by Zoey Long
“Goddammit,” she breathed. My palm found her throat and I braced it lightly, kissing her harder, careful not to make any marks. She spun around and kissed me on the mouth. I scratched down her arms and tried to pin them behind her back again, but she had other ideas.
“I fucking hate you,” she whispered, reaching for my hard cock.
“No, you don’t.”
“Fuck you,” she said.
Madison guided my hand up her skirt and into her panties. She was wet from kissing me or screaming at me—I wasn’t sure which, and I didn’t care. I slipped two fingers inside of her and pumped while she stroked my cock through my boxers. This lounge door didn’t have a lock on it.
She pushed me down on the couch and straddled me.
“We can’t… not here,” I said.
Madison slid her panties to the side, reached down for me, unzipped my pants, pulled my cock out of my boxers and sat right on top of it, guiding it fully inside of her. I drew in a hard breath as she threw herself forward and wrapped her arms around me. Her mouth was hanging just inches from my ear, and I could feel her breath on me.
“Now fuck me.”
“Ah, yeah. We’re still banging,” I say to Dave, who is still staring at me like an excited puppy.
Dave starts to laugh and shake his head.
“Seriously, dude? Man, sometimes I wish I had your life. You’re my fucking hero.”
“Right,” I say.
“I need to head out. Our parents are going to this stupid parent–teacher thing and it’s also for students, so…”
Dave nods, trying not to erupt back into laughter.
“Sure, sure. Sis going too?”
I shoot him a look and he smiles.
“Catch you later, buddy,” he says as I turn to go.
I stop home first so I can shower and change. Amanda is in full form, fluttering around in a full skirt and blouse.
“Derrick, I never see you anymore!” she exclaims, kissing my cheek.
“Won’t this be fun, I’ll finally get to see where you guys go every day! Sometimes I really miss being in the classroom.”
“So go back and teach, Mom.”
I turn my head and see Madison walking into the living room, a breath of fresh air. Lilac sundress today. Little straps. V-neck.
“There’s my girl,” I say.
She looks at me, wide-eyed.
“So nice to see you two getting along!” her mother exclaims.
The best place to hide is in plain sight.
“So, the event starts at seven. Your father and I are going to head over there after we grab a bite to eat. Do you want to join us? Oh, you probably have other plans. What cool young people want to hang out with their parents?”
She laughs on her way out of the living room. Madison and I exchange a look.
“I think we’ll be fine, Mom,” she says.
“We’ll meet you there,” I add.
We’re starting to sound like we’re verbally playing tennis. She serves, I hit back. I serve, she hits.
“Well, that was close. Why the fuck did you call me your girl?” Madison asks immediately, once her mother leaves the room.
“Wearing that tonight?” I ask her. “You look nice.”
“I have to go pick some shoes,” she stammers, heading down the hallway to her bedroom. I follow, slowly. She knows I’m behind her but doesn’t turn around.
I watch her slink into her bedroom, the dress flowing around her legs. I stand in the doorway of her bedroom, lean on the doorway, watching her. She looks up for a moment, but pays me no mind as she steps into her closet, looking at the row of shoes on the floor. Her toes sink into the plush carpet where she’s standing. The entire room smells like her, like lavender and the aroma of her skin. I feel something stir in me at the scent of her.
Madison arches her right foot and slips it playfully into a black pump. She looks at herself in the mirror, regards the smooth leg line, makes a face and takes it off. Then she tries a sandal. Those are off even faster than the first pair.
“I liked both of those,” I say.
“You like everything I wear.”
“It’s true,” I say. “But I like you best naked.”
“Shh!” She looks at me. I can’t help but smile.
“You can be naked and wear just the pumps if you want. That’s hot.”
Madison wants to be mad at me, but she isn’t. She’s huffy, but smirking.
“There. These are fine.”
She settles on a sexy pair of heels.
“What color are those?” I ask her.
“Blush,” she says.
