Chapter Twenty-Three
Ho, Ho, Ho…

"How do I look, Silena?" Mom asked, clipping a dangly snowflake earing in and smoothing a wrinkle in her way too tight striped dress.

Like Santa's prostitute. My mom had never been able to grasp that fine line between sexy and slutty. "Why don't you wear this?" I pulled a black dress out of her pile of discarded clothes. "It'll accent your complexion a lot better."

She shimmied out of the dress she'd been wearing before. I made a mental note to put it in our Goodwill box. She'd had it since she was my age. Some days she probably still thought she was my age. "Can you zip me up, hon?"

Like the dutiful daughter I was, I helped her while she sucked in her nonexistent stomach. "Liam's bringing his new girlfriend over. She's also a teacher. Dominik is still single – I'm starting to worry about him. And Violet…won't be coming this year."

Let me make this quick and painless.

Liam was born six months after my mom graduated high school. He's a tall sensitive ginger who enjoys teaching kindergartners their ABC's. I honestly thought he was gay until he was 18 and brought his first girlfriend home.

Dominik is in the middle of culinary school. When we were younger, people always asked us if he was adopted, because…well, apparently his dad was half Asian and half African. Honestly, I thought the mix made him drop-dead gorgeous. If he wasn't my brother, I'd go for him.

Violet? Well, let's not ruin today by going there.

"And how could I forget? We get to meet your new boyfriend?" Mom giggled, applying her mascara while looking at me. Yeah, that's right. She did this so much she didn't even need the aid of a mirror. "How long has it been now? Two weeks? Oh, that's exciting."

"I'd be more excited if Chad wasn't coming."

"Oh, don't pout. You'll give yourself premature worry lines," Mom said, doing as close as she ever did to scolding me. Chad was her latest boyfriend – only the thousandth guy she'd deemed the one. They'd been dating for two months. In the world of Misty Beauregard, that was forever. "Come on, hon. I'll do your hair."

Christmas had always been a holiday that my family skipped. I think it's because when we were little, Mom never had much money for gifts. So to compensate, she always tried to make New Year's Eve more special.

And now that we were older, the tradition had kind of stuck. And with a mom who now spoiled you all year round, you didn't mind missing one holiday.

So I was probably making my mom sound like a completely terrible person. Trust me, she had her moments, but she was far from terrible. I was just nervous about Luke meeting her.

Previous boyfriends had had reactions ranging from intimidation to being totally turned on. It made me want to shout out that she'd had a boob job and had celebrated her 40th birthday by getting a shot of Botox right between the eyes.

So what if I was an attention whore? She was the one who'd passed the trait on to me.

"There you go, babe. You look amazing." I'd always wondered why my mom hadn't just become a beautician, and instead struggled to work her way to the top in the news casting business. But now she was the best anchor for the county's most popular station. I think the implants helped.

Mom raked her fingers through the soft curls she'd added to my hair and sighed. "Oh, to be young and in love again," she sighed.

"I'm not in love," I snapped at her.

She raised an eyebrow and reached for a can of hairspray. "You haven't been able to stop talking about him since you started dating. Have I given you the talk lately?"

"Don't have sex. If you do, condoms are in top drawer of the dresser," I recited.

"You know, I think the problem with parents nowadays is they try to tell their kids that sex is some terrible forbidden thing." She let loose half the can of hairspray. "And then it just makes them want to try it more. If everyone was as open as I was with you and your brothers, things would probably be a lot better." I noticed she intentionally left out Violet.

Thank God I had two older brothers to actually explain things to me.

"When I was your age, I remember-"

Thank God the doorbell rang right at that moment. "I'll get it." I hopped out of the bathroom, straightening my new sweater dress as I ran to the door.

"Hey, little sis. What's up?" Dominik stepped in, shrugging off his coat. I'd forgotten that he was coming earlier to make our New Year's meal.

"You saved me from having to listen to one of Mom's sexploits. Did you know Violet's not coming?"

He shrugged uncomfortably. "Yeah, I guess so."

The awkward silence that always came whenever someone mentioned our sister was right on cue. Finally, he said, "I went to see her on Christmas."

"How was she?"

"I don't know. Normal?"

It was time for a subject change. "Mom's concerned that you're still single."

"Oh, just wait till she meets Kassidy. She's like, identical to Mom." Dominik rolled his eyes. Liam was the definition of a mama's boy. "Only, you have to imagine mom as a 4th grade teacher. Come on, I gotta start cooking. You can help."

