by Linda Cooper
***
Tanya walked through the open front door of the house that matched the address on her phone. There were cars parked up and down the streets and music filling the air, the bass turned all the way up. Where were all the adults? Shouldn’t they be complaining or calling the cops?
Inside was nothing but a sea of bodies and cigarette smoke. She could already see wet spots where people had spilled whatever alcoholic beverage they were drinking all over the carpet. Couch cushions could be found in every corner, and people were standing on glass tables. It was so chaotic; she had to blink several times to make sure she was really seeing all of it. It was hard to believe that people actually behaved this way. She wanted to find Danny and get out of there.
She saw him in the corner with the girl with the freckles. She walked a little closer, leaning on the low fireplace mantle and heard her grating giggle and him saying her name. Apparently it was Sarah. Wasn’t that just a typical boring name?
He was clearly flirting, right in front of her, and now she really wasn’t sure what to make out of it. Then, they started kissing, making terrible smacking noises, and she had to move on. She thought about leaving and then decided that there was really no point. She was already there, so she might as well have fun. So, she made her way over to the punch bowl and dipped a red plastic cup into it. She had no idea if it had been spiked or not, but it was a chance she was willing to take. When in Rome, right?
She guzzled that down and grabbed another before mingling with the rest of the party goers. She ended up being shoved over by the stereo that was pumping out the music for that evening’s festivities, and she got an idea. She made sure no one was paying attention and quickly switched it to one of her favorite stations. A few people kind of gave each other weird looks, but for the most part, people were too enthralled with making out or getting drunk to care.
She saw some girls dancing in what was most likely the dining room, and she threw back the rest of her drink before joining them. One of her favorite songs, a haunting trance track, came on the radio, and she threw all caution to the wind, using a chair to climb up onto the wood table with the other girls who were shaking their bodies mindlessly and stripping. She closed her eyes for a moment and just felt the music before she began to move her body. She put her arms above her head and twisted her arms around each other while swaying her hips.
She was actually beginning to draw a small crowd of her own. She heard some guys saying things like “Hey, look at that goth chick shaking her shit. She looks pretty hot.”
Tanya smiled to herself and continued to entertain the crowd for the rest of the song and into the next until she looked down to see that Sarah was grimacing at her. Danny came into the room, carrying cups for both of them. She looked down at him with a sly smile on her face as she continued to sway to the beat. But with barely a glance, he tugged on Sarah’s arm and left the room, disappearing to who knows where.
Feeling distressed, she hopped down to some clapping and went to find him. She watched as he ascended the stairs with Sarah, going to find a private room most likely. Still too tipsy to drive home, she went upstairs as well, finding an empty room; the master. It was locked, but she easily picked it with a hair clip. It wasn’t like she was going to trash it or fornicate on someone’s bed. So, it didn’t really matter. She just needed to think and sober up before she headed home.
She sat down on the bed and looked around the room. For such a large and nice house, the master bedroom was pretty boring. All the décor was easy black and white and the only personal touches were the picture frame with a family portrait in it from some ski vacation and a couple pieces of jewelry lying out on the dresser. She looked at the family in the photo; a perfect looking family of five, and didn’t recognize them. But they looked like they were a happy family. Would they be so happy if they knew one of their children was throwing a wild party in their absence?
A knock came on the door, and she straightened up, her eyes going wide. Should she hide? Then, she recognized the voice coming through the door. “I know you’re in there.” It was Danny. Forgetting everything else from that evening she stood up and smoothed out her blonde hair and hopped up to answer the door. She pulled him in and locked it behind her.
They sat down on the bed, and as his lips trailed her collar bone she closed her eyes. “I saw you out there dancing. You looked so sexy. It was hard to keep my hands off of you,” he said in between kisses.
Tanya pulled away and looked at him like he had a bug on his face. She needed some clarity once and for all. “Then, why did you insist on ignoring me to get all over Sarah?” She spit the name in his face and stood up so he couldn’t reel her back in so easily.
