*To make the right decision requires a combination of confidence, knowledge, and luck*

(Yes, this tale is supposed to be somewhat humorous and outrageous too. While not always comedic, I'd like to think it is mostly a good-natured romp.)

*

A little nonsequitur: I once asked my close associates why they believed in God.

Rio: "Well, I can't very well be a convincing Satanist if I don't give lip service to the Other Guy."

Iona: "The Universe makes sense. It is our roadmap for Ascension and a fuller understanding of God's Love."

Christina: "I've seen Evil so there must be Good."

Heaven: "Because I prayed for death but Christina came and I prayed for you (Zane) to go but you stayed."

Hope: "Because I live in a country that allows me to own a K11 assault rifle for home defense." No one wants to ask Hope if she has the official rifle of the ROK Army with her at school, or if she actually has the grenades that go with it. What good would it do; it isn't like we would try to take it away from her. Most of us like living too much.

Chastity: "Firefighters, organ donors, Christian converts in Iran...with so many people giving for no material gain, that indicates to me a higher purpose for mankind -- a struggle between right and wrong."

Faith: "Belief in Christ cannot be given a definition. If you define it, it ceases being faith."

Barbie Lynn: sweetly gave me a peppermint and smiled. She had to look no farther than the fate that had brought us together and the joy we shared; she didn't need words.

Paige: "Only something with infinite precision and power could bring about the Big Bang. The day they can give a name to that force, I will gladly surrender my faith."

Cordelia: "Let me think about my reply. Why do you believe in God?" (Like I'd ever tell her.)

Cappadocia: "What an empty and lonely thing life must be if these few years are all we have?"

Opal: "I always have and never heard an argument that would make me think differently."

Brandi: "It was how I was raised. But the first time you kissed my stomach, I had my own personal religious experience (giggle)."

AND NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY...BACK TO THE STORY

Breakfast unfolded pretty much like it had a week ago, with the added bonus of poisonous glares between clumps of students, bandages, bruises, and the sense of unease that comes from unresolved conflict. After all, neither Christina nor Rhaine had won. This was acceptable to most of the sane crowd as the alternative would have been to make the school unbearable to the other half of the student body so that they left.

Instead, we got to bask in the chilly civility that Christian politeness dictated. At least I wasn't (too) worried about a pack of girls ambushing me. As was becoming her habit, Gabrielle Black had devoured her food in less than four minutes and paced the perimeter of the Dining Room floor, her eyes dodging about with no discernible pattern. I kept an eye on her because she worried me in a way that went far beyond hormones.

"Zane?" Iona repeated. I had barely registered her first request for a moment of my time.

"Yes, Hon?" I smiled down at her. She looked happy for the eye contact but worried about what she had to say.

"Zane, there are two other candidates for Freshman Class President -- Mhain Reynard and Millicent Pierce," Iona informed me.

"Millicent?" grumbled Rio. "Zane saved her ass and now she's kicking sand in his face? The bitch."

"Millicent is free to do what she wants. She may have wanted to be nominated before all this chaos came about. I'm not going to begrudge her having political ambitions," I told them.

"Zane, I don't think you understand what this means," Iona worried.

"Sure I do; Millicent and I are going to split the Pro-Christina vote. There will be a run-off. If it is Millicent and I, Mhain's votes will go to her and I lose. If it is Mhain and Millicent, my votes will go to Millicent and she wins. If it is Mhain and I, it will be a toss-up. Essentially, Millicent can definitely defeat Mhain but I can't."

"This sounds like a job for the NSA," Rio glared off to where Millicent was sitting. I don't think Rio knew what Mhain looked like. NSA referred to Rio's title as my in-house assassin -- Ninja Stripper Angel.

"Don't worry," I patted Rio on the shoulder, "I got this, Bro."

When I got up, Rio followed me nonetheless. Chancellor Bass was absent for the second day in a row so the highest authority seemed to be Dr. Scarlett, the Vice Chancellor. Gabrielle noted my movement but didn't deviate from her path. Mrs. Cunningham was closest but seeing neither authority figure appeared nervous, she too went about her rounds.

Mind you, girls are moving around the Dining Hall all the time but I'm special...being a troublemaking, devious male. I rounded a table and walked over to Millicent, who was warned of my approach by an associate. She twisted in her chair and waited for the flavor of my greeting.

"Hey, Millicent, I want to congratulate you on your nomination and I hope you get the votes to be on the ballot," I said as I extended my hand. She shook it and smiled.

"Thank you, Zane. Good luck to you too," she replied.

"How about we have a debate a few nights before the election? Interested?" I pondered.

"That would be great," Millicent agreed. "We can request the Assembly Hall but we'll need to figure out who should be moderator."

"We'll figure it out," I nodded. "I'm going to say 'hi' to Mhain as well."

"I will come along," Millicent informed me as she stood up and stepped to my side. "Hi, Rio."

"Eat shit and die, you ungrateful whore," Rio snarled back at Millicent, who backed off. "Zane should have left you for Bass to fuck over." Millicent's crowd was shocked, then outraged.

"Cool it, Rio." I stroked her arm. "You and I do what we do for our own ends and not for the accolades of others." I turned to her, "Right?" Rio took a deep breath.

