Safe With Me, Special Edition

by Shaina Richmond

  “Not really. I’d rather be sober enough to enjoy this.”

  “Yeah.” He chuckled. “You should see him when we talk him into playing Joe’s guitar.”

  “Huh.” I nodded. “So he really does play the guitar?” I thought back to the picture on his mom’s iPad. “I’ve tried to ask him about it but he always changes the subject.” And I always let him. I would never try to make Tyler talk about something that made him feel uncomfortable. Nobody knew about that shit better than me. “Is he any good?”

  “Well, it depends on your definition of ‘good.’ He’ll never win American Idol or anything, but he ain’t bad.”

  “American Idol? You mean, he sings, too?”

  “Oh yeah. When he’s drunk.” He stopped to take a drink from his cup. “Yeah. He’s okay.” He shrugged. “Better than average. Especially when he’s got a guitar.”

  “Wow.” I stood there fascinated, watching him talk to Joe on the other side of the room. I’d heard him sing but it was always in one of our cars, and my strained warbling drowned out his voice. I’d have to be quiet next time and pay attention.

  “I’ve never seen him act like he is tonight though. Shit, he’s got it bad for you.”

  I gulped. I had it bad for him, too. “That’s what I gather.”

  As I watched Tyler across the room, I noticed Joan leaning forward on the couch, trying to stare me down. Kate sat beside her but she wasn’t looking my way. “Shit.” I turned completely away to avoid eye contact. “Joan’s pissed at me for talking to you.”

  “Yeah, I know. She’ll get over it.”

  I could see the front door behind Caleb and the costumed people who were slowly trickling out. “Why can’t she just leave like all these other people?”

  “I wondered that, too.”

  “Hey Sue!”

  I turned to see Jacinda bouncing toward me. At first my eyes were drawn to her blond wig. It had a small green beret on top and pigtails that spilled onto her shoulders in large ringlets. She wore a short green dress that drew attention to her stick-thin frame, with a sash of badges across her chest. “Girl Scout," I said. “Very nice. I almost didn’t recognize you with that wig.”

  She giggled and ran her fingers through one of her pigtails. “I like being a blonde.” She held a green tote bag at her side. “Oh, and I have cookies. Want some?”

  Caleb smiled at Jacinda. “You selling them or can I taste your cookies for free?” He winked.

  I just knew Joan had to be watching all of this, getting angrier by the second. I wanted Tyler to hurry so we could go upstairs. I spent the next few minutes watching Caleb and Jacinda flirt with each other. Caleb fawned all over her badges. They said things like, “Wild Child,” “Too Hot For You,” and “Taste My Cookies.” I could tell Jacinda was drunk by the way she laughed at Caleb’s stupid jokes. But it was only a little longer before he was loudly beckoned away to whatever debacle had kept Tyler and Joe busy for so long.

  I waited until he was gone. “Hey.” I whispered loudly at Jacinda.

  “Hey.” She mimicked my tone.

  “Don’t look yet.” I cleared my throat. “Is Joan still staring over here? She’s pissed at me. And now she’s probably pissed at both of us for talking to Caleb.”

  “Hmm.” She pursed her lips thoughtfully. Her expression was hilarious in her drunkenness. “Doo doo doo...” Jacinda sang the familiar little song she always absently sang when she was doing something sneaky. It was usually an ‘is that guy still standing there checking me out?’ maneuver. This wasn’t the first time it involved one of Joan’s narcissistic freak outs.

  Jacinda’s eyes danced all around. Anyone who knew her could tell exactly what she was up to. She finally settled her attention back on me. “The answer is yes.” She glanced over her shoulder in Joan’s direction, wrinkling her nose like there was a bad smell nearby. “And she’s with...”

  I held up my hand. “Yeah, I know. They both hate me and they’ve finally combined their powers.”

