"Anyway, it's still a few hours until sunrise, so I'll leave you boys to whatever you were doing."
Reeve's cheeks flush with color. "We weren't doing anything, Granny."
"Really? So that isn't semen in your hair?"
"What?" He snatches at his hair, tugging and releasing it in quick bursts as he checks for said, uh, semen. "How did that get there?"
Penny cackles, shaking her head. "Got you. You really should stop underestimating me, Reeve."
21
Reeve
"You know, I thought I'd lived through some wild times, but you two…you take it to the next level," I say, connecting my laptop to the projector in Granny's living room.
"Um, excuse me. It's notourgrandmother who rescued us in a helicopter," Wilkin retorts with a grin.
"Or who initiated my first ever threesome," Jett adds, drifting in and out of la-la land.
"Well, I didn't hear either of you complaining."
"Was kinda hard to speak with our mouths full of your?—"
"Okay, okay. I get it," I cut Wilkin off. Granny went to bed half an hour ago, but who knows what sort of secret recording devices are in this room because, yes, her announcement about her secret life has got me all paranoid. You think you know someone, and then boom, they reveal a whole other side of themselves to you.
I get everything set up but hold off on hitting play, joining Wilkin and Jett on the couch.
"How are you feeling about Penny's double life?" Wilkin asks.
"Still processing."
"It's a lot to take in."
"It sure is. I always had this idea of who she was, and it turns out there's so much more to her than I ever thought possible. I feel bad I didn't see any of it before."
"I think her whole thing is keeping it covert. She mentioned no one else in the family knows."
"Yeah, true." I rake a hand through my hair and look over at Jett. He can barely keep his eyes open. "We don't have to do this now," I say, tipping my chin toward the screen. "Save it for another time?"
"No way, mister." Wilkin slides in by my side, and I instinctively wrap my arm around him. "Penny mentioned you're practically naked save for a pair of short shorts in these videos. I want to see for myself."
Jett snorts awake. "Did someone say something about Reeve in short shorts?"
Wilkin laughs. "Sure did. Perfect time to wake up. He's about to play us his latest video from Ethiopia. Aren't you, Tarzan?"
I let out an indignant huff. "Don't call me that."
"Even if I think it's super sexy?" Wilkin challenges, quirking a brow.
My lips twitch. "Jury's out. I'll let you know."
I hit play on my laptop, and the screen above the fireplace fills with the harsh, endless expanse of salt and rock of the Danakil Depression in Ethiopia. Pools of acid-bright green and yellow bubble in the distance, steam drifting up like the land itself is breathing. And then there's me, setting up camp in one of the literal hottest places on earth where daytime temps exceed 120 degrees. There's some footage capturing Erta Ale’s molten lava lighting up dark volcanic rocks, a few pans across the endless white salt flats, close-ups of cracking salt crust, steamingvents, and mineral formations, and me driving a Jeep, singing "Life Is a Highway" off-key at the top of my lungs.
"See, I do wear a shirt sometimes," I joke.
When I don't hear a chuckle, I look over. They've both fallen asleep. I stop the video and get up to cover them with a light blanket.
This has easily been the best night of my life…apart from Jett injuring himself of course…but there's an uneasiness burning a hole in my chest. I stride over to the windows, the first hint of sunlight touching the horizon.
