Best Friend and Lover

[ Author’s note: This work “Best Friend and Lover” is a story with 12 chapters and a surprise ending. These chapters are not episodic although most have a cliffhanger or tease for the next chapter. You need to read all the chapters for the story to make sense. Also, I love foreshadowing, and these chapters are oozing with it.]

Chapter 3: Life Is a Beach

About 2:00am I woke up and had a strange feeling like something might be wrong with Jessica. I grabbed the key to her house and headed over there. I went inside, hoping everything would be okay. So, I walked around quietly. I did not see Jessica wandering around or on the couch, or even in her bed. Then I heard the water running in the bathroom. As I approached the bathroom, I heard some faint sobbing or crying.

I knocked. “Jessica, is that you?” No response, just sobbing. I knocked again. “Jessica, can you come open the door?” Still no response.

I went to the kitchen and rummaged through the drawer, the drawer with all the miscellaneous junk. Every house has one. Finally, I found the bathroom door key. I opened the door.

There was Jessica in the bathtub, naked, curled up in a ball. The shower was on and was running cold, and she was shivering. She just sat there sobbing and not responding to anything I was saying. I turned off the shower and picked her up out of the tub. She felt cold. I dried her off as best I could. Then I picked her up and carried her to bed. I was able to get her settled in the bed under the covers. I stripped down and crawled into the bed with her to warm her up.

I covered us both with the blanket and held her close. Her skin was cold and clammy, and I did my best to warm her up. After a little while, she stopped shivering and sobbing and then fell asleep. Soon, I fell asleep with her.

In the morning, my mom called and wondered where I was. She heard me leaving last night. I told her about Jessica, and she came over immediately. When she came in, I held Jessica in bed, and she was in a deep sleep. My mom told me to take care of her. She would go to work and check back later. She kissed me on the forehead and expressed her love and trust in me.

She slept through the day and still was asleep when my mom came back. She sat by us and stroked Jessica’s hair. She said with a concerned look, “How is she doing?”

“She has been in this depressed state all day. But I have kept her warm and out of danger. Mom, I am concerned about her. I am afraid what will happen if something like this happens if I am away at school.”

“Then you can call me, and I will take care of her”

“But Mom, this was serious. She should have someone next to her.” I pleaded.

“Somehow, your heart knew,” my mom said, “You were nearby, and you had to rush here at 2:00 am to take care of her, all because of your instincts. When you are away at school, I will check on her if you feel something is wrong at 2:00am. The result will be the same.”

She made sense. I was only there because I had a gut feeling, and somehow my heart knew. I began to think and plan about how I would handle it while at school.

I was concerned because that evening, she was starting to feel down because of Nathan. If I talk with Jessica often, or even every day, I might sense her state. What if I don’t speak with her that evening? Could something be wrong? If we don’t talk for a while and get worried, will I act like an obsessive and controlling boyfriend? I don’t want to seem that way.

Do I seem that way now? I come over here every day. She never appears annoyed or bothered, though. I had never thought of it until now. Having someone always there is a comfort to me. Some people like to have their personal space and time to be alone. However, I do not mind having someone else in the room while I have my personal time. In fact, in some ways, I prefer it. I don’t have to interact with them. If they are just there, that is a comfort to me.

Jessica and I have spent time like that, not interacting, and it didn’t feel awkward. We are used to each other being around. How will it feel when I am at college? We could call on the phone and leave the speaker and talk or not talk as we please. Would that be too controlling or annoying? Would I seem like I am too insecure that I can be in a room by myself? I feel like that is the real issue. I was insecure. I want someone in bed with me when I sleep, and I want someone in the room with me. Or was it Jessica that I wanted around all the time? Which is what I was wondering, was I becoming too controlling or too possessive?

—————————————————————————–

One day I arrived at Jessica’s house, and found her sitting at the kitchen table with an unknown woman, Nathan, and some girl he had seen at school. Was she his girlfriend? Jessica motioned for me to sit next to her, and I pulled up a chair next to her. She introduced the girl as Monica. And yes, she was Nathan’s girlfriend. And the woman was Brenda, Monica’s mother. When Nathan ran away, he ran to her house.