"You are such a dumb blonde," she smirked at me. "I get my thirty pieces of silver up front."

"Thanks, Babe," I grinned at Rio. I looked back to Millicent. "I'm still going to see Mhain if you want to tag along with me and Rio."

"I'm feeling fearless with a positive outlook on life so I'll risk it," Millicent smiled. Yeah, beating Millicent in this election was going to be fun...right up there with waking up on the Kappa Sigma cross out in the woods. The three of us walked over to Mhain and her crowd of freshmen Rhaine-supporters. The conversation around us died, proving I was definitely unwelcome.

"Hi, Mhain. I just wanted you to know I am happy to hear that you are jumping in on the race for Freshman Class President," I grinned while extending my hand.

"I would like to welcome you as well," Millicent stated, extending her hand too. Rio thankfully hung back and kept quiet.

Mhain turned around in her seat so that she faced us, though she remained seated. She looked into my eyes then regarded my hand before doing the same to Millicent.

"Very well, Millicent," Mhain finally said as she shook Millicent's hand. "You will lose, and while I hope you leave this school at the end of the year, if you don't, I pray you learn humility and proper Christian decorum."

Mhain was so fervent that Millicent appeared aghast at the situation. She hardened quickly.

"It is small-minded zealots like you that give people of faith a bad name, Mhain," Millicent seethed in response. "I'll make you a bargain. If you win, I'll leave FFU the day following the election; but if...when you lose, you agree to stick it out through your senior year."

Mhain stood, and the grip between the two women became bone-crushing.

"Pack your bags," Mhain hissed, "you Jezebel."

"Jezebel," Rio snickered to me. "Seriously, is that the best she's got?"

"I think she's calling Millicent a betrayer," I related, "and I must be too evil to be named."

"I think..." Millicent violently yanked her hand away from Mhain and then wiped it vigorously on her pleated skirt as if Mhain's touch was somehow toxic, "...she's home-schooled."

"Oh, she's one of those," Rio grinned to the same Millicent she'd been ready to slap only seconds before. "One family TV, one family computer, and six or seven brothers and sisters."

"Only allowed to contact similar children in scheduled gatherings...yep," Millicent nodded. Mhain was getting quite pissed off at being mocked.

"Not at all incestuous, even with the only males around being family," Rio smiled viciously.

"Oh no, not at all," Millicent agreed. "Well, have fun with the election, Mhain. Making you spend the next four years with Zane is going to make my victory just that much sweeter."

Mhain was gargling out a response when we three turned and left her. As we approached Millicent's seat, I spoke up.

"Why are you using me as a punishment for Mhain? I know that she doesn't like me but why did you in particular do it?"

"It really isn't so much using you as punishment for her as a reminder for me why I want to keep you around. After all, I've already bought my subscription to 'Virtual Zane' for a year," Millicent related.

"Virtual Zane?" Rio asked Millicent.

"It's a project Cordelia is working on," Millicent related, "but it is only in limited release." I wasn't asking because I was recalling me and a dozen girls in a room, me naked, and them taking all kinds of computer imagery scans of my body. At least she could have given me a heads-up before launching what was certainly a semi-pornographic 3-D rendering of me and my life.

I am definitely going to have to fix her little red wagon, but with the added complication that she certainly had already thought out my reaction and plotted accordingly. Of course, I can figure out what those contingencies are and figure a way around them, but I know she knows that...fuck it, I'm going to finish breakfast.

I escaped the Dining Hall in the company of a sophomore named Abigail Kent. Assembly was painless but it was no consolation for me when it ended. A junior named Sybil Evans was on my Handmaiden's list. She proved her pro-Rhaine credentials by saddling me with not only her book bag but the book bags of nine of her closest friends.

Oh come on, I do fifty push-ups a day, on my head with my back against a wardrobe, plus upper body strength training for Archery and endurance training for Marksmanship, Karate, and Orienteering. I grinned at Vivian who looked a bit peeved at Sybil. I spent the rest of the trip to class doing arm curls with the bags as if they were nothing, even grinning bye-bye to the bag owners when I was done.

I whistled as I walked to my desk and promptly let my arms drop like dead weight to my side because they hurt so bad, but at least my tormentors didn't get to see my pain. Lucky me, this was the day of my first English test and that involved a whole lot of writing. Me and my twisted desire to taunt my enemies -- damn the inspiration that drove me to decide on arm curls.

I still managed to push myself through the test with a few minutes to spare. I was lucky enough to be snared by Hale Johansen who tied me down with a discussion on which modern actor would best play Judas in a rendition of the Last Supper. She was mad for Nicholas Cage while I wanted Zachary Quinto. (Oh, please, the guy played Skylar and Spock; Judas is the smartest Apostle and is willing to ignore the implication that his actions will get people killed.)

Biblical Archeology's test was simple, if a bit dry. Rio and I played Rock-Paper-Scissors to pass the time in the last half of class. Either Rio studied (I try not to laugh), someone beat the knowledge into her in Sunday school (it is terrifying how hard that had to be), she'd somehow cheated, or she's been masking her smarts really well.

It was inevitable that one of Rhaine's people picked me up for the trip to Biology. She began lecturing me on God, Man, Woman, and our separate places in the Universe. I interrupted Theresa, my mistress, to tell her she smelled like sugar dumplings. She didn't know what to say and neither did I. This may have been brought on by neither of us knowing precisely what a sugar dumpling was or what it smelled like. Chastity thinks I'm a nut and sometimes I agree.

