章節 207: Chapter 30: Minute ll

"So where's the leak?" I asked as I stood in the hallway and looked into the bathroom. Given the reason why I'd bothered to walk over here, I was surprised that the bathroom light was off and neither girl was inside.

"In the bedroom," DJ said softly from behind me. There was a husk in her voice.

I turned and arched an eyebrow, feeling an odd sense of déjà vu. DJ herself simply leaned back against the wall, a smirk on her face as she folded her arms across her chest. She gestured me toward the Master bedroom, and with my forehead furrowed in confusion, I walked a few paces over and looked inside.

My little sister reclined on her side across the big king-size bed. The room itself didn't look much different from when it had been mine; the girls hadn't repainted or rearranged furniture or anything like that. But the bedspread and the knick-knacks of decoration were all different, and the mixed familiarity with strange newness lent a surreal quality to the moment as I realized that I'd been set up once again.

"Have you been talking to Keira?" I wondered aloud.

Brooke frowned at me and gestured down the length of her body. She was wearing a see-thru chemise without a bra underneath, and frilly black panties that were clearly designed more for seduction than your regular pack of Hanes. "I'm wearing this and you're thinking about Miss McNeil?"

Well, I WAS, and it was one of my most erotic memories. But now wasn't the time to share that, so I facepalmed for a moment and held up my free hand. "Nevermind. Long story. I'm sorry. Can we start over?"

Brooke smirked and shook her head. "As long as I get my way in the end." She began playing with the spaghetti strap holding up her chemise. "You've made me wait long enough as it is."

I arched an eyebrow. "Me? What did -I- do to make you wait?"

"You mean besides keeping Sasha and Andie by your side at all times ever since January? Besides parading a host of Tri-Delts through this house, nevermind that NONE of them know about our unique relationship, which therefore prevented me from ever jumping you before this?"

I rolled my eyes. "Okay, without arguing about who walked out on whom back in January, it's not like you couldn't have pulled this same kind of ambush at your apartment during the year or at DJ's house over the summer. It's not like we haven't been hanging out at all these last few months."

"Whatever. We're not getting into a fight about this now. What's important is that it's my first night as Mistress of the Master Bedroom, and I've been fantasizing about christening these brand new bedsheets in a very specific, very explicit manner for a long time now." Brooke ran her fingers up her forehead and through her silky dark locks, giving me a coy smile as she set her head on her palm and used her free hand to tease the V-neck of her top. "It's been FAR too long since we were together like this, and I've got a craving for brother-dick that only you are EVER gonna fill."

"Go on. Stop dawdling." DJ encouraged me with a healthy shove in the back that sent me stumbling a couple of steps forward.

I turned back to look at my ex-fiancée, the ex-mother-to-be of my firstborn child. It was an unfortunate reality that I would always see her in that light, same as how I would always have to remember what Dawn had done to me as well. "You alright with this? I don't want to make things more awkward between us."

"Psht. It's you, and it's Brooke. This is just how you were always meant to be, and I've got nothing to do with it. But if it makes you feel any better, I'll leave you two alone." With that, DJ blew a kiss at Brooke and backed out the door, closing it with her.

I turned back to the bed to find that Brooke was sitting up now, but the shoulder straps of her chemise had been pulled down, allowing the wispy material to bunch up at her waist. Her unfettered breasts hung forward, capped by fully-erect dark rosy nipples. My little sister's chest was heaving as she panted in obvious arousal, biting her lower lip as she stared at me hungrily. And reaching out with both arms she gestured at me hurriedly while moaning, "Get over here. I wanna suck your dick."

I smirked and found myself walking toward her. Brooke and I had always had a different kind of relationship. There had always been love, but we were never romantic. She could annoy the hell out of me and do things that really pissed each other off, but all would be immediately forgiven. We hadn't done anything remotely intimate in nearly eight months, but there was no question that we'd pick up right where we left off.

We were siblings.

Special siblings.

[thwack]

"Nnngh!"

[thwack]

"Nnngh!"

[thwack!]

"Nnngh! Oh, SHIT!" Bent over doggy-style and hanging her head down between her upraised shoulders, Brooke started ramming her body back against my pelvis harder and harder and harder, taking over and fucking herself against me instead of the other way around. She went wild enough that I had to stop spanking her ass and instead grabbed onto her hips lest she accidentally dislodge us. And after a half-dozen more strokes she tensed up, threw her head back, and screamed in animalistic delight.

"AAUUUUUUGGGGH!!!" my little sister howled, shuddering and shaking as if she was trying to throw me off.

I rode the rollicking filly as best I could, hanging on for the ride until she finally calmed and ultimately collapsed face-down across the mattress, only now coming off my dick while I sat back on my heels and smirked at my handiwork.

"Fuuuck me," Brooke groaned in deep satisfaction after her one and only orgasm so far. She gasped like a fish out of water for a bit, her chest heaving beneath her while spreading her limbs to the sides. Even though she'd only climaxed the one time, I'd made sure it was a doozy, bringing her to the brink over and over and over again just the way I knew she liked it (and simultaneously hated it), before finally pushing her over the edge.

"Still mad at me?" I asked, still smirking. Brooke had certainly spewed several colorful epithets at me the last several times I wouldn't let her cum.

"Yes, still," she groaned before adding, "Now fuck me. Seriously. I can't do much to fuck you back right now – thanks for removing my spine – but my pussy is lonely and I won't be happy tonight until I feel you filling it with incestuous brother-cum."

Chuckling at that, I retrieved a pillow and wrapped an arm around my sister's waist to hoist her up high enough to slide the pillow beneath and angle her pelvis just right. She remained limp and spineless and unresisting as I put my knees to either side of her legs and reached down to palm her buttcheeks between my thighs. Spreading those perfect buns, I aimed my cockhead and slowly slid my cock back home. And then almost leisurely I resumed my in and out drilling motion, giving Brooke enough feeling to feel good and fulfilled without overstimulating her post-orgasmically sensitive loins.

"Fuuuck meee," Brooke moaned, bunching up the sheets in her hands as she panted and felt me doing just that. "Fuck me, big brother! Fuck your little sister! I haven't felt a dick inside me in WAY too long, and haven't felt YOU inside me in even longer! So good! So deep! For the rest of our lives, never stop fucking me!"

Despite my intentions to keep slow-dicking her, Brooke's words were quite the turn-on. As the tempo of her words sped up, so did the tempo of my thrusting. She kept urging me to fuck her, to pound my little sister's cunt, and drill deeper and wider and better than she'd ever had from any man in her entire life. And sooner than I would have thought, she had me rutting in and out of her body at a pretty rapid clip.

"Fuckme, fuckme, fuckme!" my little sister crooned, getting her knees underneath her while keeping her face in the mattress so that I could put a little more oomph into my hammering. "Never! Stop! Fucking! Me!"

"Ungh! Ungh! Ungh!" I grunted, still holding onto her ass as I threw all of my weight into my final strokes.

"Fuck me! Fill me! Cream me with brother-spunk you fucking animal stud!"

"AAAARGGGH!" I roared as I slammed forward so hard that I knocked us both off balance. Brooke's knees gave out and she crashed forward onto the mattress, this time taking me with her. I landed with my knees to either side of hers, her ass crammed against my pelvis and my body crushing hers beneath my chest. I felt my cock spit out wad after wad of the incestuous brother-cum she craved so much, an enormous load I'd built up over the long, protracted fuck we'd already had. And I drowned my little sister's pussy until my jizz filled every crack and crevice within.

When I opened my eyes again, I was flat on my back heaving for breath while Brooke lay half-across my belly, her hips not too far away from my left shoulder while she almost lazily licked up and down my half-hard dick.

After a few licks, my little sister glanced back at me and grinned before taking my entire cock deep into her throat. It was easy since I wasn't fully elongated, but I was also super-sensitive and I tensed up just a little while she scratched my balls with her fingernails and even scratched my inner thighs. Her actions either worked great or worked terribly, depending on how much she intended for my cock to suddenly swell up to almost full mast and abruptly gag her so that she had to back off, coughing for air.

"Sorry, little one," I apologized, reaching down to stroke her hair. She turned so that her cheek was against my palm and rubbed herself into my hand. Taking hold of my prick, she lightly jacked it while turning herself back to kiss me. And for a long while we simply enjoyed the intimacy of our tongues and mouths while she continued playing with my growing prick.

Once we broke for air, Brooke replied with her trademark evil grin, "It's okay. You can make it up to me."

I arched an eyebrow, not yet understanding, but after giving my cock one last tug she turned and swung a leg over my head, settling her crotch directly atop my face while facing away and lowering her sodden snatch down to my face.

"Fuck yeah, big brother. Eat out your little sister's messy cunt."

For all my sexual kinks and proclivities, tasting my own jizz still didn't rank very high on the list. In most cases, it was something I'd tolerate when the situation called for it, something special I'd endure for a girl I really cared about. But doing this with Brooke felt like MORE than just something I'd "endure". Perhaps my little sister's excitement over getting filled up with "incestuous brother-spunk" was getting hold of me, because I found it a little ... naughty ... to be eating out my little sister's pussy while it was full of my incestuous sperm. It wasn't that I liked the taste, and I certainly wasn't swallowing any more of the stuff than I had to, but I knew Brooke was getting off on the naughty idea, and I was only too happy to please her as well.

At first, she let me focus on her. But after getting her a quick orgasm to make up for all the ones I'd not let her have while we were fucking, she bent over and resumed blowing me to complete the sixty-nine. I moaned and gripped her buttcheeks a little tighter, allowing my tongue to dart a little more inside and really titillate her senses. And inspired by her oral attention to me, I ramped her up and pushed her over the edge to a second orgasm.

"Oh, yeeeaaaahhh..." Brooke sighed happily, pulling her head off and gasping as her ass vibrated in my face. I teased her by reaching up and buzzing her anus as well, making her squirm while her pussy continued contracting. Mingled cum flushed out of her, a deluge of her sweet nectar fortunately dominating the taste. But while I was focused on prolonging my little sister's pleasure, I didn't notice the bed shift until my cock was suddenly surrounded by pussy.

