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  “Mom,” I said straightforwardly, “everyone already knows about old man Simmons and Ms. Coramae being special friends.”

  “Yeah, they do,” said Aria, laughing heartily.

  “And here they were thinking no one knew,” Mom said to herself. “Oh, well,” she shrugged her shoulders. “Still, what I’m trying to say is it will all be water under the bridge soon enough.”

  “Where is this proverbial bridge? I’d like to throw whoever started this malicious rumor off it,” I muttered angrily.

  “You know I’d help you, or watch you struggle with the body,” said Aria eerily.

  “Girls!” cried Mom, flabbergasted. “Stop talking like that, joking or not. I hate when you guys talk like that. It creeps me out.”

  “Sorry, Mom,” we both said at the same time.

  “Don’t do that either—that creeps me out more when you talk at the same time!” she said. “I’m leaving. I’ve kept your father waiting long enough. I’m surprised he hasn’t called me back by now. I love you, girls. Here, have lunch on me,” she said, handing each of us some money.

  “Mom, it’s okay. I probably only have enough time to just get a quick bite now before my next class anyways,” I said, looking at my phone. I noticed it was almost 2:15. My next class would start in fifteen minutes.

  “Psh! Not me. I’ll take it,” Aria said as she snatched the money out of Mom’s hands like it was a chocolate bar and it was that time of the month for her.

  “Don’t forget to come by the house for dinner tonight, Dacey, around seven,” she reminded me before pulling off.

  “Ugh, great. Dinner with the parents,” I moaned.

  “Welcome to my life, Daceymae Harper. All day every day, what,” she said, as she made some imaginary hand gestures.

  I simply rolled my eyes at her giddiness. “Oh, you.”

  “Me.”

  As we headed toward the cafeteria, she linked her arm through mine as she always did when we were out.

  “Are you going to bring Trevor with you tonight to dinner? I like him.”

  “I don’t know. If he wants to come. Dad makes him uncomfortable, you know?”

  “Who doesn’t Dad make uncomfortable?” She shrugged.

  “You,” I blurted without thinking.

  “Hey, you know I don’t have any control over that,” she said, sounding hurt.

  “I know, sissy. I didn’t mean anything by it. Really,” I added when I saw her face fall further. “You know sometimes I have the foot-in-mouth thing. You know I don’t care, right?”

  “I guess,” she said with a little less enthusiasm than she was known for. “But you know that I never want him to treat me any differently than he treats you. He just does, and I wish he didn’t. You have to know that. Don’t you?”

  Her big brown eyes looked on the verge of tears. I couldn’t stand this. It was why I never blamed her for the reason Wally treated the two of us so differently. She couldn’t help what a jackass he was. She was innocent in all of this, and I had to constantly remind myself of that. She was my sister, and I loved her no matter how Wally treated me and made feel like I was the stepchild and didn’t belong.

  I stopped walking and turned to her. “Hey, don’t do that—don’t let Wally do that. Don’t let him get in the way of us. I know what he feels for you and what he feels for me, and it has nothing to do with you—do you hear me? Nothing! It’s not your fault my dad treats me like shit, and I will not have you blaming yourself, got that?”

  “Yeah, I guess. I just hate that he treats you one way and me another, but I see him differently ’cause he’s not like that with me. I love him, you know. I’m sorry, Dac.” A tear slipped out of her eye and fell down her cheek. It always killed me when she cried. Her eyes were so big, the tears fell perfectly down her face, breaking my heart every time.

  “Don’t cry, A. It’s okay. I know you love him. I do too—he is our dad. We love him differently, that’s all. Hey, come on. People are going to think that you’re the next Aunt Opal. Cut it out. I love you. Nothing will change that, okay?”

  “Okay. I love you too, muumuu girl,” she said, cracking a smile.

  “And she’s back, ladies and gentlemen!” I smiled back at her.

  We finished our trek to the cafeteria without any more near emotional meltdowns, and I grabbed a sandwich from the vending machine and said bye to Aria, then I ran across campus to make it to my next class, stuffing my face as I ran. I made it just before the professor closed the door.

