Horner Springs, The Institute Ch. 05

Justin, clad for once in blue blazer, OCBD and Futter College tie, tan chinos and tassel loafers kept his mouth tightly shut. Interrupting his great aunt now would be risking the wrath of God—or at least Aunt Hester, which might be worse. He knew he was in the process of being set up and if he valued his hide he would let it ride. Crocodile? Aunt Hester, he feared, was in full mother dragon mode and not to be impeded.

Michelle had started the evening polite but cautious. A couple of glasses of champagne, however, relaxed her and started her giggling whenever either Hester, Thaddeus or Laurie said something droll. She even began to flirt a bit with Justin, enough that after dinner he invited her out to the stables. Naturally she jumped at the opportunity. Match-making was all very well but horses were horses!

As she was admiring the stud, Justin kept looking at her until finally he said, "New England Junior Finals, Northbridge vs Pemberton. Northbridge went in as the favorite and got handed their heads on a platter by Pemberton. Aunt Hester was right. You swing amean mallet."

Michelle grinned mischievously and struck a 'Ta-dah!' pose with V's on both hands. Then her face fell. "Swung a mean mallet. Everyone expected me to go pro but then dad made a series of bad bets on the market and lost."

"I remember that. And not a week later was in that terrible auto accident . . ."

"It wasn't an accident," Michelle replied bleakly, "it was suicide. Everybody in the family knew it. He couldn't bear going on after having bragged about what a great stock picker he was. The insurance couldn't prove it was suicide so they paid off. And after we sold the stud and the farm there was enough to keep Mom in the townhouse but not enough to send me to Vassar. So I'm here at Futter trying to get to the point where I'm independent and what do I find? Your great-aunt trying to pair me up with you even though you've got Laurie."

Justin sat down on a nearby hay bale. "She isn't alone. Laurie doesn't want children of her own so she's all hot on everyone else having babies so she can play grandmother. Her take is that sooner or later some undergraduate chick will decide that sharing me isn't such a bad deal and join our 'arrangement'."

"Share a Heityme? And a chunk of the Heityme billions? I guess one would! Heck, if you turn out to be a halfway decent sort I might. Why, you could even give Heather a shot. Horny as she is she'd not only join the arrangement she'd insist on climbing into the same bed with both of you."

Justin smiled wryly. "Laurie wouldn't complain. She believes that as the Chair of Human Sexuality she should be as expert in all reasonable variations of it. She even declared you cute and said that her main female lover would be all over you in a second."

"All these bisexual women! Though I guess I qualify now. That Heather. She climbed into bed with me one night and worked me over but good. And I can't say I didn't like it . . ."

"Dommed you, did she? I know what that's like. And it is fun, no mistake, but not what I'd choose for usual, day-to-day sex. I'm more into the cuddly, friendly kind . . ."

*****

As Heather drove Michelle back to the dorms she asked, "So is this the normal mating ritual in Your Circle?"

Michelle nodded. "You wouldn't think so in the beginning of the twenty-first century but, yeah, having entire families ganging up to find 'suitable matches' for their offspring is a pretty normal thing. And the pressure can be intense! There's this built-in fear that young people will make the mistake of falling for someone who isn't 'suitable', meaning from a family that your family hasn't known for about three hundred years. Now I have to spend the next God only knows how long fending off my mother, aunts and grandmother who think that hooking me up with Justin is a perfect match."

Heather pulled over to the side of the road and stopped the car. Turning a fierce eye on her roommate she snarled, "And they're right! Listen, you, there's this thing called 'erotic capital' that we as young women,attractive young women have? It has the potential to put you in a great position.Don't squander it! I've known Justin for a couple of years. He's a little odd but when you have as much money as you say the Heitymes have, we call it eccentric. He's a nice boy and he must be a tremendous lover. I mean, he lives with Laurie Beindre, fergawdsake."

"Exactly! He lives with Laurie Beindre. What am I, the Other Woman?"

"No, you're the potential wife of a guy with an older mistresswhich mistress thinks he needs a real wife; that's what you are. Listen to me, Michelle Tarbox. Don't. Blow. This. Yes, you should not rush in. Take your time and get to know him better but just because he comes from the same social class you do and has more money than God doesn't make him an instant hate."

Then she started the car and drove back to campus.

