Chapter 3: Sharing

Sandy was serious when she told Steve she would never tell anyone about her visit, but there was one exception—her best friend, Megan. The next day, Sandy stopped Megan in the hallway between second and third periods and said, “I need to tell you something important, something you won’t believe. Can you come over for a sleepover on Friday?”

“A sleepover? We haven’t had one of those in a couple of years. Aren’t we kind of old for that stuff? Megan said.

“This is important. I’ll tell my folks we’re working on a school project or something. Trust me, you’ll be glad you did.”

Megan frowned, not convinced. “Well, since I don’t have a date this weekend, I guess I can. Can you get some of your dad’s liquor? I like that vodka he buys.”

Sandy rolled her eyes. “I’ll try, but this is more important than just getting drunk.”

“Geez, Sandy, are you pregnant?”

“Not unless Brad’s finger impregnated me. So, I’ll talk to my folks and call you if it’s okay.”

“Okay. You’re acting pretty weird, Sandman. Your secret must be something special.”

Sandy knew her parents might think it was strange wanting to have Megan over for a sleepover, but since they knew and loved Megan, and she told them a little lie that they were going to work on a school project, she hoped her parents would be okay with it. Her mom was doubtful and said something about them being too old for that kind of stuff, but her father, a real soft touch when it came to his darling daughter, came to her defense and gave her the okay.

Friday evening after supper, Megan pulled up in front of the Carter home. Sandy saw her arrive and felt a pang of jealousy that her best friend had a car and she didn’t. As usual, Megan came in and Sandy’s dad greeted her like he usually did.

“Hey Bulldog, how goes it?”

The girls had been assigned nicknames by their soccer coach. Sandy, a top-scoring forward, he called ‘Greyhound’ because of her long, sleek legs and her speed. Megan, a take-no-prisoners defender became ‘Bulldog’, a name she resented at first but learned to like. She was a few inches shorter than Sandy, with a fuller, more muscular build, and the biggest boobs on the team.

After Megan talked to Sandy’s parents for a while the girls retreated to Sandy’s room. It was as far from her parents’ bedroom as possible, making it a good place for sleepovers. And since the girls were sixteen, she knew her parents wouldn’t be checking up on them.

When Sandy closed the door, Megan said, “Okay, what’s the big secret? Spill it, Sandman.”

Sandy and Megan sat on her bed, leaning back against the oversized headboard, propped up with pillows, in their typical ‘we need to talk’ position. They liked this position because they could talk without looking at each other, making it a little easier to share secrets, especially embarrassing ones. “Do you remember that big storm Wednesday afternoon?” Sandy asked.

“Shit yeah. That was a bad one, almost as bad as that soccer tournament last year.”

“So, anyway, I got caught in it. I was going down Carter when the lightning and rain got really bad, so I ducked into a store. Guess which store,” Sandy said.

“On Carter? I don’t think there are any good options there. So just go ahead and tell me. Don’t play games.”

“The Sex Shop.” Sandy knew Megan would know it. They had joked about the men they had seen going in it and wondered what was behind those blackened windows.

“God, you went in there? How quick did it take them to throw you out on your ass?”

“The clerk tried to do it immediately, but the store owner stopped him. His name is Steve.”

“So you’re on a first-name basis with the owner of an adult bookstore? Your parents must be so proud,” Megan scoffed. “Did he ask you what you were looking for?”

“Can you be quiet for a minute and let me finish telling you?” Sandy sighed. Sometimes Megan could be very bossy and want to control their conversations. “So Steve told me I could stay in the store until the storm stopped. When he saw me looking at some of the magazines, he said since I wasn’t freaking out, maybe I would like a tour of the rest of the store.”

“What magazines?”

“The kind with naked people on the cover, doing the kinds of things naked people do.”

“And this guy, your new buddy, just let you walk around looking at all that? Sounds kinda creepy. Anything else?”

Sandy smiled. “Of course. I wouldn’t have invited you over just to tell you I saw some dirty magazines. They have videotapes too. But what I was most interested in was the sex toys.”

“Sandman, what’s happened to you? Did you get struck by lightning that day? Okay, I’ll shut up, but you need to tell me what kind of ‘toys’ they have,” Megan said, using air quotes.

“Have you heard of something called a Silver Bullet?” Megan nodded her head. “They’ve got some of those, and some others that look like the real thing, some ridiculously big, and some that vibrate.”

“Geez,” Megan moaned, “you’re making me wet just talking about them. Anything else?”

“They have some, I guess you would say, fake vaginas that guys can use. One that looks like a flashlight with a rubber vagina on one end. Steve let me stick my finger in that one.”

“Ugh, what was it like?”

“Weird, like over-cooked pasta, I guess, and tight. I think a guy would have to be desperate to use one of them.”

“Like Mr. Hanson,” Megan laughed. Charles Hanson was a teacher at their school whose nickname was ‘Hands On.’ He was a single older man, and everybody agreed he was the most likely to be the next teacher whose mugshot would show up on the six o’clock news.

God,” Sandy giggled, “I don’t even want to think about that. I’ve got more to tell you, but I think it’s snack time first.”

“Okay,” Megan agreed.

The girls went to the kitchen and got some sodas and chips. It also allowed Sandy to make sure her parents were tucked away for the night. When she was sure it was safe, she poured some of her dad’s vodka into a cup for Megan and a little bit for herself. When they returned to her room, they sat on the floor to eat the snacks, because Sandy had a strict no-crumbs-in-my-bed policy. They spent the next half hour talking about school, their favorite music, and boys. It was almost like they were kids again, not sixteen going on twenty.

When they finished, they piled back onto Sandy’s bed. “All right, there must be more to this story,” Megan said, as she suppressed a burp, so let’s have it. Did you get to play with any more interesting toys?”

“Well, I didn’t get to play with them, but Steve did show me a set of butt plugs.”

“Oh God!” Megan exclaimed. “I’ve heard about those. Charlie Collins had a picture of one he showed around at lunch a few weeks ago. I didn’t know they came in sets.”

“Yeah. Steve said you start with the small one and work your way up.”

“I wonder what that feels like?” Megan asked. “I mean, I stuck a marker up my ass once when I was fooling around one night. I wasn’t anything special.”

“You never told me that.”

“Not the kind of thing I wanted to share, but since you brought it up...”

Sandy started giggling. “I’m trying to picture you with that thing sticking out of your butt. Did it come out dirty?”

“Not really. I was smelly, though. I ended up throwing it away. Anyway, back to your adventure in the porn world.”

“Yeah, I didn’t see any more toys, but Steve did give me a gift.” Sandy got up, went to her closet, and dug around to find the heavy winter jacket with a zippered hood that she hardly ever wore, which made it a great hiding place. She unzipped one of the pockets and pulled out her souvenir.

“No way,” Megan gasped,” he just ... gave it to you? I’ve been trying to figure out how to get one of those.”

“I guess he likes me.” Sandy tossed the bullet to her friend, who caught it cleanly, even with the effects of the vodka beginning to hit. “Turn it on.”