The Stipulation (Volume Five)

by M. L. Young

  We approached the church and two of my mother’s friends and their families all came over to say hello as they always did. Her friends, Gloria and Edna, who were about a decade older than my mom, grabbed me for dear life as if they were trying to suck the life force out of my body and take it for themselves.

  “Oh, Natalie honey, you look so beautiful,” Gloria said before letting go of me, her stale and overpowering perfume attaching itself to my body.

  “Thank you, Mrs. Baumgautner,” I said politely.

  “And who is this able-bodied young man?” Edna asked.

  “This is Roman, Natalie’s boyfriend,” my mother said happily, as if so excited to finally tell her friends that I was not in fact a lesbian and was instead dating a hunk of a man.

  “It’s nice to meet you, ladies,” Roman said politely with a smile as he went to shake their hands.

  “We’re huggers!” Gloria exclaimed before she and Edna clung themselves to him like leeches.

  “Now, honey, leave the poor boy alone. He probably doesn’t want to be traumatized,” Earl, Gloria’s husband said as she let go of Roman.

  The church bell rang overhead, luckily, which meant that service was five minutes away and that if you were not in your seat you had better get there before service started and you were left in the dust. My father led us all inside as we slowly shuffled through the crowd and took a side door into the large auditorium. We got spots up front on the left side, and were front and center for all of the service. I sat next to Roman and crossed my legs as my flowing skirt draped over them elegantly. I always had the pleasure of having great church clothes, and with now dating a man who would take me shopping anytime I asked, I was afforded even nicer church clothes than I had ever possessed before. I was easily the best-dressed woman in the room, and that was an understatement.

  “Good morning and happy Sunday to you all. I want to start today’s service with a special announcement, and I want you all to be a part of it. As many of you know, we have three members of our congregation that are currently enrolled in college classes, all of which aren’t anywhere near our humble town. It has come to my attention, though, that it is their spring break and they are all home and here with us today! I want to bring them on stage for a warm welcome, so please welcome Teddy, Samantha, and Natalie to the stage!” Pastor Williams exclaimed as the crowd erupted.

  I was in shock as I began to realize that this was actually happening and not just my mind playing tricks. The crowd was cheering, and Roman was trying to hold back his laughter as he nudged me to go up and do whatever it was Pastor Williams wanted to do up there.

  I got up from my seat, as did Teddy and Samantha, and all three of us walked onto the stage to the applaud of the crowd as the lights above shined on us and warmed up my body as the sweat started to form on my brow.

  “I want to thank you young adults for being great members of the church and society and for going off to better yourselves with an education so that you may help future generations. Please, tell everyone what your majors are, so that you may inspire a new group of children out there,” Pastor Williams said as he handed Teddy the microphone.

  “I’m studying philosophy,” he said nervously as his voice cracked.

  “That’s great, Teddy! We know you will teach a new group of young minds in the future,” Pastor Williams said as he handed the microphone to Samantha.

  “I’m studying elementary education, and I hope to be teaching as early as next year back here at Maple Oak Elementary!” Samantha said with a certain exuberance that was indicative of all peppy girls.

  “Wow, that’s awesome, Samantha! I know all of the parents out there with young children are certainly looking forward to having you teach their children!” Pastor Williams said as the crowd applauded.

  I was handed the microphone, and I almost blanked as fear overcame my body. I hated public speaking, and even though I just had to say my major, I was stricken with nervousness. I looked out at Roman in the crowd, and he made a shooing motion, as if trying to get me to say something so I didn’t look like a total idiot up here on stage.

  I swallowed the quickly forming saliva in my mouth and opened my mouth.

  “I’m studying biology,” I said, as I couldn’t think of anything else to say.

  “That’s great! We hope you’ll progress science further and maybe even one day cure cancer!” Pastor Williams said happily.

  The crowd cheered one last time and all three of us were sent back to our seats as I almost jumped off the stage to get back down to my seat as quickly as I humanly could. My heart was racing and my forehead was sweating, and Roman made sure to hold my hand to try and calm me down as he realized teasing wasn’t something that would be a good idea.

  “You were great, I’m proud of you for overcoming your fear,” he said as he squeezed my hand lightly.

  I gave him a half-assed smile and turned forward as I realized not everybody in the auditorium was even paying attention to me anymore, and that their attention spans likely made them forget I was even up there seconds earlier.

  ***

  The service went on for a good hour, with plenty of songs and praise going on the entire time. Roman participated happily, and even though he didn’t really care about all of this, he made an effort to actually look like he gave a damn, and that meant the world to me. It’s one thing to show up, but an entirely other thing to actually participate with something that’s not only important to me, but was also important to my family.

  After the service, Pastor Williams and his wife Carol interacted with the congregation just as they did after every service. It was now essentially mingle hour for everybody, and the wait to go home had begun just like it had when I was a kid and had to sit and wait around for my parents to stop talking to all of their good friends so I could go home and watch cartoons. This time I wasn’t waiting to go watch cartoons, but I had the same unbridled desire to rush home and get away from all of this activity.

