Chapter 13: Expectations

OCTOBER 2003, SOPHOMORE YEAR

I thrust forward a final time, grunting my orgasm into Adrienne's ear as a quart of spunk flowed out of me and into my adoptive sister's sucking pussy. The stunningly gorgeous blonde, fully naked with a fine sheen of sweat coating her skin, stayed on all fours in front of me until I'd finished busting my nut inside her, and then both her arms and legs collapsed as she fell face-down on my bed.

Even though I was standing on my own two feet next to the bed, my hands had been on Adrienne's hips and I went down with her, my sweaty chest dropping onto her equally sweaty back, both of us panting after the exertion.

We lay like that for a few minutes, groaning in mild pain as our muscles woke up and realized the exertions we'd just put them through. And eventually, I rolled off and flopped onto my back while Adrienne folded her arms beneath her head and turned to lay one cheek against them.

I glanced over with a goofy grin to see the matching smile on her face. And I chuckled. "Twice in one week. You having problems with Grace?" I joked.

Her eyelids immediately drooped and her irises darted away. I realized that I'd struck close to home and quickly turned onto my side, an apology on my lips.

Adrienne beat me to it, "Funny you mention that..."

My face fell and I took on an expression of concern. But Adrienne shook her head. "It's nothing serious. At least, I hope it isn't."

'What's going on?"

Adrienne sighed. "It's this Tri-Delt thing. We're still pledges and while the sisters are pretty cool with sexual relationships between members, they don't really want anyone who's strictly lesbian. Socializing with guys is part of the ideal Tri-Delt personality, even in a place as liberal as Berkeley. Grace and I aren't butch and they know we're not, but Grace is getting worried that our relationship might keep us from becoming full members."

"You serious?" I arched an eyebrow.

Adrienne nodded. "We didn't break up or anything. But..." Her voice trailed off and I saw the moisture forming in her hazel eyes. "I don't know ... Grace wants to spend more time planning social events with the sisters and with our brother fraternity. This whole sorority thing is really important to her. So we talked today about just letting things cool off for a bit."

"Cool off?" I queried, with a warning in my voice.

Adrienne read my tone. "I know." She took a deep breath. "Once we cool off, I don't know if we'll ever get back to the way we were. And when I asked her about the future, do you know what she said?"

I shook my head. "No. What?"

Now Adrienne did break into tears. "She said, 'What did you expect? Did you think we were going to be together forever?'"

I winced and stroked her golden hair while Adrienne whimpered. Her lips were quivering and she stared right back into my eyes, and as easily as if she'd verbalized the words out loud, I understood that yes, Adrienne had let herself believe that she and Grace might be together forever.

Maybe I should have been upset that despite our love, Adrienne had never felt that permanent about our relationship; but I'd already figured out that she had a different kind of permanent in mind for the two of us. And as if to symbolize that, I pulled her head to me and tenderly kissed her forehead. "I'm sorry, Adrienne," I said softly.

She just whimpered and squeezed her eyes. Then shaking her head, she continued. "Grace said, 'We've had a lot of fun together, A.D. And I don't want to lose you. But I'm not really a lesbian.'"

I pinched my lips together and grimaced in sympathy to the anguish in Adrienne's voice. And as the tears rolled down her eyes, Adrienne looked up at me pathetically and asked, "She's going to break up with me soon, isn't she?"

Based on what little I'd heard, I thought so. I answered out loud, "I don't know." But Adrienne looked into my eyes and sensed how I really felt about it. She started bawling and feeling bad, I immediately rolled over to hug her. Adrienne was still on her belly, burying her face in her folded arms while I more or less draped myself half on top of her, squeezing her shoulders tightly.

"I'm sorry, Adrienne..." I soothed, stroking her arm. "I'm sorry..." Despite her nudity, I didn't feel any fresh arousal. She was a sister who was hurting. And I'd learned to support her without sex.

"It's my own fault," she wailed. "I'm the one who told you that every relationship hinges on its expectations. I expected more from Grace, and I'm disappointed because of it."

"You're allowed to expect, Adrienne," I said softly while rubbing her back. "Why be in a relationship if you can't expect the best?"

Adrienne didn't answer, simply turning her face to my chest and hugging herself against me. And I spent the next half-hour just holding her in my arms.

