ASL2: Chapter 7 "Kayaking"

-- CHAPTER 7: Kayaking --

****

-- MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2008 --

I’m not a hundred-percent sure how I thought Adrienne would react. I mean sure, some part of me hoped she might cover her gaping mouth with one hand, eyes sparkling with unbridled joy and love. Maybe I thought she’d react in much the same way she had that fateful day at Morris Camp when I’d dropped down on one knee – mixed excitement and fear before she wound up blurting, ‘Yes, I will marry you!’

Truth be told, I didn’t stop to ponder the myriad ways in which she might react to my question about giving us a second chance; I just asked. But I do know that if I HAD stopped to ponder, I would never have guessed she might react in the way she actually did.

“Don’t fuck with me, Benjamin,” Adrienne growled, eyes hard as she abruptly shoved me straight in my chest.

“I wasn’t--”

The tears were back in Adrienne’s eyes as she shoved me again. “You can’t ask me that!”

“Why--? But I--?” My mouth was moving but I had a hard time getting words to come out.

She suddenly covered her face with both hands and rolled away from me, visibly shuddering. I immediately scooted across the bed after her, spooning myself against her back and wrapping her up with both arms. She didn’t resist me or turn to shove me again. If anything, she sagged back into my embrace and curled herself into a tighter fetal position, sobbing her poor little heart out.

I shushed her tenderly and stroked her arm. When that failed to quell her tremors, I rolled her over so that her face was against my chest and rocked her back and forth a little bit. As time passed, I slowed down my rocking motions, and as I did so her sobs and shudders seemed to ease. And eventually I found myself lying flat on my back, Adrienne’s head pillowed on my upper left chest as she slowly calmed down.

“Don’t fuck with me,” she mumbled, my skin a little wet from her tears and drool.

“I’m not fucking with you,” I replied quietly. “I meant every word.”

“I know you did. That’s the problem.”

“The problem?”

Adrienne shivered and pushed her nose into my chest. “You know I’m with Sasha.”

I sighed. “I know.”

“You know I love her, know I want to be with her. You know I want to be on a path to marriage with her.”

I winced. “Yeah…”

“So why the fuck would you go and ask me a fucking lose-lose, nightmare, unfair question like THAT?!” Adrienne picked her head up and glared at me.

“I…” Words failed me again.

Adrienne’s eyes clicked back between mine, searching my face. Shaking her head slowly, her anger passed and her expression shifted to one of pain. “You got me thinking of our baby, the baby I started to want for myself. You got me thinking of a lifetime spent by your side. You got me thinking about signing autographs with Mom and Dad’s last name. It’s not fair. I can’t do this. You can’t DO this to me right now! I’m with Sasha! I love HER. We HAD our chance, Tiger. I want my happy ending, but I want it with HER.”

“I know, I know,” I muttered, closing my eyes and setting my head back while swallowing my pain.

“YOU made my choice for me when you broke our engagement and left. YOU abandoned me and left me to find solace in Sasha. Well I DID. And now you’re coming back and fucking with my head after I spent months crying my heart out and moving on from you!”

“I know, I know.” I grimaced, still with my eyes clenched.

Adrienne exhaled slowly, and I could hear her anger dissipating as she apparently read the pain on my face. In a much softer tone, she continued, “I’m sorry. The last thing I would ever want to do is break your heart AGAIN.”

“No, it’s okay, don’t apologize.” I took a deep breath, opened my eyes and looked at her again. “You’re right: it was an unfair question.”

“It’s my fault. I’m the one who started talking about Happily Ever After and how I wanted to be your other half, to be your wife. I put the idea back in your head.”

“Well yeah, you did, but that’s okay.” I took another deep breath, and this time when I exhaled, I felt a lot of my tension melting away.

“Almost any other time, I would have welcomed the thought of getting back together. But Tiger… I asked to meet with you so you could help me feel better about my relationship with Sasha, not give me a reason to think of breaking up with her.”

“Well in all fairness, I wouldn’t ask you to break up with her. I mean seriously, this is me.”

“Yeah, yeah, I get it. On the surface, if you and I got married and Sasha was our girlfriend, everything would be perfect, right? Sasha gets to love both of us but doesn’t get tied down with the commitment she’s not ready for. You and I get our partnership and matching last names and all that fun stuff. Ben gets two horny nymphomaniacs fucking his brains out all day every day.”

I gave her an amused smirk. “I’m failing to see the downside.”

“It’s not what I want, Tiger.”

My shoulders sagged.

“We can’t rewind the clock to when you and I were still engaged. We can’t pretend the past year didn’t happen. You left me – full stop - and I don’t blame Dawn for that, or DJ or Kim or anybody else. That’s on you.”

“I know.”

“I took you for granted – straight up – that part’s on me. But don’t pretend like we couldn’t have fixed it if you’d been willing to try.”

“I’m not pretending.”

Adrienne exhaled slowly again and shook her head. “I went and fell in love with Sasha. That happened. I’ve spent a year building my relationship with her. I love her and I want her in my life and…”

Adrienne’s voice trailed off as she took a deep breath and gave me a serious look. I knew then that whatever she was going to say next, she knew I wasn’t particularly going to like it.

Shaking her head, Adrienne finally finished, “That name I want as my emergency contact? I want it to be hers. The face I want on the pillow next to mine when I’m gray and old? I want it to be hers. It doesn’t mean I don’t love you; I do. But--”

“It’s okay, you don’t have to explain,” I interrupted.

“You’re my rock. I can’t live without you,” she assured me. “I’ll never pick up my life and move to another city far away from you ever again. I’m gonna want to get royally pounded by Tiger-dick a minimum of once a week for the rest of my life. I want you to share your secrets with me, come confide in me about all your romantic foibles with whatever girls you end up falling in love with.”

“IF I ever fall in love again,” I muttered a little dispiritedly. “It feels like every prominent girl in my life has rejected me by now: you and Sasha, DJ’s in SoCal, Amber married David, even Lynne married Bert.”

“Don’t say that.” Adrienne frowned. “You’re a total babe-magnet, and you never know when the next Amber or Sasha might come walking into your life. Come to think of it, what’s this I hear about Summer taking quite the interest in you?”

