Chapter 17: Lake Tahoe VII

"Mmm ... mmm ... mmm..." my lover moaned, rocking back and forth on all fours in front of me.

I knelt behind her, stroking her spine and caressing her flanks with my hands before circling my hands around to the front of her body to squeeze and hold her D-cup melons.

"That feels good, babe," she crooned, "but the point isn't to keep fucking my pussy."

"All done," Deedee pronounced from beside us, putting away the bottle of Astroglide.

Nodding my understanding, I stopped my rhythmic hip thrusts and drew my hands back to hold her waist. Pulling out, I re-centered my cockhead at her puckered rosebud, and once I got myself lined up, I began to push.

Her anus resisted me at first, but then she took a deep breath and consciously relaxed as she exhaled. With a little more pressure from my end, her sphincter popped open and my mushroom head pushed through.

Instinctively, she clamped down on my anal invader, squeezing my cockhead almost painfully. But she hung her head down between her shoulders, exhaled again, and her asshole relaxed to let me through.

"No matter how many times you do this to me," Dawn groaned, "I feel like I'm losing my anal virginity all over again every time."

I chuckled and kept up steady pressure to let all eight inches of me burrow through. But once I reached full depth, I stopped right there and let her get used to me. The point of this was not for me to keep fucking my best friend's butt, either. There was much, much more to come.

Not far from us, Kenzie slumbered peacefully on the shag rug in front of the fireplace. For the second time in less than twelve hours, I'd fucked her past the point of pleasure overload and filled her body with creamy hot spunk. But while last night I'd creampied her pussy, this morning I'd given her the Assfuckxiation she wanted. And in the middle of it, right after screaming her first orgasm, she'd made me promise to do it to her again after we all got back to San Francisco. I was already looking forward to it.

After riding herself to a climax on top of Nick's dick, Dawn had dismounted him and come over to help me clean up. Deedee had been sitting on Nick's face, but she'd remained there smirking in amusement as Dayna meandered over, parked herself on all fours next to Nick's hip, and bent over to blow his still hard cock while Andrew followed and resumed fucking the eldest Evans sister's pussy from behind, Dayna groaning ecstatically as she felt herself filled up on both ends.

Dawn had cleaned me up and then sucked me hard while I slumped on the loveseat. Minutes later, she'd climbed aboard and fucked me reverse cowgirl, staring at the other four the whole time. I don't know if I'd sensed something through The Link or just knew the way she thought, but I'd asked if she'd like to be in Dayna's place, with Nick's dick in her mouth while I fucked her from behind. The way her pussy started clenching around Big Ben was all the answer I needed.

"C'mon, let's go over and join them," I'd urged.

"You sure?"

"It's my idea, isn't it?" Suiting words to action, I'd lifted Dawn off my lap and led her over to Nick's other side. Dayna was on Nick's right, so I parked Dawn on Nick's left, and the two sisters took turns handing his big dick back and forth or just going to town on him simultaneously, both of them finding plenty of room to suck, lick, and fondle. I'd kept fucking my best friend from behind, but there was only so much Nick could handle, and a few minutes later he started blasting away, splattering sperm all over both sisters' faces.

Deedee screamed her climax watching her boyfriend face-paint the Evans sisters. Andrew howled ten seconds later and pulled out to paint Dayna's ass. And feeling herself get hosed down with cum from both sides while she furiously strummed her own clit was all Dayna needed to go off herself.

Hearing Nick, then Deedee, then Andrew, and finally Dayna all scream out their climaxes one after the other set Dawn off. Her pussy muscles clamped down around me and she rather violently bucked herself back and forth as the orgasm coursed throughout her entire body. That pretty much set me off as well, but on a whim I pulled out of her, rolled her onto her back, and knee-walked my way up her body so I could aim my dick right at my best friend's face. I only had to pump my shaft a couple of times, and I grunted while squirting out ribbon after ribbon of cum all over Dawn's face, joining the jizz lines Nick had already painted there before.

Feeling me splatter her face seconds after Nick had done so set Dawn off again, and she rubbed her own clit while moaning out the double-orgasm. Mingled spunk was collecting in her eye sockets, and she kept the lids shut tightly even after her climax passed. Once it did, she couldn't help but laugh deliriously at the absurdity of it all, and her laughter was infectious as the rest of us started laughing with her.

Dawn tried to scoop most of the spunk with her fingers and pop them into her mouth, but first Dayna and then Deedee started licking her face as well. Between Nick and me both, there was a lot to clean up. Eventually though, the girls got every drop, and that's when I suggested Dawn might prefer a real double-penetration, meaning Nick's dick in her cunt, not just in her mouth while I fucked her from behind. Surely the thought had occurred to her once we'd all started swapping partners last night.

