Birthdays l

-- APRIL 2005, JUNIOR YEAR --

I awoke with my usual morning hard-on. My eyes were still closed, but I felt Dawn's presence against my chest, and a wave of pure bliss spread across my body.

This was heaven.

The morning air was cold against my right cheek, the pillow reassuringly warm against my left. I snuggled deeper into the covers and their cocooning heat while pressing my chest against Dawn's back, covered only by a thin layer of cotton. As my senses came alive, the fingers of my left hand reflexively squeezed the large breast I was currently palming as my left arm snaked beneath her pillow to hold her from the opposite side. My right hand firmed up over her hip, gently holding her in place while I reflexively ground my erection into her naked asscrack.

Just another morning, the way things had been for almost a year now. Just me and the girl I loved. With my eyes still closed, I squeezed her just a little tighter, a hug of affection. But the pleasant affection soon gave way to primal lust, as fond memories of the many, many times Dawn and I had made love percolated in my brain. So breathing deeply, I let my head roll forward to push my nose into her hair, smelling her sweet fragrance. And I exhaled softly as my body warmed up to make my erotic dreams into reality.

Moving slowly, I kept my touch as light as possible while still grazing across her skin. She stirred slightly, but did not awaken as my left hand continued to fondle her nipple while my right hand slid down her buttcheek and back up between her legs. Dawn's shirt had ridden up in the night, giving me a clear path to her crotch. Still with an infinitely gentle touch, the pad of my middle finger glided up through the furrow of her closed labia, pressing just slightly to part them until I found the harder nub of her love button.

We had not made love last night. After the rousing success of our first threesome with Bert a week ago, Dawn and I had scheduled another rendezvous yesterday afternoon. Kim was in Sunnyvale, our little sisters were out with their friends, and I'd procured another batch of Indian Bhang from Lakhi. This time, even Dawn had gotten into the illicit drug, and the sex we'd had took on truly epic proportions.

After taking a group shower and then sending Bert home, Dawn and I had simply stayed in our bedroom, cuddling and talking about anything that came to us. We had some of the cannabis-milkshake left, and drank all that remained while positing the mysteries of the universe. We talked about our families and what they were up to. And most of all, we reaffirmed to each other the unbreakable bonds of our relationship.

We were happy.

And more than ever, I KNEW that nothing in the world could ever change that.

I had an extremely checkered past, one that I knew was enough to scare almost any girl away from ever forming a romantic relationship with me. I'd embarked on a very unusual – but highly intimate – relationship with our roommate Kim, something that very few girlfriends would have been able to tolerate. And I'd even invited another man into our bed, sharing my girlfriend and letting her take his seed into her body.

Still, Dawn loved me more than ever.

We weren't perfect; far from it. There would be trials and tribulations to come, I was sure. But no matter what, we would survive. Through it all, our love would endure. And where other relationships might crumble, ours would succeed.

It was our Destiny.

Last night, we'd fallen asleep in each other's arms at a fairly early hour. Now, the clock was just barely past 6am on this Sunday morning. But I knew that we'd both gotten enough sleep that I wouldn't feel guilty about waking my angel a little prematurely.

With a few more swipes of my fingerpad over her clit and a few delicate squeezes of her nipple, my Dawn began to lubricate. Her nether lips opened up like petals of the sweetest flower imaginable, secreting their honey which I coated upon my finger tip. Probing more firmly now, my finger glided back up through her cleft, buzzing over her love button. I fondled it, making love to that little bundle of nerves with my fingertip until my frictionless-gliding began to lose lubrication. I then returned my fingertip to her honeypot, dipping into it with carefully restrained force. And thus recoated with fresh nectar, my finger returned to once again make love to her sensitive clit.

I kept this up for a good five minutes. Dawn nearly woke once, her soft pants hitching into a startled gasp. But within seconds, she hummed and calmed down, squirming her thighs together as she obviously dreamed a pleasant dream. And I returned to my carefully-plotted task.

In the end, Dawn's pussy was on fire. Her nether lips were parted wide-open, surely glistening pink should I be able to get down and take a peek. There was a fine layer of sweat now covering her skin beneath the covers, and as my finger swiped up and down through her cleft, she trembled in anticipation.

I shifted my hips until my banana-bent erection was neatly enfolded by her asscheeks. Sliding myself further down, I felt my cockhead travel through her buttcrack, lower and lower until there was suddenly room in front of it. Pivoting my pelvis, I nudged the mushroom tip forward and slid myself back up the bed. And as the moist warmth surrounded me, I smoothly pushed myself inside.

