by Marie Cole
"Oh. That's great."
She didn't make it sound like it was great, her voice was flat and severely lacking enthusiasm. Soon we were parked in front of her house. I grabbed onto her arm when she tried to leave and didn't start talking until she was looking at me.
"What's wrong, Elly?"
She tried to yank her arm away but I held tight. Something was eating at her and I wanted to know what it was. I had to know.
"Nothing."
The deadly girl answer. It was something. Something big. But I had no idea what it could be other than Jen.
"I'm sorry she busted in on our party."
"Are you? I don't think you are. It doesn't matter. I have to go and you have to get back to her. Your girlfriend or whatever."
There was bitterness but I didn't understand why. "Are you mad because you don't like her?"
She stared at me, her eyes welling with tears. Shit. Not my intention. What the hell was going on?
"Elly, don't cry."
My mistake was in letting go of her arm because as soon as I did she ran away. I moved to get out of my car but when her mom came to stand in the doorway and waved at me I simply waved back. I could talk to her about it tomorrow. We wouldn't get anywhere tonight anyway. And I had a guest at home.
Chapter Ten
KENT
It had been three weeks since I'd asked Jen to be my girlfriend. I wasn't even quite sure why she even acted as she did towards me. She was gorgeous, I was the kid getting paper balls thrown at his head in class. And something had happened after she'd started hanging around me. The paper balls stopped coming, the snide comments only happened when she wasn't near me. Aside from that, she was funny, and smart, and lots of fun to be around.
"So daddy said we could take the Jag out this weekend. Where do you want to go?" Jen always smelled so good and today was no exception as she held onto my arm as we walked down the hallway together, people actually moving out of the way for us to get through. The scary part was that I was starting to get used to it.
I blinked as I processed the words she'd said. I guess I was in my own la-la land. "Uh, I'm not sure. Where do you want to go?"
"Well...," she waved as a group of her fellow cheerleaders passed us and then resumed, "I was thinking we could sneak some of daddy's finest whiskey and find a little place to enjoy some. Alone." She emphasized the last word and I realized she meant that she didn't want Elly coming along. She never did.
I frowned. Why didn't Jen like Elly that much? I just couldn't grasp that. For that matter I hadn't hung out with Elly alone in a while now. "Well..." As if she knew I was on the verge of declining she upped the ante.
"Fine. I wanted it to be a surprise but you know just how to get things out of me. I got us two tickets to ComicCon this weekend." She looked up at me with a huge, beaming grin.
All I could do was blink. "You what?" Again my brain was chugging along like an overweight train up a hill. "You got us two tickets to ComicCon. As in the large gathering of nerds who tend to dress up as their favorite heroes and nerd out all weekend?"
She nodded emphatically, still beaming. "Yes! Aren't you excited?!"
I stopped there in the hall with her. I always felt self-conscious around her. She was so pretty and I was well... not. Before I could control myself I leaned forward and kissed her.
Kissing her wasn't strange or new, we'd been making out in my bedroom and hers for a few weeks, but in public it was unheard of. I felt her melt against me as our lips fell into their magical, practiced dance. Before I knew it I had her pressed against a hard surface.
I finally realized what I was doing and I pulled away. I could feel my cheeks blazing as I shifted my eyes towards the floor and adjusted my glasses which had gone askew. "Sorry. I... Thank you Jen."
She smiled, her own cheeks slightly flushed, "Anything for my boyfriend." Her eyes shifted and she smiled brighter. "Elly! Hey! Guess where I'm taking Kent this weekend?!" She waved at someone over my shoulder and before I turned around I secretly willed my body to get back to the unaroused state.
Elly's voice was clear behind me, she was close. "Paris?"
Shit.
Jen grinned and shook her head, ignoring Elly's sarcasm. "ComicCon! Are you going? It would be so great to run into you there! Ooh, maybe you could even ride with us?"
"Yeah, no. Sorry. I'm busy this weekend."
