She jumped up. “Let me just get my bag…”
We were pretty silent in the car. I was dreading the drama that I was sure was about to unfold. Who knew what she was thinking.
Finally, she spoke up. “Wait, I thought we were going to your place?”
“Nope. I’m taking you back home.”
She was quiet for a short time. “Is something wrong, Dusty?”
I took a deep breath. “Yes. Something’s been wrong for a while. I don’t think our relationship is working anymore. I think it’s time we called it quits.”
I waited for the blowup, but there was silence. No tears, no yelling, no hitting … nothing.
Finally she spoke. She sounded calm. “So, you’re breaking up with me?”
I was about to say something about taking a break, but I bit my tongue. I didn’t want to take a break; I wanted to end it. Sugarcoating it wouldn’t help me in the long run. “Yeah, I want to break up.”
She took a while to answer. “Well, we have a lot of the same friends, Dusty. I’m hoping that you and I can remain friendly with each other.”
That was it? “Yeah, sure. There’s no hard feelings. Things just didn’t work out for us.”
I was relieved at her reaction but also perversely upset that she didn’t feel at least a little bit sad. She probably already had her eye on somebody else. Life was so unpredictable sometimes.
Chapter 11
Jane
Seeing Dusty at bowling had made it painfully obvious that I still had a crush on him. He stirred up feelings that Nate didn’t. It confused the hell out of me, because I really liked Nate. I wanted him to be my boyfriend and things were going really well between us.
I was still confused a few days later when I called Nate as promised. It was Saturday and I had promised to go out with him again. This was the night that I had vowed to myself that I would confront my mother. My stomach was twisted in knots just imagining the scene. I was a wreck by the time I called Nate.
He sounded so upbeat. “My friend, Steve, is having a party tonight. We’re all heading over at about eight o’clock. Why don’t you come on over here early so I can see you before we go out?”
I wanted to see Nate so badly, but the last thing I wanted to do was go to some party, especially if Dusty and his girlfriend were going to be there too. And if I came home after drinking, my mother would flip her shit. She would definitely be on the look out for any excuse to freak after I told her I was going out on a ‘date’.
“Nate, I really want to see you tonight, but I just don’t feel like going to a party. I think I’ll have to pass on that.” Misery pressed into me at the thought of spending the night at home by myself.
It took a moment for him to answer. “Do you want to just stay in and watch a movie at my place? We’ll have the place to ourselves.”
My heart skipped a beat. “Yeah, I’d like that. But I don’t want you to miss your party.”
“I’ve been to Steve’s parties a bunch of times. I’d rather spend time with you instead.”
I agreed to go over and after we talked for a few more minutes, we got off the phone. I collapsed backwards onto my bed, amazed at how good I felt. Nate was giving up fun plans to spend time with me. Me! Jane Brown.
My good mood was short-lived; however, when I remembered the obstacle ahead. My mother. I would have to tell her that once again I was going out. Why was it such a big deal that her adult daughter wanted to go out on a Saturday night? On some instinctual level I knew that my mother would not like the idea, but I had no idea how far that dislike would actually go.
I took time getting ready. I chose an outfit that my mother couldn’t possibly criticize but that looked flattering. My hair and makeup were perfect. When it was time to leave, I grabbed my handbag and headed downstairs in search of my mom.
I found her settled in front of the TV for the night. “Mom, I’m going out.”
Her head swung around and her face registered shock. “What? It’s 8:30! It’s ridiculous to be going out now. I don’t think so, Jane.”
I stood my ground. “Mother, I’m not a 13 year old. I’m going out on a date and I’ll be home by midnight.”
My mother’s voice screeched in panic, “A date? What are you talking about? You’re not going anywhere.”
I kept my voice calm even though my body was pumping with adrenaline. “A guy I met asked me out on a date. We’re going to watch a movie. There’s nothing wrong with me going out.”
My mother’s face paled. Her hands were shaking. “Jane! Look at what you’re wearing. You can’t go out like that. Where is your father?”
