Big Bad Twins

by Tia Siren

  ''Isn't that what teachers are for?'' John asked.

  ''Teachers can only do so much. They have hundreds of children to look after. The role of the child's parents or guardian plays a hugely significant role.''

  ''And how is Danny now Amber?''

  ''Devastated that he is being made a fool of in the press, and on a personal level very upset with me. Danny, if you're watching, I'd like to say sorry.''

  ''I have seen some of the press reports, and it makes me sick to be a journalist,'' John said. ''I want to say here and now, and we have upward of ten million viewers, that their treatment of Danny has been a disgrace.''

  ''That's right John, and it's typical of people's attitude to illiteracy,'' Margo said. ''They think these people are dumb or lazy, but they aren't. They just didn't get a great start in life. In fact, I want to invite Danny to be an Ambassador for our cause. He's hugely popular with our children, and I would love it if he could do some school tours to tell parents of the importance of helping their children, especially in the early stages.''

  *****

  After the show, Amber was in a taxi on the way back to her apartment when her phone rang.

  ''Get over here now,'' Danny said.

  ''What's up?''

  'Nothing, just get yourself over here, now.''

  Amber asked the taxi driver to turn around and take her to Danny's apartment. When she arrived, a group of press was gathered outside his house. Amber pushed her way through them and went inside.

  ''Danny what's going on?''

  ''Come with me,'' he said. He took hold of her hand and went outside. Cameras clicked, and there were flashes.

  ''Thank you for coming,'' Danny began. ''I have a statement to make. I can confirm press reports that I can neither read or write. I haven't got a clue what this says, but I'm told it's an apology from the Press Association about the way I have been treated since the news leaked.'' Danny held up a fax that Miguel had brought round to him. ''Being illiterate isn't funny, and people who are illiterate shouldn't be the butt end of jokes. Racism and sexism, are illegal, so why not illiterate-ism. If you will excuse my made up word.'' The press laughed. ''This is Amber, and she's my girlfriend, and she's going to help me to read and write, and in a year I'll be reading all your spelling mistakes. Thank you.''

  Ignoring all the follow-up questions Danny put his arm around Amber and went back into the house. He closed the front door and threw her against the wall. She struggled for breath as he kissed her and felt for her zipper. He slid her pants down until they reached her ankles, her panties followed. He picked her up and held her against the wall. She kicked her legs free of the garments and hooked herself around him.

  ''Oh God I want this,'' she moaned.

  He freed his penis and in one fluid movement thrust up and into her, making her cry out. She held him tightly as he took her. He pulled her blouse open and took out her breasts. He was wild, demanding her, and taking exactly what he wanted.

  ''I'm coming,' Amber shrieked. She began to shake as she held onto him, his trusts so strong her whole body shuddered violently under the force. He cried out and held onto her as they enjoyed their first mutual orgasm.

  They collapsed in a heap on the hallway floor, both totally out of breath, Danny still deep inside her.

  *****

  ''Hi babe,'' Danny said. ''How's college?''

  ''Great. Almost done. Two more months,'' Amber replied from her student apartment at Yale.

  ''Then you'll be a WAG.''

  ''A what?''

  ''Wives and Girlfriends, WAG.''

  ''Oh yes, how stupid of me.''

  ''You're not stupid. Without you, I would still be the old Danny. Now I can read what they say about my footballing skills, although sometimes when I read what they write, I wish I was still illiterate.''

  ''That's what I love about you Danny Constance, you're sense of humor.''

  ''Don't speak too soon, when you come back to England and live with me, you'll have to put up with it all day.''

  “I don't care as long as I'm with you.''

  *****

  THE END

  SPORTS Romance - Hotter Than Ice

  Kara sat by the window, looking out at the rain covering the campus lawn. It was relaxing for her. A small group of girls chatted while standing under umbrellas after class. They smiled and laughed, and Kara wondered if they would have laughed at her jokes as well.

  “Is this right, Kara,” asked the student that sat next to her.

  She snapped from her trance and turned to look at her mentee. With a quick exhale, she focused her attention on George’s work; running her hand over the page to sort out the details.

  “It looks right, but you did the math wrong, here, let me show you,” she said while making corrections.

  With a slow and melodic tone, she explained what he had done wrong. At first, he was a bit lost, but the realization of his wrongdoing came to him, and he buried his face in his hand out of embarrassment.

  George was a decent student, but he made silly mistakes that were taxing to correct at times. He still always tried his hardest, but he was behind in his studies by a large margin.

  The hour came to an end quickly enough, and she was thankful to be done with the session. Not that studying, or teaching, was really that hard for her. Kara had a natural talent for explaining things in ways others were able to understand.

  “Same time next week, George,” she said to the student as he tucked his things into his backpack.

  George stood up, straightening out his ruffled sweater before throwing his bag over his shoulder.

  “I’m having a party, tonight. You’re welcome to come if you want,” he said.

  “Oh, that’s alright. I’m busy anyway,” she lied.

  “I’ll e-mail you the details anyway, in case you change your mind,” he added before taking his leave.

  She nodded.