"So I don't know. They aren't broken up ... yet ... but even if they stay together, I don't think their relationship will ever be the same," I sighed.

"That's too bad," DJ replied over the phone line. "Adrienne really seemed to love her. Remember all the drama at camp we went through, just to get her to sleep with us? And after saving herself and being so resolute, she's still going to lose her girlfriend."

I nodded, even though DJ couldn't see me. "Yeah. I wish there was something more I could do for her."

"You're doing everything you can," DJ said encouragingly. "And like you said, they aren't even broken up yet. Maybe they can still work it out."

"I hope so."

"Do you really?"

I wasn't expecting that response, and I frowned as paused to assess DJ's last question. Feeling confused, I sputtered, "Wait, what?"

DJ exhaled, sounding nervous. "I'm sorry. But I have to ask: Do you really hope Adrienne and Grace work out?"

"Sure I do," I said clearly, although I felt a bit confused. Why was DJ asking this? "Well, for Adrienne's sake I do. But if Grace isn't right for her, then I suppose it's better Adrienne find out sooner than later ... Why?"

DJ was quiet for a few seconds before answering, "I dunno. I'm sorry. I'm just being paranoid. But there's a part of me that thinks you're still in love with her. And if her relationship falls apart, and you're there to catch her when she falls, then one thing might lead to another and then poof, I'm out one boyfriend."

"DJ, no," I insisted. "I love you. I really do. And Adrienne and I have figured out we're better as brother and sister."

"You sure about that? You sure you wouldn't welcome another chance to be closer to her?"

"We're already as close as we want to be," I explained. "Or is that the problem? Do you want me to stop sleeping with her?" I bit on the end of that question, desperately hoping DJ answered 'no'. Even if Adrienne and I were no longer romantically involved, she was still a dynamite lover.

Thankfully, DJ drawled, "No ... It's okay, it's okay. I already told you that you had permission to sleep with anyone you want. As long as it's just sex. I guess I needed to know that you weren't gonna break up with me for her. I just had to hear you say it."

"I have no intention of breakup up with you, kiddo," I said sincerely. "I love you, and I can't wait for you to graduate and get up here so we can spend every day together as a happy couple."

She giggled and then immediately groaned. "First, I have to get accepted. Gawd, this is SO much work and I'm under SO much pressure."

"I know, Deej. I can't wait to see you this weekend and help relieve you of that pressure, too," I chuckled with more than a little innuendo in my voice.

But DJ just groaned. "Ben, please. You know I've got the SAT this Saturday."

I nodded. It was the mass November 1 test date coming up. "But you still want me to visit Saturday night, right?"

"Of course. Of course."

"I love you, DJ. And I'm sorry. I don't want to put any more pressure on you than you already have."

"No, it's fine, honey. I love you, too."

"Bye."

"Bye."

"Oh, what a day," Dawn sighed as we turned the last corner to the apartment she shared with Ryan. "I cannot WAIT to just flop face-down in bed and get Ryan to give me a massage."

"C'mon," I chided, sliding myself back and falling into step right behind Dawn as we walked along. I moved my hands up to her shoulders and started kneading. "No need to wait when you've got Ben Magic-Hands here for you."

"Stop that," Dawn giggled and slapped at my hands. "I've got a boyfriend for that and he'd be very upset with both of us if you usurped one of his chores."

"Well if he thinks it's a chore, then you can let him know I'd be happy to take over for him. No way would I consider any opportunity to put my hands on your body as a 'chore'."

Dawn chuckled at that and reached back to pull me alongside her. And once she had me where she wanted, she wrapped herself around my left arm and snuggled in closely, humming happily.

"Hey, we're getting close," I warned, my playful mood evaporating. "Thought you didn't want Ryan to see us quite so intimate anymore." Ever since last week when he'd caught us kissing, Dawn had needed to do damage control with her boyfriend to reassure him that we were just friends.

"I know..." Dawn sighed, but didn't let go. Instead, she just squeezed my arm tighter. And by the time she let go to stand up straight, we found that it was too late.

"Hey," Ryan said darkly from about twenty feet away. He was coming down the sidewalk from the opposite direction, apparently just returning from class himself.

Dawn immediately let go of me and hurried up to her boyfriend. She tried to keep her voice down but I still heard. "Relax, babe. I'm just holding his arm. It doesn't mean anything."

