by Kristy Marie
Not quite. “Her body rejected the cells. A stranger matched and ended up being her hero.”
“Is that why you give blood every month? So you can be someone’s hero?”
I grunt. “No. That’s not why I do it.”
Vee squeezes me and I know she’s smiling when she says, “It’s okay. You don’t have to admit it. I know you’re a hero.”
University CamFlix Competition Submission
Entry Number: 75
Sebastian and Valentina
Second Interview Continued, also known as the time Tom became suspicious for good reason
“Day by day,” Tom muses with a stupid grin on his face. “I get it. I was young once.”
I have a hard time believing Tom was once young. The collared shirt and khakis make me think before he was Tom, the annoying interview guy, he was Jake from State Farm.
I pat Sebastian’s leg and lean in, avoiding smelling that distinct smell of organic palm oil free soap he uses, but acts like he doesn’t know anything about. He knows he buys it because I spent a solid half hour bitching about how it was destroying the rainforests. “Sebastian and I just want to enjoy our new relationship.” Also known as the time we didn’t totally hate each other.
Tom nods. “Sure. Sure. I get that.” He writes something on his clipboard. When he looks up, he smiles, and it feels wrong. “But I can’t help but think that you guys aren’t being completely honest with me.”
Well, Tom, we aren’t. We’re liars.
“What’s the matter?”
His voice is muffled and raspy from sleep. His legs are thrown over the blankets and his shirt is off.
When I don’t answer, he calls out softly, “Vee?”
I tuck a wayward piece of hair behind my ear. Let’s be honest, there’s more than likely several wayward pieces. I’m not one of those women who can wake up with silky strands all in place.
“Valentina. You’re making me nervous. Are you here to kill me?”
His words are soft, but there’s an edge to them that finally makes me laugh. “Not tonight,” I tell him, climbing onto the bed and onto the other side where I slide under the covers.
Sebastian lays back down and I roll toward him, easing my arm onto his chest. “Can we just pretend not to pretend for a moment?”
I’m not going to spell it out for him. We’ve been not pretending for most of the weekend. I know that makes him nervous since he doesn’t want to like me. He wants to keep that line drawn between us so that we never have to address our confusing past or our fake present.
I love him.
I always have. Well, not always, but love comes on in strange ways. Sometimes it’s those butterflies when they stare deep into your eyes and then there is my kind of love like when he spoiled your video and stole your chair, the butterflies flutter. The truth is, we love to hate each other.
But with all this, the only thing I’ve pretended is that I don’t love him.
His hand is warm as it intertwines with mine. “Agreed,” he answers, before rolling over and sliding me closer to his body.
This time we are face to face, no cameras, no barriers, and all I see is the broken boy who has always been the man everyone expected him to be. Sure, he took several wrong turns but, deep down, Sebastian is loyal to his friends and family.
He may think he was only a DNA donor to his family, but I see the way his family checks in on him. They love him and while they may have their own expectations and ideals of what he should be, he will always be Bash-hole to me. Strong willed, free-spirited, and full of life. He was meant for more than just being a donor, and one day, I hope he will see that too.
“What are you thinking?” he whispers softly. His breath isn’t even bad after having been asleep.
“That you’re a beautiful soul.”
It’s not as hard saying the words in the dark.
“Ugh.”
He tries to roll over, but I lock my legs around him, preventing him from leaving.
“Why do we fight?” I ask him.
I can feel him shrug into the mattress. “I don’t know, maybe because we’re bored.”
“Are you sure?” I don’t feel like I’m bored.
He sighs heavily. “Because it’s fun.”
I smile. It is fun.
“Because,” he adds out of nowhere, “you get feisty when you’re mad.”
“I’m half Latina. We’re always feisty.”
At least that’s what my dad says.
“It’s not the same when you fight back.” He rolls over and traces my forehead. “There’s this little line that forms and—”
I kiss him.
Out of nowhere and I don’t feel an ounce of regret for it.
