So when we finished our food, I shot Chip a bright smile, crumpling my paper wrapper.
“Thanks so much!” I chirped. “The burgers were great, weren’t they?”
They were actually nothing compared to Stone’s home-cooking but Chip had no idea. He just shot me an admiring glance.
“Yeah, I’ve never seen a girl eat an entire SuperDuper Special,” he complimented. “Usually when I take girls out, they get the salad or some vegetarian option,” he snorted, nose scrunching. “That shit is disgusting, wilted leaves and alfalfa sprouts. Not that I take many girls here,” he amended quickly, shooting me a worried glance. “My mom gets the salad sometimes too,” he corrected, stumbling over his words.
And I almost laughed aloud because the hottest guy in school was tongue-tied over me, Evie Jones, the curvy girl. But I was understanding.
“No worries, sometimes I get the salad too,” I said nicely. That was a lie. I never get salad, I hate eating like a rabbit and have never forced myself to diet. But Chip looked relieved, glad he hadn’t mistakenly insulted me.
“Oh yeah,” he agreed, nodding quickly. “Even I’ve gotten the salad sometimes, but not often because I need to build muscle,” he said, hoisting an arm up in a bodybuilder pose. “See? I’ve got the guns,” he said proudly.
Honestly, it was kind of gross. His biceps were so huge that his shirt sleeves were almost bursting, the thin cotton no match for the bulging muscles and veins. Some girls would have died for that, but to me he just looked like a jungle animal.
“Yeah,” I said faintly. “Nice, must have worked hard for those.”
The jock nodded sagely.
“But I’m smart too,” he said quickly. “I’m going to State next year on an athletic scholarship, but I met all the minimum academic requirements no problem,” he boasted.
And I sighed. The minimum academic requirements were probably a 1.0 or something else ridiculously low. So it was nothing to brag about but I made myself smile again.
“That sounds wonderful Chip,” I praised. “So glad you didn’t have trouble clearing the GPA hurdle.”
And he puffed up again with pride.
“So where are you headed next year?” he asked.
The truth was I didn’t know. Now that I was involved with Mr. Phillips, everything was different. I wasn’t sure what was next for me, I wanted to be where he was, stay in the vicinity if he was still going to teach at Spencer Prep. I needed to talk things over with him, work things out, figure out our next steps. But no need for Chip to know any of this, so I just hemmed and hawed, feeding him a white lie.
“Oh me too,” I said with some enthusiasm. “My entire family went to State so maybe I’ll head there next year as well.”
It was the wrong thing to say because Chip took my hand, our greasy fingers suddenly entwined.
“Well, I hope we’ll see more of each other then,” he said seriously, his voice low and meaningful. “I’ve had a good time tonight and I hope you did too.”
I colored a little but not from excitement. It was because this was like taking a train to Orlando when you were supposed to be headed to Miami. It was off, but not so off that you were doomed.
So I forced myself to smile, reminding myself this this whole thing was a disguise for my liaison with Mr. Phillips.
“Yeah,” I chirped with what I hoped was whole-hearted enthusiasm. “It’s been fun.”
And Chip just smiled then, his face breaking out into a big grin.
“Oh great,” he breathed, exhaling on a big sigh, the smell of greasy French fries hitting my face. “Great, great.”
And with that, we walked out of the joint, the envious stares of my female classmates trailing my form. Chip drove me home, giving me a quick peck on the lips when I hopped out.
“Evie,” he said seriously, making pointed eye contact. “I had a great time,” he repeated.
And this time, I smiled on auto-pilot.
“Me too!” I chirped. “See ya tomorrow!” I said, hopping out, slinging my purse over my shoulder and practically skipping the steps up to my building. “Bye!” I waved over my shoulder.
And as his car zoomed off, I breathed a sigh of relief. It was finally over. My fake date was finally over and I could relax, let myself dream. It wasn’t that Chip was so bad, he just wasn’t the one I wanted. My alpha male was handsome, sophisticated, an awesome cook and even better in bed. Stone, my mind sang. Stone, my body hummed. I couldn’t wait to see him again and stepped into the elevator, dreaming of the big man.
