The next morning Desmond woke up with a slight headache, and 15 minutes after 8. Perhaps this is why Lumi had told him not to drink too much, he guessed it was a hangover. Shrugging, he got changed into his running gear and went out for a jog, by the time he had returned he felt much better. After a cold shower, he felt no more ill effects of the previous nights drinking. As he ate breakfast, Mary came down and gave him a hug, asking him how his night was, and was glad that they got home safely. Desmond decided not to share the Steve story, it was not his place.

The rest of the day passed without much event. Lumi stayed in her room most of the day, Desmond assumed she was hung over much worse then he was, and probably dealing with the fact that Steve and her…well they probably weren’t together any more. He felt kind of bad about that, he had reacted more then anything. Then he remembered the kiss he’d gotten form Lumi, and his thoughts got even more jumbled. Was it just a friendly thing like she said, or…was it as Desmond hoped, something more. He knew he shouldn’t, it was taboo to the extreme, but he could not help it. She was beautiful, there was nothing else to it.

After dinner Desmond was sitting out around the fireless-firepit staring up at the sky as the sun set. Looking over towards the skyscrapers, he thought of his life, and how this summer would pan out. Would he regret staying here? He doubted it. He heard someone walking up behind him and turned as Lumi put her hand on his shoulder. “Hey, how’s it going? Fully recovered?”, she said with a smile as she sat down.

“Yeah, I doubt I was in as bad a shape as you were last night. Have you?”, Desmond said with a soft smile.

“Oh, yeah. Sorry, I guess I kind of hid away all day. I was just dealing with…well Steve. Thanks for not saying anything to my parents. Well, I guess our parents, but you know what I mean. I’ll let them know tomorrow, I just don’t want them to think it happened at the party, I doubt I’d ever be allowed out again if I said anything.”, she said laughing. She turned suddenly serious and said in a softer voice, “I really meant thank you last night, if you weren’t there…well,” she grabbed his and and squeezed before letting go again, “I’d rather not think about what might have happened.” Desmond smiled awkwardly and looked away to stop from blushing under her intense green eyes.

“Hey, it’s nothing. I’m your brother, I’m supposed to look out for you, right?” He really didn’t know what else to say, and he just kept wishing she’d grab his hand again. “So, aside from that blemish, was your night enjoyable?”, trying to change the topic.

“Oh yeah, it was! I danced a bunch and had some great white girl wasted chats with some friends that I really needed. I couldn’t find Lauryn for some of the night, do you know where she went?”, she looked at Desmond meaningfully. He had not mean for the conversation to go in this direction so he decided to just go with what seemed like a safe bet.

“Yeah, I saw for a bit, but I’m not sure maybe she left. She’s pretty nice, and I suppose quite pretty too.” Desmond said, trying not to sound too awkward and forced. He was pretty sure he failed, horribly.

“Oh, so did she ever end up making a move on you?”, Lumi asked glancing over at him, and she smiled. “I know that look. So,so,so! Tell me what happened!” Desmond explained in as little detail as possible. “Oh c’mon!”, she said exasperated, “I want to hear more detail! I’ve never heard a story like this from a guys perspective before! I never have really given either so…well…yeah I wanna hear!” Even she blushed a bit during this exchange.

“Oh okay, well, I guess so. If you really want to know, I don’t know how well I’ll explain it.” He then continued on to explain what had happened between Lauryn and him. He didn’t know the rules on who to tell, and who not to, but to have Lumi hang off his every word, especially about something sexual, was well worth the risk to him. By the time he was finished, he was undeniably aroused.

“Damn,” Lumi said, a bit flushed, “that’s the hottest story anyone has ever told me. I…damn. I’m a bit jealous now, you got to have an intimate experience, and I had a dick boyfriend try to force himself on me.” She said with a laugh. Desmond took a chance, and reached out and touched her hand slightly.

“Well I’m glad I was around to help you out when you needed it. I think it’s only fair, you gave me a how-to-not-get-blasted, I was only repaying the favor!” He said smiling. She looked him in the eye and in light tone responded as she grabbed his hand again.

