Mellenda knocked on Tony’s front door. She heard him call out “Hang on a sec.” He opened the door a minute or so later and gave her a look that she couldn’t interpret.
“Hello Anthony.” She brushed her dark hair back over her shoulder and gave him a bright smile.
“Mellenda.”
“What, no Lin?” she said teasingly. “You were the only one I ever let get away with calling me that. I don’t like to be called Mel either. Never have, and probably never will.”
“What can I do for you? I seriously doubt you’re here to make a purchase.”
“You’re right of course. Are you alone? Can I come in?”
“Carl’s helping his dad with something so yeah, I’m alone. I don’t think it’s such a good idea if you come in though.”
“Why not? C’mon Tony. We have quite a history together. You’ve got to admit that.”
“I have a bad feeling that you showed up here for the same reason your roommate showed up here about a month ago. I’m not interested.”
“Molli was here? No one knows where she is. Her parents reported her missing. I personally think that she took off with Ricky, but if he wants to raise a baby that isn’t his with a slut then I guess that’s his business.”
“Huh.” Tony sighed. “Yeah, come in. But you’re not staying long, and if Tory even calls me on the phone, your pretty little butt is out the door.”
Mellenda followed him into the house and shut the door behind them. “I know that you two were together at Christmas, but it was going around school that she slept with someone else. I heard it was Jude.”
“We’re getting married. I guess she doesn’t flash her engagement ring around like some girls at your school would.” Tony sat back on the couch and a lit a cigarette.
“Men are so dumb. I can’t believe that you took her back after she slept around, let alone asked her to marry you.”
“Our relationship and the way we choose to handle it is none of your business. I think you’re pissy because Ricky dumped you for Molli. I hope they did run away together and I hope they’re very happy. I can’t blame her for not wanting Jude to be the father of her baby. Eduardo-damn that man was lucky to have a fine girl like her and his beautiful wife, but any woman with sense knows he wasn’t meant to be a Daddy. And what he had wasn’t enough for him. He hooks up with some crack head and then rips me off. Tory saved my life. She’s stood by me through more shit than one woman should have to put up with. Of course I asked her to marry me. I don’t care if she doesn’t marry me for five years. I love her and she loves me, and that’s the way it’s gonna be.”
“Do you really think that she won’t do it again? Or that you’ll be content to only have sex with her for the rest of your life? Give me a break Tony. You’re not a one woman man.”
“What the hell do you know? I wasn’t in love with you. I wasn’t in love with any of those other women either. Yeah, I’ve had a lot of sex in my life. I’m not really proud of the fact that it was with so many different women. But I’ve never been in love before. I’ve had enough women already. Don’t think that I’m not good enough to be her man because I used to be a player or because I’m ‘just’ a drug dealer. I don’t wanna hear it from you or anyone else. I am going to do right by her, and she’s always done right by me, even when she didn’t want to admit that she loved me.”
Mellenda snorted. “She was right to screw Jude? If you can justify that, I’m sure you can justify any other affairs she decides to have in the future. Does she give you head?”
“Damn Mellenda, you wanna get down and dirty and nasty? Yes she gives me head, and yes I go down on her. If Tory decided she wanted to have sex with another man, maybe I’d let her. It’s my business. We’ll handle our relationship the way we want to, and you can handle yours the way you want to. Oh damn, I forgot. You don’t have one anymore.”
“Screw you Tony. You’re an asshole.”
“At least I’m honest about it. Go away. Or do you have another problem that you need help taking care of? I’m not paying for another abortion. I can’t believe that I paid for the first one. But I fell for your pretty face and your tears and your begging. ‘Oh Anthony, I can’t let Ricky find out that I’m pregnant with your child. What if the baby looks like you?’ Grow up Mellenda. You call Molli a slut and you talk shit about Tory when you’re no better. You’re worse actually, because you’re not honest about it. It’s not wrong for a girl to like sex. It is pretty messed up when you mess around on your boyfriend and get knocked up and are too big of a cunt to tell him and have a secret abortion. What if it was Ricky’s baby and he wanted it even if you didn’t? Did you ever think of that? You have the same skin tone as Ricky so chances were that the kid would have looked like you two even if it was mine. Oh, and yes, I called you a cunt. I don’t like that word and I certainly don’t use it often, but you acted like one and I contributed to it. My mom and my Aunt Lori would kill me if they found out I paid for an abortion.”
