Page 12

TWELVE

BEST FRIENDS

Theo

I shouldn’t have gone.

But I found myself agreeing before I even had a chance to think about it. And suddenly, I was walking down the street with Natalie, holding a bowl of something she’d made. It was too domestic for my taste, and all I wanted was to get back inside of her.

Natalie pushed open Caroline’s front door, and I walked in behind her. She put her little white sundress back on and replaced her panties with another similar pair. I loved knowing that my cum was still inside of her and how messy her panties would be afterward.

The thought made me smile to myself as I shut the door behind me.

Caroline’s house was slightly larger than Natalie’s. Everything I could see was either white or black and a stark contradiction to Natalie’s colorful home.

From the entryway, you could see all the way through the house and out the floor to ceiling glass doors leading out to the pool. A pool filled with children. Screaming children.

I wasn’t morally opposed to children, but I also wasn’t a fan when they screamed. Or cried. Or when they were dirty.

We didn’t make it but a few steps inside before Caroline stepped into view just down the hall and beelined for us. Her blonde hair was tied up on top of her head, and she was wearing a sheer black dress over her bikini.

In one hand she held a wine glass, and in the other she was struggling to carry a cooler. She dropped the cooler in the hallway and continued toward us. Her eyes were appraising and wary, darting back and forth between me and Natalie before she came to a stop in front of her friend.

“You’re late,” she said with a smile, still leaning forward to give Natalie a hug. “And I hope it’s for a good reason,” Caroline whispered in her ear with a sly smile and a glance back to me.

I shuffled on my feet, not sure how I felt about anyone knowing exactly what had just gone down. It wasn’t much of a secret if everyone knew.

Caroline stepped back and raked her eyes over Natalie from head to toe, like she was looking for signs that Natalie had heeded her advice. But I hadn’t marked her anywhere Caroline would see. I’d wanted to, but I’d refrained in case anyone became too suspicious. The last thing I wanted was to put Natalie in an awkward position, having to explain away bruises and bite marks with ridiculous lies.

“Anyway,” Natalie said, turning back to me. “I’m going to take this”—she plucked the bowl from my hands— “to the kitchen.”

And she was gone before I could argue.

Caroline, however, hung back and appraised me as she had Natalie.

“It’s nice to see you again,” she said, a knowing smile tugging at her lips. Caroline was quite a few inches taller than Natalie and a few years younger. I didn’t know much about her, but I did know that she was outspoken and confident. And she genuinely cared about Natalie.

She sipped from her drink as I nodded my greeting. Under her intense stare, I contemplated bolting. Between the children screaming and the number of other neighbors who would likely be confused by my presence, it was the last thing I wanted to do. The door was right behind me, too. It would have been easy enough to leave before hardly anyone noticed.

“I don’t usually like this shit either,” Caroline said, stepping up beside me and turning to face the chaos at the back of her house. Eyeing the crowd, I already felt out of place with my black boots and jeans. I’d swapped out my black T-shirt for a white one, but I still stuck out. Everyone else was in normal pool party attire—bikinis, swim trunks, flip-flops, weird-shaped hats.

“Most of these people annoy the crap out of me, actually,” she continued, and I couldn’t help but chuckle at her honesty. “But their drama? Their drama is worth putting up with their personalities.”

Down the hallway, a man in American flag swim trunks and a button-down white collared shirt walked from the living room on the right into the kitchen on the left.

“Like him.” She pointed to where the guy had just been. “His name is Ralph, and he lives two houses down from me. He’s hit on me every single time I’ve seen him since they moved in a few years ago.”

She took a sip of her drink and snapped when a woman with brown hair wearing a yellow swimsuit began yelling at two children splashing each other in the pool.

“Ooo, and that’s Gina. Her husband, whose name I can’t remember, lost his job a year ago and apparently can’t find another one. She’s had to go back to work while he sits at home all day doing God knows what. I bet in another year they’re divorced,” she sighed and looked back at me.

“So, it’s much more entertaining than you’d think. And even if you still hate it, I bought good beer. It’s in the fridge.”

She walked off quickly after that, grabbing the cooler she’d dropped and heaving it back into the kitchen.

I could still feel the door at my back. Like it was taunting me with the peace and solitude I knew waited for me back at Natalie’s. Along with a bed that smelled just like her.

But she’d be upset if I left. She’d wanted me to come, so I’d find a quiet spot away from the chaos, stay only as long as necessary, and hopefully no one would want to socialize with me.

Walking further into the house, I stopped in the kitchen and pulled open the stainless-steel fridge. Almost everyone was outside, crowded around the patio and Caroline’s in-ground pool. Natalie had mentioned that we were about half an hour late, but drinks were already steadily flowing like they’d been there for hours.

Toward the back of the yard, I spotted a small bench tucked under one of the larger trees, and it was the perfect place to watch without being part of the chaos. I grabbed a beer and braced myself for the mayhem.

Pushing open the sliding glass door, the sun felt good on my skin. I found my sunglasses in my pocket and put them on as I trudged past a pool full of children. The sunlight reflected off the water while their parents sat at the pool’s edge or at the tables and chairs on the patio watching. The children were screaming and splashing, and at the end of the day, there was bound to be more water outside of the pool than in it.

I held my breath until I sat down on the shady bench without anyone approaching me. I caught a few sideways glances in my direction from the few people who obviously didn’t know how to hide their stares behind their sunglasses.

