Chapter 26

I was walking down the front walk when I heard my name being called. I turned around and saw Kathy standing on her porch waving at me. I walked over to her house and sat on the steps with her.

"How are things going?" Kathy asked.

"Okay, how about you?"

"Just great, Jen, just great. Are you and your brother still, you know?"

"Yeah."

"Me too, Brad and I are really having a ball. We haven't fucked yet, but we keep talking about it."

"The same with Eddie and I, but I really want to."

Kathy leaned closer and said, "I'm on the pill now. I kept complaining about my periods and my dad took me to the doctor; he gave me a prescription for them."

"I've been taking them for a long time now," I said.

"Really! You've been on the pill and haven't screwed your brother yet?"

"No, I'm just not quite ready yet. We've come close, but haven't done it yet."

Kathy nodded and then said, "Look, Jen, I wanted to ask you something. There is a party next week at Crystal Martian's house and I want to go, but it's a couples party. I was wondering if you could ask Eddie to take me?"

The look on my face must have shocked her because she started to talk before I could answer.

"Brad would take you to the party, so we could all be with who we really want to. You and I have the same problem, Jen, and I think this will give the four of us a way to go to the parties or even on dates without being discovered."

"I don't know, Kathy. You have to understand how I feel about Eddie."

"I do understand," she said. "I completely understand. I'm not suggesting we have sex with each other's brothers or anything, just act like we're all dating. I know you want to be able to go out, but like me, you can't really go out in public with your real lover."

"True, I would like to be able to go to parties or the movies, you know, on a date, but I want to go with my brother."

"So do I, and this way we can. Eddie, Brad and I will have our drivers' licenses soon and then we can take a car. Once we're away from our houses, and no one is around, we can switch places and be with our brothers."

The more I listened to Kathy, the better I liked her idea. It would give us a chance to go out and socialize at school functions without the fear of being discovered.

"I'll talk to Eddie about it, Kathy. If he is willing, so am I."

"That's fair. I haven't said anything to Brad yet, I was waiting until I had a chance to talk to you."

"Okay, give me a call later and I'll let you know what my brother says. Maybe we can get together before the party and get to know one another a little better. That way it won't look weird when we all show up together."

I headed home, thinking about Kathy's proposition. The idea started to really appeal to me when I thought about necking with Eddie in the backseat of a car. I knew Kathy was thinking about the same thing, at least I guessed she was.

After dinner, I asked my brother to go for a swim with me. We both wore our suits that night, although I don't know why. We had been skinny dipping almost every night since we got back, some times with our parents.

Eddie and I were in the pool, standing in the shallow end. I jumped up, sat on the edge and patted the deck next to me. My brother sat next to me and said, "What's up?"

"Eddie, do you know Brad Waters?"

"Sure, I've been playing soccer with him for several years. He's a real good forward. Why?"

"Do you know his sister, Kathy?"

"I've met her a few times, but I don't really know her. What's this all about?"

"Well..."

I explained Kathy's plan to Eddie as he sat staring at me. When I was finished, he shook his head and said, "I don't want to go out with Kathy Waters; I only want to be with you."

"You weren't listening, Eddie. You and I will be going out together, Kathy will be with Brad."

"You mean Brad and Kathy are..."

"Yes, silly, just like you and me. They have been together for a while now, besides being brother and sister."

"How did you find out?"

"Kathy told me. She saw the way you and I were looking at each other in the lunchroom one day and confronted me about it. I knew she and Brad messed around, but she didn't know we did until that day."

"So let me get this straight," Eddie said. "You want me to act like I'm going out with Kathy and you're going to act like you're going out with Brad."

"Yup!"

"We're all going to go to parties and stuff together, but when it comes to the other stuff, you and I are going to be together."

"Yup, and Kathy and Brad will be together. Our parents will think we're all dating and so will the kids at school. We'll be able to go out and have fun and not have to be afraid of being caught."

"I guess it wouldn't hurt to give it a try, Jen. If it doesn't work out, we can always stop, right?"

I kissed Eddie on the cheek and said, "Right! Thanks for listening to Kathy's idea; it really means a lot to me."

"Why does it mean so much to you?"

"Because I get to go out with the man I love, that's why," I said as I leaned against him.

Eddie chuckled, put his arm around my back and gave me a hug.

I giggled, got up and said, "I need to talk to Kathy and see if she told Brad."

"He doesn't know yet?"

"I think he does by now; I'll let you know in a few."

