn't want to talk about it, and just said we should do what the ladies tell us." "Hey, that's all fine with me," Leo said. "She can tell me anything she wants. I mean... Harrison. God damn!" We called it an early night and I found myself climbing into bed next to Erica. She was still out of it, but at least she wasn't murmuring anymore. It felt weird, and kind of creepy, to try snuggling up next to her. She was still naked under my sheets, and totally out of it. I ended up putting on an undershirt and gym shorts and managed not to feel like a perv for long enough to fall asleep. The rumble of trucks woke me up, and I met Leo at the stairs as we headed down. He went to start making coffee while I checked outside. Two big trucks were hauling in a pair of trailers onto what had once been my front lawn and workers in bright fluorescent vests were directing them as others set up some concrete blocks. The trailers looked like they were the start of whatever construction HQ was going to get set up. "So it begins," I sighed. We brought out the coffee; it was an entirely different crew of guys, but they didn't have any new information for us. They appreciated the coffee, but when I went in to make more I realized we were running out quickly. Hopefully one of those trailers was going to be a break room for those guys because they were going to drink my wallet dry if it was on me to feed their caffeine addictions. The trailers were quickly set up, and the workers were gone, but a 14-seater van arrived so quickly that I figured they must have passed each other on the driveway. Inside were a solid dozen Surveyors, along with boxes of topographical maps and all sorts of equipment. I couldn't offer them coffee, but they'd come with their own travel mugs. They weren't much for conversation, though they weren't bad men and women; they just had a very large job to do. "We've done what we can ahead of time with the satellite imaging," the Head Surveyor said to me. "But we've got to plan out the development of this entire area in the most efficient building plan possible. They want houses built and livable ASAP." And that was where I came in. That promise I'd made to Agents Grierson and Walters had included my help with the surveying. Now it was time to give the grand tour. "I'll head out with them this morning," I told Leo. "I'll start with the front loop trails down to the highway and back. You want to show them the Arrowhead trail after lunch, and I'll take them up the ridge after that?" "Yeah, works for me," Leo said. "I'll go check on Erica." "Um... maybe I should do that," I said. "Why? Is something wrong?" Leo asked. "No, dude... she's just, uh..." I stammered. Leo's eyes went wide and he clapped his hand over his ears. "Nana nana" he sang, heading back out of the house towards the barn. I checked in on Erica; still asleep. I hesitated a moment, leaning over her in the bed, but went for it and pressed my lips to her forehead in a soft kiss. She mumbled something, pulling the sheets closer to her, and she smiled. It almost kicked my adrenaline, and I could hear my heart in my ears as I walked back down the hallway. When I passed Leo's room I realized that his door was cracked open, and I could see a shapely and naked leg and foot sticking out from his own sheets. I was tempted to peek further, but that feeling of creepiness from last night struck me again and I closed the door instead. I was kicking myself an hour later, deep into the trails with a half dozen surveyors following along and taking notes as I pointed things out and they asked me questions. It was the slowest I think I'd ever walked the trails, and the question kept flaring up in the back of my mind of what I'd missed out on seeing. Leo's girl was living in my head rent-free right alongside Erica, but now I knew what Erica was like; the mystery of what I hadn't seen was tantalizing fodder for a brain that didn't want to think about the overwhelming weirdness of the whole situation. We were back to the house around 1pm, and by the time we'd been gone a third trailer had been set up and there were two more of those big passenger vans, along with a couple of pickups, lined up in a makeshift parking lot. I didn't notice any of it, or the people working, and I didn't even answer the last question one of the surveyors was asking me because I was jogging for the house. Erica was standing there on the porch in low hip-hugging jeans and a tight band t-shirt under one of my unbuttoned flannel shirts. She had a beer in each hand, one opened and half empty, the other cold and sealed. I could see the emotions play across her face for a moment as I walked up quickly, and she opened her mouth to say something but I didn't want to hear a smart remark or a question. I wrapped my arms around her and I kissed her. She kissed me back, her arms crossing behind my neck as she pulled me deeper to her. Her tongue and mine met and teased for a long moment, and I reveled in the feeling of her in my arms. Her chest crushed against me, soft and firm, and her belt buckle pressed into my crotch as she melded herself to me. A whistle, sharp and catcalling, sounded from somewhere behind me and I could feel Erica shift both beer bottles to one hand. I had no doubt she was flashing them the finger with her free hand, and the laughter from the construction workers confirmed it. Eventually we had to stop, and I held her by the waist as our faces pulled away. "Well, I guess that answers most of my questions," Erica smirked at me. "I've got a few of my own, but you're not slapping me so that answers most of mine," I said. She pursed her lips and brought her beer hand down between us. "Leo said you've had a long morning. Up for a nooner?" "God yes," I said. "But I've always had a different definition of 'nooner.'" "What, you think I mean the beer?" Erica asked. "No, baby. I want you to,” "Ahem," a voice interrupted, and I turned to see who had approached us. "Sorry to interrupt." The girl, and I couldn't call her more than that because she looked like she couldn't have been more than twenty-three despite the tattoo across her neck, was wearing a rough sweater and one of those orange construction vests, along with a dinged-up blue hardhat with about dozen peeling stickers on it and her jeans tucked into her steel-toed work boots. She had some vaguely Latina features, mostly in the lips, but was pale where she wasn't tattooed. Erica's arm immediately went around my waist, and I lowered mine to hers as we held each other. "No problem," Erica said. "What can we do for you?" "I'm Vanessa," the girl said. "Are you Harrison Black?" "Yeah, you found me," I nodded. "Alright, cool," she said, looking me up and down. Erica's hand at my waist scratched my side playfully, and I lowered my own from her hip down to her ass, slipping my fingers into the back pocket of her jeans and cupping it firmly. "Well," Vanessa continued, "I'm the Foreman for the general laborers on site right now, and we've already gotten a laundry list of our daily jobs done so I need to start getting my guys into the house." "I'm sorry?" I asked. Vanessa sighed and then smiled in a knowing sort of way. "No one's talked to you about the day or week plans, have they?" "Not really," I said. "I've been out with the surveyors all morning." "Yeah, that sounds about right for this clusterfuck," Vanessa shook her head. "Well, orders are that everything that's currently in this house, and that barn, and anything else on the property that needs to, is hitting those sea cans in the backyard by sundown tomorrow. Demo on this place hits bright and early the next morning and everything not packed up is getting carted the fuck off." Vanessa, it turned out, was a straight shooter. It just took me a second to wrap my head around everything. Erica took charge while I followed along. I'd figured I had weeks, maybe months, before demolition. This wasn't the hurry-up and wait I'd been expecting. This was all hurry, all the time. Leo went out with the surveyors, and I started answering a million questions for Vanessa while she directed five big, burly guys as they began unloading my house into boxes, and hauling those boxes out to a pair of storage containers that had been brought in on trucks and plopped down near the back of the wide clearing that had been the 'backyard' for generations. Erica, I realized, was helping manage me more than anything else. Keeping me on task, keeping me focused. She helped me reminisce quickly a couple of times, helped me make decisions about what actually needed storing and what could get thrown out. I was getting a brand new house, fully furnished, courtesy of my contract. Did I really need the shitty TV stand or the ratty couch sitting on the back porch? No. Did I want to keep my grandmother's freestanding jam cupboard? I couldn't picture it anywhere else other than where it was in the house, I'd never even seen a piece of furniture like it in another house before. But it was an heirloom piece. Was I supposed to keep that? Yes, Erica helped me. Yes, keep the heirlooms, even if they seem odd or silly. Just know what's an actual heirloom and what's not. "You're doing well," she told me, stopping me at the foot of the stairs. "You're a good boss," I smiled, reaching my free hand around to hug her to me. I was carrying a pair of bedside lamps in the other. She frowned and shook her head. "I'm not your boss. And I don't want you to think I'm being bossy, and I definitely don't want you to start thinking of me as some nagging mother figure." I laughed and shook my head. "Never. E, you're just a natural manager. Of people, or situations. I needed a minute, not an hour, and you helped me get on track way faster than I would have without you. Plus," I grinned, and let my hand slide up from around her waist to softly take her tit in my hand and squeeze playfully, "Ain't nothing of a 'nagging mother' about you." She smirked and bit her lip as I squeezed her braless tit a little more firmly. "Well, good," she said, and rubbed the front of my pants. "And thanks for the very weird compliment from my b,” She stopped short, eyes going a little wide. I chuckled and leaned down to kiss her cheek, then her lips. "You can say it. I'd be happy to." "I've never said that so fast before. It hasn't even been a day," she said. "Not officially," I countered. "But we've also been living together for a couple of months. And before that we went on casual group dates. We just didn't know it at the time." She rolled her eyes but her grin was everything to me. "Well, if you put it that way..." I kissed her again. "God, I want to fuck you," I said. "Yes, please," she hummed back. We separated. I watched her walking away, the way her ass moved. The way my shirt hung on her. An hour or so later we'd gotten a lot of the preliminary stuff cleared up, and after a quick conference with Vanessa, we decided that the big guys on her team were probably going to be most useful getting all of Leo's woodworking equipment safely moved out to the storage containers from the barn. I'd helped Leo move all of those heavier tools into the barn over the past five years and each one was a son of a bitch, and we didn't have any forklifts to make it easier. The guys hadn't been out of the house for more than fifteen minutes when I was busy taking old pictures off the walls of the living room while Erica was getting to the ones in the front hall. "Hmm, morning," a warm, honeyed voice said from Erica's direction. "Uh.... hi," Erica said, her tone of voice a little shocked but with a weird cadence. I turned to see who was in the house and nearly dropped a glass picture frame holding a collage of photos my mother had put together of my sister and me. The elf/angel girl, Leo's imprint-person, was wandering into the living room and looking around curiously. She was as beautiful as the first time I'd seen her, and I figured she must have taken a minute to touch up her makeup. She had beautiful, pale porcelain skin, and her wavy chestnut brown hair still had a bit of a messy 'just got fucked' look. She also happened to be completely naked except for a pair of sheer panties that left it very obvious she was shaved to the wood down below. Her tits were so perfect and perky, big enough on her thin frame to look almost fake but somehow still natural; either the best boob job ever or the perfect genetic lottery. Her areolas and stubby nipples, puffed and firm in the cool spring air even in the house, were the same soft shade of pink as her lips. "Hey there," she said, giving me a little smile and a wave. "I think I almost fucked you yesterday, yeah?" I coughed. "Um, no. Definitely not that close." "Hmm," she smiled, looking around the chaos of the house. "Well, maybe not, but I definitely remember wanting to jump your bones. Where can I get some water?" "Through there," I pointed her towards the kitchen. "Hey, we didn't actually meet. I'm Harrison, Leo's roommate." "Oh, right," the woman said, then stepped forward and pulled me into a hug. A naked-lady hug. While I was looking over her shoulder at Erica, who was staring from the hallway door with an expression between utter confusion and the kind of stare I could only imagine a 13-year-old boy would have when looking at this same sight. I made a 'what am I supposed to do?' face at Erica, and slowly hugged the naked woman back with one arm, trying not to think about those perfect tits pressing into my side and chest. "I'm Danielle," the woman said. I was struck again by that strange accent that I couldn't place, elongating some of the vowels and with just a touch of different intonation. "I got told all about you and Leo by that government lady on the way here. I guess I didn't realize you wouldn't have gotten the full story." "Yeah, no. She isn't really one of our biggest fans," I said. Danielle stepped back from the hug, with a warm smile. "This is Erica, Leo's twin sister and my, ah" "Girlfriend," Erica said, stepping forward. She opened her arms and Danielle happily stepped in for a hug with Erica as well. Erica looked at me over Danielle's shoulder and mouthed, 'Oh my God!' "And vaccine partner." "Oh, god," Danielle said, leaning away. "Fuck, I wasn't even thinking about that. Are we supposed to still be careful? We're all vaccinated, right?" "Very vaccinated," Erica said, then looked at me again and smirked. "Very, very vaccinated." "You too, huh?" Danielle asked. "Those orgasms,” "Out of this fucking world," Erica nodded. "Let me get you that water," I said. I left the two in the living room and went to the kitchen, taking a moment to adjust my cock in my pants before fetching a cup. Erica was attractive as all hell, and while I might not have been in love with her yet, I knew I was going to get there and fast. The physical and the personality just synced with us like that. But this girl. Woof. She was that unattainable attractive tier that you saw in movies, or on Instagram. When I was coming back, Danielle was slipping on my flannel shirt. "I'm really fine with it," she was saying. "I like being naked, and I'm a stripper so I'm used to it. Honestly, it kind of turns me on." "Yeah, well there's about twenty construction workers outside right now and I don't think anything is going to get done if they catch a look at you, Dani," Erica said. Danielle laughed and shrugged while she brought the sides of the flannel shirt up and tied them between her tits. I don't think my shirt had ever looked better, and somehow she just effortlessly made it a perfect, teasing shape that hugged her cleavage and slim torso. "You're a stripper?" I asked, offering her the water. "I thought most women in that business preferred 'dancer' or something like that "Hmm, only the ones who are embarrassed about it deep down," Danielle said. She took a sip from her glass. "But I made $300k American last year as a stripper, so why should I care what other people think of me? I'm a businesswoman and entrepreneur, and I work hard to make sure my product is amazing. And my product happens to be stripping off my clothes and making guys cream their pants." I almost choked on my own spit as Danielle casually dropped her tax bracket. "You made that much?" "Oh, you must not be a strip club boy, are you?" Danielle smiled at me. "He will be," Erica said, chuckling. "I will?" "Oh yeah, baby," Erica said. "Half of my best clients are strippers. I'm a tattoo artist, by the way," she said to Danielle, then smirked at me again. "Once the world opens back up, I know some babes who are going to rock your world. I can't wait to see the look on your face!" "Well, it's always nice to find a discerning lady-fan of the art," Danielle said. "Honestly, women always make the best fans. Guys shell out more cash, but women just appreciate us more." The front door of the house opened and Vanessa walked in, stopping as she saw Danielle standing between Erica and me in nothing but my shirt and her panties. "Fuck, sorry," she said, and she looked like she was going to head right back out the door, then re-thought that and stayed where she was. "Um, Harrison, we could use your help out in the barn. Any shot we can get that old tractor running to move the planer?" "We can try," I said. "I didn't need it to plough the past couple of winters since the ATVs did the trick. I'll see if it'll turn over." I left Danielle in Erica's hands; something which both brought chub-inducing pictures to mind, but also just a touch of jealousy considering the open lust my now-girlfriend was showing for her twin's vaccine-fuck-friend. We really need to figure out some terms and definitions, I sighed. The tractor, in fact, did not turn over. It was deader than a doornail. With enough leverage and muscle power, we managed to get Leo's big planer; which he had thankfully already prepped for moving; onto a trailer we used with the ATVs and carefully towed the sucker with two guys on either side to keep it balanced and upright. Vanessa shooed me away after that, telling me to go keep packing up the valuables and let her paid gorillas do the heavy lifting. The big laborers all grumbled good-naturedly at her name-calling, and as I was leaving them I heard one trying, "Me Tarzan, you Jane." "Yeah, and I'll Jane you right in the mouth if you start trying to hit on me, Tarzan," she replied. "I don't shit where I eat, unlike you goddamned animals." Back in the house, Erica was helping Danielle start packing Leo's things up in his bedroom, so I went back to work cleaning out all the corners of the house. The one thing I realized was that I didn't actually need to be neat about anything. The last time I'd moved, when Leo and I had left our place back in Portland and come up to the homestead, half of the bother was cleaning everything up to make sure we got our security deposits back. This place was gonna get knocked over in two days, so what was the point of cleaning? I'd been trying to find time to sneak Erica to somewhere private, and maybe to fool around a bit now that that was part of our relationship, but Danielle was too full of questions. If she wasn't chatting with Erica, she was asking me all sorts of questions about the house, my family, and the deal with the land and the vaccine. I was happy to chat with her as we packed up the kitchen, or while she helped me as I handed her things out from the little root cellar under the house, but that smile and those eyes were hard not to get distracted by. Not to mention the braless cleavage in my shirt and her toned, bare midriff and legs since she only bothered to slip on a pair of booty shorts to complete her outfit. It turned out that Danielle had known about the vaccine longer than any of us by about a day and a half. The Government, whichever agency was running the whole thing, had gotten her contact information from a couple of the strip clubs in Portland where she'd been scheduled to work before the lockdown. Danielle was the kind of girl who took risks, so she immediately signed up to be a Phase 2 tester for the vaccine; Portland was one of three secondary trial locations across the country in 'Phase 2.' She'd asked around once she got tested and entered the Quarantine Hotel, and it turned out most of the women who'd been contacted had been sex workers of one sort or another; strippers, dancers, Only Fans models, high-end call girls, even a few honest to god porn stars. Danielle figured whoever was in charge had decided the sexual nature of the vaccine lent itself more easily to openly sexual people. It seemed... Well, it seemed weirdly logical to me, but also shady as hell. She'd received the same briefing Erica had, which she said had felt more like a meeting selling timeshares in Boca than anything else, had done the questionnaire and then picked a guy out of a list of twenty photos of her top 'matches'. She remembered seeing Leo on that first list but didn't remember why she picked the guy she did. They drove her to a big building in downtown Portland, but she never got out of the car. Her escorts came back about twenty minutes later and told her the guy wasn't a valid partner anymore, and she had to pick again. She got a new list, and Leo was on it. "I can't help but notice you aren't asking about him," I said to her as we were carrying the dining room table across the backyard towards the storage containers, each of us on an end. "You've gotten half my life story at this point. You're not curious about the guy you're, well, imprinted on?" Danielle smiled and shook her head. "Naw, I had my guy pegged the minute I saw him. I have all the time in the world to learn the details, I know what I need to know. He's sweet and boyish, and honest. You should have seen him blush when I walked up and kissed him. Hah! He didn't know what hit him." "Neither would I," I said. "You're quite the woman, Danielle. Leo's a lucky guy." "Well thanks, hun. But I have a feeling you'd know just what to do with me. I could see it in the way you were standing when I got out of that car yesterday." "The way I stand?" I asked. "Oh, for sure. You're a big guy. Muscly, but not a bodybuilder. You have that mountain-man vibe with the longer hair and the beard, but even after a couple of months of quarantine you still keep it trimmed and neat. And your eyes were looking at everything all at once. My Dad had eyes like yours, and he was Australian military back home. A man like you, if he isn't a prick, well... let's just say I've known a couple of gals with guys like you, and they are quite happy." We'd set the table down outside the storage containers and were headed back for the chairs now. "Well, thanks I guess. Hopefully Erica feels the same." "Oh, she does," Danielle smirked. "She may not realize it completely yet, but the way she's grinning to herself when she didn't think I was looking? She does." That little nugget of information made my heart sing. "Sorry if it's a button, but I noticed you said your Dad had eyes like mine. He's gone now?" I asked. "Hmm," Danielle nodded. "Years ago, so don't worry about it. Cancer. I was fifteen and it hit me hard. Mum got a boyfriend the next summer and within six months of that she moved us to California and I finished high school in the Valley. I hated the new guy, and then the guy after that, so I moved back to Sydney as soon as I could and was planning to go to school there. But then I took a job at a strip club to pay the bills, and the rest is history. I've been doing it for five years and did a tour up the east coast of the US last year, so I figured I'd do the west coast this year." "Oh, well, I'm still sorry to hear that. It all sounds tough," I said. "But I guess it's good you found your... calling?" "Hah," she laughed. "Something like that. I'm not like other girls who have specific ambitions. I've just been banking as much money as I can, while I can, and having fun doing it. I'm not looking to go to med school, or become a lawyer or something." We were carrying the last of the chairs, and Danielle was telling me a story about her senior year in high school when Leo came back. It turned out Danielle's accent, a bastard amalgamation of Aussie twang and Valley girl, was the one thing she disliked about herself but she was just plain terrible at trying to fix it and it was because of some traumatic bullying while she'd lived in the Valley. As soon as Leo came out of the mouth of one of the trails, the chair Danielle was carrying was forgotten as she dropped it in the middle of the yard and began sauntering over towards Leo and the surveyors. She looked like a lioness on the prowl, and Leo stopped when he saw her coming. The surveyors, about two-thirds of whom were men, all moved aside to let her past them, watching with big eyes as she stalked up, knocked Leo's baseball cap off his head and molded herself to him as she planted a kiss on him that I could feel searing from across the yard. And she didn't stop. They were kissing a solid thirty seconds, hands wrapped around each other, before the surveyors backed away and came towards me, shaking their heads and grinning. "We need fifteen minutes, then are you ready to head out again?" one of them asked as they got near me. "Sure, sure," I said. "How many are coming out?" "All of us," one of the ladies said. "About... fifteen?" "Jesus Christ," I said, shaking my head. "Hey, big project at speed. Most of the time you pick quality, quantity, or speed. The government wants all three, and they are throwing around the kind of money needed to make it happen right now," the first guy said. "We'll be working like crazy for the next two weeks getting all the info, then another two handing it all off to the developer team, then back on site again to make sure everything is being built in the right place." I headed back to the house to get my hiking gear back on. Danielle and Leo had stopped making out and were talking now, but I could see Leo was holding Danielle's hand while she had her other on his chest, and he was grinning and nodding along with whatever she was saying. I smiled, happy for my friend, and went inside. "Hey," I said when I found Erica upstairs, cleaning out my closets. "I need to head out in about ten minutes on another tour." "Oh yeah?" Erica asked, turning to face me. She was still wearing that tight t-shirt, her sweat from hard work making it stick to her a little more. It cupped under her tits, making them stand out just that touch more, and I could see the bumps of her nipples in the black fabric. "Yeah," I said lowly, and stepped beside her, offering her a hand to help her up. "And Danielle and Leo are out in the backyard talking right now." Erica's eyes lit up as she let me help her up. "Well why didn't you say so?" she asked, and I pulled her in to kiss her, feeling her tits press against my chest. She hummed happily into my lips and slid her tongue across mine. I picked her up without breaking the kiss and brought her over to the bed, and she lifted her legs up to circle my waist and cling to me as I laid her on her back. I was leaning over her and she wrapped her arms around my neck, keeping me close as we made out. "Hmm, I want you," she whispered between kisses. "Yeah?" I asked. "Good. I want you, too." "How bad do you want me?" Erica asked me. "Utterly. Totally. Bad to the bone." She snickered and pulled up her top over her tits, freeing them, and I shifted to quickly mouth over them, kissing as much of them as I could all at once and as quickly as I could. "Ooh, baby, baby," Erica crooned. "God, you make me feel so sexy." "You are sexy," I said, pulling away from her tits and mauling them with my hands as I lifted my lips back to her. "Deadly sexy. Femme fatale. Boss bitch." "You say the nicest things," she laughed. "I'm glad you aren't freaked out by all of this." "Oh, I'm freaked out more than enough," I said to her, pausing our kisses to press my forehead to hers and looking down, meeting her eyes. "The entire world stopped, and now it's going faster than it ever has before, but you Erica Lacoste are enough to make me not care about any of it." She cupped my cheeks with her hands, then ran her fingers through my beard and pulled me down to her, kissing me hard as she kept her eyes open, looking at me through the soulful, hungry kiss. There was a bang downstairs, the back door opening and closing, and we could just hear the muffled sounds of Leo talking with Danielle. "Fuck," I said, as Erica let go of my beard and our kiss ended. "Fuck," Erica groaned. "Fucking Leo." Erica straightened herself out, getting her shirt back on properly and standing back up, while I straightened my hair a moment and pulled it back and then changed into a new shirt. I caught Erica eyeing me up from across the room while I was shirtless, and she didn't even blush or look away. "Yummy," she said and winked. "You're trouble like this," I said with a smirk. "You don't know the half of it," Erica said. "I feel like I've been set free. The only thing keeping me from tearing your pants off is the thought of my brother being in the next room." That made me laugh, and as I got myself together and was ready to head out I kissed her one more time, one hand squeezing her ass and pulling her into me as I held the back of her head with the other. "Ugh, you bastard," she said when we separated. "You keep getting better at kissing me." "Just taking your cues," I said. "Fuck you like I hate you, right?" "Did I say that?" Erica thought. "God, everything yesterday went so fast." "Actually, I think you said you wanted someone to love you, but who fucks you like they don't. I figured that went for steamy kisses, too." "Oh, it certainly does," Erica said, one finger tracing down her boob and nipple over her shirt. "But now I'm going to need to change panties, you bastard. God, you're leaving me here soaking wet." "I prefer to think of you as simmering for later," I smirked, and she scoffed and threw a sock at me as I left the room. The tour with the Surveyors was slow going, but it was late in spring and we had plenty of light left to us. Leo had taken them along a bunch of the lowlands areas, so I took them up the other side of the property, pointing out some of the ponds and a couple of old growth copses of trees. There was a solitary Redwood on the property which they all agreed would be a shame to lose, and I pointed out some other big, ancient trees that served as landmarks. Deep into the hike we reached the Spring Pond, high on one of the rolling hills near the back of the property, and I showed them where I wanted mine, my sisters and Leo's houses to be built. I didn't much care how they organized the lots, but the Spring Pond fed down as a stream into the Nehalem River that bordered the property, and it had sweet, pure water that had been a swimming hole for my family for generations. Other than the old House itself, this was where the Black family had made their mark. It helped convince the Surveyors when I pointed out that my family graveyard, dating back more than a hundred and fifty years, was an acre up the slope overlooking the pond. At the mention of a Native burial ground I could almost see all of them shudder, not in fear of spiritual consequences but of Red Tape. I had a feeling this particular project wouldn't actually care one shit if they came across potential burial grounds, but all of these folks had horror stories of major projects getting stalled for months, or even years, by old bones in the ground. The sun was setting over the hills when I led them back down, having reached the very far edge of the property and pointing out the markers my great-great-grandfather had erected prior to the first World War. It was twilight during the last few minutes of the hike, and despite being veterans of their work I could tell the long day of heavy walking, questions, and note-taking on the move had drained them all. As they left, trudging around the house back to their work trailers to file away their notes, I saw Vanessa just shutting off the light in the barn. "Hey, how'd it go today?" I asked. "Good. Better than I hoped, actually," she said, grinning widely. "How's it going in the house with your wife and... who was that?" "Erica's my girlfriend, and that's kinda new, and Danielle is; well, it's a long story. How's a beer sound?" I asked. "That sounds fucking great, actually," Vanessa said. She checked her watch and then nodded. "I've got some time. I'm technically off shift already, we just don't have any time clocks or anything set up yet. I sent the boys back in the van about fifteen minutes ago, I'll take my truck back to the motel when we're done." I fetche

