by C. L. Stone
He went to his bag, pulling out a tube of lip gloss and a small, brown, unidentifiable bottle. He placed the bottle on the counter and opened up the lip gloss. He pointed the brush tip toward my lips. “Pretend you’re kissing me,” he said, smirking.
A giggle escaped my mouth but I tried to pout my lips at him.
He laughed. “Fuck me, you’ve never kissed shit.”
“Hey!”
He squeezed my cheeks together until I was making a fish face. He applied the lip gloss. He mimicked a move with his lips as if I should press my lips together, so I did. He rewarded me with a pleased smile. “One more thing.” He threw the lip gloss back into the bag and picked up the bottle of liquid on the counter. He held it up for me. “I think this is you.”
I lifted an eyebrow at him, unsure of what he was talking about.
He uncorked the bottle and held it close to my face. “What do you think?”
I blinked in surprise at him but he held it up toward my nose. I breathed in the fragrance; a soft musk with a fruit and sweet undertone. Just the scent of it left me feeling excited and soothed at the same time. “I love it.”
He beamed, picking up my wrist to get me to hold it up. He dabbed the perfume onto his fingers, dropping some on each of my wrists and then at my neck.
“Forgive me,” he said. He leaned in to me close enough to put his nose to my neck and breathed in. When he drew back, his eyes rolled in his head and he sighed. “Oh yeah. That’s it.”
“Where did you get it?” I asked quietly.
“I made it.”
I tilted my head at him. “You? You make perfume?” Is that why he often smelled different every time I came near him? Did he experiment?
He smiled. “Sang, you don’t know the half of it.” He brushed his fingers through my hair again, nearly combing the new fragrance into it. He made me twirl once more. When I finished, he nodded, satisfied. “I’m going to step out and close the door. I’m going to pull those bozos in into the kitchen. Don’t come out until I come to get you. Okay?”
“Okay.”
He winked at me and had me stand behind the door so the others couldn’t peek in. He stepped outside, cursing at Luke who tried to wriggle past him.
As I waited for Gabriel, I checked myself in the mirror. The girl that stared back was a surreal look-a-like from what I’d looked this morning. My hair was the same chameleon color, straighter and silky. I had the same small nose and the same green eyes. The lip gloss was a tea rose pink, and matched the blush that swept over my cheeks and nose. The skirt’s lace swayed when I wobbled on the heels. Still, it was moderately conservative. With the socks high on my thighs, I was only showing maybe four inches of my skin. The style was playful and cute. There was something else in the black as well, and the boots. I wanted to say dangerous. Was that who I was?
Gabriel popped his head back in. “You ready?”
I released a puff of air. “No,” I said, but moved forward anyway. I wanted to get this over with.
Gabriel walked ahead of me, blocking my entrance into the kitchen. I spotted North and Silas first from over Gabriel’s shoulder. They were leaning against the far wall, heads tucked together as they talked. They turned their eyes on us, and they smirked in a way that told me they had seen this a hundred times before; Gabriel liked to make an entrance with his live dolls.
Gabriel side stepped.
I tiptoed forward to stand next to him, my eyes on the gray tiled kitchen floor. No matter how I tried, the smile wouldn’t leave my face. I resisted the urge to touch my lip, afraid of smudging the lip gloss.
A gasp drew my curiosity and I glanced up.
Heads were tilted, eyes were wide, mouths were open, all except Gabriel, who grinned like a madman.
At first I was worried they were horror struck that such a plain girl was all dressed up and that I looked ridiculous. Silas swallowed, his Adam’s apple bobbing and his lips parting again, his eyes narrowing on my boots and up again to the clothes and my face. Victor’s eyes erupted into a wildfire, sweeping over and over again along my body. Nathan whistled in a low tone. Luke’s head tilted in the other direction, and remained perfectly still as he stared. North roughed his fingers through his hair and away from his forehead. Kota’s cheeks were red and he mumbled something, but with my heart thundering in my ears I couldn’t catch it.
Gabriel was beaming. He hooked an arm around my neck to pull me close. “That’s the best reaction I’ve gotten out of them yet,” he said. “We should have picked you up a long time ago.”
