Tangled Up In You (A Savioe Family Novel)

by Atkinson, Ginny

  “Yeah it was. On any given school day during school hours she would call four times and text every ten minutes.”

  The girl sitting to my left nodded her head before interjecting. “That’s true. I usually see him check his phone constantly.”

  The kid behind me shook his head. “Damn that must’ve been annoying.” He scratched his neck and added. “Where did she get the cheating thing from then?”

  “Because I told her I was interested in someone else. She just jumped to conclusions. Like normal.” I sighed just as the bell rang. With my books in hand, I headed to my locker. Christie was standing by the water fountain just staring at me with a pitiful expression on her face. I rolled my eyes and opened my locker. First, she tells people I cheated on her then tries to play the victim in plain view of most of the school. Damn, she pisses me off.

  I heard a sniffle from behind me. Don’t turn around, Luke. Don’t turn around. I told myself as I closed the locker door.

  “Hey, Lukie… Can we talk about this?” She whispered. With a sigh, I turned around and looked at her. Her eyes showed no signs of crying, absolutely no redness or puffiness. The little bitch was trying to play me with those crocodile tears.

  “What? I’ve said all I was going to say to you Saturday.” I moved past her to head to Science class.

  She quickly ran up to me and grabbed my arm. “Luke, please, just talk to me. I’m sorry for whatever I did.”

  I jerked out of her grasp. “I already told you. I’m done. I’ve moved on. I suggest you do as well.”

  Her eyes welled up in tears as her bottom lip quivered. “Fine. Go be with your whore. Whoever it is.”

  I let out a deep breath to calm my anger before walking into the classroom. Roxy was already sitting at the table her eyes wide in disbelief. The pencil in her hand was frozen in motion over the paper in front of her. I walked in and took my seat.

  “Bad day?” She whispered to me.

  “Just frustrating really. How has your day been?” I leaned my arm against the table and studied her.

  “Annoying. Bus has tried to talk to me twice so far. Once before first period trying to get my answer to the date thing and then right before this class. I’ve told him both times that I’m talking to someone else, but I don’t think that is sinking in.” She let out a deep breath that blew her hair out of her face.

  “So we are just talking?” I don’t know why being put in that category hurt but it did. My chest felt tighter and my throat burned a bit.

  “Well… we haven’t actually discussed what we are. No mention of dating or anything.” She chewed on her bottom lip.

  “Hell that can be settled right now. Roxy will you be my girl?” I grabbed her hand and kissed her paint stained knuckles.

  She smiled up at me, her mossy eyes shimmering in amusement. “Yes Luke. I will be yours.”

  “Is that why you hesitated this morning when I tried to kiss you?” I whispered to her.

  “Kinda sorta. I don’t really like PDAs and I didn’t want my first kiss to be in front of everyone.” Her cheeks flushed a crimson shade before she ducked her head.

  “First kiss. Like very first kiss ever?” My voice deepened in desire at the thought of being her first everything.

  She nodded her head. “Yeah. The RA kind of messed everything up for me in that area.”

  *****

  Roxy

  The school day flew by. I didn’t want it to end. I was having too much fun talking to Luke. He walked me to my car and leaned against the hood with his hands shoved in his pant pockets. The sun was in the sky behind him casting a halo in the wild strands of his hair. I just stood there enthralled my keys in hand hovering before the locked door.

  “So, what are your plans for tonight?” He asked me taking the keys out of my hand and unlocking my door for me.

  “Um… I don’t know. I think Jess has detention again and my parents never get home before seven every night. So I’m stuck here for an hour and I’m on my own for most of the night.”

  “Hmm, hold on a second.” He ran over to Beau and talked to him for a few minutes before heading back to me. “Beau and Charles will wait for Jess and take her home. If you want to hang out for a while.”

  I pursed my lips. “Um… I don’t think that’d be a good idea. Well, unless you want both of them to get jumped by her.” He looked at me in confusion. His face was a mask of disbelief before I started laughing. “That sounds cool. Just let me text her to let her know what’s up.”

