Pride, Prejudice, and Porn

Part 16

In the gym I’d soon burned off the alcohol from lunch. Being mid-afternoon, Fitz was less tired than yesterday evening and was putting himself through an intensive leg and back routine. Before too long I found myself back in the Jacuzzi, squished next to Fitz on the bench as the water jets massaged my back. Once again, Fitz had draped his huge right arm behind my head on the rim of the Jacuzzi and his enormous thigh was pressed against mine. It felt wonderful, but my mind was telling me “Careful, Izzy. Don’t let yourself get used to this!”

“This is nice,” I heard Fitz say, just as he had last night. “Thanks for the company, Izzy. I liked that stretching routine you were doing. Maybe you can show me some I can  incorporate into my workout? I should probably work on being more flexible and not just staying bulked up. Maybe it’ll help with my bull-in-the-China-shop problem.” 

“It might,” I said. “But even if you’re more agile you still have to remember there’s an awful lot of you bulging here and hanging there that comes into contact with things.” 

“Oh, yeah.” Fitz reddened a bit, and I knew it wasn’t because of the hot water. “Sorry about dragging the junk through your hair yesterday. It has a bad habit of getting in the way at times. Especially in tight quarters like that sauna room.” 

“It’s OK. But you need to be more conscious of it. Not everyone might be as accommodating of such a close encounter with all that as I am.” I smiled up at Fitz as guilelessly as I could. I could swear his thigh was pressing harder against mine, now.

I tried shifting on the bench, but it just made my head lay back on the rim of the Jacuzzi and rest against Fitz’s ridiculous cantaloupe-sized bicep. Awkward, but I could  hardly say I was hating it. 

“Uh, Fitz, did you notice anything different about Caroline today?” I asked, trying to change the subject for a moment. Talking about Caroline was a good way to stop the stirrings I was feeling in my nether regions, which were being mightily stimulated by the warm currents of the Jacuzzi and sitting practically melded with Superman.

“Different?” Fitz asked.

“Wasn’t she more dressed up than usual?” I asked. “And I thought she was acting kind of dazed with Lamar. Not her usual acerbic, in-your-face self.”

“Well, she was done up more carefully than she usually is around here. You must have better radar than I do — I didn’t notice her acting strange with Lamar, but that’s never been my strong suit. Now that you mention it, though, she seemed to have doused herself in perfume. I could smell it, even outdoors and being on the opposite side of the table from where she was sitting. Strong stuff! Wonder what it’s called? Something like Hungry Python, I imagine.”

“Fitz!” I sat up and looked at him. “That’s the wickedest thing I’ve heard you say!”

“Well, I feel safe talking with you,” Fitz giggled, then turned serious again. “But Caroline’s hard to take, at times, and she can get on my nerves. She’s really not a terrible person, when you get to know her, but she can be so bitchy. And she’s way over-protective of Chuck. You’d think she’d know better, being his sister, but I think that because he’s so nice and even-keeled she thinks he’s a bit of a fool. She doesn’t give him credit for being as sensible as he actually is.”

“I think Jamie has that problem, too, sometimes. He’s got to be the nicest guy on the planet. Well, maybe along with Chuck. But he’s not dumb or stupid, in the least.”

“No, I don’t think so, either. But back to Caroline, for a moment. Did you really think she was staring at Lamar?”

“Looked like it to me, at least a couple of times when he wasn’t looking in her direction.”

“Hmm. That would be out of the ordinary for her,” Fitz said. “She’s so conventional, and worried about what other people will think. Especially that crowd of hers back in Cleveland. Tongues would be wagging, at a minimum, if the Queen of the Chagrin Valley Racket Club were involved with a black guy. It’s so not done, you know!” For a moment I was sure he was channeling Katherine Hepburn’s clenched-jaw Bryn Mawr society accent in “The Philadelphia Story.” Who knew? There was a sly, dry sense of humor lurking behind the Superman façade. “To be fair, I’ve never heard her or any of the Binghams say anything racist. But some other people in that crowd have. And Caroline isn’t the type to stand up to them. She’s hardly a rebel!”

Fitz shifted on the bench, sitting up straight and pulled me in tight for a moment as he began to stand up. “I don’t know about you, but I’m turning into a complete prune in here. Shall we rinse off and hit the sauna? I turned it down a couple of notches so it won’t be a blast furnace like it was last night.”

