JACK
I have no fucking idea who this chick is who's hanging onto my arm. I'm pretty sure I've never seen her in my life, but she's kinda hot with nice tits so I guess she can stay for a bit. She's not hot enough to bang though, so she won't be around for that long.
Blondie pressed her lips against my ear, and I hid my cringe by looking around the house. My eyes found Sandra Edwards – Princess of University of California, Berkeley.
She was sitting at the bar with that bi girl. Shit, what's her name? Oh, never mind. Maggie and Leila are sitting with her, and I watched as they knocked back shot after shot of whatever it was Carl was throwing down their throats tonight. She shook out her auburn hair and the bi one dragged her up.
My eyes swept her body, and I was vaguely aware Blondie was now sitting on my lap. Two hard globes pressed against my chest, and I knew instantly she's got fake tits. They were way too good to be true.
Maggie took Sandra's hand, and she smiled, almost shyly. She started to move to the beat of the music and fuck, there's nothing shy about that. She puts her free hand in her hair, looks at the floor and her hips move perfectly in time. She glanced up through her eyelashes and smiled again, more confidence in it this time.
“She's so fucking hot,” Austin said, appearing next to me. Josh stepped up behind him.
“Sandra?” I asked, my eyes still on her moving body.
“Who's Sandra?” Blondie purred. Fuck, she still here?
Sandra looked up, her bright green eyes taking in Blondie on me. Her lip twitched in disgust, and she turned away.
“No one you should worry about, babe.” I peeled her off me. “Be a doll and get me a beer.”
She fluttered eyelashes caked in mascara. “Of course.” She hopped off of me and I patted her ass, turning my attention back to the guys.
“Who was that?” Josh asked.
“Good question, dude.” I shrugged. “Some chick.”
I caught sight of Sandra pushing her way through the crowd, Maggie, Leila, and bisexual girl following her.
“Hey, reckon the girls would be pissed if I chased after her?” Austin asked, following her with his eyes.
“Maggie would beat the shit out of you.” Josh nudged him and leaned against the arm of the sofa. “Leila and Kayle, too, actually.”
Kayle. That's the bisexual girl.
“Sandra would likely kick my ass, too,” I added, looking at them. “You'd need to get that girl down the aisle before she dropped her pants for you.”
“Marriage? Fuck that.” Austin shook his head. “I'm too hot for that shit, dude.”
He wasn't far off, at least not in the eyes of the girls here. He was never short of a quick one or two on a weekend.
“Marriage?” Josh repeated. “Nah, you just gotta make the chick fall in love with you. Make her fall in love and bam, there it is. Piece of ass, and a hot one, too.”
I tilted my head slightly, studying them both. “She's like a fuckin' china doll, though. If you did it too hard, she'd break.”
“I'd break it,” Austin said. “Just without the love shit.”
“I reckon you could do it.” Josh took a swig of beer and glanced at me.
“A week?” Austin tapped his chin.
“Nah,” I said.
“A month,” Josh said with finality. “She ain't gonna be easy to break, but she'll give it up in a month. You could do it, Jack.”
“Dude, you realize that's your girlfriend's friend? You're askin' me to get her to fall in love with me, fuck her, then dump her.” Not that I wouldn't mind a chance to fuck Sandra Edwards. In fact, I'd pay for that damn chance.
Josh shrugged. “Like Leila will ever find out. This shit stays between us three. Jack seducing a girl ain't exactly gonna be out of place, is it?”
“Do it.” Austin grinned. “Make her fall in love with you. If anyone can, you can.”
“Dunno.” I leaned back and looked at the dance floor. She was back – all four of them were.
She was doing that hip thing again, swaying them from side to side. She shook her hair out and laughed. Leila exaggerated a wink over to Josh, and he smirked. Leila turned back and said something, making Sandra look over her shoulder. Her green eyes met mine.I smiled slowly, the smile that got me anything. I winked. One side of her glossy pink mouth curled up, and she looked away again, her hair flicking with the movement of her head.
“Well?” Josh nudged my head. “You gonna do it?”