I sighed and rubbed my forehead. “Seriously, why is everyone trying to get me together with Summer?”

Adrienne frowned. “Why do you sound so vehemently opposed to the idea?”

“I’m not…” I let my voice trail off.

Adrienne propped herself up on her elbows and I briefly glanced down at her lush cleavage. Her tits were still too massive to expose her nipples, but it still made for an excellent view. She waited until my eyes made it up to her face before giving me a smirk and saying, “I recognize that look on your face.”

I blinked. “What look? The Ben loves staring at Adrienne’s tits look?”

She giggled. “No, the ‘I like her but I don’t WANT to like her’ look.”

I made a face. “When have I ever had that look? When have I ever had that look long enough for you to recognize it?”

“Well Dawn, for one. All those times when you were trying to convince yourself you were better as best friends but deep down you still wanted to get back together with her.”

“Oh.”

“Relax. You don’t have that look about Dawn anymore. I’m genuinely happy the two of you have found a comfortable balance as best friends.”

I smiled. “Me, too.”

“But you DID have that look when I brought up Summer. I can’t blame you. She’s gorgeous. She’s totally your type. Nngh…” Adrienne bit her lip and gave me an erotic look of arousal while her irises flashed golden for a moment. “I almost want you two to hook up just so I can fuck her. She only ever let me make out with her and play with her tits a little in high school, but Kim tells me she’s into girls now.”

“I can’t. There’s too much history there. I’m stretched thin enough with you two and Dawn and Kim and June and the tw--”

“Yeah-yeah-yeah, get a fucking tape recorder,” Adrienne waved me off. “You’re just making excuses.”

“These aren’t excuses. Stretching myself too thin is what imploded OUR engagement and turned me into an emotional zombie. I’m not interested in ANY girlfriends right now, and I’d be a shitty boyfriend even if I tried.”

“You seemed pretty interested in getting ME back as a girlfriend a few minutes ago.”

“For you, I’d do anything and everything in the universe,” I replied quite plainly.

Adrienne beamed and scratched my chest with her fingernails. “I know you would, Tiger. But we’re talking about Summer here.”

“Not interested.”

“The tone of your voice says you’re very interested. The opposite of interest is indifference, remember? Sounds like you want her pretty badly; you’re just trying to convince yourself not to.”

I sighed. “I can’t lose everything over a fling. Not again. There’s too much at stake. I’m not a college kid anymore. I’m a father, I’ve got a high-pressure job, and the people in my life are far more important to me than adding another name to ‘The List’.”

“Summer’s name is already on your List.”

I blinked. “You know what I mean.”

Adrienne sighed. “Look, I’m not trying to foist you off on some other girl just so you can more easily let go of the idea of a second chance with me – although that thought obviously did cross my mind. I sincerely want you to be happy, and Kim’s right: you won’t ever be truly happy until you’re married to a beautiful, busty blonde who’s willing to have your babies.”

I scowled. “You – and Kim - make me seem so shallow.”

“It’s not shallow to know what you want and be willing to go get it. Why do you think I’m fighting so hard for Sasha right now?”

I sighed. “I suppose.”

Pursing her lips, Adrienne scratched my chest a bit again before bending over and kissing it instead. She slowly nibbled her way up my skin, kissed her way across my shoulder, nuzzled my neck, chewed a little bit on my chin, and finally kissed my lips tenderly.

When she pulled away, she kept her face only inches away from mine, looking down at me with liquid warmth in her hazel eyes. “I love you, Tiger. Forever and Always.”

“I love you too.”

“I haven’t been a very good sister lately. It seems like everything’s about me and my problems, a one-way take and take without ever giving back. Always asking you to come over here and never going over there to visit you.”

“It’s fine. I’m fine.”

“Like hell you are. Not if you’re refusing to consider moving forward in your life.” Pursing her lips again, Adrienne cocked her head to the side and said, “I think you need more sisterly advice. This would usually be the time when you’d go talk to Brooke – or sometimes Brandi – to help get your head on straight.”

I shrugged. “I’ve been talking to Dawn. She basically told me the same thing you did about Summer.”

“Always knew Dawn was smart. Even when I hated her for being a rival or breaking your heart, I respected her. And come to think of it, it’s been far too long since I tasted her sweet pussy.” Adrienne’s eyes twinkled. “I think I need to come over to Berkeley more often. Besides, Auntie Adrienne hasn’t seen BJ in far too long.”

“You’re always welcome.”

“Then it’s agreed.” Adrienne scooted forward and gave me another quick kiss.

When she pulled back, we both looked at each other for a bit, feeling a sense of resolution. So with that, I started rolling off the bed.

“Hey, where are you going?”

I glanced at the clock. “It’s getting late. I have to get back to work.”

“No you don’t.” Adrienne slithered her naked body across the mattress towards me and grabbed my ass with both hands. This put her face right in front of my limp penis, although it seemed to recognize it had the attention of a wickedly hot busty blonde and started to rise up as she exhaled her hot breath on it. “Dalton said to take all the time we need, and that there wasn’t anything so important that it couldn’t survive you being gone for an afternoon.”

I blinked. “He really said that?”

Adrienne had already shoved my semi-hard dick into her mouth, initially able to fit the entire thing inside but as it rapidly lengthened, she started having to pump her head back and forth. But a moment later she popped off and informed my penis, “Yes, he really said that.” Rolling her eyes up to me, she then added, “Besides… I’m assuming June still won’t let you put it in her ass yet, will she?”

“Umm, well, no not yet.”

The bodaciously beautiful blonde beamed up at me golden eyes as she bobbed her head back and forth along my now full-length shaft. She dug her fingernails into my ass and physically yanked herself close enough to take all eight inches into her throat, her lips pressed against the base of my shaft while her tongue snuck out to lick my balls. Holding that position, the golden-haired goddess stared up at me with a world of love and affection in her gaze. And only when she couldn’t hold the position a single second longer did she finally pull off and gasp for air while simultaneously rolling over onto her back.

Raising her legs to the ceiling and then grabbing hold of them behind both of her knees, my lusty lover spread herself obscenely wide and growled, “Please cram your massive cock deep into my tight asshole, Tiger. Please?”

