Indecent Proposal

The muffled conversation on the other side of Ashley’s bedroom door quieted when I knocked. I heard shuffling before Ashley opened it a crack.

“Can we talk?” I asked.

She peeked her head out into the hallway. “Where’s my mom?”

“In the den. Can we talk?” I asked again. Ashley grabbed my wrist to yank me inside and shut the door behind us. “I meant outside...”

Kayla, Courtney and Brittney sat on the floor by Ashley’s bed with anxious expressions on their faces.

“Dude, where the fuck have you been? What happened? Tell us,” Courtney demanded as Ashley plopped down next to her.

“Are you in trouble?” Kayla asked.

“No. No one’s in trouble,” I assured them, but this only elicited more questions.

“What did she say?” Ashley asked in a low voice. Her puffy, red eyes told me she’d been crying.

My coke-fueled mind raced like a quarter horse on a treadmill, too distracted to answer, and unsure how to even begin. How could I possibly explain it? An animated loop running on the television captured my attention. The splash screen for some kind of roleplaying video game. The graphics looked stunning.

“Dude?” Courtney said.

My eyes darted around Ashley’s large bedroom. On top of a white lacquered desk sat a half-finished Lego build. The bottom floor of a multi-story building according to the image on the suitcase-sized box. What was that architectural style called again? Bauhaus?

“Dude.”

In the corner of the room, a multitude of hand painted anime figurines and robots of various sizes crowded a tall curio bookcase. One in particular caught my eye. I’m pretty sure I’d seen that robot before.

“Dude! Are you listening?” Courtney asked, snapping her fingers. “Jesus, what’s wrong with you? You look like shit.”

I’m sure I did. I was coked out of my fucking mind. I felt like a sparrow on crack dancing on a frying pan.

“She didn’t say much,” I said.

“What do you mean?”

“She asked what we were doing in the pool, and I told her.”

This casual revelation brought every girl to her feet. They waved their hands and talked over one another, peppering me with questions.

“What? What are you talking about? Are you kidding? What did you say?”

“Wait, what did you tell her, exactly?” Ashley demanded to know.

“The truth.”

“What? Why? Why did you tell her?”

“You think I should have lied?” I snapped, gesticulating wildly. “Your mom was standing right there! She saw the whole fucking thing!”

I cursed myself for raising my voice. I was so goddammed wired I could barely hold my shit together.

Ashley paced away with her hands on the back of her head, muttering, “Oh my god, oh my god...”

“Ashley, it’s fine” I said, trying to sound reassuring. “She isn’t mad. In fact, she seemed kind of relieved.”

Ashley spun on her heel. “What do you mean, relieved? Relieved about what?” she asked, quieting her friends.

“Honestly? I think she’s happy for you.” I don’t think Ashley expected me to say that, and she scoffed. “I’m serious,” I said. “She even insisted I stay the night and said I’m welcome to hang out tomorrow while your dad’s at work.”

Ashley’s mouth fell open and she stared at me. Courtney sputtered and laughed.

“Holy shit! Are you kidding? Ash, you’re so lucky! My mom would’ve fucking murdered me.”

“Bullshit,” Ashley said, shaking her head. “There’s no way she said that.”

“I don’t know what to tell you,” I said, trying to get myself under control. “She wants to talk to us, though.”

Ashley blanched. “When?”

“Now.”

“Both of us? Together?”

I sniffed and nodded, then wiped my nose and sniffed again. “Yeah. It’s totally cool, though,” I said to the other girls. “Everything’s cool. We’ll be right back, okay? Come on, Ashley. Let’s go.”

Back in the den, Ashley stood nervously with her hands clasped in front of her and shifted her eyes between me and her mom. I could only imagine how frightfully wired and manic we appeared. Torqued on so much cocaine that we panted and sweated through our clothes. I favored her with a sympathetic smile that probably looked like the wide-eyed grimace of a serial killer. When I gestured for her to take a seat on the Chesterfield, she opted to remain standing.

I opened my mouth to speak, but before I could get a single word out, Erin jumped the gun.

“Ashley, honey, mommy’s gotten you the best birthday gift in the whole world.”

I glared at her, but she ignored me.

“W-what’s going on, mom?” Ashley asked, her eyes shifting nervously, thoroughly baffled by this unexpected turn of events and our bizarre, inexplicable behavior.

I’d only had a few moments to speak with her as we traveled back to the den. I’d tried to explain it to her as best I could and reassure her that everything was going to be okay, but I’m pretty sure I’d made zero sense and probably came off sounding like a raving, coked-out lunatic instead.

“You’re mom’s asked me to become you instructor,” I said, trying to regain control of the disclosure.

“Trainer,” Erin corrected. “I prefer the term ‘trainer’.”

“Fine. Trainer,” I said.

“What kind of trainer?” Ashley asked, suspicious.

I had tried to describe the nature of the arrangement to her earlier, but I’d hemmed and hawed and fumbled my words and lost my train of thought several times. After some reflection, however, I felt sure I’d formulated the perfect introduction to this bizarre and unorthodox arrangement Erin had cooked up. I smiled and opened my mouth to speak.

“A sex trainer,” Erin blurted, before I could talk.

Ashley stared at me, horrified, and I held up my hands.

“It’s not what you think,” I said quickly.

It was exactly what she thought. Before Erin could elaborate, I shot her a hard look and she held up her hand and waved it at me as if to say, “well, go on then.”

“Forget about that for a moment,” I said, turning back to Ashley. “I want to ask you something first. Do you regret what happened in the pool tonight?”

Ashley looked at her mother, lounging in her satin robe, cocktail in hand, high as fuck. She bit the inside of her cheek, unsure how she should respond. I took her hand, and she moved her eyes back to mine.

“Forget about your mom. Just tell me the truth. Do you regret kissing me?”

She unclenched her jaw and her demeanor relaxed. “No,” she said quietly.

I glanced at Erin and then returned my attention to Ashley. “I like you, Ashley. A lot. I think you’re an amazing girl and I wasn’t kidding earlier when I said I wanted to be your friend. I really do. Do you still want to be my friend too?”

Ashley studied my expression, her face a mask of shifting emotions and thoughts. I tried to convey to her as much earnestness as I could muster. At last, she nodded her head.