Two Moms, Two Laps: Quiet

byTx Tall Tales©

=============================

Storms on the Horizon for Moms and Sons

A little turmoil, then the quiet before the storm.

=============================

For a Saturday, things were awful quiet on the home front.

Dad was up early, and in the garage. Mom went back to her bedroom after he left, to get ready for the day. Me? I spent a good part of the morning lying in bed and feeling sorry for myself until I got a call from Penny.

"I thought you were gonna call me last night?" she started.

"I'm sorry. Things are in a little turmoil here at the moment. Family argument last night."

"Aw, I hate that stuff. Everything Ok now?" she asked.

"No. I think it might be a while before it is. I'm sure it'll blow over in time, but we'll have to wait and see."

"You wanna do something?"

"Sure. I'd love to. Get out of the house at least. Did you have something in mind?"

"Other than practice?" she teased.

I chuckled. "Yes. Not that I wouldn't like the practice."

We discussed a couple of options, and settled on a movie and hitting the mall food court. She wanted to come over after, and I finally agreed to it. Maybe by this evening things wouldn't be so awkward.

Mom offered to make me something to eat. Unlike a typical weekend morning, when we would usually eat together, it looked like she was cooking as needed. I gave her a hug, and felt her tense up.

"Take it easy, Mom. It's just a hug."

She nodded. "He's still angry."

"I figured as much. You should go out. Do yoga or something. Go to lunch with Colleen. Try to pretend it's a regular day. I don't think you and Dad should be under each other's feet all day."

"I was thinking about trying to talk to Marie," Mom said.

"If you want. Maybe you should give her a little time as well. I imagine a short phone call and apology might help."

Mom scrambled me up some eggs, and I made a quick sandwich, before giving her a peck on the cheek. "I'm gonna head over and see Penny. We're gonna catch a movie, and get something to eat. I'll probably bring her home later."

"We can't do anything..."

"Of course not, Mom. Not the way things are now. I'll take her to my room and stay out of everyone's hair."

* * *

Penny was in a great mood and it was contagious. She hadn't been idle, and when we went to the Cineplex we were joined by two other couples. Her best friend Emma and Dan, her boyfriend, a guy I knew but wasn't especially friends with. Emma's friend Kelly and her date Drew joined us, both of whom I'd seen around but didn't really know.

She argued with me, when I insisted I was paying for our 'date.' Neither of us had a lot of spending money, no part-time jobs although she picked up some cash babysitting, and I got a nice allowance for doing the yard work, on top of my other chores. Still, it was our first time going out since 'the night' and I wanted to make it special.

In the theater, Penny and I didn't do a lot of necking, although that seemed to be all that the third couple had on their mind. I did have my arm around her, and her hand was on my thigh, teasingly high.

It was nice, comfortable. Knowing we were going to be going back to my bedroom, I didn't feel the need to get as much quick fooling around in as possible.

She turned her head and smiled at me. "It's different now," she said, almost as if reading my mind.

I leaned over and kissed her. "Yeah. Better."

She rested her head on my shoulder, while I caressed her hair. "Just what I was thinking."

I actually got to watch the movie, and all of us headed to the food court, although my appetite was curbed by the over-priced extra-large popcorn we'd devoured between us.

The matinee was pretty cheap, and I had a $2.00 off coupon for the popcorn and soda we shared, but my funds were already running low. Penny wanted a sandwich, and I was leaning toward pizza. I gave her my $10 bill, leaving me enough for a single slice. Thirty-four bucks, gone just like that.

I was standing in line to get my pizza at Sbarro's, with Emma in front of me. She kept turning and looking at me with a weird look on her face.

"What?"

She grinned. "She really is building a shrine, you know. I got to help."

I'm sure I blushed heavily, as she laughed at me.

"If anyone was building a shrine, it should be me. I've been such a dolt for the last year. Penny's pretty amazing."

Emma grinned at me. I thought she was being flirtatious when she stepped closer to me, her hand resting on my arm. She gave a little tug on my arm, pulling me closer. "You're a good guy Jeremy. What you did with her, for a first time? You have half the girls jealous. Just remember that Penny's yours. Only Penny." She giggled, her smile lighting up her arms, "No matter how much the rest of us tease and flirt."

She turned back to the front of the line, stepping forward as it moved. I followed her, only a foot or so back from her. She turned her head, her voice soft and teasing. "Stop staring at my butt."

I laughed. She did have a nice butt. "How did you know?"

"You're a guy." She gave a little shake of her hips. "I'm just kidding. Look all you want. Just no touching."

"Understood. Tease."

She chuckled, and stepped forward to order her food.

We were the last to get back to our table, and I was more than a little irritated that Dan was sitting next to Penny, and the new guy, Drew was sitting across from her, with his date at his side. They were talking so much, I don't think they even noticed me. It was obvious they weren't strangers. I stopped a few steps from the table, not knowing what to do. Penny was sitting on the end, and there was no place for me.

Emma stood at my side. "Drew's an ass. Ignore him."

"Why wouldn't Penny save me a seat? She always has."

"Don't let it get to you, Jeremy. Sit next to Kelly. She's probably irritated that Drew's ignoring her, after being all over her in the theater. Use that."

I wasn't sure what she meant, but I did what she said, sitting next to Kelly and across from Emma. She was right about Kelly. The girl seemed upset, and she turned toward us as soon as we sat down, turning her back to her date.

We chatted a bit, then I asked Kelly how she liked the movie. I knew for a fact that she hadn't seen very much of it.

"I...uh..." she mumbled, blushing.

I chuckled, leaning close. I whispered in her ear. "I'm teasing. Hell, if I was sitting with someone as pretty as you, I wouldn't even know what the name of the movie was."

She blushed, and a big smile appeared on her face.

I was looking across the table. Dan was talking with Emma, quietly. Penny seemed to hardly know I was alive. I honestly didn't understand that. When Drew grabbed a French fry from her tray, she giggled and pulled the tray closer, but didn't stop him.

Kelly and I talked about school, and I was surprised to learn she'd be going to UT with me.

I was keeping her near, talking softly so she'd have to lean close to hear me. I put my hand behind her chair, my fingers lightly touching her far shoulder. I brought my mouth near enough to her ear that she could feel my breath.

"Nervous?" I asked. I glanced over to see if Penny would finally acknowledge my presence. I might as well have been a blank wall. Invisible.

Emma blushed, as I kept teasing her. "About going to college three hours away," I said.

She seemed to relax a hair. "Yeah. I won't know anybody. It's a big school."

"You know me."

"Not really," she answered.

"I'd like to know you better," I answered, my lips brushing her ear lobe. "It would be nice to have someone there I know."

She was trembling, and looking down at her tray. I rested my hand on her shoulder, giving her a little squeeze. I glanced over at my girlfriend who still seemed unaware I was even alive as she chatted with her new 'friend'. He had his hand on her wrist, his fingers stroking her skin lightly, and the bitch was letting him. Fuck.

"I...I'd like that," Kelly answered me, recapturing my attention.

She was barely picking at her food. "Your fries are getting cold," I reminded her.

She picked up one nervously, and took a bite from the end. I'd already finished my pizza. I was pissed that I'd given Penny almost all my money, and she was letting that jerk eat the food I'd paid for.

"How are they? Maybe pizza was a mistake."

She was cute. Little dainty bites. She finished her mouthful, and looked at me. "Want one?"

"Sounds great," I said, but I kept my hands away from her tray. She was still holding half a fry, and when I didn't move, she hesitantly lifted it to my lips. I took a small bite, not that I was hungry, but it only seemed fair, since Drew was eating Penny's fries.

"Mmm. It is good. I normally only get the plain ones."

I reached over and took a sip of her drink. I noticed that Penny had finally realized I was there. She looked surprised. Good.

I slid my hand across Kelly's shoulder, under her hair, and rubbed her neck softly. "You and Drew serious?" I asked.

She shook her head. "Only our second date. I don't think there's going to be a third," she answered, angrily.

"Good. He's an ass. You could do so much better."

She turned and looked right in my eyes. "How much better?"

"Me, better."

"But, I thought you and Penny..."

"I thought so too. I guess she didn't. If she's going to act like that, when I'm here, what's she gonna do when I'm in Austin?"

Kelly nodded, taking another nervous bite of a fry. As soon as she did, she hesitated, then turned to me and offered me the rest. I accepted it, my lips touching her fingers as I finished it, and thanked her.

I pulled out my phone and handed it to her. "Give me your number."

She took the phone, and typed in her digits. I saved it under Kelly, then leaned back and took a picture of her, linking it to the number. Penny was watching me now, and she looked more than a little angry. I hit the Send button, and heard Emma's phone ring. "Call Me Maybe," how apropos. I hung up.

Penny stood up, and walked over next to me. "Are we done?" she asked, testily.

"You tell me," I told her calmly, then looked over at Drew, who was smirking. "Enjoy your date with your new boyfriend?"

Smirk away, asshole.

"We were just talking," she snapped.

"Whatever. You're free to do whatever you want. Nobody's stopping you." I turned back to Kelly. "I'll call you later." I leaned forward and gave her a kiss on the cheek, watching her blush.

I got up, and Penny was glaring daggers at me. "What was that about?"

Emma was standing, and didn't look too pleased with me either. Oh well. It was her idea.

"If you don't want to be with me, Penny, just say so. There are plenty of other girls out there who'd like my company."

"Damn it, Jeremy! We were just talking. That's all."

"Yeah, me too." I went and dumped my tray, and when I turned around, Penny was running off through the crowd. Drew was laughing at me, as he walked over with his tray.

I didn't punch him in the face, as my first instincts urged me. My father had taught me better. I started to walk past him, then hit him with the side of my hand in the throat. Hard. Ridge hand, I think my father calls it. The fucker dropped like a rock, gasping, his hands reaching up to his neck, tray falling onto him. I kicked him on the shoulder, knocking him to his side, then stepped over him. I dropped a knee into his belly, hearing his breath whoosh out of his body, grabbed his hair and lifted his head.

"Have fun asshole? Next time I'll fucking kill you."

I dropped his head, watching it bounce off the floor and walked away.

The others stared at me as I strolled off. I gave one last look to see if Penny was around, then headed out to my car, and drove home.

Not the best date I ever had. Fucking $34 wasted. I didn't even like the movie.

