Confessions and a Half-truth

Jeff walked into the kitchen with a big grin and a hand behind his back. He tried to wait patiently for a lull in the conversation between his wife, Bridget, and Rachel. Rachel appeared to be whispering something about Sean and girls, but Jeff couldn't quite hear. Finally, unable to wait any longer, he cleared his throat. Once the women looked over at him, Jeff stepped forward.

"These are for you, milady," Jeff announced with a bow before revealing a bouquet of mixed-colored tulips for Gabriella.

Rachel gave out an "aw" while Bridget added an "isn't that sweet."

Gabriella smiled for a moment and started to reach for them before stopping. She looked at her husband's face and proceeded to ask, "Why?"

"Because I love you, my dear," Jeff replied with only the slightest crack in his smile. The other two women didn't notice the split-second falter, but Gabby did.

"What did you do?" the dark-haired wife inquired.

"What? I can't buy the love of my life flowers?" the bear of a man asked.

Gabby crossed her arms underneath her ample bust. Her eyes narrowed as she studied her husband. "What did you do?"

"I didn't do anything. I can't make a romantic gesture every once in a while?"

The sexy Latina examined her husband for any of his tells. Seeing none, she realized he wasn't lying, but something seemed off.

"What did your son do?"

"My son? Why does he become my son when you think he's in trouble?" Jeff responded with questions of his own. How does she always know?

"Oh, he did something alright. Now tell me what Jared did?" Gabriela leaned forward, placing her hands on the kitchen island, and stared at her husband.

"He's a good kid at heart. How about cutting him a break sometimes? It's not like you were Miss Perfect at his age." Rachel and Bridget gave each other knowing smiles and giggled at Jeff's comment.

"Jefferson, I'll ask you just one more time, and if you don't answer, then I will make you pay. What did Jared do?"

The husband and wife stared at each other for a good fifteen seconds before Jeff cracked under the intense stare. "He upset JoJo, and wanted to show her how sorry he feels."

Gabby gave a couple of nods, reached over to take the tulips from her husband. "Thank you; these are lovely."

Jeff watched his wife's apparent calm demeanor and felt nervous for his only son.

Lacey hummed to herself as she descended the stairs. She felt confident that her plan would work. Austin would accept her version of what happened, and they could move past her strange behavior this morning. This trip was meant to be a fun reunion, to remember the good times they had with Aunt Cassie. Still, Lacey knew she needed to have a talk with Austin about his fight with Sean, but it needed to be in a way that he didn't think Sean ran to her and tattled.

The ginger's cheerful humming also came from her parting shot at Sean. Lacey didn't quite know why, but a part of her suddenly enjoyed teasing her family friend. Maybe she liked to see how easily flustered he got; perhaps it came from the secure feeling inside her that she was safe around Sean. The loyal girlfriend would never pat another man's dick as she did to Sean, nor would she tease him by swinging her tush as she also did. Another man might take it the wrong way and think she wanted him. Sean knew better, and being such a nice, respectful guy, he wouldn't make an issue of it.

Lacey didn't want to admit it, but she also enjoyed getting another quick touch of his impressive tool. If she and Austin could live out a fairy tale relationship of being high school sweethearts that married and grew old together, then Sean's dick would be the only other one she ever saw or touched in her life. She had no doubt the memory of that long, thick, and hot cock had seared itself into her brain. Boy, is Rammy going to be one lucky girl. The cock that takes her virginity is that beauty? Not that Austin's isn't nice, it's just not THAT nice. Hmm, I wonder if after she lightens up about sex, Rammy and I can talk about Sean's cock. No, no, then I would have to explain how I saw and felt it.

Shaking her head as she reached the lowest level of the cabin, Lacey gave Owen a small smile as he watched the television. The perky redhead knew she couldn't avoid checking on her coat any longer. Someone might have discovered it by now, or if those cum stains hadn't come out, she would need to think of a new way to remove them.

