"Mandy, ignore Danny. We were just talking," Ace promptly denied. Then, he shot a glare at Danny to silence him.
"So you don't want a sex doll?" Mandy asked, walking toward Ace.
"No, I don't," Ace responded. Then he added, "Let us go downstairs. We shouldn't keep them waiting."
As Ace moved to head out, Mandy would not move out of his way. Locking eyes with him, she put her hands on his chest and playfully ran her index figure along his shirt buttons. Feeling his defined midline, she said, "That's good. Because I was planning to introduce you to girls from our town."
"What?" Danny exclaimed. Then he complained to Mandy, "I have been asking you to introduce me to someone for months. But you keep telling me to wait."
Listening to Danny, Mandy turned to look at him and warned, "Don't you have Esmeralda. Besides nephew, you should head downstairs before Dan decides to come up. I don't need to tell you about your father's temper."
"Fine," Danny hurried downstairs. He had figured out the best way to keep his parents out of his room was to do what they said when they said it.
Seeing Danny leave, Ace looked at Mandy, saying, "We should be leaving too."
"No rush," Mandy replied, dismissing the notion. "So, tell me, Ace, do you have a girlfriend?"
"No, I don't have one," Ace said, grabbing Mandy's hand, which had dangerously neared his swim trunks area.
"That's quite a grip. You must workout regularly," Mandy said, trying to free her hand, but Ace would not let go. He looked into her eyes and said, "Enough with the games. Wasn't Pam's warning enough?"
"Don't tell me that was enough to scare you," Mandy said provocatively. She then leaned forward to kiss him. That's when Ace knew she was trouble. Pushing her to the side, he rushed downstairs as if a ghost was chasing him.
But was she worth complicating the relationship between his family and his uncle's family?
In his current form, Ace could get any woman. So why defecate where his family eats? If he were in love with Mandy, that would be another thing. But just for a fleeting moment of pleasure, he did not want to ruin the bond between the two families.
Being shoved away by Ace, Mandy stood in disbelief, finding it hard to accept that a teenager rejected her twice. 'Guess I am stud hunting this weekend,' But she quickly recovered, taking Ace's rejection as a challenge.
Reaching downstairs, Ace saw his mother and Pam coming towards the stairs. Seeing him, Pam sighed in relief and said, "See Mary. You were worried over nothing."
"Hi, Mom. That dress looks good on you," Ace complimented, looking at his mother's modest swimdress. It was a mesh kaftan covering a dark green swim romper. It was stylish and better than the baggy t-shirt and shorts she usually wears at any water-related family outing.
"Ace, listen up. I'm telling you straight, keep your distance from Mandy. I don't give a damn if she comes at you. If I catch you flirting with her again or alone together. So help me god, I'll kick your ass to the curb," Mary cautioned her son that if he was mature enough to show interest in women, then he was mature enough to live on his own.
"Mom, where did that come from? There is nothing between me and Mandy. Besides, she is not my type," Ace clarified. He hadn't done anything, yet here he was, getting the third degree from his mother. He couldn't even fathom what it would be like if there actually was something between him and Mandy.
"Don't act smart with me. My eyes aren't blind yet. Why didn't you come down with your cousin? Where is Mandy? Why did she not come down with you? What were you two doing alone?" Mary did not go easy on her son, even though she knew that if Mandy and Ace were determined to get involved, there wasn't much she or anyone else could do about it.
However, Mary was not the one to sit back and watch her son ruin his life over adolescent sexual experimentation. She might not be able to control Mandy, but she believed her son was still under her control.
"Mom, will you relax? You are making a big deal out of nothing," Ace said helplessly, feeling his mother was unreasonable.
"I am making a big deal over nothing. What do you think Dan will do if he learns of this," Mary cautioned her son of the potential consequences of his actions involving Mandy.
"Mom, I swear nothing happened. Mandy was just playing around. Auntie Pam, help me over here," Ace feared his uncle's reaction the most, as Mandy was like a daughter to Dan. If he were to get even a whiff about this, knowing his temper, things would turn ugly, even if Ace was his nephew. Or especially because Ace was his nephew, as Dan was big on familial bonds and family having each other's backs.
"Ace, if I were you, I would listen to your mother," Pam did not want to tell Mary how to guide her son. She was not going to repeat that mistake.
"You guys are being unreasonable. I did nothing wrong. I am going to take a dip in the pool," Ace took off his shirt and handed it and his phone to his mother before heading toward the pool. He remembered his father is waiting for him, but he wanted to prove a point to his mom and aunt first.
"Ace, where are you going? I'm still not done talking to you," Mary yelled, but Ace ignored her and entered the backyard, heading to the pool.
Beneath the scorching sun, Ace's sculpted body radiated with a primal allure, instantly becoming the envy of every man and the desire of every woman in the party. His muscles seemed to pulse with raw energy, captivating the gaze of onlookers. His toned skin, slick with sweat, radiated a magnetic heat, igniting desires and oozing an intoxicating scent of temptation.
Arriving by the pool, Ace ignored the intent gazes upon him. He used the apex earring's effects to gracefully dive into the pool, drawing gasps from the onlookers. As he plunged into the water, their longing eyes followed his descent, never letting his captivating body out of their sight.
"Mary, it looks like you got your work cut out for you," Pam commented as Ace took a lap around the pool.
"Wipe your drool. He is your nephew, for goodness sake," Mary said in disgust.
"Hey, I was just admiring how my nephew has grown into a fine young man. If I were you, I'd worry about those temptresses. Look at them, none of them bothered to enter the pool before, but now they're swarming over there like bees to honey," Pam remarked, looking at the teenage daughters of her friends and neighbors finally entering the pool. Before, it was just the adults and kids.
"..." Mary clenched her teeth, observing the young girls in their skimpy swimdresses approaching her son. Mary was tough on her son, even though she knew he hadn't done anything wrong, because she understood how women could be. She trusted her son but not the women around him. However, her son was too young to understand that.
"Take my advice and get him a pack of condoms or give him money to afford them. Otherwise, get ready to be called grandma in a year or two," Pam suggested bluntly.
"Shut up, this isn't funny."