How pleased Magnolia looks with herself when she turns up on my doorstep with Daisy is almost enough for me to shut the door in her face, except I can’t because she’s with the girl I love, and I can’t imagine how much pride-swallowing it took for Daisy to come here, with Magnolia of all people.
“Baby Haites!” Jo yells. “What a miracle!”
Beej stares over at Parks — they’re semi-back together now, by the way — smiling at her like she’s just won a fucking Nobel prize.
I look over at Daisy from the sofa, glaring a bit because I’m still fucking mad.
Say “Oi,” though, and nod at her with my chin.
Magnolia shoves Daisy towards me, and Dais snaps her head in her direction, scowling. (“Ooh,” Magnolia whispers as she rolls her eyes. “I’m so scared.”)
BJ, next to me, elbows me subtly.
“Fucking get up,” he whispers, smiling at them as he does.
I stand up, shove my hands in my pockets and Daisy stands there, arms crossed over her chest, glaring at me and Magnolia’s standing there between us, literally about to blow her top she’s so stressed about it.
“What in the absolute fuck is this? How do you two ever solve issues when I’m not here!”
I toss her an offhanded look. “We normally just don’t speak for an undisclosed period of time and then we have sex.” I give her a blunt smile.
“Oh,” BJ nods, impressed. “That’s pretty cutting edge, Parks. We should try that.” She gives him a look and Henry and Jo snort a laugh.
I stare over at Daisy — it’s shit that she looks so hot when she’s cross. That pouty mouth. It’s pouty in general, but when she’s pissed — I don’t stand a fucking chance.
I nod my head up towards my bedroom. “Wanna go have a chat?”
She nods and I take her hand, pulling her up the stairs.
“To talk!” Magnolia calls after us. “Not to have sex!”
“Fuck off and mind your own business?” I call back.
“VERY RICH COMING FROM YOU WHO CALLED ME FOR HELP, YOU UNGRATEFUL PR—” she yells but I slam my door loudly to shut her up.
Once we’re in my room, it feels like magic, like all the pride rinses off us and she’s staring at me with big, heavy eyes and I’m grabbing her by the waist before I even know I’m doing it — I back her into a wall, pushing her hair behind her ear, stare at her face as I swallow heavy.
“I love you, Dais—” I shake my head. “I’m sorry.”
“No, I am—” She buries her face in my neck. “I didn’t think — nothing happened.”
She sighs and I shake my head.
“I know.”
“I promise,” she insists.
I nod. “I know.”
“I still don’t totally get it, but I hated those photos, and I know that you hate this — so I hate it—” I tell her with a shrug.
“I shouldn’t have sent them—” She frowns at herself. “I’m sorry. I never delete things from my phone. I still have photos of Rome and I from school on there—”
“Listen—” I hold her face. “I need you to understand, in my mind, sex with you and sex with anyone else, they’re not the same.” All I can offer her is a shrug. “They’re so different. They don’t feel like the same thing to me, like at all. But I should have — I don’t know — I never thought it would come out.”
She nods.
“I didn’t want to tell you about it because, like, what good would it have done, you know? But I don’t know — I fucked up.”
Her eyes start to go soft as I’m talking and she slips her arms around my neck, mouth squashing into a little smile. “Has the undisclosed period of time passed yet?”
I lick my bottom lip and nod once. “I think it has, yeah.”
“Wow,” Henry says, looking at us as we trot back down the stairs half an hour later. “You guys don’t look like you’ve had sex or anything.”
Daisy rolls her eyes and I push my hands through my hair. Sit down on the couch and pull Daisy onto my lap.
Balled up on the couch with Beej on the other side of the room, Parks crinkles up her face like fucking little power-hungry bunny rabbit and smiles over at us, clearly proud of herself.
Whether our make-up was due to Magnolia Parks or the double orgasm I just gave Daisy upstairs, who’s to say really?
“Now,” Magnolia claps her hands together, “what are we going to do about that video?”
“Nothing.” I shake my head at her.
Magnolia gives me a look. “We have to figure out who released it and seek retribution.”
Daisy elbows me, amused.
Jo thumbs in Magnolia’s direction. “Loves a mish, old Parks.”
She pulls out a MacBook and flips it open.
“What are you doing?” BJ asks, peering over her shoulder. “What are you — don’t watch it!” he yells and Magnolia scowls at him.
“I’m looking for clues!”
“No! Argh—” BJ scowls at the screen but doesn’t look away. Actually tilts his head. “Bro, your arms look fit.”
I give Daisy a despondent look.
From Magnolia’s computer, I can hear myself and Vanna’s breathing getting heavy.
“—Can you put it on mute, please?” Daisy sighs.
I hug her tighter and kiss the back of her shoulder.
(“Sorry,” I whisper. She turns, flashing me a quick smile.)
Magnolia grimaces and mutes it quickly then keeps watching. Doesn’t take long before Henry and Jonah stand behind her and lean down to watch. All of them, all my childhood friends, huddled around a laptop, all watching and squinting at me having sex with a girl that isn’t my girlfriend.
Jonah looks over at me and Dais. “Is it weird I’m sort of proud of you?”
“Yes,” Daisy and I say in unison.
