Chapter 11

Did I mention that Sundays are my own? I think I mentioned that Sundays are my own.

Life’s not always fair when you’re a teenager, or so my mom would to tell me.

I should have known something was up when I came home late Saturday night to the smell of beef roast in the crockpot. I peeked into the kitchen and actually spied two slow cookers, each with a big beef roast cooking away.

That meant we’d be hosting Sunday dinner for someone. I didn’t find out who until I woke up.

“Jake, can you peel ten pounds of potatoes at around 11? Your Great Aunt Bethany, Greg and Natalie are coming at noon.”

“Ten pounds? Isn’t that a bit much for mashed potatoes?”

“Oh, Aunt Bethany said Natalie is bringing a couple of friends.”

I let out a sigh and a groan.

“You be nice to your cousin and her friends.”

“I am nice, mom. It gets to be a bit much with one of her friends. Now she’s bringing two?”

“Just be a good host and be nice. Show them around the farm. That’s why she brings friends.”

That was not why Natalie brought friends. Not. At. All.

Natalie was a little more than a year younger than me, and a grade below me. My Great Aunt Bethany was actually my mom’s aunt, and only a few years older than her. She married and found they could not have children, so they adopted little Natalie. Unfortunately, her adoptive father died in a work-related accident when she was three. She hardly remembered what a good man he was.

After his death, mom and dad made sure Aunt Bethany was well taken care of, and they got very close. It wouldn’t be unusual for her to stay at our home with little Natalie in tow. It was like I had a little sister for several years. More recently, Bethany had actually started dating one of my dad’s bachelor friends, Greg Groten. They seemed to be a happy couple and would sometimes go out with my parents.

More recently, they would come out to the farm to visit every couple of months for a Sunday dinner. Natalie would take the opportunity to bring a friend, and often she’d bring a friend who had a crush on me. Almost always, this was awkward and it happened four or five times.

But she had never brought two friends at once before.

What could I do, other than peel those potatoes and dread the rest of the day. True to my word, at 11 a.m., I was in the kitchen washing and peeling potatoes. Mom had set out a huge aluminum pot, and I was dropping spuds in as I got them peeled.

Mom, dad and Josh were home from church shortly after. Mom changed and got the big pot of potatoes boiling. The roasts were ready, and smelled incredible. Mom had me grab a couple of quarts of frozen sweet corn we’d picked the previous summer, and she had rolls baking in the oven. Sure, I’d complain about my annoying cousin and what friends she might bring to pester me, but the food would be divine.

Mom tasked me with setting the table, and I laid out nine settings for the big harvest table in our seldom-used dining room.

Mom tossed two sticks of butter into the steaming potatoes, along with a healthy handful of salt, and set me to work mashing with the big steel masher.

Everything else was ready as Great Aunt Bethany’s minivan pulled into the drive. I absently watched through the kitchen window and continued to mash as mom poured some heavy cream into the steaming pot.

Natalie hopped out of the van, her strawberry red hair in a riot of curls. She was a little dressed up for this occasion in a nice dress. Next, a short, cute golden blond girl I didn’t immediately recognize stepped out, taking in the farm. That one was promising, I thought. Then another dirty blonde girl stepped down from the van like the echo of a vision from my past, and my breath caught in my throat.

“What the...”

“What?” mom asked, looking out the window.

Natalie had brought Harmony Rogers to my house.

“That’s Melody’s little sister,” I croaked.

“Oh no, Jake...” mom covered her mouth.

WEDNESDAY, JULY 4, 1990

“Happy birthday, Jake.”

Her melodic, but slightly raspy voice cut through the din around me. It was our town’s annual Independence Day Parade. Mikey and I had set up along the street under the shade of the ancient trees of our city park.

Sure, we’d pop up for the occasional candy tossed our way, but we mostly came to see who we might know in a float and what loot they might pitch our way. The parade would be led with a convertible for the mayor and the parade marshall, then a mix of floats and freshly waxed vintage tractors. The tail end of the parade would feature plenty of folks on horseback. And no one wanted to be in a parade behind horses...

Melody Rogers had crept up behind us and tapped me on the shoulder to wish me a happy birthday. I should have expected she’d be nearby, we were practically across the street from her house.

