Royal Flush

by Ella Goode

  “Fuck you.” It pops right out of my mouth. I wish I had something more clever to say. Not sure there would even be a point with someone like Billy. It would be a waste of breath and time. Cooper isn’t a name I’ve heard in a while. I’m not ashamed of the name. It was my mom's maiden name. The name she gave me when she brought me into this would. Then Dad made us Alistairs the day he married my mom and asked to be my dad.

  Still, it pisses me off that someone would think my mom was with my dad for money. She loves that man.

  “I’d fuck you anytime.” He leans down. “He get your cherry yet?” My hand flies before I know what I’m doing. The smack is loud.

  “Shit,” I yelp, the hit stinging my palm. Billy turns his head back to look down at me. His own hand goes to the cheek I smacked, looking momentarily shocked that I did it. That makes two of us.

  “Hey!” is shouted, making Billy turn to see who it is. I don’t know his name but I know he’s on the team. Billy steps back from me.

  “Just telling Fast’s girl he’s running a little late,” Billy tells the guy. The guy’s eyes bounce between the two of us. I don’t have Property of Owen Fast McCoy written on me but everyone in this school knows we’re together. Owen made that clear to anyone who asked or looked our way.

  “Anytime, Aly.” Billy winks at me before taking off. The guy turns to head back toward where the players always come from. My hands clench into fists. My right palm is still stinging. It’s not even seconds later when I see Owen is on a dead run toward me. I have a feeling that other boy went and said something.

  “What happened, Ace?” Owen’s eyes are all over me. He reaches for my wrist, lifting my hand that’s clenched into a fist. When I open it you can see it’s bright red.

  “What did he say to you?” I can tell Owen is trying to keep calm but the anger bleeds through each word. I tell him everything Billy said.

  “How would he know that?” he asks. I know he’s talking about the blowjob. I also know Owen wouldn’t have told anyone. It must click in his head too. Billy must have seen us.

  “He touch you?” Something dark flashes in Owen's eyes. I shake my head. “Words, Ace. I need them.”

  “He didn’t touch me.” Owen’s eyes close for a second before he drops his forehead to mine. I touched Billy but I have a feeling Owen already knows that. The unknown boy must have told him about the smack because my hand was the first thing he’d checked.

  “I want you to get in the car, baby, and go home.” His eyes open and lock with mine.

  “Alone?” I question.

  “Text me when you get there.” He reaches for my car door, pulling it open for me.

  “Owen.”

  “Ace, please. Get in the car and text me when you get home.” I can see the determination on his face.

  “Okay,” I say after a beat.

  “Okay?” He raises an eyebrow at me but I see relief fill his face that I’m not going to fight him on this.

  “Yeah, okay.” I trust him. If there is something he needs to do, fine. “Don’t do anything stupid,” I add, though, ‘cause sometimes men do stupid shit.

  He gives me a smile but no dimple shows. “And I want my kiss.” I was hoping for more than a kiss but Billy killed any dream of that for now.

  Owen leans into the car, brushing his mouth against mine.

  “Text me, Ace,” he reminds me.

  “Promise,” I say before he shuts my door. He stands and watches me pull out of the parking lot.

  When I pull into my driveway, I text him.

  Me: Home

  I start to text out I love you but I stop myself. My emotions are all over the place right now and that’s not something you say in a text. Maybe it’s something he needs to hear at this moment though. I lick my lips staring at my phone as I debate what to do.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Owen

  The minute Ace’s taillights clear the parking lot, I hunt for Billy. The minute I get my hands on that asshole, I’m turning his face into hamburger meat. I weave through the cars, looking for that floppy-haired pencil dick, but can’t spot him. It’s dark and I don’t know what kind of car he drives. I never cared to know. Halfway through the parking lot, I spot a car I do know. It’s Carter’s silver Benz with the gull wing doors. That machine is sick, seats only two people, and is never occupied by anyone other than Carter. Andi Thompson, an actual model for a magazine or some such thing, once asked for a ride home from school and Carter told her that she wasn’t good enough to sit in his car.

