Sweetest Obsessions - Anthology

by Anthony, Jane

  “Do you feel how hard I am for you?”

  I didn’t respond.

  “You’re the only woman who has this effect on me.”

  “Zander, you don’t mean that.”

  “The fuck I don’t. After I graduate, say you’ll be my woman. No one has to know.”

  His lips trailed across my neck sending heat waves to my core. “Zander, we can’t.” In the same breath, I deepened our kiss. I wanted to believe his words, but I knew he was intoxicated. I released our lips, breathlessly, I pressed my hands against his muscled chest.

  “Zander, go before my brother comes looking for you.”

  His eyes widened and his hand flew over his messy, wet hair. “Yeah. Shit,” he grunted. “Bye, Vicky.”

  He stumbled out of the room. My fingers brushed my stinging lips as I sank into the sofa. I’ll never forget our kiss, even though tomorrow he will.

  Strolling down the steps into the kitchen, I peeked at the two morons hunched over their cells whispering.

  I swung open the refrigerator, grabbing the orange juice container.

  “What the fuck are you girls snickering about?”

  Hayden slapped his perfect black hair out of his face. “You know Vick…”

  My eyebrow rose.

  “…y. Guy stuff.”

  They think it’s cute calling me fucking Vick. Little assholes.

  Hayden returned his attention to whatever was so interesting on the screen. I poured the cold juice in my glass.

  Strolling over to the table, I sat across from Hayden. I scrolled through my cell. They laughed like two school girls.

  I glanced between them then plucked Zander’s cell out of his hand.

  Staring at the screen my mouth dropped open. All kind of feelings rose to the surface.

  “Give me the phone back.”

  I pulled it into my chest. “I’ll give it back when I’m done or you two can clean up that mess by the pool.”

  Their long legs bounced up and down under the table and their faces turned a deep red.

  Zander was fucking a random girl in the corner near the pool up against the house.

  Their friends were gone. So, it was probably after he kissed me. I felt like someone twisted a dagger in my heart. I couldn’t show him I cared. “Give me your phone, Hayden.”

  “Vicky come on.”

  “Now.”

  I pressed play he was also fucking a girl pool side.

  My eyes glared between them. “This is what you guys do? Film each other having sex with your groupies? I hope you two have enough common sense to use condoms.”

  “Of course, Vicky. We have several boxes,” Hayden replied.

  Zander fiddled with his fingers never making eye contact with me. “We always use protection.”

  I nodded, placing their cells on the table.

  “After breakfast, you two asses clean up that mess y’all made around the pool.”

  They sucked their teeth and grunted.

  “I invited my boyfriend Jason and a few of our friends over for a swim.”

  Zander’s jaw twitched. I figured I’d twist the knife in his heart too.

  “Not a problem, Vicky. Hayden and I are hanging at Troy’s later. So, you’ll have the house to yourself.”

  He swiped up his plate. Bacon and sausage were piled high. “I’ll be in the living room watching TV.” I could hear the bitter tone in his voice.

  Hayden stared at me. “When do you return to school, Vicky?”

  “I think I’ll return after Labor Day so I can torture you two assholes all summer.” I smirked.

  He grabbed his plate, rolled his eyes, and walked into the living room.

  Ah, peace and quiet the way I like it.

  4

  Zander

  The girls hung all over my buddies and I around Hayden’s swimming pool on my birthday. Heavy metal blared through the speakers. We drank, beer, spiced rum, ate wings, and other snacks. A perfect Saturday. Until, Vicky came home. I peered through the house, while laying on a lounge chair. She walked through the living room then disappeared down a hall.

  My eyes were fixated on the house as I drank and drank.

  The two girls sitting between my legs rubbed my chest and bit my ear lobes. My cock thickened. Not because of the girls, but because of what happened earlier. Standing over Vicky in the kitchen at the countertop, I smelled her hair as my nose grazed her silky locks. If Vicky didn’t want to be in my presence, she wouldn’t have stood in the box my arms created on either side of her. She asked were my friends going to sing me happy birthday. I probably shouldn’t have admitted I was waiting for her. Vicky tore from my arms and padded up the steps. Yup, I dug under her porcelain skin. She wanted me. Vicky had to, right? She couldn’t look at me upon leaving.

