by West, Sinden
He sat up straight, reaching for my hand. “Irritate you? Or turn you on?” he asked in a low voice as I felt his other hand under the table. It was searching up my thigh and beginning to push my skirt up. I lifted my leg up and placed my foot squarely on his crotch and began to rub gently.
He gave a surprised laugh. “That, uh, that feels good.” I removed my foot. “What are you doing? Don’t stop.”
“I don’t want to get you all riled up before our food comes. I want to enjoy my salad without you molesting me.” His hand was still on my thigh, but it had stopped trying to push my skirt up.
“I’m not molesting you. I’m seducing you. And I gotta say, it’s taking a lot longer than it normally does.”
I played with the pepper shaker that sat on the table with my free hand. “What about Katrin? How long did it take to seduce her?”
He let go of both my hand and my thigh at the same time. “I don’t want to talk about her.”
I looked him directly in the eye. “Why not?”
“Because I’m here with you right now. She has nothing to do with us.” He looked away from my gaze like he was uncomfortable.
Our food arrived then. We ate it in silence. I kept my eyes firmly on my plate as I speared the bland salad with my fork.
“You want my fries?” Joseph nudged his plate in my direction. I pushed it back.
“Yuck. No thanks.”
“Go on.” He pushed it back. “Just have one.”
“No.”
“Here, just a bite.” He picked one up and pushed it close to my mouth. I gave him an annoyed look and snatched it from his fingers, taking a bite. I chewed and swallowed.
“There. Happy now? I’m one step closer to being craned out of my house.” I threw the remainder of the fry back on his plate and shoved it back to him, as far away from me that I could get it.
He watched me with a half smile on his face like he’d won something.
After he had dropped me back at my car, I said, “Well, thanks for lunch,” and went to turn away. But he took my hand, stopping me.
“Wait. Are you coming to the lake tonight?”
“Sure.”
“Good.” He cupped my face before kissing me gently. When, after a while, we broke apart, we both had small smiles on our faces as we shared a look.
“I, um, better go. I’ll see you tonight.” I walked backward toward my car, not wanting to lose sight of him.
“Bye, Jessica.”
I didn’t turn back to my car until he was back in the house.
Chapter Nine
My mother was back to her perfect housewife self that evening. She had her hair curled and lipstick bright as she worked in the kitchen. She made me help her, and together we concocted wonderful dishes that neither of us would eat more than a mouthful of at the most.
I set the table while she got changed for dinner. I wonder if she got those traditions from a TV program or something, because I’m sure that would not have been the trend in the house that she grew up in. Then we sat at the table and waited for my father to show.
And we waited some more.
She started on her second glass of wine as the food began to cool.
“Maybe he went into the office. Did you call him?”
Her knuckles were white as she clutched her wine glass. “I told him we would have dinner at seven,” she said tightly before she downed what remained in her glass. I watched as she refilled it.
I pulled out my phone and called him, moving to another room as I did so.
He picked up on the first ring. “Hey, honey. What’s up?”
“We’re waiting for you, Dad. Dinner’s getting cold.”
There was silence on the other end of the line before he cleared his throat. “I told her I had a business dinner tonight and wouldn’t be home.”
“Well, she obviously didn’t get the message. Can you come home? Please? She’s gone to a lot of effort, and she was in a really happy mood. She wants you there.”
I heard a women’s voice in the background. “I’m sorry, honey. I can’t. This is important–”
“So is Mom’s mental health!” I hissed at him in a hushed tone.
“I told you, Jessie. I have an important client–”
“Stop lying! Since when do you have a business dinner on a Sunday? Are you with that Anna woman?”
“Jesus,” he said in an angry tone. “Are you drinking your mother’s kool-aid now? I have to go, Jessie. I’ll speak to you tomorrow.”
He ended the call. I clenched my phone in my hand and took a deep breath as I re-entered the dining room. My mother was pouring another glass of wine. She looked at me with hope in her eyes.
