Act Your Age

by Eve Dangerfield

  He was so close she could smell the hops on his breath, malty and pleasant. “That doesn’t matter.”

  “Of course it does. Do you want to get married? Have a husband of your own?”

  Kate’s first instinct was to tell Ty ‘no,’ but she was pretty sure that was blocking. She’d done improv classes in secondary school; when someone threw up an idea, you were supposed to go along with it, not shut them down. “I guess so. When I’m older.”

  “Well then, you need to know what men like.”

  He walked around the couch, his large frame blocking her view of the TV. “Move up. Let me sit next to you.”

  She swung her feet onto the floor and sat up. Ty settled in beside her. His skin was very warm. Instinctively, Kate pulled her fuzzy peach-coloured blanket from the back of the couch and moved to wrap it around herself.

  “Not so fast.” Ty seized a corner and tugged it away from her. Their eyes met, and Kate was struck by how different he looked. Normally his expression was neutral, perhaps a little remote but not unkind. He was grinning now, but it only served to make him look downright mean. His gaze as it fell from her eyes to her lips to her breasts was cold, and Kate knew he was calculating how long it would take to get her out of her leotard.

  You’re a whiny little brat, his eyes said, but I want to know what your cunt tastes like and I plan on finding out.

  Kate’s belly tensed. She felt fear, but it wasn’t true fear, it was like the lemon tartness that made a dessert even more delicious by contrast. “Wh-what?”

  Ty’s gaze fell lower, from her nipples to her lap. He smirked as though he could already taste the wet place between her legs. “Just looking at you.”

  Kate’s cheeks grew hot. She looked around for a way to change the subject and her gaze fell on the beer bottle in his hand. “Mum doesn’t like it when you drink during the week.”

  He laughed and held his bottle, dark green with a label she didn’t recognise. “What your mother doesn’t know won’t hurt her. Do you want some?”

  “I-I shouldn’t. Thank you, though.”

  “You’ve never had a drink before, have you?”

  “Yes,” Kate protested, as vehemently as though he really thought this was true.

  Ty’s smile was a slow, sticky promise of corruption. “Glad to hear it. Now take this.”

  He handed her the almost-full beer and got to his feet. “That’s yours. I’ll get another one.”

  When he sat down again he had a fresh bottle dangling from his long fingers. He tapped it against hers. “Drink up, Katie, you could stand to relax.”

  His faded denim eyes told her something else. Drink up because if you do, we’ll have a secret and if we have one secret, we can have more.

  It was surreal how different his energy was tonight. This wasn’t a man you respected and looked up to, this was a man you’d never leave alone with your girlfriend, who’d put his hand on your lower back during a group photo and then slide it down to your ass as the lens flared. It turned her on. It was shameful how much it turned her on, but there was genuine trepidation there, too. This man was a stranger, and such a compelling one she couldn’t help but wonder if he was the real deal, if the detached ex-firefighter Ty Henderson was the sheep’s clothing and this man, the wolf inside. Her fantasies were twisted, sure, but she heaped all the pain and humiliation on herself. What kind of man wanted to pretend to hurt women, what kind of man—

  Enough, Kate told her panicking brain. Ty pretending to be this guy is no weirder than me pretending to be this girl. I’m not a freaking teenager, I’m twenty-five, and I’m not being groomed by my sexually depraved stepdad. This is Tyler Henderson, a guy I work with. My real dad lives in Cape Otway and is probably eating a dinner of boiled potatoes and sausages right now. I want to have sex with him as much as I want an anvil soaked in the Ebola virus dropped on my head. This is a fantasy, our fantasy. It looks like he’s in charge, but I gave limits and a safe word. I agreed to this. More than agreed to it, I helped build it because it turns me on.

  The realisation that she and Ty were two equals striving for the same goal was so wonderful Kate was galvanised into action. She took a sip of Ty’s beer, shuddering at the bitter taste. “Urgh.”

  He chuckled. “You don’t like it?”

  “Not really.”

  “Just keep going. You’ll get used to it.” Ty laid his arm along the back of the couch, not quite around her, but close. He seemed to be growing larger by the second, as though he were feeding on her nerves. “So, you said you’re friends with boys. You dating any of ‘em?”

