by Aven Jayce
“Oh, Brian. Get this, it’s Jack’s thing.”
“I’m not finished... he won’t send the video to the university because it could uncover his business. That’s common sense. Take a minute to calm down and think about it. Both sides are fucked, him and you, which is why it will remain a standoff. He has a video of Brian that he’ll never use because he knows you’re not talking to the cops about anything, ever. He sent it so you feel trapped. He, or you, can start a chain reaction of events, either with the cops, or with the university, but neither of you will. Which is why I said do nothing.”
“Hmph.”
I lower to the edge and dip my feet in the warm pool, sitting across from Quinn and Jack, joyful that water no longer stings my blisters. I smile and they smile back.
“Dad, I am working. I was in the office from eight to midnight, and I’m heading back in for four more hours after you give me the guy’s number... you will... yes, you will... give me a fucking break for one night. Is it a crime that I want to do this? Am I breaking some Jameson law? I can guess what’s going to happen to them which is... Dad... I can too, just because you don’t have any friends, I can’t have... yeah but... there’s no one else besides Emma... I need more than... I didn’t ask for that... you made me... no, you did that to me. I’m doing this... Dad... Dad, give me his fucking number!”
“What the heck is he up to?”
“Getting wasted,” Nadine replies, thinking I’m referring to Brian. “What happened to Trent?”
“No clue.”
“Where’s Dylan?”
“I don’t know, Albany? He never came here. Quinn and I walked.”
“What? What? Dang it... I’m going to ignore that comment.” Her long nails tap the table. Harder. Faster. She’s enraged. “Oh, I can’t. I just can’t let this one slide. You lied about getting a ride to the retreat? You walked? I even asked you if you thought the car would make it, and you lied right to my face. Wow... just wow. I understand now, I understand your mom’s fury whenever she called to complain about her... her... her little brat.”
“Wait a sec. She never said—”
“The loss of trust.”
“You can trust me.”
“The deception.”
“I’m not misleading anyone.”
“The fact that you can’t admit any of your faults.”
“I-I... yes I can.”
“And especially the doubt I have... I wonder if you have any real feelings for your uncle and me, or if that’s a lie, too.”
“Whoa.”
“Yeah, whoa.”
I frown at my reflection in the water, my face distorted by the small waves from Quinn and Jack’s restless legs.
A cricket dives in next to my foot, stuck floating in circles before making frantic kicks toward the tall concrete edge. It relaxes and floats again, then does another swift spastic kick, turning in circles, trying to escape, being sucked toward the filter at a lumbering pace.
“Dummy,” I say, scooping it out and watching it dance around the lounge chairs that line the pool. “I wish being rescued was that easy for everyone.”
“What?”
“Nadine, listen, I know I’m flawed, but I’m trying to do good.”
“God, I need a beer to listen to this one.” She opens the fridge and I hear a bottle cap twisting off.
“I’m sorry,” I whisper. “Please don’t put me in a position of having to choose between the man I’m falling in love with and my family. I shouldn’t have kept so much from you in the beginning, but I didn’t want you guys to get tangled up in all of this.”
“Surprise,” she says with contempt. “Here we are.”
“I thought everything would go away somehow.”
“By hook or by crook, one way or another, no matter who gets crushed along the way, right?”
“You know what I think? You’re livid about Brian, your marriage is on the rocks, and you’re taking all that shit and the video out on me. The two of you need to take the blame for what you did, you wanted to go to the retreat, you took the chance, and this is what you get.”
“This isn’t about Brian and me. Are you catching on that you committed crimes? You killed a woman and you’re an accessory to Trent’s murder.”
“No, I didn’t see—”
“Stop it. I’m sure all those boys are involved. You saw what happened. You’re a felon, even if you didn’t kill him.”
“Even if?”
“Don’t play dumb, I’m over this. Brian is, too. We can’t help you if you don’t confide in us. You treat us like strangers. We’re losing faith in you, damn fast.”
“Have faith in me, Dad.”
“Don’t lose faith in me, Nadine.”
“Trust me.”
“Trust me.”
“This is the right thing, for everyone.”
“I’m doing the right thing, for everyone.”
“Yes, I promise... just this one time... I said they’re my age... really?... you’re the best. I love you.”
“I love you.”
Jack hangs up and flips through his cell, while Quinn’s curiosity takes hold, stretching his neck to peer at the phone while asking him a question about his playlists. I kick the water while checking my screen to see if she’s still there.
“Nadine?”
“I’m positive you saw what happened to Trent... lies, lies, lies... so tell me about—”
“Don’t say it.”
“Did you—”
“Please don’t say it.”
“Were you forthcoming about your mom? Did you tell the police everything?”
I pitch my cell behind the pool, seeing the lit screen bounce in the grass and tumble to a stop. “For fuck’s sake.” I shout, lowering my head into my palms. “That’s bullshit!” I yell back at my cell, hoping she hears.
Quinn pulls off his shirt and slips into the water, taking a speedy swim across the pool. He presses between my legs and sets his upper arms on my knees, treading water as he reaches up and lifts my chin.
“What happened?”
