Scrambled Feelings

Friday, December 28th

Sean stretched out as much as he could in the bunk after waking up. The blond-haired teenager felt refreshed and wide-awake after a sound night of sleep. No wet dreams or nightmares plagued his sleep, or at least none that he remembered. Just to be on the safe side, Sean even lifted the sheets to peek at his waist. Nope, perfectly dry. Next, he reached over to look at the time on his phone, and although it was a little earlier than he usually got up at, he knew he was up for good.

Climbing down out of the bunk, Sean noticed Newt slept with a smile on his face. Looks like someone is having a nice dream. Can't say the same for Owen. The older college student appeared to have a grimace on his face before he flipped over in his sleep with a grunt. Austin must already be up, too, as he wasn't in his bunk. Quickly throwing on some clothes, Sean headed down to take his morning pee but stopped dead in his tracks just outside the bathroom door. The stench that wafted out of the room let Sean know where Austin was and what he had been doing. The teen turned and headed outside.

A mild breeze coming off of Wasp Lake hit him in the face. That reminded him that they were supposed to go ice skating later in the day if the weather worked out. Certainly, Sean hoped they would, as Lacey seemed to be full of ideas about using the activity to get him and Ramsey together. Then remembering his voyeurism with Lacey the night before, he hoped she didn't feel guilty still. Watching her parents have sex truly was an extraordinary circumstance.

Lost in his concern about Lacey's feelings, Sean didn't think about how he would react to seeing Mr. and Mrs. Stratton until he entered the cabin from the sunroom and discovered them in the kitchen. Sean stopped dead in his tracks as Clive turned to look at him with a faint smile. Rachel appeared almost startled to see Sean, giving him an uneasy feeling. Both were still in their bathrobes and looked hungover.

"Morning, Sean. You're up early," Clive greeted him. "Looks like you can be our taste tester. What do you think, Rachel?"

"Uh, sounds good, hun. So, couldn't sleep?" Rachel asked with barely a glance at Sean.

"The opposite. I slept great and just woke up early."

"At least someone had a good night of sleep. We picked the wrong morning for our turn to make breakfast. Or should I say the wrong night to have a little too much to drink? I feel like I slept only a couple of hours," Clive complained as he moved around the kitchen to grab this or that.

"Are you sure there are enough eggs in the fridge?" Rachel asked her husband, ignoring her husband's comments about drinking and sleeping.

"Yeah, yeah, I told you we should be fine. Harvey really stocked up on them. Still, we're probably going to use most of them up," Clive answered with a roll of his eyes. Rachel had asked the same question minutes before Sean walked in.

"What are you making?" the teenager asked.

"Rachel's making her famous omelets, and for people who want something different, I'll have egg sandwiches for them. We have bagels or those biscuits Harvey made yesterday that came out pretty big," Clive replied, holding up an oversized biscuit.

"Oh, I love your omelets, Mrs. Stratton," Sean stated happily, before zoning out as he stared at her. Beating the eggs, Rachel's large bosom jiggled underneath her robe without any support. When she stopped her motions, Sean lifted his eyes to see her staring at him. "Um, they're really delicious."

"Thank you, Sean."

"Do you want any help or something?" Sean offered. Rachel rarely spoke in such a curt manner, so he knew she wasn't happy with where his eyes had been focused on. Did she see me watching last night? Or maybe Lacey freaked out and ran to confess what we saw and did last night?

"Aren't you full of energy this morning?" chuckled Clive. "You must have gone to bed quite early...wait, no, you didn't. You were still up when we went upstairs. We saw you--" a loud clang rang out in the room as Rachel dropped the egg beater onto the floor. "Still half asleep, dear? What was I saying...oh, right, we saw you talking with Harvey when we went to bed. Sounded like a serious conversation."

"Um, he wanted to talk to me about Whitney and boys. Kind of a weird talk, to be honest," Sean responded.

"Whitney does have a history of dating a lot of older boys. Maybe he wanted to give you an interview for her next boyfriend," joked the older man.

