“Thank you,” Christy said quietly, while Brooke was out of earshot. “She needs confidence more than anything. She’s always been like this, kinda dorky around guys. She really likes you, though.”
“And I like her.”
“Mmm, I can tell.”
“It doesn’t bother you?”
“No. I… kind of like it. I know you want to sleep with her, but it isn’t like yesterday, with that stewardess— flight attendant— whatever. Besides, you won’t do anything with Brooke until I say so. Right?”
“Right.”
“That’s what I figured.”
I raised an eyebrow with a question.
“Erin and Leah dropped a lot of hints.”
“You really do notice everything, don’t you?”
“And don’t you forget it, mister,” she said, playful instead of petulant.
“Oh, I won’t.”
Brooke swam back toward us. “I’d better get out of the sun,” she said. “I didn’t put on sunscreen, and I don’t wanna burn.”
“Same here,” I agreed. “Sucks to be fair-skinned, doesn’t it?”
“I know. I’m totally jealous of Christy and how she tans so easily.”
“Yep, me too.”
“And now I’m jealous for other reasons.”
“Thanks,” I chuckled. “I’m pretty jealous too. Of her, I mean.”
“She’s always been lucky. With guys especially—”
“And with girls.”
She stammered but continued, “With everything else too.”
“Fine, Mr. and Miss Tag Team,” Christy said as we climbed out of the pool and grabbed our towels, “I get it. I’m lucky. It’s not my fault, though.
Good things just happen to me. Now, can we change the subject? Please?”
“Sure,” I said. “We can talk about all the naughty things I’m going to do to you later.”
Brooke grinned, and Christy was comfortable enough that she didn’t squawk in surprise.
“Oh?” she said instead. “And what if I say no?”
“Then I’ll hold you down and do them anyway.”
“Sounds like someone knows what you like,” Brooke said.
“Oh my gosh, you can say that again.”
“And speaking of which…” I glanced at my watch. “Your mom should’ve left by now.”
The girls exchanged an excited look.
“It feels so weird to be talking about it,” Christy said.
“But you like doing it,” Brooke said.
“Oh, yes!”
“Okay, then… Bye.”
I laughed.
“Hey,” Christy said, faux-plaintively, “you’re kicking us out?”
“Yeah, but only ’cause you have better things to do.” Her grin turned into a look of resignation. “Besides, I really need to study for exams.”
They packed up Christy’s beach bag and the picnic basket while I pulled on my clothes. We said our goodbyes, and I extended my hand to Brooke.
She decided she knew me well enough for a hug instead. I slid a hand inside her wrap and touched her lightly on the small of the back, but I was a perfect gentleman otherwise. She stepped back and self-consciously pulled the wrap around herself, although the thin fabric did little to hide her stiff nipples underneath her bikini top.
“Oh, what the hell…” She let her arms drop.
“Yeah,” I said nonchalantly, “I have the same problem when I like
someone.”
She blushed furiously but didn’t cover up. Instead, she shook it off and said to Christy, “See you tomorrow?”
“Of course.”
We said our final goodbyes, and I slung the beach bag over my shoulder.
Then I grabbed the empty picnic basket and opened the gate with my free hand. Christy gave Brooke one last hug and followed me out.
“Your parents’ house is…?” I turned to get my bearings. “That way? Two streets?”
“Yeah. We can cut through the neighbors’ yards.”
We walked in silence for a little way before she slipped an arm through mine.
“Thank you,” she said quietly. “For everything.”
I nodded.
“I know you were probably expecting more, but…”
“Not really. That’s how it usually works. You get to know someone before you just hop in bed with them. I told you… I want some kind of connection before I sleep with someone.”
“Is that why you waited so long with me?”
“Ha! No. I was ready after Halloween.”
“I know. I was too, but I was scared.”
“You aren’t scared now?”
She thought about it before she answered, “A little, but only ’cause it seems more real somehow. You aren’t just my boyfriend anymore.”
“No.”
“But you aren’t my fiancé either.”
“Not officially,” I agreed.
“So it feels like we’re doing something naughty. Only… good. Exciting.
And… I understand better about you and your mom. Thinking about her made me think about me and Laurence, and what I wanted to do. It isn’t really that different. Like you said, it’s the taboo.”
“Mmm hmm.”
We walked through a yard between two houses, where we startled a neighbor. She was a doughty woman in her mid-sixties who relaxed when she recognized Christy.
“Hello, Mrs. McFadden. Just passing through.”
“Did you see my husband in the front yard?”
“No, ma’am.”
The woman huffed and pulled off her gardening gloves. “George!”
“Poor Mr. McFadden,” Christy said as the woman went to find him. “He has terrible allergies, so he hates to work in the yard. He’s always tinkering with something in the garage instead. She won’t leave him alone.” We entered her parents’ back yard, and she looked over her shoulder. “I hope we never get like that.”
“I don’t think we will.”
She sighed. “Do you ever feel like everyone else is normal and you’re the only person who’s weird?”
“All the time.”
“For real?”
“Yeah.”
“I used to think no one would ever understand, but you do.” She sighed again. “That’s why I know how lucky I am. To have you, I mean. You get me.”
We reached the screen porch and stopped at the door.
“In more ways than one,” I said with a significant look at the house.
“Mmm, I know. That’s all I’ve been thinking about. Well, until we saw Mrs. McFadden. See? I can be a philosopher too. It’s weird how your mind goes from one thing to another. But where were we? Oh, right! I was thinking about what you’re going to do to me.”
“Do you have something special in mind?”
“Uh-huh, but more than just what you’re thinking. That too, but…”
“Yes?”
“Maybe when we get home-home—to Knoxville, I mean—we can borrow Wren’s Polaroid. You can take pictures…” She rolled her eyes.
“You’re going to make me say it anyway, so here goes. Pictures of your penis. Inside me. I want to see what we look like.”
“We can do that.”
“And… I want to keep going to West Virginia, even though the ski season’s over.”
“We can do that too,” I said.
“I like the bed there. We can do things we can’t do at home.”
“What kind of things?”
“Tie me up things.” She glanced at the house. “But in the meantime, we need to do kitchen table things.”
“Oh, of course. Anything else?”
“Guest bedroom things.”
“Didn’t we do those already?”
“Not the things I’m thinking about.” She screwed up her courage.
“Maybe you can wear a towel, and I can sketch you. If you happen to ‘fall asleep’ and get hard…”
“Ha! Okay, sounds fun.”
“Yeah, you get me all right. And you don’t think I’m weird.”
“No.” I opened the screen door and held it for her.
“Even when I want to do naughty things, taboo things.”
I followed her inside. “Especially then.”
“I know. And that’s why I love you, why I’ll do anything you want.” I closed the kitchen door behind us, and Christy cocked an ear to listen. “Don’t go anywhere,” she said. “I wanna make sure.” She checked the garage—