That's a Lie

by Victoria Klahr

  “First…WHOA! Who said anything about marriage!? Second, I’m your one and only perfect son.”

  “Yeah… whatever. Come on you’re still learning,” she demands and gets the ironing board out of the closet. She proceeds to show me how to iron my pants, chastising my technique repeatedly. Dad walks in when I finish up, and he chuckles under his breath as he sits down.

  “Good job, son,” Mom says, beaming at me when I’m done. I roll my eyes, unable to believe that she just made me learn that.

  “Don’t look so irritated, Seth,” Dad says with a smile. “She made me learn, too… the day after we got married.” He looks at Mom with absolute tenderness and love.

  I love how much they love each other, how they can still look at each other with the same amount of affection as they did in the wedding pictures that are displayed around the house. It’s the same exact way I want to look at Josie when we’re older. I shake my head of those thought, not wanting to get hopeful about a future with her. I walk over to my dad, slinging my wrinkle-free pants over my arm. I mess up his hair with my hand, and lean down so only he could hear me.

  “That’s because Mom has you whipped, Dad,” I say. He chuckles deeply, and shakes his head.

  “What made you want to iron those pants in the first place?” he asks looking at me knowingly. Damn him.

  “Mom!’ I shout across the room. “Dad says he’s in control of this house.”

  She spins around and puts a hand on her hip, arching an eyebrow to Dad and me. She glares for a moment, not saying anything and retreats to the kitchen.

  “You little prick… She’s going to have my ass for that,” my dad says when she’s gone. I laugh and walk away. He’ll find a way to get me back, because that’s how this tiny family works. Josie included.

  I finish getting ready, and I think I look good… Yeah, definitely look like a sexy beast. Josie will think I look good, and that’s all that matters.

  I drive to her house, and I feel a conflict of emotions creeping into my head. I’m glad to be taking Josie to this party, but I’m fucking pissed too. If Blake’s there, they don’t have to worry about Josie hitting him. As soon as I have him away from Brooke, I am going to beat his ass. How has the douche gotten this far along without getting his ass handed to him?

  I pull up to the parking lot with five minutes to spare. I take a deep breath and prepare myself for a long night. I jog up the stairs two at a time until I reach her door. I knock once, and she opens it immediately, a beaming smile gracing her gorgeous face.

  It might sound corny as hell, but the sight of her takes my breath away. How can the girl get prettier every time I see her? She’s wearing a floor length silver dress that has a sequined-covered, strapless top and a flowing pleated satin bottom. Her long brown hair is curled and pinned to the side, and her make-up is subtle but perfect. She looks like a goddess- she is so stunning.

  “You gonna stand there and stare, or are you gonna be a gentleman and compliment a young lady?” she asks in an over-accented southern drawl. She worked really hard to make sure she never talked like the kids around here, but it sure is cute hearing that accent come from her. Her voice brings my attention to her lips, glossed and plump in a pink tint. I want to suck those lips clean.

  “I could give you every compliment known to man, and it would have nothing on the truth of your real beauty tonight, Pussy Cat,” I say, bowing and taking her hand in mine. I bring it up to my mouth and kiss it, the little bit of tongue is not an accident. I come up to full height, and see her still smiling at me. I raise my hand that is still holding hers, and twirl her around. Once she’s facing me again, I lean her against the hallway wall inside of her apartment. I slide my hand down her side, and the look as her eyes changes from happy to the same desire she had last night.

  “Want to know what I would do if you were my girl, now?” I ask, referring to the conversation we never got to finish on her twenty first birthday. She never gave me a direct answer last night as to where our relationship was going to go, so I figure I’ll give her something to ponder. She grins and nods her head. I trace my nose along her neck until I reach her ear and pull it into my mouth. She moans lightly, adding fuel to my already raging fire.

  “I would rip off that dress and fuck you so hard that you’d be incapable of moving, let alone able to go anywhere looking as gorgeous as you do right now… I’d keep you all to myself, Pussy Cat,” I say roughly against her ear. I suck on the skin below her jaw one last time, and then push myself away from her. I’m pretty sure I hear her sigh, but I walked away too soon to know for sure. “So you ready to go?”