Jen's face fell and seeing her disappointed did the trick and I finally turned around. "You always used to say how much you wanted to go to one, Elly. Because I always talked about going to one. Now you don't want to go?"
She pressed her lips together, her face stuck in a neutral expression. "Like I said, I'm busy. I'm sure you'll have lots of fun." She pointed to my chest. "You're blocking my locker."
Jen pulled me into her and wrapped her arm around my lower back. "Sorry. We'll bring you back something, won't we, Kenny?"
I could feel the muscles in my jaw tightening, a usual reaction upon becoming extremely frustrated. "Yeah. We'll find something nice."
"No, don't bother. I don't need any more stuff." Elly moved to her locker and fiddled with the combination, not even looking at us. I wasn't sure what bug was up her butt, but she had been extremely moody ever since the first day of school. I wanted to blame PMS but it didn't usually last for weeks at a time.
Jen tugged on my arm and when I looked down she shrugged her slender shoulders and shook her head. She was right, Elly was being crazy and it was time to go.
"Bye Els. Hope you have a good weekend." As we walked away I felt Jen's hand on my ass, giving it a little squeeze. I pulled her hand away, blushing, but inside I was cheering. Elly may want to be a bitch to me but my girlfriend sure as heck wasn't. And that was A-ok by me.
ComicCon was awesome! Jen's parents had sprung for a room in the hotel where it was being held. We had geeked out all day and then went back to the hotel room to watch some TV.
I sighed contentedly as I lay there with Jen on my chest.
Jen put her hand on the front of my jeans and batted her thick long lashes at me. I froze and stiffened. She'd been trying to wear me down but I couldn't let her.
I didn't want to be a girl or anything but losing my virginity in a hotel room, even one as nice as this, wasn't what I'd had in mind. I'd wanted my first time to be special and memorable. Not to mention I was freaking out about the performance or the likely shortness the event itself. I grabbed her hand and brought it to my lips, giving it a kiss.
"Not yet, Jen."
She sighed softly and nodded, "Alright. Sorry to pressure you. I just... I want you so badly." She tried to pull her hand away but I held it tight.
"I want you too I just..."
"You're thinking about Elly?"
I frowned at her. Where the hell had that come from? "No. Are you?" I hadn't actually thought about Elly at all, which partially bothered me as the realization struck me.
I watched as her eyes grew wide and then returned to normal. She shrugged her shoulders and put her cheek to my chest. "I just wonder sometimes, that's all."
"Wonder about what?"
"If you have feelings for her the way she has feelings for you."
I felt nothing for the statement except confusion. Elly was my best friend and despite the fact that she was a girl, she certainly didn't harbor any romantic feelings for me. Any time I came within two feet of her she'd tense up and stop breathing. I'd received enough hints in the past three years to know that she wasn't into me that way.
"Jen. Even if she did have feelings for me, which she doesn't, I'm with you. So please stop obsessing about Elly and let's order some room service."
She studied my face and I watched as she finally accepted what I'd said. She pressed her lips to mine quickly before rolling over the king sized bed towards the phone. "Do you think they'd slip up and let us order wine?"
I chuckled and shrugged my shoulders. "I don't know. You could try, I guess." While she ordered a chocolate and cheese plate with a b
ottle of champagne I grabbed the controllers and brought them back to the bed.
"I can't believe they didn't say anything. Mommy and Daddy must not have flagged our room. Have you ever had anything to drink before?"
I shook my head. My drug of choice had always been sugar. "No. Not really my thing."
"How do you know if you've never tried it?"
"It's illegal, I can wait a few more years until it's not."
She giggled and came over, snatching up the extra controller as the Super Mario Brothers theme song filled the room. "Such a good little boy you are. No sex, no drugs, no alcohol."
"That's why your parents are trusting me with their precious little girl all alone in this hotel room."
Jen grabbed my controller and chucked it across the room. I looked at her and my words died in my throat. When had she taken her shirt off?
I shifted as my pants became a little tighter. "What are you doing?"
"Nothing."
