Chapter 23: Girlfriend For a Day

After that, Allison often joined them when they made love. She continued to leave her clothes on, and she never really got involved. Mostly she just watched.

Occasionally she ran her hands over Jeff's body, or even Kari's. Both drove Jeff into a frenzy. Kari surprisingly didn't mind a bit, even when Allison touched her in places that were hardly innocent.

Jeff was ecstatic to have the two girls that he had been lusting after in bed with him. True, he would have enjoyed it more if Allison took her clothes off as well, but just having her there was like a dream come true.

Kari and Jeff even started dating, if one could call it that. Sometimes they went with Allison and the girls to the mall or other places, during which times Jeff and Kari always found some excuse to run off together. Kari had her cell phone, so Allison simply called them when it was time to head back. It worked out well enough, and both Jeff and Kari agreed that they could consider it an official date.

For her 15th birthday on August 20th, Kari decided to have a private party, with just the Williams and Primdale families. Allison suggested they make it a pool party, and Kari agreed immediately. They all met together at the Primdales' pool for soaking wet fun. Even Allen Williams joined them this time; being a teacher at the high school, he had a summer vacation just like the others. The only one absent was Greg. Kari's birthday was on Tuesday that year, which was just another work day for him.

Jeff didn't get a chance to do what he really wanted to do on her birthday, so they had to wait a few more days until they managed to get a little privacy.

The end of summer vacation crept up on them, and before they knew it school started again. That unfortunately meant less opportunity for Kari and Jeff to be alone together. It was all right; they could still see each other at school and on the weekends.

A week before school started the varsity volleyball team held tryouts to replace the seniors who had graduated. Kari made the cut, as did her friends Jenny and Shelly. Jeff was happy for her; she had been excited about the tryouts for the past two weeks.

Her successes were not limited to only athletics, but included academics as well. The first day of classes, the Math teacher passed out a pre-test to gauge the students' competence. The next day he handed them back, graded. Kari got the highest score in the class, followed closely by Jeff.

Of course, word soon got out that the two of them were going together, and it became the talk of the school. Kari had always been a popular girl, and her new achievements served to enhance that popularity. Jeff, of course, was held up as a god among the geeks and nerds of the school, for managing to get her to go out with him.

His friend Mike asked him about it in the halls one day. "So what's your secret?" he asked. "How the hell did you get a girl like Kari Williams to go out with you?"

Kari, who had been approaching from down the hall and happened to overhear the last bit of the conversation, squeezed past Mike and grabbed Jeff's hand. Mike stared open-mouthed as she flashed him a smile. "You could always try talking to the girl you like," she suggested.

"Uh..." he stammered.

"What are you afraid of?" asked Kari. "That she'll tell you to leave her alone? If she's that shallow, she's not worth having anyway, is she?"

A week later Mike started going out with Holly Stephenson, a gorgeous blonde who had just made the cheerleading squad.

With school taking up most of their time, Jeff and Kari didn't get to see each other as often as they would like, especially since Brit was always home after school and therefore there was no privacy. Fortunately, Allen coached basketball in the evenings so if they could convince Crystal to visit Brit after school, Jeff and Kari managed to have at least a little time alone.

The sex during this time was great. That was mainly due to the fact that they never knew when they would get another chance, so they had to make it memorable each time. It wasn't quite as playful as when Allison was around, but her absence made it more intimate. They would often lie together in each other's arms for hours afterward.

They were at least responsible enough to study together on most of these occasions. Usually they would start out with sex, then they would shower together, then open the books and study. While Jeff would have preferred to do it the other way around so that he had something to look forward to, that wasn't a good idea; if Kari's father came home early, it could end up being an awkward situation. Even though he had given his blessing to their relationship, Jeff didn't relish the thought of Allen walking in on them while they were in bed.

Lissa spent most of her free time these days filling out applications for college. There wasn't any real question about her getting accepted; being the responsible one in the family, she had excellent grades.

Things settled down pretty quickly into a routine with the new school year. September passed quickly, and before they knew it, October had begun. On the 11th, Crystal turned thirteen, and she had a party for all of her friends, including Brit. Jeff came too, but mainly to spend time with Kari. He still didn't like birthday parties for little girls, though admittedly thirteen was a bit too old to be considered little.

On Sunday a week later, Jeff had another chance to spend most of the day with Kari. Allison drove him over to the Williams house. Kari answered the door, looking a little down.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"It's Crystal," Kari shrugged, standing out of the way so that he could come in and then closing the door behind him. "She's up in her room crying."

"Uh oh. What happened?" asked Jeff.

"Her boyfriend broke up with her."

