One Birthday, Two Birthdays

Sean and JoJo descended the stairs and walked into the main room at the same time that Lana and Peyton ascended from the basement. Sean noticed the strange look on his sister's face, but she and Lana moved straight into the kitchen.

"--should work much better. Do you want to use my laptop?" Harvey asked Bridget.

"No, that's okay. I think I have a better idea," Bridget replied before turning to look into the kitchen. "Newt, do you think I can borrow your tablet for a little while?"

"Um, I'm not quite sure where I left it. I haven't used it since last night," Newt responded, peeking out the kitchen with a confused face.

Multiple heads swung around to stare at the teenager in shock. Not only had Newt not used his tablet since last night, but he also didn't know its location. That was not normal behavior from him.

"You okay, Newt?" Peyton asked in disbelief.

Sean and JoJo both gave each other a glance of concern for their best friend. JoJo wasn't aware, but Sean recalled how strange Newt had acted this morning at breakfast. His demeanor had been oddly cheerful for once.

"Someone missing a tablet? There's one under this couch. I thought maybe it was under there for safekeeping," Jeff announced from his spot. He picked it up, handing it over to Newt, who hurried over to grab his precious possession.

Giving it a quick appraisal, Newt walked it over to Mrs. Tarver and handed it over. Bridget reached out with one hand to feel the teen's forehead.

"You don't feel warm. Are you sure you're feeling alright? You seem a little different this morning," Bridget noted.

"I'm fine. Just enjoying the trip," Newt said before returning to the kitchen to grab his can of Dr. Pepper.

Peyton paused from taking a drink from her water bottle to study her brother's friend with suspicion. Newt's up to something. I'm not sure what, since he's so dull, but he's up to something.

"Come on, Pey. Let's go finish our show," Lana reminded.

As the two older girls left, Gabriella spoke up. "Sean, have you seen Jared lately?"

"No, I haven't. I've been reading upstairs for the last couple of hours. Sorry," Sean responded.

"I saw him through the window before, walking around outside, Mrs. Lockett," Newt informed her.

"Thank you, Newt," she said. Then turning to Bridget and Rachel, she told them she was going to go look for her son. "Don't finish until I get back, okay."

---

Damn, it's getting windy and cold out here. Gabby cursed to herself as she hurried toward the boathouse. Despite wearing a hat, gloves, and her fluffy winter coat, the wind seemed to cut right through a person. The foul weather only served to increase the foul mood she felt over her son's behavior these last few days. Maybe I should have let him stay home alone. Even if he threw a wild party like last time, it wouldn't be as embarrassing as getting into a brawl, breaking Harvey's brand new furniture, and now upsetting JoJo enough that he had Jeff buy her flowers.

As she rounded the little bend past some trees, Gabby noticed two other individuals bundled up and racing towards her. "Lacey, have you seen Jared?"

"He just showed up. He didn't look in the mood to talk, Mrs. Lockett," Lacey spoke loudly to be heard over the howling wind.

"Okay, dear. Thanks," Gabby said as Lacey and Austin continued their brisk pace back to the cabin.

Reaching the door and entering, Gabby felt slight relief from the cold. The boathouse's lower level wasn't all that warm, but at least that wind couldn't reach her in here. Taking off her hat and gloves as she climbed the stairs, the mom felt her anger rising up to a boil.

"Jared Miguel Lockett!" Gabriella started to shout as she swung the door open, but her next words caught in her throat.

Jared sat perched on the lower bunk below his bed. His face had been in his hands, but he pulled them away when his mother's voice startled him. Tears dotted his cheeks.

"Wha--sweetie, what's wrong?" Gabby asked as her anger drained from her body, replaced by motherly concern. She stood in her spot in the entryway in shock, unable to remember the last time she had seen her son cry.

"If you came here to yell at me, don't bother. I can't feel any worse," the teenager said in a hollow voice, looking down at the floor.

"What did you do?" his mother asked, not in the accusing tone she planned to use when she walked in, but now out of curiosity.

"Just leave me alone."

Not at all about to do that, Gabby made her way over and sat down across from Jared at the small table. She gave her son a concerned grimace.

"What don't you go ahead and tell me what you did to upset JoJo? Maybe I can help."

