CHAPTER SEVEN- WOOD

"How may I serve you today, Chess?" Julia joked, crawling into their bed, kissing him good morning.

"Mrs. Morgan, I have an idea." He grinned,  pulling the sheets off to allow her to slither beneath them. She sat atop him, settling down on him, slowly taking him inside of her. "When he said service you took him seriously, didn't you?" He said moving his hips, rocking her above him.

"It is my lot in life." She giggled.

"I like this service idea. If I had only known, I would have forced your hand a long time ago."

"Hmmm, it's such a turn on servicing my husband."

"You doing all the work this morning?"

"Oh, yes, you just lay there. I got this."

Jay yawned as he started the morning coffee for Luz. He then placed the wood on the hearth for her, then added more wood to the wood stove in the dining room, then moved onto the fireplace in the living room, then climbed the steps to the second floor and added more wood in that wood stove. He spent the first waking moments starting fires and listening to people either snore or fuck around him. If you got morning wood, it was more than unpleasant.

He knocked on the door, then entered the room with Jess and the girls. The sun hadn't even come up yet. The girls slept. He shook Jess awake. "Hey. Hey. Jesslyn." She was a beast in the morning. The misery oozed off her ever since that damn wedding. Jay hated to do it. "Jess, I can't take it anymore. Can I please get in with you? Please."

"Jay, god, do I look like a hooker."

"There's no one else. Please. You help me out. I help you out. I got blue balls for Christ sake."

Fucking Jesslyn was like fucking dry wall, but pussy was pussy. It beat jerking off listening to his ex fuck his cousin. Sitting on the edge of his bed, dick in hand, jerking it to the girl he used to love calling someone else's name was just too humiliating even for him. Jess only spread her legs enough for him to get inside. No kissing, no tits, nothing extra. She barely even moved for him. At the most she might squeeze her muscles so he could come faster. Jay didn't bother undressing. He pulled out, put it in and got off. That was the long and short of it.

"That was just amazing, Jay."

"You could move. You used to."

"Did you light the stove?"  She sighed, covering back up with the blankets.

"Yeah, it'll warm up in here soon."

"K. You start the coffee?"

"Yes." He paused. "Can we do it again?"

"Get out, Jay."

Jay got out as requested and went to the room next door to wake Alex and Frankie. These two boys slept like rocks and were difficult to wake up, especially in the winter. He poked his head in and there they were. Again. He'd told them. He'd warned them. He'd begged them. He slapped Alex in the head. Then his partner in crime, Frankie. "They better have fucking clothes on."

"We're dressed, Jay." Alex whispered.

"Fuck. Get them outta here before anyone wakes up." Jay urged them.

"Jay, we will." Frankie answered.

"Did you get laid?" He asked them.

"No." Frankie said.

 Alex grinned. "She put it in her mouth."

"Get them out and get up. We got work to do."

Jay hated to do it, but he had to tell Julia again. He'd covered their asses already a couple times and even though they were honest with him, the fools ran the risk of going too far. They'd already gone too far.

He knocked on Julia's door. "You up yet?" He asked even though he knew she already was.

"Yeah. Hold on." Julia called. He heard her feet on the floor, heard her drawer open. Like he hadn't spent years staring at her nude body, but Mrs. Morgan had standards all of a sudden. "What's up? Is Hannah awake?"

"Not yet." He shook his head. "They're back."

"The girls are in their room? I talked to their mom. Tavin talked to her in her native tongue. Is she fucking retarded, Jayson?"

"Alex got a blow job from twin one." Jay complained. "They're getting more pussy than I am."

"What do you want me to do?"

"They're going to do it anyway." Chess called.

"It's your call, Jules." Jay said, turning to go get some coffee. "Let me know."

"Wait, Jayson." Julia called after him. She pursued him to the kitchen. He poured her a cup of coffee. "Why is this my call? Jay, I don't know what to do." She asked, taking the cup off him.

"Your dad knew we were screwing around is all I'm saying."

"We were older. We made informed decisions."

"Julia," He laughed, pouring himself a cup of coffee. "Our informed decision was Chess giving us condoms." He paused. "We were two seconds from doing it in a basement full of people."

