Better Off Red (32 page)

Girls gossip. I know. I get it. It didn’t make the shit talking any less annoying, and it didn’t make their logic any less backward.

Anna-Jade had heard from Mel, who heard from Julia that the general opinion among some of Omi’s and Faeth’s feeders was that I was using Camila. Supposedly, I played the cool brainiac who was trying to sleep her way to the top and could care less about the sorority, which wasn’t true at all. I never backed out on any of our activities and responsibilities, no matter how much I wanted to spend that time with her.

If I was so obviously using her, how would that help me win the popularity of the group and convince them to one day vote me in as

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chapter president? I didn’t even want to be chapter president, but I had made a commitment to the sisterhood, and I had every intention of sticking by that pledge and every extracurricular activity that came along with it.

I would have spent every moment of my life with Camila, but I never sulked about having to be away from her because she always made up for our separation the moment we were back together. Still, according to Amy, a few of the girls actually believed that I was with the queen for the sex and the status and the bragging rights. I never had a serious conversation with anyone about my relationship with anyone but Amy. That may have been the problem. You don’t give up the dirt and people make up their own.

And soon the rumors started to include Amy and Danni. Our foursomes during Camila’s feedings became standard. We never brought it up to the other girls, but we couldn’t keep it a secret. All the sister-queens had their own feeding schedules, schedules they stuck to. It didn’t take long for a few people to notice that Amy and Danni were heading to the pantry twice a week, at the same time.

I’ll admit that it was a little scandalous that the four of us had our arrangement, but what the hell. Every other sister-queen was screwing all of their feeders. Camila was the only one who was sleeping with just one person—me. I never touched Amy or Danni.

Other than the biting, Camila never touched them either, but that didn’t matter. The lie was way juicier than the truth, and trying to defend ourselves would only make things worse.

❖

The overall mood on campus was that Thanksgiving vacation couldn’t come soon enough. We had a couple long weekends between August and November, but none of them long enough to justify a trip back home or time away from Camila.

I had to go home at least for the carving of the turkey, but I did book a flight back a day early. Finals were going to be brutal and I wanted just one day with Camila, uninterrupted.

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reBekah WeatherspOOn

I left for the airport early Tuesday morning. We were only going to be apart for four days, but I cried when Camila kissed me good-bye. It was pathetic. I knew it was. We hadn’t spent a full night away from each other in months. She reminded me that I was finally going to see my family. That perked me up a little, but didn’t stop me from pouting as I rode the elevator away from her. It wasn’t until I actually saw Dad waiting for me at baggage claim in Logan that I smiled again. He’d come back from South America just a few days before.

Dad looked older and tired, but a familiar smile lit up his face as I walked over to him. I’d settled comfortably into being Camila’s girlfriend, but it felt good to be his daughter again. It felt great to hear his voice. He told me about Brazil, some of the people he’d met, a few of the patients he’d helped. Like always, he edited out the most grisly parts of his work, but the proof of the heartbreaking things he’d seen was clear in the weight he’d lost and the exhaustion that had settled on his shoulders. I thought of what Camila would have done in my shoes and told him that I loved him and I was glad he was home. That seemed to help.

Of course, then he asked me about school and Camila or Mila, the name Todd had passed on to my parents. I told him more about my classes, and our upcoming elections for ABO and Types for Hope. Camila’s name worked its way into the mix, but I was afraid to say something that would even hint at the fact that she wasn’t exactly human. He didn’t seem to mind, or press me for details, so I just went on and on about school. We were still sitting in the garage when I looked up to see the patient smile on my dad’s face. I blushed, feeling a little silly for rambling on.

“Sorry,” I muttered. “Let’s go see Linda.”

He unbuckled his seat belt and went to open his door. “Don’t apologize, Ginge. I missed you. That’s all.”

When we stepped into the mudroom, Mom descended on me with a shrieking frenzy that put Amy’s enthusiasm for lingerie and Danni to shame. She kissed my face until I thought I would bruise and asked me a million questions and told me a trillion different things. I understood “Are you hungry?” and “I bought you new sheets.”

