The Reluctant Sister (Reluctant Series Book 3)

by Melanie Brown

  Diane scowled as she said rather angrily, “I’m really pissed at Gwen now. She’s fucked up your life, but good.”

  “Gwen had nothing to do with me being a cheerleader!” I almost shouted. “That was my decision!”

  Diane stood as she said, “You never would have thought of being a cheerleader if Gwen had never made you into a girl in the first place!”

  I was about to answer when Cathy opened the bedroom door and looked in. “Are you guys done in here yet? Diane that guy Phil who’s been hounding you all semester is at the door. He wants to come in and talk to you about something.”

  “Crap! I don’t want to talk to him! I don’t want to see him. I just don’t want to have to deal with him right now,” Diane said sounding exasperated as we all walked back into the living room.

  The other girls in the room turned to look in disbelief as we entered. Cindy said, “Holy crap! Which one of you is Diane?”

  Cathy said, “Chris is the cute, sexy, feminine one.”

  Through the apartment door came a frustrated sounding voice, “Diane! Please. I know you’re in there. Please let me talk to you for a minute.”

  Diane said, “I can’t see him. I just can’t.”

  Susan said, “He’s leaving tonight. You know how he still feels about you. You just can’t tell him to get lost, can you?”

  Diane gave Susan a dirty look and said, “Why the hell not?”

  Rachel said, “Why don’t you let your brother talk to him? I’m sure he just wants to say good-bye and maybe apologize. You can’t tell you two apart.”

  Diane turned to me and asked, “Would you? Please Chris? If I see him again, I... I’ll...”

  I hesitated for a moment. I really didn’t want get involved. Finally, I shrugged and said, “Okay, okay. I’ll send him away for you.” I started towards the door.

  Cathy whispered to me as I passed, “She’s afraid she’ll fall back in love with him.”

  I partially closed the door behind me so Phil wouldn’t accidentally see Diane inside. When I looked up at Phil, I stopped dead in my tracks. I have long since stopped chastising myself for noticing cute guys. I’m dating one, after all. But my reaction on seeing Phil took me totally by surprise. He was gorgeous! Obviously athletic and those big puppy-dog eyes just made me melt. What the hell was Diane thinking?!

  “Hi Diane,” said Phil. “Thanks for letting me talk to you.” He paused as he looked me up and down. “Wow. You really look wonderful tonight.”

  I looked down at my feet as I said, “Thank you.” It was getting chilly outside, but that’s not why I was suddenly getting goose bumps.

  “You dyed your hair darker. It looks good,” he said. “I wouldn’t have thought it was possible, but it makes you even prettier. You look younger, too,” he smiled. This guy should be in Hollywood.

  I was blushing pretty good, “Thanks! That’s nice of you to say.” Forcing myself to remember why I was out there, I said, “So, Phil. What did you want to say to me that was so important?”

  He looked down at the ground for a moment, then looked up and took a step towards me, “I just wanted to say good-bye. I’m leaving tonight and I just wanted to see you one more time. I can’t believe I’ll never get to see you again. Diane, I wanted this moment to be so different than this.”

  “Phil, I...”

  “You don’t have to say it. Look. I’m sorry. I’m very, very sorry. I know you really don’t want to see me again. I can’t say I blame you. I wish I could take it all back,” he took a deep breath and his eyes focused on something far away.

  He stepped closer to me and put his large hands on my shoulders. I looked up into his eyes. He said, “We’re never going to see each other again, but I don’t want to just walk away. Please Diane. Just one last kiss to remember you by.”

  Knowing Diane, at this point she would have punched him in the gut or kicked him in the groin and would start shouting about how she never wanted to see him again and how badly he’d hurt her, etc. It was her standard routine when she was ready to move on to the next boyfriend, but I’m not Diane. I don’t know what this guy did to make her angry, but at the moment I thought she was completely nuts.

  As I looked into his eyes, I could feel myself growing weaker. I whispered, “Sure, Phil. Just one last kiss.”

  He bent down and gently pressed his lips against mine as I closed my eyes. He pulled me closer to him. It was such a deep, passionate kiss. I wrapped my arms around his neck to pull him closer. Our tongues met as he kissed me more deeply. A warm tingle gushed through me as the kiss grew more passionate. Oh my god! Jeff should take lessons from this guy!

  Phil pressed himself against my skirt, and I could tell he wanted more than just a kiss at that moment. I was getting pretty hot and felt some stirrings of my own. Part of me wanted to continue with Phil’s embrace, but I started to come to my senses and remembered I was supposed to be sending this guy away. I pulled away from his lips and disengaged my arms from his neck.

  I had trouble getting my breath back, but I managed to say, “Phil, no. Please. It’s over.”

  Phil nodded as he let go of my waist and stepped back, “Good-bye Diane. I’ll always love you and I’ll remember this last moment forever.” He turned and started walking quietly away. I wanted so bad to chase after him... but I didn’t. I just stood there, emotionally drained and watched him disappear around the corner of the apartment building.

