The Speculation Game

"Y-you saw something? Last night?" Whitney asked Lacey in concern, her mind racing as she stood back up.

"Yeah."

"Where? In the kitchen?" the blonde continued, fearful of the answer.

"No, outside," Lacey replied.

Relief flooded Whitney until she had a new thought. Duh, she couldn't have seen me and Skye. It happened much later in the night, and Lacey was already in bed.

"Okay, so you saw something. Do you want to tell me what you saw?"

The only reply she got came from a shake of Lacey's head. Whitney moved to the shower controls, turning on several more of the showerheads. The additional streams of water helped rinse the soap off the redhead's toned body.

"I-I did something."

Whitney's eyes narrowed at her friend's words.

"You did something? Like what?" she asked Lacey, but no response came from her. "Was it with Sean?" Again silence followed the question. "Lace, I want to help, but I need something from you."

"No one hurt me," Lacey softy told her. "I know you care, but I don't want to talk about it anymore."

"Okay, Lace, that's fine," Whitney soothingly responded, although inside, she burned with frustration for not getting more information. She then gave her friend a little slap on the ass.

"Hey!" Lacey exclaimed, finally turning her head around to look at her equally naked friend.

"It's time for you to take over your shower. Because I'm out of parts to clean back here, unless you want me groping your front," Whitney teased her friend with a grin.

"Fine, give me that bottle," Lacey ordered her friend with a slight smile that warmed her friend's heart.

---

JoJo's feet hit the first floor, and after taking a deep breath, she walked into the great room of the cabin. Nobody sat around in front of the fireplace, but she could hear voices and laughter from the kitchen. Taking a few steps in that direction, she saw Newt seated all by himself at the dining room table.

Walking over to the friend she hadn't betrayed, JoJo gave him a puzzled look. Newt appeared bored as he stared aimlessly out the glass doors at the lake. JoJo thought it odd that he wasn't on his tablet or phone.

"Hey, Newt. Whatcha doing?"

Startled out of his daydream, Newt looked over at the brunette in surprise. "Oh, hey, JoJo. I'm doing nothing. Still waiting to find a shower to use."

"What's the problem; somebody hogging up the one out in the boathouse?" asked JoJo, forcing a smile on her face. Maybe Sean's over there. I better grab my jacket and go to talk to him.

"What? Oh, I guess you didn't hear. Austin spent the night in our bathroom puking his guts out from all the tequila he downed," Newt informed his friend with a big smile.

This time JoJo didn't have to **** a smile on her face, with her own big grin, she remarked, "Good, serves him right. Maybe karma finally caught up with the jerk."

"Maybe. I just hope he doesn't take it out on Sean. He's looked pretty pissed about Lacey freaking out for some reason when she saw him this morning."

"Yeah, Mrs. Tarver said something about that. Say, where is Sean?" asked the brunette in trepidation.

"I think upstairs using the Strattons' shower in their room. He was going to go grab some clothes first, so I'm not sure if he's up there yet," explained Newt.

"Oh, okay," JoJo uttered, unsure what to do now. But then a thought crossed her mind. "Hey, why don't you use our shower."

"Really?" asked Newt, perking up.

"Sure, Mrs. Tarver and I are both done getting ready for the day."

"Thanks, Jo!" Newt said excitedly, already getting to his feet. "I'm going to go and use it right now."

Watching her friend hurry off, JoJo turned toward the kitchen and all the adults. Walking over, the smell of food hit her, and her stomach felt queasy after everything this morning.

"Morning, JoJo. You want an omelet before we clean up?" Rachel asked her with a smile.

"Uh, no thanks, Mrs. Stratton. My stomach is feeling a little iffy. Maybe I'll just have some toast."

"No problem. Toast it is," Clive repeated, already moving to grab the loaf of bread.

A couple of minutes later, JoJo found herself seated next to Mrs. Tarver on a stool. The women discussed what to do with the day now that ice skating was delayed until tomorrow. JoJo paid more interest in Ms. Goose's comments and behavior than she would have in the past. Her parents had always taught her to respect her elders, but she felt Kimberly didn't deserve that. JoJo noticed several years ago that something seemed off about the woman, but now after hearing Sean's story, she decided that she intensely disliked the platinum blonde.

