“Yeah. That’s what I do, the back and forth with dudes. But I have a short attention span; I forget why I dropped them like the bag of dicks they are until I’m hooked again. I never learn. Like, ‘oh yeah, Tori, this guy smells his socks after he gets home from the gym—maybe that’s not sexy.’”
“He does that?”
“Yeah. He buys these expensive ass socks, claims that washing them too much can make them fall apart fast. So he does a smell check after his workouts to see if he needs to launder them. Sexy, right?” Tori chugged some water. “After the last time I saw him smother himself with his own socks, I was like, I can never kiss that man again.”
“And yet…”
“Exactly. Like I said, short attention span. I’m gonna have to nip that shit in the bud real fast.” She sat down in one of the chairs and gestured for me to sit in the other. I still wasn’t totally comfortable with her, but it would have been rude to ignore her and follow Violet and Keane out to the fire pit. So, as nonchalantly as possible, I lowered myself to the chair across from her.
“I’m sure you’ll find another guy to sink your teeth into soon enough.” As soon as I said it, I cringed, not intending it to sound that way. “I mean—”
But Tori laughed. “That’s a good analogy. They probably won’t admit it, but some guys like it when you use teeth.” She mimed a blowjob with one fist at the side of her face and her tongue pushing her cheek out on the opposite side. “But just a little bit, you know?”
I was certain that if my skin wasn’t so tan, I’d have blushed. I wasn’t a virgin, but I might have been a bit of a prude—at least in the sense that I didn’t talk about blowjobs with people I didn’t know too well. “Sure.”
“Seriously though,” Tori said, her eyes wide in all seriousness. “Just a little nibble. You can’t treat it like you’re smashed on the fourth of July and drunkenly pounding hot dogs left and right.”
I couldn’t help the laughter that bubbled up out of my throat at the image. “I don’t think I’ve ever drunkenly pounded hot dogs before.”
“Oh, damn. You are missing out. When you’re super drunk, a hot dog fresh off the grill is like…” Tori moaned. “God, it’s good. Hits the fucking spot. And since the gym bro I’m talking to right now can’t seem to find my spot even with a roadmap, drunken hot dogs are my fucking jam right now.” Tori rose from the table. “Speaking of getting smashed, I’ve brought some champagne. You game?”
I found myself nodding and watching her pop the bottle. Whatever guard I had up had fallen—talking to Tori was surprisingly easy when it was just her and me.
“We’ll have to drink up super-fast to appreciate drunken hot dogs.”
“Champagne and hot dogs,” I said, cheersing her glass with mine.
“Classy motherfuckers, the two of us.” We each sipped and I turned the bottle so I could read the label.
“I’ve never tried this brand.”
“It’s not from here. I went to a bridal shower in Washington a few weeks ago and they served this stuff to everyone and the next thing I knew, I was jumping off a waterfall.” Tori shrugged and drained her glass. “Figured there had to be some really potent shit in it.”
“You jumped off a waterfall at a bridal shower? That sounds like a bachelorette party.”
“Oh god, no.” Tori snorted and refilled our glasses. “The bachelorette party was on a boat. Not one naked dude around. We literally just got drunk on a boat all day and got horribly sunburned.” Tori pulled her t-shirt down her shoulder, revealing a deep tan line. “See?”
“At least it faded into a tan,” I said. “My younger sisters, they got the olive complexion from our mother, but they still burn badly when out in the sun for too long.”
“That sister?” Tori asked, hooking a thumb toward where we could see Keane and Violet building the fire.
“No, she’s like me. Tan only. My other sisters—they’re twins. Sixteen.”
“Oh, shit. Two sixteen-year-olds. I was a hellion when I was sixteen. I think my parents would’ve died if they’d had to deal with two of me.”
“My sisters are… well, they’re pretty typical sixteen-year-olds, I think.”
“You weren’t typical. You were a quiet sixteen-year-old.” Tori swirled the pale gold liquid around her glass. “I bet you were a piece of cake for your parents.”
“I’m sure I was,” I said. “They didn’t even have to raise me.”
Tori narrowed her eyes as she studied my face. “Oh, yeah. That’s right. Your aunt raised you, right?”
I nodded and looked down into my glass. “She’s out of town, so I’m taking care of the twins right now. Sort of.”
“Lucky you.”
I grimaced. I didn’t like gossiping about my sisters. Just because this was a tough period in their lives and mine didn’t make it right to throw them under the bus when they weren’t present, especially with someone I wasn’t particularly close to. “I love my sisters. I don’t mind looking after them. It’s not always easy—”
“Of course it’s not. You’re, what, twenty-three?” At my nod, she continued. “You’re twenty-three and trying to take care of two kids on the verge of adulthood. Shit, when I was their age, I was out knocking down mailboxes with a baseball bat like an idiot.”
I nodded. “I remember. Keane was driving. He got in big trouble.”
“Oh, yeah, he was.” Tori laughed. “Pretty sure his mom wanted to bury me in her backyard.”
“No way, Mrs. C would never. She’s basically an angel.”
“Yeah, you’re right. So that should tell you how pissed off she was at me.”
“Good point.” How had we nearly finished the entire bottle of champagne already? It went down smooth, like sparkling grape juice. This was definitely dangerous stuff. “Thanks for bringing champagne. I didn’t even think about bringing wine.”
“I just wish I’d brought more than two bottles,” Tori said. “We’re not gonna have any left to share with those two outside.” She popped the top off the second bottle.
“Oh,” I started, wondering for a moment if I should tell her about Violet. Realizing she was going to find out one way or another tonight, I just said, “Violet’s not drinking. She’s pregnant.”
“She is?” Tori flipped to look at her. “She doesn’t look pregnant.”
“She’s still pretty early. Ten weeks.”
“Ah.” Tori drank some and looked me over for a minute. “So she’s living here with Keane…”
I ran a finger over the wood grain pattern on the table. “Temporarily. Until we figure other arrangements out.”
“Okay. I’m not going to pry, because I can tell that that’s all you’re really willing to say. She seems to get along well with Keane. That’s good.”
“He’s good to let her stay here. I didn’t have a plan formulated when he offered it up. She’s known him since she was a kid.”