Autumn’s Story…

“He’s hot,” Stephanie exclaimed after Joey Rider was a safe distance beyond their lunch table. Both girls smiled, trying to get the young athlete’s attention. Unfortunately, Joey only had eyes for Autumn, who was too busy reading her book. She was oblivious to his attention.

Julia, who was sitting next to Autumn, nudged her friend, trying to give her a signal to look up and take an interest. But Autumn simply glanced at Julia before turning back to her book. The story was a murder mystery, and the killer was stalking the man in the red shirt. She had to find out why in the next ten minutes or the bell would ring and Auutmn wouldn’t know who the killer was until after school.

“Autumn!” Stephanie glowered, Stephanie couldn’t understand what was going on – why her friend wasn’t drooling over the guy who never had given any of them the time of day before.

Autumn glanced up again, looking around and blinking. But at thirteen, she hadn’t yet developed anything she might consider interesting to boys. She was tall, gangly, had zero fashion sense and there was even less to notice in the boob area. Her idea of getting ready for school was to pull on a pair of jeans, a tee-shirt and her sneakers. Anything else seemed like a waste of reading time.

“What did he want?” she asked, flipping the page and only partially listening to her friends. She really wanted to find out the whodunit ending.

Stephanie and Julia rolled their eyes at their friend, not sure how Autumn could be so oblivious to the boys’ attention lately. In the past year, their friend had grown from a nervous, anxious girl into a slender, budding beauty. They could see it, obviously Joey Rider could see it, why couldn’t she?

Stephanie placed her hand on top of the book, forcing their friend to pay attention for a moment. “Autumn, you’re going to have to take your nose out of that book sooner or later. Don’t forget, the winter dance is coming up.”

Autumn nibbled on a carrot, nodding her head as if she were paying attention, but really, she was wrapped up in the story, trying to read between Stephanie’s fingers. Finally, Stephanie gave up and took her hand away, looking to Julia who only shrugged her shoulders.

Julia wasn’t giving up. “The purple elephant behind you is trying to eat your hair,” Julia said, and both of them waited with mischievous smiles to see if Autumn would react. The only response was a thoughtless wave of her hand in the general vicinity of the fat braid holding back Autumn’s hair.

The two friends just sighed and turned back to talk between themselves, leaving Autumn to her reading. The bell rang and the three of them stood up, carrying their lunch trays to the garbage can.

“Autumn,” someone called from her right.

Autumn looked around, her mind still focused on the plot in her book. “Yes?” she answered and her eyes finally focused on the tall, handsome boy standing in front of her. “Hi Joey,” she answered, suddenly feeling awkward. Joey was, hands down, the cutest boy in school. Not just the cutest in her class, but in the entire school. With him standing here in front of her, she felt painfully self-conscious, as if everyone around her was also looking, wondering why Joey would be talking to someone like her.

“Hi,” he said, leaning forward slightly. “I was wondering if you were going to the dance tomorrow night.”

Stephanie, realizing exactly where her friend’s mind was going, instantly stepped up and answered for Autumn. “She hasn’t decided,” she offered, knowing the words would prompt him to either show his hand and ask Autumn to the dance, or move off.

Joey glanced at Stephanie, then back at Autumn. “Well, if you aren’t going with anyone, why don’t we go together?” he offered, shifting back and forth on his feet as if he were nervous. Autumn thought that idea was impossible because, well duh! This was Joey Rider! Why in the world would he be nervous while talking to her? She was the boring, studious type that liked to organize her mother’s closets and cabinets!

Stephanie looked back up at Autumn, then at Joey. Before Autumn could say a word, Stephanie piped up and answered for her. “She’d love to. It would be perfect. What time?”

Joey laughed slightly, running his hand over his head as if trying to smooth down his hair. “Um…how about I pick you up at seven o’clock?” he offered.

Again, Stephanie waited a moment, then shook her head and turned back to Joey. “That’s perfect. Thanks Joey.”

Joey moved off, smiling at Autumn who simply stood there looking confused.

When they were alone again, Stephanie and Julia both grinned right back at Autumn who was still staring at the empty space where Joey had just been with wide, bewildered eyes. “What just happened here?” she asked.