"Actually, we can do a TP," I added. "Andrew's here, too."

Dawn froze with the washcloth still pressed to her cheek, and her mouth gaped open wide as she looked back at me. "You can't be serious."

"Why not?"

"You know exactly why not."

"What's past is past, and I don't even think about that stuff anymore. It's really no different from you fucking Nick and Andrew one-on-one, which you already did last night."

"It's completely different, because you can never forget the past."

"Then think of it this way: Doing a TP today, with my permission and as a willing participant, would be a great way of us moving on from the past. Exorcise the demons. Start fresh with a clean slate. And if it'll make you feel any better, only I get to be in your caboose. You know how much I love being in your ass."

Dawn gave me a look of surprised amusement, smiling as she remarked, "And you know how much I love to give my ass to you."

"Then we're agreed?"

She'd paused and gave me one more hesitant look. "You're sure you're okay with it?"

"I'm sure."

So that's how I'd ended up pushing my dick eight inches into the depths of Dawn's bowels and holding myself there, my best friend groaning about how it felt like she was losing her anal virginity every time. On the couch next to us, Dayna was putting the finishing touches on sucking Nick hard again while Deedee did the same to Andrew in the armchair. And once Dayna signaled that Nick was ready, I rolled onto my back, taking Dawn with me, so that my best friend lay flat on my chest with me holding her tits for ... uhhh ... Well I'd say for support but that wasn't quite true. Really, I just liked to hold her tits.

Anyway, Nick knelt between our spread legs, guiding his cock into position. I'd done this multiple times before with Dawn, but never with a guy as big as Nick in the other hole. I wondered how much tighter her ass might feel with a dick that thick in her pussy, and a few seconds later, I didn't have to wonder anymore as he pushed himself inside.

The answer? Dawn's asshole was TIGHT.

Andrew came over and dropped beside us, kneeling upright and leaning over to brace his hands on the couch's armrest so that he wouldn't collapse. But that put his fresh erection in perfect position for Dawn to reach up, stroke him, and guide his cockhead into her mouth while she whimpered quite happily. And with the final dick in place, Nick started doing all the work.

"Holy shit!"

The voice was unexpected, and I glanced over to find that Kenzie had finally woken up. Her mouth gaped open wide and her pretty blue eyes were bugged out in shock to find us three guys making Dawn airtight.

Nick continued pumping steadily in and out of Dawn's pussy while I was more or less pinned beneath her, my cock fully-lodged up her butt but otherwise not moving a whole lot. She kept slobbering all over Andrew's dick, concentrating on stroking his shaft with her hands and absorbing Nick's thrusts while anally-skewered on my upright pole. Her entire body quivered, she was moaning constantly, and within minutes, I felt her starting to cum.

Mount Dawn's small, subtle bodyquakes started deep in her core. Since my dick was right in the middle of her core, and I hadn't been moving much, I was probably the first to feel them. Her entire butt started twitching around me, jerking in unexpected directions only an inch or two at a time. But the tremors expanded to her legs, then to her lower back, and finally started her spine waving side-to-side in a serpentine motion to the point that I actually needed to hold onto her tits as a way of keeping her body from slipping off mine to either side.

By the time her head started shaking against my shoulder, so too arrived the scream as Mount Dawn erupted. It was a howl that could easily be mistaken for intense pain, raw and primal and LOUD. It was a good thing we didn't have any neighbors nearby or someone might've come running to find out if some poor girl was getting murdered. Within seconds, the pitch of her scream rose up so much that the sound became inaudible, as if she were a thrashing shark fighting for her life on a boat deck or something, mouth gaping open wide without verbal noise.

But seconds later the noiseless scream turned into cries of pleasure, whimpering exclamations that accompanied her body's suddenly violent jerks. Dawn's muscles tightened and she thrashed to the left, forcing me to hold on tight. Nick even went still, just trying to keep himself buried inside her. Andrew's cock was now long-forgotten and he backed away lest she accidentally punch him.

Eventually, Dawn stopped thrashing side-to-side and instead dropped her hands and feet flat onto the floor so that she could pump her pelvis up and down instead. For the first time, I felt Big Ben moving through her anal chute as she fucked her butt against me while simultaneously fucking her pussy against Nick. He barely moved either, letting our mutually-skewered lover ride out the rest of her orgasm by pumping herself back and forth between us as much as she wanted. But after a few more seconds of violent thrusting, her strength gave out and she collapsed back down against me.

"Fuckin' A," Dawn gasped, her head lolling over my right shoulder. Her skin was absolutely soaked with sweat ... like 104-degree fever sweat.

Nick panted for breath on top of us, but after a few seconds, he did a push-up and backed away, sitting up on his heels.

