by Roxy Queen
“Ruthie,” she says, in a tone I’ve never heard from her before. “That kid is everyone’s type.”
*
Carter won over my family in record time. By dinner he sat between Sean and my father discussing the current state of Duke basketball. By dessert he had plans to meet up with them all for a game on campus in late January and to play a round of golf with my father. He charmed my mother by calling her ‘ma’am’. She became solidly Team Carter when he took his plate to the sink and put it in the dishwasher.
Tara couldn’t keep her eyes off his shoulders and nudged me under the table twice to point out his jawline. And Maddie? Well, Tara’s right. Carter will need to lock his door at night, because that girl’s already smitten.
“Let’s leave these dishes for later,” Mom says, shooing us out of the kitchen. “We need to get that tree decorated before it’s too late. We’ve got a busy day tomorrow. The McMahans have their party and then we have people coming over Christmas night.”
When we get to the living room, Maddie and Tara sort ornaments on the floor, pointing out the glittery, tacky homemade ones. The guys are parked in front of the TV, watching a football game. Except Carter. After a quick search, I find him in the hallway, looking at a series of pictures my mother has framed and lined down the wall.
“What are you doing?” I whisper.
“You were pretty cute,” he says, pointing to a baby picture.
“Were?”
He ignored me and moved down the hall to the next one. I have a missing tooth. “I see you were a fan of pigtails.”
“I was.”
He glanced at me, a sly grin on his mouth. “That’s like, every catholic school boy’s fantasy.”
“Dude, I’m like, six in that photo. Don’t be a pedo.” I shake my head the minute I say it. If anyone around here is a pedo…
“You aren’t six now,” he says quietly. “I bet you could rock a set of pigtails.”
“Watch it, Hightower. It’s only been three hours.”
“Ready to cave?”
I check out his shoulders, stretched tight in the olive green T-shirt he’s wearing over a thermal long-sleeved shirt. The thermal is pushed over his elbows and I see his forearm muscle, long and lean down his arm. I lean forward, just a little, and catch a whiff of his detergent.
“I have willpower, too, you know.” I front, impressed with how easily I’m able to lie. His smirk implies he doesn’t believe me.
We stare hard at one another until Tara calls out, “Ruthie, we’re not doing this alone. Get in here!”
“I’ve been summoned. Wait here and don’t come out for five minutes.”
“Are you serious?”
“As a heart attack,” I say, leaving him in the hallway all alone, pretending I don’t want to turn around and rip that shirt right off his body.
Chapter 3
Coming home always makes me want to hibernate. The following morning I burrow under the covers, hiding my face under a pillow and hope that no one bothers me until noon. It’s wishful thinking because I hear the clanks and bangs from the kitchen, my mother’s passive aggressive way of letting me know it’s time to get up. Her more overt attack includes the smell of a home-cooked breakfast that she knows will lure me out from under the warm blankets. I roll over and see that even Maddie’s up and gone.
I pull one of Carter’s faded soccer sweatshirts over my pajamas and arrange my hair in a ponytail before leaving the room and heading down to the kitchen. One look and it’s obvious I’m the last one up, including Carter, who’s talking with Maddie and Josh at the kitchen table. Sean has his nose in the newspaper and from the sounds of the television in the next room, Pop is on his first allotted hour of Fox News.
“Nice of you to join us,” my mother says the instant I walk the in the room. She calls out items for a grocery list while Tara checks for supplies in the refrigerator.
“Good morning,” I mumble, making a bee-line to the coffee. I pour a huge mug and grab the last, deformed cinnamon bun. Taking a sip, I survey the room, giving myself a minute to ogle my man. Carter’s hair is damp from the shower and I slide into a favorite daydream about wet, slick Carter. On instinct, I start across the room to sit in the chair next to him, but freeze halfway there.