She looked around the room as if searching for my Dad, like he’d magically appear.
I grimaced as I witnessed my mother’s meltdown. It was a sad state of affairs when my rebellious teenage phase happened about five years too late. But, now that it was happening, I couldn’t back down.
“Mom, I am going out. I’ll be back before midnight.” I headed for the front door.
I heard my mother yelling. She sounded like a maniac. “Jane! Jane! Don’t you walk out that door. Jane!”
By the time I slid behind the steering wheel, my hands were shaking so badly I could barely jam the key in the ignition. I turned the key, praying the car wouldn’t fail me now. I half expected to see my mother running out the door to try to physically stop me. By now, my father would have heard her screaming rants and would have come out to investigate. Maybe he would come after me. In a near panic, I backed out of the driveway and took off down the road.
When I arrived at Nate’s house, I was still trembling. Luckily, everyone had already left for the party, so it was just the two of us. We picked out a movie to stream onto the TV and then settled in on the couch.
Thoughts of the scene with my mother kept replaying in my head. I couldn’t concentrate on the movie. I needed to relax. I leaned back and rested my head against Nate’s shoulders and closed my eyes. I focused on the feel of him next to me: the feel of his hand absently rubbing my arm, the heat of his leg up against mine, and the rise and fall of his chest as I lay against him. I could smell the subtle scent of his cologne and I was painfully aware of my hand resting on his thigh, so close to his cock.
I was getting horny. I had the thought in the back of my mind that tonight’s date might lead to sex and, in an emotionally detached sort of way, I was ready for it. But being with Nate now, I realized that I desperately wanted to be with him; I needed to feel a deeper connection to him. And I wasn’t going to sit back and wait for him to make his move.
Nate nudged me. “Jane, are you even watching the movie?”
“No.”
Nate laughed. “Do you want to watch something else?”
I turned around so that I was facing him. “No.”
“Then what do you want to do?”
Instead of answering, I decided to show him what I wanted. I climbed onto his lap, straddling him, so that the heat of our sex was only separated by the thin layer of our clothes. I pressed my body against him as I captured his mouth in a slow and sensual kiss. I wanted to make sure he had no power to resist.
It seemed to be working. He didn’t resist when I broke our kiss for a moment to tug his shirt off over his head. Nate had a great body and I wanted to see every last inch of it. I kissed him again as his arms snaked around me and pressed my ass, pinning me close against his cock.
Again we broke our kiss as Nate lifted my shirt off. He unsnapped my bra and I wiggled out of it.
He looked almost drugged as he stared at my chest. “Oh God, Jane.” He admired me for a second before his hands and mouth were all over my breasts. He slid down the couch, taking me with him, so that I was lying on top of him.
“What if someone comes in?” I pulled away and struggled to sit up.
Nate pulled me back down against him. “No one will be home for hours.”
I shuddered as I imagined having sex with Nate on the couch and Dusty walking in on us. “Nate…�
��
He stopped what he was doing. “C’mon. Let’s go upstairs.”
I smiled as I hopped off him. “Thanks.” I gathered up my discarded clothes and we raced upstairs.
Nate tugged at my hand, pulling me into his bedroom. I sat on Nate’s bed as he rummaged through a dresser drawer. “So this is your bedroom. It looks really –”
Nate walked over to his bed with a condom package in his hand. “Shhh. You can analyze my bedroom later.”
He was already on top of me. The next hour or so was a blur of sexy activity. It had felt damn good, but I never did have an orgasm despite Nate’s considerable skill and attention. I think I was so focused on impressing him and making sure he was feeling amazingly good that I didn’t allow myself to fully relax and enjoy the moment.
I smiled to myself as I lay snuggled next to Nate. I did feel closer to him and I certainly had accomplished my mission. I had snagged Nate. There was no doubt that he had enjoyed the sex. I couldn’t believe how lucky I was to have this insanely hot guy who wanted to be with me.
