Dancing With the Devil by Katie Davis Page B

moved, and stood frozen, watching them tilt their heads toward each other and laugh again at some shared secret.
    â€œYou heard about the wedding?” they heard someone say behind them.
    Frankie looked at Mac. “Guess the secret’s not so secret.”
    â€œYeah, right, they’re getting married,” Charlie said.
    Frankie poked him in the ribs and Charlie flinched. “Not them, dork. Their parents. Everyone knows.”
    â€œTheir parents are getting married?” Charlie asked.
    â€œI guess everyone doesn’t know,” Frankie answered.
    Mac finally broke out of her trance. “He’s not being boyfriend -ish, he’s being brotherly.”
    Charlie scoffed. “Uh, right, Mac. Brotherly.”
    From the landing they had a bird’s-eye view as Grady and Sophie made their way through the crowd and passed below the staircase. They watched as Grady slipped his hand from Sophie’s shoulder down to her rear and gave her a little squeeze. Sophie jumped and slapped Grady’s hand away, batting her eyes at him, smiling.
    â€œGee, I don’t know, Skater. I never show my sister any of that ass-grabbing-while-at-a-party action. On the other hand, if I were screwing my sister, maybe I would.”

Chapter Twelve
    â€œLet us in, Mac!” Frankie and Dante called, pounding on the bathroom door.
    Mackenzie’s head throbbed in time with every blow. Maybe I should lean against something else, then. But she couldn’t move. She doubted she was even capable of getting up to turn the knob at this point.
    She heard Dante’s voice. “If she hasn’t opened it by now, I doubt she’s going to.”
    Mac groaned when Frankie hollered through the crack, “Dude, you don’t open up right now, we’re going to stop Charlie from his maid duties and have him take this thing right off the hinges.” Mac could imagine Dante’s worried look when she heard Frankie add, “It’s no biggie. My parents have done it to my door tons of times.”
    After a few minutes the lock clicked, the knob turned, and Mackenzie stumbled out. She was damp with sweat, her skin felt flushed, and she grimaced as she got whiffs of her own stank breath. Frankie waved her hand in front of her face as a foul odor wafted out of the room. She sidled by Mac and started the water running down the sink.
    â€œI don’t think all the chunks are going to rinse down this drain,” Frankie said, holding her nose. “I thought you said you skipped dinner?”
    â€œGross, Frank,” Dante said.
    â€œI’m just saying.”
    After the bathroom was cleaned up and Dante found a new toothbrush in the linen closet for Mac to use, they made their way to the kitchen. Mackenzie sat down with a thud and started hiccupping. “I feel like my pummach was stumped.” She belched. “Uh, my stomach was pumped. Those Coke rummies really go right to your headache. I mean, head.”
    Dante rolled his eyes. “No, you do mean headache, girlie girl.”
    The three of them sat at the kitchen table while Dante bossed Charlie around, directing him to wipe this or sweep that. Charlie obeyed, but not without complaining every time he came through with a full garbage bag. He tossed the latest one onto the growing pile; it clattered with the sound of bottles and cans clanking together.
    â€œUh, uh, uh,” Dante said, waggling his finger back and forth. “You crawl right into that bag, Chazzie, and separate those recyclables. We wouldn’t want to destroy our precious earth before it’s absolutely necessary.”
    Mackenzie laid her head on the table, her arms hanging at her sides. She moaned. “How could he do that to her?”
    From behind the gigantic pile of garbage bags, Charlie said, “Because she’s hot…”
    â€œShut UP,” Dante and Frankie yelled at once.
    Mac moaned again. “He shouldn’t do that to his own flesh