Chapter 2: Friends

SEPTEMBER 2001, SUMMER BREAK

"Good afternoon, Mrs. Kwan," I said politely and lightly bowed my head.

"Hello, Ben. How have you been?" Megan's mother said warmly.

"Good, good. I've got no complaints."

"That's nice." She leaned forward and patted my arm. "By the way, I wanted to thank you for introducing James to my daughter. He's a very nice boy."

My eyebrows furrowed. "Introducing?"

"Yes. Megan said you were the one that brought her and James together."

"Oh ... well," I blushed. "Uh, James," I began, feeling quite awkward saying his first name instead of 'Kaito'. "He and Megan knew each other from school already. I just gave him some advice on asking Megan out."

"So modest," Mrs. Kwan chuckled. "Both of them told me you were the primary reason they started dating. I'll admit that given your history with Megan, I was a little worried about the kind of boy you might recommend. But James has been a perfect gentleman and he's so devoted to Megan."

I smiled and nodded. "Yeah, he is."

"Anyways, you didn't come here to talk to an old windbag," Mrs. Kwan stepped aside and waved me through the doorway. "Everyone's in the living room."

Clutching my poorly-wrapped present, I smiled and walked into the house. Several friends saw me and greeted me as I stepped into the living room. And then fifteen minutes later, I was singing "Happy Birthday to you!" along with everyone else. Everyone cheered and clapped as Mrs. Kwan set down the cake.

Cassidy called, "Make a wish!"

Megan grinned while looking right at Kaito, "No need. He's already here."

The Sanders twins giggled. Elaine Fukuhara squeezed Daniel Chen's hand and grinned. And Kenny Doyle elbowed Kaito in the ribs.

I mused on how much can change in a year, smiled, and sipped my Sprite. This time, Megan's parents were planning to stick around and watch over the party. There would be no scurrying up to bedrooms to have sex. And I didn't even have a girlfriend present at the party. And yet, even without the sexual excitement or romantic love, I felt happier with my friends than I had in a long time.

We'd all been together for years. Some of us had been friends since elementary school, some since Junior High, and others had only joined us this close in the past few months. And after that time together, we were a circle of friends with bonds of friendship that felt like they would last forever.

But this time next year, who knew how far apart we would be flung? Colleges and jobs might take us away from home. Relationships would break-up. Every one of us would grow up and change into a slightly different person than the one we were today.

Lost in my philosophical musings, I was drawn back to the conversation when Sung held aloft the present I'd brought, handing it over to Megan with a deadpan, "This one looks like it was wrapped by a dude."

Megan laughed and flipped open the card, gleefully announcing, "It's from Ben!"

Everyone but me laughed at the shoddy wrapping job, but I shrugged off the ridicule in good humor. Hey, I'm a lover, not a present-wrapper. I decided to kick back and enjoy the day for what it was. There was just a week of summer break left, and I planned to enjoy it as much as possible.

Sinking deeper into my beach chair, I crossed my legs and stretched them out in the sand. My hand reached out to the side, I snagged the cold IBC root beer bottle, and I took a healthy swig. And I ogled all the female flesh before me. Cassidy was trying to dunk Rachel Tyler into the waves. Megan and Stephanie Vo were splashing the two of them from behind. And everywhere were nice pairs of tits and asses jiggling around to the musical accompaniment of girlish laughter. Now THIS was what a summer break was all about.

"I am the luckiest man on Earth," Kenny Doyle drawled beside me. Even through his sunglasses, I could tell his gaze was locked onto Rachel. I couldn't blame him; his girlfriend was pretty stacked.

"She's just so ... ooh, check out three o'clock," Kenny's voice abruptly changed and I saw the microscopic tilt in his head as he tried to keep his face forward but crane his eyeballs to the right.

I smiled. Just when I figured he was zoning out to the beauty of his girlfriend, leave it to Kenny to continue scoping the beach for other chicks. And so maintaining my own blank sunglass-stare forwards, I clicked my eyeballs to the right to see what Kenny was looking at.

He was right, there were two knockout babes coming down the beach wearing skimpy bikinis over the fittest, tannest hardbodies you could dream of. The girl on the right was of medium height, with a stacked rack highlighted by a green and white bikini. Her black hair was pulled back in a functional ponytail and her oversized Chanel sunglasses obscured half her face while highlighting her strong cheekbones and jawline. She seemed quite familiar, but I didn't place her at first glance.

