by Brianna Cash
“I don’t know what’s with you tonight, but stay outta my business. I don’t need to deal with this shit.”
“Not a problem,” I mutter, making my way back to my room. I don’t need to deal with his shit, either.
Reese is right again. It’s time to start looking for a new place.
It doesn’t surprise me when some girl is standing half naked in the kitchen later, when I go out to get something to drink. Her name is Alison or Alyssa. It starts with an A, but that’s all I can remember.
At least it’s not Genny.
It’s only been a few hours since I left her.
And I already miss her.
Walker
Genny: Wanna come over later? Callie’s home and I’m making dinner…
Walker: Is that the only reason you’re inviting me?
It’s only Tuesday and she’s asking me to come over. Maybe she misses me just as much as I miss her.
Genny: You forgot to tell me where you hid our toy.
Shit!
Being with Genny makes me forget things. I’m still typing out it’s hidden location when another text comes in from her.
Genny: Plus, I’d love to see you.
There’s my girl.
After finishing my text, I hit send and get ready to leave. I went for a run when I got home from work and was just trying to figure out what I wanted for dinner when Genny’s text came. Chad’s working, so I don’t need to worry about running into him. We’re not being very civil to each other right now. Genny said dinner was in an hour, but I’d much rather spend the time with her and her sister than being cooped up in this apartment with nothing to do.
Callie lets me in, her eyes bright, her skin a tanned, glowing brown. “You’re early.”
“Couldn’t stay away,” I confess, stepping past her to wrap my hands around Genny’s waist. She’s using a meat mallet to pound away at some chicken on the counter, but she gives me a smile and a chaste kiss. She’s back to little-to-no touching in front of her sister, I guess. Either way, I just want to be near her.
“How was your trip, Cal? Looks like you got some sun.”
“It was amazing! So much better than I remembered. Maybe I need to move to a beach town once I’m ready to settle down…”
A scowl takes over Genny’s face. She’s going to have a hard time dealing with Callie moving that far away. Especially since Calvin doesn’t live very close, either.
“Wanna look at some pictures?”
“Sure,” I answer, getting up and following Callie into the living room. She’s going to cast them to the TV. Maybe Callie can show me how that works...
After laughing at my ignorance, she does just that. And then she shows me how to make it stop. That’s what I really needed and I’m grateful to have the knowledge, even if I needed it a while ago.
As Callie’s showing me her pictures, I feel like a pervert, looking at Genny’s little sister and her friends in bikinis on the beach. But she changes the subject to talk to me about our plans for Genny, thankfully dragging me out of my thoughts.
“Myra said she’ll keep Genny out of the house one evening after work in a couple weeks. And I’ll stay with a friend that night and let you guys have the house to yourselves again.”
“You don’t need to stay anywhere else, Callie.”
“You’re still not having sex with her?”
Chuckling, I don’t confirm or deny her assumption. “This has turned into something for you and your sister. You should be here. It has nothing to do with me anymore.”
“No, no, no. You’re not getting out of this. It was your idea.”
“My idea was nothing like what you’re now planning. I think it’s a great idea, but it’s a family thing and I’m not family.”
“Walker, please,” Callie insists, resting her hand on my arm. “She’ll appreciate you being a part of it and so will I. She’s different with you around. She’s more fun than she’s been in a long time. And she’s gonna need some extra moral support. Every time I try to talk to her about what happens now that I’ve graduated, she changes the subject.”
“What are you planning?”
“I got a job at the hospital. I start in two weeks. I want to move out at the end of the summer and let Genny have her own life again, but I don’t know if she’s going to be able to handle it. She’s grown so accustomed to having someone else to take care of. I don’t know if she’ll even remember how to figure out what she wants. I think you can help her with that.”
“Me?”
“Yeah.”
Genny calls us from the kitchen, letting us know dinner’s ready. Suspicion is in her eyes, but it only makes Callie smile. We sit at the kitchen island while we eat, Genny occasionally holding my hand under the table.
“Genny, this is awesome. Thanks for finally inviting me to dinner.”
“I offered to cook for you before,” she argues.
“Yeah, but I don’t want you cooking for me. We made breakfast together Sunday, and that was great. Cooking for Callie and inviting me is also great. What is this, by the way?”
“I’ll keep that in mind,” she tells me, rolling her eyes. “It’s just spinach and mozzarella wrapped in chicken. How’s your week been so far? I heard all about Callie’s trip, what’s going on with you?”
Do I tell her about Chad? She knows Zeke is biologically his. It’s not like I’ll be giving anything new away. And telling Genny is the same as telling Callie because Callie will just eavesdrop on whatever conversation I have with her sister anyway. I would love to get it off my chest. And if I’m honest, I’ll admit that I would love to tell Genny about it.
“Things are a little awkward at home right now. Chad and I got into an argument Sunday.”
Callie practically chokes on her food before looking between me and Genny. “Chad, like the Chad Genny knows?”
“Yeah,” I admit, nodding my head, wishing Callie didn’t know quite so much about Genny’s sex life. “He’s my roommate. And my nephew’s biological dad.”
“That’s twisted,” Callie declares with wide eyes.
