Lisa Ch. 08b: Evil

"Happy birthday Jess." Scott said, handing her an envelope and pecking her lips. "Open it." He urged when she stood staring at it.

Jessica opened the envelope, fished around in it and pulled out a picture of Ebony.

"I know he was unofficially yours already." Scott said, "But I've made it official. The papers are inside. He's yours to do with as you please."

"Thank you!" Jessica said throwing herself at Scott, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"You're welcome." He whispered in her ear. "We've opened a bank account for you in the same name that's on your id. I've deposited the down payments that I got on Ebony's foals and when they are born, you'll get the remaining money. That's a couple of hundred thousand dollars and you can spend it any way you want."

Jessica stepped back and stared at Scott.

"That's too much."

Scott shook his head. "It's not enough."

"Let's have some of that cake." Riley said when Jessica and Scott continued to stare at one another. He squeezed Jessica's shoulder with one hand, Scott's with the other. "It's a great gift Scott. Come join us when you're ready."

Once everyone had moved away Scott brought his hand up to Jessica's cheek. "No amount of money is going to be able to fix what we've done to you." Scott said, "Nor can it reflect how much I love you, in any way. But on your nineteenth birthday, horrible things were happening to you. I don't even want to think about it ..." he said with a shudder, "Can we pretend that this is what really happened to you on your birthday? A party thrown by the friends and the men that love you, gifts that are meant to please you, not bribe you ... I know exactly what this looks like." He added when Jessica was about to argue. "You're going to get gifts from all of us men and they're all going to look like a bribe. Please believe me when I say that they're not meant that way. They're meant to say 'I'm sorry' and 'I love you'." Jessica was sobbing at this point. He kissed her cheeks. "So, happy nineteenth birthday ... right?"

Jessica nodded.

"Good. The next cake is for your twentieth birthday, and the one after dinner is for this year. I promise, we'll never have to catch up again."

Jessica collapsed against Scott and cried. He held her, hard. And it made her feel good.

"Are you okay Jess?" Josh asked from her left. Jessica nodded and lifted her head to find Jim, Angus and Riley surrounding her and Scott too.

"I can honestly say that I've never been better." She said. "Thanks." She added when Riley handed her a towel. She wiped her eyes and got herself under control. "I really appreciate all of this. Thank you."

"We've saved a huge freakin' piece of cake for you." Josh said holding his hand out to Jessica, "Ready to eat it?"

Jessica took Josh's hand and followed him and the other men to where everyone else sat eating cake.

By the time Jessica finished the biggest piece of cake she'd ever eaten, she was happy to stretch out on a lawn chair and relax. The girls were on lawn chairs next to her.

Jessica sighed, sipped the rum laced fruity drink that Riley had delivered to her and watched the men push each other into the pond. Scanning the girls Jessica noticed Amanda looking from the group of men shouting and laughing near the pond, and Quinn, sitting by himself at one of the picnic tables. She looked distressed.

"I thought things were going well." Jessica said. Amanda looked at her in surprise and then shook her head.

"They were ... or so I thought."

"So what happened?" Justine asked.

Amanda shrugged. "Don, Stan and Caleb seem to think that I like Quinn more than I like them."

"Do you?" Jessica asked.

"No!" Amanda said but not too convincingly.

"That was real convincing." Sara said.

"Look. I've known Don, Stan and Caleb my whole life. Quinn is ... new. There's something different about that and I guess I kind of like it. But I don't treat them differently ... honest."

"I've known Corey my whole life." Leah said, "And trust me, knowing him sexually is different. Really different."

Amanda nodded. "Yeah, that definitely adds a new dimension to what I know about Don, Stan and Caleb."

"So sex with the five of you has been ...?" Jessica asked.

"Nonexistent for over a week now. Things started okay ... I think. I just don't know anymore. I'm half expecting Quinn to go back to his clan."

"So during combat practice, when the four of them looked like they were trying to kill each other, they really were?" Jessica asked.

Amanda nodded and sniffled.

"We went through that with me and Jim." Jessica said and laughed when the girls looked at her in with surprise. "The thing was, Jim was more like a brother to me at the beginning and because of that I did have more feelings for him. And I didn't realize that I was treating him differently. It caused major issues ... major."

"Well, they're fine now." Sara observed, watching Jim and Scott toss Riley into the pond.

