Page 10

He looks at me, surprised I’m still here. “Need a refill already?”

“Need you to take this to Heather.”

His jaw tightens. “Uh, alright. I’ll be right back.”

“You’re gonna leave me here all alone?” Alone. Like I’m not fucking standing here. She gives him the cutest frown I’ve ever fucking seen.

He steps into her. “You wanna supervise?”

“I’d love to.”

He bites his lip. “Yeah, alright. Maybe we can convince someone to play some flip cup, or maybe we could go for a swim,” he says suggestively, grabbing her hand and pulling her with him. She flips me her middle finger at me behind his back and sways her ass while she follows him.

I don’t understand what just happened. Penny and Troy are already gone. They’ve all left me standing here like an idiot. Barnes shoves the drink into Heather’s hand without a word, and she looks at me with irritation before rolling her eyes and stomping over to a group of Stacy’s. Guess that opportunity flew out of the window.

Thunder echoes across the lake, as if I conjured it myself. A few girls scream. It starts to rain and everyone runs in a drunk panic as lightning flashes across the sky. In the commotion I lost view of the two of them.

“Have you seen Ashland?” Barnes appears next to me with a jacket over his head. So he lost her, too.

“Probably went back to the cabin because you were boring her with the golden retriever act.”

“Whatever." He rolls his eyes. “Heather! My cabin is close!”

Fucking disgusting. All of them are pigs. I’m starting to think like Ashland. I still haven’t seen her, though. In the chaos she managed to disappear. Once the beach is cleared, I find her. She’s standing at the edge of the water. I know she’s got her shit, and the way she was acting on the way here was weird.

I jog over and grab her arm. “What the fuck are you doing?”

She yanks it out of my grip. “Whatever the fuck I want. Go on, Armory. Find one of the Stacy’s and leave me the fuck alone.”

“It’s raining.”

“Thank you, Captain Obvious.”

“And lightning,” I add. The rain starts pouring down in sheets, forcing to shout over the white noise. Thunder echoes across the water.

“I don’t expect you to understand,” she says indignantly, taking off her shorts. I focus on not getting hard. The water has soaked her pink hair, and it fills the red solo cup she’s drinking from.

“You’re drunk,” I point out.

“Yup.” She drops the cup and grabs the bottle of whiskey from the sand.

“That’s how people drown,” I argue.

Amusement fills Ashland’s eyes like forest fire, and she gives me a devious grin. Grabbing the hem of her shirt, she tears it over her head. It takes everything inside of me not to look down. I’ve never seen her fully naked before.

“Sounds peaceful,” she says, before taking off into the water.

I don’t know what to do except for watch her like a fucking life guard. Her head is above water, and she’s keeping herself in place as she swims.

“Go home, Ko! We both know you’ve never been exciting in your life!” she shouts.

“Where is Penny?” I demand.

“I dunno. Doing her own shit?”

“You’re out here alone, in the middle of the night, drunk, trying to swim in the fucking lake in the thunderstorm.”

“Doesn’t scare me.”

“It’s dangerous.”

“Life is dangerous. Now leave, Golden Boy, before someone sees you with the slut.”

“Is that what this is about? You’re mad?”

“Not everything is about you. You’re ruining the vibes.”

Thunder rings out again. Every time she calls me Golden Boy I think about the game of pong, the tree, being inside of her, and that fucking all knowing attitude. I want to prove her wrong. So I yank my shirt, which is soaking wet, over my head and toss it onto the sand, following her in. She isn’t even facing me, just swimming further out with the bottle raised in the air.

“How are you like this?” I growl when I finally make it to her.

“Like what?” She takes a drink of the bottle and dips below the surface.

I grab her, pulling her up. “So careless.”

“I think you mean carefree,” she laughs. I stare at her angrily. “The world is fucking scary. Swimming in a storm is not.”

“Is your entire purpose to be dramatic? You put yourself in danger constantly, and you’re afraid of the world?”

“Aren’t you?”

“No.” I tread water. “Follow the rules and it’s fine.”

“You make it sound so simple, but it’s not. Not at all. Life is fucking messy. There aren’t any rules. It’s scary, and you don’t have a lot of time to figure that out. We’re all drowning, and people like you just haven’t realized it yet. The only choice we really have are the people we drown with. I’d drown with Penny every single day, and it would be the best time ever.”

“You’re insane.”

“Say what you will about me. Call me a slut, a bitch, a train wreck of a person, or insane, but it won’t phase me. I’ve already accepted those things about myself. Now, I can focus on what matters.”

“Yeah? What matters to a person like you?”

