One Prince Summer's End

"You two are going to go try to drown yourselves?" Suzy interjected. I almost believed the disbelief in her voice.

"I didn't think we were that bad..." Marsha chimed in, trying to hide the smile.

"Now, ladies," Natalie pointed out, "we aren't the only ones that like to get wet."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah..." I tried to be dismissive. "Maybe it's time for a little male bonding."

"Mark," Mike turned to me, "you're really going to have to pull out all the stops on the male bonding if you're going to beat what they have to offer..."

I laughed. He was right. But as long as the girls would give us a day to ourselves, I could turn my cousin on to an incredible underwater adventure.

It turned out that the day went pretty much as speculated. After a lazy morning, we all got dressed and went down to meet Mom and Aunt Barbara. They were ready for a day exploring the county park at Northport, where the sheer bluffs looked out over Porte des Mortes, or Death's Door Straight... the straight between the peninsula and Washington Island that gave the county its name. There were a lot of shipwrecks in that straight, from the late 1800's and early 1900's, and some really great dives.

We caravanned up, with the five of us -- me, Marsha, Kate, Suzy and Mike -- crammed into my Corvair since Mike and I wanted to stop at the dive shop and the girls didn't want to let us out of their sight. Or so I would presume. We stopped at Gills Rock Salvage & Dive and checked out what our options were.

Unfortunately, all their regular tours were booked through September. Our only option would be to arrange a private dive and that was more expensive than I could afford. I copied down all the info anyway and then we went on up to join the others at the park. Mom noticed my disappointment when we got out of the car and asked me what happened. I told her -- and Aunt Barbara and Natalie, since they were inseparable -- and Natalie rode to the rescue.

"Mark, Don told me if you ran into something like this, I should cover it for you," she informed me, in front of my rather surprised Mom. "He felt like he got the better end of the deal... much better... when you helped us get the house ready and he wanted to do something for you to pay you for it." I knew she was, um... fabricating it, but I wasn't about to call her out on it. "So if you want me to ride down there with you when we leave here, I'd be more than happy to help with the arrangements."

I must have looked as surprised as my mother... the entire Terney family had more than compensated me for what little help I gave them. I looked at Mom because I didn't want to piss her off if I wasn't supposed to accept Natalie's generosity. She just looked back and shrugged. Some voice inside me shouted Oh! Fuck! Yeah!

"I'd really appreciate than, Ms. Terney," I told her, "and Mike would, too. We want to dive the Pilot Island site. Sort of some, uh... 'male bonding'..." I iterated the last because although Natalie knew it, I wanted Mom and Aunt Barbara to know it, also. I wanted it obvious that the girls had nothing to do with it.

The net result was that after exploring on and around the bluffs -- they hadn't built the stairway, yet -- we decided it was time to head for Wilson's ice cream parlor in Ephraim. The girls were kind enough to make it easy on Mike and me. They rode with Aunt Barbara and Suzy while Natalie rode with us in my car. We stopped at the dive shop and made arrangements for a private dive excursion to Pilot Island for Monday, the 23rd, and Natalie not only covered the deposit, she paid for the whole shebang, incidentals like snacks and stuff not included.

We met up with the others at Wilson's and we all pigged out in lieu of dinner. I went with a Chicago Dog, a bowl of chili with a side of onion rings and one of their world class Black Cherry Malts. I got a couple of really strange looks from Marsha and Kate.

"Planning on sleeping alone?" Marsha asked me in a low voice as we waited for our orders. I just gave her my best innocent questioning look. "A loaded hot dog with chili and onion rings?" she prompted. "Like, self-propelled city?"

"Oh, I don't think it will be that bad," I answered, also in a low voice. "But if it is, there's always the guest bedroom... or your Mom's..."

"Not my room, young man," Natalie spoke up from behind me. I didn't know she was close enough to overhear.

"Okay, the guest bedroom, then," I amended. "I love their chili and rings." Marsha just sort of shook her head and dropped it.

That night, my iron constitution came through for me. I don't like the really spicy hot stuff, but Wilson's chili was mild and onions never gave me a problem. Hence, another night of screwing in Marsha's bed and sleeping in Kate's. Suzy and Mike had stayed down at my folks' with their mother and brother and Natalie had gone back to being unobtrusive.

"So, did you and Suzy and Mom have fun?" Kate asked as she slowly rode me towards a cosmic orgasm.

