by Susan Stoker
“What guys?” Wendy asked.
“The assholes who decided it would be fun to show up and harass us as we practiced today.”
“Start at the beginning,” Wendy ordered, completely lost. She wanted to reprimand him for his language, but he was getting to the age where it was a little silly.
Jackson took a deep breath before starting on his tale. “We were on the field as usual, when a group of guys peeled into the parking lot of the school. They revved their engines and basically made asses of themselves. Then they got out and came over to the field. They sat in the bleachers for the rest of practice, heckling us. It was honestly more annoying than anything else. Coach told us to ignore them. After practice, we headed to our cars and were getting ready to leave when the theater club’s practice got out. The assholes decided since they weren’t getting a rise out of us, they’d start in on them.”
Jackson ran his hand through his hair in agitation. His leg was bouncing up and down and he fidgeted with the water bottle in front of him.
“What’d they do?” Wendy asked.
“They surrounded a group of three freshman girls. They were saying all sorts of crap to them. Telling them how pretty they were and how they bet they were great in bed…that sort of shit. Me and a couple of the other guys on the team decided enough was enough and went over there. Two of the bigger guys were touching the girls. Running their hands up and down their arms and stuff. They were saying they wanted them to come to a party. The girls were scared to death.”
“Assholes,” Aspen muttered.
“Yeah. Anyway, so me, David, and Patrick told them to knock it off. They immediately turned on us, taunting us, asking if we were their boyfriends, shit like that. We got between them and the girls. I told Jenny to run inside and get a teacher. That set off the guys even more. They were pretending to cry, telling us we were pussies and crap.”
“Oh my God, Jackson,” Wendy said. “What happened?”
He shrugged. “A couple teachers came out, along with Coach, and the guys left.”
“Just like that?” she asked.
“Just like that,” Jackson confirmed.
“Who were they?” Aspen asked.
“I think they graduated a couple years ago,” Jackson told him. “I think one guy’s name is Charles, although his friends were calling him Chuck. They’re losers who have nothing better to do than scare a bunch of freshmen.”
“Are the girls okay?” Wendy asked.
The look on her brother’s face changed. The irritation he’d been expressing shifted to concern. “Yeah. They were pretty shaken up. After everyone else had been picked up, Jenny was scared Chuck and the others would come back and hurt her since her mom was running late. So, me and Patrick talked with her for a while, making sure she was all right. Then her mom finally showed up and we left.”
“What did Coach say about the guys?”
Jackson shrugged. “Not much. Just warned us that if we got in a fight, even if we didn’t start it, that we’d be benched for at least two games.”
“That’s not fair,” Wendy protested. “Especially if you don’t start it and are protecting others.”
“Those are his rules,” Jackson said.
“You give Jenny your number?” Aspen asked. He’d been quiet throughout Jackson’s story, so his question surprised Wendy.
“No.”
“You should.”
“Really?”
Wendy stared at her brother. She thought he’d protest Aspen’s suggestion and tell him he wasn’t interested in the freshman that way. Or that it wasn’t necessary. But instead, Jackson looked pensive.
“Really,” Aspen confirmed. “I don’t like the sound of what happened. Those guys were looking for someone to harass, and when you and your friends stepped up to protect the girls, they got their targets.”
“Me or them?” Jackson asked.
“Not sure. But either way, it’s not good. You don’t want Jenny to be in a situation where she’s vulnerable again, not like that. If you give her your number, she can call you if she sees the guys again, or if she’s scared.”
“She didn’t want to admit it, but I saw how freaked she was when the one guy was touching her,” Jackson said.
“No one has the right to touch a woman without her permission,” Aspen said, his voice steely hard. “Those assholes would probably argue that they weren’t hurting her. That all they were doing was touching her arm, but that’s not the point.”
“I didn’t like the look in their eyes,” Jackson admitted. “It was as if they enjoyed scaring them. They got off on it or something.”
“They probably did,” Aspen agreed.
