Her stomach tightened. She didn’t want to glance back at the statue. She already looked suspicious enough with a baseball cap on walking around Winthrop a little after midnight.
The need overtook her and Sam finally snuck a look toward Willy in all his orange glory. In her humble opinion he looked great. Now if only she could find her fellow heist conspirators.
“Oh my! Watch where you’re going,” said a small shrill voice.
Something warm and fluffy cut Sam off at her shins. She tumbled over what she realized was a small yipping dog.
In an attempt to catch her footing Sam took a few more awkward steps down the sidewalk, desperately trying to get her balance back so she wouldn’t skid onto the pavement.
Sam held out her hands. She was ready for her palms to hit the sidewalk, breaking her fall while simultaneously scrapping the first layer of skin off her palms. Instead, her feet steadied, her body centered, and she stopped mid-fall.
She straightened and turned to face the little woman. Sam’s first reaction had been to run for her life. Instead, she stood still and smiled at the dog; she couldn’t meet the woman’s eyes. Right now, someone could read the trouble in her own eyes. She was suspicious enough, being out after midnight, and having the wrong color skin in the whitest suburb of San Diego County.
Just go with it. She said to herself.
“Young lady, you really must watch where you’re going,” said the woman. She waggled a finger at Sam.
Sam took a deep breath. She aimed for her best look of surprise.
“You scared me,” the woman said.
She picked up her tiny fluffy dog. It had begun to tremble and shot a terrifying look at Sam. The woman squinted over in the direction of Willy the Wildcat.
“What’s wrong with Willy?” she said.
Sam turned and looked in the direction of Willy, and squinted as well, stalling for time.
“Must be those damn kids from Grover,” the woman said under her breath.
Sam started. She didn’t know what to say. She wanted to jump and defend those damn kids, and she knew if she did, she’d be toast, but she couldn’t help herself, and she found her mouth speaking without permission from her brain.
“It looks like they were only having some harmless fun,” Sam said with an exaggerated shrug as she gritted her teeth in regret of saying anything. She should have just kept walking.
Sam looked down at her attire. She’s slipped into running shorts and an old pair of sneakers. She was wearing her favorite faded red sweatshirt. Her hair was pulled back in a ponytail under her ball cap.
She looked like a late night runner, an adult late night runner. Not some kid who would be immature enough to decorate Willy the Wildcat with streamers and a party hat.
The woman shook her head.
“They don’t teach them respect in that town. It’s such a hippie dippy place. They really let anyone live there. No wonder that nice Ethan Cooke left to coach football here. Winthrop’s a much better place to raise a family,” she said.
The comment pierced like an icicle through Sam’s stomach. If she had been a kid, a naïve, wide eyed kid she might have not noticed the subtle underlying tones of ugliness in that comment. She just would’ve written this woman off as crotchety.
Unfortunately, now she was older and understood what someone meant when they said certain things with a bitter tone. Sam took a step into the streetlight.
“I think the town of Grover is a lovely place. Sure, it’s different from Winthrop, that’s okay though. It’s not very nice being down on a place and its people,” Sam said. Her eyes widened in response to what she’d said. The woman may be cranky and elitist, but she wasn’t worth a confrontation in the street. Sam was trying to pull off a successful prank, not get in a scuffle with the local busybody.
The woman’s eyes widened as well. Sam braced herself.
The woman mumbled something about Sam being right and wishing her a safe night before scurrying off with her dog, leaving Sam speechless under the lamplight.
Sam heard a deep rumbling laugh in the distance. Otto was only a few feet behind her, parked in the darkness of an unlit field to the side of the town.
“I like it when you stick up for our town,” he said with an amused grin.
Sam hung her head in embarrassment.
“Most people don’t like to be accused of being mean. Plus, it isn’t very nice to say rude things about a place, anyway. What’s wrong about being welcoming to everyone?” she said.
