by Hamel, B. B.
Ten girls, ten men. Ten positions that needs to be filled.
Ten men that need to be satisfied.
Ten marriages.
And I’m one of them.
I stumble off toward class, my mind a whirling mess of emotions, conflicting and otherwise, not sure what I’m going to do.
8
Reed
I stretch and yawn, a mug of coffee sitting on the table next to me, gone cold at this point.
I know I should be doing something productive today, but instead I’m just sitting inside and reading. I should be at my father’s house or trying to spend time with Kayla, but instead I’m just sitting around her empty apartment.
There’s something about this apartment that gets me. It mean, it’s a beautiful place that isn’t being put to use. It’s almost like I feel a responsibility for it, like I need to occupy it just to give it some purpose.
Stupid, I know. I think I’m just being lazy.
I sigh and put my book down. I take the mug into the kitchen, dump it, consider making more, but decide not to. It’s after five and I don’t need coffee at this point.
It’s whiskey time now.
I head back over to the bar and pour myself a drink. I swirl it in my glass, remembering Kayla’s lips against mine up on that roof. The way she came was incredible, her entire body twitching, her moans loud and raw. God, she tasted good.
I’m smiling, my cock half-hard, when I hear the doorknob jiggle.
I go completely still. For a second, I think I’m about to be in trouble. But of course I wouldn’t be, I’m one of the few people allowed in this room.
The door unlocks and slowly opens. My heart starts up again as Kayla steps inside, looking a little flustered. She shuts the door behind her, turns into the room, looks up at me, and lets out a scream.
“Shit!!” She jumps backward, hand on her chest. “Fuck, fuck, fuck. God damn it, you scared me.”
“Sorry,” I say, holding my hands up, glass of whiskey hanging loosely from between my fingers. “I mean no harm.”
“What are you doing here?”
“I could ask you the same thing.”
She glares at me and there’s no humor in her eyes. I can tell something’s wrong almost instantly.
“I thought this was my apartment,” she says.
“It is, but you don’t use it, so I thought…”
“So you thought you could just, what, let yourself into my space?”
I arch an eyebrow. “You don’t live here.”
“It’s my apartment.”
“That you specifically chose not to live in.” I pause for a beat. “Are you okay?”
“Okay?” She glares at me, real malice in her eyes. “God, you’re such an asshole.”
I blink in surprise. Not the first time I’ve been called that and probably not the last, but I have no clue what I did for once.
She walks past me and into the kitchen. She drops her backpack on the floor and grabs a glass of water. I watch her gulp it down, sipping my own drink, wondering what the hell’s going on.
Although I think I know. On some level, I think I’ve been waiting for this moment.
She slams the glass down on the counter and I wince. Fortunately, it doesn’t break.
“You seriously think I’m going to let you get me pregnant?”
I laugh at that. I know I shouldn’t as soon as it happens, but I can’t help it. That’s the most absurd sentence I’ve ever heard in my life but she’s so damn earnest that I can’t help myself.
It only pisses her off more.
“Don’t laugh, you fucking prick,” she growls. “I know what’s happening here. I know why I’m getting all… this.” She gestures at the apartment. “I know why you keep hanging around.”
I force the laughter down and sigh. “Who told you?”
“You’re not even going to deny it?”
I shrug a little. “I might, depending on what you were told. But I’m curious. Was it Iris? I kind of figured she’d tell you sooner or later once she worked up the nerve.”
“It wasn’t Iris.”
I arch an eyebrow. “One of those nasty rich girls? What’s her name, Nora?”
“No,” she says. “Dean Trim told me.”
I stifle a surprised laugh. I hadn’t expected that one. “Okay,” I say slowly. “What did he tell you?”
“He said you can’t force me into anything. I don’t have to marry you and I definitely don’t have to… let you get me pregnant.” She says the word through clenched teeth.
“Who says I want any of that?” I ask her gently.
“You… you’re playing their game. That’s why you’re here.”
“What is the game, Kayla?”
She glares at me, her face stone cold and pissed. “Rich older men like you try to buy a young coed wife. Isn’t that it?”
I grunt a little. “Not too far off,” I admit.
She makes a face. “You’re not even denying it.”
“Why would I bother?” I shake my head. “Trim clearly told you everything already. There’s no real contract in place or anything like that, but the university makes certain allowances for men like me. They have this draft where we choose—”
“You draft us?” She looks horrified.
“It’s not as bad as it sounds. There are pictures and your stats and—”
“Stats?” She steps away from me. “Oh, my god. Did you draft me?”
I hesitate a second. “Yes,” I say softly.
She looks like she wants to puke.
“Listen,” I say quickly, before she can fight me. “I never wanted any of this.”
“And yet here you are.”
“You don’t understand.”
“Of course not. I’m just some stupid poor girl, right? I’m so dumb you think you can manipulate me with money.”
“Kayla—”
“No,” she says, fiercely angry now. “I’ve barely been at this school but I already know all you rich people are sick. You don’t see the rest of the world as people, just as pawns in your sick little games. Well, I’m not playing.”
