The Guilt Will Kill You
Introduction:
A story of relationships, sex, and maybe romance
***
Not very long ago, not very far from here, a young woman struggled with her dirt bike in the woods.
“Please start,” she mumbled. “The last thing I want to do today is push you home.”
“Hey! You in the red hoodie!” an angry voice shouted. “Can’t you read?”
Startled, Pietra spun around to see a very large man striding toward her. His long bushy hair hung loose, blending into a huge graying beard. In old camo clothes, he was an intimidating figure.
“Um, can’t I read what?”
“The ‘no trespassing’ signs. This is private property. My private property. You come blasting through here on that damned noisy rice-burner of yours all the time.”
“I didn’t see any signs.”
“Bullshit. You couldn’t have missed them all. They’re everywhere.”
She mumbled, “They say, ‘No hunting’.”
“Aha! I thought you said you didn’t see my signs! They also say, ‘No trespassing’ and ‘No motor vehicles’, dammit!”
“Okay,” she admitted. “Maybe I saw ’em. But what’s the big deal? I’m just passing through.”
“The big deal is I posted my land because I do NOT want people ‘passing through’! Get out of here, and don’t come back!”
“My bike stalled. It’s been doing this lately. I don’t know what’s wrong with it.”
The man sighed. “So you can’t leave. That’s just great.”
“Do you know anything about … what is this thing … a Honda?”
“Oh, for pity’s sake,” he grumbled. “Let me push it to my shed so I can work on it. Hopefully I can get you going and out of here.” He grabbed the bike and pushed into the underbrush.
“Sweet! Thanks!” she said, picking her way along behind him. “I’m Pietra Stevens. Who are you?”
“Harold Wolf, if you must know. They call me ‘Wolfie’.”
“Everyone calls me ‘Lil’ Red’ ‘cuz I’m short and, well, look at my hair.”
“Cute,” Wolfie said in a tone that showed he didn’t mean it. He led her to a clearing, a large old shed at one edge. “Make yourself useful. Hold your damn bike up while I open the door.” He grabbed the handle of the overhead door with one big paw and lifted it easily.
“Whoa, dude,” Pietra exclaimed. “Nice shop! Are you some kind of mechanic?”
“When I need to be.” He lifted the motorcycle onto a stand and inspected it, picking at the mess of dirt and bits of leaves around the engine. “Do you ever wash this thing? Clean the air filter or spark plug? Do any maintenance?”
“I had a guy put air in the tires once, but other than that, no.”
“Why not?”
“Machines aren’t my thing, ya know? They’re just supposed to be there and do their job.”
“Typical chick,” he growled quietly. He blew the dirt off with an airgun and began disassembling parts around the motor.
“Hey, I’m a musician, okay? That’s what’s important to me.”
“Musician? Surprised you can hear, riding this stupid thing around.”
“It’s not that loud, Wolfie.”
“It certainly is. Sounds like a damn chainsaw on steroids. And where’s your helmet?”
“I don’t wear one.”
He looked up from his work. “Why not? Don’t be an idiot and tell me it messes up your hair. My bass player, Duke, wouldn’t wear a brain-bucket because of helmet-head. His hair didn’t look that damn good when he went off his chopper and split his skull open.”
“If I did a lot of road riding, maybe I’d get a helmet.”
“Oh, sure, of course,” he sneered. “Road riding is different. We go faster, we carry passengers, and our bikes are heavy if they fall on us, right? But a road biker doesn’t have tree limbs to bash in his brains. No rocks and mud kicked in his face by the guy in front of him.”
“I don’t get stuff kicked in my face. I ride alone.”
“That’s real smart,” he scolded. He worked in silence for a few minutes and then stood and wiped his hands. “All right. That’s as good as I can make it without new parts. Now, I’ll put things back together. We’ll see if this little toy fires up.”
“You’re good. I bet they’d charge me a lot to do that in town.”
“The price I’m charging is you staying off my land.”
“I don’t get it. Why is your privacy so important?”
“Because … because it is. Look, Red. The world is a crazy place. I don’t fit there anymore. I had my fun, but that’s in the past. I like being alone now. Try to understand.”
“Shutting yourself away from everyone is kinda sad.”
He thought for a moment. “Not if I don’t let it be. I write better music now than I ever did. That makes me happy.”
“What kind of music?”
He smiled for the first time. “Hard to describe. I like a little of everything except that club music rap crap. I listen to the classics like Mozart, Chopin, and Bach, guys like Johnny Cash, The Beach Boys, and Otis Redding, and bands like Rob Zombie, Static-X, and Tool. Then I write what I feel.”
“You write on a real musical score?”
“Of course. Then I record it.”
“Cool! What instrument do you play?”
“Guitar, keyboard, some brass, and I’m teaching myself the flute. The rest I do with my computer.”
“Wow! Where do you do this?”
“Here. I built a studio. It’s soundproof, but on nice afternoons I like to sit on my porch to read or write. Your damn bike interrupts me.”
“Sorry. I didn’t know.”
“You couldn’t have, but that’s why I like people to stay away.”
“Makes sense,” she agreed. “I used to enjoy performing in public, but when I write or practice I need to be alone.”
“You sing?”
“Vocals and guitar, mainly. In high school I was in a band. We played at dances and free concerts and stuff, but that kinda ended when we graduated. Now, I write and sing with my girlfriend at her place. She plays drums. That’s where I go when I cut through here.”
“Bands,” he chuckled. “In school I had a greaser tribute band, but we split up after graduation, too. Then I started playing clubs with a couple guys. Got a good manager. Recorded a little, did a few festivals, opened for name acts at decent venues. Made okay money. Fun stuff. Then Duke got killed. I bought the drinks that night. Way too many. It all ended on that road. Now, I’m here.”
“That sucks, Wolfie, but you didn’t kill him.”
“Everyone said that, but the thrill was gone. It was time to move on. That part of my life was over when I cried at the funeral.”
“You could still play,” she said.
“I do, but only for myself. No one wants to hear my crap these days. I’m yesterday’s news.”
“Don’t say that. If you have talent, you should share it. Maybe you’d do okay with a new band.”
“No, Red. That’s behind me. I’m no performer anymore.”
“You just need someone to build a fire under your butt. You should come and watch us sometime, if I can get Lisa to agree. It’s just her on drums and me on guitar, but we both sing okay.”
“I’m fine here. Let’s see if your toy works.” He wheeled it out of the shed. It came to life immediately and settled into a healthy idle.
“Wolfie, that’s great! It sounds smoother than it did when I got it! If you’re as good with music as you are with bikes, you should be playing where people can hear you.”
“Go see your friend, Red.”
***
“Your bike stalled again?” Lisa asked when Pietra arrived.
“Yeah, but some dude fixed it. He took stuff off and cleaned it or something. It runs great now.”
“Who was he?”
“His name’s Harold Wolf. Calls himself Wolfie. He writes music.”
“Harold Wolf? THE Harold Wolf? You met Wolfie? Red, you’re so lucky!”
“I am? Why?”
“Pietra, c’mon! Harry Wolf! He had a band called “Hairy Wolves”. They were all big guys with long hair and beards like outlaw bikers. Harry sang and played lead. Don’t you remember them?”
“Not sure,” Pietra said.
“Really? They were sort of a metal niche act, but they were really good. Their bass player died when he wrecked his motorcycle, and then the band split up. That was about five years ago.”
“Oh, wait. Didn’t they do a song called ‘Full Moon Love’?”
“Their hit single,” Lisa agreed. “Wow. Cool. How did you meet him?”
“He has this place in the middle of nowhere in the woods near the trail I ride to get here.”
“I never would have guessed. He dropped out of sight when the band broke up. What’s he like?”
Pietra thought for a moment. “He’s a loner. Apparently doesn’t go out, just like you. Still writes music and plays in his studio at home, but that’s it.”
“Was he nice?”
“Not at first. He was pissed off because I was on his land. My bike wouldn’t start, so he pushed it into his shop and fixed it. He seems okay. The bass player’s death hurt him. He withdrew from the world and became a hermit. He’s kinda cool, but he’s gotta be lonely.”
“Real shaggy beast, as I remember, but built.”
“Yeah, he’s got this whole mountain man thing going on. He scared me at first, but he’s really cute in a Sasquatch kind of way.”
