Freeing Asia

by Abel, E. M.

  Oh. My. God.

  “Hey, Rico. Don’t forget that’s my little sister,” Shaun warned, giving Marcus a back-off look.

  Back in school, we’d all had nicknames. Marcus had been given the name Rico for Rico Suave because the girls always fell at his feet.

  Hearing Shaun use that name again made me laugh as Marcus put me back down. As he continued to study my face with his gorgeous eyes, his smile got bigger. My heart felt like it was skipping a beat.

  “What’s up, Hailey?” he asked, lifting his chin as he looked at her standing behind me.

  “Marcus,” she replied dryly.

  “Oh, come on. You still hate me after all these years?” Marcus grinned as he took a sip of his beer.

  Hailey rolled her eyes and took a seat in an empty chair next to the grill, leaving me the only open chair right next to Marcus. Thanks, Hailey.

  Hailey and Marcus had bickered back and forth ever since her junior year in high school when Hailey first started dating Shaun. She hadn’t liked all the trouble Marcus always got Shaun into, and Marcus had seemed annoyed that Hailey was trying to take away his partner in crime. Even after Hailey and Shaun broke up, she and Marcus could never seem to get along, especially after she had found out he’d taken my virginity and then treated it like just another fun night.

  My dad reached into the cooler next to his grill, pulled out two beers, and handed them to Hailey and me.

  Just as I was sitting down, my dad said, “Looks like the coals are ready. Who wants to go grab the steaks from the fridge?”

  “I’ll go!” I nearly shouted, sounding a little too eager to go inside.

  I put down my beer on the table, and just as I made my way to the door, I heard Marcus.

  “I’ll help.”

  I whipped my head around, giving him a skeptical look, and out of the corner of my eye, I could see Hailey doing the same.

  “Since when do you help?” Hailey asked, clearly annoyed.

  Marcus put up his hands in surrender. “Damn. Can’t a man offer to help? I know it’s hard to believe, but I’ve actually matured a little since you last saw me.”

  I sighed and opened the sliding glass door. I turned around briefly to shoot a look at Hailey before I walked in. I didn’t want to be alone with him.

  Once I opened the fridge, I saw a big plastic bowl filled to the top with steaks marinating in one of my dad’s special recipes. I was grateful then that Marcus had come to help because I didn’t want to carry that big bowl and risk spilling sauce all over my new dress.

  When I turned around to ask Marcus to grab the steaks, he was leaning his hip on the front of the sink, slowly looking over my body. As his eyes met mine, he smiled. His eyes were gorgeous, amazing, sexy—

  Stop, Asia! Focus!

  “You’ve grown into a beautiful woman, Asia. Well, you were always beautiful, but now…” He trailed off as he raised his eyebrows. “It’s nice to see you again. I missed you.”

  Marcus took a few steps toward me. When his hand lightly grazed over my tattoo, his touch sent a shiver through me. I quickly ignored it and moved my arm.

  “Oh, shut the fuck up, Marcus,” I grumbled as I closed the refrigerator door. “It’s not going to work this time. I’m not a sixteen-year-old girl anymore.”

  “I see that.” He smirked, glancing down at my breasts before meeting my eyes again.

  “Just get the steaks, and let’s go.”

  I grabbed a pair of metal tongs and made my way back toward the deck.

  “Yes, ma’am,” he said, laughing as he followed me out.

  I couldn’t help but smile when I walked away from him. Knowing that my dress was working felt good. He was attracted to me, and I already had a man, so I didn’t need anything from him. All of his attention was just icing on my decadent cake.

  While my dad started on the steaks, we all sat around the outside table, laughing and telling old stories of the trouble we had gotten into. Now that we were older, we felt brave enough to admit some of the things we had done that my dad never knew about.

  “Remember that time you kicked my ass and grounded me for a month because you thought I’d dented your truck?” Shaun asked Dad as he finished grilling the last of the steaks.

  “Yeah,” he muttered, turning to look at us.

  “Well, it wasn’t me. It was Asia,” Shaun said, pointing his beer at me.

  My eyes widened, and I almost choked on the beer I was swallowing. Dad squinted his eyes and gave me a suspicious look.