She storms past me, back toward the door.
“I’m not playing either,” I call after her. “God damn it, I don’t want this as much as you don’t.”
That makes her pause. She looks back at me. “Then why the hell are you here?”
I flex my fists, my own anger rising now. I wish I had time to explain the fucked-up dynamics of my family and my story, but I can’t bring myself to go into all that.
“I chose you because I knew you wouldn’t want any of this,” I say, forcing myself to calm down. “I chose you because you deserve a good education, more than most of the idiots with money that come here.”
She snorts. “Strange. I don’t believe you.”
“Do you think any other sponsor would’ve let you stay in the dorms?”
That makes her pause. “I don’t know,” she admits.
“Hell fucking no, they wouldn’t. That’s the whole thing. They want their girl to stay here because they can have easy access to her, no bullshit, nothing in the way. But when you asked to stay in the dorms, I went against everything to let that happen for you, because I don’t care.”
She narrows her eyes. “So generous.”
I throw up my hands. “You think you have it all figured out, don’t you?”
“You’re a part of some sick game to choose a wife.”
“Yes, I am. My family has a long tradition of meeting wives through this fucked-up system and I was more or less forced into it. But I have absolutely no interest in marrying you or getting you pregnant. As far as I’m concerned, you’re going here for four years and leaving single, childless, and with a free degree.”
She watches me carefully for a second. I can see the anger start to thin out, just a little bit.
“Why would I believe you?”
I shake my head. “I don’t know, honestly. I can only tell you that I n
ever intended to be involved in your life like this.”
She pauses and watches me carefully. I get the sense that she’s sizing me up, trying to see if I’m lying or not. I wish I could get her to see that I’m telling the truth and the fact that we’ve seen each other so much is more because I’m interested in her than because of any stupid game I’m playing.
But of course, it’s impossible. If I were her, that’s all I’d see, too.
“If you really don’t want any of this, why do you keep hanging around?”
I sigh and sip my drink. “Appearances.”
“Elaborate.”
“My family thinks I’m taking this seriously. I want them to keep thinking that until it’s too late.”
“Go on.”
I look away then gesture for her to sit. I lower myself onto the couch and she hesitantly sits on the chair across from me.
“I’ll spare you the details, but here’s the main plan. I thought if I could choose someone that wouldn’t buy into the game, I could make it all four years of her education without having to actually get married.”
“And once all four years are up?” she asks me.
“Then the game is over. I have no more power. You go on your merry little way and I’m left single and childless. A travesty, really.”
She rolls her eyes. “So you were just going to wait them out.”
“Basically, yes. That’s still my plan, actually.”
“Assuming I’ll play along.”
I frown and it hits me. “It’s actually easier if you don’t.”
That seems to surprise her. She sits back and chews her lip for a second. “Because you don’t want anything in the end, so it doesn’t matter if you’re involved with me or not.”
“Right. You can just ignore me for the rest of your time here if you want. Doesn’t change anything, actually.”
“I can walk out of here and never see you again… and you won’t pull my funding.”
“Not a dime.”
“Why?” She sounds more annoyed than angry now.
“Like I said. I don’t want anything out of this. I’m not playing the game, either.”
She sits back and I can tell she’s considering. I get back up and wander over to the bar, more for something to do than for a drink. I sip mine again and realize it’s half empty.
I turn and watch her stand. She looks back at me with a furrowed brow. “I want to believe you.”
“Honestly? What do you have to lose?”
That seems to make her hesitate again. “I don’t know,” she admits finally. “This just seems like a trap.”
“No trap,” I say. I put down my drink and spread my hands out. “No obligations. All I need to do is hang around campus for the next four years, make it look like I’m putting in an effort…”
“And then I break your heart.”
I grin at her. “Poor me.”
“Shattered. Wrecked. A wretch of a man.”
“Shadow of my former glorious self.”
“I wouldn’t go that far.”
“I would.” I take a step toward her. “What do you say?”
“I don’t know.” She hesitates and I move closer. I hold my hand out for her to shake but she doesn’t move to take it. “I still think it’s a trap.”
“What can I do to convince you otherwise?”
“I’m not sure,” she admits.
“Then you’ll just have to trust me.”
“That doesn’t seem like a good idea.”
“So far it seems like the only idea you’ve got.”
I can tell she doesn’t like that but she also knows it’s the truth.
“I guess I have no other choice then.” She closes the distance between us and finally takes my hand. I pull her toward me and she stumbles over with a surprised look.
“Just because I won’t play the game doesn’t mean I’m not interested in you,” I say softly to her. I hold her hand tight and we’re inches apart now.
She doesn’t try to pull away. “Is that what the other night was about, up on that roof?”
“That’s exactly what it was about.”
“You’re the kind of man I should be worried about.”
“Damn right.” I arch an eyebrow. “And yet here you are.”
“Like you said. No other choice.”
“You always have choices, Kayla,” I say gently. “You could always just walk away.”
