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Hot water flows down my body, washing the dirt and sins from my skin and into the drain. Taking showers is better than any comfort food in the world. It gives me time to think and time to cry and time to wash away the day. I even think showers are better than baths. I just feel dirtier while taking baths, like I’m washing in my own filth. But I do admit, after a very stressful day a bath aint bad. Especially if you got a bottle of rum right next to you and bubbles up to your chin.
    Snapping me out of my peaceful trance, the doorbell crashes throughout my ear drums. I quickly turn the water off and wrap a towel around me.  The door bell rings again as I almost trip down the stairs and fling the door open.
    “Ashley! Hey. I’m glad you came.” Her mouth doesn’t even open to say anything and from the looks of it she isn’t even breathing. I can feel her eyes roaming my skin… and I admit I like that she can’t keep them off me.
    “Do you want to come in?” I ask her as she shuffles into my house. “Glen is upstairs passed out. I can go try and wake him up or do you want to just wait?” she looks around and softly replies she’ll just wait.
    “Alright, well I’ll meet you outside, let me go slip on my bathing suit.” She nods and escorts her dog outside where I see her slip off her shoes.     
    I wish she wasn’t young. She’s pretty damn hot. I wonder how close to sixteen she is… and hey, I’m not even 18 yet so that’s not that bad. She definitely doesn’t look fifteen. She looks my age. Her legs are toned and her facial structure looks as if she belongs in a magazine.
    I walk into my room and look outside to see what she is doing. Her dog is already in my pool swimming in circles. She looks a little uncomfortable, yet she looks like she is used to it. She pulls off her top, showing off her abs in a black and white tie dye bikini top. She’s pretty built but she isn’t too muscular to where it is ugly. She pulls her shorts off showing just how toned her legs are. She’s naturally tanned and has plain black bottoms that have ties on the sides. I admit, I would not mind having her underneath me or pushed up against the side of the pool. But I did kind of promise Glen I’d leave her to him.
    When I finish and walk outside she already has a place laying out on one of the chairs.
    “Geeze it took you long enough.” Her voice was raspy.
    “Well I wanted to look good.” I laugh.
    “For who? All these people?” She points to the empty back yard.
    “Well… for the people who are going to be here. And you of course.”
    “What do you mean for the people who are going to be here?” her voice almost sounds scared.
    “I fell like having a party.” I say plain and simple. Which is true. It’s been like a week since my last party.
    “Oh. When is this party?” she asks, almost shy like.
    “I don’t know. When do you want it to be? Its your party.” I smile at her.
    “Uh. It’s a school night, will people come? What about your parents?” she seems filled with questions.
    “One, people don’t care about whether or not it’s a school night. And two my parents don’t even live here.” She just nods and closes her eyes, relaxing into the chair.
    “Its been a long time since my last party. Almost 5 months.” She says, not bothering to open her eyes. “What kind of party is this going to be?”
    “A fun one.” I say and smile. Mocking her tone.
    “Is there to be drinking or no drinking? Drugs? What?” she lifts her head and turns towards me.
    “Do you want there to be drinking? Do you want there to be drugs?” I ask in a serious tone, not wanting to make her feel forced to choose either way.
    “Well, either would be fine but no drugs for me.” She paused thinking about her comment as if searching for the right words to say, “I’m taking a long break from drugs”
    “Oh. Alright. So your fine with a party?” I ask, making sure to not get her uncomfortable.
    “Yeah. I’m fine with parties.” She says in a low voice.
    Silence falls between us as we sun bathe. The only sound I can hear is Jak swimming around and Ashley’s soft breathing. I can’t help but want to know more about her. She has this sense to her… like she has seen the world and she knows the secrets behind it. I feel like she has been where no one else has. She’s been rock bottom and higher than the sky.. she’s been to hell then to heaven then to purgatory. I want to know her secrets. I want to know her pains. I want to know her joys.
    “We should play a game.” I say earning a chuckle from her.
    “Oh really? What game should we play.” She says with her eyes still closed.
    “Truth.” I sit up in my chair and call Jak over.
    “And how do you play this game?”
    “Its like truth or dare. Except truth is the first option. You ask a question and if you choose to not answer it you have to do a dare. Each time we go from one to the other you have to answer one more question. So if I ask you a question first, then you ask me a question, I would then ask you two questions.”
    “If you don’t like the dare are you allowed to back out?”
    “No. Well.. I wont force you.. but that’s no fun.”
    She smiles and turns and faces me, finally opening her beautiful eyes.
    “Well what’s your first question?” she says behind a smile.
    “When’s your birthday?” I figure I might as well ask a simple question first before getting into the deeper ones.
    “Well.. what would the dare be?” she asks.
    “Are you kidding me? Its just your birthday. If you can’t handle that question then you better back out of this game right now.” I say while laughing.
    “Psh. Okay. Its kind of like.. today.”
    “WHAT?! You serious?”
    “Dead serious.”
    “Well then we definitely have to party hardy. Shiit. Today is your 16th birthday and you didn’t tell me?” She just shrugs and closes her eyes, soaking up the sun.
    “Okay. My turn. Are you dating anyone?”    
    “No. Are you?”
    “I just moved here, why would I already be dating someone? Do I appear as a whore?” she says jokingly.
    “No haha I meaning back home.”
    “Oh. No. I’m as free as a bird.”
    “Hmmmm… Why did you move here?”
    “Divorce. Who was your last boyfriend?”
    “Carmen. Which is a girl.”
    I hear her pause and intake the sentence.
    “Are you a lesbian?”
    “Haha. Uh. Yeah.”
&n
bsp;   “Oh.”
    “Are you straight?”
    “Dare.” Hmmmm. Does she really not want me to know that bad?
    “Jump in the pool. Which isn’t heated.” She smiles and gets up.
    “I just think you want to see me wet.” She dives into the pool and jumps out, walking over to me. She stops right in front of my chair giving me the perfect view of the tiny drops falling over her ribs and in between her chest.
    “Maybe.” I say while smiling.
    “Jerk!” She says and quickly shakes her hair right in front of me, making little drops of water drip all over me.
    “That’s not fair.” I shriek.
    “So is.” Even though I’m cold from the droplets, I see her smile and I feel fine.
    “What is your all time favorite memory from elementary school?” her facial expression turns serious.
    “I don’t remember my childhood.” Quickly changing the subject, seeing the pain in her eyes, I ask my last question.
    “What’s your favorite alcohol.”
    “Vodka”
    “Well trust me, there will be a lot of that tonight. Which by the way I have to make a few calls. Excuse me gorgeous, I’ll be back in a few.” Although she thinks I didn’t see, I catch a glimpse of her smiling.
    Walking into the house I pick up the phone and dial a few numbers.
    

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    Slowly I walk into the kitchen and open the fridge, hoping to find a soda. In the background I can hear Spencer’s phone conversation.
“Yo. Aiden. What’s up? Yeah sounds fun… So you feel like partying tonight? Yeah tonight man… its gotta be huge. It’s a special occasion. Don’t ask questions. It means a lot though. Make sure we have a lot of vodka. No Aiden.. Were not going to do anything. I don’t care how long its been you fucking horn dog. Geeze. Find someone else… Hell no. First off her name is Ashley, not ‘the new girl’ and secondly Glen has dibs on her and if he doesn’t want her then I will take her. Not you. Plus she wouldn’t even go for someone like you. I don’t care. Just call some people. Head over here at like 9 or something. Yeah. Shut up. Bye.”
    
    Her figure appears in the kitchen and her eyes get big as her body stands still in shock.
    “So… do I not get a say in who gets first dibs?” I say eying her up and down.