  Kate took another sip of beer. Despite the taste, she was glad of it. Drinking gave her something to do with her hands. “Mum doesn’t think I should date until I finish school.”

  “Seeing as your mother doesn’t think you should drink until you’ve finished school, I’m surprised you care.”

  Kate felt her lip tremble and Ty laughed. “Don’t worry sweetheart, I’m not going to sell you out. Like I said, what she doesn’t know won’t hurt her.”

  Kate smiled into her beer bottle. “Thanks.”

  “So, no boyfriends?”

  She shook her head shyly.

  “Why not? Don’t you want to have sex?”

  And that was the moment, the very instant the line was crossed. Ty’s handsome stepfather had been inappropriate, but now their boat was slipping into deeper more devious waters. Kate turned away from him, letting her hair cover her face. “I, um, don’t want to talk about that.”

  “Why not? Don’t tell me you’re having sex with guys who aren’t your boyfriend?”

  “No!” Kate said, at once. “I don’t do stuff like that!”

  Ty pressed his Kevlar-covered thigh against hers. “Are you sure? I know what boys are like and you wouldn’t be the first pretty thing to get talked out of her underwear once she’d had a few drinks.”

  “I haven’t done anything with anyone. I promise.”

  “Have you ever wanted to?” Ty’s voice was soft as velvet in her ear.

  “Um, I’m not sure…”

  He laughed. “That means you have. You want to be careful about that. Some boys can tell when a girl wants to mess around. One of them might make it their mission to give you what you want.”

  “But I don’t know what I want,” she whispered.

  Ty leaned closer, his eyes crackling with that electric blue fire. “Then he’ll have to decide for you. Most good girls like that, it helps them feel like they’re not doing anything wrong.”

  His gaze fell to her mouth and Kate’s lips tingled in anticipation.

  Kiss me, she thought. Please kiss me.

  But Ty didn’t lean in and kiss her. Instead, he turned to look at the TV. “What the fuck is this show?”

  Katie stared at her TV and was horrified to see that four of the housemates were making out in groups of two. One of the guys had his hand down a curvy redhead’s top.

  “Oh god,” the girl said in her clanging accent. “Ohh god, Danny that feels so nice. You’re gonna get me off if you keep doing that.”

  Kate didn’t have to feign embarrassment, her insides felt like they were curling into knots. Ty might not be her stepdad, but he was her boss, and this felt like they were watching porn together. She fumbled for the remote but Ty gripped her wrist, his fingers rough and slightly damp from his beer. “Leave it.”

  “Okay.” Kate tried to tug her hand away but Ty held on for a second, as though to show her that he could. Then he let go, settling into the couch beside her once more.

  For several long minutes they watched the show, which seemed trashier and sillier than Kate could ever remember it being. One girl made out with another for a vodka shot, a couple of the housemates had sex in the sauna. She was so mortified and aroused, she drank her entire beer just for something to do. Ty, on the other hand, seemed to be enjoying himself. He was certainly smirking like he was. “You ever go to parties like th
at?” he asked as one of the male housemates steered a couple of Formula One grid girls into his bedroom.

  Kate shook her head.

  “Shame. I thought you kids were all about running wild. You don’t know what you’re missing.”

  She glanced sideways at him. “Aren’t you missing that too, now you’re married?”

  Ty shrugged. “Not always.”

  “What does that mean? Does that mean you sleep with other girls?”

  “It means I’m a man and I do what I want to do because I want to do it.”

  Kate stared at him, her scoundrel of a fake stepfather. Her pussy was hurting, actually hurting with want. Why did she like that he was playing such an immoral jerk? Why did the idea of him betraying her fake mother feel so good? Ty took the empty beer bottle out of her hands and placed it on the coffee table. “You’re not going to tell on me are you?” he asked.

  “I should,” she whispered. “If you’re sleeping with other girls, that’s wrong.”

  Ty’s rakish smile grew wider. “I know it seems that way but things aren’t always so black and white.”

  “What do you mean?”

  Ty placed his arm on the back of the couch once more. “I mean that your mother works a lot. Most nights she gets home and she’s too tired to be with me.”

