Boys Will Be Boys

Holly almost rolled her eyes at the whole thing. All four of the men in her life were just so competitive with one another. What made that worse was that Kayden and Reilly always tried to be as much like Chris as they could, whereas while Casey looked more like his father he had the much more independent streak from her.

Not that their 18-year-old son wasn't competitive or didn't joke around like his brothers and father. He did. A lot. Only Casey tried to come out on top his way rather than trying to be more like his father. All of that, and the fact he was the youngest, often made Casey the object of the other three's attention and jokes. Casey could handle himself, of course, but Holly did have to step in sometimes when the others could take things a little too far, even when they honestly meant it as part of their joking and friendly competitiveness. She seemed to spend her life mediating between the four of them in one way or another.

"He was out last night." Holly replied, defending her absent son, "Which isn't a surprise given it is the first three-day weekend of the summer. You would have done the same at his age."

Chris nodded a little acknowledging that as Kayden and Reilly wiped their foreheads and took a drink after the last bag on the yard was on the truck.

"True. But he knew what time we had to be going if we were going to make it before it got too late." Her husband retorted as he leaned on the side of the truck bed with his arms folded with an innocently resigned expression. It was as plain as day to Holly that he was fighting hard to hold back his laughter. "Maybe the walk would do him some good; show him the world doesn't revolve around him and his social life."

Holly gave him a long-suffering, flat stare that Chris had no right to look amused by even if she was still half-smiling herself as she gave it to him. It was always about playing each other up and getting one up on the rest of them. Guys.

"He'll be here soon. He said he would be back, so you won't be too late going. Besides, you haven't finished packing up what you've got yet." She replied in a mock-stern voice before she glanced behind her to the bags just inside the doorway behind her. "So you just shush Christopher Clarke or 'your' son won't be the only one missing a boat in the next week or more."

Whether it was her tone or the small way that Holly's lips curved at the insinuation, Holly was more than pleased to see the sudden way that her good-looking, joker of a husband suddenly stood up straight at that.

"Ouch! Now that was uncalled for." He responded in such a way that Holly couldn't help but laugh softly at the mock-hurt in his playful expression. "You see guys, this is why you never let a woman get this kind of power over you, otherwise she always comes out on top."

"Dad!" Both Kayden and Reilly exclaimed at the same time, and this time Holly laughed a little louder as she shook her head at her husband as if to say he had been a bad boy.

For his part, Chris didn't waste his good humour even as he told the two to go fetch the rest of the things from the house before clearly making his way towards her. Holly only had time to feel her stomach flutter excitedly at that, and Chris only had time to make it to the end of the truck bed when suddenly a voice came from the side of the house.

"Going somewhere, Chris?" Came the familiar gravelly drawling and Holly suddenly wished she was wrapped up in her heaviest and most concealing clothes despite the heat.

"Nothing gets past you, Pete." Chris replied as he looked from Holly to their pervy next door neighbour after giving Holly a smile that was half-amusement and half-commiseration. "Just for the weekend though. Thought the boys would like a trip out of the city considering how hot this weekend is supposed to get"

Holly wrapped her arms around herself even more tightly and tried to hide as much of her thin robe-half-covered body as much as she could behind the doorframe without appearing to move at all. Even so the slight movement drew Pete Abernathy's eyes like iron to a lodestone and as his groping, lascivious gaze fell on her the 38-year-old mother suddenly couldn't wait for her shower for reasons other than the heat.

How the man's eyes could be as greasy as his thinning grey hair, Holly had no idea, but the way he ran his eyes quickly up and down what he could see of her slender body made Holly feel as if he was just inches from running his wrinkled hands over her. She couldn't hide the disgusted shudder she felt at that but fortunately none of it showed on her face and if Pete had noticed he thankfully didn't bring it up.

"Holly going with you?" Her creepy neighbour asked Chris without taking his eyes from Holly for even a second. Holly tried to discretely shift a little further back into the house, which made her husband's playful side beam cheekily through the smile he gave to her as he caught her subtle movement.

