All I've Never Wanted (19 page)

“Well…” my mom bit her lip. “If it’s convenient for you, then I suppose it would be nice.”

“Great, I’ll call them now. Please excuse me for a minute.”

Adriana shot me a meaningful look as she stepped outside to make the call.

I gulped, as my mom started sifting through the items in the cardboard box. Here goes nothing. “So, mom, about the babysitter thing…”

She sighed, pulling out a stack of dusty guidebooks. Where had
those
come from? “I know what you’re going to say, sweetie, but unfortunately, your father and I have already made up our minds. Now, you know I trust you, but your grandmother is right. It’s very dangerous for a girl to stay by herself for two weeks.”

“You’re right.”

My mom stopped and stared at me in surprise. “I am?”

I nodded vigorously. “Yep. It
is
dangerous for me to stay here all alone. I don’t think a babysitter is the solution, though. I mean, not only is it
incredibly
expensive to hire someone to watch over me for that long, but who knows if the babysitter is even, um, trustworthy? Besides, I’m guessing it’s going to be a girl, and two girls aren’t safer than one, really.”

“I suppose you have a point,” she reluctantly agreed. She eyed me suspiciously. “And
I’m
guessing you’ve come up with a solution?”

I beamed. “Now that you mention it, I have.” I tried to sound casual. “Like Adriana said, I was talking to her about it earlier, and she suggested that I just stay over at her house for the next two weeks. It’ll be like an extended sleepover.”

My mom frowned.

Before she could say anything, I quickly added, “Think about it. It’ll be so much safer and better than a babysitter. Her house has security that would put the Pentagon to shame, and there’s always staff around, anyway. Besides, we go to school together, so I can even get a ride to and from Valesca without having to walk. And you don’t have to worry about me trying to cook at home and burning the kitchen down.”

My mom winced a little, obviously remembering the time I’d tried to scramble eggs and ended up setting the pan on fire instead.

“I don’t know, won’t you be intruding? What will her parents say? Two weeks is so much hassle…”

“Oh, it’s no hassle at all, Shelley,” Adriana said smoothly, suddenly materializing again. “My parents have already agreed, and honestly, I would
love
to have Maya stay over for two weeks.” She smiled. “It’ll be like having a sister.”

I held my breath, watching the indecision play over my mother’s face. “I’ll have to think about it,” she finally said. “I’ll talk to your father and get back to you later.”

Yes!
That was a total yes! Once my mom says she’ll “think about it,” it was as good as done.

“Thank you, mom, thank you, thank you, thank you,” I gushed, running over to give her a hug.

She laughed, waving me off. “All right, you troublemaker you. Why don’t you go in the kitchen and help your grandmother sort out what she needs?”

“Ok,” I said happily. I would’ve agreed to anything now that I didn’t need a babysitter.

I bounded into the kitchen, where I saw my grandmother standing on her tippy-toes on a chair, pulling down a can of sardines I didn’t even know we had.

“Grandma! Let me do it,” I called. “You might get hurt.”

“I fine,” she said impatiently, dropping the can onto the counter with a clang. She hopped off the chair, surprisingly agile for her age. “Why you put fish up so high? So hard for me to reach,” she said crankily.

She noticed Adriana. “Who are you?”

“I’m Adriana, one of Maya’s classmates,” Adriana answered with some amusement.

My grandmother examined Adriana head to toe, looking for a flaw to dissect. When she couldn’t find anything, she finally said, “Put hair away. Too blonde. Blinding me.”

“So, do you need any help?” I asked, staring at the kitchen counters, which were loaded down with a mishmash of stuff.

My grandmother shoved a can of Pillsbury cookie dough at me.

“What this?”

“It’s cookie dough, grandma.”

“Cookie dough?” She looked horrified. “Why cookie dough have ghost as mascot?”

“Ghost?” I was confused. “That’s not a ghost, it’s the Pillsbury Doughboy! It’s a really famous mascot, haven’t you seen it before?”

She scowled. “No!” She shuddered, tossing the cookie dough into the garbage.

I let out a whimper. That was my favorite!

“No wonder this house have such bad energy, when you all buying stuff with ghosts,” my grandmother scolded. “You eat too much of that,
you
turn to ghost. Why you think people who eat so much pork not as smart as people who no eat pork? It’s because their brain slowly turn to pig’s brain.”

I stared at her. Where did she
get
this stuff? “I don’t think it’s the same thing, grandma. For one, cookie dough is just…dough. It’s not meat.”

She ignored me.

“You become what you eat,” she lectured. “Eat more fish. It’s good for brain.”

“But I can already swim pretty well,” I joked.

