by Dawn, P.
My hand pauses in the air, and I turn my head slowly in her direction. Joss simply smiles and takes another bite of her pizza. I narrow my eyes and her face flushes pink, making her look adorable.
“Okay, well, let’s get this movie on.” I’m trying to focus on the list on the screen and also watch her in my peripheral vision.
Joss doesn’t move at all as I’m flicking through the choices, and I decide on Zoolander. It never fails to make me laugh. I grab a couple of drinks and sit back to watch. I can feel her next to me, familiar and inviting, but I resist the urge to move closer the way Sadie and I do when watching a movie. She likes to sit close to me like best friends do, and there’s never been anything there that would suggest an attraction. But now, Joss is sitting a foot away, and it feels closer than Sadie has ever been.
“How’s work?” she asks out of the blue, and my mouth resembles a baby waiting for food.
“Uh, okay, I guess,” I reply and see her shift in her seat to face me. She tugs on the sleeves of her blazer and grips them in her fists. “Well, as good as staring at numbers all day can be.”
She cocks her head to the side, and I see the flicker of something in her expression. “Cade said Sam’s an asshole and behaves inappropriately to you.”
I snort and shake my head. “Nothing I can’t handle.”
“I bet you could handle things well if it came to it.” I don’t miss the humor in her tone, and it surprises me when I see her lips quirk at the corners. “I mean, whatever was thrown at you, you’d know what to do.”
Joss no longer seems nervous, but even though she’s loosening up, there’s something about her I can’t quite put my finger on. I’m intrigued as to why she’s changed her attitude towards me, and also what possessed her to come here…on her own.
“Joss, why did you come here?” I ask, and I kick myself when her face drops into a mask of hurt.
‘I wanted to say sorry to you,” she says, her voice light and barely audible. “I do want to make things right again, Jaime, and I know I have a tendency to shy away when there are a lot of people around.”
What? That grabs my attention by the nipples and twists them until they’re raw. “So, you acting that way with me was because there were a lot of people there?”
Joss closes her eyes and nods while taking a deep breath and slowly releasing it. “Everybody wants to talk to you, or sit by you, and the crowds make me uncomfortable. That’s why I wanted to come here when Sadie told me you would be alone.”
“So you’re okay now?”
“I am.” Her smile makes me want to cry. “I have you all to myself.” The way she says it has me wanting to do with her what I did with Butterfly.
“Yes, you do,” I say, and attempt to turn my attention back to the TV, but I can’t. All I can think about is the woman behind the mask in the club and what she said to me.
I try not to think how insanely attractive the woman is next to me, and how I’m getting hotter between my legs the more the night goes on, but every move, soft sigh, even a sip of drink has my eyes darting to her fucking mouth. I don’t want to look down and see just how her body is covered in a pair of black leggings, and a loose white blouse—the top buttons open, exposing a little cleavage. My mouth waters just looking at her, so I gulp down my soda to quench my desert-like tongue.
“That was funny,” Joss says when the movie ends. “The new one is out now, too, isn’t it?”
“Yeah, I think so,” I reply, trying not to make eye contact with her. I feel like such a shit. “It’s been out for about a week, I think.”
“We should all go see that. Do you think Sadie and Cade would come?”
I turn to her that time, and her wide-eyed and innocent patience as she waits for my answer kicks me in the gut. “Yeah, sure. When?”
“I’m off tomorrow. We could go for the seven o’clock showing?”
“I’ll ask Sade when she gets back. I don’t know if Cade’s off, but I’ll text her now.”
I send Cade a text and her response is immediate.
Sure! Is it girls only, or can Mark come too?
I guess it’s okay, but I want to make sure. “Cade wants to know if it’s just girls, or can Mark come too?”
“If that’s what she wants.”
The more, the merrier. I text back and put my phone away.
“It’s a date,” I chirp, and I see Joss gently bite the inside of her lip.
