Silver Lining Playbook

Being the only two that weren't coupled up, I offered to walk Haley to the house.

"Nah, I'm okay." She paused, then asked. "Where are you sleeping?"

"Boathouse."

She looked at the house. Then down to the lake. Over to the boathouse. Back to the main house. Then back to me.

"Would it be okay if I...I mean, I understand if you don't want to." She stepped a step closer to me. "Can I sleep with you?"

"Sleep with me?" I asked. Looking for some clarity.

"Yeah. Not like in the biblical sense. I mean like when I was at your house. Only this time, you sleep in the bed too. I just don't want to be alone in the house tonight."

With no objections heard, Haley grabbed my hand and started walking me toward her parent's boathouse.

*****

Smelling of smoke and the lake, I needed a shower. And by the time I was finished, Haley was already under the covers of the Queen-sized bed. She was on the side I would normally take, but I didn't say anything. After all, her parents owned the place.

Haley pulled back the covers and left a sheet between us. It was her way of assuring the "non biblical" sleeping clause of our sleeping arrangement.

The cool night air and the calming sounds of water gently splashing the dock and shoreline would have been enough to put anyone to sleep, they had their own way of gently rocking the cradle. I should have slept like a baby. Normally I would have, but not tonight. There were too many bumps in the night.

Hushing sounds, giggles, and whispers came through the open windows. The sounds of shuffling and stumbling feet on wooden planks on the dock below us, then the sounds of voices below became louder than before.

The couple on the lower part of the boathouse must have assumed everyone else was asleep, because they were no longer keeping their voices down. They spoke in unclear tones until there was silence. The voices disappeared, replaced by other sounds. Sounds that came along with sexual activity.

Soft grunts and bangs. Moans and groans. Knocks and bumps.

"Oh Alex. Just like...slower baby. Just a bit deeper..."

We were waiting for anything.

"Fuck babe, you feel so fucking good," my buddy told his future wife.

Haley jumped up from bed like she was a child looking out the window for Santa Claus. But instead of searching the sky for a sleigh pulled by reindeer, her head was pointed down as she looked below.

Leaning, bending, and stretching, she did her best to get a good vantage point to see the show going on below us. Haley tried hard to get the best view. She was intent on seeing her sister and her sister's lover, but I wasn't interested. My eyes were glued on her.

The moonlight dancing into our room showed every inch of Haley that wasn't covered. It caused her skin to glow with an amber hue that showed every bump, curve and hair that adorned her body.

Standing on her tippy toes, Haley's body arched and tightened. Her neck bent forward, and her spine curved so that her ass, covered in only a pair of tiny cotton panties, protruded out. Her toned legs looked like they were made of the finest silk, and her feet bent like she was wearing the highest of heels.

If that wasn't enough to keep me occupied, the sight of her firm titties pressed against the window frame, constrained by only the thinnest pieces of lace did the trick.

Turning, she beckoned with her finger. I shook my head "no". I wanted to look outside, but that meant I would have to get out of bed and risk being caught in front of her with a hardon.

"Come and look. You gotta see this," she whispered.

Haley looked at me in disbelief, but quickly turned back to the action when the voices below started again.

"Stop," Alex said loudly.

Morgan's giggles sounded mischievous.

"Come on Alex, try it. You might learn to love it."

"No baby. I'm never gonna love it, never mind like it."

The sounds of skin slapping continued.

"Stop it," Alex complained.

"Why baby? Do it for me."

"No, I don't want you sticking your finger up my ass."

"Really?" Morgan asked in a growling voice. Then surprised both Haley and I by saying. "Yet you have no problem when you're fucking my ass."

"Yeah, well that's because you don't mind it. So, just go slow when you pull that fingernail out. I don't want you slicing up my asshole."

Haley turned to me in shock with her hand covering her mouth. As she climbed back into the bed, I couldn't help but notice how hard her nipples were as they poked through the sheer material of her lacy brassiere.

When she was in, she rolled onto her side, facing me. It was the first time my senses were alive around her. Everything about her, including every smell that emanated from her body, was working on me.

"What is it with them? It seems like every time we're together those two end up going at it a couple feet away from us. They just start fucking like cavemen."

She wasn't wrong.

I wanted to say something profound to Haley, but in the end, I decided to go with something I thought she might say.