"I don't know about that. I'm not really Whitney's type. Besides, it was kind of a random run-in as I was only there that late after helping Lacey walk back..." Sean trailed off as Rachel's head whipped around with a fearful look.

"Lacey's ankle bothering her again? See, that's why Harvey might be interested in you for his daughter. You're a good kid, Sean. Most fathers would be thrilled if you were the guy their daughters dated. I know if you ended up with either Lana and Lacey, I would worry a whole lot less. Don't you agree, Rachel?" Clive informed him before repeating his wife's name. "Rachel?"

"What? Oh, of course," snapped out Rachel, her thoughts off in another direction than the conversation. "Did you say you had to help Lacey back here last night? Where was Austin?"

"Uh, he was passed--I mean, he was asleep. Her ankle bothered her enough that taking the stairs was a little rough. We didn't think she would be able to climb the stairs back here, so we took the long route up the trail to the front door," Sean tried to make it sound like there had been no way they were near the hot tub room. The older redhead looked almost terrified after hearing he had helped her daughter back last night.

"That's a relief--I mean, that's good you were there to help Lace. Hopefully, it's feeling better since I know how excited she is to go ice skating." Rachel breathed in a sigh of relief. She hoped Sean and her daughter had walked the long way back. Yet, it was his face she thought she saw after her orgasm last night. Maybe at the worst, he saw us before going to the boathouse.

Sean moved over to get some orange juice from the refrigerator. Clive noticed and spoke up. "Grab yourself a drink. It shouldn't take too long for one to taste. Until then, you can sit back and learn from Rachel and me how a couple of experienced pros get it done."

At the last part of his comment, Sean stumbled and banged into the fridge. Images of the Strattons showing him how it was done last night in the hot tub overtook his brain. As Clive joked that maybe the teen wasn't as awake as he thought, Sean felt his face flush. Sitting down on a stool at the kitchen island, he tried not to make eye contact with the older redhead as her inquisitive look reappeared.

As the minutes went by, the teenager had never focused so intently on a glass of orange juice in his life. The tension in the air between him and Mrs. Stratton grew almost unbearable. Mr. Stratton seemed oblivious to his wife's concerns, cracking jokes while cracking more eggs for his wife while he waited for his part of the breakfast to finish boiling. Finally, loud footsteps sounded from the stairs leading to the walk-out level. Thank god! Someone to take away Mrs. Stratton's attention from me, Sean cheered in his head, but his hopes were dashed as he saw Jared walk around the corner. Great, now I have to deal with him and Ramsey.

"Someone looks like shit," Sean noted upon seeing his old friend's appearance.

"I had an awful night of sleep on that couch," Jared gruffly responded. He blamed the couch, not the thoughts Kimberly had put into his head for his lack of sleep.

"Join the party. It sounds like Sean is the only one of us to get much sleep. You want an omelet or maybe an egg sandwich?" inquired Clive.

"One of Aunt Rachel's omelets? Definitely two of them." The new arrival perked up at the smell of a favorite breakfast item he rarely got.

"They all want what you're offering, Rachel. Guess I'm not in as much demand for my skills," noted Clive, with an exaggerated crestfallen look.

"That's alright, hun. They'll love you when they get charged with a crime someday," Rachel said with a grin, her first all morning. Turning, she handed her first omelet to their taste tester. "Here you go, Sean."

Digging in with his fork, Sean moaned out in appreciation at how delicious her meal tasted. With his mouth full, he gave the cook a thumbs up, getting a laugh from all around the room.

"You still like the same ingredients, Jared?" asked Rachel as she prepared her next offering.

"I sure do," eagerly replied Jared. He then turned to Sean. "Hey, I'm sorry we didn't get a chance to talk much yesterday. After the fight and everything, I guess I was too distracted."

Sean gave just a shrug in return while still eating his omelet.

"So, later on, after breakfast, we can catch up some more," continued the stocky teenager. "Also, I think I need some advice. You know Ramsey better than me, and I want to apologize to her if I made her feel uncomfortable or anything."