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“Go put your stuff away and I’ll make you some lunch. And I just baked cookies.”

I dropped my bags in my room and crawled into my New England winter pj’s: fleece sweats and a hoodie, an ABO one of course. I was fully prepared to spend the day doing absolutely nothing. I split my time between the kitchen and the couch, listening to Mom as she stuffed me with grilled cheese and hot cider and cookies. A new family had moved in down the street. They had two kids, but they were four and five years old. She guessed right when she assumed I wasn’t exactly dying to meet them. I told her about which finals I was dreading and she thoroughly examined my ruby necklace.

Then she sat down beside me, her mouth half full of sugar cookie. “So. How’s Mila?”

“She’s good.” And hunkered down safely underground.

“You miss her already, don’t you?”

“A little, but I missed you and Dad too. And Todd sort of.”

“Oh, you love your brother.”

“I guess. He’s okay.” I smiled.

“So tell me about her. If it’s safe. I don’t want to jinx anything.”

“We’re pretty serious now. I think it’s safe to talk about her. I don’t know. She’s cool. And smart.”

“And pretty. Todd showed me her picture. You two are so cute together.”

I grimaced at Mom’s ridiculous cooing. “Thanks.”

She took a sip of her cider “Which one of you is the boy?”

“Mom!”

“Isn’t that how it works? One of you gets to be the girl and the other gets to be the boy and then on off days you switch,” she said with a faint twitch to her lip.

“You’re hilarious. And neither of us is the boy. We’re both ladies.”

“Well, I want to meet her. I want to make sure she’s good enough for my baby.”

“She is, Mom. I promise. She’s great.”

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reBekah WeatherspOOn

“Good. Come here, honey.” I walked around the table and let Mom pull me into a big hug. “I’m so proud of you. Even if you’re not the boy.”

“Thanks, Mom.”

“Why don’t you go keep your dad company while I get dinner started.” She kissed my cheeks and kicked me out of the kitchen.

I lay out on the couch and kept Dad company while he watched football. He’d kept up with the scores online, but still felt slightly cheated by missing almost the entire NFL season. Todd had set up the DVR to record every single Pats game. I texted Camila pretty much non-stop during the season’s recap. The semester and lunch caught up with me, and some time before dinner, I passed out. I woke up with Todd sitting on the floor beside me, his face disturbingly close.

“Hey Ginger,” he huffed quietly, blowing his cider breath in my face.

“Todd, eww. Get away from me.”

“Hug me first. I missed you, punk.”

“Fine,” I groaned, but when I went to sit up, I got caught up in the blanket. “What the hell?” I looked down to see that Todd had been nice enough to braid my hair into the tassels on Mom’s afghan.

I sprang up like a jackal and punched my darling brother right in the arm.

“Ow!”

“It’s not funny, you jerk.”

“Todd!” Mom yelled from the kitchen. “Stop brothering your sister and come set the table.”

“I’ll be back for you.” He pointed in my face then jumped out of the way just in time to dodge another punch.

“You really think he should be a doctor?” I asked Dad while I separated myself from the blanket.

Dad shrugged. “He’ll make an excellent pediatrician.”

Dinner hit the spot. Even though our chapter was small, I still spent most of my meals in a large group. It was nice to eat some real home cooked food and actually get a chance to hear everything that everyone at the table had to say. The four of us ended up back in front of the TV, vegging out. It was nice to be home, but by nine

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I was going through Camila withdrawal. There was no use in hiding it, knowing that Todd would make fun of me anyway. I excused myself to go call her up in my room.

Camila picked up on the first ring and I found myself grinning like an idiot the second she said my name.

“Hi,” I said, sounding chipper and twelve. “What are you doing?”

“We’re remodeling the dining room at the Fontler. I’m adjusting the plans.”

“Oh, cool. Show me when I get back.”

“I have a few other things in mind to do when you first get back. And then I’ll show you the plans. Where are you, baby?”

“My room.”

“Do you have your laptop? I want to send you something.”

I dug into my bag and pulled out my computer. Just to be on the safe side, I locked my door before I plopped on my bed.

“What are you wearing?” I teased as my laptop fired up.

