Double Grades

by Kristine Robinson

  “Because I'm jealous of you Ella, it's really that simple. I don't understand why Jenna would be with anyone else when I'm so perfect for her. We had a wonderful two weeks together and then she just throws me away like I'm some piece of trash. You think that makes me feel good? I tried everything to win her back but for some reason she just can't see it. I kept track of her, trying to pick the right moment to come back into her life and then I saw that she was dating you, and I couldn't understand it. You two are complete opposites. You don't belong together. She should be with me. That's the way it's supposed to be, the way it's supposed to happen. I had it all planned out in my mind. She was going to be my life partner. I had the wedding planned. I even knew what dress I was going to wear and where everyone was going to sit. It was going to be perfect, just like I had dreamed of when I was a little girl. But then you came along and confused her. I don't know why you hate me so much, why you would steal her from me but I'm only trying to win her back.”

  I couldn't believe what I was hearing. I wanted to shout and scream at her and tell her she was deluded but I knew it wouldn't do any good. What use was trying to talk to her rationally when she had concocted this illusion in her mind? Somehow she had pieced together this fantasy and everything was filtered through through that. It freaked me out, to hear her speak like that, but I also felt sorry for her. What she really needed was help from a professional. I shook my head, not knowing what to say, but Addison continued to speak.

  “It all started when I was very young you see. I lost my parents and there was nobody to take care of me. I had in my head this perfect vision of what my life would be like to get my happy ending and when I met Jenna everything fell into place...but then it all went wrong. I don't understand why. She was going to be my happy ending. She was going to be my everything. We could have adopted a child together, one that didn't have any parents just like me, and I could have been its mommy just like I never had a mommy, and Jenna would have looked after me and never left my side. That's what soul mates and true loves do. They don't leave, no matter what. All I need to do is show her how much I love her. I'm doing all this for her. It's all for her...”

  She trailed off and seemed to become tired. Her eyes closed. I wiped my face and exhaled deeply, wishing that Jenna had had better taste in women before me. I didn't want to leave her, but I wanted to get an update from Jenna and to get a bite to eat. I figured I could leave her to rest for a little while. Now that she was in hospital I was hopeful that she could get the help she needed and that this awful period in our lives was over. When I called Jenna she told me that things weren't going well at the station but that she didn't think they had much on her, so she should be done soon. I told her what Addison said. Jenna was adamant that I shouldn't feel sorry for her because she put us through so much, and she didn't deserve our sympathy. I agreed for the sake of not causing an argument but I couldn't help but want Addison to get help. It was in my nature I suppose. I put my cell back in my pocket and, feeling better after getting a sandwich and a coffee, I went back into Addison's room.

  To my shock and horror the bed was empty, and nobody knew where she had gone.

  7

  I called Jenna immediately and went straight to the precinct, where she was waiting for me. I was able to push my worries aside for the moment as I was glad that she was released. We hugged and kissed and rejoiced when she said that there was too much uncertainty over the evidence. She looked around at the people surrounded us and dragged me back to the car, where we drove to a small back road, and pulled over. We were surrounded by trees that were frosted with snow, and the clear cold sky watched over us. Jenna had a gleam in her eye and as soon as we pulled over she took hold of my hands and dragged me to the back seat. We cuddled up together and she looked deeply into my eyes.

  “I know that this isn't what either of us signed up for but I just wanted to say that I'm glad I have you by my side. I know that when we started this we joked about not having much in common, and if I'm honest I did doubt how long it was going to last, but the more time we spend together the more I'm certain that you're the one for me, and nothing is going to get in the way of that. I know it's horrible right now but eventually this will all be a long memory that we can forget about. I love you Ella, you're strong and sweet and everything that I could ever want in another person, and I trust you completely, with everything I have.”

  Her words melted my heart. I leaned in to kiss her. “What we have is real,” I said, “more real than anything I've had before. I trust you as well, and I'm going to make sure that this doesn't tear us apart. I don't want to lose you.”

  “You won't,” she promised, and I believed her. At that moment our passions got the better of us and we threw all caution to the wind. We had never been a couple for public displays of affection but something overwhelmed us in that moment, a craving, a yearning for each other. We tore away each others' clothes and our frantic hands dove deep into ourselves, our lips crashing against each other as we rubbed and stroked and stoked the fire in our souls. Through blurred vision I saw her, so ethereal and beautiful, my own personal goddess, and in her eyes I saw myself as well, in the way that she saw me, with love light and adoration, with passion and desire. The strong feelings rose within me and seized me.

  We let our sharp moans as our cold hands found the skin under our clothes, but we persevered nonetheless. We climbed into the back seat of the car, it was awkward but that added to the charm and immediacy of the moment. The fact that we couldn't keep our hands off each other turned me on even more than normal. Jenna wanted me more than anyone else, and as much as she was the object of my affection I was the object of hers, and it felt as though I had been chosen for a golden destiny. Outside the snow fell lightly and in the distance we could hear cars roaring past, their tires crunching the snow, but inside it was all heavy breathing and I was losing myself again, falling into that world in which I loved residing, a world where it was only the two of us and we need not bother thinking about anything else, there were just me and her and our passion. I closed my eyes and let her kisses ripple down into my soul, warming me as though she had poured molten lava and I was melting. Her lips were on mine, then on my neck, moving down to my breasts. Her hands grabbed at my pants and pulled them away. I smiled as we frantically groped at each other, feeling like teenagers caught in the heat of summer, driven mad and wild with hormones careening through our bodies, unable to control ourselves or our desires. We were like two warriors fighting the same battle, locked in the same war, needing to deliver ourselves from this possessive force that had overtaken us completely.

