Note: This story was dynamically reformatted for online reading convenience. (C) Copyright 2002. M.C. All Rights Reserved. All Reproduction for fee or profit forbidden. Copies of my stories can be downloaded from: </files/Authors/MikeC/> or at <http://StoriesOnline.net> Send all comments and suggestions to MikeC@NSpace.net ============= James Part VII. Wandering Afield. Chapter 38 I had finished tying the boat down when Celeste finally untangled herself from Sherri. She propelled Sherri my way, "Now you do James - he hates the taste." She smirked, "But then... who doesn't?" They all laughed. Sherri took my hands and looked deep in my eyes, "My master..." and shared her soft, sweet touch with me. "What?" Celeste cried, "He's got you calling him 'Master' already?" "Of course!" I said, "Ten minutes with a hairbrush convinced her! Ow!" Sherri bit me, hard. "Sorry... master!' She ran giggling behind Brenda. "See what you've done?" I advanced on Celeste. "Now it's your turn!" She cringed from me, "No, no, don't hurt me! Please don't hit me anymore..." She hugged her tummy, "Not when I'm carrying your children!" "Children?" Sherri looked impressed. "Yeth!' Celeste stuck her tongue out, "About a million of them!" And dissolved in a choking giggling fit on Sara. "Talking of children," I looked around, "Where's Jules?" "She took Amanda..." Sara began and bit her lip. "...to Harry's in Celeste's car." I finished for her, "Right?" Sara blinked and said brightly, "Are you going to take a hairbrush to me too?" "Oh, I'm guilty!" Celeste clutched Sara protectively, "I said they could! Torture me if you must! But spare the poor child..." and started kissing her. "She's but a pawn in our sordid plans. She's quite innocent!" Which was highly suspect judging from the way she thrust in her tongue and ground herself against Celeste. Celeste pulled back and looked at Sara, their eyes sparkling, "What did the brute do to you my love?" She checked Sara at length for injuries, "Did he scare you? Ohhh, poor darling, your heart is beating so fast!" Celeste stroked Sara softly and kissed her. "Oooh, ohhh, don't leave me, he's coming to get me!" Sara giggled into Celeste's neck as they grappled each other. Sherri was sighing and leaning into Brenda as she watched the two fondle and kiss each other shamelessly. Brenda supported her, busy with some fondling and kissing of her own. Clearly dismissed, I turned and had moved everything out of USS Dweebus and was setting up the extra bookshelves for our new textbooks when the girls came into the house. Sherri faced me and said softly, "Sorry James, I was unavoidably detained." Her eyes were glowing and her hair in disarray, still leaning on Brenda and holding her hand. "Didn't Sara warn you about falling into bad company?" I regarded Brenda, "And this one is the worst!" Brenda grinned and hugged Sherri to her, "He's just jealous I prefer you to him." "In fact," Celeste leaned on Sherri and licked her neck, "We all prefer you to him..." "'Cept me!" Sara hugged me, "I love him to bits!" Celeste groaned, "Spoilsport! And after I stood up for you too!" She sighed, "Oh well, no rest for the wicked - back to my lonely study..." she stopped and eyed Sherri, "But first, you owe me a song." Sherri smiled, then turned to me, "May I?" she paused, "Unless you need me for something else..." Her eyes glinted. I touched her face, "Which also includes soothing the savage breast, musically." We shared a smile and a quick kiss. Sherri seated herself at the Yamaha which had been set up beside the stairs, saying, "The Moonlight Sonata was not Beethoven's name for it - he intended it as a love song; of unrequited love - so listen to it not as a song of peace and calm, but one of emptiness and yearning. And ultimate loss." We made ourselves comfortable on the couch while Celeste again acted as page turner. Quietly, Sherri started and we were drawn into the perfection of the music. Her hands flowed over the keys, enchanting us with Beethoven's masterpiece of bittersweet romance - the longing, the waiting; the eager anticipation and fleeting joy; then the frustration and pain of denial and finally the despair upon losing the chance at happiness. The word "Why?" seem to reverberate in the air long after Sherri finished and we sat in silence. "Whew," I finally breathed, "That was SOMETHING!" "You like?" Sherri grinned when we all nodded vigorously. A very teary Celeste kissed her