"The way you twist and shake it girl. You tie me in a knot, and get me hot. Ooh, hot and bothered. So hot and bothered."
♫ Hot & Bothered by CINDERELLA. (Banger song by the way.)
✰ ✰ ✰
"Your shift was over ten minutes ago."
"Jesus!" In the back of the record store, sorting away Josie and the Pussycats DVD's, I yelped from the sound of Jess's voice scaring me out of nowhere. I got so scared in fact that I dropped two DVD's to the floor with a clatter and had to lean against the shelf to catch my breath, "Oh my god, what is it with men and trying to scare the shit out of me!"
"Who do you be talkin' to other than me?" Jess jokingly let his mouth fall open, "You little two-timer, you've got a boyfriend, don't you?"
"Oh, ha-ha, so funny." I picked up the movies and laughed as I put them back, stopping to swat him with them a couple of times.
"No seriously though, your shift was over at six."
"I know... but I was trying to work a little overtime for some extra cash. That's all." I muttered, drifting passed him to get back to the register.
"I heard you talking to your brother about a sleepover earlier, don't you have a girls' night to go to?" Jessie followed right behind me.
"Technically, yes, but-I don't think I can leave him. It feels irresponsible." I shrugged, smiling kindly at customers who walked into the store and past the register.
"It's just for one night, right? He'll be fine. It's one sleep away, you can see him tomorrow morning. You seem like you really wanna go..." Jess grabbed my hips and turned me around against the counter. "Are things okay at home? 'Cause between this and that bruise on your face, I'm feeling skeptical."
"I got hit with a basketball when I was paying with my brother, I told you that." I laughed slightly, shaking my head at him, "Everything at home is fine."
"Then go to the damn slumber party."
My shoulders sank, "It's bad enough that I have to go on our date with these bruises, I don't want my first memory with friends to be with it either. It's probably better I just don't go."
"Hey.." Jess dropped his head a little, "You look beautiful. Absolutely perfect. There's nothing wrong with a little bruise and it's not gonna stop me from taking you out tomorrow night. Are you telling me you're gonna go on our date but not go out with your friends? 'Cause we can reschedule if a one or the other type of deal-"
"No, I don't wanna reschedule.." I shook my head.
"But you wanna go to that sleepover, right?"
"Yeah...." I muttered, twisting my mouth.
"So, then which is it?" Jess laughed in pity, grabbing my chin to make me look up at him. "Is it both or is it neither because by your logic, you're never allowed to have any fun."
"Not fair." I murmured, flushing red and feeling heat creep up my neck.
"No, you're not being fair to yourself. I say you go to both because you deserve to go to both, and since I have to go, you can now argue with the wall, okay?" Jess leaned forward and surprisingly pressed a kiss to the tip of my nose, "Just kissin' it better. I will see you tomorrow night?" he stepped back, snatched his coat from the counter and pointed at me.
"O-kay?" I winced, not knowing my answer.
"Oh brother. I'm outta here." He yanked on his coat and snorted as he pushed passed me, "Treat yourself! Have fun! Bye Oliver!"
"Bye, Jessie!" When I turned around, Oliver was sat across the store in the window display, sipping on a juice box.
We'd had a really good day.
It made me really happy to see him act like a kid. Sipping on juice boxes, running around the store, dancing to music I played in the store.
He was growing up so fast.
"Hey, Ollie? Can you come're?" I said, pulling up my stool and sitting down behind the counter.
"Sure." Ollie hopped down and ran over.
"Up, up." I helped him up onto the check out counter, so he could sit down too.
"That guy is nice. Is he your boyfriend?" Ollie asked, quirking an eyebrow at me.
"Um, no." I laughed slightly. I never thought I'd hear my brother ask me that to be honest, and it made me realize that there was a chance Jess and I could become something real.
And that was insane.
"But... Jess does wanna take my on a date tomorrow night." I continued, clearing my throat, "And I was wondering if you could manage two sleeps without me instead of one? I know you'll miss me, and I know that it might be scary to be all by yourself with mom, but this is something important to me."
Oliver swallowed the last of his juice in the box, curiously asking, "Will you be there when I wake up?"
"Yep!" I nodded surely, "If I go to the sleepover tonight then, I'll see you tomorrow morning and be with you until I have to go to work again. And then-well the hate isn't overnight but I'll be home late tomorrow night."
"I stay at home alone with mama all the time. It's okay." Oliver shrugged, "It's just mom." his young brain didn't exactly comprehend a lot of the stuff my mother did that was wrong, so I couldn't blame him for not caring, but I was glad that I asked.
It was genuinely just my mom. While she was crazy, the most she was gonna make him do that I didn't like was pray before bed or do his chores.
It just made me feel guilty to leave him around her for too long by himself.
But he had a point.
"Can you bring me home some candy from the party? 'Cause if there's candy then you've gotta go." My brother said, nodding his head quickly.
"I will absolutely bring you home candy from the party! And I'll tell you what, we'll pig out on it together when I get home, okay?" I stood back up, giving him a kiss on the forehead, "You are the coolest little brother ever, you know that?"
"Yep!" Ollie hopped off of the counter and then ran toward the record aisles again.
Excited about both of my upcoming endeavors, I took a deep breath and suppressed it so that I could clean up things before clocking out.
To my shock though, I soon heard a commotion and when I looked up from the register, Harlow, Niko and Mikey were all walking right inside.
Niko and Mikey of course were wrestling, where as Harlow looked miserable, sunglasses over his eyes and an unlit cigarette between his lips.
"Please don't knock over movies! God, what are you buffoons doing here?" I exclaimed.
Niko let go of Mikey's neck, leaving him coughing, "We're here to rent a movie, pretty thang! We're havin' a guys night while you girls get your slutty slumber on." he winked.
"Oh, I'm sure you are." I laughed, pointing toward the movies, "Over there."
Mikey and Harlow made their way toward the movies, but Niko stayed like he wanted to say something else.
And Arthur interrupted.
"Cherry, I'm headed out. My brother needs me home, can you close up... oh, h-hello." Arthur came up by my side but stopped to blink at Niko, freezing in his place and seeming temporarily shocked by his being there.
He turned bright red before he looked down at me, "Who's this?"
"Oh, I'm Niko. Cherry's friend." Niko grinned, blowing out the smoke from his cigarette out as he held out his empty hand. "You must be Arthur, eh? Cherry's told us about you."
Arthur looked down at his hand and gulped.
Was he-nervous?
I did the same thing but I didn't pine Arthur as the type to be nervous. Not unless he thought he was... oh.
Does he like guys? I never would've thought.
"Mate, I don't have the plague, it's just a handshake." Niko laughed charmingly, "Don't be cheeky, just take it."
Arthur reacted fast and grabbed his hand, shaking it very loosely, "Yeah, yeah of course not, no, sorry-I'm... Arthur Marshall."
"Well, it's nice to meet you, Arthur Marshall." Niko smirked, his eyes scanning his body shamelessly. I didn't really know that much about flirting but I was 99.9% sure he was flirting, "How old are you?"
"Nineteen." Arthur gulped again, rubbing the back of his neck, "Hey, your jacket is um... it's really nice. The leather is-leathery and really red, it looks nice."
"Cherry, I think I've met someone even more shy than you if possible." Niko looked proud that he was making him nervous, and continued to talk to him as he leaned against the counter, "You work here full time?"
"Yup. All day every day, pretty much. Work, work, you know I mean." Arthur answered, offering an ugly laugh that made me snicker to myself.
"Okay. Well, I'll keep that in mind then, Arthur Marshall. It was nice to meet you." Niko held eye contact as he grabbed a free candy from off of the counter and then even when he walked away, proceeded to check out Arthur's ass.
"Bye..." Arthur waved like a robot, and the second he was around the corner, he practically gasped for air, "Oh my god, I didn't look stupid, did I? Holy shit." he smoothed his fingers over his hair.
"Eh..." I shrugged one shoulder, "Not really. And even if you did, I don't think he cared. Niko is single by the way if you're interested."
"What? I-I'm not even like-gay like that. I don't really like guys. I-I don't like them at all actually, he was just familiar and I thought that his jacket was nice." Arthur denied, slipping his own coat on, "I have to go, I should go. I'll see you Monday, yeah?"
"Sure." I sighed, watching him walk around the counter and make sure Niko wasn't looking when he ran out of the store.
I didn't know much about sexuality but he was most definitely in denial.
"Hey! Knock it off!" Harlow came into my vision to my left when he backed up from Mike who was chucking ping pong balls at him, "Fuckin' wanker." he tossed one back, headed in my direction while holding up the middle finger.
