Tatia held the door open for him, excited to see him. He couldn't believe he came back. He told himself he wasn't going to go. He told himself he was not going when he left his bunk. He told himself he was not going as he walked the hall, the stairwell, the path to the main house. When she opened the door, he saw why. She was excited to see him. He violated his own rule, keep it simple.
Something about the girl, though. Other than the fact the hourglass figure was intoxicating in that white slip of a dress Other than the fact he'd killed the virgin who wore the white slip of the dress. Other than the fact he admired this girl's spirit, stamina, her will to fight.
"Hi." She said, too happy to have him there. Her voice was giddy.
"Tia, hi." He said, stepping into the foyer. She grabbed onto his hand. Not usually the kind that let a girl hold his hand or lead him around. The first level was dim, but Tia's enthusiasm and excitement lit up the place. She led him to the elevator and rode to the second floor, stepping into a huge room full of toys for kids of all ages. He couldn't believe the house was so kid and family oriented.
"Ya gotta be quiet. The babies are sleeping." She whispered, leading him through the toys to the bedrooms. The door to the master suite was closed, music played from lightly through the door. He stopped and listened. "They're in bed." Tatia said.
"No, not that. The music." He said.
"Would you like to listen to music? We have music. You like music." Tia asked.
"It's just strange is all. I'm not used to hearing it."
"Oh, Julia likes her music. It's the only time I hear it, when she's home. Chess likes to wear his headphones."
"You remember music, T?"
"And TV, of course. And iPads and the kindle."
"Computers, lap tops."
"We have a couple. Julia uses hers for work."
Jody listened a little longer before the human music became louder than the music that played.
"They're making love."
"I hear. All of them?" He asked, stepping across the hall with her diagonally into Julia's room. Two bassinettes, two babies sleeping, their beds beside each other in the far corner of the room. "All of them?"
She nodded. Tatia looked at him. "So, what would you like to do?"
"What would you like to do?" He repeated."I mean what do you usually do?"
"Games, cards, puzzles. That kind of thing."
"Show me then. Cards?"
"I've been learning to play poker. Is that something you'd like? I don't know how this works. I never have any company. Ever. I'm usually with the children."
"What do you do with them?"
"Board games. We play ball. We run and we-you know-play." Tatia looked nervous. "What do you do in the dorms over there?"
"We work out. Study. We go in the game room a lot. Play ball."
"Oh, we have a game room, too. It's back there."
"That. Let's do that."
Tatia led him back to the game room where he chose pool. He'd never met a more socially awkward girl in his life. She was a good shot, though. This wasn't her first game. It took a while to draw her out of the shell. He figured out that if she was doing some activity that she liked, she loosened up. Stand her in front of someone with only her words, she didn't know what to do or say. Tia's personality shined when she was competitive, active, moving. He found he liked watching her move. She got a rise out of him with the competitive streak she had going. He found that once he started her doing something, she kept going.
After a couple games of pool, he put up the cue in the rack and was ready to leave.
"Well, thanks for coming over." She said, putting up her own cue. She placed the balls back in the triangle like she'd found them and flicked off the light switch.
"What are you gonna do now, Tia?"
"Go lay in bed and read."
"Read what?"
"A book. Science fiction. Sometimes horror. Something to take me out of here, you know. I'll go sit with the babies. They'll keep me company. So, um. Can I kiss you bye?" She asked.
"You don't have to ask, Tia."
She kissed his cheek, which was not what he'd expected in terms of a kiss, but Tia was an odd duck.
"What are you gonna do now? Is it fun?" She asked, holding his hand again.
"I'm gonna go to sleep, T." He said.
"Oh-"
"What's wrong with you? You alright?"
"I'm ok, yes. Why do you ask?"
"You're different is all. Like night and day. Where did Tia go? The one from this afternoon that was teasing me and flirting with me?"
"Julia said we should talk before we fuck. We're supposed to talk first."
"Tia, I think she meant we're supposed to get to know each other first, not have a conversation."
"Oh, well I wanted to talk earlier and you told me to keep it simple." She said, putting her hands on her hips. "I'm confused. I got her telling me one thing. You telling me something else. I give up."
The elevator door opened and closed and they still stood there.
"They know I'm here?"
"Yes, Jody. I asked if you would be allowed here tonight. Julia said yes. Chess said I may have a boyfriend."
"She told him that I was here in the main house?"
"She told him that we spent the afternoon in bed together. She tells him everything. No lies. We tell the truth in our house."
"I'm allowed to be here. I'm allowed to take you to bed."
"You may. I told you earlier I wanted to do that again."
"Tia, this is not keeping it simple."
"Would you prefer I lie to my family?"
"You asked me to keep it between us."
"I want you to keep our naked stuff between us. I don't want to have to fight you. I'm not strong enough yet."
"Oh, Tia. Tia, Tia, Tia." He smiled.
"Jody, what?" She smiled.
He snatched her by her waist, "So if I make love to you, it'll stay between us."
"You said not to call it that."
"Do you want me to call it that?"
"Please."
"There's so many different things we could call it." He smiled.
Tia pushed the button on the elevator. The door opened.
"You are leaving, correct?"