I went in, called Kathy and after talking to her for almost an hour, came back outside. Eddie was in the glider and I sat next to him.

"It's all set." I said. "Kathy talked about it with her brother and he agreed."

"He wasn't pissed about it? I mean the fact the other kids are going to think I'm dating his sister?"

"No, Kathy said Brad told her if it had to be anybody he was glad it was you. She said he really thinks you're a nice guy."

"I am a nice guy."

"You're a great guy, Eddie. I love you to death."

Kathy and I talked everyday before the party. I had asked my mom if I could go, telling her Brad Waters had asked me. She agreed to let me go without a single word. She knew Brad from Eddie's soccer games and she also knew Brad's mom.

On the night of the party, Mom and Dad drove Eddie and I to the Water's house. They wanted to meet Kathy and Brad's parents and also Kathy.

"Hi, Jenny, Eddie, come in," Kathy said when she answered the door.

Eddie introduced our parents and Brad introduced his. Everyone shook hands and then sat in the living room. All of us kids sat quietly as our parents talked.

Dad and Mr. Waters talked about what they did for a living, while Mom and Mrs. Waters talked about kids and school. Kathy mentioned we should get going and my parents got up. After saying goodbye to Mr. and Mrs. Waters, we left for the party.

My dad and mom dropped us off in front of Crystal's house and Dad asked what time he should pick us up. I told him I'd call and let him know.

"I'll be here at midnight, call or no call," Dad said.

"Okay, midnight it is. If we want to leave earlier, I'll call you," I said.

Dad and Mom pulled away as the four of us walked up to the house. Eddie walked next to Kathy and I walked with Brad. When we went into the house, Crystal met us and showed us to the backyard.

There were about fifty kids in the big back yard. I knew some of them and said hi when they greeted me. The four of us stayed close as we meandered around and mingled with the others. Some of Eddie's teammates came over to us and started to talk about the upcoming season. Kathy and I got bored with the conversation and walked off together. We found Cindy and Kevin in a dark part of the yard hugging and kissing.

"Okay you two get a room," I giggled.

"Hi Jen; hi Kathy," Cindy said. "I didn't know you two were coming. Do you have dates?"

"Yeah," Kathy said. "I've been seeing Eddie and now Jenny is dating Brad."

Cindy asked Kevin to get Cokes for us and he left. "What about you and Brad, Kathy?"

Kathy giggled and said, "I guess we grew out of that phase. I like Eddie now."

"I wondered what happened," Cindy said quietly. "I haven't seen you and your brother..."

"I know; we're not messing around anymore. It was fun, but it's all over."

"So, Jen, how long have you been seeing Brad?" Cindy asked.

"This is the first time we've gone out, but we have talked on the phone a lot. He's really nice," I replied, trying to keep up the façade.

"That's really cool, maybe we can double sometime," Cindy said. "My mom is letting me do more now. She knows I have a boyfriend now and she didn't even go ballistic."

"Does your dad know you're dating Kevin?" Kathy asked.

"Yes, he grounded me for a week, but my mom talked to him and now it's okay," Cindy said.

Kevin came back with our sodas and passed them out. Cindy put her arm around Kevin's waist and informed him about Brad and I as well as about Kathy and Eddie.

"Jen and Brad want to double with us sometime, Kevin," Cindy said.

"That would be cool," Kevin said.

I pulled Kathy away and we found a place to talk.

"That's something I didn't plan," I said. "What the hell am I going to do now?"

"I don't know, Jen. We'll think of something though," Kathy replied. "It upsets me as much as you, you know."

"I'm not upset, Kathy. I just wasn't prepared; it never crossed my mind someone other than you and Eddie would ever want to double with your brother and I," I said and then added, "That sounds weird, doesn't it?"

Kathy giggled, nodded her head and said, "Yeah, it sure does. Let's go find our brothers."

Eddie and Brad were right where we left them. The other guys had left and they were talking to each other. I walked up to Brad and stood next to him while Kathy stood with Eddie.

"What's going on?" I asked.

"Not too much, Brad and I were just talking about soccer and stuff," Eddie said. "Where have you two been?"

"We ran into Cindy and Kevin," Kathy said.

"The peeping tom?" Brad said, shocking his sister.

"You knew about it?" Kathy said.

"Yeah, I noticed her one time when we were, um, you know," Brad admitted.

"What the hell are you guys talking about?" Eddie said.

