Chapter 10

New Year's Eve is supposed to be that day that sends out the old and rings in the new. I've never really felt all that different on January 1^st than I did on December 31^st. I figured this year would be different because, for the first time ever, I was sharing the event with a girlfriend, two, in fact. How different it would be, I had no idea, but surely there had to be something to the whole 'New Year's Resolution' thing.

The ski resort had a big party planned at the lodge. It was geared towards families, so it would be pretty tame. Everyone in our little group, except Sam, of course, was planning on attending at least part of the party. Sam was going to hang out with his new best friends and even planned on staying all night at their family's cabin.

The day itself turned out to be pretty lazy. It was almost as if everyone was resting for the big celebration to come. Shay and I wanted to hit the slopes first thing in the morning, but Mia decided to stay back at the cabin. She seemed somewhat subdued. When I asked if she was all right, she said she wanted to be lazy and lay around the cabin in her pajamas. We each gave her a kiss and then took to the hills. After our second run, we both agreed to go back and hang with our girlfriend.

Instead of really doing anything together, though, we just kind of laid around the house. I listened to my iPod and read one of the books for my English class. Mia curled up in front of the tube and watched some random football bowl games with her dad. Shay, Mom, and Shelly got involved in some card game—Hearts, I think. Ana was off with Mary somewhere.

I couldn't concentrate on the book, finding my attention drawn towards Mia. As I lay there watching my girlfriend snuggled up against her dad, I got some warm fuzzies. You know, those feelings where everything just seems right and good. I allowed myself a few moments to bask in it all. With all the stuff we'd crammed into our vacation, not to mention all the drama that we didn't plan, it seemed like I hadn't had much time to contemplate on the goodness of my life. Even though my dad was taken from me before I was ready, he'd been a huge part of my life and left me with an endless supply of great memories. I had two wonderful girlfriends and an awesome mom. We had good family and friends. I was doing well in school and in my extracurricular activities. I discovered a potential career path. Things were good. I wasn't very religious, but I was pretty sure there was some kind of Supreme Being out there. So I took a moment just to thank whoever or whatever for giving me such a good life.

A few minutes later, I was awakened from a slumber by warm lips pressed against mine. I returned the kiss, enjoying the sweetness of the intimate act. It wasn't one of those explosive or intensely passionate kisses, no tongue or anything, but it was long enough to be a bit more than friendly. When she pulled away, I opened my eyes wholly expecting to see Mia or Shay looking back at me. To my surprise, Shelly's face filled my view. I jerked awake and tried to sit up. Shelly started laughing, as did Shay and Mom, who were standing on the steps heading to the bedrooms.

"Mia, Shay, and your mom have raved about your kissing," Shelly said, as she ruffled my hair. "I had to see what I was missing out on."

I was speechless, which just made the three women laugh more.

"Get moving, Casanova," Mom said, as she turned to head up the stairs. "You've slept the afternoon away. We're heading out in an hour."

I watched the ladies as they filed out and tried to shake the grogginess from my head. The party started at eight. That means that I slept for like four hours. I grabbed my iPod and my book and went to my room to get ready, though it wasn't going to take me nearly as long as the girls.

I stripped down to my nothingness and hopped in the shower, starting it fairly cold to help wake me up. Once I was sufficiently coherent, I made quick work of my scrubbing, then let the warm water cascade over me for a few minutes. By the time I turned off the water, I was feeling relaxed but alert. I climbed out of the shower, stood in front of the foggy mirror and began the grooming ritual. Comb to the hair, then deodorant to the pits. I guess I was being careless as I rummaged through my little toiletry bag trying to find my toothbrush by touch alone, because the bag scooted across the vanity top, bumped into Sam's bag, and knocked it to the floor. I looked down as the contents spilled from his bag. Cursing my clumsiness, I squatted to pick them up. I'd seen something roll under the back of the toilet, so I reached back and felt around until my hand fell on a round pill bottle.

I wasn't intending to be nosy, honestly, but a quick glance told me that the name on the label wasn't Sam's. I paused and looked at the bottle in my hand. The prescription was for Amoxicillin, which I knew was an antibiotic. I'd taken it plenty of times to fight infections of various types. Why would Sam have someone else's antibiotic? Curiosity got the best of me. I opened the bottle and peered inside. Sure enough, that wasn't Amoxicillin. I wasn't sure exactly what it was, but my gut told me whatever it was wasn't something Sam should have. Suddenly all the pieces of the puzzle fell into place. Sam's moodiness, his aggression, his increase in bulk. As I looked at those little square pills, one word came to mind. Steroids.

