Conjugated - A Jonnor Tale

Chapter Seventeen: The "Mother" of all Stefremands

Chapter Seventeen: The "Mother" of all Stefremands

Jude felt all the blood drain out of his face and it go numb as he realized Stef must have seen Connor and Kyle making out on the couch. He had not planned on anyone ever finding out about this, let alone having to try and explain it.

"What exactly is going on here?" Stef demanded, her voice and posture going into full Stefremand mode.

"It's cool, it's nothing," Jude said. "We're just hanging out with Kyle."

"Maybe you didn't know, but he was kissing Connor when I came in." She glared at Connor. "How could you?"

"It's okay, really," Jude said, feeling his legs weakening. "It's not what you're thinking."

"What exactly is it, then?" she demanded.

"Uh, maybe I should leave, if that's okay," Kyle said uncomfortably.

"This isn't his fault, really," Connor said to her. "Please don't hate him."

"I'm not mad at you, Kyle," Stef said, not very convincingly. "These two are supposed to be more responsible." She glowered at Jude. "You knew about this?"

Jude sighed. "We've both been doing it. Connor isn't cheating on me, and I'm not cheating on him. We're just experimenting...fulfilling some curiosities."

His explanation wasn't working too well. "What sort of...curiosity...results in what I just saw?" She looked at Kyle, who was staring at the ground. "I'm sorry, Kyle, you can go." She pointed at Connor. "I'll let your father deal with you later. Jude, come with me."

"I think we should both—" Jude started.

"Do not argue with me," Stef growled. "Get in the house, now."

Jude sagged and woodenly marched out of Southridge and into the main house. He sat down at the kitchen table and blew his breath out, wondering just how badly they had screwed everything up. Stef tended to be hotheaded and overreact...not that he expected that Lena would be more understanding.

Stef walked in, the door closed a bit more sharply than usual and its bang made Jude jump a little. He bit his lip as she walked up, and waited for her to talk.

"What is going on here, love? You and Connor are supposed to be in a committed relationship."

His head shot up. "We are, totally committed."

She shook her head. "I don't think you know what that word means. If you are in a committed relationship you don't do things like that with other people."

"But it's okay because we're both doing it, and we both wanted it."

She looked taken aback. "So you have some sort of open relationship now?"

He shook his head furiously. "No, it's not like that. We just wanted to satisfy our curiosity before we get married and never do anything like that again."

"Curiosity about what? And you are a long, long way from getting married, young man. That isn't happening until you're at least eighteen."

Jude felt like his stomach had dropped into his legs. They had been planning to ask Lena and Stef to sign off on the early wedding...obviously, that wasn't going to happen now.

"We just wanted to know what it was like to be with another guy," Jude said. "Kyle was willing, he doesn't want a relationship right now but likes having the action."

She shook her head. "This is exactly why you aren't ready to get married to anyone yet, mister. If you are in a committed relationship you don't experiment with 'curiosities'...you forsake all others when you commit to that person."