by S. M. Shade
Flopping back on the bed, I watch the clock on my dresser flip from 3:59 to 4:00. Four in the morning, and I know there’s no way I’m getting back to sleep.
After all that talk about being together and finding a way to make it work, Wyatt just stormed out without even giving me a second to defend myself. I mean, I understand how it must’ve looked, but the way he looked at me, like I was the dirtiest piece of trash he’d ever seen, tears me open.
Part of me wants to explain, to call or text him, but I just can’t do it. Living on the circle, it’s not the first time I’ve seen that look, and it said all I needed to hear. He’ll never really see me as an equal. I’ll always be one mistake or misunderstanding away from being a lying slut.
Fine. He’ll be back in his town soon enough, and if he thinks for a moment that this means I’m giving up this job, he’s crazy. He’ll have to fire me, because I’m not quitting.
I do my best to behave so I don’t get painted with the same brush that everyone does just because I live in a poor area. I’ve never been the one screaming in the yard, or acting crazy, but all bets are off when it comes to my next door neighbor now. I’m about to go white trash on his ass.
Since I have plenty of time before I need to be at Scarlet Toys, I dig through my closet for the poster board and paint I stashed there last summer after I helped Jani make signs for a yard sale. No one is going to get the wrong window again.
On each poster, I paint a large arrow pointing toward Jasper’s side of the apartment. The messages vary.
Lying asshole here.
Jasper aka Jade two windows over.
Looking for your booty call? Next window.
I spend the next few minutes attaching the signs to my windows. Finally, I put one on Jasper’s window that reads; Not sure if you’re into P or V? Enter here and win the mystery genitals.
I’m going to contact the police and the rental office, but after what I’ve been told in the past, I doubt they’ll do much. In the meantime, this should show him I’m serious and keep people away from my windows.
My attempt to wallpaper the exterior of the apartments has at least kept me from thinking about what just happened with Wyatt, but as the anger and adrenaline wear off, those thoughts seep in.
I shouldn’t care. It started as just a fling and even though we both wanted more, we had no idea how we’d make that work. It’s better to end it now. He’ll be leaving to go run his father’s company before long and I’ll be left here drowning in crazy as usual.
I’m supposed to meet some of the other volunteers at eight, but pacing around my apartment gets old, so I go in early.
As I’m getting in the car, Neal calls out to me and jogs over. “What the hell, Cass?” he laughs, gesturing to the signs on my windows.
“He’s still doing it. I had some idiot in my bedroom in the middle of the night last night.”
“Are you shitting me?” All the humor is gone from his voice.
“Nope. I’m going to talk to the rental office on Monday. I won’t have time today.”
“You didn’t call the cops?”
“I didn’t see the point. They’ll arrest the guys who get the wrong apartment, but that doesn’t solve anything. As long as he keeps telling them to use the window, this shit isn’t going to stop.”
Neal shakes his head. “This is bullshit. I’ll talk to the office today. My address is one number off from his, and I have a daughter at home.”
I hadn’t thought of that. “I’ll file a police report too.”
Neal nods and heads home as I pull out of the drive.
It’s early, so I don’t expect Wyatt to be at the community center yet, but I’m still relieved when he isn’t. The entertainment company is setting up the rides and attractions for the kiddie carnival, so I head to the refreshment area and start setting up tables.
Wyatt shows up a couple of hours later and stops in his tracks when he sees me. Without a word, he walks past me and starts to direct some of the other workers. Okay, if that’s how he wants to deal with this.
Ignoring him, I hop in my car and head to Scarlet Toys, where the large tent has already been set up.
Jani takes one look at my thunderous expression and exclaims, “Oh no. What happened?”
“Too much shit to explain right now. Let’s just get this stuff done. What can I do?”
“I thought you were helping Wyatt at the center.”
I silently shake my head, and she nods. “Okay, well, then you can set up the table for the vibrator races. Just use the colored tape to divide the surface into two lanes.”