*****

Two day later a large package arrived for Michelle. She looked at the return address. "Oh crap! It's from my mother. I wonder what it is, a wedding trousseau?"

She opened the box and took out three smaller boxes and they, in turn, contained a pair of knee-high, hand tooled riding boots, a Stetson, some pairs of really tight jeans and a collection of Western shirts with mother of pear buttons. The attached note read, "For when he invites you out riding."

"When? Not 'if'? Does your mother know something we don't?" Heather was bemused.

Michelle rolled her eyes. "No doubt Hester told Grandmother who told both Momand Justin's mom and the three of them are already clearing calendars and looking up venues. Gawd, I feel like a—a thoroughbred mare being matched to a Triple Crown winner!"

Heather held up the 'jeans'. "I didn't know you could get jeans with leather seats. These must be really expensive."

"And really tight and really sexy. Of course. That's the only way my mother knows how to do things."

"Well," Heather handed the denim to Michelle, "put them on. At least let me see what Justin's in for. This should be interesting."

"But he's alreadygot a lover!"

"Michelle, this is Horner Springs.Everybody has a lover, probably a couple, even if they're married. That's how things swing in the Springs. Hell, I'll bet even Father Herbert down at St. Lubricious' has a boyfriend or two. Stop trying to swim upstream, girl."

*****

As predicted, two weeks later an invitation to 'go for a ride with Justin' arrived but it wasn't horseback. The pride of the Environmental Science department rolled up in a brand new Land Rover, the very one his great aunt and her 'gentleman' had driven in from Denver and given to him as a doesn't-need-to-graduate present.

"I've got something you are going to want to see," Justin told Michelle with a cryptic smile, "but it's a little way out of town."

He started the engine and off they rolled to the tune of Aaron Copland'sRodeo ballet music. Michelle watched the countryside roll by, sagebrush interspersed with juniper—and cottonwoods where the water table was high enough. It was a far cry from western Massachusetts. Both areas were generally rural but that's where the comparison stopped. This was huge country and each county was larger than the individual states where she grew up.

Finally, they turned off onto a side road but unlike all the ones they'd passed, this side road was fully paved and ran under a big stone arch decorated with nothing but an iron capital 'H', its lower legs bent into running legs with stick figure feet.

"Don't tell me, let me guess," Michelle ordered, "This ranch is called the Running H?"

"Got it in one," Justin smiled from behind the wheel, "It's where I do my research though that's just an aside today. It's the family seat of the Horner's. Yes, they're still around and they still own the bottling plant, the local bank, the newspaper and have at least a finger in every other pie in the area. They're also the main patrons of Futter College. They've got the traditional big house in town, a Victorian pile on a hill where they do their official entertaining, but most of the time they live there."

He nodded toward a sprawling old Craftsman home built of stone and logs but made no attempt to stop. Instead he drove to a building so large it might have been a hanger for a substantial aircraft or two and parked. Michelle followed him toward a pair of barn doors with a passage door cut in one. There a sturdy man with a ferocious mustache and wearing riding pants and boots was waiting.

The man stuck out his hand and grinned. "Hi," he greeted, "I'm Cornelius J. Horner IV. Call me Jay. And you must be Michelle. Come on in."

They walked into the vast space and Michelle froze. "A polo field? Anarena polo field? People playpolo in Horner Springs?"

"Well," Jay drawled, "this is cowboy country and polo is a game you can play on horseback and get hurt at. Of course cowboys would play it just like they do bronc and bull riding, steer wrestling and all the rest. Heck, we even ride to the hounds out here though we chase coyotes instead of foxes. Anyway, the reason I know you must be Michelle is because some mail arrived for you." He pointed to a pile of boxes and handed her a box cutter.

Michelle looked at the boxes addressed to Michelle Tarbox c/o Running H Ranch, Horner Springs and began to tremble. Seizing the smallest box, she cut it open fiercely and exposed a white, plastic dome.

"My helmet!"

The next box contained a trio of mallets, the next boots, pads, jodhpurs and jerseys and the last and largest? She looked down inside and burst into tears. Reaching in she pulled out the contents and hugged it to her chest.

"My saddle, my saddle!" Tears flowed down her cheeks and she carefully put it down before grabbing each man in a ferocious bear hug. "Thank-you, thank-you—but how . . .?"

"Aunt Hester, obviously," Justin answered softly as he stroked her hair.