Damn it all to hell.

I tried to tell myself that the pills could be anything, but all the facts kept pointing back to steroids. I felt sick to my stomach. While I didn't care much for the guy, I did care for his family. If he really was doing something like this, his family would be crushed, John especially. I dropped the bottle back into his bag, set the bag on the counter, and started brushing my teeth.

My eyes kept going back to Sam's bag. What was I going to do? Should I tell Mia? His parents? My mom? I wasn't even sure what was in the bag. Maybe he had a legitimate excuse and I'd just raise furor over nothing. Given all the drama that we faced over the last however many months, I hated to think I'd add to it for no reason.

Maybe I should just confront Sam. Yeah, right. That would go well.

A knock on the door startled me out of my thoughts.

"Come on, Slowpoke!" Shay called, through the door. "You're worse than a girl. We're ready to go!"

I had a mouth of toothpaste, so I spit it out before I spoke. "Yeah, OK. I'll be out in a couple of minutes."

"Are you naked?" came the reply.

"Um, yeah."

"Open the door so I can watch."

Another voice came from the other side of the door. "No way. If you do that we'll never get out of here."

"You are such a spoil sport, Mia," Shay whined, her voice getting quieter as the girls walked away.

I took one more look at Sam's bag before leaving the bathroom and shoved the issue to the side. No need to ruin everyone's New Year's Eve. It could wait a day.

I sipped my soda and watched Mia and Shay sway to the beat of the music. We'd been at the party for about an hour, most of which was spent just getting acclimated, milling about and listening to the live music. We saw Ana with the Chos a couple of times. Our parents were sitting with a group of older folks I'd never seen before. After about 45 minutes, Mia grabbed Shay's hand and pulled her onto the dance floor for a slow song. I took Shay's place for the next slow song. We danced for most of the next hour in various combinations. We'd all dance together on the fast songs, but after our one awkward attempt at slow dancing as a threesome, we gave it up, preferring to rotate as pairs.

During one dance that I was sitting out, I surveyed the room. It was interesting to watch the people around Mia and Shay. Two girls molded together as they danced drew more than a few stares, many of which were loaded with disapproval. There were also a fair number of gawking older men. Hey, I understood that particular attraction, but the letches didn't have to be so obvious about it. One particular couple had me shaking my head. The wife was talking in animated whispers to another woman. She kept glancing and even pointing at the girls, and would then shake her head in disgust. Her husband, on the other hand, was doing everything but drooling. His eyes were bugged out as he watched them intently. When the song ended and the girls briefly kissed, both husband and wife almost had coronaries.

The girls stopped by the table long enough to tell me they were going to the restroom. I glanced at the clock. Almost 10:00. I looked across the room at Mom's table. Shelly was there talking to some folks, but Mom and John were dancing. I got up and threaded my way through the dancing couples.

"Mom, can I use your cell?" I asked, when I got next to them.

When she looked at me, I smiled. Her eyes sparkled, which meant she was happy. "What do you need it for?" she asked. She and John had stopped their spinning and turning and were just swaying as we talked.

"I want to call Cassie and wish her a happy New Year."

"OK. It's in my purse at the table. Just tell Shelly I said you could use it. Keep the call short, though."

"Thanks, Mom." I left the dancing couple and threaded back through the other dancers until I reached their table. Shelly was looking past me with a grin. I glanced back in time to see John spin Mom into an embrace and then dip her almost to the floor. Mom was laughing gaily.

"Hey, Brody," Shelly said. "Looks like you're having a good time."

"Yeah, I am, although from the frowns of some of these folks, I would say that my little trio is causing a stir."

Shelly waved her hand in dismissal. "Don't let them bother you. It's none of their business. You guys just have fun."

"We will. Um, Mom said I could use her cell phone for a few minutes to call my friend. She said it was in her purse."

Shelly nodded and reached into the chair beside her. Instead of handing me Mom's purse, she produced Mom's cell phone. "Here you go."

"Thanks." I moved off to a corner of the room where the music wasn't quite as loud. I punched in a few numbers and waited. As the phone rang, I glanced at the clock across the room. A little after 10. Perfect.

"Hello?" The word sounded like a shout and I could hear loud music and talking in the background.

"Happy New Year, Cassie," I said loudly.

Cassie squealed. I had to pull the phone away from my ear. "Brody! Aw, that's so sweet. Thank you! And yes, it is a happy New Year. Danica is with me right now."

"Awesome. So you two are really hitting it off, huh?"