Brenda was very accepting of Nathan. She even let him stay, so she would know where they were. But she soon realized Nathan didn’t have permission to stay there. So, they came over to settle the matter.

I could see on Jessica’s face that this was a difficult situation. Nathan was her only child, whom she had raised when she was a young single mother. Jessica only talked with me about it in detail once, but I could tell those years were hard on her. Now here was her baby, her only child who didn’t want to live with her anymore.

Brenda disapproved of Nathan ditching his mother as he did. But she didn’t want to drive Nathan and Monica away, so she offered to give them a comfortable place to live.

Her only rule for them was for Nathan to “honor … thy mother,” as the good book says. Nathan was to stay in contact with Jessica. Brenda didn’t define how, but left it to him. Nathan got the message.

Nathan didn’t hate his mom or me. He respected me. But with me around, he didn’t feel needed. I think Monica was the one who didn’t want to be around us. And Brenda’s rule was for Monica’s sake as much as Nathan’s. They mended the bridge, and Nathan was back in Jessica’s life, albeit in a limited way.

From then on, Nathan was around, and sometimes with Monica. But his visits were brief but focused on his mom. He seemed to appreciate her more now, but he wasn’t Jessica’s baby boy anymore.

—————————————————————————–

A few weeks later, Keisha had come to spend an evening with us. She came every once in a while. We were all still good friends. Some evenings Jessica and I would talk with Keisha on the phone. We did not have anything special to talk about. We were just friends talking. But one memorable evening, she treated us to dinner by ordering out. Jessica and I were both poor and rarely went out to eat. In reality, we went out to eat even less than that. Maybe only three times last year we went out to eat. But when we do go, we go for chicken wings. We made some at home, but our attempt at wings can’t beat our favorite one down the street. When Keisha came, she brought a large order from our favorite place. We were excited about the treat.

I don’t recall how many she brought, or how many different sauces she got, but we ate most of them and still had plenty of sauces leftover. And we had lots of messes leftover too. As we began to clean up, I reached over and grabbed Jessica’s ass leaving a big handprint on her dress. “What the hell, Jake! That was one of my favorite dresses! At least you could have tried for my bare ass. I could have cleaned that up easier.”

I thought she was pissed. Sometimes she might exaggerate being mad, but for fun’s sake; but this time, I was starting to realize I probably did stain her dress or maybe even ruined it. She headed to her room to change. As she was going, she called back to Keisha, “Don’t let him grab your ass either, or he might ruin your nice pants.”

As she closed her door, Keisha and I looked at each other grinned. We both had the same idea. Jessica came out very soon after. As she entered the kitchen, I was clearing away the bones, and Keisha was at the sink cleaning dishes. Jessica saw two large handprints on Keisha’s pants.

“Damn it, Jake!” Now she was mad. “Can’t you keep your hands to yourself! Look at her pants. You ruined them!”

Keisha looked over her shoulder to look at the back of her pants and then exclaimed, “Oh shit, I must have wiped off my hands on my pants.”

Keisha turned around to look at Jessica and defend me, “Don’t blame Jake. He kept his hands off my ass.” As she turned around and explained, Jessica saw two big messy handprints on her shirt right over her breasts.

As Jessica was about to explode again, Keisha and I started laughing. Jessica held back her angry comment and went for the sauce on the table. She rubbed her hand in the sauce and came at me. She grabbed my face between her messy hands and rubbed my cheeks and face.

“You think you are so cute, don’t you?” She said as she rubbed some more in my hair.

By this time, Keisha had come behind Jessica with wet soapy hands and grabbed her waist. She was so edgy at that point she whirled around and slapped some more sauce on Keisha’s shirt. I retaliated and poured some sauce on Jessica’s hair.

Soon the saucy food fight began. In a few moments, the battle was over, and the sauce was gone. In the aftermath, everyone was covered, from our hair down to our feet. Soon, we all were laughing at the mess. Jessica seemed like she was still a bit mad at me.

Jessica then announced, “Okay, fun is over. Now STRIP! I might be able to salvage our clothes if I wash them now.”

