Chapter 26

When Bobby and Sammy approached Collette's car after leaving their parent's barbeque, Sammy grabbed his hand to stop him.

"Hey... are you all right?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," he replied. "Why?" he said, trying his best to look carefree.

They slowly started walking again, Sammy still gripping his hand. "You look... well, like you did when you sprained your ankle a couple years ago... during a karate lesson. Remember that?"

"Yeah," he said, mystified. "How did I look then?"

She stopped him again, reaching up a hand to tenderly touch the side of his face. "You looked like you were in a lot of pain - but didn't want anyone to know it."

"Hey, you two," Collette called from the car, "let's get this show on the road!"

Bobby gave Sammy a quick hug. "Tell you later. Okay?"

"Okay," she replied doubtfully. They piled into the car, Sammy up front with Collette, Bobby in the back seat, and they sped off at Collette's usual breakneck pace, stereo blasting.

"Where's Julie?" asked Collette. With speakers next to his ears in back, Bobby couldn't hear a thing.

"Don't ask," replied Sammy.

Collette looked over at Sammy to see if she were joking, and could tell from the look Sammy gave her that she should change the subject. "Okay then," she said.

She turned down the stereo. "You guys hungry? We've got plenty of munchies already, but we could order a pizza or three if you like."

"No, we just left our folks' barbeque," replied Bobby. "I'm not going to be able to eat again for like, oh, an hour at least."

The girls laughed, their tension effectively broken.

They arrived at Collette's house and made their way to the back yard. Sammy flew to Dave, who stood up happily to greet her with a hug and peck on her lips. Patty and Morton came at a more leisurely pace to welcome Collette back and greet Bobby.

"Hey Bobby, good to see you again," said Morton, as they shook hands.

Patty stepped forward to give him a hug and a peck on the cheek, which he returned with a smile. As Patty released him and stepped back toward Morton, she stopped in her tracks.

"What's wrong?" she said to Bobby with great concern in her voice. Bobby looked back at her in surprise. From just behind Bobby, Patty saw Collette energetically wave her off.

"He's just upset there's no pizza yet," broke in Collette. "He's a pig."

"Ohhh, I see," said Patty, swiftly switching gears. "But then, I knew that."

"Nothing wrong with that," offered Morton. "I could go for pizza."

"Fine!" said Collette, in mock exasperation. "I'll go make the order," and stomped off into the house.

Patty, Morton, and Bobby joined Dave and Sammy on some circled lounge chairs, and began chatting about this and that. Bobby could tell, by the simple fact that no one asked him where Julie was, that Sammy must have said something to them.

Collette returned from the house. "Okay, it'll be about an hour before the pizza gets here. Ya'll want to get in the pool for a while?"

They all had their suits on under their clothes, and everyone was stripped down and in the pool in moments. They played tag for a while. Then during a break in the action, Collette suggested they play king of the pool, where the girls sit on the guy's shoulders, and try to topple the other couples.

"Let's see, who should team with whom," Collette said in exaggerated thought. Then she turned to Bobby. "You know, Bobby, I've always wanted to get you between my legs!"

Bobby's mouth dropped open, and everyone hooted at his shock, which turned into a sheepish grin. Soon all the jockeys had mounted their horses, and the game began. It turned out to be no contest, as Bobby and Collette easily out-muscled the other teams to stand upright alone.

Bobby found the power of Collette's thighs around his neck and shoulders, and the feel of her strong calves in his hands, pretty damn interesting. He was glad the water shielded his erection from view, while at the same time he was fighting off guilt for enjoying himself without Julie.

The other teams were demanding a re-match, when the bell on the back wall of the house, which was connected to the front doorbell, rang loudly. Collette quickly hauled herself out and headed for the house, grabbing a big beach towel to wrap around herself on the way. The game had caused her bikini bottoms to bury themselves in the lovely crease of her butt. As she neared the doorway, she turned and caught Bobby admiring it, and gave him a quick wink.

Collette retuned in a few minutes with three pizza boxes, paper plates, and a roll of paper towels. She was giggling almost uncontrollably.

"What's so funny?" asked Morton.

