What's Worse than an Angry Boyfriend?

Sean and Lacey stared into the other's eyes as the blast of cold air hit them. Time seemed to slow down to a crawl. Shock coursed through their bodies. The duo immediately realized how suggestive their position could look. Lacey not only lay on top of Sean, their faces mere inches apart, but her hand had fallen into his hair, implying a possible romantic gesture. Sean's one hand still gripped Lacey's wrist, while his other, in a futile attempt to stop their fall, now cupped Lacey's behind.

A form of telepathy connected the two teenagers as fear hit them. Please, please, please, don't be Austin. He's the worst possible person; they both thought as they stared at each other. Lacey lifted her head in trepidation to identify the person at the door. Her heart sank when she recognized the person. Sean, who had to shift his head to look back and upside down at the door, felt his heart clench in fear once he realized who had spoken. Both teens once again shared the same thought, Oh, gawd. This is even worse.

"--can't just barge right in. We don't even know if this is the right--whoa." A second voice sounded behind the first arrival.

Silence filled the foyer. Then a tapping sound started up. The sound of a heeled foot tapping as if an impatient person waited for an answer.

"Oh, it's definitely the right cabin," the owner of the tapping foot finished for the other arrival. A few more seconds passed by before she spoke again. "Well, we're waiting."

"Uh, for what?" inquired Lacey, still frozen in place on top of Sean.

"For why it looks like the two of you are about to fuck right in the middle of the hallway," a gorgeous redhead responded.

"Lana, it's not what it looks like!" Lacey exclaimed to her older sister.

"Sean Seamus Tarver! Let go of Lacey's butt right this minute!" ordered the second arrival, a leggy blonde.

"Peyton, it's not what it looks like!" Sean whined.

Lacey sat up. Sean's hand let go. But they still sat in a suggestive position.

"I swear it's not what it looks like," Lacey denied again.

"Really? Because now it looks like you're about to ride him." Lana Stratton pointed out, her light green eyes staring daggers at the teens on the floor. Lacey's older sister was a twenty-one-year-old redhead with long, wavy hair that reached a little past her shoulders. A walking wet dream, Lana's large D-cups, and firm ass were the envy of nearly every man and woman who met her. The former cheerleader captain had been a star attraction at sporting events throughout her high school years. A major crush of Sean's, she held the leading lady's role in a significant amount of his fantasies after he hit puberty.

"Sean, you get out from underneath Lacey right this minute!" Peyton Tarver commanded her younger brother. Like her best friend, Lana, Peyton was twenty-one-years-old and a college student in Arbor Corners. Equally as gorgeous as the redhead next to her, they were night and day in appearance. Where Lana was a milky buxom bombshell, Peyton's figure more closely resembled a leggy model, with her tanned skin. Her tight ass and B-cup breasts rivaled her friend's more abundant assets in desirability. Long, wavy caramel blonde hair, blue eyes, and a sexy, raspy voice finished out her sexiness.

The two teens scurried to get off each other and the floor. Once standing up, they awkwardly stood standing in front of their older siblings.

"And I'm considered the bad, slutty sister," Lana started with a shake of her head. "Well, unlike the good sister, I never, ever cheated on a boyfriend. Ever!"

"I-I didn't ch--," Lacey started to deny before remembering Sean's fingers bringing her to an orgasm the night before. "We weren't doing anything like that when you walked in. I slipped, and Sean fell down with me."

"I bet that's all that happened. Little sis, you better come up with a better story for your boyfriend," Lana sarcastically informed her.

"And you, I certainly did not raise you to become a homewrecker!" Peyton castigated her little brother while wagging a finger at him.

"You didn't raise me," a confused Sean responded.

The older blonde let out a gasp. "You ungrateful little--just for that, you can march right outside and help Finn with our bags," Peyton ordered.

"But--"

"Get going!"

"But I need my jacket. It's co--"

"Now!"

With his head hanging down like a scolded puppy, Sean walked out the door and into the cold winter day without a coat. Once outside, he saw an old brown sedan he knew well. The owner of the car, Finley Singer, dug through the trunk for items that came loose from an unzipped bag. At twenty-one-years-old, the college student had a slim, lanky figure with short, sandy brown hair and light brown eyes. A kind, studious young man, he'd long been an influential presence in Sean's life, even passing on his love of reading to the teen. In many ways, the youngest Singer played a surrogate older brother role in Sean's life, providing the male advice he lacked with a father preoccupied with his career.

"Hey, Finn. We didn't expect you guys until this afternoon," Sean greeted the new arrival.