* * *

Mom was surprised I came home alone, but I didn't want to talk about it. There was a chill in the air, and Mom and Dad weren't talking. I didn't feel like it either, and went up to my room. I found distraction on my computer, gaming for a while, then perusing the porn sites. Two nights in a row without sex of any kind. A week ago that would have been no big deal, but I was used to more now.

I passed on dinner, and didn't even wander downstairs. I wondered if Penny would call and try to explain her behavior. By 11:00 I figured it was unlikely. I wasn't going to call her. No way. Not after the way she behaved.

She was fun, pretty, sexy, and a joy to play around with, but I'd be damned before I'd be second string to some asshole she'd just met. I was kind of glad it happened. Any thoughts of continuing our relationship once school started seemed wasted.

I was angry. Angry with the world. I was playing with myself, and irritated that I had to. Pissed at Penny for ignoring me and taking up with some asshole. Pissed at Dad for blowing up at everybody. Pissed at Mom for what she did with Colin, and her eternal attitude with the sister which caused all the problems. Pissed at Aunt Marie for bailing on us when everything seemed to be coming together.

Damn it. I couldn't even get off. Life sucked. Maybe UT would be the start of something better.

* * *

Sunday I had only made a brief sortie from my bedroom long enough to grab a sandwich and some soda. I was still in a vile mood, readily placing the blame for everything that had gone wrong on anyone but myself.

I heard a little bit of coming and going downstairs, but blocked it out to the best of my ability. I had been anticipating one of the parents hunting me down for some chores but so far I'd been ignored as much as I was doing the ignoring.

So far.

It was around 3:00 in the afternoon when Mom knocked on my door. She didn't wait for a response.

"Make yourself presentable and come downstairs," she said sharply. "Don't be long."

She closed the door behind her before I could even answer. Not sure what was going on, I spent a couple of minutes throwing on some clothes and brushing my hair, but that was it. I headed down the stairs, and found myself confronted by what appeared to be two very upset mothers. Mine and Penny's.

I wasn't going to take any crap from them. I hadn't done anything wrong.

Mom shot the first salvo. "Do you want to explain yourself?" she asked hotly.

"Sure."

She looked at me, glanced at Colleen, and waited, arms crossed. After a few seconds she snapped. "Well?"

"I said I'd explain myself," I told her. "So what do you want me to explain?"

Mom looked irritated. Colleen looked no better. "How about you explain how you could leave your girlfriend at the mall?"

"Never happened."

Colleen interjected hotly. "Of course it did! Her friend had to bring her home when you abandoned her after the movie."

"Penny? She was no longer my girlfriend. She decided to date some new guy instead of me, and when I called her on it, she ran off, leaving me. I went home."

Both women looked confused, and unhappy. "You didn't take her to the movie for a date?" Colleen insisted.

"I did. I thought we had a great time. I guess she didn't. The movie was the end of our date. Her decision." I explained.

"Penny said you had lunch afterward," Colleen insisted.

"We didn't have lunch together. That's when she decided she wanted to spend some time with someone else, not me. She had lunch with some asshole named Drew, leaving me on my own. I told her if she didn't want to date me, there were plenty of other women who would, and she left. I went home. I wasn't having much fun by then."

Colleen frowned. "That's not what Penny says at all."

"I'm sure she wouldn't. Easier to blame me, I'm certain."

"She says you were fooling around with some other girl, even got her name and number and took her picture," Colleen said accusingly.

I sighed. "I'm getting a beer. Do you guys want anything?"

They both shook their heads. I hit the garage, and saw Dad's Jeep was gone, explaining the lack of interruptions. I took a long swig of my beer before returning to the lion's den. I sat in Dad's chair, turning it to face the couch. "Sit, please. I'll tell you what happened. You can decide what you want."

They both sat and I made it brief and to the point. "I invited Penny out for a movie, a meal, and then we were going to come back here for a while. Pretty straightforward, right? It's been kind of stressful around here and I was really looking forward to it. We went to the movie, with two other couples she'd invited. Emma and Dan, who I know, as well as Kelly and Drew, who I don't. No big deal."

"We watched the movie, then hit the food court. My date, so I gave Penny $10 to get what she wanted, while I got a piece of pizza. When I got back to the table, Penny and Drew were all chummy, chatting away, sharing the food I paid for, with no place for me to sit. She never even noticed when I got there. I ended up sitting at the only open seat at the opposite end of the table. I was next to Kelly, who was supposed to be Drew's date, but she was ignored as well, although at least she got to sit by her date." I took a long drink of my beer.

"When Penny finished eating, I think she finally saw me sitting next to Kelly, chatting. She got mad. What was I supposed to do, sit docilely in silence while she had lunch with the asshole? The way I figure it, if she is going to behave that way, when I'm here, on a date with her, buying her fucking meal, how's she going to act when I'm in Austin? Not going to happen. If she doesn't want to be with me, that's fine."

Mom spoke up. "Jeremy, I'm sure this is all a misunderstanding. Why didn't you talk to her?"

"When? By the time I finished cleaning my tray, she had run off. I looked around for her, but obviously, obviously, she didn't want to be with me. I'm not going to force myself on her. I didn't feel like hanging out with the others, especially not that asshole, so I left. Never heard from her again." Ok, so maybe I was understating my flirting with Kelly, but hell, that's all it was.

"Emma said you beat the guy up," Colleen said.

"Hardly. The asshole was smirking at me, laughing at being able to take my girl. He fucking laughed at me, Colleen. Fine, he could have her, but he doesn't get off scot-free. I hit him once. I looked for her, but she was gone. I left."

"She's crushed, Jeremy," Colleen said softly. "She won't stop crying. How could you think she'd choose some other guy over you?"

"Uh...because she did? We've dated a year. She's never once failed to save me a seat, or I'd save one for her. I come back and not only do I not have any place to sit, but she ignores me for the entire meal. The asshole is eating from her tray, the food I paid for. It's only when she's done, that she gets mad that I had the temerity to actually talk to someone else while she was having her fun. Well fuck her. I'm not going to put up with that. Either she's on a date with me, or she's not. She ignored me. She left me."

Colleen looked anguished. "I know she didn't mean to do that. She was upset. Why couldn't you at least have called her or something? You were willing to throw away a year's relationship just like that? It seems like you got what you wanted from her, then dumped her."

"I didn't dump her. She. Left. Me. She could have called. She could have stuck around and explained herself."

Mom glared at me. "I take it you didn't do anything wrong. None of this is your fault."

"What do you want from me, Mom? Was I supposed to sit by myself at another table, and wait to see if she'd ever remember who she was supposed to be with? Should I have bought the asshole lunch, so he wouldn't share hers? I sat in the only place left. I talked to the only person who didn't have a date by then. Maybe we flirted a little. Why not? It was pretty clear by then that I didn't matter a damn to Penny."

"Is this what you want, Jeremy? End your relationship like that? I thought you liked her? More than liked her. You're just going to throw her away, over a stupid lunch seating?"

"It's not what I want," I snapped, getting tired of the carping. "I wanted a loyal girlfriend. Someone I could trust when we were apart, not turning to the first guy she sees, the first chance she gets. I'm not going to share her. If that's what she wants, she picked the wrong guy." I stood up. "There, I explained myself. She made her choice. I've accepted it. Time to move on." I turned and walked back upstairs, leaving the meddlesome Mom's in my wake.

It wasn't 20 minute later before Mom was in my room. "Can't you call her, Jeremy? I know you two can work this out. All couples have issues, it's something you're going to learn as you get older. I know she didn't mean to hurt you, and she wasn't leaving you. It's a stupid mistake. Ten minutes, and I'm certain you can get past this. You two belong together."

"Why, Mom? I can't trust her now. What's she going to be up to as soon as I leave?"

"It's not the end of the world. She only talked to a guy."

"She embarrassed me. Humiliated me. Disrespected me. Ignored me, while she spent all her time with that jerk. He was fucking laughing at me, that it was so easy to take her away. Why would I want her back?"

Mom sat down on my bed. "I wasn't there, but it sure sounds like that guy was the troublemaker, and Penny was too naive to see what was going on. She's probably not used to that kind of attention, and he took advantage of her. Why didn't you confront him right away? Insist on sitting with her?"

"I shouldn't have to. She made the choice, not me."

"Baby, guys are going to hit on your girl. She's sweet and beautiful. You need to stand up for what's yours. Nip it in the bud. Make it clear to her what your expectations are. Not abandon her the first time she makes a mistake. Call her, Jeremy. Do it for me, please?"

"No," I answered curtly.

She looked shocked that I would deny her. She got up after a bit, and went to the door. "Think about it, alright? You said you loved her. This, what you're doing, doesn't look like love. It looks petty. I'm disappointed in you. Call her later." That was her parting shot.

Hell. If Penny wanted to talk, she could call me, right? It wasn't like her fingers were broken. She's the one who made her choice.

I was more than a little surprised when Dad walked into my room around 6 o'clock. He sat on the corner of my bed. "What's this I hear about you dumping Penny?" he said.

"I didn't dump her. She left me. She chose someone else." I was getting tired of explaining that.

"Did she tell you that? Did she say she was done with you?"

"No. She opted to show me instead."

"I don't think so. From the sounds of things, she might have made a mistake. You're blowing it all out of proportion. You've got your mother upset, and her mother upset. Seems like the girl is a mess over this. If you've got a problem with your girl, you don't tuck tail and run. You have an obligation to get to the bottom of things. Work things out if you can. You've been dating her for a year, and this is the first fight you've had. Now man up, and work it out."

"Right. Like you 'manned-up' and ignored Mom for two days."

I saw his face turn red. "This has nothing to do with me and your mother. What she did was a hell of a lot worse than talking to some guy in public. You're making an ass of yourself."

"Thanks, Dad. I learned from the best."

He stood and glared at me. "Fine. Sit here and ruin your life. Whine like a spoiled little girl. You know she's crazy about you, and you're going to punish her for talking to someone else? Throw away everything because your panties are in a bunch? Go ahead. You're a man now, right? Old enough to fuck up on your own, and too full of yourself to listen to good advice. Screw this up too, why don't you? It's not like you don't have enough practice making a mess of everything around you." He turned away from me, "I honestly never expected you to grow up to be such a disappointment to me. I'm ashamed you're my son."

By the time I had a good snappy response, he was gone. Well fuck him too.

I was getting good at all this self-pity shit.

