Dirty Sex (5 page)

“Come on. Are you really mad? We were just playing.” He actually

looked sincere.

“Don’t worry, Carson.” I looked up at Reese to see what she could

possibly contribute to my empty threats. “She’s all talk.”

“Anyway,” my dad pointedly cut in. “How was your semester,

Reese?”

“I’m not sure. Grades aren’t in yet.” She grinned to accentuate

what I could only interpret as an attempt to be charming. Dad laughed

accordingly. My parents loved Reese.

“I’m sure you did just fine, honey,” my mom reassured her from

where she was still screwing around in the kitchen.

“Mom, sit down,” I said. “We like it better when you eat with us.”

Mom shot me a look then leaned over me to set a pitcher of juice

on the table.

“Honey, you need a haircut.” She ran her fingers through the back

of my hair.

“I think I can handle it.” I tried to brush her hand away. It didn’t

work.

“Your dad needs one too.” She started playing with his hair at

the same time. “Mitch, take V with you next week when you go to the

barber.”

“Mom.”

“Vivian.”

“Mom.”

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Dirty Sex

“I know you hate it when it gets long in the back,” she offered in

explanation.

“Sit down and eat.” This time everyone at the table loudly agreed

with me.

It was rather hard to follow any sort of conversation in my

house on Saturday mornings. My mother had started the tradition of

weekend breakfasts when I was really little, and during the summer

when everyone was home from college, she still insisted on them. I

didn’t even invite people anymore. They just showed up. I was actually

surprised none of Adriana’s friends were there. Half of them were in

love with Austin, and the other half were in love with Ryan. They were

all afraid of my dad though. He looked like a fifty-year-old version of

me. He had the same slightly muscular build and pale blond hair that

people said made him look like a handsome all-American guy, and just

made people say I looked like a boy.

“Did everyone see the, umm, what shall we call it, Aus? The fruits

of Cooper’s labor last night.” I hated Reese. She was such a bitch.

“Huh?” Ryan brilliantly looked up from his pancakes and sausage.

“What’s that mean?” He looked back and forth between Reese and me,

as did everyone else at the table. Austin started laughing.

“Nothing.” I shot Reese an I-hate-you look. “I just, never mind,

it’s nothing.” That got their attention. Good job me.

“None of you noticed her eyebrow?” Reese acted totally affronted

on my behalf. As if I wanted the goddamn piercing.

“The eyebrow ring? I thought she always had that,” Carson spoke

up after they all stared at me.

“No way. You got your eyebrow pierced?” I could always count

on my little sister to encourage me.

“Get this.” Austin stopped giggling long enough to explain my

stupidity. “She picked up this chick at Twenty-One and…” He had to

pause to gulp air and laugh some more. “They go and somehow the girl

convinces Coop that she should get a piercing.”

“How?” Ryan asked.

“I’m guessing the very short skirt the chick was wearing and a lot

of booze.”

“Enough. Stop. You’re done,” I told him. “My mother is at the

goddamn table. Just a little respect, please.”

“Language, Vivian,” was all she said.

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AShley BArtlett

“Well, it looks good,” Derek told me.

“Yeah, it’s kind of sexy,” Reese said. Every person at the table

stopped staring at me to look at her. A piece of bacon fell out of Derek’s

mouth.

Ryan recovered first. “Did you just say Coop looked”—he

swallowed loudly—“sexy?”

“What?” She sipped some orange juice then slowly licked her lip.

“I was just making an observation.”

My pulse skyrocketed and my hands started shaking.

“So are you guys going camping soon?” My mom thankfully

changed the subject.

“I hope so.” Ryan sounded a little surprised. “I made reservations

already. For next, next weekend.” He interpreted the blank looks

properly and explained further. “Two weeks from now.”

“You kids might want to straighten out who is bringing what,” my

dad suggested. “That is, if you’ve only got two weeks to plan. If you

want to discuss everything in the living room, I’ll clean up in here.”

That seemed like a good idea, mostly because cleaning the kitchen

sucked. So we all gradually moved into the living room. Carson and

Ryan helped my dad clear the table. I went upstairs to get The Camping

List. It was the same list we’d been using since the year we all turned

sixteen and could drive ourselves to the campsite. Every year, something

new got added or crossed out or changed until it was as close to perfect

as possible. I knew it was in my room somewhere.

“So, V.” My sister followed me upstairs and into my room. She

shut the door behind her. “You want to talk about it?”

“Talk about what?” I started digging around in my closet.

“Reese.”

“What about her?” The folder with The List was dark red. I was

pretty sure I could see it on the top shelf. I grabbed for the corner.

“How you’re in love with her.”

“What?” As I yanked the folder, a couple of shoeboxes came with

it and poured out half my childhood on my head: photographs, essays,

third grade drawings, and letters from my grandma. “What did you

say?” I asked again once everything hit the ground. I must have heard

her wrong.

“Maybe love is a strong word.” She was way too observant. “You

think she’s hot, gorgeous, sexy. You want to get into her pants. You’re

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Dirty Sex

having impure thoughts. Does that cover it?” Damn, my sister was

annoying.

“Adriana.” I stepped out of the pile of papers and detritus so I

could walk closer and place my hands on her shoulders and stare into

her eyes. “You’re out of your mind.”

“Are you being cool or are you in that much denial?” She tilted

her head to one side like she was actually curious.

“Neither. I hate Reese. I have hated her since—”

“Second grade. I know.” Ade pushed my hands off her shoulders.

“But this…” She walked over to the pile of crap from my closet and

started digging through it. After about a minute, she straightened with

a photo in her hand. “This girl is easy to hate.” She gave me a photo

from high school. It was the twins and me sitting by their pool. There

she was, the chubby girl who broke my Gameboy in second grade, the

one who buzzed half my head when I was asleep on our sixth grade

overnight trip. That bitch who outed me in our freshman English class

because I stole her girlfriend. “Now, not so easy.”