Kota swallowed. “I’m not sure she should wear that to school. If Danielle wanted your clothes before, she’ll rip them from your body, now.”
“School?” North asked. “I don’t know if I want her leaving this house.”
Time Off For Good Behaivor
The guys collected our bags to walk over to Kota’s house. The new clothes were to remain on Nathan’s table for now. Gabriel only took out pajamas for that evening and a set of shorts and a t-shirt for the next morning. I wasn’t sure how Gabriel took over the decision of what I wore, but it seemed so important to him and I didn’t have the heart to question it. Part of me was grateful. I was always unsure of the right thing to wear and Gabriel’s decisions lightened my burdened mind. I already felt guilty that Victor bought the clothes. Letting Gabriel make decisions about them eased that. They weren’t my clothes. They were ours. Sort of.
The skirt did feel amazing. The lace tickled my thighs when I walked.
Gabriel wanted to walk over in front of Danielle’s house to parade me like a model in case she was watching. Kota and the others didn’t want to egg her on.
I was beside Nathan as we trailed behind the others. I stopped in the street, and glimpsed at my home down the road. Nathan paused, following my gaze to the two story gray house.
“I already checked on your mom,” he said, reading my thoughts. He wrapped his hand around mine, and tugged me toward Kota’s. “There was an empty soup cup by her bed. She was asleep. I made sure to leave some crackers for her. Marie wasn’t there.”
My eyebrows popped up. “You did all that?”
He nodded. “Luke checked on her while we were at the mall, too. She’s fine.”
“Maybe I shouldn’t sleep over,” I said softly, unsure if I wanted the others to hear. “My dad isn’t there. Should she be alone?” It felt wrong to abandon her. A couple of hours out, that was different. Usually my father came home in the evening and was there on the weekends to watch out for her. Now he wouldn’t be. Despite her mood swings, she was still sick, dying. What if she needed something in the middle of the night and no one was there?
Nathan’s blue eyes darkened and he squeezed my hand. “I’ll check on her again tonight. I promise. Okay? Try not to worry about it.”
“If you’re sure,” I relented. She wasn’t his responsibility. Was it selfish to let him so I could enjoy the night out?
His serious face lightened. “You’re too sweet for your own damn good.”
My cheeks warmed again as he tugged my hand, holding it.
We were almost to Kota’s drive when North paused, turned around and faced the opposite side of the road. He cupped his hands around his eyes against the sun’s glare.
I turned, as did Nathan. Everyone stopped.
Micah and Tom were headed down the road together behind us. Tom was waving. Micah looked annoyed. Behind them trailed Jessica. I wondered if they were actually friends, but I realized that on this small street, those boys might be the only kids her age within walking distance. Or maybe she was friends with Tom. He seemed nice.
Their group caught up with us. “What are you guys doing?” Tom asked, and he eyeballed me. “Is there a school dance or something?”
Gabriel smirked. “Not tonight.”
Jessica shared a look with me, and a small smile. I took it to mean she liked the clothes. It made me feel a little more comfortable in them. “You’re staying the night?” she asked.
“Yes, I think so. Aren’t you?”
She shook her head. “I’m waiting on a ride to my other friend’s house. I’d stay but I promised her two weeks ago I’d go to her sleepover.”
She didn’t think anything was wrong with me sleeping with the guys at her house. That made me feel better, too.
Micah blew a raspberry. “That’s it? You’re sleeping at Kota’s? She made it sound like you were doing something kinky.”
Kota lifted an eyebrow. “She who?”
“Danielle,” Micah said. “She was going to pay us twenty dollars to come take a photograph of Sang and you all being stupid.”
Silent communication flew between faces of the boys. A photo?
“I think she meant to put her on Facebook,” Tom said. “Or maybe Photoshop her face onto a pig or something. I wasn’t going to take a horrible one.”
“You guys are the worst spies,” Luke said. “Don’t you know if you’re going to take secret photos that you’re not supposed to tell?”