Despite the turmoil in my mind, a snort escapes. “Vibrator race? Where do you come up with this stuff?”
Jani shoves a hose into a large plastic tub and begins filling it with water. “Don’t you remember that video that went viral? Three friends crashed a prissy bachelorette party? One of the things they did was hold a vibrator race. It was legendary.”
“I must’ve missed that one.”
“The winner gets their choice of a free vibe or cock ring, so I’m thinking this game will be popular.”
By the time I have the table set up and taped off, Jani has the tub filled and proceeds to dump in a bunch of little plastic boobs and penises. I recognize them as party favors from our bachelor party section.
“Bobbing for dicks?” I ask.
“And titties. I don’t discriminate.” She gestures to a couple of boxes filled with prizes. Along with sex toys and porn DVDs, there are also some tamer options like gift certificates to local restaurants and the movie theater. “Each dick and boob are marked with a number. They get to pick a prize from the corresponding box.”
A truck pulls in, and Jani drops the hose. “Ooh, the baked goods are here!”
“Do I even want to know?” I giggle, following her to the truck.
It’s pretty much what I expect. Trays of cupcakes and cookies in every x-rated shape you can imagine. “Vagina cupcakes,” I remark, placing a tray of elaborately—and I have to admit—realistically portrayed vagina decorated cupcakes on the table.
“Cuntcakes,” she replies, as if I should’ve known.
Two boxes of cookies shaped like balloons are mixed in with the other items. “I hope these are balloons because if they’re meant to be testicles, they have a serious medical problem.”
Jani glances over at the box I’m holding and shakes her head. “They’re meant for the kiddie carnival. Would you mind running them over to Wyatt?”
Shit.
“Um, actually, I’d rather not. We aren’t exactly…speaking to one another.”
Jani whips around so fast she nearly loses her balance. “What? You’re fighting? Today? Tell me you’re kidding.”
“We’re not fighting.”
Jani releases a breath. “Thank fuck.”
“We broke up.”
“What?” she screeches. “We’ve been preparing for this day for two months! What the hell happened since yesterday?”
I focus on putting the cupcakes into neat little rows. “I don’t want to talk about it yet.”
Before Jani can demand answers, Noble and the rest of the guys from Frat Hell arrive. “The entertainment has arrived,” Noble announces. He flashes a devious grin at Jani. “I might need a little warm up before manning the kissing booth, though. Jani?”
Despite her near meltdown a second ago, Jani doesn’t miss a beat. “Clarence brought his Dalmatian. If you sniff her ass first, I’m sure she’ll let you kiss her.”
Noble’s friends burst out laughing, and Jani shows them where to get the kissing booth set up.
I spend the next couple of hours jumping from one project to the next, making sure everything is ready. At one point, I realize Wyatt’s car is parked behind Scarlet Toys, so I head down the street to the kiddie carnival to see how things are going.
Everything looks great. There are little rides for the kids, a petting zoo, a bounce house, an inflatable slide, and plenty of little games to
win prizes. The kids are going to love it. Wyatt has recruited the new people he hired for the community center to chaperone the kids and help them with the games and refreshments. They mill around, waiting for the moment we open the carnival.
The sweet smell of fried dough and cotton candy fills the air, but my stomach clenches at the thought of food. I’ve managed to block out the thoughts of what happened last night so far by keeping myself busy, but the pain is there.
I love Wyatt. I believed in all the plans we made, believed we had a future, and now all that is gone. I don’t know what tomorrow holds, whether I’ll still be working for Scarlet Toys or what, but I do know I’ll be alone, and the thought makes my eyes fill with tears.
I knew I shouldn’t have let things get serious. I’m going to miss him so much. For now though, I have to swallow it down and get through the day. With or without Wyatt, this town is better off with the community center, and that will be supported at least in part, by Scarlet Toys.
We still need the vote to go our way.
We still need to Save the Scarlet.
