Alexa Bliss woke up the following morning in the best mood she'd been without the use of her prescriptions in a very long time (not counting her first few days student-teaching of course). The sun was glowing - the lemon-yellow rays peeked through the curtains like a soft hand from God gently caressing her cheek. Sure, she had a slight headache after her night of drinking, but it was nothing she hadn't learned to handle by now. The feeling of Dean's arms secured around her shoulders only added to the unexpected dose of serotonin. She kissed her still sound asleep fiance and slipped out of bed, throwing on a pair of running shorts and one of Dean's hoddies before tying her hair up into a high ponytail and sneaking downstairs.
Liv and Sarah ran into town to purchase eggs, bacon, hashbrowns, and various other delicacies for breakfast. By the time Alexa made her way into the kitchen, Sarah was already cutting even portions off a slab of pork back while Liv was mixing a massive bowl of eggs. Toni was also there, but it appeared she'd fallen back asleep mid-way through toasting and buttering bread.
"Need any extra hands?" Alexa asked the three younger women, mainly Liv and Sarah since Toni was still out of it.
Liv answered, her voice still low and raspy from her long night. "Maybe get Toni some water and a Gatorade," she said, giggling when the New Zealand-born blonde, who still had her eyes shut tightly, threw her a middle finger.
Bayley eventually made her way downstairs. She claimed the smell of bacon woke Michael into a kicking fit so she had to come to investigate the situation.
Alexa sat at the kitchen table with Bayley and Toni. Bayley, chipper as ever since she didn't partake in the drinking the night before, recapped her semester thus far in Computer Science and figuring out how to put together simple programs using nothing but binary code. Alexa had no idea what her pregnant friend was talking about, but she still smiled, nodded, and gave praise as any good person would. Toni sipped at her fruity sports drink and kept a mental tally of how many times the hugger said "totally awesome" and "computers" in the same sentence.
Liv and Sarah served hefty plates to the girls sitting at the table. To no surprise, Sarah gave Bayley a little extra bacon than everyone else, claiming it as "brain food for the little 'uns".
The sliding glass door leading to the porch popped open. AJ Lee, her expression upbeat but her body language screaming "sleep deprivation", wandered into the dining room with a half-smile.
"Good morning, sexy bitches," the unpredictable Lee greeted those within listening distance. "Glad I chose the right time to pick myself out of the ditch and hitchhike back."
"Did you sleep outside last night, AJ?" Alexa asked, staring worryingly at her best friend.
AJ shrugged. "One has to be in tune with nature at some point, Lexi."
"Or you could've slept in your bunk," Bayley said with a giggle.
"That might've been a good idea too," AJ told the hugger. In actuality, the only reason AJ didn't come inside after having sex with Dana was that she was worried her imbalanced brain would cause her to lash out violently at Seth if she saw him. So, instead of coming inside, AJ told her ex that she wanted to stay out a bit longer to look at the stars. Dana claimed to be freezing, so she went inside. AJ watched the starry night sky, hoping to calm down enough to come inside and get some sleep, but she must've passed out because she woke up this morning in the same spot near the water.
Speaking of the devil, Seth descended the staircase shortly after AJ dragged herself in from the grave. AJ nearly bumped into the boy on her way to the living room. After an awkward moment of Seth giving a quick apology and AJ seriously contemplating shoving her plastic fork into Seth's neck, Rollins moved into the kitchen and AJ shuffled into the front room and sat cross-legged on the couch.
Bayley giggled under her breath, chewing a mouthful of bacon. Liv and Alexa both looked up at the bubbly woman with twin looks of amusement.
"What's funny, hun?" Alexa asked her friend.
Bayley gulped down her food. "The three of us - we all have rings. We're like triplets," she pointed out, fidgeting with the diamond band on her left ring finger.
Liv blushed but tried to hide it. "Yeah, it's not a great big deal." She said, trying to play it off.
"Not a big deal? For goodness sakes, it's the biggest deal in the whole world!" Bayley excitedly exclaimed, literally bouncing in her seat. "Marriage is so super-duper awesome! Think about it, we're all going to be married to our dream boys soon... well, I already did, but you get what I'm saying."
"How did Zack propose to you, Bay?" Liv asked.
"It was here last year," Bayley said, her smile somehow growing bigger. "He told me my promise ring wasn't really a promise ring and then he proposed. Then I said no and nothing ever happened after that."
