The Last Boy Scout Ch. 03

Shannon laughed. "30% chance of showers, huh? This is turning into quite the adventure."

I laughed. "Yeah, but they'll learn more from this than from 20 other tame camping trips. Survival. Staying dry and warm. Dealing with adversity. It's all good."

The sky was already dark, and the wind was slowly picking up. I could hear the patter of raindrops accelerating.

Dr. Reed surprised me, taking charge. "I'll take care of the end shelter. Shannon, why don't you find out who is in the weaker tents, and get them to move their sleeping bags under the big tarp. No sense in taking risks. Alex, can you take care of the drying tent, and building up the fires?"

I nodded. "Got it. Time's running out, so we'd better get moving."

Within minutes the campsite was like an anthill someone had kicked. Max already had his gear under the big shelter, making him available to take care of the fires. I was pleased to see Wendy at his side. "I've got to take him back now, Wendy. He's in charge of the fires."

She smiled shyly. "I can help. I won't get in the way."

"Good, the more the merrier. Max, move some of the wood to the back of the shelter, to keep it dry and to anchor the bottom so it doesn't blow away. Leave the sides of the shelter open so the wind can blow through. It might make it a little wetter, but it should hold up better."

"Got it. Should I do anything with the fires?"

"Build 'em up big. Don't want the rain putting them out."

Heather was still working the drying shelter, with Teri at her side. "Mmm. Two of my favorite ladies. Storm's coming. We've got to take everything down."

Heather nodded. "Most everything is dry anyway. Your stuff is in your tent. I dried your towels too." She and Teri were both still wearing my shirts. And I was stuck with a sticky Gore-tex poncho against my bare skin.

"Any of my shirts dry?" I asked.

She laughed. "You had five, from what I could figure out. I think four of them are lost forever, unless you want to try to get them off your girls. I'm not giving mine up without a fight."

Teri giggled. "Me either. Sorry, but that's the way it is. My souvenir of a pretty spectacular weekend. But I'll trade you my nightshirt as long as you don't mind Hello Kitty."

"That means one is left? In my tent?"

Heather nodded. "The one from the first day. A little dirty, but dry. Has to be better than that monstrosity you're wearing. If you were wearing that yesterday, I'm thinking you would have been sleeping alone."

"Right. My rain poncho would have stopped your tents from collapsing and filling with water."

"No, but it might have made us look elsewhere for shelter." She was grinning when she said it.

Teri poked her. "Speak for yourself. He could have been wearing faux fur and jodhpurs, and I would still have been climbing in that sleeping bag. Have you forgotten our furnace? I was freezing."

Heather leaned into me, wrapping her arm around my waist, inside my poncho. "How could I forget? My hero and savior. Those first few minutes when we had him to ourselves, absolutely wonderful. Makes me wish certain other tents had survived better. If it had been just us three, things might be different today."

"No shit." Teri said, surprising me with her tone.

"All wishing aside, we only have a few minutes left. Get this stuff down, while I see if I can find my last shirt."

I left Heather badgering some of the underclassmen into helping, while I jogged the few steps over to my tent. I got rid of my shoes, which were more mud than shoe at this point, stripped off the poncho, and checked inside.

Someone had cleaned up. Everything was stacked and organized. My shorts were folded next to my pack, and my shirt was beside them. The towels were stacked next to them. I was happy to get out of the bathing suit which had never had a chance to fully dry and was starting to chafe. I picked out my loosest knit shorts, wearing them commando, and pulled on the shirt, which felt great against my skin. My windbreaker was nowhere to be found, I figured Lisa probably still had it. Looks like I'd be wearing the poncho after all. That or get my last and only shirt soaked again.

I found my ball-cap by the door, and put it on, a little frightened of what my hair must look like. A swig of mouthwash had me feeling a little more civilized. Nothing I could do about two days of stubble.

I left the tent feeling like a new man. I took my poncho with me, in case I needed it, but was happy to carry it.

From my tent the big shelter was the closest, and I jogged over barefoot, rather than wear my miserable shoes. It was a little crazy in there, with half a dozen sleeping bags lined up in the back, and more being laid out as I watched.

Shannon, my Shannon, was directing things and came over to me. "How are you holding up?"

"Great. Honestly, I've never felt better."

She grinned. "Boy Scout mode. You're in your element, aren't you?"

I shrugged. "It's fun to get things done. How about you?"

