Chapter 13

By the time Stacy and I walked back to Susan’s house, it was very late. We took a quick, cool shower and then she walked me to the door. She looked as worn out as I was, but we were both happy. She gave me a smoldering goodnight kiss, then I walked home.

When I finally got back to our cabin, the porch light was on and there was something in one of the rocking chairs. As I got closer, I realized it was a person. Uh-oh. Mom was wrapped up in a blanket and asleep. Since I normally didn’t wear my watch, I had no idea what time it was.

As soon as I walked up the stairs, she stirred. The porch creaked softly with my weight and she blinked sleepily.

“Sorry I’m home late, Mom,” I said softly.

She smiled and nodded. “We’ll talk in the morning.”

I extended a hand to her and she slowly uncurled. With a yawn, she hitched the blanket around her shoulders and smiled at me sleepily as I helped her to her feet. I held the door open and then followed her into the darkened cabin.

Mom kissed me goodnight and I turned off the porch light. She quietly padded to the bathroom and I climbed into my top bunk. When Mom climbed into bed a few minutes later, she and Dad had a quick, quiet conversation. I didn’t hear what they said, but I guess I didn’t really need to—I knew it was about me.

The next morning, I got up a little later than usual. I had slept well, just not long enough. Mom and Dad were already up, and Erin was stirring. I slipped on my workout shorts and headed outside. After warming up with the jump rope, I started doing push-ups.

I had just started doing sit-ups when Mom and Erin came out of the cabin, waved to me, and headed down the hill. Several minutes later, Dad came out of the cabin and waited for me to finish my set of exercises. When I stood up to retrieve the jump rope, he tossed something to me. I didn’t see what it was, but I reached out and caught it automatically. It was my watch.

“Do you know what time you came home last night?” Dad asked conversationally.

“Um... ?”

“If you had your watch on, you’d’ve known it was after one thirty.”

I hadn’t thought it was that late.

He nodded. “Your mother and I know you’re not going to get into trouble, not here. But your curfew at camp is the same as it is at home.”

“Yes, sir.” As a rule, I didn’t call my father “sir,” but it was one of Those Conversations.

“So we expect you to be back at the cabin by midnight.”

I nodded and studied the ground.

“Don’t hang your head, son,” he said. “Look at me when I’m talking to you.” His voice wasn’t angry, but it was definitely firm.

I immediately looked up and met his gaze.

“That’s better. You need to look at people when they’re talking to you, Paul. It shows respect. You know that.”

I felt my cheeks heat up as I nodded, but my eyes never left his face.

He glanced at the watch I held. “You can either wear that and come home at midnight,” he said. “Or not, and take your chances on getting home on time. Do you understand?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Good,” he said.

Sometimes, it was easy to forget my father’s military background. This wasn’t one of those times.

“Now,” he said, his tone lighter. “While you finish your workout, I’m going to go shower.”

When he walked back inside the cabin, I strapped on my watch. It seemed too tight, but I knew I’d get used to it. I’d better get used to it, I thought. I knew I wouldn’t enjoy the deliberately unstated consequences if I came home after midnight again.

When I finished jumping rope, I went inside, slipped off my shorts, and threw them in the hamper. Dad smiled at me as he came out of the bathroom, the pleasant smell of his aftershave wafting after him.

I thought Dad would head down to the clubhouse, so I didn’t even bother to shut the bathroom door when I hopped in the shower. I washed quickly and then stepped out to dry myself. To my surprise, Dad was sitting on the bed reading his book (the latest Robert Ludlum thriller).

“I thought I’d wait and walk down with you,” he said.

“Um ... cool. Thanks.”

He smiled and returned his attention to his book.

I started doing my regular bathroom routine. Normally, I didn’t grow enough facial hair to shave on a regular basis. The night before, however, Stacy had commented on my peach fuzz, so I felt the need to clean up my face. When we were at home, I used one of Dad’s beat-up old razors. Unfortunately, I’d forgotten to pack it. Erin had been shaving for about a year, but she had to do it about as often as I did. At camp, she and Mom usually shared a pack of disposable razors. Since I wasn’t about to use a pink plastic razor...

“Dad?” I asked. “Do you mind if I borrow your razor?”

