Chapter 160

The group emerged from the kitchen. The joking had quieted down some and almost everyone looked at them when they entered the main area.

Sean nodded toward Timm and he slipped out the door with Cameron. A second nod brought Veronica over to stand with them. Erin and Meredith got the hint and walked that way, too.

"OK, we've decided that, subject to a few regulations, we're going to make alcoholic beverages available during the first couple of days of our stay here," Sean announced.

"Really?" Jason said, speaking up first. "Dude, I know this is a silly question, given that Celina is there with you. But do you know the sort of shit that could land you in?"

"We do," Walt said. "More importantly, we ask each of you to understand the sort of shit it could land us in. So here are the rules."

Mary stepped forward.

"Veronica will be around shortly to take your keys," she said. "This is not optional. I don't care if they are just your house keys or the keys to the first car you ever owned and it's been in a junkyard for five years. If you have a key on your person, in your purse or in your luggage, get it and give it to Veronica. She is the Keeper of the Keys because she doesn't drink."

Adam saw no one had a problem with this. People were fishing out their key rings or going to get them before she finished speaking.

"OK, Number Two: No one leaves the property for any reason," Mary announced. "I think you understand why so I won't belabor the point. Suffice it to say if you leave the property tonight after consuming alcohol there is no need for you to return.

"Number Three: No one will be compelled to join the party. There will be a few drinking games, I'm sure, but no one will be urged, asked or coerced into drinking. We have several people in our group who do not drink. If you do not drink or simply do not feel like drinking today, no one will try to get you to and no one will think less of you."

The group nodded their agreement. Adam didn't think either would be an issue. He wasn't sure about Lucy, Beth and Elena but he knew the others had partaken of alcoholic beverages in the past.

It was Walt's turn to speak. He had been appointed to be the bad parent – the one who got to spell out the harshest rules.

"Cameron, Erin, Meredith and Veronica do not drink," he said. "For Cameron, it is a medical condition. For the others it is a personal choice. Adam drinks little and he has agreed to drink even less this evening. The reason we asked him to do this is for one reason. These are our bouncers. If you drink and become an idiot – that means you become belligerent, destructive, suicidal or just a plain pain in the ass – one of these five people, or maybe all of them depending on how big a pain in the ass you're being, will put you down and they will put you down hard enough for you to know it.

"They have several issues with this but it was something we asked of them as a requirement for allowing this. First off, we are all friends. So if you feel the need to drink enough to force one of your friends into doing something he or she doesn't want to do, I can't stop you. However, the ones of us who actually have our names on the deed to this place felt it was a necessary step for legal reasons and because we haven't been around most of you when alcohol is involved. Does anyone have questions?"

Leslie raised her hand and smiled.

"Uh, when you say Adam and Cameron might put me down, you don't mean that in a fun way, do you?" she asked with a laugh. Then she turned to face the rest of the group. "Look, these guys have proven to be the best friends I've ever had. I don't think there is a soul in this room who could disagree with that. So I'll just add something. I think it's really cool they're willing to throw a party for us. And if someone does something stupid to fuck it, I'll sneak in your room while you're passed out and show you my displeasure. I'm pretty sure I can convince 10 or 12 others to join me. So use your fucking heads and don't be a moron. OK?"

Veronica moved to the front of the group as Leslie was offering her admonitions.

"That is good advice, Leslie," she said before pausing for a moment. "I am an alcoholic. Walt didn't give you the reason I don't drink anymore. But that is it. I'm not opposed to alcohol and I'm not going to try to convert anyone into becoming a teetotaler. I'll just say this. I'm an alcoholic because when I was your age – 18, 19 or 20 – I didn't learn the difference between a relaxing party and a hard party.

"Even in a situation like this, I would drink until I passed out or threw up or put myself in a dangerous situation. In fact, it was in Las Vegas when I realized that I couldn't drink even a little any longer. I realized it when I woke up on my birthday with no memory of how I got to Las Vegas let alone what I'd done once I got here. But that is about me then and this is about you now.

"This is a party to relax and let off some steam. It is a party so these guys can show you their appreciation for everything you do. Timm and I are in the same boat legally as they are because we purchased the alcohol. If you haven't been around alcohol and don't know your limits, tonight isn't really the time to learn them. If you do know your limits, tonight isn't the time to test them. That's all I wanted to say."

Cameron and Timm had been carrying in a few cases of beer and some wine coolers as the group talked. Adam could see immediately that there was enough for everyone to have a good time but not nearly enough for someone to get loaded – unless he or she decided to pound them down one after the other.

Rebecca and the catering crew of Elena and Katey came in with the last load. Each had some finger foods and bags of chips and other snacks.

"Efficient," Adam said as he moved to help unburden them. The other guys fell in step to help him.

"I called ahead when we decided this might happen," she said. He realized he didn't even know if Rebecca drank. He could picture her drinking a fine glass of wine with dinner. "I filled everyone in on what's happening and the rules. Did you add any to what Mary had in mind?"

"I don't think so," Adam related. "Don't do stupid shit, give up your keys, stay on the property and no one will be bullied?"

"That's about it," Rebecca said. "Well, it looks like everyone is acting like the beer has cyanide in it. Might as well get things started."

She hooked Walt's arm on the way past him and headed to where Timm was filling tubs with ice, beer and wine coolers. Sure enough, the rest of the group was waiting for someone else to make the first move.

