Burning Down the House (15 page)

I felt like
all the air had just been sucked from my lungs. My fingers couldn’t lie still; they clenched the purple chiffon over my thighs as I pressed them tightly together. I swallowed, not trusting myself to speak.

“
What if I told you that you’re who I picture when I’m getting myself off? Would that freak you out?”

Oh, holy fuck
… “No.” The word came out sounding unintentionally throaty.

“It doesn’t bother you?”

“No. Should it?”

“I don’t know. I’m glad it doesn’t. I seem to be doing it a lot more since I
got a look at you naked in the bathtub.”

I was glad the night prevented him from seeing how flushed I’d become.
My left hand reached for the heater to turn it off.

“It did suddenly get hot in here, didn’t it?” He laughed softly.

“Yes. It did.”
So
hot.

“
I think we better call it a night now. Is that okay?”

“If you…uh, mm-hm. Sure.”
Great. I’d always wanted to find a guy with principles and look what it got me. A heart arrhythmia and damp panties.

I
’d only been in bed for a few minutes that night when he texted me. It was so absurd to be texting with someone who was right there in the same house. Why didn’t he just come talk to me? Oh, wait - that was probably a bad idea. He could call me, though. Of course, maybe what the situation really called for was walkie talkies. Or two cups on a string.

Him:
Much better. Things were starting to turn blue.

Me:
TMI!!!

Him:
Lol

Me:
Sure didn’t take long.

Him:
Couple of strokes and I was done.

Me:
Should I take that as a compliment?

Him:
Absolutely!

Me:
Guess it’s my turn now.

Him:
U serious?

Me:
Maybe. I’ll never tell.

Him:
Getting hard again already, thanks a lot.

Me:
Better get to work then.

Him:
I intend to.

Me:
Did u really go commando tonite?

Him:
Use ur imagination.

Me:
Tease!

Him:
Look who’s talking!

Me:
Maybe I will use my imagination. What do u think of that?

Him:
Please do. I fully encourage it. ;)

Me:
I bet!

Him:
Good nite, babydoll. Sleep well.

Me:
Good nite. Don’t overdo it. Lol

“So what did you guys do last night after you left?”

I wasn’t in the habit of keeping things from Dana, but with Rob, Trent and Doug right there in the kitchen with us there was no way I was spilling the goods. I couldn’t believe she would even ask me that in front of them. “Nothing. Pretty much just went home. How about you?”

“Oh…nothing much.” A sly smirk played over her
lips and I knew immediately that
nothing much
was probably more along the lines of
a whole heck of a lot.

I saw
Rob’s eyes roll before he suggested to his friends, “Come on, let’s go feed the dog or something.”

Doug
stopped eating the peanut butter cookie dough Dana and I were mixing long enough to voice his confusion. “You don’t have a dog. Do you?”

“Then we’ll go feed the neighbor’s dog. Let’s
go.”

Trent
added, “And stop sticking your grungy fingers in there - other people might wanna eat some of those cookies, you know! Damn, man. Can’t take you anywhere.”

“My
hands are clean,” Doug protested, grinning as he defiantly pinched off one more chunk. “I just washed ’em a week ago.” Dana and I groaned while he followed the others outside, laughing.

“I hope he was kidding,” she griped.

“Of course he was kidding. Now are you gonna tell me what that shit-eating grin’s all about or what?”

Her smile only widened.

“You totally did it with him, didn’t you!”

“
Um…maybe, but that’s not what I was going to tell you.”

“
Well, what then?”

“He wants us to see each other exclusively.”
She was practically glowing in her elation.

“He does?” I almost dropped the spoonful of cookie dough I was
rolling in my hands. “You mean Manwhore Myers is actually capable of committing himself to one girl? Surely you jest!”

“Was there ever any doubt?” She gave me a playfully cocky look. “Actually, I was pretty blown away myself. Do you know what he told me? He said he’s had a
thing for me for two years. Can you believe that? And all this time I had no idea.”

