A Different Kind of Christmas Carol

by Zustara Orur

A story (C) 2002/2003 by ZUSTARA ORUR. Contact address: zustara@hotmail.com 1.2 May not be redistributed, commercial use prohibited!

Please see chapter 1 for standard disclaimer blurb and the dedication and acknowledgements section.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN:

Jeff put on a shirt as well, tight lycra that made his chest look really great, then we went to the corner stairwell of the building and went down exactly one floor. I again almost fell on my butt when I saw what awaited us...! Jeff had his own, fully-equipped gym with spanking new Nautilus equipment, as well as a long rack of dumbbells and free weights of all kinds of sizes along one wall. The far end away from the main entrance where we were standing had an empty area covered by a spongy rubber mat for ropeskipping exercises and such and a sandbag too plus one of those small punching bag thingies boxers use. Along the windows stood the cardio workout machines, looking out across the huge park-like garden landscape. I took a peek outside, I couldn't see much in the evening darkness, but I suppose in another twelve hours it would be all sparkling and shining in the morning sun... I turned back and continued studying the room and found Jeff even had a boxing ring in between the mat and the weight machine area too, though it was smaller than the real thing I think. In all, the place was just as big as his apartment above. I could see they'd torn down the inner walls to fit it all, and replaced them with steel pillars instead. No wonder it had taken months to finish renovating the house!

"We had to reinforce the floor too with steel beams", Jeff said quietly as I stared at it all with my mouth gaping open. He had an arm around my neck, holding me close.

"I'd say! All this, it must weigh TONS!"

My boyfriend chuckled quietly. "Yep, sure did, the guys that had to carry it all up here and put it together complained A LOT, that I can tell you! We also had to make sure nothing important is in the rooms below this place either, it's still possible to hear what's going on up here despite the new thicker floor. Especially if I drop a weight or such, it makes a pretty loud thump!"

I giggled as we slowly walked down the huge room with him showing me around. "Well, at least this means nobody will ever hear what we do up in your bedroom!"

He gave me a big grin, and leaned in a little as if asking if he could kiss me. I nodded, batting my eyelids at him and smiled seductively. The making-out session that followed seriously endangered Jeff's willpower; on one hand he had intended to get a good workout, and on the other hand he really wanted to be more with me! In the end though it was actually I who broke it off because he'd pushed me down on the floor and was just smothering me in kisses and pushing his hard-on into me, and I knew where we would end up if we continued on like that. Thus I was the responsible one of us two, though I have to admit my motives weren't entirely selfless... I very much wanted to see Jeff pump some iron, so I started tickling him - most a nefarious and unfair thing to do to an incredibly horny guy I admit - and within seconds he had to let up his kiss-attack. He seized me in his arms and rolled me around on that rubber mat and then I yelled out from surprise and it was him that had the initiative, ready to tickle me! He didn't though, for which I was rather thankful I must admit!

Instead he merely hovered over me for a few seconds, kissed the tip of my nose really quick and then rose to his feet and pulled me up as well. "Okay!", he said. "Let's get started then!" He pretended as if it was my fault we got side-tracked, but the red, flushed face he displayed immediately gave him away (that, and the thing poking at the front of his sweatpants!). I kept jabbing him with my elbow and soon he began to giggle. "Yeah, yeah. I KNOW! I promise to be a good boy, I'll behave...", he said with a smile.

"Not behave ALL your life I should hope!", I quipped! "I'd just hate that I think!" I was rewarded with a quiet laugh, behind which his hot fire still burned.

"We need to warm up some first." He walked over to the windows where the cardio exercise machines were lined up. He had bikes, treadmills, all that stuff.

"You mean we're not warm enough already?", I could not help myself saying, my face showing a mischievous grin.

Jeff's laugh wasn't so quiet this time! "You're hot, Timmy, but not the right kind of hot I'm afraid!"

"Okay, in that case I think we'll do it the old-fashioned way", I said and headed back towards the rubber mat. I grabbed two skipping ropes from a set of hangers on the wall and tossed Jeff one.

"Okay, whatever you say", he replied with a grin. "Just don't trip yourself up okay?"