I heard Adriana snicker beside me. Sadly, the joke was lost on my grandma. “And no more cookie dough, young lady. No wonder you gain weight.”

I rolled my eyes. I loved my grandmother and all, but jeez, she was not good for a teenage girl’s self-esteem. Or anyone’s self-esteem, really.

“You sure you want the sardines, grandma?” I wandered over to the counter and picked up the can of fish, wrinkling my nose. “I don’t know how long it’s been here.”

“Good.” My grandmother cackled. “I give to Loser Weed. She deserve it, cheated me out of hundred dollars last year.”

Loser Weed? Oh, she was talking about Rose, her biggest mah-jongg rival.

“Blondie, help me and Maya put stuff in suitcase,” my grandmother ordered, snapping her fingers like she was a diva or something. “And
no
drop my stuff, or you pay!”

I stifled a laugh, refraining from telling her Adriana had enough money to buy out all the supermarkets in town ten times over.

I was impressed, though, when Adriana actually did as she was told. Wow. I’m pretty sure the closest she’d ever gotten to physical labor before was walking from one spa room to the next.

I blanched a bit at my own thoughts.
Wow, way to stereotype, Maya,
I scolded myself.

It took the four of us—me, Adriana, my mom, and grandmother—two hours to pack up everything into suitcases or throw them out in the garbage.

When we were done, I collapsed onto the sofa, exhausted.

“That was pretty fun,” Adriana said cheerily, sitting down beside me.

I stared at her. “Are you serious?”

“Yeah, it’s something new.”

Huh. I think she really is serious.

My grandmother tottered over and sat down on my other side. She frowned, then leaned over and sniffed me.

Oook. “Grandma, what are you doing?”

“What you do? You smell like flowers.”

“I went to the spa earlier,” I explained.

“Oh.” My grandmother sniffed me again. “You go to spa more often. Makes you smell better than usual.”

My face burned as Adriana burst out laughing.

See what I mean about my grandmother being bad for a girl’s self-esteem?

*              *              *

Zack closed his eyes, his fingers flying over the keyboard in his room as he did his cover for One Republic. “
It’s too late—“

Bang!

Zack jumped a foot in the air, then glared at his sister, who had already jumped into his bed and was paging through his lyrics journal with a bored look on her face.

“Adri, how many times do I have to tell you not to do that?” he complained, snatching the journal from her.

“No matter how many times you tell me, I’m going to do it anyway.” She grinned cheekily at him. “That’s what twins are for.”

“You should’ve just stayed at that Swiss boarding school,” he huffed, climbing in next to her. “Where were you earlier?”

“I went to the spa, then Maya’s house,” Adriana replied casually. She held out her hand. “Isn’t this manicure fabulous?”

“I’m not gay, Adri, stop trying to talk to me about manicures,” he groused. “What do you want?”

She widened her eyes. “What makes you think I want anything?”

“Well…” Zack tapped a finger on his chin. “Since we’ve been born, you’ve come into my room about a million times, and you’ve wanted something every time, so I’ll just call it a hunch.”

“Awww.” She ruffled his hair. “I think my baby bro is getting smarter!”

“I hate you,” he pouted.

“No you don’t. You looove me, right?” Adriana gave him a huge hug.

“Stop! You’re choking me!” He couldn’t help but laugh though. “All right, I promise to help you if you stop it!”

Adriana pulled back, a mischievous look on her face. “Ok, but you promised.”

Zack couldn’t help but be a bit scared. “What is it?”

“I need you to help me get Maya and Roman together.”

His jaw dropped. “
What?
Why?!” Zack shook his head frantically. “No way. She’s Parker’s girlfriend! I can’t just betray a friend like that.”

She rolled her eyes. “I take back what I said earlier, you haven’t gotten smarter. It’s obvious they’re not really dating, genius!”

Zack frowned. Maya and Parker seemed pretty couple-y to him. “What makes you think that?”

“For one, I actually use my two eyes. Anyone can see they’re just friends. Ask Carlo if you don’t believe me. You and Roman are the only ones dense enough to fall for their façade.”

Zack blinked. Huh…he supposed it
did
make sense. The whole relationship had been pretty random. “Well, everyone else at school fell for it too!”

Adriana just looked at him.

His shoulders slumped. “Oh. I guess you have a point. But why do you want to get her with Roman? Is it because of the bet?”

“Kind of,” she said vaguely. “Look, once we get them together, I’ll explain it to you, but for now, I need your help, ok? I have a theory, and I need you to prove it.”

“Fine.” Zack shrugged.

He listened to Adriana’s plan, and couldn’t help but laugh. Oh man. If everything worked out the way his sister wanted, it was going to be a hell of a show.

CHAPTER 14

“Maya! Mayaaaa!! HELP!”

