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===================

Thats good

newyearduck #482269

Games that I like to play

<a href=http://www.gamestotal.com/>Multiplayer Online

Games</a> <a href=http://www.gamestotal.com/>Strategy

Games</a><br><a

href=http://uc.gamestotal.com/>Unification Wars</a> -

<a href=http://uc.gamestotal.com/>Massive Multiplayer

Online Games</a><br><a

href=http://gc.gamestotal.com/>Galactic Conquest</a> -

<a href=http://gc.gamestotal.com/>Strategy

Games</a><br><a

href=http://www.stephenyong.com/runescape.htm>Runescap

e</a><br><a

href=http://www.stephenyong.com/kingsofchaos.htm>Kings

of chaos</a><br>
oldmudrat wrote:
> Orange County Babylon
>
>                                  PART FIVE
>  by
>                                Michael Dalton
>
>
>
>
>                    IMPORTANT LEGAL INFORMATION
>
>
>      If you have received this work in your e-mail box and do not know
> why, it is because your Internet service provider is forwarding posts
> from Usenet newsgroups to your account.  It has *NOT* been e-mailed to
> you by the author.  You must contact your ISP for help.
>
>
>      This story is a work of fiction.  Any resemblance to real persons
> is unintentional and strictly coincidental.  Although this story refers
> to many real places and organizations, such mention should not be taken
> to imply either a relationship or approval of any sort.  This work
> contains explicit descriptions of sexual activity, and anyone offended
> by such things should read no further.  If reception of this work is
> illegal due to your age or other repressive local regulations,
> liability for downloading it is your problem, not mine.  This work is
> intended solely for the quiet and private enjoyment of adults, and any
> other use is a violation of the copyright.
>
>
>      This work is Copyright 1998 by Michael...@aol.com and is
> protected by United States and other international copyright law.
> Reposting and archiving is permitted, except where a fee of any sort is
> required or earned for access, provided this disclaimer and note remain
> attached to the story.  All other rights, specifically rights of
> commercial use, are reserved.  Commercial use here is defined to
> include membership web sites, banner-funded web sites, and those
> protected by fee-based age validation methods (such as Adultcheck and
> Adultsights).  However, exception is specifically made for web sites
> (such as DejaNews) that provide archiving and access to all Usenet
> posts in a particular group without editing or selection for content.
> No modifications may be made to this story without express permission
> from the author.  Any questions regarding use of this work can be
> directed to the address above.  Failure to contact the author prior to
> use is presumptive evidence of bad faith and may expose you to
> significant criminal and civil liability.
>
>
>                              AUTHOR'S NOTE
>
>
>      This novel was first published in August, and has remained one of
> the most popular and most requested works I have written.  From the
> vast amount of feedback I have gotten over it, I have been able to make
> some revisions and corrections that warranted a repost.  This is still
> the same story, mind you--what I have changed were a number of factual
> and grammatical errors pointed out to me by my readers.  In particular,
> I want to thank Neverless and Lee Vine for assistance in that regard.
>
>
>      With eight or nine months of hindsight (I wrote the first draft
> of OCB in March), I have to say that I am not entirely happy with this
> thing.  Among other problems, I think it starts too quickly and the
> behavior and personality of some of the characters in Part One are
> inconsistent with what occurs later.  None of this appears to have
> dimmed the enthusiasm that has greeted the story, but it bears pointing
> out.
>
>
>      If you haven't read this before, a few words of warning.  This
> novel (and it *is* a novel--it runs to over 98,000 words) should not be
> taken too seriously.  It is best described as a silly, sappy, high
> school soap opera.  The protagonist has more good fortune and more wild
> experiences in one year than most people have in their entire lives.  I
> don't just mean the sex, either.  Although there is plenty of sex in
> this story, there are also long stretches of action where nothing
> remotely sexual occurs.  This is because the story is supposed to be a
> full depiction of the protagonist's life, not simply a catalog of his
> sexual behavior.  As in the real world, sexual activity has certain
> consequences, and that is what I have tried to accurately describe.
>
>
>      The reader will note fairly quickly that this story appears to
> fall into one of the worst stereotypes of low-grade erotica: the
> football player and the cheerleaders.  To this appearance, I freely
> confess--but there is a great deal else going on in here.
> Nevertheless, should you have a congenital allergy to football, you may
> want to skip this, as there is plenty of explicit sports to go with the
> explicit sex.
>
>
>      Those of you familiar with Orange County, California, will note
> that I have taken certain liberties in my descriptions, particularly
> with the locations and athletic programs of area high schools.  I did
> this solely out of laziness--I wasn't interested in researching the
> actual composition of the local high school football conferences.
>
>
>      This work is, in many ways, a satire.  The views expressed herein
> should not be taken as serious commentary on either the County of
> Orange, the Roman Catholic Church, or the United States Marine Corps.
> I make one exception to that disclaimer, however.  My descriptions of
> the Orange County foster care system do not in any way resemble
> reality.  The actual system is currently in very dire straits, and few,
> if any, children who go through it have experiences as easy and
> pleasant as the protagonist's.  Sexual abuse of foster children is
> unfortunately not uncommon, and in real life, the consequences are far
> different from what I have described here.
>
>
>      One last note: Please do NOT e-mail me for missing pieces.  This
> is a very large file and mailing it is a pain.  All the pieces of this
> story should be available in the ASSM archive, the address for which
> can be found in the header above.
>
>
>
>
>   ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>                                   XXIII-I.
>
> On a Thursday afternoon in early December, Joe Dickson sat in his room
> watching his tape of Corinne and Michelle. He had lost track of the number
> of times he had masturbated to it, and wondered how he and Randy had been
> able to keep it a secret this long. Rumors were still drifting around the
> school about the two cheerleaders, but it was becoming old news. He thought
> he could detect some distance between Corinne and Michelle, as if they were
> trying to deflate people's curiosity, but he knew better. He still saw
> Corinne leaving her house once or twice a week late at night, and he knew
> where she was going. He hadn't followed her again--he thought it was
> unlikely he would be so lucky twice--but he had often thought about it.
>
> Joe was a virgin. He had come close a few times, but he hadn't dated the
> kind of girls who were willing to go all the way. His heart- -or at least
> his balls--had long been set on Corinne anyway, and knowing now she was out
> of reach, he hadn't dated as much anymore. He thought that was why he
> talked so much trash in the locker room, though he kept trying to stop
> himself. He knew the old saying: "Those who talk the most get the least,"
> so it made sense.
>
> He thought about Jack O'Leary. No other player on the team so completely
> refrained from participating in their sexual banter, and he had the hottest
> girl in school. Not just one of the hottest, three of them. He lived with
> Karen Lynch, and Becky Smith hung around him so much Joe would have
> considered her his girlfriend had he not been dating Summer. Hell, Karen
> acted like it herself sometimes. And Jack had brought two girls to the
> Homecoming Dance. He had half the cheerleading squad for a harem. Was
> something going on he hadn't suspected?
>
> He found it hard to believe, for a lot of reasons. He had known Summer for
> four years, although they had never really been friends. She had stood on
> this lily-white pedestal for so long-Billy was hardly the first one to get
> knocked off trying to climb up on it--that he found it almost impossible to
> believe that she had finally surrendered her virginity, no matter how
> hooked she was on Jack. And what he'd told Randy that night was true. Jack
> sounded like Father Roberts sometimes in class.
>
> Maybe it wasn't Summer; maybe he had something on the side with Becky or
> Karen. Yet both girls were so open and obvious with their attentions that
> he found that hard to believe. Certainly Summer would never stand for it if
> she had the slightest suspicion. So what was the deal? Was it possible for
> one guy to have access to all that pussy and not do anything?
>
> Joe had no interest in drawing the disfavor of Jack O'Leary. Jack was the
> star linebacker; Joe was a defensive back, sometime starter, and
> occasionally played wide receiver. Most of the school worshipped Jack,
> especially after the way he rescued Karen that night, then rescued the
> football team. Joe understood how the cliques worked, and knew he would
> lose any social confrontation. As for any other sort, well, he had been
> near Jack and Billy that day, and had seen how easily Jack had defended
> himself. There was no way he was going to provoke Jack into doing anything
> violent. But the more he thought about it, the more he had to know what was
> going on.
>
> He would have to do this alone. Randy and Jack were good friends, and Randy
> might punch him out for even suggesting they spy on Jack and Summer. Spying
> was maybe not the best method anyway. He looked back up at the screen,
> watching Corinne convulsing in orgasm, and had an idea. He didn't
> necessarily have to tell the whole school about this tape. Telling just one
> person might accomplish his objective.
>
> With Karen's situation resolved, Jack began to feel as if he had more good
> luck than anyone deserved. He now had three girls who were crazy about him,
> and they were, though he had trouble understanding it sometimes, just fine
> with each other. They began calling themselves the "Three Mousketeers," and
> joked about it so much that Jack became concerned about someone overhearing
> them.
>
> The football team was into the soft side of its schedule, and won two more
> games, routing a pair of overmatched opponents by scores of 31-6 and 42-0.
> Jack scored another touchdown on an interception return in the second game
> to extend his record to six.
>
> Jack got a call from an aide to their congressman in the first week in
> December.
>
> "Everything is in place now, Jack. We've sent off your packet to Annapolis,
> so there's nothing more for you to do but wait. We all wish you luck, but I
> don't think you really need it. Just on the qt., I'll tell you I've seen
> people with less impressive records than yours get in. So, I'd suggest you
> not make any plans for next summer. I think you're likely to be lined up
> with the other cadets."
>
> "Um, it's plebes, sir, but thank you for saying so."
>
> As the semester wore on, he continued tutoring Kelly. Although, unknown to
> anyone else, she knew what was going on, she kept her promise to Jack and
> said nothing. She did discreetly tease him about it on occasion, and became
> more and more attached to him, though only in a sisterly fashion. Her
> grades began to climb and she began to show some basic facility with
> algebra.
>
> Kelly hadn't, at least when school started, been particularly popular
> amongst the freshman class. She was pretty enough, but she didn't have her
> older sister's political instincts and didn't have a lot of
> self-confidence. However, once Jack's star had risen, Kelly's began to rise
> behind it. Simply having Jack as a brother (she never referred to him as
> her foster brother) was enough to get people's attention.
>
> Sunday afternoon a week after the 42-0 game, he came back from spending the
> day with Becky to find Kelly sitting around the den with four young girls
> he didn't recognize. All of them turned to look at him when he came in.
> They were nice-looking, but like most girls Kelly's age, skinny and
> coltish.
>
> "Hi, Jack," Kelly said, and all four of the others followed with "Hi,
> Jack," after her like parrots.
>
> "Hi."
>
> Then they all froze up as if they didn't know what to say.
>
> "What are you guys doing?"
>
> "Nothing, just hanging out," Kelly said.
>
> "That was a great game last week," one of the other girls said.
>
> "Yeah," two of the other said.
>
> Kelly turned to her friends, then back to Jack.
>