This FYF delivers a dose of inspiration with Javeno McLean's new book, You Are Not Your Limits. Lesley shares wins from the community—celebrating self-love, new clients, and honoring loved ones. Plus, she reveals how hiring a trainer helped her prepare for her 8th tour with more energy and focus. Tune in to be reminded why investing in yourself is the ultimate win.If you have any questions about this episode or want to get some of the resources we mentioned, head over to LesleyLogan.co/podcast. If you have any comments or questions about the Be It pod shoot us a message at beit@lesleylogan.co .And as always, if you're enjoying the show please share it with someone who you think would enjoy it as well. It is your continued support that will help us continue to help others. Thank you so much! Never miss another show by subscribing at LesleyLogan.co/subscribe.In this episode you will learn about:Celebrating wins that inspire self-love, growth, and honoring loved ones.How prioritizing yourself can transform the way you show up for others.Simple ways to create energy and focus during busy seasons.Why embracing mistakes leads to surprising breakthroughs.Episode References/Links:Javeno McLean - https://www.instagram.com/reel/DI_ciUBId2L/Javeno McLean's Book: You Are Not Your Limits - https://a.co/d/c37Y7DBEp. 205 Javeno McLean - https://beitpod.com/javenomcleanEp. 226 Ryan-Mae McAvoy - https://beitpod.com/ryanmaeSubmit your wins - https://beitpod.com/questionsIf you have any questions about this episode or want to get some of the resources we mentioned, head over to LesleyLogan.co/podcast https://lesleylogan.co/podcast/. If you have any comments or questions about the Be It pod shoot us a message at beit@lesleylogan.co mailto:beit@lesleylogan.co. And as always, if you're enjoying the show please share it with someone who you think would enjoy it as well. It is your continued support that will help us continue to help others. Thank you so much! Never miss another show by subscribing at LesleyLogan.co/subscribe https://lesleylogan.co/podcast/#follow-subscribe-free. If you enjoyed this episode, make sure and give us a five star rating and leave us a review on iTunes, Podcast Addict, Podchaser or Castbox. https://lovethepodcast.com/BITYSIDEALS! DEALS! DEALS! DEALS! https://onlinepilatesclasses.com/memberships/perks/#equipmentCheck out all our Preferred Vendors & Special Deals from Clair Sparrow, Sensate, Lyfefuel BeeKeeper's Naturals, Sauna Space, HigherDose, AG1 and ToeSox https://onlinepilatesclasses.com/memberships/perks/#equipmentBe in the know with all the workshops at OPC https://workshops.onlinepilatesclasses.com/lp-workshop-waitlistBe It Till You See It Podcast Survey https://pod.lesleylogan.co/be-it-podcasts-surveyBe a part of Lesley's Pilates Mentorship https://lesleylogan.co/elevate/FREE Ditching Busy Webinar https://ditchingbusy.com/ Resources:Watch the Be It Till You See It podcast on YouTube! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCq08HES7xLMvVa3Fy5DR8-gLesley Logan website https://lesleylogan.co/Be It Till You See It Podcast https://lesleylogan.co/podcast/Online Pilates Classes by Lesley Logan https://onlinepilatesclasses.com/Online Pilates Classes by Lesley Logan on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjogqXLnfyhS5VlU4rdzlnQProfitable Pilates https://profitablepilates.com/about/Follow Us on Social Media:Instagram https://www.instagram.com/lesley.logan/The Be It Till You See It Podcast YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCq08HES7xLMvVa3Fy5DR8-gFacebook https://www.facebook.com/llogan.pilatesLinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/lesley-logan/The OPC YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/@OnlinePilatesClasses Episode Transcript:Lesley Logan 0:00  It's Fuck Yeah Friday.Brad Crowell 0:01  Fuck yeah.Lesley Logan 0:02  Get ready for some wins. Welcome to the Be It Till You See It podcast where we talk about taking messy action, knowing that perfect is boring. I'm Lesley Logan, Pilates instructor and fitness business coach. I've trained thousands of people around the world and the number one thing I see stopping people from achieving anything is self-doubt. My friends, action brings clarity and it's the antidote to fear. Each week, my guest will bring bold, executable, intrinsic and targeted steps that you can use to put yourself first and Be It Till You See It. It's a practice, not a perfect. Let's get started.Lesley Logan 0:48  Hi Be It babe, hello from tour, my eighth tour. Oh my God, hello. We're on the road. We've done a couple stops, and I'm just so excited to be coming to your ears. Obviously, I recorded this before I left, but I am super excited to share what my win is. And it's not just being on tour, I promise you, there's some actual applicable things that you can use. But first, on these FYF episodes, we do something inspirational that you might have missed on the internet. We just need to hear about and celebrate. We do a win of yours. We do a win of mine, and then an affirmation. Lesley Logan 1:14  So first up, we've had Javeno McLean on the podcast before. So this post came up, and I was like, oh my God. What has he done? You guys, he has written a book. So his book officially released on the 15th of May. At the time that I was reading this, I could not pre-order on the U.S., but they are, they told me that they're working on it. We are going to have him back on the pod. But his book is called, You Are Not Your Limits. You Are Not Your Limits. So Javeno McLean, that is the inspiration. Because, first of all, if you're not following him, you will see some great inspirations. I promise you, I promise you. What he is doing to show people that they are not their limits, just makes me cry happy tears. And so you'll be inspired all of the, you'll be inspired all of the time with him. I promise you, I promise you. So his book is out. By the time you hear this, you should be able to go get it, hopefully in the States as well. I'm sure they're making that work. He's got an amazing team on his side. Lesley Logan 2:05  All right, now, the wins of yours. Okay, so wins of yours. Let me pull these up, because these are wins you guys sent me on Instagram. So here we go, @jennvfitness, we made our last payment on our Ford Focus today. Way to, I mean, I remember when I made my last in my student loans, I was like, oh my God, I just did that. Longest I've ever had to commit to something. Ryan-Mae, my share is about leading with love, had amazing engagement interaction. Yes, let's all lead with love, Ryan-Mae. You guys, let Ryan-Mae has also been on the Be It Pod, so check her out. Ryan-Mae, McAvoy, @hli_pilates, got a new client for my auction donation. Way to go. And @lorilwatson77 I decided to post my final honor to my best friend Ivy, keeping her in my heart forever. That's good. That's so good. You know, that is so, so good. I think, like so hard to like, see grief as a win, but like when we do things that allow us to have a special place for them and then honor them with others, like that is a win. So thank you, Lori, for sharing that with us. Thank you so much. Lesley Logan 3:08  All right, you guys a win of mine. By the way, you can send your wins in to beitpod.com/questions I know that doesn't make sense, because it's a win, not a question, but on the form, you can either put a question, or you put a win, or you could do both, and then we can celebrate you and send them on here. So, beitpod.com/questions. All right, my win. Okay, so the tour is off. It's doing great. Of course, we love it. We're on the eighth one, but the win is actually in that every time we do the tour, I find ways to make it even better, not just for the people who are attending, but for me to be the best version of me, so that I can make sure everyone has a good time. Like, I think this is really important. Like, I would say self-care isn't selfish care, but like, actually truly, like, you taking care of yourself means that you can be the best version of yourself for others, and so then they have a better experience in their day, right? So I like to make sure that I'm sleeping well, and I'm eating, fueling myself well, and then I my stomach doesn't hurt, and, like, my hormones are great, like all these different things. And so now that we've had seven tours, each tour gets better, and I'm able to go, oh, I like this. I don't like this. Oh, I like this. I don't like this. Well, it's not just about reflecting. We know that is a win, which we've done in the past. It's the implementation. So truly implementing what it is that I need. And so what I did is I hired a trainer so that my workouts at the gym can be efficient and support my needs. And so that's my win. And so I want to celebrate that with you, because I'm hoping you see that if you like, sign up for OPC, or you hire a trainer, you go to a studio, you have a gym membership like that is huge. An investment that you're doing is an actual win. It's not just a checklist on a to do list. Like, okay, did that? No, you invested in you. Things are gonna make you feel good. So I worked with my trainer for several months before I left, so we could really get to know each other, and then that way she can create workouts for me that don't take a long time, that helped me stay with my goals, stay strong. Have energy. I have more energy on the days I work out than the days I don't. And so that's what I did. That's my win. I invested in that for me so that I can be the best version of myself. So have the most fun on this tour, so that you can have a good time on it too. So there it is. Lesley Logan 5:12  All right, now an affirmation. Make mistakes. Make mistakes. I, of course, make mistakes. I'm not so good at celebrating that. That's something I work on daily. So I celebrate those mistakes, and I try really, really hard not to be hard on myself. But maybe we can all take it as like I gotta make more mistakes. Because you wanna know something, mistakes are how people like, some of the best things in science came from a fricking mistake. I can't name off the top of my head, but I feel like mold is one of those things. So I just want to say, don't be so hard on yourself. Sometimes your mistakes actually turn into some really incredible things, and you are a truly amazing person. So send your wins in to beitpod.com/questions. I want to celebrate you and until next time, Be It Till You See It. Lesley Logan 5:54  That's all I got for this episode of the Be It Till You See It Podcast. One thing that would help both myself and future listeners is for you to rate the show and leave a review and follow or subscribe for free wherever you listen to your podcast. Also, make sure to introduce yourself over at the Be It Pod on Instagram. I would love to know more about you. Share this episode with whoever you think needs to hear it. Help us and others Be It Till You See It. Have an awesome day. Be It Till You See It is a production of The Bloom Podcast Network. If you want to leave us a message or a question that we might read on another episode, you can text us at +1-310-905-5534 or send a DM on Instagram @BeItPod. Brad Crowell 6:36  It's written, filmed, and recorded by your host, Lesley Logan, and me, Brad Crowell.Lesley Logan 6:42  It is transcribed, produced and edited by the epic team at Disenyo.co.Brad Crowell 6:46  Our theme music is by Ali at Apex Production Music and our branding by designer and artist, Gianfranco Cioffi.Lesley Logan 6:53  Special thanks to Melissa Solomon for creating our visuals.Brad Crowell 6:57  Also to Angelina Herico for adding all of our content to our website. And finally to Meridith Root for keeping us all on point and on time.Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/be-it-till-you-see-it/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Quaranteam-Northwest: Part 2 The Start of Something New Based on a post by Break The Bar. Listen to the ► Podcast at Explicit Novels. Grierson finally sat forward, meeting me energy-to-energy as he kept my gaze locked in. "And yet, here we are, Mr. Black. We can either come up with a deal, or I swear to Christ and all the Saints that the government will seize this land for eminent domain under the emergency provisions of the pandemic and you won't be able to do a fucking thing about it." "Sell, or die," I said. "So you can build a 'resettlement camp?' Jesus Christ, yourself. If you know so much about my family history, you know building a fucking 'camp' of any sort on this land would be the absolute last thing I would bend over for." "I didn't say 'camp.'" Grierson said. "No matter what your Native, and Japanese, forebears had to go through, listen to me; this is the farthest thing from that." I was 1/32nd native from my father's side and 1/16th Japanese from my mother's side. Again, not the hardest thing to dig up, but while I had the black hair of both those ancestries, I mostly just looked like a tall white guy with a pretty generic last name. No one ever assumed I was anything else in passing. "What does that even mean?" Erica asked. "It means we aren't building concentration camps," Grierson said, glancing over at her. "We aren't building a reservation, or an internment camp, or any of the other shitty things our and other governments have done to people." He looked back at me again. "We're going to develop this land into a neighborhood. The God damned fanciest kind of gated community you can think of. Big houses, big properties, for people who do or did important work to settle in safety and stability as we try to survive this shit show virus." "None of this answers why," I said. "Why should I agree to this? Why shouldn't I make it so fucking annoying that you go find a different patch of land and leave me alone?" Grierson frowned, though I had the feeling he'd been planning this from the start. He wanted me to work to peel back the layers of information, to earn the answers because that would make me believe them more. It would tick off boxes in my psychology and experience. The fucking problem was even though I knew he was doing it, it was also working. "Because you'd be saving lives," Grierson answered. "Our pilot development down in California is called New Eden; the place is only two-thirds built to starting specs, and we're already out of room on the next five phases of development once it's opened. Now it's my job to set up the next locations and get them rolling because our current projections are that within the next six months, the death toll is only going to skyrocket. We can't even get a grasp on what the numbers might reasonably be because the range is so fucking staggering. Millions is the easy number, Mr. Black." It was my turn to say it. "Fuck." "Now, you're not going to hear that on the TV," Walters said. "You won't hear it from the CDC, or the other health agencies. The only reason we are cleared to tell you this is because folks in our circles have developed the preference to work with reasonable people when they are useful. And also, who would fucking believe you?" "Here's our offer," Grierson said, pulling out a slip of folded paper from inside his suit jacket and putting it on the coffee table. "That's the hard cash number we've designated for this deal. No taxes. Straight transfer from us to you. There will also be other perks, including homes inside the settlement for you and Mr. Lacoste. Things are about to get really weird in the world. Have you heard anything about the Tier system?" "Nothing," I said, but Leo spoke up. "I saw some rumors. It's supposed to be some kind of a terrifying triage, right?" he asked. "Who's the most worthy kind of shit. People started protesting, but I thought it got debunked." Grierson nodded. "Oh, we stopped the protests, but it's all too real. I won't hide it; I find the entire thing absolutely un-American. It's the kind of shit the Chinese government operates, but it is what it is." Walters drained the last of his coffee and set the mug onto the coaster on the coffee table politely. "Suffice it to say, it's a sort of social karma system. The more important you are to society, the more protections and comforts you're afforded as we roll out our limited resources on quarantine defenses. There's 5 tiers, one being the lowest and five the highest. Most of society will land in the 1's and 2's, including all three of you. This development we'll be building is mostly going to house 3's and 4's. As part of the deal, we'll place Leo at tier 3 for resettlement purposes, and you Harrison would be placed at tier 4 despite your lack of qualification in the matter." This entire conversation felt like I was running downhill trying to keep up with an avalanche. "That sounds an awful lot like a really great way to set up for corruption," I said. "A fucking caste society? Really?" "It's already done," Grierson said. "Believe me, there were a lot of in-the-know people against the idea. But it's the only idea that works in this situation. We've gamed it out to the Nth degree. Leo, your description is pretty much the best that we were able to make internally. We're triaging society to make sure it stays together and can weather this hurricane." "What would we tier at without this?" Leo asked. "Leo Lacoste," Grierson said, talking as if he were reading directly off of a portfolio even though he rattled it off without referencing anything. "Positives: Early thirties age bracket, relatively fit and healthy. Low-to-Mid career path; carpentry skills of moderate qualification. No criminal record. Negatives: No community investment. Likely rating: Tier 1." "Harrison Black," he continued. "Positives: Early thirties age bracket, relatively fit and healthy. Former military service including Military Police service, honorable discharge at the rank of MP Investigations Special Agent, no known psychological impacts. No criminal record. Negatives: No community investment, null-rank career; freelance artist. Likely rating: Tier 1." "To be fair, there is a big question mark on your file that we couldn't fill," Walters said. "Your honorable discharge happened mid-tour, without any reported incidents or injuries. It's surprising you haven't been called back into at least reserve service with the Emergencies Acts. A decent answer would probably bump you up to tier two." "I can't talk about it," I said. Erica snorted and rolled her eyes, and both men looked at her. "Erica," I warned her. "What?" she demanded. "They just called you 'low tier,' Harri. If you're not going to tell them then I will." "I can't talk about it," I said again. "Harrison knocked out an Air Force bigwig when he was an MP and stationed in Germany," Leo cut in. "The guy was abusing and trying to blackmail a female subordinate into sex. The only reason we know is because she tracked Harri down a few years ago and we met her in a bar in Portland." "The bigwig was politically protected and nothing happened in the end," Erica said. "At least, that's what she said. He got shuffled around, and Harrison got the boot." "I got an honorable discharge instead of a court martial for striking a very superior officer of a different branch," I said. "And part of that deal was that I not talk about it." "Well that explains some things," Grierson said. "It wouldn't change anything though. If you were doing something more useful with your life than painting little pictures, you might have made tier two or three without this offer." "Says you," Erica scoffed. "Art is useful. And important!" Grierson pursed his lips slightly. "Erica Lacoste. Not an official resident of the property, but I know enough. Positives: Early thirties age bracket, relatively fit and healthy. Negatives: Criminal record, including battery, two counts of public drunkenness, and public urination. No community investment. Null rank career; tattoo artist. Likely rating: Tier 1." "Hey, fuck you too," Erica said, and pointed her middle finger at Grierson, along with a scowl to go with it. Honestly, none of that was surprising news about Erica for me except for the Battery charge, I definitely needed to get that story out of her. "Okay, we get it," I said, interrupting what I had a feeling was about to become a degenerating path of conversation. "You know about us. You do realize this is all a little much, right? It comes across as insane." "Of course it does," Grierson sighed. "But a year ago, only bored analysts tripping on LSD were asked to think about these kinds of situations. Now we're in it, right in the damned middle of the clusterfuck." "You should really look at the offer," Walters said, gesturing to the folded paper I hadn't looked into yet. It sat on the coffee table like an accusing finger pointed at me by my father, and his father before him. How dare I even consider this? "So it's a butt load of cash," I said, still not opening the paper. "And we get treated like what, royalty? And in exchange, I lose my family legacy." "Royalty is a stretch; you're selling us land, not curing cancer. We'll take care of you like valued members of society. You'll also get early access to the vaccine," Grierson said. "There's a vaccine?" Leo immediately asked. "Social media has been wild with rumors but,” "It's still experimental," Walters said. "And undergoing trials. But it's functioning, with some unconventional side effects. They're still doing long-term tests down in California, but we're going to start rolling it out down there any day now once the doctors are happy with the plan. That's how bad we need it, FDA bullshit be damned." I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Flipside, stick. If I don't cut a deal, you'll use the might of the US government to bend me over and rip my family legacy right out of my ass." "You got it. But like I said, we prefer working with people. There's always a silver lining to making friends," Walters said. "Fuck," I said again. Then I flipped one half of the paper open and looked at the number written on the inside. There were a damn lot of zeros. "I need to call my sister," I said. "But pending her approval, I'll lease it to you. All 560 acres, for a hundred years less a day; that's what people do, right? And Leo and I get to pick where our houses are built." "That's not how this works," Walters said. "It's my counter offer," I said. "Hold on," Grierson said, raising a hand to his partner. He narrowed his eyes as he looked me over again. He was a man who made judgment calls on the fly, despite his ability to reel off memorized facts like he'd been living with them for years. I could practically see the rusty old gears turning behind his grizzled facade. "Fuck it," he finally said. "We need to survive the next six months, year, five years and decade before anyone will be worrying about next century. Make your call." "You're really doing this?" Leo asked me as I stood up and fished in my pocket for my cell. "My family has had to defend this land from everything and everyone except the federal government," I said. "Up until now, they might be the only people who haven't thought they had some claim to it. Obviously, this will all need to be in writing before I make a final agreement, but look at the news; everything they're saying makes some sort of terrible sense. And I'd rather get the carrot than a stick so far up my ass it's tickling my brain stem." I went outside to the porch to make the call to Valerie, my older sister. It was quicker than I thought it would be; Val and her husband Brad were hearing horror stories from their nursing friends in the local hospitals, and she immediately understood the position we were in. We hadn't always gotten along the best growing up, but if Val had one thing it was a practical head on her shoulders. When I came back inside, I nodded to Grierson. "Add in another house for my sister and her family, and we've got a deal." "In exchange for the Lease, and the extra house," Walters said, "We're going to need your help in identifying the landscape. I assume you know it fairly well; we'll want you to walk our surveyors through to show any odd landscape elements, seasonal issues like flood areas, that sort of thing." "Done, as long as I can point out the shit they shouldn't fuck with and they actually listen," I said. "There are some pretty big old growth trees out there that would be a fucking shame to cut down." "I understand your concerns, son," Grierson said, as he stood and offered his hand. "But believe me when I say this; we aren't looking to build any high rises or pave over the place. These developments are for people important to society for one reason or another, and that means we're making sure to give them the best we can. Landscape included." One last deep breath and I reached out and hovered my own hand near his. "In writing before it's official." "The contract will be done by this afternoon and we'll email it over. Our lawyers work on our timeline, not their own," he said and grasped my hand in his. We both had larger hands than most, but I could immediately tell he had the grip of a man made from the iron bones of a hard life. I'd like to think he felt the same in my grip, but I had a feeling he'd shaken hands with much harder and scarier people than me. "When can we get vaccinated?" Leo asked. "If we're going to be working with surveyors and shit, shouldn't we all be as safe as we can?" "We have a testing site opening up in Portland as we speak, so it can get done as soon as possible," Walters said. "Though, as I mentioned, things are a little bit unorthodox right now. Harrison and Leo, you'll need these codes. Get online this afternoon, go to the website and fill out the questionnaire. It's extremely important you are entirely truthful. Your answers will affect how your tier ranking will play out for you as we roll it out over the next few months across the west coast." He pulled out two business cards from a pocket, each with their names, an URL and a twenty-five-digit passcode, and handed them to Leo and me. "What about me?" Erica asked. "Vaccination side effects and implementation are different between men and women," Grierson said. "Just like the virus is overly affecting men, the vaccine has different effects. If you want your vaccine immediately, Miss Lacoste, you're going to need to fly with us back up to Portland and attend the information session this afternoon that some of our volunteer human guinea pigs are doing. Then, if you agree to the risks and side effects, we can have you immunized as soon as tomorrow morning." Things moved quickly after that. Erica went to pack an overnight bag and put on her 'going out into the world' gear that she usually wore for grocery trips into town; she'd be put up in a quarantine hotel while in Portland for the night before she returned the next day. Within ten minutes she was ready to go and Walters was escorting her out, and the helicopter was warming up its rotors with a whining hum in the front yard. "I'm glad you agreed to the deal," Grierson said, offering his hand to me again, which I shook. "You may not fully understand what you've agreed to yet, but when you do I expect a more enthusiastic thank you. I get that the cash wasn't the important factor with you, son. I grew up on a ranch in North Dakota, I know what family land means. This place is going to do a lot of good for people." "Are you managing the development?" I asked, raising my voice to be heard over the rising thrum of the helicopter. "Not a chance," he said. "It'll be managed by the Air Force, they've been spearheading with the CDC on all these efforts. I'm just the pre-show, but I'll be around to check in on the progress every once in a while, and do the problem solving other people can't handle." "What does that look like?" I asked. "Any way it needs to," he grinned, and I saw the look that all veteran soldiers had. An acceptance that violence could come easily into the life of a person, and that they knew how to handle it when it came. "And don't be alarmed, but we've already had a crew starting to widen your driveway down at the highway. They'll work through the night and probably make it up here by tomorrow morning." "What's the rush?" I asked. Grierson barked a laugh as he started backing away from me towards the open helicopter door. Sour-puss lady was leaning out, holding onto the door and looking like she was about to try and scold Grierson for keeping them waiting. "Kid, in two weeks' time there's going to be well over a thousand lumberjacks, construction workers, surveyors and architects up here. Government moves slow, but OGA were designed to do the opposite. Your life is about to get a little crazy, I'd strap in." I had too many questions to even start one as Grierson hopped into the dark interior of the helicopter. The door slammed, the motor whined at a higher pitch, and it leapt into the sky and started heading north. "Hey, does this questionnaire strike you as way too fucking personal?" "Hmm?" I asked. I was sitting on the front porch with my laptop open, but I hadn't even keyed in the website URL. Instead, I'd been sitting there for over an hour just looking out at the trees, wondering if I'd just betrayed six generations of my family in under thirty minutes. "These questions," Leo said, holding up his own laptop. He'd stepped out the front door and had a look of confusion plastered on his face. "It's like... sex stuff. Shit I wouldn't talk to you about, let alone the government." "What?" I asked. "Are you sure you're on the right site? It's supposed to be about the tier thing." "Yeah, I'm sure. Dot-Gov link and everything." "Fucking OGA," I grimaced. "You and that Agent dude kept saying that. What does it mean?" I sighed. "Other Government Agency. It's kind of a military meme for when someone from the CIA doesn't want to say they are from the CIA. Or, if you're into conspiracies, it's completely separate from the CIA but they're so secretive they don't even have a name." Leo just shook his head and sighed before sitting down in the other deck chair. He joined me in looking out at the forested hills that had surrounded us for the last five years. "Did I fuck everything up?" I asked him. "What? No," he said. "Well, I mean, it's hard to know. But no, I don't think so." "This is all going to go away," I said, gesturing out to the wilds that had been my childhood, and our shared backyard. "My family has been on this land for over a hundred and fifty years, and I just agreed to let the government wipe it out." "It's not like you had much of a choice, Harrison. Carrot and stick, like you said. And whether those guys were CIA or something else, they definitely seemed to have a really big fucking stick. They flew in on a damn helicopter." "Still," I said. "I feel like I'm selling out my childhood." We talked for a while, reminiscing. Leo let me tell some old family stories he'd already heard a half dozen times before. We joked about the shit we'd gotten up to, living out in our backwoods paradise. "Maybe it's time for a change," I sighed. "This was never going to last forever." "Felt like it though, didn't it?" Leo asked. "Yeah, it did." Poing! Leo's laptop, sitting forgotten, made a horrible noise. He glanced at it, "Ah, shit. I timed out. Now I gotta start all over again." He started typing away, and I finally opened my own laptop. The first thing I did was open my emails, and sitting right at the top, already marked with an 'important' star, was the email with the contract. Everything is as discussed. Print and sign, someone will be by tomorrow to collect. Make sure you fill out the questionnaire!; Walters. "Jesus," I muttered. "They really are putting a lot of emphasis on this thing." I opened up the website, starting by filling out all the basic information. Then, just like Leo said, it started to get weird. It was like filling out the most invasive and specific dating app ever. "I feel like they're going to try and 3D Print me a girlfriend," Leo laughed at one point. "Maybe it's cloning," I snickered. "That's fair. I wonder if they can clone me an Angelina Jolie?" "Gone in 60 Seconds Jolie, or Wanted Jolie?" I asked. He snorted. "Mr. and Mrs. Smith Jolie will always be my peak. Or Tomb Raider." "Ugh," I scoffed. We went back and forth like that, laughing at the ridiculousness of the questions and suggestions. The list of kinks we were attracted to, or turned off by was immense. We had to help each other even figure out what some of them were. I found myself ticking off some that surprised me because I'd never considered them before but they sounded hot. Other stuff I down voted hard, and I couldn't believe someone would ever admit to the government that they were into them. Hell, one of the suggested kinks was the government. Who the fuck got hot under the collar about bureaucracy and paperwork? I mean, I guess someone would, somewhere, or it wouldn't have been on the list. "What did you put for that last one?" Leo asked me as I was closing my laptop. "The relationship style scale?" I asked. "Yeah. I put a full 10, polyamory all the way. How hot would it be to be some sheikh with a harem of ladies?" "I went for a 6," I said. "I'm not going to turn down a threesome or anything if that's what my girl wants, but I'm also not into the idea of sharing with another boner." Leo shrugged, closing his eyes and leaning back in his chair. "I don't know, my dude. The Agents did say the world is changing. Maybe the norm will be great big orgies next year, and we'll all be smashing like it's our jobs." I snorted and smirked. "Yeah, sure. Society threatens to collapse and we all devolve into Eyes Wide Shut perverts." "One can dream," Leo laughed. We spent the evening starting to pack. It was tough, since we weren't really sure what the actual plan was. The contract fully outlined that we'd be getting new residences in the development, which was being called 'Valhalla,' but it wasn't exactly clear what the timeline was. I pushed for Leo to get packing sooner than later. My days in the military had me trained to expect 'hurry up and wait' to never mean waiting on the little guy, and right now we were definitely the little guy. We were woken up in the middle of the night by the sound of machinery, and we got dressed and rode the ATVs down the driveway. The gravel trail stretched about a half mile from the highway up to the house, but we only made it around a couple of bends before we came to the lights and action. "Stop right there," someone with a megaphone called to us, and we pulled our rides to a halt and cut the engines. "Who the fuck are you?" the voice asked. "Harrison Black. You're on my,” I had to stop myself. As of that evening, I'd signed the contract. It wasn't mine anymore. "We live here," I corrected. "Oh, it's you," said the voice. One of the workers stepped forward. He had on a big, bright orange reflective vest, and had a clipboard in one hand and the megaphone in the other. "Keep working, boys!" he shouted, and the machinery ground into action again. He approached us and stopped about ten feet away, despite needing to shout to be heard over the machinery. "Sorry about the noise. We've got orders to get this road done up to your house by tomorrow." "We heard," Leo said. "How does this all work?" I asked. "Shouldn't you guys be in quarantine gear or something?" "We got tested twice over the last two days in preparation for the job," the guy said. "Everyone on the crew is clean, and we all damn well needed the work. Fastest turnaround and the highest pay I've ever seen. Still, we're supposed to keep our distance from anyone other than the team. You guys get tested?" "No," I shouted back. "But the Government guys who set this up didn't seem to care." "Yeah, they did that with us, too. Acted like they were immune. Hell, maybe they are," the worker said. "You hear about what that idiot in the White House said yesterday?" We traded some stories we'd heard. It was strange, usually Leo and I were pretty private with strangers, but after so long in isolation with just each other and Erica, and the fucking weird encounter with the Agents, it was nice to just shoot the shit with someone new and normal. Even if it was shouting over the sound of machinery. Williams was the foreman of the operation that was clearing the trees to either side of the road. Another crew was working behind them, and trucks were already dumping off heavy set gravel at the entrance to widen it into a three-lane road. By morning they expected to have all of the trees, stumps and all, ripped out and stacked up for processing, and the driveway would be graded and levelled by lunch. The speed at which the crew worked was almost frightening. They were all experienced hands and did everything safely, but it was clear that they were motivated. While we were talking, Leo and I had to back up our ATVs twice to clear space for the crew to move ahead. Eventually, we said good night to Williams and headed back up to the house. I went back to bed, wondering if I'd made a terrible mistake. True to their words, by the time Leo and I woke up in the early morning, the clanging and crashing was just fifty yards from the front door. We made a couple big pots of coffee and brought it out to the guys, and one at a time they all walked over to the stump we used as a table and poured it into their thermoses while we stayed back. I had to make two more trips with more fresh coffee to cover everyone; in the dark it had been hard to tell how many people were working stretched out along the driveway. The clearing crew itself had to be thirty people, and a tired but thankful Williams said the gravel grading and levelling crew was probably just as big. "I'm sure we'll see you around," Williams called as the workers started packing up their equipment and prepping their heavier machinery for transport. "Supposed to be lots more work to do up here, yeah?" "Guess so," I called back. "Where are you guys headed now?" "They set us up in a motel about 20 minutes south. We've got guys on the crew from all over; they recruited all of us to fly out for this work, all expenses paid. Gotta tell you, it felt like hitting the lottery after sitting around in quarantine with my savings siphoning away." They left behind stacks of logs and stumps along the side of the now widened driveway area, and soon Leo and I were prepping a whole new serving of coffee as the morning wore on and the grading crew made its way up my old driveway. The guys on that crew were a little more hesitant to chat since they felt like they were running behind schedule, but they were happy enough to take the hot coffee after a whole night of work. It was around noon when one of the grading crew came up and knocked on the front door of the house. I'd been busy cleaning out the attic; one of those jobs I'd always had on my list of things to do around the property but never got around to. If there was anything up there worth saving, I hadn't found it yet, but it was worth the look. I came down to the front door covered in dust. The guy took one look at me from where he'd backed to 'social distance' and started laughing. I took one look at him, covered in gravel dust with rings of sweat from where he'd taken off his hard hat, and laughed right back. "Sir," he finally said after a minute, "We just thought you should know that the crew down at the far end of the road said someone in a green pickup truck drove by real slow a few times. The third time they pulled over and asked what was going on, but the boys down there followed orders and didn't tell him anything, so he peeled out. Just figured we'd let you know." "I appreciate that," I said, and sighed in the way that only old family history could make me sigh. Deep, long and aggravated. "And I think I know who it probably was. Thanks for letting me know." He nodded and went back to work. I didn't even think to ask what all was going on down at the end of the new road they had installed until he was already at the other end of the yard. "What's up?" Leo asked when I went to join him in the barn. "One of the crew guys said they saw a green pickup doing drive-buys." "Hah! Well, I guess that's not going to be your problem anymore, is it?" Leo laughed. I smirked. "Not legally. I'm sure I'm still going to be on Kara's shit-list and get a fucking earful though." I ended up spending the early afternoon helping Leo pack up a bunch of his woodworking equipment. The smaller stuff was fairly easy, but he needed the extra body for some of the larger presses and table-mounted saws. It felt like we'd barely made a dent when the double-honk of a car broke our concentration. We both headed around the side of the barn to find Erica getting out of the passenger seat of a black town car that had eaten a whole lot of the fresh gravel dust and now looked like someone had dusted it with flour. Sour-puss Agent Maggie was getting out of the driver's seat. "Hey, sis, how was it?" Leo asked. "Umm-Hmm," Erica said, shaking her head and holding up a finger to keep him from hugging her. "I need to talk to both of you inside." She had nervous energy going on, bouncing her weight on one leg and chewing on the corner of her lower lip. "Give me twenty; no, give me thirty minutes." "Is everything alright?" I asked. Erica was already moving quickly into the house. She'd had a look on her face like she was sick, and flushed with a fever or something. I turned to Agent Maggie. "Did something happen? She didn't catch the virus, did she?" "No," sour-puss said, that permanent sneer never breaking. "She knows everything she needs to, and needs to talk. Just do what she says." "What are you talking about?" I asked. Leo had followed Erica inside to make sure she was Okay. "Look, prick. Your little 'send her to the car' thing yesterday made me look bad, and now I'm stuck as a glorified cab driver while my boss and my partner are off to another shitty corner of the country like this one to bribe someone else into handing over their property to the government. Just fuck off inside and enjoy your new fucking world, you Mamoa-wannabe jerk." She got back in her car and slammed the door closed, then started to peel away and spin the car around before slamming the breaks and rolling down the window. "I'll be back again in a few hours with Lacosta's partner. He needs to be here waiting." "What?" I asked. She just flashed me her middle finger as she drove away. God damn woman, I sighed, watching her kick up dust and loose stones as she drove way too fast down the brand new gravel road. I shook my head and went inside. Erica was already upstairs and I could hear the shower running. Leo just shook his head and shrugged, "She wouldn't say anything. Just muttered about needing to get ready for something." "This is weird," I said. "I'm really fucking hoping this whole thing isn't going to blow up in our faces." "If it is, we might as well take it head on. Too late to do anything else," Leo said. "That's too fucking true, my friend," I said. Thirty-five minutes later Erica, dressed in a pair of her tight jeans with all the holes 'stylishly' cut into them down the legs and a black Metallica hoodie, strutted down the stairs and immediately began pacing and fidgeting with the strings of her sweater hood. She had done her full makeup, and seeing her like that was almost as shocking as the first time she'd gone without it; it had been a month since she had bothered with makeup at all, since even when she went out on grocery runs she was entirely covered up. "Sit," she demanded when we joined her in the living room, pointing me to my usual chair and Leo to the couch. He furrowed his brow as he watched his sister's nervous energy, but I wasn't sure it was because he was worried or didn't like her ordering him around. Their whole twin thing had always been more bouncing off each other than working in parallel. "Alright, alright," I said, hands up as I went to sit. "What's going on, E?" She stopped pacing and looked at both of us, transferring her energy into tapping her foot. I'd only ever seen her like this once before, right before we'd had our big group conversation about her staying indefinitely through the quarantine. Later, she'd elaborated to me a little bit more as to why she'd been so nervous; beyond the pandemic dangers, and feeling alone if she left, Erica had been chipping in for groceries with us, but that was it; the woman couldn't work during the pandemic, and tattooing hadn't exactly fueled her savings accounts. Everything all piling on at once had turned her into a nervous wreck, the opposite of her usual self. So what was doing this to her now? "Erica," Leo said, snapping her out of the train of thought she'd lost herself in staring at me. Her gaze was intense, only added to by her sexy post-punk look. It was like she'd erected a wall of armor around herself, or was taking on a persona that she'd let drop. "Right, sorry, I'm just really fucking distracted," she said. "Look, there's no way to say this easily without sounding sort of crazy at first, Okay? So I'm just going to say it, and you both need to listen cause I'm only explaining it once, alright?" Leo and I both nodded. "Alright, so the vaccine isn't just like, a shot. Well, it is for women. I got it this morning, and I'm something like 97% immune to the virus. But for men it isn't a shot. I did that information session and they showed us a bunch of research I only half-understood thanks to my AP bio classes back in high school, but I definitely got the video. The vaccine is pretty much lethal for men, and it has some weird side effects for women. They couldn't remove those aspects, so they modified it in other ways to try and adjust." "So how are we supposed to get vaccinated?" Leo asked. Erica licked her lips, and I realized she was sweating slightly. She glared at her brother, then looked at me and her eyes softened, then hardened, and I couldn't tell if she was angry at me or what. Then she glared back at her brother again. "They basically turned the vaccine into an STD, and it's the only way for men to get vaccinated. It's not permanent and needs frequent upkeep in both men and women, and it turns women fucking horny as hell if they go without for too long." "I'm sorry, what!?" Leo burst out. "And you took the shot?" "Just shut up, Leo!" Erica tried to shout him down. "I heard all the evidence, I weighed my options, and I decided this was the best thing to do. The whole tier system thing? I did the same questionnaire as you guys did, and they gave me a list of good matches. People I could go become a partner of. Like, sexually, and maybe romantically. We'd live together in quarantine, screw each other into immunity, and be that way for the foreseeable future until they fix this vaccine." "That's so fucked up," I said. "They wanted you to just shack up with someone you didn't know?" "Yeah, except someone I did know was on my list," she said. "Who?" Leo asked. "Are you moving back to Portland?" Erica turned from her brother and looked right at me. "Oh, no," Leo said. "No, no, no. You two are not becoming fuck buddies. We discussed this, Erica!" "Wait, what?" I said. "You discussed,” "Not important!" Leo shouted. "It's not important. It's not happening." "It's too late, Leo," Erica said. Then she turned to me. "At least, it is if you're into it. Look, Harrison, you can say no. I can't make you do this. What's-her-name will come back and get me, and I'll pick someone else on that list they gave me, and I'll go stay with them wherever they are. No hard feelings, you've done so much for me already that I can't even start to say thank you properly. But fuck I really want to fuck you. I've been getting off thinking about you almost exclusively for weeks, and the only reason I never asked you out in all these years is because I promised Leo back in high school I wouldn't ever date his friends." "And this is better?!" Leo squawked. "Shut up, Leo!" Erica shouted back at him. "You're not seriously considering this, are you?" Leo asked me. "You can't; Why; Come on, dude. She's my twin sister, it would be like... ugh!" He threw his hands up in the air in frustration. I rubbed my face with both hands and took in a deep breath before looking back at the siblings. "Alright," I said slowly. "First off, Erica, is this the vaccine talking? Just try and focus, cause this sounds an awful lot like some crazy date-rape drug and not a vaccine." "God, fuck. Why do men have to make things so hard?" she said. "I've wanted to fuck you for ages, Harrison. You being on my compatibility list at the vaccine center just made the decision fucking convenient instead of a fantasy." I turned to Leo. "Would you rather it be me, or some freak you know nothing about?" "I'd rather it be no one!" Leo said. "That's not an option anymore," Erica growled. "I've already got the shot. I'm just going to get hornier and hornier until I fucking snap, Leo. Then I'll fuck anything that fucking moves, that's the way it works. I need to bond with someone or I'll lose my goddamn mind. There are still a few days before I apparently go full-on bitch-in-heat feral, but I'm already feeling an itch all over and the only thing that I know, I know, is going to relieve that itch is cock." "Jaysus," I muttered, sitting back. Erica turned back to me, hugging herself. "Please, Harrison? Just; just tell me yes or no. Standing here without an answer is killing me, cause I don't know if I need to fight the feeling or I can give in." "I; Erica, you are absolutely gorgeous. I always assumed you weren't interested in me, or just wanted a friend. Honestly, I sort of thought you were gay with the comments you make about the women you work on in your shop. You're always talking about perky tits and firm asses and stuff like that," I said. "I'm Bi," she clarified. "And I work with people's bodies all day. I know what's hot and what's not for me, and Harri, you've fucking revved my engine since that first weekend Leo introduced us. I just want to rub my body all over,” "Erica!" Leo interrupted her. "Sorry, sorry, too much," she said. "I told you, this fucking vaccine is damn distracting right now. I need some relief here." "I'll do it," I said. "I just; this feels like the drug or whatever talking, Erica. Are you absolutely sure?" She was on me, straddling my lap and pressing her mouth to mine. Erica grabbed my head in her hands as she started forcefully making out with me, muttering 'Thank you' over and over into my lips. Her tongue pushed against mine, and then she grabbed my hands with hers and pulled them around to grab her ass. It was wonderfully firm, with a good amount of muscle that kept it looking full even if it wasn't particularly plump. "At least go get a room," Leo growled loudly. I pushed Erica back far enough that we could look each other in the eyes. Hers were bright, lucid, and silently pleading with me in a way that made her seem smaller and more vulnerable than the tough chick I'd come to know. "Let's go upstairs," I said to her. "I didn't mean literally get a room, right now," Leo said. "We need to talk this over! You made me a promise, Erica." "Shut up, Leo," Erica said. "I'll make it up to you, this isn't the end of the world. Probably. I think." She grabbed my hand, scrambled out of my lap and started pulling me up out of my chair. "What the fuck am I supposed to do?" Leo asked. "How am I getting vaccinated?" "Whenever they find someone who actually wants to fuck you, dorkus," Erica told her brother. "That lady agent said she'd be back in a few hours with your 'partner,'" I told him as I passed by, still getting pulled by Erica towards the stairs. "I didn't know what she meant at the time, but I guess;?" "Is she hot?" Leo asked me. I was already getting pulled up the stairs. "How am I supposed to know?" I yelled down to him. It's funny how energy can rise and fall at the drop of a hat. Erica pulled me into the guest bedroom she'd been using as her bedroom, slammed the door shut and turned to me; and stopped. She bit her lip, one leg bouncing at the knee as she shifted her weight. "Second thoughts?" I asked. "No, no," Erica said, shaking her head. "Definitely not. God, fuck, no. I didn't want to get into it in front of Leo like that, but you're also just being so you that I feel like I need to explain myself more." "So tell me," I said, sitting down on the bed. Erica started pacing again but stopped after one back-and-forth. "Okay, look. What I said down there is true. I would have asked you out years ago, after that first time we met at Burleson's when Leo brought you around." "The pub around the corner from your shop? That wasn't the first time we met," I said. "I know," she replied. "That was when you were moving into Leo's apartment. We passed each other in the building lobby and I saw you glance at my tits. I thought you were just another fuckboy asshole." "Wait, I don't remember that," I said. "Why didn't you ever tell me that happened? I thought the first time was when you gave Leo the fish tattoo on his side." "That's the first time we actually spoke," Erica said. "And you had an uphill fucking battle to try and change my mind about my first impression of you. You only made it far enough that I didn't bitch about Leo bringing you to the pub a couple nights later. That was when I got to actually focus on talking to you instead of chatting while I was at work. I also remember being super fucking pissed at Leo that night, because I asked him if I could go back on our deal from high school and hook up with you, and he said no." "Okay, whoa; we could have been having sex for seven years and you held to an agreement you made in high school? What was this fucking thing, a treaty ratified by the Pope?" Erica snorted a laugh and ran her fingers through her hair in frustration. "No, it was stupid. And honestly, looking back, we probably would have had a lot better of a time if he and I had agreed on the opposite. But Leo was a jock, and I was a scene girl, and we made an agreement that we didn't want each other messing with our friend groups. So no dating, no crushing, no nothing if the other twin claimed them first. We wanted to guard what we had, instead of helping each other out." I huffed a soft laugh. "Sounds like teenage bullshit to me." "Yeah, well, I'll just claim twin loyalty, Okay?" Erica said. "But that's not the really fucked up thing about this. When you invited me down from the city to stay with you guys, Leo and I had a separate talk. Harrison, my brother fucking loves you. Not like in a sexual way, but you're the best friend he's ever had. Period. No doubt about it. And he may not have ever said it to you but he was really worried that I would screw up the dynamic you guys have; and now here I am doing it." Erica squeezed her eyes shut and tilted her face to the ceiling. "Shit, maybe this was a bad idea after all. Fuck, he's never going to forgive me, I,” "Hey, hey," I said, standing and pulling her into a hug. Erica was a tall woman, easily 5'9 or a bit more, but I still towered over her with my 6'6". She clung to the sides of my shirt instead of hugging back, but buried her face into my chest. "I didn't know any of this, E. But we're all adults, we can handle this better than making promises we don't want to keep." "I know," she mumbled into my shirt, and slowly let go of my sides and slid her arms around until she was hugging me back. "You should know that I would have asked you out in a second if I thought you were interested," I said. "I'm still not exactly comfortable with the big picture on all of this, but this right here? I will definitely take this silver lining." "God, you make me so hot, Harrison," Erica said, and she looked up into my eyes. I kissed her as we held each other. Her considerable chest was pressing against my sternum, and as she shifted her arms up to wrap them around my neck and pull me closer to her, I lowered mine until I hooked my fingers into the belt loops of her jeans. We held that for a while, eyes closed and enjoying the feeling like we were teenagers again. God, we're both over thirty, I laughed in my head. We should be a lot bet