"Yth," I mumbled. I mean, how was I supposed to answer with Marsha's pussy clamped to my mouth?

"I'm glad it worked out," Kate told me. "Suzy wanted you really badly, and Mike was gaga over the two of us... by the way, your cousin is one great fuck! Must be genetic or something."

As done in as I'd been by Suzy and Natalie, knowing Mike had been good wasn't bothering me. Besides, I was back to having them to myself. It was still an awesome summer and I kept trying to ignore the approaching end.

* * * * *

[Friday 8/13]

Some people are superstitious about Friday the 13^th. I'm not sure why, because it was only the Templars that got it really bad that day. But still, people can get hinky about it. Anyway, my day started out with a call from my brother Matt. He and his buddy Jim, along with their girlfriends Jeannie and Sarah, were stuck just south of Sister Bay. Jim's car had stalled out for some inexplicable reason and they needed a lift, first to the service station to get the car towed in and then down to Jim's parents' place where they were staying. Apparently Jim's folks were gone for the day and I was next on the "come rescue us" list.

Natalie told me to take the Caddy, since she planned on staying home and getting some chores done. I called down to my mom and told her I had to go rescue Matt and that I wouldn't be around. She gave me the usual "be careful" lecture and I took off, after getting the mandatory Kisses Goodbye from Marsha and Kate.

I knew where they were... they'd called from the Miniature Golf place on 42, so it wasn't hard to find them. Jim's LeMans was in the parking lot, along with the four of them. They were kind of surprised when I rolled up in the Caddy, but were happy to pile in so I could drive them into Sister Bay. Jim made arrangements to get his car towed and then I headed south to take them home. They were east of Egg Harbor, off of Harbor School Road. Jim's parents had bought a small farm along there and planted evergreens, figuring to turn it into a Christmas Tree nursery, probably for their retirement.

In any case, as we drove down there, my brother and friends asked what I was doing that day, since their plans had obviously been shot out of the water. I told them not much of anything, since I'd cancelled going down to Mom's when I'd had to come rescue them. I figured I'd probably just hang around the Terneys' with Marsha and Kate, being lazy and being naked. When the laughing died down, it was Sarah that asked if they could join us.

I had previously thought that Sarah was the shy one, content to just be Jim's girlfriend. That got blown out of the water when we were doing the logging and she stripped down with the rest of us to cool off at lunch... and then tackled me when she teamed up with Marsha and Kate to dunk me. I had been rapidly revising my opinion of her since.

"I don't see why not," I told her. "We can call from Jim's place and make sure. And..." I added with a flash of genius, "you can call Mike and Suzy and tell them that since Jim's car died, he and Matt are coming back to the Terneys' with me to be useful and find out if they want to join us. They can drive the Jeep up the beach."

"Okay," Sarah agreed, "but why don't you call them?"

"Because if I call them, I'll get the third degree from my mother about what kind of shenanigans we're getting into," I answered. "If you call, it's just wondering if they could join us while we 'men' are busy."

That seemed acceptable, so we pulled into Jim's place, they changed clothes, the girls rearranged the contents of their bags, I called Natalie and got the okay and Sarah called Suzy and got that end worked out. My brother asked me to stop at Bay House on the way and pick up some more wine, which really wasn't an inconvenience, so I agreed, provided that Suzy was clerking. Not my cousin Suzy... the other Suzy -- the longtime friend who would have been a balling buddy except for her boyfriend.

It turned out she was clerking and since I was still underage, it cost me the obligatory wet, sloppy, sexy kiss over and above the cost of the wine. And she did it in front of Matt, Jim and the girls.

"So that's how you score the wine," my brother razzed me as we left. "Who would've guessed?"

"Are you complaining?" I asked, faux-ticked.

"Not at all!" he assured me with a laugh. We piled in the Caddy and headed down to the Terneys'.

By the time we got there, Mike and Suzy were already in the pool with Marsha and Kate, and Natalie was waiting for us. Sarah and Jeannie got all hyper and headed straight for the pool, stripping off their clothes as they went. Matt, Jim and I moved a little slower.

"Guys," Natalie called to us as we headed towards the porch, "could you take some firewood down to the beach before you get in the pool? We're running low."

"Your wish is my command!" I told her with a deep bow. That got a laugh. And that made the hamming it up worth it.

