“Tay,” I whispered, not caring if he heard me. “Tay I’m afraid,” I shivered. He murmured, waking slightly. “I don’t want to lose you. I mean, I dunno, I just have this bad feeling…”
He turned toward me and opened his eyes, “What’s the matter?” he mumbled with sleep.
“I just… I dunno… I guess I don’t feel well.”
He pulled my face to his chest and held me tight. “You worry too much.”
He was right. At that moment, I was wondering what would happen if someone woke up and saw us huddled next to each other, now sharing Tay’s sleeping bag. I definitely worried about getting him in trouble like every second of the day, to the point that it was making my stomach churn. I needed to chill.
I woke the next morning on the hill still feeling ill… to say the least. I was cold, but I wiggled out of my sleeping bag, trying desperately not to wake anyone up. I rushed as quickly and as quietly as possible to the edge of the woods before I heaved. It was nasty, and I felt absolutely horrible. Before I vomited again, I made my way further into the trees. My hands were sweaty and shaking as I stood up.
“Tayler?” I snapped my head to see Mrs. Hanson standing there with a concerned look on her face.
“Oh, um…”
“Are you all right?”
“I am now… I don’t know. I just felt sick.”
“Do you want something to eat?”
“No, thanks,” I said, gagging again at the idea of some of the fish that Mr. Hanson would no doubt be making for breakfast. She gave me a very concerned look and rubbed my back as I bent over again and threw up (almost on her flip-flops).
After a few minutes, I was okay, and Mrs. Hanson made sure I was sitting close to the fire that she’d lit, wrapped in my sleeping bag, drinking some punch. She said I looked all pale and clammy. It was kind of embarrassing to have her worrying over me so much. I’d never seen her act like this around her own children. At least no one else was awake to see.
“Dude, what the hell is that?” Heidi whispered.
“Shhhh…” I covered the purply brown mark just below and a little to the left of my belly button. I hoisted up my bathing suit bottom to try to cover it up.
“Tayler…” Heidi’s voice was scolding as she smiled.
I looked over at Tay, who was horsing around in the water with his brothers. He smirked at me as he saw me adjust my bathing suit. It figured that I’d brought this bathing suit. It had a stringy black halter top with a little butterfly cutout on the right triangle. The bottom, sadly, was low cut with the same butterfly cutout right over my… love bite. Hopefully the parents wouldn’t notice… But ever since this morning, Mrs. Hanson had been watching me like a hawk, offering me food every two seconds, and whispering to her husband. Worse than that, Carla seemed to have overheard them a few times, and was gleefully adding in to the hushed conversations.
“How the hell did you manage that?” Heidi giggled.
I propped myself up on my elbows, getting back to the conversation, “Remember when I went to take a shower yesterday?” I smiled naughtily.
“No way!” she also sat up, adjusting her lime green bathing suit. Then she added in a barely audible whisper, “What did you do?
“I’m tired of tanning, wanna go swimming?” I asked, smiling proudly.
“Sure,” she laughed. “Little slut,” she added.
I shoved her playfully as we waded in. She shoved me back and I fell into the water. It was possibly the most perfect weather ever. The sky was all bright and clear and blue, the sun was hot, but not painfully so. We were spending our last day by the lake. Tomorrow would be spent packing up and hiking home. Mr. Hanson and Mr. Herbert were barbecuing, and the moms (much to my relief) had led a canoeing expedition out to the center of the lake.
I pulled Heidi into the water, too, and we chased each other all the way out to the dock on which Francis and Taylor were sitting. Scrambling up the ladder and away from Heidi, I hid behind the boys.
“What’s up, sexy?” Tay laughed as I grabbed his shoulders and hid behind him, using him as a shield against Heidi.
“Make her stop!” I laughed.
“Now, now,” Francis put his hand on Heidi’s arm, “There’s no need to fight over me. There’s enough for us to share.”
Heidi and I erupted into laughter.
“Nice work there, Tay,” Francis elbowed Tay, pointing at the purple mark below my belly button, which was now in full view.
“Jealous,” I laughed, tugging on my bathing suit to cover it.
“Hell yea… Even I haven’t had the balls to bring a chick on the family outing and give her a below-the-waist hickey. Seriously, nice job,” he punched Tay’s shoulder.
Tay remained silent, but smirked.
Carla swam over and most of the banter stopped. “Nice bathing suit,” she scoffed, dripping water on me.
“Thanks,” I smiled, pretending I didn’t know she was a sarcastic whore.
She gave me a dirty look.
“Sister, dear,” Francis said, looking impatient, “Please get the fu&k out of here. I’m talking to hot chicks in bathing suits, and you’re wrecking my vibe.”
Carla dove smoothly into the water and went over near Ike and Zac. I felt bad for her for a minute, dissed and dismissed by her own brother.
