by Abbi Hemp
“Okay, I’ll keep this in mind. Thanks.”
I turned my attention back to the snap-crackle-pop of my cereal before it got soggy.
“Haley, we’ve been friends for years now. You just met this guy, and you’re going to believe him over me.”
“Yeah,” I said. “Look, I’ll talk to him about it later.”
“You should just break up with him. This explains why he didn’t answer your calls or texts the other day.”
I frowned and shook my head, not knowing what to believe anymore.
“Do you think I would lie to you about something like this? Really?”
“No, Tabby, but you have to admit things have not been good between us for a while.”
“Exactly! Since you and James started hanging out. He’s going to ruin your life then move on to his next conquest.”
I nodded then went back to eating.
“You want to hang out later?” she asked.
“I’m not sure. I have a lot going on.”
“Going out with him again?”
“What if I am?” I snapped.
“I just told you he’s cheating on you!”
“I’m not sure I can trust you.”
“Fine. I tried to help.”
She spun around and left the kitchen. As I finished my breakfast, I did consider what she had said to me. He had said he wanted to stay all night at the SCA event. Was it because he’s fucking another woman?
The thought angered me, but I wasn’t sure if I should trust Tabby or not. Ugh! Why does love have to be so complicated? After rinsing out my favorite blue bowl with enough room for a decent sized serving, I grabbed my backpack and left the apartment.
Walking to campus, James called. I saw his name and photo on the screen and sent him straight to voicemail. Let’s see how he likes a taste of his own medicine. With so much going on in my life, I didn’t have time for cheating men, even if they were hot as hell.
* * *
On the way home, I checked my phone again to make sure I hadn’t missed a message from James. Why hadn’t he tried to get ahold of me again? Had I made him mad? Was he done with me for real this time?
Doubts and self-doubt had cursed me since I was a little girl back in Indiana where I grew up. My fears were one of the reasons I had decided to go to college in New York, even if it was Buffalo not NYC.
Should I call him? Nah. His loss. A break will be good for us.
When I reached the front door of my apartment, I heard loud dance music coming from inside. Whenever she played that techno-shit, it meant one thing, she was likely drinking.
I considered walking to the library to hang out for a while, but I didn’t like the idea of running from my own home, especially not because of someone like Tabby.
As soon as I opened the door and walked in, she jumped up from the couch and stumbled toward me. Here we go. I set my backpack down on the floor.
“Haley, baby!” she said, slurring the words.
“What are you doing here?” I asked.
She threw her arms around me and hugged.
“I live here, silly.”
“Don’t you have work tonight?”
“Not tonight,” she said, letting go of me. “Why won’t you hug me like you hug him?”
“Don’t start,” I warned, walking toward the kitchen.
She followed.
“Have a drink with me,” she said. “We never drink anymore.”
“Because I work and go to school now. You know I don’t have time.”
“You make time for James. Why can’t you make time for me?”
I stopped near the kitchen table and turned to face her.
“Okay. I’ll have a drink or two, but I’m not getting drunk.”
She smiled and clapped her hands together rapidly.
“I’ll get the wine.”
With a sigh, I sat down and waited for her to return. She did, a minute later, carrying a box of wine, our favorite brand not because of its taste or quality but because of its low price.
She dumped the box on the table.
“I’ll get you a glass.”
I checked my phone one more time as she got a ceramic mug. She poured it half-full from the spigot on the side of the wine box.
“Whoa,” I said, reaching for it. “Not so much.”
“We need a good drunk.”
I lifted the mug in the air while she grabbed her more traditional wine glass, the only one we had in the house. We clinked them together then both took a drink.
“Ugh. Awful,” I said, scrunching up my face.
“Right?” she said, giggling. “To old times.”
She raised her glass again. Reluctantly, I did the same. Two drinks soon turned into four somehow. Before I knew it, midnight had come and gone.
“Shit,” I said, standing up. “I need to sleep.”
“I’ll come with you.”
She put her arm around my waist and attempted to kiss me. I deflected her easily.
“No, no, no…”
Both of us giggled as I made my escape, running to my bedroom and closing the door behind me. She better not come in here without knocking, I thought as I laid down on my bed.
The room spun. Or maybe it was me that was spinning. I couldn’t tell anymore. As I watched the door, ready to yell at her, my droopy eyes closed and I fell asleep.
TWENTY-TWO
Haley
I usually allowed myself to sleep until I woke naturally on Saturday mornings, but the morning after getting tipsy with Tabby, I woke to her licking my cheek.
“What the hell?” I shouted, recoiling back in horror.
“Hey,” she said, kneeling on my bed next to me. “You want to go get some breakfast?”
“No! Why are you licking me?”
“After last night, I thought you were ready to take our relationship to the next level.”
“What are you talking about? We didn’t do anything last night.”
“No, but you giggled when I kissed you.”
“So?” I pulled the covers up. “You thought that meant wake me up by licking me?”
