Travel Delays Ch. 02

"Okay, babe. You'll have to push back to open your cute little ass for me. You know what to do."

She nodded and started panting as I pushed the thick plug firmly into her. She made an uncomfortable whine when I was half-way in, but I continued my slow, steady push. She pressed her hips back, and I could tell she was pushing with her bowels to relax her sphincter. Then there was a soft pop, and the plug slipped the rest of the way in. Christine collapsed on her belly, panting. I lay beside her, stroking her hair with my clean hand.

"How are you, babe?"

"Okay. Good."

"Does it hurt now?"

She turned to me for a kiss, and I obliged. "Not now. It did for a bit, but I'm good now. Thanks, love."

I glanced at the other plug, lying on her bed. "Um. Do you think you can get that into me?"

Her eyes lit up. "Fuck, yeah! On your belly, bitch. My turn."

****

AL- LUNCH

By the time Christine and I got cleaned up and downstairs, the others were already eating.

"I told you that lunch would be ready fifteen minutes ago," her mother said curtly.

She was a beautiful woman with elegant features, dark skin and medium brown hair. When displeased, like now, she had a severe appearance. I knew that she was a bit taller than her daughter, with a build similar to my own. Christine had complained more than once about not getting her mother's slightly-larger chest.

"Sorry Mum," Christine said, kissing her cheek dutifully. "Allie and I were catching up and lost track of time."

"Remember that we have guests, Christine. Not everyone wants to wait for your personal schedule."

She put on a very good replica of a repentant face. "Sorry, Mum. I'll try to be more considerate."

"Very well. You two both have places set out, please take your seats."

I noticed that her father and brother were trying not to smile. Evidently, this was not an uncommon occurrence. Christine immediately moved to the open seat between her father and Andrew, leaving me to sit between my brother and hers. Even for a simple lunch, the seating was arranged boy-girl-boy-girl.

"How you doing, Finn?" I asked as I sat down.

The impact with the chair sent vibrations up through my asshole, causing my entire body to shake briefly. I noticed that Christine was watching me intently, and she gave me a wink before miming pushing her jaw closed. I realized that my mouth was hanging open, and I quickly closed it as I felt my skin redden.

"Anyway, next year's my turn," Finn was saying. "You're welcome to come down for my grad too."

I was a little lost, but Andrew jumped in smoothly. "Thanks for the invite, Finn. But Al graduates from grade thirteen next year, so she may not be able to come down for your grad. We'll have to see what her schedule is."

"Hey, whatever works. Eh?"

Andrew responded with a perfect Doug McKenzie imitation. "Like, okay, eh."

Andrew and Finn laughed, but I still wasn't quite sure what they were talking about. Still feeling a bit dazed from the unexpected sensations feeding up from the chair, I collected some food and tucked in.

I was about half-done when we heard the doorbell.

"Would you please get that, Mick?" Christine's mother asked.

"Sure thing, Evie. Probably one of the girls ready for a shopping trip."

He stood and left the room. We could hear voices float back to us.

"Hmm. If someone had been here when she was supposed to be, she'd be done before her friends arrived."

"Okay, Mum," Christine moaned. "I get it. I'm being an inconsiderate bitch."

"Language, child! There is no reason for you to be crass."

Mick returned, taking his seat. "Chris, Roslyn is in the front room waiting for you."

"You need to greet your friends now." Evie said. Mick closed his eyes and made a minute shake of his head. "You don't have time to finish your meal."

Christine let out an exasperated sigh and pushed back her plate. "Fine!"

She left the table, and I was about to stand when Evie stopped me.

"You finish up, dear. Christine has to attend to her duties as the host. You're a guest, so those duties do not fall on you."

"But, she was only late because of me."

"It does not matter why one is late, only that she is. Christine is quite aware of the house schedule, you are not."

I dipped my head, quickly finishing the food on my plate. I was about to push back when Finn put a hand on my arm.

"Mum, I'm finished. Could I be excused?"

She smiled brightly. "Yes, of course Finn. Oh, and if you're done, Alison, why don't you join your friends?"

"Thank you, ma'am."

The smile she gave me indicated that was the correct response, and Finn followed me out of the dining room.

"Well done," he said quietly. "I think Mum likes you better than Chris right now."

"Why?"

"Probably because they're too much alike, and Chris likes to push boundaries. In case you haven't noticed." He paused, "By the way, did you sit on a tack when you came in?"

"Um, what?" I asked nervously.