Dawn gasped as she suddenly came awake. By then, she was already three-inches full of dick, and helpless to stop the last four-and-three-quarters from pushing in as well. She moaned and pushed her ass back against my pelvis as I reached over her hip with my still wet fingertips and resumed rubbing her clit. And within three strokes of me pumping my hard cock in and out of her body, she stiffened up and came.

"Oh, god..." Dawn whimpered as the bliss washed over her.

"Now, now. We've talked about this with other girls," I commented mirthfully. "I'm not God. It's just me."

"God..." Dawn began before sighing, "I love you, Ben."

I then pushed my forehead against the back of Dawn's neck, whispering over and over again in rhythm with my thrusts, "I love you ... I love you ... I love you..."

It didn't take long. I didn't hold myself back. I was so worked up after teasing her sleeping body that I was primed to blow. And within five minutes of steady pumping, I came to a stop and let my cockhead do the pumping for me, pushing out a steady stream of cum that splashed into the back of Dawn's womb while she whimpered in mutual orgasm.

It was a good morning.

-- SATURDAY, APRIL 9, 2005 --

"Happy Birthday, Ben!" Deanna Evans squealed like a 9-year-old girl as she opened the front door of her house. Immediately, she threw her arms open and wrapped me up in a hug.

"Thanks," I replied warmly, hugging her back before moving inside and shaking hands with Jack Evans.

"Welcome home, son," he joked (mostly).

I laughed, responding, "It's good to be home. That's why we're here today."

"About that: I seem to remember 21st Birthday Parties being a little different back in my day. Hanging out with old fogeys wasn't exactly high on my priority list back then."

I shook my head. "Well, my priorities may be a little different right now. Legally being able to drink doesn't change the way I feel about your daughter. And on a day like this, I really just want to be with family and friends."

Speaking of family and friends, the rest of them were joining us in the living room. With my birthday falling on a convenient Saturday, it was easy for them to find time off for this party. Brandi and Dayna had already arrived from San Francisco. Bert was an easy drive from Fremont. Kim was an even shorter ride from Sunnyvale. Gwen and Robin had taken Gwen's car. And Dawn, DJ, and Brooke had of course driven down with me.

Bert walked inside and exchanged polite greetings with the Evanses before coming over to me. "Dude, the Tri-Delts offer to give you a full-on orgy for your big 2-1, and you choose this?" he asked quietly with raised eyebrows, glancing side-to-side. "It's a nice house, but seriously?"

I chuckled. "To each their own."

"But come ON. I heard Jocelyn talking about a Lingerie Show!"

I laughed and patted my friend on his shoulder. "Maybe next time. Or maybe you should've just brought Esther as a date."

He shook his head. "Nah, we're not that serious or anything. Besides, she'd just feel uncomfortable here, not knowing anybody."

I nodded and patted my friend on the shoulder. Dayna and Brandi were coming over, and I exchanged hugs with both of my older "sisters". They wished me happy birthday; I asked about jobs and dating. Dayna was currently "on" with her on-again/off-again boyfriend Kevin. Brandi had just broken up with some financial analyst downtown. The girls wrangled a promise out of me to stop by their apartment and fix up some things. And then they too ribbed me on my choice of 21st Birthday venue.

"You should be hitting a bar, or better yet, a strip club!" Dayna enthused.

"Dawn's not 21 yet, so she can't come to the bar with me. And while there ARE a few 18-and-over strip clubs around here, why would I want to do that when I get to see her naked every night?" I pointed right at my girlfriend, who felt my attention and blushed when she saw me and the other two girls staring at her.

"He's got a point," Brandi agreed.

"It's too bad we didn't end up implementing Dawn's birthday idea," Dayna sighed regretfully.

"Dawn's idea?" I frowned. "What was that?"

Dayna just gave me a mysterious grin.

"Hey, where's A.D.?" Brandi wondered. "Is she coming?"

I sighed and shook my head. "She was planning to, but then-"

"I know, I know," Dayna interrupted. "Work, work, work. Man, ever since that Sports Illustrated thing came out, that girl's been in serious demand."

"I heard she has to have a permanent bodyguard around her now?" Brandi wondered.

"Just about," I explained with a shrug. "She can afford it."

The girls nodded and we went back to chit-chatting.

Meanwhile, Bert, Kim, Gwen, and Robin were talking over in one corner. Dawn was giving directions to Brooke and DJ, telling the younger girls that it was their responsibility in life as little sisters to be put to work. And Dawn's parents were scrambling around, making sure that everything was in place.

