Blackness Takes Over & Blackness Awaits

by Karlsson, Norma Jeanne

  “Ow, ow, ow. What the FUCK?!” There is panic, a little pain and a flash of excitement in his eyes. I look directly into them.

  “Personal. SPACE,” I annunciate and smile my panty dropping smile, before I release his hand.

  “Holy shit Kav. I think I just came watching that,” O’Sullivan laughs. Kavanagh’s eyes haven’t left mine nor mine his. He’s assessing me, and I’m allowing it before I have to give him a damn tutorial on who not to fuck with. He sits back down in his seat and sticks his hand toward me.

  “Name’s Kavanagh. It is nice to meet you?” he stretches, waiting for me to fill in the blank. I look down at his hand. More like mitt, it’s huge and rough with scars and calluses…a man’s hand. I stick my palm in his and grasp it firmly.

  “Shannon Kelly,” all business in my response. His face lights up and relaxes. He releases my hand still eyeballing me. He nods to my other side. “That’s Ryan Callaghan.” Beach boy has a name. “And that’s Brian O’Sullivan.” He nods to my back. I hold Kavanagh’s eyes a moment longer and then right myself in my seat to stare at the front of the room.

  “Sit down boys. You’re causing a spectacle.” There is the slightest grin on my lips. They all laugh under their breath and take the seats surrounding me. Just then our instructor walks in and class gets quietly underway.

  Our first bit of business is our instructor going through his roll sheet. I’m not paying close attention until, “Mr. Kavanagh?”

  Kavanagh raises his hand, “Here.”

  “It’s a pleasure to have you in this class, Mr. Kavanagh.” The instructor smiles a strange grin at Kavanagh. What the fuck was that? I don’t look over to Kavanagh, but hear the boys snicker under their breath. I’m a little distracted when I hear, “Miss Shannon Kelly, are you present?” He has a huffy tone. I must have missed him calling me.

  “Yes, sir. I’m here.” I raise my hand in a little wave in his direction.

  “Head in the game Miss Kelly,” he responds. What the FUCK?! The snickers just continue from the peanut gallery. These boys have to go.

  Finally class ends and I can’t wait to get the hell out of here. I quickly make my way out the door, hearing the instructor stop the boys before they leave. I hope he reams their asses for fucking around during class….and making me look like a dick.

  I’m almost back to my dorm when I hear my name being yelled in the distance. I turn around to see my entourage about half a block away. I have a choice: run and make it into my dorm before they get to me or wait for them to get to me and tell them to fuck off, before I go to my dorm at a normal pace. I wait.

  “Shannon, hey,” Kavanagh says a little breathy from his brisk walk. The smile he gives me is warm and genuine, not the cocky grin from earlier. “We wanted to invite you to a get together at our place tonight.” His blue eyes are dancing in anticipation of my response.

  I smile from ear to ear. “Oh guys, as much as signing up to get gang raped after my first day of school sounds fun, I already have plans to hang out on the corner and get kidnapped and murdered. Sorry.” I stick my bottom lip out and give an overtly pouty face.

  “I am in love with you!!” O’Sullivan says and wraps his arms around me, scooping me up and spinning me around. He plops me back down on my feet, but leaves his arm around my shoulder.

  “Look, we won’t let anything happen to you and we won’t do anything to you. You’re not from here and you live in the fuckin’ dorms. Come over to our place, meet some people and have a good time. If it sucks, I’ll call you a cab. If anyone gets outta line, I’ll knock their teeth down their throats.” He’s serious. There is no twinkle in his stunning chocolate eyes and his arm around me is like what a brother would do to his sister. I feel…safe. What?! SAFE!

  I glance over at Callaghan and Kavanagh and I see the same protective stance from them too. They aren’t trying to get in my pants. That’s a first from a teenage boy I’m sure of it! The dorms do suck and the chick in the room next to me sings…badly…a lot. I have my gun with me. I’m not supposed to have it on campus, but I take my chances. I’ll bring it tonight and if someone gets out of line I can handle it on my own, like I always have.

  “Okay. I guess I can do you boys a favor and grace you with my presence for a few minutes,” I smile. They all three high five each other like they just scored a touchdown. What did I just get myself into?