Sean paused in eating his breakfast but didn't say anything.

"I'm not looking to get into any type of a relationship, especially a long-distance one, with the last few months of school left. But if she ends up going to Arbor Corners next year, then maybe we can try one there. You don't know if she's interested in any guy at your school?"

Sean offered only another shrug as a reply and resumed eating his omelet.

"I haven't heard of her being interested in any boys at school, Jared." Rachel entered the conversation after noticing Sean's lack of a response. "And with Lacey loving to play matchmaker for her friends, I would know if Rammy had her eye on anyone."

"That's great--well, not that I'm saying I'm into her. It's just that..." the young skirt-chaser found himself unsure how to describe his feelings for Ramsey.

"If you are interested in Ramsey, you need to be honest and upfront with her. She's only had one serious boyfriend, who she's still not fully over. So, none of your little hook-up games, mister," Rachel half-joked and half-warned her best friend's son.

"Hey, I don't know what my mom tells you, but I'm always honest and upfront with girls," Jared pointed out, getting questioning looks from both Stratton parents. "I'm serious. I know Ramsey's not the type for a vacation fling, so I would never pressure her into one. I just want to make sure she doesn't take it wrong if I suggest waiting until next year. That's why I wanted any help Sean could give me."

Sean's lack of any response seemed to be finally getting noticed by at least Rachel. She wondered if Sean had any feelings for Ramsey. He had blushed when Gabby suggested her as a possible girlfriend for him. Bridget did let it slip last night that Sean had a longtime crush on someone. I wonder if Rammy is a possibility. Just in case, I better give him an out from helping Jared.

"Sean might be a little too busy, Jared. I think your mom planned on working on her matchmaking plan for him today. Unless you want your mom to help you too?"

"What? No! I don't need Mom's help," Jared's demeanor abruptly changed as he thought of his mom and girls he might like.

"You don't need my help with what, sweetie?" Gabriela asked as she walked into the kitchen.

"Nothing," Jared mumbled out. He noticed she was also in just her bathrobe this morning. Unfortunately, the skimpy purple negligee she wore underneath gave him an uncomfortable feeling in his groin.

"Jared wants help in apologizing to Ramsey if he came on too strong," Sean spoke up, earning a sharp glare from his old friend.

"Did you do something else to that poor girl?" Gabby demanded with her hands on her hips. It was an angry look that both boys felt looked sexy, although Jared quickly banished that thought from his brain. On the other hand, Sean admired the feisty appearance, as it helped take his mind off of Rachel.

"I didn't do anything else! Why do you always think the worst of me?" complained her son.

"Well, you always seem to be thinking with your dick and not your brain," his mother shot back.

Ignoring that his mother just talked about his dick, Jared defended himself. "No, I don't! Just because I'm not some lovesick guy who mopes around over girls doesn't mean I don't care for them. And I do think with my brain first. I'm not Cooper. He's the kind of guy you think I am. I'm not an asshole to girls!" He said, referring to Bethany's older brother and his football mentor.

"I never called you an asshole," Gabriela stated, blushing slightly at the thought of Cooper Bickley. The neighbor's son definitely thought with his dick first, as that's how he wound up inside of Gabby. "But if you did something to upset Ramsey, then you need to make it right."

"That's what I planned to do. I didn't need you to tell me that," Jared pointed out, not backing down from his mother. "If you hadn't just jumped to conclusions about me, you would have heard I was just asking Sean for any help."

Noticing everyone's attention had shifted back to him, Sean offered another shrug. "I thought I knew Ramsey, but I'm starting to think I never knew what she liked. So, I'm likely not any help." He then when back to finishing the last of his omelet.

"Here you go, Jared," Rachel interrupted by handing him his omelet. "You going to argue all day, Gabs, or you want to have breakfast?"

"You want an egg sandwich, Gabby?" offered Clive.

"Eww, no, I'll have one of Rachel's omelets, but you better make Jeff one first. He'll be up in a minute, and he's already starving," she informed them about her husband. She finally noticed her son's worn-out condition. "Hey, you don't look too good. Are you okay?"

