Three Years, Five Months and Eleven Days

Chapter Thirteen

     ‘So today I’m going to piss off and leave you two alone,’ Beth announced on Sunday morning. She was just out of bed and I was still mostly asleep.

     ‘What?’ I managed to say, though it was a big fight to get my mouth muscles to move this early in the morning.

     ‘I said, I going to do my own thing today,’ she repeated. ‘So you and Michael can have some bonding time.’

     I sat up slowly and rubbed my eyes. ‘Whatever,’ I said. ‘What time is it?’

     ‘Nine thirty,’ she told me, moving round to the other side of the room and going into the bathroom.

     ‘I hate you!’ I yelled, and hid back underneath the covers.

     When I properly woke up two hours later Dee told me that Beth had already gone out, planning to spend the day in Haverfordwest with Kaz. I headed straight up to Michael’s room to see if he was up yet.

     I pushed the door open slowly, and saw immediately that the light was off, so did my best to be quiet. I crept over to his bed and as I did, he rolled over. ‘Deb?’ he called out.

     ‘Hey,’ I said, climbing into the bed next to him.

     ‘Morning beautiful,’ he murmured, somehow finding my lips in the dark and kissing me.

     ‘Beth’s gone out for the day,’ I told him. ‘It’s just us.’

     ‘Sounds good,’ he said, kissing me again. But suddenly he froze mid-kiss and pulled away. ‘Debby, just so you know, I’m not wearing any clothes,’ he said.

     I jumped up and off the bed. ‘What?’

     ‘Don’t sound so shocked,’ he told me. ‘Don’t you ever sleep naked?’

     ‘No!’ I cried.

     ‘Oh, well you should try it sometime. It so comfortable.’

     ‘It’s gross,’ I told him firmly.

     ‘No it isn’t,’ he said. ‘Everyone does it. I bet Beth does.’

     ‘I know for a fact that she doesn’t.’

     ‘Not when you’re there stupid,’ he teased.

     I chewed my lip. I was standing there in the dark, looking at the bed where I could just about make out his form under the duvet. My brain was telling me it was inappropriate that he wasn’t wearing anything, but my body was telling me I desperately wanted to see it. It was taking a lot of force to stop myself from turning on the light. But I couldn’t, I wasn’t ready for things this grown up. Fourteen, you’re fourteen, I told myself over and over, like a mantra.

     ‘Right,’ I said finally. ‘I’m going to go to the loo and when I come back you will be wearing at least some boxers.’ I went straight into the bathroom, not giving him time to argue.

     I didn’t actually need the loo, so instead I sat on the edge of the bath and took slow deep breaths. I needed to calm down, control this attraction I felt towards all things improper. At this point, had I been two years older, I would be jumping right into his bed.

     After a few minutes I called out to him ‘Are you still walking around naked?’    

     I heard him chuckle, then say ‘Nope, all covered up.’

     But he was lying. I went out and this time the light was on and he was standing up, as naked as the day he was born. I let out a yelp, and shut the door again, but I was too late, I’d seen everything.