"Oh, I think I just made that pizza guy's day is all. After I signed for it, I kind of, well, accidentally dropped my towel while he was handing me the pizzas." She reached up and pushed her breasts together to make her cleavage even deeper. "I just hope he doesn't have an accident on the way back!"

"God Collette," exclaimed Patty as everyone laughed. "You can be such a tease."

"Hey, a girl's got to get her thrills somehow," she said unrepentantly. "When you don't have a boyfriend, you grab them when you can!"

They quickly devoured the pizza. Sammy looked on in amazement at how much Bobby could eat, after seemingly stuffing himself at their parents' barbeque.

Afterwards, they all sat chatting, with Sammy and Patty snuggled into Dave and Morton's arms. Eventually Bobby got up and wandered over to the weight set that Dave kept out by the pool, and started to do a string of drills, just a few reps each.

"So," said Collette when he was out of earshot, "what's up with him and Julie?"

"I don't know, but it must be something bad," said Sammy.

"Yeah. I mean, just looking at him makes my heart break," said Patty.

"What the hell are you guys talking about?" asked Dave.

The girls looked at him and rolled their eyes. "Dave, just be quiet honey. We don't expect you to understand," admonished his sister.

"Well put me in the same category as Dave," said Morton. "He seems fine to me."

"Then you be quiet too, honey," giggled Patty.

"So what do we do?" asked Sammy seriously.

They sat and looked around at each other. Eventually, Sammy and Patty spoke up simultaneously. "I'll go talk..." They looked at each other and laughed.

Collette broke in. "Maybe I should talk to him? He kind of has a, uh, history with you all," she said, indicating Sammy and Patty.

"Let's all go do it," said Patty.

"I don't think..." began Morton.

"Not you guys," said Sammy derisively, "just the girls."

"And you're trying to help him?" asked Dave.

"Shut up, Dave," replied Sammy. "You boys stay here."

The three ladies got up and strolled over to where Bobby was sweating with the weights. The rapid repetitions didn't do much to build strength, but they certainly puffed up his muscles. Each girl hoped the others didn't notice as their eyes roamed over him, while having lusty thoughts about his hard chest and butt.

"Looking good, stud," said Collette.

"Why, thank you ma'am," he replied, with an exaggerated southern gentleman's drawl, putting down the barbell. He reached for a towel to mop his brow.

"Bobby," began Patty tentatively, "we're friends, right? I mean, not just you and me, I mean all of us are your friends."

He knew where this was going. He was actually surprised it had taken them this long.

"Yep," he replied. "You sure are."

"So..." said Sammy hesitantly, "we just wanted, you know, not to pry or anything, just because we care about you so much, we wanted, uh..."

"They're trying to say they love you, and they want to know what happened with you and Julie, so they can help you," summarized Collette briskly. The other girls glared at her.

"What?" she replied to their silent rebuke. "You do both love him. Nothing wrong with that, is there?"

"No," broke in Bobby. "There sure isn't."

He smiled at them affectionately. "Julie and I kind of... I guess we broke up today. I think she's got a lot of things screwed up in her life... So I don't know if it was something I did, or what.

"I talked to Mom about it some... I still care for Julie. I'm still worried about her. Maybe we can still be friends so I can keep trying to help her out. But I don't think me being her boyfriend is what she needs right now. It's probably just making things more complicated and fucked up for her," he finished somewhat bitterly.

"Bobby," said Sammy, "you haven't fucked anything up. I feel responsible for getting you guys together, and I'm really sorry. I thought you would be good for each other. I didn't realize how tough being with her would be on you."

"Yeah. I really, uh... I tried, you know?" his said, his voice cracking with emotion.

The girls all went to him and wrapped him up in a group hug.

"We know you did, Bobby," said Sammy. "It's not your fault."

Bobby choked back another sob at that. He didn't want to tell Sammy, in front of the other girls, that Julie knew they had made love that night at the cabin.

"Thanks," he finally managed to get out. "I'll be okay. Just give me a minute, and I'll come back and join you all, all right?"

"Sure Bobby," said Patty. "Take your time."

The girls turned away, but stopped half way back to the other boys. "God, this is all my fault," moaned Sammy. "I wish I could fix this," she said in frustration.

