Breaking Shaun

by E. M. Abel

  “Told you, dude,” Dank said, calling my attention back to the guys in front of me.

  Marcus was smiling at me as he shook his head, and I knew what he was thinking.

  These women are starting to become more trouble than they’re worth.

  “What was that about?” Hailey asked Asia as they watched the blonde stomp into the house.

  “You know Shaun. He’s always pissing off some girl.” Asia smirked and looked at me before taking a sip from her beer. “I think he’s finally getting tired of it though. I mean, who wouldn’t? Girls are a pain in the ass.”

  I laughed, and Hailey shook her head.

  “Exactly why I don’t mess with ’em,” Nick said, extending his beer bottle out to clink with Asia’s.

  “So, what’s your story?” Asia asked me after she took another sip.

  I could feel all their eyes on me as I contemplated what to say. “Well, I’m a bartender. I lived in L.A. for the past three years. I decided I wanted a fresh start, so Nick was kind enough to offer me a place to stay until I get settled.” I gave Nick a small smile.

  He smiled back and wrapped an arm around my shoulders. “Natalie is a lot like you, Ais. She’s a strong woman who can hold her own. She’s been taking care of herself for a long time, and I’m happy she’s here, so we can hang out together. And it’s only a matter of time before she’s fucking your brother,” Nick teased as he squeezed my shoulders.

  I elbowed him in the ribs, and everyone laughed.

  “So, you’re single, I assume,” Asia said as she kept her eyes trained on me.

  For some reason, I felt like she was interviewing me. I just wasn’t sure what for. I decided if I was going to be friends with these girls, I might as well put my cards on the table.

  “Yeah, I’m single, and I plan to stay that way. Don’t get me wrong. I love having a good time, but not many guys can handle me.”

  Hailey and Asia exchanged glances.

  Then, Asia smiled and raised her beer bottle in the air. “Well then, to new beginnings.”

  “Oh God! Oh God, Shaun. Oh my God!”

  This bitch was vocal, which normally didn’t bother me, but her voice was so high-pitched that it was starting to get annoying. I began pounding her harder from behind, hoping it would either shut her up or help me come faster. It didn’t work. She just started yelping like a fucking Chihuahua.

  Groaning, I leaned forward and gripped her brown hair in my fist. I pulled on it before growling in her ear, “Shut the fuck up, and make me come.”

  She whimpered a little, but she instantly started coming again.

  Yeah, that’s it.

  I let go of her hair and grabbed on to her hips. I pumped harder and faster while I watched my dick sliding in and out of her wet pussy.

  God, I fucking loved that moment right before I came when all the tension would build and build until my body couldn’t hold any more, and I would just explode, releasing everything. Every little touch, every stroke would be amplified, if only for those few seconds, while everything else washed away.

  It was funny when I thought about it. There was so much drama, confusion, and fighting—all the things men would go through just so they could fuck someone, and all the complications women would endure to make men work for it—that surrounded this one act. I could only imagine how much easier shit would be if everyone just admitted what they really wanted without any games or lies.

  Grunting, I slowly pulled out of her and slid the condom off of me before tossing it into the trash bin beside her bed. I’d picked this girl up at Pete’s, the sports bar the boys and I had gone to after the barbeque. Actually, it was more like she had picked me up. I hadn’t intended on leaving with anyone, but I guessed I rarely did. Shit like this would just happen. Sometimes, I thought my dick had a mind of its own, and I just followed its lead.

  The brunette rolled onto her back, her big tits jiggling with the movement, and she looked up at me, smiling. “Wow. I’ve never come that much before,” she admitted breathlessly before she giggled. “You got kinda rough there at the end. I liked it.”

  I smirked as I bent down to grab my boxers off of her floor. A lot of women do. I made sure to keep that thought to myself. I knew the last thing a woman wanted to hear after having sex with a man was a comparison of her to all the other women he’d been with. It was true though. Most of the women I’d been with liked to be told what to do in bed even if they didn’t want to be bossed around anywhere else. That was fine with me. I enjoyed being dominant.