Angel Studios https://Angel.com/ToddJoin the Angel Guild today and stream Testament, a powerful new series featuring the retelling of the book of Acts. Alan's Soaps https://www.AlansArtisanSoaps.comUse coupon code TODD to save an additional 10% off the bundle price.Bioptimizers https://Bioptimizers.com/toddEnter promo code TODD to get 10% off your order of Berberine Breakthrough today.Bizable https://GoBizable.comUntie your business exposure from your personal exposure with BiZABLE.  Schedule your FREE consultation at GoBizAble.com today.  Bonefrog https://BonefrogCoffee.com/toddThe new GOLDEN AGE is here!  Use code TODD at checkout to receive 10% off your first purchase and 15% on subscriptions.Bulwark Capital https://KnowYourRiskPodcast.comHear directly from Zach Abraham as he shares insights in this FREE “Halftime” Webinar, THIS Thursday, July 24th at 3:30 Pacific.  Register now at Know Your Risk Podcast dot com. Renue Healthcare https://Renue.Healthcare/ToddYour journey to a better life starts at Renue Healthcare. Visit https://Renue.Healthcare/ToddLISTEN and SUBSCRIBE at:The Todd Herman Show - Podcast - Apple PodcastsThe Todd Herman Show | Podcast on SpotifyWATCH and SUBSCRIBE at: Todd Herman - The Todd Herman Show - YouTubeI'm afraid Joe Rogan is choosing the wide road of almost-Christianity. The wide road takes many forms, but the road to salvation is narrow and clear. The wide road is ambiguous…Episode Links:Am I hearing this right?! They are screaming “WE ALL HATE COPS” at the “family friendly” Portland Pride Parade? Wow…Presbyterian Texas state rep James Talarico tells Joe Rogan there's nothing in the Bible against homosexuality or abortion, and that it was "pro choice" for the Blessed Virgin Mary to agree to conceive by the Holy Ghost. Because heresy makes you stupid.Pastor John MacArthur's purported last words, which he took between gasps for air as his mind drifted to 1 Corinthians 15:55 ("O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?") - ‘I feel no sting. I feel no fear.'The president of George Mason University says that public universities should select leaders on the basis of "racial diversity," rather than merit, and that his job is to promote "the five pillars of social justice," rather than to pursue the truth. He should resign.Hunter Biden goes on a profanity laced rant about illegals being deported: "People are really upset about illegal immigration? Fuck you. How do you think your hotel room gets cleaned? How do you think you have food on your fucking table? Who do you think washes your dishes?"Hunter Biden suggests his father was drugged up before the infamous CNN debate: "He flew around the world. He's 81 years old. He's tired. They give him Ambien to be able to sleep and he gets up on the stage and looks like a deer in the headlights." - PS: The FigureHead was at Camp David for SEVEN DAYS before the debate. 

EZ off till Monday, 7/28/25. Enjoy three Patreon Bonus encore showsSegments include:*So, a ton of things happened today that were stressors for our old pal, EZ.*The last thing EZ's pinched nerve problem needs is to see a chiropractor, according to a physical therapist.*Biden's graduation remarks about Gaza, leave EZ scratching his head.*An incredible video of a baby being born in the front seat of a car.*Diddy scrambling as the world knows he beat up Cassie.*Diddy makes horrible attempt at apology.Rapper Cam'ron did not want to talk on CNN about Diddy.*Super ugly old lady married to super young, super stupid dude, having baby.*There's a conspiracy buzzing around the Eric Zane Show Podcast*EZ started off with a new, disgusting pic of FB's Hair. What. The. Fuck. Is. He. Thinking?*Shockingly, there are a ton of people who willingly throw their support behind Harrison Butker.*You won't believe what Kanye West's Cybertruck looks like.Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-eric-zane-show-podcast/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

HOT GIRL AURA price GOES UP August 1st! I accidentally said August 11th lol it's the first!! xoxoox T

Ben enjoys late-summer's lake fantasyBased on a work By glory_first. Listen to the Podcast at Steamy Stories.The weather had been glorious in Eastern Tennessee for the last couple of weeks, making a mid-week August visit to the lake earlier in the morning warmly enjoyable, especially in combination with the likelihood of no one else being around as we enjoyed ourselves naked in the water and on the shore. I'm a fire fighter, so I work in 72 hour shifts, followed by 72 hours off. My wife, Cammy and I are naturalists and members of the Miller's Cove club, but she works a typical 9 to 5 job, so she can't join us this week day.Kathy, our bi-curious friend, & Diana, her new girlfriend were today's threesome.  Yesterday we were preparing to leave the lake at the end of another wonderfully hot day. Kathy has been swimming here for two decades at this point, and I'm quite sure that the previous time we fucked was not the only time she had so enjoyed herself in this naturalists' sanctuary. Especially as I had fingered her a couple times before and after that perfect July day in the middle of the lake, fucking in the water.Agreeing to meet early the next morning, the traditional gin and tonic supplies were left to me to handle. The gin, glasses, non-melting ice cubes and cool packs stored in a subzero freezer overnight, with limes and a couple of plastic bottles of tonic water in the refrigerator.The sign along the road read; ‘Miller's Cove Pecan Orchard.' But the drive through the mature trees leads to a gently sloping terrain, and a blueberry patch. The Miller family no longer lives on the orchard, but they formed a naturalists club 22 years ago. Arriving at almost the same time, we quickly unpacked, distributing the supplies to carry, and I put my helmet and jacket in the bike's bags. We walked about 50 yards along the sloping path, with Pecan trees to our left and blueberry bushes to our left & right. We continued into essential middle of the nudist area, this favored summer spot, a nice mix of sun and shade, with a fairly narrow but well maintained entrance to the water, with a broad sloping cove opening up to the rest of the lake. The spot could easily hold a few dozen people, with basic privacy.The ground was untypically dry as we spread out our quilts, a welcome indication of the sort of summer day we had before us, full of warm sun and cool water. We undressed quickly, wearing minimal clothes as we were. Diana was wearing a clinging cotton top with thin straps, sunglasses, loose hair, a pair of jeans, cotton sneakers, with simple comfortable black cotton panties.Kathy was wearing a fairly short skirt and a fairly thin, half unbuttoned top, without sleeves. We do have slightly different styles when undressing, as I generally take off my pants, then my shirt. In contrast, both Diane and Kathy generally take off their tops first, something I always appreciate, as a braless woman in jeans or skirt is extremely attractive. Watching an unembarrassed woman take off her top right next to me is delightful, as I find natural breasts udderly wonderful.Having two topless friends next to me as we undressed, allowed me another opportunity to appreciate the differences between the two. Kathy's tits are heavy pendulous, and full, with large nipples extending up out from the apex of her ‘ski-jump' terrain. Her nipples she loves having touched and nibbled, along with being squeezed, sucked hard, or rubbed and held as she is fucked ‘doggy-style.' As she would gladly admit, or demonstrate, there is a fairly direct connection between her nipples and her erotic center, one she is quite proud of.Kathy, in her later thirties, remains very proud of her breasts, which are often braless when she is being casual. Or shown off when she isn't being casual. Her creativity at showing them off is a well-developed art, something else she likes to be appreciated by others, at least in the proper contexts. It isn't quite about sex, as it is sexuality, and is something she knows will be different in the future, as she has more than occasionally remarked on, noting changes over the years.Facing me, she unbuttoned and took off her thin shirt, then gave me a tiny grin, followed by turning a bit and grinning even more broadly to Diane, forming our semi-circle, facing the cove. So in a sense, we were all screening each other from any casual gawkers while being able to see how empty the lake shore in this stretch truly was.I was already nude, and Diane had just about finished stepping out of her panties. Her hand was on my shoulder, head turned towards Kathy, who said; “Ben, remember last Friday?” then flounced her skirt quite teasingly. Her hands went to the top button, opening it, then she turned sideways to me, her gorgeous breasts hanging as she bent a bit more, and undid the next button. Her skirt was now loose enough for her to pull it up a bit up her torso, revealing pink and white panties around the bottom of her ass.“No, those aren't,” I began.She grinned, answering; “Yes they are!” I looked briefly at Diane, almost chuckling, and back at Kathy, stepping out of her skirt, then did a slow full turn, providing a complete view of her well-worn ‘Hello Kitty' panties. The same panties she had mentioned owning, while eating dinner at our naturalist sanctuary house with my wife and me. Kathy and Diane had come over to do a bit of nude backyard grilling & hot tub relaxation. We got in a discussion talking about ‘Hello Kitty' vibrators and how that brand had changed over the years.Kathy has a firm insistence that toys have no place in sex, at least with her. Pretty much the same thing she had remarked a dozen years ago, after agreeing to test my wife's vibrator for a night. When she handed it back to me, she said she came several times, but really, she wanted fucking or sucking when cumming. “Another person is what keeps sex from being masturbation.” Self-pleasure is something she considers inferior and vaguely shameful. Masturbation is a subject to be avoided, in her eyes; though in the years since, getting off chatting online is something she finds worth her time.In the present, I couldn't help laughing as she shook her ass a couple of times while pulling her panties down. Then she reached out to use Diane as a support as she lifted each foot in turn to finish undressing. I quickly put suntan lotion on myself while the better tanned pair dealt with their raft, a fairly large, somewhat tilted platform with space for three people. I had brought my own raft, the same one I have used for years. One reason to have it is to ensure that certain smoking supplies remained safe while paddling out to the middle of the lake.We reached the middle fairly quickly, the deep lake water was wonderfully warm on its surface, but quite cool just a few feet deeper. This was only my second time getting stoned with Diane, in a nature setting, again pretty much alone. The first time had been picking cherries in the town orchard, something she had never done before, though she grew up in this region. The cherries were delicious, the trees bursting with them, a truly extraordinary harvest after an exceptionally warm and dry spring.Today at the lake, the conditions were enticing. Our nude bodies enjoyed the sun's warmth, rocking gently over the barely noticeable waves. I was lying on my raft sideways, which was lengthwise against the larger raft Kathy and Diane shared. Lazily kicking my feet in breaststroke fashion, the motion kept us moving slowly back to shore. And also kept a tantalizing flow of cool water streaming against my swelling cock, a normal side effect of smoking and swimming, particularly with a couple of naked women in front of me.Diane, in her mid-twenties, is almost half my age. Kathy was at the other end of the white inflated raft platform. I would often lift my head to see our progress across the dancing jeweled water, also taking in the very nearby view of her petite body, quite different from Kathy's lushly tall form. Diane's breasts are quite small, though decidedly elevated & on the perky side, with fairly small nipples surrounding the well-rounded peaks of her breasts. Both Kathy and my wife Cammy, have more pendulous breasts. Kathy is almost as tall as me, while Diane is somewhat shorter than Cammy.Unlike Kathy, whose body I am very familiar with, Diane's is still somewhat unknown. Her devotion to Kathy is apparent, shown by the physically quite obvious attachment to touching and caressing it. An attachment which became obvious again, as Kathy rolled over a bit, letting her left hand begin to trail over Diane's body. She grinned a bit, her body relaxing as her lover began to stroke it gently.Neither of them are exactly exhibitionists, though neither is shy. We all definitely get turned on by getting stoned, and as Diane's leg slid over began to rub along my back; it was pretty clear that Diane had decided to enjoy such an opportunity, nude and private in the middle of empty lake. Little was restraining the pair from their increasingly-affectionate intimate contact. I didn't really watch, though it was not exactly hidden that both of them were enjoying being next to each other, while also experiencing the dazzling sunlight on the water, from an endlessly blue sky.The sun was hot against our well-tanned exposed skin. Kathy and I have known each other for more than 15 years, but this was a different element, if not exactly a surprise. Seeing her with a woman lover was different, especially in light of Diane's own undeniable sexiness. Kathy has never been shy about her ability to love a person without regard to gender, Diane being yet more ample proof of that reality.Kathy and I have talked about sex quite often on the phone. We were both enjoying ourselves when she first revealed her bisexuality. My wife had been upstairs reading in bed during the entire conversation about her favorite lady-loving experiences. When we said goodnight and hung up, my cock was rigid. It didn't take long to spread my wife's legs and drive deep into her cunt before starting to explain what was turning me on so much. 'Kathy is, uh, fucking, Kathy fucks, Kathy fucks' and I started cumming with one of the more intense orgasms of my life when I said 'Kathy fucks with other women,' thrusting my cock into my wife's wet cunt. The revealing words echoing in my mind as my cum pumped so fully into her sexy tightness, her hands at my ass pulling me as her bushy pubis ground against mine, forcing my cock to move at its base, surrounded in her wet perfection as I came talking about another woman.Their raft gently rocked as they drifted further out into the middle. They rolled closer to each other, hugging, beginning to kiss. First almost teasingly, though the intensity quickly grew. Even with my cock tingling in audio temptation, I pretty much tried to leave them some space to themselves. The view of them entwined was quite enticing. The kissing deepened, as their hands found various places to play, between their pressed bodies and between their accessible legs.After a passionate crescendo, they separating themselves a bit. We rejoined the two rafts & enjoyed some nice organic smoke. Its effects filled us with a familiar sense of horniness, especially with other naked people around. Kathy, Diane, & I are certifiable sluts when we get stoned. However, with the breeze picking up a bit, it was no longer possible for me to do more than keep us somewhat in place. Their raft presented a fairly large amount of surface area for the wind to act upon.Mentioning this, I started kicking slowly to reduce the gentle drift, losing ground in the widely spaced rise and falls of moving air. Diane went over the side like a sexy otter, her small breasts enhancing the attraction of her body uncurling into the water. She frolicked in the cool wetness for a bit. Kathy watched from the edge, head on her crossed arms, while I split my attention between both of them. Diane moved closer, grabbed another section of the rope, and started to swim.Kathy rolled over into the water and we settled into a swim rhythm, moving the raft briskly. Her full breasts poked above the water surface as she swam toward shore, sharing a certain familiarity as the raft began moving against the wind. My cock was still hard in the flowing water, turning to look at Diane's naked body in the green tinged water. Diane, her nipples more pointed now than when she first slipped into the water, was looking at Kathy's face. The weed's fresh buzz elevated our serenity while affirming our horniness. Kathy is very easily aroused, her nipples in particular being a favored destination for foreplay.As the breeze died, and we neared shore, Diane and I just floated, our legs drifting together in the water, extended against each's warm skin. It shared a mutual arousal of contact with a living naked person. And one of the most sensuous sensations I know, especially in deeper water, was just floating while buzzed.After approaching the shore, Diane & Kathy scrambled back on the big raft, breasts glistening as their hands began to run over each other's body, slippery as water spread over her oiled back, Diane rubbing her ass over Kathy's. I slowly pushed us towards the tiny cove, Diane's body was drying in the warm sunny air, though the source of our growing heat was not merely the weather.Firmly nudging the raft into the shallow sandy waters, the two women went in front of me, stepping onto the two foot bank separating the water's edge from firm land. They settled on the spread quilt, waiting patiently for me to make some gin and tonics, a perfect drink in such conditions.Preparing the gin and tonics is a fairly simple process. One removes the glasses quickly from the cooler, followed by ice cubes, then limes, and the ice cold gin, pouring the proper amount into the now well frosted glasses, promptly returning the gin to the cooler. The lime is excised with an X pattern, carefully squeezed into each glass. Followed by pouring in the tonic water, and stirring the mixture using the knife that had cut the lime.When the air is already in the nineties around 10am, this is the perfect liquid accompaniment to handle the heat, though it does generate a bit of its own heat in other parts of the body, especially after a naked shared joint.Kathy, particularly, loves drinking gin and tonics, especially when sex is in the air on a cloudless summer morning. She finished her first one quickly. Diane and I drank ours more slowly, savoring the mixture of flavors blending into a perfect liquid whole. Wet yet also crisp, a few degrees above freezing. After finishing her glass, Kathy began giggling about how we should go back out, especially since no one was around. It wasn't quite clear whether this was a specific or general request, not that Diane or I cared much, as we began to mutually explore the possibly delicate boundaries of Kathy's wide ranging sexual tastes.I certainly had no interest in intruding in their blossoming relationship, though I also knew that Diane had been previously involved in a male/female/female threesome, according to Kathy.Diane's relationship also involved sado and masochistic fetishes, at some level. It's a general subject which does not interest me particularly. Well, except for tying up one's lover, which is a standalone idea in my mind. I conceded that tying is a gateway to S & M, certainly drifting into that broad area of control and pleasure through power or helplessness.Balancing her glass on the grass, Kathy told Diane to lay down, since another coating of suntan lotion was important to reduce the sun's less pleasant effects. I began to lotion myself at the same time, including discretely making sure my cock and ass were more than adequately covered in initially slippery protection. Sunburns are something that happen far too often to me, but at least related to these areas, my experience is still zero. Unlike my wife, Cammy, who spent a decade getting used to going topless. After sunburning her nipples the first time she exposed them, She obsesses about SPF issues.After Kathy finished, I asked her to handle my back, something she did pretty sloppily. Obviously, her attention was drifting, though I didn't turn my head to see if Diane was the direct cause or not. Kathy is submissively oriented to men, but markedly dominating with women, having a slave to play with your naked body under the summer sun is likely something Kathy would appreciate, and Diane would likely do. But Kathy may be having some inner conflicts about how to act in a threesome with a man & woman.Now well-lotioned, we stretched out, basting a bit, until another person entered our somewhat discrete space, a buxom middle-age woman. I knew her name was Meg. She's a persona friend of the Miller family, and a charter member of the Cove Club. She often brings a raft, and enjoys spending time floating it, much like I do. As we all casually watched, Meg pulled off her loose cotton dress, unashamed about the fact she wasn't wearing any underwear, allowing her to be comfortably naked without complications.This remains a noticeable trait, at least among the nudists at this lake, definitely including myself. No reason to wear more than the minimum, Kathy will also come to the cove wearing nothing but a dress, as has Diane and my wife. Such times remain a bit of a turn-on, even when sex is simply not plausible. The club has rules about sexual conduct when other uninvolved club members are present. Just knowing that a woman is intimately uncovered is nice. Most of the women I've known who do it, also enjoy its effect on their sense of sexuality, especially with light and swirling skirts.Diane having finished her drink, my two companions were now beaded with sweat, a deliciously erotic sight. Standing, the contrast in sizes and shapes was delightful, as they shared a quick kiss before returning to the water. They went out until about hip deep. Meg, the now-naked older woman spread out her towel in a standard spot at a respectful distance from our party. Then added a bit more air pressure to her raft before heading out onto the glittering water, giving me more excuse to look out at the lake as Kathy and Diane began to turn each other on.Kathy & Diane were hugging and kissing, first one then the other leaning back against holding arms, slowly moving into deeper water. What remained clear enough to see through, their motions had become more sinuous than active. Their movement was growing increasingly intense, especially when they began to rub chest to chest, Kathy's hand holding and spreading Diane's ass.My cock stirred as it became obvious the two ladies were feeling each other up outdoors, enjoying a perfect summer day in nature, indulging themselves at a primal level. It's a level Kathy and I both shared in the past, but that the younger Diane seemed to be enjoying for the first time, in a swirl of gin, weed, nudity, and lust. Diane was doing most of the moving as they kissed. The was reason becoming clear when Kathy shifted her position a bit.Diane was rubbing her cunt against Kathy's upper thigh; gasping a bit when Kathy's teeth began to nibble at her earlobe. A long sigh arose when Kathy's spread hand slid over her ass, and into her crack. By this point, it was Kathy determining the rhythm, making Diane willingly helpless in her arms, adding her own slinky motion side to side.Meg, the older buxom woman, returned to shore, paddling lazily, trying to be somewhat discrete as she looked at them while going past. As she stepped on the shore, her raft next to theirs, Kathy and Diane slowly grew apart, and I sat up, getting ready to make our second round of gin and tonics in the rising heat of the day, the sun rose higher in the sky.As the buxom neighbor approached her towel, I asked; “Meg, would you want a gin and tonic?” She smiled a bit, said; “Sure, Ben.” Over the years, I have learned how her breasts bounce when she walks, how her nipples look when stimulated, and wondered at how her nipples remain so pink. She is easily 1 to 20 years older than me, but her essential blondeness seems real, even if her cunt is always shaved smooth. She carries extra pounds, but mostly on her tits and ass.My two companions followed her in, grabbing towels to dry off, their skin glistening in the sun, both of them aroused, but patient. We all chatted a bit, my attention was split between three lovely naked women.Having only three glasses, it made sense to offer the new visitor mine, after making Kathy and Diane their glasses first. I added extra gin, lime, and water to Kathy's, filling her glass essentially to its rim before she bent down to sip a bit. My hand moved to offer the glass to her spreading lips. Her breasts swayed a bit, and I could see how Diane was looking at them too. Kathy lifted herself a bit on her legs, providing a perfect view of her spread labia. Kathy is blessed with large and proud plump labia, the largest I have ever seen and touched, personally.Making Diane's drink went quickly. I handed it to her, sitting next to the now essentially squatting Kathy. Diane's own legs were spread, crossing her feet in front of her, giving me an unavoidable opportunity to look at her turned-on swollen cunt, the outer lips a bit dark, the inner lips darker, a bit crinkled. Kathy noticed me looking, but only grinned a bit as she sipped from her frosty glass, then sensuously kissed Diane.Returning my attention to making the next gin and tonic, I smiled at the neighbor woman as I determinedly did not look at the pair near me. The sounds of kissing provided an idea of what they looked like. However, Meg's attention seemed focused on the kissing couple. I saw a certain look of lust begin to appear on her face. It wasn't surprising in itself, as I was also starting to get a bit hard. But it was the first time I had saw a woman getting turned on watching two other naked women playing with each other. Admittedly, this was also my first time, and I was fairly certain my face looked much the same as her's did.I shifted a bit, moving forward, offering Meg the drink with my left hand as Kathy murmured that maybe it was time to get lotioned before returning to the water. Diane went prone & stretched out, and Kathy quickly covered her back and shoulders. Her hands straying down to her small breasts, making Diane get up on her knees a bit as Kathy's hands slid over her nipples. Kathy then did her own face and arms before laying down, letting Diane spread suntan lotion over her back and ass, hands sliding over Kathy's spread thighs.Diane also did her own face and arms, as Kathy sat up, positioning herself in front of Diane. The pair began to take care of their fronts and legs, while I took a sip of Kathy's almost finished gin and tonic, Diane's having been emptied fairly quickly. The older woman noticed this, remarking that I was welcome to share hers, along with a compliment of how perfectly it tasted on such an August day.Diane and Kathy rose, giggling a bit as they returned to the water. Their hands strayed over each other's oiled ass cheeks. After taking a couple of steps into the water, they turned to each other, clasped hands, and began kissing.Offered the two thirds empty glass, I remarked that it would be simple to refresh it, if she wished to drink some more. Her head still turned towards the water, she distractedly said 'sure' again, prompting me to focus my attention on making another fresh drink, knowing that any later ones would not be as nearly chilled. The brisk chill is a major part of the pleasure of a good gin and tonic in the intense heat.Between pouring, slicing, and squeezing, I glanced at her. Meg was sitting with her legs at an angle to the shoreline, sweating a bit in the sun. A another female scent was beginning to perfume the air, one that drew my attention to her. My cock began to swell against my thigh. I shifted a bit before handing Meg the well-beaded glass, making her shift in turn, getting a bit closer.Being done with drink making for now, I offered to lotion her back, something we have done occasionally for each other over the years. She is almost always by herself at the lake, and like me when alone, rarely talks much to anyone else. Spreading the white lotion over her shoulders, she asked about the pair in the water, who I know noticed had moved out further, pressing tightly, breasts rubbing, Diane's hand clearly between Kathy's legs.“Well, they're friends,” I managed to say before she laughed a bit. Meg replied, “Yeah, that's pretty obvious.”Kathy has been a regular bather here for 20 years. Meg helped the Millers build the social club, and comes every summer, even though she doesn't know most of the newer ‘kids'. I was trying to explain Kathy's and Diane's relationship, when in fact a major part of it was currently completely public in front of us.It seemed a bit amusing. Especially since Diane was obviously being finger-fucked by Kathy. Kathy's hand was moving at the center of Diane's spread legs. I heard “Could you, could you lotion me, everywhere?” Meg was pulling my attention back. Our glass was empty, the shoreline still empty except for us two. We were obviously getting turned on watching two women have sex in the water in front of us.She turned a bit closer, while also spreading her legs in the direction of the water and resting back on her elbows. I knelt with my feet out past her hips, my legs bent, & squeezed some lotion onto my hands. I began working over her shoulders, sliding down her sides, moving between the already oiled and still to be oiled skin. I only slowly moving inwards towards her grand tetons. After her nipples became turgid in my distributing fingers, I started rubbing her stomach. She began to coo very quietly, slumping further back a bit, head lolling, giving a wonderful view of her breasts.My hands moved down along her thighs, her knees slowly began bending. Her crotch slowly opened up, the closer my hands approached her pubic region. Soon, her warm skin began lightly touching my legs, her legs spreading as my oiled fingers began sliding downward over her smooth shaved pubic mound, and separating around her cunt lips. Looking out at the water, I saw the two naked women kissing passionately, arms reaching down in the water, hands clasping asses tightly, oblivious to everything except their own pleasure.My cock was hard, and Meg's deep breathing amplified as her back fully relaxed down on the quilt. The sounds of her awakening sexuality was incredible, well matching the feeling coming from my finger as it began to slide into her wet cunt. She hissed 'oh, fuck yes' as my other hand reached up to her near tit, pulling her nipple and rolling it in my fingers. My hands were sliding over both her upper & lower hardened spires. This was hardly the first nor fifteenth time I had finger-fucked a woman at the cove, but it was certainly the first time I had ever done it with others around.Even if one of the others was the first woman I had finger-fucked here in the summer sun, beside my own wife.  I gave up all further pretense of distributing SPF lotions, and sat cross-legged, with hands on two of Meg's very hard nubs. Our eyes were on the water nymphs.Kathy is someone who definitely favors having her cunt filled, unlike most women in my experience, who much prefer having their clit played with. Meg had a big nubby clit. It now poked out beyond her hood. I was rubbing Meg's big clit with my thumb as she fantasized of the naked lovers in