on the cheek. Sherri played a chord. "Here's another Moonlight Serenade, by Romberg, but he had to change it to just 'Serenade' because of the outcry." She made some adjustments to the Yamaha. Suddenly the music she played was from an organ, augmented by a harp. The piece was blatantly sweet where the Beethoven was refined and introspective. Still it gave us goose bumps and kept us riveted. Amanda and Jules tiptoed in and joined us on the couch. At my look, Jules mouthed, "Max." She took my hand and relaxed to the music and Sherri's skills. "That's beautiful! You're amazing." Celeste breathed when it was finished, "You know, that reminds me of Thais' Meditation, by Massenet." She saw Jules and suddenly started laughing. "When she was small," Celeste explained, "She thought it was called Thais' Medication and asked what he was sick with!" She wheezed. "Hey, that's not nice, do you want me to tell my violin jokes?" Jules retorted. "OK , OK - let's not get into THAT." Celeste placated. "Please - just one, OK?" Jules was already giggling. "What's the difference between a violin and a coffin?" She waited, "A coffin has the dead person on the inside!" She leaned on Amanda and cackled wildly. Celeste rolled her eyes, "Ha ha, very funny. Happy now?" "No, not yet - I got a better one!" Jules snorted, "Why do bank tellers look worried when they see a violin case?" Without waiting for an answer she said, "There may be a violin inside!" She rolled on me and chortled, wiping her face on my shirt. We looked at Celeste in sympathy. "Wait, wait," Jules gasped, "Why is a violin better than a harmonica?" She waved her arms around as she wheezed and tears flowed from her eyes, "B-because you can burn the violin to stay warm!" She dissolved in a fit of breathless gurgling on the floor. Celeste groaned in defeat and retreated inside. Unable to contain our laughter any longer, we joined Jules and howled. "You are all so mean to Celeste!" Sherri said after, as she wiped tears from her face. "I had no choice!" JulieAnn explained breathily, "She was forcing me to practice my piano to accompany her! I had to keep telling those jokes until she let me stop!" "I think we should all go in and apologize!" "Really? I have to too?" "Yes!" Sherri said and ushered us into the office. She took Celeste's hands, "Celeste, we're very sorry we made fun of your violin." Sherri looked at us, "Right?" We nodded as Sherri continued, "And Celeste, I would love to play with you." Celeste beamed, "That would be awesome!" She rummaged around and handed her a stack of music, "See what you like in here... But definitely the Thais - the harp part is in there, but you'll have to transcribe the orchestra..." She suddenly stopped, "Or did you have another kind of playing in mind...?" "Well..." Sherri smiled brightly and gave Celeste a soft peck, "Tonight HE's making a woman of me..." She took our hands, "Perhaps afterwards we can start working on my downfall?" "Hmmm, that'll work. We'll give you tonight to get over him, then..." Celeste leaned in conspiratorially, "I know ALL his tricks, and I've got a few he doesn't even know!" She smirked. "Let's not forget your promise to have my child..." Sherri reminded her. "Oh don't listen to her, she's promised to have a child with all of us!" Amanda complained. "She wanted TWO of mine!" Brenda sighed. Celeste glowed, "See, I'm such a LOVING person, they all want to get it on with me!" She leaned her head on Sherri, "But, right now I have to get back to work." She batted her lashes at me, "My master would be most vexed if he caught me slacking..." She sighed softly and kissed Sherri, stroking her face, "Weep not my dear - but rejoice the day I am free of my shackles..." We trooped out to the mournful strains of "Dixie". Sherri leaned on me and said, "She's strange - but I LIKE her!" Sara grinned, "You'll find soon enough that we're all strange!" Then she took our hands, "C'mon, we better get started on dinner now!" and set us to washing and chopping. "How was Harry's?" I asked Amanda. "Everything that could..." she sighed, "First a gust flopped the 'chute on the PPC-trainer around!" she shook her head, "Almost knocked the cart over and Harry spent an hour untangling the lines. Then I had to field strip a 503 which seized up during warm-up." She turned to Sara, "The main bearing popped - and it had less than fifteen hours on it!" Then at me, "Those little engines have to be overhauled