The girl on the left, however, was recognizable almost immediately. I'd memorized those slender legs absent of any trace of cellulite. I took in the flat tummy with just a hint of musculature. And there was no doubting the proud and round E-cups that attracted male attention like bees to honey. It was Adrienne.

I jerked in my seat at the realization and at almost the exact same instant, Adrienne saw me as well. She nudged her companion, who I now recognized as Heather Wilkinson. She was another cheerleader in our class and while not part of Adrienne's inner clique last year, was still a known friend. And the two beautiful soon-to-be-Seniors walked over toward us.

"Helloooo ladies," Kenny said theatrically as the girls got within a few feet. Already prepared, he raised two more IBC bottles. "Care for a drink?"

Heather giggled and reached for one while Adrienne waved him off.

"Careful dude," I warned. "Your girlfriend IS right over there." And as I forced myself to not stare at Adrienne's hot body, I reminded myself that MY girlfriend was just a phone call away.

"There's no harm in showing hospitality to a lady," Kenny took on the air of a snooty aristocrat, as if offering Heather a glass of wine at a ball instead of a root beer on the beach.

"Hey, just looking out," I shrugged. "How are you girls doing?" I asked between their two heads, avoiding staring at either one of them and struggling to keep my gaze above their necklines. I was trying to be Good Ben and bikinis were just so unfair.

"Good, good," Adrienne answered while Heather took a drink of the ice cold refreshment. And then as she pushed her sunglasses up onto her head, my gorgeous ex-girlfriend pointedly looked right at me with her hazel eyes boring into the back of my skull. "And how are you, Ben? Haven't seen much of you since that whole Tyson thing."

"Er, um, yeah," I fumbled, still not looking at her, hiding behind my shades and feeling awkward. "I've been around."

"I was kinda hoping we'd run into each other more often." The stunning blonde smiled at me, her eyes twinkling. "You'd think that being neighbors we'd somehow cross paths a few times every week."

"Never did for six years," I frowned and then mentally kicked myself for such a dumb response. "But I'm sure we'll be running into each other a lot when school starts next week."

"Sure thing, see you then," Adrienne grinned, showing off her pearly white teeth. Her eyes evaluated me intensely and with more than a little interest. My own eyes gave up trying NOT to stare at her luscious curves and I felt my knees go weak at her familiar beauty.

"Thanks for the root beer," Heather smiled at Kenny.

"Sure, sure," Kenny grinned. "Feel free to come see me anytime for your hydration needs," he cheered, raising his bottle.

Heather's eyebrows popped above her sunglasses as she smiled. Adrienne shot me one last look, an unreadable expression on her face. And then they walked away.

Kenny's eyes tracked them for thirty yards, staring at exquisitely tight asses that belonged on Olympic gymnasts. "Dude, Adrienne is NOT looking at you like an ex-boyfriend."

"Don't remind me," I groaned, staring straight into my drink.

"Still on taxi duty?" Brandi, my older sister, grinned at me. She was standing outside baggage claim at John Wayne Airport when I pulled up and then ran around to greet her with a friendly hug.

At first, she just gave me the usual two-second sisterly clinch, releasing me well before I got to start enjoying the feel of her body in my arms. I stepped back, feeling some of the joy inside me melting away. Like every other past lover in my life, it seemed that she'd moved on.

I couldn't blame her. After all, we'd had our incestuous fling and enjoyed the naughty thrill; but she was still my sister and ours couldn't be a permanent relationship. She'd flown away to college and to Brian and never looked back. When it came time for our usual family trip to camp, Brandi had even shown she was grown up and no longer another "kid" in the family by staying at school for her internship. Perhaps she'd outgrown me as well.

But then a little smile tugged at the corners of Brandi's lips. Her eyes fixed on me and she pulled me to her for a second hug. And this time, Brandi clutched me a little tighter and sighed with a hint of a moan while pressing her crotch a little deeper into my pelvis. "Ohhh, I missed you, Ben," Brandi sighed.

When I pulled back, I arched an eyebrow at the pretty 19-year-old. She blushed and reached a hand to my cheek. "Hope you've stocked up on Gatorade, little brother. I talked to Dawn and she gave me the green light to drain you of all bodily fluids."

