Claudia Near The End Of The Road

By Poison Ivan

Warning! The following work of fiction contains sexual activities between consenting adults. You must be at least 18 years old to read it.

Neil and I had driven twenty-two hours straight on summer-hot highways all the way from Phoenix, Arizona, and we pulled into Tacoma at just after midnight. We were red-eyed and stiff but happy to have reached our target destination for the day, and we immediately called Neil's brother Earl. Neil called six times, but Earl wasn't home, or his phone was out, or maybe Earl was fucking his girlfriend and didn't want to be bothered.

Neil and I had about twelve bucks left between us, which wasn't so bad because Neil was pretty sure we'd get in touch with Earl sooner or later and we didn't need to spend any money on a motel. So, just as the warm summer Tacoma rains began to patter our windshield, we pumped four bucks into the gas tank of Neil's old Ford and took the rest of our cash into Mindy's Pancake House to try to comfort our grumbling bellies.

Neil vibrated with enthusiasm for Mindy's. "Me and Claudia, we used to come here every Friday night." Neil gesticulated widely, his arms sweeping out grand arcs as his voice rose in pitch. "We'd smoke cigarettes and make out in the booths until the night manager got mad and tossed us out on our asses."

"Hey there, you!" Neil yelled to the waitress smacking gum and guarding the register. He read her nametag. "Maxine! Do you remember me, Maxine?"

But Maxine looked ten years too young to remember Neil from his teenage carousing days. "Two for dinner?" she said slack-jawed, her young shoulders bowed like she'd spent her shift lugging boulders on her back.

Maxine deposited Neil and me in a booth and dropped menus in front of us. I pored over the breakfast entrees looking for meals that cost less than four bucks; Neil was too excited and left his menu lying in front of him. There were two women in the booth behind ours who were whispering and drinking coffee. Neil, of course, noticed them immediately. "Sam, this was always the place to pick up chicks," Neil said. "Any time you wanted to get laid, all you had to do was strut into Mindy's and you'd find yourself some tail! Ha! The stories I could tell you!

"Did I ever tell you about Claudia, Sam? Oh, man! Claudia! She was something else!"

And then Neil's attention faltered. He looked past my head like he was trying to peer around a slow-moving truck. "Don't look now, old buddy, but I do believe there are a couple of honeys over here who are giving us the eye!"

There were angry whispers and giggling from the next table and then, from one of the girls, an audible alto voice: "You know the problem with this place? You never meet anyone new!"

Neil beamed. "Ladies, then maybe you should focus your attention on this pair of weary travelers!"

"And who might you be?" the alto replied.

"I am Neil, and my friend here is Sam." I craned around to look at the girls. There was a blonde and a brunette, but only the blonde was looking our way. "We are visitors in your fair city," Neil continued, "and we are in dire need of some local companionship."

The blonde alto was doing all the talking. "You don't get much more local than us," she said. "This is Anne," she motioned to her friend. "And my name is Bea."

Neil stood to shake hands and took an immediate interest in blue- eyed Bea. We were invited to join them in their booth, and we soon paired off: Neil with Bea, and me with Anne.

This is the way things usually worked out with Neil and me. Neil would find a couple girls, peel off one for himself, and cast aside the second one for me to pick up. Girls were always drawn to Neil's enormous energy and charm. When Neil turned it on, when he really ignited, there was no one in the world more attractive to the fairer sex.

Bea's friend was shy, which was not unusual, but Anne was even shier than most. She nibbled the nail on her little finger and followed the conversation between Neil and Bea with eyes half curtained by her dark bangs.

It didn't take long before Neil and Bea were footsying under the table and staring moon-eyed at one another. I had seen Neil operate often enough; it was a matter of minutes before he would propose that we find more intimate surroundings. Unfortunately, we had no money. But you can always count on Neil to dream up a plan for any occasion, especially when fucking was on the agenda.

When my Anne excused herself to use the restroom, Neil took the opportunity to swap seats and settled in next to his conquest for the night. When Anne returned, she sat down beside me, as quiet as a stone.

Neil put an arm around Bea and pressed up close. "Do you ladies have any suggestions on where we could spend the evening?" he boomed. "Someplace a little more, um, private?"

The women exchanged glances. "There's always the Evergreen Motel," Bea said.

"Ah, yes!" Neil exclaimed. "A fine establishment! Did I tell you girls that I once lived right in this very neighborhood, and I have experienced a handful of exceptional liaisons at that very establishment? You could say it is my good luck charm!"

"And I'm sure it hasn't changed a bit," murmured Anne, the first words to leave her mouth since we joined them.

"A unanimous choice, then!" Neil laughed. He leaped to his feet, and we all followed along, afraid that Neil might leave us behind. We gathered our things and left the diner.

Anne lagged, and I had to slow my pace to stay with her. This often happened with the shy girl, who would be disappointed that her friend got Neil. A quickie affair with a big, bombastic fellow like Neil was one thing; settling for his quiet sidekick was something else entirely.

The four of us piled into the Ford with the girls in back, and Neil navigated the short distance to an old, two-story motel with a bright neon sign in front. Neil killed the engine and twisted around to face the girls.

"Um, ladies, I must ask a slight favor of you," he said. "Our travels have left us temporarily low on cash. If you could lend us enough to pay the innkeeper, I can guarantee you a speedy reimbursement."

Anne clucked her tongue and shook her head. Bea just laughed. "We are modern women," said Bea, pulling a credit card from her purse. "Why don't you two stay in the car while Anne and I get the rooms."

Neil gave one of his prize smiles, his teeth bright as chrome. "We thank you, ladies. You will not regret it!"

Neil and I sat in the car while the girls walked across the parking lot towards the lobby. "She is something, is she not?" Neil enthused as soon as they were out of earshot. "What did I tell you about Mindy's, Sam? The girls are fast, hot, and easy! And Sam, your girl is nothing to shake your stick at, either. I wouldn't mind getting myself a piece of that myself! Man, Sam, would you look at the asses on those chicks!"

I had to agree, both possessed wonderfully peachy bottoms displayed magnificently in their tight dungarees.

"Isn't it funny, Sam? I spent my teenage years right here in Tacoma, but I didn't appreciate the girls here then. I had to leave, scrutinize every inch of this big country - I had to live - before I could finally see the prize pussy I had right in my own backyard! Ha! Who says you can't come home again!

"But I suppose it's all for the best, Sam. If I knew how hot the girls were, I would have never drifted to New Orleans, I would have never hooked up with you, and we would have never had the adventures we've had. Remember those chicks in Denver, Sam? Do you remember Gwen? Man, Sam! The times we've had!

"I love the road, old friend. The all-night drives. And the all- night tumbles in the hay! If it wasn't for you, Sam, where would I be right now? I could never make it out on the road by myself, you know. On these long, quiet highways alone, it would drive me fucking nuts! All this, Sam, all the places and all the chicks, I owe it all to you.

"We've had ourselves some fantastic ass, haven't we, Sam? And I feel in my gut that we're in for something great tonight, too.

"I'll tell you, Sam, there's a trick to scoring with chicks like these. You know what it is, don't you? You got to let them know how much you really want them. They love it when you can't get enough of them, and they love to put out for an appreciative gentleman like myself! Like my grandma always said, `There's nothing more satisfying than feeding a hungry man!'"

Bea stepped outside the motel office and made her way back towards our car. Anne scurried the opposite direction and disappeared up the motel staircase. Bea tapped on the glass, and Neil rolled down the window.

"Rooms 231 and 233," Bea grinned, swinging a shiny key. "Park the car and meet us there."

Neil looked as excited as a dog getting ready to bury a bone. "You'd better hurry, honey, or I'll beat you there!"

Neil slammed on the gas, and we peeled out around the parking lot. We shuddered to a stop more-or-less between two white lines, and Neil bounded out of the car after the retreating Bea. I hurried after them.

When I reached the rooms, Neil and Bea were already reveling boisterously inside, while Anne waited for me outside the door. "Your name is Sam, right?" Anne said.