Walking into the laundry room, Lacey became startled to see another person in the room, and they were holding up her coat. However, she quickly felt relief as she realized that the person was Skye. Still, Lacey nervously asked the question she had dreaded for several hours.

"D-did it come out?"

Skye paused a moment before answering. "My idea didn't quite work all the way. Most of it came out, but a few spots were only faded." Skye saw the disappointment wash over the teen's face and held up a hand. "But it's lucky I asked Fred to pick up some stain remover from the store when he went. Now, it's spotless."

A gasp sounded from Lacey before she ran over to Skye, gave her a brief hug, and grabbed her jacket to look at the lack of evidence for herself. Thrilled that Sean's cum stains had vanished, she turned back to look at Skye, and her heart sank. Now, she noticed that Skye's eyes held evidence of recent tears, and Lacey recalled the shocked look on her face when she learned that Fred never told Finn that they were dating.

"I'm so sorry. What Fred did was real crappy," Lacey expressed with heartfelt sorrow for the other woman. "Did he give any other reason?"

"I asked him, and Fred said he preferred to tell his son in person. He also said he felt a little concerned about how Finn would react to our age difference," recounted the twenty-four-year-old.

Lacey barely hesitated before she shot forward and gave Skye a firm hug.

"When you first arrived, I didn't want to like you. I was worried about how Finn would feel about your age too, but you've been kind and caring to me over these last few days. You're a wonderful person. I know Finn, and he'll see that too. Don't you worry." Finishing her statement, Lacey leaned up and gave Skye a sweet kiss on her cheek. "Thank you for being there for me today, when I couldn't ask anyone else."

Skye felt warmth in her heart at the teenager's comments and the hug Lacey now returned to give her. Looking down at the shorter girl, Skye felt a sudden urge to give Lacey a kiss back but held it inside.

Lacey's so adorable and loving. And that tight, little body of hers is so sexy. Gawd, I wonder what her cute face looks like when she cums. Whoa! Where did that thought come from? Get a hold of yourself. You just ate out her friend in this very room a couple of hours ago, and that was only my third woman. I told myself after that last loser; I would try dating older men, so why do these teenagers all of a sudden look so scrumptious?

Breaking off the hug, Lacey stepped back from the brunette. "Thank you again. You've been amazing. If you need anything, just let me know. I owe you big time."

"I'm happy to help. I know I'm a stranger, but you've been so welcoming to me," Skye remarked, as Lacey's infectious cheer brightened her mood.

"Well, you're not a stranger any longer. Now, I need to go check on my boyfriend and have a talk with him." The petite redhead donned her nearly-traitorous coat. "See ya later."

Only recently awakened naked and handcuffed to bedposts, Jack Steed had just experienced the novel's plot twist: his client Mona Mouser has an evil identical twin. Charm Keen stood at the foot of the bed in lacy red lingerie and a whip. The sounds of footsteps coming upstairs caused Sean to groan in frustration. Why can't I get some time to myself?

Sean's growing annoyance evaporated as he saw his best friend's head pop over the railing. Most people wouldn't be able to tell, but Sean immediately knew JoJo felt upset over something. Using the novel again as a cover for his erection, Sean tried to position himself for the third time on his side, curled up.

"Uh, Sean, can I talk to you? I know you're reading, so I can come back if you don't want to," JoJo appeared half a step away from fleeing back downstairs.

"No, it's okay. What's the matter?" Sean inquired in concern.

JoJo looked down at her feet as she shuffled over and sat on the footrest. Gulping for a deep breath of air, JoJo started her confession. "Sean, you've been my best friend since before we could walk. I love you and our friendship." Sean nodded in agreement. "I hope you feel the same way after you hear what I did."

Shifting on the chair, Sean turned so he could see his best friend more easily.

"I--oh, gawd." JoJo covered her face with her hands as tears began to trickle down.

