by MB Mulhall
“Yum,” Darcy said.
“The beer? Or me?” the boy asked turning with a grin.
“Oh shit! Did I say that out loud?” Darcy slapped a hand over her mouth. His gorgeous mouth went from grinning to laughing, blue eyes twinkling with amusement.
“Maybe if you’re good, I’ll let you touch it later,” Chaz said with a wink, leaning back against her kitchen counter. Darcy burned like the sun. She was forever embarrassing herself in front of the guy.
It was more than she could take. Backing up to retreat, Darcy stumbled over the bucket of water she had been using to clean. Water sloshed onto the floor and she promptly slipped on it. Arms flailing, she felt herself going down. What was it with falling around this guy?! Was he a jinx?
Reeling forward, she tried to brace herself for impact. Darcy was surprised when she found herself on something soft, well, softer than the floor anyway. Cautiously opening her eyes, she realized Chaz had broken her fall and her body was flush against his. She squirmed to get up, but his strong arms held her tight.
“You okay?” His voice sounded deep and husky. Unable to speak, Darcy nodded her head.
“Good, then I won’t feel guilty about doing this,” Chaz said as he lifted his head and kissed her. Darcy’s mouth opened in surprise. He took it as an invitation to deepen the kiss. She felt like she was falling all over again. Who knew her kitchen was the ultimate aphrodisiac?
Kissing Chaz was a totally different experience than kissing Judd. With Judd it was all lustful and forbidden feeling. Like it was something she shouldn’t be doing. With Chaz, there was passion, but she could feel more. It was hard to explain, but it felt like there was more behind his kiss. It just felt right.
His hands stroked her hair as he continued the assault on her mouth. She could feel her heart pounding against her ribs. Surprisingly, she thought she could feel his as well. He shifted and her one leg slide between his. Without thinking about it, she used her knee to push herself up and closer to him, her thigh brushing against something hard and pulsating. She froze. Were all southern boys so easy to excite? Chaz, noticing her sudden lack of participation, pulled away, looking embarrassed.
“Sorry about that,” he said with a nervous chuckle, running a hand through his hair. Darcy pushed herself up and sat back on her heels.
“It’s okay. Not like you can really control it,” she said unable to look him in the face.
“You’d think I had never kissed a girl before.” He gave a little shy smile she didn’t see.
“I know that’s not the case…since ya know, I saw you and Liberty at lunch the other day.”
“Right…” They stayed there, her on her knees and him on his back, both too embarrassed to resume what they had been doing.
When they finally looked at each other, Darcy found herself drawn to him, wanting more, but unlike the day before she didn’t feel brave enough to make the move. She wondered why that was. He reached up to push her hair back. She leaned forward as he used the hand to guide her back towards him. He was close enough that she could smell his minty breathe when the front door opened. Darcy sprang up.
“Goddamn people in this house have the worst freaking timing!” She would never get to progress past kissing if they kept interrupting at opportune moments. If the kitchen was the aphrodisiac, then her front door was a damn chastity belt.
“Honey I’m hom-” Mandy bounded into the kitchen, full of smiles and energy, Liberty at her heels. They stopped short upon seeing Chaz on the floor, Darcy standing over him. Mandy put her hands on her hips.
“Well well well. What do we have here? While the cat’s away, the mice will play?”
“Are you calling yourself the cat because I would dub Liberty the puss-” Darcy said, annoyed at her step-sister for bringing the other bimbo home with her.
“Don’t even go there, Bozo,” Liberty interrupted, shooting daggers from her eyes. Mandy stepped in front of her friend.
“You two aren’t allowed to fight. There won’t be enough time to clean up the blood.”
“Whatever,” Liberty said. “I’m going to go borrow your shower.” She started to exit the kitchen and stopped at the door, turning to look back at Chaz. “Care to join me? It’ll be like old times.” Chaz, looking like a tomato, emphatically shook his head back and forth. Liberty raised one delicate shoulder and walked out before calling over her shoulder. “Your loss.”
Darcy watched Chaz get to his feet, very pointedly not meeting her gaze. She stepped back to give him room.
“I uhh should get going. Have to shower and get ready myself,” he said.
“Cold shower?” Mandy asked looking down before looking back at his face. He ignored her comment.