  I pulled out my phone and brought up Jess’s number.

  Me: Hey you in detention?

  Jess: Yup.

  Me: K. Beau and Charles are going to take you home. I’m off to hang with Luke.

  Jess: Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.

  Me: …and that would be what? Behave?

  Jess: LOL. You got it! Have fun and remember DETAILS!!!

  “Okay. My house?” I asked him nervously kicking my booted toe against the pavement.

  That dimple made another appearance. “I’ll follow you.” He kissed the top of my head before running over to his bike.

  I got into my car. What am I doing? Is he really coming to my house? I must be out of my mind. I started the engine and put the car in reverse. This is a bad idea. A very bad idea. I pulled out of the parking place and placed the car in drive. I am so out of my league here.

  *****

  When we pulled into my driveway, I was still second-guessing myself as he got off his bike. Taking a deep breath, I put the car in the garage and motioned for him to come inside. I closed the garage doors and walked into the kitchen.

  “Do you want anything to drink?” I asked my voice cracking a bit in my anxiety.

  “Sure. So what did you think of Mr. Dighton’s lesson today?” I handed him a can of cola.

  “Don’t get me started. That bastard has his head up his ass. He really wants us to believe that the US Army never attacked Native Americans after this country was founded. HA! I can tell him stories that my grandmother told me about her family in the early 1900’s living on a res. How they’d be given tainted beef and small pox riddled blankets. How the honorable soldiers would rape the women. That man makes me want to scream.” I ranted while grabbing a few items out of the fridge. “You hungry?”

  “Yeah, I could eat something. So you are Indian?” He asked leaning against the counter staring at me.

  “A quarter Navajo, a quarter Puerto Rican and fifty percent white.” I said as I placed some rice in a pot to boil. Grabbing two boneless chicken breasts, I cut them down the center and tenderized the meat. “Are you allergic to anything?”

  “Just keeping my mouth shut.” He took a drink from the can before he smirked. “So why did your grandmother leave the reservation?”

  I smiled at him as I placed the chicken in the oven to bake. “She wanted a chance to live. Back in the late sixties, she moved to San Francisco when she was sixteen and got caught up in the hippie movement. Traveled with a bunch of her um… friends to New York in sixty-nine and stayed there. She met my grandfather after being arrested for indecent exposure. They had a torrid three-month affair. She found out she was pregnant with my mother and told him about it. That’s when she found out he was married with kids. She then left New York for Virginia. Raised my mother by herself and currently lives in Floyd County.”

  “She was arrested? Wow. What about your dad’s family?”

  I grabbed a pot and placed it on the stove eye. I then poured some of my barbecue sauce in it and set it to simmer. “He was born and raised in northern Virginia by a very up tight straight laced family. My grandparents on that side are like stuck in the forties or something. My grandmother never leaves the house without having her hair and makeup done dressed to the nines. She even has to wear these little white gloves.” I opened a can of pineapple chunks, pouring out the juice and placed the fruit in the sauce.

  “So how did your parents meet?” He asked sniffing the air at the aroma.
<
br />   “Yeah. That’s an interesting story. My mom was a party girl. Think Jess just wilder. Well back in ninety-five or so her and her friends decided to crash a frat party. My dad was a member. After a few Jagerbombs and a game of beer pong, they hooked up. They’ve been together ever since much to my grandparents dismay.” I opened the oven to check on the chicken. After flipping them over, I spooned the sauce mixture on them. “What about your family?”

  “Just your typical story of growing up together. My mom swore when she was eight that she would marry my father and she did when she graduated high school. Man that smells good.”

  “Thanks.” I stirred the rice to keep it from sticking to the pan. “I’ve been cooking for myself since I could reach the stove.”

  “Who taught you how to cook?” He asked throwing away his empty can.

  “No one. I just follow the directions in the cookbooks I find or the recipes I get online.” I pulled the stool over to the cabinet, climbed up and grabbed two plates. Setting them on the kitchen island, I turned to grab the silverware and two glasses. “Well, no. I can’t really say that. Jess’s mom before she died of lung cancer taught me how to make a few things and her dad showed me how to make a good beer batter.”

