“Yeah, he still has exams,” I lied, covering for him. Chris didn’t mind my family but he preferred to go out with his friends than come home with me on family visits.
“What are you up to?” I asked Jackie, turning the conversation around to her. She was twenty-three and still living at home with my parents. She had dropped out of college a few years back and now drifted between different jobs, looking for one to stick.
“Nothing much.” She shrugged. “Same thing different day,” she said bored.
“That’s not true,” Mom cut in. “Tell her about the program you applied to,” she said excitedly. I looked over at Jackie who rolled her eyes at Mom. I was suddenly interested.
“I’m applying to a makeup and hair school,” she confessed, not looking up from her plate.
“That’s awesome, you love all that stuff.” I really thought it would be a good fit for Jackie. She spent enough time doing her hair and makeup that she knew what she was doing. Not only that, she was actually really good at it and more importantly, she liked it. “It sounds great!” I exclaimed, happy for her.
“Yeah, we’ll see,” she said, not sounding overeager, which made me think that maybe she was nervous and downplaying it. Dinner went smoothly after that and I watched a movie in the living room with my parents before bed. Jackie’s long time high school friend, Ashley, came over and they decided to go out to a bar, forgoing our family movie time.
“Hey Ash,” I greeted. I’d known her since I was eleven and she felt almost like another big sister to me.
“Hey Lee,” she said ruffling up my hair, like I was still a little kid, an annoying habit of hers. She was looking ready to go out, her tits pushed up high and hanging out, thanks to her push-up bra and low-cut tank top and her booty shorts plastered against her ass. Not to mention her perfectly curled hair and full-face makeup, from her smoky eyes down to her ruby red lips. This girl clearly meant business. She looked good but like she was trying just a little too hard. Jackie had also changed and done herself up, adorning a short blue dress and a pair of silver strappy stilettos.
“You girls are looking good,” I complimented them. “Fish to fry?” I asked, it was our little term for going after guys.
“You know it, Little One.” Ashley winked. “I’m going to get me a much-needed dosage of tall, blond, and handsome,” she said, licking her lips. I laughed, thinking how I wanted the same thing. Even being home, I still thought of Axel and how I wanted another night of pure unadulterated sex.
“Ash is obsessed with this guy, it’s been five months and she won’t get over him,” Jackie informed me.
“If you’d had a roll in the sheets with him, Jack, you’d be as crazy as me,” Ash smirked seriously. “Now I am going to get fucked senseless. Catch you later Lee,” Ashley called, heading out the door with Jackie for their wild night out on the town. I got cozy in my PJs and joined Mom and Dad on the couch. There was nowhere I’d rather be than here, except for maybe in a bed with Axel but that wasn’t a good idea or going to happen.
“How was your night?” I asked Jackie when she came down from her slumber after a late night out. It was one p.m. now and she was pulling out a cereal bowl for breakfast, I’d been up since eight a.m. and had already eaten lunch by now.
“Long,” she said, putting her head on her hand for support, clearly hungover. I got up and went to the medicine cabinet and handed her two ibuprofen and a glass of orange juice. She took it gratefully. “You’re a lifesaver,” she said, gulping them down swiftly.
“No problem. How’d it go for Ashley?” I asked, curious after their exit. Jackie waved her hand away.
“No go. Now she’s crazier than ever,” she updated me. Poor Ash. She had trouble falling for people too quickly and she’d gotten hurt a lot in the past because of it.
“That’s too bad,” I said, feeling sorry for Ashley.
“C’est la vie,” Jackie said, the one sentence she knew in French and liked to use whenever she could.
“I’m going to head back to campus soon but I wanted to say good luck with your beauty school, I think you’re going to be great,” I told her honestly, trying to give her some extra confidence. Even though we weren’t super close and she was often kind of a bitch to me, I loved my big sister and wanted her to be happy.
“Thanks Lee. You take care of yourself.” She smiled at me and I left to catch the next train back to my dorm.
“LEE,” CHELSEA CRIED OUT, POUNCING on me from behind and scaring the crap out of me. I froze in surprise, the shock having stunned me momentarily.
“Don’t do that Chelsea!” I scolded her, she loved to catch me off guard, even though she knew how much I hated it.
She giggled at me and my seriousness. “You’re too funny, Lee,” she laughed, amused.
“What are you doing here?” I asked, bewildered, as I caught my breath.
“I’ve come to take you out,” she told me. Of course she had.
“And where to? May I ask?” I asked, dreading the thought.
“You’ll see,” she said cryptically.
“How about we just stay in?” I