Keisha and I were not embarrassed about being together in the shower. But being in a playful mood in the shower, there were a few pokes and prods and pinches while we washed. I pinched her ass, and she squealed. After what we had been through, we knew we were not going to hook up again.

“Alright, you two, you better behave in there,” Jessica said in a commanding tone like a mother chastising her children. Then she tried to slip into the shower with us. But it was too crowded. Keisha was at the opposite end from where Jessica was entering, so she slipped out since she was clean.

I turned around, and there was Jessica naked. She gave my butt a playful squeeze and gave me a naughty grin. I had only ever seen her bare ass. Now here she was in full view. I tried to take her all in at once. Before I got a chance to get a full view, she put her arms around my neck and pulled me close. My hands went to her waist and pulled together close. Then she kissed me. It was not a long kiss, but it had my head spinning. She then slapped my ass and told me to get out and let her have a turn.

I stepped out of the shower to cool down, and Keisha handed me a towel. She wrapped herself with hers and headed back to the bedroom. I dried off and followed her.

Keisha was lying on her side propped up on her elbow, staring at me with curiosity in her eyes. As I laid down on the opposite side of the bed, she looked at me and asked, “So, how was it?”

“How was what?” I said innocently.

Keisha looked at me incredulously. “That was your first time seeing her naked, wasn’t it, huh?”

I blushed, “A gentleman does not kiss and tell.”

“Gentleman, my ass. That was no gentleman that grabbed my tits with greasy hands. Now, you can tell your ‘better’ friend. What did you think of her?”

I realized that kiss was to distract me from seeing all of her. “I am hoping to get a better look at her. I only saw her for a few seconds before we started making out,” I explained.

“What about my tits? You were trying to look at them the whole time,” Jessica said, standing in the doorway.

She surprised me as my back was to the door. I turned to see her, and she had wrapped herself in a towel like the rest of us. Well, not quite like the rest of us because my towel came loose when rolling over on the bed. She moved over to the bed and jumped on me, now only covered with the towel. She started to grind on me for a bit. Then she slipped off.

Keisha spoke up, “You two are quite the pair. He is naked there under a towel. She is naked under a towel. All you do is grind a bit, and you two are perfectly content.”

“Why shouldn’t we be?” I asked.

Keisha said, “If it were me, I would have pulled the towel away and ground on him in earnest.”

Jessica said teasingly, “If you want, you can take the towel, and I will do the other part.”

“But you aren’t going to, are you?” Keisha said.

Jessica had a naughty grin and said, “No, I am just going to take his towel.”

With that, she grabbed my towel and started running for the door, leaving me naked. I jumped from the bed and managed only to catch the end of her towel and pulled hers off. She ran naked out the door.

I turned to Keisha, “That is what I wanted to see, that cute naked ass of hers.”

Keisha laughed. I got up and wrapped her towel around me, and headed out the door. I found Jessica on the couch face down on the couch with the towel covering her bare butt. I sat next to her on the floor. I pinched her ass and looked her in the face, and gave her a friendly kiss.

Jessica lifted her feet so Keisha could sit down.

“You know you still haven’t commented on my tits,” Jessica said.

“I didn’t get a good view of them.”

“The hell you didn’t. You couldn’t take your eyes off them,” she said.

“Maybe I can take a good look now?” I proposed.

“Maybe you can look at them later. Another day.” And she kissed me a quick kiss.

Keisha laughed as we continued to banter, and she joined in some of the jokes. We had this wonderful bonding moment. Keisha asked about how we met and what drew us together. Jessica described that incident when she was naked under the sheet, how I treated her respectfully, kindly; but also made her feel worth something.

Keisha asked me. I explained that we had been on the run or in hiding, so I had no close personal relationships with anyone, just Mom. Being friends with the guys was great, but there was no personal bonding which I craved.

I pointed back to the naked under the bedsheet incident. I explained, “That was the first time in a long time that I had been able to start a personal bond with someone. And Jessica let me in. I had been longing for that. I needed to be needed. And Jessica let me in.”

Keisha asked further, “You said that it had been a long time since you had a bond with someone. Who?”

I explained about those kids at the daycare where my mom worked. One of the kids I had a special bond with a girl who had drawn that picture of us and then kissed me on the cheek. As I explained, I started to get emotional.