But he wasn’t in class the next day. Or the day after that. There was no reason really, just that Mr. Phillips had been placed on “administrative leave.” WTF? What was that? People asked questions, our mouths agape, puzzled, confused.
“But why? For what?” pressed Mindy when a vice-principal came in to explain the absence to us. “Did he do something bad?” she said while shooting a meaningful look my way. I nodded at my friend gratefully. There was no way I had the courage to ask the question myself, holding my breath, almost unable to breathe.
But Ms. Henley dodged.
“Mr. Phillips had some disagreements with the administration,” she said firmly. “He’s been put on leave until the issues are resolved.”
That was a non-answer if I’d ever heard one, but no amount of prodding or poking could get anything more.
“Why?” whined Caroline Berman. “He was going to help me study!”
Mindy and I exchanged a shocked glance. Was Stone helping a bunch of female students with their classwork? Caroline was a plump blonde with generous curves, fat lips and a dull smile. What the hell?
And Ms. Henley shot Caroline a sharp look.
“Again, Stone Phillips has been placed on administrative leave and that’s all I can say at this time,” she said smoothly. “Now if you’ll let me introduce your substitute, Luther Wizener taught biology for thirty years in a neighboring school district before retiring last year.”
And the new sub stepped forward, a wizened old man who looked about ready to keel over.
“Thank you, Ms. Henley,” he wheezed, pausing with a hand on a desk to catch his breath. “Let’s start at meiosis. That’s where Mr. Phillips left off, is that right? Cell reproduction, my favorite.”
And I was frozen for the rest of the period, unable to focus, take notes, even pretend I was paying attention.
When Chip tried to talk to me after class, I just shot him a half-hearted smile before fleeing, promising to call him later. But instead, I walked the few blocks to Mr. Phillips’s apartment building.
“Hi,” I said to the doorman. “Evie Jones for Stone Phillips,” I said with as much confidence as I could muster.
And the old man shot me an inscrutable look, stiff in his red and blue uniform.
“Mr. Phillips isn’t available,” he said politely, turning back to his newspaper.
“But you didn’t even call upstairs!” I gasped. “How do you know he’s not available?”
The doorman just shot me another impenetrable look.
“This is the end of my shift,” he said coldly. “I’d know if Mr. Phillips was home.”
I gasped. It was four in the afternoon, where could my lover be? But try as I might, I couldn’t wring any answers out of the doorman.
“Please,” I begged, close to tears. “Just tell him that Evie dropped by, okay?”
And the old guy finally relented a little, nodding reluctantly.
“Fine,” he said shortly. “I’ll give him the message.”
And I trudged to the front door, letting myself out onto the sidewalk, Manhattan suddenly grey and featureless. Where was Stone? He’d been missing for days now, suddenly unavailable, and I was unable to reach him in the only ways I knew how. I was almost resolved to camping out in front of his building except that it seemed too pathetic. Besides the doorman already hated me and was staring at me menacingly through the glass-paned windows. So I took a deep breath and forced myself to start walking, pla
cing one foot in front of another, sightless, numb. Where was my lover? We’d had an incredible time together, our minds connecting, our bodies attuned to one another like two halves of a whole. But where was he now? Why was he inaccessible? My heart filled with dread and I shivered uncontrollably although it wasn’t cold out. I just wanted to know where my man was … and if we could be together going forward.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Evie
A year later …
Chip slung his arm over my shoulders, almost squashing me.
“Heya, big girl,” he said nuzzling my hair fondly. “Ohhh, you smell good.”
And I smiled wanly. Because we’d both matriculated at State and Chip was my wannabe boyfriend. He wasn’t my boyfriend, I couldn’t go that far and made sure he knew it.
“I can’t Chip,” I’d explained halfheartedly one night. “I just can’t.”
“Is it me?” he’d asked, pained, his hulking form awkward on a small dorm couch. “Is it something I did?”
And I shook my head miserably.
“No, it’s me,” I choked. “I’m just not ready.”
Chip had perked up at that.
