by Sarah Tork
“Really. You’re the only one I want sitting on my lap.” He confessed smoothly, his voice dripping with desire as a flaming sheen transformed his gentle expression. “Damn Fireball, can’t you see?”
“See what?” I asked as my face rested in both his hands, gazing at him with a matching fire. I could feel it in my bones. He inched closer and closer, until he was a breath away from my lips.
“That I’m crazy about you.” He declared softly with a grin. His lips collided on top of mine, kissing me softly, sweetly, slowly. His hands trailed to the back of my head, pulling my head further into him, making the kiss more forceful.
Not that I was complaining. I grabbed his wrists pulling myself closer, trying to melt myself any way I could, even with the space in between our seats separating us making ‘this’ a little hard to do, but still accomplishable. James’s kiss turned more rapid, moving more fiercely. His tongue jerked my lips open, entering inside my mouth, making me feel things in places that were already doing miles a second.
His tongue in my mouth was about to disarm me violently, shattering me into pieces. And we’ve only just begun.
I wanted more!
James pulled back, breathing hard. He glanced over my shoulder at the packed parking lot his car was in, then back at me with a new determination. “You want to go to the back seat?”
I inhaled deep inside my nostrils and nodded.
I wanted this.
Badly!
James squeezed through the seats into the back, sitting down. I followed quickly behind. He grabbed my waist and pulled me down so that I was straddling him.
Again!
“Fireball.” James groaned against my lips as we kissed hungrily. “Baby.”
The term of endearment only fueled my desire, making every worry inside me vanish. I melted against him covering every inch of his body, pushing my breasts into his hard muscled chest, which made him groan louder.
“These babies are going to kill me.” He murmured into my lips, his hands trailing down to the bottom of my shirt, lifting it up as his fingers caressed my skin.
“James.” I murmured deliriously as his fingers massaged into my skin on their way towards my bra. His hand snuck underneath the wire and cupped my breasts, squeezing them delicately. I plunged deeper into his lips, pressing my body against his, grinding hard.
He pulled back, bewilderment in his eyes as he breathed hard. “Fireball, be careful.”
I giggled. “Why?”
“Because, if you keep doing that, I won’t last baby.” He breathed, chuckling. He lowered his hands from inside my shirt and grabbed my neck pulling me forward, back to his beautiful lips.
*~*~*
“Where were you?” Jenna hissed once the bell rang at the end of History class. My face automatically felt heated as the memories of the moment I had with James in his car resurfaced. Lunch was about to end and I reluctantly peeled myself away from James’s heated embrace, with our clothing sticking to our skin.
It was very hot in his car and it wasn’t just the Florida heat. I didn’t know how I was going to tell her what I did. She wouldn’t take it very well. But I couldn’t lie to her again, she was my best friend.
“Talking with James.” I told her, getting up with my backpack.
Her eyes bulged, still sitting. “What!”
“We went to his car.” I confessed.
Her jaw dropped, clasping her desk tightly. “Really?”
“Yeah.” I murmured timidly, a little embarrassed.
“What did you guys do?” She whispered getting up from her seat, hurling her backpack onto her shoulder. She grabbed my arm and pushed me out the door.
“Talked.” I answered.
“And?” She pressed.
“Other stuff.” I answered, barely audible.
“What exactly do you mean?” She asked in astonishment.
“Stuff.” I shrugged. I didn’t know how to explain it to her without cringing. It was fun doing it, but having to explain it wasn’t as fun.
“You didn’t do that did you?” Jenna squeezed my arm, shaking her head.
My eyes widened, facing her as she dragged me down the hallway. “No!”
Almost though….
She let out a loud breath, indicating ‘That was a close one!’
“Thank God, I don’t know how I’d deal with you if you lost your virginity in a car, it is so cliché!”
*~*~*
Later that night after a nutritious yet surprisingly delicious dinner of gluten free pasta and no salt added pasta sauce (Can I get a whoop-whoop, spaghetti for dinner!) I lay on my bed relaxing against the soft R&B jam of a local radio station.
My phone alerted me loudly, breaking the trance of the soothing music that was casted over me for the last thirty minutes.
James! I smiled, glancing at my phone overjoyed at the text he just sent. I haven’t spoken to him since our little moment in his car at lunch. Which was for the best, we needed time to cool off.
I opened his message eagerly.
Tiger: Baby, you know it’s only you…..
My smile grew as I answered him in my head. I know now…
*~*~*
The next day I woke up to my phone beeping. I reached over groggily with one eye still closed and brought my phone to my face.
James had just texted me.
This early? I thought confused, checking the time. It was barely seven in the morning.
Tiger: Baby, you awake?
I texted him back
Annabelle: Yeah, just woke up.
Tiger: Let me give you a ride to school, we can talk a little.
Talk? Why? I thought we’d hashed everything out yesterday?
Annabelle: Okay, I’ll be ready in fifteen minutes.
Tiger: Cool.
I threw my covers off and jumped out of bed, heading straight for the bathroom. I quickly fixed my hair, washed my face and applied some mascara. I rushed back inside my room, as a result slamming my door a little too hard on my way in. It slammed against the wall roughly, making a huge noise.