Keisha told us what we meant to her. She and I had sex once, but she felt our bond was stronger without sex. She said, “Jake touched me inside through another way.”

She talked more after that, more about emotional stories and romantic stories. It may have seemed like a girly type of talk, but I enjoyed those stories too.

It started to get late, and we were still in our towels. Keisha brightened up and suggested having a sleepover as she and I had a few weeks ago. She usually did not impose herself on others like that, but I liked the idea.

Jessica was delighted at the idea. She ran off to get our cleaned clothes. She came wearing a nightshirt and handed our clothes to us. I put on my boxers which is what I usually wore to bed. Keisha didn’t bother with anything.

We all climbed into Jessica’s bed. Jessica put me in the middle between her and Keisha. Then she recalled those fond memories on the RV trip with me, my mom, and herself squeezed into a small bed in the RV. We tried to recreate the fun positions in bed. Jessica described the fun adventures, and we all laughed and enjoyed these moments together as friends.

We were so wound up; I didn’t think we would get any sleep. We continued with stories. Since we are all close together, Jessica had to try and tickle us. Keisha held her down while I had my way with her. I tickled her until she could not stand it.

We all laid back down, exhausted from our playtime in bed. Finally, Keisha asked, “Jake, are you going to miss us when you are away at college when you don’t have anyone to tickle in bed?”

Jessica said in a playful tone, “He just needs to find someone, and he will be fine. Or he can think about us.”

Keisha added, “They will be lining up just to get in bed with him.” And she and Jessica laughed a bit.

She noticed that I was being quiet and not even smiling about it. “What is it, Jake? What is bothering you?”

I tried to brush it off. “It’s okay. I will be fine.”

“You can’t fool me. I know you too well. What is something about the bed?” Jessica asked.

“The beds at school are probably not the same,” I said. But I did a poor job of masking my feelings of sleeping alone.

“I am sure they are fine. Those beds are no different than the ones you and your mom sleep on,” Jessica reassured me.

Keisha asked, “Do you share a bed with your mom? Sometimes? Or all the time?”

Jessica put her hand on my chest to soothe me. But Keisha pressed, “Do you ever sleep alone?”

I started to get embarrassed. What kind of 18-year-old guy sleeps next to his mother? Should it matter? All my mom could afford was a one-bedroom apartment. They probably will not understand.

“I have always slept next to my mom. When my father got angry, my mom would protect me. We just have become used to it,” I said.

Keisha asked, “Did something bad happen when you were alone in bed once?”

“Well, once, when we were on the run, we were staying in a motel. I was about ten at the time. I woke up in the middle of the night to someone pounding on the door. I looked around, and my mom was gone. She had left me all alone. I was so scared. Shortly after the man left, my mom came back and said we had to go right away.”

Jessica asked, “Does it still bother you? Are you afraid to sleep alone? It is okay. You can talk with us.”

“Yes,” I admitted. “I don’t think about it much since my mom is there all the time. And I guess when I am with you, it feels okay.”

“Does that worry you that much?” she asked. She held me, already sensing the answer. “That’s why college scares you.”

Keisha said, “I might be able to get a job in Knightsville, then I could be there if you need someone to sleep next to you.”

I appreciated the gesture, but I didn’t want to make her go out of her way to help me. College was something that I needed to tackle alone.

We didn’t talk anymore that evening. Instead, we all curled up and went to sleep.

———————————————————————

In the summer after my junior year, Jessica was able to take me, my mom, and Keisha to a beach house for a vacation. The real estate broker whom Jessica works for let her have it for two weeks. The house had two bedrooms and one bathroom. The beach next to the house was exclusively for us, so we had our private beach. Jessica did an awesome job with this one. This house seemed like a mansion compared to our one-bedroom hole in the wall.

Given last year’s adventure in a cramped RV, my mom thought that if she roomed with me, Jessica would be coming over and playing with me anyway, so she suggested we would take one room. My mom and Keisha took the other room. They had met and knew each other, but had not spent much time together. Now they would get to know each other better.

