Page 9

Koda

I’m trying as hard as I can to pretend Ashland doesn’t exist. I still haven’t text her. I thought that by now she might seek me out, but she usually pretends I’m not there the times I've been around her, minus a few shitty comments usually about my brain cells. When I see her, though, it’s a fight for my life not to rail her on the table, the wall, or even the fucking grass. The problem with Ashland is that her pussy has me in some sort of trance. I’ve had sex before, but I just never really enjoyed it. Not like this.

“So the annual weekender is this weekend,” Alexi says from my couch as I mix my pre-workout.

“And?”

“And whose driving?”

“I’m not going.” I decided a while ago that I wouldn’t.

He sits up abruptly knocking shit off of my coffee table. “Why the hell not?”

“Just seems boring. I don’t care to chase ass.” I only want one.

“You’ve gotten so fucking boring,” he complains. “Whatever. More beds for us.”

That gives me pause. “For who?”

“Oh, now you’re interested?”

“Just curious.”

“Penny and Ashland. I asked them to come with. I was worried I was going to have to sleep with you even though Ashland and Penny said they could cuddle in a bathtub.”

Penny…and Ashland. My dick gets hard thinking about being in the same room as her for almost two days. She wouldn’t be able to just run off.

“They’re coming?” I ask, nonchalant.

“I know you hate Ashland, but she’s cool as fuck.”

“Still trying to sleep with her?” If he says yes I might have to tell him.

“No, I think you’ve got that covered,” he snorts.

I turn to face him, gripping the counter. “How do you know that?”

“Oh, please. Mr. Self-Control has never hated someone more than you hate her. You’re usually pretty indifferent, but it’s like you’ve got some kind of personal vendetta against her. The only explanation is that you’ve had sex with her. Must have the Golden Pussy if she’s got you this worked up. Now I know why you’ve been so fucking weird.”

I don’t know why I didn’t tell Alexi before now. I guess because she’s not my type. Her whole persona is based on being a whore, which doesn't fit my image. It’s definitely hypocritical after all of the shit that I talk about her, but I don’t want this to be a thing either.

“It’s just sex,” I explain, crossing my arms.

“I doubt she’d let you have more than that.”

Her? Whatever she wants doesn’t matter here. I’m in control. “She’s a slut. No one dates sluts. She’ll probably fuck half of the guys at the party.”

“Whatever you want to tell yourself." He yawns. “So now that you’ve changed your mind, who's driving?” Alexi knows me too fucking well.

“I didn’t say I was changing my mind.”

“If you don’t go she will definitely fuck Noah Barnes. I overheard him talking in the locker room. I guess he was trying to fuck her at the football party.”

It shouldn’t bother me. Despite the words coming out of my mouth, I don’t want Ashland having sex with anyone else on the team. If she has my dick in a choke hold, then I can only imagine what would happen if any of the other guys got involved with her. We would lose this season solely because of her.

“Noah isn’t even Ashland’s type,” I try to convince myself.

“Neither are you,” Alexi points out.

“Oh, you’re an expert now?”

“I’ve seen her situationship, man. You are not her type,” he snickers.

That’s fucking interesting. “Her situationship?”

Alexi looks wary. “Yeah, he’s some kind of tattoo god.”

“How the fuck would you know?” I know I’m getting angry, and I can’t help it.

“He stopped by while I was over there studying. Dude is tatted up. Gauges. The whole sad boi nine yards.”

I aggressively shake my pre-workout. “Must not be much of anything if she’s having sex with me.”

“I dunno. I got the vibes like they’re not going that direction. He was really polite. Not all over her or anything. He’s not a student either. Older than us. Seems like exactly the kind of guy Ashland wouldn’t bang in a dirty bathroom, but they definitely spend time together. Sounded like they’ve known each other for a while. Cole isn’t a fan, and we both know Cole is in love with her, so if he hates the guy he must feel threatened.”

“I don’t really care, Alexi.” I fucking do. I want him to keep talking. “It's just sex. I don’t give a shit about Ashland either way.”

“Good. So you won’t have a problem driving us?”

“Fine. I’ll fucking go. Just stop bugging me about it. I’m not promising that I’ll stay.”

Once Friday rolls around, I’m fully packed. For four days I’ve been harping on the fact that Ashland has a situationship she hasn’t told me about with some tattooed asshole. It’s not like I ever asked her. I just assumed. I did text her once and fucked her in the bathroom of one of the academic buildings. Neither of us mentioned the Weekender, and we didn’t talk either. She’s fucking good at that, but now it’s starting to irk me.