I don’t know what’s going on with her, but every little thing she does makes me focus on it and sends blood rushing between my thighs. I wonder if that’s how a guy feels every time he looks at a hot woman, and he wants to fuck her. Is that what I want to do with Joss? I imagine what it would be like to kiss her, to feel her lips against mine. To have her skin touching me.
Fuck, fuck, fuck!
I do want it, and my temper starts to flare because I know I won’t be able to have that with her.
“I better get going,” she says, and I walk her to the door.
The door opens before we get there, and Sadie walks in with Mitch, and they eye the two of us.
“Hey, Joss,” Sadie says as she takes off her white jacket. “How are you?”
Joss looks between them. “I’m good, thanks. Did you have a good night?”
The flush across Sadie’s face is almost comical, and I notice Mitch’s ‘I got some’ smirk. “Yes, we did, thanks. What have you guys been doing?”
I give them the run-down of our night, and Sadie just nods. “Yeah, we can go tomorrow, right Mitch?”
“Yeah, of course,” he replies. “I won’t be watching much, though.” He winks at Sadie, and she giggles like a schoolgirl.
“Well, I should go. I’ll see you guys tomorrow,” Joss says.
She hugs Sadie and then she leans closer to me. I wrap one arm around her small waist and the other around her shoulder, mirroring her. I resist the urge to pull her tight against me, which would no doubt make our casual interaction uncomfortable for her. She looks me right in the eyes as I pull back, and I watch her lips part to speak.
“See you soon, Jai.”
Something in her tone has my eyebrows drawing together. She’ll see me soon, yeah, but the way she said it has me wondering what the hell I’m missing.
I watch her leave, and then I head towards my bedroom. The night has been exhausting, and I need to go and see a pink friend about an orgasm.
“Night, guys. I’m off to bed.”
I lock my door, rush to my nightstand and take out my relief stick. Impatiently, I march into my bathroom and begin undressing and turn my shower on at the same time. The temperature of the water is perfect, and I step inside. The spray hits my tight nipples, and I hiss at the pain of the impact.
My core is swollen with need, and I run a hand between my legs. I lean back against the cold tiles as I tease my hard nub with my fingers, and my legs shake with the sensations rippling down to my toes. With my other hand gripping my silicone love-toy, I rub it between my folds, coating it with my juices. I circle my entrance with the tip and slowly ease it inside of me.
I lean my head back as I work the length further in, biting my lip to stifle the moan building in my throat. I pull out and slide in, more and more, further and further, until I’m fucking myself with the full six-inches. The penetration isn’t taking me to the height I need, and I rub faster over my clit. My knees bend, and my toes curl in, but still I can’t get beyond the point of no return. My head is all over the place, and I can’t focus on the usual images that get me off.
‘See you soon, Jai.’ Joss’ sultry tone repeats over and over, and I feel the first waves hit me like a fucking freight train.
“Shit! Fuck!” I whisper.
I pull out the vibrator and drop it on the shower floor, letting my other hand work on touching every inch of my hot center, moving side-to-side and then in a circular motion. My hips rock back and forth, and my knees begin to buckle.
My orgasm explodes inside of me, my mouth opens,
and my eyes screw shut with the force of the climax, while every muscle in my body tenses.
I sit on the floor while the shower rains down on me, satisfied for the night. And I don’t know how I’m going to get up with my jelly legs. I try to catch my breath, and I blink through the water spray, a laugh bubbling up from my throat, but quickly turns to tears.
“This is so fucked up.”
Chapter 12
“Jai, have you seen my shoes? The ones with the red bow on the front?”
I don’t know why Sadie thinks I know where all of her shit was that she left lying around, but it just so happens that I do most of the time. “They’re in your closet, in the box on the right.”
“Thank you!” she calls from her room. “You’re the best!”
“I know!” I call back and shake my head. “Stop leaving your stuff lying about the place, and I wouldn’t have to tidy it away after you!”
Sadie fluffs her hair as she walks into the living room, then grabs her boobs and fixes them in her tight red sweater. “Do you think Mitch will like this outfit?”
