Popped

by Elizabeth Stevens

  I decided then that I liked Jendo. He wasn’t exactly my kind of person, but he seemed like a good person nonetheless. He was wary of me around his friend – for good reason really, which would make it a shame when I was done – and I could respect that without feeling the need to be bosom buddies with the guy.

  So, honesty would perhaps be my best policy in dealing with the Baker Boys sans Bash.

  “Fine. You got me. I’m looking for Bash.”

  Rufio smiled. “Oh, he’s gone to his– Ow!” he snapped and looked at Jendo pointedly.

  I wasn’t sure if I was trying to scold Jendo or laugh. “Did you actually just kick him?”

  “Yes,” Rufio huffed.

  “Why?” I asked.

  Jendo uncrossed his arms and leant them on the table. “If Bash wanted you to know where he was going, then he’d have told you.”

  I crossed my arms now. “I didn’t realise one hook-up unlocked constant whereabouts updates.” I clicked my fingers and sighed dramatically. “I had an appointment with my gynae on Monday. Should I have told him?”

  Rufio frowned. “With your what?”

  “Gynaecologist,” I told him, but that seemed to confuse him more.

  “Her vag doctor,” Jendo said exasperatedly.

  Rufio nodded solemnly. “You’re pregnant.”

  Jendo and I looked at each other then looked at Rufio.

  “I’m a virgin,” I said at the same time Jendo said, “She’s a virgin, numb nuts.”

  Rufio nodded again. “Not pregnant.”

  “No,” I chuckled. “Not pregnant. Just a check-up.” I looked them over, wondering if there was something wrong with Bash – like he was ill or something. “Bash is… He’s okay, though?” I asked.

  Jendo almost let his mask of disapproval soften for a moment. “He’s fine. He’s not at the doctor or anything.”

  I nodded. “Okay. Good. Uh, is he coming back today or…?”

  Rufio shook his head. “Nope. He’s gone all day. Jendo’s driving Leo home.”

  I was about to nod and say ‘cool’ and go back to the girls, but I paused. “Who’s Leo?”

  “Mini Bash,” Rufio answered with a grin.

  “Mini…?” I breathed.

  “More commonly known as the little brother,” Jendo explained.

  “Bash has a little brother?” Why did I not know this?

  “I imagine it’s kind of hard to get to know someone with your tongue down their throat,” Jendo commented dryly.

  But I smirked at his attempt at dominance. “Don’t think that doesn’t go both ways.” I leant on the desk and pinned Jendo’s eye with mine. “You might have been told about every piece of my body Bash touched on Saturday night, but don’t think that means you know me.” Now was time for the slam dunk, that I knew would get back to Bash. “It was a hook-up. Decent but, if Bash wants round two, he’s gonna have to try harder.” I gave him a slow wink and walked back to my friends.

  “What did you say to them?” Georgie asked, craning around me to look at them.

  “Why?” I asked, refusing to look.

  “Because they both pulled out their phones and look like they’re texting like mad.”

  And true to plan, Jendo and Rufio had to have told him what I said because the next morning at my locker, I was turned around and seriously kissed in front of anyone and everyone who was in there with us.

  When he pulled away, I looked into Bash’s pale blue eyes and smiled.

  “Uh, good morning.”

  Bash wore his familiar cocky half-smirk as he looked around at the people wondering if we were worth being interested in, then leant his lips to my ear. “Was that hard enough for you, princess?” he whispered and goose bumps broke out along my skin.

  “How much harder can you get, Casanova?” I countered.

  I felt him tense, but when he spoke, his voice was playful. “You keep teasing me and you might find out.”

  “Oh. You don’t like being teased?”

  He pulled back just enough to look in my eyes, our noses bumping. “You know, I thought I hated it. But you can tease me all you like, princess.”

  I was fairly confident at this point that I had him physically. He was at that point where he wanted it and he wanted it from me. It was a point of pride for him now; I’d worked him up, so I had to be the one to…unwind him, so to speak. But really, wanting to get in my pants was a far cry from love. So, I was going to have to work out where to go next.

