by Olivia Harp
She tried to take it off with her thumb but Enzo laughed.
“You smeared it on your cheek, wait.”
He grabbed a napkin from the bar and started cleaning her nose in brief, soft strokes. It felt dumb at first but then he stepped closer and started working on the side of her face. She looked up at him innocently, but the warmth of his hand could’ve melt her.
Enzo’s eyes locked with hers and she was done.
He stopped, she stood a few inches away from him. Look away, it's your only chance, Au. Her heart raced, but she had to stay cool. She wasn’t breathing and it didn’t matter, this would be over soon.
She knew she needed to run. Say thanks for the help, good-bye, and that's it, you're safe, is it really that hard?
She couldn’t do it.
Their eyes locked for an instant, the man had the same struggle, she knew. This was it.
He leaned forward, she instinctively closed her eyes.
His lips touched hers and a wave of electric passion surged through her body, from head to toe.
She went in deeper, his kiss took her away from the moment. A fire flared inside and she dared stroke her tongue with his, just a brief touch, but it was more than enough.
He put his muscular arm around her and pulled her even closer to him. His hot skin burned beneath the fabric of his shirt, her breathing became ragged, a pulse of energy soared in her, and without any warning, a soft moan escaped her lips.
She was on fire, losing whatever sense of right and wrong remained in her. His tongue danced and rolled with hers, both unable to restrain their impulses any longer.
He turned her against the wall, making her tremble in heat; his hand explored her back, slowly going down to her waist.
She couldn’t think anymore. Whatever happens, happens. It wasn’t right, and that made it even better.
His hands went to her hair, and softly pulled it back. She opened her eyes for a brief second and found him: a predator, a man lost in all these sensations just like her.
The warm feeling of her crevice flooding embarrassed her. It was too early for this kind of response, but what the hell, she was already hungry for more.
She grabbed his waist and pulled him hard, his manhood pressing on her. He was much taller than her but it didn’t matter, he lowered himself and let her center feel his thick cock rub the upper side of her thighs.
She moaned again as he kissed and bit her neck. Sending shivers down her side. The low, guttural sound of a growl escaped him, like a beast, like an animal ready to take her.
She had never heard anything like it. A primitive, feral sound.
She was soaking wet now. This man, this perfect beast wanted her and she wanted him back.
She sank her nails on his back as he softly bit the base of her neck and continued down from there, to her chest.
She couldn’t help it. She moved her hand to his thigh and felt his cock.
A gasp escaped her.
It was hot and hard and fucking big. Bigger than anything she ever felt before. He moaned in her ear as she undid his pants.
His mouth tasted her skin, her voluptuous breasts invited him to take her. To make her his.
She could feel his thick rod under his tight boxer briefs, anticipation filling her.
He pulled back her hair again, ready for her to take him in her hand, when the beeping alarm noise screamed again, obnoxious and violent.
Audrey looked up, the fire inside of her turned into fear.
“It’s the—”
“Gas alarm,” he finished, “we forgot to turn off the oven.”
He turned the dial all the way off, clearing his throat.
Holy shit. Holy shit, holy shit, holy—
He looked at her. His face unreadable.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
“Yes,” she replied, without even knowing if she meant it. You fucked it up, Audrey. You fucked it up!
He slowly stood up and smiled at her, zipping up his jeans again.
“Are you sure?” he asked, “I didn’t mean to make you—”
“No, it’s fine,” she said, “I just—”
She shook her head, walked out to the other side of the bar, rubbing her forehead.
“This is great, really,” she finally said, “but we shouldn’t mix—”
“I understand,” he said, with a deep sigh.
A moment of silence.
“Well," he continued, "this was... fun, I guess?”
She smiled, “sure it was.”
“I’d say we should do it again but I think that’d be inappropriate.”
She shrugged, “I’m sorry, it was my fault.”
“Hey wait, I’m the one who kissed you—”
“Oh come on, I was being so flirty and—”
“Yes you were.”
She laughed, “shut up! I mean, I really like you but—”
“I totally understand, I really like you too, but we gotta keep this professional.”
She nodded, “right.”
A pause. There was no tension in the air, but still, her mind was unraveling. She loved what just happened, too fucking bad it never should have.
“So we stay friends, right?” he asked.
“Yes.”
“You’re not gonna go all awkward on me.”
“Nope.”
“I mean, if you feel weird about it, just tell me and I’ll back off, I don’t wanna be a creeper.”
“Weren’t you already?”
He laughed.
“You wish, girl.”
He was right on that. She wished.
CHAPTER 11
Enzo towered over the crowd of teenagers laughing at poor Mr. Dunley, who used a towel to dry himself after Cassandra, a nerdy senior, dropped him on the dunk tank.
It was a fun day.
“The students are loving this,” she said, behind him.
They did their best to act professional, but in reality they could only greet and avoid each other as much as they could.
It’s risky being so close, after what happened yesterday. He tried to push the thought aside but couldn’t. The more he tried to suppress it, the more powerful it got.