“Why are you fighting what we have together?”
“We don’t have anything together. You and I are roommates, nothing more. And we might not be roommates much longer.”
She stood up and placed her hands on her hips.
“What do you mean? Are you leaving me in the lurch?”
“I wouldn’t do that to you, but I’ve been thinking of leaving for a while.”
“Because you met James?”
“No! Get out of my room. Now!”
After a deep breath, she turned and left, leaving the door open.
“You bitch!” I yelled as she walked away.
“Fuck you, Haley!”
Ugh. This is not the way to start a day.
I threw the covers back and got out of bed. After a cup of coffee, I’d decide if I had overreacted or not, but my gut reaction was that I hadn’t done anything wrong.
Tabby sat at the kitchen table, her head in her hands, sobbing as she did whenever she didn’t get her own way. Such a special snowflake, I thought as I poured myself a cup.
“Thanks for making coffee,” I said.
She lifted her head.
“Why do you hate me?”
“I don’t hate you, Tabby, but I don’t know how else I can tell you that I’m not interested in anything other than a friendship with you.”
“Friends with benefits?”
“Ugh. You’re impossible.”
Yellow coffee mug in hand, I walked back to my bedroom and slammed the door. While I hated to see her cry, she loved to manipulate people. And that drove me nuts.
In my room, I sent James a text message, apologizing for missing his call and asking if he minded me coming over. Almost immediate, he sent the address.
As I got dressed and ready for the day, I smiled. The thought of living with James filtered through my mind, but I swatted it away, conte
nt with us having separate lives.
Even so, spending Saturday with him sounded fun.
* * *
He answered the door wearing swim trunks and nothing else.
“You always walk around the house half-naked?” I teased.
“Come in. I usually sleep in on Saturdays, but my phone woke me.”
I stepped inside, closing the door behind me.
“Tell me about it.”
“Someone called and woke you up?”
“No, not exactly.” I glanced over at two guys on the couch yelling at each other. “Can we go to your room and talk?”
“Sure,” he said.
I followed him up a staircase.
“Is that Curtis’ room?” I asked, nodding my head at a second door across the hall from the one he was opening.
“Yeah. Mine’s bigger. And better.”
I walked into his room, glancing around and trying to take it all in at once. A Radiohead poster on the wall above his headboard caught my eye, as did the fact his bed was made. Other than that, the room looked sparse.
“What?” he asked, closing the door.
“It’s bigger than my room but not as romantic.”
“We’ll just have to add some romance.”
He closed the gap between us, sliding his arms around me. The fight with Tabby slipped from my mind as his hand squeezed my ass.
Our lips touched, briefly at first then as if the world were about to be demolished by an asteroid. He moved us toward the bed.
Time slowed and sped up simultaneously. I swooned as he stripped my clothes off while I did the same to him. Naked, we faced each other.
I stared into his eyes as his finger traced a path from my cheek to my neck to my left breast. Over to the right as I put my hand on his waist to avoid fainting.
His finger slipped lower, moving slower as it made trails over my stomach. I breathed in, holding the breath as his magic digit moved over my pubic hair.
With my other hand, I tickled his balls, rolling them in my fingers. Occasionally, I brushed his cock, limp but getting harder. Emotions I’d neglected begged for attention.
The events of the morning rushed back – waking up with her face so close to mine. I let go of his dick and stepped back, turning my head away as a tear formed.
“Hey, what’s wrong? Are you okay?”
He put a hand on my back as I attempted to control my runaway emotions.
“It’s this morning. Tabby…When she…”
“You need to move,” he said, stepping in front of me.
His strong arm rested on my waist. I peered up at him, trembling.
“Hey, now. I got you.”
I threw my arms around him, hugging tightly and never wanting to let go. He gently rubbed my back, calming me.
“I’m sorry,” I said. “I ruined the moment.”
“Shhh…”
I put my cheek to his chest and let it out. Tears flowed freely as he comforted me.
“You need to move away from her as soon as you can. Do you want to stay here?”
“No,” I said, sniffling. “I’m not sure if we’re ready. I need to take care of this on my own.”
“That’s fine too.”
He smiled in a way that made me feel better. I wiped my eyes with the back of my hand.
“We don’t just have to fuck all the time.”
“I had fun at your knight thing.”
“And you believe me when I say nothing happened after you left?”
I nodded.
“She’s so controlling sometimes. I mean, she wasn’t always this bad. We were good friends a year ago, but something changed.”
“I still say she’s in love with you.”
He stepped away, bending for his underwear.
“Wait,” I said as I walked over.
“Yeah?”
“Let’s start this Saturday off on a better note, okay?”
I leaned against his body and kissed him on the mouth. My hands roamed, touching, feeling and loving with every caress.
We moved to the bed without thinking about it consciously. Each time his skin touched mine, I thought I would lose my mind.