I nodded and Anne pushed open the door to our room.

As far as motel rooms go, I'd slept in plenty worse. Well lit, unstained carpets. The art on the wall was atrocious, but at least it was nicely framed.

Anne threw her purse on the bed and shook her damp hair back. For the first time, I got a clear look at her face. Her eyes were dark and crisp, and there was a strong cut to her jaw that I had not noticed at the diner.

"So, Sam, how long are you two in town for?" she asked. She folded her raincoat over the back of a chair.

"Not long. We'll probably head up to Seattle soon and look for work."

"You know anybody there?"

"Neil has some connections."

"There are jobs there, but Seattle's expensive. I hope you have a place to stay."

"What about you? Where do you work?"

"I'm a cashier in Albertson's. Been there six years." She tried to sound like it was something she was proud of, working as a cashier for six years, but there was a sadness deep down in her belly, a sadness that shadowed her words.

"Do you do OK there? Is this all right, us bumming money off you?"

She scrunched up her nose. "You don't need to worry about me."

"It's just that Neil can be a little pushy sometimes."

"I know guys like Neil," she said. "You have to watch out for his kind. I hope you know what you're getting yourself into, following him around like this."

"Neil is all right. You don't know him like I do." It was a common litany of mine, sticking up for Neil. People were always telling me that Neil was irresponsible, that he was nothing but trouble.

We had an awkward moment. Anne looked around the room and sighed. "So what are we going to do here?" she said.

"Look, you don't have to do anything with me if you don't want to," I said. This was another conversation I often had, letting the second-place girl know that I didn't expect her to fuck me just because Neil was banging her best friend in the next room.

"Oh, you don't have to worry about that!" Anne said.

"It's just that this kind of thing happens sometimes. All the girls seem to like Neil. I mean, no one even asked if you wanted to spend the night with me. And here we are."

Anne sighed again. "And here we are."

We had another awkward moment. It didn't look like I'd be popping my cork this particular night. It was time to hunker down, make a little small talk to pass the time. If nothing else, these girls always like to hear more about my traveling companion.

"So, I wonder if your friend will be able to keep up with Neil."

Anne laughed. She had a sparkling laugh, one that took me by surprise. "Oh, I wouldn't worry too much about that. Darlene's looking for an excuse to cut loose. She just separated from her husband."

"Darlene?" I questioned.

"Oops. I meant Bea. Darlene is another friend of mine. She just got separated too."

"You had two friends get separated at the same time?"

"I don't want to talk about it. It's kind of complicated."

She was hiding something, but who was I to make a scene? The last thing she needed was to have some guy she'd never met before probe into her personal affairs. It would be smarter to keep the conversation easy.

"So what was the plan for tonight? Were you just spending time with a good friend who needed a little companionship?"

"Yeah, something like that. Actually, I just recently broke up with someone too. Bea and I were consoling each other."

I was about to ask her if everyone she knew was splitting up, but I decided to let it pass. "What about you? You're not looking to cut loose tonight?"

She looked at me out of the corner of her eye. A tiny smile touched the corners of her mouth. "Me and Bea, we cut loose in different ways."

"How so?"

"For one thing, Bea was married for seven years. She's been out of circulation for a long time. And when I was younger, I lived the wild life. I already know what it's like. I don't need to experience it again.

"Life is a lot different for a single woman, Sam. When you're not married, you live a little closer to loneliness all the time. And so you fall for your lovers more quickly. And most of the time, it doesn't turn out well. So what can I do? I can't beat myself up over every stupid one-night stand. At least those relationships ended before they turned into something long-term and disastrous. And I'm still out there trying. I'm an expert at picking myself up and dusting myself off.

"Not that I'm complaining. It makes life fun. I get the excitement I need in life with all the stops and gos. I don't need to experience something crazy to keep my life entertaining."

This was a conversation I could enjoy. I enthusiastically chimed in. "That's what I like about traveling around the country with Neil," I said. "I like starting something new. We're in a different city every week. It's like every time I stand up and look around, the scenery is new and wonderful. It makes starting over again an exciting adventure."

The bedsprings next door began screeching. Anne smiled and shook her head. We stood and listened for a moment. Bea's muffled moans floated above the dissonant, shrieking chords.

"I take it Neil gets a lot of girls," Anne said.

"Yes, probably more than his fair share."

"Doesn't he ever get tired of it? Doesn't he ever want to settle down?"

"No, not that I know of. Oh, sure, there are a few girls he still talks about. Mostly the wild nights. And sometimes he talks about the mistakes."

"Have there been a lot of mistakes?"

"Not according to Neil. If he can get his rocks off, he doesn't complain much."

The conversation paused for a moment, the bedsprings still singing next door, and then Anne smiled. "So what do you think, Sam? About you and me. If we got together tonight, would we be a mistake? Do you think I'll be dusting myself off in the morning?"

I shrugged. "Probably," I admitted.

She grinned. "Yes, I think you're probably right. But you know what, Sam? There's one thing I've learned how to do over the years: I can look at a man and size him up. Looking at you, I can tell you're an OK guy. I've definitely fucked worse."

This is not the way these conversations usually go. Oh sure, as often as not I get to sleep with the other girl. I usually make vague references to Neil, get the other girl to think she might still have a shot. And they sometimes jump at the chance that fucking me might help them get to Neil. But I always felt a little dirty afterwards, like I'd cheated my way into her panties. This time, with Anne, it was not like that. When I said, "Probably," I'd never played a note of such honesty before.

Anne kicked off her shoes. "So now I'm curious, Sam. What's it going to be? Wham bam thank-you ma'am? Or you the type who wants to `make love?'"

I replied immediately. One thing about driving around the country with Neil, you have a lot of time behind the wheel to discuss things like `love.'

"I don't like to call it making love. What does `love' mean, after all? Are you and I in love?"

She grinned. "I suppose not."

"If it were up to me," I added, "we'd just get together and make each other feel good for a little while."

"Such a noble cause."

I almost got angry, but it is hard to be angry with a beautiful woman who is about to fuck you. "Don't make fun of me," I said. "There is already far too much cynicism in the world. I can do without the complexity and negativity."

Anne stared at me with eyes that wanted to open me up to look inside. "So what are you trying to tell me, Sam? That life is simple? That all I have to do is sit back and enjoy it?"

"Yes," I said emphatically, meaning as far as I was concerned, the conversation was over. I stepped up close to her. I put my thumb under her strong chin and tipped her head back until those dark eyes stared at me like a moonbeam.

And we kissed.

It was like her entire body exhaled, and all Anne's pent-up resistance suddenly vanished, dispersing into the atmosphere where it would never bother anyone again. The change in her was thrilling, and I knew at once that I was in for something special tonight.

We helped each other undress. When her bra was off, I ran the back of my hands down the slope of her breasts. When my boxers hit the floor, she briefly petted my stiff penis. When her panties were gone, I cupped her hairy mound.

She sat back against the bed's headboard with her knees apart. Black crinkly hair covered her sex. She breathed deeply.

I crawled up on the bed and stared at her most female center. The aroma of her tickled my nose. The soft, smooth skin of her inner thighs seemed to beg for the soft, smooth touch of my lips.

I watched her face as I kissed one knee then the other. Her eyes sparkled, and she bit her lower lip with her small white teeth.

I rubbed my cheek against her inner thigh. Her skin was warm and smooth. From this closer viewpoint, I could see her sexy slit through the dark, dense pubes.

My lips brushed through her hair. The musk of her was thick there. I tugged on her hair with my teeth. I pushed my face inwards and nestled against her crotch. I buried my nose in Anne's soft, fragrant flesh.

My nose worked between her folds and I opened my mouth and gobbled her outer lips. With my tongue, I parted her. I tasted her. I licked her.

I grabbed her thighs with both hands and sucked her clitoris. She ground back against my face, and I licked her clit.

Her hips rumbled as I settled on her clit, and with firm, slow strokes, I wiped her swollen bulb over and over.

