“He…did…suck…on a few…things,” I say slowly as I cover my face with a pillow and sink down low in my chair. Laughter bubbles from my throat.
“Told you!” Finny cries. She points at Star. “You owe me ten bucks. They totally did the deed.”
“You made bets on whether or not I would have sex?” I ask.
“Yep,” Finny crows. “And I won.” She holds out her hand. “Pay up, sister.”
Star slaps her hand, and Finny pulls it back, grinning all the while.
“Give us some details,” Finny says. “How big was Ryan’s dick? Are you sore? Can he last forever? Do those tattoos go all over?”
“Big enough. Yes, I’m sore. He lasted just fine. And yes, the tattoos are all over.”
“Is his dick pierced?” Peck asks. “Sam’s is. Just curious.”
“No, he’s not pierced.”
“Was he fun?” Star sits forward, suddenly getting into it.
“Fun how?” I ask.
“Was he all, like, serious? Or was he funny?”
“He kind of…cried a little.” I wince. “After I did, and not as much as I did. But still.”
Finny flops back. “He cried? Seriously, I would have punched him in the balls.”
“Well, he didn’t sob, but he did get all teary-eyed one time.”
“Was he good to you?” Star asks quietly.
“Very. I don’t think it could have been any better.” I look down at my watch. “Oh, crap. I have to go and get ready. I’m meeting his mother.”
Finny frowns. “Why are you meeting his mother?”
I shrug. “It’s her birthday. There’s a party and he asked me to go with him.” I look at all their faces. “Why? What’s wrong with that?”
Finny’s brow furrows. “Didn’t you just start dating?”
“Yes.”
“And you just had sex last night?”
“Yes.”
“And you haven’t made any promises to one another. No secret elopement or anything.”
“No.”
“Then why the fuck are you meeting his mother already?”
“Because he invited me. I think it’s nice.”
“It’s creepy.”
“It’s not creepy.”
“It is. I think you should cancel and just go back to his place and bang his brains out instead.”
“I am not going to cancel.” I get up. “I want to meet his family. I already met his brother Mick.”
“What are you going to wear?” Star asks.
“It’s a cookout. Can you pick something out for me?” I put my hands together like I’m praying.
Star gets up and goes to my closet and I follow her.
“Shut the door, will you?” she asks.
I close the door. “What’s up?”
She sits down on the edge of my bed. “I’m really worried about Wren.”
“I know. I am too.”
“What do you think she’ll do?”
“Honestly, I think she’s undecided.”
“Okay.” She gets up and starts to rummage through my closet. “She didn’t tell me ahead of time. She made me wait until she told everyone else.”
Star and Wren have always been the closest of the five of us, since they’re the only ones who are natural-born sisters. “She’s probably still in shock. I’m surprised she told anyone.”
“I’m pregnant,” she says, as she holds a hand over her baby.
“I know.”
“I don’t like that she has to decide between abortion and having it.”
“I know. I think that’s probably why she told you all this way.”
“When I found out I was pregnant, it was the best day of my life.”
“That’s because you have a husband who supports you and will love that baby to pieces. She’s alone in this.”
“She’s not alone.”
“She is. Where it matters.”
“Okay,” Star says softly. She pulls a pair of jeans and a paisley shirt out of my closet. “Wear this. With your rhinestone sandals.” She points to the bathroom. “Go shower. I’ll fix your hair.”
I sigh and go to Star. I lay a hand on her belly and feel the firm bump beneath my palm. “Wren’s going to be okay,” I tell her.
“I know,” she says, covering my hand with hers. “I just worry.” She grabs my face and presses a sloppy kiss to my cheek with a loud smack. “Go shower. You smell like a man.”
I laugh and go do as she says.