I wish to retain all rights to this story. However, I am delighted to grant permission for any person or entity, to publish this story as long as there is no charge to the reader and as long as no changes are made to the story.

On Friday night, I couldn't study. I couldn't focus — I felt like my whole life needed focus, and at the center of that focus, I wanted Daniel.

The suddenness and depth of my feeling for Lenny had blindsided me. On the one hand, I was incredibly happy to finally have a good friend in San Antonio; two if you counted Michael. But on the other hand, Lenny was already more than a mere friend.

I knew that I needed to tell Dan about what had happened that previous week, but talking would be difficult in the rush of activity planned for the next day. In fact, it would be impossible to talk to Dan once we were with Linda. I thought about putting off the whole discussion until after the weekend because the last thing I wanted to do was spoil Saturday night for either Dan or Linda. But if I held off telling Dan, it might spoil the weekend for me; I would feel guilty for keeping something from him.

A car honked outside the dorm, and several male voices called out. I closed my book. Though Dan and I had promised each other that we wouldn't have sex until we saw Linda, it didn't mean that he would still be in his room on a Friday night. Hoping that he would be, I lifted the receiver from the phone and dialed.

When I heard his boyish sounding voice, I stretched the phone cord and moved to the bed. "I was really hoping you'd be in," I told him, leaning back against the wall.

"Well, yeah," Daniel answered. "What did you expect? You told me to behave myself so I'd be ready for tomorrow. I even told Marco to stay away when he tried to hang out."

"Come on, Sean. You know we've been getting it on, just like you've been doing with those dudes, Lenny and Michael. I wasn't going to have Marco sitting around my dorm room making me horny after promising you not to have sex tonight."

"Yeah," I said, slipping my hand inside and pulling my cock out to the side. But then I decided not to get sidetracked. "Look, Dan, I need to tell you about something."

"It's not a big deal," I said quickly. "It's just that, well... it's about Lenny."

"Shit! All you have to do is screw with somebody and you fall in love with them."

"That's not true," I told him. "But I really do like Lenny and Michael... well especially Lenny. I mean, I've finally made good friends here, Dan; with those two guys. It's just that Lenny and I really hit it off and I felt like I needed to tell you about that."

By way of explanation, I told Dan about my week, and ended with, "You'll really like Lenny. I want you to meet him... and Michael." I lowered my voice. "I want you to rescue Lenny with me. It's important. I want him to be our friend."

Dan took a deep breath. "Sean, no more falling in love, OK? I mean, we've already adopted Ryan because you two fell in love. Aaron wants to jump your bones every time he sees you. And now we're spending this weekend with Linda because you've got something going with her."

"You're not being fair, Dan. You love Ry, too. And you were the last one to get it on with Aaron. And this weekend is as much about you doing Linda – a girl — as anything. And hey, what about you and Marco? You seem to be spending a lot of time with him."

"Back off, Sean. Sammy and Marco are just friends; fuck buddies. Just like Lenny and Michael are supposed to be for you. But no, you can't do that. You've got to fall in love!" I heard him sigh. "So is it as bad as Aaron?"

"It's not the same as Aaron," I said. "And it's not exactly like I've fallen in love. I just plain like him. And I like being at their house. I can relax there. Maybe that's part of it. I love being over there because it's a gay house."

"Damn it, Dan! It's been a little lonely here since I've been outed, and Lenny and I just really click. You've clicked with guys before."

"Well, yeah. That is part of it. Lenny's really good. I'll just say this: you're going to really like rescuing him."

I twisted the phone cord around my finger. "I like him, Dan," I said quietly. "He's special. As long as I'm stuck here at Trinity, I want to hang out over there."

"But if you tell me not to," I finally said, slowly, deliberately. "If you tell me to stay away from them, I will."

Dan sighed. "Just stick to those two guys. No new ones, OK? No more falling in love."

When he answered his door, I held it out to him; a long-stemmed, red rose. Dan smiled. He looked great in a red plaid, button-down collared shirt over a white T-shirt and cream-colored shorts. He took the rose and pulled me into the room where he put his arms around my shoulders and rubbed his cheek to mine before he kissed me.

"Oh," I said, sheepishly. "The game, of course. I can't believe I forgot about a football game. I must be turning gay or something."

He laughed and dropped his hands behind my waist, resting his forehead on mine, pressing his full package to mine.

"We can't," I said, feeling my cock stiffen. "We've got a date." I stepped back from him, pulling a cassette tape from my pocket. "I brought you a little something," I said.

I shrugged. "After we talked on the phone last night, I couldn't stop thinking about you, and I wanted to bring you something; some kind of gift. So I recorded this. It's me, playing my guitar and pretending that you were there. That's why your song's on there twice."

Daniel smiled and pulled me close by my butt. Again, he leaned his forehead on mine. "I know we're going to have fun this weekend, Seany. But I'd be just as happy for us to take the Bronco to a state park somewhere."

I nodded and he kissed me, his lips lingering. I wrapped my arms around his shoulders and kissed him back. His tongue pressed into my mouth. His hands pulled me tight by my butt, and it would have been so easy to give in. I broke for air and rested my cheek against his. "We better go, Danny," I said.

He groaned, and for a moment, all he would have had to do was squeeze and I would have given in. But he kissed my cheek and stepped back.

"Your knee must be getting better," Dan commented on the way to the Bronco. "You're barely limping."

That wasn't true, but I was limping much less. "It's got to be the water therapy," I said. "I do a lot of water walking and swimming. There's still a little pain when I put too much weight on it, but almost all my flexibility is back." I smiled. "I've finally started to heal, Dan. I will heal."

He smiled; and then blinked several times, his eyes, watering. I put my hand in the center of his back and rubbed. "We're healing, too, aren't we?" I said.

When I held open the back window of the Bronco for Daniel to toss his bag in, our eyes met. Daniel raised his eyebrow, nodding toward the mattress in back, and I shook my head. "Cut it out," I said. "You're going to wear me out just from all the sexual false starts."

"Are you sure you don't want to?" he asked. "I'm horny as hell, and if we're only wearing loincloths tonight, it's going to be hard to hide just how horny.

I looked up and down the street, giving the idea one last consideration. No one was around. "No," I said, steeling myself. "Not a quickie; let's not take the edge off tonight." I closed the window.

We climbed in and I pulled the Bronco away from the curb. The temperature was in the mid-seventies and the neighborhood air was dry and light with the scent of fall cedar... and the mouth-watering aroma of somebody's backyard barbeque. We cracked open our windows.

Dan's fine, white-blond hair blew back from the sides of his head. Light reflecting from the road made his blue eyes bright. He smiled. "You really need to watch the road, Sean."

