As always:
Thanks to rf-fast for the editing work. Your insights are what prevents this story from being mindless drivel. Thanks!
All characters involved in sexual acts are eighteen years of age or older.
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And Then There Were Two: Spring Break With My Sister and Her Friends
Spring break. Ten days of fun filled joy that every student can look forward to, whether or not they are heading somewhere fun. Cancun, Fort Lauderdale, and even Europe are all popular hot spots for Hilldale High's senior class. I wasn't going to any of those. For the students of a lessor financial capability, creativity to maximize enjoyment was the way to go. Hanging out with friends, going to the local arcade, finding someone with a swimming pool, or even spending ten days just sleeping in and being lazy were all possibilities. I wish I were any one of those fortunate individuals.
Instead, I was going camping at Lake Mbes. You have to hand it to those early settlers of this region for their originality. The Potawatomi Indian word for lake was mbes. When the settlers arrived, they used that word to name the lake. So Lake Mbes literally translates to Lake Lake; innovative redundancy at its best. Sure, spending seven of those ten days camping at the lake sounds like fun, but I was going only because my Mom and Dad were making me. None of the five other teens taking the trip were my friends. My parents were forcing me to play babysitter to my fraternal twin sister, Isabella and her boyfriend, Jacob.
Isabella and I aren't close and really are the worst twins ever. She's popular and I am not. She's a partier and I am studious. Her friends are cheerleaders and football players and I've got the chess club and debate team. We don't even have twin intuition. It's really all my genetics fault.
Right before we were to start kindergarten, I was diagnosed with a heart defect and needed surgery. My sister dodged that bullet and started school normally while I had to wait a year. This resulted in all sorts of teasing from my peers. If I had a dollar for every time I heard that I must be stupid because my twin is in a higher grade than I am, I'd be a rich man. It didn't matter that I received higher marks in all my advanced placement subjects than she did her normal classes. But it killed my social life, while hers flourished. The grade gap cemented the strain on our relationship. We only talked when she wanted something from me; usually help with her homework.
I was the odd man out based on social status and grade level as we headed out on the trip. As if Isabella and her football jock boyfriend weren't enough, I also had to deal with the schools ladies' man, Max and his airhead girlfriend of the week, Valerie. Then there was the basketball team's star center, Eric and his cheerleader girlfriend Angela. Lastly, there was the stuck up princess of Hilldale, Brooke, who also happened to be my sister's best friend. She is a girl whose icy stare can cause a man to cower in fear. A girl whose venomous words cause grown men to run away crying. This girl's sole existence on this planet is to cause humiliation for all mankind. Or maybe just me. My opinion is probably skewed based on how often I received her hard glare and sharp tongue in my own home. And they say these are the best days of our lives. Right. Did I mention that I didn't want to go on this trip?
And so I became the personal group bitch for the excursion. I hitched the small trailer to our parents Ford Expedition. I dug through the garage to excavate the two family tents along with all our other camping gear. When we picked up someone, I was the one who made sure their belongings, along with a third tent that Eric supplied, were properly stowed. I was the driver on this wonderful voyage. And as luck would have it, I was stuck with Brooke in the front seat with me. She dominated the radio, the cars temperature settings, and even the GPS system because she wanted to see "what was in the area." Never mind that I actually needed it to get where we were going. And when I asked her to stop, her response to me was her icy glare. To top it off, when we had finally arrived at Lake Mbes campgrounds, everybody took off for the lake. Obviously, this left me with setting up the three tents we had. Yup, this trip was going to be more work than fun.
I unhitched the trailer and began to put the tents together. Once I got them set up, I headed to the campsite office to purchase some firewood. When I got back, I threw everybody's bags in their respective tents. Not because I cared or because I was being nice, no, I just needed to unbury the gas grill we brought. After doing all the work and all the driving, I was hungry. I opened one of the packages of hot dogs we were going to have for dinner and began preparing my gourmet meal. No way was I cooking for everyone. I was munching on chips when a hot brunette in a yellow bikini came rollerblading on the path directly in my line of sight. I smiled and she returned it as she passed. Maybe this trip could be fun. No one knows me here. None of these strangers will call me 'Heartache.' Yeah, that's been my nickname since day one of elementary school. Always good to know your very own life threatening disease can be the target of ridicule. I might have a chance to meet a girl.
I turned the hot dogs over one last time and decided they were done. I fixed my plate, two dogs and a pile of chips, and started walking over to the picnic table. I didn't make it. The group had come back from the lake and Eric intercepted me.
"Thanks Heartache," Eric chuckled as he took my plate. "I didn't realize how hungry I can get from just relaxing in the sun."
He should see how hungry you get from doing all the work, but I just looked up at him. He was 6'11" and I was 5'10". He was muscular and I once had to read a muscle magazine for health class. I just turned and headed back to the grill only to find the other ten hot dogs already gone. I guess I was cooking for everyone. Once I made my plate again, I went to the edge of the lot and made myself comfortable on one of the benches surrounding the fire pit. No way was I sitting at the picnic table. I doubt anyone would have slid over for me anyways.
Dusk was falling across the sky and I figured now would be a good time to start the fire. A couple logs, my used paper plate for kindling, a lighter and I had the fire going quickly. The heat masked the temperature that was slowly dropping. I always loved the sight and sounds of a campfire. The dancing flames, the crackling of the wood, the smoky smell; it somehow always brought a calmness to me. It was the perfect way to relax. If only I had brought marshmallows. No, they would probably eat all of them as well.