* * *

The door opened, and the last person I expected to see walked in. Aunt Marie. She walked over to the side of my bed without saying a word. Sat beside me, and put her arms around me.

I sat there, upset beyond words. Why was everyone hounding me like this was my fault?

But Aunt Marie didn't nag me. She was quiet, holding me, slowly rocking back and forth. After a couple of minutes of silence she spoke softly.

"Young girls make mistakes, Jeremy. We do. Take it from someone who knows, and will pay for it for the rest of her life. We don't have enough life experience to make the right choices some times. Penny screwed up. Now it's up to you to decide if it's worth crucifying her over, or if you can let it go."

I could feel my eyes moistening. I leaned against her, and she kissed my forehead.

"Am I still your best friend, Jeremy? The one you've always been able to talk to? The one who would never steer you wrong if she could help it? Is it over for us too, or can I still be your buddy?"

I caught my breath. "You know."

"I hope so. I'm not so sure anymore. I'm not sure about anything. But never mind us. Let me tell you something about girls." She moved behind me, 'til I was sitting between her legs, her arms wrapped around my chest, mouth inches from my ear.

"There's a window of guilt. Right now she feels horrible about what she did. At some point, that guilt will turn to anger, and all she will remember is how you turned on her. Once that happens, your chance of ever working things out drops dramatically. The longer you two go without communicating, the worse it gets. I'm sorry, but that's the way it goes. If you have any feelings for her at all, if you see any way past this, there may still be time to fix this."

"She could call me. Why do I have to be the one to grovel? She's the one who hurt me. Humiliated me."

I felt her lips press against my neck. "You don't have to grovel. All you have to do is take the first step. Be willing to talk to her. You can tell her how you felt. How she hurt you. Whatever you think you need to say. You just have to make that initial effort. She knows she screwed up. You have to understand, baby, attention is a heady thing to a young girl. We live for it. She hasn't learned yet how to fend off hurtful attention. She doesn't know about predators, seducers, the guys who say all the right things for all the wrong reasons. She's going to have to live with that attention for many years to come, and learn how to deal with it. This was a hard lesson, but I'm pretty sure she learned it."

"It's not that easy, Aunt Marie," I said.

"I know, baby. Let me tell you something else. You were her first. Right now, her heart is in your hands. You can't understand, you never will, what it means for most of us girls. You were her first, and it was perfect. That makes her extremely vulnerable at the moment. You could destroy her, so easily. Crush her. I don't think you want that, do you? Are you going to rip her heart out, because she was too naive to see what that bastard was up to?"

"I...I guess I wanted her to feel some of the pain I was feeling, when she ignored me. What it felt like when that asshole smirked, laughing at me."

"You've done that. Tenfold. Forgive her for a stupid mistake, and let her forgive you for compounding it. She hurt you, but you didn't handle this well at all. You're both learning what it means to have a serious relationship. What you had for a year was nothing compared to these last few days. Learn, while you're young, Jeremy. It's not too late for you two. All you have to do is make the first gesture. Please, take it from someone who knows the value of forgiveness. She loves you, and you love her. Don't let this ruin it."

I turned around, and pulled her onto my lap. I hugged her until my arms ached. "I need you, Aunt Marie. Don't let my stupid mistakes interfere with us, please. You've always been my go-to girl. Always. I'm so sorry I've screwed things up."

She rubbed her face on my shoulder, and I felt the moisture of her tears. "Don't you go worrying about us, Jeremy. We'll be just fine. You and I both know that. We'll have time enough for us later. For now, take care of Penny. The poor girl is devastated."

I kissed her, a long soft kiss, from my fantasy woman and best friend. "I'm going to go over there. I'm sorry I was so stubborn."

Aunt Marie climbed off my lap, and took me by the hand. "C'mon, no time like the present."

"It's late," I told her, the clock on my desk reading almost 10:00.

"Trust me, she's not sleeping. Go."

She walked me downstairs, and I saw my parents sitting on the couch, watching me anxiously. I walked over, needing to make peace at home as well.

"Sorry Dad. You're right. As usual. Don't you ever get tired of hearing me say that?"

He gave me a lop-sided grin. "Not in this lifetime."

"I'm going over to talk to Penny. See if I can make things better. Thanks for trying to help me pull my head out of my ass."

He nodded.

"You, too, Mom. Thanks. I'm sorry about earlier."

"I understand. Go on now. Time's wasting."

I leaned over and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek, then turned and took Aunt Marie's hand in mine. We walked to the door, and I gave her another kiss before I headed out. "You're the best. Don't ever let me forget that."

I got a quick last hug, before she shooed me out the door.

* * *

I had to knock on the door three times before anyone answered. I looked up to see Penny's father scowling at me.

"I know it's late, Mr. Booth. I'm sorry to be bothering you, but I'd like to speak to Penny if I could."

"Couldn't it wait until morning?" he growled. "Haven't you done enough lately?"

"I think it would be better if we spoke tonight."

He glared at me for a few minutes before stepping back to open the door.

"Who is it, Joe?" I heard Colleen ask. She looked my way and was out of her chair like a shot. She grabbed my hand, tugging me down the hall. "Just promise me you're not here to make things worse," she said softly.

"I hope not," I confessed.

She knocked on the door to Penny's room. I heard the muffled "Come in," and Colleen was pushing me through the door.

If I expected her to leap into my arms, crying, begging for forgiveness, I was sorely disappointed. Her eyes were red and swollen, but I didn't see much in them but anger.

I recalled Aunt Marie's words, and wondered if I'd missed the window.

She didn't say anything, apparently waiting. I took a page out of Aunt Marie's playbook, climbed up on the bed, and wrapped my arms around her, silently, just holding her.

She sat still, unyielding for the longest time. I was in no hurry. I let her get used to my presence, happy to hold her again. I saw her head slowly bow. "You hurt me, Jeremy. Nobody ever hurt me like that."

"I'm sorry," I told her, kissing the top of her head. "I think we both suffered enough the last couple of days. You destroyed me. I...I know you didn't do it on purpose."

"I only talked to him. That's all. Why wouldn't you believe me?"

"It wasn't that you talked to him. You forgot about me. Ignored me. We were on a date, and you let him replace me. I don't know if I've ever been that angry or jealous. How could you do that to me, after the last few days? I thought you loved me as much as I loved you. I would never do that to you."

"You did just as much, and more," she said.

"No. I did it to get back at you, to get your attention, to give you a taste of what you were doing to me. You did it because you forgot about me. Didn't care. All I could think about was what was going to happen when I leave for school. If you could forget me, flirt and date other guys, while I'm three feet away, what are you going to do when I'm 3 hours away?"

"What about me, Jeremy? It's like you stole my virginity, and then the first time you get mad at me, you dump me and pick-up the first slut you run into. Didn't you know I'd hear all about it? You and her becoming 'special' friends at UT, while I'm stuck back here? What am I supposed to be, your weekend fuck-buddy, while you keep a new girlfriend down there? I talk to some guy, and you've suddenly abandoned me at the mall, got a new girlfriend, and are ignoring me. Do I mean that little to you?"

"You could have called me, you know. You're the one that ran away from me at the mall. Left me there with that asswipe laughing at me."

"He's not an asswipe. He's a nice guy. A lot nicer than you, it seems."

"Sure, a nice guy moving in on a girl he knows is taken, ignoring his own date while he tries to get in your pants. I saw you two, Penny. Eating off your plate, teasing, joking, touching. I saw how you looked at him. You never once thought about me, sitting at the end of the table. Never for a moment even looked my way. No, you were all goo-goo eyed for lover-boy. How long have you had a crush on him?"

"I...I never had a crush on him. We're just friends."

"Right. Your 'friend' sure moved in on you pretty damn fast. How long have you two been friends? It sure didn't look like something new."

"Stop it Jeremy. Just stop it. We're friends, Ok? I've known him for a couple of years. We never dated. He's never even kissed me."

"I bet you wanted to, though, didn't you? What was I, second place? First chance you got to trade up you jumped on it?"

She started crying. "No, you've got it wrong. You're my first choice. You always were. I was so lucky to have you. He's just a guy I know. He was paying me attention. It was nice. That was all."

I didn't like to see her cry. I held her, brushing back her hair. "I'm sorry, Ok? I was jealous. Maybe too jealous. I was hurt, and I overreacted. I've never had anyone I was serious about like you, Penny. Don't you understand? I felt I was losing you, and it broke my heart. I thought we had a chance, a long-term special relationship. Seeing you like that made it all seem so temporary, like you were just using me for the experience before I went away."

"Why did you have to beat him up? He didn't do anything. We just talked."

"You thought you were just talking. He knew exactly what he was doing, stealing my girl. You didn't see the way he looked at me, smirking, laughing at how easy it was."

"He didn't 'steal' me."

"Not yet. He opened the door. Got you giggling and ignoring me. I bet he knows I'm going away. Is he going to be around? Get another shot at you later? Where's he going to school, Penny? Locally, I bet. Did he make comments about me leaving you?"

"He said he's going to UNT. He's going to be around. I guess he did ask where you were going to school."

"I bet he suggested you guys get together, too, didn't he?"

"Not on a date or anything. He said we should go out as a group more often."

"A group, when I'm out of town. Who was going to be your date in the 'group', Penny?"

"We didn't talk about that." She shrugged my arms away. "Is it going to be like this every time I talk to a guy. The big interrogation? Getting mad and ignoring me? Don't you trust me, Jeremy?"

"It's not that I don't trust you, I don't trust guys like him. What kind of guy moves in on someone else's girlfriend?"

"So what do we do now? Is it over because I talked to some guy and you didn't like it? Is that how it is? I'm not going to live like that. It's not fair. I didn't do anything wrong other than let some guy sit opposite me. I didn't even do that. I told him I was saving the seat for you, and he said he'd keep it warm until you got there. How come you didn't come and take your seat, if you didn't like it?"

"What was I supposed to do? Tell him to move, in the middle of your intimate conversation?"

"If it mattered so much to you, then yeah. You should have made him move."

"How come you didn't ask him to move, like he promised, when I got to the table."

"I didn't even know you got there, until you were already practically making out with that slut," she snapped.

"Ten minutes after I arrived. That's when you realized I didn't have any place to sit, thanks to asshole lover-boy."

"Can we stop, Jeremy? If you don't want to be with me anymore, just say so. Don't torture me like this. I talked to a guy. I did. So shoot me. I didn't touch him, hug him, get his phone number, take his picture. That's what you did. How would you feel if I'd done that?"

