Chapter 1: The BTC

“Hey, Matty?” Belle called. “I need you to get me the madeleine pan up there.”

Glancing over my shoulder, I saw Belle pointing to the top shelf of one of the cabinets. I set down my knife and the carrot I’d been chopping, took three steps to the left, and reached up to grab the pan. It was a regular occurrence for me to grab things on high shelves for Belle. She’d grown as tall as she would ever get by age fourteen and stopped at only 5’1”, slender yet stacked, like a lingerie model at four-fifths scale. Her mom had been a short, busty little woman, too. On the other hand, I hit my growth spurt right when Belle stopped and now stood 6’1”, taller even than Belle’s dad.

Belle said thanks and busied herself pouring batter into the molds. Today was the Wednesday after Labor Day. Tomorrow would be the first day of school, and she wanted to bring treats for our friends. Her dad had not yet come home from work, and even though I didn’t actually live in this house, I was making dinner for the three of us.

I knew my way around the Kramer kitchen better than my own. I certainly ate more dinners at their house than mine. Belle and I shared the space on autopilot, working in silence without the need to chit-chat. After eighteen years together we were basically family, with no worries about personal space. When she had to use the sink, Belle simply tapped my hip with her forearm and I immediately slid to the side. When I needed to get glasses from the cabinet above her head I simply reached over her head without so much as an “excuse me”.

The table was set by 6:17pm, which was about the time Mr. K always got home after sitting in Silicon Valley rush hour traffic. He came in from the garage, took one big sniff, and smiled. “I can tell Matt is cooking today. It smells so much better than yours, Belle.”

“Dad!” Belle exclaimed, scandalized. But she immediately started chuckling along with him. Mr. K’s cholesterol levels had been going up, so Belle had taken it upon herself to start feeding him “cleaner” meals. But it was our last day before school started, so I’d made barbecue ribs and French fries (although Belle had talked me into baking the fries). I still made steamed carrots, already knowing Belle would nag her own dad into eating them as payment for each bite of the ribs.

Just like we did most nights, the three of us ate our meals in relative silence. Again, there was no need to fill the space with meaningless conversation, although I did ask Mr. K if he’d heard the latest news about the 49ers. We chatted about football for a couple of minutes before returning to the food. Then Mr. K asked us both if we were excited about going back to school.

“Not really,” I admitted. “It’s been nice to just be lazy around the house all day.”

“True,” Belle chimed in. “But it’ll be nice to see some of our friends.”

I snorted. “Our friends have been lazy around MY house all summer.”

Belle shrugged. “Well, other friends beyond the BTC. Don’t get me wrong, I love hanging out with the girls. But there are some people I haven’t seen in three months and have no idea what they’ve been up to.”

(Before I get too far, let me explain that we were in high school during a period before social media or cell phones. I know, it was practically the Stone Age.)

Mr. K nodded, but arched an eyebrow and gave his daughter a curious look. “Are there any boys in this category of people you’re looking forward to seeing?”

“Dad!” Belle exclaimed again before rolling her eyes.

So Mr. K turned to me. “Has she talked about any boys she thinks are cute?”

“Yes, but that’s as far as I’ll admit.” I grinned and mimed zipping my lips shut.

“Is there one boy in particular?”

“Dad!” Belle screeched.

I stared studiously at my plate, zipping my lips again.

“Is he a good kid or one of those bad boys?”

“Dad!”

I finally spoke up, saying, “Relax, he’s a good kid. And if he turns out to not be such a nice guy, I’ll pound his face in.”

“My man.” Mr. K grinned and raised his hand for a high-five across the table.

Belle rolled her eyes as our palms slapped, and she shot me a look. “I am never telling you about boys ever again.”

I shrugged. “You’ll tell Mari, and Mari’ll tell me.”

“Ugh.” Belle buried her face in her palms for a moment before glaring at her dad. “Aren’t you gonna ask him if there are any girls he’s looking forward to seeing?”

I snorted. “Yeah, right.”

Mr. K sat up straight and measured my expression. “What’s wrong? Surely there’s some girl out there you think is hot and are looking forward to seeing again tomorrow.”

I shook my head. “I got all the hot girls I need hanging out with me all the time.”

