Fiendish Play

by Angela Richardson

  “I’m okay...just thinking about your initiation test tomorrow...”

  “It’s going to be fine Anais. I can handle anything they throw at me.”

  “I don’t know James. I’ve seen the strongest guys crumble and fall. I’m not sure what kind of test they have planned, but they’ll be looking for weaknesses. Searching for fears. Something they’ll be able to hold over you...I just don’t think you should...”

  I kissed Anais fast and urgent. All week she had remained quiet on the subject, and now her insecurity was playing catch-up. “Don’t worry,” I said caressing both her cheeks. “We’re going to be together no matter what happens tomorrow.”

  She nodded into my chest and rested her head on my shoulder, allowing me to move her body in a slow dance. I couldn’t even hear the music behind us. I could only hear us.

  A voice cracked through a microphone system that could be heard in all corners of the auditorium. The music stopped and everyone looked up.

  “Welcome everyone, I’m Byron Fraylock. I’ll be doing the address this evening since our president has been detained. I’d like to thank you all for coming tonight. As you know, this is a very special event where we remember our fallen leaders who helped create our rules and pave our history. Their deaths are a cruel reminder of what happens when people fail to be loyal to our cause. But make no mistake; we will never let the mistakes of our past be repeated in our present. Revenge is coming to those who seek to bring us down. Our power will destroy them. Our members will outnumber them. There will be no mercy for these traitors. Let the blood spilled of our great leaders be remembered. To the fallen three — we will avenge you.”

  Seth and Gwen were standing next to us now. “Well, that was inspirational,” Seth deadpanned before taking a sip from his glass. I laughed at Seth before leading Anais back out onto the dance floor. We continued to slow dance. All we had to do was get through the night. Beside Byron’s creepy little speech, there didn’t seem like there was anything else to worry about. It was just me and Anais again. In each other’s arms. The rest was static.

  Drip.

  Something wet slid down the side of my cheek. I lifted my head to look at Anais. “Did you feel that?”

  “Feel what?” she said, looking side to side thinking someone had brushed past us.

  Drip, drip, drip.

  Behind my neck this time. I felt it. Like it was about to rain. The droplet running down my back. I wasn’t imagining things. I studied Anais. This time I saw something. Running down her chin, down to her chest, I saw red. Blood red.

  “YOU’RE BLEEDING JAMES!”

  Her voice loud and echoing in my ears. Anais too. Spots of red appeared everywhere on her face...her dress...it was all over her.

  Anais then held out her hands and watched as drops of blood raining down from above hit her fingers. “It’s blood! It’s blood! It’s raining blood. They’re pouring blood on us James!” I could see her start to hyperventilate. It was all becoming too much.

  I grabbed her wrist and quickly dragged her under the bleachers in the auditorium. It was the only place I could see that would give us cover. Byron’s voice filtered out of the speakers. “Let the blood spilled from our great leaders be remembered.”

  Anais was breathing incredibly fast when we finally reached the bleachers. I grabbed her shoulders. “Anais calm down...calm down...”

  “It’s blood, it’s blood, it’s blood,” she repeated over and over again.

  I lifted my red-stained hand to my nose to see what it really was. And when I smelt it, I knew.

  “Anais, Anais...calm down. It’s not blood. It’s just food dye. Not blood. Food dye. Anais, it’s just food dye.”

  Her breathing slowed and she crumpled into a heap on the ground. I followed, sitting down on the ground next to her. “I hate them so much,” she said shaking her head and staring at the floor. This was a bit too intense, even for the Lappell. Did they really need fake blood to get their point across? I guess it was their way of demonstrating how serious they could be.

  She wiped away her tears and leaned in close. She then moved closer to me too. So close she was practically seated in my lap. Then all of a sudden, she straddled my hips and started kissing me passionately. It felt like she had flipped a switch in her head from sad and freaked out to horny and wild. One extreme to the next. I had no idea what was going on.