"I'm just really tired. I couldn't sleep on that couch last night," replied Jared, focusing on his omelet and not his mother.

That caused him to miss her eyes widening as she remembered that part of his punishment meant sleeping on the rec room couch. In her drunken state the night before, Gabby had forgotten her son was just outside of her room. I hope he didn't hear his father and me last night, but if he did, then he's a big boy who knows it happens.

Any additional awkwardness was cut off as the door open, and Newt burst in with a cheerful "good morning." Taking off his coat, hat and boots as he walked out of the room, he drooped them near the front door before returning. "How's everyone doing this morning?"

Sean and Jared both paused to take in Newt. They noted with curious surprise that he was far happier than usual. Rachel noticed his cheerful demeanor, "Someone looks ready to have a good day. Would you like an omelet or an egg sandwich?"

"Uh, no thanks. Not my thing. I'll just help myself to some cereal," Newt remarked, causing both teens to really get confused as it sounded like he hummed to himself while grabbing milk and a box of cereal.

"Hey, man, you can have my seat if you want. I need to use the bathroom. Couldn't use ours before," Sean said.

"Oh yeah, Austin really made a mess in there. I'm not stepping one foot in there until it's cleaned," Newt responded with a shake of his head. Noticing the others looking at him curiously, he continued. "He really must have drunk too much last night. He was throwing up when I went to bed and is still in there."

Rachel and Clive both grimaced at the thought of their daughter's boyfriend drinking so much ****. Meanwhile, Jared's face lit up in a big grin at the thought of Austin's suffering.

Sean walked out of the room toward the first-floor bathroom but was stopped by Mr. Diamond heading in the same destination. "Morning, Sean. Up early, I see."

"Morning, sir. Yeah, I slept really well and woke up early," Sean replied, noting Harvey didn't look like he slept much. The older man then entered the bathroom and closed the door. Sean looked around and decided to use the downstairs bathroom.

Climbing down the stairs, he noticed Jeff Lockett exiting the only bathroom on the lower level. "Good morning, Seanie-boy!" he boomed in his loud voice. "You might want to wait a couple of minutes before using it."

As Sean watched the older man move past towards the stairs, he realized the fan was on in the bathroom and what Mr. Lockett had been referring to. Figuring there weren't any better options, he waited outside the bathroom until the smell went away. The teenager stood facing the rec room, so he never saw the person come behind him until a hand grabbed his arm and yanked him backward.

Rattled by the sudden action, Sean took a moment to gather his bearings. He realized he had been dragged into the small hobby room by Kimberly. "Ms. Goose--"

"Don't even start," the platinum blonde interrupted him angrily. "You did not come to my room last night. I am disappointed in you, Sean. Very disappointed."

Unlike the other women in the cabin, Kimberly was already dressed for the day in a blouse and tight slacks. Her hair was tied up, and she wore reading glasses. Her appearance and angry disappointment gave Kimberly a sexy, stern schoolteacher look. Gulping, Sean attempted to answer. "Well, you see, I had to help Lacey back to the cabin last night. Her ankle was causing her problems, and then Mr. Diamond pulled me into a kitchen, and I couldn't--"

"Excuses! Nothing but excuses. I don't hear an apology coming out of that mouth of yours," Kimberly pointed out. "This lack of respect will not go unpunished."

"Um, I'm sorry," Sean mumbled, worried about what she meant by punishment.

"I can't hear you, young man. Speak up!"

"I'm sorry, Ms. Goose."

"That's better; now tell me again why you didn't come to my room last night."

Sean wasn't quite sure how to answer the frightening woman. "Well, Jared was sleeping on the couch, so I was worried about gett--"

"More excuses?"

"Fine! I didn't know if I wanted to! That blowjob was hot but painful. Honestly, you kind of scare me," Sean disclosed with a little heat in his voice.

"Finally, showing a little backbone," Kimberly noted, before purring and pushing his chest hard with her finger. "I like that."