"What the--?" I muttered as I pulled my face out of Brooke's ass and used my grip on her cheeks to move her body aside. And then I was blinking in outright shock to see a fully-naked DJ impaled on my recovered prick.

She wasn't looking at me, or at anything at all. DJ's eyes were closed, her senses tuned inward as she shivered and shuddered, her mouth gaping open as she moaned in obvious climax while writhing around my cock like a snake on fire. From just the single stroke of penetration, it took almost thirty seconds for her orgasm to pass, and when it finally did DJ pitched forward abruptly enough that Brooke had to reach up and catch her best friend.

"Oh, shit," DJ gasped, her boobs wobbling as she desperately gulped for air. When she caught her breath a little more, she panted, "Wasn't expecting that to happen so suddenly."

"Well it's been even longer for you than it has been for me," Brooke giggled, still gripping DJ's upper arms to keep the blonde upright.

DJ gave her a wan smile, took a deep breath, and then managed to push herself erect once more. Spreading her knees and sitting back, she settled herself down on my crotch with my cock a little deeper inside her, and as Brooke slid out of the way DJ leaned forward to rub her palms up my torso from belly to chest.

"Hey," was all she said to me.

I looked her gorgeous body up and down, eyeing the cautious expression on her face before trailing down to where our bodies were joined for the first time since our break-up. "Hey," I replied just as quietly.

Tilting her head to the side, she gave me a nervous look and said, "I've missed this. I've missed you."

"I know." I glanced down at our loins again before returning to her face. "So ... bit of a surprise, doing it this way."

"I'm sorry I didn't ask permission. Didn't want you to overthink it, to worry about what it might mean for both of us to resume doing this. Didn't want to do it earlier, either, while you were still recovering physically, mentally, and emotionally from your ordeal."

"I wouldn't have tried to overthink it," I said. DJ gave me a skeptical look, and I grinned wryly and conceded, "Okay, maybe I would have, but we talked about this that same night I got shot. No matter what happened to us in the past or may become of us in the future, we'll always be 'Family', kiddo."

DJ took a deep breath, her smile broadening as she looked rather more relieved. Clenching her inner muscles around me, she did a slow gyration that carved my cock around the walls of her very tight tunnel almost experimentally. Shivering, she sighed and said, "It's been so long. I almost forgot how... right ... this feels to have a cock inside me. To have YOUR cock inside me."

I blinked. "Still? Even after all this time? You never took another lover?"

She shrugged. "Girls, yes. Men?" DJ bit her lip and looked away for a moment, a tear coming to her eyes. "I couldn't. I thought about it, sure. But I managed just fine without all the way up until you ... until your 'incident'. And after ... well I meant what I said back then about wishing we could turn back time. They say you never know what you've got until it's gone, and well ... NOW I know what I had, and nothing less is ever going to make me happy."

I frowned. "Deej ... We can't turn back time."

"I know."

"And I love you, I do. I always will. But ... things have changed between us, and things have changed for me. I don't know if we can ever get back to where we used to be, and even if we could, there are other people – other women – in my life that are important to me."

"Oh, I know. And when I said nothing less could make me happy, I didn't mean having you as a monogamous husband and father of my child and all that. No, I meant that nothing less than the love we shared would be good enough for me anymore. No man less than YOU is ever going to cut it. You're it. My one and only. For the rest of time."

I winced, "Deej, I can't--"

"I'm not asking you to marry me," she cut me off. "I'm not even asking you to become my boyfriend again. I just want you to love me again, and I swear to you I'm going to do everything I possibly can to make that happen again."

"I do love you."

"Love me like BEFORE."

"But I don't know if I can. So much has happened since then. It's not that I don't want to consider it, to consider you. I'm at a point in my life where there's just so much uncertainty that it wouldn't be fair to make any kinds of commitments or promises, you know? And didn't we talk about this right after I woke up? About not being able to reciprocate your feelings just yet?"

"We did, and I understand. I'm not asking for those kinds of commitments. In fact, there's only one thing I really want."

I blinked and raised my eyebrows, sensing that there was more to her single want than just my love. "And what's that?"

Whimpering, DJ looked over at Brooke, a question in her eyes.

My sister took a deep breath and raised her eyebrows at me. I got the distinct impression that the girls had discussed this very matter a LOT over the last few months. And in the end, Brooke just nodded and gestured for DJ to continue.

Nodding as well, DJ fixed her gaze on me again while squeezing her pussy muscles around my rod. "I hurt you – I hurt you badly – when I had that abortion. It was the kind of unforgivable act that could keep us apart forever, and I don't want that. I won't be able to live the rest of my life if it's not with you."

"One way or another, I'll always be in your life."

She shook her head. "Not good enough. We were close once, as close as two people can ever get. Now maybe we're not meant to be married. I'd like to think we could, but I won't push that. I'll have to earn that back if it's meant to be. But I stole something from you, something unbelievably precious. And there's only one way I could ever make up for that."

It took me a second to realize what she was getting at, and when I did my eyes went WIDE.

"By having your baby again," she finished, confirming my realization. "I'm not on any birth control. I haven't had sex since we broke up, and I never will unless it's with you, so there's been no need. So I'm unprotected right now, and I'm smack in the middle of my peak fertility. So if that's what you want from me, I'm ready to give it back to you."

My eyes blinked rapidly and I clenched down on my kegels to make sure I didn't go off. "Deej, now wait a minute..."

"You don't have to, of course. I don't want to rush you, and I know that telling you this while your cockhead is pressed up against the entrance to my very fertile womb is probably not the most ideal time to tell you, but I want you to know that I'm dead serious about this. I wasn't ready before, and in the end it was Kim who got pregnant first. I'm not jealous of her, and I don't begrudge you two for what you have. But you have to know I'm sincere about this."

I nodded slowly, my eyes still wide with shock. "Okay ... I get that you're sincere. But Deej, you can't replace our lost child with another one so easily."

"I know, and I'll always regret the lost one. I'll always mourn the life that didn't get a chance to live. My fault. Totally my fault. That's a burden I'll have to carry forever. But I can either dwell on that or do the best I can in the future, so I'm starting now."

DJ shuddered, the tears rolling down her face.

"It's a fresh beginning. You've moved out and you're starting your own life with grad school and a new home. You don't have a girlfriend anymore; we both know Adrienne doesn't quite count. Sasha and Andie are starting their new thing. Dawn's back, but she's not standing between us. I've tried to give us both space, give us both time since you got shot and allow us both to think about where we want to go in our lives. Yeah, I've got two more years of school to go and yeah, I'm barely 20 years old. But I KNOW what I want now, and I'm not afraid of the future, unless it's a future without you in it.

"But to get pregnant again? Right now?!?"

DJ squeezed her pussy around me again. "We're still young, and we both have our whole lives ahead of us. I'm willing if you are; it's not like you aren't going to be a parent anyway. But if this isn't what you want, I can get up and get a condom. Or you can fuck my ass; I prepared for that and already lubed. I'll wait until you're ready, until it's right for US. But I want you to know that's what I want for our future: To be the mother of YOUR child again."

"It's just all so much for me to think about. It's a little overwhelming, to be honest. Maybe I'm super-dense, but I honestly thought I was coming over here to fix a leak. And I'm not sure I can process all of this right now."

"I understand. And I'm sorry for springing all of this on you at once. But I had to take this chance. You told me that my emotions might've been out of whack that day you woke up from your coma, but it's been more than three months since that day and my feelings haven't changed. For the rest of my life, you'll be the only man in my life, and if you won't have me then I'll just have to be 100% lesbian. Never again. No one ever but you. Because you mean the world to me. Because it was only once you were nearly dead and gone with no hope for a future reconciliation that I realized that my life would be utterly incomplete if it wasn't by your side. Only you. Forever you. Until death do us part. This is my vow, marriage or not. I'm yours ... For all of eternity, I'll be yours."

I still couldn't believe everything that was happening, but in that moment, belief was no longer necessary. All I had to do was looking into DJ's eyes and I KNEW she meant every single word. I KNEW that after all this time, after everything we'd been through and the ups and downs and heartaches and heartbreaks, she had FINALLY opened herself up completely.

It wasn't a question of me accepting her or not: she was already mine.

It wasn't a question of waiting until one or both of us were ready: it was an inevitability.

It wasn't a question of whether or not we would ever get married: DJ was already my wife.

So I rolled her over and did my very best to make her a mother as well...

... again.

-- FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2006, THREE WEEKS LATER --

I took my time putting away my materials, not in any rush. When my bag was packed, I pulled out my phone and flipped through my text messages, reading the ones I'd received during class and typing a reply that confirmed I was still on schedule.

Five minutes later, she finished answering her final student question, and the young man she'd been speaking to turned and headed for the exit doors without giving me a second glance.

She didn't look at me, either.

I watched her put her papers away into her chestnut brown leather satchel. She glanced around the room to make sure she hadn't forgotten anything. And at last, she strode confidently up the aisle and out the doors into the hall.

She never looked my way. It was as if I didn't exist, an invisible shadow absent from her vision as she turned and headed for the stairs. I followed after inconspicuously, vaguely heading in the same direction but not so close that any stray passersby might think we were together. It was late in the afternoon on a Friday, and the building was already close to deserted. No one saw me ascend the stairwell six seconds after she did, and the hallway outside her office was empty as well.

Her office door was closed but not locked. Her back was to me as I entered the room, but she didn't turn around. Standing beside her desk, she was occupied by rummaging around the insides of her satchel, and even when the door clicked shut behind me she acted as if I wasn't even there. Thus far, I'd been a ghost, invisible and immaterial, and she continued on with her daily routine.

"Viktoriya," I stated in a deep, commanding voice at the same time my hands took hold of her hips. Only now did she react, her body stiffening as she gasped in surprise. Leaning forward, I pressed my bulge against her ass while putting my lips right behind her ear. Putting a growl into my throat, I murmured, "Don't move," and then I yanked her head down and to the side as I bent and latched my mouth onto her exposed neck.