I don’t know how well attended the kiddie carnival is, but the Scarlet Toys festival is a raging success. It’s amazing how even the most serious adults cave and end up giggling like children when presented with the dirty games.
I’m supervising the Dick and Boob Bob game while Jani runs the vibrator races right across from me. Noble and Denton are in the kissing booth along with two of their female friends I don’t recognize. For a dollar, you can get a kiss, right there in public. For five dollars, you get to go into the little curtained area for three minutes. It reminds me of being twelve again and playing seven minutes in heaven in a friend’s closet.
When the crowd thins a little, I let another of the Frat Hell guys take over watching people bob for titties so I can walk around and see how the rest of it is going.
Neal sits at a table at the entrance, making sure no one under eighteen gets in, and hands out Save the Scarlet shirts to everyone who enters. A group of protesters march near the road, but no one is paying them much attention. Security keeps them far away from the patrons.
“How is everything going?” I ask Neal, taking a seat beside him.
“So far so good,” he says. “I talked to the rental office before I got here and let them know we’ll be filing police reports on Jasper.”
Shit. I still need to do that.
“What did they say?”
“Same old run around shit.”
My phone vibrates in my pocket. “Speak of the devil,” I mumble when I recognize the apartment manager’s number. I step behind the tent to answer it. Instead of the apology and promise of action I expect, the manager starts bitching about the signs I put up.
It’s the cherry on top of my shit sundae of a day and I’ve had it. My voice rises higher with every word until I’m yelling into the phone.
“Oh, you’ve got a complaint? Well, here’s my complaint. I have guys climbing through my window to fuck me because Jasper is running ads claiming to be a woman named Jade and inviting them to climb through his window. I’m sick of you dodging the problem. I ended up with a stranger standing in my bedroom at four o’clock this morning! Since you aren’t prepared to do anything, you can expect a call from the police as well as the local news station. I’m done dealing with this shit!”
I hang up the phone and turn to find myself face to face with Wyatt. “Get the fuck out of my way!” I snap, stepping around him.
His hand grips my arm. “You didn’t know the guy? He broke in?”
“Now is not the time, Wyatt!”
“Yes, it is! Tell me what happened,” he insists.
I jerk my arm from his grasp. “No, the time to ask me that was about twelve hours ago. That’s when you should have given me two fucking seconds to explain instead of assuming I was cheating. Because that’s what trashy people like me do, right? Just stay away from me.”
Noble steps around the corner, drawn by the shouting, no doubt. “Cass, you all right?”
“Fine,” I reply through gritted teeth. “Do you need something?”
“Just looking for a chick to fill in for a few minutes in the kissing booth. Dina needs a break.”
“I’ll do it.” Okay, so it’s an immature, impulsive decision made only to piss off Wyatt. But in my defense…it works.
“The fuck you will,” he exclaims, glaring at me.
“What now, Wyatt? You want to fire me? Make my day from hell complete? Then do it. But until you do, I have a festival to run.”
Without another word, I stalk off beside Noble and return to the kissing booth. It’s not that I mind kissing a few guys, it’s no big deal, but it’s not something I normally would’ve volunteered for. I’m being petty, I know, but if he wants to act like I’m some kind of cheating slut, then I’ll show him one.
I can feel Wyatt’s eyes on me when I return to the booth where Noble, Denton, and a girl named Stacey are standing behind a table. There isn’t anyone in line at the moment so we’re just standing around and talking.
“So, he still isn’t speaking to you?” Stacey asks Denton. I have no idea who they’re talking about, but I’m listening anyway.
“No, he’s so uptight.”
Noble scoffs, “Dude, you drew a face on his dick.”
“You mean he drew a dick on his face,” I giggle.
“No…I don’t.”
“Hey, I didn’t put the googly eyes on!” Denton defends.
“Only because the glue wouldn’t stick,” Noble laughs.
“Whatever.” Denton crosses his arms. “It still doesn’t excuse what he did to me.”
“I’m afraid to ask,” I remark, sitting down and propping my feet on the table.
