For those who don't read my other Stranger Things story, I wanna apologize here too for my long absence. I suffer from a persistent respiratory illness that gives me numerous coughing fits, which have my body shaking so much that they induce headaches, which makes concentrating difficult. Also, at night, when I'm on my back, I feel pressure on my chest as if someone is sitting on it, which makes sleeping tough.
Alisea: Mike specifically stated he'd only do that if El wasn't in the picture. Sure, it may come over as mean but wouldn't you rather have honesty from your boyfriend instead of him lying?
Still, enjoy :)
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters and I write for my own pleasure and that of the readers.
"You really could be an underwear model." Mike commented as he watched El turn her tank top to cover her otherwise naked body, except for the slip she had put on.
"What?" she looked confused at him.
"Well, remember when we went shopping and there was this underwear isle in the supermarket where there were these pictures of woman's lower bodies modeling the underwear?" he clarified. "You have the figure to be one of them."
"So, you'd want other men to ogle my lower body?" she grinned, letting the tank top drop on the bed and crawling over it until she had reached his head.
"I said you could, not that you should." he winked and pushed her slip to the middle, revealing her ass cheeks and grabbing them as El kissed him.
"I'm really sorry." she repeated her apology from the night before.
"It's okay, nobody will see it once I wear a shirt." he smiled to show that he wasn't mad. "Though I never expected you to bite me so hard that you would draw blood."
"It's your own damn fault." she pouted.
"How is it my fault?" he laughed.
"You said not to be so loud since Jennifer is in my bedroom, so I had to find a way to clamp down my scream from the the last orgasm you gave me." she argued.
"And you chose to sink your teeth into my shoulder?" he grinned.
"And I would do it again." she poked out her tongue and lifted herself back up. "Jesus, I hate you."
"For what now?" he chuckled.
"Normally, if someone woke me this early on a day where I could sleep in, I would maul them." she huffed and got up to finish putting on the shirt she had in her hand earlier.
"You wanted me to train you." he shrugged and got up as well, quickly putting on his shorts and a shirt as well.
"Can't you do your morning exercise at noon?" she moped and looked for some gym shorts.
"That would be noon exercise, wouldn't it?" he asked innocently as he put his own sweatpants on.
"Smart ass." she rolled her eyes at him and gave him a whack on his ass. "Uh, firm ass."
"Thanks." he winked and grabbed hers again too before giving her a deep kiss. "Love you."
"Love you too." she giggled and walked out of the room with him right behind her.
As they did for several times now, they exited the house and walked around it into the backyard, where they took up position opposite from each other, their right arms bent and facing forward, their wrists touching on their outsides. After several seconds of inactivity, both started moving, their arms moving in circles but always touching each other.
El kept her eyes on his chest, avoiding the mistakes from the days before when she had looked at his arms to try to keep his pace. Whenever his right arm moved in, her own moved out so her wrist could touch his and move along it, while they both danced around each other. For El, this was surprisingly calming, moving around with the man who had stolen her heart in an calming and yet active way.
As for Mike, he was most surprised at how quickly El had been able to learn these moves. It had taken him years to master these movement, to have them become almost instinctive and he had rarely done them with a partner, except when his teacher had shown him how they work. Now, El was his student and she was quickly catching up to his level of expertise, even though he wasn't that far along himself.
With a smile, he realized that their harmonious movements could be the result of their relationship. This petite girl had certainly stolen his heart and despite the fact that they had only been together for a few weeks, he felt as if they were a couple for years, given how much in sync they sometimes seemed to be. It also showed in bed, when both knew exactly what to do and when to do it, when to change positions and so on.
"Are you getting aroused?" El asked after roughly an hour of them doing the exercise, almost flabbergasted when she noticed the tenting of his pants in the corner of her eye while their movements didn't stop.
"Sorry, was thinking of how harmonious we move right now and how often we do the same during sex." he chuckled.
"You're right." she agreed. "You were also right when you said that this is very calming."
"I told you." he winked and stopped moving by grabbing her wrist. "Alright, we're done, time for a shower and breakfast."
"Good morning." the voice of their redheaded roommate greeted them when they came back into the house.