“Cute?” Lisa leered.
“More like hot, if you like the rugged bad boy look, but nothing happened. He’s a nice guy. Just screwed up. All I saw was his workshop, and you can’t even see that from the path I use. It’s pretty well hidden, and he has ‘No Trespassing’ signs everywhere. He doesn’t want anyone around. No clue what the rest of his place looks like.”
On the way home after dinner with Lisa, Pietra watched for Wolfie’s signs and took the long path around his property. When she got near the end of the woods, she saw him and stopped. “Hi! See? I stayed off your land.”
“Thanks. I heard your damn toy motorcycle anyway, so I came out to ask you some questions.”
“Like what?”
“What kind of singer are you? Do you have any training? How big is your range? What style of music do you do best?”
“Hmm. My only training was some free lessons at the store where I got my first guitar as a kid. I did musicals and the band stuff in school. Always recorded myself and listened to try to improve. Technically, I’m a first alto, but I can hit most notes, and I have perfect pitch. I’m best with modern country and rock. Screamer metal is okay, but right now my thing is ballads. Why?”
“A couple of my new songs need vocals. I sing okay for a lot of what I write, but my voice is more of a growl. That doesn’t work for some music. You have a great speaking voice, so I thought maybe you singing melody to my background track could help.”
She laughed. “You want me to sing Hairy Wolves music?”
“Oh, you know about that. Why didn’t you say something this morning?”
“I didn’t know who you were this morning. Lisa told me.”
“Lisa? The girl you visit when you roar through my woods? You told her about me?”
“She’s cool.”
“No, dammit. This is not cool. I should have put razor wire around my land. I told you, I value my privacy.”
“Wolfie, it’s fine. I told her not to say anything. We’re very close, and I trust her. She’s weird too. She knows what secrets are.”
“I sure as hell hope so. Being alone is the way I like it.”
“If you want to be alone, how can I sing for you? Maybe we could do something online, but I don’t have good equipment.”
He scowled. “Guess you’ll have to come here.”
“When?”
“Do you work?”
“I have an office job, so I’m available evenings and weekends.”
“I’ll tie a white cloth around a tree on the right side of the path near where you broke down. Tomorrow is Sunday. Be there at one.” He disappeared back into the trees.
***
The next afternoon, Pietra found the white cloth and Wolfie waiting for her.
“Right on time. At least you have that going for you, Red. It’s too steep to ride your bike down to my studio, so we’ll stow it here.” He opened the door to his shed and pushed the bike inside. “Follow me.”
They picked their way through the underbrush on what appeared to be a deer path. Soon, they came to a steep slope with crude steps made of native rock. At the bottom was a well-hidden door.
“You should feel honored. You’re the first person to see the inside of my place.”
The rustic door opened into a small modern room furnished in glass and leather. Shelves filled with books, albums, and CDs lined one wall. He opened the door at the far end. “My inner sanctum. This is where I hide from the world when I want to be serious about music.”
“Dude, you have everything in here! I’ve seen pro studios that weren’t this well-equipped!”
“If I had stayed in the industry, I would have built one hell of a band studio. I knew a guy. We were working on a plan to start small professional studios geared toward young, unknown talent. There are a lot of garage bands out there that need a chance.”
“I guess that’s what Lisa and I are,” Pietra said. “A garage band — really a garage duo.”
“Why don’t you girls do more with your talent?”
“Why don’t you?”
He scowled, went to the console, and turned it on. “Take these headphones and find a seat. This is one of the songs I’m working on.”
She looped her long red hair behind her ears and put the headphones on. She closed her eyes as the music played.
When it ended, he asked, “What do you think?”
“Wolfie, you laid down all those tracks yourself?”
“Yeah.”
“Mixed the sound?
“Yeah. Why?”
“It’s brilliant! Dude, it’s like … I don’t know what. Will you play it again?”
He did, and she listened carefully. “I can’t classify it, but I wanna hear more, if this is what you’re into these days.”
“Red, do you think you can sing with it?”
“Did you write lyrics?”
“Here.” He handed her a paper.
She read the words twice. “Wow. I can so hear this in my head. I totally get it.”
“Will you sing for me?”
“I’ll try.”
He played his song again. She stood and moved slightly to the rhythm of the intro, then sang the first verse in a clear, sweet voice. The melody she chose complemented the instrumental tracks well.
Wolfie stopped the music. “Great voice, but your delivery should be bluesier, a little dirtier.”
“Not yet. The lyrics and bass line don’t call for that until after the break. I don’t think so, anyway.”
“Really? You think that’s the best approach, huh? Prove it. Take it from the top.”
The music started again, and again Pietra’s lithe form swayed slightly as she sang. Her movements stopped during the break as she hummed an aria over the melody of the horn track. Then things changed. She dropped to the bottom of her range for the second verse, her delivery louder and a little dark. By the third verse her voice dripped passion. She strutted as she sang, moving back and forth as though on a small stage.
When she was done, he grinned and applauded softly. “I wrote it, but I never thought of it sounding that way. Needs some work, but I like it.”
“Really?” she squealed. “I was kinda winging it. Like doing karaoke with a song you don’t know.”
“Your singing style is honest. That’s what this song needs. I’d like you to practice with me.”
“Cool! Singing with a celebrity old head sounds like fun.”
“Old head? My beard started turning gray when I hit thirty.”
“How old are you now?”
“Thirty-five. Not that damn old.”
“You’re the same age as Lisa. I call her Granny.”
He smirked. “You wear a red hoodie and ride through the woods to visit someone you call Granny.”
Pietra chuckled. “She’s going gray, refuses to dye it, and she’s like ten years older than me, so yeah.”
“You should take her baskets of food.”
“I know, right? But she’s a much better cook than I am. It’s too far to walk, and my car’s a piece of crap, so I usually ride my motorcycle. Can’t carry much, though. I keep one of my guitars at her place.”
“What type of guitar do you like to play?”
“Depends on the style of the song.”
He opened the door to a closet lined with guitars. “I’m going to remove the lead guitar track. I want to hear you play.”
“Should I sing too?”
“If you can.”
She examined a few of the instruments, strumming them and listening to their raw sound. “The first verse should have an acoustic lead, so this guitar will be great, but that one’s better for what I’d do plugged in.”
“Bring them out here.” He got his own guitar. “Tune yours first.”
She experimented with both instruments, making fine adjustments to suit her ear. After a few practice riffs and chords, she nodded. “These are great. Let’s do this.”
Wolfie readied his own instrument. “You lead. I’ll follow.”
They played and sang for hours. Finally, she said, “My fingers are done for the day.”
“That’s okay, Red. I didn’t mean to keep you this long.”
“No, it’s fine. We were awesome together.”
“I wouldn’t go that far.”
“You’re too serious, Wolfie. Too hard on yourself. It was a fun jam session.”
“True. I haven’t played with a live human in years. You’re good with a guitar.”
“Thanks. You’ve got some moves on you yourself. I’d love to watch you play the rest of the tracks.”
He chuckled. “Today was the first time I picked up an instrument with someone in the room for a long time.”
“It shouldn’t be the last. I need to get going, but we should do this again.”
He walked her to the shed. “Promise you won’t tell a soul about this.”
“Don’t worry.”
“Good. Next Saturday, maybe ten? I’ll make lunch.”
“Great! I’ll be here.”
***
“What did you do yesterday?” Lisa asked when they took a break from working on their latest song.
“Not much. Went on a ride. Kinda hung out.”
“With Harry Wolf?
“How did you know?”
“There’s something different in your vocal delivery today. I kinda like it.”
“I had fun. We sang and played some tunes together. I could learn a lot from him.”
Lisa opened her laptop. “I did a little searching and found a live version of ‘Full Moon Love’. Wanna hear it?”
“Sure.”
When the song ended, Pietra laughed. “That sure was Wolfie on lead vocal.”
“Yeah. The base player sang back-up. They sounded great together.”
“That was Duke, the guy who died.”
“This recording was made the night of the accident,” Lisa said. “The girl on the back was killed too. The reports said he was drunk.”
“He was. Wolfie bought the drinks that night after the show.”
“He told you that?”
“He blames himself for Duke’s death. That’s why he went into hiding.”
