by Autumn Brown
“Dream on, Jose. She wouldn’t go back to you if you got down on your hands and knees and begged.” I told him as I stripped my school clothes off.
In the basketball game, Jose bumped into me on purpose several times. I got him back by tripping him once. Everyone knew something was up between us, but no one said anything, especially to our gym teacher, Mr. Hashburn. After P.E., we went straight to football practice. That was one good thing about having P.E. last period, you didn’t have to change clothes for football practice, unless the coach asked us to wear our gear.
As we were passing the girls’ locker rooms on the way to the field, I spotted Taylor outside in her towel. What the hell? All the guys were staring and laughing. They’d all stopped to look. The girls played jokes on each other every once in a while, tossing a girl out in their towel and locking her out for a few minutes. I spotted Jose walking toward her. No way in hell was I going to let that happen. I took off in a dead run toward them.
“Hey, Taylor!” Jose called out to her as he approached her.
She gave him a look, then knocked on the door even louder and harder.
He rubbed her bare shoulders. I wanted to kill him for touching her. “I’ll take you around through the guys’ locker room if you want.” He offered.
She shook her head and didn’t even answer him. I was running toward her as fast as I could.
“Taylor.” I called out to her. I wanted her and Jose both to know that I was coming.
She looked up and smiled at me, relieved. Just then Jose ripped her towel off of her. She screamed, and covered herself with her hands as well as she could. Jose pushed her up against the wall, and started kissing her hard. I wanted to kill him like I’d never wanted to kill a guy before in my life. I ripped my shirt off over my head as quickly as I could and handed it to Taylor when I reached her. I grabbed Jose by his shirt, pulling him off of her, and threw him against the wall. I immediately started punching him as hard as I could. I got in several punches, before Zane showed up. He took off his shirt and gave it to Taylor too. She was crying out loud, almost sobbing.
“You sorry son of a bitch!” I yelled to him as I continued punching him. He didn’t get in a single punch. He tried, but I blocked them all. All he could do was turn his head, so I couldn’t hit him as well as I had hoped. He was bleeding from his cheek, his nose, and his lips. I relished in the blood slinging from his face with every punch. I wanted more of his blood. How dare he touch her! I hated him for trying to force himself on her.
Zane stood in front of Taylor, with his back to her, trying to shield her from the entire football team who was now gathered around to see the fight and Taylor without her clothes. “Stop, Spencer.” He held Jose against the wall for me. He was fuming, too. I went to Taylor and pressed her against the wall, shielding her a little better. I held my shirt up for her to put on. It was long enough to cover everything. She still wrapped Zane’s shirt around her waist. She was still crying. I held her close to my chest. I wished the team would leave, but they gathered around closer.
“Is she okay?” Zane asked me.
“She will be.” I told him, but I didn’t release her.
Dwayne, Alan, Mitch, and Keith all gathered around closer and turned their backs toward us. They were creating a circle to keep the other guys from seeing Taylor. They were all friends. Good friends. Better friends than I thought they were. “We’ve got you covered.” Mitch said. “So if you want to finish the job, Spencer, go ahead. There won’t be any witnesses.”
I looked over at Jose, who was completely whipped. He was trying to fall to his knees, but Zane wouldn’t let him. “I think I got him good enough.” I told the guys. I didn’t want to let Taylor go right now.
Taylor raised her head from my chest. “I didn’t.” she said firmly, with hatred searing from her eyes. She squirmed out of my arms. She walked over to Zane. “Let him go, just for a minute. I want to talk to him.”
Zane could see the rage and the determination in her face. He released Jose, who was about to fall without Zane holding him up. He was trying to act all macho and stay standing.
She put her face in his and spoke in pure anger. “Jose, I told you when you dumped me that you would never kiss me again.” She brought her fist up under his chin, and decked him as hard as she could. She was so small that it didn’t do much good, but maybe it made her feel better.
Jose grabbed her body around the arms, pinning her to his body. “Don’t ever hit me again, you little virgin bitch.” He said to her through gritted teeth.
I grabbed one shoulder, and Zane grabbed the other. Taylor raised her knee up and kicked him in the balls hard. He yelled out in severe pain, then doubled over. That really hurt him. She’d given that kick her all. Taylor had powerful legs with all her years of gymnastics. Jose hit the ground and tried to curl up in a ball to relieve the pain. Good luck with that one. It takes several minutes to regain any composure after a direct hit to the balls.
I heard several ouches from the group as the guys encircling us spread out. Then we heard laughter. Zane and I left Jose there and led Taylor through the gym and to the girls’ locker room. She went in alone. She returned a few minutes later, fully clothed.
“Who threw you out of the locker room?” we asked her.
“Vicky and her friends. She said Jose wanted to talk to me.”
“He planned the whole thing.” I told Zane, appalled at that fact. When he said he was going to pop her cherry, I had no clue that he meant by raping her. I felt like such a failure as a boyfriend. I should have protected her better. I hated myself right now. “I’m so sorry, Taylor.”
