by Sarah Thorn
“Okay, I can do it, and I’ll even lower my rate,” she said.
“That sounds fine,” he said, he wanted to tell her that he couldn’t pay, but he was afraid that she would say no. And, he really needed the help.
“Can we start tomorrow,” he asked.
“Sure,” she replied.
He felt a little relieved that he’d have a tutor, but he still felt stressed about what she’d say after she found out he’d be unable to pay.
The day passed, and the two met in the library. Kara was a good teacher, and Henry knew that. He worked his hardest to catch up and over the course of the next week, he was actually quite successful.
“Okay, it’s been a week. Do you think I’ll be able to get paid for my time,” she asked.
“Would it be alright if I paid you next week,” he asked.
“Why can’t you pay right now,” she asked in turn.
“I could pay you through other means,” he said, leaning over for a kiss.
She pulled away.
“Wait. Is this why you constantly pursued me for the last while? You needed to get a tutor for free?”
Henry felt terrible that she thought like this.
“No, that’s not it in the slightest-”
“I can’t believe how far you’d go to keep playing your stupid sport. You slept with me so that you could save some money on a tutor. That’s incredibly low, Henry.”
Kara closed her books, stuffing them inside her bag. A few of the other patrons of the library were starting to take notice, and Henry was getting really nervous; something he rarely felt or allowed himself to feel.
“It’s over, Henry,” she said.
Kara stood to leave, and Henry wanted to dart up and grab her. He wanted to do anything to keep her here and tell her the truth, but he was too embarrassed.
He let her leave and just sat there in shock. The one person he thought he could confide in had just walked out of his life, and there was nothing he could do to stop it.
7.
Kara couldn’t remember the last time she’d cried this hard. Of course, it was due to her own stupidity. She finally thought that she’d met a man that she was capable of opening up to and possibly connecting with. Instead, she got stuck with a man that lied to her; and made her feel like some kind of prostitute.
Her phone rang several times through the night for the last few days. Nearly every call was from Henry, but she didn’t want to talk to him. She nearly threw her phone out the window to make it stop ringing.
Kara tried her hardest to sleep early, but couldn’t. She started analyzing what she did wrong because she wanted to be sure it wouldn’t happen again.
George was calling; Kara answered.
“You’re late, Kara. Where are you?”
It caught her by surprise; she’d never missed a session before.
“Just wait there, I’ll be right over.”
Kara clicked the phone off and dressed quickly, not caring what she put on.
When she arrived at the library, in her usual spot, George was already there with his books open on the table. He’d been studying on his own, but it didn’t look like he really understood what he was reading.
“What’s got into you,” George asked.
She sat her things down on the table and plopped into her seat.
“It’s a boy thing,” she replied.
“Yeah, Henry has been pretty broken up, too. He was just sitting in a lounge chair in the backyard all day.”
Kara forgot that George lived in the same house that Henry did.
“What, did he finally get kicked off the team,” Kara asked with an annoyed tone.
“No, but coach pulled him early last game. His head just wasn’t in it.”
Serves him right, Kara thought, Maybe he’d think twice before he gets that close to someone.
“Can we just focus on the task at hand,” Kara asked.
“I only have ten minutes left of this session, so I think I’ll spend them however I want.”
Here it comes, she thought.
“Whatever you did to Henry, he’s broken. Would you, at least, talk to the guy so he can get some closure with all this,” George asked.
Kara sighed; perhaps some closure was a good idea for both people.
“Fine, I’ll talk to him.”
“Good,” George replied. He stood up and started walking away.
“George?”
Then Henry took a seat across from her, again. She looked at him with seething hatred before turning away to hide her scowl.
“I know you’re upset. Would you, at least, hear me out before running off,” Henry asked.
“I’m listening, but I doubt it’ll help,” Kara replied sternly.
“Okay, this is something that I’ve been struggling with, and I don’t want anyone else to know. It could ruin my entire life and career if anyone knew.”
Kara was curious.
“I’m listening, Henry.”
He let out a drawn out sigh, focusing his thoughts and trying to loosen up.
“Kara, I’m incredibly poor,” he said.
“Is that all,” she asked with scorn.
“You don’t understand. I’m barely able to afford food. Girls around here see me wearing expensive clothes and spending time with the elite at the school. I take the clothes that my friends would give to charity. I do my own tailoring and cooking so that I can stay trendy.
“I need help to stay in school; this is my only shot at being something more than a nobody,” he said.
Kara looked at his eyes. She could see his eyes were already getting clouded with tears. She wanted to jump across the table and hug him, tell him everything would be okay. But, she didn’t.
“How can I really trust you,” Kara said.
“The best things in life are free, Kara,” he replied, “but if you want I can show you my bank statement. Or take you to the one bedroom apartment my mother raised three kids in.
“Or I could cook the same food that I cooked for my younger siblings daily.”
Kara was beginning to believe him. Perhaps he wasn’t lying to her.