“Oh, I think that for helping me you deserve much more of a reward then that. I’ll just have to figure something out.” She said with a mischievous grin. She was still holding his hand when she got up and as she got behind his chair, she wrapped his arms around his neck and kissed his cheek again. “I’m just not sure what you’re up for.” With that she turned and walked back inside. Desmond ran his hands through his hair he stared up at the sky. What the hell did she mean? Figuring he would never understand, he resolved to ask her, at some point. You know, when the moment was right. He didn’t want to mess up whatever it was they had right now, losing her as a friend would make for a very lonely summer, and a ‘look but don’t touch’ policy was slowly becoming a ‘touch but don’t taste’ policy, and he could definitely get behind that idea. He was not going to push his luck, he thought, as he headed to bed for the evening.

The next few days passed without anything too exciting happening. He spent lots of time reading online textbooks that he could find that were at least somewhat related to his upcoming College courses. He was scared, of course. Both for the workload, and for the idea of the ‘college life’ that people talked about. Of course, at the idea of repeating the kind of things that he did with Lauryn, he figured it couldn’t be all bad.

On Thursday afternoon, Desmond heard a knock on his door and walked over to open it, only to be greeted with the sight of Lauryn and Lumi. “Oh, um, hi,” Desmond said awkwardly. The girls smiled back at him.

“Get grab your swim trunks, you’re coming with us to Lauryn’s and going swimming. Hurry up, she’s got towels and we’re not waiting, so just grab them. No, you don’t have a choice!” Lumi said as she pushed Desmond back into this room and he grabbed his trunks, and shut off his laptop. He turned around to find them walking away and she called back, “We’re outside, let’s go!” Meeting them outside, they all piled into Lauryn’s ’05 Jetta, and she sped off blasting really bad pop music that both girls sung along to, loudly. Desmond just rolled his eyes and smiled as he leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes,hoping that when he opened them again,

When they got to Lauryn’s place, he that perhaps there was more then he thought to this girl. She lived in, for lack of a better term, a mansion. It wasn’t ostentatious, but it was definitely a very expensive house. As they walked into the back, he saw they had an Olympic sized pool with enough grass for a badminton net. She, or perhaps better put, her family, was loaded and yet she didn’t come across spoiled, even if she was. It gave Desmond a new found respect for this girl that had originally seemed quite shallow.

“Hey, Desmond you need to get changed right? Follow me.” Lauryn said grabbing his hand and memories of leading him during the party flashed in his mind and he started to get hard. As she led him towards a room inside, she reached the door and opened it, turned around and kissed him full on the lips. Desmond was so surprised he froze for a second before gathering her in his arms for a full on lust filled kiss. When they finally broke it they were both breathless and she said, “Wow, that was…wow. Now get changed, I need to go cool off after that!”, and spun around and hustled back out the way she’d come. He heard a splash and a yelp as he closed the door to get changed.

They spent the afternoon swimming, they played around, splashed, all those things you’d expect. Nothing sinister though, never more then a few seconds of contact. Which, Desmond realized, was probably good for humilities sake. Especially considering that both these girls he was highly attracted to. As they got tired, the got out and wrapped towels around them selves, Lying down in a lawn chair, Desmond saw the sun blocked briefly and opened his eyes to realize that the girls were flanking him now, both sitting facing him with appraising looks. As he sat up they locked eyes, and then looked back to Desmond. He was worried, what was going on? Had he done something wrong? Ah! Panic! Taking a deep breath, Desmond tried to sound non-chalant as he said, “So, what did I miss?”

Lumi glanced over and her friend and was the first to talk, “So, I told her that you told me.”, seeing the look of panic in Desmond’s eyes, she hurriedly added, “don’t worry, no one is upset. I was just curious, had YOU ever done anything like that? I mean, I have never had a hook-up that hot. Are you a regular sex machine or just lucky?” Desmond looked at both of them and laughed awkwardly.

