Chapter 12: Temptress II

MARCH 2001, JUNIOR YEAR

The guilt hit me well before I got back to my house.

I'd never felt real guilt before. I mean, I'd had little flashes of "guilt-lite" from time to time. I felt guilty for starting something with Megan when I thought I was "with" Keira. I felt a twinge of guilt for wanting to be with Dawn after I'd promised Megan she'd be my girlfriend when we got back to school. And I felt guilty for fucking and potentially impregnating Cassidy that very first time.

But not like this. I'd cheated.

Dawn wasn't cheating. Brandi wasn't cheating. But Adrienne was most definitely cheating.

It didn't help matters when I went to take a shower before dinner. Brooke just took one sniff of me and then gave me a knowing grin as I raced past her and headed up the stairs.

I was going to hell.

"Ben, what's the matter?" Cassidy pulled her lips off of mine and rolled onto her side next to me. Her gaze was one of sweetly loving concern.

Megan furrowed her brow on the other side of me, nudging my cheek with her nose. "Ben? You okay?" The look on her face was intense, as if determined to find whatever was bothering me and hold nothing back in fixing it so as to make her man happier.

I just stared off into the distance, watching the sun set over the ocean. This spot in the foothills had become one of our favorites. It was a twenty minute drive and took two small, one-lane roads away from the main artery. Now that spring was upon us, we'd occasionally get this warm evening where we could spread out some blankets and make love in the open air.

I sighed. Adrienne had made every promise to keep things quiet. She wouldn't tell my girlfriends, and I could hook up with her midweek on a regular basis. Seriously, how much more perfect could my life get? TWO cute girlfriends plus discreet booty calls with the hottest girl in school? You top that.

All I had to do was keep my mouth shut and I'd been having the most incredible sexual life any teenaged boy could ever dream of.

If I could just handle the guilt.

I didn't really LOVE Megan and Cassidy. I certainly enjoyed their company and we were all good friends and I really, really liked them. But we were kids. I loved them in the sense that I was comfortable saying the phrase "I love you" and meaning it ... in a puppy-teenager love kind of way. But we weren't going to get married or anything.

But even if I didn't consider it "true love", I still cared about them. We'd gotten close. We weren't just "dating". Dating would mean I could sleep with Adrienne and tell the girls, "Sorry, it's just not working out." Then, I wouldn't feel so guilty. Hell, Cassidy had dumped me because she wanted to jump Drew Walker's bones.

No, Megan, Cassidy, and I were "steady". And steady meant commitment, a commitment I'd violated. And that tore me up inside.

Sensing my negative thoughts, Megan did the most expedient thing to cheer up a guy. She put my hand on her boob and leaned in to kiss me. But when I dropped my hand away and kept my lips pursed together, both she and Cassidy knew there was something dead wrong.

"What?" Megan asked. "What is it, Ben?"

My eyebrows pinched in, my jaw started quivering, and for the first time in recent memory, I felt tears forming in my eyes.

"Ben?" Cassidy was immediately concerned, touching her hand to my face.

Her caressing touch felt so... wrong. I didn't deserve it. So I batted her hand away and sat up straight.

"Ben?" Megan repeated. She'd come up to this spot with the anticipation of some fun necking and old-fashioned fucking. She'd even packed a picnic so the three of us could spend more time getting naked and not waste hours with a burger joint. Things weren't going according to her plan. And Megan HATED it when things didn't go according to her plan.

I sighed and instinctively moved one hand over my crotch. I really, really didn't want Megan to chop my dick off. Then wincing in anticipatory pain, I felt the first tears rolling down my cheeks as I whispered, "I had sex with Adrienne yesterday."

It was an interesting progression of expressions that crossed my two girlfriends' faces. And the expressions shifted simultaneously. To look at one would be to know the expression on the other.

One moment, they were almost motherly in their concern for my obviously upset state. Confusion then pinched down on their eyebrows as they tried to sort out the potential logistics for what I was describing. Wide-eyed shock followed next, accompanied by gaping-mouthed horror at my betrayal. And then their eyes sharpened down and their gasping lips re-formed into angry grimaces.

The yelling and violent slapping began then. It was all I could do to keep at least half of their slaps away from my face. There was certainly a downside to dating two girls at the same time. When they get angry, you're in TWICE the trouble.