"Better than I would have thought. I'm still trying to figure out the logistics of sleeping tonight. You've got the biggest tent, but I'm not sure how good it would look for you to have it full of girls again."

I looked around. This was no place to be talking about what I was thinking. "Come with me?"

She nodded, and followed me back to my tent entrance. My one place of semi-privacy.

"We have 22 people right? And Dr. Reed has his own tent, which I suspect he'll have the good sense to use alone."

She grinned. "0 for 1. He's going to stay in the big shelter, as chaperon. He's already told two of the girls they could use his."

The day was full of surprises. "Ok. That leaves 19. The two best domes can hold up to three each. One is John's."

Shannon nodded. "I believe he's going to try to get Dominique to share it, if Dr. Reed and I turn a blind eye. Which I think is the plan. I'm not going to make a fuss."

"Ok, 17. Who is in the other one?"

"Erica and Kaylee. We might convince them to let in one more person."

"Let's say we don't. That leaves 15. If there were four in my tent, we could easily fit the rest of them under the two best shelters. It should work out."

She looked at me suspiciously. "And who are you thinking should be in your tent tonight?"

"I'm hoping Julie and Lisa, and my favorite chaperon."

She took her time answering. "It can't be like last night. That was crazy. You and I can't do anything."

"I know. I shouldn't have done that. Put you in that position."

She smiled. "Which position? The one with my knees around my ears?"

"Jesus, Shannon! Don't remind me. Now I can't be seen in public for another 10 minutes."

She laughed. "I know. You're right. I'm not complaining, but we can't do it again. Not here. I'm trusting that Julie can keep a secret."

"She will, or she'll be finding a new boyfriend."

"So she won the lottery? Must have broken a few hearts."

"Teri's cool about it. Heather's a little disappointed."

"What about her sister? She seemed to have her claws dug in pretty good."

"I don't know. They're talking it out. I'll have to hunt them down soon and see how that went."

"What if Teri wants to be in your tent. You going to say no?"

"She'll be welcome. I don't think it's likely."

She sighed. "I guess if I'm going to play chaperon, I should get my sleeping bag. At least give the appearance of propriety."

"Same for the sisters, if that works out. We can use theirs as extra padding," I said, grinning.

"Alright. I'll tell Dan about the plans."

"Dan?"

"Dr. Reed," she explained.

I laughed. "I thought Doctor was his first name."

She grinned. "It's a big deal to him. The whole doctorate thing. Shall we get going? I think the storm's about to hit."

We headed back to the crowd, Shannon hunting down her fellow chaperon, and me looking for my new girlfriend. Didn't take too long to find them. They were at the last shelter, now that the food shelter had been taken down. They were sitting together, seemingly in a good mood. Still, I approached with more than a little trepidation.

"You pretty girls mind if I join you?" I asked. They had the picnic bench to themselves, while everyone else hustled.

They moved apart, and Julie patted the space next to her. "I'd be upset if you didn't."

I sat down, not knowing how to ask what needed asking.

After a few awkward moments, Lisa laughed out loud. "Now I've seen everything. Mr. Alex Hamilton, lost for words. Are you afraid I'm going to make a scene?"

Not helping.

"Don't tease him, Lisa," Julie told her sister. "This isn't funny to him. He's been all stressed out over it."

"Good thing you gave him a little stress relief out by the road then, isn't it?"

"I only gave him a blow-job. I didn't drop my panties for him, when I knew he was still trying to figure things out," Julie snapped.

"I wasn't wearing panties. Besides, I had to get my bid in, didn't I? For all the good it did." She looked at me. "Not that I'm complaining, it was fun, and really hot." Her face moved even closer, just inches away. "I've felt your juices leaking out of me all day. You came a ton inside of me."

Julie leaned into me, catching my attention. "So, boyfriend, if we decided to share you, how would we do it?"

I was stunned. I looked over at Lisa, who was smiling, while Julie kept up the questioning. "What do we tell everyone? Are you her girlfriend? Mine? Both of ours?"

"I...I don't know. This is all new to me."

Julie giggled. "You said you wanted a clone of me. Lisa's about as close as you're going to get. Unless you'd rather choose just one of us. I gotta warn you, that'll probably piss off both of us, no matter who you choose."

I turned to Lisa. "You're alright with this?"

"It was my idea, wasn't it? I didn't think you'd make Julie work it out for herself. You should have just come to me, dummy."

"How do you guys want to handle it?" I asked.