I suck his bottom lip into my mouth and moan before he gets on board and takes over. His hands grasp my hips in a bruising hold and he rolls over me, pinning me beneath him. I can see his swollen lips in the glow of the moonlight, streaming in from the window.
His chest is heaving when he says, “No more games after this.”
I nod, swallowing down the knot of fleeting panic. “Except when we’re bored.” Who are we kidding? Pranking each other is our thing. I’m sure we will grow out of it one day but that doesn’t mean we have to completely give it up.
He grins and agrees. “Except when we’re bored.”
I place my hands on his face, the atmosphere turning thick with seriousness. I smooth my thumb over the spot on his cheek where my favorite dimple appears and press my lips to his.
A tortured sound rumbles from his chest as he pushes me down with the weight of his body, heavy and perfect.
I take a breath and turn my head to the side. “Bash?”
I can feel him tense above me. “Yeah?”
I want to know if he forgives me or if we will go back to being only neighbors once the contest is over, but I don’t. “Never mind.”
Some things you just don’t need to ruin with a reality check. I know what I signed up for when I agreed to do this contest with Sebastian and having sex with him is probably a huge mistake, but it’s one I want to make. I’ve never made good decisions where Sebastian is concerned, and I don’t plan on starting now, even if it does make things messier between us.
“Are you sure?” He probes suspiciously.
“Yeah, I’m sure. No going back, right?”
“Right.”
His hands move under my shirt and graze up my ribs. My back arches and I suck in a breath. Sebastian’s hands have always felt good on my body, even when he didn’t know I was enjoying the feel of his touch. A simple pat on the back. A high five. I wanted to be repulsed. I wanted to hate the warmth of his touch, but I didn’t. I couldn’t. Ever since playing his fake girlfriend, feeling his hands willingly roam the expanse of my body… I’ve not only welcomed his touch, I’ve craved more.
“Can I take this off?” His fingers tug the hem of my shirt, lifting it ever so slightly.
I nod. “Please.”
His chest smells of soap and the heat of his skin begs me to come closer. I press a kiss between his pecs, and he flinches as if it burned. I lift up and allow him to pull my shirt all the way off. The air is cool against my skin, but only for a second, before he wraps me in his arms and his heat, warming me instantly.
Deep in his embrace, I feel small, cherished, and revered. I pull my hand through our bodies and place it at his throat, feeling him swallow.
“You’re more beautiful than I ever imagined,” he whispers in the moonlight, removing my hand and kissing the palm.
“You were expecting something different?” I joke.
He grins, lowering himself down, his weight a reminder of what we’re doing. “I think you’re done talking,” he says, pushing his thumb into my mouth. I don’t wait for him to tell me to suck. I know what Sebastian Carrington needs. Control. A redo of that night.
Sebastian buries his face in my shoulder and moans as I let his finger slip from my mouth. “Look at me, Bash,” I demand. I want to see his
face. I want him to know that it’s me making him feel this way. Not the girl he hates or the one he used to prank, but the friend he used to spend his days with.
Slowly, he raises his head, pushing up on his forearms, and swallows. His frosty blue eyes lock onto mine and, for the first time since we’ve known each other, I feel like he’s seeing the real me. “I see you, Valentina.” His voice is a soft whisper while his fingers stroke down my cheek, lingering on my lips. “I’ve always seen you.”
My stomach dips as I absorb his words. He sees me. Just me. Not anyone else. That may not seem like a big deal to most people, but to me, it’s everything.
I lean my face into his hand and close my eyes. This man has seen me at my worst. He’s elicited the most immature actions I wish I could take back, but right now, in this moment, feeling his eyes on my face, all I can think is: it’s all been worth it. Had it not been for those wars or insane actions, it would have never led me to this moment. This one singular moment of love.
“Vee?”
I blink up at my best friend hovered above me. “Yeah?”