"Are you fucking with me again, Keller?"
She laughed at him. "Would you like me to fuck with you?"
"Tia, that's her right there The funny one. The cute one, the-"
"The one that fucks with you."
"Yes." He kissed her on her cheek like she'd done to him moments before. "Her."
"Come with me."
He followed her to her room across from Julia's room. She left the door ajar and he noticed her bed had been turned down, the books from their earlier romp were still all scattered on the floor by her desk. Odd she'd left them there. Tia was tidy, neat, a little too neat. She had a notebook open on her desk, a drawing of the state of New Jersey. Notes written in the margins of that notebook in handwriting that was not her own, in handwriting that was also her own. He flipped through the book to the front page. The list of names written inside that cover was impressive. All the names recognizable, having been family names of sector leaders, except one-Antonio Freeman.
"What is this, Tia?"
"It, Jody, is my plan for New Jersey."
"Your plan, huh?"
"Yes. I have a lot of free time, so I devised a plan to have peace and productivity in sector three."
"Oh, you did?"
"Yes." She replied. "It is the rough draft. The men have made changes to it that make sense to them."
"What men? All these men?" He asked, flipping back to the list. All the next-gen family members. He read over the names. A few stood out...Tavin Keller, Chester Morgan, Julia Morgan, Tatia Rose Keller, and, "Who is Antonio Freeman?"
"Julia's lover, Antonia's father." Tatia replied. "He happened to be here when we put my plan on paper. He wrote this all out for Julia."
"Is he in there with them?"
"No, silly, he's in New Jersey. After Antonia was born, he was deployed to New Jersey with Alexander's team. He had his choice of squads and he chose to go with Alexander."
"Whoa, lucky guy."
"I wanted to go and they told me no. I don't understand why."
Jody didn't respond. She'd been told already. Women were not allowed in squads. End of story.
"It's not fair and I told them that. Julia and Tavin would not allow it either. They chose his side. Tavin told me I would have to be older."
"He would allow you."
"Yes, my brother feels as I do. As Julia does. I have a place as long as I earn it." Tatia said. "It is my plan. I believe I should oversee it."
"You're being serious, Tia. This is yours."
"We do not lie in this house, Jody. You see my name there." She pointed out. " By the time I get in there, it'll all be over. It is not fair."
"Stay home. You have everything you need. Why do you need this?"
"Why should my brother take the sector? He was sent to clear sector one with my brothers and my Uncle and their people. Why shall I not lead a people? All I ask is a chance. They deny me."
"You feel that strongly."
"You do not?"
"What is this all for if not war, Tia? Of course I do."
"Infantry, clearing nests. This-" Tatia pointed at the notebook. "This is the last great nest, Jody."
"There's California."
"I have no interest in California."
"What interest do you possibly have in New Jersey, Princess?"
She flipped pages toward the back of the book. She had several pages of ideas written in an orderly fashion in her own handwriting. "Let me show you something wonderful." She said, her voice glowing with excitement. She went to her book case and inside behind a row of books, she withdrew a very old tour guide and advertisement for the New Jersey shore. A very old and worn in areas book that held inside it a land of casinos and pools and gambling. Pretty women and handsome men with drinks and fine things and all overlooking a view of a glorious, endless ocean. "Bright lights, big city." She said. "This is what I want."
"You want to go to the beach and play. You can go to Delaware. There is a beach there from what I heard. It is a free state also."
"Jody, I want to bring this to life. The women, the gambling, the excitement." She explained. She looked toward the hall way. "What is going on in that room, I would like to have in this city and I would like to charge men for it."
"Whores." He suggested. "Not that they are. I didn't mean it that way, Tia. But what you described-"
"Yes." She whispered. "Only the finest though. Beautiful women in fine dresses and pretty shoes. Experienced women. Not only that, " She continued softly. "But experienced men as well. Men also like men."
"What do you know of that?"
Tia closed her door. She tucked her advertisement for Atlantic City and the casino guide back in its hiding place. She closed her book. "They take men in there as well." She whispered. "Would you like to see something strange but amazing?"
"What the hell. Sure." He said.
"We must be very quiet and we must not stay long. If we get caught-" She said. "We will get in so much trouble. Follow me."
Tatia led him out of her room and down the hall to the stair well where she had led him out of the house earlier that day. Instead of heading down the steps, Tatia led him up the same stairwell to the third floor. It clearly stated on the door that it was the war room. An old hand painted sign had been nailed to the heavy door. Jody traced the sign's lettering with his fingertip. "Is this blood, T?"
"I dare say. I'm not sure. It was quite savage back then. When we arrived here, I remember being very dirty, very happy. It was rowdy. A lot of fights. Guns everywhere, knives, a lot of drugs too in the beginning."
"Wasn't it terrifying? I remember being scared, hiding. I lost my parents."
"I lost no one."
"Where are your parents?
"At the farmhouse."
"You live with these people."
"These people raised me. These people refused to allow them to take us, me or Alex. They live on and off with us. My mother spent the first half of my life in jail. I didn't know my father was my father till I was around 10."
"I thought you said no lies."
"Secrets are an entirely different thing."
