Battling the Enemy

by M. E. Clayton

  “Because I love you,” I answered, my voice strong and sure.

  “You better,” she replied, and I laughed.

  I laughed because that’s what you do when you’re happy.

  Chapter 26

  Delaney~

  The rest of the afternoon had been…weird, but I supposed I should get used to it. Deke and I were officially dating and that meant facing the repercussions of that decision. And that included being friends with his friends, and even though they’ve all been nice so far, they were still intimidating as hell.

  After convincing Deke that I’d head straight for his place after I took care of some stuff after school, he finally let me tend to life. And part of that was standing in front of Winston’s house, ringing the bell to his front door.

  I waited a few minutes assuming he was here since his car was in the driveway. The front door finally swung open and Winston stood in the doorframe, his face looking better, but still bruised. I wondered, briefly, if he was going to need plastic surgery for his cheekbone.

  His eyes widened the second he registered it was me. “Delaney?” His head jerked up and his eyes darted around the yard, presumably looking for Deke. When his eyes met mine again, he asked, “What are you doing here? Is everything okay?”

  The sincerity in his voice reminded me of the young boy who used to be my friend. It reminded me of the guy I liked enough to have spent the rest of my life with at one point. “Can we talk?”

  His eyes blinking, he shook off his surprise and said, “Yeah, sure. Of course.” He stepped back, so I could enter his house.

  Once I was inside, he shut the door behind him, and the moment wasn’t lost on me. I’ve been in this house a million times growing up. I knew where every room was and how it was decorated. I’ve sat in the Reynolds’ kitchen a gazillion times for luncheons and stuff, but now? I felt so unwelcomed, I wasn’t sure which way to step.

  “Are your parent home?” I asked, knowing they probably weren’t. None of our parents were ever home. This town was so littered with unsupervised children, it was unreal.

  He was already shaking his head. “No,” he answered. “Last I heard, they were in Japan, researching some latest drug, and how it’ll affect the pharmaceutical world.” He let out a sad laugh. “Well, my dad is. Mom’s probably shopping.” He jerked his head towards the kitchen. “Want something to drink?”

  I nodded my head just for something to do. I felt uncomfortable and…uneasy. Winston’s already seen the writing on the wall, but right now, I wasn’t drunk and emotional. Finally having this conversation sober and alert was going to change his life, too.

  I sat down at the kitchen island, placing my purse on the counter as I have many times before, and waited while he grabbed a water from the fridge. He placed it down in front of me, then stepped back until his ass hit the counter. He folded his arms over his chest and said, “Okay, Delaney. Let’s get this over with.”

  Immediately, I felt…guilty. Guilty and sad. It felt as if I was letting everyone down, and I was powerless to stop it, even though that wasn’t true. All I had to do was walk away from Deke Marlow and life would go on as per usual for Winston, my parents, and the Reynolds.

  But I couldn’t.

  I knew I couldn’t long ago, but I definitely knew I couldn’t after Deke told me he loved me.

  “I’m not drunk now,” I said, stating the obvious.

  “No. You’re not,” Winston whispered in agreement.

  “I’m sorry, Winston,” I said dismally. “I never meant for any of this to happen.”

  His arms dropped, and I saw his hands grip the counter lip behind him. “We’re not supposed to be married for another four years, Delaney,” he reminded me. “Why…why do this? Do you seriously see yourself with Deke Marlow for the next fifty years?”

  No, I didn’t.

  Teenage love was just that, teenage love. People in love always think it’s going to be forever. I mean, people don’t fall in love thinking it’s going to end someday. But I wasn’t one of those people. Deke said he loved me, but there was carefree teenage love, and then there was adult going-through-hard-times love. I believed that Deke loved me right now, but a year from now? When all the novelty wears off?

  I shook my head. “No, Winston,” I answered. “I don’t see myself with Deke in fifty years, but that doesn’t change how I feel now.” I let out a deep breath. “We’re friends. We’ve known each other most our lives. And…and that was enough for me to stick to the agreement. I wasn’t look for…”

  “Passion?” he supplied.