  “Ladies, I’ll be back.”

  “No, don’t leave us,” Tammy wined.

  Kylie sat on Hayden’s lap. He tossed her into the pool and jumped in after her, horsing around.

  I placed them on their asses on the lounge chair.

  “Hurry back,” Riley yelled.

  I hopped into the pool, plunging to the bottom in an effort to cool down. Surfacing at the other end, I climbed out of the pool dripping wet. I ran my hands over my hair releasing the excess water. Grabbing a towel, I dried my body before walking into the dim house. Stopping in the kitchen, I prepared a fresh glass of spice rum. I threw the contents down my throat. The spiced rum burned, sliding down my esophagus. My fist pounded my chest to elevate the burn. I placed the empty glass on the counter.

  The effects in the movie pounded through the surround sound speakers, beating against the theater walls. I knocked. She asked who it was, I wouldn’t answer. A snide comment followed. Wouldn’t be Victoria if it didn’t. Finally, she swung the door open. “What is it…”

  Her eyes narrowed. “Shouldn’t you be with your friends?

  I pushed past her and closed the door.

  “Zander, go hang out with your friends.”

  I slipped my arm around her waist, staring into her wide eyes.

  “I wanted to see you,” I whispered against her lips. The liquor had me admitting to her things I wouldn’t ever admit if I were sober.

  Our lips connected and sent chills up my spine. This was the only woman I desired. I never wanted to let her go. She shoved her tongue deeper into my mouth. Vicky didn’t want to break the strong force of need between us. Her breathing was erratic as she pushed me back, reminding me, Hayden could find us.

  My eyes widened and my hand flew over my wet hair. Fuck, I forgot about Hayden. “Yeah. Shit,” I grunted. “Bye, Vicky.”

  I stumbled out of the room. My thoughts were consumed with how Vicky reacted to our kiss. She was into it. She wanted us. But her brother came between us. My actions later that night were less than stellar. Riley wanted my attention. She and her friend, Kylie were the last girls at the party. They wanted to fuck Hayden and I. We gave them what they wanted.

  The next morning, I cooked breakfast for me and Hayden. We sat at the table watching the videos of us having sex with Riley and Kylie. Who walks into the kitchen and takes our phones? Victoria. The look in her eyes when she saw I had sex with another girl last night was pain and disbelief. I fucked up. Or did I? Fuck, it wasn’t like we’d ever get together. Shit, her brother would keep us apart.

  Moving on was in my best interest. I definitely didn’t want to hear about her boyfriend Jason coming over. I didn’t recall her mentioning him. Where the fuck did, he come from? My blood boiled. I needed to get out of her presence.

  Sunday evening, my mother called.

  “Zander.”

  “Hello, Mom.”

  “I need you to come home. Your brother and I want to spend time with you on the tail end of your birthday weekend.”

  “Just you and Owen?” My father wasn’t home on my birthday weekend. He didn’t even call. I slouched in the game chair in Troy’s game room.

  “Zander.” She sighed.

>   “Yes. Where are you? I’m sending the car service.”

  Gruffly I ran my fingers through my messy hair.

  “I’m at Troy’s.”

  “Ok, the driver will be there in twenty. Say goodbye to your friends.”

  Forty-minutes or so later, the driver drove through the black wrought-iron gate. Our home in the Buckhead suburb was a work of art. It should’ve been, my dad Thatcher Owen Marshall, was a famous architect. Every prestigious person in the state of Georgia and around the world wanted my dad to design their building or home.

  Not sure why the fuck he settled down. He didn’t want a wife and children. His architecture was his precious world. Our home was fucking airy, sleek, modern, and a work of art. I hated it. I hated it because Thatcher designed it. Yeah, I hadn’t called him dad since I was thirteen. He wasn’t a dad to me. He was a sperm donor. There was a time when he loved us. And we loved him. The way he once gazed into my mother’s eyes made me believe in true love and happily ever after’s. What happened? Why did he become evil and distant?