"Geez, we sure made a mess this morning. Look at all this garbage," Clive remarked as he tied the drawstrings on a second large trash bag. "Harvey said there are garbage cans out behind the garage. I'm going to drop these two monsters off there and then head upstairs and see if Sean is finished."

"Okay, hun. Just be careful not to slip out there. There looks to be snow out back by those cans," Rachel warned her husband, slightly concerned that he would fall and injure his back further.

"I can help you, Mr. Stratton," JoJo offered as she finished the last piece of her toast.

"You sure you don't want to have some more?" Clive asked.

"Nope, I'm good," she replied. Dumping her plate in the dishwasher, she turned around and grabbed the smaller of the two bags. "All set?"

---

"Okay, now that Clive's gone, tell us about last night," Bridget motioned toward Rachel.

"What about last night?" asked Gabriela as she walked back into the kitchen after showering and changing.

"What do you mean, Bee?" Rachel asked too, nervous that her romp in the hot tub had been seen.

"That was you wailing like a banshee with an orgasm last night, wasn't it?" Bridget clarified her question.

"No, but I heard it too."

"Oh, come one, Rach. We all know how you get when you drink--" Bridget started to point out.

"Like a cat in heat," grinned Gabby.

"--and you were drunk and frisky in the hot tub when we left you," Bridget finished.

"I'm not saying Clive, and I didn't fool around, but that wasn't me shrieking. We were long done by then. When I heard it, we were already in bed, with Clive passed out," insisted Rachel. "Maybe it was Gabs."

"I'll vouch for Gabriela on this," Kimberly cut in. "She and Jeff made a racket downstairs, but no way was it loud enough for you two to hear on the second floor."

"No doubt we had fun, but I definitely wasn't that loud," Gabby admitted with another grin.

"Certainly far too loud with your son sleeping outside your room," Kimberly noted. Let's see how Gabriela reacts to that. "I went to use the bathroom, and you could clearly hear you moaning and crying like a whore in a brothel."

Bridget and Rachel both turned with wide eyes to look at their friend. A slight blush spread on Gabby's face, but she tried to play off her embarrassment.

"I was a little tipsy and forgot Jared was out there," she admitted. "But so what. I'm sure he's heard Jeff and me before. He's a big boy now; he should know that even his parents like to have fun."

"Indeed, he is a big boy," Kimberly added in a suggestive tone.

"Kim!" gasped Rachel in shock. Gabby shot the platinum blonde a sharp glare.

Ignoring the comment, Bridget continued to speculate over the owner of the orgasmic wail. "So, maybe it was Fred's new girlfriend, um, Skye is it?"

"I doubt Fred could make someone shriek like that with all his drinking," Gabby pointed out dismissively. "He's not looking his best these days."

"Fred does seem a little paler and thinner," Rachel agreed.

"Well, I don't think it was Skye either," Kimberly added. "She wasn't quite as loud as Groaning Gabby here, but I did hear them screwing in their room when I was out in the rec room."

"So, it looks like one of the girls had the fun," Gabriela guessed. "And I bet they were going at it in front of the fireplace if you two heard her."

"My money would be on Whitney and her latest boyfriend," Bridget remarked.

"Unless Rachel's little girl takes after her mom," smirked Kimberly.

"Lacey wouldn't be that foolish. Not after Clive finding out that she's not a virgin. Besides, we all know Austin was in no shape last night," Rachel denied for her daughter.

"That doesn't mean it couldn't have been her," Kimberly teased, continuing her efforts to stir the pot.

"My little girl isn't like that. Maybe if Lana was here, but not Lacey."

"And while I don't know Ramsey all that well, I'll say there's no way it was her," Gabby said, striking another name off her list. "Looks like Bee could be right."

"Kind of ballsy to do that in a room where anyone, including her father, could just walk right in," Kimberly commented, impressed by the teenager's actions.