  As I started pulling on my jeans, she sat up in her bed and held the sheets over her, acting like I hadn’t just seen every inch of her naked body.

  “Are you leaving?”

  Shit. Here we go. “Yeah, I gotta head out.”

  “Aw, come on, stay with me.”

  As I pulled up my zipper, I looked at her and smiled. “Nah, I’m good. Thanks though. I had fun.”

  Turning around to look for my shirt, I was startled when I heard her loud shrill voice.

  “Are you fucking kidding me? That’s it? You just came, like, two minutes ago, and you’re already walking out?”

  Sighing, I ran my hand through my hair, bracing myself for the shitstorm making its way into the room. Twisting around to face her, I said, “Look, I don’t know what you expected from me. If you wanted more than a good fuck, maybe you should have said something before you had your mouth wrapped around my cock.”

  Before I had a chance to move, she was up on her knees, and she slapped me hard across my cheek.

  Fucking bitch.

  My father had raised me to never lay a hand on a woman, but fuck, at that moment, I really wanted to.

  Kneeling on her bed in front of me, she glared at me before yelling, “Get out!”

  I clenched my jaw and spotted my T-shirt on the bed next to her. Reaching down, I snatched it up and slipped it over my head. “My pleasure,” I muttered before grabbing my shoes and walking out.

  When am I gonna learn?

  I sat on the big leather couch in Asia and Marcus’s living room, laughing, as I watched Nick attempting to do a handstand against her wall. Hailey was standing next to him, trying to hold his legs up in the air. I thought he was too drunk to stand upright, let alone stand on his hands.

  Nick, Asia and Hailey were about four tequila shots in, and it didn’t look like they would be stopping anytime soon. I’d had a few beers, but I didn’t like getting drunk. The few times I had been drunk in the past had all ended badly. Getting drunk made it hard for me to maintain the control I held on to so tightly. Not to mention, it might have required me to fully rely on someone else.

  I felt like I should remind Nick that he had to work tomorrow, but I didn’t want to be the one to ruin everyone’s fun. Unfortunately, once my maternal instinct kicked in, it took over. “Hey, Nick. Don’t you have to work tomorrow?”

  Nick rolled onto the floor and fell into a fit of laughter with Hailey before he could answer me.

  “It’s Memorial Day,” Marcus told me from his recliner. He was rolling a blunt on a magazine he had placed on his lap.

  “Oh shit, I forgot.”

  He smiled at me before lifting the cigar wrapper to his mouth and licking it. I quickly averted my eyes since almost everything that man did ended up looking erotic.

  God, you need to get laid.

  Asia came down the set of stairs next to their kitchen in a pair of boxer shorts and a T-shirt. “We ready for another shot?” she shouted. She stopped, threw her arms in the air, and shook her ass.

  She was clearly drunk. I liked drunk Asia. She was funny. Making her way over to Marcus, she kissed him right before he brought the rolled blunt to his lips. Nick and Hailey crawled their way over to the black coffee table in front of me as Asia poured each of them another shot.

  I loved how comfortable I was around Nick’s friends. They hadn’t wasted time with pretenses, and they didn’t act like they were better than anyone else. They were just themselves
, real people. After three years of living in L.A., real felt nice, refreshing even.

  The three of them passed the saltshaker around before clinking shot glasses. They each licked the salt off their hands and then threw the liquor into their mouths. Nick and Hailey reached for lime wedges while Asia groaned from the burn of the alcohol.

  “So, Natalie, why won’t you have sex with Shaun?” Hailey asked after she threw the lime peel down on the table.

  Marcus started coughing and choking on the smoke he had just inhaled, and Asia and Nick started laughing.

  “What? I’m just curious. We’re all friends here,” Hailey said, defending her question.

  Normally, I would tell her it was none of her business, but I was trying to make friends. If I wanted things to change, I figured I would have to do things differently.

  “We’re just not compatible. Two alphas can’t share a bed, and he’s obviously an alpha.”

  “Alpha?” Asia looked at me like I had two heads.

  “Yeah, you know, like the person who runs shit,” Hailey explained before licking the remaining salt off her hand.