Jessica had invited Nathan and Monica, but they declined, or rather Monica declined. It was a bit of a blow to Jessica, but she was determined to have fun and forget about the problems in the world.

It was late when we arrived, so the sun was about to set. My mom and I went to the back and sat in deck chairs to watch the sunset.

I felt warm and happy to have my mom with me. She had been my best friend, my truest friend. She had been my protector. She was much older than Jessica and was able to stand against my father to protect me. I never fully understood what his obsession with me was. He and my grandfather argued about it occasionally. My mom said my father was controlling and cruel, and he misunderstood what inheritance is and what children were. I don’t understand laws and money. I know how much my mom loved me, and I was content to be with her.

“I love you, Mom. You are always there for me.”

“I love you, too, Jake. You will always watch over you and protect you.”

Jessica came out and found us watching the sunset. She sat in a chair next to my mom. They started chatting as women do, and I quickly became disinterested in their conversation. Then I noticed Jessica’s bikini. I had not seen her in a bikini before but had seen different views of Jessica these days. She flashed her ass during the shower incident. When we had the chicken wings and the sauce fight, I saw some glimpses of her naked body, but only fleeting glances. Now she was wearing a bikini, and she looked hot.

I had to admit, she was my best friend, and I found her physically attractive. We would flirt and tease all the time. She got a real thrill by turning me on. But she was my friend. I didn’t want to spoil our friendship with a romantic encounter. But we had agreed that we were okay with flirting, teasing, and generally turning each other on, but we had to say “No” when it was too much. Even sex, we agreed, would be okay if we respected that “no” from the other person. And if there was any doubt, that was an automatic “no.” But time with Jessica was fun, goofy, silly, and flirty. We didn’t take anything seriously while we were playing, flirting, or teasing.

While Jessica and my mom were talking and I was studying Jessica’s curves, she would look at me with a naughty smile and wink, all the while carrying on a conversation with my mom without her finding out.

Soon the conversation turned to what things we could do out here. After a few suggestions, my mom finally said, “Something I would enjoy more of is watching you two flirting in front of me and pretending you’re not, while I sit here and enjoy your silly charade pretending that I am not noticing.”

We all burst out into laughter. We were laughing so hard, Keisha came out and asked what was up.

My mom said, “I am enjoying the view, and so is Jake.” With that, she smacked Jessica’s bum. Keisha started laughing too.

“We should keep an eye on these two,” Keisha said.

My mom said, “Yes, I suppose you are right. I couldn’t get the TV to work moments ago.”

Keisha chuckled and, looking down, shook her head. “This will be an interesting two weeks.”

Indeed, we seemed to be having fun at the beginning. Keisha and I would spend some time together. My mom would either watch or play along.

Jessica and I would sleep in the same bed at night, but it was more of a sleepover, and we played and laughed and giggled until we finally fell asleep. In the morning, my mom said she could still hear us giggling and laughing all night.

The next day after a lazy morning, we all decided to play at the beach. We were all enjoying this vacation so much, especially Jessica. She was usually lively and full of energy. But at the beach, her playfulness was turned up more than usual.

After the sun came up, Jessica grabbed me by the hand and dragged me out to the beach. She would splash around in the water, dive into the waves, throw the ball around that we had brought, and do any other number of zany things. But otherwise, she acted like a kid excited to be on the beach.

Soon, my mom and Keisha came out and joined us. Keisha and I took the ball and played ‘keep away from Jessica. That was too easy, so I let her have it without making it look like I gave it away. I played along and had fun for a while. My mom just sat on the beach watching us enjoy the fun.

She got up and started to swim around in the water. We decided to join her because we had worked up a good sweat. After one dive into the waves, my mom’s top had come off. She just stood there with her tits out like it was an everyday thing. I spotted her top and chased after it. By the time I got back, she was headed back in the waves. She was not always modest at home, and I guessed she was not bothered by being topless among friends. I knew it was not worth pushing the issue. So, I dropped it next to our towels and stuff.

After playing in the water, I noticed that Jessica and Keisha had taken their tops off. They were casual about it, so I decided to be nonchalant about it too and not draw attention to them.