“Annabelle?” Mom called from my open doorway. I was in the middle of picking a shirt from my closet.
“Yeah?” I called out, grabbing a dark blue shirt that went past my hips. I threw it on my bed where my black flared jeans were resting.
“Is everything okay, why are you in such a rush?” Mom asked walking into my room, uninvited.
“Um, I’m meeting Jenna at school, we’re going to share notes for History. I forgot I made plans with her yesterday. I’m going to be a little late.” I explained. I was becoming a good liar.
“Oh, okay. Well if you’re going to be late meeting her, your father or I can give you a ride.” Mom offered, surprisingly.
Really? I stared at her confused. This was the first ride in a long while that I’d been offered by them. Until now they’ve wanted me to walk or ride my bike, getting as much exercise as possible.
“That’s okay, I’m only a little bit late and it counts as my morning exercise.” I explained as mom’s face brightened, happily.
“I am so proud of you Anna banana!” Mom rejoiced, clapping her hands excitedly. “You’re taking responsibility and all your hard work is paying off.”
“Yeah, I’m responsible now.” I told her. She needed to leave so I could get ready. James was going to be here soon. “Well, I have to change now, so was there anything else you needed?”
“Actually yes, I’ve been meaning to talk to you about logging your weight each week. I spoke on the phone with your nutritionist yesterday and she said that from now one we should just log your weight once a month.” Mom explained.
“So no more weekly weigh ins?” I asked.
“Yes no more, from now one we’ll do it the first week of every month.” Mom continued.
“So we won’t weigh me until October?” I asked.
Mom sighed sadly. “Yes, that’s right.”
“Cool, alright then.”
�
�Alright, I’ll let you get ready.” Mom walked out of my room, but quickly turned around and came back inside. “You’ll be buying lunch again today?”
“Yes.” I told her.
“Please, make good choices.” She pleaded.
“Don’t worry.” I assured her.
“I know, I know. I can trust you now.” Mom said, and then left my room.
Trust me now?
What does that mean?
She didn’t trust me before?
Shaking it off, I changed into my jeans and t-shirt. My phone beeped as I reached for my back pack.
James, he’s here!
I rushed out, running down the stairs, sliding into my black converse.
“Bye!” I yelled before slamming the door shut. I turned towards the curb and smiled. James’s SUV was running beside the curb in front of my neighbor’s house. I ran to the SUV.
“Hey!” I opened the passenger side door and got in. James had his black Ray Bans on with his signature backwards Miami Marlins Baseball cap, a red shirt and black jeans on.
He looked drool worthy and he belonged to me!
That’s right, this gorgeous man right here, he was my man, my boyfriend.
My boyfriend! I gushed inside as I smiled warmly at him. But he didn’t smile back, instead he pouted.
What’s his problem?
And why was this so familiar?
All of a sudden a rush of memories flooded in and I remembered the first time he picked me up and the little problem we had in the beginning.
“What’s your problem?” I grinned at him.
He tilted his head to the side, his lips tightening playfully. “My problem, how about you guess.”
“Let me guess then.” I pretended to think, and then leaned over the gap between our seats stopping an inch away from his face. “Your hello kiss?’
“That’s right!” James shouted playfully then leaned forward and kissed me on the lips firmly. He grabbed the sides of my face and pulled me closer. He kissed me hungrily, passionately and I didn’t even have breakfast. My stomach didn’t care that it was void of food. It was too busy controlling the wild butterflies swirling about.
James pulled back, staring deep into my eyes. “Good morning baby.”
*~*~*
We sat inside his car fifteen minutes later in the parking lot at school. He grabbed my hand, pulling it into his lap. “Baby?”
I squeezed his hand and smiled timidly. I hoped everything was okay. “Is everything okay?”
“Everything’s fine.” James said. “I just wanted to talk to you about how we should act at school.”
“What do you mean?” I gulped.
“Well,” James stalled. “We hang out with two different groups.”
“I know.” I murmured, looking away for a few seconds before meeting his beautiful green eyes again. They were so gentle.
“Maybe we should keep it like that.” James suggested all of a sudden.
My eyes widened and I felt my heart start beating faster. “What – what do you mean? You don’t want to talk to me at school?”
“No – no that’s not what I mean, we can still talk to each other, but I think that our relationship should be a quiet one.” James explained, caressing my hand with his fingers.
“Why?” I asked, blinking uncontrollably. I jerked my hand back. “Are you ashamed to be seen with me?”
“No!” James shouted, appalled. “No, baby, no!”
“Then why don’t you want to show this,” I pointed to us. “To everyone at school, shouldn’t your friends know that you have a girlfriend?”
“You gotta understand something. The guys I roll with, they’re not into having girlfriends or being tied down. If they find out I have a girlfriend, they’ll call me a pussy.” James explained.
Well I didn’t want him to get antagonized over me, but still, the situation still bothered me.
“What are we going to do then?” I asked him sadly, practically pouting.
“Don’t, don’t be sad.” James caressed the side of my face, tilting it with his fingers so that I was looking up. “It’s going to be fine.”
