Spinal Meningitis is No Joke Ch. 08

What do you do when your ultimate fantasy becomes a reality? You hold on tight and don't ask any stupid questions about it. I lay in bed, trying to keep that in mind with my arm wrapped around my sleeping fantasy woman. Leanne and I would probably have gotten together eventually, but after my sister and my mom had gotten me worked up to the point of no return...

I can't say I regretted what we had done, just that I could scarcely believe how intense that insane, often violent coupling had been. I had gone longer, harder and cum more than I would ever have believed was possible. Leanne had been equally unbelievable. I looked at her sleeping face, right in front of mine. Unbelievable, I thought for the fiftieth time.

Unfortunately, my body was now paying the price for that manic exertion. Despite the vitamins and supplements, despite drinking almost a gallon of water, the pain that was wracking my body was making it impossible for me to lie in bed. I kissed Leanne's forehead and then her nose before getting out of the bed with a groan. I stretched my arms above my head, trying to work out the kinks in my back. My buttocks and the backs of my thighs were cramping up almost continuously. At least the sunburn was no longer excruciating. Then again, it may just be that my muscle pain was so much more intense, like when you have a hangnail that hurts a lot until someone stomps on your foot.

My groaning and moving around wakened Leanne. I saw her eyes open in the mirror, saw her stretch out languidly in my bed, the sheet sliding down to reveal one of her magnificent breasts. I slowly turned around to face her. I was really trying to control my face, trying to smile at her, but I winced despite my best effort. I did manage to force a smile after that. Leanne smiled up at me, her face looking relaxed as she softly spoke to me.

"Oh, Josh. I can barely believe what we did. You were beyond my wildest dreams." Her expression vouched for her words, it was just dreamy as she gazed up and softly shook her head. She sighed softly then. A wry little smile came to her lips as she continued, "Of course, we're totally busted now. I don't even know what I'm going to say to Beth."

"You know," I said to her softly, "I was thinking the same exact thing an hour ago. But...we're not busted at all."

Leanne's eyes lit up. "How is that possible?"

"After I carried you in here and tucked you in, I walked out to the living room prepared to catch ten kinds of hell. Nobody was here. I walked through the whole house, saw my mom's car was gone but Beth's was still here. I thought they might be back any time, so I was scrambling around trying to clean up all the evidence."

Leanne had a little shiver pass through her as she recalled that evidence. What that did to her exposed breast was far too distracting. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath before going on.

"Once I had done that, I wanted to make sure things looked as normal as possible when they got home. So I got dressed, came in and put your panties on you, and sat out there working on the placement stuff." Leanne's eyes had widened a bit when she realized that she was wearing her panties. I could see her mind working through the implications of that. I went on, "I did two more chapters in that World History book, and then realized I was starving, so I made a sandwich, grabbed chips and..." Leanne's expression told me that she was starving as well, now that I had mentioned food.

"Hey, why don't I fix you some lunch and we can continue this while you eat?" I suggested.

Leanne's face lit up again, and she hopped right out of bed and over to stand in front of me. That vision is planted in my brain to this day. I will carry it to my grave. I have to admit, though, I flinched a bit as she reached for me. Leanne's hands were gentle as she put them on top of my shoulders and rose up to kiss me. I kissed her right back, still marveling as my hands wrapped around her naked back and her breasts pressed against the sensitive skin of my chest.

She broke off the kiss, looking deeply into my eyes. "Amazing," she murmured. She then turned to get dressed. I was frozen there, my eyes worshipping that incredible sexy backside as she bent over to pick up her clothes, bent more deeply to step into her shorts. She turned to face me again as she started putting on her bra. Her delicious smile snapped me out of the spell she had me under. I smiled wryly and asked, "What can I make you for lunch, my goddess?"

"Ooh. 'Goddess,'" Leanne grinned at me. She pulled on her t-shirt, "I think I like the sound of that."

We went to the kitchen. I started pulling together a decent meal, but it was mostly leftovers like my mom's potato salad.

"I would love to cook you an amazing meal, Leanne," I said as I made her a roast beef sandwich. I knew exactly how she liked her sandwich. I could have made this in the dark, with my eyes closed. "But if you're as hungry as I was, you just need something good in your stomach now."

