Angie used my fork to take a bite of her peach cobbler and considered. “How old areyou?”
“Twenty-nine,” Sethsaid.
“Ever beenmarried?”
“No.”
“Five,” my sister said. “Five’s a good answer. Not so many that you sound like a slut, but not so few you sound like aloser.”
“Five it is, then,” Sethsaid.
* * *
“Sorry about Angie,”I said, closing the door of the bedroom behind me. “My parents have kinda spoiled her. Last baby to leave the nest and all that. She doesn’t hear the word ‘no’ veryoften.”
“It’s alright,” Seth said. “She’s cute.” He was looking around, taking it all in. We were standing in my childhood bedroom, the one I’d lived in from the time I was born until I was nineteen. “Reminds me of you when you wereyounger.”
“God.Really?”
He smiled at me. “You were a little more… sassy. Even backthen.”
“Man. I must’ve beenobnoxious.”
“Hardly.” He was looking at the bed, where a bunch of stuffed animals sat on the pillows, as if some little girl still lived here. “The way I remember it, you were pretty fucking charming. Witty. Sarcastic as hell. Fun. You had a great laugh. Great ass, too.” He glanced over at me, and I felt the rush of heat between my legs. All he had to do was look at me. “Little blondefirecracker…”
I watched him finger the ruffled bedspread, and I realized how it all must look, to him. An orphan and foster kid; a street kid. The buttercup-yellow walls and posters of rock stars, the custom furniture and walk-in closet. The ruffled pillows and lace curtains and all the sparkly, girlie shit piled on theshelves.
Obnoxiouswas definitely theword.
“So this is it, huh? Where the magic happened…” He turned in a circle, looking around the room. “Can’t believe this is the first time I got into yourbedroom.”
“You’ve been in my bedroom,” Isaid.
“Not this bedroom. The bedroom of Elle Delacroix, teen dream.” He looked at me, raising an eyebrow. “You have any idea how many boys at your school would’ve killed to be standing here rightnow?”
“Right…” I said. “Pretty crazy that I never got laid in here,huh?”
He actually looked shocked. “You’re kiddingme.”
“Nope.”
“That’s a fucking travesty,” he said, wandering over tome.
“It reallyis.”
He swept me up in his arms and pulled me in for a kiss. As usual, it didn’t take long before we were tangled up in each other. Before we were tumbling on my ruffled pink bed and peeling each other’s clothesoff.
“Fast,” I managed to say, between tongue-gropings. “Angie’s a bloodhound. If she thinks we’re going at it in here, she’ll comeknocking.”
“No worries,” he said, “I’ve got it covered.” He’d already pulled a condom from his jeanspocket.
“How industrious,” I teased, but I was glad he’d thought ahead. Otherwise I’d be wobbling out of here, incrediblyunsatisfied.
“What can I say? I was hoping this would happen. Kind of a fantasy of mine…” His cock was already out, thanks to me tearing open his jeans, and he was rolling the condomon.
“What? Doing me in my teenagebedroom?”
“Yeah.” He grinned at me, maybe a little self-conscious. “Is thatweird?”
