Fake Boobs

Chapter Seven

Chapter Seven

Jim loaded the last box into his car and turned to hug us all goodbye.

"Remember, be careful up at school," he said, all tough and big brotherly. I rolled my eyes. 'Be careful at school', I'd have to write that pearl of wisdom down somewhere so I wouldn't forget.

"I'll be fine," I assured him and ran back into the house before I watched my mom start her weep fest. She pretended empty-nest syndrome was going to hit her hard. I happened to believe she was going to flourish with us gone. Maybe she'd find a part-time job or join the gym and lose twenty pounds like she always swore she would do when she had more time.

In my room, I tried on every article of clothing I owned twice. Once with my regular bra, and once, with the padded one that earned me the extra attention the other night. The bra wouldn't fool Grant. He'd known me too long. I opted for my regular bra and put my make-up on sparingly. I wanted to look nice, but at the same time, not have him think I was trying too hard to impress him. Besides, no matter what I did, I had a feeling Grant wouldn't be impressed.

My parents invited me to go to the mall with them at three. I said no and then worked hard to encourage them to still go when they rethought the idea. If they were gone when Grant came, it would make life a whole lot easier than explaining why Jim's friend was there to see me.

At four o'clock, the house was empty and I was dressed in jean shorts, a black tank top and just a few hints of the new make-up highlighting my brown eyes. Grant's car pulled up and I wasn't sure whether we were going out, or if I was supposed to invite him in? How long was this lecture going to be? Five minutes? An hour? I waited by the door and ran out when his car pulled in. He rolled down the window.

"Get in." He motioned to the passenger side and smiled.

"Okay, give me two seconds. I just need to lock up." My purse was on a table by the door. I grabbed it making sure I had my keys and phone, clicking the lock behind me. I took a few quick breaths to steady my nerves. We were going out.

Grant's car was nice. Shiny black exterior, leather seats, built in navigation system. His family was on the wealthier side. Even after all these years of being my brother's friend, I didn't know much about him, but I did know that.

"Where are we going?"

"Do you drink coffee?"

I didn't. But I was going to college so it was probably a good time to start. "Yeah, I love coffee."

My feelings were squashed when he pulled into a Dunkin' Donuts and we didn't even go in. Just straight to the drive thru. He ordered a regular; light and sweet, then looked to me for my order. Unsure, I smiled and said, "The same".

Two coffees to go and we were on our way. I still didn't know what the plan was or where we were going with our Styrofoam cups. We drove only a couple of miles before Grant pulled into the driveway of a humongous white home with tall columns. He drove the car around back and parked. The lack of talking we had done during this outing was getting weird. I had no idea where we even were. Possibly his house? I held onto my coffee and followed him into a back door of the big mansion.

Stepping inside was not what I expected. The space was small, kind of like an apartment. From where I was standing, I could see a small kitchen that opened up into a living area.

"Is this your house?" I asked, taking my first sip of the coffee.

"Well, this is my parents' house, but this right here," he swept his arm around the small space, "is my apartment. They had it built in after I graduated high school. When I didn't go to college right away, I think they thought they were going to be supporting me for the rest of my life and this was their way of keeping me hidden. My older sister, Julie, went to college right away and has been on her own ever since. I think my parents didn't want everyone knowing their grown son was slacking off and still living at home."