Crushed – Chapter One

"Now you're sure you'll be okay? You won't get into any trouble, right?"

Ugh, classic parent. "Don't worry, Mom!", James repeated for what felt like the dozenth time that day. "I'm nineteen freaking years old, okay? I know how to take care of myself, you know." He shifted in his seat, trying to ignore the rising tension he felt down below whenever he happened to think about what the next few weeks might bring. Two whole months away from family… staying with his longtime crush and her single mom. "We've known Alice and her mom for, what? Three years now?"

"Yeah, I know, I know," Mom sighed, gazing reflectively over her gangly son with a look of mingled pride and rueful regret on her face. "I know you'll be fine. But just… you know. Humor your aged parent, huh? Be sure to answer when I call you – and don't do anything stupid…"

"Promise," James nodded, even as the mental image of Alice's soft bangs and dark almond eyes rose before him. "Besides, it's not like it's a straight-up summer vacation, right? Heck, what with all this college prep stuff they've been talking about, you'll be the one having the time of your life! Didn't Sis say she was taking you to a spa or something?"

"Okay, you got me," Mom admitted with a wry laugh, with a quick glance around the kitchen in search of any unwashed dishes. "But let's get going, okay? They'll be here to pick you up any minute – and I still have a hundred things to do before heading to the airport. You've got your luggage… oh, over there. And I've got mine in my room, just waiting for the last load of laundry-"

Ding dong.

"I'll get it!" Of course he would. Not a chance in hell he'd miss welcoming Alice and her mom in. Every single second he got to see her pretty face… her fresh and youthful clothes… those lovely, modest curves beneath… Well, every second he could spend with her would be another second he could fantasize about later.

And there she stood on the doorstep: talking quietly to her mother from under her pale green sunhat. "Hey, James!" Mrs. Zhou beamed, turning to face him at the sound of the door opening. "How's everything? Ready to come join the fun?" "Um, sure," he managed – and almost tripped over the threshold in his distraction. "Come- come on in…"

Heh. "Cum." Oh, god, stop it! You're not fucking twelve anymore-

Fortunately, neither Alice nor Mrs. Zhou could hear his stupid inner monologue. "Hey, Trish! Ready for us to take your amazing son off your hands?" Mrs. Zhou was joking, of course – she loved a good laugh – but it still did nothing to ease James's awkward shuffling. Geez, moms were cringe enough. But having to stand there and listen to them bantering back and forth… joking about you in front of your secret crush…

"Hey," Alice offered simply, turning to face him and sending his pulse galloping into overdrive. "So, you're all packed? Got your workbooks and everything?" She wasn't exactly flirting, of course – but to James every syllable was a delight. "Umm… yeah?" he fumbled, retreating a few steps into the living room and gesturing lamely over at the luggage in the corner. "I think so. The math one, and the chemistry…"

"Good deal," she nodded, removing her sunhat and tossing her shoulder-length hair carelessly back. "I mean, it's been two whole years since I was a freshman like you. But I still remember how much stuff I ended up wishing I'd known before starting. And don't worry! Shouldn't be too hard if we do a bit every day, right?"

"Umm… sure," he managed, fighting the nervous urge to fidget. "I mean, you're two whole years ahead of me already. And I don't really know much about how college works-" "Ehh, you'll be fine," Alice encouraged, with another toss of her hair and a bright smile. "I'll be happy to coach you, no worries. And besides, you know mom's been an admin at the university ever since I can remember. She definitely knows a lot about how things work. You know, which dorms-"

"James!" His mom was calling now, as loudly as if he were upstairs instead of a mere fifteen feet away. Ugh, really? NOW? "Hang on," he muttered, then leaned around the corner and into the kitchen, trying to hide his impatient irritability. "…Yeah?"

"Oh, there you are!" Mom replied, a bundle of dish towels and washrags in her arms. "I almost forgot – I need to wash your sheets before we go! Go strip your bed and bring them down for me, okay?"

"Huh…" he muttered, mentally cursing the innocent bedsheets and his mom's passion for cleanliness. A quick roll of the eyes in Alice's direction – but fortunately, she was grinning quietly in evident sympathy. "Sure, Mom," he repeated, louder this time for her benefit. "Right away."

And then Alice said it – right as he was set to dash upstairs.

"I'll come and help," she offered in that bright voice of hers. And before he could think up a rebuttal, she was stepping up the staircase after him. "Oh- um, okay?" he managed, as his brain raced faster with every step. "I mean, you don't have to, but…"

His words may have been calm enough. But internally, his brain was warbling out sirens of dire warning. You threw them all out, right? No way on earth you can let her see! You didn't forget to toss that bag, did you?

No, thank god. The open closet was empty, its floor bare and vacant of any sign of the incriminating evidence. Of course he'd taken care of it, he mused with a stab of silent relief. He wasn't an idiot, after all. Just his stupid nerves acting up-

"Hey, blankets and everything? Or just the sheets?" Alice was leaning gracefully against the wall, glancing around the room in quiet approval. "Nice room you got here, by the way. You know, I don't think I've ever been up here…" "Oh, um- thanks? And, um, yeah. Just the sheets… I think?" Dammit, why were his hands trembling as they pulled off the blankets? Why was he such a lame wreck? Here he'd hoped to impress the girl of his dreams… spend time getting to know her even better than before… act cool and confident and smart…

"Okie-dokie!" Down she bent, over the now-rumpled bed. In her hands groped. And before it could even register, up went the mattress as she began tugging the fitted sheet free.

An unfortunate move, really. Because right there, lying before their eyes with all the calm splendor of a dead rat, lay an adult diaper. A tape-on Depends, to be exact. Rumpled from use and flattened from having been squished into secrecy between mattress and boxspring.

"Uhhhmmm… Oh." Alice's hands paused for what felt like a literal week. She was still half-bent with her face turned away, and her shell-shocked companion could only guess whether she had seen it. But even as his brain rocketed into painful, mortified imaginings of what she must be thinking, she let the mattress slip back down. She straightened up. And flashed him a bright, disarming smile.

"There we go! Now you can take them off on the other side, and we'll be done!"

Which he did, of course. As his pulse thundered in his ears. As his cheeks flamed. And as he stammered his way into what he hoped was a string of politely normal nothings. "Oh, sure." "There." "Yep, all done." "Thanks." "Umm, soo… better head down…"

While all the while, his brain was screaming in horror: that his cover was blown. That his crush now knew his awful secret. That he'd never have a shot with her now.

Because, after all…

Who on earth would ever want a stupid diaper lover for a boyfriend?

(To be continued!)