> "Um, Jack, this is Brianna, Elizabeth, Katie, and Jen."
>
> "Hi. Nice to meet you."
>
> "Where did you go?" Kelly said.
>
> "I was over at Becky's."
>
> "Are you going to see Summer tonight?"
>
> "We went out last night."
>
> "Oh. What are you doing now?"
>
> He could tell from the yearning look in her eyes that she wanted him to
> stay with her for a little bit to impress her friends.
>
> "I was just thinking of watching some TV."
>
> "Oh, cool, so were we."
>
> The girls tried to clear a spot on the couch for him, but he waved them off
> and sat on the floor near the television set. He grabbed the remote.
>
> "What did you want to watch?" he asked, knowing they would probably say,
> "whatever."
>
> "Oh, whatever," Kelly said.
>
> Jack flipped around, not finding much. He hoped to find some kind of game
> on ESPN, but they were running one of the "World's Strongest Man" segments.
> The contestants were performing circus-act feats of strength like lifting
> showgirls and carrying 200-lb chunks of cement up flights of stairs. The
> girls all laughed in amazement.
>
> "Could you do that, Jack?" one of them asked. He already forgotten who was
> who.
>
> "I don't think so. I'm not that big."
>
> "How much can you bench press? My brother is into lifting weights."
>
> "About 275."
>
> "Oh, wow."
>
> "That's, like, three of us," another of them said, and they all laughed.
>
> "Could you do that?" Kelly asked. "Bench press three of us?"
>
> Jack laughed.
>
> "I don't know. How much do you weigh?"
>
> "Umm, 95lbs."
>
> "Okay, come over here."
>
> The girls giggled nervously as Jack stretched out on the floor.
>
> "Get above me like you're going to do a push-up."
>
> Kelly maneuvered above him, feet down by his, and he put his hands on her
> chest, just below her breasts. She giggled, bringing her arms in. Jack
> lifted her up into the air easily.
>
> "It's harder this way than on a weight bench. Get off a second."
>
> Kelly rolled onto the floor, and Jack sat up. He pulled some magazines and
> the two coffee table books off the den table and laid them out on the floor
> as a makeshift bench.
>
> "Okay, let's try again."
>
> Kelly got over him again, and one of her friends laid on her back. Jack
> lifted them both up, with somewhat more difficulty, as the two girls
> squealed in delight.
>
> Jack lowered them down, and the three remaining girls shoved each other
> trying to be the last one on. With three girls piled on top of him, he
> pushed up, grunting, lifting them slowly. Kelly began laughing and
> groaning, since most of the weight was centered on her chest.
>
> "Ow! Ow!"
>
> Jack got them up, then the other two girls jumped on to them, and they all
> came down on top of Jack in a shrieking, giggling pile of pubescent
> femininity. Jack let them squirm and laugh on top of him for a few seconds,
> then began tickling them to get them off.
>
> The shrieking and laughing brought Marcia down the stairs.
>
> "What on Earth are you girls doing?"
>
> "Um, nothing, Mom," Kelly said, and then resumed giggling.
>
> "Jack, they aren't bothering you, are they?"
>
> "No, ma'am, it's all right."
>
> "Let's try not to make so much noise, okay, folks?"
>
> Marcia went back upstairs, and they resumed watching TV.
>
> Kelly came up to his room after dinner with her math homework.
>
> "Thanks for hanging out with us today."
>
> "No problem."
>
> "My friends think you're like, a god, or something."
>
> He laughed.
>
> "It's not easy being a freshman. I hated freshman year."
>
> "I know, so do I. Oh, but guess what? Tommy Ryan asked me to the Christmas
> dance. He's a sophomore. I didn't think he knew I existed."
>
> "That's great."
>
> "It's because of you, you know. I didn't have this many friends in eighth
> grade. But people like me now because you're so popular. It's going to suck
> when you graduate."
>
> "If they're real friends, they won't desert you when I'm gone."
>
> "I hope so."
>
> He gave her a hug, and she held him tightly.
>
> She giggled.
>
> "I like hugging you."
>
> "Me too."
>
> They worked on her math for a little while. When they got to a stopping
> place, Kelly glanced at the bathroom door and lowered her voice.
>
> "Karen was in here a long time last night."
>
> "Yeah."
>
> She looked up at him.
>
> "Do you like it?"
>
> "You mean . . ." He couldn't make himself finish the sentence.
>
> "Yeah."
>
> "I still think it's wrong. But yeah. When you love someone, it's like
> nothing else in the world."
>
> "Wow. I wonder if I'll ever be in love like that."
>
> "Some day."
>
> She sighed.
>
> "I've had a crush on Tommy Ryan for a while, but I know it's not love. Not
> love love."
>
> "There are a lot of different kinds of love."
>
> "I know."
>
> "What's going to happen with Karen and the rest of them when you guys
> graduate?"
>
> "I don't know. We haven't much talked about it. I think we've been avoiding
> the issue. It can't last forever."
>
> "Yeah. You could only marry one of them."
>
> "We're a long way from worrying about that."
>
> "Did Karen tell you where she's applying to college?"
>
> "No. I haven't thought to ask her."
>
> "She said Georgetown. That's near Annapolis, isn't it?"
>
> Jack felt a chill run down his back.
>
> "It's in Washington D.C. That's about half an hour away, I think."
>
> "So you could still see her if she was there."
>
> "Yeah."
>
> They finished up Kelly's homework, and Jack went to work on his. As he
> expected, Karen returned to his bed after the lights were out.
>
> She held him off when he tried to embrace her.
>
> "Wait."
>
> "What?"
>
> "Was I hallucinating earlier tonight or were you actually discussing our
> little arrangement with Kelly?"
>
> He groaned.
>
> "It's a long story."
>
> "Well, I've got all night. I'm dying to hear this one."
>
> "She sort of knew before I said anything. She knew you had been coming in
> here. She's been following you into the bathroom and listening."
>
> Karen's jaw dropped.
>
> "Oh, shit."
>
> "Right."
>
> "But what the hell did you tell her?"
>
> "It was last month, when we got into that fight. I was going out of my
> mind. I had to talk to someone. When I was helping her with her homework,
> she just said, 'I know why Karen is mad at you.' She sort of dragged it out
> of me."
>
> "And you told her? About Summer and Becky and everything?"
>
> "Yeah. I had to talk to someone about it. And it helped. She really helped
> me understand what you were going through. I might not have understood
> otherwise."
>
> She fell back onto the bed.
>
> "Oh, God. What did she say?"
>
> "She seemed to understand. And I swore her to silence. As far as I know,
> she hasn't told anyone. I don't think she will. She's all popular now with
> the freshmen because she's my sister. She even thinks she got a date to
> Christmas dance because of me. She won't screw that up."
>
> Karen sighed, putting her hand to her head.
>
> "Who is she going with?"
>
> "Tommy Ryan. I think he's on the J.V. squad. I can't quite put a face to
> the name. But she was all excited about it."
>
> "I know him. He's sort of cute, for a sophomore."
>
> She rolled over, laying her head on his chest.
>
> "How was your date with Summer last night?"
>
> "Good. We went to see 'The Runaway Jury.'"
>
> "How was it?"
>
> "Not bad. Summer was talking afterward about going to law school."
>
> Karen laughed.
>
> "Summer as a lawyer. God. She'd be ruthless. I can just imagine it."
>
> "While we're on the subject."
>
> "What?"
>
> "You didn't mention about applying to Georgetown."
>
> He felt her tense up next to him.
>
> "It was supposed to be a surprise. Who told you?"
>
> "Kelly."
>
> "Damn it. Why can she keep your secrets and not mine?"
>
> "Did you tell her not to tell me?"
>
> "No. It's no big deal. We were going to tell you this week."
>
> "We?"
>
> "Um. Yeah. All three of us are applying."
>
> "You, Summer and Becky?"
>
> "Yeah. It's not just because of you, before your head swells too much. We'd
> talked about going to the same school before we even met you. We wanted to
> go some place back East. We weren't dead set on doing this; it was just an
> idea. But when we got together a couple of weeks ago to go over our college
> catalogues, we kind of all settled on Georgetown. It's a good school, it's
> a Catholic school, which Becky and Summer's parents like, not that Mom
> doesn't care, it's back East, and it would be near you."
>
> "That's if I get in."
>
> "You will. But don't get too excited about it yet. There's no guarantee
> we'll all get in, or even any of us will."
>
> He sighed.
>
> "I'd like it if you did."
>
> "I know. It would be neat. I don't know how long this thing with all of us
> can last, but at least college won't be the reason for ending it."
>
>   ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>                                  XXIII-II.
>
> Joe waited a few days before making his move. He almost approached Corinne
> on Monday, but lost his nerve. Wednesday afternoons there was normally no
> football practice. When he got home around four, he knew he had to do it or
> wait another week. Corinne's parents were still at work and so were his,
> but his mother would be home in a little over an hour. He set up the
> camcorder in his room and walked across the street. He had a sinking
> feeling that he was about to do something very wrong, but he couldn't quite
> stop himself.
>
> He rang the doorbell and Corinne answered a moment later.
>
> "Hi."
>
> "Hi." She regarded him cautiously, clearly not trusting his motives for
> coming over.
>
> "I, uh, I've got something you might want to see."
>
> "What?"
>
> "I was down by the park the other night, you know the one behind the
> K-Mart, and I saw your car parked over in the back."
>
> Corinne gasped, putting her hand over her mouth.
>
> "I was picking up my dad's camcorder, he, um, had it down there to get it
> fixed, and it went on somehow. Anyway, I, uh, I got a tape of you. You and
> Michelle."
>
> The color had drained completely out of Corinne's face, and she stood
> there, frozen to the spot.
>
> "I thought you might like to see it, you know, just to see what it looked
> like."
>
> She was breathing heavily.
>
> "You taped us?"
>
> "Not on purpose."
>
> Her terror turned into a scowl.
>
> "Yeah, right."
>
> "Anyway, you wanna see it?"
>
> She glanced up and down the street, not moving.
>
> "No one else knows. I'm not, like, hiding the team in my house or
> anything."
>
> She stared at him icily.
>
> "No one else knows?"
>
> "No."
>
> She closed her eyes, trying to regain some composure.
>
> "Okay. Let's see it."
>
> Joe walked over to his house and Corinne followed behind him. He let her
> in, and led her up to his room. She took in the adolescent clutter of his
> small domain, arms crossed tightly, remaining as close to the door as she
> could while still getting a serviceable view of the TV screen. Joe looked
> at her, then looked away, avoiding her glare. He turned on the TV, then
> started the tape. She watched for a minute. Then she closed her eyes,
> putting a hand over her face.
>
> "Fucking pervert."
>
> He saw her swallow roughly. A tear ran down her cheek, and she wiped at it.
> He suddenly didn't feel so great about this idea.
>
> "What do you want?"
>
> "I just wanted to ask you something."
>
> She dropped her hand, staring up at the ceiling, wiping her face.
>
> "Oh, God. You want to ask me what it's like to do it with another girl?
> You're so pathetic."
>
> "No, no, not about you."
>
> She looked back at him, her gaze hardening.
>
> "Well . . . what, then?"
>
> "You're friends with Jack O'Leary, right?"
>
> Her eyes widened.
>
> "Yeah. Why?"
>
> "What's the deal with him and Summer and Becky and Karen? They act like
> they're all his girlfriends. I figured since you're friends with all of
> them, you'd know."
>
> Her jaw dropped. She closed her eyes and covered her face with her hands.
> Joe watched her, his sense of amazement growing. There was something going
> on!
>
> Corinne took a ragged breath and dropped her hands, staring at the floor.
>
> "You want to see my breasts, right? That's what this is really about.
> That's why you were spying on us, isn't it? I know it's what you've always
> wanted."
>
> "Uh . . ."
>
> "If I show you, will you give me the tape?"
>
> Joe stood there in a daze, thrown completely off-track by her offer. He did
> want to know what Jack was doing, but the chance to have Corinne expose
> herself to him--right here in his bedroom!--when would he ever have an
> opportunity like that again?
>
> He had to force out his reply.
>
> "Okay."
>
> Corinne's eyes closed, and her hands tightened into fists. Holding her arms
> close to her body, she pulled her T-shirt out of her shorts, then pulled it
> over her head. Not seeming to want to drop it on the floor, she shoved it
> between her knees. She wore what Joe guessed was one of those full-figure
> bras, huge white cups that covered most of her chest. Corinne reached
> behind her back and undid the hooks, letting it fall forward. She held it
