Chapter Five
Naomi
It’s the early hours of dawn when I walk into our hotel room. Cassi thought it would be fun to rent one for her birthday, and it is convenient because despite me being twenty-one, my mom still likes to know where I am and who I spend my time with every second of the day.
I’m as quiet as possible, but as soon as the door shuts behind me, Cassi and Arianna both sit up, their eyes slightly sleepy but on me.
“Are you just getting in?” Arianna asks.
“Sluttt,” Cassi teases.
I try to muster a smile as I shrug. With every step I take, I limp a little more, so the moment I kick my monstrous heels off is cause for celebration. Never again.
Arianna frowns down at my feet. “You didn’t walk here, did you?”
“No, um, the guy I spent time with gave me a ride. He was nice.”
Except he wasn’t. He was the opposite of nice. He was a jerk, he was mean, he was vile.
“Shut the fuck up. How nice was he exactly, Nay? Can we finally tear up your V-card?” Cassi asks. “You know the best birthday present you could ever give me is finally having sex?”
“How would that benefit you at all?” I ask as I crawl into bed beside Arianna, my heavy eyelids falling closed quickly.
“It would, trust me. So, did you?”
I try to ignore them, but I can feel their gazes on me. Slowly, I peel my eyes open and sigh at them.
“Virginity is firmly intact—sorry to disappoint.”
“Booo,” Cassi says.
Arianna shakes her head. “Don’t listen to her. It’s not even her goddamn business,” she hisses, turning to Cassi.
Cassi rolls her eyes and lies back down. “Whatever. She’s our best friend—of course it’s our business. Speaking of, I still want that play-by-play of your night in the morning, Ari.”
“Whatever you want, Cass,” she retorts, laughing as she wiggles down to lie flat.
Thankfully, the room falls quiet and Cassi’s snoring is the first sound to fill the room.
Arianna nudges my shoulder with hers.
“Are you okay?” she whispers.
No.
“Yeah, I’m just tired. Crazy night, huh?”
Arianna scoffs and nods. “You’re telling me.”
I wake to Arianna and Cassi whispering about their nights. My sleep-drunk eyes move to the clock, and I see it’s already eleven in the morning. It’s not hard to sleep in when you don’t fall asleep until almost five.
“It was so fucking good, and we swapped numbers. I’m just waiting for him to thirst after me and beg for another night, which I’ll gladly give him because my God. Easily the best sex of my life,” Cassi says.
Arianna smiles supportively. “So a good birthday then?”
Cassi grins. “A great one. What about you?”
“It was… so fucking good. He’s older, like a lot older.”
“Ari, did you fuck a GILF?”
Arianna scoffs and shakes her head. “Like forties, Cass.”
“I’m just asking,” Cassi replies, raising her hands in defense. “Was he the best lay you’ve ever had?”
Arianna smirks. “He was fucking pierced.”
Cassi’s scream could make dogs howl—not that she cares.
“Oh my God! I have so many questions. How did it feel for you? For him? Please tell me you burned every moment into your head to relish forever.”
Ari laughs. “It was a really fucking good night. I’m not sure how he’ll top it next week.”
Cassi’s smile freezes, the corners drooping ever so slightly. “Next week? He… asked you out?”
Ari shrugs. “Kinda. He asked me to meet him back there. Not sure if that constitutes a date or not.”
Cassi stares at her for a moment, like a million thoughts are running through her head. “Well, he might have been saying it in the heat of the moment. You know how men are. I don’t want you to get your hopes up.”
Ouch. Even I feel the little dig Cassi just threw. Whether she meant to or not, it’s out there, and based on Arianna’s face, she feels it.
“Did we get late checkout?” I ask, trying to steer the conversation in a new direction.
“Yeah,” Arianna says, her tone lacking its former enthusiasm.
“What about you, Nay? Another invite or anything?” Cassi asks.
I shake my head, and she nods like she’s relieved, which is insanely messed up. I mean, she doesn’t know that I was left feeling humiliated, embarrassed and… sad.
Still. They should be happy. Cassi got a phone number; Ari got a date. I just got trauma because though I’m trying to block it out, the fact of the matter is I sucked my brother’s dick.
After Cassi’s moment of… attitude let’s call it, we all decided to head out.
I live only a few blocks away so it’s not bad even with midday traffic.
That’s the unfortunate thing about Seattle.
One o’clock on a Saturday? Traffic. Four in the morning on a Thursday?
Traffic. I’ve never seen a city street empty, and I’ve lived here my whole life.
As soon as I stroll into the house, I smell something good cooking.
Every weekend, we have a family dinner where we can all catch up.
Even though Anthony, my oldest brother, lives in Olympia and Nick is constantly traveling for work, they both somehow never miss a dinner.
I think they know how much it means to Mom.
“I’m home,” I call as I drop my overnight bag by the door.
“In here, sweetheart,” my mom says from the kitchen.
I weave my way through our little historic house.
It’s tight, a three-bedroom, two-bath, 1,100-square-feet home with on-street parking, but it’s got a ton of charm to it.
It was the home my mom grew up in, and when her parents passed away when she was twenty-two, her and my sperm donor moved in.
I say sperm donor because dad just seems like an inappropriate title for a man who fled the state when he found out his wife was pregnant with his third child.
My mom worked her butt off to provide for us kids on her own, especially after she took Kolter in. Granted, Anthony had already moved out by the time Kolter started living with us; still, holidays and weekends were very cramped. I always kinda loved it, though.