"Don't you worry", I said. "You might be good behind that piano of yours, but now you're looking at the skipping-rope master here." I started off at a slow pace at first (because I have to admit I was a bit rusty - I don't practice my rope-skipping much at all during the winters), then increased the pace as I felt my body start to get back in the groove. I went from hopping with both feet raised, then moved on to a light stationary jog, I switched my arms around, I spun the rope really fast, letting it swing past beneath me two times for each hop, then three, then four! That's when I did trip however, four swings is REALLY pushing it. Jeff still looked on at me in a really impressed manner as I picked myself up again.

"Wow! You can really DO this!"

"Of course I can!", I said in a confident voice and tossed my head casually to clear away my hair. It made Jeff start to laugh again!

"Oh listen to him!", he replied. "Mr. Modesty himself!" He started skipping along too, though at a fairly calm pace. I resumed too, keeping pace with Jeff.

"Yeah well... When I was smaller, while the guys played ball and took shots at the hoop during breaks I hung with the girls doing this..." I didn't even feel shame admitting it, though I'd sure taken quite a bit of heat for not engaging in any 'manly' activities like the other boys. People got tired of teasing me rather quick though for some reason, in part maybe because I was rather popular with the girls (as a friend, but several of them had deep crushes on me which I somehow managed to escape by being a good friend), and the girls, they teased my teasers just as bad in return so that's probably why it all stopped.

We skipped along for a couple minutes until we were warm but not sweaty. Jeff then started on his weights routine, explaining for each exercise exactly what he was doing and what happened.

"Yes, I do have a personal trainer", he replied in answer to my question. "He comes around twice a week and we work out together and do some boxing too."

I watched Jeff work out and was moral support for him, and each time he got up from a machine I gave him a nice kiss after he'd had a few breaths of air. He started with legs, then moved over to back and chest to finish with shoulders and arms, explaining he usually did a fairly broad set of exercises rather than center on a specific part of his body. Maybe once a week he'd do an extra session focusing just on his upper body (because I somehow got the impression he liked to show it off! He didn't say it outright, but it was pretty clear he had done it for my sake, though the extra strength helped him on the football field too of course).

It was so funny, he wanted to show off to me, I'm SURE he added a bit more weight than he was used to just to impress me even more, and it made him struggle at times! I saw him fighting against fatigue and lactic acid and for some silly reason I pulled up my tight shirt, exposing my tummy. "Go Jeffrey, go!", I called out. "Go for it! Yeah, you can do it!" I touched myself, rubbed my tummy with one hand seductively and I saw new energy pouring into his muscles!

He moved over to free weights, showing me how to do it properly. I wanted to try too, and he nodded, taking it seriously even though I groaned even at using the ten-pound weights. Jeff did the same exercise showing nothing but grim determination on his face with thirty-pound weights. I watched his sexy body working hard, feeling curiously pleased he was all mine. Only mine. Jeff was doing it much for me I was realizing, but it didn't show on his face. He was completely focused on his exercising and I didn't disturb him with either words or touches. I continued to boost his morale the way only I could do, giving him teasing glimpses of my almost eerily pale skin. Once I even pulled down one side of my shorts, showing about half of a lily-white buttcheek to him as I looked at him over my shoulder. I almost thought he'd burst a blood vessel at seeing that!

In between sets when he rested I would hold a hand on his body though, feeling his hot and sweaty skin and the tough muscles underneath... He'd pat me softly and breathe hard. Neither of us spoke. When we (mostly he actually) finished with the weights, we did a run on the treadmills for about twenty minutes. He had two standing side-by-side, and he let me take it easy (because I'm not used to running), and we ran while holding hands as much as we could, then he showed me how to stretch out properly.

I surprised him by leaning down towards the floor and grasping around the back of my knees with my arms and push myself flat to my legs (which I kept perfectly straight). Jeff grinned, admiring my agility. I've always been very supple, Jeff on the other hand, he had to cheat by bending his knees when he tried the same thing, and as he was trying his best to emulate me I patted him on his butt as it was sticking up into the air and he jerked and fell over, tumbling down on the rubber mat beside me! I laughed lots, and I couldn't stop doing it even when he rolled around and grabbed my legs so I crashed down on top of him and then proceeded to tickle the living daylights out of me! Of course he then started kissing me and trying to get his hands inside my clothes (to which I felt very reluctant to deny him!), but pleaded to him to finish our stretching and then get back to his apartment to have that shower. I felt a little precocious there, maybe someone would walk in on us by accident I was thinking.

