Carnal: Pierced and Inked

by Simone Sowood

  “That sounds good,” she says, unsure of her words.

  “Can this little car tow a trailer? Google it.”

  Emily taps into her phone and says, “Up to fifteen-hundred pounds, apparently.”

  “And this thing has a trailer-hitch?”

  “My father made sure this car had everything there was to have. One of the perks of being the dealership boss’ daughter.”

  “Is that a yes?”

  “Yeah.”

  “We need to get ourselves to Gulfport, Mississippi by morning.”

  “How far is that?”

  “Maybe a twelve-hour drive and we have ten hours to do it in. Do you know how to get to Mississippi? Look it up on your phone.”

  Without waiting for her, I put it in gear and pull back onto the highway.

  “I can’t believe I’m really doing this,” Emily says, turning her phone on.

  The phone starts beeping and chiming.

  “Ignore the texts.”

  “I’m looking at Google Maps. It’s easy, follow I-85 past Atlanta, change to I-65 at Montgomery, Alabama.”

  “Easy. Now turn off your phone.”

  “I can’t not look at the texts.”

  “Yes, you can,” I say, reaching over to grab her phone.

  Emily moves it against her window, out of my reach, her eyes fixed to the screen. My eyes flick between her and the road. Her breathing’s getting fast and I grab her nearest arm to try to get her to stop looking at the phone.

  “My mother is throwing all kinds of mud at you. There’s no word from my father. I guess he’s too busy looking for me. Should I tell her we’ve gone?”

  “No way, then he’ll follow us. Better to let him drive in circles around town.”

  “Your carnival isn’t on the internet. I know, I looked hard for it.”

  “That’s because we’re small. Papa Smurf don’t care about that shit. We go different places every year, what’s the point?”

  “So they’ll never find us.”

  “Not likely.”

  “So who cares if I tell them?”

  “Why don’t you say we’re going to Georgia?”

  “Same highway,” she says, sighing.

  “So don’t tell them nothing.”

  She starts tapping away at her phone.

  “What are you typing?”

  “A text to my mom,” she says and sets the phone on her lap. I assume she’s hit send. “I said they’ve given us no choice but to leave the area because they were so rude to us. And also that I quit my job.”

  Her words surge through me and make my dick twitch. She’s all mine now.

  Drop Dead Legs

  (EMILY)

  Steel’s speeding down the highway. We’re going way faster than I would drive, but I feel safe sitting here beside him.

  I can’t believe I’m leaving home and everything I’ve ever known behind. But after the way things have turned out, I have no regrets.

  A month of being with Steel every day has taught me one thing, I don’t want those days to end. I’m completely under his spell. Being with him means more to me than anything else. And I’m doing the unthinkable in order to make it happen — becoming a carny.

  “I’ve never been to Mississippi,” I say.

  “It’s nice. Good to see the river. I went to Elvis’ birthplace there before, but I don’t know if we’re going near there this year or not.”

  “Wow, it all sounds so exciting. I didn’t realize carnies were into sightseeing.”

  “Sure we are, why not? See all that different shit all over the place? It’s great.”

  “So where else have you been?”

  “Lots of places. I’ve told you, I’ve been to forty-one states.”

  “Which one are you from?”

  “That don’t matter, I joined the carnival so long ago I barely even remember.”

  “That’s crap.”

  “It ain’t. I don’t care, why do you?”

  “Fine. So, what states haven’t you been to?” I’m trying a new tactic. He’s always so guarded about himself. I suspect he’s ashamed, since he knows how privileged my life’s been.

  “Alaska. Hawaii.”

  “California?”

  “Yep, been there but nowhere else on the west coast. Razor and me went there one year during the winter break. Saw the Santa Monica Pier and the Hollywood sign.”

  “That’s so cool.”

  “It was, but I prefer the east coast.”

  Does he prefer because he’s an east coast boy, or is he a west coast boy who wants to leave it behind?

  “What about Oregon and Washington?”

  “Nope, never been.”

  I try to visualize a map before realizing how futile that is. Time for Google Maps again.

  “What about Montana?”

  “No.”

  “North Dakota?”

  “The towns are too spread apart in those places.”

  “Idaho?”

  “What is this, twenty questions?”

  “No, I’m just trying to eliminate the places you haven’t been so I can narrow down where you’re from.”

  “I keep telling you, it don’t matter.”

  “But where’s your home? Why won’t you tell me?”

  “I told you before my home was wherever my bunkhouse is, but…”

  “But what?”

  “I suppose now my home is wherever you are.”

  My body bubbles over from his words. There’s no doubt in my mind that what I’m doing is the right decision. A lump forms in my throat, and I can’t say anything more.

  It’s after midnight. The darkness of the road and the movement of the car are lulling. My eyelids are heavy, and I’m struggling to stay awake.

  I wish I was wearing something more comfortable than this dress. And had some panties on. I didn’t wear any as a surprise for our one-month dinner and a movie celebration. Sitting in a car for ten hours wasn’t a consideration, or I would’ve worn sweat pants.