"Are you jealous?"

Rolling away so that her back was to me. She waited a couple of minutes until we heard Alex. He was grunting, as he filled Morgan with his load.

Then she surprised me yet again.

"Maybe I would be if it were you down there with my sister."

*****

During the night, our bodies touched more than once or twice. At one point I woke to find myself spooning Haley with my arm draped over her, but nothing came of it. I simply turned over and dozed off again.

The sound of a boat motor startled me out of my sleep. I jumped to close a window. I didn't want it to wake Haley, but it was too late. She was gone.

Easing myself back under the covers, I regretted that I hadn't been able to see her nearly naked in the light of day. Or that I hadn't woken before her and got to watch as she slept with her long messy hair, covering the pillows. I also wondered why I was having these kinds of thoughts about her.

The day went way better than I expected. The girls went into some of the small towns to shop for antiques and the boys left in the morning for a round of golf at Burl Oaks. And when we got back, we had beaten the ladies, so what was there to do, other than a little bit of waterskiing and wakeboarding.

We all took turns, and by the time it was mine, I noticed that the girls were sitting on the dock with drinks in hand. And for some reason, it gave me great pleasure when I found out how much better I was than Liam on a ski and a wakeboard.

"Fuck buddy, your elbow was rubbing the water. How low did you get?" Doug asked. He looked at Joe and then said. "The only fucking single guy here is showing off for the ladies."

I laughed.

"Nope. Sorry in advance to the girls, but you guys know I only have eyes for one bitch, and he's taken." I grabbed Alex around the neck and kissed the back of his head. Letting my hand slip down without anyone seeing it, I poked my middle finger between the cheeks of his board shorts covered ass and put a bit of pressure on his sphincter.

"What the fuck?" Alex screamed and jumped. Spinning, he looked at me with a very curious look on his face.

"What? Word around the dock is that you dig that kinda shit," I said with a laugh.

Alex stared at me for another minute, then he started the boat. As we headed back to the dock, I knew the conversation wasn't over. Not by a long shot.

The girls all looked like they were enjoying the sun. Bikinis and beach wraps were the attire of the day. And when we stepped off the boat, Morgan was at my side.

"Tyler, would you mind making a round of margaritas. I'm not sure if the guys want one, but when I told the girls how good you make them, they lost their minds."

"Anything for you baby," I teased and headed to the cooler.

I was not surprised that everything I needed was there. Rimming ten glasses with a combination of sea salt and raw sugar, I squeezed enough limes and poured enough booze to make two pitchers of the requested drink.

"Ladies," I said as I carried the tray out to where they were lounging.

Doug's wife took the honors and poured the first round. Lauren took the honors of pissing off Haley.

"Oh my god Tyler. I forgot how good these things taste. Babe, you gotta get Tyler to show you how to make them," she called out to Liam.

"Yeah, I bet you forgot how good a lotta things tas..." My hand covered Haley's mouth before she could finish. Cocking my head, she knew exactly what I was doing.

"Sure. Liam, I'll show you how on the next batch." Kneeling behind Haley's lounger, I whisper to her. "Remember, you can't let her win."

Haley's tongue touched the inside of my palm as she pretended to be trying to bite me.

*****

As far as pre-wedding parties go, this one was top shelf. Everyone seemed to enjoy the rest of the day. Lawn darts, horseshoes, bocce, and a number of trivia games the girls came up with were a hit.

And once again the catered in food was a outstanding.

Like the night before, we were getting ready for a fire when the fun started.

"Hey buddy." Alex snuck up behind me. "What the hell was up with that shit on the boat earlier?"

I tried not to smile too much.

"It's nothing. Just a friendly gesture." Alex tilted his head at me. He was confused. "Look, I overheard the girls talking about some ass play, and they were saying that you kinda like it. So, I wanted to treat you to a little pre-wedding action."

"FUCK YOU!" Alex scream whispered. "No, they didn't. Who would've said that shit?"

"Nope. Nothing was said about any shit. Just that you occasionally like a digit or two pushed up the old pooper. Word is that you like having your oil checked."

Alex started to push me and was almost running so that we could get far away from anyone within earshot. When he thought he was safe, he continued, "Bullshit. I know you're fucking with me."