"Oh, Brody, it's almost like we've been friends forever. We have so much fun together. I can't wait to see you so I can tell you all about it."

"Just a few more days."

"Yeah."

I glanced over towards our table and saw the girls standing there looking around. "Listen, I'm going to go and let you get back to your party. I just wanted to wish you a Happy New Year. I'll see you soon, OK?"

"'K. Love you, Brody."

"Love you, too."

I hung up and smiled. It was nice having friends.

"You gonna let me dance with the big stud?"

Mia and I turned around to face the dance floor we'd just left. Irelynn smiled at us.

Mia smiled in return. "Only if you let Shay and I have your man for a bit."

Irelynn elbowed Tyler, who was standing beside her. "He wouldn't know what to do with two girls at once."

"Pretty much the same thing I do with you," Tyler quipped with a shrug, "but I'd have to do it longer."

Irelynn slapped his arm, and then rolled her eyes at Mia.

The next song had just started, so I held my hand out to Irelynn. "May I have this dance, Milady?"

"Ooh, good-looking and a gentleman to boot," she said, as she placed her hand in mine. As I led her out on to the floor, she glanced back at our respective dates. "Don't wear him out, Mia. I have plans for him."

The sounds of the music drowned out Mia's response. As we danced, Irelynn and I chatted about holiday traditions and resolutions, and getting ready to go back to school. As the song was winding up, Mom and John danced over beside us.

"We're heading back to cabin," Mom said.

"Why so early?" I asked. It wasn't quite eleven yet.

John grimaced and rubbed his back. "We're not quite as energetic as you kids. I'm not sure we'd have the strength to make it back to the cabin if we danced until midnight."

I grinned at him. "Yeah right. You act like you're so old."

"Hey, just wait until you are approaching forty, Mister, and tell me that an early night doesn't sound good."

"When do you think you and the girls will be coming back?" Mom asked.

Irelynn spoke up before I could. "Mrs. Brown, if it's all right with you, Shay and Mia promised they'd try some of my mother's homemade eggnog at midnight. It's a family tradition to drink a glass with friends to ring in the New Year."

"I guess we're staying until at least after midnight, then." I glanced over at Mia and Shay, who were both dancing with Tyler. He looked like he was in a stupor as the two girls flowed against him. Another couple dancing next to them were frowning at their antics. "Actually, we'll probably stay until they kick us off the dance floor."

Mom leaned over and kissed my cheek. "All right, then. I'll wish you a Happy New Year early. I love you, Son."

"I love you, too, Mom."

"Happy New Year, Brody," John said. "You, too, Irelynn."

We watched them walk through the dancing couples to the edge of the floor. Shelly was watching her Mia and Shay with a smile as she waited for Mom and John.

Irelynn tightened her arms around my neck. "They've started a new song, so I guess that means you have to dance with me again."

Yeah, such a chore.

I guzzled my punch as I watched my girls pick their way through the crowds on their way back to the table. Irelynn and I ended up dancing that song and the next slow song, too, with a few fast songs thrown in for good measure. As I took a break to replenish my fluids, Irelynn danced with her dad, and Tyler had gone to the restroom.

"Well, it looks like it's just the three of us again," I smiled, when they reached me.

"As it should be," Mia said. "Hey, listen. Shay accidently left her cell back at the cabin and she needs it so she can talk to her parents at midnight."

"I've never had a New Year where we didn't wish each other Happy New Year at midnight," Shay added. "Even when we were at separate parties we'd call. I don't want to break that this year, especially after all that's happened."

"I'm going to walk her down there and then we're coming right back," Mia said. "Do you want to come?"

I jumped up and grabbed our jackets. "Is a frog's butt watertight?"

Both girls looked at me like I'd sprouted a second head.

"Excuse me?" Shay asked. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means you asked a question that had only one obvious answer."

The girls glanced at each other. "Ooookay," Mia said, shaking her head.

I handed them their jackets and took their hands. It felt good to get outside in the crisp night air. The girls each took one of my arms, pulled it around them and burrowed into my sides. A light snow was falling, which seemed to just add to the romanticism of it all. We walked in silence most of the way. As we reached the small lane that led up to our cabin, Shay pulled away.

"I have to pee. I'll meet you guys there." She took off at a jog, being careful not to slip.

We watched her as she moved into the shadows and then reappeared when she reached the steps to the cabin.

"How you feeling?" I asked Mia. I gave her a little squeeze.

"Mmm. Life is good. I can't remember ever being this happy. What about you?"

