Phew.
“You should totally get back together with him, Skye. I think he put on some muscle over the summer and grew a few inches.”
“If you think he’s so hot, why don’t you go out with him?” I frown.
“Because,” she rolls her eyes, “I’m saving myself for Dante.”
Funny. I am too.
“And I can’t date your ex,” she adds. “Way too much drama.”
And you dating Dante would equal less drama?
This is getting way too complicated.
There’s a simple fix. I hate to do it, but it has to be done. “Dante brought some random biker chick redhead over to the house for dinner last night. She owns her own clothing store and makes her own dresses.”
“Whaaaaaat?” she sings.
I nod. “After dinner, they were camped out in the guest bedroom with the door closed until my dad kicked her out.”
“Really?” She looks disappointed. Good.
“Yeah. I think they were making out.” I don’t have proof, but it’s a reasonable assumption. The important thing is that Rox knows that Dante is interested in someone else other than me. Or her. She may chase guys like the crazy flirt that she is, but she’s never been a home wrecker. Hopefully now she’ll finally back off.
“Well,” Rox grins coquettishly, “That just means I’ll have to step up my game. Let me know if he brings the skank with him for dinner. I’ll wear one of my scoop neck dresses and show off the girls.” She glances at her chest. “Bee tee double U, how was the chest on the redhead?”
“I didn’t look,” I scowl.
“No worries. I doubt her ta-tas measure up to mine.”
Oh, geez. What happened to the little Rox who used to love her Bratz dolls more than boys, just like I did?
Maybe I need to hang in the library with Jason and his card game cronies and forget about men entirely. I wonder if Jason’s friends like Bratz dolls? They could be like Bronies, except Bratzies. Do they have those? If they do, we’ll totally get along.
When Rox turns the corner to head toward her third period class, she says, “Don’t forget, if Dante has dinner at your house tonight, call me!”
“Okay!” I groan.
“See you at lunch!” she grins and sashays off.
oOoOoOo + O+O+O+O
At the start of lunch, I meet up with Rox in the quad.
“We should ask Luke to go with us to Subway,” she suggests.
She is totally trying to push me back into the arms of Luke. She’s not usually like this. Then again, Dante does that to women. He makes them crazy. He makes me crazy too. I sigh, “No men today. Girls Lunch Out. Okay?”
“Okay. But can we talk about men?”
“No! We can only talk about girl things like makeup or periods.”
She chuckles. “Periods?”
“Yes!” I laugh. “Let’s go.” I pull her toward the gym and we go around the back, using the gate past the school pool to get to the parking lot. I don’t want to bump into Luke and have him try to join us by default.
“You know what?”
“What?”
“If Dante does come for dinner, maybe you should invite Luke? So you’ll have someone to talk to while I focus on Dante.”
“Would you quit already?” I whine.
“Hey, Skye!” a girl calls out behind us.
I turn around and see Nicole Parrish and Kayla Horn. Rox and I have known them since freshman year. We hang out with them at school and do stuff outside of school like go to the mall or the movies or do homework at each other’s houses. But we’ve never been as close to Nicole and Kayla as we are to each other.
Nicole has straight brown hair and she’s really tall. She tends to stoop her shoulders a lot, like she doesn’t want to be so tall. She’s on the basketball team. Kayla doesn’t do any sports, except shop and starve herself. I swear Kayla wears new clothes five days a week. Her dad is a plastic surgeon, which is how she pays for all her clothes. Kayla is pretty, but she tries way too hard sometimes. I try not to hold it against her. From what she’s told me, I think her mom is kind of a bitch. It definitely rubbed off on Kayla, but she’s not so bad.
We saw them yesterday during Mrs. Huffman’s fifth period AP English Literature, which we all have together, but we didn’t have a chance to catch up.
“Hey, guys!” I smile.
“Are you guys going somewhere for lunch?” Nicole asks. “I’m starving!”
“Subway,” Rox says. “Wanna come? I’m driving.”
“Sure!” Kayla shrugs. “Let’s do this!”
We all pile into Rox’s Toyota and drive to Subway. We all order veggie sandwiches, except Nicole, who orders a foot-long hot meatball sandwich.
