Old Friends and Their Connected Offspring

“Quiet! I don’t want to hear that name anymore,” Rachel ordered, sounding like her old self as a school teacher.

“Kimmie, Kimmie, Kimmie!” Gabriela sassed, seated across from her best friend.

The rest of the ten-person table in the Witzler’s dining room glanced around at each other. A few smirked at Gabby’s whiny behavior as she was still upset that Rachel didn’t tell her immediately about Kimberly getting caught in bed with Austin by Miranda. Seated next to Gabby, Shelly Wexler dropped her smile after an elbow nudge from her BFF, Cookie Flavin. As Gabby’s big cheersister, Shelly often encouraged her former protégé’s antics.

Having never been a cheerleader, Addison Lago appeared unsure how to react over the bickering between her two old classmates. She felt fortunate for grabbing the seat between Cookie and Lauren Rogers rather than the empty one on Gabriela's other side. At least Lauren worked to soothe Rachel's mood while seated beside her. The brunette shot an exasperated look across at Gabby, who conveniently ignored the plea.

“Shay, would you kindly inform Miss Ariza that she’ll receive a timeout upon the next outburst,” Rachel said, turning to face Shayla O’Dell on her right-hand side.

“Ooh, I’m in trouble now! Pulling out the maiden name card,” Gabby mocked.

"Gabby, try showing a little sympathy. Lacey and Austin broke up last night, and he jumped into bed with Kimberly. Imagine how Lacey feels right now," Maura Fawcett pointed out, garnering several nods.

“Whoa! Don’t tell me what to do, Babybee!” Gabby shot back, referring to Maura’s role when they were both in high school together.

“Gabs!” Shayla admonished, defending her best friend.

“Well, at least I was Babybee captain and varsity co-captain,” Maura pointed out, as nobody trusted Gabby in those roles.

“You only became captain when Shayla got bumped up to varsity after Triana’s bullshit,” Gabby argued.

“Let’s not rehash that,” Lauren declared, knowing the topic of Triana Taft’s defection to the Sugarbees always led down a long rabbit hole for her old varsity squad.

A lull fell over the table with Naomi Fitch side-eying Maura. She’d already started to regret sitting at a table full of former cheerleaders. It wouldn’t have been as bad if a few more of the younger women, such as Lemon Leighton and Sabrina Rinaldi, hadn’t left already. All that separated her from Gabriela was the chair left empty for Kimberly’s unlikely appearance.

“I never sat at a table with all cheerleaders. Is this how it was back in high school?” Addison inquired, hoping to break the tension.

“Only when your bestie betrays you by withholding the most hilarious gossip ever!” Gabby spat.

Rachel didn’t respond verbally but shook a clenched fist at her closest friend.

“Benedict Arnold McCracken,” Gabby mumbled, dropping Rachel’s maiden name.

“That’s enough, Gabby! Act your age,” Lauren ordered, causing the bratty woman to slam her hands down on the table. “I imagine that Rach had other more pressing matters on her mind. Maybe you should remember what’s happening with Clive.”

"No, this is precisely how I pictured the cheerleader table in high school," Naomi remarked wryly to Addison.

“You be quiet, Sugarbee!” Gabby bellowed, the last word dripping with venom. “Count yourself lucky for even being allowed to sit with us.”

“Gabriela!” Cookie squealed a half-second before Maura could. Both former cheerleaders had become close friends with Naomi while living in Arbor Corners.

“Shelly, get control of your little sister!” Lauren directed.

“Me? As if I can control her,” Shelly admitted.

“Try! Or I’m calling Bridget,” Lauren threatened.

“I’m sorry about my friend’s outburst, Naomi. You’re perfectly welcome at our table. Some of us aren’t stuck living in the past and act out like a six-year-old,” Rachel apologized.

“It’s no big deal. This almost reminds me of when Gemma and Cordelia would get into table fights,” Naomi chuckled.

“Did you just compare me to Gemma?!” Gabby shrieked.

“Funny how you chose her,” Rachel stated, shutting her BFF up for a glorious minute.

"Has anyone spoken to Miranda?" Addison queried, turning her question primarily toward Lauren, Miranda's big cheersister.

“No. Annette sent me a short message. Said she’d handle it,” Lauren revealed.