I couldn't crack an egg without screwing up, and Dominik knew that. So while he went to town taking over our kitchen, I took a seat on the countertop and crossed my legs daintily.

"So tell me about the new boyfriend." He cut a tray of vegetables with superhuman speed and threw them in a frying pan.

"His name is Luke. He's a junior." Dominik nodded, placing pieces of chicken in with the veggies. "Dom, you can keep a secret right?"

"I still haven't told Mom about the time you changed the F to an A on your 2nd grade spelling test," he said.

I bit my lip. "Luke broke up with his last girlfriend because she got pregnant…with his baby," I added before he could ask for clarification. "And she got an abortion. They broke up…and we started dating a few days later."

Dominik turned the heat to low and sighed. He walked across the kitchen so we were eye to eye. "Sil, remember the three rules of dating that me and Liam taught you?"

"Yeah."

"What are they?"

"No sex on the first date. No one old enough to be your parent. And never be the rebound," I recited dutifully, before leaping to defend myself. "But, it's different. This is probably the only chance I'm ever going to get, and-"

"Rebounds never work."

"Brad and Angelina?"

"A rare exception to never. You know we tell this stuff because we don't want you to get hurt. Right, Silena? And a guy who got a girl pregnant-"

"Don't tell Mom," I interrupted.

"I won't. But it doesn't earn him brownie points."

Dominik spent the rest of the time telling me about how he was almost done with school, and how he planned on living a few hours away so I could come see him when Mom got to be too much to handle. "There's this really fancy restaurant…Prancie's, or something….and they've basically all but said they'll hire me as soon as I'm done with my classes."

"That's cool." I checked my hair for split ends. Mom had put in way too much spray, and it felt too stiff.

"You're distracted. What's wrong?"

"I'm nervous."

Dominik let out a deep sigh I had a feeling he'd been holding. "Keep it PG-13 around Mom. Tell him you have your period if he starts getting too pushy. And if-"

The doorbell rang at the most convenient time. "I'll get it."

My gorgeous boyfriend was at the door, looking stunning in the button-down I'd stolen from Liam's closet. It wasn't like he even remembered the boxes of stuff he'd left here when he moved out. "You clean up nice," I told him.

"And you look amazing." He put his hands on the small of my back and pulled me in for a kiss.

Things were going great, until Luke got his first glimpse of my mom. He had the typical I'm trying to pretend I'm not staring, but oh my God your mom is hot reaction. She'd changed out of the black dress into some red monstrosity that showed off way more cleavage than necessary.

"Mom, Dominik – this is Luke."

"Call me Misty," Mom gushed. I could tell she approved by the way her eyes lit up when she saw us. "Mrs. Beauregard makes me feel old. And, well, I'm not even married." She giggled. I could tell Luke was trying really hard to keep his gaze above her chest. I had to remember to tell him they weren't real later.

The doorbell rang, and Mom and Dominik left to get it. Luke slid his hand out of mine and reached into his pocket for his phone.

"Put that away," I said immediately. I wanted his focus on me.

"My brother is proposing to his girlfriend tonight. He needs moral support," he told me while typing.

"Really? That's romantic. I didn't you had a brother."

He knew that was his cue to fill me in. The boy was a fast learner. "I have three. Blake's girlfriend is pregnant…..six months, I think. And he feels like he has to do it."

"Would you feel like you had to marry a girl you got pregnant?" Dominik reentered the room. Ouch. I guess I shouldn't have said anything to him.

Luke looked him right in the eye. "I'm never going to be in that situation." Again. Mentally, he was definitely adding that part, I told myself.

Dom held his hands up in surrender. "Okay, just thought I would ask."

"He hates me," Luke whispered.

"He's protective," I assured him, pleased that he was worried what my brother thought of him.

"Time to eat, lovebirds," Dominik called over his shoulder, heading for the dining room.

Dom had been right. Kassidy was mom's twin. She was thin, blonde, and kind of an airhead. I wonder what her 4th grade students thought of her. You could tell the way Liam really liked her from the way he hung on every word she said, and the way he would occasionally touch her wrist lightly and give her the look.

I was probably going to have a sister-in-law before Easter.

When we bowed our heads to say grace (something we wouldn't have done if it wasn't for Chad), I saw Luke pull out his phone and check the latest update from his brother.

"Is he really that stressed about it?" I whispered

Luke pulled up his brother's last message and handed me the phone. I don't think I can do this….you're only 16….you don't understand what it's like to be stuck with someone…..