Fifteen minutes later, the 42-year-old Russian babe bit down on the edge of her own desk, her teeth marking the wood as she fought to contain an orgasmic scream. Perhaps she would have wanted to clap a hand over her mouth instead, but that was impossible since I had both her wrists pinned down against the small of her back as she held onto the material of her rolled-up pencil skirt that currently circled her waist.

Getting up on my tiptoes, I used my height and angle to really powerfuck my ex-professor all throughout her orgasm, to the point where her pelvis would probably bruise against the desk. But once her orgasm waned, I dropped back onto my heels and yanked on her arms to stand her up, spin her around, and shove my typically haughty and pridefully cool professor down onto her knees before me.

The tight bun containing Viktoriya's chestnut brown hair had become quite frazzled, with loose tendrils falling every which way. One particular lock that fell over her forehead and right eye I collected between my left thumb and forefinger, and I trapped it against her skin while I palmed the side of her head. Jacking my shaft with my right hand, I aimed at her gaping mouth and yanked her skull forward with my left. And I was rewarded with the moist gulping sound of my cockhead penetrating beyond her gag reflex.

On her knees and with a throat full of throbbing dick, my onetime professor held her forearms together behind her back and let me facefuck her with my hands on her head. She didn't have to put up with it very long, as after only six or seven thrusts I felt my balls begin to tingle. And I pounded her skull only three more times in rapid succession before holding myself at full depth and letting both balls fire out their loads.

She choked a little, but didn't pull off as I filled her belly with my sperm. Staring up at me with dark blue eyes, I saw a couple of tears roll down her cheeks as she endured the mild discomfort for the sake of my pleasure. And in the end, she swallowed every drop before I released her cranium and let her turn to gasp for air.

Breathing hard myself, I turned and shuffled over to her conference table, not the easiest thing with my pants and underwear bunched around my ankles. But I made it without incident and flopped into my old familiar chair.

Still on her knees, Viktoriya braced herself with a hand up on the desktop, breathing deeply as she recovered before raising a finger and wiping her tear-streaked eyes. Presently, she looked over at me and gave me a sideways smirk. "We really shouldn't be doing this again."

"You asking me to stop?"

"No, of course not. But the fact remains that you ARE my current student."

"Is what we do going to have any impact on my grades?"

"You know it will. I already told you I will probably grade you extra hard, just to assure myself I am not giving you favoritism."

"You would do that simply because of who I am, period," I replied with shrug. "And as long as I get to fuck you extra hard as payback, that's fine with me."

Viktoriya shivered as a tingle ran up her spine, and she gave me a broad smile. After a deep breath, she pushed up on the desk to regain her feet. Once upright, she started looking around the floor in search of something, probably her panties.

"Over here," I called, bending and fishing the flimsy black lace out of my pocket, although I left my pants around my ankles. I twirled the boyshort-cut garment around my finger for a moment before bending over and tucking them back into my pocket. "But I'm keeping these as a souvenir."

"As long as you continue to give them back eventually. Those are very expensive."

I chuckled and replied, "Of course." Previously, I'd stolen her panties six times, although in the end I'd returned five of them. I'd soon return the sixth now that I had a seventh; I just liked the idea of keeping one of them in my bedroom at all times.

Reaching up to her waist, Viktoriya began unrolling the black fabric of her pencil skirt, once again covering herself down to her knees before tucking her round breasts back into the cups of her matching black lace bra and fastening the buttons of her starched blouse.

"Don't fasten it up all the way," I warned. "I'm going to enjoy watching you get undressed again, but we shouldn't make it any more work than we have to."

"You are not done with me yet?"

I snorted. "Not by a long shot. You think we're only going one round?"

Her eyebrows went up. "We are in my office and still in a precarious situation. Perhaps if you would like to continue at my house this evening... ?"

I shook my head with a smirk. "Relax. It's Friday. Everyone's gone."

"One would have thought you might recognize the irony of what we do after the unfortunate incident with Professor Rutledge."

"What we do is very different. My conscience is clear."

Shaking her head, Viktoriya sighed and sat down on her desk chair. She ran a hand through her hair and found just how messy it was. So reaching back and undoing the bun, she allowed her long, lush tresses to fall over her shoulders. "I wish I could say 'no' to you, but you are too good at what you do. The best I have ever had."

My mouth parted slightly and I sighed to look up and down at her regal beauty. "And a woman like you deserves nothing less than the best."

Taking a deep breath, Viktoriya nodded, raised her hands together in First Position, and asked, "What next, Master? Shall I kneel and revive you?"

I checked my watch and shook my head. "Not just yet."

She noted me checking the time and frowned. "Are you waiting for something specific?"

I grinned. "Not something. Someone."

Her cheeks flushed as she visibly started breathing harder. With a glance at the door, Viktoriya pursed her lips and asked. "Master, we have talked about this. The fewer people who know about us the better--"

"ReLAX. Be patient. That's an order."

She bit her lip again and took a calming breath. Despite initially looking as nervous as a frightened teenager, Viktoriya's naturally cool confidence kicked in as she rationalized that I would never purposely endanger her. "May I ask, or do you intend this someone to be a complete surprise?"

I grinned. "She shouldn't be a complete surprise. After all, you once specifically requested her."

Viktoriya frowned, clearly having no clue to whom I was referring. I watched her eyeballs clicking as she apparently wracked her brain through the list of females we both knew. But before she could come up with an answer, there came a knock at the door.

I shrugged and smirked. "Well you once told me you had fond memories of me bringing Dawn to your house, and also that you couldn't help but wonder how her little sister stacked up. So that's why I told you not to button your blouse all the way. No reason to slow things down too much while SHE takes it off of you."

"Clean me out, slave," DJ barked, patting the back of Viktoriya's head with the business end of the riding crop.

"Yes, Mistress," my 42-year-old Economics professor whispered subserviently before shoving her nose back into my girlfriend's sweaty crotch. DJ moaned, now grabbing onto the back of Viktoriya's head as she spread her thighs and scooched her pelvis forward a little.

Back on my conference table chair, I stretched my legs and let my toes point off to the sides while recovering my breath and watching Viktoriya eat out DJ's creampie. A couple of weeks ago I would have been adamant that every drop of semen remain deep inside of DJ's womb on the chance that her egg might be fertilized. We'd decided to roll dice with Destiny and find out if we were meant to be parents again this young, but once her period came, we'd both agreed to let DJ go back on her birth control and wait to re-start our family until she'd graduated at least.

Eventually, Viktoriya sucked out the last drop she could get and DJ patted the much older woman on the head for a job well done. My girlfriend certainly seemed to be enjoying the power trip, but after all three of us had gotten dressed and Viktoriya resumed being Professor Ice instead of my personal sex slave, I could see DJ's ears reddening as she thought about the way she'd just behaved. I teased her about it the whole way back home.

DJ's house was relatively dark when I brought her back. Despite resuming both the physical AND the romantically-emotional intimacy of our previous relationship, we'd agreed that DJ would continue living in the old Berkeley house while I remained in the new one. It wasn't that she didn't want to spend that time with me, and indeed there were many nights when one of us would sleep in the other's bed. But I wanted her to have the freedom of being a 20-year-old college student, not tied down by her relationship or distracted from her studies by the emotional neediness of a boyfriend.

DJ belonged to me, heart and soul. She'd sworn male-monogamy for the rest of her life, the intention to bear my children when she was ready, and the willingness to make certain life choices such as career and geographical location to ensure she could remain an integral part of my life. But none of that meant we had to spend every single night under the same roof right now. She hung out with her friends, she stayed out late to go to parties, and she did all the other things normal girls her age did. And I was free to live my own life as well.

Still, it was a Friday night, and we hadn't had dinner yet. Sasha and Andie would be out doing their own thing, and Adrienne was in New York this weekend for work. So the plan was to drop off DJ at her house to shower and change while I went across the street to do the same. And we'd meet back at her place in a half-hour or so and decide where to go to eat.

At least, that was the plan. DJ threw a bit of a monkey wrench into that plan by kissing me hard enough on her front porch that I grabbed her ass and hoisted her into my arms. She wrapped her legs around my waist and I wound up planting her back against the door to leverage some of her weight off of me. And wouldn't you know it, I somehow managed to drop her butt on the door latch, and suddenly it swung inward.

DJ screeched as she felt the support suddenly disappear. I was off-balance enough that I couldn't arrest our fall, although I did manage to get my right foot planted in front of me so that we didn't hit the floor THAT hard. In the end, I was sprawled across the foyer on top of my girlfriend in the missionary position, though we were both fully-clothed. And after laughing about the door giving way we kissed and started getting back up.

"Having a good evening?"

I looked up to see Dawn leaning against the wall, her arms folded across her chest and a smirk on her face.

Still flat on her back, DJ craned her head and said, "Hey, you're home."

Dawn shrugged. "Where else would I be?"

"Thought you were going out with Gwen and Robin tonight."

Dawn shrugged again. "Plans fell through. Gwen had to stay late at work. Did you guys eat already? I've made extra."

"Uh ... well..." DJ began, furrowing her eyebrows and glancing back at me.

"We'd planned on getting dinner."

"But you just got home." Dawn arched an eyebrow and sniffed the air. "And not to put too fine a point on it, but it smells like you've already had sex."

I chuckled and shrugged as I finally got to my feet and reached down to help DJ up. "I just introduced her to Viktoriya."

Dawn's eyes popped wide in surprise.

DJ shook her head in amazement as she stood up as well. "I know you told me two years ago he turned his professor into his sex slave, but it's one thing to hear about it and something completely different to see it in person."

Dawn sighed and bit her lower lip. "She's good, isn't she? All that wealth of experience."

"Certainly taught me a thing or two," DJ agreed.

I finally closed the door behind us, and with a gesture, I started walking us down the hall. "So yeah, the idea was to clean up and then head back out."

"Do you want to come with us?" DJ offered.

