Lordee took out a pack of Benson cigarettes and a purple lighter from his pockets. He lit up one smoothly, rolling up his sleeves and steadying his oversized hoody. Inked images of ferocious looking cats graced the back of his arms, up his biceps to his shoulders though it was mostly hidden by the thick fabric. His eyes were bloodshot, hovering over his victims with the preciseness of a cat. He squatted down, exhaling softly, the smoke whirling in fine circles into the face of one of the boys who was now sobbing quietly, dreading the verdict. The guy gasped and choked on a cough, tears streaming down his cheeks as he wheezed hard but didn't dare move an inch. It looked like a public execution and I knew I couldn't let things escalate past this point. The police chief was Lordee's uncle so involving the cops would have gotten me nowhere. Besides I had a personal beef with George Adams years back when he'd tried to talk me into drugs and I reported his fat arse to the Sheriff. Threatenin

I spent the entire weekend wondering what happened to the poor bastards the Kingfishers had interrogated at the lake and whether my meddling with football politics by instigating a face-off between Lordee and Ryan would change the pact between me and my fuckbuddy. I had his number, and absolutely nothing was stopping me from texting him. But I also knew it was risky. Texting would lead to obsessing, and obsessing would lead to complications, and complications would lead to..well, the end. Was I mad at him? Was that incident a wake-up call I desperately needed to remind me that we were worlds apart? That we were so different to become a thing even if we wanted to? He was still a budding teenager, taking small baby steps towards becoming a full-fledged man and there was simply a whole shitload of questions I didn't want to deal with. No. I was counting my days, clinging by a thin thread of hope that before the weekend would be over, distance and time would wash away the fog of lust and

A couple more days passed before I finally admitted to myself that yes, indeed, Ryan Churchill had claimed not just my body but stolen my heart as well. Ironically, it was the day I was stepping down as substitute teacher since my Dad was stronger now. And it was also the day that I moved from home. Not wanting to sit around any longer and bear the scathing scrutiny of the Todos Santos locals, I'd found a small place in a beach town just on the outskirts of Todos Santos. Since I no longer taught, I had a lot of time to pack up my things. However, I couldn't miss the smile that crept up Witch Principal Churchill when I turned in my resignation note. She didn't even fake her dislike for me and happiness at seeing me leave in front of my father. But I couldn't care less. I knew she saw me as a threat to Ryan's bright future ever since he lied to her about running me over. Well, guess what, I didn't want to see her horrible face any more than she wanted to see mine. Since I didn't want t

"You need to get back to football,” Ryan said amidst sloppy kisses, his fingers untangling the elastic rope holding my shorts together on my waist. I moaned as he cupped my arse cheeks, squeezing hard. “Oh fuck.” I muttered, tightening my arms around his neck and grinding down on his groin.“You're all fine now,” he pulled away, leaning back with his arms at the back of his head and staring up at me in childlike adoration. I huffed at the loss of contact, holding back a sniffle. “I'm twenty-three, Ryan. Even if I manage to get in, the chances are slim by the way, I'll be retiring in less than three years. I'm old.”He chuckled, pecking my lips. “Don't say that. You're far from old. Well, seeing as you've made up your mind, I'd suggest you settled for something outside football. What other passion have you got?”“Hmm,” I gazed up at the ceiling thoughtfully. “Lately, I've been thinking of going into writing...you know, smut?”He quirked up a brow, holding back a laugh. “You wanna be

There was no way my cranky, old jalopy wouldn't be spotted across the road overlooking the dirtied, almost hidden path that led to the lake, so I parked it at the back of a deserted gas station on Devil's Hyde Street, near the water and bolted into some thick beanstalk through which I had a good view of Ryan jogging towards some shadows discussing in low tones on the lake's bank. I couldn't make out Lordee's features at the hem of the gang's circle, the swirl of smoke pouring out his nostrils and ascending slowly upwards till it disappeared.The tough beanstalk was the only closest place I could hide, observe and hear every little detail they were saying. It was so conspicuous and thick that even if I made a sound, the boys would dismiss the noise as a rabbit hopping off somewhere. But I stayed quiet, internally justifying my spying on him.He's my boyfriend after all. And he left me in the middle of our amazing sex with no reasonable explanation whatsoever. I deserve some answers. I