"Mikey! Knock it off!" I called to him, and right before he could throw another, he stopped.
"Sorry!-Whoops." I heard a stack of movies fall over.
"Great job, klutz!" Harlow shook his head, stopping in front of the checkout counter, "You know, you and him should join the stupid olympics, you're just as clumsy."
"I didn't even poke myself today, remember!" I reminded him, gesturing to my skirt, "It looks nice and tidy no thanks to you and your gross, big manly hands."
"Nice and tidy my ass. Look at those things. You're the one with man hands."
I dropped my jaw and slammed my hands down onto the counter, "They are not..."
I paused, looking down at them and then looking at his as he placed them right next to mine.
"Okay maybe I need to consider buying some lotion." I muttered, cringing at the sight of my slightly dry hands.
"You should paint them, they're fucking boring." Harlow said in a disgusted tone.
"I don't own nail polish, if I did, I would've. I'll ask Koi tonight though." I decided, wiggling my fingers on the counter, "Maybe I should do... red or-blue."
"Blue? Yuck. Do black. But not black and red, you're not a part of our group, you have to earn that red." He pointed at me. "That means quit being annoying, stop being yourself, and... change your whole personality, face, and lifestyle."
I huffed, knowing I was a fool to think we could have normal conversation, "You know what? I hate you. Go away-"
"I'm...Cherry, I-I'm joking." He glared at me, pursing his lips. "I only hate most of you."
"'I only hate most of you." I mocked him, grabbing a CD to swat him on the arm with it, "Get outta here." I walked around the counter with the keys so I could lock the door. I was gonna leave it open though with a wedge, so that my last, annoying customers could still escape.
However, I was knocked on the back of the head with a small object when I reached the door.
"Ow!" I winced, whipping my body around to see Harlow whistling at the counter and the object that hit me-a Groovyroad bouncy ball toy-rolling across the ground, "You ass!"
I picked up the toy and tossed it back at him, hitting him in the elbow, "Don't be a child!"
"I don't know what you're talking about." He shrugged.
"Oh, I'm sure." I turned around to close the blinds by the front window, and even did a double take on Harlow behind me, but he stayed frozen for a good minute.
Until finally, again, he chucked something else at me.
I froze and turned around with a frustrated deep breath to see a pen on the ground behind me.
I bent down very slowly and picked it up before I walked back to the counter and grabbed a clipboard.
"Would-you-stop-that?!" I smacked him unexpectedly with it on the arm, my hair blowing around in my face, "You're being stupid!-"
Harlow snatched the clipboard and grabbed both of my wrists in one swift go, pinning them behind my back. Even had the audacity to fake gasp, "First you assault me with a CD and now? A clipboard? Miss Cherry you are racking up quite the record."
"Oh whatever, piss off!" I blew raspberry, yanking my arms away from his or rather-trying to.
Harlow tightened his grip, "Did you just spit on me?" he raised his eyebrows.
"Yep, and I'll do it again because I hate you and you're annoying! Let me go." I whined back.
"Mm. I'd like an apology. My arm might be bruised." He whispered, pretending to pout his lip out.
"Okay, I'm sorry for hitting you. Easy." I said politely, rolling my lips into my mouth, "I don't have a hard time apologizing to people unlike you-"
"I can apologize just fine, to people who deserve apologies. I apologized to you earlier."
"When?" I asked.
"When I said you weren't a part of our group you got all upset so I apologized and-"
"No... you said you were joking! That's not the same thing!" I exclaimed, getting yanked closer, chest to chest when I tried to get away again.
"It's close enough. N' quit trying to get away, you're too weak."
"Oh yeah?" I huffed, gritting my teeth as I-on instinct and out of frustration-stomped my foot down on the ground hard as hell.
I stomped on his foot.
Harlow squeaked on impact, his face contorting into agony before he groaned and let go of me entirely, curling his knee up to hold his toe, "Oh..."
I gasped, not realizing I'd done it so hard and covered my mouth, "Oh my god, it was an accident-well it wasn't an accident but I didn't mean to do it that hard! Are you okay?! I really put my heel into that, holy crap! I could practically feel your bo... Harlow?" His face darkened a scowl and I backed up when he started cracking his fingers while he let his foot rest back on the ground again.
Before I knew it, I was running away from him, around the record shop.
"I'm sorry!"
"I'll just catch you! Get back here, Cherry!" He growled thickly, chasing me around a column of records.
Man, he was like the flash. Every time I turned around, he was right behind me, his arm reaching to snatch me up.
I had no choice but to seek help, so I took off toward Niko, Ollie and Mikey in the movie aisle, darting being Niko to hide behind him, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to step on your toes! Niko, help, he's gonna kill me!-"
Niko just stepped out of the way quickly and I dropped my jaw in shock, "Traitor!"
"This is your battle, soldier." He saluted me.
"You can do it, Cherry!" Oliver exclaimed.
"No, I can't!" Harlow rushed for me but I darted away from him again, running back towards the records.
I screeched to a stop on one side of an aisle, "Truce!"
"Nope!"
"Rats!" I cursed, getting caught between a different aisle when I ran off again. That was when Harlow pushed on the gas and gained speed, snatching up my waist to spin me around and pin me up against a shelf of CDS, "Don't, don't don't!-"
"Too late!" Harlow's hands charged for my stomach and he began tickling me endlessly, til' I burst with laughter.
And I was extremely ticklish, so ticklish. One-touch and I was a pile of laughter, so it was pure torture.
"S-stop!" I laughed, shoving his hands away, only for them to come back to me.
"It's just too easy!" He exclaimed.
"P-please!" Our hands fought against each other and I snorted from the light touch of his fingers like a pig, only resulting in him laughing right back.
For the first time ever with me.
A loud, raspy, almost strained laugh.
He pinned my hands against the shelves, catching his breath as he squeezed his eyes shut. He was laughing and laughing hard, so hard that he exposed dimples I didn't even know he had.
Whoa, they were so deep.
It almost freaked me out to see him smile.
Harlow was a brooding prude. Always had been, since I'd know him anyway. Happiness on him looked so... strange.
But, it was so nice to see.
Not even I could disagree with that, no matter how much I happened to hate him.
My laughter faded to a couple of breathless chuckles and I caught my breath as well, my eyes darting all over his face and just being so curious by the sight of his smile. It was so foreign to me.
It didn't last too long either.
He let it fade out just as mine did and I gulped with nervousness as his stoic state returned just as fast.
Harlow let go of my wrists and ran his digits through his hair, before he pointed his index at me, "You broke my toes, freak. You'll be paying for my medical bills.l, 'kay?"
"Ditto." I winced, pulling my body away from the bar on the shelf as the bruise on my side started to ache from his force.
"You... I-I mean, is... it good?" He asked awkwardly, almost like he didn't know how to ask the words, 'are you okay.'
Who's the freak now?
"I'm fine." I shook my head, giving him a small smile and stepping off of the shelf. "This shelf isn't though thanks to you."
"Yeah well, you better pick this shit up. You're gonna get fired. I'll move so you can... do whatever, er-whatever." He seemed to get frustrated, walking away from me and towards some records on the other side of the shop. I noticed him touching his hair a lot, and wiping his hands on his pants as if they were clammy but I didn't know just quite what for.
Maybe happiness was a vulnerable state for him.
It very well could've been as dumb as it sounded.
I was forced to brush the thought off when Niko and Mikey came walking to the counter with their movies to buy.
"Oliver, get your toy and your coloring books, okay? We're goin' home too." I said, walking back as well to the register, to ring them up.
They talked among themselves about the movies they rented and I was speedy in placing their stuff into a paper bag, "Okay... that'll be um, 16..." My eyes did a double take on Harlow in the background of our checkout exchange, and I had to slow down to process what I was seeing.
Oliver and him were talking.
Like, really talking.
Sure Harlow looked visibly uncomfortable in his presence, but he was kneeling down and everything to make sure he heard him good.
I had to blink like fifteen times to make sure what I was seeing was correct because there was no way, he was being-cordial with my brother. And I wasn't the only one who thought it was strange.
"Are you an angel?"
"Huh?" I snapped my eyes away from them to Niko, "What'd you say?"
"This is... the second time that I've seen him not horrifyingly angry. Both times, he was with you. Either you're an angel, come to save the devil from his cruel ways, maybe a mission from God or something. Or... you're fucking him. It's gotta be one or the other-"
"Ew!" I lowered my voice, shoving his checkout bag across the counter, "God, would you stop saying that? I'm not having sex with Harlow . I don't know what you're talking about. He seems pretty horrifying right now."