  I gave him a tight nod. “Yeah. Passion.” God, this sucked. “And now that I know what that feels like…well, I’m not willing to settle anymore.”

  “We can try t-”

  I threw my hand up to stop him. “We did that once already, Winston. We both were left wanting,” I reminded him.

  Winston stared at me for several painfully uncomfortable seconds before asking, “And what about our parents? What am I supposed to tell them?”

  “I’ll handle my parents,” I said. “You…tell them the truth. I fell in love with someone and-”

  “What?” he snapped. “What the fuck do you mean you fell in love with someone? You’ve known Deke Marlow a fucking week, Delaney. A week and you’re talking love? Are you insane?”

  I could barely get the words out of my mouth. “So what, if it’s only been a week?” I said through clenched teeth. “You don’t know how I feel.”

  Winston let out a dark laugh. “Fuck, you girls,” he swore. “You chicks always think it’s love when you get dick for the first time.” There was no way he could know that I slept with Deke, but his next words stopped my thoughts. “And don’t sit there and try to tell me you haven’t fucked him already, Delaney. Deke Marlow isn’t the type of guy who goes around holding hands on chaperoned dates. And there’s no way you’d be throwing away our future if you hadn’t ridden his dick already.”

  “Quit being an asshole,” I clipped out.

  His brows rose. “Ah, but I see you’re not denying it,” he accused.

  I stood up. “How can you be…angry?” I almost said jealous, but that didn’t sound right. “You’ve slept with dozens of girls, Winston. Why are you so bothered by who I’m sleeping with?”

  “Because you’re throwing away our future!” he roared, finally losing grip on his composure. “I may have fucked my fair share of females, Delaney, but I never jeopardized our futures!”

  “You can find someone else to further your parents’ agenda, Winston,” I pointed out. “It doesn’t have to be me!”

  And the truth came out like a right hook to my ribs. “But you’re the only one who would have stayed in the background and taken it!” he yelled.

  My lungs lost their ability to breathe. Even though I knew what my future with Winston would have entailed, hearing him admit it was like a slap in the face. It showed me we weren’t even friends at this point. Friends didn’t humiliate each other. He would have cheated, but more importantly, he wouldn’t have tried to hide it. My dignity wasn’t worth the effort.

  He must have realized what he just admitted because his head dropped, and I could see him taking a deep breath to steady himself. “You’re a bastard,” I hissed. “You’re a selfish bastard just like our fathers.”

  Winston’s head shot up and he speared me with a look so hateful, I was thankful to be on the other side of the island. “I am nothing like those two assholes,” he seethed.

  I stared at the boy who was once my friend, and I knew that, even if I wanted to forgive his careless words, my life was moving in a different direction, with or without Deke Marlow. I was no longer the same Delaney Martin I was two weeks ago.

  “I’m going to call my parents tonight and let them know there will no longer be a marriage after college,” I informed him.

  Winston lifted a brow. “Deke Marlow’s going to break your heart, Delaney,” he said coldly. “He’s going to ruin your ability to love along
with the secured future you had with me.”

  He still didn’t understand. This wasn’t about Deke. This was about me. I was different, no matter the outcome with Deke. “Be that as it may, Winston, it doesn’t change anything.”

  The corner of his lips lifted, and it wasn’t in a smile. It was a sneer. “When he’s done with you? When he finally gets bored and moves on to someone…more his class? I’ll be here waiting for you.”

  It was the final slap in the face. He was implying that he’s more than willing to wait because he knows it’s going to happen. “Winston it’s over no matter how things play out between me and Deke,” I repeated. “It’s over.”

  He cocked his head as he said, “You know your way out, Delaney.” It was cold and…mean.

  I grabbed my purse, hooked it over my shoulder and said, “Goodbye, Winston,” as I turned my back on him and walked out the Reynolds’ home.