She spoke. First, with simple exclamations: "Oh God!" "There!" And digressing into vowel sounds: "Aaaa!" "Oooo!" And finally the long, drawn out "Uuuuugh!" as she gasped and arched. I pulled back as her body throbbed like a heartbeat. As she came, her dark nipples pulled up in tight knots.

As she recovered, I lay down beside her, and Anne wiped the sweat off her cheek. "Thank you," she whispered. "You are a very sweet man, Sam."

Just then there was a loud pounding on the motel door. "Sam!" Neil yelled. "You in there, Sam? Come on, I got hold of Earl! He's got a party going on. I'll bet he didn't know it was a Welcome Home Party for his long lost brother Neil!"

Anne and I looked at each other. "Whatever you want to do," she said.

"We'd better go, then," I said.

Anne dressed efficiently and silently. I was not sure if she were angry or not. I felt like the energy had been drained out of me, but I wasn't about to let Neil leave me in an out-of-the-way motel while he gallivanted the night away. We shuffled out to the car, where Neil and Bea had already taken their places in front and were bouncing in their seats to the song on the radio turned up so loud the tiny speakers buzzed with distortion.

Bea had fully adopted Neil's extroverted enthusiasm, just as Anne had predicted. It was a role she was eager to play.

Anne huddled in the back seat with me and didn't say a word. Neil tossed the Ford in gear and we dashed off into the warm, heavy night. We screeched around corners, raced the red lights, and kicked up rooster-tails in the wide puddles of the dark Tacoma streets.

We screeched to a halt in front of a small wooden house. With the rain temporarily on hold, dozens of people spilled out into the backyard, which was surrounded by a picket fence. We could see people dancing through the front window.

Neil flipped off the car radio and Bea stopped dancing in her bucket seat. "What did I tell you, Sam!" Neil pounded his knee with his fist. "My brother knows how to put on one hell of a party! But you ain't seen nothing yet! Look out, Tacoma! Neil Drabeck is back in town!"

Neil turned to Bea and his expression suddenly turned serious. "Honey, there's something you need to know about me. We're just getting to know each other, but there is something you must do if you want to party with yours truly."

"And what is that?" Bea said, a smile breaking on her lips. For a woman we only recently met, Bea had already picked up on a few of Neil's idiosyncrasies, including the way he speaks seriously only when he's about to say something outrageous.

"You need to be wild!" Neil bellowed. He whooped at the top of his lungs. Anne put her hands over her ears, but Bea was shaking with excitement. "And you need to be crazy! Because I intend to be wild and I intend to be crazy and I will not have my bed partner for the night act any less!

"So are you ready, Bea? Are you ready for the night of your life?"

Bea screeched, "Yessssss!" and shook her head crazily, her blond hair swirling all around her face. "I am ready to party!" She leaped out of the car and galloped around the front yard, her arms raised in the air, hooting loudly. Neil bounded out of the car after her. He swept her up in his arms, and she wrapped herself around him, and their hungry lips met in a deep, wet kiss.

Neil and Bea stampeded through the front door, and Anne and I straggled after them.

Earl's party was hot and boisterous. As soon as Anne and I were inside, Neil accosted us and took our quartet off to meet his big brother.

Earl was a serious-looking fellow, very unlike Neil. Even as the party streamed in all directions, he kept careful watch, noting what everyone was doing. When someone got too rambunctious, Earl hurried off to calm him down. He showed a keen sense of control. This was his party.

I could imagine him with Neil when they were kids. Neil always running around getting in trouble, and Earl not caring as long as Neil stayed out of his stuff. And Neil getting the snot beat out of him if he ever stepped over the line.

Earl introduced us to his keg of beer, instructed us to have a good time, and went back to mingle with his guests.

Anne and I sat on the couch and nursed our drinks as the party surged around us. Neil and Bea were not in a sitting mood, and as soon as they hit the dance floor, the pace of the party shifted into overdrive. It was like everyone absorbed their excess energy. The floor, the walls, the air, it all thudded with the magnified musical beat.

Bea draped herself all over Neil. Somewhere along the way, she had lost her bra and a couple blouse buttons, and her breasts bobbed as Neil and Bea jumped together to the music. The other dancers found their rhythm, the heat and the pounding intensified.

Not even Anne was immune to the couple's energy. She watched them like a gawker passing a bloody car wreck. Her nipples hardened under her tee shirt.

During a pause between songs, Bea grabbed a plastic cup full of some drink and swallowed the entire thing. "I'm going to dance naked!" she yelled. And she hopped around to the opening strain of the next song as she worked the remaining buttons of her blouse.

"That's it!" Neil laughed. "That's it, Honey! Take it all off!"

Bea howled as she swung her blouse like a helicopter. Her shapely tits wobbled and a couple men whistled from around the room. She tossed her blouse away and jumped into Neil's arms. They kissed and ground against each other, and Neil pawed Bea's bare breasts.

Bea worked the buttons on Neil's shirt, and soon his shirt was lying somewhere on the floor. Bea and Neil kissed hard and rubbed their naked chests together.

Bea slipped out of Neil's arms and wiggled out of her jeans. In just her little blue panties, Bea stepped up on a coffee table. She spun to the music a few times and the partiers crowded closer. Bea pinched her nipples until they hardened like pebbles.

"Why's everybody hollering?" Bea laughed.

"It's you, Honey!" Neil said. "All the boys like you!"

"All the boys like me? They like plain old little old me?"

Anne blinked rapidly, refocusing her vision on her friend stripping in front of all these strangers. She stood and squeezed through the crowd and tried to break in. "Come on Darlene, tone it down a little, OK? You don't want to do anything you'll regret later."

"Oh, you are wrong there, my dear friend," Bea slurred. "If I'm not doing something I'll regret later, then I'm not doing it right!"

"Darlene ..."

"Besides," Bea interrupted in a loud voice, "these boys are here for the show! Aren't you boys?"

A raucous cheer rose from the crowd.

"You all like naked girls here?"

If the music had not been so loud, I'm sure the approval of the spectators would have been spectacular. Everyone clustered around, like rush hour traffic bunched together on an interstate.

"You guys like my boobies?" Bea said, holding her tits up and shaking them. "See, girlfriend? Everyone likes my boobies."

Anne backed off a step, but she did not take her eye off the woman on the table dressed in only her panties. Bea spiraled on the table, the people cheered.

Anne relented. I suspect a big part of her wished for Bea to continue, and the warning was just for show, something to point out the next morning when Bea asked her why she didn't try to stop her. She edged back towards the couch, where we watched Bea's show side-by-side. I noticed Anne absently stroking her own belly as Bea began to tease the crowd with her blue panties.

"I wonder which one of you boys will get lucky tonight?" Bea said. She stretched the waistband of her panties until they pulled tight up into her crotch. "I am way horny." She cast a sly smile in Neil's direction.

Bea peeled her panties down and shot them off into the crowd like a rubber band. Sweat shone on her bare face and belly. Everyone stared at the dirty-blond tangle of Bea's pubic hair. The anticipation ratcheted upwards. What would Bea do next? What was the next step?

She began to dance, turning and swinging her hips suggestively. She wagged her firm butt at the on-lookers. She danced and touched herself, running her hands up and down her belly and thighs, squeezing her tits, and then sliding towards the juncture of her legs.

She pushed her hips forward and swirled her pubic hair with her fingernails. "What do you say, boys and girls?" Bea taunted. "Do you want to see more? Do you want to see my horny pussy?"

The question, of course, was rhetorical. Bea bent over with her legs in an inverted V. Her furry furrow puffed into the open. She playfully covered herself with her hand, then drew downward, parting herself with her middle finger, a glint of pink following her fingernail as she delved into her sex.

The display left me breathless. The crowd seemed to shiver. Bea stood and laughed, and she resumed dancing.

And suddenly she stopped. She faced directly at Neil. "I am going to fuck ..." and Bea pointed straight at Neil, "I am going to fuck you until your dick falls off."

"Now there is a challenge worth pursuing!" Neil laughed.

And Earl yelled from across the room. "Hey! Keep off the furniture!"

