by Frank Downey
Andrea and Brett got a bit more on track, but finished behind Yaskovarina and Chebinskiy. The Czechs fell to third—and Sellers and Poulin, having major problems, were fourth again. The men went right to form.
Warren and Sophia reprised their Bruce Springsteen free dance from last year, which they had only skated once and not at their best. They wanted to perform it right one time. They did, it was excellent, but it placed behind the Canadians just as it had last year. This phase of the competition was the most difficult for Amy and Ryan, since they really didn’t have a second free dance, being a new team. They cobbled something together, but finished sixth and last.
The big shock was in the ladies’, where Liz Cushman had the worst skate in about five years, and finished all the way back in fifth. She was still second overall, but so far behind she’d need help to defeat the leader—a completely stunned Allison Bowman. And Liz was only slightly ahead of a three-way tie for third place.
Andrea and Brett skated the final free program well, but not perfectly, and lost to the Czechs, who skated a wonderful, inspired program. The Canadians managed to pull themselves together somewhat and finish third in the final three, but fourth overall.
The big upset came in Men’s, where Tom Bellamy, for the first time in his career, outskated Lavrenti Bladanikov to win the final. Bladanikov was excellent, but Tom skated the performance of his career and eked out a deserving victory. Kristin went nuts in the stands, and it was a good boost of confidence for Tom going into the Olympics.
Warren and Sophia simply nailed their Singing In The Rain free dance, and weren’t challenged. The Brits finished second and the Canadians third—although they were only fourth in the final free dance, a discouraging development. Third in the final free—and fourth overall—were an ecstatic Ryan and Amy.
And Liz Cushman didn’t get the help she needed. She won the final free, but Alison finished second, which was enough for Alison to win the title. Hungarian champion Ildiko Beres upset the skaters from Russia and Japan to win the bronze.
Tom and Warren and Sophia went back to the USA thrilled. Liz was disappointed, but encouraged by her win in the final free. And Andrea and Brett knew they had some work to do.
Next stop for the USA contingent would be Boston, in January, for Nationals.
Chapter 163 - Happy Christmas
It was about a week prior to Christmas. Jess and Ryan were over Sophia and Warren’s house. They had eaten dinner and were gathered in the living room, chatting. Warren’s parents had taken Betsy overnight. They’d watched the Heisman Trophy ceremony, where Chad had finished third. Now, afterwards, they were just chatting.
"So, it’s a boy?" Sophia asked.
"It’s a boy," Jessie confirmed. "We had the ultrasound the other day."
"Any names being bandied about?"
"We’ve actually decided," Jessie told her.
"Jess was nice enough to agree to naming him after my grandfather, who died last year. So he’ll be Seamus Killen," Ryan said.
"Seamus Warren Killen," Jessie smiled.
Warren blinked at her. "Really? Wow. I’m honored."
"Well, it went well together," Jessie laughed. "It just popped out, and Ryan said, ‘That would be cool.’ So, Seamus Warren it is."
"Most excellent," Sophia said. She looked at Jess. "What are you, four months now?"
"Yeah."
"You’re starting to show."
"Yup," Jess said with a grimace.
"Don’t make a face," Sophie told her. "It’s sexy. Very sexy."
"That’s what I keep trying to tell her," Ryan laughed.
"In fact," Sophie teased, "if you’re husband wasn’t in the room I might have to attack you." Everyone cracked up at that.
"Don’t worry about me, go for it anyway," Ryan laughed.
"Nah. I wouldn’t want to cramp your style, Ryan," Sophie giggled.
Ryan looked serious all of a sudden. "You won’t, Sophie. Listen. It has become increasingly aware to me that there is something missing in Jessie’s life. She’s mostly happy, but there’s something missing. I’d bet my Grand Prix winnings that the something that’s missing is you."
Jessie looked at him, wide-eyed. He looked back at her. "Am I right?" Jessie didn’t say anything, but Ryan saw it in her eyes. "That’s what I thought. Sophie? Take Jessie upstairs."
"You’re kidding," Jessie hissed.
"No, I’m not kidding," Ryan said with a smile. "I knew this was coming. I’ve known it for some time. Jessie, I have no problem with you. I love you, I know you love me—but I know about the bond that you have with Sophie. Go for it. It’s fine with me." He turned to Warren. "Any sports on that TV?"
