Page 68

Abby

My parents gave me the cash for the school trip. I’m already picking clothes in my mind. The weather is still rather nice for the time of year.

We leave in an hour. I need to reach school before that. Connor forgot or is running late, as usual. I can’t wait any longer. As I’m getting out of the elevator, I walk right into him.

“I got here on time!” he cries as if that were a success in and of itself. I raise an eyebrow and send him a look that’s supposed to tell him how much that does not impress me.

“Barely. You were supposed to be here an hour ago.”

“I’m here now. Come on, let me walk you.”

We reach the bus stop. There are still fifteen minutes left. Ve puts his back to a wall, and I stand between his legs, throwing my arms around his neck.

“Behave,” he says.

I raise my eyes to look at him.

“I will. But the same goes for you. It’s only a few days. It’ll be gone in no time.”

The hotel is pretty cool. It’s walled off from the outside world and has that kind of balconies that allow you to go from your room to the neighbors’. Today we’re staying in. The boys scrounged up some booze. Me and the girls got so drunk. Nikki is swaying. I am too. When I take the stairs down, I bounce off a wall and walk into a railing. Lucas and Craig grab me by the shirt at the last moment.

“Fuck, Abby! What are you doing? You would have fallen if not for us!” Craig cries out. “Come on, you need to sober up.”

“There are teachers downstairs.”

“Yeah, but equally hammered. We checked.” Lucas laughs. “They won’t see a thing. Just keep your mouth shut.”

I’m pissing my pants as we pass them. But that’s good. It lets me sober up faster. The teachers really do fail to notice anything out of the ordinary.

We sit down in a room, and I down a bottle of water. An hour later, I’m feeling a bit better. We go dancing. There are a couple of slower songs. The boys ask me to dance, but I’m not sure if that’s such a good idea. I don’t know if I’d like Connor to dance with someone who isn’t me. In the end, I relent. All the greatest hits play one after another: “Zatańcz ze mn?” and “Piosenka ksi??ycowa” by Varius Manx, “Lubi?a tańczy?” by Rotary, and then “Brooklyn Bounce” by Ti?sto, “Vicious Love”, “Let’s Play” and “Dancing” by Lexy & K-Paul.

We all go totally crazy on the dancefloor to that last one. I needed that. It’s so great to unwind and dance my ass off.

At three in the morning, Nikki and I are back in our room. We decide to take a shower. We couldn’t decide who goes first, so we both go at the same time. I don’t know what gets into us, but I touch her boob. It’s an accident. Nikki shifts closer and leans in. She touches me back, and her hands start shifting all around my body. Mine explore hers. Our lips touch, and suddenly we’re kissing passionately. I slide my hand between her legs, fondling her gently. Nikki lets out a moan. She reciprocates the gesture. We caress each other, letting water flow freely down our heads and hair. We’re wet, drunk, and weirdly turned on. I come under her touch. Then she comes with my help. Suddenly there’s a strange thought in my head—I’d like to lick her pussy. I kneel and push my tongue between her folds. She moans. I continue with my lips and fingers. I can feel her wetness spill over my hands. She comes again. Now it’s her who goes down on me. Her hand slowly reaches between my legs, rubbing and spreading my labia. She runs circles around my clit and slides her fingers inside me. My pulse quickens. I’m so aroused. I explode around her lips and collapse, drained. The water washes us off.

I wake up, catch my breath, and wonder what the hell that was. It was only a dream. Right? Oh, but my head hurts. I look at the bed where Nikki sleeps, and get up looking for water. I go to the bathroom, look at the shower, and conclude it must have been a dream. But… fuck. Why? The girls and I used to kiss each other for the giggles, that’s true. We wanted to check how each of us kissed. But that? That was hardcore. I’m never drinking vodka again.

After breakfast, we gather by the bus. The plan is hiking. Looking at the faces of everyone around, I can wager a guess that nobody really likes the plan. Everyone is hungover.

After more than five hours of trekking mountain trails featuring some gorgeous cold streams, we’re back for dinner and then off to bed. Tomorrow is the last day of the trip. We’re going to visit some museums or something. Everyone is fast asleep at eight.

