Senior Year Box Set

New York had been a mixed bag. I’d enjoyed The House of Yes, if for no other reason than to see so many people feel free enough to fly their freak flag and have a good time. The downside was getting roped into doing a couple of gigs. Who wants to spend their vacation working?

I’d also accomplished my main goal of dealing with the condos I’d acquired in my settlement. The only two I hadn’t been to yet were in LA at the USC campus and the Canadian ski resort. I would make time to go skiing, and Tracy and Pam were moving into the LA condo. So I didn’t have to make a trip to decide whether to keep them or not.

Zander was supposed to be out of the LA one soon, so Cindy would have time to get the place ready for the upcoming school year for the girls. She’d also shown me the plans to make the Canadian condo into the perfect ski-lodge rental that I would occasionally use and easily offer as an Airbnb.

“Tell me about the football team,” I said to circle back to the real reason I’d asked Cindy to sit with me.

“What do you want to know?”

“A couple of times, you’ve made some comments that have me … I don’t really know the best word for it. I guess I’m worried for you,” I admitted.

Cindy looked confused.

“What does that have to do with the football team?” Cindy asked.

“If I’m reading too much into this, stop me,” I tried.

“I’m lost. What are you trying to say?”

I took a deep breath and thought about the best way to say it. After a moment, I decided to just say what was on my mind.

“I suspect there’s a reason you didn’t want to go on spring break with Kevin and the football team. You just said that Kevin hoped this trip would be sex all the time, like with his teammates. I’m worried that with Kevin not having any … I don’t know what the right term is …” I stalled.

Cindy put her hand on my arm and looked at me a little sadly.

“Kevin discovered he liked to watch me have sex with other men the time we got together over Thanksgiving. At first, I was in total control of who I slept with,” she said and then stopped.

“He pushed you for more?” I asked.

“When I say it out loud, I realize how bad this sounds,” Cindy said, looking ashamed. Then she took a deep breath and looked me in the eye. “This is all on me. College is when you should experiment …”

I’d told myself that just a few days ago.

“When did things get out of control?” I asked.

“When we started school after I got back from LA. Kevin and I went to a party, and I cut loose. It started as fun. Three of Kevin’s friends …”

“I get the picture,” I assured her.

“Then, there were more. Kevin invited his fellow linebackers to join in. At the time, I thought I was having fun. It was something new I could check off my sexual bucket list. But Kevin wanted me to do it again …” she said and then almost whispered the rest, “and I liked it.”

“No one forced you or hurt you?” I asked.

“No. No, nothing like that. It’s just that word got out.”

The light bulb came on. A girl who did stuff like that was sure to get a reputation, even in college. I imagined myself judging Cindy if I didn’t really know her. That didn’t make it right, but it was what it was.

“Can I stick my nose in where it’s not wanted?” I asked.

“This is rich. My student wants to give me advice. Meddle away, David,” Cindy said with a half-smile to indicate she was okay with me saying what I was about to say.

“I’m sure I would have a hard time listening to me if I were in your shoes, but I care enough to tell you some hard truths,” I said. “You know what I’m about to say comes from a place of love, don’t you?”

“I can probably already guess what you’re going to say, so go ahead. I promise I won’t kill the messenger,” Cindy assured me.

“First, all the role-playing, tying people up, multiple partners, well, I get … sort of. None of that is really something I’d want, but I’m not into telling people what they can and can’t do in the bedroom. That is, so long as no one gets hurt. Some of it is actually fun,” I conceded.

“I hear a giant ‘but’ in there.”

“The but is that you seem to want to take the adventure a step further each time. I’m open to trying new stuff, but it looks to me like you might have gone too far out of your comfort zone.

“You can see that even though we do these things behind closed doors, word always seems to get out. That’s something I’ve learned the hard way more than once. Hell, I was all over social media because I hooked up with a princess.

“I’m also worried about how things are going between you and Kevin. He reminds me in one way of a big, goofy puppy. The problem is, he’s wired in a way that’s going to be disastrous in the long run.

“Kevin has no limits, no boundaries, and he just doesn’t pay attention to the consequences of some of the stuff he gets into. Even worse for you, Kevin doesn’t in any way consider the effects on you of what he drags you into doing.