Best Friends Forever

by Dawn Pendleton

  “We won’t tell her,” I mutter, moving closer to her. I put my hands on her luscious hips and she melts into me.

  “Fine. We won’t tell her, yet. But we do need to tell her. Right now, I want you to fuck me,” she says and my heart soars.

  I grab a condom out of my shower bag, roll it on, and face her. I know she won’t need much preparation, so I back her up against the tile wall and lift her hips. She wraps her thighs around my hips and just like that, I press into her. We both sigh at the contact.

  Several minutes later, I leave the shower, dressed, sated, and ready to face the world.

  Ten

  The day passes slowly. All I can think about are the girls in my life. While my original intention at the beginning of the year was to sleep with as many girls as possible, especially the ones in our little group, now I think I could settle for just these two. Hazel is demanding, voicing her opinions and sexual preferences without reservation. She’s exactly what I want in the bedroom.

  Des is innocent, inexperienced. It makes her adorable, but more importantly, her innocence means she’ll do what I want, without question because she loves me. Or, at least, I am pretty sure she does. She hasn’t said it yet, but she did say she would never sleep with a guy she didn’t love.

  Classes are boring until I walk into calculus and find Hazel already waiting. Normally, she’s almost late for each class because of her schedule, but she’s already in her seat, eyeing me seductively. I take in her outfit and suck in a breath. Her makeup is the usual, but instead of the goth/emo tank tops I’m accustomed to, she’s in a tight, white T-shirt. The V neck dips low, revealing her cleavage, and even though I know she must be wearing a push-up bra, I want to rip her clothes off and make love to her right there on her desk.

  What I do instead is walk past her, trail my fingers across the back of her neck, and smile at her shudder. He chest heaves and I know she’s as turned on as I am, but there’s nothing we can do about right now, so we both try to focus on the equations on the board.

  At the end of class, our professor asks Hazel to stay put so he can talk to her. I’m pissed. I only have twenty minutes between classes and I want to talk to her, but I leave the room, knowing if I stay, people will talk. And if that talk gets to Des, I’m screwed.

  Outside, I run into Roman.

  “I’m sorry, man. I talked to Cheyanne and she let me know that it wasn’t anyone from our group. In fact, I just talked to Des and I’d like to take the two of you and Hazel out to dinner, as an apology. I owe you that much,” he says.

  Personally, I think he owes us much more, but I agree. “If Hazel wants to go, we’ll go, too. But if she doesn’t, I still expect you to find her and apologize.”

  “Absolutely. I don’t want to ruin our friendship,” he says.

  We shake hands just as Hazel comes out of the building. She’s flushed and I wonder if our professor yelled at her for something. I’ll have to ask her later, though.

  “Seriously, Roman? Didn’t you get enough this morning?”

  “I don’t want trouble. I was just telling Nolan that I want to apologize. I’d like to take you guys and Destiny out to dinner tonight. I want to make up for this morning.”

  She looks at me and I nod. “Fine, I’ll go. But I can and will kick your ass again if you ever touch me like that in the future.” Her threat doesn’t fall on deaf ears. I watch, amused, as Roman rubs his sore jaw.

  “I understand.”

  Hazel walks away, but Roman sticks around and I realize I won’t have a chance to talk to her before dinner. I hope it won’t be awkward.

  “She’s a spitfire, huh?” Roman is staring after her, his eyes on her ass.

  I glare at him, jealous. He had her first and although I don’t hold that against her, I definitely hold it against him. “So what happened with you two anyway?”

  “I just needed space. She’s clingy,” he says with a laugh and I chuckle along. I haven’t experienced her being clingy at all.

  “I know what you mean. Des is, too,” I say.

  “Damn women. They’ll be the death of us,” he mutters, stalking off without so much as a see you later.

  I glance at my phone and realize I’m going to be late. Shit!

  Eleven

  Dinner, as it turns out, is at the local Italian place, a restaurant I know Destiny loves. She offers Roman her forgiveness without much of an apology, but she also wasn’t there when he accused her. Hazel, I notice, is uncomfortable at the table and keeps shifting in her seat.

