Loose Lips Sink Ships

by Katrina LaCroix

  *

  Carter lived in a posh two-story townhouse in an exclusive part of town. The sprawling lawn and shrubs were perfectly trimmed, large glass windows studded the exterior, and the whole place just seemed a hallmark of pristine beauty. It looked like it could be a museum for something silly like doorknobs or sewing machines.

  For all its lower-upper class greatness, having a hunk of junk wagon with fake wooden siding by the curb seemed to ruin it. Avery sighed as they passed it to pull into the driveway. The garage they parked in looked nicer than her living room. Being so close to a higher standard of living used to be depressing for Avery, but she’d long since gotten used to it, for the most part. Using a little mental effort, she pushed her family’s money problems out of her mind completely so she could make room for more important things.

  She led him to the garage door, which would take them through the kitchen, up the stairs, and right to his room, but her plans got sidetracked right as soon as she opened the door. The scurrying of tiny feet came to meet them, and immediately the grating yelps of a Papillon rang in their ears.

  “Oh, you got a dog! Isn’t she adorable?” Avery cooed, making Carter laugh.

  “Yeah, a few things have changed since the last time you’ve been here,” he said, brushing by and entering the kitchen. The dog hopped up, snapping at his knees. “She’s the queen around here now that mom’s gone.”

  Rather than heading toward the stairs dead ahead, Carter turned left past the sink to an adjoining area linking a laundry room and a bathroom.

  “You know, I love dogs like this,” Avery began as Carter entered the bathroom and closed the door. “But the only bad part is they have a tendency of dying unexpectedly. It’s like their little bodies can’t contain all of the barking.”

  Grabbing a bottle of bleach, Avery unscrewed the cap and started pouring some of the clear liquid into the dog’s nearby water dish. The scruffy rat ran right over to take a drink.

  “I think she’ll be staying with us for a good long time,” he said, exiting the bathroom to the sound of a flushing toilet. “What are you doing in there?”

  Avery had just returned the bleach to the shelf, and she jerked her head like a deer in headlights.

  “I think I got splashed a little bit by the pond,” she pretended to sulk, inspecting her shirt, pulling it tight against her body, and exposing her waist. “I might have to get out of these clothes.”

  She expected to see him salivating, but instead most of the emotion had drained from his face. Scratching his neck, he glanced out the back window.

  “Oh, shoot! I forgot to bring in the lawn mower. Let me do that real quick,” he said, vanishing instantly back through the kitchen. Avery took a few steps after him, finally giving up and setting her hands on the kitchen table. What was going on? Usually he couldn’t wait to have sex. Before they split up, they wouldn’t have even made it out of the golf course parking lot, much less the car. Now she was alone.

  As if on cue, the sound of Carter exiting the house brought his goony fourteen-year-old younger brother down the stairs. She heard him plod quickly down the steps, but then he slowed on the last one to casually turn the corner into view. As handsome as Carter was, his brother Jeffrey wasn’t. Whereas Carter’s eyes were dashing, Jeffrey squinted and leered, and the freckles near his eyes made him look like he was high. While Carter was well built, Jeffrey’s muscles were solely the result of excessive masturbation. And then there was his personality.

  “Oh, hi, Avery! I wasn’t expecting you. I always knew you’d realize you had the wrong Thomson brother. I’m glad you came around now, because the Sailor Moon outfit I ordered for you just came in the mail. We could, you know…”

  Creeped out to the max, Avery cringed, putting out her hand to keep him away.

  “Actually, I’m here with Carter. We’re back together now,” she said, despite proof to the contrary running through her mind. A shocked expression came to Jeffrey’s face, but he soon let it pass in favor of more disturbing gazes.

  “Really? Huh! I didn’t see that coming. Well anyway, I’m happy for you,” he said. Avery nodded and turned away, but he wasn’t done talking. “I read somewhere about the funniest thing. There was this guy who went to visit his older brother at college. He was sleeping in his brother’s bed and woke up to find his brother’s girlfriend giving him a blowjob! Can you believe it? I guess things like that do happen, probably not even at college all the time. I can see how that might be awkward for the girl, you know, accidentally blowing your boyfriend’s brother, but I want you to know if a mistake like that ever happens I would be okay with it.”

  Horrified, Avery didn’t know what to say. Fortunately, the yapping dog signaled Carter’s return, and she leeched onto him as soon as he walked through the door.

  “We have to go to your room, now!” she begged.

  “Whoa, ok,” he assented, giving his brother a look.

  She dragged him to the stairs, leaving Jeffrey behind. She still felt as though she would vomit any second, but shutting the door to Carter’s bedroom did bring her some relief. The rest of the world was out there, and they were in here, and they could finally, finally reconnect.

  Carter picked up a piece of mail that had been set on the dresser for him. It was a purple envelope that had no return address. Avery climbed onto the bed as he opened it, learning over to tug on his shirt when he didn’t come right away. Removing the small slip of paper he read the frilly, scripted words.

  “I can’t wait to see you again?” he puzzled. “Did you write this?”

  But Avery couldn’t care less about whatever it was he was doing or talking about. She sunk a finger into his waistband to tug him closer to the bed, but he jumped like his ass was on fire.

  “Whoa, easy!” he gasped, backing up.

  Smiling, Avery wasn’t about to let him go. Slinking out of the bed, she approached him, her eyes on him, her hair flowing around her face, and breathing heavily. Carter bumped up against the wall.

  “I want you to listen to me, Carter, and I want you to do what I say. We’ve waited long enough and I can’t take it anymore. You’re going to tear off my clothes, throw me on the bed, and fuck me so hard the bed breaks because if I don’t have you inside me in ten seconds I’m going to scream. Ok?” she closed sweetly, leaning in and planting the gentlest kiss on his cheek.

  Carter had broken into a sweat, and his skin went beet red. He shuddered, twitching a bit, and Avery had just enough time to peer at him curiously before the smell of Cool Ranch Doritos made it to her nose.

  “UNNNGFFF,” he wheezed.

  “Oh, Carter, why?” she gasped. Avery closed her eyes, crushed. Her fingers and toes ached with unfulfilled desire.

  “I…I just,” he stammered. Avery didn’t scream, instead she started laughing. The first chuckles sputtered through her lips, making Carter seem even more uncomfortable.

  “After all the times I made fun of you for being quick you did this to get back at me, right? That’s what you were doing in the bathroom, putting yourself right on the edge so you could pay me back. I get it. Hardy harr harr. Ok, we’ll just have to wait a few minutes before we can try again,” she said, taking a seat on the bed.

  Carter didn’t even crack a smile though, and he just kept shaking his head, pinned against the wall, cream in his shorts. He looked pale as a sheet. Avery’s phone rang, and it quickly became apparent her plan would not work out the way she wanted.

  “Hey, Mom, what do you want? I’m a little busy now. Why is Lori at a Lamaze class? She’s only been pregnant for like a few weeks. Can’t you pick her up? This is really inconvenient! Oh, all right. Lori doesn’t need a Lamaze class though; she needs a doctor! Yeah, I know. Fine, bye.”

  “That’s an awful shame you’ve got to get going,” Carter sighed. “Family comes first though, and you’ve got to do what you’ve got to do. We’ll catch up soon, I promise.”

  He had a cheesy grin on that made Avery wonder. Did he want her t
o leave? Everything felt so weird and she didn’t know what to do about it. Right now, there was only one thing she could do, pick up her pregnant twelve-year-old sister.