by Lane Hart
“What the fuck is he doing coming over here?” I ask Royal.
“I dunno. Want me to get rid of him?” he asks when he gets to his feet.
“Yeah, the sooner the better. I’m not the only one who doesn’t want his stupid ass around. My dad threatened to have him arrested if he steps foot on our property.”
“On it,” Royal says before he rushes out the room.
A few minutes later, I see the back of Aric’s curly brown head leaving. He stops and turns around. Looking up, it doesn’t take him long to spot me. “Happy birthday!” he calls up. “I brought you a cake – yellow with chocolate icing. Your favorite!”
I don’t bother responding to him with words. I simply lift my middle finger in the air, which I hope he can see clearly thanks to the backlight from my bedroom.
He eventually turns around and wanders off, going back to his house with his perfect family and Maddie, his perfect girlfriend.
I’ve fooled around with plenty of girls, but I had been waiting to lose my virginity to one particular person – Maddie. I’ve never forgotten what Caroline said years ago about waiting to have sex with someone special, someone you care about. Otherwise, it’s just fucking. For more than two years, ever since I knew Caroline Prince was out of my league and off-limits because she was my best friend’s sister, I’ve wanted Maddie.
Aric knew this and still he went after her. Not only did he fuck my mom and hook up with Maddie, but he moved her and her brother and sister into his goddamn house! Now, everywhere I go, at home or at school, I have to see them together, making out right in front of my face.
He deserves some serious payback.
Right now I can’t come up with any ideas, so I lean my head back and close my eyes, hoping the day will be over by the time I wake up.
Caroline
“Nice costumes,” Royal says to me and Gwen over the thumping music when we slip inside the packed house around eleven.
My cheerleading outfit still fit, and Gwen put together a toga from a white sheet paired with some of my gold accessories. “It was short notice!” I tell him as I clutch the straps of my red, leather purse, feeling out of place at a high school Halloween party already. “We did the best we could do.”
“You look hot!” he says with a grin. “Let me grab you both a drink!”
Royal leads the way to the kitchen where he pops the top on two cans of beer and hands them to each of us. Hopefully, after I drown my sorrows tonight, I’ll be able to get up the courage to talk to my parents about school tomorrow.
“Thanks,” I say as I take a few sips while scanning the room. Everyone I went to school with looks so young now, like I’ve been gone for years and not weeks. “Where’s Aric?” I ask Royal. “I thought he came over earlier.”
“Ah, I haven’t seen him,” he answers.
“He’s probably still trying to soothe his girlfriend’s ego after she got all pissed at me and left.”
“Maddie left?” Royal asks in surprise.
“Ugh, Maddie,” I groan with a roll of my eyes, not wanting to talk about her.
“Ooh, I love this song!” Gwen exclaims when RITMO by the Black Eyed Peas comes on. She disappears with her can of beer into the group of people dancing in the middle of the trashed living room.
“So, where’s the birthday boy?” I ask Royal.
“Sulking up in his room!” he shouts in response. “Why don’t you go see if you can drag him down here?”
“Me? Really?”
“Yes, you! Go! I’ll keep your friend company,” he says with a grin as he heads in the direction of the living room.
I down the rest of my beer and toss it in the garbage can. Since I don’t really know anyone else, I take Royal’s advice and jog up the steps to the second floor. Today is Blake’s birthday and it’s his party, so I should at least say hello and give him the present in my purse.
Blake’s bedroom door is shut, so I knock but don’t hear a response. Since the doorknob is unlocked, I take my chances and slip inside, hoping I won’t walk in on him getting busy with someone. The coast and the bed are both thankfully clear.
His room isn’t as messy as Aric’s but not exactly clean. The wall filled with colorful hats hanging in rows is rather impressive. If I’m not mistaken, there’s one for each of the thirty-two professional football teams because that’s how much Blake loves the sport. He’s a fan of the game and not one particular team.