“See you guys later,” he said as he hurried to the front door, ignoring Darcy’s wounded expression. His actions gave her a sharp pain in her chest. She raised her hand to rub it, as if that would make it go away before she turned on her step-sister.
“Why didn’t you tell me Chaz was going to be the one coming over?”
“Because I didn’t know it was going to be him. Besides, looks like you didn’t mind so much,” Mandy stated raising an eyebrow. Darcy opened her mouth to make a comeback, but nothing good came to mind. Mandy was right, she had been happy to see him.
“Why did you have to bring Liberty home with you?” Darcy demanded to know. “That girl hates me.”
“Get over yourself. Not everything is about you. She’s my friend and had a reason to not want to go home. I wasn’t going to tell her no. God, you’re so selfish Darcy.” Mandy spun on her heel and stomped out of the room.
“W.T.F.?!” Darcy stood alone in the kitchen shaking her head. Her thoughts spun with the amount that had happen in the past few minutes. Deciding there was nothing she could do about any of it at the moment; she figured she’d lose herself in finishing up the cleaning. Grabbing the sponge earlier deposited in the sink, she sunk to her knees to mop up the water she had spilled.
Once the shower was free, Darcy took over the bathroom to get cleaned up. She hoped there would be some hot water left. Lucky for her, there was. She stood in the hot stream for a long time letting the dirt and grime slide off. Her heart and limbs felt heavy. After what happened in the kitchen, was Chaz even going to show to the party? She definitely hadn’t expected him to kiss her. While they had flirted a little, she knew how out of his league she was. Same with Judd, yet he was attracted too. Was she giving off some weird pheromone? Did guys in the south have some clown kink? She wondered if there was such a thing. Then she remembered rule 34: if it exists, there’s porn of it on the internet. Still, Darcy really didn’t understand all the attention. Should she even bother to try? Should she just go with the flow? It was making her head hurt.
She almost slipped when she heard the door open. Hadn’t she locked it? She thought she had. Pulling back the curtain she saw a blonde head.
“What the hell Mandy?! I’m showering here!” Her step-sister had popped her head in, frowning at all the steam.
“Yeah, for about forever now. We don’t have all day and getting you ready is going to take time. Get out already.” She slammed the door behind her mumbling about how the steam better not have flattened her hair.
Darcy wished she could just sneak off into her room and put on something black and her own makeup. She should have bargained with Mandy for something else. She knew she was going to regret the fashion intervention.
Finally, she shut the shower off and wrapped a towel, turban style, around her head with another wrapped around her body. Wiping off the foggy mirror, Darcy peered at herself. Her skin was pink and had a healthy glow to it, but her eyes looked tired, sad even. Resigned to her fate, she exited the bathroom.
“About damn time,” Libby said standing by Mandy’s door. Darcy ignored her and headed for her own bedroom.
“Where do you think you’re going?” Mandy asked joining Libby by the door.
“Am I not allowed to put underwear on? I draw the line
at sharing yours,” Darcy snapped.
“Fine. Make it quick then,” Mandy said before ducking back into her room. Thankful, Darcy slipped inside her own room and locked the door behind her. Opening a drawer, she wondered what she should wear. She had no idea what Mandy and Libby were going to put her in, but she knew they’d frown upon non-matching bra and undies. Fancy panties were a secret obsession of Darcy’s. She liked to match. It made her feel sexy.
What the hell, might as well go all out.
She picked a pair of bikini cut red satin and lace panties with a matching strapless bra. Normally she’d stay far away from a strapless because they practically cut off her circulation, but she had an idea that Mandy’s choice in clothing would be…minimal. Expending all the air in her lungs, she reached behind her to close the clasp. Saying it was uncomfortable was an understatement. She sighed and felt the metal stays dig into her sides. What women wouldn’t do in order to look good and attract men. Wrapping the towel back around her, she left her sanctuary and padded down the hall.
“All right, let’s get this over with,” Darcy said as she entered the room. Mandy pulled out her makeup chair and motioned for Darcy to sit.
“We’ll do hair and makeup before dressing you.”
“Whatever,” Darcy mumbled.
