Radiant Redheads

The sound came from a silver luxury sedan that carefully crawled up the lightly snow-covered driveway. The sedan's tinted windows may have blocked most from knowing the occupants' identities, but everyone gathered already knew who was inside. The driver pulled the vehicle to a stop with the passenger side nearest the others. However, it was the back door on the driver's side that flung open first, and out jumped a cutely bundled-up teen.

"Hey, what the hell! You were supposed to be following us up here," snapped Lacey Stratton as she hurried around the car until she was in front of her boyfriend.

"Sorry, babe. You guys were driving way too slow for us," Austin responded nonchalantly.

"Well, Dad is kind of annoyed about it. So, you better be on your best behavior now," warned the auburn-haired teen before her stern expression turned into a smile, and she gave him a quick kiss.

Lacey Stratton was probably the one teen in the popular clique that Sean could honestly call a friend. Not that they were close friends; they weren't. At times, they seemed to see each other as extended family members, as you would view a second or third cousin. Their mothers had been good friends since they were cheerleaders in high school. Adding further to the family connection, their older sisters, Peyton and Lana, had been best friends since they could walk, even though they had gone to different schools until high school. Yet, that closeness had eluded Sean and Lacey.

The eighteen-year-old medium auburn-haired teen was a bubbly, friendly girl who could melt hearts at Honey Hollow High when she turned her light green eyes on them. Although she seemed a little disappointed in having breasts smaller than her two closest friends, hardly any of her admirers saw her medium-sized bust as a disappointment. They seemed to go perfectly with her athletic figure, honed by years of cheerleading. Her small, firm backside was also nothing to sneeze at.

The redhead next bounced over to Sean with a big grin on her face. She gave him a short hug while she asked how his Christmas was, after which she made him promise to tell her all about it later. Quickly, she turned away to greet the others. However, in the process, her scarf whipped around in the air just as Sean started to lean down to pick up his phone, which had slipped out from his jacket pocket.

"Oh, no. Seanie, are you alright? That looked like it hit you in the eye," a worried new voice said.

As Sean closed his left eye from the stinging pain and tears forming, he saw through his right eye a tall redhead step right into his personal space. The ginger gently cupped both sides of his chin with her hands and peered worriedly in his blinking eye. "Does it hurt? Can you see out of it?" she asked in growing concern.

As the sharp initial pain faded slightly, Sean looked, with his uninjured eye, into the gorgeous face and green eyes only inches from his own. Starting to feel somewhat uncomfortable with his situation, he moved his arm up to his stinging eye to show the worried redhead he was fine. That was his plan, except the woman had shifted her stance slightly at the same time, and his arm brushed against something large- very large, actually- and still firm.

"Uh-uh, I'm fine-I mean, it's fine, Mrs. Stratton! It was just a little sting, but I'm feeling better already," a startled Sean blurted out as he took a step back, bumping into the sports car behind him.

"Are you sure, honey? I don't want to tell your mom that my daughter hurt you, and I just did nothing," Rachel Stratton probed.

"Yep! Pretty much all good now," Sean lied as he slyly wiped away new tears.

Mrs. Stratton turned slightly to look over towards her youngest daughter, who hadn't noticed Sean's predicament. "Lacey! What did I tell you about being mean to Sean?"

"Uh, what?" asked Lacey, who had been conversing with Whitney.

"You hit him in the eye with your scarf. Didn't we have this talk almost fifteen years ago? Back when you would pester the poor boy."

"I did? Are you okay? I'm sorry, I didn't mean to," she asked in concern. After hearing Sean say he was fine, she looked over to her angry mother. At the same time, Sean could have sworn he heard Austin mutter "pussy" very quietly.

Usually, Sean might have defended himself from that comment, but he was too preoccupied with the sight before him. He had a perfect side profile view of Mrs. Stratton, and though he knew he should turn away, he couldn't find the strength to. It was clear where Lacey's and her older sister Lana's beauty came from. Rachel Stratton was flat-out gorgeous. Sean knew she was forty-one, but she looked thirty. A tall woman with long, wavy ginger red hair, she had an athletic figure with curves in all the right places. It was a toss-up whether her enormous breasts or firm, curvy ass was her most desirable feature. Her two daughters' personalities seem to be a mix of hers. Usually, she came across as an older version of Lacey with her friendly, caring manner, but sometimes, she flashed signs of the seductive sexpot that Lana was known to be.

Nope, I was not just checking out one of my mom's best friends. That would be just...wrong, dirty. I just got confused since Lana looks so much like her, Sean told himself after he managed to pry his eyes away.

"Well, I think your father will have to decide whether or not you should be charged. I think **** with a deadly weapon would be appropriate," said Rachel gravely.

"Mom, that's not funny," Lacey scolded as she realized her mother had been teasing her all along. "I really thought I had hurt him."

"Don't worry, cupcake. You would just get probation...unless people think I'm going easy on my little girl. Then I might have to throw the book at you," joked her father, Clive Stratton, as he joined the conversation.

About five years older than his wife, Clive Stratton was an athletic, handsome man who worked out regularly. His short, sandy brown hair had started to gray at the temples just slightly. He had been the local district attorney for nearly eight years and was quite popular with the citizens of Honey Hollow. While he sought justice for crime victims, he also had a reputation for being fair to those who committed non-violent crimes. Clive repeatedly said his job was not just to lock up offenders but to find ways to rehabilitate them for society's benefit. As part of the goal, he had pushed to open the region's first **** court. Popular across the political spectrum, he had often been encouraged to run for a higher office. Every single time, he had turned down the opportunity. Speculation ran rampant at times in town over what his future plans might be.

"Oh, great, is this going to be pick on Lacey week?" the athletic redhead moaned before she suddenly grew concerned as she saw her dad wince and grab his lower back. "Dad! Is your back hurting again?"