The double doors leading to the balcony are open wide which is where I spot the top of Blake’s black hair. He’s sitting in one of the wicker chairs with his head leaned back. As I move closer, around piles of clothing littering his floor, I notice he’s clutching a clear bottle of some sort of liquor to his chest and that his eyes are closed.
“What are you doing up here alone when the party’s downstairs?” I ask him as I lean my shoulder against the open doorway while clutching my purse straps.
“Shit!” Blake startles upright and then glances over his shoulder. He does a double take, his eyes widening before he scrambles up out of his seat to face me. “Caroline? What are you doing here? Is this a dream?” His bottle is still tightly gripped in one hand while the other smooths invisible wrinkles out of his football jersey. The bright red numbers one and five plastered on the front give me pause for a second, although I’m not sure why before I’m distracted by the twelve solid inches that I swear my brother’s best friend has grown since I last saw him in the summer. Or maybe I’ve just been surrounded by nerdy scholars at Hawthorne, which is not known for its athletic programs that are few and far between. “Aren’t you supposed to be at Hawthorne?” he asks, and I inwardly cringe at the verbal reminder of my alma mater where I’m a complete failure.
“I came home for the weekend,” I reply with a shrug. “And I saw Royal outside earlier. He invited me to come celebrate your birthday and the holiday intended for women to dress in the least amount of clothing possible.” I swipe my palm along the front of my blue and red cheerleading top and pleated skirt, and Blake’s eyes follow it all the way down.
“Oh. Well, um, good. I, mean, you look good,” he says.
“You too,” I reply. “You’re taller than I remember.”
“Ah, thanks I guess?”
“So, what are you doing up here all alone on your birthday?” I ask him.
“I’m not really in the mood to celebrate,” he says, shoulders deflating before he turns around and retakes his seat. He drinks a swig from the bottle and adds, “Royal said it was too late to cancel the party, so I’m just avoiding it.”
“Everything okay?” I ask as I take a seat in the empty chair next to his and set my purse down at my feet. While I think I know what he’s upset about, I don’t want to just blurt out that I know about his parents.
He looks over at me again for several silent moments before he glances away again. “Not really, no. My parents are getting divorced.”
“That sucks. I’m so sorry,” I tell him, reaching over to rest my hand on his to give it a squeeze. “Aric didn’t tell me.”
“It’s sort of old news,” Blake responds. “Anyway, it sucks and all, but today it just hit me a little harder I guess since they’re still not speaking and I’m sort of caught in the middle.”
“That sounds awful,” I say because I couldn’t imagine my parents splitting up. It would be devastating to see them arguing and ending their marriage, along with blowing up the family I’ve always had.
“Sorry, the alcohol makes me even more depressed. You don’t have to hang out with me out of pity,” Blake says when he takes another swig.
“Here, I’ll trade you.” Leaning over, I dig through my purse to find his messily wrapped gift in sparkly silver paper. Taking the bottle from his hands, I exchange it for the package.
“What’s this?” Blake asks as he spins it around.
“Your birthday present.”
“You didn’t have to get me anything,” he says.
“Of course I did. And I g
uarantee it will put you in a better mood!”
“Oh yeah?” he asks with a near smile on his face before he tears into it. While he’s working on ripping the paper off, I take a few big gulps of his tequila to try and wash down my epic failure.
“Gummy bears?” he says, holding the package up with an arched eyebrow. “So, you do still think of me as a kid.”
“What? No, I don’t!” I argue. “Those are special gummy bears. Ones that aren’t exactly legal…”
His blue eyes that look black out on the dark balcony widen. “You’re kidding. They’re cannabis gummies?”
“Yep! Happy birthday!”
“Wow. Thanks, Caroline. You’re the best,” he says while tearing open the plastic bag to get to the colorful bears. He puts several in his mouth and then holds the bag out toward me. “Want one?”
“If you don’t mind sharing?”