“You know, you could have told me from the beginning. It wouldn’t have made me any less interested in you. It’s the fact that you took advantage of me before telling me the truth. It’s hard to come back from.”
He nodded. Tears rolled down his cheeks, and Kara could feel some start to well up behind her eyes.
“I believe you, Henry,” she said.
He moved to the chair next to her and leaned over to give her a hug. She accepted it readily. The feeling of warmth didn’t just come from him but also welled up inside her.
“You know, it’s been a few days,” she said.
He brushed the tears from his eyes and gave her a puzzled look.
Kara looked around the library. There weren’t that many people inside, and she felt a little frisky; feelings that felt odd when juxtaposed with her emotional state.
“I think you owe me this one,” she said.
Kara reached under her skirt and slid her underwear down to her knees. It seemed that Henry got the hint as he glanced around before ducking under the table.
The simple but pleasant touch of his hands on her thighs gave her a chill. She wasn’t entirely sure she was ready for what she asked for, but it was too late to back out now.
His tongue licked along her inner thigh and sent tingles to all her nerves. She opened her legs a little further and relaxed her head back into the seat.
She could feel herself opening up as he inched closer to her slit. The tip of his tongue met her little clit, and she shivered from the sensation. Kara put her hands on his head and pulled him in closer.
He obliged her and continued to tease her. Then, a surprising new twist came when he slipped his finger inside her dripping sex. It felt odd at first, but he rubbed along her g-spot inside, and the new sensation made her arch her back each time he rubbed it.
The motions of
his tongue started to blur together, and she felt the familiar welling inside her stomach. She put a hand over her mouth in an effort to keep herself quiet, but it didn’t help much.
She moaned with pleasure with each flick of his tongue. He seemed to be enjoying himself as well, making his circles shorter and shorter.
Then she felt a sudden explosion and her body convulsed. She lost her breath in the moment, not realizing that she was crushing his head with her thighs.
He pulled himself free and snuck to the other side of the table.
Through heavy panting, Kara managed to say just one thing.
“Okay, I believe you.”
8.
“They’re not going to like me,” Henry said.
“I don’t think they’ll care that much,” Kara retorted.
It had been a couple of weeks since they managed to make up in the library.
“Do I have to tell them,” Henry asked.
“You know it’s wrong to keep lying to people that say they’re your friends,” she said.
“But, what if all the sudden I’m kicked off the team because I’m no longer one of them,” Henry added.
“You’ll always be a hockey player,” Kara said.
“Okay, alright, fine. You got me. I’ll do it. And, I’ll live with the consequences,” Henry said.
They were about to do just that. Kara and Henry walked down the familiar street; from Kara’s house to the house down the street that Henry normally lived.
Henry walked just a little bit slower, and Kara did her best to keep him on track. He continued to plead the entire way, and it drove her crazy having to constantly reassure him, but it was for the best.
Once they arrived, they were greeted at the door by George.
“Hey, you two,” he said, ushering them towards the living room where nearly the entire hockey team had congregated.
Kara joined a couple of the player’s girlfriends in the back and said her usual greetings. She found herself spending more time with them as of late. They weren’t the smartest people, but they were still good people.
Henry stood at the front of the assembly. He looked nervous like he would have preferred to be anywhere but there.
“Hey guys,” he started.
“Just get out with it,” George shouted from the crowd.
“Alright, alright. I’m getting to it.” Henry said. “You know how I’ve been a bit standoffish and rarely go out to the night clubs, or usually eat at home. Well, there’s a reason for all of that.”
Henry looked into Kara’s eyes for strength.
“I’m not a rich kid like all of you. I’m not cut from the same cloth. I know a lot of you only like to consort with your own kind, and I’m not that. I’m just a normal everyday poor kid who wanted to be liked.
“So, I lied to you all, and I hope you can forgive me.”
The group was quiet for a minute; more or less none of them really had an immediate response to his sudden bout of honesty.
“Is that all,” asked George, the loudest of them all.
“Well, yeah.”
The guys all started laughing, and Henry felt ashamed. He started to walk away from the front of the group.
“Here I thought you were going to tell us something serious like you were quitting the team.”
Henry paused.
“What?”
George hopped out and grabbed Henry.
“I think I speak for everyone here when I tell you that none of us care where you were born, or where you come from. You’re one of us.”
Henry tried his hardest to suppress the tears that were welling up behind his eyes, but he couldn’t. The rest of the team shot up from the various chairs and couches to give him a giant hug.
Henry made eye contact again with Kara from the middle of the crowd. She stood in the back laughing at the sudden outpouring of emotion.
The large crowd partied the night away, drinking and chatting. The team threw on their skates again and started another impromptu game of hockey in the backyard.
This time, though, Kara was there to cheer him on. He felt revved up, now free from the burden of his own lies and ready to make his way towards a more exciting future.
Kara stood in the back with her new friends.