Julie answered. "She wants to say you're dating us both. It'll probably raise some eyebrows, and things will be a little rocky at home, but we wouldn't have to hide anything. I think we should take turns. You could date me, with her on the side, then later you could date her, and I'd be the secret third wheel. We could have fun with that, making up excuses to break up and get back together, and watching everyone deal with our weird relationship."

"I don't like hiding things," I told them after a few seconds of thought.

Lisa grinned. "Two against one. Can that work for you, official girlfriend?"

Julie gave me a hug. "Mom's going to raise hell. We might even get grounded. You have a problem with that, sister girlfriend?"

"None. This will be so awesome. We're going to have everyone talking." Lisa moved in close. "Can we make it official? We're both your girlfriends? 50/50?"

"It works for me," I told her. "More than I could ever have dreamed of, so nobody pinch me for at least a year."

Wrong thing to say. They both started pinching me. "Wake up and accept it. You are ours, and that's the end of it," Lisa told me.

"Only ours, got it?" Julie growled, pinching me harder than the teasing warranted.

I laughed, pushing their hands away. "Can I get a kiss from my new girlfriends, to make it official?"

Lisa giggled. "You can have a kiss anytime you want. I think we'll make it official later. In your sleeping bag."

Ouch. "We're going to have company in the tent. Shannon is going to chaperon. No girls and guys in tents alone, remember? We can't hide it, since almost everyone else will be sleeping under the shelters."

"That shouldn't be a problem, she's cool. Does that mean we'll be able to share your tent openly? Since we do have a chaperon."

"Absolutely. We should move your sleeping bags in now, before the rain picks up any more."

"Sleeping bags? Why?" Lisa asked.

"For appearances. No way you're not sleeping in mine tonight."

She grinned. "As long as that's clear. You really think Miss Shannon will be cool with that?"

"She knows. She's already moved her sleeping bag in there."

Julie stood up. "Let's get moving. Just us four then?"

"I think so. I haven't talked to Teri yet. I don't know what her plans are."

Lisa spoke up. "She can come visit, but I expect you to keep the play just between the three of us."

"Not a problem. No sex between me and Teri. We've agreed on that. Friends only."

Julie giggled again. "That would be pretty wild. Having her and Miss Shannon in there with us, our audience, while we rock your world."

Lisa chuckled. "I told you she was the wild one."

"I think I'm beginning to believe you. Let's get moving then. I'll save us a place by the fire, probably at the smaller shelter."

I gave them each a quick kiss goodbye, still incredulous over my miraculous fortune. Both of them. Unbelievable. I got up and hunted down Teri, who was sitting by the small fire, next to John and Dominique. It looked like they had the shelter to themselves. Perfect.

She scooted over against John, making room for me. "Hey stranger. You done with your camp stuff and ready to take a break?" she asked.

I sat down, putting my arm around her. "Absolutely." The wind was gusting pretty hard, and the rain was consistent, if not yet torrential. "What are your sleeping plans for tonight?" I asked.

She blushed. Really. Bright red. "I hadn't thought about it too much. What are you doing?"

"Me and the sisters in my tent. Miss Shannon will be there chaperoning."

John laughed. "Sucks to be you, bud. Both Samuelsson and Miss Shannon there to keep you behaved. That's twice in a row now? Looks like someone up there is pissed at you. What do they say, No good deed goes unpunished? You've got a lot of punishing coming your way."

"Right. Like you haven't been doing your share of good deeds. Gorgeous over there doesn't look like much punishment."

Dominique giggled. "That's where you're wrong, Alex. I'm going to make his life hell. He gets to find out what dating a princess gets him."

"Poor bastard. Not like there aren't a thousand guys that wouldn't kill to take his place."

She laughed. "Like you?"

"In a heartbeat. You were top of my list."

She looked shocked. "Shut up. I was not."

"Ask Teri."

She looked around John at Teri, who nodded. "Top three. He won't tell us the order. You and Julie. Lucky for you John stepped up, or he'd be hounding you to death."

I was surprised to see Dominique blush. Two for two. A good evening.

"Fuck, dude! What did you say about not interfering?" John snapped, sounding sincerely pissed.

"Who's interfering? You won the big prize didn't you? You guys are a couple now, aren't you Dominique?"

She nodded.

"It's cool. I'm with the sisters, you've got Dominique. The best girls this school has to offer, with two guys who don't deserve 10 seconds of their attention."

Teri interrupted. "The sisters? You're not planning on dating both of them are you?"

"Their idea. Not mine. Has me scared spitless."

