Candlelight City

by Jessica Tang Von Harper

  Ricardo stepped up. “Actually, we were about to leave,” he said firmly, taking Emma’s other arm.

  “This is a private matter between Emma and me.” Evan looked away from Ricardo, as if dismissing him as unimportant. He pulled Emma again, and for a moment, she was stretched taut between the two boys.

  “Anything you want to say to her, you can say to me,” Ricardo replied. “Emma is my girlfriend, and you’re not going to pull her away unless she tells me it’s okay.”

  Evan cracked a grin at Ricardo. “Girlfriend, eh?” he mocked. “Well, guess what. Your girlfriend fucked my brains out less than an hour ago.”

  “Of course she did,” Ricardo replied calmly. “I told her to.”

  Evan stared. “You told her to?”

  Ricardo gazed at Emma. “I wanted to see if she loved me enough to have sex with someone she despises, just to please me. And she did.”

  “Someone she despises?” Evan repeated, stunned. Suzie wondered what he had thought had happened. He seemed arrogant enough to believe that Emma had been expressing a long-secret desire for him. Now he struggled to comprehend the truth, that it had been for the opposite reason, and she didn’t really like him at all.

  He gripped Emma’s arm tightly and put his face in front of hers. “Is this true, Um-um?” he demanded. “That sex didn’t mean anything to you? You only did it because he said so?”

  Ricardo calmly stepped forward and launched a punch into Evan’s gut. Evan’s eyes widened and for a moment, he lacked the breath to make a sound. He crumpled to the ground, gasping for wind.

  “Her name is not ‘Um-um’,” Ricardo said calmly. “Her name is Emma. Please speak to her with the proper respect. And I don’t want to see you touching her without my permission. Is that clear?”

  Evan croaked something inaudible, his eyes bulging like a frog’s as he sprawled weakly on the ground.

  It was enough for Ricardo. He gave Evan a final nod, then gently put his arm around Emma. “Let’s go,” he told her. They left Evan lying in the street.

  When they reached Ricardo’s car, he opened the car door for Emma. She paused before entering.

  “Ricardo?” she said.

  “Yes?”

  She looked down for a moment as a blush colored her skin. Then she looked up at him, meeting his eyes. “I would have sex with anyone if you asked me to. It doesn’t matter who. If you wanted me to, I would do it.”

  He smiled. “That means a lot to me, Emma.” His eyes twinkled. “But there’s just one person I want to see you have sex with at the moment.”

  “Who?” asked Emma.

  Ricardo turned his smile towards Suzie. “Suzie.” he replied. “How about you two continue that little show you were putting on earlier?”

  Suzie looked between Brad and Ricardo. Then she shrugged and started to undress. Once she was naked, she gave her clothes to Brad. She and Emma were already kissing before Brad even finished putting her clothes in the trunk.

  As they caressed each other in the back seat, Emma smiled at Suzie. “So this is what it’s going to be like, now that we both have boyfriends?”

  “Is that okay with you?” Suzie murmured.

  Emma grinned and reached down to slide her finger into Suzie’s slick vagina. “It’s perfect,” she breathed. As the car pulled away, Suzie laid back, closed her eyes and let her best friend finger her to an orgasm.

  23. Accepted

  The next Thursday, Suzie received a thick envelope in the mail. Her heartbeat raced as she read the return address: Stanford Admissions. She quickly ripped open the package, and pulled out the first piece of paper, a letter stamped with the Stanford seal.

  “Susan Moore, we are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted to Stanford’s undergraduate program…” she read. She lowered the letter. “Oh, my God. I did it. I really did it!”

  Her mother overheard from the kitchen. “What was that, Suzie?”

  “I’M GOING TO STANFORD!!!” Suzie yelled. She thrust the letter up to the sky and spun in place until she was dizzy.

  She called Brad with the news. “That’s awesome.” He sounded pleased, but not surprised. “We need to celebrate. How about tomorrow, we throw a little Suzie-going-to-Stanford party?”

  “Okay.” Suzie agreed. “But let’s keep it small, all right? We’ll invite a few friends to my house, order some pizza and watch a movie or two. What do you think?”

