by Wilde, Ora
“Unbelievable,” I answered him.
“In a good way? Or in a bad way?” he tried to clarify.
“Neither. She’s an easy target, that much I’m certain of. But... something unexpectedly came up, a little twist to this tale.”
“A twist, huh? A twist that would make you hand over the keys to your Hummer?” He flashed an overweening smile.
“Hardly. I still have this under control. This... twist... it’s just an unexpected obstacle, an unfortunate delay.”
“I hope it’s not a significant setback,” Donnie said with an air of cockiness that actually rivaled my own. “Remember, it’s already Thursday, and if by Sunday, you still haven’t claimed her, your sweet Hummer’s mine.”
“It’s nothing major,” I told him. “You know me, Donnie... have I ever failed on something like this?”
“There’s always a first time for everything, boss,” Zack suddenly interjected.
“Oh shut the fuck up, Zack. I won’t fail, okay? Me failing? That’s like god being tainted with an imperfection.”
“What’s her name again?” Donnie questioned.
“Phoebe. Phoebe Ellison,” I answered.
“Ah. Phoebe Ellison. The not-so-tiny blemish on Hayden Summersmith’s otherwise perfect record,” he bumptiously proclaimed, extending his hands and drawing his fingers as if he was making a poster frame in the air.
“Gentlemen... I will allow you to indulge in this moment of mockery,” I quipped. “Because by the end of this week, I will be the one laughing, and I will chain your damn video game console on my Hummer and haul it all around the campus.”
Donnie swallowed heavily.
“W-What’s the point of that?” he asked nervously.
“Nothing,” I said. “Just a reminder that you shouldn’t ever doubt me when it comes to matters like this.” I gave him a boastful grin, a dose of his own medicine.
“So, what is this twist that you were talking about, boss?” Zack reminded me, his eyes brimming with curiosity... a childlike expression that was a stark contrast to his overly imposing frame.
“Uhm...” I didn’t know if I should tell them or not.
“What is this twist, Hayden?” Donnie pressed for an answer. “That she’s gonna be a nun? That she’s already married? That she’s a lesbian?”
“Uhm...” I was buying some time to think about the right way to share with them what happened.
“Oh my God!” Donnie screamed as if he realized something earth-shattering. “You’re already in love with her?!”
“Don’t be a fucking moron, Donnie,” I said. “It’s nothing as improbable as that.”
“What then, boss?” Zack excitedly queried.
“Well... it turns out that her mother’s dating my father.”
“What the fuck?!” Donnie remarked, his shocked reaction looked like he was at the verge of a seizure, though the way his mouth was opened conveyed how much he wanted to laugh about the strange turn of events.
“And they’re getting married,” I added. “Next weekend.”
“Whoa!” Donnie couldn’t believe what I just said.
“That’s so strange, boss,” Zack responded, again, with naive wonderment as he scratched his head crowned by his scruffy brown hair.
“Yes... it is, Zack,” I uttered. “Me and her... we’re going to be siblings.”
“That’s so sick!” Donnie yelled in disgust, only for his lips to curl into a lascivious smile immediately thereafter. “Yet, that is so fucking hot! You’re gonna fuck your sister! I mean... how cool is that?”
Zack started to jump up and down excitedly.
“I don’t know about it being hot,” I said, “but I do know that I can use that to my advantage.”
“Really now?” Donnie asked skeptically. “How?”
“You’ll see,” I told him with a smug smile.
His words, though, kept ringing in my head.
You’re going to fuck your sister.
The immediate response to that thought was repulsion, naturally. Her mother wouldn’t like that. The people we know wouldn’t like that. My father wouldn’t like that.
My father...
Hmmmm....
You’re going to fuck your sister.
Somehow, Donnie’s statement was quickly turning into a very wonderful idea.
Chapter 24
PHOEBE
“Oh! My! God! I’m sorry Phoebe... this is just too much to process. I need to take a seat and drink something.”
I offered Cindy my can of soda. She gulped the entirety of its content. She was that thirsty. And she was that shocked by what I have revealed to her.
She looked around the cafeteria to see if there were people around us... people who might know Hayden Summersmith. When she was certain that we were safe, she began to speak once again.
“So, let me get this straight. You went out on a date. Then he tried to kiss you. Then you turned him down. Then he insisted on going to second base, third base, or whatever base with you. Then you said the words he told me last weekend. And he got mad?”
“Basically, yes,” I confirmed.
“Yes!” she screamed jubilantly as she gave me a tight hug. “I love you, I love you, I love you! You’re so fucking good! Tell me more, Phoebe! Please tell me more!”
“Well... he was a fantastic date.”