Mr. K exchanged a look with Belle. He knew about the “Nobody dates Matty” rule, but every now and again he looked like he wanted to check and make sure that The Rule was still in force. She just shrugged.

So Mr. K looked back to me. “I meant someone you might actually be able to date.”

I waved him off. “I haven’t had a girl approach me in more than six months. And even the ones I might be interested in all get scared off by the BTC.”

Belle frowned. “We do NOT scare them off.”

I shot her a look. “Were you not there when I started talking to Ashley Mitchell and Sam suddenly joined us with a smile full of teeth, thrusting her big power boobs out an extra couple of inches?”

Belle snorted and choked a little bit. She coughed, thumped her chest twice, and managed to say, “I forgot about that.”

Mr. K looked at his daughter. “Doesn’t seem very fair.”

I shook my head. “I’m not complaining. Seriously, it’s fine.”

Mr. K’s eyebrows both went up. “Well, it’s a brand-new year. Anything can happen.”

He was totally right.

“I hate school, I hate school, I hate school,” Belle muttered as she slammed the passenger door shut on my minivan.

Back before I’d turned sixteen, Mother offered to buy me a new car. Expensive gifts like that were one way she felt she was still fulfilling her parental responsibilities in lieu of spending quality time with me. She thought I’d go for a fancy sports car, but I’d surprised her with the minivan request. She understood after the first day I drove the entire BTC to the beach.

Belle was still muttering about how she hated school. I didn’t respond except to arch an eyebrow and wave to Mari, who stood just outside Belle’s window. The curvy Latina crossed her arms underneath her massive rack, not to tease me or anything, but more to hug herself. She gave me an apologetic look and continued through the parking lot toward her own car.

“What’s wrong?” I asked my ‘sister’ with genuine concern. “Or at least, what’s happened since lunch? Everything was fine the last time I saw you.”

Belle scowled and stared out the front window. Several of her strawberry-blonde bangs had come loose from her ponytail and framed her face in way that simultaneously made her look disheveled and quite pretty. Her pale green eyes were daggers, half-narrowed and ready to skewer anyone who stepped into her path. “Darryl,” she spat.

I blinked and sat up straight. A minute ago, I had been ready to start the ignition, back out, and drive us home. But I let my hand fall away from the keys and pivoted between our two bucket seats to slide back and sit down on the middle bench seat. Reaching out, I set one hand on her shoulder reassuringly.

That simple touch broke the dam, and the waterworks started flowing. Belle sobbed, slipped out of her chair, and I helped her climb semi-sideways into my lap as the tears streamed down her cheeks. Our height difference made our heads more or less at the same elevation, and I kissed her cheek before trapping it against the side of mine while I continued to squeeze her tight.

Eventually, the tears began to subside. I waited her out, stroking the side of her arm and shoulder.

“Talk to me,” I encouraged.

“Darryl’s an asshole,” she muttered, wiping her eyes.

“I figured. What did he do?” Darryl was the boy Belle didn’t want me talking about to her dad. Last weekend, we’d been at the mall so Belle and Mari could shop for back-to-school clothes. As usual, I was their fashion consultant to give them a male opinion for how hot they looked in their outfits. We ran into Darryl and two of his buddies, and although we’d never been friends, there had been some flirting and Darryl had expressed interest in seeing Belle at school. With our academic calendar starting on a Thursday, Belle had been pent up with excitement all week looking forward to seeing him again, although their reunion had apparently not gone well.

Belle pouted while I cuddled her close and nuzzled her neck with my nose. I continued rubbing her arms until she calmed down a little more, and eventually she turned her head to look at me with tear-streaked eyes. “Why do boys have to all be sex-obsessed bastards?”

“They’re called hormones. Come with puberty,” I quipped. “C’mon, I thought you took AP Bio last year.”

Belle snorted and promptly choked on a booger. I kept a pack of tissues in the pocket behind the passenger seat, and she reached out to grab a couple and blow her nose.

When she re-settled on my lap, I hugged her close and asked quietly, “Did he do anything that requires me to kick his ass? I did promise your dad I’d pound his face in.” My blood ran cold for a moment. “Did he touch you?”

Belle felt the tenseness in my arms and quickly turned to face me again. “No, nothing like that.”