every 100 hours, can you believe it? It's a good thing we ordered a 4-stroke, they're much more dependable. "It was a zoo, but Jules was amazing - she got the schedule straightened out and ended up conducting the ground instructions class for Harry!" Amanda's eyes glowed, "Four guys showed up for their first lesson, took a look at Jules and next thing, a dozen of their friends were there, wanting lessons." She grinned, "Harry's really excited we can bring in so much more business, so he's gonna make sure we get our instructor licenses..." Sara interrupted, "Mandie, did the 503 have the A-series gearbox?" Amanda nodded, "I think the factory mounting's too high on it. The newer engines with CDI have higher torque and peak rpm so that will put stress on the bearings and warp the race." "That's a good point, although they'll still need the clearance for the longer dual-blades... So the best thing is to go with the more rugged "B" or switch to the "C" box and the triple-blade." Amanda tapped her lip, "That would lower the noise and the vibrations too, then." "Yeah, or even the "E" - that's got the high ratio as well." Sara turned to me, "Have you seen the warranty on the engine? There are 2 pages outlining what ISN'T covered!" She laughed, "And it's only a 120-day warranty at that!" Sara looked over the two chickens and steaks she had laid out. "Mandie honey, can you see if you can catch us a few more fish? We may be short on food. Four, five fish would be good, in say, an hour?" Sara looked at Sherri, "He's useless unless he's well fed... In fact, you could say he eats well only after he's eaten well!" They started giggling. Amanda tugged Sherri's hand. "C'mon Sherri, let's practice on something squirmy and slimy!" She looked meaningfully at me and added, "Then I'll show you where a sharp knife does the most good." I helped Sara lug a big pot of rice under the tap, "This is something different, I'm making steamed rice with a mix of glutinous and fragrant rice. Then we place a bunch of those sausages over top to cook them." "Mmmm, mini-pepperoni sausages... Good snackin'!" "That they're definitely not - can't eat them raw. Mom gets them from the Chinese grocer - they're really good." She grinned, "She went shopping and I took all of it with us!" "How come you don't need to measure the water?" "That's how the Chinese make rice, and they should know - wash the rice first, then pour in water to cover the top, add another half a finger joint." She showed me, then waited until I carried it back over the flame, "Boil on high, uncovered, until the bubbling stops and the water's absorbed, then low simmer with the lid on. We drop the sausages in then - twenty minutes, and perfect rice every time!" She grinned, "I hope! I've never made it this way before!" She turned and busied herself with the chicken. I brought a drink and a hug to Celeste. She pointed to her drawing of the wheel building, which looked like a carousel at the fairgrounds. "I had wondered why Mueller's design for the support braces have the V-notch in them, now I know - not only does it give it added strength, but allows easy access for pipes and wiring." She hugged my waist, "Hmmm, I'd like to have HIS child, too!" She grinned and looked at her drawing, "In a way, I am..." she sighed softly. Amanda gestured to me from the patio and I followed her down to the docks. "We caught this huge mother and I'm not sure what to do with it!" Sherri proudly showed me a large black fish that was swimming placidly at the end of her line. "It's the biggest fish I've ever SEEN!" She glowed enthusiastically. "Almost appears he likes it there!" I laughed, "It's a catfish - not too much meat on it, maybe we should let it go..." I reached down with a pair of pliers and pulled the hook off. It swam lazily off, "They're bottom feeders that hunt by smell - through their whiskers. Unfortunately they're mostly stomach and the flesh is pulpy. People filet them for fish fries, although they make good soup too." I switched Sherri to a lure and after a few minutes, amid more excited laughter, she added a 2-pound striped bass to go with the 3 Amanda had caught. We quickly cleaned them and Amanda took them up to Sara. I sat next to Sherri, "Are you having fun?" "Yes! The girls are so cool! I wished I could have spent all last week here!" She looked at me, "Can I ask you a question?" "Shoot." "About tonight. Where do I..." She blushed, "I mean