Uncomfortable Moments

"Leave it to my cousin to be the center of attention," Logan remarked as the group he joined made its way toward the drawing-room/great room. Spotting a passing waiter, he snatched a glass of champagne from his tray. "Don't mind if I do."

While Zack and Chloe turned down any offers for the bubbly drink, the three college-aged guests accompanying them gladly accepted a glass. All their eyes focused on the makeshift dance floor where Heather and a busty blonde danced playfully. Much of the room appeared to be focused on their bouncing busts. They watched as a man in his mid-twenties attempted to join them, but Heather waved him off with an annoyed glare.

"I didn't know Chastity would be here," Taylor said upon observing their old schoolmate. "I wonder if she's someone's date."

"Considering how rarely she dates, I haven't heard anything about a new boyfriend. And I would've," Hannah stated. "Anyone care to join them? No? Not even you, Mr. Bishop. Then I guess it's all me. I'll be back."

"Hmm, with Leah out of town, maybe Chastity came with my uncle. She does like to find him replacement dates when she's not around to be on his arm," Logan suggested, smiling at a woman close to thirty that caught his eye. Her date, or more likely husband, didn't appreciate the way she blushed at the teenager's attention.

Zack watched as his date approached the two dancing women, unleashing a whoop to signal her arrival. Next to him, he heard Peter speak up.

"Uh, oh. The Zuccaros have arrived."

Both Bishop siblings turned to look back down the long hallway that had just left. There Teresa and Bianca Zuccaro stood waiting as their mother, Carmella, greeted several older guests. All three women featured long, black hair, olive skin that matched their Italian heritage, medium-sized breasts, and toned asses. All three women's athletic figures spoke volumes about their dancing past and present.

"Great, Mama Bitch is here too. I guess Hannah, Ashley, and Sarah will all need to keep one eye out from them," Taylor commented, already dreading the likely scene.

"This place is huge. Maybe they won't run into each other," Zack pointed out with optimism.

"My boy, you have a lot to learn when it comes to taking Hannah Woodsen out on a date. Trouble finds her or she finds it," Peter revealed, recalling his past dating history with the blonde.

"Pete, I think I just saw Calvin heading over to the conservatory," Taylor informed her boyfriend.

"Really? It would be nice if we had at least a few old friends to talk to. Let's go."

With them leaving, that left Zack alone with Chloe. He scanned the room, noticing a table set up next to the bar. On it was a gigantic punch bowl, filled with red liquid.

"Hey, you wanna grab some punch?"

Chloe nodded, and they walked over. Quickly filling two cups, he handed one to his best friend.

"Wow, this is good, really good," Zack remarked, already considering re-filling his cup. Turning to look at Chloe, he started to ask what she thought but paused. "What are you doing?"

Chloe leaning her head far out from her body, lifted a finger, telling him to wait a moment. Finished with her sip from the glass, she finally answered his question.

"Zack, I'm wearing a white dress. The last thing I need is to spill red punch on it. It wouldn't help my chances to meet a nice guy tonight if I had stains all over it."

Before he could comment on her snippy tone, another voice interrupted them from behind.

"Meow--or should I say grrr, my little werewolf. It must be a full moon tonight as you've changed into a different creature."

Meagan Volland teased her soccer teammate. A slender, athletic girl with small breasts and an ass molding from her racing around the field, Meagan usually stood out for her pixie haircut dyed white. Tonight she stood out even further in her black dress with a white collar.

"Me? Are you holding a coven meeting? You look like a witch," Chloe sassily shot back.

"It seemed a fitting look for such a gothic setting."

A step behind the white-haired teenager, stood another of their classmates in silence, one with short black hair and grey eyes. Normally, something of a class clown, Charlie Harrington didn't crack the expected joke at the supernatural conversation. Instead, he muttered a hello to Chloe, his eyes laser-focused on the top of her strapless dress.

"Hey, Charlie. You by yourself?" Zack greeted his causal friend with a question.

"Zack," mumbled Charlie. His eyes never leaving Chloe's bosom. A fact that started to annoy her best friend greatly.