  “I…,” she starts, hand over her heart. She coughs once, and tries to compose herself. “I’m ready,” she finishes with a strained smile.

  I walk back to her, unable to hold back my satisfied grin. “You can still choose that option, pretty girl. We haven’t left yet.”

  I can see her determination and confidence coming back into her demeanor. “Eh… not really interested tonight.” She brushes past me and walks out the door. I chuckle at her back, knowing for a fact that she’s lying.

  She stomps down the stairs, but I know she’s just playing mad at me. The problem is, Josie is clumsy as hell. Her foot catches and she starts to fall. I know I can’t catch up to her to prevent her fall, but I know I can break it. Without a second though, I slide down the stairs, until I reach where she’s falling. She falls on top of me with a “humph.” My back hurts like a bitch, but I don’t care as long as Josie is okay. Her chest heaves while she lays against me.

  “Oh my god…” she whispers. “That scared the shit out of me.” She turns around between my legs and looks at me. Fear and humor glitter her eyes like she’s unsure if she should have a panic attack or a laughing fit. We both opt for a good laugh. I cup her cheek after we laugh for a minute, and she leans her cheek into my hand. The way she molds into me is so sexy.

  “Are you okay?” I whisper, leaning in and trailing my lips along her jaw. She nods her head and closes her eyes, purring in unreserved pleasure. My dick gets hard every time she makes that noise. “Please don’t go to this tonight. Come home with me…,” I rasp against her lips. The need to be with her is overwhelming. She ignites a fire right to my soul, and it makes me feel raw and deprived when she’s not around. I don’t want anyone getting between us tonight- I want her in my bed, showing her with every ounce of my existence that I love her.

  She leans into me and opens her mouth for more air. Not happening. I claim her open mouth with mine, and touch the tip of her tongue with mine. I pull her bottom lip between my teeth and suck it into my mouth, gliding my tongue over her gloss. I do the same on her top lip, until I’ve sucked all of the strawberry flavored lip gloss off her gorgeous mouth. I kiss her without a goddamn care. My hands mess up her hair, but she never protests, wanting me just as badly. She may not be able to get hard like I am, but I don’t need that to know she wants me.

  I know everything about Josie. She purrs and moans when I grip her hair and lick her neck. She pushes her chest harder into mine when she wants me to touch her perfect tits. She gasps for air when I suck the skin on her collarbone into my mouth. And as run my teeth across her neck, her skin breaks out in goose bumps and she shudders- that’s my favorite.

  She wants me as badly as I want her, and it makes me so fucking happy that’s she’s not trying to hide it anymore. I must have succeeded in breaking down some of her walls last night. I need her, and I need her to be mine. I lift up the hem of her dress and move my hand up her leg slowly, until I reach the top of her thigh.

  She shivers again and I smile against her neck, where I’ve been assaulting her tender skin with my tongue while I felt her up. I knead her thigh, and graze my thumb along the edge of the thin fabric that’s covering up the part of her that I want more than my next breath. Heat radiates from her core and I moan when I slip my finger inside of her panties and feel her wet excitement. I suck her neck harder, biting her with an animal
istic craving that I always try to hide from her. She moans loudly and opens her neck up to me some more.

  I use my middle finger to rub her juices and my other hand squeezes her chest. I’m about to pick her up and take her back to her apartment when we hear footsteps echoing in the stairwell.

  “Get a room,” some wanna-be prick hollers as he walks by us. He has two friends following him, and I glare at every one of them when they look at Josie. I remove my hand from under her dress and slide my middle finger into my mouth, tasting what little I was able to get from her. Josie hides her face into my chest as I take it back out and flash them a grin with my middle finger pointed their way.

  “You wish you were getting this lucky right now,” I say to the douche who was watching our display. He looks slightly familiar, but I can’t place him. I’m pretty sure he thinks he can match me. Ha!

  I hear Josie mutter “oh my god” under her breath, but I see her shoulders shaking, so I know she see the humor in the comment. I rub her bare back with my other hand, eyeing the prick as he starts walking back toward me.

