Chapter 21: Caught in the Act

He didn't remember falling asleep, but he awoke to the sound of someone knocking on the door. The two of them froze, in a sudden panic. "Jeff, Kari," Allison said from behind the door without trying to open it. "I'm taking Lissa over to pick up Brit now. Does Kari want to go now, or stay for dinner?"

"I'll stay for dinner," Kari replied.

"Okay. See you when we get back." They heard her footsteps heading down the hall.

Jeff and Kari waited a minute longer, then broke out in nervous laughter. "That was close," Kari said. "Maybe we'd better get dressed so we're not still up here when they get back."

"It takes about twenty minutes round trip to your house," Jeff said. "And I'm in need of a shower. Care to join me?"

"Of course!" she grinned.

Jeff pushed her gently off of him to the side. Instead of letting him get up, however, she put her arms around his neck and pulled him over on top of her, bringing his head down to hers so she could give him a long, tender kiss. He wasn't about to argue with that, so he let it happen. He enjoyed when they kissed, and she apparently felt the same way.

A second later she released him and let him stand up. He helped her off the bed and she walked gingerly toward the bathroom.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"A little sore," she replied.

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be. It was worth it," she smiled.

Jeff climbed into the tub and started up the water as Kari climbed in behind him. He waited a minute for it to heat up, then pulled the latch to start the shower.

Kari and he stood together under the spray, hugging tightly as the water washed over them. Jeff ran his hand through her hair, helping to get it nice and wet. Kari looked especially good with damp hair, and it felt nice to touch it.

"Jeff, would you wash my back?" she asked.

"I'd love to," he replied, grabbing the soap. She turned to face away from him, and he ran it over her shoulders and down her back, rubbing it into her skin with his other hand. He found that he really liked just touching her like this. Even though it wasn't necessarily sexual, it was just the intimacy of the simple act. She sighed as he ran his hands all over her, and once more he found happiness in just knowing that he was giving her simple pleasures like this.

He couldn't help himself, but wrapped his arms around her waist and leaned in to kiss her on the neck. She tilted her head to the side and leaned it back against his shoulder to give him better access. He could see that she had her eyes closed and mouth turned up in a smile.

"That feels nice," she breathed.

"Anything to make you happy," he told her.

"Well, this is a good way to start," she smiled.

He continued to kiss her neck and shoulder, then started to draw his head back. She put her arm up and pulled his head back down to her.

"I'm not finished yet," she scolded him playfully.

"There's that aggressiveness coming out again," he smiled, but worked his lips all over her neck and shoulder, moving even as high as her cheek just below her ear.

Finally, she released his head, and he took a step backward as she turned around. "Now I get to wash your back," she told him.

"That's fine with me," he grinned, handing her the soap and turning around.

She began to rub him, and he discovered that he enjoyed her hands on him every bit as much as his hands on her. It was so pleasant and relaxing, like a massage. She seemed to enjoy it too, and kept teasing him by "accidentally" brushing up against him with her tits. It grew more and more frequent until she abandoned all pretense and started using her chest to rub the soap in.

"Now that's a new one to me," he commented.

"What?"

"Just that we're getting clean by getting dirty."

Kari laughed. "Or are we getting dirty by getting clean?"

"Either way works for me."

Unfortunately, they had to cut their horseplay short, because they didn't have much time left. The two of them stepped under the water one last time to wash away the remnants of the soap, and then Jeff turned it off. They spent a couple of minutes drying each other with towels and running the blow dryer quickly over their hair to hide the evidence, then headed back into Jeff's bedroom, where they picked their clothes up off the floor and started to dress.

Kari put on her panties, jeans, and socks, then headed for the door.

"What are you doing?" Jeff asked.

"I'm going downstairs," she replied, turning around and putting her hands on her hips. "Do you have a problem with that?"

Jeff picked up her bra and tee shirt from the floor and held them out to her.

She giggled. "So that's what I was forgetting," she said. "I knew there was something."

She came over and took the articles from his hand, then without putting them on, headed for the door again. This time, before he could stop her, she opened it and stepped out into the hall.

Jeff hurriedly finished dressing, then followed her. By that point she had made it all the way downstairs, and was sitting in the front room, still topless. Fortunately, the house was still deserted.

"Aren't you a little cold?" he asked.

"Aren't you a little warm?" she countered, reaching for his shirt.

"Hey!" he exclaimed, but with a grin on his face.

"Come sit down by me," she told him, and he willingly obeyed. She pulled him in and began to kiss him.

Apparently she had a bit of an exhibitionist in her. Jeff didn't mind at all. If she wanted to go around topless or even fully nude in front of him, he was more than happy to let her. It reminded him a little of Rachael.

"So do you think we ought to let your family in on our secret?" she asked as soon as she pulled away from him.

"Er..." he said.