I was about to say something but as he was standing there in the jacuzzi the junkyard was staring me in the face! Again! The light-headedness was back and all I could do was gulp. Fitz climbed out of the Jacuzzi and reached an arm down for me to grab. “C’mon, Izzy. You’ve got to be getting shriveled up in there, too.” I grabbed Fitz’s arm and let him pull me out of the hot tub and guide me to the showers.

I was rinsing off the chlorine in the shower when I heard Fitz’s voice from the next stall. “Hey, Izzy, could you give me a hand here for a minute?” 

“Uh, oh. Now what?” I thought to myself, again feeling light-headed.

“Sure,” I said as I stepped out of my stall. Fitz had pulled his curtain back and I found myself staring at acres of his muscled back.

“I know this sounds cliché as hell, but could you please scrub my back? That’s one reason I need to get more flexible. I’ve bulked myself up so much I can barely reach anything there, now.”

“Oh, sure.” I could see his problem. “I guess you’ve got a handsome valet at home who does this for you?” 

“You’ve been watching too much ‘Masterpiece Theater,’ ” he snickered. “No, I use a long-handled back scrubber. But I forget to bring it with me when I travel.”

I got a couple of big globs of shower gel from the dispenser, reached up, applied it to the seemingly endless acreage of his shoulders and upper back and foamed it up. I applied some more to his middle and lower back and ran my hands all over the vastness to help get rid of the chlorine. 

“Mmm. That does feel good,” Fitz sighed. “Maybe there’s more to this valet idea than I thought! Wanna apply if I decide to hire one?” he teased. “You’ve got a nice touch.”

I slapped his butt. It felt like warm, sculptured marble. “Um, that’s enough of that, stud,” I said, before realizing what I had just said.

Fitz turned around and there I was, back in the rabbit-and-the-cobra mode, staring into the middle of his chest. The junkyard was hanging at the middle of mine, and when I glanced down there seemed to be even more of it than before. I tried getting my brain working properly again. “Dude,” I said, “we’ve gotta stop meeting like this!” I managed to giggle a bit. “Go get your ass in that sauna. I’ll be there in a minute after I’ve finished rinsing off, myself.”

Fitz grabbed his towel and ducked low into the sauna as I stepped back into my shower stall and finished washing off the suds and chlorine.

I stepped into the sauna and, once again, there was Fitz seated on his towel on the upper bench, legs sprawled apart with his colossal equipment hanging over the edge of the bench, like a Niagara Falls of cock and balls. I felt like I’d walked into a Tom of Finland fantasy drawing. I drew a breath before I started to get dizzy again and spread out my towel on the lower bench. “Uh, Fitz?” I said. “The junk?”

“Oh,” he said. “Right.” He scooted back to sit up straight, which was enough to pull the dangling appendages back onto the upper bench with him. I mean, it was nerve-wracking enough to just be sitting there between his legs without thinking about all that equipment draped over my shoulder or something. I sat down and leaned against the upper bench, conscious of the mere inches separating his most intimate parts from my head.

“Izzy?” he asked, in a serious tone. “You’re OK like this? I’m not making you totally uncomfortable? This stupid sauna is so small there’s no real alternative.”

“No. It’s OK. Unusual, but OK.” I replied. “I mean, it’s a little weird having, um, all that right in my immediate neighborhood. Sorry if I’ve stared. It’s kind of difficult to avoid.”

“It’s alright. I’m mostly used to it. It goes with the territory when you’re a freak of nature.”

“You can’t be serious!” I exclaimed. “You don’t really think of yourself that way, do you?”

“I did for a long time,” he sighed. “After what happened with Ricky and being afraid I was never going to stop growing.”

“Well, you aren’t. I mean, you’re definitely bigger than the average guy. A whole lot bigger. You’re an attention-getter, absolutely! But there’s nothing freakish about you.”

“Thanks,” he sighed. “I’m not as bad as I was right after the thing with Ricky, but I still get those feelings sometimes. Especially when I’m getting stares in a locker room. I’ve gotten to recognize when they’re just curiosity and guys checking out another guy. But sometimes I see guys looking scared. And not only small guys. And that brings back all those feelings.”

I turned sideways and looked up at him. “You’ve got to stop doing this to yourself. Seriously, Fitz! You’re not a freak, even if you’re so much larger than most other guys. You were a kid when that happened with Ricky, and neither of you knew what you were doing. Not to mention that you’d both been drinking, from what you said. You’ve managed to have sex since then without maiming your partner. You’ve learned how to do it. You need to lighten up on yourself.”

