That Girl Next Door Ch. 03

As he made his way downstairs and into Mr. McLaughlin's home office, Mrs. McLaughlin joined him curious to learn what all of the yelling and commotion in her home was about. She had been diligently working away in her kitchen when all hell had broken loose upstairs. When she spotted Jason coming down the stairs followed by her husband a second or two later, she intuitively suspected that she knew what was up. She had not known Jason was there in her house, much less upstairs where her daughter was.

Mr. McLaughlin assumed his position at his desk by sitting in his office chair as Jason stood front and center before him with his head bowed. His wife took her place just inside the door and off to the side. Melanie arrived fully dressed moments later and assumed her position next to Jason. She showed no regrets at all as she interlaced her fingers with her boyfriend in a show of solidarity.

Melanie was no longer going commando and the crop top and shorts were gone, replaced by a full length 'Astros' Tee-Shirt and cut off blue jean shorts. The shorts were not Daisy Dukes, but instead modestly came down half the length of her thighs to her knees. They were rather tight though, having previously been a pair of her regular jeans that became too short in the inseam after a growth spurt.

Her father studied the two for only a moment before launching into his sermon. "Let me start out by saying that I'm not surprised that the two of you are being intimate. From the moment that you two started dating, your mother and I knew that this was inevitable. So I'm not here to jump your asses about what I just caught you two doing...

But I AM extremely disappointed that the two of you chose to disrespect my wife and myself by engaging in this activity beneath my roof. I suggest that the next time the two of you decide to get frisky, that you find the nearest Motel 6 to use for your activities."

"Daddy!" Suddenly angry, Melanie's wrath decided to assert itself. "I'm not some cheap slut that runs off to the motel to get laid on a regular basis! I'm still a virgin for God's Sake!"

Her father snorted, "Really? Honey, you were topless and Jason had his hand down inside your pants. You didn't look too virginal to me."

"I'm totally serious, Daddy. Jason and I have explored each other's bodies a little. But we have NOT gone all the way yet."

"Yet being the operative adverb here." Holding up his hand palm outward to forestall any further arguing, her father continued. "I was going to address this matter at a future date after the holiday was over. But your mother and I had already discussed this at length, so we want to talk to you two about it.

"Mel, honey. I still trust you. You have always been a good daughter. I have never known you to ever get into trouble, stay out past your curfew, or otherwise give your mother and me any reason not to trust you. So, please be totally honest with me right now. Are you and Jason going to maintain separate living quarters up in Nacogdoches? Or will you eventually be living together before the end of this year?"

"Mr. McLaughlin, sir?" It was Jason who took the floor this time. "With all due respect, sir. Mel and I will probably be staying together at my apartment once school starts. I'm truly sorry for letting you down, sir. But I love her. I love her so very much. Without moving things between us along too fast, I have to admit that I hope to marry your daughter some day."

Mr. McLaughlin only nodded his head then glanced over towards his wife. There were tears in her eyes but she nodded her head as well. "So, Mel, I suppose that you are not going to object if I contact the University and inform them that you have housing arrangements made off campus and no longer require the use of a dorm room then? It will save me quite a bit of money."

Melanie looked at her father in disbelief. What in the hell had just happened here? Had her father actually given her his blessing to live in sin with Jason? She could have been easily knocked to the ground with a feather in that moment. Her father smiled and continued.

"Jason, I want you to clearly understand the rules here. So let me state for the record that until such a time as my daughter has a ring on her finger and the two of you are legally married, you're not to engage in any sexual activity with her beneath my roof or your father's roof either. Kissing and hugging is fine, but your hands remain outside of her clothing and off of her intimate areas. Understood?

"Now as for what happens in your own home, that is not under anyone's jurisdiction but your own. Just for the record, let me be perfectly clear that I am NOT giving you specific approval. What I am doing is just accepting the inevitable. While I would certainly prefer that you two not be intimate or live together until after you are married, I would be an utter fool to raise issue with it. Please don't make me regret this decision. And if you two should ever find yourself in financial trouble, please come to see me without delay. You have always been the son that I never had, Jason. If Melanie has chosen to forsake her chastity with any boy, I am certainly thankful it is with you."

