Part 7A

Thursday, Morning

Sam

I woke up fuzzy headed. I tried to roll over and go back to sleep and nearly fell on the floor. I cursed sleepily. When had my bed gotten so damnably narrow? Then I realized that the blanket covering me wasn't mine, and the pillow my head rested on was unfamiliar, and I wasn't laying on a bed at all.

Everything came rushing back and I rolled onto my back again to stare up at the ceiling of Jenna's living room. I glanced out the window across the room by the fireplace. The palest hint of sunlight shaded the dark sky outside. It was early. Too early. Far too early even. I should been sleeping right now. I usually didn't wake up until a half hour before school. Glancing around, I discovered a light was on in the kitchen and it sounded like someone was quietly rustling around inside. Probably what woke me.

Just as I was about to sit up, Lilly peeked her little head over the back of the couch, then climbed onto it, and plopped down onto my chest. She nearly fell off and onto the floor. As she righted herself she turned to me and mewled softly. I smirked and scratched behind her ear, which set her to purring ecstatically.

"Aww, how cute."

My heart sped up at the soft voice. I looked up to see Jenna leaning against the doorway into the kitchen, watching us, smiling softly. She wore a pair of light purple pajama pants and a pink tank-top with a butterfly embroidered on the front. Her hair hung wetly down her back, shimmering and thick, a lustrous brown that bordered on black. She was so beautiful when she smiled.

"I think I've been claimed," I chuckled quietly.

Jenna stiffled a giggle and held a finger up to her lips, her eyes sparkling playfully. She stepped into the living room and gathered the kitten into her arms. She turned the cat to face her. Lilly batted at a hanging strand of her hair. "Sorry, Lilly, he's mine. I got to him first."

She released the cat and sat down in my lap. The feel of her rounded ass settling on me had me shivering in delight.

"Morning, beautiful," I smile.

"You too, stud," she replied.

"I'm not all that... er, studly," I smirked.

"I think I know better than you who is and is not studly," she teased.

"Fair enough," I grinned. I pulled her down to me and relished the kiss we shared. She tasted so wonderful...

"I've got to start breakfast," Jenna said as she pulled away. I could tell she was reluctant to do so.

"Okay," I smiled as I sat up. I scratched the back of my head, then stretched and stood. Getting out of bed wasn't so bad. I was rewarded with Jenna's warm, slender arms wrapping about my neck.

"Thank you," she whispered to me.

"For what?" I asked as I pulled her to me.

"Everything. For being you. For being with me," she replied.

"All I want is to make you happy," I replied, gazing into her wide chocolate eyes. "You don't need to thank me for something I already want to do."

"Still. Thank you, Sam." She smiled again. I loved the way it lit her face. Jenna was a beautiful girl, a gorgeous girl even... but her smile took her attractiveness to a whole new level. It was irresistible. I swore I would make her smile at every possible moment.

We kissed again, a lingering, soft kiss that was mostly sweet and loving. But I could feel the lust stirring in her by how her arms tightened around me. I was responding in kind.

Before we could get ourselves into trouble we broke the kiss. I smiled at her, toying with her hair. The strands felt rich between my fingers.

"I should probably take a shower," I stated.

"You remember where the bathroom is, right?"

"Uh-huh. Anything I can do for clothes around here?"

"Yeah," Jenna replied, "I'll go up to Tony's room and grab you something. Between how tall he's getting and how short you are, you should about match up."

Her eyes danced and her smile was mischievous. I reached down to lightly swat her ass affectionately. She giggled softly and skipped out of my arms and into the kitchen.

I walked into the upstairs bathroom and ventured to open a cabinet inside, finding towels and wash clothes. I stripped down and stepped into the shower. The water took a moment to warm, but it felt wonderfully refreshing once I stepped under.

I scrubbed at my body while my mind began rapidly wandering. So much had happened in the span of a day. It was amazing. It made me somehow appreciate everything I had; people always said your life could turn completely upside down in a day. I knew now that was very true. In a single day, I got in my first real fight, resolved to leave my home, got taken in by a nice family, entered into a relationship with the most wonderful girl I had ever known, and lost my virginity.

Sex was incredible. It was almost indescribable. I wondered if it was such a deep and satisfying experience for everyone, or if the closeness and love and affection Jenna and I shared had made it something more powerful and moving than sex without such attachments were. Or maybe Jenna was just a really great lay... either way, it had been mind-blowing for me. Masturbating, oral sex, hand jobs... nothing came close. The feel of Jenna's pussy wrapped around me... squeezing... pulsing... so slick and wet and warm. My blood rushed at the memory alone. I didn't really know what I was doing at the time, but I had read enough and heard enough to manage. By the reaction she had, I didn't do too badly. I hoped I could be even better for her with experience.

