Choice Matters

"This is ridiculous!" she exclaimed to know one.

Just to prove that was an understatement, the door burst open, hip hop music spilling into her little sanctuary. Lena looked up surprised. A raven haired girl wearing only pants and a bra which she barely fit into backed into the room. She led two men in with her, a stubby bald black guy and a really pale and skinny white guy suffering from a bad case of 'farmer's tan'.

"Um, occupied!" she called to them.

The half-naked woman continued to back up, her partners taking turns to kiss and handle her all over.

"People? Uh, can you maybe go somewhere else?" she asked.

They continued to back up, totally oblivious to the young woman sitting in the easy chair.

"Hello?!" she shouted. They didn't stop moving toward her.

Lena spun out of the chair just as the threesome spilled into it. The big recliner nearly rocked and fell backwards but with a yelp and a laugh, the mass of fondling flesh balanced themselves and resumed their heated session.

Lena stood watching them for a moment at first startled and then stupefied by the mini-orgy taking place right in front of her. They were groaning and moaning and cooing as the kissed and sucked loudly. The two men massaged the woman's breasts like dough and her hands cupped each of their crotches, groping and squeezing. Their delirious looks on their faces was kind of disturbing as well.

She looked away, grimacing and waved her hands, washing them of the whole sordid picture. Then she strode out of the room, closing the door as she left.

She stood outside the door. Eyes closed, she sighed deeply.

"Thanks, girlfriend!" she heard the woman shout from behind the door. With a mischievous laugh she added, "Just let me know when you'll be needing it!"

That about did it for her. Lena clutched her book and marched down the hallway. She turned the corner to the living room. The party was full on at that point. The place was a mess with cans and food wrappings all over the floor. Several people had paired up, locked in open displays of over-heated affection. There was a scrum of guys in front of the fireplace burning god knows what and chanting as if they were at a football game. There was Kirk jumping on the coffee table, eyes wide, wild and red to match his face. She spotted Donna and Maureen across the room with some other women dancing in a corner by the stereo. She made a beeline for them.

Marko was sitting on a small utility cabinet looking out the window at the rain. Girls had tried to get him to dance with them, guys had tried to get him to drink with them but he had brushed them off. He was on the verge of a headache. It had a name.

"All the ladies in the house, shout out your love for Captain Kirk!" his soused friend spat at nobody in particular.

Marko glared at him. As he did, he saw a pretty Korean woman, looking a bit frazzled, enter the room from the hallway. He had been wondering where Lena had gone to. He almost thought that she decided to make a break for it on her own. Judging by the look on her face she still seemed determined to do so as she marched across the floor. Marko slid off of the cabinet, moving to intercept her. That's when Kirk decided to stage-dive into the scrum of guys. They hadn't been expecting him to do that.

Marko rolled his eyes and then moved quickly to prevent a gang beating.

"Donna, hey. I'm really, really sorry about this," Lena had a pleading look on her face as she begged to her friend, "I'm, uh, not feeling so good and I also forgot some important books at home. I really, really need them." She doubled up her excuses.

"You want to go home?" Donna said looking totally disappointed, "But it'll take hours!"

"It's also raining like crazy out there," added Maureen, not helping.

Lena arched her eyebrows up and drooped her mouth. She amped up the apologetic puppy look, "I don't want to, but I HAVE to! I'm sorry. I've got cramps and I need those books for an assignment on Monday! I completely forgot about them!"

"Uh...," Donna struggled with the idea. She really didn't want to go.

But Lena wasn't going to let go, "I'm soooo sorry!"

She watched with relief as her friend's expression shifted. She was cracking. Donna looked frustrated but finally she said, "Okay."

As Maureen expressed her disbelief to Donna, Lena's inner fist pumped up and down, "Yes!"

That was quickly ended when for some reason, she saw a look of surprise overcome both women. They looked past her.

Lena turned around to the front door of the cottage. A new face had joined the party.

"Tobin," said Maureen.

"Tobin?" said Donna.

"Shit," Lena said to herself.

**********

Lena spent the next 20 minutes standing between Donna and Tobin playing peace-maker. She shouted to be heard and her head whipped back and forth between them so much that she was getting dizzy. Now she really did have cramps.

The only good think about this occurrence is that it seemed to strengthen her friend's resolve to leave the cottage.