“He’s not coming. He says he has a business dinner.” I sat back down on my chair. She had changed her gaze down to look at her plate, and she just sat there staring at it for a full minute. I wondered if she’d heard me.
“Mom?”
She grabbed the plate and threw it, so it shattered against the wall, then she took her wine glass and followed suit with it.
I flinched with each crash but didn’t move. She sat there looking at the mess she had just made, her chest heaving up and down as if she was trying to stop from crying. Then, she stood up and calmly said, “I’m going out, sweetheart. Leave the mess. I’ll deal with it tomorrow.” She left with a slow walk as if she was trying to control every single one of her actions.
I didn’t move until I heard her car back out of the driveway.
I did leave the mess. My Dad could fucking well clean it up whenever he decided to come home. I sped to the lake, half dying to get away from home, and half dying to be with Joseph. The party was roaring away when I got there. Eve engulfed me in a drunken hug before bounding off to hug other people whether they wanted it or not.
I spotted Joseph straight away. He was drinking a beer in the firelight, and for just a moment I stopped and stared at his beautiful profile. I took a step in his direction, but Ewan intercepted me.
“Hey, Jessie.” Again I was hugged by a drunk.
“Hi, Ewan.”
He stepped back and bowed his head down to whisper in my ear. “Are you okay? Really okay, I mean.”
I took a step back. “I’m wonderful, Ewan. Really. But thanks for caring. I appreciate it.”
He gave me a goofy, drunken grin. “You know I care about you, right?”
“Of course.” And then Joseph was at my side, his arm wrapping around my waist and pulling me to him.
“Excuse us,” he said to Ewan, and a jolt of excitement went through me. For a moment, I felt claimed as if he were telling the whole world that I belonged to him. I wasn’t sure what Ewan’s reaction was because I was being spun around to be kissed by Joseph.
I giggled when our lips parted; I couldn’t help it. It was like every other problem in the world escaped from my conscious, and everything was perfect.
“You’re so cute,” he told me, as he planted another quick kiss on my lips. “Come swimming with me.”
“I didn’t bring my suit.”
He grinned and leaned in close to whisper in my ear. “It doesn’t matter. We’ll both go skinny dipping.”
“Joseph!” I went to push him away, but he held me tight.
“Don’t worry.” His voice suddenly had an oddly serious note to it. “We’ll go up the beach further, no one will see, and I won’t touch you unless you want me to.”
I held my breath for a second, and then I looked into his eyes. He was watching me, waiting, with almost a somber expression on his face. He looked so adorable at that moment that I didn’t think I could have denied him anything.
“Okay,” I said quietly.
His lips flickered into a smile. “Okay. Come on.”
Holding my hand, we walked up the beach further, climbing over a group of rocks to go where the lake curved around so we couldn’t be seen. It was so dark there, only lit by moonlight. It was like we were the only people on earth.
He stripped
first, pulling off his t-shirt then discarding his shorts. They were thrown carelessly away, and he ran into the water.
“Turn around,” I told him. And he surprised me by his obedience. Casting a quick glance around, I quickly undressed and then ran as fast as I could into the safety of the water. I swam in front of him until the water covered the tops of my breasts.
He immediately swam to me and grabbed my waist.
“You said no touching!”
His hands left my waist and came out of the water. “Whatever you say. But you can touch me. If you want.”
I did want. I palmed the back of his head and forced his lips down on mine. I kissed him with all the passion that I could muster while he kept his hands obediently at his sides. When I broke away from the kiss, he said, “You’re killing me right now. You know that, right?”
I just smiled in a way that I hoped was seductive and said, “I know,” before kissing him again. This time, my hands ran down his chest and then sloped down to his ass. I squeezed it in the most satisfying way, and he gave a slight moan.
“Can I just–”
“No,” I cut in. “I’m the one doing the touching, not you.”
