by Sarah Tork
“Oh, Jenna.” I chuckled, tucking my phone in my pocket. I headed to the bathroom where there was no line, shockingly. I went to open the door but it was locked.
“I want you, baby.” Someone whispered loud enough for me to hear. My eyes widened in shock as I backed into the wall across the bathroom door.
Am I about to interrupt a make out session!
And I knew whose voice that was…. It was Latisha!
“Kiss me,” she moaned breathily and my jaw dropped.
“I can’t, Latisha.” a boy moaned next.
That’s Roy!
“Take me to your car then,” Latisha begged.
Roy groaned again. “We can’t do this, L. Not anymore.”
L? Is that his nickname for her?
Dana is going to freak out!
And it’s not going to come from me! My mouth is shut on this!
“Don’t you want me, Roy?”
“Please, let’s just go back to the party.”
She moaned. “I want you so bad, right now.”
Roy gasped. “What are you doing?”
“I’m showing you how bad I want you….”
I heard a zipper sound and it took me a second before…
“Jesus,” Roy breathed heavily. “Damn, L.”
OH.
MY.
GOD!
I cannot believe she’s doing that!
“You like that?” Latisha asked.
“Yeah,” Roy breathed louder. “Keep going, baby.”
EW!
That’s disgusting!
How could she do that!
How could he let her do this!
My face felt hotter than the sun. If I thought I was sweaty before, it was nothing like now. Snooping clearly brought the sweatiness out of me. I was acting like a weirdo, listening in on a very private moment.
Get out of here, you creeper!
“What are you doing?” someone hissed by my ear.
“Oh my God!” I held my heart as it hammered, coming face to face with a smirking James. “Shhhh.” I shushed him and grabbed his shoulder, pushing him away from the bathroom door. The bathroom door unlocked and I almost freaked out. James took the lead and pushed us into a room before Roy and Latisha stepped out of the bathroom.
“Don’t say anything,” Roy ordered.
“I won’t.” Latisha whispered, kissing him on the lips. “Remember…. I love you more than she ever will.”
Jesus!
When they’re gone, I finally breathe out loud. “Did you know?” I asked James.
He shrugged, like he didn’t care. “I don’t pay attention to that guy’s love life. It’s a head fuck.”
“He’s cheating on Dana.” I pointed in the direction Roy and Latisha had gone off in. Why was James being so nonchalant about this whole thing?
“Who cares.” James cringed. He kept trying to hug me, but I kept pulling away. “It’s not our business.”
My jaw dropped. “Not our business, are you crazy?”
“That’s it.” James growled, picking me up under my bum with my violet dress riding up.
Trying to straighten my dress, I hissed. “Stop, my dress is riding up.”
“Stop moving,” he ordered, grabbing my arm from moving. “Come here.”
He pulled me down, and I leaned the rest of the way. Our lips touched. He pushed his lips over top mine, taking the lead. Letting go of my arm, I wrapped them around his shoulders and let him squeeze me tighter. My dress rose higher and this time I didn’t care, because all my focus went to controlling my breathing.
James finally released my lips and lowered to the ground. With me in his arms, James sat down on the floor with his back against the door. “That’s better, Fireball.”
Straddling him, I hugged him tighter and whispered next to his ear. “Were you really just trying to give me space today?”
“Yeah,” he whispered back.
I brushed my lips down his neck. “Don’t next time.”
He said nothing for a little bit and I just continued to kiss the side of his warm face while he held me close.
“Fuck it….” he murmured. “I wanted to call you. I wanted to see you. I wanted to come over, just like last time.”
“Then why didn’t you?”
“I was fucked up. My dad left for his cottage in the afternoon and I had a conversation with my grandpa. It wasn’t good.”
I felt like a moron for making things worse. “I’m sorry I made things worse. I don’t want to stress you out.”
“It won’t always be like this. When I’m eighteen I’m gone, heading straight for my grandpa’s house where I’ll never have to see that asshole again.”
“What happened?” I asked.
“Something I should have already suspected. But it makes more sense now that it’s out in the clear.” James explained, exhaling a deep breath. “Things are looking up though. Maybe sooner than later.”
I gulped. “What do you mean?”
James shook his head in disgust. “I don’t know if I can live with my dad till I’m eighteen. He almost punched my face yesterday morning. Would have been a cheap shot, but I ducked out the way. He tried laughing it off because his wife walked by like the clueless idiot she is. She doesn’t want to see the monster, or maybe she does…. I don’t know. All she cares about is her picture perfect family. She’s got the house, the car, the club membership, the money, and the poor stepson she’s graciously housing out of the goodness of her heart. Give her a fucking medal...”
“It’ll be over soon….” I murmured.
James grunted out a laugh. “I’d go tonight if I were allowed, but the dragon king makes threats on a daily basis.”
I narrowed my eyes. “What’s that all about?”
“He wants to keep his chump change,” James grunted. “This whole thing, dragging me to live with him has been about child support. He owes my mom back three years worth; she went to court last year and won. But now that I’ve been living with him since the beginning of summer, he’s gonna try and get the amount reduced. I’m positive. I’m just a pawn in his scumbag game.”