He set his book down and walked toward me. It was a little weird having him stand behind me in the bathroom, but I held my ground. At six feet, he was still three inches taller than me, and could easily look over my shoulder. He looked in the mirror and examined my face critically. I almost jumped when he put his hand on my shoulder and stretched past me.

“Here you go,” he said as he reached into his toiletries bag and withdrew his safety razor and a packet of new blades. “I guess it’s time we bought you a razor of your own.”

My eyes widened.

“Although you might not have to use it all the time. Yet.” He looked at me archly and smiled. “Be glad for that.”

I nodded quickly and hid my mild confusion. I actually liked to shave, even though I didn’t have to do it very often. It was fun, and made me feel grown-up.

“But there’s something about buying your own razor that makes you feel like a man,” he said.

I nodded as sagely as I could. “I guess I should probably shave every day,” I said.

Dad took one look at my serious expression and laughed out loud. He clapped me on the shoulder and smiled at my reflection in the mirror. “Son, I didn’t have to shave every day until I was in college. You go right ahead, if it’ll make you happy. But I think you’ll get tired of it pretty quick.” He grinned at me again and returned to his book.

I changed the razor blade, lathered my face, and carefully shaved the few patches of hair on my chin and jaw. I tried to shave like Dad, but his motions were more deft than mine.

“Why don’t we drive to town tomorrow?” Dad asked from the bed.

“Uh, sure. Whatever.”

“Your mom can give us a grocery list and we’ll do the shopping. I’ll help you pick out a razor. Okay?”

“Sure, Dad. Sounds cool.”

It didn’t sound all that cool, but I would be buying my own razor. That alone would be worth the trip.

When Dad and I finally made it down to the clubhouse, I saw that Stacy and Susan would be joining my family for breakfast. Since Stacy now had a bit more financial freedom, she had taken the rest of the week off and planned to stay with Susan until Sunday.

For breakfast, Mom and Susan had fixed big cheese omelettes. Stacy and Erin were setting one of the larger tables with sausage, biscuits, gravy, grits, and glasses of orange juice. With timing honed by years of motherhood, Mom and Susan had everything ready just as Dad and I walked into the building.

During breakfast, Dad announced that he and I had a mission in town the following day. Mom smiled and nodded when he asked her for a grocery list. He said we also had a secret mission, one he’d “brief” me on later. He grinned mischievously, but wouldn’t say anything else about it. I don’t think even Mom knew what he was up to. Suddenly, our trip to town held more promise than I’d originally thought.

Gina’s family entered the clubhouse midway through our meal. I noticed that Kara and her mother no longer wore bikini bottoms, although Gina and Leah still wore theirs. When they saw us, they all came over to say hello. I smiled at Gina, but her expression didn’t change. Kara noticed and elbowed her sister in the ribs. Gina smiled at me, but it was clearly obligatory—the smile didn’t reach her eyes.

Mom, Dad, and Susan talked to Chris and Elizabeth. Leah went around to Erin, and Kara came over to Stacy and me. Kara tried to pull Gina over to us, but she resisted, stubbornly insisting on remaining aloof. After a few minutes of idle chitchat, the Coulter family went to fix their own breakfast.

I guess I was a little down about Gina, and Stacy noticed. She surreptitiously put her hand on my thigh and squeezed. I smiled at her and tried to look happier. Judging by her concerned expression, I didn’t do so well.

After breakfast, we spent the rest of the morning at the lake. I sat next to Gina, but she pretty much ignored me. Each time I tried to start a conversation, she responded with monosyllabic answers. Eventually, I got tired of trying and went for a swim.

I goofed off for a little while, then swam toward the shallow end of the lake, where Stacy and Kara had laid out their towels. They were keeping an eye on Clara Nolan while her mom and dad were across the lake with the other adults.

Clara was happily playing with a very waterlogged Barbie doll. She flashed me a cheerful, gap-toothed grin when I waded past her. As I approached them, Stacy and Kara were smiling and trying not to laugh. For a moment, I wondered why. Then Clara splashed me from behind, giggled, and noisily swam away.

I smiled helplessly at the two older girls and promptly chased down Clara. She squealed playfully when I caught her, and I easily swept her into my arms. I waded toward the deeper part of the shallow end of the lake. Clara squirmed and tried to get loose, but I was used to holding on to 160-pound wrestlers. A wriggling six-year-old girl wasn’t about to get loose.

