Love, Lust & Friendship

by Elizabeth Stevens

“Sorry to disappoint.”

  I grinned. “Don’t be. I’m just wondering now if you’ve actually earned the title dillweed.”

  “You’re revoking my title?” he gasped.

  “Not revoking, no. Maybe just demoting a little. More like a third-class dillweed, than a first-class.”

  “Oh. Well, I guess that’s okay, then.”

  I took his face in my hands and pulled him down to kiss him hard.

  “You’re sure about this?” he asked.

  “Did you want me to change my mind?”

  He grinned. “I just want you to remember you can.”

  I nodded. “I’m sure.”

  “Okay,” he said as he reached over to his drawer for a condom.

  ****

  So, Topher and I were officially dating. And, Ander seemed okay with it. I would have believed him more had he not been out so much, but he acted pretty normal around us, so I couldn’t really complain. At least, with Ander busy with his secret girlfriend, I got to spend a bit more time with Topher without worrying about my best friend.

  And, I’m pleased to report that the second time you have sex is way better than the first. I’d been warned oh-so many times, but when they say it’ll be uncomfortable, they mean it. And, tensing only makes it worse. You know when you get nervous about something and people always say relax, but that just makes you more tense? Yeah, so it’s like that but, the second time is better. Why would you want to do it a second time? I don’t know. Call it evolution, call it hormones, call it brain chemistry. But, lust has no time for your tender lady parts.

  So, either way. Ander was being shifty and I was making sure I didn’t push him. He took me to get my P plates on Thursday – which I passed with flying colours – and we had a burger to celebrate before he had to go and be even shiftier. And, since I could now drive by myself, I dropped him off and found myself in the weird situation where I had the car and could take myself wherever I wanted.

  With all that freedom, where did I find myself? The Plaza. I’d been planning to head into town, but the only carpark I could think of was Target and do you know how steep and narrow that carpark is? No thanks. So, the Plaza with its much nicer and easier to use carpark was my destination.

  I parked and headed inside, not really sure what my plan was. Mind you, when I walked into a fashion shop I’d never even heard of before, I had a feeling I knew what I was doing.

  Topher had suggested a proper date. The kind that included dinner. Which, in my mind, meant a dress. I knew I didn’t have to get a dress. I knew Topher didn’t expect a dress. But, I wanted a dress. Apparently.

  So, I was wandering the racks when my phone rang. I don’t know why I didn’t check the caller ID, but I wished I had as soon as I’d answered.

  “Addy?”

  “Uh…” I pulled my phone away and saw I wasn’t imagining things; Sonya had called and she’d called me Addy. “Hi, Mum. Is everything okay?”

  Sonya never called me and, when she did talk to me, she never called me anything but ‘Addison’. So, someone had to be dead.

  “I was just wondering what you were doing.”

  I came to a dead halt and blinked. “What?”

  There was a pause where I was expecting her to berate me for saying ‘what’, but she just said, “I was wondering what you were doing. I thought lunch might be nice?”

  “Lunch?”

  “Yes.”

  “Did I forget someone’s birthday?”

  “No, darling. I thought we could catch up.”

  Okay, now I knew something was up. Sonya didn’t call me to catch up. She didn’t call me Addy and she didn’t call me darling.

  “Catch up?”

  “Is the reception there not very good, darling?”

  “The reception’s fine.”

  “Oh, good. No, I just thought we could get together. You can tell me about school and...your friends, and how everything’s going with Christopher.”

  Ah. Everything fell into place. “You want to know how my boyfriend is?” I clarified.

  “Yes. Isn’t a mother allowed?”

  A mother? Yes. A vindictive she-devil? Not so much. “I’m kinda busy at the moment, but–”

  “Oh, me too, darling. Booked up for the rest of the week. Have a look at next week, though, and get back to me?”

  “School’s back next week…”

  “That’s fine. The weekend then. Sunday works for me, but let me know what suits. And, just us girls, darling. Leave the boys at home,” she cooed. My mother actually cooed at me. Then, she didn’t even wait for me to answer, she just hung up.

