The first thing Emily felt when she woke up the following morning were the crumbs in her bed.

Disgusting...

They clung to her face, and her arms and legs, like glitter on a dancer. She blinked a few times to make sure there weren't any on her eyelashes.

Lifting her head made it feel like she was back underwater in the pool.

Light and heavy... Woozy... Such a strange word... Perfect for a strange feeling...

She surveyed the room to refresh her nebulous memory. The scattered remains of the night before were her clues. The cheddar cheese package next to the garbage can, a box of Ritz crackers on the dresser, an apple core on her nightstand, a pile of clothes with her wet bra soaking into the carpet and a shirtless boy in her bed.

At least I put a dry shirt on...

Kelly was closer to the wall, lying on his stomach, hugging a pillow. Her mattress was slightly soggy from the damp underwear they had on when they shared the impromptu picnic before passing out.

She peeled her tongue off the roof of her mouth and swallowed the pungent residue of the smoke that coated the back of her throat.

It tastes like regret...

But then Kelly rolled over and smiled at her. "Lay back down."

"I'm covered in crumbs," she whined.

"I can take care of that." He took her forearm and lazily licked one off.

Emily laughed nervously. "You're crazy."

He lapped another speck off.

"I'm crazy for you," he said with another small taste.

Emily laughed louder now as Kelly straddled her, tickling her between licks.

"Stop, someone will hear!" she squealed.

"So be quiet." Kelly stopped tickling, pinned her hands over her head and ran his tongue along her neck instead.

"My head is spinning."

And I feel breathless...

"Good," Kelly whispered into her ear and then sucked on her earlobe.

"Not good. As intoxicating as you are, I'm pretty sure it's from a hangover."

"I can take care of that too." He climbed off of her to find his shorts.

"Give me a minute," he said as he left the room.

Unsure of what hurt more right now, her head or her heart, Emily pressed the heels of her hands against her eyes.

Ugh... It always feel likes nothing ever happens and then everything happens all at once... I want to text Jenny... But I can't... Why did she do this when I need her the most? How can I ever trust her again?

She heard the door open again and then Kelly's voice.

"Take these."

He handed her a tall glass of water and ibuprofen.

"Suzanne is making bacon and coffee. Take a shower and then eat breakfast. The caffeine and grease are just what you need."

Emily swallowed the pills with some water.

"What about you? Do you want to shower first?" she asked.

"I'm not gonna bother showering. No point since I've got to head to work. I'm already late. Besides I like the smell of you on me."

"All I smell is chlorine and cheddar."

She wrinkled her nose. He leaned down and sniffed at her.

"All I smell is you."

"All the licking and sniffing this morning has me thinking you're part dog."

"Don't forget all of the drooling and panting you had me doing last night."

Emily blushed. "Well you had me doing my fair share of that too."

Kelly smiled. "Woof!"

He pulled Emily up to kneel on the bed and she winced at the movement, which increased the throb in her head. She closed her eyes trying to stop the room, that was spinning slightly. Kelly held her head in his hands and rubbed her temples with his thumbs.

"Sorry. Just do what I said."

He kissed her eyelids.

"I'll be back after work. Your Dad is going to teach me how to replace the brake-pads on my car. I'd help you clean up but I've got to go."

He placed a little kiss to her lips. Emily collapsed back into her gritty sheets.

"I'll see you later," she mumbled.

She heard her door shut and then laid there long enough to let the painkillers take the edge off. Then she got up to follow Kelly's directions.

After her shower, she felt awake enough to strip her bed, then take the dirty sheets and damp clothes to the laundry room. As she put Kelly's shirt into the washer she realized he had left the house shirtless again.

I promise to return this one to him...

Once the machine was chugging along, Emily followed the scent of the coffee and bacon to the kitchen.

"Good morning!" Suzanne called out loudly from her chair.

Emily tried not to grimace at the volume and reveal how hung-over she was.

"Morning."

There was a pile of French toast waiting on the counter. Emily's mouth salivated and her stomach growled audibly while she poured her cup and made a plate.

When she sat down and tucked into her food, Suzanne said, "I hope you used protection last night."

Emily nearly choked. She sputtered out a garbled, "Excuse me?" through her cheeks full of food.

A thin line of syrup trickled from her mouth and she wiped it with a napkin.

Suzanne looked over the top edge of her paper at Emily then continued, "I can take you to the gynecologist to get you birth control pills if this is going to be an ongoing thing between you and Kelly."

"N...n...nothing h..happened," Emily stammered.

Suzanne put her paper down on the table and laughed.

"Please Emily, your father might be totally clueless, but I'm not. And I saw Kelly this morning when he was fetching your water. That boy was happier than I've ever seen him. So don't pretend that nothing happened last night." 

Emily's ears started to feel hot. She spluttered, "Well... um... stuff happened... but NOT THAT... just kissing mostly... and we... we ate Ritz crackers."

Suzanne licked her finger and turned a page.

"Well, your father knows your brother has sex and he's happy to look the other way so your brother can have his fun. And I know that when it comes to you he would prefer to pretend that you aren't going to ever lose your virginity. But I think that's a pretty ridiculous double standard. So if you need me to get you any condoms or take you to the doctor, just let me know."

She picked the paper back up. Emily was grateful to not have to look Suzanne in the eye anymore.

"Um... thanks," Emily said meekly.

She gulped down the rest of her coffee and scraped the remains of her breakfast into the trash, before she loaded her plate and utensils into the dishwasher.

Emily said, "I'm going to go over to Samantha's to help her clean up."

Then she fled the kitchen, and made her way around the corner as quickly as she could.

Emily rang the doorbell. Sam opened the door holding a mop.

"You're never going to believe the conversation I just had with my stepmother," Emily blurted.

John came down the stairs pulling on his shirt. "Hey did Suzanne cook breakfast?" he asked.

"Yeah. She made French toast," Emily answered.

"Nice!" He kissed Sam before he walked out the door.

"I'll see you later Sam," he called over his shoulder as he left the girls to clean up.

Emily looked at Samantha and clucked her tongue. "So..."

Samantha covered her eyes. "I'm sure you don't want to hear about your brother and it would be too weird for me to tell you, so tell me about Kelly instead. Is he as good as all the girls rave about?"

Emily collected cups and empties from around the living room. "He's an exceptional kisser. I wouldn't know beyond that." 

Samantha stopped mopping the hallway floor. "Seriously?"

Emily threw her hands up in the air. "Yes! Jesus! My underwear stayed on, well most of it at least. My panties stayed on. Why is that so hard to believe?"

She slammed a cup into the garbage bag she clutched.

Sam leaned the mop handle against the wall. "It's not. It's just that all the girls talk about what a panty dropper Kelly is."

"Well he's not so smooth that he could talk me out of my virginity last night. And he's not a rapist so he stopped when I said to and respected when I said NO," Emily snapped.

Samantha came over and took Emily's hand. "I didn't mean anything by it Em. I'm sorry. Even if you had lost your virginity last night, I wouldn't think less of you as long as you were happy with the decision."

Emily squeezed Samantha hand back. "I'm sorry too. I shouldn't have snapped at you. I'm just on edge because I have my first hangover and my stepmother offered to get me birth control over French toast this morning." 

Samantha laughed. "That's probably enough firsts for this weekend. Although I will say the offer from Suzanne might not be such a bad idea if you keep coming to visit this summer."