Tatia removed a hairpin and fiddled with the lock on the knob to gain entry to the war room. Within a few moments she had them on the inside. She flipped the switch and the war room illuminated in dim light. Three switches were present and she didn't want to draw too much attention to the fact that anyone was in the war room. She knew as well as anyone else that no one was allowed inside without Chess or his invitation. If he climbed those stairs alone, it was a rarity. Usually he climbed with women, but Julia's return to the fortress had halted that. Chess loved women, young and sultry to young and innocent. Women for Chess Morgan were easy to come by. At one time or another debts needed to be paid. Some men paid with their daughters. A commonality. Some men paid with their wives. Chess always accepted payment. If he didn't wish to have the particular woman, he'd offer her to another of his many squad members or his staff.
The war room had transitioned into a study, a massive area designated to one man and whomever he chose to entertain. He entertained how he saw fit. Macy had never been to the renovated war room. Julia had been many times, Tatia had watched him escort her up there a handful of times since she'd come home to the fortress. She'd been watching their love story unfold over the years. At times she hated their distance, their discord. It had intensified since her brother had died, their closeness, their love had actually strengthened since she'd lost Jayson. She'd softened up on Chess, allowed him into the place in her heart where Jay's love once lived.
"It's a study, Tia. Let's get out of here."
"It is more than a study, Jody." Tatia corrected him as she opened the next door in the room. He'd thought it looked very much like a closet. If fact, when that door opened, it appeared much like one, until you enter and close the door behind you. They stood in complete darkness a moment. "Welcome to surrender." Tatia said, pressing a button on the rear of the closet, which released the panel in the rear of the closet. Tatia slid the panel to the left and Jody stepped inside surrender. He wasn't quite sure at first what he was looking at. Red, heavy curtains hung over the windows. Along tracks in the ceiling several restraints hung, wrist bindings. A dresser of heavy, old wood sat against the wall to the right and contained a variety of attire from sexy to sadistic. Another drawer contained a menagerie of insertable pleasure devices made from plastic, silicone or glass. Blind folds, heavy and light whips, riding crops. Any device for human pleasure or pain was in this very compact and dark room. All sorts of devices hung neatly. There were several tables, a swing. One table in particular had wrist and ankle straps and this table had the ability to incline or recline as the users saw fit.
"Are you gonna torture me or am I going to torture you, T?" He asked, feeling uncomfortable with that idea.
"No, Jody. That's not why we're up here."
He'd never seen anything like this before. "How'd you find this place?"
"I remember when Chess constructed it. I snuck in here and he was working on the closet."
"Oh. So him and Julia do this kind of thing?" He asked as he flipped the table upside down.
"I'd imagine." She answered, pushing the swing, the hooks creaked that affixed it to the ceiling.
"Is that a pole?"
"Yes. For the girls to dance on." One was erected on two corners of the room, off the wall a few feet with seating in each corner. "Can you imagine what happens here?"
"No, Tia. Well, some of it maybe, but-"
"Anyway, this is surrender. This is what I would like in New Jersey. Parts of it anyway. Only on a larger scale." She explained. "Come. Back out." She pointed to the closet.
"What happens if you get caught in here?"
"Uncle Chess beat me." She answered. "It was the only time he's ever beaten me. He told me never to climb those steps again."
"Oh-"
"I was 12." She said, closing the door to surrender. They crept quietly into the study, his personal space with his desk and his bar. His king sized bed, 4 posts with sheer drapes surrounding it from the top.
"That is a nice bed."
"That is." Tia agreed, careful not to touch any of his personal belongings. She was careful to leave only footsteps as she turned off the light and they re-entered the hall.
"Why is it called surrender?" He asked as she pulled shut the door.
"I was 14 when I went back in there. I was curious, you know. I followed them. After Julia came home, after my brother died, Chess took her inside." She whispered. They crept back through the hall past the master suite, past the children's rooms. She peeked in Julia's room and the babies still slept soundly in their beds. She left her door ajar again and she sat on her bed. "He told her-'woman, I am tired of your shit.' That's how they talked to each other. They still do when they're angry, but usually they're nice to each other." Tatia said quietly. She patted the bed and Jody sat beside her, unlacing the boots on his feet and taking them off. "Julia wasn't right when she came home. She was mouthy, aggressive, angry. With everyone. They'd kicked her out of Virginia or she ran, not sure which. She'd raised hell there, cleared the state and made it free, but they ran her outta there anyway. It was leave or die and she chose life. Chess sent marines for her. Men that could control her whether she liked it or not." Tatia started kissing his neck, distracted by Jody's body back in her bed.
"T, tell me the story. Surrender..."
She pulled away. "Oh, yeah." She giggled as she tugged at his shirt. "Well, he said she was being disobedient. That she needed reminding of who she was and furthermore who he was." She said, removing his shirt over his head. She continued her story as she traced the definition of his chest, the muscles of his abdomen. The lines that divided them. "He took her in there. Up those steps and they left the door open. They'd been up there forever. I was curious. I was waiting for her. She'd missed our time on the range. She'd missed dinner. She'd left me and I went up there. I thought it'd be alright because she was up there too. He told me never to go back up there. I thought he meant alone."