“Well, to be honest, that was the first time I’d really ever gotten a blowjob. I had sex once with a girl, but it was a hurried affair that was more about primal desires then, well, making it enjoyable for either of us.”, Lauryn looked at him quizzically, “Not to say that the sex wasn’t good! But it couldn’t compare to…well…what happened.” Desmond broke out in a blush and ran a hand through his hair. Lauryn took this opportunity to put her knees in between his legs and push him back on his chair as she kissed him. Their tongues dance and he almost forgot that Lumi was watching. Almost.

“Okay girl, cut that out!”, Lumi said, hitting Lauryn on the arm. She scooted back over to her chair throwing Desmond a wink. “Hands off! I don’t need you two going all porno shoot on me.”

“Oh c’mon Lumi! That’s not fair, you’ve done it to me! At least this is my house, not like when you did it here!”, Lumi smiled at the first, and then looked sad. “Oh shit, I’m sorry, Steve was a jackass anyway don’t be sad about him. Besides, you have Desmond to entertain you now, and I’m sure you can find some boy to use for sex.” Desmond was taken off guard by this conversation. What exactly did she mean by ‘entertain’, and what had Lumi done? But he didn’t have time to figure that out, as they barreled on in their conversation as if he wasn’t even there.

“I know, I did it only once though! And I made it up to you, remember? If you’ve forgotten, too bad, it only happens when I need to make something up to someone!” Lumi suddenly glanced at Desmond, “Oh yeah, I have to make something up to you. I’ll have to think of something else.” At this point Desmond was not going to stand by, he had to know what was going on.

“Alright so what WAS it that you did to make it up to her Lumi? You can’t leave me hanging like that!” Desmond cut in before either of them could move on with the conversation.

“Okay, fine.” Lumi said, looking a bit put out that she had to stop her conversation. “Do you want to tell him or do you want me to?”, she said to Lauryn.

“Well, to make it up to me for her and Steve fucking in my bed, we kissed, and it went from there…”, Lauryn said trailing off looking embarrassed. “There, you’re the only other person that knows, happy?” Desmond wasn’t, he wanted details so he looked at Lumi.

“I gave you a very in depth description of my…experience with Lauryn,” Desmond said looking at Lauryn who blushed, “so I think that you need to do the same.” Desmond refrained from bringing in taking her home and helping her with Steve, he was starting to think her ‘paying him back’ was going to be quite a good experience. What he’d give to make out with her, her lips looked perfect as she bit down on her bottom one trying to decide if she should tell him.

“Okay, fine.”, Lumi said taking a deep breath. “You really want to know what happened? So I told Lauryn I’d make it up to her, but I wasn’t sure how to. Usually when any of my boyfriends get mad at me, we end up having sex to resolve the argument, but considering she was a girl I didn’t know what to do. We were pre-drinking to head out to a party at this point, both were about 3 or 4 bitch-pops deep, and I helped her out of her chair, I pulled a bit too hard. We got really close and I just kind…I dunno, reacted, I kissed her, full on the lips,” she looked over at Lauryn who was looking a bit shaken, glancing at Desmond. “Don’t worry, Lauryn. He won’t tell anyone. And if he does, well he’s gone in less then two months, no one will believe him anyway.” Desmond looked at Lauryn, she looked more calm and relaxed a bit, lying back in her chair. “Okay, right, so where was I? Oh yeah, so we got a bit more heated making out, tongues dancing and grabbing on both sides,” her voice wavered for a second and her face was getting a bit flushed. “So somehow we ended up lying in a bed, and it could pretty…heated.” Lumi saw the look on his face, “No, not THAT heated. We went as far as you did with her, only we both were naked,” she looked Lauryn up and down, who was flushed herself and had her hands resting on her stomach breathing heavily. “Damn, that was a hot experience. I doubt I’d ever go further with a girl… So Desmond, you happy now?” Lumi looked at him with that implacable look in her eye again. Desmond choked on his first words and tried again.

“Yeah, damn, that was hot… You said nothing like that had ever happened to you! Liar.” Desmond added with a laugh. He was, at this point, quite hard, but thankfully had his towel piled in his lap, not even on purpose. He looked at Lumi and she still had her eyes focused ferociously on her friend. “Having any ideas there Lumi?” He said as their eyes met.