That surprised him; he hadn't realized Crystal even had a boyfriend. If he remembered correctly, Kari had mentioned that Crystal didn't currently have a boyfriend the first day they met, so she must have started going out after that. Besides, the way she had been flirting with Jeff all summer, he had almost gotten the impression that she had a crush on him.

"Is there anything I can do to help?" he asked.

"I don't know ... maybe. I was just talking with her a few minutes ago, and I think her confidence is shattered. She thinks there's something wrong with her."

"There's nothing wrong with her!" Jeff exclaimed.

"I know, but I think she needs to hear that, especially from a boy. Would you go talk to her?"

"Sure," he said. "Are you coming with me?"

"Yes. Let's go see her."

She led him up the stairs to Crystal's room, then knocked on the door.

"Go away," Crystal said from the other side.

Instead, Kari opened the door and led Jeff inside. Crystal lay on her side on her bed, facing away from them and sobbing.

"Crystal," said Kari. "Jeff's here. He's concerned about you."

"I don't want to talk to him," she insisted.

"But I want to talk to you," said Jeff. "I don't like to see you sad."

"Then go away and you won't have to see me."

"Let me rephrase that. I don't like to know that you're sad. I want to cheer you up."

"What can you do? You're just a boy. Boys are mean."

"Some boys are mean," he conceded. "But surely you don't think I'm mean."

"Yes you are."

"Why?"

"Because you won't go away when I tell you. You've come in here to make fun of me for crying."

"I'm not going to make fun of you, I promise. I'd be a terrible person if I did that. It's okay to cry. Even I cry sometimes. Just tell me what's wrong, and maybe I can do something to help."

Crystal sat up and faced them. Her eyes were red and puffy from her tears, and her hair was disheveled, but she made no move to fix it.

"Okay," she said meekly, staring down at the floor. "But not with Kari here."

"What--" Kari began, then glanced at Jeff, who shrugged. Silently, Kari slipped out of the room and closed the door. Jeff came over and sat by Crystal on the bed.

"So what was it you wanted to tell me that Kari can't hear?"

"I wanted to ask you something, something only a boy can answer."

"Okay."

"What's wrong with me?"

"What do you mean?"

"Why don't boys like me?"

"What are you talking about? Who said they don't like you?"

"Well ... Chad, he was my boyfriend, he broke up with me the day after we ... I mean..."

Jeff was shocked. Was she really saying what he thought she was saying?

"Tell me, Crystal," he said.

"I don't know if I should."

"Are you worried I might be upset? Or angry?"

"No. That's why I wanted to talk to you alone, because Kari and Dad would both get mad at me if they knew. I'm just embarrassed."

"Crystal, I promise I won't judge you. And I won't tell anyone else, if that's what you're worried about."

"Okay. Yesterday Chad and I slept together."

"Do you mean ... you had sex?"

Crystal nodded.

Jeff put his arm around her. "Was it your first time?" he asked. Again, she nodded.

"Then he's not only the biggest creep in the world, he's also the biggest fool in the world."

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"Anyone who would give up someone as beautiful and wonderful as you has got to be pretty stupid. Whatever the problem is, it's not with you; it's with him."

"You're just saying that to make me feel better."

"I'm saying it because it's true."

"But I think he started going steady with me just because he wanted to ... you know. Like I was some kind of conquest or something. And then once we did it, he didn't want to have anything to do with me any more."

That reminded Jeff of something Lissa had told him, about her own first time. Because she wasn't ready for it, she had had a bad experience, and it had bothered her for years. He realized that something like this could really be damaging for a girl, and Crystal was really vulnerable right now. Jeff decided immediately that he didn't like Chad. How could he hurt a girl like Crystal?

"There are boys out there like that," said Jeff, "but not all of them are. There are plenty of nice ones."

"I haven't met one yet."

"What about me? Don't you think I'm nice?"

"Oh, you're okay, I guess. You're good to Kari."

"Exactly. So let's have no nonsense about thinking there's something wrong with you, because there isn't. You just happened to fall in love with the wrong guy. It happens sometimes."

"So do you like me?" she asked.

"Of course I like you. You remind me of my little sister."

"But you hate Brit!"

"No I don't, I love her. We don't always get along, but that's okay."

"Just like you don't get along with me."

"What are you talking about? You think just because you like to tease that I don't like you? Sometimes your teasing is fun."

"You think so?"

"Absolutely. Crystal, not only are you a beautiful girl, you're also fun to be around. So don't worry about Chad. He made the stupidest mistake of his life by breaking up with you. He'll never find a better girl."