His bear had been maniacal. Damn bastard, he thought.
How could this happen? They barely knew each other. It took him all his willpower to stay in control after leaving her apartment. The image of a huge black bear prowling the streets gave him enough strength to keep it down. He didn't want to cause a scene just outside her building.
He turned around and there she was, he nodded his hello, and felt every inch of his body shiver in delight. His bear tried to roar but he was more powerful now.
Being near her was like training how to fight it. At first he almost lost control, now... well it was kind of the same, but he knew what to expect, what to avoid.
“Yes, they are,” he replied with a smile.
“Even the ones who didn’t want to do it are here, hey! I didn’t know Bruce was such a car wiz!”
“I know, right? He wants to be an engineer—”
“He’s only like, what? Seventeen?”
“Yeah! Seventeen...”
A lot of students had something to sell, or provided a service for a small fee, a portion of which was donated to the school.
Bruce had a team of two car mechanics on the small school parking lot, you brought them your car and they told you what was wrong with it using a borrowed scanner from the shop they worked at. Not only that, they gave you a general quote on how much it would cost to fix each thing, so that was pretty genius of them.
A few girls washed cars for ten dollars. Ten freaking dollars for a quick exterior wash. The thing was they wanted to do it in swim wear. Obviously the school did not allow it, but still, they had they small, skin tight shorts and sports bra under loose tank tops.
It was funny, but more than ninety percent of their clients were sixteen year olds who thought they’d be noticed by them just because they brought the
ir moms car.
Audrey made really, really sure all the girls dressed fairly classy and their mothers gave their approval so, in the end, everything was going great.
There were a lot of different kind of deals, from the tried and true pastry sales to “we-remove-viruses-from-your-computer." All in all, the fundraiser turned out to be a complete success.
“But nothing beats the dunk tank,” he said.
Audrey laughed, Mr. Dunley sat down on a bench a few yards away from them and drank some Coke, his skin visibly sunburned.
“Who would’ve thought so, right?” she replied.
“Oh, every student wants to humiliate their teachers, I think it was obvious.”
“Don’t be so mean, they’re good students.”
“I didn’t say otherwise, it’s just an opportunity you can’t miss.”
“Hey, Mr. Dunley, you goin’ up there again?” A Junior student said, flashing a couple of dollar bills to him.
“You’re too late, maybe next time,” he replied.
“Oh, come on!” he said, visibly sad.
“Your turn,” Audrey said, elbowing Enzo.
“What, me?”
“No one else wants to, besides... we need the money.”
His bear growled, not liking the prospect of being humiliated.
“Come on, Enzo. Be a gentleman, help the school make more money.”
Kids began to scatter. Enzo’s bear was positively furious. He had to make sure it wouldn’t try to come out. It’d be the worst possible time to do it.
“I’m kidding,” Audrey said, but he didn’t believe her.
“I’ll do it,” Enzo shouted, suddenly.
The kids turned to him, a devilish grin growing on their lips.
“That’s right, Mr. Gallagher! Your turn to suffer!” one of the kids in the back said.
“Really, Enzo?” Audrey said, half smiling.
“We can’t say no to those sweet dollars, right?”
She shrugged, smiling. More kids started gathering around the tank.
“Two throws for a dollar!” Enzo yelled, “bet you can’t drop me, kiddos!”
He knew the kids hated being called kids. They were high school students, they thought they were adults, so he used that in his favor: they started forming a line.
He took his plaid overshirt off and flexed his biceps, “can you beat this... kiddos?”
The kids howled, eager to sink him. Girls gathered. He wasn’t dumb, he knew they’d want to play, too. Boys wanted to prove they were able to shut him up, girls just wanted to see him drenched in water.
“Don’t worry, Enzo, they can’t aim for crap!” Mr. Dunley said with a laugh, understanding what he was doing.
Audrey turned around to see the multitude of high schoolers gather to “defeat” their school counselor.
Enzo sat on the tank, making funny faces at the kids, teasing them, rolling his eyes like a crazy clown.
“You ready, bro?” the girl said after paying for her ticket, an emo kid who looked like she didn’t want friends but in reality was a sweet girl who just liked wearing black.
“Bring it!” Enzo said.
The kid threw and missed both times, hitting way over the mark. Everyone laughed, “Damn!” She said, and tried to pay for another throw but the next in line got in first, dropping two dollars.
“My turn, yo'! You shoulda gotten more balls!”
“I got more balls than—”
“Hey!” Audrey interrupted, locking her eyes with the kid’s, “no swearing, you want to try again, you gotta get back in line”
The kid shut her mouth, then walked back to the long line muttering something.
Something stirred inside Enzo. His bear. It wasn’t used to this kind of things. It certainly wasn’t happy with the possibility of public humiliation. You gotta learn to relax, beast.
The next kid threw the balls and missed the mark too. Then the next one, a tall, hispanic senior. Enzo thought she'd be able to do it, she was on the soft ball team, after all, but she missed.
