Chapter 68: Graduation

"Maximus, are you ready yet? Jeez, it always takes ages for you to get ready. You're worse than most girls."

Even though no one is there to see me, I roll my eyes far back into my head as I hear Helena once again annoying the crap out of me. It's my graduation day, and she's come back to congratulate... or annoy me? I can't really tell the difference. I think she's back for the summer anyway. I hope she brought Soleil with her.

"Yeah, Helena, I'm almost done! Don't get PMS!!"

"ARGH, Max! Why are you still using that line? You know any girl you meet later on in your life is never going to stay with you if you keep saying that!?"

I laugh to myself. I only use that line on Helena because it annoys her so much. I finish putting on my aftershave and have barely come down the stairs, before Helena rails into me again with more fussing over my appearance.

"Jeez, Max, it took you that long to get ready and you still look like you just rolled out of bed? Really? Those are the shoes you're wearing?"

"What? I got rid of those sneakers I had with the holes in them. What the hell's wrong with these shoes? I like them."

"What's wrong with them is they make you look like a hobo."

"Oh yeah, well, your hair is still as huge as this house."

Helena rolls her eyes and I laugh. Luckily, Mom is also at the bottom of the stairs and she changes the subject.

"Maximus! You look so handsome! Oh, I'm so proud of my baby boy, all grown up!"

Mom pulls me into a hug, and I'm a little embarrassed she called me her baby boy, but I guess it's true. No matter how big I get, Mom's always going to think of me that way. I do secretly like it, anyway. I turn around when I hear Helena's hot friend Soleil call my name. Soleil's voice resides at a lower register than most girls I know, and I find it pretty sexy.

"Congratulations, Maximus!"

Soleil is different than most of the girls I have run into in the past. Helena brings Soleil home with her during break because Soleil doesn't like to go to her home, something about a bad family life. Soleil's the first girl I've ever enjoyed talking to even though I think she's smoking hot and I definitely wouldn't mind getting with her. She's just so easygoing and she always returns my flirtatious behavior, but she never gets clingy. Soleil hugs me tightly, and I can't help myself when I breathe in some of her perfume. She always smells tropical, I think it's citrus.

"By the way, don't listen to Helena, I think you look hot. She may be my best friend, but I don't always have to agree with her."

I give Soleil a quick peck on the cheek and turn to Dad who also gives me a hug. I'm happy that everyone important in my life is here to celebrate with me.

We all pile in the car and I drive. Soleil sits in the front with me, while Mom, Dad, and Helena get comfy in the back seat. I catch Soleil in my peripheral vision occasionally glancing over at me like she's checking me out. She's got on a short dress with several cutouts that don't leave much to the imagination.

I got Class Valedictorian and Most Likely to Save the World. Helena stopped being annoying for two seconds and actually hugged me.

"Good job, baby brother. Maybe there is some hope for you after all."

"Haha, Helena. But thanks."

When we get back to the house, Helena rolls her eyes as I flirt with Soleil.

"Hey, Soleil, you are smokin,' just like the sun."

"Haha, Max, you're so cheesy, but it's hilarious."

"I'm only cheesy with you because you like it."

"Yeah, you know I do."

Soleil returns my advances with her seductive smile, and a giggle. Helena pulls her away from me, ruining my fun.

"Soleil? Why on earth do you flirt with Max? You know he's not serious about anyone."

"I flirt because it's fun. Besides, who says I am serious about anyone either?"

I'm in the living room, laughing to myself, watching as Helena complains, and Soleil rolls her eyes and yawns. Helena always gets on Soleil's case, just like she gets on mine. I find it funny that Soleil always brushes off Helena's obnoxious comments with great ease, similar to how I behave.

"Ugh, you guys are ridiculous."

Soleil laughs and sits with me on the couch.

She looks at me and asks if I want to go in the hot tub. I think she's the coolest girl in the universe. We hear Helena yell Soleil's name in a disapproving tone as we head out the back door. Soleil giggles again and I smile at her. Helena's probably jealous that her best friend would rather hang out with her brother than her.



We get in the hot tub, and Soleil laughs as I lift my foot up the same time she does. I touch her foot with mine and she giggles.

