“You’re going back to school next week, huh?”
“Yeah, I am.”
“I’ve enjoyed having you here for the last couple of weeks. You’re good with cars, but I figured you would be. After all, you’re a chip off the old block.” He pulled me close and rubbed his knuckles along the top of my head.
“Thanks, Dad.” I savored the moment and pulled away. “I’ll miss the shop.”
“You could work here after school, and on the weekends, if you want to. Maybe save up so we could fix up an old beater in the next couple of years for you. What do you say?”
I jumped at the offer. Dad offered me solace in the garage. He gave me time away from Brielle. “Yeah, I’d love that.”
“As long as you can keep your grades up, that is.”
“I’ll keep them up, I promise.”
“Good. Let’s get the shop cleaned up and close up for the night. You have one more weekend of freedom before high school, son, you better enjoy it. Maybe you and Brielle could do something?” he suggested.
I shrugged and put away some tools we’d been using. “I don’t think so.”
“I wish you kids could be friends…after all, I’m thinking about making our situation a little more permanent.”
I gaped at him in horror. “What?”
“I got a ring picked out for Lisa. I’m happy, Carter. Really, really happy. For the first time in a long time. You wouldn’t deny your old man happiness, would you?”
“No, of course not, Dad. I am happy for you.”
“Good. Then it’s settled. I’m going to be asking her before Halloween.”
Dread filled my stomach. He was serious. He would to ask Lisa to marry him. Brielle would really be my stepsister.
Part Two - The Middle
Chapter Five
“I can’t believe she said yes!” Kirby groaned before shoving another nacho into his mouth. I finally had my best friend to myself for the first time in I didn’t know how long. Mindy was suction cupped to his side twenty-four seven. They seemed happy, though. I just missed Kirby.
“Oh yeah, she did. Brielle is thrilled.”
“And you?”
“I hate it. It’s bad enough that she has to live in my fucking house, but she’s like ‘we’re going to be brother and sister.’ It’s sick.” I ate a couple of nachos and sucked down half my soda.
“I can’t believe you still have the hots for her. I’ll tell you what. I’ll hook you up with Mindy’s friend, Gabby. She’s cute.”
I wrinkled my nose. Gabby Denver was average, at best. She was maybe a solid four, where Brielle was a ten. Gabby also had this annoying habit of chewing the ends of her braids and licking her super dry lips constantly. It would be like kissing a snake. “No thanks.”
“Come on! Think about it. The girls are already friends. That means if we double date, they’ll be talking to each other and we can bro hang.” Kirby pleaded. Apparently he’d missed me as much as I missed him.
“Fine, one date.”
“Great, man, you won’t regret it.”
Oh, how wrong he was. I regretted it. Several girls had hit on me since school started. I had worked out on and off, even though Kirby hadn’t kept up with his end of the bargain, and between that and working at the shop, I had bulked up a little. I was no body builder, but I looked all right.
The problem with all the girls who hit on me was that they weren’t her. Brielle looked better than ever. Being in a two-parent household agreed with her and she’d dropped the ghetto fabulous attire again to become the perfect princess again. Everyone at school scrambled to keep up.
She walked past our table and I forced my gaze away from her impossibly long legs clad in thin leggings. Her skirt was ridiculously tight and short, and Lisa had refused to let her out of the house without leggings on.
“Earth to Carter!” Kirby yelled and I looked back at him in annoyance.
“What?”
“I said, what about Friday night for a double date?”
“Sure, why not?” It would be better than lying in bed and thinking about Brielle while she was out of the house partying and getting high. I’d casually mentioned to Dad that her window was opened a lot, but he wouldn’t do anything about it. Maybe he expected me to be sneaking out too.
I had nothing to sneak out for.
My days blurred together in a whirlwind of skating through classes, eating lunch with Kirby and his girlfriend, lusting after Brielle, hating Brielle, working at the shop, and dreaming about Brielle. I was a mess. That’s why I forgot my date with Gabby. I hadn't changed out of my shop clothes when Kirby beat on my door.
“What are you doing here?” I asked, as I took a long drink of my bottle of water.