> tightly in one hand and stood still, not looking at him.
>
> It wasn't quite the thrilling experience Joe had always fantasized about.
> Yes, his stomach was doing somersaults, but his growing sense of disgust
> with himself flattened any real arousal. Before he had completed the
> thought, his hand rose up and touched the side of her left breast.
> Startled, she slapped his arm away.
>
> "God," she said. "Are you done now? Can I get dressed?"
>
> He turned away toward the TV.
>
> "Yeah."
>
> Not watching her dress, he pulled the tape out of the camcorder. When she
> finished tucking her shirt into her shorts, he handed it to her. She
> snatched it away from him.
>
> She held the tape tightly in her hand, staring up at the ceiling.
>
> "I will hate you until the day I die. You are the lowest form of life I
> have ever known. If you tell anyone about this, I will devote the rest of
> my life to making you as miserable as I am now. I will tell Jack
> everything, and he will beat you within an inch of your life. Believe me,
> he will do it."
>
> "Corinne--"
>
> "Go to hell."
>
> He watched her leave his room, and listened to her running down the stairs
> and out the front door. He looked out his window. Corinne was walking
> quickly across the street, pulling the tape out of the cassette. She pulled
> it faster, fighting with it, then threw it at the gutter. She stopped in
> the street, hands over her face. After that he couldn't watch any more, and
> he sat on the edge of his bed, staring at the wall.
>
> Thursday afternoon as Jack was leaving Pre-Calculus, someone came up behind
> him, grabbing his arm.
>
> "Come with me," Karen said. "You are not going to believe this."
>
> "What?"
>
> "Wait. Not here."
>
> She led him to a quiet end of the campus under a tree.
>
> "Okay. You know about Corinne and Michelle, right?"
>
> "Sure."
>
> "They've developed this habit of driving down to the park behind K-Mart to
> make out. They pretend they're going over to someone's house to study but
> they're really going to meet each other. They've been doing this since last
> summer, since they can't exactly go on dates together."
>
> "Right."
>
> "This is the bad part. Joe Dickson somehow found out about this, I don't
> know how, maybe he followed them, Corinne said he claimed to have just
> stumbled across them, which I don't believe in a million years, but anyway,
> he saw them together."
>
> "Oh, shit."
>
> "It gets worse. He had his dad's camcorder with him. He got a goddamned
> videotape of Corinne and Michelle getting it on in Corinne's car."
>
> Jack leaned back against the tree. He knew Joe was obsessed with Corinne,
> but this went beyond a simple crush.
>
> "He planned the whole thing," Jack said. "He must have."
>
> "Can you believe he told Corinne he just walked past after he picked up the
> camera from getting fixed?"
>
> "Yes. He's like that."
>
> "Yesterday he comes knocking on Corinne's door, and says, 'hey, I've got
> this tape, come over and see it.'"
>
> "Just like that?"
>
> "Right. Just like that. So Corinne goes over and he shows it to her. She
> thought he was going to blackmail her or something, but guess what he asks
> her?"
>
> "What?"
>
> "'What's the deal with Jack, Summer, Karen and Becky? Are they all getting
> it on?'"
>
> Jack's heart leapt out of in his chest.
>
> "That's what he asked her? 'Are they getting it on?'"
>
> "Well, not like that, I don't think, but he clearly seemed to suspect it."
>
> "What did she say?"
>
> "Well, get this. You, me, Summer, and Becky owe her one colossal fucking
> favor. Because rather than tell him anything, she offered to show him her
> breasts, because you know how obsessed he is about them. So she did, and
> got the tape back."
>
> "Oh, my God."
>
> "Right."
>
> Jack stared blankly out across the campus.
>
> "We've been trying to decide what to do. Corinne initially didn't want us
> to tell you, but I thought you should know."
>
> A dozen emotions warred for dominance in Jack's head. To his surprise, his
> anger was winning.
>
> "I'll go have a talk with him."
>
> Karen jumped.
>
> "No! Then he'll know something is going on."
>
> "He already does, don't you see? If there hadn't been anything to tell, she
> would have said so. I guess she knew she was too worked up to lie
> effectively, so she did the only thing she could think of. She got the tape
> back, but she might as well have told him the truth. What else could he
> think? There's some enormous secret, so big she was willing to expose
> herself to him--this after avoiding him for years-- rather than tell him.
> He knows. He's a jerk, but he's not stupid."
>
> Karen seemed on the verge of panic.
>
> "What are you going to do?"
>
> "I'm going to make sure he understands the virtues of discretion. There's
> no other way."
>
> She shrunk next to him, not recognizing what she was seeing in his eyes.
>
> "Are you going to beat him up?"
>
> "No. I can't do that. But he won't know it."
>
> "Oh, God. I should warn the others."
>
> "Do it. If Corinne flips out about the idea, come and get me. I'm going to
> grab him after practice."
>
> "Okay."
>
> None of them intercepted him the rest of the day. During practice, he
> occasionally glanced over at the cheerleaders, who were stretching and
> working out at one end of the field. As he expected, Corinne did not look
> happy. The more Jack thought about it, the angrier he got. What Joe had
> done bordered on rape.
>
> Jack thought about how far he had come in the last few months. He had once
> tried to follow Christ's example, remaining meek and humble. The thought of
> threatening someone would have repulsed him. Jack had been something of a
> loner before coming to Sacred Heart, though, and that made his path easier.
> It wasn't so difficult to avoid confrontations when you avoided people in
> general.
>
> But Jesus hadn't avoided people; He had immersed himself in them, and still
> avoided the temptation to resort to violence. Rather than defend Himself,
> He had gone to death on the Cross. Jack knew why he had ended up in this
> situation; it could all be traced back to the web of lies he had woven to
> protect himself. Deception bred more deception until it reached the point
> that only violence and threats could protect their secret. How much longer
> could it last? How would he handle the next Joe Dickson? How far would he
> go to protect his appointment to Annapolis?
>
> His heart wasn't quite in it, but as practice ended, he set out on his
> task. He glanced at Corinne, who was watching him, and regained some
> fortitude.
>
> He caught Joe on the way back to the locker room, putting his arm over
> Joe's shoulder. Fear immediately flashed over Joe's face when he realized
> who it was. Jack shook Joe a little--he outweighed him by at least thirty
> pounds--in a mock sort of greeting.
>
> "Joe, you know, it's funny how people are. You think you know someone, and
> then you learn something that completely surprises you. Everyone has a
> secret side to them, things they hide away from public view. I mean, I'm
> sure you've got your share of dirty little secrets, right? Everybody does.
> You know what I'm saying?"
>
> He shook Joe again. Joe nodded.
>
> "But it's best we don't pry into that kind of stuff. No one likes to hear
> things like that, because it reminds of them of their own secrets. Some
> things are just better left unsaid. The world doesn't need to know every
> last thing about everyone. Sticking your nose into other people's private
> business can be dangerous, you know?"
>
> Joe gulped.
>
> "Yeah."
>
> "I mean, I bet there are some things you don't want the world to know about
> you, right? But once you start throwing stuff like that out, you never know
> where it will end. Lots of people could get hurt. Good people who don't
> deserve it. You understand what I'm saying?"
>
> Joe nodded again.
>
> "Yeah."
>
> "I think it's best if you stay away from Corinne. Better for everyone, you
> know? Just forget about this whole thing. Forget she exists. The school is
> full of cute girls. Girls who probably wouldn't like you very much if they
> knew about this, right?"
>
> "Right."
>
> Jack thumped him on the back.
>
> "Good. Catch you later, okay?"
>
> Jack jogged off, leaving him behind. He wasn't sure how Joe felt, but he
> needed a shower. Badly.
>
> Corinne and Karen were waiting for him outside the locker room. He walked
> across the campus with them.
>
> "So what happened?" Karen asked.
>
> "He'll keep his mouth shut. He knows he'll look pretty bad if this gets
> out. What he did was probably illegal. I think he understands that much."
>
> Corinne stopped, sighing.
>
> "Are you okay?" Karen asked.
>
> "No. But I will be."
>
> She turned and hugged Jack tightly.
>
> "Thanks."
>
> "No problem. I'm sorry this happened."
>
> "It's partly my fault. If Michelle and I were brave enough to come out,
> this wouldn't have happened the way it did."
>
> "Don't blame yourself for Joe being a pervert."
>
> "It's not that. But if we didn't have to hide . . . you know what I mean?"
>
> "Does Michelle know?"
>
> "No. But I'm going to tell her, now that it's over."
>
> She let go of Jack and they resumed their walk to the parking lot. When
> they got to Corinne's car, Karen stopped her.
>
> "Corinne, what would happen if you guys came out? If you just decided,
> 'Fuck what everyone thinks, I love her.'"
>
> Corinne's face tightened up, and she looked away from them.
>
> "My folks could probably deal with it. I don't know about hers. Don't think
> I haven't thought about it, especially after this."
>
> "And school wouldn't be all that bad. I mean, it's not the first time it's
> happened. You remember Amanda Press and Marcy Rennet two years ago?"
>
> "Yeah. I also remember all the nasty gossip about it."
>
> "You've got, what, one semester left? Then you're in college, and you know
> no one will care there."
>
> "Six months would be a long time."
>
> "You wouldn't be alone," Jack said. "Your real friends already know."
>
> "You know we'd stand by you," Karen said.
>
> "I know Summer would stand up for you. And that would count for a lot."
>
> "Yeah."
>
> "I don't want to pressure you," Karen said. "But think about it."
>
> "Okay. Thanks."
>
> Jack and Karen watched her drive away.
>
> "Get ready for World War III," Karen said.
>
>   ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>                                    XXIV.
>
> God might or might not have been listening to their conversation, but an
> eerie accent to Karen's prediction hit at 8:14 the next morning. A
> previously unknown strike-slip fault line deep under south Orange County
> gave way. Jack and Karen were sitting in American History class when it
> hit. The first jolt sent the desks screeching across the floor, and the
> power immediately went out. Books clattered all over the floor as the
> students dove under their desks. Karen crawled next to Jack, and he covered
> her with his body. The shaking continued for another six or seven seconds.
>
> "Is everyone all right?" the teacher asked when it was over.
>
> No one seemed to be hurt. The students began picking up their books.
>
> "Should we go outside?" one student asked.
>
> The teacher glanced around the room.
>
> "Maybe that might be a good idea."
>
> The students filed out into the quadrangle. Around the quad, other classes
> were breaking up. Summer and Becky walked up a minute later.
>
> "Wow, that was cool," Summer said.
>
> "Do you think they'll send us home?" Becky asked.
>
> "They might," Jack said.
>
> For about fifteen minutes, the students stood around nervously discussing
> the quake. A minor aftershock hit, causing some screams and giggling. Then
> Father Roberts appeared from the administration wing.
>
> "Children, class will be cancelled for the rest of the day--"
>
> Raucous cheering drowned out the rest of what he was trying to say.
>
> "--we have to inspect the buildings for damage. Just go home, and we'll see
> you on Monday."
>
> "What about the game tonight?" someone yelled.
>
> "We haven't made a decision about that yet. You will have to call in later
> today. I expect it will go forward unless the damage is greater than we
> realize."
>
> "What should we do?" Becky asked.
>
> "We could go to South Coast Plaza," Karen said.
>
> "Oh, that's lame," Summer said. "Besides, everyone will be there probably.
> Or it might be closed."
>
> "We should go somewhere weird," Becky said. "Go on some kind of adventure."
>
> "How about the beach?" Summer said. "It's too cold to swim, but we could
> just hang out there for a while."
>
> Karen's eyes lit up.
>
> "We could go down to Camp Pendleton. Jack or I could get us in. I bet
> there's a million places to hang out where no one will be around."
>
> "How far is it?" Becky asked.
>
> "Half-hour, tops. If we all go change real fast, we could be down there by
> ten or ten-thirty."
>
> Summer drove them all home. Jack changed clothes quickly and packed up a
> bag of drinks and chips. He was hunting for a beach blanket when Kelly got