"You're home early," my mom commented as I hustled to the stairs. "She glanced up at me for a brief moment. "You okay, Ben?"

"Don't want to talk about it," I bristled melodramatically as I darted away. While I didn't have a black eye or any permanent damage, closer inspection would show that my skin was pink from abuse.

Eden and Emma were gossiping together about something or other. Unlike my mom, they took a closer look at me as I hurried past them.

"Ben?" Eden began.

"What happened to you?" Emma finished.

"Don't want to talk about it," I growled and kept going.

As I passed them, I heard one of the girls sigh, "Girl trouble."

Then the other commented, "Being a teenager seems so HARD."

Brooke was in her room and actually got up to follow me into my bedroom. I knew she'd heard the commotion. "Ben?" She asked hesitantly.

I paused in my own doorway and whirled around to face her. "Don't want to talk about it."

"Ben, it's me," she said placatingly. "What's going on?"

I snarled at her, "What part of 'don't want to talk about it' do you NOT understand?"

Brooke took one step back but otherwise held her ground. She leaned her head left and right to get better looks at my face, neck, and arms, all of which were still red from repeated slapping. "Did they HIT you?"

I took a deep breath, my inhalation shaky as I was on the verge of crying again. I fixed my little sister with an intense look and said firmly, "How would you feel if you found out Perry was fooling around with another girl behind your back?"

Immediately, Brooke's eyes narrowed and her nostril's flared. Her hands clenched and her lips pinched inwards. It took a second for her to let the moment pass and get over her own anger. Then she looked up at me. "They found out you were having sex with Adrienne?"

I sighed. "I told them. I couldn't handle the guilt."

Brooke cocked her head to the side. "Then why were you having sex with her?"

I exhaled and remembered the glory of Adrienne's naked body. Even knowing how everything turned out, knowing that I'd ruined my relationships with Megan and Cassidy, I couldn't say with total certainty that I would have done things any differently. I was horny and Adrienne was HOT. "Because boys are stupid," I said dejectedly. "Remember that, Brooke. Boys are STUPID."

I stayed in all weekend. I didn't feel like interacting with the family, citing that I was feeling depressed over girlfriend issues. I also called Megan and Cassidy each on both Saturday and Sunday, getting answering machines both times. I didn't do much pleading on the phone, just asking them to call me back.

Neither of them did.

My parents left me alone. Brooke pitied me and gave me space. But Eden and Emma were just as attention hungry as ever. They pestered me while I played video games and snuggled against me while we watched movies. I sighed and patted the girls on the head or held them against my sides. If things played out the way I expected them to, the twins might be the closest female contact I'd have for a while.

By Monday, I was dreaming up every possible scenario for the way things would change at school. We had a large group of friends that we interacted with, some sub-groups closer than others. Previously, whenever a couple dated and then broke up, there were only two possible outcomes: One, the breakup was amicable and everyone stayed friends, the way things had been when Cassidy and then Megan had broken up with me back at the beginning of Sophomore year. Or two, the breakup was NOT amicable and mutual friends picked one side over the other. This inevitably shook up the social circles and altered nearly everyone's relationships.

Now this had happened several times already, social cliques breaking apart and reforming almost constantly as it would at any high school. I'd just never been in the middle of one before and I was silently wishing for outcome #1 or something at least appearing to be friendly.

I didn't get my wish.

Things were pretty quiet on Monday morning. If nothing else, it took a while for the rumor mill to get spinning. But by the break after second period, my secret was out.

Kenny Doyle and Daniel Chen were quick to find me after class. They cornered me and Kenny was amped as he started in, "Dude-dude-dude-dude-DUDE! Did you really fuck Adrienne Dennis?"

I winced in shame and Daniel looked at me reproachfully. But Kenny just held his hand up for a high-five. "Alright! My man!"

I rolled my eyes and refused to high-five him.

"Oh, yeah, right. Megan. Cassidy." Kenny looked chagrined.

"Why'd you do it?" Daniel frowned.

"Who WOULDN'T?" Kenny crowed. "Adrienne's a fucking BABE!"

Daniel slapped Kenny in the chest. "Man, cheating is NOT cool!" Then Daniel returned back to me. "What happened?"