Jared glanced up at his mother with a heavy sigh before moving his eyes back down to the floor. "I needed to know something that she knew, or at least I thought I needed to know. So I used a weakness of hers to get it. I ended up embarrassing her. That enough for you?"

"No, but it's a start. I'm guessing the flowers didn't work, so now what?" Gabby inquired.

Jared swiftly raised his head in surprise but then realized how his mother knew of the flowers. "Dad told you. I should have known."

"Your father showing up out of the blue with flowers and a twitchy face led me to this right now. You shouldn't blame your father, he tried, but I have my way of getting what I want from him. So, I'll ask again; JoJo didn't like the flowers?"

"She liked them. I made sure to get her favorite. JoJo said she wasn't ready to forgive me, but the flowers were a start," Jared explained.

"A start? That's good, right? Now, if you ever paid attention to me, then you have another plan, right?" Gabby questioned, hoping her son learned something from her.

"Over there," Jared responded, gesturing to a plastic bag on the table behind his mother.

Gabriella turned slightly, opened the bag, and peered in at the contents. Her face first showed a puzzled look, then an uncomfortable one. "Uh, sweetie, what am I looking at here?"

"Ticklish. Jo's weakness is that she's ticklish. So I figured I would..." Jared trailed off, figuring his mother would put two and two together.

"Well, I guess that could work," Gabby remarked, turning back around to study her son. "You must feel awful to plan all of this and sit here crying. Did you really hurt her that badly?"

Fresh tears started to stream down Jared's face again. Gabby stared once again at her son. Jared usually controlled his emotions, unlike Julianna, who took after her mother. He always appeared calm, hardly ever crying or losing his temper, and now twice, she watched as he sobbed. Rattled by this rare emotional outburst, Gabby moved over to sit next to her son, wrapping her arm around his shoulder.

"It's okay, sweetie. Tell me why you're so upset."

"Jo's always been so good to me. She stood up for me when we were little," the stocky teenager explained while trying to calm down.

"JoJo stood up for you, how?"

"When we first started school, the other kids would pick on me for being fat." Gabriella hissed at this revelation. She felt a strong wave of anger and guilt for not knowing about this past issue. "JoJo reminded me of you a little when she got in their faces and threatened them."

"I need to give that girl a hug the next time I see her. Oh, sweetie, I'm sorry I never knew about that. You weren't fat; you were a little chubby. Lots of kids don't lose their baby fat right away, and now look at you, all strong and handsome."

"That's why I feel like shit, Mom. I owe JoJo, and instead, I take advantage of her weakness." Jared gave out another sob, and Gabby worried he would start crying again, pulled his head to her in the act of soothing.

"Don't you worry. If she cared that much for you back then and said the flowers were a start, JoJo will forgive you. You just need to show her how much you care. And you need to learn from this, think before you act and hurt others," Gabriella told her son, thinking this could be a positive for Jared. This situation with JoJo could be a teaching moment. Jared might think he's always been upfront with girls when he told them he wasn't looking for a relationship, but Gabby remembered how teenage girls could delude themselves. There must be at least one or two girls he slept with that had been heartbroken to learn he meant what he said about not dating.

As his mother hugged his head to her chest, Jared's tears and worries about JoJo were replaced by another feeling: arousal. It took him a short while to notice, but once he did, Jared couldn't help but take pleasure in his mother's ample breasts rubbing back and forth against his head. He knew it was wrong to find the act hot, but Kimberly's words last night came roaring back into his head. Those breasts, the same ones he once suckled from, were still firm despite their size and age.

Losing himself in the soft comfort of his new pillows, Jared began to recall memories of bosoms past. Cheryl Fischof, his busty brunette of a date for last fall's Homecoming dance. The spaghetti straps on her white formal dress struggling to hold in her bombs from exploding all over the dance floor, and how they burst out when said dress slipped to the floor of the hotel room after the dance ended. Blonde, big-titted Leann Cressy, his friend who drove him wild last summer at all the pool parties before she gave in and cheated on her possessive, asshole of a boyfriend. Bent over in her friend's poolhouse, Leann embraced her sexuality, becoming Jared's most frequent fuck buddy. Knowing her equally well-endowed older sister had ridden his cock the previous school year, the star linebacker held out dreams of a sister-sister threesome. Leann already crossed the line when she helped him seduce future valedictorian Andrea Foster into a threesome in his bedroom. The buxom brainiac broke out her sexual shell that afternoon moments before Jared's mother came home.

