The Other Fish in the Sea (Grab Your Pole, #2) Read online

  “Nope, so let’s just say I thought about the answer and got really fuckin’ thirsty and fuckin’ leave it at that,” Brandon said with a steely edge, putting a very definite end to any further discussion on this topic.

  And then about thirty minutes later, I thought blood was gonna be let again…

  Jillian, who’s already in an f-ing foul mood because of him, was dared by Dumb Yet Brave to sit and get cozy in Pete’s lap for the next fifteen minutes. I’m guessing he was trying to embarrass her or something for punching him instead of kissing him, but it was Pete, who knows he’s already on her hit list, who looked distinctly uncomfortable. The expression on his face could’ve been read to say, “Wait, don’t I get a say in this?” So I’m sure you can imagine how Jill’s merciless temper was ignited further by some snide snickering on the other side of the tent. With a mutinous expression and actions to match, she accepted the dare. Poor Pete held his hands out next to him like he was afraid to touch her or like he was asking, “What the fuck am I supposed to do now?” Tristan and Jeff shrugged their shoulders in response so he then, very tentatively, rested his hands on his knees. I really felt kind of bad for him, but payback’s a bitch just like he said and the heckler across the tent was about to find that out far better than Pete was…

  “Truth or dare, Bridget?” Jill asked with icy civility.

  Oooh…

  “Truth.” This could go either way, and even though I really abhor Bridget, I’m kind of feeling bad for her now, too.

  Yeah okay, I’m totally lying. Sue me.

  “When you cheated on Curtis, did you spit or swallow?”

  Oh, holy shit, Batman! Yeah, leave it to my bloodthirsty little sister to not mince words when she knocks the cruel off their pedestal.

  There was a chorus of oohs from most and laughter from Jeff, Tristan, Brandon, and Derek. Even “Lonely (not gay) Uncomfortable Pete” couldn’t hide his amusement at Jillian’s sanguinary and barbarous query. He tried to stifle his initial reaction, but ended up bowing his head behind Jillian’s and laughing silently. You could tell he was laughing, though, because his body was shaking like he was holding it in. Bridget’s face, however, was a puce-colored collage of shock, humiliation, frustration and anger.

  “You’re a fucking bitch,” she spat.

  Now a quick word about my sister; I don’t know why, because she’s not offended by it in any way, but she doesn’t swear. Not like I used to not swear; she really doesn’t. Except for one, teensy-tiny, four-letter word. Maybe it’s for shock value or something. She doesn’t just bandy it about for any old reason either. It’s like she saves it for special occasions like your mom does with her good china and silver. And apparently, Bridget constitutes a special occasion in Jilly’s book.

  “Yep, and you’re a @*&% so if you can’t handle the heat, get out of the kitchen.”

  Yes, that’s right, folks…Jillian used the dreaded “C” word, causing every girl aside from me and a couple of guys to cringe and suck in shocked breaths, and Tristan’s Pirate Punch to fly from his mouth with force as he and Jeff started completely cracking up.

  Bridget didn’t know how to react. There was no comeback for what was just said that was essentially meant to be a dismissal from the tent. Seriously, what would you say in this situation? Bridget did the only thing she could do. She got out of the kitchen. But, not before Jillian threw one more barb at her.

  As Bridget stormed out of the tent, Jill called pitilessly, “Try gum next time.”

  “Hey man, toss me that package of licorice, would ya?!” Tristan asked Dylan with inappropriate for the moment, yet hilarious jubilance.

  Honestly, I am pretty glad he asked for it, though. Not only did he simultaneously shift the focus away from my sister and dispel the tension, but he saved me from being the one to ask for it.

  Jeff, unable to resist of course and in his own way, aided Tristan in getting rid of the rest of Bridget’s aura by asking, “So Melissa, about that picture…you didn’t happen to bring it with you, did you?”

  “Oh for the love of God… You know what?! I did,” Melissa admitted, sounding rather fed up with their good-natured harassment. Then she stood up and walked into the girls’ room of the tent.

  “Where the hell is she goin’? Is she really gonna show us that picture?” Derek asked in surprise while Jeff was high-fiving Pete.