Jessica nodded, laughing at the men's antics, especially when Angus and Josh shoved Jim and Scott into the pond. "But it was a long and painful process before they all started feeling equal. You have to figure out what you're doing to make Don, Stan and Caleb think that you like Quinn more, and you have to stop. And quite frankly, at this point, you have to reverse it."

"How?" Amanda asked, sniffling while she spoke, "How am I supposed to do that? I honestly believe that I treat them equally."

"Hey, Manda!" Don called from the side of the pond, "Come in with us!"

Amanda shook her head, and called back "Later maybe."

Don looked disappointed. So did Stan and Caleb who had been watching.

"Amanda," Quinn called, getting up from the picnic table, "Another drink?" he asked holding his beer up.

Amanda's face lit up and she nodded, "Thanks!" she called back and threw in an enthusiastic wave.

Jessica looked between Amanda and Quinn, who headed to the bar, and Amanda and Don, Stan and Caleb. Don, Stan and Caleb looked at one another and clearly upset they turned away.

"Amanda!" Jessica snapped.

"What?" Amanda asked, surprised by Jessica's tone.

"You're joking right?" Jessica demanded.

"Oh come on." Leah said when Amanda looked completely clueless. "You blew off Don, Caleb and Stan but your face lit up like candles on Jessica's birthday cake when you spoke to Quinn."

"You definitely favor him." Jessica said.

"And it's obvious." Justine added.

"I do?" Amanda asked clearly upset by the idea. "I don't mean to ..."

"Hey!" Sara squeaked. Sean had appeared as if from nowhere, scooped Sara up and ran for the pond.

"Oh no!" Justine managed to mutter when Chris scooped her up and took off for the pond too.

"Corey, no!" Leah muttered, beating her fist on his chest as he turned and headed for the pond.

"Not now ..." Amanda said when Caleb scooped her up but her distress was either lost on him or he ignored it because he made for the pond like a bat out of hell.

Jessica was just about to get up, feeling lucky that she'd avoided being thrown in the pond when an arm as hard as steal wrapped around her waist from behind.

"Just where do you think you're going?" Riley asked and before she knew it Jessica was bouncing along in Riley's arms as he ran for the pond. A throaty chuckle rumbling from his chest as they went.

There was a lot of noise coming from the pond. All of the men not currently carrying women to throw into the pond were in the water cheering the running men on. This included Abe and Rick so everyone was accounted for except Quinn.

When Scott, Jim, Josh and Angus started chanting Jessica's name, Jessica threw her arms around Riley's neck and locked them tight, her chin resting on his shoulder.

"You guys are crazy." She muttered into his ear, "I'm not going in the pond without you ... you know that, right?"

A low chuckle erupted from Riley. "You seem pretty sure of yourself. I know you're the birthday girl and everything but you should be prepared for disappointment."

Jessica laughed some more and squeezed him even tighter, but then flicking her eyes back from where they'd come she saw Quinn standing near the lawn chairs, Amanda's drink in hand, staring after them. Everything clicked into place. This had been designed to intercept Quinn's drink delivery. When Quinn turned slowly and began to walk back to the picnic table Jessica realized that she should do something about things and sooner rather than later. And as the noise from the pond got louder as she and Riley got closer she realized that she may not get another opportunity to be alone with Quinn.

"Stop Riley." Jessica said.

"Yeah, right ..." Riley chuckled.

"No really," Jessica said pushing herself upright in his arms and patting his chest with her hand, "I really need you to stop."

Riley slowed a little but didn't stop.

"Jess, you're going in the pond."

"I know, I know ... but can it be later? Right now I have to go talk to Quinn." Jessica said looking back in Quinn's direction.

"Quinn!" Riley exclaimed pulling up short and staring at Jessica. From the direction of the pond Jessica could her men demanding to know why Riley'd stopped.

Jessica nodded, "Amanda's been favoring him and now he has problems with Stan, Don and Caleb. Someone has to talk to him."

"And that someone is you ..." Riley said.

"No. It's you, and the other men. But, and this may come as a shocking surprise to you, you're not the most approachable people in the world."

"You don't say ... you do realize that that's not the most complimentary thing you've ever said to me."

"I'm sorry ..." she said kissing his cheek, "what I meant was that for people who don't know you well, you don't seem approachable. And by 'you' I mean you men in general, not just you."

"Oh yeah, that makes me feel much better ..."