I blushed a little, not sure what to say. Melody and I had quite a history together. We’d been on and off boyfriend and girlfriend a couple of times. She had been my first real girlfriend. She was more than a year older than me, and now would be a sophomore.

From the first day I set foot on the bus in kindergarten, she was always around. She’d even taken care of me, taking me under her wing. I’d always found her to be pretty, but very flighty. She’d be sweet to me on a Monday, then poisonous to me on a Tuesday. I was never sure why, but she certainly kept me on my toes.

These days, she was a cheerleader, somewhat popular, and physically overdeveloped for her age. She was very short, petite even, and top-heavy for her build. She had long curls of brunette hair and golden hazel eyes, fine features, and a pretty smile. She’d suffered through braces in junior high, and was now blessed with a mouth full of white, straight teeth. In the heat of July, she was wearing a tight tank top with her bra straps showing and a hint of taut tummy flesh peeking out of the bottom. She wore tight denim cutoff shorts that seemed to end just south of the junction between toned leg and fine ass. She’d developed a very nice tan over half the summer already as well.

In short, she was now a hot high school girl and she knew how to get to me.

“I said ‘happy birthday,’ you dork,” she tilted her head at me in a teasing smile.

“Thanks, I’m surprised you remembered.” I said shyly.

“I’d never forget your birthday, Jake. It’s pretty easy on the fourth of July.”

“Yeah, I guess.”

“Happy 14th,” she grinned. “So what are you two doing today?” she directed at both Mike and me.

“Watching this parade,” Mike indicated with an obvious head nod to the scene in front of us.

“I meant what else are you doing, you walking, talking asshole,” she seethed without real malice.

“I dunno, probably catch something to eat at the festival after the parade, maybe play some Nintendo at Mike’s,” I filled in before Mikey could piss her off further.

“The pool will be open,” she said with a hint of promise.

“Christ, it’s going to be a madhouse in there,” Mike complained. “There’s like three thousand people in town today. No way I’m going to the pool.”

In truth, I had brought my swimsuit, having tied off a small mesh bag with a towel and my trunks to my bicycle. I’d ridden the three miles on gravel to town today to hang out and take in the fun. I would have to meet up with my parents for the evening birthday activities, but they were busy preparing food for the mid-day festival as part of a church fundraiser.

Just then, the float we’d been waiting for was puttering along. The varsity baseball team had a grill mounted to a trailer, and they were busy grilling and handing out hot dogs, complete with buns. To round out the theme, pre-packaged fruit pies were doled out by the busy team.

“Wolfpack Baseball, as AMERICAN as Hot Dogs and Apple Pie.”

This was a huge hit with our community, and actually helped the team raise funds for travel and other expenses.

Mike got the first hot dog. I was handed one, and with a bit of birthday chivalry, I handed it to Melody. Mike got his pie, and moved back to the shade. I got another dog for myself, and Melody stepped up for her own cherry pie. I got apple.

The three of us sat cross legged in the grass under the shade. Mike was first to discover the ketchup and mustard packets under the hot dog in the little white paper trays they were handed out on.

He slathered both on his. I stuck to mustard, as anyone with any taste at all would do. Melody went ketchup only.

The dogs were somehow grilled to perfection on a rolling trailer, complete with some char marks.

I was nearly finished with mine when Melody touched my cheek near the corner of my mouth.

“You got a little mustard there,” she smiled.

Mike rolled his eyes, but finished the last of his dog with a big bite, and tore at the packaging around his fruit pie.

I looked around, wishing I had a napkin, then shrugged and finished my hot dog, ready for some apple pie.

“Do you want my cherry pie, Jakey?” she purred with a hint of naughty in her tone.

I coughed slightly, my eyes bulging a little.

Mike pulled off a complete head shake, groan and eye roll all at once; quite a feat.

“You want to trade?” I offered.

“No, I just wanted to see if you wanted my cherry,” she doubled down, offering the pastry to me with a smoldering look in her eyes.

I took the proffered pie in hand, absently handing my apple pie to Mike. He took it without comment.

A few more floats ambled by. I tore the wrapper halfway down the pie and had a small bite, looking at Melody for reaction as I did it. She only had eyes for me, watching me chew and swallow.