"You did touch him, and he touched you. I watched it. Long before I touched anybody."

"We did? I...I don't remember..." suddenly she was blushing, ashamed.

"I did it to get even, Penny. Hell, your friend suggested it. Why did you do it?"

"Some kind of even. If I had kissed him, what were you going to do, fuck her right there on the table?"

"No, I would have kicked his ass, dumped you and moved on," I snapped.

"Over a kiss? You'd dump me, without even talking about it?"

"I'm not willing to be second place to anybody, Penny. I'm not going to let you publicly humiliate me. I'm sorry, but that's just the way it is."

"You were my first. My boyfriend for a year. You've had sex with me, and a dozen blowjobs. Kissing him would have made you second place and you'd dump me just like that? By your rules, I'm second place to your mother, your aunt and even my mother. How's that fair?"

"You're not second place to anybody, Penny. You should know that."

"So should you. I'm sorry I got distracted, Ok? I didn't mean to hurt you, I didn't even think I was. I don't think he was really trying anything, but if you say he was, I won't argue it. He's never going to get anywhere with me. I saw how he treated his own date. But you can't treat me like this. Not if you love me like you say you do. If you're mad at something, tell me. Don't blow up and abandon me. Don't try to get even. Talk to me. I thought that was one of the great things we had going for us. We could talk about anything, then you shut me out."

"I'm sorry too, alright? I just got so angry, the way you were ignoring me, like I didn't matter. Maybe you didn't do it on purpose, but it hurt just the same. The longer I sat there without you even noticing me, the more pissed I got. I'm not going to do anything with that girl, hell, I don't even remember her name. I wanted you to feel as jealous as me. That was all."

"What do you want to do about it then? Are we over? Is that what you want?"

"No! That's not what I want. I want you. I want to be your man. I want you to blow off any guy who tries to take my place. I want to be able to trust you completely. Not worry about which assholes are hitting on you when I'm not around."

"You are my man. Totally. Nobody's going to replace you. I'm not going to let that happen. I've been with one man in my life. One. You. And it was perfect. Do you really think I'm going to throw that away because some guy can make me laugh?"

We'd been sitting there, talking to each other, no longer hugging or touching. I understood what she was saying. I probably over reacted. She made a mistake, and I blew it up. Probably part of it was all the stress at home, which wasn't her fault. Did I want to mess things up between us? Hell no.

"Can...can I just hold you for a while? I'm sorry I blew up. I don't know how to handle what happened, Ok? It was a shock to me. I'll try to do better."

"You gotta take those shoes off," she said, with a hint of a smile.

It only took a few seconds before I was lying under the covers with her, still fully dressed, and holding her. "I'm sorry," I whispered.

"Me too. I shouldn't have forgotten about you like that. I didn't even realize it was happening. I won't do it again."

I kissed her, and she kissed me back. She leaned against me, her soft body pressed against mine. I cradled her in my arms, determined to never let her go. Next time I'd just confront the guy immediately. Make it clear that she was mine, and I wasn't going to give her up without a fight. She was mine, damn it.

I woke up to Colleen shaking my shoulder. She was gentle, nudging me awake. "You want to stay here, Jeremy? Should we call your house?"

It took me a few seconds to even realized what she was talking about. I still had her daughter clutched in my arms. I looked up and saw her father was standing in the doorway, watching.

"I probably should go," I said softly. "What time is it?"

"It's after one."

I peeled Penny's arms off of me, and slid out from under the covers. "I'm sorry, I guess I fell asleep," I whispered, as I put my shoes back on.

"Is everything all right between you two?" she asked.

"Better. I think we'll be fine. I'm sorry if I overreacted. I didn't mean to hurt her."

She nodded, "We'll be outside." She turned and walked out the door. I finished putting on my shoes, leaned over and kissed my girl.

Her eyes were closed, but she smiled. "Love you," she whispered.

"I love you too, Penny."

* * *

Mom was still up when I got home. Sitting in the living room, in her PJs, watching an old black and white movie. She looked up when I entered the room, and patted the seat next to her.

"How did it go?" she asked.

"Good. I don't know how it got out of hand so quickly. I'm sorry I'm so late, I fell asleep."

"Did you guys make up? Do it?"

"Yes and no. We talked. Held each other. Kissed a little. That was all."

"You've got your father's temper. You keep it buried, but when it goes off, heaven help us all. You really went overboard."

"I know. How come you're not in bed?" I asked. I moved over closer to her and put my arm around her shoulders.

"I'm not sure which bed I should be in. Your father's still unhappy with me."

"Why don't you go up and join him? The worst he can do is kick you out."

"I don't want to make him any angrier. I think things are getting better. I don't need any setbacks."

I stood, pulled her up by the hand, and turned off the TV. "Give it a try. I'll wait in the hall to make sure everything's Ok."

We walked up the stairs, and Mom braced herself before entering her room. I peeked through the crack in the door to see her slide underneath the covers.

"Is he back?" I heard Dad ask.

"Just a few minutes ago," Mom answered quietly.

"They make up?"

"Sounds like it. He has a temper on him."

"Like me. Is that what you're saying?" his voice sounded a little louder.

"No baby. I wasn't comparing you. I was just saying." They were quiet for a second, before I heard her speak again. "Please don't send me away tonight."

He didn't answer and after a few seconds she started to get up.

I saw him grab her arm. "Stay, Alice."

That was all I needed to hear. I went back to my room, hoping we were all on our way back to better times.

* * *

I woke to a warm body cuddling me. I pulled her into my arms. "Mmmm," I hummed contentedly.

"You left me last night," she said.

I cracked open an eye and saw Penny looking up at me.

"Your Mom woke me up. Your father was standing in the doorway glaring at me. I don't think he's very happy with me right now."

"It should be interesting to see how he feels about you this afternoon. Mom's going to show him our video." I could hear the mirth in her voice as she told me.

"Crap. I'm so screwed."

She leaned in and kissed me. "Not yet, but I'm hoping it's in the cards."

She leaned into me, and I realized she was as naked as I was. "I think I'd like that."

She gave me a pinch. "You only think you would?"

"Alright. I'd love that. I'm sorry I got so mad."

"Forgiven. I'll try not to give you any more reasons to, alright?"

"Agreed. Now kiss me. I've missed you."

I got a short one, before she pulled away. "Clean up and come back to bed. You've got dragon breath, lover."

Ten minutes later, I was back. I wanted to be thorough, and had shaved, brushed my teeth, and taken a quick shower. I felt human again, and was sporting an anticipatory erection upon my return.

Penny chuckled. "Looks like at least somebody missed me."

"I missed you. I was a damn fool, Ok?" I crawled into the bed, taking her in my arms.

"No you weren't. You were right. I didn't say anything last night, because I didn't want to get you upset. He called me yesterday. Twice. He wanted to go out, and he said mean things about you. I was wrong, and you were right. He wants in my pants. I should have known."

"You shot him down, didn't you?" I said softly, nuzzling her neck.

"Of course. I made it very clear. I told him if he called back, you'd beat the living crap out of him. Again."

I nibbled on her soft shoulder working my way down. "I should have known you would. Right from the beginning. I should have trusted you."

I felt her fingers running through my hair as my lips reached her breast. "You can trust me, Jeremy. I promise. I want nobody but you."

Her nipple hardened as I gave it a little tug. "I know. I love you, Penny. I really am sorry."

"No more apologies. Show me you love me."

I took my time exploring her body again, before I settled in between her legs. I teased her for a bit, before going in for the kill. She tasted odd, and I pulled back.

"I...I prepared myself for you. You made me wait so long, I was afraid I might have closed up again," she said nervously.

"Prepared?"

"Lots of lube, and a little bit of practice with a toy Momma bought me. God, I'm so worked up, Jeremy. I need you in me. Now. Don't tease me anymore. Take me."

She reached down and pulled her legs back, opening herself to me. I rubbed the head of my cock up and down her slippery chute, pressing in just a hair, pushing against her cute little clit. She moaned the first time I did it, and squirmed as I kept it up.

"Please, Jeremy!" she whined.

I pressed against her opening, nudging downward and in. After only a few gentle pushes, the head entered her, spreading her open beautifully.

"God, that feels incredible," she moaned.

"I know. Amazing." I was looking at it, seeing it open her, pushing forward until I felt too much pressure, then easing back again. Little by little gaining ground, entering her.

"Is...is it Ok?" she asked nervously.

I laughed. "Ok? It's the most wonderful thing in the world, beautiful. I love doing this with you."

"You can go harder if you want. I can take it."

I only had about three inches inside of her, but it was enough to work with. I leaned over, holding the back of her thighs, and started pushing harder, a little faster. I was slowly inching my way inside, two thirds of my length disappearing on each stroke.

I got nervous as she started grunting softly with each stroke.

I slowed down. "Are you Ok?"

"Perfect," she gasped. "Don't stop. Shut up and fuck me."

I still hadn't gotten all of it in her, when the pleasure became too much. "Shit," I gasped. "Gonna come."

"Do it. Fill me up."

There was no holding back. I pushed in deeply, and erupted. I seemed to come forever, shooting rope after rope inside her warmth.

I leaned over her, kissing her face. "Sorry," I mumbled, embarrassed.

"Sorry? Why? That was wonderful!"

"I came too quick. You didn't get to come."

She smiled and pulled me down, kissing me. "No, baby. That was perfect. You can make me come later. I got to enjoy feeling you, watching how you responded, going crazy for me. Uber-cool. I loved the feeling of you coming in me, without the distraction of my own come. It felt good. Almost no pain at all. It really was wonderful. Thank you."

She kissed me again, deeply. "Besides, that one was for you. The next one is for me. I'm going to get you hard, and you're going to fuck my brains out, Ok?"

"If you insist," I teased, nibbling her chin.

"I do. I most definitely do."

She pushed me off, and hopped out of bed. She waddled to the bathroom, and a couple of minutes later she returned with a warm wet washcloth, and cleaned me up. "That was weird. It made me have to pee."

She tossed the washcloth aside, and replaced it with her talented mouth. She pulled off after a few seconds. "I'm going to practice a little, Ok? I haven't had a chance in ages, it seems."

I didn't complain as she went through her lessons, and I even corrected her a couple of times until it was perfect. I was stiff as steel when she finished. "How was that?"