  “You okay?” Destiny leans over to ask her friend after we order.

  “Yeah, it’s just awkward,” Hazel whispers back. Of course, Des assumes the awkwardness is because of Roman, when in actuality, it’s because of her.

  Hazel hasn’t quite figured out how to act around Destiny now that they’re both sleeping with me, and I want so badly to boast about my conquests to Roman. He is, after all, my friend. And even though I didn’t want to forgive him this soon, I find myself saying the words over dinner.

  “Let’s put the whole thing behind us,” I say, lifting my water glass and toasting the four of us.

  “Thanks, man,” Roman says, clinking his glass against mine and then Hazel’s. His gaze lingers on her and I draw a deep breath for strength to keep it together.

  When he leans over and whispers something I can’t hear in her ear, I watch as her face lights up and then she excuses herself and goes to the bathroom. Roman, I notice, is smiling like an idiot.

  He takes a large gulp of his water and then proclaims he has to piss. So crude, I think, and then I wonder if it was on purpose, to get Des and me thinking about how rude he is instead of the fact that he just followed Hazel to the bathroom.

  “What an ass. I don’t know what she ever saw in him,” Des comments to me, her eyes on Roman’s back.

  “No kidding. Did you hear what he said to her?”

  “Nope. Hazel is smart, though. She won’t take him back.” She’s confident in her friend, but I wonder if she would.

  “You never know. People do crazy things,” I say.

  “Oh, salad’s here,” Des says excitedly as the waiter sets plates and salad bowls down, as well as large bowl of premixed leafy greens, veggies, and dressing. A basket of fresh baked bread is also set on the table.

  Des and I dig in, helping ourselves to the delicious food. I know I’ll eat too much, but I have a feeling I’ll need to fill my stomach in order to perform tonight. Hazel or Des, it doesn’t matter who, but one of them is sleeping in my room tonight.

  When the meals arrive and neither Hazel nor Roman is back, I start to worry. Des mimics my fear.

  “I hope they aren’t hooking up in the bathroom,” Des mumbles, lifting her fork to eat her fettuccine.

  “I hope not too. I’ll go check,” I offer, standing.

  “That’s a good idea. Make sure she’s not doing something stupid,” she says, waving me off.

  I walk toward the bathrooms with a sense of impending doom. As much as I don’t want to accept it, I realize that the chances are high I’ll find Roman and Hazel in the middle of something.

  I push open the men’s room door, walk in, and check each stall. Empty. With severe caution, I go back to the small hallway and nudge the women’s room door open just a crack. I stop breathing.

  Roman is standing near the sink with his pants around his ankles. His hands grip the sink so hard, his knuckles are white. Down on her knees in front of him is Hazel, my lovely, fiery-tempered Hazel. Her lips are locked around his cock and she’s eager to please him. From this angle, I can clearly see Hazel’s sultry brown eyes, closed in ecstasy as she bobs her head up and down. When her eyes meet mine, though, I’m frozen in place, unable to look away. She continues to suck him, but she stares at me while she does it and I feel myself get hard.

  Roman doesn’t notice Hazel staring at me. His eyes are closed, his head thrown back in pleasure while Hazel works her magic on him. I remember exactly how hard that mou
th of hers can suck, bringing me to the very edge and then backing off just enough to keep me from going over. Hazel’s eyes fall to my pants and I look down, realizing that I’m stroking myself through them, and my erection is painfully obvious. She stares at it longingly and forces Roman’s dick deep in her throat.

  A discrete cough sounds behind me and I pull the door closed, fold my hands in front of my jeans, and turn around. A girl, probably no older than fifteen, is glaring at me.

  “Are you done with your peepshow, perv?”

  Caught off-guard, I laugh. She rolls her eyes and pushes past me into the bathroom. I peek in behind her and Hazel is at the sink, applying lipstick, and Roman is nowhere to be seen. With a sigh, I back away from the bathroom and walk back to our table.