She's pregnant. She needs you. Just do it and you'll feel better. I typed the message out for him, then handed the phone back. He nodded slightly and hit send.

"So Silena says you're a junior," Dominik said. I hoped he wouldn't bring up what else I'd said.

"Yeah."

"Play any sports?" Liam asked.

"Track until I hurt my ankle," he lied. Both of my brothers had been gone long enough that they'd missed the smoking and drinking scandal that had gotten him kicked off the team last year. And Mom was too busy finding or keeping whatever guy she liked at the moment to pay attention to school news besides what I told her.

"Do you have any siblings?" Mom asked. Poor Luke probably felt like he was being interrogated.

"Three brothers. I'm the youngest."

"Oh, that's so cute!" Kassidy giggled. "Silena's the youngest in her family too." I waited for Liam to correct her. He didn't.

Luke's hand was in my lap. He dropped his phone for me, then proceeded to eat whatever concoction Dom had made. I didn't know what it was, but it sure tasted good.

SHE SAID YES! Attached with the text was a picture that had obviously been taken by one of them, since the camera was only a few feet away. The girl had pretty dark hair and was holding up her hand so the ring was clearly visible. And the guy looked enough like Luke that you could tell they were siblings – they had the same hair and eyes, but Luke's features were a lot more refined.

"Congrats," I whispered, squeezing his knee. He wrapped his fingers around mine and gave me his version of the look. It made my heartbeat soar. I knew Dom was giving me the death stare without even looking.

Luke was on his phone on and off for the rest of the dinner. I decided to let him get away with it – he was doing really well with keeping his eyes off my mom, who was flirting shamelessly with Chad.

Chad was at least ten years younger than Mom. He had just divorced his third wife. Maybe someone should have told Mom about the rebound rule.

Watching the ball drop was a tradition – no matter how boring it was. What made it more interesting was knowing that my first kiss of the year was going to come from my amazing boyfriend, and afterwards we could head up to my bedroom for privacy.

"Happy New Year," I whispered playfully before kissing him. "Come on, my room now."

"Be good," Mom said, somewhat distracted by Chad, who was nibbling on her ear. Gross.

Out of all the guys I'd dated, Luke was one of the few who actually got to see my room. I was worried about what he'd think of the pale pink walls and Marilyn Monroe posters I'd had since I was in middle school, but he seemed more concerned with…other things.

I shut the door and locked it. Luke gave me a cocky half grin from where he was sitting on the bed, like he could think of an amazing way to ring in the New Year. I'll give you three guesses.

He probably didn't even realize I was a virgin.

I sat on his lap and wrapped my legs around him. Wearing a dress made the whole thing seem much more…sordid. I loved it. Or maybe the one glass of champagne Mom had let me have was getting to me.

Luke knotted his hands in my hair and pressed his mouth against mine hungrily. "God, you're amazing," he moaned. Inside, I was beaming.

It wasn't long before his hands started wandering. Okay, Silena. This is okay. I was starting to worry about telling him no when he pushed further. But, the sensible part of my brain was starting to turn off. Everything just felt so…right.

Of course, the moment had to be ruined. His phone vibrated against my leg. "Ignore it," he whispered, tugging on my lip. "It's just my brother."

I probably would have been able to let it go, until he added the last part. It sounded…guilty. I reached into his pocket and looked at the screen.

Thalia.

I narrowed my eyes and stood up. My dress had hiked itself above my waist. Thank God I'd decided to wear leggings. "What. The. Hell?" My voice quickly rose to a shriek. "Have you been talking to your brother this whole time, or her?"

"Both…but, Silena, I swear it's nothing. She just accidentally sent me a text about that new kid who's missing…and we kind of started talking…and I'm sorry. I won't talk to her anymore," he stammered.

"Yeah, you won't." I handed him his phone back. I was trying to blink back tears. Okay, maybe I was overreacting. But I'd been nearly ready to have sex with him.

He tugged on my hand, an apologetic look on his face. "Silena, you know I'm sorry."

"Yeah. Whatever. You can go home now."

He sighed and stood up. Right before he walked out the door, he pressed something into my hand. I guess I was too emotionally drained to look, or throw it back, or anything but stand there.

Once I heard the door click downstairs, I looked at the small little object in my hand.

It was his class ring, gold with a citrine stone – probably his birthstone.

My phone vibrated on my dresser.

I'm sorry. Love you.

Oh, he was definitely forgiven. But he didn't need to know that…yet.