Chapter 7

Summer break was over all too soon, and Dave and Ed were shipped off to their boarding school while Iris and Dahlia went to the sister school in the same neighborhood.

As it was his final year, Dave had spent much of his time preparing for the examinations that would improve his chances for acceptance into one of the better universities. He didn't want to go to his father's alma mater, for even though he was more privileged that most, he didn't want to coast on that privilege. He didn't want anyone to doubt that could have made it into a good university on his own merits if Veronica hadn't paid the tuition for this costly prep school.

This mindset arose from the observation that some of the legacy students surrounding him at his prep school ... the offspring of several generations of Old Boys, needed a lot of help to make the grade. Still, they would certainly get into a good college anyway due to parental connections, and displace more deserving students in the process. Their jobs would probably be arranged for them as well.

It wasn't like he was surrounded by rich idiots, but he could distinguish a clear correlation between intellect and discernible sense of entitlement. The less intelligent the student, the less they hid their sense of entitlement.

Sebastian Barrington-Stuart was a prime example of this. His brother and sister were reasonably high achievers, but he was clearly the weak link in that family, averagely intelligent at best and lacking any semblance of intellectual curiosity whatsoever. Also, according to Iris, he looked less like Prince Charming and more like the white horse that bore him. But even without significant looks or intellect, odds were that he'd coast through life unless he did something that would seriously annoy his father and grandfather.

At the moment, he was seriously annoying Dave by hitting on Dahlia and seemingly not wanting to take no for an answer.

Dressed as a Valkyrie, Iris had made the pretentious twit reconsider with a single look. Her silver plateau boots added another four inches to her already imposing 5'11" frame. A silvery plastic breastplate pressed her boobs up but left everything beneath her hovering ribs uncovered, giving the onlookers a view of her flat abdomen. The fake chain mail skirt was so short that her sculpted legs were mostly visible, and aside from wrist bracers her toned arms were bare too. The chaperones nearly forbade her costume, but she wore a faux white fur cape over the ensemble that granted just enough cover to make it possible. She looked both sexy and intimidating at the same time.

Dahlia, on the other hand, looked stunning yet delicate in her Greek goddess outfit consisting of an elegant, white, low-cut chiffon gown with gold trimmings and matching jewelry and headpiece. Consequently, with Ed more interested in talking to the the girl school's chaperoning math teacher, the boys gravitated towards her.

She had danced with a few who asked her politely, and shot down many more whose eyes betrayed less honorable thoughts. Sebastard, as Dave liked to call him, was now pressing into her personal space, and since Iris was dancing with their friend Karl Hartmann, Dave felt that it was up to him to intervene.

In a manner befitting his ninja costume, he darted through the dancing couples to get to her and, when he got there, slid one of his fake short-swords in between her and Sebastard.

"Hey bony, may I cut in?" Dave asked, making a reference to the skeleton costume the boy wore.

A visibly relieved Dahlia giggled, and slipped away from Sebastard to take Dave's hand. He led her to the middle of the dance floor, and they fell into a simple box-step waltz. The brother and sister schools had made it mandatory to learn at least the basics of ballroom dancing, and the DJ regularly played rumbas, waltzes, foxtrots and quicksteps.

When the song ended, the DJ switched to a slow song. It was the hit song launched in July by Sarah McLachlan. Dave began to pull away, but Dahlia plaintively squeezed his hand. "Please, Sebastian's still lurking. I definitely don't want to build any mystery with him," she said, loosely referring to the song's title.

Dave leaned in and replied, "You can't slow-dance with your boyfriend's brother. Let's go to Ed."

"I really don't want to see him right now," Dahlia said morosely. 'Let's go outside. I need some air."

"It's chilly outside. Hold on," Dave said, and darted over to Iris, who was now slow-dancing with Daniel Kim. He grinned like Christmas had come early as he rested his head against her boobs. After all, Iris towered out over him with her plateau boots.

"Dan, I need to borrow your vampire cape," Dave said.

"Why?"

Dahlia wants to step outside for a moment. "She needs some air, and she needs to stay warm outside."

"Is she okay? Do you need me there?" Iris asked.

"I'll take care of it," Dave answered, noticing the panicked expression on his roommate's face when faced with the prospect of having his dance with Iris cut short.