"Morning, Max." El replied. "Lucas still in a sex coma? Or did he have to go to the hospital for dehydration?"
"Very funny." Max squinted her eyes at El. "For your information, he had an appointment to get his new uniforms fitted."
"Isn't that kinda hard for him, given that he can barely stand straight after you're done bouncing on his cock?" El kept mocking her.
"Shut up!" Max grumbled.
"Uh, someone didn't get enough last night." El giggled, unable to stop.
"Sounds like somebody got it too good last night." Max shot back.
"Oh, you have no idea." El chuckled and gave Max a mocking hug before sneaking into her room in case Jennifer was still sleeping but the bed was empty.
She grabbed some new clothes and headed into the bathroom where Mike was already stepping into the shower stall. She joined him and stepped in front of him, letting his bulk envelop her while she opened the faucet, letting the warm water splash over both of them. While she wouldn't have said no to some shower action, she was too hungry to do it now so they kept to showering. After drying off and getting dressed, Mike headed into the kitchen to make breakfast while El set the table as the other three girls appeared out of their rooms, dressed and hungry.
"So, what's for breakfast?" Stacy asked.
"Mike's about to make it." El told her.
"Lets watch." Jennifer grinned and headed into the kitchen, the other girls following, El only to prevent her roommates from jumping her boyfriend again and they were welcomed by the image of Mike finishing cutting strawberries.
"What are you doing here?" Mike asked them.
"Watching you work." Max grinned. "What are you making?"
"Strawberry omelets." Mike replied and got to work.
He took out one of the egg cartons from the fridge, along with a carton of milk and some strawberries. He added a carton of pancake batter mix powder, along with the bowl and the electric mixer before cracking up the twelve eggs from the carton and pouring the contents into the bowl. He started the mixer and dunked it into the eggs, scrambling them into a thick liquid, after which he added two scoops of pancake mix, a small spoonful of cinnamon and a half a scoop of milk and mixing it thoroughly to create a light brown mass.
He grabbed two small pans and poured a bit of olive oil into them after turning on the stove. As the oil heated up, he took 4 smaller bowls, pouring an equal amount of egg mix into those bowls and adding the pieces of strawberry to each bowl. When the oil was hot enough, he poured a bowl each into the two pans and waited for the mix to harden, using a spatula to lift it and turn it around once the bottom side was done. He repeated the process until the mix was done, after which he presented the five plates to his four roommates who looked at the result with doubtful eyes.
"That looks weird." Max commented and poked around at her food with her fork.
"Just try it." Mike chuckled and cut into his, taking a big bite.
"Oh my god!" Jennifer gasped after eating her first bite. "That's amazing!"
"Jesus, where did you learn to cook that?" Stacy asked after eating her first piece.
"That particular dish?" Mike asked and Stacy nodded. "On the internet."
"Excuse me?"
"On the internet." Mike repeated. "It's not just porn on there, you know?"
"Funny." Stacy made a face. "El, give him a big screen smart TV."
"Funny." El deadpanned. "Mike's loaded, he can buy one himself."
"Speaking of loaded, what about the pool?" Jennifer asked.
"How do you get from loaded to pool?" Mike wondered.
"A pool costs money, you have money." Jennifer shrugged.
"Girls, he's not our personal piggy bank." El interjected.
"I know, but I want a pool." Jennifer whined.
"Isn't Stacy the one who had the idea for a pool so she can have sex in it?" Max asked.
"Hey!" Stacy moped. "These two things aren't connected."
"Well, in this case, I am okay with being your piggy bank." Mike laughed. "I want a pool as well, so I decided to front you the money."
"How expensive can a pool be?"
"Depends on what kind you want." Mike shrugged. "If you just want to get one you can blow up, it's cheap. One that you have to build but that you can dismantle again, costs more. If you want one that's tiled, with a ladder and so on, that's expensive since they need to dig a hole, make a foundation, tile it and so on."
"What's the best one?"
"The best one is of course the last one. It's solid and will keep. The one you can build and dismantle is prone to break at some point and the rubber one can puncture easily and depending on its size, both are hard to store it when not in use and climbing into the rubber one will always spill water."
