Wicked Chemistry

by R. L. Kenderson

  That was when I realized I was staring at them. I was always getting caught watching this man, and he was probably waiting for me to get out of there.

  I put my car in drive and slowly pulled away from the house. I couldn’t help but wonder what was going to happen between the two. I had never visited a guy like that when I was in high school, but I would imagine they were going to do more than just watch TV or grab a bite to eat.

  For a moment, I let my thoughts drift to what it would be like to be that girl. To have the self-confidence to show up at a handsome guy’s doorstep. To not have to worry about him thinking I was selling something or that I was lost.

  If I was being honest, I wasn’t imagining a handsome guy. I was imagining Mace. And I was picturing I was that pretty girl whom he’d probably pulled into his arms and kissed as soon as I left.

  I sighed and told myself to snap out of it.

  Then, I did the math of how many more days until the end of the semester.

  The conclusion was, it was way too many.

  The night of the homecoming dance started out fine. Becca and I got ready together. She talked about the dances she’d attended in high school and her dates. I mostly nodded my head, not wanting to admit out loud that I didn’t have any stories to add.

  Becca had convinced me to go to the hair salon earlier that day and get an updo. Since it was a dance, she told me we should look pretty, too. I thought it was kind of over the top, but I did have fun, getting my hair done with her.

  She’d also convinced me to buy a dress the week before. We avoided anything that would make us look like we were students. She had pushed me toward a black chiffon overlay dress that hid my big hips well.

  Lastly, I let Becca do my makeup. With my hair in a cute updo, my new dress, and Becca’s artistic handiwork on my face, even I could admit that I looked nice.

  Becca whistled as I spun around for her. “Damn, you look good.”

  I looked at the black-and-white dress that Becca had on. It was sleek and looked like it was molded to her.

  “You look great yourself.” I looked down at myself. “I just wish I looked this good for something other than a high school dance.” I lifted my head. “Isn’t there a fancy dinner party going on somewhere that we can crash? I could find a rich man to be my sugar daddy, and I’d never have to work again.”

  Becca laughed. “I’m sure we could find one. But, if you didn’t find a sugar daddy and we got fired for not showing up to the dance, we’d end up homeless and hungry.”

  “Spoilsport.”

  She laughed again. “Shall we go?”

  I took a deep breath and pushed it out. “Let’s do this.”

  Becca and I arrived at the dance about a half hour before the doors opened for the majority of the students. The dance committee students who had organized the decorations and the DJ were doing last-minute checks along with Mrs. Voss, who was in charge of the committee.

  Along with Mrs. Voss, Becca, and me, Mrs. Harding and Ms. Schultz were chaperoning the dance. The three other teachers were nice, but Becca and I weren’t friends with the ladies. I was thankful Becca had signed up with me, or I would have felt like I was right back in high school when my friends were asked to dance and I’d stood against the wall, waiting for an invitation that would never come.

  A shudder of revulsion went through me. Thank God I wasn’t in high school any longer.

  “You okay?” Becca asked me just as the doors opened, and students started pouring in.

  “Fine.”

  She tilted her head.

  I smiled. “Really. I was just thinking back about my high school days and how glad I am that they’re over.”

  “Ah.” She rubbed my back. “I’m glad that’s all over with, too.”

  Probably not as much as I am.

  Things were going pretty well so far. I’d had to break up a couple of make-out sessions in the corners of the gym and separated two guys who were arguing before it turned into a fight. Other than that, everyone was behaving.

  I was walking through the crowd, back to Becca, when I literally ran into someone with my shoulder.

  The tall man in the nice suit turned around, and I saw it was Connor.

  “Hey, Eden,” he said with a grin on his face.

  “Hey,” I said back. “I didn’t know you were coming to the dance tonight.” My smile wasn’t as big as Connor’s.

  Ever since he and Becca had begun officially dating three weeks ago, I had been feeling like the third wheel. That was more on me than them. They were always great about including me. But, when they did, I couldn’t help but feel like I was in the way.

  “Does Becca know you’re here?”

  And why didn’t she tell me Connor was coming?

  “Not yet. I wanted to surprise her. But I ran into Mace first.”

  Connor stepped back, and I saw Mace face-to-face for the first time. I’d been avoiding him since I saw him walk through the door. Dressed up in a suit that appeared to have been tailored to his body, he looked like he was closer to twenty-eight than eighteen.

  He was infuriatingly, mouth-wateringly handsome.

  “Hello, Mr. Wagner.”

  “Ms. F,” he said with a head nod.

  Connor laughed. “What did Mace do to get you to call him Mr. Wagner?”

  I frowned.

  “You once said that you only called certain students by their last names.”

  “Um …” I’d forgotten about that conversation. I couldn’t very well tell him it was because I wanted to jump his cousin’s bones and was trying to distance myself from him.

  “She says I’m too smart for my own good,” Mace chimed in.

  More like a smart-ass, but I had to admit that Mace was intelligent.

  “That must be it,” I reluctantly agreed.

  Connor laughed again and slapped Mace on the back. “I’m not surprised. Mace has a full ride to Texas A&M.”

  “Football scholarship?” I asked.

