“My bags are this way. I thought Ryan was smart enough to bring someone who would be able to carry them,” she called over her shoulder loud enough for anyone within a fifty-foot radius to hear. “I guess you’ll have to make two trips.”
“Darlin’, you know I can handle anything you’ve got.” There was a slight hitch in her step. “Don’t worry. When we get home I’ll remind you.” I was being a little too obnoxious. It wasn’t my fault. I had two semesters of annoying her to make up for.
“I haven’t even been in California five minutes and I already feel nauseous,” was all she said to me until I’d pulled all the bags she silently pointed out. I should have gotten a cart to carry them. I didn’t because I wasn’t going to let her win. I stacked and slung them until my T-shirt wasn’t visible through the straps and I couldn’t really feel my arms.
“Is that everything, princess?” I pretended that my extremities were not tingling and my lungs were perfectly capable of filling with air.
“Why? Can’t you carry any more?” She wasn’t even watching the bags going past us.
“I’ll carry you if you don’t get your ass moving.” I nodded in the direction of the doors.
“Oh, Cooper, I’m so impressed,” Reese responded flatly. At least she also started walking.
When Ryan pulled to the curb, he jumped out, opened the back of his 4Runner for me, and tackled Reese in a massive hug. She squealed and let him spin her around. I was going to hurl from the sibling love. I channeled my disgust into throwing her luggage in the back. They were like that the whole way back to El Dorado Hills. She would reach over and play with his hair, tell him she liked the new cut. He acted affronted when he saw the little glint from a new piercing at the top of her ear. Apparently, it’s uncool to get a piercing without your twin present. Reese pulled her hair back to give him the full effect. Her hair was way longer than when I’d last seen her. It hung halfway down her back in thick, deep brown waves. When was the last time I’d seen her? Not Christmas. My parents had forced me to visit my grandparents in Oregon, my own potpourri-filled hell. It must have been when she left last summer. Almost a year.
As soon as we got to their house, I took off. As much as I loved Ryan, I hated Reese. I didn’t care if it was just because I was jealous.
Chapter Two
Streets of London was packed when I showed up. Everyone was in the backyard, a little fenced in place with dilapidated picnic tables and foliage to hide the road. After giving hugs and high fives to everyone and a single dramatic kiss to Austin, I sat on the tabletop with my feet on the bench. Ryan and Reese were on the bench next to me, Austin on my other side. Carson and Derek sprawled in wooden chairs across from us.
“You want me to get you a beer?” Carson offered. My twenty-first birthday was coming up. Sadly, the bartender frowned on being almost twenty-one so I couldn’t order my own drinks.
“Yeah. Here.” I pulled a couple bucks out of my pocket and gave them to him. “Thanks.” He nodded and sauntered off.
“Hey, Coop,” Reese said.
“What’s up, buttercup?” I asked in the most sickly sweet voice possible.
Reese looked like she swallowed something disgusting. It took a second for her to compose her face. “Why don’t you kiss the boys?” she asked like she was actually interested. It had to be a trick.
“’Cause they have scratchy faces. Why don’t you kiss boys?” Cynicism should always be met with sarcasm.
“That’s not what I mean.” Reese leaned back against the table to see me better. “I mean you kiss Austin, but you give the rest of the guys high fives.”
“I don’t follow.” I looked at Derek and Ryan to see if they got it. They looked lost too.
“Don’t follow what?” Carson returned with my beer.
“Reese wants to know why I don’t kiss boys,” I explained.
“Eww.” He looked appropriately disgusted. “Why would you kiss a dude?”
“Not a dude,” Reese cut in again. “You guys.”
At that, Carson’s eyes got big and his mouth turned down. “That would be wrong. Like queer, but…” He thought real hard for a second. “What’s the opposite of queer?”
“Straight,” everyone responded.
“No,” Carson said. “If Coop kissed a guy, it would be like me kissing a guy.” It was fun to watch him try to explain why I kissed girls. “Like, I was born to like girls.” The guys and I nodded in encouragement. “So was Coop, so it would be sick if she kissed a dude, just like it would be sick if I did.”