"Maximus, that tickles!"

"How long are you staying, Soleil?"

"Well, university just got out, so I don't have to go back until September."

Last year when Soleil came home with Helena, she bunked with her, but now that I'm eighteen, I want to usurp that privilege from Helena. Soleil's not that much older than me. She's nineteen. I think I should casually throw the idea out to her. My eyes wander down to her chest, but I don't think she cares. I'm fairly certain she would have told me already if she did care. Besides, I've seen her looking at parts of me today that are not PG-13, if you know what I mean.

"Soleil, want to bunk with me this summer?"

"Hmm... you are more fun to look at than Helena. Sure. She's most likely going to give us crap about it, but yeah, I'd love to bunk with you, Maximus."

My life is so awesome right now. I suddenly feel like I'm too far away from Soleil, so I go over and sit next to her. Soleil's eyes get big as she looks at my arm.

"When did you get these tattoos, Max?"

"Um, I think it was last fall after you left for university."

"I like this one. It's colorful."

I pout a little and ask, "What? You don't like the one that has words? That has meaning?"

"I didn't say that, silly. What do your tattoos mean to you?"

Soleil puts her arm around me and plays with my ponytail.

"Easy. My favorite animal is a wolf, and the quote is from the movie Gladiator because I was named after the main character. The quote is 'The general who became a slave. The slave who became a gladiator. The gladiator who defied an emperor.' It reminds me that even though life has its ups and downs, there is always a way out of every situation."

"That's so deep, Maximus. I admire your intelligence. Your tattoos are super sexy. I love them."

"Thanks. Do you have any tattoos?"

"No, my mother was really strict, and I didn't get to do anything like that. I barely even got to dye my hair. I kind of thought I'd want a tattoo of a tiger growling on my upper arm because tigers are my favorite animal, but I'm too chicken to do it. I think I'd want it to be medium sized, but I feel like it'd be painful to get one that size."

"Well, it did hurt at first, but then it was just a dull sensation, when I got mine."

Soleil pulls me towards her and kisses me once on the lips.

"I think it's bed time, Maximus. I'm getting sleepy."

Oh, she smells so good. I want her right now in the hot tub. She'd certainly be better than Jade, who actually called me today to go on a date. Stupid girl. I check out Soleil's ass as she gets out of the hot tub, and then get out myself. We go to my room and I help her unpack because she never got a chance to at all today. I put her clothes in the top drawer of my dresser.

When I'm done, Soleil hugs me close to her and smiles. I touch her cheek. Her face is so soft. Soleil grabs my butt, and I'm a little surprised.

"I thought you were tired, Soleil."

"I am, but that doesn't mean we can't have some fun before we fall asleep."

Did I mention Soleil is awesome?

---

Guest Starring: Alexander Hunt by mrsoogieboogie

Credit: Mypalsim's Poses for Sims 3

Read More

Chapter 67: Responsibility

"Waaaah!!!"

The sounds of a baby crying jar me awake from the peaceful sleep I was having. I swear I just fed and changed the baby five minutes ago. The sheets of my bed rustle as I get up to see what Nikolai wants.

RATTLE! RATTLE!

The crib threatens to fall apart into a million pieces with how hard the baby is shaking the rails. How did he get so big already? I feel like it was just yesterday when he came home from the hospital, all wrapped up in his little blue blanket.

"Hey little guy. What's the matter?"

Nikolai can't talk yet, so he just rubs his eyes and stomps his feet more. He's stopped crying at least, looking up at me with his pretty eyes. I pick him up and give him a hug, rocking him back and forth. Nikolai smiles at me and lays his head on my shoulder. I still don't know what was making him cry in the first place, although I'm starting to think maybe it was lack of human contact. He rubs his eyes again and yawns. I don't know why he doesn't just go to sleep, he's showing all the signs of being tired. As soon as I have him in my arms, he cries again.

