There was a glass with ice water and a filled glass pitcher with ice and cut-up cucumbers in it. I’d never thought of putting cucumbers in water, and considering the idea made me realized I was suddenly very thirsty from singing. I grabbed the full glass and drank most of it in one gulp. When I set the water down, I looked to my left past Aimee to see what Loretta was doing in the kitchen.
Then Beth walked in.
I was glad I had just finished with the water, because I know if I had been drinking when I first laid eyes on Beth, I would have choked, and probably died. For a few seconds, it was like I had forgotten how to breathe; my heart stopped working, the world slowed down.
Beth was taller than her sister. Maybe by a few inches, so she was 5’9” or 5’10.” Her breasts weren’t as big as Aimee’s, and her butt was a bit smaller, but she moved into the room like mist rolls over mountains. Like Aimee, she had piercing light-blue eyes that hid beneath thick black eyelashes and milky, white skin. They also shared similar cheekbones, high and slightly rounded. Beth had a cute mole slightly below,and to the left of her left eye, which helped draw attention to those eyes, and perfectly arched brows.
Her lips were perfectly shaped and moist; they were a dark, red color that contrasted with her pale skin. I could imagine drinking from them for days, as she smiled at me, revealing small, square, white teeth. Her hair was a deep black and seemed to reflect the light coming from the light fixtures in the kitchen. It was tied up in a knot/bun on top of her head, with a long tail that fell down to her neck. Her neck was the perfect transition between her beautiful face and shoulders. It was long and delicate-looking. I could make out faint lines of veins through her skin as I drank her in. She was wearing a blue set of medical scrubs that didn’t flatter her at all, but she probably didn’t need to be flattered anymore. There were paint splotches all over the uniform, and I figured it was her painting gear. Her feet were bare, and I could see that she had amazingly high arches and that each toenail was a different shade of pink or red.
Aimee stood up and gave her a hug. I stood too, but everything felt really fuzzy, like I had just walked into a room filled with people all talking at once. Aimee said something to Beth, and they both looked over to me. Beth held her right hand out, and I extended mine. Her hand felt warm as we touched and shook. I noticed she had a massive black watch on her right wrist. It was one of those manly Casio black-rubber ones that you could apparently run over with a steam roller and it would keep working. It looked terribly out of place on her arm. As we shook, I felt her hand squeeze mine, and then her left hand came up to touch the sleeve of my red shirt.
“Ahhh. Did you tell him to wear my favorite color, Sis?” Beth said as she looked at Aimee. Her voice sounded like wind chimes.
“No! Not everything is about you, Beth,” Aimee said, her voice dripping with annoyance.
“Nice to meet you, Eric.” I loved the way she said my name. “I do like your shirt.” She let go of my hand.
We sat down. Aimee next to me and Beth across. I busied myself pouring more water into my glass. It kept me from looking at her. My brain was working again.
Holy shit, dude. Get a hold of yourself. She is sixteen! I said to myself thirty times in the five seconds it took to pour more water. She didn’t look like sixteen. She looked like one of those models on the cover of the Victoria’s Secret catalogues.
Only exponentially more gorgeous.
I finished pouring the water and took another drink, more for activity than thirst. Beth was looking at me. I finished my drink and set down the glass. She wasn’t even blinking. I felt myself start to blush.
“He is much better looking than your last boy, Sis,” Beth said, without looking away from me. She said it like one complimented an inanimate object.
“What?” Aimee said, startled.
“The boy you brought to Catalina with us for my birthday. This one is better looking.” Beth’s watch beeped, and she broke eye contact with me to look down at it.
“Ummm. Jack?” Beth nodded as she looked at her watch.
“Jack and Aimee are still dating. I’m actually a really good friend of Jack’s,” I blurted. Loretta brought over a small plate of leafy greens and romaine for each of us, as I spoke. It had multi-colored, tiny tomatoes and thinly-sliced white cheese on it. It had a slight anchovy flavor to it.
Beth looked up from her watch to me and then over to Aimee. Aimee looked aghast that her sister compared me to Jack while I was there.
“Oh,” she said, flatly. “Is that right, Sis?”