Lisa mused, “For their time, they were cutting edge. He should play again. It would do him good.”
***
Saturday morning a month or so later, Wolfie opened the shed. “Looks like it might rain.” When they got to the studio, he said, “I wrote a poem a few years ago and decided to play with it. The style is sort of rockabilly blues, but it needs something.”
They listened to the existing tracks together, Pietra reading the lyrics to herself as the music played.
“Wolfie, this is really sad. I think we should split the lyrics into a girl’s part and a guy’s part.”
“Yes, but we’ll do the chorus together. You sing melody, and I’ll do harmony.
After a few run-throughs, they broke for lunch. Wolfie led Red upstairs to the kitchen.
“The studio is all underground, isn’t it? There are no windows.”
“The guy who owned this land before me built a bomb shelter with a log cabin above it during the Cold War. I gutted the whole thing, built the studio downstairs, and turned the cabin into this little one-bedroom cottage. It’s enough for me. I like to sit on the porch sometimes and watch the deer. It’s fun seeing the fawns grow up. There are all kinds of animals here.”
“Are there bear? I’d be scared to ride here if there were.”
“Hmm,” Wolfie mused. “Maybe I should get some new signs that say the property is patrolled by attack bears.”
“Funny.”
“Oh, don’t worry,” Wolfie said. “I’m probably the scariest thing you’ll see here.”
“Should I be afraid of the big bad wolfie?”
“Finish your lunch. We have work to do.”
In the studio, they sang the song once more.
“I know what’s wrong with it,” she said.
“Wrong? It sounds okay to me.”
“You said it yourself, Wolfie. There’s something missing. Who did you write this about?”
“Why does that matter?”
“It matters because you’re angry. These aren’t angry lyrics, but the base line is angry, and your voice is angry when you sing. The lyrics are sad, so it doesn’t work.”
“I didn’t ask you to critique my work. I asked you to sing.”
“But I can’t. The emotions don’t fit. I don’t know what message you want to send.”
“Screw it,” he grumbled. “We’ll work on something else.”
“Why are you so defensive? What is this song really about?”
“You sang the lyrics. Why so many questions?”
“Who was the girl in the song?”
He slumped back in his chair. “You won’t let this alone, will you? Fine. Her name was Maria.”
“What did she do that made you angry?”
“She got on that bike behind Duke’s stupid drunk ass. He was her brother, but she knew better. Hell, maybe we shoulda strapped Duke to the bitch seat and let her drive. She wasn’t as drunk as he was.”
“You’re angry with her for getting herself killed.”
“Yes, and I’m mad at myself for buying the damn drinks and for not talking sense into either of them.”
“I thought you said you knew this wasn’t your fault.”
“Pietra, I was going to ask her to marry me.”
“Oh.”
“Yeah,” he muttered.
“I hear the anger, but I don’t hear your heart. You hide your pain and mask it with anger.”
He stared at the floor for a minute. “The bass track is all wrong.”
“Don’t you think the whole thing should be slowed down? This isn’t a little three-minute ditty.”
They worked on it. At one point, they took a break to watch it rain through the door to the exterior. After about two more hours, he said, “I’ll listen to it later to see if I want to add some flute, but I think it’s done.”
“If it stopped raining, I should probably go.”
They could hear the storm before he opened the door to the outside world. Wind whipped the rain sideways, and the rock steps to the shed looked like a small waterfall.
“You can’t ride in this. Let’s see what’s for dinner,” Wolfie said.
The two went upstairs. He cooked as she chattered about music. After dinner, they checked the weather from the shelter of the porch.
“Part of the path will be under water,” he said. “That’s the one problem with this place. It can be like an island when there’s a bad storm. You’re stuck here.”
“I don’t want to intrude.”
He laughed. “Girl, you intruded into my life months ago. I’ll change the sheets and give you the bed. I’ll sleep on the couch.”
They went into his living room, a simple masculine space sparsely decorated and dominated by a stone fireplace on one wall.
“This is nice,” Pietra said.
“It’s simple, but it’s home. Come, sit down.”
She sat close to him and took his hand in hers. “You can’t sleep here. We can share the bed.”
“Um … sure.”
The first kiss was tentative, but it didn’t stay that way for long. She was down to her panties when he picked her up and carried her to his bed.
“My, what big arms you have,” she giggled.
“Don’t start.” He pulled the wisp of damp cloth down with his teeth to reveal a neatly trimmed little patch of reddish fur. “I was hoping you didn’t shave everything. Red pubes are so damn hot.”
“Lisa says that too.”
“Lisa knows what she’s talking about.”
Pietra blushed. “No man has seen me like this for a while.”
He drank in her nakedness, her pale compact breasts, her hard little nipples, and her wet sex shining in the light from the nightstand lamp. He took a tentative lick.
“My, what a long tongue you have.”
“I’m gonna eat you up,” he mumbled, spreading her labia to probe her wetness with his tongue. He sucked her little clit when it came out to play and entered her gently with one big finger. His teeth teased the soft skin of her slender thighs and lower belly, and his other hand played with her breasts. When her hips started moving on their own, he cupped her buttocks in his hands to pull her womanhood tight to his mouth.
Dazed for a moment by her orgasm, she watched him dry his beard on the hem of his shirt. She grabbed him to help her sit up and undressed him as fast as she could. When he was naked as her, she pulled him close for a kiss. She wrapped a small hand around his leaking cock. “My, what a big …,” she began, but the look on his face told her what to do. She pushed him on his back and kissed a line down the fur on his belly. He gathered her red hair in one big paw so he could watch.
“I haven’t had a man cum in my mouth in way too long,” she murmured, and she went to work to change that. It didn’t take much time at all.
“Red, I’m gonna ….”
“I want you to.” She sucked him deep and held him there, feeling him expand and twitch, swallowing every drop.
She dozed in his arms until a clap of thunder woke her up.
“You’re hard again,” she said.
“I’m holding a beautiful naked girl. What did you expect?”
“Didn’t give it much thought, really, but I do have an idea.” She climbed on top of him and rubbed his swollen manhood over her entrance. “Be gentle. It’s been some time since ….” She aimed him and lowered herself, sinking slowly until she was fully impaled.
They made long, tender love, kissing, whispering sweet things as she rode him. He was able to hold off this time until she upped the pace, whipping her long hair as she bucked on top of him. She screamed her pleasure as he filled her.
In the morning the sun shone brightly through the trees.
“We shouldn’t have done that,” Wolfie said.
“Why not?”
“It could make things awkward.”
“Nonsense. I’m okay with it.”
“Really?”
“Yes, silly. This is something separate from our music. It doesn’t have to be a big deal. Now kiss me. I should get dressed and see if the trail is okay.”
***
“Granny, I started writing a new song when I got home this morning.”
“Home from where?”
“Wolfie’s.”
“That’s like eight Saturdays in a row, isn’t it? This is a regular thing with you two. I’m starting to think you want a man more than you want me.”
“Stop it. You know I enjoy what we do together. It’s just that Wolfie’s nice, and he’s got this awesome studio. He’s this big scary beast of a man, but he’s sad.”
“Sad about what?”
“You remember his bass player died, and then the band broke up?”
“Motorcycle wreck, yes,” Granny said.
“They had a party after a gig. Some of them were drunk. The bass player was. Wolfie knew it, but let him ride anyway. The girl on the back was the guy’s sister. Wolfie was in love with her. He bought the drinks that night. He saw the crash.”
“Oh, wow, that totally blows.”
“I know. He blames himself. So I started this song.” Red picked up her guitar. The short intro was soft minor chords. Then she began to sing.
“You had your plans,
You loved your girl,
And things were goin’ fine.
You played your show,
Celebrated,
Watched her drink that wine.
It was time to go,
You had second thoughts,
‘Chill out, dude! We’re fine!’
So they saddled up,
You watched them bleed,
Said ‘bye for the last time.
You know the guilt will kill you,
Give it strength and give it time,
Yeah, the guilt – it will kill you,
Just like booze and asphalt grime.”
Granny said, “Did he ask you to write that?”
“No. It’s just a first verse and chorus. Something I’m playing with.”
“It’s really good, babe. Are you going to write more?”
“Will you help?”
The girls spent the rest of the day on the song, writing two more verses. They did everything in two part harmony with drums and guitar.