"It's more fun watching you," I said with a wink, before returning my attention to driving.

We followed I-35 south out of Austin. With a wink, Dan popped in the cassette I had given him. Then he leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes.

He fell asleep as I sang his song to him, accompanied by the cassette. And he didn't wake until we turned off the interstate and headed up the back highway to Wimberley, Texas.

Daniel stretched and nodded approvingly at the countryside. "Remind you of our hill country tour?" he asked.

The road descended around the base of a hill and followed a section of rapids in the Blanco River before climbing a half-mile cut through a limestone pass. The tall trees of the riverside gave way to shorter oaks and elm.

He turned my way and reaching behind me, closed his long fingers over the back of my neck, squeezing, rubbing. "It was a good week," he said. "We played our last intramural football game."

"Of course," he said. "I'll have you know that I actually caught several passes."

"If I'd made a touchdown," he said, toying with the hair at the back of my neck, "I would have called you."

He shrugged. "It's hard to get back into it if we aren't going to be riding together," he said.

Dan laughed and ran his fingers far up into the back of my hair. "There's something fun I was saving to tell you about."

He grinned. "You already know my life story; up until this week. This week, I found out that I'm going to be helping a psyc prof I really like. He's researching genetically controlled behavior. Of course Roger will have a fit; he's such a behaviorist. To him, behavior is all conditioning; nothing's genetic. But Professor Armstrong has already linked a couple of behavior patterns to genes in primitive animals. And this week, Seany," he said, his enthusiasm growing, "I watched them extract DNA; real DNA. I thought it'd take a huge lab and all sorts of equipment and microscopes, but it was this little contraption, no bigger than a desktop."

"Hell, I don't know. From some worm. Armstrong's working on genes that make them turn right instead of left or something."

"So let me get this right – after talking me out of majoring in biology and going after writing instead, now you're going to get into biology?"

"Not biology. Behavioral biology. But not that either. I'm just helping Armstrong. But it is fascinating, Seany," he said, moving closer onto the edge of his seat. His hand was at the back of my head, squeezing frequently. "You can major in biology and writing. Then the two of us will get into genetics and genetically guided behavior, OK?"

"Yeah, Seany, that kind of behavior, too." With a smile, he leaned close and lowered his voice. "Maybe we'll figure out how to mix our X's and Y's after all. What was it you said? Remove the nucleus from an egg and put in your X's and my Y's or vice versa."

"And let the girl's RNA do all the work," I said with a grin. "Yeah, it was just an idea, but I bet it could work."

Daniel combed his fingers through the back of my hair. "Maybe we could even find which genes make guys gay."

He gave the back of my hair a little jerk. "I really am serious, Sean. It's fascinating stuff. And they're just beginning to scratch the surface. Ok, maybe I should have never talked you out of majoring in biology. Wouldn't it be incredible if we could partner up? You dig out the genes and I figure out what they do?"

"It could be fun," Dan said. "And, you could write about it. You could use your writing skills for that. Maybe you could even write a novel – a sci fi – about gay guys having babies together."

"Cool," I said. "Maybe I'll start reading up on all that again. But I'd rather be a biologist than a geneticist. Still, there are a lot of ways to go."

"As long as we go together." Daniel smiled happily. Wind from the window blew his fine hair across his face and he shook it back.

The road descended into rich bottom land, crisscrossing the Blanco River as we drew closer to Wimberley.

Dan frowned. "Well yeah, Sammy on Tuesday. Marco Thursday. But who are you to talk?" He pulled his hand from behind my head and sat back in his seat, facing forward.

"No," he said, thoughtfully. "To tell you the truth, I was starting to think about tonight."

"But don't act like you are," I warned. "Girls go slower. Let's just enjoy the ball. Have fun, and whatever happens afterward, happens."

Dan leaned his head back on his seat. "I can't believe you're afraid I might come on too strong. If I come on to anyone, Sean, it will be you. I haven't even met Linda yet. I don't even know if I can get it up for her."

"Look. Just treat Linda like a friend. And when the time comes – if the time comes – just go with the flow. It's not like I'm an expert, but..."

I proceeded to give Daniel the benefit of my imagined vast experience. I told him all I understood of the female psyche, and female anatomy (which didn't take long). I did tell him about Linda being longer inside than most girls, "Almost like she was made for us," I said, grinning. "Oh, and you know what a clitoris is? I've got to tell you about clitorises or clitorisi... or whatever you call them. It's how to really get a girl ready; especially Linda." I proceeded to tell Dan where the clitoris was located and how to gently stimulate it without too much pressure, or too little. "It's like a magic button with girls," I told him. "But you can't press the button right away. It's like I've been saying, you have to warm a girl up first."

"I'll let you warm her up," he said, reaching across to rub my shoulder. "I'll warm you up."

"We need to concentrate on her, Dan. Guys haven't always treated her right. Let's make it special for her. We take care of Linda first, and then see what happens, OK?"

Daniel smiled and squeezed my shoulder. "You're the sweetest guy I know, Seany. There's nobody else like you." He leaned close. "I think I'll marry you."

He had caught me totally off-guard. We hadn't called it marriage before; not between us.

"Whatever we call it, Sean; that's what we're doing. You and me; we're marrying each other... till death do us part."

Dan's blue eyes could always say many things, quickly. And in that moment, they spoke of belonging, and deep love.

He smiled gently and taking my jaw, turned my head forward. "You've got to start watching the road," he said.

"What makes it worse is having to be apart all week." He rubbed my shoulder briskly.

Marrying, I reflected. I'm marrying Daniel. Daniel is marrying me. We're getting married!

Daniel smiled and stroked back my hair. "The 'forsaking all others' part," he said, quietly. "That might have to wait until we're living together... if we ever want to do that part of it... the 'forsaking all others.'"

I thought of Lenny. Trinity would be so much harder without him. "Maybe when we're living together," I said, agreeing. "But whatever else... after this weekend, we're back to concentrating on each other." I squeezed his leg. "You know what I want to do?"

"What?" he asked, his hand sliding behind my neck to tug on the back of my hair once more.

"I want to take you on more dates," I said. "I mean, here we are, planning a date with Linda, and earlier this week, I had what was almost a date with Lenny. And I realized that you and I have hardly ever gone on a real date."

"Ah, Dan," I said, rubbing his long, slender thigh. "I want to take you out on official dates... to dinner and to movies. Or to a play, or if we can find a gay dance somewhere, then there; or hell, I could even take you to a museum. We like museums."