  “Academic,” Connor corrected.

  “That’s amazing.” I couldn’t help but be impressed. “Congratulations,” I told Mace.

  He shrugged but smiled. I almost wondered if he was embarrassed, but he never seemed embarrassed about anything in class.

  A figure dressed in black ran up to Mace. “Let’s go dance.”

  It was Lena Kelly, and I winced when I saw the enthusiasm on her face.

  Lena reminded me so much of myself in high school and maybe even a little like me now. A senior, she was tall and a bigger girl. It broke my heart to see her asking a popular football player to dance.

  I didn’t realize I had been holding my breath until Mace said, “Sure,” and took her hand to lead her out to the dance floor.

  My shoulders relaxed as I watched him twirl her around. It was very sweet of him not to turn her down. Maybe Mace was a nice guy.

  But then I saw him pull her close and whisper in her ear, and my heart sank.

  What is he going to do to this poor girl?

  To say that Becca was happy to see Connor would be an understatement. Her face lit up when I brought him over to her. And, for a while, the three of us were having a good time together despite being chaperones at a high school dance.

  “I’m going to use the restroom,” Connor said. “I’ll be right back, ladies.”

  “Bring me back some punch,” Becca said.

  “Will do.”

  I watched Connor walk away, my eyes following him until they landed on Mace and Lena, who were surrounded by Mace’s friends. So far, she was still smiling, so I was keeping my distance.

  “All right, spill.”

  I looked over at Becca, who had her hand on her hip. “What?”

  “You’ve been watching that little corner of the room for the last hour or so. What’s going on?”

  Making sure Mace doesn’t crush Lena’s spirit.

  Seeing them together made me think of things I’d rather forget.

  But I couldn’t sa
y that to Becca. She might be my best friend, but there were some things that were just too humiliating to tell anyone. Some memories were better off left in the past.

  “Nothing.”

  “Really?” she said with a do I look stupid face.

  I chuckled because I couldn’t help it. “I swear, nothing is going on.” Yet. I turned back and looked at Mace and Lena. “How much do you know about Lena Kelly?”

  Becca stood up on her tiptoes to see what I was seeing. “Lena? Not much. She seems like a good kid. Good student. Could maybe try a little harder.” Becca shrugged. “Why?” She put her heels back on the ground.

  “Are she and Mace Wagner dating?”

  Becca raised her brow. “Why do you care about the dating habits of high school students?”

  “I don’t know,” I answered lamely. “I was just curious.”

  “You know he’s your student, right?”

  Thank God the gym was dark because I was sure I looked similar to the time I’d fallen asleep on the beach when I was fifteen. I had sunburned so badly that I couldn’t wear anything but sweats for a week because everything else was too painful.

  Despite asking about Mace and Lena because I was concerned about Lena, Becca had hit way too close to home on the Mace part. And I couldn’t deny the little tingle of jealousy that went through me at the thought of Mace dating someone. It was similar to the jealousy I’d felt about that girl the night I dropped him off at his house, if I was going to be truly honest.

  Becca smacked my arm. “Relax. I’m just kidding.”

  I laughed nervously.

  “You should have seen your face just now. You looked like you were about to shit puppies.”

  “Yeah. You’re a real riot.”

  “Why, thank you.”

  “I was being sarcastic.”

  “I know.”

  “Hey, what’s so funny?” Connor asked from behind us.

  I jumped, and Becca smiled as he handed her some punch.

  “I was just teasing Eden.”

  Connor looked at me and grinned. “About what?”

  “About nothing.” I quickly looked at Becca and narrowed my eyes.

  “Just girl stuff,” Becca told Connor.

  “Well, in that case”—he held out his hand—“may I have this dance?”

  The fast pop song ended, and a slow ballad began to play.

  Becca’s eyes lit up. “Our song! How did you know?”

  “I asked the DJ to put it on.”

  Becca set her punch down at the nearest table and put her hand in Connor’s, and he led her to the dance floor.

  I didn’t know if it was the fact that we were at a school dance or if seeing Mace and Lena together had brought up bad memories, but I suddenly felt very lonely. I hadn’t even known that Becca and Connor had a song. They’d only been dating for three weeks.

  As new couples went out to the dance floor, other dancers came off of it with the change in the song tempo.

  I walked around the perimeter to give myself something to do. I was at the dance for work after all, but I really did it to occupy my mind. Breaking up four kissing couples helped distract me for a bit.

  When I finished a full circle, I realized that I hadn’t walked past Mace or Lena.

  My blood pressure rose as my heartbeat picked up.

  I scanned the dance floor. I was relieved to see a few of Mace’s friends dancing, so I was less worried that the group of them were ganging up on Lena. But I couldn’t find Lena or Mace themselves.

  I didn’t know if I was overreacting, but I didn’t care. And, if I could save just one girl from experiencing the pain that I’d gone through in high school, it would be worth it.

  I went in search of them.

  The school was big, so there were a lot of places roaming students could end up. There was only emergency lighting in most of the school since it was the weekend. I could see my way, but I used the flashlight on my phone to help.

  I walked the halls, finding no one, saving my classroom until near the end.

