Zellie Wells Trilogy

by Stacey Wallace Benefiel

  I reached over and put my hand on his as he was about to turn the key. It was a familiar sensation. The last time I’d stopped him turning a key was the day I saved his life. His eyes met mine, acknowledging that the feeling was familiar to him too. Finally, my brain clicked over to reality.

  “I’ve been thinking a lot about having sex with you and I kinda thought that today was the day,” I blurted and then rambled on, “but then I started freaking out and acting like a weirdo and my eyes are gross and I’ve never even touched your...see, I can’t even say it! Penis. Jesus! What the hell is my problem?”

  Avery shook his head, his eyes wide. “Crap, I thought you were freaking about the nap because you snore or something.”

  “I don’t snore.” I gave him a weak smile. “Well, maybe when I’m sick.”

  He cleared his throat. “So, you want to...do it?”

  “Yeah, do you?” I squeaked out.

  “Um, yes,” he nodded his head swiftly, “definitely.”

  “Okay.” I took my hand off of his. We both sat back, letting my outburst sink in.

  “I probably should uh, talk to Claire first, so maybe not today like I thought.”

  Avery reached across me and popped open the glove compartment. It was overflowing with about ten different kinds of condoms. “Looks like Claire might be a little bit psychic too.”

  My face turned seven shades of flame. “How long have those been in there?”

  He banged the glove compartment shut. “She gave me a huge brown paper bag of them after church yesterday.” He shrugged. “I suppose I do have a place to store them, y’know, in case we want to do it in the truck five hundred and forty-six times.”

  That gave me the giggles.

  “Come here,” Avery said, taking my hand and pulling me to him. I lay my head on his shoulder. “I’m freaking out too, Zel, but it’s us. We’ve been through a lot scarier things.” He squeezed my hand. “Let’s freak-out together.”

  Well, that was that.

  I raised my mouth to his neck, kissing him just below his jaw line, all it ever took to get the electricity between us to kick on.

  Up on my knees, I leaned into him, moving my lips from his neck to his mouth. A chill ran through me. If kissing Avery was this wonderful, whatever else happened between us physically was going to be exhilarating. I broke from the kiss and sat back on my heels.

  Slipping out of my jacket, I positioned myself in between him and the steering wheel, straddling him. My fingers twisted into his soft silvery-brown hair, pulling his head back and lifting his mouth to mine again.

  We stayed like that, kissing deeply, for a while; Avery’s hands becoming more fervent as they searched my body.

  He pushed my sweater off over my head and flung it onto the seat. I yanked his shirt up and off. Each time our mouths parted, we hungrily came back together. In one nimble motion he unhooked my bra and slid it down my shoulders. We’d been here before, but not much further.

  Grasping my hips, he eased me down onto his lap. I braced myself with my hands on the seat behind him, spreading my legs as he rubbed the bulge in his jeans up against me. I was all at once shocked and incredibly into it. I had never felt better in my entire life. My body was warm and humming and eager.

  Hugging me to him, Avery turned and lay me down on my back. I opened my mouth to protest, but, when I saw how flushed his cheeks were, I decided to shut the hell up.

  Propping himself up on one elbow, he wedged between me and the seat back. “I, uh, had to stop that particular action for a little bit.”

  He swept the hair out of my eyes, which I promptly closed. “Aw, Zel, it’s okay, they’re hardly red at all anymore.” I kept them closed.

  He kissed my eyelids and then moved his lips down my body, lingering on my breasts, flicking his tongue over my nipples.

  I let out a low moan. We had officially entered new and very, very good territory.

  I could feel him smiling as he kissed my stomach. Pausing there, he unbuttoned my jeans and tugged them down. I complied, kicking off my shoes, lifting my hips up, helping him. Then I froze.

  This was the other thing that freaked me out besides me touching him. Him touching me. I mean, I wanted him to, my body was screaming for it, prepared, but there was no going back from here. One pair of pink cotton bikini underwear was all that stood between me and his hands, his mouth, him.

  Avery rested back on his elbow, kissing my stomach again, the fingers of his other hand following the line of my inner thigh.