“Ahem, no, that was a one off of course. I’m not saying it wasn’t enjoyable, but I’m not bisexual. I mean…no, no I am not.” Lumi’s words lacked conviction, Desmond thought, but he nodded, not wanting to spoil the sharing mood.

“So Lauryn, what did you think of Lumi’s tongue talents? Did I match up?” Desmond asked, wondering if he’d pushed it too far. When Lauryn set up, a thousand excuses leapt to his tongue but she spoke before he had the chance.

“I’m not sure, I think I’d have to kiss both of you in a row. Who’s up first?” Lauryn said looking right at Lumi, wondering if she’d argue against it. Instead, she shrugged and leaned across Desmond’s legs, and pulled Lauryn into a lusty kiss. Desmond was frozen in shock as he watched these two girls pull each other close and force their tongues into a passionate dance. After a minute the pulled apart, still holding each other and both panting. “Damn,” Lauryn said, “that was even hotter then the first time!”

Both still panting,Lumi fell back into her chair and looked at me and winked, “So, you think you can top that?” He honestly wasn’t sure. “Maybe you’re too scared to be shown up by a girl! Especially one that, shit no never mind.” She quickly retracted her words, and Desmond remembered what she had said about people not knowing their relationship. He was a visiting family friend, godson of Mary, who Desmond still wasn’t sure if everyone knew she was Lumi’s step-mother. Maybe she was talking about something else, but he thought not. Lauryn was still lying back on her chair, her face flushed from her recent kiss.

Moving quickly, Desmond straddled Lauryn and kissed her full on the lips before she had a chance to realize what was going on. She hesitated before wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him closer, they began to passionately make out, and as Lauryn pulled Desmond closer and closer to him, the kiss became more intense. After about a minute and a half Lumi yanked Desmond’s arm, breaking the kiss and exclaimed, “Hey! It’s only fair if we have equal time giving lip service! How else is she supposed to judge fairly?”, finishing her sentence with a pout. Desmond had never seen anything more adorable, and he had to fight the urge to kiss her next.

“Okay, okay I guess that’s fair.” Desmond said laughing as he slid back onto his chair. Lauryn blushed and closed her eyes and tried to calm her breathing.

“Well!?”, asked Lumi hopefully. Perhaps she was actually worried, Desmond doubted that his kiss could possibly compare to the steamy affair that the girls had shared. But then again, he was a guy, maybe that forced some sort of bias. Probably.

“I…I don’t know!” Lauryn said sitting up and blushing even harder. At this point she was bright red, both from the make out sessions and the embarrassment of having to play judge. “It’s impossible to tell! Maybe if you were the same gender but you’re not. I mean, making out with a girl is just so much more taboo, it makes it hotter. But at the same time, Desmond, I’ve never had a guy kiss me with so much…feeling!” Her face suddenly changed from confusion to contentment. “I can say you two are the best kisses I’ve had, ever. Like, damn, yeah. I’ve never gotten so aroused by just making out before.”

“Oh c’mon, we’re equally as good? I find that hard to believe. Maybe it’s because Desmond went second, after I got you all worked up.” Lumi said looked at Desmond with mock anger. He laughed.

“Uh-huh, sure, I think you just can’t accept that I’m talented,” Desmond said playfully punching her on the leg. She looked at him strangely.

“Okay, how about this. You both just kissed me, now how about you kiss each other, and see how that measures up. That way, if both of you say the other person is better then me, you will accept that you’re equally as good. Besides, I feel like I’m just being used here, oh don’t look like that Desmond,” she said seeing the brief look of shock pass over his face, “you guys are friends. Living in the same house for the summer, you haven’t already fooled around?”

This, Desmond realized, was going to get really interesting, really fast. He looked at Lumi who was staring at him. He decided to make some sort of initiative, he for sure wanted to, but at the same time he realized the problems with this situation. If they refused, it would probably have to come out that they were step-siblings, which for some reason Lumi wanted to avoid.