Rebecca handed a beer to Walt and then grabbed one for herself.

She opened the top and touched the bottle to Walt's still unopened drink.

"Here's to you, here's to me, may we never disagree," she said. "But if we do ... fuck you. Here's to me."

She took a long pull of the beer then smiled.

"Party's on," she said loudly.

"This isn't much different than the 'Cotton Panty Chronicle's' shoot," Veronica remarked.

"Except no one's heading upstairs to fuck," Adam pointed out.

"Yet," Veronica laughed. "They'll be some sticky sheets in the morning, you can bet."

"Gee, thanks," Adam commented. "You know, it'll probably be me who gets the cum-stained sheet duty. Wednesday is my day for laundry with Rachelle."

"You're breaking my heart," Veronica joked. "I swear to you; I'm about in tears. It's what you get for owning a freaking bordello. Can you imagine how much money Subarctic would make if they opened this place back up?"

"Not interested," Adam said flatly.

"Nah, I guess not," Veronica said. "But you might consider taking over Reno like you're taking over Porn Valley. You guys could control all the smut West of the Mississippi."

"You're killing me," Adam said.

"But you'll die with a smile on your face," she replied. "Admit it, you think I'm hilarious."

"A laugh riot," Adam said, nudging her with his hip.

Veronica stood about 5-foot-5 with a multitude of curves. If Sarah wasn't in the room, Veronica would be in the running with Erin and Meredith in any Best Body Contest. Veronica wasn't as toned as those two but she was coming close – courtesy of working out in the mornings with the other women three times a week.

"I'm going over to play some poker with the guys," she announced. "Gee, I hope it's not strip poker. I'm at a disadvantage."

She wore only a pair of panties, like most of the other women. Rachelle and Sarah, both of whom Adam was certain weren't wearing panties, kept their shorts on. Leslie and Tyanna were both completely nude. Celina and Elena were wearing all their underwear. Celina's silk panties matched her bra. Elena was going for comfort more than speed. She had on a pair of cotton briefs and a white cotton bra. She still looked cute and didn't seem embarrassed.

Lucy was a surprise. She had no trouble letting her breasts free. Snuggles found himself in his dog carrier but she went up every couple of hours to let him out to pee or poop in the yard. The site of her wearing only a pair of very small panties and a rubber glove while carrying a plastic bag gave him a chuckle.

The people Adam had pegged as drinkers – Leslie, Timm and Jason, mostly because their Southern heritage matched Adam's – really weren't doing much imbibing. Leslie was still on her first wine cooler. Timm and Jason had only a couple of beers each spread out of an hour and a half.

Katya and Anya seemed to know their way around alcohol. Both had consumed three wine coolers but showed no ill effects. Rebecca was drinking beer – from the bottle – and lots of it. He figured she would be the first to fall (if anyone fell at all).

Tyanna also seemed to be doing her fair share on the beer. The wine coolers really weren't the hit Adam had expected. In his limited party experience (which mirrored Sean and Walt's) the women drank wine coolers and the men drank beer.

Not these women. Mary, Rachelle, Shelly and Leslie had wine coolers. The rest had beer except for Allie who was drinking bottled water. She had explained that alcohol turned her into a raging bitch sometimes and she'd had too good a day to risk it.

There were people dancing and a poker game had broken out in the kitchen. Meredith and Erin were taking turns using other people's CDs and MP3 players to provide the music.

No one was drinking heavily so Adam didn't feel bad about grabbing a second beer. Beth and Elena intercepted him as he tossed the cap into the garbage.

"Dance with us," Elena said. "All the other guys are playing cards."

She and Beth each took his hand and dragged him to an open space where Tyanna, Leslie and Shelly were gyrating nearby.

Elena was from a small town in Wyoming. Beth was from just up the coast from Los Angeles. But their method of dancing was exactly the same. Adam found himself in the middle of a sandwich with Elena's body pressed against his front and Beth's against his back. Somehow they stayed in rhythm with each other.

"No fair, you hooked the only guy who's not scared of us," Tyanna joked over the music. "The others ran off to the kitchen as soon as the music started. I think Walt was afraid Trinity had another dance in store for him."

Adam laughed as Beth and Elena switched places. The music wasn't as loud as in a club or even at the shoot 10 days earlier. Everyone was able to talk without screaming.

"We could practice our lap dancing on Adam," Beth said. "That would get the others out in a hurry. We could have a rule: No bump and grind in a chair unless they bump and grind on the dance floor first."

"Adam's a waste anyway," Leslie said. "Allie blew him twice on the way over."

"He sure had something poking me in the belly," Elena laughed.

"You should have been taller," Beth retorted. "It's getting me low enough to do some good."

"You made him blush!" Shelly teased.

Sure enough, Adam's face was red and he couldn't help but get an erection when two scantily clad girls were rubbing their torsos on him.

Elena had lost her bra when she came back around for the next pass. She lifted Adam's shirt and pressed her bare tits against him while rubbing her pussy on his thigh.

"You go, girl," Shelly said. She disappeared for a moment then returned with a kitchen chair. Adam wondered if he might get another lap dance. But instead Shelly plopped the chair beside them and stood on it to tug his shirt over his head. Adam was pretty well trapped between Elena and Beth so he could protest verbally but do little else about it.