Kenya

“Oh shit.”

“What?” Kenya asked.

“I forgot that I was supposed to ride home with Perry.”

I could tell Kenya was trying not to smile.

“I’ll just tell her that I have to do something else.”

“The fact that you’re blowing her off for me, even though I just insulted you and told you that I’d bone you if given the chance, makes me feel really good about myself.”

My cheeks flushed, so I looked down at the phone screen.

Perry answered with a “no problem.”

“I think Perry used to like you,” I told Kenya.

Kenya smirked. “I know. And she knows why, but she’ll never admit to it.”

“Why did she?”

“Some day, Ashley.”

“She’s my girlfriend, why can’t I know?”

“That’s exactly the reason why you can’t know.”

I huffed and slouched down into my seat.

The bus driver stopped and called for the people at this stop to get off.

“That’s me Ashley. I’ll catch you later.”

“Okay.”

When Kenya left I actually felt truly alone. He was right though. I never really had friends. I’d had a girlfriend, but even she wasn’t really a friend. Perry was trying to be my friend, and that was good, I guess, but I really only wanted her as a friend. I think my problem was that I’d always searched for relationships instead of friendships and I didn’t know how to have friends because the last friends I had were in elementary school.

I laid my forehead on the bus window and stared out at the street and the passing scenery. I still wanted to go home.

Neither my aunt nor my mom was at home. I was bored out of my mind. I lay down in my bed. It smelled a little bit like Perry where she had slept and there was some eye makeup smudged on the pale sheets.

Last night was good, I thought. I liked Perry, not as much as I wanted to, but I did like her.

I went to the kitchen to get some food and ended up having to settle with a bowl of granola and some frozen grape. I felt like I was turning into a rabbit or something with the way my aunt cooked. Mom was always so much better in the food department.

The door buzzer rang. I went to the door and looked through the peephole suspiciously. It was Perry, which sort of shocked me. I didn’t think that she was the type to just randomly stop by to say “hey.”

I opened the door. “Oh hey Ashley,” Perry said and let herself in.

I closed the door behind her. I must have looked dumbstruck because she laughed.

“I just came by to say hey. Don’t worry, I don’t want anything.”

“I’ve just never really had anyone just come over to say hey.”

“You live a sad existence, dear.”

“Do you, uh, want some granola?”

Perry giggled. “No thanks.”

I was done with the granola as well. I dumped the remains down the sink drain, watching in mild disgust, as the lumpy remains washed away with leftover milk and water.

“Where’s your mom?”

She was asking where my mom was. I wasn’t sure exactly what it meant, but with Shannon it always meant that she wanted to get down and dirty.

“She works afternoons and nights, except on Sunday. And my aunt works late on Tuesdays.”

“Your aunt?”

“Yeah.” And so I ended up telling Perry about my family situation.

“That sucks,” she said. And I knew she said it from the bottom of her heart. She acted genuinely concerned over my relationship with my parents.

She came from a typical middle-class, white, suburban family. She was the youngest of four, and the only girl. All of her brothers were in college, except one, who was staying at home for a year, trying to save up some money.

“Ashley,” she asked after a small period of silence.

“Hm?”

“Do you like me? Actually? I kind of feel like I like you way more than you like me and-…”

“Yeah, I do like you. I promise.” And it was true. I did like her. Just not as much as she liked me, but she already knew that.

“Why though?”

“You’re pretty, smart, interesting. You have beautiful hair.”

“Oh.”

“I could go on….”

Perry blushed.

I gave her a winning smile.

She took one of my hands and traced the lines on my palm with her fingers. “I wish I knew what all these lines meant.”

“That’s all bullshit anyway.”

Perry shrugged.

“Hey Perry?”

I was going to ask her about what she really knew about Kenya, but I chickened out.

“Do you want to look for a movie or something to watch?”

“Sure.”

My aunt was not normal. All she had in her movie collection was concert videos. Perry got really excited though and she started going through them like they were precious paintings or something.

“Let’s watch this one!” she said, pulling it apart from the others. Her face lit up. It was sort of cute that she got so excited about little things.

“Okay.”

So we sat on my bed and watched the video.

I was totally bored, but Perry seemed absolutely hypnotized. I stroked the skin of her stomach that showed below the hem of her shirt with my thumb. She finally pulled her eyes off of the screen. She blushed.

“I’m sorry. I’m really nerdy about some things…”

“It’s fine,” I said. I caught her lips in a small kiss. I glanced behind her just to make sure that the door was closed, just in case my aunt came home.

My room got too hot too quickly. Perry was wearing too many clothes and she just got sexier and sexier by the minute.

We heard a door slam. “Shit,” I muttered into Perry’s neck.

“Ashley,” my aunt called. “Are you home?”

“Shit, shit, shit.”

I scrambled for pajama pants and made it out of the room before my aunt made it to my room.

“I thought you worked late on Tuesdays.”

“Every other Tuesday.”

“Oh.” I mentally slapped myself.

“Why?”

“I was just wondering…” I sounded so suspicious, but I hoped my aunt didn’t notice.

“Are you doing drugs?” My aunt smelled the air around me. She cocked an eyebrow.

“You smell like vanilla, and since when do you walk around shirtless?”

“I always do.”

“Who’s the girl?”

“There’s no girl.”

“I was a teenager Ashley. I’m not going to bother you, but just be honest.”

“Perry.”

“Your mom told me about her, she sounds sweet. But you know Ashley; you’re too young for a serious sexual relationship. And you’re not supposed to have sex outside of marriage anyway. But you know that already so I don’t even have to tell you again.”

“Right.”

“I’m serious. Clothes on at all times in my house.”

“Okay.”

“I’m going to the grocery store. When I get back, I expect you two to be out in the living room ready for a talk.”

“Alright.”

My aunt grabbed her grocery list off of the counter as well as her reusable grocery bags and locked the door behind her on her way out.

I went back to Perry.

“What did she say?”

“She wants to meet you.”

“Oh.” Perry bit her lip.

“She left for a while.”

“Good.”