by Marie Cole
"Maybe I was, maybe I wasn't. Maybe I was looking for a phone number. Regardless, I'm sitting here playing a game now while you chat with your boyfriend."
For the first time it sounded like there was some jealousy there and I felt my chest tighten. Was he jealous? He was probably just bitter that I'd made plans to spend time with another guy friend.
I rolled my eyes. "He has a girlfriend now and lives in Texas. He is like you, a boy who is a friend. What phone number were you looking for?" I chose to ignore the jealousy, figuring his anger was because he had to play video games by himself.
"Amanda Holland gave me her number last year and I was wondering if I still had it." He was absorbed in his video game at this point. The screen flashed colors and things over the glasses on his face.
I frowned at him, "Why were you looking for her number right now?"
"I was just curious." Kent shrugged, acting very nonchalant.
Seriously? He was looking for another girl's number on my birthday? The jealousy trap hadn't worked, instead it had just pushed him towards another girl. I turned back to the screen when I heard the little ding.
Jake: Did Kent make his move yet?
I stared at the screen for a moment and then glanced at Kent, still very much ignoring me, and then looked back to the blinking cursor waiting for my response.
Elly: No.
Chapter Three
KENT
I exhaled slowly as I lay on my bed, staring up at the ceiling. Elly had made me so angry earlier. I'd done everything I could to make her birthday great and what did she do? She went on the computer to talk to that idiot.
Despite my offer to sleep on the couch downstairs she still chose to go home. Not that I could blame her after I'd thrown Amanda Holloway's fake number in her face. I didn't know why I'd done that either.
I rolled over after punching my pillow. It didn't matter. She could see and talk to whoever she wanted. It wasn't like I had any claim on her. She was just my friend. Why did it even bug me so much?
I closed my eyes tightly and tried to get some sleep. After ten minutes of listening to myself breathe, I rolled onto my back again.
Summer. Sprinklers. Zelda. Star Wars. Hans Solo. Yoda. Green. Grass. Making out in the grass. Making out in a pool. Boobs.
I rolled over onto my side again.
Stop it! Go to sleep. Sleep, damnit!
I closed my eyes and tried to fall asleep but it just wasn't friggin' coming.
I grumbled to myself as I got out of bed.
My eyes darted between my computer and my TV.
Video games or porn... video games or porn...
My hands twitched, they wanted the plastic controller. My dick, however...
I looked down at it and shook my head as I whispered to it. "What am I going to do with you? You've been out of control. You've been popping up at the least opportune moments. And around Elly?"
Talking about Elly, thinking about her, only made me angry again. The tightness faded and I turned on the TV. Video games it was. Anything to take my mind off of her.
Sometime between defeating the blackish blue beast and jumping over some cave mummies I fell asleep.
I started when a knock pounded on my door. Groggy I rubbed my face. "Yeah?" My voice sounded like shit in the morning.
"Kent, it's eleven am. Get up!"
I groaned at my mother's words. I didn't want to get up. "Okay, mom!" I heard her footsteps retreat as I climbed onto my bed. I was still extremely tired, but my dick was ready for some attention. I groaned again and tried to ignore it but it just stayed there, like a large sword in my boxers. "Fine," I grumbled and rolled out of bed. I snatched a sock from my dresser and then slid back into the still warm sheets.
I laid on my back and started to stroke myself with my eyes closed. I saw Elly, bent over, in my mind and I quickly shook the thought away. No. Jesus. And then a mini movie played, I imagined the big-breasted porn star doing dirty things to me. I was so lost in the moment that I didn't hear the door open.
"KENT! OH MY GOD!" Elly's voice shrieked and bounced off the walls. Quickly I rolled over, trying to hide myself.
"Elly! Get out of here! What are you-- you can't just walk into a man's room uninvited!"
She giggled, her back to me now, and I felt shame color my face. Why was she laughing? Was it small? I threw the sock away from me and pulled my boxers up. I quickly hopped off the bed and grabbed a pair of sweatpants, pulling them on too. I wanted to ask her what was so funny but I didn't want to know if she really was laughing at my size.