“That was kind of poetic.” Austin sounded appropriately reverent.
“Okay, but you still didn’t answer my question.” Reese hated when we all agreed. “Because I kiss all of you guys on the cheek when I see you, but—”
“Oh, but you like chicks too,” Carson cut in. “So you’re wondering, if you’re both gay, why doesn’t Coop kiss”—he grimaced again—“us if you do.”
“Yeah.”
“’Cause she’s one of us,” Derek offered. “You’re not.” He was never one to think before speaking.
Reese looked pissed. “I’m not one of you?”
“He didn’t mean it like that.” Ryan put a comforting hand on Reese’s shoulder.
“Coop chases girls. I think that’s what he means,” Austin jumped in, always the peacemaker. So helpful.
“Okay, so she is a womanizer and I’m not?” Leave it to Reese to make me sound like an asshole.
“Exactly. If only you abused more women you could be part of the club.” I gave her my sad, serious face. This was why I hated Reese. She could turn the most innocent conversation into a discussion of how evil I was. She only did it to make me feel shitty. She knew that when I went home I would obsess for days about whether or not I was a womanizing asshole. So I just did what I always did, played it cool.
“I’m confused,” Carson said. He looked it too. His beer was clutched tightly between his hands and he was staring into it. “I think I should ask my dads.” Carson was kind of a daddy’s boy, so if he got in any kind of trouble he just called home. Trouble included confusion, a common occurrence. He would probably get out his cell any minute.
“I wasn’t trying to be a jerk.” Reese tried to backpedal. “I was just making an observation.”
Derek started laughing. “You were trying to be a jerk. It’s cool. We love to watch you guys argue.”
“Fuck off, Derek,” she said.
“Why doesn’t everybody just chill?” Ryan was the only one who hated it when I argued with his sister.
A chorus of “fine,” rippled through the group finished by Reese and me.
*
I just wanted to take a piss. When I went inside the pub, I started weaving through the masses of people toward the bathroom. Halfway across the room, I saw something that made me stop dead. Reese was at the bar and some guy was all up on her. She was holding her ground, but I could tell she wasn’t having fun. Her shoulders were squared and her eyes narrow so that even in the dim light I could see them killing the guy a foot away from her. Ryan and the guys were all outside. Fuck it. I pushed my way to where they were.
“How’s it going?” I positioned myself just barely in between them. The guy looked me up and down and decided I wasn’t a threat.
“Fine. We’re trying to, ya know, talk.” He angled his back against the bar so his body was brushing against Reese. I almost decked him.
“It’s fine, babe.” Reese touched my arm. “I was just coming back outside.” She smiled so that it seemed like she couldn’t see anyone or anything, only me. It was all a lie, but he didn’t need to know that. I slid an arm around her waist protectively. Suddenly, I remembered that I was taller than her. It was a fairly recent improvement. Go me.
“You sure?” I said in her ear like it was meant for only her, but I made sure I was loud enough for the prick watching us to hear. He looked like he might throw up on his K-Swiss. Who still wore those?
“Sorry.” Reese lo
oked at him like she cared. “I’ve really got to go back outside.” She threaded her fingers into the hair at the base of my neck and started playing with it. My spine slowly started melting at her soft touch.
“Fuck that shit,” he muttered as he turned away and sauntered back to his friends.
Reese leaned against me so she wasn’t facing the guy anymore. “Is he still looking?” Her lips brushed my ear slightly.
“Oh, yeah.” He was scowling from across the room. Reese moved her mouth down my neck kissing and licking my skin. “He doesn’t look happy.” We were putting on a show. I had to keep her updated.
“I think he’s had enough.” Her lips were on my ear again. “Come on.” She slid her hand into mine and pulled me to the back door. The guy was still scowling. Right before we rejoined our friends, she dropped my hand and said, “Thanks, Coop.”
I nodded in response. We’d run the same scam a thousand times when people didn’t understand the meaning of no. I tried to act like this time was the same. But it was the first time her warm breath and lips against my skin had made my entire body feel seared.