“Honestly, I’m surprised it wasn’t Annette that she found in bed with Austin,” Naomi dared to admit.

“You’re not wrong there. But maybe even Annie has a code,” Rachel replied before Gabby could snarl a comeback. “Imagine what kind of a woman would stoop to seducing her old friend’s son?”

Gabriela swallowed whatever sharp remark she’d planned to direct at the former dancer. Instead, she bit her tongue as Rachel glared at her. Lauren and Shayla noticed the staredown and shared a look.

“I’m sorry, Rach. We should all be concerned about Clive’s predicament,” Gabby apologized, performing a one-eighty with her attitude. “Those Oleskys are totally behind it.”

“I never liked Alexis. She was an uppity Babybee,” Shelly declared.

“Same with Triana. Two peas in a pod,” Cookie added.

Although considered almost the perfect cheerleader captain and co-captain duo, Shelly and Cookie could be seen as having a more old-school cheerleader mentality when it came to following orders. Rachel held back an eye-roll over their remarks. The two women still couldn’t comprehend how much worse Bridget and Tinsley’s batch of JV and later varsity cheerleaders could be. Of course, Gabby loved to play up to her old mentor.

“Damn right! Laffonts always resented playing second fiddle. Alexis used to whine like crazy about losing out as co-captain to me.”

“Uh, Gabs, you weren’t co-captain. Sela had the role,” Lauren pointed out while Rachel rubbed her forehead as a headache developed.

“I know that! But as Rachel’s bestie, I held more sway than Sela. Let’s face it, she was an uppity one too. Didn’t really like the duties a co-captain needs to perform. Hey, that’s how I came to be the best fundraiser ever in squad history,” Gabby boasted.

“Yes, I recall how much more difficult that made my job two years later. Killing off carwashes for us wasn’t very funny,” Maura grouched.

“Gawd, I think it was even worse the year before. Do you remember how many bake sales we had when Tinny was co-captain?” Shayla joked in mock horror. “Bridget liked to spend money as captain that we didn’t have.”

“I feel for the crew behind your crop. At least you had Mrs. Day to help. Tinny’s mom is the best baker,” Lauren pointed out.

“Hey, they also had Lemon. The girl co-runs her own bakery these days,” Rachel added.

“That’s right! I remember Tanith mentioning your bake sales,” Shelly said, referring to her younger cheerleading cousin.

“Tinny used to whine about how Lemon was the daughter her mom always wanted,” Maura recalled.

“Don’t let that fool you. Bee said that Tinny secretly loved how much her mom took to Lemon. It stopped Mrs. Day from nagging Tin to bake more,” Rachel revealed with a laugh.

“Speaking of our squad, did you hear back from Zita?” Maura asked.

“No, but I heard back from Haley. It sounded like Zita had a few too many at their party to ring in the new year,” Shayla relayed about Zita Rossi and Haley Abbington.

“Oh, no!” Rachel exclaimed, sitting up straighter in her chair. “I just realized that with Lacey single, Haley’s niece is probably plotting a new match for her.”

"Oh, I'm sure Amberly probably has a grand plan already," Shayla chuckled. "What did the girls call Amberly and Lacey? Strattington?"

"Hey!" Gabby exclaimed as a new thought hit her like a lightning bolt. "Didn't Lacey say Ramsey followed a guy from the rally to Penalty Pub? My money's on the Klackhursts being behind the allegations."

Shayla and Maura shared a glance as Gabriela completely changed from blaming the Oleskys/Laffonts to the town’s crime family. Naomi shrugged as she knew something about the gang’s activities in Honey Hollow and Arbor Corners.

“Clive could ask Mr. Fallon for help. He sure tangled with them enough,” Lauren suggested.

“Seamus already bowed out for any legwork. Said he’s too old. However, he’s happy to offer what he knows or advice,” Rachel responded.

“Wait! Won’t WBRD cover Clive?” Cookie questioned her best friend.

“Sure, I’d expect so. Honey Hollow doesn’t have their own station, and The Bridge had a reporter up here last night for the big news drop,” Shelly replied. An attorney in Blackbridge, the attractive blonde often appeared on the local news station as a legal analyst.

“There you have it! Shell can just wipe away any bad news for Clive with her connections,” Gabby proclaimed.