I turned at the sound of someone calling my name, and raised my eyebrows when I saw Zack running toward me, frantically waving his arms in the air.

“Hey, Zack, what’s wrong?” I asked, taking note of the panicked expression on his face.

“Something terrible happened!” he exclaimed, widening his blue eyes until they were the size of sauces.

I stared at him skeptically. Zack was a bit of a drama queen, so I wasn’t sure how seriously I should take this. “Did you stub your toe again?”

“No! It’s even worse! Come on, I’ll explain later!” He grabbed my wrist and began dragging me down the hallway and into the back stairway that led to the Scions’ lounge.

“Oof!” I flinched as I slammed into the railing of the stairway. “If that bruises, you owe me a year’s supply of chocolate!” I called after him, doing my best not to trip on the stairs at the speed we were going.

Zack came to an abrupt stop, causing me to walk straight into him.

“Ow,” I whimpered, hating myself for sounding like a baby. I couldn’t help it though. Walking into Zack was like walking into a brick wall.

“Sorry,” Zack chirped, not sounding at all sorry.

Maybe a lack of apology ran in the family or something.

I followed him into the lounge, keeping an eye out for blood, seizures, or wild animals running around. Nope.

“What’s the emergency?” I asked, slightly annoyed that I was going to miss lunch
again.
It was turning out to be a worrying pattern, and it’s not like I’ve been having the best week anyway.

“Look, guys, she’s here!” Zack announced, ignoring my question as he bounded over to where Parker, Adriana, and Carlo were seated.

Parker and Adriana were arguing furiously over something, while Carlo was lounging on the sofa, reading a worn copy of
Atlas Shrugged.

Hmm, Ayn Rand, huh?
I respected her as an intellectual, though I didn’t quite agree with her philosophy.

I briefly wondered where Roman was, but Zack’s voice broke through my thoughts. “Maya, tell them!”

“Tell them what?”

“Red, black, or white?”

I stared at him blankly. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Trust me, you don’t want to know,” Carlo spoke up, peering at me over the top of his book with a slightly annoyed look on his face.

It didn’t seem like he was annoyed at me though, more like he was annoyed by his friends.

I crossed my arms over my chest. “What are you talking about? Red, black, or white
what?”

“Lingerie, silly,” Adriana informed me in a you-should-know-this voice. “I bet these two idiots—“

“Hey!” Zack and Parker exclaimed at the same time.

She pretended she didn’t hear them. “—that obviously you would choose red lingerie over black or white, because you have good taste and so you would know it sets off your coloring—“

“But black’s
sexier
,” Parker butted in, throwing his hands up in exasperation. “There is nothing in this world that’s hotter than black lace.” He looked dreamy-eyed at the mere thought.

“Black’s too slutty,” Zack argued. “Maya’s more innocent than that! Of course she’d go for white!”

“Don’t be silly, white’s only for weddings—“

“Red’s the color of passion—“

“I’m telling you, it’s about innocence!”

“I’m her boyfriend, and
I
say it’s about sexiness—“

“Stop!”

The three of them shut up, obviously shocked.

“
What—“
My tongue suddenly felt too heavy for my mouth. “—are you
talking
about? Why are you talking about my…my—“ I felt my cheeks heat up as I lowered my voice on the last word. “—
lingerie?”

“Oh, My-My, you’re so cute,” Zack cooed.

I made a face. My-My?

“Homecoming is in three weeks! Which means, you know, it’ll be time.”

Now I was even more confused. “Time for what?”

The others exchanged amused glances, except for Parker, who just smirked.

“Well, it just so happens that it’ll be your one-month anniversary with Parker, so…it’ll be the perfect time to consummate your relationship,” Adriana announced proudly.

My mouth fell open, my entire body suddenly feeling like it was on fire. No. She did
not
just—consummate—what?!

“Yeah, I’m surprised you guys haven’t done it yet,” Zack added, throwing himself into an armchair, a slightly confused look on his face. “Usually Parker does it, you know, the first night.”

I snapped my mouth shut. “I’m
not
con—I’m—you—we—“ I sputtered, unable to form a coherent sentence in my humiliation.

“Oh, honeybee, don’t think I’m pressuring you, I won’t do that,” Parker assured me, looking like he was trying not to laugh. “But,
just
in case, you should have your lingerie options planned out. Like I said, I prefer black—“

“I’m not having sex with you!” I yelled.

No one seemed fazed by my outburst.

“You know, I heard it’s bad luck if you don’t consummate a relationship within a month,” Adriana commented thoughtfully.

“That’s a lie. I know plenty of people who didn’t have sex within a month. That’s so soon,” I insisted.

