Free Fire And Ash by Nia Davenport

sports bra and cropped pants I put on for work.  
    I hold up my messenger bag. “Yeah I am. I’m coming from teaching my first class at the gym. I need to change.”
    “The pizza should be close behind. Hang out in the living room until it comes. It’s hard to hear the bell from out back,” Derek tells her then heads for the backyard.
    Cassie rolls her eyes. “The bell can be heard just fine. Derek just wants an excuse to make out in the pool with the random girl he invited over without me hovering since Mom’s not here.”
    “Wait, what? Since when does Derek have friends? And I’ve never seen him with a girl.” I realize how ridiculous the last part sounds after it leaves my mouth. I rub the side of my neck to stop the blush that is trying to creep up it.
    “Oh he doesn’t have friends. He has random girls he picks up from who knows where.” Cassie yells the emphasized words loud enough for Derek and whatever girl he has in the backyard to hear.  
    “That’s not surprising,” I mutter and I am half telling the truth and half lying.  
      It isn’t surprising. Derek looks exactly like the type of guy that girls would fall all over. His height, athletic build, and the six pack that I could probably wash my clothes on make him hot, but his dark eyes framed by dark thick lashes and the bad boy vibe he puts out make him irresistible. Not to me , I tell myself. But I’m sure to every other girl.  
    I am half lying though because Derek doesn’t give off the impression that he is they type of guy who would let them. He’s an arrogant ass, but I hadn’t pegged him as an arrogant, shallow , ass.  
    “Hi,” the pizza guy says from the open doorway.
    “You can change in my room upstairs while I pay for the pizza and take it out back. Hurry . Don’t leave me as a third wheel for too long,” Cassie says to me before turning to grab the four boxes the delivery guy is balancing in one hand.  
    I check my reflection in the mirror hanging from the back of Cassie’s door. I am satisfied that I look good in the swimsuit I borrowed from Aunt Farrah’s closet. It’s a black one piece with the sides cut out that leaves my back completely bare except for the string that is tied around my neck and the one that is tied around my back like a bikini’s strings would do.  
    It is nothing Dad would ever let me own and the bikinis I have are much too boring for my objective. The way the one piece is missing materials in places that a normal one wouldn’t gives it an edgy, sexy feel. And Derek had told Cassie I was three. I don’t give a damn what he thinks, but I am not a three. I brought the swimsuit to wear when she told me he’d be around off of principle alone.  
    Principle is also what leaves me feeling gleefully vindicated when I walk out of the house and Derek’s eyes go wide a moment before he catches himself.  
    My victory is short lived when I notice that the random girl he invited over is not so random after all.  
    “Hi Ashley.” My used to be best friend Miranda gives me a fake smile.
    She slides her hands down Derek’s stomach and into the waist band of his trunks. I imagine holding her head underwater until she stops breathing off of principle alone. I just don’t like her.  
    I sympathize with her because it really is my fault we’re not friends anymore but I didn’t force her to become a catty bitch.  
    “I guess Laurel Springs is a small enough town that most people around here know each other,” Cass says over a mouth full of pizza. “Want a slice? I made sure to get one with just pepperoni.” She pushes one of the four boxes towards me.  
    I turn my back on Derek’s and Miranda’s hands that are nauseatingly touching all over each other.
    “And this is why you’re awesome,” I tell Cass while I stuff my face with my favorite pizza. I ate breakfast then a protein bar earlier in the afternoon before the gym, but it’s early evening and I’m starving now.
    Cassie scowls at