Dinner and drinks

We saw that the others had already returned when we got back to the cabin, Simon manning the grill as the girls kept a watchful eye on him.

"Took you guys long enough to catch him," Stephanie chuckled. "Simon here was no trouble at all. Were you, Simon?"

"I tripped, okay?" he replied, before muttering to himself, "If it hadn't been for that damn log..."

"Needless to say he got dog-piled pretty quick," Rachel said.

"Not as swift on land as you are in the water, are you, buddy?" I joked, getting a laugh out of the group, including Simon.

"Hey, man," he replied, "you got caught too, remember."

"Speaking of which," Talia cut in, "we have to decide what to do with them."

"Yeah," Elizabeth chimed. "You guys were supposed to kiss and you chickened out!"

Simon and I looked at each other then back to the group and replied in unison, "Yeah, not happening."

"Very well," Corrine replied, "we'll just have to come up with some kind of payback for you two."

"I have a few ideas already," Talia said with a mischievous smirk. "But for now, you boys can make us dinner."

"Oh, and shirts off," Amy added, popping the cap off a fresh beer.

"But... it's cold," Simon replied.

"You heard the lady," Stephanie said with a grin as she sat beside Amy on the porch. "Shirts. Off."

What could we do but remove our shirts to a chorus of hooting and hollering... except for Rachel, for reasons that don't need to be stated. Thankfully, the heat coming off the grill kept us pretty warm, so it wasn't terrible. Within a half-hour the food was all cooked up and ready to serve, so we all headed inside and got eating. Simon and I were about to put our shirt on when we were scolded for doing so. Other than the fact that I was naked from the waist up, it was a pretty normal dinner. We were all talking and laughing about the school year and things that were going on in our lives; everyone in full agreement that this was an amazing idea and toasting Rachel for 'hosting' us.

As dinner began to wind down, Simon and I were put to task clearing the table while the girls opened a second bottle of wine. We could hear them talking and giggling among themselves from the kitchen, wondering what they were coming up with and knowing full well that it was intended for us. Once everything was put away, it was time to face the music, so we both walked into the living room and found the girls sitting around waiting for us.

"Now then," Stephanie said with a smile, "About your punishment..."