"Holy shit!" Kenzie breathed again, gawking first at Nick's throbbing erection and then at me and Dawn with wide eyes. "Do you ... Do you think you guys could do that to me?"

Chuckling, I looked up at her, gave her a 'come hither' gesture, and replied, "As you wish, my dear Buttercup."

But then Kenzie's gaze moved over to Deedee and Dayna, and she blushed as she asked, "Were one of you like, going next? Is there a line or something?"

"Don't look at me," Dayna sighed regretfully. "I haven't done anything like that since college, but after what Nick did to me last night, ain't nothing getting near my butthole for a long, long time."

Deedee grimaced and shook her head. "Me too. My ass is still sore from the pounding Ben gave me last night. Isn't yours sore from twenty minutes ago?"

Kenzie shrugged, her eyes fixed on Dawn still butt-skewered on my cock. "I'll probably be walking funny by tomorrow, but for right now all I can think about is putting myself in her place."

Deedee gestured her forward. "If you wanna go next, be my guest. It looks like none of the guys has cum yet. But..." Her voice trailed off.

Staring in awe at the expression of utter and complete satisfaction on Dawn's face, Kenzie asked impatiently, "But what?"

"Well, Nick's your cousin. Can't have a TP without three dicks."

"Oh, uhhh..." Kenzie frowned as if the thought hadn't occurred to her. She glanced up at Nick, whose eyes had gotten REALLY big, and he looked at her rather uncomfortably, but the wheels continued turning in Kenzie's mind.

After a moment's thought though, the redhead shook her head and took a deep, calming breath. "Sorry, Nick, lost my head there. It was actually quite tempting to just say 'fuck it' and do it, cousin or not. I've never done a TP and it just looked so incredible that I ... Well ... You HAVE turned into quite the hunk."

Nick blushed bright pink and stared at the floor. His dick seemed to be throbbing even bigger.

"But Deedee's right," Kenzie finished. "We shouldn't go there."

Deedee frowned. "I didn't say you shouldn't go there. Just wanted to make sure you'd thought about it."

Kenzie looked surprised. "What, you'd be okay with it?"

Deedee shrugged. "That's between you and Nick. You and I are friends, and from my end it wouldn't really be any different from sharing him with Dawn or Dayna or any of the others."

Kenzie looked tempted again as she stared at Nick, and Nick turned even pinker, trying valiantly NOT to stare at his gorgeous naked cousin. But after another moment's thought, Kenzie broke eye contact by staring down at the floor, blushing in embarrassment. Nick shook his head as if to clear it, and he finally stood up to walk away.

"Aww..." Dayna complained. "I was kinda looking forward to watching that."

Kenzie shrugged helplessly. "'Can't have a TP without three dicks'," she quoted.

"Well, not technically," a new voice cut in. We all looked up toward the front door to find that Brooke and DJ had arrived, both of them smirking down at the scene of debauchery before them. DJ continued, "If you still want a TP, Kenzie, we may be able to help."

"Oh, fuck, oh, fuck, oh, FUCK!" Kenzie chanted, her eyes clenched shut and her face a mask of grimacing pain. But despite the obvious anguish in her expression, she continued ramming her hips back to meet my every thrust into her tight asshole, coring my cock to the very depths of her body to try and get every last millimeter of Big Ben up her butt.

The horny redhead knelt on the couch's seat cushion facing away from me, bracing her hands on the backrest while I cornholed her from behind. Sitting up against the backrest right next to her was Andrew, groaning and holding Brooke's head as my little sister bobbed her head up and down the length of his erection. But after taking a deep breath, Kenzie stopped her bucking motions and reached out to take possession of Andrew's cock back from his girlfriend. And she once again did her sword-swallowing thing to take every last inch of him into her throat.

Meanwhile, I kept hammering away at Kenzie's backside about twice per second, my dick sliding almost without friction now that her anal chute had given up trying to clench down around me, as this was my second time this morning sodomizing the shit out of her. Brooke fondled her tits and muttered dirty thoughts into her ear. And sitting on the couch cushion directly beneath Kenzie, wearing a double-ended strap-on Ben Junior, DJ suckled and slobbered all over the redhead's swaying tits while pumping the other end of my replica cock in and out of the triple-penetrated girl's pussy.

On the loveseat, Dawn cuddled against Deedee, sore and exhausted from the weekend's activities. Dawn was still leaking my cum from her stretched asshole, since I'd rolled her onto her stomach and rabbit-humped my way to my own ejaculatory release after her TP while DJ had taken her sweet time retrieving the strap-on from her luggage. Deedee herself appeared none the worse for wear, and she cradled her ex-girlfriend's head to her chest, stroking Dawn's hair gently.

