Free Out of Nowhere by Rebecca Phillips

something to be discarded as soon as possible.
    She sighed, releasing a curly stream of smoke. “I don’t know how you can stand it, Riley, I really don’t. You never even think about it.”
    “Sure I do,” I said, indignant. “I’m not a robot. I have biological urges.”
    She squished out her cigarette and groaned. “No! No more biology! This is us, two friends talking about sex, not Human Sexuality 101.”
    “Is there really a class about that?”
    It was so easy to push Sydney’s buttons. She glowered at me, teeth bared. “You are hopeless.”
    We sat there in silence for a minute, listening to the sirens and the squeal of trucks braking below us, then Sydney got up and went inside. She was back a few minutes later with a large mug of coffee for her and a can of Coke for me, a peace offering. That’s how it was with me and Sydney. We’d be annoyed at each other one second and then totally back to normal the next. Not like Eva, who tended to hold grudges. Or Lucas, who never knew when to quit. I liked that I could say anything to Sydney, even delicate stuff, and she’d still like me the same the next day.
    “Okay,” she said, sipping her coffee. “I can respect your decision, even though I’ll never understand it. But Riley, let’s be realistic here. You think this new guy’s not gonna want to get into those skinny jeans of yours? I know men, and they all want a shot at it, at least. Cole is what, eighteen?” She peered at me over the rim of her mug. “Riley. He’s no virgin.”
    “Lucas is a virgin,” I countered. As if that meant anything. The two boys could not have been more different.
    “Lucas wasn’t even sure whether he liked girls or boys until a couple of years ago. Plus he has bad taste in guys. I mean, Liam Hogan? Ugh. How boring.”
    Without thinking, I said, “He thinks Cole is hot.”
    Sydney grinned. “Is that so? He failed to mention that little tidbit of info. Maybe if it doesn’t work out with you and Cole…”
    “Um, no,” I said, thinking of the look that flashed across Cole’s face the other day when I innocently licked chocolate icing off my finger. “He definitely plays for our team.”
    “I love how you’re so sure of that,” she said, laughing. “Maybe you’re really not a robot, after all.”
    “If I was, I’d power myself down until Jeff leaves tonight.”
    “Oh, Jeff.” Sydney tipped her head back, sighing. “Now he is hot. Oh my God, that body. I’d like to—”
    I slapped my hands over my ears. “Sydney! Stop right there. You promised, remember?”
    She hunched up her shoulders. “Oh right. Sorry. No lusting after Jeff out loud. I keep forgetting.”
    “No silent lusting either.” I took my hands off my ears. “He’s Tristan’s dad, not to mention my mom’s boyfriend. That’s just gross.”
    “He’s not my mom’s boyfriend,” she muttered, and I shot her a warning look. “Okay, okay. Jeff’s off-limits. I get it. He’s now officially banished from my fantasies.”
    “Thanks,” I said, wishing it was that easy to banish him from my house.
     
    * * *
     
    The next night, Mom ventured into my room. “Riley, we need to talk.”
    Oh shit. I hated those words, especially coming from my mom. The last time she’d uttered those five words in that same quiet, serious tone, accompanied by that same grim face, she was telling me she was pregnant with Tristan. Oh God, this could not be happening again. Three unexpected pregnancies? That had to be a record. I swear, if she ever tried to lecture me about birth control again I’d—
    “I’m not pregnant, if that’s what you’re thinking,” she said wryly. “I practice what I preach now.”
    I let out the breath I’d been holding. “What is it, then?”
    She inched into my room and sat down on my bed, where I was lounging with Lucy and my English notes.
    “Well,” Mom said, picking up a page from my notes and putting it down again without looking at it. “Jeff found out today that he