“Whoa! I don’t want Shelly to risk her side job. Clive can manage just fine. He did nothing wrong,” Rachel stated.

“I can’t help with the station covering the story. The current news director loves political corruption stories. However, if I’m asked about my views of the allegations, I’m one hundred percent behind Clive Stratton,” Shelly declared. “I have no problem saying flat out that he’s innocent. “

Lauren watched Rachel's half-hearted thank you as Gabby and Cookie cheered Shelly's forceful declaration. Sensing how much Clive's ordeal must be stressing her old friend, Lauren felt another topic change needed to happen. Without many non-current events left to choose from, the brunette decided to sacrifice herself.

“Sooo, you girls remember how I mentioned that the triplets still hadn’t decided on a college yet?”

“No, when did you mention that?” Gabby asked.

“Lo mentioned it the other night at our get-together at The Copper Lantern,” Maura revealed.

“Did this trip help a school around here make a final push?” Shayla inquired hopefully.

“Hold on!” Gabby yelled, turning toward Rachel. “You see what happens when you make me skip a party? We’re completely out of the loop.”

“I didn’t make you skip any party. Or didn’t you want to be at that cabin when Bee and Sean returned? You sure wanted to give Sean an extra special hug, if I remember correctly,” Rachel said, raising her eyebrows.

Gabby got the drift and dropped her complaints about missing the rushed get-together Bailey Thirlby held at her restaurant. Instead, everyone explained how Loren, Rowan, and Lexington still needed to decide on a college for next year. Doxton College, their prestigious local school, was a strong contender. Sandbar College in Breezy Bay had a warm climate and plentiful beaches, along with Tinny’s strong, vocal support, going for it. However, the two local options might have just ticked higher on the list. Only Shelly appeared thrilled about Breakwater University, located just south of where she lived, possibly getting chosen. Everyone else at the table crossed their fingers that Zurbrugg College ended up as the winner.

“Jared, Sean, and Lex finally together? About fucking time!” Gabby roared.

“I was thinking more along the lines of Delilah, Beyza, Rory, Lacey, Loren, and Rowan all starting college together as freshmen,” Shayla countered.

“Don’t forget about Paxson, Phoebe, Dove, Nikki, and Noah, all in Arbor Corners, too,” Maura reminded them about their high school-age children for next year.

“I’ll worry about the shorties when Jules goes off to school in another two years,” Gabby replied, waving off their youngest kids.

“Wait, what happened to Noah? I barely saw him last night, and he’s not at the kids’ table,” Rachel inquired about Naomi’s sixteen-year-old son.

"He's spending the day and night with his dad," Naomi revealed, sending the table into oohs and ahhs. If it wasn't for Harvey Diamond, Noah's father, Jack Foscue, might be the city's biggest playboy. Still, the two men had a friendly rivalry when it came to chasing women. "Noah's not like Jack. He'd rather be curled up with a book than chasing after girls. That confuses Jack, but he's trying."

“I think Noah spends even more time at Nine Lives Novels than Dove,” Cookie said about her daughter, the best friend of Noah’s older half-sister.

“Finn says that Auggie sees both kids there all the time,” Rachel chimed in, pleased how all their children and their friends run into one another.

“I wish Nikki would stay longer than to drag Dove or Noah out of the store. That girl could read a book or two,” Naomi grumbled.

While not Jack’s daughter, the sexually-free Nikki sure took after her brother’s father. And while Naomi didn’t want to admit it, her daughter also took after her when it came to a high sex drive.

"Better keep her away from Sean. The way Bridget is pushing him to sow his wild oats, she will be a grandma way too soon," Rachel groused.

Realizing the subject had gone into another of Rachel’s danger zones, Lauren blurted out a secret that only Bridget knew and Tinny suspected.

“I’m thinking of moving close to where the triplets go to college!”

The announcement set off a frenzy at the table.

Shelly sounded like an ambulance-chasing lawyer as she launched into a spiel about how special Blackbridge and Muskie Harbor could be. On the other hand, Cookie and Maura gushed about living in a college town like Arbors Corners. Seeking to help her friends, Naomi pointed out how close AC was to Honey Hollow. However, Gabby co-opted her point about an easy commute to see her old friends and parents. She pointed out how Rattle Ridge had many of the same amenities, not to mention privacy.