"If you really want to do it, I think you should decide about that." Max said. "It's your money after all."
"That you will pay me back, at least your part of it." Mike reminded her.
"Fair enough." Max shrugged. "I think we should get some cost estimates before we vote on it."
"Agreed. "El nodded.
"I'll do it." Mike shrugged. "Gives me something to do until I have to prepare the food for our barbecue with the guys tonight."
"I'm really looking forward to that." Jennifer giggled. "Poker afterwards?"
"If we're still capable of that, of course." Mike nodded. "Lucas is pretty adamant about that since he starts working as a police officer next Monday."
"I hope he looks as good in uniform as I imagine." Max purred. "Can't wait to get it off of him."
"Unbelievable." Jennifer groaned. "I'm so glad that El and Mike are quieter in bed than you."
"They're not so quiet, believe me." Max grinned. "El is quite the screamer."
"Max, shut up!" El gasped.
"I barely heard them last night, apart from the bumping of the bed." Jennifer wondered.
"Because we knew you were in the other room and we were quiet on purpose." Mike threw in, trying to clamp down his own embarrassment of having them talk about his sex life with El and subconsciously pulling the neck of his shirt up more to hide the bite mark.
"Thank you." Jennifer smiled.
"Pah, what good is sex when you can't scream out your joy about it." Max waved that off.
"The sex is still good, but it's considerate to the people around you." El shrugged.
"You mean if I wasn't in the room next to you, you'd scream too?" Jennifer asked.
"Yeah." El nodded.
"Is he that good?"
"Oh yeah." El grinned, causing Mike to blush.
"Could we stop talking about this?" Mike pleaded.
"Why, the only thing we're hearing is how great you are." Stacy giggled.
"Then how would you feel if you sit with your boyfriend and his friends and he keeps talking about how your breasts and pussy look and feel." Mike turned it around.
"Uh, that would be gross." Stacy made a face. "Point taken."
"Now, since we're going to eat a lot when we do our barbecue, lunch today will only be the soup from yesterday." Mike proclaimed as he stood up. "If you want more, you have to either make it yourself or order in or go out."
"You're going to get the cost estimates now?" El asked.
"That too." he nodded, leaning down to kiss her. "But I also need to write some stuff, I have some ideas floating in my head and have to get them down before I forget."
"Uh, go go go!" Max shooed him away. "We're doing the dishes."
"Thanks." Mike winked and left the room.
"You think he's writing on the third book?" Jennifer asked giddily.
"Why don't you finish the second before?" El shook her head in mirth.
"I'm almost done." Jennifer shrugged. "I'm two-thirds through."
"The last thing we should do is rush him." Max counseled. "I'm willing to wait for quality work."
"Me too." Stacy agreed.
After several hours of at first researching cost estimates and compiling them and then creating a few plot points for his next book, Mike returned to the kitchen to prepare the meat for the barbecue. He opened the fridge and took out the containers with the animal parts, opening them up and washing them.
He then took several large bowls and the ingredients he had bought for the marinades. With experienced steps, he poured the various ingredients into their respective bowls, creating the thick substance that would give the meat it's later taste. He filled the last bowl with simple olive oil for the few pieces he wouldn't marinade and once all was done, he put all the meat into them to let them soak.
While he worked, El and Jennifer joined him in the kitchen, both girls sitting down at the kitchen island and watching him work. Max had already left the house with Lucas to go back to his apartment to get Dustin, Will and Chris who were bringing some non-meat food and the drinks they would have tonight.
"Hey, will barbecuing become something we'll do more often now?" Jennifer asked.
"Maybe, why?" Mike shrugged.
"If so, we could move that cabinet somewhere else so we can use the door behind it to have a shorter path to the backyard." she suggested, pointing to the other end of the kitchen.
"There's a door behind that cabinet?" Mike was nonplussed and walked to it to look behind the piece of furniture. "Son of a bitch!"
"We could empty it out and then wait for your friends so you all can..." Jennifer began but Mike simply grabbed the cabinet left and right, lifting it an inch off the floor and moving it four feet to the left by taking tiny sidesteps with it. "Or you could simply move it on your own without even taking something out of it."