“You’re right, I guess. But I see that scared look in guys’ eyes and, well, maybe it isn’t rational, but it comes back. I see Ricky lying passed out on that dorm bed and. . .”

“Fitz,” I said. “You’ve got to try thinking differently about this. Think about the guys you’ve been with who enjoyed being with you!”

He sighed. “I do, but I haven’t been totally honest with you. The thing is, I’m really attracted to smaller guys. Like Ricky.” I could hear him gulp. “And you,” he said in a low voice. “Not exclusively, of course. When you get down to it everyone is smaller than me, except a handful of professional athletes. But I haven’t allowed myself to be with anyone much smaller than me since St. Mark’s.”

I jumped slightly as I felt a big hand run through my hair. “Is. . . Is it OK for me to do that?” Fitz asked. “Your hair is so soft. . .”

If I were a cat I would have purred. But I could also feel chills running up and down my spine. “It’s OK, Fitz. Anytime we’re in private like this.”

“Izzy,” he continued in that low, hesitant voice. “Would you look at me? There? Not just a glance. Look.”

I just stared into his dark eyes. I hadn’t really done that before and there seemed to be golden glints in their deep brown.

I lowered my eyes to his manhood. He seemed to scoot forward again slightly and the softball-sized head slid over the edge of the upper bench and dangled there before me. It was pink and wide and heart-shaped. The shaft behind it was wide and seemed miles long. Soft as it was, I could see a couple of dark blue veins under the smooth skin, running from the head to the base. Underneath, in a soft, nearly hairless pink sack, rested what looked like a pair of tennis balls. I could have admired him forever. But I looked back up at Fitz.

“I don’t scare you?” He asked softly, even though I’m sure he could tell from my expression that I wasn’t scared.

“No. Totally the opposite, if I’m going to be honest with you. It’s beautiful. You’re beautiful. All of you.”

I knew I’d totally crossed a line that I couldn’t cross back over again. I stared back into those dark, glinting eyes and they seemed a bit watery.

“Beautiful?” he said, in a whisper. “Nobody’s ever said that to me.”

“Fitz,” I said. “You are beautiful. Huge, of course. Exceptionally huge. And exceptionally beautiful, too. I could spend forever just looking at you.”

“And not terrifying?” I felt his huge hand gently stroking my hair.

“Not. Terrifying.” I said emphatically. “Why, Fitz? Do you want me to be terrified of you? I’m not. Look, like I told you yesterday, you’re imposing as all get out. Anyone who’s not your size might have some second thoughts about being with someone as big as you. But you’re not a scary person. You don’t behave in a scary way toward people. Of course, I’m sure there must be some guys who are scared about being with someone as big as you, no matter what, but those are their own fears. It’s not because of anything you’re doing. I know you’ve learned since boarding school to be caring and careful.”

Fitz leaned forward and down and I suddenly felt his nose and lips on the top of my head. “Thank you,” I heard him breathe. “I don’t really think I’m beautiful, like you said. But you make me feel good. You look at me and see a person, not a circus sideshow freak. Not what I see in some other people’s eyes.” 

“You are beautiful, Fitz. Seriously, beautiful. I’ve not seen anyone more beautiful than you.” I said. “Not even Jamie, and I’ve always thought he was the most beautiful guy ever to exist.”

I felt Fitz’s powerful arms pull me towards him. He tilted my face up and his lips brushed down my forehead and touched my eyelids. “You’re beautiful, too, Izzy.” he breathed. “You have no idea.” His mouth covered mine and I felt his tongue probing my lips. Helplessly, I opened up and felt his muscular tongue slide inside. Like everything about him, it was huge and filled up everything he was entering. I felt myself turning into a puddle of dissolving jell-o. 

Fitz pulled away and sat up again, panting heavily, his arms still encircling my head. I opened my eyes slowly and shook slightly. Fitz’s enormous cock was once again staring at me at face level. It wasn’t really hard yet, but it clearly had lengthened and thickened a lot and now hung far over the edge of the bench. Fitz’s fingers ruffled through my hair again and then down the sides of my face.

“Izzy,” I heard him whisper. “Would. . . Would you kiss me there, too?”