“You can date without anybody gossiping about you in Rattle Ridge,” Gabby added, winking conspiratorially.

“Sure, the only person gossiping about you would be the town gossip, aka Gossiping Gabby,” Rachel cracked.

Shayla immediately picked up on Rachel's point, and the two former cheer captains worked as a tag team to promote Honey Hollow as Lauren's ultimate choice. They brought up Bridget and Miranda, two girls she was closest to during high school. They also stressed how thrilled Lauren's family would be to have her back home.

“Bee did mention that the house on the corner of her cul-de-sac is for sale,” Lauren revealed.

“That’s right! You’d be living directly across the street from Samantha Denton. You will just love Sam,” Rachel declared about Bridget’s medical practice partner and Newt’s mother.

"And if you move there this summer, Ariana will be your neighbor," Addison revealed, finally jumping back into the overwhelming conversation. The curious expressions led her to add, "Bridget offered her garage apartment to Aria while she interns in Honey Hollow."

“Hmm, I wonder if Sean will sleepwalk to her bedroom when the nights are hot and steamy,” Gabby speculated, earning a dirty glare from Rachel.

“I mean, I’m sure Bridget would love you as her neighbor, but you should choose the best place for yourself,” Addison added. As a resident of Thirsty Gulch, she didn’t have a pony in this horserace.

The rest of the table erupted in boos as Addison found several napkins thrown at her.

“Do you think we should invite Ramsey upstairs for a threesome tonight?”

The surprise, out-of-nowhere question caused Jared to **** on his food. He continued to **** on it even after taking a long sip of water. Eventually, Lex shook his head before standing up and walking over to slap the linebacker’s back. That sent a piece of chicken onto the table with a round of disgusted ewws.

“Don’t gulp down your food like a neanderthal. Chew it, Lockett!” Lex ordered before sitting back down.

“Do something about that!” Phoebe Fawcett screeched, pointing at the slimy, half-eaten piece of food still sitting out in the open on the table.

A dark-skinned hand reached over to grab a napkin, which she used to scoop up Jared's discarded bite. Crunching the napkin around the disgusting pile, Delilah placed it beside his plate.

“Everybody good?”

Nearly everyone at the so-called kids' table nodded. Calling it a table was slightly off as they'd pulled two round, six-person tables together to form one larger kids' table. Jared, JoJo, Ramsey, and the three Rogers' triplets sat at one half of the combined table. Delilah joined Phoebe, her brother Paxson, Dove Flavin, Nikki Fitch, and Virgil Lago on the other half.

“Aw, are you okay?” JoJo cooed, rubbing her lover’s arm.

“Are…Were you serious?” Jared responded with a whisper.

The buxom brunette shyly glanced around before answering. Ramsey was in the middle of a conversation with Dove about an author while the triplets bickered amongst themselves. Loren and Rowan teased their brother about trying to match Sean with his hero skills, which Lexington didn't appreciate. Delilah scolded the sulking Virgil again at the other table for playing with his food rather than eating it. She had experience in dealing with a teen upset over his mother taking away his phone and tablet in order to socialize.

“Something tells me you hope I am…” JoJo trailed off as her hand slinked down his arm to land on his lap.

At the other table, Nikki nodded as she knew what the soccer star was up to.

“Hey, I know I had a connection with her when I first arrived…but that was before you showed up,” Jared protested, thinking JoJo’s lurid question might be a test. “And I’m perfectly fine if our last night on the trip is just us.”

“Good answer,” JoJo purred into his ear while her hand increased its friction over his pants. “Besides, I don’t think bringing a virgin like her into our bed would be all that fun tonight, right?”

"Uh, right." Jared nodded moments before Delilah casually slapped him with a hiss to knock it off.

“Sooo,” Delilah said loudly with a clap. “Did everyone have a fun trip? I know Pax did. Making out with Marcie Huff? I didn’t think you had it in you, buddy,” she added, teasing the son of her mom’s best friend. “Thanks for giving me something to hold over Marcie in biology class for the rest of the year.”

“Nowhere near as much as I’m going to hold it over him,” sixteen-year-old Phoebe declared, smirking at her slightly older brother.