I unclenched my jaw and relaxed a little.

She sighed and sagged back against my chest. “He just...” Her voice trailed off. She glanced up at the roof, gathered her thoughts, and let out a long exhalation. “Matty...” she began quietly.

I waited her out, just holding her close.

“Does it ... bother you ... when we all tease you?” she asked softly.

“What do you mean?”

“You know what I mean.”

I did. As the only guy in the group, I’d always gotten teased pretty mercilessly. Five teenage girls (six after Neevie joined) wanted to push their boundaries and test out their feminine wiles on the males of society, and there was no practice dummy better than me. If one of the girls wanted to figure out the optimal angle for tossing her hair, batting her eyelashes, and flashing a coquettish look over her shoulder, she’d try it out a few times on me to perfect her technique before bringing it to school and using it on a guy they’d actually date. Wanted to check out a guy’s reaction to her new bikini before wearing it to the beach? Bring it over to Matty’s house, sashay across the pool deck a few times to make sure he got a good look at some T&A, and see if he popped a woody. I constantly had cleavage pushed up into my face. The girls kept bending over at the waist to pick up something off the floor. I got touched ... a LOT ... My chest, my shoulders, my arms. My legs got rubbed underneath the table just sitting in a booth at McDonald’s.

But no matter how much the girls teased me, I NEVER took advantage of them. Not once had I ever grabbed a juicy ass uninvited. Not once had I pawed at a boob, even when it was within easy reach. You know: the kinds of things that would get guys slapped. Okay, in fairness I may have gotten a bit of side-boob with my fingertips giving one of the girls a back massage, and I HAD gotten in some serious groping when the girls grabbed my hands and put them on their goodies from outside their clothing. But the cardinal rule was that I NEVER initiated, only accepted whatever they felt comfortable giving. This was the reason the girls all trusted me. I was Matty, the “safe” guy. So all of them continued to tease me, even Belle.

Taking a deep breath, I exhaled and told her seriously, “You know I don’t mind. I love it.”

“But don’t you ever wish we would let you do more?” Belle gave me a skeptical look and turned a little more sideways in my lap. I became consciously aware that her cute plaid blouse was unbuttoned to her navel, exposing a white tank top scooped low enough to give me a great downward view into her 32D cleavage. And noting my gaze, she thrust her chest forward a little, making damn sure I was looking.

I frowned, not sure yet where this was going or what it had to do with Darryl. Instinctively, I started to make up a dismissive comment about how we were all friends and that I respected the girls too much to think of them that way, but this was Belle asking me and she knew the truth anyway. She just wanted me to say it out loud. Although I’d briefly glanced down at Belle’s tits, I focused on her pretty face and answered, “Of course I do. You’re a bunch of super-hot girls and I’m just as much of a sex-obsessed bastard as Darryl is.”

“No you’re not. How many times have I sat in your lap just like this?”

“Uh, more times than I can count.”

“And how many times have you ever grabbed my ass?”

“Never.” My eyes narrowed. “Did Darryl grab--”

“No, no,” she cut me off. “I already told you he didn’t touch me.”

I settled down and exhaled slowly.

Belle reached a hand up, caressing my cheek and turning my face to hers so that we were only inches apart. Again, the height difference was such that we were basically eye-to-eye. “Do you wish you could grab my ass?”

“Yes.”

“Do you wish you could grab my tits?”

“Yes.”

“Do you wish you could throw me down across my bed, sliding your aching dick deep into my pussy, and fuck the shit out of me?”

“Jeezus, Belle.” My eyes popped open wide and I leaned back a bit.

“Do you?”

“You’re like my sister, B.”

“But do you?”

“No! I don’t!”

Belle frowned, and now she was leaning back away from me. She looked hurt. “You don’t?”

“Like I said: I think of you as a sister.”

“We’re not related, Matty.”

“I know that.”

“And you said you wish you could grab my ass and my tits. THAT’S not very brotherly.”

“You’ve got an amazing ass. And tits. And I’m a sex-obsessed bastard.”

“But you don’t want to fuck me?”

I sighed. “You’re ... You’re my Annabelle. That’s a line I can’t cross. Not you.”

