Slick

by Kristi Pelton

  “I… I need to go.”

  When his hand wrapped gently around my upper arm keeping me in place, my eyes darted up to see his dark brown eyes staring down at me. My entire body purred at his touch.

  “You just said you couldn’t go without Elle.”

  He and I were side by side and his chin nearly touched his shoulder as he glowered down at me. He seemed angry. And I was so rattled I couldn’t see straight. The only thing I could see was the beads of sweat trickling down his pecs and over his washboard abs.

  “Tessa.” He said it again, and I closed my eyes. “Were they fucking?”

  “No!” I gasped. “They were asleep!”

  A wicked grin swept over his face, and for a moment all I could think about was how white his teeth were behind that smile.

  “So you did seem them.”

  “Let me go.” I jerked my arm.

  Leaning in just a bit closer, his smile faded as his eyes bored into me. “I’ll let you go as soon as you tell me what has you blushing, pretty girl.”

  Pretty girl? Those words caused me to hesitate. Then, with every ounce of strength I had, I tugged my arm away. “I walked in and they were naked. Lying on top of each other. That’s all. You happy?” I growled.

  A raspy chuckled came from his throat. “If that got you this worked up, wow, sweetheart. Give me a number and I’ll get in line.”

  My hands landed on my hips before I realized it. “Get in line?”

  He wiped the sweat trickling down his forehead with his thumb before it rolled into his eyes. “Yep. Twenty-four hours in and you got yourself a little fan club already. Don’t let them know how hot and bothered you are.” Disgust dripped from his words.

  “I am NOT hot and bothered,” I barked, lying out my ass.

  Without warning, he grabbed both my shoulders and yanked me closer. I’d never seen a more flawless face. “I’ve seen that hungry look plenty of times, Slick. I guaran-damn-tee ya, if I touched that little east coast pussy right now, I’d be diving into the Atlantic.”

  Caught somewhere between the throes of anger and the throes of lust, THAT was exactly where I wanted him to touch…except it was so not appropriate for him to speak to me like this and…his conversation with Ty kept firing off in my head. I know she’ll be safe because I don’t want her.

  “You’re disgusting. Too bad for you you’ll never touch it. It’s pretty much off limits to guys who don’t want me.”

  With those heated words, I spun around flipping him with my hair and stormed off to Elle’s car. I’d stay in there until she woke up.

  I sat in the car, still reeling from my interaction with Bodhi. What the hell kind of name was that anyway? He was right about the moisture between my legs, and why was I embarrassed by that?

  The ache. The longing. The desire…I wanted it to go away. Never in all 17 years had I reacted like that to a guy. In classes, we read about sex and even about orgasm…but not once had I worried about what it felt like. Now, I wanted to know. I couldn’t think straight.

  After unlocking my phone, I opened Google. I’d read about girls owning vibrators but I honestly had never tried one. My phone loaded…Wow. Vibrators were shaped like all sorts of things in an array of colors. Clitoral stimulation. Vaginal stimulation. ANAL stimulation? Wow. Gross! Varying speeds. Different textures. Guaranteed orgasm.

  I glanced around to see if anyone was around Elle’s car. Just me.

  I searched female orgasm. 9 best positions. Clitoral Orgasm. The G-spot. Guaranteed orgasm every time. I chose that one. The gist of the article was about foreplay and making sure the woman is ‘wet.’ Clearly, not a problem. Then it talked about the stimulation of the clitoris…the pressure…the pace…the friction.

  Suddenly, Elle’s name flashed across my screen, startling me.

  “Hello?” I screeched, feeling like I’d gotten busted.

  “What the hell is wrong?” she groaned.

  “Nothing. I’m in your car. Why?”

  She yawned. “Bodhi just busted into Ben’s room and told me to tend to you. That you needed to go home. And that I needed to be a better host.”

  “He did what?” I sat upright in the car…all pistons firing again.

  “Hold on. I’ll be out in a sec.”

  Chapter 5—Tessa~Dibs

  “You slept in Bodhi’s bed?” Her voice scraped over the windows like it was the most appalling thought ever.

