Guardian Angel
24 Two-fer
“SORRY, but actually I do need two seats,” I said standing. I kept a hand on the back of each of the chairs beside me.
“Right like you could have two… Shit!”
Jennifer marched right up to me and grabbed me in a big hug. She kissed me right on the lips. Not like open mouth and all tongue and all, but a real kiss, anyway. I looked over at Courtney.
“I saved you seats. Do you want me to move over one?”
“No, this is great. One of us on each side of you. Isn’t it, Courtney?” There was a little edge to Jennifer’s voice. Courtney moved to my right and I pulled out both chairs for them.
“I’m gonna kill you,” Courtney snarled at Jennifer. “Hi, Brian,” she said through gritted teeth. I held her chair and seated her before I turned to Jennifer and held her chair. She slipped easily into her place.
“You didn’t tell me you were bringing her,” I whispered.
“It was the only way Mom would let me come,” she said. “It will be okay. I promise.”
“Well, we’re not likely to get any time to just be together this weekend anyway. The whole ranch is a zoo. It’s not like in the fall.” She smiled as she reached for my hand and squeezed it.
Dinner was mostly okay. Rochelle, the leader of the pack that came to our table, was pretty much a bitch. I think Courtney kind of regretted she hadn’t asked me to move down so she could sit by Jennifer, but at the same time she was kind of a foil for Rochelle. I guess she knew all the tricks.
There was one seat left and a boy approached the table. He looked to be about thirteen and was focused on my dark haired friend with braces, Barbara.
“We don’t need any more boys here,” Rochelle started. “Especially smelly runts.” I turned toward Rochelle and Courtney moved her chair back like the table was on fire. I had a clear view of the girl.
“I have a low tolerance for bitches and bullies,” I said flatly. “I don’t know how your camp is run, but at the dude ranch everyone is treated equally and fairly. You could go sit at that boy’s table over there if the people at this table don’t suit you.” I just turned away from her to welcome the kid whose eyes were as big as saucers.
“You stepped in that one,” I heard Courtney whisper to Rochelle. She scooted her chair back up to the table. After a quick whispered conversation, Barbara’s friend Leslie moved over a seat and our new guest sat down between them. He introduced himself as Kevin.
“You’ve grown some since last fall,” Jennifer said, recapturing my undivided attention.
“Yeah. Uh… So have you. Both of you.” I glanced toward Courtney. Both girls were nice and round in the right places. They blushed. “I’m not done yet, I don’t think. My legs and back hurt all the time. Mom says it’s growing pains.”
“You’re as tall as me now.”
We got through the meal without killing the bitch and went outside for a campfire. When we were here in October, we just stayed around the fireplace in the lodge. But the August night was clear and warm and it was a great night for a campfire. I thought about the fire pit we had in our back yard at home and couldn’t remember the last time we had a fire in it. I needed to change that.
There was a lot more staff for the summer, too. A guy played guitar and led us in songs. There were four camp counselors with the kids who had come in, but they didn’t seem to have much control over their campers. Half a dozen others who weren’t with the camp rounded out the group. I wasn’t sure how this would work out, but Courtney stayed on my right when we went out to the campfire and took my arm like she was buffering me from Rochelle.
After the initial surprise, Courtney had been really nice to me. Especially after I snapped at Rochelle. Remembering last fall when I met them, it was really funny to have Courtney holding platters of food for me while I served all three of us. Jennifer was hanging on the other arm and I put my arms around both girls to lead them to a log where we could sit. We started sitting on the log kind of back from the fire, but eventually we slid down to the ground so we could lean back against the log.
“You aren’t really upset to have us both here, are you?” Jennifer asked. I looked at the two girls.
“Why would I be upset to have the two prettiest Girl Scouts I know on my arms?” I grinned.
“Did all the stuff you told Jennifer about in your letters really happen?” Courtney asked me. Jennifer and I had become regular pen pals since Christmas and I stiffened as I remembered some of the things I’d told her. She’d been writing a lot to me, too. I turned to Courtney and put my arm around her shoulders. She didn’t resist.
“Did you really put superglue in the head cheerleader’s panties?” I asked.
