Through the Gate: The Chronicles of Cornu Book 1

by L J Dalton Jr

  “Sure, Joe what do you want?”

  “Well, you see Mike, ah, you know I’ve got a younger sister. She’s a junior in high school and there’s this big deal dance that she wants to go to. Her ‘date’ broke his ankle and can’t go. I was wondering if you could fill in?”

  Mike thought about it for a few minutes. “Sure, I’ll do it as long as she doesn’t look like you.” Mike said with a smile.

  “Nah, she’s not bad looking. Does have blonde hair and the normal girl stuff. It’s next Saturday, so you’ve got some time. I’ll give you directions and everything else. Thanks this will make me the hero big brother.”

  Mike was a mix of emotions. Excitement about having his first date. Some trepidation over what this girl would be like. Even more about how he would fit in, it was a dance. Would he have two left feet and totally embarrass himself? All the normal teenage angst hit him. Just because he was ‘brain’ didn’t mean he didn’t have it. In fact, he might have it worse than normal. His interaction with girls his own age was minimal He was trying to figure out exactly how to approach this.

  When he got home, he told his mother about his date. She didn’t make a big deal of it, but she knew that it would be a very big deal to her youngest child. Mary knew that Mike needed some advice. His father simply was simply too old and his brother too far away. Then she hit on it. Julie’s husband Bill. Julie and Bill had gotten married two years ago and everyone in the family liked Bill. He was some sort of computer specialist who worked for Oracle. Julie had met him when he was doing work for the hospital where she was doing her residency. He was big, burly guy with a beard, ponytail, gold earring and a full sleeve of tattoos on one arm. He had a laid-back demeanor and was interested in the outdoors and video games. Mary often found it amazing he got on so well with her wall-street husband. Most importantly, he related well to Mike and was young enough to remember what it was like to be his age.

  Mary recruited Julie to come to Sunday dinner with her husband and give Bill a chance to talk to Mike about this big upcoming date. Julie readily agreed and briefed Bill on the situation. Bill was very sympathetic to his brother-in-law’s plight and promised not to make fun or rib Mike about it. When Sunday rolled around, they had a pleasant meal with Mike and his parents. Afterwards Mike and Bill went into the living room. His father had to check on work e-mails.

  Bill started off. “Dude, Julie told me that you’ve got your first big date coming up next weekend. Man, I remember my first date, I was so nervous it was a wonder that I could string two words together into a sentence.”

  “I’m worried too, so how did that first date go?”

  “Not all that bad we both survived. Looking back, I’m pretty sure that the girl was as nervous as I was. Only I was too freaked out to notice.” Said Bill with a chuckle.

  “You got any advice for me?”

  “Well based on my own very successful career with women. My advice is just be yourself. Your both going to be nervous. If she likes you, she likes you. If not, you can easily live through the night. Even if you don’t hit it off, if she thinks you’re OK, then she might pass you off to one of her girlfriends. Women sort of rule this and my only suggestion is to go with the flow. Don’t try to not be nervous, that will only make you that much more nervous.”

  “Thanks, that sounds like reasonable shit. I’m pretty sure I can live through it. Thinking about it everybody has to have a first date sometime.”

  “That’s true dude, so how’s school going and what about MIT.”

  Mike filled Bill in on school and his quest to get into MIT. Soon after that his dad joined the conversation and they talked about sports and politics. While, they were doing that Julie talked to her mother and told her that she and Bill were going to try and have a baby. This thrilled Mary and she promised to keep it quiet until Julie wanted to make the announcement.

  On Saturday, Mike spent two hours cleaning and polishing his car. He’d already checked that the suit he wanted to wear was in good shape and that he had the tie he wanted. As he got ready, he did some deep breathing and mediation to calm down. He went downstairs where his mother checked him over and pronounced him ready.

  It took about 30 minutes to drive to Joe’s home in Bergen County. Once there he sat in the car for a few minutes and composed himself. He got out and walked nervously up to the front door and rang the bell. Joe answered the door. “Come on in Mike. Mike I’d like to introduce you to my parents. Mom, Dad, this is Mike Mulvaney my classmate. Here’s here to take Maryanne to her dance.”