  I arrive at the vehicle just in time to see Carter slide into the driver’s seat. “Carter,” I shout.

  He stops in mid-motion—one hand still on the car door and one foot outside on the ground.

  “What do you want, Fast?” He sounds irritated, as if I’m keeping him from some appointment.

  I don’t give a shit. Billy needs to be taught a lesson stat.

  “Where’s Billy Crenshaw?”

  “No clue.” Carter starts to close the door, but I grab it and force it up. “Do you mind?” he says tersely.

  “Yeah.” I don’t have time for Carter’s attitude. Not today. “Tell me where Billy is and you can go.”

  My quarterback narrows his eyes at me. “Why do you want to know?”

  “Because he tried to lay hands on my girl.”

  Carter makes a face and climbs out of the car, pushing me out of the way and then pulling down on the door to close it. “Come on. I’ll help you find him. He’s probably trying to con one of the cheerleaders into going home with him.”

  “Great. Tell me where he is.” I don’t need Carter’s help.

  “Sorry. You’re worked up and primed to do some major damage so I better come along to clean up after your mess. You scored four touchdowns tonight so I can’t have you getting suspended.” He heads in the direction of the fieldhouse where track and other sports I don’t care about practice, but he’s moving too slow. I push him aside and race forward. Once I get to the front doors, I grab the first person I see. “Yo, where is the cheerleaders’ locker room?”

  The girl jerks a thumb over her shoulder. “Inside, but almost everyone is gone. Who are you looking for?” A smile curves her lips. “Because if you don’t find her, I can take you home tonight.”

  “Go on, Claire,” orders a voice behind me. “He’s taken.”

  I hurry inside, but catch the tail end of her response, which sounds a little like, “Doesn’t hurt to try.”

  Another guy probably would’ve taken her up on it, but the only girl I want is Ace. I can’t believe Billy tried something with her. What in the actual fuck? Halfway down the hall, I see a sign that says GIRLS CHEER SQUAD. The door bangs open as I slam my fist against it. There’s a high-pitched scream and then a lower-toned growl from around the corner. I already have my fist cocked when I see the dark shoulders of Grant Tones, one of the defensive backs, hunched forward as he braces himself against a locker.

  “Get out,” he snaps, his hand on the head of the girl kneeling in front of him.

  “Where’s Billy Crenshaw?”

  “Don’t know. Don’t care.”

  “How about her? She know?”

  “She’s busy,” he replies tersely.

  Carter appears at my arm. “Come on. Leave the two lovebirds alone. Billy’s in the parking lot. I got a text.” He shows me his phone screen which shows a grainy photo of Billy leaning against a white sports car.

  “Sorry, man,” I yell over my shoulder as I start sprinting out of the room. Carter grabs me before I can reach the door. “What do you want?” I demand angrily.

  “We gotta talk.”

  “Do it fucking outside,” Grant roars.

  Carter opens the door and hustles me out. With barely leashed impatience, I ask, “Is this about team cohesiveness?” The quarterback is always preaching team first, everything else second, which might be his motto but it ain’t fucking mine.

  “Yeah, it is. Look, go ahead and put Billy in the hospital
. I don’t give a shit, but you don’t do it in public and no one else knows about it.”

  I shake my head. “No way. He owes my girl an apology. He laid hands on her and opened his trash mouth in front of her. I don’t stand for that.”

  “Billy’s a piece of shit, for sure, which is why I’m saying punish that trash can. All I’m asking is for you to keep it quiet. If you make a big fuss, you could get suspended and your chances of your D1 scholarship are gone.” He snaps his fingers. “And so is our season. Think about it.”

  He shoves his hands in his pockets. As he’s walking away, he says, “Also, don’t hurt your hands.”

  I don’t like what he said, but he has a point. If I get kicked off the team, then there’s no D1 school and no big draft day and my chances of providing for Ace in the way that she’s used to are gone. So that sucks. On the other hand, if I keep it quiet, I can do whatever I want and Carter will look the other way. I’ll figure out how to get Billy to apologize to Ace. I’m not letting that go, but I don’t need to publicly humiliate the worm. I just need to teach him a lesson.

