Her relationship with Ben

"Gary, I have a confession to make. I have been experimenting with my cousin, Ben, since around my senior year in high school. And when I went to visit him, I sort of, well, you know when I was with you. And I know this is going to sound weird, but Ben is coming over soon, and I wondered if the three of us can 'do stuff' together. If not, that is fine, but I don't think I can stop doing stuff with Ben because he is very special to me, and I like to make him feel good. If you don't want to be with me, I understand, but I really do love you, and I want to stay with you. I'm sorry for not saying this to your face, but I thought it would be better this way. Let me know your answer tonight."

Love always,

Bernie"

Gary just sat there, stunned at what he just read. He looked over to see that Joyce was looking at him with a concerned look in her eyes.

"How long have you known about this?" he asked Joyce.

"Well, I sort of set it up as mutual masturbation, then they just started experimenting with other things. But you have to realize that this helped Bernie since she was getting harassed at school about my book 'Free To Masturbate' being picked up as part of the 'abstinence education' push. She didn't have many friends and never had a guy care for her the way you do now. Then Ben came around, and they got close, and he helped her by giving her the care and love that she needed from a man."

Gary started getting dressed and sat back down on the couch, just wondering what he should do. He had just turned down having sex with a girl that he had wanted ever since he had known her, and now he'd found out that Bernie had been fucking her cousin all along without him knowing about it. "So what do you think I should do?" he said with a sigh.

Joyce walked over to him and sat on the arm of the chair.

"Well I think you should hear her out and see what she has to say, but this is a conflict of interest, since I like you and her being together, but I also like her and Ben pleasing each other." She kissed him on the forehead and continued, "Do what your heart tells you to do, dear."

Gary thanked Joyce for the advice and made his way to the mall. On the way there, he called up Bernie to tell her that he was on his way to pick them up and meet him out front. Once he arrived at the spot, he saw Bernie and Lil run to the car with several bags in hand.

As they got into the front, Bernie next to him and Lil next to her. Bernie leaned in and gave him a quick peck on the cheek. "So, what did you do when we were shopping?" Bernie asks.

Gary started the car and pointed it toward his home. "Well, I didn't know where to go, so I thought I would visit your mom and talk to her for a while." He looked over to notice Bernie looking at him with a curious look on her face. He didn't say anything, so they all sat in the car, not saying a word until they pulled into Gary's driveway. Lil got out and ran ahead to the house, while Bernie walked around the front of the van and waited for Gary, who was still sitting in the driver's seat.

Bernie leaned on the open driver's window. "I'm guessing you read my note, huh?" she said with a sad sounding tone in her voice. "I hope you're not mad at me."

Gary turned and met her eyes.