Pick up Ben

Gary got into the driver's seat of Stuart's Super Surf Van and Lil in the passenger, while Bernie and Ben sat on the mattress in the back next to Ben's luggage.

It was quiet for a few minutes as they left the airport. Bernie took Ben's hand as they sat together. Ben hesitated for a moment, pulling back a little, but a reassuring smile from Bernie let him relax.

"I'm so glad you could come stay with Mom and me, Ben," Bernie said. "I've been looking forward to spending time with you since I came back from visiting you. It's been pretty quiet this summer. That is, except for when I can spend time with Gary."

"And me," Lil said with a laugh.

"And you too," Bernie said. "Today and yesterday have been pretty fun."

"I'm gonna have to take you shopping one of these days," Lil said.

Ben was sitting quietly holding his cousin's hand while he looked around the inside of the customized van. Strings of little lights circled the back compartment, speakers were wired in at strategic points, and various storage holders and cupboards were in easy reach, including an open bin of terrycloth towels looking a little ragged at the edges. A tub of baby wipes was held in a netting pocket in one corner. There was a mild scent around him, a mixture of massage oil, latex rubber, and a resinous undertone of burnt leaves. "Is this your van, Gary?" he asked.

"No, I'm just watching it for a friend who's out of town. It's a real trip, huh?" Gary said. "Listen to this!" He pressed on the center of the steering wheel. The first two bars of the "Hawaii Five-O" theme sounded on the horn.

Ben laughed.

"And that's just the cheesiest trick it does," Gary said. "It's got surround sound, it's wired for like four kinds of audio. Other junk too. I don't know what-all stuff is daisy-chained off the power outlet up front. There's a little fridge, and a little beverage warmer, and as you can see it's a sleep-aboard."

Ben tested the mattress he was sitting on. A little firm for sleeping, but for sex? He raised his dark eyebrows at his cousin, who raised hers back.

"What are the towels for?" he asked. "They look kinda small and plain for beach towels."

Bernie laughed. "Guess," she told Ben. "A sleep-aboard?" she retorted to Gary. "From what you were telling me about Stuart, this mattress has seen more sex than sleep!"

"I cannot tell a lie," Gary said. "Stuart has a way with the beach babes, and he lets his friends use the mattress sometimes."

Bernie giggled. "That's a lie of omission! What did you tell me, Gary?"

"Oh, all right. Stuart likes doing it with dudes too. Younger guys he knows from surfing, mostly," Gary said.

"Wow, sounds like a trip all right," Ben said. Gary didn't look like much of a surfer -- he seemed too pale and not as toned as you might expect. "How do you know Stuart that he lent you his van?"

"Someone...well, my old girlfriend, OK? She introduced us. And I hang out at the beach with him sometimes," Gary said. "I guess I was the most trustworthy person to keep an eye on it."

"'You drive like an old lady, you never drive altered, and you hate cruising.' is what you told me Stuart said." Bernie said.

"Watch out for this girl, Ben," Gary said. "She won't cut you an inch of slack."

The others laughed.

Gary cleared his throat. "It does have a couple of advantages over my car."

"Yeah, it's got A/C and it's got a back seat!" Lil said. "Well, a back bedroom I guess. And the sound system's much better."

"Gonna be staying a while, Ben?" Gary asked.

"Yeah, I'll be here a month," Ben said. "Mostly I'll be at Bernie's, maybe I'll get out and around a little bit."

"That's great," Gary said. "Like Bernie said, it's been kind of a slow summer. Maybe we can have some fun together. My mom and dad are away on a cruise and we've got the run of the house. But we've just got a home theater and a sauna. Bernie's got the pool."

"And don't you forget it!" Bernie said. "At least we got something really good out of all the hassles over my mom's book."

"It's a good book," Lil said. "'Free to Masturbate' was the only part of 'abstinence education' that made any sense."

Ben laughed. "If you're going to save it for marriage, you might as well make sure it works first."

Lillian laughed. "Yeah, and having the power to do something other than 'Just Say No' fucking rocks! Oh. 'Scuse me, Ben," she said.

Ben laughed. "That's OK," he said. "Bernie hits me with some good ones now and then, I don't mind."

Bernie dropped Ben's hand and slapped his thigh. "Oh, like you don't!" she said. "What about that night you were explaining that 'Gender Strategies In Evolution' stuff to me? It was all F this and B that and A the other thing."

"OK, OK, I give," Ben said. "I'm an effing trashmouth."

Lil giggled.

"But only with my friends," Ben concluded. "And you loved it."

Bernie laughed. "Well, okay, it was funny," she said.

Gary steered the van, making the turns that would take him to Bernie's house.

Gary turned things over in his mind, thinking about the last couple of days. He thought he might be able to do with a little quiet time after his night and morning of sex with Bernie and his little sister. And even that Asian chick Lei from 'Hot'. Maybe he should talk to Lil a little and see how she was feeling about all this. And now that Ben was actually here for real, Gary thought he'd take a deep breath or two and ask himself it was OK to play around with Ben as well, or if he really wanted to.

"Hey Ben, you just got off a plane," Gary said. "You hungry or anything, or shall we get you settled in at Bernie's house?"