I sighed and explained it the same way as I had to Megan and Cassidy once they'd stopped hitting me. I didn't go into details. I refused to involve Keira or expose her to anyone, including my girlfriends. So I didn't mention the blackmail part. Instead, I just admitted that Adrienne had drawn me into her house, stripped completely naked, and then ordered me to fuck her. I was horny and I caved.

Daniel stared at me. "You got seduced."

"By the dark siiide..." Kenny growled in a low voice.

Daniel slapped him in the chest again.

"Oww!" Kenny rubbed his chest.

Daniel sighed and shrugged his shoulders. His posture relaxed and one corner of his lips went up. "Coulda happened to anyone. Adrienne IS hot."

"Would YOU have?" I asked, looking for some sympathy.

"I would!" Kenny blurted. Daniel and I ignored him.

Daniel blinked twice and looked down. "I dunno. I'd like to think I could resist. I DO think I'm in love with Elaine. But I've never been in that kind of situation, so I really don't know."

I exhaled and looked down. "Doesn't matter. The girls'll never forgive me."

Daniel put his hand on my shoulder. "Relax. It's just high school. This isn't the end of the world."

By lunchtime, it sure felt like it.

Word spread. At my next class, people were whispering and sneaking peeks at me. By the next break, two guys I'd never met before came and asked me point blank if I'd bagged Adrienne Dennis.

I shrugged them away and uttered a low "no comment".

Meathead One then stopped me with a hand to the chest and said, "Hey, come on, dude. This is nothing to be ashamed about. If you nailed her, you're the MAN!" He held up his fist and sighing, I bumped it with my own. He patted me on the back as I kept walking over to my next class.

By the time the last class before lunch ended, I noticed that the whispering stares were no longer accusatory. In fact, most of the guys were staring at me in awe and some of the girls were giving me the once over, ogling me like a piece of meat. I had to admit, the attention boosted my ego and I found myself walking proudly down the hallways, my spine erect as I stood at my full 5'11" (and a quarter inch) height.

One guy chopped me back down to size. I should have known it would happen eventually.

I was heading for the lunch line when someone said, "Hey, Ben," and I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned around just in time to see a meaty fist flying right at my face.

I managed to dodge just enough so that he hit me in the cheek instead of the nose. I hit the ground like a sack of potatoes, already dazed. My vision was a little blurry and it looked like there were two guys hovering over me, although in a couple seconds everything focused and I realized that Jake Harbor, Varsity Quarterback and Adrienne's boyfriend, was shaking his fist at me. "You stay away from my girlfriend!"

For a second I contemplated getting up and fighting back, but then I saw that Jake was backed up by three of his football buddies and decided I was safer on the ground.

"Hey, you!" A baritone voice rang out and we all turned to see Mr. Kuznetsov pointing a thick finger at Jake. "Yes, YOU, young man. We're going to the Principal's office!"

"I didn't do nothing!" Jake protested, holding his arms up in a 'who me?' gesture. "He tripped and I was trying to help him up."

"You punched him, unprovoked," came back the firm response. I'd lucked out. While Coach K was in charge of basketball, he had no sympathy for football players.

Sensing that I would now be safe if I got to my feet, I gingerly stood up and cradled my cheek. A small crowd had circled around us.

"You," Coach K pointed at me. "Go to the nurse's office."

"I'm okay," I said while wiggling my jaw.

"Just go and get checked out. Don't make me escort you."

"No, sir. I'm going," I nodded my head, still holding my cheek.

Coach then dropped his meaty paw onto Jake's shoulder. "Let's go, Jake. If you were gonna pull a stunt like this, you shoulda tried it BEFORE football season ended."

The nurse put some topical ointment on my cheek and gave me some pain pills. She warned me that I'd have a bruise for a few days but there shouldn't be any lasting damage. Then she excused me to go to lunch.

The lunch line, usually a riot of sound, actually dropped ten decibels the instant I walked over. Dozens of eyes were suddenly on me as conversations stopped all throughout the area.

I ignored them and went to get my food.

Unfortunately, once I got to my usual table, I found that Megan and Cassidy were surrounded by friends who took up every available space remotely near them. Elaine Fukuhara wouldn't look at me, and Daniel beside her shrugged apologetically but stayed next to his girlfriend.