“Not me.” She blinked. “But you fantasize about the others, don’t you? Sam, Neevie, Zofi.”

“Yes, yes, yes.”

“Alice, Mari.”

“Yes, alright?”

“But not me?”

“Belle, please.”

“You can put your hand inside my shirt right now. I wouldn’t stop you.”

“Belle.”

“Okay, okay.” She raised her hands defensively, glanced away, and gave me an unsure look. “It’s because I’m a little shorty, isn’t it?”

I barked a laugh and shook my head. “No, you’re beautiful and sexy, B. I just ... I won’t ... I can’t let myself think of you that way. You’re my Annabelle.”

“But if I was a total stranger you’d never met before?”

“I’d wanna throw you onto my bed and fuck your brains out, sure.”

Looking a little mollified, she wrapped her arm around the back of my neck and gave me a quick peck on the lips, similar to the hundreds she’d given me this year already.

“What does all this have to do with Darryl?”

Belle sighed, her frown returning. She glanced at the roof again for a moment before giving me a weary look and shaking her head. “After our last meeting went so well, I sort of assumed he’d come ask me out on a date today.”

“But he didn’t?”

She shook her head. “At the mall, he was totally into me. Today, nothing. I finally went looking for him after school. But when I popped up and said hi, he pulled me into a quiet corner and...”

Her voice trailed off, her shoulders sagged, and I instinctively hugged her closely once more. She had assured me he didn’t touch her, so I relaxed on that front. And I waited patiently for her to gather herself.

“He said he thought I was super-cute, but that he was looking for a ‘mature’ relationship. His words. I asked him what that meant, and although he blushed and looked embarrassed for a bit, in the end he said he’d asked around and the other guys told him I was a girl who wouldn’t put out.”

My jaw dropped. “You serious?”

“I told him I was waiting for the right guy and was hoping it might turn out to be him. But he shook his head and admitted he just wanted to get laid. He said everybody knew the BTC was a bunch of prick-teases, and he didn’t want to deal with all the teasing if it wasn’t going to go anywhere.”

“Belle...” I sighed, held her just behind her ears, and pressed her forehead to mine. “I’m sorry.”

She sniffled but took a deep breath and mumbled, “He probably did me a favor. Better I know now he’s just another dumb jock looking to pop my cherry before moving on to his next conquest.”

“That IS true,” I agreed. “And a very mature response, if I may say so.”

“Then why do I feel like shit?”

“Rejection is never easy.”

“You seem to deal with it just fine every day.”

I pulled back to look into her eyes. “Wait, what?”

“Isn’t that what it feels like when one of the girls lets you get oh-so-close to starting something but won’t give you that final inch? Like when Sam shoves her big tits into your face and starts peeling back the edge of her bikini top right next to your lips but doesn’t quite let you suck on her nipple? Rejection?”

I frowned. “No, not at all.”

“Then what DOES it feel like?”

I smiled and brushed her loose bangs back from her eyes, tucking the strands behind her ears. And after giving her a quick peck on the nose, I explained, “It feels like a beautiful woman, in the flower of her youth, wants to explore her own sexuality and feels comfortable enough to do that with me. She trusts me. And I would never do anything to betray that trust.”

“I do trust you, Matty.”

I grinned. “I know.”

Taking a deep breath, Belle managed a smile, and she wrapped both arms around my midsection while setting her head down on my shoulder. I hugged her tight, stroked her spine, and held her close. Finally, she seemed to be at peace.

After a minute, I stroked her hair and said, “Look, it’s the first day of school. Nobody’s assigned us any homework and the whole gang will be over at my house within thirty minutes. Let’s get home, get changed, and you can commiserate with your friends.”

Belle stayed in my hug for a long time, pushing her nose into the side of my neck. She got her breathing under control, looked up at me, and puckered up. I gave her another quick brotherly peck, patted her head, and released my grip.

She got off my lap and maneuvered back into the passenger seat. After buckling her seatbelt, Belle glanced over at me and muttered, “Why can’t guys be more like you?”

I shrugged and flashed a smirk. “Sorry. I’m one of a kind.” I climbed back into the driver’s seat, put the van in reverse, and we headed home.