I decided to try to turn the tables on her. I gave the exposed red filling a small lick, savoring the sweet cherry flavoring. Her eyes flared a little, and she actually blushed at me. The very forward girl who teased me at every opportunity was actually blushing.

I gave her a lopsided grin and took it step further, turning the pastry sideways and lewdly licking the cherry contents inside. She blushed and sucked her breath in uncomfortably. I had gotten to HER for once.

The last of the floats went by, and I turned my attention to the horses. I knew Shelby would be in the parade with her horse, Destiny.

Not much later, I picked her out. Shelby was in full cowgirl uniform, boots, jeans, a short-sleeved western shirt, white cowboy hat and great big silver belt buckle.

Mikey and I waved to her from the edge of the street and she saw us, leading her horse our way.

“Happy birthday, Jake,” she greeted me warmly from atop her horse.

“Thanks, Shelby!” I smiled.

“Hi Mike. Hi Mel,” she nodded.

“You going to eat after the parade?” Shelby asked.

“Yeah, right over here,” I pointed.

She nodded and touched her heels to Destiny’s flanks, spurring her back into parade position.

“Save me a spot,” she demanded.

As Shelby got out of earshot, Mel took me by the arm.

“Did you bring trunks today? Do you want to swim?”

“Yeah, but I’m not sure. Mike is right. There’s going to be a million people there,” I exaggerated.

Her mind was turning over ideas, I could tell. She was struggling to come up with something.

“My parents are setting up for the lunch for the church, you could come over to my house for a while,” she offered.

We went to the same church, so I realized her parents were there with my parents. Awkward.

“What do you want to do?” I shrugged.

Her eyes cast down and she leaned into me and whispered. “What do a boy and a girl do in an empty house?”

My mind was suddenly full of a riot of things a boy and girl could do together in an empty house, but this girl standing in front of me had been the last girl to break my heart at the end of fifth grade. She was heading into junior high, and simply couldn’t be seen with a boyfriend in the sixth grade. We were effectively over. Maybe the math worked in her favor once again, as I’d be a freshman to her sophomore.

“Where’s this coming from?” I said quietly. Mike had taken a step or two back, but was trying to listen in.

“Maybe I want you to be my boyfriend again?” she raised her eyes to mine meaningfully, digging her toe into the grass.

I believed her. I really did.

“I dunno,” I hedged. “Besides, I told Mike I’d hang out with him. And Shelby expects me to eat with her.”

Melody’s mind was in motion again, working out the end game to her plan.

“We’ll get there eventually, Jake.” she smiled with a little charm, then leaned in to my ear.

“But first, I want to get you alone in my bedroom.” she husked with some heat right at my earlobe.

I was a horny little goner.

I finally looked to Mike and he was already resigned to what was going on. He simply held out a palm and said “go ahead.” He seemed to be torn between a smile of pride and a frown of jealousy.

I figured I was in for a heck of a makeout session with a very hot girl.

I was wrong.

SUNDAY, MAY 19, 1991 END OF FRESHMAN YEAR

‘I can do this. I’m over this.’ I thought to myself as hugs and introductions were going on in the entryway.

“Hi, Jake,” Natalie greeted me innocently, reaching up for a hug.

I knew better than to believe her innocent act. I gave her a chaste hug anyway.

“Hi, Natty,” I greeted her flatly.

“Hi, Jake.” a new light voice caught my attention. The first pretty blonde out of the van was Julie Anders, little sister to my friend Chris. ‘Bummer’ I thought, I’d probably never date a friend’s sister, but she was really, really cute. Oh sure, I’d tease Beast plenty, but actually date his sister? There are codes against such things. Julie had straight, golden blonde hair cut into bangs, with the rest hanging at shoulder length. She had icy, light blue eyes, and round cheeks to compliment a small nose and luscious lips. She was a squinty girl when she smiled, her cherubic cheeks committed fully to her usual sunny mood. She had a little makeup on, I could tell, trying to make an impression most likely. She wore a blue V-neck sweater with acid washed jeans that fit her small frame very nicely.

“Hi Julie.” Now was the awkward moment where my cousin had just hugged me, but I wasn’t sure if I should hug Julie too.

Harmony solved the problem for me.

“Hi, Jake.”