where do we..." I smiled, "Don't worry about it. It'll be fine, OK?" She leaned and pecked my cheek, "OK." "Would you like to fish some more?" "Yeah, if I could..." "You can do anything you want. Just enjoy." Amanda came back down, "Dinner in an hour." and sat next to Sherri with another rod. I stood, "Let's try and catch a big one again." I rushed off and returned with leftover corn. "The catfish reminded me of another kind of fish we could catch here." I strung a row of kernels on a small hook, until it was fully covered. "Some believe the carp is the strongest fresh water fish, and there's no doubt they are the trickiest. And really tasty." I tied a bobber with about 8 feet of line from the hook. "Carps are omnivores that grind up their food at the back of their mouths but they use their really sensitive lips to pick up food and taste it first." I cast into the cove and let the current take the bait into the channel. I continued, "That's why they will always avoid a lure or metal hooks - they taste wrong right away. But, unlike other fish, carps have a real weakness for sweet stuff." The bobber slowed as it reached the center of the channel, "So by covering the hook with corn, we might fool it..." I paused as the bobber bounced once, "I think it's tasting it now..." I whispered as it bobbed again. Suddenly the bobber darted to the open lake as I continued to let line out, "Sometimes it will take its meal some ways before eating it..." I waited another few seconds, "I hope it's swallowed enough!" As I locked the reel and pulled back on the rod. "Fish ON!" I cried as the pole was almost ripped from my hand, the drag barely holding. I groaned with the effort of keeping the fish from taking off. "Lemme try!" I gave Amanda the rod and it almost launched her into the water, "Oof! He's strong!" "Work the retrieve, we can't let him run too far, he'll rip the line on the rocks." Amanda grunted as she fought it. Although fighting fiercely, once it swallowed the hook, there was little chance the carp could get free unless it broke the line. "Sherri, do you want to try?" Amanda panted after she had brought the fish back into the cove. I got the gaff from Jewel as Sherri, gasping with effort, worked the fish towards us. "OK, slowly now, he may try one last flight..." I warned as Sherri wheezed with effort with the struggles of her catch. Finally I was able to gaff and land it on the dock as Amanda screamed her excitement. It was indeed a beautiful specimen, 15-lbs of steely turquoise scales and the characteristic whiskers under its mouth, unlike the catfish, which had the whiskers on its upper lip. "Clean it and we'll have it tomorrow - dinner's cooking already." Sara told us after she ooh'd and ahh'd at it. "C'mon, let's catch another one!" Amanda urged as I heaved the fish to the cleaning hutch. "Remember, they may learn to avoid the channel if you keep catching them - best to give them a day or so to get over it." I told her, "They are quite intelligent and actually form groups to patrol and guard their young." "Smart fish!" Sherri came and watched me, "So we're culling the dumber ones to improve the breed, right?" "Or the hungrier ones!" I grinned and got to work, as Amanda gave Sherri a colorful commentary on piscine biology. "Wait, let's try this!" Amanda grabbed a piece of fish gut and used it as bait, saying to Sherri, "We were in Jewel in the middle of the ocean and I caught this big grouper with the leftovers of another fish." Her eyes sparkled, "It was so fun! The salt water fish fight much harder than lake fish. In fact..." She umphed as she hooked a bass and started to dance it towards shore. "Sara caught a Mahi-mahi which was like the same size as the catfish and it took her an hour to land it." Amanda unhooked the bass and threw it back, "Thank you Mr Fish, you can keep the food as payment." They used up the offal as bait, throwing their catch back, while I cut nine large pieces of steak from the carp, leaving 14" of tail for broiling and the head for bait. I carried it up to the fridge and returned to the docks, stripping as I went. Sherri looked at me, "What's he doing?" "He's hoping to impress us enough to get some action," Amanda sneered, "But I'm not interested, are you?" Sherri blushed, "Er, I guess not..." but kept staring. "I have fish guck on me and there's not a whole lot of water in the house for showers later." I explained. I dove in, avoiding their