"I want them to be special," I said. "I want to dress up for you, and bring you a rose, or a boutonniere, or a black g-string." I lifted my hand to his cheek. "I love you, Danny. You're the one I want to do all the special things with. I want to concentrate on you."

He nodded against my hand. "It's hard, being apart all week," he said. "Next year."

I groaned, dropping my hand. "That'll be forever! Maybe I can transfer next semester."

"Was school still hard this week," he asked, twirling the back of my hair around a finger. "Are people still avoiding you?"

I shrugged. "Some people are starting to relax. Eric and his buddy, Ferg, are on my side and they outweigh the rest of the football team combined. They even had a hair-brained idea about me giving Eric a black eye so I'd look macho. Oh, and one guy called the dorm room to tell me he's gay, but wouldn't leave a name. Another guy came to me on campus and said he was gay and knew of a couple of other guys. Not much else happened."

"It'll get better," he said and leaned across to take a deep breath in the back of my hair. "It's going to be difficult," he said, "to concentrate on Linda with you around."

I smiled to myself. Just as I had told Daniel that we needed to concentrate on Linda, I had told Linda that we needed to concentrate on Daniel; since it was his first time. I figured that would get them both headed in the right direction... together.

I had thought that it would be a motel. But when we found the Blanco River Resort on the other side of Wimberley, we had to get there by winding up a tree-covered lane. The top of a low hill opened to two rows of rustic cabins along with two, larger motel-like lodges and several other buildings.

"When she said cabin sixteen, I thought it was just like a quaint way they referred to their motel rooms," I said, pausing at the top of the road. "But it really must be a cabin."

Ahead, the road went straight to what looked like an office. To the right, the road passed between a swimming pool and a large, barn-like building before disappearing behind a lodge. To the left, the road wound toward the first line of cabins. The pool appeared to be heated since there were people in it, and Texans don't usually swim in cold water. We avoided the pool and the people and turned left. At the end of the second row of cabins, we found number sixteen.

Linda answered the door barefoot, in denim shorts and a button-up, short-sleeved yellow blouse. The blouse was crisply pressed. Her rich, brown hair was back in a high ponytail, and her makeup was lightly applied. Her smile was bright, her eyes, dancing. She looked good; better than I'd ever seen her.

I set down my ice chest and bag, and hugged her. She pressed her body to mine, hugging my chest tightly. Daniel held back to one side, but as soon as she finished hugging me, Linda hugged Daniel the same way.

Leaving her arms loosely around him, she leaned back and gave Dan a smile. "I've seen your picture, and Sean's talked so much about you, that I feel like I know you," she said.

"I guess so," I cracked, glancing at the lower half of her body pressed to his. "After a hug like that."

"I feel the same way about you," Daniel said with a return smile. "Sean's talked a lot about you. But neither what he said, nor your pictures came close to doing you justice."

"Oooh," Linda said, her smile widening. She hugged him again and I gave him an encouraging wink.

"I thought Sean had exaggerated about you, Daniel," she said, stepping back and taking his hand. "But I don't think that any more." She turned my way, with a grin. "He's a keeper, Sean."

"Oh I plan to keep him," I said, feigning resignation. "I looked all over, and they just don't make any better models."

"Did anyone see you?" Linda asked, clasping Dan's hand, which looked large around her slender one.

"That's a relief," Linda said, pleased. "She's in the next cabin. Oh, and by the way; Janet asked me to sing Endless Love tonight. She's having a contest and wants me to sing while they're counting votes. You're going to sing it with me Sean."

"Oh well," I said with resignation. "It's about time that all that church singing they made me do growing up, paid off."

Linda's single-room cabin was larger than a motel room. In the back there was a bath on one side and a small kitchenette on the other. The main floor was carpeted, but not the kitchenette. Besides a small table, there was a refrigerator, and a sink. And on the table was a narrow vase with a bouquet of fall flowers.

The room also contained two armchairs, a king size bed, and a TV armoire and dresser. The bed was covered with a thin, but bright white, cotton quilt. The fabric was a tight weave with close stitching, and looked smooth to the touch. I leapt onto the bed, laying back onto the pillow shams, and tucked my hands behind my head. "This is great," I said. "Cozy. I think I should sleep in the middle."

"Oh, you do, do you?" asked Linda with a cocked eyebrow, leading Dan by his hand to the foot of the bed.

I noticed Dan's eyes roam the length of her long ponytail, onto her back, and down.

"Yes I do," I said. "To protect you guys. You see, Linda, Daniel farts all night. And Daniel, Linda snores like a freight train. I need to sleep between you two to protect you from each other."

They jumped onto the bed on either side of me, and four sets of fingers dug themselves into my ribs.

Linda climbed astride my waist, gouging my ribs with her fingers. With a loud cry, I bucked; but she stayed on. Daniel climbed astride me, right behind her, straddling my hips. I tried bucking them both. But Daniel wrapped his arms around Linda's waist from behind and held on while she continued to dig in with her fingers.

"Better stop," Daniel said. "He'll bust a gut or piss his pants, right under where I'm sitting."

"Maybe we should let him sleep between us," Linda said. "That way we can tickle him all night." She leaned back when she said that, turning toward Dan. Their noses almost touched, and for a long moment, they looked into each other's eyes.

"You sure?" Linda asked with a sly smile, her eyes returning to me. "I might seduce your boyfriend."

"I might seduce your girlfriend," Daniel said, squeezing her from behind and smiling down at me.

"Nah. I'm going to seduce both of you," I said, patting the outside of Linda's thighs. I'm a sex machine; somebody told me that this week."

Dan's nose was close to Linda's hair, and I saw his eyes half-close as he took a light whiff. I'd never seen Dan respond to a girl before, but I guess it's different if you expect to make love to the girl before the night is over. Dan was, I think, for the first time in his life, entertaining the idea.

"Don't pick on Lenny," I said, and then glanced meaningfully at her ribs, "or we'll see if someone else here is ticklish."

With a sick smile, Linda started to pull away from Daniel's arms, but he held on to her with a chuckle. "Get her, Sean," he said, lifting her arms with his.

"Why?" I asked, reaching for her exposed ribs while Dan kept her arms high by holding her tightly around the chest.

"Because," Linda said, "I really have pissed myself before when I've been tickled."

"On second thought," I said, dropping my arms. "I suppose it's not too early to break out the surprises I brought."

They climbed off me, and I returned to the door, where I'd left the ice chest. I brought it back to the edge of the bed and placed the ice chest at my feet. "Let me show you what I brought," I said, sitting down.

"First, for Linda, from both Daniel and me..." I lifted a clear plastic bag from the ice chest and handed it to Linda. Inside the bag was garland of white daisies. "Flowers for your hair."

