by Anthology
My phone pings an incoming text as I lay my head back down. I fight the urge to answer it because I know damn well it’s him. I am still pissed off even when I cave and reach for the phone, but in an instant it all disappears as I read his text.
There’s my beautiful firecracker. Tomorrow morning, nine o’ clock. I’ll be there for breakfast.
My mouth hangs open as it pings again.
Bella petardo means ‘beautiful firecracker’ in Italian. Now get to bed. You’re going to need your rest for what I have planned tomorrow. I may be a manslut or whatever the hell it is you call me, but one thing I am not is disrespectful to a woman I care about. Get used to it!
Breathless is how I feel after reading his words. I run my fingers over his text as if they were his lips speaking those two words to me. Beautiful Firecracker. It’s perfect. Markus and my grandfather are the only other men in my life who have ever meant anything to me who have called me beautiful. Knowing it’s coming from Antonio means so much more to me than anyone will ever know.
I place my phone back on the table and lay back on the bed. Suddenly I am hot all over as his words replay over and over in my mind. My body unwinds when I begin envisioning Antonio’s eyes looking into mine and saying those words. My hands inch down my stomach to relieve the pressure suddenly building between my legs. No one has made me want to touch myself more than he does. Every time I have gotten myself off for the past four months, it has been to the image of him, always wishing it was him touching me instead of myself. His tongue. His lips. His dick.
Partaking in my own self-satisfaction, I picture in my mind what he looks like naked. As my hand slips into my panties and I touch my aching clit, for the first time in weeks I arch my back and moan as circle slowly. My other hand lifts my top to circle my nipple.
“Oh, hell,” I say as I squeeze my clit and my nipple at the same time.
I fucking love touching my nipples, making them hard and sensitive while imagining it’s Antonio with his mouth sucking and blowing, torturing me in the most desirable way.
I hone in on my clit even more, flicking it ever so slowly until I can hardly take anymore, and then I insert a finger and find that spot that always sends me over the edge with its super sensitive nerves. I pump in and out, making myself slick and wet, and then move back to my clit. I repeat these steps a few more times, all the while massaging my breasts until my head thrashes back and forth wildly on the pillow.
I let go and my orgasm flares up, shooting straight through my pussy. I forget the world outside along with all of my nightmares and insecurities. Jesus Christ! I bow off the fucking bed and soar until my body shakes. And yet, I want more, more of him. I want the real thing. I want Antonio.
We have only had a few short weeks together and then several months apart. A lot of things can change in four months. But one thing is for sure, I tell myself as I pull my hand out and release my breasts. Antonio Schavone has somehow etched his way into my bleeding heart and damn if I don’t want him to fucking heal it.
The Other Side
By Cassy Roop
Chapter One
Lilian
“CONGRATULATIONS TO THIS year’s graduating class!”
The crowd of our friends and family erupted into cheers, as we took off our hats and threw them up into the air. A sea of bright blue caps rained back down on us, as we all hugged and congratulated each other. After four long, excruciating years, I finally have my degree in business finance. To say I worked my ass off in college would be an understatement. Always one to strive for excellence, I ensured that I graduated within the top of my class so to secure my dream job.
Watson Financial in New York City.
Don’t get me wrong, I would always hold a special place in my heart for Virginia, but there was something about living in New York that would be exciting and new. Even though moving from my home in the smaller town of Charlottesville, to the fast pace busy streets of the big apple, would be a major transition, I knew I could face the challenge.
After being released from several hugs from my classmates, my eyes scanned the crowd for one person. Most people would be looking for their families—longing to run into the arms of their mom or dad after such a huge accomplishment, like graduating in the top of their class at the University of Virginia. I wasn’t looking for my parents, although I knew they were around here somewhere. I wasn’t looking for my older brother Todd, or even my friend Krista. No instead I looked for the smile that dazzled brighter than spotlights on a stage. Eyes that were so blue they could have been stolen from the crystal waters of the Caribbean.
“Lillian!”
I heard my name shouted from somewhere in the crowd. I recognized that voice. It was the one that always made me smile. It was the one that comforted me when I was down and reassured me when I felt like giving up.
It belonged to my best friend.
“Jason?” I replied, turning nearly a full three-hundred and sixty degrees looking for him. My body froze when I saw his stocky build heading in my direction, as he weaved in and out of all of our other classmates. My heart warmed as he got closer and I couldn’t wipe the smile off my face, one that matched his own. Stepping around the white chairs scattered all around The Lawn in front of the Thomas Jefferson Rotunda, I tried to close the distance between us.
“Oh my God, baby girl! We did it! We actually fucking did it!” He exclaimed as he drew me in his arms and I wrapped my own around him, weaving them underneath his graduation gown. I pressed my head to his chest and absorbed into him seeking the comfort he has given me my whole life. Pulling back, I looked up at him.
“Congrats, meathead. I’m so proud of you! So I’m assuming the engineering job in Denver is a go now that it’s official?” I asked him. His eyes shone back down at me and the goofy grin on his face was all I needed.
“Yes ma’am, but I had that in the bag anyway.”