  “I didn’t know her mother died.” He took a seat on the stool beside the plate in front of him.

  “Yeah, it was pretty hard on her. We were twelve at the time.” I opened the dishwasher and grabbed the ladle I needed. After rinsing it off, I placed the rice on the plate. The timer went off for the chicken. Oven mitts in hand, I grabbed the pan and placed it on the counter. Taking a fork, I put the chicken on the rice and poured the rest of the sauce mixture on top of it. “There you go. Hope you enjoy it.”

  “This is the first time I’ve had anyone cook for me besides my mother.” He picked up his knife and fork, and cut off a piece of the chicken. His eyes closed in enjoyment as the flavor touched his tongue. “Holy shit this is great. What barbecue sauce do you use?”

  I smiled as I took a bite. “My own.”

  *****

  Chapter Nine

  Luke

  Was she serious? Her grandmother had been arrested for indecent exposure and was a hippie that had an affair with a married man. Her mother used to be like Jess and now she’s trying to pass off this delicious sauce as her own. “This is really your sauce?” I asked taking another bite of the smothered chicken.

  “Yup. I found a recipe online for it and added a few of my own spices to kick it up a notch.” She grinned at me before putting the fork in her mouth. I stopped mid bite to watch her pull the fork out from in between those lush lips. Her eyes closed in ecstasy causing me to hold back a groan. Suddenly I was feeling hungry for something other than food.

  I cleared my parched throat. “My mother would kill for this recipe.”

  “Really? I’ll write it down before you go.” She wiped her face with a napkin again drawing my attention to that mouth of hers. “After we eat do you want to watch TV or something?”

  The chance to snuggle up to her on a couch? Yeah I am definitely there. “Sure. What kind of movies do you like?”

  “Everything really. Action, horror and comedy are my favorites.” She scraped the remaining rice off her plate and rinsed it off before putting it in the dishwasher. “You?”

  “You like horror? That’s cool. Wait like slasher flick horror or psychological horror?” I asked and followed her example of cleaning off the plate.

  Her nose scrunched up as she thought about it. “I like the old 80’s flicks. You know with the psycho killer hunting down the teens at camp or haunts and kills them in their dreams. However, stuff that makes you think about what really goes on in the minds of those around you are great too. I swear there might be a few people in our school that’d fall into the potential serial killer zone. I’m also a big vampire freak.”

  “Oh gawd no. Please tell me you aren’t into that team whatever crap.”

  “Um… no. My vampires don’t sparkle. They are ruthless killers not sappy emo asexual douches.” She rinsed off the pots and pan before putting them in the dishwasher.

  I laughed. “I’m going to have to remember that.”

  “Ready for me to show you the house?”

  “Absolutely.” I grabbed her outstretched hand as she led me about her place.

  “You of course saw the living room the other night when you showed up. Over there is the bathroom. The room beyond that is the guest bedroom.” We walked down the hall. She pointed to her right. “Down that way is the master suite and here are my rooms.” She paused in front of the simple white door chewing on her bottom lip as she opened it.

  “Rooms?” I asked walking through the threshold.

  “Yes. I have my bathroom, my bedroom, a small living room and a sitting room that I’ve turned into my art studio.” She stood in the middle of her living room grasping her hands in front of her.

  I looked around the room. She had a 52 in plasma TV hanging on the wall with a small loveseat in front of it. Her bedroom door was open giving me a glimpse of a large bed with a black comforter on it that was crumpled like she hadn’t made her bed that morning. The studio door was closed. Hmm, I’ll have to see if she’ll let me see her work one day. Her bathroom door was standing wide open. A brush, hairdryer and other girlie stuff littered the countertop.

  “So are we watching a movie in here?” I asked concentrating on keeping my voice even.

  “Yeah. My movies are over here if you want to pick one out while I put my bag up.” She said as she disappeared into her room. I knelt down to her DVD collection. She wasn’t kidding when she said she liked horror movies. I don’t think I’ve seen half of these here and I consider myself an aficionado.

