by Roxie Spears
“Are you okay?” he asked her, massaging the back of her head with his fingers.
“Funny how you can be the gentlest man on the planet, yet be fucking me senseless,” Maggy remarked before pulling him in for a kiss. “Now, let’s pick up where we left off.”
“Don’t you need some ice?”
She didn’t answer him. At that point he was on top of her. It took him a second or two to recover from that momentary blunder, and the next thing he knew he was fucking her again. This time he had placed a pillow under her head; her legs were raised up in the air while he held her ankles, driving himself into her like a wild animal. Maggy’s eyes kept rolling back, and he found that to be a particularly good look on her.
She gave him free reign. At one point Colt flipped her on her stomach and took her from behind. She screamed his name at the top of her lungs as he held all of her hair in one hand and pounded her. They exploded together. Colt could feel she was getting closer, which was a relief because he couldn’t quite help himself, either.
Maggy shrieked, her tired and desperate moans driving Colt off the edge. His grip on her hair weakened as he collapsed on her sweaty back; his body spasmed as he unloaded with a force. Colt’s whole world was spinning. Maggy had a beautiful long back, one that was now glistening with dew. She was breathing into the pillow, her body squirming still. Colt pinned her in place, eventually climbing out of her, remaining on his knees and watching her. Her arms were stretched up over her head, her face buried in the pillow, still.
“What was that?” she said, her voice muffled.
Colt chuckled. “What was what?”
“That. What was that?” She rolled over and stared up at him. “No one has ever fucked me this good.” She paused, looking around her.
“Scootch,” he said, laying down next to Maggy and wrapping one arm around her. They were naked still, enjoying each other’s company, not saying a word. Colt was comfortable. The transition between full-on fucking and silent contemplation was a smooth one. “It’s crazy how much chemistry we have, don’t you think so?” he asked after a long stretch of silence.
“I was just thinking the same thing,” Maggy replied, playing with her hair. “I have no idea where that came from.”
“When you saw me that first time, would you have guessed-”
“No, no,” Maggy shook her head rather fiercely. “Not in a million years. If anything I tend to maintain professional boundaries between parents, and the second I realized I was attracted to you -I’m not gonna lie- I was gonna run for the hills.”
“Understandable,” Colt smiled, still playing with Maggy’s hair. He would’ve expected this to feel strange, almost uncomfortable, but he let himself settle into it, and for the first time, he felt like he could be with a woman without feeling guilty. He thought about how much chemistry they had, and how much of an idiot he would be to let this go. “Well, what made you change your mind?”
“That day when I ran into you at Target,” she smiled, or he could sense her smiling. “You seemed so flustered, and then you started talking about mattresses and I-”
Colt laughed. “I made a fool of myself, didn’t I?”
“No, not at all. You were just humble… and different. I could tell that you cared about your niece, that you would do anything for her.”
“And for some reason that turned you on?” Colt chuckled.
“I also realized that you were crude,” Maggy rolled her eyes. “But I liked your crude humor, and the fact that you laughed at such strange things.”
“Why do I feel like you keep bombarding me with backhanded compliments?”
The couple laughed. Even though he was quite aware they had sexual chemistry, Colt didn’t know they were on such similar wavelengths. They just seemed to click that day, and whatever it was that he was feeling, it wasn’t scaring him anymore.
“I think I better get going,” he said, attempting to roll off the couch. Immediately Maggy stopped him, and started kissing him all over. “Oh, no, you can’t do this to me right now,” he shivered. Maggy just had her way of turning him on, of making him feel like the sexiest man she’d ever laid eyes on.
“Fine,” she breathed, getting up, herself. “I know you have responsibilities.”
“It’s not like you have none,” he replied with a smirk. “You probably have a million assignments to go through before tomorrow.”
“That is true,” she said with a raised brow.
“But I had an amazing time today.” Slowly Colt started dressing himself, feeling a bit guilty throughout. He wished he could stay for longer, in fact he wished he could spend the night. But duty called, and he was okay with that.
