Chapter 34

Friday 26th March 1999

I’m not sure why my sister is the way she is. Maybe all little sisters are like her; Lucy is my only one, so I don’t know anything else.

I’d asked my parents if Dakota could stay over, thinking it’d be a nice change from me spending the night at hers. As soon as Lucy heard, she insisted on having Kendal come over too.

Not that my parents took her claims of Kendal being her girlfriend seriously… but they agreed all the same.

Kendal staying over was fine. The issue was that it was no longer just my girlfriend here for the night, it was basically a small sleepover. And as it happens, that’s exactly what Lucy decided to turn it into.

11:30pm on a Friday night, with Dakota, Kendal and Lucy all sat on the floor in my bedroom. Wide awake. Chatting away. When Dakota and I could’ve been snuggled up and… well… doing cute couple-y things…

“They had every flavour of ice cream there, it was the beeeest,” Lucy proclaimed with vigour and volume barely cranked down at all despite how late it was.

“Yum!” Kendal beamed back. “Did they have-?”

“Lemme stop you right there, babe,” my sister spoke. “Every. Single. Flavour.”

For the record… no, they did not. Maybe thirty. (Maybe that is every single flavour…)

“Are you thinking what I’m thinking, Kendal?” Dakota chuckled.

“Let’s get some ice cream?”

“More that we should take a road trip there sometime…”

“Oh! Yeah!”
And an enthusiastic, hair-bobbing nod.
“Aaand now I want ice cream!”

“I don’t think we have any…” I pointed out while tucked up in bed. See… for one, I was pretty worn out from a long day of school and putting up with Lucy’s over-excited antics, so I wanted to lounge even if I was going to be awake for a while longer. Secondly, I sleep in my boxers, and while Lucy had seen me like that before and I was more than happy for Dakota to take in the sight (for whatever she got out of it), the idea of Kendal witnessing me in almost-nothing was kind of unsettling. Even if she’d seen me in swimming trunks before. And there was that time everyone stayed over, but I had a dressing gown on too…

Maybe it was irrational. She even said she didn’t mind seeing me like that. Still, it wasn’t a matter of her minding, it was a matter of me minding…

(I could’ve put the dressing gown on, but if I’m sat cross-legged, it’s going to part and then how much of my boxers is it actually going to cover? That was my reasoning and I’m sticking to it.)

“That’s okay, I think we’ve got enough food here anyway,” Kendal pointed out, before taking a handful of crisps from one of the big bowls we had as if for emphasis.

“Alex, get out of bed already,” my sister scolded me abruptly. “Don’t be boring!”

“I’m still awake, aren’t I?”
Isn’t that enough?

“I think he just feels a little exposed,” Dakota chimed in. God, does she know me well. “Especially in front of three girls in PJs with their feet on-show!”

Too well, she knows me too well!

The girls all giggled for a moment while I stewed in embarrassment. (I don’t know whether to be glad that my sister didn’t ask what my girlfriend meant, or concerned by the implications of her not asking…)

“Fine, make room,” Lucy commanded while standing up. “If you’re staying in your bed, we’ll all get in.”

“What? No!” I blurted in surprise, forgetting the need to be quiet for a moment. Modulating my volume, I continued: “even if there was room for all of you, that’d be weird…”

“I’m your sister, Dakota’s your girlfriend, and Kendal’s a Kendal,” she insisted, reaching my bed and trying to pull the covers open as I held them tight. “Nothing wrong with it!”

“No means no!”
Clearly my pleas were falling on deaf ears, as Lucy redoubled her efforts.
“Lucy, would you-?”

As quickly as she started, she relinquished her task and hurried to the foot of my bed with a cheeky snigger. I barely had the chance to turn and keep an eye on her before she’d lifted up the duvet dramatically and started clambering under.

“Listen to me!” I urged her. She didn’t stop, unsurprisingly, so I managed to press a foot to her forehead and push her back out. With her still driving forward, we wound up at a stalemate.

“Guys, come on-” I heard Dakota begin.

