The three of us looked at each other. Patrice was a member of Kristen’s circle of friends, and the sister of Jack, my best friend (well, my best "male" friend now).
Kristen sighed. "I knew that something like this would happen, but I thought it would wait until school started. I’ve never invited any of those girls here."
"Well," Patty said, "none of us has been trying to keep the fact that we’re together a secret."
I nodded.
Kristen looked at Patty and me, and said, "Well, Patrice probably wants to confirm it."
I shrugged. "What are you going to do? Invite her to meet us in here?"
Kristen started to shake her head no, but then stopped. "Well, why not? In for a penny, in for a pound!"
Patty blanched. "You think that’s a good idea?"
Kristen looked at me. "What do you think, Jim?"
I wished I had my tickets with me — they always seemed to give me confidence. I know that Kristen had changed over the last few days, but when confronted by one of her old gang, what would happen? I didn’t want Kristen to get hurt.
I finally said, "Kristen, do whatever you think you should do. If you want, Patty and I can disappear while you talk with Patrice."
Kristen shook her head adamantly. "No. As Patty said, we haven’t been keeping our relationship secret, although we haven’t been advertising it, either. We’ll need to confront the girls, and this is as good a time as any."
I still wasn’t completely sure. I mean, after being presented with tickets, both Patty and Kristen seemed to have had radical changes in their lives. Once again, I wished I had the tickets… if only for backup. "So, what will you do? Invite Patrice in here?"
Kristen had a determined look in her eye. "Yeah. If it’s OK with you."
Patty shrugged her agreement.
"Go ahead," I said.
"Billy?" Kristen called out.
"Yes, Miss Swift."
Kristen was in her element, giving orders. "Let Patrice in, and have Edgar escort her to the spa."
"Yes, Miss Swift."
After a few seconds, I felt that I had to ask. "Is this place wired for sound?"
"Yes. Well, sound and motion sensors," Kristen answered. "We have a camera at the gate as well. Billy monitors everything and knows where we are."
"Oh." Kristen’s answer didn’t tell me how much her security people know. And if they knew that I was here, naked with not only Kristen but Patty, what would they tell her parents?
"Jim?" Kristen said, softly. "I need to ask you a favor."
"What?"
Kristen hesitated, and then asked, "May I tell Patrice about the two of us? I mean, I am not ashamed of having you as a boy friend in any way, but I don’t want to embarrass you if you aren’t comfortable with my telling her."
"I thought that was the point in you inviting her in here."
Kristen nodded. "Yes, but I wanted your permission. If you have a problem with it, we still have time to change our plans."
"Kristen, I’m fine with it." I turned to the red head beside me, "How about you?"
"I don’t care what Patrice thinks." Patty paused a second or so, and added, "But I think that the less you tell…"
Kristen completed Patty’s thought. "The weirder Patrice will think things are. Not that they aren’t weird to begin with… Oh… Jim… I didn’t mean to imply that you’re weird…"
I laughed. "No offense taken."
It took about five minutes before we heard the sound of approaching footsteps.
I heard an older man say, "Miss Swift is in here, and the spa is on the other side of the room. Be careful, the floor is wet."
"Hello?" I heard Patrice calling into the room, her voice echoing in the large Solarium.
"Down here at the end," Kristen replied.
I saw Patrice walk toward us, and she stopped when she realized that Kristen wasn’t alone. In fact, she seemed to recognize all three of us almost immediately. "What… what are you two doing here?"
I was about to answer when Kristen took charge. "Relaxing. Want to join us?"
Patrice looked completely surprised. "You… you’re naked in there!"
Kristen just said, "Of course!" She also accompanied her answer with a snuggle within my arms.
"The stories are true," Patrice said.
"Which stories are those?" Kristen asked, continuing to press her breasts into my side.
"That you’re hanging out with…" Patrice didn’t seem to be able to call us losers to our face. I felt the anger that I realized that I had been feeling start to dissipate.
There was an awkward silence.
Surprisingly, it was Patty that broke the silence. "The water’s nice and warm in here. The jets feel nice. Don’t you want to join us?"
Patrice looked at Patty, and then at me, and then at Kristen, and moved her focus back to me and then Kristen. "That… boy… is the same age as my brother!"
I was insulted. "I’m older than Jack by six months!"
"That’s not the fucking point!" Patrice yelled.
"Excuse me, Patrice," Kristen said, her voice cold. "You are a guest here. Please keep your voice down, and your language civil."
Patrice flinched at Kristen’s admonition, and probably at the voice of authority that Kristen used. "Sorry."
Kristen’s face melted a bit. "No problem. Just remember where you are."
Patrice nodded, and her voice went strange. "Jim?"
All of a sudden, I saw the Patrice that I had known years ago. The girl that confided in me, the one that I could confide in. A real friend, that "grew up" and left me when she met Kristen in junior high.
"Yes?" I said, curious about what she would say.
There was a pregnant pause. Finally, Patrice said, "Nothing."
Patty took the opportunity to snuggle more into my other arm. Now, I was feeling pretty warm, having the warmth of the two girls' bodies, as well as the water, against me.
I think I was also blushing, remembering Patrice’s naked body a week ago, as well as the naked bodies pressing against my own.
Patrice finally broke the ice. "Kristen. What’s going on?"
Kristen sighed, and ran her fingers through my hair. "I fell in love."
Patrice nodded. "This isn’t a put on?"
Kristen shook her head. "We didn’t even know you’d be coming here. You’ve never been here before."
Softly, Patrice said, "You never invited me."
Kristen’s features softened even more. "So, why did you come here today?"
"I heard stories…" Patrice said, and then paused for a few moments. And then, she said, "You made some wild phone calls a few days ago. And then you didn’t say anything to us. Like… what were we supposed to think?"
Kristen answered, softly, "Maybe I found some new friends."
"Oh."
There was a very long pause… almost five minutes long.
And then, slowly, Patrice turned around, and started to leave.
"Don’t leave!" I blurted out, surprising all three girls.
Patrice froze, but didn’t turn around to face me again.
"Please stay," I said, not knowing what was possessing me to call out.
"This is perverted," Patrice said.
"Says who?" Kristen demanded. "This is my house, and in my house, we’re quite informal about bathing."
Patrice turned back, feeling a bit on stronger ground. "Informal? You’re mostly naked… maybe even completely naked… with those two losers!"
Kristen’s reaction was immediate. "Don’t you ever DARE call my friends losers again, Patrice!"
"But…" Patrice said. "You are naked in there with her… and him… a boy!"
Kristen’s voice sounded very controlled. "Yes. And what’s wrong with that?"
Patrice shook her head. "It’s perverted. Maybe even illegal. It’s disgusting."