When the water was up to my waist, I tossed Clara into the lake. As soon as she hit, I submerged and started swimming toward her. When I burst upward and swept her with me, she screamed again. At the top of my lunge, I tossed her into the lake again. She sputtered to the surface, looked at me with wide eyes and an ear-to-ear grin, then begged me to do it again.

For the next fifteen or twenty minutes, I played with Clara. She squealed happily as I tossed her, spun her, and lifted her above my head. Eventually, I put her on my shoulders and carried her toward the shore. Either Kara or Stacy had retrieved the floating Barbie doll, and it was lying next to them. I blushed as they grinned at me. When I set Clara down, she gifted me with another toothy grin.

“Did you like that, Clara?” Kara asked.

Clara smiled and quickly nodded.

“He’s a good guy to play with, isn’t he?”

Clara grinned shyly and nodded again. Suddenly, she giggled, grabbed her Barbie doll, then bolted around the lake as fast as her little legs would take her. “Bye, Miss Kara,” she yelled over her shoulder. “Bye, Miss Stacy.” She giggled again and kept running toward her mother.

“And what am I,” I asked with feigned indignation, “chopped liver?”

“You can play with us,” Stacy said, her voice low and sultry. “Mister Paul.”

I must have turned six shades of red.

Around lunchtime, the air grew still and heavy. Fifteen minutes later, the wind picked up and clouds started moving in. A summer thunderstorm was blowing in quickly, so everyone picked up their blankets and towels, then headed up the hill to the clubhouse. The first fat raindrops began falling about half an hour later. We ate lunch with the storm drumming a tattoo on the roof.

With the rain still coming down, most of us found diversions. Kara and Stacy wanted to play Scrabble, and they invited me to join them. They invited Gina too, but when she learned that I was playing, she declined. I shook my head despondently as I watched Kara try to persuade her sister.

“Kara said she’s just being stubborn,” Stacy said quietly.

I turned back to look at Stacy.

She reached out and held my hand. “I’m so sorry, Paul.”

I shrugged.

“Yesterday,” she said, “I was real worried that I’d caused all this.”

I started to shake my head, but she kept talking.

“Kara told me I didn’t. She said Gina’s mostly angry about ... um...” She paused to think for a moment. “Amy! Yeah, Gina’s mad about her.”

I nodded morosely.

“Actually, she’s not really mad that you had sex with someone else.” She laughed nervously. “Obviously.”

I grinned.

“Kara said she’s mad that you did it behind her back. I guess that kinda makes sense.”

“Kinda, but not really.”

“Well,” she continued. “According to Kara, Gina’s also just being stubborn. She thinks she’s punishing you, I guess.”

“Really?”

She nodded. “So Kara and I have kinda been paying a lot of attention to you.” She grinned and bit her bottom lip.

I just stared at her, at a loss for words.

“Of course,” she quickly amended, “I’d pay attention to you anyway.”

I squeezed her hand and smiled.

Her eyes sparkled as her face lit up.

“Thanks, Stacy.” I put my other hand on hers and looked into her eyes. “I really do love you. Sometimes, I wish we could run away together.”

“If you did that,” she said, pretending to be cheerful, “you’d never get Gina back.”

“You know what I mean,” I said.

She nodded and her eyes grew misty. “Thank you.”

“You two want to be alone?” Kara asked, suddenly appearing at the table.

We looked up in surprise, and she grinned at us.

Stacy wiped the corners of her eyes and shook her head. “No. Paul’s just making it hard for me to help him get Gina back.”

Kara unceremoniously flopped into a chair and sighed in frustration. “Yeah, well, she’s being a pig-headed little—” She looked up at us and blushed. “Sorry. The women in our family,” she said, turning to me, “can be strong willed.”

“Really?” I asked with artful innocence.

Kara started to nod seriously, then caught herself and grinned ruefully. “Yeah,” she said. “Believe it or not, independent thinking can sometimes be a problem.”

Stacy and I looked at each other and grinned.

“Let’s just play Scrabble,” Kara said with a trace of disgust.

We drew our letters and started to play. The rain showed no sign of letting up, so we settled in and enjoyed ourselves. Every once in a while, I turned around and looked at Gina. Most of the time, she was reading her book. But once, I caught her looking at us longingly. She locked eyes with me, scowled, and turned back to her book.