“What smells good?”
My dad interrupted us, wandering in from the living room to grab a beer from the fridge. “Hey there Little Bit, what’s cookin’?” He’s called Dana that for as long as I can remember. That’s because she’s always been small for her age. In the eighth grade I convinced her to take ballet with me, figuring she’d be perfect for it because of her tiny stature. Boy, was I wrong. I love her to death, but put her in pointe shoes and she looks like a bowlegged ostrich just learning how to walk.

“Hi,
Mr. Marsh.”

“We’re making peanut butter cookies,” I told him.

“I knew that oven must be good for something.” He leaned against the counter. “So what are your plans for Halloween, girls? Sara, got anything special in mind?”

My birthday just happens to fall on October 31st. Don’t think I didn’t
get ragged about
that
a lot growing up. “No, and I don’t want a fuss. Seriously, I hate that kind of stuff. It’s embarrassing.”

“Okay…fine…I’ll cancel the clowns and bouncy castle. Can we at least keep the magician?”

“Ha, ha. Let me guess, you’re booked as the comedian.”

“Actually I’m scheduled to work
on Halloween. Suppose we do something before? We can at least have dinner at Cristiano’s. You too, Little Bit.”

“Sure, that sounds good. Hey,
that reminds me - what’s your schedule looking like for the holidays this year?”

“Off Thanksgiving, working Christmas. But I figured
your mom would want you to spend Christmas with her anyway.”

“Mm. Okay.
Are we going to Gran’s for Thanksgiving?” Until the divorce, Thanksgiving was traditionally spent at my grandmother’s house in Virginia, along with my dad’s siblings and their families.

“Sure are.”

“Rob too?”

“Well, of course. What did you think, we were just going to go off and leave him
behind?”

“I was just asking.” In retrospect, yes,
I suppose that was a really dumb question. Even Dana looked over at me like I was a total spaz. But that didn’t explain where Rob was supposed to spend Christmas if Dad was working and I was going to be in Greenville. Maybe he’d get invited over to Trent’s or something.

Or…maybe I
should consider asking Dad for two plane tickets instead of one.

Just a thought.

11

I was in calculus class Monday morning when Jordan Cox approached me, leaning forward to prop her elbows on my desk so she could talk to me without anyone else hearing. She was so close I could smell the watermelon Jolly Ranchers on her breath. I couldn’t believe she had the balls.

“I just want you to know, I didn’t know you and
Riley were supposed to go to homecoming together. When I asked him if he still wanted to go, he didn’t mention anything about it. I didn’t even find out until later.”

Yeah, right. I didn’t believe that for a minute.
Everyone
knew. “Whatever. It’s fine.”

“I don’t want you to be mad at me.
I swear, I had no idea. I’m sorry.”

“
Jordan, it’s no big deal. Everything worked out okay. Can we drop it? I’m not mad, really.”

“Really? Because…I mean, I don’t even like
Riley. The only reason I changed my mind and went with him was to make someone else jealous. Believe me, we are
not
getting back together. So if you’re interested in him, that’s perfectly fine.”

Her words might have
held more merit if the necklace she was wearing hadn’t suddenly fallen out of her blouse to dangle in front of me. It was a silver chain with an initial charm on it. The letter “
R
”. Who was she kidding?

Blushing, she
hastily tucked the necklace back into her shirt. “You’re really not mad at me?”

Her voice
sounded so sincere, I almost felt sorry for her. I just didn’t get why she felt the need to lie. “I’m not mad. I am also not interested in Riley. He’s all yours, and you’re more than welcome to him.”

“But I
already told you, I don’t -”

“
Miss Cox, would you care to take a seat or were you planning on teaching the class today?” Mr. Weston interrupted, inciting a few snickers.

Jordan
straightened, frowning slightly as she headed back to her desk. She looked embarrassed. Apparently Miss Perfect Grade Point Average did not appreciate being reprimanded like a child.