  “Sounds great,” Brad said.

  They invited Ricardo and Emma, of course. Suzie also invited Maddy and Alfred. Tonya said she would come, and she brought her new boyfriend Charlie, who was a student at Jefferson University. Charlie had an easy smile and a quick wit, and all of them got along with him instantly.

  Emma brought a bouquet of flowers, a tiara and a sash that proclaimed, “Miss Stanford University”, and they made a big show of presenting these to Suzie as if she had won a beauty pageant. Suzie played along, waving and taking a victory stroll around the couches while Brad sang in a rich tenor, “There she goes… Miss Stanford University…” Everyone cheered and applauded and Suzie felt like she was walking on air.

  Afterwards, they sprawled around the living room, eating pizza and watching one of Jim Carrey’s early movies. Suzie didn’t think the movie itself was so funny but they kept riffing on it and had each other in hysterics with their own off-color commentary.

  As they started the second movie, which was a drama, Suzie noticed that the tone of the party changed. Instead of loud joking at the expense of the movie, the lights were turned down and the couples settled down with each other, cuddling under blankets. Talk was quiet, often just whispers between partners. Suzie marveled at how quickly her social circle had changed once she and Brad had become a couple. Suddenly, it seemed like all her friends were couples, too. Suzie leaned against Brad, glad to feel his strong arm thrown over her, and to feel his warmth.

  When the movie ended, Maddy and Alfred stood up, gathering their things to leave. Suzie was surprised, as it wasn’t even seven o’clock yet. That was the disadvantage of having couples for friends, she reflected, noting a bulge in Alfred’s pants as he helped Maddy put on her coat. Couples wanted time in the evening to be alone.

  Herself, included. Suzie didn’t protest as first Tonya and Charlie then Emma and Ricardo stood and announced they were leaving. Suzie smiled as she bid them goodbye, looking forward to having some time alone with Brad. She imagined cuddling together on the couch, drinking hot cocoa, perhaps eating some of the mint sorbet that was in the freezer.

  When Ricardo’s car pulled away from the curb, Suzie turned to Brad to ask what he wanted to do. But he was smiling at her. “Now I have a little surprise for you.”

  “Really? What is it?”

  “It’s a surprise,” he said mysteriously. He held up a black silk scarf. “It’s not here. We need to go for a drive. And you’re going to be blindfolded.”

  “Blindfolded?” Suzie gazed at the couch, reluctant to leave the comfort of the house. But she was also intrigued.

  “Blindfolded,” Brad said firmly. He stepped behind Suzie and put the scarf over her eyes. He tied it in the back, pulling it snug against her eyes so she couldn’t see a thing.

  “Let me lead you to the car,” Brad said, and he took her hand and lead her outside.

  “Where are we going?” Suzie asked, but Brad didn’t answer. He led her to the car and opened the door for her. Suzie felt her way into the seat and fastened her seat belt. She heard the car start, and Brad pulled away from the curb.

  Suzie tried to focus, counting the turns and trying to imagine a map. But she quickly lost her bearings, and soon had to admit that she was completely turned around, with no idea where they were. She didn’t even know if they were still in West Linterna. Brad made a right turn and they seemed to be going up a ramp. Then came a succession of quick turns, lefts and rights and rights and lefts, until Suzie started to wonder if he was intentionally taking an indirect route to throw her off.

  T
he car slowed and stopped, and Brad turned off the engine. “We’re here,” he announced. He opened the car door.

  “Where are we?” Suzie asked, but he didn’t answer, and she heard the car door close. A few seconds later, he opened her door and helped her out. Suzie could hear an echo, as if they were inside a structure. The rumble of a passing car was momentarily audible, but it was far from them.

  “Come this way.” Brad took her elbow and lead her across a flat surface, her shoes echoing against the hard floor, asphalt or concrete. Brad opened a door, and they stepped through the doorway. The door closed, and they were someplace still and silent.

  Suzie felt something being pushed into her hand. It felt like a wine glass, but it was cool and smooth, as if made of metal. Another cup was pushed into her other hand. Suzie waited, holding the two cups, and heard the rhythmic sloshing of a liquid being shaken. Brad put his hand over hers, holding the left cup steady while he poured something into it. He poured the same thing into the other cup.