  She straddled me, bowing her head so as not to hit the roof of the car. I squeezed her thighs as I arched my neck back to catch her kisses. Her long hair fell around me in a golden waterfall and I was able to forget about the cold winter outside. Whenever I was with Jenna in moments like these it was as though we were in the middle of summer, with the sun shining down upon us and without a care in the world. I was able to push aside everything bad in my life and give myself over to the intense feelings that rose withing me, that seized me completely. She kissed me lightly at first, but then cupped her hands around my face and gradually the kisses became deeper and more longing, more intimate, and it was as though we were kissing each other for the first time again. My mind flashed back to that first moment when we kissed. The date had been going well, although I was still wondering why the hell anyone like Jenna was going out with me. We were walking back then suddenly she was on me, saying that she had been wanting to do that ever since we had first met and she was unable to control herself any longer. Her kisses made me melt and in the car I was kissing back as much as I could, offering her my neck, which she took gladly.

  My eyes fluttered closed as the tingles ran through my body. I knew her sweet spots but she knew mine as well, and this was a way for her to tease me back. Her thighs squeezed my body and trapped me. Her hands ran down and grabbed my breasts, working their way in between my
clothing to reach my skin. Again I gasped as the temperature of her hands was cooler than that of my skin, but I wanted her near me.

  “Your heart is racing,” she whispered breathlessly.

  “It always is when I'm with you,” I replied. She paused for a moment and tilted her head as she looked at me, then kissed me again, pushing me back against the seat of the car, her hands running all over my body, using my body like a toy. Our tongues danced and after she had her fill of playing with my breasts she moved down and reached inside my pants, and my mind began to spark as she touched me. Her long fingers reached deep inside me and touched me in places I had never been touched before. A hazy curtain came down in my mind it was as though I had been drugged by the most potent drug of all. I let my mind slip away as I surrendered to Jenna and the sensations she was creating inside me.

  Jenna caressed me and grabbed my hair, she enveloped me in her warmth and gave me a safe place in which to reveal myself to her with long, guttural moans and a shuddering, trembling body. We tasted each other; first she leaned over the seats and lapped at me with her tongue. I stroked her long soft hair as I watched her go down on me, running my hands across the arch of her body. My gaze drifted across the car, looking outside the windows but nobody else was around. We were alone with our love, and I was able to let go of all my inhibitions without fear of being discovered.

  Jenna rose and straddled me again, pulling my hair down as she pushed me into her crotch, and I was all too happy to obey. She held me in position as I tasted her, until she sat beside and we used our hands to stimulate and tease each other while we kissed, and while the world outside was a cold, crisp winter we were sweating in a blazing inferno, and the supernova that exploded within me left me a sweaty, heaving mess.

  When it was over I lay next to her and caressed her cheek softly. We shared light kisses and satisfied smiles. We fit together nicely, and I was wrapped up in her warmth, but as the good feelings dissipated I was left with a feeling of unease. It seemed a shame to ruin the mood by mentioning Addison again, but she was still out there and wasn't going away anytime soon.

  “We have to deal with her,” I said.

  “I know,” Jenna replied with a heavy sigh. Her fingers twirled through my hair, “but how do you want to go about doing that? The cops don't seem to be having much luck.”

  “Maybe that's because they don't know where to look. You know where she lived, we could start there, and some other places she liked.”

  “We only went out for two weeks,” Jenna said derisively.

  “I know, but you still know her better than me or the cops, and the only way we're going to end this is to end it.”

  I left Jenna's embrace and we drove to Addison's apartment. I was glad Jenna was there with me, but also afraid because I didn't know what Addison would do. I was sure she had killed Mindy, so what was another body to add to the pile?

  The door to her apartment was open. We called out her name but there was no response. When we entered we gasped. The wall was filled with pictures of me and Jenna together. The floor was littered with notebooks of my name scribbled and scrawled on it. There were photos of me shopping, photos of me going to work. My skin crawled as I realized she had been following me for a long time, and had been with me in places I hadn't even expected. There were wedding dresses too, some had been circled, and it looked as though she was still planning her and Jenna's wedding, a wedding that was never going to happen. I sidled closer to Jenna and clung to her, wishing that I could bury myself in her neck and let all this go away.

  “Let's go,” she said, and I was glad for that because I didn't think I could stay in that apartment any longer. I was silent as Jenna drove us around town, going to a few bars and restaurants he remembered Addison mentioning but none of them turned up anything. It seemed like she had vanished into thin air but I knew she was out there, lurking, waiting, and for all I knew she could have been watching us at that very moment. The images of all the photos of me had been seared in my mind and I knew that Addison wouldn't simply disappear. This wouldn't end for her until she was rid of me, and I felt like I was going to vomit.