I’d half expected to be grilled
by everyone about why I showed up at the dance with Rob instead of Riley, but thankfully the only person crass enough to bring it up was Staci. She cornered me at my locker just after fourth period.

“Oh my
God
, that was just the rudest thing Riley did to you! How mad were you? Didn’t you just want to claw Jordan’s eyes out?”

“Not really
, no.”

“Well
, I would’ve! I can’t believe the
nerve
of her. She already walks around here like she thinks she’s better than everybody anyway. You shoulda knocked her teeth out! Trailer trash skank...”

Hm…s
o this was more of an attack on Jordan than me. Sounded like someone was pissed about not getting elected homecoming queen. “It’s all good. Those two deserve one another.”

“What she
deserves is to have her ass kicked!”

It was obvious by now that
Staci was just hoping to instigate trouble. That catty bitch would love nothing more than to see her rival get suspended for fighting. As if I would stoop to violence over something so trivial. What a drama queen. Maybe someone could present her with a crown for that. “So kick her ass, Staci. Nobody’s stopping you.”

She huffed
defensively. “Well, I’m just saying…if she pulled that stunt with me I wouldn’t just sit back and take it.”

“I gotta go.” I slammed my locker and took off for the cafeteria.
God, sometimes I wondered if Staci Sheridan was just an overdeveloped thirteen-year-old posing as a senior. She was about as mature as a green banana. Thank goodness she didn’t share the same lunch period with me.

I noticed when I sat down with my tray that
Riley was conspicuously missing from our group. When I scanned the lunchroom, I caught sight of him sitting at another table with some other guys from the football team. Was he that reluctant to face me, or had someone here said something to him? What a dipshit - he couldn’t avoid me forever. Not only did we have drama class together, but he was playing Romeo alongside my Juliet. Now
that
was bound to get awkward.

“
’Sup, losers,” I greeted everyone as I slid into a chair between Rob and Dana. She had a mouthful of turkey sandwich and was trying to talk to me through it.

“Uh neefum hep.”

“Okay - I have no idea what you just said.”

She chewed and swallowed before repeating, “I need some help. Do you have a lot of homework tonight?”

“No, not really. Whatcha need help with?”

“This scholarship essay I’m working on.
I’m so bad at this kind of stuff. I have no idea what to say.”

“What’s the theme?”

“‘Who has been the most influential person in your life?’”

“Well, that’s easy,”
Trent declared. “You just start with, ‘Trent Myers has without a doubt been the most influential person in my life. Without his rippling abs, bedroom eyes and magnetic personality I would not be the fulfilled woman I am today. With his extraordinary hotness he has taught me that every other male on the planet sucks ass in comparison.’ You getting this down?”

“Photographic memory,” she giggled.

“Come over after school and we’ll work on it,” I told her.

“Thanks. Did you already get your application filled out?”

“Mm-hm. I did it online.” I’d also applied to three other schools as a fallback, but I was counting on getting into Frostburg. I had an impressive GPA and their acceptance rate was fairly high, so I wasn’t too worried.

“You coming to my Halloween party,
Sara?” Colin asked me.

“I didn’t know you were having one.”

“You should have a text from me. I invited the whole senior class. Check your phone lately?”

“Oh…no. Not since this morning.
I left it in my locker.”

“It’s gonna be at my cousin’s cabin on
Savage River. Costume party. BYOB.”

Oh goody,
another opportunity to watch him get dry humped by Staci. How
could
I pass that up? “I don’t know…we’ll see. I might have other plans.” I glanced over at Rob, wondering whether he was planning on going. I couldn’t really picture it. Particularly the costume thing - that I definitely couldn’t visualize. “You going?” I asked Dana.

“Yes, so you have to come too. And you have to help me find a costume.”