While Jared lost himself in memories of past fun, Gabby failed at first to notice how he absentmindedly place a hand on her upper thigh. A simple gesture it failed to click in her brain, not until his hand's soft rubbing crept higher. Looking down at her son's head on her bosom, Gabby realized that her efforts to calm him had veered into an inappropriate area. She moved her hand down to cover his and hold it still. As Jared awoke from his daze, his mother stood up.

"Okay, sweetie. We need to head back to the cabin now."

Immediately, Jared recognized the predicament he now sat in as his cock had fully hardened. Hunching over slightly to try and block his mother's line of sight, he mumbled some words about heading over in a little bit.

"Nope, you need to come now. You have to come back and do the polite thing. So get up. Come on, get up," Gabriella ordered, reaching down to grab his hands and **** him up.

And there it was, poking straight out, tenting his pants. Jared closed his eyes in embarrassment as he heard the gasp from his mother. Like my day couldn't have gotten any worse before, it's gone to the next level of horribleness.

Gabriella's eyes widened as she saw that her son indeed took after his father. Holy shit, that's a big one. Did I cause that? Oh. My. Gawd. I did!

Opening his eyes, Jared saw his mom staring at the massive tent. He saw her bite her lip, which caused his cock to twitch, sending her eyes up to meet his.

Embarrassed that her own flesh and blood caught her admiring his erection, Gabby hurriedly turned and grabbed her son's coat and tossed it to him.

"Here, grab the rest of your things. We need to get back before it's too late. Hurry up!"

---

"Yeah, it's freezing here, so gloat all you want. I hate you on days like these," Bridget half-jokingly told the woman that looked back at her on the screen of Newt's tablet.

"Well, I'd give almost anything to be there freezing my little booty off with you," responded a tiny brunette.

"I know, Tin, I know. I wish you were here too. Doesn't feel right without you," Bridget replied. "How did Ned's test go?"

"Better than we expected. Hopefully, we're out the woods now," Tinsley Toone informed her best friend.

At forty years old, Tinsley "Tinny" Toone, had been Bridget's best friend since they were in diapers. Growing up next door to each other, Bridget had been closer to Tinsley than her own sisters. A short, petite woman with medium-length, light brown hair that curled softly, she possessed medium-sized breasts and a tight behind. A fun-loving daredevil, she had never met a challenge to back down from, a trait that the mischievous Bridget encouraged in their youth. Now living in Hawaii, Tinny hadn't been able to return home for Cassie's charity unveiling due to an ongoing health scare for her husband.

"That's great! I'm happy the doctor I recommended caught it before it got any worse," Bridget responded happily.

"So, what's going on over there? Sucks that you had to skip the first day, but at least you aren't missing the whole week," Tinny inquired.

"Well, Leo pulled his crap again," Bridget said almost in a whisper while glancing around to make sure her children or their friends weren't nearby.

"No! What the hell was his excuse this time?" Tinsley asked knowingly.

"Same as always; duty calls, last-minute emergencies, you name it."

"Didn't you say he scheduled a colleague to cover for him?" the petite brunette asked.

"Sure, that's the standard thing to do. I did it. Not only does he have Summer around to cover for any immediate need, but Leo also has a specialist in Arbor Corners that he covers for all the time that can do the same for him," Bridget stated, not bothering to hide her annoyance to her oldest friend. "I tried asking all about that, but he said he had to go."

"I'm sorry, Bee. I guess him sitting at Harvey's and not wanting to be there is probably worse than him not being there."

"I think so too. I don't want to think of it anymore. I'm here to have fun with my old friends," Bridget remarked, trying to cheer herself up.

"That's the spirit," Tinny half-cheered until she expressed another concern. "How's Finn holding up?"

"The same as always."

"So, doing a good job of hiding whatever pain he's in?"

"Yep," Bridget nodded. "Rachel's doing her best as always to keep his spirits up. Sybil and Polly showed up for a couple of nights. That gives him extra family to help. Although it sounds as if Polly has been holed up in her room for most of their stay. Finn went down to coax her out and socialize."

"Gawd, she is so not her mother," Tinny chuckled. "How's Fred?"