  “Everything okay? You were gone for a while,” Des says as I sit down.

  “Yeah, they were fighting. I had to break it up,” I lie smoothly.

  A minute later, Hazel returns to the table, flushed and breathless. She sits next to Destiny, who sends a sympathetic look. Confused, Hazel turns to me as Roman approaches.

  “I told Des I caught you two fighting,” I say, emphasizing the word fighting.

  “Oh.” Hazel stares at me, her tongue peeking out to lick her lips. She’s taunting me, I think.

  “We’re okay now, though,” Roman comments.

  “Yep. We’re right as rain,” Hazel smiles.

  It’s like I’m caught in my own personal hell. I want to jump across the table and show Hazel exactly how I feel and what I think about her sexual escapade with Roman, but at the same time, I’m tied to Des, and that means I can’t do a damn thing. Not right now, anyway.

  Twelve

  The whole situation reminds me of Candace, my freshman girlfriend. I rub my chest at the pain that envelopes me when I think of her.

  As a freshman, I thought I owned the school; I was a good-looking football player with so much going for me. And Candace was…perfection. Her dark hair and jade-green eyes fit her so well. At five-foot-ten, she was only a few inches shorter than me, and I loved that about her. Within the first two weeks of that year, we were in four out of five of the same classes and became a couple almost instantly.

  She had been my very first love, but sex wasn’t something either of us were ready for right away. So we waited. After three months, and just before Thanksgiving, we did the deed, both of losing our virginity to each other, and then went our separate ways for the vacation.

  To my horror, Candie told her younger sister about us, and exactly how far we went in our relationship. Her sister ratted us out to their parents, which was a mistake. When Candie returned to school, she explained what happened and told me her parents wanted to talk to us together that next weekend.

  I was terrified, but we made the drive to Charleston together, meeting her parents for lunch on a Saturday afternoon.

  “Nolan, it’s so nice to meet you,” her mom greets me as we all sit at the table. Mrs. Erikson is an attractive woman, and if she’s the mold I get to look forward to with Candie, I know my desire for her will never fade.

  “It’s nice to meet you too, Mrs. Erikson. Mr. Erikson, sir.” I reach out to shake his hand but he ignores me and picks up his menu.

  Once we’ve placed our orders, Mr. Erikson looks at me. “I believe you owe our daughter an apology, Nolan.”

  I stare at him, confused. “I don’t understand, sir.”

  “You led her to believe that giving herself to you would be a good decision. Which it clearly, was not. You took advantage our little girl and from now on, I expect you to stay away from her.”

  “But, Daddy –” Candie tried to interrupt.

  “No, Candace. You knew better. And yet you let this punk kid in your pants when you have values, values which honor the sanctity of marriage, and your plan was always to save yourself for marriage. And now you’re ruined.” He looks back at me. “So here’s what’s going to happen. You two are going to forget what has happened when you return to school. You will each go your separate ways, living your lives as though you never dated, and especially as if you never had sex. If I find out you continue to see each other, I’ll bring charges against you, Nolan. Don’t doubt for a second that I won’t.”

  And just like that, we were over. Once we got back to the dorms, Candie kept her distance, although I knew she was hurting as much as I was.

  Two days before the official end of the semester, she snuck into my dorm, knowing my roommate was at work, and we had one final night together. When I woke the next morning, she was gone.

  I ran into her as everyone prepared to leave campus on the very last day of classes and she passed me a note, one I’ll never forget.

  Nolan,

  Please don’t hate me for this, but my parents and I have decided that I should switch schools, that being around you is too hard for me. You took from me something I planned on giving to my husband on my wedding night, and I’ll never get that back. I won’t be back after the break. I’ve already switched everything to another school, one closer to home, and I cannot stand the sight of you anymore.

  What happened the other night was a mistake, the same as it was the very first time. I don’t want to be with you and I never thought we would be more than just college sweethearts. My heart was never really in our relationship and I definitely didn’t love you. But I let myself get caught up in the emotions and let you take advantage of me.