Ignoring that, because it’s true and I have no idea how to respond to it, I tell Genny and Callie how Reese had papers drawn up when Steve asked her to marry him. When Steve proposed, he said he’d also like to adopt Zeke and raise him as his own. Reese presented them to Chad. He said he’d think about it. It’s been years, and he still refuses to sign them or acknowledge Zeke as his own.
“If Chad signs the papers, he doesn’t have to pay child support anymore, right?” Callie asks.
“Right.”
“Then why wouldn’t he want to sign them?”
“We have no idea. Just to be a dick, I guess.”
Genny’s quiet through my story and Callie’s questions. Her hand is in mine, but she won’t look at me. I hope she knows I’m not judging her for what she’s done with him. She didn’t know anything about him then. I have a feeling if she had, she never would’ve given him a second glance.
“Would Reese have to get a job if the child support stopped coming in?” she asks later, after the dishes are cleared and we’re sitting in the living room. Callie’s in her room or eavesdropping on the stairs, no way to know for sure.
“Maybe. It would definitely make things harder, but it’s a problem they would love to have to deal with. Zeke has Chad’s last name. Reese, Steve, and Finn all share a last name. When Zeke starts school, there’s bound to be questions, and Reese didn’t want to have to deal with it. Especially when he’s too young to really understand.”
“I can’t imagine having to worry about that,” she says, snuggling into my side. “Your sister’s pretty awesome.”
“Yeah, she is. Kinda like you.”
“No, she’s way more awesome than me.”
“You should let Reese in a little bit. I think you might find you have a lot in common with her.”
She pushes up off me, demanding, “Because I slept with Chad?”
I did
not see that one coming. Pulling her chin up so she has to look at me, I try to correct the mistake I had no idea I was making. “Because you’re both incredibly stubborn and fiercely protective of the people you love.”
She studies me, wanting to believe my words but having such little regard for herself she’s finding it difficult. I could ask her now, to please text Chad and tell him never again. But I really don’t want to fight with her about anything tonight, let alone her past sex life. I don’t want to hear her excuses about how she never contacted him, and he might not remember who she is. We both know that’s bullshit.
She has to know by now that’s the main reason I’m holding back from having sex with her. I haven’t told her that specifically, but how could she not know? I told her, she had to be with only me.
She promised she wouldn’t have sex with him or anyone else while she was with me. Maybe I should be satisfied with that, but her hesitancy to cut the cord with him has me wondering why she won’t officially let him go. I guess that’s why I need her to tell him before we go any further.
“I’m sorry,” she says eventually. “I guess I’m a little touchy about the fact that I had sex with such a dickhead.”
“It’s all right. You’re not gonna do that anymore.”
“No, I’m not. Never again,” she promises, resting her head back against my chest.
At least there’s that. Whether she texts him or not, I don’t need to worry about her actually having sex with him. Maybe that is enough. Maybe I just need to trust her about sex like she’s trusted me with the side of her that no one else ever sees.
“Do you want me to turn on the TV?”
Genny’s head moves against me and I look down to find her shaking her head. “I don’t really like TV. I’d rather just talk with you if it’s ok.”
“I don’t mind at all.”
But she’s quiet. We sit on her couch together, lost in our own thoughts. I feel close to her right now anyway, just sitting with her in my arms. I think about how Reese told my mom Genny was almost perfect for me. I think about how I can get Genny to meet my parents. And how to get her to meet the rest of my friends.
This past weekend may have ruined me. Now, everything I do, I want her with me. Spending almost a full forty-eight hours with her has me spoiled. I want to sleep with her in my arms. I want the lazy morning conversations we have over shared coffee. I want the games we play before bed. I want the way we worked together in the kitchen to make breakfast or lunch, or whatever. I even want cleanup, if I get to share it with her.
“Really? The coat closet?” she asks with a smile I can feel against my chest, breaking me from my thoughts.
“Last place you would’ve looked, right?”
“Definitely. How about next time you help me use it, instead of hiding it on me?”
Letting her hair run through my fingers, I hold her tight, thinking that really isn’t much more than we’ve already done. “That sounds like a good plan. Let me know when you have the house to yourself again and we’ll take it for a test ride together.”
“I might have to encourage Callie to get a new hobby now that school’s out.”
“I might help you with that.”
Walker
Kicking the ball back and forth between my feet, I weave my way down the field, keeping my eyes on my teammates’ positions. I quickly pass it to Sean, who’s set up, ready, and waiting, right in front of the goal. Sean leans left, faking out the goalie while kicking the ball into the net, then raising his hands up into the air victoriously. Goal!
We’re seriously kicking the other team’s ass today.
The other team wants a quick break to regroup. It’s not gonna help them, but I head to the sidelines to get my water bottle anyway. The hardness of Chad’s sudden glare makes my skin itch, but it quickly moves off me to scan the goal line. What the hell does he think I did now? Or is he just pissed because I’m covering someone and playing offense, making it that much easier for my team to crush his?
Callie’s near the goal.
As soon as I’m looking in her direction, she starts waving, walking toward me. I get it now. Chad thinks it’s Genny. They look so much alike, from this distance he can’t tell it’s not her.
