BING
Lexy throws the dart at the board in my room. “So you haven’t spoken to Heidi?”
“Why would I have spoken to her?” I scoff. “She might have text me, but it doesn’t mean I’ve replied.”
“Mmm,” she responds, shooting the dart again.
“‘Mmm’? What does ‘mmm’ mean?” I sit up straight just as her dart falls to the floor.
She sighs. “I just… I don’t know. It’s Heidi. She was the first girl you ever, well, had sex with more than twice.”
“And? It was just sex with her.”
“So you say, Bing, but none of us really know that for sure.” She sighs again, dropping her poised arm. “And you did cheat on her.”
“Isn’t that enough to show it was never more than sex?”
“I don’t know.” She turns, shrugging. “I know you like Jen, all right? I can see it in how you act around her. Hell, you’ve been like a kettle just before boiling point since she moved here last year. Any time her name was mentioned you went off worse than me with PMS.”
“I wasn’t that bloody bad!” I protest. Was I?
“Uh, yeah, you were.” She raises her eyebrows, smiling a little. “It’s obvious, Bing, but what is it with her? Really? Is it because you finally attained the unattainable? You finally got the girl? How long will it last, Bing? Huh? Can you tell me that? Because I don’t know.”
My jaw clenches. “You don’t need to give me the 411, sis.”
“No, no, I do. You gave it to Alec-”
“I’m your brother. I’m supposed to kick guy’s asses for touching you, for fuck sake.”
“– And Jen is my best friend, and she doesn’t have anyone to do it for her.” Her brown eyes, a shade darker than mine, are focused on me intently, and I can see her resolve. She isn’t gonna let this go.
“Fine. You want to know?”
“Obviously. That’s why I asked, dipshit.”
I flip her off. “It’s not just because I finally have her, Lex. It’s more than that. I don’t know what it is. Maybe I’m falling for her, but I do know she’s nothing like the others. I don’t look at her and see…” I trail off, unable to find the words.
“Big tits, a skinny waist, and an easy lay?” Lexy asks, amusement behind her dry tone.
“Well, yeah.” I laugh slightly and scratch the back of my neck. “I see Jen, okay? As annoying as she is – and she still annoys the living shit out of me – it’s more than just getting her on her back.”
“Which you’ve no doubt done several times.”
“I don’t ask about your sex life. Don’t assume about mine.”
“I’m not asking. I’m stating.”
“It’s wrong, Lex.”
“You’ve never hidden it. Jen doesn’t tell me anything, but it’s been a couple weeks now. I don’t even want to know how many…”
“All right,” I interrupt. “All you need to know is Jen is Jen, and it’s not just sex. It might not even last forever, but while it does, I’m not gonna let anything get in the way of that.”
Lexy clicks her tongue, and crosses the room to collect the darts. She spins the one that fell on the floor between her fingers, and her eyes meet mine again.
“And what about Heidi?”
“What about her?”
“Her texts? Does Jen know?”
“No.”
“Are you gonna tell her?”
“Do I need to?”
“Well, I guess not, but I know she’ll be pissed when she finds out.”
“Who says she has to find out?”
Lexy grins. “This is Jen. If anyone could unravel the greatest mysteries of the world, it would be her. She’ll find out somehow, Bing, and you know it.”
I smirk. “And then she’d go and kick Heidi’s ass, right?”
“I’m not saying violence will be involved.” Lexy giggles. “But there’s a strong possibility Heidi’s ass might end up meeting the floor.”
“You could be right.”
“So, are you gonna tell her?” The challenge is in Lexy’s eyes, and she throws the dart.
“I wasn’t planning on it. I kinda hoped Heidi would just… Go away.”
“Uh…” Lexy turns again, and sighs. “She won’t go away, Bing. Whatever possessed her to approach you on Saturday night after months has her on a mission. Trust me. She won’t let this go until she has what she wants.”
I lean back on my bed, crossing my ankles. “Go on then, Ms Guru. You’re a girl.”
“No shit, Sherlock.”
“How do you know she won’t leave it?”
“Because number one…” She throws a dart. “She’s a bitch. Number two…” The third dart. “Because of our parents jobs’, we’re in a higher social circle than she is and she wants in, the dirty little scrubber. And number three…” She crosses the room, snatches the darts from the board, and turns back to me, her eyes serious. “For some reason, she hates the idea of you being with someone else. Maybe it’s because she thought she was more than just sex. Maybe it’s because she was disillusioned the whole time you were “together,” or maybe it’s because you cheated. Whatever it is, she’s not over it, and seeing you with Jen has just upped it.”
“It sounds like those books you’re so into.”
“You can’t have fiction without real life to base it on, bro,” Lexy replies. “Heidi didn’t expect someone like Jen to confront her this weekend.” We both grin at the memory. Yep, that was a confrontation all right. “She expected her to step to the side, and she didn’t. Jen stepped forward and fucked her over. Now, Heidi is pissed, and she’ll do whatever she can to get between you.” The smile drops from her face, and she sits next to me.
“Carry on,” I say quietly.
“I don’t want that to happen, Bing. You and Jen… You’re right for each other. I don’t know what it is, in the same way I don’t know what it is about me and Alec. I just know it’s there. Something in each of you balances the other, and it’s not often you find that.”
“Like Mum and Dad?” I question, narrowing my eyes. So I may have had the same thoughts, but hearing my sister say it makes it more… real. More real that Jen really is all I need.