“I’ll tell you in a second, Red. Check your e-mail first.”

“You’re so pushy. I love you,” I said with a wide smile, as if she could see me.

“I love you too.” She laughed.

I pulled up my e-mail and opened a RAR file from Camila.

A RAR file filled with a collection of clips from various security cameras. I opened the first one and saw us making out on her bed.

I remembered the afternoon perfectly. My stats class had been canceled and Camila had the day free. We screwed for hours.

“Aw, baby,” I cooed. “Did you make me a porno?”

“I did. I miss you. Which one are you watching?”

I looked at the file name at the top of the box. “Ten-oh-six.”

“I watched that one twice this morning,” she told me.

“You did?” I suddenly lost interest in the clip. “What else did you do this morning?”

“I touched myself, baby,” she said. My pussy throbbed as the words left her mouth. On my computer screen the two of us were dry humping at the foot of the bed. I knew in a few minutes she’d pick me up and take me to the ottoman, but I wanted to hear more about the touching.

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reBekah WeatherspOOn

“How was it?” I asked.

“It was good, but not the same without you.”

I leaned back and slid my fingers under the waistband of my sweats and into my underwear, feeling just how wet any thoughts of her made me. “Well, you have me on the phone now. And I’m alone in my room…”

“Gingey! Come look at the snow,” my mom yelled up the stairs.

I pulled my hand out of my underwear. “Ugh, I have to go. My mom wants to bond over the weather.”

“Gingey!”

“Mom. I’m coming!…I’ll call you back in a little while. She’s going to keep yelling until I go down. This better be the most majestic snowfall of the year.”

“Okay, Red,” Camila said. She was sweet enough to let me go without a fight. I closed my laptop and ran downstairs. My family was already out on the porch. Mom had left the front door wide open. I stomped into my boots and followed them outside. It was gorgeous out. Freezing, but gorgeous. Mom had told me it had already snowed a few times while I was still at school, but most of it had turned brown and gray or washed down the gutters. This snow was sticking and it was beautiful.

But not as beautiful as phone sex with my girlfriend.

“Oh, wow. It is snowing. Good night.” I turned to make a break for the door.

“Get over here.” Dad grabbed my arm and pinned me, shoulder to shoulder, between him and Todd.

“Just humor the woman for five minutes and then you can go back upstairs and talk to Mila,” Dad muttered.

“Thanks. You’re the best. Mom, this really is lovely.”

“And you are a liar, young lady. I think monopoly and hot chocolate are in order,” she announced.

My head whipped toward Dad and I stared at him in horror.

“Please, no,” I said through my gritted teeth.

“Come on, Ginger. You can be the thimble,” Todd said, slapping me on the shoulder. I glared at him, ready to tell him just where he could shove the little piece of metal, when a sudden movement on

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the lawn caught my attention. My neighbor, the one I’d kissed, was walking up our snow-dusted pathway.

“Hi, Kristen. How are you, sweetie?” Mom said cheerfully. It was getting late to be dropping in on neighbors, but Linda was never rude.“Hi, Mrs. Carmichael. I’m good.” Kristen stood there for a moment. And that moment turned into an awkward moment as she looked nervously at me. Dad tried to save the day.

“Linda, why don’t we get that hot chocolate started? Todd, you want to dig up the Monopoly?”

“Sure thing,” Todd said, before he whispered to me. “Look at you, all two for two.” I elbowed him in the side as he tried to slip into the house. My parents were right behind him and Kristen took that as her cue to join me on the porch.

I didn’t know what to say. The last time I’d seen her, her tongue was in my mouth. I hadn’t exchanged even an e-mail or a Facebook wall post with her all semester. So I asked her about how her soccer season went. She asked me about school. I told her I’d joined a sorority and she’d told me she’d thought about rushing, but soccer took up too much time. We avoided the subject of dating and the kiss we’d shared.

“I know we’re only home for a few days, but maybe, do you want to go to the movies or something tomorrow night?”

“Oh, I—” Everyone I actually talked to knew I had a girlfriend, but how did I tell her without it sounding, well, bitchy?