Our Little Secret

A few minutes later, you’re pulling out of the driveway with your dad in the passenger seat. The house disappears behind you as you head toward the pizza place, and for the first time since he got home, Kelly isn’t sitting a few feet away giving you knowing looks whenever your dad turns his head.

“So what’d you two do while I was gone?” your dad asks.

Your hands tighten around the steering wheel for half a second.

“Not much,” you reply. “Just hung out.”

“Sounds exciting,” your dad says.

“Very,” you reply.

Your dad looks out the window.

“I figured you would’ve gone somewhere,” your dad says.

“Nope,” you reply. “Just stayed home.”

You keep your eyes on the road while the entire afternoon runs through your head. Technically, you did stay home. You’re just leaving out almost everything that happened while you were there.

Your dad starts talking about one of the errands he ran earlier, and you’re thankful for the change of subject. The conversation quickly becomes completely normal. You talk about random things on the drive, stop to pick up the pizza, and head back home without him giving you any indication that he suspects anything.

By the time you pull back into the driveway, you’re starting to believe Kelly was right.

Maybe you actually can pull this off.

You grab the pizzas and follow your dad inside.

“We come bearing food,” your dad announces as he walks through the door.

“Finally,” Kelly says from the couch.

“That was like twenty minutes,” your dad replies.

“I was starving twenty minutes ago,” Kelly says.

You carry the pizzas toward the kitchen while Kelly gets up from the couch. She passes you on the way, and her eyes meet yours for a second.

There’s that smile again.

You shake your head at her.

“What?” Kelly asks.

“Nothing,” you reply.

“I didn’t even do anything,” Kelly says.

“Exactly,” you reply.

Your dad looks between the two of you.

“What are you talking about?” your dad asks.

“Nothing,” you and Kelly reply at the same time.

There’s a short silence.

Your dad looks at both of you.

“That wasn’t suspicious at all,” your dad says.

You look at Kelly.

She presses her lips together, clearly trying not to laugh.

“You started it,” you say.

“I literally didn’t do anything,” Kelly replies.

“You made the face,” you say.

“What face?” your dad asks.

“I don’t know what he’s talking about,” Kelly replies.

“She knows exactly what I’m talking about,” you say.

Your dad shakes his head as he opens one of the pizza boxes.

“I’m not getting involved in whatever this is,” your dad says.

“Smart man,” Kelly replies.

The three of you eat together, and after that little moment, the rest of dinner is completely normal. Your dad talks about his day, Kelly tells a story about something she saw earlier, and you spend most of the time eating and joining the conversation whenever you have something to add.

Every once in a while, you catch Kelly looking at you.

You don’t know if she’s doing it because she’s thinking about earlier or because she knows you’ll notice.

Probably both.

After dinner, you help clean up before everyone moves back toward the living room. The evening settles into something almost boringly normal. Your dad finds something to watch, Kelly stretches out on the couch, and you end up nearby.

It’s strange how quickly you’re getting used to this.

A few hours ago, you were wondering whether you’d ever be able to sit in the same room with both of them without feeling guilty or looking suspicious. Now you’re watching TV while your dad argues with Kelly about something stupid on the screen.

Nobody would know anything had changed.

Eventually, your dad gets up.

“I’m gonna take a shower,” your dad says. “You two want to keep watching this?”

“Sure,” Kelly replies.

“Yeah,” you say.

“Alright,” your dad says. “Don’t finish it without me.”

“We’ll pause it,” Kelly replies.

Your dad heads toward the downstairs bathroom. You and Kelly stay facing the television until you hear the bathroom door close down the hall.

Then Kelly grabs the remote and pauses the show.

You look at her.

She looks at you.

Neither of you says anything for a second.

Then she smiles.

“What?” Kelly asks.

“You know what,” you reply.

“I really don’t,” Kelly says.

“You’re enjoying this way too much,” you say.

“Enjoying what?” Kelly asks.

“You know exactly what,” you reply.

She laughs and shifts toward you on the couch.

“I might be having a little fun,” Kelly admits.

“A little?” you ask.

“Okay, a lot,” Kelly replies.

“You kissed me while he was opening the front door,” you say.

“And we survived,” Kelly replies.

“That doesn’t make it a good idea,” you say.

“It was a great idea,” Kelly replies. “You should’ve seen your face.”

“I was trying not to look like your boyfriend just walked in two seconds after you kissed me,” you say.

“He is not my boyfriend,” Kelly replies with a laugh. “He’s a grown man.”

“You know what I mean,” you say.

“I do,” Kelly replies. “I just wanted to hear you say it.”

“You’re crazy,” you say.

“And you still liked the kiss,” Kelly replies.

You look at her for a second.

“Yeah,” you admit.

“I know,” Kelly says.

She shifts a little closer until her bare thigh presses against yours.

“You realize you’re proving my point, right?” you ask.

“What point?” Kelly asks.

“That you’re going to get us caught,” you reply.

“Oh, please,” Kelly says. “I know when I can get away with something.”

“You kissed me with his hand basically on the doorknob,” you say.

“And I got away with it,” Kelly replies.

“You’re way too proud of that,” you say.

“I am pretty proud of it,” Kelly admits.

You laugh and shake your head.

“You were the one telling me we need to be careful,” you say.

“We do,” Kelly replies.

“That doesn’t sound like being careful,” you say.

“There’s a difference between having fun and being stupid,” Kelly replies.

