Against The Wall

by Julie Prestsater

  He moves his hand from my bottom, wraps it around my waist, and with one swift motion, he swings me around and now I’m beneath him. We sink into my sofa, and the pillows start to close in around us. It’s like Matty reads my mind. He lifts me once more, and takes me with him as he kneels to the floor. We nestle together, holding each other, and breathing heavily.

  “You need a break?” he asks me, with a wink and a sly grin.

  Chapter Eight

  “Are you crazy?” Not like it’s really a question. “No way.” I take him by his neck and yank him down for another smooch.

  “You’re my kind of woman.” He laughs into my ear, and then begins planting kisses on my neck and chest, tracing the outline of my v-neck shirt with his lips.

  I bring my hands down to touch his ass. I fight the urge to lift my hips into him. Now that would be a bad idea. Moving along, I catch the edge of his shirt, and run fingers along his bare back. Stroking his soft, warm, dampened skin, I love the feel of his muscles in the palms of my hands. The more I explore, the more his shirt slides up his long torso. I tug on it. Matty understands me and with one hand, he yanks his shirt over his head.

  I take a much needed pause to enjoy the sight before me. Pressing my hands to Matty’s chest, I tilt myself upward to graze his pecs with my lips. My lack of abdominal muscles sends me flat on my back wanting more. One side of his mouth raises in a smile, and his eyes crinkle at the edges. I smile back.

  “You’re gorgeous, Matt Fuller.” His luscious mouth comes down on my neck again. I sense his teeth drag along my collarbone, and I arch my back, thrusting my hips into his swollen shaft. “You’re killing me, Matty.”

  The heat in his eyes bares down on me. I know he feels the same.

  “And you’re beautiful, Shelly Gelson. Just beautiful.” His soft lips brush against mine. He kisses my nose, and just underneath each of my eyes. “I love your little freckles. They make you even more beautiful.” His lips graze the same area again. “Each and every one.” He touches his lips to my mouth once more before he rolls over next to me, exhaling a deep breath.

  Quickly, I prop up on my elbow and stare at him, lying there, breathing heavily, and leaving me hanging, but there’s that smile that has me undone. The silly grin on his face and the swell in his pants tells me he's enjoying himself as much as I am. “What are you doing?” I ask him. I said I didn’t need a break.

  “Taking a breather,” he mutters, through a chuckle.

  “Why?”

  “Because you’re killing me too.”

  Oh. I see. Not only are we enjoying ourselves, but we're also frustrating the hell out of each other—in the best way possible. “Uh. What should we do then?” I ask him, honestly. Although, if the throbbing between my legs and tenderness of my breasts is meant to go away, I'm going to have to get as far away from Matty as possible. Across the Pacific doesn't seem far enough to chill the sensations I'm experiencing.

  He props himself up on his elbow too, just like me and rests his other hand on my waist. Caressing my back, he tells me, “We probably shouldn't do much more than this. For now anyway. Not until you’re ready.”

  “Ready for sex? Matty, this isn’t my first time. I am ready for sex.” He rolls on his back laughing at my plea. I continue, “Why are you laughing at me, butthead? I’m serious.”

  He clears his throat and grins at me. I lean over him, resting my chin on the backs of my hands on his chest. He plays with my hair, running strands through his fingers and then letting them fall.

  “I know you are, Shel, but it doesn’t mean you’re ready here.” He taps on my temple. “When we make love for the first time, I want you to love me … entirely, and only me.” The thought crosses my mind. Do I love Matty? Of course I do. He’s Matty, my dear close friend. Someone who I might just want to be more than friends with. But, do I not love Chase anymore? That’s a tough question. Sometimes I think I always will. “Don’t over think this, Shel. I can see the wheels turning in your head. It’ll happen.”

  “So you’re confident I’ll fall in love with you?” I ask, teasingly.

  He pauses, staring into my eyes. “Never been so confident in anything or anyone in my life.” He kisses my nose.

  “You’re serious, aren’t you?” I utter.

  “As a heart attack,” he says, with sincerity written all over his face.

  I bite my lip. He is so dead serious. “So what now? Until then?” I ask. It’s a reasonable enough question to put out there at this point.

