by J. L. Beck
“Fuck, I have to taste your lips,” he purrs and pulls back his hand. I suck a precious breath of air into my lungs, but he steals it with his kiss in the next moment. There is so much raw anger, pain, and hate in that kiss that for a moment, I think I might drown in the emotions. There is no saving us. Warren and I, we’re on a roller coaster, headed down the hill and off the tracks.
With his lips on mine and his fingers working delicious magic on my pussy, I start to lift my hips, meeting his strokes, wanting him deeper, needing more.
“Fuck, yes, come on my hand, cream all over my fingers.” He encourages me with his filthy mouth, whispering against my swollen lips. Like a waterfall gushing water over the cliff’s edge, I fall apart, clenching down on his finger while I do. My eyes drift closed, and my body shakes with tremors of pleasure.
My descent back to planet Earth is a slow one, and when I open my eyes, I find Warren staring at me. A look very similar to my own from earlier on his face now. He’s studying me like I’m something he can fix.
“You look so beautiful when you come, it’s a shame others get to see you like that.”
I open my mouth to say something, anything, but Warren pins me with a stare that leaves me completely frozen. It’s dark, cruel, and menacing. Above all, it scares me.
“Don’t you dare open your mouth to lie to me again. I don’t want to fucking hear it. Keep your lips shut. One peep and I’ll pull the rug out from underneath you. I’ll make you disappear from this place as fast as you reappeared. Do you understand?”
Nodding my head, I watch in complete shock as he gets up and walks away from me. Like I didn’t just give him a handjob. Like he didn’t just make me come.
After today, I’m more confused than I’ve ever been.
What does Warren think I did, and how do I fix this? Do I even want to at this point? This is so intense, he is intense.
“Put this on,” he throws some sweatpants and a thick sweater at me, followed by a pair of socks. It’s a little overkill, but I gladly oblige, dressing in the warm, soft fabric. I watch him pull some shorts and a shirt on, enjoying the view much more than I should.
“Come on, let’s get something to eat,” he tells me while opening the door. I get up from the bed and follow him through his house like a lost puppy. The place is huge, bigger than any house I’ve ever lived in, or ever will. Honestly, I’ve only been inside one house that was bigger than this one, and that’s the house Warren grew up in.
When we get closer to what I assume is the kitchen, I start to hear voices. Two guys talking about a football game that’s coming up this weekend.
“Are those your roommates,” I ask before we enter the room. I know one of them has to be the guy from last night, the one screwing that chick on the couch right out in the open.
“Yes. Don’t talk to them. Just be quiet. Be seen, and not heard,” he orders me like I’m his servant or something. Asshole.
As soon as we walk into the spacious kitchen, that has marble and state of the art appliances, I’m glad Warren gave me clothes to cover every inch of flesh because the moment his roommates, Cameron and Easton, see me, they look at me like I grew a second head. Their stares are so weird, it makes me feel exposed like they can see me even through the thick clothing.
“Stop staring at her,” Warren growls and walks to the fridge. He opens it and looks around inside.
“Hey, Harper,” Easton greets me, once he recovers from the initial shock of me being here. Before I can reply, Warren pops his head out of the fridge and cuts in.
“Don’t fucking talk to her either. Harper, sit down and wait for your food,” he talks down to me like I’m a misbehaving child. I’m close to snapping and having a full-blown tantrum.
“Jesus, why are you being such a dick?” Cameron smirks as if knowing what he says is only going to piss his friend off more. Warren’s face tenses, his jaw turning to stone. He looks like he might explode from the anger alone or at least punch through the wall.
Being the bigger person and not wanting him to actually start a fistfight with his roommates over looking or talking to me, I do what he says and take a seat at the table. I turn away from the guys and look out of the window, which seems to calm Warren a little.
After a few moments, I sneak a glance over at Warren and notice the tense look in his eyes seems to be dissipating.