But I didn’t care about any of them. I tipped the beer to my lips and scanned the yard for the person who held all of my attention and monopolized every single one of my thoughts.

I spotted Natalie among a small group, crowded around a table full of food in a spot safe from the sun’s rays. She was talking to the woman wearing the yellow swimsuit, Gina. And like she could feel me watching, Natalie’s face tilted toward me.

I wasn’t too far away to see the faint smile tugging at her lips as she struggled to continue paying attention to the woman in front of her. For once, I didn’t try to hide my own smile. She bit her bottom lip, shook her head, and turned back to the woman.

Fuck, she was perfect. Her black hair fell down her back in dark waves, and the round sunglasses that sat on her nose looked fucking adorable on her.

She looked the part of the innocent, well-mannered suburban woman with her white sundress, strappy sandals, and a sweet laugh that burst from her lips like a goddamn melody. But knowing that behind closed doors she became the exact opposite just for me, it made my cock stir behind my zipper. Which was unfortunate with the amount of people and children around.

I continued to watch her from a distance as she made her way around the party. Even from where I sat, I was sucked into her orbit and entranced by watching her interact with everyone else. She was kind and talkative and gave every person she spoke to her undivided attention. Until she couldn’t stand but glance over at me, feeling my eyes on her and giving me a seductive, secretive smile.

At one point she was close enough that I heard her laugh over the dull roar of the other guests, and I wanted whomever she was speaking to to say whatever they’d said again just so I could hear the sound one more time.

It was while I was contemplating if it was too early to leave and take Natalie with me that my phone buzzed in my pocket. I smiled when Ryder’s name and photo filled the screen, my normal reaction to speaking to my best friend. But my smile dropped, and my mouth went dry when I realized the enormity of the secret I’d now have to keep.

“Hey, man, what’s up?” I tried to sound casual and normal as I answered, but there was a strained edge to my voice that he no doubt would have picked up on in person. Hoping the phone distorted the sound, I held my breath.

“Hey! Long time, no talk,” Ryder responded in his usual upbeat manner. And I was immediately overwhelmed by relief and guilt.

We’d texted a few times since he’d left for his internship, but he was so busy we hadn’t spoken as often as we normally would have. It was good to hear his voice, yet anxiety outshined every other emotion. It was a tight ball sitting heavy in my chest and making it hard to think straight.

“Well, you’ve been super busy becoming an astronaut or something,” I said, and he chuckled.

“Not an astronaut, but we have been working with telescopes, and a few other people are working on a project for the space station.”

My best friend was so smart.

“Okay, so tell me then: are aliens real? I know you’re probably sworn to secrecy or something, but I’m sure there’s a clause for friends, right?”

He laughed again, and I fidgeted with the label on my beer bottle. It felt good— normal— to talk to him like this.

“I’m an intern. The best I know is that the director takes his coffee with one and a half sugars and a dash, specifically a dash, of cream.”

“That’s really disappointing. Maybe you should—” My words were abruptly cut off by a high-pitched scream. One of the kids decided to push another into the pool, which created an even more chaotic frenzy of splashing and rough housing.

“What are you doing? You at a party or something?” he asked, and I froze. I couldn’t lie and tell him I was at his house or on campus.

And I would never go to a party without Ryder as my buffer.

Taking a deep, grounding breath, I decided the truth was probably the best bet. I decided I’d tell him the truth about everything that I could and would only leave out the parts that were necessary.

It was to be expected that Natalie and I would get closer, maybe spend more time together. We were living in the same house. So it wasn’t that strange, I tried to convince myself.

“Umm…yeah, Natalie dragged me to this party at Caroline’s.”

Ryder laughed, then groaned. “ Fuck , Caroline. That woman has been my wet dream since I was like fifteen. But Natalie? You on a first-name basis with my mom now?”

Immediately, I ran over every single word I’d said—which hadn’t been many—and couldn’t come up with a reason why he’d think that was odd.

“I guess so. It would be weird if I called her Ms. Calaway all the time, don’t you think? And it’s not like I’m going to call her Mom.”

There was some movement on the other end before Ryder said, “I guess so, but it’s still my mom. Just a little weird. How’s it been having her as a roommate?” he asked with a chuckle, and I cringed.

Playing along like nothing had changed was going to be more difficult than I imagined.

“Fine, we don’t see much of each other.” Not a lie, but also not entirely true. Had he asked me the day before, it would’ve been completely accurate.

But today changed everything.

“You’re telling me she hasn’t forced you to eat dinner with her or guilted you into a movie night?”

“Umm…no, not really.” My eyes still hadn’t strayed from Natalie, who had begun talking to one of the children. She sat at the edge of the pool, her feet dangling into the water.

“Hmm,” he mused like he didn’t totally believe me. “That’s what she does when I’m home. Not that I’m complaining, but?—”

“Well, I’m not her kid,” I said quickly. Too quickly, based on the silence on the other end. I needed him to remember that, though. That was not our relationship at all.

“Yeah, right,” he finally said, and I heard the hesitation in his tone. Quickly, I searched for a topic that would divert the attention from me and Natalie, at least for this conversation.

“How’s Texas?” I tried, and he sighed loudly.

“Hotter than balls and so fucking humid. I swear, I can’t breathe when I walk outside.”