Dawn's gaze darted to me. "Oh, no, I couldn't intrude. You guys don't want me tagging along as a third wheel."

"If we didn't, we wouldn't keep asking you," DJ sighed. She came to a stop and gestured at the dining table. I had to admit, the single place setting certainly looked lonely on a big table I was only too used to seeing filled to capacity.

But before Dawn could respond, I took DJ by the hip and tugged her toward the stairs. "Hey, if she doesn't want to, she doesn't want to. Don't push her."

"Yeah," Dawn shrugged, giving me a sad look. "I'm fine, really."

DJ shot me a look and pursed her lips. But she allowed me to lead her to the stairs.

Once there, I head-nodded toward the front door and said, "I'm gonna go clean up, alright? Meet you back here in thirty minutes?"

"Sure," DJ replied quietly. She leaned forward and pecked my lips. "I love you."

I smiled warmly. "I love you, too."

"Okay, what's the deal?"

Freshly showered and re-dressed into Friday Evening clothes instead of my usual student wear, I settled into the driver's seat of the Mustang, shut the door, and frowned at my girlfriend. "'What's the deal'? With what?"

"With you and Dawn."

I frowned. "Uh ... there's nothing between me and Dawn."

"Exactly. That's weird, and it's getting to the point that I think I'm going to have to start kicking you in the butt about it."

I dropped my hand away from the keys in the ignition. Turning to DJ with furrowed eyebrows, I gave her a confused look and asked, "Wait, what?"

"What happened in there before we split up to take showers?" DJ head-nodded toward her house. "When I pressed her about coming out with us, you interrupted and told me not to push her."

I blinked twice. "Because I don't think you should push her."

DJ shook her head. "Thing is, I think she really WANTS to come out with us. It's YOU that doesn't."

I frowned. "Not true. I've never said anything about not wanting her to come out with us, and I've agreed with you whenever you said we should invite her out more."

"Agreed to ME, sure. But not in front of her. See, I was always watching Dawn whenever I asked her to come out with us, whether it's just with you and me or even as part of some larger group. I was always thinking about her feelings and scrutinizing her reactions as she tries to figure out how to reintegrate herself into our lives, but tonight I was watching YOU."

I shrugged. "So?"

DJ sighed and gave me a look of disappointment. "Do you want to reconcile with her?"

I arched an eyebrow. "Of course not. You're my girlfriend and I've already told you that I--"

"Not what I meant," DJ cut me off. "Do you even want to be friends with her again?"

I frowned. "We ARE friends."

"Really?"

"We see each other almost every day. We talk almost every day."

"You mean you say 'hi' in passing when you come to pick me up to go out, or when you emerge from my bedroom, or Brooke's, on your way to the kitchen to get something to drink. That's not talking."

I sighed. "We talk. I'm not avoiding her."

"But you're not encouraging conversation, either." DJ shook her head. "Look, I get that this is difficult for you. She hurt you badly, but then, so did I. And you really didn't give me all that hard of a time to get back with you."

I took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. Sagging in my car seat, I realized that we weren't driving anywhere anytime soon. "You hurting me and Dawn hurting me are two completely different things. The choices you made, while I can't say I agreed at the time, I can totally understand why you made them. Getting pregnant at 19 was scary, and I know the situation was much tougher for you than it was for me. No, I didn't give you a hard time because it was easier for me to forgive you. Forgiving Dawn for what she did hasn't been so easy."

DJ furrowed her eyebrows at me, thought hard for a second, and suddenly jerked her head back. "Ohmigawd. You still HAVEN'T forgiven Dawn."

"What?" I scoffed. "I forgave her a long time ago."

"But you just said--"

"I meant that forgiving Dawn wasn't so easy, past tense," I corrected quickly. "It's been more than a year since we broke up, and I've moved on with my life. She hurt me, yeah. But that's water under the bridge now. I've moved on with my life."

"You say that a lot, you know."

"Say what?"

"That you've moved on with your life. Said it twice in five seconds just now, and this isn't the first time I've heard you repeat that little phrase."

"Because I have. Look at me. Look at what we have. I have the PERFECT life. Me here, you guys across the street: 'The Family' hasn't been this close in a long time. I still get to have fun with Sasha and Andie, and you've been a part of some of the wild orgies we have over in that house. I still have my school friends. Brandi and Dayna just visited last weekend. And very soon, Kim's gonna pop out our little boy and move up here to be with us. Seriously, I couldn't DREAM up a better existence."

"And yet you still resent her."

"I don't resent her."

"Then why don't YOU push a little harder for her to come out with us more often? Why haven't YOU ever been the one to do the inviting?"

"Because I meant what I said: Dawn's been through a lot lately, and I don't think we should push her any more than she can handle."

"It's been weeks already, and that doesn't even count the three months since she came back from Camp. The two of you have had a zillion opportunities to sit down and talk, really TALK, and yet you never have. And now I've finally figured out that the hesitation isn't so much on her part, it's on yours."

"Nevermind that SHE keeps brushing us off every time you suggest something like that."

"Because she's reading YOU. I love you, Ben, but Dawn still knows you better than me. She's studying you, studying YOUR reactions, and she's choosing not to push YOU, not the other way around."

I shook my head. "You're imagining something that's not there."

"Fine then." DJ unbuckled her seatbelt and reached for the door handle. "We're going back inside."

My stomach grumbled on cue. "But ... dinner!" I whined.

"Can wait. Or you can eat Dawn's leftovers if you're that hungry. But we're going back inside." She opened the door and stepped out.

Groaning, I opened my door as well and stood up. Looking back at DJ over the roof of my car, I complained, "What are you trying to do, here? Don't we have a great relationship? I thought you'd be happy knowing how devoted I was to you, and how I truly don't have any of those sort of feelings for your big sister anymore."

Closing her door, DJ put both hands on the roof and glared at me. "She's my sister, and whatever differences we've had, I love her to pieces. I want her HAPPY, and that's never gonna happen as long as you keep giving her the cold shoulder."

"I'm not giving her the cold--"

"Yes you are," DJ interrupted, "and this isn't about you and me. I'm yours forever, and nothing's ever going to change that. Not even if you and Dawn fell back in love and got fucking married, alright? Your issues with her are separate from what we have together, but they need to be fixed, and that fixing starts right now."

My shoulders slumped as DJ stomped away from the car, heading across the lawn toward the front porch. Groaning, I had no choice but to lock the car and follow after her. And after going into the house about fifteen seconds after my girlfriend, I found her standing under the archway to the living room with her arms folded across her chest.

Dawn sat on the couch, the TV on and the remote control in her hand after she'd apparently muted it. Looking back and forth between me and DJ, she asked a little hesitantly, "Uh ... something going on?"

"You two ... TALK," DJ commanded, pointing at me and then Dawn and then back at me again. "I'll be at Vivian's place."

Dawn and I both gawked as DJ turned and headed for the door, her cell phone already in hand. When the door slammed shut behind her, I popped my eyebrows and screwed up my face nervously as Dawn stared back at me, an equally uncertain expression on her face.

"So..." she began slowly, her eyebrows raised. "What's up?"

"I need some coffee," I said suddenly, turning and striding into the kitchen. Dawn didn't follow, but when I glanced out through the doorway I saw her staring at me over the back of the couch, a thoughtful look on her face.

For the next several minutes, I busied myself with the mechanics of brewing a fresh pot. When I hit the start button, I glanced back out the doorway and realized that Dawn had turned the TV off and was simply waiting for me. Belatedly, I called out, "Do you want a cup?"

"Sure, thanks," she replied.

I didn't bother to ask how she liked it. I already knew. In fact, there were a lot of those little details about Dawn's likes and dislikes that I already knew. Really, in this whole wide world, there was probably no one else on the planet who knew her better than I did.

Or so I'd once thought.

For all my insights into Dawn's preferences and passions, I hadn't realized her growing urges for extreme thrills were symptoms of a larger problem. All my knowledge of her idiosyncrasies and quirks hadn't given me clairvoyance to recognize the fears and anxieties poisoning her love for me. And I hadn't been able to predict the choices she would make that ultimately drove us apart.

The truth was: I didn't know her as well as I thought I did, and in a way, it was her betrayal of personality that hurt me more than anything else.

She wasn't who I thought she was. So how the hell could I ever trust her again?

But my trust she clearly wanted again, along with my friendship and my time. She hadn't pressured me for any of those three things, tried to impose her presence upon me, or otherwise worm her way back into my life. She'd given me space; she'd given me time. For nearly four months since returning to the Bay Area, she'd simply been patient, hanging around the edges of my daily life, available if I ever wanted to talk but doing nothing to initiate such a conversation.

I wasn't sure I could have been able to do the same, were I in her position. "Patience" wasn't exactly in my nature. Willful ignorance, perhaps, the way I'd sort of shelved my issues with Kim for the entire semester, but not "patience". Dawn knew what she wanted, and she knew how to find me, but she recognized that I wasn't ready to talk to her, and so she waited.

And waited...

It's not that I consciously thought about making her wait, but when I thought about it now I figured that she'd bailed on me for an entire year. It hadn't even been four months since she came back, which meant I had every right to vindictively make her wait eight more. Only ... I didn't want that. Truth be told, I wanted to be friends with her again...

... but then I also didn't.

The reality was that my life was going along just fine without her in it. I hadn't been deluding myself about my perfect existence. With DJ, Brooke, Adrienne, Kim, Sasha, Andie, Bert, and Lynne all having significant roles in my life, I couldn't remember ever being happier. I was content to plug along academically in pursuit of my MBA while enjoying the familiarity and comfort of the Berkeley area. I was no longer in any hurry to settle down and get married for the sake of getting married; the unique loves I shared with each of the women in my life were more than enough for that. And apart from my unresolved issues with Dawn, all my loose ends had been tied up.

Amber had gone home to her David, and Cameron was perfectly fine and healthy starting a new life close to them.

Elyse was back in Orange County, reunited with Candy Carter and Katrina Russell. Adrienne kept tabs on her and supposedly she'd been clean and sober ever since getting out of rehab.

