Chapter 104

9 a.m. Monday

Regan came awake and reached behind her only to find Andy gone. She heard water running in the shower and shifted slightly. She sat up with a frown.

The night hadn't gone as she'd planned and she worried that Andy had grown tired of her antics.

She had meant every word of her vow before they entered the boat. She was willing to anything Andy wanted to try. She had whiled away her time during the boring speeches at the gala by thinking about every sexual act two people could try that she'd seen, read about or even heard someone mention in passing (and Regan had done extensive research on the subject of sex). She had pictured them in her head and found that she was willing to do any of them with Andy. The only thing that gave her pause was the thought of someone else joining them.

She didn't mind the thought of someone watching them while they did it (and, in fact, she truly enjoyed the thought that someone might be watching them at the time) but she wasn't interested in adding another party. Still, she had decided that she would consider it if Andy was interested.

The only problem was that Andy hadn't wanted to do anything they hadn't already tried. Now he had gotten up and taken a shower by himself. She was worried that her adventurous sexual side had pushed him into territory that might make him rethink their relationship. She still sat on the edge of the bed thinking when Andy opened the bathroom door with a towel wrapped around his waist.

"I hope I didn't wake you," he said, smiling at her. She wore a pair of cotton panties but her breasts were bare - and Andy never got tired of looking at her even when she wore a baggy sweatshirt.

"No, I just woke up," she said softly. "Why didn't you wake me?"

"I wanted to let you sleep," Andy told her as he sat down beside her and put an arm around her. "I heard you get up early this morning. I wasn't sure how long you were awake."

Regan glanced down at her crotch. As she'd expected, she had awakened with the sunrise to find that her period had begun.

"I just put in a pad and put on some underwear," Regan said. "I didn't want to wake you up."

"I fell right back to sleep," Andy said with a laugh. "Someone wore me out last night."

Regan had her head on his shoulder and glanced up at him. She wasn't sure how to broach what she wanted to talk about so she said nothing.

"Uh, I wasn't sure about..." Andy began. It took Regan another glance upward to see he was looking between her legs.

"My period?" Regan asked.

"Yeah," Andy said. "When we ... made love ... for the first time, you wanted to shower by yourself. I wasn't sure if you'd want the same thing today or if it would make you uncomfortable. Besides, you looked so adorable sleeping that I just let you sleep. I'll show you."

He got up and picked up his phone to show Regan the picture he'd taken. Regan was on her back with the sheet below her bare breasts. She had a knee cocked outward and the corner of her black underwear was visible on her hip. Her eyes were closed but she had a slight smile at the corner of her lips.

"That's the first nude picture I've taken of you," Andy said proudly. "It's a shame I can't show this to anyone without going to prison for 70 years. I'll make sure to take it again after you turn 18 next week. I figure we can come up with a lot of pictures once it's legal to take them."

Regan figured that was as good of an opening as she was likely to get.

"So, you're not ... upset ... about last night?" she asked.

Andy looked at her quizzically.

"What do I have to be upset about?" he asked. "I got to let the world know I'm dating the sexiest girl in the world - and then I got to do all sorts of fun stuff with her and spend the night with her. I'm the luckiest guy I know!"

Regan found herself smiling in spite of herself but pressed onward.

"I was worried that ... I might be pushing you too far," she admitted.

"What do you mean?" Andy asked.

"I ... I gave you carte blanche to do anything you wanted to me last night," she said. "We ... we really didn't do anything out of the ordinary."

Andy glanced away and sighed.

"I did, didn't I?" Regan asked.

"No," Andy said quickly. "It's like we talked about when we first started going out. Anything out of the ordinary requires prior discussion. I hope you weren't disappointed with last night."

"No," Regan replied. "I enjoyed it. I always enjoy it. But ... I wanted to ... reward you, I guess ... for letting me do anything I think of - the stuff in the car and on the deck. I was serious last night. Anything you can think of, I've considered it. Outside of one or two things, I'm willing to do anything you want."

"It's those one or two things that cause me problems," Andy said.

"You want to do those things?" Regan asked, frowning again.

"I don't know what those things are," Andy clarified. "Look, we're still establishing some things. Until we talk about those one or two things, I can't know if I'm asking you for something you aren't interested in doing. I'd rather ask you beforehand than ruin a good night by urging you into something you don't want to do. Because things were going ... good - at least for me - I didn't want to try anything that might make you uncomfortable."

"What did you want to try that worried you?" Regan wondered.

Andy shrugged. He wasn't as well versed as Regan on the varieties of sexual exploration.

"What are the one or two things you don't want to do?" he asked instead of answering.

"I think you already know them," Regan said. "I don't want ... others involved."

"Yeah, that's a non-starter for me, too," Andy said.

"And some of the kinkier things don't interest me," Regan added.

"Define 'kinkier, '" Andy said. "What's kinky for you might not be kinky or me - or vice versa."

"The gross stuff," Regan said. "I don't think it would be cool if you peed on me."

"Yuck," Andy said, his face screwed up in disgust. "That's disgusting!"

"Some people find it exciting," Regan informed him. "I've seen videos and it doesn't do anything for me."

"It creeps me out to even think about it," Andy replied.

"That's what I meant," Regan agreed. "The other things? I think I'm OK with them if it's with you."

"Really?" Andy asked. "Your list of taboos is that limited?"

"I think so," Regan said with a nod.