"Okay sweetie", he said in response to my unspoken wishes, and gently pulled me up again. I giggled still and he pretended to come for me, chasing me from one end of the huge room to the other. I ran around the boxing ring, trying to put it between me and him, but he was too fast for me. I yelled out with laughter and felt like I was maybe six or seven years old again when my father had used to chase me around the yard and tickle me when he caught me... I let Jeff catch me, not without making any kind of resistance, but he had to work a little for it! When he had me in his arms he puckered his lips and made smooching noises, me struggling to get free whilst laughing wildly, and my movements made it feel as if he was tickling me even though he really wasn't, and we both got tremendously hot and bothered! Jeff seized me firmly in his hands and came at me for real and of course I yielded to him. He could have ONE kiss, but that's it I thought.

In the end he got three...

Afterwards I was SOOO tired! We dragged ourselves upstairs after Jeff had gulped down a bottle of some protein concoction from a small fridge standing in a corner near the corner stairwell (and me some water), and then we almost collapsed into a heap on the floor once we reached the bathroom, pulling off our clothes in a sitting position. It seemed as if it was as much emotional exhaustion as physical, a long day of many events, and it had sapped my strength completely. We were literally hanging on to each other in the shower, washing each other clean with zombie-like motions, almost unable to remain upright. Jeff got clean bedclothes from a linen cabinet and we helped each other to put them on (almost falling asleep as we did so), then we went down under the covers right away!

I hogged both of Jeff's pillows, hugging my arms around them as I laid on my stomach, and Jeff used me as a pillow. He rested partially on top of me, his head on my back. We had kissed goodnight, and went to sleep almost immediately. My dreams that night were as sweet as the past day had been, but I could not remember them. When I awoke, I did so having a most erotic experience in my sleep, though I came to my senses only seconds before spraying the new bedclothes with my seed...! I found that I've left one highly stimulating situation only to wake up in another! Jeff was lying right on top of me, he was so big, and so heavy! His skin was layered right on top of mine with nothing in between us, and he was crushing me into the mattress, his arms and hands holding my sides in a strong grip. I felt his hot breath on the right side of my neck as his lips brushed against me in his sleep, and I could also feel he had a morning stiffie that wasn't of this world! I moved my hips a little and felt his long, yet slim shaft rub itself in between my buttocks. He sighed, it sounded almost like a moan of pleasure and I teased him more. His balls were squashed into the small cup-like recess at the base of my butt, and it felt so good to have him there... When I noticed he was close to waking up, I stopped. He deserved his rest. I relaxed and let my big, beautiful boy cover and shield me, being totally safe in his close presence. I closed my eyes and dozed, feeling his erection making itself very plain to me.

Soon though - and much too soon to my own liking - Jeff's tortured bladder was signaling his mind he really needed to take care of urgent business. I felt it when he woke up. He didn't move a muscle, yet it felt different all of a sudden. I think it was his breathing. Slightly quicker, but shallower breaths.

"Good morning, sweetie", he whispered. "Did you sleep well?", he wanted to know, then he started nibbling at my earlobe with his lips.

"MMMM-mmmm!", I replied and nodded my head, in part to his question, in part to the slow thrusting motions he was doing with his hips. I felt my buns pressed tight up to his groin, and I actually pushed back a little too in return. A low giggle came from his direction, and he gave me a wet kiss on my neck, a kiss that changed to a suck, though not enough to leave a permanent mark. It was a gentle gesture, a thank-you for a wonderful night. Then he rubbed his nose at the back of my neck a little in a teasing manner before rolling off my back. As he did, he groaned out rather loud in pain.

"Ooowww...!" I could see he was sore despite working out regularly.

My turn to giggle quietly. "Did you exert yourself yesterday?", I teased. I felt strange as I laid there. Cold, and...light. Too light. Vulnerable. I wished he'd get back on top of me... Stay there, forever, despite that being not only impractical, but impossible also.

"Just you wait until YOU decide to move!", he returned with a friendly grin. He was right! My face contorted instantly as it hit me. Then it was his turn to giggle! "Little Timmy", he said with such intimacy in his voice, "If you're still stiff and in pain tonight, we can have another steambath in the sauna, and I'll give you a massage again if you'd like."

"If I'd LIKE? What, are you kidding?!"

He smiled gently. "I take it that is a yes?"