  “Everything okay? You were tensing up a little.” He lay his head down on my chest.

  I pushed him off me gently and rolled onto my side, facing him. We intertwined our legs; there wasn’t enough room for us to stretch out all the way.

  I looked into his eyes. “We’re freaking out together, right?” I whispered.

  He nodded his head and smiled, brushing my hair back. “Your eyes are back to normal, like nothing ever happened.”

  Avery lied, but I loved him for it. “Maybe I would freak out less if I went first?”

  He grinned. “It doesn’t matter to me one way or the other. I want both.”

  Keeping my eyes locked on his, I reached down, tentative, and undid his belt, then the button on his jeans, then the zipper. I slid my hand down inside his boxers. He closed his eyes and inhaled sharply.

  “Am I doing it right?” I asked after a few moments.

  He opened his eyes, unable to focus. “Right...you are...its good.”

  I guess if you make a guy talk like Yoda, you’re not completely messing up. Empowered, I hitched my knee up onto his hip, opening my legs. “Now you.”

  Not nearly as unsure as I was, Avery deftly pushed the crotch of my underwear aside.

  “Okay?” He asked, his mouth close to mine.

  I kissed him in response, trying to keep my overwhelming need to bite his lip in check. Uh oh, here came the instincts.

  He pulled from my grasp and rolled on top of me, supporting his weight on his hands to keep from smooshing me. He dipped low and kissed me again. I pawed at the latch on the glove box.

  “Are you ready?” Avery smiled.

  “Yes,” I answered, surprised to hear my voice sound so sure.

  He lowered himself down and rested on top of me. “Here, let me open that, it sticks.” He banged on the glove box door with his fist. It sprang open, condoms spilling onto the truck floor.

  The garage door whined as it rose up, the light from outside brightening the neon yellow tennis ball.

  We froze, looking at each other in shock.

  Snapping out of it, I pushed him back and sat up. “I thought your mom was in Bend all day?”

  “That’s what she told me!” His eyes darted over the cab of the truck. “You don’t have any clothes on!”

  “I thought that was the point!” I pulled my sweater out from underneath my butt and hastily put it on. He reached past me grabbing his shirt and my bra, which he tried unsuccessfully to cram into his jeans pocket, his fly still undone.

  “Rewind the door, Zel. Quick!”

  I shot my hand out awkwardly towards the door, elbowing Avery in the chin in the process.

  “Shit! That hurt.”

  “Sorry! I’m under duress here!”

  I pushed the garage door back down and held it there while he finished getting dressed and situated himself behind the steering wheel. Great for him, but I was still totally pants-less. I maintained my rewind on the door as I crawled up onto my knees.

  “Ah, man” Avery laughed, “do you know how many times I have thought of you in that exact position?”

  “Not funny.” I glared at him. “Okay. You’re going to have to put my jeans on and fast, your mom’s gonna give up in a second and just go through the front door.”

  Apparently, I looked super scary and authoritative because he immediately scrunched up my jeans and put them on over my feet. Then as I lifted each knee off the seat, he awkwardly tugged them up to my waist and buttone
d them. Not as hot as the taking off, that’s for sure.

  “Now, on the count of three, I’m going to let go of my hold on the door. Are you ready to start the truck?”

  He pushed the key in the ignition. “1,2,3...”

  I whirled around, and sat down, tucking my bare feet up under me. The door rose and Avery began to back the truck up. Hopefully his mom wouldn’t have too many questions.

  In the rearview mirror I saw two figures duck under the garage door, dark against the light from outside.

  Chapter Six

  “Zellie?” My dad knocked on the passenger side window, disappointment coloring his face. “You better have a good reason for not being in school young lady.”

  On the driver’s side, Avery’s mom was laying into him. “A million things were going through my head! I thought you were trying to kill yourself! You never park in the garage. What are you two up to?”

  “Uh,” we both said. Avery turned the truck off. We weren’t going anywhere.

  I watched as Dad’s gaze went from my face to Avery’s hip. Crap! My bra was hanging out of his pocket. Dad’s eyes grew wide, briefly flashing to my chest, and then all around the cab of the truck, not knowing where to look. He finally decided the floor was a good place, until he saw the condoms.

