Chapter 35: In Committee

The girls had tossed out several suggestions for fun excursions to have during our big OG BTC Reunion: beach trip, hiking trip, bowling, mini-golf, billiards and shuffleboard, mud baths and massages. But in the end there was no need for sightseeing, because the most important things to see were each other. There was no need for special activities, because the most important activity was reconnecting with each other.

The girls all agreed that what they wanted to do most was hang out and catch up on each other’s lives in private conversation without worrying about what other people might be around. They also wanted special Matty Massages (read: topless and shamelessly moaning), which would be unsuitable in public places.

And they wanted to get laid.

A lot.

So in the end, we all wound up just hanging around the house together. No special excursions - just good friends and good conversation.

And yes, good sex; but that part came later.

I woke up Saturday morning snuggled up with Eva as my personal teddy bear while she hugged my right arm to her chest like it was her personal teddy bear. Third time’s the charm: we’d finally spent a full night together.

Alice, on the other hand, had opted to spend the night in Belle’s room next door rather than toss and turn all night while trying to share a mattress with another human being. Some girls simply preferred to sleep alone.

Although we woke up on Saturday morning, I felt like I could’ve easily slept in until Saturday afternoon instead. I really did need more rest. But the sound of the house’s doorbell stirred me from my slumber. And after gingerly prying my arm away from a pouting Eva who only reluctantly let it go, I threw on a shirt and pajama pants and headed downstairs.

Alice was already up and about, however, and had gone to greet this morning’s arrivals. I was only halfway down the stairs when Belle and Mari turned the corner, looked up at me, and gave me sunny smiles. Belle didn’t stop at the smile though, immediately thundering up the steps between us as if we’d been parted for two years instead of only two nights. And my adoring little Annabelle quickly buried her face into my stomach from a step below, wrapping her arms around my thighs and clutching me like she never wanted to let me go.

When I descended to the floor with Belle still wrapped around me, Mari gave me that heartwarming smile I’d always loved and hugged me from the other side. She puckered up for a quick kiss, which I gladly gave her.

And then my stomach growled hungrily.

Alice had already prepared for this eventuality by making breakfast, so the girls sat me down at the dining table and watched me eat.

For the record, when I say they “watched me eat”, I really mean that they chatted with each other about anything and everything while ignoring me completely. It was the first time Belle and Mari had seen Alice since August, and although the girls had kept in touch somewhat during the intervening months, there was always something new to talk about.

Eva returned to the house twenty minutes later, all dolled up and dressed for the day. She greeted the girls politely and then went into the kitchen to fix herself a plate. And then she unobtrusively took a seat at the far end of the table, eating quietly and observing the other girls in conversation.

I’d finished a second plate of food by the time Eva finished her first, and I’d started thinking about getting thirds when Mari declared that she hadn’t received a proper Matty backrub yet today. So we moved things into the living room with my Angel’s ample booty parked on the couch between my spread legs as I went to work rubbing her shoulders, Alice and Belle on the other couch, and Eva draped in her usual armchair.

I was just finishing up with Mari when the sounds of the front door opening and girlish squeals echoed down the hall. Sam and Naimh turned the corner, with my Head Girlfriend exclaiming happily, “Mari! Alice!”

“Annnd everyone else!” Sam added with a laugh.

Naimh had already parked her suitcase against the wall and started skittering forward excitedly with her arms thrust outwards for hugs, and both of the NBGs got up to go embrace their old friends. Alice went to Naimh first while Mari went to Sam, and then they switched.

After that, Mari returned to sit in front of me to continue her backrub, so Sam shot her hand into the air and announced, “I call ‘next’!”

“Get in line, bitch!” Alice rebuked immediately with a smart-ass grin.

“Ahhh...” Sam sighed dreamily with a wide smile of contentment. “Now it feels like home.”

“So what’s going on between you guys and this Skylar chick I keep hearing about?” Alice asked before taking a swig from her beer bottle and then crossing her right leg over her left knee.

I rolled my eyes. “Haven’t we already covered this before?”

“Well you guys may have covered this before, but nobody’s told me the juicy details,” Alice countered before gesturing with the bottle itself in the vague direction of Sam, Belle, and Mari on the opposite couch.

