"Not the most romantic location, I admit," joked Sam. A hand trailed up Betty's blouse.

"The manure doesn't smell so bad once you drown it out." As if to prove her point, she leaned forward and kissed him again, pushing him against the stable wall. He found that she was right. The feel of her lips and pressure of her body made the stable smells less than an afterthought.

"And you can't beat the privacy," added Betty as she pulled away slightly, just enough to speak.

"Well, we do have an audience. The horses."

"We're quite a bit away from them." She kissed him again, roughly, stroking his blond hair.

"That's true." He wrapped both his arms around her waist, pulling her closer.

He could only imagine what his sister would say if she found out about this. Not just the inevitable teasing, which he was prepared for. Alicia and Betty were best friends, closer than even Sam and Alicia, even though the latter pair were siblings. They were like sisters, twins even. And Alicia, despite her sharp tongue and dry wit, could be quite protective of her friend. Sam knew she'd be less than pleased about someone dating Betty, even if that person was her brother.

No, best to keep it a secret. And the idea of Sam's parents knowing was even more out of the question. The last thing they needed were nosy, interfering, "wanting to help" parents getting on their case.

Sam stroked Betty's hair as he kissed her. He had felt a connection to her ever since she had started staying at their house for the holidays. She was very pretty, and a lot like Alicia, as tough and sharp-tongued. One thing had led to another, and they had kissed, safely away from any unwanted eyes.

Sam felt the whole idea exciting, having a secret, even if it was something like dating his sister's best friend. The only problem was that Betty could get rather jealous at times. Whenever he so much as talked to another girl in the market, she'd pull him aside and demand to know what he was doing. But she mostly kept it toned down, not wanting anyone else to catch on.

Sam jumped, immediately backing away from Betty in surprise, as a shrill, piercing scream assaulted his ears. At first he thought someone had gotten seriously injured, perhaps broken a bone, but when he turned to the screamer, he wasn't surprised to see who it was.

June. Of course. He should've known. She always had a flair for dramatics.

Before Sam or Betty had the chance to explain anything, she had already turned around and ran out of the stables and back towards the house.

"Blow!" cursed Betty, straightening up and smoothing down her blouse as if worried someone would notice and ask why it was so dishevelled. "There goes our privacy. She'll be telling everyone in the house what she saw."

"No, she won't," retorted Sam. "She'll spend quite a lot of time freaking out first. You know June and her theatrics. I always thought she'd have a good shot at being an actress."

Betty laughed. "I suppose that's true. But I'll be surprised if everyone in the house didn't hear that scream. I thought someone was dying at first."

"They'll just dismiss it as her being dramatic, as usual," replied Sam. "Hopefully."

"So what should we do?"

"Go after her, I guess," replied Sam. "Try to threaten her into keeping quiet about this. Or beg her."

"I'd prefer to threaten her," said Betty as she made her way out of the stables.