by S. K Munt
Hunter’s father hadn’t been lucky enough to design any of the houses on Solar terrace; instead of timber, Ryan’s mansion had been crafted out of a golden-red brick which loomed not two but four split-stories into the forest. The street entrance was actually the third floor; Ryan’s steep concrete driveway circled around stone pillars before meandering off into a sunken four-car garage beside it. On that level were the fun rooms; the foyer forked off to the theatre and music room on one side, the billiard room and opulent bathroom on the other, with a kitchen in the middle. The billiard room, music room (originally a meals area) and kitchen had walls made of glass doors which opened up onto the balcony- a balcony which sunk down to the pool area, where they were now and made it the ultimate party retreat, complete with jukebox and bar.
The pool was nothing special- in fact it was little more than a concrete rectangle sunken into the thick portico. But it was flanked with white lounges and had been tiled with the palest blue hues that made the water sparkle like the water flanking Grecian islands. It was all very Spartan and elegant, a direct contrast to Hunter’s wood-cabin like home. On really sunny days, it was almost impossible to swim with all of that white glaring in the sun, and Ryan had declined one of the massive bedrooms on the floor beneath, which was actually level to the terrace, because even moonlight could be hard on the eyes when it bounced off the pool area through the glass doors.
Ryan had claimed the basement as his own instead, and his parents had the entire top floor-meaning that almost no one ever set foot on the second floor so it had become a study Ryan’s father was never home to use flanked by guest bedrooms for visitors who never came. Maybe when the Weavers had built the house, they’d intended to have several kids to fill all that space, but either they were just too busy with their exciting careers to give Ryan a brother or sister, or they simply didn’t want to. As a result, the entire floor was too-bright and too-silent.
That was something else they all had in common- Ryan, Callie and Hunter were only children to parents who either couldn’t have, or didn’t want more kids. It was no wonder they’d bonded so easily. And no wonder he was feeling so shaken at the sudden flexibility within that bond.
Not wanting to talk to anyone but the people who were not talking to him, Hunter took a moment to take stock of his strange mood while Natalie Imbruglia crooned in the night, not quite rising above the din of his ‘friends’. Exclusion aside, he sort of had everything he wanted then; a hot girlfriend who couldn’t get enough of him or his lips, a gig coming up the following week which promised to have an actual crowd for once, and a whole new world of friends.
And yet, he felt flat. There was a bit of jeering and taunting going on, the sounds of merriment and stupid teenagers filtering through Hunter’s thoughts. He turned to see Callie crossing the deck, take a long drink from her margarita like she’d never had her thirst quenched before then, and then place it down on the edge of one of the small white and glass-topped tables by a chaise.
‘Fine, fine fine!’ She exclaimed, as her hands went to the hem of her aqua Mighty Ducks jersey- which was way too big for her and clashed horribly with his red hat- and reefed it over her head, exposing a two piece so red that it was like a bulls-eye against against the stark terrace behind her, even in the darkness.
Hunter blinked, expecting the bronzed, dark-haired goddess poised so close to him to vanish and be replaced by his Callie-the one who usually wore boardies and a crop top swimming, but she was still there when he got his senses back and she had her thumbs under the pubic line of her bathing suit bottoms and was working her tights down from beneath. It wasn’t a bikini, but a two-piece dance leotard, and one Hunter had never had the pleasure of seeing before.
‘You are so on Marnie!’ Callie was wiggling her hips like she had that night in her room to get her knees out of her tights one at a time in a complicated maneuver that required the sort of balance and flexibility only Callie Clay had; one which held Hunter’s riveted gaze as the bottom half of her leotard was sliding threateningly off her hips with every movement. But then the tights were being shaken off her legs while the rest of her remained covered, much to his disappointment.
‘I am truth. And thanks to Hunter’s lack of mathematical calculations when it comes to weight versus tree branch-’ she paused to dramatically point to her hat with both hands. ‘I am dare!’