  When I arrive at the parking lot, though, there’s only the silver car. Billy’s nowhere to be seen. I punch my fist against my palm. I guess someone else is showing up on my kill list.

  A dude I don’t know peels away from the side of the car and walks over to slap a key in my hand. “Carter said you needed a quiet place. Storage shed at eleven o’clock.”

  Okay. Carter can live. I thank the dude and leave. The storage shed is dark when I get there, but there’s enough exterior light that I can make out Billy sitting on a bench. He jumps to his feet as I open the door.

  “What—where’s Lisa?” He peers around me. “Carter told me to stay here because someone wanted to see me.”

  “He was saving you for me,” I tell him through clenched teeth.

  “That you, Fast? What do you want?”

  “Your dick in your throat, but I’ll settle for your face looking like you’re a Picasso painting.” I stroll up and punch him in the nose. I hear the cartilage crack and smile. “Feel good?”

  “What the hell?” he cries, stumbling backward. Blood spurts down his chin and onto his T-shirt. “What’s this for? We’re teammates!”

  “So?” I punch him again. He reels to the side and falls to his knees. I grab his hair and jerk his head back until his Adam’s apple nearly pops out of his neck. “I’m going to bring Ace to you on Monday and you will get down on your knees and apologize to her.”

  “Damn, man, all this over pussy? Every pussy’s the same.”

  Still holding his hair, I punch him right in the Adam’s apple. He chokes and slumps to the ground. Fuck. I didn’t realize I’d make him pass out. I look around for some water to throw on his face and find a stale bucket of some dank liquid. Good enough. I toss it on his inert form. He sputters to life with a sad moan.

  I jerk him upright again. “Do I need to repeat myself?”

  He shakes his head. I toss the snake back down. Only three punches. I’m disappointed. The anger’s still running hot inside me. Maybe it won’t go away until Ace gets her apology. We’ll see on Monday how I feel. Until then, I’m going to spend every second with her. It makes my stomach roil to know that she was in danger while I was cleaning up after the game. The secrecy pact I made with Carter gnaws at me. If no one knows what Billy did was wrong, will other guys make moves?

  Frustrated, I pull out my phone to see the text from Ace that she made it home safe. I spin on my heel and leave. At least Billy knows not to look in Ace’s direction again. That should be enough.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Alice

  “It’s not enough,” I moan into Owen’s neck, breathing him in. I swear the smell of him sometimes is just as erotic to me as his touch. He’s got his hand inside my panties as I ride the fingers he has deep within me. I’m trying to be quiet but failing. My parents aren’t home but they could be at any moment. I am too lost to care at this point. My body is on the verge of an orgasm. I am having a difficult time trying to listen for the sound of the garage door or their car over our heavy breathing.

  “Ace.” Owen groans out my name, knowing what I want. He wants to give it to me. I know he doesn't enjoy telling me no. He might not be verbalizing the word no but we both know that this isn’t going to lead to him taking my virginity tonight. My hopes of him tossing me down onto the sofa to take it would not be happening. Pretty soon I am going to be the one tossing him down and taking his instead. I am growing more impatient as the days drag on. I do find it sweet that he keeps telling me there is no rush because he isn’t going anywhere. He keeps saying we have a lifetime together. He’s made it crystal clear that he is in this for the long haul.

  Owen is very fond of my parents. I know he respects them and it matters to him what they think of him. Because of this, I know that there will be no virginity losing going on tonight. He won’t risk my parents catching us. In this moment with how worked up I am, I might risk it, but Saint Owen over here isn’t having it. I don’t know how he keeps his control but he does.

  I want to go all the way. My body is aching for it but I know we don’t have the time. He told me that when I crawled into his lap, tossing his book away. He warned me when we started making out. I said we’d only mess around a little. He laughed at that one. Now I am asking for more, like usual. I can’t help it. He does these things to my body that would drive any normal person insane. When I am near him it has a mind of its own, which I know is impossible. Still here I am seeing that impossibility. He is the only one it acts this way around.