“You didn’t tell him about that!” Courtney lunged across me at Jennifer. That was a pleasant sensation.
“I take it that was a yes,” I said.
“Any time I so much as talked to a boy she’d horn in and get his attention. I even talked to the class geek at lunch one day and Janet had to sit on the other side of him and start talking to him. She got an unexpected wax job.” I cringed.
“That is cruel!” I said. “But appropriate.”
“So, you really did all that stuff to that gang?”
“I never should have written it down. I didn’t think Jennifer would let anyone else read my letter.”
“Cool. I’ll never tell. You’re different than you were last fall.”
“I guess getting the shit beat out of me and losing my girlfriend kind of changed me.”
“I’m sorry.”
All the time Courtney and I were talking, Jennifer was cuddled under my left arm with her head on my shoulder. She kept wiggling and rubbing her face against me like she was a cat or something. I’m not complaining or anything. I had an arm around her and we kept making a show of joining in the singing and stuff, but it felt like she was trying to get inside my body.
“Brian? I have a confession to make and I hope you don’t hate me. Please don’t.”
“You showed the letter to other people?”
“No! Only to Courtney. We’ve been best friends since kindergarten. I guess that’s what I need to tell you.”
“Okay.”
“Don’t, Jennifer,” Courtney interrupted. “It isn’t necessary.”
“Yes, it is. I promised. Brian, I didn’t tell Courtney you’d be here. I made her agree that if we found a boy this weekend, we’d share him. I knew you’d be here, and I knew I’d share you with Court. You should kiss her.”
“Huh?”
“You kissed me hello in the chow hall. You should kiss Courtney now. The same way.” I was a little confused when I looked down at Jennifer. She smiled at me and tilted her head to Courtney. I looked at Courtney and for a long minute we just looked at each other. Then she slowly closed her eyes and lifted her lips to me. I don’t know why I did it, but I kissed her. It was just a little. And soft. Then the three of us just leaned back against the log together and sang camp songs.
I walked Courtney and Jennifer to their bunkhouse and we had about ten minutes that we could just hang around and talk before they had to go inside and I had to run to my bunkhouse. Rochelle walked past us as we were walking with our arms around each other and growled, “Sluts,” just loud enough that we could hear her. She dodged into the cabin before we could respond.
“You might have to fuck her,” Courtney growled.
“I don’t think so,” I said. But I knew I’d either have to come up with an idea or she’d make life miserable all weekend. “I don’t just fuck girls I don’t like. Which brings me to you, Courtney.”
“You really don’t like me, do you? I knew this was a bad idea. I’ll go in,” she squeaked. She looked at me and I saw tears in her eyes.
“Shh. Shh,” I hushed her. “I like you. But I was under the distinct impression that you really hated my guts. Why would you want to hang with me? I’ll back off so you and Jennifer can have fun.”
“You’ve got to be kidding,” Jennifer laughed. “All year, Courtney has been singing the praises of the hero Brian.”
“Jennifer, stop!” Courtney whined. I could tell she was really distressed. I stopped Jennifer the best way I could. I kissed her. And that little kiss led to a much bigger kiss. A real, I-almost-came-in-my-pants kiss. We were panting when we broke apart.
“Now me? Please?” Courtney whispered. “Brian? I don’t hate you. I’m sorry I was such a bitch last fall.” I kissed her. It heated up and Courtney ground herself against my erection. A bell rang.
“Cabins in two minutes!” a voice called from the lodge steps. “Go to your cabins for head-count. Lights out in fifteen minutes.” I took a step back and looked at the two girls. I was not prepared for this. Nor was I prepared to see them embrace each other and kiss as passionately as I’d just kissed them.
“You’d better run to your cabin, Brian,” Jennifer said. “We’ll talk in the morning.”
When I stepped through the door of the cabin, it fell silent. Kevin was the center of attention and just pointed to me.
“Whoa! Are both those hot girls your girlfriend?” one kid asked.
“Are you doing them both?” asked another. Crap. I knew something like this would happen but I didn’t expect to be ambushed.
