Part Of The List

by Xavier Neal

  The guy scoots closer to Kenny, and I have to stifle the annoyed growl growing. She gives him an innocent push away, but the look on her face screams discomfort. Rather than taking the hint, the guy drapes his arm around her, fingers falling right on top of her boob. After she attempts to adjust herself in his arms to relocate his touch and it fails from his resistance, I push my way past the people in my path to join them.

  The moment the sliding door is opened the guy gives me an irritated look. “Uh…Kinda occupied, bro.”

  “Kinda not,” I argue and extend my hand for Kenny. “That’s my girl and I’m taking her home.”

  He gets a puzzled look. “She never mentioned having a boyfriend.”

  “You never asked.” With a glare, I command, “Get your arm off of her.”

  Kenny wiggles out of his clutches and drops her hand into mine. She peers up at me with a look of thanks and any question about my decision disappears.

  “Ready?”

  She nods and I lead the two of us back into the apartment at the same time Thomas tosses his hands in the air. “Drink!”

  On our stroll by, I lean over to inform him, “I’m gonna walk Kenny back to our place.”

  He moves his eyes away from his chugging sister to me. “You comin’ back?”

  My mouth moves yet there’s no verbal promise of my return.

  A cocky grin appears on his face and he wiggles his eyebrows. “All I’m gonna say is wrap it. And if you’re out check the bottom drawer of my nightstand.”

  Not gonna need to wrap it because I’m just going to walk her to our apartment. Help her get settled then get back here and drink until I’m too fucked up to remember my own name let alone the nickname she’s outgrown.

  “This isn’t over!” Emma snaps. “Rematch!”

  “Bring it!” Thomas shouts in return.

  With a shake of my head, I chuckle and we return to leaving. The stroll from his building towards ours is mainly silent and filled with occasional stolen glances. Despite the fact we have no reason to hold hands any longer; neither of us seems to be willing to let the other one go.

  “What are you studying?” Kenny finally breaks the quiet. “Like what’s your major?”

  “Business,” I casually answer slowing down our speed in hopes of stretching this moment out. “And not just because it’s the default one they tell you to take when you have no idea what you wanna do.”

  She lets out a small snicker. “So what do you wanna do?”

  “Build stuff.” We step onto the sidewalk. “I’m thinking handmade furniture. Maybe custom? Maybe own my own company that does it? Not exactly sure, but something like that. I used to build all sorts of stuff in the garage back home whenever I was stuck there.”

  “You never told me that…”

  “I never told anyone that…” I let my eyes fall to her. “What about you? Any idea what you wanna study when you get to college?”

  “Graphic design.”

  “I’ve got a class with a girl who’s trying to major in that. She says we’ve got a good program here.”

  “It’s good,” she agrees, “but the one at Ashwin is better. They’re also offering me a scholarship. Small, but better than nothing.”

  “Yeah, but I’m here,” I playfully counter as we arrive in front of the apartment door.

  “That’s true…”

  Her eyes briefly flicker hope and I force myself to turn away. What am I thinking? She can’t come here just because of me. Just for us to finally have a shot at something we shouldn’t. Something we should stay away from. Something that would most likely kill us if it had the chance.

  I drop her hand and fish out the keys from my pocket. Once the door is opened, I usher her in first, the awkward silence being resilient in its return.

  “Do you mind if I use your bathroom to change again?” Kenny asks, pulling her hair to the side of her face. “My stuff’s still in there.”

  “Of course not.” She nods, turns, and begins to walk off when I thoughtlessly add, “You can crash in my bed if you want.” When she spins back around with a look of question on her face, I stutter out, “Not with me or anything. I mean I’ll sleep on the floor or whatever. I just…that futon sucks.”

  She lets out a small laugh. “I appreciate it.”

  “No problem.”

  “You going back to the party?”

  “You want me to?”

  There’s a hesitation before she states with in an unexpected tone, “I want you to do whatever it is you want to…” With that Kenny backs up slowly, eyes now filled with temptation and sexual implication rather than the innocence they had just seconds ago.

  No….No….No….

  She wets her lips and my cock knocks against the inside of my jeans in objection to my declining of the offer. The moment she’s out of my sight, I turn, grip the back of the sofa, and let out a long exhale. Nothing can happen between us. We barely know each other anymore. Hell, I don’t even know if she has a boyfriend or is still dating that dick she hooked up with when I broke her heart. She doesn’t know about the chicks I’ve screwed, hoping to erase her from my mind. From my soul.

  I shake off the notion that keeps presenting itself and move into my room to change. After swiftly shedding my jeans and t-shirt, I grab an extra blanket from my closet, debating whether or not to take her spot on the futon. It sucks but pain memory is one of the greatest teaching tools there is. Or so my father believes.