The unexpected joke nearly made Liv choke on her eggs from laughing so hard. Alexa safely swallowed her food, then breathed a few laughs at Bayley's attempt at humor.
"What about you, Liv?" Alexa asked the youngest of the three.
Liv smiled. "Finn took me on a walk on our favorite hiking trail. Then he took the ring out and I think I fainted. I thought he only wanted to marry me because we kinda had a pregnancy scare, but he stayed with me after we found out I wasn't pregnant."
Alexa smiled, but she felt Liv's situation hit a little too close to home. Like Liv, Alexa thought Dean was only committing to her at first, at least when it came to marriage, because of the impending arrival of their daughter. After the tragic loss of Alofa, when Dean didn't go anywhere except wherever she was, Alexa knew there was no chance of the two of them breaking up in the near or far future.
"I'm so happy for the two of you," Alexa said with a soft smile. She chuckled, then told her story. "Dean proposed to me right after we got home from the lake last year. We didn't want anyone to know because we didn't want to take the attention away from Bayley and Zack, so we kept it a secret as long as we could."
"Awww, that's so adorable!" Bayley cooed.
"You guys are going to make me throw up with that gay shit!" AJ yelled out from the living room.
"You're just jealous because I have a ring and a super-sweet husband," Bayley shot back with a giggle.
AJ sighed. "Right. Because why would I want security in a relationship for once with someone who has to love me for me?" She muttered, not nearly loud enough to be heard by anyone across the room.
Seth kissed Toni on the top of her head. Unbeknownst to him, AJ was staring a molten-hot hole in the back of his head as he sat next to his girlfriend and dug into his breakfast. If no one was around to stop her, AJ would've said something or possibly frisbee-thrown her plate at Seth. She didn't for the sake of keeping things civil, which terrified her because she was never the civil-thinking type until she returned home from her stint in rehab.
Becky always felt weird from a young age. Maybe it was the society that she grew up in that made her think that way, but from her earliest memory, she could recall that's how she felt about herself. Wanting to get dirty, hating dresses, loving sports, and never really relating with the other girls in her class just made Becky feel different. Her attraction to women wasn't a revelation until her early teens, but that was just the strange cherry on the oddball sundae that was her life.
Maybe that's why Becky didn't think anything was out of the ordinary that morning when she rolled to her back to chase away a cramp in her leg after yet another intimate session of lovemaking that would've given certain adult websites a run for their money. The previous night, when Becky revealed to Charlotte the toy lent to her by AJ, Charlotte couldn't keep her hands to herself for more than a few minutes at a time. It was sound advice to listen to the neurotic little person from the looks of exhaustion and satisfaction in Charlotte's eyes.
Then there was the rubber cock erected between Becky's legs. Sure, this was nothing new in the bedroom since Sasha bought one for Becky as a joke early on in their relationship; It was also put to use many times over the course of their brief relationship. It's just the fact that until Becky had a faux male organ, Charlotte was hesitant to be intimate. Then Becky makes a bold first move and it's as if they'd never had an awkward moment. Maybe it was just Charlotte still trying to get used to being with another woman, but Becky feared that maybe Charlotte was only screaming her name into a pillow last night because of the toy.
"You're amazing, Bex," Charlotte praised, still trying to catch her breath.
Becky smirked, though her mind was still swimming. She reached behind her waist and unbuckled the harness. She lifted her legs and slid the toy off, then set it near her duffle bag so she could put it away later.
"Aww, are we done?" Charlotte asked with a breathy giggle. She rolled into her friend's person and kissed her lips. Charlotte nuzzled her face in Becky's chest, even giving Becky's perky breasts a few soft pecks.
Becky wrapped one arm around Charlotte's shoulders. She buried her nose in her blonde locks of hair, inhaling the scent of expensive shampoo and sweet fruit. Sex was fun for obvious reasons, but the post-coital moment of clarity was just as enlightening after the strong dose of endorphins flooded the brain following the body-numbing release.
Charlotte noticed her Irish friend had been silent since they stopped fooling around. Feeling a slight chill against her nude body, she pulled the comforter over herself and Becky to keep warm during their cuddle time.
"You ok?" Charlotte whispered with a kiss on Becky's cheek.
"What are we?" Becky's words rolled off her lips before she could put a stop to it. She braced herself for a verbal berating that matched Biblical proportions, but nothing of the kind came. In fact, the most Charlotte did after the question was sigh contently and offer another kiss to Becky's chin.