Crystal once more broke down into tears, but she threw her arms around Jeff's neck and sobbed into his shoulder. He wrapped his arms tightly around her and held her to him.

There came a knock at the door. "Is everything all right in there?" Kari asked. "I heard Crystal crying again."

"I think she's going to be fine," Jeff replied. "Crystal, is it okay if your big sister comes back in again?"

Crystal nodded.

"Kari, you can come in," he said, and she opened the door and entered the room. She came over and sat down on Crystal's other side.

"How do you feel?" she asked.

Crystal pulled herself away from Jeff, then wiped away her tears. "Better," she replied. "Thank you, Jeff. Even if you didn't mean all those things you said, I'm glad you said them."

"Of course I meant them," he told her.

"Kari, you're lucky you get to have Jeff as your boyfriend," Crystal said.

"That's the truth," Kari smiled.

"I just wish I could meet someone as nice as Jeff. Just once I wish I had a boyfriend who actually cared about me." Then she laughed. "I suppose there's no chance I could steal him away from you?" she asked.

Jeff grinned. It was good to see her in better spirits. "Unfortunately, if I ever broke up with Kari I would be just as stupid as Chad, so you're out of luck there. On the other hand, if she ever broke up with me, I'd be happy to take you up on that offer."

"Hey!" Kari complained, though jokingly.

"Just kidding," Jeff said.

"Oh, so you weren't serious then," Crystal grinned.

"Yes I was," he hurriedly replied, then glanced at Kari. "I mean, no I wasn't ... I mean ... Anyway, it sure was a nice warm day today, wasn't it?"

Both Kari and Crystal laughed. "Okay, let's stop tormenting Jeff now," Kari suggested.

"But he's so fun to torment," Crystal grinned.

"So does that mean you're feeling better?" he asked her.

"Much better. Thank you. Both of you. I still wish I had a boyfriend like Jeff, but at least it doesn't bother me so much any more."

"You know," said Kari, "I just had an interesting idea."

"Interesting in a good way, or interesting in an 'I should run away screaming' way?" asked Jeff.

"Interesting in a good way, of course. Crystal, you said you wanted to steal Jeff away from me."

"I was only kidding about that!" she said.

"Okay, but what if it wasn't stealing? What if I let you have him?"

"What if I have no idea what you're talking about?" Crystal replied.

"Kari, just what are you saying?" asked Jeff.

"Not what you're thinking. I have no intention of giving you up permanently. Just for a day. Say, next Saturday?"

"I'm still confused," he said.

"Jeff, I want you to take my little sister out."

"You mean ... on a date?" asked Crystal.

"Exactly."

"You're serious?"

"Of course."

"But..." Jeff began.

"But what?"

"But you're my girlfriend, not her."

"Well, for a day, she'll be your girlfriend."

"I don't know..."

"So you don't want to go out with me?" asked Crystal. "What's wrong with me?" At least this time she asked it in a teasing, rather than depressed tone.

"Nothing's wrong with you," Jeff insisted, "except that I'm too old for you."

"No you're not."

"Yes I am. Look, Crystal. Don't take this the wrong way. I really do think you're a beautiful, wonderful girl. But I also told you that you remind me of Brit. And to me, she'll always be a little girl. She's my baby sister, after all. So even though you're a teenager now, I still think of you as a little girl."

"I'm not asking you to marry her, Jeff," said Kari. "Just take her to a movie or something. Come on. Won't you spend one day with her, for her sake?"

"Please, Jeff?" asked Crystal.

Jeff sighed. "Oh, all right," he replied. "I guess if you don't mind, Kari, I can take her out. And who knows? I might even enjoy myself."

"Just don't enjoy yourself too much," Kari smiled.

"Hey, this is your fault," he teased. "And she's going to be my girlfriend for that day after all. I might as well take advantage of the situation."

"Ooh, Jeff's naughty," Crystal joked.

"Not half as naughty as I'm going to be on our date," he grinned.

"I can't wait."

Kari rolled her eyes. "Maybe this wasn't such a good idea," she laughed.

Surprisingly, everyone seemed to be in favor of the date. Brit thought it was a great idea because Crystal had become her best friend and she didn't like to see her depressed. Lissa and Allison both told Jeff how proud they were of him for being willing to do this. Even Allen Williams thanked Jeff for cheering up his daughter, though to him the whole situation was more amusing than serious. He might not have been so amused if he knew the reason why Chad had broken up with her, but from the very beginning Allen had liked Jeff. Since Kari was okay with the situation, Allen told Jeff he was the perfect boy to help Crystal get over her ex-boyfriend.