I guess I had more hesitation when it came to sex than most guys my age, but I had wanted it more than just a cheap fuck. A blowjob, a hand job, messing around... that I hadn't really thought much of. But sex itself... that I had wanted to be memorable and meaningful, preferably with someone who would be important to me. And I knew last night was definitely what I was looking for. It felt right. It felt natural. Even with our inexperienced awkwardness, we had fit together perfectly.

I wondered absently if I was supposed to feel any different. After all, I was a 'man now', or something like that. I was thrilled that I'd had sex, and couldn't wait to have it again, but I was more happy about having Jenna as a girlfriend. I hadn't thought I would ever be lucky enough to find such an amazing girl.

I thought about my family and about what happened yesterday too, but less so. I didn't want to dwell on such negative things, especially when there were so much more exciting and wonderful thoughts to focus on. I wouldn't return home till Mom was gone, simple as that. Whether I stayed with Jenna's family or somewhere else... either way, I was done with my Mom.

As for Jenna and what had happened yesterday... I swore it wouldn't happen again. I would protect Jenna no matter what, and I knew I wouldn't be the only one. I would do whatever I had to do to help her come to terms with things and keep her in a stable state of mind. I didn't know how I was going to do such a thing, exactly. She was a very strong girl and was dealing well, but I was pretty certain she was more damaged than she let on.

But I would be there for her. I swore I would be her rock and keep her anchored. It wasn't a conviction I took lightly by any means.

I stepped out of the shower to find a pair of clothes sitting on the counter. I grinned to myself, wishing she had stepped into the shower with me while she had been in here. I toweled off and put on the clothes. They were about the right size, though I wasn't as lanky as Tony was so I filled them a bit more. The clothes were a bit too preppy for my taste, but since I was going to be wearing them in public for all of ten minutes, I didn't really care.

I made my way downstairs and sat at the table tucked in the corner of the kitchen. I watched Jenna walking around the kitchen, grabbing this and that and hurriedly making breakfast, too distracted at the moment to notice I had come quietly in. I loved watching her. I didn't think I would ever get tired of it. Her face was so beautiful, soft and round and pale. Her lips were full, and looking at them brought the taste of them to my mouth. Her cheeks were round and full and always held a soft pink, as if she had applied a touch of makeup though I was pretty sure she hadn't. Her hair framed her face, hanging down around the sides and making her all the more captivating. I was spellbound as I always was when I laid my eyes on her. I hoped this feeling never faded.

I stood up and walked behind her, putting my arms around her shoulder and making her jump.

"Sam! Don't do that!" she scolded, sinking into my arms and rubbing her head against my cheek affectionately.

"How'd you know it was me?" I asked, sniffing at her hair. Her shampoo smelled faintly of mellow fruits.

"Besides the fact no one else would grab me like that? You're a lot quieter than anyone in my family."

"You're cute when you're startled," I said teasingly. She rolled her eyes, but her smile brightened her face.

"Show me where the plates and stuff are and I'll set the table," I suggested. "Is everyone coming to breakfast?"

"Yeah. No one tends to miss a meal around here," Jenna replied as she showed me where the dishes and silverware were kept.

I set the table at about the same time Edd came stumbling into the kitchen, looking half dead with all his hair sticking up at every possible angle, much like mine usually looked in the morning. Jenna ruffled his already messy hair and wished him a good morning. He muttered something. She shooed him out the kitchen when he tried to get something to drink, telling him to wait for breakfast and instructing him to go get dressed or there would be no food for him. More muttering followed him out the kitchen.

"Wow," I chuckled. "He's me ten years ago."

Jenna rolled her eyes. She handed me a tall pitcher of orange juice, which I carried to the table. "At least you were human this morning."

I chuckled and set glasses around the table beside the plates. I grabbed a handful of napkins and placed those on the table as well. "That's only because I made a special effort for you. I'm normally not nearly so coherent."

"Aww, I feel special now," Jenna grinned.

Karla walked into the kitchen, already dressed and looking as bright and cheerful as she was last night. "Morning you two. How did you sleep?"

"Good," Jenna replied as she handed me a plate of sausage to take to the table.

"And you, Sam?" Karla smiled.