“That’s not a color. Blush. Okay. You mean like pink?”
“No, they’re blush,” she corrects. “Very light pink.”
“Hot,” I say.
I giggle at her and think I love her more than ever before.
Chapter 8: Madison
Derrick and I leave the house together, and he looks so hot I can’t stand it. Dark jeans, a white linen button-down with the sleeves rolled up, the cologne he saves for days when he really wants to make me crazy.
He’s doing this on purpose. We’re about to go to this event together, with our parents in attendance, and God knows who else from school. We’re about to enter a fire pit. Derrick grabs my hand as we walk to get a cab.
“That’s not smart,” I say, yanking it away.
“Please, who can see us here?”
“Uh… everyone? This is our neighborhood. I’m telling you, it’s not smart.”
A yellow taxi with its light on drives down the road and Derrick stands in the street to hail it. He opens the door for me.
“After you,” he says.
Derrick and I have never been on a proper date before. For a moment, that makes me sad. We’re not able to go out to dinner as a couple. As I climb into the cab, Derrick pinches my ass. I whip my head around and he’s got a huge grin on his face.
“What? Get in the car,” he says.
Sitting next to him in the backseat of the cab suddenly has me feeling very awkward. Where do I put my hands? The cab driver probably assumes we’re a couple. I’m in a dress and heels, my hair is back, he’s dressed well, we’re heading downtown. Why did we both dress up for this, anyway? Maybe we both wanted a night out together, any way we could get it.
Just then, Derrick grabs my hand. Intertwines my fingers with his. My first instinct is to pull away, but I don’t. I keep it there. The partition between us and the cab driver is closed and no one can see us. Who cares if this person thinks we’re a couple? I squeeze Derrick’s hand. He looks into my eyes, smiling.
“See, that’s not so bad,” he says.
“No, it’s kind of nice,” I admit.
“Right over here is great,” Derrick says to the cab driver as we pull up to the campus gate.
I reach for my purse.
“I got it,” Derrick says, paying the driver with a twenty.
“You both have a good night,” the driver says.
“Thanks a lot, man. You too.”
Derrick gets out of the car first and then turns to offers his hand to assist me out of the cab. I hesitate, but take it. He’d do this if I were anyone, right?
We’re standing on the curb then, still holding hands. A united front.
“Let’s get this the fuck over with, shall we?” I say.
“Agreed,” he replies.
We head into campus with our hands still entwined.
In the sea of faces I am searching for our parents. The event tonight is in part a welcome for parents, in part a show of the art students’ work. I have just one piece up. They offered to let me put more in, but I was too shy. To my horror, I see Noel before anyone else. He’s showing one of his ridiculous animal portraits to a group of onlookers, mostly young girls. He’s gesticulating and smiling, gesticulating and smiling. I squeeze Derrick’s hand and he immediately sees what I see.
“Relax, babe,” he whispers.
I see my mother then. She’s standing right in front of my cerulean piece, talking to a woman I don’t know. The woman is tall and sinewy. She towers over my mother. Very long neck and shiny jewelry. They’re both laughing a lot. I guess that’s a good sign.
“Look, it’s my mom,” I say to Derrick. “Let’s go say hi. I think she’s standing in front of my painting.” I’m eager to get out of Noel’s line of vision as soon as possible.
“Ooh, let’s go say hi indeed.” Derrick winks at me. “That’s your piece, isn’t it?” he says excitedly.
“It is.”
We make our way through the crowd and head up to where my mother’s standing. My cerulean piece makes a beautiful background of monochromatic blues behind her head. The picture lights that the school has hung over the piece make the colors pop in a way I haven’t seen before. In the way I see it in my head. My heart beats quickly, seeing my name next to the canvas. My mother breaks eye contact with her companion as soon as she sees us.
“Oh, my girl!” she says, kissing my cheek.
“This is your daughter?” the tall woman asks. “How lovely.”