Julia giggled, enjoying the entire scene. “Joey just asked you out to the school dance tomorrow night.”

Autumn blinked and shook her head as if to clear the fog. “Why?”

Stephanie and Julia looked at Autumn, then at each other, then back at Autumn. “Are you kidding me?” When Autumn just shrugged her shoulders, they said simultaneously, “Because you’re gorgeous!”

Autumn caused another giggle when she looked down at her jeans and tee-shirt, realizing that there was a scuff on her Converse sneakers. “I’m pretty plain,” she replied back.

Stephanie and Julia linked arms on either side of their friend, dragging her along to their geometry class. “We’ve got some news for you, girl,” Julia sighed. “You know all those stories about the ugly duckling?”

Autumn sighed. “I know. I’m the ugly duckling.”

Stephanie rolled her eyes as they slipped into their desks. “No silly. You’re the swan!” When Autumn shook her head, dismissing the idea as preposterous, Julia piped in. “You’ve blossomed!” she explained with emphasis. Both of them leaned closer, whispering, “And you’ve got boobs!”

When Autumn’s mouth fell open, she looked down at her chest. Sure enough, something had happened! She’d always worn a bra, simply because she was old enough and all the other girls were wearing one. But she’d never really needed one. Until now!

Stephanie giggled, watching out of the corner of her eye as the teacher said something to a student, preparing to start class. “You’ve got to stop reading those books and take a look at the world. And yourself. You’re gorgeous and you’ve got all the right features. You should consider becoming a model,” she urged.

That finally broke through Autumn’s confusion and she threw back her head laughing, holding her stomach at how hilarious her friend’s assertion was. “A model?” she asked, taking a deep breath to calm herself down since the teacher was glaring at her now. “Be real!”

Stephanie and Julia couldn’t continue to argue their point since class started, but they were both shaking their heads in amazement that their friend had no idea how stunningly beautiful she had become in the past year.

By the following day, Autumn was standing in front of the mirror, worrying about what to wear while Julia and Stephanie sat on her bed, giving her advice.

They’d all come home with her after school and she’d tried on several outfits already, but none of them made her feel very pretty.

“Wear the denim skirt and my flowered shirt,” Julia commanded. “And wear your hair down for once!”

Autumn obediently pulled on her denim skirt, the one her mother had bought her several months ago but she’d never worn because she’d always thought her legs were too skinny. She ran her hands down her thighs, wishing she weren’t so pale. And that her hair wasn’t so straight. Why couldn’t she have glorious curly hair? Or even hair with a tiny bit of body?!

She sighed and flopped back onto the bed, ignoring Julia and Stephanie who were peering down at her. “This is useless! I should just call him up and tell him I’m a dumpy fool who prefers to sit on a pile of pillows and read. I can’t go out with a guy like Joey!”

Stephanie looked down at her friend with amusement. “You’re going to the dance!’ she said firmly. “Get up and I’ll do your hair. You’ll look amazing,” she assured Autumn.

“And I’ll do your makeup. I’ve been dying to put some mascara on those gorgeous brown eyes of yours for ages!” Julia scrambled off of the bed and burrowed in her bag. “Here. Wear these,” she commanded, holding up a pair of sandals with a kitten heel. “These will make your legs look sexy instead of skinny.”

Autumn took the proffered sandals, staring at them dubiously. “Seriously? A pair of sandals are going to transform my knobby knees into something extraordinary?” she asked, thinking her friends were reading too many fashion magazines.

Stephanie handed Autumn the flowered shirt. “Put them on,” she said forcefully.

Autumn closed her eyes, feeling cornered and useless. “Fine. But if this is all some sort of sick joke and Joey is just luring me into the trap so everyone will laugh at me, then I’m blaming this all on you two!”

With that, she sat up and let them work their magic, but she didn’t really believe that they could do anything that would dramatically change her appearance. She supposed she should just accept that she was the ugly duckling that never really un-uglied.

Forty-five minutes later, Stephanie and Julia pulled her over to the mirror and forced her to take a look at what they’d done. Autumn stared back at the image, not sure who she was looking at. “Is that me?” she asked.

