An hour had elapsed. I didn’t realize that I was sweating so much that the white shirt I was wearing had become somewhat see through. My hair was matted and I really did look like I’d just finished with a marathon sex session.
I unbuttoned the first couple of buttons to see the swell of my bosom. My nipples were hard enough to cut through glass. I turned abruptly and I saw that box mocking me on top of his bed. I was about to put it back where I found it, but my curiosity got the best of me.
There was a lock on it, but he had mistakenly left it open. He was a little forgetful. Most times he would always have to go back out after supper to lock his car. This worked out in my favor and I turned the lock and pulled it off. I left it beside the box on the bed. I couldn’t breathe and I kept looking toward the door to make sure that nobody was going to interrupt this.
I tiptoed over to the door, opening it a crack to see that the coast was clear. I went to the window and it was overlooking the driveway. I could easily see the bright headlights upon his return. The worst thing would be to get caught invading his personal space.
I had my hands on that box and I wanted to open it, but I was thinking maybe it wasn’t such a good idea. I could be asking for trouble and maybe it would be best not to know some of his dirty little secrets. I picked it up and it was like the Holy Grail, but I just couldn’t bring myself to open it. I placed it exactly in the same spot in the back of his closet. He would know from looking at his closet and how organized it was that somebody had been in there. He would know that it was me, but the box would stay his secret.
“I can’t believe that you did this.” The female voice was familiar and I knew Allison had returned home from some Gala or function concerning one of her many charities. “Your father told me what you had to do to make up for taking my son’s jeep for a joy ride. I didn’t think that it was a good idea, but now I’m beginning to see that you might be good for him. I might have to consider paying you to do this all the time.” She was standing there in this black chiffon dress with a plunging back and a very high hemline. I had to admit that she had gorgeous legs and the kind of body that would probably make my father or any man happy for hours on end.
“I’m doing this under protest. I don’t think the punishment fits the crime. If anything, I would assume that washing his car or detailing it from top to bottom would be good enough. I think we both know that Anthony is not exactly a clean freak. He throws things anywhere. He thinks he can find them later. I have to assume that there’s a method to this chaos, but I don’t see it.” This was the first real conversation that I had with my stepmother.
“I have to say that I’m impressed.” I could hear her slurred words. It most likely came from an abundance of champagne that was flowing. “Don’t be too much longer. His curfew will be done in the next 2 hours. I’m going to bed. I believe that I’m going to grab your father.” She didn’t come out and say the word sex, but I had a feeling that a game of mattress tag was in my father’s future. She was flushed and it was obvious from the way that she was swaying that she was in an inebriated state of euphoria.
“I really don’t need to know these things. I don’t know why you can’t seem to keep it in your pants.” I knew that it was a stupid thing to say. It most likely came from my own sexual frustration. The boys in my school were horn dogs. I really didn’t feel that there was anything there to pursue other than physical pleasure. I wanted something more than that, but there were times when I was this close to letting some pubescent boy take advantage of me.
“You are 18 years old and you should know by now about the birds and bees. You see, Jessica when a mommy and daddy loves each other very much they express it in a certain way. When you have a boyfriend you’ll need to know these things.” It was a condescending tone and one that made me look at her like she was crazy. “Maybe you don’t know this, but I don’t think that it’s my place to tell you where all the parts go. Perhaps, you should use the Internet and find out what you need to know.” If looks could kill, she would be writhing on the floor gasping for breath. At that moment, if she was drowning, I would probably offer her a drink of water.
“I don’t know why you constantly get on my case, Allison.” I didn’t give her the courtesy or the satisfaction of calling her anything other than her first name. She was definitely not my mother, no matter how much she tried to force herself into that role. She thought when she said jump that I should ask how high.
“You just bring it out in me, little girl. Now, if you’ll excuse me, your father is waiting for me naked in our bedroom.” It made me cringe to think that my father even had sex. “I suggest that you put on some noise canceling headphones, because TODAAAY…it’s going to get loud.” She knew as well as I did that the wing of the estate that they were in was practically sound proof. She was just needling me for the sake of trying to get underneath my skin.