  Asia whipped her head around and looked at Marcus, who was sitting behind her.

  “Who’s the alpha in our relationship?” she asked him as he took another hit from his blunt.

  He gave her a sexy smile. “Who do you think, babe?”

  She turned to look at me and rolled her eyes. “He thinks he’s the alpha, but I’m really the alpha,” she whispered.

  I laughed.

  Marcus spoke up, “I can hear you, you know?”

  “I don’t care. You know I run shit, babe. I got you wrapped around my tiny little finger.” She smiled at him with her pinkie in the air.

  “Yeah, wait until I get your ass in bed. Then, we’ll see if you say that shit.”

  “Well now, that’s true,” she conceded. “He definitely runs shit in the bedroom.”

  Asia got up and sat on Marcus’s lap. She slipped the blunt out of his hand and took a drag. Her cheeks puffed out like a blowfish as she held in the smoke.

  She blew it out. “You want some?” she asked, extending the blunt out to me.

  “No, I’m good. Thanks.”

  “I’ll take some!” Nick yelled from his spot on the floor.

  Somehow, he’d ended up lying on his back on the floor next to Hailey. They had been whispering and giggling about something before he popped up and took the weed from Asia.

  Seconds later, there was a loud knock at the door.

  “Shit!” Asia shouted as she jumped up and ran out of the room. She came running back in with a can of Febreze in her hand, and she sprayed it everywhere.

  “What the fuck, Ais?” Hailey shouted. She started spitting and wiping her tongue with the back of her hand. “You got that shit in my mouth!”

  “Shut up!” Asia whispered loudly as she continued spraying while she ran around the room.

  Marcus just chuckled and got up from his recliner before making his way toward the front door. From my seat on the couch, I couldn’t see who was at the door, but a few seconds later, Marcus walked into the room with a shit-eating grin on his face as Shaun followed behind him. His green eyes scanned the room, and when Nick and Hailey both started laughing, I instantly felt myself smirk.

  “Damn, you guys are drunk as shit, aren’t you?” Shaun asked as he sat on the other end of the couch.

  He had changed into jeans and a T-shirt, and he smelled like some strong, stinky perfume.

  His eyes came to me, and they slid up and down my body before he sighed. “I should have just stayed here.” He rubbed his hand against the stubble on his jaw.

  I noticed his cheek looked kind of red, and I wondered what had happened to it. Then, I saw the red lipstick on his neck. That got me thinking about his neck and what it would feel like under my lips. Then, I thought about what kind of sounds he would make while my lips were there. I couldn’t help but stare at him. There was just something about him that I’d never seen in another man. It was more than his confidence. It was something else—maybe his unapologetic approach to the world or the way his presence commanded attention without any effort. I wasn’t sure, but my body’s reaction to him made me uneasy.

  “Where did you go?” Asia asked Shaun as she tossed the Febreze bottle down next to him on the couch.

  “The guys and I went to Pete’s. You know how Dre is. He wanted to go look for some…” He paused and cut his eyes over to me before finishing with “Someone.”

  I smirked. “Please, don’t censor yourself for my sake. Trust me, these are not virgin ears.”

  “Yeah, she’s an alpha,” Hailey said.

  She and Nick fell into another fit of laughter.

  “What?” Shaun asked, cocking an eyebrow at me.

  “Nothing,” I said, shaking my head at Nick and Hailey.

  Hailey pretended to zip her lips before looking at Nick and laughing again.

  “So, what’s up, Shaun? What brings you back here?” Marcus asked.

  I was thankful that he was changing the subject.

  Shaun ran a hand through his messy long hair and leaned back into the couch. “Nothin’. Just figured I’d come get drunk and crash here. I didn’t realize you were having a slumber party.”

  “I thought you liked slumber parties,” Hailey commented from her side of the coffee table.

  Asia tried to stifle a laugh.

  “Don’t you forget anything? Jesus Christ. I was fifteen, for fuck’s sake.”

  “Sixteen,” Asia murmured.

  Marcus chuckled.