  It wasn’t until I was sitting in my car that I felt I could finally breathe. Now, I had to call my parents and tell them, and they were going to be harder to deal with than Winston. Never having gone up against my parents before, I wasn’t too proud to admit that I needed Deke with me to do this. I needed a physical, visual reminder of why I was doing this.

  I needed his strength.

  Chapter 27

  Deke~

  I knew Delaney had gone to Reynolds’ house, and it had taken everything in me to let her-to trust her. Now, it wasn’t that I didn’t trust Delaney, per se. It’s just I’ve never been in love before and it’s a fucked-up feeling, if I was being honest.

  It was the lack of control I was struggling with. And with eyes finally wide open, I was understanding Ramsey and Liam more, and more now. I used to think they were unhinged with the way they stressed out whenever the girls weren’t around, but I got it now.

  Boy, did I fucking get it.

  The rest of the school day had gone fine, and by the time the end of the day rolled around, it was all over the school that Delaney Martin was my girlfriend. Mine. There was no more confusion or love triangle with Reynolds. So, when Delaney had told me she was going to his house after school, so they could talk, a part of me knew it was the right thing to do, but the rest of me wanted to conk her on the head and never let her leave my cave.

  Finishing up in the gym, I heard the doorbell ring, and I prayed it was Delaney. I’d been working out for two hours trying to occupy my time, so I didn’t storm over to Reynolds’ place and drag her home, and I was barely hanging on.

  Wearing only my basketball shorts, I opened the door to a forlorn-looking Delaney. “Hey, baby,” I said, stepping back and letting her in, noticing she didn’t have an overnight bag.

  Fuck.

  “Hey,” she returned, walking towards the living room, and sitting down.

  I sat down on the coffee table across from her. “I take it things didn’t go well?” I prompted.

  Delaney shrugged a shoulder. “It’s not that it went…bad,” she hedged. “It was just a bit, sort of…uncomfortable.”

  Oh, I bet it was. “Did he get pissed?” Any excuse-any excuse to fuck him up again.

  Her beautiful face looked absolutely miserable. “He got…resentful,” she muttered.

  Resentful?

  I was going to fuck him up.

  “Meaning?” I said, prompting her to say more.

  “Ugh,” she groaned, and threw her head back rather dramatically. When her eyes met mine again, she said, “He basically said that we don’t have to decide anything for another four years, and…”

  I couldn’t stop my hands from clenching into matching fists. “And, what?”

  Her eyes narrowed as she regarded me. “Promise you won’t go off half-cocked?”

  Wow.

  That was encouraging.

  “Delaney…” I growled.

  “Promise me, Deke,” she ordered, rather sternly.

  “Do not confuse my love for you for a weak spine, Delaney,” I advised. “You will not lead me around by my dick just because I love you, understand that.”

  She looked taken aback by my comments. “Are you for real?” she screeched. “You are equating me asking you not to get upset to leading you around by your dick? That’s absurd, Deke!”

  My problem was that I was new to this. I was feeling weak, unsure, and irritated, primarily because, while I’ve already told Delaney how I feel, she’s yet to tell me. I could have pushed it at school, but I didn’t want to. I needed Delaney willingly goddamn it, and the wait was killing me.

  “What the fuck did Reynolds say?” I demanded.

  Delaney stood up and started pacing the room. “Unbelievable,” she muttered to herself.

  “Delaney, if you don’t want me going over there and beating it out of him, tell me!” I thundered.

  She whirled around on me pissed. “He said he’ll be waiting when you get tired of me!” she yelled back. “Are you happy?!”

  The rage I was feeling was real. “And when you told him I wouldn’t because I was in love with you?”

  Her anger dissipated instantly. Her shoulders drooped and her eyes averted mine. “Uhm…”

  I had her arms in my hands and her back up against the wall before she could utter another word. “So help me God, Delaney, you better have told him we’re in love and that’s why you’re putting an end to that ridiculous agreement,” I seethed, pissed beyond what I ever thought I could be.

  She looked up at me and mumbled, “It seemed…that’s private.”

  Private my motherfucking ass.