  “This is fun. Reminds me of high school,” he tells me. We chuckle. “Although in high school I, at least, got to second base.”

  “I think that can be arranged, Mr. Fuller,” I reply . I sit up and pull off my shirt, exposing my black lacy bra. It’s been awhile since I’ve dipped into my girly gear. I think I heard a cheer from my panties when I opened the drawer.

  His eyes dart from mine to my breasts and back. “Uh. I think second base is just a little boob action … on top of clothes. Not under.”

  “But this is high school remember. And you don’t have a shirt on. Peer pressure, you know. I don’t want to feel left out. Plus, if I don’t put out just a little bit, you might dump me tomorrow.”

  “But we’re not a couple, remember. I can’t dump you.” His fingertips trail over my ribs and rest at my sides.

  “Whatever, Matty.” I kiss his lips, before lightly dragging my tongue down his neck to his chest. This man is delicious. “Just go with it.”

  And with that, we spend the next hour or so dry humping like teenagers on my living room floor. It feels good to be young again. Yeah right, if I had duct tape handy, I’d totally tie Matty up and have my way with him. Men are animals. It doesn’t matter what his brain is thinking. His other head has a mind of its own and would gladly stand at attention for me if I needed him to. But I don’t, have any tape that is. So I just enjoy the feeling of Matty’s hands exploring my curves and wait. Wait to see if he has a reason to be so confident.

  “Put something in with shit getting blown up,” I mention, as he shuffles through my DVDs again. “No passionate love making against a wall, or we’ll never make it to the credits.”

  “No kidding,” he agrees with a snicker.

  “Hey, it’s not my fault you’re so irresistible,” I respond. He pauses for a beat, almost not long enough for me to notice but I do. “What?”

  “Nothing,” he says, quickly looking from me back to the movies.

  “No, tell me, sucka. What’s up?” I put my hand on his back.

  “I was gonna say, if I’m so irresistible, it wouldn’t have taken you so long to notice me, but I stopped myself because I didn’t want to sound like a … ”

  “Girl.” I finish the sentence for him. He shakes his head, embarrassed and runs his hand through his hair. I’m starting to catch on to his little nuances. He always reaches for his hair when he feels uncomfortable. It’s his own boyish way of blushing. “You’re anything but a girl. In fact, I think I felt proof of that earlier.” I move my hand from his back to his upper thigh.

  He catches my hand on the way up. “Okay. Stop, Shel, or we might not get the damn movie started.”

  We both laugh. I love this. Endless laughter, giddiness, butterflies doing somersaults in my belly. Cute. I could get used to having Matty around on a more permanent basis..

  “You know what?” He drops the DVDs on the table. “We need food. Forget the movie. Let’s go eat.” He’s right. We haven’t eaten anything since the cereal this morning and it’s way past lunch time and I do believe we worked up quite an appetite.

  “But I’m not dressed to go out.” I look down at my tee and yoga pants. Disclaimer: I don’t do yoga. Not since I tried it one time with Mel and we got kicked out for talking. I can’t shut up for five minutes, let alone sixty. And not when the 300-pound guy next to me is trying to fold himself into a pretzel while ridding his body of baby poop scented gas. Who can remain silent throughout that? Tell me, who?

  �
��We can go through a drive-thru,” he suggests. “Unless you wanna eat more cereal?”

  I take a second to consider this. “While the Crunch Berries are calling my name, I think we could use some fresh air. It smells like non-sex in here and it’s making me horny. Fresh air would be good.”

  Matty holds out a hand to me. “Let’s go, horn dog.”

  “Good idea. Let’s get some corn dogs.” I can almost taste the flavors in my mouth. “Wait a minute. I’m not sure I want to put something so phallic looking in my mouth right now.”

  “You’re so dirty, Shel.” He shakes his head, yet again.

  “Matty, do you need me to tone it down? My dirty mind shouldn’t come as a shock. I thought I could be myself around you.”

  He slings his arm around me as we walk out of my house. “No, by all means, be yourself. I don’t want you to put on a show for me. But … if I’m going to watch you put anything phallic-like in your mouth, I sure as hell don’t want it to be a hot dog. So let’s get a burger.”

