I put the towel back over my shoulder, retrieved my clothing from the floor, and approached her slowly.She didn't move. Didn't speak. And certainly wouldn't look at me. I carefully separated my bra from her sweater.
I stepped back and regarded her thoughtfully.
"Darcy." I said.
Her eyes met mine hesitantly, and when they did, it was not the brash young woman of moments before, but rather an uncertain, shy teenager.
"W-what?"Her voice trembled a little, and I felt about two inches tall.
"My name. Darcy Max.I'm a ...friend of your parents."
She blinked at me owlishly, and I sighed.Jesus, I'm an ass.
"Kimberly?"I said softly, and she blinked at me again. "Kimberly, I'm really, really sorry."I backed away from her with an apologetic smile. "I'll get out of your way now, ok?"
She turned away without speaking and I left the room, hoping to find another place to get dressed before I met up with the brother and reduced him to tears, too.
I did meet the brother, but fortunately I was fully clothed, and he didn't seem to take near as much offense at my presence as his sister did.He was sitting on the couch, watching what sounded like cartoons, and didn't even look up when I came up the stairs.
"Morning." I said cautiously, looking towards the kitchen to see if anyone else was awake.
He looked up in surprise. "Oh. Hey. Good morning."
Like his sister, Kyle Scott was quite good-looking; his hair was lighter, but he had the same blue eyes and strong features. Unlike his sister, though, and to my relief, his smile was friendly.
I smiled back and crossed the room, extending a hand. "I'm Darcy.You must be Kyle."
"Yep, that'd be me."He scrambled off the couch and shook my hand vigorously, giving me the once over while trying to appear not to.
"Please, sit down.I didn't mean to interrupt.I was going to make some coffee - can you give me an idea of how much I need to make?Are your folks big coffee people, or your sister?And you?Would you like some?"
"Oh yeah. We all love our coffee." He laughed."Kim is a complete bi...um...she's pretty grumpy in the morning without it."
"That's an understatement," I grumbled to myself.
"Pardon?"
"Um, your parents were telling me you're a computer science major.What kind of stuff are you into?"
When Pam made an appearance a half an hour later, Kyle and I were sitting together on the couch, sipping coffee and discussing his latest programming assignment.
"Kyle, honey! When did you get in? We didn't expect you in so soon!"She looked perky and chipper as she moved to hug her son; not even the decency to look a tiny bit like how I felt.
"Hi Mom."He stood and hugged her back, picking her up off the floor and laughing when she squeaked alarm. I scooted out of the way as he set her down. "Kim managed to catch an earlier flight out."
"Well what a great surprise!" She hugged him again, and smiled at me over his shoulder."Hiya Darcy.I see you've met my boy."
"I have." I smiled at the both of them as they stood arm in arm.I raised my cup."I hear from Kyle that you're a coffee fanatic.Can I get you a cup?"
"Oh god yes! Please, please, please! With a little cream."She winked at me. "And how are you feeling this morning?"
Ah-ha! Maybe she wasn't feeling as chipper as she was acting. "Fabulous." I said with a laugh, and moved towards the kitchen to pour her some coffee.
"So where's your sister?"The two continued to talk as I poured.
"I dunno - she went downstairs to put her stuff away, and never came back up."
I bit my lip, feeling guilty. Ken came down a moment later and greeted his son enthusiastically, and a few minutes after that, Kim came up from downstairs.
I noticed her before the others did, and nodded warily at her. Damn, if she wasn't the cutest thing... She shot me a look of distain that made me flinch. She noticed the flinch and gave me a cold smile before entering the room and greeting her parents.
Get a grip, Darce, she hates your guts and she's Pam and Ken's SEVENTEEN YEAR OLD DAUGHTER! I chastised myself for my inappropriate attraction.
The family chatted together for a few minutes and I puttered around the kitchen until the initial excitement of seeing each other had worn off.Pam smiled at me and grabbed my hand when I handed her a cup of coffee.
"Kimmie, honey, have you met Darcy?She's a friend of Greta's - we skied with her yesterday. She's fabulous!"
‘Kimmie' was glaring at me like I was the reason the Spice Girls broke up, and when she spoke, it was through gritted teeth.
"Don't call me Kimmie, mom, and yes, I've met your little friend Darcy.I barely recognized her with all those clothes on, though."
I could feel my eyes widen a little in surprise - I didn't expect her to bring that up - and felt a faint blush creep up my cheeks. Shit, was this the girl that only an hour before had been crying?
Not hearing the last remark, and oblivious to the tension, Pam chattered on. "She's a telemarketer."
Oh boy. I saw the gleam in the girl's eyes, like she was sharpening up her claws to rip me a new one, and corrected hastily, "Telemarker.As in the skis.Not the phone people."
But it was too late.I was now, in Kim's eyes, an annoying person who called during dinner and sold magazine subscriptions.It obviously didn't do much to raise her opinion of me, but it sure as hell boosted her confidence.
She smiled in delight. "Really."
I opened my mouth to again explain the difference between telemarking and telemarketing, but the two women had moved past me to the kitchen, discussing breakfast.
Damn.
I cleared my throat. "I should probably get out of your hair...thanks for letting me sta..."
"Nonsense!I promised you french toast, remember? And I know Ken has something he would like to discuss with you."She glanced at her husband, and I looked from one to the other in confusion.
"I..."
"You're staying, Darcy." She gave me a look.I knew Pam was a lawyer, but until that moment, I had had a hard time picturing it.
"Um, sure.Thanks." Pam smiled, knowing it had never been in doubt.
Breakfast proved tasty but nerve-wracking, as Kim continued to toss thinly veiled barbs my way with annoying efficiency.I did my best to hold my tongue and ignore her, not wanting to let her parents know I thought their daughter was a spoiled brat, but by the end of the meal both Ken and Pam were looking at the two us with worried expressions.
Ken dropped his bomb just as I was cleaning plates off the table.
He had talked to his partners earlier that morning about my thesis ideas for using caged-carbon structures in chip circuitry, and they were going to look into financing some R&D to see if the idea would be feasible in the marketplace.Ken was a board member of a venture capital group, and I had jokingly mentioned my project to him the night before, telling him I was looking for investors.
"You're what?!?"Kim said in dismay.
"You are?!?" I croaked in amazement, and we both stared at him as he calmly munched on a piece of bacon, not realizing he had just both rocked both of our worlds.
"She's a telemarketer, for Christ sakes, Dad!"
"Kimmie!" Pam admonished.
"No, I'm not."I'd had enough of her lip. "I'm a materials engineer.Who also happens to telemark.As in the skis.Not the phone people."I smiled smugly at her, not at all guilty about the flush that crept over her face. I turned to Ken. "Are you serious, Ken?You're group might really be interested?"
"I don't believe this!" Kim pushed out from the table and stormed down the stairs.
"Jeez, what's up with Kim-butt."Kyle's offhand remark cut the quiet that had descended on the table, and he reached for more french toast.