Kathy, Brad and I all laughed. Brad looked at me and then at Kathy, shaking his head when his sister grinned and nodded. My poor brother looked like he was the blunt end of a private joke and asked what we were talking about again.

Kathy told Eddie about Cindy hiding in the bushes outside her bedroom window and watching her and her brother. Eddie laughed and said, "You're as bad as Jenny. She's an exhibitionist too."

"I am not, stop saying that about me, Eddie," I said. "Nobody has ever seen me having sex."

Kathy looked at me, grinned and said, "Not yet anyway."

I grinned back at her and then we stopped talking about it when Crystal came over to chat with us. She thanked us for coming and we thanked her for asking us.

"I didn't know you had a girlfriend, Brad," Crystal said.

"We're kind of new together, Crystal," Brad said.

"You two make a cute couple, Brad. I hope you can come to more of my parties," Crystal said. "The pizza is going to be here soon. I have to go say hi to everyone, see you guys later."

Crystal was off talking with her other guests. We found a place to sit at a picnic table and settled in. I sat next to Brad, across from my brother. As we talked, Eddie and I played footsies under the table.

We ate pizza, drank sodas and even danced a couple of times. All of the music was fast and even though my brother and Brad had trouble, they danced with Kathy and I.

As the night wore on, the lights were dimmed and the music slowed down. I wanted to dance with my brother, like we did on New Years Eve, but knew I wouldn't be able to. Almost all of the other kids were dancing to the music, but the four of us sat at the picnic table. Cindy and Kevin spotted us and started to taunt us to get up and dance.

"Well," Kathy said. "I guess we'd better go dance."

"Okay, but keep your hands off my brother's ass," I giggled as I got up.

"Aw, come on, Jen, he has such a cute butt. Can't I just squeeze it a little?" Kathy teased.

We all laughed and went to the area where the other kids were holding each other close and swaying to the music. Brad took me in his arms and we danced slowly, staying close to Kathy and Eddie.

I had mixed feelings about what was going on. I was really enjoying myself dancing with Brad and being at the party. I was also a little jealous of Kathy as she danced with my brother. We kept looking at each other as we danced with one another's brother and lover. After a few songs, we just danced and had fun.

Everything was going great for the four of us, right up to the point the party started to thin out and the remaining couples began to kiss one another. All of a sudden, I felt uncomfortable about being around a bunch of kids with their lips locked together.

On one hand, it was exciting seeing all of the kids making out. On the other hand, I was frustrated. I wanted to grab Eddie and drag him off into some dark corner and hug and kiss him. After a few minutes, Kathy asked me if I wanted to go to the bathroom.

"We have to get out of here," Kathy said. "I'm so horny I could scream."

"I know what you mean, Kathy. My panties are soaked," I giggled.

Kathy stepped closer to me, put her hand under my skirt and cupped my sex. She rubbed me a couple of times, pulled her hand away and laughed.

"Wow, you really are wet. I wish we could find a place to be alone."

"I do to. I want to be in my brother's arms so bad."

Kathy giggled and said, "I was talking about you and me!"

I grinned and said, "That would be nice too, but right now I need a guy, I need my brother."

"Why don't you call your dad and we'll get out of here," Kathy said.

"What time is it?"

"About eleven I think, why?"

"I think I can last another hour if you can," I said. "I'm really having fun and I don't want to leave yet."

"Okay, but be warned, if I get much hornier, I'm going to attack your brother."

"If you do, I'll attack Brad!"

Kathy laughed and said, "They'd shit if we did."

"Yeah, but think about how horny they'd be when we got them home," I said jokingly.

I didn't like the look in Kathy's eyes when I said it. She looked like she was considering what we had talked about.

"Don't get any ideas," I said. "You keep your hands off my brother."

"I'll try, Jen, he's so cute."

We were still giggling when we got back to our brothers. They looked at us strangely and asked what was so funny.

"I was just telling Kathy to keep her hands off you," I said to Eddie.

"Why, maybe I'd like it," Eddie quipped.

"Well then, maybe I'll just attack Brad, how would you like that?" I said.

"Look," Brad said, "It's been a great night, don't start fighting and ruin it."

I took a breath and realized Brad was right. It had been a great night and we'd all had a lot of fun. We were sitting away from everyone else, far enough no one could hear us talking.

"This could really work out for all of us," Brad said. "We all know the score here. You and Eddie know how Kathy and I feel about each other and we know how you two feel. We have the opportunity to keep our secret and have a great time in school this year."