"I just heard him laugh, like really laugh, for the first time in four years. You did something whether or not you believe it..." Niko mumbled, frowning as he dropped a twenty onto the counter before he looked back at Harlow .
"What?" I muttered, following his eye, "Four whole years without being joyful even once? That's insane. There's no way. Besides, he didn't even seem that..." I was left speechless yet again, and I swore I could've passed out from what I saw next.
"Take good care of them, okay? Don't ruin' em or anythin'. These are special..." Harlow pulled his drumsticks out of his back pocket and handed them to my brother reluctantly, "Your first pair of stix holds sentimental value, so you gotta... be careful. Don't get them wet, or put them in mud or stick them up your nose. Keep them clean and don't hit em' too hard on things or they'll b-break-"
"Oh gee, thanks, Harlow! You're the best ever." Oliver jumped onto his hips to hug him and Harlow stumbled back a little bit in shock.
"Thanks..." Harlow patted him on the shoulder, "A-alright, that's enough, no hugging. I gotta go now, okay?" He peeled my brother off of him and backed up like he was an atomic bomb, "I'll see you later." He looked regretful or like-he could puke as he turned around and practically ran from the store.
What the hell?
Niko turned around, grabbing the movies in the bag, "I gotta head out. U-uh, keep the change. Mikey, let's go."
"B-bye..." I waved, but only Mikey waved back, Niko was too busy chasing Harlow down.
"Cherry, look!" Oliver exclaimed, running over to me. "Harlow gave me his sticks for free! I get to be a drummer now!"
"Oliver, you shouldn't have asked him for those..." I murmured, locking the register and grabbing my coat and keys from behind the counter. I walked around to stand in front of him, "What did you do to make him give you those?"
"Nothing! I just told him I thought his sticks were cool and that mama never bought me any 'cause she didn't want me to be a drummer and he just gave em' to me! He said 'do you wanna try mine?' and I said 'yep!'" Oliver tapped the drumsticks on his head, "I didn't have to do chores for em' for or nothing! And look, they have H.S engraved on them. I dunno what it means but it sure sounds fancy!"
I tilted my head, thinking of a very obvious answer to just a question, "Um-"
Oliver gasped, "Ham.... sandwich. Does Harlow like Ham Sandwiches like me?! He knew!"
Disregarding the drumstick ordeal, I snorted, shaking my head at his active imagination. "It's-you know what, it sure is."
"I knew it!"
"Yeah, yeah... let's go, Hammy." I scoffed.
"Hey!"
✰ ✰ ✰
A bright green house with smiley-face curtains, rainbow windmills in the front yard and a bright pink car parked in the driveway was oddly enough, exactly what I was expecting Koi's brothers' house to look like.
Honestly, if there wasn't a bright pink car there, I would've been skeptical.
Everything about Koi was colorful and fun, and bubbly, and adorable, her brother had to be somewhat similar.
Either that or Koi just carried around fun pink accessories in the trunk of her car to decorate random places whenever she pleased, which I would also believe.
I loved her cheery disposition, I wished I could be more like her, fun and outgoing, but all I could be as I pulled up next to her house was freakin' nervous.
Like-sweating, nervous.
Girls could be super kind, super sweet, and fun but they could also be very cruel and in my experience? I'd come across more rude, hostile, and just plain mean girls than anything.
In elementary school I got picked on for being chubby and a loner.
In middle school I got picked on for having crooked teeth, having acne and wearing khaki pants every day.
And, In high school, well, there wasn't a thing not to pick on me for because I had the social strength of a brick.
Out of all of those times I got picked on though, the majority doing the harassment, were girls.
Guys too of course, but there was something about being picked on by girls that hurt worse so I paid attention to it more.
The reason I would beat myself up about my looks or my weight was because of other selfish, rude, crazy women.
So, although I doubted Koi and her friends would be the type to make fun of me, I was on alert that night.
"Here goes nothing..." I swung my backpack over my shoulder and tucked my hair behind my ear as I walked up the driveway.
God, I hoped they liked me.
"Koi!..." In addition to the screaming voices of a couple of girls, I could hear what sounded like Avril Lavinge playing from a speaker inside. It felt sorta like a good dream that was about to come true, and while it was nerve wracking, it was also what I'd always wanted to do. Have a slumber party.
So, I pushed my nerves to the side and knocked.
I heard a gasp, "Wait, wait, wait!"
There was several thumps before Koi peeked her head through the drapes to my left and the second she saw me, she screamed.
"Cherry's here! Cherry, cherry!-" Koi snatched the door handle and whipped the door open, "Cherry!"
"Koi!" The sharp smell of nail polish hit me the second she opened the door in a red silk robe, hair curlers and a green face mask that sat around her mouth, eyes, and nose; coating her cheeks in green cream.
"You made it toots! Come in! Come in! We're just getting started, you're right on time, I promise." She bit her lip to hold back a smile and moved to the side.
"Oh good." I stepped inside on her house, making sure to wipe my feet before stepping on the carpet, "I wasn't sure if-oh my lord..." Slowly but surely, I widened my eyes.
Her brother's house was crazy.
Not to mention, a Barbie dreamhouse mess.
Bright pink walls surrounded me and candles were lit everywhere. Makeup, nail polish, hair care products and blankets laid across every surface I could see. The floor in the living room was just one big bed, with feathers and press on nails scattered about. There were rhinestones and face masks and knickknacks galore. E-v-e-r-y-w-h-e-r-e. There was so much pink, I thought I'd stepped into another dimension. One with glitter and Hello Kitty as the default pattern for everything.
The living room was massive, with a nice flat screen TV playing MTV's greatest hits.
And in the dining room, there was a table loaded with chips, drinks, cookies, etc.
The place smelled so warm, like cinnamon, vanilla and coconut.
It was like a some magical fairy had came along and sprinkled magic everywhere.
Truly, it was a wonderland.
Even the girls looked out of this world.
There were two others besides Naomi; both sitting on the floor in the same red silk robes like gorgeous goddesses.
One was a white girl with blonde hair that had a thinner nose, a fair complexion, and a very sculpted face with green eyes. She had wavy, messier, bleach blonde hair and a tattoo on her collarbone that said 'Divine' which I thought was pretty-yet odd.
While the other girl had a soft, tanned brown tone to her skin and a wider set nose with full, pink lips. She had blunt bangs and her hair was on the longer side, falling to the swell of her boobs that looked extremely suffocated in her bra.
They were both model status, it was almost intimidating.
I nearly forgot where I was for a second.
"Okay, okay, everyone, this is Cherry, she is my little sparkling, dazzling girl, we adore her very, very much!" Koi presented me like a gift to everyone, her hands on my shoulders, "Cherry, this is Kristen..." she gestured to the blonde who waved with a kind smile, "And Hannah!"
"Hi..." The other girl wasn't as friendly, and only looked up from her nail filing for a split second.
"Ugh, ignore her, she's a bit of a bitch." Koi rolled her eyes, dragging me away to the dining room, making me step over Hannah's stuff, "Come with me first before we get settled and talking though, I have gifts for you!"
"Sorry-Really? Oh, you don't have to give me anything I-"
"Ah-ah!" Koi cut me off , reaching onto the table for a sparkly, pink, and rather big goodie-bag, "Here." she shoved it into my arms and I looked down, "It is complementary, and it is non refundable! I call it the Koi Kit, and it has everything you need to survive a sleepover with me! There's some makeup samples inside, some weed, some candy, some mini scotch bottles, and even some condoms, but try not to use them all in one night." she winked.
I won't be using those at all but okay.
"There's food, and drinks in the kitchen too, as you can see, we are well stocked." Koi gestured to it quickly but didn't linger, linking her arm with mine to guide me back to the living room, "Not all of the girls are here yet, I invited one more that I'd met at a concert the other day but she should be here soon, her name is Mia!"
"O-okay." We made our way back to the blanket and Koi plopped us down in the empty spots so that we were in one big circle.
"Look in the bag! There's a robe in there for you too!" Kristen smiled, gesturing towards it. "I really love your hair, where'd you get it done?"
I slipped off my bag and set it down to the side as I laughed nervously, "Um... I've never actually gotten my hair done..."
"Virgin hair?! Lucky! I ruined mine when I was thirteen, dying it pink. It's so damaged, it's disgusting!" Kristen rolled her eyes, playing with the strands of her hair mindlessly, "Oh, that reminds me! I brought these fun hair clips, they come in all these cool designs!" she turned around to reach into her bright yellow purse, "I have bees, butterflies, and flowers. I brought them for everyone. Koi you'd love the daisy-"
"Kristen, no one wants to wear those. They're for kids..." Hannah scoffed, rolling her eyes and throwing her hair behind her ear as she filed her long, perfect fingernails.
