Page 87 of Anyone But Her

Chapter Seventeen

Taylor

"So what did I have to race over here for?" Birdie asks as she closes my bedroom door. "Not that I mind coming over but I was in the middle of deep conditioning my hair and I lost five whole minutes on treatment time."

"Sorry, I didn't know. I could've waited five minutes."

"Sure, now you tell me." She walks up to the mirror. "Do you think it did anything?"

Her hair looks the same as always, but I say, "I think it looks softer."

"I think it gave it some shine." She checks herself once more in the mirror then goes and sits on the floor pillows I have in the corner. "Get over here and tell me the big emergency."

"It's not really an emergency," I say, joining her on the pillows.

"Then what is it? Why'd you want to talk to me?"

"Last night," I pause for dramatic effect, "I almost did it with you-know-who."

"Who?"

I reach over and push on her arm. "You know who!"

"Luke?"

"Shhhh. Someone might hear!"

"No one can hear. We're practically whispering. And your whole family is downstairs in the kitchen having breakfast." She crosses her legs in front of her. "So when you say 'it' you mean..." she glances around, then whispers, "sex?"

She says it like we're ten and have never said that word before. She's teasing me because I'm so afraid my parents might hear. We should've gone somewhere else to talk.

I roll my eyes at her. "Would you be serious for a minute?"

"Sorry." She fakes being serious, her lips pursed. "Go ahead. Tell me about this...encounter of yours." She stifles a laugh. I don't know why she finds this funny. She's being weird today.

"I went down to the kitchen last night to get a glass of water and he was there. Getting a snack."

"Luke," she says.

"Yes! Why do you keep saying his name?"

"Because you could've meant Cal or your dad. I had to be clear who was in the kitchen."

"It was Luke. And he was all..." I smile as I remember last night. He looked so damn hot. Shirtless. Muscles everywhere. His hair a tousled sexy mess.

"Yeah? And?" Birdie says, making an imaginary loop in the air, motioning me to continue. "Let's get to the story here."

"He um....well, he looked really good. No shirt. Just wearing shorts and nothing else. When I saw him I thought maybe I should turn around and go back upstairs but I couldn't."

"A hot man'll do that to you. It's like your mind shuts down."

"Exactly! My brain totally shut down and I went up to him and asked for his apple."

"Apple? Is that some new term for penis?"

"No!" I say, laughing. "An actual apple. He was holding an apple and I asked if I could have some."

"Why?"

---