Maybe there was a way I could fix that though without doing too much damage. I leaned over, caught one of the guys looking down my blouse, and reached into my purse. The rock was in there, and I decided that maybe I could use it to help break the ice.
Gripping it, I whispered my wish, "I wish I knew who the people were who just walked in the door, and that I was comfortable around them."
"Did you say something?" Rick said, turning to look at me.
I shook my head. "No, just talking to myself," I told him. As soon as I finished speaking, memories began to flood my mine. Memories that I knew weren't really mind, but that I had just the same.
Bill was the first guy who'd walked in, and if he looked like your typical stoner it was pretty much because he was. He was a nice enough guy, and kind of cute in a rather unkempt kind of way. He had long black hair, and a rather thick goatee. His eyes were dark green, and always just a little glossed over. He'd always treated me well when when Jill had stayed around our house babysitting. I suddenly remembered several times over the past few years that our parent's had gone out of town on vacation and left us in her care. Usually they were rather reluctant about it, but they didn't really know anybody else they could call. Bill had always treated me well and told me that I was probably gonna be even more of a looker than Jill when I grew up. I didn't like to admit it, and would probably never tell Jill, but I'd always had kind of a crush on him.
Except Part of me knew I was seeing him for the first time right now. Except I'd known him for years hadn't I?
I shook my head. I knew the memories were the result of my wish, but they still felt so real. Behind him was his girlfriend Gina. She'd always been a little too punk for my taste. Like Bill though, she'd always treated me nice. As much as Jill thought she'd done it herself, Gina had actually given me my first cigarette when I was thirteen. She was tall and lanky with long hair that varied in color from hot pink to dark purple and she had a golden stud imbedded in her left nostril. She was dressed in black, like Bill, and her clothes looked old and torn. I knew that was because she preferred the style though, not because they were actually so worn in. She smiled and waved. I waved back.
This was weird. As I looked at each individual, new memories flashed into my brain. Behind her was Jim. I didn't know Jim all that well, but we'd met a few times, and he seemed nice enough. Some people would have called him a skin head and in the strictest sense, he was. The top of his head was completely smooth, and only the thin blond beard, and his eyebrows gave away his hair color. He was almost too thin, and tended to walk with his hands in the pockets of his worn in denim jeans.
Behind him, I saw Rosie. She was, if such a term could be applied, the slut of the group. At least in appearance. Her hair was long and bleach blond and her eyes were dark green. She had a thin face, covered by just a little too much makeup. Her large breasts were held in place by a spaghetti-strap silver halter top, and she was wearing a pair of Daisy Duke jean shorts. She smiled at me. Despite her appearance, Rosie might have been one of the smartest of the group. She was compassionate too. Sometimes when Jill had babysat, Rosie had spent some time talking to me about boys. I'd learned everything I knew about sex from her.
I started to realize that I suddenly knew a lot more about sex.
The last girl in the group was Jenny. If you'd seen Jenny in any other setting, she might have almost seemed normal. She was wearing a blue denim jacket over a loose black t-shirt and finished her look off with a pair of black jeans. Her hair was long, dark blond, and kept back in a ponytail. She'd always been the quiet one of the group, I remembered. A couple of the times that Jill had been alone with Zoe, Mikey, and me, she'd thrown rather wild parties, and Jenny had always been the one worried about the consequences if they got caught. It had always struck me as odd that she would choose to hang out with a group of people like my sister.
All of these memories appeared in my mind in almost the blink of an eye, and suddenly I wasn't quite so nervous anymore. Hell, this might actually turn out to be kind of fun.
"You know these people?" Rick asked. I could tell from the tone of his voice that this probably wasn't what he had planned. He looked so cute with that worried little expression on his face. I reached over and placed a hand on his cheek and smiled at him.
"Don't worry," I told him softly, "They're just some of my sister's friends. Besides," I continued, "even if you're a little uncomfortable now I promise you're going to be very comfortable later." I winked and leaned in to kiss him quickly on the lips. While I kissed him one of my hands drifted down between his legs and gave it a quick rub. He gasped, and I broke the kiss. I smiled back at him again. "Trust me."
He nodded, and I stood up. I found my cigarettes, lit one and walked over to the group.
"Look at the knockout," Bill said, obviously in awe. I supposed it had been a while since I'd seen him
*You've never seen him *
"Told ya you were gonna be hotter than your sis someday." He looked over at Jill and smirked, "Kinda makes you look like a skank Jill."
I chuckled as Jill made a rather sarcastic face and said, "Ha Ha. Very funny asshole."
Part of me was wondering why I felt so comfortable now, so different. It was pretty apparent though after I thought about it for a moment. I'd wished to know them, and be comfortable around them. Apparently to be comfortable around them my personality had to change a little bit. It made sense, but it was still kind of weird. I mean, I couldn't remember my whole life as a girl, just the bits that they'd been in, and it seemed as though those bits had influenced me even further. They'd turned me into somebody who could be comfortable around my sister's friends. Deep down, I wasn't sure I liked that. On the surface though, everything was coming up roses.
Bill leaned in and kissed me on the cheek. "Seriously it's good to see you again Nat," he said. As I'd realized earlier, I'd had a crush on him before, but eventually I'd gotten over it. Now, he was more like an older brother to me.
"You to," I said, and I meant it.
The girls all smiled at me. I took a long drag and walked up and hugged Rosie. She hugged me back. "How ya been?" she asked as I pulled away. "Pretty good judging by the hottie you bagged." I laughed. "You two done it yet?" she asked in a whisper.
"I just met him today," I said in mock surprise.
"So?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.
Gina smiled at me, lighting her own cigarette. She simply nodded and I nodded back. "Good to see ya Nat," she finally said. When she talked I could see her tongue ring. Bet Bill loves that, I thought, surprising myself.
"So, who's up for a drink?" Bill asked, walking toward the fridge.
There was a chorus of people affirming their desire to imbibe.
"Booze me," I said, and that really did take me by surprise. I'd never had a drink in my life except I was pretty sure I had. The new memories, the new personality traits knowing they were there, and what they were didn't make things any easier. A moment later, he slapped a Hard Lemonade in my hand. For a moment, I just looked down at it. I remembered loving them, but I also remembered never having them in my life. I shook my head. Maybe it was time to stop with the wishing.
Of course, I'd already thought that a few times tonight, and look what had happened. Every time I'd decided I wouldn't make any more wishes, I went ahead and made another one. It was like I had no will power whatsoever. I remembered what Malcolm had told me, about the wearing down of inhibitions. I knew it was happening, so why couldn't I fight it.. Without even realizing what had happened, I looked down and found the bottle was open and half of it was gone already.
I walked over to Rick and sat down beside him. Deep down, I was still worried about what I'd done to Jill, about the life that Chloe seemed to have ahead of her, but on the surface, all I could think about was the night before me, and how much fun it could be. How much more fun could it be if I used the rock to liven things up a little