"It's not coming out right ..." Jessica said, looking back at the pond. The shouting had stopped and everyone, but of most importance to Jessica, her men, were watching her and Riley in silence. "Riley, I really don't want to spend much time on this. I'd rather celebrate my birthday with you guys but Quinn is the odd man out right now, and Amanda's scared that he's about to go back to his clan. If we don't take this chance right now, none of us may get a chance to talk to Quinn before he leaves. Give me ten minutes to talk to Quinn, and you guys talk to Stan, Don and Caleb. Hopefully Quinn will come and talk to you too and we can give them some direction in working this out."

"Okay. Ten minutes." Riley said turning and walking back toward Quinn, "Should I walk you back?"

"No, I'll walk." Jessica said looking back at her men. At this point Scott was yelling, "Boo, hiss!" and Angus was demanding do know where they were going. Josh and Jim just stood watching them. "Can you explain it to the others? This will take ten minutes and then I don't plan on giving any more time to it today. I'd much rather play around with you guys." Jessica said, kissing Riley's lips. "So ten minutes." She said again, hugging Riley tight, "and I've made an observation. While everyone else is soaked, Scott is ridiculously dry. When you come to get me in ten minutes you have to help me get him into the water."

Riley laughed, "I'm glad to see that Scott giving you his gift first hasn't curried him any favors with you ..."

Jessica looked at Riley to see if he was serious but to her relief, he was laughing and his eyes sparkled when he winked at her, "Just kidding." He said. "We'll make sure he gets what's coming to him ... don't worry." Riley pecked her lips and lowered her to the ground. "And don't worry, I'll take care of these yahoos." He added when Jim yelled, "Jess, where you going?"

At this point, not only were Scott, Josh, Jim and Angus watching her and Riley, but so was everyone else. Don, Caleb and Stan did not look impressed, and Amanda looked worried.

Riley smacked Jessica's butt before turning toward the pond. Jessica jogged back toward Quinn. He watched her come but seemed surprised when she stopped in front of him. Quinn sat on the picnic table, feet on the seat. He'd placed Amanda's drink next to him.

"Mind if I sit?" Jessica asked, indicating the space on the other side of the glass.

"Rrrr, no." Quinn said motioning to the table top. "Do you want Amanda's drink? I don't think she'll be drinking it anytime soon."

"Sure, thanks." Jessica said, taking the drink and sipping it.

Quinn went back to staring in Amanda's direction.

"She favors you you know." Jessica said and took another sip.

"So they're feeding you that BS too." Quinn stated, nodding at Stan, Caleb and Don.

"No, I observed it. And she is."

"Whatever." Quinn snorted and shook his head in disbelief.

"The irony of it is that it may not be the big things that make her favor you, but the small seemingly benign things. We went through the same thing. You should really speak to my guys."

"Okay ... no thanks." He said with a shake of his head.

"Why not?"

"Because, I don't think they like me very much." Quinn said.

It was Jessica's turn to shake her head. "I know you probably didn't know any of my men very well before you started dating Amanda, but let me tell you that they tend to lean on the jealous side. In fact, you may recall that every time we've been swimming prior to today I was wearing shorts and a t-shirt."

Quinn nodded.

"Well, they feel comfortable enough around everyone here, including you, to let me wear next to nothing. Here I am sitting next to you in what barely counts as a bathing suit, and they're letting it happen. Trust me, if they didn't like you, this wouldn't be happening."

"They sure don't look too thrilled." Quinn said nodding toward the pond. Jessica looked down to see the men talking to Caleb, Don, Stan and Amanda, but staring up at Jessica and Quinn. They're expressions were quite relaxed.

"No, they're good." She said. "Listen." She said turning back to Quinn, who looked skeptical about her pronouncement on the men's mood. "I don't have a lot of time. What I want to point out to you is that the simplest little things done over and over again can go far in giving you the advantage over Don, Caleb and Stan. A simple example is a cup of coffee. Amanda may like one teaspoon of sugar and lots of cream in her coffee. You may know that, they may not. So you'll bring her the perfect coffee and they won't."

"You're kidding me, right? I mean, they've known her their whole lives, how can they not know how she likes coffee?" Quinn demanded.

"She may have known them her whole life, but neither of us know what kind of relationships they had. They may have known dittley about her."

"And how's that my problem?" Quinn asked.

"It depends on how committed you are to seeing this relationship work. If you don't care if it works then it's not your problem at all. But if you want to give it a chance then it's completely your problem. You've gotta want to make Caleb, Don and Stan equal in Amanda's eyes."

Quinn suddenly straightened. "I think they've lost patience."