“Yes, Beth! I can’t believe you just said that! It’s really rude!” Beth looked down at her salad and picked up a fork with her left hand.
“How is it rude?” Beth said as she speared a tomato and some mixed greens. “I didn’t say your last one was ugly. I just said this one was better looking. It’s a compliment.” She looked over at me. “You aren’t insulted, right Eric?” Her eyes burned into mine.
“Ummmm… no that is okay I guess. He’s a really good friend of mine.” I started to eat so I wouldn’t have to look at her anymore.
Aimee gave out an exasperated moan and picked up her fork. We ate in silence for a bit, and then Beth’s watch beeped again. She looked at it. Her face was emotionless. It seemed like weird behavior but Aimee didn’t seem to notice.
“So, if the last boy is your boyfriend, and this pretty one in the red shirt is his best friend, I am kind of confused as to why he is over here. Can you explain it to me, Sis?” Beth looked at Aimee with a sly smile on her face.
“We are going to go see a band play in North Hollywood. I thought Eric may like to see the house and have dinner with us before we went there. I also wanted him to meet you,” Aimee said. I could tell she was trying not to get mad at Beth.
“Ahh, okay. Where do you live, Eric?” Beth said as she directed her icy stare back to me.
“In Northridge. I’m going to school at the university there.”
“Oh, I see.” She looked back at her salad, spearing the last bit with her fork.
“Yeah.”
“Seems like a long drive down here, then up to No Ho, and then back… but what do I know, I hardly ever leave the house,” Beth said, as she looked over at Aimee. She pushed the bite into her beautiful mouth and smiled.
Aimee looked pissed, and I realized they probably played this game often. And Beth probably won all the time.
We finished our salads, and Loretta came over to clear the plates. I thanked her since I wasn’t used to having someone take care of me.
Beth said something quickly in Spanish to Loretta and she yelled something back. It was so fast I couldn’t make it out.
“What are you studying?” Beth looked back at me. Her watched beeped, and she looked at it again.
“Ummm, Finance,” I said. Beth looked more interested in her watch than she did in me. She nodded and then looked up back toward the kitchen.
“What are you painting, Beth?” Aimee asked. It was hard for me to gauge their relationship after only sitting here for ten minutes, but I felt like Aimee was trying to extend an olive branch to Beth.
“Scheherazade,” Beth replied simply.
Loretta brought the main course in. The salmon looked beautifully prepared; it sat on top of a bed of brown, black, and green long grain rice. To the side were purple, yellow, and orange carrots that looked seasoned with cinnamon.
“Shara what?” Aimee said as Loretta set the food down.
“Isn’t that the girl who told the tales in Thousand and One Nights?” I asked. It sounded familiar. I liked all those fantasy fables and mythology when I was in high school. Beth paused mid-bite, fork suspended inches from her open mouth. She looked at me and then looked to Aimee.
“Handsome and intelligent. If he isn’t yours, can I have him?” She slid the fork into her mouth and smiled. She was baiting Aimee again. I couldn’t help but turn red. I was glad they weren’t looking at me.
“No! I don’t want Eric to go to jail.
You keep your teenage claws off him!” Aimee said jokingly and stuck her tongue out at Beth. Well played. The three of us burst into laughter.
“So, tell me about this band.” Beth said as she carefully cut into a purple carrot. They were delicious.
“A friend of ours is really into them. Should be a good show,” Aimee said.
“What time are you leaving?” she asked Aimee, innocently.
“It starts at… ten?” she said, looking to me. I nodded. “So, we can leave here at nine/nine thirty-ish.”
“I can be ready by then,” Beth said as she looked at her watch. “This will be fun.”
“Ummm.” Aimee was scrambling for words. “Beth, you aren’t invited.”
“What do you mean?” Beth looked up, shocked, from her watch. For a second, I thought she was really interested in coming. Then I realized she was baiting Aimee again. “Why can’t I come?”
“It’s just going to be a few friends and stuff,” Aimee said, hesitating. It didn’t sound like a good excuse.
“Is your boyfriend going to be there?” Beth asked with a coy smile.
“Umm, no, he has class tonight.”