“Are you sure you got enough to eat?” Kayla snarks.
“Shut up, twigs,” Nicole snorts. “Maybe if you put some muscle on these skinny legs of yours, you’d have an appetite.”
“What do I need muscles for?” Kayla retorts. “I have guys lift things for me.”
Nicole rolls her eyes, “You are lazier than my mom.”
Nicole and Kayla always banter and bicker like this. They’re pretty funny together. They’re not as catty one-on-one, but we usually hang out together, so I’m used to it.
We carry our trays to a booth and sit down.
“What do you guys think of Mrs. Huffman?” Nicole asks, unwrapping her meatball sub.
“She’s supposed to be super laid back,” Kayla offers. “And an easy grader.”
“Sounds perfect because I like to nap fifth period,” Rox giggles before biting into her veggie sandwich.
“Totes,” Nicole giggles then looks at me. “She was way cool when you came in late yesterday, Skye.”
“Yeah,” I agree nervously.
“What was that about?” Kayla prods.
“Oh, uh… ” I stammer. Damn. I can’t tell them about me and Dante behind the church. “Uh, cramps?”
Rox narrows her eyes. “I thought you and I cycled together. You shouldn’t be cramping for at least a week.”
I shrug guiltily.
Kayla scowls, “Can we not talk about cramps and periods while Nicole forces me to watch her slobber all over her meatball sandwich?”
“You’re such a prude,” Nicole groans before taking a huge bite of her sandwich and chomping on it loudly. “Mmmm! Bloody meatballs!”
Rox grimaces, “Gross, Nicole!”
The three of them laugh while I breathe a sigh of relief. That was too close. Lying all the time sure is a pain in the ass.
“What is with those shoes?” Kayla scowls, watching a pair of older women walk in the front door. Both women wear business skirts and blouses with running shoes. “I wouldn’t be caught dead wearing those shoes with that outfit.”
Thank goodness for the distraction.
“Exercise isn’t a disease, Kayla,” Nicole sneers. “You can’t catch it like a cold. You actually have to get off your skinny ass and do it.”
“As long as my ass is skinny, why do I need exercise?” She glances at the women again and shivers. “It’s not just the shoes. Those outfits are terrible.” She fake gags. Then she plucks a tomato slice out of her sandwich, which sits uneaten on the Subway wrapping paper. She pops the tomato slice into her mouth. I think that’s all she’s gonna eat today.
“Don’t worry,” Rox says, “No one is making you wear them.”
“I hope not,” Kayla groans. “So, did you guys miss me this summer?”
My honest answer would be no. Instead, I say, “Why, did you go somewhere?” Because that’s what she wants someone to ask.
“To Europe, silly! Don’t you remember?”
“Oh yeah!” I remember her talking about it for the entire last month of junior year. “How was it?”
“Brills. My favorite place was Majorca. The guys there were incredible. Milan was second for guys, but the shopping was off the hook. Well, the guys were pretty hot there too, but it’s hard to compare when the guys
in Majorca were practically naked.”
“Did you have a summer fling?” Rox asks.
“Oh!” Kayla rolls her eyes with dramatic satisfaction and makes a moan face. “You mean, did I hook up with any hot guys?” She says it like a foregone conclusion.
“Well, did you?” Nicole grumbles. If Nicole has ever had a boyfriend, none of us know about it.
Kayla splays her fingers out almost like she’s getting her nails done by the rest of us. A conspiratorial look lights up her face. “His name was Santiago and every inch of his body was hard, and I mean every inch, and—” she rolls her eyes back in her head again, “—and, oh… my… god… did he know how to use it!”
“In other words, you made him do all the work,” Nicole says sarcastically.
Rox and I both giggle.
“You would’ve too,” Kayla snorts. “If you saw him, you’d be paralyzed by his godlike beauty.” She says it reverentially.
“Godlike? Sounds like a myth to me,” Nicole says. “Do you have any pics on your phone?”
Kayla focuses on her untouched sandwich and mutters, “My phone doesn’t work in Europe. So I left it at home.”
“If there even was a Santiago,” Nicole challenges.