  “Way to sell me out, Pooky,” I sneered, sticking out my tongue at Shaun.

  He’d hated that nickname, and I knew it would piss him off. One of his girlfriends in high school had called him that, and it had stuck, even after they had broken up.

  Shaun flicked me off after our dad turned back around to flip the steaks. “You have no idea, Dad. You always thought Rob and I were the troublemakers, but Asia was a lot worse than we were,” he said, smiling at me.

  “Um, excuse me, but I never got arrested. Most of the cops around here knew you and Marcus on a first name basis.”

  “I seem to remember you getting picked up by the cops,” Marcus chimed in.

  I glared at him as I took another sip of my beer.

  “Don’t play innocent, Asia. You were just as bad as the rest of us.” Rob smirked at me and then looked at Alexis. “She just got away with everything.”

  “Yeah. What about the cop car you stole?” Shaun accused, narrowing his eyes at me.

  My dad closed the cover to the grill and quickly turned to face me. “What?”

  I looked over at Hailey, and we both giggled.

  During my senior year in high school, I’d wanted to try and top my brothers’ infamous pranks. As some of our friends distracted the cop assigned to monitor our school, I’d slipped into his car and moved it. Afterward, we had laughed for hours, remembering how confused he looked when he couldn’t find his car. To this day, the school or the cop still didn’t know who the culprit had been.

  “You stole a cop’s car?” Marcus asked, looking impressed.

  “I didn’t steal it. I just moved it for him,” I said, giving my dad my best innocent smile.

  My dad shook his head and took a long swig from his beer. “And all this time, I thought you were the good one.”

  My brothers glanced at each other, shaking their heads, as they rolled their eyes.

  “She was worse than most of the guys we hung out with!” Shaun said, pointing at me.

  “And I wonder who her influences were.” My dad glared at my brothers.

  I laughed at my brothers’ failed attempt to get me in trouble. It had never worked before, but for some reason, they kept trying.

  Once the steaks were done, Hailey, Alexis, and I went into the kitchen to get plates, utensils, and all the sides Dad had purchased at the store. Although he was great at the grill, he would leave all the other cooking to the local deli. He had bought a couple pounds of macaroni salad and potato salad to go with our steaks.

  My brothers and Marcus would polish off this food with no problem, and the girls would be lucky to get a few bites. Growing up, my dad would make my brothers wait for me to fix my plate before they could make their own, ensuring that I got enough to eat.

  “So, how are things out in Richmond?” I asked Alexis as she refilled her glass of water.

  “Great! I just wish we were a little closer to family. We miss you guys. It’s so nice to have everyone together again.”

  “We miss you, too. It would be good to have more of a female influence around here,” I said, waving my hand toward the back deck.

  She laughed. “Yeah, I don’t know how you survived with your sanity.”

  “She didn’t,” Hailey teased, throwing a paper plate at me.

  I scowled at her as I picked up the potato salad. “Birds of a feather,” I replied, smirking at Hailey as I opened the door.

  Dad certainly hadn’t lost his touch. Our steaks were delicious, and th
ings were unusually quiet while everyone enjoyed their food. Once we all finished, I stood up to collect the plates, but then Rob stopped me, raising his hand.

  “Hold on a sec, sis. I have something I want to say,” he announced. He glanced down at Alexis as everyone turned their attention to them. Taking her hand in his, he looked at all of us. “We’re going to have a baby.”

  Hailey and I gasped, and Alexis blushed, touching her stomach. Everyone smiled and congratulated them.

  My dad walked over to Rob and gave him a big hug with a smack on the back. “Congratulations, son,” he said proudly.

  “Wow, my big brother is going to be a dad,” Shaun said before taking a sip from his new beer. “This calls for a celebration.” He gave Rob his devilish grin while the rest of us glanced at each other, knowing how quickly this could lead to trouble.

  After we all helped to clean up, Dad drank a few more beers with us before turning in for the night. Although he had warned us all to behave, I was sure he knew it would be unlikely.

