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From: Magi <baner1@earthlink.net>
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NNTP-Posting-Date: Wed, 01 Sep 2004 21:25:26 PDT
Subject: {ASSM} "Pete" A Young Man's Story  Chapter 62
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Date: Thu,  2 Sep 2004 06:10:02 -0400
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Followup-To: alt.sex.stories.d

CHAPTER 62
 
We were gathering up our things, getting ready to leave the beautiful
hotel, and I went to the phone to see who left the message. But all I
heard was someone breathing, then a muffled voice said, "Pete, I'm
sorry," and a hang-up. Neither the voice nor the speech pattern was
familiar.
Karen and I both called home. Mom said that I should come home early,
and stay in tonight, so I could get ready for school tomorrow. Karen's
dad said the same thing, so we agreed that we would each be home for
dinner.  
We met with Herb and Sylvia, and I drove us to the private aircraft
section at LAX. As we stepped out of the car, Sally walked up. She
looked like she had lost some weight, and looked like she was wearing
make-up. I introduced her to Karen, then she grabbed a couple of bags,
and we followed her to the plane. Karen wanted to see the inside, so
Herb and Sylvia climbed in with her. 
I was out side, helping Sally load the luggage, when she said, "Hey
stud, how ya been?"
"I'm fine, but look at you! You look great! Is something special going
on?"
She looked a little embarrassed, and she stared at the ground, before
she answered, "Yeah, I met someone."
Sally has always been attractive, but she wears her hair short, and up
until now, I had never seen her with makeup. She says she's bi-sexual,
and I saw her with Sylvia in La Paz, but when we had sex, she was
enthusiastic and very giving. I was curious as to whether her
'someone' was a girl or guy. I wanted to ask, but I didn't want to
pry, so instead, I said, "That's terrific! Tell me about it."
"Her name is Kitty. She' s a senior stewardess, with Global."
My question answered, I said, "So tell me about her."
She was almost childlike with enthusiasm when she explained, "She was
raised in Arizona, she's a full-blooded Indian, and Pete, I really
like her."
Joking, I said, "Does that mean you and I are finished?"
She grinned, stepped close to me, and ran her fingers over the front
of my pants. 
"Well, I think there's time for a quickie if your girlfriend wouldn't
mind."
I laughed, and I was about to tease her in return, when I looked past
her and saw Karen watching us from the doorway of the plane. I quickly
stepped around Sally, took Karen's hand, and helped her down the
steps. She didn't say anything, but I knew she saw Sally touch me. 
Sylvia got out of the plane and hugged me, then she said to Karen,
"He's a good one, hang on to him," and she hugged her too. Herb shook
hands with both Karen and I, then he said to me, "I have my eye on you
young man. Do well in school."
Karen and I watched them take off, and stood there until the plane was
out of sight, then we walked slowly back to the car. Karen snuggled
close to me, and we sat quietly for a while. Finally Karen said, "Is
this weekend really over?"
 "I know what you mean. It seems like we just left, but a lot
happened, didn't it?"
"God yes! It's going to take me a long time, just to remember
everything. Wait! I have an idea. Lets go to the camera store. They'll
take my digital camera and make prints from it."
"Why do that? Just load the pictures on your computer."
"Are you kidding? I want to take the pictures to school and show them
to everyone. Otherwise they'll never believe me,."
We drove to the camera shop, and when Karen showed the camera to the
clerk, he said, "You have over fifty pictures on here. I'll have them
ready by Friday."
Karen screamed, "No Way! I want them today! I don't care about the
cost."
The guy frowned and grumbled, but the dollar signs won, and he agreed
to have them ready by six o'clock. 
It's still early, so we drove to the beach. It's a school day, so the
parking lot next to the water was almost deserted. The noise of the
surf was soothing, and the weather was warm, so we sat there for a
long time, watching the sailboats and the occasional surfer. 
Finally Karen said, "You slept with Sally, didn't you?"
I promised myself I wouldn't Lie to Karen, so I answered, "Last
summer. Does it bother you?"
"Actually, I'm proud that you would want to be with me, after you've
been with all those great looking girls."
"Karen! Don't say that! You're pretty too, and you're perfect for me."
I wanted to say more, but she held and finger to my lips, and said,
"Never mind, right now I want you to turn on the radio. We never got a
chance to dance last night." 