  “I sure as shit hope so…that chick is smokin’ so if her grandma looks anything like her, I’m gonna have the best fantasies ever thanks to that picture. I wonder if I can sneak a picture of it with my phone…I mean I’d never need another porn mag—” Dylan was saying to an enthusiastically nodding Jeremy.

  He received a hard shove in the back of the head from Brandon who then gave both the young teens a warning look and said, “Watch yourself. There’s a fine line between the kind of amiable teasing these guys have been doin’ and vulgar disrespect and you just put your goddamned foot over it…do it again and I’ll fucking bury mine in your insolent ass and you know your brother won’t stop me.”

  “Sorry Bran—” Dylan began meekly.

  “Don’t apologize to me. I’m just sayin’, learn to treat girls with due respect on your own or I’m gonna fuckin’ teach you.”

  I have to say I was highly impressed. And Brandon’s right…Melissa knows these guys are riding her in good-natured fun and not once have they gotten out of line by being crude. However, what Dylan said and was planning to do is blatantly disrespectful and even insulting.

  “Hey Baby, if she’s seriously getting that picture, you’re gonna let me look at it, right?” Tristan asked in a whisper.

  I just looked at him, dumbfounded that he would even be asking for permission in the first place, let alone permission to look at a sixty-plus year old picture. “Are you seriously asking me for permission to see a nude picture of a woman who is dead now?”

  “No, I’m asking if you’re gonna be cool with me looking at a nude picture of a woman who apparently bore a remarkable resemblance to a chick I dated and who is now one of your best friends.”

  Oh. I hadn’t thought of it that way…but still. I don’t see what the big deal is…I mean it’s not like he hasn’t seen plenty of other girls without clothes on, you know? Plus they were in the flesh, living and breathing right in front of him while without those clothes! And Melissa was one of them for crying out loud! So please, even if it was Melissa, I am so not concerned with him looking at a picture. “Go right ahead.”

  “Really? Are you sure?”

  “Yep. I couldn't care less,” I told him and received a big ol’ smooch in return.

  “You’re seriously the best girlfriend I’ve ever had.”

  “Because I’m the only girlfriend you’ve ever had, you nerd.”

  “I know! That’s the point!” He told me, laughing. Then when Melissa walked back into the main room, Tristan whistled and raised his arm to get her attention. “Over here…I got dibs on that.”

  “That figures…here…just be careful with it, it’s the only one I have of her and I only brought it with me so that my mom wouldn’t find it while I’m gone. Oh and guys, please don’t drool on it,” Melissa said and with slightly trembling hands, she went to hand her treasured piece of memorabilia to Tristan.

  “Hey! He’s already seen you naked, why does he get dibs?!” Jeremy protested while Dylan’s face displayed the same sentiments.

  I wasn’t the least bit surprised that they consequently received a murderous glare from Brandon who’d clearly had enough of Dylan and Jeremy’s churlish attitudes. I mean I honestly thought Brandon was gonna get up and drag them both out of the tent for a little talk outside, but in a way, they were rescued.

  “Because she knows I’m not gonna go off and masturbate to an image of her grandmother and because I know you don’t strong-arm a chick who doesn’t wanna be kissed and simply because I said so. And by the way, be glad Jillian only split your fuckin’ lip ‘cause if it’d been me you grabbed by the back of the head
like that, fuckin’ life-flight would’ve had to come get you, you little fucknugget,” Tristan snapped in angry defense of Melissa, Jillian and himself.

  Dylan and Jeremy finally had the good sense to shut up and look contrite, and when Brandon raised one of his eyebrows and directed a look at them that said, “You see? I’m not the only one who’ll kick your ass,” Dylan sort of nodded and having been fully chastened, he lowered his guilty gaze to the floor.