My relaxing, however, only lasted ten minutes as the seven others joined me. I stayed, but remained silent in hopes of being ignored. I did not want to leave the comforts of warmth. I ended up sharing my bench with Valerie and Max. I was grateful it was Max sitting next to me. If it were Eric, my ass would be half on the bench and half in the air.
My staying in the shadows, so to speak, worked and it was a surprisingly nice evening. It started out with playful banter, teasing and friendly conversation I am normally not privy to. The chatting became more personal and secrets flew with each empty can of beer. I stayed with water just so I wouldn't open up about how I really felt about my comrades. I'm sure my comments would have made the week that much more enjoyable for me. It was apparent the girls were getting antsy. Angela was first and she tried to nonchalantly sneak away with Eric to one of the tents, as if any 6'11" man can sneak off anywhere unnoticed.
The six of us stayed. We followed the conversation up with a round of ghost stories, each of us taking a turn. I was quite proud of myself for one, not backing down and two, having one of the better stories that were told. I'm sure it had something to do with me being sober. After their respective turns, Isabella and Jacob were locked in a heated debate. They couldn't decide which of their tongues wanted to be in whose mouth the most. I did my best to ignore them. My sister being tongue molested was not a lasting image I wanted engraved in my memory. It didn't take long before they finally said goodnight and made their way to the second tent, leaving four of us. I was beginning to feel I was in Agatha Christie's novel, 'And Then There Were None,' except people were leaving in pairs to have sex and not being murdered. I also knew I'd be the last one remaining.
Valerie and Max kept up conversation with Brooke, though their hands were saying what was really on their minds. Max had his hand wrapped around her and was lightly caressing her tit while Valerie's hand was rubbing the bulge in his pants, and it wasn't subtle.
"Just go ahead," Brooke shook her head. "It's quite obvious where you two want to be."
Valerie smiled and blushed, "Thanks." She stood and nearly dragged Max to the third and final tent, leaving me alone with Brooke.
We each just stared at the fire, the crackling of the wood being drowned out by the grunts and groans behind us. I knew this would happen. I just knew I wasn't going to be sleeping in a tent this week and I prepared accordingly. I went to the trailer to collect my things. I threw on a sweatshirt to add a second layer of clothing and then grabbed my sleeping bag and laid it out near the fire.
"What are you doing?" I heard Brooke mumble. It was said so low, I wasn't sure she meant to say it aloud.
"Preparing for bed," I threw a couple more logs of wood on the fire. "I was supposed to share the tent with my sister and Jacob but I also knew that wasn't going to happen. Watching them make out was bad enough." I chuckled as I turned and noticed Brooke's body had a shiver to it. She was only in a pair of jean cut off shorts and a white t-shirt that was so thin that I could see her red bikini underneath.
"Yeah, I'm not sure how long I'll be waiting for Valerie and Max." I could hear the slight chattering of her teeth.
"If you're cold, you can warm up in my extra-large sleeping bag. It's thermal insulated and still close to the fire."
"With you?" As if it wasn't apparent by her voice alone, her eyes showed her disdain for that idea as well.
"No, not with me," I laughed. "I told you I was prepared already. I'll be fine." Brooke didn't move and I shrugged my shoulders before heading back to the trailer. On my way back, she had finally gave in to her cold body and she was snuggling into my sleeping bag.
I set a sweatshirt on top of her and then went to set up the contents of the box I was carrying. "What's that?" Brooke asked with more curiosity than I thought she would have at something I was doing.
"That would be a sweatshirt," I answered sarcastically. "It will help keep you warm."
"Thanks," Brooke giggled. "But I meant the thing you're setting up."
"I know what you meant, I was just teasing." I glanced back at her and I must say she looked pretty sexy slipping into my sweatshirt. "It's a telescope. There's too much light pollution in the city to get good use out of it, though I still try. But it's perfect for places like this."
Brooke looked up to see the clear night sky. "Makes sense."
I had set up the tripod, but decided against its use. I lay down next to Brooke and adjusted the knobs to get clarity. I scanned the sky briefly before the scope landed on the constellation Orion. "Would you care to look?"
Brooke stared at me quizzically, "Really?" I kept the tube of the telescope aimed where I wanted it and put the eyepiece near her. She rolled her eyes but obliged my whim. "Wow it's beautiful," she was sincerely astonished. "Where do all the colors come from?"
"What you're looking at is the Orion Nebula. It's an interstellar cloud of various gases. It's named Orion after a great hunter from Greek mythology." I gave her a minute and then angled the telescope again.
"Is that the moon?"
"Yup." I looked at Brooke and the fascination on her face was enchanting. "Right now you're looking at the Sea of Serenity." I moved the tube down and to the right, "And this is the Sea of Tranquility." I then moved it down and to the left. "This is Tycho, one of the moons many craters. They are formed when a meteor impacts the surface. Kind of like if you punched a piece of dry wall."
Brooke chuckled at that, "I don't think I could make a hole that big."
"Well I don't know? I've seen you get pretty mad before," I teased. Brooke playfully punched my arm. "See, now I have to check for a crater," I pulled up the sleeve of my sweatshirt, doing a quick inspection of her impact.