  My eyes widened in surprise. She has all of the Star Wars movies even the cartoon series. I cleared my throat. “I didn’t know you liked Star Wars.”

  “Are you kidding? I love it.” Her voice was muffled behind the partly shut door. I snuck a glimpse at her through the crack. She was standing barefoot in the middle of the room pulling her hair back into a ponytail. The clothes she wore today were slung on top of her hamper. She was now dressed in a black tank top and a pair of pink short shorts.

  I quickly moved back over to her shelf of movies and randomly grabbed one when she returned to the room. She smiled at me and grabbed the DVD from my hand. What did I grab? I hope it wasn’t that movie about the male strippers in Florida. I suppressed a shiver at that thought.

  “Do you want a drink or some popcorn while we watch this?” She asked kneeling in front of her TV.

  I cleared my throat before answering. “No thanks.”

  She got up and plopped down on the sofa. “Come sit. I love this movie. Actually, I only got it because it’s based off my favorite comic book characters. Thanks to Jess’s constant bitching I’ve stopped picking it apart for straying so far from the series and started to just watch it for enjoyment.”

  I sat down beside her and leaned against the back cushion. I wonder if she’d mind if I put my arm around her. I furrowed my brows and pursed my lips waiting for the movie to start trying to figure out what I grabbed. “X-Men?” I muttered under my breath as the beginning credits played.

  She giggled and nudged my arm. “Uh… yeah. You know when I first heard you talk. The only thing that kept flashing through my head was ‘Oh my god he sounds like Gambit.’ I was mentally freaking out. I absolutely love that character.”

  “I take it ya like da accent den, chèr?” I leaned my head close to her ear and whispered.

  She shivered closing her eyes and breathed out. “Yeah. It’s really hot actually.”

  She looked up at me with those jewel like eyes, desire blatant in her gaze as she chewed on that plump bottom lip of hers. My breath hitched as I sucked in air. A shot of pure lust flared straight to my cock. I leaned my head down and gently brushed my lips against hers. She inhaled quickly and grabbed the nape of my neck stopping my retreat. My lips twitched in a smirk as I
captured her lips.

  *****

  Roxy

  Oh my god, I’m kissing Luke! His lips are so soft. I think I’m going to faint. No, I can’t do that. The butterflies in my stomach twisted and fluttered about in my excited nervousness. My head started to swim when his tongue invaded my mouth. Remembering Jess’s instructions to follow his lead, I couldn’t help but marvel at how sweet he tasted. A small moan escaped from me. He grabbed me by the waist and pulled me closer to him. My fingers ran through his long hair, nails raking gently at his scalp before settling at the nape.

  I climbed on him and sat on his lap in an attempt to get closer. His hands settled on my hips as I wiggled a bit. I could feel… it under me. He was really enjoying this. When I shifted against him, I brushed my core against it and felt an intense pleasure pulse up my spine. A stuttered breath escaped my lips as I looked at him. His clear blue eyes had deepened in color to resemble the ocean before a storm. His mouth was slack with desire. His fingers dug into my hips as he tried to still my movement.

  I slowly rocked my hips against him wanting to feel that spike of pleasure again. His eyes closed as he let out a groan, his fingers biting into my hips to try to keep them still. I bent down and bit his bottom lip sucking it into my mouth as I continued my hips circular motion. He growled and deepened the kiss. His hands were now traveling over my backside, fingers digging in as he grabbed each cheek. My arm snaked around his neck pulling us closer together.

  Another moan escaped me as I felt the tingling again. My hips developed their own rhythm as our tongues dueled. A faint dampness between my legs seeped through my underwear and shorts signaling my body’s need for him. His right hand crept its way to the hem of my tank top. His fingers brushed against the skin on my stomach sending a shiver through me. His other hand pulled me closer and sped up my movement.

  “Gawd, chèr. Ya are killin’ me here. I don’ tink I’ll be able ta walk outta here anytime soon. Maybe we should slow it down a bit.” He mumbled against my lips in a hoarse groan.