  “Shit.” Jacinda groaned. “We were supposed to go to that midnight contest at Shooters.” Her pout abruptly changed to a big smile. “Hey, so’s there any chance of you sharing that big sexy Indian boy of yours?”

  “No.”

  “Really?” She puffed her bottom lip out. “Why not? God, Sue. He’s so fuckin’ hot. I love long-haired guys. I bet he’s so fuckin’ good.” She shoved a cookie in her mouth, chewing, looking me straight in the eyes.

  “He is. And it’d be nice if he’d just take me up to his room already.”

  “Fuck.” Jacinda shook her head, chewing the last of her cookie. “Fuck, fuck, fuck.” She wiped her mouth. “Take me with you when you go?” She stared at me, pleading. “Please? I just want one turn with him.”

  “I don’t know.” I wasn’t used to saying no to such a plea. Especially not when Jacinda was involved. With the exception of Mitzi, Jacinda was the only female friend I had who I could count on for a good time without her getting weird about it later. She would just move on like nothing happened. No jealousy, no confusion. Just one hell of a three way. Or four way. Or more... Then a hug goodbye in the morning and everything was back to normal. And I had to admit, the thought of being in a bed with Jacinda got me a little warm. If I didn’t have plans with Tyler, I could have imagined having some fun with her, getting her out of that little green dress.

  “Oh, come on.” She stomped her foot, whining.

  I laughed.

  “Gee, Sue. You’ve gotten really stingy.” Jacinda shook her head and gave me a doe-eyed innocent stare. “You must love him,” she said in a mocking, swooning tone.

  “Shut up.”

  Her jaw dropped. “That’s what it is! You love him.” She brought her hand to her chest, gasping. “Well, I do declay-ah.”

  “You do a horrible Southern accent.” I knew she was trying to do her best Blanche Devereaux. She and I had spent many afternoons skipping Business Law 209 in the Spring to stay at my house and get high, laughing hysterically at back-to-back reruns of ‘The Golden Girls.'

  She laughed way too hard, turning around, looking at the three roommates huddled in the corner. “I can see why. That’s one fine, fuckable man.” She picked up another cookie and put it in her mouth, chewing as she gawked at Tyler.

  I turned around to do some gawking of my own, ignoring Joan’s icy stare from the couch. Tyler had a funny scowl on his face. He, Joe, and Caleb were arguing while they fumbled around with some electronic equipment.

  Jacinda was right. Tyler really was a fine, fuckable man. And he was my fine, fuckable man that night. I loved how his drunkenness made him clumsy. He was human and imperfect, and I didn’t mind one bit. It made me feel slightly better about my own imperfections.

  “Jacinda?” I asked.

  “Yeah.”

  “You think I’m a slut?”

  “I don’t know. I am if you are.” Her eyes were fixed on Tyler.

  She didn’t even know the half of it. I thought about Vancouver, and the three Chilean businessmen who’d flown there just for me and Mitzi. And how much money I had to pay to get out of that contract. Slut wasn’t a strong enough word.

  I felt kind of bad for Jacinda as I watched her gaze longingly at Tyler. “I don’t think I’m gonna share him. Sorry.”

  She whipped her head back around to me. “Damn. What’s gotten into you?”

  I figured it was safe to tell her. She’d be too drunk to remember it later anyway. “Tyler.” I wiped away the tiny layer of tears that pooled in my eyes. “Tyler’s gotten into me. I’m really sorry. I can’t share this one. I think I need to straighten up a little.”

  Jacinda nodded very slowly. “Okay. I get it. But I hope you know how jealous I am.” She smiled and put her arm around me. I let her pull me close enough to whisper in my ear. “I’m jealous of him too, you know? I’d love to be in a Tyler-Susie sandwich tonight.”

  I smiled, pulling her closer.

  What would Tyler say if I invited her upsta
irs with us? Would he be jealous? Would it be okay with him if I had Jacinda all to myself and didn’t let him touch her?

  Would it really be so bad if I let him touch her?