“I’m sorry,” I said, caressing his jawline.
“Don’t be,” James shook his head. “Fuck that guy. And fuck this conversation. I don’t want to talk about it anymore.”
“Okay,” I murmured, leaning down to kiss him, but I stopped just as our lips would have brushed.
“Fuck, your skin’s soft.” he whispered, caressing my outer thigh, my dress riding higher up. “This is mine…”
His words sent shivers down my spine and sent my heart racing. My core erupted in flames as he pushed himself up, grinding himself against me. I had butterflies as he pulled my dress off of me, placing it nicely on the floor beside us.
“Look at you,” James scanned the body I wasn’t a hundred percent with, and wasn’t sure if I’d ever be.
“Don’t look….” I shook my head, feeling embarrassed at the state of my belly. as I straddled James, wearing only a purple lace bra and black underwear.
“I’m not looking away.” He declared, pulling my purple lace bra off. Not that I minded. But actually I did, considering we were in a random room in Peter’s house while there was a party going on in his living room.
What the hell am I doing right now!
I was practically NAKED.
I hugged him, hiding my breasts with his chest. I could feel his heart beat fast. “Who’s room is this?”
“It’s the guest room,” James said, lifting me up and carrying me to the bed.
“I feel weird,” I worried as James placed me down and then took his shirt off.
He quickly went to the door and locked it. “It’s all good. Peter’s cool with us using the room.”
I smiled, feeling cheeky. “Yeah, I guess it’d be okay. I mean we’re only going to be in here for five minutes. We’ll be back in the party in no time.”
“Five minutes… that’s a lie if I ever heard one.” James
smirked. He shut the lights off and came back to the bed, crawling over my body and using his elbows to prop his weight. “By the way, I don’t give a shit about the party, baby.” he whispered. “I just want you.”
“Yeah,” I sighed.
“Yeah,” he answered, leaning down and pressing his lips softly over mine. His lips slowly put pressure over my lips and the pace intensified rather quickly. But hey, I’m not complaining.
“Keep going. Don’t stop...” I whispered against his lips as my hands trailed down the sides of his toned waist. My fingers made quick work of unbuttoning his jeans and pulling them as far as my arms could reach. But my feet would have to do the rest of the work.
“You’re cute, you know that.” James chuckled in between our kisses. His lips slowly lingered down my chin, along my neck and down my chest, resting over one breast. His mouth took in one and the warm wet heat sent my body spinning in lust. His hand trailed down and pulled my underwear off, and then he pulled his own off and tossed them on the floor.
“I’m so hard right now….” he whispered, placing his fingers inside me and rubbing me down there.
I moaned quietly because the last thing I needed was the party outside to take notice, but it was getting harder to control myself. I was about to explode.
“I want you to come first,” James urged, coming back up and pressing his lips over top mine, using his tongue inside my mouth, giving me one hell of a French kiss.
“But I don’t want to… not yet anyways.” I whispered, pulling his hand away from me. “I want you first,”
“Yeah?” He smiled.
“Yeah,” I smiled back.
James pulled himself off of me and picked his jeans off the floor. He took a condom wrapper from his pocket and held it up. “Can’t forget one of these,”
He unwrapped the condom and slipped it on himself. He climbed over me and propped himself with his elbows. “
I wrapped my legs around his waist and pulled him down, leaving no space between us.
“You love me?” he asked, caressing the side of my face.
I held his hand as it lay against the side of my jaw. “Yeah, I love you.”
Chapter 5
ANNABELLE
Saturday November 3, 2012
“Pay attention!”
I glanced up passed a crate filled with lemons. Shelby, my supervisor was really cracking the whip this morning. An hour into my shift had me wishing I was back in James’s bed with his arms around me.
“I said, pay attention, Annabelle Simms!”
I snapped out of my daydream.
“I’m listening,” I got off the ground with two lemons that had gone astray, throwing them back inside the crate.
“Lovely, bruise our supplies why don’t you.” Shelby grimaced, shaking her head in disgust. “Anyways, as I was saying, we’ve got a new boy and you’re training him.”
My eyes popped open. “A new boy?”
Shelby sneered and took the pencil from behind her ear and marked something on her clipboard. “That’s right, genius. And do me a favor, this time try not to scare this one away like you did the last one…. okay?”
My heart stopped. “What are you talking about? I never scared anyone away.”
“Then why did the last recruit quit the next day?” Shelby gave me a cocky smile. “And why did he make jokes about the intense coworker who made working the lemonade stand a headache? He was talking about you, Annabelle Simms.”
James said that about me?
It wasn’t possible. I shook my head.
“Anyways, stop arguing with me. Or I’ll file a complaint with management and get you written up for being disorderly and disrespectful.” Shelby threatened.
Evil witch!
“That’s what I thought,” Shelby said smugly and turned toward the club’s entrance where a girl about my age walked out.
She had curly dark brown hair, blue eyes and she was tall. She stopped next to Shelby and pointed my way. “Is that where I’m working?”