“Guys,” I said. “We have to get ready for lights out in fifteen minutes. We can talk after we’re all in our bunks.” They all scrambled for their gear and were throwing clothes every which way while I took my toothbrush to the bathroom. It was like my word was law. I’d never had kids treat me quite like this, but it was sure a hell of a lot better than getting dumped in the water tank like I had on my first visit to the dude ranch.
I stripped off my clothes, all except my undershorts, and crawled into my sleeping bag just as the door of the bunkhouse opened and one of the staff yelled, “Sound off!” I was in the lower of the first bunk so I called out “One.” It didn’t take but a couple taps on beds for the rest of the guys to fall in and count off the twelve of us in the bunkhouse. “Keep the noise down. Lights off. Do not leave the bunkhouse unless it’s an emergency. Do you all understand?” We responded and the lights went off and the door closed.
“Are you going to sneak out to see your girlfriends?” a voice said.
“Are you talking to me?” I asked. “My name’s Brian.”
“Yessir, Brian. Are you?”
“Okay, listen, guys. First of all, Courtney and Jennifer are really good friends who I met here at the dude ranch last fall. We came back to celebrate Jennifer’s birthday. We’re friends. I don’t ‘do them.’ Is that clear?”
“You mean we have a chance?” another asked.
“I doubt it, but if you are a gentleman and treat them as ladies, they’ll be friendly.”
“How do you handle two girls?”
“Well, I think you should ask Kevin that question. From what I observed, he was kind, talked intelligently about things girls were interested in, and sat at the campfire with Barbara and Leslie beside him.”
“No shit? Kevin, you’re a stud!” I could hear him groan.
“How about Rochelle? Are you going to do her?”
“You guys all like Rochelle?” I asked.
“That stuck-up bitch!” one growled in the dark. “She thinks she’s queen and we should all bow down.”
“Well, I probably don’t have any more experience than most of you do, but I’ve got a lot of friends who are girls. It just worked out that way at school. They’ve taught me a lot. For example, if a girl is snooty and gets off on putting guys down, she’s probably really insecure. It’s an immature way of relating to other people. Guys who are mature don’t pay any attention to it. We don’t go out and try to put her down or brag about bagging her or try to destroy her reputation. She is who she is and we don’t need to deal with it. Really, what do I care what she says when two really super girls who are mature enough to relate openly and honestly with a guy want to spend time with me.”
“So, have you been seeing a lot of Jennifer and Courtney?”
“No. We live in different towns. And to be perfectly honest, when we met they were a lot like Rochelle. We just had to work things out and quit putting each other down so we could become friends. Sometimes something happens and that’s an easy thing to do. My sister who is four years older than me is still a bitch. I don’t think she even knows it most of the time.”
“We should just ignore Rochelle?”
“No. You should treat her with kindness and respect just like you treat each other. Be there if you are needed and don’t respond to her bitchiness. Let me tell you something. As bitchy as my sister is, when my girlfriend broke up with me this spring, my sister cried and hugged me. It’s a rule of life. You always try to treat people with kindness and respect.”
I was done talking. I had intended to rip Rochelle a new one, but once I got talking, I just couldn’t do it. Yeah, she was a bitch, but I didn’t need to be a bastard.
I was up before anyone else in the cabin and dressed to go help with the horses. One thing caring for Silk and Rika had taught me was that horses can take away all the cares and concerns you can build up. You can be crying your heart out, like I was when Hannah broke up with me, and just brushing a horse, like I did Silk, will soothe you better than anything in the world. I wasn’t upset when I woke up Saturday morning, but I really looked forward to going from stall to stall and greeting the horses that would take all these kids out on the trail today—brushing and currying and picking their hooves and just being a friend to animals that would carry us around all day long and never complain.
Hal and Tim greeted me and I just picked up a curry comb and brush. Hal pointed to a stall and I stepped in to start brushing the little black mare. Like all the horses on the dude ranch, she was calm and mellow and leaned against me a little while I brushed her. Her mane was silkier than some of the horses. Manes and tails look great flying in the wind, but they’re really a lot coarser hair than is on the hide. I came out of her stall and walked right into Jennifer and Courtney.
“Told you he’d be here,” Jennifer said.