"I do too," said Patty. "Now he has to sit there with a broken heart, and look at you and me with other guys." She paused, and said tentatively, "Sammy, we know how you feel about Bobby... Do you think it's time, to, you know, uh..."

"No," said Sammy simply. "It's still too soon."

They stood quietly, looking back at Bobby. Finally, Collette spoke up.

"Uh, guys?"

"Hmm?" said Sammy.

"Do you mind if I, maybe, help out a little?"

Patty looked at her warily. "What do you mean?" She thought she already knew, having been Collette's 'friend with benefits' herself.

"Well, I could be his buddy tonight. Help him take his mind off Julie. I wouldn't think about it without asking you guys first."

Sammy looked at her with wide eyes. "You mean you'd... sleep with him?" she gasped out.

"I doubt he'll want sex if we do. He's hurting too much," Collette replied defensively. She didn't want to make the other girls feel guilty, but she felt she had to say it:

"He's probably going to be pretty miserable when you both disappear with your dates for the night. Even if we just sleep next to each other, that'll be better for him than being alone."

Patty held back, fearing she would be making comments that revealed she and Collette had been lovers. Then she began thinking: Morton knows, Dave knows, Collette obviously knows... Wait, Bobby knew on the night of his accident... Sammy must know... Shit! What was she worrying about?

She knew Collette meant well, but was concerned about Bobby being on the rebound from Julie. She spoke to Collette tentatively.

"Collette... could you be careful? I mean, he's just had a big heartbreak. I already gave him one before, with my screw-ups. I wouldn't want him to have another one too soon."

"I understand that, believe me," Collette responded, knowing Patty was referring to the night that Bobby accused them (correctly) of being lovers. "Like I said, if he just wants a shoulder to cry on, that's what I'll give him. I doubt he'll want anything more than that. If he wants to have sex, and I think it'll help him to move on... I don't know. I do like the guy."

"But should you, if you just like him? When you don't love him?" asked Sammy.

"I would be sure he understood what it would mean, before it happened, Sammy," she said sincerely. "If he can't accept that, or doesn't want that, then it just won't happen."

Patty knew exactly what Collette was offering. She believed that Collette was telling the truth about making sure Bobby understood. Collette had done that with her, after all.

Patty and Sammy looked at each other, and then back to Collette. "If you hurt him, I'll be very unhappy," said Sammy, half seriously.

"I'd rather hurt myself, Sammy. I mean that," she replied.

"Okay," said Patty, softly.

"Okay," agreed Sammy.

"Alright," replied Collette. "Let's see if we can get this guy's head back on straight."

Collette turned and walked back to Bobby, who was finishing toweling himself off.

"Hey Bobby, could you spot me for a couple sets?" she asked.

"Sure," he replied. "Bench presses?"

"Yeah, just a few though."

It was close to one in the morning when everyone's yawns made it obvious it was time for bed. Sammy and Dave naturally went to his room, and Collette told Patty and Morton they could use hers. After they had said their goodnights and gone into the house, Collette turned to Bobby.

"We have a guest room you can use, Bobby. Come on, I'll show you."

Bobby followed her into the house and up the stairs to the second floor. They passed two closed doors where they could hear the other teens talking as they settled in, and turned into the next, where there was a queen sized bed.

"Wow, Collette. This is nice. But where are you going to sleep?"

"One of the couches in the family room is a hide-a-bed, so I'll be down there."

Bobby frowned. "Why don't I take that instead? I don't need all this room."

Collette didn't answer immediately, taking a moment to consider how to say what she wanted to say.

"Bobby... how about we both sleep here? Just as friends. I'm just thinking you shouldn't be alone in here tonight... "

Bobby had expected some kind of offer like this. Collette had obviously been nominated by the group as the designated "cheer up and distract Bobby person," and she'd been doing that all night. And he had to admit to himself, it had been nice.

Collette was a lot of fun. She had a brash sense of humor and a direct manner of speaking, and was fearless in applying both at all times. She simply hadn't accepted him sounding depressed, or allowed him to dwell on what might have been.

Since he knew it was probably coming, he had his answer to her suggestion ready.

"As long as it's just as friends, Collette, I would like that."