“We’re going to play this for him,” Pietra said.
“We? How?”
“We’ll record it.”
***
“Brought you something,” Pietra said the following Saturday.
“Oh?”
She pulled a CD case from her hoodie.
“What’s this?” Wolfie asked.
“I wrote a little song. Well, Granny and me. Play it.”
When the recording ended, he asked, “Why did you do that?”
“Like it?”
“That’s not the point. Why did you write that song about me?”
“I wrote it for you.”
“Why?”
“Because guilt is killing you, Wolfie. Your friends are gone, yes, but you have a life to live, a gift to share.”
“My life is over. I told you – yesterday’s news. Why don’t you get that?”
“Because it’s not true. You have talent. You should be out performing. You should pursue your dream about those studios.”
“The garage band project? I think about that sometimes. You and Granny are the kind of people who would benefit from it.”
“Maybe not Granny. She doesn’t leave the house much.”
“Oh? Who did she kill?”
“It’s nothing like that. She’s afraid. She got attacked. A guy tried to rape her, but she fought him off.”
“That’s rough,” Wolfie said.
“She works from home where she has locks and an alarm system, so she’s okay there. That’s why I go to see her. She’s almost as much of a hermit as you.”
“Sounds like she has her reasons.”
“I expected that from you, Wolfie.”
“You know my story.”
“Yeah, and it frustrates the hell out of me. You and Granny both do. You people need to get on with your lives.”
“It’s not that easy.”
“Yes it is. You just get up in the morning and do it. I tell Granny that all the time.”
“You know nothing about pain or guilt or fear, Pietra.”
“You’re wrong. I went through some real shit as a kid. Dad left, Mom drank, I did stuff I shouldn’t have, but I survived. That’s one of the reasons I love music. It’s my escape. If you let it, music can be very healing, you know.”
“Music is the reason my best friend and the woman I loved are dead.”
“No, drunk driving is the reason. They got on Duke’s bike when they were impaired.”
“I bought the damn booze!”
“I can’t feel what you feel, but I understand your words. You have to stop hiding from the world. Like it says in my song – the guilt will kill you. You need to get out of this wolf den of yours and re-join the living. People will like your music again.”
“You expect me to play in front of people?”
“You should.”
“I can’t,” he insisted.
“Why not?”
“I’m scared, dammit! I don’t want to face people who know what happened, and I sure as hell don’t want to play in front of them.”
“You play in front of me.”
“That’s different.”
“How?”
“Because you stumbled into my life, uninvited I might add, but your musical ability works for what I’m doing.”
“And you like me,” she teased.
He paused a little too long. “I didn’t say that.”
“Whatever. You seemed to like me just fine last weekend,” she giggled. “So, what do you want to do today?”
“I was going to try brainstorming something new, but maybe we can work with your song. You have a lot of talent. So does Granny, so let’s see if we can do something with it.”
“You’re mad at me for writing it, but you want to work on it?”
He shrugged. “Don’t know how you do it, but you make it hard to stay mad at you.”
They spent the day on Red’s song, laying down tracks of instruments and adding Wolfie’s vocals to the chorus. “This would sound a lot better if Lisa’s part was recorded on decent equipment,” he said.
“I know.”
“I have the band’s drum set in storage. Bring Lisa here next Saturday. You said you have a car?”
“Yes.”
“I’ll meet you at the entrance to the trail that leads here, the one near the abandoned gas station. I’ll show you where the access road is. Let’s see what she sounds like in front of a proper mike.”
“I don’t know if she’ll come. She doesn’t like leaving her house.”
“The only way this place could be more secure is if I had armed guards. I’m completely harmless.”
“I know you are, Harry. I feel safe here. Under all that fur and bluster, you’re a sensitive man.”
“I’m taking a big risk. You and Granny could blow my cover. I trust you. The only reason I trust Granny is because you seem to trust her. This is a big step for me too. Tell her that.”
“I will.”
“I’ll expect the two of you at ten next Saturday.”
***
“I’m not going,” Granny stated. “I can’t believe you asked.”
“I’ll be with you the whole time. I’ll be your bodyguard,” Pietra said.
Granny eyed her petite friend and scoffed, “That’s reassuring. Forget it. I’m not going to some strange man’s house.”
“He invited you. He’s setting up the band’s drum set for you. This is a major step for him. Now you need to take a small step.”
“Why?”
“Because you’re my project, Granny.”
“Excuse me, young lady! I’m nobody’s damn project!”
“Well, you should be. You’re as bad as Wolfie. I’m tired of dealing with two hermits.”
“So you want to make us ex-hermits?”
“It’s the only way to make a professional recording. Someone has to go somewhere, and he has the studio.”
“Why make a professional recording?”
“Because it could lead to something, Granny.”
“I don’t like the sound of this.”
***
Pietra knocked on Lisa’s door at nine on Saturday morning.
“Why are you here so early?” the older woman grumbled when she let Red in. “Why are you here at all? I said I wasn’t going.”
“And I said you were. Get dressed. Wear something cute.”
“Cute? Why?”
“Because you got invited to play at a celebrity’s studio. You’re going, whether you like it or not, so you might as well look good. Do it for me.”
“For you?”
“Yes. I love you. I’d never let anything happen to you. I’ve stood by you all these years. You owe me.”
“Don’t pull that crap, Pietra. Make breakfast while I shower.”
***
Wolfie was waiting for them. “May I get in? It’s a long walk uphill.” He squeezed his bulk into the back of her little car. “Go about five hundred yards and turn right onto the dirt lane.”
“This is Lisa Rogers,” Pietra said when he was settled.
“I know who you are, Mr. Wolf,” Granny responded.
“May I call you Lisa?”
“Or Granny. Do you still go by Wolfie?”
He nodded. “You won’t say anything about this, will you?”
“Who would I tell? Pietra says we have something in common. We don’t leave our houses.”
“She told me. I’m taking a big risk allowing a stranger here.”
“I’m taking a big risk leaving my house.”
“Then we’ve even. Park here, Red. It’s too rough to drive farther in this car.”
The trio made their way up a steep path in the woods. “This is it,” he said when they topped a ridge and saw the cabin.
“This is your studio?” Granny asked.
“This is my home. It’s only rustic on the outside. The studio is down here. Follow me.” They walked around the side of the cabin and down some wooden steps to the door Red always used.
Lisa looked around the modern lounge room. “I never expected this when I was outside.”
“This is what you came to see.” He ushered the girls through the studio door.
“That’s quite the drum set,” Lisa said.
“I’ll set it up any way you like. I bought this stuff just before the band broke up for the studio we going to build. I don’t play well, but I keep it around.”
They tinkered with the equipment for a few minutes until Lisa smiled her approval, “This will be fine.”
“Let’s listen to what we have so far,” Wolfie said.
He played the music, and after lunch, they started recording. They took a break mid-afternoon.
“What do you girls think?”
“I think it’s awesome,” Pietra bubbled.
“So far, so good,” Granny agreed.
He combed his beard with his fingers. “I never played with two chicks before. Hell, I never played with any girl before I met you, Red.”
“The last studio I played in was the size of my bathroom, so I’m just generally awestruck by all this,” Granny said.
“Lisa, Red told me a little about why you stay home so much. Are you okay here?”
She considered it for a moment. “Well, I haven’t had a panic attack yet, so, yes. It’s peaceful here. And you seem more or less safe.”
“More or less,” he chuckled.
They recorded some more, eventually replacing all the original tracks with new ones.
Finally, he said, “Will you stay for dinner? I can whip up something.”
“No, I don’t like being out after dark,” Lisa said. “Red, we should go.”
The trio walked through the evening shadows of the woods back to Pietra’s car. “Will you come again?” Wolfie asked.
“We’ll be here next Saturday,” Pietra answered for both of them.
In the car Granny said, “You have a lot of nerve speaking for me.”
“What?” Pietra asked, feigning innocence.
“You know damn well what. ‘We’ll be here next Saturday’. Emphasis on the ‘we’.”
“Oh, c’mon. Admit it. You had a good time.”
“All right, Red. Yes, I did. That’s what worries me.”
“Why?”
“Not sure.”
***
Lisa called Pietra on Friday night. “What time should I be ready tomorrow?