I'm getting tired of standing in my room so I go out to the living room and watch some tv. Maybe the sounds of something soothing will help Nikolai sleep. This early in the morning, there's nothing on but infomercials. I start thinking about my dad, wondering where he is and what he might be doing. Mom said she met him on an airplane, so maybe he has a cool job where he gets to go on trips to exotic destinations like France. Mom has no bitter feelings towards him, so he must have been nice to her during their short time together. I contemplate whether my dad would be easygoing like Mom, and I decide that he probably is based on what Mom has told me. I wonder what my dad would think about me. From what Mom told me, he's just as promiscuous as me.

I feel Nikolai get really relaxed, and I look at him, watching his little face on my shoulder. His eyelids are droopy and he might actually be trying to fall asleep. I look at the time on the television and it says 3am. I put Nikolai back in his crib and then crawl into bed myself. It was so sneaky of Mom to leave my old crib in my room, so that I'd be forced to share the room with my baby brother. I chuckle to myself as I think of her reasoning for it, probably to make me know what it's like to be a parent so I don't become one before I'm ready.

I signed up for karate at the local gym because it sounded like fun. Today was my first day, and I have to say I wasn't expecting to see what I saw when I walked in the door. There was a guy with hair the same color as mine. His had more black in it, but there really wasn't any hiding that the other part of his hair was hot pink. It looked like he was doing yoga, or meditating, or something, I don't really know what, but I felt like I wanted to talk to him. I felt weird about it since he was technically a stranger, which made me stop from going any closer to him. I don't even know why I cared.

I wandered around for a little while, looking at the decorations on the walls. There were two other people in my class, Gregory, and Sandra. They both looked like they were pretty good at karate already.

Someone tapped me on the shoulder and I turned around. It was the pink haired man I saw sitting on the rug when I came in earlier, except he now had on a karate uniform. If I wasn't prepared for how similar his hair color was to mine, I was definitely not ready to see that his eyes were the exact same shade of green as mine. Looking at his face, he probably had the same thought I did when he saw me.

"Hi. Are you the new student for my karate class?"

"Yes. My name is-"

"Maximus. Zenteri-Hunt. I have your name on the sign up sheet. I'm Alexander Hunt."

I think my mind has just been blown. He just said his name was Alex Hunt, that's what Mom told me Dad's name was. I mean, I already knew from seeing his eyes and hair color too, that he had to be my dad, but for whatever reason, him saying his name just added to the shock. I felt like time froze for a little while, and it must have for him too because we both just stared at each other for what felt like an eternity. Finally... Dad... broke the silence.

"Well, Maximus, do you want to get started with the basics?"

I nod politely through my shock and Dad... that still sounds so weird to me, um, Alex, or Mr. Hunt, leads me over to a training dummy. I have no idea what I'm doing, but Mr. Hunt seems to think I'm doing fine. He likes my first attempt at kicking the dummy.

Mr. Hunt teaches me a few techniques for blocking and better form for kicking. I'm getting the hang of this really fast and it is just as fun as I thought it would be. He tests out my skills at blocking by taking the training dummy and spinning it, challenging me to stop the rotation with one of the blocks he just taught me. It's a little intimidating at first because the dummy spins pretty fast, but I concentrate like he says and put my hand up real quick. To my delight, the dummy stops.

"That was really good, Maximus. You learn really fast."

"Thank you."

"Um, well, class is over for now, but I'll see you next Saturday? I can teach you how to break boards."

"Yeah."

I head over to the showers in the back of the gym. I don't know how I feel right now. I feel weird, but kind of happy. I'm pretty sure I just met my father. Maybe that was why I wanted to talk to him when I saw him. I was excited for karate class when I first came in, but now I'm even more excited because I get to hang out with... Dad? I still feel weird thinking of him that way since I don't really know him at all. On my way out of the building, Mr. Hunt stops me.

"Uh, Maximus? Can I talk to you?"

Everyone else has left class, and I think I have an idea of what Dad... wants to tell me.

"I don't mean to be all awkward, but I feel like maybe we should talk about... well, the fact that we're probably related. There's no real good way to ease into it, so I'm just going to jump right in, I'm probably your father."

I feel a little relieved that he addressed the elephant in the room.

"Yeah, I don't really know what to call you. Mr. Hunt?"