"Jesus, that was heavy." Mike gasped for air, shaking out his arms. "Why haven't I seen that door before?"
"Maybe because we never used it and every time we went into the backyard for training, we went around the house on the other side." El shrugged as Mike opened the door, the hinges creaking and accrued grime and dust falling from the frame.
"Why was this door blocked anyway?" Mike wanted to know, closing it again.
"That must have been my grandma." El told him. "Maybe she didn't like the house to be drafty or she did it for security reasons."
"Still, very nice." Mike smiled. "Saves us quite a few trips."
"Not really, since we'd have handed everything out through the window." Jennifer shrugged.
"I don't know about you but when I have a barbecue with lots of food and lots of drinks, I tend to have to use the bathroom a few times." Mike winked.
"Point taken." Jennifer laughed. "Good door."
Mike continued with his work, the marinades now finished and the meat soaking in it, and prepared several more bowls with the various barbecue sauces he wanted to have but also adding some store bought bottles. It took another hour, but finally he was done, the meat laid out and the sauces in the fridge, the only thing missing now the guests.
"What is all this?" Stacy asked, walking into the kitchen to see El and Jennifer sit at the kitchen island and Mike working with multiple bowls.
"Mostly chicken, some sausages and steak." Mike said.
"And what are they in?" Stacy looked into the bowls.
"These ones are in olive oil." Mike pointed to the first. "It's not really to add flavor but to avoid having them stick to the grill. The next one is plum puree..."
"Plum puree?" Stacy gaped disbelievingly.
"Don't disparage it until you taste it." Mike chuckled. "It adds a particular flavor, though that'll be ruined if you use ketchup or any other barbecue sauce or if you let it too long on the grill."
"And the others?" Stacy asked.
"The third is a simple herbage-chili marinade, the fourth is honey-mustard and the last is garlic-yogurt." Mike finished. "The steaks are separated in the garlic and chili marinades as well. Honey-mustard doesn't really work with red meat."
"Jeez, you learned that from the internet too?"
"Nope, my uncle." Mike chuckled. "We always had these at family barbecues during the fourth of July and he always told us to stay away from the grill when he was there too."
"So, he just gave you his secret recipes?" Stacy was doubtful.
"Who said anything about secret recipes?" Mike laughed. "He only said to stay away from the grill. When I was fourteen, I went into the kitchen and asked him about his marinades. He was more than happy to share the recipes, glad that someone finally asked."
"So, you would teach me?" Stacy looked at him.
"Do you want to learn?" Mike looked back.
"Not really." Stacy shook her head, chuckling.
"I think our guests are here." El smiled, hearing the front door open.
"Men are here." Dustin said when the guys had entered the kitchen, Max in tow. "We make fire. Cook meat."
"Then put out fire by peeing on grill, never invited back." Lucas added, making the girls laugh at their Friends scene replay.
"Where are Will and Chris?" Mike asked them.
"Still at the car, bringing in their contributions." Lucas told him as he put down the kegs of beer he had been carrying.
"Seriously, how many more people are coming?" Stacy asked, pointing at the keg.
"What, it's just two gallons each." Lucas shrugged. "Me and the guys can kills those alone."
"The hell you will." Jennifer scoffed. "I want some beer too. Need to wash down the meat."
"The girl of my dreams." Dustin laughed. "Smart, beautiful and likes beer and meat."
"I'm full of surprises." Jennifer winked at him and bumped her hip against his.
"Now, lets get this shindig on the road." Lucas whooped and turned around, only to see the moved cabinet. "Was there always a door here?"
"Yeah, we just didn't see it." Mike nodded.
"Wait, for real?"
"That cabinet next to it was standing in front of it." Mike pointed to the large case.
"Well, that makes the way shorter." Lucas shrugged and opened the door, again with the hinges creaking.
"I get some oil." El winced.
"Use the WD-40." Mike called after her, El returning with the spray bottle and applying it to all three hinges and opening the door to test it out.
"Works." El nodded and put the bottle away again.
"Hey Mike, girls." Will greeted them, carrying three closed bowls stacked on top of each other.
