Deal Breaker

by Whitney D.

  She agreed, saying it was a stupid idea and we were obviously not meant to be apart of that crowd. I couldn't have agreed more.

  2

  Soph had to park the car way out in the back of the parking lot. We made our way to the ticket booth, but when it was our turn to purchase tickets, she didn't even need to say anything before they waved us through.

  Having your BFF as an employee of the theater was proving to be a pretty sweet deal for me.

  “Popcorn?”

  “Huh?... Oh um no, I think I am just going to get a Coke.”

  As we neared the concession, I saw him out of the corner of my eye.

  My stomach immediately flipped and turned as if I was experiencing a hundred foot drop on a roller coaster. He was standing off to the side with his tiny broom and dust pan, sweeping up bits of dropped popcorn that had been littered across the floor in the lobby. I had no idea Sebastian worked at the theater and as I drank him in, my heart raced. His toned forearms flexed with each sweep of the broom and I swallowed a large knot that had built in my throat as I watched him work.

  “Em? Hello..... Earth to Emery!” Soph nudged me in my upper arm, shaking me from my Sebastian-trans.

  “What? Oh, a medium Coke, please,” I told the concession stand worker before glancing back over to Sebastian.

  He was gone. I turned a full 360 still searching for him, but he was nowhere to be found. I pursed my lips when I was unable to locate him.

  The attendant returned a few moments later with Sophie's large extra buttered bowl of calories and my modest sized Coke. She plopped them down and swiftly told Soph it was on the house.

  I snatched up my cup and took a quick sip before Soph finally acknowledged my previous behavior.

  “So.... you have a lady boner for Sebastian Holt?”

  I laughed.

  “No way.”

  “Please, Emery.... I saw you looking at him. I think you started to drool.”

  “Yes. He is gorgeous, but... he is so out of my league and even if he was in my league, he's a total player. He sleeps around. I wouldn't go near that dick if I was covered in a full body condom.”

  Sophie began laughing so hysterically that popcorn flew out of her mouth.

  We made our way back to theater number twelve and found some seats in the back. The movie wasn't supposed to start for another fifteen minutes, and for the first three minutes we watched previews - then Sophie started again.

  “You know, maybe I could hook you and him up?”

  “What?”

  “Sebastian.”

  “Stop Soph, it's not happening.”

  “All I'm saying is that I am sure I'm going to get to know him pretty well now that I am working here. Maybe all of those rumors we hear about him aren't true. Oh my God. Maybe he's a virgin too!”

  A lady sitting in front of us turned around and stared when she said the V word.

  I sunk down into my seat, trying to disguise my embarrassment.

  “What? Everyone knows you're a virgin sweetie.”

  I rolled my eyes, “Shut up Soph!”

  We both started laughing as the lights in the theater dimmed and we settled in to watch a full two hours of Channing Tatum shake his sexy ass in wide-screen mode.

  By the time the movie had ended, I had been holding my bladder for nearly an hour and it felt like it was about to bust.

  “I need to pee.”

  “Okay, well I'm going to run and grab the car. I'll pick you up out front.”

  I made my way to the ladies room with the sea of other women who had forgone peeing as to not miss a second of Channing. I waited in line for about five minutes before I was able to do my business. After exiting the stall, I quickly washed my hands and yanked my phone from my back pocket to text my dad that I'd be home soon. As I made my way out of the ladies room, I glanced down at my phone to see if my dad had responded to my text and when I did, my whole body crashed into a solid wall of muscle.

  My phone flew from my hand and hit the floor.

  Shit, I thought, hoping the screen hadn't cracked. I swiftly bent down to grab my phone, but his hand made it there first. Still in a crouched position, I looked up and was instantly sucked into the green-blue sea of Sebastian Holt's beautiful eyes.

  “Sorry, didn't see you there.”

  Yeah, I thought, like you see me at all.

  I looked around for a moment before I spoke, but “Yeah,” was all that came out.