“Uh, hello, we have a date tonight,” Kirby reminded me.
I choked on my water when Brielle snickered, “Going gay?” as she sashayed down the hallway.
“Buzz off, Barbie,” Kirby snapped. She flipped him off and he rolled his eyes. “You wish!” Turning his attention back to me he groaned. “You look like a grease monkey.”
“I am a grease monkey.”
“Go get a shower. We are supposed to meet them at the pizza parlor in twenty minutes! It’ll take us fifteen to walk there.”
“Don’t worry,” my dad told him, popping up behind my shoulder and nearly scaring the shit out of me. “I’ll drive you boys. I’m glad you have a date, Carter.”
I was stuck between a rock and a hard place. I had to go on the date with Snake Lips. “Okay, let me get a shower.”
I darted upstairs and took the fastest shower of my life. Drying off quickly I pulled on some jeans and an old band shirt of my dad’s. They were soft, comfortable and cool. Hopping downstairs, I jerked on my shoes and held my arms out for inspection. “Do I look okay?” I asked Kirby, who gave me a panicked thumbs up.
“Five minutes!” he hissed.
“You look like a loser,” Brielle called from her perch on the couch. She looked to be staying in, which was highly unusual for Friday night.
“Takes one to know one,” I snapped back and she pretended to be wounded.
“Ouch,” she smirked, gripping her chest. “You do bite.”
“Come on, boys. Let’s go,” Dad ushered us outside to his car and we loaded inside. He drove to the pizza parlor and he dropped us at the front door. “Carter, you good on money?”
He’d been paying me a little bit here and there, and I’d been saving it. I was okay for the night. “I’m good, thanks.”
“Be home by eleven,” he called as he pulled away and I smoothed my hair to relieve some anxiety.
“We’re on time. Thank God. Mindy will withhold sex if I piss her off,” Kirby confessed. We walked into the parlor and I winced at the music pouring from the juke box. Lights were dimmed and couples filled the place near to bursting. Mindy and Gabby sat in a booth together, and I was shocked to see Gabby.
Her long, dark hair was actually out of her trademark braids, and she actually looked kinda cute. She wore a tight T-shirt that showed off her boobs to an advantage, and it looked like she’d applied Chapstick. Her lips weren’t scaly.
I slid into the booth beside her and Kirby sat beside Mindy. “Sorry we’re a little late,” I offered. “My dad drives slow.”
“You’re actually on time,” Mindy smiled at me. “Gabby and I just got some sodas.”
“Great,” I looked at Gabby again and she blushed. She wasn’t half bad. Maybe I could give her a five or a six. “I’m glad we’re doing this,” I told her, and her flush deepened.
“Me too.”
“Let’s order some food, I’m starving!” Kirby interrupted and broke the tension that blossomed between Gabby and me.
“Sounds good.” I tore my gaze away from hers and picked up a menu. “What’ll it be, ladies?”
“I refuse to eat anchovies,” Mindy gagged.
“No peppers,” Gabby murmured so softly I could barely hear her.
“So no anchovies or
peppers. How about a pepperoni pie?” I suggested.
“Make it two,” Kirby groaned. “I’m famished.”
Mindy swatted his arm playfully. “Oh Kirbikins,” she cooed, “you’re always hungry!”
I tried to wipe the smirk from my lips. “Yeah, Kirbikins,” I teased, “you’re always hungry.”
Kirby pointed at me and growled, “You shut the hell up.”
“I’ll never let you live it down,” I chortled. My laughter died in my throat as Brielle walked into the parlor.
She had made herself up and put on a skin tight stretchy dress that barely came halfway down her thighs. She towered over most people in heels. My face must’ve given me away because Kirby turned to look and I heard him mumble, “Shit.”
Brielle saw me and a predatory smile crossed her glossy lips. She strode to my table and propped a hip against it. “Hey there, baby brother,” she breathed, leaning close to press a kiss to my cheek.
My eyes closed and I savored the sticky soft feel of her gloss on my cheek and her breath against my skin. “What are you doing here, Brielle?” I asked as she withdrew.