> home.
>
> "Isn't this cool?"
>
> "Yeah."
>
> She looked over at the bag of food.
>
> "Where are you guys going?"
>
> "They wanted to drive down to Camp Pendleton. We're just going to hang
> out."
>
> "Oh, neat. Can I come?"
>
> "Uh, you can ask Karen, but I don't think they'd like it. Summer and Becky
> are coming with us."
>
> Her face wilted slightly.
>
> "Oh. A boyfriend-girlfriend thing?"
>
> "Sort of."
>
> Karen came down the stairs in jeans and a sweatshirt.
>
> "You guys are going to Camp Pendleton?"
>
> Karen regarded her warily.
>
> "Yeah. Don't ask if you can come, okay? It's just the four of us."
>
> Kelly scowled, and Karen rolled her eyes.
>
> "Come on, you've got your own friends to hang out with. There isn't room in
> Summer's car for five of us anyway."
>
> "Well, I don't want to get in the way of your beach-blanket orgy."
>
> Karen snorted in exasperation.
>
> "Oh, yeah, we're going to have an orgy in broad daylight on the beach of a
> Marine base."
>
> "Well then why can't I come?"
>
> "Just because."
>
> Kelly narrowed her eyes at Karen.
>
> "I could tell Mom some things."
>
> "Oh, don't you even dare," Karen snarled.
>
> Jack got in between them, facing Kelly.
>
> "Whoa, whoa. This isn't necessary, okay?"
>
> "Why can't I come?"
>
> "We just want to have a day together. This has nothing to do with you.
> Look, relax about this and I'll hang out with you at the mall tomorrow,
> how's that?"
>
> Her eyes widened.
>
> "Really?"
>
> "Oh, give me a break," Karen said.
>
> "Yeah. We can eat lunch, play video games, and flirt with your friends.
> Whatever you want."
>
> She glanced past him at Karen and smirked.
>
> "You promise?"
>
> "Yes."
>
> "Okay. Go be lovey-dovey with my sister and her gay friends."
>
> "Witch," Karen muttered.
>
> Kelly went upstairs and they went out to the porch to wait for Summer and
> Becky.
>
> "You might want to mention this to them."
>
> "About Kelly wanting to come?"
>
> "About her knowing."
>
> "Oh."
>
> "Just to be safe."
>
> "They won't be happy."
>
> "Kelly isn't going to tell anyone. She knows what would happen."
>
> "But you set a precedent just now. She knows she can extort stuff out of us
> with it."
>
> He sighed.
>
> "It runs in the family, I guess."
>
> Hurt flashed in her eyes.
>
> "You're not still mad about that, are you? About how I started it?"
>
> He put his arm on her shoulder.
>
> "No. It's ancient history."
>
> She leaned her head against him.
>
> "I don't want you to ever be mad at me. I love you so much sometimes it
> hurts."
>
> He hugged her, and they sat there until Summer pulled up.
>
> When they got to the base, Jack and Karen flashed their dependant I.D.
> cards at the gate guard. He waved them through.
>
> "Is that what you're going to do, Jack?" Becky asked.
>
> "Jack's going to be an officer," Karen said. "He's going to fly jets like
> my dad and his dad did."
>
> "Why do you have to go to the Naval Academy if you're going to be a
> Marine?"
>
> "There's no Marine Corps Academy," Jack said. "The Corps is technically
> part of the Navy."
>
> "Oh."
>
> "You're going to look so cute in that uniform," Summer said. "I can't wait
> to see it."
>
> They found a deserted section of beach and pulled off the road into the
> dunes. Interstate 5 was still within sight, but they saw no one else in any
> direction.
>
> The sun was out, but the breeze off the water was slightly cool. Karen
> pulled off her sweatshirt, revealing a bikini top, and lay down on the
> blanket.
>
> "Damn," Becky said. "I didn't think to wear my suit."
>
> "Who are you going to offend?" Karen said, not opening her eyes.
>
> Becky giggled, glancing at Jack and Summer, then pulled off her sweater
> top. She lay down next to Karen in her bra. Summer fiddled with the radio
> for a minute, then lay back against Jack, who was leaning against a clump
> of sawgrass. Jack took one of her hands, and spent a few minutes inspecting
> her nails and knuckles. He kissed her fingertips.
>
> "I'm cold," she said a little while later.
>
> Jack reached into one of their bags and pulled out another blanket. Summer
> flipped it out and lay it over them.
>
> He realized maybe an hour later that he had dozed off. Summer was still
> laying on him, and appeared to be asleep herself. Karen and Becky were
> still sunbathing, but had gone a step further and taken their tops off. Two
> sets of nipples, erect in the cool wind, pointed toward the sky.
>
> "Aren't you guys cold?"
>
> Neither of them moved.
>
> "Is it that obvious?" Karen said.
>
> "If this were an inspection, you'd get a 4.0 for military bearing."
>
> Becky burst out laughing, and rubbed her hands over her breasts.
>
> "I'm getting dressed. I'm freezing here."
>
> She put her sweater on, not bothering with her bra.
>
> "Wimp," Karen said.
>
> Summer stirred against him, growling.
>
> "I was asleep," she mumbled.
>
> "Go back to sleep," he said.
>
> "Mmm. I like sleeping next to you."
>
> She rolled over, laying her head on his chest. Becky got up, walking around
> them, then crawled under the blanket on the other side.
>
> "Me too. Move over."
>
> Summer grumbled, letting Jack rearrange things.
>
> Karen stood up, leaving her top on the blanket.
>
> "I think I'm going to go swimming."
>
> Becky looked up at her.
>
> "You're nuts. You'll freeze. Besides which you're flashing the whole
> Pacific Ocean."
>
> Karen stretched out her arms, putting her hands on her head.
>
> "Which includes who? There's no one here."
>
> Karen unbuttoned her jeans, and shoved them down, along with her bikini
> bottoms. In a moment, she was nude. She smiled at them and then ran down to
> the water.
>
> Becky reached over to nudge Summer.
>
> "Check out the mermaid."
>
> Summer lifted her head, watching Karen's naked back as she dove into the
> waves.
>
> "God. She's crazy. She'll freeze to death."
>
> "I'll watch her," Jack said.
>
> Summer and Becky laid back down as Jack watched Karen swimming around in
> the ocean. She came back a few minutes later, shivering.
>
> "Let me under there. I'm freezing."
>
> Summer squawked as Karen dripped on her.
>
> "Dry off first, jeez."
>
> Karen grabbed a towel and rubbed herself. Jack could see every follicle on
> her body standing out in a big goose bump. She pulled back the blanket and
> lay flat on Jack's chest. Summer and Becky both yelled at her and pulled
> the blanket back.
>
> Karen bunched herself up, shivering. Jack sat up straight, trying to
> reposition everyone.
>
> "Get the other blanket."
>
> Summer rolled over, and shook the sand out of the blanket Karen and Becky
> had been using, then lay it over them. She crawled back under next to Jack.
> Karen squirmed down between Jack and Becky, trying to get warm.
>
> Becky began giggling.
>
> "This is like the slumber party."
>
> Becky rubbed at Karen, trying to warm her up.
>
> "Ooo, you're turning me on."
>
> "Well, you're sure not turning me on. You're an ice cube."
>
> In a few minutes, Karen had returned to life, and they settled down.
>
> "This is nice," Karen said.
>
> "I wish we had an earthquake every day," Summer said.
>
> "Wouldn't it be neat if we never had to go back?" Becky said. Jack could
> feel her hands still moving over Karen, caressing her naked body. "We could
> all live together on the beach like this."
>
> "Don't say stuff like that," Summer said. "You know it can't happen."
>
> "I know."
>
> "Becky is molesting me," Karen said.
>
> "You've never complained about that before."
>
> "I'm not complaining. I just thought they should know."
>
> Karen rolled on her back, and Becky leaned down to kiss her. Jack couldn't
> quite tell what was going on under the blanket, but there was a lot of
> squirming and moving around.
>
> Summer pulled his head over.
>
> "Ignore them. Kiss me."
>
> He rolled over, kissing her. He held her tightly, feeling around. Behind
> him came moans and giggles, and unidentified limbs bumped against his back.
> He ran his hand up under Summer's sweatshirt and opened the front hook on
> her bra. She lay still, nibbling on his neck as he fondled her breasts.
>
> "Whatever happens to the four of us," she whispered in his ear, "I'll never
> stop loving you. Know that."
>
> "I do. Don't worry about it. What will happen will happen. And I love you
> too."
>
> He pulled back and kissed her again. He ventured a glance behind him. Both
> girls had disappeared under the blanket, and something was definitely up.
> He went back to kissing Summer.
>
> When he could tell that she was getting worked up, he slid a hand down to
> her jeans, unbuttoning the fly. She slid them down a bit to let his hand
> in, and he worked it under her panties. He found the magic button and
> tweaked it back and forth until she was moaning in his ear. He used her hot
> fluids to lubricate his fingers and began lightly running them over her.
> About a minute later, she convulsed, gnawing on his neck. He kept
> pleasuring her, wanting more than anything to make her happy. She came a
> second time, then a third, before pulling up on his wrist. Then she rolled
> into him, snuggling in his arms.
>
> He looked behind him, hearing someone--it sounded like Becky-- gasping.
> Becky was out of the top of the blanket, sweater up over her breasts. Karen
> was down underneath, apparently between Becky's thighs. Becky began to
> thrash, crying out. A minute later, Karen emerged from the blanket. She saw
> Jack watching them and grinned. She and Becky kissed, then rolled over next
> to Jack.
>
> A hand--he thought it was Karen's--reached down at massaged his erection.
>
> "Summer," she said, "it looks like you were being selfish here."
>
> "He didn't give me a chance."
>
> Karen's head disappeared under the blanket. Becky's followed, as did
> Summer's. Three mouths were soon sucking all over him. He found it very
> hard to tell who was doing what, and soon surrendered to the confusion. In
> a few minutes, one of them brought him off. Then they buttoned him up and
> emerged from the blanket.
>
> He sighed, and hugged all of them. Eventually they got up and went back to
> the car.
>
>   ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>                                     XXV.
>
> They stopped on the way back and ate a late lunch. Summer called the school
> from her car.
>
> "The game is on."
>
> "Okay."
>
> "So we should get back."
>
> Summer dropped Jack and Karen off at their house around four. Karen went to
> take a shower and Jack lay down on his bed.
>
> Kelly leaned in his door.
>
> "Did you guys have fun?"
>
> "Yeah. It was a little cold. Karen went swimming."
>
> "She did?"
>
> "That's why she's in the shower."
>
> She came in and sat his desk.
>
> "I'm sorry for being bitchy earlier. You don't have to take me to the mall
> if you don't want."
>
> "It's okay. We can go."
>
> She smiled.
>
> "Thanks. I wish you really were my brother."
>
> "So do I."
>
> "You won't forget us when you go to college, will you?"
>
> "Of course not."
>
> She squirmed.
>
> "Can I ask a favor? This will sound really dumb."
>
> "What?"
>
> "Would you kiss me? It's not because I want to be your girlfriend or
> anything, it's just that I've never kissed a guy before, and if Tommy Ryan
> tries to kiss me at the dance, I don't want to look like a geek and do
> something wrong."
>
> Jack laughed.
>
> "There's less to it than you think."
>
> "So can you?"
>
> "I'm not sure it's a good idea."
>
> "Please?"
>
> He cocked his ear to the bathroom. Karen was still in the shower.
>
> "Okay. Real quick though."
>
> Kelly sat next to him on the bed and looked up nervously. He brushed her
> hair back from her face.
>
> "You don't have to do anything. Just open your mouth a little and don't try
> to bite him."
>
> "Okay."
>
> He leaned down, and kissed her gently. Her lips opened, and he touched his
> tongue to hers, moving it slowly. Then he withdrew. She blushed, breathing
> nervously.
>
> "Kiss him like that and you'll do fine."
>
> She smiled.
>
> "Thanks."
>
> She got up and went back to her room.
>
> The game that night was against the weakest team in their conference. Jack
> had three sacks and an interception by halftime, and spent the rest of the
> game on the bench. He saw Kelly sitting with her friends, and walked over
> to flirt with them just to make her happy. She was sitting with a
> blond-haired kid who turned out to be Tommy Ryan, and Jack talked to him
> for a minute or two. He seemed decent enough.
>
> Karen saw him standing with Kelly and her friends, and the cheerleaders
> teased him about it for the rest of the night.
>
> "I guess I've been dumped for a bunch of freshmen," Summer said.
>
> "Oh, the indignity of it," Becky replied, pretending to comfort her.
>
> Sacred Heart won 49-7, and they all went over to Billy's with the rest of
> the team to celebrate.
>
> Jack was coming out of the bathroom when he found Joe Dickson waiting for
> him nervously.
>
> "Joe."
>
> "Hey, Jack. You got a minute?"
>
> "What's up?"
>
> Joe glanced around and led him into one the bedrooms, shutting the door.