  “He wasn’t in it, Elle,” I said, annoyed by her response.

  “Oh God, Tess!” she shrieked, pulling through the gate and into her drive, her mouth agape.

  “What?”

  “Shit! Bodhi has called dibs on you.”

  I shook my head in disbelief. What was it with this dibs shit? “No. I promise you. He hasn’t. He made it abundantly clear, he doesn’t want me. Those exact words came out of his mouth.”

  Elle slammed the car into park and turned to me, her face a mask of confusion.

  “That doesn’t make sense. Why would he want you in his bed?”

  For the second time in hours, blood rushed to my cheeks, invading the paleness. There was no way I was mentioning the sister comment.

  “I think he was just being nice.”

  Both her perfectly waxed brows shot up. “Bodhi is never just nice. I mean he’s nice, but…angry.”

  “Angry why?”

  Hungry for any tidbit of information on him, I impatiently waited for her answer.

  She got out of the car and I followed.

  “It’s a long story. Do you like him?”

  Immediately, I shook my head no. “Obviously, he’s gorgeous, but pretty sure he’s not my type.”

  Elle giggled as we went in through the garage.

  “Tess. Do you even know your type? You haven’t even been around guys since you were five.”

  “You’re right. I don’t know my type, but I’m trying to figure that out. I want to figure that out.”

  She threw her keys in a basket, tossed her purse in a chair and started up the stairs.

  “Elle! Where did you stay last night?”

  Aunt Di’s voice crashed into us from the entry hall. My eyes fell to the wood floor and then up to Elle.

  “Friends. And seriously, don’t act like you care just because Tess is here.”

  Aunt Di’s expression transformed from anger to hurt very quickly and she mumbled something beneath her breath before heading into the kitchen.

  Up in Elle’s room, I threw it out there.

  “What is up with you and your mom?” I said, plopping across her bed.

  “She’s no different than your mom. Alcohol is her best friend. Difference is…you had a daddy. I had the pleasure of having a string of men in and out of this house. And I’m not talking about it, so don’t even go there.”

  Sadness touched her eyes; seeing her like that this was hard. I swallowed dryly with the hidden insinuation behind her words.

  Needing to change the subject, I spat out the first thing that came to mind.

  “Do you have a vibrator?”

  Her jaw dropped as she cackled wickedly.

  “My girl wants a vibrator!”

  “Shhh!” I shushed her, trying to put my hand over her mouth before she could say anything else. Why had I brought that up? Oh, God, she must think I’m a head case.

  “We’re getting one today. Seriously? Have you never?”

  Embarrassed, I barely shook my head.

  “Oh, Lawd! This is going to be the best summer ever.”

  Chapter 6—Bodhi~Distracted

  “Come on you guys. Let’s get started,” I growled toward the group clustered behind me. I’d warmed up my guitar for the past 20 minutes strumming…listening to the talk about Tessa.

  I’d sat quietly eavesdropping on the conversation trying to keep my mouth shut as Ty told Dirk all about her ass—which was oddly the very thing I adored about the girl. Her perfectly rounded ass filled her britches nicely and wasn’t something you saw in Southern Cal v
ery often. Fuck! Tessa wasn’t something you saw in California period. Her waves of silky brown hair that effortlessly outlined her fair complexion…and the curves in all the right places. I adjusted my cock and turned around.

  I yawned and handed Ty the new lyrics I’d written last night while trying to get her out of my damn head.

  “I’ll play the tune.”

  He nodded and picked up his own guitar, swinging the strap over his shoulder.

  “Dirk. Give him a soft, slow bass.” He started on the drum, and I joined in, thrumming the tight strings to the tune I’d created in the past few hours.

  The words flowed better than I imagined for a first-time run through, and we all eyeballed each other happy with the way it sounded.

  Twice when Ty crooned the words, he turned a glance my way, but I blew it off like I didn’t know what he was talking about. The words spoke of a fair-skinned brunette…

  “That was nice.” Dirk finished us off with a slow fade.

