Just One Year(14)

Teagan moaned as she devoured her own. It was the most enthusiastic sound I’d ever heard come out of her. And it turned me on a little. It was the first time my body had reacted to her like that, and it caught me by surprise.

I took the last bite. “So, how many of these are we allowed?”

“However many you want.”

“I’ll just keep making them unless you stop me, you know.”

She smiled. “Go for it. It’s your first s’mores experience. I get it.”

After I’d consumed five consecutive s’more sandwiches, Teagan looked at me from across the flames. “We’re not doing any more studying tonight, are we?”

“Seeing as though I’m about to turn into a marshmallow and combust, probably not.”

The fire crackled as we sat in silence. It was so peaceful and serene, I could’ve fallen asleep out here. The slight chill in the air was the perfect complement to the fire. Some leaves on the trees around us fell as the wind blew them around. The Carrolls’ neighborhood was quiet at night—definitely different from what I was used to back home.

My curiosity about Teagan increased with every minute I spent with her. I decided to ask a question I hoped wouldn’t upset her. I just really wanted to understand her.

“What happened to your mother?”

Her eyes widened as they met mine across the fire, but she said nothing. Seconds passed as the flames continued to crackle. I had started to regret the question when she finally began to talk.

“I honestly don’t know,” she said, “aside from the fact that she left right after I was born.” She swallowed, seeming uncomfortable.

Now I definitely regretted asking.

“You don’t have to talk about it. I know it’s none of my business. I’ve just been really curious. I’ve come to feel close to all of you very quickly. My observation is that Maura, Lorne, and Shelley are like one happy family, and you’re sort of this…outlier, this mystery. It feels like there’s a missing piece of a puzzle somewhere.”

Teagan nodded and looked as if she were pondering my words. I suspected she might be preparing to open up, so I stayed quiet.

“My mother was a stripper,” she suddenly announced. “Were you expecting me to say something different?”

I chuckled, my eyes wide. “Perhaps.”





CHAPTER FIVE




* * *



TEAGAN




I don’t know why opening up to Caleb felt natural all of a sudden. But his eyes remained so intently focused on me that I decided he was just a genuinely curious person, not judgmental like I’d thought. Maybe my attitude had changed because of what Shelley had told me about him losing his sister. I wasn’t sure.

“It feels so strange to admit the stripper thing aloud, but it’s one of the few things I know about her,” I said. “I find it fascinating, in a sense. But the stripper part is only the very beginning of a long and fucked-up story, one you probably don’t have time for.”

The light from the fire caused Caleb’s green eyes to glow. “Look,” he said. “I’ve turned into a marshmallow. I’m not going anywhere for a while. So I have the time, if you want to talk about it.” He moved from across the fire to right next to me. That simple change of position was probably the difference in me trying to get out of this conversation or following through. Something about his nearness, that silent show of support, was enough to make me pull the trigger.

“I don’t really talk about her, but I probably should sometimes.”

“I have stuff like that in my life. Stuff I should talk about but don’t,” he muttered. “Believe me.”

I wondered if he was referring to his sister. I paused, thinking he might elaborate, but when he didn’t, I started telling my story.

“You know my dad is a professor, obviously.”

“Yeah. Of course.”

“Well, years ago, when he first started out, he fell in love with one of his students. Her name was Ariadne Mellencamp.”

“Pretty name. Your mother?”

“Yeah.”

“Alright.”

“Anyway, they had a very forbidden and intense love affair.”

His eyes widened. “Wait—affair? He wasn’t married to Maura then, was he?”

“Oh, no. This was before he ever met Maura. My dad was only a few years into his career at the time. He was in his early thirties, and Ariadne was only about twenty.”

“Okay…”

“As I mentioned, she was an exotic dancer. That was how she paid for school. My father thought she was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen. He kind of became obsessed with her. When he found out where she worked, he went to watch her dance one night without her knowing. He stayed in the corner where she couldn’t see him.”

Caleb laughed a little. “Jesus, Lorne was a stalker?”

“Yeah.” I chuckled. “Eventually, they started sneaking around together. He moved her into his house and took care of her. Their relationship was very…sexual.”

Caleb blew out a breath. “I’m so fucking intrigued by this story, it’s not even funny. Keep going.”

I’d never told anyone this before.