“Isn’t your mom too out of it to care about anything?”
“Fuck you and your high horse. If you’re knocked up you can go find some other sucker to pay for your scrape and go. I will never pay for another abortion unless carrying the baby puts Tory’s life in danger or there’s another damned good reason for it. If you’re pregnant maybe you should act like a real woman like your roommate and carry the baby and give it a chance. Abortion is not birth control. There are lots of people that want babies. So get the hell out of my house and take your judgments with you. Nobody talks shit about the woman that I love and my mother and gets away with it. If I was a different type of man, I’d smack that smirk off your pretty face. You’d better start to think about the way you act before a lesser man smacks you a good one. It’s gonna get to a point when you fuck with enough guys that they won’t think you’re so damned pretty anymore. Go away and don’t bother to come back.”
Mellenda gave him a dirty look and stood. “You’re sure as hell not perfect, so stop acting like you are just because you think that Tory’s gonna help you turn your life around. You’re still a damned drug dealer and your mom is still in the loony bin. Your fiancé is a slut and you’re never gonna be faithful because you like pussy too much.”
Tony rolled his eyes. “Was that supposed to turn me on and make me hop into bed with you? The girl said pussy. Yeah, I’m gonna fuck you now Mellenda, so that you can rub it in Tory’s face. Get the hell out of my house before I call Tory and let her kick your ass.”
“As if. Live your pathetic life with Tory Tony. I used to think you were better than all of this shit. I guess I was wrong.”
“Out. Now. I meant what I said when I said don’t come back. I might have to take a trip to the trailer park and visit Molli’s friend Seneca. I’ll bet she knows where Molli is, and I’ll bet Molli knows where Ricky is. I might have to let it slip that the kid you aborted might not have been Ricky’s. I’ll own up to what I did if I have to. But I’m thinking that that shit should stay in the past where it belongs. We don’t need to drag all of us through the mud now do we? Face the facts Mellenda, Ricky is happy with Molli. He’s over you. I’m happy with Tory, and I’m sure as hell over you. Go find yourself another guy to lead around by his penis. I hear Jude’s available. You two seem like a good match.”
“Go fuck yourself Tony.”
“I don’t need to fuck myself Mellenda. I have someone that is perfectly willing to fuck me and make love to me and she’s not ashamed of it. That’s more than I could ever say about you. Now get the hell out of my house. I mean it.”
Mellenda headed towards the door, but paused with her hand on the knob. “When you come looking for some strange, because you know you will, I won’t be there.”
Tony chuckled. “Damn. You’re breaking my heart Mellenda. Not. Goodbye.”
Mellenda opened the door, walked outside and slammed it behind her for good measure. She was steaming because she was horny and she was lonely. She’d never expected a guy like
Tony to turn her down. Engaged to Tory she thought. Ha. They’d see how long that lasted.
She walked briskly down the street, wishing again that her parents weren’t too cheap to buy her a car. She thought that it was also due to the fact that her sister had died while behind the wheel and wondered if they’d ever really get over her sister’s death.
She was about a half block away when Tony called to her from the end of his driveway. “Mellenda come back. I’ll give you a ride.”
Mellenda flipped him off without turning around. “Hell no. I don’t need you to tell me how messed up I am yet again.”
“Come on Lin, give a guy a break. I get a little irritated when women try to come on to me when I’m plainly in a relationship with another woman.”
Mellenda turned. “It’s not plain Tony, even if you two were together at Christmas. Maybe she hid her shitty engagement ring in her sock drawer because she was embarrassed to wear it. You were always cheap. It’s probably turning her finger green.”
Tony chuckled as he lit a cigarette. “I was cheap with you because you were cheap with me. You were always ashamed of me when Tory never really was. It just felt like it because she hurt my masculine pride. I have my mom to take care of, but I’ll go without something if it means that I can give Tory something she needs or even wants.”