“What are you doing?” Maddie asks, when she notices I’m standing in the middle of the kitchen, pastry hanging out of my mouth. She’d showered before coming down here, fixing her hair and makeup. She even has on a cute shirt and skin-tight skinny jeans. I can’t help but note how she’s filled out since the last time I saw her. Like, really filled out. I look down at my flannel pajama pants covered with penguins and Carter’s worn out sweat shirt. My eyes flick to Carter but he’s paying me zero attention.
I can’t decide if this is a good or bad thing.
“Nothing.” I take a seat at the counter, preparing myself for a slew of chores. “So what’s the plan today?”
“Tomorrow is Christmas Eve and I’d like to leave that for family stuff. Tonight is the McMahans’ party. I know they’d like to see you but there’s no obligation,” Mom says, making it very clear with her tone and eye contact that we are totally obligated to attend. “I’ve made three shopping lists. We need to conquer them all by five PM. Your father has a tee time of ten AM and the boys need to take care of a little yard work so Pop doesn’t break his neck.”
“Mrs. Parker,” Carter says. “I’m happy to help in any way, but I’ve got to go to the gym at some point today. My coach got me a pass to the Y to use their pool. Do you think someone can give me a ride?” He pointedly does not look at me. My fingers grip the coffee mug in anticipation. A ride to the gym? I can do that, I think, and start planning where and when I can get him naked. Because fuck this shit about willpower. Willpower is not for people dating Carter Hightower.
“I can!” Tara, Maddie and I all say at the same time.
Good fucking grief.
Not willing to lose an opportunity to be alone with him I follow up with a lame, “I was going to go to yoga anyway.”
“Of course, Carter,” my mother says. “Ruthie, I really need you to go to the bakery. Let Maddie take him.”
“Uh, sure, Mom.”
My mother, the cockblocker.
“What time?” Maddie asks. Did her boobs just get bigger? Perkier? I look away. What’s wrong with me?
“Whenever you’re ready.”
I half listen while everyone makes plans and then excuse myself to get dressed. In the stairwell I feel a tug on my shirt and turn, finding Carter two steps below. Our noses meet. “Good morning,” he says, slipping his arms around my waist.
Skipping formalities, I kiss him hard, pushing my tongue into his mouth.
“You taste like sugar,” he licks my lips.
Footsteps in the hall break us apart and without a word he goes down the stairs and I go up.
It’s going to be a long five days.
*
“Aunt Ruthie has always been the family flake,” is the first thing I hear when I come in the back door from running errands. I stop, holding the bakery box in my hands and listen to my niece throw me under the bus.
To my absolute horror Carter replies, “What do you mean?”
“First there was the fact she almost failed out of high school,” she says. “They refuse to talk to me about it but rumor has it she was a little slutty.”
My jaw drops and my fingers clench around the box, denting the paper.
“She finally got her shit together when she met Jamie. They were a great couple and the whole family loved him. According to my mom she fucked that up too. Like, my grandparents spent a lot of money on the wedding and it was an epic failure.”
“I’m sure it was more complicated than that,” Carter says.
“Maybe, but as far as I can tell graduate school is sort of her final chance. She can’t be a nanny forever.”
I snap out of my trance and storm into the kitchen, tripping over the trashcan next to the door
way. The pastries slide, shifting in the box and I shout, “Crap!”
Carter’s the first one in the kitchen, followed by Maddie. “What happened?”
“Nothing.” I check on the pastries. Only one cookie has a crack. I offer it to Carter. “Here, try one.”
He shoves the whole thing in his mouth, leaving sugar crumbs on his lips. God, I want to lick it off. My eyes shift to Maddie, occupied with her phone. Probably texting someone about how her aunt is the biggest fuck-up ever.
I sigh and close the lid on the box. He’d eat every cookie if I left him unsupervised. “How was the gym?” I ask.
“Exhausting. This workout Coach left me is hardcore.”
“What about you?” I asked Maddie.
She glances up from her phone and smiles. “Oh, I just watched.”
“That sounds kind of boring,” I laugh. Oh man, I’m going to kill her. Or him. I’m going to kill someone.
“Not really, Carter’s an impressive swimmer. You should see his butterfly.”
I cross my arms over my chest. “Really?”