I giggled at his over inflated ego. Jason Castle has always had more confidence than he knew what to do with. Some people saw him as being conceited or full of himself, I saw him as knowing what he wanted.
“No need to be cocky,” I teased as I pushed at his chest—his really hard, muscular chest. Being captain of the UVA rowing team had given him definition in all the right places. He was constantly having to fend off the hoards of college girls who were dying to get a piece of him.
“What about you? New York in?”
“Yes. As a matter of fact, I fly out there at the end of the month for a pre-orientation. Mom is going with me to look for an affordable place.”
“Maybe I should go with you. Don’t need my baby girl living in a bad neighborhood. I want to be sure you are safe when I’m not around anymore.”
The reminder that we would be going our separate ways in just a matter of weeks, hit me in the chest like a ton of bricks. Jason and I have been friends since we were only four years old. My family moved in next to his in a little cul-de-sac near Charlottesville’s famous Downtown Mall. He was busy making mud pies in his back yard the day we moved in. I went over to say ‘hi’ to him, but was surprised when he took a handful of the mud and flung it at me, covering me and my brand new pink summer dress. He was the one surprised when instead of crying and running away, I approached him and grabbed a handful of the mud and rubbed it all in his hair and laughed. He said that he liked me because I wasn’t a sissy and didn’t run away crying, so he could be my friend.
We have been inseparable since. People thought it was strange how close we had stayed over the years. We were protective over each other, stuck up for each other and had some of the biggest knock out, drag out fights you would ever see.
“Will you two just make out already?” My friend Krista said as she came up to me and flung an arm over my shoulder. Her short, spikey hair stuck me in the cheek as she gave me a side hug and then playfully punched Jason in the arm.
“I agree. You two are like an old married couple. You’re worse than my parents, dude,” our other friend
and Krista’s boyfriend, Corey, said as he walked up next to us and joined Krista at her side.
“You’re sick if you think about your parents in that way,” Jason teased, and the look on Corey’s face was priceless.
“Thanks. Thanks for the mental image. Now I won’t be able to sleep tonight.”
We all laughed and Krista turned to give Corey a big kiss on the mouth. Jason and I stood there and for the first time since we all began hanging out when we started UVA four years ago, I felt a little uncomfortable. Sure, Jason was my friend. My very best friend. He was the one person in my life that I knew I could truly depend on, save for my parents and brother. He never failed to be there when I needed him. But lately, I’ve been feeling a little different around him. I have found myself wanting to pull back from him and create some distance. It would be less devastating for him to move to Denver, when I moved to New York, if we could put some space between us.
“We going to Tony Matteo’s party tonight?” Corey asked when he finally came up for air and removed his lips from Krista’s.
“I’m in, what about you baby girl?” Jason asked me as he squeezed my shoulder. It was a gesture he had always done, but today it felt different. My skin tingled from where his hand rested, and about a million different other thoughts were running through my mind simultaneously.
“Lillian?” He said, this time nudging me with his hip.
“Hmmm? Oh, yes. Tony’s party. I’ll be there.”
All three of them looked at me strangely as if they have never seen someone daydream before.
“Alright, well Kris and I will meet you guys there. I’m bringing the tequila!” Corey exclaimed as he pretended to toss back a shot.
“Ugh, I don’t know if I can do tequila tonight and be able to function for mom and dad’s party for me and Jason tomorrow,” I admitted looking up at my best friend. If I came to the party my mom had worked for week planning, with a hangover, she would kick my ass.
“Light weight,” Corey teased.
“Whatever. Wait until I find your ass wasted tonight and streaking through The Lawn buck naked. You best believe I’m taking pictures of that and posting them all over Facebook.”
“Wouldn’t be a party if someone didn’t get naked,” Corey replied.
“Dude, keep it in your pants tonight, will ya? I’m really not in the mood to be seeing your twig and berries tonight. I just graduated fucking college. It is supposed to be a good night. I want to barf from the excess of alcohol in my system, not from the sickening sight of your junk hanging out for the world to see,” Jason said to Corey and I think he was only half teasing.
I laughed as Krista and Corey walked off hand in hand. Most of the graduates have gone off to be with their families and friends and all that was left on The Lawn were thousands of empty white chairs.
“I hate to say it, but I really am going to miss this. Not the sleepless nights of studying or Professor Kluge’s horrible exams, but this. The view. The camaraderie of this school, you know?” I said to Jason as I stared off into the setting sun behind the Rotunda.
“Yeah, I’ll miss this too,” Jason replied, but when I looked up at him, he wasn’t looking at the view, but at me instead.
***
THE PARTY WAS IN full swing by the time we got to Tony Matteo’s house. In all fairness, it wasn’t his house, but the fraternity house in which he was the president of, until today when he graduated. The frat decided to throw him one hell of a going away party and anyone who’s anyone was going to be there. I went home and took a small nap after graduation, because I knew it was likely that we would be out late and I wanted to be able to stay up and hang out with my friends one final time while we were all together.