Work could wait.

****

-- SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 2008 --

"Wood for sheep?"

Seated to my right, Bert held a wood card in my direction without looking at me, his attention still on the board in front of him. I frowned and replied, "Don't be a cheapskate."

Bert now looked at me, frowning as well. "You have four sheep."

"And I'm gonna turn them into a clay."

"You don't need to four-for-one. How about if I make it two wood?" He held out a second card.

"I'm not giving you a settlement for two wood that I can't turn into anything."

"Fine." Bert turned the other way. "Sweetheart?"

"Don't even think about it," Lynne drawled immediately, not even taking her eyes off the board. But then she looked up at her husband with narrowed eyes. "And 'sweetheart'? Really? There's no room for favoritism in card games."

"Does Settlers really count as a card game?" Summer asked, a perplexed expression making her face even cuter than it already was.

Bert shrugged and held up the two woods. “Cards.”

“But there’s also a board,” Summer pointed out, “albeit a board made up of separate hexagons. Pretty sure that makes this a board game.”

Bert frowned. “You sure you’re not in Law School?”

Summer giggled and shook her head. “I’ll trade you the sheep for the two wood.”

“Really? Thought you needed that for your settlement.”

“Do you want the sheep or not?”

“Uh, sure.” Bert handed over the cards, put down his settlement, and gestured for me to take my turn.

I arched an eyebrow at Summer. “Why exactly did you trade him the sheep?”

“I wanted to be nice.”

I scowled a little. “There’s no room for ‘nice’ in Settlers.”

“What? The whole game is negotiating, right? I did him a favor, and the next time I need something, I can say he owes me one.”

“Yeah, Ben,” Lynne chimed in. “Being nice can pay off in the long run.”

I rolled my eyes. “Didn’t you just say there’s no room for favoritism?”

“I’m saying I’m not supposed to be nice to Bert in the game just because he’s my husband. Otherwise it’ll turn into an ‘us two’ versus ‘you two’ and that’s a completely different kind of competition.” Lynne smiled. “But Summer can totally do him a favor and then get one later in return. All’s fair in love and Settlers.”

I shrugged, didn’t do jack with my turn, and then let Summer roll.

“Eleven. Hey, I get two sheep!” she exclaimed. And then to mine and everyone else’s surprise, she not only got her settlement, but flipped over a Road Building card, took longest road, and then used the extra sheep, her own grain, and her own wood plus the two wood she got from Bert to help three-for-one for a rock and buy a development card.

“My turn?” Lynne asked, reaching for the dice.

“Waitaminute. I’m not sure if I have this right.” Summer furrowed her eyebrows and bit her lip cutely, studying the board. “I got to seven points for building the settlement, and then eight and nine points for taking Longest Road, right?”

I nodded. “Right.”

She flipped over a victory point from the development card she’d just bought. “Ten. I win, right?”

Bert and I leaned forward, mouths ajar. “Beginner’s luck,” Bert sighed.

I shook my head. “Does every game need to end with Longest Road and an out of nowhere victory point?”

Bert smirked at me. “Just the crazy ones you remember for a long time.”

“I wasn’t even trying to win,” Summer admitted. “I really was just being nice to Bert.”

Lynne laughed. “See guys? Being nice pays off.”

****

“Well this was a fun way to spend the afternoon,” Summer remarked as she collected her purse by the front door and raised the strap over her shoulder. “We should do this more often.”

“No we shouldn’t,” Bert complained, although his smirk belied his words. “I don’t need another friend who keeps winning at Settlers.”

“You both know you’re always welcome anytime,” Lynne said warmly.

“Thanks,” I replied just as warmly, stepping forward to give Lynne a hug. Afterwards, I gave Bert a fist bump, and then took a step back to let Summer embrace both Lynne and Bert as well. Then, the two of us left the married couple’s apartment and headed for the parking lot.

“This WAS nice,” Summer said to me once the two of us were alone, walking rather slowly, which made me also slow down to keep pace with her. “I feel like I barely ever get to talk to you.”

I shrugged nonchalantly. “We’re both busy people.”

“You’re the super-busy one usually. I’m just a lazy grad student on a Sunday afternoon with nothing better to do at the moment.” Crossing her arms beneath her breasts, a motion that squished the big globes together and created a deep crevice of cleavage in her scoop-necked top, the busty blonde glanced over at me and asked a little coyly, “Is there somewhere you have to be right now? Or do you think you could maybe keep me company a little longer?”

I blinked and thought about it for a second. The whole reason why I’d gone to hang out with Bert and Lynne in the first place was because everyone else had plans for the day. Kim had taken BJ to visit his sofu and his cousins back home in Sunnyvale. Dawn was spending the day in the city with big sister Dayna. And June went home every weekend. I supposed I theoretically could go visit the twins, but they had busy social lives as well. Maybe I could head into the city as well to hook up with Adrienne and Sasha, but they also had their own lives to live. So in truth, I had no good reasons to NOT keep Summer company.

Well, I had ONE good reason - the same reason why I would’ve NOT gone to hang out with Bert and Lynne had I known Summer would be there as well. Yes, I knew she liked me. And the truth was: I was terribly attracted to her as well. But I was long past the time when I would let my dick lead me into a relationship when my head knew it wasn’t the right thing to do. And the only real solution I had to avoiding temptation was to… well… avoid temptation.

But Summer was already at Bert and Lynne’s apartment when I arrived; I suppose she had nowhere better to be either since her new BFF Dawn was gone for the day. Of course, by then it was too late. It wasn’t like I could gracefully turn around and walk away without it being super-awkward.

Just like I had no good reason to turn around and walk away right now without it being super-awkward. And so I simply shrugged and gave Summer a smile. “Uh, sure. I can hang. What do you have in mind?”

Summer didn’t respond verbally. She merely flashed me a coy smile and started walking to the parking lot at a far brisker pace than before. I found myself staring at her ass: the very same sculpted booty that, according to Dawn, Summer worked on religiously to keep in perfect shape.

I caught up just as she thumbed the remote on her silver Benz. She flashed me another coy smile and headed around to the driver’s side, opening her door. But when I hesitated before opening the passenger door, she stared at me over the car roof and asked, “Aren’t you coming?”