Otto pulled Sam close and kissed her forehead before curling a finger under her chin to lift her mouth to his.
“Some people are scared of such welcoming places,” he said after he kissed her soundly.
Sam hoisted herself up to sit at the edge of the bed of Otto’s truck. Where she sat was an unlit area of town. In this situation, the dark felt much safer than being in the light. The stars twinkled above them.
While in grad school she’d gone to a guest lecture by a famous astronomer. He had said the stars and humans were made of the same material. It was all together in one great mass at the moment of the big bang. Humans were made of stars and the stars were made of humanity as well.
The concept had sat well with Sam. It was something she reached for whenever she felt alone or unsure what to do. She liked to believe the stars had at least something to do with it, and therefore she shouldn’t worry. It was her own type of faith, and it brought her comfort.
Had Grover always been a welcoming place for her? She had wanted to leave so badly as a teenager. Maybe she’d made it seem unwelcoming. She’d felt it had been holding her back. It held on while the future tugged her forward. As a teenager, she’d decided Grover and all the people living there blocked her off from everything happening in the big beautiful world.
Now, she’d been out in the world of intellect and culture for a decade. Now nothing satisfied her more, nothing felt more right deep down in her bones than sitting on the bed of a truck with a devastatingly sexy man watching the stars twinkle. At the moment she wasn’t really missing what she’d left back in the outside world.
She laughed a low laugh. It was funny the way things worked.
Sitting next to Otto on the bed of the truck, she looked around for signs of their friends.
“Where did everyone go?” she said. She swung her legs as she talked.
Otto shrugged. He leaned over closer to Sam. She leaned into his shoulder. She mused at the fact her head fit perfectly into the curve under his clavicle and shoulder bone.
“Think they went in the other direction down the hill. Where they parked their car,” he said.
“Do you think we should go help them?” Sam said, not moving her head from its resting place.
“They’ll call if they need us,” he said.
He kissed her temple, kissed the apple of her cheek. She lifted her mouth to his, letting the heat from his mouth seep into her body. Otto placed a pair of strong hands at her hips and pulled her across him. Sam relaxed into his body as she straddled him, letting her hands caress his back and run over his shoulders. She rubbed her hands over his chest. Her fingers lazily contemplated the buttons on his shirt.
She paused.
“What are we doing? I’m your secretary. You’re my boss. You’re a high school principal. We are in your high school’s rival town, and if you’re thinking what I’m thinking this is only going to end in trouble,” she said.
Otto rested on his elbows. He looked into her eyes.
“Sam, it’s you and me. That’s it,” he said.
In the distance, a car started, and drove away.
“Think we’re alone,” Otto said, his voice raspy.
Sam nodded.
She slowly began to undo the buttons of his shirt.
Otto slid a hand down the front of Sam’s running shorts, his hand meeting her where she was warm and wanting. She gasped and bit her lip. His eyes lit up and his hand began to move. She began to undo his buttons. The shir
t came free. Sam shrugged Otto from it, her hands running down his bare shoulders. He flipped her and laid her down on the soft flannel shirt, and pulled her sweatshirt off.
Her skin was hot to the touch, and he reveled in the way she enjoyed every moment. Her breasts rose to meet him. He peeled off her thin T-shirt. Let his hands play along the lace of her bra before gently holding her while he released it.
“It’s a new weakness. Lacy lingerie,” she murmured.
Otto grinned.
“I’m interested in discovering more weaknesses,” he said.
His mouth covered one of Sam’s breasts. He coaxed the other one with the pad of his thumb. Sam’s jagged breath cut through the night air.
Otto’s hand wandered lower. He raised his body to admire Sam. Sam looked him straight in the eye, and she let out a small gasp when she felt something crackle like a warm fire between them.
Otto looked down at the filmy scrap of lace that lay between him and being inside Sam. He grinned. He ran a finger down the edge of the scalloped trim.
“I like it. I just don’t want it on you right now,” he said.