Sean immediately shot up, the embarrassment of his erection no longer mattering, and moved to lean forward toward his closest friend.

"JoJo, what is it? What's the matter?"

"I t-told Jar-Jared you li-lik Ram-Ramsey," the brunette blubbered between her sobs.

"What!" screamed Sean.

"I-I'm sooo so-sorry."

"Why would you tell him that? I can't believe you would do that?" Sean rambled in fear and anger. "What were you thinking?"

Wiping away a portion of her tears, JoJo tried to meet her friend's eyes. Taking another deep breath, she managed to gather herself to say several complete sentences.

"He thought you were upset over him and Ramsey. He said you told him yesterday you didn't like her, but then this morning, he wondered if you lied."

Sean nodded. That part was correct, but that still didn't mean she had to up and tell him the truth.

"But why did you admit it? Couldn't you have just avoided the question?" The heat in Sean's voice cut through JoJo, and she resumed her crying.

Part of Sean wanted to reach out and console his best friend, but another part held him back. He couldn't believe she could betray his trust this way.

"What exactly did you say to him," demanded Sean.

"No-nothing," JoJo told him.

"Wait, that makes no sense."

"He asked, and I nodded," JoJo revealed.

"Just like that! Dammit, Jo, how the hell does that work?" Sean stood up and looked down at the troubled teenager. Luckily in his shock, his cock had shrunk to only half-mast, although at this point, he hardly cared. Just as he opened his mouth to interrogate her more, JoJo mumbled something he couldn't understand.

"What? I couldn't hear you."

"He tickled me," JoJo said so softly that Sean wasn't sure if he heard right.

"He tickled you?" repeated the blond-haired teenager.

JoJo looked up with tears streaming down her cheeks and nodded.

Sean immediately sat back down.

"Jared really tickled you?" Another nod answered back. "Was it bad?"

"I thought I was going to pee myself," JoJo revealed.

"Oh, Jo." The rare anger Sean felt rushed out of his body. He recalled the one time almost a dozen years ago when Keira pushed too far, and JoJo peed her pants. His best friend wouldn't leave her house that summer for nearly two weeks from the embarrassment. That had put an end to the Tickle Monster tactics after Keira felt terrible. After that incident, their neighbor/occasional babysitter took the extra time to take JoJo under her wing.

"He knew I was close and gave me one last chance to nod yes or no," JoJo recounted with a sob.

Sean wrapped his arms around the girl he loved and tried to comfort her. "Oh, Jo. Jared would have never allowed you to do that. Never ever."

JoJo moved her head to look questioningly at Sean.

"After that last time when we were kids, Jared was furious. He went off on Keria. I'd never seen him that angry ever. He was still the nice, chubby kid afraid to speak his mind back then. And it wasn't a one-time thing. He came over to the house for almost a week straight on his bike just to yell across the yard at Keira, and to ask if she apologized yet."

"He did?"

"Yep, so he would never have let it go that far with you. I guarantee that," Sean insisted. "Damn, he must have been **** to find the truth to bring back The Tickle Monster."

"So, I betrayed you for nothing," JoJo spat out, feeling worse. "I don't blame you if you want to hate me."

"I could never hate you. Do I like Ramsey? Yes. Has she been my dream girl for the last five years? Yes," Sean rattled off. "But she could never be more important than you. You're my partner in life. Whomever I date or marry will need to understand my best friend is there with me forever."

"Really?" asked JoJo. A little smile had broken through the clouds of worry on her face.

"Absolutely. If anything, I'm to blame. I've made you carry that secret around for five years. Why? Because I've been too scared to make a move on Rammy. Well, that ends tomorrow. Lacey is working on a plan for us to put in action when we go ice skating," Sean informed JoJo. "So, it's do or die time."

"You can count on me for whatever help you need," JoJo said, excited to see Sean's determination.

"You don't need to tell me; I've always known that."

"Wait, say that again!"