“Mom told me not to get into cars with strangers,” I replied affably.

“The solution would seem to be then for us to get to know each other better then so we aren’t strangers anymore.”

I arched an eyebrow. “Sure you’re not gonna kidnap me, tie me up, and have your way with me?”

“Only if you’re into that sort of thing,” she replied with a bit of a husky purr, her blue eyes sparkling.

I chuckled and shook my head. “I walked right into that one.”

“Yes, you did. C’mon, get in the car. You’ll enjoy yourself.”

“You still haven’t told me where we’re going.”

“C’mon, or don’t you trust me?”

Taking a deep breath, I sighed and weighed what I knew about her. In plain simple fact, I really DIDN’T know that much about Summer apart from the fact that she had a smokin’ hot body that was partially the result of plastic surgery and that she apparently got along really well with Dawn. We’d had minimal contact since high school more than seven years ago, and even then I hadn’t known her very well. I really had no reason to actually trust her or have any good sense of Summer’s motivations, and yet…

… Yeah, I trusted her. At the very least, I hadn’t gotten any spine-tingling ‘you’re about to get screwed, and not in a good way’ vibes the way I did whenever Adrienne said, “Trust me.” I trusted that Dawn and Lynne were good enough judges of character to be friends with Summer. I trusted Kim’s and June’s powers of observation and sense of protectiveness over me to trust they would’ve warned me away from Summer had they detected anything wrong. And I trusted in my own ability to handle whatever situation I might find myself in.

But it wasn’t just about whether or not I trusted her. I realized that my hesitation to open the car door had nothing to do with worrying about her kidnapping me or anything stupid like that. She wasn’t a black widow spider ready to eat her mate. The truth was: thus far I’d managed to avoid isolating myself with Summer one-on-one. Whenever she came over to my house for project team meetings, she was with Dawn and Kim. At the gym, we were always in a big group. And every time we met up at Bert and Lynne’s apartment, I was also accompanied by at least one of Dawn, June, or Kim (not to mention Bert and Lynne themselves).

But not today. If I opened that car door and got in, I would have no more excuses, no more distractions. Just her and me with a bunch of time on our hands to get to know each other better and find out if we were as compatible as I already suspected we were. And I didn’t trust MYSELF.

Oh, I wasn’t gonna fall in love with her in an hour or anything silly like that. I wasn’t worried she’d flash me some skin, I’d lose my head, and “oops” I’d fall onto a bed with my dick pushing into her pussy. But I didn’t trust myself to not like her. I wasn’t sure I could help myself from letting my attraction for her take root, a seed that would grow and sprout and eventually become the kind of infatuation that could change everything in my life.

Isn’t that the point? For you to find someone outside of your current circle with whom you can eventually develop a lasting relationship?

I’m not ready.

You’re scared is what you are. June was right: you live in fear. Fear of fucking up by getting too stretched thin and losing your grip on the people you hold so dear.

I really DON’T want to lose the people I hold so dear. Dawn and I are in such a groove now. If I start dating someone else, Summer or anyone else, how does that affect my relationship with Dawn?

Pssht. Dawn will finally get to find out what Summer’s nipples taste like. You’d be doing her a favor.

But then what happens when Summer wants to spend more quality alone time with me? Without Dawn? I’m not sure I can sideline her again. She’s too important to me.

Dawn will understand. It’s the choice she made when she agreed to not become romantic with you again. She’s already come to terms with not being the woman standing across from you in front of the wedding arch and saying ‘I do.’

What about Kim and BJ? I spent little enough time with them as it is.

Kim likewise made her own decision not to marry you, and she also understands you will eventually have a wife and other children as well. She’s PUSHING you to find a permanent life partner.

Adrienne and Sasha?

Are gay. They’ll do fine on their own. You offered Adrienne a second chance at Happily Ever After together and she turned you down. Sasha’s her endgame now.

The twins?

Baby birds that need to leave the nest.

June?

She’s basically a baby bird, too. All three of them need to grow up and stop depending on you.

If I open this door, I’m going to end up starting a relationship with Summer. I just know it. I can FEEL it.

So open the fucking door.

I’m not ready.

You’re being a pussy.

I’m being careful.

You’re still being a pussy.

I’m not a teenager anymore. I can’t just rush headlong into a situation without considering the consequences. I can’t just plow the beautiful blonde with the big fake tits and then walk away like it didn’t mean anything. Summer’s going to end up being a very important person in my life. I know it.

Then why are you resisting?

It’s weird. It feels like… Destiny. Like Fate. Like some higher power that gets some kind of strange, sick enjoyment out of manipulating my life dropped Summer down out of the heavens and put her here for this very purpose. I’ve been fighting it.

Why?

Because I’m scared.

You’re too old to be scared, dude.

I’m twenty-four.

Old enough to face your Destiny. Because sometimes Destiny happens whether you believe in it or not.

Amber said that.

Smart girl. Would’ve made a great wife.

She’s where she belongs. With whom she belongs.

Maybe Summer is with whom YOU belong.

Perhaps. Or maybe she’s the Devil Incarnate.

Perhaps. Or maybe she’s the exact person you need to have in your life at this exact moment to push you onto the path that will ultimately lead you to your Happily Ever After. This is the door. And even if you don’t open it, there’ll be another one tomorrow, and another one the day after that, and another one the day after that.

You speak as if taking this path is unavoidable.

You’re the one who said it felt like Fate. Stop being a pussy and open the fucking door.

I took a deep breath.

And I opened the door.

****

“Ben! Ben! I can’t-- EEEEEEEEEEKKK!!!” Summer shrieked as she lost her balance and slipped over the side, impacting against the water with a tremendous splash.

“Shit! Shit! Shit!” I swore, hurrying into action while mentally cursing myself.

Smooth move, dude. First chance you get alone with Summer and you end up dumping her into the Bay.

Perhaps I should explain.

I don’t know how long I actually stood there pondering whether or not to open the car door. From the way Summer acted (or more to the point: didn’t react), I had to believe it hadn’t been more than a second. I hopped in, buckled my seatbelt, and off we went.