Quaranteam-Northwest: Part 1 Pandemic Survivors, Harems and the Pacific Northwest. Based on a post by Break The Bar. Listen to the ► Podcast at Explicit Novels. To combat the deadly Duo Halo virus, the government will change the lives of Harrison Black and his friends out in the hills of Oregon. In return, Harrison finds a new purpose to his life in the midst of losing his family history. The House Guest. I glanced away again, relatively certain that Erica hadn't noticed my involuntary glance down at her cleavage but not overly worried. The grocery store parking lot was only half full, but we were waiting out front and I felt like we were in a bread line in Soviet Russia. The only good news was that it was a warm spring for Oregon State, and a clear day, so Erica and I weren't bundled up in jackets or anything. Of course, we were still getting used to the masks. "This feels ridiculous," Erica said, adjusting the bandana covering her lower face. She'd done her makeup as usual, with soft but smoky eyeshadow, and her thick dark hair was pulled back in a messy bun. Erica was a well-put-together lady, with the hips and bust of a woman who had aged perfectly into her thirties. I'd known her through our late twenties, and I wasn't ashamed to say I thought she'd only gotten hotter with time. Her black jeans clung to her hips and ass, and the black sweater she was wearing unzipped over a ripped band t-shirt accented the v of her cleavage that I'd been trying not to glance at. "At least it's not the middle of winter," I said. "Imagine this going on in January, in a snowstorm?" "We'll never need to see that," said the old man in front of us in line. He was wearing a hunting gaiter, but it was riding low on his upper lip. "This ain't the first virus, it won't be the last. Couple of weeks and the panic will die down. We'll have practically forgotten it by the fall, I bet." "Hopefully," Erica nodded. They'd announced the quarantine two weeks ago, and it had gone into effect last week. My roommate Leo and I had invited Erica, his sister, up from Portland; she was going to be cooped up in her apartment alone for the two-week shutdown and we had plenty of space on my old family property. Erica had made the drive the day before the statewide quarantine kicked in, having locked up the Tattoo Parlor she managed, and it had been a week of sun, hiking and ATV tours through the property, along with teaching her how to throw an axe and shoot some archery. Next week we were planning to show her the ropes on gun safety, and let her try out some of my grandfather's old hunting rifles. Erica was game for it all, and it felt like a mini vacation for all three of us. What Leo and I hadn't planned for was making meals for three instead of two, and so now a week in Erica and I were braving a trip into town trying to figure out exactly what we were and weren't supposed, or allowed, to do. Erica turned to say something to me, but her sentence was cut off by the heavy thrum and backfiring of a pair of ugly pickups rumbling into the parking lot of the grocery store on jacked-up wheels, halfway to 'monster truck.' They parked near the back, near my own truck, both vehicles with the stupid 'truck nuts' swinging from the hitches on the back and one of them with a big confederate flag sticker in the back window. "Jesus, I thought rednecks were supposed to come from the South," Erica muttered. "There are rednecks in every part of every country," I sighed. "Ask me about German rednecks sometime. Those people are weird." Five men unloaded from the two pickups, and I could see someone still sitting inside one of the cabs. I immediately took in everything I needed to know about the men; my brain couldn't shut off the instinct. Five military-aged males, three who looked like they could handle a bit of a fight. None of them were carrying firearms, no obvious sign of concealed weapons, but several had utility knives sheathed on their belts. Not that uncommon out here in the foothills of western Oregon. Three of them were wearing army surplus combat boots, one was wearing what looked like steel-toe construction boots, and one was wearing hiking boots. Their clothes were blue-collar casual. Rough, in other words. None of them were wearing any form of a mask. The debate was still out in the news; first, we were supposed to wear masks, then they said it wasn't going to be helpful, and now they were saying wearing masks might be the most important thing. Everyone seemed confused about the issue, but everyone in line outside the grocery store was wearing one of some sort or other. "Are they seriously going to just?" Erica muttered. The rednecks were heading straight for the entrance to the store, looking to bypass the ten or so folks in line ahead of us and another six behind us. I could see the panic in the eyes of the pimple-faced teen manning the door. He had no fucking clue what to do about it. "Ah, shit," I muttered, already stepping out of line. "Harrison," Erica cautioned me. "It's not worth it. What's the point?" "If not me, then who?" I asked her, then raised my fingers to my lips and blasted a whistle that echoed across the parking lot. Everyone turned and looked at me. All the folks in line, the rednecks as they were about to bull their way past the boy, and the beleaguered kid who I'd already watched bumble through explaining the line to annoyed people, let these alone belligerent assholes. "Hey," I yelled, but tried to keep my voice more friendly than commanding. "How about you guys show some respect to the folks out here and just grab a spot in line?" "How about you suck my nuts? We aren't sheeple, we know our rights," one of them yelled. "Yeah, this place can't deny us service, we've got rights," another shouted. "There's a difference between rights and being polite," I said. "Old folks are waiting to get their groceries, you boys can wait fifteen minutes." "You got a problem with us?" Another one shouted. "You know who the fuck we are?" "Harrison," Erica sighed. "I ain't got a goddamn clue who you are," I said. "And I don't care beyond the fact that you're acting like assholes." Two of them immediately started coming towards me down the line, the other three hesitating a moment before following. Fuck. I'd been hoping they were just some bully idiots, but the two in the lead were way angrier than they should have been. "Take a few steps back and don't get involved, E," I said quietly. "I'll be fine, but you can't get involved, Okay?" "Harry, what the actual fuck? There are five of them. This is a fucking parking lot. We should just call the cops!" she whispered back. "I'd listen to your fella," the old guy in the gaiter said. "We got one State Trooper somewhere in thirty square miles of here; would likely take too long to do any good." "You wanna say that to my face, you fucking fuck?" one of the men said. I'd taken a few more steps out of line, and he got up within a foot of me with his teeth bared and a fist raised threateningly. "I'm a god damned sovereign citizen, and I got every right to protect my dignity, honor and good name against fucks like you." "Yeah," I said, looking down at him as I breathed in deep and let my full size loom over him. The guy was probably 6'1 or so, but I was 6'6 in my stockings and had an extra couple inches over that from my own hiking boots. "I said you guys are acting like assholes, and otherwise I could give one single shit about who you think you are." "You motherfucker, I'm gonna," "Harrison?" One of the three guys in the back asked. He was one of the ones I'd identified as not being much of a fighter. "Harrison Black, right? You played Defensive End at Eisenhower." "Uh, yeah," I said. "That was a while ago though..." "Oh man, dude. It's me, Barry O'Callahan. I was a year behind you," the guy said. "Guys, this dude almost single-handedly ran our high school defense. Didn't you end up joining the military or something?" "Yeah, yeah," I said, squinting and looking at Barry. "Really? Barry O?" "Heh, yeah I filled out a bit since I was a junior," the man laughed, his gut jiggling with the effort. "And then I filled out a bit more. How are you doing, man? When did you get out of the service?" "Well, I'm doing fine, Barry. Been out going on seven years. But this is a bit awkward," I said. The interruption had been as confusing a moment for the two hotheads in their group as it had been for me. They were looking back and forth between us, trying to decide if they were still mad at me, or mad at Barry, or were just giving it up. "Oh, yeah. Uh, don't worry guys, Harrison is cool, Okay?" Barry said. "Dude, are you just in the area visiting or what?" "I've been up at the family place for the last few years since Pop died," I said. "Oh man, I'm sorry," Barry said. "But hey, can't believe we didn't run into each other until now. Who'd a thunk, huh? Here dude, you should come out to the clubhouse sometime. We'll grab some brews, catch a game or something." Barry pulled a crumpled matchbook out of his shirt pocket and handed it to me. The front had a WWII-style blonde pinup girl on a navy background with a white star behind her, invoking the flag. The Golden Beaver and an address was printed in tiny letters on the backside. It would have been a funnier innuendo if they weren't referencing the Oregon state flag. "Yeah, maybe," I said. "Come on, guys," Barry said, slapping his two hot head friends on the shoulders. "Let's get in line. Nice seeing you, Harrison." "Yeah, you too Barry," I said. And then shook my head as the five men headed back towards the end of the line. "What the fuck was that?" Erica asked me as I joined her back in line, and we moved up a couple spaces as the teen at the door let more people into the store. "Honestly, I thought I was about to spend the night in county lockup," I said. "Fuckin' Barry O." "He seemed like a fan of yours," Erica smirked. "Big high school football star, huh?" "I was a little above average at best," I said. "And I wasn't an idiot. Easy to look good when the rest of the team sucks." I looked down at the matchbook again and shook my head, showing it to Erica. She snorted and took it. "Is this real? Please tell me you aren't going to go join their little redneck club." "Not likely," I said. "It's a wannabe militia group. Bunch of swinging cocks with no sway." "What?" "Cause they're so small. It's a tiny penis joke." Erica smirked again and rolled her eyes. "You child. Can you do me a favor?" "What's that?" I asked. "Maybe, for the foreseeable future, you keep the whole Walking Tall routine to a minimum?" "I'm sorry, did you just make a Dwayne Johnson, early 2000s movie reference?" "Yeah, I did," Erica grinned. "What are you going to do about it?" "We need to get you to watch some better movies," I laughed. "Hey, son," the old man ahead of us said quietly. "Seriously, could you have taken those guys?" I glanced back at them at the end of the line, muttering to each other. "Probably, if I was right. If I got three of them, the other two wouldn't have done anything." "Heh. Would have liked to have seen that," the old man grinned. "Don't encourage him," Erica said. "He hasn't gotten into a fight on my watch yet, I don't want him to start now." "Yeah," I said. "But that's mostly because you're the one who usually starts throwing punches at the bar." "Hey, a guy gets handsy, I put him in his place," Erica shrugged. "No 'Walking Tall' shit, my ass," I snorted. "You two make a fine, rowdy couple," the old man said. "Oh, we're not a couple," Erica said. "Just friends," I said. "He's my brother's roommate," Erica clarified. "I'm just visiting." The old man raised an eyebrow and shook his head. "Alright. Well, maybe you two should consider toning down the flirting then. You're likely to attract bears with all the hormones you're putting out." "Erica, Erica! No, you cannot punch him," I said, holding her back. "Hey, Erica? Can we talk to you for a minute?" Erica looked up from her phone with a cocked eyebrow and a pensive smile. I immediately realized how weird and out of character our approach was. She was lounging on the couch in the living room, her sketchbook tossed to the side with a half-finished something scribbled out in frustration like she'd been trying to work but just couldn't get it right. I knew how she felt, having had the same frustrations ever since the quarantine had been announced. "Sure guys, what's up?" she asked. I let Leo sit down next to his sister on the couch as she sat up, and I took my usual chair. It had been my Father's up until he passed; I'd avoided it the first month after he died and I took over the family homestead. Then when my older sister Valerie and her family came to stay for that summer, she practically pushed me into it. 'It's just a chair,' became our catchphrase for the summer as we sorted through the belongings of our parents and grandparents. "I'm sorry," I said as I settled into the chair. "This is already coming off weird. Erica, it's nothing." "You're making it seem like it's something," Erica said. She turned to her twin. "What's going on?" Leo and Erica were both a couple of years older than me, but once you were into your early thirties that kind of stuff meant a lot less. Leo had the looks of a classic Italian paisan with thick dark hair, a hawk beak of a nose and bushy eyebrows. He was built thin and a little lanky, and was usually ready with an eager smile and word of encouragement for anyone he met. That's probably why we'd gotten along so well when we started rooming together; his positive attitude had been just what I needed coming out of the Army. Erica had a lot of the same features as her brother; the thick dark hair, the ready smile, the energetic sparkle in her eyes; but she also had a sensuality to her that I can't say I'd ever noticed in Leo. She was a little more patient, a little more sure of herself and willing to take charge of things. And that control went all the way to her fitness, as she hadn't let herself slide even through quarantine. Leo sighed. "No, it's nothing. Well, I mean I guess it's something, but it's not," "How about we just say it, instead of talking about talking about it?" I said. "Yeah," Erica nodded. "How about that?" "Well, uh, Harrison?" Leo looked at me, which I guess was fair considering this was my house at the end of the day. "Erica, we're almost a month into the quarantine now," I said. "I know that when we invited you down out of the city to stay with us, it was supposed to only be for a couple of weeks. 'Two weeks to flatten the curve' and all that shit. But things don't seem to be getting any better." "No, it's fine," Erica said, sitting up straighter in her seat and pulling away from her brother. "I know I've been imposing on you guys. It's fine, I can head back down to Portland and I'll just," "Jesus Christ, Erica," Leo said. "We're not kicking you out." "You're not?" she asked. I realized that she was clenching her fists in her lap so hard she was trembling slightly. "Not a shot, E," I said. "We just wanted to make sure that you knew we want you to stay as long as you want or need. We love having you here." For the first time in my life, I saw Erica's lower lip tremble. "Really?" she asked. Back in the city she was the manager of one of the most successful tattoo and piercing parlors in the state, herding artsy workers that acted like cats with constant access to catnip. Erica was firm but fair with her artists, managed a clientele that ran the gamut from rich and entitled assholes to meth'd out deadbeats, and kept her own skills sharp with constant discipline and practice. Every time we had hung out in the years before the quarantine, I'd always been struck by how forceful a personality she was; she could smack talk with the best of them, manhandle a drunk in a bar like an experienced bouncer, and laughed loud and full-bellied. Seeing her on the verge of tears was a shock, and I realized we probably should have had this talk two weeks ago. "Yes, of course we do," I said. "God, you're practically family, Erica. I don't think I could let you go back and stay in the city right now. We love you." The damn burst and as thick tears began to pour over her cheeks and streak her dark eyeliner she reached out and pulled Leo into a hug with one arm. She beckoned for me with the other and I crossed the space to wrap her up in a hug as well. "Thank you," she whispered quietly between us. "I know you guys wouldn't; but still. Everything going on out there, and the way the city is right now... I just didn't" "It's going to be fine," Leo said to his sister, squeezing her harder. "You'll see." She kissed him on the cheek, then turned and kissed me on the cheek as well. "Thank you." I gave her a bit of a squeeze in return. "We'll need to go get some more of your stuff, I guess. You only came down here with a duffle bag." She laughed. "God, yes," she said and tried to wipe her tears. "I can go up there. I could use some more underwear, ha-ha." "Too much information!" Leo said, releasing his sister. She sniffed hard to clear her nose and wiped her cheeks some more to clear her spilt makeup and tears. Erica had a sort of post-punk or light goth style, with thick eyeliner and soft but smoky eyeshadow. For someone in the tattoo business, she had relatively few piercings, just two in each earlobe and a single small, silver nose ring on one nostril. She made up for it with a pair of full sleeve tattoos on her arms and a collection of assorted smaller tattoos on her legs. "What, you don't want to hear about me sweating through my bras?" She laughed at her brother. "Come on, Leo, we're all adults here." I laughed at her teasing and she squeezed me to her with the one arm she still had around my shoulder. She turned and kissed me on the cheek again. "I can go down to the city by myself, you guys don't need to risk yourselves for me. All the news reports are saying this thing is extra dangerous for men." "No, we'll help," I said. "We don't know how long this thing will last, so we'll bring the pickup and you can bring your car. And if you get exposed, you'd bring it back here with you anyways, so we might as well try and do it as fast as possible. Three sets of hands will make things go easier." "Okay," she nodded, then with a last squeeze of my shoulders she eased away and stood up. "Okay. Well, damn, guys. This feels like a fucking weight lifted off my shoulders. I've felt like I've been overstaying my welcome, not that you guys did anything to make me think that. I just,” "It's fine," I said. "We understand." "I don't," Leo said. "You've been all up in my personal space since the dam womb. You never had a problem with it before now." "Come here, you twerp," Erica laughed, slapping her brother on the arm. "Alright, alright," I said. "Come on, children. Let's make a plan here. No time like the present, if we get everything ready we can head out tomorrow."   Leo and I had first become roommates when he sublet me a room as I came out of the military seven years ago and wanted to move back to the Portland area. Then, when my father passed and I needed to move back to the family property, Leo had been more than happy to come on up with me instead of trying to find someone new to take over my half of the house lease. The old ranch-style house I'd grown up in had plenty of room, and my mother had died a few years before Dad, so it worked out for both of us. Even before the quarantine was announced we'd both been working from the homestead; my freelance illustration and concept art gigs kept the bills and property tax under control and food on the table, and Leo had swapped to making artisanal furniture in his little shed workshop instead of the house framing and cabinetry he'd been trained in. The old barn made a decent new workshop for him after a couple of upgrades, and once I'd gotten a satellite installed for point-to-point internet service we were... Well, we hadn't exactly been living the technological dream, but we had what we needed. The drive down to Portland from the homestead outside Jewell took a bit over an hour and a half on a good day with moderate traffic. It only took us an hour, in the middle of the day. I drove my truck, the cover on over the bed, and Leo rode with Erica in her car. The highways were practically empty, and for a while the drive almost felt like just a beautiful day out; other than the thick sweater I was wearing, and the work gloves I'd duct taped to the cuffs. I also had a pair of bandanas hung around my neck, ski goggles sitting on the passenger seat, and the hood of my sweater pulled up. It was the middle of a hot spring and I was sweating my ass off in my own truck just in case of death by viral infection. Even in the last couple of weeks, all the messaging online from the Government about what to do for safety felt like it had been conflicting with itself constantly, and when Leo and Erica tried to do more research they couldn't even figure out which politician or government body to listen to, let alone find something useful and convincing. So we went all out. Driving through the suburbs was a bit of an experience. One neighborhood would be completely desolate, not a single person outside and everything locked up tight. The next would be full of people outside on the street, walking dogs and kids running around playing. Most of them had those medical masks on, but it looked like people were out on summer vacation or something. The neighborhood after that was mostly shut down like the first, but one of the houses easily had thirty vehicles parked around it and was hosting some sort of party going on in the front and back yard. Somehow, despite the world feeling so alien, I still found driving through the city even weirder. Getting into the urban center where Erica had a small apartment near the Tattoo Parlor was like we'd hit the end of the world. Even more than in the suburbs, the near complete lack of people was shocking. We could go entire city blocks without seeing another car, and then suddenly we'd come across a food delivery driver peddling down the middle of the city street on a bike. The only other motorized vehicles I saw were one dude on an electric scooter having the time of his life, and ambulances speeding down the streets with their lights running. They didn't even bother with the sirens. Crackle, crackle. "Hey, Harrison? You read me? Over." I picked up my handheld radio and pressed the button. "Yeah, I read you, Leo. Over." "So we need to take a detour. There's a bunch of stuff online about this Autonomous Zone thing. Protestors in the middle of the city. We're going to avoid it. Over." "Yeah, sounds good. I'll follow. Over and out." I shook my head. The protests had started about a week ago. Halfway across the country, a man had been shot by police; investigations were ongoing, but no one looked good in the situation. Not the cops, not the man, not even the bystanders who had filmed the whole thing instead of intervening. It was a shit show all around, and it had sparked protests that I could only assume were fueled by people feeling so trapped in their own lives. Portland, ever a liberal center of activism, had been a hotbed every night. Vigils and marches every afternoon and evening. Then the riots started at night. We drove down a couple of streets that looked like we'd left the United States behind and entered a foreign warzone. I'd seen streets in Kabul during my deployment that had looked similar; the only thing missing from the burned-out cars, graffiti and general detritus were bullet scars on the walls. Windows that weren't boarded over were smashed. Storefronts were burnt out, looted, or both. It took us an extra twenty minutes to drive all the way around the 'autonomous zone.' By the time we pulled up into the alley behind Erica's apartment building, I was feeling sick to my stomach. A pandemic. Riots. What was next, a natural disaster? I'd seen some of the world; not a lot, but enough. Some of the best and worst places. We were supposed to be better than this. Taking the back stairwell was part of the plan. We didn't want to draw any attention from people; for all that Portland was that liberal bed of activism I'd just been thinking about, it was also still an urban center plagued by theft, crime and people trying to take advantage of each other. With no one on the streets, I'd suggested that pulling up out front made us more of a target to people looking to cause trouble, or attracting the attention of overzealous police. I pulled my truck in next to Erica's car and hopped out. "Alright, make sure you lock up," I said. "Harri, please," Erica said, sliding down her own ski goggles over her eyes. We were all bundled up now, with multiple face coverings each. "I've lived in the city about eight times longer than you ever did. I know how to handle myself." "Yeah, I know," I said. "I'm just a little anxious." "It's fine, dude," Leo said. "Let's just get this done." Erica let us into the building, keying in through a back door, and up through the stairwell. We didn't see anyone on the way up, and she led us through the halls to her apartment. As she let us in, one of her neighbors opened their door and stuck their head out. "Erica? Dear, is that you?" It was a woman, maybe in her fifties. "Hey, Dianne," Erica said. "It's me. I'm just here to pick up some things, and I brought my brother and his roommate to help out." Dianne stepped fully out of her apartment. She was dressed comfortably and had her silvering blonde hair pulled back into a bun. Most notably, she wasn't wearing a mask or any other sort of personal protection. "It's so nice to see you, Erica!" she said. "It's been quiet up here the last few weeks. I have to say, I never thought I'd actually miss your early morning banging around, but I do." "Ah, Dianne," Erica said, holding up her hands. She was wearing rubber gloves, duct taped at the wrists to her sweater just like my work gloves were. "We really shouldn't get any closer than this." "Oh, dear, it's fine," Dianna said. "I've been cooped up in the apartment for a week now, the only person who comes over is Mr. Jones from 5C for coffee every few days. I'm sure you've been just as safe, living out of the city." "No, really Dianne," Erica said. "I don't mean to be rude, but we're only here to get some of my things and go. And I know Mr. Jones is probably lonely up there, but it's not safe for you two to get together for coffee. You should really just skype each other or something." "Oh, I already have to do that Zoomy thing to see my grandkids," Dianna scoffed. "But fine, fine. It's good to see you, dear. Try not to take things too seriously, it won't be good for your health." From inside Erica's apartment, I couldn't help but shake my head. "Dianne, maybe you need to take things more seriously," Erica said. "I'd hate if anything happened to you, but more importantly I'd hate for your grandkids to never get to see you again if you got sick." "Well, I guess..." Dianne trailed off. "Goodbye, Dianne. It was nice seeing you," Erica said in that tone of voice that was just shy of 'politely fuck off,' then followed Leo and me into her apartment and shut the door. "God, that woman," Erica said. She peeled down the pair of gaiters she was wearing over her face. The top layer was a winter covering Leo and I usually used in the middle of winter when we were snowmobiling, and the second was a much thinner one we used in the summer when A T Veeing. "We should be good in here, no one's come in since I left." I peeled down my bandanas and sighed. "I'm sure she's nice, but that lady needs a reality check." "I just hope she isn't someone else's reality check," Erica said. "Alright. I'm going to start in the bedroom. Leo, can you go through the living room and grab anything you think we might want in terms of DVDs and stuff? And Harrison, do you mind doing a check-over of the kitchen? I'm pretty sure I got rid of all the immediate perishables before I came down, but I might have missed some things that could've gone for a couple weeks." We split up and went to work. I cleaned out a few old condiments that Erica had missed and collected some canned and boxed food that would travel easily, along with some of the more specialty cooking equipment Erica had made of point of mentioning. I wasn't sure what an 'air fryer' did, but she made it sound like it was a gift from God, so I was willing to pack it up. "All done in the kitchen," I said, standing in the doorway to Erica's bedroom. She was rummaging in her closet. Her bed was covered in clothes and a couple of pieces of luggage, and everything looked like a mess. "Okay, hold on," she said, then she reappeared and dumped what looked like an entire department store's worth of bras out onto the bed. "Can you start packing this stuff up? Don't worry about folding or sorting it, I'll fix it all once we're back at your place. Then I can grab everything I need from the washroom and we'll be done." "Sure," I said, and we squeezed past each other so she could duck into the washroom. Once she was gone, I just chuckled and shook my head at the mess she'd already made. "I don't think this is all going to fit in these bags." I got to work, and soon three of the four pieces of luggage were stuffed full. That's when I made it to the pile of bras. I glanced out the door, and quickly picked up a fancy looking one and checked the tag. "Damn, Erica," I chuckled. It was obvious she was a busty girl, but 36E? I wouldn't have guessed. Then again, I wasn't exactly a bra aficionado. I wouldn't even know if I'd seen D's or E's or what, the sizing just sort of confused me enough that I couldn't care to look into it any further. I carefully began packing her daintier things into a bag, and below the bras was a pile of panties; and only a few of them seemed like they were designed for comfort and not show. There were strings, there was lace. I held a particular red number and shook my head again, trying to do my best not to imagine Erica wearing it and failing. I shoved it into the bag with the rest. "Incoming," Erica said, bustling back into the room with her arms full of canisters and bottles and all sorts of things from the bathroom. She dumped it all on top of the panties in the bag. "Usually I'd be a lot more organized with this," she sighed. "But I just feel... being in the city feels kinda gross right now." "Hmm, I feel it too," I said. I picked up the last handful of her underwear and put them on top of the cosmetics stuff. "Oh my God," Erica said, grabbing the bag from me. "I can't believe; God, this is embarrassing." She was grinning and her cheeks had heated up as she quickly zipped up the luggage and turned to me. "I didn't realize you'd work that fast." "Hey, I've seen ladies' underwear before," I laughed. "It's not a big deal." "Yeah, but you haven't seen my underwear," she chuckled along with me. "At least you saw the nice stuff. I left most of it here when I came down; wasn't exactly thinking about showing off the goods, ya know?" "Hey, anytime you want to show off, you just let me know," I laughed. "I tried not to pry, but some of them looked pretty hot." "Oh, my God," she said, face palming her embarrassment. Then her smile turned teasing. "Then again, we could always play you show me yours, I'll show you mine. I'm sure the girls would be happy for some more freedom around the house." She squished her upper arms together to pop out her chest a bit under her sweater. Now it was my turn to smirk and blush a little. I was just starting to try and figure out what to say when Leo came in from the front area of the apartment. "Think I'm about done up here," he said. "Anything else, sis?" Erica snickered and punched me in the arm. "That's probably it. I was just teasing Harrison about feeling' up my panties though." "Dude!" Leo said. "Oh, come on," I said. "You know I wouldn't." "Still..." Leo trailed off. "Whatever. Just leave my sister's granny panties alone." "You think I wear granny panties?" Erica said, then turned back to the bag and started unzipping it. "Well, let me just show you some of these..." "Nope, no, nada, nyet!" Leo said, covering his eyes with both hands and turning out of the room. "I do not need to know. Too much information for me!" Erica snorted and shook her head, re-zipping the bag. She winked at me and gave me another friendly punch on the arm. "Thanks again for helping with all of this, Harrison." "No problem at all, E," I assured her. "No, no," she said. "Seriously. Thank you. You guys didn't need to come out here; it feels sort of silly to say, but you're technically risking your lives for me right now." "Well, chivalry ain't dead yet, I guess," I said. "I guess not," she laughed. She leaned in and kissed my cheek. "It's nice. Just don't go making a habit of it, I don't need some White Knight savior act out of you or my brother." "Deal," I said. We got everything out into the front hallway of the apartment, and it ended up being more than we could hope to carry down in one trip. The end result was that we made the first trip down, started loading everything into the bed of the pickup, and while Leo and Erica went back up for another load I stayed down with the vehicles. The thing about inner cities, we'd all learned quickly when we originally moved in, was that you took a risk when you left things in your car. Well, if you had a car to begin with, but if you did and people could see in then it was likely your shit was going to get stolen. So there I was, sitting on the open back gate of my pickup with double bandanas over the bottom half of my face and ski goggles over the top, when two men rounded a corner further down the wide back alley and stopped. They looked at me and the cars. I looked at them. One of them was wearing a medical mask, while the other had a knit wool balaclava on with nothing but his eyes showing. I'd never really considered it before, what with us living out in the woods away from most people, but at that moment I realized how simple it must be to do crime when everyone was expected to wear masks. I watched them. They eyed up the vehicles. I stood up. They watched me do it. I slammed the gate of my truck shut. They watched me do it. I walked around to the passenger door of the truck cab, pulled out the hard case I had stowed under the seat, grabbed my Dad's old Colt 1911 and slid a magazine home. The men kept their eyes on me, not batting an eye even though I was now holding a loaded firearm. I leaned against the back of my truck and watched them right back. Eventually, Leo and Erica came back down and I didn't mention the men or the pistol, which I tucked onto the passenger seat of my truck while we were moving things around. I left the door open so that I could keep easy access. Erica and Leo went up for one last load, and I entered another long staring match with the two men. They hadn't moved and were about fifty yards away so I couldn't tell if they were talking to each other. I swear I must have been sweating bullets under my sweater and gloves and various masks. I don't know if my adrenaline had spiked like this since seeing combat while deployed. Not even the grocery store parking lot showdown a few weeks ago had been like this. Finally, Erica and Leo came down with the last load, we got everything stowed away, and got back into our vehicles. I took a moment to unload and re-stow my firearm, and as Erica and Leo pulled away in her car I watched as the two men came up the alley and entered Erica's apartment building through the door we had been using. Maybe they had just been waiting to use the door, playing it safe with us. Or maybe it was something else. I wouldn't ever know. It took three days for us to start feeling... safe wasn't the right word. 'Less apprehensive' is where I ended up landing. Coming back from the city had been as smooth as driving out, but once we were home we all had this feeling of being dirty. It felt silly even at the time, but we ended up hosing each other off outside with the garden hose before heading in to take some long, hot showers. Was that ineffective? Probably. Did it make us feel better? Maybe, a little. When none of us were showing any symptoms of getting sick by the third night back, we all decided to crash and start a new show together on Netflix that night after dinner. I ended up in the living room first and was starting to scroll through the menus to find something we might like when Erica came down the stairs in her own comfy clothes. She was wearing baggy, low-riding sweatpants and a black tank top that I very quickly realized was bouncing way more than usual with each of her steps down the stairs. Erica walked over to the TV sitting area and flopped down onto the couch across from me, absentmindedly reaching up and tying her hair back into a loose and messy bun. "What?" she asked me when she realized I was staring at her. "Nothing," I said. "You just... you look good. Like that." She rolled her eyes. "It's just makeup, Harrison." What she meant was she wasn't wearing any. For the first time ever, even including the month that she'd already been staying with us, I was seeing Erica without makeup on. It was sort of shocking, honestly; whatever magic she did in the mirror, with her kit, it was like she could change the very structure of her face. Usually, she had an almost angular predatory look, with sultry and smoky eyes and sharp cheekbones leading down to a perfect set of clean and bright red lips. Now she looked brighter, more girl-next-door. Sure there were imperfections; soft lines under her eyes, little freckles and blemishes that got hidden by foundation, but her eyes were brighter, and her smile was wholesome. "Just don't feel like you need to be anything but comfortable, E," I assured her. "I like this look on you." She sighed and gave me a smirk. "Alright, charmer. What are we watching?" I tossed her the remote and let her start scanning through the list of new shows. Besides her lack of makeup and apparent lack of a bra, she was still her usual self. Both of her arm sleeves were bared by the tank top; her left arm was a colorful splash of a dozen of her favorite Pokémon from the original 150, all water-themed. Her right was Star Wars themed and focused on a pinup Femme Boba Fett on her outer upper arm, along with a couple sexy lady Stormtroopers, a Princess Leia in the requisite golden slave bikini, and Padme in the ripped-up white arena fight outfit. Not to mention the Yoda on her inner forearm and chili Chewbacca just below her armpit on her bicep. Her tank top also showed off the two heart tattoos on either side of her clavicle, and the half-mandala tattoo that sat on the back of her neck at the hairline. Erica's legs, while currently covered by her sweats, were a more eclectic collection of random and unplanned tattoos dating back from her start in the industry; some were done by her own hand, others by fellow apprentices, and a few even by the apprentices she'd eventually trained over the years. "Heads up!" Leo said, bounding down the stairs in his own sweats and a hoodie, vaulting over the back of the sofa and landing heavily next to his twin sister. "Jesus Christ," Erica said, ducking away to narrowly avoid getting kicked in the back of the head. She turned and hit Leo in the shoulder. "Watch it, you monkey!" "Takes one to know one," Leo laughed, swiping away her hands as she tried to hit him again. Soon the two were involved in a swearing match as Erica was leaning over Leo, trying to tweak his ears and drop a wad of spit down on his face, while he tried to both ward off her hands and push her away at the same time. Their easy sibling rivalry and goofing off usually wasn't this physical, but it still had me laughing and wondering all the same. I'd never had that with my sister; she was about seven years older than me, so we hadn't ever had that sort of a relationship. To be honest, I was also a little interested in the sibling scrap because Erica's tits looked fucking great jostling and bouncing around in her tank top, and a part of me hoped a boob would pop out in the chaos. Unfortunately, I couldn't be so lucky and the duel ended with both of them panting, sitting next to each other, with no boob appearance. "What are we watching?" Leo asked. "I dunno, we hadn't picked yet," I said. "Let's watch this," Erica said, seemingly at random, and selected some sort of a baking show. "Aw man," Leo said. "These competition shows are always so scripted." "They make me hungry," I said. "Maybe I should start baking more." "Yes," Erica said. "Now we're watching every season just so you can get more good ideas like that, Harri." The show was easy to follow and clearly designed like every other Food Porn-style "reality" competition. Other than the deliciously described food, the only thing actually keeping my attention was the host. "She's hot," Erica said during one of the transition scenes, right after the host had finished showing the TV audience the differences between a mousse and whipped cream. It had involved a lot of whisking very fast. "Not my type, but I can see it," Leo said. "She's got too much of a Fifties Housewife vibe going on." "That's just because she's so proper British," Erica said. "Look at her, she's gorgeous. And fucking stacked under those pretty dresses. What do you think, Harri?" "I'm with you, I think she's definitely hot," I agreed. "And I really dig the accent." "I bet she's a fucking freak in bed, too," Erica said. "No way!" Leo argued with his sister. "Look at her. She's all syrup and sweetness. I bet she's dry as a desert down there, and you couldn't fit anything in due to the stick up her ass." "Nuh-uh," Erica shook her head. "I'd put money on her having a filthy mouth off-screen. Just swears like a fucking sailor. And,  Hmm, I bet she probably says she's straight, but has plenty of experience with girls from her Prep School days." "Sure," I laughed along. "Makes perfect sense. Anything else?" "I bet she's got a cum fetish," Erica said. "Look at her eyes when she's talking about glazing. She's practically creaming her conservative little dress. And she definitely likes a cheeky finger up the bum to really set her off." All of us were laughing now, and the conversation faded as we struggled to get control of our giggles. By the time the first episode was over, we were hooked despite the silly concept, and let it play. We got four episodes in before Erica called it quits. "That's enough for me tonight, boys," she said, yawning and stretching her arms wide. Her right arm rubbed roughly against Leo's face on purpose, just to bug him as he pulled away. "I'm off to bed. Good night!" She bounced up off the couch and made for the stairs, her hips swiveling in her low-waisted sweats. They'd ridden lower, and she was showing a bit of a whale tail with her lace thong panties peeking over the waistline. "Dude," Leo said, snapping my vision from his sister as she walked up the stairs. "Uh," I hummed, and slowly raised both arms in an awkward shrug. "What do you want me to do?" "Just... don't make it a thing," he sighed, then flopped over onto his side. "She's my sister. You wanna watch Deadpool?" Visitors The rumble, sputter and hum of the approaching ATV broke my concentration as it cut through the quiet warbling of my shitty Bluetooth speaker long before Leo pulled around the trail bend. The thick foliage up here in the foothills, far at the back end of my family property, created a weird dampening effect so I hadn't heard him until he was almost on top of me. The rumble cut through the thick greenery now and was followed by the crunching of the tires biting into th

