Lady in Red Ch. 11

"Mike got all jealous and left. That handsome guy drooling all over Lisa is Jason Hunter. His brother is engaged to Amber. He's graduating from West Point in a few months. Steve seems to approve and so do I. Lisa may have found what she's been looking for all these years," responded Gwen.

The evening was just past the half way point when Steve and Gwen performed their Tango. This time Steve quickly realized that he needed to step up his game or Gwen would be leaving him behind. She was determined to dazzle, and dazzle she did. Her gown showed a considerable amount of her substantial cleavage as it seemed to flow around her. Steve was determined to not be a reason for Gwen to be disappointed and performed precisely, but with emotion.

Once again, the audience showed its obvious approval. Gwen positively beamed as she thanked everyone. Lisa congratulated them and then asked Steve to dance with her.

"Is anything wrong? Has that Jason done something?" asked Steve.

"Yes, he's done something, but nothing's wrong," responded Lisa. "I just want to know what you think of him, Steve. He seems so perfect, maybe too perfect. I haven't always been the best judge of character, although I knew you were a winner. Do I dare like him or is he a jerk that'll hurt me down the road?"

"He may hurt you, but that's a chance you take with any relationship. I'd have to say that what little I know of him, he's a good guy. Not everyone makes it through West Point. His brother must be pretty high caliber if Amber has fallen in love with him.

"You need to watch and see if he gets jealous, or obnoxious, when you're around other men. Mike wasn't able to handle your beauty. His way of keeping a beautiful girlfriend would have been to hide you, or at least keep you away from most men. You have to be sure he'll respect you, your sisters, and parents. He needs to show you that he trusts you completely, even though you're incredibly beautiful and men will be hitting on you all the time.

"Look at Gwen dancing over there. That guy's she dancing with keeps trying to pull her closer but she's keeping him at a safe distance. I trust her. It took a while to learn that she doesn't belong to me, but rather that she chooses to be with me. If she decided she wanted to be with someone else, I couldn't stop her. I can only keep her by trusting her and trying to be what she needs and wants. She's come to understand that and she usually doesn't worry too much about other girls around me. At least not since she faced down Amber in the locker room.

"To answer your question, he looks like a pretty good guy. You were speechless when you first met him, and he wasn't any better. It reminded Gwen and me of when we first met. Go a little slow, but don't be afraid to learn more about him. I'll feel him out when I can, but your instincts are good. You'll find out soon enough if he's the one."

"Thanks, Steve. You really helped. I can tell you one deal breaker. He needs to understand that I love you, and he'd better learn to love Kate and Gwen, or he's got no chance. I'm sure of that much. If he can't accept that I think the world of you, he'll never fit into my life."

Steve had to change once again before his dance with Kate. His tuxedo for that dance was almost retro as it had a fifty's sort of look. Kate had paid close attention to the powerful performances her sisters had delivered and was not going to be outdone. Steve had everything he could do to keep up with Kate as they danced to "Little Sister" and the crowd roared its approval.

Amber O'Leary was ecstatic with the way the evening had progressed. "That was great! I just hope some of these dances make it on the news. I'm supposed to hear back from Macy's next week. If they see how good the Andersons look in these gowns, they'll be sure to order them. What woman wouldn't want to look like you three? I have a crew set up on the balcony to video everything tonight. I'll be able to show their marketing department just how good these designs look on real women, in case they miss it on TV."

It was well after midnight when the tired troupe made it back to their hotel. Kate was excited about the attention Amber's cousin and a couple other boys showed her. Lisa walked around with a silly grin on her face, while Gwen simply held Steve's hand and listened to the conversation. Laura and Coach Watkins quickly said goodnight and headed for their room, as did Ms. Walker.

"I'm too tired to police you kids," stated Ted Anderson. "Steve, I want you to stay out of the girls' room, and you girls are not to go into Steve's. Do we all agree to follow my wishes? Since there is no dissent, I assume we all agree. Don't disappoint me."

Steve was too wired to sleep, so he slipped into a swimsuit and wandered down to the hot tub. As he walked, Steve texted Gwen. He invited her to join him in the hot tub. A short while later, he was leaning back with his eyes closed when he felt hands cover his eyes. Then he felt tender kisses on his neck. Then breasts pushed against the back of his head.

Steve slid his hand behind his head and gently squeezed a breast that was pressed against him. He was rewarded with a soft moan, so he slid his other hand behind his head and squeezed the other breast. Now he had one of Gwen's breasts in each hand.

"I'll give you just ten minutes to release them, Steve. Then I'm going to get angry," giggled Gwen.

Steve jumped as if he had been shot. He lunged to his feet and looked around. Lisa had been the one behind him, while Kate and Gwen were standing in front of him.

"Gwen! I thought it was you! I'd never do that to Lisa. I'm so sorry! Why did you let her do that? You should have guessed my reaction, if I thought it was you behind me. I apologize, Lisa. Kate, I'm sorry for behaving so poorly in front of you. That was a huge mistake."