Her soft, slightly raspy voice alone almost made tears well up in my eyes. She was the younger, dirty blonde version of her older sister, only she still had braces. The golden hazel eyes, the cheeks, her build and even her voice set me on edge. It was like I had stepped into a time machine and Melody was standing in my house with her hair dyed blonde. Sure there were slight differences between the girls, but they looked so much alike it was painful.

“Well, let’s get into the dining room and eat before the food gets cold,” mom called out.

Foolishly I went in last, like a condemned man on his way to the gallows. That meant the last chair available was between Julie and Harmony.

What was Natalie up to?

We served family style, passing a big platter of steaming roast beef and a large serving bowl of fresh mashed potatoes. Corn was passed around and fresh rolls were in two spots on the table.

Regardless of the company, I hadn’t had breakfast and I was starving. I loaded up a plate as servings went around and dug in as soon as everyone was ready.

“Great meal, Donna,” Greg complimented mom.

“Yes, it’s delicious,” Aunt Bethany chimed in.

“Well, Jacob made the potatoes,” mom admitted, giving me a wink. “The roasts were in crockpots all night, so it’s an easy meal.”

Suddenly the girls on either side of me were enjoying a forkful of mashed potatoes, voicing their pleasure at the taste.

I leveled a glacial stare at Natalie. She grinned impishly and shoveled a helping of the creamy spuds into her mouth with a groan as well, putting on just as much of a show.

As the parents ate and got into their own conversation, Natalie broke the ice on our end.

“I heard you got a new car, Jake?”

“Yeah, it’s not exactly new though,” I admitted.

“Will you give us a ride after dinner?” she tilted her head, her eyes begging.

“I’ll show it to you, for sure,” I said a little briskly. “I’m not sure about a ride.”

“Awwww,” Julie complained. “I heard it’s a Mustang. I want a ride,” she grinned.

“I want a ride too,” Harmony chimed in softly, her doe eyes on me.

Natalie looked like she was quite pleased with herself. Apparently all was going according to her devious little plan.

“Um, OK, we’ll see,” I deflected, putting a very tender bite of roast into my mouth to end the conversation.

This was a fabulous meal. Mom could knock out a big spread with ease. We had a big chest freezer full of our own farm-raised beef all the time. We froze gallons and gallons of sweet corn late every summer. This was easy for her.

“What kinds of animals do you have on the farm?” Julie interrupted my thoughts on the food.

“Oh, well, we have cattle, of course,” I said to cut the silence at our end of the table. “You’re eating one of them right now. You probably met George out front. And there are some little kittens in the barn loft.”

“Lonesome George” was our golden retriever. He was an expressive old boy, and dad had named him after George Thorogood. He was harmless, but he would make sure to bark when someone came to the farm.

“OH, I love kittens!” Harmony chirped.

“Me too!” Julie agreed.

Well, I guess I could entertain these three after all.

The meal ended with the parents still chatting. Bethany tried to start gathering plates but mom begged her off, saying she’d get to it later.

“Why don’t you take the girls outside and show them around the farm, Jake?” mom offered.

At least I didn’t have to help with dishes, I thought.

“OK,” I shrugged.

Immediately, the three girls were up, taking their plates to the kitchen to stack them at the sink. Josh was freed up to go play in his room, and the four teens headed outside.

I had kept my car under a soft cloth cover in our detached single-stall garage. A new garage had been built onto the house shortly after mom and dad had moved in. The old garage was actually older than the house. It had a dirt floor and no frills, but it kept my baby out of the elements.

The girls stood in front of the garage as I gave the car cover a bit of a theatrical tug, revealing her metallic blue beauty.

“Oh, wow!” Natalie was first to gush. “ME FIRST, I want to go first.”

I was a little confused, as the car had two doors and four seats. It wasn’t like we couldn’t all fit at once. They were all tiny girls.

“We can all ride at once,” I shrugged.

“Oh no,” Natalie shook her head. “That wouldn’t be fair. We would each want to ride in the front,” she nodded.

“She’s right,” Julie smiled, with a slightly fierce gleam I would not have expected from the very innocent-looking diminutive blonde. “I’ll go second.”

“I guess I’ll go last,” Harmony shrugged, hiding a grin and pretending to be disappointed.

Well, if nothing else, I could interrogate Natalie alone first to find out what on earth she was up to.