 A pair of letters from life down under. Listen to the Podcast at Steamy Stories. Story 1:  Can I Hold Your Hand The guy who had something extra, gives it to her. By Baztrachian My name is Dennis. Growing up on our ranch in Western Australia, I lived a pretty isolated life. Starting at around age twelve, I was bussed into town, and had to adjust to big classrooms, and girls. Some of them were already well developed by the time I hit my, shall we call it, ‘growth spurt'?  I noticed I had a weird effect on girls but more so on women. If they touched my hands they'd act weird and sometimes just get quiet and stare at me. It was weird so I didn't tell my parents but by the time I was thirteen I wore gloves all the time. That way I could do all the normal things everyone else did like shake hands and stuff like that without causing a problem. At first, Folks assumed I had an injury or skin rash.Soon folks thought I had some OCD about germs. Yes, as hard as it was to wear gloves all the time it was even harder not to wear them. You never know how much people touch each other with their hands until you can't do it. Try refusing to shake someone's hands sometime. You'll see. Fortunately for me the hand thing had no effect on my own household members, including my mother & sister. Perhaps it's a pheromone thing, I don't know? At a family reunion when I was 14, my female cousins went numb like the girls at school, so after that, I always wore gloves around them. Unless I wanted them to shut up, then it was kind of handy! As I transitioned from middle school to high school, the female reactions to my touch brought on more immediate & expressive sexual attraction. The younger girls were confused by their feelings, the older and sexually active girls weren't confused at all. They knew they were horny. Granted, I took off the gloves like when I was out with my Boy Scout troop, playing sports at school, and some other social events where there were no women around. Avoiding girls as a practice, made some people think I was gay; so it was a relief when I went off to Perth for Curtin University, where being weird was much more acceptable. But more to the point here, is I wasn't gay. I really did want a girlfriend. In my speech class I met a cute girl named Melody. She was perky, a little offbeat, average in size, and she wore her dark hair in very feminine pixie cut that showed off her sexy neck. Taking a chance, I started to hang out more with Melody and her group of friends from Bunbury, a city further south on Australia's west coast. One night she came to a rugby game I was in. Afterward, she came down on the field & impulsively leaned in and kissed me on the lips, before going home with her gals. I discovered that I could kiss her and she was just fine, with no odd side effects. A month later, a few of us were in her off-campus apartment after class, for lunch. After eating, the others suddenly left for class, leaving just the two of us. Mel was looking at my gloved hands. She asked why I wore gloves around campus, but not in always? She even saw me at Rugby practice last week without gloves on. I tried brushing it off with a witty joke. I had several rehearsed one-liners ready, for such inquiries. She laughed, then added; “But seriously; why? I tried a tall-tale far-fetched narrative for my next come back. That didn't deter her persistency either. I paused, then decided to risk it and just explain to her about the gloves and the true impact of my hands, but I think she thought the truth was just an even crazier tale to cover for some Obsessive Cumpulsive thing on my part. "Dennis, do you think it would be okay for me to touch your hands without the gloves? Do you trust me?" It had been a few years since the last time I'd deliberately touched a woman, and that was in another place, hours away from college. Maybe here & now it would be okay? Besides, I was longing to touch her and feel her lovely skin. "Alright, but don't say I didn't tell you what might happen." With that I removed my gloves. "Your hands look so soft! I've never seen a guy with hands as soft as yours..." and that's where her sentence ended. Mel had her hand on mine and now she had that glazed-over look, which I remembered so well. As she sat there staring at me, I took the chance to gently touch her face and then steal a caress of her gorgeous neck. That stirred her up a bit. "Oh, my God; that's amazing!" she finally said. Then her face turned a little red. "What's it like?" I asked her. Hate to admit but I was really curious about it. "It's like riding a roller coaster and getting that feeling you get when it goes over a hill!" She squirmed in her seat. "Oh, that's doing things for me!" Then she got up and strided over to her bathroom. I got up and cleared the table, grabbed my gloves, then sat on the couch. A couple minutes later she came back out, looking calmer. She sat down by me and said; “I thought I might have peed my panties. False alarm; sort of.” She sat back down at the table & looked at me in wonder as the effect started to wear off. "Fuck, Dennis! You weren't lying were you? Oh my God, that must have been a bitch to grow up with that. You poor thing." Her hands impulsively went to mine again, and she touched me before I had a chance to react. Her head dropped back against the backrest, & her jaw went slack. She just seemed to melt into the couch. I let go of her hands and her recovery was a little faster this time. She was definitely experiencing it pretty intensely. She was looking at me like she was starving and I was a bacon cheeseburger. (Yeah, virgin Dennis was stupid enough not to realize that she was sexually aroused.) "Oh, my. I think we need to explore this a little more..." she said as she reached for me again. This time I pulled my hands back and slipped on my gloves. "Mel, I think I'm gonna to the library, and maybe let you get yourself together, okay?" I stood up and left her on her couch. She looked a little confused so I left, to let her recover in private. It was maybe twenty minutes later when she texted me, asking me to come back to her place. I sighed and texted back that I was on my way. I figured if she was okay enough to text me then she was okay, right?  I guess I had some responsibility to make sure she was okay. It was twenty minutes for me to walk back to her place. When she opened the door for me, I caught my breath. The object of my desire was standing before me in a long t-shirt. I immediately noticed her stiff nipples, and concluded that the t-shirt was perhaps the only thing she was wearing. She still had that craving hungry look. She managed to compose herself & politely invite me in, and had me sit on her couch. "I think we need to talk." she said, as she sat down next to me and let her soft boob lean against my horny arm. "Okay,” I said. “About what?" Then she looked me in the eyes and boldly said; "I think you need to fuck me so we can find out what this does." She said this with an impish smile while reaching for down my cock, which was hard. To be honest, I'd been very smitten by Mel since we first met on campus. Hence, it was usually hard when I was around Mel, so this wasn't all that remarkable. What was remarkable was my virgin cock getting its first female attention. I immediately decided that I liked this. Loved this. Quite a lot. "Mel, this is probably going to be a very bad idea. Are you sure you want to do this, because I know I do." She bit her lip and in a very exaggerated nod, said; “God, yes.” Leading me to her bedroom, she unbuttoned my shirt and pushed it off my shoulders. My shorts came next and I let them drop as I stepped out of my sandals. I was almost naked except for my gloves. Mel pulled her t-shirt over her head, and there she was. In all her feminine glory! She smiled at me and then kissed me lightly on the lips. Her hands went to my gloves. "Mel, I have to tell you something..." She looked a little surprised and she smiled. "Okay, the hand thing wasn't enough? What else? And please don't tell me you have herpes." "I'm a virgin." She giggled and smiled as she held her hands against her chest, "So am I! Isn't this crazy? I was planning to wait, but now all I can think about is you!" She yanked my arm and tugged me to the bedroom. Then she pulled back the blankets and climbed onto the middle of the waterbed. Patting on the bed she meant for me to join her. My cock jutted out from my body like a diving board. I briefly had an ethical discussion with myself about what I was doing and if it was fair to Mel. I quickly realized that I loved her, I wanted to be with her, and sooner or later we were going to have sex so why not now? Besides, she liked me, right? I went to get on the bed and had one knee on the blankets when she held up her hand. "Gloves. Off. Now." I drew in a breath for the moment of truth and took off my gloves. Being careful not to touch her too soon I got onto the bed next to her and laid on my side. She rolled over to face me, we rocked a bit from the waves. "Touch me." she said. "Where?" She smiled. "Any damn where you want. But do it now." I slowly moved my hand to her breast and then gently palmed it. Her reaction was instant. She sighed as a feeling of arousal and euphoria swept over her. I may have been a virgin but I knew what serious arousal looked like and this was it! Her face was flush, again. The glassy look in her eyes returned, but she held it together better. We kissed and started making out. Her hands were all over me and my hands were all over her. I noticed that her pelvis was rhythmically rocking. I don't think she knew. It wasn't maybe even two or three minutes when she rolled onto her back and pulled me on top of her. I had no idea what I was doing but my cock certainly knew where it wanted to be and I started pushing and prodding. "Here." she said, as she reached between us and firmly grabbed my rod and guided me until my sensitive tip felt her warm cunt. She moved my cock across her furrow a few times and then suddenly I felt the silky smooth wetness of her treasures. I hesitated and looked into her eyes. "Please." she lusted. I slipped into her glorious heaven. It was snug and tight and shallow, but with a twerk of her hips, she burst open her depths. “Ah, ahah!” she groaned for a moment, her eyes expressing some pain. And then she rocked her hips up and swallowed my full length. It was wet, warm, & snug. And it blew my mind to finally have my cock inside the girl of my dreams. "Oh, Jesus...fuck..." she uttered as I started to fuck her. Her eyes rolled back and then she closed them, panting heavily. She fell limp as my hips rose and fell on hers. I'd love to tell you it went on and on but, you know...virgin. I was new to this, and too soon I felt my cum rising. I think my last wet dream last longer than this. The college health class came back to me at that moment. I briefly thought about stopping. Then looking at Mel, my desire took over and I pressed deep into her and let loose! It felt so great to cum in her. We laid there embracing for a few more minutes as her breathing relaxed. “Look at me, Dennis,” she said. As I looked at her, she started twitching and moaning. Her hips moved to meet mine and I shot out another few squirts of cum. We did this routine again, until my cock and balls were starting to feel a little sore from the effort. When I was done, Mel lay there senseless. She was still twitching and moaning, and now her hands felt her own body. It was amazingly erotic. This thing she was doing went on and on, but then tapered off for several minutes at which point she fell soundly asleep. I got up and turned around to look at the lovely woman who gave herself to me. I looked down at my spent dick. It had a bit of a blood stain at the base. I guess this is what's referred to as ‘popping her cherry?' I grabbed my clothes and took a quick rinse in her shower, then got dressed enough to be presentable. Sitting down in her living room I fiddled with my hands and eventually turned on the TV. The sun set in the west. Right around eight o'clock  I heard her stirring. When she came out of the bedroom she had this silly smile on her face. And the t-shirt. Just the t-shirt. I could tell she was still aroused. Anyone would have seen that. "Lover, that was absolutely fucking ah, mazing!" "You're okay?" Really I was concerned for her. I loved her after all. She sat down on the couch next to me and kissed me. "I'm fine. I had no idea that was what sex was supposed to be like. Fuck." Her hand went to my chest. "Dennis, you're like the best psych drug ever invented!" "You've done drugs?" I asked. "Only when I had my wisdom teeth pulled. And this was way the fuck better than that! When your dick touched me it was like the whole world felt at peace and everything was going to be wonderful and then you started fucking me. Damn, that was intense! When you came in me it was like getting injected with a rainbow!" She went on and on about the experience, and as she did it was pretty clear she wanted more. I touched her face and she flushed with arousal; and this time we didn't even make it back to the bed. I fucked her right there on the couch. I lasted a little longer before I felt the unstoppable urge to cum in her. This time she gave a little cry and then fell limp. It took me a little time to calm down and when I did, I picked up Mel and carried her to the bedroom. She was totally passed out and I figured to let her sleep it off so after covering her up I got dressed and headed to my dorm. She called me late the next morning, explaining how she'd slept in and missed her morning classes. She didn't seem to care about it too much, and told me she would make her afternoon classes. But she also insisted I had to come over for dinner. Naturally I spent my time in class thinking about Mel. By the time I made it to her place I was getting hard before I got to her door; with the near certainty that I was going to get laid. When she opened her door for me she radiated sexiness. Her movements were different and she simply appeared more beautiful than before. It harkened to me some classic literature references to ‘the power of a woman's glamour', her charms, as another author phrased it. She was a new woman. A viral woman, a woman awakened to seduction and seducing. There was also a resoluteness to her now, and she made clear that she desired me. I knew that most of this was from my condition, the potent effect of my bare hands upon a female prospect. Still, it was getting me laid, right? We made it through dinner and then we managed to talk for a short time. Mel was amazed at herself for what she was doing with me. She said it was totally against her nature and upbringing to have given up her virginity, and to keep risking pregnancy with me; but she couldn't help herself. Twenty minutes later she passed out after I'd filled her cunt again. As she lay there sleeping it off I realized that when she got a dose of my cum it was sedating her, so the little swimmers in my semen would have time to travel upstream into her womb. I looked at the sleeping girl and realized that my cum was doing double duty trying to get her pregnant. When she woke up, she wanted to go again and so did my cock. In due time, she quit school because she didn't care about it anymore. And then the day she told me she was pregnant, the tears were flowing and she was crying...right until I took off my gloves and touched her face. I took her to visit my parents that next weekend; apprehensive of my parents' reaction. My father spoke first; “Son, this is a huge relief. My health issues require that I stop ranching, or get a lot of help. I was hoping to delay the matter until you finish college, but I was going to ask you to come home and take over the business. If the two of you could settle down here with us, I'll get the home builders out here, next week. We'd just gotten our first royalty check from the new natural gas wells that were drilled last year. Dad needed a way to reinvest it in the ranch, or he'd have to pay some very high taxes on the windfall. We got married the following month in Mel's home town. Then my parents threw a big reception at the family ranch a few weeks later. As the baby grew Mel became very calm and tranquil. She definitely had a ‘baby glow'. We'd still fuck and it still had the same effect on her; but even when we weren't fucking she'd still be very Zen-like. I understood it, when the baby was born; and Mel would get a sedated, glazed-over expression whenever little Gary (named after my father), put his hands on her tits and latched on to suckle them. It didn't sexually arouse her, but it still sent her into a trance-like condition. My boy was going to be a chip off the old block! I nicknamed him ‘Chip'. By Baztrachian for Literotica Story 2: New Step Siblings In Aussie Lockdown Teens meet in Melbourne for their parents' wedding, then get left together in locked-down Australia. By Baztrachian When my father told me that he was getting married again I accepted it as good news. He'd been alone and depressed since the divorce and when he met Debbie she clearly brought back his smile and his joy. So of course I was happy for him. It was just after Thanksgiving in 2019 when they decided on getting married the following June. The plan was for four of us to take a family trip together instead of doing the traditional honeymoon vacation. The four of us included my father, Debbie, myself, and my new step-sister, Taylor. The June date was set to coincide with Taylor graduating high school. Taylor was pretty happy about the plan to take a trip to Australia because their drinking laws would allow even a freshly minted eighteen year old to enjoy a visit to a bar. Over the ensuing months I got to know Taylor fairly well and we ended up getting along despite some serious differences. Where I was a devoted outdoorsman who loved hiking, off-road sports, climbing, and working out Taylor was your typical ginger. She was alabaster white and would get sunburned if she was in the sun for much more than a few minutes. She was also nearsighted and she had to wear glasses to see past her arm. She was cute in a dorky sort of way and I had no problem enjoying her company. The news of COVID started up in January but most everyone I knew dismissed it as being an overhyped flu. Granted, we took it more seriously as time went on but we still had plans to visit Australia and we kept to them. The wedding took place the weekend after Taylor's graduation. The next morning was a flurry of activity as we headed off to the airport. There had been a lockdown in Melbourne that May but it ended soon enough that our plans were not affected. It wasn't easy to get into Australia but we did and when we arrived we headed off to the house we'd rented for the vacation. We'd be there three weeks and we'd head home on July 9th just as planned. One thing we quickly discovered is that July is in the depths of winter, for the Aussies. The rental house was pretty amazing. It was in the town of Port Campbell situated on the ocean and that meant I had quite a lot to do every day. I quickly found myself a kayak and spent several of my days exploring the coast and getting in some decent fishing. My father and Debbie had a good time, of course, and Taylor made the best of it staying in the shade and catching up on her books. You know how when you go on vacation you allow yourself to detach from the world and not have much care for the news? Yep, that was our mistake. Living in our little vacation bubble we had no idea that not only had COVID not blown over but it was getting worse. We only got an idea that things were getting serious when my father got a toothache and decided to cut the honeymoon short by a couple days and go home. Turned out that a lot of Americans were trying to get out of Australia at that point, so airline seats were at a premium. The best my father could pull off were two seats for himself and Debbie. Taylor and I would have to wait for our flight on July 9th before we'd get home. Where we'd only be waiting a couple days for the flight my father paid for me and Taylor to stay in a decent enough Melbourne apartment with a view of the beach and the cruise pier. It was a great location and even though we'd just be there a couple days I was looking forward to making the most of the winter-time beach. The airport situation was a little crazy so we ended up saying our goodbyes at the apartment and then Taylor and I watched as the taxi took our parents away. That afternoon we went to a local store to get a few things and noticed that the other shoppers were all stocking up. Something about their faces alarmed me. "What're you doing?" asked Taylor as I put down our handbasket and instead took a 'trolley' as they call grocery carts down under. "I'm just being cautious is all. Look at these people, they're all freaked out and getting ready to hunker down. I don't know what's really happening but I want to make sure we've got everything we might need just in case." Taylor was a little irritated as I started picking up sundries, snacks, toiletries, and enough food for a couple weeks. I told her that if nothing happened then I'd just leave the stuff out for someone else. She made a remark about how I was wasting my money and I ignored her. On the way back to our apartment I slipped into a liquor store and picked up two cases of beer, six liters of vodka, six liters of whisky, and assorted mixers. Just in case, of course. The news that evening confirmed my fears. Melbourne was going into six weeks of lockdown. We were going to be shut into our apartment and only allowed outside for two hours of exercise and one hour to go visit a store. I made a few frantic calls to the airline and it was the seventh time I tried that I got through to find out our flight was cancelled. A few more calls followed and I confirmed we weren't going to be allowed to leave for at least the entirety of the six weeks. That led to calling my father back at home in the US. He handled the news with aplomb as if this was no big deal. I appreciated his confidence and doubly appreciated his promise to drop enough money in my account to see me and Taylor through the six weeks of lockdown. I felt better when I got off the phone and shared this news with Taylor. The next day was the start of the lockdown and it was immediately apparent that the police were in no mood to play with anyone. We looked over the balcony of the apartment and saw people on the beach getting chased away or even arrested by the aggressive police. At one point one of the cops even yelled at us to go inside or get arrested! It was really shocking to see the city become a big prison. You just don't expect that kind of thing to happen in a Western country and in this case it had happened so fast that there wasn't even time for anyone to protest. Although we were supposedly allowed to go out to exercise I convinced Taylor to stay in due to wanting to avoid a problem with the police. Where we were set on food for a while I also decided against going shopping until we absolutely had to. When we'd arranged for the apartment I was sleeping on the couch and Taylor had the bed. But a couple days into the lockdown Taylor had me switch because the bed was going to be more comfortable for me. Hate to say, but I didn't argue with her about that. We passed our time talking a lot. I got to hear about her high school experience, her debate club victories, her attempts at art, and her plans to study higher mathematics in college. Taylor got to hear about my hiking trip to Nepal, my fishing adventure in the Red Sea, my close encounter with a bear in Alaska, and etc. We even made it six days before I opened a case of beer. Despite the cold weather we made a point of sitting out on the balcony at night. We would sit and chat and sip a drink and enjoy breaking one of the oppressive rules. Naturally we stayed out of sight because even though we were rebels we didn't want to push our luck. An odd thing took place during our confinement as we tacitly agreed on some domestic practices. We never had to discuss it as we started doing laundry, cleaning dishes, and doing all of the normal things you do when you live together. For whatever reason we got along well as roommates and one day we both acknowledged this fact and each considered ourselves fortunate to have family we could like. I don't recall precisely which day it was but a day came along where we didn't need to leave the apartment and neither of us bothered to get dressed. I spent the day in a t-shirt and boxers, and Taylor spent the day in her night-time chemise and panties. That started a habit with us of being rather casual around the apartment. I'd be lying if I didn't admit to giving her body serious consideration. I did my best to play it off but when I was in the shower by myself I found her to be the object of my fantasies as I'd relieve my pent-up needs. July 31st was a Friday, and that particular day stood out to me. Taylor and I had been into drinking a bit more than usual and when it came time for bed she followed me into the bedroom. It was cold and cloudy outside and the apartment had a bit of a chill to it so Taylor's explanation made sense. "It's too fucking cold to sleep on the couch," she slurred, "hope you don't mind but I'm in here tonight." It was the first time I'd heard her swear. Myself, I didn't mind the prospect of her company so I held up the blanket and let her slide in. Then I cuddled up behind her and my prescription from Doctor Johnny Walker put me to sleep. In the morning I woke to feeling Taylor's warm ass pressing against my body. It was a couple moments before I realized that my cock was out of my boxers and snugly gripped by Taylor's panty-protected thigh gap. I really had to fight back the urge to try to fuck her but at the same time it just wasn't right. She gently moved against me as I withdrew my cock. I swore she was wanting me, but I had to tell my ego to calm down. I got up from the warm bed and headed out to the kitchen to make some much needed coffee. As the coffee was brewing I went out on the balcony to get some cold air. That helped me wake up and it also settled down the spike jutting out from between my legs. The day that followed was more or less normal. I was quietly relieved when Taylor didn't speak of what my cock had been up to during the night and I was quite set on making sure there were no repeat performances. At the same time the thought that my cock had been separated from Taylor's cunt by just a flimsy bit of fabric had me somewhat aroused all day. Around noon there was a knock on the door from one of our neighbors. I opened the door after putting on the requisite mask and the cheerful fellow mentioned how he'd overheard us on the balcony talking about vodka. He needed some and we had it. A trade was completed and now we had a bottle of gin and a couple bottles of tonic water. That night Taylor and myself sat down watching Sky News mostly because they were the only channel with news from the USA. At a certain point Taylor got up and made two pint glasses full of gin and tonic. Needless to say by bedtime we were both toasted and the two drinks were just a bit more than half gone. I made my move getting up to go to bed while Taylor put the two leftover drinks in the fridge. When she joined me in bed she had me spoon up behind her and then she snuggled into me. I have to admit that it was really nice. When I put my arm around her she didn't mind that my hand ended up holding her tit. Sleep overtook me before anything else happened and at the moment I was grateful. Sometime during the night I woke to feeling Taylor's ass pushing back at me. It was a very gentle motion but it was enough that my cock was responding. I couldn't help myself but to pull her tight against myself and strain to push my crotch at hers. She pulled away just enough to get her hand between us. She went right to my cock and rubbed it under my shorts. Again, she was very gentle but she was also making clear what she wanted. Fishing around my shorts she found the opening and I sighed as her soft hand wrapped around my pole and pulled it out of my shorts. Her hand exited the space between us and I felt her ass push up against me again. My cock rubbed between her ass cheeks. They felt silky and smooth. She moved again and this time lifted a leg to allow my cock to fit between us. The tip of my cock rubbed against something warm and moist. I woke up a bit more and did an exploratory thrust and realized that she wasn't wearing panties. "Taylor?" I asked. "Yeah?" she huskily replied. "Do you want me to stop?" She didn't hesitate. "No." She pressed her ass at me and I couldn't help myself but to thrust. We bumped a few times and then we both caught our breath as my cock found the right place. My cock was just pressed into the mouth of her cunt. I took a moment to savor the feeling and then felt her press back. I didn't move and instead felt her body open up for me as the first inch or so of my cock entered her. My instincts took over at this point. "Uh, ah!" she exclaimed as I started to drive myself into her. I felt her body twitch as I tried to get deeper. "Oh, God." she uttered as she moved her hips allowing me to plunge all the way inside of her. Between the effects of the alcohol and my need I wasn't the least bit interested in being gentle. All I knew was my cock was in her cunt and it was absolute Heaven! I started fucking her hard and my hands wrapped around her. I mashed one of her tits while she grunted from getting her cunt slammed. She put a hand on my hip to try to push me back a little and all I did was fuck harder. Taylor cried out as I drove deep and started spewing my load into her. She tried to move away from me and I held her tight until I was done shooting my cum into her. She was silent in the aftermath of our coupling. When my cock finally relaxed and slipped from her body she moved away from me just enough to get some space. As I started to feel the embrace of sleep I swore I could hear her quietly sobbing. It was a bit before sunrise when I awoke. The memory of the evening flooded in on me and I had that brief moment of disbelief where I thought it could have been a dream. During the night Taylor had moved to where she was sleeping a little away from me. I explored her body with a hand and felt her bare thigh. Moving up I found her bare hip and the fact that she was naked below the waist made me hard again. I brushed her hair with my hand and then caressed her cheek. "Taylor? You awake?" I asked. Her snoozing continued informing me she was deep in sleep. My hand moved down her body. I undid the ties on her chemise and treated myself to feeling the soft skin of her breasts. She gave a pleasant little purr as my fingers played over her nipples. I removed my hand and let her go back to snoozing. Taking her hip with my hand I gently pulled her against me. As her body moved against me my cock neatly fit into her thigh gap again. She lay quietly as I gently rutted against her. When I poked her in the right place she moaned and moved her leg. I stopped for a moment and then started gently moving again as I heard her moan in approval. When she'd moved her leg she exposed her cunt to me and it wasn't long before I felt her moisture on my cock. As gently as I could I changed my angle and pushed. Her cunt opened for me and I stifled a moan as I slipped into her again. I was determined to be gentle and took my time getting myself fully embedded in her. Taking a little time just to savor the moment I started a very slow and deliberate rhythm. Somewhere along the line Taylor stirred. She reached between us to where our bodies met and explored. Then she just relaxed and let me keep going. Soon enough I felt her hips moving in response to mine and then I felt her tense. "Fuck..." she whispered as she came. I felt her cunt clench around my cock and that did it for me as I unloaded my cum into her again. We had a moment where I just held her but then she was up and off to the shower. When she was done she excused herself to the kitchen and it was my turn to clean up. I needed it. And after I was dressed decently I went out to talk to her. "Good morning." I said, wondering what her response would be. She smiled at me. "It is." Naturally we had to talk about our new relationship. And that's what we did for a while before deciding to take a walk together. It was eerie to be in a big city and have it so quiet. We got over to the beach but between signs saying the beach was closed and glares from the police we decided to stay close to the apartment. Lunch was a simple affair of bread and cheese. While we ate I asked Taylor why she'd wanted to be more to me than just a step-sister. "I guess I never would have known you if our parents didn't get married. You're like the total opposite of me. But being around you I got to know you and then there's the thing where you're not so hard to look at, Mister." I smiled at her. "You're not so hard to look at yourself." When I asked her about the possibility of pregnancy she just shrugged. "I can go to the store if you want me to." I offered. "What if I didn't want you to?" she asked. "You mean you don't want to have sex anymore? I can understand that." She shook her head, "No, what if I just want us to keep doing this; whatever it is. Would you be okay with that?" I looked in her pale green eyes and realized that I was looking at the woman I'd marry. "Of course I would." And that, my friends, was the closest we ever came to a marriage proposal. After that it was just a given that we would marry and have a family. Naturally, it was no surprise that when we were finally allowed to return to the USA, Taylor was sporting a very modest bulge. I guess my biggest surprise in all of this was when we got home and broke the news to our parents. They looked at each other, smiled, and then my new step-mom says, "Yeah, we kind of figured you two would find a way to pass the time." By Baztrachian for Literotica