So, I already don't like Hannah.
Kristen's shoulders slumped as she held the package of clips in her hands, and I could see the disappointment on her face register, "Oh." she swallowed, then clearing her throat, "Oh yeah, totally, I knew that."
"I want some..." I murmured, shrugging my shoulders with creased eyebrows, "C-can I see?"
"Sure." Kristen perked up just a little, handing me the clips with a soft, blushy smile, "Hey, do you want something to drink? I'm a bartender, I can make you anything you want."
"Just a ginger ale would be fine, thanks." I needed something to help with the oncoming stomach ache.
Kristen walked away and I put down the clips for a second to open up the bag that Koi gave me.
"There's so much stuff in here, this is so nice." I was really appreciative of everything, and even more so when I saw just how nice the robe inside was, and the candy.
"If you don't feel comfortable with taking home certain stuff, then that's okay, but I just wanted to do something for all of us girls. Women need a little TLC if you know what I mean." Koi smiled, grabbing some nail polish and a remote to turn up the music on her TV.
"Um..." I furrowed my eyebrows at a small, black thing that looked kind of like a weird rubber bullet and grabbed it. It had an on and off switch, different speeds and settings.
The outside casing said, 'Kandy's Kinks' but I had no clue what it was.
"Koi, what the heck is this? Is it like something for makeup or..." I asked her, trailing off as I further examined the packaging.
Hannah laughed but Koi just rolled her lips into her mouth before she sucked her teeth, "That is... a vibrator, actually! It's for you but if you don't want it I'm sure Naomi will be more than willing to take it."
"Fuck yeah, I would." Naomi said from behind me on the couch, "A girl can never have too many vibrators. Man, I would marry a vibrator if it was legal.." she sounded like the stoned kids at my college campus.
"Don't use in shower, or store in cold places. Change batteries at least one to three months - Koi, what is this for?" I continued to pry as I read the packaging, "What's a vibrator? What's that mean?"
I looked up and to my shock Koi was staring at me with a blank face while Hannah had her mouth open and her nose scrunched up almost in disgust but more of disbelief.
"What?" I just slowly set the vibrator down and looked to my right as Naomi suddenly plopped down next to me.
"You're telling me you've never..." Naomi trailed off, seeming like she was trying to give me a hint about something, "I'm not gonna be explicit unless you really don't know what the fuck that is."
"I don't! There's not even instructions, how am I supposed to know?" I glanced back at the packaging only for a second. I felt a bit singled out, like everyone was in on some magical woman hack I didn't know.
"You've never used a vibrator? A dildo? Nothing? Your own hand for christ's sake?! Have you ever masturbated?" Koi asked, creasing her eyebrows at me with such confusion. "Cherry, no wonder why you're all wound up! You have to find pleasure somehow! Lord knows a man isn't gonna do it for you!"
"Preach." Naomi said.
"Sing it.." Hannah scoffed.
"A-woman!" Kristen giggled as she walked back into the room with drinks and handed me my ginger-ale before she sat back down at the circle.
"Masturbating? But that's only for men. My mom said it was considered shameful if a woman..."
"Shameful?! Sh-shameful-oh my god, she's serious, I'm gonna have a stroke!" Koi practically screamed, slapping her hands onto her face like Macaulay Culkin in home alone, "I'll tell you what's shameful, toots! Not letting a daughter please herself because of something you believe in! Cherry, you've never, ever done that? Never made yourself come before?"
"Come? Come where? I-I don't understand!" I grunted in frustration, "I don't know anything about sex stuff. I know how it works... but I don't know how to do it or what comes before or after, if anything does. I'm a virgin for Christ's sake."
"Oh. My. God. Go change! I am going to educate you like no other! Naomi, go get a face mask on this girl while I make my presentation!" Koi shouted, scrambling up off of the blankets and running up the staircase.
"Presentation?-"
Naomi grabbed my hand and yanked me from the blankets before I could ask anything else.
I made sure to grab the robe since Koi wanted me to change, but it nearly slipped out of my hand, Naomi was making us fly through the house.
"Change, I'll be in the shower stall, okay?" We reached the bathroom and Naomi hopped into the tub, yanking closed a Hello Kitty shower curtain so that she couldn't see me.
Well okay then.
Closing the bathroom door, I set the robe down on the counter while I stripped off my clothes.
"So-Cherry, why didn't you ever explore?" Naomi asked from the other side of the curtain, "I know that your mom was a bitch. I know about that whole thing but didn't you ever get curious? You never thought to touch yourself?"
It was weird to be having this conversation with her-but oddly enough I was really curious and it felt like for the first time ever, I could get good advice from other women, I could ask questions.
With Naomi I didn't feel judged. She and Koi both made me feel safe.
"I've always been told that it was a sin so I followed the rules... did what I was told. My mom was a stickler about virginity. I got curious about what sex would feel like or what it would be like doing it but I've kept it on the back burner for marriage pretty much." I mumbled, deciding to ditch my bra since I was around all girls, "Of course not now, no I'd love to do more things like that, s-sexual stuff-but it's hard when you have someone who watches your every move."
I tied the knot on my robe, scooping up my clothes, "I'm finished."
Naomi ripped the curtain open, blowing smoke out into the bathroom as she stepped out of the tub, "Why don't you just go hookup with someone? Test it out now that you're free!" she grabbed a container of green cream from the counter, that I was only assuming could be the face mask.
"I have a date actually..." I said, tucking my hair behind my ears so she could put the mask on, "It's tomorrow night, with this guy I met at my new job. I'm not in a rush or anything but I think he could be someone I'd want to give my virginity to. He's really sweet and funny-"
"Give? Oh, Cherry..." Naomi laughed, shaking her head back and forth as she scooped up some face mask on her finger and started carefully applying it to my face. It was cold but her fingers warmed it up when she rubbed it in small circles.
Her eye contact came back to me and she raised her eyebrows, "First things first: Forget everything that your mother ever told you. Literally babe? Just throw it away and never, ever dig it back up."
"Second: You don't have to 'give' your virginity away to anyone or any man. Virginity isn't really... real. It is to some people but I'm guessing what your mother meant was your purity. I mean, she told you to wait till marriage for sex right?"
"Yes..." I nodded, listening intently.
"Right and I'm guessing she was the type to shame women for sex before marriage?" She asked, turning her head to the side as she moved the cream to my other cheek.
"Yeah.." I frowned, twisting my mouth to the side. "A lot. She was really weird about virginity, I never knew why."
Naomi sighed, "Think about it this way. Virginity is just about whatever man has stuck his dick in you first. That's all it's about to most religious people and if they don't want you doing that before marriage to 'save your soul', then they tell you it's a sin. But Cherry? It doesn't make you a bad person if you do it before marriage. It doesn't make you worth any less or more. I took my own virginity for fucks sake, and I'm doing just fine. You don't have to 'give' your virginity to anyone. You have sex with who you want, when you want to and if anyone shames you for it? Tell them to suck your dick. Capiche, Princess?"
I nodded quickly, trying to wrap my head around the idea, "I was always just taught that... you gave it to someone you loved or liked a lot, someone you trusted and that you would be with. Someone who was special." Naomi nodded in understanding as I spoke, but it quickly turned to apprehension, "My mom says sex isn't supposed to be fun. It's a vow to your husband and she said that it was used to make babies, that's pretty much it-"
"Oh my god!" Naomi sounded like she could cry, closing the lid on the face mask. "Can I strangle your mom? Is that okay with you?"
I stifled a laugh, "I think I might beat you to it. I know it's... stupid and I know I sound like a child."
"None of that," Naomi waved her hand, "You just need some guidance from a few friends. We'll teach you all you need to know. I'm more... hands on, but you can decide if you want that.." She smirked, looking me up and down before walking past me to the door. "Come on."
I knew I flushed red but I followed right behind her, my clothes in my grasp as we made our way back to the living room.
After placing my clothes back in my bag, Naomi dragged me to sit on the couch next to her and Koi came barreling down the stairs with a bag of things in her hand as well as a whiteboard, "Alright! I've got everything I need! Cherry, prepare to learn!"
Kristen snickered before she got up from the floor and came to sit next to me on the couch, holding onto my arm and snuggling against it, "This is gonna be fucking hilarious."
"That's one word for it." Hannah moved to in between Naomi's legs and settled there as she looked down on her phone.
