by Hamel, B. B.
I groan. “Iris, what am I even doing? I should just drop out and apply somewhere else.”
“Maybe,” she muses. “I mean, I don’t want you to go, but maybe it would be better.”
“Could I really do that?” I press. “I mean, wouldn’t those girls win?”
She gives me a sad look and just shakes her head. “I have no clue,” she says.
I groan. We head into class and for the rest of the day, I keep thinking about that question.
If I leave, am I running away? Am I letting them win by backing down?
The deal here really is good. Even if I get a scholarship somewhere else, it won’t cover absolutely everything. At Gradus at least, I don’t have to worry about money at all, not so long as I’m sponsored.
If I can last all four years, I’ll leave with a totally free degree. That’s only if I can last, of course.
We drift to our next class, the English lecture hall, and I’m so lost in thought that I can barely pay attention. I’m usually a good student but this situation has my head in the clouds.
The professor finishes up and I go to grab my bag, but my hand reaches nothing. I frown and look at the floor and find it totally missing.
“Iris?” I ask. “Did you see my backpack?”
“Nope,” she says. “Did you leave it in the last class?”
“I don’t think so.” I have my notebook and the book of poetry we’ve been reading in my desk, so I must’ve brought it. “It has to be here somewhere.”
I get up and start looking. We’re in the tiered seating section and my bag was on the floor next to me. I couldn’t have lost it, but it’s nowhere to be seen.
I spend twenty minutes looking for that bag. I ask everyone I see, even the professor, but nobody’s seen it. Confused, I head outside.
“Come on, let’s go check the other room.”
“No, you go to class. Honestly, I’ll be fine.”
“Are you sure?”
“I have a break until my next one, so I’ll find it.”
“Okay then. Well, good luck.” She frowns then scampers off, hurrying to her class. She’ll be late, but at least she can minimize her lateness.
I backtrack down the path and toward my first class. As I walk, I can smell something on the wind up ahead.
It smells like burning pages.
I hurry my step. I come around a turn, past some high bushes, and stop dead in my tracks.
Nora, Morgan, and Elise are standing in a little circle around a charred lump in the middle of a convergence of a couple different paths. Nobody else is around and the girls are laughing as they lift up papers and set them on fire.
I stand there watching, transfixed as if taken over by a spell. Slowly I realize that the burned lump is a backpack.
It’s my backpack.
And the other lumps are books and notebooks. And the papers are pages from those books and notebooks.
They’re burning my things.
“Hey!” I scream.
All three girls look over at me. Instantly they start cracking up. They throw the remains of my papers into the air, some of them half burnt, some of them still untouched. They scatter to the wind as it whips up the ashes of what’s left of my bag.
I walk fast at them. I’m practically running. All three girls look at me and laugh even harder.
“You stupid bitch!” Nora cackles. “You should’ve left when you had the chance.”
“You can still get out whenever you want!” Elise squeals.
Morgan giggles as I approach. She stares at me and her laughter dies in her throat. The other two watch as I snatch a half-burned book from her hands.
It’s hot as hell. I scream and drop it on the ground, my hand a red mark of pain.
“Careful,” Morgan says, dumbfounded.
“Idiot!” Nora cackles, laughing harder. “Oh my god, did you see that?”
Elise squeals with delight again, both girls holding onto each other. I curse at my burned hand. Morgan smiles a little bit with her friends.
“I paid for those,” I scream at them. “Nobody gave me that stuff.”
“So what?” Morgan asks stupidly.
“So what? That’s my stuff. I need that stuff. I need it for class. I need…”
I trail off as the girls laugh even harder.
They think this is funny. They think it’s so hilarious to burn my things in the middle of the campus, out where anyone can see them.
Out where anyone can see them…
It hits me hard and fast.
Nobody cares about this. Nobody cares that they’re burning my things. Nobody gives a shit that they’re standing in the open and torching my backpack and my books and my notes. The teachers, the administrators, they’re just going to let it happen.
