Chapter 17

Mom was waiting for me at the back door when I walked in. She asked, "Have you had a shower yet, Kyle?"

"No, I haven't."

"You need to be quick about getting cleaned up and dressed. We need to leave for church in ten minutes."

I glanced at the kitchen clock. It said 8:38. "I thought I didn't need to be home until 9 in the morning," I said.

"One of the ushers at church is sick. They called your father this morning and asked him to fill in. We need leave in ten minutes," Mom explained.

"Oh, OK."

"Hurry up, Kyle. We are all waiting for you." Mom explained.

I hustled upstairs and went straight to the bathroom. I took a quick shower, threw my Sunday clothes on and hustled back downstairs. I thought that I might not be in as much trouble as I had expected. Mom seemed so calm.

Our family was heading out the back door to the car when Mom pulled me aside. When Andy and Lizzie were outside she said, "You realize that your father and I are going to have a LONG talk with you after church about where you were last night?"

I gulped and stammered, "I kind of expected that you would." Oh yeah. My first impression was right. Penny and I were in BIG trouble.

I tried hard to pay attention at church, but all I could manage to do was watch Mom and Dad so I could figure out just how mad they were. Dad had a tight smile on his face. I knew it hid his frustration. From the shoulders up, Mom looked composed. I could see her tapping her foot and bouncing her knee up and down. She was angry. I was in for a bad afternoon.

Mom and Dad hid the anger on the way home and during lunch. When lunch was done Dad said, "Andrew, Lizzie, I would like you to go upstairs for a half hour. Mom and I need to have a private discussion with Kyle."

"Sure, Dad," "OK," Andy and Lizzie said. Andy gave me a questioning look as he headed for the steps. I shrugged and mouthed the word "later" to him.

When Andy and Lizzie were safely upstairs, Mom started. "Kyle, what were you thinking when you spent the night at Penny's house?"

"Um ... uh ... I'm not sure," I stuttered trying desperately to find a way to say something that would help.

Dad asked, "Would we be wrong to assume that you and Penny had sex last night?"

I stared at the floor and shook my head no.

He continued, "Did you ever have any intention of staying overnight with Ed?"

I kept my head down and shook it indicating no again.

"Kyle, look at me and answer my question," Dad demanded.

I looked up and said, "No, Dad. I never planned to stay with Ed."

Mom lectured, "Kyle Martin, you are fifteen years old. You are our responsibility. You are not an adult yet. Your Dad and I always need to know where you are, whom you are with and what you are doing. That is our job as parents. Your brother Will is nineteen and legally an adult. He still tells us where he is going and calls if his plans change. At fifteen, you certainly need to do that. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Mom."

Dad took over, "You lied to us, Kyle. It is completely unacceptable. Your mother and I have decided you will be grounded for two weeks. Andy will mow your lawns. He will keep all the money that he earns. You do not get a share of that money. You will stay here in the house while you are grounded. You may not have visitors. The only exceptions will be your training and football practices. You may attend practices and train with Ed. Do you understand?"

I paused a couple seconds, nodded and said, "Yes, I guess. This isn't about me having sex with Penny, is it?"

Mom answered, "No, not really. This punishment is for lying to us."

I asked, "Could I have stayed overnight with Penny if I had told you that was where I was staying?"

"No, not really. Your father and I would not have permitted you to stay alone with Penny unless her parents approved too. They wouldn't approve, would they?"

"Probably not. Are you going to tell Mr. and Mrs. Edwards what we did?" I inquired.

Mom said, "No. I don't plan to call them, but if they ask about it, I won't lie for you. I will tell them what you have done. Do you understand?"

I sighed, "Yes, Mom, I do. Thank you." I started to leave and then stopped. "May I call Penny for a minute to tell her what is going on?"

Mom reluctantly answered, "I guess so. Make it a short call."

I headed upstairs to my bedroom. I was going to be spending a lot of time there for the next two weeks. When I got to my room, I sat down at my desk to make this call that I dreaded.

The phone rang a few times then I heard my girlfriend say, "Hello?"

"Penny, this is Kyle. I was right. My parents are really pissed off. I'm grounded for two weeks."

"Are they going to talk to my parents?"

"Mom said she wasn't going to call your parents, but if they ask what we did, Mom will confirm it. I think you might be OK."

"That is a small piece of good news. I'm really sorry you are grounded. Is there anything I can do to help?"

"No Penny, thanks for offering. I just need to serve my time. I'll be alright."

"I'm going to miss you, Kyle. I love you."

"I love you too, Penny. I'll talk to you in a couple weeks when I'm free again. Bye."

"Bye, Kyle."

I hung the phone and lay down on my bed. I grabbed my MP3 player, put on the headphones and cranked up my music to try to put the day's events out of my mind. I had been listening to my tunes for awhile until Ed and Andy came to train.

Andy and I took him to the basement to our "weight room." As soon as the basement door closed, Ed asked, "Did your Mom find you this morning?"

"Yeah. I'm grounded for two weeks," I explained.