"Uh, okay."

"Don't let me down again. I had to find some other fun last night. Now leave. I have to think how you are going to be punished later today," Kimberly said, abruptly ending the conversation with a wave of her hand.

Sean opened the door and stumbled out. Heading to the bathroom to finally take his morning piss, he wondered what had happened this morning. It seemed like today was going to be a good day. Then the Strattons, Jared and Ramsey, and now Ms. Goose. I should have stayed in bed.

---

"Morning, Father."

Harvey literally jumped at the sound of his daughter's voice, greeting him as he walked out of the bathroom.

"Jesus, Whitney! Don't scare me like that."

"Sorry, Dad. You don't look too well. Didn't you sleep last night?" Whitney asked with a knowing look.

"No, I didn't," he curtly responded and moved back down the hall to the den. Reaching his cabin office, Harvey attempted to shut the door, but Whitney slipped in before he could. "Whitney, what do you want?"

"I'm just checking up on you, Dad. I want to make sure you're doing alright," the blonde asked with a look of concern.

"I'm fine. Just didn't sleep again."

"Those nightmares you've been having aren't good for you. Do you think they are caused by not having enough sex?" Whitney suggested, taking the conversation to a place Harvey didn't want.

"What? Why would you ask that?"

"Come on, Dad. I caught you--Harvey Diamond of all people--jacking off last night," his daughter pointed with a smirk.

Oh gawd, she's really going to bring that up. "Whitney! I'm sorry you had to see that. It was embarrassing for both of us. I think we should act like it didn't happen."

"Nope, that's not happening. You've been having all those dreams you won't tell me what they are about. I was already worried about you, but then I hear you moaning last night and taking care of yourself. Dad, something is going on with you."

"Whitney, I know we talk about things most fathers and daughters would never discuss, but this is not an area I'm comfortable talking about." She heard me moaning through the door? Fuck, I hope I didn't say Caterina's name out loud.

"Can't do, Dad. When was the last time you got laid? I know you've been getting less without Shenai around, but you still have other women."

"Whoa, that's not really any of your business," Harvey quickly told her but then realized that Whitney wouldn't take no for an answer. "Two weeks. Does that make you happy?"

"Two weeks? What about before that? Geez, Dad, you, of all people, can't get laid only a few times in a couple of months. No wonder why you're a mess," Whitney shook her head in astonishment at her father's dry spell. She knew he rarely went more than a couple of days without sex in the past.

"A mess? Thanks for the vote of confidence, pumpkin. Now, if you haven't embarrassed your father enough, I think you should head to breakfast," said Harvey, trying to end the awkward conversation.

"You need to get laid," stated Whitney plainly. "And I don't mean some quickie. You need an all-nighter."

"You're not going to drop this, are you. I appreciate in some twisted way that you have such confidence in my ability to just pick up some woman, but that's not going to happen up here at the cabin."

"Why not?"

"Why? Because I don't go after my friends and their kids, and I'm not going to ask for some pity fuck. Now, that's it. I have to get changed and get to breakfast, so out you go," Harvey instructed his daughter as he opened the door.

As the door closed behind her, Whitney thought over her father's words. Nobody around for you to fuck? Challenge accepted, Dad. Hmm, now I need to think up some options for him.

The door to the main suite opened, and Lacey walked out gingerly. Whitney moved to help her friend. "That damn ankle needs to get better and fast, Lace."

"Tell me about it," Lacey agreed. "Everything okay? You look upset."

"Oh, just worried about my dad without Shenai around," Whitney explained as they moved into the great room of the cabin. "Nothing for you to worry about."

"Cupcake, is your ankle still hurting?" Lacey's own father rushed around the kitchen island to check on his ailing daughter.

"A little sore, but at least it's not swollen," she reassured both her parents after her mother moved over to check on her as she sat down at the dining room table. Looking around, Lacey noticed Austin wasn't in the cabin yet. "Anyone seen Austin this morning?"

"Oh, boy," Newt groaned out.