Shelby looked like an idiot glancing back and forth between the new girl and her clipboard. “This can’t be right! I’m expecting Andy Norton today.”
The new girl pointed to herself. “Andy or Andrea Norton, it’s up to you, I don’t care either way.” She pointed back in my direction. “They said I’d be making lemonade, that stand has lemons in it, so I take it that’s where I’ll be slaving away for the rest of the day, right?”
“Yes, that’s right,” Shelby grunted and pointed at me. “Annabelle Simms will show you the ropes, um, I’ve got to go and speak to management. I swear they told me a boy was working today.”
“Well congrats, you’re stuck with me, a girl.” Andy sneered, shaking her head and making eye contact with me, sending a look I knew all too well. A combo of confusion and annoyance.
“Two girls, I’m stuck supervising two girls! Why is my life so hard!” Shelby groaned squeakily, speed walking away.
Andy and I watched Shelby until she disappeared behind a group of golfers and their caddies.
“What’s her problem?” Andy walked over and entered the stand. “Nice to meet you by the way. My name is Andy Norton.”
“Annabelle Simms, nice to meet you, too. And her problem, as in Shelby the supervisor from hell, is, and I’ve only come up with one possible reason why she is the way she is.”
Andy grabbed a lemon and brought it to her nose, which crinkled. “And that would be?”
“She hates girls?” I suggested, grabbing a lemon and bringing it to the cutting board. “Let’s get this training thing started, shall we.”
Andy cringed and stepped beside me. “She’s a girl, how can she hate girls?”
I smirked. “She’s an evil troll. So, welcome to my life.”
Andy sneered, giving Shelby’s spirit the finger. “Screw her, I’m awesome. That miserable bitch better play fair, or her ass will be toast. I know people here, too.”
I laughed, feeling warmth in my heart. Andy was awesome and so far, I was lucky her shift was with me. I taught her the ways of the lemonade stand, which took a grand total of ten minutes. By hour two she was a lemonade connoisseur rivaling speeds I’ve only ever seen from myself.
I seriously need a life!
“Dude, you rock.” I exhaled deep breaths after serving a long line of people. Our tip jar had filled up nicely. “Not even lunch time and we’ve made twenty dollars each, so far. It’s a good day.” I grinned happily.
Andy smiled. “Awesome. I need money.”
“Everyone needs money,” I smirked.
Andy wiped her hands and took a seat on the back table. We normally used it to store extra crates of lemons, but we were down to our last crate already. “No, I really need money. I’m broke. My boyfriend capped me last week.”
“Oh,” I said, not really understanding. “How old are you?”
“Twenty-one,” she answered.
I took a seat next to her. “I’m seventeen, but I thought you were eighteen at the most.”
“I get that a lot. I look kind of young. My height kind of makes up for my youngish face. For the first time, being five foot nine ain’t so bad.” She laughed nervously and fixed her wild untamed hair beneath her club cap.
“You don’t go to school?” I asked.
“I did, but it’s just not for me right now. And I don’t know what I want to do, either?” she explained. “You in school?”
“I’m still in high school. I’m a senior at Royal Heights High.”
Andy sighed. “Ah, I remember high school. Things were much simpler back then.”
“Not so much now?” I looked at her, perplexed.
Andy stared off in the distance and nodded. “My life is the definition of complicated right now.”
“Well, if you need an ear, I’m here for you.” I offered with smile.
Andy returned my smile and nudged her shoulder playfully into mine. “Thanks, I just might take you up on your offer… one day that is.”
*~*~*
ANNABELLE
“Are you hungry? Did you eat lunch? Please tell me you ate lunch! If you’d come home from Jenna’s first before going to work I could have packed you an amazing lunch. Would you like me to make you something? Dinner’s in a few hours, but I can rustle up a quick sandwich or a Caesar salad. I just bought this amazing smoked bacon from the butcher. I could grill some up and crumble it over the salad. Would you like that, Anna, would you?”
Choosing to decline her offer would open a can of worms, so I nodded. “A salad sounds nice, thanks.”
“With bacon?”
I nodded again. “Sure.”
I went up to my room and changed into shorts and a tank top. I pulled out my phone and there were a few text messages from Jenna, but there was nothing from James.
“Your salad will be ready in ten minutes, Anna!” Mom yelled from the kitchen.
“Okay!” I yelled back, falling over my bed with my phone.
Annabelle: Hey. Where are you?
Tiger: I’m at my Grandpa’s house.
Annabelle: Really? Thought you weren’t allowed to spend time there??
Tiger: Things changed. My grandpa doesn’t give a shit what his son thinks anymore. We’re going to do things our way from now on.
Annabelle: Why didn’t you tell me before?
Tiger: What does that even mean? How could I? All this just happened.
Annabelle: Fine whatever. Sorry I asked then.
Tiger: Don’t get angry with me.
Annabelle: I’m not getting angry with you. You’re the one swearing.
Tiger: I’ll text you in a few. My grandpa wants to talk again.
Annabelle: Okay.
Tiger: OK?
Annabelle: Yeah, OK.