“Leave them,” Kendal then advised her. “It’s a sibling thing.”

“Why are you being stubborn?!”
This from the girl who was refusing to take no for an answer…

“You’re being stubborn! I’m being insistent!” I told her bluntly. “There’s a difference!”

“Fiiiine!” she finally relented, backing away and scowling at me. “We’ll just sit on your bed instead!”

“Sure, fine, fill your boots,” I grumbled, pulling my legs up and moving to be a little more upright. Now laced with triumph, Lucy leapt onto my bed with no time to spare, and settled into place like a cat.

“Kendal, Dakota, bring the snacks!” she bubbled, and almost like mindless drones (maybe not quite like mindless drones), the two of them scooped up the bowls and packets littering my bedroom floor and climbed onto my bed.

“Hi,” Dakota smiled at me sweetly as she shuffled next to me, immediately making my heart sing. The annoyance I’d been feeling disappeared in an instant.

Naturally, I couldn’t be granted more than a few fleeting seconds of delight before a Haribo was thrown at my face.
“No private flirting!” I was scolded by my sister.

“Does that mean public flirting’s okay…?” Kendal asked her with a flick of the eyebrows, before turning to Dakota and me and giving us the same treatment as per the apparent rule. Hoping to ignore that gesture, I instead sought out the sweet that had hit me.

“Now we’re all in one spot, we should play some games or something,” Lucy proposed. “Like Spin the Bottle, but not that because I’m not kissing you, Alex, that’s gross.”

“Glad we’re in agreement,” I replied before finding the tiny chewy Cola bottle/projectile. Blowing on it quickly just to be safe, I proceeded to pop it in my mouth.

“I’m cool with kissing Dakota, though,” she continued, flashing Dakota a playful grin. “It’d be fun!”
My girlfriend quickly turned red, eyebrows raised high.

“We could go grab a bottle,” Kendal suggested. “Just ignore it if it matches Lucy and Alex.”

“What if it’s you and me, though…?” I pointed out; she gave it thought for all of two seconds before shrugging lightly.

“In the spirit of the sleepover, and the desire to try new things, I say bring it on!”

“I’m really starting to worry about how this night’s gonna pan out…” I whimpered.

“Aww, is this your first time having a sleepover?” she asked like I was a nervous child. Which was probably half-true.

“He used to have sleepovers with his friend Callum every now and then,” Lucy answered for me. “I bet they played Spin the Bottle together.”

“You’re still saying that?!”

“You’ve never denied it, bro…”

“I have! Every single time!”
Dakota patted my back as I huffed through my nostrils.
“Besides, I went to Robbie’s birthday sleepover that time…”

“And you think this is gonna be wilder?” Kendal pressed me further, leaning in with intrigue.

“Boy sleepovers are different,” I told her. “We mainly played SNES and chatted. Maybe a little truth or dare… Plus, we were just kids…”

“I’ve only been to one sleepover before,” Dakota started, “but I have no idea what you think girl sleepovers are like. Are you expecting pillow fights or something?”

“No, more like… that Simpsons episode where Lisa and her friends are chasing Bart around the house, or something. Or you’ll tie me up and put make-up on me.”
Panic struck me. Here I was, putting ideas in their heads.
“Uhm… please don’t do that…”

“I can’t make any promises,” the beautiful Irish girl told me, leaning her head forward and flashing me a teasing smirk.

“Neither can I,” Kendal added, doing her best to copy Dakota. “No private flirting so, err, hope you don’t mind me doing this too.”

“So!”
Lucy leapt to her feet, posing with her hands on her hips. The open pack of Haribo next to her spilled a little where her stance pushed the bedding down.
“Possibly doing Spin the Bottle so long as we avoid the incest; possibly putting make-up on Alex and dressing him in some of my clothes.”

“No one said anything about dressing me in your clothes!”
The little dignity I had was under threat of being tarnished beyond all recognition.

Other than a victorious grin, she didn’t even acknowledge my protests.
“We could strip!”

“Ooooh…” Kendal purred, the sound of a girl who had a tantalising mental image brewing in her head.