"Satisfied... tired..." Charlotte purred, scratching Becky's chest with her fingernails lightly but hard enough to leave faint welts.
"Friends?" Becky asked, rubbing her thumb over Charlotte's shoulder blade.
"I think we're more than friends at this point, Bex," Charlotte chuckled.
Becky's heart started to thump a little harder. "Girlfriends?" She asked, almost choking on her tongue.
Charlotte paused to sigh, then chuckled lightly. "I'm... not ready to really tell people outside of our friends. I'm surprised I even agreed to come up here with everyone. I don't exactly have the best memories of this place, but... I was hoping my girlfriend would make it easier. And she has. And I'm grateful she's here to make my day better."
Becky's cheeks lifted in a giant, Cheshire grin. Charlotte glanced at her lover to see her reaction, then laughed at the smile on Becky's face.
"That doesn't mean I'm going to call a team meeting in the middle of practice to tell everyone that I'm super into SU's star forward," Charlotte teased with a smirk.
"Oh yer so funny, Char," Becky quipped, baiting a giggle from her girl.
Charlotte moved further up Becky's body, laying chest-to-chest with her. The starry look in Becky's eyes made Charlotte's heart swell in size, then lean forward and plant a sweet and soft smooch on her lips.
"So, funny thing," Charlotte said, keeping her spot over Becky. "I had a conversation with a friend of ours before you decided to show me your new toy."
Becky cocked an eyebrow. "About what?" She asked, curiously scanning Charlotte's face for any sort of explanation.
Charlotte kissed Becky's lips. At first, it seemed like a normal kiss, then Charlotte's next peck landed on her cheek, then her neck, then her chest, then started a pattern leading in Flair ducking under the covers and disappearing from sight. Becky watched the outline of Charlotte's body flatten out under the quilt. Becky took a deep breath, then exhaled sharply when the unmistakable feeling of Charlotte's tongue touched her between the legs.
"Oh, Christ!" Becky exclaimed, falling back into her pillow. "Charlotte, tá tú iontach!"
The bedroom door opened. Becky inhaled sharply, nearly choking on air. Dana, completely unaware of what was going on, went over to her bed.
"I'll be out in a sec; Just grabbin' my swimsuit," Dana said over her shoulder, oblivious to the ruined moment she barged in on.
Becky held her breath, praying that Charlotte knew what was going on and stopped what she was doing. Charlotte heard Dana's voice and froze in place mid-lick, too afraid to retract her tongue back into her mouth.
"Dean said we're taking the boat out soon, if you wanna come," Dana picked out her swimsuit of choice and turned around to face Becky. She furrowed her brow, only seeing Becky's shoulders and head poking out from the quilt. In a micro-second, she covered her mouth and bolted for the door. "Ohmygod, I'm so freaking sorry! I'll see you two later!" Dana said, trying to navigate back to the hall with her eyes covered.
The door slammed shut. Becky stared at the stained wood, trying to find the ability to breathe on her own again. Charlotte poked her head out from under the blanket.
"Do... should I keep going?" Charlotte asked.
Becky lightly shook her head as her cheeks started to burn a light crimson. Charlotte chuckled out of embarrassment, trying to lighten the situation, and kissed her girl's lips, then rolled out of bed to find her own swimsuit.
"I still need to get a boat," Dean thought to himself on board the double-decker pontoon boat as it sat anchored in the heart of Lake Wallenpaupack. Life felt pretty good, despite Dean's injured wheel. He sat on one of the side benches, sipping a bottle of beer with his right leg propped up in front of him.
Alexa kept a close eye on her boyfriend. Though he insisted he was fine every time she asked, Alexa still worried that a little rock-of-the-boat or not enough ice would ruin his mood. Things almost did start with a low back at the cabin when Alexa tried to help Dean get his trunks on.
"Babe, I got it!" Dean insisted, gripping his swimsuit between his teeth. He tried balancing on his crutch and his left leg to shimmy off his cargo shorts so he could put on his trunks.
Alexa wasn't hearing it, both fearing Dean hurting himself further and seeing the pain in his eyes. "Just let me help you," she calmly instructed, taking her fiance's trunks out of his mouth.
"Babe, seriously," said Dean with an eye-roll when Alexa pulled his shorts down and helped him step out of them one leg at a time. "Alexa, I'm serious. I'm a big boy."
"And a big dummy for thinking you don't need help with some things," Alexa said, helping Dean move his injured leg in first, then his second.