  The rest of the day was without fail. I didn’t have any classes with Tina this semester, but I found out that we both didn’t have any classes on Fridays, so we could always get a jump on the weekend if we wanted. When five o’clock hit, signaling my last class, I couldn’t wait to make it to my dorm room. When I got there, Tina was already sitting by my door.

  “You really should give me a key. Your mean-ass RA wouldn’t let me in, said I didn’t have privileges or some dumb shit like that,” she said, shooting a look at my resident assistant’s door that said just what she thought about having to have “privileges.”

  “Yeah, they won’t let you in unless you’re family or you have been granted privileges, which you have not—and no, before you ask, I can’t grant those. The dean has to,” I said, sliding past her and unlocking my door to my small-as-a-walk-in-closet single.

  “Well, figure something out. I’m not a hooker, so I don’t stand around waiting for no one, entiendo?”

  “Relax, I understand. You could always wait elsewhere or be my escort and pick me up from class.”

  “I’m not a pimp either,” she said, smacking down on the beat-up futon and kicking off her shoes. “Remind me again why I’m majoring in forensic science?” she huffed.

  “Because you are obsessed with CSI: Miami and thought you’d get to work alongside someone as hot as Adam Rodriguez in real life.”

  “Dios mío, Adam Rodriguez,” she fanned herself, “is one good motivator, but damn, all I have is chemistry and math classes this semester. And there are absolutely no Adam Rodriguezes in my classes. Like, at all.”

  “Let this be a lesson to you: never let television influence major life decisions for you,” I smirked.

  She just shot me a “shut the hell up” look, and I laughed. I loved those looks; they spoke volumes.

  “I have dinner with the parents tonight, so we can’t really hang out all that long,” I told her as I crossed two steps to the hole-in-the-wall that was my closet to drop off my book bag, eyeing the spoiled clothes from this morning along with the dreaded muumuu. “Have you heard the recent gossip surrounding Opal: The Untold Story?” I asked. If it had reached Tina, I was doomed.

  “You mean the one that claims you’re going the way of the vieja loca?” she said nonchalantly.

  “Oh god, so you heard too?” I paled.

  “Relax. You know this town always likes to make gossip. But you know how it is. Here one day, gone the next. Tomorrow it’ll be someone else.”

  “That was the same thing Mom said.”

  “Smart woman. I always liked her.”

  My phone buzzed in my pocket, and I forgot I had not taken it off vibrate. I took it out and saw it was a text from Trevor.

  What u doing?

  Thinking things

  Naked Things?

  I rolled my eyes and typed in “always” as I sat down on the bed.

  I could turn those thoughts in 2 reality

  I know, but have dinner plans. Come with?

  Oh, I’ll come ;-)

  “HELLO!” Tina shouted. “Would you stop sexting your gross-ass boyfriend for two seconds and notice that I am here being all uncomfortable with how you are squirming on your bed right now.”

  “Shut up, and he’s only gross to you because you don’t like him.” Had I been squirming? Hmm. I hadn’t noticed.

  “Whatever,” said Tina as she pulled out her cellphone. “How’s Rufus, by the way? Nice to see where your priorities lie: get your gig
gles, and then worry about your aunt’s dog—nice,” she said sarcastically. But the bitch had a point.

  “Don’t you have math or chemistry to study or something?” I shot back as I sent a text about Rufus.

  He’ll live, Opal got lucky

  Thanks baby, ur good at ur job

  Among other things

  Please come 2 dinner at dad’s house?

  Since u said please

  Great pick me up by 630

  What time is dinner?

  7 Y?

  Ill b there @ 620

  Perv

  That’s y u luv me

  It is

  I put my phone aside and looked up to find Tina smirking at me. “How many times do you guys have sex?”

  “Wow, okay. No warning with that one?”

  “Don’t play dumb. I’m pretty sure you just gave him a reason to rush over here. You guys are like rabbits,” she said as she started to put on her sandals and grab her bag.