  He whispered, “What I’ve poured in your cup is the sweetest drink you will ever taste. But you mustn’t drink it until I say you can. All right?”

  “Okay,” said Suzie.

  Brad was silent for a moment, and Suzie waited patiently, holding the two cups. But then she felt his fingers tickling her shoulder, untying the strap of her dress.

  “Brad?” she said nervously. “I just want to have a quiet night, tonight, okay? Nothing crazy?”

  “It’s all right,” Brad whispered in her ear. “Trust me, okay?”

  “Okay,” Suzie said. Brad hadn’t paused in working on the strap of her dress, and he untied first one and then the other. He peeled the dress down her body like he was taking the wrapper off a candy bar. Suzie felt the dress fall around her feet, and when Brad pulled at it, she lifted one foot and then the other so he could pull it away. She squirmed in her matching blue satin bra and panties, underwear she had purchased specifically for that night. The cold made her shiver, but she was careful to hold the metal cups steady in her hands so that nothing spilled.

  A touch on her back: Brad working on the clasp of her bra. “Brad?” she asked. He didn’t reply, and the bra pulled away from her body. Now his fingers slipped into the waistband of her panties. He slid them down to the ground, and she reluctantly stepped out of them as well.

  Suzie realized she was completely naked except for the silly sash and tiara that Emma had given her. Her arms itched to cover herself, but she had no way of doing it without spilling the two cups she was holding. She heard Brad move something, and speculated he was storing her clothes somewhere. Where he put them, she never knew. She never saw those articles of clothing again.

  Brad stepped close to her and firmly took hold of her elbow. “Let’s go,” he whispered

  “Where are we going?” she asked, but Brad didn’t answer. He started to walk. Suzie set her feet for a moment, resisting, and Brad’s gentle tug brought her elbow forward, a light but unrelenting pull. “Brad…” She tried again. “We’re someplace private, right? I don’t mind being naked like this… and I know that lately I’ve been naked in some pretty public places… but tonight I feel like being shy. I just need a break from strangers seeing me and touching me. Okay?”

  “No one can see you right now but me,” Brad told her. “Will you come with me?”

  “…Okay.” Suzie took a timid step forward, letting his hand on her elbow pick the direction. They seemed to be walking down a corridor. Her heels made a clicking sound against the floor that echoed through the corridor. Somewhere through the walls, she could hear a low murmur, and a rhythmic bass beat. Music playing somewhere?

  They stopped and Brad pulled a door open. As if a flood lay on the other side, suddenly the noise burst through and surrounded them. Suzie realized they must have been inside a building constructed from thick concrete blocks, muting most of the sound from outside. Now the door stood open, letting in the cool night air, and a cacophony of music and voices lay just outside the walls. Suzie was stunned by the sudden change, and Brad pulled her outside before she realized what he was doing. She froze as the door clicked shut behind her.

  It sounded like she was surrounded by hundreds of people. “Oh my God, Brad…” Suzie’s hands trembled with the urge to cover herself. She prayed that she wouldn’t shake so much that the cups spilled. “Where in the world ARE we?” she stammered.

  Brad’s hand left her elbow. For a moment that seemed endless, Suzie couldn’t feel him or hear him, and she grew certain he had left her standing there, blindfolded and helpless. But then she heard his voice by her ear, his breath tickling her neck. “You know where we are, Suzie. Listen. You know these sounds. Where have you heard them before?”

  Suzie tried to put her nakedness out of her mind and focus on what she could hear. The bass beat was loud, music coming from somewhere in front of her. Was it a club? Something sizzled off to the left, and she caught a few words, “… extra peppers please…” She smelled something cooking. To her right, something was splashing, with a rhythm to the splashing. A fountain. In all directions, she heard people talking. Some of them were already talking about her, calling for others to notice her nudity.

  Of course. She knew exactly where they were. “The Riverwalk.” Suzie was horrified. “Oh my God… we’re at the Riverwalk, aren’t we?”

  “Right on the first guess!” Brad was pleased.