I nodded my head enthusiastically!

Later, when we'd hopped (or rather kind of hobbled actually) out of bed and gone for a quick morning shower just to freshen up a little, I stood there and held my arms around his chest, my face squeezed in tight to his neck. "Jeff", I asked. "Why do you like me so much? I mean, I'm NOTHING, really. I'm just skin and bones."

"But Timmy, I like you so much BECAUSE you are who you are. You're so sweet, and you make me feel good about myself, and you KNOW I think you're really sexy too...!"

"But surely you'd enjoy a girl, Jeff, or at least a guy with a jock body like yourself."

"Girls don't do anything for me, silly!" He pinched one of my cheeks a little, then immediately kissed me on my forehead as water was raining down on us. "You should know that by now! And yes, I understand what it is you're trying to say. Girls have curves to them, and guys with muscles do too in a way, and you don't. Except, down here..." He put his hands on my bum and squeezed gently. "You're all rounded and smooth here Timmy." He kissed my forehead again, and I let him hold me. "Don't you believe people can appreciate qualities in others that are different from what they themselves possess, hm?" I felt a little silly and pressed myself against him. I guess I just wanted it confirmed to me again. Nothing complicated. "Little Timmy, I love you...", he said, knowing I needed to hear it. He hugged me close around my shoulders with one arm, the other on my head holding my cheek pressed to the side of his neck, caressing it and smoothing out my wet hair. I heard his smooth delicious voice humming in his chest, I felt it resonate in my body. It was a kind of warmth that was so far removed from the warmth of the shower's water. It flowed straight from his heart into mine, and then out into every part of my being. "Love you, love you... Love-love you...", Jeff hummed to me almost like he was singing, and I listened to his beautiful English voice and let him hold me standing straight. When we were done showering, I let him pick me up once more and carry me out onto the floor of the bathroom and wipe me dry. I felt like a little kid being attended to by a parent, with the exception that Jeff kissed me so much, kissing me in a highly erotic manner. First my forehead again, and on my eyelids, doing it tenderly and carefully. Then my mouth, doing it a lot more vigorously and passionately this time, giving me just a little tongue. Then my throat, and again sucking on it though not enough to leave a mark. My chest as he kneeled in front of me, right over my nipples, and my navel also. His tongue caressed it as his hands were grabbing my rounded and smooth backside, the only part of me with any real muscle I suppose.

Then he kissed the tip of my stiffened penis as well... I sighed, barely managing to keep my knees straight. "I, uh... I know you love me, Jeffrey", I whispered back to him and put my hands on his head, hugging him in to my stomach. "Thanks for telling me, for doing this..." He put his arms around my butt and hugged me close in return. We held on to each other like that for a moment, savoring the experience, then Jeff's arms gripped me below my buttocks instead, seizing me REALLY tight and then he straightened his knees, lifting me up like that! I whooped out a startled yell and felt as if I was losing my balance; I folded right over his shoulder and hung down his back like a sack of flour! I desperately grabbed my arms around his stomach because I thought I would tumble down on the floor head-first, and my powerful grip made Jeff twitch a little!

"Good thing you're so agile, Timmy!", Jeff said with a chuckle and started to walk back to his closet. He even took one hand and reached up to pat my butt as I laid folded over his shoulder... It was his revenge from the day before, when we'd been stretching out together! Well, two could play at that game! I saw his own well-muscled mounds not very far away and quickly put my hands on them as he came to a stop. I both heard and felt his giggle as I squeezed at him in what I thought was a completely merciless manner, but I suppose all I managed was stimulate him. He did relent though - which was good for me because my face was becoming incredibly red from being turned upside-down like that. He kind of pushed down on my legs and I could right myself up and slide down his body (taking care not to squash my nuts as I did so), down into his waiting embrace. As our faces became level (mine red and flushed still), he gave me a quick kiss. "Would you like to decide what I should wear today?", he asked after that nice kiss!

I grinned lewdly. "I think I prefer you the way you are!" He was stiff still, and I squeezed my thighs together on his hard-on.

Jeff ruffled my hair with a smile of his own. "You think that's such a good idea? We're visiting your parents again today, and my parents are coming home tonight also. You said you'd have dinner with us, and I wonder what they'll think if I show up wearing just my skin and nothing else!"