“Oh yeah?” She gave me a challenging look. “Like who?”

“Like—like—“ I was stumped. Damn it.

“That means it’s true!” Zack seemed inordinately excited as he jumped up from his seat. “It
is
unlucky!”

“What’s unlucky?”

I immediately froze when I heard the familiar voice behind me.

“Hi, Rome! You’re just in time!” Zack beamed.

“For what?”

I gulped, my heart racing in nervous anticipation as I stared stubbornly ahead,  refusing to look at him as he brushed past me and settled into a chair next to Carlo.

However, I did have perfect peripheral vision, which told me he didn’t even spare a glance in my direction.

Unable to help myself, I glared at him. Oh, of course. He walks in on me topless and he can’t even be bothered to acknowledge my existence the next day.

He’s probably seen too many girls topless,
I thought, pressing my lips into a thin line. For some reason, the thought irked me even more.

“They’re just being silly,” Carlo sighed, flipping a page in his book.

“We’re not being silly, it’s really important,” Zack insisted. Turning to Roman, he added, “We’re choosing the color of Maya’s lingerie.”

I groaned.
Ground, please open up a hole and swallow me now.

Roman’s cheeks turned slightly pink, and he glanced quickly in my direction.

Without thinking, I crossed my arms over my chest, causing him to smirk slightly.

“Why are you choosing her lingerie?”

“We’re planning the consummation of Maya and Parker’s relationship,” Adriana explained calmly, as if she were talking about a birthday celebration or something.

Roman stilled. “Why are you talking about it like it’s a birthday celebration?” he asked sharply.

I blinked. Ok, that was just creepy.

“Well, it’s something to be proud of. Our little My-My’s growing up,” Zack sighed.

“I’m not anyone’s little anything,” I said, annoyed. “And stop calling me My-My.”

“I think it’s cute.”

“It makes me sound five years old.”

“That’s why it’s cute!”

There was just no arguing with Zack when he’s on a sugar high. Which is always, now that I think about it.

“So, we were in between red, black, or white,” Adriana said casually. “What do you think, Rome? Carlo here is being a spoilsport and won’t participate.”

Carlo smirked but didn’t say anything.

“None,” Roman ground out.

“Oh, you mean, no underwear at all?” Parker looked impressed. “Hey, that’s a pretty good idea.”

“That’s not what I meant!” Roman snapped. “Why are we even talking about this? What Parker and Maya do is their own business, so leave it up to
them
to decide!” He glared at me.

I frowned. What did
I
do? I didn’t even say anything!

“I’m going to the bathroom, and when I come back, I hope you guys are talking about something a little more important!” With that, he abruptly stood up and stormed out of the room, leaving behind a stunned silence.

I was rooted to the spot. Ok, what just happened?

“I think he voted for white,” Zack finally volunteered. “It’s the closest color to nude.”

*              *              *

“I can’t believe you didn’t help me earlier,” I groused, hugging my books to my chest as I walked down the hall with Carlo after school. “I almost died from embarrassment.”

Carlo shrugged, a small smile on his face. “It was pretty entertaining. Besides, they’re just messing with you.”

“I don’t think so. Adri’s taking me lingerie shopping later,” I said glumly, casting a pointed glance at where the blonde and her equally evil twin were walking in front of us.

“No talking about me behind my back!” she called without even looking at us.

How did she
do
that?

“Well, I’m sure you’ll have fun. Girls like shopping.”

I pouted. “Stop making fun of me.”

“I’m not making fun of you, I’m just having fun at your expense.” Carlo grinned, then lowered his voice. “Although I think animal-print would suit you better. It’s feisty, just like you.”

I pursed my lips, my cheeks heating up again. “I’m not talking to you anymore,” I declared haughtily, quickening my pace to catch up with Adriana and Zack.

Carlo just laughed.

“Hey, girl, excited about shopping, huh?” Adriana teased.

“Thrilled.”

My sarcasm seemed to be lost on the twins, because Zack nodded enthusiastically. “You finally came around! You’re going to have so much fun!”

And surprisingly enough, I did have fun. While the boys went to play basketball, Adriana took me to La Perla, which sold the most gorgeous lingerie I’ve ever seen in my life. I balked at spending $300 on a bra, though Adriana insisted on buying it for me.

“It’s on Parker, anyway,” she said, giving me a wink as she slid Parker’s black Amex across the counter.

When we finally finished, we headed to Il Serrano for dinner with the boys, the bags upon bags of bras and thongs and teddies and chemises burning into my thigh. I couldn’t believe I’d just charged that much money to Parker’s card. I'd tried to resist, but Adriana was having none of it, and I still needed to keep up my pretense as Parker’s girlfriend.