"20 minutes," Tobin, a bright-eyed, long brunette haired fellow, begged, "Come on Donna. 20 minutes to talk."

"Lena needs to go now," Donna said defiantly.

Tobin turned anxiously to her, "Lena. Please. 20 minutes. We can work this out in 20 minutes then you can go. I'll drive you myself!"

Great, now the onus was on her. Lena turned to Donna. She could see that look on her freckle-faced friend. It was the look that she also really wanted to talk alone with her ex-boyfriend.

Shit.

She left them in the corner by themselves. But now she didn't know where to go. The party in the living room was sinking further into a carnival. She made her way to the hallway but stopped. She figured all the bedrooms, like the den, were probably 'occupied'.

"Just let me know when you'll be needing it!" was what the girl in the threesome had said to her. Lena scanned the partiers hopelessly. She couldn't believe that these guys were seniors and grads in university

Yeah, right. She thought to herself, there was probably only one guy here she'd even think of considering joining in one of the bed-....

Woah. Where did THAT thought come from? Lena shook her head.

She went to the front door. She needed fresh air.

Besides, she hadn't seen 'him' since this afternoon.

***********

"You're going to cool off?" Marko demanded.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm going to cool off," Kirk replied. It wasn't even 7 o'clock and the guy was bleary eyed and plastered.

The two had been standing in the rain on the deck at the side of the cottage. Marko figured it was the quickest way for his friend to sober up...or maybe catch pneumonia and die. Either way, he'd be quiet for a second.

Marko had rescued him from being pummelled by the guys he had tackled when he jumped off the coffee table. Other than that momentary boost of adrenalin, he was spent. He had been working hard all week, hell, for the last month from dawn to dusk building houses. He had been hoping to get in some water-skiing or outdoor recreation to burn off some pent up frustrations from work. Now it was just exacerbated. Kirk WAS work.

He patted his wasted friend on the shoulder. Kirk's word didn't mean much but it was all he had. Time to get out of the rain. They rounded the corner to the front deck. Marko saw a lone figure sitting in the dark under the patio table umbrella. She was curled up on a chair, drawing her bare legs up to her chest, head on her knees.

"Hey," he said as he approached Lena.

The young woman lifted her head. Her eyes look tired and her round, small lips were pouting. She seemed to brighten up a bit when she saw him, though.

"Oh, hey," she answered.

Kirk gave her a weak wave, still grinning sheepishly, stupidly. She nodded at him.

"Okay," Marko sighed, patting Kirk on the back. He opened the door and gave him a gentle push. He said, "Go in and sit on a couch or something."

He closed the door and shoved his hands in his pockets and turned to Lena.

"You're all wet," Lena remarked softly.

"Tell me about it," he muttered.

"You want to join me under here?" she offered.

He held his breath. Yeah, he wanted to join her under there. Then what? Offer her a couple of drinks, the two of them get sloshed, make out, do the nasty in the rain?

For some reason, he decided he wanted to be the sensible one this weekend. The behaviour of the apes in the cottage had strengthened that resolve.

Besides, she seemed too nice.

"Nah," he shook his head, "Just trying to cool off."

Lena smiled and nodded knowingly. "Babysitting?" she asked.

He chuckled and rolled his eyes, "Yeah. You wouldn't happen to know anything about that do you?"

"Tell me about it," she mimicked him. Now she laughed. That was twice in one day.

She looked at him thoughtfully as he stood in the rain, shifting in his feet. His curly black hair had flattened out, bangs hanging just above his thick black eyebrows. Every so often, the light from the cottage caught his olive-skinned face, wet from the rain, a nice mix of sharp lines and round features. She smiled to herself admiring him.

Marko coughed softly.

Lena rolled her eyes and slipped out of her crouch. Stretching out her long bare leg, she hooked the leg of a chair across from her with her foot and pulled it to her so it was completely out of the rain. "Sit down already will you?" she said, "You're making me feel bad."

Marko paused then finally relented. It was probably the sight of her trim leg stretched out like which did it for him. He sat down on the chair beside her.

For the two of them, the next 20 minutes of conversation proved to be a refreshing break from the crazy day. Mostly they discussed the headaches that come with friends. But the more they talked about how tired each of them supposedly were, it seemed to each of them that it actually sounded like they had too much pent up energy which they needed to let out.