I searched around the dial until I found a rock number, but she said,
"No, something softer. I want you to hold me."
I found some quieter music, and we stepped out of the car and left the
door open. We danced to that song and the next one too. Karen had her
head on my chest, and I think we both lost ourselves to the music. It
was wonderful holding her that close, and at the end of the second
song, I felt her shaking. Alarmed, I said, "Karen! What's the matter?"
She looked up at me, and there were tears in her eyes. "Nothing, I'm
just having a good time is all, but we have to go."
"What about the pictures?"
"I'll pick them up later."
 
When I pulled up to her doorway, her dad stepped out to meet us. Karen
ran to him, hugged him, and immediately started telling him about the
trip. I grabbed her bags and followed them inside. She was talking
breathlessly, but I noticed that her eyes seemed to be teary. Her dad
looked at her, then he turned to me and asked, "Pete, do you need to
go?"
I nodded, "Yes, I should get home."
He smiled, "It sounds like you two had a great time. I can't wait to
hear all about it. Thanks Pete," and he shook my hand.
Karen walked me to the car, then she kissed me and said, "Words fail
me. Thank you for everything." 
I thought she might watch me as I drove away. Instead, she ran back to
her dad, and fell into his arms. 
On the way home, a lot of things were going through my head. It had
been a wonderful weekend, but it was obvious that it was time I made
some decisions about the future. Karen is a great girl, and I like her
for a number of reasons. When I was going steady with Kristen, it was
very comfortable, and I think it would be the same with Karen, but
without all the drama. 
When I got home, Amy had already told everyone about us meeting
DeLucca and Jack Hedden. But she hadn't talked about Lance and his
guys. When asked why, she winked, glanced at Erin and said, "I thought
I'd leave that to you."
Lance's band is one of the favorites at school, and as soon as I
mentioned having met him, Erin screamed, and wanted to know all about
him. In mid-conversation, she demanded I stop, and she jumped up and
called Kelly. Then she asked me to go on, and she repeated everything
I said to her. 
I didn't mention the wet t-shirt contest. 
After dinner I started yawning. It was barely nine o'clock when I
dragged myself to my room. The light was still blinking on my
answering machine, but I was too tired to check it. When I pulled off
my pants, I noticed an envelope sticking out of my pocket. It was the
one Rocky had given me, and I opened it and looked at the picture of
Karen, dancing naked. It was the last thing on my mind as I fell
asleep. 
The alarm buzzed me awake in the morning, and after several failed
attempts to find the snooze button, I dragged myself into the shower.
Once I was up and dressed, I sat down to listen to my messages. There
was one from Bill, a couple of hang-ups, then one from Tess, asking me
to contact her after school today. Finally, there was one from Molly
and Alice. Molly said she was coming to California, late next month
for a photo shoot, and Alice said that her character would be on a
break from her soap opera, so she would be coming with her. The
thought of seeing both of them again was exciting, and I couldn't help
but think about the hotel room. I wondered if Molly would be as
beautiful as I remembered. 
It took me a while to get my mind working after I got to school, but
by the time first period was over, I felt pretty good. I was in the
hallway on my way to second period, when a group of girls ran up and
practically attacked me. Several asked if I actually owned an
airplane, and some asked about Jack Hedden or Robert DeLucca, but all
of them wanted to know about Lance Howard and his band, and if Karen
had really spent the day with them. Obviously Karen had brought the
pictures to school, so I thought I'd juice her image up a little, and
I told the girls that Lance had told me in confidence that he had a
crush on her. Then I said that even Jack Hedden had asked how serious
I was about her. Most of the girls "Ooo'd and Aaah'd". But one girl,
an attractive blonde that I had seen around, but didn't really know,
stepped close and asked, "So, what did you tell him?"
"About what?"
	"How serious about Karen ARE you?"
I had only seen the girl a few times, I didn't even know her name.
She's on the varsity swim team, and I saw her in the pool once, but we
had never talked. She has a swimmer's body. She's around five foot
seven, with wide shoulders, and strong looking legs. She always wears
loose fitting sweaters and blouses, so I can't tell about her body.
But the time I saw her in the pool, I noticed she had a great ass, but
almost no boobs. Her hair is not much longer than mine is, and it
looks like she doesn't comb it. But on her, it looks good. It gives
her a sort of 'Gamin' look, that reminds me a little of Desi. Then,
for the first time, I looked into her eyes. They're brilliant green,
and when they settled on me, it was disturbing. She seemed to look
right through me. 