Her eyes lit up with delight.

"And," I said, lifting another plastic bag, "a matching garland for your waist."

"Oh, you guys!" She cried delightedly. "They're beautiful." She squeezed my neck, and then leaned behind me to hug Daniel.

"That's not all," I said, reaching into the ice chest again. "I made friends with the florist. — I think he's gay."

Daniel laughed, and Linda slid from the bed to kneel beside the ice chest, waiting to see what I was about to pull from it.

What I lifted out was another plastic bag. "A laurel wreath for Daniel's hair, and," I lifted another bag, "one for mine."

"And," I said, lifting a small wheel of smoked Gouda from the ice chest, "cheese — the crackers and a knife are in my bag. Also..." I reached into the ice and pulled out the bottle. "Champagne. Do we have glasses?"

Linda's eyes followed Daniel's butt as he crossed the room. "Geez, Sean, he's gorgeous in person," she whispered.

We ignored the table and picnicked on the carpeted floor beside the bed; with a bath towel for a picnic blanket. I stretched out on my side, while Linda and Dan sat cross-legged. As we talked, I snuck looks into each of their laps, enjoying the familiar bulge in Dan's shorts and the unfamiliar lack of one in Linda's.

Their conversation started tentatively, almost timidly, because just under the surface, we all hoped that before the evening was over, they would be intimate friends. So far, the lights were green.

Initially, I helped the conversation along. And they worked at it, looking for common ground. They compared their likes and dislikes of Houston where they were both from. They discovered that they knew one girl in common, but had trouble finding much else until they talked about stores and shopping. Then, they found they loved the same shopping areas and malls. That wasn't a real surprise since both their families had money.

I poured a second glass of champagne for each of us, and put away the cheese. Then I lay with my legs across Dan's lap and my head back in Linda's as they talked.

Linda smiled down at me and stroked the hair back off my forehead. "Comfy?" she asked.

"Yeah, I know your mood – one track mind." His hand slid up the inside of my thigh, rubbing.

"Umm," I said, closing my eyes and settling my head into Linda's lap. "Ya'll can talk now."

Linda laughed softly and stroked my hair, and Daniel rubbed on my leg. I rested, only half listening as their conversation moved on to music, and they found that they liked many of the same groups. Linda asked Dan what he liked about psychology, which kept Dan talking for several minutes.

It was when they began talking about movies that things really clicked; they both were avid movie fans. I dozed lightly, drifting in and out as they talked about movie after movie.

"I loved it," Dan said quietly. "I worried about how Sean would feel about it... you know, the running on the beach and all, but he really liked it."

He said that and I thought of running. In my mind, I ran along the road up the hilltop and then circled the entire resort before running back down to the highway. The scent of cedar filled my nostrils, grass was golden in the setting sun, and I took deep breaths of crisp fall air. I was starting to dream, and then pulled myself back.

"Alien was so cool," Dan said, in an agreeing voice. "Sean was scared as hell though. You wouldn't believe all the places he grabbed me." He patted inside my leg.

"I meant," I said, opening my eyes with a frown. "That wasn't during the scary parts." I closed my eyes. "Not that Dan's parts aren't scary."

"Did you ever see Corvette Summer?" Linda asked. "Mark Hamill was in that one."

"Really? You saw it? Hardly anyone has ever seen that one, but it's a great movie!" Linda said.

"We went because Seany here thought that Mark Hamill was cute, especially in the trailer where he's trying to climb from the car after some girls had stripped his clothes off."

"It's funny," Linda said softly, "to hear about Sean thinking a guy was cute. It's easy to forget that you guys are gay."

"Yeah, well, I have to watch Sean. He gets crushes. He was crazy about Chris Atkins for a while; the guy in Blue Lagoon."

"You're the only girl," Daniel said quietly, "that he's ever really liked. He really likes you."

"Have you ever had a crush on a girl?" Linda asked Daniel. I cracked open an eyelid to watch his answer.

He shrugged. "There've been girls I thought were pretty. Usually tall, graceful ones... with black hair," he said. "I love black hair."

"Next to..." he studied me a moment, "... next to reddish, brown hair. Dirty, reddish-brown."

He smiled and glanced toward Linda. "And deep, dark brown hair, too... of course."

"I like Sigourney Weaver," Daniel said, getting off the topic of hair." She's cool. You remind me of her a little."

"No, seriously. You've got that intelligent kind of look, and thick hair, and an interesting kind of beauty."

Linda smiled and left off stroking my hair in exchange for rubbing my pec. "Have you ever kissed a girl?" she asked Dan quietly.

"I don't know about melting hearts," Daniel said, chuckling. "I've never been good at kissing girls."

As I picked up the bottle and poured, Linda looked at her watch. "It's still early, but I suppose we could try things on, just to make sure the costumes are going to fit."

"Ah!" Dan said. "I brought something, for you guys, too." He reached out and pulled his bag close to his side. "Sean told me that you said we would need these, and I couldn't bring one for him without bringing one for you." From the bag, he pulled two pair of black bikini briefs, one for me and one for him, and one pair of black bikini panties for Linda. "I didn't know what size to get you, Linda" he said. "I had to guess from what Sean told me. The clerk said these would stretch, so I went on the small side."

Dan handed them to us. I glanced at Linda's and she glanced at mine, and then smiled. "I wish I had my black bra along so they'd match," she said.

Linda raised her eyebrow... and then with a mischievous smile, pulled her top over her head to reveal a white cotton bra. She tossed the shirt onto a chair. "Well?" she said. "You guys get undressed so we can try things on."

Daniel glanced toward the bathroom. "We can change in there while you change out here."

Daniel laughed nervously, and I could almost answer for him; that he hadn't seen it all before.

I stood and pulled off my shirt. Linda stood and pulled off her shorts. Daniel watched.

She was now in only her bra and panties, so I pulled off my shorts, leaving me semi-erect in only in my underwear.

I held out my hand to him, pulling him to his feet. He stood, quietly, and when he did, I wrapped an arm behind his waist. My other arm, I held open to Linda, bringing her into our embrace.

Daniel closed his eyes and rested the side of his head against mine. I kissed his cheek, then the side of his neck, nuzzling him. "I love you, Danny," I said, thinking of nothing more comforting to say. Dan nodded.

Linda leaned up to kiss Dan's cheek and then pressed her body to his side. "For two weeks," she whispered, "this is all I've been able to think about... and you're so much more wonderful than your picture."

Dan's eyes opened, and he searched hers. Holding his gaze steadily, she placed her hand on his cheek and guided his mouth to hers. They kissed gently, sweetly, and his arm wrapped behind her waist.

