by Lola StVil
I do get some good news however; the art director who runs the program Carlos is in calls to tell me how amazing his work is and that they would love to have him come back next year. I’m so thrilled; I dance around like a crazy lady. I even get to talk to him for a little while as he’s getting ready to go to his next class. He has this light in his voice that totally makes my day. He sounds nothing like the kid I had to pull away from the gang a few days back.
When I get off the phone, I am still on a high from talking to Carlos and I hate to ruin that with the void that is the education department. Screw it, the work day is almost over, so instead of calling and being on hold for the last twenty minutes, I will call first thing in the morning. I check my email in case any of the programs we’ve contacted have some good news for us. Nothing. Crap. But I spot an email that makes me smile. The seller on eBay has the item I have been looking for to give to Wyatt. It’s a little pricey but he’s so worth it. I know he’ll really like it. I order it with the seller and have him send it to my mom’s address.
That way I can surprise Wyatt.
I hear him enter the kitchen and open the refrigerator door. I know what he’s looking for—the last slice of red velvet cake. I promised that I would leave it for him but I snuck into the kitchen and stole it about three seconds ago and I think he’s onto me by now. I hear him march towards the bedroom where I’ve hidden out. I try to chew as fast as I can, but it’s hard to chew and laugh at the same time. I sneak into the closet and hide. He opens the door and finds me in no time. Man, I’d make a horrible criminal.
“You are so fucking busted,” he says as he laughs and drags me out of the closet.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I reply with my mouth still half full, causing my words to sound muffled.
“Really? There’s frosting on your lips. Thief!” he accuses.
“That’s makeup. It’s a new style,” I mumble, unable to keep a straight face.
“That’s it, I’m gonna have to interrogate you until you confess your crimes,” he says. He yanks me up off the floor and throws me down onto the bed. I manage to finish the cake in my mouth but can’t seem to get all the frosting evidence off my lips. He gets on top of me, pins my arms up above my head, and starts to tickle me with his lips.
“No!” I yell playfully.
“Do you confess?” he asks with a big smirk on his face.
“Okay, okay!” I shout as I laugh and wiggle uncontrollably. He stops tickling me but keeps my hands up above my head. He wants my confession.
“Are you ready to admit what you did and face the consequences, Ms. Bennett?”
“I want a lawyer!” I reply.
“Oh that’s it! Now you’re going to be punished!” he says he playfully manhandles me and fills me with a mix of joy and anticipation. The doorbell rings before I can get my “punishment.” Damn it.
“Argh! You’re one lucky little girl,” he says as he reluctantly pulls away from me so I can stand up.
“I’m also very full,” I tease as I lick the last of the frosting off my lips. He drops his jaw and pretends to be shocked and hurt by my “betrayal.” We walk out into the living room, and he makes his way towards the door. The person standing on the other side is my best friend. She looks timid and reserved. In other words, she looks nothing like herself.
She’s dressed down in jeans and a sweatshirt. Her hair is in a simple ponytail and she has no makeup on at all.
“Hi, Wyatt.”
“Hi, Jana…come in,” he says, stepping aside to let her through. I rush to hug her and tell her that I have been trying to get in touch.
“I know. I kind of needed a little time,” she says as she shrugs her shoulders.
“Are you okay?” I ask.
“No…” she replies softly. I look over at Wyatt and right away he gets it.
“Hey, I’m gonna take off. I’ll see you later, babe,” he says as he grabs his jacket, comes over, and gives me a quick kiss. He goes over to Jana and whispers in her ear. “Feel better, sweetheart. And whatever you do, don’t trust Winter around your dessert. She has prior convictions.” He jokes as he put his hand on her shoulder.
“Okay, thanks for the warning,” Jana replies. Wyatt opens the door and heads out of the apartment, leaving Jana and me alone to talk. We sit at the table and I make her a big cup of coffee. Luckily we have fresh bagels from the deli around the corner, so she has something she can eat with her coffee. I spread the butter on, thick like she likes it, and place the food before her.
“It’s just like we’re back in my office and we are chatting away like schoolgirls with no bills and not a care in the world,” I tease.
“Yeah, that would be nice.” She smiles as she sips her coffee.
“Jana, I’m so sorry about the other day. I know things got heated and you were right, I was messing up my chance with Wyatt. We’re better now, for the most part. Anyway, thank you for yelling at me and telling me off.”
“Well, it’s my job, BFF code and all.”
“But that’s not all that was bothering you. I know there’s something else going on. You know you can tell me,” I encourage.
“A few weeks back I thought I was pregnant—I’m not. But it got me thinking. What if I had been? What kind of life would I be giving this kid? I have nothing more than a series of fuck buddies and time wasters. I was good with that before but something in me started to get…restless. But then I remembered that men mostly sucked and that there were no good ones out there. That made it easy to go back to my ‘one night only’ policy. Then you found Wyatt…”
“Oh.”
“Winter, you know I love you and I want you to be happy, I really do.”
“I know, Jana.”