“You’re anxious, aren’t you?”
“Oh, listen to you. He’s your guy.”
“Not necessarily. I saw the way he looked at you. He doesn’t look at me like that.”
“Like what?”
“Like he can’t believe what he’s seeing. Nothing bad, Granny. I think he really likes you.”
“He may like me, but he definitely likes looking at you, girl.”
“Really?”
“Don’t tell me you haven’t noticed.”
“He usually seems focused on music,” Pietra lied.
“Not when he stares at your cute little ass.”
Red giggled. “I think you’re jealous.”
“Of your cute little ass, yes. I haven’t worn size zero jeans in twenty years. But I’m definitely not jealous of you attracting that man’s attention. He still scares me a little. I wonder if you’re being reckless.”
Pietra pondered for a moment. “I really think he’s okay. He’s always a perfect gentleman.”
“Maybe. But he’s this hairy scary beast.”
Red giggled. “With big shoulders and a great butt.”
“I noticed,” Granny agreed.
Red said nothing, but she wondered if Granny could appreciate the rest of him.
***
A month later on a Saturday morning, Wolfie met the girls at Pietra’s car. “I want to show you something.” He led them to his studio. “I draw sometimes.” He opened a pad to some pencil sketches of the three of them on stage performing. Scrawled in the margins were the words “Yesterday’s News”.
“What’s this?” Lisa asked.
“Cover art. I thought this could be a good stage name, and it’s how I picture us.”
“Us?” Lisa exclaimed. “CD cover art? Playing on stage? Count me out, Wolfie. Besides, I thought you didn’t want people to notice you.”
“I didn’t. But maybe I’m ready again. We have these great recordings.”
Lisa said, “They’re for us to enjoy. I don’t want to share.”
“Why not?” Wolfie asked. “What do you have to lose?”
“If you, of all people, can’t understand what I have to lose, I don’t want to discuss it. Take me home, Red.” Granny walked out of the studio.
Pietra whispered, “May I come back after I drop her off?”
“I’ll be waiting.”
An hour later, Pietra knocked on the cabin door.
Wolfie opened it. “I went too far. I thought putting myself out there too would mean something to her.”
“You have to understand about Granny. I don’t think she’s spent time alone in the same room with a guy since the assault. She’s terrified of men. If we release our recordings, men will notice her.”
“Not all men are rapists, Red. I’m certainly not.”
“I know, but we’ve both seen the way you look at us.”
“I’m a man. You’re a very pretty girl, and Granny is a stunning woman. She reminds me of Maria, or how Maria might look today.”
“I see.”
“You see what?”
“I see why you’re so attracted to Granny.”
“I’m attracted to both of you, Red. You girls brought fun back to my life. We all enjoy music – our music. We have a lot in common.”
“We do, don’t we? I’ll work on Granny for you.”
“Don’t do that. We already made her uncomfortable enough.”
Red thought for a minute and then smiled. “I think that’s what I like about you.”
“What do you mean?”
“You’re sensitive. Inside that big, gruff, furry exterior lives a very nice man. You attract women easily, don’t you?”
He sighed. “I did okay in the band days, but when Maria and I got together, I turned the others away. After she was gone, I couldn’t look at another girl. That part of my life was over too.”
Red shed her shirt and walked to his bedroom door. “You know that’s not true.”
***
“If he says one word about performing live or releasing a song, I’m outta there,” Granny fumed.
“All right! I get it! You told me a hundred times,” Pietra said. “Please, get in the car.” As she drove she said, “He’s been away from people for five years. Way too long. He’s coming out of his shell. I think you should be happy for him.”
“I’m very happy for him. That’s not it at all. I just can’t be part of it. You said you understood.”
Red patted Granny on the knee. “I do.”
“Then don’t pressure me.”
It took the girls a second to recognize the man who met their car. His trademark shabby camo clothes were replaced by a polo shirt and jeans. Most of the facial hair was gone, except for a well-trimmed graying mustache and goatee. Wolfie’s hair was thoroughly brushed and gathered in a neat ponytail.
“Wow!” Lisa said. “Check the hottie!”
Red shot her a naughty grin and got out of the car.
“How do I look?” he asked.
“Almost respectable,” Granny said.
“Like an ad from a men’s magazine,” Red giggled. “Why the transformation?”
“I looked at myself in the mirror the other day. The Hairy Wolves thing was over a long time ago, so I decided to stop looking the part. Enough with this living in the past crap. C’mon, girls. Let’s make music.”
On one wall of the studio hung a couple new sketches. One showed the trio practicing. The girls were dressed casually, as they always were, and Wolfie wore a Harley tee and jeans, scalp hair tied back with a headband, facial hair carefully groomed. Others showed the trio walking in the woods. One had the girls and Wolfie dressed up and sitting at a small table having a candlelit dinner.
“I never wear my hair up like that,” Granny said.
“You used to,” Red reminded her. “Sometimes when we’d play you’d put it up.”
“In my younger days, yes, but I’m too old for fancy hair styles now.”
“Nonsense,” Wolfie said. “You’re my age.”
“I’m going gray.”
“You have a few strands. Look at my beard. So what if there’s some gray?”
“So I’m too old to dress pretty or do my hair.”
“Granny, stop,” Red said. “You’re a very attractive woman. You should do more to flatter yourself.”
“Why? To attract men? You know how I feel about that.”
“How can I say this and not make you uncomfortable?” Wolfie mused. “Lisa, you’re very pretty. Your figure is entering its prime. Your face is young. The little bit of silver looks like stylish highlights.”
“Are you hitting on me?”
“No. Red told me you two are together. I’m not into splitting people up. What I’m trying to say is you have a natural beauty that should be displayed, not hidden.”
“You’re very kind, but flattery will get you nowhere.”
“I’m not trying to get anywhere, Lisa. I respect your preferences. I just hate the fact that you’ve chosen to shut yourself off from the world.”
“You don’t have much room to talk.”
“I’m working on it. You and Red made me see there’s still a world out there. The three of us are good together, and you know it. A few months ago I was content not seeing people. Now I look forward to Saturdays. We make a good trio. We could make our mark in the music world if you’d let us.”
“I’m not performing again, Wolfie. Get that idea out of your head. Pietra, take me home.”
***
Later that evening, Pietra knocked on Wolfie’s cabin door. “We need to talk.”
“Come in.”
She plunked herself on one end of the couch, and he sat at the other. “Wolfie, I don’t know what to do.”
“About Lisa?”
“Yes. I love her. She’s very good to me, almost like a big sister.”
“But you seem to be the leader. I get the impression Granny depends on you for a lot.”
“Granny lives in fear. She’s convinced every man wants to hurt her.”
“How can I help?”
“You already have. If she weren’t so scared, I think she could learn to like you better. She does like you, but she’s so insecure. She sees every man as a potential rapist.”
“Rape is cruel. That bastard can be glad I didn’t know her then. I would have made him very sorry.”
“You don’t seem like the fighting type.”
“Normally I’m not, but some things cross the line. When a man hurts a woman, I can do damage.”
“How do you feel when a woman smiles?”
“It’s been a long time since I made a woman smile, Pietra.”
“Nonsense. You make me smile every day. When I’m here, I smile because I’m with you. When I’m away, I smile because of our music.”
“I like it when you smile.”
She moved closer to him. “I wish I could make you smile.”
“You do.”
“Not the way you should. You should have a girl to make you feel warm and needed.” She kissed him, not hard, but hard enough.
“Red, you shouldn’t do that.”
“Why not?”
“It gives me ideas.”
“Oh?” She stood and pulled her top over her head, revealing her small breasts. “Do these give you ideas too?”
“Red, I ….”
She sat down close to him. “It’s okay, Wolfie. You’re lonely. I can help you.”
“You and Granny are a couple.”
“We are, but she doesn’t have something you do. Right now, that’s what I want. Take me to bed.”
Wolfie said nothing, but took Pietra’s hand and led her to his bedroom. He kissed her harder than she had kissed him, one hand cupping her breast, his thumb teasing her nipple. Their tongues danced for a while, and then he kissed his way down her chest. He helped her lie down on his bed and finished undressing her. “Red, you’re beautiful.” His mouth and hands glided slowly down her slender body. He kissed her thighs gently, parting them to study her pussy.