  Mike shook hands with both parents and felt them sizing him up. He stood there obviously nervous. Then Maryanne came in. She was about 5’6’’, dish water blonde hair wearing a blue dress. Mike could see that she was pretty. He did notice that she had a good bustline and he tried to look at her face. He reached out his hand. “Hi Maryanne, I’m Mike Maloney. Thanks for letting me take you to the dance. I hope you’ll have a good time.”

  She shook Mike’s hand. “Oh, thank you for taking me, I really appreciate it.” As she was doing this, she quickly gave him the once over. She’d seen pictures of him that her brother had taken. He looked cute. Not a pencil necked geek. Although she knew he was very smart being in the same class in college as her brother. They said their goodbyes and Mike walked her out to the car and opened the door for her.

  When they got in, he turned to her. “This is my first date ever, so I hope you’ll cut me some slack if I’m a little awkward or anything.”

  “No problem, I don’t date much either, and I’m going to the dance with a cute college guy.” She said with a smile.

  “Well then we’re both doing Ok. You’ll have to navigate; I have no idea where we are going.”

  Following Maryanne’s directions, they arrived at the school and parked. As they walked towards their table, Mike thought he recognized two of the guys at the table. He was sure when one yelled out. “Mulvaney you finally got a date with a good-looking girl. How’d that happen?”

  “Pure luck Skip, I’m not sauvee and debionare like you. How’s it going?”

  Maryanne was surprise and turned to him. “You know these guys?”

  “Yeah I play soccer, so that’s how I know Skip and Bud. Sorry I don’t know the other guy.” He stuck out his hand. “Hi, I’m Mike Mulvaney.”

  The third guy at the table stood up and shook Mike’s hand. “Ray Rivera, Mike. Nice to meet you.”

  Skip pipped up. “Ray, Mike plays soccer, we’ve gone to camp together and were counselors together. He’s not half bad.” Then looking at Mike. “Ray plays baseball, isn’t much a soccer guy.”

  When Mike looked at Ray, he said. “Third base. I start for our varsity.”

  “Cool man.”

  The ice was broken, and Maryanne took over introducing Mike to her girlfriends at the table. She made sure to mention that Mike went to Columbia with her brother Joe. That seemed to impress the girls and sort of shock Ray. One of the girls, Pam, Ray’s date, who was very attractive said. “Joe is such a great guy and brother. Since you’re his sister, I’ll make sure he gets a proper reward.”

  Mike looked confused. Ray laughed. “I’ve known Pam since she was in kindergarten. We date and all that; but I hope to go to a warm weather state for school, so I can play baseball. She wants to stay around here. Also, she’s had her eye on Joe since she was 12. I’m second fiddle here.”

  “Poor Joe, I really feel for him.” was Skip’s comment.

  The dance went great. Mike talked to everyone and fit in. He quickly relaxed. There were questions about what college was like. What he did to get good grades and so on. He mentioned that they should find a place in the library and hit it often between classes. Keep up and don’t fall behind. While all of this was going on an obviously happy Maryanne was thinking. Cute – check. Smart – check. Personable – check. Available – check. He’d make a good junior year boyfriend. Just have to make sure he notices that I’m a girl and available. Mike, like most guys, was totally o
blivious to all this. The girls did discuss it on several bathroom breaks. They all agreed that she should go for it.

  After the dance, Mike felt great. He survived his first date and it went better than he could have expected. They walked arm and arm to his car. He drove her to her house and walked her to the door. She stopped and gave him a slip of paper. “I had a wonderful time, here’s my phone number. If you’d like to go out again, I’d love to.” She then gave Mike a full kiss on the lips and a full body hug. He could feel all her curves. The result was typical, as a 17-year old’s hormone went into overdrive.

  He managed to stammer out. “I’d love to do this again. Maybe next weekend I’ll be sure to call you.”

  When he got home his parents were already in bed, although his mother hadn’t gone to sleep. The next morning, he was pleased that he didn’t get the third degree on what went on. His parents had already gone through three teenagers and dating. They knew just to let stuff come out.

