by Toler, B N
Well, that explained why her body was primed. “Do you still run?”
“Every day almost, just not like I used to.” Her gaze met the floor momentarily as she reflected on what she lost, but then rose back to me. “You in to any sports? I mean, anyone could see you’re a stellar volleyball player, but anything else?” The sarcasm in her voice was almost choking.
I smirked, embarrassed somewhat. “I could give you some pointers on the game sometime if you’d like.” Her smile turned into a laugh that made my chest feel tight.
“Is that so? Perhaps you could also give me tips on how to ask someone out. You seem to be a pro at that, too.” Although I laughed, I wasn’t sure if her comment referenced my nervousness at the lake or if it was a stab at me for being a ladies man.
“Then how ‘bout it?” I asked, cutting to the chase. I had no desire to discuss the poor impression she had of me and I didn’t want her to think I was too chicken-shit to ask her out.
“Mmm,” she mumbled as she took a bar towel and wiped a clean spot on the bar. “I’m going to need to think about it.” She shrugged.
“Oh yeah? What’s ther—”
“Soph, your order’s up. Old man’s outside waiting.” A tall, skinny man placed a bag with Styrofoam to go boxes inside on the bar.
“Thanks, Reg,” she called as she pulled a twenty out of her back pocket, went to her register, and ring something up.
“I’ll be back in a sec,” she called to shorty as she took the bag and headed out the front door. I watched her round the bar and as I did, I caught shorty on steroids behind the bar watching her, too.
“What’s she doing?” I asked as we made eye contact.
“Old man, homeless. She buys him a meal every shift.” Shorty snorted before greeting some girls that had just sat down at the bar. I got the feeling he didn’t like me for the same reason I didn’t like him. We were both wanting the same woman.
Wow. My mind felt fuddled. Brains, beauty, athlete, and a good heart? Is she for real?
When Sophia came back in, she made a few drinks before returning to me. Just as she reached me and her mouth opened to speak, I felt a small hand on my shoulder as someone pressed against me.
“Brandon Dalton.” A sultry voice said my name. “What brings you in here?” Laura Vanseen giggled in my ear. Her top showed every bit of her flat stomach and pert rack, leaving only her nipples to the imagination. Of course I’d seen her nips, twice, so I didn’t really have to imagine.
“Laura,” I said blankly, a little thrown off by her interruption. Why the fuck would she come and talk to me now? I’d seen her at countless parties and bars in the two years since we hooked up over Spring Break and she never spoke to me. But of course, she had to do it in front of Soph. I glanced at Sophia briefly to see her watching us with her arms crossed, and a look on her face that said she wasn’t surprised by someone like Laura approaching me. I knew she’d summed me up as a player just trying to get in her pants.
“We should dance, Brandon. Maybe you could give me a ride home tonight.” Laura smiled devilishly as her fingers traced my shoulder. My eyes moved to Sophia as she met my gaze with an arched brow.
“You two love birds have fun,” she glowered and walked away.
Shiiiitttt.
“I’m not interested, Laura. Now go away,” I spat as I peeled her hand from my shoulder.
She immediately recoiled before hissing, “Fine. Be a dick.” Then she sauntered back to her friends.
Six beers later, all served by shorty, I realized Sophia was purposely avoiding me. A little drunk, okay—mostly drunk because I hadn’t eaten anything since breakfast and finished seven beers in under an hour, I stood, knocking the stool I was sitting on over. Sophia’s gaze darted to me and she gave me a pitted look. Great, now she thinks I’m a drunk and a man whore. Perfect!
“I’m okay,” I grumbled as I pulled my wallet out and tossed random bills on the bar. “I’ll be back for that yes, Sophia.” I half yelled half slurred and everyone at the bar turned their heads, chuckling at the sight of me. Just before I stumbled back and landed on my ass, Jake caught me.
“Whoa, buddy,” he laughed. “I think we need to get you out of here.”
“I think you’re right,” I answered, mildly aware of what an ass I looked like.