“She was a vindictive bitch then and, believe me, she hasn’t

changed.” I tossed the picture back onto the floor.

“Vivian.” Her tone got my attention more than the use of my

name. “That is debatable. Anyway, you’ve dated tons of girls who were

half as attractive and twice as evil.”

“It doesn’t matter. I don’t see her that way.” She opened her mouth

to protest. “No, we’re done.”

• 39 •

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Dirty Sex

Ryan and Reese’s place was fucking huge. They practically had

their own wing. It was a whole new, sad level of McMansion.

No joke. Their stepdad hated them and it was way mutual, so everyone

kept to their sides. I let myself in and walked through the house trying to

find them. A sort of common room was on the second floor of the twins’

side that housed every video game system known to man, a functional

couch, and a TV that was bigger than me. Bedrooms branched off that.

Mine and one other guest room faced the street. Ryan and Reese’s

rooms faced west affording a crazy view of the Sacramento Valley. Not

sexy, really, but at night with all the lights, it was kinda cool. I looked

out the window when I couldn’t find them upstairs. They were out back.

The backyard was in darkness except for the light coming from the pool

that bathed everything in a sick blue-green glow. I changed into a pair

of jeans that didn’t smell like a restaurant and went to join them.

“How was work?” Ryan called from his lounge chair. Reese was

sitting in another one facing him. She was wearing little more than a

couple scraps of material that, I supposed, doubled as a bathing suit.

“Same shit. Scoot,” I told Ryan. He moved forward so I could slide

behind him. I stretched my legs out on either side. He reclined back

against me so his head was planted in my stomach. That would have

been fine if his long locks hadn’t been wet from the pool. But they were.

“Christopher’s out of town again.” The evil stepfather. Ryan

stretched out a hand to the small table next to us. He grabbed his silver

cigarette case and matching lighter. The case was lined with perfectly

rolled joints. Carefully, he selected one and placed it between his lips.

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AShley BArtlett

“Where does he go on all those trips?” Christopher was only home

about half the time. None of us knew what he did. The CIA wouldn’t

have surprised us. Neither would the mob. They both shrugged.

“Who gives a fuck?” Ryan repeatedly flicked the lighter to no

avail.

“Give me that.” I took the lighter and joint from him and lit it.

After taking a slow hit, I held it to his mouth. His bottom lip brushed

my thumb and the light scruff on his faced rubbed against my hand.

When he was done puffing on the jay, I pulled it away.

“You guys are kind of creepy. You know that?” Reese broke her

silence.

I took another hit and held it in as long as I could. Then I put the

joint to Ryan’s lips again.

“We’re non-sexual soul mates,” Ryan informed her. He must have

already smoked before I got there. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have told

her that.

“What the hell does that mean?” She seemed disgusted.

“It means if Ryan were a woman, we would be destined for each

other,” I said.

“It’s true.” Ryan tilted his head back to look at me. I could barely

see the shine of his eyes through the dark curtain of his hair. He let out

a big sigh. “Too bad I don’t have like a sister or something.”

“Yeah, like a super hot twin sister.” We started giggling. Reese did

not look amused. The joint went out so I lit it again.

“Pretty much any woman as smitten with you as my brother is

would do the job.” She mustered as much sympathy as possible. “But

as soon as you start talking, your looks don’t really cut it.”

“Did you just say I was hot?” I pulled on the joint again, leaving a

thin ash. Aiming for the ashtray on the table, I tapped it off.

“Yeah, sis. I think that was a compliment,” Ryan deadpanned.

He leaned his head back again so I would let him take another hit.

Obligingly, I placed it in his mouth upside down so my fingers were

splayed across his chin. He held the smoke in his lungs before exhaling

in a long stream of dark, dank vapor. “I’m gonna get some food.” He

braced a hand on my thigh and pushed up, then sauntered into the house.

“Let me get some of that.” Reese sat up and stretched out her

hand.

“No.” The joint was almost gone. “Get your own.”

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Dirty Sex

“Come on. I don’t want a whole one, just a little.”

“There’s nothing left.” I held it up so she could see. “Probably

only one more hit.”

“So give it to me.” She stood and towered over me. Her bikini

bottoms were at my eye level.

“No.” I sucked on the jay until it was almost to my fingertips. The

smoke burned my lungs, but I held it in.

“Shotgun it then.” I shook my head. Reese swung a leg over my

lap and planted a knee on either side of me. She knew I’d have to exhale

soon. I turned my head away. “Please.” When she knew I wasn’t giving

in, she took my face in her hands and turned it toward hers. I tried to

jerk my head away, but she twisted her fingers into my hair and held me

still. Our lips were inches apart.

I wanted to ghost it. Hold it till there wasn’t anything left to

shotgun. But it was the end of the joint and I was about half a second

away from coughing. Totally not sexy. Or cool. So I exhaled. I couldn’t

hold it in anymore.

“Fuck you.” The smoke poured out as I spoke. I’d already lost. I

blew the rest of the thick smoke into her mouth. She inhaled slowly,

pressed her lips closed, and held her breath.

“Thank you.” Reese blew the smoke out into my face. It was

pungent and distinct, the way only good pot smells.

“You’re a bitch.”

“I know.” Her face was still next to mine.

“Now go away.” I tried to push her off one-handed. The joint was

still in my other hand.

“No. You’re going to kill that”—she pointed at the roach—“and

I want more.”

“No.”

“Fuck, Coop, just do it.”

I knew what she meant. That didn’t mean I had to interpret it that

way. I tilted my hips up so they rubbed against her inner thighs.

“I’ll do it. Just tell me how you want it, babe.” I lifted the joint to