Julia and Stephanie high-fived behind Autumn’s head but she ignored them, still staring at her reflection. Her skin was no longer pale, but looked to be creamy with just a hint of rose on her cheeks, softening her entire face. Her eyes, which had always seemed to be a boring brown, now looked huge! Her lashes actually touched the tops of her eyelids and she blinked, realizing there was a very light dusting of gold eye shadow and a thin line of eyeliner that made her eyes look….exotic!

“What did you guys do?” she whispered. Even her hair, which had always fallen straight down her back, now looked fuller, almost glowing. There was movement when she shook her head!

“Do you like it?” Julia asked, worried now that Autumn hadn’t said anything.

Autumn continued to stare at her reflection but heard the worry in her friend’s voice. She tore her eyes away and grabbed both of them in a big hug. “I love it! I can’t believe you did it but I absolutely love it!”

“Good! Now put on the sandals!” Julia ordered.

Autumn accepted the shoes and slipped them onto her feet, surprised that they fit her. But she was even more surprised at how long her legs looked with the slight angle of her calves! The heel wasn’t high, but it was just enough to transform her skinny legs to sexy legs! “Wow!”

The girls giggled and laughed, and continued to give her advice. Autumn listened while she picked her clothes up off of the floor and hung them carefully in the closet, ensuring that the colors and seasons were in the right place. She tended to organize things when she was nervous or anxious. Getting chaos into order was her way of controlling her world and keeping her anxiety at bay.

When the doorbell rang, Julia and Stephanie both pushed Autumn out the bedroom door, encouraging her to smile and be interesting while on her date with Joey.

Four hours later, Autumn accepted that her miraculous date with the cutest boy in school was a total bust. She was bored out of her mind. Joey might be cute and a total babe in the muscles department, but he was dull as dirt…and not much smarter. “So what kinds of books do you like to read?” she asked as they sat in a booth at the corner coffee shop. She’d ordered herbal tea while Joey sat across from her with his big hands wrapped around a double espresso.

He shook his head, laughing. “I hate reading. It seems like such a waste of time. I’d rather be out in the world, experiencing life.”

Autumn thought about that for a moment. “You have a point,” she said. “I guess I read so much and don’t actually go out and do anything.”

Joey puffed up with pride at saying something right. “See? You’ve gotta come out to the driving range with me tomorrow,” he enthused. “You’ll love playing golf.”

Autumn forced a smile, not sure what a driving range was or why anyone would go to one. “That sounds like fun,” she lied, not sure if she really wanted to do it, but pretty sure she shouldn’t turn him down.

“Great, I’ll pick you up about ten?” he suggested.

Autumn thought about her Saturday schedule and nodded. “That should be okay. I still need to ask my parents,” she cautioned.

“No sweat,” he replied.

She glanced at her watch and realized her curfew was approaching. “I’d better get home,” she said, standing up and sliding her chair under the table.

Joey stood up as well, but just walked away from the table, leaving his empty, plastic coffee cup sitting on the table and his chair askew. Autumn picked it up and threw both of them away and adjusted the chairs, thinking of the tired waitress who would have to clean up pretty soon. Her mind instantly thought that the act of leaving trash was inconsiderate and lazy, but she pushed the thought away, trying not to judge too harshly.

When he pulled up to her house, he turned off the car and shifted to face her. “I had a really nice time tonight,” he said. “And I like the way you did your hair. Very pretty.”

Autumn beamed with pride and her heart was racing, pounding so hard with excitement and nervousness because she knew that Joey was going to try and kiss her goodnight.

“I had fun too,” she lied once again, but told herself it was for a good cause. It was a first date, she told herself. Everyone is slightly different from who they really are on a first date. At least she suspected that was the case. She didn’t have a wide range of experience on the subject since this was her first, first date.

With that small bit of encouragement, Joey leaned closer, put a hand on the back of her neck and pulled her forward.

Autumn had been waiting for this for so long and here it was! Her first kiss!

Joey’s lips moved over hers and they were soft and….then his tongue was pushing into her mouth. Autumn tried to pull back but Joey only deepened the kiss. It wasn’t bad, she thought, trying to get into the spirit of the moment. But she definitely didn’t like the way his tongue just sort of laid in her mouth.

She pulled back, looking at him quizzically. Meanwhile, Joey looked like he’d just accomplished some major feat and she almost laughed. “Well, thanks for tonight.” She turned and opened the car door.

