Page 14 of Curveball

She breathlessly tilts her head back toward me. Her eyes are wide. I think she’s in shock too. “Wow. What…what can I do for you? What do you need?”

She has no idea that I came in my pants. She has no idea because she’s fucking sixteen and inexperienced. What the hell have I done? She’s a kid. The same age as my little sister. My sister’s best friend. I’ve known her since she was five years old.

Shame washes over me as I pull back. “I…I’m so sorry, Ripley. I shouldn’t have let it get that far.”

She grabs my face, so I’m forced to stare into her shimmering, lust-filled blue eyes. “Don’t be. It was worth the wait.” She softly smiles. “Best first kiss ever. And…it’s the first time I’ve ever come. Thank you.”

CHAPTER THREE

RIPLEY –AGE 18 {QUINCY – AGE 23}

“Mom! I’m going to Arizona’s hou…” I open her bedroom door and there’s a topless man in her bed with the sheets pooled at his waist, clearly naked. My mother is nowhere to be found. Without an ounce of surprise, I mumble. “Shit. Sorry. Where’s my mother?”

She sings, “In here, sweetie.” I turn and hear her voice coming from her bathroom.

She continues, “I’ll be right out,” as if a random man in her bed is normal. For her, I suppose it is.

She emerges from the bathroom in a tiny silk robe with a shameless smile and doesn’t bother to acknowledge the naked man ten feet away from us. “Good morning. Are you ready for the big game?”

Tonight is the California high school state softball championship. We’ve won it the previous three years. It’s a little anticlimactic at this point. It’s barely even a challenge, but this is our senior year. We want to go out on top.

Arizona and I were both offered full softball scholarships to play at UCLA next year. We’re so excited to be continuing our softball journey together. My heart is already onto the next phase of our lives in Los Angeles, not here for this easy-to-win game.

With minimal enthusiasm, I respond, “Yes. Thrilled. I’m heading over to Arizona’s. I’ll drive there with her and meet you.” Mom is the coach of our team. “There’s a big party tonight, so I’m sleeping at her house.”

With her always cheery demeanor, she says, “Sounds good. Oh, meet my friend, Bill.”

He corrects, “Phil.”

“Riiight. Meet Phil.”

I give him a fake smile. “Hi, Phil.” I’ll never see him again. No need to bother with any more pleasantries.

Mom holds up her finger for me to wait a minute and chirps, “I need to talk with you about something. Are you planning to have intercourse with Jack tonight?”

I gasp in horror at her asking this in front of her latest bedfellow. “Mom!”

“What? Bill doesn’t care.”

He reminds her, “Phil.”

“Oh, right. Phil doesn’t care. I left you a box of condoms in your bathroom. I know you have the IUD, but I want you to double up.”

I grit out, “I saw the box. We don’t need to discuss this right now.”

“Okay, but if you’refinallygoing to visit the flower shop, be safe.”

Please tell me she didnotjust refer to me losing my virginity as visiting the flower shop. In front of a strange man, nonetheless. Just when I think she couldn’t possibly embarrass me anymore, she never ceases to disappoint.

“Mom!”

She pulls me into the hallway and closes her bedroom door. “I’m not kidding. I want you to be safe. Trust me, an unplanned pregnancy is no walk in the park.”

“I’m sorry having me was so terrible for you.”

Her face softens as she softly grabs me by my shoulders and looks me in the eyes. “Having you is the single best thing I’ve ever done in my life. Seeing the incredible woman you’ve become makes up for all the mistakes I’ve made. But it wasn’t easy. Especially those first few years. I sacrificed and worked hard for this life we have. I just don’t want you to struggle like me. In life or in love.”

She’s never once in my life mentioned the word love in a romantic context, only that she loves me. I want to ask questions about my father. I have so many, but I know now isn’t the time with Bill/Phil in the other room.