Second Chances and Choices

The bright sun on Briar’s face was what woke her up the next morning. She stretched her arms over her head and rubbed her eyes, tilting her head to see Snoddy still asleep next to her. Someone cleared his or her throat loudly and deliberately and Briar sat up. Blink was watching them with a dangerous frown on his face.
"Sleep well?" he sneered at her.
Briar’s eyes widened. "Nothing happened," she said, suddenly wide-awake.
Blink raised his eyebrow disbelieving.
"Really!" she kicked off the covers, causing Snoddy to stir and wake up.
"Thanks for taking care of Briar, buddy," Blink told Snoddy sarcastically.
"You’re welcome," yawned Snoddy then he focused his eyes on Blink. "What’re you talking about?" He saw Briar next to him and sat bolt upright. "This isn’t what it looks like!" he said.
"Really?" asked Blink, crossing his arms over his chest.
"We just slept together," said Snoddy. Blink and Briar raised their eyebrows at him. "I mean, we slept together, we didn’t sleep together." He tried to explain again.
Blink turned on his heel and walked away. Briar rolled her eyes. "Thanks a lot!" she hissed at Snoddy before going after Blink.
"If you’d just listen to me!" she said when she caught up with him in the lobby.
"Why should I?" snapped Blink. "I caught you in bed with him!"
"Blink, nothing happened. I swear."
He studied her face for a minute before asking, "You’re telling me the truth?"
Briar nodded.
"I’ll wait for you outside," he said quietly and Briar knew he believed her. She went back up to the bunkroom and found Snoddy just pulling on his shirt.
"I’ll talk to him if you want," he said.
"It’s okay, I convinced him," said Briar. "Thanks anyway." She kissed him on the cheek then he left. Afterwards, she crept into the sickroom where Lit’l Bit was still fast asleep. When Briar sat on the bed, she opened her eyes slowly and gave her a sleepy smile.
"Morning’," said Briar cheerfully. "We missed you at Medda’s last night."
"Yeah," yawned Lit’l Bit. "Well, you know I had to rest."
"Mmhmm, I Can’t argue with you there. If I spent the night with a guy, I’d need some quiet time too."
Lit’l Bit propped herself up and frowned at Briar. "How’d you know?" she asked.
Briar pointed to Spot’s red suspenders in the corner and Lit’l Bit laughed sheepishly. "You won’t tell Jack, will you?"
"Why would I?" laughed Briar. "But I thought you said you didn’t like Spot."
"I didn’t. But it was kind of hard not to like him when he was on top of me and."
"AH!" Briar put her hands over her ears. "Too much information!" They both laughed and Briar got up. "I got to go meet Blink. Meet you at Tibby’s later?"
"Sure," said Lit’l Bit kicking off the covers.
"You and Snoddy are just friends?"
Briar rolled her eyes and sighed loudly. "You’ve asked me 246 times already! I told you, we’re just friends. And if you ask me again I’ll hurt you," she added warningly.
"Sorry. I just wanted to make sure. So we’re okay?"
"Yeah, we’re okay."
The headline was good, something about a dead body found in a morgue, and they had finished selling in no time.
"I know, it’s early for lunch but why don’t we go and get a drink?" suggested Briar.
"I have a feeling that’s not all you want to get," smirked Blink as she took his hand and led him to Tibby’s across the street.
The bell above the door tinkled when they opened it, finding the diner almost completely empty except.
"Slow day," said Blink as he slid in next to Briar in a booth. He had barely sat down when Briar grabbed his shirt and pulled him into a kiss. She sat up against the wall and brought her legs up on the bench, letting Blink get on top of her. Briar wrapped her arms around his neck as he deepened the kiss, his hands resting on her chest. She reached down and untucked his shirt, her nails trailing softly around the waist of his pants. Then she slid her hands up his back and under the shirt. They were pressed up as close as they could and Briar could feel his hard erection against her leg.