  He jerked the door open with one hand and me out of the truck with the other. Reflexively, Avery grabbed at me, but by that time his mom had caught on to what my dad had seen. Mrs. Adams opened Avery’s door, reached past him, and took the keys out of the ignition.

  “Hazel Grace Wells, inside now,” Dad bellowed, pushing me towards the door.

  We were marched into the house, through the kitchen and into the family room.

  “Sit.” Dad pointed to the couch. Avery and I sat down next to each other, clasping hands. FYI, my feet were fricking freezing. Probably better to get caught losing your virginity in the summertime.

  “Anyway you can rewind this?” Avery whispered.

  I shook my head. I could rewind, but on the off chance that our parents remembered what was happening beforehand, we would just be in more trouble. If it was even possible to be in more trouble than we already were.

  Let’s see, skipping school, braless shoeless daughter, condoms in the truck, said braless shoeless daughter keeping the parents at bay while God knows what was going on...wait, parents? What the hell was my dad doing here?

  “What the hel...heck are you doing here Dad?”

  He paced back and forth in front of us, raking his hands through his thinning blonde hair. “What am I doing here?” He glared at me, “It would seem I’m saving you from making a big mistake.” He stopped in front of us. “We did stop you right? It’s not...after is it?”

  “No, Dad, no mistakes were made.”

  “Oh thank God.” He cupped my face in his hands and kissed my forehead. “You two don’t know what you’re doing. Sixteen is too young and Zellie, with your...whatever it is, your power...”

  Mrs. Adams, who had been hanging back staring blankly at us came forward and put a hand on her son’s shoulder. “Avery, honey, I know you love her, but you can’t...” her eyes searched his face, “she’s going to end up killing you.”

  “Mom,” Avery groaned.

  “Mrs. Adams-”

  “Don’t Zellie, she’s right.” Dad pulled me up from the couch. Avery and I didn’t let go of each other’s hands. “I should have put my foot down. My mind’s been preoccupied with the mess with your mother, but this has clearly gone on long enough and gotten more out of hand than I had imagined it would.”

  He tightened his hold on my arm, growing angry, like he understood the depth of what had happened to me over the past year for the very first time. “This is not who I raised you to be. Damn your mother and her stupid secrets!”

  I yanked my arm away from him. “My powers are hereditary, but it looks like I take after you in the sneaking around department. Why is it you’re here again?” I turned to Mrs. Adams. “Aren’t you supposed to be in Bend?”

  Avery stood, gripping my hand securely. “Yeah, we’re not the only ones not where they’re supposed to be!”

  I winced. I’m sure he’d planned for that to be more menacing of an exclamation, but he wasn’t too good at deflecting.

  “We,” Dad huffed, “are here to make risotto Milanese.”

  “What?” Avery asked, looking confused, but ready to defend his mom’s honor.

  “Paul is teaching me to cook. He has been since I got home.”

  “Oh.” Avery’s expression softened. “I wondered what was up with your cooking. It’s way better than it used to be.”

  “Thanks.” Mrs. Adams smiled at Dad, who nodded back at us. Her smile faded. “I think we’re getting off track. Why don’t we sit and try and talk things out calmly?”

  “Fine,” Avery and I both said, sitting back down on the couch.

  Mrs. Adams sat on the loveseat across from us. Dad hesitated, but then sat down next to her, a united front.

  “Okay,” Mrs. Adams began, “let’s start with why you’re not at school.”

  Avery launched into the whole story, omitting the trip to mom’s cabin completely, but did confess to the “napping” we’d planned on doing. Dad flared his nostrils at that part, but managed to keep his cool.

  “Zellie’s eyes don’t look bloodshot to me,” Mrs. Adams questioned.

  I glanced at Avery, were they really back to normal?

  “I don’t know what happened there,” Avery said, “Um, I think it might have something to do with making ou...making the best use of our time.” Awesome deflection again, honeybear. I squeezed his hand.

  Dad glared at us. “Making the best use of your time? Is that what you were doing when we interrupted you?”