SERAPHINA AND BLACK AGAIN

Biology's test was its own kind of mental torment. Whenever I discover the acceptable default answer to any question is "God wills it," I hear millions of my brain cells stampeding for the exits. This is supposed to be the foundation for me becoming somebody that actually heals bodies, prescribes medicines, and diagnoses a human being's physical ailments, and I'm becoming worried I won't be qualified to apply a bandage.

Seraphina and I snuck off to the bathroom (I have notoriously poor bladder control) after she finished her test and I could tell by the look in her eyes that she felt as cerebrally insulted as I did. Kissing and petting wouldn't do it this time; my plan was to bend her over the toilet, pull down her panties, and eat Seraphina out from behind.

There is always something wonderful about being someone's first, even if it is 'just' cunnilingus. Oh, I had touched her cunt before, inside and outside of her panties, but she confessed this was the first tongue to touch her there. My dedication to her sensitivity caused the frustration from Biology class to fade away. My world collapsed down to her upper thighs, ass cheeks, and pubic region.

I was on my knees, awkwardly positioned forward with my butt resting on my heels, when Seraphina looked over her shoulder at me. She gave me an unsure smile and then pushed herself up on her toes. She had anticipated the difficulty of my position and made my job easier, which resulted in her greater pleasure.

I didn't want her to become unsettled so when I placed my hands on her, it was right above the knees -- a safe region. I kissed her above the right hand on her thigh. Seraphina moaned.

"Zane...Zane, I am not sure what to say," she murmured.

"It isn't necessary, Seraphina," I comforted her. "Let your body tell me all that you need me to know." Seraphina didn't miss a trick -- she merely nodded.

I let my lips work a track up the back of her right thigh until I reached the minute crease where the buttocks and the thigh met. From there, I licked in with a broad stroke to the point where her labia swelled at the back. Before the moment of contact, I skipped her pussy and touched down on the cusp where it met her buttocks and thigh on the left side. Seraphina exhaled in foiled anticipation.

I had let my hands follow behind my kisses on her thighs. When my mouth crossed to her left butt cheek I rested my hands on her hips, giving me some leverage and control over her stance. That done I moved in for her first real overt sexual sensation of this encounter. I lead off with broad strokes to either side of her labia, along the inner hip joint.

A few strokes doing that, then I sharpened my tongue to a blunt tip and licked lightly her labia from back to front with a confident tongue-caress of her clitoris at the high point of my technique. I was somewhat pleased that Seraphina didn't jolt or squeak out in surprise. Everything I was doing was flowing in synch with her natural desires.

Seraphina graduated from a scared-dry to a gentle-moistness and finally a musky, oily tastiness. Her breathing was steady but became deeper and a bit more ragged as we progressed. One little grunt on her part and I knew to dedicate more of my efforts toward exploration. I moved my left hand around until it graced her nub of a clit and the top of her cunt.

Alternating between deep, tight penetrations and broad, powerful licks that parted the labia, I would drive half a knuckle of my left forefinger into her slit when my tongue wasn't in the way. The moment she was sure of the game, I tilted up and took a playful bite of her left butt cheek, sharp enough to startle but not enough to leave a permanent mark.

"Ow!" she hissed through clenched teeth. We had to keep it down because sound did carry in this building. I dove back into her moist cunt in response, stayed there long enough for her to settle in, then bit the right cheek. This time Seraphina pressed against the back of the stall to escape my nip, but she came back when the tongue torture returned. The uncertainty was breaking down her resistance.

Blind passion was taking Seraphina over. She was sure another bite was hovering out there, waiting for her to coast along with the rhythm. Instead, she had to focus on each move of my mouth as she tried to anticipate what I'd do next. As she focused on each stroke and probe, her world collapsed into each sensual moment and reaction.

"Oh, Zane," she panted, "oh God, oh God, oh God," she began softly chanting. Next, she made constrained little grunts of pleasure that picked up in intensity until her body tensed and spasmed. Her legs grew rigid and her back bowed up as she internalized her orgasm. Time and comfort allowed, I would have kept gently tonguing Seraphina as she slowly came down, but we had to get back to class so I held her carefully by the hips instead.

Seraphina snickered when she calmed down enough to clearly vocalize to me. That noise became a giggle.

"What is it?" I whispered.

"Oh, I just realized we need to figure what class we are going to share next semester because I certainly want to do this all year long," she laughed quietly.

"We could take Orienteering Club together." I mused.

"Orienteering...sorry, but Heaven is in charge of Orienteering, and since you two are together, I really don't want to contemplate what kind of reconstructive surgery she'd put me through if she saw us touching," Seraphina grinned over her shoulder at me.

"Hold that thought," I told her. I slipped out of the stall, got some wet paper towels, and returned to Seraphina. She took the wipes with a smile and cleaned up while I watched. "You know, Heaven can be really nice if you give her a chance."

"Zane, for a guy who appears to be so good with women, you miss out on some obvious things," Seraphina kept grinning.

"I'd argue more if I didn't spend half my time bound up by one person or another," I sighed.

