“Wait a second.” They stop and look at me. “Not that I don’t want to hear the Ronald story, because I do, but do you seriously think guys and girls can’t be friends? It’s only about getting in girls' panties, all the time?”
“Yeah, I mean the challenge is nice once in a while, but at the end of the day, it’s all about the snatch.”
“So you speak for all mankind? Like, you guys had a meeting and decided it’s pussy or die trying?” I’m laughing at him. I can’t help it. He’s so proper and hearing him talk like this doesn’t match his demeanor. “Did the male slut committee provide you with that lovely gingham shirt as a parting gift?”
“Laugh all you want, but it’s always about sex. Men need it. End of story. Girls like to think it’s romantic and loving, but that’s as far from the truth as you can get. Which is why we chipped Beth and scared the shit out of Ronny.” He smirks and tries to steal some batter from Beth, who promptly slaps his hand with the wooden spoon she’s using.
She’s shorter than him, by a lot, with flour in her hair and batter on her sleeves. It doesn’t matter that she rolled them up. Cooking is a contact sport for that woman. “That wasn’t funny.”
“It wasn’t supposed to be. He was using you.”
“For sex?” I ask.
He nods. “Yeah, what else would it be?”
Beth’s jaw is locked. She swallows hard. “Well, we’ll never know now will we?”
He leans back against the counter. “We knew, Beth. Like it or not, he was an asshole. No one is screwing with you while I’m around. Especially not a douchebag like that.”
“What’d Ronald do?” I shouldn’t ask. Beth hasn’t told me this story yet and from the way she’s beating the batter, she’s still pissed about it.
“What didn’t he do? Stalked her until she agreed to go out with him. Pressured her to hide that they were dating. Then, when he tried to nail her, well, things didn’t go his way.”
“They found us and threw Ronald out of the car naked and left him there,” she says coldly, her gaze shifting to me. “It was raining and close to freezing. Guess who didn’t want to date me after that? Guess who said I wasn’t worth it?” She’s gnashing her teeth and beating the dough even though it’s done.
“That’s horrible.”
“No, it’s not. He was an asshole. The guy’s Facebook page was filled with naked pictures of Beth. What was I supposed to do? Let him nail her and post all that shit? I don’t think so.”
She drops her spoon and shouts, “There were no pictures!”
“Just because I didn’t see them didn’t mean they weren’t there.”
“Yes! That’s exactly what it means!”
“Josh saw them.”
“Josh lies, Justin. Everyone knows that. If you guys break up another relationship I’ll become a lesbian, and you can’t stop me!” Beth stomps down the hallway and walks into the bathroom, slamming the door behind her.
I glance up at her brother. “What if you were wrong? What if he liked her?”
He shakes his head. “He was using her, and if she hadn’t tried to hide it, things wouldn’t have gotten that far. No matter what she says, the guy did post the pictures. I did see one of them. He cut off Beth’s head, but it was her bra. I’ve seen it in the wash.”
I fish, wondering about Nathan. Why would he ask to be friends if he didn’t want it? “So, if a guy says let’s be friends and turns down sex, what does that mean?”
Justin's forehead wrinkles and he sweeps his eyes over me again, slower this time. When his eyes reach mine he shrugs. “It means he’s gay.”
“What if he’s not? I’m serious. What is that?”
He scoops a finger full of batter from the dish and pops it in his mouth. He folds his arms across his chest and leans against the counter. “You offered what, exactly?”
Instantly, my face starts to burn. “Fuck buddies. No strings.”
“And he said no?” He frowns and starts shaking his head. “No clue. That’s weird. Maybe he doesn’t like pussy as much as he thinks. Like I said, guys think with their dicks—all of us do. There are no exceptions.”
“You sound like Josh.”
“Josh is an idiot, but on this point, he sounds like me.” He winks at me. The doorbell rings, and he excuses himself to get it. A horde of upperclassmen rush through the door, all with a bottle of liquor in tow. They file into the kitchen, put the booze on the counter, and steal our fresh-baked snackage.