“Oi, but — no wonder this girl had a crack at the club the other night, man—” BJ says, not looking away from the screen. “Look at you go.”
I groan, burying my face in Daisy’s neck.
“Hey, how’d you do that thing with your back?” Henry nods as he squints at the screen.
Daisy stifles a laugh.
“Why does it stop there?” Magnolia frowns at the screen.
“Where?” I sigh from the safety of Daisy’s shoulder.
“Well, you’re obviously about to come—”
BJ gives her a look. “Obvious, is it?”
(And I let out a big long groan at the same time Daisy, Henry and Jo start laughing.)
Magnolia flicks Beej an apologetic look, then looks back over to me. “Why does the video cut before you’re done?”
I sigh, shaking my head at her. “It doesn’t.”
Magnolia gives me a look. “Yes, it does.”
I shake my head. “It doesn’t.”
“Yeah,” Daisy says, looking at me. “It does.”
Magnolia flips her computer around and hits play and before I can cover Daisy’s eyes, she sees it all over again — me fucking some girl who isn’t her, my back arching and then — black.
I stare at the screen. Holy shit.
“I know who released it.”
They all stare over at me.
“What?” Daisy frowns?
“Who?” Jonah and Henry say at the same time.
I stare over at them, sort of in shock. “She did.”
Daisy scoffs. “What?”
“She did.” I nod. “She did it, Dais.”
Beej shakes his head. “Christian, she’s all over the news having a cry about her private life being violated…”
“I’m telling you—” I give him a look. “She released it. I know it was her.”
“How?” Magnolia asks, eyebrows arched.
I look at Daisy and grimace a little — I might regret this, but then, maybe not.
“Because it’s not the full tape.”
Daisy sighs like she’s beat, covering her face.
“Well, what’s on the rest of it?” Henry straightens up.
I jump up from the couch, run upstairs and jog back down a minute later with my laptop.
“Are you fucking kidding me?” Daisy groans as I open it up, opening a folder on my desktop.
“Might have found that a bit quickly, mate,” Jonah says under his breath but I ignore him, looking over at Dais.
“Baby, I thought you would have seen all this —” I give her a look then glance at my friends. “This is making a lot more sense—”
Daisy frowns. “What are you talking about?”
“I’m sorry—” I tell her before I hit play. Me and Vanna rear back to life and Magnolia and the boys scramble over to our side of the room.
Daisy hits mute but I give her an apologetic look before I unmute it.
My living room fills with breathy panting and moans and we’re back to my back arching again and then where it cuts off online it keeps going…
I’m moving faster and faster, gaining momentum, eyes closed, face turned away from Vans and then, a little moan from my lips:
“Daisy,”
A hand flies to Daisy’s mouth and Magnolia gasps.
Beej is whacking Jonah repeatedly, not looking away from the screen, grinning ear-to-ear.
“Oh, fuck!” Henry gasps, face contorted in ultimate amusement.
“What did you just say?” Vanna whispered on the screen, obviously choked. Then she hit me. “What the fuck did you just say to me?”
Me in the porno, I pressed my hand into my gaping mouth, cheeks pink, looking sprung. “I—” I started but she shoved me again.
“Get the fuck off me.” She shoved me off her, rolling away. “How the fuck are you still thinking of that bitch?” She moved towards the recorder. You hear me start to say, “Don’t call her th—”
And then it cuts to black.
The room is silent.
I turn to Daisy. “I thought you’d seen that.”
“I—” She stares over at me, speechless. “No — that would have significantly softened the blow.”
“I know.” I nod. “I kind of thought you were taking it pretty badly for the only person who sort of comes out on top in all this.”
“To be clear, though man—” BJ interjects. “You’re definitely, literally on top, mate.”
I give him a look.
“You love me!” Daisy grins. “You think about me when you’re having casual sex with other women!”
“Yeah.” I nod. “Exclusively.”
“Aw, so sweet.” Magnolia sighs, watching us. “You should stop that though, like let’s just stop that now—”
“I agree.” Daisy nods.
“Okay.” I sniff a laugh. I look over at Daisy. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah—” Daisy shrugs. “Yeah, no, I feel much better about all this now.”
“Right, so—” Magnolia points to the computer. “I’m going to need you to send me that—”
“No!” I yell at the same time BJ’s head rolls back. “Fuck, Parks — why?”
“BJ, please.” She gives him an unimpressed look. “Although it’s hardly any of your business as we’re temporarily ‘just friends’.”
“Alright.” He nods. “Friend to friend, I don’t want you watching videos of Christian having sex with Vanna Ripley.”
“I’m not a pervert—” She cross her arms, defensively.
Jo nods his head in her direction. “She’s on mish.”
Henry grins as her tosses an arm around her. “Fucking love it when Parks is on mish.”
“Send it to me,” Magnolia tells me again.
“I shake my head.”
“Send it!” She frowns.
“No, Parks—”
And then Daisy breathes out and stares over at her. “What are you going to do with it?”
Magnolia gets a defiant look in her eye, her nose in the air. “No one fucks with my friends.”
Daisy looks over at me. “Give it to her.”
Daisy
5:41pm
5:41pm
Where are you
Out
With Christian
Come home now
Why?
Now.
What?
I’m not fucking around.
Come home.
Okay?