A boyish grin plays at the corner of his mouth. “Are you going to take my dick out or just keep rubbing it through my pants?”
Oh. Oh. I release his pants and grin. “I didn’t realize I was…you know.”
He lifts a brow. “Jerking me off?”
“I was not jerking you off!” I shrug. “It was more like a dick massage.”
His eyes harden. “Put your mouth on me.”
He doesn’t mean a kiss on the cheek.
I swallow and he rolls onto his back, leaving my bare breasts exposed. Pushing up, I throw my leg over his and curl my fingers over the waistband of his pants. “I like bossy, Sebastian,” I say, grinning.
He scoffs. “I don’t know why. You never listen to him.”
I shrug, inching his pants down slowly, drawing out the torture for both of us. “That’s because he’s typically never right, but since you’re almost naked, I’ll make an exception.”
“Is that all it takes then? Me being naked when I ask you to do something?”
Uh. I’m thinking yes. “I’m just saying it’s a better motivator.”
He grins. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
“You do that,” I tell him, yanking his pants down just enough to free his cock. It springs up toward his stomach, and I wrap my hand around the thickness.
A groan rips from his chest, and he grabs my free hand, placing my palm over his heart. It’s intimate, feeling his heart pounding against my hand while his dick pulses in the other, leaking his need onto my fingertips.
“You do this to me,” he bites out, his eyes going to the hand on his chest.
His jaw is clenched and the muscles in his neck strain. “Do what?” I whisper. “Make you angry?”
His eyes close as if my statement isn’t what he wanted to hear but then he sits up, suddenly tangling my hair in his hands. My body is pulled forward so that we’re nose to nose. “You make me…” he says softly and a little growly. He kisses the corner of my mouth. “You make me come undone.”
“Is that a good thing?” I swallow, gazing down at the head of his dick, peeking out of the top of my hand. I swipe the pad of my finger through the bead of liquid. He groans, untangling himself and easing back down on the mattress, his breaths heavy and pained. “No, this is not a good thing at all,” he finally answers, but his words are resigned. If he doesn’t think this is a good idea, he’s still going to go through with it.
As am I.
Because we’re done fighting whatever this is between us.
I scoot down, holding his eyes as I lower my head, opening my mouth and slipping him between my lips. He feels like soft velvet when I close my lips around him.
“Oh, fuck.” He moans, grasping my hand that has slid down his stomach.
I bob my head up and down, tasting the saltiness on my tongue. His hand squeezes mine and I circle the head with my lips, paying special attention to the soft skin underneath. I pull up with his dick still inside my mouth and hold his gaze.
“No more,” he grits out, sounding as if he’s unhinged, pulling me up and forward, already aligning our centers.
“Wait.” I stop him with a hand on his chest.
His eyes are heavy and lidded with want. “What?” It’s as if he’s out of breath.
I smile nervously. “Condom.”
Like the thought had never occurred to him, his eyes go wide and he nods. “My jeans. Find my wallet.”
It’s cute that he can’t even form complete sentences.
I grin and ease off his body; his hand still grips mine like he’s scared I might bolt for the door. Grabbing his jeans off the floor, I toss them onto the bed where he finally lets my hand go and uses his finger to skim the center of my eyes.
“Take them off,” he says, his gaze focused on my center.
I nod slowly and swallow the knot in my throat. My hands shake as I slip my fingers under the waistband and pull them down.
Sebastian’s gaze never wavers, the only way I know he’s still breathing is the twitch of his hand, begging to touch me again. Without looking down, I reach into his jean’s pocket and pull out the leather wallet and take out the foil wrapper.
“May I?” I ask him, the same way he did when he was removing my shirt.
He nods and I put a knee on the bed, climbing up so I’m straddling his legs again. I whisper, “No take backs.”
His voice is raspy. “No take backs.”
He palms my bare ass as I open the wrapper and roll the latex over his length.
