One Prince Summer Daze

"Mark..." Jim wrested my attention from my cousin. "Drive me back over to my car." When I looked at him with a Why? expression, he told me "just do it." So I did. Which probably confused the girls. On the other hand, Mike and Matt were still ogling so they still had an audience.

When we got to Jim's car, he opened the trunk and pulled out two more hefty-sized blankets.

"Emergency stash," he told me as he got back in the Jeep. "And this is an emergency." I had to smile as I drove us back to the group. When we got there, he tossed one to Matt and started spreading out the other one. That when things started to unravel for me. Or rather, set me a conundrum.

As soon as Sarah saw that Jim was spreading a blanket, she sat up and told Kate and Jeannie, "sorry, ladies...I hear the siren song of a Merman...", then got up and moved over to join him. Which caused Jeannie to notice Matt spreading out the other one.

"Sorry, Kate...new territory has just opened up," Jeannie told her and moved to join Matt. That left Kate on one blanket and Marsha and Suzy on the other. If I joined Kate, that left Mike with Marsha. Granted, Suzy was there, too, but the beastie in me didn't consider her an obstacle to any amorous advances Mike might have had in mind, regardless of having been warned. If I went with Marsha, Kate was left with Mike. If Marsha moved to Kate's blanket, that left Mike with his sister, and I would never hear the end of it. Honestly, I was rather nonplussed.

Of course, I could just do nothing...which meant Mike would go to Kate's blanket, where his sister wasn't. Kate fixed the problem. Sort of.

"Mark," she called over to me and pointed at her sister, where Marsha was crooking a "come here" finger my direction. Although I wasn't happy about it, Kate and Marsha seemed to think it was more important I be with Marsha and Suzy. Well, so be it. Keeping the women happy had become paramount. So I headed over to Marsha, who greeted me with a single word. "Strip."

All the other guys still had their clothes on. At this point, all of the girls were topless. Being the horndog that I was, I was sporting wood. I hadn't been completely naked in front of Jeannie yet, nor Suzy for several years, and despite trying to be sophisticated, the hard-on was embarrassing. I took a deep breath, decided I needed to set some limits and told Marsha, "no." When she gave me a half-confused, half-ticked look, I explained.

"You and the other girls want to go topless, fine. That's your choice, although I think it's a poor one, given we're in a public place. I, for one, am not taking my clothes off. It isn't private enough, and I don't have that kind of relationship with my cousins. Plus, you've got me pretty damned hard and I don't think I should be exposing myself to the others without a lot of groundwork first. So, no. You guys sunbathe until you're ready to go. I'm going to go grab a soda and go down to the jetty and admire the other beautiful view. Come get me when you're ready."

I think I surprised the hell out of her. A big part of me didn't want to, but I did what I said I was going to do...I walked to the cooler, got out a drink and headed for the rocky shore where the old pier used to be. Behind me, as I walked away, I heard Suzy asking Marsha, "did we just piss him off?"

"I think maybe we did," Marsha told her. I missed the rest of the conversation.

I don't think they're getting it, I thought as I sat on one of the old pilings and watched the seagulls circling for food. I'm not pissed. I'm uncomfortable with pushing things too far. Marsha and Kate are a lot more liberal than I am, I guess. Or at least, they like to fly their outrageous flag more. Maybe that's the kind of thing they were talking about when they said that their Free Spirit attitudes had been taken really wrong...I can see how a guy thinking with his dick could see them as "loose women." Definitely not something I'm wont to do.

I was there maybe ten minutes, tops, when I heard Marsha's voice behind me.

"Hey," she said softly. "Can I join you?" When I turned to look at her, I saw that her top was back on.

"Sure," I told her. "Pull up a piling. What's going on?"

"That's kind of what I wanted to ask you," she told me as she moved to one of the adjacent piles of rock and sat down. "Are you mad at us?"

"Mad? No..." I told her. "I just think you guys were headed past my limits and I decided to opt out. I'm more of a private kind of guy. I don't let my freak flag fly that much."

"Yeah, we kind of figured that out," she told me still softly. "And actually, you get a lot of Brownie Points for it. We girls had a kind of quick huddle. Kate and I, with some help from Sarah, explained about the whole clothing optional private beach thing to Jeannie and Suzy. And I figured I'd pissed you off by pushing you in front of your cousin. Actually, cousins, plural. So I thought I'd better come apologize and tell you that...well, a couple of things.