We all turned our attention towards the kitchen. The crowd separated like a forest being split by a highway. Earl sped through and stared at Bea with his hands on his hips.

Naked Bea stepped down off the table, a blush rising on her cheeks.

"I think it's time to call it a night," Earl said.

Bea reached towards Neil but lost her balance. She stumbled and fell, dragging Neil down with her as they crashed to the floor.

"Aw, bro!" Neil laughed from his position tangled up with Bea. "This party is just getting under way!"

"Not here it isn't," Earl said. "I don't want the cops here, Neil. If you want to keep going, find somewhere else to party. It's late. I'm sending everyone home now."

The crowd had already thinned significantly. Earl was not someone to fuck around with.

"You need a place to sleep tonight, Neil?"

Bea crawled on top of Neil and began sucking on his nipples. "I don't think I'm going to be doing much sleeping tonight, bro!"

"OK, then I'm going to spend the night at Rebecca's," Earl said. "Can I trust you here, Neil? You won't destroy my house, will you?"

"I can't make any promises," Neil laughed like a roll of thunder, his exuberance completely unhindered by the dissipating crowd. He squeezed Bea's naked tits with both hands, and she grabbed his crotch. "This chick may fuck the whole house down!"

Bea held her head up. "I just might!" she said.

"Just take it easy, OK Neil? You can have my room, and Sam can have the hide-a-bed in the den. I told a few people they could crash on the floor, but I think everyone is splitting for the night. I'll be back, Neil. Early tomorrow morning. OK?"

"What do you think, honey? Can you hold off until we get to bed?"

Bea was busy fishing inside Neil's pants, and she finally released his half-hard penis. "The question is, Neil, can you hold off?" she said. She grabbed Neil's prick and stroked him.

"Oh, honey! You do that so good!"

"Look, you guys," Earl said, "I'm glad you're having a good time, but take it to the back room, OK?"

"No," Bea said, and she wrestled down Neil's pants.

"Move it," Earl said.

"Hey, honey, let's go!" Neil said, his now stiff prick wobbling like the pointer held by a drunk teacher.

He struggled to his feet and kicked his pants the rest of the way off. Bea whined as she stood up after him. The naked couple rumbled off, their bare bottoms bouncing down the hallway. Neil yelled back over his shoulder. "Thanks, Earl! You've made your brother a very happy man!"

Earl left, and Anne and I retired to the study. The room contained stacks and stacks of paperback books and a simple wood desk covered with loose papers. An old sleeper sofa gaped open on the far wall. Folded sheets and blankets were stacked at the foot of the bed.

Anne and I silently made the bed. The house was eerily quiet. We couldn't even hear Neil and Bea in the next room.

Anne began disrobing. "I have to say, Sam, I don't get it. What is it about men with the way they react to a naked woman? It's not like you all haven't seen about a million naked women by the time you're sixteen years old. Magazines, TV, movies. Naked women are everywhere. I would think you'd all get bored of us after a while."

"Part of it is just built in, it's the way we're wired," I said. "But there's more to it than that. I also think there's something about a woman who doesn't mind being looked at naked. It's the intimation that she is confident and sexually uninhibited. That mix of confidence and sexual openness is extremely arousing."

"Hm. Interesting answer, Sam. So I take it you've thought about this question before?" She dropped her panties and was now naked herself. She stood at the side of the bed, the stark light from the desk lamp casting deep shadows across the curves and crevices of her body. Her breasts looked like Rocky Mountain peaks at sunset. And the shadowy meadow between her thighs drew my libidinous attention.

A growl grew in my throat. I pulled down my underwear and my cock sprung up, fully erect.

"I guess we're going to fuck now, huh?" Anne said.

"You are just as turned on as I am. I can tell."

"How can you tell, Sam?"

"I just can."

And I could. I couldn't place my finger on exactly what it was, but there was something. Maybe there was a subtle flush in her skin. Or the way her breasts rose and fell with her breath. Or maybe it was something in her posture. Or maybe I sensed a rasp in her voice.

Whatever it was, I knew she wanted to fuck as badly as I did.

I was on her with just a couple steps, my arms wrapping up her naked body and pulling her into me. My stiff prick prodded her soft belly, and we kissed hard. With both hands, she grabbed my ass.

I twisted her to the side and let my weight down on her, and we tumbled onto the mattress. I was immediately up between her legs. Her thighs spread wide apart and my cock slid up against her hot, humid hole. My glans eased between her puffy lips, and I stopped there for a moment, just inside the vestibule of her sex. I grabbed my shaft with one hand and swept my cock up and down through her drenched slit, teasing her clit, teasing her opening, spreading her lubrication all over my cockhead.

I used my slippery cock to masturbate her, rubbing up and down over her clit, and she grabbed her own tits and pulled on her nipples. "Fuck me, Sam. Stick it in me. Fuck me."

I placed my cock at the opening of her vagina. Her cunt seemed to beg for me to enter. I pushed a little further, and in I slid, my cockhead stopping just inside, bathed in liquid heat.

She held her breath, like she was underwater and needed to reach the surface before she could take in air again. There was the tiniest change in her expression as I pushed gently inwards. I slid easily inside, navigating her tunnel until I was fully engulfed.

"Oh, Sam. Now fuck me. Fuck me, Sam."

She grabbed my hips with both hands as I began stroking slowly in and out.

"Harder, Sam. Fuck me. Really fuck me."

And I forced myself deeper inside her, crushing my hips hard into hers.

"Ooo, yes, that's good. Now faster."

I pulled as far out as I dared and thrust back in, again forcing myself in to the hilt. I pulled out slowly, afraid if I got moving too fast, I'd slip out.

"Harder, Sam. Faster."

I tried to comply. I found a rhythm that seemed to work, slowly withdrawing, and a hard, powerful thrust inward that took her breath away.

She hooked her heels around my butt. "Come on, Sam, fuck me. Fuck me harder. Faster. Harder."

She dug her fingernails into my back.

"Fill me up, Sam. Fill me with your cock. Cum inside me."

I forgot about slipping out and pounded into her with the fury of a cheated man. Our bodies slapped together, she grunted with each deep jab. While the slippery froth of her cunt lubricated every stroke, she pinched and scratched me. She grabbed my hair and pulled, forcing me down to meet her, crushing my mouth into hers. When we kissed, she bit my lower lip.

I pulled away. "Ow! Stop it," I warned, but the flaring nostrils and amused smile made it clear she wasn't afraid of me. She jabbed a fingernail into my nipple and I yelped. "Stop it? Stop what?" she said.

I paused and I grabbed her head, held her head in both hands, forced her to look straight up at me. Her eyes glared white hot, and her lips were fiery red. I held her head tightly, forcing her to stare me in the eye. "Is this what you want?" I whispered. And I crushed my hips into her with every bit of strength I had. My cock rammed so deep I was sure I was up inside her belly.

The desires of our bodies began to take over. She began to loosen, her mouth went slack, her eyes closed, her head tipped slightly back. I pushed hard and deep, and I felt the pleasure begin to rise inside me. She was squeezing me, milking me with her cunt, resisting each stroke for a half beat and releasing me to fill her depths. "Oh Sam," she groaned.

I was on the verge of coming, but I tried to hold off, fuck her just a little longer so she could get hers too. Only I was sure it was too late. I jabbed feebly with what little coordination I had left. Once, twice, three times. And on the last stroke before I was overcome, she groaned loudly, beautifully. Surprised and delighted that I'd lasted long enough, I dropped down on top of her, buried myself in her core, and deposited my seed in the depths of her spasming cunt.

I felt utterly drained. My muscles refused to respond to my commands. Before I crumpled completely, I forced myself off to the side and dropped limply to the mattress. I was covered with sweat, and I immediately felt cold.

We crawled under the covers, and I fought back the desire to doze off.

She draped her arm across her eyes. I snuggled up against her, but she flinched.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"Nothing."

"Something is wrong. Tell me, what is it?"