There were a few shouts of approval as Callie picked up her glass, drained it, and then smashed it back down on the table top. The base of the glass at the stem almost hit at the wrong angle and droplets of tequila and mix splashed over her hand, but she didn’t seem to notice and that was when Hunter knew that his friend had self-medicated after the storm with one too many cocktails. That wasn’t anything unusual- for as much as freaky weather tended to bring out Callie’s hysterical side, surviving each time always put her in a giddy: Let’s jump from the gorge! sort of mood. He shook his head, sort of amused, and sort of annoyed that she’d amused the other kids at his expense.
But the truth was that Callie looked so good that she could say whatever she wanted so long as she remained scantily-clad. She had his hat between her teeth and was yanking pins out of her hair, an action which was lifting her breasts against the scooped line of her red halter top enticingly. And then dark hair was tumbling down around her shoulders and her hat was back in place. Aside from the slight red line around her abdomen from where her tights had been digging into her flesh all afternoon, Callie could have been a sports model. And as he watched her tug down her cap instead of keeping it off, he felt a flush of pride to know that despite how many sets of eyes were ogling her, and how estranged they had become since he’d started dating Meredith, Callie Clay was still his girl. She didn’t have to be his girlfriend to belong to him, because she was his guardian angel, number one fan and his ultimate confidante and that was a bigger honor than simply being that guy who she may or may not want to hook-up with, like Reece.
‘Then you’re up first!’ Reece declared, rising from the submerged steps of the pool and saluting her with his drink. ‘Callie Clay: Truth Or Dare?’
Callie began to amble down the pool steps at the shallow end, her empty glass out-stretched and her movements slow as Marnie re-filled her drink. Marnie also looked incredibly good. Her glasses were off, her usually frizzy brown hair was hanging in wet waves from the water and her abdomen was muscular without being too masculine. In her bright blue bikini, she was getting quite a few looks herself from Reece’s gang.
Weight settled on the table behind Hunter and a low voice said: ‘She’s half-cut. We’re going to need a bigger boat.’
Hunter looked up at Ryan, who’d sat behind him with his guitar and grinned, his anger at being left out of their whispered conversation dissolving to be addressed as casually and warmly as ever. ‘First question; about us, or about girls?’
Ryan chuckled, strumming an A to D. ‘About girls.’
‘Truth!’ Callie exclaimed, stepping down again, headed in Reece’s direction. ‘I’ll start slow for y’all.’
Everyone laughed. Reece’s arm slid around Callie’s waist and pulled her to his side. Hunter stared at it like it was a bee about to sting her. ‘Callie Clay…’ Reece seemed to get some sort of kick from using her full name. ‘Hmm… what to ask first?’
‘If she likes being felt up by a neanderthal,’ Ryan whispered darkly. Hunter laughed, but still watched that hand in what he assured himself was a protective, brotherly way.
‘I’ve got one!’ Marnie chimed, giggling over her own cocktail. ‘Cal if you had to sleep with one of the guys tonight, who would it be… Ryan, Hunter or Reece?’
Callie threw back her head and laughed to the sky. ‘Bloody hell!’ She exclaimed. ‘You gotta love these dramatic sexual multiple choice scenarios that come up during this game that have no bearing in actual life…’
The girls laughed, but Hunter had gone silent, and he would see that Reece had tightened his grip on Callie. Beside him, Ryan fidgeted.
Callie sighed, looking from Reece, then over to Hunter and Ryan. She closed her eyes and whispered: ‘Dare.’
There was lot of hooting in response to this. Reece grinned, held up the hand not on her waist and declared: ‘Callie Clay! I dare you, to kiss me.’
Hunter’s abdomen tightened. Fingers were about to get broken.
‘Fuck he doesn’t waste time does he?’ Ryan’s voice was dark as he positioned his finger pads on the neck of his guitar in a familiar pose- for years Ryan had been struggling to perfect a C minor in first position. Hunter could do it, but he’d never actually had a chance to use it.
But Callie splashed Reece and slid out of his grip. ‘No way!’ She exclaimed. ‘My first kiss is not going to be public, or on a dare. I’ll answer the question instead!’
‘You’re a virgin?’ Reece exploded, eyes wide and eager.
Callie giggled and held up one finger. ‘Hold on: are you changing the truth question? Because that’s a less embarrassing answer.’