  The bell for class rang and Bash stepped away from me. He licked his bottom lip slowly, gave me a single nod, and headed off.

  Georgie and Mia had stepped aside to give Bash and I some space, but they crowded me now.

  “What was that?” Mia squeaked.

  “Hot. That was hot,” Georgie said.

  I nodded, taking a moment to get my breath back. “That was totally hot.” I fanned myself for a second, then we started for class too. “I think step one is complete. He’s baited. Now we just need lust to beget affection.”

  “Okay. How are we going to do that?” Georgie asked.

  We spent Maths in whispered moments and Recess in slightly louder moments trying to work out exactly how I should play this next. There were disagreements; Mia thought I should let him at me in the double free in the next lesson, and Georgie said we had to wait a little longer to let him progress sexually. I was quite happy to take advice because my body said let him jump me and my brain said pump the breaks. What was unanimously agreed upon though was that Bash and I needed some more one-on-one time.

  So, after everyone had left the Common Room after Recess and it was only me, Bash and about three other people in there, I was going to start my plan.

  Except Bash seemed to have a plan of his own as I found him dropping onto the couch next to me with his ever-present book and pencil in hand.

  “You planning on stabbing me with that?” I asked, covering the minute flutter of excitement his proximity seemed to elicit in me.

  He twirled his pencil in his fingers in such an expert way, I was suddenly convinced about all those rumours saying just how expert he was with those fingers. “I wasn’t planning on it, no.”

  I fake sighed. “What a relief.”

  I looked up at him from the corner of my eye and saw him watching me carefully. I smiled and looked back at my book. We sat like that for the space of fourteen heartbeats. I knew because I could feel every single one like the pounding of a drum.

  Finally, he broke it by leaning his lips to my ear again. “How long are you going to pretend you’re reading that?” he whispered conspiratorially.

  I shut it and turned to look at him, our noses bumping again. “How long do you plan on sitting there?”

  He wriggled in the seat. “I dunno. It’s pretty comfy. I might not leave.” He looked back at me with a cheeky smile and I smiled back.

  “I might not stop, then.”

  “Is it good?”

  “More like necessary.”

  “What’s it about?”

  “What’s in yours?”

  He smirked. “Mine?”

  I nodded towards it. “The one you always have with you.”

  He looked around the room before leaning towards me and asking, “You been watching me, princess?”

  I huffed a short laugh. “Maybe.”

  “That’s a bit stalker-ish, isn’t it?”

  “Is it a secret?” I asked through my grin at his goofiness. “Your book?”

  He shrugged. “Not particularly.”

  “But you’re not going to show me?”

  Bash looked at me askance and there was that sinful half-smile. “Not particularly.”

  I nodded. “All right, then.” We sat for a few moments in awkward silence until I blurted out, “Do you want to go out on the weekend?”

  He didn’t miss a beat. “Oh. So, you like a bit of mystery, do you?”

  “What?” I laughed.


  “Well, I distinctly heard you said I needed to try harder. And now you’re asking me out. I presume this means you like the mystery?”

  “Not particularly,” I said, throwing his words back at him and, based on the smile in his eyes, he appreciated it.

  “What was it then?” he asked cheekily.

  “Maybe the kiss was enough?” I answered just as cheekily.

  He shook his head. “Nup. Try again.”

  “How do you know?”

  He shrugged. “Call it intuition.”

  “The Casanova-tingle?”

  He snorted then, as he looked at me askance for a moment, said, “Nah. That’s something else. I’d be plenty happy to introduce you to it. Although, that’s one of those inappropriate for school things.”

  I nodded knowingly. “Of course, it is.”

  “Send me your address. I’ll pick you up at eight.”

  “Any specific day?”

  “Tomorrow?” he asked.

  I nodded. “I’m free tomorrow.”

  “You don’t need to check your calendar?” he teased.

  I shook my head. “No. I don’t.”