"I don't," Dean complained, trying to pull his shorts up before Alexa could.
Alexa stood as she pulled Dean's shorts up. "There. See what happens when you don't argue with me?" She pointed out, starting to tie the pull-string on the shorts.
Dean rolled his eyes again, shaking his head lightly. "I could've easily done that. You really don't need to wait on me just because I'm a cripple."
"I know," Alexa cooed, kissing Dean softly. The young man let out a soft grunt when Alexa's hands reached into his shorts and loosely gripped his cock. "But like I said, there are some things you need me to help with... right?"
Dean grinned. "Yeah... maybe you're right..."
Dean smiled at the recent memory, eyeing his beautiful bride-to-be behind his dark sunglasses. Alexa swayed her hips, simply having a good time to the tune of whatever shitty pop song she had playing on her playlist. The tiny brunette caught her lover staring and blew him a kiss. Dean pretending to catch it, then rubbed it over his crotch.
"Nice one," Alexa shot back with a giggle.
On the upper deck, Roman and Tessa were overlooking the beautiful body of water. Lake Wallenpaupack is a reservoir in northeastern Pennsylvania. After Raystown Lake, it is the second-largest lake contained entirely in Pennsylvania. In certain areas, the water reached as deep as sixty feet, but the pontoon was parked in water hardly thirty feet deep. It was a beauty and a sight that needed to be seen in person.
"This lake is incredible," Tessa commented, looking out over the sparkling blue water. "So beautiful."
"Like you," Roman muttered, kissing Tessa under the ear.
"You and your cheesy pick-up lines," Tessa chuckled. "I'm so pissed that they work on me."
"I'm glad they do," Roman said. He kissed Tessa's cheek and walked over to the rail over-looking the lower deck. Reigns called for a beer and Seth tossed him a fresh bottle. Roman popped the top and took a swig of the ice-cold beverage. "Is this really the first time you've ever been on vacation?" He asked, recalling something Tessa told Alexa back at the cabin.
Tessa nodded. "My parents were always working. We never really did much as a family. Maybe a trip to a waterpark or something like that, but nothing like this. This is just... fuck, Rome. It's amazing."
"What does your mom do?" Roman asked, meeting Tessa at the back of the boat.
"She works with my dad. Some lame office shit," Tessa said.
Roman nodded, then paused and furrowed his brow. "Wait, I thought you said you don't really know your dad? Your step-dad raised you."
Tessa took a swig of beer and shrugged. "That's what I meant. Terry is more of a dad than my actual dad was."
"Well, I'm glad to bring you out for your first real vacation," Roman said. He scanned his eyes over the SU Athletic Dept. t-shirt that he leant his girl, which she altered slightly to open the sides more and tied to fit her frame better.
Tessa held out her phone. "Selfie to commemorate it?"
Roman lifted his glasses to his forehead and stood next to his girl. Tessa raised the camera up, smiling brightly while Roman kept a small smirk, then took the picture.
"Do you have Instagram?" Roman asked.
Tessa nodded. "Yeah, just got it this morning. What's your thing so I can tag you?"
On the main deck, Charlotte felt her phone buzz. She took her eyes off Becky's booty moving to the rhythm of the music to take a look at the notification.
tessa_blanchard95 has followed you
tessa_blanchard95 has made her first post
Charlotte rolled her eyes. She clicked the notification, then double-tapped the photo without really looking at it first; Becky's hips were more worthy of her focus at the moment anyway.
"I'M SO FUCKING DRUNK!" Liv screamed at a passing-by boat of other young adults. The other group of friends yelled out in approval, making the intoxicated blonde cackle with laughter and sip more beer.
Alexa watched on with a slight grin. "Ah, to be nineteen and stupid again," she said to herself.
Dean, who was resting his head in Alexa's lap, chuckled loudly at her choice of words. "Do you? Or do you think back on when you were like that and cringe so hard your stomach turns inside-out?"
"I wish I was like that my Sophomore year," Alexa sighed. "Instead of catering to the every whim of an abusive sociopath."
"You didn't know me back then," Dean kidded, baiting a tiny giggle from his girlfriend. Alexa kissed Dean's forehead, then ruffled her fingers through his hair.
A pair of soft brown eyes watched her best friend act lovingly towards her fiance. AJ, to the understandable alarm of some including herself, felt happy to see Alexa and Dean back to normal after their apparent trouble last semester before Summer. One of the things she worked on during rehab was her sometimes toxic reliance on others around her. She still loved Alexa more than most things in her life, but she was over the whole "steal her away from Dean" phase in her life, even though she joked about it from time to time.