“She’s... she’s so much like my mom, making me out to be someone I’m not. I wish she’d put herself in my shoes... I’m not evil.” I shake my head, feeling a pang of guilt about the argument. “I’m sure she didn’t mean what she said, but it still hurt. They’re upset, I’m upset, everyone’s upset.”
He undresses and tosses his jeans out of the water. “The blame game. Doesn’t matter if the problem’s big or small, people lash out when they’re stressed out. Give them some time.”
Looking back to make sure Jack’s still engrossed in his cell, he un-tucks and removes my towel then lowers me into the water. I’m guided to sit on his thighs, my legs hooking his bare hips in a comforting embrace.
I place my arms over his shoulders and brush my lips across his, offering a thank you for being so kind.
“This is better.”
“I’m trying,” he says.
“It’s nice to see my necklace again.”
“I put it in the front pocket of your duffle bag, and I saw your pill pack in there, don’t forget those. The last thing we need is for you to get pregnant.”
“I won’t. I missed the one at dinner tonight because we were asleep, but I’ll take it as soon as we get out of the pool.”
“I saw you have about a week’s worth left. And... and I was thinking when I went out to the barn that you should... you should... umm.”
“Umm?”
He looks over my shoulder and glances across the pool, then lowers his voice for privacy. “I’m worried about those sketches turning into real photos and actual names, my name, not yours. You’re fine, which is... is why you should head back.”
“Hell no. Don’t you dare start a ludicrous ‘save yourself’ discussion.”
“What?”
“We’re not in a ‘I’m doomed, save yourself’ relationship, it’s a ‘together �
��til the end’ relationship. Now hush.”
He looks down at our distorted bodies through the rolling water, melding as one. By his cheerful expression, I’d say he’s thrilled with my response.
“My first true love isn’t going to push me out of the way of a speeding bus, only to get flattened by it himself. That’s lame, I tell you. Lame, lame, lame. It’ll never end that way. You want to save me by sending me back? Nope. Sorry. Not gonna happen.”
He shoves off from the wall and we embark on a leisurely glide. “You’re so fucking funny, aren’t you? Bet you think you’re cute.”
I nod.
“A smartass, too?”
I nod.
“Arrogant?”
“Perhaps strong-minded is a better term.”
“Good, one streetwise man and one persistent woman, we’ll leave tomorrow and head west.”
“Sounds like a movie.”
“Yeah, we’ll head west, beautiful one... I’ll steal us a horse,” he says, using a cowboy drawl in a joking manner. “We’ll travel at night by the light of the moon and sleep along the riverbanks during the day, and somewhere past the western plains, way out beyond the desert sage and cacti, we’ll find our sense of place. Our home. A land where our souls will be at peace and one with the earth.” He turns toward the sound of my ringing phone, then over to Jack, who’s playing a song on his cell. He ends with, “But this isn’t the place.”
And I whisper, “Agreed.”
“Let’s do laundry tonight and pack some food, rest up, then tomorrow night when everyone’s working, we’ll go.”
“We need a better plan than that.”
I ignore my cell as it chirps behind the pool, the grass around it lit like a solar light in a suburban yard. The moment it stops, it starts again, alluding to Nadine or Brian.
“Don’t let it distract you,” I say.
We plant tender kisses on one another’s necks, mirroring small bird-like pecks to our ears and across our cheeks until our lips lock, triggering his cock to surge against me.
“Don’t let it distract you,” he says with a grin, moving his legs to allow it to spike upward, now bounded between his groin and my waist. “You ever hear the song he’s playing on his cell?”
“I’ve heard it. It’s Eminem.” I look over at Jack, seeing him on his back with his knees raised and arms spread wide. He taps his foot on the concrete and croons to the hooting owls, his melancholic voice echoing through the back patio and into the woods.
“It’s an older one of his called ‘Beautiful,’ was my favorite back in high school, got me through some tough times... hey Jack,” he calls out. “Thanks for playing that.”
“No problem. Thanks for giving me my first real fight wound. I’m in love with you forever because of it.” He raises the bandage then lifts his other hand and gives us the finger.
This time, we both do an eye-roll. It’s about all you can do with him.
“Lay back and float, I’ll take you for a ride around the pool,” he says.
“You kinda look like him.”
“Who, Eminem?”
“Yep. Not when he was blond though, the brown-haired Eminem... except you wear tighter clothing... and you’re taller... and your ears are different... but you have the same nose, lips and chin... oh, and your...”
“Addie.” He laughs. “Stop talking for four minutes and listen to the lyrics. I promise you’ll feel better by the time the song’s over.” He positions his fingertips on my brows, slowly moving downward to lure my eyes closed.
I fall back into the water, smiling as I’m towed around, his hands cradling my lower back, my legs still hugging his waist, and his firm erection between us.
“I’m spoiled,” I declare.
“Not yet.”
I open an eye. “Not yet?”
He shakes his head, checking on Jack then fondling my tit in a tranquil massage. My muscles relax as I drift; the sounds of the night muffled as my ears dip under the water, clear again when my head rises above the surface.
His hand prowls down my front and swipes my clit, his hard cock lingering between my folds. He sings a line from the song about trading shoes... going inside one another’s minds... and about staying true to yourself.