  It’s not as though she had time anyway, she was busy the rest of the day with other students requiring her tutelage. Kara knew she wasn’t like the girls outside, standing in the rain, talking about nothing. There was an invisible line between them and her that she wished she could cross, but found herself unable. So, she reconciled herself to being what she had been since grade school, an outsider.

  Kara fixed her gaze back to the courtyard, watching the students sprint across in a vain attempt to stay dry. She took a small amount of pleasure from being dry and watching other students get soaked to the bone.

  Then she saw him trotting nonchalantly through the rain. Henry didn’t seem to mind getting wet in the rain. Even now, he played innocently with a handball to pass the time, throwing it against walls and catching it as he walked past.

  He was alone this time. Usually, he was crowded with other hockey players; all of them boasting about one thing or another.

  She knew the feeling of solitude, and she could tell that he felt that right now. He was making his way inside the library, and Kara ducked down in her seat a little more.

  Her next student wouldn’t be here for another twenty minutes, so she’d have to do her best to look busy to avoid him again.

  His jacket was soaked through, as were most the rest of his clothes. Henry threw off the jacket, figuring it useless now, and shook the rain from his hair.

  Kara watched; he was actually quite attractive. He had a certain grace in the way he held his skinny but strong stature. His clothes were all just a little bit larger than they needed to be, so the rain caused them to sag in unflattering ways. His hair was wild and unkempt, and just a little too long. Still, it framed his face up nicely the way it matted itself to his head.

  Henry scanned the room with his intense eyes; despite Kara’s best efforts, he still managed to see her. As though he planned it all along, he stalked up the stairway of the library, straight for Kara.

  She put a few things inside her bag, in an attempt to flee before he arrived, but it was to no avail.

  “Hello again, Kara,”
he said with a smile on his lips.

  “Hi, Henry,” she replied, slumping back into her chair with a sigh.

  “So, are you going to come to the party tonight,” he asked, taking a seat across from her at the table.

  “You know, I have more students coming, you should go,” Kara replied.

  “You didn’t answer my question,” he said.

  She let out a drawn out sigh.

  “I’m not that interested. I have too much to do tonight, anyway,” she replied.

  “Why do you always do that,” he asked.

  “Do what?”

  “You always look for an excuse to stay in your bubble.”

  “What bubble? I’m just staying with people I understand. I don’t understand you and your hockey player friends,” she said.

  Henry leaned back in his chair. Kara really didn’t want to say no. She actually was interested in going to the party and seeing if anyone else she knew had decided to take the time out to have fun. She was even interested in spending time with Henry, but the people he liked to spend time with always seemed too popular. Popularity and intelligence just don’t mix.

  “Why don’t you just go with Victoria, I’ve heard she likes you,” Kara said.

  “Ah, Victoria. She’s about as interesting as a brick and about as smart as one,” he said, tossing the handball and catching it.

  “Wow, you’re nice to people that like you. I’d hate to see what you’re like to people that hate you,” Kara said sarcastically.

  “If you keep turning me down, you just might find out,” he replied.

  “If I accept your offer then I’ll be in the same boat as Victoria; I know how many notches you have on your belt,” Kara quipped.

  “There’s only one notch that I’m really interested in, but she just doesn’t seem that interested,” he said with a wink.

  “She’d be interested if you were a little less full of yourself,” Kara replied.

  “And he’d be a little less full of himself if she’d stop living inside of a shell,” he added.

  Kara slammed the last of her books closed and started stuffing them into her bag. She wasn’t interested in sticking around and listening to his drivel. It wasn’t the first time they’d had a heated discussion and probably wouldn’t be the last.

  “Great, just run away like you always do,” he said.

  “I’m leaving because you won’t.”

  “Hey, Henry! How’s the date going,” said one of his teammates, jokingly, from the bottom of the stairs.

  “Going great, we get married next week,” he shouted with a grin.

  Kara rolled her eyes and stood up to leave. Henry stood and shot out in front of her, blocking her path.

  “Kara, please. Come to the party tonight. If you come tonight, then I won’t bother you ever again. I promise you’ll have fun,” he said.

  She relaxed her shoulders and threw her head back, taking a deep breath.

  “You promise, for sure you promise,” she asked.

  “Sure, if it’ll get you to go,” he replied.

  Kara had wanted to say yes the first time he asked her out. But, his reputation had always preceded him. He’d date unscrupulously and drank like a sailor. Then there were his supposed habits with money.

  “Fine,” she said, “but it isn’t a date.”

  “You finally said yes! This is the happiest day of my life,” he sarcastically boasted, “I wonder what gown I’ll wear to the ball.”

  He danced his way off, down the stairs, until he joined up with his friend. As his final act before leaving, he blew a kiss to Kara.

  She regretted having said yes; perhaps she would turn her phone off and pretend to be asleep, instead.

  2.

  It must have been passed ten when her phone started dancing its way across her nightstand. Her comforter was just the right temperature, and she deigned the idea of moving. Still, she rolled herself to her side and palmed her phone. With a click on the device, she answered.

  “What,” Kara mouthed.