She looked at me, as grim as a businessman. "You know what I don't like about this, Sam? About fucking men that I know will never love me? Who will never want to marry me and want to have children with me? It's the times like this. After we fuck. When we're lying here and there is nothing more to do. How do we part gracefully?"

"We don't have to part gracefully yet," I said. "We have time. We can lie here and talk."

She sighed. "But what do we have to talk about, Sam? Aren't we just two people crossing paths for a single day in this far-off corner of the country? Do you think five years from now anyone will care whether we talked or not? When you or I think back on this day, when we're old and wrinkled and we're wondering what went wrong in our lives, do you think we'll remember the words we exchanged? No, all we'll remember is that we fucked. And maybe we won't even remember that."

It dawned on me that some strange cosmic mistake had been made. Between Anne and Bea, Anne was not really the shy one. Some mysterious twist had occurred, and I had been paired off with the girl Neil was supposed to have.

The novelty of my situation spurred me to press on. "You could tell me about your love life," I said.

Anne laughed. "What? You want to hear about my old lovers? Is that it, Sam?" She laughed again. "And I thought I'd met every kind of man there was, and then along comes you!"

"It's not that I want to know about your old lovers, ..." I began.

At least I had amused her. "Oh, you don't fool me!" she laughed and snuggled up close. Her hand rubbed up and down my belly. Amazingly, my cock jerked to attention. I do not normally recover so quickly. She whispered in my ear, "You want to hear every sordid detail, don't you, Sam? You want to hear about the sex? The way their penises looked, and the way they felt inside me? Or the blowjobs I gave? Or the men who gave good head and the ones who didn't have a clue?

"Or would you rather hear about my first true love, Sam? The man I was head-over-heels about, but I let him get away, and now I'm living my sad, dreary life? You want to hear about the decision I made all those years ago that I've regretted for every day since?

"Well, Sam, I hate to disappoint you, but I have no regrets."

And she cradled my balls and gently lifted them. With her other hand, she smoothed the underside of my penis. She smiled like the Mona Lisa. "I've been told I give a kick-ass blowjob." Her hand slowly encircled my stiffening shaft, and she pointed my erection straight up. "What do you think, Sam? Do you want me to suck your cock? Do you want to be the beneficiary of all the tricks I've learned over he years?"

And she pressed her lips down along the shaft of my penis, and her spit-slicked lips worked up and down my erection. She sucked and licked and nibbled, and it was like she was playing me, playing my cock like a musical instrument. She popped her mouth down over the head and bathed me with her tongue. She strummed my balls with her fingernails.

And she orchestrated the blowjob of my life. She hummed with me in her mouth, the rich, reedy hum of oboes, tickling me with the sonorous vibrations. And then the light, easy kisses, her lips running up and down my shaft, each kiss clean and pure, like the music of flutes.

The performance began to lose its free-form rhythm, and she slowly found a beat. She blew me in four-four time, her hand pumping up and down as she took me deeper in to her hot, moist mouth: one-two-three-four!, one-two-three-four!

The brass section came crashing in, blowing hard, braaaagh-ing and waaaahing around my cock. And the glorious, slutty slide of the trombones taking over, up and down, like fucking a woman, only I was in Anne's melodious mouth instead of her heated fuck hole.

And then came the magnificent onslaught of the timpani, the pounding, thundering beat, and I tried to sing along, but my voice was nothing but a strangled cry. And with one final cymbal crash, the glorious crescendo. The long, final roll of percussion beat through me, and I gushed in rhythm into her sucking mouth.

In the quiet after the performance, I almost expected to hear an ovation.

Anne lay beside me and we kissed. The faint taste of semen colored her breath. We kissed and snuggled together, and we lay quietly together.

There wasn't much to say.

The heat of our bodies became uncomfortable and we separated. Anne soon dozed off. I lay staring into the darkness, wondering about this surprising woman.

As I pondered our place in the universe, the door cracked open and Neil's silhouette peeked inside. "Sam!" he whispered loudly.

I quietly got out from under the covers and crept to the door. I whispered back, trying to let Anne sleep. "What is it?"

"You got any money, Sam?" Neil whispered.

"I'm busted flat," I said. "Not a dime."

"What about her? What's her name?"

"Anne."

"What kind of money does she have?"

"I don't know, Neil. How should I know?"

"Why don't you find out, Sam! We need a little cash to turn this town inside out!"

"I'm not stealing her money, Neil."

"I wouldn't call it stealing, old boy! We need to liberate this cash from the shackles of the merely ordinary! There are more important things in life than laundry and telephone bills!"

Neil squeezed past me into the room and plucked Anne's wallet out of her purse. He prowled through her wallet and I turned away in disgust. I stepped into the hallway. And while it was uncomfortable standing in the hallway of a strange house naked, the air was just a little easier to breathe.

A moment later, Neil was beside me. He flapped the wallet in front of my face.

"I thought you said this chick was named Anne," Neil said.

"That is her name," I said.

"Her name, my friend, is Claudia." He threw her wallet at me and it fell to the floor. I picked it up and looked inside. The driver's license inside was titled `Claudia Tyler.'

"So she lied," I shrugged. I was disappointed, to be sure, but looking back, I wasn't surprised. Why would a girl give her real name out to a couple transient strangers she met in a diner?

"Fuck, man!" Neil continued. "She doesn't look anything like her! My Claudia was a teenager! Long black hair and the softest lips I've ever kissed! And what a fuck she was, Sam! She had the sweetest twat this side of St. Louis! I can't believe this is the same chick! Of course now that I know, I must've been a blind man to miss it. The resemblance is there, a strong resemblance. I should've noticed! You were there, I was talking about Claudia right before we met them! I should've noticed!"

"What about Bea? Did she lie too?"

"You're not getting it, man! This chick is Claudia Tyler! This is my Claudia! I busted this chick's cherry!"

Oddly, I wasn't surprised. It was simply the feeling of "aha" as all the clues suddenly fell into place.

"What was she like, Sam? Don't leave out a single detail! I want to know everything, everything you saw, everything you felt. Don't leave out a single thing."

And so I gave Neil the blow-by-blow. He stood in rapt attention, rocking on his feet, as I described our conversations. And when I got to the sex, his face froze, his mouth hanging agape. And when I reached the finale, as I described coming in her mouth, he let out a joyful whoop.

"Sam, I must say, I am impressed! And just think! I taught this chick everything she knows! And I must say," he added, elbowing me in the ribs, "I taught you a thing or two about how to score with the ladies, too, didn't I, Sam!"

Neil jumped up and began to pace the room. "Oh man, Sam. Just think! It's Claudia! Claudia Tyler! I can't believe you fucked Claudia Tyler! Not that I'm complaining! Bea was fantastic, too. But Claudia Tyler!"

He stopped and stood facing me, his arms akimbo. "I'm telling you, Sam. I got to have her again. I can't stand it, I got to have her again."

"I don't know, Neil. If she is really your old Claudia, then I don't think she's going to be interested."

"Oh, she's my old Claudia, all right," Neil said. There's no doubt about that. But I don't know why she didn't say anything! I'll tell you, Sam, we had some amazing times! I'm getting a hard-on just thinking about it!"

I thought hard about the words Anne - that is, Claudia - had used when we talked. The bitter, unsweetened chocolate tone. And I tried to match her with the girl Neil raved about, the high school triumph that still ranks near the top of Neil's long list of victories.

"It's going to happen again, Sam. I can feel it."

"I think you're wrong, Neil."

"I'm going to go ask her," Neil said.

"Neil, this is a bad idea," I said.

"Wish me luck, old friend," Neil said. "I'm off to pay a visit to my old stomping grounds!"

And he rumbled off like a freight train and disappeared into Earl's den. I heard muffled voices through the door, but I didn't want to hear what the two old lovers had to say to one another, so I retreated to the kitchen, where the acoustics were worse but the food was better.

I snacked on pretzels for only a short while before Neil returned, walking fast, his arms swinging. "Shit!" he said. "She said no, but I'm telling you, Sam, if I don't get my cock inside Claudia's box again, I am going to burst! Just knowing she's in the next room, I'm not sure I can take it."