“Don’t forget about tomorrow,” he said, leaning slightly forward. “I’ll pick you up at ten tomorrow morning and teach you how to play golf.” His grin widened. “You’re gonna love it!”

Autumn could only nod her head and take a deep breath to try and prevent her eyes from rolling upwards. Joey played just about every sport there was. He was the quarterback on the football team and had helped the team almost reach the state championship. He played baseball, golf and even a touch of basketball, but he hadn’t tried out for the high school team since the football and basketball seasons overlapped.

As she walked inside her house, she wondered if that was all Joey was about. They’d barely been able to converse tonight because they simply didn’t have enough things in common. So why had he asked her out again? What was the point? They couldn’t talk which meant they couldn’t connect with each other.

And his kiss! Blech! How annoying was that?!

“How was your date, dear?” her mother asked as soon as she walked into the house. Her mother was ready for bed, sipping a cup of tea while Autumn’s father snored on the couch beside her. They were obviously waiting up for her since they normally were in bed by nine-thirty. Ten o’clock was shockingly late for her parents to be awake and here it was, eleven!

“It was fine,” she said and flopped onto the overstuffed chair that faced the sofa and her parents. “Joey is nice enough, but…”

Her mother smiled kindly. “He seemed like a very handsome boy.”

Autumn laughed. “He’s a year older than I am and the most popular guy in the school. I have no idea why he asked me out. Especially since we have nothing in common. Not even any classes together.”

Her father snorted awake at that point. “I know why,” he grumbled. “And he’s not getting it!” With those words of wisdom, he hefted himself off the sofa, kissed Autumn on the top of her head and moved off to bed. “Goodnight, my beauties,” he said as he headed up the stairs.

Autumn giggled at her father, not believing for a moment that she was truly a beauty. She accepted that she might look better with makeup on, but he was only referring to Autumn’s beautiful mother when he thought of “beauty”. Autumn’s mother was exceptionally pretty, even without any makeup like right now. And what was even more important, her mother was beautiful inside. She rarely had a bad thing to say about anyone, never gossiped and always smiled her way through life. The only time Autumn had seen her mother cry was after her grandparents had passed away. Otherwise, she loved life and thought every day was an adventure. Autumn wanted to live just like that!

“So tell me what happened. Did he kiss you goodnight?”

Autumn’s nose wrinkled with distaste. “Yes.”

“And?” her mother prompted when Autumn didn’t elaborate.

Autumn sighed. “It wasn’t the stars and lightning I was expecting.”

Her mother smiled gently. “I don’t really believe that there’s one woman for every man, but I do believe there’s a special chemistry between two people that is either there, or it isn’t. And there’s nothing anyone can do to create that special energy if it is missing.”

She thought about that for a moment. “What happens if you have chemistry with someone and they don’t feel the same towards you?” she asked, worrying about this whole male and female relationship thing. “Or what if you feel it and you don’t like the person?”

Her mother laughed. “Dear, you’re worrying about things that might not ever happen. Just relax and enjoy dating for a while,” she advised gently.

Autumn leaned her head back against the chair’s cushion and thought about those words. She didn’t like not knowing. She preferred her life to be ordered and consistent. Mysteries were annoying unless she was reading one. She didn’t want to live one!

“I definitely don’t have any chemistry with Joey. But he’s going to teach me how to play golf tomorrow.” She cringed as if the idea were boring.

Autumn’s mother laughed softly. “Good luck with that. Your father tried to teach me to play golf. He now forbids me to even drive into the parking lot when he’s there. He says I’m worse than a water hazard, whatever that means.”

Autumn laughed as well. “Mom, it means that you hit the ball towards people instead of the hole.”

“Phsht!” was her mother’s only response. “So did you like him?” she asked.

Autumn thought about that for a moment. “He was nice enough. Much nicer than I thought he would be. I thought jocks were generally rude, obnoxious people.”

“What have I told you about stereotypes?” her mother admonished.

“I know,” she sighed. “But the stereotypes form from something.”

“True,” her mother replied. She stood up and came over to her daughter. “I’m sorry the chemistry wasn’t there for you, my love.”