Chapter 10
The next day, Colt felt sore. Not a great sign, since today was training day. He stretched his arms way over his head, struggling to get out of bed. He rolled over, letting the memories from last night wash over him. He smiled. He got up wanting to text Maggy, to hear her voice, but he refrained. If anything he didn’t want to scare her off. He wondered if his feelings were real, or he was just trying to fill some type of void. It was only the next morning did he begin to question everything, mainly because he had sobered up.
Slowly, Colt got up. He wondered if Jasmin was ready for practice this morning, or if she would give him a hard time, just like every weekend. His feet thumped down the steps as he stepped out onto the porch. Jasmin was standing there, stretching.
“Morning,” he said, squinting through the sun.
“Morning, you ready?”
“Not really,” Colt shook his head in disbelief. “Can’t believe I don’t have to drag you out of bed to do this.”
“Oh, how the tables have turned,” Jasmin replied, doing a couple of jumping jacks. She actually had a smile on her face on a Saturday morning, what a strange sight, Colt thought. He was barefoot still, his whole body aching from last night. If anything, he didn’t feel like practicing today. “Come on, let’s practice that move you taught me last week?”
“Alright, but don’t you wanna eat breakfast first?”
“I already did. I’m fully energized,” she told him.
“I’m impressed,” he started walking towards her. “Hey Jazz, I’m proud of you.”
Her face broke into a smile, like she had been waiting forever to hear those words. Just like that, he had brought himself closer to her. Perhaps it was that easy, and perhaps Maggy was right. “You know,” she started again, slumping down on the grass. “I kind of wanted to talk to you about something.”
That’s it, she’s opening up. Colt felt giddy. He slumped down next to her, staring at her intensely, eager to put his newly-learned parenting techniques to work.
“I’ve been doing better lately, you know, in school and stuff.” She paused for a moment, considering. “I got an A on my last social studies paper.”
Colt’s eyes lit up. It felt different coming from her. She was smiling for the first time in a while, like she was proud of herself. “That’s, that’s amazing,” he said, trying to hold back the tears. Colt wasn’t a crier, but he was slowly turning into one. Parenting, he thought, did that to you. It made you emotional, eager to hear all the good news.
“And you know,” Jasmin added, averting her gaze to the gravel. She seemed shyer now, plucking some grass out from the roots, choking on her own words. Colt didn’t feel so good anymore, in fact he felt worried. Jasmin was blushing now, her words faltering around the edge of her mouth, struggling to take flight.
“What, what do you want to tell me?” he finally gathered the strength to ask her.
“There’s this guy. We’ve been hanging out lately.”
Colt’s face changed. He could feel himself deflating; try hard as he must, he couldn’t mask his disappointment. “And who is this guy?”
“His name is Kyle,” Jasmin said, trying to suppress a smile. She seemed more hesitant than ever, but determined to carry on. “He goes to school with me, he’s new.”
“Well, how
did you meet him?” Colt paused, realizing how stupid his questions were. “So are you seeing this guy?”
“I guess so,” Jasmin nodded, pursing her lips. “We met a while ago, he asked me out…”
“Alright you know what, stop,” Colt shook his head profusely. “I don’t want to hear this.”
“Well, why not?” Jasmin asked, her eyebrows furrowed. Colt was having a hard time articulating his thoughts. For some reason he couldn’t stand to hear about Jasmin’s first romantic endeavors. She swallowed and quieted down, coming to terms with his discomfort. The two sat in silence for what felt like an eternity, their eyes darting back and forth. They weren’t sure where to go from here. “Why are you going this?” Jasmin asked him accusingly.
“What do you mean?” Colt shrugged insecurely. “I don’t wanna hear about this new boyfriend of yours. Jazz, you’re too young to have a boyfriend!”
“You know what, we don’t have to talk about this.”
“No, no, please sit down,” Colt said, stopping her. “Please, just talk to me.”