His throat works as his eyes stay locked on my hands inching over his cock. “I can’t fucking wait to feel you wrapped around me,” he says, pushing down on my hands as if I’m taking too long to roll the condom on.
“Wh—”
I gasp when he pushes in, stealing my breath and my snarky comment.
“It’s just like I imagined,” he admits, his face tight and his dimple gone. “I knew it was going to fuck me up.”
I don’t know who he’s talking to but I feel like I should add that my vajayjay and I feel the same way as we stretch around him, his cock barreling in and out at a torturously slow pace. I may be on top, but clearly, I’m not the one in control here as he pushes my hips up and down exactly how he wants.
“Look at me,” he barks out, startling my eyes off his chest. “When my dick is inside you, you keep your eyes on me.”
I nod as a shiver races up my spine. He seems pleased by my lack of retort and pushes my hips up, driving me back down. My head falls back, and I remember his demand. I look down and find his eyes. His lips tip at the corners, offering me just a hint of a smile before he moves his hand and drags his finger down my lips. I nip at him, but he moves to my breasts and all thoughts go out the window.
“Ride me, Vee.”
His body relaxes into the mattress and both of his hands cup my breasts, massaging them before his fingers toy with my nipples until they’re peaked buds. “You still with me, Valentina?” I used to hate it when he called me Valentina. But now, hearing him say it all concerned and tortured, it’s my new favorite word.
My head drops forward, and I find his eyes. “I’m still with you.”
And then I show him how much by moving my hips backward and forward, until the muscles in his neck tighten and his breathing is shallow pants. His hands find my hips as I brace mine against his chest.
“I’m so close,” I tell him between gulps of air.
He picks up the pace and I don’t have time to brace myself as he swells inside me and I fold over his body, an orgasm ripping through me like a freight train. He grips my hips and holds me to him, not letting any space between us as he empties himself inside me.
We’re both sweaty as we lay there, dragging in as much air as we can.
“Come here,” he finally says, rolling me over and tucking me into his arm.
“Do you need a hug?” I tease.
He b
arks out a laugh. “I think I might, Vee. I think I might.”
University CamFlix Competition Submission
Entry Number: 75
Sebastian and Valentina
Final Interview, also known as the time this shitshow came to an end
“Where’s Sebastian?”
I look at Tom and fake a smile. “He had something come up. He’ll be here though.”
Tom doesn’t look like he believes a word out of my mouth. “Are you sure?”
No. “Yeah, I’m sure. This contest is important to him. He would never not show up.”
I don’t really know though.
“I’m sure you’re aware of the video that surfaced of you two?”
Tom looks like he needs a Snickers and maybe a cigarette.
“Yes, sir,” I say, attempting to keep my voice even.
Tom nods. “Then why don’t you start from the beginning and tell me why I shouldn’t disqualify you for that video. I knew you two were hiding something.”
Disqualify us? “I’ll be happy to start from the beginning, Tom, because I owe our fans an explanation but unless you can point me to the section in the rules that defines what Sebastian and I did was grounds for disqualification then I suggest you sit back and let me entertain you with our real story, because that’s what your viewers pay for.”
“Fuck!”
I should have known nothing good ever comes out of the word fuck. Not even fucking because up until now, any time that I’ve slept with a man, which has just been twice, it’s ended badly.
“What’s wrong?”
I wipe the sleep from my eyes, but they are still having a hard time focusing. What I can manage to make out is a furious Sebastian pacing in front of the mirror.
“It’s over,” he yells, slinging his phone against the wall.
I scramble up in bed and tuck the blankets so they cover my breasts. “What’s over?”
I know it’s stupid that my heart is racing at the mere thought that our fake relationship is ending; I feel like my heart won’t be able to take it again.
“The contest,” he says loudly, his hands going to his head and pressing. “We lost, Vee. Malcolm posted a video and ruined us. How could I be so stupid? Everything—” He drops his head against the glass. “—Everything is gone. No half a million. No California. No nothing. It’s all over.”