  The sound of my bathroom door opening, immediately grabs my attention and I turn to see Kenny looking even sexier than before. Her entire body appears to be covered by one single article of clothing. The oversized long, white t-shirt that’s caressing her thighs leaves the least amount possible to my imagination.

  She drops her bag outside the bathroom door. “Mind if I watch T.V.?”

  I lower my hands to let the blanket block the hard on I’ve grown again. “Yeah, it’s cool.”

  Kenny crawls into my bed, wiggles under the sheets, and grabs the remote from the nightstand. The moment she turns it on a familiar laugh causes me to cock a smile and move to check it out.

  “We used to love this movie,” Kenny giggles, a hint of disbelief in her voice. “We used to watch it together like all the time. What were the chances it would be on T.V. tonight?”

  I want to tell her pretty high since I swear it’s on at least once a month, but I don’t.

  “You used to do the worst Mike Myers impersonation.”

  “That shit was good!”

  “That shit was terrible. Mike Myers would probably cry if he heard it.”

  A light chuckles leaves me. “Fuck you…”

  “Maybe,” she playfully counters with a wink.

  My dick throbs its consent over the idea.

  “Wanna watch it with me?” She pats the space next to her. “It’s just starting.”

  I shouldn’t. I really…really…shouldn’t. “Yeah. Sure.”

  “Will you kill the light?”

  What the hell? It’s not enough she’s basically naked in my bed and wants me next to her, now I gotta turn off the lights? Fate is a fucked up concept, but how the hell is it okay to tear us apart then force us together when the situation still isn’t ideal? Will it ever be?

  My hesitation causes her to speak up, “Or not. I don’t mind the light if you need it.”

  “I don’t. I just…” Her eyes shift to mine and the debate over this being a mistake instantly ends. “Never mind.” I clear my throat, shut the door, and turn off the light.

  The moment I’m under the sheets beside her, she leans against me, head resting on my arm. Like an action embedded in my DNA, I wrap it around her, and sigh in satisfaction the second her head hits my chest. As if my own volition ceases to exist, my fingers gently caress her arm, resulting in a light, sweet moan.

  Fuck, that’s a beautiful sound.

  “Remember you used to hold me like this all the time?” Kenny quietly recalls. “Or I’d be stretched out and
pressed against you and you’d toy with my hair.”

  “Yeah…”

  “Remember how you used to insist you couldn’t go to sleep before me whenever we spent the night at Thomas and Emma’s? How you used to make sure we always watched a movie I would fall asleep during?”

  “Of course. I liked the idea of being the last thing you felt before you fell asleep and the first thing you felt in the morning. I used to make sure I was always up before you. I’d sneak back into Emma’s room and snuggle up against you so we could wake up together. Their Dad was never a fan of walking in to her room to wake the two of you up for breakfast only to find you tucked tightly against me. Always suspected there was more going on, but you know Mrs. McCaw. She always took our word like gospel. Said she raised us all to be truthful even if it wasn’t always what they wanted to hear…”

  And we always were. From late night candy eating to underage parties to the time Thomas thought he knocked a chick up in high school. With his parents we were always honest about our actions.

  She sweetly smiles against my chest. “I still think about those days sometimes.”

  “Me too…” my voice shakes.

  There’s a small pause before Kenny starts asking me a million questions. Thankfully none of them are focused around what tore us apart. Our exchange while tense at first quickly melts into something so natural you wouldn’t know we hadn’t talked in two years. We laugh, joke, and circle around to the conclusion we’re more or less the same people we’ve always been. Just a little older or in her case a little older and even fucking hotter.

  The movie hints that it’s almost over with what I know will be the final commercial break. That’s the moment Kenny looks up at me and whispers, “I’ve missed you, Bailey…A lot.”

  Unable to resist repeating the words, I declare, “I’ve missed you too, Kenny.”

  All of a sudden, she slides out of my arms, and straddles my lap. The heat from her bare pussy grabs a groan out of me. With her eyes planted in mine, she states, “Prove it.”

  I lift my eyebrows.

  “Right here, right now.”

  “Kenny-”

  Her mouth feathers mine. “Touch me.”

  My hands strain to stay in place.

  She gives my top lip a small stroke. “Take me.”

  The command swells my dick past the point of excruciating pain.

  “Love me in the way no one else has yet...”