"No, no, it's fine. It just got a little stiff sitting in the car for so long," he answered back before seeing the confused looks of the others. "Pulled my back slightly while shoveling when we had all that snow last week."

"We do have a brand new hot tub that might help, Mr. Stratton," Whitney revealed, receiving a thank-you in return.

As that exchange ended, Lacey marched over and whipped open the back passenger-side door of her parents' sedan, the door currently in front of Sean. "Hey, are you okay in there?" she asked.

In response, Lacey and Sean were greeted by a spectacular ass propped up in the air. The owner of the perfect ass was spread across the backseat on her hands and knees.

"I finally got it!" exclaimed Ramsey Swift as she slowly slid backward out of the car. Lacey asked what she had just gotten. "Oh, I dropped my phone right before I was about to get out, and it fell under your dad's seat, and I couldn't reach it at first."

Lacey nodded in understanding, but Sean never heard a word. Instead, he was just staring in awe at the teenager he thought was the most beautiful creature in the whole world. Sean would often think there was something just magical about Ramsey. She had long, wavy, light auburn hair that sometimes looked strawberry blonde, a face that could start wars, and striking blue eyes. While she often tried to hide them slightly, Sean knew she had large, wonderful breasts to go along with a legendary, dynamite ass. A sweet, friendly girl, she was more interested in school than in parties, unlike her two best friends, Lacey and Whitney. Others jokingly referred to the trio as the 'EY Girls' because their names all ended with two letters. It often surprised people to learn that Ramsey and Whitney were such close friends. Basically, Ramsey was everything that Owen had said to misdescribe Whitney while driving up.

All those fantastic, desirable traits also made her the young woman who regularly tortured Sean's soul. He had a major, hard crush on the school newspaper's sweet editor, yet he transformed into the girl-shy Newt when he was around her. He had been nervous for weeks after learning she would be one of Whitney's guests at the cabin. Ramsey's boyfriend, Micah, had moved away not too long ago, leaving her single. Sean felt this was the moment for him, as if fate had presented him with an opportunity toward his destiny. It had been five years ago at this very cabin, well, the one that burned down, when he had first seen the enchanting Ramsey. Even as a seventh-grader, he had been mesmerized by her emerging beauty. Sean could recall little from the trip but how Ramsey looked and acted. He often looked back and hoped he didn't embarrass himself too much, but he knew he probably did. Peyton had multiple times elbowed or kicked him as a warning to knock it off.

Sean later learned that he had met Ramsey earlier in grade school at several of Lacey's birthday parties, but he couldn't remember her being there, even after seeing a few pictures. He remembered Whitney at those parties. She had been a world-class brat, so she was easy to recall. Still, in Sean's idealized view of Ramsey, he liked to think their first "meeting" was at the cabin. The immediate issue for Sean five years ago was that they didn't attend the same school. Hoping to catch a view of her, he tried to spend more time just riding his bike past the Stratton house the following summer. He had successfully caught a few glimpses of Ramsey until Peyton had forbidden him from going anywhere near the Stratton house. His sister had thought at the time he was perving on Lana, his earlier crush. Sean had been too embarrassed to tell her the truth. After that, his crush on Ramsey cooled down until they started high school, when all those previous feelings came rushing back.

"He-hey, Ramsey. HowwasyourChristmas?" Sean managed to get out, but at a far too rapid pace.

"Oh, hi. Um, it was nice. How was yours?" Ramsey responded after pausing to understand what he had rapidly said.

"Hey, how about we talk inside?! Some of us aren't wearing jackets, you know," Whitney complained after she had noticed several small conversations start up. "Oh! Hold on."

The blonde then scurried up the stairs, into the front door, and then back out. She now appeared to be holding something in her hand that she pointed straight out. The identity of what she had run back inside for became clear as a rumble started. The others turned to see the second-closest garage door rising.

"Mr. Stratton, my dad said you can park over in that garage," she told her father's friend.

"What about my car? Which part of the garage should I pull in?" asked her latest boyfriend.

"Sorry, Daddy said only his friends get the garage spots. You'll have to park over on the driveway in a spot past the garage, Owen," she told him.

Doors and trunks opened as everyone gathered their suitcases, bags, and, in a few cases, garment bags. Since Sean had pretty much driven with his gear on his lap or next to him, he was the first one to start walking up to the cabin. Just as he was past the rear of the two cars, he was stopped by a hand on his shoulder.

"Could you do me a favor? With my back acting up, I really don't want to get back in the car. After you drop your stuff inside, could you come back and move my car into the garage?" asked Mr. Stratton.

"Sure-"

"What? Dad, you never let me drive your car! You don't even let Lana!" complained Lacey.

"Well, cupcake, there's a simple reason. I trust him to be careful. My two daughters, not so much," her father laughed.

"This is some sexist bullshit," grumbled Lacey.

"Language! And no, it's not Lace. Your father lets me drive his car all the time. I would do it, but I seem to be the one carrying the bags with the suits and dresses," Mrs. Stratton pointed out.

Handing over the keys to Sean, Mr. Stratton remembered, "I have a few recommendations in my bag for you. We'll have to find some time to talk."

After dropping his bags inside the entryway and ignoring Austin's dirty look, Sean got in the luxury sedan and started it up. Looking around the interior, he felt nervous as he rubbed his slightly watery eye. After Lacey's complaints, it would be pretty humiliating if he clipped a mirror on the side of the garage. It was probably a good thing that he only had to back the car up and drive a short distance into the garage instead of a long drive.

Fortunately, he had no issues and half-sprinted towards the front door. As he reached for the door handle, Sean felt that this was going to be a very memorable trip to the cabin.