by Shealy James
I felt my cheeks turn an uncomfortable shade of red. “Oh hush, Sarah! Things are great…really great.”
“I bet they are,” Alexis muttered stopping us in our tracks. The three of us turned around to face her. Sarah still had the curling iron her hand, but thankfully she didn’t have my hair wrapped around it when my head whipped around.
“You bet they are what?” Sarah asked.
Alexis lifted her lips in a sneer that made me nervous to hear what was about to come out of her mouth. “I bet things are great…with Parker. When we were together the first time, he was kind of a mess. It was quick and he fumbled a little, but he was a quick learner. Soon he was giving me multiple orgasms and was willing to try anything and everything. There isn’t a place on my body that he hasn’t been. Not just me though. By the first time we had a threesome, he knew what he was doing. He was all sexy alpha male with us, and we all left knowing that nothing would top that…nothing. You know that thing he does with his tongue? Well, you may not yet, but you will when it happens. You can thank me for that.”
Time stood still. No one said anything. I stood there frozen with my jaw on the floor and my unblinking eyes wide open. I imagine that Becca and Sarah were in similar situations because neither of them even attempted to move or say anything.
Alexis rolled her eyes dramatically. “Don’t look so surprised. You know Parker and I have been fucking for years.” She emphasized fucking as if she wanted to rub it in my face, like she was implying it was still happening.
Sarah started to charge towards Alexis with the hot curling iron, and I grabbed her to keep her from burning the crazy bitch in my bedroom. Becca calmly walked past us and politely said, “Excuse me,” as she left the room. Sarah slammed the bathroom door and locked it then dropped the curling iron on the counter.
“What the fuck was that?” Sarah snapped.
I could hardly form a coherent sentence. “I don’t know. Give me…Give me…a minute or…an hour to process this. I think…I think…I’m in shock. Did she say-”
“Yeah.”
“And they?”
“Yup.”
“And he-”
“Uh-huh.”
“I-”
“Right!”
We were both in shock. We just sat on the floor of my bathroom staring at each other replaying those disgusting words over and over in our heads. It wasn’t long before Sarah got up and walked out. She was on a mission. I watched her leave then closed and locked the door behind knowing that it wouldn’t be long before the cavalry was storming in here. I just needed another minute to wrap my head around everything that had just happened. I still had no idea what I was feeling, but I knew what I felt wasn’t good. No one wants to know that much about their boyfriend and his skanky pseudo ex-girlfriend.
Max
We had been waiting on the girls to get ready for almost an hour when Becca came into the game room looking very serious. She wasn’t dressed and her hair was still pulled back like she wears it when she is putting on her makeup. Her hands were clenched into fists and she looked like she might cry at any moment.
“Beck?” I said when she walked in the room. She didn’t answer. “Beck, What’s wrong?” I walked over and wrapped my arms around her.
She looked up at me and spoke quietly. “I think it’s time someone took Alexis home.”
I didn’t understand. “What? Why? What did she do?”
Before Becca could answer me, Sarah stormed in the room. Her cheeks were bright red, and I swear I could see smoke coming from her ears. “That fucking bitch has to go. NOW!”
Billy took that as his cue seeing as I was holding an upset Becca and Parker and Grady were looking between the girls with confusion and rage written all over their faces.
“Babe,” Billy said calmly, “What happened?”
“Alexis has to go! I’m not kidding, Billy. I told you it was a bad idea to bring her, but you said Grady would watch over her. No one was watching over her just now!”
“What happened?” Parker asked angrily and started clenching his fists.
Sarah looked at him and cocked her head. I swear, for a moment Sarah’s eyes turned red. I had never seen her this angry. Parker was screwed. “Oh Parker. It isn’t what she did; it’s what you did together. Did you enjoy your threesome or fucking every part of her body? That thing you do with your tongue? Nice.” Sarah spoke quickly and her sarcasm dripped with disdain.
As Sarah spoke Parker’s face turned white, and I couldn’t tell if he was in shock or angry until I saw his fists clench so tightly that his knuckles turned white. Then he tried to dart out of the room. Thankfully Billy was by the door and was able to catch him otherwise I don’t think he would have cared that Alexis was a petite girl. He was ready to string her up by her ankles.
“Let me go, Billy!” Parker growled.
“Not until you calm down, man.”
“Let me go talk to Maggie.”
“Not while you’re both upset. You need to take a walk,” Billy gave him a little push towards the French doors that led to the beach. Parker backed away for a moment and started tugging on his hair.
Billy was probably the only one of us strong enough to hold Parker back. Grady slipped out of the room presumably to take care of Alexis just as Sarah started back up.
“I don’t know about you, Parker, but that would have been the last thing I wanted my girlfriend to know about me, especially when you have a girl as perfect as Maggie.”
“Enough Sarah!” Billy barked.
“Fine!” She snapped back. “I’m going to check on her, and you should do what Billy said and go for a walk.” Sarah stuck her finger in Billy’s face and said, “That slut better be gone by the time I get out of that room or your ass will never be able to pound on these drums again.”
