22 Ch 22 Yard Party

I opened the door as Mahina was reaching for the bell.

"Hey," I said smiling at her, "seems our gathering got kinda bigger than I planned. Hope you don't mind. A few of my cousins and some friends came up unexpectedly. Looks like I'm having a surprise birthday party tonight."

I made the rounds again with Mahina. By the time I was done, Anna was calling out for everyone to get the food.

"So you got dinner and firewood, huh?" I couldn't resist complaining to Dad teasingly.

Dad just gave me a look like he didn't know what I was talking about. I leaned against him briefly before going out to check the fire.

When I came back in, Mac was getting some food, taking small samples of this and that. I shook my head at his nearly empty plate.

"Mac, dig in before these ravenous wolves finish it off."

Oh, the look he threw me, suddenly slightly nervous, before taking in my teasing grin. He gave a little half-laugh before grabbing a bit more of the roast. I understood now why Dad had brought a whole elk and how he got it in the truck.

I paid attention to Mahina then, making sure she had everything set. I grabbed my own food, being able to choose from many of my favorite dishes, before leading her outside.

I sat Mahina on the bench. There were blankets all around the fire. Someone was spiking drinks, keeping an eye out for my dad. Mahina and I both accepted a splash in our cokes. Even though I was officially legal now, it was still fun trying to sneak in some alcohol behind Dad's back.

Along with the food came the stories from my childhood. I swear they were trying to outdo each other in their efforts to embarrass me in front of Mahina. It was all in good fun. I laughed along with them as they recounted stories that showcased my personality.

They spoke of my honor, like when a few of us had pulled a prank on one of our girl cousins and she got upset and cried. I was the only one to turn myself in so I could apologized to her. It didn't matter that I was nine at the time.

They spoke of my courage, running over and tackling Running Elk to get him out of the way of a few elk that had gotten spooked and almost ran him over. It was how he got his name.

The stories went on for awhile. It was dad who changed the tide.

"Don't forget his penchant for fighting. Let's see... had to pull him off another boy... you were what? Eight? Who was it I pulled you off of? Thomas I think, wasn't it Thomas? And the first year you went to public school? Coming home with a black eye? Thomas, weren't you the one who gave it to him? Skinned knees from wrestling...who.. ah, Thomas again I think?"

Dad was grinning at Thomas's discomfort. All of the girls snickered. Most of the guys were starting to grin as well. Dad spoke more directly to Mahina then.

"If I remember right, it didn't matter what I said, those two especially would end up fighting."

"Until high school," snickered Anna, "when they had to play lacrosse on the same team, instead of against each other. We had the best lacrosse team the whole time they were in high school, with those two finally working together."

Everyone agreed with that rather loudly.

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Running Elk and I shared a look. I nodded, giving Running Elk permission to speak up.

"Wonder who would win a wrestling match these days?"

There were lots of cat calls and hoots and hollers.

I looked challengingly over at Thomas. "A victor match?"

The girls began shouting, encouraging the bout, the guys all looked at Dad.

"To the count of five or the third consecutive hold."

I grinned at Mahina as I took off my shirt. I wasn't beyond flexing a little to show off my runner's physique. "Don't worry," I told her, "I'll win."

One of my female cousins leaned over to whisper in her ear, explaining what was about to happen. Mahina gave me a dissatisfied look.

I wasn't worried though. She was either going to trust me more, or never forgive me. Either way, our relationship was going to take another step, either forward or backward. I knew how this worked, and was betting Mahina would trust me more.

Thomas and I paired up in the grass. The other guys circled us. Dad positioned himself to referee the match. I caught a glimpse of Mac and Derrick standing by the back door, watching with interest. It looked like there might be some wagering going on there. Derrick was going to regret not being in the circle.

"Little Wolf," Dad said with a look. I understood. No minor shifting, which would be tantamount to cheating in a match like this. I nodded.

Thomas and I went at it. The girls had gathered in a circle outside the guys. Everyone was spaced out enough so that everyone had a good view. There were no comments from the guys but the girls hollered out their preference to win. A lot of them were shouting my name, a few shouted for Thomas. There was no better incentive to win a victor match than the girls shouting out your name.

I won the bout with three consecutive holds. The girls were all ky-yay-yaying and whooping it up. The guys were all grinning.

The girl next to Mahina shouted it out first. She was an old friend, not one of my cousins.

"To the victor goes the spoils!"

The call was repeated by all of the girls. There was a lot of whooping and cheering then. I walked over to her, not looking at Mahina next to her.

Chani put her hands up and pulled me in for a kiss, but at the last second, she turned my head slightly away from Mahina so her kiss landed on my cheek.

I made my way around the circle, getting a kiss on the cheek from each of them; they respected the fact Mahina was my girlfriend. I could feel Mahina's eyes on me.

A kiss on the cheek I could expect from my cousins. Each girl who wasn't a cousin teased me the way Chani had.

This was a test of sorts among the girls. How many times had the girls tested their boyfriends this way? If I showed interest for any of them, it wouldn't be a chaise kiss I would get.

In the past, the kisses I received from my victories had been much more intimate.

I kept myself aloof, until I got to Mahina.

She had watched the whole affair with a few more whispered explanations from the girls. How much of a kiss she thought the victor should get, however much or little of a kiss she was interested in giving, was all her choice.

The guy was only allowed to accept the kiss, not kiss back. If he wanted more he would have to ask later, outside of the game.

Mahina reached up, placing her hands behind my head. She paused before pulling me in for a kiss. I was glad she was playing along and didn't seem mad. I let my desire for her fill me, giving her an intense look and a teasing smile. She smiled back as she pulled me in.

The guys started whooping it up as the kiss went on, and on. It was so hard not to put my hands on her, so very hard to just be kissed and not kiss back. This was part of how we guys learned self control.

If the girl wasn't happy with how you behaved during a kiss, if she had to pull away from you because you got aggressive, if any of them saw you reach out for a girl, you were screwed. It was like writing your own dating death sentence. The rest of the kisses you got would be on the forehead.

It was the most embarrassing thing to happen to a guy, because all of the other girls would know you couldn't be trusted to contain yourself. There were a few guys that couldn't get a date to prom because they had screwed up too many times during the four years of high school.

When Mahina finally came up for air, I turned back to Thomas and the circle of waiting guys.

As the victor, I got to call out the next challenger to match up with Thomas.

I did Derrick a solid and called his name out.