Baby Bitch (Bitches and Queens)

by Rachael James

  “I can’t help it. You make me very happy.”

  “Good,” Trevor punctuated against her lips and then playfully pushed her towards the passenger’s side.

  Once he was situated in the driver’s seat, he shifted the Escalade out of park. “So which one is the man?”

  “Huh?”

  “You know—which one of your mothers is the man? One of the dykes is the guy and the other is the chick. I bet it’s the blond. I saw the way you both kept looking at her all nervous like.”

  McKenna held her tongue. Trevor would be so perfect if he could just learn to be a little more sensitive. Not to mention the fact he made a living doing illegal stuff.

  “Mommy…” she started.

  “Seriously McKenna, you’ve got to knock that mommy shit off,” Trevor interrupted.

  “What else am I supposed to call them—Mom One and Mom Two. That just sounds stupid,” McKenna pouted.

  “They have names, don’t they?”

  “Yes, but I don’t ever refer to them by their first names. Do you address your parents that way?”

  “No,” Trevor muttered harshly. “My mother was a white-trash, piece-of-shit whore that ran away when I two years old and I already told you my old man was a snitch. The only thing I call them is the past.”

  “I’m sorry,” McKenna whispered.

  Trevor glanced her way. His eyes were so consumed with heat and fury that she started to shiver. He took a deep breath and then grumbled, “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that. Go on, what were you saying about your mother?”

  McKenna licked her lips nervously. “My mother…” she paused until he gave her slight nod of approval…“is very hard to impress. I told you she was once very famous and her over protection of my brother and me borders on paranoia. I swear—she so is thoroughly convinced someone will try to kidnap one of us that she has never allowed our pictures to be published. She won’t even travel with us. We go on family vacations, but Kenyon and I have to fly separately. The first time I actually flew with her was just a few weeks ago. It sounds crazy, I know.”

  “Yeah, I guess,” Trevor shrugged. “But it also kind of makes sense. There are a lot of bad people out there, and she is probably worth millions.”

  “I don’t know. We never discuss money,” McKenna answered. “I do know my older brother, Sam, is a billionaire.”

  “No shit? Your father…”

  “Don’t call him that,” McKenna declared emphatically.

  “Sorry,” Trevor grumbled. “Your older brother is a billionaire?”

  “Yes, but you would never know it unless you stepped inside his closet. His real father was a software engineer and started his own business.”

  “What is he—some techno freak or something?”

  “God good, no. Sam is a photographer. If you wanted to date a girl with money, you should have gone after his daughter, Abigail.”

  “Hey,” Trevor frowned. “I’ve got the girl I want. I don’t care about your money.”

  McKenna let a puff of air and then smiled. “I know. I was just teasing. Oh, and another thing about Sam is that sometimes he likes to dress in drag.”

  “What?” Trevor exclaimed.

  “You heard me right. So don’t be shocked on Sunday if he is dressed like a woman.”

  “Is he a faggot?”

  “No, Sam is married to a woman, and they have a daughter.”

  “There are a lot of married fags with kids.”

  “Sam isn’t gay,” McKenna declared adamantly.

  “Whatever,” Trevor groaned. “Jesus Christ, your family is fucked up.”

  McKenna didn’t want to discuss it anymore. Yes, her family was different. Yes, they kept secrets and told lies. But she didn’t like feeling as if they pack of freaks in a traveling carnival. It made her feel defensive, which soured her mood. Tonight was their first real date and she hoped it would be their first something else too.

  “I was thinking,” McKenna started shyly, “maybe we could skip the movie?”

  Trevor looked over with a knowing smile. “What else did you have in mind?”

  “I don’t know,” she shrugged. “Maybe we could go somewhere and be alone? But first, we have to buy the ticket stubs.”

  Trevor chuckled. “Will she demand to see them?”

  “Probably not, but she will go through my purse and search my pockets until she finds them.”

  “Seriously?” Trevor questioned.

  “Oh yeah, nothing gets past her.”

  “Hmm,” Trevor murmured. “We will just see about that, doll face.”

