"But what did you do, Steve? Did you take me aside and tell me what an ass I was? Did you chew me out like Lisa did? No! You got all moody and sent me a silent message with your absence at dinner, and I was so giddy I pretty much missed it. As my boyfriend, I expect you to call me out when I'm being foolish. You can't let me embarrass myself without trying to stop me. It's your duty to set me straight. If I don't listen and we argue, you have to be as hard on me as you deem necessary, but you also have to always be able to forgive me. You know I'll be all over you if you do something stupid, or hurtful. I want you to love me enough to be hard on me at times, like Lisa and Charlotte were. Does that make sense to you?""Yes, when you put it that way. I'm new to all of this, and I see that I'm not very good at a lot of it. I was sulking, I guess. You hurt my feelings by going on and on about Nick Fallen, so I decided to hurt yours by not showing up for dinner and not taking you out tonig
"This is my very best friend, Charlotte, and that hunk next to her is Billy Marsh. He's the guy that pulled Steve out of the river that day. Be sure to have some really strong, handsome stud play his part in the movie," insisted Gwen.Billy invited them to join Charlotte and him and the group gladly accepted. When the dinner was finished, Billy's father came to the table to tell them the meal was on the house, providing he could take a picture of the group and have it framed and placed on a wall in the restaurant."I'll put it on the wall next to the others," promised Billy's dad as everyone turned to look where Mr. Marsh was pointing. Gwen was shocked to see a large framed photo of a dripping wet Billy Marsh pulling Steve from the river as an equally wet Gwen hovered over his shoulder. Luckily, most of her chest was concealed by Billy, but there was still ample cleavage showing. Next to that picture was one of Billy bowling over a Windsor defender as Steve, his jersey soaked with blo
"I've had a few calls, but, to be honest, I'm waiting to see if I can get into the Naval Academy. My father and my grandfather were in the Navy. I plan on following the family tradition. I'd love to do it as an officer if I could.""But you could get a scholarship to a good university. There's no need to risk your life in the service, or waste four years on a boat," argued Gwen. "Maybe you could go to Stanford with me! Wouldn't that be better than the Navy?""I don't feel that my father wasted his life; nor did my grandfather. The Navy's in my blood and I've already decided to join. You've planned on going to Stanford and being a doctor for a long time. It's your dream and your future. I respect that decision and I would hope that you'd respect mine and be as pleased for me as I am for you," reasoned Steve."But I'm going to be saving lives, and I won't be putting myself in danger. You'll be in danger and possibly taking lives. Don't you think that my goals are more practical?" demand
Steve felt his face get heat up as he listened to Paula admonish Gwen for not having her phone close at hand. She all but stated that she suspected what he and Gwen had been doing. He struggled for words to relieve the tension he felt. Before he could speak, Paula came around the pool table and stood before him."Don't get so nervous, Steve. I'm not accusing anyone of anything. I'm sure you two had a wonderful time, playing pool," stated Paula with a smile. "Please consider the consequences of your 'games' in the future and place Gwen's welfare before your own. Gwen's 18, and I remember being that age. I understand more than you may think. I'm asking you as a mother, and as your friend, to be cautious and go slow. I think the world of you. You know that."After Paula left the room, Steve managed to begin breathing again. "Your mom knows! What do we do to now?""Yes, I think she has an idea. That's why she texted me and then Kate. She was worried about what she and Dad might walk in on
"I'll never let you go!" insisted Steve as he pulled Gwen into his arms and kissed her gently on the lips as she wrapped her arms around his neck."I don't know what the problem was," reported Kate to the family as she hurried back into the room and took her seat. "But Gwen seems to have found the cure for whatever it was. They'll be in pretty soon. We still have to give Uncle Joe his gift!"Gwen led Steve back into the room and made him sit back down on the sofa. Then she sat next to him and smiled. "We're fine now. Let's give Uncle Joe his gift and then eat dinner!"After dinner, there was a constant parade of family and friends stopping in to visit the Andersons. Gwen grandparents along with Diane's family arrived in the afternoon. Steve was once again sitting on the couch holding Gwen's hand when Stephanie came into the room. She looked at Gwen questioningly and Gwen nodded. Smiling, Stephanie dropped into Steve's lap and hugged him."I have something for you, Steve. It isn't much
"Mom! Do you think Steve will complain about posing with me topless? He'll love it!"Steve heard the last comment and interjected. "I might complain. I don't want explicit pictures of you floating around. You mean too much to me to do something exciting now that I'll regret later. At the very least, I want to see all the shots while they're on the disc and have the right to delete any I don't like. You're perfect, Gwen. People admire you and consider you a role model. I think you're really sexy and beautiful. You don't have to show your breasts to look great, or be noticed. I'll go along with this as long as your mom and I both have the power to delete any pictures we feel are over the line.""You surprise me, Steve, but in a good way," admitted Gwen. "I'm really happy that you care about my reputation and honor. However, I don't get to model very often and I know darn well that a lot of models would be topless in your arms if that's what the photographer asked. Heck, they'd do it whe