"Not this time, just a guy's weekend." Chris replied with a significant playful smirk at her, and innocently paid no mind when she gave him a shocked, warning look in response. They both knew what he was doing though -- this was payback for Holly having got one over on him about Pete earlier -- as her husband's amused expression only deepened as he added, "Holly has the weekend all to herself. Looking forward to it, aren't you babe?"

Holly didn't respond, only giving her loving husband a more significant look that only deepened his amusement until he seemed about to burst out laughing. He was just so competitive and never took things seriously -- and he always took things too far! Holly shifted a little uncomfortably, though she couldn't move any further into the house without it becoming too obvious, and so she just sufficed herself with giving her husband a look that promised retribution later. Let him see what a week without sex was like! No, two weeks!

Into that momentary pause, their oily neighbour spoke up completely unaware of the silent exchange.

"Ah, I see. Well, if you get bored and want any company to pass the time, you only have to knock on my door. Wouldn't want you to feel lonely." Pete said in a tone that he likely thought was subtle but was about as far from it as if he had whispered it creepily over her shoulder while running his old, greasy hands down her arms.

It was all Holly could do to give him a strained smile rather than look like she was about to be sick. She felt it though.

"Thanks, Pete, but I'll be fine. Looking forward to having some quiet time to myself for a few days. Just me and no one else is exactly what I need" She replied as politely as she could.

As always, though, nothing deterred Pervy Pete. Not even such a thinly-veiled rebuke.

"Well, you know where I am if you need me." He replied with seeming friendliness, before adding as if in concern, "Tell you what, I'll pop by just to make sure you are alright though. See if you need anything."

The insinuation was clear enough to make Holly's stomach twist nauseously and this time the attempt at a pleasant smile she gave him was twisted with a sickly tinge. Chris only stood there trying as hard as he could to hold back his laughter at her. He was such a bastard at times!

"That's what neighbours are for, right?" Pete continued when she didn't reply, and Holly only looked on aghast inside as Chris nodded gently. A month! He would not be getting anything for a whole month, the bastard! "Don't worry, Chris, I'll make sure your wife is alright and happy while you're gone." The disgusting old man added as he noticed Holly's husband nodding agreement.

"Oh thanks Pete, that's a weight off my shoulders." Chris replied with barely suppressed laughter as he looked over at her.

Shifting his oily, lascivious, and clearly pleased grin from her husband to Holly, Pete added seemingly self-deprecatingly as he clearly tried hard to hold himself back from rushing over to her, "You need anything, anything at all, you just call out, I'll be able to hear you and will have my windows open with the heat, so any time -- night or day -- you just call me and I'll be here"

Holly reluctantly nodded her thanks, and this time she was sure her disgust at the old man was plain on her face as Chris suddenly turned around and hid his face from their neighbour, his shoulders shaking slightly before he coughed and cleared his throat. For her part, Holly could only think how much she wanted to get away from the horrible little man's groping eyes and how he had likely said that about being able to hear her easily next door because he was always constantly spying on her and trying to catch her naked through a window or something. That only made the slim brunette feel even more ill and she quickly pulled her eyes away from his and looked anywhere but at him.

"Thanks, Pete, but I'll be fine. Just a quiet weekend for me. You won't hear a peep from me, don't worry." She replied trying to end the conversation as quickly as she could. Fuck, but she wanted to jump back into the house, lock the door, and sit in the shower for the rest of the weekend! Eurgh!!

The older man gave Holly a long, lingering look and looked almost on the verge of saying something else before he turned back to Chris, almost as if he had forgotten Holly's husband was there.

"Have a good weekend, Chris" Pete said in the most suggestive tone Holly had ever heard, almost as if he were in a hurry for Holly's husband to leave, wishing him well so he could enjoy some alone time with his wife.