“Well no worries, that’s nothing that time can’t fix,” he said eagerly, sitting up straight. “If we hang out a lot together, I’m sure you’ll feel more ready as the year goes by,” he said, a hopeful look in his eyes.
And I couldn’t take the puppydog smile, how his eyes pulled down at the corners. So I nodded silently, unable to explain my feelings, how tangled my thoughts were. Because even though it’s been a year since Stone disappeared, my heart’s still with the alpha male. I think of him every day, my body on fire still, lying alone in my dorm bed, dreaming of the big man, his touch, his caresses.
And there’d been more than one instance when I’d moaned his name in my sleep.
“You say some weird things in your sleep,” my new roomie Cara remarked, shooting me a curious look.
“Oh really?” I asked nonchalantly, my heart thumping. Oh god, hopefully I hadn’t screamed anything like “Fuck me Stone!” or “Stroke me here!”
But Cara shook her head, burying her nose in her book again.
“Yeah, you said the ‘The elevator’s on fire’ or something like that,” she said again, avoiding my eyes. “It was weird.”
I colored. It’d probably been something along the lines of “My body’s on fire,” or “My cunt’s on fire,” but good thing Cara had interpreted it as “elevator.” I prayed that I wouldn’t sleep talk again and give myself away.
But that was the extent of my interaction with Stone these days – all in my dreams. I simply had no idea where he’d disappeared to, our Biology sub had become permanent and I never had a chance to spend another darkened afternoon in the locked classroom again.
Instead, my life was totally mundane. I’d graduated from Spencer and matriculated at State, going through the motions, dutifully attending class, studying, even half-heartedly making friends. But I was so distracted that my new friendships were shallow in nature, the girls were more study buddies or casual acquaintances. My only real friend was still Mindy from back home.
“Hey girl,” I dialed her up. Min had decided to live at home while attending cosmetology school because she wanted to be a make-up artist for celebrities, doing camera-ready contouring and even light Botox. I guess you don’t have to be a doctor to administer that stuff, you can be a licensed aesthetician and Mindy was totally into it.
“Hey girl,” she managed before she was interrupted. “Boomer! Go away!” she screeched before the slam of the door rang out over the receiver.
I sighed. Despite the fact that we’d graduated and I lived in the dorms now, there were some things about life that hadn’t changed at all.
“Heya,” she breathed again, “Sorry about that. What’s new?”
And I sighed.
“School’s okay,” I said listlessly. “I wish I were at home with you.”
“No you don’t,” she said encouragingly. “What, you’re dating Chip McCreighton now right? You should be having a great time at State.”
And I nodded silently, miserable.
“I know I should, but…” my voice trailed off.
“But you’re still thinking about Stone Phillips right?” Mindy finished for me, her voice compassionate. We’d talked about this endless times and she knew the routine. “I know honey, that man took your virginity, so you’re still hung up on him. I know, I know, we all have a thing for our first, I mean I still think about Jimmy McPherson sometimes and that loser’s in jail now. That’s what our first does to us, we always have a soft spot for them. But Mr. Phillips is gone now, okay? You’ve gotta move on, you have your whole life in front of you.”
And I nodded miserably again. I knew what Mindy was saying was true. I was attached to Stone because he’d taken my cherry, had introduced me to the wonders of sex, the amazing of the physical and my body was in thrall to him. But how to explain my unexpected hang-up, how I still dreamed of him, of our conversations together, the electric emotional charge?
Mindy would never get it, so I changed the subject. She was tired of hearing it anyways and I didn’t want to wear her out.
“I’m taking Biology again,” I said dully. “College level this time.”
“Oh right, you never took the AP test,” said Mindy comfortingly. Without Mr. Phillips, I’d lost all my motivation and skipped the test, forgoing any opportunity at getting a jump on college credit. “No worries, you’ll be amazing in class, you were always so good at that kind of stuff. Me, on the other hand,” she joked, “I could barely read and write, I’m surprised Spencer graduated me.”
And I laughed at that. The truth was Mindy’s family had more money than God and they could have bought a diploma from Spencer if it came to that. But no need to get into that. My friend was well on her way and I was grateful to chat with her, even if for only a minute about nonsensical stuff.