350 episodes. Fuck me. Enjoy! This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Give therapy a try at betterhelp.com/jree and get on your way to being your best self! For advertising inquiries, please visit: https://www.advertisecast.com/TheJoeRoganExperienceExperience As always, you can listen to every episode of The Joe Rogan Experience here https://open.spotify.com/show/4rOoJ6Egrf8K2IrywzwOMk Support us here: https://www.patreon.com/jreepodcast Follow Joe on Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/joerogan Follow Jamie on Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/jamievernon Follow us on Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/jreepodcast/ Follow Kamar on Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/kamar_babar/ Follow Floyd on Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/floydeeeee Follow the Subreddit here: https://www.reddit.com/r/jreepodcast/ Subscribe to our YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/jreepodcast Beats by: Ghettosocks here:  https://open.spotify.com/artist/1AeYteGuRWeFyptpSz0y5b Movie Game Jingle by: https://www.instagram.com/tylerdevall/

This week the gang talked about the Richmond vegan restaurants, GCG, The Wedding Singer, Donkey Kong Bonanza, Gundam 1978, Dementia (1955), From Hell, and more!Follow us on Instagram Leave us a voicemail at (804) 286-0626 and consider supporting us through our Patreon Check out the Discord! News Links:Battlefield 6 event Pokemon Presents Mystery Nintendo play test Link and Zelda get cast Fallout Bakersfield 

My set recording from The Trance Empire Live event in Brighton at the WaterBear Venue 25.04.25.   Our first time taking The Trance Empire to Brighton on the south coast of England. Joining me on the lineup were the Progressive Trance producers numind, along with Factoria providing a Borderline-style set, and Carlos de Matos to close with some harder edged Tech-Trance. Excellent music from start to finish with a great crowd who were there purely for the love of Trance music.   Choose your player

Ugh, it's a fuckin riddle. *sad eyes* No fair. *super sad eyes* Super no fair *Super duper sad eyes* {Enter The Multiverse} YO! LETS GO TO TUBBY'S! YEEEAAAAAHHHHH! ITS TUBBY TUESDAYS!!! “TUBBY TUESDAYS?!” “Tubby Tuesdays” WELCOME TO TUBBY'S–I hope you're having a very Tubby day! We are now! Well, that's what I like to hear! Happy Tubby Tuesday everybody, right this way! All the tables are booths! …uh…okay. Before: What the fuck is Tubby Tuesdays? Oh, Tubby's? It's a desert buffet and adult video game arcade with an all-you-can-drink bar on tuesdays. Oh, well, that's… –and the world's first BBW-Only Afterhours Strip Club. Oh! –after sundown. Sundown?! Fraid so. TARTAR SAUCE! MORE TARTAR SAUCE! Why on EARTH would you eat tartar sauce on a waffle!? IT's a brioche waffle, okay–and the tartar sauce is candied bread pudding custard glaze-based. Oh! Gross! Its not gross! It goes dope on brioche waffles! I've got to get out of here. What!? It's not even sundown! Oh my actual gosh. I have to find that envelope before things get even– WHO'S READY FOR BRALESS HOT CHOCOLATE! *gasps* BUT IT'S NOT EVEN SUNDOWN! Check yo watch honey, because i do believe it's daylight savings time! Oh why yes, I do have the sudden urge to “spring” forward! I'm leaving!! That's okay! UGH! Hey wait– What. .[beat} Are you sure you don't want any hot chocolate? UGHHHH! It's braless! Yeah, a/he was under my Christmas tree with flashing lights on and everything. Man, you got Chris Kringled?! What! That's a thing! How does everybody know that's a thing but me? Was there presents? Yeah there was— wait how'd you know. Everybody knows about Chris Kringling, brother. I didn't! It's a web trend. What! On where? I have all the On WeMax! What is WeMax?! You don't know? I don't. A Bullet for my Valentine— I love myself. Man, I don't even know which mixtape that came out of. Right! Suddenly, When digging through the bullet in my brain, The finger in my skull Reminded me the pain I live with everyday And I Cannot put away This is my Suicidal thoughts My creeping Homicidal mind But I don't want to off you all I just want to end my time On earth So long A GUNSHOT rings throughout the tightly clenched red brick walls of somewhere in New York; it seems to echo forever as if the city itself were empty and cold, ricocheting off the sky with a ring into the air— the sound making a journey into space. Girl, you talk too much So go and level up Shut the fuhhhck up Not just the front door I'm not going on a shooting spree The only one I want is me The only one I shot is me The only one I got is me All of a sudden I feel really good, But also really bad— Like I'm high or something Just on the verge of uncontrollably crying And I know I'm definitely about to lose my shit But I'm off a little, and also on a little Like something just kicked in and I don't know what I haven't taken anything— Just fried potatoes in coconut oil, And I've been eating differently But getting through the stress with the comfort of simple products and the massive loads of work I've been sorting… I don't know. I feel horrible, but also like I just woke up—like if I sleep I'll be dreaming some place I ain't awake really because I'm aching… Achey at the thought of being up and left to ponder What is really up with my mind I'm longing— Thinking swiftly but also sickly of how I'm decaying, Same thing every day but it only gets a little longer; And although time itself is getting shorter, It still goes on, and I'm mourning everything I had to know, But now just seems forgotten Stolen Grace and getting awkward, And really just on the wrong show, A form of thoughts, impossible conglomerate And really only waiting for my greying thunderclouds to roll in Storms upon the wing of a swaying plane As if it may just falter, But all hope knows it really won't, And we'll all land safely. —Tom Hanks. Sometimes my life doesn't make any sense: Lil bitz Remember when you were a kid, And the mall was the greatest place you could think of going? That was the day— “Let's go to the mall!” Then you grow up broke, And I'm like “Holy shit— “the mall”? When was the last time I even went to “the mall”? Fuck that noise. The mall is where I'm not going. The only thing that's going on in that place is tAkiNG mY mOnEY. Fuck that noise. I ain't going to the mall. I don't need anything from these places. fuck the mall. The mall as a broke adult is arguably the WORST place you can go. “Ohh, what's in here” “Don't matter— Do you got money?” “That's right.” Fuck the mall: Arguably the worst place, maybe. {Enter The Multiverse} Copyright The Collective Complex © [The Festival Project, Inc. ™] © 2025 All Rights Reserved -Ū.

Today's podcast is dedicated to one of my favorite teammates, and the man who inspired this podcast, Mr. Reggie Moore. In this conversation, we talk about an age-old military phrase called lead, follow, or get the fuck out of the way. However, inside this podcast, we explore a deeper understanding of this concept and how we can practically apply it in our lives.

Alison plays new music from WHIPPED CREAM, Rohaan, Viperactive, OddKidOut, GRiZ, Wooli, Wuki, Jon Casey & more!Don't forget to rate & review on all of your favorite podcast apps! Post your comments on twitter @awonderland #RADIOWONDERLANDTracklist:RADIO WONDERLAND OPENER 00:00 Alison Wonderland - Again? Fuck 00:42 WHIPPED CREAM - u don't just wanna die 03:43 Jon Casey & PAID!NFULL - EARTHQUAKE 06:43 OddKidOut ft. TIMID - I WANNA KNOW 09:36 Wuki, Lee Foss - IDFWU 11:52 Whethan, GiGi Grombacher - Make a Scene 15:28 Dillon Francis, Marten Hørger - Cut The Midrange 18:19 Doechii - Nissan Altima (Whethan Remix) 20:48 BØRNS - ELECTRIC LOVE (AVELLO REMIX) 22:49 Rohaan - Pelican 25:28 Baclash - 2x2x2x2 27:31 Bafu - Shimmer 30:43 Chase & Status ft. Takura - Don't Be Scared 33:00 John Summit, Sub Focus ft. Julia Church - Go Back (GRiZ flip) 36:38 Jai Wolf - All Your Love 40:05 Lunnari - EASY TO LEAVE 42:33 Bafu - Genesis Sequence 45:05 Rohaan - Got No _3 48:24 Virtual Riot & Viperactive - What U Got 51:23 Charli XCX - pink diamond (Jukaa Bootleg) 54:03 Marlon Hoffstadt, bbyclose - Heads Will Roll 56:24

Lesley Logan celebrates historic and personal wins in this week's FYF episode. From Kelsie Whitmore making MLB history to a community win from Nancy Lawrence, and a pre-tour packing victory of her own, this episode is a reminder that progress doesn't have to be flashy to be worth celebrating. Take this as your reminder to celebrate yourself.If you have any questions about this episode or want to get some of the resources we mentioned, head over to LesleyLogan.co/podcast https://lesleylogan.co/podcast/. If you have any comments or questions about the Be It pod shoot us a message at beit@lesleylogan.co mailto:beit@lesleylogan.co. And as always, if you're enjoying the show please share it with someone who you think would enjoy it as well. It is your continued support that will help us continue to help others. Thank you so much! Never miss another show by subscribing at LesleyLogan.co/subscribe https://lesleylogan.co/podcast/#follow-subscribe-free.In this episode you will learn about:How one woman landing an MLB spot flips the game forever.Why your wins spark a ripple effect that changes lives around you.How a packing hack turned into a total confidence booster on tour.Why believing in your magic is the ultimate mindset shift.Episode References/Links:Submit your wins - https://beitpod.com/questions@sportysteady on Kelsie Whitmore - https://beitpod.com/kelsiewhitmore If you enjoyed this episode, make sure and give us a five star rating and leave us a review on iTunes, Podcast Addict, Podchaser or Castbox. https://lovethepodcast.com/BITYSIDEALS! DEALS! DEALS! DEALS! https://onlinepilatesclasses.com/memberships/perks/#equipmentCheck out all our Preferred Vendors & Special Deals from Clair Sparrow, Sensate, Lyfefuel BeeKeeper's Naturals, Sauna Space, HigherDose, AG1 and ToeSox https://onlinepilatesclasses.com/memberships/perks/#equipmentBe in the know with all the workshops at OPC https://workshops.onlinepilatesclasses.com/lp-workshop-waitlistBe It Till You See It Podcast Survey https://pod.lesleylogan.co/be-it-podcasts-surveyBe a part of Lesley's Pilates Mentorship https://lesleylogan.co/elevate/FREE Ditching Busy Webinar https://ditchingbusy.com/ Resources:Watch the Be It Till You See It podcast on YouTube! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCq08HES7xLMvVa3Fy5DR8-gLesley Logan website https://lesleylogan.co/Be It Till You See It Podcast https://lesleylogan.co/podcast/Online Pilates Classes by Lesley Logan https://onlinepilatesclasses.com/Online Pilates Classes by Lesley Logan on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjogqXLnfyhS5VlU4rdzlnQProfitable Pilates https://profitablepilates.com/about/Follow Us on Social Media:Instagram https://www.instagram.com/lesley.logan/The Be It Till You See It Podcast YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCq08HES7xLMvVa3Fy5DR8-gFacebook https://www.facebook.com/llogan.pilatesLinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/lesley-logan/The OPC YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/@OnlinePilatesClasses Episode Transcript:Lesley Logan 0:00  It's Fuck Yeah Friday. Brad Crowell 0:03  Fuck yeah. Lesley Logan 0:04  Welcome to the Be It Till You See It podcast where we talk about taking messy action, knowing that perfect is boring. I'm Lesley Logan, Pilates instructor and fitness business coach. I've trained thousands of people around the world and the number one thing I see stopping people from achieving anything is self-doubt. My friends, action brings clarity and it's the antidote to fear. Each week, my guest will bring bold, executable, intrinsic and targeted steps that you can use to put yourself first and Be It Till You See It. It's a practice, not a perfect. Let's get started.Lesley Logan 0:48  Hello, Be It babe. Welcome to the quick inspirational episode where it's just kind of fun. We're going to talk about something that inspired me on the internet. Hopefully get you talking. I'd love to hear your thoughts. I'm going to share wins of yours. You can send yours into the beitpod.com/questions yes, I know it says questions, whether you can put questions that you want us to answer on the Be It Pod or your wins, and that way we can celebrate your wins too, and then you get to hear them on a future episode. It's so fun. I just joined a membership group from another podcast that's a local podcast to us. And then when they said my name on the shout out, even they just said Lesley. All they said was Lesley, I was like, that's me. That was me. And like, it's just kind of nice to feel so seen, right? So we want to make you sure you feel seen. So beitpod.com/questions, to put your questions and or your wins, okay? So a win of mine and then we have a little affirmation, and then you're off to your weekend. Lesley Logan 1:32  Okay, so the thing that inspired me today, well, it actually inspired me obviously a little bit while ago, because it's happened already, but you're hearing it now. So get this. This is amazing. History made. The Oakland A's have officially called up pitcher/outfielder Kelsie Whitmore from the Oakland Ballers, making her the first woman everto join an MLB roster! From indie leagues to the big stage. This is a moment for the books. I don't even know. I didn't even look to see if she played. I'm gonna tell you this right now, because that's what society has told us. Like, okay, well, does she play? I don't give a I don't care she played. The fact that she is on a Oakland A's roster. To be like the first this is a May we have to celebrate this right? Like, I hope that they call her up. I hope she gets to play, and I hope people give her space and grace to make mistakes. Like these jerk offs who get to play all the time. Like, baseball kind of pisses me off, because you can have, like, the lowest batting average and still make millions of dollars. So like, you know, I don't care what her performance was, she's amazing. She's there. And like, may this mean that more women get pulled up onto the baseball field, because you know what, baseball, your games are really long. And even though I was raised on baseball, my grandfather was a professional baseball player. I just want to tell you, like, because defense can't score, we need to make things more interesting. I don't want you to gamify it. I want to see women and men being badasses on the field. That's what I want to see. All right. Anyways, from my lips to you know, MLBs here, right? I guess that's how it's going to go. Lesley Logan 2:57  Okay, so now let's do a win of yours, a win of yours. Okay, Nancy Lawrence, oh, my God, one of my favorite humans in the whole world. You guys have heard from her before, because she's been on our OPC members, but she's an eLevate. She's most important like she's also been a retreater with us in Cambodia. We are going to see her again this October. So my win this week, moving with this baby. So this baby means her daughter, Miranda, having my daughter go through eLevate five and learn so much from Lesley Logan's amazing experience. She's learning the exercises, cueing, and so much more. She's becoming the woman she is destined to be, and no longer a tired and frustrated corporate employee working for someone else. She is working on herself so one day she can work for herself. I mean, I think we should just celebrate Nancy another win in this. Another win that we're having here is that you working on yourself and you doing things that light your fire and that you doing things that make you feel so amazing has inspired her that she has this opportunity. And I that's one of the reasons why I love wins and why I want other people to hear people's wins. It's because it inspires other people in your life, this bubble of influence that we can have. So Miranda is winning because you are winning, Nancy, so thank you so much for celebrating wins with us. Lesley Logan 4:13  All right, a win of mine. Y'all this is my win. Okay, so here's the deal, Tami-Adrian, you guys know her from OPC, and she'll be on the Be It Pod, soon. She bought us this gift, which is like, a bunch of those, like packing kits. So it's like, the things that like space savers for packing, right? And it's like she gave us like, four or five of these things, and inside there's like four or five different types of bags that just like, help you save space. And I was like, oh, my God, I'm not an organized person. I have ADHD, so it means I make lists, but then don't use them, you know. But one of the things, we're about to go on tour, and one of the things that I struggle with on the tour, is that we, we quite have, it's cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to build these fans out, the ones you see a van life, at the van life, and they're like, look like so Instagram on glamping, they spend a fuck ton of money, okay, we are doing this ourselves, and yes, we're spending money, but, like, I don't have an extra 100k just to throw into my van. So we are building things out. We have an AC. We want to have shelves, obviously, in drawers for the clothes, but we don't have that quite yet. But what we do have are these packing things. And so what I'm so proud of my win is this. I have already taken those packs and I've put them in the in like outfits of like, okay, this is my workout outfits for this many days. Okay? This is my teaching outfits like this, this is my other things and the way, because we haven't the walls in the van yet, I can put these pouches in the holes of the van so that I don't have to go under the van to pull my suitcase out, which means it's gonna be even easier for me to do my workout every morning. I'm not gonna waste time and lose time trying to pull that out. I'll have my teaching workouts. They're already hung up. You probably have seen how I do that, so that's ready to go. And then I'll have my daily clothes. So I actually get dressed while on tour to go to dinner, because sometimes I'm just, like, shuffling in my pajamas. So I am just, this is my win is where, like, less than a week from tour, and my outfits, not just the ones I'm teaching in, but the ones no one will see, are organized thanks to these packages. And if, and if I never use them again, I will still call it a win. But I've, this is a freaking win. If you have ever, like, organized a drawer, I hope that you see this as you've did a win, you slay. If you organize a closet, you slay. Like, these are the wins that are happening all the time, right? They're happening all the time, and we're just like, nope, didn't get that million dollar deal. So with like, my life's failure. No, no, no. Good things are happening to you all the time. Lesley Logan 6:25  Okay, so let's go to your affirmation. It says you don't need to believe in magic. You are magic. You need to believe in yourself. That's your affirmation. So well, let's change how the words are. I don't need to believe in magic. I am magic. I need to believe in myself. I don't need to believe in magic. I am magic. I need to believe in myself. I hope that hits you in a good spot because it hits me in a good spot. I hope it hits you in a good spot because it hits me in a great spot, right. Like, I really, truly hope that this podcast doesn't just educate you and inform you what's going on. I hope it helps you see like you're doing a great job. I believe in you. I hope you do, too, after that and until next time, Be It Till You See It. Lesley Logan 7:11  That's all I got for this episode of the Be It Till You See It Podcast. One thing that would help both myself and future listeners is for you to rate the show and leave a review and follow or subscribe for free wherever you listen to your podcast. Also, make sure to introduce yourself over at the Be It Pod on Instagram. I would love to know more about you. Share this episode with whoever you think needs to hear it. Help us and others Be It Till You See It. Have an awesome day. Be It Till You See It is a production of The Bloom Podcast Network. If you want to leave us a message or a question that we might read on another episode, you can text us at +1-310-905-5534 or send a DM on Instagram @BeItPod.Brad Crowell 7:52  It's written, filmed, and recorded by your host, Lesley Logan, and me, Brad Crowell.Lesley Logan 7:58  It is transcribed, produced and edited by the epic team at Disenyo.co. Brad Crowell 8:03  Our theme music is by Ali at Apex Production Music and our branding by designer and artist, Gianfranco Cioffi. Lesley Logan 8:09  Special thanks to Melissa Solomon for creating our visuals. Brad Crowell 8:13  Also to Angelina Herico for adding all of our content to our website. And finally to Meridith Root for keeping us all on point and on time.Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/be-it-till-you-see-it/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