"Amazing. Just like you."

"You gonna do me now?" she asked, teasingly.

"You know it. How do you want it?"

"Like last time to start. Once you've gotten me loosened up, if you want to try something different, I won't stop you."

I slipped between her legs and guided my cock home. After only a few strokes I had fully half my length in side of her. I kept working at it, pushing, until I could go no further. I saw her furrowed forehead. "Too much?" I asked.

"A...a little less," she said quietly.

I limited my strokes, and leaned over her, my cheek brushing against hers. By straightening my legs a little, I found I could push all the way, but the position restricted me from hurting her.

"Better? I asked.

"Perfect." She wrapped her arms around my back and shoulders, pulling me downward, until my weight was pressing her into the bed. I pounded her steadily, feeling her opening, accommodating me. It was getting easier, and I fucked her a little harder.

"Oh, God," she gasped. "Just like that."

I could sense her body responding, arms clutching me tightly, legs stiffening. The sexiest little sounds escaped her with each stroke, growing in intensity, urging me onward.

A soft piercing whine escaped her lips, long and uninterrupted, gaining volume. I adjusted my hands, grabbing her shoulders and hammered her, not holding back. The whine was interrupted briefly at the end of each stroke with a little grunt. I felt her fingernails dig into me as she went eerily silent. I looked over into her face, and her head was shaking, her mouth open in a silent cry, as she came for me. Just as I thought she was finished she screamed out, and I felt her thrusting back against me crazily. I long-stroked her, deep and hard, and set her off again.

God, she was beautiful in the throes of passion.

As she settled down, I came down with her, holding her, kissing her neck, gently probing her depths. She was gasping, breathing hard, clutching me to her. Her legs seemed to flop around helplessly with each stroke of mine.

"Jesus," she gasped hoarsely. "What was that?!"

I couldn't help but chuckle. "I think you enjoyed it."

She reached down and held my hips still, fully sheathed. "You think? You almost killed me there."

"It was beautiful. You were beautiful."

"Wow. I'm going to want to do that again. No wonder people talk about sex so much. Shit, I've been missing out."

I laughed and kissed her. "Want to play a little?"

"Whatever you want handsome. Consider me your little fuck toy. You got yours, I got mine, now let's play together."

We played. Sideways, doggy style, her on top. She got a couple of more orgasms, but nothing like that big one. We were having fun. Going from laughing to passion in the space of a heartbeat. It was clumsy, sometimes awkward, always exciting. She got me off while on top of me, then cleaned me up, and did some more oral practice until she had me ready to go again. We must have spent more than an hour at it, and I was getting exhausted, muscles aching I didn't even know I had.

I was back on top of her, in the position we both found we liked best, cheek to cheek, my weight pushing her down into the bed, immobilizing her, my hips doing most of the work. I felt her teeth dig into my shoulder. "It's happening," she gasped.

That made me feel good, and I listened for her cues, reacting to each, stroking harder, faster, deeper as needed. When I heard that beautiful high-pitched whine, I knew I had her.

"Come for me," I growled. "Come all over my hard cock."

I stretched out my legs, and hammered her into the bed with my full weight, driving her into the mattress, grunting helplessly with each full stroke.

I sensed the tension in her body, and changed my tactic, jack hammering her tight little pussy as fast as I could.

This time she wasn't silent. She screamed. And screamed, writhing underneath me, shaking, loud enough to wake the dead. It was so damn exciting, it put me over the edge unexpectedly, and I came with her.

She didn't come down slowly, she collapsed underneath me, boneless.

I lifted off of her, caressing her face. Her eyes were unfocused, and she breathed in deeply through her nostrils, her mouth clenched closed. Her lips parted, and she gasped deeply, eyes jerking around haphazardly, until they focused on me.

The door to my room burst open, and I heard Mom enter the room. "What happened? Are you alright?"

I saw the corners of Penny's lips turn upward. "Better than alright Mom. Incredible."

I looked over my shoulder, and saw my father standing in the doorway, Mom stopping halfway to the bed.

"Oh, God, I didn't mean to interrupt, but that sound..."

"What sound?" Penny asked.

I looked at her in surprise. "You screamed your pretty little head off."

"No I didn't. I could barely breath."

I heard Dad's chuckle from the door. "Let go, honey. I think they're going to be just fine."

It made me smile to hear him call her honey.

"Yes you did dear," Mom said on the way out. "I was afraid the neighbors were going to call the cops. It sounded like he was killing you."

Penny blushed. "He can kill me like that anytime. That was amazing."

They closed the door behind them, and Penny got a case of the giggles. She shoo'ed me off to get another washcloth. "There's got to be a better way to do this, we're making a mess of the bed."

"It'll survive. I can always change the sheets later."

I convinced her to take a shower with me, which is something I can heartily recommend to everyone to try at least once. It might be a little crowded, but having the soft, smooth, slippery skin of a beautiful girl accessible from all angles makes it well worth the while. I couldn't keep my hands off of her, and she had similar issues. A heavily lathered erection, held in two very soapy hands is quite the experience as well. What can I say? I think I'm addicted. I'm going to be doing that a whole lot more.

In the end we just held each other, squeaky clean under the running water, until it started to get cold. I turned off the water and dragged her out into the middle of the room. "Stand still," I told her softly.

"Why?"

"I'm going to dry you off."

"You're dripping all over the place!" she laughed as I brought the large bath sheet to her body.

"Don't care. I...I have to do this."

"You're weird, Jeremy," she giggled, as I started with her hair, towel drying it playfully, then working down her body. I got all the nooks and crannies, the nape of her neck, under her chin, all around her ears. Shoulder, armpits, breasts - most definitely breasts. On one knee I dipped into her belly button, dried her hips, and moved between her legs.

"This is embarrassing," she said softly, as I ran the towel along her crotch, and up between her butt cheeks.

"I think it's amazing. Incredibly sexy."

"There's nothing sexy about my butt crack," she said.

I dried her legs. "Are you kidding me? Ridiculously sexy. So very naughty."

"Pervert," she teased, nudging me.

"Maybe a little." I grabbed her ankle. "Lift your foot, and put your hand on my shoulder for balance."

I dried both her feet that way, paying special attention between her cute tiny toes. I gave her big toe a kiss. "All done," I said sadly. I stood and wrapped the towel around her shoulders. I pulled her close. "I love every inch of your body."

Penny kissed my shoulder. "Have you always been this weird?"

I dried myself off, as she turned to brush her hair out, in the mirror. "I don't know. It's my first co-ed shower. Probably."

My phone started ringing, and she glance over at me. "Gonna get that?"

I wasn't going to. I was happy where I was, watching her. I returned back to the bedroom and picked up the phone. I saw Kelly's face appear on the display. "Shit."

"What?" Penny asked, while the phone rang again.

"Kelly."

Penny appeared in the doorway. "Don't leave her hanging. Let her down easy. You are going to let her down, right?"

The messes I get myself into. I hit the answer button. No smooth, debonair answer for me.

"Hello?"

"Hi Jeremy."

"Kelly?"

I could hear the sudden intake of breath. "Yeah, you...uh didn't call. I was hoping you would." She sounded nervous, and for some reason that seemed to put me at ease.

I leaned back on the bed. "Sorry about that. Things were pretty crazy here for the last couple of days."

"I heard. Emma says you and Penny aren't together. I hope that didn't have anything to do with me. I didn't mean for that to happen," she said.

The rumor mill grinds away. "We had a misunderstanding. Actually, we never broke up. I guess I blew things out of proportion. We had a bit of a fight, but made up last night. She's here with me now."

"Oh." I could hear the disappointment in her voice.

Penny smiled and climbed onto the bed with me. She gave me a mischievous grin then scooted down the bed and took my soft cock into her mouth.

"I'm sorry I led you on Kelly. I enjoyed talking to you, and you do deserve better than that asshole, but I'm sticking with Penny for as long as she'll have me."

"I'm sorry too," Kelly answered softly. "You guys aren't mad at me, are you?"

I looked down the bed at Penny, who was well on her way to somehow get another rise out of me. "We're not mad at her, are we?" I asked.

She looked up at me, lifting one eyebrow. She pulled her mouth away slowly, her hand replacing it, stroking me. She held her hand out for the phone.

"Kelly, Penny here. No, we're not mad at you. I was an idiot for letting your date hit on me. It's not your fault that you were stuck next to Jeremy, and he decided to play his little game. I'm sorry I didn't shut down dick-breath earlier. Forgive me?"

I couldn't hear the extended answer, and sighed when Penny took me back in her mouth again while listening.

She lifted up, her mouth barely clearing my cock. "Agreed. He's right, you know, you can do better. I'm gonna put him back on." She handed me the phone, then went back to practicing. I moaned when she tested her swirly-go-round on me.

"Jeremy? Are you Ok?"

I stroked Penny's pretty blonde hair. "Very Ok." I had an idea, maybe a way to kill two birds with one stone. "Seriously, Kelly. If I wasn't committed, you'd be great to go out with. Would you mind if next time we go out I invite you along?"

Penny was less than pleased at the direction the conversation was going. Her teeth dug into me warningly.

"I'd love to. You sure you don't mind?"

"Positive. Thanks for the call, gotta run."

Penny glared at me when I hung up the phone. "What the hell, Jeremy?"

I grinned. "I just got Colin a date."

The realization turned her frown back into a loving smile. "You don't think you could have warned her?"

"I figure if we toss them together, it'll work itself out one way or another."

"Devious. You could have at least warned me."

I pulled her up the bed, and gave her a kiss. "Trust me, Angel?"

She answered by tickling my tonsils. "Always."

We cuddled in the bed, delightfully naked and sated.

"Want to tell me what's going on with your parents? It was like a freezer down there this morning, but they seemed chummy enough when they crashed our little party."

"We're having some issues. Big issues, really. Mom, Dad, Aunt Marie, me, even Colin. Family stuff. I'd love to tell you, but I don't think it's my place. It's mostly about Dad and Mom."

"That's hard to believe. They're obviously nuts about each other. Is that why he's home on a Monday morning?"

I shrugged, not knowing the answer. I decide to divert the conversation to safer territory. "What's this about showing your old man the video?"

I could see her blush. "Mom's idea. It's a couple of days early, but he's wondering about my reaction to our tiff the other day. I guess I didn't take it well, and he's very unhappy with you at the moment. We'll straighten it out. Mom thinks he needs to understand that our relationship, you and me, isn't what it was."