“I’m up for the challenge, if you are Lumi. I mean, I’d understand if you didn’t want to,” Desmond said leaving her an out, but at the same time playing on her competitive streak. She bit her lip again and he was reminded of how cute it looked, before her face became more resolved and she grabbed his hand and swung onto his lawn chair.

“You’re up,” Lumi said in a seductive voice. Desmond wasn’t sure if she meant physically, which he was, or in the context of the challenge. He was hoping she meant both, and as she pressed her body towards his, he came to the conclusion she did. As she put her mouth on his, she must of felt him pulse as she ran a hand over his chest and slipper her tongue in his mouth. Desmond was in heaven, he had not felt a more sublime feeling then having his step-sister’s tongue dancing with his own. He grabbed her firm ass and pulled her closer to him, she answered by pushing on his chest so he was forced to lay back in his lawn chair. As time went forward, their kissing be came desperate, and their hands ran all over one another’s body. Lumi moaned into Desmond mouth and he sighed in response, he felt like he was in heaven and hoped that the moment would never end.

“Enough!” Lauryn yelled shocking the both of them. “You said it yourself, even time and all. I let it go on for like an extra minute, but it just looked so hot.”

Lumi looked flustered, and as the two step-siblings disentangled themselves, she quickly pecked Desmond on the cheek before sliding back into her chair. At this point, Desmond’s manhood was fighting against the confines of his swim shorts so hard it thought it might rip them, and his towel had gotten knocked off, but he just didn’t care. He knew that he’d probably have to take care of it himself, but he still had hopes that perhaps not.

“Okay, so, you two. What was better, kissing me, or kissing each other? I know which one I would pick,” Lauryn said.

“Lumi, totally Lumi,” Desmond answered after a moment’s hesitation. He thought about what she would say, but he figured that they’d already made out, so what did it matter.

“Yeah, okay, fine. Desmond. I still don’t like the idea of a tie though,” Lumi stared at Desmond for a few seconds, before smiling mischievously and looking back at Lauryn. “You’re right, he is really good at kissing. I haven’t had anyone make me feel close to that since we kissed.”

“Hah! I knew you would come around. Honestly, how haven’t you two hooked up yet, or even fooled around at all? I mean like, you’re living in the same house, and you’re clearly into each other. If I had Desmond in my house, girl, he wouldn’t be able to keep me away,” Lauryn was clearly talking just to Lumi. Desmond felt like a piece of meat, but honestly, he really didn’t care. He was horny enough to wait for a little while before he tried to get either of them to finish him off, but not too long.

“Well, you know…it just never came up,” Lumi said, looking at Desmond. He could see she was having a tough time coming up with adequate reasons without sharing the truth. He now realized they never would share the truth, in all likelihood. It was taboo, they technically were family. Maybe that made it more hot, he was not sure. He just knew he wanted to feel more of Lumi’s body, all of it.

“Well, she did just break up with Steve, even if he was an asshole. I did not want to push things considering she almost got raped. I like to think I have a bit more class then that,” Desmond said, earning a look of gratitude from Lumi, she clearly had not thought of a better answer. “Now though…well who knows where it will go,” Desmond knew he had to at least tell her he was interested, without coming across too…horny. Which was exactly what he was.

“Well, it looks like you could use some attention,” Lauryn said, staring directly at the bulge in Desmond’s trunks. “Maybe you two should start something right now.”

“Oh Lauryn, I wouldn’t want to do that too you again. Owing you seems to involve pushing the boundaries of my sexual experimentation. After today, I’m not sure how much more I can take,” Lumi said lying back down on her lawn chair.

“Fine then, I guess I’ll just have to do it,” Lauryn said as she pulled Desmond’s trunks down.

Desmond was not expecting this boldness. He just sat there in shock as this fiery redhead proceeded to grab his cock and took half of it in her mouth straight away. He thought about resisting, but as she started pulling her head up the length of his cock, swirling her tongue as she did, all will power faded and he just laid back to enjoy her talented mouth. She ran her tongue up the underside of his cock as she massaged the tip with her hand. She looked right into Desmond’s eyes as she reached the top and speared her mouth on this dick, taking it deeper then she had before. He felt the back of her throat close around his tip and moaned in pleasure. She took her mouth off, gasping for air.

