House of the Baker's
As soon as Lydia had left, I ran up to the bathroom, tore off my clothes and turned on the cold shower. I let the water stream shower down on me until my body felt numb. That had been damn close! It wouldn't have taken much that I had gotten an erection in front of her. What would she have thought of me then? Groaning softly, I let myself sink against the shower wall and closed my eyes. That couldn't be happening! Why had I fallen in love with my brother's girlfriend? There were so many girls I just had to call to get what my body wanted. But right now I just wanted her. How she had looked at me, with those big brown, innocent eyes. And then this outfit that couldn't have been more tight-fitting. Of course I had seen her in a short skirt before. The costumes of the cheerleading team were also pretty sexy. But I was distracted with basketball games then and we were in a public hall and not in my room. I turned off the shower and grabbed a towel. As I rubbed my body with the towel, I imagined what it would be like to slowly undress her and then stroke with my hands over her soft, feminine curves... I stopped the thought, threw the towel aside, and entered the shower again. When the cold stream hit me again, I moaned softly. What was wrong with me? Lydia Scott was an absolute taboo! She wasn't even 17 and my brother's girlfriend. I was well aware of my reputation as a 'bad boy', but I would never go as far as to seduce my brother's girlfriend or take her virginity. That's probably why I deliberately chose only girls who already had experience. I resolutely turned off the water and left the shower stall. It was time to get a clear head again and that meant I had to put Lydia out of my mind. But as soon as I entered my room, I was reminded of her again. In the corner where she had stood to escape from me was her purse. I knew it was bad behavior to snoop around in the purses of strangers, but I was just too curious. But no sooner had I opened the bag and had poured the content onto my bed when I wished I had never seen what was inside. With trembling fingers, I picked up a condom and looked at it. Had I been wrong about Lydia? Wasn't she as innocent as I thought? But suddenly another thought crossed my mind. Had she been here to sleep with Jude? I knew that my brother was also a 'virgin' and wanted to save up for the girl he once wanted to marry. A completely antiquated attitude in my opinion. But maybe he had changed his mind and the two had made an appointment here to finally do 'it'. The thought of how my brother and Lydia had sex made my stomach clench. I stuffed the condoms back into the purse and grabbed her cell phone. Probably she would miss it already, I thought. I hesitated only a moment before putting everything back in the purse, getting up, and going down the stairs. My hands shook slightly as I got in my car and started the engine. Luckily, Jude was still not there. Would have been awkward to explain to him what his girlfriend's purse was doing in my car. I drove straight to the Scott's house and knocked on the door. It was Lydia's mother, who opened it and then glared at me suspiciously.
"Davis?"
"Hi, Mrs. Scott." I cleared my throat, feeling a lump in my throat. Clearly she was surprised to see me here and not Jude. But I couldn't help it now. Lydia needed her phone back. "Is... is Lydia there?" I stammered. She looked at me as if I were an alien from another world. And that's exactly how I felt at that moment.
"Yes, she is upstairs. Do you want to come in?"
Her smile was forced and her friendly invitation to enter her home was feigned. It seemed that she knew about my reputation. I shook my head mechanically and held out Lydia's purse to her. "Here! Could you give this to Lydia, please?" I said hastily. "She forgot her purse at our house." As Haley Scott hesitantly reached for the purse, I reflexively held my breath. What if she looked inside and found the condoms? Then she would find out what her daughter and my brother had planned. But now it was too late to take the purse back. What a stupid mistake!
"Thank you. I'll give it to her."
I was about to turn away when I noticed a movement at the stairway. It was Lydia who came down the stairs slowly and then stood next to her mom. She had changed her clothes, now she wore a simple T-shirt and jeans, I noticed. She also had removed the make-up and had tied her hair up in a ponytail. My heart skipped a beat as she looked at me with her big, brown eyes. "Okay, it's time for me to leave," I said and was about to turn away when she called me back.
"Davis?"
I turned to her and swallowed hard. It wasn't easy to withstand her mother's scrutiny, and I sensed that my appearance here wouldn't be without consequences for Lydia. But I also wanted to know what she had to say to me.
"Thank you!"
I forced a smile and nodded to her again, before I finally left. I had almost reached my car when my cell phone rang. I didn't know why I thought it was Lydia, because she probably didn't even have my number. In fact, it was my little sister Isabella, though 'little' was not really true anymore. She was already 15, just two and a half years younger than me. I answered the call.
"Hey, Bro! Can you pick me up from Sawyer? Mom wants to stay a little bit longer. And I don't want to call a taxi or walk."
"Okay. I'll be there soon." I put the phone away and started the engine. It took me only a few minutes before I reached the other Scott's house. As the third member of the friendship clique, my sister was just the person I needed to find out more about Lydia and Jude. I knew the girls didn't do only homework but also exchanged the latest gossip. Therefore, my little sister was a living 'gossip source'.
"Thanks Bro!"
"Whereto?" I asked.
"Home. I promised Mom that I'd finish two designs," she said.
I rolled my eyes. "First school, then homework and now designing costumes. What about a time out?"
"Free time is overrated," she said, pressing the button on the CD player. "Mom always says 'nothing comes from nothing'. She established 'Clothes Over Bros' back in high school. She was as old as you to that time."
"Yes, I know," I said with a sigh. "I'm really sorry that I'm the only one in the family who doesn't know what he wants to do after school."
"You could become a professional basketball player, like Jamie Scott," she suggested.
I wrinkled my nose. "No, thank you. I'm not interested, although I think you could make a good living with it." I wondered how I could get to the subject of 'Lydia and Jude'. "You and Lydia Scott are really close friends," I began hesitantly. "What I mean is that you girls tell each other everything, right?"
"Most things, not all," she admitted with a frown. "Why?"
I took a deep breath. "Is she still a virgin?" I had barely finished the sentence when I realized how stupid the question had been. Izzy looked at me shocked as if I had just asked her if she was a virgin. "Okay, forget it," I said hastily, trying to concentrate on the road again, but Izzy's scrutinizing look made it almost impossible for me.
"Does Jude know that you have a crush on his girlfriend?" She blurted out.
My hands tightened around the steering wheel. "Are you crazy?" I snapped. "What gave you that idea?"
"Denial is futile," she said with a grin. "I have eyes in my head. How you look at her each time when we have cheerleading training. Actually, the others have already noticed that, too. "
"Who do you mean?" I asked in a hoarse voice.
"Some girls from 10th grade. Kim, for example, thought you were sweet, but she said she wouldn't stand a chance anyway because you had a crush on Lydia Scott," Izzy babbled on.
I looked at her shocked. I just had realized that I had feelings for Lydia. How was it possible that the others knew about it before me?
"Don't worry, I won't tell anyone," she said, rolling her eyes. "Jude, however, won't be happy when he finds out that you have something going on with his girlfriend."
"I don't have something going on with Lydia!" I said to my defense. We had reached our house and I parked my car in front of the door.
"Thanks for picking me up and bringing me home, Bro!" Izzy jumped out of the car and then turned to me again. "And for your information... Lydia is indeed still a virgin," she said before running into the house, leaving me alone with my puzzled thoughts.