"Seriously?" I asked with wide-open eyes. Did she just say what I thought she said?

"Dead serious," Brandi answered in a husky, sensual tone. "I need to get laid, Ben. And I've been thinking of your dick all day."

For some reason, I couldn't WAIT to get back home. And before I knew it, I'd raced back to the driver's door with keys in hand.

"Uh, Ben?" Brandi called from the sidewalk as I slid into the driver's seat.

"Yeah?" I quickly answered and popped my head up above the roofline.

Brandi grinned and pointed to her bag. "We still have to load me and my luggage into the car."

"Oops."

Our parents were suitably happy to see Brandi when we arrived. They asked about her internship and she expressed her disappointment that she had to miss summer camp. "Things got quite interesting from what I'm told," Brandi grinned while darting her eyes past Dad's head to where I was leaning against the hallway wall. There was a twinkle in her eye as she saw me chugging a 64-ounce Gatorade bottle.

Sometime around the 30-minute mark, I wandered back in and Brandi looked at me pleadingly to rescue her from our parents. This time, my brain processed that the sooner my sister was done chatting with the parental units, the sooner I could bury my cock inside her. So I meandered into the living room and casually remarked, "Come on, Mom. Stop talking her ear off. She's here for a week and you'll have plenty of time to get all your little details about college life. C'mon, Brandi, I got something to show you."

My sister was already rising to her knees. "I've gotta unpack anyways. I'll finish telling you about the new apartment at dinner, okay?"

My parents reluctantly murmured their acquiescence as Brandi and I left the room and headed for the stairs. I let Brandi go up first and then paused to admire the view as she hopped up each step in those tight shorts. Seriously, my sisters had fiiine asses.

We got up into the hallway and at my head nod, Brandi followed me into my bedroom. "You said you've got something to show me?" she asked with a mask of innocence on her face.

I grinned and shrugged. "I just made something up to get you out of there. On the other hand, if you see something you like..." I drawled while spreading my arms to the sides.

Brandi was already on her knees and unbuttoning my shorts. "We don't have much time, so just gimme your cum quickly, okay?"

I grunted, "Umm, okay," already short of breath. My erect cock, which had started growing as I watched Brandi hopping up the stairs, sprung out right into my sister's face and she quickly enveloped the head in her hot mouth.

"Oh, shit," I groaned and stumbled, my knees turning to jello as Brandi sent shockwaves of pleasure up my body. I looked down, reveling in the old familiar sight. Her dark hair with blonde streaks was pulled back tightly and held with clips. Her brown eyes were focused on my shaft as I entered and exited her mouth. And her pretty face was simultaneously beautiful and naughty, the image of my older sister with my dick stretching her lips a powerful turn-on.

She tried to deep-throat me once, not quite reaching the base before gagging and pulling off. "You're bigger than you were last winter," she panted.

"Shit happens," I groaned and put my hand back on her head, guiding her down onto my cock once again. This time, Brandi was better prepared as she took me into her throat, this time accomplishing the deep-throat and massaging my shaft with her neck muscles.

I didn't last much longer than that. With both my hands behind Brandi's ears, holding her at full depth, I heard her sharply inhaling all the oxygen she could find through her flared nostrils. And when my hips spasmodically jerked, thrusting myself that extra eighth of an inch deeper down the pretty brunette's throat, her eyes popped open and then she backed her head away in anticipation of my creamy spunk.

I didn't disappoint. Growling at the sensations pounding into my brain, I bit down on the urge to yell as my balls unloaded, nutting a gallon of cum into my sister's mouth. Brandi's timing to fly down was perfect. Brooke had been on her period since Wednesday and her heavy flow and crankiness had meant I hadn't gotten my rocks off for two days. And that meant my older sister got WAY more cum than she was expecting.

Gamely, she swallowed down as much as she could before the urge to breathe outweighed the urge to get every drop. And when she pulled off I kept firing away, spraying Brandi's eyelids shut, coating her cheeks, and splattering her nose with my pearly jizz.

"Fuck!" Brandi croaked when I was done, delicately attempting to open an eye without letting the burning semen seep into there. I quickly fetched her some tissues and watched, grinning, as my sister both licked up and mopped up all my spilled jism. "Brooke not taking care of you enough?" she asked with amazement in her voice.