She laughs like it’s fucking obvious. “Penny."

“Only Penny?”

She weighs my question in her head. “I mean other shit matters, but if I didn’t have Penny it wouldn’t anymore.”

“Does she know this? That’s kind of fucked up to put all of that weight on her shoulders.”

“It’s not a weight,” she says angrily. “We share it. I’m her person, too. We make life fun. She’s off doing whatever. I don’t care. I hope she’s having the time of her life and tomorrow we’ll talk about it, and I’ll be excited because she is. I don’t expect you to understand. You bundle all of that shit up inside of you.” She takes another drink and bobs under water. I pull her back up again, and she swats at me. “I’m not drowning. Jesus. Fucking drink if you’re going to force me into your company.”

“Just get out of the water and go back to the cabin, and I’ll leave you alone.”

“Boring!”

“Want me to go get Barnes? Is he more fun?”

She cackles. “Is that jealousy I detect?”

I float on my back enough to give myself a break. “Troy, Gage, and Noah were betting that you’d sleep with one of them.”

“Oh yeah? Who’d you bet on?”

“That doesn’t bother you?”

“Not in the least. I wish I’d known earlier so I could've made them fight for my pussy.”

“That would be fun for you, wouldn’t it?”

“It’s a man’s world. Play their games. They don’t know that we're the ones making the rules.”

“No, Ashland, it’s fucked up.”

“How? Penny and I bet on dick all of the time.”

It shouldn’t surprise me. “You do?”

“Yeah. I bet that you’d be with Stacy by now, and I knew Noah would try to corner me so I was going to sleep with that red head.”

I grimace. “Tatum is a fucking tool, and Stacy’s head sucks.”

“I saw her go off with Noah. I’m sure she’s willing to swallow twice in a row if you call her up in about ten minutes.”

“I’m not calling her.”

“I wish you would,” she groans.

“It doesn’t bother you?”

“What?”

“Stacy sucking my dick?”

“Why would it?” She holds the bottle out to me, and I grudgingly take it.

The rain lightens up some, revealing the tree line. That fucking tree line. “Because…”

“Because your dick has been inside of me? No. That’s not a good enough reason for me to give a shit about what you do.”

I can tell she’s getting tired, but she won’t fucking do anything about it because now she’s here and trying to be a brat. I hand her the bottle and swim over to the dock, grabbing a floating board, and swim back, shoving it in front of her. She doesn’t even say thank you. I grab the opposite side to make sure it doesn’t flip, and I don’t drown, too.

“It would bother me.”

She sighs. “Typical. You’re gonna have a problem if I have sex with your teammates, aren’t you?”

I balk. “I just don’t want to hear about it, and the way they were discussing you earlier they won’t ever shut the fuck up about it if they do. Go for the lacrosse team or something.”

“Lacrosse boys are hot. Guess I could focus my sexual tendencies there." She bites her lip. She sees that I'm appalled and laughs. “I’m fucking kidding. Been there done that.”

“Jesus, Ashland. Who haven’t you had sex with?”

“It’s just sex, Koda. I really don’t sleep with that many people, but there’s a double standard so I own it. What’s your number?”

“My number?”

“Yeah. How many people have you had sex with?”

I can feel my face getting red. Thank fuck that it’s dark. I don’t want to tell her because it makes me sound weird. “Four.”

“Wow,” she says thoughtfully. “Am I number four?”

“Yeah.”

“Honored, truly. But, like, why?”

“Why what?”

“Obviously you’re waiting for your future wife, so why have sex with me?”

“It’s not like that. I just focus on football. I’m not like Alexi. I get bored.”

“Do I bore you?” She raises her brows. I glare at her and she laughs. “What?”

“You know that you’re not boring. You were literally screaming about it twenty minutes ago.”

“I just wanted to hear you say it,” she says smugly. “Honestly, I’m not that exciting.” Ashland floats on her back, her breasts cresting the water. I see her nipple piercings, and I want to touch them.

I clear my throat trying to focus. “You were at the Weekender last year.”

“Yeah, I was.”

“Do you remember it?”

She’s quiet, letting the rain pitter-patter on the surface of the lake. “Do you?”

The fight. The woods. Her back against the bark, and my hand around her throat. Fuck. “I remember.”

“I didn’t know who you were at the time." Her eyes widen with some sort of feigned embarrassment. “Had to get a new phone.”

“I still have it,” I admit.

She floats back down into the water and faces me. “You do? Why?”

“I guess I thought you’d come looking for it or something.”

“You wanted to see me again?” she asks with confusion.

“Just figured you’d need your phone back.”