Just then, the doorbell rang. Deanna raced out of the kitchen to answer it, squealing happily as our last guests arrived. Paige Jacobsen had come with baby April, and Deanna immediately scooped the 7-month-old baby into her arms. Not yet a grandmother, Deanna certainly seemed eager for the role.

Paige came over to enfold me with a hug, saying, "Happy Birthday, Ben."

Lynne Arian had ridden up with her, hugging me as well while saying, "Thanks for inviting us."

And Kady Jacobsen gave me a rather butch fist bump while commanding emphatically, "Beer me, man."

It was my kind of party.

"Hey, Mr. Evans?" I called when I spotted Dawn's dad. He was in the kitchen, trying to stay out of our hair. While Dawn's parents appreciated the gesture of having my party here, and being allowed to observe, I think they understood that my friends would all relax more with them out of immediate sight.

"What's with the 'Mr. Evans' crap? Weren't you just calling me 'Dad' a minute ago?"

I blushed. I'd only called him 'Dad' once, as a joke shortly after he'd called me 'Son' at the beginning of the party. "Actually, it's kind of about that."

Jack Evans furrowed his eyebrows, giving me an inquiring look.

"Is your wife around?" I asked.

"I'm here," Deanna Evans announced as she came into the kitchen after delivering up another tray of finger foods to the ravenous college students.

I gestured out to the back patio. "Can we ... talk somewhere?"

Nodding curiously, Jack led the way. We went out into the backyard and around a corner. Once we were out of sight of most of the guests, he turned to me and said, "Okay. What's up?"

I took a deep breath, feeling nervous. "I want to formally ask permission to marry your daughter."

Deanna's eyes lit up like a Christmas Tree. Jack put on a sardonic grin and asked, "Which daughter?"

"Jack!" Deanna gasped and slapped her husband in the chest. But it was the perfect response, as all three of us started chuckling and let out any remaining tension we'd been feeling over the reason for my bringing them out here.

"Dawn, of course," I stated once I got my laughing under control.

Jack shrugged. "I'd have given you permission for any of them."

"All three?" I asked with raised eyebrows.

"Hey, don't be greedy now. And I think that's technically illegal in the U.S."

We all started laughing again. But after another few seconds, Deanna turned serious. "So ... did you mean 'now'?"

I held up my hands quickly. "Before you get your hopes up, I'm not planning to propose right away. There are a lot of things about our lives that are still unsettled. We haven't graduated yet, I don't have a stable job, and I want to make sure that I can provide for Dawn before we get married."

"Dawn's not the housewife type. She can support herself."

"Oh, I know," I agreed. "But this is one traditional role I feel I need to at least be capable of. The economy is great right now, but anything can happen. At the very least, I want to be able to buy her ring with my own money."

Dawn's parents nodded sensibly.

Deanna then frowned. "Then ... why ask us now?"

I grinned. "I just wanted to. I wanted you to know the direction I'm going, and how firmly committed I am to your daughter. I've had a pretty wild and crazy life these past few years, and I'm sure my mom has told you quite a bit."

Deanna blushed, nodding slowly.

"But that's behind me now. I love your daughter. And someday, I'm going to marry her."

Both parents beamed at me and Deanna started crying. Jack arched an eyebrow and asked, "Uh, does Dawn know this?"

I shrugged. "I think she has an idea. I didn't tell her I was doing this with you, it was more of an impromptu thing. But it's okay if you want to tell her."

Deanna nodded. I got the distinct impression she was going to go out and do just that.

We chatted just a minute more before Jack suggested we get the birthday boy back to his party before everyone got suspicious. I returned to find my friends and family happily conversing with each other, with a PlayStation set up in the TV room as well.

No hard liquor. No drugs. Just a close group of friends and real family. I could get used to this.

The rest of the party cruised by. Everyone had a good time. But eventually, it was time to clean up.

Being the birthday boy, I wasn't allowed to help. Dawn's parents, Dawn herself, and Brooke and DJ weren't allowed either, since they'd done all the setup. Responsible Lynne had taken it upon herself to organize everyone else, mobilizing them to pick up plates, clean up food, and generally tidy up the house of this family that had so generously let us throw a party here. And I was not-so-subtly shunted off to the side.

For a second, I thought of just talking to Dawn, observing everything that was going on. But right as I thought this, her Mom went and pulled her outside, no doubt to talk about what I'd said to her parents earlier.

At almost the same time, I felt a hand almost shyly slip into mine.

