Of Moons, Birds, and Monsters

Dawn was failing miserably at hiding her giggles. I immediately wanted to shrink and take refuge in a cupboard after I told her what happened between me and Luke.

“First, you come home puking, and now you’re getting all hot and heavy with this kid. I don’t think the Moreno’s are a good influence on you,” she grinned, trying to recover from her giggle fit.

“Not both of them, just the curly headed one,” I mumbled, trying to get over the embarrassment that generated though out my body. “But he’s not that bad, he’s just--”

“Horny, and jacking off in my shower,” Dawn chuckled, her eyes disappearing behind her cheeks. “I never thought I’d see the day when Riley Bridges would be fooling around with a Moreno brother.”

I hid my painfully warm cheeks behind my hands, trying to ignore the graphic image she put into my head about Luke’s showering activities.

“Why are you hating on the Moreno brothers so much?” I asked, raising an eyebrow at her. “You used to hangout with Jack all the time.”

“No, I never hung out with Jack. He and I just used to mess with each other in class,” she corrected, slightly shrugging her shoulders. “He was cool, and funny as hell. But he sure wasn’t a golden boy.”

“Still isn’t,” I muttered to myself, getting up from the kitchen table and making my way to the fridge.

“But I tell you what, if he wasn’t with that twig, I’d have no problem rockin’ that boy’s world,” Dawn slyly grinned.

If given the chance, I would have rolled my eyes, but the sound of a vibrating cell phone interrupted my thought process.

“That thing has been going off all afternoon," Dawn growled, rolling her eyes. “It’s Luke’s, and you should probably answer it because someone is obviously trying to get a hold of him.”

I grabbed the small grey device off of the counter and answered it.

“Hello?” I asked uneasily. I didn’t think it was right to answer his phone. Too much of an invasion of privacy, but if his phone had been ringing for that long, something important might have happened.

“Uhh,” the voice said hesitantly. “This is Jack; I’m looking for my brother.”

I let out a sigh of relief and scratched the back of my head. “Jack, its Riley.”

“Have you seen Luke at all since last night?” he asked quickly. “I’ve been calling since I woke up. No one has seen him, and my dad is starting to ask questions.”

“Yeah, he’s here,” I answered. “He’s in the shower right now. I brought him home with me last night because he was getting extremely sick.”

“Yeah, Mason told me he last saw him with you, but I didn’t know any number I could reach you at,” Jack said.

“He’s here. He’s not feeling the greatest, but he’s in decent shape,” I shrugged, walking towards the bedroom hallway.

“Do you mind if I swing by and pick him up? My mom is supposed to be home soon, and it would be easier if I came and got him. Gives me time to make up an excuse and all.”

“Yeah, sure,” I agreed.

I gave Jack directions to get to the house and knocked on the bathroom door.

“Yeah?” Luke asked, quickly shutting off the water.

“Jack is on his way to pick you up,” I informed him through the door.

Luke cracked the door open and stuck his head through the small opening. “Uh, great,” he said breathlessly. “C-can you help me find my clothes? I don’t even know where my boxers are.”

“What did you wake up in?” I asked, trying to ignore Luke’s lack of breath.

“Do I really have to answer that?” he chuckled nervously.

“It would help a little.”

“Just a pair of shorts that I’ve never seen before in my life,” he shrugged. He hid behind the door for a second, and handed me a pair of lime green swimming trunks.

“Oh, yeah,” I sighed in relief. “These are Chris’s. Dawn must have taken your clothes. I’ll find them.”

“Great, thanks,” he nodded quickly and shut the door.

I walked back through the kitchen and into the laundry room, trying to remember what Luke wore last night.

“Looking for something?” Dawn asked, leaning against the door frame.

“Luke’s clothes. Have you seen them?” I asked, shifting through the clothes in the dryer.

“Red flannel shirt, dark jeans, grey shirt, and a pair of Ren and Stimpy boxers?” she listed with a raised eyebrow. “Yeah, I’ve seen them.”

I waited for her to continue. When she didn’t, I stood up straight and raised my eyebrows at her. “Are you going to tell me where they are?”

“Only if you tell me how out of breath he was when you knocked on the door,” she grinned.

I slammed the dryer shut and rolled my eyes before I pushed past her.

“They’re on top of your dresser, genius,” Dawn called after me as I turned into my bedroom.

Luke stood with no shirt on and his pants unbuttoned and unzipped.

“Sorry,” I said quickly. “I didn’t know you found them already.”

“It’s fine,” he said shyly. returning to buttoning his pants.

“Here’s your phone,” I said uncomfortably, setting the small device onto the dresser.

While Luke continued to dress, I returned to the living room with Dawn, who already had CNN on the television.

“For once can we watch something other than News and sappy Lifetime movies?” I blurted out as I plopped down onto the recliner.

“Wanna watch Shop Erotic?” she asked, pressing the guide button.

“No,” I scoffed. “Something that’ll entertain us all until Jack gets here.”

Dawn scrolled through the numerous pages of TV shows and movies, trying to find something that didn’t involve children’s cartoons and pregnancy shows. She finally settled on a Comedy Central stand-up act before going to the kitchen to make Ramen noodles.

Luke sat in the recliner next to me, keeping his eyes locked onto screen and his hands in his pockets.

I wanted to say something to him, but had no idea what. I completely forgot that I would have to face him after he got out of the shower. I just kind of figured he’d disappear down the drain, or act like nothing happened. That was what I was planning on doing, but his approach completely messed up my mind set.

Before he jumped on me, he asked me if I truthfully liked him. Now was he being weird because he regretted his actions, knowing that I liked him in a way I hadn’t before? Did he take my answer as some sort of hint? The scenarios continued to shuffle in my brain, causing me to unknowingly scoot farther away from him in my chair.

When the doorbell rang, I slowly tumbled out of the recliner and answered the door. Jack stood with his hands in his pockets and a smile on his face.

“Nice shiner, you got there, Riz,” he chuckled, flicking a spot on his neck.

I didn’t know what he was referring to, so I just shrugged it off and waited for Luke to come to the door.

“Thanks for taking care of him,” Jack said, slowly nodding his head.

“No problem,” I nodded, keeping my gaze directed toward the hallway.

Dawn followed behind Luke, who kept his gaze down and quickly walked past me.

“Lookin’ good there, Dawn,” Jack grinned. “Haven’t seen you around in ages.”

“Yeah, I like to keep it on the down low,” she shrugged. “Still with blondie?”

“Still with goat face?” he laughed.

“Yeah, he’s still around,” she sighed with a smile.

“Then our answer is the same,” Jack chuckled.

While Jack and Dawn continued to flirt, I kept my eyes on Luke, who kept his hung his head with his hands shoved deep into his pockets. I tried to repress the urge to ask him what his problem was. I probably didn't have the gut, anyway. I couldn't make us both seem like fools in front of two other people who didn't belong in the situation.

“I’ll keep you in my book,” Jack nodded towards Dawn.

“Mm, and I’ll be waiting,” she winked.

Jack kept grinning as he punched Luke’s shoulder. “Aren’t you gonna tell Riley bye?”

Luke looked up and mumbled a quick “See you.”

“Yeah,” I mumbled back.

“Am I missing something?” Jack asked as he turned to follow Luke towards the car. “’Cause I know it was you who gave her that hickey.”

“God, will you SHUT UP!” Luke shouted, walking even faster towards Jack small vehicle.

I quickly shut the door and tried to push the feeling of shame and rejection towards the pit of my stomach.