“I said, no!” Crispin hissed, squeezing his fingers just a wee bit too tight around the tender flesh he held.
All it took was one tiny wince on Becky’s face for Kell to launch himself from his chair. “Give her here!” he demanded, having had enough of watching Becky used as a pawn in this pissing match between Keegan and Crispin.
Immediately, Crispin realized what he’d been doing and released her. “Sorry, dormouse. Did I hurt you?” Before he could even help her up, Kell slapped his hand away and plucked her off the couch. He then carried her back to his chair and sat down, holding her in the protective fortress of his arms. Without hesitation, Becky curled into his chest.
“She’s not a toy, Crispin,” Kell scoffed. “What were you thinking?”
“Obviously, I wasn’t thinking,” Crispin said with regret and shame in his voice. He got up then and left the room, shoulders slumped. “You win, take your rightful place, Keegan.”
Sure he wanted a spot of his own, but not in this way. Keegan frowned miserably. Apparently, he couldn’t do anything right anymore. Not knowing what else to do, Keegan sheepishly came into the living room and meekly sat down in Crispin’s vacated corner of the couch.
Dorian couldn’t help but snicker and shake his head. “Nice going, man. Way to worm your way back into the fold.”
Keegan didn’t answer. Instead, he stared blankly at the television, feeling even more sorry for himself.
“I’m all right, Kelley. He didn’t really hurt me,” Becky whispered when he gently soothed the sore spot on her shoulder with his warm hand.
“Hush, watch the movie,” he murmured, shifting her into a more comfortable position. The chair was wide enough for her to sit in one corner with her legs over his knees. With his left arm around her shoulders and his right hand neatly tucked between her thighs, he sighed content.
For a while now, he’d wanted an excuse to have her sit with him instead of with Crispin. But he hadn’t come up with a way to suggest it without being too obvious. Keegan had actually done him a favour. As for Crispin, he’d get over it.
Sure enough, moments later, Crispin reappeared in the doorway. He looked around the room, his troubled grey eyes landing on Becky. He hadn’t meant to hurt her. It was the last thing he wanted.
Feeling a tad sorry for Crispin, she smiled and wiggled her fingers at him. The prickly Goth gave her a small apologetic nod in return.
Sufficiently reassured, Crispin stalked into the room, playfully shoved Keegan out of his corner and reclaimed his spot. More than happy to acquiesce, Keegan happily settled into the middle of the couch.
Suffice it to say, Becky didn’t give a hoot what this latest movie was about. Settling further into Kelley’s chest, she sighed deeply and smiled to herself. All was right in her world at that moment. Like it always was when she was in the protective circle of Kelley’s arms.
Chapter 31
In the following weeks, the tension between Keegan and the guys eventually dissipated. The Goths joked back and forth and talked about old times. Laughing and swapping stories, they would reminisce about things that Becky had a hard time relating to. It’s not like they went out of their way to exclude her, but not having been around firsthand to participate in those events, she couldn’t help but feel out of the loop.
They started the band up again and spent more and more time out in the garage practising. With Keegan back to play lead guitar, Crispin was free to pour all his efforts into singing. While Becky was happy for them, she couldn’t help but feel a little left out.
Sure, Kelley had said that she was always welcome to join them. Perhaps she was only imagining things. If she were anyone else, she might have simply insinuated herself in their midst. Sadly, though, in situations like these, Becky realized she was her own worst enemy.
Then again, they didn’t exactly go out of their way to include her either. Becky, being the way she was, didn’t feel confident enough to join them without being invited. Besides, often before she could even muster up the courage to ask if she could watch them, they’d already left her behind in the house.
It was like suddenly they were in this exclusive boy’s club where she wasn’t welcome. She couldn’t help but wonder if they even wanted her around at all.
They hardly watched movies together anymore since the guys were so wrapped up in their band practice. Often, Becky spent her time painting and catching up on her assignments. It wasn’t such a bad thing really. At least her professors were pleased with her efforts. With so much time on her own, she couldn’t help but get good grades.
