Above me, proximity had caused them to lower their voices to whispers. I couldn’t make out what they were saying. I flicked on the pocket flashlight and located the general area in which I was interested. However, partly because of Jessica’s position and partly because something was blocking it, I couldn’t get a clear view of the triangle of curls below her flat belly. I reached over to remove the obstacle.
Immediately it grew rigid in my grasp and began sliding back and forth. Disgustedly, I pushed it away. The man’s voice was momentarily loud, and his words came through clearly. “Don’t be shy, Maria of the cropped hair. That gives me much pleasure.”
I maneuvered for a better look. Jessica’s thighs closed over my ears and I couldn’t hear anything. I was able to check in depth. She was a “true blonde” without a doubt.
If I’d thought I was just going to look and pop back up, Jessica had other ideas. She held me firmly in place and moved her body so that there was no misunderstanding what she expected. It would have been ungallant, to say the least, to disappoint her. I lost myself in the liquid warmth of her passion.
The only distraction was the ardor of the other man poking me in the left ear. Evidently he thought Maria’s vibrations were a reaction to him, and so he pounded away more and more violently. Now his hand was in the action, groping around inside my ear, puzzled, seeking a biological familiarity which eluded it. Finally it settled for the passage to the eardrum and set about the impossible task of lodging his member there.
I redoubled my efforts and finished Jessica off quickly. None too soon! I barely averted a punctured eardrum. I surfaced just in time to hear the man’s disappointment.
“Why did you move, my shy one,” he was murmuring to Maria. “Your maidenhead is but a minor problem. Believe me, with only a little more time we might surpass it and then know ecstasy.”
Maria was clinging to him, panting, her shoulder blocking his face from my view. “Hey!” I tapped her. “Remember me?”
“Oh, that was good,” she turned toward me. “That was wonderful.”
“What the--!” For the first time the man became aware of my presence. “Where did he come from?”
“Oh. Roberto, meet Steve.” Jessica introduced us. “Steve, Roberto.”
We shook hands over one of her breasts. I peered through the darkness, still unable to see his face.
“Guess what, Steve.” Jessica continued talking. “I’m going to join a harem. A real harem.”
“What!” I roared the word. I extracted the pocket flashlight from the sleeping bag and shone it on the man. It was Cass Nova! “I’ll be damned!” I was angry. “What a dirty trick! You mean while I was—- You mean he has -- Haven’t you got any gratitude?” I demanded of Jessica.
“What do you mean?” She was bewildered.
“I mean he and I are competitors. I want you to join the harem for me, not for him.”
“But I promised him.”
“But I was the one who you-know-what.”
“That’s true,” Jessica granted. “But I can’t go back on my promise. And besides, I don’t want to hurt your feelings, Steve, but I really dig him.”
“How does that grab you, Stevie boy?” Nova asked smugly.
“You bastard!”
“You shouldn’t feel too bad, Steve. Do you know who he is?”
“I know,” I admitted grimly.
“Well, I’ve always been a real fan of his. I’ve seen every one of his pictures. But I never thought I’d meet him in person.”
“How can you be impressed by this ham?” I demanded angrily. “Doesn’t the pleasure I gave you entitle me to priority?”
“He gave me pleasure too.”
“What do you mean? What could he have done that could compare with--”
“He blew in my ear. That just drove me wild, Steve. Cass Nova blew in my ear.”
That did it. I knew I’d lost. I scrambled out of the sleeping bag, cursing, picked up my clothes, and stomped away. Cass Nova called out after me mockingly:
“Blow in her ear and she’ll follow you anywhere!”
CHAPTER SIX
Back at the Conrad Hilton there was a message for me to call Operator Nineteen, Miami. It was marked “urgent.” I went up to my room, called Operator Nineteen, and a few moments later I heard Mama’s voice.
“Stevie, darling, I thought you were dead maybe, you didn’t return my call.”
“I just came in.”
“That’s an excuse? I shouldn’t even have to call you; you should pick up the telephone once in a century and find out your only mother is alive or dead and already buried.”
“Mama, I’m very tired.”
“So you think I could sleep with such a son?” She took a rare breath. “You took care of it before it festers?”
“What? Took care of what?”
“The macka! What do you think? You had it lanced?”
“I forgot all about it,” I told her truthfully.
“You’d forget your tookus if it wasn’t screwed on!”
“But it doesn’t bother me. I don’t even feel it.”
“Aha! It’s numb already! That means the infection is spreading. Listen, Stevie, it’s a mother’s duty—-I’ll fly out to Chicago and lance it for you before it’s so bad you’ll never sit again.”
“Don’t do that!” I exclaimed. I had enough troubles in Chicago!
“Your own mother you don’t want to see?”
“It’s not that, Mama. It’s just that I won’t be here much longer. Business. You could miss me altogether.”
“So what’s going to be?” she wailed. “A thing like that, you can’t just leave it. It has to be taken care of.”
“I’ll see to it first thing,” I promised her.
“I’ll call to remind you, you shouldn’t forget like you do everything,” she promised.
“All right, Mama.” I sighed, resigned. “I’ll talk to you. Goodbye for now.”
“So goodbye already. What are you waiting for? You’ve got money to throw away on long distance calls just to chat? You own stock in Bell Telephone, maybe? Hang up already! Goodbye!”
I hung up.
The sun was coming up by now. It was Tuesday morning. I hit the sack. The sun was going down again when I awoke.
For lack of any better plan, Austin and I headed out to the International Amphitheatre again. The word was that the McCarthy people would be trying to pack the gallery in order to lend vocal support to the minority peace plank on Vietnam. It figured that there would be some hippie chicks there as well. However, as it turned out, the Vietnam debate was cancelled until the following day. And most of the protestors that evening drifted away from the convention hall to join the demonstration assembling in Grant Park.
Meanwhile Austin and I mingled with the newsmen who were gathering around the NBC-TV monitor outside the convention hall in an effort to find out what was happening at the Convention. We listened to them separating rumor from fact, and we came away in possession of certain absolutely true data, as follows:
Item. There was no significant support among delegates for the presidential candidacy of Dr. Timothy Leary22 .
Item. Although Senator McCarthy’s wife was not staying at the same hotel as the Senator, there was no truth to the rumor that she was planning to run off with Governor Connally after the defeat of the Vietnam minority peace plank .
Item. Mayor Daley was not responsible for the shortage of toilet paper in the bathrooms at McCarthy Headquarters.
Item. Mrs. Humphrey refused to comment on the rumor that Mrs. Nixon was already shopping for an inaugural gown.
Item. The Illinois delegation would definitely not come out for Dick Gregory23 .