  You pretty much could have heard the idea of a pin drop. We were almost back to where we started. Maybe we weren’t in as much trouble for not being at school, but there wasn’t anything to say about the scene in the truck. We’d been on the verge of losing our virginity, and both of our parents knew it.

  Mrs. Adams stood. “All right, Paul and I are going to go call Gracie and Mike.” Dad looked at her like he in no way wanted to go call “Gracie and Mike,” but relented. “I think it’s important for all of your parents to weigh in on the situation.” They walked into the kitchen.

  “We are so busted,” I whispered. “Mom’s going to tell them that we were there earlier today.” I leaned into Avery, resting my forehead on his shoulder. “What do you think? Grounded for at least two months? I’m for sure not getting my driver’s license now.”

  He kissed my forehead and wrapped his arms around me. “Totally worth it.”

  “Yeah, I know.” I snuggled deeper into his embrace. “It was pretty great, wasn’t it?”

  “Great enough to keep me going for the next couple of lonely months.” I felt him smile into my hair.

  “Next time,” I mused, “I want a room with a bed and a lock on the door.”

  “Definitely.”

  “Definitely.”

  As nonchalant as we were being about getting caught, I knew we were in an epic amount of trouble. We’d defied our parents’ wishes and stayed together, thinking there wasn’t anything they could really do about it. We’d lied to ourselves and pretended that they didn’t understand, but Mom and Mr. Adams understood our situation exactly and when they found out what we’d been doing in the truck...I’d be lucky if I didn’t get shipped off to Portland with Aunt Hazel again. There was no chance of their keeping Avery safe from me and my dangerous visions once we got physically involved, the bond would be too strong. We’d do anything to be together.

  I took Avery by the shoulders and kissed him as hard as I could. He kissed me back, just as hard, framing my face with his hands.

  Dad cleared his throat as he and Mrs. Adams walked back into the room and resumed their places on the loveseat. Avery and I reluctantly parted, preparing for our punishment.

  “Here’s the deal.” Dad scrubbed
at his face with his hands. He looked tired. “This thing between the two of you, it can’t continue.”

  “Dad-”

  “Let me finish, Zellie, or so help me God we will leave this house and you’ll never see Avery again.”

  That shut me right up. Crap, this was gonna be way worse than two months grounding or exile in Portland.

  “I know that you think you’re in love with each other and maybe you really are. All the same, your relationship is dangerous for...so many reasons.” He exhaled. “If, when you both turn eighteen, you still think you are in love, you can get married.”

  Dad looked pointedly at Avery. “Zellie’s been taught to save herself for marriage and I didn’t think I would have to enforce that value, but apparently I do.”

  “Fine,” I said. I couldn’t believe that my dad was being all 1800’s about everything, but I guess it was his right. I had majorly disappointed him. Avery and I could wait, it would suck beyond suckitude, but I knew we could hold out. “We’re fine with that.” I looked at Avery and he nodded.

  “Oh, I’m not done by a long shot.” Dad patted Mrs. Adams on the knee. What was up with them? Surely it had to be more than just cooking?

  “For Avery’s mother’s sake, before you can get married, if you still want to in two years, you have to be able to prove that being together will not lead to Avery’s death.”

  “How? That is so not fair!” Okay, he could play the pastor card and make me wait, but he didn’t know anything about my abilities. Or, maybe he did and realized that it was going to be impossible for me to ever prove that Avery would be completely safe with me.

  Dad stared me down. “I think it’s more than fair. We’re giving you two years to find a loophole.”

  “Fine,” I said again through gritted teeth.

  “Now the last provision is the first thing your mother and I have agreed on in a long time.” He studied me, trying to determine if I understood what he was saying or if I was actively ignoring him.

  “Just get it over with, sir,” Avery said, resigned.

  “You two can’t be trusted to be left alone together. You’ve been given the benefit of the doubt in the past but that ends today.” Dad raised his eyebrow at me, reminding me that there was a time when he’d trusted me to make good choices. “As of now, you’re broken up. You can see each other at church. Zellie’s mother is going to home-school her again-”