  My cab pulls up at 11:00 p.m. I didn’t want to be early and they said they were going to start pre-gaming at 8:00 p.m. I should have thought about the level of drunkenness I was going to confront, but I chose to put on my big girl panties and see what happens. I’m wearing my favorite jeans. Finding jeans that fit my 5’9” height isn’t always easy. I have hips, ass, and legs. I’m on the volleyball team here, as I was in high school. I love being an athlete and what it does for my long lean body. I’m wearing a sleeveless lilac top that’s shimmery in the front, the neck sweeping across my collarbone. My hair is in a chignon at the base of my neck, with a few lose pieces around my face. I didn’t want a lot of makeup so I left it light and natural with a pink lip. The kicker to this outfit is the back. There is none. It has a loose cowl at the base of my back, otherwise I’m totally exposed. I’m braless (a risk, I know but necessary) and rocking some peep toe wedges (I can’t walk in stilettos and wedges are a risk but more doable). Tonight will be fun…right?

  I walk into the townhouse and it’s bumping. People are everywhere in the entryway, leading down a large hallway, to where I don’t know because I can’t see through the mass of bodies. The music is thundering through my body as I try to push my way further into the sea. I can’t believe this isn’t being heard outside. Good soundproofing? As I make my way gradually through the crowd I grip my clutch (hiding my gun) tightly to my side. My gun is my safety net…always has been. My Uncle Mick taught me to shoot when I was eight. That’s how he got me to talk after I went to live with him. It had been a month and I hadn’t said a word, so he took me out onto his land, maybe a few acres out and put a rifle in my hand. Told me to point and shoot at some targets off in the distance. I did. I hit the target on my first try.

  I looked up at him smiling for the first time since my life stopped and asked, “Can I do it again?” That’s when my new life began.

  I feel a rough giant hand on my naked back. I take a calming breath and look to my right to see Kavanagh smiling at me. Not his panty dropping smile. It’s my smile, the one he gave me earlier that’s genuine and caring. I smile back at him reflecting his warmth. We’re almost the same height with me in these four inch heels, but his body is twice as wide as mine. He’s wearing a light blue, button down shirt with the sleeves rolled up, exposing his ripped forearms and his top buttons undone giving a peak of his sculpted chest, paired with low slung faded jeans. His body is rock hard and pressed against mine; he’s definitely hotter than I gave him credit for this afternoon.

  He pulls me closer and purrs to my ear, “You look stunning. Don’t walk away from me or one of the guys alone. Understand?” He’s fucking deadly intense when I look in his eyes. Is he worried about me? I nod a little and look around for the other guys.

  Kavanagh puts his arm around my waist and moves me through the crowd. We end up in a huge kitchen/dining/living room with vaulted ceilings and wood beams. I’m staring at the ceilings and the wall of windows that extend to them, when I hear a wolf whistle to end all wolf whistles.

  “Holy FUCK!! Shannon you look good enough to eat!” O’Sullivan is making his way toward me with a Cheshire grin smeared on his face. He rips Kavanagh’s hand off my waist and grabs my hips, pulling me to him. He’s taller than Kavanagh and thus has a couple inches on my embellished height. O’Sullivan is wearing a pale pink, polo shirt and dark loose fit jeans. I love a man secure enough to wear a color intended for newborn baby girls, it shows a quiet confidence. His body isn’t as bulky as Kavanagh’s but it’s still cut and lean, a fighter’s build as I notice his knuckles are mangled and possibly healing from a fight. I s
tiffen a little at the realization I don’t know these guys at all and squeeze my clutch (I don’t want trouble), his long strong arms snake around my waist to pull me a little tighter when I tense and I feel myself almost immediately unconsciously relax.

  The party going males in the room are starting to stare, and I’m sure that’s why he thinks I tensed up. O’Sullivan hasn’t seen me from behind yet, so when he starts to rub my back and realizes it is bare his hand starts to quiver on its ascent. When he reaches the nape of my neck I pull back and look at him. He’s staring behind me at Kavanagh. When I catch his eye he looks deeply into mine.