“But a part of me thought that there were no good guys, so it was okay if I never got a steady boyfriend. But then Wyatt is a good one, isn’t he? I don’t mean perfect, I mean…he’s someone who genuinely gives a damn. And now that I know that kind of guy is out there…I know it sounds horrible to say—and don’t hate me—I’m a little jealous. Does that make me a bad person?” she says with tears in her eyes.
“No, not at all. I don’t think you’re jealous in the traditional sense. I mean it’s not like you want to take this happiness away from me, you just want some happiness for yourself as well.”
“Yes!” she says, latching onto my hands, relieved that I get where she’s coming from.
“I get it, I really do,” I promise.
“Things really changed when I got a cold the other day.”
“How did a cold change everything?”
“I couldn’t really get out of bed. I ached all over and I looked like a ‘before’ poster. It was awful. I called some guy I was with the night before and he thought I was making plans for later that night. When I told him I was sick and asked if he would bring me some soup, he just made an excuse. He didn’t give a damn. Said I should call when I feel better.
“That’s when I thought maybe ‘bring you soup’ guys are just some bullshit that romance comedy writers use to torture us single women. Maybe ‘soup’ guys don’t exist. Then Wyatt goes and sends you food just because he is worried and wants you to eat. So I can only imagine how good he’d be if you were actually sick. So, there are ‘soup’ guys. And now the question is, why don’t I have one? What’s wrong with me?”
“There is nothing wrong with you. It’s hard for everyone to find someone they click with.”
“Yes! Exactly! So please tell me you gave that dear man some head,” she pleads, only half joking. I laugh and she joins in. I nod in answer to her question.
“Yes!” she says as I hide my face behind my hands. When we settle down, I can’t help but marvel at the woman in front of me. I couldn’t ask for a better friend.
“I know it seems like it’s coming out of nowhere but I really do want to find someone, I’m just not sure I will,” she admits.
“You certainly can if that’s what you want. Sometimes,
I’ve had to get a bat to shoo away all the guys around you,” I remind her.
“Yeah but they aren’t the kind of guys who are fit to be boyfriends. I want that. Winnie, I know how to get a guy to scream my name or get him so worked up he buys me tickets to an exotic island. But how do I get a ‘soup’ guy? And most importantly, do girls like me ever get ‘soup’ guys?”
“You can get whatever kind of guy you want. If you don’t want to have a series of one-night stands, then don’t. If you want to hold out for something more meaningful, then do that.”
“What if he never comes? What if there’s no one for me?”
“That’s just not true. I’m sorry but you’re sexy, sweet, and smart. You have it all and I won’t let you think otherwise for even a second,” I reply firmly.
“You’re saying I should hold out and not have sex on the first date?”
“Or maybe the first few dates.”
“Hmmm…”
“Look, if you do have sex, it doesn’t make you a bad person. But if you’re looking for a guy who is in it for more than the sex, he has to get a look at the ‘more than sex part.’ That means letting him get to see how wonderful you are standing up.”
“Am I even interesting standing up?”
“Oh sweetie, you are the eighth wonder of the world,” I assure her as she laughs.
“Is that so?” she says as she begins to perk up.
“Yes, and I know you have a bright, sexy, and kind ‘soup’ guy out there, who’s just dying to meet you.”
“Okay, but he better hurry the hell up while these babies are still kissing the sun,” she says as she looks down at her boobs.
“I’m sure he’ll come for you. And don’t worry, Jana, I see nothing but ‘sunny boob days’ for decades to come.”
My sister, Bree, has been binging on any and everything she can find to eat. I get it. But at the same time, I don’t want her sitting in her room, feeling bad. So, when I enter our childhood home and find her five slices into an extra-large cheese pizza, I drag her outside to take a walk. It’s cold out so we don’t walk too long but she does need to get some air. She says Will has been trying to call her, trying to patch things up. He even said that he’d go to marriage counseling.
“Are you gonna do it?” I ask.
“I don’t know. I don’t know anything anymore. He was my solid ground and now I’m free floating into crap. Don’t know. Don’t care. All that matters is Lily.”
“Where is she this weekend?”
“She’s at Will’s mom’s house. She needed to spend time with daddy. I didn’t want to get in the way of that.”
“That’s good, Bree. Some women play the kids against their spouse. I’m glad you’re not doing that.”’
“No but if he so much as winks at a woman while he’s out with my baby, I will castrate him with a dull butter knife.”
Wow…
We enter our childhood home and take off our coats. It doesn’t matter how old I am, I still love coming home, it always feels safe for me. Mom has decorated the house in warm colors and although she can overdo it with the knickknacks, her home is really lovely. Normally the house is neat but now that Bree is staying here, it’s undergone a sight change. There are pizza boxes, candy wrappers, and a box of melted chocolate ice cream spread out on the coffee table. I can look at the table and know what Bree has eaten for the last few days. She’s basically a frat boy now.
“How are things with you and Wyatt?” she asks.
“I think things are good but he’s on edge because they haven’t been able to find the members of the gang that gave the orders to destroy the center. Until he finds them, he’s always going to be on high alert.”
“Did you guys screw yet?”
“Bree!”
“What?! Oh come on, life’s too short not to get good dick. Trust me. Do you know how much time I spent pretending to like my sex life with Will? Wait, do you know how much time I spent pretending to have a sex life?” she says as she starts to laugh.
