Cherry Orphan

Chapter 22

Chapter 22

"Isn't this illegal, Calley?"

"Hell, no. Dad and I did it this way."

"What do I do now?"

"Make sure you have it pushed in all the way."

"Like this?"

"No, further. Your leg's too short. Move your ass forward. Good. Now work the stick like I showed you."

"Is it in? Is that first?"

"We'll soon know. A little more gas. Emergency brake off. Let the clutch out slowly."

The red Corvette lurched and stalled.

"Too fast. I said slowly, James. Okay, brake on. Neutral. Restart."

He tried to hide his foolish grin. "Maybe we should begin with an automatic car like Sonia suggested."

Instant dismissal. "Shame on you. Call yourself British? Every Limey drives a stick—it's all they can fuckin' afford."

"I think they call that remark racist."

"Yep, it is. And you'll never get to be a racist driver in an automatic."

James groaned. That was bad even for her. At least their relationship had returned to normal. In fact it felt better somehow. With tension at a new low, Calley seemed eager to make up for her sullen behavior. Illegal Sunday driving lessons were her latest inspiration.

To the girl's credit she had chosen a very quiet section off 17-Mile Drive that hardly ever saw a tourist or security patrol. All the same, at fifteen, applying anything learned this day would be difficult. James went along because of the contact, not for any burning desire to flaunt state traffic laws.

In no particular hurry to continue the lesson, James turned and looked at her focused expression. "Calley, can I ask you something?"

"Only if it's about driving."

"It's not. In a way it's about dancing."

Her eyebrow went up.

"Remember last Thursday when we came to the dance class? Did you deliberately tell Sonia where it was so we would try to check on you?"

She shifted in her seat and took a deep breath, contemplating her answer. The white cut-off top she'd borrowed may have adequately covered sister Sonia, but didn't come anywhere near doing the same job on Calley's chest. "I suppose I did," she said eventually. "I figured if you and Sonia saw me there you'd both know I wasn't using. I also figured she'd wheedle everything out of you eventually. I know exactly what she's like."

He lowered his eyes, feeling ashamed. "I even told her about us... how far we'd gone. I didn't mean to, but she's very good at getting to the truth."

"Sonia and I talked about it on Friday, so I already know what you said."

It came as a jolt. "And you're not angry?"

Calley seemed dismissive. "Secrets between sisters are impossible, especially when one is as smart as Sonia. All you did was confirm what she'd already figured out for herself. I can't lie to her and get away with it, so how could you? The main thing is: she knows how to keep her mouth shut where it counts. Maybe I shouldn't say this, but she seemed real curious to know what you were like."

"Like?" James felt himself flush red as usual, the one reflex he hated.

Calley, on the other hand, seemed delighted when he colored up. "As a sex partner. She wanted to know if you were good in bed. Now you ask me why she wanted to know."

Calley was teasing, but maybe not lying. He challenged all the same. "Sonia didn't say that. She sounded a bit mad at me when I confessed you and I had... you know."

His cousin just sat there and smiled. "Sonia can be very holier-than-thou when she wants to be. The stuff going on inside her head is often way different to what comes out her mouth. So any guesses why she's being so all-fired curious about the things we do?"

James gulped and mutely shook his head.

"Because she's a little bit jealous. Secretly she'd like to strap you on herself. Of course she'd never come right out and say so, but I can read her about as well as she reads me. Sonia likes sex. She likes it as much as I like it. The difference is: she's more inhibited than I am."

As if Calley wasn't mind-boggling enough, he could barely get his brain around this latest revelation.

"She already has a boyfriend," he reminded. It came out lame. Stupid sod.

Calley's grin bordered cynical. "In theory. I've met him. He looks good, but he's a total narcissistic asshole. She knows it too. It's an old problem: Sonia's far too good-looking. She scares off the regular college guys—the ones who could give her a real stiff time—if you get my meaning. Dylan would rather jerk off in front of a mirror. She's only a trophy to him. It's been a frustrating year for her in more ways than one."

James thought back to Sonia on the first day he arrived. No sooner were they alone she'd kissed him in a style that said far more than a simple "welcome to America, cousin." She didn't flaunt herself like Calley, but in retrospect there had been plenty of Sonia signals he'd noticed, and likely plenty more he'd missed.

He shook his head to clear it. "There's a phrase I've heard you use."

"Oh?"

"Mind games! I've used it too, so I know what it means."

This sounded different. "You think I'm playing mind games with you?"

His voice had changed to something a bit more aggressive. "We agreed that the things we did together in bed were wrong. Nice, but wrong. We agreed it should stop. Now you're talking as if I should continue with your sister. You're trying to tell me she wants it too, after she as good as told me what a stupid prat I am for going all the way with you."

"Hey, don't put words in my mouth," Calley came right back. "I said we should stop doing it at the house. I think you understand why." Her voice dropped lower. "Look, James, we both know it's just sex, right? I like it; you like it. No one is getting carried away here and falling desperately in love. If you want us to stop completely, then fine, but don't go calling it my idea."

This made him tingle inside. He was head-over-heels in love with her, but glad he'd managed to hide it. "Then what are you saying, Calley?"

She reached across the center console and put her hand over his. "I want to try something just to see where it goes. If the mood—the situation is right... who knows? I don't mind sharing you, James, when it's Sonia. She can hardly go on judging me for something she feels for herself. Trust me, I'm not wrong. Question is: how do you feel about it?"

Double your pleasure... The prospect of having them both almost blew a fuse.

"I can see by your face it's not the worst dare I could suggest. Now start the fucking car and drive me to church. I have a lot to confess."

Is this a driving lesson or an invitation to test drive sister Sonia? Is Calley winding him up or setting him up?

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