It wasn’t a far drive to Oakland, although I had no idea that was our intended destination until we exited off 880 and Summer quickly tapped the name of a Kayak rental place into her GPS.

“Kayaking?”

Summer shrugged. “I’ve loved being on the water since I was little. We were spoiled growing up in OC, and I’ve found I’ve missed it since coming up here to the Bay Area. It’s just so cold and gloomy all the time, and the beaches suck.”

“True enough,” I agreed and took a deep breath. “I don’t think I’ve been on a kayak since high school.”

“Just like riding a bike, right?”

“Should be,” I replied, confident in my ability to pick it back up. At the very least, I wasn’t about to embarrass myself in front of such a pretty girl.

We collected a two-seater recreational kayak, the kind that was semi-enclosed on top but had wide enough openings for us to turn and maneuver within, and even raise our knees up if we wanted. and Summer rolled her eyes when I offered to pay or even just split the cost 50/50. I knew money wasn’t a big concern of hers. We dropped into the water at Jack London Square and paddled out, Summer in front leading and me in the back steering. It really was just like riding a bike, and we were making good time. At the very least, I didn’t embarrass myself. The weather wasn’t quite as cold and gloomy as Summer had complained about earlier, but it was still cloudy and a far cry from the usual warm and sunny SoCal weather we’d been used to back home. Still, the exercise kept us plenty warm.

We started by heading west through the Inner Harbor. We paddled past the ginormous shipping container cranes of the Port of Oakland and then headed south to circle Alameda Island, eventually making it down to the USS Hornet aircraft carrier/museum, with other ships of the Ready Reserve Fleet docked nearby. And from the first sight of the ships, I marveled at the sight of the massive military vessels from such a unique vantage point.

To be honest, my first thought was: I HAVE to bring Dawn here.

But I pushed that thought aside as soon as I had it. I’d chosen to open the door, to stop avoiding Summer, and to take this time to truly get to know this beautiful young woman who so clearly had taken an interest in me.

Once we had explored the military vessels, Summer and I opted to more or less return the same way we had come rather than circumnavigate Alameda. But once we turned the corner and moved into the area just west of the now-defunct Alameda Naval Air Station where there were no other human beings visible in any direction, Summer put up her paddle and half-turned in her seat to face me.

She seemed quite flexible, able to rotate quite a ways around without any apparent discomfort despite keeping her legs in front of her. She draped her left arm over the seatback and flashed me a winning smile, and even though she wore chunky Chanel sunglasses despite the overcast weather, it was as if I could see her eyes twinkling.

“So… finally… I have you all alone with no escape,” she began with a smirk.

“Ah, so you ARE planning to kidnap me,” I replied lightly, setting my paddle across the raised kayak sidewalls and raised my knees while I folded my arms and reclined against my seatback. Taking a deep breath, I ventured, “I’m guessing you wanted the chance to talk about you and me?”

Summer beamed behind her sunglasses again, switching from a big grin to biting her lip cutely. “No, actually.”

I blinked in surprise. “No?”

The beautiful blonde giggled. “Not everything is about you.”

“Oh,” I replied lamely, chagrined. “But then why…?” I gestured out across the bay and the fact that there wasn’t another human being within sight at the moment.

“Oh, I’m totally into you, if that’s what’s confusing you. I mean, I think I’ve made it pretty obvious I’d like to get to know you better and if you were ever willing to like… start dating again… I really, really hope you would ask me out.”

“Oh,” I replied lamely again. “Although from how nervous and awkward I’m being right now, I have absolutely no idea why you’d be interested.”

Summer giggled again. “I get it. I mean, I understand that you’re unlike every other guy I’ve ever been interested in. I recognized back in high school that you always had an inordinate number of girls around you at all times, and it looks like things haven’t changed that much. My mom thinks I’m absolutely crazy to be crushing on a guy who’s already banging five different women, even if you aren’t technically ‘together’ with any of them. Girls are needy. Girls need relationship maintenance. A lot of guys can’t handle making one girl happy, and you’re trying to juggle five, and those are only the ones I know about.”

I frowned. “What makes you think there are any others?”

Summer smirked. “I get the distinct impression from Dawn and Kim that you’re nailing Professor Ice, for one.”

“Oh, that.” I blushed and shook my head. “She doesn’t hook up with her students.”

“You’re not her student anymore. Dawn, on the other hand…”

I narrowed my eyes. “What are you getting at?”

Summer raised her left fist and set her chin down on her extended thumb. She scrutinized me carefully as she asked, “Dawn really enjoys sex with other girls, doesn’t she? I mean, I know for sure that Adrienne and Sasha are a couple, and I have my own fond memories of Adrienne’s supple lips on my own. There’s a certain intimate familiarity between Kim and June as well. I have to assume that when you and Dawn are hooking up with the others, she’s perfectly happy to go rug-munching.”

I took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. “I think that’s a conversation you should be having with Dawn, not me.”

“I’ve tried. She’s good at deflecting. At the same time, a girl knows when another girl is checking her out.”

“So I’ve heard.”

“I’ve tried to give her hints that I wouldn’t mind taking our friendship to a more physical level, but she’s pointedly resisted them. I’m trying to figure out why.”

I blinked twice. “Wait a second. You brought me out here into the middle of The Bay to talk to me about Dawn?”

Summer grinned. “Like I said: not everything is about YOU.”

“Huh.” I sat up straight. “At the same time, she’s my best friend. It’s not my place to give away her secrets.”

“Not asking you to give away secrets. But I DO want to understand her better. I mean, I see clear attraction in her eyes when she looks at me, and the feeling’s mutual. But then she deflects my hints and I don’t want to push her about it. I’m afraid of ruining our friendship.”

“So is she.”

“Is THAT it? She’s worried that if we like… mess around with each other… it could ruin our friendship?”

I shrugged. “Isn’t that the risk any two people have to worry about when deciding whether or not to cross the line of physical intimacy? Male or female.”

Summer made a face. “I’m not gay or anything. I love men.”

“Neither is Dawn.”

“I mean, it would just be physical. Not romantic. Just two horny friends giving each other some much-needed stress relief, you know? I’d like to think that part I’ve been clear about with her.”