“It wasn’t your fault.” She told me. “Thanks for creaming him for me. You too, Zane.”
Taylor hugged Zane.
“I didn’t do much.” He told her. “I wanted to, but I didn’t want to rob Spencer of the pleasure. Maybe on the football field.”
I laughed at him. “Good idea, Zane.”
We were late for practice. During the touch game, Jose tripped and fell. I wasn’t watching and didn’t know how he fell. But all of a sudden, there were four guys huddled over him. It was Dwayne, Zane, Alan, and Mitch. I walked over to join them. I knew something was up. The rest of the team gathered around. The coach was on his cell phone, and looking the other way. We always knew when we could get away with things.
“If you ever mess with Taylor again, we’ll break your ankle.” Zane threatened him as he put his foot on Jose’s ankle. Jose couldn’t move. Dwayne had his right arm. Mitch had his left arm. And, I felt the need to put my foot on his left leg about that time.
“You can’t win a football scholarship if you don’t play football.” I told him.
“Swear on your brother’s grave that you won’t go near her again.” Zane said to him as he put more pressure on his ankle. “Or it cracks now.”
“No! I swear I won’t go near her again.” Jose almost started crying.
The guys let him up. I really wanted to kick him as he was struggling to get up. I resisted the urge though.
“Thanks guys.” I told them all. “Especially you, Zane.”
“We’re sorry about what happened, Spencer. Really we are.” Alan said to me.
“She didn’t deserve that.” Dwayne said to me.
“Thanks guys.” I said again, then we started playing football again.
Taylor POV.
I had to skip cheer practice and sneak off to the doctor. I didn’t want Spencer to know that I was hurt this badly. Jose had pushed me up against the wall. I think my shoulder caught a brick or something, because it ripped open. I put a bandage on it from the first aid kit in Ms. Jacob’s office in the gym. I knew it would need stitches. I’d hurt myself enough times over the years working on the ranch to know when a cut needed stitches. Sandy came with me. She didn’t have anything to do on Monday afternoons anyway.
“Damn girl. I can’t believe he did that.” She said as she watched the doctor sewing me up.
Thank
God for the invention of anesthetic. This would have been really painful. I could feel every stitch the doctor made, but it didn’t hurt at all. “Me neither. He was going to rape me, I think. He told Vicky and her friends to toss me out there naked, but I wasn’t going without a towel. I need to clobber that girl again.”
“I can’t believe he’d do that. I mean, how many girls are waiting in line for him?” Sandy asked me.
“I don’t know. I’m sure several.”
“What an idiot. Maybe Spencer’s fist slowed him down a bit.”
“I think maybe it did. You should have seen him clobbering Jose. He was hitting him so fast that I couldn’t even see his hands. Jose was bleeding everywhere, and Spencer just kept on punching. He was so mad.”
After we paid the doctor, Sandy and I drove back to school. “You really like him. Don’t you? I mean, like really like him. You two are going to have sex soon. Aren’t you?”
“Yes.” I told her. “We are. We’re going to do it Friday night after the game.”
Sandy squealed out in excitement. “Oh girl. I can’t believe you’re going to beat me. I mean, I’m way sluttier than you are. And, you’re going to have sex first?” She hugged me when we came to a stop in the school parking lot.
“It’s funny, but I don’t feel like a slut. I love him so much, Sandy.”
“You have to tell me everything after you do it. I want to know how much it hurts, and if it’s worth it. So, have you seen it yet?”
“Seen what?” I asked her.
“His thing.” she clarified for me in an embarrassed whisper.
“I have. The other day.”
“Well?” she prompted me to continue.
“He’s perfect. I don’t know. I’ve never seen any one else’s, but I like his.”
Sandy squealed in excitement. “So you never saw Dwayne’s?” she asked.
The way she asked, I knew she had seen Dwayne’s. “No, have you? Are you two going to go all the way?”
“He keeps pushing me to do it, but I don’t think I want to do it with him. I think we’re about to break up.”
“I am so behind. I didn’t know you two were going together. I haven’t been a very good friend lately.”
“You’ve been preoccupied, but I have too. We know we’re best friends.” Sandy let me off the hook.
We walked to cheer practice. Sandy was a flag girl. They didn’t have practice on Mondays, but she still stayed after school. She usually did her homework on Monday nights waiting on her brother to finish up with band practice.
I caught up with my cheers. We practiced a little longer than we usually did, because I’d missed a few minutes. The guys were waiting at Senior Pole when we finished up. I walked right into Spencer’s arms. He was standing next to Zane. I rubbed his arm. One guy was missing from Senior Pole, Jose. I wondered where he was and if I would have any more trouble out of him. I knew that I wouldn’t be walking alone to the parking lot any time soon. I was still shaken. I hoped the feeling would pass.