Collette smiled with relief that he'd taken it the right way. "Cool. Let me get some pj's out of my room before Patty and Morton get too involved."

She saw Bobby flinch a little at that comment.

"Shit. Sorry," she said hurriedly.

"It's all right, Collette. I'm okay with it. It's just that we were together for so long it's still weird. I'm happy for them, really."

Collette smiled, simply said, "K. Be right back," and ducked out the door.

When she left, Bobby stripped to boxer shorts and a t-shirt, climbed into the bed, and turned out the light. He could hear it through the wall when Collette knocked on the door, and began talking to Morton and Patty.

"How's he doing?" asked Patty.

"He's okay," replied Collette. "Still a little fragile, but he's going to be all right, Patty. Don't worry."

"Patty..." said Morton, "I don't know how to say this, but... does Bobby breaking up with Julie... does it change how you feel about... us?"

"Shhh," he heard Collette shush them. After that, they spoke softly enough that he couldn't make out what was said.

"Fuck," Bobby said aloud into the darkness. He had put the possibility of getting back together with Patty out of his mind; hearing Morton's question was a shock. How would he feel if Patty came back through the door, instead of Collette?

As he thought about it, he found himself hoping that Patty stayed with Morton — not just tonight, but that he continued as her boyfriend. He still loved Patty. He was just not ready to re-open the wounds from their breakup, and he didn't want to see Morton hurt either. And even though she was older than him, he felt Patty still needed to grow up and learn more about what she wanted from her partner.

Eventually he heard the murmurs next door stop, and a door open and close. He lay staring at the door to his room, hoping the right girl came through it.

When the door opened, she was framed by the light of the hallway behind her, and his eyes, which had adjusted to the dark, recoiled at the brightness. When he was able to look again, the door was closed and she was making her way to the bed.

She lifted up the covers and got in beside him.

"Are you awake?" she whispered. He still couldn't tell who it was.

"Yes," he replied.

"How're you doing?" asked Collette.

She heard him make a sound like, "Whew!" and then, "Thank god it's you, Collette! Uh, I mean... I'm glad you're back."

She giggled. "I was only gone for a couple minutes!" she exclaimed.

"Well, I missed you anyway," he said with a chuckle.

"Aw, shucks." She waited a moment, then asked in a teasing voice, "So how much did you hear through the wall?"

"Pretty much everything, until you told them to shush."

"I figured as much. Don't worry, they're okay. They're worried about you though. I told them I'd take good care of you."

"Why, thank you very much, madam," he said with arch civility. "I'm glad they're okay. After I heard Morton, before your 'shush, ' I was afraid it might have been Patty coming through the door. Like I said, I'm glad you're back."

"Bobby... Patty does still love you. I'm still so sorry for being a part of your breakup."

"I understand, Collette... When I was talking to my mom about Julie, she said that some things happen for a reason, and you don't know what the reason is until later. I think the breakup with Patty was supposed to happen. It feels that way now. I couldn't tell you exactly why, but it does."

He could just now start to see Collette in the darkness, lying on her side facing him.

"I still love Patty, too. But it feels right that she's with Morton," he said.

"Yeah... They're really into a lot of the same things. She's happy. She still feels guilty though, especially now with your problems with Julie. She will probably feel that way until you hook up with another girl."

He sighed. "Yeah. Though, I'm really in no hurry for that. The thing with Julie happened too quickly."

"Yup," agreed Collette, "another summer romance gone bad. I know it doesn't help much, but you know... it happens a lot, really. Things change when summer's over and school starts. You can't spend time together as much, and when you are together you're not alone with each other as much either. And Julie's got other issues, too."

"Yeah, that fits," he agreed. "She seemed to get real insecure almost overnight. I couldn't figure out what to do."

They were quiet for a while. Then they began hearing noises through the wall. At first he couldn't tell what it was. Then Bobby realized with a start that it was the rhythmic stretching and contracting of the springs in the bed in the next room.

Collette heard it too. She reached out and touched Bobby's face. "Hey... you want to go get a snack or something?"

The squeaking seemed to be speeding up. "Sure," he replied gratefully. They got up and headed for the stairs. As they passed the two closed bedroom doors, they could hear, even more clearly, the sounds of the two couples making love.