"My eyes are up here, Charlie," Zack stated with some tension evident in his voice.

Looking up startled, Charlie realized what he had been doing, and sheepishly responded. "Sorry, Chloe."

"Not a problem," the redhead said, beaming at his attention. Both Zack and Meagan marveled at how far their friend had come along in the last few months with her body issues. Not that long ago, Chloe wouldn't be caught dead in any outfit that highlighted her large breasts, but here she was practically flaunting them for attention.

"Oh, I need to show you this thing I noticed before, come on," Meagan suddenly exclaimed, grabbing Chloe's hand, and pulling her back into the hallway.

That left an awkward Charlie and Zack to stand there together. Silence ticked by as both guys didn't know what to say after Charlie's staring at Chloe's boobs. Right at the moment when the silence became unbearable, another person walked over to join them.

"Whoa--was that Chloe McRose looking hot as fuck?" William "Billy" Clawfoot inquired.

"I know, did you see those--oh, sorry, Zack," Charlie stopped, embarrassed again.

"Oh, right, sorry, Zack. I didn't mean any offense. I mean, I knew she was good-looking, but I didn't know she was that good-looking," Billy remarked. A friendly,well-liked two-sport star in both soccer and baseball, the dark-haired teen was the closest to sports rival that Brandon had at a school where football was king. "Too bad Bianca seems to have decided I'm her unofficial date for the night. Chloe's going to be getting a lot of attention."

"Yeah...I'm going to get myself more punch," Zack informed them, ducking the awkward conversation. Ever since spring began, along with Chloe's determination to change her body issues, Zack had found it difficult to get a handle on the situation. He still didn't think about Chloe in any way but as a friend, but everyone else seemed to have changed around her. That put him in an awkward spot where he wanted to protect her from lecherous guys, while not smothering her newfound confidence.

Apparently, Charlie and Billy took the hint, for when he turned back away from the table, they had disappeared. Finding himself all alone, Zack wondered if he should join Hannah on the dance floor. While not much of a dancer, it would beat being lonely.

"Well, if it isn't Zack Bishop all alone. I guess that's what happens when you sabotage another relationship, huh?"

Gulping at the sound of the voice that he knew very well, Zack slowly turned around, dreading the conversation that he expected.

"Hey, Lisa."

---

"You don't know who Vicki Vale is? C'mon, you've seen that one Batman film with Kim Basinger, right? No?! She played her. She's a reporter just like you, and a hot blonde in the movie," Fletcher rambled on at the green-eyed blonde, who had no clue what he was talking about.

"Uh, yeah, I don't like comic book movies," Victoria Walker revealed, causing Fletch to cover his heart with his hand in heartbreak.

The Walker family had arrived moments earlier. Richard immediately went into reporter mode, peppering Fiona with questions, while Olivia stood in awe of the restored lodge. Fletcher tried another approach in joking with their daughter. He mentioned how, with Alice playing a young Lois Lane and Barney, a bumbling, old-school version of Jimmy Olsen, he would need to think up another fictional journalist's name for Victoria. Instead of the icebreaker working, it melted at once, leaving a watery egg on the host's face.

"I guess our love story will never even get off the runaway, Vicky."

"Are any of my friends here yet?" she inquired.

"Yeah, yeah, Heather and some of your crew are in the back of the lodge, by the dance floor," Fletcher waved off his classmate, before turning to her mother. "So, how does it feel?"

"Huh?" Olivia Walker muttered, not really paying attention.

"I asked how it felt to finally see the lodge restored. I know besides Robert Ravers, you're probably the person most interested in the history of the lodge outside my family," Fletcher stated. He slyly checked out the attractive newspaper owner. An older version of her daughter with long blonde hair, emerald-green eyes, medium-sized breasts and a toned ass, the teenager it to be a shame that her daughter never seemed to warm up to him. They say you should look at a girl's mother for how she will age. And if Victoria turns out like Olivia, her future husband will be one fortunate man.

