Page 46 of Vicious Sentiments

“A tanning bed?” My nose scrunches up.

“It only takes like five minutes.”

I think of the salon we went to and the big contraption labeled UV GOD.

“But so does the salon.”

“Margo won’t let me!” she whines. “It ruins your skin, blah blah, you’ll end up looking like me if you make a habit of it. Besides, juicy secrets! Don’t you want to go through his underwear drawer?”

I snort a laugh. Do I want to go through his underwear? Maybe. Are they folded up neatly or thrown in randomly? Does he have food in his fridge? Is the place devoid of personal effects? God, am I falling for a sociopath and don’t know? He could have a red room of pain.

“I don’t know…”

“You totally do.” She beams and hops off the bed. “Get dressed.”

Against my better judgment, I’m leading us down the stone steps to the beach as Marney clutches at the back of my jacket. Her weight throws me off and I accidentally kick a pebble. It ricochets off the metal railing and tumbles to the bottom, making what feels like an explosion of noise.

I freeze and whip my head around, waiting for a light to come on in the house.

“We’re good,” Marney whispers.

“If we get caught, you have to take the blame,” I hiss, my heart in my throat. I know I’m the older one but I’m new here. I imagine Marney will just get a sigh out of Margo and then another new six-hundred-dollar blow dryer. Me? I could end up out on my ass for leading the baby of the family out into the middle of the night.

“I will. It’s fine.” She nudges me forward, and I grip the railing for dear life.

God, this was a bad idea.

We bob down the rest of the steps in unison, looking like two burglars making off into the sea.

“See? Fine,” she breathes when we reach the bottom. She grins at me, her nose already starting to turn red from the cold air. She glances up at the house but the only part we can see from this point is the upper most room on the right and the lights are still off.

“We should go back.” The keys in my pocket feel like a hot boulder, weighing me down and searing my hand that is tightly wrapped around them.

“No! We’re almost there!”

I chew my lips, glancing around the beach. It’s completely desolate. All the homes are completely dark and not a soul out to see. The only sound is the lazy night waves crawling up the shore.

I shiver at the ridiculousness of what we are doing, feeling exposed, and my stomach twists. We just need to get it over with.

“Okay let’s go.” I make to the right and Marney quickly jerks me back.

“This way.”

“Fuck, you’re right.” I cringe at my language, frustrated that I’m turned around.

Marney giggles like she doesn’t have a care in the world and latches onto me. I try to relax my shoulders and convince myself that we have the keys, that this is fine, that it’s supposed to be fun.

We shuffle down the beach together, sticking close to the little half walls that dictate private property from the public beach. When we reach the house before what I believe is Julian’s, a light comes on. Bright and assaulting. It illuminates every grain of sand all the way to the water, including us.

I freeze and immediately Marney pulls me down to the ground.

“It’s a motion sensor,” she says, hands clamped over mine in the sand. “We crawl the rest of the way.”

I blink several times, trying to make out if she’s serious.

“We’re almost there!” she whines and lets go of my hand to shoo me forward.

At the most ridiculous pace, I drag my silk covered knees through the sand with Marney’s fingers grasping the hem at my ankle. By the time we reach the edge of Julian’s house the security light has gone dark, and I have sand in sleeves. I glance back to see if it’s okay to stand and Marney nods.

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