The Girl in Between

by Miranda Silver

  “Oh, I just have it on me to get a reaction.” Diana tried to sound nonchalant as she unbuttoned her collar, wriggled out of her sailor dress, and tugged Marissa’s tank top over her head.

  Dear Lord. She let out a breath. Though, to be honest, she barely had room to breathe. Describing the shirt as skin-tight would be an understatement. The white ribbed cotton was painted on her exaggerated curves, stretching over her breasts and clinging to her slim waist.

  On went the thrifted shorts, oozing seventies charm with St. Xavier High School pride marching up the side. The red satin hugged her rounded hips and ass.

  Yes. She really was going to wear this outfit in public, all because she’d dared herself to do it. Before she lost her nerve, she kicked off her flats, pulled on white pom-pom socks, and laced up a pair of white Keds — the only option from her closet that got anywhere near athletic shoes.

  “I’m like Jen Pagliucci, freshman year,” she announced through the stall door. “Remember how she’d always stick a beer can in her backpack and ‘accidentally’ knock it out during class? And be all ‘Oops! How’d that get there?’”

  “Please don’t mention yourself and Jen Pagliucci in the same sentence ever again.”

  “What’s she doing now, anyway? Did she graduate?”

  “You’re changing the subject.”

  Diana came out of the stall, her dress and shoes in her bag, feeling next to naked in the tank top and shorts. “Then can we please be mature about this?”

  “Damn, woman.” Marissa’s eyes caught just below Diana’s neckline. “You’re about to break my shirt.”

  “It’s my secret.” Humming, Diana pulled her dark hair into a ponytail. Loose strands slipped from the hair tie and tickled the back of her neck. She smoothed down her bangs, and they brushed the top of her black-rimmed glasses.

  Marissa took her arm, leaning close. “Is it Alex?” she whispered.

  “Alex?" Diana blinked. Oh God. Alex Noriega, and the date last week in the movie theatre. She hadn’t said a word to her friends. After she’d jumped in the O’Brians’ pool the next day, whispering I love you to Ian had knocked that night out of her thoughts. “No. Uh-uh. There is no Alex.”

  “I heard you guys went out.” Marissa squeezed her arm. “And he’s been talking about how you’re not the girl he thought you were. He seemed kind of shell-shocked. Have you stopped telling us things completely?”

  “How can I stop when there was nothing to tell before?” Blushing again, Diana felt in her purse for lipstick, doing her best to avoid bumping the lube. She’d sweat off all the lipstick where she was going, but who cared? Leaning toward the mirror, she touched up her rosebud lips with red. “Anyway, I’m just heading to the gym.”

  “You? You refused to even walk past the gym at school, and you never said why. And who wears lipstick to work out? Diana, can you please tell me what the hell is going on?”

  Diana dropped the lipstick in her purse and zipped it closed. “Not yet.” She turned to face Marissa, whose expression hovered between curious and concerned. “It’s— It’s really new. I don’t even know what to think yet. It’s crazy and amazing and it’s a lot—” She broke off. “I just know I’m really happy and it feels right.”

  “So it’s good.”

  “Really good.” She let out a breath. “Which is why I’m not ready to talk about it. I just want to protect this and see what happens, okay? Without telling anyone.”

  “Even me?” Marissa looked hurt. “You tell me things.”

  Diana blinked. So far as she told people things, yes. Marissa knew more than most. Diana had shared bits and pieces about her epic crushes — boys she hadn’t had the nerve to talk to during high school, boys who seemed very young now. And she’d gotten an earful from Marissa over the years.

  But she’d kept so much under wraps. The lonely year away, the secrets in her underwear drawer, the dirty fantasies at all hours. Everything she’d wanted to do, and everything she’d done.

  Some of those secrets, both the twins knew. Some of them, only Ian knew. And when she opened up and started to really share, she wanted him to be the first.

  “I will, I promise,” she said out loud. “When the time is right.”

  Marissa glanced at the door. “Just one thing. Does it hurt?” she asked in a hushed voice.

  The question caught Diana off-guard. Never had she ever thought she’d explain anything about sex to Marissa. Marissa, who’d been on-again-off-again with Shaun for months, and seemed to be both off and on with him right now.

