Summer of Secrets Ch. 01

Author's Note: This miniseries is set after the character specific chapters in the series. While they are not ABSOLUTELY required to understand the Summer of Secrets, they do provide a baseline start for the characters involved and give context for some of the drama that is about to unfold.

*All characters involved are 18 or older.*

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~Barry~

*5:30 PM*

"Jordan Belmont."

The usual scattered applause that followed the call of a name was replaced by an uproar of cheers and applause from the crowd. Jordan couldn't help but smile brightly as she made her way across the stage to grab her diploma. Whistles rang out, as well as screams, quickly followed by the familiar chant from her volleyball team. It wasn't all for nothing either, this year's graduation was going out on a high note. Anderson High had won the state championship for volleyball, bringing the gold to their school just as Jordan had planned.

"Congratulations." The principal stated as he handed Jordan her diploma and shook her head.

"Thank you." Jordan responded, walking along the stage and smiling at the rest of the teachers along the way. She squealed at the sight of her favorite teacher, Mr. Bee and quickly ran towards him.

"Congratulations, Jordan." Mr. Bee said as they hugged each other.

"Oh thank you so much, Mr. Bee!" Jordan exclaimed. She broke away from the hug and continued her final victory trek back towards her seat. The principal waved his hands to calm down the crowd and the cheering eventually slowed to a silence, allowing the principal to call the next name on the list.

"Oh thank you so much, Mister Bee." Rebecca mimicked mockingly beside Barry as they sat down in their chairs. She spoke low, just loud enough for Barry to hear. Barry rolled his eyes and shook his head.

"Girl, don't you start." He said through a fake smile.

"I'm just saying..." Barry sighed audibly enough to cut his co-worker off. Here we go again, round and round the wheel goes. Barry shifted in his chair and clapped once the next student was called. Graduation, what a joyous occasion as a student and as a teacher. For a student, it meant they were taking the first step towards the rest of their life. For a teacher, it meant they no longer had to deal with the students anymore.

"What are you doing tonight?" Rebecca asked quietly as she clapped her hands and smiled at the student walking past. "End of year party at the Union tonight if you're down."

"Yeah? Is your husband coming?" Barry asked. He could practically sense Rebecca rolling her eyes without having to look at her.

"Yes. And so is Bethany." Rebecca answered.

"Oh?" Barry smirked and looked over at Rebecca. "Maybe I will go then," He said, voice dripping with sarcasm. "That way I don't have to watch you act like you're happily married."

His mind raced back to just one week ago, back to the night he had with Rebecca and Bethany, a teacher that worked in the ninth grade. Truth be told, Barry hadn't thought much of that night since then, until now. Rebecca had brought Bethany with her, revealed their affair to her, then they all hooked up. It was a fun night, but it was just one night. The following week Barry had been focused on just getting through and finishing up end of year paperwork and graduation. But now that was done, and the thought of seeing Rebecca with her husband at the bar infected his mind. It shouldn't have made him angry, he knew the rules when it came to Rebecca, but he could feel the anger rising up anyway.

Maybe seeing Bethany would be a good thing. The best way to get over one woman was to get on top of another, right?

***

~Kevin~

7:58 PM

"Yo my boy!" Kevin smiled brightly at the sound of his best friend's voice. Paul practically ran through the crowd towards Kevin, and the pair slapped hands. "I can't believe we're here." Paul said, excitement in his voice. Both boys couldn't help but smile with wide grins as they held their diplomas in one hand.

"It's crazy bro." Kevin responded, feeling the heat of the Nevada sun in his gown.

"Oh my god you guys!" The familiar voice of Mrs. Owens rang through the noise of the crowd and both boys turned around. Kevin smiled at the sight of Katie Owens and stepped to the side as she hugged her son. Katie hugged her son, Paul tightly, and planted a kiss on his cheek. "I'm so proud of you, sweetie." She said during the hug.

"Thanks mom." Paul said. Katie stepped aside and Paul looked over at his dad who quickly stepped forward to hug him.

"Good job son." Mr. Owens said. Katie turned to Kevin and smiled. As was always the case, the sight of Katie sent Kevin's blood flowing and he found himself thankful for the gown.

"You too Kevin," Katie said, stepping forward to hug him as well. The two embraced warmly, the smell of Katie's perfume clouding Kevin's mind as it infiltrated his nose. Katie rubbed his back and then stepped back.