"It's like you read my mind," she said. I barely got the plate in front of her before she was on that meal like a starving animal. I jerked my hand back, making a show of counting my fingers to make sure they were all still there. Leanne growled at me around a bite of potato salad. I smiled at her as I sat next to her at the table and went on.

"Let's see...oh, so I had my lunch, and I was about halfway through another chapter in this thing," I indicated the World History text book, "and still nobody had showed up. So I cleaned up after my lunch and called my mom. Mind you, still thinking I was going to catch hell. At that point I figured they had heard us, got mad and left or something. But instead of that, mom was at her office, just asked if I was okay, and...

"Oh! Sorry, I was supposed to tell you, Paula Henderson is having a bunch of friends over for drinks. Mom dropped Beth over there so she wouldn't have to drive home. You're invited as well, and if you'd like, my mom will drop you off so you don't have to worry about driving anywhere."

Leanne chewed thoughtfully, nodding to indicate she had heard me. She swallowed the bite she had in her mouth and said, "I'm not sure that's a great idea. I'm not sure I can face those guys right now."

"Hey, I'm in no hurry to send you anywhere," I said. The dreamy look returned to Leanne's eyes. I shivered a bit before continuing, "So, my mom said she would be at her office at least two more hours. She did have a client coming in, and she said she'd call if she was going to show houses today." I thought hard about that conversation, but didn't think I had left anything out.

Satisfied with my account, I nodded. "That's it. So, I was obviously relieved. I knocked out the last of that chapter and rejoined your sexy body in bed. Well, until my muscles started a freaking holy war under my skin and I had to get up to stretch. Sorry to wake you up like that. You look amazing even when you're sleeping, by the way." Leanne colored at the compliment. I felt like I made up for some of my earlier awkwardness with that one.

Just when I was feeling self-congratulatory, a vicious cramp bit into my left butt cheek like a steel fist. I practically fell out of my chair. Through clenched teeth I made sure to get out "cramp!" before I rolled to the living room carpet and tried to work it out. I looked over at Leanne. She looked a little alarmed, and was rising to her feet. I held up a hand and said, "There isn't really anything you can do about this, please finish your lunch."

Then I was stretching out my legs and rubbing my tightly clenched butt cheek, trying to relax the muscles without aggravating my sunburn again. That was a slow, excruciating process. Somewhere in the middle of it, Leanne brought me a big cup of water with a lid and a straw, holding it for me to drink while I stretched my left leg.

"Have you been drinking enough water?" she asked. I nodded, and when I finished guzzling through the straw I got out, "I've had a gallon and then some since..." and tilted my head toward the bathroom.

"Good," she said. Then, "Actually, I need to use the bathroom. I'll be right back."

I stared at her ass walking away from me, still on my back on the floor. "Even upside-down, her ass is perfect," I thought. A few minutes later, Leanne returned. She stood above me and held a foot or an ankle, helping me stretch out my legs. When I remembered the laundry in the washer, Leanne followed me while I moved it to the dryer. We returned to the living room, where she continued to help me stretch out my legs and buttocks. She talked to me gently while we did this,

"You really did do a good job cleaning up that bathroom, Josh. I expected, you being a guy and all, that it would still need some work." I chuckled a bit at that one. It's not like she was wrong, most of my friends are...well, "pigs" is a little harsh. Let's say they haven't learned to clean up after themselves very well. "Did I say something funny?" Leanne asked looking down at me.

"I was just thinking about how Mark's bathroom always looks like hell. Seth isn't any better. The really funny part of that, though, is it's my dad who taught me to clean house thoroughly." We both smiled at that. I had a more sobering thought, though.

"Leanne...I just want you to know, I'm sorry I was so rough with you earlier. I'm not normally like that at all. Are you okay now?" I stopped short of asking if I had hurt her gorgeous little pussy with the rough fucking I had given it. She saw that meaning in my expression, though.

"You were...that was just..." Leanne looked annoyed as she hunted for the right words. "That was a lot rougher that I was expecting. Now, I absolutely loved it, don't get me wrong. After you came the second time, though, you were so much gentler, so much more in control...I could see the difference in your eyes, in the mirror there. My pussy is still tender, but—don't you dare apologize! But, seriously, if I could come up with a good excuse, I would drive us over to my place and have you fuck my ass again like that right now. That was amazing, Josh."

