I managed to write a chapter sooner than I thought! I hope to have another one up by Saturday, but I'm not sure that I'll have time. I will try my best, please be patient. I worked extra hard to spice this chapter up some, since the last chapter was kind of dry. I have a feeling you'll like it better!
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Max
I was beginning to think that coming to the beach had been a big mistake. As we sat around a small campfire in our backyard that first night, it was difficult for me to think about anything besides Rhia. Just knowing she was in the same house had me slightly on edge. When we were in the same room, I was a mess. Trying to hide this fact from everyone around me took a lot of energy and effort.
I sat in a large folding lounge chair, and Cassie sat with her body positioned between my outstretched legs, leaning back into me for support. Joey and Lexi sat on one side of us, while Brent and Krissy occupied the other side. It was just my luck that Dane and Rhia were directly across from me.
Every movement she made, no matter how small, caught my eye. She and Dane were in two different chairs, but held hands across the divide that separated them. I remembered holding her hand. It made me shiver to think how her touch had sent shockwaves through my body, fueling my desire for her. I missed her so much.
I saw Cassie jump a little. She turned around with a devious smile on her face, and whispered, "I think someone's getting a little too excited about tonight." I was confused at first, not realizing what she meant. Then it all became clear as I realized how excited my thoughts of Rhia had made me. Cassie's back was against me, so she felt it, too. We had planned on tonight being the night, and she took my hardness as a sign that I was ready. If only. I wasn't sure what I was going to do.
Later that night, it was finally time for Cassie and me to take our relationship to the next level. It was probably not the wisest idea on my part, since Rhia was still invading my thoughts, but I figured I would push on. I was convinced that Rhee did not want any kind of romantic relationship with me, and Cassie had the promise of being a keeper.
"What do you want me to wear?" she asked, holding a black lace teddy in one hand and a green silk teddy in the other.
"Definitely the green," I commented. The PJ's Rhia had worn when we first made love had been green. I was now sort of partial to that color when it came to women's nightly attire.
She disappeared into the bathroom to change. I heard her talking to someone in the other room. I tried to listen. It sounded like Rhia. That was a strong possibility, since Dane and Rhia had ended up with the room next to ours. I wondered if she was telling Rhia we were about to have sex. I didn't know if I wanted Rhee to know or not. Shortly afterward, she appeared in front of me, wearing her green lingerie with a big smile on her face.
She dove on me, kissing my neck first, then trailing kisses down my stomach. I can't say that it felt bad, but my heart wasn't in it. Apparently, my body was siding with my heart tonight. Despite the effort Cassie was making, the general was refusing to stand at attention. I thought that maybe I was focusing too much on the differences between Cassie and Rhia.
I looked at Cassie. She really didn't have anything in common with Rhia. I suddenly thought about Rhia bursting through the elevator doors, pushing me against the wall while our mouths roamed freely over each others' bodies. I thought of how we'd managed to get undressed so quickly. We had been so full of desire. I smiled at the memory.
"There he is!" Cassie exclaimed, as I grew harder with each thought of Rhia. I knew it was fraud, what I was doing. I hated thinking of Rhia while inside Cassie, but it was the only way I'd be able to keep it up tonight.
I had to hand it to her, though. She was pretty talented in the bedroom. If Rhia hadn't been in the next room, I'm sure I would have been aroused without having to resort to memories of that weekend. As I neared climax, I moaned, "Rhee, that feels so great."
She stopped moving above me, and looked me in the eyes. "What did you say?" she asked accusingly.
Uh oh. This wasn't the first time Rhee's name had slipped out while doing the nasty with another woman. I'm sure it wouldn't be the last. "I said, 'See? That feels so great." I hoped she'd buy it.
"Oh," she said, as she started moving above me once again. It wasn't long before I reached my peak. I was somewhat disappointed that she didn't want to kiss me at that moment. It also didn't help that it was another few minutes before she finally came. Not that I was surprised, but I was really hoping she'd be more Rhia-like between the sheets.
The next day brought some time at the beach. The backyard morphed right into the beach, so it was an easy trip to make. We took turns playing with our five dollar boogie boards. We were having a good time. After awhile, us guys left the girls to play on the beach, and took to our towels.
As we talked, I watched them interacting by the water. I loved that Rhia wore a plain, one-piece suit. It was so much classier than the revealing bikinis the other girls (except Bria - she had a more conservative two-piece) were wearing. I didn't mind admiring their bodies, but they might as well have been naked. It was obvious she was hot, but some things were more exciting left to the imagination.