He scrambles eggs in a pan, not even paying his roommates a lick of attention.
“We’re gonna head out,” Cameron announces.
“Finally,” Warren mumbles, just as he places the eggs and some toast on a plate.
Easton winks at me as he walks out, and I give him a tiny wave goodbye when Warren isn’t looking.
Warren takes the seat next to me, placing a plate and a fork in front of me. I grab it and start eating after I mumble, “Thanks.”
We eat in silence until Warren gets up and gets us some orange juice from the fridge, handing it to me, he orders, “Drink.”
“Is that how it’s going to be now? You tell me what to do, and I do it?”
“Yes, I’m glad you finally get it.”
I can’t believe that he thinks this is going to work. Does he really think I’m going to let him treat me like this? Then again, what choice do I have? It’s this or lose my scholarship and a chance of a good life.
My head feels like it’s about to explode. I just need space and time to think, even if it’s just for a few hours. I need to be alone, away from him, and I will be. He can’t be with me every second of the day. The first chance I get, I’ll be gone. I need to go somewhere he won’t find me.
9
Warren
Where the fuck is she? I’ve looked everywhere, asked everybody I know, and called her phone a million times. Of course, it doesn’t matter how many times I call a phone that’s turned off, because not a single call is going through.
Pacing through my room, I contemplate my next move. One thing is for sure, I can’t stay here, I need to fucking find her. I’m going insane.
There is one place I haven’t been to, and I’m dreading finding her there. Easton told me he saw Harper at Night Shift, a local strip club. If I find her there, I don’t know what I’m going to do. I don’t know if I can hold on to my sanity or my anger.
Bursting out of my room, I walk down the long hallway and end up at Easton’s door. I knock twice before he opens it, his black hair is wet, and he’s wearing nothing but a towel around his waist.
“Great, you just showered. Now get dressed, we’re going to Night Shift.”
“I was about to tell you to fuck off, but you had me at Night Shift. I could use some cheap pussy. I’ll be ready in five.” He closes the door in my face, and like an impatient child, I wait at the front door, checking the time every thirty seconds.
When he finally comes out after four and a half minutes, I huff loudly. The fucker grins at me while walking down the hall as if he is on a morning stroll. Twisting the knob so hard, I fear it might come off, I open the door and step outside.
Easton is right behind me as I get into the car and let the engine roar to life. He is barely inside before I pull out of the driveway.
“Why are you in such a hurry? The girls will be there all night, buddy.”
“I’m only going for one girl, and if she is there, well, I’m just telling you now, I’ll probably need you to bail me out of jail. That’s the only reason I’m taking you.”
“Ah, of course… Harper, right?” Even hearing her name out of someone else’s mouth enrages me. I know it’s completely irrational, but I can’t help it. It makes me want to slug Easton in the face more than usual.
“Yes, Harper,” I say through clenched teeth while gripping the steering wheel a little tighter. The place is across town, but since I break every speed limit on the way there, it only takes us a few minutes to arrive.
As I park under the pink and yellow neon sign, my blood pressure has reached a new high. I’m torn between wanting her to be here just
so I know where she is and praying she’d never step a foot in this place at all.
“Don’t worry, I’ll make sure you don’t go to jail. Come on,” Easton climbs out of the car, and I follow closely behind him. When he opens the door, and we head in, my stomach churns, and I feel like I’m going to vomit.
I’ve been here a few times and always enjoyed it before. It’s easier when the girls are just random bodies and not the girl who stole your heart in high school. Easton pays our cover charge, and the sleazeball at the front pushes away the curtain for us.
Walking in on unsteady feet, I scan the dimly lit room like a fucking hawk. My eyes skim over every girl I see, long legs, big tits, round ass. Each girl looks like the next. Then I pause… dark brown wavy hair meets my eyes. Her back is turned to me, but her curves are all too familiar. Red hot rage pulses through my veins. I force my legs to work, to take me over to where she is standing at the bar, chatting up some potential customers. Bile rises in my throat when I think about what she is doing here, who has seen her… touched her.