Blink groaned when she pulled away from the kiss and pushed him all the way off her.
"Maybe we should go back to the Lodging House," she said breathing heavily.
"Good idea," said Blink, his breath coming out as heavily as hers. They slid out of the booth and walked fast towards the Lodging House. Blink got her into the bunkroom and locked the door kissing frantically, his hands running over every inch of her body. She would have giggled at his rush if she weren’t so hot for him herself.
He didn’t bother unbuttoning her shirt before pulling it over her head and pinning her against the wall. He started to kneel as he trailed kisses down her body till he got on his knees in front of her. Briar was exploding inside and she pulled him back up, bringing his lips into a passionate kiss. She brought him over to the bed and got him onto his back, straddling him and getting his shirt off then his pants. Blink got her underneath him, pinning her arms to her sides as he slammed his cock into her till their hips touched, letting a scream tear out their throats.
Briar gripped the sheets tight, panting and sweating as another wave of pleasure went through her. Blink arched his back and moved faster and deeper, his blonde locks sticking to his damp forehead and upsetting his eye patch. He tossed his head back and cried out till the orgasm passed then slowed his movements, trying to catch his breath. He moaned and pressed his head onto her chest, feeling the heat from her body. Her eyes were closed and her breath was shaky as he thrust to make sure all his cum was in her. With an exhausted cry he pulled out and collapsed next to her. Briar draped her arm over her eyes and waited till the world stopped spinning before getting up and pulling her clothes on.
"See, I told you wanted more than a drink," smirked Blink and Briar punched his arm playfully. He pulled her on top of him again and kissed her.
She pulled away and smiled. "I told Lit’l Bit I’d meet her at Tibby’s so we better get going," she said watching him get dressed.
"You know you really shouldn’t get into the habit of doing each other at this time everyday," Lit’l Bit pointed out when Briar and Blink showed up at Tibby’s.
They blushed and slid into the booth across from Lit’l Bit.
"Are you here with Jack?" asked Blink.
"Yeah but it looks like he’s a bit late," admitted Lit’l Bit.
"Uh, why don’t you go get us something to eat?" Briar nudged Blink pointedly.
"You want to eat after that..." he got cut off when Briar pressed her foot hard on top of his.
"Get out of here," she said sweetly. Lit’l Bit laughed as he limped away from the table.
"Listen." Briar turned to Lit’l Bit seriously. "Are you going to tell Jack about Spot?"
"Are you kidding?" cried Lit’l Bit.
"Good point. If I cheated on Blink with a guy I wouldn’t want him to find out either."
Lit’l Bit suddenly seemed very interested in her fork. "It wasn’t exactly A guy," she muttered and coughed.
"What? You’ve been with somebody else?"
"Shhh! Keep your voice down," she hissed. "Remember that night at the bar?"
Briar smirked. "How could I forget."
"While you were with Blink, Mush and me sort of." she shrugged.
"Wow, you sure do get around," said Briar impressed and Lit’l Bit kicked her under the table.
“Well, if it isn’t my Lady and the Tramp.”
Briar rolled her eyes at Jack’s voice but Lit’l Bit flashed him a bright smile.
"I thought you’d never show," she said as he sat down next to her.
"I had a little trouble getting those papes off my hand. Don’t say a word," he added quickly just as Briar opened her mouth to say something.
"I wish you could’ve been with us at Medda’s," Jack told Lit’l Bit putting an arm around her. "It wasn’t much fun without you."
"Oh, well. Maybe next time," said Lit’l Bit.
"Yeah she had a spot of work to take care of," Briar commented mischievously and Lit’l Bit shot her a look she chose to ignore. "But it wasn’t mush trouble." Briar smiled sweetly at Lit’l Bit who thought she would crack a rib from holding back her laughter.
Jack raised his eyebrows at the girls. He spotted Blink nearby and decided to call him over to have an equal amount of testosterone at the table.
"Who would you choose? Jack or Spot?"