Friends were close by. Lovers were even closer. And even the Tri-Delts still visited from time to time for extra variety.

Kim was due in mere weeks, and I already knew my impending parenthood would consume the majority of my upcoming free time. I had enough on my plate to fill my days and nights with the people already in my life, and the truth was that I didn't need the further complications of sorting out my feelings for Dawn.

We'd been fine so far. She went to school, she hung out with her friends, and she was a good roommate for Brooke and DJ. That our daily routines didn't intersect all that much was of no consequence. There was nothing wrong with the status quo...

... except that she still wanted to be my friend.

Dawn had spent nine months training to be a Ranch Hand at Morris Camp. The whole point of her program was to prepare her for work during the peak summer season serving guests. She'd made a commitment to them, to Norma and the rest of them, but with one bullet she'd reneged on that commitment in order to commit herself to ME. And for what? I'd barely seen her all summer, and barely spoken to her even once she moved up to Berkeley. She might as well have stayed and finished her program and only come back at the start of the school year.

But then her 12-month clock of penance would have only started three weeks ago instead.

And let's face it: I wanted her to serve that penance.

Why are you punishing her?

Are you kidding me? After what she did to me?

So? You want to get even, is that it?

Don't make me sound petty.

Except that you're BEING petty. You know that all she wants is to talk to you, to start bridging the gap that's formed between you. She doesn't want to dominate your time or take you away from DJ. She just wants you to stop hating her and move on.

And what if I can't do that? Can't stop hating her and move on.

Well you've said that you've moved on, said that you've forgiven her. Repeatedly, in fact.

Yeah, well, we both know that's not quite the case. If I had, I wouldn't still be here, staring at a finished pot of coffee and two empty mugs while talking to myself.

No argument from me.

Sigh ... She's not going away, is she?

No she's not. So you've only got two options: keep ignoring her, or do exactly what your loving girlfriend wants you to do.

TALK.

Exactly.

Fiiine.

"Here you go," I said, handing over Dawn's coffee mug. "Sorry if it's getting a little cold."

"It's alright," she replied sympathetically. "I figured you'd need a few minutes to gather yourself."

Taking a deep breath, I sat down on the couch with a few feet of space between us and leaned forward to put my mug on the coffee table. "I've apparently needed a few months. I'm sorry about that."

"It's okay. I understand." She shrugged and took a sip. Almost immediately, she scrunched up her nose and looked down at the mug.

"Too cold?" I asked, wincing.

"No. Actually, uh ... it's rather sweet."

I arched an eyebrow. "Two cream and three sugars. Same as always."

Dawn blushed and set down her mug. "Not anymore, I suppose. We drank a LOT of coffee up at camp, and I guess I started getting used to it being darker and less sweet."

I sighed and gave her a pained look. "I really don't know you anymore."

Dawn stared at me for a moment, leaning forward and then hesitating. But a second later, she pursed her lips and closed the distance between us, wrapping her arms around me in a chaste but very firm hug. "Hey, it's alright."

Only now did I realize the first tear had splashed onto my cheek. At first, I didn't hug her back, my mind in turmoil as I wondered about this strange creature in my arms. My lifelong best friend and soulmate had left this very house more than a year ago to "find herself", but My Dawn had never come home. The doppelganger before me was someone else, a near-stranger. I didn't recognize her. I couldn't feel her. And despite convincing myself not minutes ago that my life was just peachy without her in it, the very idea that My Dawn was gone forever was absolutely heartbreaking.

One tear turned into two. Two tears turned into four. And then the deluge poured out of me. Over something as simple as the number of sugars she put into her coffee, I felt like I was losing her all over again. She was holding me, hugging me, reassuring me with her warmth and presence that she was here to support me, and yet it wasn't her. Same eyes. Same smile. She'd even let her naturally sunny blonde hair grow back. But My Dawn was well and truly gone, and nothing could ever return her to me.

Suddenly I was standing, Dawn's arms falling away as she stayed on the couch while I tore myself away. My coffee forgotten, I turned and headed for the hallway, wiping my eyes with the back of my forearm.

"Ben, wait!" she called from behind me, the familiar voice enough to make me stop in my tracks. And when I turned back to look at her, she gave me a look of heartfelt sadness and said simply, "I'm sorry."

I merely blinked at her.

"I know I can never say it enough, my words will never BE enough to make it up to you. But I AM sorry for what I've done. I truly hope you can forgive me. And you need to know that I'm never going to run away again. I'll be right here, and I'll keep on waiting. Because I love you. Because I'll always love you. Even if you and I never do anything remotely romantic for the rest of our lives, I will ALWAYS love my best friend."

My throat dry, I found my voice cracking as I replied despondently, "And I will always love the girl that ran away, but I will always mourn that she's never coming back."

And then I left the house.

-- SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 2006, TWO WEEKS LATER --

"Ohhh..."

"Mmm..."

"Ohhh..." Lying flat on her back across the California King-sized bed in my new Master bedroom, my little sister pressed the heels of her hands into her own eye sockets while concentrating on the pleasure emanating from her loins. "Fuuuck," Brooke moaned. "Eat me. Eat me!"

"Mmm-hmm..." DJ mumbled without removing her mouth from her best friend's cunt. For a few seconds, she wrapped her lips around Brooke's clit and hoovered the brunette's love bud with powerful suction. And when my sister's hips started to rock and roll in the pre-shocks of orgasm, DJ dropped her lower jaw and shoved as much of her long tongue as she could deep into Brooke's clasping tunnel.

"Nnng-AAAUUUUGH!" Brooke screamed, suddenly slamming her hands onto the mattress to either side. Her round, perky tits thrust skyward as her back arched, leaving a big gap of space beneath her body supported by her butt on one side and the crown of her head on the other. Her thighs slammed together around DJ's ears, causing my girlfriend to grab onto them and hold on for the ride as she continued tonguing her best friend through the climax. And only after what felt like a full minute of screaming and thrashing did Brooke's legs finally separate as she slumped bonelessly to the bed.

"Now, Ben. Now!" DJ ordered.

Lying next to my little sister, I gently reached down to remove the head currently bobbing up and down my prick. It actually took some doing, since Andie was kneeling beside me and sucking my dick almost on auto-pilot while gawking at Brooke and DJ in front of her with really wide eyes. But she finally realized what was going on and pulled away to let me up.

Sasha was similarly distracted as she knelt beside Andie. The two of them had been giving me a tag-team blowjob while watching Brooke and DJ dyke it out, but unsurprisingly Sasha had gotten a little distracted as Brooke ramped up to that climax. As DJ rolled out of the way and left my little sister naked and spread-eagle for me, I paused to check both Sasha's and Andie's eyes one last time for any signs of revulsion.

All I saw was lust.

My gut instinct had told me from the beginning that both of my live-in fuck buddies would be able to handle my incestuous relationship with Brooke. I'd taken my time through subtle comments and innuendoes over the past month or so to confirm that belief. Andie herself was no stranger to incest, as she'd been having sex with her own little sister Kirstie since she was fifteen. And while "prim and proper Sasha" may have been repulsed by such despicably immoral behavior, "sultry stripper Sasha" was only turned on by the illicitly kinky idea. Plus, Sasha had already welcomed Kirstie into her and Andie's bed (and mine) from time to time

Still, girl-on-girl incest was always a little easier for people to handle. Guys who would never dream of hooking up with their own sister could still be turned on by the idea of being in the middle of a two-sister threesome. And I hadn't wanted to risk alienating either of my girls with the full truth of my relationship with Brooke until I was absolutely sure.

In the end, it was Brooke and DJ who pushed the issue. Stories abounded about the mass orgies I'd carried out in my house since the beginning of the school year, not only with Adrienne, Sasha, and Andie, but also a variety of other girls we'd collectively invited home. There were Adrienne's fellow models, a few horny classmates, and of course the Tri-Delts, several of whom were more eager to hook up with my girls than they were with me. The sorority motto WAS "Let us steadfastly love one another" after all.

As my girlfriend, DJ had been included in several of those threesomes and moresomes, but as my sister, Brooke had not. My little sister was still single (by choice, since she had no less than three guys currently trying to convince her to go out with them), and while I'd been doing my best to keep her satisfied with cock whenever she wanted it, her own group sex experiences had been limited to teaming up with Adrienne and DJ. And well, my horny little sister wanted more.

Tonight she would.

"Oh, fuck!" Andie gasped the instant my cockhead penetrated my little sister's entrance. I looked over to see her eyes bugged out wide and a hand over her mouth. It wasn't like she didn't know this was coming, but expecting it and seeing it are two different things.

"Oh, fuck," Sasha breathed a moment later, biting her lip sexily and palming her own breast outside of her shirt.

"Oh, fuuuuuuuuck," Brooke groaned as she gripped both of my forearms and closed her eyes while feeling my thick shaft burrow deeper and deeper through her vaginal canal.

"Andie, go sit on her face," DJ suggested. "Face Ben so he can unbutton your blouse."

Andie dropped her hand from her mouth to reveal a shit-eating grin, and she quickly started wriggling out of her skirt to do just that.

"As for you, my dear," DJ practically purred to Sasha while stroking the brunette's arm and leaning in to tease the exotic beauty's ear with her tongue. "I wanna strip you myself ... with my teeth."

Sasha tore her gaze away from me and Brooke, and she smiled ferally as she wrapped an arm behind DJ's head and pulled my girlfriend's mouth to her own while falling back across the bed.

I smirked, and having maxed out my depth inside my little sister's warm cunt, I slowly started retracting to take up a pistoning motion. Though surrounded by four gorgeous young women who would all want a turn riding my cock tonight, and quite pleased that the secret had been finally breached with everyone getting along, I still knew there was something missing that would have made this night even better:

Dammit, Adrienne. Why do you always have to work so much!

Oh, well... , I thought with a shrug, stopping my thrusting motions for a bit as I reached out and began unbuttoning Andie's blouse. She was busy closing her eyes and focusing on my sister's tongue tunneling up her tight twat. I suppose I'll live.

