The Friends List – Chap 2 by thatsbogus.,
All characters in this story are 18+. It is set in the summer of 2010. Thanks to Ravenna933 for her edits and RawSilhouette for help with developing the plot.
I woke up Sunday morning to a house full of people. All four of us were there for the first time in over eight months. Mom and Walt had gotten in late, and from the looks of things, they hadn’t noticed the raucous party my stepsister Vanessa had thrown. We’d done a good job cleaning up the place the day before, and then spent the rest of the day apart, locked in our rooms.
I’d looked forward to seeing Mom again, and she was clearly just as happy to see me. She made me a lovely brunch of Eggs Benedict from scratch — one of her specialties — as I told her all about the last semester. I hadn’t been able to come home during Reading Week as I was too behind on my coursework, so this was the first time we’d seen each other in person since Christmas.
Mom and I had always been close, dating back to the many years where all we’d had was each other, and I really cherished the adult relationship we now had. Mom had always treated me with respect and been up front and honest, even in childhood, and I had never felt like she’d lied or kept things from me. Growing up with that openness made me naturally honest and frank in return, and compared with most of my friends, I enjoyed never feeling like I had to sneak around or lie to her.
One of the adjustments I’d had to make in moving into a blended family household was Walt’s relative conservatism with his daughter — he’d kept Vanessa a little more locked down. Mom made excuses for him — ‘girls are different’, she’d said — but it had taken some getting used to having a parent that was more restrictive than Mom’s permissive nature midway through my teens. Walt and I had clashed a little, but I’d rewarded Mom’s lax attitude towards discipline by becoming a sensible, responsible adult — her words, not mine — so it never really got too difficult between us.
Whereas from the looks of it, Vanessa’s teen rebellion years, late in coming, might have finally started this past year while I was away. But I didn’t share any of these thoughts with Mom over brunch. I wasn’t a tattletale, and Vanessa’s relationship with her Dad wasn’t any of my business.
The next few weeks passed quickly. I got my grades back from the year, and found to my pleasure that my solid B+/A- average was maintained. With studying for the LSATs ahead of me, I decided against seeking out a summer job — I had savings to fund occasional extravagances, and I wanted to focus my spare time entirely on my upcoming exam.
Monique’s words about other (girl? girls?) she knew having a crush on me were never far from my mind, but I didn’t want to go barrelling in and trying to score with someone when I had no real reason to infiltrate my stepsister’s friends, and I wanted to give Laura’s tall tales and Monique’s reassurances time to percolate. I was fine with playing it cool to start the summer and wait to see what opportunities came up.
In mid-May, Vanessa knocked on the door to my room.
“Come in.”
She entered. “I hear you slept with Laura.”
I nodded.
“Why?”
“She wanted to.”
“I know she wanted to. She’s wanted to for years. But why did you do it?” Vanessa’s look was inquisitive, not angry, and I relaxed a little.
“I don’t know. I always fought her off because she was too young and too immature. She’s neither of those things now.”
Vanessa considered this. “And it was a one night stand?”
I nodded again.
“You’re not going to fuck her again?”
“Not planning to.”
Vanessa sat down at the end of my bed. “I’m not upset.”
“I can tell,” I interrupted, “and I’m glad you’re not.”
“But I’m worried about her. If this had been an unrequited crush forever, well, we’ve all had them. But getting what you want only once… it’s going to be hard on her to let it go.”
“For what it’s worth, I feel like a bit of an asshole about it in retrospect. But I didn’t realize quite how deep her feelings ran for me. I thought it was just teenage lust. If I’d known just how deep her feelings for me were, I wouldn’t have done it.”
Vanessa’s face softened further. “I’m glad to hear you say that. If you’d been playing on the emotions of one of my friends and using her for sex I’d have been way more upset.”
“If anything, she was using me,” I pointed out.
She laughed, but the laugh was strained. “Yeah, I can imagine she was.” I wondered if there was any history there I didn’t know about, but I knew better than to ask. We sat in silence for a few moments.
“Is she okay?” I asked.
Vanessa nodded. “It’s hard to tell, because she’s barely said a word about how she’s feeling about it. She’s bragged about you a lot, to the point I had to tell her to stop telling me about it. I don’t need to hear that stuff about my stepbrother.”
I grinned smugly. Vanessa ignored me.
“But her actual feelings? If she’s in pain or upset, she hasn’t let on.”
“Keep me posted,” I said. “I don’t know if there’s anything much I can do for her, but I’d at least like to know I haven’t caused her any pain.”
“That’s nice of you.”
Vanessa sat for a moment, still thinking.
“I still really don’t feel like we know each other that well, but both Laura and Monique have said some really wonderful things about you recently,” she began again.
“That’s kind of them.”
“Monique told me that she and you are becoming friends,” she continued.
“I’d agree with that. I really like her.”
Vanessa nodded. “You can thank her for this, because it’s her idea. We’re going out tonight for karaoke and she wants you to come with, but only if I was cool with it. And I’m cool with it. It’s a group thing; there will be other guys there. Just… you know, be gentle with Laura and don’t fuck her again.”
“Cross my heart and hope to die,” I promised.
“Cool.” She smiled, one of the first genuine smiles I could remember her ever giving me, and my heart melted a little. “We’re meeting at the karaoke bar at 9. I’ll let you know when I’m ready to leave.”
I messaged Monique as soon as Vanessa left the room.
Thanks for laying ground work for me, I texted. Tonight sounds like fun.
You’re welcome. How has Laura been treating you?
Quiet, I answered. Surprisingly.
She hasn’t forgotten about you.
Great. How’s it been going?
Well, at a minimum, the whole group knows how you rocked her world, Monique wrote, following it up with several raindrop emoji.
Vanessa and I just talked. I’m surprised she was so okay with it.
Well, she’s not thrilled you had a one-night stand with one of her friends, but she also knows just how deep of a crush Laura had on you, so I think she was able to accept it wasn’t entirely your fault. It wasn’t news to her that Laura was in love with you. When we were younger she was always asking about you, wanting to see photos, you know. It was obvious.
I gritted my teeth.
But she’ll get over it. Hopefully it won’t be weird tonight.
Is this a couples thing? I asked. I don’t want to be a fifth wheel, or be stuck with Laura all night.
You might be an eleventh wheel, but no, you’ll be fine. You can come as my date if you want to.