Sadly, though, Kelley decided once again to keep his distance from her whenever possible. So much for their conversation the other week. She might’ve turned to Crispin with her concerns but when he wasn’t out in the garage with the guys, he was spending more and more time with Gracie.
While Dorian was usually around, Becky didn’t feel comfortable talking to him about her feelings. Not that there was anything wrong with him, but he had a way of making her feel like she was imagining her misgivings. She wouldn’t exactly call his attitude dismissive, but he could be rather clueless, often laughing her off and making light of her doubts. It was only his way of reassuring her, but it wasn’t what she needed to hear.
The only real time they spent together was Saturday mornings. Scrambling out of bed early at the first sign of stirrings from the kitchen, Becky eagerly made her way downstairs.
“I love Saturday mornings,” she declared, sidling up to the counter next to Kell, placing her mug next to his, grinning endearingly up at him. The surly Goth gave her an indulgent smile before pouring them both a cup of freshly brewed coffee.
“Took you long enough, dormouse,” Crispin teased from his chair. Unable to resist, he reached out and playfully snapped the elastic band of her pyjama bottoms.
“Hey…” she gasped, blushing bashfully while secretly loving the attention. She’d missed it over the last little while.
“What?” he teased, apparently equally pleased to see her. Unable to stand it, he grabbed her around the waist and placed her on his lap. “You walk around here, in these flimsy little pants, all a wiggly and a jiggly….”
“Watch yourself, Crisp,” Dorian said with a conspiring smile. “Kell’s getting jealous again.”
“Fuck off, you,” Kelley frowned at him, pretending very hard not to notice how comfortably familiar Crispin was with Becky. His grubby mitts all over her.
Whatever, just because he had the incredible urge to rip his housemate’s throat out, didn’t mean he would. Honestly, Kelley had given up trying to figure out this quirky relationship between Becky and Crispin. The fact was, the unlikely pair seemed to get on surprisingly well together in a weird but mostly platonic kind of way. Anyway, it was a lot better than having them duke it out all the time like they did in the beginning.
Completely unaware of Kelley’s glowering gaze, Becky couldn’t contain the throaty giggles that erupted in her belly at Crispin’s affectionate play. He was tickling her in all the right places. His nose, burrowing tenaciously into the sensitive spot between her neck and shoulders. Unable to help it, Crispin laughed himself silly along with her. He’d never laughed so much in his entire life before she came along. He loved the little sprite in his own way. Not exactly in a sexual manner or even like that of a brother-sister nature. More like that of a man and his favourite pet. A pet that could very well get away with anything, just as long as she kept him smiling.
Having just come up from the basement, Keegan did a double take with his sleepy eyes at the unexpected sight of Becky, writhing deliriously between Crispin’s knees.
“Nice… can I have her next?” he asked with a lascivious smile.
That’s when all hell broke loose… One moment, Becky was laughing, the next she was cowering under the kitchen table. Mugs went flying, crashing to pieces, coffee spattered everywhere. Shouting and swearing ensued, followed by the sounds of punches connecting with flesh.
It
all happened so fast that Becky couldn’t understand how he’d done it, but somehow Crispin had swiftly tucked her under the table and was now on the floor, pulling Kelley off of Keegan. At the very same time, Dorian was right there, dragging a stupefied Keegan out from under him.
“What the fuck was that for?” Keegan lamented, holding a hand over his busted lip.
Staring wide-eyed from under the table, Becky gasped at the icy glare Kelley shot her way. For a cold few seconds, he stared at her with what she could only describe as accusation and disdain. What was his problem?
Then very slowly and sullenly he averted his eyes. Shrugging Crispin off, he then stormed out of the house, grabbing his car keys off the counter.
Helping Keegan up, Dorian shuffled him over to the kitchen sink and then grabbed some ice from the fridge. “Will you never learn?” he asked with a voice one would use on a child. “You know better than to cross Kell. He did warn you.” Taking pity on Keegan, he placed the ice cubes in a ziplock bag and pressed it to the shaken Goth’s chin.
“Come on out, Becky,” Crispin said, looking under the table at her.
“What was that all about?” she asked, shakily taking his hand.