“Just stopping by to say hello. Hello.” She waved at everyone at the table. The girls didn’t seem too amused to have her standing there.
“Hello,” Kirby said coldly. “Now leave.”
“Ooh, are you that nasty to your girlfriend?” Brielle pouted. “Carter, are you here on a date with your little girlfriend?”
She leaned across me and held out her hand to Gabby. Her tits swung inches from my face. “She’s not my girlfriend. Yet.” I added for good measure, pushing her back. “This is Gabby.”
“Hi, Brielle,” Gabby smiled tightly. “We have geometry together.”
“That’s right!” Brielle grinned. “You’re the girl who chews her braids. Wow, Carter, you aimed high, didn’t you?”
“Excuse me?” Mindy squealed, and Kirby had to restrain her to keep her from climbing over our sodas and ripping blonde hair out of Brielle’s pretty head.
“That’s uncalled for, Brielle.”
“What? I’m just shocked you got a girl to go out with you. I mean, you do know he’s in love with me, right, honey? And if you give him your cherry, he’ll be thinking about me the whole time,” Brielle tossed her hair over her shoulder and smiled again.
I jumped up from the booth. “Excuse us.” I grabbed her elbow and jerked her out of the parlor. We ended up in the alleyway behind the restaurant. “What the fuck’s wrong with you?” I yelled.
“Ooh, I like this side of you. You pissed off is moderately hot. Are you going to hit me?”
“Why would I hit you?”
“And just like that, you’re no longer appealing,” she sighed and leaned up against the slimy brick wall.
“Why are you ruining my date?” I ran my hand through my hair and then jammed both hands in the pockets of my jeans. Truthfully, I did want to strangle her.
“Because I can.”
“I don’t want you. I want to go on my date with Gabby, a girl who might actually want to get to know me and might actually care.”
“You’re such a liar,” Brielle whispered, pushing away from the wall. She moved slowly toward me and the flickering streetlight made her look almost angelic.
“I’m not a liar,” I insisted. I was powerless against her charms and the bitch knew it. “I don’t want you.”
“You protest too much,” she murmured, rubbing her breasts against my chest. I kept my hands in my pockets.
“Leave me alone.”
“She’ll never make you hot like I do.”
“Why can’t you just leave me alone?”
“Because I don’t want anyone else to have you just in case I decide I want you later on.” She twined her arms around my neck and gazed into my eyes. “I just might.”
“Who says I’ll be waiting on you?”
Her eyes lit up and she smiled slowly. “You will be.” Her fingers trailed against my thigh, too close to the appendage that throbbed incessantly whenever she was around. “You will be.”
Kirby found us that way a few seconds later. “God dammit, Carter!” he growled, pulling us apart. Brielle danced back on her heels, almost falling. “What the hell’s wrong with you?”
Her spell broke and I shook my head to clear the cobwebs. “I don’t know.”
“You, Satan temptress, go the hell home. Leave Carter alone. Let him be happy. For Christ’s sakes!” Kirby screamed at Brielle, who shrugged and turned to leave.
She looked over her shoulder at me and smiled again. My heart tripped painfully in my chest. “Think about what I said. You know it’s true.”
Kirby socked me in the shoulder and I cried out in pain. “Shit, what did you do that for?”
“You’re such a dumb ass! Gabby is in there bawling her eyes out. Mindy is ready to take her home. I come to find you and you’re almost letting her give you a handie in an alleyway. What the fuck is wrong with you?”
“She wasn’t giving me a handie,” I argued. “She was just…”
“Stroking your junk through your pants. It’s a handie.” Kirby groaned and rubbed his eyes. “I don’t get why you’re so hard on for her. Do you need to get laid? Then butter up Gabby and get her to give up the goods.”
“It’s not that.”
“Then what is it?”
“I don’t know.” I did know. It was that Brielle always looked to me to be the one to save her. Or maybe I just took on the role as a kid. It was a hard habit to break when I could see someone so beautiful getting ready to swirl down the drain. She used me, just like when she needed me for her spelling tests. I let her. I didn’t know how to make it stop.