“It couldn’t have been that bad.”
“I’ve gotten more excited pumping gas than I have with Will.”
“Ouch.”
“I was such an idiot. I lived on the hope that he’d excite me in bed one day. But that asshole couldn’t find his way out of a Wal-Mart parking lot, let alone my G-spot.”
“But you stayed because you love him and love beats sex.”
“Oh grow up! If you love someone, you figure a way to make them feel good. Yes, Will’s dick is the size of Tic-Tac, and yes, he never lasted longer than the length of a commercial break. But if he had put some effort into knowing me and what I liked, and what made me feel good, it could have saved us.
“Or maybe it was doomed from the start. What the hell do I know? Just tell me that you’re having some great, fantastic sex. The kind of sex that requires medical attention when it’s done. I need to know that someone out there is happy,” she says as she drapes herself on my lap. I can’t help but laugh at her.
“You don’t like Wyatt, remember?”
“That was before he kept me out of jail.”
“Yeah he’s good like that,” I tease her.
“ARGH!” She groans as she buries her head in my lap.
“Bree, it’s gonna be okay. You won’t always feel this lost, sweetie. I promise,” I say as I stroke her hair.
“You know what I need?”
“No more pizza!” I reply as I push the box away.
“No! I need a ‘revenge’ lay!”
“What?! No, that is not what you need.”
She stands up and I can see her eyes lighting up with ideas of how to get laid. This is so not good.
“Bree, you can’t just go out and sleep with another guy.”
“Why not?”
“Because it’s the wrong thing to do.”
“You get to have an exciting life, why can’t I?”
“My life is not exciting at all.”
“Oh please! You confront gang members, you’re staying with a hot cop, and I know you gave him some.”
“I haven’t!” I reply. She narrows her eyes and places her hands on her hips.
“Okay, I gave him a little and he gave me a little. But we haven’t had sex yet.”
“I knew it! I knew you had to give up something! Well I’m sure he was happy with what you gave him but what was his performance like?” I don’t reply but apparently she doesn’t need words from me.
“OHMYGOD, that good huh?”
“I didn’t say anything.”
“You moaned and damn near arched your back.”
“I did not!”
“So, then tell me. How was it when he went down on you?”
This time I hear the moan but can’t stop it from escaping my mouth. ARGH!!! She bursts out laughing.
“And wait until you two have sex, I bet it’ll peel the paint off the walls. Well I want some damn paint peeled off my walls. And I’m getting it,” she says. She jumps up off the chair and runs to her room. “Stay right here, Winnie, I’m coming with you,” she says as she takes the steps two at a time.
“Coming with me where?” I ask.
“Back to Manhattan. Mama’s getting laid!”
***
Bree is not kidding about returning to the city with me. In fact, she’s so damn serious, she gets dressed in under ten minutes. That has never happened before. I call Jana and ask for advice about what to do with Bree. I know she needs to let off some steam but I don’t want her doing anything too crazy in the state that she’s in. Jana agrees to go out with us tonight. I’m glad she’ll be there because I could use the backup.
Bree wants to go shopping; apparently revenge sex demands a whole new outfit. I am prepared to go with her but at the last minute I get a call from Wyatt saying he needs me to come down to the station right away.
“Aw, does that mean tonight is cancelled?” Bree asks, pouting like a little girl.
“No, you wanna go out, we’ll go.
But I need to see what’s going on at the station first. In the meantime, why don’t you call some of your friends and see if they can go shopping with you?”
“No, they are all moms. Nice. Respectable. Moms. I want to shop with someone who thinks panties are optional.”
“Seriously, that’s the criteria?”
“Right now, yes!”
God help me.
“Okay, I will ask Jana to go with you; she wears underwear but I think she’ll do,” I reply as I call my best friend. She comes to pick up Bree, and I take a Lyft and head for the police station. When I arrive, Wyatt greets me and takes me into an office around the corner. He’s so different when he’s working. He’s so serious and stern. His voice, his movements, and his facial expression are all stone and would scare the shit out of me if I didn’t know him.
“What’s going on?” I ask.
“We have a witness, someone who saw what happened at the center that night and can identify the gang members involved.”
“Really? That’s great!” I reply. His lips twitch and his eyes narrow as they focus on me.
“Wyatt, what is it?”
“You’re not gonna like this…” he warns. He opens the door and signals to someone just outside to enter and join us. A little boy and his parents enter the room. I quickly go up to Luis.
“What are you doing here, sweetheart?” I ask. His parents tell us he hasn’t been acting like himself. He’s been jumpy and having nightmares. It took some doing but they finally got the story out of him. He was supposed to be in bed but he couldn’t sleep and so he snuck out of the house to go in front of the center and play on his skateboard. He saw the car pull up and the guys get out. He hid while they tore the place apart.
“Oh Luis, sweetie, why didn’t you tell anyone?” I ask.
“He thought he’d get in trouble for being outside, also knowing what kind of people we’re dealing with, I’m not surprise our boy didn’t say anything,” his foster mom says with fear in her voice.