"No, we-"

"Julia, we did everything but that on the love seat in Chess's basement."

"This is different."

"How? Cause it's not us, it's them?"

"We do nothing? Jayson, is that your big plan?"

"Your dad did nothing. The only person that did anything for us was Chess."

"It's going to happen. Whether you like it or not." Chess told them, coming in the kitchen. "All we can do is tell them."

"I think so, too. Nothing is happening that those twins don't want to happen and they don't seem to mind."

"This is going to lead to a twin orgy." Julia said, shaking her head.

"Lucky them." Jay muttered, sipping his coffee. "Know what we need in this fucking house?"

Julia poured a cup of coffee for Chess who stood beside her. Chess swept her hair aside and kissed her neck. "What's that, Jay?"

"Fresh pussy. New pussy. Hell, any pussy over the age of 16 and under the age of 25."

"What's wrong with the old pussy?" Julia asked, handing the cup to Chess.

"Seriously? Did you seriously just ask me that question. Tell me what's wrong with the old pussy in this house, Jules." He demanded. "Half the old pussy is married. The other old pussy is still depressed as hell that the old married pussy won't suck her pussy any more. So what old pussy would you be talking about?"

"The depressed pussy still needs to be licked, Jay."

"Julia, let me know what we're doing with the boys."

She and Chess watched Jay walk out the back door.

"Chess? What do I do?"

"Nothing. They're your boys not your girls."

"Is this really what it comes to? The old way of thinking? That boys will be boys. What about our girls though? If that was Tatia I'd be all over her to keep her away from boys like that."

"Julia, you are that girl. No offense, and I love you. But you and Hayley were those girls."

"Oh my God, Chess." Chess quietly drank his coffee while he let that sink into her brain, realize that the shoe was on the other foot. "They don't have the decency to even sneak around. They just put it in our faces like that?"

"We're all hypocrites."

"Chess, I-"

"Listen, we hid nothing from our parents. They knew what was going on. No one talked about it. We lived the same way we live now, no rules just our rules. We loved people, we had some sick times and we had a lot of fun. We made our choices and those choices brought us here today, me and you." He said. He put his arms around her waist and kissed her on the spot on her neck that he loved to kiss. "We've known each other a long time, Julia. Every experience we had brought us one step closer to here. Why do you think this worked? Because we spent our time making our own rules. We formed this group before the before the first night." Chess spoke without thinking and without the guard he had up half the time. "We're going to be together a long time. Some dead, some alive. We didn't start the group knowing every little detail of each other, doing everything and anything possible for each other. Its gotta start somewhere. Some of us started out in bed, Julia. Remember that. We're only as strong as our connections to people. Those connections make us willing to protect each other and willing to die for each other." Chess left her go and started walking away to get dressed for the day.

"They watched us outside." She said, following him to their room.

"They didn't just watch us outside, one night. Julia, think about it. They been watching us and listening to us for years. It's not just from our sex one night last summer." He told her as he pulled jeans on over his shorts, then a tee over his head. "Julia, don't you think it's strange how they saw that, then asked us to bring them their own girls, and then your brother shows up all of a sudden with the very fucking chicks they asked for? That's like the universe is listening shit."

"The universe, Chess. The fucking universe is listening."

"It's all just random, then."

"Chess, this is why I love your skinny butt so much." She said, happily. "Chess, you have a way of explaining things to me."

"What are you going to do, then?"

"You gave me the answer. You don't know?"

"No, so tell me."

"We bring them in the room, Chess."

He stared at her, because there was no room, bringing people in the room was a thing of the past. "Not literally."

"No, Chess, not literally." She kissed his cheek.

Julia bundled up and went outside. She'd heard the rifle shot an hour prior and knew Jay had bagged a deer. He and Tavin were in the barn, cleaning and gutting the buck. After all the time that had passed, all the killing and the disposing of the infected they'd done, the slaughtering of an animal turned her stomach. An innocent animal.

She took a seat across from them and their kill and watched as they cleaned him, the blood dripping from its cut throat. "Which one of you cut its throat?" Julia asked.

They kept working, "Are you ready to do this yet?"