That might just be the hottest thing anyone ever said to me! It just seemed like the most natural thing in the world to do. I lifted up the dangling head in one hand and brought it up to my face level. It felt enormously heavy and hot and completely filled the palm of my hand. I leaned down a bit and kissed it. It tasted clean and smelled like shower gel. I gently licked across the width of the huge knob. “Oh, my God. Please don’t stop doing that, Iz! Ever!” I heard Fitz moan, breathlessly. A glistening drop of liquid formed at the tip. Without thinking, my tongue flicked out and licked it up. Fitz just groaned. His pre-cum tasted a bit salty and sweet and a little like celery, too. With just a touch of my lips and tongue Fitz’s behemoth had grown and hardened completely. With my other hand I was grasping it at its base and my hand could encompass only about two-thirds of him. There was room along the shaft for three or four more hands the size of mine above the spot I was already holding. My head felt like it was swirling, and I saw another glistening drop form on the huge pink head, now so enlarged that the skin had become taut and shiny. The viscous drop began sliding down the shaft slowly and I licked it up from the opening of the big slit and then from the shaft before it had gotten halfway down the huge vein along its underside. 

Fitz’s hands pulled my head up to his face again as he bent over downwards and his huge tongue dove into my mouth hungrily. I could feel it probing into the back of my throat. For a moment it felt like he was going to inhale my entire face into his fevered mouth.

He sat back up and used his enormous hands to maneuver my head back into his crotch. I opened as wide as I could to try to take his huge cock head into my mouth without scraping it with my teeth. I swirled my tongue around it, sliding it back and forth just underneath the slit, then around the flaring, pebbly-feeling edge. I took a deep breath and thought of circus sword swallowers and somehow managed to slide a further two or three inches down the steel-hard shaft. Above me I heard what sounded like death throes. “Oh, God. Never stop, Izzy!” 

I felt Fitz’s huge hands close gently around the sides of my head and begin sliding it up and down his shaft, trying to relax me enough to take a little more. He succeeded in getting another inch or so inside me, which only increased the death throes. I began having a little trouble breathing as I felt the colossal head try to enter the back of my mouth. I could suddenly feel a strong throbbing in the huge vein on the underside of Fitz’s cock and heard him gasp “Izzy, I’m cumming! I’m cumming!!” And then a flood of near-Biblical proportions overwhelmed my mouth and throat! I swallowed and swallowed but there was so much that some was running out the corners of my mouth and down my chin. 

The gushing fountain slowed and stopped. I could feel him soften a bit and Fitz’s hands eased their grip on my head. I could hear him panting as if he’d just finished a 100-yard dash in record time. I felt his fingers scoop up the dribbles on my chin and return them to my mouth. Fitz’s breathing returned to normal and once again he leaned down to cover my mouth with his own. Our tongues dueled briefly but then he sat up again. I was seriously starting to feel dizzy. “Fitz,” I said, “I’m getting woozy!”

“Jeez!” Fitz cried. “We’re in the frigging sauna! How long have we been in here? No wonder we’re about to pass out! Come on, we’ve got to get in the shower and cool off  before we collapse!” He stood up and swayed slightly but steadied himself and stepped down from the lower bench level to the floor, his prodigious assemblage dragging through my hair and across my face. Once again! He put his hands under my armpits and pulled me up standing. With one hand he grabbed the towels while he propelled me out the door with the other. He had to duck low again to get out of the sauna without banging his head. My head still felt like it was whirling. Fitz turned on the cold water in the nearest shower stall and pushed me under it. The sudden shock snapped me awake and then I just stood under the torrent of cold water. I was so overheated it felt good. I could hear the water going on in the next stall and Fitz gasping as it hit him. “Oof!” I heard him exclaim.

Soon we were cooled down and near normal. “Izzy, are you OK?” I heard Fitz ask as he stepped out of his shower. 

“Yes, of course. Why?” 

“You looked like you might be about to faint as you stood up.”

“It felt like it for a moment,” I admitted. “The sauna was so hot. And what we did was at least a hundred times hotter! I guess we just lost all sense of time in there!”

“Izzy, I’m serious. I didn’t hurt you did I?”

“Oh, my God, no! How could you even think that? That may have been the most wonderful thing I ever did in my life!”

Fitz wrapped his wet dripping body around mine. “It was for me, too, Iz. But I was feeling so carried away I was afraid of. . . Afraid of. . .”