Sarah stormed out of the room and Becca sullenly followed her back to Maggie. The three of us just stood there for a moment before Parker started pacing. He started alternating between rubbing his face and tugging on his hair. I couldn’t imagine being in his shoes, but at the moment I was a little more worried about Maggie. Parker was too because he stormed out of the room only to come back a minute or two later. I was guessing that the girls sent him away to give Maggie time to think.
He sunk down onto one of the wicker chairs and rested his elbows on his knees with his head hanging down. “What am I going to do, Max? She won’t talk to me. The girls won’t even let me near her right now.”
“Is it all true?” I reluctantly asked.
“Unfortunately. I told you I was out of control in high school. I was willing to try anything. It wasn’t personal; it was…experimental.”
“Give her time to think then tell her the truth. I would also keep Alexis as far away from both of you as possible. How would you feel if Maggie had an ex she used to experiment with? Would you want to hang out with him?”
With that I left the room to go check on my best friend who was probably beyond confused and in need of some space. I found all three girls on the floor of the bathroom. They would only open the door when I confirmed that I was in fact alone. After a few moments of being in the bathroom with three fuming women, I decided it would be best if Maggie didn’t continue to sit in that pit of despair any longer. I pulled Maggie up from the floor and led her out to the loungers on the beach. We used to lie there when we were kids and look at the stars. I knew she found it peaceful, and if I could give her a little bit of peace after an hour of chaos, then I had done my job.
After a while Maggie turned to me. “I know it shouldn’t bother me because it’s in the past, but it does. What if that’s what he wants in a relationship? I’m not going to do those things.”
I looked at her and saw the worry in her sad eyes. Of course Maggie would turn this around so the problem was she wasn’t enough. I wondered if the words of her mother ever stop haunting her. I went with words of comfort rather than bringing up her mom again. “If he wanted what she had to offer, then he would
be with Alexis or a girl like her. He doesn’t expect you to have threesomes or whatever else she said.”
“You would think, but we only started having sex the other day. What if he thought we would get there eventually?”
I was surprised. They had been sleeping in the same bed for months. I knew Maggie wouldn’t sleep with just anyone, but I was surprised to hear that Parker had waited so long. “Wait…your first time was here? What have y’all been doing all those other times you’ve been sleeping in the same bed?”
“Sleeping. Cuddling. Talking. Not having wild monkey sex with each other and whoever else wants to join in. What did you expect? Just because we were behind closed doors, I was giving it up? Come on. You know me better than that.”
“I do, but you mean to tell me that Parker Pryce, “sex god extraordinaire,” according to you girls, waited months to have sex with you? I think that alone is saying something, Maggie Anne.” I made quotations with my fingers when calling Parker a sex god to make sure it was clear that was not something that I would ever call him.
“Don’t call me by both names,” she frowned then sat up like a light bulb just went off in her head. “You think he was sleeping with someone else?” She asked surprised.
“No moron! I think he wants more with you. All he wanted from Alexis was sex, and had she held back, do you think he would have stuck around? No. With you he wants a life. It’s obvious to everyone how much he loves you. Don’t make him pay for making mistakes when he was seventeen years old.”
“That wasn’t that long ago, Max.”
“No, but he was a different person then. He had just lost his mom. He stopped playing the piano. His dad was giving him a hard time. Alexis was available to take his mind off of it, and what seventeen year old guy would say no to an older girl willing to take her clothes off and do crazy things?”
Maggie looked at me disgusted. “Really? That’s all it takes?”
“Teenage years aren’t known as the responsible years. Beggars can’t be choosers and all that.”
“Gross.” I shrugged as I laughed, and Maggie smiled as she leaned against my shoulder and slid her hand in mine. “Thanks Max.”
“Anytime Maggie Anne. You ready to go inside?”
“No. I just want a few more minutes of peace, and don’t call me by both names.”
I rested my head on hers and whispered, “Ok.”
A moment later she said, “Max?”
“Yeah?”
“What’s gonna happen after graduation?”
“What do you mean?”
“What if you aren’t around anymore?”
I closed my eyes to fight the stabbing pain I felt in my chest. Maggie and I had never been apart, and suddenly there was a chance that we were going to have to survive the real world without each other. We knew this and talked about it, but the idea of not being there for her if something bad happened physically hurt me. For years it had been me and Maggie against the world, and I couldn’t get my brain to be ok with the fact that Maggie would have to face some problems on her own. I didn’t want her to ever have to do anything alone.
“Mags, we talked about this. I’ll always be here for you. I’m always going to be a phone call, car ride, or plane ride away, and you’ll always be here for me. If Becca’s the other half of my heart, then you’re the other half of my soul. Distance doesn’t break a soul.”
“Max,” she gasped. “That was the most romantic thing you have ever said!”
I groaned. “Don’t tell anyone. I don’t want anyone to know having a girlfriend has made me soft.”
“Aww…you’ve always been soft. I just let you think otherwise.”
She patted me like a puppy, so I squeezed her side making her squeal and squirm away. Once we settled back in our spots, I told her the one thing that would always be true, “I love you, Mags.”
Without hesitation she said, “I love you too, Max.”