On the way back, I’m thinking about stuff. I have an idea. I should throw a New Year’s Eve party—a great one, so that everybody talks about it afterwards. For people from school and friends. Only will they rent me out a ballroom? They’ll be too scared. I need to talk to Grandma.

The first thing I do when we’re back is to go to her.

“Grandma, would you rent a ballroom in your name for me? I’ll pay for everything. If anything happens, I’ll cover the damages. It’s just that they won’t rent it out to me.”

“I’ll consider it, alright?” she answers.

“Great. You’re the best, thanks!”

“I haven’t said yes yet, young lady.”

“I know, but you’re awesome anyway.” I kiss her on the cheek and devour the delicious meal she prepared for me.

My parents are out for the weekend. I’m home alone and in the mood for something extra. Maybe a party? I call all my girls. Connor forgets about me again, so I stop taking him into account in my plans.

Seven p.m. comes, and they’re all here.

“I’ve needed an evening like this! Cheers to you, girls…” Blanca splutters. Catherine echoes her words.

The latter is still okayish, but Blanca hasn’t had that much to drink ever, and she’s close to blacking out. Mandy is puking through the window and Blanca has spent the last twenty minutes in the bathroom. When she finally emerges, she slaloms to the sofa and plops down.

“Want something to drink, Blanca?”

“Yup,” she mutters.

I take a peek inside the bathroom on my way and can’t believe my eyes. There’s vomit in the sink.

“I’ll fucking kill her. Blanca!” I cry out. “Couldn’t you puke to the damned toilet? How am I supposed to clean this now? Come here and unclog the sink! Here, grab a detergent.”

I go to the window to evaluate the damage Mandy has done. I stick my head out and see the soiled windowsill of my downstairs neighbor. She’s on the balcony, smoking.

“Shit, Esther, I’m so sorry. I’ll come clean that up.”

“Chill, I’ve seen and done worse. Have a great party,” she replies, puts out her cigarette, and vanishes in her flat. Incredible, how understanding my neighbors are.

I return to the toilet, where Blanca is just finishing gathering her puke from the sink.

I head to the kitchen and put the kettle on, and wait until the water starts boiling. In the meantime, my phone rings. It’s Connor.

“Hey, kitty cat,” I say.

“Hey, how’s your party.”

“It’s pretty hardcore.”

“Need some help?” he asks, shocking me. Usually, he’s not this supportive.

“Sure. Would you grab us some pizza and water? The girls are so hammered, mint tea isn’t going to help them. And they need to go home.”

“Sure. I’ll be there in half an hour.”

Surprisingly, he’s here on time. He comes inside and estimates the damage.

“You were right. Tea isn’t going to be enough.” He chuckles and glances around my room, watching my wasted friends. Nikki and I are in the best shape.

After eating the pizza and drinking whole gallons of water, the girls are feeling a bit better. They gather their stuff and go home. Only Nikki is staying.

“Are you staying too, Connor?” she asks.

“If that’s okay with you.”

“And is it okay for you to sleep in one apartment with two awesome chicks?” she jokes, but I notice something strange in his eyes. I decide to tease him a bit.

“Should we show him a thing or two, Nikki?”

She’s as tipsy as I am. She comes over and kisses me with tongue right in front of Connor. He freezes. That’s not the reaction I expected. I see puzzlement in his face. I’m not sure if he’s disgusted or turned on. I don’t know that look. Shit, what if he thinks I’ve just cheated on him?! Damn it, I hadn’t thought about it like that.

“I think both of you have had enough,” he says finally. “I think I’d better go home.”

“No, Connor, stay, please.”

When Nikki is asleep, I decide to ask him about what happened.

“Are you mad at me?”

“About what?”

“Me and Nikki kissing in front of you.”

“I don’t know what to think about that, to be honest, Abby. Normally it would turn me on, but not when it involves a person who I love and don’t want to share with absolutely anyone. If you were my friends, I would have suggested a threesome, but you’re everything to me. Tell me, have you done that before? Do you do that often?”

“We did that once. Just for fun. All of us. We wanted to see how we kissed. Learn the feeling. You need to know that I never thought you’d take it this way. I’m sorry. I hope you’re not mad at me.”

“If this didn’t mean anything to you and you won’t repeat it, it’s okay.”

“Thank you. I love you.”