“Uh, I think so. At least, I’m pretty sure Dawn would’ve told me if she thought you were romantically interested in her. And she did tell me you were checking her out.”

“Then?” Summer sighed. “I mean, I get why you’ve been avoiding me and I’m not gonna pressure you about that. But every time I get together with Dawn there are these… moments… when I can feel her undressing me with her eyes. It’s hot. I’m interested. I haven’t gotten laid in forever and I’m wearing out the batteries in my vibrators. Seriously: all my fantasies revolve around you two, and I mean like… ohmigawd… a threesome with you two would be SOOOO fucking hot. But I just--”

Summer suddenly stopped, covered her mouth, and sighed. She reached up to take off her sunglasses and gave me an apologetic look. “I’m sorry, I just said I wasn’t gonna pressure you.”

“No, it’s alright. No need to apologize. I’m surprised a little, though. You didn’t seem all that into other girls back in high school.”

Summer blushed and looked away for a moment. “Became a convert at UCLA. Jayla McDaniels. Wicked hot blonde. So good with her tongue. Not gay either but loves fooling around with other girls. She seduced me sophomore year and I haven’t looked back since. People used to call us the McTwins.”

“Ah.”

“Dawn reminds me of her, which is probably why I’m so interested. Maybe you can meet her someday.”

“Uhhh…”

Summer giggled. “Forgot for a second. You’ve already got as much as you can handle.”

“Well, yeah.”

“Back on topic: Dawn.”

“Yeah.”

“I don’t want to mess up our relationship either. I mean, she says you’re her best friend, but she’s been MY best friend since I got here. She’s smart, ridiculously hard-working, has a great sense of fashion and an even better sense of humor. We’re doing our daily workouts together now and I’d spend every day with her if I could. So if she’s a hundred-percent against letting me eat her out, I’ll respect that. But… am I wrong about her being attracted to me as well?”

I sighed, admitting, “You’re not wrong. For example, she really wants to find out what your nipples taste like.”

Summer watched my eyes briefly yo-yo down to her spectacular bosom and she smirked. “Would YOU like to find out what my nipples taste like?”

“I have tasted your nipples before.”

“Not since I got an upgrade.”

I blinked in surprise at her terminology and muttered, “That’s exactly what I told Dawn. But we’re getting off-topic.”

“I could pull my shirt up right now and let you lean forward.”

“We’d tip the kayak.”

“These things are designed to not flip over. Here, I’ll show you.” Summer had already twisted her hips so that her legs were sideways in the footwell area, but she now flipped over so that she was kneeling on her seat cushion. Then while carefully holding onto the sidewalls, she levered herself up to sit atop the plastic shell kayak “roof” that would ordinarily cover her legs.

Popping her sunglasses back on and spreading her arms out to the sides, she hollered at the top of her lungs, “I’m Queen of the World!!!”

I laughed as her voice was carried away on the wind.

Summer fished her hand into the gap of her somewhat loose-fitting life jacket and then inside her scoop-necked sweater, which of course made her big breasts mash up quite enticingly. She then pulled out an iPhone and handed it over to me. “Please?”

I chuckled and nodded as I took the phone. Summer had been quite keen to take selfies when we were over by the USS Hornet and the other Navy ships. Sometimes she even included me in the background, and several times she had turned and handed me the phone so I could take photos of her from behind with the military vessels or the landscape in the background. We’d added each other as Facebook friends shortly after she came to Berkeley, and she was the type to post at least three or four photos a day: a mix of selfies, interesting things she saw during the day, food porn, etc. I had to admit I’d lingered over some of her gym selfies or the occasional T&A shot she probably got Dawn to take of her.

I dutifully snapped a half-dozen shots of Summer in various poses. At this particular angle, the Bay Bridge loomed large in the distance behind her, making for a nice backdrop. A moment later, she unbuckled the front strap of her life vest, reached for the hem of her sweater, and raised both the sweater and her bra up and above her mouthwatering breasts while exclaiming joyously, “Woooooo!!!”

Holy shit those things are spectacular.

I agree.

She definitely got her money’s worth with those. They look like a million bucks.

I agree.

Lots of fake tits are abnormally spherical, but those look just like Dayna’s, only firmer.

I agree.

Wanna taste them?

Absolutely.

“Wanna taste them?” Summer asked teasingly.

“Um, what?”

“You said you wanted to know what my nipples taste like. C’mon. I’ll make it a freebie. Just innocent screwing around between old friends and lovers. I promise I won’t have any expectations of you starting to date me.”

I popped my eyebrows and sighed. “Expectations have a way of escalating. It starts with finding out what your nipples taste like. Then maybe sometime next week it’s an innocent little kiss. And then a longer makeout session. And then you’ll wanna know what my erection feels like in your hand. Then you’ll wanna taste my cock. I’ll wanna taste your pussy. The next thing we know I’ll be drowning you in epic orgasm after orgasm while I rail you from behind, grab the back of your head, and shove it forward into Dawn’s sopping wet pussy demanding that you slide your tongue as far up her twat as humanly possibly while I pry your asscheeks apart, re-center my fat cock against your anus, and impale you in a single thrust.”

“Fucking hell, Ben,” Summer groaned, her mouth gaping open while her hands switched from holding up her sweater to palming both big boobies. “I thought -I- was just teasing a little but… DAMN…”

I grimaced and closed my eyes, belatedly telling myself I shouldn’t have said all that.

“I mean, you can go home and have five different hot babes take care of you but I don’t have anyone to do that for me. Don’t fuckin’ tease me like that if you’re not gonna help.”

“I know, I’m sorry.” I set my forearms down atop my knees and bowed my head. But after a moment, I took a deep breath to collect myself and looked back up at her. “I blame your tits. They’re spectacular.”

“Thank you. I get a lot of compliments on these.”

“I’ll bet.”

“But only a select few have ever gotten to see them in-person.”

I blinked. “Did I somehow beat Dawn?”

Summer laughed. “Not even close. I get a thrill out of changing in front of her at the gym. She tries not to watch but she can’t help herself.”

“I wouldn’t be able to help myself either.”