“What big eyes you have,” she giggled.
“Again with this silliness.” He began to devour her.
“Oh, God,” she moaned.
He carefully inserted a finger into her tight, wet opening, sucking on her now engorged clit.
“Don’t stop.”
“I wasn’t going to.”
“What a fat finger you have!”
“The better to pleasure you with.” He continued working her until she arched her body in orgasm.
When she recovered, she tore at his clothes. His manhood sprang to attention when she pulled his boxers off. She licked away a drop of pre-cum that glistened on the tip. It lurched upward in response. She wrapped one small hand around it to steady it, opened her mouth, and moved him inside.
It was Wolfie’s turn to groan. “Damn, Red, you’re good at that!”
“Thank you.” She went back to her work, licking his entire length and then sucking him nearly into her throat, massaging his balls and the part of his shaft that wouldn’t fit in her mouth.
After a couple minutes, he pulled her off him. “I want you, Pietra.” He pulled her up to kiss her, and then helped her position herself over his anxious, spit-wet cock.
She mounted him carefully, aiming him with one hand. They joined, Red sinking onto his engorged penis until her small ass rested on him. She leaned down to kiss him, and they made out like that for a couple minutes, not moving much – just savoring their intimacy.
When he couldn’t stand it anymore, he rolled her on her back and started fucking her in earnest. Her legs clamped around him, urging him on. Before it was too late, he pulled out and sat back on his haunches to gaze at her.
“Why’d you stop?” she moaned.
“To look at you. To try to figure out why I’m so lucky.”
“Worry about that later,” she urged, reaching for his cock to get it back inside her.
“No, babe, not yet.” He moved down in the bed to taste her wet, gaping hole. She rewarded his efforts with a keening wail, her fingers wrapped in his long hair.
“Fuck me,” she breathed when she was done. “Fuck me, and don’t stop till you fill me.”
He penetrated her again, pushing into her slowly until he could go no further. Her limbs clenched him, and they began to mate again, slow, deep, not too hard, but hard enough to make her little breasts move with the force. She responded by writhing under him, glorying in the impending orgasm that took its sweet time overwhelming her. When it finally happened, she moaned again and again, “Fuck me, fuck me.”
He sped up after that. Knowing he had satisfied her gave him license to seek his own release. Soon, he pushed deep and stayed there, pumping his seed into her.
“I feel it, oh God, I feel it,” she squealed as he spasmed inside her, and her orgasm resumed.
When they were spent, he rolled onto his back, keeping her impaled on him and cuddling her to his chest. He combed her red hair off her smiling, sweaty face and studied her.
“What?” she giggled, feeling some of his product leak around the softening shaft plugging her.
“I never thought I’d do this again.”
“Fuck a girl?” she asked.
“Make love to a beautiful young woman,” he corrected her.
She blushed. “You say the nicest things.” She dismounted and cuddled up next to his naked bulk on the bed. Then she giggled. “Lisa would be so jealous.”
“Granny would be jealous?” he asked. “Why?”
“She’s had men in her life. Good men. Things happened like they often do, and then she got attacked. She used to love dick. We talk about it sometimes. She’d adore yours.”
“Thank you, but that’s not going to happen,” he said.
“You wouldn’t fuck her?”
He sat up to look at her. “Doesn’t matter. She’s done with men now.”
“I wonder,” Pietra mused.
He leaned down and kissed her. “Trying to give me away already?”
“Not at all. I’m trying to figure out how to give two people I care about what they need.”
***
The next evening Pietra lay spooned naked on the couch after a tender session with Lisa. “Do you like this movie?”
“Not really.”
“Neither do I.” Pietra turned it off. “We need to talk.”
“What’s wrong?” Lisa asked. “Talk about what?”
“Wolfie. And you. And me.”
“What about him and me and you?”
“He likes you.”
“He told you that?”
“Yes. He talks about you a lot.”
“When?”
“When I’m alone with him.”
Granny urged Red to sit up so she could look at her. “When you’re alone with him?”
Pietra blushed for a second. “You and I never said we were exclusive, and we’re bi, not lezzies, remember? He’s built differently than you.”
“I should hope so,” Granny laughed.
“Oh, but you should see it.”
“Big?” Lisa asked.
“Proportionate to the rest of him, I guess.”
“Aha,” Granny snickered. “Big.”
“Enough,” Red agreed.
“So you’re saying he talks about me when he’s in bed with you.”
“Yeah, sometimes.”
“Don’t you find that weird?” Granny asked.
“It’s not like he calls out your name when he cums or anything,” Pietra giggled. “But, yeah, we talk. He thinks you’re beautiful.”
“He said that?”
“Even though he’s a guy, I don’t think it’s all your body, although you know my opinion of it,” Red answered, kissing Lisa lightly on the lips. “It’s deeper than that. He’s super lonely, and somehow you remind him of the girl that got killed, the one he was in love with.”
“I’m not playing stand-in for some dead girl,” Granny stated.
“Stop it! Will you just ….” Red twirled a lock of hair in her fingers like she always did when she was frustrated. “Just humor me. I want the three of us to go out somewhere, a three-way friends date.”
“No. He wouldn’t do it anyway. He’s in hiding, remember?”
“He already agreed to go,” Pietra said.
“Oh.”
“Look. You know he’s not going to attack you. You know he values his own privacy, so we’ll go some place discrete. Now that he shaved, he probably won’t be recognized, but he’ll be careful for all of us. You think a man’s going to attack you if you’re with him?”
Granny chuckled. “Probably not. He’s so damn huge. Now that he’s cleaned up he looks like a bouncer at an exclusive downtown club. Not someone you mess with.”
“Exactly. So you’ll go?”
“Only because you didn’t play your whiney ‘if you really love me’ guilt trip game.”
“That would have been next.”
***
The date was set for Friday. Wolfie told them to dress casually. Pietra rode her motorcycle to his place, and they went in his truck to Lisa’s.
She answered the door in designer jeans and a stylish simple top. The outfit displayed her figure without flaunting it, and she wore her hair in a loose braid down her back. The few strands of silver sparkled in the porch light.
“Damn!” Wolfie muttered.
“She cleans up nicely, doesn’t she?” Pietra laughed.
Lisa blushed. “Do I look okay?”
“Way more than okay,” Wolfie grinned. “Let’s go. We’re going to have a good time tonight.” He opened the passenger door on his pick-up truck and motioned to her. “Ride in the middle. Safest place for you.”
The girls piled in, and Wolfie started the truck. “Have you ever been to that old country inn about ten miles west of here?”
“Is that place still open?” Granny asked. “It wasn’t doing well last I heard.”
“It was sold a few years ago. Completely re-modeled, new chef, new menu. The online reviews are always good.”
The maitre d’ seated them at a table in a dark corner in exchange for a quiet bribe. “Your privacy will be assured here, sir,” he said, snapping his fingers to summon the waiter. The meal was relaxed, the food excellent, and the service quiet and discrete. After dinner, they piled in Wolfie’s truck for the drive back to her place.
“See?” Red said. “Nothing bad happened. No one recognized the new, cleaned-up Wolfie, and no one attacked you, Granny.”
“Nobody touches my girls,” Wolfie said.
“Since when are we your girls?” Lisa chuckled.
“You’re with me. That means you’re my responsibility. I care about you,” Wolfie answered. “I take this very seriously.”
“Are you always this chivalrous?” Lisa asked.
“A romantic at heart. The guys used to tease me about it, called me old-school until they figured out I was proud of it. I like women, not as sex objects, but as the sensitive, mysterious, fragile, wonderful creatures they are.”
“I’m not fragile,” Granny huffed.
“Bullshit,” Lisa muttered.
When they got to Granny’s house, Red let her out of the truck and then climbed back inside. Wolfie walked Granny to her door. “See? A safe, quiet evening out. I’ll wait here while you let yourself in and reset your alarm.”
Lisa blushed, touched his hand briefly, and went inside.
“What?” Red asked when Wolfie got behind the wheel. “No goodnight kiss?”
He looked at her by the glow of the instrument panel lights. “I don’t think she and I will go down that road.” He put the truck in gear. “Are you staying with me tonight?”
“May I?”
“Hoped you would.”
***
The next morning Wolfie went to Lisa’s house to pick her up for their Saturday jam session.