Jasmin succumbed, slumping back down on the soft grass. “I just don’t get it, you know? First you want me to talk to you, and now you don’t wanna hear the things I have to say. What am I supposed to do now? Walk away from you like I always do?”
“No, no,” Colt shook his head again. “Alright… why don’t you tell me more about him?”
Jasmin raised her piercing gray eyes to meet his. He realized she had dark circles around them, accentuating her lack of sleep. “Like I said, we met a while ago. He’s really sweet, and he likes me… a lot.”
Colt shifted uncomfortably, rocking left to right, letting out low intermittent grunts.
“He’s new to Victoria. He’s originally from Boston, erm, I’m not sure what else to say.” She shrugged and smiled rather sweetly. Colt tutted his tongue and mirrored her shrugging, closing himself off with a pair of folded arms.
“Is that the reason why you’ve been doing so well in school?” he asked rather bitterly.
“I mean, he has been pretty supportive. Having him around has helped me in so many ways, I can’t even begin to tell you.”
“But Jazz, you don’t need a guy to get better in school. You know that, right?”
“Of course I know that. I’m just saying-”
“And besides, guys at this age only care about one thing…”
“Don’t say it,” she leaped to her feet, her hands balled up into fists. She was clenching her jaw now, her face red with a lot of pent up fury. “You don’t even know him. I know him.”
“Jazz, I was sixteen once. I know what Kyle is like.”
“No you don’t!” Jasmin yelled, her nostrils flared. “You think you know everything! You think Kyle is just with me because he wants sex, don’t you? Don’t you?”
Colt felt his skin crawl. He was far from ready to be having this conversation with Jasmin, but it was already too late. She was eyeing him furiously, almost like she wanted to swallow him whole. Something caught his attention. Jasmin’s fingernails had grown significantly, coming to resemble claws. Her knuckles were hairy and big. Her jaw had grown slightly more square and the veins in her neck were popping. Colt had to admit, he was intimidated by her. Jasmin had never shifted like this before, a sign that she was growing up and adapting.
“That’s because he does!” he yelled, rising to his feet.
“Why can’t you just let me go, huh? Why can’t you just let me be? It’s not like you care about me! It’s not like it’s your job to take care of me!” Jasmin leaped into the air, her body blocking the sunlight. Colt looked up, and before he knew it she was on top of him. She had crushed him almost, raising her silhouetted claw into the air, threatening to slam it into him. She looked terrifying, like nothing Colt had ever seen.
“It’s not your fault.”
Jasmin kept her claw raised in the air, but she didn’t do anything. She was breathing rapidly, her face growing desperate, like she didn’t know what to do.
“You blame yourself as much as I blame myself, and you hate myself as much as I hate myself. But there was nothing either of us could’ve done.”
Jasmin retreated, falling to her back. The hair on her knuckles disappeared and she shifted back to her human form. She seemed vulnerable all of a sudden, shrinking away, retreating to her own little cocoon. Colt sat next to her, facing the sun.
“I know you miss her,” he said, speaking into the void that was the sky. The clouds were rolling overhead, like it was about to rain.
Jasmin crawled on all fours, gazing at her uncle with tears in her eyes. He spread his arms out wide, accommodating her, running his hands through her hair. With her head on his shoulder, Jasmin cried loudly, her body shaking violently, relentlessly. She was full of pain, and it was all pouring out, drowning him.
“I do, I miss her so much.” Her cries were muffled as she buried her face in Colt’s chest. He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close to him. If anything, he felt relieved. Jasmin was finally opening up to him, and it was overwhelming in the best way. He rocked back and forth, wiping her tears away. He could sing her a lullaby if he could, anything to make her feel better. She meant the world to him, and he hoped that she knew that.
“I miss her, too,” he whispered, his voice quivering. He was trying not to get too emotional thinking about Leah, but he couldn’t help it. For the longest time, he felt guilty for what had happened to her. He would replay that day in his head, over and over again, wondering if there was anything he could’ve done to save her. Maybe he shouldn’t have left her home that day. Maybe he should’ve stayed home, instead. Perhaps he should have nudged her to get a job, so that she didn’t have to be home that day. A million possibilities raced through his head, tugging at his sanity. But recently, he emerged from the fog. He came to the morbid, yet comforting realization that nothing could change the past, but it took him years.