  Trying to get more comfortable, I hitch the dress up to the top of my thighs. It’s not much, but at least it lets me move my legs to a more comfortable position.

  “Tired?” Steel asks.

  “Very.”

  “You should sleep. You’re going to have a busy day tomorrow.”

  “Am I going to have to work right away?”

  “Probably. Papa don’t do freeloaders, though he might make an exception for me. But when we get there, we’re hitching up the trailer and moving on to the next town, probably another hour drive.”

  Tired and nervous, emotions threaten to overwhelm me. I recline my seat and close my eyes, trying to calm myself.

  I’ve managed not to check my phone since I sent my mother the last text, and I’m determined not to look until morning.

  “Good night,” I say, already half asleep. This is the first night we’ve spent together since the night at the carnival. It’s not exactly how I pictured things when I got up this morning, but then, no moment with Steel has ever been how I expected.

  In seconds, I’m asleep and dreaming about Steel holding me.

  In a haze, I’m aware of the car stopping. Steel’s hand moves high up on my exposed thigh. I open my eyes, and he’s staring at me.

  “Are we here?” I ask, my voice groggy.

  “No.”

  “Where are we? Why did we stop?”

  “Because I’ve been driving the past three hours, listening to you breathe and unable to focus on the road as I’ve looking at your long legs.”

  I’m still more asleep than not, and I don’t know what he’s talking about, but his words wrap around me like a hug. I let out a soft noise of approval.

  “All I keep thinking is how you’re mine.”

  “Yours?” I ask, biting my lip.

  “All mine.”

  “Yours.”

  “I’m telling you now, I always protect what’s mine.”

  I furrow my brow, trying to process his words.<
br />
  “Are you mine?” I ask, my voice quiet.

  “Have been ever since that night in October.”

  My chest swells, but before I can respond, he pulls me up, grabs the back of my head and his mouth presses against mine.

  His hand slides further up my thigh, then under the fabric of my dress. Heat burns under his touch.

  Our kiss is different somehow. The tenderness of his lips sends waves of warmth that fill me until I threaten to overflow and burst with joy.

  His fingers reach my mound, and brush across it. I moan, and he pulls his lips away.

  “No fucking panties?”

  “It was a surprise for you, for our one-month anniversary.”

  “I can’t sit here any longer. I need to be in you. Get out of the car,” he says, pulling his hand away.

  I moan in protest but he ignores me. Steel opens his door and gets out. Before I know it, he’s opened my door and is pulling me out. He grabs me tight, his hard dick digging into me.

  “You think I’ve been sitting there and thinking of anything else but fucking you? Knowing you’re all mine now?” He kisses me roughly before continuing, “I swear my cock has been hard for the past hour. I need to bury it in your pussy. Now. Then I’ll be able to concentrate on the road.”

  My skin coats in goose bumps as all the heat in my body pools between my legs. Steel nuzzles my neck, his hands slide up the outsides of my thighs, pushing my dress up to my waist.

  The night air is cool, and blows across my exposed lips and ass. I glance around. We’re in some highway picnic rest stop area. It’s empty, except for a truck at the far end of the parking lot. The highway itself has a steady trickle of middle-of-the-night traffic.

  Without warning, Steel spins me and pushes my body against the car. He grips the back of my neck and presses my head onto the trunk. I’m still catching my breath from the movement when he drives his dick into me.

  I gasp. My pussy blooms with heat. Steel keeps pushing my body into the car as he thrusts into me. Over and over and over.

  My hips bash into the car with each thrust, but my walls are throbbing too much to care. I’m breathless, my head is spinning, and before I know it, a tidal wave of pleasure rushes over me.

  My legs give out, and I’m held up only by the car. I’d slide off it if Steel wasn’t pushing me down on it.

  Wave after wave of a massive orgasm rushes over me from being woken up and fucked in the cold at the side of the road. My walls spasm around his dick, gripping it tight in me.

  He’s right, he’s mine. And I, undeniably, am his.

  Welcome to the Jungle

  (EMILY)

  I can’t believe that just happened. The way Steel took that guy down was crazy. He was serious when he said he wouldn’t let anything happen to me. But are the other people here really in need of a physical threat? He told me they were all cool, and that it’s the people who come to the carnival that I have to be careful of.

  “We’ve got twenty minutes, let’s go get you some clothes,” Steel says, arriving back at the trailer door.

  “I can’t buy clothes in twenty minutes.”

  “Sure you can, we walk into Walmart, you load up the cart and we leave. There’s one just down the road, we passed it on the way in.”

  Looking down at my Burberry dress, I remember the last time Maddie, Courtney and I went shopping. It took all day, and we each ended up with two outfits, not including shoes.

  That life is over now. Somehow it doesn’t even seem to matter. I’m here, I’m free to do whatever I want without being judged by all my neighbors, and I have Steel at my side.

  Even if he did just go a bit psycho on that guy and everyone else here, he’s never done anything even remotely like that before. He seems stressed about making me feel comfortable here, and I’m grateful for that.

  I give him a half smile, “Okay, we’d better go now.”

  We drive the short distance, grab a cart and enter Walmart. The smell is the first thing that hits me, it’s plastic or something. Not like the perfumed boutiques I’m used to.