She turns to me and I think she looks like some kind of waterfowl. A swan? Maybe a goose? Her diamond bracelets shimmer under the picture lights.
“Hello, Madison. Your mother has been going on and on about you. You’re as gorgeous as your pieces. Really. I wish I could see more! The colors you use are so exquisitely vibrant. And your handsome fella here, I’ve heard so much about him, lucky girl!”
Derrick and I drop hands at once.
“What? No. No,” I stutter. “This is Derrick. He’s my brother.”
The tall woman’s head cocks to the side. Her long neck is almost cartoonishly stretched to the left, and her brow furrows dramatically.
“I must be confused,” she says immediately, shaking her head.
“Well, they’re stepsiblings,” my mother corrects.
“But, I swear I heard something… Don’t you have a boyfriend, dear? Who goes to this school too, who… is some kind of fighter? Martial arts?”
What. The. Fuck.
My mother lets out a loud cascade of laughter, throwing her head back.
“No, no! That’s Derrick. Her stepbrother. He’s the fighter. Can’t you tell?” My mother points to Derrick’s bulging biceps. He smiles weakly. The long-necked woman nods, still obviously confused. My mother goes on unfazed.
“These two used to hate each other, can you believe that?”
More motherly laughter.
“You should have seen them the day they met. Not a word across the table of that restaurant from my girl that day. It looked as though Madison had seen a ghost!”
I imagine I look quite similar right now. Who the hell is this woman, and how has she heard anything about me and Derrick at all? This makes absolutely no sense.
“She’s always been very independent. Only child, you know how it is—very mature, read a lot, didn’t want a sibling. She didn’t warm up to Derrick here right away. That took a good long while. But I dare say they love each other now. Oh, how funny that you thought they were a couple. That’s the silliest thing.”
My stomach is in knots.
“Ma’am…Ms.… may I ask?” I begin nervously.
“Saunders. Mrs. Saunders.”
Just then, out of the corner of my eye, I see Noel walking over to us. He’s arm in arm with some girl. I feel so lightheaded all of a sudden that I almost see him walking in slow motion towards us. No. This woman cannot be Noel’s mother. I’m going to vomit.
When they reach us, Mrs. Saunders hugs the girl who is with Noel and kisses her cheek.
“Hi, darling,” she says to the girl.
“This is my daughter, Katrina,” she says, turning back in our direction. Noel is standing with his arms at his sides, devilishly smirking at Derrick and me. He doesn’t break his stare, even as Mrs. Saunders goes on introducing her daughter.
“Katrina is also in the painting program, but she’s minoring in business. She just started midsemester, a transfer from Maine,” Mrs. Saunders says. “She loves it here so far.”
“Hi,” Katrina says to us, nodding.
I am almost positive I’ve never seen this girl before. My mind races trying to place her. I come up with nothing, except what I see right now. That she has long brown hair and brown eyes and she’s about my height. A poor man’s Madison Dale.
“You’re Madison, I know that,” she says.
“Noel told me all about you. So nice to finally meet you.”
Katrina reaches her hand out to shake mine. When I take it, it’s cold and thin. She slides it out of my grasp and continues.
“And your gorgeous boyfriend here, his name is?” Katrina’s gaze suddenly turns knowing, like she’s tormenting us too. They both are.
“Derrick Bourse,” Noel finishes for her.
“But they’re not a couple. Not at all. At least, that’s what they keep telling us,” he says with a smile.
I look at my mother. She is staring at Noel, looking him up and down. He’s in his usual charcoal skinny jeans, a green T-shirt. Mom doesn’t know who he is. I was dating him when they were on their honeymoon. They never met. Thank goodness for that. Her eyes are darting between all five of us. Like she’s looking at a puzzle and trying to solve it with her eyes. Finally, she gives up.
“I…should go find your father,” Mom says awkwardly.
“Really lovely meeting you,” she adds, snapping her head up, charm and grace back on.
“Kids, we’ll see you at home?”