My cock throbbed as those words washed over me. I began wracking my brain. Come on, man! Think of that excuse! Everything that occurred to me sounded lame, or it involved lying to my mom in a way that she would certainly see through. "Damn," I finally said, "If my mother wasn't so damned smart, I could come up with a lie. I would love to see your place, Leanne." I raised my eyebrows suggestively, once, and she gave a sexy shiver before she answered softly, "I would love for you to 'see my place,' Josh."

We heard my mom's car pull up then. She walked in to find me lying on my back while Leanne was helping me stretch. It was a perfectly legitimate physical therapy exercise, I thought. My mom looked in, nodded when she saw what we were doing, and smiled at us. "I'm going to change and I'll be right with you," she said.

After the stretching, I did feel remarkably better. I'm sure it helped that I had eaten and had the vitamins and supplements, and had drunk all that water. I ducked into the bathroom to apply more aloe, paying particular attention to my neck and shoulders. Leanne came in and did my back. We shared a hot look in that bathroom mirror, and a quick, hot kiss afterwards, but were careful not to start anything more.

Leanne did administer the standardized post-coma cognition test that afternoon, with my mom in attendance. The test was mostly little mind games with numbers and names and words. It seemed blessedly easy, although I get how that wouldn't be the case if I had sustained brain damage from my illness. Again, I have been remarkably fortunate.

Leanne tallied up the score when we were done. "Well?" I said, "How did I do?"

Leanne looked up at me, then my mom. She took a big breath and said, "Josh, it seems that you are not a vegetable." She then flashed that sexy grin and we all laughed.

I then did some actual work, hunkering down to hit the junior English course. My mom noticed that I was just starting on it and raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, right," I said, "I finished up chapter eight in the World History course, but then realized I had been a jackass and hadn't fed our guest lunch."

Leanne nodded and added, "You can make me a sandwich like that any time."

Mom and I both raised an eyebrow at that one. It did sound suggestive. Leanne thought about it and blushed. "No! Really, that was a perfect roast beef sandwich. I wasn't saying..."

I chuckled, and my mom smiled. I went on, "Then I got these fierce muscle cramps in the backs of my legs from all that weight lifting yesterday. I did take my vitamins and supplements earlier, but Leanne really helped me get stretched out, there." I indicated the living room carpet, where my mom had seen what we were doing.

"Still, I'm right on pace with the course you set up, Mom. As long as I can stick to it, I'll be ready to take those placement tests in six weeks. This afternoon, I need to get three chapters of English done."

I got to work, and listened in as Leanne started talking to my mom. "Josh told me you dropped Beth over at Paula's place. Are they already drinking this early?"

"I don't know. Probably something light while they use the pool. Dianne, Tiffany and Annabelle were there already. I think Christine and Tammy are planning on dropping by later."

"Oh, really? Tiffany got Charley to watch the kids and let her go out?"

"Well, maybe she got a sitter. That girl deserves a good night out."

Leanne nodded vigorously at that. I had to really make myself focus on the book in front of me instead of her bouncing breasts. My mom then continued with, "So, would you like me to drop you off? I'll be picking Beth up in the morning...unless she calls earlier."

"I don't know..."

My mother then gave a bit of a speech.

"Leanne, you know I love you, right? You have been the best sister that my daughter could ever have had. You need to enjoy these moments with your friends. You're at the age where you still have them in your life; best friends forever. But, life is going to get moving for you awfully damned fast. Before you know it, you find yourself married, you've moved a couple times, and—if you're really lucky—you have raised some amazing kids."

I looked up at that. They were both smiling at me. I smiled back and went back to reading. "But then you realize that you haven't seen your best friends in years. You aren't a part of each others' lives anymore. I couldn't tell you what my best friends from high school are up to these days. Oh, we send out Christmas letters, and I know their kids' names, but it's not the same. What I do have are some great memories of the times we got to hang out. You should go enjoy an evening with your friends. You'll have that memory to cherish for the rest of your life."

Leanne laughed at that, a lovely sound. "How could I say no to that?" she said.