When Penny and Ashland skip out of the front door of a tan little house, they look over my Jeep. I get out and take their bags, placing them in the trunk.

Ashland grabs Alexi and pulls him from the passenger seat. “Out.”

“Woah, I called shotgun,” he argues.

Penny shakes her head. “Ashland has lifetime shotgun.”

“That’s not even a thing.”

I roll my eyes. "Get in the fucking back, Alexi, and shut the fuck up.” Alexi scowls and climbs in while Penny snickers.

Ashland acts like she’s seeing me for the first time. “Ugh, who invited you?”

I glare at her, taking a deep breath. “Who invited you? Half of the football team? I forget you’re trying to fuck everyone at this school before you graduate.”

“It’s an impossible task, but a girl has to try,” she says nonchalant, passing by me and climbing in.

We aren’t on the road for five minutes before they all start acting fucking wild. Ashland pulls out a blunt and lights it, passing it back and forth with Penny. I almost tell her to put it out, but if I do that they’ll spend the entire two and a half hour drive smoking, so I leave it the fuck alone. Ashland connects her phone to the radio and starts DJing. They turn it up, full volume.

She unbuckles her seatbelt and stands in her seat. I’m about to tell her to get the fuck down when I look up at her. She’s got the wind whipping in her pink hair with her eyes closed and her arms up, dancing to the music. Penny is, too. It’s amazing how she manages to just do whatever the fuck she wants without a care for rules. They scream the lyrics into the wind. Someone honks, pulling me out of the distraction, causing me to overcorrect into the right lane.

The girls aren’t even phased, descending into a fit of laughter.

“Get the fuck down,” I growl. They’re already buckling themselves back in. “You two act like you’ve never been anywhere before.”

“Calm down, dad .” Ashland rolls her teal eyes. “Maybe relax for once. Do you want me to drive so you can try it?”

“Absolutely not. You’d probably kill us.”

She huffs and looks out of the window for a moment before making herself comfortable and putting her bare feet up on the console. “Are you going to spend the weekend being this annoying? If so, I’m going to make sure to avoid you. I want to have fun, not be scolded every four seconds.”

“That was the first time I said anything,” I argue.

“Can we make it the last?”

“Let’s play the silent game?” I suggest.

Alexi groans. “Seriously?”

“Oh, we’re good at this,” Penny leans back in her seat.

Ashland smirks, fucking amused at the suggestion. “I would love to.”

The sound of the wind around us is loud, but Ashland knows how to be louder. She starts flipping through songs, letting them play for about thirty seconds before moving on. At first I thought she was just being indecisive, but it becomes clear that it’s purposeful when I look over and she’s not even paying attention to the phone as her finger is poised over the skip button. She has one hand outside of the car, feeling the wind, and the other is pressing the button every thirty goddamn seconds. Ashland is going to drive me insane.

In the rearview mirror, I make eye contact with Penny, who is practically telling me to eat shit with her eyes. Alexi looks like he’s waiting for me to explode. I let her continue. If I wait it out she’ll stop because she’s not getting a reaction. After four more excruciating minutes I snatch the phone away and shove it between my legs. Ashland looks like I’ve just challenged her to a duel, but there’s something smug about it, like this was exactly what she wanted to happen. She reaches up to the console and clicks the door open, then she clicks it shut. Open. Shut. Open. Shut. Open. Shut.

Holy fuck. I’ve never met someone more annoying.

“Fucking stop,” I snap.

Penny and Alexi burst into laughter as Ashland pouts. “Man, I had about three more really good annoying sounds to make.”

They chatter through the rest of the first hour. Once Ashland goes silent, I glance in her direction, worried she may have fallen from the fucking car. Her eyes are closed with her head resting against the seatbelt, asleep. I wasn’t even sure it was possible that she slept, but I guess I’ve never been in the position to see it. She looks innocent.

By hour two, they’re all asleep. We go over a pot hole and Ashland jolts awake, slamming her hand over her mouth. She had screamed at the library that day when I had interrupted her, but it seems like she’s stifling it. Her eyes dart around wildly, trying to figure out her surroundings.

“Ashland." She looks at me with wide fearful eyes. “We just went over a pothole. It’s fine.”

She regains her composure to something that resembles being unbothered, as if she didn’t just wake up in a frenzy. She glances around, seeing that the other two are asleep, then rubs her eyes. “How far?”

“About an hour.” All she does is nod. “You can go back to sleep or whatever.”

“Why? So you can watch me?”