"Zane," Seraphina pulled up her underwear, stood up, and faced me, "even if a girl is nice and sweet to you, that doesn't mean she's nice and sweet to another girl who gets in between you and her."

"I'm not jealous, and I don't like jealousy in those around me," I countered.

"How are Paige and Heaven getting along?" Seraphina teased. I was saved by bell, literally. It was time to make for the Dining Hall...or in my case, back to my room for some hot, passionate loving with Barbie Lynn. I had to talk to her about something; I'd figure out what when I got there, I was sure.

Any joy I was anticipating collided fatally with Vivian's expression as Seraphina and I raced back to our classroom. She didn't look pissed; she looked furiously disappointed.

"We completed the test and had to go to the bathroom," I blurted out. You know, I'm not bad at creating excuses off the cuff, but any chance of Vivian being deceived evaporated when Seraphina took my hand as a sympathetic signal of moral support.

"You couldn't wait the last few minutes before the bell?" Vivian glared at me. I could tell her I went to the bathroom ten minutes ago but that leads to the question of what took me ten minutes to do in the bathroom. My hesitation allowed Vivian to lean forward and take a sniff of the sexual arousal on my lips -- Seraphina's arousal. "Zane..."

"I stepped out of bounds, Vivian. I'm sorry," I apologized. I had promised to be as discrete as possible, after all.

Any conversation was rendered more convoluted by the girls exiting the classrooms and moving through the hall.

"Seraphina, is this what you want to do with your life? Sneaking off to bathrooms with men for sex?" Vivian whispered.

"Random men -- no; Zane -- yes. I mean, have you felt his tongue? Holy Cow, he was fantastic," Seraphina beamed back. Vivian seemed flummoxed.

"We'll get our bags and we can get out of here," I intervened. Vivian let us slip past her. Seraphina gave me a quick peck on the cheek before we left, then I joined Vivian and we left the building together.

"Vivian..." I started.

"Oh, God," Vivian groaned. "What is it now?"

"When you have kids I really think you will be a good mother," I tried to appease her.

"Get it over with, Zane, and stop trying to make me feel good about the nightmare that watching over you has become," Vivian moaned.

"I need to skip the Dining Hall to go back to my room," I broached the subject.

"Who is it this time?" Vivian asked in a deadpan voice.

"Barbie Lynn," I answered.

"I'll pick you up at 12:50," she stated. That was easy, right up to the moment I felt bad about pushing her morality so hard. I had to figure out something she wanted and get it for her.

Good, energetic sex leads to a shower unless you want to advertise your activity via body odor. Barbie Lynn and I decided that since time was an issue, we'd mix the love-making and the shower into one exercise in one of the stalls on my floor. It was certainly something new for us and a spectacular look for Barbie Lynn, with the water cascading off her breasts in two sensual rivulets. Her wet hair plastered over her head, neck, shoulders, and chest was its own kind of erotic.

Barbie Lynn's rectum was partially impaled on my cock. Her eyes were wide with hunger and happiness brought forth by our lovemaking in midstride. My hands held each heavenly buttock in a tight grip, Barbie Lynn's legs were to the side and spread wide -- thank you, Soccer flexibility training -- in a sexual 'V'. Her banged-up knee was clearly getting better.

"Please, Surrah, can I have some more?" Barbie sugar-coated her request. I let her slip down my shaft a little more until her eyes shut in ecstasy and she breathed out a pleasurable note. She'd been resting her wrists on my shoulders with her fingers extending back into my hair. Now she drew me in until we were face-to-face.

"You are so good to me, Zane, and I appreciate it," Barbie Lynn murmured. "You never give me less than 100% and I've never felt like you take me for granted."

"It is you and only you...Sarah...Cindy...Eve...ummm...help me out here," I grinned. Barbie Lynn lilted in the voice of an angel while she pressed off the glass with her upper body and leveraged down onto my penis.

I shifted one hand off an ass cheek to move it to the back of her neck and pull her face in and up to mine. She also constricted her anal muscles around my shaft, concentrating on my cockhead.

"Does this make my body more familiar to you?" she panted, our lips only inches away.

"Not as much as these eyes...these eyes of my own beautiful seraph," I whispered.

Barbie Lynn completed the kiss. Her hips rotated up slightly and mine shifted lower and under so that my penetration reached deep inside. For thirty seconds we kept the tender kiss going before she had to break free.

"Oh, Jesus, Zane...this feels so good...I can't...oh, Lord Jesus," she gasped out as I shifted out, then back in rhythmically.

"More time...I want more time with you, Zane," Barbie Lynn panted with a heavy breath.

"We have tests this afternoon and Vivian is waiting," I shook my head in disappointment. Fierce passion engulfed both of us. Clearly, I got my money's worth from the contractor who had installed the shower because the glass wall didn't give way despite our enthusiasm.

"Lord Jesus loves...," Barbie Lynn screamed across campus. Her arms locked my head and shoulders in place, her face grinding into my chest. Her torso desperately tried to impale her hole deeper onto my rod. Her scream degenerated to an uncontrolled growling against me while I kept her back to the glass and up against my body.

"Zane, I know I've been really needy today but you've been so kind and understanding, and I appreciate you putting up with me the kind way you have," Barbie Lynn snuggled into me. "You are the best."

