Malt Me (Liquor Cabinet Series #1)

by D. L. Gallie

  Open-mouthed and shocked, I sit staring at the front door. What the hell was that all about? This is the second time he has acted like this, I’m not sure I like this side of Clint.

  Oh My God, sex with Mackenzie is out of this world. Who knew she was such a devil in the sack? I really picked a wild one this time. I can’t help but smile when I think back over this past weekend. I snuck out early Friday but not before leaving a note and flower for my girl. I wanted to give her some time alone, I’m nice like that.

  I couldn’t stay away so I’m peeking in her window watching her sleep. I slip, knocking over the crate I am standing on and startle her awake. I manage to duck out of sight, just as she lifts up the timber blinds to have a look around. I stay hidden until I hear the water start to run in the bathroom. I take this chance to head home and freshen up before I come back over.

  Later that afternoon, I let myself into Mackenzie’s apartment with the key that I took when I left this morning. She is back in bed sleeping, so I sit on the chair in the corner and watch her sleep. She is so beautiful, I smile at myself and I think how happy we are going to be together. My cock is starting to get hard staring at her. She starts to stir and when she opens her eyes, I frighten her.

  God she’s beautiful when she sleeps.

  She pulls the covers back and she’s naked. Fuck Me! I rake my eyes over her beautiful body, pausing at her amazing tits before I look to her face; she is winking at me seductively.

  I quickly strip off my clothes and jump onto the bed. I grab her face and passionately kiss her, pulling back to stare into her beautiful green eyes. I quickly roll on a condom and pin her to the bed. I fuck her hard and fast. We spend the next twenty-four hours in bed and they are the best hours of my life so far.

  The next few weeks are amazing. Mackenzie was meant for me and I for her. I’m so glad I found her. I thought Laura was the one when I met her in high school, but her leaving me was the best thing to happen.

  She is nothing compared to Mackenzie.

  My Sweetcheeks.

  I spend as much time as possible with her, only letting her spend time with her best friend, Sarah, when she begs me. I really don’t like that bitch, but I always get what I want, so I guess letting her out now and again will be okay.

  Later in the term, we are paired together for another assignment in Michele’s class. This time, we have to create an all-inclusive tour and come up with the marketing plan; again we kick ass. Mackenzie and I are a great team, in and out of the bedroom.

  The June long weekend for the Queens’s birthday is fast approaching; it’s time for Sarah and my annual, long weekend, girls’ getaway. We take turns arranging the weekend away; this year it’s her turn to plan it. I always get scared when it’s her year as she can be wild at times; which is one of the many reasons I love her so much.

  We started this tradition when we were thirteen; somehow we managed to convince our parents to do this for us. This year’s will be amazeballs; as for the first time there will be no parents. We really were lucky to have parents who were happy to do this for us. I have no idea what she has planned this year and that scares me. Sarah can be crazy when left unsupervised. Even though I’m scared, I’m also super excited to see what craziness she comes up with.

  Grabbing my phone, I text her to discuss the finer details, like what to pack and maybe get a hint on where we are going but she is currently locked up tighter than Fort Knox, and the not knowing is really frustrating me. I’m such as pushover; I always cave and tell her what we are doing and where we are going.

  Me – yo bitch, what do I pack for the weekend? And where are we going?

  Sarah – togs and winter woolies

  Sarah – PS. Not telling

  Me – WFT woman? That gives me no clue whatsoever

  Sarah – I know :P I’ll pick you up Thursday afternoon after class. I’m really looking forward to this weekend. It feels like forever since I have seen you. You are all loved up with Clint. You know, if you two get super serious, he is going to have to learn to share

  Sarah’s text gets me thinking. Have I been neglecting everyone? I reread it to make sure I read it right. Am I so wrapped up in Clint that I have become one of those girls?

  Me – I have not been that bad. I can’t wait for this weekend.

  Sarah – Me neither. Love you XoXoX

  Me - Love you too XoXoX

  I throw my phone on the couch and Clint waltzes in, he looks pissed off. Walking into the kitchen, I give him a kiss on the cheek. “Hey, baby.”