"Alex, calm down. No pun intended, but I didn't pull something like that out of my ass. And it must be true if you're that upset by it. I'm just telling you what I heard."

He turned looked over at the crowd of his guests. He was surveying his surroundings and was trying to figure out his next move.

"Look, you gotta tell me who said what. That's a fuckin real bad rumor to be spreading about someone. Was it Lauren? Did she tell you something?"

"What the hell would I be doing talking to Lauren about your ass? Come on man." I had strung him along for long enough. "Look, you have to lighten up. If you like a finger in your ass, so be it. Enjoy it. Tell the world. If not, when you're on the dock, you may want to be a bit quieter when you tell Morgan to be gentle when she pulls it out."

"How'd you...Oh, you cocksucker. You, spying son of a bitch. I'll fucking kill..."

The chase was on, but it didn't get very far. I was laughing so hard I couldn't run. Alex took advantage of the situation and gave me a few good shots to the arm and gut.

"You're a fucker Tyler. A real fucker. That's private shit." He landed his last punch and looked over at the crowd that was watching us. "Did you tell anyone else."

"Everyone. I walked up to them at breakfast and said, 'Hey, guess what. Alex likes to get fingered in the asshole.' No, you stunned prick. But just in case you're wondering if anyone else knows, Haley does."

"Haley?" His head whipped to face me. "How the hell does she know."

"Well buddy, I hate to be the one to break the bad news to you, but she watched you guys 'playing house' for a while last night." I told him through my chuckles. "Probably because she wanted to pick up some ass play pointers."

After giving me a few more punches, Alex felt comfortable enough to mingle. He knew his secret was safe with me. He did have some concerns with Haley, but that was something he would have to live with.

*****

The night, like the day, was a good time. There was some dancing and even a bit of skinny dipping. Doug and Ashley surprised everyone by dropping what they were wearing and jumping off the dock. It was all in good fun, but all the guys had no problem checking out Ashley's naked body.

The music lowered gradually, as did the fire. Slowly people began to disappear. And somewhere after midnight, I made my way back to my boathouse loft.

With a quick shower to rinse off, I climbed into bed and that was it. As far as I know, I drifted off instantly and didn't move until I felt the covers on the bed being pulled back.

I would like to say I knew who it was and didn't care, but I did.

Opening my eyes, if only for a second, I saw that just like the night before, Haley had climbed into my bed. But unlike last night, tonight, there was something not right.

Haley's breathing and body language was off. She was puffing and there was a distinct twitch in her leg, whether she knew it or not.

She wasn't looking for, or asking for attention, so, letting her be would have been the smart thing to do and it definitely would have made things easier on me. But I frequently take the wrong path.

"Are you, okay?" I asked in the darkness.

She wasn't, and I waited patiently for her to tell me so.

When that time didn't come, I put my hand on her shoulder and asked again.

"Hey, are you alright?"

"Don't touch me," she hissed.

It was odd that she didn't want me to touch her, yet she chose to wander down from the very large cottage. A cottage in which she had her very own room. A room that was hers and hers alone. A room that held her lifelong possessions and provided her some form of safety.

"Haley, I'm sorry, I not trying to..."

"I know you're not." After a brief pause, she told me why she was angry. "He tried to touch me."

"Who? Who tried to touch you?" I asked getting up so I was leaning on my elbow and looking over her back.

"Your ex's asshole husband. That's who. He gave me a boob swipe earlier and I let it go, but when everyone went to bed, he came up behind me and tried to rub his package on my ass while he groped my tits. He's a fucking pig."

"What did you do?"

"I told him if he ever did it again, he'd be a eunuch for the rest of his pitiful life." I wanted to laugh, but I could tell that she was serious.

"Well, you blew your chance. You could have paid Lauren back tonight. It would have been sweet revenge." I immediately regretted my words and wished I hadn't said it.

"Just because I'm crazy, it doesn't make me a slut," she said as she turned to face me. "I wasn't going to fuck the asshole just to get back at the bitch."

"What? No. Wait a second. That wasn't what I was suggesting. I meant you could have created a scene and told her what happened."

"Oh yeah? You think for one minute she would have believed me?" Haley was now on an elbow just like I was. "No way. All it would have done was caused trouble. He would have lied, and bullshitted his way out of it, and I couldn't prove a thing. Everyone would sweep it under the rug because I'm Morgan's fucked-up sister. You know, the crazy bitch. The one who likes to freak everyone out."

