Chapter 1

"Wow, the traffic is heavy already," Dave snorted from behind the wheel of his old Chevy. It was a clunker, but it had gotten him through college. Now that he and Sharon had both graduated and had halfway decent jobs just under way, maybe there could be something better in the not too far distant future.

"Weekend traffic," Sharon said absently from the right seat. "What did you expect?"

"I suppose," Dave sighed. "Oh well, we might have some fun with your sister and brother-in-law."

"I doubt it," Sharon frowned, and shook her head making her long brunette hair wave. "I mean, there wasn't much way we could turn them down, and they're offering to pick up the tab. But, I'd just as soon be spending the weekend at home and in bed having fun."

"You'd wear me out," Dave snorted. "But it would be fun while it lasted. And then, what would we do?"

"Rest up and do it again," she grinned. It was still a new enough experience to actually be living with him. She'd gone through a number of boyfriends in her years at Western, but last fall, in her senior year, she'd come across Dave, and somehow the two had stuck. He was far and away the best boyfriend she'd ever had, but both of them had enough bad experiences in the past that they thought maybe they'd ought to live together for a while before they did something serious about getting married. Her folks were less than happy about the arrangement -- they were kind of churchy -- but they also knew she'd been through a lot of boyfriend trouble, so nobody pitched a shit fit. A big smile crossed her face. "I'll bet we do it a lot more than Hannah and Andy."

"How would you know?" he laughed.

"Oh, it stands to reason," she smiled. "I mean, they are both as straight as straight can be. Pretty churchy, and all that. They tend to be sort of formal."

"I know," Dave sighed. "Remember, I met them back at graduation. Andy is sort of a square, a suit from the word go, and your sister is kind of miss prim and proper. I don't want to say stuck-up, but, well, reserved."

"All of that," Sharon agreed. "I mean, she's a nice person, and all that, and they're both making good money, but yeah, straight, square. I'll bet neither of them have ever done anything wild in their lives. They probably have sex once a month, missionary position, whether they want to or not. They've probably never seen each other naked."

"Oh, maybe not," Dave grinned. "You don't know what goes on behind closed doors. Still waters do run deep, you know."

"Not that deep." She shook her head. "Back when we were growing up, Hannah was always pretty straight and churchy, goody-two-shoes, you know. I haven't seen her a lot since she went to that goofy Christian college, but she just got straighter."

"I guess we're just going to have to be on our good behavior and try not to be too bored," Dave agreed. "Besides, we might as well get to know them."

"I suppose," Sharon sighed. "Oh, well, we'll at least get some beach time, and have fun on the rides."

"There is that," Dave agreed.

It was a good three hour drive to Hannah and Andy's house from their apartment, made longer by the fact that the Chevy's air conditioner had given out a long time before. It was nice to drive with the windows down, but it got oppressive long before they reached Sharon's sister's house. It took a little finding; Sharon had never been there before, even though her sister and brother-in-law had moved in right after getting married. Still, Andy had sent them a detailed map of how to reach the smallish house, located out in the country, and that made it easy. It was a relief to pull into the driveway.

Before they could get out of the car, Andy came out. He was tall and sandy-haired, if a little plain-looking, dressed in slacks and a polo shirt, sort of offsetting the blue jeans and t-shirt that Dave wore, and Sharon's cutoffs and tank top. "Hey, you two made pretty good time," her brother in law smiled as they got out.

"Better than I expected," Dave admitted. "Just running with the traffic, but it was running way over the speed limit."

"Everybody's in a hurry to have fun," Andy smiled. "Hannah's in using the bathroom, she'll be out in a minute. You want to throw your stuff in the Buick? I'll get the air conditioner running."

"Air conditioning is going to feel nice," Sharon agreed. It was only the work of a couple minutes to throw their one suitcase and their overnight case over into the trunk of Andy's car.

"You guys have dinner?" Andy asked.

"No, we haven't," Dave replied. "I take it you haven't eaten?"

"No, we figured on stopping somewhere along the way," Andy smiled. "We can make it sooner or later."

"Doesn't matter, it's still early," Sharon said.

"Sharon, why don't you ride in back, and Dave can sit up with me?" Andy suggested. "That way you and Hannah can talk sister stuff a little easier."

"Sure, sounds like a good idea," Dave agreed. Andy opened the door for Sharon, and stood beside it as she got in. That still seemed just a little strange; what little she knew about Andy in the few times she'd met him was that he was always assertively polite -- which was nice; it was something Dave wouldn't have done. She was just getting settled in when Hannah came out of the house, carrying a purse and a small duffel bag. Andy hustled around to the far side of the car, and opened and held the door for Hannah. She sure has him well trained, Sharon thought.

Her tall sister with the short, neat bouffant hair got in the car, set her bags down on the seat, and turned to her. "Hi, sis," she smiled. "Long time, no see."

"Just a couple months since graduation," Sharon laughed. "The way we've been going the last few years, that's a short time."

"You're right," Hannah grinned. "So, how's everything going?"