>
> "Look, I want you to know that I'm not going to tell anyone what happened
> with Corinne. It was a dumb idea, and I really wish none of it had
> happened."
>
> "Okay."
>
> "But the problem is that I'm not the only one who knows about it."
>
> "What do you mean?"
>
> "Randy knows. Because, um, he was there that night."
>
> "Oh, shit."
>
> "Yeah. I wanted to tell you in case he tells someone. If it gets out, it
> wasn't me, okay?"
>
> "Okay. Don't worry about it. Things may be happening that will make all
> this irrelevant anyway."
>
> Joe looked confused for a second, then his eyes widened.
>
> "Oh, man. Are they going to come out?"
>
> "They might. But that's confidential, okay? Same as the other stuff."
>
> "Yeah. Sure, no problem."
>
> Joe went down stairs, and Jack debated about whether to relay his
> revelation about Randy. He decided to sit on it for now. Even if he was
> able to intimidate Randy as he had Joe--which was unlikely--Randy was his
> friend, and it wouldn't be a very nice thing to do. Even mentioning Corinne
> and Michelle would raise questions about how Jack knew what had happened.
>
> When he and Karen got home, they spent a minute or two kissing and fondling
> each other in the darkness on the front porch.
>
> "I hope you're not in the mood for romance tonight," she said. "I don't
> feel so hot."
>
> "What's wrong?"
>
> "I just feel tired and achy."
>
> "I hope you didn't catch something swimming today."
>
> "Me neither."
>
> "It's okay. Go to bed."
>
> "Thanks."
>
> Jack undressed and went to bed. But about half an hour later, just as he
> was falling asleep, Karen slipped into his bed.
>
> "Change your mind?"
>
> Not waiting for her to respond, he rolled over and kissed her. She did seem
> a little hesitant, so he guessed she wanted to take it easy tonight. He
> kissed her for a minute or two, but lacking her usual enthusiasm, she just
> lay there and let him. He slipped his hand under her pajama top and began
> caressing her breasts. Her nipples were as stiff and erect as they always
> were, but something felt wrong--she was bigger, almost a handful,
> definitely more than she had been two nights earlier.
>
> Realization flooded into him, and he withdrew, cringing.
>
> "Oh, shit."
>
> "I'm sorry," Kelly said.
>
> He flopped back onto the bed, putting his hands over his face.
>
> "It's my fault," she said. "I should have announced myself."
>
> He had been making out with her for several minutes at least, and she
> hadn't done anything to stop him. He didn't want to think what that might
> mean.
>
> "Do you want me to go back?"
>
> "It's okay."
>
> "It's no big deal. I just wanted to come in and talk to you."
>
> "What happened to Karen?"
>
> "She's asleep. She said she felt sick."
>
> She was quiet a moment.
>
> "Are you mad at me?"
>
> "No. I should be asking you that."
>
> "I didn't mind. It felt nice. I've never gone that far before."
>
> He sighed.
>
> "What did you want to talk about?"
>
> "I wanted to thank you for how nice you've been to me lately. I know being
> a senior, the last thing you want to do is hang out with the freshmen. And
> I really appreciate all the help with math."
>
> "No problem. I never had any brothers or sisters, so I'm trying to learn as
> I go along."
>
> "You're doing a great job. I'm going to miss you when you go off to
> college."
>
> "I told you I'll come back."
>
> She rolled over next to him, putting her head on his shoulder.
>
> "Is it okay if I stay here a little while?"
>
> "Yeah."
>
> As he had the last time Kelly had shown up in his room, he fell asleep
> before she left. He dreamt about a day at school with Summer. They were in
> the library discussing Corinne and Michelle's impeding marriage. Joe
> Dickson showed up and told them he had been asked to be an usher because
> they thought he had provided the push to make them come out of the closet.
> Jack and Summer both agreed that was a good idea. Summer reached out to put
> her hand over Jack's. She touched his fingers once, then twice.
>
> Jack drifted awake to the sensation that something was moving next to him.
> Gradually he realized he was still in bed next to Kelly. During the night,
> he had thrown his arm over her waist, and it was now resting on her bare
> stomach.
>
> Her stomach was moving up and down, and she seemed to be breathing more
> heavily than she should have been. Something touched his fingers again, and
> he realized it was her right arm. It was moving back and forth slowly. Her
> left elbow touched his arm, and she seemed to have it crossed over her
> chest. It too moved slightly.
>
> Her felt her stomach twitching, and the twitches seemed to coincide with
> her intakes of breath. All at once, he realized what was going on.
>
> The temptation to do something was overwhelming. Had this been part of her
> plan all along? Or had it been a sudden impulse caused by her proximity to
> him, or his mistaken attempt to make love to her? He had a feeling it was
> probably the latter.
>
> He wanted to pretend to roll over in his sleep. He was still half asleep,
> and he moved his arm slightly before he realized he had done it.
>
> All movement next to him, including Kelly's breathing, ceased instantly.
> Well, that at least confirmed that she had been up to something. But she
> knew he was awake now, and she was probably dying of embarrassment. Unless
> he did something to relax her, she might bolt back to her room and hide
> there for the next year.
>
> He brought up his arm, discovering on the way up that she had unbuttoned
> her pajama top to expose her breasts, and began gently caressing her face.
> He leaned over and kissed her forehead. She began to breathe again, but her
> body was still as tight as a bowstring. He moved down and kissed her on the
> lips. Her mouth opened, and she let him kiss her. Slowly, she began to
> unwind.
>
> He moved his hand over her body, figuring that the only way to resolve this
> was to finish what she had started. He played with her breasts for a few
> minutes, deciding that she felt somewhat like Becky. She was bigger than
> Karen, and though not as big as Becky, had the same firm shape to her.
>
> Kelly relaxed, dropping her arms to her sides and surrendering herself to
> him. He slipped his hand under pajama bottoms, finding her already wet and
> ready. She gasped, tensing up, when he slipped a finger between her lips.
> She was very tight, and unquestionably a virgin. Though a little
> mischievous voice in the back of his head was suggesting that she would
> probably let him make love to her if he wanted to, that was clearly out of
> the question.
>
> He stroked her gently for a few minutes, speeding up only when she began to
> convulse and thrash beside him. She shook, and her right hand shot over to
> grip his wrist tightly. Toward the end, she squeaked and jerked his hand
> away. She lay twitching next to him for a minute or so. Then they rolled
> together, and he held her until they fell asleep.
>
> When he woke the next morning, she was still in his arms, pajama top still
> open. The top sheet was off, and if anyone came in, the situation--his arm
> across her naked breasts--would be impossible to explain.
>
> Gently, he woke her up. She stretched, starting when she realized she was
> exposed. She pulled the sheet up and looked at him, still clearly
> embarrassed about the night before.
>
> He brushed her hair back from her forehead, looking into her pretty hazel
> eyes.
>
> "Everything is all right. But what happened can't ever happen again, okay?"
>
> She nodded, looking away from him.
>
> "You'd better go before someone comes in."
>
> She buttoned up her top under the sheets and slid out of bed. She peeked
> into the bathroom, then slipped inside, glancing back at him one more time
> with a nervous smile. He listened for a few minutes, and hearing nothing,
> decided they had dodged the bullet.
>
>   ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>                                    XXVI.
>
> Karen proved to have caught a cold from her swim in the ocean. Jack had
> promised Kelly a trip to the mall anyway, so Marcia sent them out to let
> Karen rest.
>
> After a couple of hours of browsing, video games, and giggling with Kelly
> and her friends, they ran into Summer and Becky. Summer reacted in mock
> outrage, putting her hands on her hips.
>
> "You tell me you don't feel like seeing me today and this is where I find
> you!"
>
> Kelly gasped.
>
> "No! We were just shopping. We weren't doing anything."
>
> Summer and Becky both burst out laughing.
>
> "I'm kidding, sheesh. We went over to see how Karen was doing, and she told
> us you were over here."
>
> "Marcia wanted us out of the house," Jack said.
>
> Summer took Jack's arm and hugged him. He put his arm over Becky, and she
> hugged him too.
>
> "Are you guys hungry?" Becky asked.
>
> "Yeah," Kelly said.
>
> "Let's go eat."
>
> Kelly seemed a little disappointed at losing Jack's attention, but was soon
> absorbed in gossiping with her friends. The group went over to the food
> court to eat. Summer and Becky sat with Jack, and the rest of them took an
> adjacent table.
>
> "I knew she was crazy going swimming like that," Summer said.
>
> Becky glanced over at the other table, smiling.
>
> "You sure are paying a lot of attention Kelly lately."
>
> "Yeah," Summer said. "What's up with that?"
>
> "I'm just trying to be a good big brother."
>
> "Aww," Becky said. "That's sweet. I'm the baby of my family, and I used to
> hate it when my older brothers and sisters acted like I was such a pest."
>
> "Well, my brother is a pest," Summer said.
>
> "Kelly is okay," Jack said. "I just think she's jealous of everything Karen
> gets to do."
>
> Becky grinned.
>
> "Like you?"
>
> "Sort of. But I think she has a boyfriend now."
>
> "Tommy Ryan. I saw him with her last night."
>
> "They're going to the dance together."
>
> "So can we have you for the afternoon, or are you still committed to
> Kelly?" Summer said.
>
> "I think I've put in my time. But I don't know if Kelly wants to leave
> yet."
>
> "We can hang out here for a while longer."
>
> Jack agreed with Kelly to meet at one o'clock to go home, and went off with
> the two girls.
>
> "I was talking to Corinne last night," Becky said. "They're really thinking
> hard about telling their parents."
>
> "And after that, the world," Jack said.
>
> "Things are going to get very interesting around here," Summer said.
>
> "Yeah, really," Becky said. "Not just at school. My folks and yours are
> going to have hissy fits about our being friends with them."
>
> "You think so?" Jack asked.
>
> "Yeah," Summer said. "Not much doubt. I can just hear my mother now." She
> tightened her voice into a whine. "'I don't want you associating with those
> two. It may be legal, but that doesn't mean we have to give them our
> approval.' God. If she only knew."
>
> "My mom is the same way. My dad, too. It hurts me to listen to them
> sometimes. I feel like they're shoving a knife in my gut."
>
> "But you guys aren't going to abandon them, are you?"
>
> "Hell, no," Summer said. "I just don't know how I'm going to handle my
> parents."
>
> "Me neither."
>
> They wandered around window-shopping for about an hour before returning to
> get Kelly. When they returned to the rendezvous spot, Jack didn't
> immediately see her. He looked around, noticing a cute brunette standing
> nearby. A split second later, when she smiled at him, he realized it was
> Kelly. She'd gotten her hair cut.
>
> "Hi. Do you like it?"
>
> Her hair was up to shoulder length, about the same as Karen's.
>
> "It's nice. What brought this on?"
>
> "It was just getting too long. I couldn't do anything with it."
>
> "I like it. Let's go."
>
> Jack took Kelly home, and Summer and Becky followed.
>
> "How is Karen doing?"
>
> "She's asleep," Marcia said. "Thank you so much for keeping Kelly busy
> today."
>
> "It's no trouble. We had fun."
>
> Marcia smiled and rubbed his arm.
>
> "They're both crazy about you, you know. I was worried how they would
> adjust to having you here, but it's turned out just wonderfully."
>
> "I like them a lot, too."
>
> He wondered how Marcia would feel if she knew everything that had been
> going on.
>
> "Are you going back out with Summer and Becky?"
>
> "I'm not sure what we're going to do. I'm going out with Summer tonight."
>
> "All right. Dinner is at six. I'll see you then."
>
> Jack went upstairs and ran into Summer coming down from checking on Karen.
> She glanced down to see if Marcia was nearby.
>
> "Go hang out with Becky. She's been feeling neglected. I'll see you
> tonight, okay?"
>
> "Sure."
>
> She kissed him briefly and left. He found Becky in the hallway.
>
> "How is she?"
>
> "Out cold. She doesn't look so hot. I hope she didn't catch pneumonia or
> something."
>
> He peeked in the room. Karen was bunched up under the covers, hair matted
> and tangled around her head.
>
> "Where's Summer?"
>
> "She went home. I guess it's just us."