"Well if it's nothing, then why don't you stop?" he practically growled.

Dawn just looked up at him, no doubt giving the guy the same puppy dog eyes that the twins flashed at me whenever they wanted to get their way. And predictably, the handsome blonde guy softened.

I could get where the guy might be jealous. Heck, if Dawn was my girlfriend, I'm not sure I'd want her being so touchy-feely with anyone but me. On the other hand, I knew for a fact that Dawn and I had kept our word of just being friends and not doing anything sexual together. When I'd broken up with Adrienne and with Paige, Dawn had stayed with Ryan instead of leaving him for me. And when he invited her to live with him this year, she'd moved in.

So for now at least, Ryan took Dawn at her word and simply nodded. Then the two of them headed up the stairs to let themselves inside while I followed after.

Gwen, Robin, and Bert were already there. The beautiful blonde couple had given Gwen a spare key to make their place our new hangout. Dawn and Ryan said their hellos as they entered. I waved as well while putting down my bag. And like she had every day she'd seen me for the past week, Gwen winced when she looked at me and the bruise that was still fading away on my right cheek.

"I'm sorry about Rick," Gwen said for the umpteenth time.

I waved her off. "No problem. Then I pointed at the bullet scar on my left cheek and joked, "At least he didn't try to shoot me. Right?"

Gwen paled and didn't look amused. Dawn herself looked queasy at the reminder of me getting shot. I resolved not to make that joke again. And looking to change the subject, I asked, "How is Rick these days?"

Gwen sighed. "Still trying to win me back. He actually got some shop to deliver a dozen roses to me in class. Made quite the scene. I don't get it. Our relationship wasn't THAT good."

"Rick's not thinking of the 'relationship'," Robin quipped.

Dawn nodded. "Face it, Gwen. You're the hottest girl he ever had."

"You mean the best fuck he ever had," Robin clarified, causing Gwen to immediately blush and look away in embarrassment.

"Hey, hey, lay off," I snapped at Robin. The sarcastic brunette just rolled her eyes.

Gwen actually smiled at me in thanks. She was used to Robin giving her a hard time about her sex life, but right now she just wasn't in the mood.

And then Bert cracked, "Don't mind Robin. She's just PMSing."

Robin immediately glared at her boyfriend and punched him — hard — in the chest.

"Oww!" Bert grimaced and rubbed his chest. But he was grinning and as I glanced back at Robin, I found that oddly enough, she was grinning as well.

"Then you'd better take me home before Aunt Flo comes to visit," Robin giggled, a naughty grin on her face. Bert's eyes popped open and he grinned knowingly as well.

I shook my head and chuckled wryly. With my separation from DJ, Adrienne's issues with Grace, Ryan's little jealousies, Rick's futile pursuit of Gwen, and the abject failure of Brandi and Matt, strangely enough, Bert and Robin seemed to be the happiest couple around.

The house was quiet on Thursday night when I returned home. It was a stark contrast to last year, when the combined groups of both my crew and Brandi's and Dayna's friends practically lived there from 2pm to 10pm, if not later. But with Dayna spending most of her time at her boyfriend Kevin's place, and Brandi and Matt having their breakup, the Seniors had relocated to another house not too far away where Kerri Trainor, Julie Carpenter, Ashley Tran, and Erica Jackson were splitting the rent. Plus, with my crew hanging out at Dawn's and Ryan's apartment, my own house had become a ghost town.

Tonight the house was even more deserted. Dayna was once again with Kevin. Brandi was out working on a project. And like most evenings, Adrienne was with her sorority. I quite literally had the entire house to myself, and as I trudged into my bedroom with a sack of fast-food grease, I ruminated on how I'd come to feel so alone.

I used to feel like there were TOO many people around. When dating a girl as gorgeous as Adrienne, I felt like spending every moment of every day in bed worshipping the lush curves of her naked body. But the way the house was NOT soundproofed, we'd mostly had to limit ourselves to our daily midnight screwings before falling asleep, with the occasional morning romp thrown in. There were just too many people in the house during the intervening hours. And most of my playtimes with Brandi and Dayna had been on the weekends.

Things hadn't changed all THAT much when I'd started dating Paige as well. And since I always had the presence of one or the other girlfriend, I never once felt truly lonely. If anything, I felt slightly smothered.