  He grasped my elbow and helped me to stand. His hand stayed planted on me, as he stared at me for a few seconds without either of us speaking a word. The awkwardness had finally set in just as he said, “Hey, don't you go to Dempsey-Morris?”

  When I didn't immediately respond, he cocked an eyebrow at me trying to decipher my strange behavior. Although, I was certain that my muted ability to find words was the norm for all of the girls he spoke to.

  I yanked my arm from his grasp, “Yeah... sorry I've got to go.”

  I bolted for the door and didn't look back.

  There was no way I was going to let myself form a sick obsession for Sebastian Holt like half of the girls at school had. I shook myself of the heebie-jeebies that had me as I thought of all of the girls he'd slept with. He was a pig. No way. Not happening. This girl would not be groveling at his feet.

  Sophie was waiting in the Honda at the curb when I got outside. As I got in, she questioned, “What the hell took so long?”

  “Nothing.”

  “Nothing? It took you fifteen minutes to pee?”

  “The line was long.”

  “Whatever.”

  “I bumped into Sebastian.”

  She raised an eyebrow at me as the car began to move.

  “Bumped?”

  “Well I basically walked into him. I dropped my phone, thankfully the screen is still intact,” I dangled my phone in front of her.

  “So what did he say?”

  “Nothing really.”

  “You sure he didn't woo you with his dirty talk and ask you back to his place for a perfect cherry-popping good time?”

  “NO!”

  Sophie busted into laughter as I rolled my eyes and shifted to look out the window.

  Sometimes Sophie really annoyed me. She was my best friend, but she just didn't know when to stop it. Joking around was one thing, but she always seemed to take it a step too far.

  We didn't really speak the rest of the quick ride back to my place. When Sophie pulled up in front of my house, I grasped the handle to open the door, but before I got out she said, “Listen Em. You know I am just messing around with you. Maybe Sebastian isn't as bad as everyone says he is. I'm sorry if I embarrassed you.”

  “Thanks Soph. See you Monday. Good luck at work tomorrow.”

  I smiled at her briefly before getting out and making my way up the sidewalk to the front door. As I fiddled with my keys in my hand, the light flipped on outside just before the door was opened from the inside.

  “Mom?”

  She looked me over with a bit of wonder, “And where have you been, Emery?”

  “Daddy said I could go out. I went with Sophie to the movies. Didn't dad tell you?”

  “Nope. He's been passed out from drinking, I assume, since before I got home.”

  My eyes turned a little sad at that. I knew my dad drank and most nights it seemed like he drank a lot, but we never really spoke about it. I was beginning to think that not only was I the middle-class kid with used clothing, but I was also the kid who had a father that was a drunk.

  “I'm just going to go to bed. Good night,” I pushed past my mom and made my way back to my room, shutting the door behind me.

  I threw myself onto my bed face first as I slowly became overcome with a huge feeling of disgust about my fathers habitual drinking problem.

  I needed something... anything to rip me from the anger I felt. I reached between the mattress and box spring and searched for a few quick moments before I found what I was searching for. Firm, long, p
lastic... it would have to do.

  Hastily, I plucked my vibrator from its secret hiding spot and flipped myself over on my back as I kicked my ballet flats off and onto the floor. They thunked one by one as they fell from my feet.

  Closing my eyes tightly, I thought about the encounter I had with Sebastian earlier that evening and how my whole body tingled when he touched me. Furthermore, how my heart raced as the beautiful irises of his eyes took a hold of me. I couldn't even breathe when his stare locked onto mine. A tightness in my chest ached and every piece of hair on my arms stood on end.

  I sucked in my bottom lip as my tiny fingers unbuttoned my jeans before slowly sliding them down my trembling legs.

  Sebastian whispered against my ear, “Every inch of you is perfect, Emery... your skin is so soft... delicate... just like a peach. Juicy, ripe, sweet.” He nibbled on my ear briefly before his warm tongue drug the lobe between his teeth, sucking as he moaned against it.

