Page 6 of Car Wash
His arms are across his chest like he’s trying to hold a distance between himself and his surroundings.
He seems guarded, almost like he’s watching me from beneath a shadow.
He shouldn’t look this hot.
I shouldn’t be this turned on.
Jenny gets to him, bucket swinging at her side, and flashes him a smile I’ve seen melt half our econ class. He gives her a polite nod, says something I can’t hear, and then he takes off his sunglasses—and his gaze slides to me, like she was just background noise.
“What happened?” I ask as she comes back.
“He doesn’t want me to wash his car.” A smile inches across her lips. “He wants you.”
The words crash over me, and my feet feel glued to the pavement, like my body doesn’t quite remember how to move now that she’s said it out loud.
I turn the words over in my mind.
He wants you.
The sun beats down, hot and heavy, but his stare is hotter—heavier—burning a hole through me from across the parking lot. I feel his eyes on me. I feel them inside me, like a hum beneath my skin. Like the weight of a hand that hasn’t touched me… yet.
My heart thuds so hard I can hear it in my ears. My palms go damp, and not from the water dripping down the bucket. My breath catches high in my chest and just sticks there. Waiting.
“Make me proud,” Jenny says, pushing a bucket into my arms.
My feet feel as light as feathers, then ice-cold water hits me before I even register what’s happening.
“Look out!” Jenny says, leaping out of the way. She grabs me, but I get the full brunt of a messy cascade of water that smacks me in the face.
It crashes down over my head, shocking and sudden. I let out a shriek, staggering back as the icy rush drenches me from scalp to sneakers. My shirt clings instantly—soaked, heavy—and I know without even looking that it’s now see-through. My nipples are hard and tight against the wet fabric, clearly outlined, my skin flushed from the heat.
A car drives by, and I wrap my arms around myself as a few quick honks on the horn seem to mimic my beating heart, fast and staccato, pounding from inside. A few lewd whistles sound through the air from the group of frat guys laughing and giving each other high-fives, lodging in my ears, which are already filled with water.
I want to die. This is so messed up.
I never thought I’d join a sorority, but I’ve always been shy, and I saw this as a way to make friends. These girls are my ride-or-dies. My chosen family.
However, I should have known better than to associate with these skeevy frat guys.
Chosen family, my ass!
Jenny steps up to them, her normally cool demeanor going up in flames.
“You motherfuckers think this is funny?” She grabs my arm and pulls me forward. She thinks she’s doing me a favor, butshe’s just making me feel more self-conscious. “This girl right here is a poor, helpless virgin. And look what you’ve done to her!”
Please. Scream it louder, Jenny. Let my dad’s best friend hear this.
I feel like I might actually die. My ears are burning. I can’t even meet anyone’s eyes—I don’t know if they’re laughing or staring or pretending not to look, and somehow all of it makes me feel even smaller.
“Let’s just go,” I say, tugging on her sleeve.
“There’s no way someone should have a rack like that and not show it off,” the ringleader says.
Jenny looks at them with narrowed eyes and steps forward.
“What did you just say, you fucking piece of shit?”
“Jenny, please,” I mumble out of the corner of my mouth, tugging on her shirt and wrapping my arm around myself. “It’s not worth it.”