“What are we having?” I ask as I step into the kitchen and press a kiss to Mom’s cheek.
She smiles and gestures towards the pastry dough she’s placing on top of ramekins. “Mini pot pies.”
My stomach practically grumbles in celebration and I grin approvingly.
“When will the boys be here?”
She looks down at her phone briefly. “Probably an hour or two—you know Anthony likes to head home early.”
I nod. We should honestly start calling it family lunch with how early we do it every week, but hey, who really cares what time of day you eat delicious food, right?
“I’m going to take a quick shower and then I’ll help you set the table,” I say.
“Sounds good. Wait, did you guys have fun last night?”
I study my mom’s warm smile. I don’t keep anything from her, so she knows where we went last night.
She also knows the status of my sex life—or lack thereof—and that inquisitive smile is very clearly a probe to see if anything monumental happened.
As much as I’d love to get this… thing off my chest, I think it would mortify her even more than me, so for once, I keep it all to myself.
“It was… interesting. Still a virgin, to quell your curiosity.”
She shrugs. “There’s always tomorrow.”
I laugh and shake my head before making my way to the upstairs bathroom.
Most moms would be pleased that their twenty-one-year-old daughter is still a virgin, right?
My mom is less pushy than my friends but more than other mothers I’ve met.
She falls somewhere in the middle of being a compassionate supporter of my choice while also putting pressure on me to use it before I lose it, which I consistently remind her is a ridiculous concept.
After a quick shower, I change into a pair of leggings and a tank top and head downstairs.
The front door opens.
“Mom! We’re home,” Anthony calls as Nick trails in behind him.
Anthony’s eyes meet mine, then he smiles warmly and pulls me in for a hug, pressing a quick kiss to the top of my head. “Hey, munchkin. How was your week?”
“Good. Yours?”
He nods. “Busy, but good.”
Anthony has always been more like a dad to me than anything else.
A ten-year-age gap and a runaway biological father will do that to you.
Neither of us have ever seemed bothered by it, though.
He was the one who taught me how to ride a bike; how to change a flat tire.
Then there’s Nick, who’s always been the typical brother.
“High five?” Nick smiles before ripping away his hand and walking past me. “Too slow.”
I scoff and shake my head. “Aren’t you a little old for that?”
“Nope,” he says, popping his P. Then he presses a kiss to Mom’s cheek and plops himself down at the dinner table.
“Nicholas, if you don’t take your shoes off at the door, I’m going to beat your fucking ass with them,” my mom sighs. There’s no heat to her words but all the promise in the world.
He snickers at that, quickly kicking off his shoes before jogging over to the front door.
For a twenty-six-year-old, my brother really acts like he’s still living that fraternity life.
I help Mom set up everything for dinner, and we fall into easy conversation.
A few minutes later, Nick’s phone buzzes with a text. He grabs it and reads it with furrowed brows, then quickly types a message back.
His phone buzzes again.
“Do you have to text at the table?” my mom sighs.
“Sorry, it’s just… Kolter texted me.”
Tension fills the room as all eyes swing to Nick.
“Kolter?” Mom asks, a soft hopefulness to her tone.
“Yeah, he said he’s sorry he hasn’t been around in a while and wants to come to dinner next week, if that’s okay with you.”
“Why didn’t he text me himself?” she asks.
Nick shrugs. “You know how he is—probably embarrassed he hasn’t been around in years.”
Anthony frowns like the news has upset him, and for some reason, his eyes move to me, watching me curiously. I stare back at him for a moment before dropping my gaze to my food.
“Fine, tell him he’s always welcome, but don’t warn him about the ass-beating I plan to give him for practically disappearing on us these last six years. That boy has a world of hurt coming to him,” my mom tsks.
Nick quickly texts him back. Then he smiles. “He says he’ll be here next week and he’s ready for the wooden spoon.”
Mom laughs at that, and Anthony gives a soft nod like he approves, or maybe he just likes that Mom’s happy. Me on the other hand? I’m ready to throw up all over this dinner table.
The next day, somewhere in between chores and an extra-credit assignment I’m working on, I find myself lying in bed, staring at the ceiling. My mind is still whirling from what took place in the club.
I reach for my phone and almost word-vomit everything to the group chat before I think better of it.
It’s not that my friends would ever judge me, but I guess I’m carrying a certain level of shame from that night.
Or maybe it’s embarrassment? Or maybe I’m just worried that they’ll ask if I liked it and I’ll have to be honest and tell them yes.
So, instead, I opt to stay quiet, at least about my own experience.
I do, however, shoot off a check-in text to Cassi.
Arianna is at her family’s cabin up north with little-to-no cell reception, and Cassi is dealing with her own brand of torture.
Her Mr. Right? The one she was so hooked on from the club?
He’s her sister’s boyfriend. Yep. Boyfriend, as in current.
He came with her sister to Seattle to meet the family.
I think it’s safe to say he’s well acquainted with the family now, so hopefully he’s gone.
Me: How did things go today? Is he gone?
Her response comes almost immediately.
Cassi: If by gone, you mean is he staying for an extra week, then absolutely.
My mouth drops open.
Me: WHAT?
Me: EXPLAIN
Me: NOW PLEASE
Obviously, text won’t do, but thankfully Cassi is on top of it and sends me a long voice note, which I play immediately.
Gosh, I’m glad I’m not the only one that has their mind spinning.