"Relax. We just played a little joke on you. You should be glad it was Lisa and not Kate. It was Kate's idea. Lisa isn't complaining and neither am I, and from the look of your trunks, you're not very upset either," responded Gwen.

Steve looked down and realized he had an erection trying to tear out the leg of his trunks. Embarrassed, he quickly sat back down and gathered his thoughts.

"Girls, sit down with me and allow me to try to explain how I feel about things like this," invited Steve as Gwen slid into the water and took a seat next to him. "I really enjoy the way all of you treat me like I'm something special and that you act like you want to go to bed with me.

"That's very good for my self esteem and confidence. I love the way you flirt with me and tease me. That makes me feel great. I love that Lisa was comfortable enough with me to pose topless. I can't tell you how much it means to me that you all trust me like you do. But, I can't be taking advantage of any of you or I'll lose your trust, and my self respect. This was kind of funny now that it's over, but it starts us down a slippery slope. You girls are all incredible. I pretty much love all of you, but Gwen is my girlfriend. I have to keep her trust.

"Suppose something happened and I wound up stuck in a cabin overnight with Lisa or Kate, or both of them, I wouldn't want any of you to worry about me, to wonder if I'm safe to be with. I want absolute trust from all of you. You teasing and flirting with me is great. Crossing the line by me touching one of you will eventually ruin that trust. I can't be the aggressor. I love when Kate or Lisa wraps their arms around me and kisses me. Notice that I never initiate a kiss or touch them inappropriately, at least until just now. It may sound weird, but you should be able to be naked and climb all over me without any attempts on my part to take advantage of you. I will take advantage of Gwen, if she indicates that it's okay with her, or better yet, if she wants me to do so.

"Does this make any sense to you girls? I want you to be as free with me as you want, or dare, but I can't try to take advantage of you in any way. I just had Lisa's breasts in my hands. It wasn't intentional, but it was great. And therein lies the danger. You are exceptionally beautiful, wonderful girls. I'm male. Don't deceive me that way. I don't ever want to feel like I betrayed any of you. You all mean way too much to me.

"If the shoe were on the other foot, I promise that I would not be able to see some other guy touching Gwen's breasts. I hope you understand that. That would not be a joke to me. However, if Lisa and Jason hit it off real well, I wouldn't be upset if we were all on a topless beach or something. I can stand having other men that I trust having the same advantages as I do. I can't share Gwen and don't expect her to share me. That's why I can't be touching Kate and Lisa. It's not fair to any of us. I need you girls to all trust me. That's extremely important to me."

"Wow! You've given all of this a lot of thought, haven't you? I can't argue with any of it. I'll never allow some other guy to touch me like that," promised Gwen. "I can see why you might not feel like this was a funny joke. Imagine you squeezing Lisa's 'girls' and she's fine with it, but you're upset. That just sounds so weird, but I understand what you mean. Where will a trick like that lead? I love that Kate and Lisa are so comfortable with you. It helps reaffirm that I have a really great boyfriend. I never want to lose that. If Jason turns out to be the guy for Lisa, I want him to be like you. I want to be able to hug and kiss him, but never worry that he'll try to take it farther."

Lisa reached across Gwen and gently slapped Steve's face. "That's for taking liberties with 'the girls'! No matter how much I rub them against you, or parade them in front of you, never think you can take advantage of them, or me! Seriously, we learned our lesson. I don't ever want you to feel uncomfortable around me. I don't want to lose what we have. It's special. Gwen has been very understanding, and when I find that special guy for me, Gwen and Kate had better tease him mercilessly, like we do to you. That'll be the proof that they think my boyfriend is a keeper."

"I didn't do anything wrong," laughed Kate as she sat on Steve's lap. "That means I can still flirt with you. I tried to talk them out of it, but they wouldn't listen."

"Yeah, right! Kate was the one that thought of it and wanted to be the one to cover your eyes. This would have turned out much worse if she had been the one you groped. I know how you feel about her being underage and appropriate behavior, and how much you respect Dad's wishes," added Gwen. "From now on, the only 'girls' you are allowed to enjoy, by accident or design, are the two in my top."

Suddenly the door to the room opened and two laughing couples entered. "Sorry, we didn't think anyone would be here this late," stated one of the women. You don't mind if we use the other hot tub, I hope?"

As the foursome walked to the second tub, one of the men stared at Steve and the girls. "Aren't you the Anderson sisters? You danced at the Inauguration Ball earlier, right? We watched some of it on TV while we ate dinner. You ladies looked incredible!"

"Well thank you!" responded Gwen. "That answers my question about whether it was on TV and if anyone would notice."

"Are you kidding?" chimed in one of the young women in the group. "Your gowns were incredible! Where did you get them? I bet they were really expensive."

"Governor O'Leary's daughter, Amber, designed them. We're trying to market them at Macy's and if we're successful, you'll see them for sale there. They won't be very expensive. All profits will be donated to a fund to expand our local hospital in Sparta. It's a great cause," enthused Gwen.

"The gowns looked great, but where did you get your swim suits?" asked the second woman. "They're really sexy, as you can tell by the way our husbands are staring. May I ask if one of you is dating the lucky guy sitting between two sisters and holding another on his lap?"