  The only other time I’ve been to a Walmart was when I had to buy camping gear. I’ve never been anywhere near the clothing section. It’s kind of exciting, discovering something new.

  Steel leads me to the women’s clothing area, and begins pulling summer dresses off the racks.

  “What size are you?”

  “It depends on the store.”

  “In this store.”

  “I’m going to have to try it on.”

  “Ain’t got time.”

  “Yeah, you’re right. Let me see it,” I say, and grab the dress from his hands.

  I walk over to a mirror and hold it up to me, pulling it across my hips.

  “This looks good,” I say and fling it into the cart.

  It’s actually a cute dress, a floral design with a skater skirt. Steel starts pulling more off and putting them in the cart. He doesn’t even look at them to see if they’re nice or not. Oh well, they all look pretty similar anyway.

  “How many do you need?” He asks.

  “I don’t know, seven? Plus some shorts and T-shirts, plus some leggings, and some sweaters.”

  “My shit fits in one backpack,” he says shaking his head.

  “So what, I’ll put it in the trailer. Or my trunk. Whichever, we have room for it all,” I shrug.

  “And you can afford all that?”

  “I’ve had a job for years,” I say screwing up my face. I remember him saying the same thing to me. Besides, all this is going to cost less than my dress anyway.

  “Fine.”

  “Anyway,” I hesitate, “that was pretty extreme back there, attacking that guy like that.”

  “He was fucking asking for it.”

  “Yeah, but still, you jumped on him.”

  “That’s my buddy Razor, he was trying to get a reaction out of me.”

  “Your friend?” I say, raising an eyebrow.

  “I hope it didn’t upset you or nothing.”

  “It’s just a little freaky, is all. I’m not used to seeing such physical violence.” I struggle to keep down the volume of my voice.

  “I had a strong message to send. I sent it.”

  “Should I expect to see a lot of fighting?”

  “By me? Only if someone touches you.”

  “And others?” I ask, cocking my head.

  “Not much. Sometimes if someone does something stupid. Usually because a townie starts something.”

  I trace his face for truthfulness. I’m not sure if I can handle a lot of violence around me. His face is full of concern, and he strokes down my arm. He says it’s the case, and I trust him.

  It’s not like I’m about to run home now, when I haven’t even been gone twenty-four hours. My life would be worse than it was before. The town would never stop talking about me, and my parents would criticize me all day long, forever and ever.

  “And you promise me you’re not going to be violent and start attacking people, your friends or otherwise?”

  “I can’t make that promise. If someone disrespects you, you’re damn straight I’m going to beat in his face.”

  “But I’m telling you, I don’t want you to. I don’t want you fighting. I can’t handle that. It’s a step too far for me.”

  “A step too far?” Steel makes a sharp intake of breath and looks at the floor. I remain silent, trying to let him know how important this is too me. “It won’t matter anyhow, no carny’s going to touch you after today anyway.”

  “Fine.”

  “Okay.”

  “Let’s get the rest of the stuff,” I say. I need everything, a hairbrush, toothbrush, you name it. We need to hurry.

  We walk past the underwear, and I grab several bras and a couple packs of panties and throw them in the cart. Speed walking through the store, I get all the toiletries while Steel stocks up on food.

  The big pharmacy sign catches my eye, and I make a mental note to figure how I g
et the prescription for my birth control pills renewed. I’ve only been on it a couple of weeks so have enough on my prescription for a few months, and don’t need to stress about it yet. I have enough in my purse to last until the end of the month. There are too many things to think about as it is.

  Back at the camp, I stand to the side while Steel and Razor get the trailer hooked up to my car. They’re working together without any drama, and seem to know exactly what the other is doing. How were they just fighting?

  “Goldie, in the car. We’re ready to take you to your first carnival,” Steel says to me, one foot in the driver’s side.

  * * *

  I’m sitting on the edge of the bed in the trailer at the carnival site. Steel is setting up but I haven’t been told where to go, or what I’m doing yet. I think they’re still trying to figure out what to do with me.

  I keep staring at my purse. My phone is in it. I haven’t looked at it since last night, but now the draw is too strong. I have to let my parents know I’m safe, at least. I don’t want them worrying about me. Not for rational reasons anyway.

  When I turn the phone on, it goes through a crazy amount of vibrating and beeping as all the text and voicemail notifications come through.

  After it’s finished, I brave looking at the screen. My mother responded to the text I sent her last night. Several times.

  Don’t do this

  Come home, please don’t risk trusting him

  Your father is panicking. Please come home

  I stop reading after that. What’s the point? The only reason I would read on would be if she apologized, and she wasn’t even close. You’d think she at least would have offered to give him another chance.

  I type one last text to her.

  I’m not coming home, we’re fine. You need to learn to accept us as a couple. I’m done with this phone now, I might phone in a couple of months when you’ve calmed down. Stop worrying about me, you’re being ridiculous.

  Hovering my finger over the send button, and my heart stops when I finally push it.

  I put my finger on the power button, before realizing I need to send Courtney something.