“Get it together, wipe her lip gloss off your cheek, and please get in here and let’s try to finish this date.”
“Right, yeah,” I swiped at my cheek and blew out a breath.
“Are you ready?” Kirby asked me before he opened the door.
“I’m ready.” Following him into the pizza parlor, I cringed as I saw Gabby’s red-rimmed eyes. Sliding into the booth, I prepared to make amends. “I’m really sorry. My stepsister is a bitch. She’s determined to ruin my life.”
“You should’ve heard my man out there,” Kirby boasted. “He told that slut to take her ass back home and to leave his beautiful date alone.”
I threw Kirby a grateful glance before turning back to Gabby. “That’s right. My date is beautiful and she shouldn’t be crying.”
Gabby brightened slightly. “You think I’m beautiful?”
“I do.” I caught her hand and squeezed it under the table. “Can you forgive me?”
Her eyes shone behind her big glasses and she nodded. “Of course I can!” The girls exchanged excited looks and I breathed a sigh of relief. I’d avoided making a bigger mess of the night than I already had.
We made small talk and finished our pizzas, Kirby inhaling most of them. Kirby and I split the bill and we walked our ladies to the sidewalk. I had twenty minutes before curfew.
“I had fun tonight,” I said softly to Gabby, who nodded and squeezed my hand.
“Me too, Carter. Thanks for sticking up for me.” She stood on tiptoe and kissed my cheek. It didn’t electrify me like Brielle’s had. It was just nice.
“Of course.” My lies made me want to barf.
“Come on, Gabby!” Mindy yelled and Gabby darted away, tossing a soulful stare over her shoulder. I watched her run down the block until I couldn’t see her anymore.
“That’s a girl you should be letting give you a handie in an alleyway,” Kirby sighed. “She’s actually attainable.”
“I know, man.” I jammed my hands into my pockets and scuffed my shoes on the sidewalk as we walked home. Kirby only lived a few doors down from me so we walked most of the way together. “It was fun.”
“Yeah, all of it except psycho Barbie showing up and acting like she owns you.”
“She told me she doesn’t want anyone else to have me because she might want
me one day.”
“Oh, please. She makes me want to commit murder.”
“Don’t say that shit too loud or someone might think you’re serious,” I hissed.
“Everyone hates her. She’s got a nasty personality and she’s had sex with almost everyone in town and she’s only fifteen. I don’t get what you see in her at all.”
A part of me wanted to defend Brielle to Kirby, to tell him what I saw in her. I knew it would do no good so I remained quiet.
I stopped in front of my house and waved at Kirby. “Night.”
“See you later, man. Get your head on straight and don’t mess this up for both of us.”
“Right, I won’t, I promise.”
Kirby backed down the sidewalk and pointed at me with a menacing glare. “I’m holding your ass to that promise. See you round, Carter.”
“Night, Kirbikins.”
“Fuck you.”
I laughed and hurried inside before the clock struck eleven. The night had ended on a positive note and I felt good about a possible relationship with Gabby. I would move forward. I had to.
Chapter Six
Fall of my ninth grade year came and went, and I grew closer to Gabby. She was funny, sweet, and gentle. We were on another Friday night date and I hoped to finally kiss her. Mindy was keeping her using Chapstick and she wasn’t chewing the ends of her braids anymore. She grew on me.
She wasn’t Brielle, but I liked her. We were double dating with Kirby and Mindy again, this time at the bowling alley. Gabby carefully balanced her glittery pink ball on her hand and rolled it down the lane, only knocking down two pins before the ball went in the gutter.
“Crap,” she pouted, and I pulled her to me, giving her a quick hug.
“It’s okay.” I rubbed her back and I felt her stiffen. She resisted all my advances and it got a little old. We’d been dating pretty regularly for two months and we hadn’t even made it past hand holding. She pulled away and I took my place to bowl.
I threw the ball down the lane and cheered as I knocked down every pin. “Stttttrrriiiikeee!” I crowed, giving Kirby a high five as I sat back down.
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