  I already knew the answer to that question was an emphatic ‘yes.’

  This posed a whole new problem. My body’s reaction to Jacinda’s touch was undeniable. It was one thing to give up Dan in favor of Tyler. But Jacinda? Or hell, Mitzi? No more fooling around with my girlfriends?

  “Hey,” Jacinda whispered, her face a few inches away from mine. I could smell her perfume and her liquor breath. “I think you’re thinking too much.” She flashed me a sexy drunken grin.

  I couldn’t keep myself from grinning back at her. It was only Jacinda. Harmless, lovely, friendly Jacinda. I closed my eyes and felt her breath on my cheek.

  Fuck. Joan’s still sitting there. I just knew she was watching us. She’d seen Jacinda and I make out before but she probably had no clue how far things ever went. Or how often. It didn’t happen a lot but it was a pretty common occurrence when we were drunk.

  Should it have mattered that Joan was mad at me and might get jealous that I was getting even more attention that night? Or that Tyler was across the room with his roommates, possibly watching us? Possibly getting upset? Or possibly enjoying what he saw? I really wanted to kiss her. And her lips were so close to mine. Oh... those lips were so pretty. I watched her tongue run across them as she gave me a smile.

  “Sue?” she asked.

  “Yeah?”

  It happened in slow motion. A mischievous look flickered across her face. We stood so close together, all she had to do was lean forward...

  And suddenly her tongue was in my mouth. Her soft lips pressed against mine. I heard her bag of cookies fall to the floor with a light thump as her arms wove around my back.

  I gave it no more thought. Jacinda was kissing me. It felt good and I had no intention of stopping her.

  My hands somehow found their way to the small of her back. The sash from her costume tickled my arm and made me giggle. She responded by giggling herself and kissing me harder. Damn, that girl turned me on. I let her tongue run wild, licking in circles inside my mouth. When she finally let me, I sucked her bottom lip in between my teeth and used my tongue against it, trying to remind her of what I could do to her pussy. As if reading my mind, she put her hand behind my head and held my face even closer to hers, moaning like she didn’t care who might hear.

  I had forgotten how good it felt to kiss Jacinda. Her smooth skin was so different from Tyler’s stubbly face. It made me miss him a little but it was kind of nice for a change.

  It would be even nicer if I could get Tyler to bend me over and fuck me while I’m kissing Jacinda like this. No, I want my mouth on some other lips of hers... Yeah... me on my back... Jacinda on my face... Tyler’s face between my thighs... His magical tongue licking me while I lap at Jacinda’s clit until she comes all over me...

  Jacinda’s moaning got even louder. I pulled her closer to feel her chest pressing against mine as we kissed. Then I felt her hand wedge in between our bodies, creeping up my stomach toward my breasts. Soon, she had one hand behind my head and the other on top of my shirt, plucking my nipple - a typical Jacinda move. She pinched the outside of my nipple and gently tapped the top of it while she kissed me. I opened my lips a little more, giving her longing tongue more room to plunge inside my mouth.

  “Hey.” Tyler’s sudden voice in my ear broke the spell.

  I inhaled sharply and pulled my face away from Jacinda. At first she moved with me, pushing her face forward to keep her mouth attached to mine. Tyler put a hand on her shoulder to push her back. At the same time, he put his other arm around my shoulders and drew me close.

  I briefly glanced around the room around Jacinda’s head. To her right I could see a couple of other girls going at it, probably trying to compete with us. I recognized the girl on the right as one of the Lady Gagas who was flirting with Dan earlier. The other was dressed like a cheerleader. A little crowd had gathered around to watch them. To my left I saw Caleb and Joe standing next to Jacinda. Joe was nodding his subtle approval. Caleb merely grinned like a fucking idiot.

  I looked straight ahead at Jacinda. She gave me the frowny face.

  Wincing, I turned to get Tyler’s reaction. I was surprised at myself for getting so carried away and I had no idea what he’d think about it.