Autumn stood up as well, hugging her mother. “It wasn’t too bad,” she said as she followed her mother into the kitchen. After her mother’s cup was put into the dishwasher, they made their way up the stairs, laughing about the silly things men did to impress girls.

But as Autumn slipped into bed, she wondered if she would ever find that chemistry with a man. She’d read about it in her books, craved the idea of how wonderful it would be to instantly melt when a man touched her. But so far, none of the guys in her school had even sparked a tiny bit of excitement inside of her.

She stared up at the ceiling, thinking about how exciting it would be to find a man who could make her weak in the knees from just a look across the room.

Someday, she told herself. It would happen to her too. She just knew it would!

Xander’s Story…

Xander watched warily, but with ample appreciation, as Jessica Meyers walked cautiously through the construction site.

It wasn’t so much that she walked, he thought, wiping the sweat off of his forehead with a rag. Jessica Meyers glided. He’d never thought about a woman’s walk before, but Jessica had walking down to an art form, ensuring that every man between the ages of eight and eighty stopped and admired.

Five minutes ago, there had been drilling and banging, power tools whirling and men calling out instructions to one another. But as Jessica crossed through the debris and construction equipment littering the yard, every man around stopped and stared, gawking at the female teen with long legs and perfect breasts, all displayed to perfection in the short shorts and skin tight, low cut tee-shirt.

“Hi Xander,” she said with an I-know-you-want-me smile. “How’s it going?”

Xander wiped his forehead again, not sure if the sweat was completely due to working in the hot sun or from Jessica’s attention. It seemed like her curves were pulling all the liquid from his body and pouring it out through his pores, making his mouth dry.

Well, not all liquid, he thought uncomfortably.

“What’s up Jessica?” he asked, wishing he could bring saliva back to his mouth. He was eternally grateful for whoever invented sunglasses because he simply couldn’t pull his eyes upward long enough to focus on her face when there were so many other, more interesting, places on which his eyes preferred to focus.

“We’ve all been wondering why you haven’t been to the pool this summer.” She smiled and her eyes wandered down his body, completely unembarrassed by her perusal. He was naked from the chest up, his teenage muscles protruding in all the right places while his jeans rode low on his hips, showing off the perfect contours of his abdomen…and lower. “I made it my mission to find out where you were.”

Someone to his right coughed, an obvious effort to cover up his laughter.

“I thought it might be time to earn a few bucks this summer,” he told her. He bent down low and lifted the next bag of cement. Since he was only sixteen, he couldn’t actually do any of the construction work, but he’d gotten a job as one of the manual laborers, which basically meant he hauled all the heavy stuff from one place to another so the carpenters or bricklayers could do their jobs more efficiently. It was hard work, but paid better than most of the other jobs his friends had been able to land for the summer. They hadn’t been big enough or strong enough to qualify, while Xander had been hired on the spot because of his height and brawn.

“What’s been happening lately?” he asked, but he already knew since he was in touch with his friends. He just asked to humor her until she was ready to explain the real reason for her visit.

Jessica followed Xander, picking her way through the debris like a fairy princess. Xander simply tromped over the wood and piles of equipment, his work boots protecting his feet from the nails and other sharp objects.

“Well, I broke up with Lionel yesterday,” she said, obviously an opening she hoped he would take.

“That’s too bad,” he said. “You and Lionel seemed made for each other.”

Jessica scoffed. “I didn’t think so,” she replied with derision. “I realized quickly that Lionel wasn’t going anywhere fast.”

That was news to Xander. He dumped the bag of cement onto the pile he’d already carried across the yard, vaguely noting that the construction noise had slowly resumed to previous levels. “So why are you here?”

Jessica laughed, twirling a lock of hair around her fingertip while her voluptuous body posed carefully for his titillation. “I told you. I wanted to know what you’ve been up to.”

Xander walked back to his starting point and hauled another bag onto his shoulder, wishing the woman would just go away. “Listen, Lionel is my friend. I know what you’re getting at and I’m not getting in the way.”

She huffed for a moment, then traipsed behind him. “I’m not his personal property,” she hissed. “I can go out with anyone I want!”

