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"That shit was real." Belle shrugged. She reclined back on her elbows and raised her knees, spreading them out to the sides. Biting her lip and giving me an intense, sultry gaze, she slid her right hand beneath her waistband, murmuring, "So many times I've been in this position, rubbing myself while dreaming about you crawling between my legs and eating me out to incredible orgasms."

My eyes got big. Was she actually masturbating herself right here and now? I blinked a few times and muttered lamely, "Uh... Do ALL the girls have had these kinds of fantasies about me?"

"Well, you, Keanu, and Brat Pitt."

I thought about that. "Fair enough."

"You gonna say you haven't had the exact same kinds of fantasies about all of us?"

I was about to nod, but caught myself and winced. "Well..."

Belle noticed and frowned. "I know. Everyone but me, right?" Shaking her head as she pulled her hand out of her shorts, she turned and slipped off the bed.

"You're gorgeous, B," I said apologetically. "I just-"

"I know, I know. I'm like a sister to you." She stretched out the word as if it was a curse.

"You're my Annabelle. And that's a good thing!"

"Is it?"

"C'mon. You can't say I'm not like a brother to you."

"You're like a sexy STEP-brother to me." Shaking her head again, Belle paced away toward the door, but she only took a few steps before turning back to face me. "Look, I know you try not to objectify me. I get where your heart comes from. But I don't have the same problem fantasizing about you. I KNOW we're not related, and I know you'd treat me right if we ever did cross that line."

"But we can't cross that line, even if we wanted to. We have The Rule for a reason, one that has nothing to do with our brother-sister relationship. We could never do that to the rest of the BTC."

"I know, I know. I just..." Shaking her head, she gave me a helpless look. "You're hot and sexy and I can't help but fantasize. A girl can dream. Just like I'm sure you dream about sticking your dick between Sam's big tits and blowing a load all over her face. That would be crossing a line, but you still think about it, don't you?"

I sighed. "Well I certainly am now. But fantasizing about Sam is one thing. We're friends and all, but if something happened and things got awkward and our friendship got ruined... I'd get over it. But I wouldn't get over you. You're my Annabelle. My feelings for you are just so much stronger and more important to me than my feelings for Sam. YOU'RE so much more important to me than Sam."

Belle smiled at that. "Good."

"I don't want to risk screwing things up between us. Do you?"

"No, of course not."

"Then don't push me on this, alright? I..." I took a deep breath and gave her a serious look. "I love you, Annabelle. You mean the world to me, but... not in THAT way. You're my little sister, and I can't sexualize you. And to be honest, to hear that you've been sexualizing me... It's kinda freaking me out."

"Really?"

"It's kinda weird, actually."

"No-no-no-no, please don't be weirded out."

I took a deep breath. "I'm trying not to. It's just... I thought things were cool between us. We've grown up together. We hang out all the time. I know Mari's your bestie and I've spent most of the last five years playing video games with Alice, but I share my entire life with you and I really had no idea you were... like... masturbating to thoughts of me."

"They're just random thoughts." She waved dismissively. "I really don't want you weirded out about it. I'm sorry. Can we please just forget I ever said anything?"

I shrugged helplessly. "I dunno. Those fantasies you told me are gonna be kinda hard to forget."

"Then do it as a favor to me, your Annabelle. Maybe fantasies should just be left as what they are: fantasies. Everybody's entitled to a little fantasy, right?"

"Of course, of course." I took a deep breath and calmed myself.

"I just really want to make sure I haven't screwed up my relationship with you. You're my Matthew as much as I'm your Annabelle. We can't afford to get awkward around each other just because you know I've masturbated to thoughts about you."

"I know. I just need to wrap my head around it a bit." I paused, collected myself, and then gave her a reassuring smile. "I mean when I really think about it, it's actually quite flattering. I'd like to think ALL of the girls have masturbated to thoughts about me."

Belle nodded. "Oh they have. They've all told me about some of their fantasies. It's just part of... Well... Let's just say the BTC has a unique social dynamic."

I grinned. "I'll say."

"So we're good? No awkward feelings?"

I nodded. "We're good." With that, I opened my arms.

Holding back tears of relief, Belle ran and launched herself into my hug.

****

In the morning, the BTC girls didn't waste any time coming to get the first-hand scoop about what really happened between me and Holly last night.

It started with Alice. She was waiting for me and Belle at the parking lot and came over to us as soon as we stepped onto the curb. Literally, the first words out of her mouth were, "Is it true that you turned down Holly because you were saving yourself for the BTC?"