Neil absently threw a couple pretzels in his mouth, and then a sly expression came across his face. "But you know, Sam, you have made quite an impression on her."

I knew I was about to hear one of Neil's crazy schemes. He formulated his plans inside the wink of an eye, and you never knew what he would come up with next.

"We could set up the old switcheroo," Neil said, pointing a pretzel at me. He snapped his fingers. "Of course! It will be perfect! You, Sam, you will get her into bed, get her all warmed up. And at the perfect moment, I'll walk in the door! Oh, yes! This is great! Then you'll make a quiet exit, Sam, and I'll take your place."

"Neil ..." I tried to interrupt.

"Or if that didn't work, maybe we could both do her. Oh, man! Can you imagine that, Sam?"

"Absolutely not, Neil," I said.

"Sam, it would be perfect!"

"No, Neil. I won't do it."

"Can you imagine it, old friend? The two of us banging her at the same time? And did I ever tell you Claudia gives a kick-ass blowjob?"

I didn't remind Neil that I had just given him a detailed description of the blowjob Claudia had given me. "It won't work, Neil. Give it up."

"I think she'll go for it, Sam."

"I think she'd rather cut your dick off than have sex with you again, Neil. If I'm reading her right, she's pretty bitter about you driving off without her."

Neil paused for a rare moment of introspection. "You have a point there, old friend. I don't suppose it's easy for a girl to lose the likes of Neil Drabeck!"

"Why don't you go back and see to Bea? She's the one who really wants you."

"And I'll tell you, Sam, Bea was one amazing fuck! She's insatiable!"

"There you go."

"But Claudia ..."

I interrupted him before he could continue. "Why don't you just see where Bea will take you tonight, Neil? Worry about Claudia some other day."

Neil sighed and tapped his chin with his thick fingers. "You're right, Sam. Of course you're right. This is one of those delicate situations. And we don't have time for delicacy on this trip."

"You can be pretty wise when you want to be, Neil."

Neil smiled. He knew I was manipulating him, but he didn't seem to care. "I'm off, old friend!" Neil said, and he slapped me on the shoulder. I was relieved when he finally rumbled off to hook up again with Bea.

I returned to Claudia, who lay on her belly on top of the blanket. Her skin seemed to be illuminated from within, a soft, diffuse glow. The smooth, easy curves of her shoulder and back and bottom.

I lay down next to her and ran the back of my hand lightly across her skin.

"So now you know," she said.

In fact, I didn't know much at all, not by a long shot. I ran my hand across her butt, dipping my middle finger down between her cheeks.

She turned her head and looked at me out of the corner of her eye. "Mmm, I like that," she said.

"What? This?" And I slid my finger again between her cheeks.

"Yes, that feels good."

I tickled the small of her back with my fingertips. Claudia purred, and when I stroked firmly at the top of her ass crack, her voice ramped up towards a growl.

I took in her wonderful ass. The beautiful, smooth curves of her. The exciting cleft between those cheeks. I thought of what lay between them, and I wondered about her anus, whether she wanted me to touch her there. Tentatively, my finger traced lower. I reached the point where the feel of her skin changed, away from the regular, soft, firm skin, to the looser, more delicate skin at the edge of her asshole.

I watched carefully for her reaction. Her eyes were closed, a grin adorning her lips. I moved my fingertip around, skirting the edge of her anal opening.

I thought of touching her there, that deeply intimate place, and my cock became totally engorged. More boldly, I probed between and found her anus. I hesitated, fearing she would protest. But she did not make a sound. She spread her legs slightly more apart.

I could hardly contain myself. I wanted to dive in, to smother her asshole with caresses. I wanted to lick her there. I wanted to fuck her ass.

But I held back. Instead, I softly worked my finger back and forth, slowly tickling her rosebud. I teased, lightly stroking. And then I slid my finger down, found the lip of her vagina, and discovered copious, overflowing lubrication there.

I dipped in and out of her cunt until my finger was coated with her juice. And with my slicked up finger, I circled her anus, slowly increasing the pressure, feeling for the sphincter to yield, finding an exciting soft spot right in the center, and pressing my fingertip inwards.

"Oh, Sam," she whimpered.

I slid my fingertip in her butt up to the first little knuckle. I stirred my finger, feeling her muscle grip me.

I had to look more closely at what I was doing. It wasn't enough to just feel her anus, I had to see it with my own eyes. I flipped around and separated her butt cheeks with the palms of both hands. Her little pink asshole glistened with the lubrication I had moved from her pussy.

The urge to kiss her there was overpowering. I tickled her opening with my finger, teasing the supple flesh. I leaned down and planted a soft kiss on one cheek, then the other. I licked the small of her back with light little tongue flicks, and I traced my tongue down, slowly into the crease of her ass.

And then the door slammed open. I panicked. I was sure a jealous boyfriend had found us, discovered me delving into a secret spot where I should have never been allowed, sure that I was about to get a beating I would never forget. I scrambled to face the intruder, and Claudia yelped and tried to get under the covers.

But the intruder was just Neil. And Neil was naked and sported an enormous erection.

"Claudia!" he bellowed. "You have no idea how much I've missed you!"

I needed to say something. I opened my mouth to speak, but I couldn't think of any words. Neil strode forward until he was right beside the bed. His hard penis twitched and jerked just a few inches away from Claudia and me.

"Get out of here, Neil," Claudia spoke loudly. Unlike me, she had no problem coming up with the right words to use.

"I can hardly control myself, honey," Neil said. "I was lying in Earl's bed and thinking about you, and just look at me." He glanced down at his enormous erection. "I had to come see you."

"Neil," Claudia whined, but then her expression changed. She erupted. "What the fuck are you doing here, Neil?" she yelled.

"Claudia, I just wanted to be with you," Neil uncharacteristically pleaded.

Claudia turned to me. "What's going on, Sam? Is this some kind of god damned set up?"

"Neil, you'd better get out of here." I tried not to sound too disappointed in my friend, but I had had just about enough.

"Come one, Claudia. It's me, Neil! Remember the times we had when we were kids?"

"Neil, get out!" Claudia yelled.

Neil's erection began to droop. Bea peeked in the door. "Hey, everyone, cool down, OK? Everyone is getting way too serious."

"That's right!" Neil chimed in. "Let's just take it easy, have a little fun."

"I am not fucking you, Neil," Claudia stated.

Bea stepped in to the room. She was still naked. "Besides, fucking you is my job on this visit, isn't it Neil?"

Neil's head wobbled back and forth between Bea and Claudia. I could almost hear the computational gears spinning in Neil's head, plugging in the two variables - Claudia or Bea - evaluating the formula to see which held the greatest potential for the night.

Bea was naked; with Claudia nakedness hidden under the bed covers, the edge tipped dramatically in Bea's favor. As Neil once again gathered in Bea's body, his thick cock began to roll upwards.

Bea smiled wickedly. "I knew you'd come to seeing things my way." She glanced quickly at Claudia and winked. "You're not going to regret this, Neil."

Bea got down on her knees in front of Neil. She placed her hands on his bare hips. "Oh! Honey!" Neil moaned.

"I'm going to blow you, Neil" Bea said. And she opened her mouth wide. Neil's prick suddenly bounced up straight and stiff, and Bea opened her lips around him. She wrapped her arms around the back of his thighs, and she pumped her mouth slowly up and down.

"Oh! Honey!" Neil said. His face turned purple as a beat and he looked over at Claudia and me. "Oh, man, Sam. This chick is going to suck the life right out of me!" He began to tremble, and I thought he was about to crumble like a cracker.

Bea pulled her mouth off Neil's dick, which was all red and veined. "Claudia," Bea said. "Haven't you ever wanted to do something really slutty?"

I looked at Claudia, who was watching her friend's blowjob attentively. Claudia's respiration was deep and slow. Bea steered Neil over towards the hide-a-bed and urged him to sit down on the edge beside us.

