The Cover Is Not the Story Ch. 02

He waited four or five seconds for his eyes to recover some of their night vision and then he turned to leave. The Glock was pointed at him, centered on his chest, slightly to the right of center. My right, his left, right over his heart.

The revolver had come down from firing position. He took a step and caught movement out of the corner of his eye. His head turned in our direction, the revolver began it's upswing to firing position and I squeezed off three very quick rounds. He landed on his back in the doorway to our bedroom. I knew he was dead. I knew I was bleeding. Sandy had dug her fingernails into my ankle when he fired his weapon into our bedroom and again when I fired. I kept my eyes on the man on the floor as I reached down and helped Sandy to let go of my ankle.

I whispered, "He's dead." Sandy burst into tears and jumped into my lap. I held her with my left arm and hand while keeping watch over the body on the floor. She calmed down after a couple minutes and said, "Are we going to call 9-1-1?"

I nodded. She got up with me and we found the phone. I dialed 9-1-1. I said, "A man broke into our apartment and shot at us. He's dead." I gave the address and told them there was no hurry. They still arrived with lights flashing and in record time. We hadn't touched anything except the phone since the incident. Our door was still partially open. We were back in the corner.

Detective Wallace was third through the door. The first two were heavily armed officers who saw us within two seconds. I had my hands up and the Glock resting on the pillow. Without moving I told them how to get the lights on and surrendered my weapon.

When the lights came on Wallace said, "We identified the prints. They belong to Carol Ellis. Now let's see who this is. The Medical Examiner reached under the body and obtained the wallet. He announced, "Carol Wllis, married, born in 1979."

Sandy gasped and said, "We met her at Lee's." I nodded.

An officer came in and spoke to detective Wallace, "We found a car outside with the engine running. It's registered to a Michael Ellis." He gave the address. Wallace took the paper from the officer and said, "I have some sad news for him."

We convinced the officers to shut off the spinning lights. Hundreds of pictures were taken and our statements recorded. When the body was taken and a crew was doing clean-up a police lieutenant and detective Wallace told us it was a clean shooting. We were in danger and there was plenty of proof that she intended to kill us both. The medical examiner asked if I had been in the military. I said yes. He shook his head.

"There are three entry wounds in a grouping about an inch and a quarter around and a huge hole in her back. You shoot well." He turned and walked away.

Monday

We sat on the couch and covered with a blanket. Sandy was curled up on my lap. The sky outside was getting lighter and I knew neither of us was going to work that day. I looked at my watch and it showed 4:18am.

Before Sandy dropped off into an exhausted sleep she asked, "Why did she hate us that much?"

I didn't answer. I didn't have an answer.

I woke with a start, jumping to my feet, my hand reaching around for the Glock. I'd heard a noise. Sandy was on the floor where she fell when I jumped up. When I was aware of seeing, I was on my feet and searching the room. When my eyes focused on the person opening the door I saw Megan was standing in the doorway. My heart rate started back towards normal. Megan stepped inside, followed by Connie.

"I sent Lee and Pam to Mike. He didn't know what Carol planned to do. She left him asleep in bed. She left a note, in case she didn't come back."

Sandy hugged both women and asked, "Why?"

"The note says she'd been feeling strange about how un-Christian our family is for months and guilty for all the sex and all the intimacy we share. Seeing Sandy proved to her that we are satanic and she could only think of one thing to do. Kill you both. Her note said she believed she and Mike could go back to their church and be forgiven their sins once you were gone." Connie said.

Sandy was crying as she spoke. "Maybe I am a freak. Maybe I should have stayed alone and hidden."

"No." I said. "You aren't the way you are by choice any more than any of us is as tall as we are by choice. You are just the way God intended you to be, if you believe in God getting personally involved in such details. You are 100% normal and natural, for you. Carol had some screwed up thinking given to her by some screwed up Christian ministers and parents, is my bet."

"Being around me is dangerous."

"It's also exciting and wonderful. Remember I said I love you?"

Sandy nodded.

"I didn't say I love you till it gets strange or dangerous. I love you. My job as husband is to protect you, nurture you, share life with you. This is just part of my job as your husband."

Connie called our jobs and told them we wouldn't be at work. My boss said he had already been visited by detectives Wallace and Carter. He said to take three days off, with pay. Sandy's boss freaked out and wanted to scream. Connie calmed her down and just when she was calmed down Wallace and Carter showed up at Sandy's job. Connie hung up.