  “Anais...” I said in between breaths. “Anais.” I tried to pull my face away. “Are you alright? You were just really upset only minutes ago. Are you sure you want to be making out right now?”

  “You know what I just decided James?” she said her voice rising aggressively. “I’ve had enough. Of their rules. Their threats. Of feeling like I have no control at all. And I’m sick of waiting. I don’t want to wait and see what goes down at the initiation test tomorrow. I’m not going to let them dictate my decision about what I’m supposed to do. I’m taking back this control right now. I know what I want to do. I know what my body has wanted for a very long time. And I want you.” She paused, taking another breath. She had been talking so fast I could barely keep up. “Now James. Tonight.”

  “Anais…” I said sounding stunned. I think she was letting her emotions make decisions she wasn’t ready to make. I couldn’t let what just happened lead her heart right now.

  “Don’t try and talk me out of it. It’s my body and my choice…and I choose you…tonight. This isn’t a reaction from what just happened. This is me finally making my own decisions. Please James, take me. I need you. I want you.” Her hands were on my chest fingering my buttons out of the holes. I knew she could see the hesitation in my eyes as I tried to get her to calm down. I needed her to be rational. This kind of rebellion was only going to lead to remorse.

  She kissed me again. “Please James, don’t make me beg.”

  It hurt that she was pleading with me like this. And it wasn’t that I didn’t want her. Every single cell in my body wanted her. I just didn’t want her to regret it later, when sensibility prevailed in the morning after her emotions had simmered down. I didn’t want to take advantage of this situation. I cared about Anais too much for that.

  But then I saw her eyes again, welling in tears, pleading for me not to reject her, and I knew I couldn’t say no. I would not away take away this decision she wanted to make for herself.

  “Are you sure Anais?” I asked. I wanted to ask that question a million times before I could be really convinced.

  “Yes,” she kissed my neck realizing I was giving in, “take me back to your place James.”

  I gave her one more ‘we-don’t-have-to-do-this’ kind of look before she kissed me passionately, covering up any and all hesitation I might have had. The loud music from the auditorium was gone. I had to push away the doubt. I had to be exactly where she wanted me to be. Wanting her. Needing her. I couldn’t hear anything now except Anais’ voice asking me to take her home. It repeated over and over, like it was my own song, made for my ears. And I knew if I did this, I wouldn’t have a choice left. The Lappell would own me, because I wouldn’t be able to leave Anais. I knew I was about to step up and be her emotional armor in this world. I would be the one to keep her mind and body free from them all. It was going to be me and her, together as one. Then, like I’d always known it was there, it found itself on the tip of my tongue, unable to hide anymore. It was so many emotions all at once yet it was so clear what it was in my head. There was no confusion. Just clarity, pure and as simple. The four letter word that was screaming to be let out. It had been leading to this moment since the day we met. Anais had changed my path. Unraveled my story. Made me believe that anything is possible when you feel this way. And it was time I made it known to her.

  Anais was dragging me by the arm under the bleachers. The white lights filtered through from the spaces in between the beams, creating a heavenly effect on her white and red-stained dress. I stopped and spun her around.

  “Anais…I…I...”

  She jumped
into my arms and kissed me long and deeply. “Me too,” she breathed. “Me too James. Now...take me home.”

  The limo ride home was a blur. Hands going everywhere. Under her dress, down my pants. Nothing gentle, nothing tame. Just sexual urgency of the highest proportions. Anais wasn’t looking for tenderness; she was looking for a passionate first time. We knew how we felt about each other. It didn’t need to be demonstrated. The fact we were even together showed how deep our feelings went for one another. No, now it was about our bodies. Our urges, our needs to really let go. We wanted to explore and satisfy and not hold back. It was the wild Anais in my arms, with my own zest for adventure and exploration. A chemical combination with our feelings that would lead to physical explosions.

  I flung the door to my flat open. Anais’ hands were down my pants. Zipper undone. “What…” Kiss. “About…” Kiss, kiss. “Your roommate?” Kiss, kiss, kiss, stroke.

