Dirty Sex by Ashley Bartlett Page B

girlfriend is.” She turned away and started texting
    like mad. Reese and I watched her like we had all the time in the world,
    as long as we had each other. When another high school reject emerged
    from the crowd and sidled up to Mel, it took every ounce of my energy
    to not laugh out loud.
    “Brittany, how are you?” Reese greeted my ex to save me the
    trouble.
    “Awesome.” A big, dumb smile took over her face. Reese was
    right. My standards were low.
    I took a stab at making conversation. “I didn’t know you were still
    around here. I thought you were moving to Australia or something.”
    • 87 •

    AShley BArtlett
    “Yeah, I totally was gonna ’cause you know, I thought it would
    be warm. Like it was on The Real World . So I went to check it out last
    summer and it was hella cold.” Brittany made it sound like a personal
    attack, as if Australia decided it didn’t want her. “So Daddy bought me
    a ticket home. I’m never leaving California again.”
    “Wow. Sounds tough.” I shrugged like it was news to me that the
    rest of the world had seasons. “Who knew it would be cold in summer?”
    Reese was still pressed against me. I could feel her body vibrating. She
    was really trying not to laugh out loud.
    “I know. Isn’t that crazy?” As an afterthought, Brittany threaded
    her arm through Mel’s.
    “Yeah, good season of The Real World though, huh?” I’d never
    seen an episode.
    “Totally. God, it’s so good to see you.” She reached out and ran
    her hand down my arm. Reese’s eyes narrowed and Brittany snatched
    her hand back.
    “Okay. So I think we better go in,” Reese announced. The hand
    that wasn’t entwined in my hair tugged lightly on my shirt. “You ready,
    babe?”
    “Did the guys already go in?” I asked her.
    “They’re in line.”
    “No way.” Brittany joined Mel in her brilliant deduction. “Are
    you too, like?” She pointed at us and waggled her fingers.
    “I don’t know, peanut butter. Are we, like?” The smirk I’d been
    holding back finally surfaced.
    “Come on.” Reese slid a couple fingers down the front of my jeans
    and started pulling me. “It was nice to see you guys.” She smiled back
    at Mel and Brittany as if it was normal to lead me around by my crotch.
    Actually, it was.
    “Did they really just pretend they were together to show us up?” I
    asked once we were inside.
    “Does it matter?” Reese was back to hating me. “That’s what we
    were doing.”
    “No. I just didn’t want to talk to Mel and it got out of hand.” My
    excuse was lame, but they really did seem more pathetic than us for
    some reason.
    “Right. Whatever.” Reese began to stride away from me.
    “You should be thanking me.”
    • 88 •

    Dirty Sex
    She stopped dead. “Why?”
    “Because right now Mel is the loser and you got the one thing she
    never could.” That sounded conceited and arrogant. It was.
    “Please tell me you’re not referring to yourself.” She waited for
    me to deny it. “Oh, God. You’re serious.” The guys walked up in time
    to hear the last part.
    “Nice show, you guys,” Derek commented. “Mel must be dying
    right now.”
    “Why?” Reese demanded.
    “’Cause she always wanted Coop,” Derek said like it was common
    knowledge. “But after you and Mel broke up, Coop never spoke to her
    again.”
    “Well, they spoke plenty under the bleachers.”
    “Shut up, you guys.” I said. “And, by the way, someone could
    have told me that Melanie Hendricks was Mel Tricks.”
    “You didn’t know?” Ryan was looking at me like I was crazy.
    “Cooper doesn’t pay attention to names,” Reese shot at me.
    “Would you two please shut up?” Derek asked. “Let’s just go in
    the theater and watch the movie.” They took our silence for affirmation.
    ❖
    Below us, the revelers covered the backyard in a swaying mass
    of eveningwear. It felt like we were adults instead of just playing at it.
    Even so, the scotch in our heavy glasses and the