“You come on! Oh wait, you already did! Haha.” She rolls her eyes and takes another giant bite of a second donut, spilling powdered sugar all down the front of her shirt, but she doesn’t seem to care. She’s far too wrapped up in our sex life now that she knows it exists. “Okay, so, fair warning, I’m inviting you because I really like this guy and I want to hook up with him. But it’s a fancy party and we can get Lexi in a skimpy, hot dress!”
“Fuck you,” Lexi yells from the kitchen.
“What? Jamie looks stupid hot in a suit, so you get your eye candy, too!”
I laugh. “I’m going to take a shower.” I kiss Lexi’s head as she passes by me before I pull off Dani’s knit cap and toss it on the floor. This is why we couldn’t date. We’re too much like siblings.
“Wait, but what about the party?” Dani whines. “Come on guys, he’s really cute, and he’s, well, probably rich or whatever. Seriously, I need this! He said he’d do some bad ass cover art for my next album!”
“It’s up to you, Angel.” I head for the bedroom and stop. “Jesus, I’m sorry. I’m acting like I live here. Is it cool if I?—”
“Yes, you have earned the right to my shower.”
“I would hope so,” Dani mumbles, picking sprinkles off her donut and popping them in her mouth. “He’s earned the right to your pussy.”
“Dani! Keep that up and I’ll say no to the party!” Lexi yells, throwing a pillow at Dani’s head while I laugh. “Why did we even let you in here?”
“Because I brought donuts! And coffee! And there’s never food in this house!”
I lift my cup to her in salute and then turn to head into the bedroom.
“Wait,” Lexi calls out while flipping through the picture files on the laptop. “Can we get some of these printed out today? I was thinking of setting up a giant visual mood board we could present in next week’s meeting. A mixed media thing. I can throw in some graphics and a few pieces from the flyers and leave behinds I picked up the other day, too.”
“Oh, thank god! I thought she was going to ask you to shower together, and I was going to throw up a little. I told you that you’d like her, didn’t I?”
“When did you tell him that?” Lexi teases, sticking her tongue out at me, then turning her attention back to Dani. “How about I tell you by tomorrow? Let us get the week planned out and if we can work it out, then we might go to the party. Might!”
“Yes! I’ll bring a dress over for you tomorrow so you can try it on! I promise, it won’t count toward the office pool.”
“We can pick out some prints to send off and I’ll pick them up later.” I set my cup down and move back to Lexi, rubbing her shoulders. “Since the idea is out there now, why don’t you come shower with me? Let’s leave Dani out here to take care of the neighbors when they come knocking.”
“Yeah, yeah, you two lovebirds go get it on in the shower or whatever you kids do these days. I still have some errands to run, and if I’m not home before my sister wakes up and she finds out I drank the last of the coffee, I’m going to be unalived! I’ll text you the details about the party later.”
“Pretty sure we’re both older than you are, Dani. But don’t change.” I move the laptop, scoop Lexi up off the couch, and toss her over my shoulder, slapping her ass as she screams in laughter.
We’re huddled under the warm spray of water, unable to keep our hands or mouths off one another. I’m licking the small trails of water that cascade over her shoulders and she’s playing with my hair and giggling. As badly as I want to be inside her, I can’t get the things her stepfather said to her out of my head.
“Lexi, can I ask you something?” I nibble that spot just below her ear, and she digs crescent shapes into my ass in return.
“If it’s, can we have sex again? Yes.”
“No. I mean, I want to, but it’s not that.” I step back, feeling the cool air against my exposed skin. “Your stepfather, your mother, I don’t get it. Why do you even talk to them when they treat you like that? You’re this magnificent ray of happiness and light, and all they want to do is snuff you out and turn you into a shell of yourself. Or worse.”
She tips her head back into the stream of water, trying to cover up the tears, but it doesn’t work. As her eyes redden and she sniffles, I lean back into her and kiss just under each of her eyes, tasting the salt against her soft skin.
“You don’t have to tell me, Cherry Blossom. I only want you to have better. You don’t deserve any of that, and they don’t deserve you.”
“My mom has always been a bit, I dunno. Strange,” she starts in a whisper. “When Dad was still around, it wasn’t this weird obsession with religion, but there were still other things. Dad tried to be the fun parent. He worked hard and was home late, but always made time for us. Sometimes, he’d get home, and we’d be asleep, and he’d come in and wake us up to hear about our day, sometimes giving us candy or presents. Mom hated that so much. Those were the nights we’d lay in bed hearing her scream at him and throw things.”
“She could be fun, though!” She pivots quickly, trying to convince herself as much as me. “On her good days, she’d take us to the park, and we’d meet Dad for lunch there. On her bad days, she wouldn’t leave her room, and we would have to fend for ourselves until Dad got home. We didn’t understand it, but he did. He’d always tell us that no matter what she said or did, our mother loved us, but sometimes she just had a hard time and needed a break.”
“Did she ever go to a doctor or try to get help?”
“He tried to convince her, but she wouldn’t go. She’d always have some excuse.” She wipes her face and straightens, trying to put on a brave front, even though she doesn’t need to with me. “Anyhow, just before he died, he started to tell us to make sure we always took care of our mother. It’s part of why my sister, Bex, thinks his death wasn’t an accident. It was, though; they investigated it. We spent a few years with an aunt so we could finish high school. As soon as we graduated, we moved to California. Mom and Ronnie were already married by then, and they moved here because she claimed she wanted to be closer to us. More like to control us.”
“So, you’re trying to fulfill a vague promise you made to your father when you were a kid?”
“You sound like my sister now,” she groans, kissing my neck while I hold her.
