Packing to begin life in a new place created some unexpected conundrums. For instance, was it better to pack a selection of favourite books or a hairdryer? Her best formal dress or a couple of extra woolly sweaters? Would the Paramore poster get her laughed out of the dorms, or was it now nostalgic? Was it creepy to pack the stained pair of panties Mindy had left in her room? Probably, but Cassie did it anyway.
While Cassie was making these decisions, Charlotte walked into her bedroom. She was wearing a tight-fitting black shirt and skirt. Cassie thought she had been dressing a lot sexier since they had begun sleeping together, putting on outfits she had personally never seen before. But maybe that was just in her mind. In any case, she had left the packing for too long and she couldn't get distracted by her stupid sexy stepmother.
"Wow," Charlotte said. "I hardly recognize the place." Cassie's cluttered desks and walls were now empty, and her dresser drawers yanked out and placed on the floor to make packing easier. "Are you bringing the whole house?"
"Just about," Cassie said, not lifting her head.
Charlotte leaned against the bedroom wall, arching her back in an unmistakably sensual way. "Your father and I are going out tonight to meet with friends. We, er, won't be back until late."
It took a second for Cassie to get the implication in Charlotte's voice. Were these "friends" also swingers? How big was the illicit world of wife-swapping in this sleepy town? Cassie decided not to dwell on it. She was still getting used to thinking of Charlotte sexually, and imagining her own father in some sort of
Eyes Wide Shut
-style orgy was way past her limits.
"So it looks like you and your friends will have the run of the place tonight," said Charlotte. "Just try not to break anything, okay?"
Oh yeah, the party. To tell the truth, Cassie wasn't looking forward to the going-away party that had originally seemed like such a good idea. Sara, Rainey and Devin all seemed like combustible elements. She had been counting on the rest of her drama friends and a couple of other school acquaintances to leaven things out, but everyone seemed to be already on the road to college or otherwise preoccupied. At least Alan and Riley were coming. That would hopefully balance out all the rug-munchers in the room.
She sensed that Charlotte wanted something from her. Cassie got up and carefully stepped over her suitcases until she was nose-to-nose with her stepmother. She stole a kiss, quick but hot. Charlotte groaned and wrapped her arms around her. They stood there, pressing their bodies together for about a minute.
"I wish I could be with you tonight," whispered Charlotte. "I don't know what I'll do without you."
"I think you'll manage," said Cassie, with a wink to hide her uncertainty.
"It won't be as good as you." Charlotte kissed her again and slunk out the door.
Cassie went back to packing. She had just decided that she did indeed need a fourth mini-skirt when Mindy entered her room (without knocking, of course). Mindy managed to traipse around her scattered boxes and drawers without looking at the floor and flopped down on Cassie's bed.
"Get out," Cassie said, without looking up.
"You wanna, like, fuck?" said Mindy. "I'm bored."
Cassie shushed Mindy. She was worried about Charlotte or, god forbid, her father overhearing.
Mindy rolled her eyes. "Oh, don't be such a drama queen. Derek cancelled on our date tonight. Oh well, I think that guy is gay anyway. I guess I'm, like, stuck here for your lame-ass party."
"No one's stopping you from going out and running into traffic," said Cassie.
Mindy got up and squatted behind Cassie. She ran her index finger along the hem of Cassie's shirt, leaving goosebumps in her touch. Cassie's breath caught. Why did her stupid stepsister have this effect on her? "I love it when you flirt," Mindy purred. And then she was out the door. "See you later."
A few minutes later, Cassie's phone buzzed. It was a text from Alan. Apparently Riley had come down with something and was currently throwing up his past three lunches. Neither of them could make it. Cassie texted her condolences and got back to packing.
It only hit her a minute later that she would be spending the evening exclusively with teenage girls that she had all had sex with – four of them, in fact. Only Rainey and Devin knew about each other. That was going to be—
Fine. It was going to be fine. Three of them were her friends and reasonable people, and Mindy would probably arrange another date within fifteen minutes. It was just going to be another pleasant, even boring gathering.
***
Cassie's parents had cleared out fairly early, giving her a lot of time to get set up. Her dad had bought five bags of chips when she heard she was giving the party, and a couple other snacks – more than even Rainey and Sara could eat in their most ravenous moments. Cassie didn't have to worry about running out of food, but she was stuck with the dilemma of which of five flavours would be best. For some reason, this seemed incredibly important to her, until she eventually decided on plain. You couldn't go wrong with plain, right? Or would people think she was boring?
It started to rain, a few drops at first, and then quickly a torrent. Cassie was happy that for once she was not biking to someone else's house for a social gathering. Of course, that got her thinking about the night at Claudia's, and what had happened that night, and everything that had happened with her and various attendees since then. But this would be different, she was sure.
Sara was the first to arrive. She was dry as desert air, protected by a big rainbow-coloured umbrella. When they had dated, Sara had always been ready for anything and surprised by nothing. Her seemingly bottomless purse (really more of a shoulderbag) contained tissues, breath mints, tampons, concealer, and anything else you could suddenly realize you needed in the middle of a school day. Despite all the other things that had annoyed Cassie about their relationship, it was nice to always be provided for.
Cassie gave Sara a quick hug, the type of embrace in which you made sure to touch nowhere below the shoulders. "It's great that you could come. Sit down, have something to eat."
"It's been a crazy day," said Sara, carefully contracting her umbrella and hooking it on the railing of the stairs. "My mom is an even bigger control freak than me. She absolutely will not let me move into the dorms without bringing a toaster."
"Why wouldn't you bring a toaster?" said Cassie.
"Just not worth the space. And I prefer un-toasted bread, you know?"
"Yeah, but think about toaster waffles."
"Damn, you're right." Sara rubbed her chin. "Maybe Mom knows what she's doing."
Cassie ushered Sara through the hallway and into the living room, where her immaculately-prepared spread of snacks awaited. "Take a seat wherever you want. And for the love of God, have some food. I don't want to throw all this shit out."