"I can't tell if you're wet. Are you wet or not?"
Then there was the busty blonde currently kissing AJ's neck as the two held onto the outside of the pontoon to keep above the surface of the water. Dana was drunk, clearly, or she wouldn't be openly trying to seduce AJ in front of practically everyone. No one had noticed, as far as AJ knew, but she felt a bit uncomfortable with how forward Dana was being.
"Dude, I told you my meds mess with my shit," AJ hissed, adding a quick kiss to Dana's lips to hopefully satiate her.
"Hmmph, but you came!" Dana exclaimed under her breath.
AJ rolled her eyes. "Can we please enjoy this vacation without any drama? I didn't get to do that last year, remember?"
That request was a bit hypocritical since AJ was glaring out of the corner of her eye at another couple that was splashing around in the water like a couple of seals that'd forgotten how to swim. Seth and Toni were swimming, laughing, and hopefully trying to drown each other... ok, they weren't doing that last thing, but AJ would've saved them both the hassle and beat them both down with a boat oar if they asked.
Dana tilted her face next to AJ's ear. "I accidentally walked in on Becky and Charlotte this morning."
AJ tutted her tongue. "Good for you guys. How about we get back on the boat and get you something to drink? Maybe not a beer."
Dana stuck out her tongue. "Party pooper," she hissed but did lift herself onto the bow of the pontoon. AJ admired Dana's dripping-wet ass for a moment with a toothy grin, but her smile quickly melted away when she heard Seth say something stupid and gay before dunking Toni over his shoulder.
"HEY FUCKERS!" Liv yelled at another passing boat. "YOU CAN STARE! I'M LEGAL!"
Dean looked from the drunken blonde to her unfazed fiance. "You let her say some of the craziest shit, eh?" He asked Finn with a chuckle.
Finn snickered. "When she starts flashin' people, we'll put an end to it."
Dean looked up at his fiance. "Do you wanna flash some of us? Just for the sake of it?"
Alexa rolled her eyes, making Dean laugh, then playfully swatted her boyfriend on the chest.
AJ handed her tipsy ex a bottle of water. She fetched herself another domestic, lifted Dean's legs, then sat down and laid his feet in her lap.
"That feels so much fucking better, AJ," Dean said. "Thank you. Seriously."
"Wouldn't be a good nurse if I didn't know what I was doing now would I, fuck face?" AJ quipped.
Dean nodded. "I hear that." He said.
Dana sat towards the stern of the pontoon. AJ watched her for a moment to make sure she stayed still and didn't accidentally trip or fall into the lake. She rolled her eyes when Dana giggled and sat on the floor of the boat, then turned away and sipped her beer.
Roman and Tessa climbed down from the crow's nest. Tessa took a fresh beer for herself before joining the dance party in the middle of the boat with Becky and Charlotte. Roman, with a sigh, sat next to AJ.
"Life is good, huh Ro?" Dean said.
Roman nodded slowly, watching his girlfriend dance along with the music. "Can't complain much," he figured.
"Reckon we should go back to that waterpark tomorrow?" Dean chuckled.
"Oh god..." Alexa muttered, scratching her fingers through Dean's hair.
Roman cleared his throat. "Like, dude, bro, you're totally killin' my vibe, bro. Like, totally." He said in a poor imitation of the group of college guys they fought with the previous year.
Dean joined in. "Frat bros like totally bro, right bro?"
"Bro!" Zack chimed in from the captain's chair, making the others laugh at the joke.
"Who would thunk that all that dude-bro-killing effort would be rendered obsolete less than a year later?" Dean found Charlotte behind his glasses. "Right, Char?"
"Fuck off, Ambrose," Charlotte said over her shoulder. She'd only been half paying attention but she could safely bet that Dean said something stupid.
Dean chuckled. "All is good though."
Liv screamed again when the second boat from before passed by again. She reached behind her back and untied her bikini top, but Finn threw a towel around her torso before the boatful of boys saw more than they had any right to.
With Dean unable to work the boat comfortably with his knee, Zack took over as the captain that day. He knew plenty on how to operate a water vehicle of this size, especially since he was more familiar with taking his father's yacht out a time or two from time to time.
Bayley named herself co-captain for the voyage. She didn't swim or partake in drinking alcohol, but she did enjoy the Tupperware container of buffalo mac and cheese Alexa prepped for lunch that morning.