Because this place is sick. It’s sick.
I step up, rage flowing through me.
“Hey!”
The three girls pause, still giggling. I half turn as Reed stalks toward us.
“Uh oh,” Elise says.
“What are you doing?” Reed barks.
“Playing,” Nora says wickedly. “Want to join?”
Reed walks up to her and slaps a charred book from her hands. She blinks in surprise and if it hurt him, he doesn’t show it.
“You fucking asshole,” he growls in her face. “If you so much as bother Kayla again, I’ll make sure your family suffers.”
She smiles nervously. “I doubt it.”
“You doubt it? You know who I am. You know who my family is. You think my father would let you get away with embarrassing his son? You think I’ll let you get away with it?”
The laughter slowly dies down. “Aren’t you… supposed to stay out of this?” Morgan asks tentatively.
“Fuck the rules,” Reed snaps at her. “You think I give a shit? Go ahead, report me, see how that goes.”
The girls fall silent.
Reed shakes his head in disgust.
“Bother her again, and I swear your families will pull you from this school so fast your necks will break.”
He turns his back on the girls and puts his arm around my shoulders. He steers me away from them.
“Are you okay?” he asks softly.
“Burned my hand,” I say stupidly.
His nostrils flare. “They did what?”
“No, I slapped a book… like you did…”
“Ah,” he says, calming slightly. “I think I burned my hand, too.”
I laugh a little and he grins at me.
“Did you mean it back there? About breaking the rules for me?”
“Absolutely. Fuck this place. I’ll get kicked out if it means destroying them.”
“Wouldn’t your family get upset?”
“They’ll get over it.” He looks away from me for a second. “Come on. Let’s go back to your place and get that hand looked at.”
I nod numbly and let him lead me away from the girls. We make it back to my apartment, the door shut, before I remember my bag.
“All my books,” I say. “All my notes.”
“I’ll replace it,” he says. “At least, the books and the bag. I’m sorry about the notes.”
I nod and sit down on the couch. Suddenly exhausted. “Iris will let me copy her notes from the classes we have together. I’ll get the others from someone else, I guess.”
“Good.” He sits down next to me and gingerly takes my hand. He presses something cool against my palm. “How’s this?”
I frown. “Better.”
“It’s not a serious burn,” he says.
“Are you a doctor now?”
“No. I’ve just seen serious burns.”
I don’t ask for details. I let him rub the cold cloth against my palm gently for a moment. He’s sitting so close, his hands so gentle and warm against mine.
I look up at him.
The only guy who cares about me on this entire fucking campus. Heck, the only person who cares enough to potentially lose something just to help me.
<
br /> I haven’t seen it, but I’m seeing it now.
I lean forward and I kiss him.
He kisses me back instantly, like he was expecting it, like he was just waiting for the taste.
14
Reed
As soon as her lips touch mine, I know I can’t hold back.
Not after seeing those girls bullying her. Not after watching them burn her books and her backpack like it’s nothing.
And knowing, god, knowing full well that they’ll do it again, or worse.
She’s here and she’s being hurt because of me. I fucking hate them, this system, everything about it. And I even hate myself a little bit for letting it happen.
I kiss her hard and pull her against me. I feel so protective I can barely breathe.
“I won’t let that happen again,” I growl in her ear. “Do you hear me?”
“I believe you,” she whispers.
I kiss her again, pulling her back toward the bedroom. She stumbles after me and as we go, I pull off her clothes. Shirt first, bra next, pants after. When she’s down to her panties, I take off my shirt, my pants, my boxer briefs. We stumble back into the room and I push her down onto the bed as she takes my hard cock between her hands and strokes me top to bottom.
I let out a growl of pleasure as she leans forward and takes my tip into her mouth. She sucks me hard and deep, sliding my cock down her throat. I groan as she gags and keeps going, sucking me faster. I grab her hair and push her down, buzzing with pleasure and desire and need, god, so much need.