  8

  That weekend we had a weekend booked away at a ski resort, something we had planned long before Addison had come onto the scene. Jenna got a reminder email about it and was shocked. We'd both completely forgotten. She asked if we should cancel it given what was going on but I said that we should go, and perhaps it would take our mind off things. Although I was never into sports before I met Jenna, I wanted to make an effort to share her hobbies as she had done with mine, and I had become adept at skiing, and by that I mean I was able to ski without crashing or falling over...most of the time.

  We drove up to the mountains and my eyes widened as I saw the resort. There were chalets dotted across the snowy landscape, and mountains that reached high into the skies. As we drove up I could see dots of people slaloming down the pristine white slopes. The natural beauty was breathtaking, and although Addison was on the loose I was determined to push her out of my mind as much as possible.

  We hauled our things to the room and I enjoyed the warm fire that was burning. Jenna came up behind me and kissed me on the cheek. I turned around and we made out for a while, and then, with an excited smile, she asked me if I wanted to hit the slopes. We went outside and she went off first. I waited a moment, enjoying the sight of her letting loose. This is what she had been made to do. I watched old recordings of her in competitions and it amazed me how good she was. Her technique was flawless and she was so graceful out there on the snow, almost like a fairy. My heart swelled as I watched her lean into the curve. The snow fluffed up as she stopped and waved me down. I shrugged and pushed myself away, feeling the rush of cold air against my face as I tried to remember everything Jenna taught me. I kept my eyes on her as I rushed down and I began to scream as the speed increased, and then burst into laughter as I lost my balance at the very end and crashed into the soft snow. I lay on my back as Jenna fell down beside me and we exchanged cold kisses, our noses red and wet.

  Jenna helped me up and we stayed on the slopes a little while longer before heading back inside for some hot chocolate. As much as I enjoyed being out in the fresh air I loved feeling the warm cozy feeling spreading out inside of me, and I enjoyed watching Jenna in her natural habitat. She noticed me smiling at her and asked me what was wrong.

  “Nothing at all, you just look so beautiful here. It's nice to see you happy, to see you doing what you're meant to be doing,” I said. She blushed a little. “I'm serious, you looked so good out there. Do you regret the fact that you never got to live that life?”

  Jenna shrugged. “Sometimes I do. For the longest time that was all I wanted to be. I wanted to travel around the world and compete with the best, but life doesn't always happen the way you want it, and sometimes you have new dreams and new things that make you happy. I'll always love skiing and I'll get out to these slopes whenever I can, but I love my job, and I love being with you. If I was an athlete I'd have to leave you to go to competitions and I don't think I could handle that,” she said, reaching across to hold my hand.

  “I'm just glad you decided to stick with me even when you found out what a klutz I am,” I said.

  Jenna laughed, that soft, melodic laugh I had fallen in love with. “I like that we're different, it means that we get to introduce each other to a lot of different ideas. But we have the important things in common, like the way we look at the world and what we want out of life.”

  “And what is it you want out of life?” I asked, a twinkling in my eyes. A wicked smile came upon Jenna's face as she leaned into me, and I could smell the hot chocolate on her breath.

  “I want...” she started in a low, breathy tone, “to have a life filled with wonder and romance and lots of hot, steamy sex.” I giggled and looked around to see if anyone else had heard us, but everyone else was lost in their own worlds, just as we were lost in ours. As I looked at her and lost myself in her eyes I
was able to forget about our troubles, and Addison, and just concentrate on me and her. We had a romantic candlelit meal. The wine flowed easily and freely, and soon enough I wasn't sure whether I was more intoxicated by the wine or the presence of the woman I loved. After dinner we slipped into the hot tub and curled up together, watching the moonlight shine out around us as we let the hot water slide over our bodies. We splashed each other and giggled loudly, teasing each other before we came together and parted our lips widely, drowning in bliss. Jenna reached over for more wine but the glasses were empty, and she laughed heartily at how we had drank so much. Eventually we staggered back to our room, arm in arm, and while I was with her I knew that there was nobody I felt more comfortable with. It was completely natural to be with her, and as we fell into bed and sweet sleep came upon us I was perfectly happy.

  9

  The following day we rose early to go skiing. There was a fresh layer of snow that had fallen overnight and somehow it looked even more beautiful. After breakfast we stepped out onto the snow, and Jenna had pulled me out so early that there were only a few other people around. Since we had the place to ourselves Jenna pulled me close and kissed me passionately.

  “I never thought I'd love anything more than skiing, then you came along and changed everything,” she said. I grinned like a silly schoolgirl, not knowing how I had become so fortunate and lucky. After a few runs we were lost in our own company and were riding the chairlift back up the slope when somebody came up behind us. To my utter dismay it was Addison. Somehow she had found us. I turned around and glared at her, about to tell her to leave us alone when I saw what she was holding in her hand. She had a gun. The chairlift rose through the air and my throat ran dry as I stared down the barrel of the gun. Was this how it was all going to end? Had I had my share of happiness, and now it was going to be taken from me by this lunatic?