Chapter 6

I finally got the girls and their folks back home. We were able to goof off, dance, have a few laughs and get some serious sun and swimming done while we were there. It’s a very nice place to go for a honeymoon. No question about that, but we had to go home at some point.

Ben and Linda were OK with Maribeth staying with us for the following week. Since she had broken up with that Brian kid, she seemed a little down and they thought that spending some time with us would help. Ben mentioned how close of friends they had become and that when she was around Bethany, she didn’t seem quite as depressed as when she wasn’t. Good news that they saw that, because it was going to get worse, or better, depending on who was describing the situation.

The first night was pretty quiet. We watched a movie, shared some popcorn, and everyone went their separate ways.

The girls went to school after the second night. Annie did better than Maribeth did, but we all got up at a decent hour, got them dressed, and out the door. Maribeth seemed happy, but she looked like she didn’t get much sleep.

Monday night, the third night, was a catastrophe of magnanimous proportions. A storm came through, and just like in the books and movies, we had two strange blonde women in bed with us just before midnight. Bethany was in my arms; Maribeth was behind me, and Annie was behind Bethany. No problems. The storm lasted for hours so we were long asleep before it passed, and the stars came back out to shine. When we woke Tuesday morning to the alarms for school, I had Maribeth wrapped around me and Annie had her little sister snuggled to her, both as comfortable as could be. Maribeth’s arm was over my chest, her head was in my armpit, lips on the side of my chest, and her leg was on my morning erection.

I heard Bethany giggle. Then Annie did. Maribeth stirred, I felt her leg move, then heard a little scream as her face pushed against me and her hand retracted away from my chest fast enough to burn my skin. Damn, that was scary.

“I’m so sorry, Bethany. Charlie, I didn’t mean...” I interrupted her as fast as I could.

“I know, doll. Hey, kids. Hot tub tonight. We need to have that discussion. Bethany, Annie, this was no laughing matter, yet you laughed.” Bethany shook her head. “Ok, you giggled. It’s the same thing.” The sisters both laughed at that. I guess that’s not why Bethany was shaking her head.

“Look, Maribeth, you didn’t do anything wrong. We’re fine. The storm brought you in, you found safety and solace in the arms of a not so stranger, and everything is fine. Hot tub tonight so if it happens again, no none gets upset. Got it?” They all nodded. Even Annie. Ut Oh. “Go get ready for school. Annie, help me make them something to power them through the morning.”

More giggles. This time Maribeth helped. We were probably going to live through this.

That evening, we did the hot tub after dinner, the girls all in conservative bikinis, and me in my swim shorts. It was decided that Annie was going to be staying with us for a while and that even though Maribeth was going home, she was welcome, at any time, for however long, since Bethany and I were both developing feelings for her.

Annie went so far as to say she felt much more comfortable around me than she ever had, but didn’t know how to say it, or show it, since she didn’t want to hurt her sister or our marriage. Bethany told her she couldn’t. She didn’t have that power. If she needed a hug, she should just get one and see what happened. Personally, I couldn’t believe my little slave girl was being so understanding, but I did know she was sharp as a tack and probably had a hell of a plan cooked up.

Tuesday night was quiet again, then on Wednesday there was thunder off in the distance. It could have been all the way across the state in Kansas somewhere, and it wouldn’t have mattered. Both of the blondes came back in, and this time sacked out on the opposite sides. Annie was by me, and Maribeth was behind Bethany. As I said previously, ‘Ut Oh’. Bethany held my cheek and kissed me. She smiled and we went to sleep.

Thursday morning was the telltale event that led to a really strange relationship that lasted for years. Annie had assumed Maribeth’s place at my side, leg over mine, arm over my chest, holding Maribeth’s hand, and her face on my chest, with her head up on my shoulder. She was a bit bigger than Maribeth, but not much. In any case, my ex, my very, very ex, was snuggled to me in a most intimate way. Bethany looked over Maribeth’s sleeping body at the mashup and smiled. She patted my morning hard on and told me she’d be back in a minute.

When she came back, she kissed Maribeth on the lips, gently rubbed her sister’s arm, and woke them up so she could get them off of me so I could visit the little boy’s room. Annie and Maribeth were both smiling when I got back. I shook my head and went to make coffee. While I was pouring the water, the alarm went off, startling me, but what happened next, startled me more.