The Sanders twins giggled and stared at me, but someone next to them shushed them and as a group, my friends turned their backs on me. Even Kenny and Sung seemed cowed by the group decision. You remember what I said about mutual friends choosing sides? Well all of my friends seemed to have decided on choosing against me. Megan and Cassidy were popular in our crowd, and cheating was apparently not well-thought of.

At first I looked over to another area. Stephanie Vo and some of the others were casual friends and might be willing to accept me, but they looked nervous when I looked their way as well. Same for James Kaito and his buddies. All of my previous friend-groups had included the "good kids", and at least for right now, none of them wanted to go out on a limb and invite in the guy who'd cheated on his girlfriends.

And then a voice I never would have expected called to me. "Hey, Ben!"

I turned to see Adrienne Dennis waving to me while surrounded by a gaggle of Varsity cheerleaders and jocks. Her bright hazel eyes sparkled and her smile lit up the room. "Come sit with us!"

Nervously, I turned my gaze to Megan and Cassidy, pleading with them for some kind of acceptance. Megan glared at me with undisguised hate before glancing down at her plate and ignoring me. Cassidy wouldn't even look at me in the first place.

I sighed and then picked up my shoulders. If I was going to sit with the popular chicks, I had to at least appear confident.

Still carrying my lunch, I strode over while the girls made space for me next to Adrienne, several of them ogling me with obvious interest. "Uh, I'd love to Adrienne. But I don't think Jake would be very happy with me if I did that."

Adrienne waved her hand as if shooing away a fly. "I don't care what does or does not make Jake happy. I dumped him this morning. And ... oh! What happened to your face?"

I blushed and glanced down for a moment, certain the shiner on my cheek was getting even darker. "Yeah, well, like I said. Jake's not very happy with me."

"He punched you?" Adrienne smiled like it was funny that her boyfriend clocked me.

I shrugged. "Coach K dragged him off to the Principal's office."

Adrienne snorted. "Football season is over. He's got no more protection. Serves him right." Then the gorgeous blonde patted the seat beside her. "Come. Sit."

Having nowhere else to go, I took a seat and Adrienne began making introductions. "This is Candy, that's Summer, Mizuho, and-"

"I know who you all are," I grinned. EVERYONE knew who they were. Besides the Varsity athletes and cheerleaders, there were a couple of boyfriends and girlfriends who weren't in the organized sports. But all were still some of the most popular people on campus.

"Good!" Candy Carter, the beautiful, blue-eyed brunette on my left rubbed her hip against mine. "And we know who you are, Big Ben," she said saucily.

My life was SO WEIRD. I cheated on my girlfriends, and I end up sitting with the hottest girls in school? How the hell did this happen?

Adrienne walked me to my next class. She looked absolutely radiant, but I found myself staring straight ahead. I was still wracked with guilt over cheating on Megan and Cassidy. I still had lingering feelings for both of them, an attachment that went way beyond friendship, even if it wasn't true love.

And I also felt bad about my role in the rumor mill. "Look, Adrienne, I'm sorry about all the rumors going around. I'm not the kind of guy to brag about conquests."

Adrienne smiled sweetly at me. "Oh, I know you're not. If you were trying to brag, you'd be with your buddies right now continuing to brag about how you fucked Adrienne Dennis!" She waved her arms theatrically. "Instead, your friends won't talk to you right now."

"But I'm still the leak for why it all got out. I couldn't handle the guilt. I had to tell Megan and Cassidy. I'm sure they told their friends and it spiraled out of control from there. I KNOW girls don't like their sexual activity talked about and it's my fault the rumors are going around."

The beautiful blonde chuckled. "It's not all your fault. I leaked it too."

My eyes went up. "You did?"

She shrugged. "I was getting tired of Jake. I mean, he's cute and all. But he doesn't have any great football scholarships next year and since the football season ended, his popularity has been dropping. This whole thing made for a convenient reason to break up with him."

I frowned. "That doesn't explain why you'd want to tell people you slept with me. I'm certainly not the most popular guy in school."

Adrienne grinned. "You could be." She squealed and wrapped herself around my left arm. "Gawd, Ben, you were INCREDIBLE in bed. I had more orgasms in one afternoon than I had in the past month with Jake. And when we were done, I just HAD to tell all my girlfriends."

