“Oh, of course!” Sarcasm surges from her mouth like a raging river after a storm. “I completely forgot about your magic ejaculate! One dose of that, and your powers of mind control take effect! I should have realized it when you served up sandwiches for dinner! My God, the jelly wasn’t laced with your semen, was it?”
“Cut that shit out,” I growl. “I haven’t even…”
Shit! I should have kept my mouth shut.
“You haven’t fucked her yet?”
I look away from her. I stare at the picture of Pops on the wall. I stare into my bourbon glass, which is now half empty. I stare at the floor, the wall, the door—maybe I should make a run for it.
“You haven’t!” Nora gasps.
“What difference does that make?” I mutter, but it’s too late.
“Since when do you wait?”
I only shrug in response. I don’t wait. I’ve never waited.
“Is she a virgin?”
“What? No.” I think about it for a moment. “Hell, I…I don’t know.”
“You don’t know?” Nora stares at me now, mouth agape.
“I don’t think so. I mean, she came on kinda strong for a virgin.”
“Oh, this just keeps getting better!” Nora laughs unpleasantly. “So, let’s back up a bit. She came on to you, and you said no?”
Apparently, answering is superfluous.
“That is absolutely priceless!” Nora laughs and shakes her head at me. “Now I have to decide if you actually thought all this through, assuming holding off would make her want you more or if there’s some other reason you aren’t telling me.”
“Nora, will you just shut up a minute?”
“Fine.”
I lick my lips, swallow hard to try to get rid of that lump, and shuffle over to sit on the couch again. Nora turns toward me, expectant, but I haven’t really figured out what I want to say. She’s making me question my motives, and I had assumed they were pretty clear. Now I’m not so sure.
Back to the basics, then.
“Cherry is the perfect answer. She’s smart, she’s kind, and she doesn’t give a shit about the money and the power. Actually, if anything, all of that is a turnoff for her, but she’s moved past it already. She doesn’t care about it one way or the other. Who else in this town could possibly say that with a straight face? She actually likes me for me.”
“Wow. All right, this is taking an unexpected turn.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“You actually like her.”
“Of course I do. I wouldn’t decide to move forward if I couldn’t stand to be in a room with her.”
“Oh, no,” Nora says, “you don’t get off that easy. You actually like her. Like, falling for her and everything.”
“Don’t be ridiculous.” I feel my face warm
slightly.
“Are you blushing?” Hideous laughter erupts from my dear sister. She can’t contain herself and has to quickly excuse herself to the bathroom.
When she returns, I’ve poured us both fresh glasses of bourbon even though I’m starting to feel rather tipsy.