‘No!’ Marnie bayed before Reece the dip-shit could ruin their question by asking such an obvious one. Of course Callie was a virgin, or she would have been kissed by then. Everyone laughed. ‘Answer the multiple choice Callie!’
Hunter took a sip from his beer, relaxing. He could handle Callie saying she wanted Reece a lot more than he could handle seeing them pash! And he liked the annoyed look on Reece’s face from being cock-blocked by his own over eagerness. Geez a few more shots and Callie might have kissed Reece privately and with her free will, given how flirty she was being with him. Now she was going to be self-conscious all night.
‘Fine…’ Callie’s eyes swept from Reece, to Ryan, and then to Hunter. She screwed up her face (which Hunter tried not to take personally) looked back to Marnie and said: ‘I’m going to give you the best truth I know, okay? Doesn’t mean it’s a plot or anything. Just a thought off the top of my head…’
‘Today…’ Sean drawled.
Callie laughed, took a swig of her drink, tugged her hat back down and said very softly: ‘Well, considering it would be my first time… and I’d want to keep things simple…’ she took another small sip, swallowed and said. ‘I guess I always sort of assumed it would be Hunter.’
Hunter had been swallowing back his beer and now the bubbles caught in his throat on his shocked inhalation and choked him, shooting out of his nose and dribbling down his chest. Not in a cool cartoon way but an eye-watering, spluttering way.
Always assumed I’d take her virginity?! When was she going to let me in on that little thought?!
‘Huh.’ Ryan said shortly, with no inflection while across from them Reece’s eyebrows drew together. The three boys offered up as choices were the only ones not laughing. Everyone else was falling about themselves, in hysterics at Hunter’s reaction.
‘Cos he’s just so… smooth?’ Marnie giggled.
Hunter thumped on his chest, where a bubble of air was caught. It actually hurt, but he was glad that it was buying him time. He couldn’t look at Callie. He’d honestly not expected that answer and he didn’t know how to take it.
‘No.’ Callie’s voice was still soft. ‘It’s just… convenience really. I mean he’s right next door… I trust him... I figured one day we might get drunk and you know, get it out of the…’ her voice trailed off. ‘I answered the question, okay?’ She sounded defensive.
‘So hold on!’ Reece still sounded irked. ‘You wouldn’t give up your first kiss for a dare but you’d just get your virginity ‘out of the way with?’ What kind of logic is that?’
‘It’s the logic of a daughter of a romance writer.’ Callie grumbled. When Hunter looked up, he saw her vault herself onto the edge of the pool with one hand, keeping her drink upright with the other. She did not look at him. ‘Have you read my mother’s books guys? If I’ve learned anything useless from them, it’s that sex gets better as you go along, that girls waste time obsessing over who to do it with first when all that matters is that eventually, you find the one who… who does it you know, well and when you do it makes the one you stressed over insignificant.’ She chuckled. ‘But the first kiss… that’s special for a girl. She never rushes those, and I like it.’
Hunter was pretty sure he was being insulted. He’d probably be more sure if he’d had fewer drinks. But the only thoughts he could latch onto were: She was going to give me her virginity! She was going to give me her VIRGINITY!
‘I get it.’ Marnie said, nodding. ‘With a kiss, you want to be like, crushing majorly. With a sexual partner, you’d want to trust that they’d be careful, and not run their mouth-’
Callie clicked her fingers. ‘Exactly.’ Then she turned on Marnie and crossed her arms. ‘Right-o, Winters. Revenge time! If you had to choose any guy here to-’
‘Ryan.’ Marnie answered, then looked their way and giggled. ‘But everyone already knew that…’
Hunter glanced up at Ryan and grinned, but to him, Ryan’s face still looked pinched. Was he irked by Callie’s admission, or the elusive chord?
‘Thanks Marnie,’ Ryan answered smoothly. ‘It’s an honor just to be nominated though, really.’
Everyone laughed. Then Ryan turned to Sacha, Sean’s dark-skinned girlfriend who was Meredith’s best friend, and on the Cross-Country team with Marnie and said; ‘Sash? Truth or dare?’