That's what I wanted to talk to Barbie Lynn about, taking me for granted and using me like a sex toy. Boy, I just saved myself from acting like a total ass!

"Babe, you are better than I deserve." I kissed her neck as I lowered her legs down to the tiled floor. "If I ever take you for granted, promise me you'll kiss me, rub your body against me front and back, and then walk away. I guarantee you I'll fall on my knees and beg for forgiveness."

"I like it when you beg," she said with a glimmer in her eye.

"Why am I being nice to you again?" I teased. Barbie Lynn simply let her eyes go wide and innocent with a cute little smile on her face. "Oh, yeah," I whistled, "you give me hope, happiness, and warmth in good times and bad."

"My body has nothing to do with it?" she questioned in a coquettish fashion.

"It's passable," I shrugged as I cut the water off, "but I hope you will fill out one day -- you know, quit the training bra and become a little more womanly." Mind you, Barbie Lynn hadn't seen a training bra in ten years. Hourglasses went to Barbie for lessons on how they should be shaped and her butt was the perfect balance between fantasy cheerleader and soccer girl.

"Thank you for spending time with someone as poorly endowed as me," she purred.

"I admit that I'm holding out for Dr. Burns. He's got it going on," I struggled to say convincingly. Barbie Lynn fought valiantly to hold back her reaction to the thought of seeing our over-70-year-old male Biology teacher in any sexual manner.

"Burns without his clothes on is an image I could have forever gone without," she shuddered.

"Gosh, I value you more than my own personal desires so I guess I'm stuck with you, Barbie Lynn," I sighed playfully.

"Would you two get out of the shower!" barked Vivian. She was sitting in a chair in the main room.

We stepped out of the shower, grabbed the waiting towels, and began drying each other off. Vivian surprised me by keeping a somewhat detached eye on the two of us. Maybe she wanted to make sure Barbie Lynn and I didn't turn drying into fondling, thus ending up with us rolling on the tiled floor. The floor would be uncomfortable but having hot, sweaty Barbie Lynn flesh pressing into me...I put this on my 'to do' list.

We quickly got dressed and moved to where Vivian was standing and waiting. It wasn't until we were making our way to the elevator that Vivian spoke.

"Barbie Lynn, would you take the elevator? Zane and I need to take the stairs," she said.

"Sure thing, Vivian," Barbie Lynn smiled. She stepped up to me and kissed me on the lips. "I'll see ya Sunday night, slugger."

"I kinda, sorta have a standing date with Heaven," I cautioned her, "so if you come by, be careful." I didn't miss Vivian rolling her eyes in exasperation. The elevator came and took Barbie Lynn away. I waved Vivian to the stairwell, held the door for her, and together we went down.

"What are we going to do?" I broke the insufferable silence.

"What do you mean?" Vivian evaded.

"Damn it!" I snapped. Since I stopped moving, Vivian decided to stop too.

"Yes?" she looked to me with what I was learning to read was a disarming friendliness.

"I want to make you happy but I don't want to change, Vivian," I grumbled. "So, what are we going to do?"

"How much of your time and energy are you willing to devote to Christ?" she countered. I had to think that over. Monday was no good; it was Recovery night. Tuesday was 'make it up to the girls' night. Wednesday was Specialty Night, Thursday...that was no good; it was Orgy Night. Friday was first date night, Saturday was SYFY/Party night and Sunday was second-date night.

"I am on a committee at Church on Wednesday nights and I go to both Sunday school and Church service on Sundays," I offered. "Isn't that enough religious stuff?"

"Zane, do you have sex at Church?" Vivian pierced me with her eyes. I was so boned because while I was preparing some sort of verbal obfuscation, Vivian sighed and looked down at the stairs.

"Why do I even bother?" she moaned with despair. She looked up at me, clearly in pain, "It is a Church, Zane. Doesn't that mean anything to you? Because it definitely means something to me."

"Vivian, it is a building, made of stained glass, brick, stone, and lumber," I responded heatedly, "and I don't need any of those to be in God's presence."

"It was sex in a church," Vivian nearly screamed. "Come on, now, do you respect anything at all?"

"You are right, I don't respect a building simply because someone declares it to be holy. I don't recall my vote being consulted. I don't respect people who bully with scripture but won't study the original Greek and Latin texts it was written in to learn what was really said. I don't respect anyone who refuses to think for themselves and listens to some two-bit liar like Pastor William."

"He is your pastor," Vivian growled back. "He deserves..."

"Nothing," I snapped. "He's an adulterer, and I've seen it with my own two eyes so don't you dare lecture me on him. If you defend him, it is only because you don't know shit about him."

Vivian glared at me but I could see she was trying to see if I was making stuff up.

"I respect you, Vivian, and that's no lie," I continued. "Since our fight I haven't a clue what to do with you but I have respected you. You believe in give and take; you believe in consequences and redemption. The only other person I've met like you is Iona. I trust Iona with more than my life; I trust her with Rio's."

"Right now you are pissing the hell out of me, but that doesn't change the fact that I trust you and respect you," I added. "I don't need someone with spiritual authority to tell me what to do; my heart does that for me."

"Zane, it is the constant sex," Vivian groaned. "I thought I could take it but it never seems to slow down with you." I had to think that over.