"Come home with me tonight?" DJ asked, sliding both arms around my waist as she hugged herself against my chest. Freshly showered and cleaned up, we stood just inside my front door with Brooke waiting beside us for the walk across the street.

"I still don't know why you don't want to spend the night here," I replied with a frown. "Adrienne doesn't fly home until Monday, so my bedroom is totally free. There's room for both of us, all three of us if you want to stay too, Brooke."

My little sister waved me off with a content sigh. "I'm already well satisfied, thank you. But if DJ wants to stay, I can totally make it across the street by myself."

"No, no. That's not the point," DJ sighed. "I want to sleep in my own bed tonight, and you haven't stayed over at my place in two weeks. I don't want to come off as clingy or needy. Really, that's not it. But like you said, Adrienne doesn't get back until Monday and would YOU really rather sleep alone than walk across the street with me?"

I winced and tried to think of a better reason than the real one. The real reason I didn't want to admit out loud, and the longer I hesitated without answering the more obvious it became.

DJ sighed. "She might not even be home. It's a Saturday night and she could easily be at Gwen and Robin's apartment."

"I'm not avoiding Dawn."

DJ leveled a "bullshit" look at me. Brooke smirked and rolled her eyes.

"I'm not!" I protested.

"Then spend the night with me," DJ challenged, folding her arms across her chest.

I sighed and facepalmed, shaking my head slowly. "Okay ... so maybe I am."

"It's already been two weeks," Brooke spoke up. "You can't avoid her forever."

"I can sure try," I retorted, dropping my hand from my forehead while my shoulders slumped.

"Why are you doing this?" DJ asked, turning both hands palm-up. "Why do you want to punish her so badly?"

"I don't want to punish her."

"Oh yeah? Well every day you avoid her is a punishment. You can't NOT realize how much it hurts her to know that things aren't alright between you yet, and to wonder IF they ever will be. Knowing that it causes her pain, the more you stay away the more deliberately hurtful you're becoming. And I don't like it."

Rubbing my forehead again, I sighed and asked, "Can we not make a big deal of this? Tonight was a great success, wasn't it? One less hurdle for me and Brooke? The possibilities for that five-girl/one-me six-way we always talked about, if Adrienne ever bothers to come back here? Let's not bring rain to a sunny day."

DJ frowned, and she glanced over at her best friend. This WAS a big step for Brooke, and out of respect for her happiness DJ looked willing to table the discussion.

But it was Brooke who stepped forward and shook her head. "Nuh-uh. Not anymore. DJ's right, you've gotta stop avoiding her. Look, things are going great for all of us. We're all happy in our current relationships with each other, everyone's getting nicely laid, and I don't remember the last time I felt this relaxed. But this standoff with you and Dawn is starting to seriously impact our collective harmony, to the point where you don't even feel comfortable venturing across the street on the off-chance that you'll bump into her. That's not good, and we've got to nip this in the bud before it gets any worse."

"Now Brooke and I have been willing to give you two your own space," DJ added. "Let you figure things out on your own, but maybe it's time we started pushing you again."

I shook my head. "This is between me and Dawn."

"And it's affecting me and Brooke," my girlfriend shot back. "We're Family. You keep this up and we'll bring in Dayna and Brandi. Or hell, you don't want me to call our moms, do you?"

I winced as if telepathically hearing my mother's scolding tone in my head and held my hand up. "Alright, alright. I'll spend the night at your place. You don't have to put a gun to my head about it."

DJ winced at the gun reference. "You really equate seeing Dawn to everything you went through at Carter's?"

"No, but I apparently equate a lecture from Mom to being that bad," I sighed, running my head through the possible scenarios of me seeing Dawn again for the first time in two weeks. None of them ended up good. But I'd already agreed to go, and if I was lucky, she wouldn't be home. "Okay then ... let's head out."

Unfortunately, I wasn't lucky tonight. Brooke unlocked the front door and led us inside. A single place setting waited alone on the dining table. And of course, sitting on the couch in the living room, was Dawn.

She looked up at our entrance, only expecting to see the girls. But when her eyes met mine, all color drained from her face.

Taking a deep breath, I summoned my courage and muttered, "Hi."

Dawn immediately burst into tears.

I HATED to see Dawn cry. No matter how much resentment for her I'd built up over the last year, the sum of all my pain and anger at her betrayal compounded by the months of her absence, seeing my onetime soulmate crying in anguish resonated deep within me, and I found myself sitting on the sofa with her cuddled in my lap.

That I was holding her so intimately surprised even myself. Perhaps she'd taken the wrong approach by giving me space, keeping herself present, and waiting for me to be ready to come to her. Maybe she would have been better off setting off my White Knight reflexes and making herself a kind of damsel in distress as a way of winning me back.

But that wouldn't have been honest. Such an act wouldn't have been a genuine reflection of the way she felt, not then. Only now that we'd finally started to talk, and she'd professed her never-ending love for me only to be rejected and then avoided for the past two weeks, did she have cause for such a breakdown. And in my heart I knew this one was my fault.

"I'm sorry," I said, stroking her hair while cradling her head against my cheek.

As her sobs began to calm and she became more aware of where she was and exactly how we were embracing, she cuddled herself a little closer and pushed her nose into the crook of my neck. Perhaps she'd thought I might never again hold her in this way, and she was going to enjoy it while she could. And so she remained quiet and simply let me continue stroking her hair.

"I'm sorry," I repeated, taking a deep breath before adding, "I shouldn't have made you wait this long before I came back. After all my complaining about you running away from me and not giving us a fair chance to work things out together, I up and did exactly that."

She didn't respond for a long while, breathing slowly and steadily with her face buried against my shoulder. But after collecting herself, she sat up and replied, "It's okay. I understand."

I immediately saw the redness surrounding her sky blue irises, and the tear tracks rolling down her cheeks. On impulse I reached up to thumb away her most recent tear, and with a pitying look I said, "It must have been pretty miserable for you these last couple of weeks."

She tried to give me a brave smile, but she already knew it wasn't working. "Yeah, well ... I kinda deserved it."

I shook my head. "Nobody deserves to be abandoned, for any reason. I'm sorry."

She shrugged and looked at me seriously. "You're forgiven. I mean it."

I wanted to reply, 'You're forgiven, too.' But I couldn't. I didn't mean it. After all this time, I still hadn't forgiven her for what she'd done.

Perhaps that wasn't fair. Perhaps her crimes hadn't been THAT bad. After all, I'd done my share of cheating in my own time. It wasn't like I was completely blameless in our break-up, either. And yet I couldn't quite bring myself to truly move on and let it go, despite my repeated insistence to the contrary.

Perhaps I wasn't really suffering now, but I'd suffered. I'd been through hell the last year or so, and it had all started with Dawn's betrayal. It was only human nature to lay that at her feet, to point to that moment as the catalyst for all the bad that had happened in my life since then, including getting shot in the head. And the vindictive part of me wanted her to suffer every bit as badly as I had before I'd be willing to contemplate real forgiveness.

But even if I wasn't sure I could truly forgive her just yet, I knew I didn't want to hate her anymore. "Hate" just took up so much emotional energy. "Hate" meant actively putting effort into my dislike. And "Hate" meant holding onto all the pain and memories of the bad events that had brought us to this point.

I realized it was this lack of wanting to hate her that had kept us apart for this long. Facing her and facing what she'd done to me meant revisiting that pain and remembering that hate when I didn't want to. Being cordial and polite in passing while never lingering long enough to have a meaningful conversation meant not having to face our history. Avoiding her entirely made that even easier.

But DJ was right: the more I put Dawn off the more pain I was causing her. Knowing that didn't make me responsible for her pain, but it at least made me complicit in prolonging it. And when I stopped to think about our situation in that way, it made me feel guilty for what I'd done.

I didn't want to be that kind of guy. While some baser instinct wanted vengeance and equal retribution for my own pain, the better part of me realized that continuing the cycle of hatred wouldn't improve my life one iota. Everything was perfect for me now, except for my relationship with Dawn. Academically, socially, and even family, I had it all. There was only one thing this handyman had left to fix: the link between me and my onetime best friend.

"If you'll remember, at the end of our freshman year Adrienne broke up with me for Grace," I started explaining without preamble. "There was a little more to it, of course. Me giving her a promise ring had scared the shit out of her into worrying about getting tied down, but the point is that she realized how much she'd hurt me and she tried to run away."

Dawn blinked and looked up at me, familiar with the story but probably unsure why I was telling it.

"She might have succeeded, too, since she was already 18 and there was nothing we could legally do to keep her. She had enough money to start over on her own, and she was convinced we'd both be better off apart, and if events hadn't played out the way they did, that might've been the end of my relationship with her."

Dawn blinked and spoke for the first time. "But then you walked into the house to find her brother Adam there."

I nodded. "Turned out to be the best thing that ever happened to us, although of course we didn't realize it at the time."

"The best thing?"

I pursed my lips. "It took something that extreme to keep her with my family. I'd say that directly because of the ordeal we went through, Adrienne was bound to my family in a completely unique way that would never have been possible otherwise. That was the catalyst that directly led to her becoming my 'sister', and we formed the rock solid relationship we now have because circumstance forced us to remain together and figure out how to still be in each other's lives post-breakup."

Dawn furrowed her eyebrows. "So what? I need to find some common antagonist to threaten our lives and bond us back together?"

I smirked and shook my head. "Maybe nothing so extreme, but it certainly gives at least one example of a relationship that seemed burnt to a crisp and yet found away to rise from the ashes better than ever."

"And you think maybe we can be a second."

I sighed. "I've got three kinda disjointed concepts running around in my head right now, so bear with me if this doesn't make a whole lotta sense."

Sitting up straight, Dawn gave me a nod to go on.

"The first is sunk costs. Now I'm on record as saying that people are never sunk costs. It is our past interactions that define our present relationships and what we mean to each other. For example, even discounting this past year spent apart, we had 21 years of history that bound us together and can never be forgotten."