Giving off a laugh, Finn didn't look up from his trunk cleanup. "Lana bitched about that the whole way up. I almost wonder if she left this makeup bag unzipped on purpose. Well, your sister and I figured we should get up here before the weather turns nasty."

"You wanna hand me a couple of those bags? I can take them inside," offered Sean.

"Sure, here take your--whoa, where you get that shiner from?"

"It's a long story. Been a long few days, to be honest," sighed Sean.

Looking over the teenager, Finn could tell he clearly was stressed over some issue. Even though they were outside with no one else around, the brown-haired man lowered his voice. "Any luck on the Ramsey front?"

Sean's body language shifted from stressed to now uneasy. The third person that initially knew of Sean's longtime crush, Finn, often was the source of the best advice over how to garner Ramsey's attention. However, Sean usually froze up or screwed up when he tried to act on the sound advice.

"Yeah, that's not going too well. I think she likes Jared, and, uh, Lacey knows."

"Lacey knows?" Finn repeated before mulling over the new revelation. "That's not necessarily a bad thing. Knowing her, I'm sure she loves the idea of you two together."

"Yeah, she's all for it and even made some plans to help. But, uh, there's now some, um, complications with Lacey and me," Sean hemmed and hawed over how much to tell his older friend. "Maybe, me and Ramsey isn't something meant to be."

"Hey! No giving up. You've had feelings for far too long to just give up without a fight. You two have so much in common," insisted Finn.

"I don't know. Crushes aren't always meant to be; you found that out."

"Yeah, they don't always have the fairy tale ending, but at least I gave it a shot with Lana. Don't live with regrets, Sean."

"I know, it's just that I'm starting to get the feeling this is turning into the worst week of my life," Sean grumbled. Suddenly, a sick feeling came over Sean as he recalled why they were here at the cabin and who he was talking to. You idiot! It's the anniversary of his mom dying. "Oh, uh, shit, I--mean, how are you holding up, Finn?"

"About the same as every year. I'm more worried about my dad. He's not making an ass out of himself, is he?" Finn inquired. "He doesn't need to be flirting with all the women around him like last year."

"Uh, no. He brought a girlfriend with him," Sean responded awkwardly and felt even worse for his friend when he saw a look of surprise flash across his face before it vanished.

"Oh, okay. Hey, you're shivering!" Finn changed the subject and looked at the teenager in concern. "Why aren't you wearing a coat? It's windy and freezing out here."

"Peyton kicked me out here before I could grab mine. She's mad at me."

"Great, that's all we need. Lana and Peyton playing mean older sisters."

The front door shut behind Sean as he went outside to help Finn, leaving the three girls alone in the foyer. Now by herself, Lacey fidgeted as she prepared for the combined ****. It didn't help her anxiety as the two sisters grew smiles on their faces.

"Oh. My. Gawd!" squealed Peyton.

"So, did you break up with Austin yet? Or are you waiting for the right time?" Lana hurriedly and excitedly questioned.

"Um, what?" asked Lacey, utterly confused by the sudden shift in tone.

"This is the best Christmas gift--" Peyton started.

"Ever!" and Lana finished.

"After all these years--"Peyton started again.

"It's finally happening!" and Lana finished once again.

"What are you two talking about?" Lacey asked with a sinking feeling in her stomach.

"About you and Sean getting together!" both Peyton and Lana sang out simultaneously.

"We're not getting together. I have a boyfriend!"

"You want me to dump Austin for you?" Lana clapped joyfully at the idea.

"What? No!"

"After all these years, I can't believe our dream--" Peyton continued, ignoring Lacey's denials.

"Is finally coming true," Lana cheerfully said, looking at her best friend with a huge grin, almost bouncing on her feet in excitement. Turning back to her little sister, the buxom ginger started back up. "We never wanted to push you two together. We just waited--"

"Until the day you both realized the two of you were meant to be together," Peyton informed Lacey.

"Wait, stop! I'm not getting with Sean. I have a boyfriend. His name is Austin!" Lacey nearly screamed, but she held back just enough not to alert the whole cabin.

"What? B-bu-but it's your destiny," Lana sputtered to get out.

"We even had that little wedding, where Sean was the groom, and you were the bride," Peyton whined.

"Sean and I were four-years-old when you made us do that!"

"But you two are perfect for each other," Peyton told Lacey as her mood deflated.

"Why can't you see that?" Lana asked in anguish before turning to face her BFF. "And we could be sisters for real!"

"We are not becoming a couple just for you two. We are not little human dolls for you to dress up and play with!" Lacey's disbelief had turned into anger.

"But that used to be so fun to do," Lana recalled with a pout.

"Totally," Peyton agreed.