His eyes lock with mine. “Eh, it was no big deal. Every time I looked up she was on that phone.”
Taking pictures probably. I bet every girl in her class has seen Carter’s half naked body by now. I grip the edge of the counter.
“I think I’m going to go help Josh and Sean out back. Your dad left them a list of chores,” he says after a moment of awkward tension.
“Good idea.”
“I’ll go, too,” Maddie says, but I hear the garage door open and grab her arm. “That’s Mom. Let’s go help her. I’m sure there are a thousand bags to carry in.”
She rolls her eyes but puts her phone in her pocket and goes out to help.
“You okay?” Carter asks, after she leaves the room.
“I’m fine.” I force a grin. “Go help the guys, before someone breaks their back hanging lights on the roof. Plus, you should be hanging with your BFF, Josh, anyway.”
“Okay,” he agrees, giving me a quick kiss. It’s nothing special but I feel it in my toes. “Tonight we get some alone time.”
“Not happening.”
“I’ll make it happen,” he says. “Promise.”
“That party will be crawling with people.”
“Good, then no one will know we’re missing.” He winks and leaves me alone in the kitchen with a wandering, dirty mind.
Chapter 4
I’ve forgotten what it’s like to share a bathroom with someone, but Maddie kicks the memory alive. Her make-up and hair products cover the counter and she spends an hour before the party fussing with a strand of hair that won’t lie flat. Or flat enough. I don’t know what her problem is. She looks good. Great even.
“Stop messing with it,” I say. “I need to get in there for a minute before we go.”
She sighs, snapping the straightener closed and yanks the plug out of the socket. Away from the mirror she finally looks at me for the first time that night. “Wow, that skirt is amazing.”
I run my hands over the shiny, gold sequined miniskirt. “Thanks. Mom likes it when we dress up. I figured I’d splurge and get a few brownie points.”
I have a matching tank and sweater to go over the top, but I’m waiting to put it on until my hair is finished. Right now I’m wearing a hoodie zipped over my bra.
“Well, I think you’ll pass Grandma’s criteria.”
“Thanks.” I’d considered wearing something more causal but this is the only skirt I brought. I didn’t want anything to come between me and Carter tonight. Like pants.
“Meet you downstairs,” Maddie says, leaving me to finish up. I head to the bathroom to brush my teeth and unzip my hoodie, revealing a pale cream bra with lace edging and a tiny bow between my breasts. I twist to the side and run my hands over the top. My nipples react and I can’t help but think how my tits look pretty stellar. If only Carter could see them.
I have a flash of an idea and grab my phone. Among the hair product and toothpaste and curling irons, I pose and take a cheesy selfie, making sure my cleavage is front and center.
Before I lose my nerve I text the photo with the message. “Happy Christmas Eve Eve,” and then dress.
The text reply comes through as I’m finishing my hair. “How good does a boy have to be to get a present like that for Christmas Eve Eve?”
“Very, very, very good,” I reply.
My mouth is full of toothpaste when I hear a knock on the bedroom door.
“Come in,” I mumble, leaning over the sink to spit and rinse my mouth. Two hands clench around my hips. I look up and see Carter in the bathroom mirror. He presses into my backside and feel him behind me. Hard. Always hard. I bend just enough to push back.
“Maddie said I could borrow her hair gel.”
I lift my hand and touch his hair. “You don’t wear hair gel.” His hands slip under my skirt, thumbs grazing the edge of my panties. In the mirror I see my cheeks flush and I shake my head. “Not here. Not now.”
“You can’t send me a photo like that and then tell me no.”
“I can’t walk down stairs smelling like sex and dick,” I say. “But I promise, by the end of the night we’ll figure something out.”
He spins me so I’m facing him. I lean against the counter top and the containers holding lotion and lipstick tumble with a clatter into the sink. Carter’s jaw sets and he says, “You better or I’ll out this whole thing. Five days is too much. I never should have agreed.”
