There were so many reasons I could've given. Sex tapes in general weren't exactly my thing, but that wasn't what made me hesitate. Lawton was a friend. More than friend, actually. It seemed like a gross violation of his privacy.
And then, there was the other thing. Seeing him with another girl, especially that intimately, I couldn’t help it. It made me want to claw someone's eyes out – maybe my own if I were forced to watch this thing from start to finish.
"I dunno," I said. "I sort of know him."
She grinned. "Yeah, I know. I was with you that day, remember?"
"Well, actually," I said, "I've run into him a few times since then."
"No way!" she said. "You've been holding out on me? C'mon, you must know him pretty good if you're not wanting to see him –" she lowered her voice to a suggestive tone, "– in the flesh."
Oh, I wanted to see him in the flesh, alright. I just didn’t want to see that flesh pressed up against the flesh of some other girl.
"Holy shit," she said. "Don't tell me he was your date."
"Uh, something like that."
"Oh. My. God," she said. "You slept with him. Didn't you?"
Chapter 50
Technically, Lawton and I didn't do a lot of sleeping. But looking at Erika's eager face, that particular fact didn't seem terribly relevant.
Looking at me, her eyes were bright, and her face eager. "You did," she said. "Didn't you?"
"What?" I stammered. "I never said that."
She was grinning. "But you did."
I stood. "Hey, you know what? I'm forgetting the popcorn."
She slapped her hand over mine. "Get up, and you're dead, sister."
"What?"
"You heard me. I want details." She leaned forward. "And I want them now."
I glanced at the disk, and then at the microwave, and then toward the front door.
"Don't even think about it," she said.
"Think about what?"
"Escape. There is none. Tell me now, before things get ugly."
At this, I had to laugh. "I wasn't plotting an escape," I said.
"Liar. Now c'mon." She held up a hand. "Wait! On second thought, I do need popcorn. You sit. I'll pop. You need to conserve your strength."
"For what?"
"For giving me every gory detail. And don't be cheap on me. I'll know if you're holding out."
I rolled my eyes. "If I tell you," I said, "do I still have to watch the tape?"
"Hell no!" she said. "Well, not unless you want to, um, for comparison purposes."
"Have you watched it?" I asked.