  He nodded. “Okay then.” He got up, then looked back to me. “Just to be clear, it’s not a date.”

  I bit my lip as I nodded. “I guessed.”

  He gave a single nod. “Good. Just checking.” He nodded once again then headed back to his table.

  We didn’t speak again in person for the rest of the day and there were no more surprise kisses. But we kept looking at each other and I found it very difficult to keep the smile off my face at the thought of him and his easy, flirty banter.

  Chapter 11: Bash

  I rang Paige’s front bell and waited for her to answer. Only she didn’t answer. A woman who looked like Paige plus about twenty-five years opened the door. Her hair was darker, but she had the same hazel eyes, the same facial features, the same body shape and even looked about the same height. She was just obviously older.

  “You must be Bash,” she said, holding the door open and waving me inside.

  I nodded. “Yep.”

  “Nice to meet you. I’m Heidi, Paige’s mum. She’ll be out in a second. Can I get you anything? Drink?”

  I shook my head. “No. Thanks.”

  Heidi looked me over critically and I couldn’t quite work out if I was left wanting or passed whatever counted for parental approval in the Nicholls household. Feeling the very unfamiliar urge to not be found wanting, I gave her a winning smile. Which she returned, if not a little like she knew my game for what it was.

  “Hi. Sorry, I’m ready,” I heard Paige say and I turned to see her coming down the hallway.

  She looked stunning as usual in a white jumper with little black dots, an emerald skirt, black tights and knee-high boots. Her dark blonde hair fell in loose waves down her back and around her shoulders and she had a small black bag over one shoulder. But it was the smile on her face that did it for me. If I was ever forced to go out with a girl for the sake of my reputation, there were certainly worse smiles to be stuck with.

  “Hey.” I nodded to her.

  She smiled at me and turned to Heidi. “Okay. Phone, card, keys…” She lifted up her bag. “Anything else?”

  Heidi shook her head. “Nope. You know the drill.”

  Paige nodded. “Yup. Okay, I’ll see you later.”

  “You two have a good night,” Heidi said as Paige started bustling me out of the door. “Nice talking to you, Bash.”

  “You, too.” I gave her a single nod, then Paige was closing the door and had already started for my car.

  I jogged after her, taking a cursory glance around the street for no particular reason other than it seemed weird to be picking a girl up. I’d dropped girls home plenty. I’d just never picked them up before.

  We got into the car and I felt immediately doused in her perfume. My hard-on would have been instantaneous had I not bit the inside of my cheek. Only I’d been a bit overzealous and winced as I started the car.

  “You okay?” Paige asked.

  I nodded as I ran my tongue over the bite. “All good. Bit myself. What exactly did you want to do tonight?”

  “What do you feel like?” she answered.

  As a guy who didn’t date, I wasn’t sure what the protocol was for an intentional, organised rendezvous. The fact we’d merely specified a start time seemed both normal and weird, and I had no idea what people usually did when they purposefully chose to spend time with another person when friendship wasn’t really involved.

  “I doubt you’d be interested in my usual night out,” I told her wryly as I pulled away from the curb and headed down the street aimlessly but in the vague direction of Town. Whatever she wanted to do was probably in that direction.

  “Try me.”

  “It usually involves a significant number of drinks.”

  “And this is while you’re trolling for girls, or in general?” I could hear the smile in her voice.

  “What do you know about me trolling for girls?” I asked, sliding her a smirk.

  “Only what the rumours say.”

  “Oh, so the truth then?” I teased.

  She laughed and looked out the side window as though she didn’t want me to see. “How about an Escape Room?”

  I shrugged. “I can think of better things to do while locked in a room with you.”

  “I’ll bet you can. I suppose bowling’s a bit trite?”

  “Just a bit.”

  “And not so fun with only two people.”

  “You’re not wrong.”

  “Ice skating?”

  “Are you dressed for ice skating?”

  “I’m dressed for anything,” she sassed and I smiled.

  “All right, if you insist.”