Chapter 5
Parker
I had been waiting all night to talk to Maggie, and she was still outside with Max well after midnight, making me wonder if she would ever come inside. I knew better than to interrupt their time. I just had to be patient and let Max work his magic.
Tonight had been a cluster fuck. I don’t know what Alexis was thinking, but if it hadn’t been for Billy and Grady getting her out of here, I think I would have snapped. She looked so pleased with herself until Sarah got a hold of her as she was walking out the door. Billy and Grady wouldn’t hold back either once they had her alone in the car.
I didn’t know what her goal was tonight, but if it was to get exiled from my life she went about it in all of the right ways. There wasn’t one person in this world I would pick over Maggie. She was it for me. Pops and Preston knew it. Max, Sarah, and Becca knew it. Billy and Grady knew it. The only person who had apparently missed the memo was Alexis.
My phone went off and I glanced down to find a text from Max.
Max: M
That was my signal. We devised it a long time ago when we needed relief from the girls. We loved the girls, but sometimes it was helpful to have the other one there, especially if alcohol was involved. We could text a single letter, any letter, without looking at our phones, so the girls never knew.
This time he wasn’t looking for help though. He was relieving me from my misery of waiting to see what my fate with Maggie would be. I had run all different scenarios in my head. I imagined her breaking up with me or stopping our sex life cold and even kneeing me in the balls for being such a dumbass. I would take the knee to the balls before the other two if I were telling the truth. I should just thank my lucky stars that Maggie didn’t still run to her dad when she was upset. If her dad knew any of the bullshit Alexis had spouted, I wouldn’t have to worry about him chopping off my nuts like he threatened when I first met him. He would kill me and dump my body in the Gulf Stream like Dexter does. Jim had a boat and knives. He could easily chop my body up into bits, wrap me up in trash bags and feed me to the fish.
My phone buzzed again.
Max: ?
I realized then that I was stalling. I was actually afraid to talk to Maggie. It had to be done though. I had to face the fact that my past might be too much for her to handle. Sweet, innocent Maggie didn’t need to be corrupted by my irresponsible past.
I walked out the French doors and headed to the beach. When I rounded the other side of the loungers, I found Maggie and Max snuggled together holding hands. Anger ran through me before I could stop it. It drove me crazy that she let Max comfort her and not me even when I was the one who caused the problem. I wanted to be everything to her, but I knew she would always need him. They had an unspeakable bond that only comes with years of unfailing support. When others would let them down, they were always there for the other, and time wasn’t something I could compete with. Normally I didn’t mind, but it threw me off seeing them curled up together after a night like tonight.
I took a deep breath and calmed down. “Hey,” I said. I know, I know…clever opener, right? Maggie’s eyes opened but didn’t meet mine.
“Hey,” Max responded. “Mags, you ready to talk to Parker?”
She nodded and released Max when she sat up straight. He climbed off the lounger and stopped beside me. “Thanks for coming. I’ve had to pee for an hour. Just tell her the truth.” He patted my back as he walked past me leaving us in desolate silence.
“Can I sit?”
She nodded and I sat down next to her, but we weren’t touching. She looked up at me with sad eyes.
“Baby, I don’t even really know what to say other than I’m sorry. I have been waiting all night to talk to you, and I’m sorry was the best I could come up with.”
She looked confused. “Sorry? For what?”
This was the problem. I didn’t know what she needed to hear. I exhaled with frustration. “I don’t know. Everything. For letting Alexis stay here. For letting her tell you things that you should never have to know. For those thin
gs happening in the first place. For her being in your life at all. For her being in my life. For every wrong thing I have ever done that has hurt you. For everything I did when I should have been waiting for you instead.”
“Oh, Parker,” she said as she moved to straddle my lap, so we were connected and facing each other. My arms automatically wrapped around her, and I instantly felt better having her touching me. “You act like today was your fault. Sure, I wish you hadn’t done some of those things, especially with a girl like Alexis who is so disrespectful she would share your personal history in a room full of people. That’s not why I’m upset though.”
I must have missed something. “Why are you upset then?” I asked out of genuine confusion.
“I don’t know. Part of me hates that you had all of that with someone else, but then I reap the benefits of all that practice, so I can’t complain too much.”
“Maggie!” I said surprised by her words and a little relieved if I was being honest. She somehow found a positive in this mess.
“What?” She asked with a smile. “I know a lot of girls’ first experiences are terrible. You knew what you were doing with my body and took care of me just like you have every time we have been together. You wouldn’t have been able to take such good care of me had you not had so much experience.”
“Ok. Well, I’m glad you found one good thing about my past, but what about the rest? Everyone knows I made some questionable choices, but you knowing just how…experimental I have been bothers me. I can’t imagine if I had just found that out about you. The thought alone makes me homicidal.” I pulled her closer to me trying to erase the thoughts of Maggie with anyone else.
“Good thing you don’t have to worry about that then,” she smirked before pausing. Exhaling loudly, I could see her face turn serious. “I think I was upset because I have always been worried about being enough for you. I don’t know that I’ll ever be the lady in the parlor, cook in the kitchen, and tiger in the bedroom kind of woman. I’m just worried that one day you’ll wake up and be disappointed. We are still so young, and you could have anyone-”