"The Bruins are playing," Warren laughed and found the TV remote.
Jessie looked at Ryan, then squealed and launched herself at him. "Thank you," she said softly into Ryan’s ear. "I love you so much."
"Go," Ryan said with a smile. Sophie whispered something into Warren’s ear, then the two girls went upstairs.
"You want a beer?" Warren said.
"Love one," Ryan replied. Warren went out and got them each one. They settled in with the Bruins playing on the TV.
"That was a mighty generous thing you did," Warren said.
"Ah," Ryan said, "I did know this was coming. I was just waiting for the right time to tell Jess it was all right. I could tell she missed it. It’s gotten worse since she’s gotten pregnant."
"Wait until Sophie gets pregnant again, then it’ll really be bad. Jess has a lactation fetish."
Ryan practically choked on his beer. "She what?!?!?"
"Yup. She was harder to wean than Betsy."
"Oh Jesus," Ryan said through laughter. "Unbelievable." He looked at Warren. "Sophie might find out she has one in about five months."
"Fine with me," Warren grinned.
They watched the game for a while, chatting about not much, then Warren looked at his watch. "Ryan?"
"Yeah?"
"They went up there twenty minutes ago. On her way up, Sophia told me to wait twenty minutes or so—and then ask you if you wanted us to join them."
"She did?"
"Yeah. It’s completely up to you whether or not we do."
"Wow," Ryan said and stared at his beer for a full minute. "What is going to happen if we go up there?"
"A lot of that’s up to you, too. Well, I’m not gay, so that won’t happen," Warren grinned.
"Neither am I," Ryan laughed.
"Good. But, outside of that, what happens is pretty much up to you. You want to watch, we can do that. You want to get involved, we can do that. The three of us have done it before, and with another guy when Jess was dating Crash, so we don’t mind. But it’s up to you. You don’t want me to lay a hand on Jess, I won’t."
"And if I say I don’t mind if you do lay a hand on Jess?"
"Oh, I’ll end up fucking her brains out, no doubt," Warren laughed.
"And what will I be doing?"
"Fucking Sophie’s brains out, probably," Warren chuckled.
Ryan almost dropped his beer at that one! "You mean, you wouldn’t tell me hands off Sophie?"
"Nope," Warren grinned. "If you come up there—like I said, anything’s fine with us. We’ve done this before. Besides which, Sophie and I are very, very secure in our relationship. It took a whole lot to get to that point, but we are. We can do extracurricular things with dear friends, and it’s fine. You have to decide if you are that secure with Jess."
"If I wasn’t, I wouldn’t have sent her up there with Sophie."
"That’s different than the two of us getting involved."
"A little, but not that much."
"True. It’s still your call."
Ryan grinned. "Let’s go up. I admit it, I want to see this at the very least."
"Yes, you do," Warren laughed. They headed up the stairs to the bedroom.
They got to the bedroom and found Sophia lying on the bed, Jessie on top of her, engaged in a raucous 69.
"Wow!" Ryan hissed.
"I love that sight," Warren agreed.
Jessie, into what she was doing, was oblivious to their presence. However, Sophie heard them. She peeked past Jessie’s leg and said, "Hi, boys!"
That got Jessie’s attention. "Boys?" She looked over at the door, saw them, and hissed, "Oh, God!"
"Jess, it’s OK," Sophie said. "I told Warren that they could come up if Ryan wanted to."
Jessie looked at Ryan. "You’re OK with this?"
"Uh, yeah, definitely," Ryan managed to get out.
"OK," Jessie laughed, and dove back into Sophie’s pussy.
While the two girls went at it, Warren quickly stripped off his clothes. Ryan shrugged and followed suit. They ended up on the bed, one on either side of the girls. Sophie, being on the bottom, wasn’t using her arms to hold herself up as Jessie was. So, she reached over with her left hand to grab Warren’s dick. Then she did the same with her other hand and wrapped that around Ryan’s dick. Jessie noticed this out of the corner of her eye and grinned. "Go, Sophie!" she said, then dove back into Sophie’s pussy.