She had a very valid point. I was lost for words. I didn't know what to do the comfort her.

My hand found her arm. I wanted to show some support. I mean, she did come to my bed when she needed help.

"Haley...Haley...I know you're down there...Haley. Come out, come out, wherever you are." The sound of a voice from outside was quietly calling the name of the girl laying in my bed.

Surprised, Haley looked at me as I climbed out from under the covers and pulled on my shorts.

Whoever it was, and we both knew exactly who, stumbled and bumped the large wood chairs. He was making lots of noise, as the sound of his voice and the wood on wood were enough to alert everyone.

"Haaaaalllllleeeeeeeyyyyy," he sang out.

"Really?" I asked no one particular.

Sure enough, when I looked out the upper window, Liam was slinking around in the dark with a flashlight. Anyone could easily see he had consumed way too much booze, but it wasn't a near good enough excuse for a married man to be slinking around in the dark.

"Buddy. What's up?" he asked when he saw me come out of the boat house door and step on to the dock.

I wanted to tell him that we weren't buddies, but I let it go.

"It's awfully late Liam. I think you should head back up to the house."

He looked my way and flashed the flashlight onto my face.

"I'm looking for someone," he slurred.

"Oh, I know you are. So do the neighbors. Call it a night and go to bed."

Spitting into the water he postured up, stood a bit taller, and put the beam of the flashlight back in my eyes.

"You think you own her? You think I'll just let you have her? Guess again loser." He sounded angry. "Just because she wanted to fuck you at your place and again here yesterday, you think she's yours? Think again because you can't just take her away from me? Nope. No way buddy, she's mine."

I was shocked that he knew about the night at my house. I instantly assumed that Haley had told Morgan what happened in the bedroom, and Morgan let it slip to Lauren. From there, this asshole must have thought Haley was an easy target.

"I don't think that at all. Just go to bed and leave her alone," my voice trying to sound a little bit tougher than before.

"I fucked her you know." His words shocked me. But only for a second. "Every time she came back home to Detroit. I'd fuck her and we'd laugh about how you were waiting at home like a good dog. She always told me that she loved me more and she was never going to be yours."

Shit. Color me shocked. Turns out he wasn't talking about Haley. Yes, he was currently looking for her, but right now, while he had me in his drunk and pissed off sightlines, he was talking about his wife. Somehow, he found out about what she had said to me at my house and yesterday.

I wanted to take the high road. Partially because Lauren's husband was drunk, and a bit stupid, but like a weakling, I lowered myself and I sank down to his level. I fired the first shot.

"Is that supposed to surprise me? You think you're the only one she fucked, or should I say fucks? No, Liam. She had a boyfriend when I met her. Not you. Another guy. One she worked with." I should have stopped there. I didn't. "There were lots of guys. But just because she's a slut, doesn't mean every other woman you meet is. So, keep your hands in your pockets and cock in your pants while you're a guest here. Or..." I stopped before a true threat came out of me.

"Or what, you fuckin asshole?" he taunted.

"Or else you'll catch the bitch slap of a lifetime," I stated matter of factly. No elevation in my voice.

He spit into the water for a second time. Biting at his lip as he rolled his hand into a fist. Liam was pondering his next move.

It was a gunfighter's showdown. Each of us staring down the other. Twitching and waiting. I flinched first and pulled the trigger for a second time.

"Look Liam, it's not going to look good when you're walking around tomorrow with a busted nose, two shiners, and a fat fucking lip." Yes, I let another threat ooze out of me. And I had to admit, it sounded very convincing.

A third spit.

"Keep her. Go ahead. You can keep the slut," he growled.

I knew better. The war or at least this battle, was over. I had won. He was going to retreat, but something inside of me...snapped.

"You know what asshole? Those are pretty big words from you. I mean, considering we both know that the only slut around here is waiting upstairs for you in your bedroom." I said it with the hint of a laugh in my voice. It was a taunt meant to provoke a drunken idiot. I knew my words would get a rise out of the asshole. And that's exactly what wanted. Perhaps even needed. And in the end, it worked.

Liam, as expected, took exception to what I said and like a bull seeing red, he charged me.

When it was all over, he was a bloody mess.