"What do you think?"

"I think it's going to be embarrassing as hell to go home. To have him looking at me, after seeing all that. It's kind of explicit."

I nodded. "It is that. Eat?"

"Yeah, I'm starving." She was pulling on her shorts, pretty breasts hanging free. "You're not going to get pissed at me if I talk to your father, are you."

That got my dander up. "I don't know. Are you going to ignore me, flirt with him, then yell at me afterwards and run off in a snit? Are you going to try and tell everyone else it was all my fault afterward?"

Her face reddened as she pulled her t-shirt on, sans bra. "I was just teasing, Jeremy."

"Sorry. Still a sore subject I guess."

She came over and gave me a hug. "You're the only man for me. Get that through your thick skull. If I do anything you think is wrong, call me on it. I'll do the same, Ok?"

I tilted her chin up for a little kiss. "You got it. As for doing things wrong, let's not bring up that event again, at least not for a while."

She nodded. "Alright."

Mom and Dad were both downstairs. Mom was doing some baking, seemed like a lot, probably for some volunteer thing. Looked like she was making dozens of cookies. Dad was doing some work stuff, huge sheaths of stapled pages in front of him, which he was reading and marking up with a red pen and little post-it notes. For all the interaction between them, they might have been in different zip-codes.

Penny gave me a peck on the cheek, and literally skipped away to check on Mom. I parked myself near Dad. He had his reading glasses on, and looked up at me over the top of them. "I take it things are better?"

I nodded. "I was right about that guy. He was still trying to hook up with her yesterday on the phone."

He took his glasses off and glanced in toward the kitchen. He turned down the corner of his paper and placed it back on the table. "Of course he was. Your instincts were right. Guys are going to hit on her. She has to learn to deal with it, because you're not always going to be around."

"She wasn't dealing with it then," I groused, still irritated, more with him than her.

"No. It's a learning experience. Give her some time to learn." He turned and faced me. "I know you don't think I have any moral high ground to stand on here, but I still need to speak my piece. In relationships, we're always navigating a treacherous path. If I could suggest one basic rule, it would be this: be slow to judge, and quick to forgive. For 20 years your mother and I had a simple rule of forgiveness: Never go to bed angry. Work things out and clear things up so each day starts with a clean slate. I...I'm sad to say that we're having a hard time with that rule right now. I wish it weren't so. I swear I've been trying to keep what I'm preaching in mind in my own relationship. I was in no hurry to judge, hell, I gave her almost a week to come clean. Now, to be honest, I'm finding it difficult to forgive. Either of you."

"You know I'm sorry Dad. I'd do anything to take it back."

He nodded. "I understand. I want you to think about this. Penny's been your girlfriend for what, one year? You've been intimate for a couple of days. She lets a guy flirt with her, in public, and see how you reacted."

I started to speak and he cut me off. "Let me finish. Now imagine it's 20 years. She doesn't just flirt, she actually sleeps with the guy several times, and gives another guy a blow-job. That's what I'm dealing with here, Jeremy. Imagine how you'd respond."

To hear him put it that way was devastating. "I...I don't know if I could handle it. I'd probably want to kill the guy, and dump her."

"At least you're honest. I'd feel the same, except that 'guy' is the one person in the world I love almost as much as her. How do you throw away 20 years of love and your entire family? How do you get past it? I don't know. I just don't know." He sighed deeply, sitting back in the couch. "I think it's getting better, and then suddenly, for no reason the anger is back, blinding."

"Can I say something?"

"Of course. That's why I'm trying to talk about it with you."

"I don't think it's the cheating so much." He raised his eyebrows at me, as if I was nuts. "I don't. You've done things with her, in my presence, even getting me involved. That doesn't seem to bother you as much. I'd say, by how you two were getting along, you even liked it. You certainly seemed to enjoy letting Penny play along. It was the lying. The lying, hiding and deceit."

He was quiet for a few seconds. "I need a beer. Get us a couple?"

I returned with them after a couple of minutes, and he drank off a third of his. "I'm not going to lie. There was something exciting about having her blow me in front of you. Showing you how to get her to squirt. Having her teach your girl how to give a blow-job, and both of them practicing. Some of the hottest sex I can recall, afterward. It's true. But I don't trust her anymore. It's different with you. I think you made a mistake, and you tried to make up for it, in your own kind of weird way. I believe if I asked you never to touch her again, you wouldn't. If I asked the same of her, I just don't know. That's the hard part. I never doubted her before. Never."

"Do you believe her when she says it's just me she has a problem with? Because you and I are so similar?"

He took another sip, and I took a larger one to catch up.

"If not for that Colin blowjob, maybe. That makes a lie out of all of it."

I nodded. "I know. I can't believe she did that. Even when she told both Aunt Marie and me she wouldn't. I don't understand that."

"Precisely! How can I believe her?"

"We have two problems, don't we? The first is her weakness for me. It's there. We all know it now. It's my fault it started, but I can't take it back. You have to know I'm crazy about her. Mom's the perfect woman. Friggin' irresistible."

I saw the slow smile. "She is that. I...it's hard to say it, but I take great pride, immense pride in how much like me you've become. I see it in everything you do, and as a man, and a father, I don't know if anything could make me happier. Knowing that, how hard is it to believe you'd feel the same about that woman as I do? Like father, like son, I guess. I never thought I'd regret it for a moment."

Those last words hurt. "Do you regret it? God, Dad, I hope not. Every time someone tells me I'm just like you, I can't imagine a better compliment. You're the best man I've ever known."

He shook his head. "No, I don't regret it. But it has brought us to where we are, hasn't it?"

I nodded. "The second problem, and we all recognize it, is Aunt Marie. The crazy relationship those two have. That's what's driving all this. It's why things got carried away in the jeep, and it's why she did anything at all with Colin. We both know she did it because of Aunt Marie. Not because she has the hots for Colin."

"Your plan to fix all that back-fired, didn't it?" he snapped.

He was right. At least partially. "It blew up in my face. No doubt about it. But I still don't think that what I was trying to do was wrong. Getting them back together. I even think I was making good progress. Now I don't know what to do. Any suggestions?"

He laughed. "Don't you think if I had a solution, I would have done something about it years ago? I'll give you credit for at least taking a swing at it."

"Can you forgive her, forgive us for what we did? Not the Colin part, but us going behind your back at the beginning. I'll do anything to make it right, Dad. I hate that it's coming between us, and even more so that it's messing up things between you and Mom. You have to know, you have to, that I would never do anything to mess with your marriage. Never."

"I can. Hell, I pretty much had. We wouldn't have been doing the things we were, if it was a problem. But there's still the rest."

"You have leverage now. Forgive her the first part, and tell her that working things out with Aunt Marie is the cost of forgiveness for the rest. If they were working together, instead of at odds with each other, half these issues would go away."

"That might work with your mother, but what about Marie?" he asked.

"C'mon Dad! She'd do anything to make things right. You would only need to talk to her to get her on-board. You must know by now, she'd walk through burning coals for you. You saw the video."

He put his empty beer bottle down. "Where do you see this all going?"

"Honestly?"

"Of course. Do you think I'm asking you to lie to me?"

"I've thought about it. A lot. I dream of Aunt Marie and Colin living with us. You know Colin and Aunt Marie are fooling around."

He looked a little surprised. "No shit? What the fuck is going on with this family?"

I grinned. "Jesus, Dad! Take a step back and look at his from the outside. Do you know two more attractive women? What red-blooded male wouldn't want them? Once those original boundaries were crossed on the jeep ride, there was no turning back. Colin did things to her in the back seat, mostly while she was sleeping. Or should I say passed out? She was cross for a while, but it started the ball rolling."

"That doesn't make things any easier you know."

"Maybe it does. That's a different issue. The main thing is, I want her here with us. Available to both of us, with Mom's complete blessing." I laughed a little. "You're going to get the real benefit here, hell I'll be gone in a few weeks, as will Colin. You'll be the poor bastard stuck satisfying the two hottest women in the state."

"Nice fantasy, but there's not a chance in hell of it happening, you know."

"I disagree. I think we were 90% there, when the whole thing blew up in my face. You forgive Mom, and I swear, I think I can have Mom personally escorting Aunt Marie into your bed."

"And the cost is, you get to bed your mother," he said quietly.

"You get to make Mom the happiest person in the world, close the divide between her and her sister, and love both of them, totally and without reservation forever more."

He chuckled. "I'm not a teenager, Jeremy. I have a hard enough time keeping up with your mother. Never mind the two of them together."

"You know what, Dad? I love you enough to help."

He chuckled. "I bet. What about Penny?"

"I don't know. She obviously knows about oral sharing, and had no problem with that. She knows about Aunt Marie."

"What if she wants you to stop any of it? All of it?"

"We're not married. I guess I'd have to decide which I want more, at that point. Hell, I've got four years of college ahead of me. I'm not making any permanent decisions yet."

"Well you better have it figured out, because sure as shit it's going to come up, the way those two are getting along," he said, nodding to where Penny and Mom were working together.

"What do you think? Am I crazy? Can you at least start us down the path of forgiveness?"

"It's intriguing, I have to admit. I'll think about it."

I turned toward the kitchen. "What's a guy got to do to get fed around here?" I called out.

"You might try rolling out of the bed before noon," Mom answered teasingly.

"Let us get this last batch in the oven, baby, and we'll do something to get your strength back. Rumor has it you may have a strenuous afternoon ahead of you," Penny laughed.

* * *

Lunch was surprisingly cordial, and every time Dad said anything even a little kind to Mom she absolutely glowed. Penny was buttering him up something awful, pouting that she'd had so little 'practice' lately. I tried to stop her from going down that path, catching her eye, shaking my head slightly, but she ignored me.

When lunch was finished, and it almost seemed like we were a normal family again, Penny skipped over in front of my father, and grabbed him by the hands. She pulled him up, and tugged him along to the living room. He acted a little reluctant, leaning away from her, but no way that little 110lb ball of energy could make him move if he didn't want to.

In front of the couch, she gave him a push in the chest, and as soon as he was seated, she climbed in his lap. Mom and I were watching in amusement.

"Penny..." Dad started.

She wrapped her arms around his neck, and gave him a quick kiss. "Hush a second, Harold, Ok?"

He nodded slowly.