"Okay..." she ventured, not sure where I was going with this. To be honest, neither did I.

"And yet there still exists the idea of letting bygones be bygones. I can't forget about our history, but I can let past actions be sunk costs themselves. They're gone. Done. Nothing either of us can do about changing the past. How we choose to interact with each other in the future is up to us. So I can either go on expending all this extra energy avoiding you and avoiding the painful memories I expect to dredge up, or I can actually man up, face the music, and truly move on."

She gave me a hopeful smile. "Sounds good to me."

"Yeah, but easier said than done."

She visible deflated a bit.

"The second concept is Utilitarianism, specifically Bert's discussion of maximizing the utility for our collective. And the fact is: you're part of my collective. Now maybe if you didn't live here and you were downtown with Gwen and Robin with no real reason for us to ever cross each other's paths, you might not be a part of my collective. But you live here and you're DJ's sister and you're my little sister's roommate and our two houses, for all intents and purposes, is a collective. We're too intricately connected to NOT be."

She arched an eyebrow. "So what, my happiness is your happiness?"

I shrugged. "Pretty much. Making you miserable is clearly making ME miserable, and if I don't want to be miserable anymore then I've got to do something about it."

Dawn nodded, and when I didn't continue, she raised her eyebrows and asked, "And the third concept?"

I took a deep breath and pulled her body against mine once more. Squeezing her tight, I stroked her hair again and sighed, "Not a formal idea so much as a feeling: how GOOD it feels to hold you like this."

I heard the smile in her voice, even though I couldn't see her face. "Feels pretty good to me, too," she replied, hugging me back.

"I've missed you. I've missed having you as a part of my life. I've done my best to forget you, really. Practically tried to forget you existed. It was easy to do with you five hundred miles out of town. And yet your absence left this gaping hole deep inside me that absolutely nothing I did could ever fill."

Dawn blinked slowly and pulled back to look into my eyes for a moment. Setting her forehead against mine, she sighed and murmured, "I know what you mean."

"I've missed our relationship," I said quietly. "I missed the feeling that you completed me, that you were my soulmate for all eternity, and that I would never have to fear not being in love ever again."

"I'm sorry," she whimpered, her forehead still against mine.

"I tried so hard to fill that void. I proposed to DJ. I impregnated Kim. I know I was flailing around there for a bit, but I think I've finally come to terms with where I'm at in relationships. I've got a good balance struck right now between DJ, Adrienne, and the other girls. Really, in that regard I'm okay."

"I'm glad."

"And beyond relationships," I began, taking a deep breath. "Well, I've missed having sex with you. I missed the intimacy of holding you as close as two people can ever be. But to be perfectly honest, I've never lacked for getting laid while you were gone."

"Hmph," Dawn muttered derisively, rolling her eyes. "Speak for yourself. I've had nothing inside my pussy except for my own fingers and Ben Junior."

My eyebrows popped. "Ben Junior?"

Dawn clapped her hands over her mouth, "Oh, shit. Brooke's gonna KILL me."

"Kill you? What?"

Dawn groaned and slid out of my lap. "Sorry. Long story. Nevermind."

"No, no. You've got my curiosity piqued. Not letting this one go."

Dawn gave me a helpless look as she sighed. "Well ... A couple of months back Adrienne made a cast of your erection while you were sleeping."

My eyes goggled. "She did WHAT now?"

Dawn giggled despite herself. "It started as an idea as a present for the graduated Tri-Delts. She used the cast to have these life-size dildos manufactured and mailed 'em off to a bunch of girls like Peyton, Tonya, Lupe ... Of course everyone in The Family got one as well, even the twins."

My eyes got even BIGGER. "Don't even go there."

Dawn shrugged. "Anyways, Brooke swore us all to secrecy for some reason. I've ... ah ... Well I promised myself to rise above my baser instincts, and I haven't had sex with anyone, not even DJ. But I have to admit I've been putting Ben Junior to use."

"Well ... I'm happy that I've been able to keep your libido somewhat satisfied ... albeit in a fairly roundabout way."

She giggled cutely and sighed. "Me, too."

I took a deep breath and pulled my head back, looking Dawn steadily in the eyes. She sensed the seriousness returning to our conversation, and she bit her lip nervously while giving me her undivided attention. And I shook my head slowly while explaining, "But even though I'm at peace in my romantic life, and more than satisfied with my sex life, there's one aspect of the void you left inside me that can never be filled by anyone else."

Inhaling deeply, Dawn held her breath for a moment and gave me a little shrug. "And what's that?"

I shook my head again. "My best friend in the whole wide world. The counterpart to my existence. The Yang to my Yin. And the other half of a lifelong friendship that I see every day in Brooke and DJ. There's something special that's bonded our two families together since before we were even born. And even if you and I are never meant to be married to each other, I can't help but believe we were always supposed to be paired in the same way our siblings are."

There was such sadness in my voice and in my eyes that a look of almost maternal concern crossed Dawn's face. She frowned and stroked my cheek before insisting, "I'm so sorry I left you, and I swear on the souls of our families that I will do EVERYTHING it takes to heal that bond between us again. I know you dearly miss the girl that ran away. I know you're scared out of your mind that she'll never come back. But while I can't promise you that I'll ever be 'her' again, I CAN promise you that I will TRY to be the best next version of her that I can possibly be."

I stared into Dawn's eyes and nodded slowly. "I know you will."

"I love you, Ben."

"I love you, too," I replied before exhaling heavily. "I hate you, too, of course. And I'm honestly still struggling with my ability to forgive you. But I have to admit that when we sit here like this, when I turn my brain off for a bit and simply let myself LOOK at you, I still see my best friend. I still FEEL our eternal love in my heart. And when I let myself just GO with my feelings, I don't WANT to be apart from you anymore. I want you here. I want you by my side. I want to face the future together, to figure out what comes next together, and to never again feel incomplete."

Dawn set her forehead against mine again. "Me, too."

I sighed. "I don't know when I'll forgive you. I don't know when I'll be able to look at you and NOT remember the pain you caused me. But I'm willing to try. For now, that's all I can promise. A willingness to try."

She smiled and tilted my head back to nuzzle her nose against mine. "That's a good enough start for me."

-- SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2006 --

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

This was heaven.

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

Just another morning, the way things had been for about five weeks now. Just me and the girl I loved ... well, this particular girl I loved on this morning anyway.

That was a rather unique thing about the past five weeks. I never went to sleep alone, but the ID of my bed partner was always something of a mystery. Many nights I slept with Adrienne in the Master bedroom, but not every night. She was out of town quite a bit, and Sasha and Andie both had made a habit of keeping me company. Adrienne's modeling base was still in New York, and her trips were frequent enough that the new lesbian couple had plenty of opportunities to satiate their bisexual cravings for cock. And it wasn't like we weren't used to sleeping together.

And of course, there were plenty of nights with DJ, although most of those were on weekends. We were very much in love, but during the midweek she and Brooke usually hung out with her friends until after midnight, studying a little and socializing a bit more. Although I was a student as well, my MBA schedule wasn't all that demanding of me, so I had plenty of time to come home to my ladies. That usually meant hanging out with Adrienne (when she was here) and Sasha, neither of whom had homework anymore, nor exams to study for. Sasha's girlfriend still did though, so midweek Andie would spend a lot of her time with her fellow sorority students.

But I already knew Adrienne was out of town this weekend, and that I'd come over to DJ's place on a Saturday night. I already knew I'd spent a LOT of time in deep discussion with Dawn, talking about ... well ... whatever came into our heads.

We didn't talk about the past. It was done, gone, and nothing about it could be changed. But we DID talk about our present feelings, about our desires and wishes for the future, and when the grandfather clock chimed midnight and we noticed that DJ was leaning against the archway watching us and waiting patiently, it was Dawn who blushed and suggested that I get back to my girlfriend.

We'd had a pleasant chat, certainly. We'd even begun the tentative steps toward rebuilding our friendship. At the very least, I'd spent hours with Dawn without dwelling on my pain, and for perhaps the first time in recent memory I could actually imagine becoming best friends with her again.

But that would take time, it would take patience, and it would take a LOT more than a single conversation. So Dawn excused herself to take a very belated shower while I went to bed with DJ in her room. And it was DJ's bedroom I saw around me when I blinked open my eyes.

I also saw DJ's sunny blonde head before me, and with a smile I squeezed her just a little tighter, a hug of affection. But the pleasant affection soon gave way to primal lust, as fond memories of the many, many times DJ and I had made love percolated in my brain. So breathing deeply, I let my head roll forward to push my nose into her hair, smelling her sweet fragrance. And I exhaled softly as my body warmed up to make my erotic dreams into reality.

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

We had not made love last night. For all the talk of my insatiable libido that it took FIVE women regularly relieving me just to keep it in check, the crazy fivesome introducing Sasha and Andie into my incestuous little world last night had tamed the beast. Plus, my conversation with Dawn had not been arousing in the slightest, weighed down as it was by our emotions and angst. I had been content to cuddle with my girlfriend, to spoon myself up behind her warmth and expend the last of my physical energy by feeding the strength in my arms. And exhausted from the mental and emotional toil of that conversation, I fell asleep almost immediately.

But that was last night. A solid eight hours of rest had done wonders for recharging my batteries, both the ones that powered my body and the ones that fueled my testicles. I was a horny young man on a regular morning, let alone one where I didn't ejaculate just before bed. Now Big Ben was raring to go, but I was too considerate a lover to just open her up and shove it in.

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

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

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

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

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

"Oh, God! I'm cumming!" Dawn gasped as the bliss washed over her. "I'm cumming!"

"I can tell," I chuckled. "And maybe I haven't mentioned this to you. But I'm not God. It's just--"

My voice trailed off as recognition of HER voice set in. The Evans sisters all sound pretty much alike, to the point where for some people it can be very hard to distinguish them over the phone. But as alike as they sounded, their voices were NOT identical. And while my recognition was a little late, I was too intimately familiar with them to NOT have alarm bells go off once my lover's identity hit home.