  He tightened his arm around my shoulder when our eyes met. His were slightly narrowed, staring down at me. He wasn’t smiling but he didn’t seem angry.

  We stared at each other without talking for a few seconds until I broke the silence. “Hey there.”

  Tyler arched an eyebrow. “Thought you were mine tonight.”

  Jacinda let out a whining moan. “I can be yours tonight too.” She reached up to stroke the side of his face with the back of her hand. “Please?”

  He chuckled, grabbing her wrist to push it away.

  Jacinda lunged up at him, her lips missing his mouth when he turned his head at just the right moment.

  “Jacinda!” Tyler’s eyes widened. He opened his mouth in shock and put his hand on her shoulder to hold her back.

  Caleb and Joe both laughed hysterically.

  “But I have cookies.” She winked and smiled seductively. “They’re really good, too. You should taste them.” She looked down at the floor. “Hey, where’d my cookies go?”

  Caleb bent down to pick up the bag Jacinda dropped. He already had a cookie in his hand as he handed her the bag. “Here they are, beautiful.” He winked when she took it. “You really do have the best cookies.”

  Joe rolled his eyes before walking away to talk to some people who were on their way out the door.

  Jacinda and Caleb shared a moment. She giggled and watched him eat the chocolate chip cookie he had taken out of her bag.

  Tyler bent down to my ear. “I only wanna eat your cookies.”

  “Good." I nuzzled his cheek. “Are you mad at me?”

  He stood up straight, his eyes showing no emotion. “I don’t think so.”

  “Here.” Jacinda suddenly shoved a cookie against Tyler’s lips.

  At first he looked at Jacinda like she was crazy, then he laughed and opened his mouth. She smiled and shoved the cookie inside. He took it out of her hand as he chewed. “These are really good," he said.

  I exhaled in relief. I didn’t realize I’d been holding my breath.

  “Yay!” Jacinda clapped. “Can I go upstairs with you guys?”

  “No,” Tyler and I both said in unison.

  Jacinda hung her head like a sad little girl.

  Caleb rubbed her back. “It’s okay, baby. I’ll take care of you.”

  She perked right up, smiling. “I think I need another drink.”

  “Let’s go to the kitchen,” Caleb said to her. Then he turned to glare at Tyler. “You dumb ass.”

  Tyler reached down to Jacinda’s bag, pulling out three cookies. “Fuck off.”

  Caleb shook his head and gave Tyler another glare of disgust as he led Jacinda off to the kitchen.

  I held out my hand to hold the cookies for Tyler. He was about to drop two of them while taking a bite out of the other one.

  “So, are you disappointed?” Tyler spoke as he chewed. “I only want you. Am I a dumb ass?”

  “No.” I was a little disappointed, but I was mostly relieved. A three-way with Jacinda would have been fun but I was pretty sure I couldn’t handle seeing him with another girl.

  I watched him chew his cookie. It was cute how he smacked his lips so much. It was different from how he chewed when he was sober. There was a boyish innocence about him that, I assumed, only appeared when he was drunk. He was so excited to have that cookie. He kept nodding and making little grunts of approval. It seemed like he had already forgotten about me kissing Jacinda. His whole world became a delicious, crunchy cookie.

  How does he constantly become more adorable to me?

  I put one arm around hi
s back and pressed my face into his chest, squeezing him tight, trying not to get my cheek stuck to one of his vinyl letters again. I made sure to keep the hand that held the cookies in front of him where he could see it.

  Tyler rubbed my back. “Let’s go upstairs.”

  I stepped back and looked up into his eyes. “Finally?”

  “Yep." He barely smiled as he touched the side of my face.

  “You’re not happy. I can tell.” I pushed a cookie up to his mouth.

  He parted his sexy lips and gave my finger a lick. I giggled. Then he winked and took the cookie in his hand and finished eating it. I had to close my eyes to protect them from falling crumbs.