When they reached the kitchen, Collette turned on a light and headed for the refrigerator. As she pulled the door open, Bobby began laughing.

"What?" asked Collette.

"What are you wearing?" he said, still laughing.

She was wearing fuzzy full length pink pajamas, with long sleeves and legs. All over them were pictures of cartoon characters.

She turned and put her hands on her hips. "What? You've never seen Flintstone's pajamas before?"

"Well... no, no I haven't!"

"Well, now you have." She got a sly smile on her face. "See," she said pointing to one side of her chest, "this is Wilma," then pointed at the other, "and this is Betty."

"Oh my god, they have names?" he gasped, still laughing.

"Well, yeah! Don't tell anyone though. It's kind of just between me and the girls."

"Okay, Collette. Your secret is safe with me."

They made some peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and washed them down with some milk. When they'd put things away and cleaned up, Collette made a suggestion.

"Why don't we sleep in my parents' room? It's on this floor, so we'd be away from the, uh, the..."

"Copulating couples?" offered Bobby.

"Well, yes, them."

"Sure, sounds good."

They went down the hall and entered what could only be called the master suite. It was a huge room, with a canopied king sized bed. They climbed in and turned out the lights.

"Thanks, Collette," said Bobby softly, after they'd settled in.

"No problem," she replied. She knew instinctively that was enough. She was surprised when Bobby reached out to take her hand.

"If there's anything I can ever do for you, just let me know," he said.

She chuckled. In a breathy imitation of a southern belle, she replied, "Why sir, whatever are you asking sweet innocent little me to do with a big strong man like you?"

There was a long pause. Finally Bobby said simply, "Whatever you want, Collette. You just have to ask."

"Bobby... are you asking if... if I want to have sex with you?"

"Well... yes."

"Of course I do! But I'm not sure that's a good idea for you right now, is it?"

"I don't know," he said truthfully. "Not if it would screw up our friendship."

"Do you think it would?" asked Collette cautiously.

"Not if we agree it's just... well, just for fun. We're both unattached, so to speak. I've made friends with girls I've loved... I think I could make love with a girl that's a good friend, too."

"Oh, aren't you the smooth talker! You're trying to seduce me, aren't you? You just want to get to know Wilma and Betty better. I'll have you know that the girls don't just jump in the sack with any old Fred or Barney."

Bobby cracked up. "That is exactly what I'm talking about, Collette. All the sex I've had has felt... serious. It was almost a symbolic ritual to demonstrate our feelings for each other. I think making love with you would be... well, a whole lot of fun... for both of us."

"And if that's all it is, can you handle that? You don't secretly want me to be your girlfriend, do you?"

She started to become concerned when he didn't immediately answer.

"Not now, no," he said thoughtfully. "I think if I told you the idea was repulsive or something, I'd be lying. I can tell you I'm not looking for a new romance right now. I still think that Sammy and I will be together some day. But who really knows the future? If I thought I did, the last few days prove that I don't." He paused and then said with a grin, "Anyway, I am kind of young for you."

"Well, it won't matter when we're sixty. And I'm glad I'm not repulsive," she replied with a return smile.

"Are you kidding? You're gorgeous!" he exclaimed.

"God you're a smooth one. You're making my Flintstone's pajamas wet."

"Yaba Daba Doo!"

"All right Bobby. If you're sure you know it's just for fun, I'm all for it. I've drooled over your ass plenty of times. I'm not going to miss this chance."

"Cool. Can we turn on a light, or light some candles of something? I really want to see you, Collette."

"Geez, Bobby! You are fucking with my head before you fuck with my body. Candles? How do you know about making love in candle light?"

"Uh, I don't know. I must have, um, read it in a book or something. Yeah, that's it! I read it in a book."

"Surely you jest."

"I'm serious, and don't call me Shirley."

Collette turned on a reading light next to the bed, and got out of bed. She opened a drawer in one of the dressers, and produced candles which she placed around the room.

She tossed a book of matches to Bobby. "Here, make yourself useful," she said. "I need to visit the bathroom for a minute. Be right back!"