Briar looked up from her place on Snoddy’s bunk, hers was still destroyed, and arched her eyebrow. "Are you kidding?"
Lit’l Bit grinned, she knew her friend hated both of them. "Mush?" she tried again.
Briar looked thoughtful. "Maybe... I dont know... no, not really," she said finally.
"You’re too picky," said Lit’l Bit sitting down next to her. "Then again, from the way Blink makes you scream it probably pays to be picky right?" Briar playfully pushed her off the bed without looking up from her book and Lit’l Bit laughed.
"Who’s it gonna be tonight?" Briar asked Lit’l Bit who had settled on the floor.
"Jack. I promised I’d make up for the other night. Besides, Spot’s in Brooklyn."
"Thank god for that," said Briar. "This town ain’t big enough for both their egos."
"Are you gonna see Blink tonight?"
"No, I can only take two doses of him per day." The girls laughed. "Maybe I’ll go see David. Or maybe I’ll just spend the night alone. Completely boy free."
"Wow, are you sure you can handle all that excitement?" Lit’l Bit asked sarcastically.
"I think I’ll manage," said Briar grinning.
There was a knock on the door and Jack let himself in, smiling at the two girls.
"Ready to go Lit’l Bit?" he asked.
Briar got up and sauntered by them. "Now, I don’t want you two getting into a spot of trouble, you hear?" she warned.
Lit’l Bit looked at Jack. "Excuse me. I have to go strangle her!" And she tore after Briar down the stairs.
After threatening Briar’s life, Lit’l Bit headed off to Irving Hall with Jack, Racetrack and some of the other guys. She watched and cheered at Medda’s performance and thanked Jack for bringing her, though it wasn’t at all her first time, she had a blast. As she got up to leave, Jack untied his bandana from around his neck and put it around Lit’l Bit’s eyes.
"What are you doing?" she laughed and he checked to make sure she couldn’t see anything. He took her hand grinning and led her backstage and up a flight of stairs to the floor above the stage. She heard a door being unlocked and opened then Jack led her into a dressing room.
"You can open your eyes now," said Jack.
Lit’l Bit pulled the bandana off and smirked when she saw the bedroom. It had a queen size bed with crimson sheets, and an elegant carved dressing table with a gorgeous mirror hanging on top of it. The view from the large window was so clear, she could almost see the Brooklyn Bridge.
"Not bad, Cowboy." She nodded approvingly and turned to smile at him. "If I didn’t know better I’d say you were planning something," she added slyly.
"What makes you say that?" asked Jack in a completely unconvincing innocent voice.
Lit’l Bit reached under the bed and pulled out leather bonds, giving Jack a questioning look.
"How’d those get there?" wondered Jack as he sidled over to her and wrapped his arms around her waist.
"I have no idea," replied Lit’l Bit. "But you won’t be needing them." She brought her arms up around his neck and pulled him into a passionate kiss. She parted her lips and let her tongue entwine with his. His hand snaked between them and brushed against the front of her pants.
Lit’l Bit unbuttoned his shirt then started kissing every inch of his chest. When she got to his waist she untied the rope belt he wore and tossed it onto the floor before pulling his pants down. Jack didn’t want her to have all the fun so he pulled her up and got rid of her clothes until all that was left was skin against skin. He lay her down on the bed and ran his tongue over breasts, her squirming underneath him turning him on even more. He grabbed her wrists and pinned them down over her head, holding on with a tight grip as he set to gently sucking on her breast. She moaned when he ground his pelvis downwards, feeling his erection growing harder by the minute.
He let go of her hands and captured her lips firmly in his, kissing hard and massaging his tongue over hers. Just when she least expected it, she felt something snap around her wrist and pulls her arm upwards. Jack restrained her by crushing her body underneath him as he suspended one hand to the headboard, then did the same to the other.