Both girls were approaching climax. Sophie’s hips rose from the bed, and she pushed her pussy up into Jessie’s face. Jessie ground her pussy down at Sophie, both of them sucking on the other’s clit. They came almost simultaneously, yelping into each other’s pussy.
Jessie slumped on top of Sophie for a minute, then, suddenly, got up. She looked over at Warren, then crawled off of Sophie. Warren had been sitting up, Sophie’s hand still wrapped around his dick. Jessie pushed him over so he was lying down, then pushed Sophie’s hand away. Quickly she straddled him, and sank down on his dick.
Ryan watched this, and blinked. He knew it was coming, but was still slightly startled to see his wife—his pregnant wife—slowly sliding up and down on another guy’s cock. After a minute, though, he found himself enjoying watching. He trusted Jesse, and he trusted Warren. He was a little surprised, actually, to find himself getting turned on at the sight. Well, the sight—and Sophie tugging on his dick!
Sophie sat up, grinning at him, still grabbing his dick. "You want to do what they’re doing, or you want to watch for a while?" she asked.
"Maybe watch a little," he said.
"OK. It’s pretty beautiful to watch, isn’t it?"
"Yeah. Yeah, it is," he admitted.
They sat there, gently fondling each other, watching as Jessie bounced on Warren’s dick. Jessie gradually picked up speed, and Warren matched her as best he could, pushing himself upward at her. The pace increased, and Jessie started moaning.
"Oh, God," Ryan hissed, watching this. Sophie giggled, and pulled his face towards hers. They ended up sprawled on the bed, wrapped in a kiss, Ryan’s hand fondling Sophie’s boob as her hands roamed up and down his back. Sophie settle back on the bed, legs spread, and whispered to Ryan, "It’s our turn."
Ryan smiled, and went to position himself as he looked down on Sophie, open and ready in front of him. Ryan had to admit it. He knew he loved Jess, and wouldn’t ever think of cheating on her. But this wasn’t cheating, not when they were all in agreement. And, he had to admit—Sophie was one of the sexiest women he’d ever laid eyes on.
He kneeled in between Sophie’s legs, which put him almost even with Jessie, who was straddled over Warren. Jessie noticed. On an impulse, she stopped moving on top of Warren, leaned over, grabbed a startled Ryan around the neck, and kissed him. She broke the kiss, giggled, and waved at him as if to say, "Continue with what you were doing." Then she started moving on top of Warren again. Ryan grinned, shrugged, and moved to line himself up with Sophia.
He pushed his dick into her, and she moaned. He hit bottom, and she curled her legs up around his ass. They started going at it in earnest just as Jessie reached her climax beside them. Warren grunted and came into her shortly afterwards. Sophie and Ryan were just getting going.
Warren and Jessie curled up together and watched the other two go at it. Warren chuckled at Sophie’s increase in volume. "Here comes the ol’ banshee wailing," he whispered to Jess.
Sophie did just that, screaming as she climaxed around Ryan’s dick. Ryan quickly joined her.
Afterwards, they were spread out on the bed, all four of them—still nude—and sharing a bottle of wine. They’d also fetched some cheese and crackers that Warren and Sophia had in the fridge.
"I expected Jess and Sophie," Ryan said. "I knew that one was not going to go away, and I knew I’d have to let Jess know it was all right with me." He grinned. "I didn’t expect all this, though!"
"Are you OK with it?" Jess asked.
"Yes. Are you?"
"We’ve been down this road before," Sophia laughed, "so the only one we’re worried about is you."
"It’s fine. I had a lot of fun. If it were anyone else but you two, I wouldn’t be able to do it."
"It’ll never be anyone else, I promise," Jessie said. "This is a special thing."
"I know," Ryan said, then grinned. "I can’t wait until Sophie gets pregnant again. Warren told me about your lactation fetish, Jess."
"Oh, great," Jess laughed.
"And I told Warren that, in five months we’ll find out if Sophie has one, too."
"Hmmmmm. Well, hmmmmm," Sophie said, to general laughter.
"Might I also add that I have one?" Warren interjected with a grin.
"That’s all I need," Ryan laughed.
"You’d better get one soon, honey," Jessie teased him. "Or with the baby and those two around, you might never see my boobs."