“So, wait. I am confused again. Help me understand, okay?” Beth was beaming at Aimee with a victorious smile. Aimee was already wincing. It looked like she was about to get punched. “Jack is your boyfriend, right?” Aimee sighed and was about to reply when Beth cut her off. “And Eric here, who is pretty yummy and seems to be smarter, is his best friend.” Aimee tried to get a word in, but Beth raised her pointer finger and cut her off again. “And you invited him over here to see our beautiful house, eat dinner, and then go to a club to see a band play, without your boyfriend. It just seems to me that I was right from the beginning, and that you want him. Or is there something I am missing?” Beth finished her resolution with a satisfied grin.
My opinion of Beth started to change. Where at first I thought she was beautiful and smart, it seemed she was a serious bitch. And while I thought Aimee was manipulative, I realized Beth ran circles around her. She seemed bent on embarrassing Aimee in front of me. And even though I thought Beth picked up on the situation with amazing quickness, she didn’t need to drag it out like this. Not cool.
“Beth, it’s a dive bar in North Hollywood. I don’t think you can get in. Also, I wanted to take Daddy’s red car there. There is nowhere for you to sit in it.” I had to applaud Aimee for thinking so fast and keeping her cool.
Beth’s watch beeped, and she lost all concentration in our conversation as she looked at it. Then she started to cut into more of the fish. No one said anything for a while.
“It’s actually my car,” Beth said suddenly as she looked at me. She may be a bitch, but I felt my heart skip a beat as her face turned my way. Then I thought about getting gang-raped in jail, and she didn’t seem as gorgeous any more.
“It’s not your car!” Aimee’s frustration laced her voice.
“Well I helped Daddy pick it out. And it is my favorite color!” Beth said with a laugh. Aimee moaned in annoyance. “It’s okay, Sis. I’ll let you borrow my car tonight. And you know I was just fucking with you. I didn’t want to go tonight. I have too much painting to do.” Beth fluttered her eyelids at Aimee. I recalled the move from earlier today; Aimee had used it on me. “I want you to have a good time. Please forgive me?” It sounded very sincere. Beth seemed to be able to flip on the cold and hot whenever she wanted.
Aimee nodded and smiled. Beth clapped her hands together and giggled. Everything seemed right between them in an instant. I wondered how many times they had done this dance, with Beth winning and then apologizing to make Aimee feel better.
A few minutes later, we finished the main course and Loretta cleared the plates. I poured the girls more water, and we talked about movies that were coming out. Beth had no pulse on movie pop culture. The last movie she had seen in the theater was Finding Nemo two years ago. She still engaged us in conversation, unless her watched beeped. Then she stared at it for a few seconds. She looked like she was starting to get impatient. She called something out to Loretta in Spanish, and Loretta yelled back “Bayas!”
Within a few seconds, Loretta brought three small bowls of berries. Blackberries, blueberries, strawberries, and raspberries with a small spoonful of cream on top. It was simple and delicious.
Beth ate the dessert with an undisguised sense of urgency.
“I have to get back to work,” she said to no one in particular before her last bite. As she was chewing, she stood up and turned to walk away. She said something to Loretta, and then she turned the corner, out of our sight. My heart started to beat normally again.
“Ugh. She didn’t even say goodbye. Sorry, she was acting so weird.” Aimee looked back at me, concerned.
I didn’t know how to feel about the dinner. Beth was amazing on one hand. I mean, Aimee was gorgeous too. A “perfect ten” as guys rate women’s looks, and I hadn’t really believed her when she had said her sister was prettier. But Beth was, and it seemed impossible. Beth also quickly figured out the situation between Aimee and me. Aimee was trying to make it seem she had no intentions with me, but she hadn’t fooled Beth for a second. So, I didn’t doubt Aimee when she said Beth was a genius. But it seemed like Beth was one of those kids who liked to use a magnifying glass to burn ants or who tore the wings off flies to see how they squirmed. She made Aimee and I squirm during dinner. Then she flipped it around so easily to befriend Aimee again. One thing was for sure: Take those looks, that brain, and the manipulative disposition and you get a girl who is dangerous. Like that Michael Jackson song. I started to picture what she would be like in two years when she was legal. That was more dangerous.
“Oh, that’s okay. I’m glad you made up at the end. Ummm. What was with the watch?” I still hadn’t figured that part out.