Across the pool, Callie crossed her legs and leaned on her elbows, looking more relaxed now that her skeletons had already been torn from the closet, though she still hadn’t looked Hunter’s way. Hunter took another sip of his beer and glanced at her calves, and then glanced away, breathing in a heavily-chlorinated and tiki-gas breath. He should have invited Meredith. When she found out Callie had named him, he was going to be in for it! And if anyone saw the way he kept scoping Callie out, he was going to be in even worse trouble.
‘.. Course we have.’ Sacha bumped her hips against Sean’s and smiled at him secretively. ‘We’ve been together three years.’
‘Every night baby. She can’t get enough!’ Sean joked, and Sacha splashed him.
‘Oh that’s me humping legs is it?’ She teased. And then, those dark, smiling eyes rolled over Hunter, and one of her dimples deepened. ‘Hunter; Truth Or Dare?’
‘Dare,’ he said quickly, and Sacha’s face fell. No way was he answering a private question to Meredith’s best friend while everyone seemed determined to dig up as much dirt on the triumvirate as they did! Ryan had opened his door and the coolest kids in school were now rifling through their closets gleefully!
A bottle of tequila was thrust in front of Hunter’s nose. ‘I dare you to eat the worm.’
Hunter glared up at Ryan with his foulest look. Ryan looked smug, safe in the knowledge that every time Hunter had ever tried to do that, like a rock star ought to be able to do- he ended up throwing his guts up. He sighed, turned back to Sacha and said: ‘Truth then.’
Sacha grinned, turned in Sean’s arms so her boyfriend’s chin was on her shoulder and shot Callie a sly ‘I’m going to get you beaten up’ look that came from a place of female rivalry rather than outright dislike while the boys made ‘Bok-Bok’ chicken noises at him. Which was dumb because if he was an actual chicken, he’d have eaten the worm as chickens did.
Sacha ran her tongue along the edge of her teeth and grinned as she asked: ‘Hunter why haven’t you ever kissed Callie? I mean, it must have occurred to you because it’s occurred to everyone else that you probably have- so why not?’
Hunter groaned inwardly. God he couldn’t answer that! Not truthfully anyway. If You Could Read My Mind was playing (damn they were cranking the pop tonight! ) And he was very glad Callie couldn’t, and he wanted to keep it that way! He sighed and held out his hand, without looking over at Callie and said: ‘Just give me the bloody worm!’
Everyone burst out laughing. Everyone but Callie. Across the pool she got to her feet and said: ‘I’m going to the bathroom before I end up with o
ne of those slimy things in my hand.’
Barely anyone heard her, but Hunter wasn’t stupid. He saw the way she stooped to pick up her jersey and boots on the way across the terrace and shrink in her shoulders as though trying to make herself invisible- Callie wasn’t just going to the bathroom, she was going.
Hunter looked at the worm, made a face and then swallowed it straight down his throat, not hearing applause as his nerve endings crashed and smashed all over his body from the awful taste.
‘And I’m gonna go throw up!’ He said, vaulting himself dizzily out of the pool, taking off after Callie with a spinning head and hoping that no one noticed.
7.
Once safely inside Ryan’s now-freezing house, Callie hurried into the foyer, trying not to slip on the water spilling from her and puddling on the slick white tiles. At the door, she stopped and hurriedly inched into her sweatshirt, and then yanked her Doc Marten’s out of the bottom of her ballet bag, stuffed her tights and jazz shoes in in their place and stepped into her boots, omitting socks in her haste to get out the door and away from the madness.
Even with the clothes on, Callie shivered. Her back had made her hair damp and now clung to her like a cold shower curtain. And she was cold on the inside too. How many times could she be humiliated in one night? First Ryan’s shut-down after their almost-kiss, and now Hunter would rather choke on a tequila worm then admit to why he’d never made a move? She’d prefer he’d just said: ‘Because we’re not like that’ like he always did. But obviously, trying to be loyal to Meredith in front of their friends, he’d decided to make the entire prospect of kissing Callie look less appetizing than eating a tequila-soaked worm. And after she’d been bluntly honest about the virginity thing too! She was mortified. She didn’t want the guys all over her, like everyone probably thought, but she’d been treated like a pariah and that was harsh.
Screw Hunter! She thought angrily. And Ryan too! ‘That was a mistake Callie…’ I’ll say!