Chapter 5: Kayaking

-- MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2008 --

I’m not a hundred-percent sure how I thought Adrienne would react. I mean sure, some part of me hoped she might cover her gaping mouth with one hand, eyes sparkling with unbridled joy and love. Maybe I thought she’d react in much the same way she had that fateful day at Morris Camp when I’d dropped down on one knee – mixed excitement and fear before she wound up blurting, ‘Yes, I will marry you!’

Truth be told, I didn’t stop to ponder the myriad ways in which she might react to my question about giving us a second chance; I just asked. But I do know that if I HAD stopped to ponder, I would never have guessed she might react in the way she actually did.

“Don’t fuck with me, Benjamin,” Adrienne growled, eyes hard as she abruptly shoved me straight in my chest.

“I wasn’t--”

The tears were back in Adrienne’s eyes as she shoved me again. “You can’t ask me that!”

“Why--? But I--?” My mouth was moving but I had a hard time getting words to come out.

She suddenly covered her face with both hands and rolled away from me, visibly shuddering. I immediately scooted across the bed after her, spooning myself against her back and wrapping her up with both arms. She didn’t resist me or turn to shove me again. If anything, she sagged back into my embrace and curled herself into a tighter fetal position, sobbing her poor little heart out.

I shushed her tenderly and stroked her arm. When that failed to quell her tremors, I rolled her over so that her face was against my chest and rocked her back and forth a little bit. As time passed, I slowed down my rocking motions, and as I did so her sobs and shudders seemed to ease. And eventually I found myself lying flat on my back, Adrienne’s head pillowed on my upper left chest as she slowly calmed down.

“Don’t fuck with me,” she mumbled, my skin a little wet from her tears and drool.

“I’m not fucking with you,” I replied quietly. “I meant every word.”

“I know you did. That’s the problem.”

“The problem?”

Adrienne shivered and pushed her nose into my chest. “You know I’m with Sasha.”

I sighed. “I know.”

“You know I love her, know I want to be with her. You know I want to be on a path to marriage with her.”

I winced. “Yeah...”

“So why the fuck would you go and ask me a fucking lose-lose, nightmare, unfair question like THAT?!” Adrienne picked her head up and glared at me.

“I...” Words failed me again.

Adrienne’s eyes clicked back between mine, searching my face. Shaking her head slowly, her anger passed and her expression shifted to one of pain. “You got me thinking of our baby, the baby I started to want for myself. You got me thinking of a lifetime spent by your side. You got me thinking about signing autographs with Mom and Dad’s last name. It’s not fair. I can’t do this. You can’t DO this to me right now! I’m with Sasha! I love HER. We HAD our chance, Tiger. I want my happy ending, but I want it with HER.”

“I know, I know,” I muttered, closing my eyes and setting my head back while swallowing my pain.

“YOU made my choice for me when you broke our engagement and left. YOU abandoned me and left me to find solace in Sasha. Well I DID. And now you’re coming back and fucking with my head after I spent months crying my heart out and moving on from you!”

“I know, I know.” I grimaced, still with my eyes clenched.

Adrienne exhaled slowly, and I could hear her anger dissipating as she apparently read the pain on my face. In a much softer tone, she continued, “I’m sorry. The last thing I would ever want to do is break your heart AGAIN.”

“No, it’s okay, don’t apologize.” I took a deep breath, opened my eyes and looked at her again. “You’re right: it was an unfair question.”

“It’s my fault. I’m the one who started talking about Happily Ever After and how I wanted to be your other half, to be your wife. I put the idea back in your head.”

“Well yeah, you did, but that’s okay.” I took another deep breath, and this time when I exhaled, I felt a lot of my tension melting away.

“Almost any other time, I would have welcomed the thought of getting back together. But Tiger ... I asked to meet with you so you could help me feel better about my relationship with Sasha, not give me a reason to think of breaking up with her.”

“Well in all fairness, I wouldn’t ask you to break up with her. I mean seriously, this is me.”

“Yeah, yeah, I get it. On the surface, if you and I got married and Sasha was our girlfriend, everything would be perfect, right? Sasha gets to love both of us but doesn’t get tied down with the commitment she’s not ready for. You and I get our partnership and matching last names and all that fun stuff. Ben gets two horny nymphomaniacs fucking his brains out all day every day.”