I noticed her scrolling through what looked like someone's MySpace account but once I saw a photo of a shirtless Harlow pass by, I widened my eyes, "Oh shit! Is that Harlow ?"
Hannah whipped her head around and furrowed her eyebrows, "Uhm... yeah? Why are you lurking?"
"O-oh, sorry. My eyes just caught on when you scrolled past the picture of him. I know him, that's all." I shook my head, looking back to Koi as she set up things.
"No you don't." Hannah deadpanned, staring at me with a bored expression.
"Yeah, I do. He's my across the street neighbor. I-"
"Oh no..." Naomi cut me off, her mouth clamping closed like she was planning on interrupting me. She tossed her head back against the couch cushion, "Here we fuckin' go..."
"What?" I frowned at her.
"You weren't supposed to tell her that," Naomi whispered at me, "Hannah's a little cuckoo for his coconuts if you know what I mean."
I paused for a second, "Did you just quote a cocoa puffs commerical?-"
"Wait-Cherry, cherry-are you serious?" Hannah sat up farther, gripping my knee like a weird vulture, "Harlow from Bloody fucking Valentine? Are you kidding?"
"No?" I hadn't known that people really knew who they were.
"Oh. My. God. You lucky bitch." Hannah looked like she was gonna pass out.
"No way!" Kristen gasped, shaking my arm slightly, "He's so hot! They all are! I've seen them on Tumblr!"
"You did." I asked her.
"A video of him spitting in some girls' mouth at a concert went viral on there! People love him. He's a hot punk, what can you expect?"
I nearly cringed at that thought of spitting in someone's mouth. "I-"
"Can you get me his number?" Hannah pressed.
"No, you can't." Naomi answered for me and rather harshly, making Hannah gasp.
"Okay can you at least tell us about him then!" Hannah closed her phone.
"Yeah, I wanna know. Does he have as many tattoos as everyone says? Is his accent hot?" Kristen was curious too, widening her eyes eagerly.
"Um, yes and-yes?" It felt weird to admit but I wasn't gonna lie, "Though, he is extremely fucking mean. He hates me, and I mean hates me. We don't get along all that well."
"Ugh, don't you know? When a boy is mean to you, that means he likes you!" Hannah exclaimed, "You're wasting your opportunity. But, maybe it's better that way, he seems too much for you to handle. I'd give anything to have my shot with him. God, I bet he's so good in bed-"
"Hey, don't go spouting out that stupid shit. If a guy is mean to you, he's a dick and he's mean and he doesn't deserve your attention. That does not mean he likes you. Don't listen to anything she says, worms for fuckin' brains." Naomi said to me, shaking her head.
"It's called tough love." Hannah mocked her, turning and facing forward again.
Naomi replied with attitude easily, "No, it's called a fucking toxic relationship, you dummy. Any guy who can be mean to you, like really mean to you, doesn't like you. If he's purposely seeking to hurt your feelings, I promise you that you're walking right into manipulation. Don't take that bullshit from anyone. Period."
I was really just sitting there like a sponge.
A hot pink, mask covered sponge, absorbing every piece of information that I could, every bit of advice. I knew nothing it felt like. Especially in a room with all these experienced girls.
Little did I know though, I was in for a roller coaster ride of new feelings.
"Ta-da! Sex Ed ba-bay!"
Hearing Koi's cheery voice, I finally took a peek at her creative masterpiece.
A whiteboard with a life-sized, anatomically correct dick taped to it with duck-tape, the vibrator she gave me tape there too, and a bunch of other scary things I'd never ever in my nineteen years, seen.
They looked like medieval torture devices.
Where she got them, I had no idea, but my face turned red at the sight of them and I sunk into the couch a bit.
I'm definitely scared.
"Ooo, fancy prancy!" Kristen giggled, "Buckle in Cherry!"
Oh shit.
"Okay! Lesson number one! Male anatomy!" Koi said in a stern teaching voice, grabbing a marker and pointing it towards the junk on the board like a whip, "This is a dick, Cherry. I can tell you look confused but I'll tell you what, this is no ordinary, regular dick!"
"No ma'am!" Kristen hollered at her.
"What is it then?"
"This is a dildo. It's fake." Koi slapped her hand against the thing, "You fuck yourself with it when men aren't around or whenever you want to really! It's just a toy, but for adults, you see? They're usually made of silicone and you can find them at the mall at Spencers' or online. I also have spares that I'd bought for the goody bags, so if you want one, let me know." she winked.
I widened my eyes at the size of it, almost worrying, "I didn't think they made them that... big. How does it fit? That would hurt wouldn't it?"
"Not if you're lubricated enough, and luckily women make their own lubrication like magic, cause we women are so magical." Koi grinned, batting her eyelashes, "If you're really, really turned on, then this is a perfectly normal size! It goes in easily and if it doesn't, that means she's not ready."
"How do you... know when you're turned on by something?" It was such a bizarre question to ask, but I'd never even remotely come close to be being turned on or aroused. Not that I knew of.
"You'll know." Koi deadpanned, raising her eyes at me.
"Will I? 'Cause... that's never really happened to me. To be honest, I've barely even interacted with the opposite sex."
Koi sat other knees next to the whiteboard and put her marker in her lap, "Cherry, I know you and I know you've gotten a little turned on by something before, you're not a robot, first of all. You're a teenage girl, you have a body. And secondly, being turned on isn't like a physical bodily function or something major that changes you. It's about what you feel. It's about the butterflies you get in your stomach or the heat between your thighs when you hear, see, taste or touch something you like. It's about how happy, and how ready you feel to engage in sexual stuff with another person. You can't tell me that's never happened to you before. You've never watched a movie where the person on the screen did something so hot that it made you get all bothered?"
"Bothered?" I blinked quickly.
"You know, the expression, hot and bothered."
"Oh..." I relaxed a little bit, noticing that no one thought it was weird that we were talking about this. It was a safe space, and I had a lot of questions so I began to think about it more seriously, "Well, it's happened a couple times I think, now that you've explained it. But, I didn't know why at the time."
"Ooo, when, and with who? I want juicy details!" Koi beamed, tapping her fingers together.
I chewed my bottom lip, trying to think of an incident that wasn't too embarrassing, "When I was with Harlow, I got sorta turned on." My shoulders shrugged and Koi dropped her jaw as wide as it would go, "We were just in the kitchen making pizza, and-I felt really... off about how close he was behind me. He was practically talking into my ear, and you guys know his voice is really nice, so-it was weird, but it almost felt good? Like deep down, I was kinda sad when he moved away because it was kinda exciting."
"Oh, you lucky ass motherfucker..." Hannah scoffed and pinched the bridge of her nose like she was in agony.
"That... has got to be the hottest thing I have ever heard!" Koi screamed, covering her mouth with her hand, "When was this! You didn't tell me!"
"Days ago. it went away pretty fast cause he yelled at me right after but does that mean that I like him since I got turned on? Cause I do not want to like him-"
"No, no it just means that you felt turned on. You were aroused by what he was doing. There's nothing wrong with that, toots, don't stress." Koi said, shaking her head insistently, "We'll come back to that later, and best believe I wanna know more, but for now, it's onto the next section. Female anatomy!"
Woohoo.
"Ah yes, my favorite. Talk to me, teach." Naomi groaned in content.
I tilted my head at the drawing Koi was doodling in bright pink marker.
It looked like lips, but it was the wrong kind of lips I soon came to realize.
I knew what that was, I had one.
Koi took a deep breath, slowly exhaling before she snapped her eyes open and pointed directly at the circle she'd drawn at the top, "Now this, Cherry, this is a magical, magical thing."
"Preach!" Naomi and Kristen shouted.
"We are talking about.. your clit." She pointed at me with the marker as if I was in trouble.
"Mine?" I pointed at myself worriedly, "What did my clit do?!"
Koi giggled, "I'm not getting angry at you, silly! I'm educating you and I wanna know, if you know what your clit is! I mean, come on, you're a virgin with a prude mother who never let you masturbate, I gotta cover alllll my bases here." she gestured to my body with the marker.
"Oh-well, yeah of course, I know what it is." I shrugged my shoulders mindlessly.
It wasn't that I hadn't touched myself before, it was more so that I'd never touched myself for pleasure.
'Cause best believe after seeing health class in middle school, I wanted to make sure I didn't have a fucked up vagina.
Every girl on earth I knew had to have at one point taken a mirror and gone upside down to look at themselves, regardless of what they were taught about self pleasure.
Which for me, wasn't much.
But, I was gonna get schooled on that now too so no biggie.