I took a seat on the opposite end of the couch from them. Mom came over and sat down next to me, obviously as intrigued as I was. I had my concerns, this could all blow up, but then again, who knows what she was up to? She was kind of irresistible. A force of nature.

"I know the other night was kind of crazy. I was being awfully silly, I guess I was kind of embarrassed by everything. I want you to know it was pretty wonderful. I don't regret a minute of it. I hope you'll let me practice with you again sometime. Maybe let Mom keep on teaching me new things."

He adjusted her in his lap, his arms around her waist. "Spectacular," he said softly. "Someday, maybe..."

She kissed him again, a little more sincerely. "I know things are a little messed up now. I don't want to cause trouble, and sure as hell don't want to get in the middle of things. I just wanted you to know. I'd do it all again in a heartbeat. Nobody else but you. I couldn't. But with you, it's... well it's hard to describe. It's like Jeremy with experience. You understand? I don't do things like this. You two are the only ones."

Dad nodded, and looked over at Mom. "I understand. Thank you."

She giggled, doing a little dance in his lap. "No, thank you, Daddy. I still need a lot more practice before Mom teaches me number 6."

"Pearly Gates," Dad said, grinning. "That's a dangerous one, you might want to make sure you have all the basics down before you go there."

Penny looked confused, then looked over at me and Mom.

Mom smiled. "We'll see, sweetie. One step at a time, alright?"

My girl turned in Dad's lap, straddling him. I felt that stab of jealousy again. Mom took my hand in hers and squeezed it reassuringly.

"Daddy, I just wanted to tell you that you're the best. The absolute best. I'm gonna take Jeremy back upstairs now, because I have lots of practice to do. Lots and lots. I... I was hoping that maybe later, you could give me my final exam. Make sure I'd learned things properly. Maybe not tonight, but soon?"

His hands slid down her sides, grasping her hips. He looked down at her body, then back into her eyes. "I'd like that," he finally said quietly.

She squealed her joy, throwing her arms around his neck, hugging him tightly. "Thank you, Daddy. Thank you so much."

He chuckled, "No, thank you Angel."

She planted her lips on his, kissing him deeply, and Mom squeezed my hands tighter in response to my own involuntary clutching. I understood a little more of what Dad was going through. It drove me a little crazy to see her with him, even after all we'd done.

Penny hopped up, reached down and gave his crotch a quick squeeze. "Get rid of this one, Dad. I want a fresh one for later."

She hopped over in front of Mom, grabbed her hands out of mine, and pulled her up off the couch. A few seconds later, she was guiding her into Dad's lap. Dad's look was more one of amusement than anything else. Mom had looked nervous, but now seemed more content than anything else.

"Take care of him, Mom. Baby boy and I have some business of our own to take care of."

As she dragged me up the stairs, I was overjoyed to see Dad holding Mom, kissing her.

* * *

The afternoon with Penny was spent in naked play. We talked more than anything else, about our classes, weekends back home, and the mistakes we'd made. I still didn't fully fill her in on the family issues. She didn't press too much.

We didn't talk all the time. She must have spent more than an hour with her lips wrapped around my cock, and her new skills were becoming almost automatic. She tried several times to take me down her throat, becoming a little better, doing a decent job of it a few times. I worshipped at the 'Y' for a spell. I loved doing it for her. I enjoyed it, I did, not as much as what she did for me, but seeing how well she liked it. Still, it was probably two-to-one the time we spent orally teasing each other.

Our play naturally turned into sex a couple of times, playful fooling around. We talked throughout about what we liked, what was comfortable, what felt good. It was mind blowing how wonderful it was. The second time she had another of those big orgasms, trembling and crying out. Afterward I held her for an eternity, happy to have her in my arms, in my bed.

"A Penny for your thoughts," she teased.

I laughed, giving her a squeeze. "Best bargain in all of history. Thinking about how I almost blew everything. I... I never thought I'd get so angry over anything. I can't remember ever feeling that way."

She nuzzled into my neck, kissing my shoulder. "It's wrong, but it makes me kind of happy," she whispered.

"Happy?"

"Yeah. That you would get that angry, that jealous over me. The idea that you would beat up Drew for me. It... it makes me feel like you really are crazy for me. Is that wrong?"

"I don't think so. I am crazy about you. Even downstairs, I got so jealous, seeing Dad hold you like that, watching you kiss him."

She tensed up. "Oh! God, I'm sorry, Jeremy. I wasn't thinking. I didn't mean anything, you know. Just trying to break the ice a little, make things better."

"You don't want to be with him?" I asked.

"Not like that. No. I only want you, can't you tell? All of this, with you, is so amazing. Unbelievable. I don't mind blowing him, like I said, he's so like you. I won't if you don't want me to. I swear. It wouldn't bother me never to do it again. Don't you like your mother doing it for you?"

I hesitated before answering. "That's part of our problem. Dad's not so happy about that. That and other stuff. He doesn't want Mom doing things with me."

She sat up, nervously. "Crap. I didn't screw things up, did I? I didn't mean to."

I pulled her back down, rolling her onto my body, kissing her. "No, it's fine. I'm just saying that if you did do anything with him later, it would probably be just you and him. Not me and Mom."

She settled into my arms, and my hands caressed her back down to her firm butt cheeks. "Ok. I think I get it. Sorry if I caused trouble."

I gave her butt cheeks a squeeze. "Don't sweat it. Everybody knows you meant well. Dad didn't seem to mind."

She giggled. "He didn't, did he? He got hard for me just a few seconds after I sat in his lap."

She settled down after that, letting me hold and fondle her. She was quiet again and seemed to be distracted.

"Alright. Your turn," I said.

"Mmm. Sound's good to me," she whispered, leaning back and beckoning me over.

I laughed. "No. What were you thinking, just now. You were definitely not here with me."

She glanced over at the clock. "I think Mom is probably giving Dad his early birthday present right around now."

"You know, I'll probably never be able to show my face in your house again. Your old man doesn't have any guns, does he?"

"A few. Nothing like you guys."

"Crap."

She bounced up and straddled my waist, chuckling. "I don't think you have anything to worry about. You were well behaved. According to Mom, he already thought I'd lost my virginity. If anyone should be sweating, it's Mom. She chaperoned the thing."

"Which version is he getting shown?"

"Don't know. I'm not sure she knew until the last moment. I think she's going to show him the blowjob video first. Sort of break him in. Jeez, Jeremy! I can't believe I let you film me."

"Pretty amazing though, you have to admit," I teased.

"Seems like some people think so."

"I think your Mom's going to be walking bowlegged tomorrow."

"Jeremy!"

"Daddy's little girl is a sex...machine," I teased, sing-song.

"Stop it. It's not funny," she whined, smacking me.

"Not funny, but very, very hot and sexy." I sat up on my knees trying to look fierce. "Penelope! I had some very disturbing news about your behavior today," I growled deepening my voice.

"Not. Funny."

"Not funny at all, young woman. And the words that came from that mouth of yours! Such filth." I reached out and rubbed my finger across her lips.

"You're a pig!" she whined, pushing me away.

"Is that any way to talk to your father. I have half a mind to wash your mouth out," I told her. I started stroking my cock.

"Half a mind is right."

"I will not have you disrespecting me, young woman. A harlot living under my roof!" I grabbed her and pulled her over my lap, despite her admirable struggles. She cried out when the palm of my hand came crashing down on her ass.

"Ow!" she whined, kicking her legs.

I started walloping her rear. Not too hard, but firmly and loudly. "You. Will. Respect. Me. In. My. House!" I barked, each word accentuated with a new smack.

I used one of my favorite lines on her, spanking her pink butt rapidly. "I brought you into this world, young lady. I can take you out. Make another one just like you."

"Stop," she whined. "Enough!"

"Are you going to behave now?" I teased, my hand rubbing her warm cheeks.

"You're a beast. Do you get off on spanking girls now?" she said, trying to wiggle out of my grip.

I started spanking her again, more firmly, and she wiggled, and tried to cover her bottom, but stopped trying to get away. "I can do this all night, young lady. Are you going to behave!"

She glared at me. "I can take it as hard as you can give it, pervert."

Man, she was ornery. I rubbed her cheeks again, teasingly. "I washed this cute little bottom, diapered it. Kissed it. Don't make me blister it, little girl."

"I bet you liked that. Kissing my ass."

Leaning over I pressed my lips to her rosy cheeks. "I loved kissing your ass. You're my baby. There's not a single part of your body I don't love."

"Dirty old man," she sneered.

I spread her legs, wiggling out from under her a little and let my kisses move downward between her legs. "Pretty baby girl. All grown up now."

"Does that excite you, old man? Kissing me there?"

My lips arrived at their target, and I nibbled her fleshy lips. I was moving, leaving her prone on her belly, scooting around her legs, spreading them, kissing and teasing. "Does it excite you, baby girl?"

"No. It's gross."

"Don't lie to me baby. I will wash your mouth out."

"I... I think it's disgusting," she sighed, her sweet pussy starting to weep for me.

I licked her teasingly. "Nasty baby girl. Leaking all over Daddy's tongue."

"You're the nasty one. Stop it. I don't like it. I'm telling Mom." She opened her legs wider, lifting her ass up.

"Does your Mommy lick you better than Daddy," I teased, running my tongue along her slit.

"I... She doesn't..."

I spanked her ass sharply, making her jump. "I warned you about lying to me. She told me everything you know. Everything."

"It wasn't the same," she whined. "She was taking care of me. That's all."

I walked around the bed, my erection standing tall. "Open up that little mouth for me. Time to wash it out."

"Daddy..." she whined, looking up at me.

"Open, my little Angel. Isn't Daddy good enough for you? Didn't I raise you right? Take care of my little girl? Open, baby."

She opened her mouth, and I slid my cock between her lips. She didn't cooperate, just laying there, mouth open, while I stroked a couple of inches into her mouth.

"I've seen the video, baby girl. I know you can do better than that. Not as good as your Momma, of course, but surely better than that."

She glared at me, pulling off. "Not as good as Momma?" She took me back in her mouth, and gave it her best. Swirly, Pirate-ship, even down her throat. She pounded her face down on my cock, then slowed, looking up at me, making love to it.

"What do you think of your little cock-sucker now? As good as Momma?"

"Suck it, baby. Show me more."

She returned to action, once again employing all she'd been learning. Amazing. That's all I can say. I reached down hand held her head in my hands, fucking that sexy mouth. "Dirty girl," I growled.