  “You mean you get lonely?” Kate said, deliberately misunderstanding.

  “Sometimes.” Ty’s hand slid down the back of the couch to rest lightly, as if by accident, on her shoulder. “But you’re here with me now, aren’t you? Keeping me company?”

  Kate nodded; the beer warm in her empty belly. She wasn’t usually so tipsy after one drink, but lust and an empty stomach had knocked her ever so slightly off kilter. It was helpful. This way she could go deeper into the fantasy, leave behind the last traces of her chattering mind. It was high time this seduction gained traction. She turned to look at him, gaining immense satisfaction from the way his pupils dilated and his nostrils flared.

  “Can I please have another beer?”

  “Of course you can, sweetheart.”

  He fetched her another dark green bottle from the fridge and settled back at her side, wrapping a casual arm around her shoulder again. It felt good there, good and safe and warm. He smelled nice too, very manly and strong. Maybe Katie could understand why her mother’s friends were always raving about him. Also, the show was much easier to watch with him now that she had beer to drink.

  “Are you warm enough, sweetheart?”

  Kate smiled. “Yes, thanks.”

  He tugged her closer, regardless. She was almost sitting in his lap now. It felt nice but it also felt a little wrong. Her mum was always harping at her to spend more time with her stepdad, but Katie had a feeling she wouldn’t like this. “Are you hungry?” she asked. “Do you want me to order dinner?”

  “Not just yet, sweetheart. I’m enjoying sitting here with you.” Her stepfather’s hand slid from her shoulder to her arm. “What’s this top made of?”

  “Velvet.”

  “It’s nice,” he said, stroking her delicately. “Very soft.”

  Another five minutes passed and his thumb began brushing ever so slightly against her breast. At first Kate tried to tell herself it was an accident, but as more and more of his hand began to rub her there, she knew he must be doing it on purpose. Her face grew hot, but the place between her legs grew hotter. She’d never known she had so many nerves beneath her skin or that even the places around her nipples could throb. She knew she should pull away, but it felt so nice. Besides, what would she say? He was her stepdad and he was probably just being friendly. It was probably better just to let him do it.

  As Kate drifted deeper and deeper into the scene, she found herself drinking much faster than usual. When her second beer was empty her stepdad let go of her breast to take the bottle and place it beside her other empty. “You’re getting a real taste for it now, aren’t you?”

  Kate nodded shyly, the nipple he’d been absently toying with was tight and hard and aching slightly. She wanted him to keep touching her there, but unsure of how to ask, she nuzzled into his side a little. “Thank you for the beer.”

  “Anytime. Want a little more?” Ty asked.

  She pretended to hesitate. “Okay. If you don’t mind.”

  “Oh I don’t mind at all, sweetheart.” Ty lifted his beer and placed it to her lips. Kate hesitated but then he began to lift the bottle and she had no choice but to tilt her head back and drink. He kept going for much longer than she would have, making her swallow what felt like half the beer. As she drank his gaze never moved from her mouth.

  You’ll suck me like that, his eyes said. You’ll drink me down just the same.

  He pulled the bottle away. “How do you feel, now?”

  “Good, I guess.” She wiped the wetness from her lips. “A bit funny.”

  “Funny how?”

  “Just floaty and nice.”

  “I’m glad to hear that.” He leaned in close and Kate noticed that like her, Ty had freckles spanning the bridge of his nose. Unlike her, they were so well camouflaged by his tan, you could barely see them. Yet, the fact that this big impressive man had anything as boyish as freckles made her giggle.

  Ty stroked his nose over hers. “You’re drunk aren’t you, pretty girl?”

  Kate giggled again. She was still far from drunk but she’d never been less capable of operating a car or heavy machinery. She was high on this fantasy, stoned on Ty’s increasingly forthright touches and her own twisted arousal. “A little bit, yes.”

  “Good, it’s about time you did something fun.”

  Ty’s hand found her thigh and alighted itself there, gentle as a butterfly on a pumpkin leaf.

  “Do you really think I’m pretty?” Kate asked, a little proud of herself for framing her insecurities the way a drunk teenager would.