  This is over. Forever.

  Candie

  “Nolan, you okay?” Destiny asks, drawing me back to the present.

  As much as I want to answer her honestly, I lie. “I’m great. Who wants dessert?”

  I notice Hazel staring at me, her eyes piercing mine like she can read me like a book. And in some ways, I believe she can. I feel like her chocolate eyes see past my player façade to the guy underneath, the me who can’t let himself get too deeply involved with a girl because he’s scared to death she’ll up and leave him, just like Candie did.

  I avoid her eyes and give Des a wide smile. “Want to share something?”

  “Sure,” she happily agrees. Hazel, I notice, looks irritated, but I try to ignore her.

  No matter how much she draws me in, I can’t let myself get too caught up in her. I refuse to let her be important to me. Letting her in could be the end of me.

  Thirteen

  “I think you’ve got to choose, Nolan,” Hazel says to me later that night.

  We’re both hot and sweaty from one hell of a romp, though I could tell she was holding back. It wasn’t my plan to say anything, but now it seems the pillowtalk has started.

  “Choose what?” I ask, playing dumb. I know exactly what she means, but it’s not something I’m ready to do.

  “Choose between me and Des. It’s not fair either of us,” she says as she cuddles closer to me on my bed.

  I sigh. “I know. But I just can’t. If she doesn’t ever know, Hazel, it’s not a problem.”

  “It is a problem. Des is one of my closest friends and she means a lot to me. This is the ultimate betrayal, and I hate myself for it, but I can’t stay away from you. So I guess I only want you to choose if you pick me,” she says.

  Her words convince me that she’s not going anywhere. “I can’t choose. You are both amazing. But you, my sweet Hazel, you are the one who sets my blood on fire.” I turn to kiss her and she wraps her arms around me, lost to my touch.

  The following morning, we hitch a plan with the cell phone. She explained how she hid it from Cheyanne, storing it in a secret compartment in her purse and putting it on silent. No one will know to look for it there, which makes our plan infallible. We decide to gather as much dirt on everyone through the week, which means listening at closed doors and eavesdropping at every opportunity.

  We part ways early in the morning, before the crowd hits the halls. I go to classes throughout the day and don’t hear anything interesting. Around four, Hazel texts me from her personal phone.

  Got something goo
d. But it’s about Miranda. Meet me at the lounge in ten?

  I type back a confirmation. My classes are done for the day and I can’t wait to hear what she’s heard. I make my way to the lounge and grab a seat in the back corner, far away from everyone.

  Hazel approaches with two coffees and I smile as she sits down. “Hey, beautiful. What’s the word?”

  “Apparently, Miranda isn’t quite as innocent as we thought. In high school, she slept with anyone, and I do mean anyone. I talked to a senior who remembers her. They went to the same high school and he distinctly remembers her getting gang-banged by several guys on the basketball team. Not to mention that every time she went to a party, she would sleep with anyone, guy or girl, at any time and it never mattered if anyone was present or not. Our girl was quite a little hussy,” Hazel explains, her voice barely above a whisper.

  I can’t speak, I’m so stunned. I open my mouth but nothing comes out.

  “So, this guy, his name is Jake and he hit on me in my biology class, but I told him I was taken, but that we could be friends. So I asked him where he was from and if he knew anyone, and he mentioned Miranda. I couldn’t believe how much dirt he had on her. I’m thinking I’ll have to keep him close,” she went on.

  “This is amazing, Hazel. But how are you going to release the info without him knowing it was you?” I ask, curious.

  “That’s the genius thing. I did a little digging and found newspaper articles from their school paper! There are several redacted statements from several articles, but I was able to get ahold of the current newspaper editor, who just happens to hate our friend Miranda, and this girl emailed me copies of the articles. So I was thinking, instead of sending out a text for our next bit, we can go out late at night and put copies on everyone’s doorstep. You’re an RA, so it wouldn’t be a big deal if you were out late. What do you think? I have all these copies,” she says, shoving a pile of papers in my lap.