"Are you sure you don't want to go swimming, babe?" Zack asked his wife.
Bayley shook her head. "I'm ok. Pretty tired actually," she said, licking the spicy cheese from her lips as she spoke.
"It's our last vacation before Mickie and Minnie are here," Zack said. He grinned from ear-to-ear when Bayley's cheeks tinted red. "Might be your last time to swim without two babies around."
"I know, but I'm ok with that," Bayley tucked her food away in the cooler. She brushed any crumbs off her over-shirt and plopped herself in Zack's lap. She almost didn't want to go out onto the boat with everyone because she didn't think she'd look as good in her swimsuit as the other girls do in theirs. But, after loving words from her husband, Bayley agreed to come along but kept herself covered for most of the time.
"We headin' back soon, Cap?" Roman asked, taking a seat near the back of the boat with Tessa next to the cooler.
"Already sick of it?" Zack chuckled.
"Nah, I just had too many sandwiches and my stomach feels like shit," Roman said.
Zack nodded. "Yeah, we can head back then. Everyone in?" He called out to the others.
Seth and Toni got back in from the water. Alexa and Becky collected some of the trash to make sure nothing fell out of the boat on their way back. Once everyone was settled, Zack raised the anchor, turned the boat around, and headed back to the rented cabin.
Later in the day, nearing sundown, things had settled down around the lakehouse. Since most of the rowdiness was spent on the boat, there wasn't much going on but the festivities still continued. Liv declared Sarah her new best friend and the two had been practically inseparable since coming back. AJ kept her distance from Seth and Toni, still worried that she was going to accidentally blow up on one of them when she was trying really hard to keep level-headed. Zack grilled burgers, steaks, and hotdogs for dinner on the back porch. Everyone else sat around the common area drinking (except Bayley), chatting, or arguing over who got AUX next.
Alexa untied her swimsuit top from around her neck, having worn it long enough for one day. Dean, sprawled out on their assigned bed, had been scrolling through his phone while keeping one eye on his girlfriend.
Dean whistled sharply, baiting a playful giggle out of Alexa. "Nice boobies, baby," he called out.
Alexa pulled an SU Titans sweatshirt over her head. Dean pretended to pout, then opened his arms and allowed Alexa to crawl into his lap and kiss his lips.
"Whatcha lookin' at?" Alexa asked, resting her head on Dean's shoulder.
"Tess' Instagram," Dean commented. "The lame shit she makes poor Roman do for her, I tell ya. This dude is more pussy-whipped than I was during the first week we started dating."
"Oh really?" Alexa giggled. She shook her head and kissed Dean's cheek when he flashed her a smirk and a wink. "I thought you don't have Instagram?"
"I don't - I'm lurking," Dean said. The many pictures of Tessa and Roman around the cabin, on the pier, and on the boat made Dean cringe, though he was happy for his brother somewhere deep inside.
"I'm glad he's not hurt over Ronda anymore," Alexa said, following Tessa back on the picture-centric social media app.
"I know. He still thinks she's coming back for him someday, but who knows," Dean said. "I don't mean to sound like a dick, but I don't want him to get his hopes up and then find out she's engaged to a pole-vaulter or something."
"I know what you mean..." Alexa paused on a picture of Roman and Tessa on the boat. She furrowed her brow, finding the picture a little off-putting but she couldn't figure out why. "Hey, babe?" She said. "Go over to Charlotte's Instagram quick."
"That's a little weird, but I won't judge your taste in women," Dean teased.
As Dean navigated Instagram, Alexa opened Facebook. She clicked on her notifications regarding a "memory post" from the year before. One of the few she was tagged in from the 2017 cabin trip was a selfie of Charlotte and Roman on the second level of the boat.
"What the?" Alexa muttered, studying Charlotte's selfie.
Dean spoke up. "Now what?"
"Scroll to last Fall," Alexa instructed, backing out of Facebook and opening Tessa's Instagram again.
Dean sighed and scrolled through the selfies, basketball pictures, and various other photos until he caught sight of a picture of Charlotte in her swimsuit next to Roman.
"I'm here," Dean said, showing Alexa his screen.
Alexa tapped the same selfie she'd been tagged in on Facebook. "There," she said, showing Dean her phone. "Look. This is the one I got tagged in on memories on Facebook."
Dean shrugged. "So?" He asked, not sure where Alexa was going with this.