"Don't mind her, Fletcher," Richard spoke instead of his wife. "She's long been fascinated by the history of your family's lodge. Fiona, you should see all the old newspaper articles, pictures, and interviews she has in her lodge scrapbook. I think you'll be hard-pressed to find another person with as much interest in the lodge."

No shit. That's what I just said, you asshole. That's what Fletcher wanted to say but held his tongue. "It's a fine hobby to have, Mrs. Walker. Perhaps later, you would like to join the private tour I'm planning to give."

"Oh, I would love that, Fletcher. And it's Olivia," she told him with a bright smile. "What I've seen so far is fantastic! We'll absolutely need to sit down for an interview at some point. I've long envisioned a series of articles, if not a book, about the history of the lodge — all the romance, drama, intrigues, and killings. My grandfather used to tell me stories about this place before it was shuttered. That led to it becoming sort of a hobby for me."

"I'll make sure to find you when I give Robert his tour," Fletcher promised as he spotted another group of arrivals. "Mom, do you know where Grace went? Her family just walked in."

---

"Damn, Fiona is a dress whore!" Poppy remarked as she strolled up and down the walk-in closet, her hands brushing the hanging dresses. "I guess having money pays when it comes to style."

Oh, frack me! How did I get stuck with this chore? Grace said to herself in partial embarrassment as Poppy's cocktail dress slid to the floor.

"What do you think I should wear?" Poppy asked, turning to look at her stepbrother's best friend.

"I don't know. Dresses aren't my thing."

"But you have an opinion, right? That dress you're wearing is more risqué than you usually wear. So, what do you recommend for me?"

"Uh, Fiona picked out this dress for me," Grace admitted. "Just pick out whatever you like, my opinion doesn't matter."

"Oh, but it does to me, Gracie. This is my brother's big party, and you're his best friend. Hell, he probably considers you his sister more than me," Poppy said with some envy. "So, to me, your opinion is vital."

"Honestly, I don't know. I don't really like parties like this," the petite brunette responded, looking down. "I'm only putting up with tonight because I know how important it is to Fletcher and Fiona."

"You really care for them, don't you?" Poppy asked, but didn't wait for an answer. "That's why I like you. You've always been there for my brother. Now, will you at least help me pick out a color?"

Grace reluctantly replied with a shrug.

"Great! Now, let's see, should we go with black? Nah, I already wore a black dress tonight. Red doesn't work with my hair too well. Blue--wow, there's got to be every shade of blue imaginable in here. I guess we know Fiona's favorite color. Hmm, we also have white--yeah, that doesn't work for a girl like me. Green--"

"Green!" exclaimed Grace, immediately bashful for her outburst. "I mean green's a good color for people with your hair color."

"That it is, that it is. Good call, Gracie," Poppy agreed, scanning several dresses and their shades of green. Selecting three very different dresses, she handed them over to the waiting teenager. "Here, hold these will ya."

Although she felt like a servant, Grace complied with the redhead's request. Her eyes shot up as Poppy unsnapped her bra and pulled down her wet panties.

"What are you doing?!" she exclaimed as the naked twenty-one-year-old started opening drawers.

"A girl needs underwear to wear...unless you think I shouldn't wear any?"

"No! You definitely need to wear some," Grace insisted.

"I thought you would say that," Poppy replied with a smirk. "Normally, I would never wear someone else's bra and panties, but seeing how much is here, I suspect that even if Fiona wore half of these, she didn't wear them more than twice."

Grace fought an itch to pull out her phone to check if she was needed elsewhere. Unfortunately for her, holding up the three long dresses **** her to use both hands.

"Sheeeiiittt! Fiona must love her some lingerie. These drawers are filled with them. Expensive shit too," Poppy remarked. "Whoa! What do you think of this one? Fancy wearing this for a special boy someday? There are tons more like it in these drawers."

Grace's already wide eyes bulged at the sight of a cherry red bustier corset along with the matching garter belt and sheer stockings that Poppy held up next.

"Speaking of special boys: You got your eye on anyone downstairs?"