She said, "Well?" And I was about to answer her, when Karen walked up.
She saw us staring at each other, and she moved between us and put her
arm around me. She asked, "What's going on?" But before I could
answer, one of the girls said, "Pete was telling us about how both
Lance and Jack Hedden were hitting on you. Is it true?"
Karen shot me a quick glance, then she grinned and said, "Uhh, yeah, I
guess so."
I interrupted with, "You guess so!!! Didn't you show them the pictures
of you kissing Lance and his whole band? Why, Lance and the guys were
all over you. If I hadn't come in to the party and broke things up, I
don't know what would have happened.
Karen got a big grin on her face, and she put both arms around me,
laid her head on my chest and said, "Nothing would have happened."
Then she grinned and added, "At least, not with you there."
All the girls went "Ooooooo, and started giggling. 
Everyone but the blonde, she again asked, "So, are you two officially
together now, or what?"
Just then the bell rang, and everybody seemed to be waiting for an
answer. It suddenly occurred to me, that we had never really discussed
whether we were going to be exclusive. So jokingly, I said, "Well,
I've asked her to go steady, but she turned me down. I guess she's
waiting for a better offer. 
Again, the girls went "Ooooooo," but just then the second bell rang,
so everyone started running to their classes. As the day progressed, I
thought about things, and I decided it was time to make a commitment
to her, if she would have me. 
Throughout the day, the guys in my classes seemed to be ignoring me. I
tried to strike up conversations with several of them, but they
pretended to be busy. After school, Bill caught up with me on the way
out, and said, "Wow man! Since Karen showed everybody those pictures,
you are the talk of school."
"So, what's the deal? Is everyone pissed-off at me about something?"
"Are you kidding? They're so jealous they can't stand it! She has
pictures of you shooting the shit with movie stars, and others of you,
dressed in a tux, with your arm around Kristen, who, by the way, looks
more beautiful than ever. But the worst one is the one of you in the
box seats at a theater. The girl you're with looks like she wants to
eat you alive. Who the hell is she?"
It took me a few seconds to realize what he was talking about. It must
have been the girl in the box next to me at Kristen's second show. I
don't even remember what she looked like, and I started to explain
that I didn't know her, when Karen walked up. 
Bill said, "I gotta go, call me later," and he dashed off. 
Karen and I started down the steps outside of school. She was holding
tightly to my arm, and she said, "You have no idea what you've done
for my image. Almost every girl in school wants to know all about this
weekend."
A thought hit me, and I asked, "Karen how does everyone know what
happened this weekend? We just got back last night!"
She hugged me even tighter, and said, "I uhh, told some people last
night, and I showed the pictures to a few people this morning."
"A few people? It sounds like you showed it to everybody at school. Do
you have them with you?"
She reached in her purse and handed me a thick stack of photos. So we
went to a bench in the quad, and sat looking at them. Some of them
were amazing. Most were of me, but there were several very clear
photos of her with Vince and his guys, that I guess Amy had taken. A
couple, were of her being kissed by Vince, and some were of her, being
kissed by guys in the band. I pretended to be angry, and made a motion
as though I was going to rip them up. She screamed and tried to grab
them from me, and I had to tell her I was just kidding. Several more
were of her standing with DeLucca, and some more were of her with Jack
Hedden. He had his arm on her shoulder, and it looked like he was
whispering something sexy to her. 
When I asked her about it, she laughed. "He was asking me if you were
a good lover."
"What did you tell him?"
"It shocked me, so I'm not sure, but I think I told him you were
great."
Something occurred to me. I was under the impression that everyone in
that room thought I was with Kristen. I made a mental note to ask
Kristen about it. Then it hit me. Kristen and I were out of each
other's lives, presumably forever. I might never talk with her again!
It was a chilling thought, and I had to shake my head to clear it.
Karen and I looked at a few more, then I saw the one that Bill was
talking about. It was the girl that was in the theater box with me.
Karen's camera has a zoom lens and even though she was across the
theater, the girl and I were full frame. I remembered talking to her,
but through an accident of lighting, the photo looked as though she
was leering at me, and it looked like I was admiring her chest. 
I was staring at it when Karen asked, "Are you uhh, going to see her
sometime soon?"