  He storms past me, shoving me out of the way; I bang my hip on the corner of the breakfast bar and wince in pain. He plonks himself down on my charcoal grey, suede, L-shaped couch; he grabs my phone as it was digging into his leg. He looks down and glances at the screen. “Who the fuck are you saying ‘love you’ to?” He air quotes love you.

  “It’s just Sarah. We are finalizing our girls’ weekend.”

  “What girls’ weekend?” he spits.

  “I told you, Sarah and I go away every June long weekend.”

  “Well, where are you going?” he shouts at me,

  “No idea, it’s her year to plan. All I know is I need to pack togs and winter woolies.”

  “Well, I don’t want you going!” he shouts. “You never asked me if you could go.” He slams his fist down on the coffee table.

  “Excuse me?” I turn to face him with a shocked expression on my face “You are not the boss of me, and if I want to go away with my friend, I will.” I state matter-of-factly, with my hands on my hips.

  “Like hell you are, you belong with me.” He slams his fist down on the timber coffee table again and throws my phone. It slides across the monochrome rug onto the floor in front of the TV cabinet.

  “I what?” I stare at him dumbfounded.

  He spits through his teeth, in a tone I have never heard him use before. My body tenses, I start to get a horrible feeling, as fear courses through my veins. “You heard me, bitch, your mines and mines only.”

  “I am no ones, and with an attitude like that, I think you can leave.” I bend down, pick up my phone, slide it into my pocket, and walk back to the kitchen to grab a glass of wine for myself.

  Clint jumps off the couch, grabbing me by my upper arms, gripping tightly, as he slams me up against the wall. The very wall that we first made out against, all those months ago, making the pictures rattles. He grabs my face roughly, squeezing my chin tightly, he glares into my eyes, and through clenched teeth spits, “You are mines, Sweetcheeks, and I say you are not going away with that slut.” Raising his right hand, he backhands me, his hand colliding with my left cheek. My head slams back into the wall with a thud. He finally let’s go of me, I slide down the wall and start to cry.

  My head is throbbing, I rub the spot that hit the wall, with such force that I was sure the pictures were going to fall down this time. I’m scared out of my wits; I look up towards Clint, who is hovering above me. “I…I think you should go.”

  “Whatever, Mackenzie.” He storms out slamming the kitchen door as he goes. I hear him yell, “And there’s no way you are going away next weekend!”

  Sitting on the floor, I hug my knees and begin to sob. After I don’t know how long, I stand up, shaking like a leaf. I lock all the doors and slowly make my way to the bathroom. I run a hot shower to try and wash away everything. I slide down the cold tiles, the hot water cascading over my body. Wrapping my arms around my knees, I sit there and cry, resting my forehead on my knees. When the water runs cold, I climb out, dry myself off and climb into bed.

  Lying in bed, I stare at the ceiling; my mind starts thinking about everything.

  Have I changed since dating Clint?

  Have I neglected everyone?

  Why has Clint changed?

  I don’t understand this change in him. I’m so confused. I start to doubt everything that I know about Clint, about myself, about everything. I start to cry again, and eventually, I cry myself to sleep.

>   Before I know it, my alarm goes off. My alarm song of choice at the moment is Barbie Girl by Aqua. That song puts a smile one my face, and for a moment, I forget about all of my worries. Jumping out of bed, I head to the bathroom to get ready for college. Looking in the mirror, I notice a huge purple bruise on my left cheek where Clint hit me last night. Gently I run my finger along my cheek, and then I notice marks on my arms from when he grabbed me. I gasp in shock, I cannot go out in public like this. Grabbing my phone I ring in sick and leave a voicemail for Sarah, cancelling our lunch date as were going to meet up in between classes.

  Feeling pretty shitty, and not up for doing anything, I change into my comfy grey Bonds trackies and LA Kings jersey. Heading to the kitchen, I make myself a coffee and plonk myself on the couch. I go over everything that has happened in the last twenty-four hours to try and make sense out of this.

  I’m so confused right now.