That turned John around. He laughed loud enough to attract attention. "We are so screwed. At least I'm only going to be wrapped around one pinky. Those girls are going to own you so bad."

"Don't I know it."

Dominique looked even more surprised than Teri. "I don't get it. Both of them? Are you going to take turns or what?"

"Two girlfriends. Both of them at the same time. Don't ask me how it works out, I figure I'll just do what they tell me."

I turned to John. "Don't want to sound interfering," I said exaggerating the interfering part, "but I thought I'd let you know that it would be cool if you guys wanted to share a tent tonight. Apparently I'm the only one around here who needs chaperoning."

That had the girls giggling. John was slow to answer. "Uh...I hadn't really thought about it."

I leaned over and looked at Dominique. "He's lying. He's thought about it. Probably a lot. Doesn't have the cojones to suggest it."

"Alex, man, keep it up and you and I are really going to have a problem."

"Bullshit. Ask her."

"He doesn't have to. Now I won't have to sneak in," Dominique answered.

"Room for two more?" I heard Lisa ask. I turned from the fire, to see the two girls approaching, their hands full.

Dominique scooted down, dragging John with her. Teri followed, leaving space for Lisa on that side. Julie sat next to me on the other. Lisa had my coffee pot in her hands. "Get this going. I want some cocoa."

Julie was passing out cups. "He only has 4. Can you guys come up with two more?"

John looked out at the rain, which was heavy, pounding down on the tarp. Lisa was wearing my windbreaker and took it off, handing it to him. "Hurry. If you have any contraband, bring it."

While he was up, I tended the fire, adding wood and dragging some coal near the edge, where I set the coffee pot. The girls had filled it with water, saving me a trip.

"What did we interrupt?" Lisa asked.

"Your boyfriend teasing the shit out of his supposed best friend." Teri said.

"Teasing you? Why?" Julie asked.

"Not me. John." Teri said.

Lisa put her arm around Teri. "You going to share our tent tonight?"

Teri looked at me. "I don't know. We hadn't talked about it."

I was staying out of it. Tending fire had become my permanent job until there was a little more testosterone around our circle.

Julie chimed in. "You should. It'll be fun. At the least you know it's going to be the most comfortable place to sleep."

"You sure? I don't want to be a third wheel."

Lisa laughed. "Fourth wheel. And that's Miss Shannon's job. Come with us."

Dominique was watching the interplay with open wonder.

I couldn't play with the fire forever. As it was, I was getting soaked. I stood and backed away from the fire. "Anyone seen my poncho? I don't remember where I put it."

"You had it at the picnic table," Lisa said.

I went to retrieve it, although it was a little late. I figured I'd need it sooner or later.

A sudden burst of gale force wind had the tarp overhead snapping, and the skies finally opened up with the torrential downpour I'd been expecting. I hurried back to our little group, as the girls pushed back the seating log, further from the fire and away from the splatter of incoming rain.

I slipped on the poncho, just as John came running into the shelter, hunched over under my windbreaker, and soaked to the skin. "Great fucking idea. Thanks Lisa."

She took it in stride. "Next time come to the fire prepared. Or run faster."

He stood back away from the fire, peeling off the windbreaker and his shirt, before wringing it out.

I didn't have time to joke around. I fed the fire, trying to keep it alive long enough to survive the flood. The flames were leaping at least 3 feet high when I went to check on the others.

"Boy Scout mode kicking in," I heard Teri tease.

The big shelter seemed to be holding up well. The fire was burning strong, with Max parked in front of it taking charge.

I grabbed a few logs and added them to the end, trying to extend the width of the fire a bit. "Looks good, Max. How's everything else going?"

He grinned. "Couldn't be better."

I turned to Wendy, who was sitting nearby to no surprise. "I'm borrowing him again. Sorry."

She grinned. "Just bring him back in one piece."

"C'mon Max. Quick tour to see how it's holding up under the wind."

He stood and walked with me as we checked each of the tie downs, giving a quick tug on each string. Everything was doing fine. "Looks like it's going to hold." I turned to him. "How's things with Wendy?"

"Unbelievable. I hope it lasts beyond the weekend."

"If it doesn't, there's other fish in the sea. I've seen a few lovelies looking your way."

He grinned. "They probably figure if Wendy's interested, I can't be all bad."

"Shit. You're an alpha male. Take charge guy. You run this shelter. It's a genetic thing. Girl's love that crap." I gave him a friendly shove. "Go back to your girl. You made a move on her yet?"