  I put my phone in my pocket and muttered to myself.

  Yeah, because I wanted to sit through a week of school and then be stuck seeing my mother on the weekend. And alone? Holy Jesus, that was going to go down well, wasn’t it?

  I distracted myself with shopping which was never something I’d ever done before. Jay Jays had always inevitably had another jumper or t-shirt I wanted to buy and I’d never have enough pairs of Vans, but I’d never actively got into shopping in the pink and girly sections, let alone the shops that specialised in pink and girly.

  By the time I got back to the car, I felt like I’d fallen through a time distortion; I sort of knew I’d shopped, but I wasn’t sure how long I’d been or how much I’d done. Still I was pretty confident that if Sonya was going to force me into lunch then I’d have something at least semi-decent to wear. Did I have something for my date that night, though? That was the question.

  I pulled my phone out to call Aunt Jelly and saw a message from Topher.

  Mr. Dillweed esq.

  Are you avoiding me, Sonny?

  Addy MacFantastic

  Pfft. No.

  He’d replied even before I’d found Aunt Jelly’s number.

  Mr. Dillweed esq.

  Good. I’d hate to think my girlfriend was avoiding me.

  I looked at the text and an embarrassingly high-pitched squeal came out of me. Even sequestered in my baby, I looked around to see if anyone had heard me. I couldn’t see anyone, so I was going to assume not.

  I might have used the B-word with Sonya before, but it was the first time we’d put an actual label on it between us.

  Addy MacFantastic

  I’m not avoiding you. I just have my own freedom now to do what I like and I’m taking full advantage of it (:

  I managed to call Aunt Jelly before he replied that time.

  “Hey, hun. What’s up?” she answered.

  “I just forgot if you were home this afternoon.”

  “Yeah, all night tonight. Everything okay?”

  “Yep. I was just wondering if I could get some advice…please…?”

  “Sure. About what?”

  “First date clothes.”

  I heard something clatter like she’d dropped something. “First…” She paused, then she rambled excitedly, “Oh, yes. Definitely, yes. I can. Oh, my God. What do I need? I think I–”

  “Relax,” I laughed, picturing her running back and forth in her room. “Ander’s doing secret things so I went shopping.”

  “By yourself?”

  “In big girl stores and everything.”

  “Ooo…” I knew she was interested.

  “If you’re not busy, we can fashion show and you can tell me what you think?”

  “God, yes. I need the break. I’m going mental. You on your way back now?”

  “Yep. Be about twenty minutes?”

  “Sweet. I’ll be ready.”

  I dropped my phone onto the passenger seat and headed back to the Hendersons’. It went off a couple of times, but I was very well behaved and ignored it.

  When I pulled the baby into the driveway, I couldn’t tell if Topher was home or not. But, I figured it didn’t matter if he knew I’d gone shopping or not.

  I picked up my phone to see what had been happening and saw one new Facebook request
and a text. I opened the text first.

  Mr. Dillweed esq.

  You passed then? (: Well, one more thing to celebrate tonight. *:

  Addy MacFantastic

  I did. Very convincingly. I’m looking forward to it xo

  The Facebook request was from Topher in regards to our relationship status. I hovered over accepting it for a few moments before deciding to deal with it later.

  I got out of the car and grabbed the shopping bags which I was sure had multiplied on the way home. I made a mental note to tell Dad I may have overdone it on the credit card and hauled my purchases to the front door, which opened before I got to it.

  “Hey, you. Lord, that’s a lot of bags!” Aunt Jelly laughed. “Come on, bring them up to my room and we’ll get started.”

  “Toph home?” I asked as she closed the door behind me.

  “You worried he’ll see you before you’re all glammed up?” she teased.

  “No. I’m worried he’ll see all these bags and think I’ve lost my mind. I feel like a total twat. Oh, shit. What’s Ander going to say?”

  She laughed as she took a bunch of them from me. “You can keep them in my room for now. That way Lex won’t know you’ve gone mental and Christopher will get a nice surprise when he sees you.”