“I don’t care,” Micah said. “I was going to take one picture. It’s all high school drama to me. Personally, I couldn’t care less. Danielle’s stupid.”
I looked at the guys, but it was Nathan who caught my glance. His expression mimicked my own concern. This wasn’t just stealing my clothes. This sounded more like she didn’t like me at all and was trying to get… revenge? I didn’t understand why.
“Jessica,” Kota said, disappointment dripping from his tone. “I can’t believe you’d agree to this.”
“I wasn’t there,” Jessica said. “I was leaving the church and when I walked past on my way home, she stopped talking to them. She wouldn’t talk to me.”
“Here,” Luke said. He pulled out a wallet from his back pocket, unfolded four twenties, and passed two to Micah and two to Tom. “I’ll pay you both double to take a picture of someone’s butt and tag Danielle on Facebook.”
Tom brightened, taking the money. “I bet I can get Derrick to post it on a day she isn’t able to log in. Maximum exposure.”
“Then it’ll be your butt on her page,” Micah said. “But fine. We’ll do that.” He turned around, heading back down the road. Tom followed. Jessica stayed with us.
“Should we be pranking her like this?” Victor asked.
“Probably not,” Kota said, but he turned, heading back toward his house. “But I let her get away with stealing Sang’s clothes. This will show her we’re not going to sit by idly any more. If she wants to humiliate Sang in some way, she’ll have to take on all of us, too.”
The others muttered in agreement.
My heart thumped, and I tried to smother the feeling that I was very happy about this decision.
Kota led the way to his front door, pulling his keys out of his pocket and unlocking it. He entered and held it open for us to join him in the foyer. Jessica floated past all of us, heading down the hallway to her room.
“Kota?” his mother called from deep in the house. “Is that you guys?”
Nathan released my hand. My fingertips tingled as he had held on so tightly, but I wondered why he let go as soon as Kota’s mother sounded close. Was it bad we were holding hands?
“It’s us,” Luke called to her. “We’re home.”
I smiled at the thought of him saying it as if we all lived there together.
Erica came out from a hallway. Her green eyes lit up and she smiled. She reached out and wrapped her arms around Luke’s neck, who was the closest, and kissed his cheek. He air kissed hers and stood back. She did the same with everyone, lastly me.
When she finished hugging me, she stepped back, still holding on to my hands and looking over the clothes I was wearing.
“Oh my goodness,” she said. “You are adorable.”
“Gabriel,” I tried to explain, but it felt awkward to finish the sentence. He helped me buy the clothes? He dressed me?
Erica shook her head and pressed fingers to her lips quickly. “Oh yeah, he’s good. This is gorgeous.” She hugged me again and whispered in my ear. “I’m so glad you’re here.”
I blinked rapidly, trying not to tear up. Did she mean it? Was I really wanted?
She stepped back and we moved into the living room together. Our bags were dropped against the far wall. Silas and North sunk into the couch. The others took the floor with Kota and Luke disappearing. Loud thudding thundered from Kota’s stairwell. They returned with huge bean bag chairs.
“All right,” Gabriel said. “It’s about f... time.” He glanced at Erica, but relaxed when she didn’t appear to notice the slight slip.
The beanbags were all the same dark blue color, big enough to sit two people and they were about as high up off the ground as the couch. It took a couple of trips to get all four downstairs. The coffee table was moved against another wall beside the bookshelves to make room.
I wasn’t quite sure where to sit until Silas scooted over on the couch and patted the seat next to him. I sat down between him and North, feeling oddly tiny next to them.
“Okay, kids,” Erica said over the chatter. Everyone else collapsed into the bean bag chairs and quieted. “Quick rule check. Since Sang’s here, we have to change it up slightly.”
“Aw man,” Gabriel said, but he was grinning.
“Everyone sleeps downstairs tonight,” she said, pointing to the blue carpet. “Not that I don’t trust you boys, but I want Sang to be comfortable. Besides, I don’t know if all eight of you will fit upstairs together.”
I leaned into Silas. “Do you all do this often?”
Silas nodded. “Either here or at Victor’s house. The rest of us have small rooms in our houses so it’s kind of tough with all of us.”