“If you see them again, you need to let the principal know,” Wendy said.
“I know.”
“And your coach.”
“I will.”
“And any grown-up who’s around.”
“I know, sis,” Jackson growled. “I’m not an idiot. But if they come around again, I’m not going to run away like a coward to find an adult. They’re not going to touch Jenny or her friends again. Not if I can help it.”
Wendy now felt as agitated as her brother had looked when he first got home. “Don’t do anything that will get you hurt,” she warned. “I couldn’t take it if something happened to you.”
“Nothing is going to happen to me,” he said. “It’s people like Jenny and the others those assholes decide to harass that I worry about. It sucks. I don’t get it. Chuck and his friends are older; why aren’t they in college or working? Why do they have to come back and pick on people younger and more vulnerable than them?”
“Because they can,” Aspen said. “I’ve seen it over and over throughout my time in the service. Picking on those who can’t fight back gives them power.”
“So, what can I do about it?” Jackson asked.
Aspen shrugged. “I’m not advocating fighting them, but if that’s what they want, they aren’t going to stop until they get it.”
Wendy gasped. “Aspen!”
He went on. “Hopefully, they were just bored and you won’t see them again. Maybe they got what they wanted this afternoon and it was a one-off.”
“But you don’t think so,” Jackson said.
Aspen shrugged. “Unfortunately, no. Men like them get off on scaring others. Now that they’ve found an audience who they have power over, they’re going to want it more and more. It’s like a drug.”
“So…I should fight them.”
“Jackson, no!” Wendy exclaimed again.
Aspen reached a hand over and rested it on hers. He squeezed, but didn’t look at her. His eyes stayed glued to Jackson’s. “Not if you can help it. They won’t fight fair. They’ll gang up on you and it won’t end well for you. The best thing you can do is not give them a chance to exert their power. They probably showed up when they did because they knew there wouldn’t be a lot of teachers there, and they probably also knew there would be clubs and sports ending around that time. You said they were older than you and that you think they went to school there, so they know the routines. Get with the students in the clubs, make sure no one travels by themselves. Make sure the principal is aware of what’s happening. That might not stop their harassment, it might make them sneakier, but if you take away their ability to get to people, eventually they’ll move on.”
Wendy looked from her brother to Aspen. What he was saying made sense, but that didn’t mean she had to like it. She could tell that Jackson was drinking it in though. Not for the first time she felt a pang of sorrow deep inside. She’d done her best to be a mother, sister, friend, and disciplinarian to her brother. But she knew there were times he craved a masculine influence in his life, and that was the one thing she couldn’t give him no matter how hard she tried.
“I’ll find Jenny tomorrow and give her my number and talk to her about the situation. She can hopefully talk to the teacher in charge of the theater club. I’m not sure the principal will do much, but at lea
st he’ll know about it.”
Aspen nodded. “Again, I don’t want to scare you, but hopefully they’ll lose interest in harassing you guys.”
“Thanks, Aspen,” Jackson said.
“Anytime. I’m sorry that happened to you today.”
Jackson shrugged. “I just hate bullies. I don’t get why they’re such assholes. Why can’t people just live their lives and leave the rest of us alone?”
“I don’t know, buddy. I just don’t know.”
There was silence around the table for a beat, then Jackson said with a smirk, “So…I interrupted you and Wen making out, didn’t I?”
“Jackson!” Wendy protested, knowing she was blushing furiously.
Aspen merely chuckled. “Actually, no. It’s only our first real date and I’d never disrespect your sister like that…by making out when I knew you’d be coming home soon.”
“But you like her, right?”
Wendy rolled her eyes and pushed back from the table. “That’s it, I’m going to check on dinner.”
Both men laughed. Wendy could still hear them talking as the kitchen was right next to the table.
“Yeah, Jack, I like your sister. What’s not to like?”
