Sun Kisses - Miami Heat

Chapter Four

PEE-PEE CONNECTION

"Keys!" I shout to Mal and she throws me the car keys. With her yoga mat tucked under her arm, she walks to the tiny trunk of my red Cabrio and I open it for her so she can stow the mat and her bag inside. She's wearing a yellow sports kit, consisting of tight pants and a sports bra that covers her breasts securely.
Autumn once tried to get her to wear a bra that exposed half of her cherries but, fortunately, Mal laughingly refused.
Her yoga teacher is a forty-something year old man who Mal once caught in a storage room with another student. This event was not nice for anyone involved.
Since then, Mal has avoided even speaking to him or making eye contact with him. But it has never occurred to her to change course either. Malena is the kind of girl who gets used to something, takes it to her heart and then can't turn her back on it. As much as her teacher disgusts her, she has taken the other women to her heart and found her routine in this course.
Which I can't really understand.
"Let's get out of here. I really need sugar and something greasy to eat. Have the twins contacted you yet?" She hops into the passenger seat next to me and wipes her sweaty face with a towel that has already found its permanent place in the side door. I have placed a chilled bottle right next to her.
With an enthusiastic yelp, she takes big gulps as I leave the parking lot and drive onto the main road.
I nod. "They're getting on their way."
"Who do you think Autumn's having her roller-skating date with this weekend? Not with the guy from last time?" To be on the safe side, I look in the rear-view mirror before I turn left and Mal presses the button that makes the car roof slide open. The loud sounds of city life immediately reach us and the wind blows around our bodies. "It will be Tristan. I think she really has a thing for him," I say and reach for my sunglasses with my right hand and place them on my nose.
The sun is slowly setting, bathing Miami in beautiful orange and pink colors. The beach is crowded with locals and tourists, some already gathering their things to go home, others still swimming in the sea.
"God, she really has man-blindness. What is it about him that she likes?" Mal puts her head back on her neck with a groan and wipes her face.
"Don't forget that he goes along with almost everything she suggests. He's completely addicted to her," I try to stand up for Autumn, but Mal just shakes her head.
"Fella fucked me up when he dumped her not only on Valentine's Day but also on her birthday. No matter how many presents or compliments he gives her, he's already shown her how reliable he really is."
Yeah, sometimes I feel like Autumn is testing him on purpose. Like to see if she can really rely on him or how far he would go for her. That's why she makes suggestions like going to a roller skating disco on a Saturday night.
"As long as she's happy, we can't have a say in it anyway. Besides, he's good-looking."
She gives me a mocking look from the side and asks with a raised eyebrow: "Do you think so?"
I snort and park in her driveway. "It suits her."
"Ah yes," she laughs and we get out of the car together.
Her driveway is decorated with dark cobblestones and colorful flower pots, the windows are modern, the front door has a narrow pane.
She takes her things out of the trunk and I open the front door for her.
As we enter the house, there is almost dead silence until I hear a rumble from upstairs and muffled voices.
Mal gives me a puzzled look and leans around the banister of the stairs, but can't make out anything. "Didn't you say Malin was going to Damian's?" She nods and puts her bag down in front of the checkroom. "Brother? Is that you?"
No answer.
Together we walk up the stairs, through the hallway to Malin's room, where the door is slightly ajar. "I thought you were leaving to Damian?" Malena asks loudly as she pushes the door open and looks around the room.
I tense up instantly.
Damian and Malin are sitting on two beanbags in the far corner of his room, two controllers in their hands, playing GTA. With two headsets on their heads, they don't notice us - which isn't necessarily a bad thing.
The first time I stood in Malin's room after we started our 'thing', my heart was pounding so hard against my chest that it almost burst out. Now there's none of that left. Guilt-ridden, I look around the room and then land on the photo of him and Damian on his dresser.
They are so focused that Malena just looks at me, shaking her head, and we leave the room together.
"Well, I guess they moved their sleepover party here. Anyway, Mom and Dad won't be home until late and as long as the little boys stay in Malin's room and play nicely, they won't bother us."
We lie down on her bed in her room and I sink into the many colorful pillows.
"What do you think of Damian?" she asks me as she closes the door with one of her pillows and looks at me questioningly. I turn to her in surprise and raise an eyebrow. "Why are you asking me that?"
"If Levin and Autumn were here, you'd just answer my question with curses and insults. I'm just taking my chance. I want to know what you think of him."
"Again, I'm asking you: Why are you asking me this?"
"Out of interest, Lia."
"Why are you interested?"
"No particular reason. Remember, we peed in the same bath - when we were both still in it, I think. Isn't your best friend allowed to ask you questions?"
"No, you're not."
"Ouch, that hurts. Are you denying our pee-pee connection?"
"No."
"Then answer my question. What do you think of him?"
I take a deep breath and prop myself up on my elbows. "I think he's a bit of an asshole. He has no sense of compassion or moral sensibility."
Her lips twist into a crooked grin.
Uh-oh.
That twinkle in her eye is not good at all.
"What?"
"You still haven't let go of your kiss." Abruptly, I sit up bolt upright and stare at her. "You know about that?"
She laughs out loud, pulls open her bedside drawer and pulls out an open packet of cookies. "Of course I know about this. What kind of ridiculous question is that? You say I'm asking you strange questions when you're the one asking strange questions."
Her long brown hair flows down over her shoulders and settles on the mattress. With her slender fingers, she draws circles and angular shapes on the cozy bedspread. I follow her movements for a moment until I have overcome my speechlessness.
"Where from?"
"Honey, I was at the party with you that night. I didn't see it with my own eyes, but as soon as I saw your face, I knew what had happened. Besides, you talk in your sleep, especially when you've had alcohol. If I were you, I'd think about who you sleep with in the same room - you can give away important information. Maybe even my top secret cases. God, who have you told all about my thong accident?"
I shake my head defensively, my brow furrowed. "No one, of course."
She looks at me scrutinizingly. "How would you know that?"
"Help, Mal, stay on topic!"
She swallows and tilts her head apologetically.
"Why have you never said anything?"
"Because you never told me on your own and I didn't want to put you under pressure. You usually come to me about everything - except this and I'm sure there's a reason for that."
I never told her about it because I was terribly ashamed.
Which is totally ridiculous, by the way.
But that's the way it was.
I found it embarrassing that Damian rejected me like that, even if it was only subconsciously - it was the worst slap in the face. Nothing hurt me as much as the next few days after the party, when I realized that Damian had already forgotten about me.
And it hurt my pride.
The fact that Mal knew about it but gave me my space means an awful lot to me.
It was stupid to assume for a moment that it would be better not to talk to her about it.
"Thank you," I say quietly and she nods slightly at me. I notice how she closes the subject and ends it. After all, it's not the first time I've bumped into Damian in this house. It's hardly avoidable.
However, it doesn't change my anger.
I feel like this pot has been boiling for almost a year and just won't cool down. Even though I've learned to just forget about it most of the time. Only when I see him does this anger surface.
"All right - let's get a few things ready before the others arrive."