I gave her an amused smirk. “I’m failing to see the downside.”

“It’s not what I want, Tiger.”

My shoulders sagged.

“We can’t rewind the clock to when you and I were still engaged. We can’t pretend the past year didn’t happen. You left me – full stop - and I don’t blame Dawn for that, or DJ or Kim or anybody else. That’s on you.”

“I know.”

“I took you for granted – straight up – that part’s on me. But don’t pretend like we couldn’t have fixed it if you’d been willing to try.”

“I’m not pretending.”

Adrienne exhaled slowly again and shook her head. “I went and fell in love with Sasha. That happened. I’ve spent a year building my relationship with her. I love her and I want her in my life and...”

Adrienne’s voice trailed off as she took a deep breath and gave me a serious look. I knew then that whatever she was going to say next, she knew I wasn’t particularly going to like it.

Shaking her head, Adrienne finally finished, “That name I want as my emergency contact? I want it to be hers. The face I want on the pillow next to mine when I’m gray and old? I want it to be hers. It doesn’t mean I don’t love you; I do. But--”

“It’s okay, you don’t have to explain,” I interrupted.

“You’re my rock. I can’t live without you,” she assured me. “I’ll never pick up my life and move to another city far away from you ever again. I’m gonna want to get royally pounded by Tiger-dick a minimum of once a week for the rest of my life. I want you to share your secrets with me, come confide in me about all your romantic foibles with whatever girls you end up falling in love with.”

“IF I ever fall in love again,” I muttered a little dispiritedly. “It feels like every prominent girl in my life has rejected me by now: you and Sasha, DJ’s in SoCal, Amber married David, even Lynne married Bert.”

“Don’t say that.” Adrienne frowned. “You’re a total babe-magnet, and you never know when the next Amber or Sasha might come walking into your life. Come to think of it, what’s this I hear about Summer taking quite the interest in you?”

I sighed and rubbed my forehead. “Seriously, why is everyone trying to get me together with Summer?”

Adrienne frowned. “Why do you sound so vehemently opposed to the idea?”

“I’m not...” I let my voice trail off.

Adrienne propped herself up on her elbows and I briefly glanced down at her lush cleavage. Her tits were still too massive to expose her nipples, but it still made for an excellent view. She waited until my eyes made it up to her face before giving me a smirk and saying, “I recognize that look on your face.”

I blinked. “What look? The Ben loves staring at Adrienne’s tits look?”

She giggled. “No, the ‘I like her but I don’t WANT to like her’ look.”

I made a face. “When have I ever had that look? When have I ever had that look long enough for you to recognize it?”

“Well Dawn, for one. All those times when you were trying to convince yourself you were better as best friends but deep down you still wanted to get back together with her.”

“Oh.”

“Relax. You don’t have that look about Dawn anymore. I’m genuinely happy the two of you have found a comfortable balance as best friends.”

I smiled. “Me, too.”

“But you DID have that look when I brought up Summer. I can’t blame you. She’s gorgeous. She’s totally your type. Nngh... ” Adrienne bit her lip and gave me an erotic look of arousal while her irises flashed golden for a moment. “I almost want you two to hook up just so I can fuck her. She only ever let me make out with her and play with her tits a little in high school, but Kim tells me she’s into girls now.”

“I can’t. There’s too much history there. I’m stretched thin enough with you two and Dawn and Kim and June and the tw--”

“Yeah-yeah-yeah, get a fucking tape recorder,” Adrienne waved me off. “You’re just making excuses.”

“These aren’t excuses. Stretching myself too thin is what imploded OUR engagement and turned me into an emotional zombie. I’m not interested in ANY girlfriends right now, and I’d be a shitty boyfriend even if I tried.”

“You seemed pretty interested in getting ME back as a girlfriend a few minutes ago.”

“For you, I’d do anything and everything in the universe,” I replied quite plainly.

Adrienne beamed and scratched my chest with her fingernails. “I know you would, Tiger. But we’re talking about Summer here.”

“Not interested.”

“The tone of your voice says you’re very interested. The opposite of interest is indifference, remember? Sounds like you want her pretty badly; you’re just trying to convince yourself not to.”