"I mean I spend my entire time studying these days. It sucks. It really does. I feel like a mole person," Lena grumbled then she chuckled, "Hey, I got the eyes for it!"

She joked about her small Asian features.

"Ooh! That's really bad! That ain't P.C.!" he snickered with her. Then he sighed, "Yeah, same thing here. 11 hour a day shifts. Inspectors on your back all the time. It's always the same thing."

"Mmm-hmm," she nodded. She had such a contemplative face. It was as if she personified serenity and calmness in her eyes. It settled him.

They sat quietly listening to the rain. She stared at her feet. He stared at her staring at her feet.

Lena was liking this. She found that each time she looked up at him, the more she found him to be kind of attractive. He had a soft smile, nothing lurid about it. And he was listening to her, having a decent conversation with her. She really enjoyed it.

"Think they've figured out the sleeping arrangements yet?" he quipped. She wasn't expecting that question. A brief, surprising thought flashed in her head for just a millisecond. She couldn't quite make it out but it made her both uneasy...and aroused. Then her head cleared and she looked at her watch.

"I'm...uh, I'm actually going home," she said as she stood up, "Donna and I are headed back to the city tonight."

"Oh," he said. He looked away and shrugged, adding, "Probably for the best."

She twisted her mouth upward to the side watching him as he looked out across the lake. She said, "How about you?"

He turned to look up at her, a grin on his face, " Babysitting."

She nodded and smiled, brushing her hair back and around her ear. Lord, he liked it when women did that little whimsical motion.

Lena mouthed a silent "bye-bye" and, with a low, curt wave of her hand, went into the cottage.

He raised his hand in response then lowered it, turning his gaze back towards the lake as the rain fell around him.

**********

Lena negotiated her way through the crowd of people and the garbage on the floor of the living room. She scanned the room looking for Donna. Instead she found Maureen sitting on the floor macking on some guy by the fireplace. She walked over to her and tapped her on the shoulder.

The blonde woman looked up at her, grinning like a caught schoolgirl. Her partner continued to nibble on her neck eliciting little giggles from her.

"Maureen, sorry to interrupt but where's Donna?" Lena asked. She waved her hand around, "And where's Tobin? Where are they?"

"Um, I think room number 3?" said Maureen, "They went there to talk."

"Uh-huh, and which is room number 3?"

The blonde's hand waved lazily this way and that, "Hallway, second room, to the right."

With that, Maureen resumed tending to her guest.

Lena walked past Kirk who was sucking on a toke on the sofa his eyes glazed over. She was solicited no less than 3 times by several groups to "join in on the fun" but managed to make her way to the bedroom which turned out the one she had changed in earlier. She knocked and said, "Donna? Everything okay? It's been over 30 minutes."

No answer. Lena's gut twisted, and though she really didn't want to, she opened the door a crack and peeked in. She stared hard and long, her small eyes widening and her mouth dropping. She wanted to shout something but instead she closed the door. She stood outside unmoving, a blank, pale look on her face. She felt a hand slap onto her shoulder. It was hot and wet and uncomfortable on her bare skin. She turned around. Kirk's shifting, bloodshot eyes scanned her luridly from head to toe.

"Hey my little egg roll," he slurred, "You wanna make some chop suey?"

Lena put a hand over her gaping mouth then she made a break for the powder room. She had barely leaned over the toilet when she threw up.

**********

"Okay give them over to me," Marko said to Kirk. He should have taken the keys to the van when they arrived at the cottage.

"I'm just going to show them, man!" Kirk slurred waving to a small group of onlookers standing behind him. He went on, "We're going to check out the Starship: Love Machine!"

"Yeah and then I'm sure you're going to take it to warp speed or whatever," Marko snapped, "Give me the fucking keys."

Kirk slumped onto him, wrapping his arm around Marko's shoulders. "Tell you what," he said with a dreamy wink, "I'll let you use it with your new friend. Your geisha, okay?"

Marko's jaw hardened.

Then Kirk added, trying to whisper but speaking loud and clear, "Hey, hey. How much you think it'll cost for her to love both of us 'long time'?"

There was a noticeably loud crack over the noise of the stereo and conversation in the room as Marko smashed his fist across Kirk's jaw. The smaller man didn't really feel it right now, though he probably would later, as he fell across the floor and crumpled onto the sofa, knocked out. Everybody else went back to whatever it was they were doing before the man-drama.