"Sure" and "No problem" were the responses from Matt and Jim, so the three of us loaded up armfuls of the split wood and carried it down to the fire scar, stacking it off to the side.

"You know, you are one hugely lucky fuck!" my brother told me as we dumped the wood. "I don't know how the fuck you do it... I mean, it's not like you're just sitting there, licking your eyebrows or anything."

"What are you talking about?" I retorted. He already knew about Marsha and Kate, and he'd scored the slightly nympho Jeannie, which went a long way towards assuaging his libido.

"Both the girls want to get in your pants," Jim told me.

"Of course both the girls..." That's when the lamp lit. "You mean Sarah and Jeannie?..."

"Yep," Jim told me. "They've been less than discreet discussing their fantasies."

"They won't do it because of various boyfriends and girlfriends," Matt told me. "But they've both discussed finding out what the attraction is that has Marsha and Kate all atwitter. I don't think our opinions count, but they don't dare piss off your girlfriends."

Oh, fuck, this was going to be bad... with Marsha's and Kate's attitudes towards sharing, it could end up being open season on me. And on Matt and Jim, depending on how far they wanted to take it. Somehow, I needed to get ahead of this train wreck.

"Look, guys, it doesn't matter," I tried to reassure them. "Marsha and Kate would probably give Sarah and Jeannie the sign to steal home, just to see me freaked out. They don't mind sharing, under the right conditions. In fact, they might like to trade... I get Sarah and Jeannie, they get you." I could see the shock growing on their faces. "But just because they might be willing... might be... doesn't mean I'm going to go along with it and if you remember, 'no' is supposed to mean 'no' regardless."

"Your two goddesses would be okay with trading???" Matt was staring at me. I couldn't blame him.

"Maybe," I told him. I almost added that stranger things had happened, but luckily something shut my mouth for me. "But I don't think I am. I have absolutely no reason to piss off either you or Jim. I'm more than happy with what I've got and I don't need to go looking for trouble."

Jim started getting a crafty look on his face.

"So, hypothetically, Mark..." he sort of drawled. "If it was okay for all of us to have one night of debauchery, sharing each other's partners, knowing it was a one-shot, no jealousy or anything..."

He let it hang out there while I watched the civil war going on in my brother's head.

"Jim, you're the one with something to lose," I told him not quite truthfully. "Sarah's been your girlfriend for a few years now, whereas Marsha, Kate and Jeannie are possibly just summer flings. Where Matt and I might be resentful or territorial after the fact, it would probably fade away when school starts in the Fall. You, however, if you got pissed at Matt or me because of messing with your relationship with Sarah... well, that could have long-term consequences."

I wasn't about to admit to the level of commitment I felt to Marsha and Kate when I was trying to convince him he was the one with the most to lose. I thought it was a valid point. I didn't want phenomenal sex with Sarah -- yeah, I'd been building an ego -- to screw up his relationship with her and by extension, his friendship with my brother.

"I think it could work," Matt piped up. I think my little spiel to Jim had made him realize he didn't have much to lose with Jeannie if they were parting ways at the end of the summer.

"You know, I think it could, too," Jim concurred. "I think Sarah and I are pretty solid and if she knew she wasn't getting between you and Marsha and Kate, I think she'd like it. And what's that thing about 'keep the women happy'? It would satisfy one of her fantasies, anyway."

"And probably one of yours," I pointed out. "I'm sure you two horndogs are just as foaming at the mouth over sex with two sisters... two awesome sisters, I might add."

"Would you have a problem with it, Mark?" Jim asked me.

"For reasons I cannot divulge, I would not have a problem with it," I told him and I think I floored him. "There's just one thing, though... everybody's got to be on the same page that whatever happens is okay with everyone else and it's just for one night -- or afternoon -- of outrageous fun. If everybody's agreed, I don't mind letting it unfold any way it's going to unfold."

"Wow..." Matt muttered. "Well, alright..."

"Let's go up to the pool," Jim suggested. "If Natalie wants more firewood, we can bring it down later."

"Fair enough," I agreed. "Let's go."

We traipsed on up to the pool where Natalie had laid out a help yourself lunch and was in the pool with the others. We stripped down and hosed off, then got in with everyone else.

"Brilliant idea, Mark," Suzy beamed at me. "I love hanging around like this... and Mom has no idea."

"Hey, Mark," Mike called over to me. "The Jeep's getting a little low on gas. I was going to take it down and fill it up, but I didn't know whether you put in Regular or Premium."

