Sell Your Soul

The entire house of people- Dillon, Jay, Matt with Maria on his lap, and Charlie with Cali at his feet- crowded around George on the patio. He flipped the last burger, and Dillon watched hungrily as he set it on the plate. He cracked open the jar of pickles and laughed as Dillon launched himself upright to snatch a plate. Maria stood up, followed closely by Matt. She pulled her sweatshirt down a bit further, even though it was already covering her shorts. Her hair was tied back in a high ponytail, and Matt stood behind her playing with it. Cali chuckled to herself and stood up.

Once everyone had gotten their food, they all sat back down. The sky was dark, and George had lit a fire in the firepit, creating almost a campfire effect. Cali smiled, remembering the last time she had gone camping.

"Let's tell stories!" suggested Charlie, taking a large bite of his double layer cheeseburger.

"You first," replied George. "Since it was your faggy idea."

"Alrighty, how about the time I passed out at Magic Mountain?" he said.

The guys all threw their heads back in laughter, but Maria and Cali looked at each other confusedly. Cali shrugged.

"Tell us," she said.

"Okay, well we all got really plastered and decided it was a good idea to go to Magic Mountain, and everyone knows you have to be on something when you go there or it's just gay," Charlie began. "We got off that huge-ass roller coaster, and I wanted to sit down. So me and Matt sat down on a bench across from the other, slightly smaller, huge-ass roller coaster. I saw George and Aron on top of the hill, and right as they were going down, I screamed 'Holy shit, they're gonna get killed on that thing!' So I leapt off the bench, made it two steps, and passed out in the middle of the street."

Maria and Cali joined the guys in their roaring laughter. Matt set his plate down, spilling a bit of his food from laughing.

"The best part was when he woke up, saw me, and said 'Mommy?'" he laughed. "That was fuckin' awesome!"

After a long while of laughing and eating, Jay said, "I got one for ya. My mother thought I was gay for a while, so for Christmas one year she got me a box of condoms. At first, I thought she was finally getting that I wasn't a kid anymore until she said, 'It's so you don't get AIDS, you know, cuz you're not pitching for the right team.' Christmas ended up in the hospital that year because she had given my dad a heart attack."

"Ah, we all know you're gay, Jay Jay," laughed Dillon. "Okay, okay, my turn."

Cali's phone rang. They all looked at her, and she silently excused herself- even though she knew she was missing probably the best story of the night. She sttod against the far wall in the courtyard and glanced down. It was Kyle.

"Hello?" she said.

"Cali, hey, do you know if Maria is working tonight?" replied Kyle. "I tried to call her, but she didn't pick up."

"She said she had tonight off," Cali said.

"Oh, okay."

"Well, I'll see ya-"

"Actually, that's not why I called."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, I kinda was hoping to talk about your boyfriend. Jordan."

"What about him?"

"He just doesn't seem like your type."

"My type?" Cali repeated.

"I don't know," said Kyle. "You just don't seem like the kind of girl who would date someone like him."

"Kyle, I happen to know how I feel with Charlie. And it's the best thing I've ever felt in a very, very long time."

"Well, just be careful, okay? I don't want you to get hurt."

"Kyle, you aren't my dad. You can't tell me what to think."

Cali hung up, and she slid her phone back in her pocket. She was starting to see red, an she needed to calm down before she got to the table. Maria looked at her and frowned.

"Who was that?" she asked.

"Kyle wanted to know if you were working," Cali said. "And you can tell him next time you talk to him, he can go to hell. I don't need his fucking opinion."