"First, I'm sorry for not checking with you first. Maybe I'm too comfortable around you. I'm going to try to pay better attention to ‘the limits' from here on out. Second, both Suzy and Jeannie would like to join us, clothing optional, at our place for some grillin' and chillin', if it's okay with you. And third, we're all dressed and packed, and pretty much ready to go, whenever you are."

I thought about that. I didn't want them to ever be too comfortable around me. I just needed a bit more privacy than they did. I decided, fuck it! and got down off my piling, walking over to Marsha. I didn't say anything. I just took her face in my hands and drew her down into a kiss. It took her maybe a split-second to figure out what was going on and then she joined me in one of those soul-touching romantic kisses usually found in dreams, not real life. When we finally broke it, I kept her face in my hands but backed off enough I could look into her eyes.

"I don't ever want you to be too comfortable around me. Same for Kate. For me, and only for me, I want to throttle the public stuff back some." She nodded and got off the piling, putting an arm around me.

"So..." she asked. "Ready to go?"

We walked back up to the others where, true to her word, they had everything ready to go. We packed up everything and everybody and drove back over to where Jim and Matt had left their cars. We got sorted - with Marsha and Kate with me, Jeannie and Suzy with Matt and Mike, and Sarah with Jim - and headed out. I told them about checking in with my Dad first, before we went to the Terneys', and got no flack. What happened after we got back to ours surprised me, though.

Dad got introduced to the ones he'd missed before and we told him about building a fire and grilling on the beach up at the Terneys'. He seemed okay with it, especially since Don and Natalie were going to be home, so after a little bit of visiting with my aunt and the others, the nine of us got ready to head up the beach. Dad took me aside for a private conversation as we were loading up.

"You know, Mark, I was your age once," he told me quietly, and I did sort of get jolted into remembering he had been young once - and probably knew which way my hormones were going. I always thought of him as being my Old Man. "Of course," he added, "I was finishing up at Great Lakes on my way to the South Pacific..."

Courtesy of the United States Navy, I thought. Three years on a tin can in World War II. Yeah, our lives have definitely been different.

"The point is," he went on, "you seem to have something special. Don't screw it up. Be courteous and respectful and for God's sake, be careful."

That was all the lecture I got. No major rant. Just "be careful." I started wondering just how much he knew. Or suspected.

When we got to the Terneys', Don had a head start on us, since he already had a small fire going when we got there. He was still in jeans and a t-shirt, since he'd been working on the corral. I thanked him overdramatically for preparing the way for our epic debauch and got a good laugh out of him. I also got a warning. Or rather, we all did.

"Just so everyone's on the same page," he told us, "this property is generally clothing optional. And optional means you can keep your clothes on if you wish or take them off if you wish. We don't like making guests uncomfortable, though, so if you have a problem with nudity, now would be a very good time to mention it. Particularly since your hostess is lounging by the pool sans vêtements."

Everybody looked at everybody else, I'm sure thinking about Cana Island, and we all shrugged our shoulders.

"We're good, Dad," Marsha told him. "Come on, folks...let's finish getting a meal set up."

"Save some for me!" Don called after us, which got a laugh from Marsha and Kate as we walked away.

I was used to doing the grilling, or having Matt help. Having Mike and Suzy, along with Matt, Jeannie, Jim and Sarah helping, not to mention Marsha and Kate, we ended up with a sumptuous feast. We also ended up with a bunch of bruises from bumping into each other, often with something rather solid in hand.

"Many hands make for a scrum," Mike joked.

"Make for a what?" I had no idea what he was talking about, but it sounded dirty.

"A scrum," he iterated, looking at me strange, like I should know what he was talking about. "A scrum? A rugby scrum?" he asked.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," I admitted.

"Think unarmed combat, as in a football scrimmage, except without the protective armor and with fourteen gazillion players." Okay, I was getting the idea.

"Whatever..." I nodded. "Somebody want to tell Don and Natalie that dinner is ready? We'll carry it up to the porch."

"I've got it!" Mike sang out as he turned and headed towards the house. It suddenly occurred to me what he was going to find when he went to tell Natalie about dinner. I smiled to myself and kept my mouth shut while I worked with the others to cart everything to the screened-in porch's picnic table.