For a second, I think she might pull her hand back and do exactly that. I think she might walk off and never look back. In some ways, I wouldn’t blame her.
And if she did, I’d let her go. She probably doesn’t realize how serious I am about this. If she wants to walk away and have nothing to do with me, I’m not going to give my support to anyone else.
And not just because she’s convenient, but I’m actually starting to like her. I mean, really like her. She’s interesting, she’s funny, she’s… fucking sexy. She deserves this education way more than most of the spoiled rich brats that go to this school.
She doesn’t turn away though. She doesn’t run off. She stays there, her hand in mine.
So I kiss her.
God, I don’t know what I’m thinking. I just told her I’d leave her alone, that I don’t want this from her… but I do want something. I want something badly. Maybe it’s not babies and it’s not marriage but it’s fucking something.
She kisses me back and I know she wants the same thing.
9
Kayla
As soon as he kisses me and I don’t instantly pull away, I know I’m making a mistake.
I shouldn’t kiss this guy. I should run like hell and never look back. I should get out of Gradus and pretend like this never happened.
I mean, it’s like some kind of creepy crazy sex cult for rich people. Or marriage cult or baby cult or whatever. But it’s bizarre and strange and it’s treating these girls like they’re…. like they’re cattle or something. The men have all the power and these women are fighting over them like idiots.
Nora and the other two start to make more sense to me. They’re threatened. I bet all three of them want to be sponsored. They probably knew I was chosen, and even if they didn’t, I bet they’d still want to bully me just because anyone can be a threat to them.
God, it’s so insane. Even the dean of this school is in on it. Now I get why Iris was so shocked when I told her about my sponsorship and why she was so awkward about it. She probably can’t help but think about the implications of being sponsored every time we talk about it.
And yet… she was flirting with that guy at the party. All the while totally aware of the situation.
God, it’s all so fucked up. Poor Iris is probably brainwashed like the rest of them.
I can’t really look down on her though. As I kiss my sponsor, I know that I’m being just another idiot. I’m doing exactly what I shouldn’t be doing.
I just can’t help myself. Some tiny part of me thinks I’m totally pathetic, but Reed just…
He’s gorgeous. He’s charming. If all of this sponsorship crap wasn’t involved, I could so easily let myself be attracted to him.
He turns me and pushes me back up against the bar. I gasp as his lips find my neck and his hands fumble at the hem of my shirt before pulling it up over my head. I let him take it off, let him throw it on the floor. I reach out to unbutton his shirt, sliding them out one by one until I push it open and run my fingers down his ripped muscles. He smirks and kisses me slow while I take the shirt off.
I feel his hands tease my breasts before unhooking my bra. It slides off and he kisses my neck, my shoulders, my breasts. His tongue circles around my nipple and I groan, fingers lacing through his hair.
He unzips my fly and tugs at my jeans. They come down easily and I let out a soft groan as he lifts me up onto the bar suddenly. He spreads my legs wide and kisses me, breast to belly button, before his lips come back up against mine and his fingers tease my pussy.
I let
out a low groan of pleasure as he does his magic. It drives me absolutely wild, his fingers pressing me open, teasing me with their tips. I roll my hips and lean back on my hands. He spreads my legs wider and pushes my panties aside to slide his fingers nice and deep inside me.
I groan and roll my head back, hair rolling down my back. He drops between my legs and I feel his tongue lapping at my clit, licking me and sucking me. I moan and grab his hair with one hand, still leaning back on the other. I’m naked except for a pair of dripping wet and useless panties, and I don’t even know how this happened.
One second, I’m livid with this man, pissed as hell, ready to leave and never see him again.
The next, I’m mostly naked.
I don’t know how he does this to me. I don’t know what he does, but god, he does it well.
I groan as his tongue licks me top to bottom. He licks and sucks my clit before coming back up to kiss me.
I can taste my pussy on his lips. I lean forward again, legs spread wide and wrapped around his waist as I fumble at his belt. I get it off, unbutton his pants, and he helps me tug them down. As he finishes taking them off, I slide my hand down the front of his boxer briefs and moan into his kiss.
His cock is thick and long, bigger than I’ve ever felt before. I kiss him slow and stroke him root to tip, trying to wrap my fingers around his thick shaft but not quite able to. He smirks and kisses my neck as I stroke him up and down. He uses his fingers between my legs again, teasing my pussy.
“I half expected you to walk away,” he admits, his lips against my ear.
“I half wanted to.”
“But here you are, stroking my cock.”
“Don’t be an asshole.”
He chuckles softly. “No, darling Kayla. I’m not an asshole, not now.” He slides his fingers deep inside of me. “No, I’m going to take good care of you if you’ll let me.”
“And if I don’t?”
“I’ll leave you alone. But I’ll take care of you anyway.”
I groan as he slides his fingers in and out, stroking me with them, teasing me, fucking me. I groan and let him sink them in nice and deep, filling me up to the brim with his big fingers. I grip his cock and stroke him faster, feeling a buzzing need between my legs.