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I dip my chips in the mayo and take some more chips seasoning to make them tastier, then I look back at the TV, smacking my lips and satisfied. We set down a bowl of fries and a plate of nuggets on the table, with a small plate of all sorts of sauces next to it.
"I can't believe you guys keep winning," Levin complains as the movie starts. Levin and Autumn are usually committed to watching an action or horror movie, but Mal and I manage to talk them into a cheesy romance every time.
And in the end, they never regret it, because our taste in movies is excellent.
"Just shut up and enjoy it, I know you love it anyway. You always used to want to look like Matthew McConaughey."
He looks at me indignantly and shakes his head. "Firstly, that was a long time ago and I now look much better than my childhood idea of my future self and secondly, is Matthew in this?"
"Yes, he's the love interest."
He silently averts his eyes and looks at the screen where the opening credits for "How do I get rid of him - in 10 days?" are playing.
Autumn and Mal are snuggled up together in a corner, sharing a bowl of salad before they, like Levin and I, chow down on the meat and chips.
During the movie, we occasionally exchange a few jokes, throw fries at each other and my M&M's pack gets opened.
As expected, both Autumn and Levin really enjoyed the movie and talk at length about the moral message of the movie and the sweet, romantic scenes.
"I'm fascinated every time. I couldn't get on with '50 First Dates' at all. Why are the old movies always so much better than the new ones?" Autumn helps me carry the dirty plates into the kitchen and we put them in the sink. I giggle and raise my shoulders innocently. "Because the world used to have better taste."
"Which is still evident in your style of dress, Miss Bella Swan-Elena Gilbert from Miami."
"Guilty. Punish me for my good taste," I joke and we walk back to the others.