“Another Ricky? No. Not even close. And remember what I told you yesterday? I’m not anywhere near your size or strength, but I’m not a porcelain figurine, either. You didn’t hurt me in the least.”

I could hear a long sigh of relief above me. “But, Izzy, I’m sorry, what you were doing was so incredible I got lost in it all. It’s been so long. . . But I was selfish. I didn’t help you cum along with me.”

“Uh, Fitz,” I whispered. “I did, actually. When you were cumming. It was all so overwhelming, and maybe it was the heat of the sauna, too, but I came. That’s never happened to me before, not touching myself.”

I just felt Fitz’s arms hug me tighter, as if he was trying to merge me into his chest. We stood there embracing for long minutes, then finally broke apart. I shivered a little in the cool air of the gym. 

“Let’s get dressed.” said Fitz. “We need to get up to the house and get something to drink. We must both be totally dehydrated by now!”

“Yeah, you’re right,” I said.

Suddenly, Fitz grabbed me again in a tight embrace. “I can’t believe you came by yourself like that,” he breathed into my ear. “But now it’ll be my turn to get you off. I told you I’m a total top. It’s true, but only where fucking is concerned.” He squeezed tighter. “Come to my room tonight. Or I’ll come to yours. It’s going to be like one of those English country house comedies, with people bumping into each other in the hall scuttling into other bedrooms at night,” he giggled. 

“But this doesn’t feel funny,” he then said quietly, and held me even closer. “This feels perfect.” 

Part 17

When we got back to the house I was surprised to see Chuck, Caroline, Lamar and Jamie in the living room. I figured they would long ago have wrapped up their business while Fitz and I were occupied at the gym. Instead, they only now seemed to be finishing up. “I think that pretty much covers everything I want done, Lamar,” I heard Chuck saying. “Sorry it’s taken so much more time than I expected.”

“No problem,” replied Lamar. “I think we’ve got the extended terrace and garden fountain squared away. If it’s OK with you I’ll be back out tomorrow to do an actual walk through of the outbuildings and we can finalize the details for those renovations.”

“Great. See you tomorrow around 10:00?” asked Chuck.

“That’ll work. See you then.” Lamar gathered up his laptop and other stuff and headed for his truck.

“Nice guy,” I heard Chuck say to Jamie after Lamar was gone. 

“I told you. I know the Metcalfs’ success rubs some of the County troglodytes the wrong way, but screw ‘em,” said Jamie. “They’re good people, Lamar’s a good guy, and, most importantly for you, they do good work. I know Dad wouldn’t have anyone else do work for us at Longacre.”

“I’m surprised every woman around here isn’t calling him for pipe-cleaning services,” said Caroline. “He’s certainly the looker!”

Chuck stared at her. “Who are you?” he asked. “And what have you done with my sister, Cleveland’s Miss Goody Two-shoes?”

“I’m just commenting, that’s all,” said Caroline. “He’s quite the stud! That can’t hurt in bringing in business. Is he married?”

“No,” said Jamie. “I’m kind of surprised, because he’s definitely a catch. But he still seems to be playing the field, although I can’t imagine it’s very big — I don’t think he dates white women and the black community here is fairly small. Maybe he’s seeing women from Lexington or Louisville. I’ve never really asked him about his love life. He doesn’t ask about mine. It’s kind of a sensitive topic. This is rural Kentucky and we definitely still have our share of unenlightened assholes freaking about interracial couples. ”

“Just asking,” said Caroline, looking kind of furtive. 

“Jamie?” I asked, partly to change the subject. “How’s your ankle? I’m sorry I wasn’t around to help you for so much of the day.”

“Better,” he answered. “I’m getting around more easily with the crutches and it’s less sore. Chuck took good care of me, today. I’m glad you could help Fitz out and show him around a little.” If Jamie only knew just how much I’d helped Fitz this afternoon! We were going to have lots to talk about when we finally got some private time together.

“Izzy was great,” Fitz chimed in, helpfully. “Arthur Davis was a big help at the bank, and then we had a really good lunch at that bistro.” “Cheval Blanc,” I said. “Yeah,” said Fitz. “Their eggs Benedict were amazing! And Izzy’s going to teach me some stretch routines for my workouts!” This was edging into dangerous territory. 

“Meanwhile, Jamie, are you feeling able to go home yet? How’s the ankle?” I asked.