Sam pretended to weigh the matter.
“Fair enough,” she said.
He slipped the lace off her body. She reached for his belt, and was able to get it undone. Otto had other plans. He moved his face to where the lace had been.
“Let me enjoy you, and then we can get to us,” he said. There was something primal in his voice. He began to explore.
Sam obeyed. She looked up to the stars and felt the universe wash over her.
Otto moved his mouth against her. She was brought back into her body as she let out a pleasurable breath. He scooped his hands under her and firmly held onto her hips, anchoring her to the bed of the truck. Sam reveled in the pressure of his strong hands as his mouth delved deeper into her. She bucked in spite of herself. Her movement only heightened her ache and yearning as Otto kept a firm hold, determined to finish her.
Sam looked to the stars once more. Her entire body released toward Otto in one pulse. A small moan left her mouth. Her body shuddered. Everything went quiet, and Sam’s body was at peace. Still floating in a fuzzy cloud, Sam looked up to see Otto grinning.
“Don’t look so smug,” she said between breaths.
Otto shook his head.
“I don’t feel smug. That was work,” he said.
Sam sat up and pushed Otto’s bare chest. Otto caught her wrists. He kissed her soundly. Sam broke the kiss, ready to shove him again. He put his mouth to her ear.
“You don’t get it. Who needs the stars when I can watch you,” he said.
Sam stopped. Her body had recovered. Rejuvenated, it demanded more. It rejected her ego, her sense of pride.
“Oh fuck,” she said shuddering in delicious defeat.
“Exactly,” Otto said.
He solaced her with another long kiss as she undid his pants.
He was hard and hot to the touch. Sam ran her fingers along him. Otto sucked in a breath and watched her hand. Straddled over him, she moved her body up his, right to where he was hard. She gave him a quick, wicked grin, and placed her fingers inside her, temporarily sating her body. It had begun to ache again.
“Sam,” said Otto. His voice was sweet yet hot. Sam felt his eyes on her, yet she couldn’t bring herself to look at him again. If she did she’d come right there on the spot. She wanted the feeling of longing to stay until he was inside of her.
She let out a gasp, pulled her fingers away from her heat and stroked him again. The pad of her thumb made circles over him.
Otto’s breath caught. He watched her make a final circle. He held onto her hips and moved her up to him. He arched his back. Slowly, she covered him, each of them savoring every inch of him going inside her.
Her torso reacted to the sweet shock jutting with pleasure when he was completely inside her. They moved together. Each thrust filled Sam with sweetness and longing. Otto still felt new inside her, yet there was something steady about him. Whatever this was, it centered her, and it made him different than anyone she’d ever been with before.
It was with this realization that Sam’s body surrendered. Her back arched, and she burst. She bit into Otto’s shoulder to not make too much noise into the night. Otto held her. His body moved forward a few more times before he released into Sam. A low rumble escaped from his chest. After, he said nothing. He only continued to hold her as they both caught their breaths in the cold night air.
* * *
As Sam was having her mind blown in the back of Otto’s truck, Holly stepped out of the backseat of Layla’s car. In the panic of possibly being discovered, Holly, Randy, Gus, and Layla had piled into Layla’s car. Layla had driven them away from the bronze mascot. Not wanting to leave town without Sam and Otto, Randy had given Layla directions to drive them to a field behind Winthrop High School’s football stadium. Holly, Layla, Randy, and Gus walked down a dark dirt path with only Layla’s sure footsteps, and cell phone light for guidance.
“Where are we going?” Holly said.
“Oh, I just want to see where this path leads us. You know, I think it’d be good if we all walked around a bit before we go find Sam and Otto. You know, give ourselves a chance to shake off what just happened,” said Layla.
“Sure, that’s fine, but where are we going?” said Holly as the four friends passed Winthrop’s massive football stadium.
“God, could you imagine playing in that?” said Gus, pointing at the mass of aluminum.