>
> "Oh. Cool. What do you want to do?"
>
> "Let's walk over to your place."
>
> "Are you really worried about your folks going postal about Corinne and
> Michelle?"
>
> "I don't even want to think about it. They have a real thing about the
> whole issue, you know? Sometimes I want to yell at my mom, 'Hey, Mom, guess
> what? I'm bisexual, so you're talking about me, too.'"
>
> "I'm sorry."
>
> He put his arm on her shoulder, and she leaned against him as they walked.
>
> "I'll be okay. Somehow. I don't know if I could ever tell them. My two
> brothers could deal with it. They're kind of liberal, and I've always been
> closer to them. But my sisters are too into the Catholic Mother bit. They'd
> side with Mom and reject me."
>
> "You wouldn't have to tell them now."
>
> "No. But they're going to insist that I stay away from Corinne and
> Michelle. That's going to mean quitting cheerleading, unless Coach Bishop
> tries to kick them off the squad, which she might do. But if she does that,
> I don't think the other four of us will sit still for it. Somewhere, I'm
> going to have to take a stand, and that's going to mean taking on my
> folks."
>
> "I don't know what to tell you. I used to be like your folks, so rigid and
> convinced I had to stand firm regardless of the cost. But since meeting you
> guys, I'm seeing that there's a lot more to life. I'm not sure what is
> right or wrong now."
>
> "But you have to stand up for what you believe in."
>
> "I didn't stand up to Karen in the beginning, and look what it's gotten me.
> I wouldn't have you or her or Summer if I had. I traded my principles for
> three people I love and a shot at the Naval Academy."
>
> She stopped walking.
>
> "So what are you saying?"
>
> "Just that you have to think hard about what you want and who you care
> about. Not just now but for the rest of your life."
>
> "I can't change who I am."
>
> "No. So this dispute with your folks is going to happen sooner or later,
> whether it's because of Corinne and Michelle or someone else ten years from
> now."
>
> She looked up at him, forehead lined with distress.
>
> "Are you saying I should come out, too?" she asked softly.
>
> "No. But standing up to them now will soften them up for the bigger
> revelation later."
>
> She leaned into him, hugging him.
>
> "You're right. You're right. That's what I'm going to do."
>
> He held her for a minute, and they resumed their walk to her house.
>
> "The more this goes on, the more I feel like my mother is completely
> clueless about me."
>
> "I can imagine."
>
> "She thinks I'm straight and I'm a virgin. She makes such a big deal about
> that. 'All my other daughters married as virgins'--which I know isn't true,
> by the way--'and you're going to also.' One of these days I'm going to have
> it out with her."
>
> Jack sighed.
>
> "Just try to reign in the hostility."
>
> "Why?"
>
> "Because you should be happy you have a mother at all."
>
> Her face dropped.
>
> "Oh. I'm sorry. I forgot."
>
> She hugged his arm.
>
> "I won't talk about her anymore."
>
> "It's okay."
>
> They got back to her place to find that her parents had gone Christmas
> shopping, and went up in the garage loft.
>
> They were lying together on the couch.
>
> "What's going to happen if one of us doesn't get into Georgetown?"
>
> "Cross that bridge when we get to it."
>
> "I lie awake at night worrying that Karen and Summer will get in and I'll
> be stuck here alone."
>
> He hugged her.
>
> "You don't know that will happen. You have as much of a chance as either of
> them."
>
> "But what if it happens?"
>
> "I love you. I won't forget about you. We'll find a way to make it work."
>
> "It won't be the same with them there with you."
>
> "Stop it. Don't create problems that don't exist yet."
>
> She was quiet a moment.
>
> "I'm sorry. I'm just still feeling like I'm getting left out."
>
> "It's probably because Karen and Summer are more assertive about it. It's
> not because I love you any less."
>
> "I know."
>
> "We have a couple of hours now. Let's not waste them being upset."
>
> "Okay. You're right."
>
> She propped her chin on her hands and looked at him. He stroked her face
> with his fingers, feeling her blonde eyebrows and thick hair. Her eyes were
> medium blue, speckled with darker spots.
>
> "What are you looking at?"
>
> "Your eyes. You're as pretty as Summer is, you know? You're just two very
> different people."
>
> "Don't lie to make me feel better."
>
> "I'm not lying. She's just more into the glamour look than you are. You
> seem to care less about your looks than she does, like you're more
> confident about who you are."
>
> "Really?"
>
> "Yes. It's one of the things I love about you. No subterfuge at all."
>
> She smiled.
>
> "Thanks."
>
> She laid her head on his chest and hugged him.
>
> "If I ever lose you, I'll die."
>
>   ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>                                    XXVII.
>
> Jack picked up Summer at seven and they went to the Irvine Spectrum to eat.
> They got a table in the food court and waited for the movie to start.
>
> "How's Becky?"
>
> "Like you said. She's obviously feeling insecure about all this."
>
> Summer sighed.
>
> "Let me tell you something about her."
>
> "Okay."
>
> "Just don't tell her I said it. You need to know, but she'd be very hurt if
> she knew I was telling you this."
>
> "Okay."
>
> "Becky really was the Ugly Duckling as a kid. She was a real tomboy and
> kind of goofy-looking. She didn't get pretty until high school. Now she's
> as pretty as anyone at school, but I know she still thinks she's ugly. When
> the boys started paying attention to her in tenth grade, she really didn't
> know how to deal with it. She got kind of shy and withdrawn. She did date,
> and she did have a few boyfriends, but nobody serious, no one she really
> liked. All those nights we slept over at each other's houses, we stayed up
> all night talking about her love life."
>
> "You think it's because she's the youngest kid in her family?"
>
> "It could be. I mean, she grew up always being the last one in line,
> getting all the hand-me-downs. I think she doesn't think she deserves to be
> happy, or at least doesn't think she deserves much out of life. Now she's
> got this great guy who she's just nuts about, and I think she's waiting for
> the other shoe to drop. Whether she realizes it or not, I think she expects
> this to end badly for her somehow. She expects to get hurt because she
> doesn't think she deserves what she has."
>
> "So what do we do?"
>
> "Do you tell her you love her?"
>
> "All the time."
>
> "I don't know what else you can do besides keep reassuring her. I don't
> think this is really about me and Karen. Even if she had you all to
> herself, she'd find things to worry about."
>
> "I get that feeling too."
>
> "That's just the way she is."
>
> She took a drink of her soda.
>
> "Tell me something. Well, you don't have to tell me this if you don't want,
> because it's a little personal."
>
> "What?"
>
> "How is she in bed? When it's just the two of you?"
>
> "Not shy and withdrawn, that's for sure. Like every time might be the
> last."
>
> "Oh, God. Well, give her as much as she wants."
>
> "I try."
>
> Jack gulped down the last bite of his fish taco.
>
> "We also talked about Corinne and Michelle. She doesn't know how she's
> going to handle her folks if this comes out."
>
> "Neither do I. You know my mom was the head cheerleader, too?"
>
> "No."
>
> "She's had my whole life mapped out from the beginning. It's why I've kind
> of developed this alter ego that I let out with you. She's so into my being
> the Teen Princess, the lily-white upstanding young woman. And you know
> what's ironic?"
>
> "What?"
>
> "You've completely fed into this scheme of hers. You're her dream match for
> me, at least what she knows about you. The opportunity to marry me off to
> some fine patriotic young Marine officer, a football star? You don't know
> how stoked she is about you."
>
> "I kind of get that impression."
>
> "You don't know the half of it, believe me. It's a good thing I do love
> you, because she hasn't slowed down long enough to wonder how I feel about
> this. She just assumes I think the same way she does, and when I don't, she
> has a fit about it. She never gives me credit for being a separate person.
> She just assumes any disagreement with her value system is immaturity on my
> part. 'You're too young to understand,' you know? If I stand up for Corinne
> and Michelle, which I don't have any choice about, it's going to be the
> biggest fight of my life."
>
> "I'll do whatever I have to to help."
>
> She rubbed his hand.
>
> "I know you will. We have to stand together on this, all of us, or it won't
> work."
>
> The movie ended just after ten. They walked back to the car, holding hands.
>
> "What do you want to do now?"
>
> "Well . . . I have an idea, but you might not like it."
>
> "What?"
>
> "I feel like letting my alter ego loose. All that talking about my mother
> makes me want to do something that would drive her crazy."
>
> "Like what?"
>
> "This would be really risky, so I understand if you don't want to."
>
> Jack looked away from her, letting out a long breath. They had had this
> sort of conversation before, and it usually led to something he would have
> once considered insane, or at least morally repulsive.
>
> "Go on."
>
> "You know what my bed looks like, right?"
>
> Jack had been to Summer's house many times, but had only been up to her
> bedroom two or three times at most. Her parents were quite conservative,
> and it hadn't seemed "proper" for him to be in her bedroom beyond a few
> short visits. But he knew she had a very chintzy, frilly, bedroom, done up
> mostly in white. Her bed was the same, white metal rails and a big white
> comforter.
>
> "Yeah."
>
> She glanced around them. They were near her car, and she waited until they
> got inside.
>
> "One of my fantasies has always been to get tied up and raped in my bed."
>
> "Raped?"
>
> "Well, not raped raped, but as a fantasy, you know? I would be asleep in my
> bed, or just lying there feeling a little horny, and this guy would sneak
> in. He tells me I have to do whatever he wants or he'll hurt me. So I tell
> him I'll do anything he tells me to. Then he ties me up and has sex with
> me, really roughly."
>
> Jack's spine went cold. They had made love furtively around her house a few
> times, but always in her car or in the garage. Doing it in her house--let
> alone with it looking like she was getting raped--was an order of magnitude
> worse. If they were to get caught, well, he didn't want to even think about
> that. But he found the idea very arousing.
>
> "You want do this? In your bedroom?"
>
> "Yeah. What do you think?"
>
> "I think your mother would love this."
>
> "That's the point. But we could get away with it. My bedroom is at the
> opposite end of the house from my parents'. Even my brother's room is on
> the other side of the laundry room. If we were super quiet, we could do it,
> easy."
>
> "We can't do it now. It's too early."
>
> "I know. This is how I want to do it: Take me home now. I'll tell my mom I
> was just feeling tired, so we came home early. She'll go to bed and so will
> I. My folks don't stay up late, and my little brother is probably already
> in bed now. Once I'm back, they should go to sleep. You come by a little
> while later, say about midnight. That's enough time for you to get home by
> one, don't you think?"
>
> "Maybe."
>
> "Okay, make it eleven-thirty. I'll watch for you out my window. Just watch
> my room, and when I see you, I'll blink a flashlight at you. Two blinks
> would mean okay, come on in. Three would mean wait five or ten minutes.
> Four would mean forget it. Would that work?"
>
> "I guess so."
>
> She smiled and leaned over to kiss him for a few seconds.
>
> "This will be so cool."
>
> He drove her home and they kissed passionately for minute or two. Then she
> pulled back, giggling.
>
> "I'll leave the front door open for you, okay?"
>
> "Okay."
>
> "Just sneak in like you're really a rapist. I'll be waiting upstairs, but I
> won't talk to you at all. I'll be pretending I don't know you. Try to
> pretend you're really doing it. Be rough with me. I might whimper and cry,
> but don't stop unless I say your name first."
>
> He gulped.
>
> "Okay."
>
> He walked her to her door and said good night for her mother's benefit.
>
> He had an hour to kill at least, and he couldn't go home yet or Marcia
> would expect him to go to bed. At the very least, she might notice him
> slipping out again. There was nowhere worth hanging out within walking
> distance. Well, maybe there was.
>
> He walked over to Becky's house, which was about halfway between Summer's
> house and his. A light was on in the kitchen, but he didn't want to ring
> the doorbell since it was after ten now. He peeked into the window and saw
> Becky washing the dishes in the sink. He waved at her, and she looked up,