  Making myself another coffee, I grab my Kindle and try to lose myself in my book but I can’t concentrate. I keep reading the same line over and over. Eventually, I give up reading and I put the TV on and watch some random cooking show.

  A few hours later, I wake up to banging on my front door; my heart freezes thinking that Clint is here. I realise that I’m not sure I want to see him, at the moment. Cautiously, I walk over to the window and peek through the timber blinds, seeing Sarah standing there with two coffees and a brown paper bag. She must have left work to come see me. She is in her black slacks and a white sleeveless silk top with a big flowey bow at the front. I unlock the door an open it. “Bitch, there better be an orange poppy seed muffin in there to go with my caramel latte.”

  Sarah is smiling but her face immediately drops, “Kenz, what the fuck happened to you face?”

  Subconsciously, I reach up and rub my finger across my cheek; I completely forgot about the bruise. “I, ah, bumped into the kitchen door.”

  “Nice try, want try and improve that lie?” She pushes past me and comes inside. I wince when she bumps my upper arms, thankfully she doesn’t notice. Sarah sits on the couch, tucks her legs under her, and she places the coffees and muffins on the coffee table. I can feel her staring at me, watching me like a hawk as I walk over and sit next to her. Finally, I look up at her and I can’t hold back the tears. She pulls me into a hug, I wince again and she gently rubs my back in circles, just like she used to when we were younger. She whispers, “Shhhh.”

  Leaning into her hug, I cry in her arms for a while. I sit back, sniffle, and I wipe my nose on my sleeve as I tug away from her; earning myself a look of disgust from Sarah, as she hates when I wipe my nose like that. Sarah is looking at me with raised eyebrows, waiting for my explanation. Sitting back on the couch, I snuggle into the corner with my purple nana blankie. “It’s nothing, Sarah, just leave it.”

  “Kenz, that is not nothing.” She points to my face. “Did Clint do this?”

  Staring into my lap, the tears start to fall again, “Sar, he’s changing. He’s not the guy I started dating at the beginning of term. He’s always so angry, he appears everywhere I go, he’s always waiting for me here. Apparently I’m his, and the latest is, he doesn’t want me going away with you this weekend for some reason. I told him I’m going whether he likes it or not. That’s when he shoved me against the wall and hit me.”

  “That fucker.” She jumps up and startles me. “Shit, sorry, chicky.” She sits down next to me and wraps me into a hug, “Listen to me, Mackenzie.” She pulls back to stare directly at me.

  “Wow, you called me Mackenzie. You only do that when I am in trouble.”

  “Mackenzie Merlot, you listen to me and you listen goodly. You need to think long and hard as to whether you want to be with Clint. You have changed. We never see you anymore and he is always with you, like always. I was actually surprised he wasn’t here now, but after seeing this.” She spins her finger around my face. “I know why.”

  “But…”

  “No buts, lady, you need to look out for you. I seriously think this weekend away is just what you need.” Sarah jumps up excitedly and squeals in excitement, “I have an idea, let’s blow off the rest of the week and take off now. You need to get away to clear your head and me being the uber, awesome bestie will happily accompany you earlier. Plus work is slow and I’m totally bored out of my brain.”

  I sniff and wipe my nose on my sleeve, again, earning another scowl from Sarah. “Okay, that actually sounds really great. I think extra time away is just what I need.”

  “Squee, I’m so excited,” she squeals.

  “Hang on, we will have to wait till tomorrow, as I have a presentation due...”

  “Well that sucks donkey balls,” Sarah interrupts me but I put my hand up to silence her.

  “If you let me finish, my presentation is due first thing but I should be done by eleven. You can then pick me up from college, like we planned, and we can leave straight from there.”

  “Woo-freakin-hoo. Okay, I’m going to head home make a few changes to our weekend plans and pack. You finish your assignment and I will see you out outside the college tomorrow at eleven. No later, or I’m stalking in there and dragging your ass out.”

  “Thanks, Sar, I can always count on you to make me feel better.”

  “Happy to help, Kenz. That’s what best friends are for. Make sure you text me if you finish earlier.”