  I smiled. “Thanks.”

  “Anytime.”

  We carried my purchases up and spread them out on her bed. Then, the fashion show began. I went through dress after dress – some were ones I thought I could just wear whenever, some were ones Sonya would approve of for dinner, some Sonya might even approve of for being seen in public at some sort of event, and some I’d hoped would be perfect for a first date.

  Aunt Jelly had helpful critiques for all of them and there were only a couple that had to be taken back. She was very interested in where I thought I was going to wear the pale pink, satin off-the-shoulder dress and I definitely didn’t tell her I bought it while possibly thinking of the formal that was still months away.

  Finally, I was in the dress I thought would go best for that night. “What do you think?” I asked her.

  She just stared at me and I wasn’t sure if it was a good stare or a bad stare.

  “Yes? No? Can I wear it with my black Docs?”

  “Um… Yes. That is a definite yes, hun. On both – wear it tonight and wear your black Docs.”

  I looked down at the dress. It was shorter than I thought I’d be comfortable in, but it had a cowl neck and was covered in leafy, long stemmed red roses on a cream background. So, it was a pretty dress, but not some kind of pink shit right off the bat.

  “You think Toph will like it?”

  “That boy would like you in a hessian sack. But, yeah, he’s going to like it.”

  “It’s okay?”

  Aunt Jelly laughed. “It’s fine. You always look gorgeous, Ads. This is just a different kind. More important is how you feel?”

  “I feel good. Really good.”

  “Good. Then, let’s see what we need to do about hair and makeup.”

  I paused, had a small freak out, then smiled and nodded. “Yeah. Okay. Go nuts.”

  “For realsies?”

  I nodded again. “For realsies.”

  Aunt Jelly put on her music and got to work. Most of the first hour or so was spent chatting and dicking around. Then, the real work began.

  Chapter Twenty

  So, Topher had got home from wherever he’d been, been made to yell through Aunt Jelly’s door when he wanted to speak to her, gone to get Ander for me because I wasn’t allowed out until I was ready, and both boys were sitting downstairs awaiting the big reveal.

  “Do we need to go this nuts?” I asked Aunt Jelly as she put on a final layer of lip gloss.

  She spun me to face the mirror and I’ll admit my jaw dropped a little.

  My eyes looked ten times more green than usual, but it might have helped that the eyeliner actually looked like it was meant to be where it was – as opposed to when I put it on and ended up with heaps of the stuff because I was trying to even it out, rather than I’d intended it to be so thick. My usual auburn mess of semi-wavy hair had been tamed into light curls that looked like they were supposed to be there rather than I’d just forgotten what a brush was. My boobs looked perky enough thanks to a weird contraption the lady at the bra shop had thrown in last time I’d bought a bra that was designed to hold them in place somehow by magic or something – apparently bras and spaghetti straps was a no-no.

  All in all, I looked like a girl. And, not a girly girl. A me girl. Aunt Jelly had pulled off the impossible and I felt like a million bucks.

  “You ready to wow them?”

  “Do we have to do the entrance?”

  Aunt Jelly nodded sagely. “We have stairs for a reason.”

  I glared at her. “You bought a house with stairs so your nephew’s best friend could descend elegantly for a big reveal for her first date with his older brother, your other nephew?”

  She just nodded again. “Well, duh.”

  I huffed a laugh. “Right. Of course.”

  “Come on. Come on,” she pulled me up, hugged me fiercely while she whispered, “You know what you’re doing?” and pushed me back to arm’s length.

  “Since when do I ever know what I’m doing?”

  “Good girl,” she said proudly. “Let’s go knock the socks off those Henderson boys.”

  I took a deep breath and walked out of her room and she grabbed my arm before I got too far.

  “No, no. I’ll announce you, then you come down.”

  “It’s not the formal, Aunt Jel,” I hissed as she barrelled down the stairs, but knew it was pointless to argue.

  “Gentlemen and squires, may I present Miss Addison MacGuire.”