  I walked back inside and saw Diane and her friends standing there with their mouths hanging open. Cathy said, “That was some kiss.”

  Cindy started laughing, saying, “Phil kissed a guy! It’ll be the kiss he’ll remember forever. If he only knew!”

  Diane, with a shocked expression, walked up to me and said, “Chris! What’s wrong with you? How could you kiss him like that? How could you kiss him at all?” Then, in a whisper so only I could hear, she asked, “That wasn’t the first time you kissed a guy, was it?”

  I shook my head. Diane turned and sat down on the couch.

  Rachel said, “Well, I think now we know why Chris seems so comfortable as a girl.”

  Protesting, I said, “Hey, now. Don’t go jumping to conclusions. I’d take a bullet for my sister, right? Why not a kiss?”

  Sarcastically, Susan said, “Yeah, why not. Sure.”

  There was a long sudden pause. Everyone just stood there looking at the floor or the walls.

  Finally Cathy sighed, “Well, I want to go to a party. Come on guys, let’s go.”

  Cindy turned to me and said, “Hey Chris. Why don’t you come with us? It’s at a bar a few blocks away. It’ll be a girls’ night out.”

  Susan said, “Yeah, Chris come with us. There’ll be a ton of cute guys there!”

  “Now cut that out!” I protested. Frowning, I continued, “Besides, I can’t go to a bar. I’m only seventeen.”

  “Don’t pretend that doesn’t interest you!” Diane said. “Dad was right, you are a twinkie.” She hesitated a moment, then added, “Look, there’s nothing wrong with that. I’m just shocked to find out my own brother likes men.”

  Knitting my brow and through clenched teeth I said, “Your brother doesn’t!”

  “I only have a brother!”

  “Can we get to the party, please?” Cathy nearly shouted. Turning to me, she said, “If you want to come Chris, we’ll figure out a way to get you inside.”

  * * *

  They had all gone inside and left me cooling my heels just around the corner. Cathy had brought us all in her car. I was uncomfortable. And not just from the cold. It wasn’t the nicest neighborhood, and guys driving by in their cars were gawking and calling out to me. I was actually starting to get scared. A couple of guys driving by stopped and propositioned me. Can’t a girl just stand on a street corner?

  After nervously waiting for almost ten minutes, Rachel came around the corner. “Hey, sorry for the wait. Take this. Put it in your purse.” She handed me Diane’s driver’s license. “Give me a minute to get ba
ck, and then come on in. They really don’t look at these all that hard.” Then, she disappeared around the corner.

  The next minute or so seemed forever. Despite having a jacket, the mini-dress I was wearing wasn’t blocking the cold breeze. Just as I was about to follow Rachel around the corner, a rather rough looking woman dressed like a hooker started walking up to me.

  “Hey girlie! This is my turf!” she said in a threatening tone.

  “You’re welcome to it!” I shouted as I hurried around the corner.

  I entered the bar and started to head on inside when a voice called from a booth next to the doorway, “Miss! I need to see some ID.” I turned to see a tired, unpleasant looking, but nicely dressed man holding out his hand to me.

  I fumbled around a moment in my purse before pulling out Diane’s license. I just knew I was going to jail. Which would mean Ms. Thornapple would go to jail. Coach Renwick would go to jail. Jeff would be humiliated and his life would be over, and Mom and Dad would have to move to another town. Once again, I was doing something totally stupid.

  The man took the proffered license and glanced over it. He said, “You’re blonde in this photo... Diane?”

  Shrugging I replied, “So? Last month I was a redhead.”

  He sighed with resignation, nodded with understanding and handed the license back to me. I was in!

  I’d never been in a bar before. I almost gagged when I walked through the inner door and was accosted by the wall of smoke. My eyes started stinging. I was going to need a shower before going to bed. The music was too loud, and it was kinda dark. It took a moment before my abused eyes adjusted to the light. Finally, I saw Diane wave from across the room.

  Part of the bar had been sectioned off to reserve it for their party. The area took up half the bar (it was a big bar), and there were a lot of people there. I couldn’t help but notice that Susan had been right. There were a ton of cute guys there.

  As I handed Diane her license back, she said, “Thanks. Looks like you got in okay. What would you like to drink? All the drinks are paid for by the party until ten o’clock.”

  I shook my head and said, “I’d better not. I don’t want to get in trouble. Besides, I’ve tasted alcohol before, and I didn’t care for it that much.”

  Diane just laughed and said, “It’s a little late to be worrying about getting into trouble! Let me get you a strawberry daiquiri. You can’t even taste the alcohol in it.” Before I could say anything she was gone, heading up to the bartender.

  A moment later, someone slapped my butt. I turned and faced a grinning guy with frazzled hair. Loudly, he said, “Yo Diane! It’s about time you got here! Hey, when did you dye your hair?” He stood so close he was almost touching me.

  Taking a step back I said, “I’m not Diane. I’m... I’m her... her sister. Christine.”

  Looking puzzled, he said, “Sister? Diane never mentioned a sister before.”