As Marsha, Kate and I were headed into the house, we were met by an oncoming Natalie, still absolutely gorgeous and without a thread of clothing to mar the view, followed by a very red-faced Mike.

"Hello, Mark!" she sang out as she approached. "Your cousin Mike was nice enough to tell me dinner is ready..." She paused for a moment, looking at us, before adding "and I suppose, since everyone is dressed, that I'd best slip into something for dinner. I will catch up with you on the porch." She then took a detour towards her bedroom while Mike held the door for us as we carried the platters in. The girls went first, giving me an opportunity to slow up and give Mike a bit of a ribbing.

"Pussy got your tongue?" I smirked as I paused in the doorway. "Nice complexion, by the way. A bit too much sun today?"

"You are an asshole," he informed me in low breath.

"That's the general consensus," I smiled as I moved inside a bit. "In your case, though, how did you come to that conclusion?"

"You could have warned me about Mrs. Terney being naked, so I didn't stumble around like an idiot, trying to talk to her and not her tits. Asshole."

"And interfere with God's plan to expose you to feminine perfection?" I know...I was laying it on thick. "Did you somehow miss Mr. Terney's warning about his wife being sans vêtements?"

"I had no idea what sans vêtements meant," he retorted. "And how exactly do you hide your fucking hard-on? Marsha, and Kate, and their Mom? Asshole."

"Loose shorts," I told him, indicating mine. "You'll learn. Anyway, let's go...dinner's ready." He just shook his head and followed behind me - for all I know, he was using me for cover - and we joined the others.

* * * * *

When dinner wound down, Don suggested S'mores on the beach, and... well, who's going to turn down S'mores on a warm summer night, sitting around a campfire with friends and listening to the wind in the trees and the surf gently rolling in?

Steve and Tom weren't back, yet, and I had a fair idea of what and who they were doing. So it ended up being Don and Natalie with the nine of us "kids"... me, Marsha and Kate, Matt and Jeannie, Jim and Sarah, and Mike and Suzy... all still dressed. I noticed after a while that Suzy had Marsha and Kate off to the side in some kind of discussion, but didn't really care since Don had us guys enthralled with a discussion about restoring the Indian. I guess Jeannie and Sarah had Natalie into some kind of girl talk.

I was interrupted by Marsha calling over to me.

"Hey, Mark!" When I looked over, she added, "Come over here! Please. High level powwow required..."

I must have looked irritated because Don quietly informed me, "you are summoned, son." It was his way of telling me I'd better go see what they wanted. I told the guys "sorry" and went over to find out what was going on.

"Suzy wanted to know, point blank, what was going on between us," Marsha told me. "We told her. But the ensuing discussion raised some issues. Or questions."

"Like the fact she wants to get in your pants and doesn't want to cross us," Kate jumped in. "We told her we don't have a problem with it, but you might. And along similar lines, Mike is pretty cute and seems to be in the same nice-guy class as you, and Marsha would like to bed him."

"Whereas my sister would like to get it on with Suzy," Marsha told me. "All of which, of course, has to be okay with you." They paused to give me a chance to freak out. I took a deep breath and let it out.

"Okay, ladies," I tried to respond without giving an answer, "is there anything else you can pile on to turn my world completely upside-down?"

"Well, there's various threesomes and foursomes," Marsha added thoughtfully, "and Mom. But I think we need to deal with the basics first."

"How considerate of you," was my rather sarcastic reply. "You want me to start going down the list?"

"Sure," Marsha told me, bristling a little at my sarcasm.

"Okay, as far as boffing Suzy goes," I started, fully aware that she was standing right there, "it is incest and it's illegal, no matter how turned on she gets me. I've wanted sex with her since I found out what sex was. But it isn't going to happen."

"Not ever?" Suzy asked quietly. I sighed.

"Well, certainly not now, so that one can be shelved. Marsha fucking Mike? If it happens, it will be because he and I have agreed it's okay. Otherwise, he knows I'll kill him. We've already talked and oddly enough, I trust him to do the right thing. And if we do decide it's okay, I won't have a problem with it, at all. There won't be a jealousy issue."

The girls were looking at me really strangely.

"And Suzy and Kate getting it on? Have fun... I don't see any way that's a threat to our relationship. If you don't mind a horny voyeur, I'd like to watch."