“Well, she takes forever in the shower. That’s why she started showering at night. She hits the snooze four hundred times in a row then has to rush to get ready so she’s not late to work. It’s a good thing I’m a morning person because I would’ve been late to school every day of my life if I wasn’t. She also doesn’t like science fiction. I don’t know about you, but that would be a deal breaker in any girl I dated. She also doesn’t like cops. Any kind of police officer. So, she drives like a granny. It’s annoying.”
Wendy leaned over and laid her head on the counter in exasperation. “Kill me now,” she mumbled. She heard a chair scoot back on the floor, but didn’t lift her head to see who had moved.
A warm hand rested on her upper back and rubbed in small circles. Aspen.
“None of those things make me not want to get to know your sister better…but, Jack, you’re embarrassing her, which isn’t cool.”
At the rebuke to her brother, Wendy raised her head to defend him, but Jack spoke before she could.
“You’re right. Sorry, Wen. Do I have time for a shower before dinner? I stink from practice.”
Wendy looked from her brother to Aspen. His hand had moved to her lower back when she stood, and she could feel his thumb gently caressing her through her shirt. “Uh…sure.”
“Cool.” Then Jack got up and headed for his room without looking back.
Wendy glanced up at Aspen. “I’m not sure if that went well or if I should be worried.”
“That went well,” he declared firmly.
“I’m still worried about him,” Wendy said.
“He seems like a good kid. He didn’t hesitate to stand up for those girls and he’s worried about them.”
“Do you think those guys are going to come back?”
He eyed her for a long moment before bringing his free hand up to her face and brushing a lock of hair behind her ear. “Yeah, sweetheart. I think they will.”
Wendy closed her eyes in frustration. “Darn it.”
“He’s a good kid,” Aspen repeated. “He can handle it.”
“I hope so.”
“So…you drive like a granny?”
Wendy groaned. “I’m gonna kill him.”
Aspen chuckled.
“And no, I don’t drive like a grandma. I’m cautious. Too many people don’t think twice about the fact they’re riding around in something that could easily kill or hurt someone else.”
“You should know something…”
Wendy furrowed her brow. He sounded so serious, but his thumb on her lower back never stopped its rhythmic caress. “What?”
Aspen pulled her close until she was flush against him. His warm breath feathered over the skin at her ear as he whispered, “I’m okay with you driving like a granny, I’d rather you did that than have a lead foot and have to flash your tits at an officer to try to get out of a ticket. I don’t want you flashing those beautiful tits at anyone but me. And I’m perfectly okay with you wanting to stay in bed as long as possible. It’s my favorite piece of furniture.”
His words sent a carnal image rushing through her head. The two of them entwined in a large king-size bed, his hips thrusting as he stared down at her, his hands on either side of her head as they made love.
Wendy looked up at him and licked her lips.
“God, sweetheart. Don’t look at me like that,” he begged. “You’re making it really hard to remember, or care, that your little brother is right down the hall and will be back out here any second.”
Wendy fought with herself. She never did this. Never threw herself at men. Never felt as though if she didn’t feel his lips on hers, she’d spontaneously combust.
But then again, Aspen wasn’t just any man. He was the guy she’d gotten to know over the last couple months. The man who made her laugh when she felt like shit after being hung up on and yelled at eight hundred and thirty-two times in a row. He was the man she texted just to ask how his day was going. And he was the man who made her brother feel better about his crappy day much more easily than she ever could’ve.
“Why don’t you like cops?” he asked.
She licked her lips and looked away from him. She wasn’t going to tell him that she was scared a cop would ask for her identification and then look her up in a database.
She felt him sigh and knew she’d disappointed him again. She hated doing it, but she couldn’t stop herself.
“Kiss me,” she whispered, looking back up at him, trying to change the subject.
Aspen groaned but didn’t hesitate. His hands came up to her face and he tilted it toward his. He didn’t look down the hall to see if Jackson was coming. He didn’t act like he was in a big hurry. The fire in his eyes burned into her own as his head slowly lowered.