She heard him chuckle, and she turned around in shock. How could he laugh? “It’s so cute how jealous you are,” he said with a smile as he approached her looking like a lion on the hunt. He pulled her in by the waist and planted a warm kiss on her mouth before pulling back a little bit to look at her. “Look, I think we need to set some ground rules little sister.” It came out in a snake-like hiss, but it sounded sensual; the way he called her his little sister.
“Like what?” she breathed, trying to keep control of herself. She was sure she was shaking as his breath tickled her neck.
“Like the fact that we can’t be together out in the open. In fact, we need to keep up with our current relationships in order to keep up appearances.”
“How do you even know I’m in a relationship?” she asked, feeling a little frustrated at the suggestion. Was he seriously suggesting an affair? Because that’s what it sounded like, and she wasn’t into that at all.
“Maybe I’ve been in your room once or twice and seen the video messages. Maybe I’ve come on occasion to watch you sleep.” A part of Tanya knew that this should be a red flag and that she should be embarrassed. Some of those video messages were dirty. But all his words did for her was making her feel exhilarated. “So, do we have a deal?”
“What if I don’t like the idea of you with another girl?” When she asked it, Danny’s face hardened, and he took his nail and dug it into her chin, forcing her to look up at him.
“Then, Mom and Dad will know you seduced me, and you’ll be out on your ass. Besides, that’s the whole point of keeping it secret. What do you think they’d do to us if they knew we were fucking?” Tanya took a deep breath as he allowed her chin to drop and looked down at her toes with a nod. As cruel as he sounded, he was right. Her mother would never forgive her if she knew she was falling for her new step brother. No one would understand. “Now that’s a good girl,” Danny coaxed, sliding his hand down her long hair like he was petting her before kissing her once again and leading her to the bed.
Chapter 6
Tanya pulled up her instant messenger to see that Tim was on. It was a few days before Thanksgiving, and things had been progressing with Danny for over two weeks now. She was beginning to feel guilty and strange trying to keep things up with Tim, especially since he barely ever talked to her. He had never even told her happy birthday or given her a present. So, she thought it was time to compromise with the rules at least.
Hey Tim, can we talk?
Sure, what’s up?
Well, I’ve been thinking…..this long distance thing is hard. And I know I said that I wanted to stay together because I loved you and we’ll be together in college.
Absolutely, and you were right. But it is hard.
Yes, so, I was thinking to be fair, we should maybe make this an open relationship. Just until we graduate.
Yeah?
Yeah, if that’s okay with you, anyway.
Yeah, that’s fine with me. I’m glad you’re being mature about this. But hey, I’ve got some family coming in. I gotta go for now.
Yeah, me too. Talk to you later.
Tanya shut her laptop and put her head in her hands. Of course she had feelings for Danny and was glad there was a loophole so she wasn’t cheating anymore, but it had been a little too e
asy to get Tim to agree. Had he already been seeing someone else too? It made her a bit of a hypocrite to be upset, but she couldn’t help it. Her and Tim had been together for so long and had been through so much. It felt like the end of an era.
“Tanya, your friend’s here!” she heard her mother call from the living room. She sniffed in so that her nose wouldn’t run and took a deep breath. Lauren was staying over until after Black Friday. Her parents were taking a vacation and wouldn’t be celebrating Thanksgiving. Tanya had a lot planned. She actually wanted to go shopping and get some things to impress Danny. Her long term plan was to convince him that she was worth the risk of breaking up with Sarah. Not that Lauren would be the most knowledgeable companion, but it didn’t matter. If Tanya was going to be a fashion major, she should be just fine at the mall.
She walked out of her room and almost ran into Danny in the hallway. They gave each other a secret smile, and he put his finger to his lips and walked in step behind her. He grabbed her hand and held it until they were in view of the family and the two teenage girls sitting on the couch. Wait, two girls?