The three of us pulled our embrace tighter, and Dan's hand slipped into the back of my briefs. It could have been as much from habit as anything else, but he was relaxing.

I pressed my mouth to his neck while they continued their kiss, and I reached between our bodies to unbutton Dan's shirt. Linda held his face in her hands while I pushed his shirt off his shoulders, and then I pulled his t-shirt off over his head.

Linda dropped her arms to her side as I stepped behind her to kiss her neck, and unfasten her bra. I let it slip from her arms. Then I held her by her shoulders, presenting her to Dan, and watched his face for his reaction. I saw his eyes lock onto her firm breasts. His mouth tensed and his nostrils flared.

Linda wrapped her arms over his shoulders, and when they kissed, bare chest to bare chest, she melted into him.

I finished undressing them as they stood there, caressing them with my hands and tongue, kissing, taking deep breaths.

I stood and took Linda from Daniel, backing her to the bed, and laid her back on it.

She slid back on the bed until her head was on the pillows. Some girls have a lot of pubic hair. Linda had little. She was thin and her belly was flat, so that when she lay back, the mons of her vagina was high, flush, ready. Daniel stood at the foot of the bed, a hand on his cock, hard, erect, thick, and his eyes locked between her legs. She spread them slightly.

I moved up along her right side, and then Daniel, his cock wagging under him, crawled up on her left. He kissed her again, and she grabbed his erection. Dan moaned. She grabbed my cock as well.

They looked into each other's eyes for a moment, and then Dan's eyes traveled down her chin, and her neck, to her heaving chest. Carefully, he held his open hand above her breast. Her breath held until he slowly lowered his hand and closed it over her; gently caressing her, exploring, learning how she felt.

Her legs spread and her hips moved slightly, longingly; so I moved Dan's hand down between her legs. While they kissed, I placed his fingers on either side of her clitoris and moved his hand gently with mine. He felt her hardness and began to stroke her on his own.

Linda moaned and clutched our cocks more firmly. She broke from his kiss for air, and Daniel pressed his cheek to hers, lowering his head between her head and mine. I kissed behind his ear and he sighed, deeply.

Linda moved her hips in widening circles as Dan rubbed gently with his hand. "Oh!" she murmured with a small shudder.

He lifted his head and looked into her heavy-lidded eyes. She returned his gaze while he moved his body over hers. I scooted down, taking his cock in my hand as he settled on top of her. His foreskin was well back, and I rubbed his crown over her vagina, adding his precum to her dampness. Then I held him at her opening. "Now," I whispered, and he pressed his hips forward, entering her.

I watched his face from the side. As he slid in, his breath caught. His eyes closed. And when he was all the way inside, he lowered himself onto her, wrapping his arms under her. She wrapped hers over his shoulders and wrapped her legs behind his. And they began to move together.

I chuckled and stroked the length of his back. Their embrace tightened and as Daniel thrust into her, she ground back against him. They were tight, intimate, and incredibly erotic. Dan's back muscles grew hard and defined, flexing as he thrust. His butt and legs tightened and relaxed, over and over. I drew my fingers down from where Linda's slender arms crossed over his shoulders, down the long muscles on either side of his spine, then down the sides of his tightly tapered back; down to his narrow hips. I swept my hand over the smooth, soft skin of his butt. I gently rubbed it, feeling his muscles clinch again and again. His butt grew hard, the skin tight, his fine body hairs erect and stiff. I slipped my hand down between his strong, slender legs and rubbed him gently behind his balls.

There have been times in my life when a moment of transcendent beauty took my breath away. I remember the first time I looked down on Yosemite Valley and felt awe. I remembered a moment once, being lost in wonder as I stared into the cool, green pool of a shaded backwater of the Frio River. And for a moment that afternoon, watching Daniel, I was totally lost in the absolute beauty and incredible sensuality of Dan's youthful body, his male body, undulating; moving in coitus. My mouth went dry, and my hand on his moving bottom became a touch, almost of worship.

Linda moaned beneath him, and I remembered her. I put my lips to his ear. "Make her feel good, Danny," I whispered. "Make her feel real good."

Daniel lifted his head and Linda's face turned toward me. I kissed her and pressed my body to the sides of theirs. I kissed Dan. We rested our heads together as they moved, and I let my hand roam the tensing muscles of Daniel's butt.

Daniel's thrusting quickened. Their breathing became ragged. He started to whimper. Suddenly, he tightened his embrace of Linda's body, and I felt his butt clench hard like a rock as he plunged deep, and with a small cry, emptied himself into her.

Linda had only begun to whimper herself, so I didn't think she had come yet. And I was glad. I wanted my turn.

I gave Dan a moment to catch his breath, my hand soothing his back. And then he pulled out and I moved quickly over Linda. She hungrily pulled me into her arms and we searched for each other, moving our hips, until I felt her opening and pushed in.

Her warmth enveloped my cock and soaked it in Dan's cum and her juices; and I thought that felt as hot as hell. I pushed all the way in until I felt her cervix; She really was long inside, and I was almost all the way in. Daniel had loosened her and when she ground back on me, I pushed past her tightness. I held myself there, all the way in, hard against her; and I let her do the work, grinding against me, giving herself pleasure, bringing herself closer, bringing me with her.

I went mindless; enjoying the sensations, but trying hard to hold off coming. I had to start thrusting with my hips because her grinding, while I simply held myself pressed in, was stimulating as hell. Daniel stroked my back, much like I had his. Only my skin was now damp with perspiration. My back muscles felt as tight as his had been. I felt tight all the way down to the back of my thighs, and I kept my muscles tensed for Daniel's roaming hand.

He kissed my shoulder, and then slid his hand down between the backs of my thighs, on to my perineum, where he gently pressed. My long moan became a gurgle as he rubbed. I pumped harder, meeting each swivel of Linda's hips with a firm thrust.

I felt the press of Dan's wet cock to my side. He was still hard, or hard again. His breath was hot on my shoulder and I felt his teeth on my skin. My gut tensed, my nostrils flared, and my balls tightened as my climax gathered deep down inside.

Linda suddenly cried out; she cried out several times. And she grew rigid as I pounded fast and hard, and then drove deep, pressing in while I pulsed out what seemed like endless semen.

Slowly, Linda and I relaxed. I kissed her, gently, our breath still rapid, even as she became all melted and mellow under me. But Dan still rubbed behind my balls and gently ground his cock against my hip. He was keeping me hard. He was ready again; I wasn't sure Linda would be.