I scan up and down at her skinny jeans and thin red belt. Her black shoes are shiny, and the bows on the front match the shade of her sweater. “You look hot,” I reply. “But don’t mess with your boobage anymore. You’ll end up with your cleavage under your chin.”
She laughs and fixes them again. “I hear you. What are you going to wear?”
I look down at my robe. “I don’t know, but we’re only going to the movies, Sade.”
It’s been a while since we’ve all been together, but I’m pretty sure it’s not an event that requires full-face makeup and salon-styled hair.
“Well, whatever you’re wearing you need to get a move on. Mitch is picking us up in ten minutes.”
I bow down, rolling my arm in front. “Yes, Ma’am,” I say in my best Southern accent. “Right away, Ma’am.”
“That’s right, bitch, you better move”—Sadie points her finger quickly and puts her hand on her hip—“Get your ass dressed.”
My phone begins to ring as I’m pulling on my boots. “Hello?” I still ask even though I know it’s my mom. I just hope she can tell me whatever it is she wants so I can get off the phone.
“Jaime, it’s your mom,” she chirps. “I have some great news!”
“Oh yeah?”
“Yes. Your cousin, Joseph, is in town, and we’re all getting together on the weekend for dinner. I’m just letting you know so you can change your plans.” That’s my mother. Never giving me a choice and always demanding that I do what she wants and completely disregarding my feelings about it. “Make sure you wear a nice dress, sweetheart. Something girly and flowing. Oh, and put your hair up too. You have a beautiful face and it needs to be seen.”
I purse my lips and grip my phone so tight I hear a creak of hard plastic about to break under pressure. “Mom, I’m busy this weekend.”
I know it’s going to go right in one ear and out the other, as always, and I wait for the response I can almost repeat word-for-word.
“Yes, you are busy. Here, with us, with family. Now, whatever it is people are expecting of you this weekend, tell them it’s not happening. I want you here by ten a.m. sharp. Bring Josh with you, if you like.”
I drop my head back, and I blow out an exasperated sigh. “Mom, I don’t know who this Josh is that you keep referring to. My friends are Sadie, Cade and Joss, which is short for Jocelyn.”
“What about Cade? Is he able to come?”
“Mom,” I grind out. “Cade is a girl. Her name is Cadence, remember?”
“Well, what about your boyfriend?”
I slap my forehead with my palm and press the heel of my hand into my skin. “Mom, I don’t have a boyfriend. Can you just leave it alone?”
I’m so sick of my mother pressuring me about relationships. I can’t take it anymore, and I know that when this weekend comes, she’s going to start on me all over again about boys and how I need a good man to take care of me like that’s the ultimate goal in my life.
“Come on now, Jaime.” I can hear the condescending tone in her voice—the kind that always makes me cringe like I’m being scolded for something. “Just get here on Saturday morning, bring some things to stay overnight, and we’ll have a great weekend with family and friends.”
I resist barking down the phone at her that she can shove her gathering up her tight asshole and leave me the fuck alone. I want to tell her that she can’t control me; I’m a fucking grown woman, but I do what I always do—shrink down and agree to what she wants because she’s my goddamn mom.
“Fine, I’ll be there. But I’ll be alone.”
“Great! See you Saturday!”
The phone cuts off, and I stare at the wallpaper image of the girls and me dressed up as clowns for Halloween.
“Are you okay?” Sadie asks from the doorway. I look up at her sympathetic eyes, and I nod. “Don’t let it ruin your night, or the rest of your week. I’ll be a phone call away, remember? And I’ll always give you an emergency call whenever you need it.”
“Thanks, Sade.” She wraps her arm around me, and I rest my head on her shoulder. “I don’t feel like going out now.”
“See? You’re letting her get to you already.” She stands and pulls my hands so I’ll get up. “We’re going to the movies, we’re going to have a great time, and with any luck, we’ll all get a happy ending.” She winks and sticks her tongue between her teeth. “I know I will.”