I sighed. “I can’t lose everything over a fling. Not again. There’s too much at stake. I’m not a college kid anymore. I’m a father, I’ve got a high-pressure job, and the people in my life are far more important to me than adding another name to ‘The List’.”

“Summer’s name is already on your List.”

I blinked. “You know what I mean.”

Adrienne sighed. “Look, I’m not trying to foist you off on some other girl just so you can more easily let go of the idea of a second chance with me – although that thought obviously did cross my mind. I sincerely want you to be happy, and Kim’s right: you won’t ever be truly happy until you’re married to a beautiful, busty blonde who’s willing to have your babies.”

I scowled. “You – and Kim - make me seem so shallow.”

“It’s not shallow to know what you want and be willing to go get it. Why do you think I’m fighting so hard for Sasha right now?”

I sighed. “I suppose.”

Pursing her lips, Adrienne scratched my chest a bit again before bending over and kissing it instead. She slowly nibbled her way up my skin, kissed her way across my shoulder, nuzzled my neck, chewed a little bit on my chin, and finally kissed my lips tenderly.

When she pulled away, she kept her face only inches away from mine, looking down at me with liquid warmth in her hazel eyes. “I love you, Tiger. Forever and Always.”

“I love you too.”

“I haven’t been a very good sister lately. It seems like everything’s about me and my problems, a one-way take and take without ever giving back. Always asking you to come over here and never going over there to visit you.”

“It’s fine. I’m fine.”

“Like hell you are. Not if you’re refusing to consider moving forward in your life.” Pursing her lips again, Adrienne cocked her head to the side and said, “I think you need more sisterly advice. This would usually be the time when you’d go talk to Brooke – or sometimes Brandi – to help get your head on straight.”

I shrugged. “I’ve been talking to Dawn. She basically told me the same thing you did about Summer.”

“Always knew Dawn was smart. Even when I hated her for being a rival or breaking your heart, I respected her. And come to think of it, it’s been far too long since I tasted her sweet pussy.” Adrienne’s eyes twinkled. “I think I need to come over to Berkeley more often. Besides, Auntie Adrienne hasn’t seen BJ in far too long.”

“You’re always welcome.”

“Then it’s agreed.” Adrienne scooted forward and gave me another quick kiss.

When she pulled back, we both looked at each other for a bit, feeling a sense of resolution. So with that, I started rolling off the bed.

“Hey, where are you going?”

I glanced at the clock. “It’s getting late. I have to get back to work.”

“No you don’t.” Adrienne slithered her naked body across the mattress towards me and grabbed my ass with both hands. This put her face right in front of my limp penis, although it seemed to recognize it had the attention of a wickedly hot busty blonde and started to rise up as she exhaled her hot breath on it. “Dalton said to take all the time we need, and that there wasn’t anything so important that it couldn’t survive you being gone for an afternoon.”

I blinked. “He really said that?”

Adrienne had already shoved my semi-hard dick into her mouth, initially able to fit the entire thing inside but as it rapidly lengthened, she started having to pump her head back and forth. But a moment later she popped off and informed my penis, “Yes, he really said that.” Rolling her eyes up to me, she then added, “Besides ... I’m assuming June still won’t let you put it in her ass yet, will she?”

“Umm, well, no not yet.”

The bodaciously beautiful blonde beamed up at me golden eyes as she bobbed her head back and forth along my now full-length shaft. She dug her fingernails into my ass and physically yanked herself close enough to take all eight inches into her throat, her lips pressed against the base of my shaft while her tongue snuck out to lick my balls. Holding that position, the golden-haired goddess stared up at me with a world of love and affection in her gaze. And only when she couldn’t hold the position a single second longer did she finally pull off and gasp for air while simultaneously rolling over onto her back.

Raising her legs to the ceiling and then grabbing hold of them behind both of her knees, my lusty lover spread herself obscenely wide and growled, “Please cram your massive cock deep into my tight asshole, Tiger. Please?”

Work could wait.

-- SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 2008 (ONE WEEK LATER) --

“Wood for sheep?”

Seated to my right, Bert held a wood card in my direction without looking at me, his attention still on the board in front of him. I frowned and replied, “Don’t be a cheapskate.”