> surprised. Then she grinned at him and came around to the back door.
>
> "What are you doing here?" she whispered. "Didn't you have a date with
> Summer?"
>
> He saw she was dressed for bed, wearing only a long nightshirt.
>
> "Yeah. But she's got me doing something weird again."
>
> "What?"
>
> "She had me take her home early so I can sneak in later and do it in her
> room."
>
> "In her house? With her folks there?"
>
> "Yeah. She wants me to pretend to be a rapist."
>
> Becky stifled a laugh.
>
> "Oh, God. But why are you here now?"
>
> "I'm not supposed to go over there until eleven-thirty. I didn't know where
> else to go."
>
> She leaned back into the kitchen and glanced at the clock.
>
> "So we've got an hour. Wanna come in?"
>
> "I was thinking we could go up to the garage."
>
> "No. I like this idea of hers. Come on inside."
>
> She grabbed his arm and pulled him inside the house.
>
> "Becky--"
>
> Her finger shot to her mouth to silence him. Slowly and carefully, she
> pulled him into the living room, looking upstairs where light was coming
> out her parents half-closed bedroom door. With his heart thumping in his
> chest, he followed her upstairs. She watched the angle on the door for
> anyone watching them, then pulled him quickly into her room and shut the
> door.
>
> "Get in the closet," she whispered.
>
> She opened the door and shoved him inside, then shut it behind him. He
> stood there in the darkness amongst her clothes, smelling her scent in the
> air.
>
> Through two closed doors, he heard Becky talking to her parents.
>
> "Good night. I'm going to bed."
>
> "Good night, honey," her mother said. "Sleep well."
>
> A moment or two later, the closet door opened and she slipped inside, not
> turning on the light. She found her way into his arms.
>
> "We have to be really quiet."
>
> "You weren't in the mood this afternoon."
>
> "I am now."
>
> She pressed herself against him, biting at his shoulder.
>
> "Make love to me."
>
> "In here?"
>
> "Yes. On the floor."
>
> She pulled him down, and they cleared a space between her shoes and other
> junk. He pulled her nightshirt over her head and held her close, kissing
> her as he fondled her nearly naked body. She sat in his lap, unbuttoning
> his shirt. When it was off, he leaned back, pulling her breasts up to his
> mouth. He sucked hard on her nipples until she was moaning and writhing
> above him.
>
> He reached down to slide off her panties, and then pulled her up further
> until she was squatting over his mouth. He took her soft buttocks in his
> hand and pulled her down until he could reach her. She leaned against the
> closet door as he licked at her, drinking up her wetness. She began to
> whimper in a few minutes, moving faster above him. Then she let out a
> muffled cry, squeezing his head between her thighs, and shook in release.
>
> A minute or so later, she curled herself around until her head was down in
> his lap, and she unbuttoned his jeans to free his penis. He felt her mouth
> enveloping him, and he lay back, holding her head in his hands.
>
> He thought about her parents, no more than fifteen or twenty feet away,
> still watching TV probably, having no idea their daughter was hiding in her
> closet with a dick in her mouth. The idea aroused him further.
>
> He pulled Becky off, and pulled her up into his lap. She straddled him,
> reaching under her to guide him in. He sat up, holding her tightly, kissing
> her as she rose up and down on him. He pulled her breasts to his mouth and
> suckled her. He reached between them to feel himself splitting her open. He
> tweaked her clitoris and she moaned in his ear.
>
> Sooner than he expected, they rose to orgasm. She rode him faster,
> whimpering, and began to shake. He was close, but unable to reach climax in
> this position. He pushed her back, climbing on top of her, and thrust
> deeply into her four or five times as she clawed at his back. He felt her
> letting go around him, and grunted, squirting off inside her.
>
> When they had recovered, Becky squirmed out from under him. They got
> dressed slowly in the dark, and kissed a few more times.
>
> "That should keep you up a while for Summer," she whispered. "In case this
> rape thing gets you too excited."
>
> "I can't believe I'm doing this."
>
> "We got away with it. It should be easy."
>
> He felt her getting up.
>
> "Let me check first."
>
> She left the closet and returned a minute later.
>
> "It's clear. Their light is out."
>
> She led him out of her room and back down to the kitchen. When she led him
> to the door, he stopped her.
>
> "Wait."
>
> "What?"
>
> "I need to tell you something."
>
> "So tell me."
>
> He took a deep breath.
>
> "I love you. You are the best thing that's ever happened to me. You are
> beautiful, you are a wonderful person, and I could not have gotten through
> this fall without you. If anything, I'm the one who doesn't deserve you.
> Nothing will ever, ever, come between us. I don't care if we end up on
> opposite sides of the planet, I will never let go of you. I will do
> whatever it takes to make you happy. I love you more than anything."
>
> Her jaw was vibrating, and her eyes had grown watery. She blinked hard, and
> tears ran down both cheeks. He took her in his arms, and she leaned against
> him, crying. Her arms slid around his waist and she hugged him tightly.
>
> She took a ragged breath.
>
> "You don't have to say anything."
>
> "I love you. I love you," she whispered.
>
> They stood together for a minute or two before she released him, wiping at
> her eyes.
>
> "Are you okay?"
>
> She smiled and sniffed.
>
> "I'm just not used to being this happy."
>
> "You deserve it as much as anyone."
>
> She took his hands and squeezed them.
>
> "You'd better go. You don't want to be late for Summer's fantasy."
>
> "Okay."
>
> He kissed her again.
>
> "Good night."
>
>   ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>                                   XXVIII.
>
> Summer's house was dark when he returned. He stood by a tree near the
> sidewalk, looking up at her window. A moment later, a light flashed three
> times.
>
> Okay. So he had to wait. There was a car parked nearby, so he sat down
> against it. He looked up and down the street but saw nothing unusual. Only
> a few lights were on that he could see, and none nearby. He was more
> nervous than he wanted to admit, but the more he thought about "raping"
> Summer, the more turned on he got.
>
> About five minutes later, the light in Summer's window flashed twice. Show
> time.
>
> He got up, following what shadows he could find to their front door. The
> alarm panel was green. He tested the door as slowly as he could and found
> it open. He tried to remember if their front door squeaked. He moved it
> slowly in, but no sound came from the hinges. When it was open just enough,
> he slipped inside and shut it behind him.
>
> He stood in the foyer trying to catch his breath. He listened, and heard
> nothing. Carefully he padded across the living room to the stairs, watching
> the upper level for movement. None came. One by one, he climbed the stairs,
> ready to bolt out the front door at the slightest sign of discovery.
>
> Her parent's door was shut, as was her brothers. Summer's was cracked open
> a few inches. He worked his way over to her door and stopped.
>
> He took a deep breath, trying to think how to handle this. What would he do
> if he were really bent on rape? Thinking that way made him ill, so he tried
> to think about what Summer wanted. Big guy sneaks into room and ties her
> up. She clearly wanted him in character, so he would have to say a few
> things. But whatever he did, he had to be quiet about it.
>
> He realized he was probably at risk the longer he stood in the hallway. He
> steeled himself and opened Summer's door.
>
> She was lying in her bed under the covers as if asleep. Her long hair was
> loose over her pillow, but her face was turned away from him. He slipped in
> and shut the door.
>
> How was he going to tie her up? He looked around the room and saw a pile of
> scarves by her closet. He laid his jacket on the floor and pulled off his
> shoes. He walked over to the scarves and picked them up. Four of them.
> Obviously left here deliberately.
>
> He stood up and tried to get in character for her. He walked over to the
> bed, and still she had not moved. He reached out and put one hand on her
> throat and the other over her mouth.
>
> Her eyes flew open and she squeaked in surprise. She seemed not to
> recognize him at all.
>
> "Don't move," he whispered. "Don't make a sound. Okay?"
>
> She nodded rapidly.
>
> He held his hand on her mouth and used the other to pull back the covers.
> She wore a long, demure, white nightgown.
>
> "Sit up slowly."
>
> She sat up, and he kept his hand on her mouth.
>
> "I'm going to take my hand away, but you're not going to make a single
> sound, all right?"
>
> She nodded.
>
> He pulled back his hand.
>
> "Take off your nightgown."
>
> She looked at him in panic for a few seconds, then dropped her hands and
> pulled up the hem of her nightgown, scooting forward on the bed until she
> could get it over her head. He took it from her and threw it on the floor.
>
> "Panties too."
>
> She pushed down her panties and leaned forward onto her knees, hugging
> herself.
>
> "Please don't hurt me. I'll do anything you want."
>
> "Quiet. Get down on the floor."
>
> She slid to the floor and kneeled in front of him. He unzipped his jeans
> and freed his aching penis. Mock terror filled her face.
>
> "Do it."
>
> She leaned forward and took him into her mouth. She moved tentatively,
> almost seeming to be repulsed by it. He gripped her hair in one hand and
> moved her faster. She gagged, but forced herself to take him deeply, deeper
> than she was usually willing to go. He began thrusting at her, and she
> moaned in apparent discomfort, but let him do it.
>
> After a few minutes, he pushed her away.
>
> "Get back on the bed."
>
> She did, staying on her knees but not looking at him. He handed her the
> scarves.
>
> "Tie your legs to the bed rails."
>
> She looked up at him fearfully.
>
> "You aren't going to hurt me? I'll do whatever you want me to."
>
> "Not if you do what I said."
>
> She took a scarf and tied it to her ankle, then tied it to a rail. She
> repeated the act with her other leg.
>
> "Lean back."
>
> She lay back on the bed and he tied a scarf to each wrist. She lifted her
> arms and let him tie them to the headrail.
>
> He stepped back from her and undressed. She watched him for a moment,
> looking away when he was nude.
>
> He walked over to her and began fondling her. As much as she acted
> otherwise, he could tell she was seriously into this. Her nipples were
> fiercely erect, and when he felt between her legs, she was as wet as a
> river. He slipped a finger into her, then reached up to shove it in her
> mouth.
>
> "Taste that. It's the taste of you wanting me."
>
> She resisted him at first, then sucked on his finger, eyes closed.
>
> He tweaked her nipples roughly, pinching them until they were red and
> swollen. She only whimpered and writhed on the bed. He moved his hand back
> between her legs and began stroking her. She moaned, pulling at the scarves
> restraining her.
>
> "Quiet. Don't make me hurt you more."
>
> She pretended to fight him as he stimulated her, but he could tell she was
> getting off in a hurry. In less than a minute, she began to thrash and
> shake, jerking her body against the restraints. He kept stroking her,
> drawing a second, then a third, then even a fourth climax out of her in the
> space of less than sixty seconds.
>
> He withdrew his hand, and looked at her heaving, twitching body. Her eyes
> fluttered open after ten or twenty seconds. When she looked over at him, he
> climbed onto the bed and kneeled between her legs.
>
> "Oh, God," she moaned.
>
> He thrust into her in one slow movement. She was hot, and incredibly wet,
> wetter than he'd ever felt her. He bottomed out, pushing as far up as he
> could go. She groaned, lifting her hips to guide him in further.
>
> "You're getting off on this, slut," he whispered in her ear. "I can feel
> it."
>
> He rode her roughly, as if he were only concerned with his own pleasure.
> Having made love to Becky less than an hour earlier, he was nowhere near
> orgasm yet. He tried to force himself as far into her as possible, filling
> her completely. He lifted up on his arms and slapped at her breasts,
> pinching her nipples.
>
> Her back was arched, and her head was thrown back into her pillow. The
> muscles on her arms stood out as she pulled against the scarves. A long
> shudder ran through her body, and a moan escaped through her clenched
> teeth. He continued thrusting brutally into her, beginning to lose himself
> in the act. Another orgasm racked her body, then another. By then he was
> gone, closing in on his own release. It came in a spasm of pounding thrusts
> that shook her bed and her sweat- speckled body. He rode it to conclusion,