"Sean and I are--" Lacey began again but stopped as the front door opened, and Sean walked in shivering. Seeing Finn right behind the boy she was supposedly destined to marry; Lacey ran forward. "Finny!"

"Oof," sounded Finn when Lacey strongly lunged into his arms and into a firm hug. "Oh, boy. Has Lana already started being mean to you?"

Lacey looked up at him with big eyes and nodded.

"Sure, run to big brother Finn to save you," complained Lana. "This isn't over, Lace. C'mon, Pey. Let's go say hi to everyone."

"B-but, what about...dammit," Peyton tried to find the words but gave up and followed her best friend.

"Say, Lace, do you know where we can drop the girls' bags?" Finn asked.

"Oh, they're in the master bedroom with us. Here, I can take those," she said to Sean, but he didn't budge.

"No, I got them." Sean then looked at Lacey when Finn turned to walk deeper into the cabin and mouthed, "We still need to talk."

Sean caught up with Finn, who stood admiring the cabin's great room and pointed down the hall to the east. Carrying the luggage, Finn remarked about the cabin. "I gotta give it to Uncle Harv; he sure knows how to live in style. So, where are am I staying?"

"Out in the boathouse." Sean chucked when he saw the puzzled look come across the other guy's face. "No, it's cool. There's a bunkroom above the storage area. It's really nice, trust me. That's where all of us guys are staying. Yeah, that door." He nodded to Finn, who didn't know what door to enter.

Knocking, Finn waited for the door to open and reveal Ramsey. "Hi, Finn. Glad to see you made it," the strawberry blonde said as she greeted him with a half-hug. "I take it those are for Lana and Peyton? You can just put them down over by the dresser."

The two men did as she suggested, while Ramsey made small talk with the college student. She never once looked at or spoke to Sean. Finished, the two of them left the master suite and walked down the hall.

"I didn't realize things were bad enough for you to get the cold shoulder," Finn commented.

"Yeah, me neither," the now depressed boy answered back.

"Hey, buck up. We'll figure something out. Plus, you have Lacey on your side now."

Not so sure of Lacey's matchmaking help any longer, Sean grew a foreboding feeling in his gut when he saw Lacey no longer waiting in the foyer for their return. He hoped she went into the kitchen with her sister, but the petite redhead wasn't there when they arrived. Now his concern grew as he assumed she had run off to see Austin before they could talk.

"Finn!" greeted several of the moms at the same time.

Sean's mom hugged him first, and then Gabriela. The teen noted that the sultry tease greeted Finn in a much tamer fashion than she had him two days earlier. Rachel's hug for the Singer son showed both affection and motherly love. While the three moms smothered his older friend with attention, Kimberly turned out to be the only one to notice Sean behind him. An alarmed look shot across her face as she prepared to tease him.

"Sean! What happened to you?" Kimberly shrieked out, rushing forward to check on him.

The other three moms all abruptly turned their attention away from Finn to Sean. Gabriela gasped, Rachel exclaimed an "oh, no," and Bridget rushed over to Sean's other side, opposite of Kimberly, to check on her son.

"What happened? Do you feel alright?" Bridget worriedly rattled off as she studied the darkening bruise on his forehead.

"Uh, I slipped and banged my head on the shower wall," Sean repeated the lame lie he previously told to Clive upstairs. Unlike the district attorney, the older women seemed to buy his fabricated story.

"Here, take this, honey," said Rachel, offering the bag of ice she had hurriedly filled.

Before Sean could take the bag, his mother grabbed it first. Bridget then motioned for Gabby to pull out a stool for Sean while she quickly asked him a series of questions. Sean knew enough to realize his mother checked to make sure he didn't have a concussion.

Crouching down in front of her son, Bridget reminded him to be aware of the concussion symptoms. "If you feel dizzy, nauseous, or confused like you're in a fog, let me know immediately." She then handed the bag of ice over to Gabby, who placed it onto the bruise, as Bridget watched her baby boy in concern.

Sean wanted to tell his mom that he'd been feeling all those symptoms and more since the first day at the cabin, but he didn't. Instead, he sat and enjoyed the feeling of Rachel's ample bosom pushing into the back of his neck as she worryingly caressed the top of his head. One of Gabriela's large breasts brushed back and forth on his arm as she fidgeted in concern while holding the bag of ice. On the side opposite of her, Kimberly soothingly rubbed Sean's arm.

Beyond the women, Finn wryly shook his head at Sean's predicament. Peyton stood mumbling to herself, feeling awful for not noticing her brother's injury because she had been too preoccupied with the thought of him and Lacey becoming a couple.

"Way to go and be the damsel in distress of the cabin, Seanie," smirked Lana as she teased him.