Sam blinked in surprise and gave Alice a blank look before turning her gaze to Belle and Mari.

Belle smirked and commented, “Don’t ask Sam. Sam’s never here and doesn’t know anything.”

“B...” Mari warned.

“No, she’s right,” Sam interjected. “I know I’ve been out of the loop. My own fault. It’s one reason why I appreciate us all getting together like this. I’m just now finding out what’s going on as much as Alice and Mari.”

“Seriously though,” Belle continued. “If you want the deets on Skylar, you should be asking Neevie and Matty. They’re the only two who ever spend time with her.”

Alice turned her attention to me and my Head Girlfriend, seated together with Alice on the first couch while Eva was slouched across her armchair. I shrugged and said dismissively, “Skylar’s the T.A. for my E10 class. The details aren’t ‘juicy’.”

“Matty’s sweet on her,” Eva muttered from the armchair with an air of nonchalance, scrutinizing the black fingernail polish on her right hand. “He’d bang her if he could and happily welcome her into The BTC.”

I frowned and shot a glare at Eva, who pointedly ignored me and switched to scrutinizing the fingernails on her left hand. “Skylar’s made patently clear that our relationship isn’t like that.”

“Skylar wants to bang you too,” Eva remarked, still not bothering to look at me. “You’re the first younger man she’s taken an interest in, and--”

“Eva,” I barked.

“What?” The smirking hapa girl finally turned to wink at me. “It’s not like I brought up the way Skylar was flirting with--”

”Evelynn!” I scolded, and the use of her full name actually shut her up, and Belle backed me up by giving Eva a death glare.

“Ooh! That sounds juicy to me!” Alice perked up. But Eva shook her head and waved dismissively.

“Skylar’s nice,” Naimh chimed in while squeezing my hand. “But she is Matty’s T.A. and would never do anything to jeopardize their student/teacher relationship. It wouldn’t be proper.”

“For now,” Belle pointed out. “Semester ends in a month.”

“She’ll still be five years older than us,” I pointed out.

Alice waggled her head. “Twenty-four to nineteen isn’t such a huge age gap. What’s the rule? Half your age plus seven is the minimum? That puts nineteen within her range.”

“Barely. And it’s not the years,” I argued. “It’s her place in life. She’s a grad student living on her own and getting ready to leave school and enter the real world. We’re barely three months into our first year of college.”

“But she does have really big boobs,” Belle mused. “I wonder how they taste.”

I rubbed my forehead and sighed.

“It’s not like that,” Naimh interjected. “I wanted to befriend Skylar as much as anyone, but she’s not ... she’s not an equal, if that makes sense. She’s older, wiser. She’s someone Matty and I can talk to and ask for advice.”

Sam frowned. “You can still talk to the rest of us and ask for advice.”

“We would, if you were ever around,” Belle drawled. And Mari set her hand atop her BFF’s wrist while I also shot my Baby Belle a disappointed glance.

“Skylar’s someone outside of The BTC who knows enough of what’s going on without being part of The BTC,” I explained. “I don’t give her any of your secrets, but the fact that she’s just a friend and that there’s no intimacy between us means she’s unbiased and--”

“She’s your new ‘Mother’!” Sam exclaimed, snapping her fingers and sitting up straight.

I grimaced and shot her a look. “Really? You had to go there?”

Sam smirked and raised both eyebrows. “Tell me I’m wrong.”

“You’re wrong.”

Sam chuckled, shook her head like she didn’t believe me, and sat back in her seat while everyone else laughed.

“Skylar really isn’t Matty’s ‘Mother’,” Naimh insisted. “If for no other reason than Matty really would bang Skylar if he could.”

“That’s assuming Matty has no interest in banging his actual mother,” Sam chided.

“Really?!?” I groaned. “You had to go there?”

Everyone laughed even harder.

“Maybe you should pull out one of his mother’s power suits again,” Belle quipped while slapping Sam’s knee.

“Annnd this conversation is over,” I declared.

“Wait-wait-wait,” Eva interrupted while swinging her legs off the armrest and sitting up straight. “What is this about Matty and his mother?”