"Hey Will." El greeted Mike's friend and seeing his boyfriend following into the kitchen, also carrying several smaller bowls. "Hey Chris."
"El, ma belle." Chris grinned, revealing a small gemstone stuck on his front teeth.
"You can bring those out to the yard right away." Mike pointed to the door.
"Was that door here the last time we were here?" Will asked confused.
"Yep, just hidden." El chuckled.
"Mike, come on, the fire is going, bring the meat!" Lucas' voice shouted from outside.
"Yeah, yeah!" Mike shouted back and grabbed four of the bowls. "Girls."
"Coming." El nodded and grabbed two more, Jennifer taking the last, along with the tray with the sausages.
"Are we expecting more people?" Will asked.
"No, why?" El wondered.
"Because there's so much food." Will pointed out.
"Hey, we invited Dustin, so we need a lot." Mike chuckled. "And we can feed some of the raw pieces to Bella."
"Hey!" Dustin gasped. "I don't eat a lot."
"Right." Lucas laughed. "Remember when we arrived in Hawkins and you ordered the, and I quote, 'left side', at Benny's?"
"I was hungry." Dustin defended himself.
"Are you hungry now?" Jennifer asked, grinning.
"I could eat a horse." Dustin nodded and looked into the bowls that were placed on the table next to the grill. "I don't have to, do I?"
"What?" El gasped. "No! That's chicken, beef and pork."
"Good." Dustin nodded his approval. "Will and Chris made salads."
"What kind?" Jennifer asked.
"This is potato." Chris pointed to the leftmost and went down the line. "Pasta, egg, rice, tomato, cucumber and carrot. And these foil packages contain various vegetables that we have to put on the grill to get a barbecue salad."
"Cool." Jennifer nodded her approval.
"Lets get this show on the road!" Lucas shouted and threw the first pieces of meat on the grill until it was full. "Is that plum puree?"
"Yep." Mike nodded.
"That's amazing!" Lucas grinned.
"You know this?" Stacy asked him.
"Yeah." Lucas replied. "When we went back to Hawkins, me and my folks visited my grandparents and they took us to a rib joint where they also used plum puree. Tasted amazing."
"Don't leave it on the grill for too long." Mike told him. "If it burns even slightly, the taste is ruined."
"I know." Lucas nodded and flipped the two pieces from the plum bowl.
While Lucas stood at the grill, Mike filled a small tub with cold water and put all their bottles and one of the kegs into the tub before placing the second keg on the edge of the table so everyone who wanted a beer could pour one from the tap at its bottom. Dustin and Will drew themselves a beer each, Max and El doing so as well and handing the glass to their respective boyfriends after which the girls opened a bottle of wine and poured a glass each, Chris joining in for his one glass of alcohol tonight, since he would be driving himself and Will home later.
When Lucas put the first pieces of meat onto a large tray and the sausages into a bowl, El expected Mike to bring it over but to her surprise, he simply covered both with foil and set them aside while Lucas put the next batch onto the grill, the sausages wedged into the spaces between the steaks. She now understood the reason for Mike buying those thin slices of meat instead of the usually thicker ones since it cut down on the time they needed to be ready.
Along with the meat, Lucas added the foil wrapped vegetables that Chris had brought. El had no idea what was in the packages but decided to at least try the end result, never having tasted grilled vegetables in a salad. Apparently hungry, Max had started eating the potato salad that Will had contributed, Stacy adding some rice salad to her plate and nibbling on it to pass the time.
Five minutes later, the second batch was ready, Mike once again simply covering the meat on the second tray while Lucas added the sausages to the ones in the bowl before putting the last of the meat and sausages for them on the grill, the vegetables still stewing in their packaging and leaving a few pieces for Bella later. El's mouth watered when the scent of the meat wafted over to the table and she couldn't resist the urge to take some pasta salad and eating it.
Finally, after another almost agonizing six minutes, Lucas took the last of the chicken and pork from the grill as well as the sausages and the foil packages, letting Mike carry the trays to the table. Before he sat down, Mike opened the packages carefully and emptied the contents into another bowl. El could see corn, carrots, cucumbers, lettuce, rocket, tomatoes and even some peppers when Mike sat the bowl down and she gleefully helped herself to a large portion of it.