“Ah, how sweet. You’re pussy whipped. Go back in your house and have phone sex with your stupid girlfriend. Or is she out spying on someone in the woods and playing with herself?”
Tony laughed. “Damn Mellenda you really are horny aren’t you? Do you want a ride or not? And no, I don’t mean on my penis.”
“As if I’d want to have sex with you after you’ve had sex with Tory. I’m sure Jude gave her all the STDS that he got from Molli.”
“Think about it Mellenda. If Molli gave Jude STDs, she gave them to Ricky too, so you’d already have them. Damn isn’t it beautiful to live in a town where everyone’s already slept with everyone else?”
Mellenda groaned. “You are disgusting. Go away and leave me alone.”
“You’re the one that showed up on my doorstep. If you want to swallow your pride and let me give you a ride back to school I’ll get my keys. Or you can walk. I don’t give a shit. But if you get in my car, you aren’t allowed to talk shit about any of the women that I love or Molli. She’s a sweet girl.”
Mellenda let out a frustrated sigh. “Fuck you and your ride. Molli’s a hoe, Tory’s a slutty weirdo and your mom’s in the loony bin for a reason. I’m glad I talked you into aborting your kid because it probably would have had defective genes.”
Tony gave her a tight smile. “You should give Jude a call, seriously. I don’t think he’s gonna need to worry about gettin’ any with it going around that Molli was sleeping with Eduardo too. Damn girl, if you’ve got STDs you’ve got STDs.”
“Oh my god. I need to get an AIDS test. Damn Ricky for sleeping with that stupid slut.”
“Molli is neither stupid nor a slut. She’s very intelligent when you bother to get to know her which you obviously never did. She likes sex. So what? You like sex. You just don’t wanna admit it because it makes you feel dirty. Get over yourself and you’ll be a lot happier Mellenda. I was only giving you shit about the STDs. If either Eduardo or Jude had any, it would have spread like wildfire a long time ago. Let me give you a ride. It’s starting to get dark out.”
“No. I don’t want to hear you sing Molli’s praises. I heard enough of that from Ricky. Are you sure you weren’t sleeping with her too, since you seem to like her so damned much? Am I really that bad Tony that no man will ever bother to be faithful to me?”
“You’re beautiful and you’re very smart Mellenda. You’ll find the right guy for you. You should probably stay the hell away from Jude though, because I can see him becoming another scum like Eduardo. Let me give you a ride. Please. You’re making me feel like shit for being such an asshole to you.”
“I don’t want your pity. And you didn’t deny that you were sleeping with Molli. Shall I tell Tory? Does she know that Molli came to your house?”
Tony groaned. “Mellenda, sometimes you make it really damned hard to like you. No, Tory doesn’t know and she doesn’t need to know because nothing happened. Molli was already pregnant when she showed up on my doorstep. She talked herself out of trying to seduce me after I plainly told her ‘no’ even though Tory and I were broken up at the time. I love Tory. I make her happy. She deserves to be happy. If you try to take that away because you’re being a vindictive bitch, I will laugh when she kicks your ass.”
“Why would she kick my ass and not yours? You’re the one that let Molli into your house.”
“Oh damn, I let a seventeen year old pregnant girl into my house and let her friends have what was obviously totally consensual sex in my spare bedroom. I’d better call Uncle Keith and have him arrest me.”
Mellenda snorted. “As if your uncle would ever arrest you. You could kill someone and he wouldn’t arrest you.”
“You know all about everyone don’t you? It must be nice to perfect. All hail the mighty Mellenda. Give me a fucking break. Walk your snotty ass back to school. If you tell Tory I let Molli in my house, I’ll not only tell her you came over here to seduce me when you knew we were engaged, I’ll give Ricky a call and tell him that I paid for your abortion. I’ll also let him know that I was boning you the first few months that you were together and that you let me go down on you all the time. I heard from a little birdie that you wouldn’t let Ricky pleasure you with his tongue.”