“Help yourself. I’ve already smoked a joint with Royal,” Blake replies, so I scoop out a few and chew on them one at a time. “So, how’s school going?” he asks.
“Honestly? Not very well,” I admit after swallowing the first bear.
“Really? Why not?”
“I’m, ah, flunking out actually,” I say with a wince, hating to admit that aloud to anyone.
“You’re flunking?” he repeats.
“Yep. That’s why I came home this weekend, to tell my parents I need to drop four out of five courses.”
“Wow.”
“Don’t tell anyone, okay? I don’t want Aric to know before my parents.”
“You don’t have to worry about me talking to him,” Blake mutters while popping a red and yellow bear into his mouth.
“Thanks,” I reply. “I was just so excited to leave home and go to college that it never occurred to me how much hard work it would be once I got there.”
“Yeah?” he asks. “I still haven’t decided where I’m going next fall. My dad has been insisting I go to Duke like he did, but I don’t even have any fucking idea what I’m going to major in.”
“That makes two of us,” I say, holding up the peace sign. “My professor suggested I switch from pre-med to statistics since that’s the only class I’m not failing.”
“Statistics?” Blake repeats, and then both of us are laughing.
“How stupid, right? What do statisticians even do?”
“No clue,” he says, followed by another chuckle. “Guess you could keep track of football stats for the pros.”
After we laugh for so long I can’t even remember what was so funny to begin with, Blake stands up and shoves the rest of the gummies down into his jean pocket. “I hate it, but I better get my ass downstairs and at least make an appearance since it’s my party before Royal comes to drag me down there.”
“Yeah,” I agree as I stand up too. I set the tequila bottle down to scoop up my purse from the ground.
“Thanks for coming up and talking to me,” he says as he leads the way into his bedroom. “You didn’t have to do that.”
“I wanted to,” I tell him honestly. “I’ve never forgotten that night you were there for me when I was having a shitty time.”
“Oh yeah?” he asks with a smile.
“Yeah,” I respond with my own grin. “And, by the way, I’m still searching for my first time having good sex.”
“You’re kidding?” Blake says as he turns around to face me.
“Nope,” I tell him with a shake of my head and a giggle. Poking my finger at his chest, I say, “Fourteen. I’ve been with fourteen guys who were so awful that I didn’t go back for seconds. I’ve had fourteen various yet equally awful types of bad sex.”
“Maybe…maybe fifteen will finally be good for you,” he says.
“Fifteen?” I ask and then my index finger is tracing the numbers on his jersey unable to ignore the hard stomach underneath the material. “One and five is…fifteen.”
“Ah, yeah, Caroline. I’m not sure if math is your major either,” Blake tells me with a chuckle.
“You are number fifteen!” I point out. I swear it’s like some sort of sign from the universe. It’s fate. I’m dressed as a cheerleader and he’s a football player wearing the next number up…
“Uh, yeah. I’ve worn this number since freshman year.”
“Hmm. I bet you would look even better not wearing number fifteen,” I tell him as I slip my palms up underneath his jersey and undershirt to touch his warm, flat stomach that’s etched into a six pack and smooth other than a light dusting of hair around the waistband of his jeans.
“Oh god, that feels good,” Blake groans from above me. He’s really tall when I’m standing right in front of him with my hands moving up to his chest and then down his stomach again, the muscles tightening and rippling underneath my palms. I don’t want to just feel his skin; I want to see his hard body too, so I lift the shirts up and off. Well, I try to get them off, but they sort of get stuck around the hat on his head. I don’t even wait for him to get the material untangled before my tongue is licking a path down the center of his chest, eager to taste him.
Chapter 7
Blake
“Holy shit. Holy fucking shit,” I groan into the fabric surrounding my face when I feel Caroline’s mouth on my bare chest. I must be dreaming, because there’s no way that Caroline Prince is in my bedroom undressing me and licking my nipple…
I rip my shirt and jersey off and out of the way so I can see her…and oh, fuck me, this is really happening. I think. Maybe it’s a dream. Either way I don’t want it to ever end.