No wonder he’s pissed. Now he’s going to think I stole one of his many girls. God forbid I have one all to myself when he has a dozen…
I meet her halfway down the field. “Hey, Cal. What’re you doing here?”
“I was in town and saw your car. Figured I’d stop by to say hi. You’re pretty good.”
“Thanks,” I laugh.
“I finished my painting for Genny today. I’m super nervous to give it to her, but excited, too. Thanks again for doing this.”
“You’re gonna make Genny cry, you know that, right?”
“No way,” she insists, shaking her head. “Genny doesn’t cry.”
Genny does cry. I’ve seen it and I know how much Callie’s gift and words are going to affect her sister. “Wanna bet on that?”
“About Genny crying? Absolutely.”
“If she does, you have to enter one of your paintings in that art competition I told you about.”
There was a flyer up on the bulletin board at work. It’s for local, amateur artists, and the winner gets an art show displaying all their artwork. The pieces can also be sold if the artist is open to selling any. I told her about it when I picked Genny up to hang out with Reese and the boys this past Thursday, for our normal Thursday night date.
Callie wasn’t very receptive to the idea.
She still isn’t. Her face goes white at even the suggestion. “No, I don’t show anyone my paintings.”
“Guess you’re not too confident about winning.”
That steely reserve I saw in her and her sister pushes through from behind the nervousness in her eyes. “Fine. I’ll take your bet. When Genny doesn’t cry, you have to have sex with her.”
I shake my head with a laugh. “You realize that’s not exactly a hardship for me, right?”
“I don’t know if it is or not. You’re afraid of something and it’s holding you back. She told me a while ago she doesn’t think you trust her. I thought she was crazy, but now that I know what I’m looking at, I think she’s right.”
That turns my good mood into something else entirely. Holding out my hand, I tell her, “I’m still gonna win this bet.”
She takes my hand, shaking it firmly. “No, you aren’t.”
She turns and starts to walk away, getting halfway across the field before she cups her hand around her mouth to yell back at me. “I’m staying with a friend tonight, Walker. You’re welcome!”
Everyone on both teams watches her walk away. I can already hear the questions they’re gonna ask. She’s a gorgeous girl in her early twenties and we just laughed and joked like she’s my kid sister. Once she’s out of sight, everyone’s eyes turn to me.
Everyone’s except Chad’s.
His hard, unforgiving eyes have been on me the entire time.
Genny
Looking in the mirror again, I take a deep breath before nervously fingering the bracelets on my wrist. It feels like too much. I have on a fun, flirty dress, that showcases a lot more cleavage than I’m used to, but also my long, toned legs. I also have makeup on, my hair is done, and Callie lent me some jewelry. It all feels foreign, like I’m trying way too damn hard.
“Stop fidgeting! When you relax you look fantastic, but when you keep touching everything, you look self-conscious.”
“I am self-conscious!” I inform Callie.
“Why? Walker loves you. His friends are douches if they don’t, too.”
I calm my racing heart and tell her again, for what feels like the hundredth time, “Walker doesn’t love me. He likes me, but he doesn’t love me.”
“Semantics.” She her hand dismissively at my statement. “He will soon enough. I’m calling it now, you wait and see. Besides, tonight you’re worried about his friends judging yo
u. I promise they’re only going to be judging him and asking why he hasn’t tapped that yet.”
“Why hasn’t he tapped that yet?” I mumble, wondering when the hell he’s going to quit making us wait. It’s been six weeks already. Two weeks since he finally gave in and started helping me with my orgasms for real and not just in my imagination. I haven’t waited this long for sex since I was in high school.
I keep reminding myself he’s worth it. I’d do just about anything at this point to prove to him I’m all in this. I just don’t know how to prove it to him.
Callie stands between me and the mirror, pulling me out of my thoughts for a second. “What exactly is making you so self-conscious?”
Tugging at the dress, I try to pull the hem down so my ass doesn’t feel like it’s hanging out. As soon as I do, I feel like I’m flashing Callie. “This dress is too revealing.”
“Really? Why’d you tell me I looked great in it a few weeks ago?”
“Because you’re twenty something!”
“Ha!” she says, pointing a finger in my face. “You’re still twenty something for a month yet! You’re just not used to showing any skin. It’s not too revealing.”
“You can see my boobs!”
“Anyone can see your boobs no matter what you’re wearing. That’s kind of what happens when you’ve been blessed in that department. It doesn’t come close to showing your nipples, so you’re fine.”
Growling at her logic, I attempt to keep my hands off the dress. They move instead to my face, covered in simple but tasteful makeup that brings out the green of my eyes. Callie helped me with it. Ok, she didn’t help me, she did it all. I don’t do dress up. I don’t know how to do this, how to be like this. The only makeup I ever wear is mascara and shiny pink lip gloss.
Next is the jewelry. I kinda like the necklace. But the bracelets are driving me nuts. Every time I move my arm, I feel like I’m caught on something, and they fall up my forearm when I lift my hand above my waist. Plus, they’re so noisy! There’re eight thin, silver bands, and Callie pulls most of them off my wrist, leaving only three. It’s better. Still weird, but better.