"Come on, Claudia," Bea whispered. She began jerking Neil's erection. Neil closed his eyes and moaned. "You know you want to, Claudia."

She stroked Neil's cock with one hand and pulled the blanket off the bed with the other. "We're all friends here, right? We've all seen each other naked, right?" She pulled the blanket off Claudia and me, and for an instant, I felt a rush of panic at being exposed in front of all these people, especially as my dick revealed an excitement I was not eager to make public.

Yes, my dick was hard again. As my hard-on popped into the open, she fumbled a little with the stroke on Neil's prick. "My, just look at these two men!" she exclaimed. She reached over and took hold of Claudia's wrist. "Come on, Claudia," she whispered. And she dragged Claudia's hand towards my lap.

The pair of hands moved towards my cock, and Bea placed Claudia's small hand against my erection. "Come on, Claudia," she said.

Bea let Claudia go, but Claudia's hand dropped limply to my thigh. Claudia wasn't playing along. So Bea grabbed my penis. She had hold of Neil and me both. She smiled evilly, licking her lips.

And she stroked us both, a prick in each hand. Neil and I had participated in something like this once before, in Utah, where Gwen had a fantasy of doing two men at the same time, and Neil was eager to let that fantasy run its course.

"You are both very attractive men," Bea giggled. "So big and masculine."

She dropped my hard-on, which instantly slapped against my belly, and grabbed Neil's prick with both hands, lowered her mouth over the end, and sucked him with a passion that would scare an ordinary man. Her eyes locked directly on Claudia.

I turned towards Claudia, who was watching Neil, her first lover, being blown by Bea, her best friend. Her gaze met Bea's directly. Her breasts rose and fell with her deep respiration.

"Come on, Claudia. Let's do this together," Bea said.

I wasn't sure what Bea was referring to. Do what together? The possibilities seemed innumerable. "Oh, man!" Neil moaned, and I knew exactly what combination Neil was hoping for. He glanced expectantly towards Claudia, but he couldn't keep his eyes open. Bea drove her mouth deeply over his engorged prick, and Neil groaned again.

Bea pulled off Neil's cock, leaving his hard prick wet and shiny with her spit. She clambered up on the bed next to Claudia and me and spread her legs wide. Her dirty blond pubic hair was plastered all over her cunt with her wetness. The deep crimson gash gaped obscenely. Neil scrambled between her thighs and jabbed inwards.

With Neil on top of her, Bea reached for my hard-on again and brushed her hand against it, but she fell back against the bed out of reach as Neil sunk deeply inside her.

I looked over at Claudia, who had her teeth clenched. She looked at me, a fire in her eyes. "Sam, I've had enough," she whispered. "I want you to fuck me, Sam. I want you to fuck me now."

Claudia slid away from Bea and Neil, just out of reach of the other couple. I got between her knees and leaned over to kiss her. My underside of my prick nestled long-ways into her slippery slot.

I entered Claudia's cunt just as Neil started pounding hard into Bea's box. Neil fucked with a mad flurry of strokes, paused, then took up the insane pace again. Bea groaned with every new onslaught.

I preferred a more consistent pace and rocked slowly and deeply. Claudia spread her legs wide and took me in her feminine center. She pulled her knees up further until they almost touched her chest. "Deeper, Sam, deeper!" The long cock-slide inwards seemed to find her most mysterious depths. Her heat and grease smothered my cock until I wasn't sure I could go any longer.

Neil was pounding frantically into Bea, his butt a blur of motion. Bea's head rocked slowly back and forth.

"Now, Sam," Claudia whispered. "In my ass. I want it in my ass."

I faltered a moment and stopped. I looked down at her. Her eyes waved about like bees hunting for flowers. "Are you sure?" I asked.

"Uh huh. Just go slow, OK?"

I was rigid with the excitement of something truly different. I pulled out of her cunt and sat back while Claudia placed a pillow under her hips. Her star-like anus glistened with her overflowing honey.

I crawled up on top of her, and the head of my cock settled naturally into the soft spot between her ass cheeks. "That's it, Sam. Right there," she said.

I pressed gently forward. Claudia gasped as I popped through her sphincter. I stopped for a moment, the tight muscle of her anus pinching my cock hard enough to give me second thoughts about continuing.

Claudia panted like she was climbing a long flight of stairs. I bent over her until I was propped up on my arms, and we were face to face, the tip of my penis still barely inside her tight butthole.

"OK, Sam, a little more now," she whispered. Sweat beaded on her upper lip.

My penis felt like it was trapped in a tight fist. But I pushed a little harder, and I slipped a little further in.

Trapped in her tightest embrace, I began to pump. Gently. Barely moving.

Claudia shimmied a little and moaned. "Oh yeah, Sam, fuck my ass."

I moved slow and shallow. Somewhere along the way, Neil and Bea had finished fucking, and they were now lying beside us, watching. Neil's jaw hung open like a pelican's.

I couldn't believe how close I felt, or how tender I felt towards her. With my penis in her ass, I felt like I was as responsible for her as a parent to a child. Claudia was my girl. My baby. I leaned down and kissed the end of her nose.

"Oh Sam!" Claudia yelled, and she slapped her fingers against her pussy, pat-a-pat-a-pat, "Oh God, Sam!"

And I could feel her orgasm in the tightness of her anus, the sudden vise-like grip that stopped all possible movement, yet the massage on my cock, the grip and release, the milking motion, I yelled, and I released my seed.

Our twin frozen bodies shuddered with our shared pleasure. And when the joy finally abated, and all my strength seemed to flee my muscles, our bodies collapsed. My penis was momentarily trapped in her anus, but with an easy pull, it popped out. I fell down on top of Claudia. She pressed her hands against my sides and breathed heavily next to my ear.

"Man oh man, I've never seen anything like that!" Neil said.

I wished Neil and Bea were gone. I wanted to be alone with my baby. Claudia's eyes welled with tears.

"Oh, Claudia, you've got to let me be with you again," Neil begged.

"Neil," Claudia replied without taking her eyes off mine, "if you know what's good for you, just drop it."

"Just look at you! You're so beautiful!"

Claudia sighed. We separated and I lay beside her. I was not looking forward to what Neil was about to say.

"But don't you remember when you told me you loved me, Claudia? Doesn't that mean anything?"

Claudia's face deepened red. Neil had stepped over the line. "I'm over you, Neil!" she screamed.

"Not even one of your kick-ass blowjobs? Just for old times sake?"

Claudia pressed her fists against her temples. "No! No! No!"

"I think about you all the time, honey. I want you so bad."

"You didn't even recognize me, Neil! There is no way you can tell me you've been thinking about me all these years."

Neil sighed and frowned. "You're right, you're right. I wasn't paying attention. It's just your friend here ..." and he gave Bea a dazzling white smile, "it's just she grabbed my fancy.

"But it's not true that I haven't been thinking about you, honey. I think about you all the time."

Claudia thumped her forehead on her palm. "No, Neil, no. I can't do this. You have to give it up."

"Don't worry about Bea. She doesn't mind, do you, honey? You like old Sam, don't you?"

In fact, Bea had the look of a bull, her nostrils flaring, ready to charge. I was worried Claudia would relent, and I was afraid Bea would fuck me to death.

Claudia gave out a little sob and she buried her face in her hands. I stroked the back of her neck. "I'm alright," she whispered, and lifted her head. The hollows under her eyes were damp.

And Neil was beginning to grow erect. He gave a little nod down in that direction, just in case no one had noticed. "Come on, honey, Neil Jr. misses you."

Claudia snuffled and chuckled. Her face, still dewy from a few spilled tears, broke into a momentary smile.

"There you go, Claudia. You see, I'm not so bad. I could always make you laugh. Isn't that worth something? A quickie. I promise you, Claudia, the way you turn my crank, it probably won't last a minute or two."

Claudia's face contorted again. "No, Neil, No! How many times do I have to say it?"

Neil jumped out of bed, cussed, and stomped his foot. "Goddamn it, Claudia!" he said, wiping the back of his neck with his thick hand.