"Just fine," Sharon smiled, glancing over at her sister as Andy got in and started the car. She was wearing a summer dress, short, with a halter top, looking good as usual, and, as usual, overshadowing her own sloppiness. Even when she was casual, Hannah was always a sharp dresser, and today she was wearing a wide necklace and a couple of large bracelets, almost bangles.

"Well, let's get moving," Andy said, dropping the Buick into reverse and backing away from the garage. "Watuga Lake, here we come."

"This will be fun," Sharon said. "I haven't been there since Hannah and I were little kids." There was something about Hannah's bracelets that caught her eye, didn't quite make sense. She took a closer look -- and couldn't help but let out a gasp. "Hannah!" she cried. "What are you doing wearing handcuffs?"

"You like them?" Hannah smiled, holding her hands out so her sister could get a better look. "They were a birthday present."

"Hannah!" she gasped again, wide-eyed at the sight. "Andy gave you those for your birthday?"

"No, silly," Hannah smiled. "I gave them to him. Aren't they pretty?"

David twisted around in his seat to look at Hannah, who was sitting behind him. "Those are some serious handcuffs," he commented, his eyes wide, too.

"They're very nice," Hannah said smugly. "Soliel Lightweights, made in Belgium, just about as good and secure a set of handcuffs as you can get."

"They're not cheap," Andy said, pulling out onto the highway and getting up to speed. "I think Hannah went way overboard on my birthday present, especially when she bought them for me to put on her."

"That was why," Hannah smiled. "I knew it would please you."

"But... but... but... what are you doing wearing handcuffs now?" Sharon said, jaw still agape.

"Oh, we have a little bet," Hannah said. "I'm going to wear them all weekend."

"Bet?" Sharon said, confused.

"It involves doing dishes and mowing the grass," Andy snorted. "Sharon, did anyone ever tell you that your sister is just a little bit on the weird side?"

"You're actually planning on wearing handcuffs all weekend?" Sharon said, shaking her head, and brushing her hair back. "Hannah, what's this all about?"

"Like I said, a bet," Hannah grinned demurely. "It's no big deal."

"But... but... " Sharon struggled for words. "Does Andy put those handcuffs on you very often?"

"Oh, now and then," Hannah smiled. "Come on, Sharon, you heard the story."

"Story? What story?"

"Of the second time I met Andy," Hannah replied casually. "You remember, I told everybody at Christmas two years ago."

"Well, yeah, but... " Sharon said, still not quite able to believe her sister.

"I don't think I've heard this story," Dave commented.

"Oh, it was pretty simple," Hannah said. "We have this Halloween party at work every year, and my roommate Acacia and I wanted to make a splash. We talked her boyfriend into helping out. He had on this Phantom of the Opera suit and mask, and he brought us into the party wearing evening gowns and weird makeup, along with handcuffs, collars and leashes."

"What?" Dave frowned. "That must have been a pretty weird party."

"Well, we wanted to be noticed," Hannah grinned.

"Did they ever," Andy said, shaking his head. "Wade looked just like the Phantom of the Opera, and was extremely pompous all evening. I remember him saying stuff like -- his voice got very deep and gruff and bombastic -- "'I am acting as her protector in lieu of her father in his absence. He is a Marine, sir, and he would be most angry with me were she to run wild and take up with cads or dockwallopers such as might be found in these surroundings. And yet, sir, I tell you these are wild women, sir. Wild, indeed! Should they set their fancy on some unsuspecting lad, I dare say whips would not drive them off.'" He let his voice go back to normal. "He'd get very huffy if someone wanted to dance with Hannah or Acacia, say some of the most absolutely outrageous things, then unlock the handcuffs and hand you the girl's leash. You had to bring them right back to the table when the dance was over with, and he'd cuff them again."

"Wade made it work," Hannah agreed. "How about, 'Women, like horses, sir, perform much the same to the crack of the whip. Whip! I say, sir!' He was acting so stuffy and bombastic that you could hardly believe it. It was all Acacia and I could do to keep from breaking up all evening, but he said he'd bring us only if we could stay in character. It worked, we got the 'most convincing' award."

"I remember," Sharon shook her head. "I never quite believed the story."

"Tell the truth, I didn't quite believe it, either," Andy grinned. "But I was there and it really was pretty cool. I was breaking up all evening, though. I'd been out with Hannah once maybe six months before, but we didn't quite hit it off. I asked her out again at the party, and we went out the following Sunday, and we still laughed ourselves silly. That was kind of where we got to going with each other."

"Because Hannah was wearing handcuffs?" Sharon asked suspiciously.

"It did get my attention." Andy shrugged. "Of course, that was the point."

"Of course it was," Hannah agreed. "It was fun! And, I'll have some fun with it this weekend."

"Fun?" Sharon frowned. "How is there any fun in wearing handcuffs?"

"Lots of fun," Hannah grinned. "You can have a ball with it. Come on, Sharon, you like doing stuff that draws people's attention. It's fun to be a little outrageous, to yank someone's chain, so to speak, just to watch their shocked reaction. I mean, like yours."