"Thank you, Mrs. Owens." Kevin said with a smile. The pair locked eyes and Kevin felt the urge to hug Katie again and kiss her like a long-lost love. Paul quickly stepped up and slapped a hand on Kevin's shoulder, breaking him from his imagination.

"Dude, where's your mom?" He asked, none the wiser.

"Right here!" Claire quickly called out. Kevin spun around and spotted his mom pushing her way through the crowd. She quickly reached her son and wrapped her arms around him in a tight hug.

"Ohhh..." Kevin groaned with a slight pang of embarrassment. Claire kept up the tight hug and laughed.

"My baby boy, all grown up now." She remarked.

"Mom, come on." Kevin muttered. Claire broke away from the hug and stepped back.

"Oh well excuse me for being proud of my one and only." She looked at her son and they both smiled at each other.

"Hi Miss Chambers." Paul greeted. Claire turned her eyes towards Paul and stepped forward to hug him as well.

"Congratulations, Paul. I'm so proud of you two."

"Thank you ma'am."

Claire moved to grab the diploma from Kevin's hand and looked up at him.

"Are you still going to Paul's? Celebrating with your team?"

"Yeah, if that's good with you?" Claire nodded and began to dig into her purse.

"Yes, I have to head into work so nobody will be home." Claire pulled out her car keys and looked up at her son. "You behave yourself, no alcohol, and don't let these little floozies get to you either."

"Don't worry, Claire," Katie called out, placing a hand on Kevin's bicep. "We'll be at the house to make sure nothing happens. I'll take care of him."

That's what Claire was afraid of. She had seen how Kevin looked at Katie, and how Katie practically begged for the attention of every young man in town.

"Thank you, you have my number, and the Union's. If anything happens, just call."

"Will do, don't worry, Andrew has food ready to grill and all the soda you can ask for." Katie said reassuringly. Claire nodded and hugged Kevin once again.

"Okay, have fun, love you."

"Love you too, mom." Kevin stepped back from the hug and turned to face Paul.

"Bro, we got the pool up and ready." Paul said excitedly. "And the softball team is joining us."

"Oh yeah, are you gonna make your move on Amber?" Kevin teased as the boys started walking through the crowd together.

"You better not, young man." Mr. Owens called out from up ahead. "Not at my house." Katie quickly shushed him and looked back at Paul and Kevin. The boys laughed and made their way towards the parking lot.

"Dude," Paul whispered, wrapping an arm around Kevin's shoulders. "Tonight is going to be the best night ever. I talked to Amber, she and some of the girls are so down." Kevin looked ahead as Paul spoke, his eyes wandering towards Katie's butt as it swayed in the shorts she was wearing. He quickly noted that she had been working on her tan.

"Yeah?" He responded, quickly turning his attention to Paul. "We'll see man."

Though Kevin's mind was almost always on Katie, the thought of talking to someone else did make its way across. How would Katie react if he did talk to another girl tonight? Would she be jealous? Angry? Would she not care at all? Their affair had rules, he was painfully aware of that, but surely things would be different now. Right?

Kevin had no idea how different things would be after tonight.

***

*8:30 PM*

"Cannonball!" A large splash followed the announcement from Kevin and Paul as they dove into the large pool. The cool water was refreshing after sitting in the heat during graduation. With a laugh, Kevin resurfaced above the water and brushed his long black hair out of his eyes. The graduation pool party had a bigger turnout than he had expected, with most of the varsity baseball and softball teams arriving. Guys and girls lined the pool's edge, sitting in the water, or swam together. Others already had plates of food and stood around the spacious backyard of the Owens house. But for Kevin, his eyes were locked in on Katie.

The curvy MILF that he had bedded so many times already stepped down from the patio in a white tanktop that showed off her cleavage. Her large boobs bounced with each step as she strolled across the backyards towards Mr. Owens with a plate full of uncooked hot dogs for him. Her shorts clung to her skin, accentuating her thick thighs, and causing Kevin to remember the many times those same thighs had been wrapped around him.

"Hey Kevin!" A girl called out, drawing his attention to the side of the pool. Kevin turned his head and spotted Rachel, a graduate alongside him and member of the softball team. She stood beside the pool in a two-piece blue bikini that showed off her athletic body. She was half-Korean, with light brown skin, dark hair, and big brown eyes that Kevin would have considered cute had he not been so head over heels for someone that was off-limits.