  Monday at school, Joe came up to him. “Dude thanks a lot. My parents liked you, but that doesn’t mean shit. My sister really likes you and I understand that you may go out again.”

  “Your sister is really nice. And yes, I’m going to call her and see if she wants to go out again.” Then he innocently asked. “So, her friend Pam said she was going to reward you for her. What’s that about? She’s hot.”

  “I know she’s hot. She’s been after me for years. It was easy to ignore her when she was 12, but now it’s not so easy. She came up to me on Sunday and gave be a full body hug and hip grind and kissed me. She thanked me for being so good to her best friend. All the while rubbing against me. When she finished, I had such a woody, I had to go upstairs to calm down so it wouldn’t be obvious to my parents.”

  Mike laughed. “Poor Joe, some hot chick comes up and plasters her body all over you. I hope that never happens to me. Not.”

  “Fuck you very much. Let’s head to class.”

  During study group, Mike took some good-natured ribbing from Rita. Other than that, everything else was normal. That weekend Maryanne and Mike went out to a movie and then parked for a bit. They liked each other but there was the issue of teenage hormones coursing through both of them. Mike remembered his father telling him that teenage girls can get pregnant if you looked at them funny. Mike did really enjoy all the things that they were doing and so did Maryanne. On the fourth date they set some boundaries that allowed them to satisfy their basic urges and avoid any possibility of pregnancy. Both of the knew that Mike would go off to MIT the next year and the dating would end. Neither of them saw a future in a long-distance relationship. But what they were doing was enjoyable for both of them, so there was no drama.

  Mike and Maryanne had left the party a bit early and found a place to ‘park’. The front seat of the car was pushed all the way back and Maryann was sitting on his lap. Her blouse was open and her bra off. Her panties were on the floor of the car. Mike was busily rubbing and sucking on her breasts. Maryanne was breathing heavily, and she grabbed his hand and put it under her skirt. Mike didn’t need any more encouragement. He’d learned to use his hand and finger to get her off. After a few minutes, she sighted heavily and dropped her head.

  “That was great Mike, thank you. Now it’s your turn” she quickly got his pants down around his knees and reached for what she wanted. She’d learned that she didn’t have to rush, and she took her time. After a couple of minutes Mike shuddered and she used the big washcloth to clean up.

  As they were getting their clothes back together, Mike asked. “What’s the deal between Joe and Pam?”

  “I’ve known Pam since kindergarten. When we were younger, we all played together. Pam was always attracted to Joe. I think they played ‘doctor’ a couple of times. The two of them always got along. Pam is a little older than me so she’s about three and half years younger than Joe. Once puberty hit, she decided that Joe would make the perfect husband. Some people think it’s a phase. I know she’s serious. If it were up to her, they’d be screwing like bunnies. I don’t think my brother stands a chance. He’s always got along with her, and she shows off her body to him every chance she gets. I’m know a couple of times that he’s had to go upstairs to relieve himself. I expect once Pam is in college, she’ll have Joe in her bed and that will be it. That’s the story.”

  “Gee poor Joe, a hot girl like Pam is after him. I hope it all works out for everybody involved.” Maryanne agreed and then he took her home.

  That was there normal routine. Do something they both enjoyed with friends or see a movie or concert. Afterwards park and do some heavy petting. This was good for Mike. It expanded his social circle beyond school and the physical part was very satisfying. He came to realize that girls like that as much as boys.

  The big issue for Mike was getting into MIT. He had the grades and the experience. It was a numbers game. He hedged his bets and applied to Northwestern, Stanford and Cal Tech. Mike waited on pins and needles for an answer. When he got home, he checked the mail. He wasn’t the only one sweating out acceptance, everybody in the study group was as well. Finally, he got home and found an unopened letter from MIT. He tore open the envelop and started reading.

  Dear Mr. Mulvaney

  We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted.....

  That was a far as Mike got before he let out a loud ‘I’m In. I got accepted to MIT.”

