Chapter 20

Tiffany and Phil were sitting on the couch playing a video game when Hailey and Katelyn returned. Hailey groaned when she saw their activity.

“They’re dorks,” she said. “I finally fall head over heels for a guy and he’s a dork.”

“Is that ‘Winter Wizard Wars?’” Katelyn asked, sitting down beside Tiffany and forcing the other two to scoot over.

“You play?” Tiffany asked as she hit the pause button on her controller.

“Sort of,” Katelyn admitted. “I mean I’ve played it with my brother. He’s the sword master in Meridian.”

“We’re in Ulmira, on the other side of the world,” Tiffany said. “I, uh, well, I’m the most powerful wizard in the city.”

“Witch,” Phil corrected. “You’re a witch.”

“You better watch it,” Tiffany said warningly, “and remember who is coming up the path behind you.”

“Yes, High Priestess,” Phil said, nudging her with his elbow.

“Don’t let me interrupt,” Katelyn said. “I know these things are really in-depth and you lose players when you pause the game.”

“It’s a solo trek for someone seeking entry into my guild,” Tiffany said, elbowing Phil back. “He’s not really worthy of my attention but he has impressive personal references so I’m giving him a shot. This excursion will show me his skill – or kill him. You have to be tough to hang with the big dog.”

“I’m just learning,” Katelyn admitted. “My character is an apprentice warrior. I can’t go farther in my guild so I’ll need to make a solo trek soon to gain enough points to join someone else’s if I want to be more than wizard fodder.”

“Ulmira is probably about six months of travel for you,” Tiffany pointed out. “If you want to start working your way over, I’m sure you’ll have enough points to knock this doofus – oh, sorry, Phil – my current low-level apprentice from his job.”

“That hurts,” Phil said, shaking his head. “Is there no one here to console me?”

He tilted his head back on the couch toward Hailey, who had stationed herself behind him since there was no room on the couch for her.

“Don’t look at me,” she said. “I don’t kiss dorks.”

“That’s not what I heard!” Tiffany said. “I heard you kiss them and fondle them and suck them and, oof...”

Hailey’s hand had covered Tiffany’s mouth but she was laughing.

“That’s my boyfriend beside you,” she said. “I have to have some secrets. Now he’ll expect me to do awful things with him. Thanks for nothing, Tiff. Eww!”

Hailey pulled her hand away and shook it.

“She licked my hand!” Hailey exclaimed. “That’s gross!”

Phil leaned forward and looked past the smirking Tiffany at Katelyn, who was looking back at him mirthfully. He nodded at her.

“That’s not all she’s licked, or so I’ve heard,” Katelyn said before she started to laugh.

“You guys!” Hailey said, blushing. She was so unused to having her friends pick on her that she was starting to get mad.

“You should see what she licked on me,” Tiffany said through gales of laughter.

“I really should,” Phil said. “I mean, you know, if you’re willing to show us.”

Tiffany stood up and pretended to unbutton her pants. Hailey was standing behind Phil with her arms crossed across her chest. She was glaring at Tiffany, who laughed.

“Look who’s getting her panties in a twist over a little teasing,” Tiffany jibed. “Christ, Hailey, we’re just goofing around with you. Don’t be such a cunt about things.”

Hailey’s eyes widened in anger but Tiffany continued before she could speak. Phil and Katelyn looked back over their shoulders at Hailey.

“You told me to stand up to you when you’re being stupid,” Tiffany added. “Well, this is the first time. Mark it down in your book. We were joking around and you happened to be the butt of some of the jokes. Get over it or go the hell home but don’t expect us to watch what we say just because it makes you uncomfortable.”

Hailey’s eyes blinked rapidly and she shook her head.

“Sorry,” she admitted. “I guess I am a little sensitive about some things. I’m sorry I started to get mad at you.”

“And I’m sorry I called you a cunt,” Tiffany said. “I should have been less direct. But we talked about this yesterday and again today. I wasn’t going to drop my pants.”

“You weren’t?” Katelyn asked and snapped her fingers. “I’m probably the only one who hasn’t seen your snatch yet. I thought I was going to get my cherry broken today.”

Phil leaned over and whispered something in Katelyn’s ear and the dark-skinned girl’s face colored even more.

“No shit?” she asked louder than she meant.

“That would have been just been gross,” Hailey announced after taking a deep breath to calm her nerves. “She was perfectly clean back there.”

She came around the couch and sat down between Phil and Katelyn, motioning for Tiffany to sit on her lap if she wanted. Tiffany looked at her briefly before sitting down – on Phil’s lap. She stuck her tongue out at Hailey and laughed.

“The only reason I wasn’t there when you came in is because I wanted to leave it open for you,” she said with a wink. “You missed your chance.”

“I suppose I did,” Hailey said, amazed at the change in her friend. She turned to Katelyn.

“I left out a little detail in my narrative on the way to your house,” she admitted. “It looks like we’re all going to be close friends so I don’t want you to think we all have a secret we’re keeping from you.”

“If I thought that then Phil just spilled the beans,” Katelyn said, relieved the tension level had dropped. “So you finally kissed her butt. She’s been kissing yours all year – figuratively and maybe literally.”

“I suppose you’re right,” Hailey admitted.

“Did she tell you I plowed her with a strap-on, too?” Tiffany asked. The information caused Katelyn to blink and the words to die in her throat.

“Uh, no,” Katelyn admitted. “That also didn’t come up. Anything else I missed?”

“That’s about all,” Hailey remarked. “At least you can see I wasn’t wrong about the change in Tiff’s personality.”

“No, you weren’t,” Katelyn said. “That’s the one reason I never spent much time with you away from parties. I’m not an ass-kisser – well, you know what I mean. I’d judge how much drama was taking place and if it was something I could deal with, I’d hang out with you. If it was more than what I wanted to fuck with, I went home or somewhere else or just ignored you. Tiffany, I’m glad you’re not being a doormat any more. And I’m glad you’re not being a bitch about being called Tiff from time to time. I always meant it as a term of endearment but you almost got knocked ass over teakettle a time or two because you were such a shithead when you corrected me.”

“I know and it was stupid,” Tiffany admitted. “I knew how you meant it but I had been trained since I was four years old to correct anyone who shortened my name. I decided I don’t give a crap what you call me so long as we’re friends.”

“I’ve always thought we were,” Katelyn said with a shrug. “You’re a hard person to become friends with because you were, I don’t know, needy, I guess. I’ve got a needy mother and a needy brother. I didn’t need friends who required that much upkeep. That’s sort of why I started to hang out with you in the first place. I thought you were all tough chicks. By the time I figured out how fucked up everybody was, I was already lumped in with you four and I couldn’t break away. I mean I could have done what Phil did and hide in my fucking room all day every day but that wasn’t what I wanted to do.”