“Ugh, you are too lucky, Kara. That Henry is probably the best catch of the entire school.”
Kara thought about it, and she really did feel lucky. She felt lucky because of the person she was dating, and felt excited to have made so many new friends.
She had finally been coaxed out of her shell, by the last person she expected. And, in turn, Kara pulled Henry out of his.
*****
THE END
SPORTS Romance - Hard Play
“It’s just a degree; don’t worry about it, you’ll find something good.”
Tiffany wasn’t the best at being uplifting. In fact, she was usually quite the opposite.
“Besides, you have Brad to keep you going anyway. When is that guy going to pop the question? You’ve been dating him since you got here; I would think almost four years would be enough time.”
She was making a little sense on that second point, but I wasn’t interested in getting married until after graduation. It worked in my favor anyway, since Brad hadn’t even proposed at all.
“Tiff, I know it’s just a piece of paper, and most places aren’t going to care what it says on it, but I’d like to know what I should aim for at least.”
I sipped on the hot coffee I’d just purchased, wishing it were something a little more alcoholic. Sadly, it was hard to find good parties this late in the year. Too many students were spending their time studying just to make the grade.
“Well, why don’t you just go to a graduate school, be a nurse or something. You’ve always been interested in helping people, right?”
She didn’t know me at all.
“Tiffany, I’d rather go and spend the next three years working to become a lawyer than a nurse. I’ve always thrown up at the sight of blood. Do you even know me at all?”
She laughed in my face. I was getting used to it now, but it still felt mean spirited whenever she did it.
“Lucy, don’t worry about it. There’s still another four months before graduation, plenty of time to decide what graduate schools to apply to, and plenty of time for that man of yours to man up and pop the question!”
I always wished that Tiffany were a little more of a realist. I doubt she really had any plans post-graduation. Her parents were wealthy, which gave her a measure of leniency that I couldn’t afford.
“Maybe I’ll check with a guidance counselor tomorrow; there are a few tests I can take that might help me figure it out.”
My coffee was cold, another reminder of how fast time passed. There was nothing she could say that would take my mind off this topic.
It enveloped me, as though I were standing in the middle of a desert with a thousand directions that I could walk, but only one would lead me to a town and salvation. But, I always imagined taking the wrong path and starving in the middle of nowhere wishing I’d gone a different direction.
Brad was normally there to hear out all my crazy thoughts and dreams. He was good to me like that, and I was good to him in every way he wanted; which usually meant doing something a little demeaning in the bedroom.
It helped that he was incredibly smart. He was almost the top of the class and headed towards a fantastic graduate school. I was jealous; he knew what he wanted.
“Oh, don’t look. Here comes Chris!”
I couldn’t help my curiosity, so of course I looked.
He was something to behold. He was tall and strong, with that perfect V-shaped upper body. His tight white shirt clung to his biceps on the verge of tearing. His gorgeous blue eyes scanned the room as he walked up to the counter to order a drink. It was almost annoying how attractive he was.
“Seriously, Tiff. If you’re so attracted to him, why don’t you go say ‘hi’ and let him kn
ow you exist.”
She stiffened in her seat, perking out her breasts. I almost smashed my head into the table to protest her rather barbaric display of attraction.
“Are you joking? He probably doesn’t remember half the people he meets on a daily basis,” she said taking a nervous sip of her coffee.
“Fine, I’ll go say hello,” I started before being pulled back down to my seat.
“Seriously, just stay here. Maybe he’ll come this way.”
I leaned back in my seat and stared at the ceiling. A stain caught my attention; it looked something like a giraffe which prompted a light guffaw that exited through my nose.
“What’s so funny,” I heard a man’s voice say.
It was Chris, naturally. He came into view while I still stared at the ceiling. I grasped the table and pulled myself up to a normal sitting position.
“Ha, I doubt you’d really be that interested,” I said.
“You’d be surprised what I’m interested in,” he replied.
I leaned back and pointed up at the ceiling tile, with the stain.
“I thought it was funny that it looked something like a giraffe,” I pointed out.
He looked up and let out a small bit of laughter. I couldn’t tell if he was laughing at my sense of humor, or if he was joining in on the joke.
“You’re quite a character, what’s your name?”
“Lucy,” I replied.
“And who’s your friend,” he asked.
“Tiffany!” she blurted out.
Chris stood up tall, and it almost looked like he was flexing a little more now.
“Mind if I give you a call sometime,” he said.
Tiffany nodded excitedly. He hadn’t really directed his comment at either of us, so it stood to reason that he was asking both of us. Tiffany whipped out her coffee receipt and scrawled her phone number hastily on the back.
“I don’t give my number to strangers,” I said.
“Well, that’s too bad,” he said, “it looks like we’ll have to get to know each other better.”
I wanted to think he was flirting with me, but he was looking at Tiffany the entire time. I sipped at my cold drink, and it was as disgusting as I imagined it would be, but the temporary relief of having to hold up my end of the conversation was welcome.