"Vivian, you can't confuse love and sex," I insisted. "You are in love with your boyfriend and you two have been through some rough patches and survived. Sex without passion is masturbation, Vivian. If you are ever tempted, fall back on your love for that man because when you love something, there is nothing you will let stand in your way."

I could see the turn in the argument defused some of Vivian's wrath and sent her mind down different pathways.

"Okay, then why is it okay for you to have sex without love?" Vivian said as we resumed our progress downstairs.

"I love in different ways, Vivian. I love Iona and Rio as best friends -- there is nothing I wouldn't do for them. I love Heaven and Paige because they do for me things that make me want to do for them right back. I love Brandi and Opal because they are fun and they give me the space to be me. I love Barbie Lynn...well, just because it feels natural and right. Christina...Christina, I will always love without cause or reason. I love her," I related.

"If Christina asked you to stop seeing all those other women, would you?" Vivian asked with a glimmer of hope.

"I don't know. Our pseudo-agreement lets me have my college years to go wild before I give it all up to be a good husband and father," I replied. "Are you thinking of going to Christina and asking for her help with me?"

"Yes. Yes, I am," Vivian told me.

"The only problem with that plan is that it requires Christina to declare her feelings toward me and make a commitment about what she wants to do with me," I pointed out. "Good luck with that."

We hit the bottom of the stairs at a run and raced through the halls and doors on our way to the Dining Hall. We found Christina and company waiting outside for us when we got there.

Christian handed a thick envelope over -- my bribe to Deacon of the Warlord's motorcycle gang.

"Heaven, date night Sunday? I've found a theater playing Hugo," I asked my fox-faced girl.

"What? You think you can ask me out on Friday for a date on Sunday? What kind of girl do you think I am?" she growled.

"Heaven, you weren't here for most of the week, and you have to admit the world had gone crazy. Come on, Babe," I pleaded.

"I'll have to think about it," Heaven grumbled. Behind her back all her other friends were stifling their grins. All those grins fell behind impassive masks when Heaven turned around facing them and stomped back and forth.

"What's the problem, Heaven?" Hope asked.

"Barbie Lynn comes skipping across the yard from her dorm with a smile that outshines the Sun..." Heaven began.

"She said she's been doing intensive physical therapy," Christina interrupted. Yay! I've graduated to being considered exercise equipment.

"Harrumph," Heaven grunted. "How come his hair is wet? Besides, he's taking another girl home for the weekend."

"It's Iona," Chastity explained. "Think about how wound up he's going to be by Sunday evening, because you know he's not going to do anything Iona's uncomfortable with."

"Yes," added Faith, "he'll be ready to knock 'em out of the ballpark after a whole weekend of physical denial. Maybe you shouldn't go out with him; he's probably going to be pretty fierce." Heaven glared at all her friends before turning on me.

"Fine, I'll go out with you, but if I can still walk by curfew, you had better know I'm going to make next week hell for you. Are we clear?" Heaven threatened.

"Is that all Zane is to you, a sexual release valve?" Vivian gasped before I could answer Heaven. "You are making light of a serious moral struggle for him."

"Vivian, Zane was the first man to tell me he loved me and I've believed," Christina said.

"He saved me from a fight and academic troubles by putting his body on the line," Chastity added.

"Me too," continued Hope.

"He pretty much saved my life," Faith chimed in, which oddly twisted back to ruining her life with Christina and company when I exposed her as the Chancellor's spy. Maybe the girls had made up somehow.

"He's put up with more of my crap than I care to get into. He loves me for who I am, and he's my lover and boyfriend," Heaven clarified. "If you spent one night with Zane making love, you would know I'm more of an addict than anything else. It is just that I get...grumpy when he's not around every minute of every day."

Everyone's eyes sort of gravitated toward me.

"You are all great women but I have to go to class," I grinned, then took off. Vivian raced to catch up with me.

"Do you have commitment issues?" she panted beside me.

"No. I was getting hard. All that feminine compassion directed my way was getting me sexually aroused and they were all staring at my crotch," I explained. "I figured running away was the best resolution for what was coming down the pipeline."

"Have you ever considered chemical castration?" Vivian asked.

WHAT?

The last quarter of the school day went rather well, considering I had to juggle balls once between classs. (Apparently I resemble a dancing bear or something.) My second chore required me to bounce a soccer ball on my knees for a trip to the soccer field. Considering some of the crap I've had to do here, I almost volunteered to do it walking backwards.

Karate started out so surprisingly normal (not my normal, but normal-normal), I should have known better. We had barely finished warming up and stretching when Gabrielle Black walked into the room. She stood against the far wall poised for our dispersal into teams. When first team knelt and waited for Coach Gorman's instructions for today, Gabrielle made her approach.

"Coach Gorman, we seem to have had some difficulty connecting so I decided this would be the best place to meet," Gabrielle said in a deceptively upbeat manner.

"I'm teaching a class," Gorman replied deadpan. "I teach several classes. I guess that makes me a teacher. In fact, I'm teaching right now -- get lost."

"I'd rather not." Gabrielle gave her deadliest smile. "Care to make me?" They really need to start psychological testing of the staff at FFU, or at least stop giving them daily doses of testosterone.