"Dig in." Mike opened the meal and the group dug their forks into the various pieces of meat, lifting them to their plates.
"Michael, this sauce is heavenly." Chris commented on one of the sauces that Mike had prepared.
"Thanks." Mike smiled.
"Willy." Chris grinned and lifted a long sausage from the bowl, holding it in between his fingers and letting it flop around before biting off a piece.
"Oh, you're on." Will winked.
"Okay, I have no idea if you're doing what I think you're doing but could you not do it while we're eating?" Max pleaded.
"Max, you that all the time, even when we're eating." El chuckled. "Remember the cream in your coffee?"
"Okay, that was once." Max argued.
"Don't worry, Maxine." Chris smiled, knowing that Max hated being called by her full name and deciding to do it to needle her. "We'll stop now."
"Are you going to get Will sloshed again?" Dustin asked when Chris handed Will his third glass of beer.
"No, just tipsy enough." Chris winked at Dustin.
"Uh, can I stay here again tonight?" Dustin looked at El.
"Sure." El laughed.
"You can stay in my room again." Jennifer added.
"Is Lucas staying here as well?" Dustin looked at his black friend and the redhead.
"Of course he is." Max nodded. "He starts working next week, I have to use the remaining time."
"I guess I'll sleep on the living room couch then." Dustin shrugged.
"That's insulting." Max moped.
"Maxine, the earplugs didn't really work the last time, especially when you and Lucas were making the bed ram into the wall." Dustin argued, using her given name to make his point.
"Dustin, the couch isn't really made for sleeping on it." El told him.
"Then I'll sleep on the dog doughnut you have in there." Dustin laughed.
"I think Bella will have something against that." Mike joined in the laughter.
Max commented that with a smirk, not even apologizing for being loud during sex and went back to her food. To everyone's surprise, the amount of food was more or less perfectly measured since roughly an hour later, Dustin hummed as he put the last piece of steak in his mouth, the trays and the bowl of sausages now empty, as Jennifer was using a spoon on the rice salad bowl to get every kernel out of there.
"It looks like a bomb exploded on the table." Stacy laughed as she leaned back to start the digestion of all the food she had eaten.
"Yeah." Mike nodded and got up, collecting the empty plates.
"Why are you cleaning up already?" Max wondered. "Let the food settle."
"That's why I'm cleaning up already." Mike told her. "Once I let the food settle, I get into what Dustin once coined rigor fullness."
"What?" Jennifer looked up.
"Rigor fullness." Dustin nodded. "It's the effect you feel when you ate a lot, when you simply have no strength to even move and hope to god that you don't have to use the toilet."
"Right." Jennifer laughed and threw a piece of pasta at him which he expertly caught with his mouth.
"Thanks." Dustin winked and lifted his mug of beer to his mouth again.
"Unbelievable." Jennifer shook her head.
"Yeah, you can't fluster him with food." Will chuckled and got up to help Mike, taking the trays and the bowls and bringing them into the kitchen where Mike was already loading the dishwasher with the plates and cutlery.
"Will, can you take the snacks outside?" Mike asked him, pointing to a basket full of bags with various snack foods.
"Sure." Will nodded, grabbing a bunch of empty bowls.
Mike rejoined the others once he had turned the dishwasher on, sitting down on one of the lawn chairs the group had retreated to, El joining him by sitting down on his lap and leaning back against his chest. She felt happy beyond measure, and thought back to the time before Mike. They had never done this, never had a barbecue with others since, truth be told, apart from her three roommates, El didn't really have anyone in her life she would consider a big enough friend to invite to a barbecue.
But with Mike had come his friends. And she had to admit that his friends were a force to behold, a sworn group of people she could see were friends since childhood and not even the two years of separation they had could sever that band of friendship. And now, they were her friends too. With her boyfriend, her circle of friends had doubled and she was already looking forward to more evenings like this even if they didn't include food but only things like poker or simply hanging out.
"Look, Jennifer and Dustin seem to get along really fine." El whispered to Mike, who looked and saw the two sitting close together, Jennifer giggling at something Dustin said and even having her hand on his leg.