Bert now looked at me, frowning as well. “You have four sheep.”

“And I’m gonna turn them into a clay.”

“You don’t need to four-for-one. How about if I make it two wood?” He held out a second card.

“I’m not giving you a settlement for two wood that I can’t turn into anything.”

“Fine.” Bert turned the other way. “Sweet-Peach?”

“Don’t even think about it,” Lynne drawled immediately, not even taking her eyes off the board. But then she looked up at her husband with narrowed eyes. “And ‘Sweet-Peach’? Really? There’s no room for favoritism in card games.”

“Does Settlers really count as a card game?” Summer asked, a perplexed expression making her face even cuter than it already was.

Bert shrugged and held up the two woods. “Cards.”

“But there’s also a board,” Summer pointed out, “albeit a board made up of separate hexagons. Pretty sure that makes this a board game.”

Bert frowned. “You sure you’re not in Law School?”

Summer giggled and shook her head. “I’ll trade you the sheep for the two wood.”

“Really? Thought you needed that for your settlement.”

“Do you want the sheep or not?”

“Uh, sure.” Bert handed over the cards, put down his settlement, and gestured for me to take my turn.

I arched an eyebrow at Summer. “Why exactly did you trade him the sheep?”

“I wanted to be nice.”

I scowled a little. “There’s no room for ‘nice’ in Settlers.”

“What? The whole game is negotiating, right? I did him a favor, and the next time I need something, I can say he owes me one.”

“Yeah, Ben,” Lynne chimed in. “Being nice can pay off in the long run.”

I rolled my eyes. “Didn’t you just say there’s no room for favoritism?”

“I’m saying I’m not supposed to be nice to Bert in the game just because he’s my husband. Otherwise it’ll turn into an ‘us two’ versus ‘you two’ and that’s a completely different kind of competition.” Lynne smiled. “But Summer can totally do him a favor and then get one later in return. All’s fair in love and Settlers.”

I shrugged, didn’t do jack with my turn, and then let Summer roll.

“Eleven. Hey, I get two sheep!” she exclaimed. And then to mine and everyone else’s surprise, she not only got her settlement, but flipped over a Road Building card, took longest road, and then used the extra sheep, her own grain, and her own wood plus the two wood she got from Bert to help three-for-one for a rock and buy a development card.

“My turn?” Lynne asked, reaching for the dice.

“Waitaminute. I’m not sure if I have this right.” Summer furrowed her eyebrows and bit her lip cutely, studying the board. “I got to seven points for building the settlement, and then eight and nine points for taking Longest Road, right?”

I nodded. “Right.”

She flipped over a victory point from the development card she’d just bought. “Ten. I win, right?”

Bert and I leaned forward, mouths ajar. “Beginner’s luck,” Bert sighed.

I shook my head. “Does every game need to end with Longest Road and an out of nowhere victory point?”

Bert smirked at me. “Just the crazy ones you remember for a long time.”

“I wasn’t even trying to win,” Summer admitted. “I really was just being nice to Bert.”

Lynne laughed. “See guys? Being nice pays off.”

“Well this was a fun way to spend the afternoon,” Summer remarked as she collected her purse by the front door and raised the strap over her shoulder. “We should do this more often.”

“No we shouldn’t,” Bert complained, although his smirk belied his words. “I don’t need another friend who keeps winning at Settlers.”

“You both know you’re always welcome anytime,” Lynne said warmly.

“Thanks,” I replied just as warmly, stepping forward to give Lynne a hug. Afterwards, I gave Bert a fist bump, and then took a step back to let Summer embrace both Lynne and Bert as well. Then, the two of us left the married couple’s apartment and headed for the parking lot.

“This WAS nice,” Summer said to me once the two of us were alone, walking rather slowly, which made me also slow down to keep pace with her. “I feel like I barely ever get to talk to you.”

I shrugged nonchalantly. “We’re both busy people.”

“You’re the super-busy one usually. I’m just a lazy grad student on a Sunday afternoon with nothing better to do at the moment.” Crossing her arms beneath her breasts, a motion that squished the big globes together and created a deep crevice of cleavage in her scoop-necked top, the busty blonde glanced over at me and asked a little coyly, “Is there somewhere you have to be right now? Or do you think you could maybe keep me company a little longer?”