  That night, it wasn't Channing Tatum who I fantasized about as I masturbated. It was Sebastian Holt. Something over came me after I finished and I panicked. It was the first time I had ever fantasized about a person who I actually knew as I made myself come.

  I quickly tucked the vibrator back under my mattress and snuggled myself deep into my comforter before dozing off.

  The next morning, I woke up to the sun beaming through the sheer curtains that hung against my windows. I tossed a pillow over my head in an attempt to block out the light, but restlessness had found me and I wasn't able to go back to sleep. Pulling the pillow off of my head, I glanced over at the clock to notice it was nearly lunch time.

  I shifted, moving my feet to the edge of the bed, and eventually to the fluffy comfort of the beige carpet in my room. After tugging a pair of running shorts from a pile on the floor, I put them on before exiting the room. I drug myself from my room on the other side of the house straight to the kitchen. My dad always made a hearty breakfast on Saturdays, typically waking me with the perfume of freshly fried bacon. However, this morning, the kitchen looked baron and it appeared that no breakfast had been made. I glanced around, noticing that I was evidently home alone. Odd, I thought. Mom usually didn't go into work until late afternoon and daddy only worked Monday through Friday.

  “Mom?”

  I got no response except for Bogey, our Terrier, yipping and yapping at me. He probably needed to go out, so I yanked his leash from the hanger next to light switch and hooked him up to it swiftly. We made our way to the front door before I called out once more, “Daddy?”

  Again, no answer.

  Bogey took off into the front yard as soon as I opened the door and I stood, waiting patiently for him to do his business before we retreated back inside.

  “Where is mommy and daddy, Bogey? Where are they? Yes... you are a good boy, aren't you?”

  I talked to Bogey like a small child as he shook his happy tail at me.

  My fingers began to nervously tap, tap, tap against the granite countertop.

  The phone rang, jolting me from my ponder over where my parents were.

  I rushed to the receiver and snatched it up, pressing the on button, “Hello?”

  “Baby, it's mom.”

  “Mom? Where are you guys?”

  “Just wanted to make sure you were up. Did you take Bogey out? I am sure he has to go potty.”

  “Yeah Mom, he's fine. Where are you?”

  “I checked your dad into a rehab center. I have to stay with him until Monday.”

  “A rehab center?! What for?”

  I knew my dad had been drinking heavily over the last several months, but it certainly never occurred to me that it was that bad. Although, come to think of it, my grandpa on my mom's side died of liver cirrhosis when I was six because he had been an alcoholic for some thirty years.

  “Baby, you know... grandpa...”

  “I know,” I cut her off, but acknowledged that I knew what she was getting at.

  “Everything is going to be fine. We just need to get this taken care of before it gets worse.”

  A few silent tears rolled down my cheeks as I thought about my daddy letting grain alcohol take over his family, his career, his body, his life... I sniffled from crying just once before my mom spoke up again, “Em, are you crying?”

  “No,” I wiped my cheek with the back of my hand.

  “I'll be fine.”

  “Listen, baby, I called The Cranston's and they said you can stay with them until we get back on Monday night. Sophie will pick you at noon. So pack some stuff and take Bogey with you.”

  “But Mom....”

  “No buts Emery Jane!”

  I blew out a puff of air in frustration. I wasn't a baby. No one needed to watch me while my parents were away for a few days. Although, I guess hanging out with Sophie would be fun. That was before I realized that she had to work all weekend. It seemed like I'd be spending the better part of the next three days hanging out with her parents instead.

  Fun..... Not.

  “Fine,” was all I could manage as a response.

  “Em, I know you're not a little girl any more, but I would feel better if there was an adult around to look after you. It's just for a few days.”

  “Okay Mom. Tell Daddy I love him. I'll see you guys on Monday. Love you.”

  “Love you, baby.”