  “First, we have sex as much as I have time for it, which, given my life with Opal, you know, is few and far between, and second, where are you going? You just got here!”

  “Well, see, I knew the answer to my question, so I know that he is going to come over and jump on you before life or whoever gets in the way. I’m just doing you a best friend solid and getting out of the way. Not for him—for you. Can’t stand him, but after a day like today, you need the unwind.”

  “How are you getting home? You drove with me, remember?”

  “No preocupes,” she said. “I always find a ride.” She gave a wink and a look that said she meant more than a ride home but also not to worry.

  “Are you sure you’re not a hooker?” I said, raising my brow.

  “Bitch, cálmate! I talked Riley into giving me a ride home. Riley is not my type.”

  “I know, that’s why I know he’s safe from the Tina Sex Vortex. It’s dangerous for those that are your type.”

  “I know,” she said, wagging her eyebrows as she went out the door laughing.

  As I lay back on the bed, I laughed at the term we had coined in high school. Tina’s Latin charm joined with her fiery hair, and thus the Tina Sex Vortex was born. The vortex always sucked boys in; it never failed. If she wanted them, she got them—all she had to do was show her skin. Remember her rule. And if she called them papi, that usually was the recipe for a marriage proposal—she found that out the hard way, so now that is only reserved for future husband potential. For some reason, guys went gaga for that—I have no idea why. Probably some latent fantasy of theirs involving West Side Story.

  I couldn’t really understand why Trevor and Tina hated each other though. It didn’t start out that way. They were buddies in high school. Not the best of friends, but acquaintances. And when Trevor and I started dating, we all hung out, but slowly Tina started hanging out less and less when Trevor was around. Trevor said that he got a vibe from her that he didn’t like and Tina said the same thing, that Trevor rubbed her the wrong way. Neither one of them tried to make me choose between my best friend and my boyfriend; they just mutually agreed to silently hate each other and hang out separately. And that’s how it’s been for the last eight months.

  I didn’t even realize I had dozed off until I was awakened by a gentle kiss.

  “I could be a serial killer, you know,” Trevor said.

  “I don’t think a serial killer would stand there and watch me first, then lean over and kiss me.” I smiled and stretched, making room for him in the small, full-size bed.

  “Dang, I thought I was quiet. How did you know I was doing that?”

  “You are a loud mouth breather. I heard you like you just ran a marathon,” I joked as I snuggled closer to him.

  “Ahh, I missed this today. How was your day? After I saw you this morning?” he teased.

  “Ugh, next question. Actually, I don’t want to talk about it.”

  “Oh, that bad, huh? Well, what do you want to do?” he asked suggestively.

  “Is that all you think about? You’re such a boy,” I said, rolling my eyes.

  “Yes, baby, I am, but you...Well, you’re hot, and I am a boy, and this boy had a crappy day at work and you have had an even crappier day as I can tell by the tension in your body, and me being the attentive boyfriend that I am, I just want to relieve some of that,” he pouted.

  “Nice. Did you practice that while you were watching me sleep?” I said as I let him flip me on my back.

  He hovered over me, kissing my neck. “Nope, thought of that on the drive over here,” he said in between kisses that he trailed down my neck and back up again. I admit that with each kiss, the tension of the day was leaving little by little.

  “Do we have time for this, babe? What time is it?” I said breathlessly.

  “Don’t worry about it. We have time,” he said, reaching under my shirt to skim his fingers over my ribs lightly. “You are so beautiful to me, Dacey,” he breathed into my hair.

  I kissed him, not just a regular kiss. It was the kind of kiss that took it from making out to more, as I did all the time when he said things like that to me.

  Twenty minutes later, as I was zipping back up my jeans, I did feel less tension in my shoulders and back.

  “That was just the pre-show, just so you know.” Trevor leaned over me to get his shirt off the floor. “The preshow is later tonight,” he smirked.

  “You are such a cocky bastard, you know that, right?”