“So, still no interested?” Lauryn said turning to Lumi and she continued jacking him off. Lumi just sat there, staring in amazement, looking at her bold friend, then her step-brother’s cock, and finally meeting his eyes. Desmond saw lust in them, and that made his cock jump in Lauryn’s hand, which elicited a laugh.

“I think…I think I’ll sit this one out. But please, go on. I might change my mind if you make it much hotter,” Lumi said with a shaky voice.

Lauryn clearly good this as a challenge, as she untied her bikini top and let it fall to the ground. Desmond was greeted with the sight of her pale tits, seemingly defying gravity. She pulled one up to her mouth and licked it like a porn star, looking directly at Lumi challengingly. Desmond thought he would blow his load right there, but he managed to exert his will power and hold on.

“Uh-oh, someone’s getting close, are you sure you don’t want to take a turn?” Lauryn said, emphasizing her point by swallowing Desmond’s cock again, still keeping eye contact with her friend.

Lumi stayed silent, so Lauryn shrugged and forced he mouth down Desmond’s dick for a brief moment before pulling her it off with a pop. She then proceeded to wrap her tits around his dick, Desmond knew that he wouldn’t last much longer. He’d never gotten a titjob, and as he felt her smooth skin slid up and down his dick, he knew he was an immediate fan.

“Oh fuck, that’s hot. I’m gunna come. Shit, shit, I’m gunna come Lauryn,” Desmond said breathing heavily.

She just smiled and increased her pace. Desmond started moaning a moment before the released his first shot onto her neck, she yelped a little, but kept on sliding her tits. “C’mon baby, let it all out. Let me milk your cock,” Lauryn said, as if he needed the encouragement.

He felt 5 or 6 more shots hit her neck before they lost power and started running down her tits. When he finally finished, she took her tits off his dick and turned to Lumi, who was red-faced and breathing heavily.

“Want to clean him off? Or maybe even me?” Lauryn said with a wink to her friend.

Lumi moved forward, seemingly entranced and look Desmond’s hyper-sensitive dick into her mouth. His dick pulsed, but was all out of semen for the moment and as Lumi slid her mouth down his dick, before licking it all over, Desmond was positive that if she had waited another 30 seconds, she would be swallowing new come, not cleaning up after her friend.

Lauryn, meanwhile, was busy rubbing Desmond’s semen into her skin. Lumi stared at her friend, her eyes full of question.

“What?” said the redhead, “I heard it was really good for the skin,” she said laughing.

Desmond couldn’t believe his luck. He looked skyward and wondered if whomever was blessing him was looking down on him, or staring up at him from below. He had just made out with his step-sister, and then she had cleaned his sperm covered dick off, he was sure that a priest would have a heart attack. He wasn’t quite sure he wasn’t going to have one as Lauryn ran a finger up her neck and collected some excess sperm, before licking her finger clean and smiling mischievously.

Breaking the magic, Lumi’s phone rang and she hesitated a second before answering it. She had a short conversation before ending the call. She turned to Desmond and said, “Mary is going to be here in 5 minutes, we’d better get ready to leave.”

Reluctantly, Desmond got up and collected his things, at this point Lauryn had finished cleaning her self and tied her top back on. Lumi was standing near the gate to the front and Lauryn walked over and gave her a hug, and then turned to see Desmond walking towards them. She walked over, planted a kiss on his lips and gently squeezed his still hard dick, “You’d better take care of that.”

The ride home was awkwardly silent, as Mary asked how their day was, they answered her questions in as little detail as possible, and they both kept glancing at each other. By the time they reached home, Desmond was sure he had blown any chance he had with Lumi, and he wasn’t even sure what had changed. She went from tasting his semen, to refusing to make eye contact with him.

The rest of the evening passed much the same, they had a family dinner, sans Aug, who was at a friend’s place, Mark explained. It was awkward too, and soon after Lumi finished eating, she excused her self and went up into her bedroom. Mary and Mark exchanged looks, and Desmond knew the question that was about to be asked. He hadn’t had parents for too long, but they were a pretty easy read.