Mandy came at her with a hair dryer and a big round brush. Within minutes, Darcy’s short hair was dried into a sleek bob. She turned from side to side, admiring it. Moments later she found herself inside a cloud of product. She launched into a coughing fit as she inhaled the majority of it.
“Oops. Sorry. I should have warned you,” Libby said in an sticky sweet voice. Darcy glared at the girl, but said nothing. She was too busy coughing, tears running down her face. Mandy patted her on the back.
“I’m not choking on food!” Darcy spat out in between coughs. Mandy shrugged and plugged in some other apparatus. Once it heated up, Mandy straightened Darcy’s hair even more so it hung in a thick fire engine red curtain around her face, the edges blunt. Libby stepped in again to spray it, but Darcy was ready for her and closed her eyes and mouth. When she opened her eyes, Mandy was adding the final touch of a rhinestone bobby pin.
“Perfect!” Mandy declared standing back to admire her work.
“If only it wasn’t Ronald McDonald red,” Libby said with disdain. “I thought we were trying to get away from the Slappy the Clown look.” Mandy threw her friend a look.
“It looks good Darcy. Very…punk,” Mandy said.
Darcy picked up a hand mirror and checked herself out. It definitely looked better than her normal clip the sides back or put it into a short ponytail. It was shiny, sleek and very hip.
“I like it,” she told her step-sister. Mandy beamed. Making Darcy turn around, she set to applying makeup.
“Umm not too much, okay?” Darcy said. Libby dropped a heel she had been looking at.
“Are you kidding?” the other blonde asked staring at Darcy like she had three heads.
“No?” Darcy answered shaking her head. Mandy grabbed her chin.
“Hold still or you’re really going to end up looking like a clown.” When she was done, Mandy wouldn’t let Darcy look in a mirror until they dressed her; something about needing to see the whole package.
Liberty had laid out a couple of options for outfits but Mandy decided on a short dark blue denim skirt paired with two tops that she layered, a bright Kelly green chemise over a black tank top. Both girls did a double take when they saw Darcy’s sexy underwear, but said nothing. Darcy shrugged. She didn’t need to explain herself. They added a skinny black studded belt, half an arm of silver bangles and black strappy heels. The cheerleaders stood back admiring their work.
“Not bad,” Libby said. “She looks almost normal.” Mandy smacked her friend on the arm.
“Don’t listen to her Darcy, you look great.” They stepped aside so Darcy could get a look at herself. The skirt and heels combo made her legs look impossibly long. The skinny straps on the tank top and chemise showed off her creamy shoulders and long neck. Her makeup was dramatic at the eyes, making them look wide and surprised. Mandy had finished the look with a light blush and glossy pink lips. Darcy hardly recognized herself.
“That’s me?”
“That’s you,” her step-sister replied.
“Wow…” Mandy smiled at her sister’s reaction.
“All right ladies, let’s go finish up downstairs. People should be arriving shortly,” Mandy said heading out the door. Darcy lingered for a moment, continuing to check herself out. Liberty stood at the door, watching her.
“Don’t think some clothes and normal makeup changes you. Once a freak, always a freak. Watch your back and stay away from Chaz. You’ll never be good enough for him.” The blonde glided out of the room, leaving a stunned Darcy in her wake.Even though they had had words before, Darcy was thrown by the venom coursing through Libby’s words. Deep down she thought Liberty was right. She was a freak and she wasn’t good enough for Chaz. All the happiness she felt from her makeover was wiped away by a couple of nasty sentences. Suddenly, she wanted nothing to do with the impending party.
She trudged out of Mandy’s room, heading towards her own rather than down the stairs.
“Hey? Aren’t you coming down?” Mandy’s voice surprised Darcy.
“I just wanted to look for something first,” Darcy lied, not turning to face her step-sister. She heard the tell-tale sound of heels coming towards her. She closed her eyes momentarily.
“Are you unhappy with how you look? I know we made a deal, but if you’re really uncomfortable, you can change,” Mandy said when she came up beside Darcy. Darcy shook her head.
“No. No, that’s not it. I’m okay. I was worried you were going to deck me out in all pink so I looked like Pepto Bismol, but this is nice.” Mandy put her hands on her hips and leaned against the door jam.
“Then why do you look like someone stole your red nose and giant polka-dot shoes?” Darcy frowned and pushed past Mandy.