“That was Sir Kell Keele at his finest,” Crispin said sarcastically.
“But… why?” she asked, looking around confused. She obviously hadn’t heard Keegan’s indecent comment, Crispin quickly surmised, and he wasn’t exactly inclined to repeat it for her.
Instead, he helped her up, led her out of the kitchen before suddenly remembering the time. “Shit, I’m late already.”
“Late for what?” Becky asked, seeing the torn expression on his face.
“Gracie’s waiting.” He shrugged, grabbing his trench coat from the front closet. “Sorry to take off on you, Becky. See you later.”
And with that, he was out the door, leaving Becky at a loss. Too self-conscious to return to the kitchen, she went upstairs to her room. So much for Saturday mornings! Curling up into a ball, Becky pulled her blanket over herself and closed her eyes.
Chapter 32
Hours later, Becky woke up famished, having missed breakfast and apparently lunch as well. It was eerily quiet in the house and she wondered if Kelley had returned. She wanted desperately to talk to him. She hated that he’d left so angrily. It scared her when he drove off like that. What if in his altered state of mind, he got into an accident? What if he got hurt? Or worse?
Did he not realize how much he meant to her? Did he not understand how alone she already felt in the world? How dare he frighten her like this?
Unable to stay in her room any longer, Becky got up. She changed out of her pyjamas and into a comfy pair of yoga pants and a baby blue long-sleeved t-shirt. She gave her hair a quick brush and made her way towards his room to have a look. Empty…
Dorian wasn’t in his room either and Crispin was probably still out with Gracie. Making her way downstairs, she searched the living room and the room where they painted, hoping perhaps that Dorian might be in their drawing. Not a soul to be found.
Heading into the kitchen, she was again reminded of the unpleasant events of that morning. One minute she was enjoying Crispin’s undivided attention, which was sadly becoming less and less available to her since he’d started seeing Gracie, then in the very next minute, Kelley had literally attacked Keegan for no apparent reason.
Making herself a sandwich using the crusty Italian buns which had been set aside for her since they were her favourite, she opened the fridge and from inside the drawer marked, Becky’s in Kelley’s handwriting, she grabbed a few slices of roasted turkey breast and Havartti cheese that he had bought specifically at her request. Spying a thermos of coffee on the counter, she found her mug beside it and poured herself a cup. Sitting alone at the table, she looked around the kitchen and was glad that all traces of the fight had been cleared away.
She had to choke back a tear, though, when she checked the trash and found the remnants of the broken mugs in there. She finished her lunch and walked towards the back door. She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Kelley’s black Charger back in its proper parking space. He was safe, thank God.
They must be in the garage, she assumed. Curious, she slipped on her coat and boots. She would just have a look. It was a frosty November afternoon. Only four o’clock, and the sun was already positioned low in the sky. The shadows of the tall oak tree already stretched long across the far end of the backyard.
Nearing the carriage house door, she stopped when she heard laughter and good natured banter coming from inside. She couldn’t help but frown. Now, how could that be? Weren’t they still mad at each other? She recognized each of their voices, Kelley’s, Dorian’s, and even Keegan was in there laughing it up. Suddenly she was very annoyed that while she was upstairs, worried about the welfare of her housemates, they apparently were getting along just fine without her.
With her ear to the door, she didn’t hear Crispin’s approach. “Have we learned nothing about snooping, dormouse?” he asked, catching her eavesdropping.
“Huh… Crispin!” She startled, jumping at the unexpected sound of his voice. “I’m not snooping!” she claimed, turning beet red at being caught red-handed. Worse yet, she realized Crispin wasn’t alone. There beside him was the very lovely Gracie, with a suspicious smirk on her face.
“More like spying,” Gracie said with a knowing smile.
“It’s not like that,” Becky said, looking guiltily from Gracie to Crispin. How dare Gracie talk to her like that? It was bad enough that the girl was lovely in that sophisticated Gothy kind of way. With her glossy sable-black hair, framing her flawless face, Gracie was the type of female who by no fault of her own made Becky feel like a frumpy inexperienced schoolgirl.
“Right,” Gracie laughed out loud.