  “I don’t wanna come on your hand,” I lie. Right now I want to come anywhere but I really want it to be with him deep inside of me. Us both finding pleasure in one another.

  “Sorry, Ace,” he says as his thumb adds more pressure to my clit, moving faster to send me over the edge. I bite down on his neck as I come. I don’t know if I’m doing it to be a brat or because I’m still trying not to cry out. Either way, from the sound Owen makes I’m thinking he likes it. He holds me close as I enjoy the afterglow of my orgasm. I kiss the spot I bit. “Sorry.”

  “Liar.” He chuckles, making my whole body shake. He pulls his fingers out from my pants and I hear him lick them clean. My body starts to come back to life, wanting another orgasm, but I want to take care of my man. He is always taking care of me. It isn't often enough that I get to return the favor. He always tends to me first. Often we run out of time. Our time together will be rushed or someone will be coming so he has to stop. Tonight I am determined to return the favor. I just have to get him to agree.

  “Your turn.” I lift up to look at him, putting my hands on his chest, still straddling him. His big hands go to my ass, where he picks me up for a moment, putting me back down onto the sofa.

  “Sorry, Ace, time’s up.”

  I grab for him, but like his name he’s freaking fast and I miss. He darts into the bathroom, leaving me where he placed me. I sit impatiently waiting for his return. He may think he’s escaping to the bathroom but I’m still determined to give him pleasure. He’s not sidestepping me that easy.

  “We might have time.” I sit up on my knees. What is happening here? Do girls really have to beg their boyfriends to give them blowjobs?

  “Your little bite took care of me.” He walks over, dropping down onto the sofa next to me and pulling me back into his lap. “Had to clean up.” I love that he openly admits that I made him come in his pants. That admission has me feeling sexy. Most men would probably be too macho to admit something like that and the fact that Owen does makes me love him more.

  “You give orgasms and you clean up. I’m a lucky girl,” I tease, leaning down to kiss him. I get lost in the kiss until we are both breathless. I pull back, knowing how quickly things escalate between us. My parents really should be back soon. They went out to see a movie a few hours ago.

  “Will I see Billy tomorrow or will he go missing like JJ?” I try and make light of what happene
d. I can tell Owen is still stewing over it. Both of us have been distracted with each other for the past few hours, neither one focusing on what happened with Billy. Now that it’s quiet, I can tell Owen is getting lost in his own head. I’m almost positive Owen got his licks in on Billy if his hands were any indication. He stopped by my house saying that he needed a goodnight kiss. I think both of us wanted to see one another. I needed to know that he was okay and he needed the same for me.

  “JJ?” He tries to tease back but I can see saying the guy’s name leaves a bad taste in his mouth. JJ has up and disappeared from my first period class after the dick punch day. I’ve seen him around school a few times but he’s kept his distance. I don’t know if he moved classes on his own or if they were changed for him. Either way I didn’t care. I don’t think Billy would be so easy to get rid of though. He is on the football team. If I’ve learned anything about my new school it is that the football team is untouchable. The girls all said to stay away from the players. It’s a warning I’ve received more than once.

  I didn’t know what they were talking about. That was before Billy, though. The only football player I talk to is Owen and he’s been nothing but sweet and respectful. That said, I keep my nose in my books or pointed at my man. There isn’t enough time to pay attention to other things. Now, I see what some of the other girls meant. They didn't outright say why but it made me wonder if there was some kind of unspoken rule around Franklin U High. You never mention what the boys on the team do; you just stay away from them.

  “They both got what they deserved.” I have no guilt over either of them. I could only hope they actually learned a lesson. I can only make assumptions of the football team since I haven't been around long enough to be in the know about them. When I watch the games my eyes are always on Owen. There has to be more to the story, though, because I can’t imagine Owen would be friends with a bunch of boys who treat women like trash. He isn't built that way. He has manners when it comes to women. That’s where my mind keeps getting stuck. All of it doesn’t add up to me.