I blinked and thought about it for a second. The whole reason why I’d gone to hang out with Bert and Lynne in the first place was because everyone else had plans for the day. Kim had taken BJ to visit his sofu and his cousins back home in Sunnyvale. Dawn was spending the day in the city with big sister Dayna. And June went home every weekend. I supposed I theoretically could go visit the twins, but they had busy social lives as well. Maybe I could head into the city as well to hook up with Adrienne and Sasha, but they also had their own lives to live. So in truth, I had no good reasons to NOT keep Summer company.

Well, I had ONE good reason - the same reason why I would’ve NOT gone to hang out with Bert and Lynne had I known Summer would be there as well. Yes, I knew she liked me. And the truth was: I was terribly attracted to her as well. But I was long past the time when I would let my dick lead me into a relationship when my head knew it wasn’t the right thing to do. And the only real solution I had to avoiding temptation was to ... well ... avoid temptation.

But Summer was already at Bert and Lynne’s apartment when I arrived; I suppose she had nowhere better to be either since her new BFF Dawn was gone for the day. Of course, by then it was too late. It wasn’t like I could gracefully turn around and walk away without it being super-awkward.

Just like I had no good reason to turn around and walk away right now without it being super-awkward. And so I simply shrugged and gave Summer a smile. “Uh, sure. I can hang. What do you have in mind?”

Summer didn’t respond verbally. She merely flashed me a coy smile and started walking to the parking lot at a far brisker pace than before. I found myself staring at her ass: the very same sculpted booty that, according to Dawn, Summer worked on religiously to keep in perfect shape.

I caught up just as she thumbed the remote on her silver Benz. She flashed me another coy smile and headed around to the driver’s side, opening her door. But when I hesitated before opening the passenger door, she stared at me over the car roof and asked, “Aren’t you coming?”

“Mom told me not to get into cars with strangers,” I replied affably.

“The solution would seem to be then for us to get to know each other better then so we aren’t strangers anymore.”

I arched an eyebrow. “Sure you’re not gonna kidnap me, tie me up, and have your way with me?”

“Only if you’re into that sort of thing,” she replied with a bit of a husky purr, her blue eyes sparkling.

I chuckled and shook my head. “I walked right into that one.”

“Yes, you did. C’mon, get in the car. You’ll enjoy yourself.”

“You still haven’t told me where we’re going.”

“C’mon, or don’t you trust me?”

Taking a deep breath, I sighed and weighed what I knew about her. In plain simple fact, I really DIDN’T know that much about Summer apart from the fact that she had a smokin’ hot body that was partially the result of plastic surgery and that she apparently got along really well with Dawn. We’d had minimal contact since high school more than seven years ago, and even then I hadn’t known her very well. I really had no reason to actually trust her or have any good sense of Summer’s motivations, and yet...

... Yeah, I trusted her. At the very least, I hadn’t gotten any spine-tingling ‘you’re about to get screwed, and not in a good way’ vibes the way I did whenever Adrienne said, “Trust me.” I trusted that Dawn and Lynne were good enough judges of character to be friends with Summer. I trusted Kim’s and June’s powers of observation and sense of protectiveness over me to trust they would’ve warned me away from Summer had they detected anything wrong. And I trusted in my own ability to handle whatever situation I might find myself in.

But it wasn’t just about whether or not I trusted her. I realized that my hesitation to open the car door had nothing to do with worrying about her kidnapping me or anything stupid like that. She wasn’t a black widow spider ready to eat her mate. The truth was: thus far I’d managed to avoid isolating myself with Summer one-on-one. Whenever she came over to my house for project team meetings, she was with Dawn and Kim. At the gym, we were always in a big group. And every time we met up at Bert and Lynne’s apartment, I was also accompanied by at least one of Dawn, June, or Kim (not to mention Bert and Lynne themselves).

But not today. If I opened that car door and got in, I would have no more excuses, no more distractions. Just her and me with a bunch of time on our hands to get to know each other better and find out if we were as compatible as I already suspected we were. And I didn’t trust MYSELF.