  “Yes, it’s one of the reasons you fell in love with me.” He winked and stood up to put on his shirt. That was one of the reasons—and his abs, all six of them. I wasn’t stupid. Trevor had a very nice, lean, hard body, a body he worked at by going to the gym and swimming, playing sports in high school, and eating right. Paired with his hazel eyes and sandy blond hair, dyed naturally by the Florida sun, he wasn’t beating the girls back with a stick every five minutes, but he had done all right. We had always had an easy friendship that turned into an easy relationship, but as with any relationship, we had our roadblocks, but those were to be expected. If love were easy, everyone would be in love, right?

  “I fell in love with your body. It was purely lust,” I teased.

  “That’s even better, because this,” he gestured to himself, “will never go out of style. It will stay rock hard.”

  “Rock hard?” I asked with a raised eyebrow.

  “Yup. Everything. Rock. Hard.”

  “Come on, rock hard, or we will never make it to dinner,” I said, tugging on his shirt.

  “And I would be okay with that. You know your father doesn’t like me very much, in case you haven’t noticed,” he said as he held the door open for me.

  I walked out and locked it. “In case you hadn’t noticed, my father doesn’t like me very much, either,” I said sullenly.

  “Hey, I’m sure that’s not true,” he said, hugging me from behind. “He just shows it in a...”

  “Different way,” I finished for him. “Yeah, I know. Everyone tells me the same thing.”

  “I’m sorry. I know you hear it all the time, and the last person you want to hear it from is me.”

  “No, it’s okay. I know you’re just trying to help. Thank you for coming tonight, by the way.”

  “You don’t have to thank me. You want me there, so I’m there.” He bent down to kiss my forehead as we headed for his TrailBlazer. Such a boy’s truck.

  When we arrived at my parents’ house, it was just after seven o’clock. I barely got to the front door before it was yanked open by Aria with her Cheshire cat grin on her face.

  “You brought Trev! Yay,” she said as she shot past me and ran into the big bear hug he always gave her.

  “Hi to you too. I’m fine by the way,” I mumbled as I walked into the house.

  “Oh, I just saw your lameness like three hours ago, and you’re still lame. I haven’t seen Trev in, like, forever!” she exclaimed as she still clung to him like a lobster as they walked into the house.

  “
It hasn’t been forever—more like a week,” he said as he gently disentangled himself from her and closed the front door. He was always on his super extra-best gentlemanly behavior when at my parents’ house.

  “Well, however long it’s been, it’s been too long,” said Mom as she came in from the kitchen. “How are you, Trevor?”

  “I’m good, Mrs. Harper,” he said, giving her a hug.

  “Please, I have told you since you started dating my daughter to call me Ann. You may even call me Mom one day, who knows?” She gave him a wink.

  “Mom,” Aria wailed. “Why would you jinx them like that? Oh my gosh, you’re so...” She put her head in her hands and shook it back and forth. “Your mom is so embarrassing,” she mouthed to me.

  “She was your mom first,” I mouthed back.

  “Only by four years,” Aria said, holding up four fingers.

  “What are you girls talking about now?” Mom asked.

  “Nothing,” we both said at the same time.

  “I hate when you do that!” she said.

  “Sorry,” we said at the same time, again.

  “I give up,” she sighed and went into the kitchen.

  That left us to go sit in the family room with Wally, who had been ignoring us so far by reading his paper.

  When we sat down next to him, Trevor, bless his heart, actually spoke first. “Good evening, sir,” he said, extending his hand.

  “Uuh,” my dad grunted, not bothering to look up from his paper.

  “Hey, Dad,” I said.

  “You’re late.”

  And you’re a dick, I thought to myself as I watched Trevor drop his hand limply to his side. “By like three minutes, and Mom said around seven not at seven, so...” I lagged .

  “All I know is I am hungry and we had to wait for you, and you stroll in here being ungrateful for a meal that’s free,” he grunted out.

  “Dad, I didn’t mean—” I started.

  “Daddy,” Aria cut in, “you didn’t ask how my classes went today, grouchy pants.”

  “Thanks,” I mouthed, shooting her a grateful look.