by Coco Cadence
“Sorry,” I mumble.
“Hey, Emily, right? You’re Chris’s chick.” A big smile appears on his face.
“What?” I blush from his comment.
“Way to go, girl!” he says, sticking up his thumb. “Nice.” He leans in to whisper in my ear. “Do you think you could, you know, do the same for me?”
I frown and lean back. “What are you talking about?”
“You know, what you did for him …” He winks.
In shock, I stumble backward. “I think I’m gonna go now.”
I try to pass him, but he keeps walking after me. “Hey, don’t run away. I mean it. I’m totally up for it.” He walks next to me, even though I’m trying to get away from him. “I’ll give you anything you want. I have cash.”
The moment he starts fishing in his pocket, I stop in my tracks and hold up my hand. “Wow, stop. No.” I look him straight in the eyes, so he’ll know I’m serious. “No. Big no. I don’t know where you got this idea, but I’m not interested.”
“What?” He makes a face. “Oh, c’mon.” He grabs my arm when I try to walk away again.
“Let go of me,” I say, jerking myself free.
After a stern look, I run into the hallway to try to shake him off, but I only run into more of my classmates who give me the dirty eye. I walk in the middle while they’re all walking around me in a circle, avoiding me like the plague.
And that’s when I hear one of them whisper, “She’s that slut.”
Slut? Me?
Tears well up in my eyes, as more and more of them look at me as if I’m the scum of the earth. I run into the nearest bathroom and take out my cell phone. With shaking hands, I text Chris and tell him to meet me here. I don’t want to leave; they’re all looking at me, and I hate it. Why are they calling me names and looking at me like that? I’ve done nothing wrong. Nothing weird.
Nothing … except one night with Chris.
It finally sinks in, and I struggle to breathe. My fingers tremble and the phone drops to the stone floor, cracking the screen. That’s when someone knocks on the door.
Chapter 11
Emily
Age 16
“Emily?”
His voice alone makes a tear roll down my cheeks.
“Are you in here?”
“Yes,” I say.
I’m not sure what I should do. A part of me wants to tell him to stay the hell away, and another part of me wants him to explain. I care about him, and for him to do this to me … I can’t imagine it.
When the door opens, my choice is made for me. He peeks through the slit before entering, and the moment he spots my teary eyes, he says, “What happened?”
“You did this,” I say.
“What?” he says, closing the door behind him.
“Don’t pretend you don’t know what I’m talking about. They’re calling me a slut, Chris. A slut. A whore. A cheap girl.” I grind my teeth from anger.
“What? Why?”
“Why? Isn’t it obvious?” I yell. “You told them we … we …” I can’t even say it without feeling sick to my stomach at the thought that everyone knows.
“Wait … but I didn’t …” He smacks his hand on his forehead, his jaw dropping. “Fuck no. The guys …”
“What about them?” I say, crossing my arms. “You told them, didn’t you?”
He rubs his lips together. “I’m sorry. I just … they kept asking me what I was doing with you, and I felt so good about it, it somehow just slipped out.”
“You told them we had sex?” I scream.
“Shhh.” Chris puts his finger in front of his lip. “Not so loud.”
“Why? Are you afraid the whole school will know what we did? Guess what, Chris? Too late!”
“No, I didn’t mean for this to happen,” he says. “I just couldn’t contain myself. I promise you, they swore they’d keep it a secret.”
“They didn’t,” I say, swallowing away the lump in my throat. “And now the whole school knows. And on top of that, your friend came to me asking if I could provide the same ‘service’ to him.”
“What?” His jaw drops even further.
“You used me,” I snarl. “You used me for your own fun, and I fell for it.”
“No, that’s not at all—”
“Save it. I don’t want to hear it,” I say. My heart is breaking. He crushed it in his hand the moment he told his friends about us.
“Am I just a trophy to you? A girl you scored? That one night you can boast about to your friends?” I spit, unable to control myself. “Well, good for you. You did it. Congratulations. The school nerd fell for the jock and she got owned.” I open my bag and take out his notebook. “Here’s your medal.” I fling it toward him, and he barely manages to catch it.
“Don’t do this,” he says. “It’s not like that, not at all.”
“Yeah? Well, how am I supposed to believe that, huh? With the whole school calling me a slut?” I push back the tears that scream to be set free. “You sold me out. I feel like a prostitute.”
“Don’t call yourself that.” He takes a step in my direction, but I hold up my hand.
“Don’t come any closer.” I can’t allow him to touch me because I know the effect it has on me. I don’t trust myself one bit around him, but I need to do this for my own self-worth.
“I didn’t know this would happen. You have to believe me,” he says. “They made it all up, I swear. It’s all lies. I didn’t tell them I paid you.”
“It doesn’t matter, Chris. It still happened, and now the whole school thinks I’m for sale.”
“I’m sorry,” he says with a genuine frown.
“Please, just …” I sigh and sling my backpack over my shoulder. “Just leave me alone, okay?”
