Chapter 20
Warren Atwell’s Legal Briefs: A good lawyer learns to juggle the crucial aspects of every case.
“Tandem juggling,” Gerald announced, his voice carrying enthusiasm and authority to the couples standing on the activity mats.
The atmosphere buzzed with anticipation, the warm sunlight filtering through the windows casting playful shadows on the floor.
Couples shared curious glances. Taney and Keegan laughed while Irv and Eula exchanged determined nods.
“This is another exercise that can be fun,” Gerald continued, his eyes twinkling with mischief.
“Fun if you can juggle,” Keegan groused. His husband nudged him in the stomach.
“It can be rather challenging if you’ve never juggled before,” Gerald agreed. “That is why we’ll start with soft beanbags, so you don’t knock yourself out with the traditional pins.”
“Thank God,” Avery whispered.
Even though we had the entire room to spread out, she stuck close to my side, her warmth permeating my skin and the jasmine scent nearly causing me to get hard again. At 44, I thought the days of unexpected erections at a stiff wind were behind me. Apparently, I had not factored in my new wife.
Gerald’s wife, Zelda, tossed a beanbag in the air and caught it one-handed. “Has anyone juggled before?”
Everyone looked around. I flushed as I raised my hand.
“Really?” Avery looked up at me. “When?”
I felt embarrassment spread across my skin as I thought back to the early days of law school: the large stack of books on my desk, the overwhelming sense that I would fail, and my growing desperation to focus on something I could control.
It was a wonder I passed any courses, much less earned my law degree.
I cleared my throat. “I taught myself to juggle as a distraction and concentration exercise during law school. It has been a few years since I tried it.”
Zelda tossed the beanbag at me and followed it with two others, which I deftly caught. “Wonderful. Give it a whirl. It’s okay if you’re rusty,” she said.
All eyes were on me, a palpable weight pressing down as I fought the urge to step back and disappear into the shadows.
The surrounding couples were a blur of expectant faces, their whispers a distant hum that faded into the background.
It was not the first time I had found myself the center of attention.
My life in the courtroom had prepared me for such moments.
But it was vastly different this time. Here, under the bright lights of the gathering room, I stood not as a defender of families but as an unwilling performer in my personal life.
That crawling sensation started up underneath the skin on my back.
Glancing around, I felt the warmth of embarrassment creeping up my neck, a blush that refused to be ignored.
As I was about to express my objection and retreat to safety, I locked eyes with Avery.
She stood a few feet away. Her radiant smile cut through my anxiety like a laser.
Her hair caught the soft glow of the afternoon light and framed her features with an almost ethereal quality.
I sucked in a breath, the air catching in my throat.
She was gorgeous, with eyes that sparkled with encouragement and something else - perhaps a promise to continue what we started in the cabin.
Suddenly, the performance anxiety dissipated.
I wanted to impress her and draw her attention fully to me.
I wanted to hear her shout out my name again, a sound that sent delightful shivers down my spine.
It was the only explanation I could muster for what I was about to do: agreeing to demonstrate my juggling skills, or rather, my likely lackluster attempts at it.
I glanced at the beanbags in my hand and readied myself for this ludicrous challenge in hopes of pleasing her once again.
“Okay.” I stepped into the center of the mat.
“Describe what you’re doing,” Gerald said from the sidelines.
I took a breath and dropped two of the bags on the ground.
“The best way to start is with one bag. Hold your arms at a 90-degree angle to your waist.” I demonstrated and watched as everyone followed my lead.
“You want them firm but not locked too tightly. Then, with the bag in your dominant hand, you scoop it through the air and release it to your other hand. Try not to move your elbows, just your hands and wrists.” I scooped the bag through the air and caught it with my other hand.
“Can we try that?” Irv asked from beside Eula.
“Sure!” Gerald passed out beanbags to everyone.
Pretty soon, they all mastered the locked elbows and scooping motion.
“For the next part, you will need a two.” I bent to pick up another beanbag.
“Hold a bag in each hand. Start with the scoop and toss from your dominant hand, and when the bag reaches the top of the arc on its way to the other hand, scoop and toss the beanbag in your non-dominant hand like this.” I showed them the one-two start, catching the bags in the opposite hands. “Now, you try.”
