Heading home. Separately or together?

The car finally began moving properly, the endless stream of vehicles slowly filtering out of the makeshift car park and onto the main road. I glanced at the rear-view mirror. Trish was sitting in the back seat, looking out the window with a smile she hadn't been able to get rid of since we'd left the arena.

“So,” I said.

“So,” she replied.

Neither of us said anything for several seconds.

I smiled. “You're awfully quiet.”

“I'm thinking.”

“About?”

She looked at me through the mirror. “Tonight.”

I laughed nervously. “Yeah. Me too.”

The arena lights gradually disappeared behind us as I followed the traffic onto the highway. The noise and excitement of the concert already seemed strangely distant.

Trish suddenly looked down at herself. Her smile faded. “Oh, shit.”

“What?”

She pulled up the bottom of her new Weeknd shirt and inspected it. Pasted against the inside of the black material was a wide expanse of gooey, sticky clumps of my spunk. The semen was turning greyish against the fabric as well as more creamy-white against Trish’s skin.

“Heather. I can’t let her see me like this.”

I frowned at her through the mirror. “Yeah.”

Trish gave me an anxious look. I glanced at the mirror again and caught it. She was right. There was no way she could walk into Heather's bedroom looking like she'd just spent the evening at a concert with her little brother getting his splooge all over her.

I thought for a moment. “I'll drop you home first.”

“Can you?”

“Of course.”

She smiled with relief. “Thank you.”

I turned onto a quieter road that would take us toward her neighbourhood. For a while, neither of us spoke. The radio was playing quietly, but neither of us was really listening to it. Eventually Trish leaned forward between the seats.

“Are you going to tell Heather?”

I shook my head. “No.”

“Good.” She settled back again. “Because she'd kill me.”

“She'd probably kill me first.”

“Definitely.”

We both laughed.

A few minutes later, Trish leaned forward again.

“Can I ask you something?”

“Sure.”

“What happens after you drop me home?”

I knew exactly what she meant. I looked at her beside me without using the rearview mirror's reflection. “I don't know.”

She nodded slowly. “Okay.”

“But I don't want tonight to be something we pretend didn't happen.”

Her expression softened. “Neither do I.”

I smiled.

“Then I guess we'll figure it out.”

Trish smiled back. I didn't really know what this was yet. I'd known Trish for years, but until tonight she'd always been Heather's friend. Someone who had been around the house, someone I'd joked with, someone I'd never really considered in that way. And somehow, after everything that had happened, I didn't regret saying yes when she'd asked me to go with her.

When we reached her street, I pulled over outside her house. Trish opened the rear door but paused before getting out.

“Tonight was…” She stopped, apparently deciding that whatever word she'd been about to use wasn't quite enough. “Different,” she finally said.

“Different good or different bad?” I asked.

“Different very good.” Trish smiled before giving me one last kiss.

When she pulled away, neither of us said anything for a moment.

Then she opened the door.

“I guess I'll see you…” She stopped. We both knew neither of us could simply start hanging around together now. Heather would notice. If Trish suddenly started coming over all the time, she'd have questions. And if I started finding excuses to visit Trish, that would be just as obvious. “Whenever,” Trish finished.

“Yeah. Whenever.”

She smiled at me one last time before getting out and closing the door. I watched her walk toward her house until she disappeared inside. Then I pulled away from the kerb.

By the time I pulled into the driveway, the house was dark except for a light that had been left on on the porch. I shut off the engine and sat there for a moment. The whole evening suddenly felt strangely unreal. A few hours ago I'd been walking into a sold-out concert with Trish, thinking the biggest problem I'd have was dealing with a pissed-off Heather over me taking the car and her friend. I never would have dreamed I’d end up having sex with Trish in the back of my sister’s car for the first time.

Now I was coming home alone, and I had absolutely no idea what I was even supposed to say to her. I grabbed my things and headed inside. I hadn't even made it halfway down the hallway to my room when Heather appeared from her bedroom door.

“Where's Trish?” Straight to the point.

“She went home.”

Heather stared at me. “You took her home?”

“Yeah.”

“Why?”

I shrugged, trying to make it sound completely ordinary. “She needed to get home.”

Heather folded her arms. “She couldn't just get an Uber?”

“I had the car.”

“That doesn't answer my question.”

I gave her a look. “What question?”

“Why did you take her home first?”

I could feel myself becoming uncomfortable. “You really want me leaving your best friend to catch a taxi home after a concert at night? Some friend you are. I did it because it seemed like the decent thing to do.”

Heather continued staring at me. I was being too defensive, and I suddenly knew it. There was something different about her expression now. She wasn't angry exactly. She was suspicious.

“What did you two get up to?”

“Nothing.” The answer came out a little too quickly.

Heather's eyebrows rose. “Nothing?”

“Nothing you need to worry about.”

“That isn't very reassuring.”

I tried to walk past her toward my room. “I'm tired, Heather.”

“Wait.”

I stopped.

She looked at me for another couple of seconds. “Did you two drink?”

Let her think that was the reason I was acting strange. “A little.”

Heather rolled her eyes. “Trish has that fake ID of hers. I'm guessing she used it.”

Shit. I hadn’t even thought about how I would explain getting served.

“How much is a little?” Heather continued her questioning.

“I don't know. A couple of drinks.”

She narrowed her eyes. “And you're telling me nothing happened?”

I turned to leave but not before asking, “Why would something happen?”

Heather gave me a long look. “Because Trish has been crushing on you for about a million years.”

I nearly froze. “What?”

Heather laughed. “Oh, don't look so shocked. You really haven't noticed?”

“I thought she hated me.”

“She used to think you were annoying.”

“Gee, thanks,” I said.

“But you're not exactly a kid anymore.”

I tried to keep my expression neutral.

“You better not have got drunk and come across all pervy with my best friend.”

My mind reeled at Heather's comment. Trish is the one who has a crush on me the whole time, and yet I’m the one who would have acted sleezy. “Goodnight, Heather.”

“Just stay away from her.” The words caught me off guard.

“What?”

“She’s my best friend.”

“I know.”

“And you're my little brother.”

“I'm eighteen.”

“You're still my little brother.” She pointed toward my room. “Just don’t start getting all weird when she's around, alright.”

“Whatever, loser. Just don’t start letting your friends get the hots for me.”

“Asshole.”

“Dick-licker.”

“Butt-face.”

Safely inside my room and away from Heather, I thought I’d take forever to get to sleep that night. My mind was busy replaying Trish and I together. The way she looked, the way she moved and felt. The way she smelt right up on top of me. I could still smell her scent lingering on me. I was glad Heather hadn’t picked up on that when we were standing right next to each other.

In the end, I must have used up more energy than I thought as I quickly found myself becoming heavy with sleep. I was almost out when I heard a buzz from my phone next to bed. I’d forgotten to take it with me to the concert, and there was a bunch of notifications on it I couldn’t be bothered looking at.

This new one was different. Trish – Friends Request.

I stared at it for a long moment. Would Heather notice if Trish and I became friends online? I accepted anyway.

A message notification came up.