“Right, Mr. Does-The-Right-Thing. Wait. If I’m number four does that mean you haven’t slept with anyone since then?”

“It’s not like I was waiting around or some shit, Ash. I’m just busy.”

“Did you know it was me when you saw us at Sunny’s?”

“Not exactly. I knew you looked familiar. It wasn’t until the football party that I realized you were the girl from the woods.”

“Not to bruise your ego, but I didn’t remember until we got here." She snickers. “Shit really does come full circle. I had scratches from the bark on my back for weeks. I had to sleep on my stomach like a weirdo.”

“I’d never been rough like that before.”

“What?” she screeches. “No wonder you’re so obsessed with me. I really was your sadistic awakening.”

“I’m not obsessed with you.” I roll my eyes. “Although, I’ll admit you’ve got top tier pussy.”

“Why, thank you. It’s my best asset.”

I can't help but to try to hide a smile. “You’re really fucking good at pong, too.”

“Just full of compliments.”

My heart is beating out of my chest. All I can think about is when I had her pinned against that tree trunk and fucked her. She had put my hand around her own throat that night. Thunder rumbles in the distance, promising to rain down hell, and I don’t even care. Something comes over me. I pick up Ashland by the hips and shove her toward the dock.

She flounders and drops the bottle into the water. “What the fuck?”

I shove her again until she’s against the weathered beams. The sand is gathered here enough for me to stand and I hold onto her, pressing her against the splintered wood. It’s not the trees, but it’ll do. I can’t hold myself together long enough to drag her out.

“Why did you ignore me earlier?” I demand.

“I already told you. I’m trying to have a good time.”

“Cut the shit with Barnes.”

“Who?” she asks innocently.

If it’s at all possible my level of rage increases. “He was rubbing his dick all over you.”

“I don’t remember. There've been so many of them.”

“You know what I’m talking about.”

“Hm." She purses her lips thoughtfully. “Doesn’t ring a bell.”

“Fucking Three Second Chance.” That’s the rumor anyways.

“I’m pretty sure people with benefits, which we aren’t even in agreement about, means that I can do whatever I want, when I want,” she argues.

“I texted you, and you gave me the middle finger.”

She laughs, high and shrill. “Oh, I see. You’re butt hurt because I’m not falling all over myself and drooling. I didn’t realize your ego was that fragile.”

“You are such a filthy fucking slut."

By the look on her face I can tell she’s excited. I’ll bet she’d be soaking wet with or without the lake. I picture my palm on her cheek and hand around her throat. I know there's something wrong with me, but she likes it all, too.

“It’s not my fault that I love dick. Barnes doesn’t have a bad one either.”

“Stop saying his fucking name,” I warn, my hand moving to her collar bone.

“Compared to you he’s a little smaller, but his personality makes up for that one inch difference.”

Whack! The sting in my palm is harsh, but the moan she makes is fucking worth it. Her lids are hooded from the slap, and I can’t think straight. “Don’t fucking talk about him.”

She swallows, and I already know she’s going to push the envelope. “And I’ll bet he doesn’t come early like a middle school boy during his first jerk off session.”

Whack! My hand lightly rubs circles on her cheek. “I told you, slut. Don’t fucking talk about him.”

“Shouldn’t you get back to your groupies and leave me the fuck alone?”

I bite the inside of my cheek, my eyes watching her mouth. “You’re soaking wet already, aren’t you? I'll bet you’re ready to be fucked.” I grab her chin in a punishing grip between my thumb and forefinger, forcing her to look at me.

She tries to squeeze her thighs together, but I reach down and shove them apart, scraping her back against the dock, raising us above the water. My fingers dig into her hips.

“Armory.” She glares at me. “Penny is probably—” I swipe my finger through her slit, and she shivers.

“What? Looking for you? You said she was busy.”

She’s caught between wanting to fuck me and wanting to continue being a brat. Her chest heaves and lightning flashes again.

“You won’t do it.” The words are strong, but it’s just a challenge. She loves those.

I grab my cock, teasing her entrance. “Won’t I?”

I sink into her slowly. She’s warm, her pussy hugging me like it craves me. She moans, and I grab her throat, squeezing it. It’s like a switch has flipped and submission is written all over her face. There’s my favorite side of her. The one that listens.

“Baby girl,” I groan, holding her gaze. “Chance wouldn’t know what to do with you.”

More thunder. More lightning.

“He might,” she tries to argue.

“No one can make you come like I do. They won’t put their hand around your throat and squeeze until you come so hard that you see stars.” She swallows under my palm. I lean down and whisper into her ear. “They won’t hurt you like I do.”