I never paid much attention to the lyrics, and he’s right, they are uplifting, in a tough-guy-rap kinda way.
It could also be that I’m won over by the title, since it’s Quinn’s pet name for me. Or it’s the moment, the surroundings, and the serenity of the water that’s improving my mood—the blue lights along the outer rim setting our faces alight, the heavenly stars batting their eyelids at us, the melodic crickets hopping to the music, along with the open windows of the guest rooms transmitting the sounds of passionate play—yes, even something that sounded like whorish fucking last time I was here, now rings out as sexy purrs...
... or maybe that’s the cat woman.
He sings another lyric about reaching out to one another... then launches his cock inside with a grunt.
“Now, my love, you’re spoiled.”
I lift my head with a flash of excitement while my hands flutter under my back to stay afloat. “This song is the best. I can feel it. It’s full of...”
He clutches my ass and gives me a quick hip thrust.
“Mmm, jam-packed full of...”
Then slides back before I’m blessed with another measured drive.
“Uh... tireless, mirth-girth.”
He laughs. “Well, that’s something I haven’t heard before.”
The back door to the retreat swings open and a rambunctious couple scurries toward the hot tub next to the shallow end of the pool. They drop their towels—the woman topless and the guy in a skimpy thong—making their way down the steps and into the steamy water.
We hide our faces with a kiss then swim to the small waterfall near Jack. I rest my upper arms on the ledge with my back pressed against the side to keep steady, as Quinn keeps his back turned away from them.
Jack hovers over us and whispers to Quinn, “Update your photo with Roxanne, and also get Addie set up so she can be in our system, then be up by nine to clean with the other workers... and don’t get any cum in my pool.”
He cuts the music and walks around the back, picking up my cell before heading inside. The backyard lights are turned off when he goes in, leaving us with only a distant orange glow from the embers of one of the fire pits.
“You think we’re back on the schedule to fuck?” I ask.
“No, just to do maintenance and housework.”
I nod and look around, taking in a deep whiff of the chlorine mixed with Quinn’s cigarette breath. “This is pretty... and you’re right, that is a great song. Who else do you listen to?”
He looks at me through wet lashes and pushes his dick back inside before he answers. I straighten my back and clench his length in approval.
“It’s been a long time since I owned any music. I lost my identity when I was homeless, but years ago I was into The Stones, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Johnny Cash.”
“Oooh, I like Johnny Cash. What about smoking? Is that a new thing because of all the stress or did you smoke before?”
He puts his feet flat against the wall, nibbling his lower lip, his dick fixed and motionless inside me.
“It’s okay if you did. I don’t care.”
“I stole cigarettes from my dad. It wasn’t a habit cuz I was an athlete. I never bought a pack on my own; it’s expensive when you’re on the streets. But if I’m handed one, I usually take it.”
I nod. “My mom smoked when I was a kid. She quit years ago and became a health nut. She said she wanted to make sure she was around for me in her old age...”
I hesitate and think about that for a moment. If she hadn’t stopped smoking and picked up jogging, she might still be alive.
“You okay?”
“Yeah,” I answer. “Anyway, because of her, I sometimes love the
smell; other times it makes me ill. It’s nasty on Roxanne, but a comforting scent on you, if that makes any sense.”
“It does. Have you smoked?”
“Yeah, once. The taste reminded me of a burnt marshmallow, but the nicotine gave me a buzz so I understand the temptation.” I glide my tongue across my lip, inviting him closer for a kiss. He holds steady, not taking the bait. “I understand the protruding temptation.” I repeat the tongue slip, and when he still doesn’t bite, I decide to come right out and say, “By the way, I love your dick being inside me.”
He shoots a look around the pool, seeing the two people making out at a distance. Turning back, he says, “I’ll fuck you, but only if you promise to behave.”
“Gee, I’ll try.” I offer a tantalizing smile and lift my tee, leaving it rolled above my tits.
“Nice,” he says.
He grips my thighs and starts to move, taking it slow. I stare helplessly into his amorous eyes as his lower body takes control—the scene underwater a stark contrast to our quiet, unmoving bodies above the surface.
“This is romantic,” I whisper. “I love the waterfall splashing next to us, and watching your lips tremble as we fuck.”
“I blame your snug pussy for my trembling lips.”
He looks at my chest then down at his tight stomach muscles while taking his sweet time swinging his hips. His long dick fills me completely, his groin brushing over my clit when it reaches its deepest length, while stimulating inner pleasure spots on the way out.
“Uh, that feels so good,” I say in his ear. “More, more please.”
“Hold your breath for me.”
I inhale and we descend underwater—our mouths meet and our frisky tongues collide—frolicking and wrestling to overpower the other. Our hands join the duel; his fingers are smooth and confident over my clit, while mine dawdle up his chest to touch his rounded pecs.
Bubbles whoosh from our noses. He pulls back in laughter and his dick slips out, giving me a chance to seize and stroke it until we resurface with impassioned heavy breaths.
With matted hair and water dripping off our noses, he takes me in his arms and charges back inside. I moan and clutch the side of the pool, my upper body detained and my neck bitten.