"Oh, you seemed like something poked you when you sat down. Chris did something like that a year ago, and Mom found out she'd gotten a butt plug. Man, they fought about that for weeks. They were loud enough that I didn't have much of a choice but to hear."

"That's ... interesting. But, I, uh, just pulled a muscle. In my quads. I didn't get a good sleep last night."

"Oh, yeah. Andrew said you had to share a single bed with no air during that muggy thunderstorm. That would get a bit cozy, right?"

"Um, yeah."

Before Finn could make another comment, a red-haired girl Christine's height ran at me, screaming my name. As thin as Christine was, this girl was all curves. When I first met her, she was as flat as a board. Now, she had a pair of D-cups bouncing on her chest as she ran over. I noticed that Finn was completely entranced by that bouncing motion.

"Roslyn!" I cried as she wrapped her arms around me. "It's so good to see you."

"I know, you too." She stepped back. "Let me get a look at you. Oh, I like that skirt. It's almost short enough to be scandalous. Too bad you didn't pick up any more in the chest, though."

"Are you kidding? I can still lie on my belly. Can you?"

She leaned closer, probably with the idea that Finn wouldn't hear. "Well, not flat on my belly. But they work great as pillows when your ass is in the air. It takes all the load off the neck and arms. On the other hand, if you offer guys a titty-fuck, they forget all about pussy."

"I'll take your word for it," I said with a giggle.

"Hey, come see Nicky. He's going out shooting with Mister Cooley and the boys."

Nicky -- Nicholas -- was in the front room, where Christine was hugging a girl with hair a bit darker than mine. There were a couple other boys chatting by the front door.

"Hey, it's Allie. It's been a long time."

Nicholas had the same red hair and glass-green eyes as his sister, but he was now Andrew's height and a bit heavier.

I accepted his brief hug. "Hi, Nick. Still playing football?"

He mimed catching a ball. "You betcha. Best receiver in the district. I got a scholarship at Penn State."

"Seriously? That's amazing."

He flexed his biceps, which were actually pretty nice. "Yes, that I am. So, you still swimming?"

"Every chance I get. I'm teaching classes now at the local rec centre."

He looked at me, shaking his head. "Tell me, Allie, why did I never ask you out?"

"Two reasons, Nicky," his sister replied dryly. "One: I wouldn't let you; and two: you were too focused on being the star quarterback. Unfortunately, you're a better catcher. You know what they say; some guys are pitchers, others are catchers."

"Wrong game, Ros. That's baseball. I play football."

"Oh, were we talking sports?"

"Ha, ha. Nice joke. You know I can get any girl in the school I want."

"Yeah, yeah. Then, why don't you have some floozie knocked up by now? Half the team seems to have managed that this year."

"Well, maybe because I don't want to endanger my scholarship. Ma made me promise that I'd turn it down if I got a girl pregnant."

"Really?" Roslyn seemed genuinely surprised. She placed a hand on his arm. "Good on Ma. And I'm glad you're keeping the promise."

For a moment, it looked like he was going to say something nice to her, but then he turned. I recalled Christine telling me that their mother had died last year. I didn't know if I could act this normal if I had lost my mother.

"Hey, Rick," Nicholas called out. "Come over and meet Allie. You remember our little brother?"

Nicholas and Roslyn's 'little' brother reminded me of Andrew at sixteen, except for fairer skin and almost-white hair. The last time I'd seen him, he was a boy getting ready to start high school. He'd grown a lot since then and was now pushing six feet. He would probably end up about the same size as Nicholas and Andrew.

"Hi, Rick. No longer the little brother, eh?"

"Nope. Nicky doesn't seem to notice, though. I think he's just pissed that I have a better arm than him."

"Yeah, we'll see, Rick. You're still backup QB."

"For now. That'll change come summer camp. You're the only guy on the team that can reliable catch Bobby's throws, and you're gone, now. It doesn't matter how far you can lob the ball if you can't hit a target. Without your radar covering for his lack of aim, he's useless."

Nicholas smiled. "He has a point. I am pretty awesome."

"Okay, guys," I laughed. "I've gotta say hello to Shelby. See you later."