As I walk past him, he says, “I meant it when I said I liked being with you. What we had…”
I lower my head, and a tear still manages to escape. I can’t forgive him for this. Not now. It’s too fresh, too painful. When I walk out of here, people will still talk about me. They will still call me names based on a lie. Boys will harass me, thinking I’m easy. It’s going to be even tougher than before, but I’ll hold my head high and show them I’m not who they think I am.
I won’t scream, I won’t shout, and I won’t fight. But my silence will show that I’m not one to mess with.
Chapter 12
Chris
Present
Sweet Jesus, have mercy on me. That ass is so fine I’d take a bite if I could.
I check her out as she gets off her seat and bends over to pick up a stack of the papers that fell off the desk. When she gets back up and turns her head, she narrows her eyes at me while I’m biting my lip. Shit, she caught me in the act.
“Were you checking me out?” she says.
“Ahh … no comment.” I grin. “See? I’m a good learner.”
She rolls her eyes and sits back down again, slamming the stack of papers on her desk. “Except you’re supposed to be honest with me. How else am I going to improve your current, and horrible might I add, standing with the media?”
“Ouch, that was harsh, si—I mean Em.” I swallow, but she clearly appreciates me trying not to use the word she hates so much. Pity, because I love to use it. It gets her so angry, like spitfire will spew from her mouth. I guess I’m just a sucker for her attention in whatever way I can get it.
She immediately begins typing again, probably sending out another one of her emails, but I’m not having any of it.
“Nuh-uh,” I say, grabbing her arm and picking her up from her chair. “We’re not doing this.”
“What?” she says as I drag her away from her chair. “What are you doing?”
“Taking you out for some coffee.”
“I have work to do, Chris.”
“Work later. Take a break now,” I say as I pull her through the door of the office.
“I have a Kit Kat in my drawer.”
I laugh. “And I have a Milky Way in m
y pants.”
“Oh, ha-ha,” she says.
“Don’t make me pull it out.” I grin at her, which makes her roll her eyes.
“Been there, done that. I wasn’t too impressed,” she muses, freeing herself from my grip.
“Liar,” I say, raising a brow. “I know you liked it. Especially the white filling.”
“Oh, Jesus … that one time?” she jokes. “Do I need to remind you of what happened after that? At school? With your friends?”
I guess we’re not talking about Kit Kats and Milky Ways anymore. Too bad, because I was definitely getting in the mood for a taste of that sweet caramel.
“No, I remember vividly, thanks,” I say. “Now let’s go.”
When I attempt to grab her hand, she crosses her arms. “Who says I’m coming with you? I can’t afford to take a break. Not with my boss peeking over my shoulder every hour.”
“Tell her I forced you. She’ll forgive me.”
“She knows when I’m lying,” she says, dropping her arms.
With a smirk, I say, “It’s not a lie. I get what I want, and I’m taking you with me now.”
Her eyes widen and a flush appears on her cheeks, and then I grab her hand and pull her along with me.
“You’re really pushy, you know that?” she says.
“I learned from the best,” I muse.
“Hey, I hope you don’t mean me, dude.”
“No comment.” I glance at her, her frown making me smile broadly. I can’t help myself, I just love to see her face, and I know she’ll definitely look at me when I’ve ticked her off. “I’m doing you a favor here.”
“Well, thanks,” she says. “I didn’t ask for one.”
“You don’t have to ask; I know what you need.” I stop walking, and she almost bumps into me, so I catch her in my arms. “You need some dark … hot … oozing …”
“Oh, dear lord …” she mutters.
I lean in closer. “Chocolate.”
For a second, she seems confused and then something else settles on her face. Disappointment. Did she think of something else? She’s not the only one.
My lips automatically curl up to form a smile. “With some whipped cream on top.”
“You make everything sound so dirty,” she says, but I can tell she’s trying to keep the smile off her face.
“That’s because I am a dirty motherfucker,” I muse, licking my lips. “Just the way you like it.”
She rolls her eyes and tries to escape from my grasp, but with my arms wrapped around her, she’s no match for my strength. “How about it, then?”
“First you say coffee, now you say chocolate. You sure change your mind a lot,” she says.
I grab her chin and tilt her face, making her look me in the eyes. Her lips part, and for a second there, I contemplate kissing her and getting all of this tension out of the way. But then she’d be pissed off. Plus, this will be way more fun if she actually begs me to do it.
So I cock my head and come close to her lips, but not close enough for us to kiss. “Anything to get you away from that PC and closer to me.”
“Chris …” She pushes me away slowly, but without force, as if she’s unsure about her own mind.
“What? You can’t be mad at me for trying.”
She sighs. “I’m not; it’s just that … you know we can’t.”
“Can’t what?” I shrug, and then turn around and start walking again.
When she doesn’t come along and just stands there, flabbergasted, I yell, “You coming? Or do you want me to pull out my Milky Way to make you come?”
“Oh, fuck me …” She shakes her head, which makes me laugh.