Holly suppressed a shudder at both the thought and the tone and watched from the corner of her eye as the greasy man gave her husband a smile and then her an insinuating glance before he walked away back into his house. As the door clicked behind him Holly looked at her husband with a mix of 'oh my god' at Pete and a playful threat for how Chris had acted around him. Oh she would totally get him back for that!

Almost wrapping her robe tighter around her, at least until she realised that that would just outline her figure even better, Holly tried her best not to jump further into the house and hold her ground. The heat of the day was slowly growing but the brunette wife had more reason to jump in the shower now! Looking at her with amusement at striking a point with her Chris only leaned against the truck smugly.

"You're so going to pay for that" She warned her husband, who only smirked harder as he watched her struggle to stand or go. Either way he seemed to think he had scored another point.

Before Chris could say anything smug, however, Holly added as nonchalantly as she could, "I'm going to go for my shower. You boys behave."

Both Reilly and Kayden mumbled something that Holly took for agreement as they bashfully stared at the bags, while Chris grinned more broadly. No doubt he knew both the reason she had abruptly decided to leave and why she was so eager to have her shower. Damn him. She really was going to have to think of something to burst his ego. With how competitive he was he would be impossible to live with if she didn't after that.

And so Holly held his eye with a semi-sombre look of her own.

"And make sure you wait for Casey. He won't be long, I'm sure." She said as seriously as she could manage right then.

"I'll give him a fair shake of the stick" Chris replied, holding his hands up in defence.

Eyeing him for a moment and then trying her best not to glance over the fence to see if Pete was around Holly gave her husband a 'make sure you do' kind of smile before she half turned.

"If you're gone before I get out, make sure you have a good time. Don't drink too much guys. And try to be nice to each other." She called out with a more warm smile, before adding as she half turned back and added, "Especially your younger brother", to Kayden and Reilly.

The two young men looked back at her with so much innocence they almost looked outraged but Holly held their eyes a moment until they nodded, cheeks going red as they stared at her and they looked down again, no doubt because they knew what they were like with Casey.

"Especially you" She added with a playful smile toward her husband and this time there was nothing 'almost' about Chris's shocked reaction. But Holly knew he was the worst of all of them for picking on people.

Giving her sweet, loving husband another glance that promised retaliation Holly turned back around and only half-smiled at the wolf-whistle Chris gave her before she padded back into the house and headed towards her and Chris's bedroom. God the weather was hot, but it was the feel of Pete's oily stare that she wanted to wash off her right then. For both reasons she couldn't wait to jump into that shower!

- - -

The car door burned gently in the heat as Chris leaned against it. The warmth was comforting, like the feel of the sun beating down as you lay sun-bathing. Casting his eyes over the back of the truck and two of his sons talking on the other side of the bed, Chris Clarke thought about the trip ahead, the drive, and what adventures he and the boys would get up to. He had been looking forward to this long weekend, time where he could spend it with the boys just him and them, a proper guys weekend, even as he knew that with his sons being as old as they were now they wouldn't want to spend all that time with him. They likely had other plans.

Oh he had heard about the party their friends were planning up at the old abandoned lodge near the lake, and he knew well how much time they would spend chasing women who came out to enjoy the sun as they were. They were that age of course. But he didn't mind. They would spend time with him -- he had a lot of fun things planned -- and when they were off being young men he could take the time to kick back and relax and have some time to himself. Nothing but beer, the sun, and a relaxing rest on the lounger. Not to mention he would hear about all their mishaps from each other and teasing them about that would be half the fun of being there. They may be young enough but they were far from experienced enough.

Yes, the trip was going to be just perfect. At least it would be if Casey arrived before it was too late to set off. Chris had a boating trip planned not long after they arrived so he wanted to make sure they got there on time, and as per usual his youngest son was nowhere to be seen. He had told Casey that he had to be on time and Casey had promised that he would be back. That kid had more of a life than his two brothers combined. He was always off doing something with his friends. But Chris knew that this time Casey's friends would all be heading to the party at the lodge -- it was part of the reason his youngest son had agreed so quickly to come on the trip in the first place -- so Chris had had no doubts that Casey would be there bright and early.