“It’s nothing serious. We’re just teasing.” Mari piped up, giving Eva a kind look. “It’s just that Matty’s mom is ... uh ... well-endowed...”

Eva smirked when Mari cupped her own big bosoms and hefted them.

Mari smiled and continued, “So we’ve always sorta joked--”

“She gets it Mari,” I interrupted.

“--about him having an Oedipus Complex--”

“I said she gets it.”

“--when it comes to his preference in females,” Mari finished, giving me a silly little smile.

Once again, I rubbed my forehead and sighed.

“Seriously though,” Sam assured Eva. “He’s never actually taken any interest in his own mum.”

“Yet you played dress up and gave him the full fantasy?” Eva smirked.

Sam blushed, “No! I just borrowed her clothes for work sometimes. We really are the same size, and do you know how hard it is to find office attire for girls like us off the rack? These incredible suits would hug my curves like a glove all day, making me feel powerful and beautiful then I’d come home feeling frisky and...”

“Confused boner,” I muttered, burying my head in a double facepalm.

Eva cackled from her chair and offered, “Well there’s no confusion about Skylar. He’s definitely interested.”

I sighed and shrugged, shaking my head.

Sam eyed me carefully. “That expression isn’t a denial. That’s a, ‘I AM interested but I’d rather not go there.’ Should the rest of us have reason to be jealous?”

I frowned. “Would me hooking up with Skylar make you jealous?”

“No, of course not,” Sam replied immediately, but with a tension in her eyes that surprised me. My former Head Girlfriend had never shown any jealousy over my flirtations with Lily, Eva, or Isabela. But perhaps there was something different about Skylar that put her on edge.

I took a moment to collect myself before replying. I’d never shied away from open honesty with my girls - especially not about something as important as this - and I wanted them all to know how I really felt without being defensive about it.

“Skylar’s hot,” I began. “I think you all know that. Well, maybe Alice hasn’t met her, but--”

“Skylar’s hot,” Mari interjected with an affirmative nod for Alice. “Like... super-hot. But then we’re used to that - hanging out with girls like Sam and Neevie.”

“You’re super-hot,” Naimh told Mari. “‘Scorching like the sun’ hot, girlfriend.”

Mari blushed at the compliment, her old sweet shyness returning for a moment.

“So on a purely physical level,” I continued, “of course I’m attracted to her. Neevie’s attracted to her.”

“Hundred percent,” my Irish girlfriend chimed in, and everyone chuckled.

“So yeah, if Skylar ever changed her mind about keeping things platonic, I’d definitely be tempted,” I admitted.

“I’d have my face in her titties three seconds after she gave me permission,” Naimh added, and everyone laughed.

I was a little more thoughtful in my response, collecting myself before looking around the room at all of the girls, stating, “I suppose I’ve been spoiled in my relationships with all of you. Our friendships have always been blended with sexual tension, from all the teasing and flirtations while holding ourselves back because of ‘The Rule’, to pushing past the platonic barrier and adding physical intimacy to our closely held emotional relationships. In that sense, I guess it feels only natural for my friendship with Skylar to deepen into a sexual one. And yet I’m consciously aware that she’s chosen not to cross that line, and I have to respect that. I DO respect that. And I don’t really think that’ll ever change.”

“But if she did change her mind...” Alice led me.

I smirked and shrugged. But rather than immediately reply in the affirmative, I first looked at Sam and stated, “I’d have to pause and make sure nobody felt jealous.”

“I wouldn’t be jealous,” Sam stated immediately, with a firm nod. I thought I read some tension in her eyes, but chose not to press the issue and make her more defensive. It was a moot point, since Skylar and I weren’t going to hook up anyways.

“Seriously though, I really AM more interested in Skylar’s friendship,” I said sincerely, looking around at all the girls. “She’s made it clear she doesn’t want to join The BTC, and that’s totally fine. We’re all allowed to have friends outside of the club. I enjoy chatting with her a couple of times a week and her apartment makes for a convenient place to hang out between classes. She’s got a worldly, been-there/done-that maturity that’s reassuring. And there’s a mystery there - disowned by her parents, ostracized from her college friends - that still intrigues me.”

“I know, right?” Naimh added.