I had loved my girlfriends. I'd absolutely adored Adrienne and I'd really, really enjoyed spending time with Paige. But sometimes, a guy just wanted to be alone, you know? Bad day at class, some minor frustration, whatever. You go to your room and shut the door, right? Well, how do you do that when there's somebody IN your room? And it wasn't like I could ask Adrienne or Paige to leave. Both girls would know I was feeling grumpy and they'd offer to help. Sometimes, a blowjob was EXACTLY what I needed. If not that, a willing shoulder to lean on ... Well, maybe not the shoulder.

But anyways, there were times when I didn't even want the blowjob or anything. I'd just wanted to be alone, to have things quiet for a few minutes, you know? But I couldn't ask my girlfriends to leave.

On the flip side, sometimes Adrienne or Paige had needed privacy. Paige would just go to her dorm room, problem solved. But Adrienne could never ask me to leave if she'd needed the space, either. I wouldn't realize this until it was too late, and by then my girlfriend's mood had already fouled. And more often than not, she didn't want me to leave, she wanted me to LISTEN.

Hell, if I was in the middle of a chapter or whatever, the LAST thing I wanted to do was listen to my girlfriend vent. I would, of course. I AM a good boyfriend. But if I'd had my own room and I was studying with the door closed, then maybe, just maybe, Adrienne would have gone to Dawn or Brandi or Dayna or whoever to talk it out, instead of coming to me.

That was then. But today ... right now ... I would have given my left nut to have Adrienne or Paige come banging down my door, wanting to vent about their day. I felt THAT lonely. Well, maybe not the left nut. I liked my left nut. It had been doing a very good job for me. Maybe my left pinkie toe. I could live without that.

Of course, I might be feeling better if I'd gotten laid in the last 72-hours. I am a sexual creature after all. Adrienne and I hadn't boinked since she came to me on Monday, needing what turned out to be a sympathy fuck after her "cooling off" discussion with Grace. And Brandi and I had yet to find the time. Thursday nights had become our regular stress-relief session, but this project had come up. And of course, I wouldn't actually be with DJ tomorrow this week, having to wait until Saturday night after her SATs. The fact was: it was lonelier not knowing the next time I'd get laid after what felt like years of getting more pussy than I could handle.

I sighed and stared at the ceiling, my sack of fast-food grease momentarily forgotten. All around me was the sound ... of silence. Just dead air, and the creaking sounds of an old house settling in the rapidly cooling weather.

I needed to get laid. I needed my girlfriend. I missed DJ.

Maybe she wouldn't mind if I drove down to visit?

But then maybe she would. Already, I'd seen the energizer-bunny of a hot blonde girl get more and more tired as the months rolled on. Papers were piling on top of midterms, which were piling on top of her SAT preparations. She already had a decent score from the previous Spring, but she was on the cusp of not getting accepted to Cal and the pressure to improve was simply EVERYWHERE.

Her parents expected her to get in, pure and simple. Her siblings expected her to get in. And I'm sorry to say, I expected her to get in and join me. For DJ, to not get in would be a monumental failure of epic proportions.

DJ had already given up most of her social life, keeping in touch with only her closest friends and not going out on school nights. She'd already given up her weekends to spend time with me. Yeah, we spent a lot of our time with stress- relief fucking, but I also knew DJ was putting pressure on herself to "make up" the lost time in our relationship, cramming a week's worth of boyfriend/girlfriend- bonding into only a couple of nights. That meant she wasn't spending nearly enough of her weekend time with her friends, which had to put even more stress on her.

I owed it to DJ not to burden her with anything more. She had her life to live in High School. She had her studies to deal with. The least I could do was not become a needy boyfriend just because I felt a little lonely.

So in the end I just rolled over and sent her a quick text: Thnkn of U kiddo. Luv U and Mss U. TTYL.

Then I dropped the phone onto the nightstand and rolled onto my back again.

I stared at the ceiling.

All alone.

And then my phone lit up, the ringtone blaring. It wasn't a text message; I had my cell phone just set to chime if one of those came through. This was an actual call.

For a second I thought DJ did have time for me, and was calling me back to chat and fill my evening with love and brightness. I eagerly snatched up the phone and glanced at the screen just as my brain finally recognized the ringtone. It wasn't DJ. It was Adrienne. And I felt no less happy that someone was calling me.