Oh, I wasn’t gonna fall in love with her in an hour or anything silly like that. I wasn’t worried she’d flash me some skin, I’d lose my head, and “oops” I’d fall onto a bed with my dick pushing into her pussy. But I didn’t trust myself to not like her. I wasn’t sure I could help myself from letting my attraction for her take root, a seed that would grow and sprout and eventually become the kind of infatuation that could change everything in my life.

Isn’t that the point? For you to find someone outside of your current circle with whom you can eventually develop a lasting relationship?

I’m not ready.

You’re scared is what you are. June was right: you live in fear. Fear of fucking up by getting stretched too thin and losing your grip on the people you hold so dear.

I really DON’T want to lose the people I hold so dear. Dawn and I are in such a groove now. If I start dating someone else, Summer or anyone else, how does that affect my relationship with Dawn?

Pssht. Dawn will finally get to find out what Summer’s nipples taste like. You’d be doing her a favor.

But then what happens when Summer wants to spend more quality alone time with me? Without Dawn? I’m not sure I can sideline her again. She’s too important to me.

Dawn will understand. It’s the choice she made when she agreed to not become romantic with you again. She’s already come to terms with not being the woman standing across from you in front of the wedding arch and saying ‘I do.’

What about Kim and BJ? I spent little enough time with them as it is.

Kim likewise made her own decision not to marry you, and she also understands you will eventually have a wife and other children as well. She’s PUSHING you to find a permanent life partner.

Adrienne and Sasha?

Are gay. They’ll do fine on their own. You offered Adrienne a second chance at Happily Ever After together and she turned you down. Sasha’s her endgame now.

The twins?

Baby birds that need to leave the nest.

June?

She’s basically a baby bird, too. All three of them need to grow up and stop depending on you.

If I open this door, I’m going to end up starting a relationship with Summer. I just know it. I can FEEL it.

So open the fucking door.

I’m not ready.

You’re being a pussy.

I’m being careful.

You’re still being a pussy.

I’m not a teenager anymore. I can’t just rush headlong into a situation without considering the consequences. I can’t just plow the beautiful blonde with the big fake tits and then walk away like it didn’t mean anything. Summer’s going to end up being a very important person in my life. I know it.

Then why are you resisting?

It’s weird. It feels like ... Destiny. Like Fate. Like some higher power that gets some kind of strange, sick enjoyment out of manipulating my life dropped Summer down out of the heavens and put her here for this very purpose. I’ve been fighting it.

Why?

Because I’m scared.

You’re too old to be scared, dude.

I’m twenty-four.

Old enough to face your Destiny. Because sometimes Destiny happens whether you believe in it or not.

Amber said that.

Smart girl. Would’ve made a great wife.

She’s where she belongs. With whom she belongs.

Maybe Summer is with whom YOU belong.

Perhaps. Or maybe she’s the Devil Incarnate.

Perhaps. Or maybe she’s the exact person you need to have in your life at this exact moment to push you onto the path that will ultimately lead you to your Happily Ever After. This is the door. And even if you don’t open it, there’ll be another one tomorrow, and another one the day after that, and another one the day after that.

You speak as if taking this path is unavoidable.

You’re the one who said it felt like Fate. Stop being a pussy and open the fucking door.

I took a deep breath.

And I opened the door.

“Ben! Ben! I can’t-- EEEEEEEEEEKKK!!!” Summer shrieked as she lost her balance and slipped over the side, impacting against the water with a tremendous splash.

“Shit! Shit! Shit!” I swore, hurrying into action while mentally cursing myself.

Smooth move, dude. First chance you get alone with Summer and you end up dumping her into the Bay.

Perhaps I should explain.

I don’t know how long I actually stood there pondering whether or not to open the car door. From the way Summer acted (or more to the point: didn’t react), I had to believe it hadn’t been more than a second. I hopped in, buckled my seatbelt, and off we went.

It wasn’t a far drive to Oakland, although I had no idea that was our intended destination until we exited off 880 and Summer quickly tapped the name of a Kayak rental place into her GPS.

“Kayaking?”

Summer shrugged. “I’ve loved being on the water since I was little. We were spoiled growing up in OC, and I’ve found I’ve missed it since coming up here to the Bay Area. It’s just so cold and gloomy all the time, and the beaches suck.”