  Sarah and I chat for a while and it’s just like old times. Before she leaves, she gives me a crash make-up course to cover the bruise on my face. I suck when it comes to make-up, so I really appreciate this help. It reminds me of our makeovers we used to do when we were twelve.

  A few hours later, we walk arm in arm out to her car, it feels good to be with her again. She gives me a big hug and tells me to call her if I need anything. I wave as she drives off; I check the letterbox on my way back inside, and get excited when there is nothing. No bills, I think to myself.

  Feeling a lot more relaxed after my visit with Sarah; I head back inside. After locking the front door I turn around I see Clint standing in the kitchen. I freeze and stumble back into the door.

  “Hey, Sweetcheeks.”

  Hesitating a little, I reply, “Hey, C.” I race over to the couch, sit down with my purple blankie that Nan knitted for me, cover my legs, and I curl up into myself. I feel really uncomfortable having him here. “What are you doing here?”

  “I missed you in class and I was worried, Sweetcheeks.”

  “I’m fine, I just wasn’t feeling very well this morning. Sarah stopped by with a coffee and a muffin. I’m feeling a little better now.” I take a deep breath a quickly add, “She and I have actually decided to extend our weekend away, we are now leaving tomorrow after my presentation.”

  “I thought I told you that you were not going,” he spits through his clenched teeth. I notice his hands, fisting by his side.

  “And I told you that I was, this isn’t up for discussion. If you have a problem with it, then I think you need to leave.”

  Clint grabs the dish rack throwing it against the wall; cutlery, glass and plate fragments fly everywhere. I sit there open-mouthed and frozen; my heart racing with terror. I’m unable to move for fear that he will pound on me next. Fortunately for me, he turns punches the wall near the kitchen door and storms out. Before he’s out the door he yells over his shoulder, “Fuck you, bitch!” and storms off.

  I sit there on the couch in shock. After a few minutes, I get up and lock all the doors; I also put the deadlock on. I lean against the front door, close my eyes, and take a deep breath. I look to the kitchen and see the enormous mess that Clint has caused. Shaking my head, I walk to the kitchen to clean up the devastation after his outburst.

  Walking past the stereo, I turn it on and crank the music to drown out all the white noise and any thoughts that keep appearing in my head right now. Grabbing the dustpan and brush, I start to clean up the mess and add cups and plates to my shopping list.

  Girls Just Wanna Have Fun by Cindy Laup
er comes on. Normally I would sing at the top of my lungs and shake my booty around the room, but I’m too frazzled right now. With the weight of the world on my shoulders, I head to my room to start to packing for my trip away with Sarah. If that song doesn’t excite me, then I really am in a funk.

  While packing, I forget about all my Clint worries. As soon as I’m finished, I lie on my bed and pull up the covers. I start to think about what I’m going to do. I start to cry again, as I don’t have a clue on how to handle this. On one hand, I think I’m falling in love with Clint, but on the other, I’m now scared to be alone with him. I let out a frustrated sigh and shout, “Fuuuuck!”

  Kicking off the comforter, I head into the bathroom to clean my teeth. Looking up into the mirror I don’t recognise the girl reflecting back. It’s not just because of the huge, now almost blackish purple bruise. I feel lost, alone, and scared. I finish cleaning my teeth, and before heading back to bed I recheck all the doors are locked.

  Once everything is secured I climb back into bed. Grabbing my Kindle from the nightstand, I read for a bit to lose myself. However I can’t concentrate, I just keep thinking about what I’m going to do. Eventually, I drift off to sleep.

  Around 2:00 a.m., I startle awake and feel like someone is watching me. I turn on the bedside lamp but my room is empty. I shake my head and tell myself I’m going crazy. I lie back down and fall asleep again but I still feel like someone is watching.

  After a long day, I head over to Mackenzie’s and when I get there, I’m in a pissy mood. Waltzing into her apartment, I storm past her, shoving her into the bench. She smiles, but I’m too pissed for niceties, so I sink down onto her couch to finally relax. A head job would be great right now. Her phone is digging into my leg so I grab it, glancing down to see a text ending with, “Iove you.”