"Ah, yeah, when I saw your last name, I didn't think anything of it, but when I saw you, I was pretty shocked. It would be okay with me if you wanted to call me Dad, but not unless you want to, otherwise you can call me Alex."

"Really? You'd be okay with me calling you Dad? It's kind of abrupt? I guess... I mean, I don't want to impose on your life or make you feel like you owe me stuff."

"Yeah, this whole thing has been pretty abrupt, but with how old you are, I probably missed out on a bunch of stuff, so why not start now instead of waiting longer? I don't feel like you're imposing at all. Um, I don't want to make you feel like you have to accept me either... I guess since I haven't been much of a father. I'm sorry, I never meant to hurt your mother, I've just never been one for relationships."

I feel like I'm talking to myself in the mirror, since he just said 'I've never been one for relationships,' I don't know how many times I've said those words, or a variation of those words to Helena and Mom. I do think it's cool that Dad... and I seem to have lots in common upon first glance.

"No, it's okay, just recently I was wondering who you were and what you were like. Mom told me your name, I think in case I ever... I don't know, ran into you? Maybe she just wanted me to know that even if my dad wasn't in my life that he did exist out there somewhere. I'm pretty sure that is why she hyphenated my last name. Mom's okay, by the way, she's not really looking for anything serious either."

That's sort of a half truth, since Mom has Austin that she's hanging on to, she's not looking for anything with anyone else, so I didn't want to make Dad... hm, it's growing on me since he brought it up, feel like he had to try to get to know her or anything like that.

"Okay, Dad, I guess I'll see you at my next lesson."

Dad smiles and I leave the gym, debating whether or not to tell Mom that I met Dad today. She might think it was cool, after all, I don't think that she would have told me his name if she didn't want me to know him.

---

Guest Starring: Alexander Hunt by mrsoogieboogie

Read More

Chapter 66: Party

I suddenly had a desire to learn something new after fixing the shower and finding it kind of fun. I'd read one of the handyman books we had lying around the house and was going to test out an addition to the kitchen sink to make it self-cleaning. Mom was out of town, with Helena, who finally got accepted to a college that was in Sapphire Valley. They were on a campus tour to get Helena acquainted with her new surroundings. My phone rang in the middle of my experiment with the kitchen sink, however, so I had to stop. A chick named Zo wanted to have a party at my house since she'd heard Mom was out of town. A party sounded like fun so I accepted.

I decided to clean up a little before the party. Just because the house might end up trashed during and after the party didn't mean it had to start out that way.

DING DONG!

I was making some grilled cheese sandwiches for the party when the doorbell rang. This chick, Jade, was the first to show up. She's pretty hot, I like her eyes.

After that, Zo brought some friends over, one of which was Tina. The other one had a weird haircut and wasn't very pretty. I talked to Jade for a little while and then went to sit in the hot tub. Jade came and joined me.

"Maximus, do you work out? You have a hot body."

I'm not really surprised at Jade's comment because I've noticed her looking at me quite often in class.

"Yeah, I jog pretty regularly."

"I like your house."

"Thanks."

Jade suddenly scoots closer to me in the hot tub and puts her head on my shoulder. She tickles my chest with her left hand, tracing my collarbone and pecs with her index finger. I'm getting kind of turned on and excited that she's throwing herself at me. Mom didn't say anything about not taking an opportunity when it presents itself... Jade's totally hitting on me and I like it. Jade puts her arm around me and kisses my cheek, while her other hand goes wandering down my abs and under my swim trunks.

"Max, I want you, right here."

Holy crap, she's so raunchy. I touch her back and rub the curve of her body while she continues to make me feel so good. I slide her bikini bottom off and grab her tight ass, giving it a nice massage as she makes her way over to my lips with hers.

"Mm, I love your lip ring, Max. It's so hot."

I kiss her pretty hard and she lets out a little moan of pleasure. She starts rubbing my hair and it feels like she's giving my head a massage with how hard she's touching me. Jade slides my trunks off and lowers herself on me, putting her hands on my shoulders and rocking herself back and forth. I put my hands around her waist while she uses me to pleasure herself. Jade finishes and gets off me, sitting back against the hot tub. I make a mental note to take a cold shower later as I put my swim trunks back on.