He put a hand on either side of her chest holding himself up as he kissed her slowly, knowing she was wet for him. He kissed down her body and got between her legs, gently kissing her cunt lips and parting them with his tongue. Lit’l Bit strained against the bonds, moaning as he straddled her, his huge, hard cock pressed against her thigh. She raised her hips to meet his but his strong hands held her body down, causing her to moan in frustration. He smiled deviously at her expression and slid himself slowly into her, driving her crazy with need. He waited till her body relaxed slightly before arching his back and forcing him into her as far as he could go. He didn’t bother to stop or muffle the scream that rose from her because it drove him to fuck her as hard as he could, not caring whether anyone heard the cries.
Groaning with the effort, Jack pounded hard, tossing his head back in pleasure. Lit’l Bit’s hands were groping at nothing as he sent shocking waves of pleasure through her body, his cock driving in and out of her hitting her pleasure spot. She screamed as an orgasm crashed over her. Jack didn’t even slow down, he fucked her harder, faster, thrusting his whole length into her. He cried out loudly as he shot off into her, filling her with his warm cum.
Jack had to stop so they could catch their breaths. Both were drenched with sweat and breathing rapidly. Lit’l Bit closed her eyes and rested her head on the soft bed. Her body had almost completely recovered when another scream tore out of her throat as Jack thrust himself into her again.
"JACK!" she screamed as he dominated her body once more. Kissing her all over, Jack fucked her till he brought her to another orgasm, coming inside her.
His arms shook with the effort of holding himself up and he had to collapse on top of her. For a few long minutes, the room was completely silent except for the sounds of shallow breathing and low moans. Jack recovered first and sat up to untie Lit’l Bit’s wrists. She just dropped her arms limply onto the bed and concentrated on stopping her head from spinning.

Meanwhile at the Jacobs’, Les sat next to Briar on the bed as she read to him from Treasure Island. David had gone out a half-hour before and still hadn’t come back, and Sarah had gone to visit their new neighbors who conveniently had a son close to her age.
"So, Then what happens?" Les asked when Briar stopped reading.
"It’s past your bedtime," Briar pointed out sternly. "But I want to know what’s gonna happen to Jim Hawkins!" Les whined.
I’ll come over tomorrow, if you want. Go on, get to bed," said Briar.
Les got up and got to his bed in the corner. "Where’s David?" he asked.
"I don’t know," she replied, looking out the window with a thoughtful look on her face. "He probably met up with some of the guys. Now go to sleep." She blew out the light and left the bedroom, leaving the door slightly opened.
She checked the grandfather clock one more time before settling on the couch to finish the book by herself. She had gotten through a few pages when the front door opened and David had come in.
"Holy monkeys! What happened to you?" she cried jumping up from the couch. His shirt was ripped and stained with blood from the scratches in his arms, his nose was still bleeding despite the handkerchief he held on it and he had a nasty bruise on his cheek.
"The Delancy brothers," said David through gritted teeth. He sat down and Briar bent down next to him, gently touching the wounds on his face.
"Not good," she said when he winced at her touch. She got up and got a few ice cubes from the kitchen, wrapping them in a towel and bringing them over where David was.
"Tilt your head back," she instructed, putting the towel on his nose and putting his hand over it. "What happened?" she asked as she went back to get a bottle of alcohol.
"They beat the crap out of me, what do you think happened?" snapped David. "Hey!" he cried when Briar pressed an alcohol soaked cloth on his arm.
"Sorry. They’re gonna sting," she warned as she began to clean the cuts. She tended to the bruise on his cheek then he left to wash up.
When he finished he found Briar pushing the kitchen table and chairs aside.
"What’re you doing?" he asked raising his eyebrows.
"I’m going to teach you how to fight. Unless you’d rather get the crap beat out of you every time." She motioned for him to stand in front of her.
"Always keep a guard on your face," she instructed, putting his left fist up in front of his jaw. "Keep your right hand right here. And block any hits with your palm, got that?"
David nodded again.