“I’m not convinced you know where that line is,” you say.

“Oh, I know exactly where it is,” Kelly replies. “I just like standing really close to it.”

You laugh.

“That’s reassuring,” you say.

“You’ll be fine, Sweetie,” Kelly replies.

She leans back against the couch and glances toward the hallway for a second. The sound of the shower starts from the downstairs bathroom, giving both of you a little more privacy.

“Seriously, though,” Kelly says. “We did pretty good.”

“Yeah,” you reply. “Better than I thought we would.”

“I told you,” Kelly says. “We just have to act like we normally do.”

“You mean you have to act normal,” you reply.

“I was perfectly normal,” Kelly says.

“You kept messing with me every time he looked away,” you say.

“I brushed against your knee once,” Kelly replies.

“And kissed me when he walked in,” you add.

“That was before he was in the room,” Kelly says.

“You really think that makes it better?” you ask.

“A little,” Kelly replies with a grin. “Mostly because it worked.”

“That’s not exactly convincing me you learned anything,” you say.

“I learned that I can kiss you with about two seconds to spare,” Kelly replies.

“Great lesson,” you say.

“I thought so,” Kelly replies.

She laughs and settles farther into the couch.

“We probably should figure out a few more rules, though,” Kelly says.

“We already have rules,” you reply.

“We have like four rules we made up while your dad was walking toward the front door,” Kelly says. “I’m talking about actual practical stuff.”

“Alright,” you say. “Like what?”

“Well, we can’t suddenly start disappearing together every time your dad’s home,” Kelly replies. “That would be pretty fucking obvious.”

“Agreed,” you say.

“And if anything happens again, we actually clean up after ourselves,” Kelly continues. “No clothes lying around, no obvious mess, nothing that makes him wonder what happened.”

“Probably smart,” you reply.

“And we don’t do anything stupid just because we’re horny,” Kelly says.

You look at her.

She looks back at you.

“You’re the one who kissed me at the door,” you say.

“That wasn’t because I was horny,” Kelly replies. “That was because it was funny.”

“That somehow makes it worse,” you say.

“No, it doesn’t,” Kelly replies with a laugh.

You smile and lean back beside her.

“So basically, don’t be idiots,” you say.

“Pretty much,” Kelly replies. “And don’t start acting weird around each other when he’s here. Honestly, that would probably be more suspicious than anything.”

“Yeah,” you say. “If we suddenly stopped talking, he’d probably notice.”

“Exactly,” Kelly replies. “We act like we always have.”

You glance down at where her thigh is still pressed against yours.

“Except for this part,” you say.

She follows your eyes.

“What?” Kelly asks.

“You know what,” you reply.

“My leg is touching you,” Kelly says. “Try to survive.”

“I’m doing my best,” you reply.

She smiles.

For a moment, neither of you says anything. The living room is quiet apart from the television and the muffled sound of the shower running down the hall.

“So when are we doing it again?” you ask.

Her eyes immediately return to you.

There’s no surprise in her expression.

Instead, she smiles.

“I was wondering when you were going to ask me that,” Kelly says.

“So you’ve been thinking about it too?” you ask.

“Obviously,” Kelly replies.

“How much?” you ask.

She raises an eyebrow.

“Don’t push your luck,” Kelly says.

“I’m just asking,” you reply.

“A lot,” Kelly admits. “Happy?”

“Very,” you say. “So when?”

“Your dad has work on Thursday, and I’m off,” Kelly replies. “You’re going to be here, right?”

You think about your schedule for a second.

“Yeah,” you reply.

“Then Thursday,” Kelly says with a smile.

“Thursday?” you ask.

“Thursday,” Kelly confirms. “We’ll actually have a few hours without worrying about him coming through the door early.”

“You’ve already thought this through,” you say.

“I told you I’ve been thinking about it,” Kelly replies.

Hearing that makes you smile.

“There’s that stupid smile again,” Kelly says.

“You just told me you want me again,” you reply. “What do you expect?”

“I know,” Kelly says. “I like the stupid smile.”

“You called it cute before,” you say.

“It can be stupid and cute,” Kelly replies.

You shake your head.

“Good to know,” you say.

The shower is still running down the hall. You look toward the hallway for a second before turning back to her.

“Is kissing against the rules?” you ask.

“While he’s in the shower?” Kelly asks.

“Yeah,” you reply.

She pretends to think about it.

“I don’t remember making that rule,” Kelly says.

You lean in and kiss her.

This kiss is different from the one at the front door. There’s no rush and no joke behind it. Her lips stay against yours for a few seconds before she pulls away, still sitting close enough that your faces barely separate.

“See?” Kelly whispers. “Perfectly responsible.”

“You have a very loose definition of responsible,” you reply.

“It’s worked so far,” Kelly says.

You kiss her again, briefly this time, and she smiles against your lips before pulling back.

The sound of the shower suddenly stops down the hall. Both of you look toward the hallway.

“Alright,” Kelly says quietly. “That’s enough.”

You shift back to where you were sitting before while she grabs the remote.

“You’re getting good at that,” you say.

“At what?” Kelly asks.

“Acting like nothing happened,” you reply.

She presses play on the TV.

“Our little secret, Sweetie,” Kelly says.

A few seconds later, you hear the bathroom door open down the hall. You and Kelly are already watching the television again by the time your dad comes back toward the living room.