  “If you’re really turned on,” she whispered back, “and you’re relaxed, and you want him in there, then no. It doesn’t hurt. He has to go slow, and it feels strange, and you need a lot of lube, but it can be amazingly hot.”

  And if his twin brother’s easing into your cunt while you kneel over him and he soothes you with kisses, and your boyfriend-who-isn’t-yet strokes your clit to sharp excitement as he sinks into your ass, and they keep moving and moving and moving until you pitch over the edge — “amazingly hot” doesn’t even come close.

  Diana’s fingers closed on the edge of the sink. Graduation night had been a one-time thing. Her threesome with the O’Brian twins had been crazy, overwhelming, explosive — and it was over.

  She’d chosen Ian. She was absolutely certain that she’d made the right choice.

  “It’s about trust,” she finished. “That’s all I’m going to say.”

  “Sounds romantic. That—” Marissa pointed toward Diana’s purse, raising her eyebrows, “—doesn’t.”

  “I know. But believe me, it is. It’s romantic. It sounds weird, but it is.”

  “Okay, Di.” Marissa was giving her a very strange look. “I believe you. And I don’t think that lube is in your purse because you’re faking anything. But at some point, I want details. I’ve always given them to you.”

  “All I ever wanted and more,” Diana murmured. Shouldering her tote bag and purse, she opened the bathroom door. Marissa followed.

  When she walked out of the ladies’ room in her gym clothes, a chorus of catcalls filled the diner. Thank God they only came from one corner table. Her friends were making all the noise. Shaun and David eyed her with open interest.

  “What’s with the outfit?” David wanted to know. “Do you have a cape and boots to go with it?”

  “I’m just going to work out,” she exclaimed.

  “Voluntarily?” Janelle jumped out of the booth. “Great. I’ve been needing to work out forever. I’ll go with you.”

  “Not tonight,” Diana said quickly, grateful that Marissa was shaking her head at Janelle. “I’m just checking out the gym near my house. It’ll be boring and I’ll probably last five minutes. You don’t need to see me make a fool out of myself.”

  “I do,” Shaun piped up. His face had brightened when Marissa came back. “I’d pay good money to see Diana Cooper make a fool out of herself. I don’t think it’s physically possible.”

  Diana cut the conversation short with a round of goodbye hugs. Janelle was right — until recently, she hadn’t been a hugger. Now it felt natural.

  Hurrying through the swinging front door, she hopped on her bike. This time, she checked to make sure her purse was zipped shut.

  Mature. Romantic. It had all sounded convincing in the bathroom. She pedaled around the corner, feeling the breeze rush past more bare skin than she’d ever shown while riding a bike.

  Then she coasted downhill to the neighborhood gym to play a prank on Ian O’Brian.

  Chapter Two

  Bells jangled as Diana pushed the gym door open. The smell of sweat, metal, and rubber rolled over her. Pounding music greeted her ears, and a blur of pumping bodies filled the room.

  Diana had counted on the gym being quiet this late in the evening. Prayed for it, in fact. Did every fit person in town need to be working out right now? She hesitated just inside the door, getting her bearings.

  She was in a long, bright room. Mirrors ran alo
ng both walls, multiplying the bodies in motion. Behind the receptionist’s desk stood rows of workout machines, all of them occupied. People were lined up behind the machines, waiting their turn like a treadmill was worth waiting for. Past the machines, racks of weights sat alongside rippling muscles.

  How had she gotten here? The gym was all fluorescent lights and hard surfaces, a place so far beyond her territory that she expected a flashing imposter sign to go off.

  She tugged her tank top up to cover her cleavage, her shorts down to hide her thighs. Her glasses were sliding along her nose. She pushed them back up and tightened her ponytail.

  She felt so exposed, and there weren’t any twins here to protect her or friends to distract her. Right now, she was on her own. Heads were starting to turn as she lingered by the door. Her skin prickled from the attention.

  Memories crept in, old memories of gym class. She remembered all the stares when she was a kid in sixth grade — and God, she had been a kid, too young to go through that. The hissed whispers, the boys surrounding her when they were jogging the fucking mile out on the field, teasing her about the body that made her look five years older, while she looked straight ahead and tried her hardest to tune them out.