> groaning, and collapsed on top of her.
>
> He realized after a few moments that they might have made more noise than
> was safe. He listened for any sounds outside her room, but heard nothing.
> Summer was still dead to the world, eyes closed, breathing deeply.
>
> He glanced at her clock. It was only 12:15. He still had forty- five
> minutes to get home.
>
> He resumed thrusting with his slowly deflating penis.
>
> "Squeeze me."
>
> Her eyes opened.
>
> "What?"
>
> "I'm not done with you yet. Squeeze my cock. If I lose my hard- on, you'll
> be sorry."
>
> He saw the lust returning to her eyes, though she pretended fear and
> disgust. He felt her muscles tightening around him.
>
> "Oh, God," she whispered. "Wasn't that enough? You made me come, okay? What
> more do you want from me?"
>
> "More. Keep doing that."
>
> He moved slowly, luxuriating in her tight wetness.
>
> "You came, huh?"
>
> "Yes. Does that make you happy? It makes me want to vomit."
>
> "I could give you something else to gag on if you want."
>
> She turned her head away from him, closing her eyes.
>
> "You got off more than once, didn't you?"
>
> "Yes."
>
> "More than twice?"
>
> "I wasn't counting."
>
> He thrust deeply into her the way he knew she liked, and her hips rose up
> to meet him. A gasp shot through her lips.
>
> "You like that?"
>
> She whimpered but didn't answer him. He worked on her carefully now,
> deliberately trying to bring her to orgasm again. Her squeezing muscles had
> returned him to full erection, and he had all the control he needed.
>
> Her breathing grew ragged, and although her face showed disgust, her lower
> body was working eagerly with him, rising to meet his thrusts. She twisted,
> pulling on the scarves, and her neck arched back.
>
> "You're enjoying this."
>
> She moaned.
>
> "Admit it."
>
> "Oh, God."
>
> "Admit it or I'll stop."
>
> Another whimper. Her teeth clenched.
>
> "Okay."
>
> "Okay what?"
>
> She gasped as he bottomed out inside her.
>
> "I want it."
>
> "Say, 'Fuck me.'"
>
> "Fuck me."
>
> "Again."
>
> She groaned.
>
> "Fuck me."
>
> He drove into her more rapidly now, knowing she was close to coming. She
> continued moaning, "Fuck me," in his ear, though he said nothing else. A
> minute of deep thrusting was enough to get her off, bringing her to a
> shuddering, gasping climax. He was still a long way from being finished,
> though, and decided it was time for another change in the setting. He
> climbed off the bed, causing her eyes to pop open, startled.
>
> "What are you doing?"
>
> "Quiet."
>
> He untied her arms from the headrails, then used one of the scarves to tie
> her wrists together. He did the same thing with her ankles. Then he pulled
> her upright and onto the floor.
>
> "What do you want me to do?" she whimpered.
>
> "Finish me off. Come here."
>
> He dragged her over to a chair and sat down.
>
> She looked up at him, then at his penis. She took it in her hands and
> leaned forward, putting her mouth over him. She bobbed rapidly, knowing
> what he liked even though she was still playing the rape victim. A few
> minutes of eager sucking brought him to the brink. He pulled her head off,
> ignoring the surprised look on her face, and turned her around. He dropped
> to his knees and thrust into her from behind. She gasped as he filled her,
> feeling him thrust once, twice, three times, then burying himself in her
> and spilling his seed deep inside. She collapsed forward onto the floor,
> pulling him with her.
>
> A few minutes later, he rolled off and untied her. She crawled over into
> his arms.
>
> "You're a great rapist," she said softly.
>
> "You're a great victim."
>
> She laughed quietly.
>
> "You went over to Becky's before, didn't you? I could smell her on you when
> you came in here."
>
> "I didn't feel like wandering the neighborhood for an hour and a half."
>
> "It's okay. When I realized it, I fantasized that you'd just come from
> raping her too. It really got me off."
>
> "She liked your idea so much that she dragged me into her house and made me
> do it in her closet."
>
> "Did she really?"
>
> "Yes."
>
> "Her parents were asleep already?"
>
> "No. They were in their room watching TV."
>
> "And they didn't know you were there?"
>
> "Nope."
>
> They lay together for a minute or two.
>
> "You should get home. Let's not push our luck any further."
>
> He sat up and got dressed. Summer pulled on her nightgown. She scouted the
> hallway and then led him down to the front door. He kissed her a few times
> in the foyer.
>
> "Bye. Thanks for raping me."
>
> "No problem."
>
>   ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>                                    XXIX.
>
> Karen was feeling no better the next morning. The rest of them went to
> Mass. Jack went through his usual Confession routine, confessing everything
> privately to God beforehand, and then confessing what he could to Father
> Roberts. When he got back, he went up to check on Karen, who was reading
> her homework in bed.
>
> He sat next to her and brushed her hair away from her face.
>
> "Don't bother. I know I look gross."
>
> "You going to get better?"
>
> "I hope so. I feel like shit."
>
> "Swimming in the ocean was probably a dumb idea."
>
> "I know. But it was fun anyway."
>
> He leaned over and kissed her forehead.
>
> "I love you," he whispered.
>
> "You, too."
>
> She squeezed his hand.
>
> "Go bother Summer and Becky. I need to rest."
>
> She rolled over, and he straightened the covers around her. He left the
> room and went down to call Summer.
>
> "You'll never guess what happened after you took me home last night."
>
> "Oh, really?"
>
> "This guy sneaked into my room. I tried to resist him but he was too good.
> He made love to me like I've never had it before."
>
> "I'm imaging that you're in your room with the door shut."
>
> "No, my mom's right here. We called the Police morning."
>
> She giggled.
>
> "I guess I'll have leave town," he said.
>
> "Well, you'll have to come and get me. Now that I've been disgraced, I'll
> have to leave too."
>
> "I was coming over anyway. I felt like hanging out down the park."
>
> "Oh. You just want to go for a walk or something?"
>
> "Yeah."
>
> "Okay. Sure. See you in a minute."
>
> They were walking through the park holding hands.
>
> "Summer?"
>
> "Hmm?"
>
> "I think we've dealt with Becky's insecurity. I told her last night there
> was nothing that could come between us, no matter what happens. She seemed
> to believe me."
>
> "Oh, great. That was sweet of you."
>
> "But there's something else I want to talk about."
>
> "What?"
>
> He stopped and turned to look at her.
>
> "Why is it these things always seem to happen with Becky and Karen? Why
> don't the two of us ever have any big emotional confrontations? I mean, we
> have a lot of fun; we have mature adult conversations about important
> issues or we engage in a lot of silly little banter; we work overtime other
> people's problems, but we never seem to talk about us."
>
> "What are you saying? You want us to have problems?"
>
> "No. I'm saying that I'm beginning to feel like there's this wall somewhere
> between us. It's a long way down and it's hard to see, but I can sense it
> just the same. I'm beginning to feel like I'm closer to Becky and Karen,
> and I don't like that."
>
> She gasped, pulling her hand away from him and putting it over her mouth.
> She closed her eyes, pulled her arms tight around her, and began to sob.
> Stunned, he tried to take her in his arms, but she struggled against him.
>
> "I knew it," she sobbed, "I knew it!"
>
> "Wait a second, wait a second. I'm not saying I love them more than I love
> you. That's not true. I'm saying I feel like you're holding me off
> somehow."
>
> She continued to cry onto his shoulder, shaking with sobs.
>
> "Summer, stop it. I love you. That is not what this is about."
>
> She sniffed.
>
> "What is it, then?"
>
> "I'm saying that I love you, but I'm not sure sometimes I really know how
> you feel. Like there are things you're thinking but not saying. I worry
> sometimes because we seem like a clichÇ. The football player and the head
> cheerleader. The King and Queen of Homecoming. I don't want us to be a
> clichÇ. And then you tell me about your mother and how you want to rebel by
> doing it in your bedroom and I wonder whether you like me because I give
> the means to get back at your parents."
>
> She pushed back to look up at him, face pale.
>
> "Is that what you think?" she asked softly. "Do you think that's all you
> are to me?"
>
> "I don't want to be. But I don't know unless you tell me."
>
> "What do you want me to say? That you're everything I ever wanted in
> someone? That I love you more than I ever thought was possible? That I lie
> awake at night wishing you were sleeping next to me? That . . . that I
> fantasize about marrying you and having ten or twelve kids with you? That I
> fantasize about just being able to say, 'this is my husband, Jack'? That
> was really why I enjoyed last night so much. Because I stopped fantasizing
> that you were a rapist, and starting fantasizing that you were my husband."
>
> He took a ragged breath.
>
> "So why can't you tell me that?"
>
> Her eyes closed and she began to cry again.
>
> "Because I'm scared," she sobbed.
>
> "Why are you scared?"
>
> "I'm scared that we'll break up when we go off to college, even if I get
> into Georgetown, because I won't see you much anymore. Or we'll break up
> just because everyone seems to break up with their high school boyfriends
> when they start college." The sobs came heavy now, and she shook as she
> forced out the last of it. "And I'm scared because I know you have to
> choose one of us eventually, and I know it won't be me."
>
> She sobbed uncontrollably onto his shoulder as he tried to absorb her
> outburst.
>
> "Whoa. Whoa. How can you know that?"
>
> It took her a few moments to catch her breath and answer him.
>
> "Karen is your sister. You saved her life. Becky is your best friend. I
> know she is. But what am I? I'm just a pretty girl you can take to the
> dance and impress people with. I try so hard to make our sex life exciting
> because I know I don't have anything else to offer you."
>
> She resumed crying, gasping for breath. He stared up at the sky, totally
> blown away by this confession.
>
> "Summer, I don't love you because you're beautiful on the outside. I love
> you because you're beautiful on the inside. Look how much effort and
> concern you've expended trying to keep Karen and Becky happy. This to help
> them continue their relationships with someone everyone else thinks is your
> boyfriend and no one else's. I know it must be hard for you, but I know you
> do it because you care about them and about me. Do you understand how
> impressed I was when you decided to take Becky to the dance with us that
> night? That was why I told you I loved you, not because of how you looked.
> My God, how could you think that? Why would I be worked up about not being
> closer to you if all I cared about were your looks? Yes, Becky is my best
> friend, but I want that same feeling from you."
>
> She sniffled.
>
> "You do?"
>
> "Yes."
>
> She tried to catch her breath.
>
> "I've loved you since the instant I saw you," she gasped, "and it scared
> me. I just went after you the only way I knew how. My mother is always
> giving me these stupid tips about how to manipulate boys. I know it's
> wrong, but I didn't know how else to hold on to you, and I was worried it
> wasn't working. That was why I got so insecure about Becky a few months
> ago. Not because of what Cordelia said. Because I thought you loved her and
> not me. That was why I decided to bring her to the dance. I mean, it was
> because I love her and didn't want to hurt her, but it was also because I
> thought if I made you choose, you would choose her. When you told me you
> loved me that night, I thought I would die. I couldn't believe it was
> really true. That's why I was crying like I was. I was so happy."
>
> He hugged her tightly.
>
> "You know that I love you."
>
> "Yes."
>
> She hugged him back.
>
> "You know that I love you as much as anyone. I don't want you to worry
> about things we can't control. We're all going off to college, but that
> doesn't have to mean it will end. Maybe I'll have to choose one of you, or
> maybe we'll all run off to Utah like Becky jokes about. Who knows?"
>
> She laughed softly through her tears.
>
> "The point is, we don't know what will happen. Don't ruin your present
> happiness worrying about things that may never occur."
>
> She reached up to wipe her face.
>
> "Okay. Do you feel closer to me now? Is that enough emotional confrontation
> for you?"
>
> He laughed.
>
> "Yes. That will do for now."
>
> She shook, though with laughter now, hugging him for all she was worth.
>
>   ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> 
>                               Go to Part 6 -->

    

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