Tanya put her hand up to her mouth in shock as she saw the two high ponytails sticking up over the couch that clearly belonged to Quinn. “Quinn!” she called as the two girls stood up, and Tanya ran to give her a hug. “What are you doing here?”
“Well hello to you too, bestie. Your Dad came and picked me up and took me to the airport. I wasn’t celebrating the holidays without you, no way. Besides, I’ve decided to get my GED. I’m sick of being the odd one out and being behind. I just want to be done. So, I’m staying here through New Year’s. Isn’t that great? Then, I’ll go back and get my GED.”
“Wow, that’s awesome!” Tanya exclaimed. “Oh, I almost forgot.” She pulled Lauren up to the both of them. “Lauren, this is Quinn. She lived in Portland with me. Quinn, this is Lauren. Her parents are hippies.” Tanya watched as Lauren rolled her eyes before speaking. Tanya had fun teasing her about that.
“Yes, they are, clearly. It’s nice to meet you, Quinn.” Quinn pulled Lauren in for a hug, and they all laughed. “So, when are we going shopping?” Lauren asked.
Tanya craned her neck and looked over at her mother in the kitchen. “Mom, can we borrow the car to go to the mall?”
“Oh, darling, it needs a tune up pretty bad. Why don’t you have your brother take you?” Tanya tried not to cringe at the word “brother”. It sounded like a dirty word coming from her mother’s mouth.
“Yeah, why don’t you take us, Danny?” Quinn batted her eyes over at Danny, and Tanya resisted the urge to slap her best friend. Unbeknownst to her, she was flirting with the guy that Tanya was sleeping with. She may need to have a talk with her later. Tanya crossed her arms and saw a half smile creep onto Danny’s face. Was he seriously considering giving them a ride?
“Well, I’ve got nothing else to do. Let me go change and I’ll be right out.” He gave the three of them a wink and walked down the hallway to his room. Tanya had to pick her jaw up before walking the other two out to the garage to wait for Danny. The oohs and ahhs that came from Quinn’s mouth at the sight of the car were priceless.
Tanya laughed, and before she knew it, Danny was out there with the keys. “So, who gets shot gun?” Quinn asked, clearly still flirting.
Danny chuckled and opened the door to the sleek black sports car and moved the driver’s seat up so they could get in. “My little sis of course.” He winked right at Tanya, and she could feel the heat rising to her face. So, she bent down and climbed into the passenger’s seat with her arms crossed. She couldn’t give any clues away or she’d risk everything. So, as they took off, she messed with the radio to distract herself. But she could feel his eyes on her at every red light and stop sign on the way.
When they got there, she was the first one out of the car. She needed to get away from him before she did something stupid. “Be sure to keep your phone on you in case I need to find you!” Danny called after them as they went inside. Tanya glanced back to see him hop in the car and take off to find a parking spot. She somehow knew there was a message in what he said, that her phone would be buzzing soon enough with a message.
“So, what are you shopping for?” Quinn asked with a big smile on her face. Tanya walked up to the front desk and grabbed a mall map and began looking for the right stores.
“First, we start with the lingerie,” Tanya answered, pointing to the place on the map where there were two intimates’ stores.
“Ooooh, are you planning on being Tim’s Christmas present?” Quinn joked. Tanya saw Lauren’s eyes go wide with the suggestion. So, she used it to avoid the question.
“Lauren, if you’re going to hang with us, you’re going to have to get a little less shocked by all this stuff,” Tanya joked, putting her arm over Lauren’s shoulders with a laugh. Lauren gave a sheepish smile, and they made their way to the intimate’s stores. Tanya was ready to get something to impress Danny.
Tanya walked out of there with three new outfits that she planned on utilizing as soon as possible. As they walked out of the store, though, she felt her phone buzz and she picked it up to see a text from Danny.
Meet me by the men’s dressing room in Sears.
