Lost on a Carousel — Bob Gabbert

Jimmy Grimes is born a skinny sickly kid who catches every virus that comes along. Erica Jutland, the girl next door, is one year older, and just the opposite in every way. He is plain; she is beautiful. He is held back and starts to school at seven; she starts at six and skips a grade. Both are intelligence, but he's held back by his frailty that dominates his life through middle school. Erica treats Jimmy as the weak boy he is and her personal pet, and later, uses him as a tool to learn about boys and sex. He mistakes her attention for love and grows up adoring her.Gloria Miller grows up in the same small town in Washington State where Jimmy and Erica live. Unlike the shapely and beautiful Erica, with her plain looks and slim figure Gloria could pass for a boy. The one major advantage Gloria has over Erica, she is Jimmy's soulmate if only he can recognize it.Jimmy's last-ditch effort to try and win Erica's heart fails when he follows her to Stanford University. Rejected and dejected, he transfers to the University of Washington, where Gloria is having a torrid affair with Mark Weber, a crude farm boy with one huge asset that Gloria enjoys immensely.Because Jimmy and Weber were both engineering students, Jimmy is assigned to be Weber's roommate. They hit it off immediately and become lifelong friends. Weber introduces Jimmy to Cindy Lewis, a beautiful, sexy, and wealthy coed from California, who Weber has had no luck getting into bed.Gloria is Cindy's roommate in the School of Nursing. When Gloria learns that Jimmy has returned to Seattle, she goes after him, but she still wants to have sex with Weber. Cindy has fallen in love with Jimmy, but with Gloria's urging, she discovers the huge reason Gloria likes sex with Weber. Thus, begins a polyamorous relationship where all four enjoy each other in every way.After college, Jimmy and Gloria get married, because they are soulmates, but they still enjoy sex with Cindy and Weber. Weber loves Gloria and is fond of Cindy. Cindy loves Jimmy and is fond of Weber and totally enjoys sex with him. They get married, so they can stay close to Jimmy and Gloria and the polyamorous relationship continues.Years pass, children are born and raised in the polyamorous relationship, but then, a key member is gone. Can a polyamorous relationship survive when only three are left?