“Did anything happen today? I have not seen Lumi that way for quite some time. Everything okay with Steve?” Mary asked me, her voice full of concern.

“I don’t think anything happened, but I’m not sure. We were out in the sun for quite a while, so maybe she got heatstroke or something,” Desmond asked, dodging the Steve question and telling something that was mostly the truth. He did not know if anything had happened, well, he wasn’t sure if anything bad had happened at least.

The two adults exchanged looks again, this time Desmond was not sure what was coming, but he knew it was something they had worked themselves into. And he was pretty sure he was not going to like this conversation, then it hit him what was about to be talked about.

“So,” Mark said idly pushing a piece of fat around on his plate, “I feel like we should probably have this conversation when it’s just us three.” Desmond felt the dread building up, he had worked so hard to keep all the anger and bitterness inside, not give it an escape route. He knew this conversation was going to push the levy he had built to it’s limits, if it survived at all. “I know that we need to talk about what you saw those years ago, the circumstances, everything. I feel, we feel,” Mark paused to grab his wife’s hand, “that it should be done sooner, so we clear the air.”

“Clear the air? You mean about the fact that I caught you balls deep in my Mary when I was convinced that my parents had a loving marriage,” Desmond knew that once he started his sentence, the anger in his voice betrayed what he was feeling. He saw Mary cringe at his tone, and again at his refusal to call her his mother. He knew it cut deep, and he started to pour salt in the wound. “You want to clear the air about the fact that your affair demolished any hopes I had at normal teenage years? You’re in love? That’s fantastic, I’m so happy for you,” his words picked up speed and he saw both adults taken aback by the acid in his tone. He knew he was going to regret most of these things, but it had just built up. The flood gates were open, there was no hope in hell of closing them now. “Did you ever consider how terrible it was to find you two? God, and then you didn’t even tell your own kids Mark? You really didn’t tell Lumi and Aug that you two had been sleeping together while she was still married? You didn’t tell them I caught you two in my parents bed? I know you didn’t, they have no idea. I see it in their eyes, could you have at least told me they’d been kept in the dark. You welcome me into your house, and I’m grateful, but I don’t know if I can keep up this circus act.”

“Desmond, look, I’m sorry. I messed up, really bad, I didn’t tell them right away because I was afraid they’d judge me, and Mary. I wanted her to be accepted into our family as seamlessly as possible, we didn’t think long term, we didn’t-”

“You didn’t think about me?” Desmond cut Mark off bitterly.

“We just didn’t think it all the way through. I’m sorry,” Mark said, and he did really sound sorry.

Desmond couldn’t take this, he couldn’t sit still. He thought about how good it would feel to smash Mark’s face to a pulp. He didn’t, he just got up and put his shoes on and sprinted out the door. He heard Mary call after him but he didn’t care, he just needed to run. He ran, flat out, for 2 miles, his breath became ragged and his hands started shaking. He slowed, leaned over and wretched. He whipped his mouth with the back of his hand, and slowly came to his senses. He heard his smart phone ringing, and realized it had been in his shorts pocket. He was glad it hadn’t fallen out, as he took it out he saw it was Mary. He ignored the call and slipped it back into his pocket.

Desmond took a few deep breathes, and then wretched again. He felt bad for whoever’s lawn held the contents of his meal, but he couldn’t do anything about it now. He turned and kept walking in the direction he had been running. His breathing started to slow, and he began to realize he had no idea where he was. He realized what had been unsettling for him since he returned here. He felt like he had no place to call ‘home’. While he was at school, he still held his family image together, it was childish, but he hadn’t been around for the aftermath for it to truly sink in. Yet here he as, still as vulnerable as he was on that day he’d walk in to see his mother being pounded by a guy that was not his father.