Daniel and I had been lovers far too long to need either a word or a gesture to know what needed to come next; I knew what he wanted and I wanted to be the one to take care of him. With a last lingering kiss to Linda's lips, I pulled from her and slid sideways toward Daniel. He rolled onto his back.

He smiled up at me as I lowered myself onto him, chest to chest, belly to belly, still hard cock to hard cock. He surrounded me with his arms and legs and hugged me hard. We ground together pleasantly and his sigh washed my neck with his warm breath. He nuzzled into the side of my face that was away from Linda. Quietly — so quietly that I doubted Linda could hear — he whispered. "I love you, Seany." He took a deep breath through his nose and squeezed me again. "Beloved," he whispered. "You belong to me." He licked my ear. "And damn, you're hot to watch!"

Our lips met in a kiss that was as full of love as lust. He ran his fingers into my hair, and we forgot for a moment about Linda. He felt good under me; his hard cock, long up my belly, keeping mine hard. But I knew his mood. I knew what he wanted, and I pulled my knees forward, sitting up on his belly. We would show Linda the enjoyment that two males could give each other.

I spat into my hand, twice applying it to the already damp end of his cock; and then I held his shaft as I backed up. Rubbing his glans pleasantly into my crack, I moved his damp crown to my opening, pressed slowly back, and when he popped in, paused. I glanced at Linda to see if she was watching; to see if she was grossed out. She was on her side, her eyes locked in a look of fascination at where Dan was entering me.

Daniel lifted his hips to meet me as I slid back. When he pressed his loins to my butt, all the way in, I bent over him, pressing my perineum to his pubic bone. I ground against him, making us both feel good. And I lowered my lips to his.

He rubbed my back and we tongue wrestled with pleasant groans. Then, with a playful nip at his lip, I pushed up on my hands. Lenny wasn't the only one who knew how to ride, though I had learned a few things from him that I thought would make Daniel feel really good.

His legs were spread widely. I slid my knees back, sliding my calves under the back of his legs so that the back of my heels hooked under the back of his thighs, and my butt was tight against him. Sitting upright, I rocked my hips, rubbing myself on Dan, milking him, drawing the length of his hard cock across my prostate... inside me; pressuring the underside of his cock with my bottom. After just a few thrusts, I was rock hard. Daniel grabbed the sides of my legs, dug in his heels, and arched back with a pleased moan.

I rocked hard on his shaft, my cock bouncing wildly. And then Linda was on her knees beside me, drawing her fingertips up the hard muscles of my moving stomach and back. And I realized then that girls can get worked up too... just by watching a boy move. From the way she touched me... she liked it. We kissed, and her fingers traced down my belly. I slowed when they reached my pubes, and stopped when she touched my cock with her finger.

Slowly, she drew her finger along the top of my shaft. I shuddered when she circled my shaft with her hand. "So soft," she said quietly. "The skin is so very soft."

Leaning my head against hers, I slid my hand to her bottom and pulled her to my side, pressing her legs to either side of mine, pressing her dampness to my hip. She moaned, and pulling up on my cock, knelt higher beside me, rubbing herself on my hipbone. I slid my fingers between the back of her legs, found her labia, and probed.

She grabbed my cock more tightly. Dan began lifting his hips to thrust into me. With another moan, I rolled my forehead on hers. "Does that feel, OK?" I asked her in a whisper.

She nodded against the side of my head. "It feels good," she whispered. "Does what Daniel is doing to you feel good?" she asked.

Like her, I nodded. But there was no way I could explain, even if I felt like it, that as incredible as the feelings were that came up from my insides, the good feelings weren't all simply physical. They were also because Daniel was inside me and there was always something so right about that. But now, I wanted me to be inside her, too.

"Get on with me," I said with a thick voice. "Get in front of me; like two riders on a horse."

"Like two... bareback riders... riding double on a stud horse," I corrected myself, kissing the nape of Linda's neck.

With a kiss, and a final stroke to my cock, Linda moved to all fours and crawled over Dan, backing up to me. I pressed my knees more tightly against Dan's sides to give her legs room to slide to the outside. Daniel quit thrusting, and looking up at her, held her by her sides as she backed up to me. I held her by the hips, guiding her.

I'd never seen her from this angle before. I'd never seen any girl from this angle. I was used to seeing guys from this angle, especially Dan. I loved looking at him from bottom up. His thick perineum and low-hanging balls were slightly darker than the rest of his skin. I loved the way his loose balls filled the space between the top of his legs when he lay on his stomach, and the way they tightened when he grew close to coming. I could look at his firm butt from this angle, all day. No one could compare to Dan.

But I liked how Linda looked too, so thin down there that if she spread her legs out to the side, she'd be as flat as Ry, but with only a soft mound between her legs, where us guys hung down. I stroked under her and she lifted her hips. Her back was feminine, graceful down to her very narrow waist and rounded hips. I rubbed underneath her and rose on my knees, careful to keep Dan inside. Carefully, I backed her to my cock. Then I watched as my crown disappeared inside her, and the softness of her damp warmth slid down my length.

"Ooooh!" I gasped. Linda moaned her assent. I pulled her snug to me by her hips; the back of her legs to my legs, her mound snug around the base of my shaft. I squeezed Daniel's body between my knees and sat onto him, bringing her with me, filling myself with Dan to complete our incredible, sexual equation.

Linda swiveled her hips against me, enjoying our joining, while I ran my hands approvingly over her sides and back. Dan's hands were on her breasts, caressing. Holding her by the hips, I gave a short, firm thrust with my pelvis. Daniel and Linda both groaned at the move. I could only gasp.

I thrust again... and again. Dan writhed under me and Linda arched her back. I rocked my hips, and my thrusting became circular; rub forward on Dan, up into Linda, back down onto Dan, and forward again. I reached for her breasts, but Dan already held them. From time to time, Linda backed hard onto me and then bent her body to kiss Dan, while I slid my hands up and down her sides.

They let me do the driving, holding Linda by the hips as I bumped back and forth, until Dan's hand dropped from her breast to find my leg. He squeezed with a steady pressure that meant to slow down; he was getting too close.

So I froze, pulling Linda's bottom back into my lap. Dan wrapped his arms around her torso, burying his face between her breasts with a long, low groan. I bent over Linda, pressing my belly to her back, and I reached between their bellies to find her clit; it protruded from just above where I filled her. I rubbed around it to keep Linda going. She ground backwards, hard onto me. She was close too.

Determined to drive them over the edge together, I sat back upright, grabbed Linda's hips once more and with a deep breath, pistoned backward and forward, moving as fast as I could pump my hips. The sensations were intense and immediate. I whimpered, loudly.