I grip the steering wheel. “I’m not fucking watching you. I’m just trying to be polite.”

“Well, don’t.”

I can’t help myself. “So who's your situationship?”

“What are you talking about?”

“The guy you’re dating or whatever.”

“I don’t…Are you trying to make small talk or something? Don’t.”

“So it’s true?”

“Who the fuck cares if it is or isn’t, Chance?”

“I told you not to fucking call me that.” I turn off of the main road winding through the hills on the backroads that lead to the actual property.

“Can you just, like, slow down a little bit?”

“I figured you would be a pedal to the floor type.”

“We’re on winding roads. They’re fucking dangerous. I do value my life.” I slow down to the speed limit, and she seems to relax. “Since I’m sure you won’t let it go, I don’t have a situationship. Don’t stress. Your moral compass is pointing north.”

If she doesn’t, then who the fuck was Alexi talking about?

“Neither do I,” I offer.

“Don’t care. Give me my phone.”

I forgot I even had it. I hand it over, and she invests herself in it, scrolling aimlessly. I’ve tried to find Ashland on social media, and she doesn’t exist.

“What are you looking at?”

She rolls her eyes into the back of her head. I’m surprised they don’t get stuck there. “Reading a fucking book. Do I need to ask you for permission?”

“You read?” It shouldn’t be surprising. She loves all of that ancient shit, and she seems pretty smart. For some reason it still feels out of character.

“Yeah, I’m disassociating and pretending I’m not stuck in this car with you.” She sits crisscross in her seat.

“Where’s your sketchbook?”

She chews on her lip. “I lost mine so I’ve been using Penny’s. It’s in her backpack.”

The sketchbook I stole that’s sitting in my side table is still mostly unopened. So is the crumpled drawing she tried to throw away at the library.

“In the back,” I realize. She nods. I slow down and pull off onto the shoulder.

“What the fuck are you doing?”

I ignore her and jump out of the car, heading to the back to grab Penny’s bag and shove it into her lap before taking off again. She stares at me with confusion. Eventually, she sets her phone in the cup holder, pulls out the pad with a pencil, and starts to draw.

Something about it relaxes me. It seems to do the same for her, too. I like the way she looks when she draws. I try to catch glances of what she’s decided to focus on, but the road is too dangerous to really look. We reach the top of the hills after passing through a few small towns and turn onto the driveway up to the lake. Ashland doesn’t even seem to notice. The crunch of the gravel wakes Alexi, who then wakes Penny. She looks over Ashland’s shoulder, analyzing whatever it is she’s contrived before stretching.

“I feel like I’ve got a sunburn.” Alexi stretches his arms.

Ashland packs the stuff away. “Take off your sunglasses.” He does. “Yeah, keep those on.”

“Fuck,” he chuckles.

The sun is setting over the tops of the trees. I pull up to the cabin we get every year. The moment the Jeep is in park Penny and Alexi take off inside. Ashland stands outside of the front door, pulling out another blunt from god knows where as I grab bags.

“Is that going to be a recurring theme this weekend?”

She lights it. “You’ll get laid either way so keep your comments to yourself.”

“Oh really?” I loom over her.

She blows smoke in my face. “I assume that’s why you’re here. I hear one of the Stacy’s made the trip out just for you.”

“You sound kinda jealous."

That makes her laugh. “Nope. Just glad someone else will be occupying your time so I can actually have some fun.”

I don’t like the way that sounds. “Right, so you can fuck the rest of the team.”

“Yeah, I’m actually on a life long quest to see dicks of all shapes and sizes.”

I turn away and toss the bags in the door, taking my own shit to the room I usually have. I don’t know where the fuck they all plan to sleep, but that has nothing to do with me.

I sit around pre-gaming with some of the guys from the team. Ashland and Penny disappeared a few hours ago to go on a hike. I wouldn’t take them as nature lovers, but I guess I don’t know shit about them. Those two in the woods seems like a bad idea, like they’d get lost. It appears that I’m the only one concerned. It’s not for them, just that two girls in the woods alone is the start to a slasher film.

“So, you two brought Penny and Ashland?” Troy asks.

“Alexi brought them,” I correct him.

“Do you have a thing with them?”

“Nah,” Alexi dismisses him. “We’re just really good friends.”

“Like really good friends or really good friends?”

“Shoot your shot. It’s your feelings that'll get hurt.”

I bristle. “Good luck. Ashland’s attitude makes her a six, tops.”

Troy laughs. “Dude, she’s a fucking twelve. That ass. Mm. Think I can get her to give me twenty minutes?”