“She says it helps ‘keep her on track.’ It beeps all the time. I don’t get it. She tried to explain it to me once.” Aimee rolled her eyes, smiled at Loretta, and thanked her for dinner as she cleared the plates.
We talked for a few more minutes. I started thinking about being in Aimee’s shoes, having to grow up with Beth. It was probably a rough ride. Thinking back through our conversations, I was kind of surprised Aimee spoke so highly of Beth and wanted to introduce her to me. Aimee must really love her, despite the way Beth probably treated her.
“Oh, I have to get ready!” Aimee said suddenly. “If you want, you can watch TV in the sitting room,” she said, as she pointed to the room with the movie theater-like atmosphere. “Or, you can do something in the game room. I’ll be ready soon. Sorry to leave you, but you can keep yourself amused, right?”
“Oh, no problem! I can figure something out.” I was actually kind of happy to get some time alone. Aimee smiled at me and sprang out of the chair to walk toward the stairway. I caught myself staring at her ass. The khaki shorts were tight on her body, and her hips swayed suggestively.
Ugh. I suddenly felt tired as dinner settled in my stomach and I reprocessed what had happened so far today. The night was still young too. I actually had a good time so far, but I kept waiting for Aimee to do something.
I stood from the table and walked into the theater room. There was a small coffee table with a massive remote control on it. I plopped into the leather-encased recliner and sighed in comfort. Then I grabbed the remote.
After a few minutes, I gave up trying to figure out how to turn on the TV, cable box, and sound at the same time. Seems that even rich people couldn’t get simple remotes for their TVs. I leaned back in the chair and thought about Beth some. My mind raced through images of her. Her face, her lips, her hair, the curve of her neck. I felt myself start to get hard.
Wait. This was a bad idea. I pictured sharing a jail cell with a big black dude named Bubba and got out of the chair in a hurry to pace. I realized I hadn’t had much of a chance to look at the various paintings she had done throughout the house. Aimee had been in a hurry to pull me to the music room. I set off int
o the hallway that connected the room where I was to the music room. As I recalled, there were a bunch in there.
Now that the house was darker, I noticed there were recessed lights that highlighted each of the three masterpieces on the wall. As I looked closer at the first one, I could see it looked to be a combination of paint and colored pencil done on rich, textured paper. I really didn’t know much about art, but I could see they had an amazing level of detail.
The first piece showed a large bed overflowing with pillows and smooth-looking sheets. The woodwork of the bed had engraved swans and flowers. On the pillows were two figures: a beautiful woman in a nightdress with blonde hair. She was holding a lamp in one hand and leaning over the other body on the bed. Her hand was outstretched toward the body. It was a male winged angel who looked to be asleep.
The blonde woman’s face was frozen in an expression of joy, or maybe it was sorrow, or maybe it was terror. As soon as I had settled on what I was seeing, I changed my mind about how her face looked. I wondered what the story was behind this painting. The bottom on the painting was signed “E. Godwin.” I was puzzled for a second until I realized Beth was short for Elizabeth.
The next painting showed a muscular man pushing a large circular boulder up a hill. He was physically powerful, and his muscles were tense and flexed over his entire body with the effort. His face looked sad and forsaken. I remembered a Greek mythology story about a man sentenced by the gods to forever push a rock up a slippery slope of mud, only to have to slip and slide down the hill before he could get it to the top. I couldn’t recall the exact name. Sis-a-something-or-other? I had forgotten what he had done to get there. Probably slept with one of Zeus’ women or told Hera about Zeus sleeping with women. The Greek gods were a bunch of assholes.
The last painting, at the end of the hallway before the music room, stole my attention for a long time. It was a magnificent tree with gold and silver leaves. The trunk was twisted and the roots gnarled as it perched on a green hill. Snow-capped mountains were in the background. After careful examination, I could see that it was actually two trees entwined so close together that they looked like one when I had first looked. That’s why there were different-colored leaves. The leaves were so highly detailed, I couldn’t believe it. Maybe these were painting techniques artists used. It must have taken her months to do this piece.
Rock God_Book 1_A Contemporary Harem Fantasy Page 17