by Alexis Davie
“Are you okay?” he asked tenderly, and Sarah shook her head. She knew this was wrong, she was fully aware she shouldn’t be allowing this to happen, but her body felt like it was on fire.
He’s with Lexa, she tried to remind herself. I have no right to feel this way about him.
Ever’s face seemed to be closer to her own with each passing second, and her attraction to him was so strong that if he kissed her right now, she wouldn’t be able to hold herself back any longer.
Before she could realize it, Sarah asked him, “What about Lexa?”
Ever seemed taken aback by the question, as if he hadn’t heard her. “What about her?”
Sarah forced herself to take a step back, confusion and anger flooding through her at the same time. Lexa had been incredibly nice to her, and she did not deserve this.
“What do you mean, what about her? Aren’t you worried she’ll find out about this?”
“Why should that worry me?” Ever responded, and Sarah felt her anger turning into fury. Was he used to being with more than one girl at once? Was it something he enjoyed?
“Well, aren’t you guys together?” she demanded, knowing that she wouldn’t like his answer.
To her utter surprise, though, Ever’s expression became perplexed, and then realization seemed to hit him. He let out a small chuckle and shook his head.
“Lexa is my cousin,” he told her, and Sarah suddenly felt as if a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. “She’s the closest thing to a sister I’ll ever have.”
“Oh, my God,” she breathed out, exhaling in relief as a fit of giggles overtook her. “Oh, my God, I thought you were—”
Ever laughed as well, closing the distance Sarah had put between them. Sarah raised her head to look at him with hopeful eyes, and when he started to lean forward again, she closed her lids, anticipating his kiss.
Ever tasted as delicious as Sarah had imagined, and she moaned lightly, her fingers softly grasping Ever’s waist as he guided her towards the closed door of the store, pushing her against it. His palms reached out to touch her heaving breasts, and Sarah sighed into his mouth.
“You are beautiful,” he breathed, his words short and punctuated by kisses that worked their way down the curve of her throat, toward the vee of her t-shirt.
Sarah wrenched off her top and bra, allowing him to explore the tight skin of her chest, tongue lolling about her flesh slowly but hotly. She bit on her lip, her fingers threading through his dark mane of hair as he slid lower across her belly.
Ever yanked down on her shorts, and she stepped out of them and pulled down her underwear as his face nuzzled the skin between her thighs.
Suddenly, Ever pulled her legs up over his shoulders, and Sarah gasped as her back slid up against the wood door, Ever’s face firmly in her core, his mouth wrapped around her nub of nerves. His kisses were urgent and hard, luring her to the brink of climax with teasing, pointed movements.
Sarah’s legs clenched against his ears, squeezing his head as her body began to quiver with delight. A low, feral cry escaped her, and gushes of warmth flowed fast and furiously through her.
Ever reached up, delicately balancing her waist to bring her back to his eye level, but Sarah locked her legs around his hips, rubbing her wet nakedness against him with longing. Ever undid his pants to let his shaft free, sliding it against her core before thrusting into her with one smooth, swift motion.
Sarah clenched around him, driving her hips forward to meet his thrusts. She relished his groans of pleasure, each noise he emitted driving her closer to the brink again. Her nails dug into his broad back, clinging for balance and posterity, because she never wanted him to stop.
Ever’s motions grew rougher, piercing through her with precision, and Sarah squealed as she released again.
Inside her, his rigid member grew harder, and she could sense he was close to his own climax. In seconds, Ever sighed, his fingers bruising her buttocks as he drove himself home, burying his face in her neck and filling her with his orgasm.
They were shaking, even though they were spent, and Sarah gasped as she tried to catch her breath.
Ever gently dropped her legs to the ground, and then they both immediately collapsed to the ground, Ever’s arms around her and Sarah’s hands resting on his chest.
Sarah remembered how anxious she had been, thinking that Ever and Lexa were together and that she was getting between them. She would’ve saved herself so much suffering if she had only thought of asking rather than jumping to conclusions, and she couldn’t help laughing at her own stupidity.
“I feel like an idiot,” she mumbled, but Ever grabbed her hand and tipped her face upward to look at him.
“Don’t,” he told her, knowing what she was referring to. “Because there is something you should know before we let this go any further.”
Sarah’s heart fluttered at the ominous words, but she could not deny that she was tickled he was considering a future with her.
So, he does feel the connection between us, too, she thought, relieved.
“You can tell me,” she assured him. “I can handle it. I would prefer if we were truthful with each other, rather than me running around making up things in my head.”
Ever stared at her for a long moment before slowly rising to his feet, his hand still around hers. Without a word, he helped her up, guiding her toward the front door, and Sarah glanced back at her discarded outfit.
“My clothes—” she started to say, but Ever shook his head, smiling.
“You won’t need them where we’re going,” he told her, and a combination of fear and excitement hit Sarah as he looked into her eyes. “Are you sure you’re ready?” he asked.
Sarah nodded, although she was not sure she was.
He opened the door, and she cried out, taking a step back.
The yard was filled with wolves in various colors and sizes, their eyes glowing like hot coals against the night.