"Very well, thank you ma'am," I said, feeling a touch of awkwardness.

"None of that now," Karla laughed. "Call me Karla or Mom. I'm in denial of my age these days."

"Are you sure that's okay?"

"Of course," Karla winked. "I know this whole situation has developed kind of suddenly, but like we said last night, as long as you're under our roof, you're family. Which means, like all my kids, you're not allowed to make me feel old! House rule."

Jenna made a face behind Karla. I struggled to keep from laughing. "Okay, Karla then. I think Jenna has something to say to you."

Jenna shot me a dirty look before Karla turned her way. "Um... we need more pancake batter?"

I laughed and grinned her way. Karla looked extremely confused as she helped carry a plate full of pancakes to the table.

By the time all the family assembled at the table there was a pile of pancakes waiting to be eaten, along with a plate full of sausage, bacon, slabs of toast spread with butter, breakfast muffins, and two pitchers of orange juice and milk.

I hadn't had a real breakfast since before my Mom stopped caring about anything.

"Thank your sister for breakfast, she made all this herself," Karla instructed the kids before they could start wolfing their food down.

"Thank you, Jenna," the twins said at once.

"Yeah! Mickey-mouse pancakes are the best!" Edd proclaimed excitedly. I glanced at his plate, noting the large pancake with two smaller ones stuck to the top, like Mickey-mouse ears. I'd never seen that before.

"Looks great. I'm starved," I smiled at her. Jenna blushed softly and returned my smile.

"Yeah, looks great," Mr. Mathews seconded distractedly as he thumbed through his paper. Karla told him to put it away. He dropped it into his lap and half-read it while half-pretending he was paying attention to the goings on at the table.

I ate my share and accepted seconds when they were offered.

"Wow, you've got a really healthy appetite for your size, Sam," Karla laughed.

I smiled sheepishly and drank from my glass of orange juice. "Sometimes. I'm actually not normally a breakfast person at all... I usually skip it. But I didn't eat yesterday except for a bite of Jenna's dinner. Plus this is the best breakfast food I've ever had."

Karla smiled and nudged Jenna teasingly. "I told you, Jenna. Haven't I always said you should look into being a cook?"

Jenna smirked. "You say I should do a lot of things, Karla."

"And they're all true. I'm the one who got you into the Program, didn't I?"

Mr. Mathew's glanced up from his paper and gave his wife a less than pleased look, but said nothing.

"Speaking of which, how's the Program been going for you, Sam?" Karla asked.

"Not bad. It could be worse. People don't laugh at me as much as I thought they would," I grinned.

"What's it like being a guy in the Program? Embarrassing?" Theo spoke up for the first time in the meal. I couldn't tell if he was trying to poke fun at me or if he was seriously asking.

"A bit. It's not so embarrassing after you're in it for awhile. It's cold."

Theo smirked and shook his head. "Screw that."

"Theo!" Karla scolded.

"What? All I'm saying is I'm not doing it. No way."

"Oh yes you are," Jenna spoke. "If I had to go through it then so do you."

"You decided to stay in it, though," Karla pointed out with a grin.

Jenna glared at Karla and ignored the barrage of 'why?' and 'is it fun or something?' from the twins. "Yeah, but even before that you didn't sign me out to begin with, so I don't see why you should sign Theo out when his turn comes up. What I decided later isn't the point."

We talked for the rest of the meal. Karla asked me about me and what kind of things I was into. The kids asked me about how Jenna and I met and why we decided to be boyfriend and girlfriend. Mr. Mathew's briefly asked me about how I was doing in school. He seemed honestly pleased to learn my grades were high and I was well regarded by my teachers.

After breakfast everyone, including the kids, took all the tableware to the kitchen and put them into the sink. Karla chased Edd out the room, scolding him for not being ready for school. Jessica and Ashley went to watch cartoons. Tony followed behind, playfully teasing them because he didn't have anything better to do (or so he claimed). Theo wandered off to his room. Mr. Mathews and I helped Jenna do the dishes. Jenna threatened her father with no more breakfast muffins if he didn't help. It was a threat I would've heeded, too, after tasting them.

"I never knew you were such an awesome cook," I commented as she handed me a plate to dry and put in the rack. "I would've come over sooner."

"Jenna's had a talent for cooking since she was little," Mr. Mathew's explained. "She won't admit it though. The only thing she'll agree she's good at is baking."

"With good reason," I smiled. "I've never had such good muffins. I can't wait to see what you can do with cookies."