“Also,” Erica continued. “If I hear from Sang you guys are picking on her, I’ll beat you senseless. She’s a girl so treat her like a lady.”
There was a collection of giggles.
“Other than that, the house is yours. I know it is still kind of early but what do we want for dinner?”
“Sang has to make it,” Nathan said. “She lost.”
“They cheated,” I said, but they all laughed. I did, too.
“That’s good,” Erica said and she winked at me. “Since you have to cook, you get to pick. We’ll worry about it later.” She waved her hand in the air as if dismissing us. “Other than that, try not to break anything expensive and...”
“Don’t set the house on fire,” they all chorused.
My eyes widened and I looked at Silas.
“Long story,” he said.
Maybe I was a little jealous that they had spent all these years together and I was just starting to get to know them all. Would I ever know these tiny secrets they shared?
Erica said she’d be in her room and to call on her if she was needed. She disappeared down the hallway. Jessica appeared a second later and barely waved to us as she headed out the front door. She had an overnight bag attached to her shoulder, so I guessed she was leaving for her sleepover. I was going to be alone with the boys.
Kota found the remote to the television and the others were trying to decide if they wanted to watch something or play a video game.
North stretched and settled back into the couch, his arm going around my shoulder. Had he waited until Kota’s mother was gone to do it?
North sniffed at the air and leaned toward me. He pushed his nose to my neck and he inhaled deeply. “What is that?” he asked, sitting back. His intense dark eyes and the curl of his lips made my insides twist.
“Something Gabriel made.”
“What is it?” Silas asked. He put his nose to my neck and breathed in. “It’s sweet. Soft.” He straightened again. “It’s a good match.”
My cheeks tingled with heat. “How’s the diner going?” I asked, deflecting.
“It’s missing a couple of walls now,” North said. “The freezer is installed. We’re waiting on the delivery of some little things and we need an inspection. Needs new paint. We should be up and running in a couple
of weeks.”
“Can I help?”
He turned his head to me, his dark eyes curious. “Willingly?”
I smirked. “I think I can hold a paintbrush better than a sledge hammer.”
They both laughed.
“We’ll call you if we need help,” North said. “Besides, you do owe me a day of work.”
“It doesn’t have to be a favor. Really. I’ll come help. I’m right up the road. I can come when you want.”
North’s eyes softened. “Just don’t get into trouble.”
“She is Trouble,” Gabriel said. He was on his feet and walked over to me, holding out a hand. “Come on. I want to see that skirt work.”
I didn’t quite understand what he meant, but I let him take my hand and stood up, wobbling slightly on the heels of the boots. Gabriel guided me until he was at the corner of the room where there was a stereo system. He found the power button and was flicking through CDs to pick out something to play. He found a Relient K album and popped it into the player. He hit the play button and twisted the volume up to ‘ear ringing’.
My hands started to shake and my heart was thudding. Did he want me to dance?
Gabriel wriggled his hips and bobbed his head to the beat. He snapped at me and slipped forward, his hands positioned on my hips. I panicked, my hands fluttered on their own to his chest. He smirked and started pushing my hips until I moved with the music at the same pace he did. Once we were dancing together, the anxiety started fading. I just swam in a bikini with these guys. What was dancing now?
Gabriel let go of my hips and I swayed to the music on my own. I bent my knees a little and swung my arms close around my head like he did.
His crystal blue eyes lit up. His lips parted and he sang along as he danced. This caught me off guard and I almost stopped moving. His voice was so smooth and beautiful. He smiled at me as he sang, reached out to put an arm around my waist and started swaying with me again. His cheek met mine; his voice filled my ears until he was the only thing I could hear.
He backed off again and I wondered where he was going. Sensing someone behind me, I spun, and nearly wobbled on my high heels, finding Luke. He grabbed my hands and danced with me, too. Nathan got up on his feet, and the four of us danced and laughed together. Nathan wasn’t quite as good a dancer, but it looked like he was having fun. I felt ungraceful and ridiculous, but their smiles were encouraging. I didn’t want to stop.