Megan Hart - Tempted

“I don’t know when he’s coming.”

“What’s his name? Alex?” This came from Claire, who held the door open for Mary and me.

“Yeah.” The waitress seated us in a comfortable booth near the back and handed us menus none of us needed. We’d been coming here forever. “Alex Kennedy.”

“And he didn’t come to your wedding?” Mary shook sugar into her iced tea and squeezed the lemon wedge. She passed me a few packets without my having to ask.

“No, he was overseas. But his company got bought out, and he’s coming back to the States. I don’t know that much about it.”

“What are you going to do with him while James is working?” This practical question astoundingly came from Claire, sipping water through a straw.

“He is an adult, Claire. I’m assuming he can find something to do.”

Mary snorted. “Yeah, but he’s a guy.”

“Good point,” Claire said. “You’d better lay in supplies of nachos and spare socks.”

I rolled my eyes at both of them. “He’s James’s friend, not mine. I’m not going to be doing his laundry.”

Claire made a derisive noise. “We’ll see.”

“Oh, listen to you,” Mary said. “When’s the last time you ever did anyone’s laundry, including your own?”

“You’re insane,” replied Claire, unconcerned. “Of course I do my own laundry at school.”

Mary frowned. “You should do it at home, too.”

“Why? It gives Mom such pleasure,” said Claire, and I was pretty sure she was being serious.

“I’m not worried about the laundry,” I told both of them. “Or about entertaining him. I’m sure he’ll be able to entertain himself just fine.”

“Ha. He’s been in Hong Kong, right?” Claire put her hands together and pasted on a silly grin. “He’ll expect a geisha, you watch.”

“Geishas are Japanese, you idiot.” Mary shook her head.

“What. Evs.” Claire blew upward, puffing her bangs out of her eyes.

Listening to them declare disaster actually made me feel better about Alex’s visit. “Singapore. And it will be fine, you guys.”

“No walking around in your panties,” said Claire with a doleful sigh, like that was the worst thing of all. “How will you stand it?”

“As if I do that anyway?”

“Dude,” my youngest sister declared, “that shit’s the best part of living on your own.”

We all laughed. Mary’s phone beeped again, and she dug it out. She read the message, tapped the keys and tucked it away again.

“Hey, hot stuff, you act like you’re married to that thing. You holding out on us or what?” Claire craned her neck to catch a glimpse of Mary’s phone.

“It’s just Betts.” Mary shrugged and drank tea.

Claire leaned forward. “Are you and Betts a couple?”

Mary’s mouth dropped open. So did mine. Claire looked unconcerned. “Well? She keeps texting you like she can’t bear to be parted from you. And we all know you’re not that into dudes.”

“What?” Mary, who generally gave Claire as good as she got, seemed unable to speak.

I was finding it hard to speak, myself. “Claire, good lord.”

Claire shrugged. “It’s a legitimate question.”

“What ever gave you the idea I don’t like guys?” Mary blinked rapidly, her cheeks staining bright red.

“Umm … the fact you’ve never had sex with one?”

“That doesn’t mean anything,” I told Claire.

“No,” said Mary, “it doesn’t, especially since, hello! I so have!”

Claire and I both did a double take. One of the delightful things about having sisters is the Three Stooges-esque quality of so many of our conversations.

“Get out! What? When? Who?” Claire squealed.

Mary looked around the diner before she answered. “I did it, okay? I lost my virginity. What’s the big deal? You all did it, too.”

“Yeah, but none of us waited until we were shriveled up old maids,” Claire said.

“I’m not an old maid, Claire.” Mary’s face still gleamed from blushing. “And not all of us are rampant sluts.”

Claire frowned. “Hey.”

“You didn’t tell me you had a boyfriend,” I said to defuse them.

Both turned to look at me with almost identical expressions of disdain.

“I don’t,” said Mary while at the same time Claire chimed in, “Who says she’s got to have a boyfriend?”

“I just thought … never mind.”

Mary shook her head as the waitress brought us our platters, but waited until we were alone again before speaking. “It was just some guy.”

“Some random guy?” I wouldn’t have expected that from Mary, who used to dress up as a nun … and not for Halloween. “You lost your virginity to some stranger?”

Mary blushed again. Claire hooted, reaching for the ketchup. “Rock it, sister. Way to go.”

“I figured it was time,” Mary said. “So I went out and I found someone.”

“Weren’t you worried about … disease?” I shuddered a little. “Or … anything?”

“She made him wear a condom.” Claire waved a fry. “Bet you ten bucks.”

“Of course I made him wear a condom,” Mary muttered. “I’m not an idiot.”

“Well, I’m just surprised, that’s all.” I didn’t mean to sound disapproving. I wasn’t, not really. Losing her virginity to a stranger was probably no worse than my giving it up to the high school boy I mistakenly thought loved me. At least Mary had gone into it without romantic expectations.

“Spill it. Was it good?”

Mary shrugged, looking down. Her phone begged for attention again, but she ignored it. “Sure. Yeah.”

“You’re not convincing me.” Claire nudged her.

Mary laughed. “Yeah. It was good. He was pretty hot. And I guess … he was good.”

“What, you guess? You don’t know? If you don’t know for sure, Mare, it can’t have been that good.”

“Why are we getting sex advice from you, I want to know.” I pressed down the top bun of my overstuffed burger, and juice puddled on the plate. I was going to eat the whole thing, I just knew it, even if I’d regret it the next time I got on the scale.

Claire shrugged and dug into her coleslaw. “Because I’ve had the most sex. Duh.”

“Duh.” Mary laughed. “I wouldn’t brag about that, if I were you.”

“I’m not bragging, just being honest. Geez. What I want to know is, how come you all have such a puritanical attitude toward fucking and I don’t. How’d that happen?”

I laughed. “I don’t have a puritanical attitude toward fucking, Claire.”

She gave me a look. “Oh, really? What’s the kinkiest thing you ever did?”

Silence.

“I thought so.”

A triumphant, smug younger sister is quite annoying. I threw a fry at her. She ate it with aplomb and licked her fingers.

“It’s not about the kink,” Mary said. “Gosh, just because we haven’t let anyone tie us up or spank us doesn’t make us prudes.”

Claire laughed, tipping back her head. “Oh, please. These days, spanking’s almost vanilla.”

“What’s the freakiest thing you’ve ever done, then?” I asked calmly, turning the tables.

Claire shrugged. “Cutting.”

Mary and I both recoiled. “Claire, gross!”

She laughed. “Gotcha.”

“Gross,” Mary repeated, looking sickened. “People do that?”

“People do everything,” Claire said matter of factly.

“I’d never let anyone cut me,” said Mary.

Claire pointed with a fry. “You never know what you’ll do for the right person, Mare. Never say never.”

Mary scoffed. “I can’t imagine there could possibly be a right person who’d get me to agree to cutting.”

“Maybe not cutting, but sure as hell it would be something,” Claire said. “Love is some messed up shit.”