Lacey sighed. She already twice told Austin how she and Sean walked in on her parents having sex in the hot tub. Instead of being shocked or horrified, her boyfriend seemed excited. A little too excited if you asked Lacey.

"They were having sex."

"Were they naked?" Austin asked, even before she finished speaking.

"Um, yeah. That's what most people do when they have sex, especially when they were in swimsuits."

"Oh, man. And Tarver got to see them fucking?" Austin questioned with annoyance in his voice.

"They were not fucking. They were making love. It wasn't something sleazy!" Lacey downplayed the type of sex her parents had. Austin's tone of voice and his leering grin wasn't making her happy. "It was plain, old-fashioned sex."

"For real? That sucks," Austin replied with disappointment. Man, I've been imagining walking in on Mrs. Stratton naked for years. I thought she would be some secret slut like Lana. That maybe it was a family trait. Still, I totally want to see her mom's rack. Those tits of hers are fucking huge. And Tarver got to see them? Fuck that little bitch!

"Yes, plain, drunken sex. It was so embarrassing. I mean, if it was just me walking in on them, but for Sean to see them too, I was mortified," Lacey tried hard to sell the embarrassment angle to her boyfriend. It was an essential part of the plan to get Austin to buy why she screamed in the kitchen this morning.

"I guess. It's not that big of a--" Austin started to respond.

"Big of a deal? Imagine walking in on your parents having sex, and Marcus or Max is with you. Try telling me you wouldn't be humiliated?"

Austin almost looked sick at the thought. Max might not say much, but Marcus would be merciless in his teasing. Oscar would be even worse. The whole football team would likely hear about it in explicit detail.

"Yeah, I guess I can see what you're feeling."

"So, you understand why I freaked out this morning when I saw Sean? My dad was literally standing next to him, and my mom only a few feet behind them," Lacey prodded Austin to remember the layout.

"Yeah, I guess, although screaming seemed a little too much," Austin teetered on the edge of accepting her version of the facts.

"Sean Tarver did not hit on me, did not make a pass at me, nor did he try and **** me to have sex with him. You got that? Do you, Austin?" Austin shrugged his shoulders in response. "No, a shrug isn't going to cut it. You might not like him, but you've known him for years, long enough know he's not that kind of a guy. I want you to say that."

"Fine, Tarver isn't some creep that tried to **** himself on you. You happy now?" her boyfriend agreed in annoyance.

"Not yet. There are two more things. First, if Rammy asks, you are to say those exact words to her. It's your fault that she thinks he's some pervert now." Austin threw his arms up in the air in exasperation but reluctantly nodded under his girlfriend's glare. "Good. The second thing is that you will no longer make asshole comments to or about Sean for the rest of the trip, and you will certainly not attack him anymore!"

"What? I didn't touch him! That little shit is lying," denied Austin.

"Please, he has a big bruise on his forehead. One that coincidently appeared not long after you accused him of some awful things."

"A big bruise?" Austin asked with a smirk.

"Yes, one that everyone and I mean everyone, has noticed," Lacey revealed. "You know what that means, don't you?"

"Oh, shit. I'm getting sent home, aren't I?"

"No, because Sean lied for me. Yes, he cares about me as a family friend, that's it, so don't get any ideas, and he was willing to do that for my sake. He knew I wanted you here for the rest of the week."

"What did he say?" inquired Austin.

"Sean said he fell in the shower and bumped his head," Lacey informed him.

"What! No one is going to believe that dumb story."

"Well, my mom and her friends have so far. But my dad's unlikely to buy it, and Sean's not a very good liar," Lacey told her boyfriend.

"So, I'm likely getting sent home anyway."

"No, you need to behave from now on. Be polite. No, more snide comments or what you call jokes. You got that?"

"I got it," Austin mumbled. No way I'm being polite to him. What Lace doesn't know won't hurt her, especially after we got back to school. Tarver is going to learn that no one punches Austin Rusk and gets away with it.