“Are you suggesting I should change my strategy?” she asked coyly, shaking her chest side to side to make her ta-tas dance. They were firm enough to not jiggle as much as Dayna’s might, but were still big and heavy enough to bounce. “The next time I’m over at your place for a group project session with Kim and Dawn, I should just rip off my top, crawl into your lap, shove your face between my tits and dare you to resist me?”

I sighed and forced myself to focus on Summer’s face. There must’ve been something in my expression because she abruptly deflated, her shoulders sagging as she let her sweater drop. And she instead grabbed the lip of the kayak shell with both hands.

“It’s not that I’m not interested. I am. You’re gorgeous, Summer, and you know it. You’ve an absolutely incredible body, but even beyond that you’re funny and friendly and confident, with enough of an alpha-bitch edge of someone used to always getting her way that quite frankly, I REALLY find attractive. Like this whole kayaking trip. You just sort of took charge and drove me out here.” I paused and took a deep breath. “If you put that kind of full-court press on me, I can’t honestly say I’d resist. But would that kind of one-night stand be good enough for you? You said you understood the score, that I’ve got five different women to keep happy already. We’re back to escalating expectations again. This is the part where you say you’d be fine with fucking me just once to find out if I can actually live up to your overhyped memories of us from seven years ago.”

“I would be just fine with just once. It’s the wondering about it that’s driving me crazy. I mean, if I could JUST get you out of my system, I could reduce the mystique and remind myself you’re only human. Then maybe everything could go back to normal.”

I shrugged. “But I will live up to your expectations. I’m that good.”

Summer paused and pulled her head back at that statement. “So sure?”

I shrugged. “I’m not just tooting my own horn. You’re basing this off memory of a 17-year-old still developing his skills. Now I’ve got years of evidence and more than a hundred 5-star reviews, if you know what I’m saying.”

“Well now you’ve just made me want you even MORE.”

I sighed and shook my head. “This is the part where I shoot myself in the foot and admit that the one surefire way to make Dawn have sex with you is for it to be a threesome with me. Yes, Dawn loves fucking other girls, but she apparently only likes fucking girls WITH me. She’s not gay, either, and for her to be fucking you but never sharing you with me just… that’s not her thing.”

Summer frowned. “So you’re saying now that the easiest way for me to get into Dawn’s panties is…” She paused and chuckled. “… is to get you to drop your shorts for me?”

“Something like that.”

Summer’s frown deepened. “Why are you telling me this? After everything you’ve said about not wanting to start something with me because you don’t want to fuck up your relationships with everyone else, why would you say these things that are guaranteed to get me to pursue you rather than back off?”

I sighed. “I’m not totally sure. Maybe it’s because deep down I want you to seduce me. Maybe you’re not the only one who has looked back across the last seven years and wondered, ‘What if?’ Maybe because I felt sparks in your bedroom after your last high school final, and I’ve thought about that day quite a lot.”

“Me too.” Summer bit her lip cutely again, and took off her sunglasses once more so we could look each other in the eyes. Her irises were a very pretty shade of blue, especially in the way they currently reflected the water around us - maybe not quite as light as Dawn’s sky-blue eyes but maybe more of a royal blue like the waters of Santorini like I’d seen in photographs. “Maybe it wouldn’t have mattered since I’d have eventually left for UCLA while you stayed home, but… yeah… I felt it.”

I took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. “A week ago I would’ve totally deflected you. A week ago I don’t think I would’ve opened your car door and gotten in with you, no matter how awkward it might’ve been. I’d either have lied about having somewhere else to be or otherwise made some lame excuse to avoid being alone with you.”

“What’s changed in the last week?”

I took a deep breath and sighed again. “I asked Adrienne if she might be able to give us a second chance. To like… reconsider our broken engagement.”

Furrowing her eyebrows, Summer climbed down from the kayak roof and knelt on her seat, bracing herself against her backrest. “I’m guessing from your expression she didn’t say ‘yes’.”

I shook my head. “She’s in love with Sasha. I don’t blame her or anything. I would’ve felt bad in the long run if I wound up stealing her from her true love. But she was vulnerable and feeling lost… I was feeling vulnerable… We’d just made love and…” I let my voice trail off as I fought the urge to cry.

Summer patiently waited me out, giving me the time and space to compose myself. Or perhaps she was thinking of her own moment being post-coital and feeling quite vulnerable with me, because she mumbled a moment later, “I remember you being a good shoulder to cry on.”

Frowning, I let my chin drop and stared at the backs of my hands while my wrists remained perched atop my knees. “You wouldn’t want me for a boyfriend anyway. I’m damaged goods at the moment. The last thing I would ever want to do is subject you to my rebound behavior a week after Adrienne rejected me.”

“That’s considerate of you.”

“I look across the landscape of my current relationships and ask myself, ‘What’s wrong with me? Why doesn’t anybody want to love me? Adrienne and Sasha have each other. Kim’s the mother of my child but doesn’t want to marry me. Dawn insists we’re better as best friends, and I can’t really disagree with her on that. June and I aren’t romantic in the slightest. And Viktoriya’s just a cougar booty call.”

Summer snickered. “So you ARE schtupping Professor Ice.”

I waved her off. “Not since school started. Like I said: she doesn’t sleep with her students, and Dawn and Kim are both students again.”

Summer’s eyes popped. “Dawn AND Kim? So all three of you? With Professor Ice? Together?”

I scowled and rubbed my forehead. “I probably shouldn’t have told you that.”

“Probably not. But at the same time, you’re just making me want you even more. If you’re the kind of lover who can tame the Ice Queen at the same time as Dawn and Kim, just… wow…”

I shook my head. “You don’t want to be with me.”

“Just once at least?”

“I’m like Lay’s potato chips. Can’t have just one.”

Summer smirked. “You saying you’ve never had a one-night stand?”

I waggled my head. “A few. Model friends of Adrienne’s I was never gonna see again anyways, that sort of thing. But not Dawn’s best friend who I’m still gonna see every week.”

“So you’re saying it’s a relationship or nothing? Either we date and become romantic or I can’t have you at all?”

I shrugged. “Well maybe it turns out there’s no romantic spark between us and it’s purely a fuck-buddy relationship.”

“I’m good with that too. And you said I’ll get Dawn in the process as well.”