"What are you doing here, anyway?"
"I, um, I just wanted to know if you wanted to... " She burst into a fit of giggles again. The shame buried me deeper.
"Whatever it was, the answer is no." I stepped around her and went down the hall into the bathroom, slamming the door behind me.
I couldn't have her laughing at me, it hurt too much. She saw me...doing that. Oh Jesus, how was I going to be able to look her in the face again? I turned on the shower and got in while it was still cold. Maybe that would teach my unit that it needed to calm down.
When I got out Elly wasn't anywhere in sight. I breathed a little sigh of relief and quickly got dressed. My mother was going to ask me a thousand questions on top of what had already happened because Elly left so soon and was probably cracking up all the way. She could be so immature sometimes.
As I was toweling off my hair there were three loud knocks on my door, each separated by three seconds of dramatic silence.
"Can I come in?!" Elly's voice was muffled through the wood.
I went to the door and opened it. She was still grinning, looking as if she were holding back a load of laughter.
"Thank you for knocking." I opened my door all the way so she could come in if she wanted to. But she just stayed there in the doorway. "Are you going to come in?"
She shook her head and stared at my bed. "No way. There are like boy cooties in here and stuff."
Oh geez, of course she would make a big deal about it. And this was only the beginning. She was going to tease me about this for a long time. I sighed heavily as the thoughts of the last year of high school being filled with masturbation references.
"Everyone does it. It's not a big deal, so don't make it one or I won't talk to you anymore."
That brought another, even bigger smile, to her lips. "Really? You're going to stop talking to me if I want to talk about what I witnessed here today?"
"Really. Don't test me."
She shook her head, "Oh, no, of course not. I wouldn't dream of it. Not one bit. I didn't know your bit was so big."
I felt the heat in my cheeks. "Elly." I tried to keep my voice stern and stare her down like I meant business but she didn't seem to be taking me seriously.
"What were you thinking about?" She prodded some more and I felt the anger rising in my chest.
"I'm not talking about this."
"Come on, Kent!"
"No. One more word and I'm kicking you out."
"Don't you mean, stroking it out?"
She smiled even as I put my hands on her shoulders and pushed her backwards towards the stairs.
"Kent, we need to talk this out. Quit being such a baby."
My mom was coming out her room just as I pointed down the stairs, "Go on, Elly."
"What's going on, Kent?" my mom asked as her feet slowed in the hallway.
"Mom, just stay out of this. Elly is..." Jesus, what did I tell my mother? That Elly saw me beating off and wanted to talk about it?
"I was just trying to get Kent to go for a walk with me, but he turned me down. Said he needed alone time in his room."
I shook my head a little as I heard my mother inhale deeply. My body tensed, ready for the inevitable.
"Kent, you've been in your room all morning. Go outside and get some fresh air. Don't be rude."
Elly...damn her. I didn't say another word as I went downstairs and pulled on my Converse sneakers. Elly was behin
d me, chattering away at my mother like she was an innocent party. I was going to get her back for this. I wasn't sure how...or when, but I was.
She giggled at me the whole walk. It was so annoying. "How did you sleep last night?"
"Oh, just fine, thanks. And your sock? I mean, yourself?" She giggled again.
I sighed as I looked away from her, towards the manicured lawns and the little kids all around doing little kid things. I remembered when me and Elly used to do stuff like that. Jump around in the sprinkler, eat popsicles, get sticky and go jump around in the water some more.
"Great. I dreamt about Amanda. Which is why I had to, you know." I glanced at her, her face expressionless. I squeezed my fists together, wanting to shake myself. Why had I done that?
I pressed my tongue against my cheek as I looked back to the sidewalk. It didn't matter. She didn't care.
"Are you going to ask her out when we get back to school?"
"Pft. No."
"Why not?"