Their bodies tensed, a small cry escaped from Linda. Dan dug his heels into the bed, lifting us. And then he cried out, loudly, pumping up into me. But I never slowed down, and almost immediately, Linda's small cry became another and another, each climbing in pitch. Her insides clamped on me, just as I felt Dan's warm semen lube us, and that pushed me over the edge too. I jerked Linda's hips back hard as I sat back with all my weight on Dan, impaling myself deeply, pressing my prostate, and I cried out as loudly as they had.

We collapsed into a heap of heaving chests and sweaty skin. Wrapping my arms around Linda's waist, I rolled off Dan, taking her with me onto our sides. I slipped my arm under her head for a pillow and when we straightened our legs and I slipped out from inside her.

Dan rolled up on his side to face us and rubbed his hand on Linda's side, gently.

Linda moaned comfortably. I smiled dreamily at Dan. He smiled the same way back. I put my mouth behind her ear. "Were we OK, Linda?" I asked.

She sighed and snuggled back against me. "That was amazing," she said quietly. "How was it for you?"

He scooted forward, wrapping an arm over both our sides. "Excellent!" he whispered. "Just excellent!"

Linda chuckled, and nuzzled against his cheek. "Sean told you to say that. He said almost the same thing to me."

"Nope, he didn't tell me," Dan said, kissing her cheek. "Just great minds having the same thought."

Linda stepped from the shower first, and grabbed a towel. I took a final rinse, and joined her, toweling her back with my own towel. Daniel followed.

"Oh, as if you didn't," I said, drying her back in long strokes as Daniel started on my shoulders.

The extremely brief briefs that Daniel had purchased for himself and me wouldn't stay above our pubes. The weight of our packages kept pulling them down. "We have to shave," Daniel said.

"You're kidding," I told him. "After all the stuff I went through with the eyes you drew on me, the last thing I need is to show up at the pool showers without pubes."

"Hold a towel in front," he said. "Come on, Sean. It looks gross to have pubes showing over the top of your briefs."

Linda, a towel around her body, was brushing out her hair. She paused to eye us thoughtfully. "Shave 'em," she said with a smile. "That'll be hot!"

Linda looked at Daniel's grin and then with a spreading smile, slowly nodded. "OK."

Each of us had brought a razor, so we spread towels on the carpet where we had earlier picnicked and shaved ourselves, teasing each other about the consequences of any small slip.

"I'm not sure I got everything," Linda said, sitting back against the bed, her butt forward, and her knees pulled up to either side.

"Daniel and I need to check you out," I said, and disregarding the shave cream still on my crotch, I rolled to my stomach and scooted forward for a close examination. Daniel did the same and we met at Linda's bottom.

The two of us probed with our fingers, ostensibly looking for hairs, but also letting Daniel explore. We shaved the few remaining hairs we found, leaving her absolutely smooth. "This is so cool," Dan said quietly.

I knew what he meant. This was intimate — not entirely in a sexual sense – but in a grooming sense. We were taking care of Linda in as personal a way as anyone could. "I've never been this kind of... buddy, with a girl before," I said.

"It looks kind of different than I thought it would," Dan said, glancing up at Linda.

"Not the softness, and not the... puffiness," he said, touching her thoughtfully.

Daniel delicately spread her labia. "I never expected it to feel so good, you know... inside." He glanced up at Linda. "May I stick my finger in to feel it again?"

"No," Linda said with a surprised laugh, pulling her legs back. "Wait till I'm in the mood sometime."

"You aren't in the mood?" I asked with a grin. "Cause you are a little flush and puffy down here."

"Yeah, well that's because I'm a little raw," she said with a mock scowl, but didn't pull back from us.

"Guess we better kiss it and make it well," I said and then leaned forward to kiss between her legs. Her mound was warm and firm, though Dan was right; her skin was very soft. Despite the shower and shave cream, I could still smell the scent of her sex. Girl buddy or not, I never got off to how a girl smells.

Dan leaned forward after me, kissing her in turn. His head jerked a little. "Wow," he said softly. "Girls do smell different."

"No," Dan said, apologetically. "Just different." And then he kissed her again and she laid her head back and smiled.

I sat up, my back to the bed and butt scooted forward like Linda had done, pulling my knees up as best I could. Linda joined Daniel on the floor and they lifted my cock and balls, shaving in spots. I started to get hard.

"I was just thinking that this shave cream looks like whipped cream and this," Daniel said, lifting my cock, "looks so..." He closed his mouth over my cock and sucked in half it's semi-flaccid length.

"Doesn't taste bad," he said, giving the crown a final lick. "Not quite whipped cream, but doesn't taste bad."

Linda leaned forward and took the end of my cock into her mouth and gave a suck. "Nope," she said. "Not bad."

"I sure hope you guys aren't planning on going to the ball until you finish what you start," I told them.

He sat up and leaned back against the bed, and I got down with Linda at his crotch.

"I like it," Linda said, thoughtfully and skinned Dan back gently. "The foreskin thingy. I think it's cool." She admired it a moment. "Some girls say uncircumcised penises aren't as clean as circumcised ones; that they don't smell as good."

"Daniel keeps his real clean," I said. "And he's got a great smell." Pressing my nose to his crotch, I inhaled deeply. "Ah, the shave cream doesn't cover everything." I took another deep breath. "I could smell him all day."

Linda pressed her nose in the same spot and took a breath. "He smells like a guy," she said with a smile, and then sniffed again. "But a really nice guy."

Then she twisted around on her stomach and smelled between the backs of my legs. "You both smell good," she said, returning to Dan's crotch.

"See what you think about the taste of the shave cream," Dan suggested with a sly smile.

Without hesitating, I sucked him in and he laid his hands gently on the sides of my head. I bobbed and he groaned. I bobbed again and Linda slapped my butt.

"Enough of that for now," she chided. "We need to get dressed and over to the ballroom."

When we stood to finish toweling dry, we got a good look at each other. "Damn," I said, looking from Dan's naked cock and balls to Linda's naked vagina. "Hot!"

"I'm not sure I can yet," Dan said, looking down at his thick cock. "I might need help getting it to go down."

Dan watched her. "Oh, hell," He said, dropping his briefs. "I'm going to be walking around all night with a woody." He pulled Linda into a kiss and placed one of his strong hands on her breast. His hand looked large on her.

"Breasts are fun, aren't they?" I said, trying to break them up with a poke to his side.

"They're beautiful," he said softly, his lips still touching Linda's. She looked like she was about ready to melt. So I popped both their butts.

Dan frowned, releasing her, and Linda looked pleasantly dazed. "How long do we have to stay at this costume ball thing?" He asked, his hands on his hips, his cock rising and falling with his pulse as it began to go soft.