Mr. McLaughlin stood up then and extended his hand to the man that he hoped would one day become his son in law. Jason tentatively took his hand and shook it. Both young adults received hugs from Melanie's Mom.

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Both families had agreed that they would make their preparations during the morning and begin the holiday celebrations at noon. The old Langston place had never had a swimming pool. Mr. McLaughlin had originally planned on having one built when he bought the property. But then the two families had grown close to each other rather quickly.

Once the fence between the two properties came down creating a humongous backyard for the kids to play in, the point was totally moot because the Stewarts already owned a swimming pool on their property. So the Langston patio area was enlarged and picnic furniture was purchased for the use by both families.

Melanie approached Jessica about the two of them relaxing a little in the swimming pool. Jessica politely declined and led her best friend/lover to a secluded area for a private discussion.

"If I get my hair wet, then I'm going to push it back behind my shoulders without thinking about it." Jessica pulled her hair to the side to show Melanie the back of her neck off to one side where her brother had marked her.

"You sleazy slut!" Melanie hissed after her initial gasp. Then she giggled. "Did you and Jason make love last night?"

"Yeah, we went down on each other then afterward we fell asleep in each other's arms. I was in heaven!" Jessica's smile ranged from ear to ear.

"I could tell that you were in a really good mood this morning, and now I know why! You got laid last night, you bitch!" Then she got somber and started staring at the ground. "My Dad caught us this morning. I guess that Jason wanted to make love to me too. We ended up getting read the riot act instead. But one good thing did come out of all of the commotion that it caused."

"Wow, I can't believe that your Dad didn't ground you for the rest of your life."

"Yeah, I got lucky. But Daddy was mad enough that he took away my dorm room up at SFA."

Jessica was momentarily confused. "How in the hell does he expect you to go to school there if you don't have a dorm room? Surely he isn't going to expect you to drive all the way up there and then all the way back home every day." When Melanie started giggling, Jessica narrowed her eyes. "Spill it babe. There's obviously something that you're not telling me."

"Both of my parents have given me and Jason permission to shack up together. We can live together up at SFA and not have to hide it from anyone now."

Jessica squealed while grabbing Melanie by the shoulders. "That's fantastic news! We're one step closer! We just have to get rid of the one-bedroom apartment and upgrade to the two-bedroom so that I can move in with you guys."

"Yup!" Melanie said. "After the camping trip, I think that you and I are going to have to spend a few more days getting applications for jobs in the area before we leave to come back home."

"That and I also need to find out when open enrollment will be at Angelina College so that I can take my basics and get those out of the way. I can check with SFA's School of Business and see what courses that they accept from Angelina as completions. I can do those courses too and transfer them over to SFA once Jason graduates and Mom and Dad start funding my College Courses."

"I love it when a plan comes together!" Melanie opined.

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Roel Hinojosa had driven back to Fairbanks to spend a full week with his family. Jason had offered him a seat in the plane since it had room for four passengers. But Roel had declined having stated that he was spending a full Sunday through Saturday week back home instead of just a quick two night trip.

It was just shortly after noon on Independence Day when Roel passed through the garden gate and into the joint backyards. He declined the beer that Mr. Stewart offered him with a 'Thank You' but offered to accept a shot or two of tequila if it were available. Jason leaped from his lounge chair and raced across the yard to greet his buddy.

"Mano!" both men yelled at one another before giving each other a bear hug. Jessica and Melanie both trotted over once they noticed the new arrival. Roel had no time to react as Jessica leapt into the air slamming into him with full force. She wrapped her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist and began peppering him with kisses all over his face.

Roel for his part just staggered backwards a few steps, but managed to remain standing as he was assaulted by the brunette badger. He hugged Jessica close with his own arms and submitted to her attack without retaliation.

'Damn girl!' He thought to himself. 'If you weren't dating my best friend, I would take you somewhere secluded and make mad passionate love to you right now!'