"Just for a couple of days. She's on her period," I sighed. I wanted to apologize for hosing down Brandi's face, but the orgasm felt too good and I was floating on too great of a buzz to feel any remorse.

Brandi smiled and sat back on her heels, mopping up the rest. I remembered that my sister didn't actually like the taste of cum. But the knowledge that it was her little brother's jizz was a naughty thrill she just couldn't resist.

When she was done, she grinned at me. "That was so nasty, Ben. I loved it." And then she sighed and looked down at her shirt, where several globs had dripped off her chin and hit the fabric. "I'd better sneak out of here and change my shirt. There'd be hell to pay if Mom or Dad caught us."

I nodded and picked up my shorts, buttoning them and checking to make sure there was no evidence on me. "I'll go lookout and give you the all clear."

"Okay," Brandi nodded as I headed for the door. "And Ben?"

"Yeah?" I turned around.

My sister smiled brilliantly at me. "Save your strength. I'll want payback tonight."

"Oooh, Ben ... Oooh, like that ... like that," Brandi moaned and spread her legs a little wider. "Fuuuck! You're getting better at that! You're almost as good as Dayna!"

I smiled and went back to my task. I prided myself on my cunnilingus skills, which were the most effective route to making a girl happy. And it was no shame to be a close second to Dayna Evans in that category.

My 19-year-old sister giggled as she pushed my head deeper into her crotch and drummed her heels against my back. "I've been fantasizing about this for a month!"

Brandi laughed and then took a sip of her coffee. I looked up to see her fighting to keep her upper body still while she drank, the little pleasure spasms I was causing in her threatening to make her spill. And when she set the mug back down onto the counter, I took that as my cue to take her over the top.

With two plunging fingers in her snatch and my tongue wrapped around her clit, I soon sent Brandi into a shuddering climax. One hand was rubbing her own breast while she had the other clapped over her mouth to stifle her ecstatic moaning. And I soon felt the flow of honey trickling onto my face as she released her orgasmic nectar.

Even when she was done cumming, my horny sister wasn't done with me yet. Her hands rather painfully tugged on my hair to pull me up and then gripping my cheeks, she pulled my faces to hers so that she could plant a fierce kiss on my lips and also taste her own fluids. And only after she ran out of breath did she tilt her head back and sigh in utter rapture. "Mmm, Ben. It's good to be home."

I wasn't done with her yet, either. I dropped my shorts to my ankles, which left me completely naked while Brandi was just clad in a baggy T-shirt and nothing else. My hard cock sprung upwards, waving toward my sister's pussy like a flower reaching for the sun. And scooping Brandi's asscheeks into my hands, I tugged her to the edge of the kitchen counter and then gently lowered her onto my shaft.

"Oh gawd," Brandi grunted as gravity pulled her all the way down to the base. She wrapped her legs around my waist for leverage and planted her hands on the countertop to hold herself upright. Suspended in mid-air as she was, it took almost all her strength just to hold that position while I drew my legs back and thrust myself deep into her pussy once again.

"Fuck me, Ben! I missed your cock! Fuck me!" my 19-year-old sister gasped.

I intended to do as she asked. But as erotic as our position was in my head, it was murder on our muscles. Brandi was athletic but she wouldn't last long from the strain of holding herself on the counter's edge. And I couldn't get the leverage I wanted to really pound her pussy.

So lifting up on her buttcheeks, I elevated Brandi back up onto the counter where her naked ass was once again chilled against the cold granite surface. And with my cock still embedded inside her, I snaked my foot out to catch the short 10-inch stepping stool my mom used to reach up to the top cabinet shelves, hooking my toes around a leg to drag it over in front of me. And then planting one foot on the stool, I was able to elevate just enough to get a good fucking angle as I gripped my sister's hips and really began to drive myself into her body.

Desperate for a handhold, Brandi reached out with her left hand and gripped the bottom rail of a nearby overhanging cabinet. Her right hand grabbed onto the sink faucet, and she had to bite down to stifle her moaning as I sawed in and out of her tightly clenched pussy.

"Oh, gawd ... oh, gawd ... fuck me, Ben! Fuck me!" she whimpered.

The cold granite had to be hard and uncomfortable. Brandi's position was extremely awkward, holding onto the faucet and cabinet with her legs dangling in uncomfortable directions. Her whole body kept slipping and sliding, making my job of thrusting much more difficult. And my leg was starting to burn from trying to hold myself at this weird angle with only one foot on the step-stool.