I turned my head, finding that Kim was giving me a doe-eyed look. She didn't ask anything. Instead, she simply held my hand and used it to tug me along toward the stairs and up. Kim started looking for an empty room, and figuring it would be the safest, I took charge and led her into Dawn's.

I had several flashbacks to my past as I stared at all the trappings of Dawn's bedroom. There were photos of herself, often with family but sometimes just her. I thought back to my days here at ten years old and even younger. And I thought back to the highly emotional days in High School when I had visited.

I wasn't the only one staring around. Kim was looking at it all, and I thought I saw a quiver in her lip as she took in all the trappings of my girlfriend's life. "Hey ... what's wrong?" I asked softly.

Kim turned to me, bowing her head in shame. "My apologies. I ... I eavesdropped on your conversation with Dawn's parents."

I smirked. It wasn't really a big deal to me, and I'd known Kim had a habit of eavesdropping. She always seemed to know more than she was letting on, and I'd caught her more than once lurking like a hidden wallflower, keenly paying attention to what was going on around her. "Well, that's not polite behavior," I stated. "But no harm."

She blinked several times, staring up at me with big brown eyes. "You intend to marry Dawn?" she asked.

I arched an eyebrow. "Uh, yeah," I replied as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "Haven't we all known that for ... well ... forever?"

"Pardon me, sir," Kim said, casting her eyes downward. Her speech often became more formal whenever she was nervous or in subservient mode. "I just wanted to know where that might leave me."

My heart went out to her. I was still aware that Kim was in love with me, but I'd decided that it would hurt her more to shut her out than to keep her with me for now. Deep down, I figured that with time and experience she would eventually grow out of her infatuation, if not grow completely out of her submissiveness. And the question of whether or not I married Dawn or her would ultimately be moot.

Taking a deep breath, I leaned forward and held Kim's shoulders. Staring her right in the eyes, I stated, "Nothing has changed between us. I still care for you."

"But you want to marry her."

"I always did. Again, nothing changed."

"Something did: you asked permission from her parents."

Still holding her shoulders, I shrugged. "Kim, I've made it clear from the beginning that Dawn is the priority in my life. We talked about this before. I told you point blank that I was going to marry her."

"Probably," Kim clarified. "But now that probability is more likely."

"And it will continue to be so."

Kim pursed her lips. She was quiet for a long time, and then she returned to her original question. "Where might that leave me?"

I leaned forward again, this time kissing her forehead tenderly. "I still care about you, and Dawn knows this. Nothing changes. I will take care of you for as long as I think I can best do that. That might be forever. It might be until you graduate. It might only be the next week. Nothing has changed. Understand?"

Taking a deep breath that made her shoulders rise up, she exhaled and let her body sag. She closed her eyes and seemed to be gathering herself. And after a long few seconds, she opened her eyes back up with a fresh light inside. "I understand, Master," she stated as evenly as a robot.

I nodded, relieved to hear that.

Wordlessly, Kim reached out to my jeans, unbuttoning me and then pulling the zipper down as she dropped to her knees.

"Hey, what?" I chirped in surprise.

"Nothing changes, Master," Kim stated evenly. "It has been many hours since you last ejaculated. Please let me relieve you."

I looked down at her, then around Dawn's room in a mild panic. Everyone was cleaning downstairs, but if someone came up here to look for me...

Aww, fuck it. I told myself. Look at Kim. She needs this right now, for her more than for you. And if someone discovers you? Well, everyone down there pretty much knows about you and Kim anyways. What, like anyone would be surprised?

So as Kim extracted my semi-hard prick, exhaling on it hotly, I simply cradled her cheek with my hand. When she stared up at me questioningly, I nodded in approval.

Three minutes later, she swallowed everything I had to give. We then tidied up and quickly rejoined the others.

-- APRIL 2005, JUNIOR YEAR --

The clock read 7:06am when my eyes fluttered open. I didn't need to move to see the digital readout; it was in my line of sight just past Dawn's right ear. My arms instinctively tightened as the tingling sensation of awareness spread throughout my body, and I realized that not only was my morning wood pressed into Dawn's panty-clad asscrack, but I was also cupping a very round, very firm breast with only a thin cotton layer between my hand and her bare skin.

Reflexively, my hand squeezed the boob and Dawn moaned lightly. My right hand firmed up over her hip, gently holding her in place while I reflexively ground my erection into her naked asscrack. My mind was a blank slate. I'd slept the sleep of total peace, where you dream of wonderful things but go so deeply into unconsciousness that you've forgotten everything by the time you actually wake up. I didn't know where I was or why. But I knew I was holding Dawn – my Dawn – in my arms and nothing else mattered.