"Okay, perfect! Now... this is what I like to call, the trigger." Koi grinned, running her tongue on the inside of her cheek, "Why you may ask? Because it can kill you!" she suddenly slammed the marker on the board with a hard tap, making me jump.
"This little bundle of nerves can end a bitches life if a man gets his hands on it the right way!" Koi spoke as if she was telling a scary story.
"It can?" I cocked my head back.
"Oh, yes. It can, and it should." Koi calmed her voice down again, "If and when, because you won't be a virgin forever, you have sex with a man? Always, always... ALWAYS!" She screamed suddenly again, making me jump, "Ask him to play with your clit -Always!"
I nodded with wide eyes, listening to her every word.
"Don't ever, ever in your life be shy about it, don't ever be nervous and if he doesn't want to or won't, or god forbid-can't?" Koi sounded like she was about to cry or-gag as she held a hand to her heart, "Jesus take the wheel! Kick him to the curb! Especially if he expects head! No head for boys who can't find the clit!"
"Nope." I agreed mindlessly.
But what's head?
"This has to be the most amazing thing on planet fucking earth! The power this small little thing holds should be illegal! I'm telling you toots, it feels amazing..." Koi said, and all of the girls seemed to agree.
"There's not any right or wrong way to do it either! That's the beauty of it! What works for you, works for you. You can use your fingers, or someone can use their tongue on you or the vibrator. It's a pleasure nerve, so you get super, super sensitive, but orgasms are pretty much nonexistent without it. At least for most women. Not a lot can come from penetration alone. Including myself." She continued to explain while raising her hand lazily.
"Wait, wait." I said, sitting up and paying more attention. "You mean someone uses their mouth... down?"
That is the most insane thing I've ever heard in my life and I can't imagine someone doing that to me at all.
"Oh my god, yes!" Koi said, crawling over and sitting next to the couch instead, "When a guy or girl eats you out it feels like fucking heaven if they're good at it."
Eating o- oh... so that's what Niko meant. OH. Oh wow.
"So, is that something you do during sex.. or after?" I asked, jumping on an imaginary timeline with my fingers, "What order does it go in?"
"Ooo! I nearly forgot about foreplay!" Koi gasped, clapping her hands together once.
"Foreplay?"
"Yes! Foreplay! It's only like the best thing ever, not to mention essential before any sex stuff. You always kiss, or touch, or something before sex to get things going. You wanna be wet before you start fucking and the guy has to be hard before he can use the damn thing." The roll in her eyes expressed her distaste for that part.
"So... eating out is foreplay?" I insinuated.
"Pretty much, and so is sucking dick. Most men will ask for that so you should know that now." She tilted her head, laughing slightly.
"You m-mean-no way!" I gasped, dropping my jaw, "You mean, putting their dick in your mouth?! What the hell!?"
"God, you are just so cute-yes, toots. It's just a giant lollipop that comes on your face."
"Come?" What the fuck did that even mean? Why was it called that?
"Oh, cum!" Koi gasped loudly, "I almost forgot! Okay so, cum/come has two meanings. If a guy during sex says, for example 'I want you to come,' he doesn't mean literally go with him somewhere. He means he wants you to have an orgasm. And then when he comes, or has an orgasm, cum is also the name of the shit that comes out. I'm over complicating this a lot but do you get what I mean?"
"Ohhh!" It finally clicked in my head, "I get it now! Wow, that makes a lot more sense." I couldn't help but blurt out a small laugh.
"Yup! And no, women don't cum like that. We're not as loud about it." Koi rolled her eyes, "We cum with grace and we don't leave messes of mass destruction on the sheets."
"Speak for yourself..." Naomi muttered under her breath.
"Yeah, well, I'm not telling her about that part, I want her to figure it out on her own." Koi whispered toward Naomi, putting her lips up to her mouth, "Ahem, anyways Cherry, do you... have any questions!"
"Actually, yes. So," I sat up a little bit, playing with the ends of the robe, "If you wanna have, you know-"
"Sex. Just say sex, no one here is going to explode." Koi chortled.
I broke down and pushed my boundaries to the side, "Okay, if you wanna have sex with someone... do you just ask? Like is that all you have to say? 'Cause I feel like there's more that I'm missing and I don't really know how an interaction would work in terms of leading up to it."
"Well most of the time... yeah, that's exactly how it goes." Koi shrugged her shoulders, throwing her hand up, "I mean, in hookup culture the most common phrased used, is 'hey, you wanna go fuck?' Like-it's not all that complicated. But I will say consent is most important so asking is the first thing you should do."
"Right and," Naomi sat up a bit, "No means no. If someone tries to touch you and you say no, they should stop. Vice versa."
"Of course." I nodded, "But should you ask before every single little thing?"
"Depends on the person but to be honest, it's hot when you do." Koi said, " It makes things more intimate if you ask him to touch you, or ask him to kiss you, or ask him if you can suck his dick. It's all the same, just make sure you ask before doing anything unless it's obvious what you both want. And another way of consent, if you're too nervous to ask that is, would be to take his hand and guide it in between your legs. If there's clear communication without talking, then it's fine, but you should always try to anyway."
Communication. Consent. Cum. Got it. The three C's for this lesson. I kind of wish I could write some of this down.
"Okay..." I mumbled, leaning back onto the couch. "And is it the same for girls?"
Everyone stopped moving.
You would've thought I'd announced I was pregnant with the looks they were giving me.
Koi dropped her jaw.
Kristen unlinked her arm with mine to sit up and put her drink down.
Hanna turned her head around.
And Naomi practically scrambled up to get closer to me.
"You like girls?" She asked, smiling widely.
"I-I don't know. How do you know if you do?" I asked, twisting my mouth. "I mean, I think a lot of girls are beautiful and so lovely-as long as they're nice. N' I like a lot of girls in a platonic way, like friends but how do you know if you like a girl in a sexual way? I looked up kissing girls when I was little because I was curious but-"
"Okay, okay freeze. First and most important question, Cherry. Answer me this." Naomi cleared her throat like she was preparing herself for my answer, "Does the thought of kissing me or any girl you find attractive for that matter-make you wet? Really imagine it. Like, do you want to kiss a girl?"
"I've never even kissed anyone before," I said wearily, flushing red from embarrassment. "I can't really imagine it, when I don't know how to kiss..."
"You've never k - my god." Naomi laughed. "Well then, I guess you'll just have to discover it one day. You can experiment, a lot of girls do that. But, let me ask you something else. Do you see yourself dating a girl? Could you imagine that? Having a girlfriend."
"Well why not? Women are smart, so damn smart. N' most of them are kind, and intuitive. They're all beautiful. When I imagine dating a woman too, I imagine someone nice and gentle. Funny or sweet. Someone who gets all my jokes and will do my makeup for fun or go on picnics with me. Someone who's soft when they touch... o-or if um... if..." I trailed off into dreamland, envisioning a relationship with a girl so easily that it tripped me out. The more I thought about it, the more it excited me. I always imagined having a boyfriend and what that would've been like but there was something about girls that was more fun to think about. It seemed so freeing and pretty and... hot.
"O-Okay you know what, I can imagine the kissing now actually." I sputtered, staring at the patch of blankets on the ground.
"Cherry?"
"Huh?" I asked, clearing my throat and ignoring the butterflies in my stomach as I looked over at Naomi. "Sorry, I spaced out."
"Do you want to experiment?" Naomi asked.
"Yeah, I think so." I admitted easily, still a bit lost in my fantasy, "I mean, I'm still not positive but girls seem easier to talk to so maybe I could find someone who knew what they were doing."
"I-"
I cut Naomi off without thinking about it, "I need someone who likes girls and has for a long time. Someone with real experience. My problem though is that I'm always too shy about it so what if girls don't like me either? Am I still bisexual if I like girls that don't like me back-"
"Cherry." Koi cut me off, earning my eye contact. "Naomi is sitting right there and she's a whore so-"
"Hey!" Naomi laughed, "I prefer slut. That's rude."
"Tomato. Tomato."
"Wait, wait. You mean..." I put two and two together, looking Naomi up and down nervously.
"Me? Hell yeah. I could teach you some things if you're curious." Naomi bit her bottom lip and tore he eyes away from my chest, "I'm well versed in female anatomy in case you were wondering. Eaten my fair share of pussy, I promise." her smile was gradual as she laid on the charm.
"Wait! Oh god, what's sex like with girls?" I spaced out, ignoring her invitation for just a second and keeping it on the back burner, "Is it just eating pussy or is it more cause I have no idea!"