“It’s not our fault, isn’t it?” Jasmin said, staring up at Colt.
“Shh, it’s not. It’s not anyone’s fault that this happened,” he replied, his voice soft and gentle. “Don’t you worry, Jazz. It’s all going to be okay.”
The pair didn’t practice that day. Colt had seen a new side of Jasmin, one that baffled him, one that was utterly sad and sensitive.
“You did it today,” he said, a smile creeping up on his face. “You shifted.”
“This is gonna hurt in the morning,” she said, sniffling. Colt laughed, staring up at the sky, which had now become saturated, ready to rain.
It wasn’t long before it started pouring. Colt closed his eyes, feeling his body get drenched almost immediately, holding Jasmin even tighter. The odd thing was that they didn’t move. They just sat there with their eyes closed, thinking about nothing and everything at the same time. Jasmin’s sobbing had ceased, but she still seemed awfully contemplative and awfully sad.
“Hey, you wanna maybe go inside?” she yelled after a long pause.
Colt chuckled and scooped her up in his arms. She kicked at the air, finally resting her head on his shoulder, surrendering to that feeling, the feeling of being weak. She couldn’t put up a fight anymore. For the longest time, teen angst had taken her, but she was sick and tired of it. The pair just wanted to call it a truce, to sleep soundly at night. Colt sighed in relief, stumbling into the house, planting a kiss on his niece’s forehead. Maggy’s words echoed in his head; finally he felt like he was there.
Chapter 11
“I’ll see ya later, Jazz,” Colt said, pulling over in front of the school.
“We’re way too early,” Jasmin said, checking the time.
“Give me a break, the last time I’ve driven you to school was like-”
“Ten years ago?” Jasmin’s lips curved to a smile. They laughed and she stepped out of the car. “I’ll see you later, okay?” she said before jogging towards the stairs. She had been all giddy since yesterday. A heavy weight had been lifted off her shoulders; she felt lighter
now, more at ease than ever before. Perhaps talking really did help.
As she crept down the hallway, she saw Kyle sitting on the floor, by the lockers. “Morning,” she said squinting. “You’re here early.”
“Well, so are you,” he said, scratching his head.
“My uncle drove me to school today,” she slumped down next to him. “What’s up?”
Kyle looked left and right before leaning in and kissing her. Jasmin was a bit startled, the good girl in her freaking out. She was still in a state of denial, floating somewhere between guilt and utter euphoria. “Listen, um,” Kyle said softly. “I don’t really feel like going to class today… you wanna?”
Jasmin blinked at him. “What?”
“Wanna skip class?”
She froze and looked up. “Oh, I don’t know, I’ve never-”
“Come on, we can go to that diner you really like,” he inched in closer. This time, Jasmin didn’t hesitate. She leaned in and kissed him, feeling the adrenaline rush through her veins. Everything about this felt wrong, but she felt the pressure to do as Kyle said. Perhaps it was his charming ways or something greater than that. It was almost like she trusted him, and that troubled her. Colt’s voice wriggled into her ears, telling her to back out, but she wouldn’t listen. She was young, after all, could she not just blame her reckless ways on the conventions of teen rebellion?
“Alright, let’s do it,” she said, rising to her feet. Kyle smiled in a way that she could only describe as pure, taking her hand and leading the way to the exit. Jasmin was ecstatic, just like every time she was with Kyle. Just this one time, she thought to herself, feeling her lungs inflate with the crisp morning air.
Her eyes darted back and forth frantically in search of Colt’s car. “I really don’t want my uncle to see me; he would kill me.”
“Woah, watch out!” Kyle’s voice rang in her ears. Just as she was about to cross, a van pulled up in front of her. Jasmin breathed a sigh of relief, turning around, wrapping her arms loosely around Kyle’s neck.