“Charlie, if something happens, let it. No problem. If it’s my sister, it will be short lived, and she’ll move on after finding herself some assurance that she’s worthy. She needs us, but she doesn’t want us. If it’s Maribeth, cherish it, let me help, and try to make her feel loved and a part of us. She is. She may be around for a while. She’s in love with me, her words, and enamored by you. I wouldn’t mind keeping her. She’s a dish, a doll, and so loving and kind.”

“OK.” I had no idea what else to say.

“I love you. You know, I am yours. What I just discussed, with one word, you can stop, reverse, and tell me to clean the house out. Both of them gone in the blink of an eye. That would be your privilege, your right, and your word would be final, my observations be damned.”

“Bethany, get on your knees and worship my kneecaps.” She dropped to her knees and kissed around my knees, giggling the whole time. Her hands on the backs of them did feel good, though. “Rise and stick your finger in my coffee. I’m too lazy to get the sugar out.” She laughed and kissed me, poured two cups and ran off to the bedroom to give one to Maribeth and get ready for school.

“You and my sister are nuts. It’s so obvious how much you love each other. I’m so, so happy for the both of you.”

“Thanks, Annie. I appreciate that. I held my arms out for her and pulled her into a hug. “You doin’ OK?”

“Yeah. You know, you are the only man in the world that would have just asked that question of me under these circumstances.”

“Maybe. Maybe not. I care, if you need to know that. You are part of my past, but part of Bethany’s past, present, and future. I care what happens to you. I also know that you aren’t the same woman your father described concerning the last several years, and not the same person that told me ‘no long-distance relationship’ because ‘we’re too young to make it work’. You were right by the way. They rarely work for anyone, let alone kids. Which we were. Bethany is that age now, but she’s more mature than we ever were. Much more. My point is, if you need me, I’m here, and I care. OK?”

She nodded, hugged me, pulled my face down for a nice kiss, then took her coffee and walked back to the guestroom.

A few Saturdays later, Bethany and Meribeth went to the mall for a sale of some type or another, leaving Annie and I watching evening television together. Neither of us was getting too much out of the program, but we kept watching. Annie leaned on me, then put her head in my lap and rubbed my leg while I was rubbing her back and inching toward her beltline and her butt. She was in really good shape, from what I could feel, and have seen, and every time she moaned, she drove me farther south. She rose, pulled her shirt up over her head, and her shorts down, leaving her in only blue sheer panties and a matching demi-cup bra. Devastatingly gorgeous.

“Please continue, Charlie. That felt so good, but my skin is still hungry.” She tried not to giggle when she said it but failed.

“OK, but if I get in trouble, I’m ratting you out.”

“You won’t, and you know it. Jesus, that feels good. Do you still like touching me, Charlie?”

“If I didn’t, I’d be sitting on the loveseat and not here on the couch with you under my hand. Yes, Annie. I told you I still have feelings for you. I just love your little sister so much; she’s taken my heart.”

“I know. Stand up.” I stood and let her take my shorts off, leaving me in only my boxers and a T-shirt. “Okay, sit back down.” I did just that and pulled her back down so her head was once again lying on my thigh.

“Better?” I asked.

“Yes. I feel closer now. You know, Charlie, I learned a lot down in La Romana. A lot about you, about my father, about my taste in men, and about the bad decision making I’ve been doing for the last ten years or so.”

“What did you learn about your dad, honey?”

“He’s smarter than me and probably always has been.” She giggled. “He has the patience of Job and loves me more than he’s ever openly said. You know, no matter what bad decision I made, he was always there to hold my hand and pick me up when I fell. Always. He never made me feel stupid, or ignorant, he just gave me his opinion if I asked for it and let me make my own choices. As you already know, those were rarely the right ones. Suffice to say, I was looking for the wrong things, and finding even worse things.”

“Okay, and what about me?”

“I learned that there are good men out there. I learned, from talking to my mother and my sister, and a bit to Maribeth, that you are one. Some of that I learned on my own, just watching you interact with people. You know, when my soon to be ex-husband confronted you, it was from him that I heard about the incident. It was all lies, too. I had to ask you to talk about it. I also talked to Carmelita, she was there again, and Tomas, the bartender. Carmelita actually apologized to me for siding with “the worm”. She said she was just trying to make ends meet. Tomas told me what happened, word for word. He speaks English better than I do.”