Kari laughed. "I meant that we're boyfriend and girlfriend now. I wasn't suggesting we tell them how far we've gone."

"Right," he chuckled. "Of course."

"So what do you think? I mean, if we think we can handle the teasing from Brit."

"Sure," he smiled. "Let's get it over with. Besides, it will be a refreshing change to be teased by her about something I'm not sensitive about."

They heard the sound of the car in the driveway. Fortunately, the curtains were closed, or Allison and the girls would be able to see everything. Kari hurriedly put on her bra, and just barely finished throwing on her shirt when the front door opened. She took his hand and lay her head on his shoulder as Allison, Brit, and Lissa walked in and glanced over at them. Allison and Lissa pretended not to notice, but just as expected, Brit wasn't about to pass up this opportunity.

"Ooh, look at the lovebirds!" she teased.

"Hey, I resent that," Kari grinned. "We're not birds."

"But you're in love!"

In response, Kari leaned in and kissed Jeff on the cheek. "I can't deny that," she said.

Lissa came down and sat next to her. "So Jeff's finally got himself a girlfriend," she said in a playful voice.

"Finally?"

"He's been fantasizing about you for years," his sister laughed.

"Lissa!" he exclaimed, growing red.

"Don't be embarrassed, Jeff," Kari told him. "I'm flattered."

"Really?" he asked.

"Really. I just wish you had made your move earlier. Think of all this time we've wasted."

"Well, we're not going to waste any more," he promised.

"In fact, we'll have to make up for lost time," she told him, then put her hand to his cheek, drew his head gently to the side, and kissed him deeply on the lips.

Brit giggled as she watched them, but said nothing.

When the kiss ended, Jeff suddenly realized that there were three pairs of eyes on the two of them.

"Don't you guys have anything better to do?" he asked them.

"Not really," said Allison. "We're just having fun watching the show. And by the way, Jeff, I'm impressed with your new dedication to scholasticism."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, you finished studying your math, and decided to study a little chemistry."

"Chemistry?"

"Yes. The chemistry between a boy and a girl," grinned Allison.

"I think that's my new favorite subject," Kari said, then threw her arms around his neck and kissed him again.

It was too bad when Kari had to leave later that night; Jeff was enjoying himself tremendously. Kari gave him one last, long, deep kiss that lasted at least three minutes, then she followed Allison out to the car. Jeff headed back to the couch and plopped down on it, grinning and not caring who saw it.

Brit tried to tease him, but for once she had no power over him. He simply agreed with everything she said, since it was all true. She gave up after about ten minutes, and headed upstairs to her room.

Lissa came and sat down beside him, putting an arm around his shoulder. "I'm so happy for you, Jeff," she said. "Kari seems like a really nice girl."

"She's wonderful," he said.

"So is she everything you imagined her to be?"

"More."

"Wow! She really must be something then, because you had really put her on a pedestal. It's so good to see you finally get the girl you've been in love with for years. You're such a great guy, you deserve to be happy."

"Thanks, Lissa," he smiled. Then he thought of something else. "But Lissa, what about you? You deserve to be happy too. Isn't there any guy that you'd like to have as your boyfriend?"

"None that I know of," she replied. "I guess my happiness will just have to wait a little longer."

Seeing the look of concern on his face, she said, "Oh, don't worry, Jeff. I'm not planning on becoming a nun or anything. I'm just waiting for the right man to come along, that's all. It will happen when it happens, and in the mean time, I'm not too worried about it."

Jeff smiled. "Okay. Just don't wait too long, because I want you to be happy."

Lissa reached over and hugged him. "Thanks," she whispered with a smile on her face.

"Geez, Jeff!" said Brit, who had just come back into the room. "I guess Kari wasn't enough for you, so now you have to move on to your own sister."

Lissa grabbed a pillow and threw it at her, laughing. Brit ducked out of the room.

Naturally, the conversation at the dinner table that evening centered around Jeff's new relationship with Kari. Brit of course made a bigger deal out of it than it really was, claiming that she had "caught" them smooching.

Jeff was in too much of a good mood to get mad at her, so he replied, "Oh, that's not the half of it. You should have seen us before you got home."

"Really?" asked Brit with a delighted grin. "What did you do?"

"That's not the type of thing a gentleman mentions in civilized company," he said smugly.

"Oh, that's okay. We're not civilized."

"I know you aren't," he teased.

Jeff didn't know what to expect from his dad; after all, this was the first time Jeff had ever been involved in a romantic relationship. And Lissa, though older, had never openly had a boyfriend. Jeff wondered if his father would get angry, or be shocked, or embarrassed. But Greg seemed to find it all quite amusing, especially Brit's reaction to it. That seemed to suggest at least a little approval, so Jeff didn't worry about it any more. For once in his life, things were perfect.