“How?” I whimpered.
“At school, you’ll hang out with your friends and I’ll hang out with mine. Then after school we can hang out.” James explained then leaned in and pecked me quickly on the lips. “It’ll be better like that.”
“Really?” I asked, unsure.
“Yeah, I think it’s for the best.” James said.
“What about other girls?” I asked apprehensively, remembering Donna and her hot girl crew. They were always around him.
“What about other girls?”
“Well they’ll all think you’re single.” I told him worriedly.
“I’ll turn them down if that happens.” James assured.
“Really?”
“Right away.” James said.
“What about Donna?” I gulped.
“Donna?” James repeated, slightly irritated. He lifted his hat up and fixed his hair, smoothing it back. “Fireball, I told you already, if I wanted her I could have had her a hundred times by now. I’m here with you, doesn’t that say something about who I really want.”
I had to trust him. It’s the only way if I wanted this to work. I smiled at him and nodded. “Okay.”
James’s face rushed with relief. He grabbed my face again and pulled me in for a deep long kiss. “Baby, you know how much you make me happy?” He panted after pulling back.
“How much?” I giggled.
“Well, how about I show you again.” He pulled my face back towards him, and this time didn’t let me go for a very long time.
*~*~*
“What do you mean he’s your boyfriend now?” Jenna’s jaw dropped at lunch after I told her the conversation I had with James this morning.
After making out in his car, we broke apart fifteen minutes before the final bell rang. I left his car first and he followed after going to catch up with his boys in the hallway.
The Kings of the hallway! I laughed inwardly at the thought. And even though Donna was there with her hot girl crew hanging off of every word of the Kings, it didn’t bother me like before.
I knew that he was mine and if he had wanted her, he could have already had her. He had chosen not to, because he was into me.
Surprisingly, but nevertheless it still made me happy. He chose me!
I cleared my throat before answering her. “I mean he’s my boyfriend now.”
“How?” Jenna asked, clearly horrified.
“We talked and came to an agreement.” I explained.
Jenna rolled her eyes. “And that is?”
“That we needed to keep our relationship private.” I informed her.
Jenna faced me and looked at me like I was crazy. “Private?”
“Yeah private.” I answered her, like ‘duh’.
She tucked her face into hands, groaning into them. “Anna!”
“What now?” I sighed, distressed. I was tired of having to explain my relationship to her.
“That is the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard in my life!” She snapped after dropping her hands.
“Well tough!” I snapped, throwing my salad cover off. I stabbed my fork inside, spearing multiple pieces of lettuce.
“Okay – okay calm down, don’t take your anger out on the poor lettuce, they didn’t do anything to you, unlike someone else.” Jenna said.
I swallowed the lettuce and eyed her. “Jenna, you have to get over your hatred for James, he’s going to be a part of my life.”
“Then why the fuck haven’t I officially been introduced to him yet?” Jenna snapped. “What are you scared of? It’s not like I’m going to do anything to the kid!”
She stifled a smile, turning her head. Liar!
“That smile you’re trying to hide right now just answered your question. Not only would you scare him away, he’d probably change schools too.” I told her.
“And that’s a pro
blem why?” Jenna asked, perplexed.
I slid my salad bowl to the side. “Jenna, I’m asking you as a friend, please, just don’t give me a hard time.”
Jenna didn’t say anything as she took her sandwich out of the Ziploc bag and took a bite. She eyed me as she swallowed her sandwich. “Whatever. But if he hurts you, he’s shark bait!”
Yes success!
I grinned, relieved out of my mind. “Thank you.”
“Ugh, what are best friends for.” Jenna groaned.
Now let’s see how long her compliance will last…
Jenna got busy eating the rest of her sandwich and talking with her swim team mates. I slid my salad back in front of me and finished it quickly. Surprisingly my stomach wasn’t growling for hunger pains anymore. The salad had filled me up. I gazed across the room finding James’s table. His friends and Donna’s were mixed together again. My eyes found him quickly at the end of their table, not surprisingly Donna was sitting next him, practically rubbing shoulders.
But that didn’t bother me. Somehow his words from this morning eased me. He wasn’t interested in her and the girl was obviously crazy about him.
Who wouldn’t be? At that moment James looked up meeting my eyes. I gave him a small smile and he gazed at me quickly with warmth in his eyes. The warmth in his eyes filled me with butterflies, but all too quickly he dropped his gaze and returned his focus back to the conversation at his table.
In an instant I felt empty, but quickly dissuaded it. This was how things had to be. Well for now at least.
CHAPTER 25
I hadn’t heard from Dean since that night, which was good, I didn’t have to turn him down if he asked me out again.
I had a boyfriend now, officially.
It was the first week of October now. James and I outside of school had spent a lot of time hanging out, kissing and laughing. Having a good time like I assumed every person in a new relationship would be. During school he hung out with his friends and I hung out with mine. We practically ignored each other except for the odd glance where his green eyes would secretly meet my brown ones. It was enough to send shivers down my spine. Jenna thought our relationship was weird and disrespectful, but I didn’t.