He laughed and laughed, the more kids threw the ball and missed, the more their anticipation grew... and the more money they paid. More than thirty students had already tried to drop him and failed.
Mr. Dunley yelled and laughed, the kids might have dropped him but not his friend, and to him, that was some kind of victory. His teasing was probably good for business, and he kept in line, so they didn’t shut him up.
Everyone shared laughs and yells of surprise every time a ball was about to hit the mark, but missed.
Business thrived with the anticipation of dropping him, of being the one who hit the mark and win... well, what would they win? Respect, of course.
The mid afternoon sun hit Enzo’s face and then he felt it. A sense of community. Everyone doing something together, for the betterment of all, everyone on the same page.
It was the first time the students gathered for something that wasn't a game. He could feel their mood, much more cooperative, less confrontational. We should do this more often.
The crowd roared, his bear could barely hold back. He turned to see why, and of course, Audrey was next in line.
"You're going down!" she said with a big smile, every student encouraging her to be the one who dropped him.
"You wouldn't dare," he said, confident, "and even if you did, I don't think you can––"
"Wanna bet?" she asked with a smirk.
"Hell yeah," he replied with a confident grin, "anything you wan—"
She threw the ball, it was a bad throw, but his bear growled, half mocking him. No, you beast—
His body tensed. Every particle in the air around him stirred, don't you fucking dare. Enzo roared as his bear took hold of an air current and made the ball hit the target right in the center.
He almost didn't register everyone's wild cheer, audible for a moment before he was submerged in cool water.
She did it.
She dropped him.
The sound of laughter everywhere around. Everyone cheered for the principal, Miss Rodriguez, the only one who could shut Enzo and Mr. Dunley up.
She beat all these self-proclaimed tough guys and girls in a simple game of throw.
What the fuck?
Enzo was happy for her. But more surprising was what his bear had done.
He joined the laughter. Trying to put aside the fact that his bear, for the first time in his life, stopped being an asshole and sacrificed its pride for someone else.
This isn't good, he thought as his heart swelled just by looking at Audrey, who returned his gaze and shrugged, a smile adorning her lips.
His bear growled in happiness, but didn't utter the word he was afraid the beast would say. This time he thought the word himself, and it wasn't good news.
Mate.
CHAPTER 12
Audrey finished up recounting the money raised. She had already done it twice, but she still couldn't believe it.
She stood over a small wood platform and grabbed a microphone.
Some teachers stood next to her, along with Darcy. She looked at them and finally spoke, "thank you all for coming to the First Jefferson High Fundraiser."
It was mid afternoon now, the clock about to hit 4 P.M., two whole hours longer than expected.
The students kept buying tickets, pastries and other services. She wasn't going to stop them, after all, every dollar meant more improvements for the school.
Some people gathered around to listen, others turned to her from afar, "we have thirty minutes left until we have to close for the day but I want to say that everything we did here is going to directly benefit the school."
People clapped, some guy she didn't see shouted "how much is it?" from the back.
She smiled, everyone was curious.
"We all did a great job and before I say the exact amount of money we raised, I want everyone to give a round of applause to the people who made this happen: the volunteers, teachers and contributors to the cause."<
br />
Claps and cheers, time to give them the good news, "I don't want to waste your time so, without further ado... the total amount was..."
Everyone held their breaths, the goal was five hundred dollars, but the event got bigger than they thought. She looked at Enzo, who winked at her. This was his idea, after all.
"Come on!" a girl on the front said.
She opened a piece of paper with the figure, she was afraid she would forget with how excited she felt.
"Two thousand, seven hundred and fifty eight dollars. Congratulations everyone!"
She could see their mouths falling open, this had been much more than success, this was proof that hard work paid, and their efforts were not in vain.
A wild cheer built up from nothing, it started as one of those old, cheesy clapping from an eightie's movie: a kid started amidst the silence and little by little everyone followed, ending up in a roar.
To her, the only thing that mattered was how Enzo looked at her. His eyes locked with hers and she almost visibly trembled.
His bright, hazel eyes made were too much for her at times, even worse, she couldn't forget the way he kissed her... and her freaking hot impulse of letting him do whatever he wanted to her.
He could do it right now and she wouldn't mind.
Stop it, Audrey. Things are going fine, don't complicate them.
"We will keep you informed on how each of these dollars will be spent," she said, just to make herself think of something else.
But the wetness between her thighs didn't lie. She wanted him. She wanted to touch his body again and feel his hardness in her hands.
He clapped in the distance, his smile making her crazy.
Quit it Au, you're not falling for him. And God damn it look away! You're being too obvious!
She turned to the crowd, but it was too late, she was pretty sure he noticed how he made her feel.
How she wanted him.
CHAPTER 13
Audrey opened the door to her apartment, it was late afternoon now. She was tired but really happy.
Glad to have Enzo on my team.
The mere thought of him made her shiver. She put her purse on the coffee table and sat on the sofa, taking her shoes off with her feet.
My gosh, that man... She tried stopping the thought but everything was just so perfect, and he was a bit too gorgeous.