  The sun had gone down, and now, our only view came from a dozen solar lights attached around the railing of the deck. I was feeling pretty buzzed, and I could tell I wasn’t the only one. Hailey was giggling way more than usual, and she was actually being civil toward Marcus.

  “So, Hailey, what have you been up to lately?” Marcus asked, realizing she had softened toward him.

  “Well, I’m working as an assistant at a local furniture boutique, and I just recently moved in with my boyfriend, John.” She grinned shyly when she mentioned John. She was obviously head over heels in love.

  “John, huh? Why didn’t you bring him with you? Afraid of what we might do to him?” Shaun asked, raising an eyebrow at Hailey.

  “No.” She rolled her eyes. “Asia and I decided to have a girls’ night away from our men.” She glanced at me and winked.

  Oh god, here we go. I gave Hailey an I’m-going-to-kill-you look as I turned toward Shaun.

  “Hold up, hold up. Your men?” He put down his beer on the table and glared at me suspiciously.

  I could also see Marcus leaning forward in his chair. He was obviously curious about Hailey’s comment, too.

  “What man?” Rob asked, leaning back as he draped his arm around Alexis’s shoulders.

  “Thanks, Hailey,” I muttered, turning to her.

  She just shrugged and took another sip of her beer.

  “Well?” Shaun asked, growing impatient.

  “Well, what? I’m a grown woman. I’m allowed to date.” I returned Shaun’s glare as I crossed my legs and my arms at the same time.

  “The hell you are. Who is this douche bag?” Shaun asked, making Marcus and Rob laugh.

  “Oh, he’s not a douche bag,” Hailey told them, giggling into her beer. “She’s dating Jason Clarke.”

  Rob immediately turned his green eyes to me with his eyebrows furrowed. “What? Isn’t he married and old enough to be your father?” He gave me a disgusted look.

  I sighed and shook my head. “Not him, dumbass. His son.”

  Marcus leaned back in his chair, sighing, as Shaun studied my face.

  “Are you talking about Jay? You do know that he’s fucked every preppy bitch in this entire town, right? What the hell do you have in common with that rich boy anyway?” Shaun asked, looking pissed.

  “Fuck you, Shaun. Like you have any room to talk,” I snapped.

  “Jay’s not like that anymore,” Hailey cut in, trying to defend Jay.

  “Oh, really?” Shaun glanced at her, crossing his arms over his chest.

  “You know what? You’re so full of shit. Neither one of you has a right to say anything to me about who I date.” I said, raising my voice as I slammed my empty beer bottle on the table.

  Shaun and I glared at each other as he picked up his beer and took another sip.

  “Yeah, well, wait until he fucks you, and then come tell me all about how he’s changed,” Shaun replied, being his usual asshole self.

  I opened my mouth to respond, but Hailey beat me to it.

  “Well, considering that they’ve already fucked and he’s still showering her with gifts and calling her every night, I would say he has changed.”

  I stared at Hailey in disbelief. Did she really just say that? What. The. Fuck? I could feel Marcus’s eyes on me, but I couldn’t bring myself to look at him. As I sat there, regretting my decision to bring Hailey with me, Alexis broke the uncomfortable silence.

  “I’m tired. I think I’m going to head to bed,” she said, giving me an apologetic grin.

  I smiled back at her, hoping I hadn’t offended her by yelling at her husband. Although, by now, she was probably used to it.

  “I’ll go with you,” Rob said, standing up.

  “No, it’s okay. You never get to hang out with your family, and you’re supposed to be celebrating,” Alexis replied, grinning at Rob. She gave him a quick peck on the lips.

  “Well, at least let me tuck you in.” He grabbed her hand and led her into the house.

  After Rob closed the door behind him, Marcus said, “Well, now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, how about we smoke a blunt and chill out a little?” He reached into his pocket and smiled at Shaun. “You know, for old times’ sake.”

  “Sounds good to me!” Hailey said, sitting up in her chair.

  Looking down at my hands, I suddenly felt guilty. I wasn’t sure how Jay would react if he found out I had smoked weed. The subject had never come up before, but I figured what he didn’t know wouldn’t hurt him. Besides, I hadn’t smoked with my brothers in years. Now that I was drunk and pissed off, it was exactly what I needed.