“It makes for quite a game,” said Randy. He shook his head half in disgust, half in awe.
“They practice in it every afternoon, and they have their practice fields for morning workouts,” Randy said.
They walked in single file to stay out of the light of the stadium and away from the dimmer lights that lined the practice fields. Layla kept her sights on the trailer by the fence, marking the end of the high school grounds.
“Layla, it looks like someone lives here,” said Holly. There was an edge in her voice as she realized where Layla was leading them.
“We’ll be quiet, and don’t worry, there aren’t any lights on,” said Layla in a hushed tone.
They came to the mobile home. Layla’s assurance didn’t keep everyone from ducking under the trailer window as they moved.
From around the corner, the low but deep rumble of an animal broke through the night. It vibrated in Layla’s heart.
She stuck her head around the corner and saw a wire cage, silvery under the moonlight.
Inside the cage stalked a large cat with a spotted coat. Its eyes glowed in the darkness. It focused on Layla. She let out a slow breath and forced her body to stay calm.
She waved off Holly, Randy, and Gus.
“I’ve got this,” she said out of the side of her mouth with the firmness she used with her students when she wanted them to do exactly what she wanted right at that moment. It worked. Her friends remained still.
She wished Sam’s baby sister was here. Kit was away at veterinary school, and like Layla, was an animal fanatic. Kit would completely understand what Layla was about to do. Kit would encourage Layla’s actions.
Slowly, Layla stepped toward the cage. Not making eye contact with the animal, she murmured soothing things to it. Her eyes searched for the latch keeping the cat trapped.
A shiny lock held the cage shut. Layla took a deep breath. She pulled out the metal cutter Sam had borrowed from Phil the other day. Sam had used them to hang some prints throughout the house. Layla had grabbed them on the way out the door.
“Layla, what are you doing? Is that a wire cutter? Oh jeez, where'd you get that?” said Holly in a hiss.
“Borrowed it from Phil!” Layla said in a loud whisper back.
Before anyone could say anything else, Layla sped over to the cage and swiftly snipped the wires, giving the cat its rightful freedom.
Layla jumped away from the cage. Everyone, even the cat, looked surprised at what she’d done. T
he animal carefully considered Layla before hopping over the cut wire and into the night. It dashed toward the chaparral lining the high school campus.
“You know, if it had any good sense it’d run toward Grover. It’s the only community around here actually bordering some wilderness,” said Gus.
Everyone nodded in agreement. Randy quietly laughed about something from under the hood of his sweatshirt.
“What’s so funny?” said Layla.
“You just let a wild animal loose on Winthrop High’s grounds. You’re something else, you know that, Lay?” he said, looking at her with shining eyes.
Something burned inside Layla. She didn’t appreciate being perceived as “something else.” Nor did she appreciate Randy’s casual use of a nickname for her. She pointed the wire cutters in his direction.
“Randy, what’s wrong with you? Also it’s not wild! It was someone’s pet. We have to find it,” she said in a demanding whisper.
Randy held up both his hands in surrender. He gave her a disarming grin. This annoyed Layla even more. She opened her mouth to whisper loudly at him further. Behind them a light switched on in the trailer.
“Who’s there?” said a voice. Whoever was asking, his raspy voice let them know he’d just risen from a deep sleep.
“Run,” said Randy. The group took off running. They leaped and galloped toward the car. They knew if the trailer’s inhabitant saw their faces it would be the end.
* * *
Otto lazily wound one of Sam’s curls around his finger as he lay next to her in the bed of the truck. They were both foggy with satisfaction and giggly with the knowledge of what they’d just done.
“God, who do we think we are? We just did it outside in our rival town, and well, it was quite nice. I’m intrigued to see what happens when you have me in a proper bed,” Sam said.
Otto ran a finger down her bare side.
“I can’t wait. Also, it’s our rival town now?” he said, calling her slip.
Be My Friday Night Page 10