She awoke before I got her fully warmed up. That happened every now and again, usually because I wasn't as featherlight with my touches as I should have been, too eager to get things moving on to the main course. But she tended to play along, letting me stroke and caress her body until she'd reached prime readiness, that peak position at the intersection of her sexual desire and willingness to remain still.

So I continued on as if I didn't know she was awake. I let my wet fingertip glide back and forth through her furrow while my left hand rubbed and caressed her naked breast. This morning, I let my right thumb join in on things, stroking sideways across her buttcheek while my middle finger dipped inside her damp pussy. At the same time, I pushed my left hand higher, up the slope of her breast and onto her upper chest. I let my fingertips wriggle their way across her collarbone and to her neck. And I heard her inhale a little more sharply as I tickled her throat.

I felt her tip her head down toward my left hand. She did it so slowly and so casually that I wasn't sure she even realized she was doing it. Taking the invitation, I dug my shoulder even deeper underneath her pillow, giving me a few extra inches so that my hand could rise up and meet her face. Her lips parted as my fingertips traced them, and I could feel her mouth turning to try and capture a finger inside. At the same time, I dipped the middle finger of my right hand into her steaming pussy, and buzzed my right thumb over her anus.

Dawn jerked and let out a soft moan. I could actually feel her skin heat up beneath my hand as her whole body flushed with arousal. And I felt a gush of fluid coat my middle finger.

One finger in her mouth, one in her pussy, and a thumb buzzing her ass. It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure this one out.

"You want a third guy, don't you?" I asked quietly.

Dawn went still, turning her cheek into the pillow and relaxing all her muscles as if feigning sleep.

I chuckled beneath my breath and said gently, "I know you're awake. And I know you've been feeling a little out of it for a couple of days now. I don't know exactly what's bothering you, and you don't seem to want to tell me. That's okay. I'll let you work out your things if you want to, knowing that I'm always here for you."

She didn't respond. Maybe it was just that time of the month. I did the mental calculations in my head. When exactly was her last period?

Taking a deep breath, I added, "In any case, I was thinking that you might need some cheering up. And I think I've figured out how we can do that. You want a third guy, don't you?"

Dawn turned her face into the pillow, perhaps embarrassed to admit it. I sighed and thought about the situation. I'd already run through the list of guys I could handle having sex with my Dawn before, ultimately choosing Bert. He was a friend, he'd already had sex with her, and I didn't feel threatened at all by him.

But who else would fit that description? If Dawn were to ask me to choose a third guy for her, who could I choose? I had very few male friends. The simple fact was: they all hated me. Or even if they didn't hate me, they were jealous of me. I lived the life of the luckiest sonovabitch on the planet, and it was easy for guys to resent that. The ones that had girlfriends worried that I would steal theirs. The ones that didn't have girlfriends hated that I poached the ones they might want. It wasn't their fault. It was just the way things had turned out.

If I were in High School, I might have been able to consider guys like Kenny, Daniel, and Sung. But I wasn't in High School, and I didn't have male friends like that anymore. The only guys I knew were acquaintances at best, sometimes classmates, but never, ever friends.

There were boyfriends of girls I knew, guys like Brooke's Joel, DJ's Josh, and Gwen's Steven. There were boyfriends of the Tri-Delts, but they fell even more into the category of "acquaintance". Some of them outright despised me, knowing that I'd boinked their girls before them.

Dawn wanted a third cock. It wasn't that I couldn't satisfy her. It was simply a matter of anatomy: I was born with only one penis. And from the standpoint of pure, unadulterated sex, there was really nothing I could do that could equal having three live, throbbing dicks in Dawn's body. We'd tried – many times – with strap-ons and other girls. But there was something ... carnal ... about having something in the flesh.

I couldn't decide. Really, beyond Bert or going back to Kenny, every guy was just about equal to me. It was just sex. It wouldn't change the way Dawn felt about me. I wanted to give this to her, I wanted her to live the rest of her life with me without regret, without wondering what it might feel like ... just one time at least ... to have three dicks penetrating her body at the same time. I wanted to do this ... because I loved her.

Always.

And even more, I decided I would let her choose. "You pick the guy," I said evenly. "I picked Bert; I'll let you pick the third. Don't even try to protest. I know you want this. So I'm going to let you."