 It surprised me! I said, "Karen! Why on earth would you say that?"
She looked uncomfortable, and she replied, "It umm, it looked like you
and her were making a date or something."
Again I was surprised, and I was about to tell her that nothing was
going on, when a big group of girls came up to us. It was a different
group than the one's in the hall, and one of them said to Karen, "Are
these the pictures?"
She nodded, and they all crowded around. I stood up and moved out of
the way, but as I stood there watching them, I noticed a lot of
furtive glances at me. Thanks to Karen, it looks like the events of
the weekend were going to be pretty good for my image as well.
Several more girls joined the group, and they were all laughing and
commenting about the pictures, when suddenly they started screaming. I
looked over to see what was happening, and Karen was showing them her
tattoo. I was trying to figure a way to sneak away, when I noticed
some commotion on the other side of the quad. Three or four guys
appeared to be teasing some girls. It looked that the girls were the
Devon sisters, so I went over to see what was going on. When I got
closer, the guys were very young looking. Probably freshmen. They were
taunting the girls, and calling them names. I walked up to them and
asked, "What's going on guys?"
Things suddenly got quiet. One of them, a skinny, pimply faced kid,
who appeared to be the head of the group, looked like he was going to
make a smart remark, but he wasn't sure who's side I was on. I'm a lot
bigger then he is, so he stared at me for a minute before he said,
"These little cunts think they're hot shit just because they're on TV.
I gave him a big friendly grin, and I went over and put my arm around
his neck. Then I beckoned for his buddies to join us. When we all got
close, I squeezed the little guys neck, and said, "TV or not, those
are nice girls, and they don't deserve shit from you guys. You are all
going to apologize to them right now, or you're going to answer to
me."
I think the little guy I had hold of was going to say something, but
one of the guys said, "You're Pete Baker aren't you?"
When I nodded, he said, "Cool it guys. It's Pete Baker from the
football team."
It struck me funny. I had just come back from Las Vegas. I had been
associating with some of the most famous people in the world. But back
here, I was just a guy from the football team.
I don't know if it was because I was on the team, or that I'm a foot
taller and fifty pounds heavier than any of these guys, but they all
started apologizing to me. I said, "Not to me, guys. Talk to the
girls."
Then suddenly I got an idea. 
I had heard that the girls had been picked on by some of the kids
before. It was easy to understand. They were on TV, they were cute,
and they were wealthy. So I thought I'd try something. 
I dragged them over to the girls, and said, "Girls, These guys want to
apologize for teasing you. They are so sorry, that they have decided
to make it up to you by being your personal bodyguards. They have
offered to watch over you both. If anyone gives you a problem, they'll
either take care of it themselves, or report the problem to me."
Rose Devon whispered something to her sister, then she stepped forward
and asked, "Is that true guys?"
The pimply faced kid, looked at his buddies. This was obviously a new
idea to them, and after a few seconds, they began nodding
enthusiastically, so he said,  "Yeah, we can do that."
I stepped in front of him and glared down at him. He started to back
up a little and I said, "Hey! She's offering to let you guys watch
over her and her sister. This is a big responsibility. If you're not
going to be more excited about it than that, we'll get someone else to
do it."
They all started talking at once, apologizing, and pleading with me to
let them handle it. Finally everybody agreed, and the girls each
grabbed one of my arms and we walked off, leaving the guys scratching
their heads and talking to each other.
We were only a few feet away, when Rose said, "I don't believe it! You
turned those guys around like a real pro." 
I grinned, "Hey, you have your own personal posse now. Quit
complaining."
"We're not complaining. You gave those guys a purpose in life. They'll
watch over us like jealous lovers. I don't know why I didn't think of
recruiting some guys like them before now. Where did you learn to do
stuff like that?"
I winked at her and replied, "I just know guys. We sometimes get
stupid when we're around really cute girls."
She stopped in her tracks and said, "There! You did it again! You
always seem to know the right thing to say. What's the deal? Are you a
con-man or something?"
Suddenly, her sister Lily jumped up on me, threw her arms around my
neck, and kissed me on the cheek. Then, with a big smile, she said,
"It doesn't matter Rose. He's our kind of con man. Why don't we take
him home and show him how grateful we can be."
Rose cried, "Lily, stop it!" But she was grinning as she said it.