  “Don’t walk away from me or one of the guys alone. Understand?” Serious can’t describe the look in his eyes. I give him the same nod I had given Kavanagh. He leaves one arm around my shoulder and pushes us further in the kitchen.

  “That is the finest piece of arm candy I have ever seen O’Sullivan! Where the hell did you pick her up and when do I get a shot?” I don’t see the guy that says it but I feel O’Sullivan’s arm tighten around me before he turns us around to face my admirer.

  “Fuck off Liam. She’s not up for grabs and never fuckin’ will be. You got me?” O’Sullivan is panting. I have no clue what’s going on, but he doesn’t want that guy anywhere near me. Behind him I see the ever massive Callaghan approaching with a concerned yet light hearted look on his face.

  “Shannon. You look amazing, get over here!” Callaghan makes a space for me to walk through, but I have to brush past that Liam character who growls as I move past him. Too bad he’s gorgeous because I have the distinct impression he’s bad news.

  Callaghan’s massive frame is sporting light khaki cargo shorts and a pale green, button down fussed the same way as Kavanagh’s. I don’t know how tall he is but I’m about 6’ 1” in these shoes and he still has almost half a foot on me. His body is long and lean, a swimmer’s build. Those dimples are irresistible and the smile that they frame is surely from a Colgate commercial. When Callaghan wraps me in his arms he comes to the backless shirt realization like O’Sullivan had. He starts to talk, but I cut him off.

  “Don’t walk away from you or the guys alone. I understand.” He has the same serious as shit look in his eyes, but smiles at me when I look up at him. He glances back at the other guys and they all nod in agreement that I’m theirs to watch for the night. Great. I go out to my first college party a free woman and ten minutes in I have three babysitters. Lovely.

  “Can I get you a drink?” Callaghan asks, keeping an arm around my hip.

  “Sure.”

  “What would you like? We have a full bar and a few kegs,” Callaghan yells over the music, motioning across the room to the set up.

  “Long Island Iced Tea would be great.” His eyes pop out of his head.

  Here’s the thing. Uncle Mick has not been the typical “parent” at all. He taught me to take care of myself and trusted me to do that. Part of that education was in the drinking department. He wanted to be sure that I could handle drinking, because he said, “Women under the influence are the biggest targets for trouble…” and he’s right. So my options were to never drink or learn how to handle alcohol. I chose the latter and Uncle Mick made me drink like no other the last year and a half, training me to manage my skills while highly inebriated. I came to find out that alcohol doesn’t affect me like it does other people…high metabolism or something. So I can drink most grown men under the table and still shoot straight.

  “You sure about that? What about a rum and Coke or a cranberry and vodka?” Callaghan looks at the bar while he’s talking, then back to me.

  “I can go get it myself if it’s too much trouble for you.” I smile up at him with eyes telling him I don’t need a fucking babysitter or a daddy. He doesn’t move, just studies my face. I reach down removing his fingers from my hip and start to move away. He looks down and shakes his head, grabbing my elbow leading me through the crowd.

  “You’re gonna get me in trouble,” he breathes in my ear. I grasp my clutch in my hand a little tighter, glancing back at him.

  “I don’t start trouble, I finish it.” I wink and move to the bar.

  I get my drink and turn around to see the boys surrounded by girls in what can only be described as scraps of fabric super glued to their enhanced body parts. My eyes have got to be bugging out of my head and I start to laugh, a real honest to goodness belly laugh. Kavanagh looks up at me and pushes one of the leeches to the side to make his way to me.

  “What’s so funny?” He’s smiling my smile at me. I nod my head in the direction of the harem.

  “You three are worried about my bare back when there are practically naked women huddled around you. It’s fucking hilarious!” I’m back to laughing now. Kavanagh isn’t laughing though. I look up at him and I can tell he’s thinking…hard.

  “There are two types of girls in this world, Shannon. The kind you fuck, and the kind you marry. No guy here is ready to get married so yeah we’re worried.” He has that serious face on again. My smile drops as I consider what he just said to me. O’Sullivan and Callaghan are standing with us, we form a small circle, locking out any of the hoes still lingering. The boys are waiting patiently for me to respond.

  “Well jeez guys. I don’t know if I should be offended or take that as a compliment?” I scoff. I really don’t.