“I didn’t argue,” Courtney answered. “Hi, Brian. Can we help?” I glanced quickly up the alley between the stalls and no one was in sight, so I leaned forward and kissed Courtney on the lips. She jumped a little and then pushed forward to me. We broke off and I kissed Jennifer the same way. One thing with these girls, I had to be sure I treated them equally. I wondered if Courtney planned to crawl naked into my sleeping bag. I got them brushes and we all went into the next stall to curry and brush. It didn’t take long with three of us working on the same horse. Just before we left the stall, each girl came to me for another kiss. Then we moved down the alley.
We’d done four more horses with kisses after each one when we stepped out of the stall and into Hal.
“Oh! I expected to find you a couple stalls up yet,” he said.
“Jennifer and Courtney came out to help. I didn’t see you, so I just had them help me,” I said. “With three on a horse, they don’t take long to brush down.”
“Well, why don’t you take the last three on the right end, then? We’ll be taking the horses out in shifts today. We can’t handle thirty riders at a time very well. Tim and I will start saddling.”
“Mr. Hal?” Courtney said.
“Come on, sweetheart. You know wranglers don’t use mister. It’s just Hal.”
“Thank you, Hal. I don’t know if you remember Jennifer and me, but we were here with the Girl Scouts last fall when Brian had his fourteenth birthday. We were wondering if you could possibly take the three of us out on that longer lunch ride you took Brian on.”
“Well, I know Brian rides frequently, but you two might end up with sore bottoms on that long a ride. What do you think, Brian?” They’d taken me by surprise. I’d just assumed we’d end up trailing with the kids.
“They learned an awful lot last fall, Hal. I think Jennifer even learned how to stay in her saddle. I’d be willing to keep an eye on them if we can do that ride. You know we’re here to celebrate Jennifer’s birthday this time.”
“Well, we won’t be able to leave until the third group comes in, so be ready to ride about eleven-thirty. Now get down there and brush those last three ponies.”
Two of the last three ponies were our old friends Jubal and Jingo. The third was a palomino mare whose halter said “Lady.” When I counted down the horses, I thought these might be the three that we’d be riding today. Hal always seemed to know what was going on.
We washed our hands and then held them as we went to the chow hall for breakfast. Of course, we were the last to arrive because we’d been helping with the horses. We grabbed what remained of the sausage and eggs and Cookie put a biscuit and a ladle of gravy on each of our plates. There was only one table with places at it and we passed Rochelle’s table on the way.
“Eww! You smell like a barn!” she said. Jennifer snorted.
“Horses,” we all three said at the same time.
“And you sound like a pig,” Rochelle said. “Oink oink.” Jennifer froze and I could see a tear in her eye. Courtney and I both wrapped an arm around her and led her to a table that hadn’t been set. We sat with our backs to the rest of them. Our good mood was pretty much destroyed, but I wasn’t going to give Rochelle the satisfaction of a response.
“Let it go,” I said to Jennifer. She sat between Courtney and me. “She’s a cruel bitch. But she doesn’t mean anything to us.”
“I love you, Jennifer,” Courtney said. “Brian and I both know you have a beautiful laugh. Don’t try to hold it in.”
“I’m not laughing,” Jennifer sobbed.
“Sure you are,” I said. “What could be a better foil for her than for the three of us with our backs turned, laughing our lungs out?” Jennifer turned to me and raised her eyebrows.
“I can’t believe you thought of that!” She suddenly started laughing out loud.
“Oh, God!” Courtney said with a peal of laughter. “She’ll think we’re laughing at her.”
“In a way we are,” I said. “Did I tell you about my apology to the bullies at school?” I told them all about the time Kirby pushed me and I apologized loudly in front of the school and we laughed all the way through the story. The chow hall was empty when we finished breakfast and headed toward the corral. Hal was leading a group of six and Tim had another group of six still mounting up.
“Brian!” Hal called. “Those last three horses you brushed need to be worked this morning. Saddle them up and take them to the arena. The three of you work with them. We’re going to put them through their paces on our ride this afternoon. But remember, no racing without a staff spotter.”
“Yessir, Hal!” I shouted.
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