When dinnertime rolled around, it was still raining, although the worst of the storm had passed. Susan walked into the clubhouse, shook off her umbrella, and leaned it against the wall near the door. She stopped and talked to a few people on her way through the building. My parents had spent the afternoon talking with Gina’s parents on the couches, and Susan joined them.

They talked for a while and then Mom, Susan, and Elizabeth all went to the kitchen area at the same time. We were probably going to eat dinner with Gina’s family. Fantastic, I thought, more time with a very distant Gina. I suppose my expression was as dour as my mood, because Kara suddenly laughed at me. (Her last play had been “quirky”, on a Triple Word score, and she was in a good mood.)

“What’s so funny?” I asked. I hoped I didn’t sound as frustrated as I felt.

“You, silly,” Kara said.

“Huh?”

Kara smiled mysteriously.

Stacy and I automatically leaned closer.

“Okay,” Kara said. “Your family is eating with ours tonight, right?”

“Yeah, I figured that much out o—”

“And you’re all down about it ‘cause you think you’ll have to sit there and Gina won’t talk to you.”

“Pretty much,” I snapped.

“You don’t get it, do you?”

I bridled, but she quickly smiled at me.

“Mom’s gonna be there,” she said, as if that answered everything.

Stacy snickered.

I looked at her with a wounded expression. When she sobered quickly, I immediately felt bad.

“Remember what happened yesterday?” Stacy asked. “At the picnic?”

I must have looked as confused as I felt.

“Gina got up and stormed off?” Kara prompted.

I still didn’t get it.

“And then Mom went and talked to her,” Kara said. She paused for a moment. “Do you honestly think Gina’s gonna give you the silent treatment as long as Mom’s watching?” Kara asked.

Comprehension began to blossom in my brain.

“If you sit next to her and you make polite conversation,” Kara continued, “she’ll have no choice but to talk to you. See?”

“Oh, I get it!”

The two older girls looked at me with insufferable grins.

Dinner that night could best be described as the triumph of experience over hope. Gina talked to me, but she answered every question in as few words as possible. And, of course, she didn’t say one word that wasn’t a direct response to one of my questions. Midway through the meal, I gave up.

After dinner, Susan came up to me and put her arm through mine. All of the other women were cleaning up the remains of our meal, Dad and Chris were talking to each other, so we were alone.

“You need to learn to ask open-ended questions,” she said.

“Huh?”

“Open-ended questions,” she repeated. “It’s an interviewing trick my father taught me. You asked Gina too many closed-ended questions.”

“What?”

“Did you swim in the lake today?”

“Huh?” Did she just change the subject?

“Just answer the question,” she gently prompted.

“Did I swim in the lake today? Yeah.”

“I asked a closed-ended question. Not a whole lot of answer needed.” She paused for a moment to let that sink in.

I had my doubts as to how far it would sink.

“What did you do today?” she asked.

“I just told you,” I said.

“No,” she said patiently. “You didn’t. What did you do today?”

I shrugged in frustration. “I told you. I went for a swim.”

“And?”

I rolled my eyes and continued. “I played with Clara Nolan. I played Scrabble with Kara and Stacy. I ate dinner. I ... Oh...” I paused and looked at her in growing surprise. “Oh. I get it.”

She smiled and nodded. “Closed-ended questions don’t leave a lot of room for conversation. Did you swim in the lake today? Yes. Where did you play Scrabble? In the clubhouse. What color are my eyes? Blue.”

I nodded.

“Open-ended questions are where you can really start a conversation. What did you do today? What happened during your Scrabble game? Why do you like blue eyes?”

“Wow.”

“Mmm hmm. There aren’t any one-word answers to those questions.”

I shook my head.

“If you want to draw someone out, use open-ended questions.”

“Yeah!”

“So,” she asked, “what are you going to ask the next time you talk to Gina?”

“The next time I talk to Gina,” I said excitedly, “I’m going to...” I looked at Susan with a mixture of surprise and chagrin.

She smiled munificently.

I felt my face and ears heating. “That was an open-ended question,” I said, half accusingly, half in wonder.

“Mmm hmm.”