But it was all worth it. My sister and I were practically fucking in the kitchen sink, of all places, while the rest of our family slumbered above us. It was so naughty and we both loved it.

Despite the awkward position, Brandi found enough pleasure and stimulation to start jerking spasmodically as an orgasm overtook her. She gritted her teeth to not scream, unable to clamp a hand over her mouth for fear of losing her position on the counter. And all that came out was a hissing groan of pleasure.

I came soon after, seizing Brandi's hips in both of my hands as I jackhammered into her pussy while filling up my sister with my heavy cream. "Oh, Brandi," I groaned in delight, even while my dick was still spitting cum. "You're so hot!"

"Nngh," she moaned and let her head fall back awkwardly against the wall behind her. She lay there panting for a minute as I stepped back onto the floor, pulling my cock out of her as I slid the step-stool back where it belonged.

A light suddenly came into my sister's eyes, stirring her from her post-coital mellowness. And with an energy I didn't think she had left, Brandi pivoted her hips around until her crotch was hanging over the sink. I looked on in confusion until she spread her legs and hunched with her abs, and the first trickle of my cum started running out of her reddened vaginal opening to drizzle down towards her anus and eventually start dropping off into the sink itself.

"So fucking naughty," Brandi giggled happily. "By the way, it's your turn to do the dishes."

I chuckled at my sister's antics. After dropping off a few ounces of sperm into the sink, she grabbed a paper towel to clean herself up. And then she sighed and leaned back against the wall. "Yeah, it's good to be home."

I washed my hands and face off in the sink (and rinsed away the incriminating seminal evidence) while Brandi pulled her panties back on. I would have preferred she stay half-naked, but there was no sense in taking chances any more than we already had. And then with the fresh glow of a happily satisfied young woman, Brandi sank down into the living room couch while I took the seat beside her.

I sipped my own coffee mug and fixed my sister with a smile. "So I know you gave the 'rents your little speech about how school's gone the past semester. Now tell me the good stuff."

"Good stuff?" Brandi laughed. "I thought I just gave you the 'good stuff'."

"Not that. The stuff you can't tell Mom and Dad. Are you still with Brian?"

Brandi's face fell and I immediately wished I could take back the question. She sighed and explained, "We broke up in June. Brian's smooth and quite the charmer. I caught him cheating with one of my best friends."

I winced in sympathy. "I'm sorry."

She tried to make a joke of it. "Yeah well it worked out for you. You got a red-hot horny sister who hadn't had dick in almost three months."

Her tone was light but she couldn't quite manage to smile, no matter how hard she tried. My eyebrows canted and I leaned forward, squeezing her leg as I repeated, "I'm sorry. I know how painful that is when you find out your trust has been betrayed."

Brandi snorted and rolled her eyes. "Yeah, you would, wouldn't you, Ben," she said a little harshly. Then catching herself, she took a deep breath and mused, "Guess it's a good thing I'll never be dating you, Mr. Player."

"Hey, I'm not a player," I pouted defensively.

"Well, you've certainly gotten around from what I've heard."

I frowned and furrowed my eyebrows. "Did Dawn tell you EVERYTHING?"

Brandi shook her head. "No, not everything. But I can read between the lines. I got the impression you cut quite a swath through the girls at school since I left."

I grimaced. "I'm not as proud of that as you might think."

My sister held up her hand. "Hey, I'm not here to judge." Brandi went quiet and looked away for a moment, biting her lip nervously as her eyebrows furrowed.

I watched my sister's expression for a second, curious and concerned. She looked like she had something she didn't want to say to me. "What is it?" I asked.

Brandi exhaled and glanced at me before looking away again. "Dawn's almost positive you're going to cheat on her. She thinks there's no way you can last eleven months."

"What? I said I could and I will!" I insisted, trying to convince my sister who looked pretty doubtful herself. "I mean, at least with Brooke around to take the edge off..."

"Brooke's a sophomore, Ben." Brandi shook her head. "She's very pretty and outgoing and once school starts she's going to be attracting boys like flies. You can't lock her down."

"I know," I said in a wishy-washy voice.

"And I don't know if I'm coming home for Winter Break this year," Brandi continued, shrugging apologetically. "What are you going to do when you haven't had sex in a few weeks and some babe with big tits throws herself at you?"