The whole BTC had already planned to come over to my house after this first day of school. The weather was hot, the pool was waiting, and I was planning to grill up dinner. So after driving us home, I parked in my garage, Belle walked over to her house to drop off her backpack and change, and I headed inside to prepare for the girls’ arrival.

I should make clear that lots had changed since sophomore year. We’d all grown up, grown closer, and as a result were a lot more comfortable around each other. In a word, things had seriously escalated.

I’ve already said that the girls always teased me. I was their crash test dummy for flirting, for showing a little extra skin, and all the other things girls did to get attention from a guy.

Two years ago, teasing meant opening an extra button of a blouse and bending over to see if developing boobs attracted my eyes like gravity. They often did, and I would just as often avert my gaze and blush trying to pretend I hadn’t looked. Two years ago, teasing meant snuggling up to my side on the couch and setting her head down on my shoulder while watching a movie so that I’d wrap my arm around her and then rubbing my leg getting closer and closer until I started tenting my shorts and would awkwardly try to cover it up by crossing my legs or something. Two years ago, teasing meant asking me to turn around while changing shirts and then taking their sweet time to see if I’d start to turn back around or sneak a peek.

Two years ago I was too busy trying to be a gentleman.

It wasn’t two years ago anymore.

Nowadays I was still a gentleman in the sense that I never initiated anything and I would never touch one of the girls unless they’d touched me first, but that was the extent of my restraint. Bend over to show me your cleavage? I’ll happily stare away and file the view away in my spank bank for later usage. Cuddle up to me on the couch and start rubbing my leg? I’ll hug you close and rub your leg, too. Flaunt your amazing body in an itty-bitty bikini by the pool and keep posing yourself for my viewing pleasure until I pop a woody? I’ll sit back, enjoy the view, and even get a little harder watching you watch the tent in my swim trunks. I’d long since stopped being embarrassed by my erections. All six girls knew I got them, and they were happy to see them, so why should I hide them?

The “Nobody dates Matty” rule was still in effect, but beyond that the girls also used The Rule as a sort of moving target of limitations on their physical activities with me. Girls liked to sit in my lap grinding themselves against my bulge (but I always had my shorts or trunks on). I’d gotten flashed quite a few times (look, but don’t touch). And I very much enjoyed the rare occasions when one of them let me hold her very nice breasts in my hands (strictly outside of her clothing). None of them had crossed the line of putting bare skin on someone’s private parts, although we’d gotten pretty close.

The most gorgeous thing I’d ever seen was the first to arrive. Naimh came straight through the side garden gate into the backyard and met me by the grill with a peck on the cheek. It was too early to actually start making dinner, but I was cleaning the grates and checking the propane levels. She carried a gym bag containing her suit and towel and headed inside to change. Less than three minutes later she emerged back outside, a brilliant smile on her face.

There was one particular lounge chair which was known by all as “Matty’s Chair”. It was shielded from the afternoon sun but more importantly, I’d specifically angled it to have a good view of both the pool and the sliding door. When Naimh went inside to change, I quickly popped open a beer and settled onto the lounger in eager anticipation of her return. And when the sound of Naimh sliding the patio door open reached my ears, I was quick to set down my beer and turn my attention in that direction.

No matter how many times I saw one of the girls emerge from the house in a swimsuit, I always enjoyed it. They seemed to appreciate it, too. Naimh wore a cobalt blue bikini that really accentuated the color of her red hair and pale skin. She was a fairly tall girl at 5’8”, second in height only to Zofi’s model-esque 5’10”, while the rest of the girls spread across the average height range except for Belle’s petite 5’1”. Naimh’s 34DD tits were firm and fantastic, held up and squished together for my viewing pleasure by the halter-top that actually covered up the majority of her skin but was sheer enough to make the dents of her nipples quite obvious. The bottoms weren’t quite a thong in the back, but pretty damn close, giving me an unobstructed view of her perfect peach of an ass. Overall, it was very easy for me to imagine exactly what the gorgeous teen hottie looked like naked, and I had imagined her naked quite a few times over the last several months.

Naimh’s bright green eyes shone as she sashayed across the patio and over to my chair. And with an impish giggle, she settled herself sideways in my lap while wrapping both arms around the back of my neck.