Bobby went around the room, lighting the candles, being careful to hold on to the spent matches so they didn't mar any of the beautiful furniture in the room. When they had cooled he dropped them into an empty ornate metal waste basket he found, and returned to the bed. He reached over and turned off the reading light and settled back to wait. He knew instinctively that most girls "in a minute" in this situation would be longer than that.

But it really was just moments later that Collette emerged from the bathroom and approached the bed. Bobby gasped.

She was wearing a white bustier that supported her large breasts, but did not cover her nipples, which stood out proudly. It contoured to match the inward plunge of her ribcage, stopping just above her navel. She had on white stockings that came up high on her shapely thighs.

And she was wearing... absolutely... nothing... else.

In the flickering candle light, Bobby could see that her pussy was hairless, except for a narrow vertical strip, that didn't quite reach all the way down to the heaven between her long legs. The lips of her pussy were prominent with her arousal.

"My god, Collette," said Bobby reverently. "You really are beautiful," he said sincerely.

Collette smiled with pleasure at his compliment. "Thanks, Bobby. This is my mom's stuff, but she's said I can borrow her things for special occasions. There's more to this outfit I didn't put on — there's a garter belt, and a kind of see through blouse thing. But I think it works pretty well like this."

"It sure does," affirmed Bobby.

"So... can I see you too?" she asked somewhat shyly.

"Sure." Bobby got out of bed and stood before her in just his boxer shorts. "Sorry I don't have anything more elaborate for you," he said, as he hooked his thumbs into the sides of his shorts.

"Oh this will work just fine," Collette breathed, as she looked somewhat hungrily at his broad chest and muscled arms.

Bobby pushed his shorts down to reveal his erection, and it was Collette's turn to give a small gasp.

"Oh this will definitely work just fine, Bobby."

Bobby was looking at her with equal hunger. He started to approach her. "Tell me again, Collette, why you don't have a boyfriend?"

She laughed. She held out her hands for Bobby to take into his.

"I think I kind of scare them off by just saying what I think all the time. Guys seem afraid to ask me out, and when they do, I think I intimidate them. There have been a couple guys that I was with for a few months, but they left me for girls... well, that they could kind of dominate. You know what I mean?"

Bobby leaned forward when she finished speaking, and kissed her gently. "No," he said. "I don't. Do you want to dominate me, Collette?" he asked teasingly. He placed his hands on her hips and leaned in for another kiss, twice as long as the first.

"I do want to screw your brains out," Collette answered truthfully. "But dominate? No."

They kissed again, this time tentatively opening their mouths wider to allow the passage of their inquisitive tongues, mapping out territory, staking claims.

"Do you want me to dominate you, Collette?" Bobby didn't know why he asked that. It seemed to be a natural question, though he knew it wasn't.

As soon as he'd said it, he felt Collette tremble under his hands. "Uh, no, I, uh, don't want you to," she stammered.

"You don't want me to do what?"

"Dominate me." She looked at him, obviously deciding whether to say more.

"Tell me, Collette. Tell me what you want. I want this to be as fun for you as it will be for me." He reached down and grasped her hand, raising it to his lips for a kiss under her eyes. "Tell me, Collette. I'll do anything for you."

"Oh god," Collette said. "You will, won't you?"

"Yes. And you know that whatever we do, it stays between us."

"Okay. Well, have you ever done, uh, you know, uh, role playing?" she asked, her voice getting progressively softer.

"No, I haven't. You mean, pretend you're someone else, that kind of thing?"

"Yeah. You act out things that you know you'll never do in real life, but they're fun to think about, because they're so... forbidden."

Bobby smiled at her. "I'm game," he said. "Who would you like me to be, Collette?"

When she didn't respond, he pulled her to him, almost roughly, and began kissing her neck.

"Tell me, Collette."

"You won't tell anyone? You won't think I'm sick? It's just a game, not something I really want to do."

"I promise, Collette," he murmured, moving up her neck to play with her earlobe with his tongue. "Tell me," he repeated.

"Okay," she said. She left his embrace, and disappeared into a walk in closet. After a moment, she called for him to join her.

When he did, still naked, he found her holding a bathrobe. It looked large and full length.