"Excuse me." Mike's face hardened and he gently pushed El off his lap and standing up.
"Where are you going?" El asked but Mike didn't reply.
"Jennifer, can I talk to you in private for a minute?" Mike got his roommates attention.
"Sure." Jennifer shrugged and followed Mike into the kitchen. "What's up?"
"What are you intentions regarding Dustin?" Mike asked bluntly.
"What, are you his mother now?" Jennifer laughed but stopped when she noticed Mike's glare. "Why do you care?"
"I care because he's my best friend." Mike stated. "I care because Dustin is someone who wears his heart on his sleeves. He's someone who will give everything in a relationship and will never cheat on a woman he's with."
"So?" Jennifer was confused.
"So?" Mike repeated. "I won't allow you to use him as your rebound."
"But..."
"His last girlfriend put him through hell, so much so that he moved across the country to get away from her." Mike didn't let her speak. "I will not let you do the same thing to him by jumping in bed with him only to ignore him afterwards. And also..."
"MIKE!" Jennifer shouted to get his attention.
"What?"
"Trust me when I say that the little slut speech you gave me woke me up." Jennifer sighed. "Whatever and if something happens between me and Dustin, I'll promise that he won't be just a rebound."
"Good." Mike nodded with a smile. "Lets go back."
"Right." Jennifer blinked fast at his sudden change in demeanor, from deadly serious to joyous again.
"What was that about?" El asked after Mike had sat back down.
"Just wanted to set the record straight." he whispered into her ear as Jennifer sat back down on her chair next to Dustin.
During the next few hours, as the night rolled in and the various bottles of wine and the kegs of beer emptied, the gang exchanged stories about their childhoods, from the boys telling of their Dungeon's and Dragons games and jumping into the quarry from the cliff as a form of tests of courage to the girls telling them of their childhoods and even Chris telling of his troubled youth as an openly gay boy in southern Missisippi where his parents had to move at some point because the threats to his life became too serious to ignore.
"Alright, we're off." Chris announced, standing up and helping Will get up as well, the smaller man swaying slightly.
"I'm going to destroy your ass tonight." Will giggled and shoved his boyfriend forward.
"Jesus." Dustin gasped. "Chris, are you already regretting that you sloshed him?"
"Not in the slightest." Chris singsonged, almost skipping away in anticipation.
"We're off too." Max said, getting up and giving Lucas an expecting look.
"Night guys." Lucas got the hint and quickly got up.
"Whipped." Dustin laughed.
"Not yet, but I might buy one someday." Max winked as they walked towards the kitchen door.
"Hey man, don't give her ideas!" Lucas shouted aghast before being shoved into the house by his girlfriend.
"Is the couch really that uncomfortable?" Dustin asked El.
"For sleeping, yes." she nodded somberly.
"You could sleep with me in El's bed." Jennifer suggested. "It's king-sized."
"Uh... really?" Dustin was hesitant.
"Jennifer." Mike said her name as a warning.
"Hey, it's just a suggestion." Jennifer shrugged. "We're both adults, her bed is easily big enough for two and it's better than him sleeping on a hard couch or in a bed where he will be accompanied by sounds of fucking coming from the next room."
"I accept." Dustin nodded and leaned back, almost falling asleep.
"I think you should go now, otherwise, all that planning will be for naught when you spend the night out here." El chuckled.
"Right." he nodded and got up. "I have to use one of the smaller bathrooms, right?"
"Right." El grinned.
"I'll head to bed as well." Stacy yawned, getting up.
"Come on El, lets finish the last bottle." Jennifer emptied it into their glasses.
El nodded, lifting the glass to her mouth and tried to ignore Mike's hand caressing her ass for the moment, at least until they were alone.
Again, sorry this took so long. Since my respiratory problems aren't accompanied by fever or anything else but coughing, my doctor couldn't put me on more sick leave anymore. Not that I wanted to, since being sick at home for more than a week makes me feel as if the ceiling is coming down on me. So much different when I'm at home a week for vacation, then I'll could gladly add another month.
I'll try to write faster again ^^
Review please :)