I shrugged and rolled up the car cover, setting it on a shelf and pulling my keys from my pocket. I thumbed the door open and sat inside.

‘Wait until they get a load of this,’ I thought with a predatory grin.

I rotated the ignition to the right and she turned over only twice before catching fire. I gave her just a hint of gas to make her a bit louder, and the small garage only amplified the effect, sending the loud dual exhaust note straight out the front garage door.

All three girls jumped slightly as my car roared to life, a little angrily.

I had to chuckle at their shared reaction. All three girls stepped well to the side, allowing me room to pull forward. They were already a little scared of this car.

She naturally slowed her rev down slightly, and I decided to drop her into first and pull forward slowly, for just the right effect.

As I pulled into the daylight, the looks on their faces changed as bright paint and acres of chrome caught the sun. Their expressions were delighted, if a little overwhelmed.

I pulled up to where Natalie stood and motioned for her to get in.

Her pearly teeth were exposed in a huge grin and she sat down, pulling the door closed. She seemed to be looking around for a seat belt.

“Just use the lap belt here,” I pointed out. The car had separate lap and shoulder belts, but the shoulder belt was a huge pain the ass. She clicked her lap belt and put her hands on her thighs demurely, giving me a ready grin.

I shook my head at her and let out of the clutch, rolling down the driveway.

“Awesome car, Jake.” she smiled, looking me over.

“What are you up to?” I said casually, looking straight forward.

“Nothing,” she grinned as innocently as she could. “I bring friends out here all the time,” she said defensively.

“Harmony Rogers,” I looked at her. “Really? Harmony Rogers?”

“She’s my friend. One of my best friends,” she shrugged. “What’s wrong?”

“You brought Melody’s little sister to my house. You wonder what’s wrong?”

“What’s the big deal,” her face turned sour. “She’s not Melody.”

“I know she isn’t Melody. She looks like Melody. She ... Oh, never mind!” I snapped a little, turning to take a full four-mile drive around the farm section.

“So you think she’s pretty then?”

“What do you mean?”

“Do you think she’s pretty? How about Julie, do you think she’s pretty?”

“What on earth are you talking about?”

“Which one do you want to make out with?”

I actually pulled to the right and stopped the car at the edge of the gravel.

“What is going on in your head, Natalie? Why would I be making out with either of your friends? What are you up to?”

She looked very uncomfortable for a moment, then steeled herself.

“You made out with Brenna Sanders when I brought HER out to the farm.”

Ah shit ... Now it was starting to make a little sense. Early last summer, Natalie had brought her friend Brenna to the farm for a Sunday dinner not unlike today. Brenna was a taller brunette with pretty brown eyes and soft lips. We’d spent the afternoon hanging out as I showed them around the farm. We’d pet kittens and calves and then in a quiet moment in the barn, Natalie told me her friend wanted to practice kissing with me. I found the girl quite pretty and hardly hesitated before puckering up. We kissed softly for several minutes, even starting to tongue each other before both of us got shy and ended the session. Natalie had watched all in fascination, and apparently it had left an impression on her. Now she was back to double down.

“So which one do you want to make out with?” she grinned. “How about both?”

“I don’t know, Natalie, which of them wants to get their ass kicked by Deandra Vant Hull? How about both?” I snarked bitterly at her.

“Deandra?”

“My girlfriend, Deandra? We go to the same school and you don’t know who my girlfriend is?”

She paused for a moment in confusion.

“Jake, it’s the end of the school year. “You’re not going to keep her around all summer, are you?”

The thought had never crossed my mind. I never thought about my relationship with Deedee ending just because we weren’t in school together every day. Natalie’s words did plant a tiny seed of doubt in my mind though.

“I plan to stay with my girlfriend, Natalie. I am not cheating on her, and certainly not with Melody’s little eighth-grade sister!”

“Ninth grade,” Natalie corrected me with a grin. “We’re ninth-graders now,” she confirmed with a nod.

“It’s not happening!” I practically yelled. I put the car back in gear, checking the mirror before taking off with a slight peal of gravel.

“I don’t know what’s in your head, Natty. I have a girlfriend.”

“Fine!” she grumped. “Just be nice to them. It’s not their fault. Both of them like you. They talk about you all the time. They see you in the hallways and the cafeteria. They see you play sports. Both of them like you,” she leveled.

