Page 3

Ellen

My heart is hammering in my chest, banging so loudly off my ribs that I can hear it thumping in my ears.

I suck in a deep breath hoping that while Will is retrieving our clothes from the laundry room, I can pull myself together.

I’ve already broken the rule I had made for myself nearly five seconds ago about no one night stands or walks of shame ever again.

Yet I’m in some stranger’s bed, and I think I might be falling for him.

Ugh… I can’t be one of those stupid girls who confuse sex for love.

This is definitely lust and nothing more because I just met him after being blasted by a skunk.

Or maybe that means it’s something more?

Maybe the fact that he invited me up to his apartment, smelling like skunk spray and puke, looking like the girl on the cover of Hole’s Live Through This album, has some merit to it.

Or fuck my life and maybe he just thought he’d get laid, which he did.

I have absolutely no right to mock my sister Lauren and her confusion over boys because at this moment I’m naked in the bed of a stranger wondering if he really likes me or if he just really likes vaginas.

Will walks back into the bedroom empty-handed and shrugs his shoulders. “They still smell like shit,” he says matter of factly. “Because I never put them in the washer. They’re in there now, but it doesn’t seem like soaking them in the Bloody Mary mix has done anything.”

“Maybe I should just go,” I say, pulling the sheet up a little higher as if that will suddenly erase the memory of my boobs from his mind. “Just come by later and pick up my clothes.”

It’s not like he’s creepy or anything like that so I have no idea why I’m suddenly hit with this overwhelming sense of self-consciousness.

“Why?” Will asks, a confused look crossing his face.

“I don’t know,” I reply. “Maybe…” I trail off not knowing what to say or how any of this even works.

“This wasn’t a pity invite. This wasn’t a scam to get you in my bed.

And if we’re being honest here, this wasn’t even a one time thing for me.

” He pauses a second and calls me to him with a hook of his finger, and I crawl to the edge of the bed.

“I like you, Ellen. I like your confidence and your smart mouth, and I want to get to know you better.”

“Okay,” I say, my voice shaky as I try to control the blush I feel inching up my cheeks.

He leans down and presses a soft kiss to my lips and I feel like I’m floating, butterflies fill my stomach and I giggle a little too teenage girl-like.

“Why don’t you throw on the clothes I gave you and we can get to know each other a little better.”

I nod my head in response, but I stay firmly rooted in the cocoon of sheets wondering if I should just drop it and climb out of the bed, or ask him to leave the room.

His hands literally just explored every inch of my body, did things to me that made me come more times than I ever have, and now I’m embarrassed that he might see my naked ass.

Fuck it .

I drop the sheet and he smiles at me, his eyes raking over my bare skin, so instead of rushing to get dressed, I take this opportunity to enjoy the fact that someone is interested in me.

Bending at the waist I pick up the boxers and pull them on and as I do, I look over at Will who is now leaning against his dresser taking me in.

“You trying to kill me?” he asks and I bite down on my bottom lip

“I don’t know. Is it working?” I ask, smiling back at him.

“Fuck yes.”

We spend the rest of the day fully clothed and lounging around Will’s apartment. It sure beats the hell out of the cramped dorm room I share with my roommate, and even though we’ve been snacking on microwave popcorn and pizza rolls, it also hands down beats the cafeteria food.

Our clothes ended up being toast, and after two washings the smell was still embedded into every fiber, stinking like hell. We tossed them and I borrowed a sweatshirt and a pair of socks and figured it would be enough to get me home.

By the time we decide to end our day together it’s almost eight p.m. and Will walks me out to my car. But as we approach it, both of us realize that leaving the windows open did nothing to dissipate the smell.

We’re about ten feet from the car when Will says, “I think your car is toast right along with our clothes.”

I scrub my hands over my face and wonder just how I’m going to get back to my dorm let alone explain this to my parents.

“My parents are going to kill me. Like seriously kill me. I’m glad we spent the day together because tomorrow I’m going to be dead.”

Right now, it’s five o’clock in California and the vineyard is probably just beginning to wind down for the day, so if I call now, I might catch them just as they’re closing up. Hopefully they’ll be too busy to question me on what happened and just tell me what I need to do.

Will laughs, slipping his arm around my waist and pulling me against him. My head falls to his shoulder and I don’t know whether to laugh or to cry. This is not the phone call I want to have with my parents during my first semester away at school.

“They’re not going to kill you,” Will says, guiding me away from the offending car and back up to his apartment. “Why don’t you call them from upstairs and then I’ll drive you home.”

“Okay,” I reply the defeat in my voice masking the tears I feel forming. I thought the whole incident this morning was a nightmare, but I’m pretty sure this phone call is going to top it.

I flop down on Will’s couch grabbing my cell phone from my purse and instead of calling my parents I call my sister.

It barely rings once when Lauren answers with a whiny, “What the hell, Ellen?” I roll my eyes already annoyed with her and this Aussie boy drama since I’m dealing with something far more serious.

“I texted you like a million times yesterday and in the fucking middle of the night. Mom made me take the skinny version of Arnold Schwarzenegger to my school dance with me.” Her voice is high and loud and it takes everything in me not to bust out laughing.