“There was,” Kayla presses. “I met him in Majorca.”
“Yeah,” she snorts, “But his name was probably Herberto and he was muy peludo.” very hairy “I bet the only thing hard about him was the crusty hair on his back.”
“Ew!” Rox grimaces, grabbing a napkin to cover her mouth so she doesn’t spit out her bite of sandwich.
“Well, who did you hook up with this summer?” Kayla demands, glaring at Nicole.
“Your dad,” Nicole snorts. “Obvi.”
That causes the rest of us to laugh. Nicole chuckles and joins in, which defuses the tension between her and Kayla. Sometimes, it’s a wonder those two are friends. I guess it’s because they’ve known each other for a long time.
We finish up lunch and head back to campus.
When locker assignments were given out yesterday, Nicole and Kayla managed to get a pair near the cafeteria and the senior lawn. A prime location. They stop to open their lockers. It’s almost time for class. Numerous other seniors are at their lockers getting out books and binders. I guess the warning bell already rang and we missed it.
“Where’s your locker, Skye?” Kayla asks.
“Oh, it’s at the end,” I fib.
“Okay, see you guys in English.”
“Laters,” Rox waves goodbye as we walk toward her locker.
The two of us pass more seniors. Some are getting out their books while others are delaying the inevitable and chatting with friends.
“Hey, Skye,” Luke calls out, leaning out from a crowd of other seniors.
“Hey,” I mutter, slowing for a second. Then I remember what happened at lunch yesterday and speed up. I don’t want Luke mentioning in front of Rox that Dante was here yesterday and I talked to him and that he practically ran Luke off.
“Hey, Luke!” Rox says, grabbing my shirt and stopping me.
Great timing, Rox. I reluctantly turn to face Luke. Who happens to be standing right next to Ashley Masters. Brills. Grot! As in, groan + not = grot. Grot!
“Oh look, the Twatsy Twins,” Ashley grimaces.
Luke flicks his eyes at Ashley. Were they just talking? It sure looks like it. Are they friends? I don’t remember Luke ever mentioning it. But you know Luke. Friends with everybody. Even the Monarch of Snark. Maybe he got to know her after he and I broke up. I heard Ashley threw a lot of parties over the summer, so maybe he DJed them for her.
Ashley sneers at me. “I didn’t see you at the locker today, Nightlight. I was hoping you could shine my shoes for me.” She glances down at her ankle strap wedgies. They look brand new. She must’ve bought them at Bloomingdale’s the other day. Show off.
“I switched lockers,” I scowl.
“What, didn’t you like our upstairs-downstairs arrangement? It’s only fitting that the help lives below the aristocracy, don’t you think?”
I give her my best withering eye roll before turning away and pulling Rox with me.
“I’ll miss you, Nightlight!” Ashley croons. “If you ever want to clean my locker for me, bring a broom and a dust rag!” She laughs.
I ignore her. But I spin around and smile at Luke. “Hey, Luke!”
“Yeah?”
“Wanna come over for dinner tonight?”
“Sure,” he grins. “What time?”
“I’ll call you.”
“Sweet,” he says. “Laters!”
Ashley snarls, her lower lip bent into a twisted knot.
You can shove a broomstick up your ass, you bitch!
oOoOoOo + O+O+O+O
The bitch is back.
Phoebe.
She shows up with Dante around 5:00pm.
I was hoping it would just be Dante, but now I’m glad he brought her to the house again because Rox can meet her and stop pestering me about Dante. But I’m mad because, well, because I hate Phoebe. Obvi. Doesn’t Phoebe have work? Oh, I forgot. She owns her own dress shop. The boss can do whatever she wants, I suppose.
Catarina comes home shortly thereafter with groceries and offers to cook Mexican for everyone. I guess she and Dante coordinated things earlier.
I text Rox around 5:30pm, as promised. Guess who’s coming to dinner?
She replies, Ashton Kutcher? ;-)
No, dumbass. Dante.
I’ll be right over!
Of course she will.
She shows up an hour later. What happened to right over?