  “You didn’t tell him because you believe him, don’t you?” I snarled. “You think I’m going to drop you and I’m just bullshitting you, don’t you? You’re embarrassed to tell him I love you because you think it makes you look stupid.”

  Her eyes started to shine. “Deke…” she mouthed. When she said I’d better love her, she wasn’t being cute or flirty, she meant that shit.

  My hands tightened around her arms, sure to leave bruises, and I shook her enough to get her undivided attention. “I need you to pay attention, Delaney,” I spat. “I need you to pay really good attention, right now. I love you. I fucking love you. I’ve never said those words to another girl in all my motherfucking life.” Her eyes widened, and her face looked stunned. “And while it would be nice, I don’t frankly give a fuck if you love me back or not, because you’re mine, regardless.” I pushed up her against the wall one more time to emphasize my point. “I’m never going to let you leave me, Lamb. Ever.”

  Her eyes blinked one time.

  One. Time.

  One time before her hands were attacking the waistband of my shorts. “Delaney, bab-”

  “Shut up,” she snapped as she pushed my shorts down.

  “I’m all sweaty, baby,” I pointed out at the same time I was releasing my hold on her. In the time it took for her to kick off her sandals, unbutton her jeans, push them down along with her panties, and jump into my arms, my dick was rock hard and ready.

  With her arms wrapped around my neck and her legs wrapped around my waist, she panted, “I don’t care, Deke. Fuck me, please.”

  And so, I did.

  I plowed my cock deep into her pussy with one thrust. She screamed, I groaned, and it felt so good.

  She felt so good.

  But I was done waiting. I drove into her so hard, her back was slamming into the wall behind her. “Tell me,” I demanded. “Fucking tell me before I lose my fucking mind, Lamb.”

  “Harder, Deke,” she begged. “Fuck me harder.”

  Christ. “That’s not what I’m asking, and you fucking know it,” I barked.

  Delaney started bouncing up and down on my cock, trying to impale herself when she finally said it. “I love you, Deke,” she panted. “I…I love you, even if I shouldn’t.”

  I let that last part slide because she finally told me what I wanted to hear, and the rest didn’t matter. My insecurities, her insecurities-they didn’t matter right now. All that mattered was that Delane
y was mine. I was going to spend every night inside her body, one way or another, and no one would ever be able to take her from me.

  “Tell me how badly you want my cock, baby?” I grunted. “Tell me how you’re mine.”

  Delaney was withering and moaning. “I can’t…think, Deke…”

  Music to my ears.

  I kept slamming into her, our harsh breathing the only sounds in the house, and I didn’t want it to ever end. Her pussy wrapped around my dick was a high more pure than anything out there. Delaney Martin was more potent than any drug I have ever tried.

  “Don’t stop, Deke,” she whimpered. “I’m…I’m going to cum…”

  My dick throbbed with my need for release as I slammed Delaney harder against the wall. “That’s it, baby,” I encouraged her. “Give it to me. Soak my dick with your cream, Lamb.”

  Delaney threw her head back and cried out as her pussy gripped my dick in a choke hold and started convulsing all around me. “Deke!”

  I followed immediately after. “Delaney…” I hissed into her neck right before biting down. My previous mark had started to fade, and I didn’t like it.

  After a few exhausting seconds, we both slid to the floor, where she draped her body over mine, straddling my now soft cock. “Jesus Christ,” she muttered.

  My hands rested on her hips as I stared at the ceiling. “I’m not going to drop you, Delaney,” I said, hoping she’d believe me, eventually.

  She let out a deep breath before saying, “Even if you do, Deke, I’m past…whatever I wanted in life before you. Winston and our parents are just going to have to accept that.”

  I didn’t comment, but I knew we were going to have to have a serious talk about what it meant to be in a relationship with me before I strangled her to death.

  Chapter 28

  Delaney~

  Deke spent the rest of the night using my body and professing his undying love for me.

  Okay.

  Maybe not quite like that, but I’m guessing the constant ‘you’re mine’s were relative to the same thing as professing one’s undying love.