  “I like the way you think,” I tell him. He winks at me as I duck into his car.

  The first thing I do is take my cell out of my bag to text Mel. She’s probably going crazy trying to figure out what happened last night.

  Me: matty slept over. No sex. were spndng day 2gthr.

  Mel: what? NO Sex? why the f not?

  Me: he wnts me 2 <3 him 1st

  Mel: what a girl. wht r u doin now?

  Me: getting food. wrkd up an appetite. making out like horny teenagers

  Mel: love it! Is it true wht they say bout shoe size? ;) ;)

  Me: idk. YET!!! lol

  Chapter Nine

  “Holy hell,” I say, watching my best friend step into my classroom. “You look like shit. Are you sure you’re okay to be back at work?” She’s had the flu since Sunday morning. Her face looks swollen, and she looks like she needs to sleep for another five days before she can even begin to appear rested.

  “Are you frickin’ kidding? I’m dying to hear about your love fest with Matt. I couldn’t wait another day. I’ll be fine.” She plops herself in a chair next to me and rests her head on my desk. “Now spill. You have twenty minutes. Give me the short but detailed version, if there’s such a thing.”

  Her voice sounds like she's plugging her nose, and I look at the can of Lysol on my file cabinet and have to stop myself from spraying her with it. I have no desire to get sick right now and put a damper on any future 'love fests' with Matty.

  Taking a swig of my Diet Coke, I think a beer would be so much better for this story, but it will have to do. I take a deep breath before I recount the details beginning with Friday night when Mel left. I can’t give her the minute-by-minute play by play, but I’ll try my best.

  “Here it goes. Friday night. He took me home. Thanks.” I nod at her, and she snickers. “Invited him in. Drank a beer. He kissed me. I questioned it. Not to worry. Just go with it. No strings attached. Invited him to stay. To sleep only. Slept in bed. Me in jammies. He in his boxers. Looked like Marky Mark ad, by the way. Woke up. He was gone. Almost died. He went to get breakfast. Got me Captain Crunch.” Mel gasps. I nod in agreement. “We ate. He decided to stay, be lazy, and watch movies. Started with The Notebook. Got steamy.” Mel’s eyes get wide. “I know,” I add. “So we kissed like crazy. Stopped. No sex till I’m in love with him.” We both roll our eyes. “Then Matty got to second base. We bumped bare chests, not uglies. Got some burgers. Watched The Shooter. Kissed again. Think my lips will be swollen for a month. Ate cereal and beer for dinner and a rice crispy for dessert. Slept together again. Only sleeping. Woke up and did a repeat of the day before. He went home early Monday morning to get ready for work.”

  Done. I lean back in my chair, out of breath, and then take another drink of my soda to soothe my parched throat.

  “Fucking awesome.” Mel dabs at the corners of her eyes with a tissue.

  “Are you crying? Cut it out.” She’s so emotional all the time, crying at commercials or love songs on the radio.

  She dabs again and asks, “What now? How’s work been?”

  “He said he doesn’t want to crowd me. Or freak me out. So he’s staying away during the week. He wants me to miss him, I think. And it’s working. He might have lunch with me tomorrow.”

  “Oh, Shelly, I’m so happy for you.” She rises out of her seat and hugs me. I hug her back, swaying back and forth. “I gotta run. I’ll call you later to keep your mind off him. You don’t want to start calling him right away and seem needy.”

  “Too late. I called him before you got here. No games here. If I wanna talk to him. I’ll call him. If he can’t handle the real me, impatient and needy, then it’s not meant to be.”

  “Good idea,” she says, leaving my room.

  On my way out, I decide to stop in and check on Mel. She looked terrible today. Maybe she’ll let me cook dinner for her and Nick. What am I thinking? Of course she will. I’ll have to think about what I can throw together. I can’t go over there with a 12-pack and beer nuts to heal her.

  “Hi,” I say to the stranger sitting at Mel’s desk. “Is Mrs. Cruz around?”

  The older guy looks up. “She went home early. I subbed for her the last part of the day. I’m just finishing up my comments to her.”