As a property manager, you know the value you provide to real estate investors. You offer peace of mind, safety and certainty, and expertise. What if every investor found a property manager to partner with before even contacting a realtor? On today's episode of the #DoorGrowShow, property management growth expert Jason Hull sits down with real estate investing author and coach Dustin Heiner to talk about building wealth through real estate investing and the role of property managers. You'll Learn [06:06] Dustin's Journey to Financial Independence [17:48] The Importance of Property Management in Real Investing [30:04] The Importance of Finding Clients You Want to Work With [41:42] Investing as A Property Management Business Owner Quotables “If you try to serve people, then your life is going to get better.” “If you don't have your business that could run itself, then you're going to be losing money.” “Your property manager is absolutely your quarterback.” Resources DoorGrow and Scale Mastermind DoorGrow Academy DoorGrow on YouTube DoorGrowClub DoorGrowLive Transcript Dustin Heiner (00:00) this is the number one thing that I teach all my students, the first thing they always say, Hey Dustin, I found a great city to invest in. I've already got five realtors sending me deals. said, Whoa, Whoa, Whoa, Whoa. Let's say you bought one of those properties. Who's going to manage that? And they said, I don't know. I said come on. Like you, you're putting the cart way before the horse realtors are the last thing because you need to make sure that the   business is going to run perpetually without you. Cause the last thing you want is another job.   Jason Hull (00:26) All right, we are live. I am Jason Hull, the founder and CEO of DoorGrow, and we have the world's leading and most comprehensive coaching and consulting firm for long-term residential property management entrepreneurs. For over a decade and a half, we have brought innovative strategies and optimization to the property management industry. At DoorGrow, we have spoken to thousands of property management business owners, coached, consulted,   cleaned up hundreds of businesses, helping them add doors, improve pricing, increase profit, simplify operations, and build and replace teams. We are like bar rescue for property managers. In fact, we have cleaned up and rebranded over 300 businesses, and we run the leading property management mastermind with more video testimonials and reviews than any other coach or consultant in the industry. At DoorGrow we believe that good property managers can change the world and that property management is the ultimate   high trust gateway to real estate deals, relationships, and residual income. At DoorGrow, we are on a mission to transform property management business owners and their businesses. We want to transform the industry, eliminate the BS, build awareness, change perception, expand the market, and help the best property management entrepreneurs win. Now, let's get into the show. I'm hanging out today with Dustin Heiner who is successfully unemployed, according to his shirt.   it for those that can't see this later. So Dustin, welcome to the DoorGrow show.   Dustin Heiner (01:53) Jason, thank you so much for having me on the show. just love, I love property managers. I'm a real estate investor, bought property since 2006. Just, I don't know, I've got 30 plus properties, 750 apartment unit complexes and hotels I invest in. And I love not doing any work because my property managers are amazing. it takes a lot of time finding the right property managers, but in the end they make my life easier and I love paying them. They're only one of two people I love to pay, my accountant   and my property managers, because they make my life easier. I love that you have this show. I'm super pumped to be on, so thank you so much for having me.   Jason Hull (02:31) Awesome. I love the positivity because a lot of my clients get a lot of... How do we say it? Shit. Really. And you know, they feel unappreciated in a lot of... So I know there's a lot of listening. They're like, man, I want investors like this guy. But yeah, I love that you love paying property managers. I think I've said on one of my TikToks or reels, I said, the biggest mistake landlords make...   with rental properties is not hiring a property manager. And during this process.   Dustin Heiner (03:01) I don't want to deal   with tenants personally. I invested so that my property would work for me and I did not want to handle talking to tenants. In fact, I did at the beginning, I started talking to tenants, but I found out I'm a pushover because it's my property and I'm trying to be nice and everything like that. And it's so much better when there's a middle man that's going to be there. I tell my property managers, use me as the bad guy. Like say, this landlord, he's a jerk, but this is what we got to do.   I want to help them to make it easier on them, but in the end they make my life easier. yeah, I absolutely love that. Well, one thing you and I both know, property managers should be investing themselves too. They should be grabbing properties. if you know of a, if you're a property manager, you will eventually know somebody, an investor, who's going to be selling a house. Well, shoot. Instead of like, oh, point this over to investor, which I get lots of property managers sending me deals, say, hey, this guy's looking to sell. I'm like, great, and I'll buy it.   how much better would be if you guys bought   Jason Hull (04:00) Yeah, absolutely. I mean if you're a property manager you should really understand and know real estate investing like you're you're basically the advisor for your clients to do this and You have a pulse You know an understanding of the market that nobody else has and so leaning on a good property manager It can also be they could be an invaluable resource   of knowledge. if you before you get into a property one of the smartest things you could do is go ask the property managers is this a good investment or is this a good area or is this like is this a good idea and they're like no you should not have a short-term rental property out in the middle of the desert that nobody wants to go to like it's not you're not gonna cash flow but the you know the guru I'd listen to said I could you know yeah don't do that   Dustin Heiner (04:47) I've got, yeah, no, and you're 100 % right. So I personally, I've coached thousands of people to buy properties and I like buy and hold. Like it could be long-term, short-term, medium-term, even co-living, but we're gonna buy and hold these properties. Like we've got five kids. So I'll give these properties to my kids. I started investing back in 2006, just kept buying property after property. And then I realized when you get cashflow, when you get money coming in every single month from every single property, then you get financial independence and everything else on top of that is just gravy.   Jason Hull (04:47) Okay.   Dustin Heiner (05:15) And I consider my property manager, my quarterback of my team, like the football football team, they're going to make me money. They're going to protect me. They're going to make sure that everything is going right there. They're the, they're the quarterback of my team. And so when I find a good property manager, I hold onto them. In fact, I love find, well, here's what I do also. So in finding a good property manager, I do interviewing. I don't just grab first person because I personally feel like it's best to, you know, not everybody can work with everybody meaning   Somebody might not work well with me. I might have a bad personality of them. They're like, I don't like this guy. He's too hyper. He's got too much energy. Or they might say, hey, this is a great person to work with. And so what I love to do is when I grab a property manager and I just keep buying properties and keep giving it to the property manager, they keep doing well. But I mean, honestly, in the end, I wanted financial freedom and I knew that as I bought real estate over time, the value goes up. But the biggest thing is I invest for cash flow so that   Jason Hull (05:48) Bye.   Dustin Heiner (06:10) Money comes in every single month and give you case in point, your property managers are sending money. Like if you're a property manager, you're sending money to your investors, which is great because you're, making money, but you're also making them money. But at the same time, imagine that money coming into your pocket.   Jason Hull (06:27) Okay, I love this. think the clients listen to this or even property managers just listen to this and be like, I should probably send this out to all my clients so they should they can listen to this because this guy knows something and I want all my clients to see us in this light. This is a great light to see us in. So let's let's go back because we skipped qualifying you. Let tell us about yourself. Qualify yourself. Why should investors that   that these property managers send this podcast episode to and say, listen to this guy Dustin, you should be, you want to be like Dustin. Why should investors be listening to you?   Dustin Heiner (07:00) Absolutely, totally.   you know what, I'm even gonna tell you a quick story of what really shoved me into real estate investing. I started investing back in 2006, but I was not born with money. In fact, I was born into a very poor family, and I did what everybody is taught. We're taught this same exact path. You go to school, you get good grades. You take those good grades, and you go to college or university and get thousands and thousands of dollars into debt.   and then you get a piece of paper or a degree, that's what it's called, and you take that degree and you shop around and you try to find a job, a quote unquote career from someplace. And so I'm doing that exact same thing. In fact, Jason, I get the most stable, secure job you can ever think of. I got a job in the local county government in California doing IT. So California is not going away, government's not going away, and IT is definitely not going away, because I'm just like risk averse. Well, at the same time, I bought one rental property.   And that one rental property, I remember that check I got from the property manager. It was $317. Like, this is great. I need to buy more and more properties. But you know what happens? Life started getting in the way. My wife and I started having kids, after kid. Eventually, and this is what really got me to make sure I started investing. So I stopped because life got in the way, buying properties. But my wife and I started having kids. And when my wife had our fourth child, I went on paternity leave. That's where the dad stays home with the mom, changes poopy diapers, all that good stuff.   Well, after two weeks, I go back to work and on a Friday at 3.30 in the afternoon, I get a call from my boss's boss's boss's secretary, like the top dog. she says, Dustin, would you please come in the office? I said, sure. And I paused for a second. I hung up the phone. thought, why in the world are they calling me in the office? Like, this isn't normal. It's not normal. And I've also seen plenty of movies Friday at 3.30 is not a good sign. And I remembered a little bit before, right before I went on paternity leave.   Jason Hull (08:48) now.   Dustin Heiner (08:51) There was some rumors or some rumbly going on in the county that there could potentially be layoffs. And he really shook it off. said, there's no way I've got great seniority here. My boss is thinking of doing a great job. So I get up and I walked down the hallway to my boss's office. Now this hallway isn't very long. In fact, it's kind of short, but every single step that it took, felt like the hallway got longer and longer and longer. And it felt like my feet became lead bricks because as I was walking, I started thinking I could potentially get laid off while I get down the hallway.   Jason Hull (09:01) Amen.   huh.   Dustin Heiner (09:20) I turn the corner and I see my boss's door. His door is closed and I see his secretary there, super sweet, nice old lady. She says, Dustin, would you please have a seat? And I go and I take my seat and she's kind of sheepishly grinning at me, trying to console me with her eyes, because she knows everything about what's going on. I know nothing about what's going on. So I take my seat and I started thinking about my life. This entire plan that other people told me, I started thinking, if I lose my job, did I just waste my life doing this? And my goodness, we just had our fourth child.   Jason Hull (09:38) man.   Dustin Heiner (09:50) If I can't provide for our kids, does that make me a failure as a father? Does that make me a failure as a husband, as a man trying to provide for his family? Well, as I'm sitting there, my hands get all clammy, my forehead gets all sweaty because the nerves are just crushing me. Well, the door to my boss's office opens up and out walks a coworker of mine with a piece of paper in her hands. She is noticeably distraught, very upset. She's not necessarily crying, but you could tell her world has been rocked. She passes by me and my boss says, Dustin, would you please come in the office?   Jason Hull (09:54) Hmm.   Dustin Heiner (10:19) So I get up and I go into his office and I get laid off. And this is the government. Nobody gets fired or laid off from the government, but I did. And this is the reason why I tell the story. So I take that layoff notice and I go back to my desk and I realized two things sitting there at my desk, just getting laid off. Number one, I need to get another job to be able to provide for my family. So really blessed, praise the Lord to find another job in the same county, another department wasn't having those issues. Second thing I realized, I need to make sure this never.   Jason Hull (10:24) Hmm.   Dustin Heiner (10:48) ever happens to me again. I didn't make sure that nobody can take away my ability to feed my family. So right then and there, I said, I am an investor. It may so happen that 100 % of my money came from my job. That's now my part-time job. I'm a full-time investor. So quickly fast forward the story. Started buying property after property after property, each one making me 250, 350, $550 a month. I still own all of them. And now fast forward, I go to my new boss after 30 plus properties. say, Hey boss,   Jason Hull (10:57) No.   Dustin Heiner (11:17) I'm laying you off. laugh and it says Dustin, what are you gonna do? I said, I don't have to do anything. I own real estate that makes me money without even working. So last quick part of the story. Remember that short hallway that got longer and longer and longer? Well, I would walk to and from my car to my job a mile and a half every day. I was too frugal to pay for parking. Well, this last walk, I felt like I was walking on clouds because I knew I would never need a job again because I had money coming in from my property. So for you listening,   I want you to realize if you have your own business, if you're working for somebody else, if you have real estate that makes you money without even working grows over time. In fact, every 15 years, real estate doubles in value. mean, that alone is just should blow your mind. And then the cash flow that it makes. So in the end, what I suggest is if you make your own value coming from what you put into your own investments, IE rental properties, you're actually going to have   a floor of income. Now, just same thing with a property manager. You get your landlords and let's say you have 100 units. Well, you have a floor of income because that's normal income that comes in. Same thing with real estate investing. Let's say, God forbid, all those landlords to say this is not working out, we're moving. Well, you have your properties that has a floor of income coming in for you and then it takes so much stress off of you. So I'll pause the story because you've probably got plenty of questions, Jason.   Jason Hull (12:43) I love it. what a journey. there's always something that of thrusts us into a new state or even into entrepreneurism. I was suddenly a single dad trying to figure out how do I have time to spend with my kids when I'm stuck at a job at HP because I was in IT.   I'm like, I haven't even earned a week off yet. And I'm gonna get them for a week to spend time with them? How's that gonna work? How do I get to be dad? so, yeah, so sometimes I joke my kids are what made me finally leap to become an entrepreneur. so.   I love this idea of real estate allowing you to fire your boss or fire yourself from the job. Explain to people now what you do and your programs and all the stuff that you've built since, because you've done a lot of big things. I want people to make sure they understand Dustin's a badass and he knows a few things.   Dustin Heiner (13:36) Yeah.   Thanks, man. Well, here's what really   happened. So as I was quitting my job 2014 2015 inch I was 37 years old and I had so many people asking me how I was not working for somebody else and still making money if I feed my family I told them I invest in real estate and they would always ask the second question. Well, can you show me and so I just started showing friends and family members how to do it and then I realized two things number one was fun and number two I had plenty of free time because when you're not working for somebody else   When you're not having like, if you're a property manager, you have many bosses. Let's say you have 10 different landlords, working with 10 different bosses. That's really what it comes down to. And if you don't have any bosses bossing you around, you have 40 plus or more hours of your life back to do whatever you want. And so I just started helping people. So fast forward, I started a podcast, the master passive income podcast, you were on it. And that podcast in 2015, over 2 million downloads now with me just coaching. It's usually a solo show, like literally a solo show where I don't even   It's just me teaching how to do this, but over 2 million downloads because I just want to give this out. Then wrote three, no, four books, coach thousands of people. Now even have a live event, bring in hundreds of real estate investors together, but all for a goal. Here's the main goal. It's to help 1 million people to invest in real estate. And the big reason why I decided to have this goal was because the more people that I serve in my life, the more money they make and the more money I make in the end.   And so now everything from coaching thousands of people to having live events where we're just coaching even more and helping even more to books and podcasts, YouTube, you name it, like social media, Instagram, I'm over a hundred, 200,000, almost 200,000 followers on it now, just giving. And here's the big thing, a takeaway that I would love to share with everybody listening. For you listening, you need to realize if you serve and if you try to serve people, then your life is going to get better. The more people that I serve,   My goodness, I make so much more money, but the great thing is it's not a win-lose. It's not like somebody loses in order for me to win. No, it should be a win-win-win. And so now everything I do at Master Passive Income, to the free courses, to the paid coaching, all that sort of stuff, it's to help people to invest in real estate to get 40 plus hours of their life back and become successfully unemployed.   Jason Hull (15:59) It's amazing. And that's just really, really awesome. You're doing big things. You're doing big things. And you're not the typical property management client. How many different property managers do you have? Because your portfolio is spread out now, or is it all in your network? Five different states.   Dustin Heiner (16:14) Five different states? Yeah, correct. Five different states.   I think we have five main property managers. ⁓ Yeah, five main property managers that I work with.   Jason Hull (16:20) Yeah.   And how many units in total do you?   Dustin Heiner (16:26) So   single family home, like I might say single family, four units and below. So I would consider anything four units and below be residential. We have 33, 32, 30 plus single family homes, short term, midterm and even long term. Then we have two large apartment complexes, one's near Nashville, 350 units and other one's in Chattanooga, Tennessee, 325 units. And so we have great property managers for those properties. Then also,   I've invested in some hotels and so we have the, you know, the management company for that. But, what I found, and this is the number one thing that I teach all my students, all my students, lots of them, because here's what the first thing they always say, Hey Dustin, I found a great city to invest in. I've already got five realtors sending me deals. said, Whoa, Whoa, Whoa, Whoa. Let's say you bought one of those properties. Who's going to manage that? And they said, I don't know. I said come on. Like you, you're putting the cart way before the horse realtors are the last thing because you need to make sure that the   business is going to run perpetually without you. Cause the last thing you want is another job. In fact, this is the one big thing that I see when a mom and pop investor, somebody buys one property and then they buy a second or third, maybe they get to five, six, maybe seven or eight and they're managing it themselves and they cannot scale. And I know your audience, everybody knows about scaling cause you want to scale your business, the property management business. Well, you can't scale if you're the only person doing all this sort of stuff. And so,   Here's another question I get that people, other investors or even my students say, Dustin, how do you afford a property manager in your properties? I say, I don't afford a property manager. Like I don't pay my taxes on any of my properties. I don't pay my insurance. I don't pay for my property manager. I don't pay for repairs. Meaning I don't have to get a job to pay for any of that. My tenants pay that in the form of rents. And then I make sure I do not buy a property.   unless all of those expenses are accounted for even repairs, vacancy factor, and especially property manager. And that's the thing that most people don't do is realize, let's account for all those expenses, but then utilizing your property manager well enough. Here's the big question. And so all your audience is property managers. So they're going to, they probably rarely get this question, but here's my favorite question that I ever asked property managers. One of the first ones that said, if you would invest your money in this city now,   Jason Hull (18:37) Mmm.   Dustin Heiner (18:48) What area would it be? What zip code, where would it be? That is gold. I've asked actually the opposite question. Where should I not invest that city? And property managers say, I probably shouldn't answer that because discrimination and all that sort of stuff. so the question is better. Where would you invest your money? And then, yeah, you're gonna understand the entire market because the property manager, but you also Jason, we're awesome. The question is,   Jason Hull (18:51) Mm-hmm.   Yeah, wherever you...   Dustin Heiner (19:12) Would you manage this property not after you bought the property, but before you buy the property? That's a big thing. Cause a lot of people buy a house because they listen to tick-tock gurus and they just bought a house and they, Oh yeah, it should work out. Well, if you don't have any of the manage it, it's no longer an asset. It's a liability. So how much better is you ask the property manager beforehand, especially if you are investing, you're seeing, or sorry, if you're a property manager, you're seeing where the best properties are, where the best clients are, the best tenants, all that sort of stuff.   Jason Hull (19:19) Yeah.   Yeah, sometimes 100, 1000 times over. Like they have a lot of anecdotal data, right? And data data. So the bad path then is you kind of mentioned is to go to a realtor first, get a property, and then maybe go find a property manager. That's a really bad path. And that's kind of the default path that a lot of people would go down. And they're just headed towards a potential train wreck. Odds are   that the realtors incentive is not to just get you into the best investment solution. You get the most money on a deal and then you're going to you're picking this property and you have no idea if it's going to work out and then you might not even realize you need a property manager and you're saying start with the property manager. Ask them the area.   Dustin Heiner (20:16) No, it's to sell a property. That's all it is.   Absolutely.   Jason Hull (20:34) get their advice and clarity and find the property manager that you would want to be able to manage this. Like find a good property manager first and then make some good decisions. make some, let them help you make some good decisions.   Dustin Heiner (20:48) Well,   how I would explain it is I'm going to find the experts and it could be also definitely property management, but think of also inspectors, mortgage brokers, contractors, plumbers, handymen, insurance agents. I'm not the expert. In fact, like I said, I've coached thousands of people now to invest in real estate successfully. And sometimes they'll ask me, hey, Dustin, you invest in this city.   You're the expert. Tell me like, where should I? Tell me all this stuff. said, Whoa, I'm not the expert at all. In fact, I don't want to, I might know a little bit, but I don't want to be the expert. I hire experts. I hire them. So if you're a property manager, what you need to be thinking is, well, number one, you are the expert in that area because you're currently investing your time in your business to build up for landlords to utilize you. Well, that's number one, but who else would you actually want to start working with?   Now, personally, what I find is the property manager. so if you're not a property manager, if you're an investor listening to this, your property manager is absolutely your quarterback. I treat them as best as I can. Like I treat them so well because they take care of me and they want to take care of me. If I'm a jerk, if I'm like, you know, withholding, withholding money or like, we don't need those repairs. And they're trying to do their job and I'm holding them back from it. They're not.   excited about working with me. And so what I want is as best I can, my property manager to look favorable on me so they could take care of my property so I can have all my life back to play with my kids.   Jason Hull (22:15) Yeah, I mean this very much goes along with like Benjamin Hardy and Dan Sullivan's idea of who not how. Like finding the right who instead of going around and trying to just find the what like a property. Go find the who that can help you figure out how to do this instead of trying to figure out how to do everything on your own. Which is the slowest path to growth. Period. You know, is to do everything on your own.   Dustin Heiner (22:39) Well, you can't scale that way.   Yeah, you can't scale. If it's all about yourself, you can't scale. can't get like all my 30 plus properties. I love saying this. So a lot of people have heard of the book, the four hour work week. Good book and all. Basically, the premise is make your life so that you only have to work four hours a week. Well, honestly, I think working four hours a week is for suckers. I don't want to work four hours a week. I don't even want to work four hours a month. I maybe work 30 minutes a month on all of my properties because they get the property management statements.   I verify everything that's good, but I'll say this also. My daughter who's 16 years old, because I've coached a thousand people now, I coached her, she's my oldest and all my other kids are going to do it. She bought her first property four months ago and I coached her. She now does all the bookkeeping, all the, basically instead of me doing the work, 30 minutes, I pay her to do it and she oversees her property as well. And it is so much better when you have the experts first. One quick last thing, because you mentioned a really key, most people, and I did this too.   Jason Hull (23:32) if   Dustin Heiner (23:36) I wouldn't write to how do we find properties? In fact, my most downloaded podcasts are because on Master Passive Income, have lots of like how to find properties, how to fund properties, how to find property management. Like literally, it's just coaching. And the most downloaded are how to find and how to fund. Those are by far because people think those are the that's number one things that they don't have, but they believe that they need, which is not necessarily the case. Same thing on my YouTube channel. The most downloaded videos I have one.   That's like think like 16 different ways to get creative financing. If you don't have money yourself, how to buy properties with creative financing. I'm the most downloaded, but that's here's here's what I definitely got to say this. If you don't have your business that could run itself, because I always talk about building your business first. If you don't have your business that could run itself, then you're going to be losing money. And they give you a quick example what that looks like. I buy a property that's going to be making me money every single month and I don't buy it unless all expenses.   Jason Hull (24:11) Yeah.   Dustin Heiner (24:34) property manager included, vacancy factor, repairs, all included. And I add on my profit. If I want to make $400 a month, I don't buy a house unless the price is low enough, interest rates right, all the expenses are right to where I'm making that profit every single month on that property. And then obviously rents go up. But here's what it's like if you do not build a business, you do not get the right people in place. Imagine a convenience store. You're to start a convenience store, know, candy bars and soda machines and all that sort of stuff. Well, you will not sign a lease on a location.   open the doors and set a box of candy bars in on the ground. You wouldn't do that. You go out of business in two seconds. But what you would do is you would get, you'd build the business first. You get the gondolas, the shelving units, and all the candy bars go on the countertops, cold storage, bank accounts, cash registers, insurance, managers, everything in the business before you buy any inventory. Same thing with real estate investing. You build the entire business, get everybody the right people in the business, and then every property that I own,   is a piece of inventory that I put into my business. When you start realizing that even though you're an investor, you are a business owner that has inventory. Because I remember in 2006 when I first started investing, 2008 happened. 2008 happened and the crash happened. I knew so many real estate investors went bankrupt. fact, still talk, if anybody was investing back then, most likely you ask them, how did you do in 2008? I went bankrupt.   Jason Hull (25:44) Thanks.   out   Dustin Heiner (25:57) Honestly, that's literally, that's conversation happen all the time. But for me, I made more money. I was blown away. In fact, I was worried because I was just new to this. And because I was solely investing for cashflow. Now appreciation will come. That's great. But I'm going to give these properties to my kids. But I was solely investing for cashflow, $500 a month, $600 a month. And because of that, sadly, people, they had to get foreclosure because of the economy and all that sort of stuff.   but what did to the pool of renters, the pool went up. So there's more demand, supply's the same. In fact, I just buy properties and there's more renters. So my rents went up. I made more money in the crash when everybody else was going bankrupt because I was solely investing for cashflow. One quick, let me say one more thing, because I definitely want you to jump in. One more quick thing. Imagine that candy bar that you would buy to sell. If you had a candy bar business,   If you can buy it for 50 cents and sell it for a dollar and you knew all day every day, you can buy it for 50 cents, sell it for a dollar. You think, how can I get more money? Well, you'll make money. But let's say this is a great thing about real estate investing. Let's say you didn't even have 50 cents. It took you 25 cents to borrow 50. Well, you're out of pocket 75 cents. You still sell it for a dollar and you make 25 cents every single time. You would do that deal every day and you would think, how can I get more money? You'd borrow it. But here's one thing you would not do. Same thing with real estate investing.   You would not buy a candy bar for $2 if you could only sell it for a dollar. You do not do business to lose money. So I'll pause it because you could probably have plenty of questions, but we want to build a business and make money.   Jason Hull (27:26) Perfect.   No, love your analogies. I love that you're equating it to like even just buying and selling candy bars, which maybe some of us did in elementary school as a side hustle, or our kids do sometimes. My daughter makes little rubber bands, like little bracelets with different colors, and she goes and sells them. And the materials cost very little. And then she's like building these bracelets and ask them what colors they want. And then she's selling them at a market. She's like, I made like 20 bucks, you know.   Dustin Heiner (27:48) yeah.   Jason Hull (28:00) Yeah, so, you know, we've done this as kids, but when you equate it to something so simple, because we look at raw real estate and the complexity and all the numbers and we're like, this might make sense in the long run with some depreciation and then like, yeah, and you're like, let's keep this really simple. Let's like equate it to a candy bar.   Dustin Heiner (28:21) Because all that will come   like appreciation, depreciation, tax benefits, market appreciation over time, forced appreciation. Like when you buy a house, you fix it up, you guys know it'll make more money or it'll be worth more. All that will come, but income does not always come. So if you buy for income every single month from your property, could be long term, midterm, know, 30, 69 days, short term, or even co-living. If you buy for that, you will always get wealth.   If you buy, I'm hoping it'll go up in value. Like I hope this candy bar, I'll buy it for $2. Hopefully from a dollar now it'll be a $3. If you hope you're going to be stuck holding the bag and it's going to hurt. And so what you want to do is you want to make sure that you are investing for income. Cause when you invest for income, everything else will always come. But if you invest for just appreciation, you will not necessarily get income. You won't necessarily get all the benefits of everything that comes with real estate.   Jason Hull (29:17) Yeah, the other thing is the property managers often are one of the first to know if an existing client or owner wants to sell that property off. So they're great people to know if you want access to off market deals. I'm sure the property managers you have would love to get all of their clients to sell their properties and give them to you because you're easy. You're like their dream client because they'll have a one off like super emotional accidental investor that couldn't sell the property that's like.   driving them nuts and like they want it to be a perfect time capsule for a year because grandma planted the flower bed and like Timmy has his height in the door frame and like they want it to be perfect so they can sell it a year later and they're like, and it's like 10 times to 100 times harder to deal with operationally for them. The operational costs are really extreme. It doesn't sound like you're calling your property managers all the time.   Dustin Heiner (29:53) Ha ha!   Let me just say this. I don't want to talk to my property managers like month after month after month. I don't want, I just want the money. And as long as everything's going well, which is here's another thing. So if you're an investor, you want to make sure that your property managers understand your systems and procedures and processes. Like I have different property managers. They all treat all their landlords, everybody differently. But I say, when you're working with my properties, here's exactly how I want you to do it. And it's very simple things like   Jason Hull (30:13) Fuck it.   Dustin Heiner (30:37) Hey, rent's due on the first, late after the third, then you put a three day notice on the door if they don't need to get a late fee. And then once that three day notice is up, you start the eviction process. Like that's clockwork. It's most non-discriminate, yes.   Jason Hull (30:47) And this is pretty typical.   This is pretty typical, like decent property managers are already doing this anyway. Like this is really standard stuff.   Dustin Heiner (30:55) They should be. But I don't want to talk to the property manager. They're great people. I don't hire them unless   I like them. But at the same time, leave me alone so I can play with my kids. I could go to golf. could go to, I'm going to South Africa tomorrow for an investor trip. You know, I just want to live my life. Property manager, you take care of it. And if they are doing what I honestly like, I, they don't do well, meaning if they, if there's, it's not getting rented or there's that's a month after month where we're not getting,   rents paid, if things like that, then I'm like, I gotta find somebody else. Cause I don't want to have to think about it. If I have to think about the property, then why do I need you?   Jason Hull (31:29) Yeah, this is a challenge. They're property managers listening right now. Pay attention to this. Because a lot of property management business owners that come to us, they're not setting healthy boundaries with their clients. Because their clients don't know what they need. And so a lot of times the clients will artificially create a worse property manager. Because they're like, I need like this and I need that. I want, how's the renting process going? And did you talk to some people? Did you show it? And like what they think.   and they want to be so involved in the whole process, they're trying to micromanage the manager. And the manager's way better at this than them. By their own admission, they suck at this stuff, and they don't like it. But then they're trying to micromanage the manager, and bad property managers let them do it. Like the worst property managers usually have the highest operational costs in their business because they give every tenant and every owner a blank check for their time.   call me anytime and they phone system stuff so you can call them anytime and ask any question and they don't have a good system and so then they're wondering why they have, I had a client company once with 600 units under management in their business and they were making zero dollars. Property management can easily be death by a thousand cuts. I have seen inside thousands of property management companies and there are a lot that are making very little money.   And then like my wife Sarah, she had a property management business with 260 units. She was pulling in 90, 60 to 90 % profit margin. It took her, it was a part-time job for her really. And she moved to Austin with me and she managed these remotely. And these were C-class properties in Pennsylvania. We're talking $1,000 rent or less. This is like ghetto, like difficult tenants, difficult situations. And she had such strong boundaries.   and such good relationships with their owners in setting those boundaries that if they got needy or whatever, she would tell them that she was gonna fire them. And they were desperate to keep her because most property managers suck because of some of these reasons. And so she set really strong boundaries. And so her business was easy. She eventually installed one part-time person boots on the ground to help her open up property, show property, whatever, because she couldn't be there to do that and to pick up the mail.   and she had 60 to 90 % profit margin. It's like ridiculous. And so this is one of the trainings we have in our platform that we coach clients on, but property management could be death by a thousand cuts very easily. so it's just as important as it is for you to find a good manager to partner with, for them to find good clients to partner with and to be picky about their clients.   or to at least set better boundaries and expectations with their clients to help them be more like you.   Dustin Heiner (34:16) Absolutely. And it has to be a beneficial event where you guys are working together, a relationship. And like I said in the very beginning, I try to serve as many people as possible. The more people I serve in this life, the better my life gets, better their life gets. And as long as it's a win-win, in fact, one of my property managers, I paid him 12 % of the rent. the rent used to be, yeah, like when I, so this is when I first started investing in, it was in Ohio in 2006.   prices of rent were like 500 bucks. from 10, 10 % to 12%, it was like, you know, five bucks. And I was like, yes, go ahead. Now these are renting for a thousand dollars, but it's a hard area. It's like D plus C minus. I mean, it's a really rough area. In fact, I don't suggest any of my students invest there anymore because it's really, really rough. It's hard to find, like this property manager, I found them diamond in the rough, they worked with them for 10 years and then he retired and his daughter took over. So she's doing great too, but   All that to say, what you need to do is as you're hiring, finding the right property manager. So if you're an investor and you were trying to find a right property manager, you really need to make sure that you're paying them accordingly. That's going to be like, like I said, 10 % to 12%. Exactly. Exactly. Like they're going to make my life easier. What I need to do as an investor, if I need to pay more for a property manager, I need to buy the property for less.   Jason Hull (35:26) Yeah, don't try to cheat out on them. Yeah.   Dustin Heiner (35:38) I don't buy the property unless it pays for that good property manager. If I have to pay 15 % for good property manager, I don't buy the house unless I can afford that 15%. And in the end, my property manager in that one specific area, that's like C or D, D plus to C minus, I don't talk to her because she's so fantastic and she just doesn't bother me. I just let her run with it she does such a great job. And so it's such a great beneficial environment.   Jason Hull (36:03) Yeah, love it. I'm biased, but obviously, but I believe DoorGrow creates the best property managers because we help them figure some of these really simple things that they need to get down in. Sometimes they can't even see. Like one of the things we've been rolling out with clients is a three tier hybrid model because different investors have different strategies. There's really three psychological profiles of buyers that are taught in pricing psychology and those are the cheapos, the normals, and the premiums.   And so you need a pricing model that is a better fit for them. And the cheapos usually are really hyper concerned about price. They're not really focused on the long term as much. They're short-sighted. And so they're looking at what's the lowest fee I could get and they're like, cheaping out and they're making some big mistakes in the long run.   Dustin Heiner (36:46) Let me add, let   me add one thing with the cheapos. The cheapos will be the worst clientele. They will be the most problematic. It's just how life is. In fact, I'll give you.   Jason Hull (36:53) Next.   Operational cost   is the highest with the cheapos and so So one of the things that we coach our clients on is to make sure that they have these pricing models that balance between The a la carte of a cheapo and like you're gonna pay for everything extra so that they because then you're they're trying to gamble against the house Property managers the house and the property management should be winning right but a lot of times what property managers mistakenly do   Dustin Heiner (37:00) Absolutely.   Jason Hull (37:25) is they subsidize all of their lowest rent properties and their worst owners with their highest rent properties and their best owners. And they have properties in their portfolio they're actually losing money on. And sometimes they don't even realize this because they're not assessing them individually. We're like, yeah, you should fire those. Like you should just let them go or raise the price. It seems that is so obvious, but.   Dustin Heiner (37:45) especially if you're losing money on it.   Jason Hull (37:50) A lot of property managers have an entire section of their portfolio that's like 80, it's like the 80-20 rule. It's 80 % of their stress and their work and their challenges and it's like 20 % of their profits.   Dustin Heiner (38:02) And so here's a fun thing, like a thought, as you were saying, this had gotten to mind if and when somebody is pulling their hair out, an investor pulling their hat over a property or multiple properties, they just, they're just going to sell and because they're not good at investing. In fact, that's what I love to do is I coach people how to be good investors, how to make sure we're buying it right, how we're finding the right people, all that sort of stuff. Well, what's great is let's say they, you're, you fire them as clients, you fire them.   And they're like, I pull my hair out. I'm just going to sell. then eventually a good landlord will buy it. Good investor will buy it and they'll start working with you. So you start cutting out the 80 % that is just wasting your time and money and keep going after the 20 % that are making the money, making your life easier. That's just going to help everybody. Like it's just going to keep rising because in the end, the bad landlords there, they should just not be owning property.   Jason Hull (38:55) Yeah, I've had some interesting guests on our show recently and one of them runs a company. Basically, he explained to me that investors outside of the US love the US for real estate investing because he said almost nowhere else in the world can you get a 30 year fixed rate mortgage that allows you to do a payment that's low enough you could cash flow on it and just start making money right away, month after month.   And so they want to be able to get access to this. And so they help them set this up quickly. Get an EIN in a week and like get everything set up. Because it's complicated for them to figure that out. There's another company. I had a gentleman named Lioran. Really cool guy. Originally from Israel. He's here in the US, investor. And he created a company called Blanket. There's this really amazing platform for property managers that they can white label and that they use that allows them   It's like kind of like a property retention platform. So it allows them to put their clients portfolios into it, get a ton of extra data on their portfolios, and then they can, if they decide they want to sell this property, allows all the other investors in the entire blanket network to be able to get this and they get to keep managing that property without having to give it up. So property managers can have the properties   turn over and go to different owners and different investors, but they still retain them as that property is in their portfolio to manage. And so there's just, there's some really amazing things out there now for property managers. There's amazing tools, systems. We've got a lot of clients getting AI maintenance coordination using some really cool AI maintenance coordination tools that's allowing, cause getting a maintenance coordinator in a property management business, hard.   Ideally, it's like they're a veteran of doing maintenance of like 20 years and they don't want to run their own maintenance company and they want to come help you figure out what needs to be done. But there's an AI maintenance coordinator company that has been programmed by a guy who managed 30,000 units coordinating maintenance, all the way from small all the way up to that.   a long lengthy amount of experience and the system has programmed into it probably by now over a half a million work orders. Like and so it knows how to handle this better than probably anybody that you could hire and once you tell it you still have to train it you have to teach it but once you tell it how to handle things it can do it. And it's now doing phone calls it's like doing emails it's doing text like it's the craziest thing ever. And so there's this this there's this weird sort of   AI revolution happening right now and the smartest property managers are already adopting some of these tools because it allows them to scale their operations effectively. Eventually it'll be so commonplace everybody's like yeah we're all using this stuff and we can all like it's cheap enough or whatever and who knows maybe we'll all be out of jobs including property managers who knows but right now there's a good opportunity that if property managers are on the bleeding edge of what's working   you get as an investor a better property manager. And if.   Dustin Heiner (41:53) Well, for me,   there are plenty of software out there. Turbo Tenants One, Avails and other, apartments.com, those are fine, but I don't wanna even do any of that stuff personally. Yeah, as an investor, I don't wanna deal with that stuff. I wanna hire a person. And honestly, I don't think that AI, even though there's great tools as a property manager to help your business better, I don't wanna have AI run my business because I want an actual person   Jason Hull (42:05) this part of the night.   Yes.   Dustin Heiner (42:23) that it's   going to make sure like they have the emotions and feelings that they know, okay, there's something here, there's something there. And I just know personally, and this is why I teach all my students is, hey, these software are great if you're gonna manage yourself, but you can't scale if you're managing yourself. What we need is to hire the right people. It's all about, like you said earlier, there's a book, it's who, not how. We don't want to figure out the how, we want to get the right people in place. And one last quick thing that I said this a little bit earlier,   But people always ask, well, Dustin, how do you afford this, that, or the other? And the way I don't afford it, I make sure I don't buy a property unless all those expenses are accounted for, like the property manager to taxes, insurance, and even my profit. I make sure that is in there before I buy the property.   Jason Hull (43:10) Yeah, we have a ROI calculator that some of our clients use that we built out that already has their fees built into it so that the investors can see what are the benefits of this. What are the tax benefits? How does the cash flow like all this? And then, yeah, and in that, if it's not going to math out, then you just change how much you're putting down, you know, or you're getting a different property, right? so, but the...   The property management fees, if you're smart, should already be built in.   Dustin Heiner (43:41) Absolutely, 100%. And on top of that, again, I have to say your profit. If you're just guessing how much profit you're making, in fact, I always like to be conservative in my expenses higher so I don't get surprised, oh man, I didn't have the, or, and, or my revenue or the income from the rents. I estimate it or be conservative on the lower end. So if I could rent it for 1300, I run my numbers maybe at 1250, maybe 1200.   just so I'm not gonna be like, man, I can't make any money out of this property. Because trust me, it's really easy to overlook something if you're not hiring experts. Like my property managers, they know, here's a good property manager. I'll say, hey, property manager, I'm looking to buy this property, know, number one happy street. Tell me about it. Will you rent it? How much will it rent for? What's the vacancy factor? Will you manage it? What's the clientele like? And the grit ones will say, you know what? I know that area. In fact, I have a property like one or two streets over.   We were trying to rent it for 1400 Zillow said 1400, but we couldn't rent it for that. We got 1300 for it. That's gold. That like, is so much better information for an investor. When a property manager is he knows he or she knows exactly what's going on in there on the ground. And that's going to make sure that you're doing everything right. So when you hire the experts, they're going to make sure you do it right. Because especially property managers, I would say realtors, we said that a little bit earlier. Realtors just want to sell, sell for the high smoke, but your property managers.   for the longevity of that property, they're taking care of it. They're constantly making sure that it's working for you. So always ask them before you buy the property.   Jason Hull (45:16) I love that. This is a great message Dustin. I really appreciate you coming on and sharing this. I'm pretty confident that our clients and property managers listening is gonna be like, man, like every investor should listen and do what Dustin says. This would make our lives so much easier. And it makes them feel so much more valuable as a property manager. So I appreciate you sharing a positive message to everybody here on the DoorGroves show.   Anything else that in imparting that you would like to say to property managers that might be listening?   Dustin Heiner (45:46) Yeah, so one thing that I mentioned a little bit earlier is having a floor of income that's outside of whatever your job or work, your business, having a floor of income coming in. And what I planned on was I asked my wife, how much money do I need to make every single month in order for me to quit my job? Like what's our expenses like? And I remember the number, plan is day $4,200, insurance, mortgage, food, like you name it, everything, all of our expenses. I thought, okay, to become financially independent,   Jason Hull (45:52) Yeah.   would probably be double   nowadays. Which would probably be double nowadays.   Dustin Heiner (46:14) What's that? Oh,   probably, probably. Yeah, definitely. And so I said, okay, this is just math. If I buy one property that made me $500 a month. Well, in one year, that's $6,000. 10 properties, that is $5,000 a month. Okay, I got 10 properties right there. Then it covers it. That's $60,000 a year in income. 20 properties, that is $10,000 a month. That's $120,000 a year. That's passive. That's cash flow. That's after expenses.   And I thought, my goodness, all I need to do is hit that certain number. And then once I do, I don't have to work anymore. But here's the great thing. I had 40 plus hours of my life back that now I only build businesses that affect me and my family, as opposed to working for somebody else or, you know, having 10 different bosses that are just pulling my hair out. Now, let's say you had properties that of your own and you had your own property management company, you can fire those.   Jason Hull (46:59) You   Dustin Heiner (47:10) landlords that are taking up so much your time. You're making five bucks a month. It's like, it's not even worth it. Fire them because you have a floor of income. You are able to move forward. So in the end, when you're investing in real estate, you're going to be able to have a floor of income, which is so much more amazing because you have so many more options. Options are what's going to help you to make sure you scale and level up in life.   Jason Hull (47:33) Love it. Yeah, I think it's it's there's few things investment wise that can have as big of a return as having a business. So property managers listening. Cool. Build your business up. Grow that. But if your primary goal is just to get more doors, that's to manage for other people that I think you're making a mistake like your primary goal should be since you know real estate investing and they say invest in what you know.   you should be stacking your own doors. You should be investing and putting that in just a much better store of income for the long term and it's gonna grow and it's also if you're making a cash flow, you've already got the systems, you've got everything. Like you would make way more money on those units. So you should be building up your own real estate portfolio. One of our clients, he fired most of his third party clients because he just focuses on using his property management business now as a honey pot or a fly trap.   people come to him and say, hey, I've got this rental property. He's like, cool, let me scare the crap out of you of the tax liability if you ever decide to sell it. And maybe you should just, you know, do seller financing with me without talking about seller financing. All right, and so he's just got all these properties. He's just stacking doors and he's making so much money, right? So if you're listening and he's in our program, come be in our program. You get to hang out with this guy and other really amazing people do amazing things. But if you're a property manager, build your business up.   Yes, but also build up your real estate portfolio because you're one of the best at this. You're an expert at this. And that puts you in a state of integrity anyway, like if you believe in this stuff. And then build up your portfolio of clients portfolio.   Dustin Heiner (49:10) Hey Jason,   would you mind if I gave everybody a real estate investing course completely for free just for listening to the show?   Jason Hull (49:16) I would not mind that at all.   Dustin Heiner (49:19) Awesome. I like I said, my goal is to help 1 million people to invest in real estate. want you to invest. So get my real estate investing course completely for free. If you text the word rental, R E N T A L rental to three, three, seven, seven, seven rental to three, three, seven, seven, seven. I'll literally give it to you for free. Or you can go to master passive income.com forward slash free course. All one word for it. Master passive income.com forward slash free course.   I'll show you how to find if you are investing your area, that's great, but let's say you want to go into another area. I love investing out of state five different states now that I'm investing in how to build a business everywhere, anywhere in the country, how to scale to become financially independent. You can also find me quickly. I'll just share that master passive income, the podcast. Like I just love giving out so much more coaching on the podcast. I've had people binge the entire 400 episodes now, Jason, binge all of them and like DM me on Instagram. They'll say Dustin.   just from listening to your podcast, I started investing in real estate. I'm like, yes, that's exactly why I have the show. So yeah, one quick last thing. If you want to DM me, The Dustin Heiner on Instagram. love chatting with people. I love helping people. And in the end, when we all invest in real estate, everybody wins because we have great properties that people need to rent. We make money, property managers make money. We have a floor of income coming in.   But in the end, my goal is to help a million people. it's just another way that I can serve. But honestly, in the end, everybody wins.   Jason Hull (50:51) I love it. So they can text rental to 33777. They can go to masterpassiveincome.com slash free course. And they can go to masterpassiveincome.com to check out your stuff. then the, the Dustin Heiner, H-E-I-N-E-R.   Dustin Heiner (51:14) Correct.   More than likely you'll find me. I'm probably the only the Dustin, like if you just type that in, but man, I've been working really hard at Instagram. find out I actually kind of like it. I do like it. I'm almost 200,000 followers now. I didn't buy any of them. Like literally just hard work, putting in just great content, helping people.   Jason Hull (51:29) Yeah,   you're crushing it, man. I'm at 8,000, so I've got to figure out how to 10x my goal to that. So I'm working on that too. very awesome.   Dustin Heiner (51:38) We could definitely chat some more.   I could show you at least some insights of what I've done, but no, it's been great. I would love if your entire audience, all your property managers realize, let's just, it could be as simple as once a year, you just keep one for yourself. You find one, you buy it, and just year after year, you get more and more properties. I think that's a minimum you should be doing one a year.   Jason Hull (51:42) All right, we'll keep going.   So how do we start matchmaking your best investors that get it with my best property managers that get it? This is something for us to think about maybe offline. I don't know.   Dustin Heiner (52:08) Mmm.   Yes, we can   definitely chat through what it really comes down to is areas, know, areas like what cities are they investing in? But let's definitely chat because I think we could have a really good, really good way because I might. In fact, I while we are on this call, you know, have I have slack and that's where the community I've got thousands of students now, but we're in there chatting. I saw one note pop up, Christina. She's been with me for years and years and years. She's doing really well. And she was like, man, in Cleveland, like I have this property manager. I'm not going to name their name.   they're falling apart, I need another property manager, and so what it really comes down to, maybe you just help me know where they're managing, and then I could just point them to my students.   Jason Hull (52:48) Or   tell that person, if any of your investors see this episode or whatever, tell them to get their property managers to go talk to DoorGrow. Just say, look, you're not doing a great job. I'm actually considering finding another property manager. I think you should go listen to Jason and go talk to DoorGrow and get your shit together.   Dustin Heiner (53:05) That's a fantastic idea.   Absolutely.   Jason Hull (53:08) Because here's the thing, property managers do not wake up in the morning saying, I want to have a shitty business today. But most property managers suck. So where's the disconnect? The disconnect is they don't have the right strategies for growth. They're trying to do a bunch of digital marketing. There's very little search volume of people looking for property managers online. And usually the ones that are are the worst. They're the cheapest owners that view them as a commodity. They're at the end of the sales cycle. Word of mouth usually captures all the good stuff.   So these are the shitty scraps that fell off the word amount table. they're built, so they're spending money that they don't really have to get clients that they don't really want. And then they have these portfolios that are really difficult to manage. so then customer service is the first thing to go out the window because they're struggling. And I call it the cycle of suck. Take on any client, you have bad clients. You take on bad clients, you have bad properties. You have bad properties to deal with. The tenants are not gonna be happy. So you have bad tenants. And then you're gonna have a bad reputation. And that sums, and then what does that do?   helps you attract more bad owners. And so this sums up the whole industry in aggregate and that's our mission at DoorGrow is to disrupt that cycle of suck and we have a different cycle, a cycle of success where you're filtering at each stage and improving things at each stage. yeah.   Dustin Heiner (54:22) Fantastic,   man. I'm super pumped. I'm glad you're doing this because we need good property managers and property managers need to be buying properties themselves. So I appreciate having me on the show,   Jason Hull (54:32) Awesome, thanks for being here. Alright, so appreciate Dustin hanging out with us. If you felt stuck or stagnant and you want to take your property management business to the next level, reach out to us at doorgrow.com or if you're an investor and you're tired of your property manager but there aren't any other good ones either, then send them to doorgrow.com. Also join our free community just for property management business owners at doorgrowclub.com.   on Facebook and if you found this even a little bit helpful, don't forget to subscribe and leave us a review. We'd really appreciate it. Until next time, remember the slowest path to growth is to do it alone. So let's grow together. Bye everyone.  