"Showed up with a new young girlfriend."

"No!"

"Yes! She seems nice enough," Bridget said. "I hope she doesn't get hurt. We all know Fred's relationships don't last."

"Unless he's pushing dollar bills down their g-strings."

"Tin!" Bridget shrieked before nodding. "The worst was that one that screamed escort."

"That's why I asked how much it would cost for a threesome with Ned and me," Tinsley recounted, bursting in a giggle fit.

"You're the worst, you know," Bridget stated.

"That's why you love me."

"True."

"Now, tell me the important stuff. How awesome is Harvey's new cabin?" Tinsley eagerly asked.

"Mind-blowing. Here, I'll give you a few glimpses before we get to the special day," Bridget told her as she panned the tablet around the room. "This is his den/office. I love this room."

"Whoa, nice vacation home office. Especially for a guy who never seems to work. I wish my home office was larger than a closet," Tinny remarked.

"I wish I had a home office that wasn't always used for Leo's visiting colleagues. Speaking of closets, I would show you the huge walk-in closet in the master suite that I fell in love with, but all the girls are in there right now. Actually, I fell in love with the whole suite. It's got stunning views of the lake and a huge bathroom and shower," Bridget gushed.

"You know those Diamonds; they never scrimp when it comes to style," Tinny remarked with a laugh.

"They sure don't. Okay, I'm going to take you down into the great room," the bearer of the tablet explained as she walked out the open door into the hallway, making her way toward the main rooms. Once there, she slowly panned the great room. "And here it is."

Explaining to the others about her mini-tour, they only yelled out hellos for now to their old friend. Tinsley oohed and ahhed at the fireplace, oversized Christmas tree, and the views out the glass doors. Reaching the kitchen, Bridget sat down on a stool to continue her conversation.

"Hey, Aunt Tinny," Sean greeted the woman all the back in Hawaii while looking over his mom's shoulder. He, along with JoJo and Newt, entered from the sunroom. "Long time, no see."

"Well, look at you. You've gotten even taller and more handsome since I last saw you. Three whole days ago," his mother's friend joked with a giggle.

"Who you talking to, Mom?"

Hearing the voice of a young girl, Sean dove back and out of sight of the tablet's camera.

"Bridget and Sean," the girl's mom answered.

One head popped into view on the screen at her mother's side, and then a second head appeared on the other side. Bridget's eyes bugged out at the sight.

"Oh my," she said, her jaw dropping down. Her hand shot up to her mouth to cover her grin and hold back the laughter that surely would be coming.

"I know," Tinny replied with a sigh. "They came to down to dinner Christmas Eve like this. My mom said it was karma paying me back for all the sh--crap I pulled at their age."

"It's okay, Mom. You can say shit," one of the twins answered — the one with dyed red hair. Her sister, with dyed green hair, nodded along.

"I see you girls really are into the spirit of Christmas this year," Bridget stated before biting her lip to hold back a laugh at the twins' brightly dyed hair. "Happy Birthday, Natalie. Happy Birthday, Noelle."

Usually, the freshly-minted sixteen-year-old identical twins had light brown hair like their mother, but they had a habit of dyeing it bright colors, similar to their mother at their age. Also, like their mother, Natalie and Noelle were short, petite girls with medium-sized breasts and tight, little behinds. They were even more fun-loving than their mother, being pranksters, if not hyperactive brats.

"Thank you, Aunt Bridget!" both twins shouted. "We love your present."

"Your welcome, girls. You're growing up so fast. I can't wait to see you again," Bridget told the girls, while Sean standing a few feet away, shook his head no at the thought.

"Hey, where's Sean?" the green-haired twin asked.

"Yeah, Mom said he was there too," the red-haired one chimed in.

While the twins looked at each other, Bridget held her arm out to her side, out of the camera's range, and motioned for her son to come back over. Sean looked back over to the kitchen table where his best friends sat with Mr. and Mrs. Stratton. All of them were grinning at his plight. Sean cringed when he heard the next sounds coming from the tablet.

"Oh, Sean-Sean," sang the twins. " Where are you? Sean-Sean, come out and play!"

With a sigh and a look up at the ceiling in resignation, Sean moved back over to stand behind his mother. Upon seeing the youngest Tarver, both twins clapped with joy.

"Hi, girls. Happy Birthday."