"What did you see, T?"
"I didn't see anything at first because they weren't in the study. As I got closer to the closet, I heard music playing so I followed it through the door and I hid there. They weren't doing anything, except sitting on the seat in the far corner by that pole. Neither had any clothes on, but I kind of expected that. She is his wife and he is her husband."
"Ok, so they're sitting on that square bed on those cushions."
"She was crying, but not like before. Not crazy like before. They were sitting next to each other, like we are, only leaning on the cushions and they were talking, holding hands. She said she understood. He was her husband. He comes before any man. He gives and he can take away. I remember him saying he allowed her to be with my brother. She deserved that happiness. He would take care of her as always."
"What's that have to do with surrender?"
"He got up off the bedding and I was terrified. I thought that he'd seen me there. I thought I was caught."
"Were you caught?"
"No, that's the weird part. I swear he knew I was there. I swear we made eye contact. He even covered himself like he knew I was there. But he went to the dresser and he got something and he went back to the bedding. He put her ring on her. He said, 'you're my fucking wife, Julia. I want my fucking wife back'. So she's sitting there, holding up her hand and looking at her ring. She says, 'I give you my grief. I give you my sadness, I give you myself. We're naked, we've transcended. I surrender, my Chess."
"So what happened?"
"They were kissing over there in the corner. While he was kissing her, he was talking to her, telling her he loved her and he'd never stop loving her whatever path she chose. it was all very-"
"Weird."
"Romantic, Jody. He was just holding her, letting her be Julia, letting her be till she said she wanted to make love to her husband."
"You watch them?"
"No. I got out of there. They were covered anyway. Chess had covered them up."
"I bet he did know you were there. Why cover up if you're alone?"
"Beats me. But why let me watch?" She asked.
"Because he didn't want to break the moment. What they were talking about was more important than you. You should have stayed."
"It was nice though. That's why I call the room surrender. That's what I will call the future hotel."
"What you know about surrender, Tia?"
"Nothing." She answered. She pulled her slip of a white dress over her head and left her long, brown hair fall over her shoulders. "Yet." She added.
"My God, you're beautiful." He said, his breath taken away by her naked body before him.
"Awe, Jody." She smiled, blushing.
"Hey, lay that pretty body down."
"Jody, could you put your mouth back on my bump between my legs?" She asked as she lay back on her bed. She spread her legs wide for him as he stood to remove his pants.
"Tia, open up. Touch your bump." He said. She opened her mouth to speak, deny that she did that. "Do not argue with me." Tia's shyness came and went depending on her mood. Odd, she was, that she could sit nude with him, open her legs to him, but to touch herself was somehow strange. "Do it. I like it."
Tia's touched herself, her bump as she called it. For someone who lived with such sexually open individuals, he was surprised she did not at the least know her way around her own body or how it worked. Tia, he observed, was a blank canvas. He could paint anything he chose with her as she was so inexperienced. He could do what he chose with her and she would think it was all fucking grand. She'd never know and she'd probably like it. I can do as I please with her.. "You trust me, Tia." He said half statement and half question. He was planning on fucking with her a little as she lay trying to please herself. He listened to her breath as she found a spot on that bump that she liked, how she'd breathe in sharp and moan a little if she found the right place.
"I do." She replied, though he couldn't understand why she would. She didn't know him from a stranger.
"Sensitive little bump isn't it?" He laughed as she arched her back a little.
"I love this little bump." She giggled, watching his eyes focus between her legs as she circled around the area.
"Wet?"
"Yes. It feels very soft, very...very..." She paused as she lost her words a moment. Her head lay back against the bed and her eyes closed.
"Are you close, T?" He asked, seeing the body reacting to her own touch.
"To what?" She asked, enjoying herself.
"Coming, Tia. God, are you gonna cum?" Slightly annoyed by her thought process.
"Uh-huh. Yes." She replied.
"When?" He asked, getting on his knees between her long legs. He kissed around her thighs, kissed around her hand as it moved on herself.
"Jody, please." Her voice a whisper.
"Keep going, T. Tell me when." He licked around her lips, through the soft brown hair. He placed a couple fingers inside of her and licked around them, tasting her as she started to shake.
"Jody, please. It's happening."
He gave her what she wanted, even though she did all the work. He held her hand in place and separated her fingers, flicking his tongue over the bump and sucking hard while his fingers did the walking inside her, pressing around till he found what he was looking for. He knew when he found it. She knew when he found it as her entire body reacted. His free hand jumped from her ass to her mouth, covering the madness and keeping it contained. This girl was noisy as a three alarm fire.
"T, shut the hell up. Tia, shhhh." He snapped.
"Ok...ok...ok...ok...ok." She repeated, grasping his wrist and pulling it off her mouth before she bit him. She didn't like her mouth covered. "Ok...ok...ok...ok...ok." She moaned quietly till her body settled down, till her heart quit racing, till she caught her breath. "Better...than...before..." She moaned, pointing at him. "Ok. Ok, now, you want me to put my mouth on you?"
"God, no." He said, recalling her teeth as he swept her up in his arms. He pulled her down on the floor. Her legs across his lap. He guided her onto him.