"Look at both of them," Alexa held her phone next to Dean's. "They're practically the same picture. Same spot, same parts of the lake in the background. Look! Tessa is even wearing the same shirt and smiling exactly like Charlotte is."
Dean shook his head lazily. "I don't know what you're telling me."
"Isn't it weird to you? They're almost exactly alike," Alexa scrolled up on her phone, then the same on Dean's. The next picture was of Tessa and Roman on the pier, about to get on the boat. Charlotte's photo was almost identical down to the borrowed shirt each girl wore and even the color of their bikinis.
"Uh..." Dean mumbled, starting to catch on.
"That's freaky, babe," Alexa commented.
"So... Tessa's re-doing all of Roman and Charlotte's pictures?" Dean asked.
Alexa's eyes widened. "Do you think?"
Dean started to chuckle, making Alexa roll her eyes. "I think you might've had too much to drink today." Dean snickered.
"I think something weird is going on here," Alexa said, scrolling further and finding more similarities within each picture.
Dean sat up. "Maybe. Are you heading down to the fire? I want to and it's sorta hard to get out of bed with one leg..."
Alexa continued her self-obsessed research. Dean sighed, then gripped Alexa's thigh. Feeling a bolt of electricity shoot up her spine, Alexa finally acknowledged her fiance.
"What?" Alexa wondered.
"Fire. Help. Leg," Dean said, putting direct emphasis on each word.
Alexa nodded and hurried to help her lover, but kept the strange coincidence in her mind so she didn't forget to investigate further.
Down by the fire pit, only a few remaining friends remained since it was nearing one in the morning. Dean, Alexa, Seth, Toni, Braun, Sarah, AJ, Zack, Finn, Liv, Becky, and Charlotte sat around the campfire to keep warm against the chilly Autumn evening. Roman and Tessa were the first to retreat for the cabin after staying out for a little while with everyone. Bayley grew tired and cold after a while; Zack promised to be up before it got too late. Dana ended up drunkenly passing out on the living room couch before even making it outside, much to the amusement of most of her friends.
"Why do you say 'supper' instead of 'dinner' like a normal person?" Zack jokingly shot at Dean.
Dean chuckled. "Fucking excuse my Midwestern dialect, you fucker. Sorry I don't speak 'private jet' as fluent as you or money tits over there."
Charlotte threw Dean a middle finger, baiting a few laughs from around the fire. Dean made sure to make eye contact with Charlotte a wink so she knew he was only joking.
Seth and Toni stood up from the fire and walked off towards the treeline near the cabin. AJ followed them with her eyes, feeling her chest swell with hate and anger for the boy who abandoned her best friend while she was away. No number of sips of beer was extinguishing the flames in her heart, though she wished she could let it go and enjoy her weekend.
"What's new with everyone else?" Dean asked, trying to spark conversation. "The silence is maddening."
Liv spoke up. "How about we play Truth or Dare?" She suggested with her words slurred by her intake of alcohol throughout the day.
"Are we in sixth grade?" Braun chuckled.
"It just ends up with people talking about their first time or daring each other to chug a beer," Charlotte said.
Dean nodded. "Great idea, Char. Lex, how'd you lose your virginity?" He asked with a shit-eating grin.
Alexa shook her head. "You're lucky you're cute, Ambrose. I'm not sharing that."
"Oh, come on, Lexi!" Liv whined. "It's supposed to be fun!"
Alexa sighed. "Fine. It was my high school boyfriend, Buddy. We dated for a year, and it was after Prom our Junior year. We went to his dad's house and... did it."
"You didn't lose your virginity to me?" Dean asked, pretending to sound hurt.
Alexa playfully punched her fiance in the shoulder. Dean kissed his girlfriend, then took a swig of beer.
"Char?" Dean asked since the slender blonde was to his left.
"Dillon Rockefeller, tenth grade..." Charlotte recalled. She chuckled at the shocked looks from around the fire. "Yeah, that Rockefeller. His great-great-grandpa was J.D. Rockefeller himself."
"And you didn't tie that shit down?" Dean joked.
Charlotte shook her head. "Nah. He told the school I slept with him for his money so I kicked him in the balls."
The group of friends broke out into laughter. Once the noise died down, Becky realized some people were looking in her direction.
"Me?" Becky asked with a snicker. She looked across the fire pit at her childhood best friend Finn, who was silently laughing in his chair. Becky sighed. "Finn."