“Okay thanks Min, gotta get to class now. Say hi to Boomer for me will you?” I asked. The little boy had always been so cute, it was hard to believe he was in eighth grade now.
“Will do,” promised my friend. “Now go to class and kick some ass!”
And with a smile, I hung up the phone and picked up my backpack. It was time I got over my ex-teacher, I had my life before me and I had to stop mooning over what shoulda, coulda, woulda been. It was time to pick myself up and start anew. So with a determined look, I straightened my shoulders and began walking to class. It was a new me. Evie Jones was here to take the world by storm, and Stone Phillips and high school were in the rearview mirror now. I would force myself to move on, no matter how much it hurt, how much it took out of me.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Stone
Evie was gorgeous when I caught a glimpse of her walking across campus. She’d put on weight which only made her more beautiful, that curvaceous figure even more exaggerated, her boobs and butt bouncing with each step. My mouth watered at the sight, my staff immediately punching out against my fly.
Down boy, I scolded. What the fuck, you haven’t seen her in a year and you’re already ready to fuck through a metal sheet.
But that was it exactly. I hadn’t seen Evie in a year and my body was dying for her, so hungry I was ready to tackle her on the campus green and ravage her right there in front of dozens of passerby. She was so juicy, so delectable that my cock started dripping, the front of my crotch growing wet, the fabric no match for the leaky faucet I’d become.
But just when I was about to cross the green and assault the curvy girl, a hulk of a teenage boy came into the picture, swinging his arm around Evie’s shoulders familiarly, making her smile at something. And her smile … god it was so beautiful, lighting up her face, making me ache inside and shudder too because it was for him, and not me.
I squinted again, trying to get a better look. That dumb fuckhead looked a little familiar. He was tall and really built-up, his sweater practically ripping apart l
ike when Bruce Banner transforms into the Incredible Hulk. He had mud brown hair and … I squinted again, catching a glimpse of raging acne on his neck, the red skin painful and slightly moist and oozing.
It sprung into my head then. It was Chip McCreighton, Mr. Hot Shot football player from Spencer. The dude had followed Evie to college? What the fuck? This was a good school, how the fuck had he been admitted? But as another lunkhead came up and punched Chip on the shoulder, the two guys like walking talking refrigerators, it occurred to me. Chip must have been a special athlete admit, they needed him for football and not because of his intellectual achievements.
But all I cared about was my girl and my skin crawled at the way Chip’s arm was slung possessively around her waist, how he ushered her into the classroom, his hand sliding down slowly to almost, almost grab her ass. I practically blew my top off then. That ass was mine to grab, mine to touch and fondle and that fucker had just manhandled my property. Hands off, motherfucker! A group of coeds turned to look at me, eyes wide and shocked and I realized I’d literally been growling in my chest, my gaze murderous, my hands clenched in fists. Fuck, I needed to get a hold of myself before I was escorted off campus in cuffs.
But fuck. I turned and slowly walked back to my car, my body trembling, shaking with rage and repressed need. Because I craved Evie, a year apart had been too much, it’d been too fucking much and I was ready to explode at the seams, specifically at the seam at my crotch. My dick was hard and aching, the mere sight of the voluptuous girl enough to drive me into a frenzy, transform me into an animal. I had to see the girl, had to talk to her, make her understand why I’d gone missing … and why we should be together again.
CHAPTER TWENTY
Evie
“Hey,” I said, coming back to my dorm room, the door shutting behind me.
Cara grunted, barely looking up, her mousy brown head buried in another book of Harry Potter fan fiction. Now don’t get me wrong, I love Harry Potter but I’m not so crazy as to be reading offshoots of the main story, made-up adventures about minor characters who attended Hogwarts with Harry and Hermione. It was too far-fetched and besides we were in college now. There were like eight books to be read for each class, loads of homework, and a shit ton of activities. I couldn’t be spending hours each day re-living my childhood.
The Billionaire's Kitten: A Fake Marriage Romance Page 35