She runs off to find Frank.
Derrick and I are left standing there in a silent circle, with Katrina, Noel, and Katrina’s long-necked mother, Mrs. Saunders. No one is sure what to say next, but Noel has not broken his gaze on either of us.
“We’re not a couple,” Derrick finally says, smiling.
“And to keep insisting that we are is silly. I mean, sure, we look good together.”
He grabs my hand and my heart skips.
“We just met, really. It’s only been a few months, but I don’t know what I’d do without my little sis now.”
The air is thick and awkward with things unsaid.
“I’m going to go get another glass of wine,” Mrs. Saunders says, breaking the moment.
“You kids hang out.”
“I’ll go with you,” Katrina pipes up. “My glass is empty and the wine is free.”
Once Katrina goes off with her mother, it’s just the three of us. Derrick is about to do something. He still has that icy stare on his face. I can feel the tension in the air, but I don’t want to make a scene.
“What the hell are you doing? What have you done?” I blurt out to Noel in a hushed tone.
Noel takes a sip of his wine and smiles, like he’s at a fancy benefit. Which he sort of is. A fancy benefit for the parents sending their kids to this overpriced institution. He opens his mouth and speaks in a chillingly calm, collected tone.
“You two aren’t fooling anybody.”
Another sip of wine. He’s such a smug son of a bitch I can’t stand it. He continues.
“Every single person in this room knows you’re fucking each other’s brains out every chance you get. Do you hear me? I saw to that. It’s over, kids. Your secret’s out.”
I feel Derrick’s upper body tense up and I instinctively grab his arm. I’m pretty sure he won’t lay Noel out in the middle of the event, but there’s even less of a chance of him erupting if I’m holding him back like this. I hope.
I look away from Noel’s pompous face for a moment and glance around the room. We’re the most captivating art piece in the room right now. I notice just how many students have turned to stare at the three of us. Most have stopped their conversations completely just to see what’s going to happen. Some are mid-sip in their glass of wine and have turned themselve
s entirely in our direction, staring straight at us. So many smirks, smiles, and concerned parents. Noel is right. Everyone in the room knows.
Noel leans into me and lowers his voice to a whisper.
“I saw him with his head right between your fucking legs. Do you remember that? Licking up that tight little pussy of yours. Just how you like it. And I remember exactly the way you like it, too. Too bad I didn’t know then, you only take it from family members.”
Derrick breaks from my grasp, steps forward in front of me, shielding my body with his massive frame. I wince. I’m pretty sure Noel’s about to get punched. Derrick stands tall, shielding me from Noel.
“No. Fuck you,” Derrick says to him firmly.
“Back the fuck up right now. You don’t get to talk to her like that,” he orders.
More people are gathering around to see if a fight is about to break out. Parents included. I don’t see my mother or his father, thankfully. Maybe they stepped out. I do see a security guard at the door, a portly guy who looks like he’s standing at the ready to take either one of these boys down. I’m sure he’s waiting for the first punch to be thrown so he can step in. Classical music is still swirling over our heads and we’re still standing in front of my cerulean painting, perfectly lit for onlookers to see.
My heart races.
“Derrick, let’s—” I offer.
“No, this stops right now,” he says to me.
“You’re so fucking sad, you know that, Noel?” Derrick tells him sternly.
“And for what? What happened to you, really? You got hurt, lost your girlfriend, and now all you have left is to focus on making our lives hell. You know what, man? You’re a loser.”
Noel is seemingly unaffected by this and finishes the rest of his wine in one final gulp.
“Mm hmm. I’m the loser. You all have a good night,” he says with a priggish smile, then turns and walks away.
Derrick and I are left standing alone in the center of everyone at the event. The light above my piece might as well be illuminating us in the middle of the room. Countless faces are staring, some obviously part of Noel’s rumor mill, because they’re giving us “you got what you deserve” stares. It’s more than I can handle. I feel my eyes start to burn.