Christine was talking quietly to the last arrival. She was a bit shorter and stockier than me, with sandy blonde hair trimmed in a cute pixie cut. Her icy blue eyes seemed to be able to pierce your soul. She had probably been the only high school girl in Philadelphia who competed in wrestling, and I had seen boys falter on the mats from her what I called her 'kill face', giving her an early advantage. She was very quick, and sometimes that was all she needed to get a pin. She smiled as I got close, a much more welcoming sight than her competition visage. I was pretty sure that if we'd been able to spend more time together, she would have been my best friend instead of Christine. But, she had been aiming for a wrestling scholarship as long as I knew her, and practice always took precedence over everything else.

"Shelby, I've missed you," I said as she stepped into my hug. "Still winning all your matches?"

"Not all," She said modestly. "Only about eighty percent."

"More like eighty-five," said an older boy standing near the door. "Don't believe her, that's all false modesty."

"Thanks, Link," Shelby said with a sour look. "Always nice to have family support."

Link -- Lincoln -- was the shortest male in the house. Not that he was really short, but five-eight was a little below average. He was not at all self-conscious of his height, though; he didn't have to be. Link was very well-muscled, proof of the work he'd put into his wrestling career. When they were younger, Link and Shelby had competed against each other every chance they got. Since they'd always been close in size, she was a good challenge for him until he started bulking up in his mid-teens. Christine had told me he'd blown out his ACL that year, and was currently banned from the mats, even for practice. And, that was putting his UPenn scholarship in jeopardy. I had gone out with him a couple times, but Andrew did not like him at all, so that didn't last. Since Andrew was also on the wrestling team back then, Link hadn't pressed me for another date.

"Link," I greeted him neutrally.

He gave me a curt nod. "Alison. Andrew around?"

"Yeah. Probably helping Mrs. Cooley clean up."

Link sneered, an ugly look on a face that could be almost beautiful. "Girl's work."

"I know it's tough for you, but try not to be a misogynist pig for one day, would you?" Shelby growled. "Fuck, why did you even come over if you're going to be such an ass?"

"I was invited to go shooting. Sounds a lot more fun than carrying shopping bags. Hey, Alison, is your brother carrying your shopping when he's done the dishes?"

That was all it took for him to remind me why we never made it to a third date. "Well, Link, since I did not ask him to, no. But, given that he's my brother and actually cares more about me than a failed wrestling career, he'd do it in a heartbeat."

Link glowered and pushed away from the wall, stepping toward me. I straightened my back, daring him to come forward. Shelby jumped between us with clenched fists just as Andrew came around the corner, placing a hand on Link's shoulder and squeezing hard enough to make him wince.

"Long time, Link," he said softly. "I see you haven't changed."

"Hands off, Campbell."

Andrew smiled, smoothing the shoulder of his shirt. "Hey, just getting reacquainted. So, you're going shooting today? Me too. We'll have lots of time to chat about how we treat our sisters."

Link's eyes snapped from me to Shelby and back to Andrew. "Know what, I've decided that I'm not interested in shooting today. The weather looks like it's going to suck."

As Link turned back to the door, Andrew called after him, "We'll talk later, then."

Link gave him the finger just before slamming the door.

I looked at Shelby, who was shaking. Taking her clenched hand, I drew her into the now-empty dining room and eased her into a chair. Her expression was locked in her kill face, her body still vibrating with tension. I sat in the next chair, turned sideways to face her.

"Hey, Shel ... he's gone. You can relax."

She squeezed her eyes closed for about ten seconds and took several deep breaths.

"Thanks," she whispered coarsely.

"You okay, Shelby? What was going on there?"

She looked around, making sure we were alone. "You didn't date Link much, did you?"

"We went out twice to watch Nick play football when I was in tenth. We had sodas after, but that was it. Andy told me to steer clear of him and we didn't go out again."

There were a couple tears at the edges of her eyes, but they didn't quite fall. "Damn, you've got a great brother, Allie. You're real lucky."

"Yeah, I know."

She took another deep breath. "Link can be a real bastard. He knows that he's stronger than everyone else, so he just takes what he wants. Anything he wants, from anyone. He would have gone after you back then, except for Andy, I think. I've never seen him back down like that before, even when the other guy had a knife. And he never takes no for an answer, not even from family."

"When you mean 'no'..." My gut went cold at the thought.

"Yeah, like that. We used to wrestle all the time. When he got stronger than me, he changed the rules. When he won, I had to give him his 'prize'. We weren't allowed locks on our doors, and he always chose when to 'compete'."

"Oh, Shel. Why didn't you go to the police?"

She looked at the floor. "He's still family. I know it sounds stupid, but he always somehow convinced me that I owed him something special for winning. And, of course, he's the wrestling star. Who am I to send him to jail?"

