Chapter 2

Two days later, I was up early and sitting on the deck when the phone rang. Everyone else in the house was dead to the world, and I was enjoying a cup of hot chocolate.

I picked up on the second ring and said, "Hello?"

Nollie asked, "Can you be ready in ten minutes?"

"For what?"

"I want you to take me somewhere."

"I'll have to wake somebody up and ask. I can't just leave a note; I need permission."

"Ok. Call me when you're ready?"

"I will."

"Bye."

I heard a click as she hung up and got a tight feeling in my chest as I remembered her touch and the way she'd felt under my hands. I realized that my mother and Sue might have experienced the same thing, which brought a shiver to my body. Were they as connected as I seemed to be? I'd only known Nollie for a short time, but I felt... lonely. Surely Mom and Sue had some emotion involved - what was it? They were not very demonstrative around any of us; maybe they reserved that for their bedroom. The biggest mystery of all was why they'd gotten together in the first place, and why did they remain a couple?

I shook off my feelings and went inside and cleaned up the kitchen. When that was done I put on my suit and took a short swim. Around ten, I made a pot of coffee for Mom and Sue, and went upstairs to clean my room.

As I reached the top of the stairs, I noticed Sean's door was open, and decided to see if he was awake. He had apparently gotten up to use the bathroom and gone back to bed. He was sound asleep and softly snoring; he was nude on his back, and his stiff little thingie was at an angle to his body, gently pulsing with his heart. I didn't think he would appreciate being found in that state, so I backed out of his room and quietly closed the door. He deserved a little privacy. Definitely a cute kid, though.

I'd managed to get my bed made and my room picked up when I heard a shriek from across the hall. That meant the twins were up and at each other, and the rest of the household wouldn't be far behind.

When I went downstairs, I found Mom and Sue at the island drinking coffee, looking bleary-eyed and tired. Sean was sitting across from them with his nose buried in a book, eating his cereal. There was a thump from upstairs and Sue got up and headed for the noise, shaking her head. With Sue gone, I saw my chance and acted.

"Mom, Nora called and wants me to go with her somewhere. Is that ok?" I asked.

"Did she say where?"

"No."

"Be back by dark, then," she smiled.

I said, "Thanks!" and grabbed the phone.

Ten minutes later, I heard a tinny horn and walked outside.

Nollie yelled, "Bring a towel!" and I ran back inside.

I called, "Bye!" as I ran for her car, thinking 'freedom!'

Twenty minutes after that, we were driving north on highway 29, listening to the radio. Nollie was concentrating on her driving, but I knew something was different. She was acting stand-offish and shy, not like the girl who had kissed me and aroused all those good feelings in my body.

She turned the radio down and asked, "Where is Horsehead Lake?"

"North of here about five miles or so. Why?" I replied.

" 'Cause that's where I want to go. I'm tired of sitting around the house and listening to my mother. I love her, but sometimes she gets on my nerves, ya know?" she said.

Knowing exactly what she meant, I pointed out the windshield and said, "That way!"

If you think of a horse in profile with its ears at the north end and the nose at the east, you have a perfect mental picture of the lake. The road leading in was dirt and followed the line of the neck, from throat to mane. I decided to take her to the ears, which was the most private spot. We went slowly over the potholes and dodged most of the wet stuff, and parked in the dirt circle.

Nollie got a blanket and a cooler from the back seat and walked to the water's edge. I followed, with my towel draped over my shoulders. A quick flick of the wrist and the blanket was on the ground, with the cooler nearby. Nollie glanced around appreciatively and took off her clothes - all of them, including a miniscule pair of pink panties. She grabbed a bottle of lotion and began applying it to her shoulders and arms, then looked up at me.

"Whatsamatter?" she grinned.

I hate to admit it, but I was standing there with my mouth open, gaping at her.

"I didn't expect... ," I babbled.

Before I could finish my thought, she interrupted with, "No matter to me; do what you like."

I turned my back to her and started stripping my own shorts and top, feeling very exposed. I got down to my underwear, and turned to face her once again. She was sitting on the blanket with her knees up, very prim-looking, drinking a coke. She smiled as my panties came off, and I saw her eyes linger on the spot between my legs. I gave her a long glance, and confirmed that her breasts were as big as I'd thought.

"Have a coke, eat something. The cooler is full," she said.

I got a coke and a piece of cold chicken to occupy my hands, and sat down. She ate two pieces and drank another coke, and lay back on her elbows.

She wiggled to get comfortable and said, "I've got a problem."

She didn't appear to be joking, so I asked, "And what is the problem?"

She replied, "I don't know whether I should tell you or not. You may end up really mad at somebody, and I don't want that somebody to be me."

She was smiling as she said it, so I thought whatever it was, it couldn't be that bad.

"So tell me already!" I said.

She took a deep breath and blurted, "Your Mom arranged it."

"Arranged what?" I asked. There were some very suspicious thoughts going through my head, and I wanted to be sure of the facts before I lost my temper.

"For me to be at your party."

"And the kisses, the stuff behind the shed, that was her idea too?" I asked.

She avoided my eyes and said, "At first, yeah."