“I’ll go shopping with you, but no promises. I told Peyton I’d be home passing out candy. She wants me to see her in her ballerina costume.” There was no way I was disappointing her. Not after she told me she was dressing up as a ballerina so she could be just like me. Whenever she sees me coming home with the duffel bag I keep my dance stuff in, she always runs over and asks if she can try on my pointe shoes. How stinking cute is that?

“You’d rather pass out candy to a bunch of rugrats than
party with us?” Trent closed his eyes and covered his heart dramatically. “That hurts.”

“
You can come afterwards,” Dana insisted. “You aren’t seriously going to stay home by yourself on your birthday, are you?”

This caught
Doug’s attention. “Your birthday? When’s your birthday?”

“Halloween.”

“Your birthday’s on Halloween? That’s so awesome!”

“Her mom got tricked instead of treated,”
Dana joked.

“Har, har.” I finally broke down and asked
Rob, “Are you gonna go?”

“I don’t know yet.”

“He’s coming,” Trent assured me.

Uh-huh. I’d believe that when I saw it.

“There is a potential for severe thunderstorms along a strong cold front that’s pushing its way in through the evening hours tonight. These storms are expected to bring damaging gusts of up to sixty miles per hour and may produce locally heavy rainfall. An intense area of low pressure -”

The weather advisory was
cut short as I switched off the Tahoe’s engine and looked expectantly over at the yard next door. It was Wednesday and Peyton was usually watching for me from the window, waiting for me to get home from ballet class so she could pounce on me. I wasn’t that surprised when she didn’t appear. The cloudy, moonless sky made it seem a lot later than 5:45, and on top of that the wind was already kicking up. Thankfully the rain held off until I made it home. I hate driving in the rain.

Rob was curled up on the sofa with his laptop when I came breezing through
, loaded down with my school backpack, dance bag and the KFC I’d picked up at the drive thru. “Hey.” I dropped the KFC bag on the coffee table. “Put that in the kitchen for me, will you?” I’d already texted him earlier to say that I was bringing home dinner.

“Smells good.” He moved his laptop to poke around in the bag.

“Go ahead and eat if you want to. I’m gonna take a bath first. I feel gross.” After a full day of school and two hours of dance practice, I wasn’t exactly feeling fresh as a daisy. Dropping my belongings on the floor of my bedroom, I stripped out of the leotard and tights and locked myself in the bathroom for a nice hot soak. Yes, I was still locking the door. Ever since he barged in on me that time, I was paranoid about him doing it again, especially when Dad wasn’t around. He probably wouldn’t, but still…the last thing I needed was him walking in on me while I was on the toilet or something equally mortifying.

After
the bath I rubbed my legs down with Sweet Cinnamon Pumpkin body lotion, then wrapped myself in a pink bathrobe and went into the kitchen to fix myself a plate before joining Rob in the living room. He was already done eating and was stretched out on the sofa, but he moved his feet so I could sit down by him. Outside, the bottom had finally dropped out of the sky and the downpour sounded like Niagara Falls had been relocated to our front yard.

“What’re we watching?” I asked,
poking at my mashed potatoes with a fork. It looked like movie previews.

“
I just put in
The Strangers
. There’s no satellite signal. Okay with you?”

“Ooh…
scary movie. Good choice.”

“Not gonna freak you out?”

“No. Should it?”

He shrugged
with a sly grin. “Just checking. Didn’t know if you might be afraid of the boogeyman.”

“
Yeah, right. Am I supposed to be worried about crazy psycho killers in masks banging on the door tonight?” I started pulling pieces of chicken breast off the bone and piling them on my plate. “If anything, I figure watching this movie decreases the odds of something like that happening. It would be way too coincidental. Applying that logic, horror movies actually serve to keep us safe. Think about it.”

“
Damn. That almost makes sense. Sort of.”

“
And if you’re considering trying to scare me, I’d think again. I don’t know from experience but I’ve heard that getting kicked in the nuts can be quite excruciating.”

He winced. “
Remind me never to jump out at
you
.”