"Jody, Jody..." She cried, nestling her head against his shoulder as he moved her on him.
"Just like that. You do it, Tia."
"Jody, it's happening." She cried, putting her mouth on his shoulder, completely absorbing his direction, rocking on him. "Jody, I'm gonna co-." She said as he moved her and himself.
"Tia, shhhh..." He warned her, trying to keep her quiet.
"Jody...." She called loudly.
"To hell with it." He muttered, pushing her back against the end of the bed. "Be loud, T. Be whatever you want." He let her go as she moved on him and he moved in her. As she arched that back, her breasts stood at attention. His hands and mouth engulfed her chest and she moved faster and faster until it happened again.
"Tia, on the bed. Go on now."
"No, no. Leave it in me. Please, do it again." She said, putting her arms around his neck.
He started laughing. "We're not done. Shhh, just calm down."
"I am so excited." She said, kissing his neck, bouncing on him.
He lifted her off him or she wouldn't have got off him at all. He followed her onto the bed where she was all mouth and hands on him. "Princess, if you don't stop." He said, pulling away from her and sliding up against the headboard.
"What? I'm sorry, I-"
"Tia, I see how excited you are, damn, once you start you don't stop."
"You wanna stop?"
"No, just quiet down."
"Oh, but it feels good, Jody."
"I know. That fucking pussy is-"
"Don't call it that."
"What would you like me to call it?"
"I don't know." She shrugged as she watched him move away from her.
"How about my pussy?" He suggested, pushing her a bit, to see if she'd go for it. She attempted to slither up against him. He shook his head and guided her between his thighs. She lay, head propped on her hands. She thought about that.
"That makes sense being that you are the only boy who's been there." She shrugged. "Are you staking a claim to it?"
"Yeah, I am, princess." He said confidently.
Tatia took him in her hand and began to pleasure him the way he liked. "May this be mine as well?" She asked, placing her lips gently against the head and kissing him softly.
"My dick?" he smiled.
"I realize-" She said, flicking it with her tongue, then licking a bit. "That this is not keeping things simple."
"Mouth all the way down, watch the teeth bringing it out." He said. She did as he asked, careful not to be abrasive. "Again, add some suction, princess." She did as he asked, nearly gagging in the process. "Too far. A little at a time." He said, swiping her hair out of her face. "You make it happen and it's all yours."
"I've never done it before, Jody."
"I'll show you, Tia." He said, doubting she'd be able to. Not many could before her, why would she? He had amazing control over when it happened. With some guidance, Tatia was managing to give some impressive head. She'd had some success with the hand-mouth coordination, added her own flair to it. She went ahead without complaining, which was a blessing.
"Hey, can I-um-" She said, taking a break for a second. "Can I touch you here? Put my mouth here? Or does that not matter? Isn't this important too? You touch all parts of me." She looked at him awkwardly, unsure of herself. He hated seeing that in her, that doubt.
"Where, T?" He asked, coming around. He'd been quite relaxed, enjoying her mouth on him.
"Here." She asked taking his sac in her hand.
"Yeah, go ahead. Why?"
"You didn't mention this." She replied, getting on her knees. She bowed her body in front of him, leaving her ass in the air. She took his balls into her mouth.
"Oh, God, Tia." He murmured.
"Oh, God, what, Jody?" She asked, having heard the voice deepen above her.
"More of that." He said, pushing her head back in its place. "Hand, give me your hand."
She handed him her right hand, considering she was using her left to prod him, hold him gently as her mouth made contact with him. She applied a gentle suction as he had her right hand jerking him off. She paid attention to how his hand moved hers, twisting motions and the tightness of the grip. "Tia, switch up. Hurry." Tatia lifted and placed himself back in her mouth, coordinating the hand and the mouth again. "Leave that ass up, Princess." She heard him making some noise of his own finally. The faster his hand moved, her mouth matched it. She felt the pulsating in her palm, then tasted it in little spurts in her mouth. She kept going despite the muck that was filling her oral cavity. It tasted foul and she thought of pulling away and he sensed it.
"No, Tia, no." He said, lifting along with her as she moved her head. She listened. She actually listened...He settled back and released the grip he had on her scalp, let her lift up entirely. Her mouth stayed shut. She pointed to it. "Tia, swallow it." She shook her head, looking for something, anything to spit it out. "Swallow it." He said. He could tell that was an agonizing decision, but she did it.
"What on earth, Jody?" She complained, sitting back on her folded legs. "That was wretched, putrid, foul with some salt added in for flavor. What the-"
"Well, it's all yours princess."
"I'm not even sure I want it now. Gah." She smiled, but was visibly surprised. "How come? Why? I taste so different."
"That was good head, Tia." He said as she lifted off the bed. She head toward the door. "Yo, Princess. Where ya going?"
"Well, my mouth needs some attention."
"That naked body needs some covering." He demanded, lifting off the bed behind her. He picked up her dress. He placed it over her head and smoothed it over her lanky body. He backed her to the wall behind her and put his hands over her shoulders, palms flat on the wall. He leaned to her, looked her in her eyes. "Is this mine, Princess?" He asked.
"Yes, but I was only going-"
"Is this mine? You said it was mine."