Jay nodded to a nearby stable hand, picked up Michelle's clothes and handed them to her. "The lady's locker room is over that way. Get changed and we'll scrummage a little."

Tears still streaming, the girl scuttled off in the indicated direction—but what returned ten minutes later wasn't scuttling. Helmeted and booted, a mallet over her shoulder, Michellestrode out into the arena. There was fire in her eyes and a set to her jaw that said better than words, "Gladiator!"

Justin held the big bay gelding and gave her a boost up then stepped back as she and Jay trotted out into the arena to join the four other players already in place. In the back of his brain, music started to play.Fanfare for the Common Man seemed appropriate.

Because of the restricted space, arena polo is slower but a lot rougher game than the original and Michelle was the smallest person on the field. That didn't stop her. For the two chukka half game they played, she dominated the field and rode back flushed with triumph.

After everyone dismounted Jay looked at her with an appraising eye. "When Justin told me how good you were I thought he was exaggerating. Obviously he understated the case and set me up for this. Young lady, you—are—good! We're trying to get up some serious competition here in Horner Springs and we need a PIPA coach. You sure you want to go to med school?"

"Don't answer him, yet," Justin said softly, "but this is what you wanted all along, isn't it? Med school was just Plan B after the bad times? But now you have a chance to go back to Plan A. Futter College has a Recreation major and with the arena here and the Horners' backing we could field a US Polo Association collegiate team. It will need a coach . . ."

Her mouth hanging open in confusion, Michelle looked from Justin to Jay and back again. "I—I don't know what to say."

Justin stepped behind her and wrapping his arms around her whispered in one ear, "'I do' would be a good start or maybe 'yes'."

She sucked her lips in and bit down then replied, "Would you accept 'I'll give it serious consideration'?"

Both men laughed.

"Go get changed," Justin ordered, "Laurie is expecting us for lunch."

*****

Laurie listened with interest as the two students described in some florid detail Michelle's exploits in the arena. When they were done telling the tale, Michelle still flushed with excitement, Professor Bindre put her hands on the table.

"I wonder," she began, "if this might be the beginnings for some research. It could lead to a paper inArchives of Sexual Behavior. To what degree does putting on their sports equipment lead elite women athletes into sexual dominance?"

Justin sat up straight. An image of Michelle clad in nothing but helmet and boots and swinging a mallet length flogger or possibly a riding crop sprang into his mind. "That's a very good question," he ventured, "one that deserves an answer. Perhaps we should pursue it."

As though she knew just what he was thinking, Michelle shot Justin a glance with a pout. "Oh, does it?" she whined, "Are you volunteering to be the sub, Mr. Hangs-Women-Up-On-Wall-For-Groping? There are a number of people on this campus who wonder about the relationship you have with the West's most important authority on BDSM!"

Laurie roared with laughter. "Actually, a very vanilla, domestic one. BDSM is what I study, Michelle, not what I do. Now, pull in the lower lip, dear, it does nothing for your attractiveness."

Michelle wanted to come up with some trenchant rejoinder but all she could do is glower.

Laurie turned to Justin, "Honey, some new tack arrived in the mail. It's in the stable and needs unpacking."

Justin was about to ask what new tack could have arrived and why it was in the stable but Laurie raised an eyebrow and nodded in the direction of the back kitchen door. Oh. He'd been dismissed. And his lover needed some time alone with Michelle. Fine, he'd find something to do out there. And if he couldn't find anything, he'd just go next door and visit the McAllisters, that's what he'd do.

Laurie took Michelle by the hand and led her to the living room and sat down beside her. Putting her arm around the younger woman's shoulders she began, "You know that this is a game, right? Your family and Justin's have sat you two down at a board to play in hopes thatthey will win. The prize is a 'suitable' marriage for both of you. Now it may come as a surprise, but I'm on their side. Ever since Justin, with remarkable skill, inserted himself into my life I've insisted that I'm his lover and that he needs a real wife. After all, I'm old enough to be his mother. So think of this as a game board with three sides, you, Justin and we older generations. He made his first move. The next one is up to you."

Michelle folded her hands on her lap and sat for a while looking down at them. Then, with tears leaking out of the corners of her eyes, replied, "I was supposed to go to Vassar, major in Physical Education and join the polo club. I was going to be a professional polo player! Then everything fell apart and I had to find a way to support myself properly. Coming here and then going to med school was just Plan B. Now Justin, Hester and Jay Horner have given me a chance to go back to Plan A, or at least Plan A.1. But I know that to do that would mean I'd have to marry Justin and he already has you!"