For a fleeting moment I wondered what it would be like to have sex
with such tiny girls. I couldn't imagine how anything would fit. 
My thoughts were interrupted when a voice behind us said, "Hey Pete,
why don't you fool around with someone your own size?"
I turned around, and standing with her hands on her hips, was the
blonde from the hallway. One eyebrow was raised, and she had a
confrontational look on her face, so I answered, "Are you volunteering
for the job?"
Before she had a chance to respond, Rose stepped in front of her and
said, "Put the two of us together, and we ARE his size, which means
he'll have twice as much fun."
The blonde looked at Rose for a second, then she seemed to look down
her nose at her, and she said, "Touch�(C)," and she turned to walk away.
As she was leaving, Lily jumped off me. Then she surprised me by
giving the girl the finger! The girl didn't see her, but Rose said,
"Lily, stop it! I know she's a bitch, but I don't want you sinking to
her level."
I asked Rose, "Who is she?"
Rose answered, "Her name is Megan Walker. She's kind of a loaner. She
rarely talks to anyone, and as far as I know, she doesn't hang around
with anyone at school. Lily sits next to her in one of her classes.
Lily's pen broke one day, and when she asked to borrow one of hers,
she just ignored her."
"Hmm, that's interesting. By the way, what's happening with the new TV
show?"
She looked at her sister and smiled, then she said, "Well, you may
want to talk to mom about that. Which reminds me, we have to go.
Thanks again for the help."
They both kissed me on the cheek, then Rose said, "By the way, you
told those guys, that if they ran into something they couldn't handle,
they should come to you. Does that make you our guardian angel?"
That hadn't occurred to me, and as I stood there thinking about it,
they both giggled, and ran to their car. 
Karen seemed to be about finished with her friends, so I went back to
her and I walked her to her car. She had seen me with the Devon girls,
and when we got to her car, she asked me about it. I told her what
happened and I mentioned that their mom had stopped by the house
before we left, and talked about maybe using me in an upcoming TV
show.
She said, "She probably wants you to marry one of her daughters. If
you do, can we have sex while she's in the hospital?"
"The hospital! Why would she be in the hospital?"
"Because if you stuck that big thing of yours in one of these tiny
girls, you'd split her in two. They'd have to take her to the
emergency room in two ambulances."
Karen left, and I was laughing about it as I was walking to my car, so
I didn't see Tess until I was unlocking the door. She looked
disturbed, so I asked, "Tess, what's the matter?"
"Uhh, Pete, you uhh, know Bill pretty well don't you?"
"Sure, why? What's the problem?"
"Well, he and I have gone out a few times, and I'd like to know a
little about him."
"Like what?"
"I've heard that he's into drugs. I asked him about it, and he swears
it's no longer true."
"So, you kinda like him?"
She was staring at the ground, and she was obviously uncomfortable,
when she said, "Umm, yeah, I guess so."
"I'll tell you what. Bill promised me that he was off of drugs for
good. I'll talk to him, and let you know what I find."
My heart went out to her. Tess is a sweet girl. The only problem is,
she seems to go out of her way to appear plain. She never wears
make-up, her hair is always just pulled back into a bun, and she never
dresses in anything sexy or revealing. I made a mental note to talk
with Amy about her. 
When I got home, Amy was in her room, working and mom was dozing. So I
went to my room and stared at the exorcise machine. It looked innocent
sitting there, so I got on it and began working out. It soon became
evident, that I was really out of shape, and by the time Erin knocked
on the door, to call me for dinner, I had a good sweat going. I told
her to come in, and I reached for a towel to dry off. She seemed to
hesitate for a minute, so I asked, "Sis, is something going on?"
"Are you going out this weekend?"
"I suppose so, why?"
"Would you like to go roller skating?"
"I hadn't thought about it. Why?"
"A guy umm, called me, and asked me to go skating."
"So you want me to take you there?"
"He, uhh wants to pick me up."
"You mean, like a date?"
"Sort of, I guess."
"How is he going to pick you up?"
"He has a car."
I sat on the bed and motioned for her to sit next to me, then I said,
"Okay, tell me everything."
"Amy and I met him at the mall yesterday. He's really cute. He works
in a kiosk, selling cell phone stuff."
"Where does he go to school?"
"He's uhh, out of school."
I could smell trouble, so I put my arm around her, and as gently as I
could, I asked, "How old is he?"