“Would you like to come with us?” Ever asked, and when Sarah turned to him to ask him what he meant, she watched in awe as he transformed into a wolf like the ones before her, his black fur gleaming against the pale light of the moon.
A grey and black lupine stepped forward from the pack, slightly bowing its head. With only a glance, Sarah realized that she was staring at Lexa, and she was no longer afraid of what awaited her if she went with them.
It is true, she thought, her mind going back to the words Sylvie had spoken in MJ’s room. They do exist.
Come with us, Sarah, Lexa called out, but her voice was only inside Sarah’s head. We will bring you back.
Sarah glanced back at Ever and slowly nodded her head.
It looked like she would have a story to tell her sisters at Kappa Mu Pi, after all.
* * *
THE END
11
Small Town Girl
Erica bobbed her head rhythmically, barely noticing the looks of the other passengers as she muttered along to the lyrics of Diddy in a lone tone.
Someone tapped her on the shoulder, and Erica peered back at the stern-looking gentleman in the seat behind her with inquisitive blue eyes.
She popped her earbuds out. “Yes?” she asked sweetly.
“Miss,” he said curtly. “Would you mind not swearing? My wife finds whatever you are mumbling very distressing.”
Slightly embarrassed, Erica cranked her neck further to the man’s wife, who wore the same reproving expression as her husband.
“Of course,” she replied, sighing as she sat back against the seat, sinking slightly lower as if to disappear.
You’re back home now, she reminded herself, gazing around at the townsfolk riding the bus with her through Camden. Gotta remember to keep the big city out of here before someone drops into cardiac arrest by use of the word “damn.”
In all fairness, “damn” was not the word she had sung repeatedly through their trip along I-13 toward Dover Marketplace.
Erica sighed quietly, le
aving her iPod off as she stared out the window, wondering how it could only be July.
Two more months in cursed Delaware, she thought mournfully, but the sentiment was not genuine agony. Despite being a big city girl born in a small-town girl’s body, Erica loved her family.
Over the past years, she had been invited to her friends’ homes in various cities throughout the United States for summer vacation, but she always passed, knowing that she would regret not having spent time with her sister and parents.
They already hate that I go to school so far away, Erica thought ruefully as the bus steered toward the mall.
She rose, ready to meet her sister for lunch, skipping down the steps onto the platform.
Pausing to readjust her wide-brimmed hat, she glanced down at her chic minidress to ensure her belt was still securely sashed against her flat stomach. She nodded at herself in satisfaction before wandering toward the entrance of the mall to find Hailey.
Passersby cast Erica curious glances, not recognizing the attractive, stylish woman to be a part of their tiny community of three-and-a-half thousand people.
It was not that Erica wasn’t proud of her roots; quite on the contrary. She loved everything about the small town—she simply knew she did not belong there.
As she approached her sister, her platform shoes stomping against the ground, Hailey saw her and ran to greet her, pulling her into a hug.
“Oh, I’m so sorry I couldn’t come and get you!” she breathed. “I wouldn’t have had enough time to go and come back.”
Erica waved her hand dismissively. “Don’t worry, I enjoyed the ride! I offended a bunch of old people with my music choices,” she replied, and Hailey laughed, her cheeks growing pink with familiar embarrassment.
Hailey was exactly the opposite of Erica: shy, reserved, and very much country.
Still, they were closer than any two sisters could be, and Erica desperately missed her when she was away at school.
“You must be bored out of your mind,” Hailey said, leading Erica toward the only restaurant in the mall, a Waffle House. She looked at her nervously. “It’s all right if we eat here, isn’t it?” she asked worriedly. “I mean… I don’t know of any nicer place where we can go quickly before I have to get back to work.”
Erica smiled patiently at her sister and reached for her arm to link hers through. “You know I’m still the same sister you’ve always had, right?” she asked, laughing.
“I know,” Hailey said, exhaling slowly. “It’s just that you’re so fancy now.”
Erica scoffed. “I’ve always been fancy,” she retorted as they waited to be seated. She lowered her voice dramatically. “Remind me to grab some spray cheese. Mom and Dad don’t have a single can, can you believe that?”
Hailey burst into laughing and shook her dark hair, so alike her sister’s. “For as healthy as you eat, I can’t believe you still indulge in that crap,” she teased.
Erica shrugged. “Everyone needs a vice,” she said, winking one of her blue eyes at her.
The hostess sat them, and the sisters fell into an easy chatter.
“So, what’s going on with you and Kevin?” Erica asked, raising an eyebrow. “Is he going to get off his butt and propose already?”
Hailey flushed and stared down at the table, making Erica laugh. If anyone was shyer than Hailey, it was her boyfriend, Kevin.
“I hope so,” Hailey whispered, and now Erica arched both of her eyebrows.
They had been dating for two years, and as far as Erica knew, their relationship was solid. She wondered if there was anything holding Kevin back from proposing to her sister.
Might be worth investigating, she thought wryly. Especially since I have nothing but time on my hands while I’m home.
“How about you?” Hailey asked, apparently eager to change the subject. “Any boyfriends?”