"Yeah, he's my boyfriend, but my sisters like him a lot so I have to share him, but not too much, if you know what I mean," replied Gwen.

"I sure do, Honey!" laughed the woman. "That would make you 'The Lady in Red' and the 'Heroine of the Emerson River Rescue'. It would also explain the red suit you're wearing. I watched that river rescue on live TV and it was the most amazing thing I've ever seen. When your swimsuits come out in the stores, I'll be getting a couple, although I know I won't look like you or your sisters when I wear them. Could I take a picture of you guys with my phone? I can't wait to tell everyone who I ran into late one night in the hot tub!"

Gwen and her sisters posed for several pictures with Steve. Soon Steve wound up taking photos of the two couples posing with the girls and finally, the two men posing with the sisters.

"These guys will have the pictures posted on FaceBook before they go to bed tonight. They'll be bragging to their friends that they met the Anderson sisters, in a hot tub, no less!" chuckled one of the fellow's wife. "Thanks so much!"

The kids returned to their rooms. Steve was still restless, so he turned on the television to watch highlights of the inauguration. He made a mental note to thank Amber Stahl the next time he saw her. She had a really nice feature on the folks from Sparta. Steve marveled at how amazing Gwen and her sisters looked on the small screen.

At that very moment, in a rented home a few miles away, six men sat in front of a plasma TV, watching highlights of Governor O'Leary's inauguration. "It seems that we now have a target, My Brothers. This state is so proud of its athletic teams. This Sparta won a sports championship. Now its students are prancing half naked at a public event, with no shame.

"Red is the color for whores. 'The Lady in Red' will be wearing blood red before the week is out. We'll destroy the school; kill these so-called heroes, and many of their friends. This governor was on the Armed Services Committee when he was in Congress. He supported the invasion of our homeland. We'll make certain that he understands that he bears the responsibility for our act of retribution. Vengeance will be ours!

"We leave in the morning for Sparta. Within a few days, the entire world will know that we will not tolerate the American occupation of our homeland. We shall drive them out by attacking them here, in the Heartland of America."

The following morning saw Gwen, Kate, and Steve riding back to Sparta with Gwen's parents. Lisa was dropped off at her dorm since her classes would be starting the next day.

"Yesterday was incredible," enthused Gwen. "We all danced quite well and garnered some positive press for our class fund raising venture. Our gowns were stunning. Amber has real talent and just might be able to convince Macy's to purchase the line.

"I found out that Ms. Walker had made arrangements for Dave Kite to cover the event as a member of the press. He should have all sorts of good videos for his YouTube and FaceBook sites.

"And maybe best of all, Lisa finally met up with a really good guy. He and Steve got along well and that's important to Lisa. She feels badly that she didn't introduce him to Dad last night, but things were pretty hectic. Without Dad's approval, Jason won't last long with her. But what is there to not approve of, anyway? He's almost as big and strong as Steve, almost as good looking, and he's almost as tough as a Navy SEAL. I understand that Army Rangers aren't exactly wimps," laughed Gwen.

"If Steve goes into the Navy and becomes a SEAL, and Lisa gets serious with an Army Ranger, what kind of guy will I have to find to keep up with my sisters?" mused Kate. "He'll have to be some sort of Special Forces Delta dude, at the very least. Does Chuck Norris have any grandsons?"

As Steve entered his homeroom Monday morning, Ms. Walker was speaking to those students already present. "We're going to have a brief meeting first thing Wednesday morning. The Sophomore Class will be using the auditorium, so we'll just meet down below them, in the gym. We should have an accounting of how much we've raised for the senior class hospital fund. I think you'll all be surprised and pleased at the numbers."

Tuesday afternoon, Gwen was obviously excited when she met Steve for lunch. "Amber called a little while ago. She said that Macy's has decided to proceed with the purchase of the 'Lady in Red' line of swim and evening wear! They want us, including Kate and Lisa, to make appearances at different stores all over the state and in a few neighboring states to promote the line! We'll have to do that on weekends and holidays. They'll pay the traveling expenses, even if we have to fly to some of the more distant locations. Can you believe it?"

"I can believe that they'd want you and Kate and Lisa," agreed Steve. "I have to wonder if they wanted me, or if Amber or you misunderstood. You saw how those people were the other night. They wanted to be photographed with the Anderson Sisters. No one mentioned anything about wanting to be photographed with me."

"You weren't paying much attention. I saw how those women looked at you. They just didn't want to embarrass their husbands by making a big deal out of being photographed with you. They were talking about having the best looking photographer ever when you were taking the pictures. Those high school girls will buy anything that you try to sell them, so be warned. Don't get carried away charming them. I'll be watching!"

"Don't worry about that. I really doubt that I'll have many people even remember my name. They'll be looking at you and your sisters. I'm anxious to hear how much we've raised for the hospital fund so far. I know we gained $20,000 for that TV movie they're going to start making this week. We should have a very interesting meeting tomorrow morning."

Steve had no idea just how interesting the next day was destined to be. It would become a day that people across the state would never forget. It would be a day that would forever define Sparta