“He is. But that’s just a sham. He’d make you feel like you’re so fucking special just to get inside your skirt. And once he’s done with you, he’d drop you and move on to his next target.”
“He did seem sincere at times.”
“Hello? Phoebe? Of course he would seem sincere. He’s acting. And acting is useless if that actor isn’t convincing.”
“I guess you’re right.”
“So... was he a good kisser?”
“Errr....”
“Wait a minute!” She gasped before continuing. “You just kissed right?”
“Of course duh that was all we did nothing more nothing less I mean... duh... what else could we do, right? On a first date? Geez. What were you thinking?”
“Uhm... that you’re talking too fast again?”
Oh crap! I was talking fast...
She gave me a frown as she eyed me dubiously.
“Are you lying to me, girl?” she asked with so much uneasiness and doubt.
“No... we just kissed... I swear!”
“Aha! So you kissed. How was it?”
“It was... alright, I guess...”
“Alright? That’s hardly an adjective.”
“I dunno, really. It’s not like I’ve kissed many guys before. Well... it’s not like I’ve kissed a guy before.”
“Well, who started the kiss then?”
“He did!” I yelled with certainty so as not to give her any stupid idea that I was the one who initiated the whole kissing thing.
“Was there some tongue action involved?”
“Uhm...”
“Oh my God, Phoebe! You’re no longer a mouth virgin!”
“I’m no longer a what?”
“A mouth virgin! Your sweet, innocent mouth has been ravished and violated by his filthy tongue! Ewwww!” She laughed and laughed after saying those words.
I was left wetting my lips, contemplating on whether there was some truth in what she said.
“Anyways... how did the night end?” she asked.
“Well, I pushed him away and told him what you wanted me to say.”
“That it’s not him, it’s you?”
“Yes.”
“Ha! Gotcha, you stinkin’ bastard! And how did he react?”
“He was mad. I was so afraid. I thought he’d go all batshit on me.”
“And that’s when you exited his Hummer and left him there, wallowing in frustration and anger, right?”
“Uhm... not exactly.”
“Not exactly?”
“Uhm, Cindy... my mom arrived and saw us in his car.”
“Oh shit! Did she see you guys
making out?”
“I... I don’t think so.”
“Oh, thank goodness. You know, my mom caught me once while kissing a guy. She gave me hell afterwards, and I was grounded for a week.”
“Yeah, I remember that. Collin McDervish, right? The guy with a thick Scottish accent?”
“Right! Wow! You know, I’ve forgotten his name... but your memory, Phoebe... it’s amazing!”
I didn’t tell her that most of my knowledge about the males of our specie came from her stories.
“Well, thankfully your mom didn’t catch you,” she repeated once more. “Why did she go home late, by the way? Doesn’t she sleep at... what time’s that again? 9 P.M.? For her morning shift?”
“Uhm...” I was so hesitant to answer her question. “She... she actually came from a date,” I finally said.
Cindy bursted into laughter. Either she couldn’t believe that my mom, at her age, was still on the lookout for romantic prospects; or she was astonished by the fact that we both had dates on the same night.
“Oooohhhh.... your mom must be in heat,” she said in jest. “Who’s the lucky man.”
“Errr.... William?”
“William?”
“William... Summersmith?”
Cindy’s face immediately became ghastly pale, as if all her blood was sucked out of her. Her eyes, stretched wide and dazed, looked at me fixedly, as if she was waiting... praying... for me to say that I was just kidding.
I wished I was.
“And my mom... she’s pregnant, with his baby, and they’re going to get married,” I added. What the heck. Might as well tell her everything rather than make her suffer gradually. “Next week. We’re moving to their place, in Beverly Hills.”
Her body language indicated that she was at the brink of fainting. Luckily, the chairs we were sitting on had backrests. She slumped her entire weight on the cushioned support, as she tried to absorb everything that I’ve shared.
“That scumbag... he’s going to be your... brother?” she asked, though she very well knew the answer.
“Stepbrother, actually,” I corrected her.
“This changes everything,” she uttered morosely. “You may not have fallen in love with him, but he’s practically your family now. You can’t possibly hate him as much as I do.”
I wanted to tell her the words she wanted to hear, that yes, I abhorred him with every fiber of my being; that yes, I believed he was the lowest form of dirt on this earth; that yes, I would continue to loathe him after everything that has happened and even after he becomes my sibling....
But I couldn’t.
Hayden... he’s a very intricate young man. Egocentric yet charming, ruthless but romantic, with shallow needs but with deep inclinations. He was a riddle that was begging to be solved... a riddle that’s so spellbindingly baffling... a riddle that I have become very much engrossed with.