Motherfucker, I have to stop before I commit murder.
She raises her slender hand, her finger grazes some guy’s arm, and I snap like a rubber band. Closing the distance between us in two large strides, I grab her by the shoulder and pull her away from the guy and into my chest.
Mine. She’s mine.
Harper screams into my chest, while two huge bouncers come running toward us. I’m vaguely aware of Easton yelling something behind me, but I’m too far gone to make out the words. Harper twists in my hold, placing her hands on my chest, trying to push me away. Her eyes find mine, and that’s the moment I realize that I’ve fucked up.
“What the fuck, Warren?” She yells at me, although it’s not who I thought she was.
“Valerie?” Her name barely leaves my mouth when one of the bouncers shoves me back and away from her. “I thought… you were…”
“You know this punk?” One of the beefed-up guys eyeballs me while rolling his shoulders.
“Yes,” Valerie, waves the guys away. “He is fine, don’t worry. He just wants a lap dance. Isn’t that, right?”
I roll my eyes, “Yeah, a lap dance.”
Valerie grabs my arm and pulls me to the back of the place where they have a hand full of small private rooms.
“You better pay me double for this,” Valerie huffs when we are alone in one of the rooms. She pushes a button on the wall, and some low, sexy song starts playing. “You really didn’t think Harper was here, did you?”
“Someone told me they saw her here,” I explain, just now realizing that who Easton probably saw was Valerie. They do look very similar. Same hair color, same curvy frame. Which isn’t that surprising, seeing as they’re cousins.
Valerie shakes her head, “Warren, it’s like you don’t know the girl at all. She would never work in a strip club. God, the girl is such a prude. I’m pretty sure she is still a virgin.”
Ha, she’s funny. “Well, I can guarantee you that she is not. Do you know where she’s at? I haven’t seen her, and her phone is shut off.”
“Really? That’s unlike her.” Valerie taps her chin, “Honestly, I have no idea where she could be. I’ve been kind of a bitch to her lately. She isn’t too fond of me right now, and I haven’t talked to her.” She shrugs, and I remember how she talked down to Harper at the party, and I have to agree, she’s been a bitch.
“Call me if you hear from her, okay?” I take out my wallet and fish out two one-hundred-dollar bills. Valerie takes the money without batting an eye, stuffing the bills in her tiny silver triangle bikini top.
“I will, but if you talk to her first, please don’t tell her I work here. I’ll never hear the end of it. I told her I work at a diner, and I don’t want to be lectured like a child.”
I couldn’t care less about what Valerie wants or thinks. All that matters to me right now is finding Harper.
“You really can’t think of a place she would go? Friends she might want to go see?” I’m half-tempted to ask her about any guys she might be seeing but bite my tongue.
“Warren…” Valerie looks at me like I’m stupid. Placing her hand on her hip, she starts to explain, “Are you blind or something? Harper doesn’t have any friends. She is too worried about her grades. I had to drag her to that last party, and I’d bet all the cash I have on me tonight that she won’t be going to anymore, at least not with me.”
For the first time since Harper returned in my life, doubt about how I’ve perceived her creeps up on me. I thought she worked here. I was sure she had been dating tons and partied with friends. But really, looking at it now, analyzing the last few days, I guess I was wrong. It’s starting to seem like I did all the partying and fucking while Harper hit the textbooks.
That thought has me asking my next question, “Did Harper date after we broke up?”
“Not that I know of,” she tells me, and I believe her. I don’t think she would lie for Harper, not after the way she treated her. Valerie just cares about herself.
The thing is, even though I’m relieved Harper hasn’t had a boyfriend, she still cheated on me back then. She still gave her virginity to someone else, and that’s completely unforgivable. I told her I would wait for her, but waiting wasn’t what she wanted.