When Denton doesn’t reply, Noble speaks up. “He switched his mother’s name in his phone with Kelly’s, his usual late night booty call.”
“It’s not funny!” Denton insists when I crack up. “I texted my mom and asked for a blow job!”
“But she thought it was me, so she said yes,” Noble quips, and Denton punches him in the shoulder.
“Fuck off!”
My chest hurts from laughing at these guys. It’s just what I needed at that moment. A girl approaches with a cute, young guy. Freckles dot his cheeks, which are already filling in pink. “Come on, Ron, if I’m doing this, so are you,” the girl laughs.
She grins at Noble. “We both want three minutes.”
Noble leans across the table, smiling at her. “Pick your person.”
The young man smiles shyly at me and nods. “Her.”
“I’ll meet you in the booth,” I tell him, smiling and retreating behind the curtain while Noble collects the money. I hear the girl choose Noble, and Denton’s grumbling just before a flash of light blinds me.
The booths are just made of blackout curtains, so I can’t see the guy, but I know he must be nervous. It’s cute and I want to set him at ease. “Am I the first girl you’ll kiss?” I whisper.
“No, but you’ll be the last,” a familiar voice replies before his lips crash onto mine.
Lust wars with anger as Wyatt’s tongue slides into my mouth like it belongs there. I want him. I hate him. I love him. I kinda want to bite his tongue off.
Finally, I pull away. “What the fuck, Wyatt?”
His hand runs through my hair, and I close my eyes, grateful he can’t see my response to his touch. “I’m sorry, Cass. I saw that guy jumping out of your window and it ripped my heart out. I should’ve given you a chance to explain, but I was so angry and hurt.” He pauses for a second before asking, “Did he hurt you?”
“No, as soon as he realized his mistake, he was terrified, as usual.”
“As usual?”
“Time’s up!” Denton calls out.
“Let’s get out of here and talk about this in the light. We’re hogging the make out booth.”
As we exit, I see the freckle faced boy follow Dina into the second booth. I guess her break is over
. “Thanks for all the help, Cass!” Noble calls sarcastically as we walk away.
I flip him my middle finger, and we head over to a picnic table.
“What did you mean, as usual? This has happened before?”
Wyatt listens as I describe the situation with the neighbor. “According to the office manager and the cops, it isn’t illegal to run an ad and tell someone to climb in your window. It’s just that his apartment is connected to mine, so they keep getting the wrong window.”
“We’re moving out of there,” he states. “I’ll rent a house.”
It takes a second for me to comprehend his words. “We?” I repeat finally. It’s time to get something straight. I stare him in the eye. “We don’t live there, I do. And I’m not going anywhere else. It might not be the best neighborhood, but it’s what I can afford for now and it’s home to me.”
Wyatt grabs my hand. “We’ve practically been living together, anyway. I can rent us a place. You don’t need to pay for anything.”
I hold up my hand, cutting him off. “I appreciate what you’re trying to do, but no. I’m not moving in with you—or anyone—for financial reasons. If I live with someone it’ll be because we both want it, not because I need it. This isn’t a fairytale and I’m not the damsel in distress you need to rescue. I can take care of myself.”
Wyatt sighs and runs his hand through his hair. “I just want you to be safe, Cass. At least let me try to do something about the guy next door.”
“I’m handling it. Neal and I are both going to file a police report, and I’ll be going to the local news station if I have to. In the meantime, I’ll keep the windows locked.”
Wyatt shakes his head. “You’re stubborn as fuck, you know that?”
“So are you.”
His eyebrows spring up. “How do you figure?”
Maybe it’s none of my business, but I can’t help but tell him something that has been on my mind. “You keep fighting to win and take over your father’s company. But whenever you talk about him or your responsibilities there, your whole body tenses up and you get all broody. It just looks like you’re trying really hard for something that only seems to make you miserable.” His thoughtful gaze meets mine. “I hope you get everything you want, Wyatt. I just hope you enjoy it once it’s yours.”