Soon, they came over to the towels to rest. My mom promptly pulled off her bottoms and tossed them next to the tops. I should have been shocked, but I wasn’t. My mom was fully nude in front of everyone, and no one seemed to care. Everyone was casually lying on their towels, chatting and enjoying the sun.

Maybe it was the heat of the sun or the bad example of my mom, or I just wanted to be daring and enjoy the fun and relaxing atmosphere. I reached down and pulled off my shorts, and tossed them to the side.

Everyone just continued to lay there, soaking up some sun. Since we were all friends, somehow taking off my shorts seemed the most natural thing to do. They did not stare or laugh or giggle at my cock hanging out and flapping about. (Not to boast, but my cock was slightly larger than average).

Soon, Jessica stood up and pulled off her bottoms. I could not help but stare. This was the first time I had a good look at Jessica fully in the nude, not flashes or peeks. She was completely naked and not hiding it. I looked up at her face hoping she had not caught me staring. She was looking right at me with a naughty grin on her face, and she winked at me. Then she laid down and relaxed into the sun like nothing shocking had happened.

In short order, Keisha pulled her bottoms off too. And there she stood, the black goddess, the most beautiful woman I have ever known. I could tell Keisha was giving me a good long look without trying to make it seem like she was, before she laid back down.

What a sight! Three gorgeous butts were lying in a row. I could not believe how lucky I was. I laid down on my back, closed my eyes, and relaxed in the sun. My cock was semi-stiff, and I was not going to embarrass myself in front of them.

As I laid there, my mind began to worry about the situation. I was hanging out with three nude women, all of them gorgeous. Yes, even my mom was beautiful too, but I just focused on Jessica and Keisha.

But I was the second one to get naked. What was I thinking? My mind was worried, but my mom always told me to listen to my heart. My heart was happy and at peace. I was with friends whom I loved. We were not arguing, nor were there any petty jealousies. We were naked and happy. I decided to go with my heart, enjoy time with my friends, and not worry about this vacation. I took a big sigh, let my cock hang out in the breeze semi-hard or not, and felt comfortable with my friends near me.

As I was starting to doze, Keisha took me by the hand and woke me from my light nap, and pulled me back to the water. We swam around a bit, and then she drew close to me.

“I am proud of you and how you are behaving,” she said.

I asked, “What do you mean?”

“You have not panicked or made a scene. I would have expected you to act a bit uneasy with three naked women and this thing out in the open,” she said as she reached down and gave my cock a little squeeze. I smiled at her touch.

She stroked my cock a bit and said with a sly grin, “We may have to renegotiate the terms of our friendship.” She gave it one more squeeze and swam off, wanting me to chase her. Stunned for a moment at what she just said, I wondered if she meant that. We both agreed not to have sex, but was she suggesting that we should? But at that moment, I knew we would not do it on the beach, so after a brief pause, I chased after her through the waves.

I was about to grab her when suddenly someone attacked from behind. Jessica made her way to the water, snuck up behind me, and jumped on my back. I threw her off, and then Keisha turned around and joined the fray.

Somehow the game became pinning Jake to the ground. We wrestled in the waves washing up on the beach and getting covered in wet sand. They jumped on me and tried to pull me down. I was trying to counterattack by picking one of them up.

Somewhere in the flurry of naked bodies and limbs, I grabbed for Jessica and ended up with a handful of her bare breast. I paused for a second because I touched where I ought not, but that cost me. Keisha tripped me, and Jessica pinned me to the ground.

“No fair,” I protested, “you moved so I would grab your tit.”

“Are you afraid I would think you are not a gentleman? You left your honor back in your shorts on the beach,” Jessica said.

With that, she leaned down and jiggled her breasts in my face. Since we were not fighting fair, I took advantage of the situation. I sat up, throwing her off my lap and sitting in the sand. In one quick motion, I scooped her up as I stood up and threw her over my shoulder to carry her.

She playfully hit my back with her fists and screamed, which came out sounding like squeals of delight. I would smack her sand-covered ass and tell her to hold still. I carried her out into the water to wash her off. When it was deep enough, I threw her into a wave. She was washed up on shore like a drowned rat but full of fire as she started to run after me.