Xander gritted his teeth, and not from the exertion from the fifty pound bag of cement. The thought of those curves in his hands made his body tighten. He was a healthy male teenager and he might not like her intellectually, but the teenage male body didn’t need that in order to be interested. Xander was quickly discovering the male body didn’t need anything more than a willing female for his interest to be captivated.

“What’s everyone else doing this summer?” he asked, even though he already knew what most of his friends were up to. They got together occasionally for pool parties and such, although he hadn’t heard that Lionel and Jessica had broken up.

Jessica stared at the hard back of the man she wanted, her mind working quickly. There was no way she was going to let this guy out of her sights. Xander was bigger, stronger and more handsome than Lionel. Not to mention, Xander was more charming. She liked that. She wanted to have him on her arm and had been working towards this goal all year. She’d just kept Lionel on the sidelines as someone to keep her company while she worked on Xander.

When he was about to pick up one of the other bags, she pushed it slightly off balance. He was glaring up at her when she pressed herself against his chest, her hands diving into his hair so he had no doubt about what she was going to offer. “Look Xander. I’ve wanted you for a while now. I don’t care if you see other women, but I want to be considered your girlfriend. So you let me have what I want,” and she hesitated, licking her lips and pressing herself against him more tightly, ensuring that she got her message across, “and I’ll let you have what you want. Do we understand each other?”

Xander wasn’t sure exactly how to reply, but he hated the way his body reacted. Seeing her knowing smile, he knew that she was fully aware of his reaction too.

“I can tell that we understand each other perfectly.” She stepped backwards, her hands sliding down his sweat-soaked chest and stomach. “So pick me up when you get off from work today and I’ll let you take me out to dinner.”

With that, she walked away. Xander and everyone else on the work site watched her tight little bottom as she practically skipped through the obstacle-laden yard to her car. When she finally roared off down the street, the construction noise increased once again. But after that afternoon, Xander earned the respect of every man on that work site, many of them patting him on the back when he passed by and telling him they would jump onto that offer in a heartbeat. All of them fully expecting Xander to take what was being offered by the delectable Jessica Meyers.

Back home that evening, Xander jumped off his motorcycle. He and Ryker had bought it for less than a hundred bucks and repaired it the previous summer. It ran, but it was loud and bumpy, since he and his brother hadn’t been able to afford new shock absorbers or a muffler yet. Those were luxuries they were planning to install later in the bike’s lifecycle.

He walked into the kitchen, the delicious scents of his mother’s cooking reaching him as soon as he walked through the door. “What’s for dinner?” he asked, kissing her on the cheek.

The scent of her son’s sweat-soaked body hit her full force and she cringed, laughing at his rascally expression. “Uh! Go take a shower before dinner!” she admonished him, but kissed him back before pointing towards the stairs to reinforce her command. She was focused on pulling the cheese biscuits out of the oven, dumping them onto the cooling rack before turning once again towards the stove to stir the chili they would be having for their evening meal.

Xander stole one of the biscuits and took a huge bite; it didn’t even start to ease the gnawing hunger in his belly but he was used to that. He could never get enough food, especially now that he worked construction.

When his mother called out to him, he realized he might get caught with his purloined biscuit and thought quickly. “Hey Axel!” he called out to his younger brother. As soon as Axel looked up from the magazine he was reading, Xander tossed the biscuit in his direction. Axel’s automatic reflexes kicked in and he caught the missile a moment before Xander turned the corner that would hide him from his mother’s laser-sharp eyes.

“Axel Thorpe!” his mother cried out when she saw the pilfered food in her son’s hand. “Those are for dinner!”

Xander covered his mouth so his burst of laughter wasn’t heard while he stared at Axel’s confused face. An expression that quickly changed to anger when he realized what his older brother had done.

“It wasn’t me, Mom,” Axel said, but took a bite himself.

Xander didn’t hear the rest of the explanation since he raced up the stairs and turned on the shower, just in case. The water from the shower would cover the shout from his mother when he was caught.

He was drying off after his shower when Ash banged on his door. Without waiting for a response, his youngest brother opened the door and tossed the phone in. “Phone call for you,” he snapped, then disappeared before any missile could head back at him.

Xander picked up the phone and answered. “Hello?”

“Hi Xander, this is Diana.”

Xander flopped back onto his bed, a smile forming on his face. “What’s up?”