  “It’s a fuckin’ compliment. It is the best compliment I could ever give a chick!” O’Sullivan yells over the music into my ear.

  “What the hell am I supposed to do with that bit of information boys?!” I yell back. They all shrug. “Well thanks for the tip.” I roll my eyes and drain my drink. I turn back around and get another one. I take a few sips and face my entourage again. It has grown by a few guys, four more to be exact. Kavanagh introduces his identical twin, younger brothers Ryan and Adam (they look like slightly smaller versions of Kavanagh), Callaghan’s older brother Finn (tall and super cute), and O’Sullivan’s younger brother Collin (he could be O’Sullivan’s twin). All four boys seem to be minding their manners and looking at my eyes (a little boob too). Kavanagh puts his hand in the small of my back and leads us to the other side of the room where the music is less intense so we can actually talk a bit.

  “Where are you from, Shannon?” Callaghan asks, his dimples in full effect.

  “Kansas City,” I grin back.

  “Oh, you’re from Kansas. ‘There’s no place like home’.” Dimples and a wink.

  “I’ll be sure to remind Toto,” I snicker and shake my head. If I had a dollar for every time someone made a Wizard of Oz joke.

  “What’s your major?” O’Sullivan takes the opening.

  “Political Science. Hoping for law school after that,” I shrug. It’s a dream, but one I really want!

  “No shit?! Us too. I mean all three of us,” he motions at Callaghan and Kavanagh, “are Poly Sci headed toward law.” He smiles sweetly at me.

  “Well I guess we’ll be seeing a lot of each other. Maybe you guys can refrain from fucking with me constantly in class so I can be productive,” I snark.

  “Daammmnnn,” Finn stretches the word. “She told you douchebags! I like her…a lot!” He salutes me. I return it dramatically.

  “Why is it that anytime I speak to you guys like you’re human beings, you all perceive it as some sort of epiphany?” I look around the group waiting.

  Collin replies, “They’ve never been spoken to like that. Girls are always on their jocks and have been since we were all little. No chicks talk to them, they giggle and bounce their tits. That’s a conversation to these guys.”

  “That’s just fucking sad,” I say. Honestly.

  “It isn’t sad. They serve a purpose for us and us for them. It works.” Kavanagh smirks, glancing around at his partners in crime.

  “Well hey, if it’s panty droppers you want, then it’s panty droppers you shall have! I’m no hater!” I yell. “Hey why did you call dibs on me earlier?” I look at Kavanagh who has turned a little sheepish at my
question.

  “We were playing a game. Most phone numbers by the end of the day wins,” he shrugs.

  “Wins what?” I ask, cocking one eyebrow.

  “Dibs on the best looking one.” He doesn’t even look me in the eye.

  “So was I a number to get or the prize to be won?” All three are looking away now.

  Finn looks at me yelling, “Prize!”

  “Well thanks boys, I’m flattered.” Their heads snap up and I smile. It is sweet when you think about it. I mean they never had a shot, but it’s the thought that counts. They all grin in relief at me. These guys are going to be my first real friends…I feel it.

  So here I am at my first college party surrounded by seven gorgeous men who won’t touch me, other than to put a hand on my back or an arm around my waist to let some reveler know I’m off limits. It’s a bizarre feeling…safe. I’m never going to meet a guy tonight, but I’ve had three drinks and am ready to dance.

  “Who’s gonna dance with me?” I ask, hand on my hip.

  “O’Sullivan,” is the resounding answer from the group. I raise my eyebrow at him. He puts both hands up in the universal defensive pose.

  “They offered so don’t blame me,” he warns.

  I stick my hand out to him. “Let’s go.”

  He leads me to the makeshift dance floor in the middle of the room, spins me twice and pulls me tight into his chest. I wrap my arms around his neck and he puts his hands on my hips. I keep my clutch between my hands behind his neck and we move. Holy shit can he move! Rhythm doesn’t begin to describe what he has going on. He runs his hand up my back, along my arm to the back of his neck and grabs my clutch. I freeze. He looks down at me questioningly.

  “I’m just gonna get rid of your purse so we can dance. I’ll give it to one of the guys, don’t worry,” he yells over the music into my ear.