Cupping the back of her ponytail in one hand to keep her mouth on me, I reach around and down to squeeze her ass with my other because I’m going all out just in case I wake up in the next thirty seconds. I give her plump, tight bottom a few squeezes before I realize what I’m touching…it’s those bright red panties, the evil ones that I lived to get a little peek at during football games. I’m pretty sure they’re responsible for my first boner in public when I was in middle school.
“Will you take these off?” I ask even though I’m already tugging them down Caroline’s lean legs. “I’m not sure why, but I need to own these panties.”
“Take them,” she moans against my chest as her mouth moves up and then she’s licking and sucking on my neck. “Just don’t stop touching me,” Caroline adds when I realize my fingers are still feeling on the soft cotton panties. So, so soft. Everything is soft under my fingertips. I drop the panties, letting them fall the rest of the way down her legs so I can get both of my hands on her ass cheeks. That’s when I feel the heat coming up from between her legs.
My fingers start easing lower and lower until I’m touching her damp center, making Caroline gasp.
“That’s your pussy. Holy shit. I’m touching your pussy. Aric’s gonna kill me.”
“Shh, don’t talk about my brother,” Caroline says as she reaches back to cover my hand and press my fingers inside of her. She rests her forehead on my chest as her lower body squirms. “Make me come. Please make me come right now,” she begs.
“Nothing has ever felt so good…so slick and tight and perfect and…slick…” Words fail me as I slip one finger inside of her to the knuckle and then add another. Whatever else I was going to say evaporates from my mind when Caroline grabs the side of my face to pull my mouth down to hers. Nothing has ever tasted as good as her sweet, fruity lips, which is why I keep going back for more. Our tongues start darting in and out of each other’s mouth in some crazy mad rush before I just leave mine inside of hers and she sucks on it. Hard. My groan is muffled, and I don’t know what the fuck is going on. But I’m hard as a rock and so goddamn thirsty I start sucking the fruit flavor from Caroline’s tongue too.
She’s the first one who pulls away, laughing. Whispering, she grasps my biceps and strokes them while saying, “I think…I think we’re both a little wasted from the gummies.”
“I feel awesome,” I tell her. The blunt mellowed me out, the alcohol numbed and depressed me, but Caroli
ne, she’s setting me on fucking fire.
“Me too,” she says as she walks backward until her legs hit my bed and her bare ass lowers to the mattress.
“Fuck, I can’t believe you’re really in my room,” I mutter as I stare at her.
“Why? Have you thought about me coming in here before?” she asks coyly.
“Oh yeah.”
“Really? And what would I do in your…fantasies?”
“You would be naked, of course,” I respond with a grin, not even embarrassed to admit that to her thanks to the high I’m riding.
“Of course,” she agrees, and then she starts to unzip her cheerleading top on the side and pulls it over her head. The zipper on her skirt is next before she shoves it to the floor, leaving her completely. Fucking. Naked. On. My. Bed.
“Holy shit,” I say as I take in every inch of her gorgeous body. “You’re so fucking hot.”
“Blake?” she asks while I watch mesmerized as she cups her own small but perky tits.
“Yeah?”
“Hurry up and take your pants off.”
Caroline
I can’t believe I’m really going to sleep with my brother’s best friend. But he’s legally an adult now, and I need this. I think Blake does too.
With shaking hands, he unbuttons his jeans without removing his eyes from me, looking nervous and excited like a kid on Christmas. It’s really adorable, which is quite the contradiction to his very muscular, very broad and manly chest from all those football practices. Blake has the kind of upper body that women drool over, myself included.
Finally, he lowers his pants and boxer briefs, not the least bit self-conscious about his naked body. And he has no reason to be. His cock is thick and so long it would almost hang down to his knees if it wasn’t so hard and pointing straight up.