I leaned back as she reached for the waist of my jeans. I felt the pressure ease somewhat when the zipper was down. I saw nothing but the back of her head as I leaned back a little more, still apprehensive.
"Je--Oh God..." I'd never understood why the guys in the pornos thought that a blowjob was so great until that moment. It was a perfect combination I felt with her lips wrapped around my manhood. The perfect amount of suction and the way her hand moved with her mouth and the feeling of her tongue...
I wasn't sure if I should hold onto her head or pull her hair or rub her back. Every time I made a move to do something the exquisite pleasure came back again. When she finished I was laying on my back on the bed, panting. My head was reeling and I was pretty sure my heart was bursting with love. That was the best thing that had ever happened to me. And at that moment I could only wonder when, if ever, it was going to happen again.
Jen laid next to me and smiled, her fingers slowly running little circles over my shirt. "Did you like that?"
"Yes that was... incredible."
She kissed my cheek, "Good!" and then bolted from the bed to the bathroom. I buttoned up and then stared at the door as the room service delivery guy knocked on the door. I hoped my cheeks didn't give my secret away as I opened the door.
"Room service." The guy looked behind me and I did the same before looking back at him. "Do you have someone over 21 here?"
"Um...yeah, my mom is in the bathroom."
He nodded and held out the ticket. "Sign here, please."
I couldn't believe it was that easy. I signed after writing in a nice big tip and then watched as a little cart of stuff was wheeled into the room.
After he left I sat on the bed and stared at the champagne. I wasn't at a party. I was on a romantic weekend getaway with my girlfriend. It wasn't exactly the same thing. Not even close.
And I wouldn't have champagne to get drunk. I'd just like to have a sip and prevent Jen from drinking it all. Could she drink it all?
As I looked up Jen came out of the bathroom. She smiled and then cheered when her eyes landed on the cart.
"You did it!" She clapped as she approached the champagne and picked it up. "Put your head down. These things are dangerous."
I did as she instructed after she pointed the bottle right at me. There was a loud pop and a little scream from her. I lifted my head in time to see her pouring the golden bubbling liquid into two glasses. My mouth watered as she lifted hers to her lips, those same luscious lips that had just done wonderful things to my junk. Maybe I could taste it on her.
I stood up and went over, I slid my hands around her waist and pulled her towards me, grinding myself against her because it felt good and she'd left me hard and wanting.
"Oh, Kenny." She grinned as her free hand came to my back.
"I want a taste," I muttered before pressing my lips to her. I licked the champagne remnants from her tongue and then drew back. "Are you going to share the champagne?"
"I thought you were a good little boy."
"That was before my hot, sexy girlfriend corrupted me." I tried to drink some more champagne from her lips but failed.
"I will share any and every thing with you, Kenny."
And she did. That night marked the first time I'd tasted hundred dollar truffles, champagne, and a woman. My favorite was the woman.
Chapter Eleven
ELLY
I felt someone standing behind me and nearly screamed when I saw Kent's face. He saw my look of terror and grinned. Damn him and his damn smile. It still made me swoon, despite his shitty behavior since meeting Jen. Like last week when they'd both walked right by me in the hallway, staring past me as if I were invisible. And every day in homeroom when they'd giggle together and her hands would be all over his shoulders. God how I hated it.
"Scare ya?"
"A little bit. It's a little stalker-ish to be standing behind someone like that, you know."
He smirked and his eyes glazed over a little. "Jen doesn't seem to mind."
The mere mention of her turned my insides to fire. I tried to swallow my anger down before replying to him. I hated how he just blurted stuff out. Didn't he know it was killing me? Hadn't my hints been obvious enough?
"Yes, well, she's your girlfriend. It's different."
"Pft." He rolled his eyes and moved to the side so he could see me while I finished getting my books for fourth and fifth period. "You never minded me standing that close before."
"You never stood that close before." I looked over and he was unusually close to me, even now. I frowned at his smiling face as I shifted to my other foot. "What the hell is wrong with you?"