*
Someone was pounding on my door. It had been going on for a while.
“Go away,” I shouted.
“Come on, V. It’s noon,” my little sister shouted back.
“Go away.” She ignored me. There was a scrape against the door that I knew was her stretching to reach the top. After a second, I heard a key slide into the lock and jiggle around. On top of a doorframe is a terrible place to hide a key. The door pushed open.
“Wake up.” She sat on my bed and started bouncing.
“Fuck off, Adriana.” I pulled the sheet over my head even though my room was already like eighty degrees.
“No, I need a ride.” She was fifteen and without transportation. Life was tough.
“Learn to walk.” It’s what I did at fifteen.
“It’s almost ninety out.” She stopped her bouncing and started to tug at the sheets. I gripped as hard as I could in my just-woke-up haze. The sheets were immediately yanked out of my hands. Ade put her head on my pillow inches from my face. I turned and stared into eyes so like mine it was freaky. They were a bright lime green, just like Dad’s. Most people thought we all wore contacts.
“Bring water,” I suggested as a remedy to the heat.
“I need to go to the Galleria.” I doubted she really needed to go to the mall. It didn’t matter anyway. We both knew I was going to drive her there.
“Ask Mom to take you.”
“She’s at work.” Coyly, she grinned at me. “I’ve got a Jamba card. If you want to stop, I’ll get yours.” Bribery always worked.
“Fine. Fine. Let me shower,” I said like I was doing her the biggest favor. Actually, I kind of was. “I’ll be ready soon.”
“Thanks. You’re awesome.”
“I’m just doing it for the smoothie.” I headed for the shower, leaving her on my bed.
*
“Did you tell Mom I was taking you to the mall?” I asked once we were in the car with our liquid breakfast.
“I texted her.” Adriana started playing with my stereo.
“You’re not supposed to text your mother. It’s disrespectful.” Someone had to teach her these important life lessons.
“I’ll remember that.”
“You know you’re getting to be a smartass.” I swatted her hand away from the stereo and plugged in my iPod.
“Can’t imagine where I learned that.” Pointedly, she stared at me.
“Gee, it will be so sad when you have to drive yourself.”
“What kind of car do you think Mom and Dad will buy me when I turn sixteen?” she asked, all spoiled innocence. “An Acura like yours?”
I almost pulled the car over. “You have got to be fuckin’ kidding.”
“What?”
I turned down the stereo so she could hear me. “I paid for half of this car.” Lovingly, I petted the dashboard. “And I paid for that stereo and this bass.” I turned it up again until her seat vibrated, then turned it back down. “I paid for the custom headlights and all the engine mods. I worked my ass off for this car, little sis. Our parents are not going to just give you one.”
“They still paid for most of it. I’m sure they’ll get me one.” For the first time, she looked a little worried. “Anyway, I’m the baby. You’re paving the way for me.” She was the most obnoxiously petulant brat I’d ever seen.
“Get over yourself.”
“Oh, whatever. You love me.” She was right.
“Let me put it this way. When I was fifteen and a half, I already had my permit and Dad left out the ads for me every morning. He would circle promising cars.”
“So?”
“How long until you turn sixteen?”
Slowly, she counted. “Two months.” For such a smart kid she was a little slow. “I haven’t finished driver’s ed yet. That’s why I don’t have my permit.” More like she couldn’t pass driver’s ed. “And Dad probably just doesn’t leave out the ads because he knows I wouldn’t know what to do with them. I’d look online. I want to see pictures.”
“You want advice? Get a job. Your chances of having a magical car drop into your lap are better that way.”
She looked horrified.
*
Austin was awesome. Not the best for picking up girls though. That’s why I loved Ryan. He knew what was up. But we were at the gay club, which meant Austin was my wingman and Ryan was at home getting stoned and watching James Bond movies. Ryan didn’t like to watch pretty girls all night if one of them wasn’t going to fuck him.
“What about that one?” Aus used his drink to indicate a very pretty boy.