My friends took me home that night and six more beers later and four shots of Tequila, I passed out on my living room floor. When I woke up, it was early afternoon and Ryan sat on our sofa eating Captain Crunch out of a Tupperware bowl, staring at the television.
“You sound like a fucking horse chomping on grain,” I groaned. He didn’t have to look at me for me to know I probably had dicks drawn all over my face. Rule number one when partying: don’t fall asleep before everyone else.
My head pounded, but I made no effort to move. “How bad is it?” I grumbled when Ryan looked down at me, a smirk across his face.
“Considering we couldn’t find a pen, only a black sharpie… pretty bad.”
“You used permanent marker?” My tone lacked the anger I felt. I was too exhausted to be angry.
“Yeah, Jake actually colored the dick in this time, too.”
“Fuck,” I moaned as I rolled over. “You guys suck.”
“Hey, Teague Jefferson showed up and wanted to shave your eyebrows off. I didn’t let him.”
“You’re a real friend, Ryan,” I said dryly as I pushed myself up and headed to the bathroom.
“I know. I know.” He laughed.
After a hot shower where I scrubbed my face repeatedly, the permanent marker remained, even though I was sure I’d scrubbed off all seven layers of skin. As I stared at the black penis with testicles that covered my forehead in the mirror, I cursed my friends and swore revenge. When I emerged from the bathroom, big black dick and I give great head still clear as day on my face, Ryan took pity and looked up how to remove permanent marker from skin on the internet. Unfortunately it would involve a trip to the drug store and Ryan’s pity only went so far as he refused to go for me.
Dick.
There was a CVS around the corner from my apartment so I pulled a ball cap on, which didn’t cover the I give great head that was written across my cheek, but at least it hid the big cock on my forehead. No one really seemed to be paying attention to me as I quickly scanned the aisles for baby oil to remove the marker. Just as I picked up a bottle, I caught someone looking at me through my peripheral vision.
Shit! Sophia!
We stared at each other for a moment before her lips began curving into a smile. “I see you passed out before your friends.” She didn’t laugh, but her lips pressed together as if she wanted to. She was wearing a pair of faded blue jeans with holes all over and a white tank top with a black bra underneath. My mouth went dry at the sight of her.
“Yeah, they got me good.” I sort of chuckled tearing my gaze away. Shit like this happened all the time, but standing in front of her with I give great head written on my cheek made me feel like even more of an ass. “I’m going to try the baby oil to get it off. Bastards used permanent marker.”
“Mmm,” she mumbled as she took the baby oil from my hand and placed it back on the shelf. “I can help you. Come with me.” She crooked her finger indicating she wanted me to follow her.
I did as she said, followed her silently. I had no idea what to say, but she went to the counter to pay for her items and when she finished she looped the plastic bag handle over her arm and took my hand, leading me to the back of the store. The one-stall bathroom in the back was a unisex and we went right in.
“Stand there.” She pointed by the sink as she fumbled through her shopping bag and pulled out a bottle of fingernail polish remover. “I did swim team in the summers and we’d always write our sets on our backs and hands in permanent marker so it wouldn’t wash off in the pool. This stuff always worked.” She ripped off a paper towel and poured some of the potent-smelling liquid on it. “Take your hat off.” I did so hesitantly and when I
did, she burst out laughing. “Your friends showed no mercy.”
I’m not sure I’ve ever felt more pathetic in front of a woman. Three times in a row I managed to make myself look like an idiot in front of her. Would it ever stop? “Yeah, well this is partially your fault,” I grumbled as she began wiping my cheek. Her body was almost pressed to mine and I fought the urge to reach out and put my hands on her small hips. She smelled like baby powder, soft and fresh.
“My fault?” she questioned.
“You kept avoiding me at the bar last night and I kept ordering beers hoping you’d come over and you wouldn’t, so I got shitfaced. If you would’ve come and talked to me we wouldn’t be standing here while you scrub dick off my face.”
She grinned. “Maybe you’re looking at it wrong. Maybe if I hadn’t ignored you we wouldn’t be together right now. Alone. The dick on your face tempted fate in your favor.”
“Such an optimist,” I said dryly. “So why were you ignoring me last night?”