Ed answered, "That sucks. I'm sorry, man. Your mom called my house this morning while I was asleep. I got the third degree from my mom after the phone call. I didn't admit to anything, but I think she knows I was involved."

Andy asked, "What did you do to get Mom and Dad so mad?"

I explained, "I spent last night with Penny."

Andy's eyes got big. He said, "Wow! I can't believe you did that. Dad tells me I'm supposed to mow all our lawns and keep the money."

"Yes, that's right."

Ed asked, "Kyle, was it worth it? Would you do it again if you get a chance?"

I answered, "This may sound strange, but yes, I would do it again. Spending the night with Penny was great. Now I get to pay the penalty for my night of fun."

Ed said, "I guess. I don't know if I have the balls to try what you did. I don't know if I could even if I did find the courage to try it."

"What's wrong, Ed?" I inquired.

"I went over to see Stefany after lunch today. Her dad bitched about me coming over, but I'm getting used to him. He hasn't said one nice word to me since we told him that Stef was pregnant. Stef and I had a fight this afternoon. I'm still not sure what it was about. She accused me of not being attentive enough. What the hell does that mean?"

"I don't know Ed. I'd ask Penny to help if I weren't grounded," I suggested. "Maybe you could talk to her. It might help."

"Thanks for the suggestion Kyle," Ed said. "I'll try it." We started out lifting weights. When we finished it, we called Jeremy, who came over for our run. The rest of my life was messed up, but training gave me some comfort. We had seven days until football practice started.

--oooOooo--

I was comfortably asleep on Monday morning when my Mom shook me awake. "Huh? What's up, Mom?" I grunted, trying to open my eyes.

"Time to get up, Kyle. Here is your list of chores for the day."

"Huh, chores?" I asked as I rubbed the sleep from my eyes.

"You didn't think you were going to sleep late every morning when you are being punished did you?" Mom asked.

"Um, I don't know. I hadn't thought about it."

"I want all the chores on this list done by the time I get home, Kyle," Mom said. "Is that understood?"

"Why do I have to do chores?" I whined.

"To keep the privileges you have. If you want to train with Andy and Ed or go to football practice next week, you will do the chores I give you. Am I clear young man?" Mom explained sternly.

"Yes Mom. I understand." I said glumly. I glanced at my clock when Mom left. It was only a quarter to eight. This was certainly a disgusting development. I jerked my morning wood until I shot a satisfying load of semen over my chest before I went to the bathroom for a shower. When I got back, I glanced over the list of chores. Mom had enough stuff on the list to keep me busy most of the day. I guess that was her way to keep me out of trouble.

I had just finished my work when Ed arrived at 3 pm to lift weights and run with Andy and me. The front door was barely shut when Ed burst out with, "You're in more trouble than you know Kyle. I talked to Penny at lunch today. I wanted to get her to help me with Stefany. She couldn't talk long. She is grounded too. It turns out that Mrs. Edwards talked to my mom last night. She found out about you and Penny spending the night together. Mr. Edwards is ready to kill. You and he are going to have some problems when you are back in circulation again."

"Great! Just what I need. Do you know how long Penny's grounding is?"

"No Kyle, I'm sorry," Ed answered. "She couldn't talk long."

Andy laughed, "When you get in trouble, you sure know how to do it right."

I declared, "Watch it turkey. I'm still bigger than you."

Andy scoffed, "Hah. I can take..."

I grabbed Andy around the waist, slung him over my shoulder and carried him to the couch. Andy squirmed and tried to get free, but I was stronger. I flipped him upside down on the couch and sat down on his chest. I grinned at my helpless brother. "You ready to treat me with respect?"

"Uncle!" Andy groaned. "I give up, Kyle. I'm sorry."

"Remember to respect your elders, kid," I declared smugly. Ed was laughing and nearly rolling on the floor at our act. When Ed collected himself and Andy had picked himself up of the couch, we went to the back room to lift. Half an hour later, Jeremy joined us for our three mile run. I felt great to be outside in the sun for a little. My training routine gave me my only comfort of the day.

The remainder of the week went slowly. I had too many chores to do and too little free time. I kept wondering what Penny was doing and would we be able to see each other when our punishment was over. My summer vacation had turned into purgatory. My boast on Sunday that my night with Penny was worth the grounding seemed hollow. The weekend brought me a little relief. I had company in my misery instead of spending most of the day alone while Andy mowed lawns. I think Mom shortened the chores list a little too. I couldn't wait for Monday and football practice.

--oooOooo--

My Mom, Ed's mom and Jeremy's mom agreed to take turns driving the four of us to practice and picking us up when practice was over. Mrs. North took the first turn. Andy, Ed and I met at the North house at 7:30 am for our ride. All four of us were psyched. We had spent the last eight months preparing for the football season. Our time was here. We would find out if the preparation paid off.

Mrs. North dropped us off in front of the gym. We went inside and changed into our gym clothes. Stan Humphreys came through the locker room directing everyone to the gymnasium.