“Challenge accepted, boys,” I said, resting my arms behind my head. “One month from now, Sandra Edwards will be in love with me and in my bed. You can count on that
I tugged the zipper of my jacket up higher as a cold wind blew in off San Francisco Bay, and fought the urge to turn and ran back to the marina. I won’t run. This was something that had to be done, for me.Maggie squeezed my hand, curling into my arm, and we began to walk into the small cemetery where my mom was buried.I felt sick. Emotion stronger than I had felt in a long time swirled around my whole body, from hatred to pity, fear to anger, yet through it all … Through it all was a bit of love for the woman that tried and failed to give me life.We weaved silently through the graves and markers, heading to the back of the cemetery. I held the white rose I bought tightly, clutching it to my chest, and tried to breathe deeply.I would never forgive her and I would never forget her, but I could finally be at peace with her.The small, black marble headstone sat alongside my
I slid down from Storm’s back and patted his neck lovingly, hooking his reins around a tree branch in the shade. I took my helmet off, shook out my hair, and looked under the roots for the basket I asked June to place there earlier. Storm turned his attention to the water I had given him, and I lied the blanket out on the ground on the other side of the small tree. Excited, I sat down and waited for Austin to catch up.Palm Canyon trail was one of my favorite to take – it always had been. Sitting there by the stream and letting Storm rest was a weekly pastime before I left for Berkeley. We’d do the other trails on our other rides, but our Saturdays were always reserved for this.And now I remembered why.The green of the fauna was a stark contrast to the barren desert beyond, and the rocks that dotted the stream were just big enough to sit on. It was beautiful here. Peaceful in the winter when no one came here.“How do I get down?&
Maggie ran her hand down my body, her fingers tracing the defining lines of the muscle. I sighed deeply, pulling her closer to me, and breathed in the vanilla scent of her hair. No matter where she had been or what she had done, she always smelt like vanilla.“What are we doing today?” I asked, my fingertips following the curve of her spine right to her ass.She shuddered. “I thought we could go riding.”“I get the feeling we’re not talking about bedroom riding.”She looked up at me, her hair messy, and smiled. “No. Horse riding. I don’t go at college and I miss it.”“I’ve never ridden a horse.”“I’ll teach you.”“Um.”“You taught me to fish,” she reminded me. “You made me fish!”“I guess there’s no way around this, huh?”She shook her head, rolling on top of me. Her knees went either side of my hips, trapping me, and her hair fell around my face. She slowly lowered her face to mine, sucking my bottom lip into her mouth and grazing her teeth across it. I slid my hands along her thighs
“This is going to be a disaster,” Maggie muttered, pulling onto a street with houses worth more than I could ever dream of making. Most were three-story buildings, all with driveways, garages and perfectly pruned front yards.I fidgeted in my seat. A small voice in the back of my mind whispered about the differences in our lives. It reminded me how different it was here compared to where I started life in San Francisco. I glanced at Maggie and told the voice to fuck off.My past doesn’t define who I am. The here and now does.Gramps whistled low. “What, you got a pool and all?”“Hope you brought your swimming trunks,” she commented in a chipper voice.“Good job I did, then.” Gramps patted his stomach. “Love a good swim.”She turned the car onto a driveway leading to one of the three-story houses. The drive was lined by circular bushes and winter flowers. I looked up at the hou
Everything was easier when the secret was out. Now I didn’t have to worry about looking at Austin wrong or saying something that might look suspicious. I didn’t have to watch my every movement, bite my tongue or clench my fists so I didn’t touch him.And I loved it.I loved that we could just be.I didn’t care about the whispers from people outside our circle of friends, the ones who didn’t know the truth, and I didn’t care about the looks that came from other girls. I just cared that I could fall into his arms when I found him standing outside my classroom, just like he was now.“Shakespeare hasn’t killed you yet, then,” he said as he smiled at me, taking my hand.I looked over at him. “No, not yet, but there’s every possibility of it in the future.”“Not a damn chance.”“How
“Are you telling me I could be standing here all day and not catch a thing?”Gramps cacklesd across the boat. “That’s exactly what he’s telling you!”I turned my face toward Austin, and he grinned. “What?”“I can’t believe I got roped into this.” This was ridiculous. I ate fish. I didn’t catch it. Hell.“Hey.” His hands fell to my hips and he nudged my collar from my neck with his nose. His lips brushed the skin of my neck. “This was your idea, remember?”“Yes …” My idea for them.Austin’s nose ran up and down my neck, his breath hot against me, and I swallowed.“So you didn’t get roped into anything. You had to know that you’d end up fishing,” he reasoned.“Mhmm.”“So why are you so surprised?”I shivered when he took a deep breath and exhaled against my skin. His hands slid down my sides to the front pockets of my jeans. He placed his fingers in them, spreading them out and stroking my legs, before taking them back out.“I’m not,” I whispered.“Then don’t complain.” He was smiling a