Laurie patted Michelle on the arm.

"Would it really ruin things if I 'stuck around'? Here in Horner Springs we're not really different from the rest of the country, we're just up front and open about what everyone else tries to be 'discreet' about. Justin is just my main lover, not my only one and he has had any number of little flings on the side. Marry him and we would expect you to do the same. Why, we'll even introduce you to some really fun and very skilled other people you can play with. But we always come home by Sunday evening. That's how things swing in the Springs."

Michelle wrinkled her nose. "That's exactly what my roommate said after she told me not to blow this chance. It—it could take some getting used to, I think. I mean, I've given a few hand and blow jobs but I've never had real sex with a guy before. Heck, I've had sex with Heather more than with men, and I keep thinking I'm really straight."

"And so you are, for a given value of straight. I am, too, but one of my favorite side lovers is another woman on the faculty. Marry Justin and I come along in the bargain, you know. Anyway, sweetie, it's your move and you need to decide what that is. You can spend the night or we'll take you back to the dorms. The choice is yours."

Michelle was silent for a long time. "If I spend the night can I be in the same bed with both of you? That might make me feel better, maybe."

"Of course. You're welcome to sleep with us tonight or any night you want. Remember, I'm part of the game."

"Then—then I need some time to think about this more. I'll go home tonight, go to class like a good student this week and let you know what I've decided by Friday—if I've decided anything."

*****

Wednesday afternoon Heather came home to the dorm room to find Michelle standing in front of their full length mirror wearing nothing but her boots and helmet. She was trying out poses with and without her mallet.

"What . . .?"

"I think Professor Beindre is right. There's no way I can look coy or even cute with my mallet or with a riding crop. It's hard enough with the boots and helmet. Flirting with my preppy suit on is easy but this is probably impossible."

Heather grinned. "Well, that depends on how you define it. If your definition of 'flirt' includes 'Down on your knees, buster, and eat this pussy' then it works fine."

Michelle burst into giggles. "Or 'Bend over, dude, while I get out one of those dildos they showed us in the Prostate Tutorial'? Yeah. However, that fits right in with Professor Beindre's hypothesis that elite women athletes naturally lean toward the domme when they have their equipment on."

"Alright, but how does that connect with this potential dynastic marriageyou'd better not muff!?"

Michelle took off the helmet, sat down and put her booted feet up on the desk. "That's a really good question and one I don't have any answer for. I'm a polo player, first and foremost. Justin's a scientist who happens to like riding to the hounds—and watching polo. I suppose it might mean that if we go home after a match my team won, I get to Top him and if we lose I get a spanking?"

"Ah, then you're telling me that the courtship has a certain amount of life in it. If so, shave everything."

Michelle looked down at the cluster of dark curls covering her mons. She took a couple of deep breaths.If I shave am I committing to spending a weekend with them and probably most of it in bed? Otherwise, why would I bother? I still don't know about this . . .

She looked up to see Heather standing over her, grinning and holding out a set of electric clippers. "Here," she said, "you get started and I'll go get a razor and some shaving gel."

*****

Laurie looked down at her ringing cell phone and saw that it was Michelle. She grinned to herself. Things were working out just as she hoped.

"Hi, Michi."

"Uh—Laurie? Could—may I come over this weekend? I've been . . ."

"Meet me at my office at four on Friday. I'll drive. We'll meet Justin at Marbled for dinner. That way we don't have to wash dishes before bed."

Then she called Justin.

*****

After a highly satisfactory dinner, Michelle rode back to Laurie and Justin's perched on Justin's lap. "Now I'm taking the 'scenic' route home so I expect you two to get started on the canoodling," Laurie ordered, "and I don't expect you to be quiet about it either."

They weren't.

By the time they reached the lodge Michelle's blouse was undone and her bra pushed up over the top of her breasts. Her jeans were unzipped and pushed down around her thighs with Justin's hand inside her panties. His mouth switched from her lips to her nipples making her sigh and moan with pleasure. When Laurie parked the car, Justin kicked open the door and lifted a half-naked Michelle up and carried her through the brisk autumn air to the front door.