My eyebrows went up and I stopped walking. "You promised you wouldn't!"

She stopped as well, rolled her eyes, and waved me off. "I KNEW you'd tell your girlfriends. When we were done, you just had that guilty look on your face."

I sighed in defeat and glanced down at the ground before picking my head up to evaluate the gorgeous girl standing before me. "So what now? You sampled me and now you're done with me?"

Adrienne smirked and batted her eyelashes while subconsciously rotating her body into a seductive pose. And with a wry grin, she purred, "After one afternoon like that, you really think I'm done with you?"

There was such heat in her voice that I immediately felt my heart begin racing as lust crept into the corners of my mind. But at the same time, I was still in pain at the loss of Megan and Cassidy. Yeah, we'd gotten into a big fight and they'd snubbed me at lunch, but I felt like things weren't entirely resolved with them just yet. "Adrienne, I don't think I'd be very good boyfriend material for you. I don't run in your kind of crowd."

"Who said anything about boyfriend? You're just getting out of a relationship; I just dumped a guy. I don't think either of us wants anything serious right now." Then Adrienne reached out and grabbed the front of my shirt, tugging me towards her. "But ... the next time I've got an itch that needs to be scratched ... I know where you live."

My jaw quivered with panting lust. Adrienne just grinned and then released me. And before I could say another word, she spun around and strode off to her next class.

I let my jaw drop as I stared at her ass all the way down the hall.

Megan and Cassidy avoided me for the rest of the school day. Even when I raced after the final period to Megan's classroom, she pointedly ignored me when I tried to talk to her, putting up with my pleas for about fifty feet before just holding a hand up to my face and warding me away.

Brooke, for once, was quiet for the entire drive home. She seemed to sense I wasn't in the mood to put up with any of her usual antics. And when I pulled up in front of the house and kept the motor running, she didn't even question me before getting out of the car and closing the door behind her.

But just before I put the car in gear, my little sister turned around and asked, "Where are you going? You know, just in case I need to make a missing persons report because somebody murdered you and dumped your body in the ocean."

I glared at Brooke, who just had a little grin on her face. But I answered, "Megan's first. Then to Cassidy's house."

Brooke nodded. "Okay. Be home by 6:30." Then she bounced up the sidewalk and into the house.

My spine went rigidly still as I jerked back in surprise. "Uh, good afternoon, Mrs. Kwan." Apparently, Megan's mom DID come home early from time to time.

Megan's mother folded her arms over her chest and gave me a withering stare. "Benjamin..."

How did parents put so much gravity into something as simple as my full name? "Uh..." I fumbled for a second before spitting out, "Is Megan home?"

"She is, but I don't think she wants to see you."

"Please, Mrs. Kwan. I just want to talk to her."

"Look Ben. I don't know what happened between you two, but she's pretty upset right now. She's been a wreck all weekend. Megan said the two of you broke up and from what I gather, she's blaming it all on you."

I sighed with mild relief. At least Megan wasn't blabbing to the whole world that I'd cheated. And since Mrs. Kwan didn't even know I'd been dating Cassidy at the same time, I was hoping that little secret could stay a secret. "Please, Mrs. Kwan. It IS all my fault. I've been trying to apologize but she won't return my calls and she's completely shutting me out at school."

I supposed there was one significant thing about having a "nice boy" reputation with the parents. Mrs. Kwan looked at me and the earnest expression on my face, and she seemed to soften. "Hold on. Lemme see if she'll talk to you. Wait here."

I obediently remained on the porch and fidgeted for what felt like an hour as Mrs. Kwan went in to fetch Megan. Every now and again I could hear raised voices, but I couldn't make out any of the words. I desperately hoped Megan wasn't spelling out in greater detail exactly what my transgressions had been.

At long last, I heard heavy thumping as Megan rapidly tromped down the stairs. She showed up at the door a moment later. "Go away, Ben."

"Megan, please. Let me explain."

"What's there to explain? Did you do it or didn't you?"

I hung my head. "I did, I did. I'm sorry."

"Sorry doesn't cut it," she barked and then tilted her head back. "I can't believe I let myself think you were different. But you're just like every other boy out there, thinking with your dick."