"No, I can't bring myself to do that."

"What's up, Red? What's with the visit?"

"I figured out what to, with the boys. Thought I would run it past their brothers."

"Ok, so what's the plan?"

"There is no plan." Julia replied.

"We do nothing is your big plan."

"That's not true. We do the opposite of nothing. We bring them in the room. No more sneaking, no more talks, no more bullshit. We bring them in the room and let them do whatever they like."

"The room? Like the room, the room?" Tavin asked baffled.

"Not the room. The door's locked on the room." She said, looking at her ring. She slipped it on and off her finger, then spun it around above her top knuckle. "Tavin, when can we fix the girls?"

"I can read the instructions and find out for you."

"Do that and then go tell their mother. If she won't deal with them, then we will. Responsibility is the key here. Not running interference."

"You're giving them pussy."

"And I am giving the girls wood. Equal opportunity here. It's equal opportunity."

Julia and Chess sat at the table with Alex and Frankie. Each had a boy and each taught the boy how to play poker. The boys were having fun, picking up on a good hand and working on their poker faces. Tavin arrived to the table next, bringing the twins with him. The girls sat by quietly talking between themselves. Julia handed the cards over to Alex and slipped out with Tavin.

"How'd it go?" She asked.

"Twin one down."

"And twin two?"

"She's not ready yet."

"Ok, can I show you something? I think it's intact, but it's kinda gross."

"You know I like gross, Julia."

She walked him to her room and opened her drawer, she removed an old pink bandana and unfolded it in front of him. "Is that-"

"That is." She said, picking it up between her two fingers and holding it up for him. "Intact, you think?" She tried handing it to him.

"Eww, I don't want it."

"Yeah, sorry. It's kinda gross."

"Did you pull this out, Julia?"

"It plopped right out." Julia said. "Is it intact? All in one piece?"

"Looks like it, Red. Throw it out."

Julia wrapped it back in the bandana and tossed it in the fire place in the living room. "Come with me. I'll get another and-"

"No, Tavin. I have to talk with Chess first."

"No you don't."

"I want to talk with Chess first. I'll let you know."

"Can I suggest that before you go to bed with him again you talk about it? He needs to know before-"

"I will."

"Now, please."

Julia handed Frankie the cards from Chess's hand and asked him to walk her to the still. She plucked a bottle from the shelf and sat on the crate with Chess. She started drinking and passed the bottle to Chess.

"My birth control fell out."

"Fell out? We'll put it back in."

"I think we spent the day trying to keep the girls from getting pregnant. I would like to put it back in, yes."

"Then why you asking me?"

"Cause you were the one talking about that universe stuff this morning. You don't think it's strange it fell out today? On the day that we take care of the twins?"

"So you think this is some kind of fate? The universe is telling us to create for it?"

"Are we in control or is something else completely in control?"

"I don't want kids, Julia. There's enough kids."

"Ok."

"I know you want kids, but if you want me to make a decision right here on the spot. No."

Julia and Chess waited for Tavin to return to their room. He set himself down on a stool and Chess closed the door. "You know the drill, Red."

"Yeah, I do." She nodded, standing in beside the dresser in her robe. She sat on the bed at the end and lay back while Chess stood uncomfortable by the door.

"Only takes a few minutes." He advised her. He handed Chess the flash light and pointed to Julia lying on the bed. "Chess, you alright there?"

"Yep." He answered, flicking on the flash light.

"Scoot down some more and lift your butt up." He instructed as he smoothed out the paper material beneath her buttocks. "It'll feel uncomfortable. I'm sorry."

"I know, Tavin. Can you see well enough?"

"Yes." He answered. "You are going to have to open your legs more, though. Wider." Julia felt slightly uncomfortable, but listened and did as he asked. "It'll be over in no time."

"How long's it take?" Chess asked, watching closely as Tavin inserted the speculum.

"A few minutes, Chess." He answered. "Ok, Red. Relax."

"I am. Just do it already. I had this done before."

Tavin worked, taking his time and described each step as he went along. The measuring, the insertion. "And we are done. That's it."

He said. He removed the speculum and set it aside, the trash he bagged up and Chess turned off the flash light. "You're good to go. You did great, Red."