“The next time I talk to Gina, I’m going to ask open-ended questions.”

She turned and kissed me on the cheek. “She’s trying to stay mad at you, so you’ll have your work cut out for you.”

I nodded sullenly.

“But Kara’s on your side,” Susan said. “Trust what she tells you, she wants you and Gina to be happy.”

With that, she turned and walked back to my parents.

“Hey! Wait,” I called after her. “How d’you know about Kara?”

She merely shook her head and laughed brightly.

Was I the only one who didn’t know what was going on?

Later, Mom and Dad told me they were going with Gina’s parents to Susan’s house. Before she left, Susan took Stacy aside and talked to her for a few minutes. Afterward, she picked up her umbrella and followed my parents out the clubhouse door.

Outside, it was raining steadily and had turned cold. Well, as cold as South Carolina gets in early July. Gina’s and my parents would get chilly and wet walking to Susan’s house, but I guess that was their problem. I know I certainly didn’t want to go traipsing off in the rain.

No sooner had I thought this than Stacy asked if I wanted to go for a walk. A walk? It was raining outside, and not all that warm. Was she crazy?

Kara merely smiled at us as she excused herself. I watched her as she walked over to Gina and flopped down on the couch. Stacy grabbed my hand and practically dragged me out of the clubhouse.

It wasn’t raining very hard, but it was steady enough that we were both drenched by the time we had gone fifty feet. Stacy led me up the hill, and it quickly became clear she was leading me toward our cabin. With my parents at Susan’s house, and Erin with her friends in the clubhouse, we would have the cabin to ourselves. Going for a walk suddenly didn’t sound like such a bad idea.

Since we were already soaked, there was really no reason to run, but we did anyway. The last hundred yards, we sprinted up the hill, raindrops pelting our water-slick bodies. I bounded up the stairs, turned, and caught Stacy as she leapt onto the porch. I held her feet off the ground and she kissed me soundly. When I set her down, we kept kissing, each kiss hotter than the last.

“I want to make love in the rain,” she said when we finally pulled apart.

“It’s cold,” I said in a half-hearted protest. “And wet.”

She reached for my penis. “We’re already wet,” she said. “And I could warm you up.” She stroked me, and I began to respond. “I could warm up certain parts quicker than others.” Still stroking my growing member, she started backing down the stairs.

I had little choice but to follow her. I looked around to see if anyone could see us. With the storm, it was getting dark earlier than usual, and the rain cut visibility even further. I was pretty sure no one would see us, but we were out in the open.

Stacy dropped to her knees before me, kissed my half-hard cock, then engulfed it with her mouth. My penis quickly sprang to full attention. She kept sucking for a few more minutes, making my head spin from the heat and delicate friction she applied to my manhood.

When she pulled her lips away from my organ long enough for me to regain a semblance of coherent thought, I quickly pulled her to her feet. She looked at me curiously when I stepped close to her and put my hands under her arms. I easily lifted her into the air, then pulled her against my chest.

She quickly realized what I was doing and wrapped her arms around my neck. When she circled my waist with her legs, I lowered my hands to her hips. I held her up while she reached between us for my erection. I felt her aim my cock at her opening and then I lowered her onto it. The tip entered her and she returned her hand to my neck to steady herself. I lowered her further and felt my girth spread her open. She sank onto my length with a wordless groan.

Her slick breasts and engorged nipples pressed against my chest as she hugged me close. I quickly forgot about the chill and the rain. Her skin was cold at first, but the contact warmed us both. As her lips sought mine, she began rocking her hips against me. She mewled into my mouth each time her clit pressed against the base of my shaft. I cupped her ass and started moving within her.

I leaned back a little to get her over my center of gravity and she held herself tight against me. Because of the position, I couldn’t move my hips very far, but it was enough. Out in the open, in front of my family’s cabin and hidden only by the steady rain and dwindling light, we kissed passionately and rocked against each other.

Her skin was slippery, and I found I was having a hard time holding onto her as she humped against me. When my hand slipped and my fingers brushed against her anus, she cried out in pleasure. Her pussy clutched at me, and I felt a rush of warmth and moisture flow over my dick.

I quickly moved my finger back over her anus, and her pussy spasmed again. Her back bowed as she humped her hips against me, and I smiled to myself. I pressed my finger into the bud of her ass and she cried out again. As I teased her anus, her pussy became a molten vise, clutching my cock and sending tendrils of pure ecstasy through my groin.