  Over the next couple of weeks everybody in the study group found themselves accepted into a program that was either their first or second choice. Joe got into both Columbia and Cornell. He decided to go to Columbia as he would be near home. Rita and Lori were both headed to the west coast. Rita to Stanford and Lori to Berkley. Ajay had done well on LSAT and did get into NYU. They all went out to celebrate.

  Mike’s dad gave him enough money to take Maryanne to a Broadway Show and dinner. It was sort of a grown-up date and they both really enjoyed it. Maryanne was excited because she was going on a six-week European trip with her school. Both of them realized that after Mike graduated and Maryanne got out of school, they wouldn’t be dating anymore. It was somewhat bittersweet even though it was expected.

  Graduation from college was a really big deal for Mike. The whole family was there. Jack came up from Virginia with his wife Rosa and their 3-year-old son, JJ. Julie and Bill were there along with his other sister Sharon. Everyone was very proud of Mike and he was floating ten feet off the ground. He was going to start MIT in the fall. He had a well-paid internship with a local chemical company. It would give him money of his own during the summer. He and his dad talked and agreed that the company was hoping that after MIT he would come back and work for them. What he needed to find some female companionship now that Maryanne was going to Europe for the summer. He’d found having a girlfriend was very good and enjoyable. He also didn’t see himself as the playboy type, always on the hunt. So, finding a girl for the summer would be nice.

  To top it all off, Julie announced that she was pregnant and that the baby was due sometime after Christmas. This just added to the excitement. The women circled around Julie and they all talked about the coming baby. Bill was congratulated and the men all sat around and talked. Bill quizzed Jack on what to expect and Jack gave him as much information as possible. JJ wanted to be with the guys. He spent time with his grandfather and his two uncles. He convinced Mike to go out in the yard and play with him. Of course, Mike’s parents had bought a big wheel and JJ raced up and down the street on it.

  A Summer Interlude

  Summer had just started, and Mike was at home when he got a call from his sister Julie inviting him to dinner. “Mike would you like to come over Friday night and have dinner with Bill and me. Ellen will be coming as well.”

  Ellen was one of Julie’s long-time friends. She was another dishwater blonde with what Mike thought were great tits and she had featured prominently in Mike’s teenage fantasies. “She’s going to be there with her husband, Paul?” Ellen had married Paul, who Mike thou
ght was an ass and Bill tolerated.

  “No, Paul is out of the picture, he left her for some 18-year old and is living with her in the village.”

  “What an ass. I’ll be there and I’ll be nice to Ellen, I always am."

  On Friday he arrived at his sisters and Bill let him in. As they were walking in, they could hear Ellen and Julie talking. “What I need to do is find some young stud to fuck my brains out. That would show that ass Paul and feel great at the same time.”

  Mike and Bill smiled at each other. They walked in and Bill held up Mike’s hands and announced. “One horny 18-year old ready and willing to fuck your brains out. Just like you asked.”

  Ellen turned to look at them with a shocked look on her face and turned beet red. Bill and Mike had shit eating grins on their faces and Julie was trying hard not to laugh.

  Mike played along. “Should we eat dinner first and then go get naked or just skip right to the getting naked part? I’ve been looking forward to this for years.”

  Ellen recovered fast. She walked up to Mike and gave him a big hug. “You’re going to need to eat stud. You'll need all your energy; this old lady is going to wear you out.” They all laughed and headed in to eat. The dinner went fine, and Ellen was in a good mood talking and joking with everyone. She had a couple of glasses of wine and Julie watched her friend closely. As Ellen always said, she was a cheap date. Towards the end of diner Ellen told them about how tomorrow she’d have to get all of Paul’s things together for him to pick up on Sunday. She wasn’t looking forward to doing that as it would be very emotional. Also, seeing Paul and his new girlfriend was not going to be easy.

  Mike spoke up. “I’ve got workout clothes and extra clothes in the trunk. I can bunk here, if sis lets me, and in the morning, I’ll come over and do all the packing. You do the directing. As I remember you’re good at that. Also, on Sunday I can be there with you when Paul comes and head off any shit.”