Keisha just stood by and laughed at the whole comical scene. Jessica chased me back to the towels where we collapsed, and she pinned me down again, sat on me, and declared herself the winner.

I was surprised at how I felt, at how wonderful I felt. Here we were naked and carefree. We were laughing and savoring the moments while we were nude on the beach. I pictured, or at least heard tales, of how nude beaches turned into orgies. We were excited and thrilled at being together; but at the moment, we did not have any overwhelming sexual passions. Even though Jessica was sitting on my cock, which was semi-hard; neither she nor I made any move to make it sexual.

As soon as she slipped off, my cock was getting hard, but no one made any comments, stared, laughed, or giggled. That was a huge relief to me because that was the one thing I was worried about, my cock trying to make a spectacle.

As the day wore on and the evening came, the fun had not seemed to stop. We may not have been so active, but we continued to enjoy the day. I also noticed that no one made an effort to put their clothes back on. Even when we had showered off together, Jessica remained perfectly at ease with her nudity. Even in bed, we kicked off the covers and laid there naked, snuggled together.

However, in the morning, I woke to Jessica sitting up playing with my hard cock. As soon as I was awake enough, she said, “Sorry, I couldn’t resist. We didn’t want to make a big fuss over your beautiful cock yesterday, but seeing it like this in the morning. I hope you don’t mind.”

She was rubbing her finger around the head and felt along the shaft, and handled my balls. She had no intention to get me off, but instead, she was playing with it like some new toy. After she had her fun, she swatted my hip and told me to pee or something. I went to the bathroom and came back out a lot softer. I sat next to her, and we smiled at each other. She said, “This certainly is a new level of intimacy for us,” as she traced her finger along my chest.

“To be honest, if we were not close friends, I would have been sitting on that cock this morning,” she said.

Being curious, I asked, “What do you mean?”

She laid down near my feet, but with her feet propped up on the headboard next to my head. The position gave us a full view of each other. “I mean, a sexual relationship is just that, sex. But our friendship is more complex than that.” And she nudged my shoulder with her toe. “There is love and respect. We care more about each other than just trying to get an orgasm out of each other.”

With that word ‘love,’ I looked at her. And she looked back with soft kind eyes. “Yes, I said it and meant to say ‘love.'” She rubbed my chest with her toe. “Yes, Jake, I love you. You are the best friend I have ever had.”

“Even when I throw you over my shoulder, smack your ass, and throw you in the waves?” I asked.

“Especially then.” She said with a giggle as she put her foot on my shoulder.

“I love you, too, Jessica,” I said.

Then she poked my stomach with her foot. “As a friend,” she corrected me, “don’t go all mushy romantic on me.”

Suddenly, I had to think about what she was saying or implying. Was I falling in love with her? How would I be able to tell if I was falling in love?

Almost in answer to my thoughts, she tapped my heart with her toe. “You have always loved me and cared about me in here, even from that first conversation. And so, did I. The only thing different here is this,” and she wiggled my cock with her hand, “and this,” she said as she spread her legs apart for me to see her full pussy.

She giggled as she saw my eyes go wide. “I think I do love you,” I said. She gave my cock a hard jerk, not a sexual or playful one either. “And your pussy looks nice too.”

She started to laugh and sat up to hug me. I joined her with a laugh and hug.

“Besides, I don’t think I am your type,” Jessica said.

“You are exactly my type,” I said.

She finished the sentence, “your type of friend. But you haven’t dated any girls. You have just been hanging out with your best friend, who is wild and crazy.”

“What is my type?” I asked.

“We have lots of time to talk about it during the vacation. So, think about it, and let’s figure out the perfect girl for you.”

While hugging her, I took the opportunity to tickle her, and the bed battle started. After some wrestling, laughter, and squeals of delight, my mom yelled from the living room, “You kids behave in there.”

We laughed even harder.

—————————————————————————————

My mom and I had a chance to walk along the beach, hand in hand. Most people seeing a 19-year-old guy holding hands with his mom would seem strange, but my mom and I were close that way. Perhaps also, I was still that little boy my mom protected from my father those many years ago.

Even though we were sharing the same bed, we didn’t get to spend as much time together these days. I was spending more time with Jessica. But here at the beach my mom and I got to spend some time together.