“Nothing has to change, Cindy,” I told her firmly, though I doubted if I believed my own words.
She looked at me and smiled, out of relief more than anything else.
“You’re my BFF, okay?” she asked, still waiting for any reassurance I could give.
“Of course,” I replied as I placed my arm around her and rested my head on her shoulder.
“But you can’t fall in love with him, understand?” she suddenly added with stern foreboding.
“Never,” I said, as I bit my lips away from her sight, fearing that I might regret that word in the future.
Then my phone beeped, signaling a text message.
I slid my fingers across the screen to see who it was from. The sender’s name appeared: Jackass, the tag I attached to Hayden’s number. I surreptitiously opened the message, making sure that Cindy wouldn’t see it.
Meet me tonight. Lobby, Beverly Wilshire.
Anger started to build up inside me as I realized how brazen his SMS was. He didn’t even give me a choice. He assumed that I would say yes. He thought that he got me under his spell, despite me turning him down last night. He’s such a pompous prick. He’s a stupid, dirty, overbearing, snooty assho-
My phone beeped again.
I opened the message...
I miss you.
My fingers suddenly scuttled to type a reply.
What time?
Chapter 25
HAYDEN
As soon as the small hand of my watch went past the second counter, I began to get edgy. She was late, and waiting wasn’t really my thing, especially in the lobby of a hotel where dozens of tourists pass by me, reeking of sweat and scents from strange perfumes I will never use in my life. I hated waiting, more so when I had so much in store for her that night. Time was of the essence, and we were wasting it.
I had to cool my nerves down.
I got up from the couch at the lounge and proceeded outside to smoke. Before I could light up my stick, though, a cab pulled over, and she went out.
Her hair was cleanly tied in a ponytail revealing the soft skin of her neck. She was wearing a very loose Nirvana shirt - as to why, I wouldn’t know, grunge is so passé -and a pair of dark-colored jeans. What surprised me the most was that she was also wearing the Retro Jordans I bought for her last night.
She was a tad too underdressed for the occasion, but it didn’t matter.
I threw my cigarette away and dashed towards the cab. She smiled at me as soon as she saw me. I closed the door for her.
Hayden’s Life Lesson No. 29: Always make a woman believe that chivalry isn’t dead. It’s just become a Quick Pass to get her to bed.
“Hey!” I greeted her.
“Hey!” she greeted me back. “So sorry I’m late. Had a hard time sneaking out of the house.”
“Hmmmm. Your mom doesn’t want you going out on two consecutive nights?”
“Errrr... not really. It’s for an.... entirely different reason.”
I offered my arm and she held it as she gave me a smile. We marched back to the hotel.
“So... what’re we going to do tonight?” she asked.
Eagerly, if I may add. If she only knew. Tonight was the night when her remaining defenses would fall. Tonight was the night when she would surrender herself to me.
Hayden’s Life Lesson No. 41: When a woman shows excitement, reciprocate it with calm avidity to temper her expectations and make your surprise even more disarming.
“Nothing much,” I answered. “I just wanted a... quiet time with you. To talk. Get to know each other better.”
“I see, but didn’t we do that last night?”
“We can do that every single night, and I won’t get tired of it,” I replied with a grin.
She was visibly moved by my show of sweetness. She didn’t know if she would jump up and down with joy, or keep quiet and preserve her dignity. She chose the latter, though the rather peculiar curl of her lips revealed how much she was enjoying the moment.
Hayden’s Life Lesson No. 17: Flattery will get you everywhere, but a simple act of tenderness would get you straight inside her skirt.
Or her jeans, as the case may be.
I led her to the elevator and the operator greeted us with some pleasantries. He actually recognized me.
“Good evening, Mr. Summersmith,” he said with a wide smile. “How can I help you this fine evening?”
“The penthouse, please,” I answered.
He nodded and pressed the button labeled P.
“The penthouse?” Phoebe asked, tensed all of a sudden. She probably thought I was bringing her to a room.
Not yet.
“You’ll see,” I told her as I gently caressed her elbow, inviting her to trust me.
Trust me.
Now that’s funny. If she only knew. If all of the girls before her only knew. Trust was so easy to win. Feigned kindness, simulated courtesy, pretending to listen when you’re bored out of your wits... those are more than enough to convince them that you’re worthy of their faith.
The elevator chimed, signaling that we have arrived
at our destination. As soon as the doors opened, we were greeted by a wide hallway that was lavishly ornamented with around a half dozen chandeliers - all Italian, as far as I could tell - and a dark red carpet that was soft, I could feel its texture through my shoes.