"All right, enough," Jenna smiled. She handed the last few dishes over to her dad to wash. "I'll be back, I need to go get my books together."

Mr. Mathew's glanced at me as she left the room. "I need you to promise me something, Sam."

I wiped off the dish in my hand and looked him in the eye. "What's that, sir?"

"I need you to protect my little girl today. I need you to make sure nothing happens to her. I know now you can do it, if anyone can."

I nodded soberly, taking his request very seriously. "I will, Mr. Mathews. I promise."

"Good," he said tightly. We finished the dishes just as Karla came into the room, carrying her purse.

"You two look awful serious," she commented.

"Just doing the dishes. Nothing fun about that," Mr. Mathews replied.

"The breakfast was worth it," I added.

"Charmer," Jenna said as she walked into the room. She stood beside me and threaded her arms around one of mine.

"While the kids are busy, this would be a good time to lay down ground rules, don't you think?" Karla suggested to Mr. Mathews. He nodded and they leaned against the counter, facing us.

"Okay, we talked about some of this last night," Mr. Mathews began. "All the stuff we said still applies; we expect you to respect us, do as we say, and act decently. No parties. If you want to have friends over, ask first. If you're not sure whether or not we would approve of you doing something in our house, assume we wouldn't till you can ask otherwise.

"Watch what you say or do in front of the kids. We're not too uptight about what our kids do or don't do, but we'd like to keep them from getting out of hand. The kids rough house around the house all the time, so don't worry about doing that with them, Sam, just be careful not to break anything. We'd like you two to keep your relationship downplayed in front of the kids, especially Edd and the twins. Hugs and pecks and all that are fine, but please don't... make out or anything like that in front of them."

"Duh, Dad," Jenna rolled her eyes. "Since when have I ever done anything you disapprove of in front of them?"

"You've cussed in front of them before," Mr. Mathews grumbled.

"Like you're one to talk," Karla poked him in the shoulder. "Get a game on with the cowboys on a losing streak and I practically have to evacuate the house to get the kids away from your trash-talking to the other team."

"I'm not that bad," Mr. Mathews protested.

"Moving on," Karla spoke, "We've decided not to butt into your personal life too much. We know you're going to end up doing whatever you want to do regardless of what we say."

Jenna and I glanced at each other. I was a bit lost. She didn't seem all together more with it than I was, apparently expecting this direction about as much as I had.

"So when Sam settles in the guest room in the attic... well, if you want to sneak up there for the night, Jenna, we'll try to accept that. But he's not to stay in your room, and the kids are not to know about this. Be discreet."

Mr. Mathews didn't look happy. He opened his mouth, surely to protest, but Karla gave him a withering look. "We had a deal," she said firmly. His mouth slammed shut and his lips set in a thin line. I considered saying something, but a glance at Jenna told me it wasn't a good idea.

"Anyway. You fall under the same rules regarding curfew and such as Jenna does.," Mr. Mathews spoke after a moment. "If you plan on being out, tell us where, and when you'll be back home. If you're going to be late, tell us when you'll make it back. If something changes in your plans, you have to go somewhere else, or an emergency comes up, let us know. We're pretty lenient about when you need to be back home. We'd prefer you to be home by 11:00, but if you're going to be late, let us know. 12:30 or 1:00 is the latest we'll give you so if you come back later than that something serious better have happened to keep you out."

"Understood," I nodded. "I'm not much for staying out at night."

"Good," Mr. Mathews replied. "We won't hold you to something like a bedtime, you're old enough to decide that on your own. As long as we don't have to drag you out of bed every morning, we don't care when you go to bed.

"We expect you to keep going to school. If you don't want to do that, then we expect you to get a full time job. Your choice, but we'd prefer you to stay in school. If you stay in school, we expect you to keep doing just as well as you have been. Understand?"

"Yes, sir," I replied.

Mr. Mathews looked between Jenna and I. "I don't want to know if you two are having sex. It's... not my business, I guess. Just be safe and responsible, whatever you do."

Jenna and I both nodded. Mr. Mathews glanced at his wife. "Anything else?"

"I don't think so, not yet at least," Karla replied. "Let us know if anything changes in your situation with your home."

"I will," I smiled.

"Okay then. Stick to these rules and we'll all get along just fine," Mr. Mathews said.

Tony walked into the kitchen and glanced at us. "You're gonna be late again, Dad."

"Aw, no," Mr. Mathews muttered, glancing at the clock. He gave Karla a kiss and nodded to Jenna and me. "Gotta run. I'll see all of you tonight."