  I shrugged and said, “I’m not surprised. We haven’t been on very good terms in the past few years. She thinks I steal her boyfriends.”

  He laughed and said as he started to walk away, “I can see why!”

  Diane was gone for more than a few minutes. Several people came up to me thinking I was her. Finally, she came back with my daiquiri. She poked me in the arm and asked, “What have you been telling people? A couple of guys just told me they’d met my sister Christine. What’s up with that?”

  “Well, Gwen dubbed me ‘Chrissy’ when she was dressing me up the first time. It just kinda stuck.” I took a small sip of the daiquiri.

  “Yeah, but Christine?” Diane asked.

  “I always tend to use a more formal name when introducing myself to strangers.” Actually, I’d never thought of it before, but I guess that’s what I usually do.

  “Wow. It’s like she’s some kind of fuckin’ clone!”

  “Yeah, except she’s prettier.”

  “Just because she’s younger.”

  Diane and I looked up and saw a group of guys that had just gathered to stare at us. Diane smiled at them and said, “Hi guys. Meet Christine. But you can call her ‘Chrissy’.”

  There must have been five or six guys in the group and they all swarmed around me and introduced themselves. One of them suggested they take me around and introduce me to everyone. Another took my hand and started leading me away.

  “Have fun, Chrissy!” Diane called, laughing.

  “Gee thanks.”

  The attention was brutal. You’d have thought I was the only girl at the party, the way all the guys were fawning over me. It was hell... pure hell I tell you! Seriously, though, I was beginning to feel overwhelmed. I don’t know how many times I had to repeat that I had a boyfriend, and it didn’t seem to matter to them. More than once I was just flat out asked to have sex. All this attention wasn’t lost on the other girls, and I was getting some rather hateful looks.

  As fun as it was getting all that attention from so many guys, I was starting to get a headache, and I was feeling really crowded in. I finally excused myself to go to the restroom.

  I walked into the women’s restroom and just leaned against one wall and closed my eyes for a moment and sighed.

  A girl who was preening in front of the mirror looked up at me and sneered, “Oh, is there something wrong, Little Miss Popular?”

  Through my headache and still irritated eyes, I looked over at her with a puzzled expression and said, “I’m feeling pretty overwhelmed right now.”

  She snapped up her purse and started to leave. As she passed me, she cattily said, “You know what they say... if you can’t stand the heat...” and she disappeared through the door.

  I stayed by the wall for a few minutes, then decided I probably should relieve myself while I was there. I checked my make-up, and then finally left the restroom.

  I stood there by the restroom door for a few moments, not really sure if I wanted to join the melee’ again. A deep, resonant voice came from one side, “Good evening, miss. Chrissy, right?” I nodded and he continued, “I’m Professor Pierce, but please, call me Robert.”

  I said, “Hello, Robert. Nice to meet you.” He wasn’t what I always pictured professor’s looking like. He was young, very nice looking and was quite the gentleman. I immediately liked him.

  “I noticed you were looking a little uncomfortable in that mob. I have a semi-private table over there,” He pointed. “Would you care to join me in a drink? Just so you can sit, relax and chat a little.”

  He seemed pretty nice, and I did want to sit down. The pumps were killing my feet. The drink part really didn’t interest me, especially since I was going to have to be driving myself back to the motel before too much longer. I still had most of my daiquiri. I said, “Sure, I’d love to!”

  I sat down and watched the craziness going on around me. Diane parties with a pretty rowdy bunch. I wondered if moving back home was going to be too tame for her.

  “So,” said Robert as he leaned across the table towards me so he could be heard above the racket, “you’re Diane’s sister? I’ve known Diane for a couple of years now, and she’s never mentioned a sister before.”

  I dismissed his comment with a quick wave of my hand and said, “Until recently, we haven’t been on the best of terms.” I laughed as I said, “I think she believed that if she ignored me completely I’d somehow just disappear.”

  Robert smiled as he said, “I for one am glad you didn’t disappear. You are just as charming, if not more so, as Diane. Are you attending this college?”

  I almost said that I was still in high school, but then suddenly remembered that I was too young to be in a bar. Instead, I said, “No, not yet. I thought I’d try to experience some life before I go to college.” I chuckled as a sudden impulse caused me to say, “I might marry my boyfriend and wind up not going to college at all.”

  Robert studied me closely as he asked, “You have a boyfriend? That’s very nice. What does he do? Is he in college?”

  “No. He’s a s
hoe salesman,” I said honestly.

  “A man with ambition, eh? Still, a girl like you should give her future very serious thought. You have plenty of time. No point in rushing off to marriage,” He made a sudden gesture, pointing in the direction of the band. He said, “Oh, did you see that?”

  I turned to look, but through the dark haze and bouncing bodies, I couldn’t see anything. I turned back towards Robert and shrugged, “I don’t see anything.”

  Robert shrugged as well and took a sip of his drink as he said, “I guess I was mistaken. Hey, don’t let me keep you from your drink.”