La Douleur Exquise

Thirty-Two

"I'm allergic to latex," Darcie randomly blurts out. Sensing the puzzlement on my face, she smiles. "You said that you wanted to get to know me, which is why we're here, so I thought I'd tell you about myself. I'm allergic to latex and that means more than just condoms, if that's what you were thinking."

"My mind didn't even go there," I tell her honestly. From the little that I did know about Darcie Scott, I knew that it was highly unlikely that she was having sex with anyone. Mia liked to overshare when it came to Darcie's love life but she never once discussed Darcie's sex life. Then again, maybe that's not something that Darcie's ever told Mia about, so... "Just out of curiosity, though, how did you find that out?"

If I had expected Darcie to spill her secrets to me like we were girlfriends, I was severely mistaken. Instead, she glowered at me. "Balloon, of the children's party kind," she said. "When I was six, I went to my cousin's birthday party, touched a balloon, I started wheezing and then I woke up in the hospital. I have an epi pen for when it may happen again. I'm really careful, though."

"And condoms?"

"Latex-free ones," Darcie answers. A wicked smile stretched across her face. "Or so I'm told. My brother bought me a pack for Christmas last year because he's an asshole like that."

I laughed. "Sounds like a cool brother. Is he older that you?"

"You would think," she laughs along with me. "Elliot is actually younger. Bennet and Harrison are older, though. They'd sooner lock me up than give me condoms. Protective older brothers have nothing on those two. What about you? You have an older sister, Larkyn, right?"

Taken by surprise that Darcie would know my sister's name, I simply nod. As we talk, I find out that Darcie's brother, Harrison, was in the same class as Larkyn and that there had been rumors they'd hooked up once. Darcie was as reluctant to talk about it as I was; neither of us really wanted to think about our siblings' love lives so the conversation quickly moved to another thread. 

We talked about my friends, mainly about Ritchie. He was 'eccentric', Darcie said. I joked that there were more accurate words to describe Ritchie Davis. She asked if there was a particular reason that Ritchie was taking an interest in her. Not knowing the answer, I shrugged and explained that Ritchie was a law unto himself and very rarely could anyone explain him or his actions. 

"Does it bother you that he's like that with you?" I asked, taking another bite out of my burger. "I could have a word with him if you want."

"He's harmless enough," Darcie says. "He's funny. I like him." 

After a beat, I set my burger down and become serious. "Why do you hate me, Darce?"

"Because you have better hair than I do," she jokes. "You're also a better driver than I am. Oh, and let's not forget, your name is so much cooler than mine."

"Darce, be serious," I plead with her. When she ignores my words and sips her drink from the straw, I groan. "You're never going to tell me why you hate me, are you?"

She sips her drink through a straw and doesn't answer. Great.