She was looking at the floor, when she answered, "Umm, I think he's
twenty."
My first inclination was to scream No Way!, but my sister can be hard
headed art times. So I stayed calm, and I asked, "Have you talked with
mom or Amy about this?"
"I sort of mentioned to mom, that an older guy was asking me out, and
she said I was too young to be dating."
"Well, mom is just worried that someone older might take advantage of
you. Have you talked to Amy?"
"But Petey! I've always been able to talk to you!"
"And you still can. Let me check with Karen, and see if she wants to
go skating. I'll let you know later."
I don't pretend to know about girls, especially fourteen year olds, so
I knew I needed some help. 
While mom is recuperating we agreed to take care of the household
chores, so after we cleaned up the kitchen, I followed Amy to her
room. I closed the door and told her about my conversation with Erin.
She made a face and started shaking her head. "I know this guy, Pete.
His name is Roger. He hits on every girl that comes near him. I was
with Erin last night when we met him. I was talking to him about my
cell phone, and he tried to hit on me. When that didn't work, I saw
him looking at Erin. After we left, we went to a shoe store right next
to his booth, and while I was trying on some shoes, Erin went outside.
She must have gone back and talked to him."
"And she never asked you about this? I thought you two were pretty
close." 
"I did too. But she's growing up Pete. You didn't think you were the
only one in the family with hormones, did you?" 
"But I don't get it. Why did she come to me with this?"
"You're the path of least resistance. She knew if she asked mom or me
about it, we would try to discourage her."
"So what do we do?"
"Let me think about it."
The words were barely out of her mouth, when there was a tap on the
door, and Erin stuck her head in. She looked at both of us, then she
said, "You were talking about me, weren't you?"
Without hesitation, Amy answered, "Yes, we were."
Erin glared at me, "I thought I could talk to you about stuff, without
you blabbing to everybody about it."
"This isn't 'everybody'. Amy is the closest thing to a sister, you'll
ever have. She's concerned about you and so am I."
"So, you don't think I'm old enough to think for myself?"
"It has nothing to do with that. It's just that --.." Amy interrupted me
with, "Erin, is he at work right now?"
"Yes, he called me a little while ago. He works until nine tonight.
Why?"
"Do you have his business card?"
She glared at Amy for a minute, then she reached in her pocket and
handed her a wrinkled business card. Amy put her phone on speaker and
dialed.
A voice on the line answered, "Amtel communications."
Amy asked, "Roger?"
"Yeah?"
"Hi, I'm Lulu, a friend of Debby's. Sorry about the speaker phone, but
I'm doing my nails. Are you busy Saturday night?"
"Well, sort of, why? What's up?"
"There's going to be an all-nighter at Debby's house this Saturday.
The guy I was supposed to be with, flaked on me, and Debby says you're
good in the rack. Can you make it?"
"Hell yes! But Debby who? And what do you look like?"
"Oh, c'mon, you know Debby. Hey, I got another call coming in. Lemme
call you back."

Amy hung the phone up and looked at Erin. "What do you bet he calls
you and cancels this weekend?"
Almost immediately, we could hear Erin's phone ringing in her room. I
asked her, "Can I handle this?"
She looked at the floor for a minute, then she nodded, and the girls
followed me into Erin's room.
I answered the phone with, "Hi Roger, is this you?"
"Uhh, yeah."
"How's work at the mall?"
"Fine, who is this?"
"This is Erin's older brother. I wanted you to know that I know who
you are and where you work. Erin is only fourteen years old, and if I
ever hear of you calling her or trying to contact her, I'll not only
have you fired, but I'll come after you and kick your ass!" 
I was about to say more, but there was a click as he hung up.
Erin sat down on her bed, and Amy sat beside her and put her arm
around her. Erin looked dejected. Amy winked at me, so I left and
closed the door behind me. I went into the living room where mom was
lying on the couch.
I asked, "How are you?"
"I'm getting better, but I'm still a little weak."
"I was wondering why you let Amy come to Vegas."
"She's been wonderful, and she needed some time off. Did she have fun
while she was there?"
	"I don't think so, mom. It seems like all she does is work."
"I noticed that too. We have to figure out a way to get her to relax.
So, how did you and Karen get along?"
"She's a great girl mom. I'm thinking of asking her to go steady."