Megan had stripped what was left of the linens off the bed and remade it. The CSI people had taken the four slugs from the mattress, the mattress cover, sheets, pillows and blankets. When it again looked like our bedroom she gathered us and put us in bed. Connie got in with us and Megan said she would "stand the first watch." She had learned the lingo from the Navy and Marine folk she'd been hanging out with. I didn't believe we needed any more protection, but it felt safer knowing she was in the living room.

That afternoon detective Carter came by and recommended we move out for a few days, until the investigation concluded with the finding that she acted completely alone. We went to Lee's.

We met the new Marine after we had moved some things into a spare bedroom. We knew who he was from the nametag on a bedroom door: Alex Posen. We found him on a couch in the living room, sitting across from Megan. He appeared to be in a trance. Megan was wearing a Chinese sheath dress, high collar, form fitting down to six inches above her knees and slit on one side up to mid-hip. The dress was an emerald green brocade with golden dragons appearing to guard her body.

We sat near them both and talked for a while. I pushed the conversation to Alex's Marine Corps career. He had been in the Corps for four years, two of those stationed in the Middle East. He had been deployed as a spotter when the roadside bomb took out most of his squad and sent most of him home.

Sandy quizzed him about being a Marine and about his family. She and Megan drew him out about life before the Marines and how he felt about being a Marine. He choked up when he talked about having to leave the Corps. He had intended to be a career Marine. He got choked up again when he thought and spoke about not knowing what a one-legged ex-Marine could do.

Sandy said, "One step at a time. Let's get you healed up before we climb Everest, Ok?"

"I don't think I'll be climbing any mountains." The pain of saying it was evident in his voice.

"Maybe we can start closer to home, say Mount Wilson. It's an hour or so from here. I've always wanted to be able to say I climbed a mountain." Megan said.

Sandy chimed in, "Can I go too? I'll need to get into shape to do it."

Alex looked at both women like they were nuts. He said, "No one climbs mountains on crutches. It will take months before I can wear prosthetics and even walk well. Climbing is nuts!"

Lee came in at that moment and said, "He's right. He'll never climb a mountain. It's possible for someone to do it with a prosthetic leg. It may even be possible for someone on crutches, but it would be really hard work and possibly even painful. Let's set a more doable goal. How about the goal of walking for a mile at the beach?"

Alex looked at Lee, then at Megan, me and Sandy. He said, "You're trying reverse psychology on me. You think you can trick me by telling me I can't do it!"

Lee asked, "How far have you walked since you arrived?"

"I went to my room, put things away. Then I went to the kitchen and had dinner. I guess I've made five or six trips from my room to the head, the kitchen and this couch."

"Months ago a young sailor came here while his room was being painted. A roadside bomb got him, too. Like you he arrived on crutches. He had been told he was being discharged from the Navy when he was healed. The day he left here he told the Navy he wanted back in the SEALS. Seven months of hard work and he was back in the SEALS. If things go as planned he will be back from wherever he is in two more months and he's going into business with my son, Brian."

Megan added, "His girl back home dropped him when she heard he got hurt."

I looked at Alex's face and said, "But that doesn't apply to you. The stories aren't at all the same or even close. He was Navy. You were a Marine. The last time I saw him he had just finished swimming a hundred and seventy laps of Lee's pool."

"No disrespect meant, Sir, but you don't understand." Alex's face showed he was being tolerant of someone who just couldn't understand.

Sandy asked, "Maybe you can explain it to me and I will try my best to understand?"

"Ok! I lost half my leg doing my job in Afghanistan. I can't be a Marine with half a leg! All I've ever wanted to be was a Marine. In less than ninety days I'll be a civilian! A civilian with no job skills, no job, one leg, no home, no woman and damn little money!"

Megan asked, "You mean there are no Marines with prosthetic legs?"

"I never heard of it."

"Let's find out." I said.

"How?"

"I have a friend in the Navy. I'm sure that if there is a Marine wearing a prosthetic leg my friends can find them."

He sat a little straighter. "Ok. Let's find out."

Lee and I went to the computer and Lee sent an email to Abe, Captain Abraham Evans, commanding officer of the medical facility at Mugu. He told about the conversation we had with Alex and asked for help.