  Ty and I had been friends far too long to ever let any girl drive a wedge between us. But I didn’t understand why he would go run his fucking mouth to her about saying I didn’t want her. It didn’t make sense. I’d said it though, so whatever. I’m sure the lyrics about an eastern accent may have been a clue too.

  What the hell was it about this girl…the innocence in her eyes? The same old shit every night? She represented something so different than what I was used to. Did I really want this girl… Did Ty? Never once had I experienced this need or desire to possess someone. But Jesus, when she rushed toward me with her hand extended…a gust of her scent fell over me and I popped wood immediately. Girls flanked the stage nightly wanting to get in my pants and I could take or leave every single one.

  I smiled thinking about her dash to shake my hand …something painful shot across her face on her way toward me but she hid it with her east coast proper ways. I had to give it to her…she was pretty damn slick. Truth be told, I wanted to make her slick. I started chuckling to myself. The best kind of girl—one that would leave soon.

  “Hey.” Ben rounded the corner and fell onto the ripped up piece of shit sofa.

  “What’s up?” I said while Dirk and Ty discussed the musical piece.

  “Tired,” Ben yawned.

  I kicked the only leg the sofa had and jarred him. “Wake the hell up. Big show tonight.”

  “I’ll be there.”

  “Elle coming too?” I asked, not giving a single fuck about Elle but figuring Tessa would tag along.

  “I think so. She took Tess for her first Brazilian wax.” He chuckled and winced with closed eyes.

  A slow smirk crossed my face. “Ouch.”

  My cock actually twitched when he said that, but then jealousy quickly replaced whatever emotion was running through me wondering if she did it for someone else.

  Seriously…jealously? I wanted to punch my self. No one has ever meant enough for me to be jealous and I’ve known this girl for twenty-four hours. Why the hell do I care? I don’t.

  The sweet incense smell wafted through the air and I glanced behind me to see that Dirk lit up a blunt. Smoking weed in the garage got old to me but they all did it on occasion. No way was I doing that shit to my body.

  “Put it out, man. Let’s not get jacked before the show.”

  Dirk took another long pull before snubbing it out with his finger and thumb.

  Panchas came alive when we played, and the owner, Hank, took great care of us. The larger space was perfect out back. Even though the crowd continued to grow each time we played, I didn’t get wrapped up in the people. I kept to myself, either leaning against my stool or near the back of the stage; a night never went by that I didn’t get lost in the strings of my guitar.

  Our few groupies were always front row and center—following us from bar to bar or town to town. Ali’s tits bounced in her barely-there tank to the beat of the music as she watched me. Elle was wrong the other night—I knew Ali’s name. It didn’t mean I had feelings for her, but I did know her name.

  I forced myself not to make eye contact with Ali as Tyler sang to the crowd, knowing that she was angry after I had sent her away last night. But hell, the guys had spent the entire time eyeballing Tessa like she was a new, shiny toy to play with. To make matters worse, my judgment had already been impaired after I downed those seven beers like water.

  Taking a risk, I peeked up long enough to see that my name had been written vertically between Ali’s tits. The B O D H was all I could see…the I was somewhere hidden in the plastic cleavage. I closed my eyes, trying to get lost once again in the music. But every time I closed my eyes, I saw Tessa walk over and kiss Ty. Her eyes had been finding mine all night, I know I hadn’t imagined that. Yet she kissed Ty. I must have read that shit wrong—her glances. The questions in her eyes. She confused me.

  The most god awful sound strummed from my guitar…my guitar…my hands. The obnoxiously wrong chord drew peeks from Ty and Dirk but both kept playing, and we fell back into rhythm and key. What the fuck? Focus.

  As the night sky darkened, I continued to fight thoughts of Tessa. This was foreign to me—trying to rid a girl from my head. Usually they never made it that far. Again, I closed my eyes and pictured the wave of her thick head of hair and how it fell around her face, accentuating the paleness of her skin. The randomly placed freckles over her nose. My favorite part—that fucking ass…because she actually had one. Exact same redundant thoughts from this morning…this afternoon and now…and pretty much every moment in between.

  All the girls I’d ever been around had fake something…fake tits, plastic noses, filled lips, lifted asses even…Tessa was real. The innocence radiating from her deep russet eyes was real too. And when I chanced looking up again from behind Ty, I spotted those brown, round orbits locking with mine.