“Chuck, would it be OK to stay tomorrow?” Jamie asked. “I’m not sure I’m ready to tackle the stairs at home yet. But if I’m better tomorrow I think I should be able to go home the day after. I can practice a little on the stairs here using the crutches. I know what you said, but I can’t help feeling like I’m imposing, especially now that you’re going to have real work starting here.”

“It hasn’t been an imposition. At all,” said Chuck, staring meaningfully at Jamie. “You’re welcome to stay as long as you want.”

“Thanks,” said Jamie. “I really appreciate that. But you’ve already been so kind, and I don’t want to wear out my welcome.”

“That would be impossible,” said Chuck. “But I understand wanting to be home and in your own place with your own stuff.”

I saw Caroline giving them that look again. Doesn’t she ever lighten up?

“Hey, Izzy!” I heard Fitz’s voice calling down the hall from the kitchen area.

I headed back there and found him pouring out a couple of huge glasses of Gatorade. “Seriously, Izzy,” he said. “Drink up! You need this after all that time we spent in the sauna! We don’t need you passing out from dehydration!” We were alone for a moment. I didn’t know where the cook was. Fitz gave me a quick squeeze and ruffled my hair again.

“Well, that was a more strenuous workout and sauna than I’d anticipated,” I chuckled. “But cool the jets, Fitz. I’m not sure what we’re doing here. Let’s keep all this to ourselves for now. If only to keep Caroline from ragging on us!”

“OK,” said Fitz. “For now. Just don’t forget tonight. I’m not finished with you!” he growled, then snickered. 

The Binghams’ cook came in from the door to the outside, carrying several grocery bags. “Did you young men need anything?” she asked.

“No, Mrs. Smythe,” Fitz answered. “We were just getting some Gatorade after the gym. We’ll get out of your way.”

“No problem, but I do need to get dinner going,” she said. “It’ll be ready at six.”

“Yes, ma’am,” I said. Fitz and I headed back to the living room. Chuck and Jamie were off in one corner, talking quietly together. Caroline was sitting near the window, riffling through that issue of Italian Vogue, but looking distracted. Fitz got out his phone and started texting. 

“I need to message Glory,” he said. “I try to every day.” 

I picked up the copy of “Emma” that I’d set aside the other evening. “I need my fix of this. I started it the other night and now I’m hooked.” We all occupied ourselves one way or another until dinnertime. 

Mrs. Smythe laid on a delicious spread. Quiet reigned for a while as we all plowed in. Everyone seemed to be hungry, even Caroline, who usually picked at her food. I hadn’t figured her as likely to care for cornbread and greens, which figured prominently on that evening’s menu. 

Fitz and I kept giving each other glances, and when I looked their way I could see that the same was going on with Chuck and Jamie. From the look of things we were likely to find ourselves in a traffic jam in the upstairs hall after bed time! 

“Chuck,” Caroline said, “tomorrow, if you don’t mind, I want to take Lamar over to look at the Ivy Cottage. I’m having a few second thoughts about what needs to be done to it.” Ivy Cottage was the largest of the outbuildings at Norwood. It had been turned into guest quarters years ago by the Addisons, and probably hadn’t been updated since then. I’d been in that cottage a couple of times when I was getting fucked by Geoff Addison back in high school. 

“No, that’s fine.” Chuck said. “Oh, damn! I just remembered! You may have to take Lamar out to look at all the outbuildings yourself. I forgot there’s supposed to be someone here tomorrow from the County water department to look at the mains.”

“If I must,” Caroline responded. She seemed to be trying to sound world weary and like she was doing Chuck a favor, but I thought her expression was more like that of the cat who just ate the canary.

Conversation meandered, as we recounted what we all had done during the day. Fitz was sitting across from me and I suddenly felt a size-17 Topsider rubbing my foot under the table. I gave Fitz a stare. “Jets!” I muttered. Fitz looked around with an innocent expression. “Jets?” he asked. “I don’t hear any jets.” Someone was getting very frisky! The evening boded well, I thought, if we could just manage to keep from crawling all over each other in the living room after dinner!

Somehow we managed to keep our cool. Fitz, Chuck, and Jamie repaired to the video room to watch a game on ESPN. I entertained myself by returning to “Emma,” where things were becoming awkward between the plucky heroine and the gold-digging vicar, Mr. Elton.

The game over and the local evening news watched, we all finally headed to our rooms. “Come to mine?” Fitz whispered to me as we walked upstairs. I nodded in assent.