"Because she isn't into me." As soon as I said it I knew I'd made a mistake. What could I tell her? She wasn't going to let it pass.
"But I thought she gave you her number? That means she's into you."
"I think she did it because she lost a bet."
I scratched the back of my head, trying to remain casual. Way to make yourself look pathetic, Kent.
"Well, that's pretty shitty. You should be having sexy dreams about someone more deserving."
Someone like you? Christ. "So why did you really come over? I know it wasn't to walk."
She sighed as her shoulders shrugged. My eyes dropped to her chest. She was far from stacked like the big breasted porn star I liked to watch, but Elly's were real. And Elly's. She looked at me and I pretended that I was looking at the grass just beyond her before meeting her eyes. I hoped like hell she didn't catch me staring at her boobs.
"I just wanted to tell you thank you for the awesome birthday." Something about her tone was off. I studied her for a minute longer, her lips were pursed and then she smiled at me. She put her hand on my arm and pushed me to the side. I was half expecting it so I caught myself.
I let out a little chuckle. "You're welcome. Sorry it wasn't everything you'd hoped for."
"It was. And more. So thanks. And we're at my street. I'll see you later. My mom is taking me clothes shopping. Yay."
Elly hated clothes shopping. I opened my mouth to talk but she held up her hand to stop me.
"No. I don't want you to go with me." She pushed me again and then crossed the street, leaving me alone.
Chapter Four
ELLY
"Kent! Your girlfriend is here!" I stood beside Kent's mom as she called up the stairs. I fought back a giggle. Kent was very insistent about our relationship. And I'm pretty sure his mom knew that and teased him about it on purpose.
"MOM! We've talked about this! She's not my girlfriend!" Kent yelled downstairs from the safety of his room.
"Regardless dear, don't forget that you need to leave the door open."
There was annoyance in his voice as he called down again, "Can you just send her up, please?"
I waved at his mom as I went up the stairs. "Thanks, Mrs. L."
I went into his room slowly, looking around suspiciously, "I made her call up here, you know. I didn't want a repeat of the sock performance." When I saw that he was just sitting on his bed with a controller in his hands I moved closer and let my book bag fall off my shoulder and land at his feet.
Kent's cheeks were burning red. "I can't help you never knock, and you're a ninja. I didn't hear you either!" He frowned and I scoffed.
"You didn't hear me because you were too into what your hand was doing. I'm fat, Kent, you should be able to hear me coming."
"Can we change the subject already?"
Oh how I loved teasing him. Watching him squirm around uncomfortably was pure joy. I bent down and unzipped my book bag. "I got the goods for you." I threw Twizzlers at his chest and he caught them with one hand.
"This feels like a drug deal," he chuckled as he set them on the floor by his leg.
"It is a drug deal, pretty much." I pulled out a two-liter of Mountain Dew and put it next to his leg.
"How much do I owe you?" he asked as he stared at the Dew.
"It's my turn to buy, you don't owe me anything."
"Alright." He said softly as his attention turned back to me. "So, you want to play?" Kent held the controller out for me to take. I grabbed the controller and sat on his bed. I did want to play, just not the silly video game. I smiled sweetly in his direction, "Sure, could you go get us some glasses for the Dew?"
"Ok. No cheating while I'm gone." Kent stood up and went downstairs. I heard him talking to his mom but I couldn't hear what he was saying because I was too busy hiding his controllers. I stuffed them into his sock drawer, burying them deep. Then I moved to the door to see if I could hear anything. I couldn't so I went back to his bed and sat on it innocently. I quickly ripped open the Twizzlers and made sure my hands looked busy. So busy they couldn't have hidden his controllers.
His feet thumped up the stairs and soon he was back, two glasses in hand. "You done playing already?"
I frowned at him, "What are you talking about? You took the controller with you. I was waiting for you to come back." I set the Twizzlers aside and grabbed the Dew, slowly unscrewed the cap, letting the fizzies out.
He looked very confused. "You didn't have to wait you know where the other controller is." He nodded to the corner of the bed.
