I blushed. “I’ll be back,” I said softly. “I’m going upstairs to change.”
The buzz of voices continued while I tossed my nightgown over my head and wriggled into jeans and a sweater, wearing my new silk panties underneath. I wanted Andrew to come upstairs, to burst into my bedroom and throw me on the bed, but I knew that he wouldn’t try something like that with my parents around, watching us like hawks.
When I went back downstairs, Mom, Dean, Victor, and Andrew were all sitting around the table, sipping at glasses of orange juice.
“Pity,” Andrew called to Victor. “We really should’ve brought champagne for mimosas.”
Mom looked scandalized. “You’re my child,” she said. “You won’t be drinking in this house!”
Andrew snickered. “Carissa, I’m twenty-seven,” he said. “Last time I checked, the drinking age was twenty-one.”
Mom flushed scarlet. Her features turned angry. “My house, my rules,” she said through gritted teeth. “And you won’t be drinking, not when your father and I are around.”
Andrew shook his head and laughed. I had to bite the inside of my mouth to keep from laughing – how the hell did he manage to stay so cool in the face of Mom’s ridiculous rules?
“Kristin, I don’t know how you stand it here,” Victor teased. He passed me an apple and winked at me. “These rules seem a little strict.”
“Yeah, Sis,” Andrew said. He raised an eyebrow at me and licked his lips, keeping his dark eyes locked with mine. I felt a shiver of arousal and lust course through my body and I shifted in my chair. My pussy was soaking wet, and the crotch of my panties was rubbing against my skin, making me feel intolerably horny.
“This is our house,” Mom said stiffly. “And we make the rules. Kristin does not pay rent, therefore she is obligated to do as we say.”
Andrew snickered. “She’s twenty-two, Carissa,” he said. Every time he called my mom by her given name, she flinched. It was almost enough to make me giggle.
“She’s still my child,” Mom said.
“She’s your child, but she’s not a child,” Andrew said. “Don’t you know that it’s dangerous for girls like her to be so sheltered?”
Mom and Dean glanced at each other. Just when I thought Mom was about to open her mouth, Andrew kept going.
“Girls like her get out in the real world and realize they don’t know anything,” Andrew said. “She’s going to like, wind up doing porn or dating some abusive asshole because she doesn’t know how to respect herself with people her own age.”
Mom’s jaw dropped.
“That’s enough of that kind of talk,” Dean said angrily. “Andrew, if you can’t learn how to talk to adults, you’re not going to be allowed at this table any longer!”
“So what, Dad?” Andrew countered. He shook his head. “I have my own place, and my own job – I’ve done just fine. But what you’re doing to Kristin is a crime,” he added. “And she should really have more autonomy.”
“Kristin, you want to come out with us later?” Victor asked. “We’re going out to dinner.”
“She most certainly does not,” Mom roared. “She’ll be staying in. Kristin is being punished. She lied to me, and she’s grounded.”
Andrew burst out laughing. “She’s twenty-two,” he repeated. “You can’t ground her, Carissa. You can kick her out, but grounding her doesn’t really work.” He glanced at me and winked. I felt a warm, delicious feeling spread from my lower belly to the rest of my body.
“Thanks,” I murmured under my breath.
“I’ve just about had it with you coming in here and giving my daughter dangerous ideas,” Mom said. “Your father and I are proud that you’ve managed to make it on your own, Andrew. But this isn’t the time to lecture us. Kristin is staying home today, and that’s final.”
I stood up, knocking my chair over. “Actually, guys,” I said. “I’d love to go. I finished my paper. I don’t have any more work to do until next semester.”
Mom stared at me, her jaw hanging open. “Kristin, think about what you’re doing,” she said slowly. “Think about this. Your actions have consequences. You can’t just run around with these boys, willy-nilly!”
“Or what, Mom?” I sassed, putting my hands on my hips. “You won’t let me have any dessert?”
My mom looked as angry as she had the day she’d slapped me, but she pinched her lips tightly together.
“Fine,” she said tightly. “Go out with Andrew and his ‘friend.’ Then you can see for yourself the horrors of the real world.”
“I will,” I said, smiling sweetly. “Thanks, Mom.”