“You called her because you want to fuck her.” The woman’s voice startled Vivian. She lifted her head from her anthropology text book.

“You can tell all the neighbors; that won’t make it true.” The man’s voice was angry. Vivian sat up in the bed.

Ricky’s parent’s voices rose from the entrance-way.

“You have no other reason to speak to her?” His mother slammed the door.

“She listens.”

“She fucks!”

Ricky told me his parents were gone for the weekend. Vivian pulled the sheets to her naked breast. Ricky, I don’t care about sandwiches and beer, get your ass home right now.

“Right, it’s not honest. But it’s not cheating.”

Ricky’s mother’s response was muffled as they moved into the kitchen. Oh, my god. They came back into the hallway, his mother still speaking.

“That’s what you do – deflect.”

“I’m deflecting? Pointing out the shit that you don’t admit to is deflecting?”

“You can’t admit that you’re dirty. Sure. Walk away.” The voices and the footsteps began coming toward the room.

Vivian lay paralyzed, a grapefruit sized lump in her stomach. OhmygodOhmygodohmygod.

The voices moved away.

 “A phone call is not touching.”

“Oh please.”

I’m freakin’ naked. Shit. I should say something. No. They’ll think I was listening. I was listening, but not on purpose. Rickyyyy. Shit.

Ricky’s mother yelled, “You’re the one not being honest.”

The voices and running feet retreated into the kitchen. There was a noise like glass breaking. Vivian seized the opportunity and slipped out of the bed, grabbed her panties and quickly slipped them on. She grabbed her shirt, tossed it over her head, took another step to reach her jeans and the floor boards creaked. She froze.

The voices were quickly heading back in her direction.

Ricky’s father yelled derisively, “I didn’t get drunk and grind on her.”

The voices continued to advance toward the room. Leaving her jeans, Vivian took two large tip-toe steps and ducked behind the door just as Ricky’s parents passed the room. She was certain they could hear the sound of her heart beating.

Please Ricky. Please. If you love me, you will walk through that door right now. I will never forgive you.

“You wanted hard dick, I had hard dick for you.”

“You’re just disgusting.” Ricky’s mother spat as she crossed back down the hallway. His father pursued her.

In one swift, graceful, and silent move, Vivian stepped from behind the door, grabbed her jeans and slipped them on as she pirouetted to the near wall, pressing herself out of sight of the doorway. The voices disappeared into the other side of the house. She slid down on her haunches, resting her head on her knees.

Several long minutes later, she heard the front door open and close again, then voices followed by footsteps. She closed her eyes and held her breath. Two seconds later, the footsteps stopped in front of her. She opened her eyes to see Ricky, smiling down at her, holding a bag of burgers in one hand and a six pack of Heineken in the other.

Vivian Looked at him with sad, but grateful eyes. She smiled weakly.

Ricky laughed with his eyes. “What?”