She pulled away with a huge gasp, laughing. "Daddy's dirty girl."

I pulled her face back onto my cock. "Not Jeremy's dirty girl?"

She shook her head.

"Daddy's?"

She nodded, tilting her head back and looking up at me, her eyes wide and innocent, such contrast to that teasing mouth.

"Daddy's going to come for his baby," I whispered.

She rapidly bobbed up and down on the end, her hand stroking me, milking me.

"Now, baby," I groaned.

Her tongue was teasing the head, while she sucked me, and I exploded. She whimpered softly, sucking me dry, while I groaned, stroking her soft hair.

She kept it going for a bit, slowing, gentle, until I started softening. She pulled off, and kissed the head gently.

"I love you, baby girl," I teased, leaning over and kissing her lips.

"God, Jeremy. You are really warped." She slapped my thigh. "And my ass stings. What were you thinking, spanking me like that!"

"Talking back already? Am I going to have to call your father back in and spank you for real?"

"Don't even think about it!"

I jumped on the bed, bouncing, pulling her into my arms, laughing as we rolled across the bed. "You know my Dad fucked you."

"What?" she squealed. "He did no such thing!"

"He made Mom pretend to be you, and he stole your virginity before I could get it."

"He didn't!"

"Uh-hunh. That's what your videos did to him. What do you think it's going to do to your old man?"

She pinched me. "Stop teasing me. I'm already worried enough."

I pulled her close, hugging her, kissing her softly. "Alright. No more teasing. You are the hottest thing in three states."

"Just for you, Jeremy." She pressed her lips to mine, kissing me more firmly. "Only you, baby."

"You sure got wet for me. Was it the spanking, or was it for Daddy?"

"No teasing. You promised."

"I'm not teasing. You were soaking. Dripping. Did you like getting spanked that much?"

"Beast," she whispered.

"You did, didn't you."

"Asshole."

I nibbled her lip. "It's me, beautiful. You can be an open book. Tell me the truth. You liked it?"

She blushed. "Maybe. A little. The whole Daddy thing was very naughty," she said. "That was so wrong."

"I know."

"Does your Mom do more than suck you? Is that what the fight is about?"

Damn. Not a discussion I wanted to have. "Solemn oath it doesn't leave this room?"

"I'm a little sad you even have to ask. Of course."

"We did. A couple of times. We stopped before it got carried away."

"When?"

"Before you and me. We confessed to Dad, but took to long to do it. He had already figured it out. I think if we'd just been up front when it happened, it would have worked out. We screwed up. Now everything's a mess."

She kissed me softly. "Thanks for telling me. I don't want to make things any worse for you guys. I would hate that. Your parents are the greatest."

"They think the world of you. That's for sure. You should have seen them all hounding me to call you after the fight. All of them. Man, I got an earful."

"I'm glad they did. Your Mom convince you? Or was it Dad?"

"Aunt Marie."

"Really?"

"She's always been me best friend. I could tell her anything growing up. She always treated me like an adult, honest with me. She knew how to make me see things right."

"I guess I owe her one. I thought for sure it would be your Mom. No way you could say no to her."

"I'm sure I surprised both of us, when she asked me to do it for her, and that's exactly what I said," I confessed.

Penny hugged me, and I held her, kissing the top of her head. "I should start cleaning up. I told Mom I wouldn't be late, and I don't want to got back reeking of sex."

"Shower?"

She nodded, grinning.

"Together?"

Her smile grew wider, and she nodded harder.

We took our time, and it was another hour before she was ready to go. Mom had poked her head in, asking if she was staying for dinner.

"Not tonight Mom. It's video debut night in her house."

"Jeremy!" Penny whined, blushing.

Mom laughed and gave her a hug. "It'll be fine, sweetie. Daddy's know their baby's grow up. Now he won't have to wonder."

"I know I'm gonna die of embarrassment," Penny said.

"Trust me. He's thinking the same thing. Be gentle with him. But make sure he knows you're still his baby girl."

"Like Jeremy's still your baby boy?" Penny asked.

"Exactly. No matter what else happens, where he goes, what he does, he'll always be my baby boy. Best in the world."

On the way out the door, Penny saw Dad sitting in his chair. She jogged over to him, pulled the papers out of his hand without a word, and climbed into his lap, straddling him. He looked surprised at her actions. She wrapped her arms around his neck, hugging him tight, as she brought her lips to his ear whispering. He listened, his arms wrapping her up. I saw him nod a couple of times, then shake his head. He nodded again. She let go, then grabbed his face in her hands, and gave him a big kiss.

She pulled away a bit, looking into his eyes, and then kissed him again, softly. "Promise, Daddy?" she said.

"You're rotten, you know that?" he laughed.

She nodded, giggling. "I know. Now promise."

"Alright. Now get out of her before I forget myself and tan your bottom, ornery thing."

She got up laughing. "Too late. Jeremy already did that." She skipped back to me, gave Mom a quick kiss on the lips, and pulled me out the door. I walked her home, hand in hand.

"What was that all about?"

"None of your bees-wax," she laughed.

"That was a big kiss," I said.

"Mmhmm. He kisses nice."

I wasn't sure I liked that.

"Chill out, Jeremy. I'm only teasing. He's going to earn that kiss."

"What does that mean?"

"I'm not telling. Not yet. Give it some time, Ok? And trust me. You do trust me, don't you?"

I stopped and pulled her into my arms. "Sorry. Still a little jealous I guess. You're gonna have to ease back on the teasing a bit, Ok?"

"Alright. Jeez, you just had your way with me for an entire day. How could you be jealous?"

"I know it's stupid. I can't help it. I'm sorry. I do trust you."

We stopped in front of her door. "Come in?" she asked.

I laughed. "No way. This is all yours. I don't know when I'll have the guts to walk in there again."

"Meanie. Call me later?"

"Sure."

"Promise?"

"Alright. I promise. I'll call. Stop stalling. And be good."

"Thanks for today, Jeremy."

"I love you, Penny."

She grinned. "I know." She opened the door, and gave me a quick wave before disappearing inside.

* * *

At home, I was told I only had a few minutes before dinner.

"Air out your room, Jeremy. And bring down the old sheets, don't leave them in the hamper."

I blushed, and Dad laughed. "God, to be 18 again."

Mom leaned down and kissed him on the cheek. "And give up all that knowledge? Not in a million years, bucko."

"Ok, to be 18, with what I know now."

Mom grinned. "Now that would be something. I'd be in a wheel chair before I was 20."

It was great to see them kidding around. I had no illusions that everything was fixed, but it seemed better.

It only took a few minutes to remake the bed, open the windows for a little fresh air, and gather up the sheets and towels. I dumped them in the laundry room, and joined Dad at the dinner table.

Mom served up her roast, giving Dad a big helping. Probably his favorite. As she turned to serve me, I saw him pat her on the bottom.

Mom would usually give a little squeal or jump if he did something like that. This time she stopped and looked back at him. "Again?" she asked.

Dad grinned, and Mom finished filling my plate with Dad rubbing her bottom.

As she served herself, Dad turned to me. "Happy you worked things out?"

"I was a jerk. Rub it in. I can't help it if I get jealous. It's not like I plan on it. Hell, she spent the whole day with me, and that kiss she gave you drove me nuts! How do you handle it?"

He seemed surprised by my answer. "Trust. You have to trust her. Nothing else will work. You can't be there all the time, so you have to count on her to do the right thing. You do trust her, don't you son?"

I took a bite of the soft potato. "Yeah. It's not helping so far."

"The rest is time. Trust over time. You'll get there. It's pretty obvious." He gave me a grin, digging into the roast."

Suddenly he stopped eating. He put down his knife and fork, looking across the table.

"Alice," he said.

"Is something wrong with the roast? I... I used a different wine..."

He shook his head. "No. It's perfect as usual." He took a few seconds, while we both waited in anticipation.

"I'm going to trust you again. It may not always be easy for me, so I'm gonna ask you to be patient with me. I trust you not to cheat on me, not to do anything behind my back, and to be upfront in everything you do. Please don't deceive me, or let me down."

I saw Mom choke up. "Never again, Harold. I promise. Thank you."

He reached over and squeezed my wrist. "You too, Jeremy. I trust you. I have to confess I lied to you. You don't disappoint me. You never have. You made mistakes, we all did, but I've never been disappointed in you. I'm proud of you." He looked more serious than he had in ages. "I love you."

"I... I love you too, Dad. I'm sorry I let you down. Never again. I'll never betray your trust."

Mom dropped her silverware, and ran around the table. She knelt beside Dad's chair wrapping her arms around his waist. She was openly crying. She was trying to speak through the sobbing, but all I could understand was the occasional "Sorry" and "Trust". He put his arm around her shoulders.

"I know, baby."

Eventually she calmed and we managed to go back to eating our meal. It was like a dark cloud over the house had been blown away. We laughed and I got teased for the noises we'd made up stairs.

Dad grinned. "Oh, Jeremy...Oh! Jeremy!...OH! JEREMYYYYY!"

Mom laughed.

I looked back at Dad, "I... I love you, Man."

Dad snapped upright, and I saw Mom looking like I'd slapped her. Oops. Maybe I pushed it too far. The first time I could remember him saying it to me since I was shaving.

He hit me in the head with a roll. "Jesus! I can't believe I raised such an ass!" he growled.

Mom tried to hold it in, but her chuckles were leaking, until she was giggling out of control.

Dad had his face buried in his food.

"Hell Dad. You never have to say it. I know. You show it in everything you do for me. Don't think for a second I don't know it."

That earned me another dinner roll in the chest. "Ass," he growled, but I could see he was smiling.

"Jeremy, pass your father the rolls."

* * *

Mom had gone all out. Even made her pecan pie. Too rich for more than one slice, but heavenly. I was contemplating another small piece, when Dad stood up. "Clean up, will you Jeremy? Your mother and I have some things we have to discuss." He walked over to Mom and put his hand out. She took it and stood, momentarily hesitant, before falling into his arms.

Ornery old buzzard left their door open. I had barely finished the dishes when I heard Mom.

"Oh, Harold... Oh! Harold!... OOOH! HAAAROOOLD!"

"VERY FUNNY!" I yelled up the stairs, and I heard them both laughing.

That laughter, more than any sounds of passion, told me things were better. Maybe not perfect yet, but a whole lot better.