"Can’t have that," Ryan joked.
They all had a wonderful Christmas.
Then, for New Years’, Warren, Sophie, Ellen and Dan and the whole family, and Kate, found themselves in Miami for the Orange Bowl.
"I’m so nervous!" Kate confessed to Sophia.
"I can see where you would be," Sophia told her. "I think I’d go out of my tree if Warren was a skater and I wasn’t."
"Nationals," Eric interjected. "That’s how I’m going to be at Nationals. Watching Amy skate. I’m gonna bite my fingernails down to the bone, I can see it now."
The game started.
BC put together a great first drive, quickly taking a 7-0 lead. Michigan responded with a drive of their own at the beginning of the second quarter, tying the score. After stopping BC on their next possession, Michigan got the ball back and drove down close enough to kick a field goal. Halftime came with Michigan leading, 10-7.
Michigan put together another drive to start the third quarter, extending their lead to 17-7. BC quickly responded, on a 50-yard touchdown pass from Chad to Butch. That got them to within 3, at 17-14.
After that, the game turned into a defensive struggle. Neither team could sustain a drive for the rest of the third quarter and the first half of the fourth.
BC got the ball again, on their own 25, with a little over 5 minutes left in the game. That’s when Comeback Kozak found his fourth-quarter groove. He quickly led BC down the field, ending the drive by throwing a perfect strike in the end zone to his tight end, Roger Jones. 21-17, BC.
The problem was, they’d left a little more than two minutes on the clock. And Tony Ciara, Michigan’s senior quarterback, had as much of a comeback reputation as Chad. He quickly proved it. A master of the no-huddle offense, Ciara marched Michigan down the field quickly and steadily. They got the ball down to the 10 yard line, with still thirty seconds left on the clock.
BC’s defense stiffened. The first three downs led to incomplete passes, as BC harassed Ciara and caused him to throw hastily. A BC cornerback just missed an interception that would have sealed the victory.
As it was, Ciara had one more chance, on fourth down. And, this time, he made good on it, throwing a touchdown pass. Michigan took a 24-21 lead with only 7 seconds left on the clock.
After the kickoff, Chad had one chance for a might heave downfield—but it went for naught. BC had lost in a heartbreaker.
"Hey, we played well," Chad told Kate after t
he game. "We have nothing to be ashamed about. And I’ll have another chance next year."
Chapter 164 - The Last Nationals
One of the nicest things to Sophia and Warren about their last ever National Championships was where it was being held—Boston.
The two of them still kept active in the online skating community. Sophia was responding to a post on the mailing list about what hotel skaters would be staying in while in Boston.
"None, half of them!" Sophia told the folks on the list. "Warren and I are staying at home, as are Ryan and Amy. Tom’s staying at Warren’s parents’ house. You guys’ll have to just grab your autographs at the Fleet Center!"
This was true enough, though Sophia and Warren did go into the hotel when everyone arrived, to hang out. They got dinner in the hotel restaurant on that Sunday with Liz and Crash. Crash hadn’t returned to law school yet after Christmas break, so would be able to attend.
"What about the Olympics?" Warren asked him.
"I’ve worked that out. I’ve told my professors about it, and they’re going to have me a bit ahead. Sorry, though, I won’t be coming out in time to see you guys—I’m only coming for the ladies’ event."
"Ah, well," Sophia said. "Guess you can’t miss too much class."
"Exactly."
The competition began on Tuesday, with the first Dance OD, the quickstep. Warren and Sophia had no problems with it, and easily won. Amy and Ryan were second, with Courtney and Evan third.
Wednesday afternoon was the pairs’ short program, in which Brett and Andrea romped. Then, that evening, the dancers went back out onto the ice with the Rock and Roll OD.
Warren and Sophie again took first place—and it wasn’t close. In fact, the Ramones OD got them straight 6.0 marks for technical merit. The crowd was on its feet 30 seconds before it was over—and they exploded at the end. Amy and Ryan again held off Courtney and Evan for second place.
Thursday afternoon began the men’s competition with the short program, and Tom had no challengers. Same went that evening with Brett and Andrea in the pairs’ long program, as they easily won the national championship.