Her movements became less controlled, more frantic, and the first two knuckles of my finger slipped into her ass. She immediately arched her back and cried out, her face turned heavenward, heedless of the rain. Her legs cinched around my waist and held her hips against me as the first throes of orgasm took her.

With my finger still buried in her ass, she came, hard. She bucked her hips against me once, but quickly stopped moving. I clenched my buttocks and my cock swelled within her. She cried out again, shuddering as her pussy spasmed around my invading manhood. Contractions surged through her pussy, clamping and releasing my dick. Her climax seemed to roll on and on, making her cry out with each new wave of pleasure.

When her orgasm finally subsided, her fingers began to slip from around my neck. She went limp, and I scrambled to catch her before she fell. I hastily moved one hand around her back and supported her as her arms flopped to the sides. I shifted my body and pulled her against me bonelessly. I pulled my finger out of her and steadied her with both hands as I settled her weight.

My cock was still very hard, and remained buried in her steamy pussy. She moaned softly when her sensitive clit rubbed against my shaft as I shifted her, but otherwise, she was dead to the world. The rain started to pick up and I shook my head to clear my eyes. She shivered against me, more from the cold than any aftershocks from her orgasm, and I walked toward the cabin porch.

I routinely worked out with more weight than Stacy’s 110 pounds, so carrying her was no problem. She clutched me weakly and moaned into my shoulder as I mounted the steps. Her skin raised goose bumps when a gust of wind blew up, and she shivered again.

I shifted her again, to make sure I could support her with one arm, and opened the cabin door. Once inside, I walked to the bathroom, not caring that we were dripping on the floor. Stacy began to return to her senses when I flipped on the light. She pulled back and looked at me with unfocused eyes.

When she closed her eyes and shivered again, I moved to set her down. She gasped as my rigid length rubbed over her clit. I set her on her feet and spent a moment assuring myself that she wouldn’t fall.

Without the heat of my body to warm her, she started shivering continuously. I turned on the shower and adjusted the water. Since the water heater was so close, the stream quickly grew hot. I turned it down just a little and pulled her toward the tub. Still shivering, she stepped under the water with little urging. I stepped in behind her and pulled the curtain.

Once she was under the sluicing warmth of the shower, I stepped close to her and started rubbing her arms and shoulders. When she stopped shivering, she looked up at me gratefully.

“I can’t remember the last time I came that hard,” she said softly.

I cocked my head to the side and grinned.

“Aren’t you Mr. Smug,” she said, with more life and energy than she’d displayed since her orgasm.

I nodded insouciantly.

When my erection bumped into her, she looked down. “You didn’t come?” she asked, looking back up at me in surprise.

I shook my head. “I’m okay,” I said.

She smiled mischievously and began stroking my erection. “My pussy is still too sensitive,” she said. “But you could fuck me in the ass.”

I arched an eyebrow.

“It’s been a while since you did.” She smiled seductively. “I miss you back there,” she said in a little-girl voice.

“You do?”

She bit her lip coquettishly, fluttered her eyelids, and nodded.

“In that case... , “ I said.

I didn’t wait for her to answer before I turned her around and pressed her against the shower wall. She arched her back and stuck her hips out to receive me. When she spread her cheeks, I aimed my straining erection at her ass.

Once I slipped the head inside her, I put my hands on her hips. With one long, steady thrust, I was inside her. I fucked her with sure strokes, one hand on her hip, the other tweaking her puffy nipples. Still tingling and worked up from her first orgasm, she came quickly a second time. When she did, I buried myself in her ass and emptied my balls inside her.

After we both caught our breath, we separated. Our sex had been so fast that the water was still running hot. With gentle touches, we silently washed each other. We kissed and stroked each other until the water began to run cold, then turned the water off and reached for our towels. When we were dry and warm again, we turned off the light and walked back into the darkened cabin.

“I’ve never seen your cabin before,” she said. “Well, not when you all were here. It’s different now that you are,” she said, indicating the room with a nod. “It’s like a home.”

“You’ve seen our cabin before?” I asked.

She nodded. “This spring, before your family came to camp. I asked Susan about it, and she showed me.”