Nick sat upright in one of the armchairs, Dayna riding his cock reverse-cowgirl. From my vantage point, I couldn't see whether he was in her pussy or her ass, but from her lack of evident pain and the way she'd sworn she'd never make the mistake of letting someone as thick as him back up her butt, I assumed Dayna had him in her pussy.

The rest of us smothered Kenzie with lustful attention. DJ sucked tit and fucked pussy from underneath her, I fucked ass from behind, Andrew fucked face from in front, and even Brooke got in the act rubbing and fondling whatever she could reach. It didn't take long to blow the redhead's mind, overwhelmed as she was by the first triple-penetration of her life. And soon she started screaming around Andrew's cock like she was having the biggest orgasm of her life. The moaner had certainly turned into a screamer, at least around me.

But like I said, it didn't take long to get there, so none of us were ready to stop just yet. An idea popped into my head, mostly because I felt bad that Andrew kept having only blowjobs instead of actually getting inside one of the girls' bodies. So sliding my arms between DJ's and Kenzie's bellies, I pinned Kenzie's butt against my pelvis and rolled us over so that I wound up seated on the empty couch cushion next to DJ, and I told Andrew to come over and fuck Kenzie from the front.

Brooke's boyfriend was only too eager to do so, and he dropped onto the floor, spread open Kenzie's knees, and slammed his way into her box. At the same time, Brooke stood up atop the couch cushions and stepped over Kenzie's body to straddle the redhead with her crotch in Kenzie's face. Leaning forward, she pulled the older girl's face into her pussy while barking at the redhead to start licking. Despite the six-year age difference, Kenzie did as ordered, at least as far as she was able to since Andrew was going to town pounding away at her pussy while I used the springiness of the cushions to keep pumping my dick up her butt. And Brooke laughed while pointing out that we were actually making yesterday's fantasy of Kenzie getting teamed up on by a brother and sister come true.

Meanwhile, DJ panted for breath on the seat beside me, grinning sheepishly and grabbing the front-end of her double-dildo to work it side-to-side and make the other full-size dildo inside her own pussy jerk around. "Pumping this thing is hard work!" she exclaimed.

I smiled at her, a nervous smile, still unsure of what she and Brooke had talked about on their walk together. I had no idea what understandings they'd come to, what decisions they'd made, to bring them back to the house in the manner that they did. The absolute LAST thing I expected was for DJ and Brooke to strip down their clothing, grab a double-ended Ben Junior, and join in. And yet they had.

DJ blinked at me for a moment, a similarly unsure expression on her face. But a moment later she puckered up and leaned forward, brushing her lips against mine almost experimentally.

I let her kiss me, returning her affection without really pressing back. I let her set the pace, and I certainly felt both pleasantly surprised and nervously elated when she slid her tongue between my lips.

Butterflies danced in my stomach, and for a moment I actually forgot I was still balls-deep up Kenzie's ass while Andrew kept pumping in and out of her pussy from the other side. For this moment at least, there was nobody else in the world but DJ.

"Are we okay?" I asked quietly when she finally broke the kiss.

DJ gave me a wan smile and sighed. "Yes, we're okay."

Relief washed through my entire being, and I took a deep breath. "I'm so sorry. I never wanted to hurt you. I--"

"Shhh. Not now." DJ pressed two fingers to my lips to silence me, and then gestured with them toward Kenzie's naked back. "Later, we'll talk. Right now, focus on what you're doing."

Though still uncertain, I nodded my understanding and turned to face forward. Adjusting my grip on Kenzie's hips, I sank my weight into the couch cushions and again let the springs help me wobble up and down a couple of inches, enough to let the redhead feel me moving back there. But once I got into rhythm, I looked back at DJ.

Shaking her head, she got up and started unbuckling the strap-on. I watched her go to Brooke and say something to her best friend while handing the harness over. Brooke nodded, pushed the "inside" Ben Junior dildo into her own pussy and buckled herself in. And my sister followed DJ over to the armchair where Dayna had chugged to a stop in Nick's lap.

The four of them had a short conversation and Nick's eyes went wide as Dayna dismounted him, her soaked pussy quickly replaced by her baby sister's as DJ climbed into his lap and sank herself down on him. After dropping herself all the way down, she leaned forward and rubbed her beautiful big tits in his face. She also thrust her butt back, in perfect position for Brooke to lube up her asshole and then start pushing the other end of the Ben Junior strap-on into her bowels.

That's when Andrew started running out of steam. He'd been fucking Kenzie's cunt as hard as he could and as fast as he could, but he was tiring quickly, and I told him to pull out and lie down on the floor.

Andrew did as he was told, but Kenzie was lost in delirium for a moment. She'd been fucked ragged, and fucked repeatedly in every hole, and she sagged limp against my chest with her arms and legs splayed out to the sides, unable to move. But I scooped my arm around her midsection and stood her up with me. My cock became dislodged from her distended anus, but I was focused on mounting her pussy back on Andrew's upright dick. The sweating, exhausted redhead groaned as she felt her cunt being impaled on him once again, and she collapsed forward to lay on him like a boneless rag doll while I squatted over her backside and reinserted my thick dick into her bowels.