"Hey, Rachel." Kevin greeted amicably enough. Rachel sat down and dipped her toes into the pool. It dawned on Kevin that he didn't know much about the girl in front of him, other than she was the softball team's star catcher and had one of the best batting averages on the team.

"How are you feeling about graduation?" Rachel asked. Kevin smiled and swam towards her. With a grunt, he climbed out of the pool and sat beside her.

"Not sure yet?" He responded with a shrug. School had been such a big part of his life for the last 18 years, it was hard to think that it was all over, that only adulthood waited for him. "I think I'm still processing it all." Rachel giggled and leaned back, propping herself up on her arms. Kevin let his eyes wander over her body, the angle giving him the perfect view to see down her bikini top.

"So what's next for you?" Rachel asked, stopping Kevin from perving on his former classmate. She looked over at him and they locked eyes.

"Uh... well I got a scholarship into the University of Nebraska." Kevin explained. "So I'll be playing baseball for them." Rachel nodded as Kevin spoke. "What about you?" His eyes wandered past Rachel once again towards Katie. She was talking with Mr. Owens, with one hand on his back and rubbing him gently. A pang of jealousy shot through Kevin and he focused his gaze back on Rachel.

"I got into Oklahoma actually, their catcher is graduating next year and they scouted me out." Rachel smiled and looked over at Kevin. "I guess they liked what they saw."

"Yeah, I mean it's hard not to." Kevin wasn't even sure where the words came from, nor was he consciously aware of the suddenly flirtatious tone he had adopted. Rachel smiled at him and tilted her head to the side. "Sorry, I uh... that was probably weird to say. We barely know each other."

Rachel giggled and slid down into the pool, keeping her head above the water. Kevin watched as she propped her arms up on the side of the pool right next to him.

"Oh I wouldn't say barely." Rachel remarked. "We had three classes together this year, and have been in the same school since the 7th grade." Kevin nodded. It was all true. Though Rachel had always been part of the crowd that Kevin steered away from. It really wasn't until sophomore year in high school that the two started to cross paths more, thanks to their love of their respective sport.

"So what about you, Kevin?" Rachel asked. "Do you like what you see?" Kevin looked up as a girl's scream rang out. He watched as Amber was pulled into the pool by Paul. He smiled and then looked around to see Katie kiss her husband on the cheek before walking back towards the house. That same sting of jealousy hit him and he looked back at Rachel.

Paul's words from earlier replayed in his head. The girls were so down, Paul had said. It all began to click for Kevin and he looked down at Rachel. She was suddenly much cuter than before.

"Yeah. I do." He answered.

"Good," Rachel responded. She swam backwards slowly, kicking her feet steadily. "Why don't you join me then?" She called out as she reached the middle of the deep end of the pool. Kevin took one last look around, spotted Katie as she disappeared inside the house, then made the choice. He stood up and jumped into the pool with another big splash.

***

~Barry~

*8:30 PM*

Walking into the Union, Barry found it to be as crowded as he expected it to be. It was mostly coworkers and their spouses. As soon as he walked in, Barry spotted a banner that read "Congratulations Anderson High Class of 2025!" He couldn't help but laugh at the irony of it. There wasn't a single student at the bar. No, this celebration was for the grown ups.

"Barry!" A familiar voice called out. Barry looked over towards the bar and spotted one of the few male staff members in the school, and his best friend, Coach Wilson. Barry immediately headed towards him, smiling and waving at several other teachers he walked past.

"Wilson, how you doin' man?" Barry asked as he stood beside Wilson. They shook hands and Barry quickly flagged down the bartender.

"Chillin', killin'." Wilson responded. He grabbed his beer and downed the rest of it. Wilson stood tall, the same height as Barry, with a basketball player's build. With light skin, green eyes, and dirty blond hair, he was popular among many of the single females at the school. Fortunately for Wilson, he was a married man.

"How's the wife?" Barry asked as one of the bartenders nodded at him and held up one finger to let him know she'd be right with him.

"Oh man..." Wilson sighed and shook his head. "Five months pregnant man, you know how that shit goes." Barry scoffed and shook his head.

"I really don't, actually."

"Dog, last night she woke me up because she was craving fucking pickles. But not just any pickles, fucking garlic dill pickles." The two of them burst out into laughter. "My dumbass spent a whole hour looking for these stupid ass pickles."

"Yeah that sounds awful, man." Barry nodded as the bartender approached.