  Her confession crushes the remaining thin layer of will power. My fingers wind through her hair and roughly tug her to me. The moment our lips smash together, everything finally makes sense again. My life has purpose. Meaning. Something worth living for again. Our tongues mesh and melt against one another rerouting our paths to intertwine endlessly as they once had. I gently graze the outside of her thighs while she arches against me hungry for more. My fingertips briefly caress the curve of her ass before flipping her onto her back, mindlessly impatient to have bare skin against bare skin. In a swift motion, I rip her shirt off to expose the celestial curves I would live a thousand lifetimes just to get a glimpse of. I desperately drop my mouth to her dark colored nipples and suck the sweet flavor I know they possess. Kenny moans and wriggles in encouragement beneath me. It doesn’t take long for my mouth to travel further south and devour the sticky sensation my touch has created. In spite of the desire to spend hours using my tongue to tattoo my name on her pussy like private property, I drag myself back up, and connect our lips again while fumbling around in my nightstand drawer for a condom. By the time I find it, Kennedy is panting and I’m on the edge of coming already.

  I lean up to roll it on, taking my time so I can watch her as she watches me. To my surprise, her eyes grow eager. Elated. If I didn’t trust her to never lie to me, I would wonder if this was actually about to be her first time. My legs nudge hers apart and I position my dick against her soaking wet entrance.

  Before I have the chance to warn her about the possibility of pain, she rocks her hips upward, coating the tip of my cock. I mindlessly push forward sharply, receiving a sharp gasp at the intrusion. My eyes widen in fear at the agonizing expression developing on her face.

  Panic races down my spine. “You need me to stop?”

  She slowly shakes her head.

  I pull back a bit and push deeper receiving another cringe. Hating the fact I’m the one hurting her, I let my forehead gently rest against hers and whisper, “I’m sorry, Kenny.”

  There’s a small whimper in objection at the same time her pussy clamps tightly around me. After a few additional pushes, her body finally adjusts and welcomes mine. Her nails scrape down my arms while her hips move up to meet each rapid thrust. Kenny oscillates between allowing her breath to hitch and her cries to include my name.

  The sound of my name said with such intensity causes my hips to falter. Feeling my starving orgasm preparing to consume any possibility of her having her own, I offer something else in its place. “I love you, Kenny. I always have…I always will…”

  “I wanna get back to my girl.” I turn my head towards Emma. “Now.”

  “Then don’t interrupt the movie.”

  “Do we really need to relive my sex life?”

  “Probably not at this age,” she cringes and pretends to cover the side of her face to block the screen. “Please tell me you got less selfish in bed before the next time you two hooked up.”

  Slightly annoyed by the subject, I argue, “I wasn’t selfish then…”

  “Just an overly horny twenty year old that finally had his wet dream become a reality.” Without leaving room for a counter, she says, “The point actually wasn’t about the first time you two got together sexually. It was about the day after. The next part. I just thought it would be kind to cushion the blow.”

  The feeling of a warm hand wrapped around my shaft shifts a smirk onto my face. I struggle to open my eyes. Once they’re finally open, the sight of Kenny gently stroking me is so surreal I have to blink repeatedly to reassure myself it’s actually happening. The heavenly feeling so serene it threatens to revamp my forgotten faith that there is actually a God who doesn’t loathe my existence.

  “Just think, if I go to school here, we could start every morning like this…”

  My attention lowers to her beautiful body that’s barely covered by my sheet and let my smile spread at the idea. “Not every morning.” When I drag my eyes back up to hers I assure, “We’ll take turns.”

  The sexual promise prompts her to wet her lips and link them to mine. Our tongues briefly touch before the sound of a vibrating phone across my nightstand interrupts.

  She pulls back and asks, “Should you get that?”

  I shake my head and lower my mouth back to hers, certain it’ll go away shortly. The speed of the kiss amps up a notch from where it left off yet ends prematurely this time due to the pounding on the front door.

  We break away again just as Emma shouts, “Stop knocking! Some of us are hung over!”

  The two of us stifle our snickers at the same time Thomas groans, “Oh yeah. Keep yelling. That’ll help…” There’s a small lull before he speaks again. “Hey Hannah…”

  I toss off the sheet and rush towards my locked bedroom door. Fuck, I’m glad I locked this last night after she drifted off. The last thing I wanted was a drunken little sister demanding an explanation or enthusiastically stating she was glad it happened.

  With my ear pressed against it, I hear her say, “Where’s Bailey?”

  Thomas lets out a long sigh. “Hell, I don’t know…”

  “He’s not answering his phone.”

  No response from my best friend.

  “Is he here?”

  “No.”

  “But his truck is out front.”

  “We partied last night at Darrin’s. He probably fell asleep over there…” He smoothly covers.

  “Well, I gotta get to work. I don’t have time to wait that long. I open this morning. Think he’ll be up soon?”

 
“Uh…probably not. We got pretty fucked up last night.”

  In two completely different ways. His comes with a terrible headache the next morning. Mine? If I don’t fix this will come with a level of misery I can’t even fathom.

  There’s a short pause before an irritated snap, “Ugh. Will you tell him I stopped by?”

  “Yup,” Thomas agrees quickly.