lines, and started my workout. I was on my 4th lap when they greeted me in the water and we finished my laps with them swimming along. I started washing myself and Sherri was intrigued by the soap. "We have to use Ivory because it's scent free, so it doesn't attract bugs. Also it won't sink if you drop it." Amanda nodded, "Remember, no perfume or fruits, especially bananas. You really attract them then." She leaned on my shoulder, "Do I smell clean?" I held her and inspected her and stuck my face in all her nooks and crannies, licking it if I wasn't 100% sure. For a little girl she had an amazing array of soft nooks and crannies one could sink one's mouth and tongue into. And she had a different squeal to each one too. Finally I declared her spotless and she staggered with a towel around herself up to the house to wash her hair. Sherri was watching wide eyed, apparently still recovering from our swim as she was breathing hard and her face glowed. "Would you like me to help you with the soap?" I asked, leaning back on the steps. She smiled shyly and allowed me to ease her over on my lap. She moaned softly when I started applying soap to her, caressing the suds into her smooth skin. I soaped around her shoulders and she reached for my hands, leaning back to redeposit them on her breasts, nipples hard and crinkly with the cold and need. She sighed contentedly as I ran my hand over their softness. Slowly she squirmed until she was nestled tightly against my erection. "Mmmm, other areas need the hired help's attention..." She leaned her head back, "...or is it the hired hand? Uhmmmm!" she smiled as I trailed down her soft body and thin brown patch. "Uhnnn, ahhhhh," she breathed, as I made languid strokes on her tender flesh and between the soft folds of her little pussy, "Oh, oh, ohh!". She held my hand to her sex as she whimpered and shook on me. She relaxed on me as I rinsed her off, then helped me get cleaned. "Dinner in ten!" Sara called from the patio. I got our clothes back on and took Sherri up the steps. At the top she leaned on me and whispered, "Did you know how close you came to not having a virgin tonight?" "Huh?" I blinked. "You know, back when you were soaping me? I could feel you - you were SO hard! And all I had to do was lift myself up and slide back a bit and you'd be in me... Ooooh!" She sighed, "Pop! No more virgin!" "And I'm still hard..." I offered. She looked at it, "Hmmm, are you suggesting... the sucking thing?" Sherri's smile faltered as she realized everyone was seated and watching us. She blushed, "I, er, we were talking about..." "...you giving him a blowjob." Amanda sighed. "We know." "I guess we could wait for you. This being your first time..." Brenda said, adding, "I'm sure he won't complain." "Really? You mean I can choose whatever I want - because I'm a virgin?" "Pretty much," JulieAnn grinned, "You probably won't be in any shape to do anything tomorrow!" "Wait," Sherri's eyes lit up, "You're saying that as long as I stay a virgin, you guys have to let me do what I want?" She smiled widely, "Like you'll have to listen to me?" "Hey, wait...!" "No, that's not it..." "James," Sherri leaned on me, "Can we wait a bit before we, er, do it?" She grinned impishly, "I think I could get to like this arrangement." She kissed me, "A month should be enough..." "What! A month?!" Sherri was laughing and squirming against me, "Sorry, just kidding guys, I couldn't resist!" she looked back at me, "And James I'd really like to lend a hand with your... your difficulty, but I want to have dinner." She looked coyly at me, "Besides, compared to present company, I don't think I'm very good at... the other thing." She fidgeted as the girls broke out in laughter. "Hah, you're the only one who has made him come twice in a row!" Amanda stated. "The rest of us are dying to learn your secrets!" Celeste added as I seated Sherri with a kiss. "Really?" Sherri twinkled, "So I'm good?" "You're fantastic! Just don't ask him to define 'good', though!" "Yeah, you'll be on your knees for hours and he'll STILL not be satisfied." "Oh he'll be SATISFIED all right, just not happy!" "But he'll be grinning from ear to ear!" "And drooling..." Suddenly they stopped and, giggling madly, each of them pulled an imbecilic face with their tongues hanging out. After a second or two, even Sherri joined in. I sighed and began eating while they wailed out their laughter. I must have been hungrier