Still with her back turned, Dawn finally spoke in a quiet voice tinged with grateful pride. "You get me. You really, really get me."

I grinned, happy that my suggestion had met with her approval.

I just underestimated the magnitude of her approval.

Dawn finally turned around to face me and then slid her body atop mine. She didn't say anything else. She didn't have to. The fire in her eyes was full of lustful energy and eternal gratitude. Her pussy was a swampy inferno, literally dripping honey down onto my thigh.

She kissed me, one of those explosive volcanic kisses that blew the top of my head off. And after sliding forward so that my dick could press into her with the ease of liquid butter, she royally fucked the shit out of me.

Dawn didn't get her triple-penetration right away. There were a few obstacles to her immediate gratification, and although she didn't like the idea of having to wait, she agreed that the delay would make the ultimate act even more satisfying when it did happen.

First, there was the matter of getting our third guy. When I'd picked Bert to be Dawn's second dick, we really just had to walk up and ask him. He was a friend of ours, he'd had sex with Dawn before, and neither of us was really worried about talking him into it.

This time, Dawn had picked Jaron Hedlund, the muscled Achilles we'd first met at the Tri-Delt Halloween party and then later at the Tri-Delt Blowjob party. On the surface, her choice made a certain kind of sense. Because of the BJ party, Jaron already had some sexual contact with Dawn, so it wasn't like I would be adding someone new to the list of people I was letting touch my girlfriend. It wasn't such a far stretch to go from Dawn giving him a blowjob and sucking down his sperm to full-on sex, at least so much as it would've been to choose someone else. Heck, for all I knew, Dawn might only let me and Bert fuck her while remaining only on a blowjob-level with Jaron. I figured that was unlikely, but it's not like I'd object if that was what she wanted.

Plus, although he wasn't a friend or anything, Jaron at least was a semi-known quantity to me. I'd met the guy a few times, and he didn't set off any alarms in the back of my head. He seemed to be a pretty good guy, and when he'd first realized at the BJ party that my girlfriend was present, he'd gone out of his way to offer to avoid her. I'd told him that wasn't necessary, but it showed me his head was in the right place about this whole thing.

That said, Dawn DID admit to having some attraction to the guy on a purely physical level. I knew she appreciated me as a lover, but the guy simply had a physique I couldn't match. He was a 6'4", 240-pound mass of muscles, with a 9-inch dick if Dawn was to be believed. She got wet at the thought of being pounded into the mattress by the big oaf, the same way I got hard thinking of buxom beauties wearing skimpy bikinis. Like Dawn always said: It's just sex. I knew she loved me.

But unlike Bert, Jaron would have to be seduced on some level. True, we might be able to just walk up to the guy and ask him to have a four-way with us, but that didn't seem likely. Dawn and I agreed that the best way would be for her to start a more casual conversation with him, work her feminine wiles on the guy, and get him in the mood before inviting him into our bed. I would be nearby, and when Dawn believed that Jaron was starting to resist out of concern for her relationship with me, she would give me a signal so that I could arrive and assuage his concerns.

And if he didn't resist out of concern for her relationship with me, then Dawn promised she would call the whole thing off. A man too eager to fuck her without considering her boyfriend wouldn't be right for this sort of thing.

I wasn't worried about Dawn herself. I knew my soulmate loved me deeply, would always love me deeply, and would never transfer that love to someone like Jaron, even if he was a big, handsome hunk.

Realistically, all that would take time. Dawn had exchanged phone numbers with Jaron after a chance meeting at Starbucks back in March, the day I'd gone to Atherton for Paige's birthday. She could call him, but we still needed time to arrange a casual in-person conversation. We needed time for Jaron to think it over. And we needed an available day for the foursome itself.

But not this weekend. For the past eighteen years, seven days after my birthday came DJ's birthday. And that day was Saturday.

-- SATURDAY, APRIL 16, 2005 --

"Wooo!!!"

"Wooo!!!"

"WOOO!!!"

I didn't think it was possible, but somehow my little sisters and their 12 froshling friends managed to make as much noise as a house full of 80+ sorority sisters. Or at least it sounded that way.

Vivian Wang had offered to host DJ's birthday party at her house, since she and her two roommates had plenty of room and no older siblings to get in the way. But DJ insisted that her party be in her own house, and she promised that the "old geezers" wouldn't be in the way.

Indeed, DJ put us to work. She told Dawn it was only fair since she and Brooke had helped out at my birthday. So while the birthday girl and her friends danced, sang, and generally whooped it up in the living room, Dawn and Kim were in the kitchen making and serving snacks. And DJ's 21-year-old almost brother-in-law (that would be me) had been sent out to bring home a keg of beer.