When we returned the ladies had gotten Alex into the kitchen and he was chopping veggies for a salad. Sandy and Megan were talking about Megan's last boy friend. I got another knife and a cutting board and started cutting fruit.

Megan said, "He was a lot of fun to be with when we first started dating. We went to Disneyland, dancing, restaurants and did some hiking. He treated me pretty well, but like I was made of glass."

Sandy asked, "Like glass? Oh, you mean like you might break or something?"

"Yeah. Our first hike was less than a mile! When we went dancing he'd want to sit and rest after two fast songs. When I asked about it he said he didn't want to work me too hard."

"Did he get the message?"

"Slowly. When we went hiking the third or forth time I planned the day and took him to Cogswell Dam."

"Where's that?" I asked.

"Up highway 39 into the Angeles Forest and then it's a seven mile uphill hike from the road. The fastest I've ever done it is two hours and twenty minutes. Dad used to take us camping up near the dam on Memorial Day weekend every year. That was an adventure! From the dam there's a creek that flows next to the road. One year the creek washed out parts of the road and we had to bolder hop up the stream for seven miles, in the dark! It took us five hours that night. My feet were bruised on the bottom for weeks!"

"How long did it take you when you took Pete?" I asked. I remembered Pete. He was Megan's last boy friend before she and Lee became lovers.

"Three hours. I hiked his ass off. When we got to the damn I surprised him even more."

"How?" Sandy asked.

"I usually hike with a jog bra and a light over-shirt and shorts. By the time we got to the dam it was nearing ninety degrees so I peeled off the over-shirt and then the jog bra so I could use cool water to rinse off and get cool."

"He hadn't seen your chest before?" I asked.

"Not anywhere except in a bedroom. I figured it was Ok. There weren't any people around at all. In three hours we hadn't seen or heard anyone."

"What did he do?" Sandy asked.

"He acted like the police were going to arrest me for indecent exposure or something. He asked me to cover myself. He looked away and even stepped away some yards from me."

Alex said, "There was something wrong with him."

"Maybe he was brought up in a culture where the only time you should ever see breasts is after you get married." I said. "That's pretty much how I was raised."

"I saw my first breasts when I was thirteen." Alex said, blushing.

"A girl bared herself to you when you were thirteen?"

"No. I climbed up and looked through the windows of the girl's gym at school." He was still blushing, proudly.

I said, "Maybe Pete had peeked at breasts before, but Megan was right out in the sunshine bare to the waist. She knew he was looking and wanted him to look. That's different than peeking."

Sandy asked, "Alex, has it been a long time since a woman showed you her breasts, on purpose, wanting you to look?"

He nodded. I would have bet his reality was that no woman had ever bared her breasts for him.

Sandy smiled and winked at Megan. Then she said, "Then you get to choose. You can pick me or Megan and whoever you pick will remove her shirt and bra for you. We will finish making dinner and eat with our tits right out there for your viewing pleasure."

"You're kidding!" His face was like the kid who just found out he got the bike he wanted for Christmas.

"Nope! So who do you choose?"

He looked from one chest to the other and said, "Megan."

"Oh good!" Megan said, "I hoped he'd pick me. Bras are uncomfortable." She unbuttoned her blouse and took it off. She hung it on the back of the chair Alex was sitting on, which got her very close to him and he got a close look at her lace covered breasts. She reached up to unhook her front closure bra and stopped. She grabbed Alex's hands and said, "Want to help me here? It hooks in the front. Squeeze my boobs together and it will come apart pretty easily."

Alex hesitated and then did as she instructed. A few seconds effort and the bra came apart. Alex was holding the lace against Megan's chest and when he pulled his hands back a bit the cups came with his hands. Megan's breasts were bare. She thanked him, removed the bra completely and hung it on the chair behind Alex.

She rubbed her breasts and said, "Damn, that feels so much better." She resumed making a salad as Alex's eyes followed her every move.

"Megan, I think you have two of the most beautiful breasts I've ever had the pleasure of seeing, holding, tasting and enjoying." I said.

Alex looked at me and said, "I thought you were with Sandy."

"I am. Sandy's breasts are incredible! Megan and I have been friends for years longer than I've known Sandy. I appreciate both women for who they are, not just how they look... and, for how they each look."