"Since reason and rationality have clearly avoided you like the plague," Gorman growled, "why don't you tell me what you have in mind?"

"A little sparing match," Gabrielle suggested.

"So you really need to see if you can kick my ass, or is it just that you have to be Alpha bitch?" Gorman countered. Several of the more religious-minded students gasped, but they didn't realize this wasn't a game.

Someone needed to do something, and of course it had to be me. I didn't very well have the time to overdose Rio with caffeine and throw her at Gabrielle. Besides, I am sure that's a war crime.

"Me first!" I declared as I broke free of my second-team circle and walked toward the two adults. This was the point where I expected one or both of the women to tell me to butt out, mind my own business, I'm stupid, or something.

Gabrielle stepped back and stripped off her jacket and slipped off each boot. I figured that since I was about to die, I'd best get rid of my gi; that way they'd have something to drape over my lifeless eyes.

"Zane, what are you doing?" Cappadocia belatedly hissed at me.

"Eh, you know, sometimes a woman has to be put in her place," I joked. It wasn't like Gabrielle was going to take it easy on me in the first place. Several girls laughed at what they were sure was levity on my part. You see, I was about to become a legend. Unfortunately, it was the legend of Don Quixote -- damn fucking windmills dressed in tight black form-fitting outfits.

To the credit of my limited intellect, I approached this fight with a totally different philosophy than any I'd faced before. I discarded every tenet of Thai kick-boxing (except the one that says never do anything that will make the lady-boys mock you). I went completely defensive, abandoning any hope of striking Gabrielle. I figured if such an opportunity presented itself, it would only be a trap.

It took Gabrielle about two seconds to unravel my master plan, then she was on me like a fart in an airplane bathroom -- choking the life out of you with nowhere to run. Because I am such a badass, it took Gabrielle eight more seconds to land a telling blow. I staggered back but instead of coming at me, she shifted to my side. Since I had my arms up to defend my head, she was slipping out of my field of vision. There was an added bonus; I discovered I couldn't hear her move over the mats.

I somersaulted in the other direction which bought me a few more seconds, but I never regained my feet. Once more she opted to shift to my flank than come head-on. A man on his knees cannot out-turn a woman on her feet. I caught her knee in my shoulder, propelling me face-first into the mat. I tried to turn with the blow so I could keep eyes on her.

Gabrielle slammed into my shoulder blade and I slapped the mat hard. I pressed up with my arms but Gabrielle was on my back so fast I might as well have been standing still. For a second our legs struggled as she tried to put me into a leg lock. Then her body rolled over on me and drove three fingers into my spine right above the coccyx. Blinding pain exploded over my body and I screamed.

I wasn't paralyzed but I didn't need to be; I was in too much God-damn pain. Gabrielle's body was tight against my back. One hand cupped my chin and the other was placed on the back of my skull. She gave my head a quarter-twist.

"You are dead," she whispered. Technically, she would have merely snapped my spine at the base of my skull. My cells would have struggled on for a few more minutes but that hardly seemed to be the point.

Gabrielle stood up within inches of me and gave me an emotionless, pitiless stare.

"Did you get what you wanted?" she asked softly.

"We'll see," I grunted, then rolled onto my back.

"Did you put me in my place?" she queried next.

I had to chuckle, then I had to choke back on the pain. "Oh, yeah, we are perfectly placed."

Seeing her brows crowd together in displeasure, I added with a pained gasp, "You've clearly never stood on a mirror and looked up at your cleavage the way I am now." Gabrielle reached down and touched my wrist before letting her fingers work up to my elbow. She pulled me up quite rapidly and gave me a soulless, piercing gaze.

"You are insane," Gabrielle noted. That wasn't said as a joke or a condemnation. She said it as if she was recognizing a kindred spirit. When you are ten years old, being best friends with an assassin sounds pretty cool. Most of us grow out of that. After all, being buddies with a person who has a casual disregard for human life might come back to haunt you if they ever decide you are an encumbrance they can do without.

"When I beat you, can I draw a smiley face on your forehead?" I blurted out. Why did I say those things? Maybe it was a brain tumor, or maybe Gabrielle was right and I am insane. Maybe my buddy Don Quixote was telling me the windmill is still standing.

"What do I get when I beat you...again?" she inquired.

"I've developed an inside track on some authentic saltwater taffy," I shrugged. Gabrielle didn't seem very impressed. "I could feel honor-bound to jump on the next grenade thrown your way?"

"I'll think of something when the time comes," Gabrielle informed me. Turning to Gorman, she said, "Are you ready?"

"I'd like a..." Wilhelmina started to say as she stood. Dana put a hand on Willy's shoulder and shook her head.

"I've got this," Coach said. She stood up and discarded her gi -- depending on your point of view, she was fortunately/unfortunately wearing a white sports bra. Wait! Am I in chest-to-chest proximity with Gabrielle while scoping out Dana? Was I dropped on my head repeatedly as a child? Maybe I should hunt down my former nanny and ask her.

"Let's make Zane's idiocy..." Dana continued telling Captain Willy, "...worth more than the beating he took." Gorman stripped off her pants, revealing white biker shorts. It was very cinematic; Gorman in white and Black in black. Sadly, I believed White needed some serious Divine intervention to win this showdown.