  McKenna shivered again, only this time it was with anticipation. She fervently hoped he was thinking the same thing she was thinking. After a quick trip through a restaurant drive-thru and to the movie theater for unused tickets, they were on their way. Trevor drove until they were alone on quiet country road. He pulled off on the side, cut off the engine, and then pulled her in his arms.

  His long, slow, drugging kisses were her undoing. She felt her very essence evaporate into him. McKenna couldn’t get close enough. She wanted to feel him everywhere. She wanted to feel him inside her.

  As his lips trailed a fiery path down the column of her throat, his hand slipped to the bottom of her sequined tank top. His fingers meandered around her tight tummy and spine. A few of the spots were quite ticklish, and she jerked in response. She felt him smile against her skin.

  “Didn’t you like that?” he teased. “Maybe I should touch you here instead,” he said as his hand slipped up and toyed with bra strap. “Has anyone ever touched you here?”

  “No,” McKenna whispered.

  Trevor slipped the strap down her creamy, pale shoulder. He touched her very gently at first. His thumb drew lazy circles around her pale, rose-colored nipple. McKenna held her breath in anticipation. Over the years, she had heard several of her friends talk about how good it felt, but it wasn’t at all what she expected. At first, she felt nothing. Maybe her breasts weren’t very sensitive? Second-guessing herself, she started to feel very awkward and let out a soft moan. To her ears, it sounded so obviously put-on, but Trevor didn’t seem to notice. Instead, he palmed her and plucked at her nipple with more enthusiasm.

  Just as she was silently praying he would move on to bigger and better things, she started to feel something. It wasn’t exactly good but more like on the verge of being good. It could have felt fantastic, but something was missing. She closed her eyes and tried to figure out what it might be and then she noticed how tense she was. No wonder she couldn’t enjoy the feel of his hands on her body. She was coiled up tighter than a ball of string. Forcing herself to relax, she took a deep breath and focused on happy thoughts.

  Several moments later, she was once again back in the moment with Trevor, only this time he was setting her body on fire. She pressed closer, desperate for him to squelch the flames, but he abruptly pulled back.

  He let out a harsh, ragged breath. “Sorry, doll face, but we’ve got to stop.”

  “What? Now?” McKenna cried. Not when it was just starting to get so good.

  “This isn’t the right time,” Trevor declared roughly. “And it sure as hell isn’t the right place.”

  “It could be,” McKenna pleaded.

  “Just say thank you. One day, I won’t be able to stop myself.”

  Chapter 15

  McKenna was mortified, Abigail was irate, and Sam was in rare form—outrageously flirting with Trevor. McKenna followed Hannah into the kitchen. As she taking the muffins out of the oven, McKenna demanded, “Make him stop!”

  “Oh, Sam is harmless,” she dismissed airily.

  “He is making everyone uncomfortable out there, especially Trevor,” McKenna gritted through her teeth.

  Hannah blinked innocently before murmuring, “Hmm, seems to me that is more Trevor’s problem than Sam’s.”

  McKenna whirled around angrily and stomped back towards the dining room, but the sight that greeted her stopped her dead in
her tracks. Sam had taken her chair. He was leaning in ever so provocatively, completing evading Trevor’s personal space.

  “So you drive a motorcycle. How fabulous. I would looove to ride you… Oops, I meant it, some day,” Sam purred.

  Hannah had come to stand behind McKenna. She leaned over her shoulder. McKenna heard her quietly giggle with delight. Then Hannah whispered so softly that only she could hear, “It’s best he knows exactly who and what you are now to avoid any future complications.”

  As Hannah sashayed past her, McKenna was silently seething with fury. At that moment, she didn’t know who made her more furious—Sam for putting on a big gay charade or her mother for making him to do it.

  “That’s enough, Sam,” Hannah chuckled as she placed the bowl of muffins on the table. “I’m sorry about that, Trevor. Sam can get a little carried away sometimes.”

  “A little?” Kenyon questioned.

  Sam looked across the table and winked at him.

  “Now, that’s just disturbing,” Kenyon laughed.

  “Just think, one day you’ll grow up and become this,” Sam said wistfully as he waved his hands down his torso.