"Well, she is Harvey's daughter," Bridget reminded everyone.

The other three all nodded knowingly.

---

"Did she tell you anything?" Ramsey ambushed Whitney as soon as she exited the bathroom.

"Jesus, Rammy! Give a girl some space," Whitney exclaimed, flinching at the sudden question. Looking behind her to make sure Lacey hadn't followed, Whitney whispered to her friend. "No one hurt her. So drop that idea, okay."

"She said that?"

"Yes, and that was pretty much it. Besides saying she saw something last night," revealed Whitney.

"What did she see?"

"I don't know, and she told me not to ask. So don't go asking her. If she wants to tell us, then she will when she's ready. You got that?" the blonde added a little edge to her voice on the last part.

"But what if--fine, I won't ask," Ramsey agreed after seeing Whitney's glare.

Any further discussion had to be cut off as the bathroom door opened and Lacey emerged. She looked at her two friends as if she knew they had just been talking about her. Sighing, the petite redhead walked over to the dresser to get some clothes. Whitney already had moved to the walk-in closet to throw on a pair of jeans and a sweater.

"Sooo, what you want to do for today, Lace?" Ramsey asked, causing Whitney to roll her eyes over in the closet.

"I don't--my coat! I need to check on my coat." Lacey exclaimed, suddenly getting jittery again.

"You didn't get the stuff out?" Ramsey inquired.

"Uh, I don't know. It's drying down in the laundry room. I need to check it out." In her haste to get changed, Lacey tripped putting her leg in her pants, causing her to fall backward and onto the edge of the bed.

"Oh, no. You're not going anywhere," Whitney told her as she put on the sapphire and diamond pendant necklace that her father gave her as her Christmas gift. "At least not until you've calmed down some more."

"But I need to check--"

"Your coat. Yeah, I got that," Whitney finished for Lacey. Walking over to the tall dresser chest in the corner, she grabbed a bottle and a glass from the top of it. Moving back over towards the bed, she placed the glass on the nightstand and poured out a small amount of liquid.

"Uh, what are you doing?" Rammy asked, not believing what she was witnessing.

"Here, Lace, drink this," the blonde instructed her nervous friend. Lacey looked unsure at the glass that she now held.

"Whitney, are you actually going to give her **** in her state?" Ramsey demanded to know.

"Relax, Ram. It's just a little whiskey. It'll help calm her nerves," Whitney explained.

"She's in no shape for that!"

At first, Lacey felt unsure about drinking the liquor, but hearing Ramsey's outburst annoyed her. To prove her prudish friend wrong, she took a small sip of the whiskey. The potent liquid burned going down her throat, but she refused to show any sign of discomfort.

"See, she's fine with it," Whitney said in an I-told-you-so manner to the worried strawberry blonde. "Now, take this," Whitney handed her the television remote and gesturing to the flat screen on the wall between the bathroom and closet doors, "and watch some tv until you feel better. I'll stop in the laundry room and see if your coat is dry."

Lacey's eyes shot over to her. Intrigued as to why the coat would cause that reaction and such concern, Whitney lied to her friend. "I'm just going to check and see if it's dry. If so, then you can go get it when you're ready."

Leaving the master suite, Whitney walked down the hall and noticed the floor's main room looked empty. Some laughter and female voices sounded from the kitchen. For a moment, the teenager felt a bit of envy. She wished she had a mother more involved in her life and had lifelong friendships with her friends' mothers. With a sigh, she reflected. But I guess that's my lot in life. I've never had that mother-daughter relationship. At least I have an amazing father! Not all my friends can say that.

Reaching the walk-out level downstairs, she noticed the empty rec room and wondered about everyone else's whereabouts. Moving toward the laundry room, Whitney pondered why Lacey's coat seemed to be a source of concern for her friend. It's not like her parents would freak out if an accident happened. So, what did she get on it that's such a big deal?

Lost in her musing, Whitney didn't realize the laundry room already contained another person. Not until she bumped right into the other occupant. When she realized who she had knocked into, Whitney's heart started racing while she unconsciously licked her lips.

"Oh, hi, Skye."