"Zane," Gabrielle requested my attention with that deathly quiet voice of hers. I must have looked pretty scared because she almost smiled at me. "You can let go of my hand now." Jumping back felt like a surefire way to test her killer instinct so I let go of her hand and backed away slowly and carefully. Only after I gave us some space did I contemplate the trust she'd put in me, allowing anyone to be that close outside of combat.

I was walking past Dana when she grabbed my shoulder, stopping my progress. She pointed me to the spot on the floor she had just vacated. Wow, I had my ass kicked and still made First Team. I moved over to my new place in the hierarchy and thanked Dana in the only way I knew how.

"Does this mean you are going to sit on my lap when you get back?" I said with a voice as sincere as I was serious.

"Zane," Coach Gorman said over her shouldershe was keeping her eyes on Gabrielle -- "when I get back, I am giving grave consideration to having a general melee, and I'm placing a bounty on your head if we do. You will have all weekend to recover." A general melee sounded a whole lot like a 'beat up the new guy' kind of thing, and I had planned on devoting my weekend to Iona.

Further banter was ended by Black and Gorman facing off. Willie gave the 'Go' and things went John Wu-crazy. My bright shining moment was delivered right off the bat. Gorman went fullout, denying Gabrielle the ability to control the maneuvering in the fight the way she'd controlled me. My beating hadn't been in vain; Gabrielle undoubtedly knew Gorman's fighting style but Dana knew nothing of hers.

My body had bought Dana what little insight Gabrielle had been willing to give up. After all, Gabrielle knew my game from the moment I'd thrown out my challenge. Still, she had to beat me up to get at Dana. I could take on most members of the first team and, as Dana constantly reminds the world, I can take a beating, which meant I was the body for the job.

I've fought Gorman on several occasions and she's damn impressive. Gabrielle was doing crap I'd never seen before and I wasn't even sure was humanly possible. I swear, if she'd turned into a Terminator, I couldn't have been more surprised. Dana's fighting prowess only went up in my estimation because she wasn't impaled on Gabrielle's fist in the first thirty seconds.

It wasn't a misstep that screwed up Dana's game plan; her mistake was predictability. One second she was pushing Gabrielle back and the next she was on the floor, struggling to keep Gabrielle from establishing a chokehold. For a second I contemplated grabbing up Cappy and Willy, then rushing Gabrielle. After all, it would have been a shame for Dana to die alone. It would also seriously curtail my desire for an open-casket funeral but hey, Dana is almost a friend.

Dana wasn't finished yet. Unknown to me, she has the ability to dislocate and relocate her shoulder. No one in the class wanted to consider how painful that had to be. The loud popping noise was enough to make us decide to miss dinner. Dana got an elbow and fist in before they separated. They went at it again, but this time, it was harder on Dana. I could feel that her confidence was shaken now that she had a clearer measure of Gabrielle's strengths and weaknesses.

Gabrielle remained a steadfast cypher. If Dana was turning out to be a tougher opponent to crack than she'd expected, Gabrielle wasn't showing it. What she was doing was exhibiting the iron stamina of a triathlete. Dana wasn't fighting for air but I didn't see Gabrielle even breaking a sweat yet. Had I been Dana, this would have been the time I started crying out to a vengeful God for forgiveness.

Dana didn't do that. Instead, digging down to her dogged determination and fighting on, her game -- her gamble -- was for Gabrielle to screw up somehow and take advantage of it. She had to hope that something came up before her endurance failed. And in the fourth minute of the fight, it happened.

Of course it was a trap. I couldn't blame Dana for risking it because fighting hard, non-stop, for over four minutes is its own form of torture. Gabrielle caught Dana's leg, swept the other one out from under our Coach, then finished up with driving an elbow into her hip as they hit the mat. There is fast, unbelievably fast, a weasel on speed, and then Gabrielle, and if you gave a weasel enough speed to keep up with Gabby, the weasel would explode first.

Dana is fast, but I'm faster and I know I didn't have a prayer of blocking Gabrielle at this point in their fight. The blow to Gorman's hip seemed to have temporarily paralyzed that leg. Without the leg, her torso below the ribcage was fatally exposed. Getting repeatedly punched in the stomach sucked. Sadly, Dana thought the same thing and totally missed Gabrielle flipping her over onto her stomach.

Gabrielle came down with a palm to the center of Dana's spine. It had to hurt, but I had little doubt that if Gabby had used her fist, the spine would have been broken.

"We are done here," Gabrielle announced calmly as she rose to her feet. No one said a word until Dana stirred on the ground.

With varying degrees of speed, the first team swarmed over Dana. I alone approached Gabrielle. After she finished dressing and stood, she acknowledged my presence.

"Did you learn what you wanted to know?" I asked.

"Yes," she stated, once more into her emotionless mode.

"Then you asked the wrong question." I drilled her with a combination of bravery and anger. Gabrielle walked away without acknowledging my statement. She got to the door and stopped before exiting through the door.

"What do you think I should have asked?" she said with a vapor of condescension.

"You should have asked us if we can help," I told her. Maybe I'm naïve, but I'm sure she's facing her past alone.

*

(After this chapter I hope to keep putting another one out every seven to ten days. It takes 2-4 days to write, 2-4 for the edit and 1-2 days for Literotica to post it; just so ya know.)