11. Mila
Mila
Dear Diary,
I know what perfection is. Well, I guess that’s not correct.
I know what bliss is. True and complete bliss.
I was sitting in my room, listening to music on my iPod, feeling quite sorry for myself.
Ryker and Parker had gone on two double dates, and Mom and Dad banned me from watching TV because they said I watch too many reality shows.
Whatever! Anyways, there I was, lying on my bed, humming along to Boyz II Men and Coolio, and guess who walked into my room?
You got it! My future husband, the wonderful, magnificent, gorgeous Adonis that is Ryker Walker.
He just walked in, sat on my bed, grabbed one of my earphones, and put it into his ear.
To be honest, I can’t even remember what song I’d been listening to.
All I can remember is his gorgeous brown eyes as they gazed at me, and I could see that he’d been working out because his biceps were so buff.
I sat up so that my earphones wouldn’t break, and then all of a sudden, we both started rapping to the song that was playing.
I didn’t even know I knew all the words, and I was shocked he knew the words.
It was just a perfect moment. We just sat there rapping together and giggling, and then we kinda moved back on the bed, swaying in time to the beat.
I could almost cry, it was so perfect. And then Parker had to come and ruin it because that’s who he is.
The ruiner of all my dreams. Anyway, thought I had to let you know right away.
Bliss is rapping to LL Cool J or whoever with Ryker Walker on my bed, rubbing shoulders.
The only way it could have been better is if he had kissed me, but then I might just have died.
Mila
XOXO
“I can’t believe that I am going to play truth or dare with my sister.” Parker shuddered as we all sat around the campfire that Ryker and he had set up just minutes before. “Who persuaded me to do this?”
“The beer did.” Ryker lifted his bottle before he took a long swig.
“And I hope I was a small influence,” Barbie said, whipping her hair in the wind as she stood there with a bottle of water in her hand, her breasts bouncing in her hot pink halter top.
Once again, she was wearing no bra. I wanted to tell her she might as well have kept her bikini on or just gone topless, but I stopped myself.
Knowing Barbie as well as I did already, I knew she would go topless in a heartbeat, and that would piss me off even more.
“Should we start a collection?” Lara whispered in my ear as she pointed at Barbie.
“I think we’re the only ones who would put anything in,” I whispered back to her. “I think she’s allergic to bras.”
“You’re right.” Lara laughed loudly this time. “I think I read about that condition in a medical journal.”
“Because you read medical journals all the time.” I burst out laughing.
“Hey, I read Cosmo, and sometimes they have health tips.” She nodded, looking serious.
“Yeah, tips like what should you do if a condom comes off inside of you,” I said and froze as Troy came up to me.
“You’re looking pretty tonight.” He leaned down and kissed me on the cheek.
“We still need to talk.” I glared at her, moving my face away from Troy.
“Yes, we do.” She grinned. “You sly dog, you.”
“I’m the sly dog?” I shook my finger at her. “You’re trying to get me into trouble.”
“I think you do that to yourself.” She giggled. “I need to learn from you.”
“Learn what from me?”
“What are you two talking about?” Troy looked puzzled as he tried to take my hand, and I stepped away from him.
“Where Barbie should carry her rass to,” Lara said, and Troy looked confused.
“Huh?” he said.
“Lara.” I shook my head at her. “Behave.”
“I’m trying,” she said, her brown eyes boring into mine, looking hurt for a few seconds before looking over at Parker and Barbie.
“What did you say?” Troy said. “I didn’t understand.”
“It wasn’t English,” I said. “It’s a Caribbean term,” I said knowledgeably, feeling like some sort of smarty-pants.
“You’re Caribbean?” He looked at Lara.
“No.” She shook her head. “But I have family from Guyana, so I’ve been there several times, and to Jamaica, Barbados, St. Lucia, and Antigua.”
“Wow.” Troy looked impressed. “I’ve always wanted to go to the Bahamas to gamble.”
“Oh, okay.” Lara nodded, and I could tell that she thought Troy was annoying as well, and she was going to say something.
“You want to go to the Bahamas to gamble, and that’s it?
Wouldn’t Vegas be a better option? I don’t know that the Bahamas is known for its casinos.
” The look she gave him would have made a smarter man blanch.
“Well, I’m pretty good at blackjack. Last year, I won fifty dollars playing bingo at my grandma’s retirement home.” He looked proud of himself.