Mom and I talked for a long time. We went over her health, and she
said that Doctor Andy told her she was coming along fine. We talked
about Erin, and I mentioned that it looked like she was getting
interested in boys. Mom agreed, then she shrugged her shoulders and
said that she and dad had done the best they could, the rest was up to
her. She said that she was depending on Amy and I to guide her in the
right direction. I didn't mention what had happened tonight. 
Then she asked me about Kristen. And we talked for quite a while about
her. She said that both she and Dad liked her a lot, but they were
pleased at my decision to end things with her, because they knew how
strong-willed she is, and they were worried that she would talk me
into getting married.
I love to talk with Mom. She never judges me, or talks down to me. She
only asks me how I feel about something, then she asks if I think I'm
doing the right thing. So I felt really awful, after I blurted out
something that had been bothering me.
I said, "Mom, what's going on you with and Mr. Mariani?"
The second the words were out of my mouth, I regretted having said
them. Especially when I saw the hurt look on her face. I tried to
follow up with a torrent of apologies, and she finally had to put her
fingers on my lips to stop me. But she didn't answer me. She just
stared at the ground, until I got up and said I had homework to do.
After I went to my room, it took me a while to calm down. I really
regretted having said what I did. In order to take my mind off of
things, I called Bill. We talked for a while about Vegas, then I asked
him about drugs. He seemed sincere, when he said, "I'm off that stuff
for good. To tell the truth, I can't believe I was so caught up in
that shit. It sometimes scares me to think about it."
"Good for you. I was hoping you would say that. By the way, I heard
you're seeing Tess. How's that going."
"Well, I'm not really seeing her. We had a burger once, and we talk on
the phone sometimes, but when we're around other people, she gets very
quiet. It's like she wants to be invisible."
"Do you like her?"
He sighed before he answered, than he said, "Pete, I do like her. She
has a great sense of humor, and a very quick wit. But as much as I
hate to sound shallow, she is so darn plain, it's hard to get worked
up over her."
I told him I'd try to find out from Amy, why she was that way, then I
hung up and called Karen. She was on the phone with one of her
girlfriends and said she'd call back when she was finished. I tried to
hit the school books for a while, but I couldn't concentrate. So I
called Tammy. She answered on the first ring, and she didn't sound
pleased, when she said "Hello!"
"Hi. It's Pete."
"Oh, God I'm glad it's you. I'm sorry if I sound upset, but something
has happened, and I don't know how to deal with it."
Concerned, I asked, "What's the matter? Is there something I can do?"
"Tony and I have been arguing a lot. It really made me mad that he had
us followed when we went skiing. After we got back I told him I didn't
want to see him for a while. After a few days he began constantly
calling me here and at work. Finally, I got so angry, I said I didn't
want to see him at all. I didn't hear from him for a while, then today
when I got home from work, there were some people here with a bunch of
papers. He made me a full partner in Wretched Excess! Pete, that
business is worth more money than I'll ever see in my lifetime."
"So, what's the problem?"
"The problem is, I can't accept it. It's not right. I called him and
told him I didn't want it, and I asked him why he did it. He said that
he was going to marry me, and he would prefer to marry a wealthy
woman."
"What happens if you refuse to marry him?"
"I looked the papers over carefully. He's selling me half the business
for one dollar. It's not dependent on anything. If I sign the papers,
it's mine."
"Do you know anything about the business?"
"Actually, yes. Tony and I have talked about it a lot. And with what
I've learned in the school that Ben sent me to, I have some ideas that
I think would dramatically increase revenue. I talked to Tony about
it, but he's so busy with other projects; I didn't think he had time
to pay attention to my ideas, then this happened." 
"Have you talked to Ben about it?"
"I tried to reach him tonight, but they're not home."
"Well, how do you really feel about Tony; do you want to marry him?"
"What I really want, is for you to be out of high school, and working
on your second million. We would be married, have a couple of kids,
and we would be living by a lake somewhere. Do you think you could
arrange that?"
I laughed, and said I'd get right on it, but I was touched by how
sincere she sounded. I knew she was teasing, but for a moment, I
wondered what life with her would be like. 
Then she continued, with, "But back to reality, yes, I like Tony a
lot. I think I could love him, but I don't want to let myself. We are
from such different backgrounds, I worry that one day he'll wake up
and see me for what I am."