Marko reached into Kirk's pockets and found the keys to the van. He stared at the unconscious man with some disgust but mostly disappointment. This was a waste.

He turned around and saw Lena slink slowly from the hallway, looking totally lost. He moved quickly to her.

"You okay?" he asked.

Lena nodded, her lips pursed. Her eyes were a little watery. She looked a bit pale but colour was returning to her face.

He continued, "Aren't you supposed to be going?"

The young woman turned her head, looking back at the bedrooms. Then she shook her head, "Guess not."

"Where's your friend? Is she okay?" Marko asked.

"Yeah, she's fine," she grimaced. The question put a bit of fire back into her, "Yeah she's fucking fine!"

It put a LOT of fire back into her.

Marko arched his eyebrows up in mild shock. He looked back at Kirk slumped like road kill on the sofa. It looked like both he and Lena failed in their babysitting assignments. The poor woman looked completely spent. This was an unhealthy atmosphere for her, for both of them.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a key. She watched it dangle in front of her face. "You want a ride?" he asked.

Within a minute they met back at the front door.

"Didn't you bring any clothes with you?" Marko asked noticing she only had her schoolbag.

Her weekend bag was in the room with Donna and Tobin. She didn't want to go in there. "It's alright," she said shaking her head, then she nodded towards Kirk and asked, "What about him?"

Marko felt nothing for Kirk at the moment. "He'll be fine. He won't have anything to drive anyway."

They opened the door. It had gone beyond cats and dogs. It was coming down cows and horses now. They stared at the torrent of rain for a long time before they turned and looked at one another.

Marko shrugged, "Go through or go back. Your choice."

There was a crash from behind them in the cottage, a couple of shrieks then a loud cheer.

"Go start the van," Lena said, "We go through."

****************

Part 4: 2 HOURS BEFORE NOW....

"Yosemite Sam," Lena said, looking through the van's windshield.

"Hmmm...'M' right? Uh, Mickey Mouse," Marko answered, leaning forward close to the wheel. A layer of water replaced the sheet that the wiper blades had just swiped off almost instantly.

"Eeeee...oh, Eeyore!" she snapped.

"Wasn't he from a book?"

"Then they turned it into a cartoon for Disney," she replied, "It counts."

"Whatever," he muttered.

" 'E'. Come on, 'E'," she prompted him.

"Hey, you know, trying to drive here!" he said, "Hard enough to concentrate on this road at 10 kms an hour while trying to play 'Cartoon Name Game' at the same time."

"Sorry!" Lena said with a playful smirk. It was good that she could actually feel this way after the night she'd had and with the monsoon around them. But she strangely felt comfortable. She leaned back in the chair. Kicking off her sandal she lifted her bare legs, crossing them as she rested them on the dashboard.

Okay that didn't help his concentration either but he wasn't going to say anything. Besides he didn't have time to oogle her legs at the moment. They had been driving for over an hour but made less headway than driving for 20 minutes during a clear night. They both were looking for ways to break the tension of the slow drive. For the first hour, they just talked about themselves.

As it turned out, there was a reason why Marko put up with Kirk.

"Remedial Behavioural Training?" Lena asked.

Marko nodded. "We were both attending the same program when we were teens," he said, "Kirk suffered from what you can say was a severe case of a need for attention."

"I think that might still be a problem," Lena remarked before she could think. She turned to Marko and aplogized, "Sorry. That's insensitive."

He was quiet for a long time but then said, "Nope. It's true. But honestly it's not as bad as it was. You don't want to know."

Lena nodded in agreement. There was another pregnant pause. She wanted to ask something else. He knew it. He also knew the question.

"As for me," he breathed, "I was in there for overly aggressive behaviour."

Lena looked puzzled. She wasn't sure what he meant. "Anger management?" she asked.

"No. Not really," he answered quickly, "Sort of like not really being able to find healthy outlets for releasing pent up energy."

"You broke your toys?" Lena said hoping that she was bringing some levity to the conversation.

He chuckled, "Yeah. I guess you can say that."

"You don't seem that way at all now," she said.

"Hope so," he replied, "You know. I think I actually did learn a few things in the program. Not just how to control myself but how to read other people. To study them."

Lena smiled thoughtfully. She said, "You seem like a person who can focus."

He looked at her briefly. When he turned back to the road, he stil had her face in his mind. He replied, "I can be very focused."