"That fucking BITCH!" I screamed. I stood up and ran, not caring where I was going and not even noticing I wasn't dressed. I was crying and running up the road, away from Nollie and the thoughts of interference in my life. I felt desolate and extremely angry. Why? What had I ever done to deserve this? It wasn't a joke you could play on someone and then have a good laugh afterwards. This was fucking with someone's feelings, big time, and I didn't like it at all. Plus I felt betrayed by Nollie! How could she have gone along with such a thing?

I started walking, hugging myself and crying with my head bowed. I wasn't watching where I was going and tripped over something on the ground, and decided to stop. I leaned against a small tree and just stood there, crying and shaking. I felt helpless, but what could I do? If I yelled at my mother, I'd get grounded for a month and ignored as usual. After a long while, the tears stopped and I remained where I was, feeling very empty inside.

I didn't hear Nollie come up behind me, so the first inkling of her presence was her hands on my shoulders.

"I'm sorry," she said softly as she rubbed my neck.

I twisted away from her touch and screamed, "You should be! You should be ashamed, too!"

She held both hands up with the palms facing me and asked, "Do you want to hear the whole story?"

"Yeah, why not?" I yelled, "I might as well!"

I leaned back against the tree with my arms folded across my chest and she said, "All I was supposed to do was kiss you. The rest of it was my idea."

"You expect me to believe that horseshit?" I asked. "How the hell did you get roped into doing something like that anyway?"

"My Mom has known yours for quite some time," she said, "and they both know I like girls. It was all an innocent attempt to add a little spice to your party."

"That's bullshit!" I said.

"Oh, and you mean to tell me you didn't like it?" she asked snidely.

I blushed and said, "No, I did like it!"

"Then why won't you believe what happened after the first kiss was all my idea?"

"Were you having fun seducing the poor little virgin?" I asked rudely.

"Yeah," she sighed, "I was. And therein lies my problem."

"So tell me your problem," I said.

"At first I thought it would be harmless," she said. "A little kiss, some fun, and I'd never see you again. You'd always remember me as the fun chickie at your party."

"And then?" I asked.

"And then you kissed me back," she sighed.

"So what happened after the kiss?" I asked. I had to know. I had to.

"It brought back memories, very good ones," she said. "I still have two years of school to get through, and my Mom's job here will last at least that long. I thought... oh hell, I don't know what I thought. It's not important."

"You're not very positive about it," I said.

"You wouldn't be either if you'd done what I did," she replied. "It was wrong, and I'm sorry." I didn't know what to say, so I kept silent. She broke it by telling me, "I'll be on the blanket, ok? It's been a long day so far. I'll leave you here to think for a while, and when you're ready we'll talk. If you want to, that is."

She turned and walked away before I could say a word. I realized I was naked, and hid behind the shore side of the tree. I had two more years of school too; that much we had in common. What else could we have? Would my mother accept the fact I had a girlfriend, assuming it ever got that far? My last sleepover had been when I was ten or eleven, with the girls in my neighborhood. My chest hurt, and I decided I needed more information.

I watched carefully for any stray fishermen or boaters as I walked back to the blanket. The air felt good on my body, and it was more comfortable without my wet swimsuit clinging to me. The thought that I was being extremely naughty gave me the chills.

I found her lying on her stomach on the blanket, and she sat up as I approached. Her eyes were cautious and wary as she looked at me and waved a hand; an invitation to sit down. I grabbed a coke from the cooler and sat across from her.

"Maybe you'll feel better if I tell you a few things about me," she said. "I'm seventeen and I'm going to be a junior in high school."

"You look older," I said.

"I'll take that as a compliment," she replied, smiling. "My mother arranged a few things for me, too. She knew about me, and took things into her own hands."

"She knew?" I asked, surprised.

"Moms have radar for that sort of shit, believe me," she replied. "I was fourteen and confused about my feelings. I'd kissed boys and felt absolutely nothing, but the mere thought of doing the same with a girl made my panties wet. And I was terrified of approaching someone my own age."

I nodded and she continued, "So I went to my Mom and told her. We've always been close, and she said she understood. It felt good to have it out the open, and I felt better. A few days after that, she introduced me to Patti. She was nineteen and a student in college."

"She gave you permission," I said.

"I think so, yes. Patti and I dated, hung out with her friends, and got to know each other. When she kissed me the first time, it felt like the most natural thing in the world."

"Did you have sex?" I asked.

"Oh yeah! Patti spent the occasional weekend at our house, and we never left my room. Patti gave me some of my very first orgasms. I'm sure part of it, at least for her, was because I was inexperienced and young. For me, it gave me an opportunity to explore my sexuality without fear, and I loved it."

"Where's Patti now?" I asked.

"Back in Georgia," she replied.

"So you've had a lover all this time?" I asked.

"No, Patti and I stopped seeing each other after six months. She'd found someone closer to her age, and she said she was in love. I cried for a couple of days, but I got over it."

"Then what happened?" I asked.

"Well, somehow the rumor got started that I was 'one of those', and the vicious gossip and innuendoes gradually got worse. I talked to my mother, and she told me to be brave."

I nodded and she said, " At first no one would talk to me or eat lunch with me, and I got used to being alone. Then I found that if I flirted with a girl, I could make her blush. It made me think that I wasn't so alone after all; there were others like me - they just hadn't had the opportunity."