“You’re disgusting, but you are good for my father. I know that you love him and that’s pretty obvious from the way that you look at him. I’m sure that you never imagined that you were going to have a stepdaughter. All we can do is try to coexist and get along for his sake. We don’t have to like each other, but we can learn to live with each other. It’s been a year. I’m doing what I can to stay out of your way and I suggest that you do the same thing for me. If we continue to go at it like this, eventually one of us is going to get hurt and it’s not gonna be me.” She shook her hand at me like she was scared and she whistled a happy tune going down the hallway with her purse swinging back and forth.
I was not much for social interactions and my best friend Helena was exactly the same way. I could make friends and I could fake it with the best of them, but I didn’t have to put on airs when I was around Helena.
I picked up his dirty underwear and I could smell his manly musk. I was tempted to move it closer to my nose, but that would have been taking things a little bit too far. I tossed them into laundry basket along with other pieces of clothing that probably could’ve stood up on their own.
I found a pile of clean clothes and I put them back where they were supposed to be. I couldn’t understand how anybody could live like this. I did find a couple of pieces of old discarded pizza underneath the bed and the dresser. It was a wonder they didn’t attract small wildlife or ants. This would’ve been a great breeding ground for cockroaches. The very idea of anything creepy and crawly made me tremble and not in a good way.
I found his collection of memorabilia from Michael Jackson. It made me smile to think that he was actually into the most charismatic man that had put on a white glove. His death hit me hard and I could tell that we had at least one thing in common. I looked around and found an honest to goodness record player. I slipped the LP of thriller out of its jacket and put it on. I could hear his voice ring out like he was still alive.
I continued cleaning, but there were times I stopped to immerse myself into the words of Beat It and Billie Jean. I caught myself in the world of a lost legend that had left us all too soon.
I finally noticed that it was 11:15PM and he was already 15 minutes past his curfew. It didn’t matter. He could do practically anything he wanted. He could walk on water in the eyes of his mother and my stepmother Allison. My father wanted desperately to forge of relationship with Anthony, but it was still a work in progress. I had this funny feeling that he wanted the son that he never had. He might’ve been trying a little bit too hard and maybe backing off and letting Anthony come to him would be more his speed.
I saw an old sweater with his school mascot on the front. I had no idea where to put it, so I had to search the dresser. I opened one and I gasped at seeing a pile of panties. At first, I thought that he was a kinky little pervert that liked to wear women’s clothing. Then it dawned on me that these were trophies from past conquests. I couldn’t believe that he had the gall to keep their underwear, as some personal souvenir. It was most likely his way of looking at each individual one and putting a name to who wore them.
I couldn’t even bear to touch any one of them and I closed it gently and walked back out into the hallway. I was going into my room, when I heard laughter. I closed my door, but not far enough that I couldn’t see through a crack. This blond with the kind of rack that looked fake was all over him. She was pulling at the button to his pants. I knew that his night had just gotten a whole lot better.
Chapter three
I heard them stumbling around. “Come on, Serena. You and I both know that this is what you wanted. This is what all you girls want from me and how am I supposed to refuse.” Amazingly, the walls were paper thin. The one place that made it easy to hear everything was lying on my floor right by the ventilation system to the air conditioning. “I know that you’ve been asking around about me. There’s no reason to deny it. I’m a little flattered that you would go to all this trouble to get me into bed.”
“I’m a little embarrassed, but I’m also too fucking horny to lie about anything. I know what you’re packing and the girls talk. I need to see it.” I heard the desperation in her voice. It kind of reminded me of myself. “Just let me look at it and maybe touch it a little. I don’t know if I want anything more than that, but I’m sure that you can convince me otherwise. I know that you’re excited and the bulge in your pants tells me everything that I need to know and more. I’m just not sure how it’s possible that you could possess something like that. It has to be an allusion, but the proof is in the stories that I have been told over and over again.”