Only time ticked on and there was still no sign of his son. He had gone out with some friends the night before and murmured something about staying out with them and that he would be back in the morning, muttering that he would definitely be there when Chris had reminded him of how early they had to leave. Yet the sun rose and with it the heat of the day and Casey was still nowhere to be seen.

It was at that moment that a small smile spread across Chris' face as amusement tickled his insides briefly. The same feeling always flowed through him when he thought of a way to play up someone and this time was no different. Glancing at the bags in the back of the truck and at his other two sons waiting for his word to go, Chris thought for a moment how funny it would be to play with Casey when he showed up. Maybe by making a joke about him being late or by pretending to drive off without him.

The amused feeling within him twisted further at that latter thought. The idea of what his son's face would be like as Chris waved and said he had told him what time they had to leave and he would see him there, after he made his own way. The small smile became a large grin as Chris thought of how Casey would react, and how, now he thought of it, deserving it would be. It wouldn't be like Casey couldn't get to the lake -- after all, the kid had other friends and even a couple of bus journeys that would get him there. And it would show him that he couldn't be late. More importantly, it would get one up on him for him thinking that he could dawdle and make his father and brothers wait on him.

Imagining it in his mind Chris laughed softly to himself until a perplexed glance from his sons stirred him out of his reverie. He couldn't do that. Holly would kill him if he left without Casey. But it was funny to think of. Casey would surely learn his lesson, and in a funny way, if he saw them drive off waving without him because he was so late. Chris was half-tempted to do it, it would be too funny, but he was too good a parent to just leave, and they still had a good half an hour before they had to be on their way.

And so the good-looking father of three stood and waited, calling out to his sons to joke around with them as he leaned against the truck and waited for his youngest son. All the while amusing himself with the thought of just driving off and telling Casey to catch up. And so the sun rose and the day grew hotter, yet the street remained empty of Chris' son.

That playful side of Chris just grew as time passed until he began joking about it with Kayden and Reilly, who found it equally as amusing and joined in in trying to get Chris to leave early. But he waited, as Holly would want. Until the time they had to leave had come and gone and still Casey was nowhere to be seen. Tapping the side of the truck Chris waited and waited...until his playfulness and patience both reached a crescendo at the same time.

- - -

Casey Clarke walked down the blistering street as the sun beat down on him relentlessly. The heat would have gotten to him as he walked with his hood up and his earphones in but he was too hungover and tired to really think of the weather right then.

Fuck he had had a great night with his friends last night. There was nothing but sweet days off for them all at the moment before college started in the fall and so Casey and his friend had been making the most of the time as they could. Fuck but he had been so wasted. It had been an awesome night though, even if he was paying for it now.

He had woken up late, much later than he had hoped, and despite knowing that he had to be home half an hour ago he still couldn't make himself walk any faster or look up at the blinding whiteness of the pavement. And so he ambled along as quickly as he could while lost in thought of the night before and what everyone had planned for the night ahead.

Oh he was looking forward to spending some time with his dad -- these guy trips always turned out fun, especially as Casey's father would always buy him and his brothers enough beer to get wasted, saying it was all part of the fun of a guys' night out -- even if he wasn't looking forward to hanging out with his brothers so much. They were very much like his father, always trying to one-up each other and picking on him as the youngest. And who wanted to spend all their time with their brothers anyway? No, Casey was much more looking forward to the party at the old lodge and what he and his friends had planned for the rest of the weekend!

Well, he was looking forward to that and seeing Cristina Hodges, the girl he had had his eye on for months! Cristina would be at the party and out with his friends, and despite being the most gorgeous girl he had ever seen this weekend would be the first time that Casey would actually get to have a conversation with her. Maybe even more. It had taken him months but he had finally decided, with a little push from his friends, that this weekend would be it. He would finally ask Cristina out. He would take the leap. He had wanted to for so long. Abandoned other women who had been interested in him for how he felt about her. And nothing would stop him. Hopefully it would all pay off.