by Ashley Hall
I was still trying to regain my composure when Adam suddenly approached me as I unlocked my locker.
Uh-oh.
He looked bitter and grimaced at me, leaning against a locker. “Hey, April. Why did you run off at the party?”
I slowly removed my book and closed my locker before turning to him. “Hi, Adam. Don’t have time to talk right now. Sorry.”
“Just a quick question. I was curious because I thought—”
Just then, Wes showed up. He must have gone to his locker too because he holding a textbook. “April, is he bothering you?” Wes jerked his thumb toward Adam.
“You’re always constantly butting in, aren’t you?” Adam growled.
Double uh-oh.
“What are you talking about?”
I sucked in a breath. Wes didn’t remember the party. He didn’t remember Adam and the other guys being all over me and his saving me from them and our make out session. I figured he hadn’t, and it was better that way, but Adam was going to ruin it.
“At the party—” Adam started.
“The bell’s going to ring any second,” I said desperately. “Let’s all just go to class and—”
“You were a real ass,” Adam continued.
I glowered at him. Wes was the ass? What was he smoking?
“Come on. Class.” I walked between them and glanced back at Wes. His eyes narrowed then suddenly lit up with understanding.
The bell rang—too late—and we were all forced to hurry to class. At least Wes and I didn’t have any more classes together for the rest of the day. I had a hell of a time trying to focus, and as soon as the school day ended, I ran to my car before Wes could show up and question me. I had no answers for him. None.
Why did Adam have to go and ruin everything?
Chapter Eighteen
Wes
It was aggravating, but I also had to give her credit—April did a good job of hiding from me or else sticking around family so I couldn’t approach her. But as soon as dinner ended, she would have nowhere to run.
I kept glancing at her, but she wouldn’t look at me. “How was school?” I asked her, even though I already knew the answer. It wasn’t like I could bring up the party…yet. That just wasn’t proper dinner conversation. I laughed.
She stared at me like I had three heads.
“Did you see Adam at all?” I asked next.
Her cheeks turned bright red.
Okay, so I was tormenting her by trying to talk to her. I honestly didn’t know what to feel or think. She had sneaked out. She had lied to everyone, including me. How did she manage to pull it off? And why did she ever go to the party in the first place? I had warned her against going. Maybe that had been the issue.
Let’s see…I knew I fucked Lizzy. But before that?
“Dad, I wanted to talk to you about something.”
I sat up straighter. Everyone, including me, was staring at April.
“Go ahead.” Walter lowered his knife and fork.
“I’ve been thinking about looking into some other colleges,” she said slowly. “I’ve found a lot of good scholarships too,” she added, sounding more enthusiastic now.
I was inwardly proud of her and couldn’t stop myself form smiling at her. To my disgust, though, Yvonne, Jacqueline, and Walter were all staring at her like she insulted the Lord himself.
Yvonne cleared her throat and lifted her nose into the air. The woman thought her shit didn’t stink, but let me tell you, it did. I had gone to the bathroom after her, and it reeked.
“What nonsense are you talking about?” Yvonne asked in her whiny voice.
Don’t you back down, April.
April straightened in her seat. “There are better education programs elsewhere, and I can minor in child psychology this way.”
Good for you! I badly wanted to speak up, to tell her what I thought about this since it looked like no one else was on her side, but if I did, I knew it would only make things look even worse in everyone else’s eyes, so I kept my trap shut.
Walter glowered at her. “When did you decide all of this on your own?”
April didn’t say anything and lowered her gaze to her plate.
“Why do you believe I’m a worthless fool?” he asked.
Now that was low. Trying to twist it around like that. Not cool, Walter. That’s being a real dick.
“I wasn’t trying to insult your original plans, Dad.”
Damn it. She was wavering now. She better not cave. They couldn’t live her life for her. She should be free to do whatever the hell she wanted.
“If that’s the case,” Walter said, “why did you think I hadn’t thought all of this out already?”
Roslyn gave April a timid smile. “April might have a point,” she said hesitantly.
Yvonne laughed, loud and long. “I always knew Roslyn was an unfit mother.”
What the hell? Because she was trying to keep her daughter form being dominated by a terrible father? Yvonne was the spineless one. No, actually, that was Jacqueline. Yvonne was only in Walter’s good graces because she gave Walter so many kids, including the youngest of the group. Roslyn hadn’t given birth in quite a while. Maybe she was infertile, like Jacqueline was. Guess that was why Yvonne was so high and mighty all the time. Felt like she had it in tight with their shared husband.