On my back, my legs spread, I wait for the moment of penetration. He crawls between them, kissing my face and neck.
Instead of poking me right away, his kisses move lower on my body. I closed my eyes and smiled as I felt his palm gently rubbing between the legs.
Blood flowed. Time slowed. He replaced his hand with his mouth, teasing me while occasionally peering up with this look of total devotion.
Nice and wet, I wanted him inside me. He sensed my needs and desires without me having to say a single word. His condom covered cock penetrated me.
I opened my eyes and saw his looking into mine, his solid facial features locked in a combination of concentration and bliss.
As he slid in and out, he kissed me again. I would never tire of his lips, so soft and wet, always knowing where to go and what to do.
He reached under my knees and lifted my legs higher in the air, giving him better access, a new angle of entry. I moaned as he pounded faster.
“James…”
I loved the way his name sounded on my lips, and the way his face reacted when he heard it. Another kiss as our bodies move together, a single unit.
The world faded away. In that moment, only the growing desire between my legs mattered. He filled me completely, making everything else seem trivial.
Sounds from downstairs filtered through the floor, but I didn’t care. He slowed down, switching angles again. I ran my hands up his strong, oaken arms to his face.
Cradling his beautiful face, I made a wish for us to never part, to have this much pleasure every day for the rest of our lives. We would live together forever.
My chest rose and fell as my breaths came faster. I moved my hands down to his chest, loving the feel of his muscles as they moved, such a beautiful biological machine.
“I’m close,” he hissed urgently.
I rubbed my clitoris as he sped up his thrusts.
“Come for me, baby,” I cooed, coaxing him on.
He needed little help or more time. A minute later, he slowed his strokes, making each one deliberately and with a sense of urgency.
I flew higher, closer to my orgasm as his face contorted, scrunching up around his eyes, those piercing windows to his soul. Go, go, go.
“Yes!” he shouted in victory as his cock throbbed deep inside me.
The look on his face pushed me over the edge. My body shook as explosions of pleasure raced throughout my body, lighting up pleasure centers I never knew I had.
His thrusts slowed even further than stopped. Still inside me, he bent his head and kissed me again. I tasted the salty sweat on his lips as I wrapped my arms around his torso.
“I’m never letting you go,” I said.
He chuckled, still breathing heavy.
I let my arms drop to my side. As he pulled out, I felt as if I were losing a part of myself. Am I going to have this man’s babies someday?
The thought terrified and excited me at the same time. He disposed of the condom then laid down next to me, his hands running over my body.
Contentedness blossomed in me for the first time in a long while. Is this love? As I stared into his eyes and enjoyed the afterglow, I wondered.
“Did you have plans for today?” he asked.
“This times ten? Maybe a pizza?”
He laughed.
“This is why I love you.”
“Because I’m so good in bed?”
“That and your sense of humor.”
“You think I’m funny?”
He nodded. I took a deep breath, real life rushing back.
“I can’t wait until I graduate,” I said.
“You and me both. Although it doesn’t stop. Hell, it will be even tougher in the real world.”
“Yeah, I know, but I wonder If all this hard work will pay off.”
“It will,” he said in a confident tone.
“You promise?”
“I do.”
He kissed me. The rest of the afternoon, we hung out together in the house he shared with the three other students. At lunch, he took me to campus for a couple slices. On the way back, I talked him into a stroll through the park.
That night, I stayed in his room. We made love again then fell asleep nestled against each other like we had been together for years. My dreams comforted me, confirming my thoughts about James being the right man for me.
TWENTY-THREE
James
I woke in the morning before her and once again decided to let her sleep. She laid sprawled on her back, long black hair messy but still so damn cute. As I stood next to the bed, watching her while stretching, my phone buzzed on the nightstand.
She moaned as I snatched it and turned the volume down. Why do I suddenly have two dozen people sending me tweets? I wondered as I stared at the screen. Still in my underwear and nothing else, I went to my desk and sat down.
As I read one or two of the tweets, even more came in. My email inbox blew-up at the same time, with angry subject lines in ALL-CAPS. What the hell? Why are so many people hating on me all of a sudden? I had no answers.
The deluge stopped as quickly as it had started. I tapped the subject line of the final email and read, “You’re a dick, and we’re going to bring you down for your hate of the LGBT community!” That was it. Nothing else.
I immediately thought about Tabby. Was she taking her in-person threats virtual? The fake email address gave me no information. Glancing at a few of the other messages and tweets, a pattern emerged. Someone wanted me to get kicked off the football team.
“Looking at porn, are you?” Haley asked from the bed.
“What?”
I glanced over as she sat up and stretched her arms, breasts bare and beautiful.
“It was a joke. You’re not really looking at porn so early, are you? After last night?”
“No,” I said, frowning. “People are complaining about me online, saying I hate gay people.”
“Huh?”
She swung her feet over the edge of the bed and stood up, dressed only in purple panties. I held out my phone as she walked over.