  “You haven’t shown, I thought you promised,” returned the voice of Henry.

  “No, I promised nothing. You just promised you’d leave me alone if I went,” she replied.

  “I see you don’t want me to stop bothering you. You’re quite a schemer,” said the smug voice of Henry again.

  Kara let out a drawn out sigh.

  “How did you even get my number,” she asked.

  “I’ll tell you when you get here,” he replied, clicking off the receiver.

  Kara was hopelessly stuck. She wanted to stay home and be comfortable. It would be an early day tomorrow, so at least, she had an excuse to leave early.

  Having been almost laundry day, Kara was lacking in interesting things to wear, so she just pulled on whatever was lying around and left.

  The party was, thankfully, nearby. Kara pulled her jacket a little tighter as she walked the empty sidewalks to the house just down the street. While she walked, she wondered. Why wouldn’t Henry just leave her alone after she said no the first hundred times?

  The lights from the party spilled to the roadside, making the shadows of the guests dance in odd ways. Music was playing tastefully loud inside, and the conversation echoed out into the night.

  Kara walked up, hoping to see Henry right away. She just wanted to make her appearance and leave, nothing more. But, Henry wasn’t out front, nor was he inside the house.

  In the backyard an awful din rose, drowning out the rest of the guests. Kara decided to investigate and had a keen feeling that Henry would be somewhere in the middle. She wasn’t wrong.

  A makeshift court was erected, made of garbage cans and traffic cones. Some of the hockey players were skating around on rollerblades, chasing after a handball that was serving as a puck. Henry seemed to be relishing in the excitement, taking shots backwards between his legs.

  He even played one handed for a while as he drank from a red plastic cup, what Kara assumed was alcohol. Of course, she thought, he would be the one drinking while playing a sport with this much activity.

  Henry caught her eye as he sailed past, and in so doing, lost his footing falling flat on his back; spilling beer all over himself. Kara couldn’t help herself and laughed along with the rest of the crowd.

  The game ended with that, not many of the other players showed an interest past having a good laugh at Henry. It was probably for the best.

  “You finally showed, I see,” said Henry while he dabbed as much alcohol off his shirt as he could.

  “I had to, remember,” Kara replied, dismally.

  Henry stripped off his sullied shirt and began to strut toward the house. He must have been freezing because Kara was freezing while wearing her winter coat. She could make out his breath smoking in the air as he walked; he didn’t really seem to care.

  Henry’s toned abs glistened with cold sweat. Kara followed him inside since he was the only person she knew that was present.

  Henry was passed a new glass of beer by George, who was standing by a keg indoors; he flashed Kara a knowing smile and handed her one as well, which she took and examined.

  “When you’re popular, it’s easy to find a beer,” started Henry.

  Kara took a sip and hated the taste.

  “Why do you drink this crap,” she asked.

  “Because being sober on a weeknight is for losers,” Henry responded confidently.

  Kara set her drink on a table where it was immediately snatched up by another guest.

  “Okay, I came. Now tell me where you got my number,” said Kara hastily.

  “I’ll give you a choice, I’ll either stop bothering you in person, or you can find out who gave me your number. But, you can’t have both,” Henry said with a cockish smile.

  Kara’s frustration was palpable.

  “Fine, you can keep the stupid phone number. At least, I can block you on my phone.”

  “Aww, now why would you want to do that, Kara? I thought our love was
written in the stars,” Henry said dramatically.

  He threw his arm around Kara, and oddly to her, she didn’t mind. It had been a long time since she’d been held in any manner.

  She looked around and caught more than a few envious glares and began to feel uncomfortable. She pried herself from his grasp and stepped back.

  “Okay, I’ve made an appearance at your stupid party, I’m going home.”

  “Kara, what are you going to do at home,” Henry asked, “shall I take a guess? I think you’ll lie down in bed, pull out a book and read for a few minutes while missing me.”

  “Nothing of the sort,” she replied, “I’m going to go home and sleep. I have a lot to do tomorrow. I’m taking on some new students that need tutoring, and I’ll need to decide who will be on that list. Thus, I have to sleep tonight.”

  Henry finished his drink and casually tossed the plastic cup aside.

  “Alright, alright, I won’t bother you anymore. Get out of here.”

  Henry waved Kara away in an overt gesture, and she actually felt a bit down that he was pushing her away already. She, at least, expected him to put up more of a fight.

  “Have a good evening,” Kara replied curtly before walking towards the front door.

  Henry watched her leave; his chest was wracked with a tightness he hadn’t really felt before. He felt that the first time he saw her, as well. It seemed to be lessened every time he had the chance to talk to her, so he enjoyed every second they spent together; even though their time was spent arguing with each other.

  He wanted to do something more about it; then he saw George.

  3.

  George was in the middle of a conversation with a couple of other girls. He was a good guy, even though he was a little slow. Still, he had the opening that Henry needed, and he’d even been so kind as to share Kara’s number. Perhaps there was one more thing he’d be willing to do.

  “George, my man,” started Henry, “you’re being tutored by Kara, right?”

  George turned to speak, and the girls walked away.