"Yes, Jody." She said.
"You keep it covered at all times." He stated, he pulled his hands away from the wall. "Go."
Tatia met up with Julia in the bathroom. She sat on the edge of the bath tub, running the water for a bath. She waved Tatia inside and closed the door. Tatia started brushing her teeth, washing away the taste in her mouth.
"It tastes foul, doesn't it?" Julia asked.
"It does." She replied, pulling the brush from her mouth.
"Turn to me." Julia said, reaching for her. Tatia turned and Julia set her hand on Tatia's lower abdomen. She held her hand there a moment, feeling around her belly a bit. "Ok, carry on."
"What's up?" She asked, turning back to the sink. She spit and rinsed, then wiped her mouth on a hand towel.
"There's a thing called a calendar. We'll go over this tomorrow. When was your last period?"
"I don't know. I don't keep track."
"You will as long as your bedding down Romeo in there. It will be your responsibility, Tatia Rose. I will go over it and I will help you the first couple months till you figure it out."
"Is that why he asked me what day I was on?" She asked shyly.
"Obviously you are not his first, if he's aware of the calendar. He at least knows enough to ask."
Tatia laughed. "I told him it was Friday."
"It's my fault. I should have started this when you got your period. Or Macy should have. Someone should have. Your mother even, woulda been nice." Julia said. She was high. "You're not pregnant. So carry on."
"You've been smoking." Tatia observed.
"Yeah. You know I love my weed, little one." Julia said. She looked across the hall when Tatia opened the door. "Hey, mind if I ask what had you screaming your head off in there? What on earth was he doing?"
"He put his mouth on my bump."
"What the fuck is a bump, Tatia?"
"Hold on." She said, putting up her finger. She darted across the hallway and into her room.
"Jody." She whispered.
He looked at her from her desk where he was reading her plan. "What's up?"
"Um, that keep it covered thing. Can I show my sister? We're always nude together. It's the way we are."
"Your sister. Yes. I meant boys, other boys. Just me, T."
"Oh, ok." She slipped back across the hall and into the bathroom. She closed the door. She pulled up her dress and showed Julia between her legs. "My bump. It's here." She said, pointing toward it.
"Oh, the bump." Julia grinned. "All that from licking a bump? Bump away, kid."
Tatia stepped back out and toward her room. "You're still on duty, Tatia. I'm not done with my Chess."
Tatia lay on her bed and watched as Jody read the plan. Jody brought the plan to bed and continued reading, laying up next to her because that's what she wanted...to lay with him. She covered them with her sheet and lay against him, kissing him as she pleased, where she pleased, touching him where she pleased. He did say she didn't have to ask to touch him or kiss him.
"T, what are you up to?" He asked as he turned another page.
"Getting familiar with you, your body, your parts. May I? You said I didn't need to ask."
"Yeah."
"Know what I would like to do tomorrow?" She asked.
"What's that?" He asked. "Have me lick your bump?"
"Well, that, too. But I was thinking we could go on the range. I could teach you how to shoot."
"You'll show me?"
"Yes, and the others if you wish. I could help them too, those who cannot pass."
"I know how to shoot, Tatia. I wanted to watch you."
"Ok. I'll believe it when I see it."
"Stick with me, Tia. I'll get your ass to Jersey. We'll start tomorrow, catch you up with the rest of us."
"I am caught up."
"You think you're caught up. I'll show you how to fight without pulling sharp objects out of nowhere."
"The dart? I pulled it out of his hand, not outta nowhere."
"You did? I was wondering where you got it from."
"He gave it to me. I distracted him with the tears."
"Really, the tears weren't real?"
"A little maybe. I was feeling betrayed, like my trust was betrayed."
"Well, there's ways of kicking someone's ass where you won't need to cry first."
"I've been watching you. For weeks, Jody. You think I thought all this up on my own. I have been learning, only from you. You're the strongest. You chose me."
She went back to kissing and he went back to reading. When he neared the last page, her hand touched him, moving his soft member in her palm. She peeked beneath the sheet as it grew in her hand.
He dropped the book over the edge of the bed and let her play a while, practicing no doubt as she worked her hands, interchanging them as she fondled his balls as well.
"Can you do everything with both hands?"
"Most things, yes. It takes practice." She said as he kissed on her breasts.
"Which are you? Right or left handed?"
"Oh, I'm a lefty." She answered.
"But on the range, you shot that target, emptied the gun right handed."
"Sure. I shoot right handed."
"Why though? You learned that way?"
"No, Jody. The knife goes on the left. The knife always goes on the dominant side."
"What knife?"
"I learned how to use a knife before a gun. Back then there wasn't a lot of bullets. That's not how the zoms were killed. Knife left, gun right. Knife first, gun last resort."
"Did you ever kill a zom, Tia?" He asked curiously.
"Jody, I killed a man who then turned into a zom."
"What? What happened there?"
"Let's just say, there's reasons I don't take my trust being violated lightly. There's reasons I do not like being humiliated and then having every one know about it." She paused. "I don't touch myself for reasons-"
"Stop. Not now, Tia." He said, pulling her against him.