"It's mostly oral and penetration." Koi cut in for a second.
"Penetration? How?"
"You can use a strap on, silly! It's like a dick that you put on, or strap on and fuck a girl with. You can use them on men too, fuck them in the ass; it's called pegging." Naomi explained.
"In the ass like... like in the ass? Doesn't that hurt?" I asked, my own butt hurting just thinking about it.
"Men have a thing in their ass called a prostate. It's like the female g-spot and it feels very, very fucking good for them." She shrugged.
"So, then why don't all men do it if it feels so good? Why have I never heard of it?" I grew confused.
If something feels that good then why isn't this 'pegging' thing more popular? Men deserve pleasure too, it makes no sense.
"Well, unfortunately there's this thing called homophobia. People associate anal sex on men with being gay even if someone isn't even gay, all because it's what gay men do. Most men are so easily hurt because their masculinity is so fragile that they won't even try it. I mean in my opinion it's 2010, and I don't give a fuck what people do. If something feels good for you, you should do it. The prostate is there for that reason too, for pleasure. It's really stupid but you'd understand, being gay is frowned upon in most religious settings. If not all." Naomi added, shaking her head with a sigh.
"Yeah..." I exhaled, reminding myself once more of the rules, "Consent, cum and communication-gosh, sex seems so complicated. There's so much to it..." I scratched my head, "I feel like I'm never gonna get the hang of it, you know? Never gonna learn, never gonna try. With the way my life is right now? Sex seems so far away."
"It can be closer if you want."
I turned my head towards Naomi in confusion for just a second. "Huh?"
"We could go upstairs." She shrugged, smirking slightly.
"You mean, you want to-o-oh you were serious!" I gulped, my breathing getting a bit shaky as I pressed my thighs together, "I-I don't know, I'm not gonna be good and I'm kinda-"
"Cherry... baby, relax. No one's forcing you." Naomi tucked a strand of hair behind my ear and I felt a bit like a dog when she ran her hand over my hair so gently, "Take a deep breath and just let me know if you do, okay? You don't have to decide right now. We have all night, it's only just begun."
"Oh. Okay..." I exhaled, my heart practically exploding in my chest as I gave her a nervous smile.
"Oo! Speaking of the night just beginning! I think Mia's here!-" A knock on the door interrupted Koi just as she suspected and she jumped up from her spot on the door to go open it up, "I knew it!"
I watched as she squealed and invited in yet another beautiful girl.
I mean wow, being pretty must've been a requirement to be Koi's friend because she was so gorgeous.
She looked about my age but just like Koi, she had rich brown skin and curly hair that was beautifully framed around her face. Her skin glowed, her makeup looking meticulously applied and her outfit was amazing. It was a silk purple dress that fell to about her thighs, accentuating her curves. A golden necklace was sat on her chest that spelled out her name and she had very pretty nails as well. All flashy accessories perfect to match her look.
She looked like an angel.
I was temporarily stunned.
"Hi!" Mia exclaimed happily, lifting up a brown paper bag. "I brought party favors..."
"Ooo, what is it?" Kristen asked, walking over and peeking inside of the bag. Her eyes lit up and she reached inside, pulling out a huge bottle of what I was only assuming could be alcohol.
But I've never heard of Hennessy?
✰ Later... ✰
I didn't like Hennessy.
In fact, I fucking hated it.
It was what I imagined car fuel tasting like, and I couldn't get down not even two drops without gagging.
But the rest of the girls? Oh, they loved it.
And everyone was tipsy, except me.
"O-okay, okay! Next game, no m-more!" Koi sat up from the blankets, giggling her ass off. We'd played a game of telephone and since they were all so drunk, Koi's easy, funny phrase of 'Naomi likes her nipples twisted every time she fucks ', turned into, 'Naomi's nipples get fisted, every time she fucks.' Which was, to her, hilarious.
I didn't need to know what fisting was but, I was learning a lot from the girls, like I said.
"Let's play truth or dare!"
"Oh! Yes!" Kristen exclaimed, devouring a bag of cool ranch Doritos like it was her life's mission.
"Ooo, alright." Hannah smirked too. She was much more chill once she got alcohol in her system, "I'll play."
"Again? Ugh, I'm not good at this." I mumbled, leaning my head on Naomi's shoulder and running my hand down my face in a distressed manner. "But.. I'll play! Cause why the fuck not. I don't have anything to lose." A snort escaped my mouth.
"Okay, okay. I wanna go first. Truth or Dare, Hannah?" Kristen sipped on a giant martini of her own with a silly straw.
"Truth." Hannah said confidently, taking a drink of her own cup and smiling devilishly behind it.
"I've been waiting to ask you this-is it true that you lost your virginity to Steven Olsen?" Kristen replied with wide eyes.. Naomi, Koi and Mia all covered their mouth with their hand like it was it a shock.
"Um, I can neither confirm nor' deny." Hannah bit her lip, hiding a smug grin, "Like actually, I'm not legally allowed to say."
"No way!" Koi gasped.
"Who's Steven Olsen?" I asked.
"The mayors son!" Koi laughed in my direction, "He's a fucking drug dealer on the low but he's filthy fucking rich! He came to Harlow's party the night you were there too!"
"Oh my god, he did?! No way!" I gasped loudly too, lifting my head from Naomi's shoulder, "I've seen him in the papers!"
"Yeah which is why, like I said, I can't actually answer that." Hannah snorted, shaking her head but we all knew what the answer was.
"Was it good? Was he kinky-"
"The person who I lost my virginity to... was terrible. That's all I'm gonna say!" Hannah said in finality, putting her hand up and waving it, "No more questions."
"I knew it! I knew it! I know his dick is so small, I'm so sorry." Kristen cackled, nearly falling on me, she was so drunk.
"Okay, okay. Shh! My turn..." Hannah gazed throughout every single girl carefully until naturally, her eyes landed on me and she ran her tongue along her cheek, "Cherry. Truth or Dare?"
"Dare." I answered confidently.
I guess you could say I was feeling more bold tonight. More than usual.
Being surrounded by a lot of bold women would do that to you though, and I couldn't say I hated the feeling.
That was until Hannah opened her stupid mouth.
"I dare you to flirt with the last person you texted in your phone."
My confident smile faded into a horrified cringe, "I'm sorry?"
"You heard me. Like-try to sext with them. I don't really care what you say, but, get nasty. I want you to be bold. You can say it was a joke after or that you were drunk and didn't realize who you were texting, of course, but you have to wait for a reply first and do it for at least five minutes." Hannah said.
My eyes bulged out of my head as Mia, Koi and Kristen all laughed and gasped in agreement. I laughed slightly too, "I-I can't do that! I think it was... wait -let me check 'cause if it was my mom, I'm not doing that!"
I grabbed my phone from the pocket of my silk robe and clicked open my phone. I shouldn't have taken a drink of my water at the same time though cause it soon came out of my nose, my throat choking hard when I saw the small 'H.'
Oh fuck no.
I coughed, taking the napkin that Naomi quickly gave me, "I c-cannot do that, under no circumstances!"
"Who is it?" Koi asked.
"Harlow!" I widened my eyes at her.
"YES!" Koi gasped so hard I thought she'd cough up a lung, "Now, now, now! Do it Cherry! Come on, don't be a baby! You can say it was a prank afterwards but just do it! I wanna know what he'd say..."
"He'll probably tell me to jump off a bridge or call me ugly!" I scoffed, flushing red and scratching my head as I looked down at my phone again, "There's no way... besides, I-I wouldn't even know what to say!"
"I'll help you!" Koi exclaimed, getting up and walking around the circle to come and sit in between me and Kristen. "First let's just say hey and wait for a reply because he might not even be awake-"
"But-"
Koi rolled her eyes and grabbed my phone, opening his text and sending a 'Hey' before I could object.
"Koi!" I yelled, taking the phone back from her, "You can't just do that! He hates me! Can't you tell, everytime we talk it's like he wants to find the nearest bridge, I mean I-"
My phone dinged.
"Already?!" Hannahs jaw dropped as eagerly crawled closer, getting up and walking to sit next to all of us.
"Shit shit shit." I gulped and opened my phone, looking down at the message from him.
H: What do you want, Cherry?
I could feel my stomach sinking with such anxiety, but I didn't have a choice to do it if I didn't wanna be a baby about it.
"Hey. Don't look so scared I said I'd help you. Gimme." Koi giggled, taking my phone again and typing something in that looked rather short before she handed me back my phone.
I chewed the skin off of my bottom lip as I read the message I hadn't yet sent.
Me: You.