  Chapter 7—Tessa~ Bodhi alert…

  Caught staring at Bodhi, my eyes instantly flitted to Ty, who offered the friendliest of smiles. I grinned back at him. Keeping time with the beat, his foot stomped on the stage. I’d only been to one concert and hadn’t known anyone personally on the stage, and they certainly had never made eye contact with me.

  “Girl! Ty is checking you out.” Elle smacked my ass, and I cringed, feeling the jolt from after effects of the Brazilian wax. God, it had been pain like I’d never experienced and never wanted to again.

  I waved at Ty, and Elle leaned in a second time. “Then again so is Bodhi.”

  Her words stole my breath, but when I peeked in his direction, he was facing the back wall. No baseball cap. My cheeks still burned from his comments this morning. His girlfriend, or whatever she was, and her friends were pressed up against the stage. I watched him, hoping he would notice me there, but he was so wrapped up in his guitar, he didn’t even acknowledge her, let alone me.

  “Let’s go over there,” Elle said, pointing at Ben who extended his arm out to his side and captured her in an embrace.

  “Hey, Tess.” Ben rubbed my shoulder with his free hand.

  “Hey!”

  The music was loud and when it suddenly stopped, a welcomed silence took its place.

  “Taking 10,” Ty announced and soft background music echoed out through the speakers. Trying not to make it obvious, I watched out of the corner of my eye as Ty leaned over to speak with Bodhi. Then Ty and the drummer walked down the three steps on the side of the stage.

  As I watched Ty’s skinny body walking toward us, I noticed Bodhi standing behind him, his intimidating eyes fastened on me. Ty’s smile faded when he noticed my line of sight and glanced behind him to see Bodhi.

  “Hey, you!” I said to Ty, offering him a friendly grin. “You have an awesome voice.”

  “Did you doubt that?” he smiled. “Thanks.” A bashful expression painted his face.

  “You all stickin’ around?” he asked.

  I nodded. “I think so.”

  Ty was the sweetest. Plus his communication was so normal and I didn’t have to decipher what he w
as trying to say. Why couldn’t I just like Ty?

  Matt, Collin and Ben approached us with a tray of drinks. I was only 17 and wondered how I was getting served.

  “Can’t I get in trouble?” I asked Ty and Elle overheard.

  “I forgot to give this to you last night.” She handed me a Pennsylvania driver’s license. “Ben had it made for you. I already have one. The address is the same as yours in Mass so you won’t get confused.”

  Biting down on my lip, a smile crept across my face. “My very own fake ID,” I giggled.

  “You must be sooo proud.” Bodhi’s rude tone was hurtful. But there was something else in his low murmur that touched a deeper part of me. I couldn’t breathe as he was standing so close behind me that I could feel his breath in my hair.

  “Fuck off, Bodhi. Just because you hardly ever drink doesn’t mean we aren’t going to,” Elle spat out.

  “And just because you’re a fucking lush, Elle, doesn’t mean Tessa has to be.”

  “Bodhi,” Ben cautioned, shaking his head at him. I was still trying to recover from hearing him saying my name.

  I’d worn a little sundress because the thought of putting anything over my now hairless crotch made me tense. The heat emitting between my legs caused me to squirm; I wasn’t sure if it was the result of having a bald vajayjay or Bodhi’s proximity.

  Bodhi took a bottle of water off the tray that Collin held and handed it to me, and then handed Ty a beer.

  “I’m gonna grab another water. Be right back,” Bodhi said to no one in particular but was looking at me. I had a feeling the bottle of water in my hands had been meant for him. This man was a walking contradiction! His words from last night kept firing off in my head. Him treating me like a sister…him not wanting me but obviously not wanting anyone else to touch me. After a long sip of the water, I took the beer that Collin held out to me with raised brows.

  “Atta girl,” Matt said.

  “Thank God,” Elle added.

  Ty clinked the top of my bottle with his. “Cheers, Princess.”

  He tipped his beer back and headed back toward the stage where Dirk waited.