  “Yeah… think you can share her? She looks like she’s pretty easy…,” he says eyeing her body. My body tenses, my fists clench, and I start to get up from the stairs. I bore my eyes into his, and he only flinches a little. Now, that won’t do. The darkness clouds me again as I stalk toward him.

  “You should really watch what you say… especially when you’re talking about my girl.” I walk up to him, leaving about an inch of space between us. I tower over his short stumpy ass, and even his friends back away from me. He’s scared, but he’s not willing to give up.

  “That whore? She was with someone different a couple weeks ago. You don’t have anything she isn’t giving to anyone else.” My jaw clenches and my fist gets ready to pound into him. Who the fuck does this kid think he is? I feel Josie come up next to me, brushing her shoulder against mine. I look down at her and see anger glittering her eyes as well. I smirk and take a step back.

  “Don’t call me a whore, Zach,” she says dangerously, walking up to him. She’s so short and small, but she carries so much power when she’s standing her ground, something I haven’t gotten to witness since we were in high school. I remember the kid now, he was one of the neighbor kids who bullied her growing up. “Would your God-fearing parents appreciate that kind of language from your ugly ass mouth?” She’s patronizing him and I snort as I listen to her.

  At first Zach seemed to be unsure about why I stepped back and she stepped up. He takes in her tiny body, and my blood boils; I don’t like that look in his eyes- too much lust and anger.

  “I’m sure they wouldn’t mind me fucking some sense into your nasty body,” he says straightening up and pushing his chest into her space. She straightens her shoulders, but she doesn’t stand down. I know that the name calling isn’t going to sit well with her. Maybe she would have been responsible and backed off, but threatening to “fuck some sense” into her isn’t the way to get her to calm down. She’s been waiting to use her new defense skills.

  Just wait for it…

  Her tiny fist comes out of nowhere and she punches him in the jaw before kneeing him in the groin. He hunches over with a grunt, holding his stomach. Pride and pleasure runs through me as I watch her stand her ground. She’s so sexy. This is the girl I love, the one who doesn’t take shit from anyone and who shines brighter when she feels confident and powerful. She looks back at me and we share a moment in the connection our eyes make, our feelings displayed intently in both of our looks. I can see her coming back to me- the happiness and strength is evident in that gaze.

  The two friends wisely stay back and start to head downstairs, but apparently Zach has a death wish. He pulls himself up while Josie is still looking at me and he grabs her shoulder roughly before bringing his hand up to slap her. I’m there in an instant grabbing his shoulders and shoving him against the wall. His head bangs against the brick, but I couldn’t care less if he’s hurt. My fist pounds into his face as I keep him pinned against the wall with my arm. He’s got a bloody lip, swollen eyes, and he’s no longer fighting back, but the second he touched Josie is the second I didn’t care if he lived or died.

  I feel a hand press against my back and the soft stroke of a thumb. “Seth...,” she calls to me softly. Her voice is in the distance, in another world that I’m no longer in. The caress reaches my neck, and I feel myself being pulled back into reality. “That’s enough, Seth. Come back to me…”

  I shake my head and look into her beautiful olive green eyes, filled with concern. Her hand rests on my cheek and I lean into it, seeking the comfort that she’s offering. I nod my head and look back at the scum I still have pinned against the wall. I give him one last shove and then lean my head down to the side of his face.

  “Talk about this to anyone, touch her, or look at her in a way I don’t like, and I’ll take you on a journey that walks a thin line between life and death.” He doesn’t respond. “Got it?” I say louder, shoving him again. He nods his head, and I’m pretty satisfied that he won’t mess with her again, so I let go. I needed to make sure he didn’t report any of this and get her in trouble with school.

  I take Josie’s hand and walk her down the rest of the stairs, without a word. I get to my truck and I pick her up and place her inside, buckling her seatbelt for her, before going to my side. I lean my head back against the headrest and close my eyes. I try to breathe until my heartbeat starts to slow down from the rush of adrenaline I just experienced. I let out a breath and turn my head toward Josie. She’s looking back at me, eyes gleaming with concern, humor, and something else. I want to tell myself it’s the same kind of love I feel for her, but I don’t want to get my hopes up.