On today's solo episode we have a casual fan interaction and questionnaire to start things but then we get into the  REAL REAL, and I'm talking R E A L with it. I don't even want to spoil it. I barely want to put the names down but I feel I'd be doing a disservice to everyone if I didn't source my shit so if they loved something they know what it is and its title and author. FUCK. What a dilemma. When I talked to Barbara Manatee, I knew we'd have a good time, but I didn't know I'd have such a HARD time after(eyyo). Nah, credit where credit is due, if this solo episode is going to go down in history on Lotsa Pasta for going hard, I want to make sure I'm doing it right. Here's the stories we're reading today, some of the best of the best, the cream of the crop. Let's do this. The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allen Poe (1:08:04)The Lottery by Shirley Jackson (1:25:55)Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been? By Joyce Carol Oates (1:52:58)I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream by Harlan Ellison (2:40:23)Support us on PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/LOTSA_PASTAAND KO-FI: https://ko-fi.com/lotsa_pastaMERCH: www.redbubble.com/people/elcapitanmuerte/portfolioYOUTUBE: www.youtube.com/channel/UCxoqIN-fkfdlmGEjWujypxwSOUNDCLOUD: www.soundcloud.com/lotsa-pasta/(But also available on all major platforms like iTunes, Spotify, Google, Amazon, etc!)FOLLOW ON FACEBOOK: www.facebook.com/LPCaptainDeathFOLLOW ON REDDIT: www.reddit.com/r/LotsaPasta/Featuring wonderful ambient music from our fam in Sweden: CryoChamber, givin' us all the ooky-spooky tunage. Follow: @cryo-chamberThank you!“Astral Alley“ is not my song. I do not claim ownership. Credit and All rights are reserved by the owners.

This week, we get into Jaws: The Revenge; a film that does in the impossible by using slasher tropes with a fucking shark. We were waiting for the scene when the girl gets the phone call asking her what her favorite scary movie is, but only before a soaking wet apex predator comes barreling out of the closet wearing a hockey mask and holding a machete. Sadly, that would have been a better beat than what we just witnessed, so of course we have to talk about it. Jaws IV, let's go! Sheriff's son, Sean, sees scary shark in the shallow sea shore… the shark, showing shiny sharp shards, shanks Sean, starting some shady shitty story! Putting the junk in Junkanoo! Deep sea telepathy! From grief to getaway! Fuck you a Funnybone sandwich! Unconscious conches! Silly story support! Hoagie's stogies? Government jellyfish money, and much, much more on this week's episode of The Worst Movie Ever Made! www.theworstmovieevermade.com

You're listening to Burnt Toast! Today, my guest is Tracy Clark-Flory. Tracy is the feminist writer behind the newsletter TCF Emails and the author of Want Me: A Sex Writer's Journey into the Heart of Desire. She's also the cohost of the new podcast Dire Straights where she and Amanda Montei unpack the many toxic aspects of heterosexual relationships and culture. I brought Tracy on the podcast today to talk about my feet, but we get into so much more. We talk about porn, sexual identity, and the male gaze—and, of course, how all of this makes us feel in our bodies.This episode is free but if you value this conversation, please consider supporting our work with a paid subscription. Burnt Toast is 100% reader- and listener-supported. We literally can't do this without you.PS. You can always listen to this pod right here in your email, where you'll also receive full transcripts (edited and condensed for clarity). But please also follow us in Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, and/or Pocket Casts! And if you enjoy today's conversation, please tap the heart on this post — likes are one of the biggest drivers of traffic from Substack's Notes, so that's a super easy, free way to support the show!Episode 202 TranscriptVirginiaI am so excited. We've been Internet friends for a long time, and it's so nice to finally have a conversation. I'm very jazzed! TracyRight? I feel like we've talked before, but we have not, which is such an odd sensation. We've emailed.VirginiaWe've emailed, we've DM-ed, we've commented on each other's things. But we have not, with our faces and mouths, had a conversation. The Internet is so weird.Well, the Internet being weird is a lot of what we're gonna talk about today. Because where I want to start today is feet.TracyWhy not?VirginiaSo I initially emailed you when I was working on my essay about my Wikifeet experience, because you have written so extensively about porn and the Internet's treatment of women. And when I discovered my Wikifeet, one of my first thoughts was, “I need to talk to Tracy about this.” TracyThat makes me so happy. I want to be the first person that everyone thinks of when they find themselves on Wikifeet.VirginiaI was like, “I don't know how she'll feel…” so I'm glad you take that as a compliment.I don't even know where to start. Even though I wrote a whole essay about this, my brain is still, like, “record scratch moment” on the whole thing. Sojust talk to us a little bit where in your vast reporting on porn did you kind of become aware of fetish sites and what's your read on them? What's going on there?TracyI think I first became aware of Wikifeet in 2008-ish when they launched, and that's when I was a proper, full-time sex writer, on the sex beat, covering every weird niche Internet community. And then in the years since, I've unfortunately had many women colleagues—often feminist writers—who have ended up on the site. So unfortunately, you're not the first person I know who's ended up on there.VirginiaIt's a weird thing that a certain type of woman writer is gonna end up on Wikifeet. Why?TracyThere are no shortage of women who are consensually volunteering photos of their feet online for people to consume in a sexualized way, right? So the fact is that this site is providing a venue for people to do it in a very nonconsensual way, where images are taken from other venues that are not sexualized. They're stolen images, you know? Things that are screenshotted from Instagram stories, that kind of thing—and then put into this sexualized context. Not only that, but put into a sexualized context where there is a community around sexualizing and objectifying and even rating and evaluating body parts.My take is that this violation is part of the point. Because there is having a foot fetish—great, have at it, enjoy. And then there's consuming images that are nonconsensual. So I think that the violation is part of the point. And to the point of feminist writers, women writers online, ending up on it—I don't think it's an accident. Because I think that there is—perhaps for some, maybe not all—some pleasure taken in that aspect of trespass.VirginiaYes. My best friend is a food blogger, and I immediately searched for her because she's way more famous than I am, and she's not on there. And I'm glad, I don't want her non-consensually on there! But I was like, oh, it's interesting that I'm on there, lyz is on there. It is a certain type of woman that men are finding objectionable on the Internet. And putting us on WikiFeet is a retaliation or just a way of—I don't know. It's not a direct attack, because I didn't even know about it for however long my feet have been up there. But it is a way for men to feel like they're in control of us in some way, right?TracyOh, totally. And it's because there is something interesting about taking a body part that is not broadly and generally sexualized, and sexualizing it. There is this feeling of a “gotcha!” in it.There is something, too, about feet—I mean, I think this is part of what plays into foot fetish, often. There is this sense of dirtiness, potentially, but also the sense of often being hidden away. It's secret, it's private, it's delicate, it's tender. Feet are ticklish, there's so much layered in there that I think can make it feel like this place of vulnerability.I've written about upskirting. This was maybe like 15 years ago. But it's these communities where men take upskirt videos and photos of women on the subway or wherever, and then they share them in online forums. And that's very clearly a physical trespass. You're seeing something that was not meant to be seen. So it's quite different. But it's feels like it exists on a spectrum of trespass and violation and taking sexualized enjoyment out of that.VirginiaFrom someone who had no intention of you taking that enjoyment, who's just trying to ride the train to work.TracyTotally. And the foot thing, it just makes me think of all these different ways that women experience their bodies in the world. You can't just be at ease in your body, because someone might think your feet are hot.VirginiaIt's really interesting. I've talked about this on the podcast before: A little bit after I got divorced and I started having, weekends totally to myself in my house, it was the first time I'd been alone in my house in a long time. Obviously, usually my kids were there. My husband used to be there. And I had this strange sensation of being observed, even when I was completely alone in the house.It's just me and the dog. She's asleep. I'm making dinner or watching TV or doing whatever I'm doing. And I couldn't shake the sensation that I was watching myself, still thinking about what I was going to wear. It was so weird, and I realized it actually isn't particularly a comment on my marriage. It's more a comment on women are so trained to always feel observed. It's really hard for us to actually access a space where we're not going to be observed. It was wild.TracyWe adopt that perspective of the watcher, and we are the watched. We experience ourselves in that way, as opposed to being the watcher, the person who sees and consumes the world and experiences the world. It's like we experience ourselves being experienced by someone else—an imagined man often.VirginiaYes, you're always self-objectifying. It doesn't matter whether you're trying to please that gaze, whether you're trying to protect yourself against that gaze. Whatever it is, we're always aware of how we'll be perceived in a way that I don't think cis men ever have to consider. I don't think that's a part of their experience of the world in the same way.TracyAnd how messed up is that tension between trying to please and trying to protect oneself? What an impossible tightrope walk to be constantly doing.VirginiaRight, and to not even know which one you want sometimes. Like, which one you need, which one you want.TracyYeah, going back and forth between those extremes. You're always kind of monitoring and on edge.VirginiaAnd, it did shift. Now when I'm alone in my house, I don't feel like I'm watching myself. Like, it did lessen. But it was this very stark moment of noticing that. And I think the way our work is so online, we are so online, it doesn't help. Because we also have all learned through the performance art of social media to constantly be documenting. And even if you're by yourself, you might post something about it. There's that need to narrate and document and then also objectify your experience.TracyThe sense of, like, if I don't take a photo of it, it doesn't exist. It didn't happen. It's not real. It must be consumed by other people. I mean, when you were talking earlier about that sense of being surveyed, I think that is a very just common experience for women, period. But then I think, for me, growing up with reality TV, the explosion of reality TV, like that added this like sense of a camera on one's life.And then I think, like, if you want to bring porn into it, too—Like, in the bedroom, that sense of the watcher, so you have this sense of being watched by men, but then you have the sense of kind of performing for an audience, because that's so much of what I came up with culturally.VirginiaI mean, the way we often conceive of our sexuality is through performance and how are you being perceived not how are you experiencing it yourself? I mean, you write about that so well, that tension.TracyThat was my whole thing. My sexual coming of age memoir is so much about what it meant to try to move out of that focus on how I'm being perceived by my partner and into a place of what am I experiencing? What do I even want beyond being wanted?VirginiaMan, it's amazing we've all survived and gotten where we are. Another layer to this, that I thought about a lot as I was processing my Wikifeet, was how instantly I felt like I had to laugh it off. I really felt like I couldn't access my true reaction to it. I just immediately sort of went into this Cool Girl, resigned, jaded, like “What do you expect from the Internet?” This is why I wanted to talk to you. Because I was like, oh, this feels very similar to stuff Tracy struggled with and wrote about in her memoir.TracyOh, totally. It makes total sense to me that you would go to that default place. It makes me think of how I, especially early in my career writing online as a feminist blogger, I would print out the very worst, most misogynistic hateful comments and post them on my fridge because I was willing myself to find them funny, to be able to laugh at them and just kind of distance myself from them and to feel untouched by them.I think that Cool Girl stance is a way of putting on protective armor. So I think that makes sense as a woman writing online, but I also think it makes sense in the context of sex. So much of what I did—this performative sexuality, this kind of sense of being down for whatever in my 20s—was, subconsciously, a kind of defensive posture. Because I think I had this feeling that if I'm down for anything, then nothing can be done against my will, you know? And that was the mental gambit that I had to engage in, in order to feel safe enough to explore my sexuality freely. Granted, it wasn't very freely, turns out. But it makes total sense that you would want to default to the laughing at what is really a violation. Because I do think that there's something protective about that. It's like, “No, you're not going to do this to me. You're not going to make me feel a certain way about this.” But that only takes you so far.VirginiaWell, because at the same time, it also is a way of communicating, “Don't worry, I can take a joke. I'm not one of those feminists.” It also plays right into that. So it's protective and you can't rattle me. And, I'll also minimize this just like you want me to minimize it. So I'm actually doing what you want. Then my brain breaks.TracyRight? And then we're back to that thing we were just talking about, the wanting to please, but then wanting to protect oneself, and the impossible balancing act of that. VirginiaLike you were saying you've experienced these horrific misogynistic troll comments. I experienced them in the more fatphobic sense, but like a mix, misogyny and fatphobia, very good friends.So I think when you've experienced more extreme things, you then do feel like you have to downplay some of the minor stuff. It feels scarier for men to say that my children should be taken away from me than it does for them to take pictures of my feet. I can hold that. And yet I'm still allowed to be upset about the foot thing. Just because some things are more awful, it doesn't mean that we stop having a conversation about the more mundane forms of violation, because the more mundane forms of it are also what we're all experiencing all the time.TracyRight? Like the daily experience of it. I mean, unfortunately, there just is a full, rich spectrum of violation.VirginiaSo many choices, so many ways, so many body parts.TracyI do think that the extreme examples do kind of serve to normalize the less extreme, you know? And what we sort of end up putting up with, you know? VirginiaWhat would you say was a helpful turning point for you? What helped you start to step back from being in that cool girl mode? From being in that “I'm performing sex for other people” mode? What helped you access it for yourself?TracyI mean, honestly? A piece of it was porn. It's funny because I turned to porn as a teenager online in the 90s as a source of—I felt at the time—intel about what men wanted. Like, here's how to be what men wanted. And I tried to perform that, you know? And there were downsides to that, of course. There are some downsides. But I would also say that like in the midst of plumbing the depths of 2000s-era, early 2000s-era tube sites to understand what men “wanted,” I also started to kind of explore what I wanted.I wasn't drawn to it from that place of self discovery, but I kind of accidentally stumbled into it because I was watching these videos. And then I was like, oh, wait, what about this thing? Like, that's kind of interesting to me. And then, you start to kind of tumble down the rabbit hole accidentally. Women are socialized to not pursue that rabbit hole for themselves, right? So it was only in pursuing men's desires that I felt like I was able to unlock this whole other world of fantasy and desire for myself that I wanted to explore and that I was able to get into some non-mainstream, queer indie porn that actually felt very radical and eye opening.It was this circuitous route to myself. That was just a piece, I think, of opening up my mind to the world of fantasy, which felt very freeing. Then, getting into a relationship where with a partner who I could actually be vulnerable with, was a huge piece of it. To actually feel safe enough to explore and not be performing, and to have those moments of awkwardness and that you're not just this expert performer all the time. Like, that doesn't lead to good sex.VirginiaNo, definitely not.There's a part in the memoir with your then boyfriend, now husband, and you say that you wanted—you call it “a cozy life.” And I think you guys put that in your wedding vows. I think about that all the time. I think it's so beautiful. Just like, oh right, that's what we're looking for. It's not this other giant thing, the performing and the—I don't know, there's something about that really stuck with meTracyThat's so interesting. I haven't thought about that for a while. It's really interesting, and it's funny, because it was part of our wedding vows. VirginiaCozy means safety with another person, that felt safety with another person, right? And the way we are trained to think of sex and relationships really doesn't prioritize women's safety, kind of ever.TracyI mean, yeah, it's true. There is something very particular about that word cozy—it's different from when people say, like, “I want a comfortable life.” VirginiaYeah, that's bougie.TracyCozy is like, I want to be wrapped in a cozy blanket on the couch with you. And feel safe and intimate and vulnerable. So thank you for reminding me of that thing that I wrote.VirginiaWell, It was really beautiful, and I think about it often, and it was kind of clarifying for me personally. And it's not saying sex won't be hot, you know? It's just that you have that connection and foundation to build whatever you're going to build.TracyRight? And I think coziness kind of is a perfect starting point for being able to experience sexiness and hotness. I think we have this cultural idea that one must have this mystery and sense of otherness in order to be able to build that kind of spice and fire. And at least in my experience, that was not ever the case. I know that other people have that experience, but for me, I never had the experience of that sense of otherness and kind of fear even, and trepidation about this other person leading to a really exciting experience. It was more like being able to get to a place of trust and vulnerability that could get you there.VirginiaAnd obviously, there are all different ways people enjoy and engage in sex. And I don't think every sexual relationship has to be founded in any one thing, but I think when we're talking about this transition that a lot of women go through, from participating in sex for his pleasure, for performance, for validation, to it being something you can do on your own terms, I think the coziness concept is really helpful. There's something there.All right, well, so now you are working on a new podcast with Amanda, as we mentioned, called Dire Straights. Tracy, I'm so excited, because Heterosexuals are not okay. We are not okay, as a population.TracyJust like, literally, look at anywhere. Open up the front page of The New York Times. We're not okay on so many levels.VirginiaSo tell us about the pod.TracySo it's a feminist podcast about heterosexual love, sex, politics and culture, and every episode, we basically pick apart a new element of straight culture. So examples would be couples therapy, dating apps, sex strikes, monogamy, the manosphere, pronatalism, the list goes on and on. Literally this podcast could just never end. There's too much fodder. Unfortunately, I'd love for it to end for a lack of content, but that's not going to happen.So we look at both sex and dating alongside marriage and divorce, and the unequal realm of hetero parenting. We examine celebrities and politicians and consider them as case studies of dire heterosexuality. Tech bros, tradwives, terfs, all the whole cast of terrible hetero characters are up for examination, and our aim is to examine the worst of straight culture, but it's also to step back and kind of try to imagine better possibilities.It's not fatalist, it's not nihilistic. I think we both have this sense of wanting to engage in some kind of utopian dreaming one might say, while we're also picking apart what is so awful and terrible about the current state of heterosexual culture.So our first episode is about dark femininity influencers. I don't know if you've ever encountered them online.VirginiaYes, but I hadn't connected the dots. So I was like, oh, this is a thing.TracyThat's that thing, yeah. That's how I experienced it. It was, like, they just started showing up on my TikTok feed, these women who are usually white and wearing a bold red lip and smokey eyes, and they're essentially promising to teach women how to use their sex appeal in order to manipulate straight men into better behavior. They're selling this idea of seduction as liberation, and specifically liberation from the disappointments of the straight dating world. This idea is that by harnessing your seductive powers, you can be in control in this terrible, awful straight dating sphere.VirginiaIt's like, if Drusilla from Buffy the Vampire Slayer wrote a dating book. I don't know if that reference speaks to you or not.TracyI'm a little rusty on my Buffy, I have to say.VirginiaShe's like, pale skin, red lips, black hair, and tortures men. But yeah, it's this idea that you harness all your like, seductive powers to torture men to get what you want, which is men. Which is a husband or a boyfriend or gifts or whatever. They're shooting for a heterosexual relationship by exerting this power over men, and so the idea is it is somehow it's giving them more power in a patriarchal dynamic. But it doesn't really because they end up in the same place.TracyIt's the same place, it's the same exact place. It feels to me, in some ways, like a corrective against the cool girl stuff that we're talking about that kind of emerged in the 2000s, where, you know, it's this sort of like being down for whatever, that kind of thing. These women are kind of saying, you're not going to sleep with him on the first date. You're going to make him work for it, you know? And so there's a sense of like, I'm in control, because I'm not giving it away for free. It plays into all these awful ideas about women and sex and power. But it is ultimately ending up in the same place, and it is just ultimately about getting a man, keeping a man. And so, you know, how different is it really? I don't think it is.VirginiaI mean, it's not. It's the same rules and conversations that Charlotte's having in the first season of Sex in the City, which is ancient at this point. How are we still here? Are we still here?TracyWe're just inventing new aesthetics to kind of repackage these very old, retro, sexist ideas, you know?VirginiaI also think it's really interesting and helpful that you are interrogating straight culture as someone inside a heterosexual marriage. I've written about my own divorce, my critiques of marriage, and it triggers great conversations, but it always triggers a very uncomfortable response from a lot of married women who don't really want to go there, don't really want to pick up the rocks and look underneath it because it's too scary. It makes sense. And I'm wondering how you think about that piece, and how that's working for you.TracyI think it's very destabilizing for a lot of women in straight marriages and just straight relationships, period, to consider these things. I think it was over a year ago now that I wrote this piece about trying to coin this term hetero-exceptionalism in response to the backlash that I was seeing to the divorce memoir boom, where women reviewers, but also just people on Twitter or wherever, were kind of pointing at these authors and being like, well, I don't know what's wrong with you because my marriage is great.VirginiaThe Emily Gould piece in New York.TracyThere's this sense of like, oh, well, either I chose a good man or I know how to conduct a healthy relationship.VirginiaI'm willing to put in the work.TracyGotta put in the work. You will love our next episode about couples therapy, because we talk about this concept of putting in the work, and the idea that marriage is work, and that if you're not doing the work you're lazy. You're failing, the whole project of it.VirginiaThank you for unpacking that incredibly toxic myth! It really keeps women trapped in “I just have to keep working harder.”TracyWhich I think totally relates to this, the response to the divorce memoirs we're getting from people and the discomfort of when women raise these issues in hetero relationships that are not individual. Like, yes, we all feel that our relationship issues are special and unique. But they all relate to these broader systemic factors.I think that is really, really, really uncomfortable to acknowledge. Because I think even if you're reasonably happy in your hetero relationship, I think if you start to look at the way that your even more minor dissatisfactions connect to these bigger dissatisfactions that women are writing about that's all part of this experience of love in patriarchy that it doesn't feel good. That feels terrible. So I totally understand that.In the same way that we're sold this idea of trying to find the one and that whole romantic fantasy, I think we're also sold this idea of trying to achieve romantically within these patriarchal constraints. So it's like, well, I found the good one. I found the unicorn man who checks all the boxes and I did my work and so I'm in a happy marriage.Virginia“I'm allowed to be heterosexual because I'm doing it right.” That's feeling uncomfortably familiar, to be honest. You think you're going to pull the thread, and you realize you'll rip it all out.TracyThe thing is that a lot of people should be pulling the thread, and a lot of lives should be unraveling, you know? I think that's the uncomfortable truth, right? I totally get the resistance to it. But on the other side of it, I think there are obviously, clearly, a lot of women who are wanting to look at it, and who do want to have these conversations.VirginiaIt sounds like this is what you're trying to chart. There has to be a middle path where it's not this defensive stance of, oh, I found the one good one. And we're equal partners. It's okay, but a relationship where we can both look at this, we can both acknowledge the larger systemic issues and how they're showing up here, and we can work through it and it's not perfect, because it is love in patriarchy, but it can still be valuable. There has to be this third option, right? Please tell me you're living the third option, Tracy.TracyI mean, I do believe that I am but I also hesitate to put any man or any relationship on a pedestal. What I'll say is that to me, it feels so utterly essential in my relationship to acknowledge the ways that our relationship is touched by patriarchy, because all relationships are touched by patriarchy, right? And to not fantasize about us somehow standing outside of it, but also to be having constant ongoing conversations within my relationship where we are mutually critiquing patriarchy and the way that it touches us and the way that it touches the relationships of people we know, you know? I think that's part of why I think I'm able to do this podcast critiquing heterosexuality from within heterosexuality is because my partner showed up to the relationship with his own prior political convictions and feminist awareness. I wasn't having to be like, here's what feminism is and, here's what invisible labor is, and the mental load and all that stuff. He got it, and so we're able to have a mutual shared critique, and that feels very important.VirginiaThat's awesome to know exists, and that you're able to figure that out without it being such hard work. But where does that leave women who are like, oh yeah, my partner doesn't have that shared knowledge? Like, I would be starting the education process from zero and encountering many resistances to it. And therein is the discomfort, I think.TracyI mean, and that is the discomfort of heterosexuality. It's in this culture, because that is the reality is there are not a ton of men who have voluntarily taken women's studies courses in college and have the basic background for this kind of stuff. It's a really high bar and there is this feeling of what are you going to do? Are you going to hold out for the guy who did do that? Or are you going to try to work with him to get there? And I think that's fine, but I think what's essential is are you both working to get there, or are you pulling him along?VirginiaYeah, that's the core of it.I think just in general, reorienting our lives to where our romantic relationships are really important, but so are our friendships. So is our community. I think that's something that a lot of us, especially us in the post-divorce club are looking at. I think one of the great failings of heterosexual marriage is how it silos women into these little pods of the nuclear family and keeps us from the larger community.TracyTotally. I really do believe that the way that our lives are structured, this hetero monogamous, nuclear familydom, it works against these hetero unions so much. Which is so funny, because so much of this is constructed to try to protect them. But I actually think that it undermines them so deeply and drastically. And that we could have much richer and more vibrant, supportive, communal lives that made these romantic unions like less fragile and fraught.VirginiaBecause you aren't needing one person to meet every single one of your needs, you aren't needing this one thing to be your whole life.TracyWe put all of the pressure on the nuclear household for the cooking, the cleaning, the childcare, all of that. That is an impossible setup. It is a setup for failure. There's I wish I could quote the writer, but I love this quote about marriage and the nuclear family being capitalism's pressure cooker. If you think about it in those terms, it's like, this is absurd. Of course, so many people are struggling.VirginiaIt was never going to work. It was never going to work for women anyway, for sure.Well, I'm so excited for folks to discover the new podcast. It's amazing, and I'm just thrilled you guys are diving into all of this. It's such an important space to be having these conversations. So thank you.TracyThank you! I'm very excited about it, and it does, unfortunately, feel very timely.ButterTracyI definitely do have Butter. And this is so on topic to what we've been discussing. This book of essays titled Love in Exile by Shon Faye. It is a brilliant collection of essays about love, where she really looks at the problem of love and the search for love as a collective instead of individual problem. It is so good. It's one of my favorite books that I've read in the last five years.She basically argues that the heteronormative couple privatizes the love and care and intimacy that we all deserve. But that we're deprived of in this late capitalist hellscape, and so she sees the love that so many of us are deprived of as not a personal failure, but a failure of capitalism and community and the growing cruelty of our world. It's just such a tremendous shift of perspective, I think, when it comes to thinking about love and the search for love and that longing and lack of it that so many people experience.VirginiaOh my gosh, that sounds amazing. I can't wait to read it. Adding to cart right now, that is a great Butter. Thank you.Well, my Butter is, I don't know if you can see what I'm wearing, Tracy, but it is the friendship bracelet you sent me when you sent me your copy of Want Me.TracyDo you know that I literally just last night was like, oh, I'm going on the podcast tomorrow, I wonder if she still has that friendship bracelet.VirginiaI'm wearing the one you sent me, which says Utopia IRL, which I love. And then I'm wearing one that says “Fuck the Patriarchy,” which was made by one of my 11 year old's best friends for me. So the 10 year old girls are going to be all right, because they're doing that.TracyThat's amazing.VirginiaI wear them frequently. They go with many outfits, so they're just a real go-to accessory of mine. My seven year old the other day was reading them and was so delighted. And now, when she's at her dad's and we text, she'll randomly text me, “fuck the patriarchy,” just as a little I love you text. And I'm like, alright, I'm doing okay here.TracyYou're like, that's my love language. Thank you.VirginiaSo anyway, really, my Butter is just for friendship bracelets and also mailing them to people, because that was so sweet that you did that.TracyCan I mention though? Can I admit that I literally told you that I was going to send you that friendship bracelet, and I made it, I put in an envelope, and it literally sat by my front door for a full year.VirginiaI think that makes me love it even more, because it was a year. If you had been able to get it out the door in a timely fashion, it would have made you less relatable to me.That it took a full year that feels right. And I was just as delighted to receive it a year later.TracyIt was a surprise. I was like, you probably forgot that.VirginiaI had.TracyI emailed about it and that we had an inside joke about it, because it had been a year.VirginiaI did, but then I was like, oh yeah!TracyYou know what? I think it's a testament to you and how you come off that I like felt comfortable sending it a year later and just being like, fuck it, she'll be fine with it.VirginiaYes, it was great. Anyway, my recommendation is send someone a friendship bracelet by which I mean put it in an envelope by your front door for the next year. Why not? It's a great thing to do.So yes, Tracy, this was so much fun. Thank you for being here. Tell folks where we can follow you support your work, all the things.TracyYou can find the Dire Straights podcast at direstraightspod.com. And you can find my weekly newsletter about sex, feminism, pop culture at Tracyclarkflory.substack.com and you can find me on Instagram at Tracy Clark-Flory.VirginiaAmazing. We'll link to all of that. Thank you for being here.TracyThanks so much for having me.The Burnt Toast Podcast is produced and hosted by Virginia Sole-Smith (follow me on Instagram) and Corinne Fay, who runs @SellTradePlus, and Big Undies.The Burnt Toast logo is by Deanna Lowe.Our theme music is by Farideh.Tommy Harron is our audio engineer.Thanks for listening and for supporting anti-diet, body liberation journalism! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit virginiasolesmith.substack.com/subscribe