“No way in hell,” I growled. “Keep your stripping obsession to yourself. I’m not getting naked in front of you or Kendal.”

“Not even if I’m naked too?” my shorter friend asked me earnestly.

“Are you hearing yourself…?”
I’m really not sure if she would’ve made an offer like that before she started dating my sister. … then again, if anyone I knew would make like B*Witched and declare “I’ll show you mine if you show me yours”, it’d be Kendal Carr…

“I’ve gotta say no too…” Dakota chimed in, sounding bothered… whether she was uncomfortable or she felt bad for having to turn Lucy down, I can’t tell.

“Fiiiine… Paige would’ve agreed if she was here…”
My irritated sibling pouted, and tugged lightly at the rim of her pyjama top.
“We don’t have enough marshmallows left for Chubby Bunny… Alex!”
And she pointed at me dramatically.

“Sorry! You know I like marshmallows and we hardly ever have them-”

“Dare or dare?” I was asked. And here I thought I was being blamed for the marshmallow shortage…

“Erm… you mean ‘truth or dare’…”

“Right, yeah!” she smiled devilishly. “Dare or dare?”

“Can you offer me truth so I can pick that one?”

“I’m saying ‘dare or dare’, Alex, I don’t know what the problem is…”

I realised no later than that moment that this wasn’t a battle worth waging.
“Alright, dare then…”
There. Name on the dotted line for whatever fate I’d signed myself up to.

“Great choice!” Lucy applauded excitedly, and then took a few moments pacing widths of my bed, back and forth. Ever-vigilant, Dakota quickly picked up the spilled Haribo before she could tread on them, and put them on my bedside table.
“Ah!”
Conclusion apparently reached, she bounced back into a seated position, and stretched her legs out in my direction.
“Kiss my feet!”

Of course. What a cruel and ironic fate.

“Yeah, whatever…” I grunted, about ready to give up on this night now.

… yes, I know, this should suit me down to the ground, even if it is my sister. But (as best as I’m aware…) she didn’t know that. This was intended as an embarrassing task. And having it thrust on me was uncomfortable.

“Until I say so! Properly, too!” my tormentor added, while shuffling closer, wiggling her pink-painted toes tauntingly. “Smooch ‘em like they’re Dakota!”

“Okay-”
My grumbling response was cut off as she forced her feet in my face. Giggling ensued from all corners. A dare is a dare, so I began kissing her soft soles in earnest.

“Excellent! Keep that up!” Lucy laughed… and then, “Kendal, truth or dare?”

“Mhm!” I whined in annoyance while continuing my task. My sister is a snake!

“Dare!” Kendal replied chipperly. “Lay it on me!”

Humiliation hit hard as it dawned on me that I was now being completely ignored. For the time being, I was nothing more than Lucy’s sole-smoocher.

“I dare you to take your underwear off without taking your pyjamas off!” my devious sibling challenged her girlfriend.

“Ooooh! I bet I can do this!”

“Good luck, I’ve no clue where to begin with that,” Dakota chimed in from my left.

My vision obscured, I could only tell Kendal had moved off of my bed from the changes in weight and pressure around me. A couple of minutes passed by with nothing but chatter between the girls and me switching between one of my sister’s feet and the other.

“Aaaand… done!”

“Nice work! I should try that out sometime!”

… it still boggles my mind that Kendal managed to accomplish it, and I never got to see how.

“Okay, Dakota now!” Lucy continued, idly tapping her toes on my forehead. “Truth… or… dare?!”

“I have to start off light… truth.”

“Boooring…”

I felt Kendal return to the bed while Lucy ground her feet into my face in frustration. Now I was stress relief…

“I dunno, what’s your favourite film?” my sister practically yawned. She’s never liked “truth”… I’m surprised she didn’t make the same “dare or dare” offer she lumbered on me.

“Titanic.”
An immediate response.
“So romantic and it makes me cry like a baby…”

A bolt of something unidentifiable ran through my body like lightning striking me dead. Quite simply – quite stupidly – her answer riled me.