Her body shudders while her pussy clenches around me. “Hurt me then, Golden Boy. No one is looking.”

I drive up into her, watching her eyes roll back. Barnes doesn’t deserve to see this. None of them do. Her nails dig into my chest and it almost makes me come. The last two times have been quick. I want more, but it’s like the Universe doesn’t want me to fucking have it. Lightning strikes a tree nearby. Her pussy grips me so tight with her orgasm that I can’t help it.

I can’t pull out. I don’t know if there isn’t time, or if it’s that I physically can’t bring myself to do it. The first time was the kind of oxytocin release that I can’t get anywhere else. It’s dominance. It’s an assertion that I can do what I want when she’s under me. I finish violently as lightning strikes closer. Her eyes widen as she realizes the very real danger we might be in.

My adrenaline is pumping. I pull out and set her up on the dock like a rag doll, climbing up beside her. We rush to our soaked clothes on the beach as the rain returns, pouring down in sheets. It starts to hail, and I think I hear her scream ‘oh shit’. We full out run toward the cabin, and we don’t stop until the door is slammed behind us.

The wind rages outside of the cabin, promising destruction. It doesn’t look like Penny or Alexi came back here.

“Penny!” Ashland shouts. There’s no response.

She’s standing in the living room, water dripping off of her onto the floor. I grab towels from the bathroom and wrap one around her. She shrinks away, practically growling at me like a nice gesture will kill her.

“I’m sure she’ll be back,” I assure her.

“Yeah, but…” She looks around hesitantly.

“But what?”

“She doesn’t like storms.”

“You said she was fine down at the lake.”

“That was before the hail.” She throws the towel off and rushes to the front door, but I grab her arm dragging her back with indecision. The wind howls, threatening to tear the roof off. There’s a wild look in those teal eyes, a storm raging all on their own. She yanks herself away from me with a force I wouldn’t think her capable of. “Where is Troy’s cabin?”

I stare at her. If I don’t tell her maybe she won’t go. The storm sounds like it’s getting worse. This is the safest place for us right now. My phone starts to blare with an emergency weather alert.

“No,” I answer defiantly. “You hear that? That’s a tornado.”

She clenches her fist. "Fine."

Ashland turns the handle to the front door, and it flies open from the wind. Leaves, rain, and hail are swept inside, but she ignores it, fighting her way outside. I’m fucking dumbfounded. This isn’t just dangerous, Ashland is putting herself in the way of a possible natural disaster. She doesn’t even fucking know where she’s going. Penny is afraid of storms. So what? We all have shit. Alexi is my best friend, but he can handle himself. Penny isn’t weak.

As soon and she steps outside I can’t see her anymore. I curse under my breath and run after her, slamming into her back. She looks around, trying to find her way. I grab her hand, scaring her, then start dragging her to where I think the path might be. I’m the blind leading the blind. The wind is somehow picking up, and I hear trees crack and crash. Ashland urges me forward, and we start to run.

At the sight of Troy’s, she kicks the door open. In seconds, she’s stalking back out. I’m imagining the death announcement. ‘Koda Armory, NFL prospect, killed by a tree at a lake party’. The hail is coming down so hard that it hurts.

I pull Ashland into my body and shout into her ear. “Is she in there?”

She shakes her head.

“We’re not going to find her,” I explain.

“Go back, Armory. I’ll be fucking fine.”

“You’re going to get us killed!”

“I’m not afraid.” I can tell that she isn’t. She looks like this is a sunny day on the fucking beach. Ashland is bat shit crazy.

Do I want to go? Absolutely. I can’t leave her out here though.

She heads for the woods, the absolute worst idea she could possibly have, and starts screaming into the void. I see a light. It’s hazy, and I’m not sure it’s there, but I pull Ashland toward it. It’s definitely a light. Ashland runs, her wrist sliding out of my hand, and heads for it. I run after her, tripping on twigs and branches. Thorns tear at my ankles. If it’s hurting her, she doesn’t look like it. While I’m stumbling, she’s powering through, like the ground isn’t trying to swallow her.

Huddled at the bottom of a tree is Penny with her head buried in between her knees. Her phone light shines like a beacon in the dark. She must've left, trying to find her way back, and then the storm swept in. Ashland wraps herself around her, shouting something into her cocoon. Penny looks up with wide terrified eyes. The cross necklace is clutched in her fist. Ashland sits next to her, as if she’s staying here through this storm.

“Ashland!” I gesture around wildly as more trees crash.

She swallows, looking at me like she’s accepted death. Penny follows her gaze and stares at my outstretched hand. She looks to Ashland, curling up into her. They aren’t fucking staying here. No fucking way.

