“Eric!” Beth grabbed me as soon as Aimee released my hug. She had crazy strength and the speed of a humming bird. Before I could push her away gently, the girl’s lithe body was pressed against mine, her arms were around my head, and I felt her lips pressing against mine.
The girl’s warm tongue flicked against my mouth and then pressed against my gritting teeth. I had been so surprised by her attack that my hands were held out to my side, and I put them to her waist in an attempt to push them away. She wouldn’t budge though, and I could feel her hum with pleasure against the teeth.
“Beth, get off him!” Aimee didn’t scream, but it wasn’t much of a whisper. The older sister went to grab the girl, but she suddenly let go of me and then seemed to spin away from Aimee’s grip.
“I’m sitting next to Eric. You should sit over there, by your boyfriend.” Beth nodded at her sister and then leaned her head over to the end of our group where Jack was hugging Sam.
“No, Beth.” Aimee stepped toward her sister, and her fist clenched.
”What’s wrong?” Jack had stepped back next to Aimee, and he poked his face into the triangle that contained the two sisters and me.
“Nothing, Jack,” Beth smiled at my friend pleasantly. “Aimee wanted to sit next to you.” She pointed to the bench where Jack was standing, and my friend smiled back at the girl.
“Oh cool. Yeah, let’s sit down.” Jack sat next to Brent, then Aimee sat next to him, then I sat next to Aimee. Beth sat at the end, and I clasped my hands together in my lap to prevent either girl from trying to grab my fingers.
“This is exciting. I’ve never been to a college volleyball game before,” Beth smiled at me.
“Beth, we went to the Olympics two years ago in Greece. We had seats at the net with every US team game.” Aimee leaned over me and rolled her eyes.
“Yeah, but I don’t think I’ve been to a college game before. I should go to more of Kitty Cat’s games.”
“Kitty Cat?” I asked.
“That is what Beth calls Katherine.” Aimee scooted a bit closer to me, and her arm pressed against mine.
“Ahh, that makes sense.” I should have realized that Katherine probably knew Beth well, since their parents were so close, and my lover had grown up with Aimee. I wondered what the tall Jewish volleyball player thought about her best friend’s younger sister. I would probably never know for sure since I couldn’t even imagine holding a conversation with either one about their opinions about the other.
It didn’t even matter. I’d be leaving in a few weeks and might not talk to any of them for a year, maybe even longer.
“You haven’t called me since Thanksgiving.” Beth looked at me and frowned.
“Sorry, I’ve been busy. Did Aimee tell you about the band?”
“She said something about you leaving forever, which is why I came tonight. I didn’t think you would return my texts or phone calls.” She leaned in close to whisper in my ear, and I felt Aimee lean against me in an attempt to hear what her sister said to me.
“Not forever,” I laughed, “but the band I told you about at Thanksgiving asked me to join them on tour. We’ll be going around the country and playing. My initial contract is for a year, but it might end up being shorter or longer depending on how things go.”
“That sounds amazing!” Beth’s ice-blue eyes widened, and she smiled with her perfect lips.
“You think so?” Her response was almost the opposite of Aimee’s, and I was a little surprised.
“Yes.” She nodded, and her pony tail bobbed behind her head. “You get to spend a year with your music, playing for people, and being surrounded by like-minded band mates.” She sighed and clapped her hands together a few times. “It is wonderful. I am very happy for you.”
“Wow, thank you Beth.”
“I’ll have to buy the album when it comes out. What is the name of the band?”
“Jump! Kick!,” I said, “I don’t think that it is out yet; they said something about next week.
“You won’t like it Beth. It is rock music,” Aimee leaned into our conversation.
“It is danceable though,” I said.
“I’m sure I will love it because it is Eric’s.” Beth smiled at me.
“I’m not actually playing in the album. They dumped their old guitar player.”
“Oh, I will still listen to it and imagine that you are playing. When are you leaving?”