I fixed Brandi with an intense gaze. "So what do you want me to do? Just give up? Break up with Dawn before I hurt her by cheating or something?"

"No, no," Brandi shook her head. "But I do think you need to talk to Dawn about what this separation is doing to both of you. Dawn is gorgeous and she's getting a lot of male attention, too. You're both young. You're both horny. And you'll only end up disappointing each other if you set the expectations too high. Don't make promises you can't keep, Ben."

"But isn't this a promise I NEED to keep?"

"For who? For her? Or for you?" Brandi looked at me sternly. "Look, I don't know all the details, but I gather that you're trying to prove something to yourself that you can be monogamous to Dawn. But even right now, you need to screw Brooke – and me – just to keep your libido in check. Fact is, you've never been monogamous to anyone, not even Dawn."

I scowled and folded my arms over my chest.

"And besides, what makes you think Dawn really wants monogamy out of you anyways?"

"Huh?" My eyebrows furrowed. "She's a girl; of course she does!"

Brandi gave me a wide-eyed look. "And what if Dawn's not like other girls?"

I was confused. "Why wouldn't she?"

"Because she loves you Ben, for who you are. She knew your history and loved you anyways. She may be ultra-possessive of your heart, but not so much for your body. Why do you think she so easily brought Dayna and DJ into your sex lives?"

"So what are you saying? That Dawn would be okay if I slept with other girls?"

Brandi shrugged helplessly. "I don't know for sure. I mean, I know she'd rather you didn't; but when push comes to shove, I think it's just sex to her, Ben. As long as you're honest about it."

I frowned. If Brandi was right, it would be an ideal situation for me. I could have my cake and eat it too. But it also flew in the face of all the progress I thought I was making in maturing and understanding love, the way Keira and Megan had been hoping for me. I shook my head, "It just seems to good to be true."

"Hey, like I said, you need to talk it out with Dawn before you do anything stupid," Brandi cautioned before sipping her coffee again. "But it sort of makes sense for the two of you to have an open relationship until you can get back together. I mean, if I were in her shoes, I'd be happier knowing you got it all out of your system while you're five hundred miles apart, so that you could come to me free and completely devoted in a year. From the way she talks, once you're in college together she plans to never leave your side. But until then ... well ... you're just kids."

It made a sort of logical sense to me as well. And as I nodded slowly, I started to feel the first hints of my old horndog Ben instincts breaking free of the repression I'd been feeling for the past month or so. A little grin started coming to my face as I thought of all the hot chicks I might be able to bang.

"Just remember, Ben," Brandi warned. "This is just my feeling based on what I know of Dawn. You still need to actually TALK to her. And even if she okays an open relationship, it's still not a free pass to fuck any girl you please."

"Right, right," I nodded, my mind racing.

"And before you get all excited, remember that an open relationship goes both ways." Brandi's eyebrows raised in warning. "Can you handle that?"

I scowled immediately. The idea of some other guy putting his paws on my Dawn was not a happy thought. Still, Brandi had given me some food for thought.

With that, my sister set down her empty coffee mug. "Okay, time to clean up and get to bed."

I nodded seriously and reached out to grab her mug in addition to mine, standing up and carrying them both to the kitchen sink. I felt a weight pressing down on me as I thought about all the complications and lustful urgings involved in a long-distance relationship. Not even the memory of Brandi squirting my cum out of her pussy into the sink could quite rescue me from my intense introspection.

But when I got back, Brandi was standing next to the stairs, her T-shirt flung over her bare shoulder and held up only by a finger. She smiled brilliantly and my eyes immediately went down to her naked breasts.

"Feel like sneaking a shower with me, little brother?"

I smiled at her tits, feeling my mood lighten immediately. Hey, the entire house was asleep. "I'm willing to risk it if you are."

Sunday we hung out as a family. Mom and Dad decided to take us all to the Aquarium of the Pacific. We'd actually been there three years prior, when it opened, but the twins eagerly raced around checking out all the exhibits as if they were brand new. Seriously, those two could spend hours just petting the rays and feeling their slimy suede-ish bodies. Brooke had some thoughts of being a marine biologist and eagerly delved into all the scientific descriptions of the various sea creatures and plant life, even the boring ones. And I let out my own inner geek and enjoyed the place quite a bit myself. Those spider-looking crabs are just cool.