Chapter Seventeen The Ultimate Lesson
Fate
“It was all about the Baskin twins,” Glory announced.
“The Baskins…” Briget repeated.
“They were the ultimate prize for any guy in our school,” Glory explained. “Blonde, curvy, big blue eyes, long legs. Popular as all get out. Pretty, model beautiful…Even I had to admit that. But there was one problem. They were the Preacher's daughters and they were not allowed to date. And boy, did our Walker Twins want to date them.” She laughed.
Briget looked over at me.
I hid my face by allowing Daisy up onto my shoulder. All of it was true. Those girls were what a young boy’s dreams were made of. I finally peeked over at my girl as my face felt hot with embarrassment.
Seeing my reddened cheeks, Briget grinned at me.
“Hell, all the guys in town were waiting for those two chicks to turn eighteen,” Justice said as he laughed.
“He’s right,” Liberty agreed. “Even Redemption said he would’ve double-tapped that if he could have.”
“Eww, I never knew that and did not wish to ever know it,” Glory complained. “He was older than them. But yeah, they were every teen boy’s fantasy. They were also good friends of mine. I grew up with those girls. So, I invited them to my sweet sixteen, along with lots of other girls from our school. I told my two prankster idiot brothers to NOT be there for the party or the sleepover I was having. But you damn well know they weren't going to listen to me. Not those two jerks. In fact, I counted on their jerkness.” She laughed.
“Diabolical,” Liberty mumbled. “Glory was diabolical at a very young age.”
“I take that as a compliment coming from the Prank King,” she said.
“Go on, Glory,” Belle urged her in excitement.. “I need to hear what happened.”
“Traitor,” Liberty grumbled.
We all laughed.
“So, Dad had a pool put in a few months before,” Glory explained. “It was gorgeous, all the way to 9 feet deep, with a diving board and a jacuzzi nearby. We never had anything like that when we were little, but it was great to have it for my sixteenth. You'll see it when we get…” she paused. “No, I think we will just be at the compound on this trip, darn it. Anyway, I planned the whole party. And my revenge on the prankster twins was gonna be my sixteen candles, girls. Years of torment was about to be rained down on them.”
I scoffed. “I gotta agree with Lib, it was pure evil on Glory’s part. Go ahead, sis.” This had been my suggestion. Even though my sister had planned to tell it sometime, I’d pushed it to the forefront. I hoped it would cheer my girl up after what she’d shared with us. Glancing over at a smiling Briget, I could see that it already seemed to be working.
“Wow, I cannot wait to hear what it was,” Scarlet said over the speaker.
“Me too,” Legend finally spoke up. “I never heard this story before.”
“There was a reason why you never did, Legend,” I said. “We had an agreement all this time.”
“Yeah, and if Glory had any integrity, we wouldn’t be hearing any of this now,” Liberty added.
“Yeah, we’ll see about that,” Glory countered. “You two think you are so smart.”
“You all crack me up,” Scarlet chimed in.
“Right?” Belle agreed. “Scar and I never had these awesome stories or sibling arguments. It is hilarious really.”
“Yes, ha-freakin-ha,” Liberty groused.
“I’m not sure the twins feel so lucky just now,” Justice said.
“Chastity and Charity Baskins,” Glory said. “They were the lucky as hell twins. Then again they were identical and they looked like goddesses. They were pretty like I said but smart. In fact, they are both scientists now. Not models or whatever, like you would think. They both had high IQs. And they used those smarts to help me pull off the best con I think I have ever heard of. They were tired of my stupid ass brothers chasing them around of course and I'd told them of their tormenting pranks perpetrated on me before this. Well, surprise, surprise…the Walker Twins showed up during my party! Like wow, who knew? I mean they wouldn’t wreck my birthday would they?”
“Wow, Glory, tell us how you really feel.” Belle laughed.
“They deserved everything that happened to them,” she told us all. “So they stayed hidden while ogling the girls in their bikinis. I mean that was why I didn’t invite any guys. Because of that very thing.”
“What I always wondered was how you knew about that part,” I asked.
Scoffing, Glory replied. “Cameras, brother. They weren’t as good as they are now but we had them back then. Dad had them for security, remember? I just borrowed a couple. That was how we knew where you were.”
