Erasure and Affirmation (Hypernaturals 11)

Guidelines

Helen pulled us aside and well out of hearing range of other Vampires that were gathering in the wedding hall at Holly's. After her and my talk (after Lori and my talk), she had some thoughts she wanted to share. "I think that, for the most part, when we whitelist someone, we should avoid whitelisting only one of us. I have been thinking about this since the unfortunate incident."

Jessica made a face.

"Yes. That one, you stupid bitch. Now pick your sexy, accomplished, but very dumb butt up off the ground and get over it. If you don't like being called out for putting jerks between your legs, don't put jerks between your legs. It is not as if you do not have better options." Helen fired. I think she is tired of Jessica feeling guilty about Alexander.

Morgan and I felt a hit ourselves. We were the ones the said nothing about it when it happened, and we should have. The exchange between us, as it often is was only a flicker. Neither Helen nor Jessica noticed.

Helen went on. "I wanted Simi and Tobey to be two of us. I was not happy with the idea of Adrian alone in that situation. I do not want to set precedent about catalyst male loaner programs. I do not want Adrian to be alone. He needs a spouse there. There are bigger issues I am considering. Things about the four of us and our ever-expanding poly life. Angel and Vera, for example, but Danny, Lori, Dewayne, and Carol. Denise even. Adrian and I talked about it to some degree when we were discussing Lori and what she is going to want in the future. Rachel and Holly are legacy relationships. New ones, going forward, I think we need to either have ALL of us there or at least more than one of us. We need to share the experience. When we get to Carol and DeWayne's wedding, if they are serious about there being a Conclave-like open sexual bar event, which I honestly do not know if they are or not, then we are all in that together. Alternatively, at some future point, Carol might have Adrian over for baby jumpstarting. When that happens, you two will probably be there and doing some of your own jumpstarting on her husband. For the most part, Adrian being an enabler of Ninovan children comes from a can or a bottle or whatever it is that you all do with that stuff, but we already have two exceptions to it."

Morgan nodded approval. "Makes sense. It is more emotionally satisfying this way. Good thinking."

"I should also point out that Angel has been lovers with three of us. Adrian and I always were with her together, trying to get her past her blackouts. When we added Vera to Adrian's list, I had this idea in mind then too but felt like since Angel was there, that counted. I can't see any of the three of us with Vera. Not yet, anyway. I admit I am still shall we say 'evolving' when it comes to her. I cannot deny she has changed for the better. She is still not to my personal tastes in terms of a lover: you may look at yourselves for some clue as to what I am looking for. It is also true that none of us need another woman lover. Different reasons. If you disagree, please say." Helen is being oddly civil, other than kicking Jessica's teeth down her throat.

"I agree. I like Vera. I don't want to screw her." Jessica said.

"Same." Morgan said. "In fact, you two ladies are pretty much my quota, unless Janie shows up in Austin and wants to relive our past. Then I will need to talk to you all."

"If Janie shows up, you have my permission ahead of time to have at her. With her. Whatever. I will be quite interested in meeting your first female lover. She sounds very interesting. Ok. I call what I am proposing here a guideline instead of a bloody rule. Agreed?" Helen asked.

"Agreed. Also, a lot of time has passed and I doubt that Janie would be interested in reopening that particular path of exploration. I only bring it up as a remote possibility." Morgan said. "Adrian? Did you and Danny ever... You know, do anything like this before we were around? You and he there at the same time?"

"Never. Danny had his dates. I occasionally had mine. When Vera was around, we did all the crazy. Danny was never there for any of that. Before Vera, I did a group thing with some people from college. Alcohol-induced. Very young and stupid, in the sense that I could have become a father several times over that night and not known it. A cautionary tale if there ever was one. Danny never part of that scene." I said.

"Oh?" Morgan asked, interested.

"Long story short: Conversation the next day with one of the young women from one of my classes about what we were going to do if she was pregnant. Her father would not like her having a baby out of wedlock, etc. Hints that perhaps her father would also not like a mixed ethnicity child either. Never has there been a period that was so gratefully received. She was cramping and dancing at the same time."

"I see. Well: why I had the rules I did as a human." Morgan said.

"You never did anything young and dumb like that?" I asked.

"Sort of, I suppose. One lover that I dropped the condom requirement with later in our relationship. IUD's are not perfect. I was not worried about social diseases with him, so I was willing to take that chance." Morgan looked into the past and smiled sadly. "Making love without a condom was very special, actually. Not only for sensation reasons, but for others. Trust ones."

I knew who this was of course, but I said nothing. Wendell. Her first love, whether Morgan said it or not.

"Kind of weird." Jessica said. "Helen and I fucked our way around the world when I was in my wild child phase."

"Now you are a properly married lady." Helen said.

"Now you are talking dirty about me." Jessica said. "The only time I was so-called properly married was a fucking disaster. In every possible sense of that term. Now I am correctly married. Big difference."

"I think that whenever Denise decides she has done her penance, this idea I have proposed solves that as well." Helen said.

"How?" Morgan asked. "That is very much another woman. Look closely. You will notice her secondary sexual characteristics."

Denise was in line of sight, so Morgan made a surreptitious gesture her way. "Those bumps under her blouse? Those are breasts, for example. Note the way that her jeans fit. The way the waist goes in, then flares out at the ribcage. In her anterior view, the general shape of the number eight is evoked, however not nearly that narrow at the center. Not a wasp waist as you are. Still, evolution has brought her these things to evoke the idea of female and fertility. There is some thinking about breasts that they are meant to cause a visual for the male of the species that matches the anterior view. I am not sure that I agree with that mode of thought as my favorite male far prefers fanging breasts over buns, at least insofar as his mouth is concerned. Also the fangs therein."

Morgan gigging Helen. Love it! We are so married.

"Yes, Morgan: I do not have to look closely. I know. The girl makes my mouth water. All those sweet southern belle looks and honey hair? Looks like billboard for Georgia peaches. All that Crew Lead badassery under the covers. Did I mentioned she screwed for a living for 300 years?" Helen verbally leered. "My point, Morgan is that Denise is not only zero'ed in on Adrian in wanting to marry us. She wants this. She wants to be standing here with us, having this discussion. Being a part of it in this way."

"True. Part of why we need this guideline. To be ready for that hurricane." I said.