My mom had me read out loud from the textbook, but it just wasn't the entertaining exercise that reading World History had been. I looked up at the dazed, somewhat sleepy expression on their faces and quipped, "Well, if I ever want to knock you guys out, we know what I need to do. Read you an English textbook." They managed weak smiles at that, but then I snapped the book shut loudly. "Fortunately, the torture is over! Now, why don't you ladies make yourselves comfortable in the living room while I cook you a real dinner."

My mom has really made an effort over the years to teach Beth and me to cook. Neither of us will ever be as good at it as Mom is, but I can cook a decent meal. Tonight, the chicken marsala I served up was inspired. The setting couldn't have been better, either. The sun was setting behind the house, making Leanne's and Mom's faces seem to glow as they savored the food.

"Mmm," my mom said, "Wow. Joshua, I have to say, you have surpassed me on this one. This may be the best chicken marsala I've ever had." High praise, indeed.

Leanne finished a bite and moaned. She turned to my mom and said, "Jennifer, I hope you won't be mad, but I'm going to have to marry your son."

Mom reached out and squeezed Leanne's hand. "Nothing would make me happier."

Me neither, I thought as I ate my dinner.

After dinner, I was outvoted and the ladies did the dishes. Mom had me put on one of my dad's shirts over my tank top. It was a really lightweight silk shirt that would cover my sunburn without hurting me. It also looked really good on me. I knew the shirt was expensive, so I promised I would be careful with it. I got out my cell phone to call Mark's house. His mom answered and said that he was over at Seth's.

I called over there, and Seth's mom was really excited to hear my voice. She eagerly invited me to come over. The three of us piled into my mom's Subaru and we dropped Leanne at Paula's place. We could hear laughter and splashing coming from the back yard. Mom rolled down the passenger side window to say goodbye to Leanne, "Remember, if you girls want to come back tonight, just give me a call," she said.

Leanne turned back to us and said, "Alright, I'll do that. I should have brought a swimsuit, though."

Mom laughed, "Nobody else did."

When I realized what that implied, I acted like I was getting out of the car, "You know," I said, "maybe I should stay here. In case they need a lifeguard or something." Mom gave me a bit of a stern look, but she laughed along with Leanne.

"Have fun!" my mom said as we pulled away from the driveway.

I have to admit I was a little nervous when I rang the doorbell at Seth's house. I was thinking, if I've changed this much, I wonder if I will even recognize my friends now. It was Seth's mom who answered the door. She smiled and gave my mom a big hug, then shook her head as she looked at me.

"Good lord, Josh. I wouldn't even have recognized you. You are the spitting image of your dad."

My mother's head jerked as she looked at me intently. I realized that she hadn't realized it until that moment. Seth's mom led us into the house, and she hollered, "Seth, Josh is here!" before having a seat at the dining room table with my mom. Mom looked a little bit rattled, but that passed almost immediately as she started talking with her old friend.

"Josh! Oh my goodness!" this came from Penelope, long-time stroke fantasy of me and my friends, and now Seth's girlfriend.

"Hey, Penelope," I smiled at her, "you look great! How have you been?"

"Holy cow!" I grinned widely at that familiar voice. I managed not to wince as I was hugged fiercely by Seth, then Mark, and even Penelope gave me a nice hug.

We all retreated to "The Den" to hang out. It was a dark room most of the time, with computers spread around the outside, and bean bag chairs arranged around a wide coffee table. Snacks were omnipresent in The Den. I just smiled and looked at my friends for the longest time. The three of them were right back on their computers, playing a new online game that I hadn't seen before. They filled me in on the details as they got going. I hopped onto a fourth computer and they quickly hooked me up with gear for my new character.

"It's like we never missed a beat," I thought as we rolled into a battlefield.

We played for a couple of hours. At the end, I felt like I was finally getting the hang of it, finally carrying my weight in our group. Several of our other friends were on VOIP to chat with us, so I was repeatedly welcomed back by most of my friends. We wrapped up playing and sat around talking for a while after that. Penelope sat in Seth's lap on their beanbag chair with her arm wrapped around him. I tried to sum up the hospital stay, carefully leaving out any sordid details.

At one point, Mark blurted out, "Man, Josh. You look great. Like, kinda scary great. I really expected you to be in a wheelchair when we would see you again." I laughed at that. That was classic Mark; he never had a filter to keep his foot out of his mouth. I stood up to stretch again. Although they had all grown over the last two years, I towered over them now.