  “I’m not insisting. What about something you want to do?”

  I looked at her askance and gave her my most suggestive smile. “Princess, what I want to do doesn’t require leaving the car.”

  She was quiet for a moment as she looked me over. Surprisingly, she nodded. “All right, then.”

  I blinked, thinking it couldn’t possibly be this easy. Could it?

  “What?” I asked, steering the car on autopilot.

  “Go on then.”

  “You want to…?” I swallowed and shifted in my seat to ease the sudden and extreme tension in my jeans.

  “We can satisfy both our goals in the car.”

  I pulled to a stop at some lights and turned to see her leaning on the headrest and watching me carefully. I looked her over ruefully. “I don’t think we have the same thing in mind.”

  She licked her lip slowly. “‘Course we do. We both want to get to know each other better.”

  I scoffed as I turned up Portrush Road. “I don’t need to get to know you better.”

  “You may not need to, but you want to.”

  “Do I, now?”

  “Yes. The only difference is how we want to get to know each other and how far we’ll let the other one get.”

  “Is that a challenge, princess?”

  “You could say that, Casanova.”

  “So, what? You want to get to know me better by, what? Talking?” I asked, knowing exactly where I was going now.

  She made a noise of confirmation. “And you want to get to know me better by touching me.”

  Again, she wasn’t wrong. I did want to touch her. I wanted to touch her a lot. Preferably everywhere.

  “So, what exactly is your plan?”

  “How about you park and we’ll see who gets to know who.”

  I nodded. I could work with that. “All right.”

  We made a little bit of small talk, but mostly just listened to the radio as I drove us up to the look out. It wasn’t super busy – it was damned cold after all – which suited my purposes perfectly.

  I pulled into a park the furthest away from anyone else, under a tre
e for some privacy but still with enough view to look at. Although, I was hoping we weren’t going to spend too much time looking at the view.

  Once the engine was off – but with the radio still on – I pushed my seat back a little and pretended I was interested in the view out the front window. If she wanted to talk, she could start it. Thankfully, she did.

  “How many girls have you brought up here, then?” she asked, turning in her seat to look at me.

  I rolled my head to look at her. “How many do you think?”

  She bit her lip and smiled as she thought about it. “I want to say…seven.”

  I huffed a rough laugh. “That’s ambitious.”

  “Really?” She gasped sarcastically as she leant forwards. “Don’t tell me all the rumours are fake!”

  I shook my head. “As far as I’m aware, no. But I try to go to the least amount of effort possible.”

  “So, the complete opposite of maximum effort then?”

  I looked at her askance for a moment, for the second time wondering if that was a reference to a movie I’d be surprised she’d even seen, let alone enjoyed.

  “Minimum effort,” I mused with a chuckle. “Definitely.”

  “Good to know.”

  “Is that all you wanted to know about me?” I asked cheekily and she grinned.

  “You don’t like talking, do you?” she laughed.

  I shrugged. “Talking’s good for gaining interest. Past that, I prefer to spend my time otherwise engaged.”

  “Oh, you think I’m interested in you, do you?”

  I gave her my most winning smile. “I know you’re interested in me.”

  “Really? And how do you figure that?”

  I leant over towards her and brushed my fingers down her cheek slowly. I watched the way her eyes widened. I heard and felt her breath catch as she licked her lip. I placed my finger ever so gently under her chin and encouraged her forward. She leant towards me more than willingly, starting to close the gap between us.

  “I know,” I told her, then kissed her.

  She responded instantly and enthusiastically, even nipping my lip, and I was hard as quickly as it was possible. Her hand went to my t-shirt but, instead of pushing me away like I thought she was going to, she pulled me closer.

  Was it incredibly awkward with the centre console between us? Yes. So, I leant back a little, sliding my hand down over her arse as I did so. As I’d hoped, she came to me. But it was Paige all of her own volition who climbed over to straddle my lap, flicking her hair back over her shoulder with a cheeky-as smirk on her face.