Ashland smooths Penny’s hair back. It’s stuck to her forehead in a mess. We don’t look any better. Hail pounds at my back, forcing its way through the tree tops. She looks at me, and with resolve on her face, she stands. Then she holds out her hands toward Penny, who gingerly stands, and sweeps her into her arms as if she’s about to carry her. It’s at least a mile back to the cabin. We may not make it even if Ashland isn’t carrying her. She looks like an elf trying to carry a normal sized person. I can tell she’s struggling, but she doesn’t complain.

I lean down. “Give her to me.”

“She’s going to fight you. She’s going to scream.”

“So fucking be it.” I snatch her and start to run.

Penny is fierce. She claws at my skin and screeches, but I tighten my grip. This is more than some stupid fear of storms, and Ashland knew it. She was going to do all of this herself. Didn’t even ask me to help.

“We’re all drowning, and people like you just haven’t realized it yet. The only choice we really have are the people we drown with. I’d drown with Penny every single day, and it would be the best time ever.”

She was willing to fucking die. I see Ashland differently, marching through the depths of Hell beside me. She takes Penny’s hand and tries to shout soothing things into her ears as we run. She calms in my arms and fists my shirt in her hands. It feels like we run forever. I see the cabin in the distance. Light pours through the doorway. We didn’t even close it.

Once inside, Penny wiggles out of my arms and grabs onto Ashland, who leads her to the bathroom. I pick up a towel from earlier and do my best to dry myself off. I’m in shock, I think. My adrenaline is pumping so hard I can’t even sit down. I just pace back and forth.

Ten minutes later, Ashland appears around the corner. Her legs are covered in droplets of blood where the thorns must have torn into her skin. Bruises are forming from where the hail pelted her, and my bite mark is on her neck. She looks like she’s surviving the zombie apocalypse.

Silently, she snatches my towel from me and starts to squeeze her hair dry.

“What was that?” I finally ask.

“Told you.” She shrugs. “Scared of storms.”

“Scared? She was fucking terrified.”

“Quiet,” she hisses.

I lower my voice. “Don’t ever fucking pull that shit again.”

“I told you to go back,” she says matter of fact.

“You would still be out there looking for her.”

Our phones blare with another emergency alert. The wind picks up as the air is sucked from my lungs.

“Tornado,” Ashland whispers.

She springs into action, throwing open the doors and wrestling the windows. Grabbing my hand, she yanks me into the closet. We don’t fit. She’s squeezed against me tightly.

“Penny,” I remind her.

“She’s sleeping in the tub. She’s safe.”

The world around us quiets. I can only hear her shallow breathing. It’s instinctive. I press my lips to hers. It should just be a kiss, but it isn’t. There’s something about it that sends warm tingles over my skin. I deepen it, and we’re frantic, pulling clothes from each other. She jumps into my arms, and I hold her against the wall, my tongue prodding hers.

It’s the tight space. The weather. The near death experience. It’s Ashland.

It’s all culminating into sexual energy. There isn’t any sort of tornado that could be as much of a force as she is. Her skin is cold, but her mouth is warm. Despite all of the terror, she’s still soaked and ready for me. I slide into her heat, relishing the way it feels, and she moans as the sound of crunching fills our ears. We might die, and I don’t even fucking care. I’ll die inside of Ashland. What a way to go.

I fuck her frantic and deep, trying to soak up every ounce of anything she has to give. It’s humid and hard to breathe. My teeth graze her neck and she moans, baring her throat to me. A little masochist.

“Fuck.” I press into her, my voice breaking. “You almost fucking killed us.”

“Wasn’t it fun, though?”

I want to think Ashland is delusional, but I don’t think she is. She’s talking about the rush of it all. The fear and how it drives you. She finds that fucking fun.

“I don’t get you,” I groan, trying not to lose myself inside of her. I’m fucking close.

“You’ll never get me. That’s the whole point.” She wiggles her hips clenching around me, and I come like the pre-teen boy she accused me of being.

I can’t speak. I can’t think. All of my reflexes are gone. My mind is only on one thing, and it’s unloading all of that fear and anger inside of her.

The storm still rages, although, not as badly. I drop Ashland from my arms, and she leaves me standing there. What the fuck just happened? How does she always get away so fucking fast?

I want to look for her, but I don’t. She’s right. I’ll never understand her. We’re different. It’s why we’re fucking in closets and talking alone in lakes. Sound proof rooms and in the dark behind the scenes of a party. Ashland is a whirlwind, and then she’s gone. I might be a tree, but I’m fucking cracking, bending to her will.