  “Marcus…” Panties coming down. “Is…” Hand up her dress. “Out…” Fingers deep inside her. She moaned into my ear as I lifted her up and one of her legs went round my waist. “All night.”

  I walked backwards with Anais half around my waist, half walking on the floor until we were in my bedroom. I fell back onto my bed so Anais was on top of me. She fell forward, her mouth back on mine. Her hair tickling my nose as it tumbled down past her cheeks.

  “I want to taste you James,” she whispered.

  Before I had a chance to respond, my pants were round my ankles and Anais was removing my boxer briefs. “Uh…ummm…oh…whoa…you’re really going down...”

  Her mouth was around me and my breaths changed straight away. I lifted my head up so I could watch her on me. Her eyes lifted so she could see me too as she continued to lick up and down, like she wanted more...like it was the greatest thing she’d ever tasted. It was so fucking hot. Her plump red lips soft and determined. Her mouth feeling so good around me. I couldn’t think of anything else except the pleasure. Then, she stopped suddenly and spoke with need. “I want you inside me. Now.”

  I sat up and Anais stood up too. I lifted her dress up and off her body, tossing it across the room. Anais undid the buttons of my white shirt which followed her dress to the floor. We were both naked now, gazing at each other’s bodies. In this room, in this moment, it was just us. Nothing between us. No clothing. No doubts. No fear. Just a connection we couldn’t see but could feel in every pore of our skin.

  I walked over to my desk drawer and got a condom. Anais’ eyes widened but she smiled all the same. She crawled up on the bed and I followed behind her, tearing open the packet and rolling it on. “You know Anais, you may not be my first…but I wish that you were. I wish I had waited until you had come into my life. I wish this experience was the first for both of us.”

  “James, is this the first time you’ve been in love?”

  I stopped still at such a question. And then I turned in slow motion, smiling at her. “Yes…it really is.”

  “Good. Then we do have a first we’re experiencing together.”

  God, she was so fucking right. It was the first time I could happily admit to myself that I was utterly and hopelessly in love. That this was it. That it had finally happened and I could define and determine the feeling like it was now second nature. And it was all because of her.

  “I’m ready,” she said out loud, cutting through my mass realization about the state of earth-shattering love I had found myself in. I hadn’t been totally convinced about the notion of love…but now that it was out, it was all I could see in front of me. And it was completely real for us.

  I positioned myself between her legs and pushed into her slowly, making sure to give Anais time to adjust to my size…and the feeling. I could see in her eyes the new sensation and the surprise of what was happening. Then she yelped into my shoulder and I stilled. “Are you okay?” I asked holding onto her body, keeping her steady.

  “I, uh…yeah…I think so. It’s just a bit…uncomfortable. Different. But keep going. Please.” Her hands went to my back, holding onto me, like I was leading a dance, and she was getting swept away in the movement. But the way she held onto me…it felt like she trusted my every move…every thrust I made. She was giving me her body knowing that I would protect her, keep her safe, and pleasure her the only way I knew how. With love and with passion.

  “James,” she breathed into my ear. “I feel something…I feel...” Her breath caught in her throat and I knew she was right there with me. Her grip on me tightened. Her eyes went wide with more shock and awe. And when she said my name, I came completely undone. I rolled her so I was now on my back, and Anais was on top. I needed to see her face. I wanted to see her beautiful body slide up and down on my cock. I helped move her hips up and down until she got a rhythm going and once again her eyes screamed that it was pleasure, and passion and it was all because of me. She was so wet, so tight, so sweet. A combination which was more than my body could contain. I quickly sat upright, holding her breasts against my face, unloading everything I had for her. For Anais. The girl I love.

  There was a little bit of clean up afterwards considering it was her first time. Anais looking embarrassed as I changed my sheets. But the longer I stayed naked, the more she seemed to relax that she had nothing to feel embarrassed about. That and the fact that I couldn’t wipe the smile off my face. She stayed naked too and we lounged around for hours talking before she said she felt comfortable enough to try round two. The second time round lasted longer than the first. More touching, more exploration of our bodies. And by the end, we were a sweaty mess.