He smiled, stepped up to me and pulled me tightly to him, kissing me hard. It was my turn to be ready to melt.

"Why?" Dan asked through the door. "I want to watch. I've never seen a girl take a piss."

Dan smiled and shrugged. "I like her Seany." Then his eyes traveled down my body to my shaved pubes. "But I can't wait to get you alone."

"I know," I said, leaning close. "You look so hot without pubes; I'm dying to suck you off."

But after a few minutes, he did. And he looked hot as hell in them. We eyed each other in a wall mirror for several seconds, turning, looking ourselves over. The tops of our briefs came only to just above our cocks where the "V" formed by the plate of our lower ab muscles came together, leaving a provocative hollow inside each hip.

Linda came from the john, wrapped in a towel, and handed us our loincloths. With her help, Daniel and I fastened them around our waists. They were cut from a bright white bed sheet, and Linda had added an ionic border in blue.

Just as Linda had warned us, the loincloths were short, but that only gave us a good reason to hang them low, just at the top of our briefs. Even then, the bottom seams came only to mid thigh.

"It's a good thing we're wearing underwear," I observed. "I'm not sure these would cover everything if we were hanging loose."

"Well," Linda said with a grin, "I did mean for them to be short... just not this short."

Dan and I pulled on our sandals and Linda helped us on with the leggings she had brought. She also had wide leather armbands for each of us. And we kept our jade necklaces on. A slave might not have worn them, but we would.

Linda dropped her towel, and stood in only her black panties as we prepared to help her on with her costume. It was made from two pieces of the same white fabric she used for our costumes. One piece was a flowing skirt, and she put that on first.

"Oh damn," I said, gazing at her tall, slender form; naked from the waist up. "You don't need anything else."

Dan and I circled her, approvingly. Then I pushed the waist of her skirt down. "What's good for the gander is good for the goose, Linda," I said. "You shaved too, and I think we can push this down to about... here." I straightened the waistband of her skirt, just at her pubes, or where they had been shaved. The skirt was well off her hipbones. It was as low as, or lower than a hula skirt, and she had the body to carry it off.

Dan and I had the same impulse at the same time to press ourselves to her bare torso; me to her front, Dan to her back. "It's a shame to cover her up," Daniel said.

"I'm so not going like this," Linda said, laughing, and gave me a playful shove away. She picked up a long swath of cloth and draped it like a sash over her left shoulder, bringing it down across her body to her waist. "I haven't quite figured this out," she said. "It's a little long because I need to wrap it across twice... I mean, no bra, you know." She slung it over her shoulder a second time. "I need you guys to pin it for me."

It certainly looked Greek enough to me, but Daniel shook his head. "Can I try something else?" he asked.

"Just give me a second," Dan said, unwrapping the material. He stretched it out between his hands, looking from it to Linda's bare top. She crossed her arms over her breasts, shyly.

Dan smiled. "That's it. Let's try..." He found the middle of the swath and held it across her throat, dropping equal lengths of fabric down her back. He stepped behind her and crossed the swaths between her shoulder blades and passed them back under Linda's arms to the front.

I thought I had the idea and took the swaths from him, crossing them over her breasts and passed them back to Dan over opposite shoulders. He spread them out in back, draping them behind her. We stood back to study the effect.

The costume was more Hollywood Greek than ancient Greek; dramatically so. From the skirt, low on Linda's hips, up to her breasts, her form was feminine, and nakedly sensuous. Her belly was flat, her waist narrow, her hips curvy, and her skin soft looking. The crisscross of the white swaths over her breasts made them look high on her body, and proud. The fabric flowing down her back made her look tall and regal.

Linda studied herself in the mirror. "It doesn't look particularly Greek," she said with a furrowed brow.

We pinned together what could be pinned, mainly the two draping swaths in the back. She had gold bracelets for each arm. Then Dan and I laid the flowers in her hair, and laced the garland around her hips. She returned the honors, placing Daniel's wreath on his head, and then mine on me.

The wreaths, armbands, and necklaces were all that adorned our upper bodies. The low riding loincloths struck me as being fully as provocative as a g-string; maybe more so. The leather leggings and armbands only accentuated the effect.

"If the ancient Greeks dressed like this," I said, "it's a wonder they were ever able to keep even this many clothes on.

Linda laughed, admiring Dan and me. "They're going to attack you," she said, shaking her head. "All those girls are going to eat you up."

"They wouldn't dare," I said. "You look like a divine goddess, Linda, all tall and regal. You'll intimidate the hell out of them."

"We're going to have to fight the guys off her," Daniel said, nodding in agreement.

We stepped outside the cabin and gazed beyond the lodges and pool toward the tall, barn-like structure that Linda said was the ballroom. "You didn't tell us we'd have to wear these things in front of the whole world," I said. "If we run into any real cowboys, they're going to flip out over these costumes."

"And I guarantee that any cowgirls will," Linda added. "Quit complaining and follow me."

She led us past the cabins and onto a covered walk between the lodges. We passed a mom with two sons, evidently returning from the dining room to their cabin after supper. The older of the boys couldn't have been over thirteen or fourteen. He was thin, gangly and slightly pigeon-toed; all arms, legs, knees, and elbows like boys that age sometimes are. He had a thick mop of dark brown hair over wire-rim eyeglasses. Through them, he glanced at Linda, but then looked Daniel's and my bodies over with something like awestruck admiration as we went by.

"Your fault," I said, shaking my head. "And you're probably about to turn a whole room full of guys the same way."

He punched my leather armband, grinning, and then looked down at my leg. "How's your knee? You going to be OK for dancing?"

Inside the front doors of the barn was a small foyer. Beyond that, through two sets of closed double doors, was the ballroom. It was strangely quiet.

Linda glanced at her watch. "Becky Nutting is probably giving a long speech. She's our sorority president and she's really long-winded. She's probably greeting everybody and commenting on costumes."

Linda looked us over carefully, tugging our loincloths straight. She kissed me on the cheek, and then Daniel, her eyes dancing. This is going to be so cool.

She turned toward the door and then turned back. "Watch for Brenda, our house mom," she said with a frown. "She's a lush and a slut. Rumor is that two years ago at one of these things, she, uh, made herself available... in the guy's john... all night. She just might attack you two."

"Wait!" Daniel said, moving forward. "Let your slaves get the door, Lins," he said softly.

"Lins?" I mouthed inquiringly to Daniel, with a surprised smile as I moved forward to get the second of the double doors.

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Sea Change, Chapter 40a: Costume Ball

By Josh