  “I see. Did her kids behave?” I can’t help but ask. Whenever I’m out, I’m always thinking about my class and how things are going, or not going.

  “They were perfect. They didn’t even need me. Went straight to work without making a peep.”

  “Great. Thank you. Enjoy the rest of your day.” Mel will be happy to hear this. There’s nothing better than coming back after a day off and finding out your classroom is still standing.

  I make a pit stop at Rite Aid on the way to Mel’s. Walking up and down the aisle, I toss anything even remotely healing in my basket. Theraflu, Pepto, Tums (you never know), Motrin, cough drops, and some Nyquil (when all else fails, some decent rest always helps). I make another stop at a deli for some homemade chicken noodle and broccoli and cheese soup. And finally, I cruise through the drive-thru at Starbucks for a venti hot green tea with honey. I also add a few boxes of tea bags so I can refill her tea throughout the night.

  Nick’s car’s not in the drive-way. I swear. Would it kill the guy to leave work early and take care of his wife? I use my key and let myself in. I drop all the stuff in the kitchen. I begin to empty the bags when I hear something. It sounds like sniffling. Not like stuffy nose sniffling, but crying.

  I follow the sounds to the living room, and I find my best friend balled up on the couch weeping, with crumpled up tissues all around her. Mer Der, her Taco Bell pooch team, rest at her feet. Meredith, a light brown breed, springs her head to stare me down. She decides I'm not the culprit and rests her head back on Derek, the ruffly black dog who has a coat that gleams like silk. My focus turns back to Mel and my heart breaks at the sight of her. I’ve never seen her like this in my whole life. Sure, she snivels at least once a day during a TV show, or when she hears the national anthem. But this is different. She looks so sad.

  I kneel down before her and my throat tightens. “Melly belly. I’m here.” I pause staring at her red nose. “Whatever it is, it’ll be okay.” I reach out to her, pushing her tear-soaked hair out of her face. Her eyes are even more swollen then before. And it hits me. She doesn’t have the flu at all. She never did. “What can I do? Do you wanna tell me what’s wrong? How can I fix it?”

  I continue to stroke Mel’s hair while she sobs. Tears puddle in my eyes, and I can’t stop them from running down my cheeks. My best friend, who may as well be my sister, is hurting and I don’t know how to help. I don’t know if I can and it’s the worst feeling in the world.

  She always manages to make me feel better whenever I’m down, which has been quite often in the last year, and here I am, at a loss. I don’t know what to do.

  When Chase dumped me, Mel was there in a flash. And hardly left my side. I was broken and she wa
s there to put me back together, when I didn’t think it could be done. She forced me to get back to normal after moping around for way too long.

  Oh shit. It’s Nick. Mother fucker. I’m going to kill him. What the hell did he do? The only reason Mel would be in this state is because that fucking asshole did something. I’m going to kill him. I think I said that already. But I am. When I find him, he better run. He better have on a Kevlar vest, a cup, and a helmet, because first I’m going to shoot him, then I’m going to kick him in the balls, and finish him off with a bat to the head. Take that, dickhead.

  Mel’s sobbing slows to a whimper as she tries to catch her breath. She holds my hand. She gazes down at me like she wants to tell me everything, but she’s not ready. She stares off in silence, and her eyes start to flutter before shutting completely. She sounds like a baby who’s cried herself to sleep. Trying not to wake her, I get comfortable sitting down beside her on the floor, still grasping her hand. I can’t let go. I’ll stay here as long as she needs me.

  Hours later, Mel wakes me up, and I lift my head from the sofa cushion. Still holding her hand, I look up to her sorrow filled eyes. Mer Der are still at her feet, saddened eyes peering up at their mama. It must be true, dogs can sense when something is wrong.

  “Are you ready to talk to me?” I ask her.

  She looks up and dabs at her eyes with her free hand. “Nick and I are getting a divorce.” I don’t say anything. I just nod. “He’s moved out. Or rather, I kicked him out.” I nod again. I think I know what’s coming next. “He’s been cheating on me, Shel.” She squeezes my hand tighter. “For over a year. They’re getting married as soon as our divorce is final. He actually had the papers ready, and I signed them.”