“Lay off good ole Pax. Making out with a girl on New Year’s Eve with a ton of witnesses can only do wonders for his reputation in Arbor Corners when the word gets out,” Nikki speculated, which caused the girl-shy Paxson to frown.

“You’re going to tell everyone, aren’t you?”

“Sorry, Pax, she already passed along the video,” Dove apologized for her best friend.

“Video? There’s a video?!”

“Don’t be bashful! That Marcie is pretty cute, and I hear she’s a good athlete. Soccer, I believe, which makes up for your clumsiness,” Nikki joked.

“Tennis. Marcie plays tennis, not soccer,” JoJo clarified.

“Ooh, even better for Paxy! Tennis girls love to grunt,” Nikki chuckled.

“Wait, why does that name sound familiar?” Jared questioned.

“Marcie owned the dog that got lost before Sean found it back in ninth grade,” the actual soccer star recounted.

Ramsey internally winced as she recalled that nugget of information from Daisy's report on Sean last night. It brought back the nagging feeling of guilt tugging at her.

“I’d say Lex had the best New Year’s Eve with his ending up in bed with two women, but I don’t think Jared is all that jealous from what we’ve heard,” Nikki continued.

“You did?” Jared double-checked, turning to face Lex. “Who?”

The resident of Rattle Ridge only slightly knew Quilla’s name and face, but he definitely knew Cheyenne. An appreciation for her bra size led him to offer Lex a fist bump, which caused the girls at the table to groan about predictable boys. Nikki added that Jared seemed to have a type with a wink at JoJo.

“And what about you, Fitch? I don’t recall seeing you at all last night. I thought you got left behind in AC. Or maybe you were grounded again,” Jared challenged, knowing the seventeen-year-old’s reputation.

“Please, like you weren’t sneaking off to a room last night with your latest lover to even notice where anyone went. Besides, I was keeping an eye on Dove,” Nikki stated, hugging her BFF from the side.

“Uh, maybe for a bit,” the cute brunette corrected. “Nik was too busy scouting colleges.”

“Really? Were you asking for advice or people’s experiences? I should’ve thought of that with such a large gathering,” Ramsey said after brightening up at a potential conversation about choosing a college.

"Uh, yeah, I don't think that's what she meant," Loren speculated, with Rowan nodding.

“No doubt. I was scouting current and future college students. Men, I mean,” Nikki added with a sexy cackle. “I need a few new toys to play with next year.”

"Oh," Ramsey mumbled, suddenly yearning to return to her room and the newspaper article.

“Well, we didn’t get lucky last night, but I think we had a fun time overall,” Loren announced for herself and her sister.

“Right. We also did a good deed by helping Will,” Rowan added.

“Will?” JoJo questioned, semi-preoccupied as her hand slid along Jared’s thigh again.

“They mean Winkie,” Delilah clarified, leaning back to kick at JoJo from the other side of Jared. The dancer took her unofficial role as table chaperone somewhat seriously. There were minors in attendance.

“Yeah, we wanted to make sure he didn’t bleed out or anything. Such a sweet guy,” Rowan praised.

“Speaking of sweet guys, what’s the deal with Sean?” Nikki queried, leaning toward the older girls. “Any good dirt about his sexual experiences? Considerate lover? Wild like his mom? Any scandals? I love scandals.”

JoJo and Ramsey blanched at the question for opposite yet also slightly similar reasons. Delilah caught their expressions and sighed, realizing it would be left up to her to answer. Although she did have some tidbits of gossip from when he dated Beyza and from last night. Dove and Phoebe perked up as they also wanted to hear more about the current town hero's past.

Loren and Rowan shared a knowing look before turning to stare at the male third of their trio. Grumbling about being an idiot, Lex took out two five-dollar bills and handed one each to his sisters.

“Don’t know why I bothered with that bet. Of course, she was going to ask.”

Virgil saw his chance and used the distraction to sneak back upstairs to his room. JoJo tapped Jared's arm, but his mom screamed before he could think of an excuse for them.

“Ohmigawd! Kimberly needs to go back to the cabin to get her stuff tomorrow,” Gabby shrieked after seeing the text message from Tinny about Bridget’s threats.

“You just realized that now?” Rachel sighed in exasperation.

“Showdown at Wasp Lake,” Shelly teased.