"Adrienne! Hey!" I said brightly.

"Hiii, Tiger," came the sweet voice that had filled my dreams for years now. Behind her was quite a bit of inaudible chatter, most likely from the other sorority sisters Adrienne was hanging out with.

"What's up?" I asked perkily.

"You sound happy. Got a girl there with you?" she laughed.

"Naw, only me. I'm just happy you called," I said sincerely, and I knew she could tell I meant it as well.

"That's sweet. Anyways, I'm calling because I need a last-minute favor."

"Anything."

She giggled. "Figured. No really. Uh, do you still have that Prince Phillip costume from last year?"

I furrowed my eyebrows. "The Prince Charming costume? From Sleeping Beauty? Uh, yeah ... Somewhere..."

"Can you be my date tomorrow night? We're having a Halloween party and I'm suddenly dateless." Adrienne's voice trailed off, clearly not too happy with the turn of events.

"What happen? Grace not going anymore?"

"Uh, no." I heard a muffling as Adrienne turned away from the crowd and probably cupped her hand over her mouth. "She's going, but she's bringing a guy. You remember what I said about lesbians? Well, she promises me that we're still together. But she doesn't want people to get the wrong idea if we show up as each other's date."

"Wrong idea?" I arched an eyebrow. "Isn't that exactly the right idea?"

Adrienne sighed. "Tell me about it. Anyways, please?"

"Adrienne, you already know I'm going to say 'yes'. Of course I'll be there for you." I grinned as I said it, and I'm sure she could hear it in my voice.

"Great! Meet me back at the house at six tomorrow! I love you, Ben."

I smiled happily. "I love you, too."

OCTOBER 31, 2003, SOPHOMORE YEAR

"It's too bad the party had to be today. Since you weren't going to DJ's, I had something special planned for you tonight." Brandi said seductively from my bed, where she was watching me get into my costume. My beautiful sister was wearing a long-sleeved sleep shirt that had a wide-scooped neckline, one side hanging loose to bare her left shoulder. Her bottoms were cutoff sweats, torn short enough to reveal the lower curves of her perfect buttcheeks. And her dark brown hair was pulled back and clipped up while she propped up her chin with both hands, a saucy grin on her face.

Even though she was fully clothed, Brandi looked so alluringly sexy that I thought about jumping her right then and there. Even the solitary bare shoulder stirred my lustful imagination.

Or maybe I was just horny after not getting off in FAR too long. By now, the time elapsed since last getting laid was approaching 96-hours, and would have been even longer if it weren't for my one encounter with Adrienne on Monday.

"Well, today IS Halloween. Hence the 'Halloween Party'," I drawled with a smirk, looking back at the mirror as I adjusted the costume. And then I let my lust creep into my voice as I added, "Besides, we still have tomorrow since I'm not heading down to DJ's."

Brandi giggled and then abruptly stopped, biting her lip. "Uh, Ben? About that."

Something in her voice made me turn around in concern.

"I talked to Matt today."

My eyebrows shot up and I automatically leaned back against the dresser, which was holding up the mirror I was using. My heartbeat had spiked hearing Matt's name, and I found myself desperately curious to know what had happened.

"He agreed to meet me tomorrow," Brandi explained.

"What, like a date?" I arched an eyebrow.

"Kinda." Brandi nodded. "I mean, it's a Saturday. We're going to go to lunch. We'll talk. And I don't know what's going to happen after that."

I quickly moved back to my bed and sat down beside my sister, reaching out to stroke her back. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah ... yeah, I'm fine," she replied, sounding anything but 'fine'. "This was my idea. I've been trying to get him to sit down and talk with me forever."

"But you're nervous."

"Of course. Wouldn't you be?"

I sighed and kept stroking her. "Is there anything I can do for you? Do you want me to skip the party? I can totally stay here."

Brandi rolled up to me and wrapped her arms around my waist. "No, it's okay. Really. I was gonna fuck your brains out tonight, but it's not like I need to. Right now, just hugging like this is good enough for me."

"You sure?"

"Of course. I couldn't steal you from Adrienne, anyways. She needs you tonight, too."

I sighed, feeling caught between the needs of my two sisters.

Brandi just squeezed me a little tighter. "I mean it. Go. I'll be fine."

