Page 9 of Riding My Dragons

“We were good together,” said Elliot.“And we’re going to be good together again, while she’s on break.”

“That’s to be expected, after the night she must have had with you,” I said.

“So, you’re getting back with her after your race today,” said Byron.

Elliot answered with a firm nod.“Definitely.”

Thoughtfully, Byron stroked his chin again.“Hmm.Hmm, hmm, hmm…”

I lit up with a smile.There were times that the three of us, Byron, Elliot, and I, could finish each other’s sentences and practically read each other’s thoughts.This was one of them.“Yeah, there’s one obvious place this is going, isn’t it?”

“Obvious, yes,” Byron said.“But doable is another thing.Elliot, do you think it’s doable?Do you think she’d be interested?Or willing?”

Elliot rubbed at the back of his neck, and I noticed the “tent” in his towel getting a little more prominent as the conversation turned to where it so often went when one of us got with a female.And it was the most interesting place to go.

“I don’t know, guys,” Elliot said.“You’re talking about Jenna going from being a virgin, to letting me screw her into the wee hours of the morning, to what the three of us like to do, in twenty-four hours’ time.That’s a lot to expect.People change, and try new things, but I don’t know.She’s more of a dragon than you’d think, like we were saying.But this might be too fast for her.”

“We’ll never know until we try,” said Byron.

I grinned and pointed to Byron.“What he said.”

“Listen,” Elliot insisted.“I don’t want Jenna to feel like we’re pushing her into anything.A few hours ago, Jenna had never been naked with one guy.Now you want to ask her if she’d be willing to try what we do?Sex is new to Jenna.She loved it with me, but I don’t want her to feel pressured or rushed into anything she’s not ready for.”A look came over him that I’d never seen on Elliotbefore.It was what I’d heard some people call “profound,” which was new.He said, “I’m telling you, Jenna is not an ordinary girl.She’s not like any other girl we’ve been with.I don’t think we’ve ever met anyone like her.I don’t know what it is about her, but she might not be ready for…you know…us.”

“But she’s not fragile,” said Byron.“At least not from the way you describe her.She might be more open to it than you’d think, if we provided the right setting…”He crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes.

Encouraged, I said, “Yeah.If we set it up just right…”I watched Elliot watching Byron, and the “profound” look was still there.“Listen, Elliot, you know we’d never try to gang up on Jenna.”I winced at those last words.Even for me,not being the most refined guy, that was a poor choice of phrase.“I mean, the three of us, we’re not the kind to try to make a female think like she owes us something, or we want to make her feel she shouldn’t have any choice.When did we ever do that?If she only wants you, you know Byron and I’ll respect that.Right, Byron?”

“Respect, always,” Byron agreed.

“But if her mind is open to it,” I went on, “maybe we’ll all get to find out how special Jenna is.What do you say?”

“It’s not what I say,” Elliot replied firmly.“It’s what she says.This is her call, guys.Respect, like you said.”

I put my fist out in front of me.“Respect.”

Byron extended his own fist and put it against mine.“Respect.”

Finally, Elliot reached out and put his fist together with our two.“Okay then.Respect.If Jenna only wants me, it’s just me.But if she’s willing…”

Our buddy didn’t have to finish that sentence.I only said, “If she’s willing.”

It was settled, then.All that was left was for Elliot to go to his race and Byron and I to plan the next moves that we hoped would give Jenna an adventure she wouldn’t forget.

CHAPTER 5

Byron

I was well acquainted with Pendrake Technical University.My family had been donors and trustees of the place for as long as I could remember.And I had been personally acquainted with some of its female faculty and administrators.What we’d been discussing earlier about intellectual human women was very true.Now, however, we were interested not in a Pendrake Tech professor or administrator–but one of their students.

Our game plan was simple.We would find Jenna on a campus where most of the students had gone home for the week—easy enough.We’d introduce ourselves again, talk her up, and see if she might be interested in what we had in mind.As Cade would put it, “Feel her out, then feel her up.”

That was why Cade and I agreed that I’d do most of the talking.

The easiest part would be to find Jenna on a mostly empty campus where all the faculty were gone and only a few students were still there for the week.Elliot had given us the way to do that.He told us he had suggested to Jenna that she attend the University’s live feed of his race.They would be offering that as a way to give the kids still on campus something to do.It was perfect.Cade and I headed for Pendrake Tech’s outdoor auditorium.

It was a wide, circular amphitheater-type space with seating all around and a big holoprojector disk at the bottom.The disk could project all sorts of things that were fed into it, from lectures to entertainment to what the school was offering today.It was a live feed of the annual Pendrake Circle Race,where the champions of the Scaler Professional Racing League would race around the city for the Pendrake Circle Prize.Elliot had taken the Circle Prize before, and Cade and I had put money on him taking it again.Afterwards, there was something else that Elliot would be wanting to “take,” and just perhaps Cade and I could manage to take some as well.

Arriving at the edge of the auditorium before the race got under way, we found her sitting by herself in the sparse group of kids scattered in little clusters through the seats.Jenna was by herself again.Why was that?Did she really not have many friends, or did she just enjoy solitude?That’s the way some people were, enjoying their own company.It just seemed a little unusual for a girl in college where she’s meeting all kinds of new people.Perhaps Elliot was right.Perhaps there was something about Jenna Callaway that was “different” from other first-year college girls.Now, like Elliot, I found myself wanting to know more about her, and not just the way I was most looking forward to knowing her.

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