  Owen and I began spending the night at our friends. Hayden had the best parents out of all of our friends. They still loved each other after all these years. Hayden’s father was a workaholic too. He promised to turn the business over to Victoria and Hayden one day. A cold chill shot up my spine and I clenched my fists. I wanted my family to be normal again. Instead, my mom Laura Bonnie Marshall, had a drinking problem at thirty-seven. I exhaled.

  Our butler stood, holding the front door open.

  “Good evening, Sir Zander.”

  “Ralph.” I nodded, strolling through the atrium, down the long hall into the massive size industrial copper kitchen.

  “Zander!” My brother Owen peeked up at me from the countertop he leaned on across from my mother.

  “Owen. Mom.” I smirked.

  He stepped forward, embracing me. “Happy birthday! I missed you, baby bro.”

  “Thank you and I missed you, too.”

  I hurried over and wrapped my mother in my arms. Her frail short frame shook.

  “Mom, don’t cry.”

  “I can’t help it. You boys turned out so good despite having a young mother like me.”

  My mother Laura was nineteen when she had my brother. She wasn’t a perfect mother. There were plenty of times the TV babysat my brother and me. Dad had enough. He insisted mom hire a part-time nanny. We didn’t always live grandiose. We lived in a four-bedroom colonial until I was three years old my mother said. Not that we couldn’t live in a mansion in the beginning. Thatcher said we needed to struggle a little. He didn’t want to depend on his or my mother’s parents. Yup, both my parents came from money. Old money. Not sure why my mother stayed with him. Oh, sorry getting a head of myself. We lived in the first mansion for five years until this monstrosity was built. Secretly I love the state-of-the-art home. Again, I hate it because dear old dad laid the plans for this beauty.

  This city will always be home. It will be an adjustment to attend Princeton University in a couple of years.

  My lips melted against the top of her head. She smelled of rich floral perfume. Stepping back, my eyes darted to the low-ball glass of vodka on the rocks.

  Her brilliant green eyes followed mine. “Zander, don’t yell.”

  My jaw twitched. “Mom.”

  She met my angry gaze. “Ok.” My mom poured the contents down the drain.

  “Owen, lead Zander onto the patio,” she smiled wide.

  I glanced between them. The corner of my lips curled upward. “What are you two up to?”

  Owen shoved me through the open door way. I glanced at the red and yellow sun setting.

  I turned to the right. My smile dropped the moment our mirrored eyes met. Shit, why was he here?

  His arms opened wide and a cheesy grin fell across his lips. Owen and I look exactly like him. If it wasn’t for my mother’s nose and ears, no one would believe she had anything to do with the birth.

  “Happy birthday, Zander!”

  His deep voice slapped my heart. I felt a little love for him. He closed the space between us and wrapped his arms around me.

  “I missed you, son.”

  Loosely, my arms wrapped around his back. I peeked at the birthday cake on the table behind him. He wore expensive aftershave, the one Owen, and I snuck into countless times. His black hair was cut short. Not long like me and Owen’s.

  I should say something nice. Instead, I stepped back. “Thought you’d be out of town…still.”

  He placed his hand on my cheek. “Your mom said she’d get you home today so we could spend time together as a family.

  Family? What the fuck was he talking about? We hadn’t been a real family in years.

  Biting my tongue seemed best. Not sure when we’d have another family moment. Maybe in the year two thousand twenty. The doorbell chimed.

  “I’ll get it,” Owen yelled.

  “I understand you and Hayden had quite the weekend.”

  Thatcher wore a short sleeve navy golf shirt and khaki shorts.

  “Yeah, we had a blast.”

  Today was my actual birthday. Hayden wanted us to have an epic Saturday night. We were having fun until Vicky returned. I couldn’t keep my thoughts straight when I knew she was home.

  “Food’s here!” Owen announced from behind.

  I turned and the aroma of shrimp fried rice flew up my nose.

  “My favorite.”

  Dad smacked my back. “I know. Have a seat son.”

  He grabbed a bag from Owen and placed it on the table.