“I was wondering what you were up to. I don’t have anything to do tonight and thought maybe we could hang out together.”

Xander’s smile widened. “Hanging out” was hopefully a euphemism for something more interesting than literally hanging out and talking. But something cautioned him. Diane had been dating his buddy Mark back at the end of the school year. “What’s Mark doing? Aren’t you and he still going out?” The image of Jessica’s calculating eyes came to his mind and he shuddered with revulsion. Diane was pretty and he’d always thought she was sweet and kind.

Diane laughed through the phone lines. “He’s out at the lake this week with his parents.”

That caused every excited thought in his mind to freeze to a painful, screeching halt. “Did you guys break up or something?” he asked, trying to clarify, not sure he believed what he was hearing.

“Of course not,” she laughed again. “He’s a great guy. But he’s also not here at the moment. And I was trying to drum up something exciting to do for the night.”

“And I came to mind, eh?” Xander pulled on a pair of boxers and shorts, grabbing a tee-shirt before heading out of his room towards the kitchen once again.

Her tinkling giggle this time just made his skin crawl.

“You got it,” she replied. “So what do you say? Want to meet over at the ball field in say…an hour?”

Xander thought about Jessica and Diane, not sure he liked the trend he was picking up on. “I’m going to have to pass,” he answered. “I just got off of work and I’m pretty beat.”

“Oh, poor baby.” She paused for a moment and Xander could picture her pretty blue eyes trying to come up with some idea while her cute, pink tongue slipped out between her inviting, full lips. He shook his head to dispel the image, not liking what was beneath the imagined invitation.

“Listen, Diane, I gotta go. My mom is calling all of us to dinner. I’ll talk to you later, okay?”

“Okay. But if you change your mind, just give me a call back. Mark is out of town all week.”

Xander didn’t respond, too amazed by the blatant disregard for Mark’s feelings on the subject. He picked up his cell phone and texted Mark. “Hey Dude! How’s the lake this summer?”

As he was walking down the stairs to dinner, pulling a clean shirt over his head, his cell phone pinged back, indicating he had a message. Looking down, he couldn’t believe the words he read. Mark had already replied, “Gorgeous women here at the lake. Met girl named Missy. Hot!”

He sat down at the dinner table, not hearing his father’s deep voice as he blessed the food or his mother’s admonishment for the men in her life to slow down. All he thought about was the disparity between what he’d always thought of relationships between men and women and the reality he was discovering. His eyes looked from one end of the table where his father joked with Ryker about something while Ash and Axel chimed in, causing everyone to laugh. Then he glanced to the other end of the table while his mother rolled her eyes, shaking her head at the antics of the five men surrounding her.

He’d always thought that male and female relationships would be like his parents’ marriage, both of whom were dedicated to each other and their family. His mother went out of her way to do small things to help his father and Xander knew that his dad worshiped his mom. But several of his friends’ parents were already divorced. He didn’t mind if the couples of his group broke up and found other girlfriends or boyfriends, but he’d always thought that there would at least be fidelity within the relationship while it lasted. Hell, he’d even had several girlfriends since he’d discovered how fascinating the female population could be. But he’d never even thought of cheating on his girlfriend. He now wondered if any of his girlfriends had been with other guys.

Shaking his head, he looked down at his bowl, not sure what he’d eaten for dinner, but his bowl was empty. “May I be excused?” he asked politely.

His mother looked at him with a concerned expression in her eyes. “Is everything okay, dear?” she asked, placing a gentle hand on his arm.

“I’m good,” he replied, not moving his hand. He liked his mother’s soft touch, felt reassured by her hand on his arm. “I’m just beat from work today.”

His mother excused him and, thankfully, it wasn’t his turn to do the dishes so he was able to get away quickly. He picked up a book and tried to read, but as the summer sun started to set over the horizon and the evening turned to night, he hadn’t turned the page. He remembered his co-workers at the site today. Most of them were married but almost every one of them had smacked him on the back and said they’d have pursued Jessica’s offer if she ever made it to one of them. He knew there were honest, faithful partners in the world. But he was quickly discovering that many were not. A concept he’d never even contemplated before.

Learn more about His Challenging Lover, book one of three in The Thorpe Brothers Series