"Thank you, Sean-Sean," they repeated in unison. "Can you guess who I am?" asked green-hair.

"Um, no."

"Aren't you even going to try?" questioned red-hair.

"Why bother, you'll just lie like you always do," Sean replied.

Red-haired twin crossed her arms and gave him an exaggerated frown; her sister added a pout and a few words for the teenage boy. "You always have to be so mean. We don't forget, you know. That's thirty..."

"Seven," her twin added.

"That's the thirty-seventh time you've been mean to us since we last saw you. And we will pay you back, Sean," green-hair ominously warned him.

"Now, girls, what did I say about teasing Sean?" the twins' mother asked them.

"That he's an easy target?" red-hair asked back.

"No, I did not say that. Now be nice and apologize to Sean for threatening him," Tinsley ordered her daughters.

Before they could do that, Sean saw an opportunity to distract the Toone twins and took it. "Hey, Peyton. Come over and say hi to the twins." Peyton, Lana, and Lacey were barely in the main room when Sean called out.

"Shit," Peyton mumbled under her breath. Peyton dearly loved her aunt, the woman who inspired her middle name, but the three Toone children all drove her nuts. The twins were clearly little brats, and their older brother, Nate, pushed all the wrong buttons for her. Peyton's life seemed to revolve around holding Lana's more wild impulses in check, but Nate brought them out, causing her more headaches when he was around.

"Happy Birthday, Noelle. Happy Birthday, Natalie," Peyton loudly told them before she saw their appearance. "Whoa! Did you girls fall into a Christmas blender?"

"Thanks, Pey-Pey, and no, we did not," they both answered. The twins had a knack for doubling up a person's name to use as a nickname. A habit that both Tarver siblings hated.

"Hi, Aunt Tinny. You ready to ship them off to boarding school yet?" Peyton asked her mom's best friend.

"Hey!" the twins exclaimed.

"Hmm, now that's a damn fine idea," the mother said, winking at her favorite of all her friend's children. She silently thanked Peyton for the new threat she could use to torment the twins for a few weeks until they realized she would never send them.

"Well, look at you two little sweet sixteen candy canes. Happy Birthday!" Lana saved her best friend by walking over.

"Thank you, Lana," green-hair gushed.

"Thank you, Lana," red-hair gushed next. "Do you like our hair?"

"I sure do. Nice and bold. I bet all the boys out there are loving it," Lana complimented the twins.

"You look as pretty as always, Lana."

"We miss you so much."

Peyton rolled her eyes as she moved to sit by her brother. The twins loved to treat her like an extra parent, who they had to push to see what they could get away with, but they adored Lana. Her redheaded best friend could do nothing wrong in their eyes.

"Thank you, sweetie. Is your brother around?" Lana inquired.

The twins giggled at the ginger's question.

"No, Nate and his father are dropping my parents off at the airport," Tinsley answered, shooting a dirty look at her daughters for the giggling.

"I'll have to call him later; it's been a while since we talked. You girls have a great day, and don't do anything I would do," Lana joked, earning back even louder giggles as she walked away.

"Mom, what about our surprise?" one twin asked.

"Can we tell them?" the other twin asked.

"No, knock it off," Tinsley said, shushing them.

Bridget raised an eyebrow at the conversation, but before she could ask, a honey blonde rushed into the room in excitement.

"It's someone's birthday?" Chastity asked, out of breath, scanning the room for the birthday boy or girl. "Cheese and cracks! I didn't know. I could've brought balloons, streamers, and a banner for the party.

"Relax, the girls aren't here," Peyton informed her, pointing toward the tablet. "They're on there."

"Goodness gracious," Chastity sounded, seeing the image of the Toone twins.

"It's our birthday!" red-hair announced.

"We're Natalie and Noelle. Who are you?" green-hair questioned.

"Hello, I'm Chastity Kupp, and I work at Diamond Corp," the honey blonde proclaimed with pride.

The twins glanced at each other behind their mom's head. Having overheard the stories about Harvey Diamond, the twins communicated their theories about the blonde until they started giggling.

"Holy smoke, you two look festively adorable! Happy Birthday, Natalie. Happy Birthday. Noelle," Chastity said wholeheartedly.

"Thank you!" both twins responded.

"You're very pretty," red-hair complimented.