I stopped fulfilling my dare for a moment, and Lucy smushed my face with her feet to reprimand me. Getting the message, I continued to kiss into one of her soles, not like I had any desire to at that point.

“Awww, sweet!” Kendal crooned.

“I guess,” Dakota chuckled, sounding a little embarrassed. “Anyway, Lucy! Your turn! Tru-”

“Dare dare dare!”
Of course…

“Okay… I dare you to sneak into your parents’ room and take something from their bedside cabinet.” Said like she’d already had the idea.

“Juicy! You’re on!” Lucy replied, taking her feet away from my face and lunging off of my bed. I honestly had to blink a little to let my vision readjust.

“Hold on, I’ll come with you to adjudicate!” Dakota sang out, following after my sister as she bolted out of my room.

Just like that, it was suddenly quiet. The long sigh I let out seemed to flood the room.

“Bet you were enjoying yourself,” Kendal teased, sticking her tongue out a little below her teeth as she grinned at me playfully.

“I guess.”
… I mean, aside from the humiliation, and whatever this newfound frustration was… don’t judge me…

And then neither of us spoke.

Kendal ate a few crisps while I simmered.

“… I know Lucy annoys you a lot, but… I really do like her…” she told me fondly. “Don’t get me wrong, it’s not like you and Dakota, or Bao and Harriet. Not yet. We’re taking it easy. Between you and me, I dunno if it could ever be something more…”
She offered me the bowl, and I took a few crisps myself with a light “thanks”.
“But she’s fun, and she’s sexy, and hanging out with her makes me happy. Not that hanging with the rest of you doesn’t! Just… in a different way. I like being with her.”

“I get it,” I nodded. “She’s infuriating but… I’m her brother. It’s her job to get on my nerves.”

“And she’s great at it!” Kendal remarked proudly.

As if on cue, the bedroom door swung open, and Lucy strode in triumphantly, holding Mum’s reading glasses above her head.
“I am Catwoman!” she declared far too loudly.

“Congrats, and shhhh,” Dakota urged her as she followed her in, making sure to close the door gently. Her eyes fell straight on me before her hand even left the door handle.
“Come here,” she spoke, gesturing with her head.

So, now I had to show off my stupid gangly boxers-clad body… whatever.

I got out of bed and made my way to the door while Dakota opened it up. We both headed through, and she shut it behind us.

“You okay?”

“Yeah.”

“You don’t look it.”
Concern shaded her face as she stared right at me.
“I told you, you need to be honest with me.”

And I’d reasoned with myself that I couldn’t show off how monstrous I was.

What was I supposed to say? “Titanic is really your favourite film? It’s good, but everyone says Titanic! Why are you being like everyone else? How many films have you seen?” “Sorry, you like the fact it makes you cry? I don’t want you to cry. I don’t want you to want to cry.”

For the first time since I’d met her, I was genuinely angry with Dakota, for the most ridiculous, worthless reason.

My body tensed as her answer flashed through my memory again.

What the hell is wrong with me? Why am I so utterly stupid?

“I’m just tired,” I insisted gruffly.

“Really?” Dakota asked, clearly not taking me at my word.

“Yes!” I snapped back and immediately regretted it. Idiot.

“Fine then. You’re okay.”
I’d upset her. Of course I had.
“We’ll go back in your room, have this sleepover, and be okay. And if you change your mind and decide you want to talk, I’ll listen.”

“Okay.”
That was the thing. For as annoyed as I was, I was the one at fault… villainising her for what was really nothing. I knew it was nothing. I knew it was just her opinion but another part of me found it so ridiculous. I was disappointed; I expected better of her.

She hugged me briefly. I wished she would crush me.

Then, she released me, and opened the door once more.

Kendal and Lucy were lying in my bed.

“She made me do it!” Kendal giggled.

“Come on, jump in!” Lucy added. “And Alex, you haven’t finished your dare yet, you scoundrel!”

After everything, somehow, all four of us wound up sleeping in my bed. Don’t even ask how we all managed to fit…