I blinked twice and looked around to make sure nobody else was nearby. Other people were walking in from the parking lot, so I quickly grabbed Alice by the elbow and pulled her toward a quiet corner where I could at least have my back to a wall and see if anyone was eavesdropping, and Belle followed. "Where the hell would you get that idea?" I hissed.

"Neevie told me," Alice whispered, understanding the need for secrecy. "She got it from Zofi, who got it from Sam, who talked to Holly like five minutes after she left your house."

Belle stepped in closer. "That's why you turned Holly down? You told her you were saving yourself for us?"

Belle read the stricken expression on my face and already knew the truth. Alice did, too. Pinching the bridge of my nose, I muttered, "I asked her to not tell anyone."

"Wow," Belle breathed. "Okay I guess that makes sense..."

"Wait, which of the girls are you saving yourself for?" Alice interjected, looking confused. "Which of the girls are you in love with? It's not me, is it?"

She looked genuinely worried and I smirked at her. "Would it really be so bad if I was in love with you?"

"Yes!" she exclaimed a little too loudly and immediately caught herself. Taking a deep breath, she explained in a calmer voice, "It would ruin our friendship. I like messing with you and feel safe teasing you. I'm not an overtly physical 'pay attention to me and make me feel beautiful' girl like Sam, but it's nice to know that even with all the hot girls around, I can still give you a boner."

I thought to the last time Alice climbed into my lap wearing a bikini, rubbing her butt into my crotch and sticking her big boobs under my chin. "Yes, you certainly can."

"See! THAT look in your eyes. It's quite validating."

I smiled and shrugged.

"It gives me a rush and I don't have to worry about you grabbing my ass or taking things the wrong way. But yes, you being in love with me would ruin everything. You've been my friend since we were kids on the elementary soccer field. You're the one guy that doesn't treat me like a potential mate, and I cherish that sense of comfortability. I've tried to make friends with other guys, but there's always the tension of whether or not they'll ask me out, or if I'll get interested enough to ask him out. It's all too nerve wracking and I'd hate it if that kind of will-we-or-won't-we-start-dating tension ever cropped up between us."

Nodding, I replied, "I totally agree."

"So you're not in love with me," Alice said, more statement of confirmation than a question.

I nodded.

Alice not-so-subtly flicked her eyes to Belle.

"I'm not in love with ANY of the BTC," I stated firmly.

Alice mused on that for a second before shrugging. "If you say so."

I shook my head and gestured toward the school. "C'mon, let's get to class."

****

Sam and I shared our first and second periods, so we always walked together from one to the other. Sam was busy talking to the teacher before class (she was a pretty driven student), so there wasn't time for us to talk before the period started, but as soon as we walked out the door she wrapped her arms around mine, leaned in close, and started whispering just loud enough for me to hear while we kept walking to our next class.

"Are you or are you not in love with one of the BTC girls and saving yourself for her?"

"Ah, hell," was my only response. Her accent somehow made her sound pretty angry.

"So Zofi and I think it's either Belle or Neevie. Belle because you two have always been close, and Neevie because it's clear you've always been super attracted to each other, you think she's the most gorgeous thing you've ever seen, and if it wasn't for The Rule you two would've hooked up already."

"I'm not in love with either of them. Belle's like my little sister and that's never gonna happen. And yes, Neevie is super hot, but I'm not in love with her."

"Then which one of us? Me? Zofi?"

"No, no, none of you," I cut her off before she kept naming names. "I'm not in love with any of you. Lust, certainly. But not love."

"Then why didn't you fuck Holly?"

I winced at her saying the f-word aloud, spotted an out of the way corner, and pulled Sam towards it. She still clung to my arm closer than any non-dating couple would, so we got a few stares, but we paid them no mind before I got my back against a wall. Surrounded on three sides, I felt a little more comfortable having this conversation. At least our second period wasn't far away.

"Why didn't you fuck Holly?" Sam repeated.

"I still don't really know," I said, a little exasperated. "I'm starting to wish I did just so I wouldn't have to deal with all these questions about why I didn't. Yes, she's really sexy and we had a great time and under normal circumstances I would have plowed the hell out of her. But I couldn't shake the feeling that if I did that, I'd... I'd..."

"You'd be giving your virginity to someone you didn't really love," Sam finished for me. "Hence all the questions about which one of us you're in love with."

"I didn't say that."