That evening, as he was getting ready for bed, Lissa knocked on his door and came in. She sat down in the chair by his desk. "Jeff," she said. "I wanted to ask you something."

"What?" he smiled.

"I couldn't ask you earlier today with Brit around, because it's kind of personal. It's about Kari."

"What about her?"

Lissa sighed. "Did you two have sex?" she asked.

Jeff blinked in astonishment. It was the last question he expected. Unfortunately, he was never a very good liar, so if he tried to deny it, she would know.

He decided to turn it into a joke instead. "Why, are you jealous?" he grinned.

"A little," she admitted.

"What? Are you serious?"

"I'm just thinking back to those times we fooled around. Remember?"

"Yeah," he nodded. "That was fun."

"But I guess now that you've got a girlfriend, we can't do that any more."

"Lissa, I'm sorry."

"No, it's all right, really. I'm happy for you, Jeff. And I don't want you to worry about me. I'm not interested in having a boyfriend right now, but I think it's great that you have a girlfriend. It's just what you need."

"So you're okay with it? If it bothers you at all..."

"It doesn't."

"Because I couldn't stand to have you mad at me. I..."

"You what?"

"Oh, I guess it won't hurt me to say it. I love you, Lissa. I've loved you my whole life. Kari's absolutely wonderful, but if I had to give her up to keep my big sister from hating me..."

"Don't say that, Jeff," she said, but she couldn't hide the smile on her face. "I don't want you to give her up. I like her too, and I think you should keep her for as long as you can. Okay?"

"Okay," he smiled.

Unfortunately, Jeff and Kari didn't get another chance to be alone together for a few more days. Crystal wanted to come over and swim, so for the next few days they relaxed by the pool after the lessons.

Kari's scores continued to improve, and it was no longer a sure thing for Jeff to beat her on the tests. While he still outscored her the majority of the time, she was never far behind. With Allison's help, both of them were by this time getting A's on most of the daily tests.

His ego was saved by the fact that he was now consistently lifting heavier weights than Kari on all of the machines, including the bench press. It also helped that she seemed to notice the difference in his physique from before, and commented on it often. She liked to feel the muscles in his arms, and he of course enjoyed any kind of physical contact with her.

During this time, Jeff remembered what Allison had told him about how to treat Kari. He looked for little things he could do for her. A lot of it was the traditional chivalrous actions like opening the door for her or complimenting her on her looks. But there were also the little touches, like holding her hand as they sat together, or hugging her whenever he got a chance. He even snuck kisses whenever the others weren't watching, and sometimes when they were.

Whenever they sat together on the couch, Jeff put his arm around her and she lay her head down on his shoulder. Sometimes he put his fingers to her cheek and gently stroke it, which she seemed to enjoy, judging by the contented smile on her face whenever he did that.

Brit and Crystal, of course, teased them any time they got affectionate, but neither Jeff nor Kari paid them any mind. They were too much in love to let their little sisters bother them.

One day after the math lessons Allison said she was going to take Brit and Lissa to the mall, and Kari said she wanted to stay home and study a little more with Jeff. As soon as the girls climbed into the car and disappeared down the hill, Kari attacked him with her lips.

After a five-minute session that left Jeff gasping for breath, she released him.

"So do you want to go swimming?" asked Kari.

"I was hoping for ... you know," Jeff replied.

"Oh, there will be plenty of time for that. I just want to get in the pool for a few minutes."

"I suppose that's all right."

Jeff headed up to his room to put on his swimming trunks, then met Kari downstairs in the hall, and they headed out back to the pool.

As soon as they descended the stairs to the pool deck, she began stripping off her clothes.

"I hope you don't mind," she said. "I forgot to bring my swimsuit."

He stared in shock and delight as she dropped her clothes on a chair and stood there in front of him wearing absolutely nothing.

Kari turned out to be quite the exhibitionist. As soon as she was completely naked, she spread her arms and turned slowly around in a circle to give him a great view of her body.

"What do you think of my swimsuit?" she asked.

"I think I'll wear one to match it," he said, dropping his swimming trunks.

She giggled as she saw his hardening cock. "I'll take care of that later," she said. Then she held out her hand. "Come join me in the pool, Jeff."

He took her hand and the two of them descended the stairs into the water. He had never swum naked before; it felt refreshing and liberating. Having a girl like Kari there with him made it especially nice.

As soon as they were deep enough, she dove forward and swam toward other end of the pool. Jeff followed her, ending up treading water next to her as they smiled at each other.

"This is my first time skinny-dipping," Kari told him. "It feels nice."

On impulse, he reached out and squeezed one of her breasts under the water. "It sure does," he grinned.

"Hey, if you're going to do that, I'm going to do it right back," she said, diving under. He watched her swim toward him, then suddenly she had her hand wrapped around his stiffening member. She stroked it a couple of times, then released it and rose once more to the surface.