“We?” Liberty asked.
“Yes,” Glory said. “Me and the Baskin girls.”
“They showed up at the pool shack,” I said. “Where we were hiding. They acted surprised to find us there.”
“Yeah, and we were totally blown away,” Liberty said.
“Especially when they said they would meet you later, right?” Glory snickered.
“Yeah, suddenly they were interested in us,” I added. “They were going to spend the night at your birthday sleepover.”
“Yep,” Glory said as she giggled. “My sleepover was something they suggested.”
“Yeah and they suggested a lot more than that to us,” I said.
“Man, why are you helping with this awful sabotage to our childhood?” Liberty griped. “Just quit talking, Fate. Damn, we shoulda known better.”
“But we figured those girls were more promiscuous than their daddy knew about,” I added.
“Why?” Briget asked. “What did they do?”
“They said we could meet up back at the shack at midnight,” I told her.
Glory started to laugh.
“So, what happened?” Belle asked.
I replied to this, “We met them—”
“—and had a fine time. End of story,” Liberty cut me short and switched the console speaker off.
“Hey!” Belle yelled at him.
“I couldn’t stand hearing her voice anymore,” he growled. “Glory is annoying and always has been.”
“Oh, my God!” Briget exclaimed. “We need to know what happened.”
“She’s just overly excitable,” Liberty assured us. “The story wasn’t as exciting as she leads you to believe. Just teenage stuff.”
“Oh, really?” Briget questioned him. “Then why don't you just let her tell us then?”
“Yeah man, I wanted to get this over with,” I told my brother. “You know she's gonna tell it sooner or later. I’d just rather yank that bandaid off quick-like and get past this.”
“Well, she's breaking her word and doesn't deserve consideration, brother,” Liberty argued.
Belle tisked as she turned in her seat and told me, “Hand Daisy to me.”
I felt confused but lifted the little dog from my lap and handed her to Belle in the front seat.
Taking the small terrier, Belle set her on the seat between her and Liberty.
Liberty looked mighty curious as he glanced over at her.
“Guard the button,” Belle told the pup as she leaned over and tapped the speaker button on again.
“It was so hilarious,” Glory was saying as the speaker came back on again. “I mean I never knew they could turn that shade of red.”
“Liberty shut you off,” Belle informed her. “We didn’t hear anything after the twins were in the pool shack.”
“That asshole!” Glory laughed. “Desperate is as desperate does—”
“Shut the heck up, Glory!” Liberty interrupted her as he reached for the button again.
Daisy rose up and snarled at him. Her small teeth were bared as she let out a deadly serious growl.
Halting, Liberty yanked his hand back. “The fuck? What’s wrong with your mini-pitbull wanna be?”
“We taught her this when Belle was on a diet,” Briget explained as she smiled. “She was taught to protect the fridge and the sweet snack drawer.”
“You are kidding me?” Liberty asked in a disgusted tone.
“Nope, she will bite you, if you try to tap that button,” Briget warned him.
“Leave that button alone, sweetheart, ” Belle added as she smiled sweetly at him.
“Oh, wow! That is too funny,” Glory exclaimed. “The big ole MMA champ, kept in line by a 3 pound Yorkshire Terrier?” Her laughter filled the speakers.
“Hey, if she bites, I’m not gonna feel it. But I’m not playing that game with your little dog,” Liberty claimed. “Keeping my hands on the wheel while little Glory hound tells her quaint little story.”
“Wow,” Glory retorted with a snort. “Someone’s pouting.”
“Ok, go on, Glory,” Briget urged. “What was red?”
“Red?” Glory paused then she laughed. “Oh, yeah. Well, the Baskin girls talked the Walker Twins into something they would never normally do.”
“And that was?” Belle asked.
“Skinny dipping,” I butted in and admitted it outright. “They said we could all skinny dip at midnight after the other girls went to sleep.”
“Ohhh.” Briget slowly nodded her head at me.
“Ohhh, is right,” Liberty grumbled.
“It was too perfect!” Glory said as she laughed. “Those two hounds came out eagerly while truly believing these girls were gonna swim in the nude with them and who knows what else they expected. The boys were wearing towels, you know wrapped around their hips like guys do. The girls flirted with them and teased them until they were finally able to yank the towels off the brothers.”
