Once Upon A Half-Time 2(44)

I looked down. I’d already scratched my arm raw.

Well fuck.

I hid my rash. Lindsey grabbed Mandy’s ankle and twisted. Mandy latched onto her sister, and they both went down in a thump.

“Is this…” Lindsey screeched and yanked Mandy’s leg. “Did you get poison ivy?”

Mandy’s eyes darted to me. Oh, she wasn’t happy. This would probably be my fault.

The detour into the woods on the way back to the cabin seemed a good and necessary idea at the time. The tree had felt softer than most, covered in the spanning ivy. And Mandy had the time of her life, legs wrapped around my waist as we fucked against the tree in the greatest quickie I ever had.

Christ, that’s what I got for trying to be romantic.

Poisoned.

“For the love of God, are you that outdoor-phobic?” Lindsey snapped her fingers at Carmen. “Get the first-aid kit.”

“I’m fine.” Mandy kept scratching, yelping as she found another spreading rash on her shoulders.

Lindsey peeked in Mandy’s shirt to check over her back. “Holy shit, did you roll around in it?”

No…but she was pushed into it. Repeatedly. For a couple of minutes.

Maybe this was why guys never stuck around after getting what they wanted. The longer I stayed, the more likely I was to toss Mandy into poisonous shrubs.

Still, if a little poison ivy was the worst thing to come from sex with her, I’d take it.

“Stay away from me!” Lindsey shrieked. “And stop scratching!”

“Sorry.” Mandy sat on her hands so she wouldn’t scratch. “Oh, it’s itchy. Really, really itchy.”

Carmen returned with the first-aid kit, but she handed an empty tube of calamine lotion to Lindsey with a shrug.

“I think we used this instead of the antibiotic on your scrapes last night,” she said.

Mandy groaned. She rushed to the entryway of the living room and wiggled against the wooden frame. I shouldn’t have laughed. That wouldn’t get me laid again anytime soon, vengeful plants or not.

“Fine. We’ll take five while we find something to slather on my sister.” Lindsey shook her head. “I can’t believe you’d do this when you know how much practice you need for this dance.”

Mandy snapped at her, getting crankier by the minute. “Oh, I’m sorry. Next time I infect myself with poison, I’ll burn the rash off so I don’t scratch in the middle of Hotline Bling!”

“If I see one scar on your shoulders in the strapless dress, so help me God.” Lindsey pushed her sister towards the bathroom. She grabbed a towel on the way up. “Don’t think I won’t roll your ass in mud or oatmeal. Maybe both, just because you’re always such a pain.”

Mandy stormed up the stairs. “Butt-head.”

Lindsey fumed. “Lint-licker!”

The bathroom door slammed shut. The bridesmaids surrounded me. It wasn’t good to limp around a pack of these lionesses.

Carmen winked. “There’s something in this kit for everyone, huh, Nate?”

She waved a condom at me. Fucking fantastic.

The thought struck me like another slap with the poison ivy.

A condom.

I hadn’t used a condom last night? I’d completely forgot. Then again, Mandy didn’t say anything. She was probably on the pill.

Shit. I’d have to ask her.

Except Mandy was so goddamned responsible, she’d even packed a second first-aid kit in her own toiletries. No way she’d forget something as important as birth control.

The girls clustered around me. They abandoned the Bloody Marys for margaritas and drunkenly giggled. A game of rock-paper-scissors passed between the five of them. Carmen came out victorious.

The condom returned to her possession.

“Looks like I’m the lucky one.” She tucked it into the back pocket of my jeans. Her hand stayed a little too long. “How about we make the most of this weekend?”

Oh Christ. “You should sober up. We made a lot of mistakes when we were drunk before.”

She slurped the rest of her drink. The salt from her glass stuck to her chin. “Oh, I don’t think it was a mistake.”

“Me either,” Amy said.

Red head winked. “Me either.”

Peaches giggled. “Me three. No, me four!” Her laugh rang over the house as Caitlyn purred at me. “Nate, you’ve practically slept with the whole bridal party!”

Carmen snorted. “Of course he did. He told Rick and Bryce he’d finish us all off before the reception. Good luck with Mandy though. I heard she hates you.”

I wished she hadn’t said that so loud.

Mandy hadn’t hated me yesterday.

But she did now.

She stood in the doorway, arms crossed. Intimidation wasn’t her strong-suit, especially as she squirmed against the itchiness. But she didn’t have to threaten me.