Erica thought back to something she and her sorority sisters had been told some time ago: something about strange creatures and finding a mate. Erica hadn’t known what to make of it all.
She shook her head. Now was not the time to think of such nonsense. “A few,” Erica joked, grinning, but Hailey looked aghast.
“Who?” she demanded, and Erica reached into her purse for her cell. Her face lit up with interest as Erica opened a dating app.
“Well,” Erica drawled, holding out her phone for Hailey to see. “There are these three guys back at home whom I’m going to meet when I get back in September—provided they aren’t all married by then.”
Hailey giggled.
“And then,” Erica continued, “there are two here in Delaware whom I’m hoping will fill my days while you and Mom and Dad are at work.”
Hailey’s blue eyes widened in disbelief. “Five guys?” she gasped. “Wow! How do you do it, Erica?”
Erica cringed. “I technically don’t have any guys right now,” she reminded Hailey. “Only potentials.”
Hailey nodded her head. “So, when do you meet the ones here?”
Erica studied Hailey’s face and realized that her older sister was living vicariously through her.
I got to leave Camden and go to college while she is stuck here, answering phones for a mall lawyer.
“I think I’ve been putting it off,” Erica confessed. “But I should get on it.”
“Yes!” Hailey agreed enthusiastically. “You should message them right now and tell them to meet you this week!”
Slowly, Erica nodded and pulled up her messages. “You’re right,” she conceded. “There’s no time like the present.”
* * *
Walt was devastatingly handsome.
It was the first thing Erica noticed when he sauntered into the café where they had arranged to meet, a few blocks away from her family’s home.
Once she laid eyes on him, her heart stopped for a fleeting second, blood rushing to her face.
Woah! He is much better than Jerry from yesterday, she thought, recalling the boring date with the IT nerd from Harrington. Sure, Jerry had been nice, but Walt was the epitome of everything sexy. And he knew it.
It was apparent in every move he made, from the way he opened the door to the café, right down to his swagger at the table. He grinned down at her cockily, his bronze face accenting brilliant white teeth and glittering hazel eyes.
“Wow,” he declared, flopping unceremoniously onto the chair in front of him. “Your pictures don’t do anything for how hot you are in person.”
Erica was sure she had never been more turned off in her life. All of Walt’s appeal vanished right then and there.
“Emily, right?” he continued before she could even utter a word, and she gaped at him.
“Seriously?” she snapped. “You can’t even get my name right? It’s Erica!”
His smirk didn’t fade as he shrugged his broad shoulders and puffed out his chest, snapping his fingers for the nearby server.
“Close enough,” he replied.
Is this guy for real?
Erica looked around, as if she were expecting a crew and cameramen to jump out and announce that she was on a prank show, but she was not so lucky.
“Are you the one who sent me pics of your tits?” Walt asked, his voice grating on her as he continued snapping louder and clapping his hands to catch the waitress’ eye.
It was clear to Erica that she was deliberately ignoring him, and she took a small pleasure in that.
“Because I gotta say, your tits are awesome!” Walt continued, turning fully around to yell for the waitress. “Hey, honey! I’ve been calling you for ten minutes now!”
Erica had had enough. “I have to go,” she gasped. “You’re… I can’t… Just, wow.”
She couldn’t finish her thought coherently as she snatched her black clutch from the table and jumped from her seat.
“Woah! Wait!” Walt yelled after her, but Erica didn’t turn around, desperate to put as much distance between her and the primate at the table. She hurried up Willow Grove Road, traumatiz
ed that she had even endured five minutes with such a man, shaking her head in disbelief.
How has he not been tarred and feathered? Erica wondered, making her way to her parents’ house on Plum Street.
She shuddered, determined to shower off the entire encounter.
At least Hailey will find this amusing, she thought, not noticing the figure slowly following her slowly as she made her way home.
* * *
Her cell chimed, and Erica’s brow furrowed slightly. She didn’t recognize the number, and as she opened up the text, she froze, scowling.
It was a picture of a man’s penis.
You’re a pig, she texted back immediately.
She waited for a cocky response, but she didn’t get one, and so Erica blocked his number.
He’s pathetic, she thought, shaking her head. What is wrong with these men?
Ever since meeting Walt two days earlier, she’d been receiving obscure messages via text and email. Some had been pictures of male genitalia while others were flirty, stupid messages.
Something is wrong with this guy, she told herself, reaching for her earbuds and iPod. I should report him to all dating apps for being such a weirdo. How do these creeps get away with it? Do women ever fall for this kind of crap?
Erica sincerely hoped not.
Slipping the device into her armband, she began warming up for her jog, stretching out her arms and legs before leaving the house.
Erica jogged every morning around ten, starting at the house and doing a three-mile loop around her neighborhood. The path varied from time-to-time, depending on her mood, but Erica was a creature of habit most days, enjoying her regime as it was.
It’s worked for me for years, she reasoned as she ventured out toward the street, turning on her music. She started on the sidewalk at an even pace, her body working up to a faster stride, and soon she was almost running as she made the trek.
Abruptly, she felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up, as if she was being watched.