Disgusting.
April looked ready to cry. She stood, hands on the table, and glowered at Yvonne. “Shut up,” she said to Yvonne through gritted teeth.
I gasped. April was too much of a good girl to talk back, or at least I thought she was. Yvonne must have really struck a nerve. Yeah, Roslyn did seem to be the best mother out of the three. Hardly unfit at all.
“That’s it!” Walter snarled. He got up and dragged April out of the dining room and into the kitchen.
Like we were possessed, we all trickled from the table to the kitchen and watched like it was a TV show as Walter washed April’s mouth out with soap.
When he was done, he shoved her away. “There, did you like that? No? Good. You know better than to be so disrespectful. You’re going to accompany me to the purity ball this weekend to reaffirm your chastity and to remember your holy obligations.”
No one said anything. April was trying not to cry, I could tell. I wanted to comfort her, but it would only make things worse, so I held my ground. Even the boys, P and P as April called them, were uncharacteristically quiet. Kind of unnerving.
Walter pushed through the crowd back to the table. “Come on now. Everyone needs to finish eating. I won’t have good food go to waste.”
Like mindless drones, we filed back to the table and sat. Walter began to talk to Yvonne like nothing just happened. It took everything in me not to kill him. I shoved the rest of the food into my mouth—no way did I want to give Walter an excuse to turn his asshole-ness on me—and I cleared my throat. “Can…may I be excused?”
Walter eyed me for a long moment then nodded. “You may,” he said stiffly.
I cleared my place and then ran up the stairs to my room. So much bad energy filled me, so I paced my room, trying to feel better, but it didn’t work. Maybe nothing would.
The wall called to me, and before I knew it, I was punching the wall as hard as I could, cracking the plaster and scraping my knuckles. I wanted nothing more than to grab April, get onto my bike, and leave with her.
But would she go with me? And Walter would call it kidnapping, even if April went willingly. No way did I want the cops on my tail.
I went to the bathroom and washed my hand. The red in the water slowly turned to pink and then clear as I washed away the blood, but the cut remained. The force of the water reopened the wound, and I savored the pain. Should I talk to April, or would that make things worse?
I went back to my room, and a moment later, there was a knock. Maybe I should just ignore it. There weren’t many people in this house I wanted to talk to.
But on the chance that it was someone I wanted to talk to, I
answered it.
It turned out to be April.
Glad I answered it after all.
Chapter Nineteen
We just stared at each other, and there was something brewing between us, I could tell, and I thought she could feel it too. I averted my gaze to try to break it. “Come to say good night?” I asked, trying to be sarcastic to change the mood.
April rolled her eyes. “Can I come in?” she asked.
I stepped aside with a flourish, holding the door open for her and swinging out my arm. After she entered, I closed the door.
She stood there, in the moonlight from my window. She was still a little fresh from crying, but she looked determined and full of quiet, self-righteous anger in her big sweater and pajama short. Always the pajamas shorts. She shouldn’t look pretty, or beautiful, but she did. Somehow, she always did.
She didn’t say anything. Maybe she lost her nerve, so I talked first. “You were at the party, weren’t you?”
April stared out the window, her body stiffening.
“I thought you weren’t going to go.”
She shrugged.
“That it wasn’t your scene, that your friends wouldn’t be there.”
“It wasn’t my scene.”
“So why did you go?”
“Not sure.”
These short answers were driving me nuts. “How did you get there?”
“A friend gave me a ride.”
“Which friend?” I couldn’t remember everything from that night, but I was pretty sure none of her friends had been there.
“No one you know.”
I grimaced. “Did you see me there?”
She hesitated, and when I moved between her and the window, she backed away and avoided eye contact. I continued walking toward her until she was backed up against a wall.
“What about Adam? Did you see him there?”
She didn’t say anything.
“April. Look at me.”
After a moment, she looked up, and it suddenly hit me like a blow to the gut. I remembered those eyes looking up at me another night. I was floored even more so when I remembered kissing her and how fucking amazing it had been.
“You were the girl,” I said. Holy Hell! She was the incredible girl I’d made out with, the one I couldn’t stop thinking about. No wonder I had been able to picture kissing her so clearly—we had kissed! Then my elation died, and I felt sick to my stomach. “You saw me and Lizzy, didn’t you?”
April grimaced and looked away again. “It…it was none of my business.”
Fury filled me. I was infuriated, with her and myself.