"And you hot huge boobs!" green-hair added.

"My goodness," Chastity responded with shock and covering her breasts with her arm.

"Don't any ideas about Jared," red-hair started.

"He belongs to us, and we know how to fight," green-hair warned.

Before the shocked receptionist could respond further, the door to the sunroom opened. Gabriella walked in, followed by Jared. The older woman immediately rushed over to wish the twins a happy birthday and greet her old friend. That allowed a frightened and flabbergasted Chastity to sneak around the kitchen island to where Peyton and Lana leaned.

"Don't mind them. They get very possessive over Jared," Peyton reassured.

"And there's nothing wrong with having big boobs. I love mine," Lana declared, rubbing the honey blonde's arm in support.

Sean wisely said nothing.

While the twins loved Gabby, her appearance led their minds in another direction. They backed off the screen with hushed whispers about each other's hair or the slight amount of makeup on their face. Finally, satisfied that everything looked perfect, the twins reappeared and prepared to ask their own question.

"Is Jared around, Aunt Gabby?" green-hair asked in a nervous voice.

"Your big Jar Jar is indeed here, girls," Gabby said joyfully, motioning her son over.

Jared shot a dirty look to the snickering Tarver siblings and Lana; at least Lacey had the decency to plaster an innocent look on her face. JoJo, still mad or at least trying to act mad at Jared, kept her poker face in check. However, Newt's face showed utter confusion.

I don't know what's worse; my mom seeing my erection or having to say hi to the Looney Toones with everyone watching, Jared thought as he walked over to where his mother and Bridget sat. Gasps rang out as he stepped in front of the camera.

"Hi, Jar Jar! How--" red-hair started to say before her twin elbowed her. "I mean, hello, Jared. How are you doing?"

"Oh, Jared..." green-hair couldn't even continue talking as she took in the linebacker's figure standing before her on the screen.

"Wait, if they like him so much, then why did they give him a nickname based on the worst Star Wars character?" Newt inquired in bewilderment.

"Quiet, I want to hear this," Peyton hushed her brother's friend. Sean nodded in agreement with his sister. Jared loved to tease Sean about Julianna's crush on him, so watching the twins' crush on Jared was payback.

"Thank you!" both twins sang out after Jared's birthday wishes. "I'm Natalie," announced the red-haired twin. "And I'm Noelle," added the green-haired twin.

"Well, that's good to know," the stocky teen replied, trying to find an excuse to slip away, but his mother, almost sensing his plan, moved to stand closer and block him in.

"So, sixteen, huh. You girls are growing up just as fast as Jules. I know she'll be sorry she wasn't here to say hello," Gabby said.

"We already talked to Jules this morning," Natalie revealed.

"Uh, huh," chimed in Noelle. "She called us before she had to go to work."

"Told us how her big, handsome brother would be at the cabin instead," Natalie added. "She gives us updates about who--I mean what Jared is doing in Rattle Ridge." She broke into a giggle at the last part.

"You girls have anything special planned for today?" Bridget inquired.

"We're going to the movies with some friends later this afternoon," Noelle stated.

"Ooh, any special boys going with you?" Gabby asked.

"Maybe a few, but they're just boys. There's only one special man for us," Natalie responded, her eyes moving to look at Jared hungrily.

"Mmmhmmm," Noelle agreed, her eyes following her sister to stare at the stocky eighteen-year-old.

"Just think, in two years, we'll be ready for our special man to turn us into women," Natalie remarked, licking her lips while her twin bit hers.

"Okay, girls, that's enough! You had your fun with Jared, now let him be," Tinsley scolded her daughters.

"Oh, we can't wait to have fun with Jared," both girls said in unison, doing that twin thing.

"Happy Birthday, Natalie and Noelle!" Lacey screamed out as she hurried over to the tablet. The petite redhead finally couldn't stand by any longer and rushed over to save Jared.

With the twins distracted, Jared staggered over to an empty dining room chair and plopped down.

"Although Jules lives closer, which means I see her more often, I think you got it way worse, buddy. Two of them is a nightmare," Sean told him, sounding for the first time since the fight yesterday like his old friend. As draining and painful as it had been to talk to the twins, Jared's spirits perked up at hearing his friend's voice, and when he realized the hand patting his back in sympathy belonged to JoJo.