Dane must have been sight-seeing, too. "They're all a bunch of hotties, aren't they?" he asked, moving next to me so we could talk.
"Yeah, they really are," I said.
"I tried to talk Rhia into one of those dental floss bikinis, but she refused. She said she values her dignity," he said. "I guess I have to admire that."
You bet he did. He better appreciate how lucky he was to have Rhia for a girlfriend. "Yeah," I said. "Rhia always was pretty classy."
"Yeah," he said. "It's probably for the best anyhow. She seems to have gotten a little chunkier as she gets older."
He wasn't being mean about it, but I wanted to punch him. She was actually thinner now than she had been when I'd stayed with her, and she was fine then! "She looks just as hot as she ever did," I said, not trying to hide my opinion.
"Eh, maybe you're right, and I'm just imagining it. You were the one that used to crush on her, right?" Was this guy for real? "Crush on" her? Did he think I was twelve?
"Yeah," I said. "I spent plenty of time in my adolescence admiring her physique." Truthfully, I loved her personality before I even noticed much about her body.
"You had good taste, my friend," he said, winking at me. He looked toward the girls and watched Cassie as she ran to pick up a shell from the sand. I swear he was drooling. "Looks like you still do." He smiled at me. The perv!
I couldn't deal with him anymore. He was making me mad. "If anyone asks, I went up to get a shower and grab a snack before we go out tonight."
"Sure thing," he said. I got up and headed toward our house.
Rhia
I was having a great time with the girls at the beach. I wasn't too fond of Krissy, but the others were pretty cool. After a while, Bria and I excused ourselves to go get showers. We were going clubbing tonight, and I thought I'd get a jump start. After all, Dane and I had ended up in the room that shared a bathroom with Max and Cassie. Ugh.
I hoped it wouldn't be so bad. Dane's the one who'd insisted we take the room. He liked the view. Little did he know what being near Max did to me. Last night, when Cassie had come to close our side of the bathroom door, she'd gone on and on about how she was changing for her first night of making love to Max. I'd wanted to pull every last blonde curl out of her head and go take care of pleasuring Max myself. I was so jealous!
Well, I guess he was over me if he was sleeping with her. He'd been dating her at least since the end of May, when Joey had set up the trip. He couldn't be that much of a player if he was only getting around to sleeping with her now. Unless she was "the one." I hoped she wasn't, though. I had been fantasizing for awhile that I would marry Max. Now it seemed like nothing but a pipe dream.
Who was I kidding? If my period didn't come soon, I'd be tied to Dane forever, anyway. I didn't know what I wanted, but all I could do was wait and see. I could take the test tomorrow.
"Penny for your thoughts," Bree said as we walked toward the house.
"Just thinking," I said.
"About what?" she asked.
I sighed. Here goes nothing, I thought. "About whether or not I'm pregnant," I said.
Bree stopped dead in her tracks. "WHAT?" she squealed.
I pulled back my wet hair with a hair tie. "About two weeks ago, Dane and I were going at it, and the condom broke. When he came, it felt.....different. Then, I realized why. He was too drunk to remember, so I haven't even mentioned it to him yet. I have a test. I can take it tomorrow. I'm supposed to get my period today, but nothing so far," I explained.
"Do you want to be?" she asked.
"Yes,.......and no. I'm at the age where I would like to start having kids. On the other hand, Dane hasn't offered to marry me yet, so, I don't know," I whined.
"Maybe he will ask if you're pregnant," she said.
"That's the thing. I'll never know why he asked if he waits until something like this happens. And besides which,......never mind."
"What?" she questioned.
"I want someone who loves me wholeheartedly, and I'm not sure Dane does." It was true. I couldn't tell if it was because I was settling for him, or if it was because he was settling for me. I didn't want to bring a baby into that. She didn't bother asking me if I'd keep it. She knew I would. After all, I knew pregnancy was on the table every time I had sex, even with protection.
"Do you want me to be with you tomorrow when you take the test?" she asked.
"Yes. That would help me," I agreed. I was blessed to have a friend like Bree.
We walked into the house, and went to our respective rooms. I got my things ready for the shower, and headed toward the bathroom. As I opened the door, there was Max, stark naked in the middle of the bathroom. "Hey!" he shouted, looking over at me. His face turned a hundred shades of red as he struggled to find his towel so he could cover himself.
"I'm sorry," I said, letting my gaze linger a little too long on his yummy body before he covered it. I hurried and shut the door. Through the closed door, I shouted, "Will you please tell me when you're out?"