“Shit. Shit, shit shit,” Desmond cursed aloud. There was no other way to express what he was feeling right now. He realized he was in a park, and walked over to sit on one of the benches. He sat down and put his head in his hands, trying to think how anyone could forgive him after the bile he had spewed in the form of words towards Mark. It wasn’t his fault, hell it wasn’t anyone’s fault. His parents marriage had not worked out, he just had the misfortune of exposing it to the world. Actually, it seemed like he had been the only one who had not known that the marriage was a ticking time bomb. It didn’t matter at this point. Desmond was felt like his world was falling apart, and after the afternoon had gone so damn well, too, he thought to himself.

Desmond’s phone rang again, pulling him out of his thoughts. He checked it, mostly out of habit, to find it being Mary again. He ignored the call, but sent a brief text, just that contained nothing: I’m okay, I just need some time. No need to worry her, he thought. His next thought was that he was lost, and incredibly hungry. With his phone still out, he checked checked for a route home, the map program told him it would take 30 minutes to walk home, so he stood and started to slowly wander home. Desmond was taking his time, hoping that by the time he got home, he would be the only one awake. Dealing with Mary and Mark at this time seemed like a bad idea.

He also realized that Lumi might have heard what happened. He felt bad, he didn’t need her finding out the circumstances of her step-parent’s happy marriage. Hell, he didn’t even mean for his anger to come out, but it had flown out his mouth unbidden. He knew he’d have to fix things with Mark, he’d laid a lot of his problems at his step-father’s doorstep, after he’d let him into his home, and into his family. Sighing heavily, Desmond let his thoughts meander from Lumi, to Lauryn, to how he was going to fix things with Mark.

By the time Desmond reached Mark’s house, it was just before midnight. All the lights were out, and he hoped that meant he could slip in without any more trouble. He made a pact with himself to set things right with Mark tomorrow. Reaching the door, he opened it, glad it was unlocked. As he slid his shoes off and turned the lock the door, he heard a creek on the stairs. He turned to see Lumi standing in boy shorts and a loose T staring at him with her mouth open and eyes red from crying.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” Desmond asked in a soft voice, forgetting about his problems in a heartbeat. She seemed to have that effect on him. She continued to stand there for a moment before she ran down the stairs and wrapped him up in a hug. He embraced her for a moment before he pulled her away, looking into her eyes. “What happened?” he asked, his voice full of concern.

“I…I heard what you said. I didn’t mean to eavesdrop, I just…I’m so sorry,” she said as she leaned back into Desmond’s chest. They stood there for a few minutes, just enjoying each other’s embrace before Desmond finally broke the silence.

“It’s not your fault. It’s not anyone’s fault, I’ve come to that realization. I lashed out because I didn’t know what else to do, I’m the one who should be sorry…” he said softly, stroking her soft hair. Her gorgeous green eyes looked up at him, soft, but powerful.

“It must have ben horrible to carry that around all this time. I…I wish I knew. I’m…” she trailed off as she pushed her body back against Desmond’s. He hugged her back and they went back to standing in silence for another minute before she pulled away and grabbed his hand. “We need to lay down to talk,” she said matter-of-factly.

Desmond followed her into his room, and she pulled him onto the bed. He suddenly realized how little she was wearing, how sweat drenched he was, and how much he wanted to feel every part of her body. Trying to shake those thoughts from his head, Desmond laid down beside her, and wrapped his arm around her shoulders so he could pull her close. She traced her fingers across his chest. They lay there for probably an hour, talking, or staying silent, but just enjoying each other. Desmond had never felt this kind of closeness with anyone before, and he didn’t want it to end.

Lumi sat up suddenly, “So I think I know how I should repay you.”

And there we have it! Part two complete, with a cliff hanger too. Honestly, that cliff hanger comes more out of space then anything else. I’m trying to make each part around 10 pages, and this seemed like a decent place to end it. I worked on my spelling a bit, I have to put it through an online spell check because the one for my word processor doesn’t work. Yeah, I know. Anyway, I hope that you enjoyed the story, part 3 is being written, not to worry.

As before, suggestions, comments, hate-mail, are all welcome. I really appreciated the encouragement I got after the last part, for a first time author I got in the top rated column! Yay!

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