After like a half an hour, food was ready, and the moms had rowed back to shore. There was fish (surprise) and hot dogs (not my particular favorite, unless they’re from a New York vendor). I ate some salad, hoping to never smell fish again.
When lunch was over, Heidi and I went off to find the little “bathroom.” It was this scary old wooden shanty thing with a toilet seat over a hole. That’s what we’d been using over at the cabin, but at least there weren’t cobwebs and gnats in that one. Because we were screaming the whole time we were peeing, Heidi and I emerged from the woods a few minutes later, cracking up so that we were doubled over.
“Tayler?” Mrs. Hanson’s face looked alarmed.
“Yes?”
“I need to speak with you for a moment,” she gave a look that sent Heidi away. “Come over here,” she led me back into the woods a bit. “What did you eat for lunch today?”
“Salad,” I raised my eyebrow at her, wondering what the hell that had to do with anything.
“Why didn’t you have fish?”
“I don’t really like fish,” I admitted.
“Why not?” she seemed desperate. She was definitely wigging out.
“It makes me nauseous,” I confessed, hoping she hadn’t gone crazy or something.
“Are you…” she paused, searching my face, “Are you having sex with my son?”
“What?!”
“What I mean to say is, well, I’ve received some information… I mean….” She paused and grabbed my arm, “Are you pregnant?”
“What?!” I repeated, incredulous.
“Are you having Taylor’s baby?”
“Are you serious?”
She held up a box of Trojans as some sort of proof, “I found these in my son’s backpack.”
I stood there, my mouth hanging open. This had to be a part of some sick joke.
“None of them are used,” she informed me. “And after this morning, well…”
“Mrs. Hanson-”
“Call me Diana.”
“Okay, Diana, I am not pregnant. You don’t need to worry about that. Taylor and I are very careful-“
“Oh God!” she interrupted me, dropping the condoms to cover her mouth, “So you are having sex with him?!”
“You didn’t let me finish,” I tried not to yell at her… she was getting irrational.
“I can’t believe this! How could you two not tell us!” and she stormed away.
I stood there, staring down at the box of condoms. This was not happening. “It was only a matter of time…” Yea, well, time’s up. I picked up the box, hid it under my towel, and made my way back to the shore of the lake.
I’d meant to say that Tay and I were very careful not to get into anything we weren’t ready for. The answer that sex ed teachers teach you. Thanks a lot.
Tay and his mother we having a hushed but heated argument over by the canoes when I emerged from the woods. The kids were oblivious, and the other parents busied themselves with cleaning up lunch. Zac and Heidi were waiting for me.
“Dude, what’s going on?” Zac asked.
“Your mother thinks I’m pregnant.”
Heidi laughed.
“I’m not kidding, Heid,” I sighed. “Somehow she knows about Taylor and I.” Carla walked by with a smirk on her face. I added, “And I’m pretty sure I know who tipped her off.” I approached Carla with a rage that broiled in my unsettled stomach, “What the hell did you do, bitch?” I pushed her with the hand that wasn’t holding the box of condoms.
“Excuse me?”
I handed my towel and the box to Heidi, “I asked you what the hell you did.” I got up in her face.
“Well, Diana simply asked if I noticed anything weird about you lately. I said that it was hard to pick out just one abnormal thing about you,” she smiled at her cleverness, “But maybe it had something to do with your relationship with Taylor?”
I was so fuming mad I wasn’t even capable of killing her. “Robinson,” Zac grabbed my arm to hold me back, “Maybe we’d better not make a bad situation worse.”
“Maybe,” I couldn’t tear my gaze from Carla, “this bitch should get out of my face so that I don’t rip her fu%&ing eyes out,” my fists were balled at my sides, and my knuckles were white.
“Hey, Tayler,” Tay called. “Can you come here for a second?”
I turned to him. He had a pained look on his face.
“Yea,” I went over to him, forgetting Carla for a moment. He led me back into the woods a bit where we couldn’t be seen or heard.
“So,” he sighed, sticking his hands in his pockets.
“What happened?” I asked.
“She knows now, and she’s pissed.”
“She thinks I’m pregnant.”
“I know,” he ran his hands through his hair, “I tried to convince her otherwise, but she told me about this morning.”
“When I puked?”
“Yea. She thinks you have morning sickness.”
“Ugh! I don’t believe this is happening. You know Carla is the one that put these ideas into her head.”
“I figured as much.”
I crossed my arms over my chest angrily.
“But hey,” he put his hand on my shoulder, “this isn’t necessarily a bad thing. I mean, now they know. We don’t have to hide anymore.”
“Tay, I’m sorry I got you in trouble.”
“Robinson, don’t worry about it. It’s better this way,” he shrugged. “Now when we make out, you don’t have to worry about my parents finding out.”
“Yea, so let’s just go at it right now on the beach,” I sighed grumpily.
“You up to it?” he teased.
I couldn’t help laughing, “Sometimes you’re such a boy.”