that I thought because I had finished a steak and a pan-fried fish before they could start. The rice was superb, the flavor of the sausages blended into the fragrant rice, which was fluffy and light. The little sausages which Sara had diced up were tasty and had a distinctive smoked ham texture. I was just started on a hunk of the chicken when Sherri slipped on my lap. "James, I'm sorry we made fun of you... We didn't mean to." She bit her lip, "I love you." and kissed me. "And we're all going to apologize, OK?" she looked at the girls. "Aw c'mon Sherri! You're spoiling him!" Then one by one they came and kissed me before they continued with their dinner. After the meal, Celeste stood, "Nicole isn't here so it's my very happy privilege to welcome Sherri to the family." We all toasted her, "I'm sure you'll find it just as rewarding as the rest of us..." she sighed, "Considering the fact you're already calling him Master - you're obviously well on the way." She went and gave Sherri a warm kiss. Then Sara led Sherri to the board hanging outside the kitchen. In a fine cursive hand, she added Sherri's name below ours. "Now this makes it official - you are on the Job Board!" She consulted it, "Hmmm, Amanda and Jules have cleanup, Brenda, you're with me on dishes and Celeste has the floors to do. James can help Sherri with the laundry." I explained about our water tank which was filled from the lake, then filtered and softened so we could wash with it. "It's terribly limited - we only have 40 gallons per hour and only about 15 gallons of hot water. So we really have to conserve - we put in this high efficiency front loading washer to save on water and detergent. The waste water is recycled for watering and flushing." I added. "And we only use cold washes - hot water is reserved for showers and dishes." She followed me and we helped sort out the garbage, "We have to watch everything we throw away - metals, plastics and even paper are big no-no's. They don't decompose easily and animals will choke if they accidentally swallow it. So we bag it for disposal at the dump. "Vegetables and non-meat foodstuff we compost outside, and this..." I showed her the oversized garburator by the sink, "This is a mascerator - which grinds the meat and bones to a fine grit-like consistency, which we can flush out into the lake, along with our treated waste water. Remember your catfish this afternoon? He's probably gorging on it to get this fat. In fact all the fish benefit from it, as long as we don't pump chemicals down with it." "That's a lot of work to stay here!' Sherri observed. "Yes - if we want modern conveniences, we have a responsibility to make them safe for the environment." We joined the others and worked on our text books until the laundry was done. "Tired?", I ask as she tried to hide a yawn. Sherri nodded and smiled "Kinda..." she blushed. A grinning Brenda led us up the stairs where Jules was waiting. "Bren and Jules have been preparing this for us." I looked at them, "Thank you very much..." "Enjoy..." they kissed us and let us out the side door. "Oh, James, this is heavenly!" Sherri gushed as we went up to the clearing. The moon glowed through the clouds with a torpid fullness and frosted the land with gentle light. We looked out on the lake, hazy and shimmering with mystery and wildness and anticipation. She took my arm, "The sea, the sky, and thee..." She sighed, "What a wonderful dream, a dream that lives forever." She breathed, "I could not ask for any more..." The breeze stirred her hair against my brow and I gazed at her refreshing beauty. She saw my look and smiled, "Am I not handsome enough for you, my love, my dearest master?" "You are that, and more, my glorious fairy..." I murmured, turning and leading her to the trailer that was the original Eyrie. She gasped as we entered. The inside was dark but for a small flickering lamp and the bed in the corner was cocooned in satin and silk. The sleeping bag laid on top, decorated in hearts. Sherri blew the lamp out and, lit by moonlight through the window, slowly removed her clothes. She laid, gleaming with need, and opened her arms, "Now, my master, make me yours." ============= (C) Copyright 2002. M.C. All Rights Reserved. All Reproduction for fee or profit forbidden. Copies of my stories can be downloaded from: </files/Authors/MikeC/> or at <http://StoriesOnline.net> Send all comments and suggestions to MikeC@NSpace.net