  She hefted her tote bag. Was she really still stuck on the year her family had moved away? Sixth grade was a long-ass time ago, and she was done caring what other people said and did.

  If you really didn’t give a damn, a little voice said, you wouldn’t be hiding your relationship with Ian. You’d be shouting about your steamy threesome with the O’Brian twins from the rooftops. And there was that little orgy after graduation, when you were high as fuck and ready for anything…

  Jesus. She flushed. Maybe it was impossible not to care about people’s opinions.

  Quickly, she retreated to the safety of the nearby water cooler, where she drained half her water bottle just to refill it and stall for time. Ian had to be in the gym somewhere. Maybe Brendan was too, since he came here to work out. But in the busy room, she didn’t spot either familiar body — tall, bronzed, broad shoulders traveling in a vee to narrow hips.

  A group of sweat-stained guys walked by, towels around their necks, close enough for her to smell their perspiration. She focused her gaze ahead as their eyes cut toward her — toward the white tank top straining across her full breasts, the red shorts hugging her flared hips, and all the leg she was showing.

  Her first instinct was to shrink. Instead, she stood up straight and managed a smile in their direction.

  “Do you need some help?” one of the guys asked. The question was friendly enough. He’d been obvious about checking her out, but he was looking at her face now.

  No one here was out to get her. And dammit, she wasn’t a kid anymore. She’d done more than she’d ever imagined these past few weeks, learned more than she’d ever dreamed. She’d closed her books for the summer, but she remembered Ian’s teasing voice: This is where your education begins. She’d walked into this gym for a reason.

  “No, thanks,” she said, her voice firmer. “I’m fine. I have an appointment.”

  The guy nodded, she nodded back, and her own legs propelled her to the front desk.

  The receptionist looked up with a smile.

  “You’re right on time. I’ve got you down for his seven o’clock, Samantha.”

  “Fantastic,” Diana heard herself say. “Thanks, Molly. Should I wait here?”

  “Nah. Go look around, check out the gym. Make him wonder where Samantha is.” She gave Diana a wink.

  “If you say so.” Diana grinned back. A few weeks ago, she wouldn’t have believed she’d be standing here chatting with the kind of girl who’d intimidated her almost as much as boys: outgoing, breezy, sporty.

  “Trust me, he has it coming.” Molly gave her keyboard a few frustrated pecks. “When you showed up a couple days ago, saying you wanted to prank him, you came at the right time. You know he stole my office supplies that afternoon? I was running around freaking out, and he says, all innocent, ‘Take it easy. Everything’s in your car where you left it.’ How he got my keys I don’t know, but there was all my shit, right in my car. I almost killed him, but we were all actually kind of relieved. He was really quiet last week. And his yummy twin brother hasn’t come in for a few days.” She sighed. “Brandon. He’s such a gentleman. Brandon would never do anything to drive a girl crazy.”

  “Brendan,” Diana corrected automatically. Of all the words she’d use to describe her boyfriend’s twin, “gentleman” wasn’t one of them.

  “Right, Brendan. You know if Ian was okay?”

  Diana let out a breath. Her heart fluttered in her chest. “He is now.”

  “Good. Hey, he’s coming. Go, go. Hide!”

  Diana swerved in the other direction, away from the male figure sauntering up to the desk. His black tank top and athletic shorts showed acres of lickable tanned skin. At the last minute, she veered towards him. Hiding wasn’t part of her plan. She’d spent too many years hiding already.

  Ian’s head was turned as he called to someone over his shoulder. He didn’t see her, which gave her the chance to drink him in.

  Gorgeous. It wasn’t just his long-lashed hazel eyes, his mischievous white grin, the deep dimples in his cheeks or his defined jaw. The sleek, muscled body helped, but it wasn’t the whole story. The way Ian moved…did things to her. He was so unconsciously graceful, so comfortable in his own skin.

  Ian. Ian O’Brian was her boyfriend. The boy she’d grown up with who’d done everything in his power to irritate her, the guy who was hot enough to make her gulp her water, now climbed her fence every night to kiss and fuck and talk. It felt so right and so unbelievable at the same time.