He shook his head, the smile irritatingly bright. "Nothing."
"There's something you're not telling me." Oh my god. Did he do it over the weekend? Did he lose it over the weekend? I turned my face away in case he could read my thoughts.
"Yeah. And I won't. I don't kiss and tell."
I zipped my book bag violently as the thought of the two of them making out, fondling each other and getting it on played on repeat in my mind. "Good. I don't want to know. I have to go."
I turned to go but his hand, warm and strong, grabbed onto my arm. "Els, wait a minute!"
I looked at him and tried to project hate, disgust. I didn't want to talk to him right now. "What?"
Apparently it hadn't worked. Not well enough, anyway. "Are you mad at me or something?"
He wanted to know what was wrong with me? Fine, I'd tell him. I'd tell him that I hated his new girlfriend and the way she was purposely driving a wedge between us. I'd tell him that it sucked not having my best friend around. I'd tell him that I'd gained five pounds in the last three weeks because I was binge eating all my hurt feelings.
"I--" I didn't get the chance to tell him anything because I was cut off by the obnoxious giggling that played in my head when I was trying to go to sleep at night. The stuff of nightmares materialized beside him.
"Kenny, there you are!" Jen wrapped her arm around his waist and hugged him. "Oh hey, Elly." She briefly spared me a glance before putting her attention back on her boyfriend. I shook my head and turned away after she started nibbling on his neck and Kent moaned. I was so easily forgotten.
Nice play, Jen, nice play.
How was I supposed to compete with her anyway? She knew I wasn't a threat which is why she made no effort to hide anything. She didn't need to secretly steal him away from me. She could do it right in front of my face. And what was I going to do about it? Nothing. There was nothing that I could do. I was fat-Elly. Low-self-esteem Elly. Friend-material Elly.
Depressed and defeated I slunk away, no one called out after me. The hole in my chest expanded a little. I muddled my way through the rest of the school day somehow, trying to keep myself focused on classwork instead of my boy troubles but it was hard.
Since Jen had come along the rides with Kent had ceased. My mother had asked why but I'd just chalked it up to wanting the extra exercise. I was three blocks from school when Kent came
running up behind me, his breath coming in short hot bursts.
"Elly! God, you walk fast." He held onto my wrist to keep me from moving and I stared at him as he bent over and struggled to catch his breath.
For a moment my heart squeezed with hope. Did he break up with Jen? Was he going to apologize for being a dick to me earlier? I felt the corners of my mouth tilt into a smile as watched him continue to struggle to catch his breath.
"What's wrong?"
He shook his head when he straightened himself, pushing his glasses back onto his nose. "Nothing, I just...Jeez!" He let go of my wrist and shook his head. "You walk really fast."
I turned my back on him and continued to walk. If nothing was wrong then that meant everything was the same and I wasn't going to pretend like I was okay with it.
"Elly! Where are you going?"
"Home. I have a shit-ton of homework to do."
"Well, let me walk with you."
"Hurry the heck up, then! Lots of homework, remember?"
Part of me wished he would take my bad attitude to heart and just leave me alone. And the other half was cheering because in spite of it he was still coming around to talk to me. He still acted as if he wanted to be friends. Friends; I'd come to loathe that word. It really just meant a person you could treat like dirt and they would still want to be around you and talk to you. Someone who craves any scrap of attention you're willing to give them. That's what it was like to be friend's with Kent, anyway. God, I'm so pathetic.
"I was just wondering if you were planning on going to Billy Hagan's party Friday night."
Billy Hagan, Mr. Popular? I hadn't been planning on it, but if he was asking then maybe...
"I don't know. Are you going with Jen?" Oh how it pained me to even say her name.
"No. She's going out of town with her parents."
I slowed down. That was a plus. A night with Kent. But not alone, surrounded by lots of people. Why the hell did he want to go to a party? That was not his thing, at least it hadn't used to be when we were hanging out. Years and years and he'd never ever wanted to go to a party before.