"If it's good enough for me, it's good enough for them!", I said and leaned in for another kiss! Part of me was thinking more of what he'd said, probably on an unconscious level. We're VISITING my parents... Does that mean I'd live with Jeff from now on? Part of me wanted to stay there with him, but I wasn't sure if I was ready for it. Would my parents even allow it for that matter? They were supportive and all, but I wasn't even sixteen yet, I supposed they would be more than a bit reluctant to let go of their son no matter how well Jeff would take care of me... Those thoughts flashed through my mind in just a second as we were joined by our lips.

"Silly boy!", Jeff said after we'd broken apart and ruffled my hair again. "I'm sure you'll find something nice, I'll be right back, I have to go get your stuff out of the dryer."

"You washed them yesterday?"

"Yeah, sure. I had to get out of bed last night to put them in the dryer, but you never noticed. You slept like a log, little Timmy!" His smile showed how cute he thought I'd been, sleeping like that! "I'll be right back, okay?" He dashed off eagerly like a schoolboy - which I suppose he still qualified as. He was back much sooner than it took me to pick out his clothes for the day of course. I selected some stuff that was a little nicer than what he usually wore for school. A nice polo slip-over and a white shirt underneath, and dark pants and a nice slim black leather belt with a small brass buckle. Jeff handed over my clothes, which were slightly rumpled after spending the night in the dryer, for which he was a bit embarrassed. I patted him and gave him a kiss to show it was okay. It was just normal clothes anyway, jeans, T-shirt, sweater. Who cares about wrinkled jeans? Not me, that's for sure! And now my stuff had been washed in HIS washing machine! I was giddy with the thought of putting on my clothes now that they'd been touched by him in such a manner...

We got dressed and kissed again. I made sure I felt his hands on my body, if only for a short moment, because it made me feel calm and relaxed (and even desirable actually). His hands actually had the effect of cooling us down, enabling us to go downstairs for breakfast. We could have had it in his apartment, but we both wanted some outside company so we went all the way down to the ground floor where we met William directing some of the others on the staff dusting the frames of paintings and shining all the bronze handles and bracings and such of the house. I suppose there was a LOT of such work needing to be done in a huge house like that, I thought of all the rooms full of things, all the places where dust could collect, and suddenly it didn't seem quite as extravagant with all the staff the Sinclair family employed...

William asked us where we'd like to eat our breakfast, and Jeff said after a bit of thought we'd have it in the family dining room. That place was on the second floor, the most private area of the building. Ground floor had rooms where guests were entertained, and for socializing and such. First floor were for more intimate gatherings, with closer friends and important guests. The family rooms were mainly up on the second floor, and Jeff had his den on third, along with guest bedrooms, his mother's painting studio and such. There was both an attic and stone cellars also I was told, and the attic was full of old, dusty furniture and stuff, most of it that had been left by the old woman who had lived there previously. She'd sold the house in the state it was after clearing out all the lower floors, so all of it belonged to Jeff's family now. Nobody had bothered to catalog it, or even look at it properly, expecting it to mainly be junk (since you wouldn't put value stuff up on a cold, leaky old attic anyway). I became incredibly enthusiastic at the thought of going on a treasure-hunt up there, and both Jeff and William smiled at seeing me in that state. Jeff promised we'd go have a look some day, there would be plenty of time, and he got a kiss in return...

For breakfast, we had an omelet each with cheese and mushrooms (which I consider strange breakfast food, but Jeff likes it so I was more than willing to give it a try), and tea and some toast along with that. The omelet was delicious, creamy thick, yet fluffy, and made a lovely golden-brown. The bread was baked down in the kitchen that very morning, you could feel it, and it was made with whole grains and tasted wonderful as well along with fresh butter, orange marmalade and genuine cheddar cheese. Not that semi-plastic stuff you buy in a supermarket in a square block, pre-sliced and all yucky, but a real cheese, yellow and round and nice! It was small of course, about the size of a CD I suppose and a couple inches thick, and we made our own slices too, which I wasn't used to. Jeff soon took it upon himself to make them for me with the slicer, and he did so quickly and elegantly with swift, efficient motions.

All the food and china and eating utensils and such had come up on a large tray carried by a small elevator in a corner of the room, something that both surprised and intrigued me quite a lot actually, but I suppose it would have been a real bother carrying it up on all those stairs. William had put the tray on a cart made for that very purpose and rolled it over to the table before setting it quickly and efficiently. He had already eaten his breakfast of course, but he still kept us company for a while until he said he had to get back to his duties. Before leaving, he asked if there was anything else we needed, but we both declined.