I touched his penis. It floated, erect in the water. I stroked up it, amazed at how hard and smooth it was. I let my thumb wander to its mushroom shaped tip, and swiped it in the center. He let out a groan.
“Don’t, Jessica,” His voice was strangled. “Not unless you want me to…” He jerked underneath me. “And I know you don’t,” he panted.
I released him and settled for kissing him instead. His mouth hungrily devoured mine, while his cock rubbed innocently upon my stomach in the water. It was amazing. It felt like hours that we stood in the water, naked and vulnerable, and kissed all our worries away.
Later, we curled up together on a bed made of our clothes and slept till sunrise.
Chapter Ten
Joseph turned his back while I dressed that morning. It was a bit ridiculous since I had spent the night naked in his arms, but he had been a complete gentleman. It took me back to the day when he had swum out with me to the platform and let me climb the ladder first. I had thought that boy with the chivalry was gone.
“Why are you smiling?” he asked from his spot on the sand once I had tugged my top over my head and turned back to face him.
I shrugged, unable to wipe the smile from my lips. “I don’t know. I’m just happy.” I sat down beside him, and his arm immediately went around me, pulling me in close, so my head rested on his shoulder.
I felt his hand stroke my hair. “We’ll have to go skinny dipping more often,” he murmured.
“Pervert.”
He gave a soft laugh. “Yeah, I am.”
I tilted my head up to kiss him. I wanted more of him. I wanted to stay like this forever. But he broke from the kiss, and I made a small noise in disappointment.
“I’m sorry. I have to go to work,” he said, softly.
“But you worked on the weekend.” I kissed his neck instead; his skin was fresh and clean from the lake water.
“I know, but I need as much cash as I can get. I’m walking on eggshells at home. I need to be prepared for the day my stepdad decides to kick me out.”
I stopped kissing him and sat up straight so I could look at him. I had forgotten that he came from a very different lifestyle than me.
“Is he that horrible?”
He shook his head as he laced his fingers through mine. “I don’t want to talk about him. He’s not worth it.” Then his face brightened. “You want to know what I really want to do with the money I save? I want to start buying property like my boss does. I know it’ll take a long time to get enough to do what I want, but I figured if I start small I’ll get there eventually.” Then he looked at me and frowned. “Why are you smiling?”
I snuggled into him once more. “You just sound so different talking about houses, so excited and light. It’s different. I like it.”
He placed a finger under my jaw, tilting up my head to look at him. “Is that the only thing about me that you like?” he teased.
I pushed him away. “I’m not going to stroke your ego. Anyway, get to work. You’ve got a property empire to build.”
We held hands as we walked back to our cars before we parted with another lingering kiss and made plans to meet up that night.
I arrived home, disheveled from my night on the beach, but no one was home to care and the mess of dinner from the night before still sat where I had left it. It totally killed the high that I had from being with Joseph. Begrudgingly, I cleaned it up. The fancy dishes that were coated with baked on cheese, I just threw away. I wasn’t going to spend hours trying to get the stuff off.
The rest of the day I spent with Eve, lying beside her pool and flicking through magazines. I filled her in on the situation with Joseph.
She raised an eyebrow. “I thought he was screwing Katrin Porter?”
I pressed my lips firmly together before saying, “Can’t you just be happy for me?”
“I am, but what’s happening with him and Katrin?”
“Well, obviously he’s not having sex with her now,” I huffed.
She blinked. “Don’t get mad. I was just asking.” I could practically see her thinking. “You know Ewan was asking after you last night–”
“I like Joseph,” I cut in.
She gave a sigh. “Fine. Enjoy your romantic summer fling.” Then she winked at me. “I’m just jealous. Joseph Fray has a killer bod.”
“Yeah." I smiled smugly. “He does.”
Joseph and I met up for something to eat before going to the lake. He ordered some greasy, fat concoction while I ordered the only low-fat thing on the menu.