A quick, fearful shake of a head answered her.

"C'mon, you can't be serious. At least one of those boys must catch your interest or make your panties moist," Poppy commented, only briefly glancing up from her rummaging of the closet.

"N-No, well, not really."

"Not really? That's different from a--holy fuck! I think we hit the jackpot, Gracie."

Curious as to what could make the usually unflappable Poppy stare in disbelief, Grace ventured forward to see what was inside the cabinet at the back of the closet. She almost felt faint at what she saw inside.

"Damn, I guess Fiona likes to dress up in other ways besides her fancy dresses. There's like a whole catalog selection of naughty...well, everything."

"Um, maybe you shouldn't touch those, Poppy," Grace pointed out as the redhead began pulling out outfits.

"Let's see: we got naughty schoolgirl, cheerleader, nurse, cop, angel and devil, teacher or librarian. Is that a Pocahontas costume? Holy shit, there's like a whole Disney section here. Snow White, Little Red Riding Hood, Cinderella, Ariel...how does one fuck in mermaid lingerie?"

The buzzing of Grace's phone interrupted them. Lacking any manners, Poppy reached over to grab the phone, checking the other girl's message.

"Looks, like my brother is demanding to know where you're at. It seems like your family has arrived."

"Can't we leave that stuff alone?" Grace asked, nodding to all the cabinet. "We need to hurry up."

"Fine, let me try those dresses one," Poppy agreed, reaching for the first one.

"Um, aren't you going to go change in the bathroom?" the petite brunette asked in embarrassment.

"Why? I'm not shy about my body," the naked girl responded. "Besides, we need to talk about who's dick you want downstairs.

Fracking kill me right now!

---

"What's the matter, Zack, ruin another relationship and end up dateless for the party?" Zack's ex-girlfriend, Lisa Rivera, questioned. A dark-haired girl with dark brown eyes, large breasts, and a curvy ass, Lisa had been his girlfriend earlier in the school year. Unfortunately for the relationship, Zack's long crush on Victoria Walker doomed it from the start.

"N-No, I...have a date, Lisa," stuttered Zack, under her intense glare. His eyes, despite trying not to, scanned her body. The low-cut chocolate brown dress complimented her tanned skin tone and her ample bust.

"Oh, do you; I thought you two broke up?"

"We did, I brought Hannah Woodsen as my date for tonight," Zack revealed, his eyes searching for anyone in the room to save him. The closest person to him turned out to be Lisa's mother, Susan, who, at that moment, collided with Richard Walker as he entered the room. Yeah, two more of my top five people I don't want to talk to.

"Your oldest crush. Aren't you the player now, moving so fast to grab a date. Didn't you just break up with your girlfriend on Monday? Or did you dump that girlfriend for an old crush too."

"Look, I asked Hannah to be my date for tonight a couple of weeks ago," Zack revealed, getting a shocked look back from his ex. "But it's not what you think. I already knew we were breaking up, not because I wanted to, but because Vicky wanted to."

"Wait, she broke up with you?"

"Yeah, we only waited until after prom so we wouldn't have to find new dates. And to be honest, I almost would've preferred to stay home than to lie for the last few weeks," Zack admitted. "Prom wasn't...well, it sucked."

"That sounds awful."

"Yeah, it has been. Listen, I felt bad when we broke up, but now I feel even worse," Zack stated. "Vicky basically did the same thing to me. She's still hung up on Dustin. It felt like I was always fighting for attention with a person that wasn't here."

"Good. Now, you know how I felt. I guess karma is a bitch, huh," Lisa said with some glee in her voice.

"I truly want to apologize, Lisa. I never ever meant to hurt you or waste your time," Zack said, staring into her eyes, his slightly watering. "I learned how not to treat a person in a relationship. I just hope you don't hate me for the rest of our lives."

"I...I don't hate you, Zack. I never have. And I'm sorry that Victoria did the same thing to you. I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy," his ex-girlfriend responded, her attitude softening toward him. "So, what's the deal with you and Hannah?"