  After hanging the phone up, I flew to my room to pack a small bag with a few things. I basically lived in leggings, so I packed four pairs, knowing it was too much. I tossed in a few solid colored tunic tops, a pair of classic black flip flops, my favorite pair of battered Chucks, and after topping it off with a few sports bras, I was ready for my weekend away. After a quick shower, I tossed on a pair of light grey leggings and paired them with a solid black tunic that was adorned with glittering red sequins that spelled out the word Fierce.

  Before plopping myself down on my bed to text Sophie, I slipped on my black flats.

  Me: Hey. When are you coming to pick me up?

  Sophie: I should be there in about twenty minutes.

  Me: Okay. What time are you working today?

  Sophie: Yeah. About that. I know you're dying to hang out with my parents, but did you want to come with me? You can just watch movies the whole time. LOL.

  Me: Seriously?

  Sophie: Yeah. I don't think it will be a problem. :)

  Me: Sweet!

  Sophie: Be there soon!

  The prospect of getting to watch new release upon new release at the theater at no expense had me fleeting with excitement. I was sure the free showings would also include never-ending buckets of deliciously buttered popcorn and as many refills of Coke as I could consume. I laughed at myself as I thought about how life in a small town could be set on fire by something as miniscule as a couple of free movies and an abundance of complimentary, usually over-priced concession items.

  Even though I was well aware that they wouldn't have bothered me if I was to be cooped up inside their sprawling mansion on the other side of town, I really had no desire to sit around all weekend.

  Her parents were cool, but were much older than mine. Sophie has an older brother who was thirty. She had been a last ditch effort as her parents had struggled with infertility for nearly ten years after her brother was born. I had heard the story what seemed like a hundred times. Her mom gave birth to Sophie when she was forty-six, which made her mom nearly sixty-three.... some twenty years older than my parents. Sophie's mom and dad were technically old enough to be my grandparents.

  After my naughty thoughts of Sebastian the previous night, I figured I'd watch the new Channing Tatum movie a few hundred more times to rid my mind of the forbidden fruit that was Sebastian Holt. I would stop at nothing to prevent him from infiltrating my fantasizing again.

  3

  With that last thought, the doorbell rang. I snatched my bag from the floor and scooped up Bogey before answering the door to a very giddy looking Sophie Cranston.

  “What are you so happy about
?”

  “Well... luck would have it that Sebastian is working tonight. So....”

  I put a hand up to stop her, “No.”

  She pursed her lips at me and nodded, but I knew she wasn't going to put it to bed for good. Sophie Cranston was the most persistent person I knew. If she had her way, she'd soon be scribbling Emery Loves Sebastian all over my notebooks.

  “Just playing, lighten up Emery!”

  She didn't say more, but instead she turned on her heels and made her way back to her car that was parked in the driveway.

  I followed a few seconds later, tossing my bag in the backseat and getting in, holding Bogey closely in my lap.

  “I go into work at one, so I figure we'll drop your stuff and Bogey off at my house really quick and then head to the theater?”

  “Alright.”

  A few moments passed and just as we were exiting my neighborhood, I finally told her what had been bugging the crap out of me, “Can we just let this whole Sebastian thing go, please....”

  My tone was desperate and she simply said okay in response. Finally, I had the feeling she wasn't going to bring it up again. A huge rush of relief washed over me as we made it through town.

  Sophie was actually one of those kids. Her parents were loaded, but if you hadn't been to her house, you would've never known it. That's what I liked most about her. Her dad was a retired cardiovascular surgeon and her mom, ironically enough, had been his scrub nurse. A match made in operating-room heaven is what Sophie always said. Her dad had been retired for a few years, but her mom had just recently left the work force. Sophie didn't flaunt the money her family had and every thing she had personally gotten from it, had been earned through hard work and huge amounts of determination. When her parents had offered to buy her a sweet new five series BMW for her birthday, she gracefully declined, telling them she really appreciated it, but there was no reason for them to buy her some thing so nice as a first car. Furthermore, she told them she'd be happy with a used car and as a result they paid $3000 cash for the 1987 Honda she'd gotten.