I rubbed my forehead. “This is a bad idea. It’s not fair to you. I already belong to five different women who don’t get enough of my attention as it is, and that doesn’t even factor in yet my emotional rebounding issues.”

Summer pursed her lips and settled lower in her seat, sliding her legs back into the footwell sideways while still mostly twisted around to face me. And with a note of finality in her voice, she declared, “Then I won’t pursue you. I promise I’ll back off and leave you alone. Both of you, including Dawn.”

I frowned. “Really?”

“Of course.”

I blinked. “You’re not… disappointed?”

Summer nodded. “I meant what I said in the beginning about not pressuring you. And I respect Dawn’s wishes not to mess with our friendship. I brought you out here to get a chance to talk to you privately, and I got what I wanted. I learned a lot today. If you had told me before we started the drive that I’d find out that Dawn really IS attracted to me but doesn’t want to risk our friendship and absolutely nothing else, that would have been enough. Finding out you’re really attracted to me as well was a bonus, and finding out you’ve been wondering ‘what if’ about that day in my bedroom seven years ago? It’s all I ever dreamed.”

“You’re the relationship I never got to have,” I admitted. “And it feels like now we have a second chance.”

Summer’s eyebrows popped as she led me. “But…”

I sighed. “But Adrienne and Sasha. But Dawn. But Kim and BJ and June.”

“I won’t make your life harder than it already is. While I’m horny as hell, there’s more to life than just getting laid. And while I would’ve liked to explore more about what you and I could become, you don’t owe me anything, and I can respect that you don’t feel like you’re in the right mindset to start a relationship right now.”

“Thank you for that.”

Summer nodded, and then popping her sunglasses back on, she turned around in her seat and picked up her paddle. I took her cue and likewise grabbed mine.

She glanced back at me one last time. “Shall we?”

I dug my paddle blade into the calm water. “Let’s go.”

****

I’d admittedly been a little worried about Summer falling off the kayak and into the water when she’d climbed atop the shell “roof” to have me take those photos of her, but in the end we made it back to the boat ramp and returned our rented transportation device without incident. So it was a complete and total surprise when she wound up getting wet in an utterly different manner.

Afternoon was turning to evening, and after returning our kayak we’d stayed at Jack London Square to get dinner together. The meal was fine, the company was amazing, and we both had a pretty good time. Since she’d paid for the kayak rental, Summer let me pay for dinner. Afterwards, she slipped her hand into mine with a beaming smile, and I had no real interest in letting go. We walked hand-in-hand along the waterfront. At the southeastern end of the marina was a small pier that jutted out into the water. We walked to the end, and for a little while had the entire area to ourselves. Summer turned to me and leaned in close, perhaps a little too close, and I found myself tensing up. But she pivoted gracefully to back herself up against the railing. And then placing her hands on my shoulders, she asked, “Help me up?”

So I put my hands on her waist and helped boost her up so she could sit atop the flat part of the fence. Of course, I didn’t want her to fall into the water, so I kept my arms around her waist. Somehow I wound up standing between her spread thighs while she wrapped her arms around my head and neck, with her massive melons in that scoop-necked sweater right in my face. But I forced myself to look upwards into her eyes. The sun wasn’t gone yet, but the sky had dimmed enough that she no longer wore her sunglasses, and I stared into those royal blue eyes that stared right back at me with quiet intensity.

“So this was our first date, huh?” she asked quietly, tightening her grip around my neck and head.

“Is it?”

“The two of us went for a kayaking adventure alone and you paid for my dinner. It’s been a while since I last did this, but I’m pretty sure that falls under the definition of a date.”

“I suppose you’re right.”

“I think there’s only one more thing we need to do then to make it a really memorable first date.”

I gulped and stared up at her with concern. “I thought you promised not to pursue me.”

Summer giggled musically, a twinkle in her eyes. “It’s our first date, dummy. You think I put out that easily?”

I frowned, confused. “I’m sorry. It’s been a long time since I’ve dated. Actually, I can’t remember the last time I went on a date with someone I wasn’t already sleeping with. What are the rules again?”

“Uhhh, third date, I think?”

“Sounds about right.”

“But only if the third date itself goes well. Otherwise I’m supposed to send you home with blue balls and then never answer your texts ever again.”

“Fair enough.” I arched an eyebrow. “So then what’s the one more thing we need to do?”

Her lips were on mine before I could react. I felt a trickle of electricity – not a bolt of lightning or anything, just a trickle – that nevertheless tingled my senses and made the hairs on my skin stand up. I shivered and automatically kissed her back, tilting my head to the side and parting my lips to let my tongue come out to play.

Summer moaned and gripped my head a little more fiercely as she tangled her tongue with mine. She inhaled sharply and let out a keening whimper of joy at my positive response.

And THAT’S when I remembered we shouldn’t be doing this. I really should’ve known better, known that a kiss was the only logical answer to my question about the one more thing we needed to do. But I’d been dense, as usual, and once she started kissing me I had reacted on instinct.

Belatedly, my brain caught up and reminded me that I had not five, but SEVEN young women I needed to keep happy, including Eden and Emma. There was a reason I’d been hesitant to open that car door in the first place, and seriously, hadn’t Summer just promised in the kayak that she wouldn’t push me?

So I froze. I abruptly let go of my arms around Summer’s waist, and I took a step back in shock. Eyes wide and mouth gaping, I stammered, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I can’t… Summer!!!”

“Ben! Ben!” Summer squealed as she teeter-tottered on the fence. My abrupt step backward had pulled her forward, since she had her arms wrapped around my neck and head after all. Had she simply let herself fall forward, everything would’ve been fine. She’d have landed on the deck of the pier, none the worse for wear.

But instead Summer had pitched herself backwards in an attempt to not fall forwards. Unfortunately, she’d overcorrected, and I saw her eyes go wide in panic as her legs raised up in front of her while her torso fell back.

“I can’t-- EEEEEEEEEEKKK!!!” Summer shrieked as she lost her balance and slipped over the side, impacting against the water with a tremendous splash.

“Shit! Shit! Shit!” I swore, hurrying into action while mentally cursing myself.

Smooth move, dude. First chance you get alone with Summer and you end up dumping her into the Bay.

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