"How do you feel about being naked around me, naked?" Suzy asked. I'm not sure if she was testing the waters, or what.

"It's tempting Fate," I told her. "You turn me on like crazy. You always have. I'd probably be walking around hard all the time. But functionally, it would be like being around Natalie. I'd learn to cope."

The girls were quiet for a long time before Marsha spoke up.

"Okay... thank you for your input," she told me in a neutral tone and I figured I'd fucked something up. But I'd been honest. "So what are you planning on doing tonight?" she added.

"When it's time to knock off," I told her, also keeping my voice level, "I have to take Mike and Suzy back down to my folks' place. Then I'm headed for the guest bedroom unless I'm told different." Marsha sighed.

"Okay, thanks," she told me, sort of ending the conversation. "It's good to know where you're at..."

I decided not to push it, so I told her "you're welcome," and went back to sit in on the discussion of the rebuild. Somehow I knew that for the first time, I'd be sleeping in the guest bedroom. Alone.

Mr. Terney - Don - gave me a weird look as I rejoined them. "Bachelor tonight?" he asked and I just shrugged, so he went back to talking about what a bitch it was to get a motorcycle carb tuned right.

The evening finally did come to a close, with a couple of distinct differences. To start, neither Marsha nor Kate offered to ride down to my folks' with me when I returned Mike and Suzy. Secondly, the ride down was pretty quiet. Or rather, make that silent. I decided I needed to get proactive. As the two of them started to walk towards the house, I called Mike back.

"Hey, Mike...got a minute?" Suzy gave us both a suspicious look but kept walking. Mike came back to the Jeep.

"I thought you ought to know," I told him, "that Marsha is interested in you. As in, bedding you interested. I told her you and I had an understanding and you were an honorable man...you weren't about to do anything if I didn't okay it. I think that kind of shocked her. This is going to shock her more - it's okay with me if the two of you want to fool around. I won't get pissy or jealous or anything. Just treat her like a gentleman who doesn't have ownership of said young lady. I find out you've hurt her, I hurt you."

Mike stood there looking like someone had clubbed him. So I snapped my fingers to get a response.

"Are you shitting me?" he asked finally. "She told you this? That she wants sex with me?"

"That's what they said," I nodded, "and if you want verification, she said it in front of your sister. Ask her."

"You really aren't jerking my chain," he persisted. "You're not setting me up. You're okay with this."

"No chain jerking or setting up," I assured him. "I'm still trying to figure out what ‘keep the women happy' means around those two. Pretty much, she can do what she wants to do. I'm not going to try to control her. But I am going to protect her. So be cool and you and I don't have a problem. And if you do treat her right, you'll find out she's an amazing..." I stopped. I suddenly realized I didn't want to get that graphic. Letting go and telling Mike it was okay was hard enough.

"Uh, um...wow," was Mike's simple reply. "I, uh...yeah. Well, we'll see how it goes...and thanks!"

"You're welcome," I told him. "I'm going to go crash. I'll see you guys sometime tomorrow."

"Yeah, definitely," he nodded. "Thanks, Mark...see you tomorrow."

With that, I fired up the Jeep and headed back up to the Terneys'. When I got there, Steve and Tom were just getting out of their car. Nobody else was in sight.

"Hail the conquering hero!" Tom called over to me as I rolled up, then saw my expression. "Or maybe not..."

"What happened?" Steve asked as I shut off the engine and got out.

"Long story," I told them, "best told over a glass of wine or six. I'm going to go crash. If you need me, I'll be in the guest bedroom. Alone."

"Oh, boy..." Tom murmured. "What did you do?"

"Later," I told him. "I've got some ‘keep the women happy' shit to sort out."

"Okay..." Steve drawled. "Well, if you want to talk, we're around."

"Thanks," I told them and headed in to bed.

I was naked in bed, lights out, and having trouble shutting my brain off when there was a soft knock at the door. "C'mon in," I told whoever it was. "Sleep currently eludes me." The knocker walked in. Or rather, a pair of them. Natalie, in a revealing robe, stepped in.

"Am I bothering you?" she asked as she approached the bed.

"That depends on the meaning of bother," I told her. "Are you inconveniencing me? No. Are you driving my lewd and lascivious mind bonkers? Yes." She smiled slightly at that. I could see it in the moonlight.

"Mind if I sit?" she asked as she got to the bed.