"So, if I wanted to ... put it in your butt, you were OK with that?" Andy asked.

"Do you want to?" Regan inquired.

"Not really," Andy said. "It was just a for instance."

"I am OK with anal sex, I think," Regan said. "I am willing to try it if you want to. I'm not sure I'll like it but I might. We'll give it a shot at some point, I'm sure."

"Wow," Andy said. "That's ... uh ... OK. I'll let you know if that's something I want."

"Anything you want," Regan said. "If you want to drive to the stadium right now and do it on the 50-yard line, I'll call the taxi. If you want me to flash strangers on the bus, I'll put on a skirt and take off my panties. If you want to tie me up, I'll bring the rope. I'm willing to try anything you want."

Andy's mouth had fallen open and he forced it closed.

"I'm not really interested in doing any of those things," he told her.

"You don't get excited thinking of me tied down on the bed and at your mercy?" Regan asked, lifting her eyebrows slightly. "I get hot thinking of you like that. I can see me tying your arms and legs and teasing you for hours on end."

Andy looked up at the ceiling and considered the prospect of spending two or three hours teasing Regan.

"Yeah," he said. "I might like to see you in lingerie and helpless. I could spend hours just kissing you and licking you wherever I wanted. That sounds fun. I don't want to beat you with whips but it would be fun to tease you."

"I've sort of wondered what it might feel like to have you spank me," Regan admitted with a blush. "Not hard or anything but, you know, like last night when I was on your lap. I wondered how it would feel if you were to slap my butt while you were inside of me."

"Hmm," Andy said thoughtfully. It wasn't something that had ever occurred to him.

"And, when I was down on you in the car, I could picture you twisting my nipple a little or sort of forcing yourself deeper into my mouth," Regan said. "I don't want you to, you know, hurt me but you could be a little more ... assertive. Not all the time. I really like how gentle you are. I'd love that all the time if that's how you like it."

"No," Andy said. "It's just ... how do I know how you want it? I mean, it's like I said. I'm not willing to risk ruining a good thing if you're in the mood for something else."

Regan smiled.

"We talk," she said. "I guess we'll get to know the signals, too. But just know when I say you can do anything you want to me, I mean it. And, I guess that's open-ended. If I wasn't ... you know ... bleeding, I'd be spread on the bed for you right now if you wanted me to be. But I think that's out of commission for the next few days."

Andy nodded and glanced down at Regan's crotch again.

"But, say..." Andy started.

"A blowjob is OK though," Regan cut in.

Andy laughed and shook his head.

"I was going to ask about showering," he said.

"Oh, well, I mean, I shower during my period," she told him. "It would be super gross if I didn't."

"I meant, showering with me," Andy corrected.

Regan thought for a moment.

"It'll be a little messy but it should be OK," she concluded. Her face lit up for a moment. "In fact, we could probably do it in the shower. Not today though. It's too heavy today. But maybe tomorrow. That shouldn't be too bad."

Andy smiled and pulled Regan to him for a kiss. He didn't care that she had morning breath but she did.

"So, about that blowjob I offered," she said, reaching for Andy's towel.

"Where's Regan?" Ashlyn asked when she sat down to breakfast with her family, Rita and Robert.

"It's none of your business where Regan is," Scott said sharply. He was still peeved at the information he'd learned the day before and saw no need to hide it.

"I..." Ashlyn stammered. It was usually her mother that laid down the rules and discipline. Her father was more laid-back and easier to sway. "I waited up to tell her I thought she looked really pretty last night but fell asleep before she got home. And she was already gone this morning when I stopped in her room."

It was an obvious lie and everyone at the table - except perhaps Robert - spotted it for what it was. Robert might have even known and chosen to answer anyway.

"She and Andy spent the night in town," he said simply.

Ashlyn did her best to show incredulity - despite the fact her sister had already told her about Regan's nighttime plans.

"I mean, that seems, Mom and Dad would..." she said in a halting voice. "I know Tori told me she caught them doing it yesterday but..."

"I didn't say anything like that!" Tori cut in. "And they weren't doing it when we got back. They were talking. The door wasn't even closed."

"But you told me last night..." Ashlyn countered.

"I didn't even speak to you after dinner," Tori interrupted. "If someone told you that, it was a voice in your head or in a dream."

"Girls," Scott said in his sternest voice.

"Knock it off," Estrella added in a tone that showed she was the family disciplinarian. "Ashlyn, stay out of Regan's business and stop trying to get her into trouble. Tori, eat your breakfast and stop arguing with your sister."

Rita exchanged a brief glance with Robert, who nodded slightly.

"Girls, Regan and Andy will turn 18 next week," she said in a calming voice. "So, we - Camille, Robert and I - permit them certain freedoms that we wouldn't have permitted when they were 17. Even if they had been having intimacies upstairs yesterday, we wouldn't have been angry. We understand that, in a few days, we are going to be unable to stop them from doing whatever they want wherever they want to do it. After a discussion, we've decided that it's better to have them somewhere safe than sneaking around. We have a place at the marina where they stay from time to time. It is reflective on the circumstances and it is reflective on the trust we have in each of them. I am not advocating this as representative of proper parenting.

"In fact, nothing you've seen us do in your lifetimes could be considered proper parenting. But the mistakes we've made - that your parents did not make in raising you two - have led us to where we believe it is impossible to make a complete correction at this point in Regan's life."