“You are the worst wingman ever.” He was unconcerned.
“Okay, okay. There.”
“The one with the mullet?” It was a scene kid mullet, not a circa 1980s mullet.
“Mullets are soooo back.”
“Doesn’t make it okay,” I clarified. He shrugged. “There. By the bar.” I pointed subtly with my bottle.
Aus gave me a weird look. “Dark hair, dark eyes, short skirt? Looks kinda haughty? Not hottie, but haughty.” He giggled.
“That’s the one.”
“I can see her nipples from here.” He said it like it was a bad thing. “You notice anything about her?” I shook my head. I didn’t know what that meant. “She doesn’t remind you of anyone?”
“No, what do you mean?” She was super hot. Other than that, I didn’t know what the hell he was talking about.
“Nothing. Go get ’em, tiger.” It was an awkward sort of encouragement, kind of skeptical.
*
Her name was Andi. She seemed cool. And she didn’t want to dance. Big plus for me. She was fully content to lean against my Abercrombie shirt and tuck a hand into my belt. The warm breath on my neck was making me horny. It had been too long. Okay, my girlfriend had dumped me less than a week before, but I was young and I had needs.
Up close, her dimples were too deep for normalcy. Upon more careful inspection, I could see the piercing scars at the center of each.
“Those hurt?” I lightly touched one. She leaned in even closer.
“Not really.” The words poured from her thick, like honey. “I like getting new piercings.”
“I’ve never gotten one.”
Her eyes widened in shock. “Never?” There was a quick inspection of my ears, which were without adornment. “Ever think about it?”
“I guess.” I shrugged. It never seemed to be a priority to shove a metal bar through my skin. “Seems painful.”
“It’s not bad. Addicting though.” As we talked, her face seemed to get closer and closer to mine. Fine by me. Her breath smelled of mint and cloves. When she spoke, she whispered against my lips.
“I have plenty of vices. Promise.” Andi laughed in response. The laugh was what bothered me I decided. It was too infectious, too bubbly, giving the impression that she found everything funn
y. Maybe it wasn’t the laugh. Maybe I just didn’t feel like it. No, that couldn’t be it. I was twenty fucking years old. Anything that stood still long enough should have been potential humping material. And I was definitely horny. It was probably the laugh. I was contemplating the meaning behind that when I looked up. Reese was on the edge of the dance floor locked in a slow, sensuous grind with a gorgeous girl. Their heads were bent forward so their hair mingled together shielding their faces. The chick’s hand was delicately resting on Reese’s ass. I was instantly wet and disgusted at my body’s response.
I did the sensible thing and kissed the girl in front of me. I couldn’t take it anymore. At the velvet glide of her tongue, I braced my back against the wall, pulling her into me. She was holding on to my shirt like it might suddenly fall off. It was excruciating to keep my hands from sliding up that short skirt into the waiting heat. Instead, I dug my nails into the soft flesh of her thigh. Andi moaned into my mouth. She circled her fingers around my bicep and slid them down until they intertwined with mine against her leg. I thought she was going to push me away, but instead she directed my hand up. My fingertips brushed damp cotton. Just as I eased a finger underneath to push the underwear aside, she pulled away. Her eyes looked over bright and she was breathing damn hard.
“Let’s go.”
“Yeah,” I responded brilliantly. As she grabbed my hand and started dragging me toward the door, I looked up. Reese was still dancing, but her eyes were following my progress. To anyone else looking she would have appeared totally nonchalant and unconcerned with anything happening around her. If I didn’t know her brother so well, I would have seen the same thing as everyone else. Instead, I saw a sort of cold fury that she thought I was oblivious to. She was glaring with distaste at the girl dragging me. For a second, I deluded myself into reading jealousy in her expression. Then I realized it was what I always got from her, unbridled hatred. Reese saw me with a chick and assumed I was somehow manipulating the girl. Fuck Reese. The girls I hooked up with wanted me for what I could offer them, a couple hours of fun.
Dirty Sex Page 2