Broken Read online

  He smiles when he sees me, and I can’t help throwing the redhead a triumphant glance as he says goodbye to her and crosses the room to get to me.

  “Honey. Long time no see.”

  I give him a coy glance. “And whose fault is that?”

  “All mine, I guess.” He lifts his glass and sips, and it’s impossible to miss the looking-over he’s giving me. “You look good.”

  Of course I do. Thousands of dollars worth of orthodontia, plastic surgery and several years of an eating disorder have changed the chubby girl with an overbite and glasses. I flip my hair over one shoulder and give him a smile I know is blinding white and perfect.

  “Thanks. You do, too.”

  Getting together with Joey would guarantee daddy would stop calling me his “other daughter.” He’d throw me a wedding twice as fancy as Angel’s, I know he would. Daddy doesn’t like John, but Joey’s like the son he never had.

  We chat for a while, idle small talk about our jobs and lives. I know what he does and where he lives. Joey’s mom and mine are best friends, and you can believe I hear all the gossip. He’s got a great job and house and a smoking hot car, and he doesn’t have a girlfriend. I know that for a fact, because his mother’s starting to get a little worried, even though I’ve heard my mom tell his there’s no way he’s gay, and she shouldn’t worry so much.

  I tell him about my job, which is so boring I can barely stand to talk about it. Joey’s nodding in all the right places and making little noises like he’s listening, but his gaze keeps going to my chest. It’s quite a bit larger than it used to be and I like showing it off. My nipples tighten a bit under his gaze. He notices.

  “So, Joey.” I keep my voice a little breathy, just like I’ve practiced in private until I can get it just right. I lean forward to take his wrist and bring his drink up to my mouth. “What are we drinking?”

  I take a sip from his glass. He’s got whiskey—nasty, nasty stuff. I swallow it down, but I don’t let go of his wrist.

  “I’m drinking Jameson. And it looks like you are, too.” Joey takes my other hand and puts it under the glass so he can let go while I’m left holding it.

  I’m a little confused. “Huh?”

  “Why don’t you keep that one. I’ll get myself another.” He nods a little and backs up a step, then turns on his heel and heads toward the bar. I’m left blinking, holding his glass, and shit, shit, shit, this isn’t how it’s supposed to go.

  “Well, how about a freshener?” I catch up to him and flash him another smile.

  “Sure, Honey.” Joey waves to the bartender and asks for another whiskey.

  “Actually, I’d like a white zinfandel.”

  I hand the guy Joey’s old glass and he hands us two new drinks. I sip mine right away, but Joey holds on to his and doesn’t drink from it. The redhead’s watching us without even bothering to hide it.

  People in the corner are laughing, and we both turn to look. It’s Joey’s dad Frank and my dad. Frank’s shaking Daddy’s hand and clapping him on the back. They’re passing cigars, too. Joey watches them for a moment before he turns his back, and because I want to keep his attention, I turn away, too.

  “Some party.” Joey lifts his glass.

  He’s right, but I don’t really want to talk about the party, which is Angel’s, not mine. “Your dad’s having a good time.”

  “Doesn’t he always, at parties?” Joey’s got a smile I heard my mom say could spread a nun’s knees, but right now it looks more like a smirk.

  “Everyone likes a party, don’t they? Especially when someone else is paying for it?” I sip my wine and look around the room, crammed full of people. “Oooh, look! There’s Mindy Heverling!”

  I smile and wave to her. She went to school with Joey, Angel and Joey’s brother Eddie. Mindy turns with a half-smile to wave at me, but in a second her face changes and she turns back around. Why’s she cutting me cold? Angel’s the one who used to steal her boyfriends, not me. Well, screw her. I look back at Joey, but now he’s looking at Mindy, and I realize she wasn’t cutting me cold at all. She was ignoring him.

  “Didn’t Mindy used to go out with Eddie?”

  “Yes.”

  He’s still staring at her. I feel a little bad, bringing it up. Eddie died when Joey was in high school. Nobody talks about it much. In fact, I don’t want to talk about it, so I take his elbow and make my move.

  “It’s hot in here. Want to take a walk with me?”

  I know Daddy booked this place because it had a ballroom big enough to hold all of his friends, but the gardens are nice, too. Lots of color-coordinated tulips and daffodils, a Greek-looking patio and two cement fish ponds with carp the size of my arm…and a maze. It’s not a very complicated maze but all I really want is to get to the center of it with Joey.

  After that, it’s not long before my tongue’s in his ear and his hand’s up my skirt.

  “Honey,” Joey says when I reach for his belt buckle. “Aren’t you a bad girl?”

  “Do you like bad girls?” His thighs are hard under my ass and my knees are pressing against the metal bench as I straddle him. I work the zipper on his trousers and slide a hand inside.

  I’m looking at his face when I say it, and I’m expecting to see the look guys get when they’re about to get some action. Joey’s expression surprises me, makes me pause. He looks serious and considering, not at all like I want him to look, which is glassy eyed with lust.

  “Not really.”

  I falter, my hand closing around his thing. It’s hard enough, anyway, so even if he’s saying he doesn’t like bad girls, he’s still turned on. At least, I hope he is.

  “N…no?”

  Joey shifts a little and puts his hands on my hips to hold me from sliding off his lap. “Not really. No. I like girls who are good.”

  Oh, he’s teasing me, playing with words. He’s always been good at that. A brain. Even in high school, he was always top of the class.

  “I can be good, Joey.”

  He winces a little and I loosen my grip, figuring I was holding too tight. His thing throbs in my fingers. Maybe he’s worried about being caught, but we’d hear anyone coming through the maze in plenty of time to button up, if we have to.

  “I bet you can.”

  His thumb slides into position against my tootsie. I bite my lower lip and lean in to kiss him. He turns his head so my lips land on the corner of his. I settle for nibbling his jaw and neck. His skin is warm and clean, and a little shiver tickles my spine.

  This is Joey, but he’s also a stranger.

  The thought makes me bite down a little, and he winces. He slides a finger beneath the lacy edge of my panties and inside me. I take his thing out all the way and start stroking him harder.

  “Honey…slow down…” His voice is hoarse. His fingers are moving faster against me, no matter what he’s telling me to do.

  “Nuh-uh.” I shake my head. “I want this.”

  “I can see that.” His finger moves in and out of me while his thumb keeps pressing on my bump.

  “Ooh, Joey,” I moan, pushing myself onto his hand. “Tootsie likes that.”

  He makes a little noise, a kind of snuffling snort. He’s got his face turned even more away. He’s smiling.

  “…does she?”

  “Mmm, hmmm. Oh…Oh! Oh, God…Joey!”

  I’ve been with other guys, it’s not that I’m a virgin or anything. But this is Joey, so I’m determined to make it so good he’ll be back for more.

  “Fuck my tootsie…oh, oh…OH!”

  I never shout when I have a real orgasm, but guys like it when girls make a lot of noise and wriggle around a lot. I want Joey to like me. A lot.

  “Yes, yes!” I writhe around on his hand and finally fall forward to put my face on his shoulder. I’ve still got his thing in my hand. It’s not as hard as it was a couple minutes ago. I look up.

  “Want me to put your thing in my mouth?”

  At first he says nothing. He take