Wendy closed her eyes in anticipation and latched onto the shirt at his sides. A second later, his warm lips were on hers.
He didn’t kiss her hesitantly or ease into it either. His tongue swiped along the seam of her lips and she immediately opened to him.
He swept inside as if he’d been kissing her his entire life.
Wendy moaned softly and dug her nails into his sides as he tilted her head to a better angle. She’d never felt anything like this in her life. Her fingers and toes tingled and she couldn’t get enough of him. Wendy opened her mouth wider, twining her tongue with his.
After the initial onslaught, his kiss gentled. He teased her tongue with his own and took his time getting to know what she liked.
Way too soon, he pulled back and rested his forehead on hers. His breaths came out in short pants, making her feel much better about her own unsteady breathing.
She licked her lips again, tasting him once more. “Wow,” Wendy said after a moment when he didn’t speak.
One of his hands moved up to her hair and smoothed it back from her face. “Wow, indeed,” Aspen said quietly. He pulled back but didn’t take his hands from her. “You okay, sweetheart?”
“Yeah.”
His eyes stared into hers with an intensity that would’ve scared her if she hadn’t been feeling as off-center as she was. He moved the hand on her head and his thumb brushed over her lips, smearing the wetness from their kiss. She couldn’t help it; her tongue came out and licked him as he caressed her.
His pupils dilated, and it was a heady feeling knowing she could affect him as easily as he did her.
“God, this mouth,” he said in a low, rumbly voice that went straight to her clit.
Wendy shifted where she stood, uncomfortable with the lust coursing through her body. This wasn’t like her. She enjoyed sex, but never felt as if she was missing anything when she didn’t get it. But with one kiss, Aspen had gotten her body primed and ready…for him.
“Don’t look at me like that, Wen.”
“Like what?” she asked, playing coy. She had a feeling she knew exactly how she was looking at him…as if she wanted him to throw her on the floor and fuck her hard and fast.
He smirked. “Like you want me hard and deep inside your sweet body.”
A small sound of need escaped her throat.
With that, Aspen wrapped his arms around her and hugged her. Wendy moved her hands so she was clutching his back. She buried her nose into his shoulder and held on. They stood like that for several moments, enjoying the feel of each other, before Aspen finally pulled back and held her at arm’s length.
“Jesus, Wen. I haven’t been that close to losing my cool in a very long time. I want you,” he said without pretense.
“I want you too,” Wendy replied shyly.
“Don’t get me wrong,” he went on. “I want you in my bed, under me, over me, and any other way I can get you. But I also want you sitting next to me when we eat, while we watch TV, and when we’re sitting in the stands watching Jackson play lacrosse or compete with his robotics club.”
Wendy’s eyes got big and she stared up at him, lost for words.
“I want a relationship. An exclusive one. I feel as if I know you better than any woman I’ve ever dated. There’s something to be said for getting to know someone via the phone. Something good. I knew we had chemistry, but I didn’t realize how explosive it would be in person. I know I’m moving fast, but I can’t help it. And you’re not saying anything…am I freaking you out?” he asked.
Wendy couldn’t believe he was nervous. “I’d like that…a relationship, I mean. It’s…it’s been a while for me.”
His nostrils flared at her words, and he opened his mouth to speak, when Jackson asked, “Am I interrupting you not making out again?”
Wendy closed her eyes in embarrassment, but Aspen didn’t pull away from her.
“Nope, you’re just interrupting a little after-kiss cuddle.”
Wendy’s eyes popped open at that. She smacked him on the shoulder. “Aspen!”
“What?” he asked not so innocently.
“Let go of me so I can get the casserole out of the oven,” she told him, even as she blushed.
Aspen and Jackson chuckled at her expense, but Wendy couldn’t be upset with them. Sometimes when Jackson had come home from school in a funk, he’d gone to his room and hadn’t reappeared until the next morning. The fact that he was there now, laughing and teasing her, was amazing. And she was thankful for Aspen’s help in making that happen.