  Everything since her first kiss — with her boyfriend’s twin — felt that way. She was in a fever, and she hoped it would never end.

  A loud clang made her jump. Someone had dropped a giant weight on the floor. No one else seemed to notice. Everyone was busy with machines and mats, running and jumping and grunting and sweating. And, in some cases, staring. At her. Her blush seeped down her neck, but she kept her head high and her eyes on Ian.

  He saw her. His mouth actually fell open, and he blinked. Then he closed the distance between them, a grin splitting his face. As he gripped her arms, he dropped a quick kiss on her neck.

  “Ian!” she hissed. “We’re in public.”

  “Trust me, baby, no one you know is here.”

  “What are you saying about my friends’ athletic skills?”

  “Nothing. Jesus, what are you doing here?” His eyes traveled over her scant clothing, stopping on her hips. “Nice shorts. The seventies want them back, but they can’t have them. Not ’til later tonight.”

  “I’m pranking you.” She itched to smooth Ian’s damp hair. She wanted to lick up the drop of sweat trickling down his neck.

  “Excuse me?”

  “I’m Samantha.” She held out her hand. “It’s nice to meet you. We have an appointment.”

  Ian took her hand and didn’t let go. Warmth spread up her arm. “And?”

  “What do you mean, ‘and?’ Look at me. I showed up. I surprised you. I’m wearing…this.” She gestured at the tank top and shorts that were plastered to her curves.

  “Diana.” Ian shook his head. “A prank is more than a surprise. I mean, this is pretty good, but the best pranks take planning. Groundwork. Details. I need to, like, turn around and see my shoes on the roof across the street, or find you sitting on my car wearing a bow that I have to untie to get to you and the car, or— What?”

  She snickered. Standing on tiptoe, she let her lips graze Ian’s earlobe. "You’re a nerd. You’re a total nerd when it comes to pranks, aren’t you? I’ve found your nerdy side."

  Ian looked alarmed. "Fine. Okay. Don’t tell anyone. We’ve got work to do.”

  “You’re going to train me?” She tried a seductive whisper, but heat flooded her cheeks.

  “Hell, yes. Or did you just show up to
set my gym on fire with those shorts? Are you scared?” Ian’s face was a challenge now.

  “I’m not scared.” She held his gaze. “Do your worst.”

  Red crept over his ears. He led her across the crowded gym, their fingers still linked.

  “Okay, Diana. Samantha. Whoever you are. Leave your bags by the wall. If you think I’ll go easy on you, think again. Stand up straight. Shoulders back. I know you bust ass to get an A. You’re gonna do all that for me and more.”

  Shit. She really was going to have to work out. She leaned her tote bag against the wall and set her purse and water bottle on top of it. Then she straightened her spine, threw her shoulders back, and looked up at Ian. A smile tugged his lips, and an answering grin broke across her face.

  The gym felt twenty degrees hotter, but dammit, she was doing this. Brendan’s encouraging whispers cut under the pounding beats of the music in the gym, taking her straight to the treehouse where everything began as she sprawled between the twins.

  Trust us. I promise, Di, you can do it.

  “Just like that.” Ian’s voice was close to her ear. He wasn’t touching her, but he stood near enough to feel the heat coming off his body. Sweat molded his black tank top to his chest. “I’m going to look at you.”

  An answering drop of perspiration trickled down her cleavage. She rolled her shoulders back again, blocking out the nerves of standing half-dressed in the middle of the gym, seeing Ian’s tongue catch between his teeth as the movement thrust her breasts out.

  “I thought you were going to train me.”

  “We’ll get there. Breathe normally.” Ian circled her, looking up and down her clingy tank top and shorts. His eyes pricked her skin wherever they moved.

  “So you’re getting paid to check me out?” She tweaked his tank top. “I know this is a free session, but I expect the real deal.”

  “I’m assessing your posture,” he said briskly. His tone was businesslike enough that she let go of his shirt. “Relax those shoulders, Diana. I said relax.”

  She huffed out a breath and let her shoulders fall back.