“I’m so glad I got here first,” she said in that delightful Irish lilt. It had taken a couple of months to get used to her accent, but by now I could understand pretty much everything she said as if it were completely ‘American’. She continued, giggling, “It’s not often I get to have you to myself.”

“Likewise,” I replied warmly, letting my left arm scoop around behind her so that my hand rested on the bare skin of her thigh just past her juicy buttcheek. My right arm stroked her leg out to the knee where it extended off the chair before returning in a gentle, massaging motion. I was oh-so-conscious of her big breasts just beneath my chin, and snuck a peek before returning my gaze to those electric green eyes boring into mine from only inches away.

She noticed the glance, of course. She sat up a little straighter so that the upper slopes of her cleavage actually hit me in the chin, and I felt my heart speed up a little more than usual.

“See something you like?” she asked quietly, a world of innuendo in her voice.

“I see two things I like,” I replied before smiling broadly. “Your eyes are amazing. I’ve always been a sucker for green eyes.”

Naimh’s brilliant green eyes narrowed slightly. “That’s because Belle has green eyes ... AND reddish hair.”

I thought about that for a moment. “True, but they’re different shades. Your hair is a LOT more red, and your eyes have more of an emerald color.”

“Is that an Irish joke?”

I laughed and nuzzled her nose. “Not intentionally so. And just because Belle has green eyes doesn’t make me appreciate yours any less.”

“Perhaps. But I still think it’s these you’re trying to get a closer look at. Let me help you.” And with that, she actually pulled my head down into her cleavage for a few seconds.

Naimh wasn’t the first girl to shove her tits into my face (or in this case, shove my face into her tits). All of the BTC did so every so often, even Belle – it was part of the teasing. But there had always been something a little ... different ... about the way Naimh teased me compared to the others. For one thing, I’d watched the other five slowly escalate their teases over the past two-and-a-half years. We’d played this cat-and-mouse game of attack and retreat, attack and retreat long enough for everybody to get comfortable with the game and understand that the rules would always be obeyed. Both sides always knew it was just that, a tease, and nothing more. So whether it was Sam, Zofi, Alice, Mari, or Belle, I always knew in the back of my head any and all flirtations would stop short of actually doing something.

But I’d only met Naimh five months ago. True, she caught on quick after joining the BTC that “messing with Matty” was not only fair game, but encouraged. But there had always been a little bit of an edge in the way she flirted with me that made me wonder... Could this be going somewhere? I mean, she knew about and agreed to the “Nobody dates Matty” rule. And yet, we’d never gone through those first exploratory flirtations when the girls first made clear they were using me as a practice dummy and not actually intending to follow through on anything.

Naimh didn’t need a practice dummy, you see. She already knew how to bait a man.

So on an afternoon like today, when the gorgeous redhead set her forehead against mine, rubbed her perfect ass against the bulge growing beneath her, and sighed with mixed sexual heat and resignation, I wondered (not for the first time) how different things might’ve been had Sam NOT grabbed the new Irish transfer student, given her the nickname “Neevie”, and immediately brought her into the BTC.

“So how was school?” I asked, breaking the silent tension between us as I reclined my head to rest it against the lounger’s backrest.

Naimh shrugged and also sat up straighter, extending her arms until her elbows were locked and there were a couple of feet of space between us. “Same ol’ shite, different day.”

“You’re picking up American idioms quickly. Still, that’s a bit jaded for only the first day of school. Gonna be a long road ahead if you’re starting out this cynical.”

“High school is different in the States. In Ireland we’d all be freaking out about the Leaving Cert, which kind of makes or breaks your entire career before it’s even gotten started. Here, Americans need to study for SATs and AP Exams, but it’s not the end of the world if you do well or not. How you do at university is what really matters.”

“I suppose. Just don’t count on this year being all fun and games. What happens in the next few months will determine which university we get into, you included.”

“Can I say I’ll be happy with any university, as long as you’re there with me?” She gave me a pixie wink and rubbed her butt against my bulge again.

The comment got an eyebrow raise out of me. I wasn’t sure if she actually meant it or was just teasing. Probably teasing. But the uncertainty did get my heart racing a little bit again. I was still thinking of a witty response when the bell attached to the garden gate went off, drawing our attention.