Family Gatherings

Pt. 6 – Wednesday Morning

A soft click woke me from a deep sleep. I glanced at the clock and noticed it was around 4:30. In the faint light I could see the bedroom door opening. Beth was still cuddled into my side, so it wasn't her coming back to bed.

"Hello?" I whispered softly as I saw the outline of someone entering the room.

"It's Denise." She said quietly as she stepped over to the bed. "I couldn't sleep and felt the need to talk to someone. I..., I mean, fuck, I don't know what I mean. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have come down." Denise turned to leave the room; before she could leave Beth spoke up.

"It's okay honey. Why don't you come lay down with us?" Beth asked her. I could see Denise hesitate and Beth reached out and grabbed Denise by the hand. "It's okay. Please, get in bed, between us." Denise's shoulders sagged a little and I could see her head nodding. She turned back towards the bed and Beth sat up to let her slide behind her and then between us. We all settled back down and Beth and I cuddled into Denise, hugging her close. Denise was wearing a light tank top and a pair of shorts, making me very aware of the fact that Beth and I were still nude.

We lay like that for 10-15 minutes without saying a word. Eventually Denise started to cry and we just held her tighter, letting her get it out of her system. Finally the sobs stopped and she turned to first kiss Beth and then me.

"Thanks," was all she said. We cuddled for a few more minutes before Denise continued.

"Beth, I'm so sorry. I crossed a line with Josh, and I could see it as soon as we came into the cottage. I could see the jealousy and anger on your face, likely the same way you could see the envy and desire on mine. I'm not trying to take Josh from you, he's made it quite clear that you are and will always be his first love, that nothing or no one could change that. I just got so caught up in the moment, it was just so intense, it shook me right to my core, scared me in fact when I felt it. I just couldn't help but let it out, to tell him that I loved him, that I was in love with him. I just..." Denise's voice caught as she tried to continue, both of us instinctively squeezed her tighter. I shared a look with Beth and she nodded.

"It's okay honey, Josh already told me everything. Including the fact that he also told you that he loved you and that we'd try to find a way to make things work. I'm still processing that myself and I'm not yet sure how things will fall out. For now all you need to know is that we both love you very much and that I'll do my best not to be jealous or angry with you, or with Josh." Beth leaned over and gave Denise a very deep kiss; I could see tears coming from Denise's eyes as they kissed.

"Oh thank god! I was all prepared to come in and tell you that I'd leave Josh alone, that I'd step aside to avoid doing anything to hurt you. Then when I came into the room, saw the two of you cuddled together, I was heartbroken. Thinking there was no way Josh could love me like that, that I didn't deserve that sort of love, I tried to speak and chickened out. I so glad you stopped me before I left." We hugged her tight and both placed little kisses on her shoulders and neck.

"My love," I said, "what would ever give you the idea that you don't deserve to be loved fully and completely, the way I love Beth? Does this all relate to whatever happened before, the love you thought you had found?" Denise just nodded slightly.

"My dear Denise, I think it's time you told us all about it. If there is any chance of this being able to work out, we need to understand. I know it's hard; you have to trust us though. Please?" Denise looked at me and I gave her a quick kiss, she looked at Beth who nodded and kissed her as well.

"Ok, I haven't talked about it much. The girls know, of course, but Mom and Dad only know part of the story. God, over two years later and it still shames me to think about it. I still don't understand how I ended up where I did. I guess I should just start at the beginning though." Denise paused for a second and both Beth and I gave have a reassuring kiss and squeeze.

"Take you time honey, it's your story, tell it however you need to." Beth said. Have I mentioned just how much I love her? What a woman!

"Thanks. It started in second year of university." Beth looked at me and raised an eyebrow. I nodded and rolled my eyes slightly. During Denise's second year of university Beth kept trying to tell me something was wrong with Denise but could never quite figure out what. She had her suspicions, but could never get anything from Denise. I kept telling her that she was reading too much into things. As usual, it turns out Beth was right.