I took a deep breath before continuing, and then I turned my full attention directly to Sam. “Skylar’s NOT my new ‘Mother’, but I do appreciate her advice. I think that ‘elder-wiser-student to newbie-freshman’ is the way our relationship is supposed to be. She’ll get her master’s degree and move on at the end of the year, and I’ll feel better prepared to continue my college career. And it really doesn’t have to be anything more than that.”

Sam nodded her agreement and then looked around at all the other girls, who were still scrutinizing her reaction. She then rolled her eyes and muttered, “I already said I wouldn’t be jealous!”

The girls all laughed.

“Let’s move on,” Alice suggested. “This conversation is turning into a buzzkill, and we’re in danger of spoiling the mood and rendering our boyfriend’s manhood useless to us for the entire evening.”

“Eh, I’m sure he’ll be fine,” Eva drawled. “Just put Sam in one of his mom’s power suits and problem solved, right?”

I picked my head up to glare at her. “Didn’t we just agree to move--”

Eva was already cackling again, this time with unmistakably villainous undertones.

“Changing subject to someone that’ll kill this mood,” I muttered, leaning forward and pointing straight at Eva. “When was the last time you saw Lily?”

That certainly shut up Eva’s laughter. She immediately frowned and sat up straight.

“I know you went back to Mrs. Morris’s house to collect new clothes,” I continued, my gaze expectant. “Was Lily there? Was there any sign she’d come home at all?”

Eva’s gaze slid over to Belle for a moment before returning back to me. The Hawaiian girl swallowed thickly before nodding. “Her bed was freshly rumpled and she added dirty clothes to her hamper. I think she slept in her own bed last night.”

Alice narrowed her eyes. “Wait, what’s going on with Lily? Last I heard, she and Belle were - what was the phrase? - two peas in a pod.”

“The pod broke,” Mari drawled, squeezing Belle’s hand.

“Belle broke Lily’s heart,” Eva explained.

“I didn’t...” Belle began before grimacing as her voice trailed off. “I didn’t want to get her hopes up.”

“And then Lily broke up with Matty and isn’t BTC anymore,” Eva continued.

“Well, hang on a sec,” Naimh began. “I know Lily’s taking a break for a while to think about what she wants, but that doesn’t mean she isn’t BTC anymore.”

“Lily said she’s not BTC anymore,” Eva contradicted. “She misses everyone, but as far as she’s concerned, it’s a real breakup. And people don’t hang around with their exes after a breakup. She spends all her time with another group of friends from the Hawai’i Club. That’s it.”

“Aww...” Alice’s eyes tightened as she gave Belle a sad look. “I’m sorry, B.”

“It’s fine. I’m fine,” Belle shrugged.

“More than fine, given how buddy-buddy you’ve gotten with Isabela lately,” Eva drawled.

“What the fuck is THAT supposed to mean?” Belle barked, her eyes hot.

Eva’s eyebrows went up, and in a super-chill tone, she replied quite calmly, “If you can’t take it, don’t dish it.”

Sam snorted. And Belle was suddenly glaring at Sam as well.

“I do NOT want a repeat of Santa Cruz, please,” I muttered.

“Yeah, can we NOT ruin my big orgy plans?” Naimh added.

“Who the fuck is Isabela?” Alice queried. “I am REALLY out of the loop, aren’t I?”

“That’s what you get for missing the last two group chats,” Mari chided lightly. She glanced back at Belle momentarily before informing Alice, “I briefly met Isabela outside his classroom. Beautiful, busty Latina. So eager to replace me, Matty?”

I blinked in surprise but recovered quickly, stating, “You are one hundred percent irreplaceable, Angel. There could never be a Mari 2.0.”

The gorgeous brunette grinned, waggling her finger at everyone in the room. “And don’t any of you forget it.”

Everyone laughed.

“Isabela and Luna are the new girls,” Eva explained to Alice. “Good lord, that sounds so weird to say - used to be that me and Lily were the new girls.”

“I remember what it was like to be the new girl,” Naimh piped up. “I know how you feel.”