  “Laura, have a seat,” he smiled.

  What if he was leaving us? I knew it. He had another family.

  My mother grabbed my hand. I peered at her. “It’s like old times.” A bright smile lit up her gorgeous tanned oval face.

  “Yeah,” I whispered.

  I could see what my dad saw in my mom. She was vibrant and enjoyed basking in the sun when she wasn’t drinking. Maybe if he sent my mother to rehab, we could go back to the way things were.

  My father became agitated easily. I could as well. Probably inherited that trait. My parents enrolled me in martial arts to channel my pent-up aggression. Shit, my aggression was mainly pointed toward my dad. Because he was never there. It happened gradually. He worked from home for several years, but I guess he grew tired of Owen and me asking to play catch. He began working from a state-of-the-art building in downtown Atlanta.

  Dad sat next to mom. He leaned over and kissed her cheek. I tried not to stare, but it was difficult.

  Thatcher hadn’t displayed affection toward my mother in years. Honestly, I hadn’t been home too much. Maybe they made up, and I wasn’t aware.

  “Owen, how’s Harvard?”

  “Good. I look forward to the fall semester.”

  “Excuse me.” I held my finger in the air.

  “Owen, I know you and Vicky attend the same school. Have you ever tried to talk to her?”

  He laughed. “What?”

  “Answer, the question.”

  He glanced around the table, then his eyes landed on me. “No, I never tried to talk to your girlfriend. I know you’ve got it bad for her. What the heck kind of brother would I be if I tried to put the moves on your girl?”

  I smiled, slapping his shoulder. “Thanks, big, bro. You know to keep this between us.”

  He rolled his eyes and shrugged. “Yeah.”

  “Zander, relax,” my father huffed.

  I sipped my cola.

  “Owen, did you figure out your major yet?”

  He slid a forkful of shrimp fried rice into his mouth, peeked at me, then back at dad. “Architecture.”

  Shit, what the fuck was he doing?

  My father’s smile widened. “Good.”

  Still trying to please our father. He shouldn’t. Dad didn’t give a shit about us.

  “Zan, are you excited to attend Princeton?”

  “Yes. And I know what my major will be.” I smirked, shovelin
g a forkful of shrimp fried rice into my mouth, savoring the taste.

  “Spit it out, Zander.”

  “I’ll study business then law.”

  His blue eyes turned dark and his jaw ticked.

  Yup, this was the best birthday. The look on his face was classic. There was no way I’d tell him I’d study architecture. One day I came home and my mom had hung all my drawings. She found them in the bottom drawer of my desk. I was furious. My dad didn’t need to know I still drew. My skills were better than my brothers. See my father didn’t want to play catch with us he wanted to help us develop our drawing skills.

  “You don’t remember what we discussed, Zan?”

  He sat forearms resting on the long rectangular table, glaring at me.

  “Yes. You want Owen and I to run the firm. I’m majoring in business. Owen can draw. I’ll handle the day-to-day operations.”

  He flashed a fake smile. “We’ll discuss at another time, Zander.”

  An hour later we stood outside the six-car garage.

  My dad’s hand rested on my shoulder. He mashed the garage door opener with the other hand. “I hope you like it.”

  The middle door rose. My eyes bulged and my mouth dropped open. “I can’t believe it! It’s a triple black Lamborghini Murciélago.”

  My father gripped my shoulder, pulling me close. “Don’t stop smiling. You are the best architect of this family. You don’t have to major in architecture, but you will enroll in architecture classes and pass them. That will pacify me, son.” He placed emphasis on son.

  You see even though Thatcher wasn’t around often, he still knew how to control me. On second thought, this became the worst birthday all over again.

  The following day, my trainer Boris joined me in our home gym. I’ve taken martial arts classes since I was little. Mixed martial arts fighting piqued my interest.

  My leg flew through the air aiming for Boris’s head.

  He smiled. “You’re good. When do you plan to fight?”

  “Not sure. But I want to be ready. Today, I called you over because I needed to workout a little aggression.” I danced around the ring.

  He arched a brow. “Your father?”