"Very well, Sir", he said in his strict manner. "Do not hesitate to call for me if you change your minds."

"Thank you, William", Jeff replied and gave the tall man a quick hug. "We'll be alright. When we've finished here, we'll go back to Timmy's house, but we'll be back before dinner. Tell Mother and Father we'll be having a guest, okay?"

William patted Jeff's back briefly. "Yes Sir, I will. Now I bid you a pleasant day." He bowed slightly at the door as he took his farewell, then removed himself in a quiet and dignified manner. We finished the breakfast in peace, not speaking much. We preferred to look at each other and grin in a silly manner, neither of us really believing we were that lucky to have found each other I guess... I'd squeeze his knee and then he'd squeeze mine, and then our hands would find each other, and he brought mine up to his lips to kiss, and he looked into my eyes as he did it and I blushed...!

When we were all done, Jeff put the cups and dishes and other stuff back onto the tray and sent it down using the elevator, then we skipped down the main stairs and got dressed. We didn't see anyone on our way out, the big house might as well have been deserted it seemed. It felt a little weird, but as we stood on the doorstep, ready to walk out into the morning light, Jeff gave me a quick kiss and that made me calm again. Right then, the EVER so handsome Mr. Miller shouted out a quick, "Ey!" to us as he was crossing the driveway on foot from somewhere towards the garage, his face showing a wide grin. He even made a thumbs-up symbol at us and that just made me go beet red! Mr. Miller simply grinned even more, and Jeff hugged my shoulders tight in return with one of his arms. Part of my embarrassment was again someone else seeing my love for Jeffrey expressed in a physical form, and part was for the relief I felt knowing the house was NOT empty and abandoned, that it had NOT somehow swallowed up everyone else and trapped them in some hellish dimension. I felt relieved, and felt silly for feeling relieved in the first place, but Jeff's presence made me calm down of course without him even knowing what was going on inside of me...

"Hi Frank!", Jeff shouted back and waved with his other hand, the one not holding me.

"Good morning, Jeffrey! And to you too Timmy!", came the driver's voice in return. I stuttered a greeting back to him, and he smiled, then Jeff took mercy upon me and started to lead me away down the long gravel road towards the street outside the iron gates. We'd not really decided to go on foot, that's just the way it turned out. Still, it enabled us to take it easy and hold hands on the way (which we did of course, not wearing gloves on those hands because our skin making contact gave us all the warmth we needed. I did wear a knitted cap on my head though to keep warm due to my skinny nature).

We held hands despite meeting people on the way, and some stared of course and others pretended not to see while still staring, and some frowned too. I actually preferred those who frowned openly because that felt more genuine compared to those that pretended not to care but still frowned. The evil eyes people shot us didn't dampen our spirits though, we kept smiling and walking along with youthful enthusiasm, it wasn't hard to keep it up. We met a group of three girls from our school, they all recognized us (I'd seen them in the hallways, though I didn't know their names, and none of them were in any of my classes), and they all gasped and their eyes bugged out and everything. We grinned back, and they started tittering wildly and whispering amongst themselves, and when we'd walked past them I heard a loud wolf-whistle, followed by even louder girl-laughter, we turned of course and we saw them blushing and smiling and laughing and we waved to each other, and Jeff gave me a super-quick peck on my cheek when I wasn't ready for it, and I SWEAR, one of the girls swooned and had to be caught by her friends! Scout's honor, it really happened! I almost swooned too I might add (but I had Jeff stabilizing me already), and I was really glad I was wearing my long coat, because I'd instantly gone hard again of course...

The swooning girl, she was sooo embarrassed once she recovered...! I recognized her more clearly now, she was actually one on the cheerleader team, one of the prettiest girls of them all (and of the school), and now that I started thinking about it, I suppose she'd been looking at Jeff quite a lot. She didn't seem upset he was with me though, quite the opposite, she too smiled crazily at us and uttered fast ohmygod!:s too, and then the trio giggled more.

We waved again at each other, then turned and continued onwards in our separate directions. We heard giggling still as we retreated, knowing they were looking at us, but that was okay. Jeff had his arm around my shoulders...

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