She’s gorgeous as she sucks my cock, hard and fast. I groan as she takes me deep into her throat and pulls back, stroking me, looking up into my eyes. I lean forward and kiss her, tongue against her tongue, before dropping to my knees.
I slide her panties off and spread her legs. She groans when I tease her with my fingers and kiss her. Slowly I move down her neck, her chest, her inner thighs, before finally tasting her wet little pussy. Fucking hell, she tastes good and one of her hands grips my hair as she leans back on the other.
She grabs my hair tight as I lick her pussy top to bottom, sucking her clit, teasing her fast. I love her taste, the way she moans, the way her body reacts. I love how her breasts shake with each heaving breath. Every inch of her is beautiful and fucking sexy beyond anything I’m used to.
I need every goddamn inch, every fucking inch.
I slide my fingers inside of her, fucking her fast with them as I lick and suck her clit. She groans and rolls her hips. I don’t stop, sucking and fucking her with my fingers faster. She takes it deep and groans.
“God, Reed,” she moans. “I never wanted… I never needed…”
I pull back, my fingers still buried in her pussy, teasing her and stroking in and out. I kiss her and let her taste that wet pussy on my lips. She moans into my kiss as my fingers curl to hit her spot just right. I keep going, letting her moans get higher pitched.
“You don’t need or want anything anymore,” I growl. “You hear me? I’ll destroy those fucking girls for what they did.”
“You don’t have to throw anything away for me.”
I kiss her again, fingers working, and she has to know what I feel.
I push her back onto the bed and she slides backward. I spread her legs wide, teasing her pussy with my cock before sinking deep inside.
She gasps then groans. God, I love that. I sink nice and deep and lean over her to kiss her lips as I start to grind my cock in and out. She’s so fucking tight and her pussy grips my cock like a fucking vise. I fuck her faster, pinning her hands up above her head, teasing her nipples with my tongue and teeth.
“Every inch of you feels incredible,” I growl in her ear. “Every fucking inch feels like exactly what I need.”
“I bet you say that to all the girls.” She gives me a sheepish grin.
I shake my head, unable to play along. “No,” I say. “Never.”
I fuck her harder. I love her moans and her cunt and everything about her. I can’t help myself as I fuck her faster and deeper, ripping into her, losing myself to the madness of her tight pussy.
I bite her lip and she digs her fingers into my back. I thrust harder, deeper. I’m not holding back, not being nice. I’m not trying to win her or seduce or anymore.
I’m trying to fuck her.
I pull back and turn her over, getting her up on all fours. I slap her ass and make her gasp before pulling her hair and sinking my cock inside her from behind. I rip into her pussy, fucking her rough and deep. I can feel sweat on my skin, taste it on hers, and I love the way her breasts shake when I thrust. Each new fuck drives her wild and makes me crazy with pure animal lust.
I tease her breasts and nipples before pushing her down against the mattress. I fuck her rough and she gasps, saying my name over and over like a chant.
“That’s right,” I growl. “I need this pussy. Fucking hell, girl, you feel good. And you’re so sexy with that ass sliding up and down my cock. You have no clue what you do to me.”
“Tell me,” she gasps.
“You make me hard. You make my blood go wild. You make me want to tie you down to this bed and fuck you every single hour of every day. I want to leave you drooling and begging for my orgasms. I can’t get the taste of your delicious little cunt off my lips and I don’t want to. It’s all over my tongue and my cock and I love it so much. God damn, I could watch you suck my cock for years and never get bored of it. Every inch of your skin makes me want to kiss and lick it.”
I fuck her faster, savage, wild. I feel like I’m losing my mind but only in the best way. I feel like my blood’s finally singing, ringing in my ears. Pleasure is filling me and it’s her, it’s absolutely her.
She pulls forward with a gasp, her body shaking. She gets up and pushes me back. I blink, a little surprised, as she straddles me and lowers herself back.