“Right after Christmas. The 26th actually. We are doing a show at this kinda famous venue in Joshua Tree, then we are going to Vegas for a New Year’s Eve party. Then Arizona and... I don’t have the rest of the schedule memorized.” I laughed, “I don’t want to think about it.”
“Where in Joshua Tree? I love to go out there and paint.”
“A place called Pappy & Harriet’s.”
“Oh, it is like a barbeque bar-type place?” I nodded. “I ate there once with dad. I didn’t know they also have music there.”
“There is a stage and stuff out back. I was there for shows a few times when I was in high school.” I remembered seeing a few bands there with my father. He was normally really busy with work, and the experiences had been good times for us to bond.
“Will you have your cell phone with you?”
“Yeah. Unless the tour goes international. Then I’ll probably turn it off.” The crowd had started to cheer, and I saw the two teams walk out onto the floor.
“So we can still talk while you are on the road?”
“He is going to be too busy to talk to you Beth.” Aimee leaned in again. The crowd was really loud though, and I doubted her sister heard her.
“There is Kitty Cat!” Beth waved to the tall Jewish girl. The team looked like they were focused on the net though, and none of them were smiling to the crowd.
The girls on the Alabama team also looked intense, and the two teams spread out opposite sides of the net to warm up. Kim and Katherine were hitting the ball to each other, and they looked really sexy in their tight, little shorts. Katherine had her long, wavy hair braided tightly against her head, but Kim had two pony tails coming out from behind her head. It wasn’t a style that I’d ever seen, but I thought it looked really cute on the Asian girl.
“I don’t know anything about volleyball. Can you explain how it works?” Beth asked me.
“I don’t really know anything either,” I laughed. “Just cute girls with sexy outfits hitting a ball at each other.”
“You like the outfit?” Beth raised an eyebrow.
“If you don’t like volleyball, why did you even come?” Aimee hissed at her sister.
“I wanted to see Eric. Isn’t that obvious? Please pay attention, sister. I am in love with him.” Beth batted her eyelashes at her sister, and it looked like Aimee’s ears were about to shoot out smoke. My stomach dropped, and I felt like I should be diving for cover.
“I think it is starting,” I said loudly and pointed down to the court. They girls had been in a close huddle with their arms wrapped around each other’s waists. Then they broke apart and lined up in the pattern I recognized from watching Kelly’s games. One of the girls from each team approached the referee, and then a coin toss was made. The Alabama girls let out a little cheer and took possession of the ball first.
One of the Alabama girls served the ball. Kim was there to hit it up with her hands, and it bounced around between their team before Katherine spiked it over the net. It went between the girls on the other team, and the crowd cheered. Beth and Aimee seemed to have forgotten their argument and both watched the game below with fascination.
Watching Katherine and Kim play volleyball made me begin to think of Kelly. The tall blonde girl and I spent a few hours yesterday talking on the phone. She’d been upset because Katherine’s prediction had been correct and they had lost their first regional game. But Kelly also felt a bit of relief because she admitted that she was really looking forward to working with her new team in Australia and wanted more free time to pack before she had
to leave.
We talked about the offer from the band, and she had screamed with joy when I told her. Then she asked me thousands of questions, and my answers had only made her happier for me. Finally we talked about Aimee and the dinner at the sushi place the other night.
“So, who was the smoke show you were with?” I could hear the grin on her face.
“This girl...”
“Haha, I’m ‘just this girl,’ she was like a supermodel.”
“Oh come on, Kelly, you are gorgeous.”
“Yeah, yeah, whatever. You don’t have to make me feel better because you upgraded,” she laughed.
“It isn’t like that at all.” I felt my voice start to choke off, and I was surprised by my emotion. “I’d rather be with you, but you are leaving.”
“I know. Believe me, Eric,” she sighed, “I’ll probably wonder for the rest of my life what might have been between us.”
The phone was silent for a few moments, and neither of us dared to speak.