Unable to stop myself, I couldn’t help lecturing her, even though I had no right to do so. “You shouldn’t have come. Like I told you not to. I was on my worst behavior that night because I was so stressed and pissed off. No excuse, but…I regret doing what I did.”
Still not looking at me, she asked quietly, “Even kissing me?”
“Of course,” I exploded.
April looked like her heart was breaking. Her eyes were so big, and she bit her lower lip. She was wringing her hands, and I just wanted to pull her to me and hug her, hold her, rub her back, make her feel happy, if I could.
“Let me explain,” I offered. She didn’t respond, so I added, “I would much rather kiss you sober.”
The corners of her lips curled upward, and she looked up at me from beneath her lowered eyelashes.
“That was your first kiss, wasn’t it?” I continued.
“Y-yes. Was it obvious?”
I grinned devilishly. “Yes. And I loved it.”
There was barely any space between us. She smelled too good. I knew if she didn’t walk out now, I wasn’t going to be able to help myself.
“April, you should go.” But I didn’t move to give her space to leave.
“No.” She stared me straight in the eye.
“April…”
“No. I’m not. I won’t go. Why don’t you kiss me?”
Oh, we’re in trouble. “I mean, when you put it that way. Let me make it up to you. I’m a much better kisser sober.”
Our mouths collided, and now that we were both sober, it was twice as electric. I could tell she was inexperienced, but it just made it even hotter. I’d dreamed of her, of her nervous, clingy hands on me, her mouth tasting everything for the first time.
And it was a thousand times better in real life.
We made out for several minutes until April was moaning, writhing against the wall. If she was trying to be quiet, she wasn’t doing a good job of it. Loved that she was a screamer. Loved that I could make her moan.
I started lavishing her neck with kisses. It was only getting more and more intense, and soon, she was clawing at my shirt and my fingers were toying with the hem of hers. Breathing heavy, I broke away long enough to look into her eyes.
April cleared her throat. “What if I told you…” she asked, her voice shaking, “…I didn’t want to go to the purity ball a virgin?”
I shut my eyes as my erection went so stiff it hurt. Slowly, I smirked. For a split second, I thought I might love her.
“I’d tell you that’s reckless and stupid and I love it.”
April giggled, and I kissed her again.
“You know this doesn’t mean we’re together,” I added, “and it’s not something you can take back.”
But her eyes were clear, and I could tell she was determined. “Yup. No strings.”
“Perfect.”
All bets were off.
As if a switch had been flipped inside of me, I now kissed her with wild abandon, tearing off her sweater and reaching up the back of her shirt to undo her clasp with one hand.
It was late, and as long as we were quiet, I could take my sweet time with her, and I planned on it.
I unwrapped her slowly, like a Christmas present, and acquainted myself with every bit of skin I could touch and caress. Inhaling, I could smell her wetness.
“Have you ever put your fingers inside of yourself?” I asked, whispering into her ear.
She nodded against me.
“While thinking of me?”
April nodded again.
I was going to die if I didn’t fuck her good.
My fingers slid between her legs, and I inserted a finger. April gasped. She was tight around my finger, but she was so aroused and slick that I was able to add another one. As I fingered her, she started to moan, grabbing my shoulders, and rolling her hips in time to my movements.
She was nearly undone in front of me. She was ready.
“I…I want you,” she said just above a whisper.
“Oh, I know you do.”
I took my fingers out of her and grabbed a condom from my wallet. She watched as I unrolled it onto myself.
“Are you ready?” I asked.
She nodded.
I picked her up, and she wrapped her legs around my waist. With ease, I carried her over to my bed. While the idea of having her right there against the wall was appealing, I figured the bed would be a better place for her first time.
And when I saw her there, on my bed, looking up at me with those beautiful eyes, I knew I had made the right choice.
Somehow I managed to slide into her inch by inch, slow and easy, giving her the chance to tell me if it hurt. She didn’t, and gradually I was hilt deep. “Are you all right?” I asked through gritted teeth. It was torture to not ram in and out of her. Man, she was so tight and perfect, and it felt incredible to be inside of her.
“It doesn’t hurt,” she whispered.
“You sure?”
“I promise. It doesn’t hurt. It just…it just feels huge. Just…just give me a second to adjust.”
I nodded, even though giving her time was so hard, almost asking too much.
When she nodded, I slid back out and started over again, inching my way back inside of her. I did a third time and a fourth, and when she didn’t complain, on the fifth time starting to move her hips, I started t
o pound into her.
“Yes,” she moaned loudly.
I smiled wickedly. “Keep quiet, April.”