“Yeah.” Lexy tilts her head to the side and looks at me, her voice quiet. “Just like Mum and Dad.”
~
“What’s actually gonna be up here?” I look around the dusty upstairs area of Red.
“Some VIP area,” Mitch replies, sanding off some wood. “Mick reckons it’ll get some bigger names in here.”
“He realises his biggest clientele is our age, right?”
Mitch glances up at me and shrugs. “Don’t ask me, mate. He’s paying me good money for this, so whatever Mick wants, Mick gets.”
“Sounds like someone wants in Mick’s daughters pants.” I smirk.
“You’ve seen Saph, right?” He raises his eyebrows. “She’s fucking hot, Bing. Damn right I want in her pants.”
“Well, this is awkward.” Saph laughs from the doorway. Mitch swears under his breath. I grin.
“No girls in the work area, Saph,” Mitch grumbles.
“I’m wearing joggers and trainers. I’m not likely to trip and break my neck, Mitchell.” She sighs and shuts the door behind her, crossing the room to me. She smiles at me slyly and flicks her red hair over her shoulder. I raise an eyebrow, leaning against the wall.
“So. I hear you and Jen are a thing.” She crosses her fingers.
“You would hear right,” I say smugly. I can’t help it. I am a smug bastard.
Saph smiles cheekily. “About time. You’ve been watching her ass shake on that dance floor for what, a year?”
“Summin’ like that,” I mutter.
She laughs. “Does your ex know that?”
My muscles tighten at the mention of Heidi. “She does. Jen told her pretty clearly on Saturday night. I believe the words “whore” and “street corner” were mentioned. And something about sexy getting lost.”
Laughter bursts from Saph and she covers her hand with her mouth. “Oh my God. Why does all the good shit happen when I’m not around? Seriously?” She shakes her head. “I would have loved to have seen that bitch get her ass handed to her.”
“By the sounds of it, Jen handed Heidi her ass, her tits, and her ten ton truck of supposed beauty products,” Mitch comments dryly. I chuckle.
“That she did,” I agree.
“Epic.” Saph grins again. “Anyway, perhaps – although I can’t actually imagine this – Jen didn’t make it clear enough to her that you’re off market. She’s been saying she went home with you Saturday night.”
Through the annoyance bubbling up inside me, I smirk. “Well, that’s kinda awkward.”
“Lot of that going around today,” Mitch mumbles.
“I’m not sayin’ it happened,” Saph backtracks, holding her hands up. “I’m just sayin’ what I heard.”
“I never thought you did, Saph.” I click my tongue. “It’s just awkward for Heidi because I went home with Jen on Saturday night, and I most definitely didn’t leave until the next day.” I grin wolfishly.
Mitch sniggers and slaps the wood. Saph’s mouth drops open a little before she composes herself and looks upwards.
“You’ve never been shy about your sex life, Bing, so I have no idea why I imagined you’d keep yours and Jen’s to yourself,” she mutters to the ceiling.
“Use that to quench those fuckin’ rumours,” I say firmly. “Heidi could wangle her way into a monk’s pants, so why she’s so desperate to be back in mine I don’t know.”
Saph looks back at me, her eyes twinkling. “From what I’ve heard…” Mitch coughs in the background, and Saph grins. “I’m-”
“Just sayin’, we know,” I finish for her. “But seriously, anyone you hear say that I spent the night with Heidi, tell them I was at Jen’s all night.”
“Well, okay.” She shrugs. “But how are you gonna prove it?”
“What do you want? A sex tape?” I raise my eyebrow. “‘Cause while I love sex with Jen and would love to watch her come over and over again, I’m not into taping it.”
Saph purses her lips, a slight flush rising to her cheeks. “You always have to make an innocent question dirty, don’tcha?” I smile. “You could just do something to show them you’re together.”
“Like what, Ms. Relationship Expert?”
“Put it on Facebook.”
I snort, and Mitch laughs. “Put it on fuckin’ Facebook?” he asks. “Are you for real, Sapphire?”
She leans to the side, her eyebrows raised, and stares him down. “When you actually have a girlfriend, you can ask me that question.”
“You two seriously just need to fuck already,” I mutter under my breath.
Saph’s eyes shoot to mine. “What was that?”
“Nothin’. What was that about Facebook?”
“Put it on Facebook. Then everyone could see it.”
“Mate. You’re not seriously considering this shit, are you?” Mitch puts his tools down, wipes his hands off, and stands next to me.
I shrug a shoulder. “If it means Heidi might stop with her shit, then yeah, I am. And I guess Facebook is pretty exclusive, so it’s another thing to show Jen I’m serious.”
Saph examines her nails. “Nothing is official until it’s on Facebook.”
“What’s that? An unwritten rule of social networking?” Mitch snipes.
I give him a shove. “Fuck off, Mitch. Saph is right. When you have a girlfriend, you can join in this conversation.”
“Wanker.” He turns back to his work, and I look at Saph.
“Seriously, when you see Heidi, tell her I said to give it up. She can stop texting me, stop calling me, and stop whatever stalker shit she’s planning next. If I hear any more rumours about us, I’m gonna go apeshit.”
“Apeshit as in verbal apeshit or physical apeshit?”
“Whatever. I don’t care.”
Saph runs her tongue across her bottom lip and shows me her long nails. “Okay, but I want in on the cat fight. No-one messes with my bitches.”
I half-grin at her. “Deal.”