"This is the best winter break I've ever had. I could do without some of the drama, but it's been good."

"Things are turning out OK, right? I mean, you like where we are right now. Not physically, but emotionally, relationshipally?"

"Relationshipally? That's not a word."

"Hey, every word had to be started by someone at some point. That will be my contribution."

"Interesting choice. Anyway, yeah, I like how our relationship is turning out."

At this point, we reached our front steps and started the ascent. When we got to the top, Shay came out of the cabin and blocked our path. She had this weird look on her face and kept glancing back and forth between me and Mia.

"Shay?" Mia asked. "Why are you acting so weird?"

Shay kept the same expression for another couple of seconds. Instead of answering, though, she motioned for us to follow her. As we stepped into the house she put her finger to her lips to tell us to be quiet.

I could hear soft music coming from the great room. The light was a soft glowing yellow, which I assumed was from the fireplace. My first thought as we moved in the shadows towards the landing overlooking the great room was that Shay had caught John and Shelly getting frisky. The thought was awkwardly arousing.

As we settled into place in the shadows and peered over the railing, I saw kissing all right. But it wasn't John and Shelly. It was John ... and Mom.

My eyes opened wide at the same time as Mia gasped. Shay clamped her hand to Mia's mouth. Then we watched.

Mom and John were standing in front of the fireplace, wrapped tightly in an embrace. They were kissing. Not just a friendly kiss, but a passionate, involved kiss. When their lips would part, tongues would guide them back together. Mom and John were both dressed in silky nightwear. John had on only pajama pants, his muscular, barrel chest exposed and pressed firmly against Mom's breasts. Mom was in a short silky nightie that ended mid-thigh. Every now and then they'd shift and I could see a healthy expanse of cleavage. John's lips moved from Mom's mouth down to her neck and then into that cleavage. Mom's head rolled back, her eyes closed. She gently caressed his back and shoulders as he explored her neck and chest with his lips. Then John slid his hand from her waist to her ass and gave the firm cheek a squeeze.

"Where's Mom?" Mia whispered. Hell if I knew where Shelly was. I glanced at Mia. Her face looked as shocked as I felt. I had a fleeting thought that you could stuff a softball into her open mouth. She blinked a couple of times without taking her eyes off the scene. "What's going on? Do you think my mom knows?"

Shay pointed towards the coffee table. There were three wine glasses next to an empty wine bottle.

As if on cue, Shelly came into the scene from the side carrying another wine bottle that she was trying to open. She was dressed in a silk nightie similar to Mom's.

"I guess that answers that," Shay whispered.

"I had no idea," Mia said. She looked at me. "Did you?"

I remembered back to Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. I had wondered, but finally determined it was unlikely. Damn, I should trust my instincts more often. Not that I would have done anything, anyway. I didn't answer Mia, opting to shrug instead.

A part of me felt like we should leave. I was more than a little embarrassed watching our parents. They didn't expect us for at least another hour, hour and a half. This was something that was private, something intended for them alone and not prying teenage eyes. I knew that, but a bigger part of me was mesmerized not only by the sight in front of me, but also by the swirl of emotions inside me. This was my mom. I knew she had had sex with another man recently, but I'd never seen it. I suddenly realized what she must have felt that night when she started to suck me only to stop when she tasted Cassie on me. I think I was intrigued, aroused, jealous ... Yeah, jealousy was there, but it wasn't alone. There was no way I was going to sort my feelings out right at that moment without being able to really think about things, so I just watched the scene unfold.

John pulled away from Mom and took the bottle from Shelly. As he turned to the coffee table to finish opening the bottle and pour the drinks, Shelly stepped over to Mom and embraced her. They practically melted against each other as their lips met in a kiss almost identical to the one Mom had just shared with John.

"Oh, shit," Shay whispered. Yeah, oh, shit.

I was speechless. Mia must have been, too. I'm guessing she didn't know HER mom swung both ways, either.

By the time John had poured the drinks and turned to face the women, Mom had Shelly on the ropes. Mom's hands had slipped under Shelly's nightie, pushing it up above her naked world-class ass. Even from my vantage point, I could see her ass was tight like Mom's but more rounded, almost like Mia's. No doubt about it. Of all the asses I'd seen up close and personal, Shelly's was the pinnacle. Mom's hands massaged and squeezed and then slowly slipped up Shelly's back. The little nightie did nothing to hinder Mom's caress as she continued up. When the fabric caught on Shelly's breasts, she grabbed the hem and pulled it over her head herself.

Both girls two my right gasped.