I arrived to the aforementioned Wooo-ing, with all 12 froshlings delighted to see the keg (not me). Well, some of those froshlings were happy to see me. 8 of them were female and I still had the reputation for being something of a hunk, despite my own self-assessment that I was about a 7 on the hotness scale. Red and blue Solo cups were passed around. Beer was drunk. Snacks were munched. And a half-dozen nubile froshling girls danced quite provocatively to the cultured tones of OutKast's "The Way You Move".

"Tenks foh da primo, brah," Meli Kanemura cheered as she sidled up to me, wrapping an arm around my shoulder and swaying her hips side-to-side with the beat, bumping them into mine. At her height, she was actually tall enough to hold onto my shoulders, and with a pleasant grin, she tilted her head back and took a sip from her cup.

"You can't be buzzed already," I laughed. "I just got here."

"Der's more than beer in dis house, brah," Meli giggled, wrinkling her nose. It took me a second, and I had to lean into Meli's neck and take a stronger whiff to detect the very clear scent of marijuana.

"Brooke!" I barked immediately, turning and scanning the room for my little sister. She was sitting on the couch in her boyfriend's lap, giggling and waggling her head around wobbily. Separating from Meli rather brusquely, I quickly marched over to the couch and took my sister's hand.

"Excuse me for a minute," I said to Joel, jerking Brooke onto her feet. While she babbled some sort of protest, I literally spun my sister's shoulders around and with a hand at the small of her back, marched her out of the living room and into her bedroom.

The door had been closed before my arrival. Airheaded blonde Tammy was on her back across Brooke's bed, french kissing some guy while he snaked his hand up the front of her shirt. The amorous couple looked up at me in alarm as we stormed in.

I jerked a thumb at the door and barked angrily, "Out. Now."

Tammy quickly jerked her shirt down and ran from the room, hotly pursued by the horny boy.

Once the door closed behind them, Brooke whirled in my grasp and slapped my chest. "Ben! What the fuck was that for?"

"You didn't tell me you guys would be doing weed."

"What?"

"When you asked permission to hold DJ's birthday party here, you didn't TELL me there would be any drugs."

"What? Like we need permission from you. DJ politely informed you we'd be having her party here. She lives here, same as you. And she has every right to have her party here."

"You still didn't tell me you'd be doing drugs!"

"It's just pot!"

"BROOKE!"

"Oh, fuck off Ben! Like you weren't smoking up when you were in High School."

"That's different. I never brought it HOME."

"Oh, so it's only alright for me to smoke pot OUTSIDE the house? In some strange guy's bedroom, is that what you mean?"

"NO!"

"Ohmigawd! Seriously! When did you turn into such a Nazi? You're worse than Dad!"

"Dad would NOT approve of you doing this."

"He already DID."

That took me aback. I jerked my head and gawked at my little sister. "Excuse me?"

"Dad knows full well that I've smoked pot. I did it on special occasions with my friends – not all the time – just like you did in High School. I've got it under control. The joint I shared with DJ twenty minutes ago was the first one we've had in weeks!"

I blinked rapidly, still trying to process all this.

"Jeez, Ben. When was the last time you toked up? And don't get all high and mighty on me. Dawn told me the root of that Indian Bhang stuff you two were drinking is the same cannabis flower."

"That's different."

"Why? 'Cuz you're a guy?"

"No. I'm older than you."

"Bullshit. I know full well you were doing drugs when you were younger than me. Not anything too serious. And you kept it under control. Oh, I know you told Mom and Dad that you would stay away from the stuff, but do you really think they didn't know? Do you really think I didn't know? Adrienne told me everything."

I frowned. "You're my little sister."

"If you haven't noticed, I'm not so little anymore! I'm not a lost 15-year-old girl crying for help because a boy was mean to me. I'm 18, almost 19, dammit. I'm in COLLEGE. I went and grew up!"

"I just don't think that a girl of your age should be-"

"Ohmyfuckinggawd!" Brooke exclaimed, putting both hands to the top of her head and turning away from me in disbelief. "Where the hell have you been the last year? Nothing's changed. I've been doing this shit with my friends since September!"

My jaw dropped.