"If a blow is coming at your groin then you should step out of the way cause it’s hard to block." She gave him a few more instructions then said, "I’m gonna take a few punches at you and I want you to block them, okay?" she threw her fist lightly at the side of his face but he jerked his head back.
Briar smiled. "Not bad." She tried again but he blocked her arm with his, he didn’t expect her to punch him in the stomach with the other arm.
"That’s not fair!" cried David and Briar just laughed.
"You think Oscar and Morris are gonna fight fair?" she scoffed and lightly punched his shoulder.
"Knock it off," he warned.
"Why, what’re you gonna do?" Another hit.
David eyed her for a minute before tackling her onto the couch and tickling her.
"DAVE! HAHAHAHAHA! STOP IT! YOU... YOU’RE A DEAD MAN!" she screamed as he tickled her mercilessly. "DAVID!"
He stopped and sat back laughing as she straightened up and tried to catch her breath. "Why, what’re you gonna do?" he mimicked her.
"I’ll wipe that smirk off your face, that’s what I’ll do!" She yelled and lunged at him. David slid onto his back while she climbed on top of him.
"BRI...AR! DON’T...NO DON’T!" he laughed maniacally and Briar put her hand over his mouth and stopped tickling.
"You’re gonna wake up Les!" She hissed, trying not to laugh out loud herself.
David nodded and they both lay still, catching their breaths. Briar looked down at him and noticed the position they were with her pressed on top of him on the couch. David noticed too and he blushed, pushing her off him and sitting up.
The door opened again and Sarah appeared, she eyed David and Briar suspiciously before going into the bedroom and closing the door behind her.
"It’s getting late," said Briar, breaking the awkward quiet. "I should get back." She got up and so did David.
"I’ll walk you," he said. "I mean, it’s not safe out there alone," he added hastily, trying to sound like an overprotective brother.
He opened the door for her and they walked in silence towards the Lodging House.
"I might come by tomorrow," said Briar as they reached the door. "I mean, if that’s okay."
"Yeah, sure. That’ll be... great." David swallowed and ran a hand through his hair.
Briar smiled. "Good night, Dave."
"Good night, Briar."
She turned to open the door when…
"Briar?"
"Hmm?" She turned around and found his lips upon hers. He wrapped his arms around her and held her tight for a few seconds, then let go and walked off without a word.
Briar blinked a few times then walked slowly inside and up the stairs to the bunkroom.
"You’re late," noted Blink when he saw her.
"Sorry," sighed Briar. Blink got up and leaned in to kiss her but she turned her face so the kiss landed on her cheek.
"What’s wrong?" he asked.
"Nothing," Briar lied through her teeth. "I’m just... really tired." The truth was, David’s kiss had left a hot tingle on her lips, and she didn’t want it to stop just yet.
Briar tossed and turned that night, she couldn’t sleep and her brain was swimming with thoughts. She rolled over onto her stomach and got her book out from under the pillow, pulling the covers over her head like a tent. The room was deathly quiet for a few minutes, then Briar felt something touch her shoulder and jumped.
"Sorry," whispered Lit’l Bit, sitting down on the bed. "What’re you doing up so late?"
"Can’t sleep," replied Briar. "What’s your excuse?"
"Jack and I just got back." Lit’l Bit got a dreamy look on her face. "You wouldn’t believe what he did. He… I’ll tell you tomorrow morning. Let’s just say it was great."
"I’m glad," yawned Briar.
"I’ll see you in the morning. Go to sleep. Good night."
"’Night." She watched Lit’l Bit crawl into her bunk and sighed. She propped herself up and looked around the bunkroom. Jack was fast asleep, didn’t even bother to take off his boots, Racetrack had a copy of the racing forms under his arms and on the top bunk...Briar frowned when she saw Blink’s empty bed.
"It’s almost midnight, where on earth did he go?" she thought. She had seen him get into bed, but why was he out in the dark now?