She looked up at her friends which were already headed in to Spencer’s. “Hey guys, I’ll catch up in a bit. I need to go to the bathroom.” They nodded and waved in acknowledgement as she took off in the direction of the department store, searching for the men’s department. There was a line and only one cashier. There was no other employee around, and the dressing room was just a small locked door, one room only. She felt a tug as Danny pulled her inside and shut the door behind them.
“Hey sexy,” he greeted her in a deep, sexy voice. She giggled as he lifted her up by her thighs and pushed her up against the wall, kissing up and down her face and neck. “So, what did you get?” He set her down and peeked in the bag, pulling out the lingerie she had bought in blacks, reds and whites. “Are these for me?” he asked with a sly grin on his face. “I hope they are. God, just thinking about you in them has got me hard.
He shoved her against the wall, and she pushed her hands out in front of her top catch herself. He came up behind her and ran his hands up her legs which were covered in knee high stockings, and stopped at her panties, moving them to the side. She felt his fingers slide across her sensitive skin, and she bit her lip as she felt herself getting wet at his touch. He slid a finger inside of her and began pumping it. She rocked her hips into his hand, moaning softly as he made her climax right there in the dressing room.
Danny pulled his finger out, spinning her around to face him, and she watched as he licked the finger that had been inside of her. “I better get back before they wonder where I am.”
He nodded and opened the door for her. “I guess we’ll finish this another time, when you can wear one of those.” He glanced at her bag and smiled before going off in the other direction, leaving her winded and wet in the men’s department.
Chapter 7
Thanksgiving passed without any circumstance. Because there were so many people around, moments with Danny were few and far between. But there was an awkward moment when their parents asked about Tim and Sarah. They met eyes for a minute, thinking of what to say. She had shrugged and told them that distance was a little harder than she’d expected but that she was trying her best. Danny, thankfully, told them that she was nothing that serious, just another cheerleader which her mother had scowled at him for. She tried not to laugh and give anything away.
Now it was Monday morning and time to go back to school. She was looking at herself in the mirror, hoping that she looked like she wanted to. She hadn’t just bought lingerie at the mall. She had also bought some outfits that were more reminiscent of the popular crowd. Right now she had a white ribbon in her hair, a pink sweater, black tights, and a black ruffled skirt with buckle shoes. Her makeup was more toned down with some natural pinks and browns instead of her usual bold black. She looked a bit
like a doll actually.
Quinn walked into the bathroom, and Tanya jumped out of her skin. “Geez, Quinn, you scared the shit out of me.”
“I can say the same about you, my friend. So, who is he?”
“Who is who?” she looked at Quinn, confused.
“The guy that you’re dressing up for. Do you think I’m that naive, Tanya? No way are you changing your image just because you feel like it. This is not you at all.”
“Is it that bad?” Tanya surveyed herself in the mirror again.
“No, it’s not bad; just different. But you have to tell me who!” Quinn screeched, wanting to know all the details about her best friend’s new life.
“Well, it’s supposed to be a secret. He has a girlfriend.” She shrugged. But he’s on the football team and super popular and cute. He’s dating this really annoying cheerleader who hates my guts. I really want to prove to him that he doesn’t have to hide me or date someone else, but I don’t know if it’ll work.”
“Well, whoever he is, he’s got to appreciate the fact that you’re trying, willing to sacrifice who you are to make him happy. And if he doesn’t, then he doesn’t deserve you.” Tanya shot her a look. “Yeah, I know that it’s not as simple as it sounds. But it should be. Just don’t lose who you are, okay?” Tanya nodded and smiled.
“So, I look okay?”
“You look great, for a prep!” The girls laughed as Tanya began to chase Quinn around the room.
***
Tanya looked around the student parking lot for where Danny had parked. As usual, Sarah and the others were standing around his car and worshipping it and him. Since Thanksgiving the wind had really picked up a chill, and there hadn’t been a day since that was above freezing. So, it was either she convinced him to give her a ride home or she was going to have to take the bus. She hadn’t even brought a coat. Her sweater would have to be enough.