Nate’s finger traced a pattern against my arm. “Give me some time and I’ll be ready for a repeat performance.”
I looked at his alarm clock. “I can’t. I gotta go soon.”
“I wish you’d stay here tonight.”
I kissed his shoulder softly to take the sting out of my words. “I wish I could stay here, too. But, I can’t.”
Nate was silent for a moment. “Is it because of my roommates? Because they won’t say anything stupid in the morning. They know you’re my girl now.”
I leaned on my elbow so that I could see him better. “Your girl? As in, we’re girlfriend – boyfriend?”
Nate smiled sheepishly. “Well, yeah. There’s no way I’m gonna let you go now. You’re mine. What do you say, Jane Brown. Are you ready to update your social media relationship status?”
I rolled my eyes. “I don’t even do that stuff.”
“That’s right. You don’t even have a phone. How am I supposed to get in touch with you for booty calls?”
I smacked him playfully. “I guess I’ll have to be in charge of all booty calls. I really do have to get going now. I had a fight with my mother and I need to get home before she hits the roof. I’ll call you tomorrow though. And I’ll let you know how my interview went.”
Nate rolled to his side. “What interview?”
“The waitress job at the diner.”
“The diner?” Nate groaned. “Then I’ll never see you.”
“You can stop in anytime and order pie or something. As long as you leave a big tip.”
I gave Nate a quick kiss on the lips. “Okay, cover your eyes now so I can get dressed.”
“No way. I want to watch.”
I made a face. “Give a girl some privacy.”
Nate covered his eyes with his hands, but I could see him peeking between his fingers. I had to fight my natural tendencies to cover up my body with clothes as quickly as I could, but I had to admit I was feeling quite sexy knowing he was watching.
“Mmm, Jane? If you don’t hurry up, I’m gonna drag you back over here and have my way with you.
I finished dressing and then sat on the edge of his bed feasting my eyes on his firm sculpted torso. “I’ll call you tomorrow. I’ll let myself out. Have sweet dreams.”
I leaned down and kissed him good-bye. I loved the fact that I could tell he wanted more of me.
Nate’s lips lingered on my own. “My dreams will be anything but sweet.”
Chapter 12
Dusty
I spent the entire summer avoiding Jane Brown like the plague. And that was pretty hard considering she spent half the summer at my house with Nate. My roommates commented on my surly mood, but they chalked it up to my break up with Michelle. I let them believe what they wanted to.
I kept my distance from the happy couple. I never saw Nate anymore, but he didn’t even notice, he was so into Jane. Snippets of gossip about them reached my ears before I could stop listening or get away. Jane and Nate were fucking like rabbits. Ace constantly joked that ever since Nate was getting ‘regular pussy’ he was like a lovesick puppy dog. The guys loved giving him grief. And if I had the misfortune to run into Jane, she always looked so bubbly and happy. Like the perfect, devoted girlfriend. I still had it bad for Jane and the thought made me want to fly into a murderous rage. It really pissed me off.
I rubbed my weary eyes. I was so exhausted that I probably shouldn’t have been driving. I had partied hard with a bunch of my friends after getting back from a concert and didn’t crash until at least four in the morning. But when Keith woke us all up at eight o’clock with shots, I knew I had to get out of there. Hanging out at Mike’s house all day long, goofing off until his girlfriend’s party later that night had seemed like fun at the time, but I knew they’d be drinking all day. I wouldn’t make it to the party at that pace. These guys were drinking machines.
Making some lame excuse about a forgotten appointment, I left Mike’s house with promises to be back later in the day. I’m not sure if my lie was good enough to fool them, but at least it would get me a couple more hours of much needed sleep.
I groaned out loud when I neared my home. The house was supposed to be empty for the day. What the hell was Michelle doing there? Her red jeep wrangler was parked in the driveway. She was the very last person I wanted to see right now. The only thing worse would be running into Nate and Jane.
Michelle and I had broken up months ago, but I still saw her quite often. Her girlfriend, Beth, was in some kind of relationship with Ace, so she and her friends were still always hanging around.