Brooke, DJ, and Nick were right in front of me, fucking up a storm. Dayna, Dawn, and Deedee sat on the couches and chairs around us, sweaty and satisfied. And as I watched my own little sister pumping a replica version of my dick in and out of DJ's butt, I found myself matching her stroke-for-stroke.

Gasping, moaning, and groaning, DJ luxuriated in the feeling of Nick's cock up her cunt while enjoying Brooke's relentless assault on her ass. Whimpering, wheezing, and crying, Kenzie endured my relentless assault on hers. Andrew grunted beneath us, his eyes shut and his teeth clenched as he valiantly tried to hold on. But after another minute, Kenzie's poor, overstimulated body started shivering and shuddering from yet another orgasm, and when her inner muscles started spasming around his shaft while she screamed her sweet surrender, he couldn't help but scream too and start splashing spurts of semen all over the insides of her snatch.

I was primed to blow as well, but I couldn't let myself go, not yet. I was still staring at DJ, watching her get pummeled by Nick's fat dick in one end and Brooke's Ben Junior in the other. I was only too aware that each and every Ben Junior dildo was an exact replica of my dick. And as I stared at the way my sister drilled hers in and out of DJ's ass, I couldn't help but wonder if I would ever again fill her up with the real thing.

Was this truly the end of our relationship? Had I finally hurt her so bad that she finally cut me off, accepting a true role as "little sister" and nothing more?

She hadn't returned to the house howling bloody murder, cursing my very existence, and perhaps wielding a pair of Korean barbecue scissors. No, she'd stripped down her clothes, grabbed a double-ended Ben Junior, and joined in. She'd even kissed me on the couch just a few minutes ago. All that was ... good ... right?

But I didn't know for sure. And I wouldn't know for sure, not until we sat down and talked again, and even then we might not come to a resolution. Right here, right now, all I could do was stare at my sister sodomizing my ex-fiancée with a fake version of me, and wish that it were me and my real Big Ben instead.

So Brooke kept fucking DJ's ass.

And I kept fucking Kenzie's ass.

And poor Andrew lay exhausted beneath us, Kenzie's near-comatose body smothering him against the floor.

It's not like Brooke could ejaculate, but she was determined to get DJ off. Harder and harder she fucked, reaming out her best friend's bowels while Nick grabbed DJ's waist in his hands and used his powerful muscles to hammer her body up and down in his lap. DJ's head started lolling around as her eyes closed and she surrendered herself to the sensations. I recognized the signs of her impending orgasm even from afar, and I likewise put every last drop of energy I had into my own pelvic pounding.

Nick started grunting: concussive, repetitive sounds from the bottom of his throat as he thundered down his own final lap. DJ screamed, throwing her head back and howling at the top of her lungs as she felt the explosion begin deep within her core. And then even Brooke started yelling, verbally releasing the athletic strain of continuing to pump away at her best friend's butt.

DJ came, her entire body going rigid even while her two lovers kept thrusting away.

Then Nick came, bellowing his eruption while slamming DJ's body down against her crotch one final time.

Even Kenzie came again, whimpering and crying and shuddering beneath me while her anal chute clenched and contracted around my cock.

And then I came, the roar tearing its way out of my throat as I slammed every last pound of my body weight down on top of Kenzie's ass. The fire hydrant blew, and I poured out what felt like gallons of cum into the darkest depths of the lifeless girl's anal cavity, spurting for what felt like hours until blackness overtook my vision for a moment. And when I finally came to, I found that the three of us were still stacked on top of each other, Kenzie snoring audibly with a silly grin on her face and poor Andrew gasping for oxygen beneath us.

Lifting my head, I looked up toward DJ, to see what she was doing. For a moment, I was terrified I might see her kissing Nick sweetly, and I prepared myself for the simultaneous bout of jealousy and anger at myself for giving her away. But she was looking back at me, her chest heaving up and down as her lungs screamed for air.

Her blue eyes sparkled, the corners of her lips inched their way upwards, and in that moment, I started to believe we'd be alright.

An hour later, everyone had cleaned up and gotten dressed. Brooke and Andrew cuddled together to one side of the bench seat built into the base of the bay window. Andrew sat up with his back to the wall, his legs parted so that Brooke could sit between them and lean back against his chest. She had the fingers of both hands intertwined with his, almost absentmindedly kissing his palms and knuckles while they murmured softly to each other. His cheek lay against the back of her head, and his eyes were closed. Even after all the crazy orgies and partner-swapping, the pair of them were right back in the same place they'd started this vacation. My little sister had found a keeper.