“What the hell is wrong with the people in this town? It is nobody’s business what I let you do to me with your tongue or what I let Ricky do to me with his. I never liked it when you went down on me anyway. I let you because you’re one of those weird guys that seem to like it so much.”
Tony laughed. “That’s why I always gave you multiple orgasms huh? Look Mellenda, you keep your mouth shut and I’ll keep mine shut. Nobody needs to know about that stuff because it’s over and done with. And for the record, Tory hasn’t given me head because she likes to bite. I’d love to go down on her, but I think she’d feel weird about it so I’m not going to push her. If I’d ever thought I was pushing you, I would have stopped. If a guy is doing something you don’t like you should tell him. But uh, orgasms don’t lie darlin’. Oral sex isn’t dirty or gross. It’s okay to like it, and I’m sure as hell not the only guy that likes performing it on a woman. So tell your next boyfriend that you like it and don’t be embarrassed.”
“You are truly disgusting Tony. I’ll keep my mouth shut. Tory probably would kick my ass. She seems like the jealous type, and the last thing that Molli needs when she’s pregnant and on the run is Tory hunting her down when you didn’t have sex with her.”
“There you go. One step at a time to being less of a judgmental bitch. You sure you don’t want a ride?”
Mellenda sighed. “No thank you. I’m still messed up over the whole thing with Ricky. I need to walk and clear my head. I’m sorry about the stuff I said. Tory isn’t a slut. She’s beautiful and she’s really smart. I hope you guys have a great marriage. I shouldn’t have said that stuff about your mom either. I know you’re really sensitive about people talking shit about her. I know about what went on with your dad even though you never cared enough to tell me. Do you really think that I’ll find someone to love me with all of my faults Tony?”
“Of course you will Lin. Even if it’s not before you leave Crestview, maybe you’ll meet a nice smart guy in college that will treat you well and respect you. Maybe you should be more honest with him though, because part of respect is being truthful. Tell him you like sex, and tell him how you want it, and ask him to go down on you. You’ll be amazed at how much better sex can get if you tell a guy what you like and don’t like. Once Tory was comfortable enough to tell me what she wanted in bed, I never wanted her to leave my bedroom.”
“Have you ever heard of the phrase too much information? You have told me so
many things I never needed to know tonight.”
Tony chuckled. “That’s what you get for talking to a guy that’s comfortable talking about sex. Have a good night Lin. If you change your mind about the ride, call my cell. Do you still have my number?”
“Yeah. I won’t change my mind though. Goodnight Tony. Congratulations on your engagement. I’m sure Tory does wear her ring and is proud to. She’s not like the other girls at school, or she would be shoving it in everyone’s face.”
“She’s not like any other girl I’ve ever met. Night Lin. Take care of yourself and don’t ever sell yourself short. Too many really great girls do that. My woman’s one of them. You and Molli too. It really surprises me that none of you were friends your whole time at Crestview.”
Mellenda shrugged. “I’ve always tried to fit in, and neither Molli nor Tory really seemed to care. I don’t care anymore either, but I’ll play their bullshit games for a few more months without really getting involved. I’ll be glad to kiss Crestview Academy and Brentwood both goodbye. Now that I don’t have Ricky, I can worry about going to a real school. If I can still get in and if my parents can afford it.”
“The university’s a good school. And why wouldn’t you be able to get in? I thought your grades were almost as good as Tory’s.”
“That’s a long story Tony. I gotta go. I’m starving. I want to stop and get something to eat on the way back to school and still sneak back in before it’s too late.”
“My offer for a ride still stands. I’ll buy you dinner.”
“No thank you. I’d rather be alone right now.”
“Suit yourself. Bye Lin.”
“Bye Tony.”
Mellenda walked away. She was halfway to downtown Brentwood when a tired sounding horn honked behind her. She turned and saw Jude’s truck and stifled a groan. He was the last person she wanted to deal with.
He pulled over and gave her a grin. He leaned over and opened the passenger side door of his old truck and said “Mellenda. Fancy meeting you here. Can I give you a ride?”
Misty Reigenborn Romance Boxed Set Page 174
