Once Again for Old Time's Sake

Chapter 11- Fireside Chat

IAN

These friendly guys laughed and relaxed even more. Carmen always spoke highly of them and described them as brothers. After seeing her with Joe, I could see these guys were closer to her than he was. They were all frustrated by what she'd gone through, but I couldn't sell them a bill of goods. Not everything was negative.

"I bet she'd love to be sitting here right now. She's gonna get so jealous to find out she had to stay at the hospital instead of grilling out. It tickled her to see you all again, despite being so nervous. Carmen didn't plan on attending the reunion until Jackie said she'd go, too."

Riley chuckled. "Jackie's something else. I overheard her conversation with Carmen, and she's just as sharp-tongued, wickedly so."

"Don't I know it? I want to blame living in Europe for Carmen's lack of modesty and willingness to discuss anything, but I know I can't. She and Jackie have conversations that make soldiers blush, especially when discussing their worrisome but unique appreciation of men."

Marty leaned forward, curious. "What do you mean?"

"Have you ever heard of 'The Club' notebook she and Cora kept? Let's leave it that Jackie and Carmen appreciate men similarly, but not entirely."

Nic laughed. "I've heard of it, but they never divulged details. Cora mentioned she had to accept Carmen's judgment on several things, so I'm interested in knowing what it contained."

I chuckled. "Cora thought Carmen destroyed the notebook about the same time as the diary. I saw it once, and I'm glad the same metrics didn't judge me. She got rid of it after catching Jackie reading the notes to her friends."

"I bet that embarrassed Carmen." Tim shook his head, imagining the scene.

"You'd think, right? Jackie's friend didn't believe Carmen could cause a guy to come with just a back massage. The poor fellow never stood a chance, and he left immediately after. I never heard him rechallenge Carmen's abilities."

"Ever hear about our bus rides?" Steve was sure Carmen would never have shared that with me.

"Of course, it's where she learned she enjoyed touching and making others happy. Sawyer took that joy from her for a long time. One of her college friends, Vincent, helped her learn to enjoy touching again. I know she's been in contact with him periodically, and he introduced her to her stripper friends."

"Taylor and Evan mentioned them at dinner the other day. Did they teach her to pole dance or something?"

"Nah, one teased her during a Ladies' Night performance, but she turned the tables on him. The guys took something before shows so they wouldn't outgrow their costumes. She employed her massage skills and proved she was more effective than whatever they used. Vincent finally retired a few years back and built a club in the mountains. He always joked she should come to all his shows, and he'd split his tips with her. At one point, he wanted her as his business partner for the club, but she wasn't quite ready to walk on the wilder side of life."

"What do you mean, wilder side of life?" Steve's body appeared to lounge casually, but there was tension in his voice and tightness in his neck and jaw muscles.

"He created a private membership club for safe play. I'm not sure where Carmen stands on the matter now, but as of two years ago, she turned him down again. She receives some remuneration for her referrals after they join."

"From her kinky community?" Despite the seemingly nonchalant way he asked, Paul's tone suggested displeasure.

I shrugged. "I'm not sure, but I would assume. That is one area Carmen and I differ. In comparison, I enjoy a vanilla life, and her mind tends towards the kinky gutter, as she calls it. I didn't learn about many of her interests until the big kids were grown."