  “I'll go get us some water from the fridge,” I told Anais as I climbed out of bed and walked into the darkness. I was still naked as I took off from the bedroom and towards the kitchen when I heard an unusual sound. It sounded like footsteps, carefully walking in the dark. All I could think about was what Anais and I just did and the warning she was given back on that field.

  The Lappell couldn’t possibly know what we had just done…could they?

  I backtracked slowly and crept into the third bedroom, grabbing the first tool I could find. It was a hammer. I took off back towards the kitchen, still creeping quietly, looking for the source of the slow crunch on the hardwood floor.

  I heard heavy breathing next. Something moved past my face in the air in front of me. Like someone had tried to hit me with an object. The feeling of cool wind hitting my chin. I spun, but lost balance and then backed up suddenly towards the intruder. Then it slammed into me. Bare back to bare back. Naked ass to naked ass.

  What. The. Fuck?

  “James?”

  You have got to be fucking kidding me!

  “Marcus?”

  “I thought you were out tonight?”

  “Well, I thought you were out tonight!”

  “Why are you naked?” we both said at the same time.

  “I have company.”

  “So do I.”

  Awkward silence.

  “Man, did you try and hit me with something?” I said.

  “I thought you were an intruder. I’m holding a saucepan.”

  “A saucepan?” I questioned.

  “I boiled some spaghetti earlier tonight,” he said, confirming why it was his weapon of choice.

  More awkward silence.

  “So how do we do this?” I said breaking the silence once more.

  “How do we do...what?” Marcus asked sounding shocked, like I was about to proposition him.

  “Separate of course. We’re both naked and our bodies are touching…”

  “Shhh! This is just a dream. It never happened. It’s just a dream.” He said it slowly, like he was in a trance-like state.

  “So do you dream of me naked Marcus?” I was trying so hard not to convulse in laughter, but it was hard. Very hard.

  “This is no time to be cracking jokes James!”

  “Ha ha – you said crack!” I laughed.

  “I just…you…we…fuuuuuuuuck!” Then Marcus ran scream
ing off into the dark back to his room. I dropped my hammer, not able to hold in my laughter anymore.

  Anais was sitting up in bed looking concerned when I came back in holding a bottle of water.

  “Everything okay out there? I heard some weird kind of screaming.”

  “It’s all good,” I said sliding in next to Anais under the sheets of my bed. “Marcus was just dreaming about me.”

  {17}

  Anais was laughing. I awoke to the sound coming from the lounge. Then I heard a weird voice, followed by more of her beautiful laughter. What was going on? I found a pair of sweat pants and pulled them on, walking out to go find my girl and the source of the hysterics. I saw Anais sitting on the couch in one of my over-sized T-shirts watching Marcus acting out some scene like from a play.

  “Hey.” Anais’ eyes danced with mine going back and forth to Marcus in a kind of shocked amusement. “I was going to make you some breakfast and bring it back to the room, but you guys don’t keep much in the fridge except OJ and beer. Then I ran into Marcus...and we got to talking...and then one thing lead to another...and now he’s showing me his House impersonation.”

  I raised my eyebrows at Marcus. “Fictional doctor impersonations at seven o’clock in the morning Marcus...Having trouble sleeping are we?”

  A sly smile found its way to my face remembering Marcus’ reaction to our late night encounter in the kitchen. Marcus looked stunned into silence, which was an almost unheard of phenomenon. But it didn’t last long...naturally. It was Marcus after all.

  He cleared his throat, feigning ignorance at my implication. “So...uh...yeah...so, I was just asking your girlfriend here if she thinks I look like Doug Ross from ER. What do you reckon Anais? I’m hotter than Clooney right?” Marcus turned to me, seeing that I had stopped walking. I froze on the spot, at the same time he called Anais my girlfriend.

  “James?” Marcus said, watching me, his eyes bugging out. I needed a minute to register what he just said.