The Madonna, The Virgin, and The Whore

Chapter Twenty-Two

MARY

The next night I was sitting on the sofa with Lexi watching some crappy reality show and ignoring my phone as it rang for a second time. I had an idea who it might be and I was avoiding him on purpose so I made no effort to pick it up, ignoring Lexi as she stared over at me. Just then the doorbell rang and when Lexi didn't move, I shoved her legs off of me and went to answer it myself.

I was a little surprised to see a good-looking stranger standing at our door in a pair of dark, worn jeans and a faded red flannel. I was even more surprised when he introduced himself as Jasper and asked if Erin was home.

"Lexi!" I called over my shoulder. "Go get Erin. She's got company." I heard Lexi let out an exaggerated groan and mumble something about 'why was she the one who always had to get everyone', but I ignored her. Smiling up at Jasper, I invited him inside, taking the time to check him out while he waked into the house.

Lexi turned the corner at the exact same time he stepped through the door and she came to a screeching halt. Her mouth popped open. "Oh! Wow. Who's this?" she asked, not taking her eyes off of Jasper.

"This is Erin's friend, Jasper." I turned towards Lexi and gave her a look that Jasper couldn't see, one that said 'Omigod can you believe this'. Her eyes widened and she subtly shook her head, answering my silent question. She took a moment and looked Jasper up and down, wrinkling her forehead up in confusion.

Like me, I'm sure Lexi couldn't figure out what was going on here. Jasper didn't seem like the type of guy Erin would ever be interested in. The few boys she had dated had always been preppy, like they just finished a round with the debate team, or were waiting to take over their daddy's fortune five hundred companies. Jasper however looked like he probably just rolled out of bed every morning, maybe got high, and then played guitar and hacky sack for the rest of the day; he wasn't at all what I was expecting when Erin said she'd met a guy.

I mean he was good looking, don't get me wrong. He had that whole laid back beach vibe going. He had great eyes, his skin was smooth and tan, and his hair was streaked from the sun. But he looked like he could use a haircut, and the flannel he wore was wrinkled like he just picked it up off the floor; this wasn't like Erin at all.

"Lexi, go get Erin." I gently nudge my sister on the hip when I realized that she still hadn't moved. She startled and then nodded her head, not taking her eyes off Jasper while she headed for the stairs. When she finally disappeared I offered Jasper a seat and asked if he wanted a drink. He thanked me but declined, sitting down on the love seat in the living room, looking completely relaxed. 

"So you and Erin just met?" I asked, taking the seat across from him on the couch. He nodded his head, tucking his sun kissed hair behind his ear and flashing an incredibly white smile. Maybe I could see why Erin had fallen for him. "And you live in town?"

He nodded again. "On Maplewood Drive."

"How old are you?"

"Twenty-two."

"Oh." Erin was twenty-one, old enough for him, and old enough to make her own decisions. Jasper was way out of the norm for her though, but maybe that's what she had meant when she said we were all finding ourselves. Maybe Erin was discovering something about herself with Jasper and the very idea of that made me smile.

We both heard feet bounding down the stairs and both Jasper and I looked up at the same time. Erin turned the corner with Lexi at her heels. Her cheeks were flushed and she was out of breath as she looked over at Jasper with wide eyes. "What are you doing here?" she asked in disbelief, self-consciously running her hands through her hair.