“Dude, that’s Austria. Jack is from Australia. Two different geographical locations.”

“Stop correcting me and just listen,” she wails back. “All the girls at the dance were obsessed with him, and then he danced with that bitch Katy Miller and left me standing in the corner.”

“I thought you didn’t like him?” I shoot, knowing I’m pushing her buttons, but with my pending demise hot on my heels I better have some fun while I still have the chance.

“I don’t!” she yells and moans loudly into the receiver. “Maybe I do. I don’t know. Do you think he likes me? ”

“Yes, Lauren. I do think he likes you, but if you keep being a shithead to him he’s going to hook up with Katy Miller, and from what you’ve said, she puts out. That’s a lot to compete with.”

“Ellen you aren’t helping and right now I hate you!” she screams, and Will widens his eyes at her shrill voice coming through the phone.

I slip my hand over the phone and whisper, “See I told you. Boy drama.”

Will smirks at me as if I didn’t just do the same thing a few hours ago. The stupid stressing over a boy and look how mine turned out. While I know it’s only been twelve hours since I met Will, things seem to be going better than most hook ups.

“Sorry, Lauren,” I say, placating her because I know the worst of this conversation is yet to come.

“I do think Jack likes you. Just be nice to him. Maybe show him where we host weddings. You love the willow tree and the swing.” I suggest this to her in the hopes of calming her down so she can tell me if Mom and Dad are in a good mood.

“Okay,” she says after a few second pause, letting my words sink in and settling herself down.

“Is he cute?” I ask and Lauren giggles a little down the phone.

“Yeah, he is. But he’s skinny and wears glasses. Ugh…” she exhales hard. “I’m not having this conversation with you. It’s too embarrassing.”

“You have no idea,” I mutter, and the conversation dies there.

“What did you say?”

“Nothing. Listen are Mom and Dad around? I need to talk to them, but if they’re crabby I’ll call back later.”

“Just Dad is here. You wanna talk to him?” she asks and before I can answer she’s calling out his name and I hear her feet plodding against the floor .

I hear her give out a muffled “It’s Ellen,” before my Dad’s cheerful voice comes on the line.

It’s not unusual for me to call on a Sunday night, because it tends to be when I have the most downtime. I’m sure he thinks this is my normal, I miss home, I miss you, the weather sucks and so does the food convo, but I’m about to hit him with something I don’t even know how to go about explaining.

“Hey, El,” my dad says, switching over to speakerphone and I hear my mom shout a hello from a distance, adding that she just walked in. “How’s it going?”

“It’s okay,” I say stalling, and Will rolls a hand in my direction as if to tell me to get on to it. He’s been telling me to just come out with it because shooting the shit with them will only make it worse.

I suck in a deep breath and start, “So, Dad, something happened.” And that’s when the line goes silent. Whatever my mom was doing in the background has been halted and they’re both in panic mode at my words.

“Are you okay?” my mom asks, and I can hear the concern in her voice, so maybe this is good.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m totally fine… But my car isn’t,” I say, and I realize as the words leave my mouth I’ve made it sound like I’ve been in a car accident.

Will slaps a hand to his face and shakes his head, swatting at him, I stand and start to pace the small living room.

“What do you mean the car isn’t okay?” my dad asks, this time all cheerfulness is gone.

“It got sprayed by a skunk,” I blurt out knowing that isn’t exactly the truth.

“Oh jesus, Ellen,” my mom admonishes. “Take the damn thing through a carwash.”

I can picture her running her hand through her hair and shaking her head. I’m sure Lauren is standing by eavesdropping on the entire conversation and making mental notes of all the stupid shit I say so she can remind my parents later.

“It sprayed the inside,” I admit, my whole face wrinkling up at my words.

“How in the hell did it get inside your car?” my dad asks, his voice booming and when I look right at Will, he widens his eyes at me.

“It was under my car…” I start but the tears start to fall and my voice becomes shaky. “And I…I opened my car door and scared it. Instead of running away, it jumped in my car.”

“Goddamnit, Ellen. I never pegged you for the village idiot, but you let a damn skunk into your car?”

“I didn’t let it in my car!” I cry, my words strangled by my sobs. “It just got in there.”

“Is it still in there?” my dad questions and I shake my head even though he can’t see me, because right now I’m having a hard time getting the words out.

“No,” I sputter out. “This boy helped me get it out of there.”

“Oh christ. This was about a boy, wasn’t it? Were you drunk?” I can hear the annoyance in my father’s voice, but I also hear my mother whispering to him in an attempt to quell his overzealous responses.

Obviously I was drunk because a sober person wouldn’t have happened upon a skunk, let it in their car and then closed the door.

“What?” I say, the fake appalled tone in my voice isn’t fooling anyone and when Will starts laughing, I have to look away from him.

“Whatever. I can see this is going nowhere, but this conversation isn’t over. We’ll talk about it when you’re home in February. I’ll call the insurance company and get someone out there to take a look at it,” my dad goes on, letting out an annoyed huff at the end.

“Thanks, Dad.”