He eyed my salad, unimpressed. “I don’t know how you can eat only that. Don’t you get hungry?”
I swallowed my mouthful. “Eternally. But I have to watch what I eat. We have fat genes in my family. You should see my Mom’s Mother. Last time we saw her, she was practically crippled from all the stress the extra weight put on her joints. Her arthritis was so bad she couldn’t even clean her house.”
Joseph made a face. “I think I’d rather die happy than stress out about what I ate all the time.”
“That’s because you’re a boy. It’s different for men and women. Men need to be wealthy; women need to be attractive.” I took another mouthful of my salad.
“Really?” He looked surprised. “Who wrote those rules?”
“Society.”
“Well, I’d still like you if you were fat.”
I nearly spat out my food in a fit of laughter. “Liar.”
He watched me for a moment, before relaxing into a grin. “Yeah. You’re probably right.”
We spent much of the night touching in some way‒either by holding hands as we stood around talking to our friends, or later when we sat in front of the fire. I was nestled in between his legs, leaning against his hard chest as I drank my beer. He had an arm resting on my stomach. It had worked its way up under my t-shirt to rest on my bare skin. He absentmindedly rubbed his hand over my stomach as he chatted to his friend sitting next to us.
That’s when I really noticed Katrin for the first time that night. She was sitting by herself, drinking a beer. It was unmistakable that her gaze was on us. I caught her eye and stared back at her for a few seconds. She was jealous, or at the very least unhappy, but I didn’t care about that. All I could think of was that I was staring at the girl who had been with Joseph in a way that I hadn’t and had an intimacy with him that was foreign to me.
So I twisted around to kiss him, knowing full well that she was watching. I didn’t do it to be bitchy, but I felt like at that moment I needed to put my mark on him. He smiled into my mouth and kissed me back with passion, not caring that his friend was watching.
When we finally drew apart, I looked over at Katrin. She was walking away, fast. I guess that meant that I had achieved whatever it was I thought I wanted.
Chapter Ele
ven
The summer was passing in a haze of moonlit kissing, early morning swims, and the cooling of my parents’ marriage. Before there had been passion and eventual making up amongst the craziness and cruelty. Now it was like everything was encased in ice, they were on their best behavior, but there was no friendliness. They were like two strangers in their icy politeness.
My mother had started on a new medication, and she was calmer. Her tantrums of before had stopped over a period of weeks, enough so that we could all go as a family to Dad’s boss’s house on the lake for the annual summer party.
It was a fancy occasion involving formal attire, valet parking, and a fountain of champagne. Terrence Teller owned the accountancy firm that Dad worked for, not to mention the fact that he seemed to have a finger in every business of note in our town. He also had considerable overseas interests, according to my father.
His wealth was demonstrated by the cars he drove, and the gorgeous lakeside estate where we were invited for the evening. He, himself, was not so majestic. He was short and balding. His personality was jovial, but Dad had warned me not to be fooled. He was a shrewd businessman.
My mother towered above him as she bent down to let him kiss her cheek. She made a tall, graceful figure in her long red dress and glittering jewelry. Her blonde hair was piled elegantly on top of her head which made the size difference between them all the more apparent.
“I can’t believe you’re old enough to have a teenage daughter,” he told her as he kissed her hand. I rolled my eyes at his corniness, but my mother blushed and beamed.
“You are so sweet.” She turned to me. “Isn’t he sweet, Jessie?” she cooed
“Sure. Hi, Mr. Teller.”
“Jessie. Look at you growing up. How old are you now?”
“Seventeen.”
He let out a low whistle. “Seventeen. Lucky for you that you’re taking after your mother, huh? I’m sure you’ll be as beautiful as her one day.” But he wasn’t saying this to me; his eyes were still on my mother.
“Sure. Excuse me.” Neither of them gave me a second glance, and I spied Ewan standing by the doors that led out to the lake. He looked uncomfortable in his suit as he sipped a glass of champagne.