I shrugged and shook my head, standing up with the Dew to pour it into the glasses. "It wasn't there. I already looked."
"That's weird." He set the glasses on his nightstand and then went about looking to see if I was lying. I grinned behind his back and made sure I wiped it off before he could see it.
"Elly, where did you hide it?!" His eyes looked into mine and then to my hands. "Where's the other one?" He asked me softly.
As he looked at me with crazy eyes I almost lost it, "The one that you took downstairs or the other one? It doesn't matter, I don't know where either of them are. You should have one." Which of course he didn't, because I'd hidden it. Oh, I loved these games. It was getting tough to keep a straight face but somehow I'd managed.
Kent looked at me as the confusion set in. "I had what? All I went down stairs with was me. Alright, Elly...where did you hide it?"
I let a laugh out, just one, like he was ridiculous. "I didn't hide it, Kent! Why don't you just go downstairs and see if you left it in the kitchen by accident?"
A smirk travelled along his lips as he pushed the glasses up the bridge of his nose. "Fine, I'll go. But it won't be down there!"
I sighed, "Whatever. You'll see you just left the thing down there." I grabbed my glass and followed him to the stairs. I waited at the top listening and waiting, the smile returning when his back was turned.
"Mom, did I leave a controller down here?" I heard Kent ask his mom.
"No dear, you just came down and got some glasses for you and your girlfriend."
"MOM!"
I almost spit out the Dew I was drinking and ran back into his room when I saw his hair peek between the banister bars. He entered the room a minute later and shook his head.
"Wasn't down there. Not that I'm surprised." He said softly as he took the Mountain Dew from my hand and put it on the desk before turning back to face me. "So, Elly..." He jumped at me, pushed me back onto his bed and started tickling. I screamed and started laughing almost immediately. I tried to get my leg between us to hold him off but I couldn't.
"I didn't... I didn't..."
Kent was relentless with the tickling, "You did! You hid them! Admit it." He was laughing too as he tickled me.
"Kent! Stop!" I rolled onto my side and struggled to push his hands away, gasping for breath between laughs, I felt my face turning red. He followed my motions, laying on my side so he could snake his hands between my arms.
"Not unti
l you promise to give them back! Give my precious back to me!" He did his Golem voice from the Hobbit, and he did it rather well.
I squealed and the tickle session was interrupted by a loud knock on his bedroom door frame. "Kent!" His mother was scowling at him and that caused him to rocket away, his cheeks turning pink from embarrassment.
"Mom.. I was just... no funny business..." He held his hands up innocently.
I grinned, still panting to get my breath back. His mother gave him a look and then walked down the hall, a laundry basket in her arms. I looked at Kent and giggled.
"Hush you. You're lucky my mom saved you." He stuck his tongue out at me.
I whispered so his mom wouldn't overhear. "Why does she think you're going to impregnate me with your tickle fingers? Have you done it before?"
He pushed the glasses up his nose. "No. She's just being a mom. Her baby boy can't be interested in girls or anything, much less think about sex..."
"Which you weren't." I was still whispering and chuckled as I got up and quietly shut the door. I turned around and made wide 'OMG' eyes and then laughed as I ran back to the bed.
"You're going to get me into trouble one of these days for shutting the door." He smirked as he stayed where he was on the bed.
"I know. That's the plan...KENT, YOUR MOM SAID NO!" I laid down right next to him and tousled my hair.
"Elly!" He stood up from the edge of the bed and moved towards the door, but before he could get there, the door opened and his mom stood there.
"Kent, do that again and you know what will happen."
Kent shook his head and sighed. "Sorry mom. I'll leave it open, promise."
I pressed my lips together to try to hide the grin. I stayed quiet on the bed and waited for his mom to retreat again.
"Ooooh Kent, you're in big trouble."
Kent turned his gaze towards me on his bed and frowned at me. He shot daggers with his eyes as he moved over and took a seat in his computer chair.