Roel kissed her cheek and whispered words of endearment into her ear before gently setting her back down on the lawn. The two of them were not too far apart in height, Jessica being 5'7" and Roel standing an even 6' tall. But even so, Jessica suddenly put the fear of God in him when she stared directly into his eyes with a frown on her face.

"Bendejo!" She shouted just before her flat palm connected with his face. It wasn't a playful love tap, but it still was something less than half of full force. It wasn't meant to be painful, only to get his attention.

"Chica? What the hell?"

"I know that Jason told you that Mel and I were coming up to Nack for several days. I kept expecting you to stop by Jason's apartment before you left to come down here and you never showed! So you answer me now when I say 'What the hell?'"

"Querida! Lo siento mucho! I didn't know that it was that important to you. I knew that I would be seeing you today, so I focused on packing my gear and taking care of last minute errands. It's all totally my bad!"

"I love you like a brother, Roe. We haven't seen each other since Christmas holidays." Gently poking Roel in his pectorals with her index finger, Jessica continued, "Don't you freakin' forget it! Comprendé?" Placing her hand behind his neck, she pulled him down and kissed him briefly on the lips before turning towards the table with the beverages and walking away.

Melanie came up to get her hugs as well, however she wasn't as brash or enthusiastic as Jessica had been.

"Are you going to slap the daylights out of me too?" Roel queried her.

"No, hun. I was disappointed that you didn't stop by just like Jess. But even I didn't realize how much it meant to her. I will offer you this piece of unsolicited advice, however. That little tantrum wasn't just for show. She's kinda turned a corner and isn't just letting the little things slide anymore. Not with you. Not with her brother. And especially not with anyone else."

Lowering her voice to just a little bit more than a whisper, she leaned closer to Roel. "Jase said that you two had a little chat about his situation with Jess, right?"

Roel's eyes opened up a little wider, but other than that he didn't outwardly react to the conversation.

"Trust me when I tell you," Melanie continued. "If you had not given Jase the green light like you did, there would have been an explosion coming on a scale matching an Atomic Bomb. I saw a distinct escalation in Jessie's behaviour around Jase starting on her birthday. She had reached a boiling point and was going to force the issue one way or another before this summer was over. I have no doubts."

"Madre de Dios!"

That brought a chuckle from Melanie. "You can say that again. She even attacked me just before bedtime on the night of her 18^th birthday."

That admission stopped Roel dead in his tracks. When he stopped and turned to look Melanie in the eyes, she calmly placed one index finger below her eyelid and gently pulled down exposing the red underside of the bottom lid.

"You mean...you two...[cough]"

Melanie giggled, "Yup! And we still are. Or we still do? Whatever, you get the picture."

"Geezus! Does Jase know?"

"Yeah, he busted us the morning after we got up to Nack. He kissed Jess good morning and she thought it was me. She blurted out my name and the cat was out of the bag then. But he's cool with it."

"Hell yeah, he's cool with it. Ninety percent of the male population would be totally cool with it. That dirty dog! I'm going to kick his ass for keeping this a secret from me!"

"Uh huh. Getting back to what Jessie just jumped your ass about. Exactly when would Jase have had the opportunity to tell you about Jess and me being lovers in the last several days? He wasn't keeping it secret because he just recently found out for himself."

Roel scratched his head briefly before snaking an arm around Melanie's waist. "Yeah, Sweety. You're right. I have got to start making more time to hang out with you guys again."

"Well, just as a heads up...when the fall semester starts up, you're definitely going to be under pressure to hang out with us more often. Jess has decided to 'voluntold' you to come around daily. The current plan is to have the Three Musketeers back together again under one roof. Jase is going to talk to his apartment manager about switching over to a two-bedroom unit. I'm already accepted into SFA and Jess is going to start classes at Angelina."

"Seriously?" Roel stopped in his tracks. "That is so awesome!"

"Hold on there, Caballero. You may not like the next part of this plan..."

Roel narrowed his eyes as a look of curiosity passed over his face.

