Scandal in the House of Titan
The Truth is Out
“I haven’t had a sleepover in so long.”
Molly is digging through my box of nail polish. She hands me a mint green.
“I thought I would have a lot more once I moved out of my parents’ house, but I haven’t.”
I shrug and shake the bottle of polish. I open it and flick the brush over Molly’s big toe. She takes a sip of some wine.
“I had a lot in high school before I was out of the closet.”
“Grace!”
“The boy I was secretly dating, Jake, would come over and we would watch a movie and eat candy, then we would go up to my room and share my big bed and we’d wait until my family had been asleep for a while then make out.”
“How did your parents not know that was happening?”
“Oh, they knew. They just wanted us to come out on our own.”
“I never knew you were such a glutton for scandal. You really are a Titan.”
“Speak for yourself. Do you see the mess we’re in?”
By the time this conversation happens, over half of my last bottle of red wine is gone. Molly is giggly. My feet are warm.
“A little danger is always appealing, what can I say?”
I start to get nervous. I know what’s coming. I finish a second coat of paint on Molly’s toes. She leans back on her hands.
“You know one reason I took you as my daughter is because you’re sexy, right? I don’t mean to sound superficial, but if I’m gonna start a family, I want it to be the hottest one anyone’s ever seen.”
“Well, I do get my looks from my mother.”
Molly turns red, although it could be from the third glass of wine she just finished off. It takes very little to get her tipsy, even less for her inhibitions to completely dissolve, and given recent events, this night could take a very dramatic turn at any second. Part of me wants it to. The other part is terrified. It’s nearly four in the morning, Alex and Stephen are hundreds of miles away, and here Molly and I sit, a little drunk, a little tired, and very attracted to each other.
I find myself drinking even more in a misguided attempt to avoid the imminent physical encounter that I desperately want. Molly takes two big gulps straight from the bottle and hands it to me to polish off. I feel my muscles relax. Molly spins around and lays on what is usually Alex’s pillow. I recline beside her. I turn my head, expecting to see Alex’s dirty blonde hair and green eyes, but instead see Molly’s dark brown fade and sapphire eyes blinking back at me. She smiles and I can’t help smiling back.
“Wanna hear a secret?”
She looks at her hands, twisting her knuckles.
“What kind of secret?”
“It’s kinda dirty.”
She giggles. Oh god.
“The first time you ever performed and you asked me to help you tuck… That was one of the hottest things I have ever done and I kinda couldn't stop thinking about it…”
“Molly!”
“I know it’s weird, but you just have such a great body and we felt so connected in that moment.”
“Quite literally. You got your acrylic stuck to the tape, remember?”
“Oh, yeah. I remember.”
I had feared that the alcohol would work its truth serum magic. I am worried about what might be confessed next. Molly scoots closer to me.
“You’re so talented. You’ve come such a long way in three months.”
“Well, I have one of the greatest teachers.”
“Stop, I’m blushing.”
“No, you’re drunk.”
“You are too! You’ve been holding my hand for, like, five minutes.”
I look down to see our fingers intertwined, but I don’t let go.
“Can we kiss again?”
“I thought you’d never ask.”
Molly is digging through my box of nail polish. She hands me a mint green.
“I thought I would have a lot more once I moved out of my parents’ house, but I haven’t.”
I shrug and shake the bottle of polish. I open it and flick the brush over Molly’s big toe. She takes a sip of some wine.
“I had a lot in high school before I was out of the closet.”
“Grace!”
“The boy I was secretly dating, Jake, would come over and we would watch a movie and eat candy, then we would go up to my room and share my big bed and we’d wait until my family had been asleep for a while then make out.”
“How did your parents not know that was happening?”
“Oh, they knew. They just wanted us to come out on our own.”
“I never knew you were such a glutton for scandal. You really are a Titan.”
“Speak for yourself. Do you see the mess we’re in?”
By the time this conversation happens, over half of my last bottle of red wine is gone. Molly is giggly. My feet are warm.
“A little danger is always appealing, what can I say?”
I start to get nervous. I know what’s coming. I finish a second coat of paint on Molly’s toes. She leans back on her hands.
“You know one reason I took you as my daughter is because you’re sexy, right? I don’t mean to sound superficial, but if I’m gonna start a family, I want it to be the hottest one anyone’s ever seen.”
“Well, I do get my looks from my mother.”
Molly turns red, although it could be from the third glass of wine she just finished off. It takes very little to get her tipsy, even less for her inhibitions to completely dissolve, and given recent events, this night could take a very dramatic turn at any second. Part of me wants it to. The other part is terrified. It’s nearly four in the morning, Alex and Stephen are hundreds of miles away, and here Molly and I sit, a little drunk, a little tired, and very attracted to each other.
I find myself drinking even more in a misguided attempt to avoid the imminent physical encounter that I desperately want. Molly takes two big gulps straight from the bottle and hands it to me to polish off. I feel my muscles relax. Molly spins around and lays on what is usually Alex’s pillow. I recline beside her. I turn my head, expecting to see Alex’s dirty blonde hair and green eyes, but instead see Molly’s dark brown fade and sapphire eyes blinking back at me. She smiles and I can’t help smiling back.
“Wanna hear a secret?”
She looks at her hands, twisting her knuckles.
“What kind of secret?”
“It’s kinda dirty.”
She giggles. Oh god.
“The first time you ever performed and you asked me to help you tuck… That was one of the hottest things I have ever done and I kinda couldn't stop thinking about it…”
“Molly!”
“I know it’s weird, but you just have such a great body and we felt so connected in that moment.”
“Quite literally. You got your acrylic stuck to the tape, remember?”
“Oh, yeah. I remember.”
I had feared that the alcohol would work its truth serum magic. I am worried about what might be confessed next. Molly scoots closer to me.
“You’re so talented. You’ve come such a long way in three months.”
“Well, I have one of the greatest teachers.”
“Stop, I’m blushing.”
“No, you’re drunk.”
“You are too! You’ve been holding my hand for, like, five minutes.”
I look down to see our fingers intertwined, but I don’t let go.
“Can we kiss again?”
“I thought you’d never ask.”