  Roman and I went to the wall and stood there talking while my parents went on and on with Gloria, Edna, and their husbands and families. Pastor Williams came over and said hi for a second, but was quickly taken away with an emergency involving an unassuming toddler and a bowl filled with holy water. The kid had apparently used the bowl as a birdbath, which meant he was likely the holiest child in this entire church now. After all, taking a bath in holy water must give you some kind of angelic powers.

  “So this was your childhood Sunday mornings, huh?” Roman asked as we leaned against the wall.

  “Unfortunately, yes. Didn’t you go to church?” I asked, thinking that every child was almost required to sit through church when they’d rather be watching cartoons or eating sugary cereal.

  “I went a few times, but my parents weren’t really into going to church. They never felt a need to go and worship God, and felt as though they could do it just as effectively from home. Sunday mornings were mostly used for sleeping in or going out and playing,” he said with a smile, as if he had thought about happy times from his childhood.

  “Well then, you’re lucky,” I said before seeing my parents say good-bye to all of their friends.

  “Are you kids ready to go?” my father asked with a smile.

  “We’ve been ready,” I said, a hint of sarcasm in my voice, although my oblivious father didn’t catch it.

  “How about we go out for brunch or something?” my mother asked.

  “That sounds like a great proposition!” my father said as we walked out of the church and back to our humble minivan.

  We all got in and buckled ourselves in as my father treaded through the crowd and traffic-filled parking lot as everybody just had to say good-bye to one another until they saw each other again in a week. I watched out of the window and noticed all of the miserable faces of the kids, as I sympathized with them and almost wanted to pat them on the back and tell them it would get better once they went to college.

  Chapter Five

  Later
that night, around eight or so, my parents started to indicate that their bedtime was almost near. We had stayed out most of the day, with them taking us to brunch and to a couple flea markets, which were in the next town over. They always loved to go to them and try to find treasures that they could sell online or take to fairs and sell. It was an extra source of income for them, and they really were pretty good at their job. One time my mother even found some painting at a thrift store by some famous artist that she turned around and sold for around ten grand, so needless to say, they made some serious cash by doing this.

  The flea market was one of those big ones with rides and a real carnival like mentality. Roman and I rode around on a few of them, and he even suggested going up on the Ferris wheel, which was both romantic and breathtaking. The view wasn’t all that amazing, but just being up in the sky with him where nobody could bother us was truly great.

  My mother had made a large spaghetti and garlic bread dinner for us, and we were all so full after we ate that I thought one poke to my stomach could make it burst.

  We then played some board games, as we truly didn’t have that much else to do. My parents weren’t big into watching television, unless it was the news or an educational program, but even then they rarely did either. They would rather spend their time reading or playing games, and television had no hold on them since they were now gone for most of the year doing missionary trips.

  An hour passed and my mother said she was ready for bed, which prompted my father to jump right up and say he was more than tired and that a good night’s rest is what he needed. They both said we could sleep in a little tomorrow, which was great considering I had barely gotten any sleep last night and had been woken up far too early in the morning to go to church.

  Roman and I were finally alone in the living room after they hugged us good night, and with nothing here to do, we were left with a giant dilemma of how we could fill our time.

  “So, what do you want to do?” he asked as my parents closed their door.

  “Well, we might as well just continue playing cards or something. There’s nothing else to do around here, especially this late,” I replied.

  “Well, we could always play strip poker,” he whispered, as to not wake or alert my parents to his dastardly plan.

  “As fun as that sounds, the idea of my father walking out and seeing me naked just isn’t that great of a time,” I said.

  “That’s true. He is a light sleeper, and I really don’t want to have to explain why you’re naked and I’m fully dressed,” he replied.

  “Oh, you’re that confident in your skills?” I asked.

  “I’m great at everything I do, especially when it involves you taking your clothes off,” he replied slyly.

  “Just shut up and play your hand,” I said playfully as I hoped my giggles wouldn’t seep through the walls and into my parents’ ears.

  ***

  Roman and I sat out in the living room and played cards for almost two hours before the lack of sleep overcame us both and our minds started to fizzle out with every hand played.

  “It’s already eleven,” I said as I yawned and looked up at the clock.

  “Yeah, we should probably get to bed before it gets too late. With how early we were woken up today I’m not sure how much time we’re going to get to sleep in,” Roman said as he put away the cards.

  We got up and walked to our respective rooms before turning around to say good night to each other.

  “Thank you for being here and being so great through all of this. I know you didn’t have to come, and you could be in the Maldives right now sipping out of a coconut, but I really appreciate it,” I said as I wrapped my arms around his neck.

  “I love being here with you and your parents. It’s refreshing to be in this kind of atmosphere. I’ll see you in the morning,” he said before giving me a soft kiss on the lips.

  ***

  I lay in my bed for what must’ve been an hour or two from sheer and torturous insomnia. My mind was racing with thoughts of everything from school, to Roman, and even to my parents and how they would ever take knowing the real truth about Roman. I couldn’t get these thoughts out of my head, and they made me feel as though sleep just wasn’t an option tonight and that tomorrow I would be even groggier than I was today.