“But, hey! You are going to go be a fucking rock star now. I don’t feel so bad for leaving you all alone!” She laughed, but I wished I could have seen her face, “If you are ever in Australia you’ll have to let me know so I can come see a show.”
“Or maybe I’ll be in town when you are,” I said.
“Maybe. Who knows? It was fun while it lasted though...” she sighed.
“Yeah.”
The crowd cheered crazy loud, and my eyes focused back on the game and away from the last conversation I had with Kelly. I didn’t really understand how the scoring worked, but it seemed like our team was serving the ball now. Kim was actually serving, and she jumped up with a scream after she smacked the ball surprisingly hard over the net and the other team hit it off of the court.
“Do you have a lot of packing to do?” Beth’s hand stroked my arm, and I almost jumped with surprise. I don’t know how I could have forgotten that she was sitting next to me, but my mind was filled with thoughts of Kelly, Kim, Katherine, and all the packing that Beth just reminded me of.
“Yeah, mostly just trying to sell everything I can. I don’t want to put anything in storage, but I haven’t figured out what to do about my car.”
“Can you sell it?” she asked.
“I just bought it. I’d lose some equity in it, but storing it might be too expensive.”
“You can keep it at our house. We have a lot of space in the garage,” Beth shrugged.
“Keep what in our house?” Aimee leaned into me and made her voice louder than the crowd. Her firm right breast pressed into my chest, and I felt my breath catch.
“Eric’s car,” Beth said.
“Oh yeah! That is a great idea. Daddy will say yes. He loves you.” Aimee winked at me.
“I’ll have to think about it.”
“What is there to think about? We’ll keep it safe, and you won’t have to pay to store it,” Aimee frowned.
“Well, check with your dad, and then let me know. It seems like I would really be inconveniencing you all.”
“No, it will be fine,” both sisters said at the same time.
“But ask him.” I scrunched my nose up at both girls. I guessed that he would say yes, but I didn’t know if I wanted to be tied to Beth and Aimee’s house. It would probably be emotionally easier to pay whatever sort of money it would cost to store my car somewhere. Who knew what my life would be like a year from now when I returned from the tour; I might not want to see the sisters. It was difficult enough to hang out with them now.
The crowd cheered again, and the girls on Kim and Katherine’s team got into a sexy group hug again. It looked like we had scored a point, but I was still fuzzy on the rules of the game and kinda kicked myself for not spending more time on-line trying to understand the rules of volleyball. Maybe I was being a bit hard on myself since I was crazy busy, but three women that had been my lovers were all volleyball players.
“We should all go out to dinner after this,” Jack yelled over the crowd. Brent, Samantha, and Aimee all agreed.
“I really can’t guys,” I lied a bit. “I have too much packing to get out of the way. Also have tests coming up next week, practice tomorrow, and I already ate.”
“Awww come on, dude,” Jack said, “You’re gonna be gone for like, probably, the rest of your life. Let’s just go to a shitty diner and hang out for a bit.”
“Yeah!” Brent yelled. “I’m sure Katherine and Kim will want to join us afterwards.”
I felt Aimee lean into me more, and I feared that Jack would notice. He had to, everyone was looking at me. I scooted more to my right, but Beth was also sitting far too close, and I felt the full length of my leg touch the girl’s.
“Guys, I really want to, but I planned on calling it an early night. We’ll all get to hang at Aimee’s party.”
“Did you talk to the band yet?” Aimee changed the subject.
“Oh yeah, they are good. Thank you for the money. That is crazy awesome. They are all really excited.”
“Jump! Kick! is going to play at Aimee’s birthday bash?” Brent was leaning over Jack to yell me the question.
“Yes, my Dad said he’d pay them.”
“A shit load of money. We couldn’t say no,” I laughed.
“Nice. Aimee, you liked them when you saw them in concert?” Brent asked.
“Yep, for a lot of different reasons.” Aimee turned to look at me, and she was way too fucking close. Jack’s eyebrows furrowed with a slight confusion, and I scanned the stadium for something that could rescue me.