"Why? I am comfortable discussing this. Are you not comfortable listening to this?"
"Were you raped, Tatia?"
"No." She answered.
"Do you know what that means?"
"Of course I do, Jody. I am aware of the meaning of the word rape. I was not raped because it was-"
"Tatia, you don't have to-I mean I don't want you to tell me and then-"
"Is it because I am touching you or?"
"I don't want you thinking of that if I am making love to you."
"I haven't so far. Why would I?"
Tatia was a developed 12 year old. A typical 12 year old. Her sister and her brother had gone off to fight the fight in Virginia. Left in Pennsylvania with the remainder of her family at the fortress, she hadn't moved yet to Philadelphia with Tavin and Alexander. Kelly and Tarin hadn't yet moved there. The massive clean up was underway and the building blocks of society were merely starting to fall back into place. Half the Philly gang had moved back there with Tavin and Alexander. Chess's militia as he called them had stayed in sector two. The only people who had not returned to sector one were Hayley and Kevin and Kevin's sidekick T whose true name was Terrence Singletary. Terrence had opted to leave the compound and head to New York state to finish the clean up and the clean out with his cousin Derrick. He felt ties to family as opposed to his wheelchair bound friend toward the end. They didn't see eye to eye. Once T had departed for New York state, Kevin and Hayley had relationship problems, their second child was due at any time. Kevin had become more solitary and distant. He'd been with them since the first nights, the gang had escaped Philly ahead of the wave and everyone initially hunkered down at the compound. They had every intention of returning to Philadelphia when it was clean and clear. Being wheel chair bound, he had particular needs in case of a breach or another wave hit.
Tatia was unwatched as were the rest of the children in the compound. They could run loose inside and go wherever they pleased. Outside they were confined to the courtyard only, no excuses even after the state was free. The children were and always had been the priority. Not one had been lost since the first nights. They were heavily guarded outside. Inside the main building on the first floor in one of the old offices, Kevin had made his advances toward Tatia, an innocent and easily led child. Perhaps Kevin had waited till she was developed or perhaps he'd merely waited till Julia and Jayson had left. Tatia was unsure.
She'd started developing at age 10. Period, breasts, mood swings, hips, legs. The whole growth spurt and blossoming had begun overnight it seemed. One day she was a kid running around playing with dolls and wearing a frozen wig and the next she was an emotional and bleeding female with breasts. Hormones running amok, she had numerous crushes. Kevin had never been one of them, but he obviously had plans for her. He'd been a part of her life for years. She didn't think it was strange that he wanted to chat or get to know her better. When he occasionally said something off color, she didn't notice and if she did he apologized telling her how grown she was, how pretty she was. She'd started out with sitting on his lap and talking. His hands roamed now and then, but he'd play it off, apologize, make an excuse.
He'd kiss her neck occasionally but he swore he was being affectionate and nothing more. He did after all braid her hair and she loved her long hair braided like a 'black girl'. He'd often do Julia's hair as well. They had nothing else to do around the fortress. They spent more and more time together when he finally asked her if she would let him treat her like he treated Hayley. Could he touch her like he touched Hayley?
Tatia gave him permission, but she didn't know exactly how he touched Hayley either. Being summer, it was hot as hell in the fortress. Inside or outside it felt like hell had reached in and settled in with invisible flames. He'd put a hand up her dress. He'd feel her breasts. Never removed her clothes. She felt uncomfortable at first, but he told her how pretty she was, how she was becoming such a beautiful woman. When she bled, that turned him on the most. He told her it was time. He had her remove her panties, her bloody undergarments and sit on his lap. He'd exposed himself to her, stroking the penis he could not feel. He told her to touch him and she said no. The size of it scared her. The fact he was stroking himself scared her. It felt too wrong. He wished to do with her what adults around her did all the time. She knew she wasn't an adult. She knew she wasn't allowed to touch him there. He reached for her, apologized and said he only wanted a woman's touch. He guided her onto his lap, rubbing it on her private area before he tried to set her on top of it. His hands were between her legs and he was trying to fit it somehow inside of her. She hopped off his lap and ran. She'd run like he would have been able to chase her.
"Fuck, that pisses me off, T."
"It pissed off Uncle Chess too." She replied.
She ran straight to the other children and played as if nothing had happened. The guard outside had summoned Chess as Tatia was bleeding all over herself and the dress and the other children were making fun of her. She was off, when Chess approached her. She was not right, had a look about her as if nothing was wrong.
"Child, come with me now." He demanded.
"No." She said firmly. "No, Uncle Chess, don't make me."
"Tatia Rose Keller, I am telling you to get inside now. Don't defy me, child." He said firmly. Not angrily, not annoyed. "What is wrong with you, Tatia? Look at yourself, kid." He stated as he walked her to the kids' quarters. He waited and escorted her and her new clothes to the bathrooms where she toiled forever, cleaning herself, redressing herself. "Tatia, what are you doing? I have other things that need to get done."
"Are you going to touch me?" She asked from inside the bathroom.