"There's a chaperone in the lobby. You won't be able to get out of the building until the dance is over," Dan said, as he dug into a pocket and produced a key card. "Here, go up to my room. It has a balcony. And there will be a couple of robes. You can use those to keep warm."

"You rented a room here?" Iris asked. "Did you have naughty plans?"

The schools had rented a ballroom at an upscale hotel, and it was common knowledge that not all the students who weren't going home for the weekend were actually going back to the dorms. Some were staying at the hotel with the intent of having a sexual rendezvous.

"Alas, my goddess, you already belong to another. It is just going to be me, the minibar, and Cinemax."

"Aw, poor baby. Let me give you something to help you fantasize," Iris replied, grinning, and pressed his cheek back against her boobs to resume their slow shuffle.

"Thanks man," Dave said, and returned to Dahlia with the key card.

He headed to the elevators and took her to top floor, where they followed the signs until they reached Dan's room, which turned out to be a suite. Of course, Dan's grandfather had started, built up, and sold several successful information technology businesses in South Korea since the 1960s, and though his father had opted out of the family business, he was a well-to-do proctologist. In addition, Dan's mother was a Thai ruby mine, silk industry, and real-estate development heiress who had 'rebelled' against her family by marrying a Korean and getting a Public Administration instead of a Business Administration PhD. And when she divorced Dr Kim, she actually ended up having to pay him some child support.

"Wow, heck of a suite," Dahlia said.

"Dan says his parents keep trying to buy the better part of his and his sister's affection by competing with gifts," Dave explained.

"That explains Linda's steady supply of neat stuff," Dahlia remarked.

"I take it you know Dan's sister, then?"

"Yep, she's my roommate. Not a bad kisser, either," she added conversationally, as she began to explore the suite.

"Whoa!" Dave exclaimed, and his cock twitched in agreement.

"Down boy! It isn't like all us boarding girls are lezzing out after hours. Don't let your imagination get the better of you. It isn't like all you guys temporarily become gay either."

"True," Dave admitted. "Now where is the closet where they stow the robes? If this had been a regular hotel room, they'd have been in the closet near the entrance. No such closet here, though," he said, looking back."

"Got them," Dahlia said, as she poked her head out of an adjacent room. "Walk-in closet."

"You know your way around suites, don't you?"

"The modeling agency arranged suites for me and Mom a few times."

Dave smiled. Even though she was only 15, Dahlia was very sought after as a model. She's made the front cover of several teen magazines with nationwide coverage already

"How is the modeling working out for you?"

Dahlia raised one of her sculpted dark eyebrows. "Why this sudden interest in my life? You've never asked me about my modeling before."

"Iris has been keeping me informed of the highlights, but I thought I'd ask anyway."

"Hmpf ... very well, thanks. Too well, actually. Those agencies can be pretty unscrupulous about breaking child labor laws, you know," she said, handing him a bathrobe.

They both donned the fluffy white robes with the hotel emblems and went out on the balcony. Dahlia heaved a sad sigh, her breath visible in the chilly air as she exhaled.

"You'll have some decisions to make if you take the path to celebrity. They usually dig into the lives of celebrities," he pointed out. It was a discussion he and Iris had had a few times. Their relationship would be easier if they had greater privacy.

"I've already had this talk with Iris, Dave," Dahlia said.

Dave could see her eyes fogging up, and he took her hand in his. "You'll find a way to work it out."

"No, I won't. It isn't intentional on his part, but Ed and I can't connect anymore. He's changing. He was never very hormone driven to begin with, but nowadays it's even less. The sex is good ... his technique is superb. But there's no real emotional connection," Dahlia said, as a tear began to roll down her cheek. "I guess the novelty of it has worn off on both sides. He's over the initial attraction, and I don't have the patience to put up with his Asperger Syndrome-like behavior anymore.

Dave brought a corner of his robe to up bat away the tear. "It'll be okay, Dahlia."

She sniffed. "Will it? I'm so envious of the connection you have with Iris, you know."

"Well, our relationship isn't perfect either. Unlike Ed, I have to constantly struggle against my dick. And I don't always win either."

"Well, I'd gladly trade problems with Iris," Dahlia said, as she slid under his arm and rested her head against his shoulder.