"Sure," I heard him mumble in response. I couldn't believe that had happened. I couldn't believe I hadn't attacked him on the spot. He could thank the possible baby for my will power. I'm pretty sure if it wasn't for that fact, I'd be in there right now, having my way with him. How I wished I was that towel.
We went to the club a few hours after my encounter with Max. I couldn't look at him. I was so embarrassed. I mean, it's not like I'd never seen him naked before, it's just that I hadn't seen him naked lately. I didn't mention it to anyone, and I'm sure he didn't either.
I offered to be a designated driver, and so did Bree. We figured we'd take pictures and blackmail everyone later, just like in our college days. I also thought it would be the perfect reason not to drink. I wasn't taking any chances of damaging a possible baby.
We went to few clubs before finding one where we wanted to stay awhile. Most of the gang were pretty well gone, save for Bria and me. Max had been drinking like a fish. I'm not sure if I was imagining it, but it seemed like he kept looking at me. I can't say I wasn't enjoying it.
"Can you go grab us a couple more beers?" Dane asked me, his speech slurring. He was such a charmer when he got this way.
"Sure," I answered flatly as I walked off toward the bar. Bree had gone to the bathroom, or I'm sure she would've been helping me.
As I waited for the bartender to pour the beers, a skeevy guy sidled up next to me, undressing me with his eyes. "Hey baby, whatchu doin'?" he asked me, clearly drunk. I wanted to tell him the line was 'How you doin'?" but it wasn't worth it. Then, he put his hand on my butt. I slapped him. Hard.
"Leave me alone, creep," I said. I really wished Dane would come get this guy. He was always complimenting me on being able to hold my own, which I almost always could. It just would have been nice to have someone at least try to rescue me every so often.
I walked a few more feet and felt someone grab my butt again. I turned around, all but helpless with a tray of drinks in my hand. Everyone was dancing and knocking into me. I couldn't let go without dropping them. All I could do was glare at him and make a halfhearted attempt at kicking him. He was such an ass!
I looked over in my gang's general direction, but none of them even looked my way. "Get your hands off of her!" I heard someone shout. A second later, the person belonging to the voice tackled the creep onto the floor. It was Max! Oh no. Now he was beating the guy senseless. It was a good thing his coordination wasn't one hundred percent due to his drunken state. He might have killed the guy, who was trying with little success to punch Max back. People were screaming. I was screaming. Two bouncers flew over, breaking up the fight. One had Max in his grip, one had Mr. Skeevy.
"Miss," one of the bouncers said, "you can choose to stay or go, but both of these nincompoops are getting tossed out of here."
"Let me go tell my friends I'm leaving, then I'll take this one off of your hands," I explained, motioning to Max.
"Make it quick," the one holding Max said.
"I will," I agreed, then walked to where my friends were standing. "Hey guys, Max got himself in trouble defending my honor, and he's getting kicked out. I'm going to take him back to the house," I informed them. "Cassie, do you want to come with us?" I asked.
I could tell she was feeling good. She shook her head back and forth vehemently. "Nah. Just take good care of my little Maxie for me," she cooed. Ugh.
"Okay," I said, rolling my eyes.
Bria touched my arm. "Would you rather me go back?" she asked.
"Nah," I said. I leaned in so the others wouldn't hear me. "Besides, this is no place for a pregnant woman. If I even am pregnant," I said.
"Okay. We should all fit in the Escapade to come home," she said.
"Call me if you need me." I hugged her before I left. Dane never even offered to come with us. He could be a real jerk sometimes.
I walked to where they were holding Max, and grabbed his hand. "I can take him from here," I said, pulling him behind me. They released him to me, and followed us to the door.
As we walked out into the cool night air, Max stopped walking. I turned to see what he was doing, just as he let go of my hand and puked. Luckily, he had been right near a grassy spot, so I didn't have to see much. It really didn't make me feel too queasy. I was hoping that was a sign that I wasn't pregnant.
"Sorry," he said, wiping his mouth with the bottom of his shirt. Ah, my knight in shining armor, I laughed to myself. As annoyed as I was with our predicament, I couldn't help notice how cute he was. At least he had tried to defend me. My boyfriend and both of my brothers were there, but it had been Max that came to my rescue. He hadn't done too bad of a job rearranging that creep's face, either.
We finally reached my car. He managed to get into the passenger side, while I got behind the wheel. After a couple of minutes on the road, Max turned and looked at me. "Don't be mad, Rhee," he said timidly, "but I really have to pee. I might pee my pants." I looked more closely at my drunken friend. His legs were bouncing up and down, and his hands were in his crotch. He looked like he just might wet himself.