The actual breakup had gone surprisingly well. For a girl that liked a lot of drama, she seemed to accept the situation calmly. I had hoped that she realized that it just wasn’t working between us and she obviously hadn’t been too heartbroken about it.
I should have known it had gone almost too easily. She had spent the last few months still chasing after me. Rubbing up against me like I wouldn’t be able to resist her. Well, she was going to have to save her lame attempts for another day, because there was no way I could put up with it today.
Michelle never had a key to the house and my roommates were all away for the day. Since I didn’t see any sign of her, I figured she was waiting out back for me. She would have had a long wait if I had decided to stick around Mike’s house.
I frowned to myself as I headed to the backyard. Since when did Michelle have the patience to wait around? And why hadn’t she texted or called when she saw I wasn’t home?
The backyard was empty. I pulled out my keys and unlocked the back door and entered the house through the kitchen. There was no sign of Michelle. Maybe she had gotten inside somehow and was waiting in my room. I imagined her waiting for me on my bed, naked, in some weird effort to get me back. Shit, this was going to be worse than I initially suspected. I was way too tired for her games.
I was halfway up the stairs before I heard the sounds. I stood still listening. Muffled sounds. Sweaty grunts. Breathy moans. The steady creaking of a mattress.
There was no mistaking what I was hearing. One of my roommates was fucking Michelle.
I stood in shock for several moments before I continued up the stairs. It only took me a few seconds to hone in on the noises. They were coming from Nate’s room. And from the sound of the escalating moans and grunts, they were about finished up with their activities.
The headache that had been forming at the back of my skull started getting more insistent. I couldn’t deal with this shit now. I just wanted some sleep. I headed down the hall to use the bathroom before I passed out. As I left the bathroom, I nearly collided with Nate.
“Oh Fuck! Dusty! What are you doing here?” Nate was clearly startled by my appearance.
“I live here, remember? You seem to be missing some clothes.”
He ran a hand through his hair. “Yeah. I thought you were gone all weekend.”
I knew I looked d
isgusted but I didn’t care. “I saw Michelle’s car in the driveway.”
His eyes shifted all over the place. “She just sort of stopped by…”
“And happened to get naked with you?” I stepped around Nate and headed toward my room.
“Wait, Dusty… I don’t know what to say. It just … happened. I didn’t think about it. It was only this one time. You know how Michelle is…” Nate’s voice trailed off, probably after realizing how damn insulting he sounded.
I stopped and turned back to him. “I don’t give a shit about Michelle anymore. She can do whatever she wants. Even you if she wants. But, what about Jane?”
“Jesus, man. I love Jane. She’s a good girl. But she wouldn’t understand this. Michelle doesn’t mean anything to me. Jane is fucking everything. You’re not going to tell her?”
I was done listening to his bullshit. “I don’t know Nate. You’re fucking my ex-girlfriend behind Jane’s back. Real classy. I really don’t want to deal with this right now. I just want some fucking sleep. So keep it down whatever the fuck you’re doing.”
My room had been all closed up, so it was as hot as a furnace when I walked in there. I turned on the fan, opened the windows and stripped down to my boxers. I lay on my bed anxiously hoping to pass out. The same shit kept running in a loop through my head. Should I tell Jane? Was it my business? Did I even care? By now, my head was pounding.
I punched my pillow in frustration and got up. I headed down to the kitchen in search of some aspirin. I popped a couple of pills and then swallowed them down with some water from the tap.
When I turned around, Michelle was standing in the kitchen looking contrite. “I’m sorry, Dusty.”
“Whatever.” Could I get any fucking more annoyed?
Michelle sighed. “Don’t be that way, Dusty. It was a big mistake. I’ve been lonely without you.”
She took a step toward me and I realized that she was eyeing my body like a piece of meat. “I’ve heard that you’ve been really upset lately.”
Being Jane: A New Adult Erotic Romance: Fountain of Love Page 7