Nick, Deedee, and Dawn were at the dining table, having finished preparing lunch. Nobody was eating yet, though. We expected Jared, Brandi, Miguel, and Paloma to arrive soon, and the plan was to have one last big meal together before going our separate ways. In the meantime, Dawn was spending what little time she had left chatting with her ex-boyfriend and ex-girlfriend.

Dayna and DJ were in one of the bedrooms, most likely talking about me. Theoretically, they could be having sex with each other, but I thought it much more likely that they were talking about me.

And as for Kenzie and me, we'd meandered outside and cuddled together beneath a thick blanket on the padded porch swing. I sat on it sideways, with my legs parted so that she could lie down between them and pillow her head on my chest. I spent most of the next fifteen minutes staring out at the lake view while stroking her fine red hair. Kenzie was flat out exhausted, too tired to really talk. After everything I'd done to her this morning, now her ass was just as sore as Dayna and Deedee had complained about, and she didn't want to do much more than close her eyes, feel the sway of the porch swing, and cocoon herself against the warmth of my body.

After fifteen minutes, Dawn came outside to let us know that Jared and company had arrived. Kenzie still didn't move off me for another five minutes, content to remain exactly where she was, and nobody bothered us. But eventually she took a deep breath, stretched, and craned her neck to reach my lips and kiss me.

We rejoined the others and collectively did our best to demolish whatever food we had left, including the leftovers Jared and Miguel had brought from their fridge. It wasn't the finest meal of our lives or anything, but everybody got fed and very little went to waste. And then it was time for the two groups to separate.

Brandi clutched Jared like she never wanted to let him go, like he'd turn into a pumpkin at the stroke of midnight, and even started crying a little. But Jared reminded her that he'd fallen in love with her, and reassured her that heading back to San Francisco wasn't going to change that. I was both amazed and not particularly surprised he was willing to say that out loud only two days after we'd all run into each other at the ski resort Saturday morning. They confirmed plans to meet again the day after Christmas.

Kenzie was far less emotional about our parting. She wrapped her arms around my neck and gave me one last kiss to knock my socks off. When our lips finally parted, she sighed and stood back down on her heels, giving me an anxious look. "Will I see you again in San Francisco?" she asked rather nervously. Unspoken was the fear that this had been nothing more than a vacation fling, to be forgotten as soon as she walked out the door.

"Absolutely. I've got your number, and you've got mine. I've got a feeling that those two will be seeing a lot more of each other..." I gestured toward Brandi and Jared, who were kissing again. "I'll call you after we get back."

"Promise?" she asked hopefully.

I grinned and pecked her lips. "I promise."

The pretty redhead smiled, turned, and climbed into Jared's SUV. She had a distinct hitch in her step, as if somebody had sodomized the shit out of her all morning, and I winced apologetically even if she couldn't see it.

Nick and Deedee kissed Dawn goodbye, and Deedee went over to kiss Dayna goodbye as well. Then the two of them followed after Kenzie. Jared was the last to climb into his car, and after he closed the door and started up the engine, the rest of us waved goodbye. We all stayed there until they were out of sight, and only then did we head back inside.

Time to pack up and head home. But first, DJ slid her hand into mine, gave me a serious look, and tugged me toward the back patio doors.

Obediently, I went.

Dawn must have told DJ about the boulders down by the lake, because she led me straight there. She sat up on the same rock that Dawn had sat on this morning, and I ended up just beneath her on the opposite boulder with my feet on the same makeshift footstool.

"Let me first say that I don't hate you," DJ began. "But let me also say that I really, really fucking HATE you."

I popped my eyebrows but kept my mouth shut. Like I said: I'd worried DJ might return to the house howling bloody murder, cursing my very existence, and perhaps wielding a pair of Korean barbecue scissors, so for her to be doing anything different, I considered myself ahead of the game. She was in charge of this conversation, and I was perfectly willing to let her say whatever she needed to say.

"I still love you, which is why I don't really hate you. But I DID hate you for a little bit, and after everything you said about stringing me along as your fallback option, I wanted nothing more than to cut your balls off and make sure you never got anyone ever again, let alone your Top 2. Seriously, every time I stop and think about it, I start to hate you again."

I found myself glancing up and down her body, looking for any hidden Korean barbecue scissors. And I leaned back a bit, giving myself an extra couple of inches of distance between us just in case the howling and cursing started up and she attempted to actually castrate me.

"I'm not gonna lie: what you said was really painful," she intoned seriously. "You tore my heart out, threw it on the ground, and then stomped on it a few times just for good measure."

I grimaced and stared down at my feet, mumbling, "I'm sorry."

