Aunt Sierra

"You boys be on your best behavior!"

Those words would change my life forever, although I didn't know it at the time.

"I mean it," continued Brayden's mom. "We'll be be back Sunday evening, and I want this house looking exactly like it does now. That means no parties, no girls, and no drinking."

"Jeez, Ma, come on," said Brayden.

I could understand why he was frustrated. There are three key milestones in a young man's life - when he goes on his first hunt, when he loses his virginity, and when he has the house to himself for the first time with no adults around.

I'd never done any of those things, but now the prospect of my best friend's parents leaving for the weekend had me quite excited.

"I'm sure they'll be fine, dear," said Brayden's dad to his wife before turning to look at the three of us. "Won't you boys?"

"Yes, sir," said Nate, always the ass kisser of the group.

"Don't worry, Mr. Singleton," I said. "We won't let Brayden do anything stupid."

What can I say? Brayden's dad was pretty cool, and I knew that he liked me partly because I was a good influence on his son. Not that I'm badmouthing Brayden, mind you. It's just he wasn't always the sharpest knife in the drawer, if you catch my meaning.

"Oh, I don't know, Carl. Maybe I should just stay home," said Brayden's mother.

"Mom, I'm 16!" said Brayden. "I can take care of myself."

"They'll be fine," said Brayden's father. "As long as we leave 'em a few bucks for pizza so they don't starve to death, am I right?"

I dutifully chuckled at that remark, and so did Nate after I elbowed him in the chest. With the chance for us to have a wild weekend, couldn't the guys see that we needed to convince Brayden's parents that everything was under control?

Just then, Brayden's mother got a phone call. She ducked into the other room, but I heard her mention something about leaving for the weekend to go with her husband to a conference in Las Vegas.

"Listen, boys, you got to cut her some slack, okay?" said Brayden's father, giving us a conspiratorial wink. "I know you are fully capable of taking care of yourselves, but it's a mother's job to worry."

"Especially for a boy like Brayden, isn't that right, Bray?" said Nate with a laugh before tousling Brayden's hair.

"Hey, stop it!" said Brayden.

"We fully understand, sir," I said, attempting to get Project Party Weekend back on track.

Unfortunately, Brayden's mother returned to the kitchen with a big smile on her face, and that's when I knew that the project was going to have to be put on hold.

"Well, that was Sierra on the phone," said Brayden's mother.

"Let me guess. Her car's in the shop and she wants to borrow 50 bucks," said Brayden's father with a wry grin.

"Hey! That's not funny," said Brayden's mother, scowling.

"All right, fine, I'm sorry," said Brayden's father, conceding the argument before it could metastasize into something bigger and possibly ruin his upcoming trip.

"Anyway, she's in town," said Brayden's mother. "And she's agreed to look after the boys."

"Oh, come on!" said Brayden, throwing up his hands.

"Nice," muttered Nate.

I had to control my own reaction too, which was one of elation. I'd seen her a few times over the years, and she was easily one of the most attractive women I'd ever seen.

Most of the time, she only came to town for Christmas, but one summer, she'd showed up out of the blue at a family picnic, and I'd kind of had a crush on her ever since.

"Are we sure this is such a good idea?" said Brayden's dad.

"Well, I trust her," said Brayden's mother. "Anyway, she's family, and that's what counts."

Brayden stuck out his tongue at that remark, but Nate and I both exchanged a secret glance. As much as I was looking forward to hanging out with Brayden and Nate with no parents around, I was possibly even more excited to get to spend some more time with Brayden's aunt, especially if she was still as hot as I remembered.

"All right, then. You heard her, boys," said Brayden's dad. "Looks like you're going to be spending the weekend with my little sister. God bless you all."

That all happened on a Tuesday, and the next three days passed in an agonizing blur. Nate kept pushing for Brayden to throw a party, aunt or no aunt, but he was on the fence about the whole thing, saying she'd never let it happen.

Personally, I didn't give a crap as long as I got to spend time with sweet Sierra, but I went along with Nate just to show solidarity.

Ever since that picnic, I'd pumped Brayden for information about his aunt, but he was always frustratingly evasive. All I knew for sure was that she was in her late 20s or early 30s, wasn't married, and was constantly flying around the world, and most of that I knew from Instagram.

I had to follow her from my secret account so Brayden wouldn't know I was perving on his aunt. But my god, she really was a stunner. She might've been close to twice my age, but she looked and dressed like a teenage girl. She had a flat, toned stomach, and she was always wearing outfits that showed it off.

Apparently, she was the "black sheep" of the family, although Brayden never specified why. That whole side of his family, including his dad, were kind of conservative, so I think the fact she was partying in Ibiza and hiking mountain trails in Nepal freaked them out a little bit. Either way, I didn't care. She was hot, she was funny, and I was gonna have a whole 48 hours to hang out with her.

By the time Friday finally rolled around, I was buzzing pretty good. My mom knew I was sleeping over at Brayden's house, but I think Nate told his parents he was going to visit his older sister up at Crestwell University.

Honestly, I blame those old movies because every parent seems to have it fixed in their mind that kids go buck wild the moment they have the house to themselves, when in reality, all we probably would've done is stay up late and play video games.

When I got to Brayden's house, I was looking everywhere for signs of Sierra, but she apparently hadn't shown up yet, and Brayden's mom was in an absolute frenzy. His dad had to straight up slip her a pill before she calmed down and focused on packing her suitcase.

Then, just when Brayden's mom was about to throw another fit and declare she wasn't going, the doorbell rang.