"Stephanie, I see why you're always talking about Steve," laughed Jade. "He really does treat a girl right. I hope his manners rub off on these other two."Once everyone had their food, Steve moved to the next part of his plan. "Steph, these two clods want to learn how to dance like we do. Do you think you're mom could work them into her schedule. The other problem they have is that they're socially dysfunctional and can't find any girls to partner with them when they learn. I was thinking as a Christmas gift to them, I'd hire you and Jade to work as their dance partners while they learned."I know it doesn't sound very appealing. These guys are pretty good on the gridiron, but are about as graceful as a couple of bulls in a china shop. How much would you need to subject yourselves to the misery of dancing with these two left-footed freaks?"Tyler and Jared both showed their surprise at Steve's request. Their jaws dropped and eyes seemed to bulge. Stephanie and Jade swung their attent
"I'm sorry for all the fuss I caused. I didn't know what a jerk Larry was. He seemed like a nice guy at the gym, so I invited him to come with me tonight. It was our first date and it'll be the last.""I suspect your friend may be into steroids pretty heavily. His muscle mass was way too great and his rather strange behavior was text book 'roid rage'. It's best you switch gyms and avoid him totally. He's headed down a bad road," predicted Laura.I never thought about that," admitted Ashley as she looked in Steve's direction. "He looked so rugged and so handsome. Are most muscular men on steroids?""No, not necessarily," responded Laura as she followed Ashley's gaze. "I can assure you that Steve is not taking steroids, and it's unlikely any of the football players on any team coached by Mr. Watkins would be. He doesn't tolerate illegal, unethical, or unhealthy behavior by his players. These young men gained their strength the old fashioned way; genetics and hard work.A little later, S
"Dinner will be ready in an hour and a half, Steve. Would you like to lie down for awhile? You look a little drowsy," commented Paula. "Good idea, Mom! Come on, Steve. I'll help you get situated. I forget what you've been through, at least until I look at your face. Let's get you in bed so you can rest," prompted Gwen. "You'd better come back and watch TV with us pretty soon or we'll all know he's not getting any rest," laughed Caroline as Gwen closed the bedroom door. "Mom, do you think we made a mistake allowing Gwen to be with Steve?" asked Paula in a serious tone. "Seriously? Not even close. I'm a little old fashioned, but you can't keep those two apart, even if you tried. They wouldn't lie or sneak around, but that boy has a serious dose of testosterone pumping in his veins and Gwen is about as beautiful a woman as I've ever seen. They can't be kept apart and it would be wrong to try. They aren't your average high school kids, not by a long shot. I don't think there's any limi
Gwen rushed over to Laura and followed her out of the room. Steve was covered in bandages and once again had an IV plugged into his left arm. Gwen walked up to his bed and took his hand and smiled. Steve tried to smile back and groaned as his split lip reminded him of his ordeal."Steve, you know what this means, don't you?" asked Gwen. "I'm going to have to wash your back in the shower again. You know I'm going to make you stay with us and I'm going to smother you in love. I just hope you're healthy enough to survive it because it's going to be constant and intense. Think you can stand it?""That's all I could think about when I was lying under that damn rock ledge! I knew if I could just hang on, you'd be rubbing your naked breasts against me again, washing my back and allowing me to wash your front. I had to time to think about my love for you, Gwen. I'll never love another woman the way I love you. I know that.""Oh, Steve! My heart was breaking when you were taken away, but I nev
"I decided to check out his chest area for any injuries or punctures. His chest, stomach, and back were all covered with horrible long black bruises. It's pretty apparent that the guy must have beaten Steve with some sort of club!"Cries and moans filled the room at Brad's statement. He waited for the ladies to collect themselves. "He also had shrapnel buried in his back, buttocks, and legs. One large fragment and several smaller ones appeared to be infected. He's quite ill. I have no idea what sort of internal injuries he may have suffered from the beating and the wreck. His face is badly swollen, with one eye totally closed. There you have it as far as I can report. Obviously, the doctors will have much better idea of the extent of his health problems."No one had expected to hear that Steve had been badly beaten before crashing and then enduring several days in a blizzard. Everyone wore shocked expressions and tears flowed freely. Paula hugged Gwen and cooed into her ear much as sh
They had formed a plan for searching while in the copter and moved out to follow that plan. Two days later they still had almost half of the area they wanted to search untouched. The snow was well over three feet with drifts eight and ten feet high. They felt a real urgency as they pushed through the snow. It was not likely that anyone would survive for days in this environment without proper equipment. They feared that their window of opportunity for finding Steve alive was rapidly closing.They were not looking for a body. They searched likely areas where a man in distress would look for shelter during a storm. They looked for caves in the hillside, smoke in the air, tracks in the snow, and deadfalls where downed trees could offer some protection from the elements. By Friday afternoon, they were tired and discouraged, but in agreement that they would not end their search until they found Steve. Neither brother wanted to return home from this mission they had undertaken empty handed.