"You're a person," I said vehemently. "With rights. You have the right to decide what happens to your body, and anyone who tries to deny that has given up their right to live. If anyone ever tried that with me, I'd kill him. And I know that if Andy caught someone trying to hurt me, he'd do it as slowly as possible. That's what a brother does. He protects his family, he doesn't hurt them."

Shelby threw her arms around me, hugging me tight. "Thanks for the pep talk, Allie. You were always the smart one."

"Yeah, but you were always the fighter. Don't stop fighting, Shel. Never give up your right to control who you are, and who you're with."

She kissed me. It wasn't just the kiss of a friend, though. This was the type of kiss Christine and I sometimes shared in private. The type of kiss Andrew had first given me the night before. I didn't fight it, kissing her back gently. We broke apart after a few seconds.

"Thanks, I really needed that."

I closed my hands around hers. "Shel, do you have a girlfriend?"

She shook her head and looked down, embarrassed at the question.

"You need to find one."

She looked up at me. "I wish you hadn't moved away, Al."

"I wasn't the only cute girl in town."

"But you're the only one I loved," she said, so softly I could barely hear.

"Damn, Shel. I'm sorry, but I can't be here for you." She nodded, a couple tears dropping down her cheeks. "Come visit me this summer, all right?"

She lifted a hand to my shoulder and drew it down my arm until she was holding my hand. Her icy eyes were still a bit wet, making them look even paler. She nodded a bit.

"I'll try. I have to find out what the wrestling schedule is. I can't skip if I'm going to keep my scholarship."

I pulled her into another hug, and she melted against me. "Just let me know when you're available. I can pay the air fare. You need a couple weeks away from ... this."

"Al, would you mind if I stay here tonight, with you and Chrissy?"

That was a good question. Would I mind? What about my plans with Christine? And Andrew? But, what about Shelby? And her brother.

I lifted her chin and kissed her. "If you want to stay with me tonight, I won't mind."

"Really?"

"Really, really."

Christine stuck her head in the dining room. "Hey, you guys okay?"

Shelby smiled, her pale eyes sparkling. "Yeah, Chris. We're okay."

"Great. Ros and I are ready to go when you are. I've got Daddy's Cadillac, so there's lots of room for shopping."

Shelby looked at me again, her smile widening. "I'm ready now."

****

ANDY -- SHOOTING

Mick had loaded his gear into a big white suburban while everyone was catching up with Alison. His company name was written along the side in big, bold letters. Once the girls left, he brought us out to the truck.

"Lincoln left?" he asked over the clatter of the diesel starting up. "I thought he was looking forward to trying out a couple of my toys."

"Oh, he and his sister had a bit of a disagreement," I said. "That seemed to put a damper on his day."

"Was it Shelby or you that put a leash on him?" Finn said as he pulled out onto the road. His father was letting him drive.

"What's this about a leash?"

"Link was mouthing off at Alison," Finn continued. "She shot back a real nice barb about his failed wrestling career, and it looked like Link was going to flip out on her. You should have seen Shelby. She stood in front of him like she was Allie's champion. Man, the look on her face, she was ready to rip his head off. I hope she never looks at me like that. Anyway, Andy just put a hand on Link's shoulder and then he left."

Mick glanced back at me. "You used to wrestle when you were here, right?"

"Yes, sir."

"You ever have a match with Lincoln?"

"I was in a higher weight class, so we never competed. The coach did have us practice together a few times. His technique was not bad, but he relied too much on his strength. He always managed to keep just on the upper edge of his weight class to get the maximum advantage."

"And you?"

I laughed. "Oh, there were times the coach yelled at me to eat more, other times he'd made me cut weight. I was all over the place. He complained that I wasn't serious about wrestling, unlike Link, and I would never get a scholarship unless my attitude improved. His exact words. And, in case you're wondering, Mick, Link was never able to pin me. He can't say the same."

"Still working construction?"

"Yep, when I'm not in school. I had to take time off to bring Al down here, but my boss was good about it. I pushed the crew pretty hard last week to get all the forms in that we'd need up to Wednesday."

"You're foreman now?"

"When I need to be. Sometimes I'm on loader or Bobcat, I've run the dozer and excavator, and occasionally I'm general labour. But, you taught me to read site plans and blueprints, and that helps when trying to figure out what comes next. A lot of guys never bother with that. They say there's no extra money, so there's no reason to make the effort."