“Ah,” she gasps as I fill her up again. She slides back down my shaft and starts to ride me. I growl with a big wolfish grin, spanking her and grabbing her hips.
“Didn’t think you could take control,” I say.
“Maybe only sometimes,” she says. “When you’re being particularly good.”
I laugh and she rides me faster. I put my head back on the sheets and just feel her, every inch of her pussy sliding up and down my cock, how wet she is, how warm she is, the way her breath comes in and out, her pants and moans, the sweat on our skin. Everything about her drives me wild, pushes me into places I never thought I could be.
I slap her ass again and thrust up inside her. She lets me fuck her, holding herself there, her hands on my chest, her breasts pushed together. I grab her hair and fuck her hard, savage, intense. She takes my big cock and begs for more, whispering my name, panting it, moaning it.
“Reed,” she gasps. “Oh, fuck, Reed.”
I don’t stop, I don’t slow. I can’t, but finally she takes over again. Her hips writhe and wiggle as she rides me up and down, faster and faster. Her moans are getting louder as she grinds her hips down against me. She pushes back and moves faster and faster.
I groan and I’m not ready. I push her back and pin her down on the bed again. I lick her pussy then slide my cock inside, pinning her wrists above her head. I take control, fucking her slowly before bringing the intensity back up again.
“You want to come,” I whisper in her ear. “You think you deserve it? You think you earned it?”
“Please,” she moans. “I need it.”
“You need to come? Fuck, girl, you need permission first.”
“Please, Reed,” she begs. “I want to come.”
“Tell me you want to come on my big cock.”
“I want to come on your big cock,” she moans. “I want you to fuck me like the bad girl I am and make me come on your big cock, please.”
I growl and fuck her faster. She takes me deep and I don’t slow down. I don’t hold back. She wants it and I’m going to give it to her.
I’m savage, a wild animal, and this
is my girl. I fuck her deep and rough and she takes me, moaning louder, louder, her body tensing, every inch of her tensing. “Come for me, girl,” I growl.
She moans in response, head thrown back. Her fingers clench deep into my skin and she gasps, twitches, losing herself in orgasm. I roar and keep fucking her, not holding back as my own pleasure starts to mount and peak.
I keep going, ripping into my girl, deeper and deeper, and finally I feel it. The orgasm tears into me, an explosive force. I come deep inside her tight, warm little cunt, filling her up. I can’t help myself as I groan and spurt deep and hard.
She moans and wiggles her hips. We move together, slowing now, sweating, kissing. We feel each other’s bodies and for a second, we’re in perfect harmony.
Eventually I move to the side and lie on my back. She puts her head on my chest. We’re both smiling the nice and satisfied grin that comes after some serious hard work.
“I needed that,” she whispers.
“I did too.”
“A little stress relief.”
I nod and kiss the top of her head. I hold her tight and banish all thoughts of anything else from my mind.
Right now, there’s just her. I don’t need to think about the school, the marriage bullshit, the games, the backstabbing. I don’t need any of it.
I just need her. This is where I want to be, in her bed, my arms around her body.
“Let’s stay here for a while,” I say softly.
“Yeah.” She snuggles closer.
And we stay there for a while.
15
Kayla
We spend the night together.
It’s not something I expected would happen. I sort of figured I’d leave eventually, but one thing followed another, and I just stayed. We ate dinner in the apartment, watched a movie, but mostly we spent the night in bed.
And in the morning, he’s not gone.
I don’t know why I expected him to be. But he’s still asleep when I get up and get in the shower. I smile a little bit, feeling happy and content for the first time since I came to this place.
I know I’m supposed to like him or whatever. I mean, for the game. It’s part of it all, letting my guard down, letting him into my life. I have this nagging voice in the back of my mind that’s telling me I shouldn’t be doing this, that I’m playing into his hands. That he’s just working me.