  “Oh yay,” Kenyon retorted drily.

  Trevor muttered something incoherently under his breath. McKenna was too nervous to meet his eyes when she sat back down. God, what he must be thinking? She had tried to warn him, but she never dreamed Sam would go this far. What was he thinking? Poor Abigail. McKenna glanced over at her. She was staring down at her plate intently. Her lips were pierced tightly together. The word rage barely began to describe her reaction. McKenna thought if she just stared long enough that Abby would eventually look up. She wanted her know that she wasn’t alone. They were in this together. They felt the same way. But Abby never looked up.

  “I’ve never been more serious, McKenna,” Trevor quietly fumed as she walked with him down the driveway. “You had better tell your faggot ass…” he growled as he pointed back towards the house, “…brother if he ever tries that fucking shit on me again, I’ll take him out.”

  “Please Trevor,” McKenna pleaded. “Sam didn’t mean anything. He’s not even gay. I swear.”

  “Bullshit,” Trevor snarled. “He’s a fucking prancing fairy. The only reason I didn’t knock his ass out was because you were there.”

  “Trevor, I’m sorry. I promise I will tell Sam he has to behave himself the next time,” McKenna cried.

  “There ain’t gonna be a next time. If he does that shit again, he’s a dead man,” Trevor gritted through his teeth.

  McKenna took a step back. She cocked her head to the side as her beseeching expression changed to one of bewilderment. “That’s a bit extreme, don’t you think?”

  “Fuck no.”

  “Sam’s not gay. I know you don’t believe me, but he’s not. Even if he were homosexual, if you think about it, you should take it as a compliment—not something to kill another person over.”

  “Maybe in your world,” Trevor snapped back. “I get that you were raised by a bunch of queers and faggots, but where I am from it isn’t acceptable.”

  “Then maybe I’m not either,” McKenna whispered. As soon as the words left her mouth, she wanted to snatch them back. She was reeling with a toxic combination of fear and anger.

  “Doll face,” Trevor said softly. “This isn’t about you and me. It’s about your fucked-up family.”

  “They’re not…” McKenna started but Trevor quickly interrupted.

  “Sometimes when you’re in the middle of it, you can’t see the mess around you,” Trevor whispered compassionately. “Trust me on this, they are fucked up. They’re a bunch of fucking liars. You said so yourself. They don’t want you, not really, unless you are just like them. I’ve lived in that kind of shit my whole life. I know what it is about. They will never love you, not like…”

  “Like what?” McKenna rushed.

  Trevor looked down at the ground and then slowly back at her face with a shy grin. He cupped her cheek and then whispered against her lips, “They’ll never love you the way I do.”

  “What is wrong with you?” Abigail screamed as soon as they got inside their home.

  “Oh come on, Abby,” Sam groaned. “You know I was just pretending because McKenna’s new boyfriend is such a turd.”

  “You were disgusting,” Abigail cried as she ran back to her bedroom

  Kate hovered for a moment before she left to console Abby. “You did lay it on a bit thick.”

  “I thought my performance was spot-on. She wanted a queen so I gave her one.” Sam shrugged indifferently.

  “Really?” Kate suspiciously. “You’ve always wanted to ride a motorcycle?”

  “Babe, you know, if you ever got a motorcycle, I would ride you on it anytime you liked,” Sam retorted.

  Kate raised her eyebrow suggestively. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

  As soon as she left, his phone started ringing. It was Hannah. He answered by saying, “I’ll have you know I am in trouble because of you.”

  “Considering all the times I saved your ass, I think you owe me one. Are you alone?”

  “Why?” Sam whispered. “Are we about to discuss something naughty?”

  “I want your honest opinion, Sam. Am I overreacting?”

  Sam figured that was the reason she had called, but he refused to answer until he knew how she was handling this. “Before I answer, I want to know how you are doing.”

  “I’m fine,” Hannah clipped.

  “You’re fine?” Sam mimicked warily.

  “I’m fine, Sam. I’m back on my medications,” Hannah groaned impatiently.

  “That’s probably for the best,” he answered quietly.