The bell rings out its usual three hour symphony of dings and dongs. I open the door and Rox looks like a billion bucks. Her dark hair writhes hypnotically against her slender tanned shoulders, which showcase her clavicles and cleavage. Her smokey eye look makes her blue eyes blaze. Her lips glisten like plump red candy. Her red dress is glued to her body. And yes, her ta-tas are a sight to behold. She’s so hot, I would do her.
“Are you kidding?” I chuckle.
“What?” she asks nervously. “Is it too much?”
“Not for the Oscars.” I joke.
“It’s too much,” she says, deflated.
“No, I think it’s perfect.” What I’m really thinking is how Rox looks so damn hot, she’ll probably scare Phoebe right off. Or trigger Phoebe into doing something ultra bitchy, causing the poor woman to dig her own grave with Dante. Rox will be the perfect weapon tonight. “I think Dante will approve.”
Her eyes flame with desire. “Where is he?”
Do I warn her that Phoebe is here? Nah. If anyone needs a warning, it’s Phoebe. Rox is going to make mince meat out the poor girl. If there’s a cat fight, I’ll jump in to help Rox. Then I can take some free shots at Phoebe and no one will hold it against me.
oOoOoOo + O+O+O+O
Everyone is against me tonight.
Phoebe absolutely loves Rox. They’ve chatted it up like besties since Rox arrived. In fact, the two of them and Dante get along so well, the obvious next step for them is a three way love fest. I hear polyamory is all the rage these days. It serves me right for having Rox come over to stir up drama. But it’s not like I forced her to come over or wear that dress or throw herself at Dante. It was all her idea.
Rox fills the entire living room with her flashy dress and her personality. It doesn’t take long for me to feel like a fifth wheel, even though there’s only four of us. Rox more than makes up the difference. Between her and Phoebe, Dante pays zero attention to me. I wish I could think of something to shake things up, otherwise this is going to be a long night.
That’s when I remember that I totally spaced on calling Luke for dinner. When I offered earlier, I was really just doing it to piss off Ashley. I know he’d be bummed if I forgot. Luckily I have the perfect reason to invite him. When I excuse myself to call him, he says he’ll be right over. Unlike Rox, he rings the doorbell seven minutes later. Little do I reali
ze that his arrival literally makes me the fifth wheel because Rox pulls him right into her conversation with Dante and Phoebe. The four of them are laughing it up immediately, leaving me wondering what the F happened.
So much for my master plan.
“Sit down next to me and Luke,” Rox says, patting the couch cushion between them. She’s match-making. Her couch patting is also making her breasts bounce in her dazzling dress.
Luke steals a glance.
I can hardly blame him. I can’t help looking at her bouncing boobs either. They’re truly impressive. Maybe Luke will take an interest in Rox and they’ll end up together. Then I’ll end up alone. Wow, I really suck at this manipulation stuff.
Rox looks at me expectantly, “Join us.”
“I think Catarina needs help in the kitchen,” I lie.
“I can help,” Luke says enthusiastically, standing instantly.
“Relax,” I grimace. “I’ve got it handled.”
“Okay,” he sits back down slowly.
It turns out Catarina really does need help with the cooking.
“I made plenty of enchiladas,” she says, “but I’m not going to have enough guacamole. Can you run to the store and buy more chips and avocados?”
“Sure,” I sigh before driving her car to Vons.
Once we all sit down to dinner, Phoebe continues to wow everybody with her charming stories about work and the people who come into her dress shop, including numerous movie stars and models. Catarina and Rox love that part, and ask a million gossipy questions, which Phoebe is happy to answer.
Yeah, she’s totally annoying.
I’m half tempted to sarcastically suggest to Phoebe that she date Luke, because he gets along with everybody too, and they would be perfect for each other. But I would sound like a jerk. And she’s all eyes for Dante. Can you blame her?
It’s pretty clear that Luke wouldn’t be interested in Phoebe anyway. He keeps bumping my hand under the dinner table. I think he’s trying to hold it. The hand-holding doesn’t happen because I’m busy wringing my napkin in my lap, twisting it beyond recognition. Why? Because Dante is totally ignoring me.
He’s not ignoring Phoebe or Rox or Catarina. He’s not even ignoring Luke.
Stepbrother Obsessed Page 17