  I didn’t actually think that anyone would be in my room, so imagine my shock when I opened my door to see Mace sitting in my chair with Lena on the floor between his legs.

  The moonlight and parking lot lights coming through the windows left no guesses as to what the two were doing.

  I gasped upon my discovery, causing both students to look at me. Lena looked guilty, but Mace looked almost bored.

  “Get up,” I told Lena.

  She swallowed and slowly got to her feet. As she walked toward me, her body no longer blocked Mace’s, and I couldn’t help but catch a glimpse of his dick.

  Of course, his cock was long and thick, and he smirked as he lazily tucked himself back in his pants. He didn’t seem concerned in the least that he’d been caught getting a blow job.

  “Out there,” I said to Lena, nodding toward the doorway. I turned to Mace. “You stay here.”

  Lena followed me into the hall. I pulled her away from the door, far enough so that I could whisper without Mace overhearing me but close enough so that he couldn’t leave without me seeing him.

  I looked at Lena with so many emotions running through me. “Did Mace force you to come here?”

  She looked confused. “What? No, Ms. F.”

  I took a deep breath filled with relief. I was happy he hadn’t made her leave the dance or tricked her into sneaking off for oral sex.

  But, now, I felt disappointment and sadness. Disappointment that she would do something so against the rules. And sadness because something like this would only lead to heartache. My seventeen-year-old self wanted to yell at her for messing around with a popular jock like Mace.

  He’s only going to hurt you, she screamed in my head.

  “Lena, you know you can’t … be doing what you were doing at school, right?”

  She dropped her head. “I know. I’m sorry.”

  “I know Mace is good-looking, and he’s on the football team, but sometimes, guys don’t have the best intentions.”

  I was trying to tread lightly with my words. If Lena had a crush on Mace, she wasn’t going to take kindly to anything negative I said about him.

  “I just want you to be careful. He probably made it sound exciting for you to come down here, and then, when you got here, he convinced you that he deserved … something.”

  Lena’s head whipped up, and she shook it.

  “What? Why are you shaking your head?”

  “Ms. F, you don’t know what you’re talking about. You’ve got it all wrong.”

  I sighed. She was worse off than I’d thought. There was no getting through to her when she probably fancied herself in love with Mace.

  “Just go,” I said, suddenly tired.

  She perked up. “Really?”

  “Really.”

  Just like that, she bolted, and for a moment, I second-guessed her feelings toward Mace if she was going to ditch him like that.

  I walked back to my classroom, wondering what I was going to do about him. I wasn’t going to ignore Becca’s warning about football players and punishments. Right before I walked into my room, Mace emerged, and I almost ran into him.

  He smelled amazing, and I could feel the heat radiating off of him.

  It wasn’t any wonder how Lena had found herself on her knees for this man.

  Mace didn’t attempt to move, nor did he say anything.

  I looked up into his eyes, hoping to hear some sort of remorse come out of his mouth.

  When my gaze met his, he said, “You owe me an orgasm, Ms. F,” before he stepped around me and walked away.

  The rest of the semester passed by in a blur. It was nearing the end of December with winter break just around the corner.

  Becca and Connor were going strong—to the point that he half-lived with us, which was why I was looking to get my own place.

  “What do you think?” the rental agent asked when I came back to the living room after taking a tour of the place
.

  “I like it.”

  It was a two-bedroom, craftsman-style house. The bedrooms were small, but I wanted a place for my parents to stay if they came to visit. The house was older, so there was no master bathroom. Just one full bath for the whole place, but I lived alone. That would work just fine for me.

  “When is it available to move in?”

  The place was empty, but that didn’t mean I could move in right away.

  “We still need to have everything professionally cleaned. The previous tenants just moved out a week ago. It could be available to you right after Christmas.”

  It wasn’t ideal as far as the holidays went, but if I came home early from South Dakota, I could move before spring semester started. Besides, Becca had been bugging me to come back before New Year’s, so we could celebrate together.

  “Perfect. I’ll take it.”

  The agent grinned. “Great. I’ll get the paperwork started.”

  I called Becca on my way to work. I had gotten up and left home early to look at the rental house. I wanted to tell her that I had found a place.

  She had mixed emotions about me moving out, but if she and Connor were going to continue to get serious, then the two of us living apart was going to happen eventually.

  Becca didn’t answer, but I knew she’d see that I’d called and find me at school.

  Before heading into my classroom, I quickly looked in her room, but she wasn’t there. As usual, I hesitated before sitting down behind my desk.

  Ever since I’d caught Mace and Lena in my room, where Mace had been sitting in my chair, it was the only thing I could think about when I first sat down for the day.

  Sometimes, I dreamed about that night. But, in my dreams, Lena wasn’t there. Mace would sit in the chair and stroke his length while I was the one who dropped to my knees in front of him before taking him into—

  And that was when I would wake up, hot and sweaty and a combination of turned on and ashamed. My guilt would only intensify on the nights I pleasured myself before falling back to sleep.

  I couldn’t wait until the semester was over and Mace was no longer in my class.

  The odd thing was, despite what I had caught him doing and his comment about owing him an orgasm—a comment that made me blush every time I thought about it—he’d been the perfect student since then.