  The corner of her mouth starts to tip up and it’s the trigger to our release of tension. We both start cracking up laughing while we look at each other. We haven’t done anything like that since high school, when we would team up against the kids who bullied her relentlessly. Sure it was incredibly immature for our age, but it sure as hell was a little fun. The pressure and unease about what just happened eases and we continue laughing together. I start the truck and pull out into traffic.

  “You are so fucking sexy, Josie…. And if that prick lives in your building, then you definitely need to move in with me.”

  Chapter 11

  Josie

  The engagement party is a good mixture of Brooke and Brandon’s personalities.

  We’re here to celebrate their engagement and upcoming nuptials, and the atmosphere is filled with good wishes and happiness. Brooke looks incredible in a blue chiffon dress, and her face and demeanor is carefree. Pregnancy seems to have made her happier than I’ve ever seen her, and since I don’t see her parents here tonight, I’m grateful that she’s got a new family with Brandon and she’s happy.

  Seth and I have been here for about an hour and I’ve only gotten to talk to her once. The party is at a nice restaurant in Raleigh, but it seems like Brandon picked this one because there’s access to an awesome bar in the back. I notice a lot of their college friends are hanging out in that part of the restaurant while the older people and family stay in the dining area. I’ve been trying to stay in the dining room, because I’ve been afraid that Blake might be at the bar.

  Seth’s stayed by my side the whole night, holding my hand and cracking jokes, but my anxiety doesn’t settle. I’m nervous, and I can tell that something bad is going to happen tonight. I try not to focus on the bad feeling, and instead focus on the incredibly handsome man I’m with.

  Seth wraps his arm around my shoulders, making circles with his thumb, and his touch drives me to the point where I want to go sneak away into the bathroom and take advantage of him. He plays with my hair and rubs the bare skin on my back, and I completely forget my fears. I can only think about the throbbing frisson pooling in the pit of my stomach.

  I was on the verge of telling him to skip the party when we were on the stairs. I don’t know what it is abo
ut Seth, but not hiding from the way he makes me feel has made me feel more alive in these last couple of days than I have since I was raped. Seth is my home and I always knew we were good together, but we’ve never let ourselves explore the romantic part of that. Now I am, and I’m standing here listening to some boring old person talk while the only thing I’m thinking about is devouring Seth’s body with my tongue.

  I want to lick those tattoos under his crisp blue shirt, from the tattooed sleeve on his right arm all the way across his chest, ribs, and thighs. I want to feel the cool metal of his piercings in my mouth. I want to lick those perfect abs, being thorough in every divot. I want to lick the crease of the “v” before his hips hit his pants. I want to-

  “Jos…,” Seth whispers in my ear. I’ve been biting my lip and staring at him. “Keep looking at me like that and I might have to take advantage of you in the bathroom.” He flicks the bottom of my ear with his tongue. “And I don’t think Brooke would appreciate your screams when I make you come.”

  I moan out loud, but Seth is already moving me away from the boring conversation and has me against the wall, so no one but he hears me. Am I aware that we are at a formal engagement party filled with people? Sure… but I don’t give a fuck. Especially when he sucks on my neck like that. My hand finds his hair, and I start rasping for breath. “Seth...,” I moan against his ear.

  “I can come back later…,” someone says, interrupting our moment. I was seriously about to let Seth take advantage of me in front of everyone. I groan into his shoulder. He chuckles under his breath and places a quick kiss on my jaw.

  “Hey man!” Seth exclaims, bringing his attention to our intruder. I see Dom, Robbie, and Brandon all standing there, waiting for us to break apart. Dom is smirking, Robbie has a small smile on his face, and Brandon is grinning from ear to ear. I’m surprised he’s not mad at me…, I muse.

  Seth embraces each of the men in his manly way, excited to see each of them. When Blake and I were dating, Seth had made good friends with Blake’s friends, even though he never liked Blake. Dom, Robbie and Brandon hug me next, and I laugh as they all take their turns. I haven’t seen Dom and Robbie in over a year, so it’s good to see them.