Effectively shamed, Becky turned her eyes to Crispin. But if Becky was delusional enough to believe that Crispin would take her side in this, her misplaced hope only served to prove just how naive she was.
“So, this is what all the fuss is about?” Gracie went on to say, gesturing from Becky to Crispin. “I tell you, you guys are pathetic. Typical men, so predictable.” She gave Crispin a rueful smile.
“Yes, well, it’s not like I didn’t warn them,” Crispin said, affectionately wrapping his arms around Gracie. “Besides, I don’t think of her in that way. I’ve only got eyes for you, sweetheart.”
Suddenly feeling quite uncomfortable in the enamoured couple’s presence, Becky looked around and wondered how rude it would be if she were to simply disappear.
“Right…” Gracie said sarcastically, giving Crispin a playful punch in the chest. “You know I don’t care about all that. If you want her, have her. When you’re ready for a proper romp, give me a call, stud.”
Stunned at the implication of her words, Becky frowned, staring open-mouthed at the odd couple for a sign that Gracie might be kidding. Yet for a fraction of a second, she couldn’t have missed the flash of hurt reflected in Crispin’s eyes.
“Right, well, I’m going inside. You coming?” Crispin said, pulling away from her, indignantly brushing himself off.
“In a minute,” Gracie said, shrugging him off, digging in her purse and pulling out a pack of cigarettes.
Without another word, Crispin brushed by Becky and entered the garage, letting the door slam on his way inside.
“Asshole,” Gracie huffed, lighting up her cigarette. “Tell me, Becky, why do guys always feel like they’ve got to own you?” she asked, leaning up against the old picnic table.
Unsure of how to answer that question, Becky looked around nervously.
“Yeah, I’m talking to you. Do you see anyone else around?” Gracie smirked. “How the hell did a girl like you end up in a place like this anyway?”
“I’m not exactly sure anymore,” Becky said, joining Gracie on the picnic table.
Gracie took a deep drag of her cigarette and exhaled, careful to aim the smoke away from Becky. She even made sm
oking look sophisticated.
“Well, you’ve certainly got them all bent out of shape.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“Come on, do us all a favour and just fuck one of them. Put them out of their misery once and for all,” Gracie said, looking sideways at her, watching Becky’s jaw drop.
“Oh, please… get over yourself,” Gracie chuckled. “So you’re a virgin, so what? Yeah, Crispin told me everything. Don’t look so shocked. He wasn’t being mean about it, just honest. The dolt was worried that I might get jealous and figured if he told me that you were unavailable that I would feel better. As if I care about all that.”
“Don’t you like him?” Becky asked, confused.
“Sure, I do. He’s amazing in the sack. In fact, you should give him a go and see for yourself. I just don’t do the jealousy thing. I believe in open relationships. None of this boyfriend/girlfriend business for me, thank you very much.”
“Crispin’s my friend,” Becky said, feeling not only indignant for herself, but also for the prickly Goth.
“So much the better. Especially for your first time. He is a bit of a freak in the sack, I’ll give you that. But he’d probably go easy on you since you’re a virgin. Although from what I’m told, it’s Kell you want. Now I can understand your attraction to him. He is quite the looker. But I’d still lean towards Crispin or even Dorian for that matter. I don’t know, Kell’s just so… oh, what’s the word… uptight? Yeah, that’s it, uptight and serious all the time. What a drag. No wonder most people avoid him. You know he’d be quite popular with the girls if he would only crack a smile every once in a while.”
Speechless, Becky could only stare off into the garage and wonder about all this unsolicited information. After a while, she couldn’t keep from laughing. Gracie wasn’t exactly wrong, just brutally honest if not lacking in tact.
“You know what? Maybe Kell is the right choice for you. Maybe you’re exactly what he needs, a good honest, no-nonsense roll in the hay. Do us all a favour, Becky, and fuck him first. Fuck the living daylights out of him. Yeah, and then just for shits and giggles have a go at Crispin, and what the hell, take Dorian for a ride. Think of it as research. Then you can keep the one you like the best. Stay away from Keegan, though. That guy gives me the creeps.”
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