  As I stared at the white ceiling above me, I heard a creak as my bedroom door handle was turned and my door was carefully opened. I tried to focus my eyes, which were now very adjusted to the darkness, and see who it was, only to see Roman sneaking into my room. He shut the door behind him carefully, as not to make a single faint noise, which could wake my parents, but especially my father.

  “What are you doing?” I whispered as I sat up in my bed.

  “I couldn’t stop thinking about you,” he said as he came and sat on the edge of my bed with me.

  “Is something wrong?” I asked.

  “No, but I need you, Natalie,” he said as he put his hand on my thigh and rubbed it softly.

  “We can’t do anything here, you know that. If my parents hear us and walk in then we’re done for,” I said as I pushed his hand off my thigh.

  “But I know you want it,” he whispered as he kissed my neck softly.

  I hated to admit it, but I did want it, and badly. Roman and I hadn’t been intimate in well over a week, and now that it was a fairly regular occurrence since we started dating, I felt as though even a week without his body against mine was far too long to wait. If I had my way, we’d be doing it multiple times a day, seven days a week.

  “What if we’re caught?” I faintly whispered as I closed my eyes and tilted my head back.

  “We won’t, I promise,” he replied as he put his strong hand on the inside of my thigh and squeezed firmly.

  Shivers went up and down my spine as the breath was taken from my frail lungs. The way he touched me never ceased to amaze me, and every time felt like it was the first time all over again.

  Roman guided me down on the bed so my back was flush against the mattress. His hand grazed down my stomach and to my nether region, where my quivering pussy was just waiting to be handled.

  Roman leaned in and began to kiss me softly on the lips as we were forced to come up every fifteen seconds for air. Our tongues fought with each other before finally coming together in harmony and dancing in the grandest of ways.

  Roman’s hand slipped underneath the band of my pajama bottoms and bypassed my pink, zebra print panties as his warm fingers ran down my wet and waiting pussy.

  I took a deep breath as his tongue lightly teased my neck and his fingers encompassed my pussy as if to protect it. Slowly, as if he wanted to take care and not damage it, he inserted his middle finger inside and began to pulsate it up and down, which sent me into a shock. I had never felt anything like this before, and I was fairly certain my eyes had rolled back into my head from the intense and insane pleasure he was causing me to have.

  “Oh,” I moaned softly, and just loud enough for him to hear.

  “Do you like that?” he asked almost silently.

  “Yes,” I replied with the faintest of breath.

  “Then I have something you’re going to really enjoy,” he replied as his fingers slid out and my waistband smacked against my stomach.

  I opened my eyes and gazed up at Roman, who stood and put his middle finger in his mouth, as if to show me he liked the taste of me. He was wearing red flannel pajama bottoms, and his raging erection was so visible that you’d think he was carrying a steel pipe in his pants.

  I got up and grabbed his shirt before throwing him down onto the bed, as it creaked and I stopped for a second to make sure I didn’t hear one of my parents getting out of bed. I didn’t hear anything, went over to the bed, and got in between his legs.

  “You think you’re the only one who can give out pleasure?” I asked softly.

  I jerked his pants down as his boner sprung out looking larger than ever. His girth and size never ceased to amaze me, even after
all of this time.

  His dick almost dwarfed my hand as I grabbed it, and I slowly went down to show him just what I could do. I kissed the head and shaft, as I wanted to tease him before giving him what he really wanted. After I had seen that he couldn’t stand it any longer, I put him inside of my mouth and almost had to unhinge my jaw like a snake just to fit it in. It was so massive; so huge. He let out a sigh of relief and pleasure as I began to service him and stroke his shaft with my right hand.

  “I need to be in you,” he said as I took his cock out of my mouth.

  “Then do it,” I whispered back in a sultry voice.

  We got up and he bent me over my twin-sized bed, as my apple bottom was sticking up straight in the air for him to get me from behind. Roman pulled down my pants and panties and spread my legs open just slightly to give himself enough clearance to bring his submarine into dock. I felt the head push against my pussy as it entered me and I clutched and twisted the faint pink sheets in pleasure.

  “Oh God,” I moaned as I felt every, and I mean every, inch of him enter me.

  He went slow as to not hurt me, and grabbed both of my cheeks, which I admittedly loved.

  As the minutes passed, and as every thrust of his manhood made my hair fall down, he did something he hadn’t done before, but what really turned me on. I felt his left hand twirl my hair and grab it as he softly and lightly pulled it back. That seemed to make him go faster, and I fisted the sheets so hard that they snapped off the back of my bed. I bit my lower lip in pleasure as I tried not to scream out his wonderful and sexy name.

  “Roman,” I whispered lustfully.

  In an act of both pleasure and foolishness, he took his right hand and smacked my bottom so hard I could almost feel the red handprint being left there. Normally I wouldn’t mind, and actually would be more than a little aroused by his dominance, but he was pounding me in my childhood room, and my parents weren’t far away.

  “What was that?” he asked as he stopped thrusting for a second.

  It was then I heard a noise coming from the living room, and my heart sank. There was no way we could both possibly get dressed in time, and even if we did, how do we explain it being one in the morning and both of us inside of my dark room together? We’d have a better chance of explaining who killed Kennedy.