  “I do.” Ty’s hand slid a little higher up her thigh and then down again. Up and down. Up and down. “I think you’re very pretty, but I bet you get told that all the time.”

  “Not really. That feels nice.”

  “I’m glad.” He continued to stroke her leg. Not too quick or too hard, but her skirt was inching up, exposing more and more skin.

  “Sweetheart,” Ty said, in a conversational tone. “Are you a virgin?”

  Does never having an orgasm with someone else count? “Yes,” she said dreamily.

  “That’s good, that’s very, very good.” Ty’s other hand had come into play, cupping her cheek and turning her so she was looking at him, or she would be if she had her eyes open. “Katie, have you ever been kissed before?”

  She nodded.

  “Did you like it?”

  “Yes. I love kissing.”

  “That’s good, baby,” he murmured, and then his lips were on hers. This touch was as gentle as all the others, so soft and sweet she sighed, actually sighed like a girl in a pastel-coloured paperback. She kept waiting for him to turn rough, to unleash the frustration she’d felt humming inside him from the moment he entered her home. Yet the sweetness just went on and on. Dazed, Katie let him ease her down onto the leather couch and when he knelt between her legs and slowly lowered himself on top of her, she didn’t protest. All she wanted was for him to never ever stop kissing her. And then she felt it, the long hot length of him pressing into her stomach and she ‘realised’ what he was doing.

  “No,” she said, tearing her lips from his. “We can’t do this.”

  Ty’s smile was hard as industrial diamonds. “Relax baby. We’re just playing, that’s all.”

  “But—”

  He nipped at her lower lip, just hard enough so that she knew it was punishment. “No more talking. Just relax and let Daddy take care of you, the way you were before.”

  A hot throb ran through her, made worse by the weight of him pressed against her center. All that pressure on such a delicate place. “You shouldn’t be touching me like this.” />
  “I know, sweetheart,” Ty said, nuzzling at her neck. “But you’re so pretty I can’t help myself.”

  Kate smiled.

  “That’s my girl,” he whispered. “Now lie back and let me kiss you again. That’s all we’ll do, I promise. Just kissing, nice and slow.”

  Good kisses had always made Kate’s brain fog over and Tyler Henderson was an artist. By the time he slid his tongue into her mouth she’d barely noticed his hips were rocking against hers. By the time he started teasing her, alternating between deep and wet and light and soft, she barely noticed her hips were rocking back. When he kissed her from her collarbones to her ears, his stubble rasping over her skin, she barely noticed he had a hand inside her leotard and was playing with her braless tits. In fact, Kate was fairly certain she’d let him screw her without a condom, pull out and finish all over her legs if he just kept his lips so soft and sweet against hers. But that wasn’t what happened. Ty’s hand began tugging harder at her nipples, his hips grinding against hers like they were crushing wheat into flour with their pelvis bones.

  “You’re enjoying this, aren’t you?” he asked, his voice coarse as sandpaper.

  “No,” Kate moaned trying to buck him off. “Y-You can’t touch me like this!”

  Ty rubbed her breasts, weighing each in his palm. “Seems I can. Seems you like it.”

  In his Kinkworld messages Ty suggested they start out slow and then he’d get rough.

  I know you’re not opposed to pain, he’d written. How do you feel about pretending you don’t want it?

  Forced seduction, they called it in BDSM land. Struggling until you couldn’t struggle anymore. Kate agreed, smiling a little at the thought of resisting Ty, a man she’d so far resisted like a custard resisted a nail. It didn’t seem funny now that he was bearing down on her, his hard cock pressed between her thighs, teasing her about how much she wanted it. It was scary and a little humiliating and insanely, insanely hot.

  Ty’s fingers pinched at her nipple, making her cry out. “That’s it,” he said. “Now lie still and don’t piss me off.”

  Kate disobeyed, pushing hard against his shoulders.

  “If that’s how you want it, sweetheart.” Ty brought what felt like all his body weight onto her, locking himself firmly between her legs. His cock was hard against her pussy and when he rolled his hips, everything lit up like a sparkler. Kate couldn’t help it. She whimpered in a way that could only have indicated excitement.