“I’m first in line!” I say, which makes her so mad that she starts running after me. One of us is always chasing after the other. It never changes, and it never will.
***
Age 16
After rubbing my hands and mentally preparing myself, I jump off the vines and grab onto the ledge of her window. The wood cracks under my weight, but I manage to hold on and drag myself up without it breaking. Sweat stains my shirt, but when I make it inside her room, none of it matters. Especially when I see her standing in her doorway.
“Chris?!”
She drops the brush she was holding. Her brown hair is a bit messy, just the way I like it.
“What are you doing here?” she asks.
I crawl through the window and look around before walking toward her. “I came to see you.”
She backs away from me. “You can’t be here, Chris.”
“Don’t worry; your father won’t know I’m here.”
They hate me after hearing everything that happened to Emily at school. They blame me for it, and rightfully so. I was so happy about us that I shared it with the guys, but I never meant for her to be publicly humiliated. That’s the last thing I wanted to happen.
She frowns. “There was a good reason I didn’t invite you to study with me.”
“I know, and I’m sorry. I really am. I came to make it up to you.” I rummage in my pocket while she looks at me with a raised eyebrow. “Got it.” I fish out the tiny necklace I bought for her, one with a locket shaped like a heart. I hold it out in front of her and smile. “I know it’s not much, but it reminded me of you.”
She sighs. “Chris, I …”
“Take it.” I grab her hand and push the locket in her palm. “It’s yours.”
“You know I can’t take this.”
“Yes, you can. You don’t have to do anything for me,” I assure her. “Just take it.” I take a step closer, and she doesn’t back away, which is a good sign. “It’s my way to say sorry.”
She looks down at her hand, biting her lip in a way that makes me want to come closer and hug her tight, even though she’ll probably want me to stay away. I can’t help it … I want to be close to her and help her. I never wanted her to feel bad.
“I’m really sorry,” I reiterate.
“You said that already,” she muses.
“Yeah, I know,” I say, muffling an awkward laugh. “But it never hurts to say it again. And again. And again.” I grab her hand and pull her closer toward me. “Until eventually, maybe, you’ll start believing it.”
She cocks her head and sucks on her lip. God, that looks so hot. I shouldn’t be thinking this, but when she does that, I want to smash my lips on hers. It’s probably not what she’s thinking, though.
“I can’t stop thinking about you,” I say. And neither can my cock, but I won’t say that out loud. Damn, that one time was not enough. When she blushes, it twitches in my pants. Fuck me, I came here to make things up, but it’s getting really hard to contain myself.
“I …” She bites her lip.
I cup her face and lean my forehead against hers. “Shh … You don’t have to say anything.”
Her lips part and her eyes search mine for something I can’t quite understand, but I feel like she’s looking for the truth. So I do the only thing I know. I kiss her with everything I have.
I press my lips to hers and grab her face with both hands, pulling her closer. My mouth can’t get enough. I can’t even stop to take a breath because I need to have her. Now.
At first, she is hesitant, allowing me to kiss her, but when she wraps her arms around me, the beast inside me takes over. My hands find their way to her waist, and I turn her around and walk her to her bed, all while kissing her. I can’t take my lips off her even if I wanted to. All I want to do is show her how much I need her, how much I want her. How goddamn much I want to fuck her right now.
Oh, fuck me. I’m doing it again. I’m letting my lust take over, but I can’t control it anymore.
We fall onto the bed, tangled in each other, her hand on my chest, my lips on her neck, her legs beneath mine, my hand on her ass. I touch and feel everything I can, wanting as much of her as I can take. My mouth finds its way back to hers, latching on, probing her with my tongue. As my desire takes control, my hand slides across her pants and s
lips underneath her shirt.
Right at that moment, there’s a knock on the door.
Chapter 13
Chris
Age 17
My lips tear away from hers as both our heads lift to look at the door. Another knock makes me jump up.
“Shit,” I mutter.
That’s when the door opens.
Emily pushes me off her, and I almost roll off the bed, but I manage to catch the sheets just in time to stay on. My face nearly lands on the floor, right next to a stack of books.
“Emily?” It’s her father. “What is the meaning of this?”
Of course, he’s pissed. Who wouldn’t be when the daughter you love has a boy in her bed in the middle of the night without anyone knowing? I guess he’s going to kill me now. Especially considering what I was about to do to his daughter.
I look up and grab one of the books for support while I try to fumble my way back to the bed.
“Ah, hi.” I plaster a big, fake smile on my face.
His, on the other hand … I’m glad looks can’t kill.
“What is he doing here?” her father says, glaring at her now. “Who are you?”
“Ah, my name is Chris. Chris King,” I say after a cough. In a moment of clarity, I hold out the book in front of me. “We were studying.”
“Studying …” he repeats.
She glances at me for a second, but then smiles at her father. “Yeah, we were finishing up the last of his chapters.”
“I thought we had clear rules about bringing people to the house, Emily. Those don’t involve nightly visits,” her father says, stepping into the room.