Along the way, we played in the water together. She had us try and make sandcastles like we did when I was little. There were so many memories there of me and my mom, happy, fun-filled memories. We strolled along the beach, hand in hand, and talked. We reminisced about our fun times and some of our rough times.

I said, “Thanks for always being there for me.”

“You were always there for me,” my mom said.

Humbly I said, “But you are the strong one. The wise one. I don’t know what I would do without you.”

“Jake, you and Jessica were quite the pair. You two are quite close now. I am happy to see that she loves you a lot.”

“Yes, but we are not in love.”

“Of course, you are not. Jessica is not your type,” my mom said.

“Jessica said that too. Honestly, I don’t know what type I like.”

“You should go to school and date and figure out what type you like.”

“Jessica said that, too. But I am afraid of being alone, especially at night.”

“Then you should find a girl to warm your bed soon then,” my mom said with a chuckle.

“Maybe I want a girl that is like you, Mom,” I said.

She said, “That is so sweet of you to say. Most boys do marry girls that are like their mothers.”

“Yes, I want someone just like you. Strong, brave, wise, beautiful, and ….”

My mom broke in, “and scared. I was so scared when we first left your father. I felt alone too. I was often depressed. And many times, I would neglect you and ….” She was emotional for a bit.

I squeezed her hand as she continued. “But I had a little boy who could touch my hand or smile or hug me, and all the despair would go away. You carried me through the years. I would not have been able to make it with any other child. It was because of you and your big heart. I understand why Jessica loves you so much and values your friendship. Your presence has often calmed me. You are special. I think the girl you will marry will be much like you. She will have a big heart and calming presence. She will smother you with love.”

“Jessica seems to be like that,” I said.

My mom said, “She does seem to be like that, but she is not. You two are perfect for each other as friends. You love her and care for her. She needs the kind of love and support you can give her. Most people can’t give her what you give her. And you have a strong need to be needed.”

“Then we are perfect for each other,” I said.

“No,” my mom said, “She loves and cares about you too. You feel loved because she relies on you. But you need someone to take care of you and has as big of a heart as you do.”

“Like you, Mom,” I said.

“I don’t feel worthy of the praise, but yes someone like me. But I am far from perfect.”

“You only say that, but you have taught me well.”

“You taught yourself. I just encouraged you to follow your heart.”

We sat down on the beach and watched the waves on the sand in silence enjoying our quiet time together. Then we stood up to head back to the house. We hugged each other and enjoyed the closeness we felt now. Then we walked back in silence, a comfortable silence, hand in hand.

Along the way, the conversation picked up again, and we were laughing and talking about what the future holds for us. Then I could feel her gaze between my legs, and she said, “I loved that you didn’t hesitate to show us how much of a man you are now.”

“Mom!! I cannot believe you just said that.”

“We are adults, and you do not need to call me Mom all the time,” she said with a wink. Then she turned to run out into the waves, daring me to chase her.

Thirty minutes later, Grace and I strolled back into house smiling brightly.

——————————————————————-

The rest of the vacation was marvelous. There was no drama or foul moods. In fact, until that point in my life, I had never had a happier time with friends. We never got tired of playing on the beach, although we would exhaust ourselves. The conversations, the laughter, the stories, and the heartfelt talks made this truly a memorable event in my life.

Although Jessica and I have been close best friends, spending the time in the nude broke down many barriers between us. We bonded more than we had and became far more intimate than we had been. We shared that emotional intimacy that the closest friends can share.

I knew about her troubled past and abusive boyfriends. But during this time, she told me all about her experiences and her emotional and physical difficulties. Those were some of the most tender moments in our friendship. Both of us cuddled together naked in bed, and she told me about her troubled past. For the first time in her life, she told her whole story through many tears. As the story ended and the tears dried up, she felt the enormous emotional baggage lifted from her shoulders.

Likewise, I told her about my past. She already knew about some of it from my mom. My understanding of the father’s motivations was limited, but my mom had explained it. But I told her about how I felt about it. Sometimes as a young boy, I was scared, but my mom always comforted me. I would feel safe with her next to me.