Katherine came to my rescue.
“Look, Katherine is serving,” I pointed to the floor of the court, and everyone turned to watch our friend hit the ball.
Katherine served the ball with a sexy grunt, and the Alabama team managed to get a player under it and bounce it up high. Then they passed it a few times before a girl spiked it down over the net. Kim was there though, and she dived beneath the bullet-like ball and saved it from touching the floor. The crowd cheered, and another one of our girls spiked it over the net.
“I’m not a fan of sports, but I would sit next to you and watch grass grow.” Beth’s left hand lay on my right leg, and she squeezed my thigh.
“Stop touching him!” Aimee leaned over my chest again to seethe at her sister. Her perfect breasts pushed into my chest, and Jack once again looked at me with a puzzled expression.
“I’m touching my boyfriend’s leg. You touch your boyfriend’s leg. You don’t get all the boys, sister,” Beth sighed. There was no way that Jack could hear what she said over the roar of the crowd. I could only hear it because both of the sisters had moved their faces in front of mine.
This was bullshit.
Maybe I was being selfish, but I didn’t want to deal with their drama anymore. I’d had enough. Suddenly, I didn’t care how beautiful, or smart, or charming either of these Godwin girls were. I was fucking done. I wanted my friendship back with Jack. I wanted to watch two of the girls I liked play volleyball. I didn’t want to worry about being attacked, or fighting between the two of them.
“I’m gonna go.” I moved my hand between the two of them, and they turned to me with surprise.
“What?” Aimee said.
“I’ve had enough of both of you. I’ll see you at the party.” I stood off of the bench.
“What’s going on?” Jack asked, but I could tell from the expression on his face that he must have suspected something.
“I’m not feeling good. Sorry guys. Pretty stressed out about school, and packing, and stuff. I just want to go home and crash.”
“Ahhh, sorry to hear that man,” Brent said. Sam nodded at his words.
“You can’t leave,” Aimee said.
“Watch me.” I caught Beth’s eyes, and she looked incredibly sad.
“Later.” I waved to the group and then slid past Aimee.
I was in the sea of the crowd for too long trying to leave the packed gym, so when I finally escaped into the cool nig
ht air I let out a long sigh of relief. It had been hot and oppressive in there, and I suddenly felt like a sack of sand had been lifted from my shoulders. I’d go home, get some guitar playing done, and then call it an early night. But first I’d text Katherine and Kim to tell them that I wasn’t feeling good so I had to miss the second half of their game. I took a dozen steps toward the parking lot with my phone out and realized that this might be the last time I would see Kim unless I could squeeze a date with her in the next two weeks. I’d have to let her know.
“Eric!” I heard a shout behind me, and I sighed. I should have done some sort of parkour shit and ran out of the school like a mad man. Now I’d have to deal with Beth.
“What do you want?” The gorgeous girl was jogging toward me, and I couldn’t help but notice how beautiful her running was. She even ran like a ballet dancer.
“I’m sorry.” She frowned after she had stopped before me.
“Yeah. Okay.”
“Can I walk with you to your car?” She stood up on her tippy toes, put her hands behind her back, and smiled at me.
“Beth...” I sighed.
“I just want to talk to you for a few more minutes. Please?” I had just left because she was fighting with her sister; I’d gotten so frustrated that I wanted nothing to do with them. But it was hard to deny the girl when she was asking nicely.
“Fine,” I sighed and then turned to continue my walk to the car.
“I am very happy that you are leaving to tour with this band.”
“I would have thought you would have been mad, or upset. Your sister kind of was.”
“I can’t see why she would be. It is your life, and you are going to be doing something that you love. Aimee just doesn’t understand art. Or passion.”
“Could be.” I didn’t want to get into a discussion with Beth about her older sister, but I’d kind of opened up the door by bringing her up.
“I am really looking forward to seeing you play with them at Aimee’s party.”
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