"Although I suspect that you already knew something was up then, didn't you Beth?" Beth just nodded, not wanting to interrupt. "I figured. Anyway, early in second year I met Mark. He was third year pre-med. Very smart, very cute, very funny, basically everything a girl would want in a boyfriend. We met at some Saturday night campus party and hit it off right away. He was so charming, so sweet, I admit I fell for him hard and fast. After the party he walked me back to my dorm, if he had asked or hinted, I probably would have given into my desire and slept with him that night."

"He didn't ask or push though. He kissed me good night, a proper first date kind of kiss, and said he'd call me the next day, so we could get together again. He reminded me a lot of Josh actually, right down to the same dorky sense of humor that you just can't help but laugh at." I was about to protest when I felt Beth squeeze my hand, and realized, now was not the time. This was about Denise, not me, so I held my tongue.

"Anyway, I was so worked up that I masturbated that night, thinking about Mark ravishing me. I had quite the orgasm, let me tell you. When I got up the next morning some anxiety had settled in. I started thinking, what sort of guy wouldn't try to take things a little further? Did he not really like me? Was the 'I'll call tomorrow' bit just a line? Probably the same thing every girl thinks after meeting a guy like that. I had myself quite worked up and it wasn't even 10 in the morning yet. Much to my surprise and delight, Mark called at 10:05. How sad is that, I still remember exactly when he called."

"He said he couldn't wait any longer to call and we agreed to go out for coffee. We met at the one of the coffee shops on campus at 11. We chatted until 3 in the afternoon. I mean, you find someone that you connect with that easily, that you can talk to that easily, how do you not fall in love? I was in young girl heaven. That night the dreams of our future life ran through my head, graduating, getting married, kids, him being a successful surgeon, me happily teaching. You try not to get ahead of yourself, but when you think you've found prince charming, you just go into fairytale mode."

"Anyway, we didn't see each other again until Tuesday night as he had a test that day he needed to study for. We went out for a supper that night, nothing fancy with us being students and all. He had suggested a movie and I suggested something else entirely. We had sex for the first time that night. I won't lie, it was fantastic. Of course I was so worked up about things that I probably would have thought it was the best sex ever if he only lasted 30 seconds. Mind you, it's not like I had a lot to compare it too but he wasn't my first."

"Things progressed from there. I was in fairytale heaven, the full set of blinders on. Things started subtly at first, little digs here and there about how often I talked with my parents or the girls. The odd comment about something I was wearing or my hair or whatever. Once or twice I commented on it and he just said he was teasing nothing more. You know the way our family is, always with the little jabs and comments; I let myself believe it was like that. Inside though I knew it didn't feel the same way that it did with the family."

"By the time we had been dating for 3 months I was probably only talking to Mom and Dad once a week, same with Melanie. Katie had started MUN in the fall and after seeing her almost every day, I was seeing her maybe twice a week. I started to dress a little differently, wore my hair differently, all sorts of sub-conscious little changes. The others knew something was up but I wasn't having any of it, which of course just reinforced the desire to pull back further. Of course the further I pulled back from the family, the more I started to rely on Mark."

"It wasn't long after that when Mark suggested we try something different. He invited a friend of his over, John. I was uncertain, however, at that point I pretty much couldn't say no to him. I had meet John before and he honestly seemed like a nice guy. That night I ended up fucking both of them. I would suck one while the other fucked me and then they'd switch. I swallowed a load from each of them and took another in my pussy. At the time I actually got into it and enjoyed the sex. I had three or four orgasms."

"After it was all done, John left. The other times we'd had sex Mark usually stayed the night with me. That night though he claimed he had to do some late night studying and should probably go back to his place. Once he left I suddenly felt dirty and used. I cried myself to sleep that night. It was after that when I finally noticed the change."

"Mark didn't call the next day, I was devastated. I didn't know what I had done wrong. He called the day after and apologized, saying he was so busy with study he lost all track of time. I didn't really believe it but I was so desperate that I deluded myself. Over the next few weeks Mark became more distant and cold, he started throwing out jabs about me fucking john, that sort of thing. I didn't even have the courage at that point to defend myself. We continued on that way for a couple of months."