  Two days ago was the first he had ever heard of Trevor Dean. To be fair, he tried to approach him with an open mind. Certainly, he appreciated Hannah’s reservations and if he were in her shoes, he would probably be taking medication as well. But he wasn’t in her shoes—technically speaking. Both McKenna and Kenyon would always hold a special place in his heart. How could they not? After all, they were his biological children. Sometimes with Kenyon it was easy to pretend that he was just his older brother, but it had always been a bit trickier with McKenna. She was his. There was no denying it. Their relationship had always been complicated, yet at the time, remarkably easy. Many times, he yearned to be her real father but was also relieved that he wasn’t.

  Occasionally, his protective instinct was too strong to deny—like today, when he met Trevor. It wasn’t so much a feeling Sam had about him as a vibe he picked up on. He wasn’t sure what it was about him, but Sam couldn’t stand Trevor. Yes, he had gone a tad bit overboard at brunch, but he had wanted to expose him. Not all straight men, himself included, were that easily ruffled. Damn, he almost had him too. Trevor had been on verge of calling him out. Had Hannah not insisted he stop, Sam was certain Trevor would have tried to kick his ass. Tried.

  Sam took a deep breath and then admitted, “No, I do not think you are overreacting.”

  “I knew it,” Hannah hissed.

  “I didn’t like the way he looked at her—as if she belonged to him like a piece of property,” Sam confessed.

  “I noticed that the other day too. When I told Willow, she said she thought it was romantic.”

  “Yes, well, remember Willow fell in love with an insane person. I’m not sure her opinion on the subject is valid,” Sam retorted.

  “McKenna is Willow’s daughter.”

  She’s mine too. “So what is your plan?”

  “I don’t have one.”

  Sam chuckled. “You always have a plan.”

  “I don’t,” Hannah answered sincerely. “I’m at a loss. Tell me what to do.”

  “What do you want to do?”

  “What do I want to do or what do I think I should do?” Hannah questioned. “The two are entirely different. Willow thinks we should wait it out, but I don’t trust him.”

  Sam tried to think rationally, which wasn’t nec
essarily his go-to mode of thought, but figured one of them had to do it. If Abby ever tried something like this… Well, maybe it was for the best he didn’t consider it. This was McKenna they were discussing, and as much as he hated to admit it, she was increasingly showing signs of being every bit as stubborn, determined, and foolish as he had been at that age. Hmm, let’s see, what did Dad do with me? Hannah could put her in rehab. They could try a twenty-eight day Trevor Dean detox. Fuck, that never worked for me.

  “How far has this thing gone?” Sam asked.

  “What do you mean?”

  “Are they having sex yet?” Sam questioned drily.

  “No, I don’t think so,” Hannah answered.

  “But you don’t know for certain?” Sam clarified.

  “No, I don’t know for certain, but I am ninety-nine percent certain that they aren’t.”

  “How do you know?”

  “Because I have been going through her dirty laundry.”

  “Are you speaking figuratively or literally?”

  “I’ve been checking her panties, Sam,” Hannah snapped.

  “Seriously? What the hell are you looking for?”

  “Blood, hair, basically anything that doesn’t look like it belongs to her or shouldn’t be there.”

  Sam was dumbfounded. He never would have thought to do something like that. He made a mental note to tell Kate she needed to start doing that with Abby. Obviously, she wouldn’t find anything but it was never too soon to get into the habit.

  “I know you will hate hearing this, but I don’t know what to tell you except maybe Willow is right.”

  Chapter 16

  It was fifteen minutes before showtime and Wendy was having a meltdown. A major meltdown. Abigail stood nervously alongside the other Lost Boys and silently watched as Ella Duncan sobbed hysterically while staring into the mirror.

  It was only a pimple for God sake. Yes, it was large, red, looked as if it might burst at any moment, and was located on the tip of her nose, but it was still just a pimple. It would hardly be noticeable from the stage. It certainly wasn’t a justifiable reason to cancel the spring recital. This year the dance company was performing a rendition of Peter Pan, which would not happen if their prima ballerina refused to take the stage.