"Yep, thanks." Julia replied, closing her legs and covering up. She scooted up the bed.

"We're gonna need to make another run with the GYN offices. That was the last one."

"What? The last one? I thought there were more."

"Nope. We used them-Jess was first, Kelly, then Carolina and you. That's four."

"But- wait.  What about Val? Tavin, I thought we had more."

"There's still time. She hasn't started her period yet."

"What if we can't find anymore, Tavin?"

"We'll deal with it, Julia."

"You're right. I plan on going through the medical stuff, doing the inventory over anyway. I'll make a list of things we can pick up besides that."

"Ok, thanks. That's a good idea. Let me know and we can go when you're done with inventory."

Julia watched as Tavin left and Chess closed the door so she could redress in pajamas. "Are you mad at me?" He asked. She looked over at him, removing her robe.

"I'm not. Why would I be?"

"Cause I brought you in here and had him do that to you."

"Chess, you didn't bring me in here and have him doing anything I didn't agree with. I am not mad at you."

"Just please don't be mad at me."

"Chess, I'm not. I swear it. It can be undone. It's not permanent."

"You have a point."

"Hey, this gives us more 'us' time. Like you said, there's enough kids here."

"Four of em' sitting at the table out there." He said.

"Our future..."

The twins had moved seats and were sitting with the boys, closer and more comfortable. Julia swiped her bottle of Chess's hooch off the block in the kitchen and sat on Chess's lap in an empty seat. Jay carried wood in from the outside, placing a couple logs in the wood stove by the table, then the fireplace in the living room. He trudged upstairs and placed more in the wood stove on the second floor. He poked his head in Jess's room. The girls slept tucked in warm in their beds and Jess was reading.

"Get up, Jess. Quit being so miserable and come downstairs."

"No."

"You gonna sit up here and pout for the rest of your life?"

"Maybe."

"What will make you happy, Jess?"

"Nothing."

"You're gonna have to face it eventually. This isn't helping you."

"There's nothing here for me anymore. You either. So why are we staying?"

"Reasons one and two are right over here." He pointed to the girls laying across the room from her. Jay went in Jess's room and stood over Hannah and Tatia. He peeked at Tarin who slept in the corner opposite Tatia. "I don't understand why you're mad at me. I didn't do anything to you."

"Why do you give her all the time she needs to get her head together, but you can't give me the same?"

"It is your first time. I forgot that."

"First time for what, Jay?"

"The first time you got hurt. It takes a while to bounce back. I forgot." He paused.

"I didn't do anything wrong. I was just standing there and it all just happened to me."

"I Know. That's how it works sometimes. You go through life and you think everything is going great and then you get hurt. It happens."

"Tell me about it, Jayson. What happened?"

"You know what happened, Jess. It's no secret."

"Ok, then It's no secret. Can you tell me then how after she did what she did and you did what you did and your own brother did what he did, then how can you look at them and live with them? How do you deal with it?"

"Oh, you're going way back in time aren't you?"

"How did you do it, Jay?"

"I just did it. One day at a time and one foot in front of the other. I loved them more than I loved myself. I fucked up too. I felt like I had to make things right with them."

"I didn't do anything wrong, though, Jayson. I lost both of them. Was I just stupid?"

"No, all you did was fall in love. There's nothing wrong with that. It's a chance you take. And if you didn't do anything wrong, then why hate yourself? Hold your pretty head up."

"That's what you did? Held your head up?"

"Not quite. I was only thinking with one head and I was a dumb ass and dove back in there. Didn't think there was anyone else that would want me or wanna get to know me like she did."

"Well that was just so wrong. Everyone loved you so much at school. You could have had any one of them. They were always throwing it at you."

"Jess, this isn't helping you at all. The past is the past. Leave it there. Get your ass outta bed and get living again. Gotta find that one thing that gets you out of bed, focus on it."

"Jay, I got nothing here. I have no interests, there's nothing to fuckin' do except stare at the four walls. I room in with babies."

"Jesslyn, I am going to tell you something you cannot tell anyone." He said, kicking the door shut behind him. "I had it all planned out."