"Sex with Mark, which I loved at first, became rougher and less satisfying for me. It was as if he was angry at me and was taking it out as he fucked me. I say fucked me because at that point he wasn't making love to me. Of course until yesterday I didn't really know what it meant to make love to someone. Josh showed me what it really meant." Denise squeezed my leg and turned to kiss me. I felt Beth give Denise a reassuring squeeze as well.

"The angrier he got the more I wanted to please him, which it turn just seemed to make him angrier. I was so confused, lost really. I didn't feel I could tell the girls or parents about it. I became acutely aware of how I had slowly cut them out of my life except for the briefest of contact. Anyway, one day, maybe 3 months after our threesome, I ran into John while I was picking up some groceries. We chatted for a minute or so, fuck, he treated me with more respect at that point than Mark did."

"Not long after I got back to my room, there was a knock. When I opened the door Mark came barging in. He started yelling at me, going on about me disrespecting him, that I was a slut and screwing around on him. He grabbed my arm and shook me, saying that he saw me with John. I tried to explain and begged him to believe me. I told him the only time I screwed another guy was when he brought John over. That I would never cheat on him, that I loved him. He wasn't hearing it though. I asked him what I could do to prove it to him."

"He pushed me over to the bed and came over to stand over me. He pulled his pants down, his cock was hard and pointed right at my face. He told me to suck it and I did." Denise paused for a minute, clearly upset at reliving the memory. "I never really got a chance to suck him though. After a few seconds he grabbed my head and fucked my face. Shoving his cock down my throat, choking me, I thought I was going to pass out because I couldn't breathe. He'd pull my head back and fuck me a few times before shoving all the way down my throat again."

"Finally after what seemed an eternity he came while shoved down my throat. When he was done, he pulled out and slapped my face with his wet cock. He warned me that I better behave myself from now on. With that he left. I broke down as soon as the door closed, I cried until early in the morning. The next day I was a mess, I didn't sleep, had cried most of the night, so when he came over just after lunch I was hardly thinking straight."

"He apologized for what happened the night before, how I had to forgive him, it was the pressure of school, it was that he loved me so much he was terrified of losing me, etc. etc. I was so fucked up at that point that of course I believed him and forgave him. He promised never to do it again. After that we made love, it seemed more like it had earlier in the relationship. I let myself think it was all better. I was a fucking idiot."

"We continued on for another month or so that way. Looking back I realized he had become even more controlling and I had become even more deluded. It finally changed one night, I finally came back to my senses. I was at Mark's place, just hanging out, when a few of his friends came over, including John. The guys started drinking, with me acting as waitress of course. Before long they were all fairly drunk, especially Mark." I had a sudden sinking feeling in my stomach, I thought, dear god, what did they do to her? Denise looked at me and smiled suddenly.

"I know what you're thinking Josh, but this is actually the happy ending." I shook my head and couldn't help but laugh. Seriously, how do women do that? "Mark got up from the couch and got me up in front of everyone. He suggested, rather crudely, that I do a striptease for the guys. I was hesitant at first, but he kept at me. At this point my self-esteem was so low that I was desperate for his approval and love. So I agreed. They all clapped, except John, who, as I look back, looked worried and a little angry."

"Mark threw on some generic hip hop song, the sort of crap that he liked. I started my little dance for the guys, eventually taking off my shirt and pants and I was just dancing for them in my bra and panties. That's when Mark got up again, clearly horny, and suggested that I should take everything off and see what else I could do for the guys. I was scared to death of where things were going. At that moment it wasn't the thought of fucking four guys that scared me, no. It was more like, gee if Mark got all pissed off and jealous after the threesome with John, how would he react to me doing two more of his friends. How fucking sick is that?"

"I told him no, that I wouldn't do it. That I didn't want anyone other than him. Mark was upset, but I thought he was going to let it go, until one of the other guys, can't even remember his name now, said 'hey, I thought you said this one was a player?' That seemed to get Mark mad, he started to scream at me, that I was disrespecting him in front of his friends, that I should just be a good little slut and do what I was told. From somewhere deep inside a part of me yelled back at him. I said no. That was when he hit me."