"My Lord, no. Absolutely not." He replied, offended she would accuse him of such a thing. When Tatia emerged from the bathroom, red eyed from crying he took her straight to Jesslyn. He banged on her door till she answered despite their problems, he trusted Jesslyn. She'd been in this situation. She'd been touched and then some. "Get into this child's head and report directly to me when you are done." He commanded after having explained the situation. Chess had a feeling he would not hear good news and God help the man he would go after with the child.
Jesslyn returned Tatia to him and urged her to tell the story. Tatia detailed several weeks of inappropriate touching.
"Who?" Chess asked.
Jesslyn shrugged. "She won't say, Chess." She took her very disgruntled self back to her quarters and left Tatia with him.
Chess got down on her level. She was seated in a chair in his office at the time. He crouched in front of her. "Tatia, I have known you since you were born. You are like my own child. I have taken care of you since you were born. Allow me to take care of you now. I promise you, no harm will come to you again." He said. "Tatia Rose, we do not lie in this house. We do not keep secrets from each other. Who has done this to you?" He waited. He could see her thinking. It was someone she knew well. Someone she felt close to. "I want a name damn it or I will take you from man to man in this compound and demand answers."
"Kevin." She replied quickly. "Kevin." She started crying and Chess took a seat beside her, holding her with an arm around her shoulders till the tears subsided. He wondered how he would ever begin to explain this to Julia and Jayson and Tavin. "What are you going to do, Chess?"
"We, Tatia Rose. What are we going to do?"
Chess went to the cabinet in the corner and he handed her a belt with her gun and a knife. He then took her to Kevin who denied and denied and swore on his dead family members that Tatia was making up stories. A school girl crush, a simple minded kid who had come on to him, not the other way around. Chess pulled his side arm and put a bullet in his abdomen. He continued to lie, screaming and writhing in pain. Chess fired again into his left torso. He jolted back in the wheel chair.
He looked to Tatia, "Finish it, Tatia." She raised the gun at him. "Can you finish this, Tatia Rose?"
"I-"
"What would Julia do?"
She fired the gun, a bullet ripped into his chest. Inside the chest cavity, his heart exploded.
"While we wait, Tatia, we're going to have a talk." Chess said, taking a seat on a chair across from Kevin's lifeless body. A crowd had started to form at the entrance to the room, which was now medical, from the gunfire that had echoed through out the fortress. Chess turned them away, put a guard on the door and ordered him not to allow anyone inside that room.
"What did you talk about?"
"Personal space. A girl he loved who'd been sexually assaulted by a man when he was a teenager. How it fucked with her head and started her on a path that led to every bad thing in life. A bunch of stuff. How she'd never been right after that, how she never went back to being the girl he knew before she was assaulted."
"But you still loved your friend anyway?"
"I loved her before and I loved her afterwards. I still love that woman." Chess admitted.
"You believe me don't you, Chess?"
"I do, Tatia."
"But he said I lied. He said that-"
"Kid, he left evidence all over the room. Your underwear, over there. Your blood is on his hands. You're telling me the truth." Chess paused. "He's coming alive, Tatia. Put the knife through his eye like she taught you."
"Shouldn't we leave him that way, Chess?"
"No. We killed him, Tatia, for the wrong he did. This is not your fault. Now we will give him mercy and forgiveness. Can you have mercy and forgive him?"
"Yes." she answered. "Did your friend?"
"This isn't about her. This is about you."
Tatia crossed the room hesitantly, pulled her knife from her left waist band. She poked a hole through his brain. "Good girl. Now, let's go see Hayley."
"But, Chess, do we have to?"
"I will determine if she knew about this."
"She did not." Tatia stated.
"Let me determine that, please."
They exited the room and Chess ordered the clean up.
"What would you like done with him, Sir?"
"Follow protocol." He answered.
Tatia ended her story there.
"Have you ever killed anyone, Jody?"
"No, Tia. I haven't. I have witnessed death, but I haven't carried it out. I have older brothers that kept me alive."
"Oh, well, I would love to meet them sometime. I only hope they are like my own brothers."
"Like you'll ever leave the fortress here."
"I may ask, right?"
The knock that came to the door surprised them and they both jumped a little. Tatia said to enter and Chess looked in on them. "What are you doing, Tatia?" Chess asked, thinking Jayson must be rolling over in his grave for allowing this.
"Chess, leave them alone." Julia called from across the hall in her room.
"Talking about Kevin." She answered honestly.
"I see." He said. "Jody, is it?"
"Yes, sir."
"You do not sleep here."
"No, sir." He replied.
"Chess," Julia said from across the hall. "Come, my Chess."
"See to it you find your way across the courtyard."
"I will, Sir."
"Now, Chess?" Tatia whined.
"No, before the sleeping ensues."
'We won't be sleeping, Sir." Jody smiled.
"You understand what happens to men that hurt Tatia Rose?"
"I-yes, Sir."
"You see where I am going with this?"
"I believe so, Sir, but from what I have seen, princess can take care of herself."
Chess backed out of the room, closing the door firmly behind him. Tatia started in on the kissing again as Jody rolled on top of her.
"Know what, Keller?"
"What's that?"
"This has been the best day of my life."
"Awe, Jody." She smiled. "Me too. So far."
ORIGINAL 7/2/2015. EDITED AND DIVIDED 8/17/2021
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