“It was supposed to be all four of us that were nude,” Liberty complained. “I mean that is how skinny dipping works, ya know?”
“They knew that,” I added “And we didn’t know any better because they had robes on when they arrived.”
“Yes, you poor babies, they took advantage of you, didn’t they?” Glory teased them. “They had no idea that they had PJ short sets under there. So when the girls got their towels, they tossed them into the pool so the boys couldn’t get them back. Then patio lights came on. Well, I turned them on.” She snickered. “And whaddaya know? The Walker boys were butt ass naked.”
“Oh, wow!” Briget laughed.
“In front of a dozen teen girls,” Glory added as she hooted with laughter. “They were covering their um, junk with their hands, but their behinds were in the wind, baby!” She sounded breathless with laughter.
With a burst of laughter, Briget turned her head to look at me.
“Yeah, we were red all over, I imagine.” I nodded at her. “The girls all got pictures on their phones and we had to run into the house with our asses literally hanging out.”
“Oooh!” Scarlet exclaimed over the speaker.
“Those images were all over high school for weeks,” Liberty snapped.
“Oh, man,” Legend commented.
“There were even posters hanging on telephone poles,” I added. “They were rated X, so the city kept taking them down, but the damage had already been done. People would see us out and about, then point at us and laugh. Even old ladies recognized us when we were in town. They would give us flirty smiles and bat their eyes at us. It was sickening.” I shuddered in repulsion.
Everyone laughed loudly.
“Humble pie, Dad had called it,” Liberty said.
“And it was,” I said. “Swallowed with shame. Then we knew it would come back to haunt us somehow in the future, so we bribed Glory to never tell.”
“And as you can see, she is not an honest person,” Liberty scoffed.
“I was so,” she argued. “You do not remember the small print though, do you?”
“The small…” I shook my head and asked, “What the hell are you talking about?”
“Justice,” Glory said over the speaker. “Tell them.”
We could all hear our lawyer brother sigh as he informed us of the truth, “The agreement said, she would never tell as long as you two were single.”
My jaw dropped as I was stunned to hear this. I never remembered this so-called clause, but we were like all of seventeen years old at that time and never would have even noticed the supposed ‘small print.’
“And when Fate made it clear that he wanted to…be with Briget and we all know him well enough to see that this is not just a casual thing for him…well, the deal was off then boys.” Glory chuckled.
Relieved that it was now over with, I shook my head and smacked my lips, making a kissing sound.
Little Daisy jumped up on the top of the seat and then hopped onto my lap.
Liberty peered at me in the rear view mirror. “What the fuck’s with the kissy noises, brother?”
“Calling my lil Daze, of course,” I told him.
Liberty shook his head. “Ever since you met that dog, you have been weird.”
“So?” I retorted. “You’ve been weird for my entire life and I don't complain about it, do I?”
Briget and Belle laughed.
“Oh, and Glory…?” I drawled. “You do know this also means the No Prank clause is null and void as well, right?”
Briget stared at me with rounded eyes and asked, “Really?”
I nodded as I petted Daisy.
“Is that true, Justice?” Glory asked in a quiet voice.
No answer came.
“Justice?” she called out.
“Yes,” he finally replied. “The entire agreement is deleted now.”
“Mutual Rescission,” Belle stated the legal term for it as she nodded and recited it, “The Mutual Rescission and Release Agreement serves to render the original contract null and void and places the parties back to their original positions before they entered into that first agreement.
Liberty sighed in a dreamy tone “You are so smart, babe. I love it when you do legal speak. It is sexy as all hell.”
“Ew, Lib! Cut that disgusting crap out!” Glory whined over the speaker.
We all laughed again.
“So you didn’t read the fine print either, sis?” I teased her.
“Oh, you two still think you're so smart,” Glory retorted. “But little do you know, I have an old VHS tape. It’s an oldie but goodie. I call it Little Balls .”
Liberty and I both sucked in a deep breath.
“They are not little!” Liberty exclaimed as he looked thoroughly insulted.
More laughter rippled through the speaker.