“Neevie probably had it worse, actually,” Mari stated thoughtfully. “Me and Belle, Sam and Zofi, Alice and Matty: we’d been together for all of high school. It couldn’t have been easy for you to try and fit in with everyone else already pair-bonded for years.” That last part was directed at Naimh.

The redhead nodded slowly, admitting, “It wasn’t easy.”

“I at least came in with another girl, and Lily did all the ice-breaking for both of us,” Eva offered, and then gestured at me, Sam, and Belle. “On top of that, the three of you had all just lost your best friends and were much more open to meeting new people at the beginning of your college careers.”

Naimh smiled. “But now you’re one of us, and we’re happy to have you.”

“Well we haven’t had her yet,” Belle drawled with a kidding-not-kidding sort of expression that made everyone chuckle (nervously-not-nervously?).

“The point is,” Eva continued, turning her attention to Alice, “Isabela and Luna only hooked up with the group two weeks ago.”

“That was the first time you finally hooked up with the group,” Belle pointed out with a sharp look. “And like I said: you still haven’t actually hooked up with any of the rest of us, so one would argue that Isabela and Luna have actually been more involved with the BTC girls than you have.”

“Nobody in the BTC has to do anything they’re not a hundred percent comfortable with,” I stated seriously.

“Ohhh ... riiight...” Alice drawled with a grin while jerking a thumb at Eva. “Y’all still think she’s totally straight.”

Belle blinked in surprise. “You’re saying she’s not?”

Alice smirked again, and Eva started blushing pink just before Alice explained, “Eva’s actually pretty good at eating pussy.”

“Whoa-whoa-whoa!” Belle squawked, her eyes popping open wide. “Seriously?!?”

“Yup,” Alice confirmed. “She spent half of yesterday with her face in my cooch while we worked together to drain Matty dry.”

“How the fuck did you manage to pull THAT off?!?” Belle squealed, while at the same time, Naimh complained, “‘Drain Matty dry’? Seriously? Didn’t I tell everyone to let him rest up on Friday so he’d be fresh for tonight?”

Belle and Sam glanced at each other, and Sam pointed out, “Don’t look at us. We weren’t even here.”

“Oops,” Eva muttered, blushing again. “I really would’ve let him rest. But then Alice showed me The Little Mermaid and things ... uhhh ... kinda got out of hand.”

Belle was goggle-eyed in shock. Sam was smirking. And Mari was cracking up, a hand covering her face.

Neevie, meanwhile, was grinning as her gaze darted back and forth between Alice and Eva. “Any chance we can get a demonstration?” she teased, her eyebrows waggling.

Alice smirked, and Eva blushed for a second. But a moment later, the hapa girl grinned and said, “If it involves me sitting on Matty’s gorgeous dick, I’m up for a replay.”

“Yes please,” Belle stated immediately, raising her hand in the air.

“I was kidding!” Naimh laughed.

“I wasn’t,” Belle drawled with a grin.

“Actually,” Sam interjected, “since we’re all here, it’s a good time to discuss in committee how serious you all are about welcoming Isabela and Luna into The BTC.”

Belle groaned and let her head loll backwards. “A committee meeting? Now?”

“We’re all here together.”

“You mean you’re here for once,” Belle sighed while picking her head back up. “You didn’t seem to be all that concerned with discussing things ‘in committee’ when cramming Isabela’s head to your crotch five minutes after meeting her for the very first time.”

Sam blushed. “When in Rome...”

“Besides: this has nothing to do with Mari or Alice,” Belle continued, tapping her BFF’s knee. “We shouldn’t waste their time on this stuff.

“Actually, I wouldn’t mind learning more about the two new girls,” Mari said.

“Are you saying I still have veto power if I don’t like these chicks? I’m in for a committee meeting!” Alice quipped.

“We’ve never vetoed anybody,” Belle muttered.

“Kari Appleby. First semester, junior year,” Alice countered.

Belle’s eyes narrowed. “Does she really count?”

“Oh she counts,” Alice insisted.

“But she ended up leaving on her own, didn’t she? We didn’t actually veto h--”

“She left because me and Sam realized she was only hanging out with us because she was a backstabbing bitch who only wanted to take Matty’s cherry and didn’t give two shits about the rest of us but was only pretending to get along--”