DJ sighed. "I know you are. Because I know that while you can be the stupidest, densest, most oblivious and unobservant dumbshit on the planet from time to time, you're never mean. You're actually kind of a wuss when it comes to breaking girls' hearts."

I blinked twice and arched an eyebrow. "Excuse me?"

"How many girls have you dumped in your life? I'm guessing not many, if any. Most of the time, it's up to the girls themselves to walk away when they realize you either don't love them as strongly as the love you, or that they simply won't ever matter to you quite as much as they may have hoped."

"I'm not a 'wuss'," I said defensively.

"Shut up. Me calling you a wuss actually works in your favor."

I started to reply, but thought better of it and shut my mouth.

DJ waggled her eyebrows as if that were proof enough of my wussiness.

"Brooke said I should actually be grateful for you saying the things you said, for turning down my marriage proposal and forcing me to walk away. You could've done what you usually do, which is to let me string myself along, waiting in the wings for another chance to be with you, and then doing my level best to fuck you into loving me when you're in-between epic romances with someone else."

I frowned. "You make it sound like I was just using you. I never just used you. I LOVED you, DJ."

"I know." She sighed and wrapped her arms more tightly around her upraised knees. "But I also knew the cycle had to end. I couldn't let go of you, not on my own. I couldn't get off the hamster wheel and stay off it for my own good. You did that for me. You gave me the cold, hard truth, as uncomfortable as it may have been. And for that I think I should actually thank you."

I blinked twice. "Thank me?"

DJ shook her head. "Don't get me wrong: you're still an asshole who used me for my body, let me love you more than you could ever love me, and let me waste some of the best years of my life pining after a dream that was never going to come true."

I grimaced and gave her an apologetic look.

"You knew what my biggest fears were, knew about my inferiority complex when it came to not living up to my big sisters, and then you basically went and confirmed my absolute worst nightmare: that I really AM just second place when it comes to Dawn."

"Deej, I--"

"Shut up," she interrupted. "I'm talking here."

I shut up.

She took a deep breath, looked out across the lake, and slowly exhaled. When she was good and ready, and not a moment sooner, she finally turned back to me and explained, "The thing is, having my worst nightmare confirmed is still better than what I was doing before: wondering whether or not I'd never be more than Dawn's second best. I've spent years trying to climb out of her shadow. I've spent years trying everything I could to make myself better than her, trying to get you to love me instead of her. And even when she declared herself out of the race as your best friend, it only made me think, 'Hey, I've actually got a chance!'"

I opened my mouth and started to speak, but DJ shot me a harsh look, and I shut my trap again.

"Now I know better. You stabbed me with a jagged knife to the heart. You twisted it around, pumped it in and out a little, stirred it like a spoon in porridge, and then squeezed some lemon juice inside as well..." DJ smirked while my face turned into an apologetic wince. "But at least you finally stabbed me. In a way, it's a big relief to finally have it over with instead of wondering all the fucking time both 'if' and 'when' you'd eventually deliver the fatal blow."

I bit my lower lip, forcing myself to keep my mouth shut and wait her out. There were things I wanted to say, but the situation called for letting DJ say her piece first.

Taking a deep breath and looking out across the lake again, DJ exhaled slowly and shook her head. Still staring at the lake, she began, "I know you still love me; that part I believe is true. I know you'll always love me like a sister, at the very least, no matter what. I find myself still wishing that you could love me as a wife. I find myself still wishing you could love me as your Number One. But I've wished a lot of impossible things over the years, stuff like being able to fly, being able to do complex calculus in my head, and vaporizing jealous evil bitches with just my eyes. I got over most all of those impossible dreams, and someday I'll also get over you."

I didn't say anything, but I reached up with one hand and set it on her knee, giving it a little squeeze. She glanced down at my hand, thought for a moment about barking at me to remove it, but ultimately looked up at my face and gave me a sad shake of her head.

"I wish things could've been different between us," she murmured softly. "I wish I could've given you everything you ever wanted. I wish you could've given ME everything I ever wanted. But some things just aren't meant to be."

"I'm sorry," I said softly, and she didn't snap at me to shut up.

Instead, DJ sighed and shook her head. "You don't actually need to be sorry. This isn't your fault. None of this is your fault. It just IS. You're you. Dawn's Dawn. Adrienne's Adrienne. And I'm me. We are who we are. We mean what we mean to each other, and nothing more, but at least nothing less. You and I: we're special in the sense of 'family', but not THAT kind of special the way you are with them. It's not your fault. It's time I stopped trying to force you to have feelings that aren't there. It just IS."

"Deej..." I slid my hand a little higher up her leg, and this time she knocked my hand away.

"Don't. Just don't."

"I didn't mean--" I stammered defensively.