"Hey fellas, my name's Selene and you get my wonderful presence tonight. What can I get you started with?"

"Just two Coors Lights." Wilson stated, pointing at his empty bottle. Barry scanned around the bar and spotted Rebecca at one of the tables. She was sitting with her husband and another couple.

"Nah, let me get a Jack Daniel's. Double." He said to the bartender. Wilson glanced over at him as Selene walked away to grab their drinks.

"Shit man, I guess you're drinking big time tonight."

"Yeah man, it's summer vacation." They both snickered and watched as their drinks were placed in front of them.

"Well don't get too fucked up, I'm not staying here too long." Barry scoffed at Wilson's words.

"Shit man, you say that every time." Wilson flashed a knowing smile and grabbed his bottle. Barry grabbed his own glass and held it up. The two friends toasted and Barry downed his drink in three quick gulps.

"Hey Barry!" Bethany called out from the side. Barry set his empty glass down and looked over to see Bethany standing beside him. He immediately noticed that she was wearing the same sundress she had worn on the night of their hookup. An instant replay of their time together started up in his brain and Barry felt his pants begin to tighten.

"Bethany, hey!" He greeted, acting as if everything was normal.

"Hey, hey! Hey Wilson!" Bethany responded, sliding into the spot beside Barry and Wilson at the bar.

"Hey Bethany." Wilson greeted. Bethany quickly waved down the bartender and ordered a round of shots for the three of them. "Shit, I guess I'm drinking for real tonight too."

"Oh just a couple shots man." Barry laughed, slapping Wilson's shoulder. "Then you can go home and feed your wife your garlic pickle." Barry burst into laughter and Wilson shook his head.

"That's nasty. You're nasty bro."

The shots came and the three of them toasted before downing them. Barry held back a groan and Bethany shuddered as the alcohol burned its way down their throats and into their stomachs.

"So, your first year as a teacher. How's it feel to be done?" Bethany asked.

"Good actually, you know I love the job more than I thought I would." Barry answered after ordering another drink for himself and Bethany.

He looked around the bar once again, his eyes quickly finding Rebecca's auburn hair in the crowd. She still sat beside her much older husband, a beer bottle in one hand and her other hand on her husband's lap. Barry didn't know much about Rebecca's relationship with her husband, other than that she was viewed as a trophy wife, and that the sex was no good. Looking at the man, Barry could see what Rebecca was talking about. He was easily ten years older than her, at least, and wore a suit that was more expensive than anyone in Secrit Vale could afford, except for the Belmonts maybe.

"That's good." Bethany responded. She grabbed her drink and Barry turned to face her instead. "I don't work with the seniors, but I hear them talk about you a lot. You're pretty popular so you must have done something right."

"Yeah maybe, I think I was too easy this year."

"Pfft, common first timer thought." Wilson quickly retorted. Bethany laughed.

"It's social studies, Barry, it's like the easiest thing to teach." She added. Wilson laughed loudly this time and Barry looked over at him.

"Y'all got me on that one." He remarked, nodding his head. He grabbed his drink and took a sip this time, enjoying the taste of the whiskey much more than the shot Bethany had ordered for them. "You got a sitter for your kids tonight?" Barry asked, looking over at Bethany.

"They're with their grandparents tonight." Bethany answered. "Why? You offering to drive me home tonight?" Wilson suddenly coughed, choking on his drink and Bethany smiled.

"I mean, if you need one." Barry responded.

"Alright you two, that's my cue to use the bathroom." Wilson set his beer down and slowly walked away, leaving Barry and Bethany alone. Barry laughed as his friend walked away and turned to face Bethany.

"You look nice," He said with a smile.

"Yeah? I was wondering if you'd remember this dress." Bethany responded. She spun around quick enough for the end of her sundress to lift up just enough to give Barry a peek of her underwear.

"I don't think I'd ever forget it." Barry took another sip of his drink and set the glass down. Bethany laughed and finished her own drink.

"Well, maybe we can make some more memories later?" She winked and placed a hand on Barry's bicep, giving him a soft squeeze. His mind immediately went to Rebecca and he looked back at her table. She had shifted in her seat, revealing her slender frame in the dress she wore. She was still not paying any attention, or at least pretending to not pay any attention to Barry.

"Sorry, that was too forward of me." Bethany said, taking her hand off Barry's arm. Barry looked back at her, realizing she was also looking over at Rebecca.