She tossed the paper towel she’d been scrubbing my face with and pulled a fresh one from the dispenser. “Why were you trying so hard to get my attention?” she replied coyly.
“Because I want you to go out with me.”
Her gaze met mine with an unsure smirk before she started scrubbing my forehead. “Seems to me you have plenty of girls chomping at the bit to go out with you.” She was talking about Laura that approached me the night before. That’s when she started ignoring me.
“Maybe.” I replied confidently. It was true. I was good-looking and never had a hard time with women. “But we’re not talking about them. We’re talking about you.”
“What? Am I like the first girl to ever say no to you?”
My silence answered her question, but after a moment I asked, “Are you saying no?”
She scrubbed my forehead a little more vigorously before stepping back. “You’re good to go.” She tossed the paper towel in the bin by the door. I spun around to the mirror and checked my face. Other than the red areas from her scrubbing, the marker was gone.
“Thank you,” I said at my reflection before turning back to her. She was capping the bottle of fingernail polish remover.
“Anytime.” She smiled as she opened the door and I followed her out.
“So…” I hinted that I was still waiting for an answer. “Was that a no?”
“It wasn’t a yes,” she replied as we made our way through the store, me nipping at her heels.
“But it wasn’t a no,” I reiterated.
“You’re incorrigible.” She laughed as she pulled her blonde hair to one side letting it fall over her shoulder. She was beautiful. She was sexy without effort. There are girls that work so hard to flaunt themselves, show off their assets. Sophia didn’t have to and I wondered if she knew how good-looking she was or if she was naturally confident.
“You know you want to say yes,” I teased.
“I’m old enough to know not getting what I want won’t hurt me.”
Her words stunned me, and I stopped moving. She thinks I’d hurt her? “I won’t hurt you.” I was as surprised as she looked when I grabbed her arm to stop her.
We stared at each other for a moment before she grinned; her brown eyes flickered with amusement. “Maybe I’m just not into dickheads.” She shrugged and pulled away. “See you around, Brandon.”
Not the answer I was looking for, but I had to give her credit for her exit line. I also noted, she didn’t say no. As I watched her saunter off, I made myself a promise that Ryan and Jake would suffer for the stupid dick they drew on my forehead. Then I made a second promise to myself. The next time I saw Sophia, I would not embarrass myself.
After that day, I waited two days to go back to Bradley’s. I hoped if Sophia didn’t see me, maybe she would miss me. That’s stupid, she barely knew me, but I had a feeling—call it wishful thinking—that maybe Sophia found me attractive and it was her idea of me holding her back. The idea that I was this player who slept around. I had been with quite a few women, but I was not a player. I was always upfront. Maybe because she thought I was a playboy, she decided to guard herself from me, building a fortress around her body, heart, and mind.
There was no doubt in my mind that I was going to bust that shit down like the Berlin wall and fucking conquer her. I had to have her, and I was willing to do anything to get her. So when I went back to Bradley’s I decided no was not an answer I would accept.
“Dude. You’re already pussy-whipped and you haven’t even gotten any from this girl.” Ryan laughed at me as we entered Bradley’s. Maybe bringing Jake and Ryan wasn’t my best idea, seeing as they were the equivalent of a fucking punch to the dick when it came to encouragement. The bar was small with concrete floors and metal chairs and tables everywhere. The place was packed and we muscled our way through the crowd towards the bar.
“You saw her, Ryan. She’s smokin’.”
“Yeah, she is pretty hot,” Jake yelled over the crowd pulling his ball cap around backwards.
Just as we were twenty feet from the bar, the music stopped and the crowd groaned in unison as the dancing ceased.
“Hey, hey you guys. It’s time to announce the winners of the charity contest. The four people that donated the most money for the Stop Domestic Abuse project will have a shot of their choice served to them directly from our lovely bartenders, Alisha and Sophia. The one who donated the most can pick one of these lovely ladies to do a body shot off of,” the D.J. in the far right corner announced from his booth.