“Where’s Pietra?” she asked when she saw him alone at her door.
“She asked me to pick you up. She rode her bike to my house yesterday, so she’s on her way home to change clothes and get her car so she can bring you back here tonight. She should be back to my place by the time we get there.”
They got in his truck. Lisa said, “She stayed with you last night.”
“Does that bother you?”
“Not really.”
“That didn’t sound convincing.”
Lisa studied the man beside her. “I don’t want her getting hurt.”
“You don’t know me very well, Lisa.”
“I know men.”
“You know about one horrible man. We’re not all like that. Pietra told me you used to date men.”
“That was a while ago. Since the attack I see men as predators.”
“Do you see me that way?”
“Not so much anymore.”
“Good.”
They drove in silence until Lisa said, “You told me last night you don’t see women as sex objects, but you’re sleeping with Pietra.”
“Sleeping with a girl doesn’t mean I see her as a sex object. To me the term is offensive. It’s not like that with Red and me.”
“Oh?” Granny deadpanned. “Then how is it?”
Wolfie stole a glance at her as he drove. “I like her a lot. I know you and Pietra are lovers. It’s pretty obvious you two are very close. She and I talked about it. I’m not trying to come between you two, but we enjoy each other.”
Lisa sighed. “I worry about her. Pietra trusts people too much sometimes.”
“Maybe you trust some people too little, Lisa. I will not hurt her. That’s not who I am. I understand pain well enough to never cause it in someone I care about. That’s why I’d never hurt you.”
“Because you care about me?”
He grinned. “Why is that so hard to believe?”
“I haven’t been exactly nice to you.”
“No,” he argued. “You’ve been on guard. I get that. I respect it. Just kinda hoped you’d let your guard down a little.”
“I already have. I went out to dinner with you last night, and I’m alone with you now. Do you have any idea what accomplishments those are?”
He turned onto a bumpy, overgrown dirt road and wound through the trees to the hidden spot where he kept his truck. “Yes, Lisa, I do. Remember, I’m a hermit.”
Pietra waved to them from the porch when they walked up the path to the cabin. “Hey, guys! I brought a couple bottles of wine. Maybe we can chill them for lunch. I’ll be good to drive by dark that way.”
The trio played their latest song and added a vocal track from Lisa. They spent as much time talking as playing until Wolfie said, “Lunchtime,” and led them to his kitchen.
Red checked the refrigerator. “The wine’s not cold enough.”
“Just as well,” Wolfie said. “It’s too early in the day for me to drink, and I’m not crazy about you driving if you do. We’ll save it for another time.”
“If you’ll let me drive your car, Red, I can go home and let you two lovebirds have your wine,” Granny said. “You can call me tomorrow, and I’ll come back with your car so you can drive me home again.”
“That’s a lot of running around,” Wolfie said. “We’ll save the wine for another time.” He set to work making a chef salad for three. “Will you girls stay for dinner? Red, check the fridge. How many tomatoes do I have?”
“Six big ones and a couple small ones.” She inspected them. “They’re nice.”
“We’re all set,” he grinned. He went back to grating carrots for the salad.
When they went to the studio he said, “I’d like to work on ‘The Guilt Will Kill You’.”
“Thought we were done with it,” Lisa said.
“Maybe we are. Humor me.” Pietra’s soft chords played, and her voice sang,
“You had your plans,
You loved your girl,
And things were goin’ fine.
You played your show,
Celebrated,
Watched her drink that wine.”
He stopped the recording. “Lisa, can you sing harmony with her?”
“I can try. Let’s listen to the whole thing first,” she responded.
He re-started the recording, and they sat in silence to listen.
When it was done, Lisa asked, “Why do you want to change it?”
“Not sure. Maybe to make you more a part of it. The listener hears the lyrics you wrote and your drum work, but not you.”
“Red told me I remind you of your late fiancee.”
“Maria. I hadn’t gotten up the nerve to ask her yet, but I bought a ring. The jeweler was good about taking it back.”
“Wolfie, do you want me singing about her? Isn’t that a little … bizarre?”
“Not at all. She’s part of my past. I know you’re not her. It’s not like that.”
“How is it then?”
He combed his goatee with his fingers. “How can I explain?” he sighed. “Duke was the only one who knew I was going to propose to Maria. Since they didn’t have a dad I went to him, her big brother, to discuss marriage. He and I were tight, but marrying a guy’s sister changes stuff. He was cool with it. We even talked about how he would walk her down the aisle and then join me as best man. Then they were gone, and I felt like I caused it.”
Pietra grabbed his hand. “How many times did we talk about this? Their death was not your fault.”
He pulled away to pace in front of them. “The logical part of me knew that all along, but I sentenced myself to life in my custom-built prison. Meeting the two of you was like getting paroled. I have hope again. Last night was the most fun I’ve had in years.”
Lisa chuckled. “Yeah, Pietra slept with you.”
“Well, yeah, but that’s not what I meant.”
“What did you mean?” Lisa asked.
“Going out to dinner. I enjoy what we do here, but going out together as friends is something I haven’t done since the night Duke and Maria died. I want to go out with you again.”
“With me alone?” Lisa asked.
“If you’re willing. You alone, Red alone, the three of us together – I realize people need to spend time with others. If you’re with me, Lisa, you’re safe. I feel safe with you.”
“I’ll think about it,” she mumbled.
They worked on their song until they were tired and hungry. Wolfie made tomatoes stuffed with tuna, covered with cheese, and heated under the broiler until the cheese melted. Crisp hot strips of bacon completed the dish.
After dinner Wolfie ushered the girls to his couch and sat between them. “What do you think about what I said earlier, Lisa?”
“About what?”
He looked straight at her. “About us going out. I feel really comfortable with you, and you seem okay with me.”
“Are you asking me out on a date?”
“If you want to call if that. We already did a threesome.”
Pietra snickered. “Not exactly what I’d call a threesome, but it sounds like a great idea.”
“That’s not what I meant!” Wolfie sputtered, but Pietra only laughed harder.
Lisa joined her. “Don’t think I’m ready for anything like that,” she blushed.
Red forced herself to be serious. “I am.”
Wolfie spun to gape at her.
“Pietra!” Lisa scolded.
“Why not? Think about it. There’s no better way for you to get reintroduced to men than with me at your side. We proved the social part of that already. I sleep with both of you, so I know what you like sexually and what he does. Trust me — it will be hot, and there’s this thing he does when gets all the way inside you ….”
“Pietra Stevens! You have a hell of a lot of nerve. You said I was your project. You didn’t say you wanted to whore me out.”
“Do I get a say in any of this?” Wolfie asked.
“No!” the girls said in unison.
“He’s perfect for you, Lisa,” Pietra stated, “and no, I’m not whoring you out. I’m just saying you might enjoy him.”
“I very well might,” Lisa said, “but it’s none of your business.”
“It certainly is my business,” Red insisted. “You are the most important person in my life. I like Wolfie a lot, but I’m not in love with him. Don’t know whether that’s in the cards. You and I have known each other a long time. I love you. I want you to be happy.”
“Do I get a say in any of this?” Wolfie repeated.
Pietra rubbed her hand lightly over his groin. “It’s your dick I’m talking about sharing, so go ahead. I swear, Lisa, you should see it.”
He smacked her hand away. “Maybe going out without you might be a good idea. We wouldn’t have to listen to your dirty little mouth.”
Pietra tried to pout but didn’t pull it off well. “You like my dirty little mouth.”
Wolfie ignored her and turned to Lisa. “Is she like this all the time?”
Lisa laughed. “Pietra enjoys her fun. Don’t let her innocent appearance fool you.”
He shook his head. “Will you go out on a real date with me, Granny? Dinner and dancing or a show?”
“What about her?” Lisa gestured toward Pietra.
“What about her?” Wolfie countered.
“I’m right here, you know,” Red smirked. “When you two come back from your date I’ll have the bed all nice and warm.”
“Red!” Lisa scolded.
“Have you been out of circulation that long, Granny? When a hot guy takes you to the theater or dancing, that’s kinda special, so you’re supposed to have sex with him. I’d be happy to help the first time.”
“Red!” Wolfie barked.
“What?”
“You know what,” Granny said. “You never act like a lady.”