"Mike, that Jeep thinks Regular is Premium!" I told him. "It was raised on World War 2 Ethyl. I put Regular in it, only because it's cheaper."

"Got it," he told me and went back to discussing surfing with Marsha. That's about the point where things started to get weird. I was getting strange, sultry looks from Sarah and Jeannie and I am sure at least Kate and Suzy noticed, if not Marsha. When I looked over at the guys, Matt and Jim both gave me the same shrug of the shoulders and raised eyebrow looks at their girls. I didn't like the idea of being the center of attention, but I was going to have to do something about this.

So I did. I cleared my throat loudly, to get everyone's attention, then launched into it.

"Ladies and Gentlemen," I started with my best stentorian voice... yeah, right... "a proposal has been advanced that for one afternoon, or evening, or both, we swap partners." I paused for a moment to relish the reactions. The girls all looked confused. Jim and Matt looked anxious about what I was going to say next.

"That is to say, Matt and Jim have expressed an interest in Marsha and Kate, Sarah and Jeannie have expressed an interest in me, and I have no idea where Suzy, Mike and Natalie fall in this. The proposal includes: one) everybody has to be okay with everybody else, two) no stealing boyfriends or girlfriends, and three) no jealousy or anything like that. Otherwise, we just let it play out however it's going to play out. For my part, if everyone is on the same page, I'm okay with whatever evolves. Thank you for your attention."

There was a long moment of silence before Chaos reigned supreme. That's when the pool exploded in crosstalk as everyone was trying to ask questions and give answers at once. Oddly enough, the only people not going nuts were me and Natalie, who was just softly smiling. I'm sure she thought I was crazy. Mike swam over by me and leaned up on the side of the pool.

"Are you serious, Mark?" he asked me. "You're really okay with all the shuffling around?"

"Hey, I was okay with sharing you with Marsha and Kate and it worked out pretty good, right?"

"Yeah... but that was kind of a, uh..."

"A small group of friends sharing their friendship," I supplied for him. "Matt, Jim and I talked it out down on the beach. This is just a bunch of non-committal diddles to scratch everybody's itches. You want to join me with Sarah and Jeannie? Or maybe take Natalie aside? I swear, you would never regret it."

"Jesus, Mark..." Mike shook his head. "I thought you were the conservative one."

"Sometimes," I nodded. "Sometimes not. After getting straight with you and Suzy, I think I'm pretty solid in my relationships with you and Suzy, and Marsha and Kate. And Natalie. I'm not so sure about Sarah and Jeannie, and I'm especially not sure about Matt and Jim, but I'm willing to see how it works out, based on our beach discussion." I stopped talking as I saw Suzy approaching us.

"Mark, this is decidedly not fair," she told me as she pulled up on the other side of Mike.

"How so?" I wasn't sure where she was coming from.

"I can't join you and Sarah and Jeannie, because I would be horning in on their big... and Jesus, do I mean big!... moment," she explained. "I can't join Marsha and Kate because my cousin Matt would freak. And I can't do Natalie because that would leave Mike out of it, unless he joins you, of course, but then there's the whole cousin thing and it's not a given that Sarah and Jeannie would want him..."

"Why don't you introduce me to Natalie?" Mike asked her. The look of surprise and disbelief was wonderful.

"Are you serious?" she asked him. "Brother of mine..."

"With everything that's been going on since our last, um, get-together... yeah, I think I can handle it."

"You know she's going to rearrange your world, right?" Suzy persisted.

"And you're not?" Mike was just as persistent.

"Wow..." was Suzy's only comeback.

"Yeah, I'd say that pretty well sums it up," I smiled. "And if Natalie isn't interested in joining the festivities, you could always just do each other." I got a what? expression from both of them. Then we let it go.

"I haven't had lunch, yet," I informed them, "so I'm going to go make up a plate and find some place to eat. Want to join me?" The discussion between Marsha, Kate, Sarah, Jeannie, Matt and Jim was still going strong.

"Sure," they both agreed. We got out of the pool and went to the table where Natalie had set up lunch, each of us picking what we wanted. I suggested we use the screened in porch and we were just getting ready to go when Natalie came over and asked if she could join us. We agreed, she filled a plate and the four of us headed for the porch. The picnic table worked just fine for us and we sat down and chowed down, pretty much without any discussion. Until we were done eating, anyway.