  Once Tristan calmed down, he took the picture from Melissa so he and I could look at it together. And I have to admit, it was extremely tasteful but the pose and everything else about it was inherently provocative. I mean the nudity was strictly limited to her bare bottom and you could just barely see the curve of her breast, but it really left everything up to the imagination. And it wasn’t just a photograph…it was telling a story. You know, like that phrase “a picture says a thousand words.” Melissa’s grandma was just sort of sitting on the side of her knees and kind of twisting to look at the camera behind her, but to me, the tenor of the photo had an almost forlorn quality to it. The emotion on her grandma’s face had me thinking of a woman in exile who’d spent years alone anxiously waiting for her lover to return to her and she was desperately trying to summon him with that one look. Tristan raised his eyebrows at me in silent question as he passed it along and I nodded in agreement. Melissa was right, her grandma was gorgeous, but Kate was totally right, too, because the resemblance between Melissa and her grandma is uncanny.

  The photo made its way around the tent, eliciting many nods and murmurs of approval and appreciation for the piece of art that it actually is. Then when it got over to Brandon, Dylan and Jeremy, Brandon didn’t even bother taking it from MaryAnn’s hand. He just barely turned his head to give the picture a quick glance out of the corner of his eye and then he looked at the boys next to him. When Dylan declined looking at the picture with a shake of his head and a small wave of his hand, Brandon gave him a nod of silent praise.

  “She looks like she’s waiting for something…” MaryAnn remarked quietly with Derek nodding in agreement.

  MaryAnn’s comment resulted in the sharing of various interpretations of what the picture was saying, all of which were along the same lines of the story I’d personally imagined. And with Melissa’s grandma having put us all in a reflective mood, the game as well as the last evening in the desert came to a congenial close.

  11.

  No Strings Attached

  I’m a bad person.

  Well, not a bad person, but I’ve done a bad, bad thing. More than once now. And I can’t seem to stop thinking about it.

  I can’t seem to shut-up because of it either. I mean I know I lean towards the peppier side of personalities as it is, you know, like I’m the stereotypical giggly school-girl but, my guilty conscience has been making me ramble incessantly for like the last twenty minutes, I swear. It’s sort of pathetic.

  “Stop,” he whispered with his eyes closed.

  It was the first real word he’s said since he asked if I was comfortable after we finished having sex this last time.

  “I know…I’m talking too much. Sorry…”

  “Mm-mm, not that…that tickles,” he told me without moving a single muscle.

  Oh. In addition to talking non-stop about absolutely nothing, I’ve been drawing invisible pictures on his chest with my finger, like a person with freaking ADD paces and nervously jingles the coins or keys in their pocket.

  “Oh…I thought you were trying to sleep and my chattering was keeping you awake.”

  “Mmm…I like listening to you.”

  “You know I’m just blabbing…you should just ignore me and go to sleep.”

  “I would if I could, but it’s kinda hard to ignore a chick when she’s layin’ naked in your sleeping bag next to you and all you can think about is how she got that way,” he said and sort of smoothed his hand over my bare hip and rubbed the side of my foot with his. Then he chuckled a little and said, “Plus, I think your panties are around one of my ankles.”

  I started giggling. “Maybe I should go though so you can at least get a little sleep…”

  “Mm-mm…I’m not tired, I’m just relaxed…stay with me as long as you want,” he told me in a sleepy voice and with his eyes still closed. It was maybe three minutes before he was out.

  That was well over two hours ago…

  And I really hope no one saw me sneak back into the tent early this morning. It was easier today than it was yesterday, though. I was back about a half hour before Camie got back, and Jillian went to sleep in her family’s RV right after that dicey game of truth or dare we played was over, so maybe we’re in the clear. I hope so. I know my friends will have a hard time with this if they find out, but I think it’ll be even worse after all that crap with Bridget, Jillian, Camie, and Tristan last night.

  God. I feel so guilty…

  And I’m exhausted because of it. When I left him, I couldn’t go to sleep because all I could think about was that I wish I could’ve stayed and then all the guilt that comes with him and what we’ve been up to for the last four-ish days. But, even knowing what I’ve done is wrong, sadly, I wouldn’t change a thing.

  Yep. I’m a bad person.