“None of your damn business. Go on, Party Barbie, don’t you have some Ken dolls to molest?” Hurt flashed across Mandy’s face. Darcy felt guilt immediately. She opened her mouth to apologize, but Mandy cut her off.
“Look, I don’t know what happened in the few minutes we separated, but just put it behind you and try to have a good time, huh?” Darcy just nodded as Mandy walked away. Her step-sister was right. She shouldn’t let Libby’s words get to her. Maybe some liquid courage would help. Turning heel, she followed Mandy down the stairs.
The party quickly got underway as people arrived in crowds sporting booze and other “recreational” refreshments. The music was cranked up and people were dancing all around the house. Darcy had never seen such a sight, short of bad 80’s flicks. A plastic cup of beer in hand, she kept to a corner where she could survey the debauchery without getting involved.
Every time the door opened, she glanced over, hoping to see Chaz, but was repeatedly disappointed. When 10p.m. struck, she figured he was going to be a no show. She felt deflated. So much for getting dolled up. A couple of drunk guys had stopped by and hit on her, but she just ignored them. Who wanted guys who only gave her attention when they had their beer goggles on?
Deciding enough was enough, Darcy left her corner to sneak up to her room. As she was nearing the front door, it swung open and in strutted Judd in all his bad guy glory: shiny black helmet in hand, jeans so tight they looked painted on, waist length bad ass biker jacket and those smoldering eyes. She was mesmerized, until she spotted the gorgeous raven haired beauty hanging on his arm; pixie short punk rocker blue-black hair, femme fatal red lips and a body to die for.
Judd scanned the room, taking in all that was going on around him. Darcy felt herself shrinking back, trying to hide before he spotted her. Too late. His gazed stopped on her and their eyes locked. She swore she saw heat rise in his before he looked away, not bothering to acknowledge her in any other way.
Darcy knew a brush off wh
en she saw it. For some reason, it made her blood boil. She had been good enough to feel up in the kitchen of love two days ago, but now she was no better than stale dog crap on crowded sidewalk that everyone stepped around? Screw going to her room. She was going to get trashed and live it up. He’d see what he chose to miss out on. Asshole.
Stomping into the kitchen, she filled her cup at the keg and threw it back, draining it in record time. She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and leaned over to re-fill, belching loudly in the process. She was nothing, if not classy. A hand shot out and grabbed hers.
“Don’t you think you should slow down?” Darcy looked up to find Chaz, concern in his pretty azure eyes. Where did he come from? Had he been there and been avoiding her? She pulled away.
“You’re not my mother,” she said reaching for the tap again. “In fact, my mother would highly approve of my actions.” She pumped a fist in the air. “Lushes unite!”
He frowned, his perfect face a mask of worry
“Look, can we go talk somewhere?” he asked her quietly.
“No, we can’t. You couldn’t get out of here fast enough before. You couldn’t even stand to look me in the face and say goodbye. What could you possibly want to say now? Sorry I was temporarily insane and that’s why I kissed you? Well guess what Chazy Wazy, no girl wants to hear that.” He shook his head.
“Please, you don’t understan-” She cut him off, the booze kicking in like a turbocharger.
“Oh yeah, I said I was going to call you Chuck, right Chuck? That’s so I can play the name game!” She giggled, downing the rest of her drink. “Chuck Chuck boe buck banana fanana foe fuc-”
“Daaarrrccccccy! Come dance with me!” Mandy interrupted Darcy’s singing to drag her away to the other room where the bass was pounding.
“Wait!” Chaz called out as Darcy exited, laughing at her step-sister. Mandy towed her into the crowd of writhing teenaged bodies moving to the beat. It wasn’t Darcy’s kind of music, but she couldn’t help but be swayed by the heavy bass. Swinging her hips and raising her arms over her head, she let herself undulate to the sounds. Mandy was dancing in front of her, laughing and twirling, occasionally grabbing Darcy’s hands so they could dance together. It was totally liberating. A song full of non-stop beats with provocative lyrics came blaring out of the stereo. Darcy slowed her movements down, putting on a sexy show that would only be beat if she had a pole to dance on. She felt a pair of big strong hands grip her hips, pulling her back to fit into the crux of their legs.