"That was so good, Max."

"Yeah it was."

I did feel good, although very detached. I didn't have protection with me, hence the cold shower thought. Strangely I feel like Jade used me as a piece of meat. I don't really care since I don't want to date her or anything like that, but that doesn't change the fact that I still feel weird. It gets late and Jade and everyone else leaves. I'm still not quite sure why Zo wanted to have a party at my house. I really could have cared less about it. I would have rather taken the time to enjoy having the house to myself, which I do now.

I step out of the shower and am about ready to go enjoy my free time, but when I step into the living room, Tina is still there. Ugh, not this again. I take a few breaths to calm myself because despite me hating her clingyness, I do realize I was wrong to seduce her and then ditch her like yesterday's garbage.

"Hi Max."

"Uh, hi. Why didn't you go with your friends?"

"I wanted to talk to you."

"About what?"

"Will you sit with me?"

"No, I should probably just stay over here."

I'm trying my best not to be mad at Tina, but it's not really working. I don't want to sit on the couch with her because I don't want her to think there's anything going on between us. I don't want to lead her on anymore.

"Max, are you mad at me? Why didn't you ask me for my number?"

"I just don't understand why you think that there is anything going on with us. I didn't tell you I wanted to date you, did I?"

"Well, no, you didn't say that, but I thought that since you and I did stuff, that it meant we were together."

I wish I had sunglasses on right now so I could roll my eyes. I do stuff with everyone, Tina, jeez. Surely she can't be that brainless, can she? She's looking at me like a lost puppy. I can only imagine if we were together, she'd probably constantly be all paranoid as to my whereabouts.

"Tina, why are you still here?"

"I wanted to talk to you. When Zo said she was coming to your house for a party, I thought it would be a good opportunity to do that."

Tina gets off the couch and suddenly grabs my shoulders. I'm unprepared for it, so I stumble a little, uncomfortable with her being that close to me. I put my hands up to block her advances.

"Whoa, Tina, what the hell? We're not together. I don't like you that way. I'm sorry for how I treated you. You were just a fling. I know that was wrong. I'm sorry I hurt your feelings."

"So that was all just a play to get sex from me?"

"Yes. I'm sorry."

"Max, I really like you. I have since I first saw you. When you came and sat near me at the picnic tables, I thought you really liked me too."

I turn away from Tina, a little less mad at her now. I must be really good at being bad because she really does sound like she thought I liked her.

"Max, I know how you are with girls, but I thought- I thought it could be different with me."

"What? You know that I sleep around, yet you still wanted me? Why would you think things could be different?"

"I don't know, I thought I could change you."

Ok, now I'm upset again. Who the hell does she think she is, wanting to change me? She can't possibly like me if she doesn't like who I am.

"What is that supposed to mean?! I like the way I am, I don't need anyone changing me!"

"No. I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that. I just meant, maybe if we got to know each other, that you might like me too, and then maybe you'd stop sleeping around. I mean, I don't know, Max, why do you sleep around so much?"

"I don't know. I like sex, I guess."

"Yeah, I do too, but it doesn't always have to be with different people to be fun."

"Tina, why are you so adamant to get to know me?"

"I really like you. I just wanted a chance, and when you slept with me, I thought that was my chance, but then you just ignored me. Plus, you were my first. I knew I wanted you to be ever since I saw you."

She was a virgin? Ugh, it's no wonder she was so aggressive that day, she was probably super horny. So now what? She's going to want to love me forever? Marry me? I'm only sixteen for fuck's sake.

"What do you want from me, Tina? I already apparently fulfilled your wish of losing your virginity to me."

"I just want to be friends. I get that you don't have feelings for me, but I'd like it if we could be friends."

Hmm... friends. I guess I could do that. The only reason I was annoyed with Tina is because she was acting like I was her boyfriend, but if that's off the table, I don't really see the harm in being her friend.

I turn around and tell Tina it's fine if she wants to be my friend. She looks pleased and has stopped trying to touch me, so I guess that's a step in the right direction.

---

CREDIT:

• Mypalsim's Poses for Sims 3

• Mrs OB's Sim Mania!

Read More