"You broke my heart," she whimpered, her voice now cracking as fresh tears started to roll down her cheeks. "I loved you more than anything, loved you more than anyone. You were my dream, and maybe you were a childish dream I should have grown out of, but that doesn't make it hurt any less."

"I know it doesn't."

"I don't know if I'll ever get over you. I know I should try, and the logical part of my brain says that time heals everything, but right now, right this minute, it still fucking hurts, alright?"

I nodded and stroked her leg again. This time she let me.

"Brooke says I have to move on. She says I have to start considering other people. Maybe not today or tomorrow or even next month, but eventually I'll have to start considering whether or not there's somebody else out there in the world who's meant for me. You're right: I never gave anybody else a fair shot; not Josh, not Doug, not anybody. I never considered the possibility that there might be anyone else better for me than you. YOU'VE had the chance to meet and bang a hundred-odd different girls, but all this time I've always been hung up on you. Not anymore. You've finally cut me loose." Her jaw quivered, she squeezed her eyes shut, and she took a deep breath. "You've finally set me free."

I sighed. "The broken record had to stop."

Still crying, DJ managed to nod. I reached both arms up to her, and she slid off her rock and climbed sideways into my lap, setting her head down on my shoulder and burying her face into the crook of my neck.

I stroked her back with my right hand and held her head with my left. "I'm sorry," I repeated, and then I repeated it again. "I'm sorry ... I'm sorry ... I'm sorry..."

I kept repeating those two words, wishing that they would somehow make everything better but figuring that they wouldn't. Still, I kept going, not knowing what else to do. So I held her, and I stroked her, and I hugged her some more while she cried and cried and cried.

She only cried in my lap for a few minutes, but it felt like an eternity. Eventually, the tears dried up, the shuddering stopped, and DJ went quiet in my arms. She started taking deeper and deeper breaths, gathering her sense of calm and hugging me back. And after another eternity that really was only a few minutes, she finally raised her head and wiped her eyes.

"I'm sorry," I repeated one more time. "The last thing I ever wanted to do was hurt you."

"I know," she sighed, and actually managed to crack a smile. "You're a 'wuss', remember?"

I chuckled and squeezed her tighter.

"Still ... as much as it hurt..." she added, "thank you for not wussing out with me. You did what I couldn't do: put me out of my misery. You stopped the broken record, and you ... you executed me fast and ... well, it wasn't exactly painless, but ... What the hell am I saying... ?"

"You're saying you understand what I did and why I did it?" I ventured hopefully.

"I do understand," DJ sighed with a nod. "And I'm sad that it's finally over between us, but I'm relieved about it, too. It's been a long time coming, and I thought we'd already settled this months ago, but I guess the corpse of my infatuation with you had one last gasp in it."

I grimaced. "Not exactly the most appetizing imagery."

"Breakups can be ugly."

"Was this even a breakup?"

"It certainly felt ugly."

"True enough."

DJ sighed and pushed her face into the crook of my neck again. She snuggled herself up against me, and appeared content to stay that way forever.

I squeezed her again and resumed stroking her back, a little anxious that she might start crying all over again. But she remained calm, and in fact seemed quite relaxed in my arms. So after another long minute of silence, I rubbed the back of her head and asked, "So what happens now?"

DJ took a deep breath and exhaled slowly without moving herself out of my grasp. "Now I do what I should have done permanently in October: accept that I'm your little sister, with benefits, but without any more hopeless dreams for the future."

"'With benefits'?" I queried curiously, glancing down at her and arching an eyebrow.

DJ snickered and looked up at me, murmuring coquettishly, "Not today."

I blinked twice in surprise. "But ... eventually?"

She gave me a coy smile and shrugged. "Maybe tomorrow. Maybe next month. Maybe next year. I'll be ready when I'm ready. I may even find myself another boyfriend in the meantime – someone casual to keep me company for a few months until I graduate – I'm already used to doing that sort of thing. But for now, at least, we can still do this." She wrapped her arms around my neck and planted a sweet kiss on my lips.

I kissed her back, befuddled but perfectly happy to go along if she wanted to kiss me. But she pulled away a moment later.

"Umm ... okay," I mumbled with wide eyes. "Whenever you're ready. Whatever you say."

DJ grinned, an actual sparkle coming into her pretty blue eyes. "Good answer." And then she kissed me again.

She actually only kissed me for a few minutes, but it felt like an eternity, a good eternity. But eventually we broke for air, and with a smile I asked, "Can you do me a favor? Can you NOT murder Dawn in her sleep just to get her out of your way?"

DJ snorted. "As if. Wouldn't do me any good. Her ghost would just haunt us anyway."

I laughed. "That's what -I- said!"

Shaking her head, DJ grinned and set her forehead down against mine. I held her close, took a deep breath, and finally started to relax.

Now I knew we'd be alright.