Chapter 19
“Hey sis, what’s up?” Sydney attempted to begin a casual conversation, but the butterflies that filled her stomach made it difficult.
“I’m solving world hunger,” Nadia mumbled dully as she flicked through the TV channels.
“Okay, um, well you think if I give you fifty bucks you can go to the mall and not come back until after ten?” she asked hopefully.
Nadia turned around and looked at her suspiciously. “Fifty bucks? What exactly are you and Michael doing tonight?”
“Doing? We’re not doing anything!” Sydney said quickly as she crammed her now ring clad left hand into her shorts pocket. “It’s just our anniversary and we’re going to… do stuff that would make you gag.”
“Fine, I’ll go,” Nadia sighed.
“Thanks,” Sydney smiled and handed her a wad of cash. Then, she walked towards the stairs, but Nadia, already suspicious of her sister’s behavior, followed her after a moment.
She got upstairs just in time to see her sister shove something into the top drawer of her bureau. “What was that?” she asked loudly.
Sydney jumped a mile. “What?” she croaked.
“What’d you just shove in there?” Nadia asked, approaching the bureau.
Sydney stood in front of it. “Nothing… nothing at all. Well, socks, it is my
sock drawer.”
“Uh huh,” Nadia said suspiciously. Then she reached for the drawer and Sydney blocked her path. She tried to reach around the other side of her sister, but Sydney was too fast and blocked her again. They continued this odd dance for a few minutes until Nadia wrenched the drawer open, pulled out what Sydney had stashed and mocked her mortified sister.
“Sydney’s gonna have seeex!” she taunted.
“What are you? TWO?!” Sydney growled as she snatched the box back.
Nadia snorted with laughter. “Oh what would mom think of this?”
“I’ll give you fifty more dollars to forget this happened,” Sydney offered desperately. Nadia smiled. “Come on Nad, that’s all I have!”
“You could always sell your pretty engagement ring for more money,” Nadia smiled.
Sydney looked down at the hand that was holding the box and noticed it obviously displayed her ring. Quickly, she hid it behind her back and looked up at her sister.
“I saw it when you walked in the house smiling like an idiot,” Nadia added quietly.
“Why didn’t you say something?” Sydney asked.
Nadia shrugged. “I figured it was either a matter of time before Mom and Dad noticed it too, or you and Michael are gonna tell them soon, so there was no point in ruining
that fun surprise.”
“We’re telling them tomorrow,” Sydney told her.
“Uh HUH,” Nadia smiled as she backed out of the room.
“Wait! Where are you going?! Fifty bucks!! That’s a hundred in total for doing nothing but keeping your mouth shut!” Sydney called after her.
Nadia returned a moment later with a smirk on her face. “Eh, keep your money, but take some advice,” she said. She pulled the box away from her sister and handed her the foil packet in her hand. “These are better,” she said with a wink.
Sydney was convinced she’d had a stroke. She leaned against her bureau for support as she wailed, “WHAT?!”
“Just some friendly advice between sisters,” Nadia said casually. Then, pretending that incident never happened, she said, “I’m going to the mall; see you at ten.”
“WHAT?!” Sydney wailed after her, but Nadia had already gone.
~*~
When Michael arrived at seven, the door was open and he found no one on the first floor, so he decided to go up and see if Sydney was already in her room. When he walked in, he saw her sitting on the floor next to her bureau, staring down at the floor. “Umm… whatcha doin’?” he asked casually.
“Nadia!” Sydney said in a frazzled tone.
“O-kay….,” he said slowly, having no idea what she was saying.
“She gave me these,” Sydney whimpered and showed him.
He choked on a laugh and approached her slowly. “Are those-?”
“Yeah!” Sydney cut him off with a whimper. “And she said – AND I QUOTE- ‘these are better’. How does she know they’re better Michael?! HOW?! She’s my little sister!!! She’s not allowed to know about sex or have condoms- SHE SHOULDN’T KNOW WHAT THEY ARE!!!!!!!”
“She really said that?” he laughed. Sydney nodded but failed to see the humor in the situation. “Well… she is nearly seventeen…”
“
Great!,” Sydney groaned. “She lost her virginity before us!! OH GOD, she’s having sex!” Sydney wailed a she flopped back on the floor and shoved her face in the carpet.
“Okay… so clearly you have an issue with this,” Michael said slowly. Sydney gave another whimper, but it was muffled by the carpet. “So, um, does that mean you’re going to obsess…or…”
“Oh no!” Sydney gasped as she sat up quickly. “Oh, I’m sorry… I got distracted and freaked a bit.”
“Yeah, just
a bit,” he teased her with a smile.
“No, no I can forget about it,” she said with a deep, calming breath. “I can.”
“Need a little help?”
“Yes please,” she sighed helplessly. Michael leaned forward and pulled her into a kiss so passionate Sydney was shocked her clothes didn’t shed themselves. When he pulled back, she said in a very hazy, sluggish tone that was rather squeaky, “That worked.” He laughed.
~*~
Later, Michael’s watch, which was unfortunately located close to Sydney’s ear began to beep and in her half-asleep state she groaned, “Why is it beeping at me?”
“Because I have to go,” he sighed sadly. “It’s ten to ten.”
“Noooo,” she groaned. “Don’t go; stay. Pretend you fell asleep.”
“Without my clothes on?” he laughed softly.
“Pretend they fell off,” she sighed while still clinging to him.
“Sorry Syd. I don’t want to go… but just think, tomorrow we can tell them the truth,” he smiled at her.
“Yes,” she sighed, rearranging her pillows so she could prop herself up slightly without having to actually sit up. “But then they’ll be even
less inclined to let us stay together.”
“That’s a good point,” he laughed softly as he slid out bed and tried to distinguish between their clothes in the dull lamp lit room. He separated them, putting his on and throwing hers at her. “But there is a bright side… at least I got to see your birthmark,” he winked.
She laughed. “You’re awful.”
“I know,” he sighed. “Do you have to work tomorrow?”
“Yeah… but only from eight to one. You?”
“Eleven to four,” he told her. “I’ll come over after… and we’ll tell our parents when they get home from work?”
“Sounds like a plan to me,” she smiled.
He leaned over and kissed her softly. “Goodnight, I love you.”
“’Night… love you…,” she mumbled sleepily.
“Oh and don’t forget to hide that ring; your mom will see it for sure,” he added before leaving.
1 more left