"Dawn?"

"Oh, shit!" my ex-soulmate gasped, bowing her head forward and humping her hips back against my pelvis. "I'm still cumming!"

"Mm-rfff? What's going on?" DJ suddenly grunted ... from about a foot BEHIND me.

"What the--?" Wide-eyed, I jerked my head around and rolled onto my back to gape at the sight of my actual girlfriend lying facedown on the bed beside me, blinking sleep cobwebs out of her eyes as she stared over at us.

"Ohhhh!!!" DJ's big sister, incredibly, was still climaxing. In my haste to roll over, I hadn't released my arms around her waist and she had reached an arm back around my hip as well, and the point is that she'd rolled with me so that instead of spooning her side-by-side we were now spoon-stacked vertically, Dawn's back against my chest while her snatch spasmed around my schlong.

"Ohmigawd!" I grunted, not fucking back but not pushing Dawn off, either. The ripples of her inner muscles just felt too good. But while my little head had a mind of its own, my big head was still amidst a paralyzing freak out while I gawked at my actual girlfriend. "I thought she was YOU!"

DJ still wasn't entirely awake, her half-lidded eyes tracking to the right as she surveyed the situation. She observed the way her big sister writhed and wriggled like a snake while impaled on MY trouser snake. And her eyes tracked back to the pasty white look of shock on my face.

And she cracked up laughing.

"This isn't FUNNY!" I whined immediately.

"Ohhh, fuuuuccckkk," Dawn groaned, finally going limp as her arms and legs spread out to the sides from what apparently was her first coital orgasm in well over a year.

DJ was tearing up, but only because she was laughing so hard. "Yes it is!"

"Deej, how can you--" My mouth was suddenly filled with my girlfriend's tongue as she slammed it into my throat. DJ held my head in her hands and twisted it none too gently while she tried desperately to cram even more of her tongue into my mouth, cutting off my air supply. And just when I started to worry about suffocating to death, she pulled away.

"I wanna suck your cum out of her pussy!" DJ breathed, wild-eyed and grinning. Her sky blue eyes sparkled as she looked down and said. "I haven't done that in FOREVER. She hasn't even let me go down on her, period, since she got back. Stupid, fucked up penance by celibacy bullshit and all that. Oh, this is AWESOME."

"Wait, WHAT is going on?!?"

"This is perfect. Oh, I should have THOUGHT of this!"

"Thought of WHAT?!?"

DJ shook her head. "Tricking you two into doing this. Oh, I wish Adrienne was here. She would have thought of something. But well, I guess she doesn't need to. You guys already have!"

"OhmiGAWD, Deej! How the HELL did I end up spooning Dawn?!?"

"Urrrgghhh..." At the sound of her name, Dawn's head lolled to one side. But after that monster orgasm, she was still more or less in a zombie state and remained impaled upon me.

"I'm not sure. You fell asleep. Dawn finished her shower and came over to talk to me. She wanted to make sure I was okay with everything, that she didn't feel like I was interfering in my relationship with you. So we talked about our futures and how I hoped she would become your friend again, your partner the way Brooke and I are and Dayna and Brandi. I insisted I wouldn't mind if you even became lovers again, or even married. Because as much as I love you, as much as I want to bear your children and spend the rest of my life with you, I'm never going to be your number one. And frankly, you're never going to be mine. That position goes to Brooke, and even though I love you so, so much ... Well, I still love HER more. That's just the way it is."

I blinked, not sure how to respond to that.

DJ indicated with her eyes at Dawn, still sprawled across me but starting to recover. "And that's the way things should be for you and her. Together. Forever. Soulmates, really. The way you were meant to be."

I looked down to find Dawn looking upside-down back at me. My arms hadn't left her waist, and my cock had not shrunk a millimeter. We remained as intimately connected as a man and a woman can be, and for a brief moment I started to feel a tickle of ... something ... in the back of my mind.

I love you, Dawn said, except that her lips didn't move.

I love you, too, I said back, except that my lips didn't move either.

Nevertheless, there was no doubt that we'd heard each other, and the silly smile spreading across Dawn's face as she recognized that was like a volume control knob on the happiness rapidly spreading outward from my heart.

NOW Dawn finally slipped off my dick, but only so that she could turn around, plant her knees on the bed, and slide back onto my cock. Her eyes fluttered and her lips parted in an erotic moan as she felt me filling her up. And bending over, she set her forehead down on top of mine.

I love you, she said again, and again her lips didn't move.

My Dawn, I silently replied back to her, and I gave my first upward thrust.

Always yours. Forever, she told me without telling me.

"So perfect together," DJ sighed happily from beside us.

No words were audibly spoken between us. None were needed. The communication was all in our heads, across a renewed link of love that flowed as if it had never been severed. From what Dawn had said about waking up in the middle of the night on the sixth of May, perhaps it never had.

There were no playbooks, no conscious actions. We simply LOVED. We simply MOVED. And after a while I found myself on top of my soulmate, slowly pistoning in and out of her body while she enjoyed the feeling of my weight against her chest.

Our mouths moved in harmony, tongues sparring and lips caressing. Gradually, our pace sped up as our bodies mutually moved closer and closer toward climax, the pleasure increasing until tiny lights of pure bliss filled our pores and threatened to blind DJ through tender illumination. Eventually, we had to separate our mouths enough to breathe, but our foreheads remained pressed together as we panted in ecstasy and reveled in the joining of our loins.

I held Dawn's hips as a guide to direct my unerring thrusts. She held my neck and shoulders, touching my skin as if she couldn't get enough of me while delighting in the serenity of being together again. And all of a sudden, we both were there.

With three rapid thrusts, I buried my cock deep within my True Love's core and felt my entire being open up to fill hers with my very essence. Simultaneously, Dawn's chin thrust forward and her face tilted back as she screamed in absolute ecstasy to feel that essence pouring into her. But for as much liquid love as I volleyed into her womb, the sheer amount of joy she sent across our mental connection flooded my mind with far more. I sent out waves of my own eternal happiness into her mind, and like the fastest particles being sent out at the speed of light around a ring accelerator, our feelings raced in circles through BOTH of our brains until we were literally DIZZY with love.

We strayed out of thought and time. The world circled around the sun. Stars exploded into supernovas and collapsed into black holes. And still, our orgasmic bliss went on.

But one day ... eventually ... we were returned to Earth. My sense of touch came first, filling me with the feel of her body beneath mine and the clasp of her pussy around my cock. Sound came back next, listening to the gasps for air as Dawn and I both fought to regain our breaths. Then it was my sense of smell, filling my nostrils with the sweet scent of her skin flush with the muskiness of our sweat. And finally my sight, as I opened my eyes to see the heavenly view of my angel's face, smiling happily back at me.

"I love you, Ben," she said audibly. "For the rest of my life I will love you. Always you. Forever you."

And with that, she held up her left hand and used the fingers of her right to rotate the thin silver band circling her fourth finger.

Two words: Ben Forever.

Here is where my story should end. I've come to heaven, where everything in my life is perfect. True, tomorrow would be the first day of the rest of my life. And really, who knew what the future could bring?

But this is a good place to stop. It's a good place to step away from the narrative, let the credits roll, and walk out of the theater with warm, fuzzy feelings in my chest.

And the final words of my story would be: And we lived happily ever after.

So do yourself a favor: Stop reading now. Let me and Dawn and Adrienne and DJ and Brooke and Sasha and Andie and everyone else live happily ever after. That's what happens in stories, after all. And this IS a story, right?

So stop reading. The End. Ride off into the sunset, okay? Because for the faint of heart, this is the part where you should let go.

So let go.

Let go.

...

Can't say I didn't warn you.

-- SUNDAY, MAY 7, 2006 --

12:02 AM

"Ben, dammit, wake UP!"

"Ohmigawd, ohmigawd, ohmigawd."

What the--? What's happening?

The broad smile on my face at the sight of My Dawn wearing a ring with "Ben Forever" stenciled into it evaporated as I felt myself suddenly falling backwards into a pit of darkness. Her beautiful face, frozen in time, began to fade into ethereal nothingness even as I was inexorably pulled away from it. And the darkness rushed up all around me, completely blanketing my world from the bottom up, until Dawn's face disappeared completely as I was swallowed whole.

Somebody was pressing something into my head. Hard. Damn, don't they know how much that hurts?

"Keep pressing! If he loses much more blood he's going to go into shock! Don't worry about hurting him. Just press that pad as tight as you can!"

"Ohmigawd, ohmigawd, ohmigawd."

"C'mon! Keep your shit together!"

"Ohmigawd, ohmigawd, ohmigawd."

"Grab those pillows from the bed and prop up his feet!"

Feeling like I'd been trapped underwater for ... well ... a little more than four months, I fought my way to the surface, opened my mouth, and gasped for air.

"Oh, finally."

My eyelids fluttered, and I shrank away from the overhead illumination of can lights shining directly into my face. But by squinting, I managed to keep my eyes cracked open to find two heads were silhouetted directly above me, with others in my peripheral vision. My head was pounding. My ears felt thick. Muffled noises were identifiable, although they sounded like they were coming through a glass window. The whole world was in a thick blanket of fog. I smelled blood, and I tasted it too. And as my pupils adjusted to the light I found my eyesight swimming in and out of focus on the two heads hovering over me.

Adrienne was crying, her face a mask of anguish and terror as she held a hand over her mouth. She leaned forward as she realized I was looking at her, but my gaze was already tracking toward the second head.

Amber's expression was much more determined, her blue eyes sharp as she focused on a point higher up my head. I felt a tight compression gripping my skull, and presently Amber grabbed Adrienne's free hand, which was already splashed with blood, and planted it over the side of my head where I'd been shot.

"Hold that. Firmly," Amber commanded. She looked back at me then, and an apologetic wince crossed her face as she told me, "I'm so sorry I got you into this."

I tried to shake my head that it wasn't her fault, but that wasn't such a good idea. My view of her face started to lose focus, and inky black clouds covered my vision once again.