Sandy unbuttoned her blouse and took it off. Her bra wasn't lace but a nylon mesh cup design that allowed her nipples not only to be seen but to push the fabric so they showed as erect through the blouse as well as the bra. I hadn't seen it on her before.

She looked at me and said, "I wore it for you. Now, I'm going to take it off for Alex."

Her hands went behind her back and the bra fell forward. Alex was in shock. I lifted my t-shirt up and off. I said, "You're right, Megan it feels better being bare!"

Alex looked at each of us in turn and said, "I'll stay dressed. I have scars and they're ugly."

"Ok." Megan said. She waited a few seconds and said, "Do you like seeing us this way?"

Alex smiled and nodded. I said, "Maybe after dinner we can go swimming?"

Alex immediately said, "I don't have a swimsuit."

"Lee has a few for visitors. We'll get you one that will fit you."

I caught the panic in Sandy's eyes and said, "I have asked Sandy to wear bottoms. I love the tan lines she gets when her tits are brown and her butt is white."

Alex said, "I like tan lines, too."

Lee and Connie joined us. They saw the state of undress Sandy, Megan and I were in and stripped down too. Alex was treated to the sight of three beautiful women. When Connie stripped she went all the way. From the look on Alex's face he'd never seen a bald pussy before. She noticed him doing more than glancing at her.

She said, "Alex, It's Ok to look. I used to have a pretty significant bush but when I discovered how much I love having my pussy eaten I knew I wanted it smooth... for whoever was invited for dessert!"

Alex looked shocked, again. I thought about saying something, but didn't. Lee did. "Things around here are not a lot like where you grew up, are they?"

"Nope. I'm still not sure why I'm here. I am sure I don't know how to act."

"No one at home would come to dinner naked?"

"No. I've never seen my Mom or my sisters naked. And. If I did they wouldn't explain why they shaved!"

"Have you ever heard someone at home get upset and yell obscenities at another member of the family?"

"Yeah. Almost everyone gets angry sometimes and calls each other a bitch or an asshole."

"Which do you think causes more damage to the relationships between people, seeing them naked or having them use obscenities against each other?"

"Obscenities."

"We agree. Violence is seldom the way to solve things or make things better between people. Last night Sandy and Nick were attacked and had to protect themselves. Someone wanted them dead and the right course of action was to stop them. It's one of the rare occasions when violence is called for. Using obscene labels because someone borrowed your shirt is violence, verbal violence, and it does damage to the relationship."

"So when you get angry you don't yell obscenities?"

"Not at someone. If I get angry at a driver on the freeway I redirect that energy into something that makes me smile or laugh."

"Like what?"

"Like when someone cut Lee of on the freeway last week." Connie said. "We were on our way to LAX and he cut in front of us and stepped on the brakes. Lee went around him and when we were alongside him, Lee honked. The guy looked over and Lee blew him a kiss!"

Lee added, "The look on his face was priceless! We laughed all the way to LAX."

"I'll bet he expected the single finger salute!" Alex said.

"My way's more fun."

We nodded.

Alex was quiet for a time, focused on eating. He looked up and saw Lee touching Connie's nipple.

"I'd never see that at home, either."

"Why? Don't you think your Dad touches his wife's nipples?" Lee asked.

"Not at the dinner table!"

"Meals can be fun." Connie said. She dipped a finger in the guacamole and spread it on Lee's nipple. Then she bent and licked it off his nipple. Lee moaned and dipped his finger in the guacamole. Connie twisted in her chair, aiming a breast towards Lee. Megan was to her other side and dipped a finger in the guacamole and dabbed it on Connie's other nipple.

Both smiled and took Connie's nipples in their mouths. Connie closed her eyes and moaned as she held their heads to her breasts. When she released them she took another finger of the green stuff and asked Alex, "Right or left? I want you to know guacamole is better on a nipple than on chips or enchiladas."

He hesitated and I said, "Let me have right and Alex can have left."

Connie put a generous dollop one each nipple, walked to stand between us and used her hands to guide our mouths where she wanted them to go. I sucked and used my tongue to enjoy the guacamole and her nipple. She pressed my face into her breast and moaned. When she released us both I looked and Sandy was standing beside me with guacamole on both nipples. Both were hard. Connie moved and Sandy took her place between us. Alex didn't hesitate.