I took special care with my appearance tonight, and wore a cute light pink summer dress, with gold strappy sandals that accentuated the slight tan I had developed while helping mom out in her garden the last few weeks. The dress was strapless, showcasing my sun kissed shoulders and I added a gold necklace with a heart shaped pendant as the final touch. I fingered the heart, remembering when Jason gave it to me for my eighteenth birthday a few years ago. I only wore it on special occasions because I was known for loosing things, and this was one item I would be devastated over should it go missing.
I pulled my shoulder-length, blonde hair back into a small bun at the nape of my neck and finished off my makeup with a touch of pink blush and a tinted lip gloss. I usually didn’t wear any makeup that often, but wanted to start getting into the practice of it for when I moved to New York and started my job.
“Who are you getting all gussied up for?”
The sound of Jason’s voice coming from the door to my bedroom startled me and I dropped the lip gloss in my hand to the floor. I turned to find him leant against the doorframe in a white button down t-shirt and dark distressed jeans. His blond hair was messy in that I-just-got-out-of-bed way, yet I could tell he put effort into making it look that way. He didn’t shave, instead choosing to leave a small amount of scruff on his face, giving him a rugged look. His tanned forearms were exposed, due to the sleeves of his shirt being rolled up and he stood with them crossed over his chest as he assessed me from the doorway.
“I could ask you the same thing. Got a hot date tonight stud?” I teased him as I placed two small diamond studded earrings in my ears before spritzing on some of my favorite vanilla scented body splash.
Jason pushed from the doorframe and walked over to where I was standing at my dresser and looked down at what I was wearing.
“Weren’t you wearing a dress similar to this on the day we met? Only I think this one is missing some mud,” he teased.
“Yeah, well don’t even think about it, mister. This dress is a mud free zone.” He threw his head back and laughed and I couldn’t help but smile at how devastatingly handsome he was when he did that. It made me proud to know him, to know that he held such a special place in my heart and would always be there. But there was also the pain of knowing that our closeness was soon coming to an end. I clutched the necklace on my chest and held it in the palm of my hand.
“I can’t believe you still have that thing. I’d have thought you’d lost it a long time ago.”
“Ha, ha. Very funny.”
He smiled and squeezed my shoulder before responding.
“You ready to go, or do you still need to primp some more?” I tried to concentrate on the question he just asked me, but I was having a hard time due to his hand being on my shoulder. There was something different about the way it felt to have his hand touching my bare skin. My flesh burned from the contact and it sent a shiver running down my spine.
“Maybe you should grab a sweater or jacket to cover up with before we go. You are already getting cold,” he suggested.
“Yeah, maybe I will,” I replied, but I didn’t really need one, because I was far from being cold.
Chapter Two
Jason
THE FRAT HOUSE WAS crawling with inebriated people by the time we arrived. Lillian was relatively quiet on the way over and it left me to the thoughts in my head, which weren’t good ones. If she would have known what I was thinking about as she sat in the passenger seat only inches away from me, she would kick me in the balls.
I tried to concentrate on the road ahead of me instead of the way that the hem of her little pink dress rode up the creamy flesh of her thighs. Lillian was my best friend. I’ve known her longer than I’ve known anyone, besides my own family. Hell, she was my family, which is the very reason the sick thoughts that had been running on repeat in my head frequently, were unwelcome. I tried to look past how beautiful she was as she sat staring out of the window. I begged my eyes to look anywhere other than where she fingered the necklace I gave her at the base of her throat. Or the tantalizing way her fingers would gently brush against her clavicle as she did so.
“Jason?” Her soft voice broke through my reverie and I had to mentally shake my head to clear it from the lustful fog that I was in.
> “Yep,” I replied trying to sound nonchalant.
“Are we going to sit in the car all night?” She asked as she arched one brow at me questioningly.
“Sorry, I was watching Tony over there fall on his head after doing that keg stand,” I lied.
“Okaaaaay. Well, if you are quite done making fun of him, can we go inside? I could really use a beer.”
She was already getting out of the car and all I could do was follow her. The place was so packed that I ran into someone each time I took a step. I wouldn’t even be here if it weren’t for Lillian. If it were up to me, I’d rather we grab a couple of beers and go up on the Observatory Hill where the UVA telescope is located, and sit with her and just talk. It was her company that I craved. It was her thoughts that I wanted to hear, and it was her face I wanted to see. I wanted it even more so now that I knew we would be going our separate ways in a few short weeks. The thought of not getting to see her everyday was like a sucker punch in the gut. Sure, we would talk on the phone, but it wouldn’t be the same as getting to see her face, or wrap her in my arms and give her one of our hugs.
“Keep an eye on this cup, will ya? Don’t let anyone bring you a drink unless it is me or Corey,” I said sternly as I filled her cup from the keg and handed it to her.
“Jase, you act like I have never been to a frat party before. I know how to take care of myself.”
“I know you do. I just wanted to remind you.”
“What’s going on with you tonight? You’re acting weird.”
I blew out a frustrating breath as I tried to think of something to reply back to her—anything besides what was really on my mind.
“I’m just tired from today is all. Not everyday we graduate college.”