  See, I’ve spent this whole trip being mega-attracted to someone who’s not my boyfriend and then I acted on that attraction and cheated on him! I mean I’ve been thinking about breaking up with him because he’s really been pressuring me to go all the way but still, cheating isn’t cool…let alone how I did it. You know, going off and sleeping with some random guy you just met when you’re contemplating breaking up with your boyfriend simply because he wants to have sex with you and is a little more than vocal about it. But it’s not so much what I did in the cheating so much as it’s the cheating itself, you know?! So yeah, I should feel as ridiculously guilty as I do, right?

  Anyway, all of that leaves me laying here staring at the tent ceiling trying to figure out what the hell I’m gonna do now. Ugh. I guess I should just get up and forage for breakfast. Sure, I’m totally exhausted but I’m also starving. I haven’t been hungry like this in my life! Well, I take that back. I was even hungrier yesterday morning. I think I almost growled at Camie when she got Kate’s uneaten breakfast.

  Oh and there’s the song! Good. Now it won’t look so weird if I’m up and about so early.

  “Hey, morning, Melissa. How’d you sleep?”

  Aw crap, Camie…why did you have to go and ask me something I have to lie about?

  “Great! How about you?” Might as well add this to my guilt trip.

  “Ah, well, I slept fine for the short amount of time I had.”

  She giggled. I wanna giggle too…I totally know what she’s talking about now.

  Oh shit. Kate’s awake. I was really hoping to avoid running into her this morning. She always seems to know far too much and I swear she was going to ask me something yesterday morning right before the rest of the gang got back from that ride. I was thanking God that Jillian pulled that stunt with Pete’s truck because it completely distracted Kate from me and my illicit goings on.

  “Morning, guys, how’d you all sl—holy crap, Camie, what happened to your wrists?!”

  See what I mean? She’s way too observant. I can barely even see the whatever they are on the tops of Camie’s wrists…huh…they look like really small welts. I should just be grateful Kate’s attention isn’t directed at me and my stiffness, which I could very easily explain away with sleeping on a blow-up mattress for four nights, but knowing her, she’d know I was lying.

  “Oh, uhhh…licorice, body shots and bungee cords happened. You don’t wanna know any more than that.”

  I did giggle that time, even though maybe I don’t totally know what she was talking about earlier. I can imagine though. Tristan and Camie are warped together but, their warpedness really works for them. I’ve never seen him so happy.

  “Oh my God…are they arguing? I can’t hear them…”

 
; Hurrah! I’d so like to kiss Pete for keeping Kate’s attention diverted from me! Oh but wait, then I’d just be adding to my guy issue, wouldn’t I? Shit. I need to eat.

  “I doubt it. She doesn’t argue, she just goes for the throat when she’s done playing with her food. Hey, my wrists don’t look that bad, do they? They kind of itch.”

  “No, I wouldn’t have even noticed if Kate hadn’t said anything, but if they itch, you should probably take some allergy medicine or something.”

  “Oh that’s a good idea…I wonder if I brought any Benedryl with me…”

  “Hey, I’m starving, you guys. I’ll see you later, okay?”

  “Yeah, okay. If you don’t have any, Camie, I think I might…”

  Whew! I almost feel like yelling “FREEEEDOM!” in a Braveheartesque way now that I’m away from Kate and the tent, only I’m totally not free. I’m trapped within myself.

  “You videoed that whole thing with Bridget coming on to me?”

  Uh-oh. Pete’s squaring off with Jillian by the fire ring. I really wanna hang around and watch but, I am famished. Plus there’s always the chance I’d get hit by shrapnel and Jillian notices even more than Kate does.

  “Of course. Quit throwing a hissy fit. I’m putting it in the video compilation for Curtis.”

  Video compilation?! Shrapnel and breakfast be damned. I will stand a little ways away, though, in case I have to hit the deck or run.

  “Oh my God, fine, you little hellion…just don’t put my name anywhere on it. What else is going in the compilation?”

  “Just Bridget stuff. The one I’m making for me will have all the highlights…a couple things from Wednesday and Thursday, most everything from Friday night, and then a few things from last night.”

  “Like?”

  “Brandon’s semi-naked rendition of I’m a little teapo—” (Giggle.)

  “You gonna put your showdown with Jeremy on the net?”