“I don’t need to know about you getting your freak on, Sade.”
“Hey, we don’t get freaky,” she laughs.
“Well, I’ve heard you enough times that I get the movie flashbacks in my mind. Your screams and moans basically give me the full rundown of what he’s doing to you. And there isn’t enough bleach in the whole fucking world to clean that scenario from my brain.”
“Oh my God, Jai!” Sadie’s face blushes bright red. “You heard everything?”
“Pretty much, honey. And even though I’m glad you’re getting the service that’s keeping your gears running smoothly, I don’t like to bear witness to your oil change.”
“Ew, Jai!” she cringes. “So graphic.”
“Hey, it is what it is,” I reply with a shrug.
I’m so mad I could fucking kill Sadie right now. I’m sitting in the back of Mitch’s brand new sedan next to his equally large friend, Bobby. I’ve already zoned out from his annoying voice and have no idea what he’s been talking about for the past few minutes, other than it’s something to do with protein shakes and squats.
“It’s easy enough, you know. I could get you in there, train you—”
“Sorry, what?” I say, turning away from the buildings that are zooming past the window. “Get in where?”
“The gym. I could train you. Work on your fitness levels.”
I shift to face him, but angle my body away with the audacity of his words. “I’m not exactly gasping for breath when I run up the stairs, Bobby.”
“It’s a lot of fun, Jaime,” he says with a smirk that shows he’s so sure of himself. “You’ll love it.”
“You have no idea what I’ll love,” I reply with a lazy grin. “But I assure you, it’s not getting sweaty and disgusting in a gym.”
His gaze on me heats and I realize how my words may have sounded to him. “So, how do you like to get sweaty?” he asks in a gravelly tone.
“I don’t. Sweaty bodies make me want to throw up.” The image of Bran and his dripping torso come back to me, and I retch. “Just…no.”
I turn to look out of the window again, hopefully ending the conversation, but he keeps talking; oblivious to my attempts at blocking him out.
We pull up outside the movie theater, and I see Cade and Joss are waiting for us along with Mark and Tom. Sadie greets her brother with a hug, and Cade communicates to me with her eyes.
I don’t fucking believe it.
“Hey, Joss.” I walk over to her and stand at her side. “What
’s going on?”
She glances to the guys before coming back to me. “I’m pretty sure we’ve been set up.”
“No shit.” I take a deep breath, and I inhale her sweet flowery perfume. “You smell nice,” I say, and she blushes.
“Thank you, so do you.” I feel my face heat also, and I try to hold it back as we look at each other. “Kerbside Violet?” she asks.
“Yeah, how did you know?”
“It’s one of my favorites.” She smiles sweetly. “I love Lush products.”
“Me too. Do you like the Godmother soap?”
She nods. “It’s a shame they don’t make it anymore. I loved that, but I like Rockstar too.”
I’m about to agree and say more about the bath products, but Sadie gets our attention by telling us we need to head into the theater.
In our row, Mitch goes in first with Sadie behind him. Bobby goes in and Tom ushers for me to follow. I see where this is going so I motion for Joss to come with me too, with Tom right behind her. Cade, then Mark, take up the rest of the seats. I wait for the commercials and trailers to get going before I speak.
I lean towards Joss. “Are you as uncomfortable as I am?”
She blinks long and hard before keeping her gaze fixed on me. “Do you want to leave?”
A moment passes by while we stare at each other.
She’s serious, she’s asking me to leave with her.
I’m about to tell her to get up and head out with me when the lights lower for the start of the movie.
It’s fucking torture. Sheer painful, and fingernail-pulling torture as we sit and watch the movie. Bobby keeps brushing his arm against mine, but I pull away, which makes me lean to Joss. Tom does the same to her. In the end, we’re so close I can hear her breathing. Sometimes deep, but quick, and often through her mouth. I don’t blame her. I’m trying hard not to lose my shit at the guy trying to get closer to me. The one movie I’ve wanted to watch since it was released is being ruined by the overgrown fitness nut next to me.