Sandy came by for a minute. “Good luck Friday night.” She whispered in my ear, then left
I laughed at her. “Thanks.” I called out to her as she was walking away.
“The game?” Spencer asked in a whisper.
“Nope. After the game.” I told him.
“You told her?” he asked me, not believing his ears apparently.
I nodded.
“If you want to wait, I completely understand after what Jose did.” he said to me in a whisper, pulling me off to the side some for privacy.
I shook my head. “I still want to.” Just then I saw Jose walking up toward us. I clutched to Spencer’s waist tightly.
“What’s wrong?” he asked as he struggled to turn around with me attached to his waist. “Oh, he won’t touch you again. I promise.”
Jose gave us a look. It was a look of defeat. “I’m just going to my locker.” He said.
Zane, Dwayne, Alan, Mitch, and Oscar all stepped up in front of him, blocking his way. Jose stopped dead in his tracks. He looked behind him, as if planning his escape route. I watched to see what was going on.
“Jose, you’re not welcome at Senior Pole any longer.” Zane told him.
“We don’t hang out with rapists.” Dwayne said to him with anger in his voice.
“He didn’t rape me.” I spoke out loudly. It sounded like I was defending him, but I felt like I was defending myself somehow.
“I did not rape her.” Jose yelled out.
“You were going to. You told everyone you were going to, and then you had Vicky push her outside in her towel. You ripped her towel off, then you forced yourself on her. If Spencer hadn’t been there, you would have kept on. And, we don’t hang around with rapists.” Mitch said. He stood strong in the middle of the hallway, in the middle of the guys.
“No we don’t.” several of the guys said. The look on their faces said they were itching to beat him up. I almost felt sorry for Jose. I said almost. I really wanted to hit him again though. I was feeling very bipolar at the moment. My back was starting to hurt again now that the anesthetic was wearing off, and my tits hurt where he’d grabbed them really hard. And, my pelvis was starting to hurt, too. I didn’t even realize that he’d grabbed me there until now. Maybe he was going to rape me. Bastard!
More people were gathering around. I knew the guys thought they were making a big gallant effort to protect my honor, but this was really embarrassing. The whole football team had seen me naked almost. Thankfully they were too far away to really see any details. But now the whole school was going to know exactly what happened. Of course, they probably already knew. News like this traveled faster than light at my school.
I buried my head into Spencer’s chest and started crying. I hated myself for being so weak and pathetic.
Spencer rubbed my back. “He’ll never come near you again.” he said, trying to soothe me.
“He won’t.” Zane said. “We’ll make sure of that, Taylor.”
The rest of the guys joined in. “He won’t even look at you again, Taylor. We’ll kick his ass if he looks your way. If he’s even in the same hall as you, he’d better turn around and walk away.” The guys were acting all tough. And, I’d hate to meet up with the wrath of these guys. I was really glad they were helping me out. Jose turned and walked away. I don’t know how he got to his locker. He must have taken the really long way around.
“Thanks, guys.” I told them all. I was really embarrassed still, but I didn’t want to seem ungrateful.
“That was wrong, what he did to you. A guy should never force himself on any girl.” Alan said to me. He’d never talked to me much before. It felt weird that he was talking to me now.
I smiled at him. I turned around to face them. Spencer held me loosely around the waist, and kissed my shoulder. When he did, he felt the bandage on my stitches.
“What’s this?” he said, pulling down my neckline to see it better.
“I had to go get a couple of stitches.” I told him.
I felt Spencer take a deep breath from behind me. “I should have killed him.” he said meanly.
“No, you took care of him pretty good.” Zane said.
“Bastard!” Alan said with anger.
“Is there anything else hurt that I should know about?” Spencer asked me.
I thought about my tits and my pelvis. “No.” I lied to him. Even if I was going to tell him, I wouldn’t tell him in front of twelve guys.
“Let us know if he even looks at you wrong.” Dwayne said to me with a pat to my shoulder.
I nodded. I was about to start crying again. I don’t know why. All the guys patted me on the arm or the shoulder, then walked away, leaving Spencer and me alone again. He turned me around so that I was facing him. He kissed me, then pulled back. “I love you, Taylor. I’m so sorry I didn’t make it there sooner.”
“It’s not your fault.” I rubbed his back. I wanted to make him feel better. I could feel the guilt pouring from him.
“I love you, Spencer. Thanks for clobbering him and for gathering the guys to help me out.”
“I didn’t do that. Alan did.” he told me.
“Alan?” I asked. “Why? I barely know him.”
“His sister was raped last year. In Phoenix, at college.”
“Damn. I didn’t know that.” I said quietly. No wonder he was so upset. “I’m going to go talk to him for a minute.”
Spencer let me go and walked over to Senior Pole to hang out with the rest of the guys. I walked over to Alan and grabbed his arm. “Can I talk to you for a minute?”
He nodded, then walked away from the crowd with me.