Unspoken Pleasure

A family camping trip gets out of control. This story promises to be more intense than usual. Read and enjoy..

As James Campbell looked over his shoulder to back the car out of the driveway, he glanced at his three children, sitting primly in the backseat. It made him sad. As serene as the siblings seemed in the moment, James knew the trio would be at each other's throats before they even got to the highway.

His oldest daughter, Alexis -- long dark hair hanging down to her chest and deep green eyes -- was looking out the window like she was planning her escape route. Her younger brother, Austin, was on the other side. He had blond hair like his Mom, close-cropped, and blue eyes like his Dad. He stared out the other window, almost a mirror of his oldest sister. If the two of them knew they were matching each other, they'd probably move simply to spite each other, James thought. Only his youngest -- Molly, just turned 18 -- smiled slightly at her Dad as he looked back. Molly's eyes were blue like his, but so pale they were practically gray. Like Austin, she had her mother's golden hair, but it fell in ringlets all the way down to the middle of her back.

James sighed and tried to concentrate on driving. They'd just bought the new SUV. It made way more sense for caravanning three older children, but maneuvering the thing was a bit of a production. He felt more like a school bus driver than a Dad.

James felt a hand on his leg and looked over. His wife, Christine, smiled at him warmly. Unlike most 39-year-old moms, she had actually slimmed down compared to when they'd first met. Christine proudly proclaimed she had less than 15% body fat and, boy, you could tell just by looking at her. Even her hair -- blonde like Austin and Molly, but straight and jaw-length short -- looked almost sharp. James smiled back at his wife. She might look tough, but he knew she was still the kind, caring woman he'd met in high school.

James had been a football jock and Christine was a science geek, but, somehow, they'd found each other. The couple was always careful, of course, but inexplicably Christine got pregnant anyway. The doctors said something about James having 'unusually potent sperm.'

Christine was devastated. She was still in high school and her whole life was in front of her. But giving up the baby didn't occur to either of them. Instead they quickly got married. Christine stayed in school and James went off to get a job. They named the first baby Alexis. Austin and Molly soon followed. The third pregnancy was the final straw and Christine had her tubes tied. It was safer for everyone that way.

Despite the setback of having children young, both parents were extraordinarily successful. Christine was one of the leading ophthalmologists in the state and James was a high-level executive for a major pharmaceutical firm. The kids hadn't suffered for their parents' careers, either. Alexis, Austin, and Molly were all attractive, intelligent, successful children with bright futures ahead of them.

Yet for some reason James still felt oddly unfulfilled. He'd just turned 40 and, for the first time he could remember, his age was weighing on him. Maybe it was that the kids -- now 21, 19, and 18 respectively -- were moving out of the house. Although, the way they'd been acting lately, he was starting to wish they'd just go already. We need to get a dog, he thought.

"You seem distracted, hon," Christine said, her hand still resting on her husband's leg. Her fingers lightly teasing at his hair, "Everything OK? You want me to drive?"

They'd only gone a few feet down the road. The campsite was still hours in front of them. James already felt tired. But he smiled and shook his head. Something about giving up the wheel felt like surrendering. So he made himself sit up a little straighter, took a big gulp of his coffee, and focused on the road.

The car was actually quiet for a while and James began to relax. Maybe they would have that nice family trip after all. But as soon as he pulled onto the highway, just as he'd feared, the kids started arguing.

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"Stop touching me, perv!" Alexis said, slapping at her brother.NôvelDrama.Org holds text © rights.

"How can I be touching you if I'm all the way over here?" Austin said, slapping back.

"I don't know, maybe you're using your extra-long perv fingers or something," Alexis said. She reached across the seat and gave her brother a good, hard pinch on the arm. "Or maybe you're just extra fucking crazy," Austin said and tried to pinch his eldest sister back.

"Ow! That was me, you jerk!" Molly said, slapping her brother.

"Stop hurting your baby sister!" Alexis said, and hit him, too.

"Moooom Daaaad, the girls are picking on me," Austin said.

"God..." Christine said, turning around to glare at her children, "This is the last trip we're going to have together for a long time. Can't you all, like, get along for a little while?"

As you reach the final pages, remember that 000005s.org is your destination for the complete story. Share the joy of reading with others and spread the word. The next chapter is just a visit away! "How much further do we have to go, James?" Alexis asked.

James ground his teeth and gripped the wheel tightly. This was his eldest daughter's newest thing: calling her parents by their first names. Her way, in her words, of being 'adult.'

"Mommy and Daddy are baby words," Alexis had said.

Christine told him it was only a phase and he should ignore it. But it made James nuts and Alexis seemed to know it, which only made her do it more. What was so wrong with calling him Dad, seriously? "It's another two hours, Alexis," James said.

"Ugh, James;I told you I want you to call me Lexi," Alexis said.

"Maybe if that was your name he'd call you that, Sis," Austin said.

"At least I'm not named for some stupid stoner town in fucking Texas, Bro," Alexis said. And then the arguing in the backseat started all over again.

James rubbed his eyes like he was trying to grind them out of his head. He'd planned this lake trip for months. One last family trip together before they all abandoned him to old-man-hood. The trunk of the new car (And the seats. And the roof) was filled with new tents, camping equipment, fishing rods... At one point, James had joked that he felt like he was buying a brand-new life. Now he wondered if that was true.

And, worse, if he had failed.