By the time the day arrived for the date, Jeff felt no more reservations about it. In fact, he was looking forward to spending time with Crystal. He hadn't had much chance to get to know her before; really the only thing he knew about her was that she was as bad as Brit when it came to teasing, perhaps even more so. While getting those two together hadn't quite turned out "apocalyptic," as Kari had put it, they did seem to be a bad influence on each other. They tended to team up on Jeff, so he avoided them as much as possible when they were together.

Since Kari had suggested he take her out, though, he was starting to see Crystal in a whole new light. Yes, she was still a little girl, but she was a beautiful little girl. She looked a lot like her big sister after all. And now that he thought back on it, the teasing was more flirtatious than malicious. Like he had told her, sometimes it was even fun.

He found himself actually looking forward to the date. Granted, if any of his friends saw him they would tease him mercilessly about "robbing the cradle" or something like that, but he actually wanted to get to know Crystal better. Maybe it was because closeness to Kari implied closeness to her family; the better he got along with them, the better his relationship with her would be. He also enjoyed the feeling that came from knowing that he was brightening up someone's day, especially a cute girl like Crystal. There was a third reason as well. Since he had gotten to know Kari, he had started getting over his shyness around girls, and he liked being around them. He actually found himself wanting to have friends of the female variety.

They made arrangements for the date. Since he was too young to drive, on Saturday Allison would drive him over to the Williams house to pick up Crystal. She would drive the two of them to the mall, where she would drop them off for the day. There were plenty of things to do there, certainly enough to fill the day with activities. He would borrow his dad's cell phone, and call her that evening when it was time to come home.

Friday night he called her to confirm the arrangements. Kari answered the phone.

"Hello," he said. "This is Crystal's boyfriend Jeff. Is she there?"

"She's busy right now," Kari replied. "But this is her stunningly gorgeous big sister. Is there something I can help you with?"

"Tempting," he said. "Tell you what. I've got a date with Crystal tomorrow, but I'll take you up on that offer later."

"Is that Jeff?" he heard Crystal's voice say in the background.

"Yes it is," Kari told her. "Your boyfriend wants a word with you."

A few seconds later, Crystal picked up the phone. "Hi, handsome," she said.

"Hi, beautiful. Are you all ready for tomorrow?" he asked.

"Every moment away from you is an excruciating torment."

"I know, but soon we'll be together, my love. So I'll see you at 10:00 in the morning?"

"I'll try to be strong until then. Only the thought that these moments of sadness will soon be over keeps me going."

"Oh god, I think I'm going to be sick," Kari's voice said in the background.

"Tell Kari this was her idea," Jeff said.

"Hey Kari, Jeff says this was your idea," Crystal repeated.

"Well, you don't have to be so enthusiastic."

"I only get Jeff for a day. I have to make the most of it."

"Okay, fine."

"So Jeff," said Crystal. "I'll be dreaming about you tonight."

"In that case, I'll dream about you too."

"Good. See you tomorrow."

"Bye."

Actually, he didn't dream about her, but considering that she was probably joking when she said she would dream about him, he didn't feel too guilty about it.

When he arrived at her house the next morning, she seemed to have mellowed a bit. He had half expected her to fly into his arms at the first sight of him, but instead she simply met him at the door with a smile. She looked as cute as ever, in a pastel blue blouse and a matching long skirt, sandals, and a pink bow in her hair. The bow was perhaps overdoing it; it made her look five years younger. But he liked the way she looked all the same.

Kari appeared behind her. "Hi, Jeff," she said. "Are you two ready for your big day?"

"I think we're going to have lots of fun," he replied.

"Well if you're going to do this, you might as well do it right," she grinned. She stepped forward, grabbed Jeff by one hand and Crystal by the other, and put their hands together. "There, that's much better," she said, stepping back. Apparently she wasn't as disgusted by this as she had pretended to be last night while the two of them were on the phone.

Jeff and Crystal glanced at each other, then they simultaneously broke out into a nervous laugh.

"Okay, I guess if I'm your girlfriend, it makes sense to be holding your hand," Crystal said.

"It works for me," Jeff shrugged.

Allen appeared in the doorway. When he saw Jeff and Crystal holding hands, he grinned. "Looks like you're taking this seriously," he said.

"Kari insisted," Jeff explained.

"Well, I guess this is the part where I'm supposed to say 'take care of my little girl' and then you say 'I will sir' and I say 'I know you will. I trust you.'"

"And then I say 'oh dad, you're embarrassing me, '" Crystal added with a grin.

"Sorry dear," said Allen. "I just want to know that you're in good hands. Well, you two have fun." He shook Jeff's hand, then waved at Allison who was sitting in the car in the driveway.