  When Rob walked back onto the deck, Marcus was just sparking the blunt he had skillfully rolled.

  “What the hell are you guys doing? Dad is right upstairs,” Rob demanded, looking at Shaun and me.

  “Oh, chill out. The only thing Dad would be pissed about is the fact that we didn’t share with him. He’s been smoking weed with me for the past year and a half,” Shaun admitted, smirking up at Rob.

  Rob and I looked at each other in shock.

  “Nu-uh,” I said to Shaun with my eyes wide.

  He nodded as Marcus passed him the blunt, and Shaun took a pull.

  “You gonna smoke with us?” I asked, turning back at Rob.

  He shrugged. “Sure. Why not?”

  We all watched him as he took a drag from the blunt, and we laughed at his expression as he fought to hold in the smoke. It had probably been years since he got high. This was going to be hilarious. When the blunt finally made it to me, I took in a long pull that filled my lungs. This weed was good. It was definitely not the kind we used to smoke.

  As I held my breath, everyone shouted in unison, “Puffy! Puffy!”

  I busted into a giggle and choked on the smoke, coughing as everyone started laughing with me.

  Within minutes, the tension was gone, and we were all laughing so hard we were crying. Marcus was telling us a story about getting pulled over by the cops in L.A. He’d nearly went to jail for possession of marijuana until he’d convinced them that he had anxiety problems, so his doctor had prescribed it to him. He’d always gotten out of anything with his charm. It was pretty annoying, especially since that same charm had worked on me so many times before.

  “Shh! Shh!” Rob stifled his laugh. “We’re going to wake up the entire neighborhood.”

  “Still paranoid as ever,” Hailey muttered.

  Although Rob had rebelled like the rest of us, he had always been afraid of getting caught.

  “Let’s go out!” I said, getting a sudden burst of energy. “Come on! We never get to go out together!” I whined, sticking out my bottom lip.

  “I’m down,” Marcus said, standing up.

  “Me, too!” Hailey stood up and grabbed her purse from the back of her chair.

  The three of us stood there, looking at Shaun and Rob, as they exchanged glances.

  “You know I’m always down,” Shaun said to R
ob.

  We all waited in anticipation for his answer.

  “Okay, but we have to take a cab.”

  We all cheered and clapped as Rob got up, smiling and shaking his head. Marcus called a cab, and before long, we were all piling into a yellow minivan.

  “Let’s go to Red,” Shaun suggested as he got into the passenger seat.

  “No, let’s go somewhere else,” I told him, glancing at Hailey with wide eyes.

  “Why? You worried we’ll see your boyfriend?” Shaun turned back to look at me, raising an eyebrow.

  “No. He’s out of town, asshole.”

  Hailey started to giggle, which got me laughing, too. Shaun just rolled his eyes at us and turned around in his seat. It was like high school all over again.

  “Well then, we’re going,” Shaun said, smiling at the cab driver.

  As we walked into Jay’s club, Marcus looked around, assessing his surroundings. “Nice place your boyfriend has here,” he remarked, giving me a sexy smile.

  “I know, right?” I yelled over the music with a big cheesy grin.

  Hearing Marcus refer to someone as my boyfriend was weird. Maybe seeing Marcus again wasn’t so bad after all. It wasn’t fair for me to hold things against him that we had done together years ago. I had grown up since then, so maybe he had, too.

  The five of us made a beeline toward the bar on the other side of the dance floor. I could see all the girls gawking at my brothers and Marcus. While watching random girls smiling at them as they fluttered their eyelashes, I realized that not much has changed.

  Marcus bought us all shots of tequila, and we made a toast to Rob’s new baby. After a couple more shots, Hailey and I decided to go dance while the guys stayed at the bar. As we walked toward the center of the dance floor, I felt that last shot kicking in.

  I knew I had hit my limit, so I would have to stick to water for the rest of the night if I didn’t want to end up hanging over the toilet. It looked like I’d have to cut off Hailey, too. I hadn’t seen her this drunk in a while, and at this point, I knew she wouldn’t stop drinking on her own.