  Suzie was too stunned to speak for a moment. “Brad…” she managed to say. “I told you… I don’t think I can handle this tonight. I need a break. Can I please put some clothes on?”

  “Oh, Suzie…” Brad sighed. His fingers slipped under the sash as it crossed over her right shoulder. “Miss Stanford University, this says. I know it’s where you’ve always wanted to go. It’s where you deserve to go. It’s where you belong.” He slid his hand down to her breast, his fingers pinching and teasing her nipple, which had already hardened due to the cold. “You know I’ve already been accepted to UCLA. I’m going there to to study film. We each have our dreams, and we only have a few short months before those dreams are going to take us to different cities.”

  “I’m not ready to think about that.”

  “I’m not, either. Because right now, you’re here in front of me. Right now, we’re together. And while we’re together, I want every moment to count. I want to feel our hearts thundering in our chests, and our breath coming fast with the thrill of being near each other. I can’t take a break, Suzie, not from you, not when life is so short and the days pass so quickly. Can you understand that?”

  “I understand, Brad. Of course I do! I want to make every moment count, too…” Suzie bit her lip. “But here? I don’t know if I can do it… the Riverwalk is so crowded Friday night… everyone’s going to be staring at me… I think I’m too frightened!”

  “Just trust me and follow me,” Brad reassured her. “Everything will be just fine.” He slid his hand down her body and between her legs, where he slipped his index finger inside her. “It’s obvious that this turns you on. You’re already so wet.”

  Suzie squirmed. “That’s not fair,” she protested weakly as he stroked her clitoris.

  “I’ll tell you what’s not fair.” Brad stepped close to her, his hands gripping her thighs and pushing her against the wall. He lifted her knees up, holding them tight against his side, leaving her suspended in the air, pinned between his body and the wall. Suzie had the cups she was holding thrust out to the sides, frightened that he would cause her to spill them. Brad pressed his lips against hers, kissing her hard. Somehow, he had taken out his penis, and Suzie could feel its hardness sliding into her. He pushed inside her, filling her and stretching her until she gasped.

  “Oh my God…” she breathed. “You’re so hard!”

  “Seeing you out here, showing off your nude body to the crowd under the night sky…. it’s got me so damned hot!” Brad growled. “I feel like my dick is going to explode!” He slid out partially then thrust back into her, a
nd she gasped again.

  “Are you going to fuck me, right here?” Suzie was in a daze.

  “No. Not yet.” He pulled out of her and set her down. She wobbled, and he caught her upper arm to steady her. Once she had her balance, he pulled her forward. This time Suzie didn’t resist. She meekly let him lead her into the crowd.

  Voices surrounded her as they threaded their way through the ocean of people, and Suzie felt her face get hot as bystanders reacted to her. Gasps. Disapproving murmurs. Shouts. “My goodness!” “Look at that naked girl!” “What in the world is she doing?” “Dude, check out those tits!” She was almost grateful for the blindfold, sparing her from having to see the stares and the expressions on their faces. Suzie hugged her arms close to her, but it was impossible to cover herself in any way while she held the two filled cups in her hands.

  “Wait here for a moment,” Brad said. “I’m going to get us a treat.” His hand left her elbow.

  “Brad?” Suzie asked, her heart beating fast, but she received no response. Anxiously, she shifted her weight from one foot to the other, not sure where she was or who was around her. It was useless to stagger around blindly. She had no choice but to remain where she was.

  Fingers stroked her breast. “Brad?” she asked.

  “Who’s Brad? You mean your boyfriend?” an unfamiliar man’s voice asked. He was in front of her, close to her, and his voice startled her. She leaned her shoulder back, trying to pull her breast away from his hand, but the hand returned, the fingers stroking her nipple. The man continued, “He’s at the ice cream shop over there, buying a cone.”

  “Ok.” Suzie hoped Brad would return quickly. The man now had both hands on her, squeezing her breasts, and she was helpless to stop him. “Do I know you?” she asked.

  “No,” said the man. “I’ve never seen you before. But you sure got great tits.”

  “Thanks,” Suzie said nervously.

  “Do you really go to Stanford?” He had read her sash.

  “Not yet. But I will. I was…ah… just accepted.”