“Uh?” Lara frowned. “Sorry, I don’t get the connection between blackjack and bingo?”
“Well, my grandma’s friends told me they thought I’d kill at the blackjack tables with my bingo skills,” he said, and I had to stop myself from groaning. He was such a dumbass. I wondered where Lara had found him.
“Oh, okay.” Lara nodded.
“And I did win fifty bucks,” he continued, “so if I keep on winning big, I’ll soon be a millionaire.”
“I suppose, one one dutty does build damn.” Lara nodded, rolling her eyes.
“Huh?” Troy looked confused and looked at me. “What’s that?”
“Another Guyanese term.” I grinned, well-versed in the different terms Lara used. “It means that the pennies add up and soon you have a lot of money.”
“Oh, I won fifty dollars,” he said, looking at Lara, “not pennies.”
“It’s figurative. Not literal,” Lara said and sighed, looking over at Parker. “Hey, you guys ready? I’m ready for some games.”
“Let’s do it,” Ryker said, with a wink at me.
“I know I’m excited,” Troy said, hurrying over to the fire and sitting on the ground. He patted the seat next to him and looked over at me, but I looked the other way and hurried to the other side to sit next to Parker.
“So how are we going to do this?” Parker asked, drinking beer and leaning back. My brother looked handsome, and both Barbie and Lara admired him, but he only had eyes for Barbie. I sure hoped that he wasn’t going to do anything to hurt Lara’s feelings.
“We’ll all write our names on a piece of paper,” Ryker said.
I did not expect him to be the one in charge of setting up the game of truth or dare.
“And we’ll all write a few dares and put them into a different hat when people pick dares.
When someone picks truth, one person will get to ask them a question. ”
“What if Mila picks me or I pick Mila?” Parker asked, looking over at me in disgust. “I’m not doing any sort of crazy dare with my sister.”
“Since when have you cared about crazy?” Ryker raised an eyebrow at him. “Back in your frat days…” Ryker’s voice drifted off, and I saw Parker glaring at him.
“You’re sick,” Parker said, and Lara looked at him curiously.
“What did you do?” she asked him, and I wondered what dirty deeds my brother had gotten up to while he was in college.
“What didn’t he do?” Ryker laughed and looked at Parker. “I remember a night with four girls, two sets of twin sisters.”
“Hey,” Parker scolded. I couldn’t help but notice a proud smile on his face. “They came to me.”
“Uh-huh,” Ryker said. “Like those two study-abroad friends from Spain.”
“Hey, is it my fault they both wanted me to show them my room?” Parker laughed now. “They both enjoyed my bed.”
“Parker!” I shouted at him. “You hooked up with twin sisters and two friends?”
“What can I say? Double the trouble, double the fun.”
“You do realize you’re boasting about your sick ways to your own sister?” I poked him in the shoulder. “You’re supposed to be pretending you’re virginal and pure.”
Parker laughed. “And you would believe that, why?”
“Would you like it if I told you about all the different guys I hooked up with?” I said to him.
“What guys?” Ryker’s eyes narrowed at me.
“Yeah, what guys?” Parker said, no longer laughing. “You’d better not have been doing anything Nonno wouldn’t be happy with.”
“I’m a grown woman. I can do what I want,” I said, glaring at him.
“No, you can’t,” he said and glared back at me.
“You can’t tell me what to do.”
“Yes, I can,” he said with his bossy, big-brother tone that I detested. “I’m your brother, and I will make sure you stay on the right path, even if I have to shoot someone.”
“Maybe I’ve already strayed from the right path,” I snarked at them, and Ryker and Parker lasered their focus on me.
“Hey, guys, should we play?” Lara interrupted and tapped Parker on the shoulder. “And if you pick Mila’s name or she picks you, you guys can just pick again.”
“Fine,” Parker huffed, and then gave Lara a warm smile. “You’re looking pretty tonight, Lara.”
“Thanks.” She beamed at him.
“Let’s all have a seat,” Ryker said, brushing past me. “Oh, sorry,” he said and slid his hand down my back and rested it on my ass.
“Sorry for what?” I asked, confused, looking up at his smoldering gaze.
He bent down and whispered in my ear, “Leading you down the wrong path.”
“What wrong path?” I asked, my face flushed from his close contact.