When she’d questioned Jordan, he’d just named a senior that she barely knew and said that he’d given it to Jordan to return.
“Yeah, I… I wasn’t going to give it to you after you told me to leave you alone. But it seemed silly to keep it when I’d already had it inscribed.”
Fuck. That was way before the days of the internet, and Angel must have gone to a lot of trouble for that.
“I didn’t know. I really had no idea.” Nina’s eyes were still closed, and she felt like she and Angel were the only two people in existence, floating in the dark night.
“I had another present for you. That day in the hallway when you told me to leave you alone.”
The day when Angel had cornered her against the wall and held her just like this. And she’d apparently broken Angel’s heart.
“It was my class ring. But I put it on a chain so you could wear it under your shirt.”
“Oh, fuck,” Nina whispered. She felt a tear leaking down her face. “Were there other presents that I missed?”
“I mean, I gave you my favorite pen, but you probably didn’t know. It was really hard to see you using it after you broke things off.”
“I… I mean, I knew it was yours, but I didn’t know it was your favorite. You didn’t say anything.”
“Yeah, stupid teenagers. I probably said something like ‘I don’t need this, so you can keep it’ or something, right?”
“Yeah, pretty much.”
“And then… the lipstick. Did you pick it up?”
Nina’s eyes opened in surprise, but Angel’s were still closed. Nina closed her eyes again. “I didn’t know that you dropped that on purpose.”
Angel had just stood up after their tutoring session, all proper in a blazer and tie, and left a tube of pink lipstick behind when he shoved his books into his backpack.
Of course, Nina had picked it up, in the illicit thrill of holding such a feminine object. Especially one that, apparently, belonged to Angel.
That day had come after the second time that they’d hooked up, after Nina had taken the panties to her room and before it all came crashing down.
She’d stayed up late that night, childishly holding the plastic tube in one hand under her pillow, wondering if Angel had worn it. Wondering if Angel would like to see her wear it.
When they’d gone back to Angel’s room to “study chemistry” the fifth and final time, she’d been thinking about putting it on, wondering if she should bring it up. Until Angel distracted her so thoroughly that she completely forgot about it.
“Yeah, I kept it.” For a ridiculously long time after the whole thing was over. By the time she’d had the courage to put it on, it was dried out and smelled like degrading plastic.
Wow. She’d really gotten this whole thing wrong. She couldn’t imagine how different her life would have been if she’d listened to Angel that day. To have a relationship with someone who wanted her. To transition with someone by her side. To have someone to count on when everything fell apart with her family.
Even if things hadn’t worked out, which, honestly, wasn’t unlikely with a high school relationship, what a difference it would have made for her confidence and stability later.
The crazy part was, Angel still seemed to want her now. She felt like a puzzle, where some of the pieces had been lost, but now they’d been found. Maybe the pieces weren’t all put together, yet, but at least they were there.
“So… anything else? Those were kind of cryptic presents.”
Angel finally pulled back. She looked down and away, as if embarrassed. “Um… your grades. I felt like I was kind of responsible for your chemistry grade. Since you didn’t want me to tutor you any more.”
“Wait… what? Did you like, sleep with Mr. Franklin?”
“Noooo… I gave him a blow job. And, um, took a picture. To make sure he wouldn’t change his mind.”
“Jesus, Angel. You blackmailed a teacher?”
“Um, just a little bit. That’s why I’m not going into politics. Oh, and, uh, I changed some of your answers on your geometry final. Like, not all of them, just five or six.”
“Seriously?” She’d known Angel was wild, but not this wild. “I never asked you to do anything like that for me.”
“Yeah, well, I was kind of obsessed. And I was nineteen.”
Nina knew she shouldn’t find this sweet, but she actually did. In, like, a totally fucked up and somewhat nostalgic way.
And, that explained a lot about her grades that year. She was always pretty mediocre at math and science, but after the panties thing and everything with her parents, she couldn’t focus. It had seemed like a miracle that she’d passed that spring, but apparently that miracle had a name.
It was kind of ironic, actually, that Angel chose that name for herself.
“Any other big revelations?”
“Um… I’m a woman.”
“I kind of got that. Um, me too.”
Angel finally pulled away and Nina already missed her warmth. She missed even more that dangerous thrill of having Angel loom over her, crowding her against the wall and taking control.
Angel, apparently remembering that it was polite to give people space, took another step back. Her face was kind now, but tired. Like she’d seen too much.
It didn’t feel right for Angel to look that way.
Nina realized that she hated seeing that expression, even now. Throughout those precious weeks in the dorms, her only dream had been making Angel happy. And now that she was in front of her again, Nina was feeling that same sharp need.
Not that Angel was necessarily interested anymore. Down for a hook-up, clearly. But Angel couldn’t possibly still feel that same burning emotion she’d described from her youth. Nina had missed her chance.
The thought of losing all of that hit her again. The support and care that she could have had during her transition. The smug dominance that had pretty much ruined her for anyone else. It was almost like losing that bright star of a memory all over again.
“I wish we could have a do-over. Just, start all over again.”
Angel put a gentle hand on her cheek. It was far gentler than any touch between them in the past. It almost made her want to cry.
