Adrienne had then said goodbye to Dawn, and my girlfriend and I had returned to the Evans house. Now it was just me, Dawn, and DJ.
Mrs. Evans sighed and then looked to Dawn and me. “Well, at least I get to have you two here for one night.”
“Of course, Mom,” Dawn nodded. And then the five of us headed inside.
Mr. and Mrs. Evans headed into the kitchen to work on dinner. Dawn went in to help them, and DJ started setting the table. I asked what I could do to help, but Deanna Evans shooed me away, stating that I was still a guest and should just sit down and relax.
I made my way over to the computer in the family room, looking to catch up on email. With the parties and graduation ceremonies and ... well, orgies ... I hadn't taken the time to really check in.
The first message of any consequence was from Paige on Saturday, letting me know that she was safe and sound at her Aunt and Uncle's place and settling in. She had her own room and Aunt Polly was already fussing over her nonstop, spouting pregnancy advice at every turn. I laughed and relaxed, knowing that Paige was in good hands.
The second message was from Lynne Arian, someone I hadn't seen or talked to in a long while. The message was actually addressed to both me and Adrienne, and she was commenting about how out of the blue, she'd run into Kady Jacobsen on campus at Stanford. The two had gotten along, chatting nostalgically about cheerleading and High School. But Kady had also mentioned Paige's situation and Lynne was digging for more details.
The third message was from Carter Sheridan, telling me to keep next Saturday open. He was planning another ‘get together'. I realized I hadn't thought about him or Elyse in a while, and I wondered if I wanted to go near that kind of crowd again, now that I was with Dawn.
The fourth message was from Professor Isakova. She was reminding Kim Fukuzaki and me to be at her office at 1pm tomorrow to begin our research. And she said she was looking forward to this summer, believing the three of us would make a good team.
And the fifth message was from Carli Singer, soon to be Tri-Delt Senior and apparently next year's Pledge Mistress. She had some ideas for pledge hazing that might involve me, plus Leighton had passed along a suggestion for an advanced blowjob class centered around me. I allowed myself a few moments to fantasize, but shook my head and then started typing out a reply. I didn't exactly say “no”, but I did explain that I'd have to run things by my girlfriend before committing to anything.
Then it was time for dinner and I returned to the rest of the Evans family, instinctively going up to Dawn and wrapping her up in a hug from behind, tenderly kissing the back of her neck.
She giggled and smiled and turned in my grasp, wrapping her arms around my shoulders and giving me another kiss, this one right smack on the lips. Neither of us was really concerned about the rest of her family watching us. And then we settled down to eat.
Later that night, I found myself right where I wanted to be: in bed with my Dawn. We cuddled up together, momentarily reminiscing about the past two years while holding a framed photograph of the 5 ex-roommates: Dayna, Brandi, Dawn, Adrienne, and me, all sitting together on the steps of the front porch, our arms wrapped around each other.
“Isn't that a great picture of us?” Dawn smiled.
“It is,” I agreed, then specifically drew my finger in a circle around me and Dawn. The photo was from the beginning of our Freshman year, back when I was still with Adrienne and she was still with Ryan. And yet Dawn was seated on the step right in front of me, my arms wrapped around her shoulders, the two of us looking like the happiest couple in the world. Even then, we always knew we'd eventually be back together.
“I love you, Ben,” Dawn turned to me and whispered, darting forward briefly to peck my lips. “I'm your Dawn. I'm yours forever. Don't ever forget that.”
I shook my head. Then I reached my right hand up to her cheek and my left to the bracelet she now refused to ever take off, unless she had to get wet. “And I'm your Ben. Forever.”
We came together for another kiss, this one far more than just a peck. Her lips parted to let my tongue in. And as the passion of our kiss grew, our hands began to roam around and then inside of each other's clothing as we fell back against the pillows and began our path to making love.
But before we got there, the door cracked open with a squeak, causing Dawn to gasp and turn around in mild panic. My right hand was still up her nightshirt, holding onto a firm breast.
DJ just poked her head around and grinned. “This a private party? Or is there room for one more?”
Tomorrow is the first day of the rest of my life.