"Jessie is planning on using your reputation as a Player to cover up the fact that she is dating her brother. She's planning on you being her 'beard' and pretending to date her. Of course, since you are such a Player, she's going to have to tolerate and accept your running around with other women behind her back. But she will be gracious and stand by her man nonetheless."

"Fuh-uh-uck Me! Damn! Geezus, remind me to never piss that girl off! The authorities would NEVER find my body! I wonder what her body count is up to now anyways. Tens? Hundreds? We're never going to know for certain."

That caused them both to break down in a fit of hysterical laughter.

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The Three Musketeers (plus one) got out the Badminton set and rigged it up in the yard. The parents got to enjoy a few games as well as the young adults that were present. Jessica and Roel paired up as one team to play against Jason and Melanie, then they switched partners for the next match. Time passed quickly and before they knew it, darkness was approaching.

For most of the day, the occasional crackle of fireworks had sounded throughout the neighborhood as the day had progressed. But now with darkness falling, the heavy artillery began to make an appearance. The vast majority of the people celebrating the 4^th were not inclined to waste the beauty of an aerial display during the daylight hours when it would be difficult to see it. During the day, noisemakers like Saturn Missile Barrages and Black Cat Firecrackers were the common fare.

But once the evening hours arrived, so came the Chrysanthemums, Dragon's Breath, Super Novas, and Silver Rains of the artillery shells. The whole neighborhood became a battlefield as each family tried to outdo the other with their displays. The Stewarts and McLaughlins had purchased their own fair share to add to the chaos. But their own additions were modest in comparison to some of the others in the neighborhood. For them, it was all about having a good time without the competition.

The two girls sandwiched Roel in between them as Jason assumed his perpetual role as cannoneer. Food and drink continued to be consumed as Jason set to his job of "Painting The Sky With Colored Stars". Roel applied salt to the web of his left hand and then held a slice of lime in it while holding a shot of tequila in his right. After declaring that this one was the final shot for the night he licked the salt, downed the shot, and then sucked the lime while giving it a good squeeze. He kept to his word and didn't touch another drop of alcohol for the rest of the night. He knew that he would have been welcome to stay for the night, but he needed to be sober in a couple of hours when it came time to drive back to his own family.

As he was lighting off the fireworks, Jason reflected back onto the time that he had scared the living daylights out of his mother. During his eighth grade History classes, his teacher had assigned him a paper to write for homework. The subject was the battle of Gettysburg. Jason was an avid lover of American History and was excited about getting the paper completed in a timely fashion. He rode the school bus home and as soon as he hit the front door, he dumped his backpack in the foyer and made for the den where the Encyclopӕdia Britannica was kept in a book case.

Pulling out the book for the letter 'G', Jason opened it up to begin researching his paper. Unfortunately for him, the first page that opened up held the subtitle for 'Gunpowder'. The old folks said that 'curiosity killed the cat' and now it was about to get Jason too.

As he read through the entry, thinking that in some ways he might be able to shoehorn the production of gunpowder into his thesis, he discovered that the formula for making the stuff was plainly printed right in front of him. Charcoal, Sulphur, and Saltpeter? Surely it has to be something more complicated than that! His father regularly kept all three ingredients out in the family garage.

He remembered that his father had recently purchased a ten pound bag of KNO3 from Walmart® for use in the yard and flowerbeds. There was always Charcoal handy for the outdoor grill. There was also a jug of sulphur there that was also used for gardening purposes, or so he thought.

Mrs. Stewart always reused and repurposed different containers in her kitchen. It was very common for her to have a variety of left over tubs that had been washed and cleaned once all of the margarine had been used up from them. His mother had recently replaced her food processor with a newer model and the old one sat on his father's workbench awaiting disposal, probably as a donation to the Salvation Army Thrift Store or Goodwill Industries.

The proportions of each ingredient was quickly and easily memorized. So Jason gathered up everything he needed and headed out to the workbench. He started out by using the food processor to grind the charcoal briquettes into a fine powder. He measured out the appropriate amount of charcoal into the margarine tub followed by the sulphur and potassium nitrate. He then used a flat, ruler like, piece of wood from the paint store to stir up the mixture thoroughly.