"He slapped me with the back of his hand, right across my face. It hurt like you couldn't believe, for so many reasons. I didn't fall down though. I straightened up; blood trickled from the corner of my mouth. I stared right into Mark's eyes. That slap seemed to wake me from the trance I'd been in since I'd met him. I stared back at Mark and dared him to hit me again. He pulled back to slap me again and John jumped up to grab his hand. Mark told him to fuck off and shoved him down. Then he hit me again. I barely moved this time, my anger, my sudden insight into everything he'd done to me seemed to give me strength."

"I just smiled and then I kicked him as hard as I could right in the nuts. He screamed and went down like a sack of potatoes. I stepped up to him and stomped down hard on his balls. He passed out with that. One of his friends, the same one that made the comment earlier got up and came at me. John got there first though. He laid the guy out with one punch. The other guy just got up from the couch and ran. I quietly put my clothes back on and went around the apartment and calmly collected my stuff."

"By the time I had gather everything into a bag Mark was coming around, groaning on the floor. He had leaned himself back against the couch. His other friend had taken off while I was gathering my stuff. I walked over to Mark and stood over him, one foot planted on the floor between his legs, just inches from his nuts. I told him that if him or his friends ever came near me again that I wouldn't stop with just a kick to the balls, I'd cut them off next time. With that I walked out of his apartments, ignoring the string of curses that followed me."

"Once outside the adrenaline of the moment passed and I sat down hard on the bench just outside his apartment, suddenly exhausted. That's where John found me just a minute or so later. He offered to walk me back to my dorm, to make sure I made it safely. I was a little dazed and accepted. Once we got back to my place John apologized for everything. He said he didn't realize what a prick Mark was, that he didn't know Mark was capable of what he did. He also told me that he knew for certain that Mark had slept with at least four other girls since we'd been dating; Mark had said I was cool with it. With that he apologized again, said he was done with Mark and his buddies, and left."

"Naturally the first thing I did when I got in my room was to call Katie. She was at my place five minutes later. I told her everything; she listened, didn't judge and then just held me as I cried myself to sleep. The following morning was the first time we had sex with each other. It was just what I needed, soft and gentle and loving. Anyway, over the next few weeks I worked hard to bring myself back, to undo the damage I allowed Mark to inflict on me and my relationships. It was the summer before I told Melanie everything, Katie and I also introduced her to sisterly loving as well."

"God, I feel so much better, just telling you about it. After that Melanie started MUN the following year and the three of us decided to share an apartment. It was great, we gave each other what we needed, emotionally and sexually, and life was good once more. At one point this past year the three of us were out in a bar and we saw Mark trying to pick up a freshman. He was still charming and funny and cute so she was naturally very receptive."

"I had run into him a couple of times since that night, every time he would throw me a dirty look and then go the other way. That night in the bar though he was too distracted by the 19 year old cleavage in front of him to notice me. He'd never met Melanie so I hatched a little plan. After a couple of minutes Melanie went up to Mark and started laying it on thick, how great their night together was, why didn't he call like he promised, etc. She then looked at the freshman and scowled, asking if this was the tramp of a girlfriend he told her about, the one that treated him so badly."

"God it was great, he didn't know what to do with himself. The freshman looked appalled, as did quite a few of the other girls in the bar that were obviously interested in Mark. Finally Melanie just left after saying obviously he was just looking for a quick fuck, not a real relationship like he said. After Melanie came back to us the freshman got up and left. Mark was pissed and tried to talk to a few other girls, all of whom saw and heard what happened and brushed him off."

"When we got home that night we just laughed and laughed, until it dissolved into some hot three-way girl action of course. Anyway, a week later we were at the same bar and Mark was there again. He was chatting up a different freshman; I noticed some of the same girls from the week before including the one he was talking to when Melanie intervened. I thought about what he did to me and thought I can't let that happen to someone else. Rather than using the same ploy I decided to take the more direct approach."