  I rolled my eyes, but descended nice and slowly, my hand on the rail and everything because I knew I’d just have to do it again if I messed this up. Topher and Ander stepped into the hallway and both boys froze when they saw me.

  Ander didn’t seem to know what to think. There he was in his usual baggy jeans and t-shirt, his skate shoes, his hair in a right mess, giving the least amount of cares a dude could give. And, that was a huge chunk of the reasons I loved him. Still, a girl might have felt a little less deflated if he’d not looked quite so confused at the sight of me.

  Topher, meanwhile… Well. That put a significant amount of pep back in my step. He was looking usually gorgeous in his fitted jeans and boots and equally fitted long-sleeved tee with his sleeves pushed up. And, the guy was stunned, plain and simple. But, I took it as a good thing.

  Topher wasn’t a guy who was easily surprised – never had been – he had a way of just accepting whatever as it happened. The fact that I’d managed to surprise him, and in a good way, made me feel pretty damned good. I wasn’t about to completely trade in my comfy shorts or Ander’s old overalls for dresses anytime soon. But, I liked that I could pull off nice-Addy as well as I could pull off daggy-Addy and still feel comfortable with myself.

  “What do you think?” Aunt Jelly exclaimed and that sort of shattered that nice moment we were having, but that was probably for the best.

  “What happened to you?” Ander asked and I glared at him.

  “Gee, thanks, babe.”

  He shrugged. “I mean, you’ll do. But, you’re in a dress. Like a real dress.”

  “I kept my boots?”

  He shrugged again. “Yeah, I guess. Maybe that’s the problem?” Now, he just looked confused.

  “There’s just no pleasing some people,” I muttered, sharing a look with Aunt Jelly.

  “Christopher?” Aunt Jelly pressed. “You’re oddly speechless over there.”

  “Yeah…” seemed all he was capable of saying and even Ander laughed.

  “Oh, babe,” Ander snorted. “You broke him.”

  I smiled. “Little bit.”

  Topher shook his head. “I’m fine. I’m good. It’s just Addy in a dre
ss. So what?” He shrugged all nonchalantly, but I don’t think he was fooling anyone with the way his voice sounded a little higher than usual. “We’ve all seen Addy in a dress.”

  “Ugh,” I grimaced, “don’t remind me.”

  Ander burst into laughter. “Oh, that was a good day. How much wine did you get down your leg?”

  “Shut up.” I pointed at him.

  So, yeah. Aunt Jelly’s parents had invited me to their fiftieth wedding anniversary and it hadn’t gone well for me. Sonya had shoved me into this horrible dress and I’d done something really Addy-like and run into one of the waiters. I’d ended up covered in whatever drinks they’d been carrying on their tray and surrounded by broken glass. Gladys and Cliff had thankfully found it more funny than terrible and I’d been allowed to change into a spare shirt of Ander’s he’d left there once.

  “Just maybe stay sitting tonight, yeah?” Ander teased and I poked my tongue out at him, to which he returned the favour.

  “Okay,” Topher said, sounding like he was trying and failing to get control over his voice. “Shall we go?”

  “Yes!” Aunt Jelly cried excitedly. “Now, keep your hands to yourself, behave and don’t make a mess.”

  Topher glared at her. “I am an adult now. What do you take me for?”

  Aunt Jelly grinned. “By less than a year. And, I wasn’t talking to you.”

  “What did I do?” I asked, incredulously.

  Aunt Jelly hugged me. “Nothing but be your perfect self,” she cooed and I slid awkwardly out of her teasing arms.

  “I see what’s happening here.” I pointed at her accusingly, but we shared a smile.

  Ander gave me a hug as Topher started for the door. “Be good, yeah?”

  “It’s a date, babe. It’ll be fine,” I said as I pulled away. “Love you,” I called as I headed out the door.

  “Love you, too!” Ander yelled.

  “You want to drive?” Topher asked, juggling the keys.

  “Why, you planning on getting drunk?”

  He snorted. “Hey, I hadn’t thought of that ‘til now. I can drink whatever I want and you can drive.”

  “I’m not your chauffeur, Christopher,” I laughed.