"What's that? A beautiful, wonderful, sexy woman, who any guy in the
world would be happy to be with?"
"C'mon Pete. You know what I mean."
"Yes, I do, and I've talked with Tony about it. He assures me that
it'll never be a problem. He really loves you."
"But, what if I accept the business offer, and I screw things up?"
"Tony is a big boy, and he's very smart. I don't think he would have
made the offer if he wasn't sure about you."
She sighed, and we were quiet for a minute. I decided that I had to
get to the bottom of this, so I told her that I had an incoming call,
and I'd call her back. As soon as she hung up I called the Mariani
house. I identified myself, and when I asked for Tony, he answered
immediately, with, "I expected that you would call."
"Then you know what I'm calling about."
"Yes Pete, I do. I knew she would talk to you about it. I can't say
I'm happy about the influence you seem to have over her, but I owe
you, for giving her a good report about me when I first met her. What
do you want to know?"
"Tony, I've been on your side since you first started going around
with Tammy. You told me that you were fully aware of her background,
and that you were sincere about your feelings for her. Has anything
changed?"
"No, nothing's changed, except that I can't imagine my life without
her."
"And the gift of the partnership is sort of a bribe to convince her to
marry you?"
"I won't lie to you, that's partially true. But I want to assure you,
there are no strings attached. Have a lawyer check it out. Or better
yet, ask Ben Sanders about it."
"You say 'it's partially true'. What's the other part?"
"Well, she has some ideas about the business that are excellent."
"Like what?"
"I'll let her tell you about what they are. But in the meantime, it
looks like I need your help again. I need you to tell her how much I
love her, and that she should take my offer."
"She's a little worried that if she does, it'll mean that she agrees
to marry you."
"And, that's such a bad thing?"
"It's not that, Tony, she's just scared. I think she's worried that
she'll let you down."
"Then it's up to you, Pete. You have to convince her that it's a
win-win deal. Whether she agrees to marry me, or not, Wretched Excess
needs her." 
"Okay, let me talk to Ben about it. If he says it's okay, I'll be glad
to go to bat for you. But while we're talking, I'm sure Kristen has
complained about me. Maybe I should explain what went on between us,
and why I didn't want to stay with her."
"No, Pete, there's no need to. Dad and I have talked at length about
it. We both know how overwhelming she can be."
"So, you're not angry with me?"
"No, not at all. We know what it must have taken for you to turn her
down. What you did took guts, but it was definitely the right thing.
You are both too young for the kind of commitment she wants from you.
Now that she's decided on a career. I don't know if you two will ever
get together again, but I must warn you, she doesn't give up easily."
"I know Tony. I guess we'll just have to see what happens. But now I
have another question. What's going on between your dad and my mom?"
There was a silence before he answered. Then, in a quiet voice, he
answered, "I don't know, Pete. I'm curious too. Dad and I can talk
business or politics all day and night, but when I bring this up, he
just gets quiet. When he first met her, he talked about her all the
time. Now, he doesn't talk about her at all. When I ask what's going
on, he changes the subject."
Tony and I talked for a little while more, but bringing up mom had
seemed to make him uneasy. So after he assured me again, that Tammy
should take his offer, I hung up and called her back.
When she answered the phone, she didn't say hello, she answered with,
"Well, what did he say?"
I laughed, then I told her what he said, and that he recommended she
talk to Ben. Then I asked her about the plans she had for the salon.
She sounded enthusiastic when she started talking. "I want to take the
concept nationwide. I want to start putting salons all across the
country."
"You mean, like discount places?"
"No, just the opposite. Every major city has an area where the really
wealthy live. I want to raise the prices on everything, and put salons
in those areas."
"So what would happen then? Would you start a big AD campaign to
promote them?"
"No, no advertising at all. Even the store itself would only have a
small sign. My idea is to start a whisper campaign. We would hire a
good looking woman to go to all the best places and tell people how
great the salon is, then tell them that it's impossible to get in. For
a week or so, we would make sure that articles would appear in the
local papers, showing beautiful people, actually, models we hired,
entering and leaving the place, then we would pay a movie star or two,
to rave about it. Before long, it would be just like the place here.
The rich would be pulling strings, and knocking down the doors to get
in."

It sounded like a good idea. 
I didn't know just then, how good an idea it was, or how deeply I
would get involved with it.

-- 
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reserved by its author unless explicitly indicated.
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