Jessica followed his gaze. Scott, Jim, Josh and Angus were waiting on the shore of the pond, watching Riley striding toward Jessica and Quinn.

"No, it's probably been ten minutes. He's supposed to come get me."

"He looks like he wants to pound me into the ground."

"You've obviously never seen Riley angry before ... right now he's completely calm. But as an FYI, you could work on your warm and cuddly look. I almost kept going when I saw your face. Anyway, think about the coffee example. It'd be a small and easy change to make and I guarantee you it'll get you some major mileage."

Quinn leaned back, away from Riley when Riley finally stopped in front of them.

"Ready Jess?" Riley asked.

"You betcha ..." Jessica said standing on the picnic table seat and jumping into Riley's arms. She looked at Quinn, "Do you want to come help us shove Scott in the pond? He's got it coming ..."

"No ... thanks." Quinn said.

"We should talk." Riley said to Quinn, "Maybe tomorrow."

Quinn nodded.

Tossing Jessica in his arms a couple of time, producing laughter and squealing from Jessica, Riley took off in the direction of the pond.

"Get me close enough to Scott that I can take him in with me." Jessica was said as they went.

"No prob." Riley said, "If I have to I'll come in with you ... but you've gotta protest a bunch Jess or Scott's going to be suspicious."

"Okay." Jessica said with a giggle, "But just remember you told me to ..." and Jessica launched into kicking, twisting, and screaming, all of which were only possible in their full effect because Riley let her. It wasn't long before they were nearing the pond edge.

"Scott man," Riley yelled, "I need your help!"

Scott was laughing and when he reached out to grab Jessica, Jessica launched herself on him, clasping her hands around his neck. The momentum of that as well as Riley giving him a good shove sent Jessica and Scott into the water.

Jessica and Scott came up laughing. The men on shore hooted and clapped and then all cannon bombed into the water around them.

The next hour was spent fooling around in the pond.

They'd played water volleyball for most of that hour. Now the men sat on the edge of the pond watching Jessica still play with Amanda, Leah, Justine, Sara, Rick, Abe, Corey, Don, Stan, Caleb, Mark and Sean.

Declaring themselves waterlogged, the men said they were going to get a beer and a fruity drink for Jessica. And they were, but they couldn't help but sit and watch Jessica have so much fun. She was absolutely beaming.

"Where the hell does she get so much energy?" Riley asked.

"I don't know but it's a damn good thing she does." Scott said, elbowing Riley and making an exaggerated wink.

"Speaking of which ..." Angus said, "I cannot believe we agreed to buy her that bathing suit. Even in the water, where I can barely see her body, and it's freezing cold, I still get ..."

"Turned on?" Scott asked.

"You don't know the half of it. I have plans for tonight and I'm not sure .... Let's just say Jessica may not be able to walk or talk for a while afterwards." Angus said.

The men looked at Jim when he nodded and grunted in agreement.

"What? In case you haven't noticed you guys have made me into a sex obsessed barbarian. I want to ... do it ... to her just as much as you do." Jim said.

Josh elbowed Angus and hissed, "Smile ..." when Jessica looked over at the men. She beamed at them, and they beamed back.

"Thank God we're wearing these ridiculously long short trunks or Jessica couldn't help but see my ... need." Angus groaned.

"It's a good thing she's so far away because believe me those shorts are hiding nothing." Jim said, eyeing the bulge in Angus' crotch.

"Man ... " Angus groaned as he slid into the water, closing his eyes as the cold, spring fed water worked to hide the evidence of his desire. "You have no idea how many times I've had to push Jessica away from me so she wouldn't know ..."

"I do have an idea ... trust me." Scott said.

"I'm just glad you were right about the other guys and Jessica in that bathing suit." Riley said to Jim, "I was really nervous when she first came out with that thing on."

"Yeah, I thought I was going to have to pound someone into the ground." Angus said.

"Apparently, not everyone is as perverted as we are." Josh said with a half laugh.

"Like I said," Jim added while Angus hauled himself out of the water onto the side of the pond. "We didn't get turned on by the other girls in bikinis, it follows that the other men won't get worked up over Jessica. Not everyone is a full blown pervert."

"That's a relief." Riley said looking at the men that continued to toss the ball around with Jessica and the other girls in the pond.

At that moment Amanda cast a sad glance at Quinn who still sat on the picnic table ... staring steadfastly at Amanda. Jessica noticed, and also looked over at Quinn.