And Claudia ran away sobbing.

I suppose I thought I could rescue the damsel in distress, and I followed Claudia into Earl's backyard.

She stood nude in the backyard, her body sagging. But she had already composed herself, more or less.

She heard me coming and backed off. "Go away, Sam," she said.

"I had nothing to do with that, Claudia."

"I know it, Sam. I'm not an idiot. I know how Neil works. God knows, I know how Neil works. And it's as much Darlene's fault as anyone else's."

"Are you going to be OK?"

"Sam, I really don't want you around right now. Why don't you just drive off into the sunset with your friend? That's what you two do, isn't it? You find girls, screw them, and then take off for some distant city where no one knows who you are. That's it, isn't it?"

"That's not fair," I protested.

"Grow up, Sam. No one gives a fuck if it's fair or not." The tears began to dribble down her cheeks again.

"Claudia ..."

"You think you can waltz into town and score with your old girlfriends ..."

"Claudia, we didn't know! You lied to us! You lied to me!"

She buried her face in her hands and groaned. "Sam, Sam, Sam," she mumbled. I moved a little closer. She choked on her words and tears. "What was I supposed to do?" she sobbed. "I thought he would recognize me right away. I certainly recognized him. And when he didn't, I was so relieved. But Darlene had heard all the stories, she wanted to find out for herself. I told her if she talked to you two, I'd kill her. But I couldn't stop her. She made up the fake names all by herself. All I could do was follow along."

Hearing the sad vibrato of her voice, I couldn't be angry, even though I felt I had every right to be. I put my arms around her, trying to surround her like a cocoon, hoping that she would emerge from my embrace like a new butterfly.

The flow of briny tears almost immediately stopped, but I knew I had nothing to do with it. It felt odd, holding a naked woman in my arms, trying to comfort her, and having her seem comforted, but knowing deep down that it was not I who had reined in her tears. She had drawn on something inside herself, some inner strength. I was just a naked man who happened to be standing close.

But she was content to simply stand and hold me, and so we stood, our arms around one another. We stood for a long time. I noticed the sky lightening in the east.

I stepped back and looked at her. "Let's go back inside," I said. She smiled weakly and agreed. We made our way back to the den. Neil and Darlene were nowhere to be found. I suspected the booze had finally got the better of them.

We sat down together on the hide-a-bed. My penis was amazingly hard again. "Sam, you must really like me," Claudia smiled over a little sniffle. "I never would have put you down for an go-all- night type of guy."

And I wondered about this pretty, dark-haired woman. About the things she'd seen, the men she'd known. I thought about what she'd said earlier, about the man who had broken her heart. I thought about Neil and couldn't bring myself to believe he was the one. The two of them didn't fit together. It didn't make sense.

Not that she and I made any sense, either. But it seemed right that we should join again, join intimately. I knew this erection was more than just a simple physical reaction.

We lay side by side on the bed. The dampness under her eyes made her eyes look even bigger. We kissed.

She climbed on top of me, straddling my hips. She lowered herself, and my penis slid easily inside her. She ground downwards until I felt heat surrounding every inch of my penis.

And there, with my cock buried deeply inside my Claudia, we stared at one another.

Our eyes never left one another. It was a slow, sad fuck. When she came, her mouth twisted in what looked like pain. Tears squeezed from my eyes as I came inside her.

Claudia got out of bed. Naked, she browsed through the books in Earl's study. I watched her silently flip through one random book after another.

The door cracked open. "Sam?" Neil said, a questioning tone in his voice.

"It's OK, Neil," Claudia said.

He poked his head in the door. "Um, Sam, Earl's back. We need to book out of here. And I called my Georgie in Seattle. He's ready for us." Neil smiled like a devious child. "Or at least he thinks he is. No one is truly ready for the likes of us!"

"OK, Neil," I said.

"Hey, Claudia," Neil said. "It was good to see you again."

"Yeah, Neil," Claudia said. "I guess I'm sort of glad we hooked up. At least it wasn't boring."

"That's true! No one will ever accuse me of being boring!" Neil smiled. "Good bye, Claudia."

Neil disappeared, and Claudia smiled. "So this is it, Sam?"

"Me and Neil, we've been together a long time," I said. "We've been everywhere. Denver, San Fransisco, Phoenix, Houston, Boston, Philadelphia. And a hundred other places."

I snapped my fingers with a sudden idea. "Claudia, you could come along with us. This country is changing, you know. There's something in the soul of America that is dying. It won't be long before it won't make sense to travel around like Neil and I do. It's an opportunity you shouldn't miss."

Claudia laughed and sniffled, and a few more tears ran down her pink-streaked cheeks. "I don't think so, Sam. That's not for me."

"You could try it. Just for a few weeks." But I knew I had already lost this case. For the second time in her life, Claudia would stay behind.

She walked with me out to Earl's front door. Darlene sat on the steps, holding her head. Neil was standing next to his car, shuffling back and forth like a thoroughbred horse anxious to start a race.

"Good bye, Bea," I said. "Or is it Darlene?"

Darlene gave me a weak smile. "See you, Sam."

I gave Claudia one last kiss and hug. Claudia pushed her hair back away from her face and wiped her wet cheeks. "Hey, Sam," she smiled. "You ever in Tacoma and you feel like you could use a kick-ass blowjob, give me a call, OK?"

I raised her hand to my lips and kissed her fingers. Claudia shook her head and blinked back more tears. "Get out of here, Sam, before one of us gets in more trouble."

I let go of her hand and took a few steps backward. Claudia turned away and walked back towards Earl's house. Watching her feminine figure recede made my eyes smart. She disappeared inside without looking back. I turned and joined Neil at the curb.

Neil shook his head and smiled. "Well, my friend, I believe you have finally earned your diploma from Neil's Chick University. You got yourself a prime piece of ass there. I can't believe you got to cornhole her!"

One thing about Neil, he never knew when to be quiet. "Shut up, Neil."

"Oh, ho! Have we found a sensitive spot? So maybe you aren't ready for the advanced degree yet, Sam, but you are definitely moving in greater circles."

"This is not a good topic right now, Neil."

"You know what I like about you, Sam? You're a romantic." Neil slapped himself in the forehead. "Ha! Who would've thought I'd be zooming all around America with a honest-to-goodness, flesh-and- blood romantic sitting beside me!"

"Don't think we're so different, Neil. You're just as romantic as I am. You're just romantic about different things."

"Ha! You got a point there, old buddy! You're romantic about the chicks, and I'm romantic about the road! And you know what? I think it's high time we saw a little more of my favorite honey. Let's lay some asphalt!"

I didn't get the chance to tell him that I thought his analysis was just a little bit off. Maybe Neil had part of me pegged, but he didn't know it all. No, Neil didn't understand everything.

It was my turn to drive. I sat down behind the wheel of the old Ford and Neil piled in beside me.

"To Seattle, old friend?" he said.

And while the tug of going to a place I'd never seen before was strong, I thought maybe I was making a huge mistake. I turned the key, the engine clanked and fell silent, and I turned it again. The engine coughed several times and settled into an even grumble.

My eyes stung. I looked over at Neil, who was bouncing in his seat, mouthing the words to some song only he could hear.

"I think maybe you'd better drive," I said.

"Of course, of course," he said. We changed seats and I slumped against the car door. Neil shoved the car in gear and we lurched forward.

We lurched forward, but I think maybe I left my heart behind.

Epilogue

Seattle was a bust. The jobs Neil thought we had lined up never came through, and Neil's friend Georgie got sick of us fast.

Neil wanted to take off for Spokane, or maybe back towards Denver. But a weariness had overtaken me, and I couldn't stand the thought of another all-night marathon behind the wheel of Neil's Ford. And it seemed like Spokane had little to offer beyond the disappointment of Seattle.

Neil tried for two days to talk me into going with him, but my mind was set. On a cool September morning with the skies lightening pink in the east, Neil zoomed away on I-90, by himself for the first time in five years.

I took the Greyhound back to Tacoma.