Steve had been taken totally by surprise when the gunman appeared from behind the car. He cursed himself for being so careless, and for endangering Lisa. Her fear was obvious, but it forced Steve to remain calm. The situation was tense and he knew that he needed to remove Lisa from danger.As soon as he realized that he was the man's real focus, Steve decided that he'd go with him if Lisa were allowed to leave unharmed. Steve was also certain that if Lisa was hurt in any way, he would find some way to wreak vengeance on the gunman.As the man secured his hands, Lisa was allowed to slip away. Steve was under no illusions about what was facing him, but with Lisa safe, he would be able to face it without concern for her.They drove a couple miles with his hands strapped to the car door. Then the gunman turned into a driveway as the garage door opened. He pulled alongside an SUV, shut the motor off, and closed the garage door. Steve's abductor then walked around the front of the car. As h
"They had a blizzard up there a couple days ago. There's two feet of new snow and the temperatures have been in the teens with a strong wind since then. Steve must be in that weather, trying to survive after blowing that bastard to hell. He'll need help!""I have some connections," declared Brad as he headed out of the room. "Let me make a few calls and see what I can find out."Ten minutes later, Brad came back into the living room. "I called in a few favors to get this information. They found body parts all over the wreckage, but none were Steve's. They did find blood on some of the wreckage that was Steve's. They feel it's possible that he's alive and on foot in the Burns National Forest. Amber's dad tried to send the National Guard in with helicopters and other equipment, but couldn't because there's another blizzard bearing down on the area right now. They can't risk more lives, so they have to wait it out. They think it'll be clear by the weekend, or maybe Friday and they'll go
Amber had the camera on a tripod as she stood in front of it with Gwen. The voice in her ear told her she was going on in ten seconds. She counted down and turned to Gwen."What can you tell us about this situation, Gwen. What has happened here?""A dark man with a heavy accent and a gun stopped my sister, Lisa, in the parking lot of the Sparta mall a short while ago. He demanded that she text my boyfriend, Steve Hammer, telling him that she needed him outside. When he went out to see what Lisa needed, the gunman told Steve he had to submit to having his hands bound and to get into the gunman's car or he would shoot both Steve and Lisa."Steve told the gunman that he would kill him if he harmed Lisa, but if he let Lisa go, Steve would agree to being bound and leave with him. As he secured Steve's wrists, my sister was able to flee the area. She is unharmed but pretty shaken."We called the police immediately and they are doing their best to find the gunman and Steve. The man had a hea
"They're afraid that if they move me, they'll miss the exclusive features you've been granting me the last few months. Now that you have a hit song and your clothing line is being promoted all over TV and the internet, the station doesn't want to lose you. They've given me a raise and a promise to move up once you guys are in college."I'd like to do fifteen minutes with you two. It will be live, with a few seconds delay in case something unacceptable is blurted. It's going to be during the eight o'clock hour and the network may rebroadcast it during their morning show if it looks interesting enough."Saturday morning found Lisa, Kate, Gwen, Amber Stahl and Amber O'Leary setting up at Macy's, well before the normal opening time. Amber O'Leary had arranged to have a piano delivered to the area the kids were using. She felt confident that fans would be asking Gwen and Steve to sing since they had a hit song. The girls were shown their changing room, while Steve once again was given a gl
School was scheduled to reopen Wednesday morning, one week after the attack. Steve had managed to cut off his bandages by himself that morning and limped to the shower to prepare for the day. He was doing his best to soap up his upper body when he felt hands stroking his back! He swung around in surprise to find a naked Gwen standing behind him.Trying to remain cool, he slowly ran his gaze over Gwen's body. His eyes lingered on the Y created where her long legs came together. Then he moved on to enjoy her full breasts and hard nipples."Do I look okay? I'm pretty nervous about you seeing me like this," admitted Gwen. "Am I too heavy or something?""You're incredible! I can't believe how beautiful you are, Gwen. Your body is perfect!""Thanks! The nice thing about us being naked is that I can actually see how much you appreciate looking at me. It looks like Little Steve enjoys the view. He's looking right at me!" laughed Gwen as she began soaping Steve's shoulders and chest.The showe