“You want that, sweetheart?”
Angel had never called her anything like that before, either. Especially not with that caring, careful voice.
Fuck, if she could have that again, even for one night, for one little stab at an uncertain future… Yeah, she wanted it.
“Please.” She meant to sound confident, but the word came out as a whisper.
And then Angel was devouring her mouth, pushing in with her tongue like they were already fucking. Nina melted into the wall, surrendering to Angel’s control like she’d been waiting for it all her life. Her head was spinning with velvet pleasure, and then like shooting stars through the black sky as her air ran out.
It didn’t matter, though. Because Angel was kissing her. Angel, Angel, Angel.
When Angel finally let her fill her lungs in a sudden dizzying rush, she stayed pressed against her. “Do I get to take you home, pretty baby?”
Nina nodded. She would go anywhere with Angel if she was going to keep calling her that. Although… “My place is upstairs.”
Angel smirked down at her, dark eyes almost lost in the night. “Even better. Lead the way.”
She took a step back but slid her hand down Nina’s arm until they were holding hands. Another thing they’d never dared to do all those years ago. Another thing that said maybe this was more than just a single night.
She walked past the employee entrance to the bar and unlocked the door to her apartment. Her fingers were steady, to her great surprise. Usually she wasn’t this confident when she brought someone home with her. Not that it happened often.
But this was Angel. Angel who was a whole different person, but also that reckless, unpredictable older student who had been the harbor in the storm and the first person who let her
see what might be possible.
They got up the first few stairs when Angel gave a little tug on her hand. Not enough to upset her balance, but enough to get her attention.
Angel looked up at her, dark skin glowing in the stairwell, her hair and dress exquisitely put together like they weren’t going up to Nina’s room to hopefully do mind-blowingly dirty things. She looked like power and hunger, but perfectly composed, all of her attention focused on her prey.
“Nina?”
“Yes?”
“Are you still that slutty little whore you were in my dorm room?”
Oh, fuck. The words rushed through her like a tidal wave, turning her inside out. She could feel her cheeks warm, embarrassment warring with pounding need. She nodded her head.
“Words, slut.”
Angel clearly didn’t want her to make it up the stairs in one piece. “I’m the… I’m still the slutty little whore I was in your dorm room.”
Angel smiled, hard and cruel in all the right ways. “So maybe I need to pay a visit to your dorm room tonight. Since you didn’t want to talk to me in the hall. We’ll call it a do-over.”
It took Nina a moment to figure out what Angel meant. When she did, she had to lean back against the wall just to keep her balance. She felt small and helpless and needy, quivering with anticipation.
“I think you like that idea. You told me you didn’t want to see me again, but that wasn’t true, was it? You just needed me to come find you in your dorm where I could talk to you alone.”
Nina felt like her rapid breathing must be drowning out all other sound. She let Angel’s words fill her, moving her to another place and time. Where they could get things right.
“Is your roommate home right now?”
What roommate? Oh, like a dorm roommate. “No… I’ll be… I’ll be all alone.” Her voice came out in a breathless squeak. She was leaving herself open and undefended.
“What’s your safe word, slut?”
“Turpentine.”
She saw the recognition in Angel’s eyes as soon as she’d said it. No one had ever asked her what it meant, but Angel already knew. Over winter break that year, she’d told her father she was going into art instead of business and he’d poured a bottle of turpentine over the stacked canvases she was bringing back to school for a show.
For a moment, the harsh Domme mask melted away from Angel’s face. She raised Nina’s hand and brought it to her lips. “I’m sorry, baby.”
“It’s over. I’m stronger now.”
“I know you are.” Angel was fierce. Protective.
Nina felt all melty and warm inside in a different way. Layers of past and present were slipping over themselves in a tangled stream, with Angel as the only constant.
Angel held her gaze for a long beat, like she was trying to peer into her soul. At last, she gave a small nod, like she was satisfied. But by what Nina had no idea.
Angel dropped her hand and leaned back against the opposite wall. Lounging. Posing. “Head on up, baby.” She inclined her head toward the upstairs door. “We have a conversation we need to finish, and I don’t think you want to have it in this hallway where anyone could see us.”
Nina shook her head, getting back into the scene. The nervous, helpless schoolgirl, ready to do the bidding of the powerful older student who commanded her days.
She started up the stairs, almost tripping and then catching herself. Was Angel watching her? Of course she was. She could feel those eyes burning into her back.
And now that she was at the top of the stairs, Angel was probably getting a good look up her skirt.
She felt herself blushing, tingling with excitement.
There wasn’t a lock on the upstairs door, thank God, because she probably wouldn’t have been able to focus long enough to open it.
She scurried to her bedroom, looking around and knowing it was a mess. Maybe she should put things away. Or clean herself up a little. She scooped up a pile of clothing from the bed and tossed it onto the chair. Maybe she should make the bed. Or put away...
But then she heard the sharp click of shoes in the hall, and so, really, she had nothing to do but whatever Angel told her to do.
It was all she wanted to do anyway.
Chapter 3
Angel
Angel forced herself to wait in the stairwell for ten slow, deep breaths. Just long enough for Nina to get upstairs and make herself a little nervous, but not long enough to do anything about it.
