“No, uh…”

They both seemed at a loss for words. Kassidy leaned back to watch, intrigued—maybe a little aroused—by the explicit images. Did they think she’d be pissed off? She wasn’t that much of a prude. Surely they knew that.

Chris lowered himself to the couch beside her. She wanted to reach over and feel the erections inside their jeans, but just as she was about to do that, the scene changed and another woman joined the threesome on-screen. Another woman who looked familiar…

Holy shit!

It was Hailey.

Kassidy sat forward, eyes huge, and watched as her sister began removing clothing. “Oh my god!” She slapped her hands over her eyes and bent forward. “Turn it off, turn it off!”

“Jesus fucking Christ.”

The movie kept rolling amid a thick silence in the living room. Kassidy peeked at Dag between her fingers and saw him staring open mouthed at the television. She grabbed for the remote and he let her take it. She prodded around for the power button and the television went dark.

The only sound was their breathing, all three of them dragging air into lungs stiffened with shock.

“That couldn’t be my sister,” she finally managed to choke out.

“Uh…” Again Chris had no words. “It sort of looked like her.”

She had to see it again. To convince herself. Because it was just too mind-blowing. But she did not want to watch her sister naked and having sex.

“You look.” She handed the remote to Chris then snatched it back. “No, you look.” She passed it to Dag. They exchanged a look.

“Kassidy…”

“Please. Just make sure it’s her. So when I go kick her ass I’m not doing it for nothing.”

Dag clicked on the television, and the pay-per-view movie resumed. She stared at her feet on the carpet, her chest tight, stomach clenched as she heard Hailey’s voice moaning and saying, “Oh yeah, fuck me harder.”

She wanted to cry. Hailey was having sex with strangers for money. It was the lowest low she could have fallen to, and even though she disapproved of many things about Hailey’s life, she would never have imagined that she would do something like this.

“It’s her, isn’t it?” She still focused on her pink toenails.

“Yup.” Chris and Dag both said it at the same time, and Dag stopped the movie again.

“Oh my god. How could she do that?”

“It’s not the end of the world,” Dag said, voice rough.

She made a strangled sound in her throat and covered her face again.

“You don’t think she’s wondering that same thing about you, right now?” Dag asked quietly.

Her head shot up and she glared at him.

“I’m just saying…”

“That is entirely different than what we’re doing!” she snapped at him.

“Kassidy.” Chris rubbed her arm. “It’s okay.”

“It’s not okay! That’s my sister! My sister the porn star! God! No wonder she has money all the time. I could never figure out…” Her voice trailed off. “Oh, this is awful. My parents…”

“You’re not going to tell them.” Chris’s voice held a note of authority. She turned to look at him. He shook his head. “No. You’re not.”

“But…”

“You don’t want her to tell them about us.”

She stared at him. Then she started laughing. “Well. This is funny.”

“Har,” Dag said. She shot him a frosty glance.

Why was she angry at both of them? This wasn’t their fault. They’d just been watching a dirty movie and had no idea it was going to turn out like this. She sighed and pressed shaky fingers to her eyes. “I can’t believe this.”

Was Hailey wondering that about her? Was there a difference between what Hailey was doing and what she was doing? Her mind spun all over the place, her stomach tight and hurting.

That night when the three of them went to bed, Kassidy didn’t want to have sex.

Kassidy and Chris were about to leave for her parents’ place, their car loaded up with food and drink, when Kassidy turned to Dag where he slouched on the sofa and said, “Are you ready?”

“Ready for what?”

“To leave. For the party.” She grimaced. “Such as it is.”

“Uh…I didn’t plan to go.”

Her eyes widened. “Why not?”

“It’s your family, Kassidy. And I’m not family.”

She stared at him, lips parted. “But…yes, you are.”

Whatever their relationship was, it wasn’t family. It was weird, unconventional, even kinky—but not family.

“You have to come,” she said, her eyebrows meeting over her small nose.

Dag looked to Chris for guidance. Chris nodded, his face completely open, looking almost confused by the fact that Dag wasn’t going to join them. And once again, even though Chris had once rejected him in the worst way possible without even knowing it, Dag only felt acceptance and inclusion from him.

Warmth spread inside him, but he shrugged carelessly. “Well, okay, if you’re sure. I don’t really know your parents, but…”

“You stayed with Mom that day, and you’ve met my Dad. You’re staying with us; of course they’d expect you to come.”

He was tempted to make a comment about a boring family barbecue but somehow knew it wasn’t going to come out sounding the way he wanted it to—it would only sound hurtful, and even though he only wanted to cover up how much it meant to him to be included with his usual cynicism and jokes, he couldn’t do it.

“I’ll just go change. Sorry to hold you up.”

In the spare room where he kept his things, he changed from baggy athletic shorts and T-shirt into a pair of beige cargo shorts and a white shirt that he wore loose over them, the sleeves rolled up. He didn’t know why he wanted to go with them—it was going to be a boring family barbecue, with just Kassidy’s parents and them, possibly Hailey. That at least would likely add a little spice to the evening, but then again, he hated the thought of Kassidy being upset by her sister. She’d been pretty freaked out by the whole porn movie thing, had been distracted and brooding ever since.

But he did want to go, strangely felt himself looking forward to it as he quickly changed.

“Okay, let’s go,” he said as he emerged from the bedroom.

Kassidy smiled at him. She looked pretty in a flowered orange and yellow sundress, the bodice two tiny triangles over her breasts, held up with equally tiny straps, showing a lot of smooth, golden skin including some nice cleavage. Chris looked good too, as usual, in a pair of plaid shorts and a pink—pink!—polo shirt that only he, with his wide shoulders and muscled arms, could pull off.

“Nice shirt, man,” he said, raising a brow. “You borrow that from Kassidy?”

Chris laughed. “Fuck off. Grab that case of beer and let’s go.”

They got Mrs. Langdon settled on the deck in a comfortably cushioned chair in the shade. The backyard swimming pool shimmered turquoise and aqua in the late-afternoon sun and colorful flowers and greenery spilled out of pots arranged around the deck. It was so far from how Dag had grown up, it made his skin itch. Chris and Kassidy had both had completely different lives than he had. And yet, from the moment he’d met Chris he had never felt inferior or any less. And Kassidy had been the same. Dag’s chest tightened at those thoughts, which he pushed away as he directed his best smile at Kassidy’s mom.

“How’re you doing, Mrs. L.?” he asked.

“I told you, Dag, call me Hope.”

“Oh yeah.” He winked at her. “Hope. How’s the pelvis?”

She made a face. “I suppose it’s getting better. It’s driving me crazy, though, to sit around and do nothing all this time.”

“Good thing it’s summer holidays and you’re not missing work.” He’d learned she was an elementary school principal the day he’d spent with her, a day that once again had been surprisingly enjoyable.

She sighed. “Yes, if there was anything good about this whole thing, it’s that. I should be more mobile by the end of the summer.”