"No kidding," Eddie said. "I have been wrestling with what was going to happen this year for a long time, and so have you, Jen. If we keep our cool, no one will know anything except we're all dating."

"It'll work for a while, but not forever," I said.

"Why do you say that?" Kathy asked.

I smiled and said, "Look around you, what do you see?"

"A bunch of kids making out," Brad said. "So what?"

"Think about it, how long can we get away with going to parties and doing nothing more than a little dancing?" I said. "Someone is going to start asking questions and we're not going to be able to answer them."

"What are you saying, Jen," Kathy said. "Do you think we should start making out or something?"

I shrugged my shoulders and said, "I don't know. We're okay for now, but as time goes on, it may get complicated. All I'm saying is we should think about it and have a plan if we need one."

Kathy looked at her brother, smiled and said, "You know, Brad, this is going to take some of the heat off at home."

"What heat?" Eddie asked.

"We think our parents suspect we've been fooling around," Kathy said. "If they think we're really dating, maybe they'll back off and leave us alone."

I glanced at my brother's watch and noticed it was almost midnight. We got up, found Crystal and thanked her again. Dad was parked out front when we walked around the house into the front yard.

We all climbed into the van and grabbed a seat. Brad and I sat in back while Kathy and Eddie each sat in one of the captain chairs. Mom was in front with my dad and she quickly turned around and looked at us.

"Did you kids have a good time?" Mom said.

"It was really fun," I said. "We had pizza, sodas and even got to dance. It was a blast!"

"My son didn't step on your feet, did he, Kathy," Mom said.

"No Mrs. Shockley, Eddie is a good dancer, and a gentleman," Kathy said.

"I'm glad you kids had fun," Mom said as she turned around.

We stopped at Brad and Kathy's house, let them out and then headed for home. After Dad parked the van, we went in and Mom asked if we were hungry.

"I could eat," Eddie said.

"You can always eat, Eddie," Mom chuckled. "What would you like?"

"Is there anymore of the fish we had last night?"

"Yes, do you want me to heat it up for you?" Mom asked.

"No thanks, I'll just have a sandwich," Eddie said.

Mom fixed a cold Grouper sandwich for my brother and put it on the table in front of him. I was sitting across from my brother watching him eat his food and Mom sat next to me.

"It sounds like you two had a good time at the party tonight," Mom said. "Kathy and Brad seem like nice kids."

"Yeah, they really are, Mom. I like Brad, he's funny," I said.

"How about you, Eddie, what do you think of Kathy?" Mom asked my brother.

"She's cute; I like her," Eddie said, his mouth half full of food.

"When are you two going out again?" Dad said as he walked into the kitchen.

"I don't know, Dad. We didn't really talk about it," I said.

"Well, I guess you kids can talk about it on Saturday, your mom and I have invited the Waters to spend the day on the boat with us," Dad said.

"Next Saturday?" Eddie said. "I thought we were going fishing next weekend."

"We are, honey," Mom said. "Brad, Kathy and their parents are going with us. Sarah and Jack told us Brad loves fishing."

"I didn't know he liked to fish, I thought he just liked playing soccer," Eddie said.

"When did you ask Mr. and Mrs. Waters to go on the boat?" I asked.

Mom looked at me and replied, "We went back to their house after we dropped you kids off at the party. Sarah invited us for coffee and cookies and we accepted. They are very nice and they are very fond of Brad and Kathy."

There was something in my mom's voice that started to worry me. I wondered what the four adults had talked about while we were at the party.

When Eddie finished eating, we told our parents goodnight and went to our rooms. Before my brother went into his room, I reminded him about running in the morning.

After finishing our run, I showered and went out to lie in the sun. At about ten, I went in and called Kathy, asking her to come over.

It was shortly after noon when Kathy and Brad showed up at our house.

"I hope you don't mind, I brought my brother with me," Kathy said. "I knew you have a pool and we were hoping we could go for a swim."

"Sure! Hi, Brad, nice to see you," I said.

Eddie came into the backyard, walked up to Kathy and put his arm around her waist. He kissed her cheek and said, "Hi."

Kathy looked surprised, but I caught her eye and winked at her. Mom came out with a tray of sodas and a bowl of chips. She said hello to Brad and Kathy and then left.

"What's going on, Jen?" Kathy asked.

"I'm not too sure, but our parents are up to something. My mom and dad went back to your house while we were at the party. Last night, Mom told me you guys were spending the day on our boat with us next Saturday," I said.