"You sure?"

"Just ... lemme hug you for a little bit longer."

"Okay."

Brandi got her fill of hugs just as Adrienne emerged from her bedroom, stunningly gorgeous as usual, although in a rated-G sort of way. Her pink Princess Aurora gown was just as beautiful as it had been the previous year, and since I'd just been fantasizing about Brandi's bare shoulder, the way Adrienne's dress left both shoulders bare was causing quite the stirring in my shorts.

Thankfully, my own Prince Phillip tunic had what amounted to a short skirt over the crotch, which I hoped would hide my erection nicely.

"Ready to go?" Adrienne beamed.

I simply stepped forward, took her hand, and kissed the back of it while bowing low. "You are exquisite, my Princess," I said theatrically.

Adrienne just giggled and tugged me upward, pulling me to her for a chaste kiss. "Let's go."

I sighed at the touch of Adrienne's lips against mine, still feeling quite horny. But this wasn't a time for sex. Yeah, I was missing a night with Brandi and we probably wouldn't be able to make up for it tomorrow. But I would be with DJ again tomorrow night and I was positive my little blonde nymphomaniac would be eager for the both of us to blow off some steam. I could last until then if I had to.

So I let my stunningly gorgeous date wrap herself around my arm while Brandi led us out of the house and headed for the Mustang. It wasn't that far to the Tri- Delt Chapter House on Warring Street, but Brandi had offered to drive us the several blocks over so that Adrienne wouldn't have to walk that far in her heels.

On the way to the car, my cell phone went off. It took me a second to remember where the pockets were on my costume, and since I recognized the ringtone as DJ's I was scrambling extra fast.

"Hello?" I said breathlessly.

"Hi, honey," DJ said softly, but with a trace of hesitance in her voice. "You at that Halloween party yet?"

"No. We're just leaving. What's wrong?" I immediately asked.

"Nothing, nothing," she replied in way that did nothing to reassure me. Clearly, something was bothering her. "It's just, uh... , you know, I probably shouldn't even ask this of you."

"No, really. What's up?"

"It's about this weekend," DJ said apologetically. "Would ... uh, would you mind not coming down?"

I stopped dead in my tracks, causing Adrienne and Brandi to turn and look at me in surprise. "Huh?"

"I know you've been looking forward to it. But my friends invited me to go out with them tomorrow afternoon after the SATs. And then on Sunday they're planning another get-together at Shawn Preston's house. I really want to go."

"Oh, okay..." I started morosely.

"Oh, you're upset!" DJ whined.

"No, no!" I quickly interjected. "I mean, of course I'd love to be with you. But I know how little time you've had to spend with your friends. The parties sound great."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive," I said reassuringly, hiding my disappointment. I WAS pretty horny. "I take up too much of your time as it is."

"No, you don't. I don't see enough of you, honey," DJ insisted.

"That's okay. I'm okay, really. You deserve this after all the hard work and studying you've been doing. I'm serious. Go have fun."

"You sure you'll be okay without me this weekend?" she asked hesitantly.

"Yeah. I'll be fine."

"I'll make it up to you. I promise," DJ giggled with a sultry innuendo. "Nail Brandi extra hard for me, okay?"

I nodded. Now wasn't the time to tell DJ that Brandi had an outside shot of reuniting with Matt this weekend. "Sure thing."

"Bye, honey," DJ sighed wistfully. "Enjoy the party tonight. I love you."

"I love you, too."

And then we hung up.

"Wooo!!!"

"Wooo!!!"

"WOOO!!!"

There are few things in this life more entertaining than some 80+ beautiful sorority girls screaming enthusiastically. Not all of them were screaming at the same time, but the house was absolutely packed with hot babes looking for a good time. Some 60 of them were full Tri-Delt members. Another 23 were pledges, hoping to earn the right to join.

The pledges, identifiable by their prominently displayed pledge pins, seemed to be the ones doing the most whooping ... AND the most flirting. And with only about 50 guys around, the ratio was definitely in my favor.

That ratio suddenly shifted when Adrienne left me to join the other pledges in filing into the Chapter room; a snooty, brunette Senior sorority sister had called them in for some instruction or ritual or something. But despite the loss of the 23 pledges, I was suddenly surrounded by more girls than before as the rest of the hot sorority babes descended upon us guys.