“That’s really too bad for them,” I gritted coldly at my cousin. “I have a girlfriend. They’re both too young, and how about ‘hell no’ to Melody’s little sister?”

“You’re a jerk,” she looked away from me and crossed her arms over chest. “I get the girlfriend thing. It must be more serious than I heard, but Harmony is not like Melody, and you should give her a chance.”

“You’re right, Natty,” I said with a sarcastic tone as I turned right at the first stop sign. “I should show up at Harmony’s house with a bouquet of flowers and take her out on a date. I bet her parents would be absolutely thrilled to see me there for their other daughter.”

Natalie winced at my tone and my words, looking out the window.

“Fine, you’re right,” she said bitterly. “I shouldn’t have brought anyone out here.”

“It’s fine to bring your friends out here, Natty. Just don’t expect me to make out with all of them.”

We were halfway down the next mile. She was looking out the window quietly in thought.

“If I came out here without friends, would you make out with me?”

I very nearly wrecked the car. I looked at her in shock, moving the steering wheel to the right. I corrected back to the left just in time to avoid going into the ditch. I stopped the car entirely again.

“What. The. Fuck?” I asked, looking straight ahead.

She went silent, refusing to look at me.

“We’re cousins. That’s sick and wrong,” I said quietly.

“We’re not blood relatives, Jake,” she sighed. “I”m adopted. You know I’m adopted.”

“I know,” I said quietly. “You’re still my cousin. You don’t get that?”

“You don’t think I’m pretty,” she started to cry softly.

Oh shit ... Was there any way to get out of this without being a total asshole?

“Natalie, you’re a very pretty girl, but you’re a handful,” I chuckled slightly. “You can’t tell me there aren’t boys your age that are not your cousin willing to make out with you?”

“There are,” she hedged. “None I’m interested in, and I just wanted to practice like you did with Brenna anyway. She said your kissing helped her get ready for her boyfriend. She still has the same boyfriend.”

“I’m not a magic elixir, and I wasn’t much of a kisser before late last summer,” I admitted.

“She still thinks you’re dreamy,” she grinned, finally looking at me again.

I just blushed a little and shrugged.

“What can I say? I have an effect.”

Natalie dried her eyes on the backs of her hands, starting to smile more.

“You’re not going to tell anyone I asked you to make out, right?” she shrank.

“Of course not,” I chuckled a little. “That would be very weird.”

“That’s something I wouldn’t tell Julie or Harmony,” she admitted. “It’s not like I have the hots for you like they do, I just wanted to practice.”

“Are they going to be disappointed with their car rides?”

“Probably,” she said with a small guilty smile.

“Is there a way we can just enjoy the afternoon as friends and cousins?”

“Yeah, we can do that,” she smiled a little more warmly.

The rest of the ride ended in relative silence as I pulled down the driveway once again.

The remaining girls were poking around the old garage, looking at old tin signs and license plates hanging on the walls.

I pulled up to let Natalie out. As she stepped out of the car, I revved the engine loudly. She jumped and squeaked, giggling as she caught me laughing at her.

Little Julie was grinning ear to ear as she sat in to take her turn. She didn’t even bother with the seat belt. She looked briefly around the car and then simply wouldn’t take her light blue eyes off me.

“Hi,” I said with a grin to break the silence.

“Hi,” she said cutely, giving me a million-watt smile, her eyes thin slits from her upthrust cheeks.

I ran through a few gears rumbling up the driveway. ‘She’s sure cute, but I’m not sure she’s much for conversation,’ I thought. I was wrong again.

“When did you get the car?”

“Just last week,” I admitted, thinking back to how much had happened in such a short amount of time.

“It suits you,” she said warmly. “The color is perfect for you. Matches your eyes.”

I looked at her and caught her staring into my eyes. She blushed a little and looked away.

“How’s your brother?” I asked, hoping to find some sort of way to let this very pretty girl down gently.

“I dunno, he’s fine, I guess.” she said quietly.

“How come I never see you at our baseball games?”

“Oh, I have softball at the same time. Can’t be in two places at once.”

“Gotcha,” I said.

“But I wish I could watch you play,” she said quietly.

“You mean watch your brother play?” I asked.

“No, not really,” she shook her head, looking my way again with a shy smile.