  I watched this little exchange from my spot on the couch, and I envied them. They had all grown up together, and they seemed more like family than a group of friends. I’d never belonged to a group the way they did, and I felt lonely. Besides Nick and my sister, I hadn’t kept in touch with anyone from my childhood. I hadn’t even spoken to my mother in years, not since she’d upped and left my sister and me to fend for ourselves. I’d just turned eighteen and graduated from high school. Instead of going off to college with my full scholarship, I had been left to take care of my fourteen-year-old sister.

  As everyone around me continued reminiscing about the past, I decided to go outside and get some fresh air. I didn’t want my somber mood to put a damper on things. When I walked out of the sliding glass door, I looked up to see the moon high in the sky, and it looked like a million stars were out. I hadn’t seen that many stars in years. It was beautiful.

  After making my way over to the edge of the pool, I sat down and put my feet in the water. Placing my hands on the ground behind me, I leaned back and gazed at the sky, enjoying the peace and quiet. I let my gaze fall to my feet in the water as I slowly kicked my legs up and down.

  I wanted things to be different this time. I was tired of always feeling like no one ever knew or understood me. On my drive to Virginia, I’d had nothing to do but think about everything I wished I could change in my life. I’d realized that in order for any of it to happen, I would have to start letting people in. I’d have to put my guard down and trust people enough to show them the real me. I knew it would be hard since years of the same behavior would be difficult to undo, but I had to try.

  A few minutes later, I heard the glass door behind me slide open, and everyone’s laughter from inside the house filtered out for a moment. Looking over my shoulder, I saw Shaun closing the door behind him. He was holding two Corona bottles in one of his hands. I should have put my guard up to prepare myself for what he might say or do, but I had a feeling he wasn’t in a teasing mood tonight, so I didn’t.

  Walking over, Shaun extended a bottle out to me, and I took it from him before he sat down beside me. He set his beer bottle down next to him and pulled the legs of his jeans up, sliding his feet into the water.

  “You good?” he asked before taking a sip from his Corona.

  “Yeah. You?”

  He shrugged and looked up at the sky but didn’t answer me. “So, you’re an alp
ha, huh?” He turned to look at me with a smile.

  My heart stopped when he smiled. He was by far the sexiest man I’d ever seen. His eyes were so light and piercing that it was hard to focus when he had them trained on me.

  Smirking, I tucked some hair behind my ear and looked up at the stars, but I didn’t respond.

  “You’re not an alpha.”

  My eyes narrowed as they moved down to meet his. “What makes you so sure?”

  “You might be an alpha in everyday life but not in bed. You need a man to take control in bed.”

  “Is that so?” I asked before taking a sip of my beer.

  I was getting nervous because what he’d said was hitting a little too close to home, and I thought we both knew it.

  “Strong, confident women like you need somewhere to release all that control. You need an escape just like everyone else.” He gave me a cocky, lopsided grin before bringing his beer to his lips.

  He thought he had the upper hand, and I had to make sure he knew he didn’t. I was surprised by how easily he had read me, but I wanted him to know that it didn’t mean he had won.

  “Yeah, you’re right. But it takes a special kind of man to give that to me. I won’t just give up control to anyone. If you can’t control yourself, what makes you think I’d give you permission to take mine?”

  He looked surprised by my question. “What makes you think I can’t control myself?”

  Reaching out, I slowly rubbed my thumb across his neck, wiping off the lipstick. “This.”

  Shaun’s eyes met mine, and we stared at each other as my skin touched his. My thumb tingled. I’d never felt anything like it before, and I was almost convinced I’d imagined it until I saw the look on his face.

  He feels it, too.

  I held my thumb up, showing him the smudge of lipstick, but his gaze never left mine. The tension in the air was building, and I quickly looked back up at the moon. What are you doing?

  God, I wanted to kiss her so fucking bad that it hurt. I could feel the heat from her leg against mine, and the spot where her thumb had touched my neck still tingled. It was like she’d burned me. I wasn’t sure what was going on, but no woman had ever affected me the way she did, and I barely even knew her. This is fucking crazy.