"Megan, please. Gimme a chance to make it up to you. I love being with you," I pleaded.

She shook her head. "If you really loved me, you wouldn't have done it."

"Megan..."

She pursed her lips together. And when spoke again her voice was icy cold. "You know what? I don't think I ever loved you either, Ben. I really loved the idea of being in love. Of having a boyfriend. But you?" Megan rolled her eyes away and backed up a step. "You were just a waste of my time."

And then she slammed the door in my face.

I was still reeling from the hatred in Megan's voice when I pulled up outside Cassidy's house. A part of me wondered if I had the energy to deal with another rejection should an encounter with Cassidy turn nasty, but the only alternative was to not try talking to her and that just wasn't an option.

After ringing the doorbell, I caught motion from the window to my left and I saw a copper-haired head peeking out with a cordless phone pressed to the person's ear. The glare on the window prevented me from seeing exactly who it was, but a moment later, Cassidy opened the door while cradling the phone to the side of her face.

"Uh-huh ... Uh-huh ... Look Meg, if you never really cared about him, it wouldn't hurt this much then, would it?" She was nodding into the phone. She rolled her eyes and then sighed. "Of course I'm just as upset as you. I just handle it a bit differently, that's all."

I stared at Cassidy rather oddly as she waved me into the house and then silently closed the door behind her. In stark contrast to Megan, she looked pleased to see me.

"Uh-huh ... Uh-huh ... Yeah, I'm sure he's coming over here soon as well. Yeah ... yeah ... oh, he's pulling up outside. I'll talk to you later. Bye, Meg." Cassidy hit END on the phone with an audible beep and then smirked at me, tossing the cordless phone onto the couch. Then before I could react, Cassidy stepped forward, wrapped her arms around my head, and pressed her lips to mine in a firm kiss.

I'd been so unbelievably tense after the hateful showdown with Megan. And I felt all of that being washed away in a single kiss as Cassidy devoured me. I sighed and moaned in relief that someone seemed to still love me.

When she pulled back, Cassidy sighed happily and groaned, "Oh, Bennn..."

"Uh, Cass? What's going on?" I stammered while holding the cute redhead in my arms. "Aren't you supposed to be pissed at me?"

"Oh, I was. I was REALLY mad. But I got over it." Cassidy waved while pulling me back towards the living room. She sighed and sat down on the couch, taking care to pick up the cordless phone and set it on the coffee table. Then she patted the seat next to her.

"Over it? Cassidy, I cheated on you." I used her full name deliberately while taking the seat. I felt like I didn't have the right to call her 'Freckles' anymore.

"Don't remind me," she screwed her face up. "But I can sort of understand. Daniel told us the story. Adrienne stripped completely naked and ordered you to fuck her. And she IS gorgeous."

"That doesn't excuse it."

"No, it doesn't. I'm not saying what you did is right, but I can understand it. Hell, if I had a dick I might want a go at her. You're still just a guy, Ben. I think you told me that a dozen times whenever you tried to cop a feel of my boobs when we were first dating."

She paused and then lowered her voice, trying to mimic me. "Sorry. I'm just a guy."

I pinched my eyebrows together, not daring to hope just yet. "You're being very generous."

She exhaled. "I ... I'm not happy with you, Ben. I'd much rather you hadn't done it. But I don't hate you like Megan does. The thing is, this isn't the first time I've been cheated on. Drew hooked up with Donna Kincaid more than once, and I'm sure she wasn't the only slut he banged while we were together. Compared to Drew Walker, Ben, you're a saint."

Now I started to hope. I leaned forward and a pleading expression came over my face. "Does that mean you can forgive me?"

A wan smile crossed Cassidy's face. "Yes, Ben. I do." She held my cheek and then kissed me again.

But then Cassidy pulled away, looked off into the distance, and sighed heavily. "But ... there's a problem."

I was still floating on the idea that Cassidy could forgive me. "What?"

"Megan," Cassidy exhaled. "There's no way I can keep dating you unless I can get her to come around, too. It would destroy our relationship if I stayed with you, Ben, don't you see? She'd kill me for dating you without her, and without her approval. And as much as I love being with you, having a boyfriend, and getting all that wonderful sex, I ... well ... I love her more than I love you. If I have to choose, I'll choose my best friend."