Valerie shifts her weight impatiently back and forth on her feet. “The song is over, either you pay me again, or you get out.”
“I’ll leave. So you can get back to your other customers,” I say, reaching for the door handle.
“Not everyone is born with a golden spoon in their mouth. Don’t look down at people who work for their money. For some of us, this is how we make ends meet.” The thought brings forth a memory that crashes into me like a wave, taking me out at the knees.
A little girl with thick hair, the color of cinnamon and chocolate, comes running through the foyer, a big toothy grin on her face. Daddy doesn’t like it when we run, or play, or smile. I’m pretty sure he hates anything that doesn’t involve being in his office.
He usually tells me that I should only talk when I’m spoken to. Be seen, not heard.
“Harper Mae,” the maid scolds as the girl I now know as Harper almost crashes into me. Harper’s smile falls and turns into a frown a second later, as the maid grabs her by the wrist and tugs her into her side. She’s so pretty, like an angel, and strangely, I want to see her smile again. Clasping my hands together in front of me, I stare at her in awe.
“I’m so sorry, Warren,” Maid Claudia apologizes, her face stricken with worry. I’m sure most of the maids have families and kids, but this is the first time I’ve ever seen another kid my age running around the house.
“It’s okay.” I smile and stare at her for a little longer. I dig deep, building up the courage to ask her if she wants to play with my power rangers with me. This huge house makes me feel alone, so having a friend would be nice.
“Do you… do you want to…” The words don’t even make it past my lips when my father walks into the room. I look up at him, taking note of the sour look on his face.
“Run along, Warren, you need to find some other children to play with. Children of your own status.”
My brow furrows in confusion. I’m not sure what that means. My own status? What does that mean? We’re both kids, and I bet she likes power rangers too, who doesn’t?
“I’m sorry, Mr. Williams. I didn’t have a babysitter. I had to bring her, but she won’t bother anyone, I promise. Isn’t that right, Harper?”
“Yes,” Harper whispers, holding on to her mother’s leg.
“I don’t care if you bring her as long as she doesn’t touch anything. If she breaks something, it’s coming out of your paycheck.” Then he turns his attention back to me. “Warren, run along,” my father says in a stern voice. Even though I don’t want to, I walk away, knowing if I disobey Daddy, nothing good will come from it.
Like a slingshot, my brain propels me back to the present. That was my very first memory of
Harper.
I don’t say anything because there isn’t anything else to say. Walking back out to the stage, I find Easton making sex eyes at one of the girls on stage.
“Let’s go, douchebag,” I yell over the music. Of course, he’s too mesmerized by the chick’s tits to pay me any attention. Using my last shred of patience, I walk over to him and slap him upside the head. “I’m leaving, fuckhead.”
“Dude, what the fuck?” he growls, but I’m already walking away. I’m not going to stay in this strip club and babysit him all night long. Not when I have no fucking idea where Harper is. Thousands of thoughts assault me at once. Someone already broke into her apartment. What if something happened? My stomach twists. Or maybe she’s doing this on purpose to hurt me, to push me over the edge because of the way I acted this morning.
When I reach the car, I find that Easton did follow me. Smart thinking. Climbing into the car, I sit in the driver’s seat, trying to figure out where the hell to go next. My fingers drum against the steering wheel without thought.
“What are we going to do now? You look as lost as you did when you came in here? I’m guessing Valerie wasn’t of any help?”
“Well, I mean she was, and she wasn’t. She doesn’t know where Harper is, but she did shed some light on a couple of things. I think I may have been wrong about her.”
“What do you mean by that?” Confusion bleeds into Easton’s face.
I shake my head. I don’t have time to explain this to him.
“Let’s just say I was wrong.” At least about what she’s been up to the last few years. I start the car and pull out of the parking spot.
“Where are we going?” he asks a second later.
“To find Harper,” I answer without ever taking my eyes off the road.
10