I found a parking lot of a store that was closed for the day. It was surrounded by trees. I parked, and told him to get out and take care of business. He listened. He was gone for a long time. I was just starting to wonder if something happened to him, when he reappeared, and got back into the car. "Thank you so much!" he yelled. "You're an angel," he said, leaning over to kiss my cheek. I shivered. Even with him drunk and smelling slightly of puke, my body responded to his touch. If Dane would have tried that in a similar situation, he would be lying in the parking lot by now. Max was special.
I was staring at him, and my car was still in park. "Thank you for saving me from that creep. I really appreciate it," I said truthfully.
Max looked at his hands as he said, "Someone needed to." I took that to mean he was upset with the other men in my life for not stepping in. "They all told me you could handle it, that you would get mad if they tried to 'save' you," he said, imitating Dane's tone.
I rubbed his head, and said, "I like to be saved every once in a while. Especially when my hands are occupied." He smiled. I started the car and pulled into traffic.
"I thought so," he said. "Besides, I don't want any other guys creeping around you. I only put up with Dane touching you because he had you first. And you seem to like him." Whoa. What was he talking about? I chalked it up to the alcohol, and didn't respond to what he'd said.
"I mean it," he said with conviction. "I can't stand it when Dane touches you. You're mine. Well, I wish you were mine." He reached out and brushed my arm with his fingers. I couldn't concentrate. For a second, I forgot where I was. My car swerved into oncoming traffic. If the guy on the other side of the road hadn't beeped at me, I might not have snapped out of it.
Get with it, I told myself. Even thoughts of the possible baby weren't strong enough to turn off my body's auto response to Max's touch. Every part of me craved him. Unfortunately, Max was a blast from the past. I wouldn't be going on that breathtaking tour ever again. But, oh, how I wanted to. I wanted to tell him that I wished the same thing, but I was the sober, more mature one. I had to keep it together. Instead, I said, "Max, you're drunk right now. Let's talk about this another time." He shrugged and closed his eyes, resting his head against the window.
We got home, and I helped him inside. His breath reeked. He stumbled into our bathroom, failing to close either door. He was peeing again. I averted my eyes. That wasn't exactly a show I wanted to watch, not even when Max was the star. When he finished, he washed his hands and brushed his teeth.
I waited for him in his and Cassie's room. I pulled the sheet down on his bed to make it easier for him. "Sorry," he said, as he stumbled out of the bathroom and toward his bed, "but I had to brush my teeth. My mouth tasted like puke." He stood beside me, looking at me. He must have taken his clothes off in the bathroom, because he was only in his boxers. He was more filled out than he had been three years ago, manlier.
"What?" I asked him nervously.
"I also brushed my teeth so I could do this," he said, lunging toward me. I stepped back to get away from him, but I was trapped by the wall behind me. He was closing in fast. His lips met mine and devoured me hungrily. I resisted for a whole three seconds before succumbing to my body's requests to give in. Our tongues found each other after three years of separation. He had my bra off before I knew it, one hand fondling my chest, the other unbuttoning my pants. My hands were busy as well, tearing his boxers off his body. He still tasted a little disgusting, but mostly he tasted like my hot, sweet Max with a hint of mint.
The drinks he had did nothing to curb his desire. I felt his need against me as he moved in even closer. Oh, how I wanted him. But, this was cheating. He was drunk. It couldn't happen this way. What if I was pregnant?
My rational side won the battle against my emotional side for only a few minutes, but it was enough for me to push Max away. "We can't do this, Max. You're drunk, we'd both be cheating on our significant others. It can't happen like this. Go to sleep. If you remember this in the morning, we'll try to work it out." I put on my shirt, inside-out, and picked up my bra.
He hung his head and lay down in his bed. He was trying to pull the sheets up, but his lack of coordination made it a difficult task. Funny, though, how he was perfectly coordinated when he ravished me a few minutes before.
I walked to the bed, and covered him. I bent down, kissing him on the forehead. "I'm sorry about tonight, but it can't happen like this," he shifted his bright blue eyes to look into mine. "Just for the record," I continued, "I wanted to rip Cassie's hair out when she was talking about sleeping with you last night. You're mine, too." I would have given him a quick kiss on the lips, but I didn't trust myself. I walked out of the room and closed the door.
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Next: Rhia takes "the test."
I know this chapter was really long, but I wanted to end it with a little excitement. Please don't forget to vote. I know you won't forget to comment! Thanks so much for all of the support.