Dave snorted. "I rescued you from Sebastard, and you thank me by calling me a problem. Nice!"

Dahlia giggled. "Sebastard, eh? Fitting name. And I'm sorry I called you a problem," she added, before kissing him on the cheek.

Chaste as it was, it caused his face to grow warm as the blood flow around his body sped up. Only a supreme effort of will kept his cock in check, and it was made more difficult by her choice of perfume. It was based on lilies, but different from most other perfumes he had ever smelled.

"Interesting scent you're wearing."

Dahlia smiled. "You like it? It's Susinon. Grandma sent it to Mom a while ago. It was made according to an ancient Greek recipe. I thought it would be appropriate. The boys certainly liked it."

Dave shook his head... "If the stories about grandma are true, there are probably some pheromones in there. As if your natural beauty isn't enough!"

She stiffened under his arm ever so slightly. "Do you really think I'm that beautiful?"

Dave was surprised by her reaction. After all, she knew very well how pretty she was. Of course, he had never said so, and he decided that was probably the reason.

"Dahlia, just because Ed doesn't react to your charms like normal people do doesn't mean they're not there. You're the most beautiful girl I know. Even women acknowledge your looks. Now, if you could only tone down the bitchy attitude you display every now and then..."

"Hey!"

Dave chuckled. "I said to tone it down a bit, not drop it entirely. It can actually be pretty sexy."

"Glad to hear it," Dahlia said, assuming her bitchy tone.

"Good ... just like that. That's exactly the right amount of bitch."

Dahlia giggled and looped her arm around his. "Well, thanks for rescuing me tonight."

"Don't mention it ... although we'll have to make arrangements for next year, since he has one more year to go and I won't be around next year."

"I'm sure Frank will be more than happy to scare him off," Dahlia said.

"Not a good idea, I think. He might not take Frank seriously because of his youth, and Frank's too strong. He'll get expelled if he knocks out Sebastard's teeth."

"Frankie's not the sort to through the first punch," Dahlia remarked.

"It won't matter who throws the first punch. Sebastard's dad is a fourth generation Old Boy. The males of the Barrington-Stuart family have attended our school since it opened. Heck, all six of his great-great grandfathers attended our school."

"Shouldn't he have eight of those?" Dahlia asked.

"Given recent developments close to home, we really shouldn't pass judgment on that, should we?" Dave pointed out, for even though his parents were not related, they had a lot of common relatives. And when he reproduced with Iris, his kids would have even fewer different ancestors than Sebastard. Of course, Veronica suspected that they had a healthy enough genome to get away with it.

"Touché," Dahlia conceded, interrupting his train of thought.

"Anyway," Dave continued. "Since pretty much the entire male part of Sebastard's family tree attended this school, and they've been heavy donors throughout the years, you can't expect a first generation student to get a fair disciplinary hearing."

"Relax, I'll think of something," Dahlia said. "It's really sweet that you want protect me, but I can take care of myself."

Dave wasn't reassured. One of Sebastard's college-aged cousins got away with date rape not too long ago. Sebastard's older brother, who had graduated the year before, had also shown a combination of a macho and misogynistic streak when he stated that women 'asked to be raped' by wearing certain kinds of clothes.

"I'll teach you some self-defense over the summer. You should let Aunt Ronnie teach you too."

"Will you teach me some other stuff as well?" she asked suggestively, and her tone of voice and the way her thumb was running across his fingers left no doubt about what she meant.

Dave shook his head. "James will ... not me."

"Aw, that's over a year away. I can't share Frank with Erica until then," she complained.

"Just Frank? What about Ed? Are you really that angry with him?"

Dahlia snorted and said sarcastically, "No, I was just overreacting!"

"Wrong kind of bitchiness," Dave warned.

"Sorry," Dahlia took a deep breath. "I'm more disappointed then I am angry. I feel betrayed. That's why I won't be able to have sex with him for a while. But I need release too, you know."

"Then ask Iris. I really don't have the balls to ask her myself."

"Jeez, you act as if she's your owner."

Dave shrugged. "I think it's better for our relationship if she feels more in control, after the way I've messed up."

Dahlia raised an eyebrow skeptically. "Really? And did you think of that all by yourself?"

Dave grinned sheepishly. "Actually, Aunt Ronnie suggested it."