Irv caught on immediately, likely because of his hand-eye coordination while making jewelry. Eula was a little slower, dropping the bags several times and yelling “Sugar” each time the bag fell to the mat. She eventually managed to do the one-two several times in a row.
Keegan and Taney struggled to hold their arms at 90-degree angles, but with Gerald's help, they eventually caught on.
It was no surprise that Jack and Megan argued through their attempts, but I could not be bothered by the bickering couple. My eyes were on Avery.
A line appeared between her eyes as she frowned at the bags. She stuck her tongue to the side of her mouth and wiggled her ass each time she tried to scoop and toss, perhaps thinking that would assist her attempts. Each time, she dropped the bags.
“Sonofabiscuit,” Avery cursed, then looked pleadingly at me. “Warren, I am not getting this.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Maybe you need some hands-on teaching?”
She smiled at me, and my dick woke up again. “Maybe I do.”
I moved behind her on the mat, pressing my chest close to her back and placing my hands underneath hers. “Drop the bags, and let us practice the motion. It needs to be smooth, not stilted.”
“Just like sex,” Avery whispered over her shoulder at me.
My dick hardened, and she wiggled her ass at me. “Cut that out. You are making this uncomfortable.”
“Sorry, not sorry,” Avery chuckled, but she stopped wiggling.
I shook out our hands. “You are too tense. Release that tension - especially in your shoulders - so you can make the movement fluid. Scoop and toss. Scoop and toss.” I went through the motions with her until she relaxed. “Now, grab the bags and let us practice with them.”
Before I could step away, she bent at the waist, shoving her ass right into my crotch, and picked up the bags, then stood back up. “Ready?” She winked at me over her shoulder, the minx.
“Ready.” My voice cracked on the answer. I attempted to pull my dick away from her tempting backside. It was a losing battle. “Scoop and toss, Avery.”
She tried it, and the bags fell with a one-two thunk on the mat. She growled and bent to pick up the bags. I was ready for her backward thrust and shot back a foot this time. Avery bit back a smile as she stood again. “Nervous, husband?”
“Not in the slightest.” I swallowed and stepped closer before lowering my voice. “But if you keep teasing me like this, I shall be forced to throw you over my shoulder and return to our cabin.”
“Don’t threaten me with a good time,” Avery snarked, pressing her hips backward into me.
“Avery,” I hissed. “Focus. I do not want to turn this into an X-rated display for everyone.”
“Too late!” Taney called from his spot in the circle.
I felt my cheeks heat.
“You’re adorable,” Eula added, turning toward Irv. “Remember when we were newlyweds?”
“Couldn’t keep my hands off you,” Irv said solemnly.
“Still can’t!” Eula laughed.
Gerald clapped, bringing the side conversations to a halt. “Okay, let’s go through it again. Everyone pick up your bags and give it a try with two.”
I watched Avery awkwardly make her first catch and turn toward me with a big smile. “I did it! Warren? Did you see that?”
My heart swelled in my chest. “I did. That was very good. Are you ready for another?”
She waggled her eyebrows at me. “I’m always ready for another.”
“Newlyweds,” Jack scoffed, but it lacked the venom I might have expected from him. And I did not miss the way he snuck a glance at his wife, who was scooping and tossing like she had been doing this her whole life.
“Alright.” I picked up a third bag and placed it in my right hand with the first one.
“You want two bags in your dominant hand, and the third will be in the other hand. Go through the one-two scoop and toss, and when the second bag is at the top of the arc, scoop and toss the third bag. It is the same motion, with three.”
Avery nodded determinedly, shook out her arms, and then returned them to the 90-degree position. I held my breath as she went through the first two motions and added the third bag. When she caught the third bag, I exhaled loudly. “Excellent! Well done!”
She dropped the bags and threw her arms around my neck. “That was so much fun! How have you been keeping this a secret all these years?”
I lost the ability to speak with her pressed up close to me. I simply shrugged and hoped that would alleviate the question.
“Okay, everyone. Let’s try this a few more times. Then we’ll go to the dining area for dinner. Sound good?” Zelda asked.
Everyone agreed, and I reluctantly released Avery from my embrace and watched her bend to pick up her dropped bags. I sighed and tried to run through Florida penal codes and statutes to get my mind off squirreling Avery away in the cabin for the rest of the night.
But then the phrase “penal code” turned me into an adolescent boy who tried not to focus on the pretty girl in gym class.
It was a losing battle.