"Whoa, what?" Dean said with a grin.
"Wait, really?" Charlotte asked.
"She's serious," Finn confirmed. "An' she was mine."
"Braun was mine," Sarah chimed in, moving closer to the mountain of a man. "Couldn't have picked a sweeter beau."
"Sarah was my first too," Braun rumbled, trying hard to make it seem like he wasn't blushing.
AJ was next to tell her turn. She'd been in her own thoughts between planning the death of Seth and maybe having another beer before she realized her turn was up.
"Uh, this guy from my floor during Freshman year," AJ said, keeping her chin resting on her knees.
"Wait, Jim the RA?" Alexa asked.
AJ nodded. "Yeah. He brought me a cupcake on my birthday so I let him hit it. He's living in Cancun with his husband last time I checked, so I don't like talking about it a lot."
Liv came next. "Finn was mine!" She happily exclaimed, kissing Finn on the cheek several times.
"Do we even have to ask?" Dean asked Zack, who was the last to go since Seth and Toni wandered off somewhere.
Zack chuckled. "Well... Bayley wasn't technically my first. I like to say she was, but she wasn't really."
"Who was it?" AJ asked.
Zack chewed his tongue. "Uh, it's a little hard to talk about. Touchy subject."
"Was it the maid giving you the Schwarzenegger treatment?" Dean quipped.
Zack sounded a single laugh. "Man, I wish."
AJ polished off her bottle of beer with one more sip. Feeling nature make its calling, she excused herself from the group and headed for the group of trees for a quick bathroom break. She found a suitable tree to do her business next to and unbuttoned her jean shorts.
"Fuck..."
"You ok?"
"Don't stop, please..."
The hushed voices almost didn't register in AJ's mind at first. She put it off as drunken nonsense her brain was giving her until she saw two silhouettes against a tree a few yards in front of her. AJ ducked out of sight, careful not to crunch any sticks or leaves under her bare feet. She held her breath, planning on waiting out whatever was going on and doing her business when the coast was clear.
"Seth, fuck!"
That last whisper made her ears perk up. AJ peeked around the tree, quickly finding the shadows again. Once her eyes adjusted to the darkness, AJ's mouth fell agape when she realized it was Seth and Toni standing against the tree. As her pupils dilated, AJ realized that Toni's shorts were around her ankles, and Seth's were around his, with the aforementioned Rollins swiftly thrusting his hips against Toni's ass.
"You gonna cum?" Seth whispered.
Toni nodded her head, biting into her fist. AJ kept out of sight, but she started to feel a little tingle in her loins. She remembered Cabo and the few times in her apartment where Seth handled her in a similar manner. Watching her arch-nemesis work his girlfriend over reminded AJ of one of the things she worked on while in rehab: resenting her feelings toward Dean's best friend. According to Dr. Shelby, AJ's assigned social worker, her hatred for Seth was on account of repressed feelings. AJ hated to think that was the truth, but it would explain why she pictured the boy with the blonde streak while a Knight of Hell shoved her hand down her sweats one night after bed check.
"Seth, fuck!" Toni whimpered, pushing herself against Seth as far as she could.
AJ stepped back, snapping a twig. Toni and Seth paused for a minute but were quick to resume. In that brief pause, AJ realized her left hand was in her underwear. She'd been so deep in thought that her sub-conscience told her body it was a great idea to get herself off. AJ tried to pull her hand away, but the sight of Toni being ravaged by her ex-lover was too amazing to look away. AJ knew she wasn't transfixed by Toni either; One of Toni's breasts hung exposed but AJ kept her eyes on Seth's hips.
"Seth! Shit!"
Seth took a step back and turned away from his girlfriend. AJ watched, her eyes widening when Seth jerked himself to finish the last bit of the job himself.
Toni fixed her shorts. Seth grunted and "salted the earth", breathing deeply to even himself out.
"Better?" Toni asked.
Seth chuckled as he fixed his shorts. "Yeah. Thanks, babe."
The two young lovers exchanged a kiss and walked back towards the fire, completely missing AJ as they headed back. AJ bit her lip to stifle a moan when reached her peak and spilled over her fingers.
"Shit!" AJ muttered to herself, having to take a knee to keep her wobbly legs from giving out. "Shit... fucking dammit..." She hissed, disappointed in herself. She still planned on extracting a few of Seth's ribs for what he did to Dana, but now AJ had a whole new returning feeling to deal with on top of her anger.