He kisses me and grazes his hands over my breasts, slowly circling my nipples but never touching them. A fire lights across my skin that runs between my legs. Both actions are too soft and all I want is for him to do it harder.
“Carter,” I whimper, realizing that I’ve never had to wait for him. I took what I wanted and gave him more than he ever knew he could have. Patience is something we’ve never experienced.
Strangely, two things have happened. He’s hotter and I’m hornier.
He squeezes a glob of hair gel into his hand and leaves the room while I pant, holding myself up against the counter.
*
“Physical Therapy school at Duke? That’s a hard program.” Mrs. McMahan says over a tray of freshly baked tarts. She and my mother have been best friends for years, which meant she had a front row seat to many of my less than stellar life choices.
“Getting in was hard but I like the work,” I say.
“I know things must have been difficult after you and Jamie broke up. So close to the wedding, but I’m proud of you for pushing forward.” Her sweater has a reindeer with tiny bells dotted around its neck. If marriage means you have to wear a tacky holiday sweater like that, then I think I’m okay skipping it right now.
“Thank you.”
“Excuse me, dear,” she says, eyeing an empty plate of cheese. She whisks the tray away and disappears into the kitchen.
I search the room for Carter but he’s nowhere to be seen. Neither is Maddie or Josh. I think back to when I was their age and where I’d have hidden out during this party.
“They’ve escaped to the loft over the garage,” Tara says, holding up a bottle of wine. I give her my empty glass and she refills it. “I want to be eighteen again.”
The McMahans have eight kids, one in every age group from Tara’s age to mine. They’ve got grandkids in high school. Their garage loft has always been party central. It’s tradition at family parties for the kids to steal beer, smoke weed and make out up there.
My boyfriend gets to hang at the kid’s party while I’m stuck down here with the parents and grandparents. I take a gulp of wine and say, “At least we don’t have to hide our alcoholic tendencies, right?”
Tara sighs. “Sneaking around is part of the fun.”
“True.”
“So who are you sneaking around with right now?” she asks.
“What?” I choke on a mouthful of wine. “I’m not sneaking around.”
“Please. You look great. Happy. Hot. That
outfit is sexy as hell. There’s no way you bought it for this party.”
I shake my head. “I’m not seeing anyone.”
“No one you want to introduce to us.” She rolls her eyes and adds, “Look, I get it. The Jamie thing was a mess. I would be wary of bringing a guy around.”
I almost cave. I almost tell her about Carter. About the sex and how we fucked for three months straight. How we broke up and we were both miserable until we patched things up. That I brought him here because I can’t get him out from under my skin and want him near me all the time. I almost show her the dirty picture I took earlier because this secret is weighing on my shoulders like Santa’s bag of toys.
“Sorry to break it to you, but there’s no guy.”
She eyes me skeptically but only says, “Well, I guess we’ll have to fix that.”
“Wait…what?” I ask, but she’s crossed the room, leaving me with an empty wine glass. Four days, I tell myself, pouring another glass.
*
At the top of the stairs, I hold onto the walls because I’m wobbly on my heels. The loft is full of kids, all college age and younger and just by coming up here I’ve broken some kind of code. I don’t go in.
Through the open doorway I see Carter sitting on an arm chair. He’s playing a video game, forehead furrowed in concentration. Maddie sits on the arm rest, leaning into him. It’s the standard high school move, but unfortunately for my niece Carter’s been playing with big girls for a long time.
I appear in the doorway, long enough to make eye contact with Carter. That’s all he needs before I go back downstairs.
“Hey man, take my turn,” I hear him say, referring to the video game they’re playing.
“Sure,” Josh replies.
His feet sound heavy on the wooden stairs. I lead him through the dark garage, past a refrigerator and a worktable, to a back set of stairs that lead to storage. It’s dark, other than the light from the backyard. And private. He catches up and his fingers link with mine. “Hey,” he says, pinning me against the stairs.
I smile lazily and say, “My sister got me drunk.”
“Oh, yeah?”
“Yeah. It’s making me risky.” I shrug the sweater off my shoulders. “And horny.”