She wanted to be calm though, even while her heart was racing.
She hadn’t ever imagined herself here again with Nina, and she wanted desperately to avoid screwing it up.
She probably should have taken her out for coffee. Invited her to dinner. Something normal and mature and responsible. That was how she usually started dating someone these days.
But Nina made her feel young and wild. Desperate like she hadn’t been in years.
Not to mention that they’d always communicated well through this dynamic.
Angel climbed the stairs, letting her shoes echo loudly so that Nina would know she was coming. She took a quick look around as she passed the front door.
Nina had a cute place, small but run down. She must be renting it from the bar owner, which would match the nice things that Angel had heard about Whirlwind.
When Angel stepped inside, she nearly tripped over a pile of shoes by the door. There were clothes draped over the couch and on one chair of the small table in the even smaller kitchen.
It turned out that Nina was a bit messy, something that she hadn’t realized while they were both stuck in the rigid institutionalism of boarding school. She found it kind of endearing. How many other mysteries would there be to discover?
She looked quickly around. To the right was a kitchenette with a rickety table and two chairs. A ceramic vase sat on top of it. The scant handful of carnations inside were drooping, but the vase was bold and passionate, a chaotic collective of deep reds and blues. She wondered if Nina had made it.
The living room held an ugly brown couch with a few blankets tossed on it, but the walls were vibrant with tacked up sketches and canvasses. There was even a fantastical mermaid painted on a reused piece of corrugated cardboard.
The styles were eclectic, so Angel assumed these were from friends, rather than Nina’s work. She remembered Nina’s art as being dark and broody with splashes of a single vibrant color. But she was older now, and perhaps her style had changed.
Angel wanted to see what her work looked like now. She wanted to know everything.
She turned down a narrow hallway on the left. She walked past the bathroom, unsurprised to see a jumble of products strewn over the sink and tub. The position of the next door suggested it was a closet.
Finally, she stood outside Nina’s room. The door was shut, but she could hear movement inside. The rapid tap of feet. Was Nina preparing for her? Nervously pacing? Maybe trying to clear a spot on the bed?
The affectionate thought tangled with the possessive and wild intensity of her teenaged dreams. They were both new people, older and more certain of who they were. But Nina still brought out every ounce of raw need.
And now they had the opportunity for a do-over. It wouldn’t be the same as it might have been at the time. But coming back to it now might heal some of those wounds. She’d definitely learned a few tricks along the way. And she would be much more clear about what she wanted.
She pushed open the door.
Nina let out a startled squeak and froze in place.
Angel’s little mouse. She could almost hear her rapid heartbeat where it pulsed at her throat.
Nina was still wearing her uniform from work, the black t-shirt with the Whirlwind logo and the short black skirt. Her freckles stood out on her porcelain skin, though a blush quickly rose to obscure them under Angel’s devouring gaze.
Angel smiled wickedly. They both knew who had the upper hand. She closed the door behind her, making the point of turning the
little dial in the knob. “Where’s your roommate?” she asked, moving right into the scene.
“Gone?” Nina seemed to fumble for words.
Angel took three assertive steps toward her. “And when will she be back?”
Nina shook her head. “Not ‘til, um, tomorrow night. She’s gone for the weekend.”
Whether that was just part of the scene or an invitation to stay longer, it pleased Angel to hear. “You’ll still have to be quiet, slut. Anyone could hear you. The dorm walls are thin.”
Nina visibly shivered. “What are you going to do?” she asked, voice just above a whisper.
Angel grinned. “Well, first, I think there’s the matter of a punishment.” She hung her purse on the corner of a chair that was already piled high with clothing.
“For what?” Nina looked around the room like she might find the answer there.
“You ignored me in the hallway. And you told me to leave you alone. But I don’t think that’s really what you wanted.”
Nina bit her lip, her perfect, white teeth marring the glossy pink. “I’m sorry. But, um, did you tell someone?” she finally asked. “About the um…”
Angel stepped in closer and Nina stepped back. She took two more steps until the back of Nina’s calves pressed against the bed and there was nowhere else for her to flee. Angel bent to her ear, almost touching her but not quite. “Did I tell someone about what?”
“About the, um…” This time she really did whisper it. “The panties.” She sounded embarrassed, but Angel knew that she’d be turned on by the mild humiliation.
“You mean the lace panties I was wearing when you were licking my cock?” Angel didn’t hide from the word. Her cock was a part of her body that she was comfortable with, and she was going to incorporate that into the scene. “The panties I gave you to take back to your room as a little gift?”
Nina’s breath was rapid against her neck. “Yes, um, those ones.”
“And did you take care of them like a good girl?”
Nina nodded, the motion a touch of soft hair against Angel’s check. “I hid them in my drawer. At the back.”
Angel chuckled. That was probably exactly what had happened. God was she glad she wasn’t a teenager again, even though the roleplay was hot. “Very good, baby. You know I would never tell anyone about how sexy and sweet you are on your knees for me, right? You tell me who said something and I’ll make sure it’s taken care of.”
Whirlwind Page 26