My stomach fisted with his words as my eyes darted to the bar. Sophia was climbing on top wearing little white shorts and a hot pink tube top with cowboy boots. I gawked at her like every other guy in the place until I realized every other guy in the place was gawking at my girl. So technically, at that point, she wasn’t mine, but I knew it was going to happen. It was only a matter of time. Sophia walked the length of the bar waving and winking to everyone. Whistles and howls sounded off from everywhere and I clenched my teeth. Another girl with huge tits and jet black hair climbed up on the bar as well and whispered something in to Sophia’s ear. Sophia’s gaze searched the bar until they fell on me. She made no acknowledgement that she spotted me, but when she turned back to Alisha, a slight smile played on her lips.
“The girls are going to do a little warm up dance, hope you folks don’t mind watching.” The D.J. laughed as Salt-N-Pepa came blaring out. The bar roared with shouts and whistles as Sophia and Alisha danced in unison just like in the actual Salt-N-Pepa video.
I couldn’t stop staring at Sophia, the way she laughed and her body moved. She had so much confidence and I hated that the woman that was about to become mine was on a bar dancing where everyone else could see her.
“Guys, tonight we’ve raised over one thousand dollars for our cause and I know Sophia and Alisha appreciate your donations as this is a charity near and dear to their hearts. So let’s announce our winners. Shots will go to Brian Cramer, James Lewis, and Victor Miles. The body shot with the bartender of your choice goes to Nelson Delet. So everyone clear the way and let these fellas make their way to the bar to receive their prizes.”
“Nelson Delet’s going to be taking a body shot off of your girl.” Ryan slapped my back, laughing hysterically at my expense as I stood stone faced. Nelson Delet played baseball and was a Class-A dick wad. My sexual escapades were like child’s play compared to his. He’d literally fuck anything with tits. I considered myself somewhat a man of standards—not extremely high ones, but standards all the same. A memory of Meghan Collier, two years ago surfaced when he took her to his room to screw her and when she started puking half-way through, he kicked her out before she could even get dressed. The poor girl was half covered in vomit and naked, clutching her clothes as she ran down the hall to the bathroom. The next day, he got kicked out of his frat house for pulling that shit. Like hell Nelson Delet would get anywhere near Sophia.
The crowd around the bar backed up, pushing us further
away, and slowly, one by one, the winners sidled up to the bar, staring up at the beauties each holding bottles of tequila and bourbon in their hands.
“And now let’s set a little mood music,” the D.J. said and AC/DC’s Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap came blaring through the speakers. Sophia and Alisha started dancing and shaking their asses while they sang along. My mouth went dry watching Sophia’s body move with the music. No way in hell I was letting Nelson take a body shot off her. As she bent down in front of one of the winners and held the bottle of Tequila over his mouth and began pouring, I started pushing my way through the crowd.
I found Nelson staring up at the girls, arms crossed, a subtle smirk on his face, and I paused. Maybe he’d pick Alisha and not Sophia so I might have nothing to worry about. If I waited it out, I might not have to watch Sophia have some asshole take a body shot off her and make a fool out of myself when I pummeled him. I crossed my arms and stood ten feet behind Nelson, dreading the next few minutes.
After each guy had their shots, the music stopped again and the D.J. said, “Okay, fellas. Thanks for your donations. Now for the big dog, Nelson Delet. And who will it be tonight, Mr. Delet? The audacious Alisha or the sensational Sophia?”
Please pick the black-haired chick, I chanted in my head.
Nelson’s gaze moved up and I knew exactly where it fell. Right on Sophia. Fuucckkk!
“Sophia it is,” The D’J. announced and whistles sounded from every direction. “Now she’s gotta dance to get herself warmed up for a body shot.” As if she hadn’t been up there shaking her ass long enough. “Let’s play her favorite song.” With that, Eddie Money’s, Take Me Home Tonight blared over the club and Sophia once again started moving as Alisha climbed down and grabbed a salt shaker and a lime.
My fists were clenched so tight my nails dug into my palms. Brandon, get your shit together. You barely know this girl and you’re already acting like a fucking jealous bastard.
“Oh my God, Brandon. I’m sorry, but the look on your face is hilarious!” Ryan said through his laughter.