Brooke rolled her eyes. "Oh no. Don't tell me. You've been busy. You've been living your own life. You've got Dawn and now you've got Kim and everything is so peachy keen for Big Ben. You got your whole life settled for you while you just bide your time doing your homework until you graduate, get a great job, and marry your soulmate. Good for you. Meantime, I've got a life of my own to lead. I have my friends, I have my own studies, and I have my own love life thank you very much. Or did you think my sex drive began and ended with my occasional visit to get injected with brother spunk?"

"Brooke, I-"

"JEEZ, Ben!" Brooke exhaled slowly, turning around and stomping across the room.

Everything she'd said made total sense to me. I really didn't have a moral leg to stand on, so I didn't know what to say. Helpless, I just stared after her, watching her pace until she managed to calm herself down. Brooke had a legendarily short temper, but her rage never lasted all that long, either.

Finally, Brooke exhaled one more time and stomped back to me. She stood in front of me expectantly, and I managed to murmur, "I'm sorry."

Brooke glared up at me and cocked an eyebrow. "Sorry for what?"

I took a deep breath. "Sorry for overreacting out there. I'm sure I came off like an overbearing parent grabbing you and stomping you in here like this."

"Damn straight. I'll bet half of my friends are worried that my own big brother is going to narc on us now."

I shook my head. "I'd never narc on you guys."

"I know that." Brooke jabbed a finger emphatically at the door. "They don't."

I opened my arms, giving Brooke my best puppy dog face. She tried to glare at me, forcing herself to appear angrier and angrier. But a second later, the anger melted and she shook her head in bemusement before leaping into my embrace. I held her tightly, patting her back. "I'm sorry, little one."

"I'm not so little anymore," she reminded me.

I sighed. "It's hard for me to remember that sometimes. Every time I think of you, I think of the 15-year-old Sophomore that was crying for her 'brudder' at Drew Walker's place. But you're not that girl anymore. You're an 18-year-old adult now."

"Almost 19," she pointed out.

"You grew up so much the two years I was gone. You grew up even more this past year. And I feel like I've missed so much."

"We're still family. We'll ALWAYS be family," Brooke reassured me, rubbing my shoulders. "You're living your life. I'm living mine. But in the end, when the chips are down, you'll always know I've got your back."

I smirked at Brooke's words, feeling simultaneously encouraged and amused by them.

"What's so funny?"

I pulled back and looked my sister in the eye. "DJ said almost the same thing you just did, like around Valentine's or something."

Brooke nodded. "We both mean it. You know it's true."

I nodded as well.

Brooke then looked to the side and took a deep breath, finally dropping her arms away from me. "And I have to admit," she began, sounding like she'd rather do anything but concede something to me. "You going all drug Nazi on me is still ... reassuring. It's nice to know that no matter how old I get, you'll always drop everything to come to my rescue."

"Always," I said fiercely, leaning in to hold my sister's shoulder. "Always."

Meli was waiting outside when Brooke and I emerged. She gave us both funny looks and then leaned in, sniffing Brooke's neck. "Huh. Guess not."

"What?" my little sister queried awkwardly.

Meli shrugged. "If I didn't know any better, I'd have thought you two had gone in there for a quickie."

Brooke and I stared at each other and blushed pink. While we certainly would never have done such a thing right in front of this group of outsiders, Meli's comment hit a little too close to home.

"Must be the pot. I'm seeing things again," Meli giggled before looping her arm through Brooke's and then leading her away.

Dawn immediately arrived at my side. "Hey, chill out. The girls can handle things."

"I know, I know," I sighed, wrapping my arm around my girlfriend's waist. "Brooke was just telling me the same thing."

Dawn then raised up a half-smoked joint, the end still burning. "Toke up," she ordered.

My eyebrows popped. "You serious?"

My girlfriend grin. "C'mon, let's have some fun. I want to see you flirt with some of these freshman girls and get all worked up."

My eyes went wide as I gawked at my girlfriend. "You must be joking."

"Not at all. Oh, I don't think it would be a good idea for us to actually nail any of them; that would fuck up the group dynamic for Brooke and DJ. But I wouldn't mind you getting all hot and bothered, and then maybe you and I can go upstairs and work off a little steam. I won't even mind if you fantasize that I'm one of them."

Shaking my head, I nevertheless smirked and allowed myself to mentally undress some of these young teenagers in my mind. Lexi was a tall brunette with a nice rack and brilliant green eyes. Little Faye promised to be a tiny dynamo of sexual energy from the way she danced. And as always, Meli was the definition of a lithe, exotic island beauty.

Directing Dawn forward with my arm around her waist, I took the joint and inhaled a long drag on it. Exhaling slowly, I grinned and said, "Let's have some fun."