"Can this be it? Is that all I have to say?" I asked Hannah but-I was more of begging. My cheeks were so red, I was practically sweating.
Flirting with any boy was not my forte.
"Doesn't count." Hannah chimed in.
"Ha!" Koi said in victory, "You heard her, she has spoken, now send it! Do it! Do it!"
I looked towards Naomi for help but she only whispered, "Do it" with a smirk, chanting along with Koi.
Fuck. Guessed I had no choice.
Getting full body chills, I practically screamed as I sent the message before throwing my phone to the ground and covering my eyes. "Crap, crap, crap, crap. C-SHIT! I'm so scared. No one pick up the phone! Don't do it!"
It was quiet except for a few giggles from girls and my stomach dropped when he texted back a reply; my phone dinging rather loudly.
Why can't he just ignore me like usual?
"No one move! Let Cherry do it..." Naomi eased the tension in the room.
I nearly felt sick.
"Oh no..." I winced as I uncovered my eyes and looked down at my small phone, sitting there, the glow of the screen illuminated against a pink blanket. Just waiting to be picked up.
Don't be a bitch, don't be a bitch.
I quickly snatched the phone, all the girls shoving their faces in my grill as we read the two messages from him.
H: Lmao.
H: Which one of the girls is this? Koi? Naomi? You know it's not very nice to steal Cherry's phone.
"Send him a selfie in the bathroom so he knows you're alone!" Koi exclaimed, grabbing my elbow and picking me up to my feet. "You have to make it convincing!"
"A selfie?! I don't ever take those!" I exclaimed, all of the girls trailing behind us as we practically ran to the downstairs bathroom.
I was shoved inside and they closed the door, locking me inside.
"You can't come out until you send it! Just tell him we fell asleep and you're the only one up or something!" Koi yelled through the door, hushing the other girls, "You can do this, be brave baby!"
"I can't!" I took one look at myself in the mirror and nearly had a panic attack.
"Toots, you can, it's just a stupid prank! Take it however way you want to, in the mirror, up your robe, who cares?! You got this!"
I did not 'have this,' and fuck, I should've drank more.
"God..." I whined and borderline threw a tantrum inside of the bathroom, squeezing the roots of my hair. They slipped away and I planted my hands on the bathroom counter, looking at myself, "Ok, ok, ok. This is fine, this is fine, it's just a prank, it's just a prank."
Telling myself that barely helped in all honesty, but it was the most pep talk in me I had.
Grabbing my phone again, I opened the camera.
My hair was a mess so I smoothed it out of the way as best as I could and tucked it behind my ears. The only logical choice was a mirror picture because my face was all bruised, so I stepped up to the plate like I was ready to bat and fixed my half open robe.
Naomi banged on the door as I did, just in time too, "Make sure your tits look good too! Make it cute! Don't be so shy but hurry! He's gonna know something's up!"
"Easier said than done!" I huffed back.
I knew that it would look better if I was more confident about it or showed some skin. But my body didn't exactly look like a supermodels'.
I had things I was insecure about and I'd never posed for any photo beyond a family portrait.
But then again, it's just skin right? I'm not showing anything scandalous...
It wasn't like I was gonna get naked, I was just gonna flirt. Sending teasing pictures was flirting, I knew that and that was what the dare was.
This was all a dare. I needed to keep that in my head.
So with that in mind, I pulled the robe down just a little, feeling a knot in my stomach at the swell of my chest being shown. I tilted my head at the sight and then... opened it a little more, liking it better with the skin of my thigh showing through he gap.
It forced me to pop my leg forward a little too and that made my body look curvier.
Not too shabby.
It was better than just standing there like a robot.
I tried to make the look less awkward and leaned one hand on the counter, but I knew if I did too much, it would be worse, so I just took the stupid picture.
"Okay guys, I-I took it, but I dunno if it's good, come look." I knocked on the door.
It was opened and Koi's head popped through before I showed her the phone. Her eyes went wide like she'd seen a ghost and she nodded profusely, "My god Cherry, you look amazing! That's perfect! Way to go! Send it, now!"
I nodded in a panic and nearly vomited as I sent the picture.
"Say, 'No, its just me' too." She added.
Me: I'm alone. It's just me.
I felt a flash of heat cover my face and my whole body as I walked to the toiled lid and sat down on it, the girls filing back into the bathroom.
"What is she gonna do if he's into it?!" Kristen said, hopping up onto the bathroom counter.
"Oh, no way that'll happen! I'm just afraid of how rude he's gonna be..." I sighed, looking down at my phone as it sat on my lap. Blank and black.
"I'm sure it'll be fine." Naomi assured me, walking to my left and sitting down on the edge of the bathtub, "Harlow's not particularly a nice person, but he's hot the type to shame you for a prank. I-"
Naomi was cut off when my phone fucking rang.
"No way! He's calling?!" Hannah and Kristen started smacking each other on the arm repeatedly.
"Crap!" I whimpered, slapping my hands over my eyes.
"Shh! We're not supposed to be here, everyone shut up! Cherry, you better answer that fuckin' phone right now." Koi spoke sternly, even though she was nearly shaking in her boots.
"What the fuck am I supposed to say?! I can't talk dirty!?" I asked. "What if - oh my god, what if he's into it?! Oh my god, I'm gonna shit my pants."
I felt so damn sick.
"Just answer it!" Naomi laughed, grabbing the phone and shaking it in front of my face.
My heart thumped in my ears as Koi shushed Kristen who was giggling like crazy and they all covered their mouths, not breathing, not blinking or saying a single peep.
Jesus take the fucking wheel.
I grabbed the phone and answered it before I could stop myself, holding it up to my ear. "H-hello?"
"Are you being held at gunpoint?"
I exhaled slightly from the sound of his humorous voice and cleared my throat, "No. No, of course not."
"Speaker." Koi mouthed.
I pulled back just as he spoke again and put the phone on speaker, "You wanna explain the picture then? Was that meant for me?"
Hannah nearly melted from the sound of his voice and pretended to faint.
"Yeah, it was meant for you and what about it?" I held my breath, running my thumb across the silk fabric of my robe nervously.
"Well, for starters... I can see your tits. You posed for that, it's easy to see. Seems a bit out of character for you. That's all."
"Okay. Why are you calling me? Did you not like it?" I blurted out, slapping my hand over my mouth right after. My self consciousness got the better of me, I could admit, but I realized soon enough if would come across a different way.
"See... now you're putting words in my mouth." He spoke very slowly, and it almost sounded like he'd just woken up.
I widened my eyes and looked up to Koi for guidance but they were all too busy freaking out.
"S-so you did like it?" My mouth was so dry, I needed a drink of water or a fucking-sedative.
"Cherry, what are your intentions here? Are you playing silly games with me? Hm? 'Cause that's not very nice."
"No, no games" I got a bit calmer, darting my eyes all over the floor to try and figure something out to say, "I just wanted you to see... see how different I am? See that I'm not who you thought I was. I've grown since we've met, I've had to."
"Cherry 2.0... right. And what's so different about you now?"
"You know what you want." Koi mouthed.
"I know what I want." I responded, squeezing my eyes shut and taking the phone off speaker out of embarrassment. I held it back up my ear though and kept the conversation going.
"And what would that be?"
"I'm sorry. Was my message not clear enough?" Fucking idiot couldn't take a hint to save his life, what did he think my message meant?
"No, I wanna hear you say it. Tell me what you want."
"I can't." I blurted out, sighing in defeat afterward. "I don't know how..."
"Do you want me to come see you?"
"Come see me? Why? W-" I spat out fast, looking up to Koi who was practically jumping up and down, "W-why would you want to do that?"
"Actions speak louder than words, Cherry." He said in a knowing tone.
"Actions?" I gulped, the rise and fall of my chest getting heavier.
"You want me, don't you?"
"Well... sure." I breathed out, my voice squeaking a little.
"Say it then. Lemme' hear you."
I placed my hand over my eyes and muttered out the words, "I want you," reluctantly. It was weird to do, weird to think about doing, yet-there was a part of me that enjoy this. And that was scary considering it was supposed to be a simple prank.
"Well then... I guess it's your lucky night. I'm craving somethin' sweet to take my mind off some things. Have you been drinking?"
What did he just say?
"Craving huh?-U-uh no. No, I'm not drunk."
"Then I'll be there in ten."
"What?"
"I'll be there in ten."
Oh no.
"You will?" What did I just get myself into?
"Wait for me outside."
He hung up the phone before I could object and I pulled the phone back, looking down at it with a worried expression.
"Fuck. He's coming here in ten minutes."
***