“Being a lady is boring. I’m in love with life. Sure, I’m afraid of stuff, but I don’t let it rule my existence. There’s too much to do. Too much fun to be had. You told me many times how much you enjoyed sex with men when you were younger.”
“When I was younger, yes. I’m getting older, Pietra. You’ll understand some day.”
“What’s to understand? You’re at the age where women are still approaching their sexual peak. You take care of your body. Girls a lot younger than me would kill to look like you. Wolfie’s your age, and he’s still youthful, especially in bed.”
“What the hell does that mean?” Lisa asked.
“He’s strong and passionate, gentle when you need him to be, but he takes charge of your body and makes you cum over and over. I know how you like getting your pussy licked. You taught me what you like, and near as I can tell he does those things. Plus, he lasts a long time when he’s inside you.”
“Red, stop,” Wolfie said. “Can’t you see when someone is uncomfortable?”
“Who? Lisa or you? No, you know what? It doesn’t matter. Someone has to get you two moving. It might as well be me.”
“Why are you so hell-bent on getting me laid?” Lisa chuckled. “I can find a man if I want one.”
“You could, but you don’t!” Red exclaimed. “We talk about men all the time! I know the kind of porn you watch, so the idea obviously appeals to you, but you lock yourself up and avoid guys! Now there’s one sitting an inch away from you, probably the safest man you’ll ever meet! You said yourself he’s good looking!”
“Good looking is one thing. I didn’t say I wanted to have sex with him.”
Pietra got up and pulled Wolfie to his feet. She stripped his shirt off and then her own. “You didn’t say you didn’t want to. Look at that body, Lisa! Now, take your top off.”
“Red, no! Besides, I’m not wearing a bra!”
Pietra stepped to her friend and grabbed the hem of her shirt. “That saves a step. Stand up. Raise your arms.”
“I’m not a slut!” Lisa said, batting her friend’s hands away.
“I don’t think I am either, but even if I am, you love me for it. Now, listen. I know what he does to me in bed. I know what you like in bed from me and what you say you like from a man. You once said sex should be a mix of naughty giggles and sweat, and I guarantee with him you’ll have both. This needs to happen.”
Lisa sputtered her protest but stood and lifted her arms obediently. When she pulled her head free of the garment she covered her breasts with her hands. “Are you happy now that he saw my tits?”
“Yes, or I would be if you’d put your hands down. C’mon, Granny. If you really loved me,…”
“Oh, that’s low.” Lisa glared at her younger friend and put her hands on her hips.
“Aren’t they nice, Wolfie?” Red asked.
As he stared at Lisa’s firm, womanly globes, her areola began to crinkle. “Beautiful.” He smiled at Lisa, and she gave an embarrassed grin back.
Red put her hands on her friend’s shoulders. “You know I love you, right?”
Lisa nodded.
“You know I’ll never let anything bad happen to you, right?”
Another nod.
“This can be a one-time thing. You can watch, you can join in, we can take turns, but we’re going to make love. Assuming Wolfie’s willing.”
The girls turned to him, but he looked only at Lisa. “I can drive you home now.”
Pietra removed the rest of her clothes and started on Wolfie’s pants. His manhood sprang from the prison of his shorts. “See?” Pietra said. “Look at the nice trim job. You can really see how big it is now, and no more long hair to get in the mouth.”
Lisa bit her lip for minute until Pietra nudged her and Wolfie together in an embrace. Lisa’s nipples grew harder against his furry chest, and his manhood twitched in response. She reached down and touched it tentatively. “My, what a big ….”
He interrupted her with a series of warm, exploratory kisses. “If you’re not sure,…” he began.
“Just be gentle.”
He cupped one breast in his big hand and teased the nipple with his thumb. She gasped and started stroking him gently.
“Not out here,” he said between kisses. “It’s a big bed.” He kicked his pants and shorts off, lifted her, and cradled her in his arms. “Do you want Red to come with us?” He sucked a nipple into his mouth and toyed with it with his tongue.
“At first,” Lisa breathed.
He kissed her again and carried her to his room.
Pietra followed. “The jeans have to go, Granny.” She knelt in front of Wolfie and licked his manhood. “C’mon. Get naked and join us.”
Blushing and shaking with nervousness, Lisa pulled her pants off.
“Turn around. Show him that ass,” Pietra said. “What do you think, Wolfie? Don’t you want to smack it?”
“I want Lisa to move at her own pace,” he answered, pulling Red to her feet.
Lisa looked at her naked best friend and lover and felt herself melt as she always did. The first man she felt comfortable with in years stood next to her, rugged, sensitive, his cock pointing right at her. Her moisture made her panties cling to her for an instant when she pulled them down. “Maybe you’re right, Pietra.”
Wolfie held his arms out to her, and she moved into them, her breasts flattened to his chest, his cock bent up against her belly. They kissed tenderly at first, but when he cupped her ass in his hands the kisses deepened. He moved her to the bed and helped her lie down. They embraced and kissed hard, just short of hungrily. Hands wandered, and soon he found her wetness. He moistened his finger and brought it to his lips.
Lisa shuddered as she watched him study her flavor and reached for his dripping cock.
“Not yet,” he admonished before moving down her body and gently pushing her knees apart. He kissed the insides of her thighs, not too far up, and traced light patterns on her hips with his fingertips.
Pietra appeared on the bed next to her friend. “I’ll take care of her titties for you, Wolfie.”
Lisa shuddered again and reached for her younger lover as the first man in years parted her shaved lips to gaze at her. A drop of moisture formed and drooled from her entrance. He licked it away. Pleased with her gasp, he teased her legs apart as far as they’d comfortably go and began his feast.
She jumped every time his tongue or teeth or the tough bristles of his mustache touched her clit.
“Relax and enjoy,” Pietra murmured. “Told you he was good at this.” She sucked on Lisa’s engorged nipple. “Here. Let me prop you up with some pillows so you can watch. You can see his beautiful cock that way too.
“No,” Lisa breathed. She pushed her friend away and pulled gently on Wolfie’s ponytail. “I want to taste it.”
They repositioned themselves, Wolfie on his back and Lisa above him. He quickly went back to work on her pussy while she fondled and studied his penis. When pre-cum leaked she took the head into her mouth. The combined efforts of his fingers and tongue made it hard to concentrate on the blowjob, and finally she gave up, riding his face to orgasm.
“Never thought I’d say this to man again, but I need you inside me.” She turned and knelt with her legs spread, her wet folds hovering over his spit-moistened cock. “Not too fast at first.” She grasped his shaft and aimed him, sinking about halfway. “Oh God.”
“Feels good, doesn’t it?” Pietra asked.
Neither of the mating couple answered, ignoring her sitting cross-legged on the bed next to them, fingering herself slowly. They concentrated instead on the penetration. When Lisa settled her weight on him, she moved a little to get comfortable.
“I love a woman in this position,” Wolfie said.
“Why?” she asked, still not moving much.
He reached for her breasts. “I can play with these.” He pulled on her nipples slightly till she leaned down for a kiss. “I can fondle your ass,” he whispered into her hair. She wriggled pleasantly at his touch and sat up to force his hands onto her more firmly. He freed a hand and touched her clit. “And I can play with this.”
She moved then, halfway off him and slowly back on. She bent her body so she could watch with him as the lips of her pussy dragged over the wetness she made for them. They coupled gently, slowly, savoring it.
“That looks so good,” Pietra breathed.
“Feels pretty damn good too,” Lisa agreed. Then her body shook slightly, and she sped up, lengthening her strokes, riding him harder, working them both into a sweat until her ass cheeks slapped wetly on his legs.
He grabbed her bouncing boobs to steady them, the nipples like pebbles in his hands. “Gonna cum soon, Lisa.”
“Me too,” she whined and bore down on him harder, holding her breath as the waves of her orgasm washed over her. When she could breathe again she set to work milking the semen from him with her vaginal walls. “Fill me,” she moaned, and he did.
She collapsed into his arms. “Thank you.” She nuzzled into his shoulder. “Can we still have that date?”
Wolfie brushed her wild hair off his face. “Pietra, wine glasses are in the cupboard next to the fridge, and the corkscrew is in the drawer next to it. No one’s driving tonight, so bring both bottles.”