Barnes puts his hand on Troy’s shoulder. “You only need three. Besides, Ashland is hanging with me tonight.”

“Does she know that?” I smirk.

“Oh yeah. Ran into her yesterday after class.” Barnes flexes. “I think we’ll pick up where we left off at the football party.”

“Where did you leave off?” I fucked Ashland at that party. If she had sex with Barnes at that same party, I might fucking lose it. I’m already feeling a little buzzed.

“She was flirting with me at the bar all night until she disappeared. Tonight, though, I’m gonna get it in.”

I settle back into my chair. She’s all talk. Probably won’t even hang out with him tonight. She’ll be all over me trying to hop straight on my dick when she gets a chance.

“You couldn’t handle a girl like that,” Troy snorts.

Barnes squints at him. “Why the fuck not?”

“You’re too vanilla.”

Barnes crosses his arms angrily while everyone laughs. “I am not too vanilla.”

“I’ll be honest. Ash is a wild card.” Alexi fills his cup. “I’m willing to bet she gives you blue balls.”

“We’ll see whose laughing tomorrow morning.”

Troy leans his forearms on his knees. “What about Penny?”

“Why don’t you all worry about your fucking groupies? I think they’re more in your league,” I say nonchalant.

“Fuck the groupies. You two brought the hottest girls I have ever seen outside of PornHub. I won’t waste the opportunity,” Troy says. “Yo, Daemon. Is Penny one of those abstinence before marriage types?”

Alexi narrows his eyes. “Have some fucking respect, man.”

“What? She wears that cross all of the time. I can make her see God.”

“Inappropriate.” Barnes hits him in the chest.

“You were just talking about dicking Ashland down.”

“That’s different.”

“How?” I ask.

“Because she wants it. She’s a slut, everyone knows that.”

“Have any of you slept with her?” I continue. They all shake their heads no. “Sounds like a tease to me.”

“Whatever, Armory. We’re not all fucking celibate. You’ll end up with Stephanie sucking your dick in the woods with that shitty head she gives.”

The thought makes my skin crawl. I don’t want Stephanie on my dick.

Troy finishes off his seltzer. “May the best man win, Barnes."

“You two don’t corner the market on pussy,” Gage, another rookie, interjects.

“Whoever gets Ashland, gets one hundred dollars." Troy grins.

“No one is getting one hundred dollars for shit,” I snarl. “We don’t treat women like that. I thought you all knew better.”

“You’ve never said shit before.” Troy narrows his eyes. “Do you have skin in the game or something?”

“I just think you’re all dipshits. If you wanna bet, bet on a Groupie. They love that shit. Unsuspecting women? Fuck no. If I find out any of you have done that, I’ll make sure you’re miserable at every practice for the rest of the season. You can become equipment junkies, too.”

They all grumble, but I’ve gotten my point across.

I don’t want to have sex with Ashland this weekend. I’m only here to make sure she doesn’t have any either. The thought of her riding Barnes has me seeing red. She doesn’t get to call the fucking shots. She can be a slut, but she needs to do it away from the team.

I’m trying as hard as I can to pretend she doesn’t exist, but her presence permeates the entire property. Maybe it’s just my awareness of her. There is plenty of ass here. I can forget about the pink haired brat. All I have to do is clear my fucking head. I don’t see her nor Penny at the beach as we hike down. I wonder if they made it back from their stint in the woods.

People are already milling about, drinking and laughing. Some are swimming and a few are playing volleyball. Music is playing loudly from some speakers that someone set up on a picnic table. There's a massive fire, and the kegs have been dragged out onto the beach.

I’m convinced that all I need is a body. Any body. The problem with Ashland is that her pussy has me in some sort of trance. I’ve had sex before. I just never really enjoyed it. Ashland, though? She fucks me like it’s her life’s purpose to make me come. I know that it’s the last thing she gives a shit about, and it makes the whole thing that much more frustrating. She's had plenty of sex, and I don't think it's relevant who gives it to her.

I look for a groupie named Heather. If I get started early maybe I can get it over with and still have the rest of the night. Better than Stephanie, and she wants it. She also pretends that she’s shy, which, unfortunately, makes me have to put in a modicum of effort when I have to see her. It’s why I don’t call her much. It takes a minute to find her on the crowded beach. She’s already tipsy. Maybe it won’t be as irritating as it usually is.

I stand behind her. “Hey, Heather.”

She turns to face me with a smile. “Koda?”

“Glad you decided to come.” Not really.

“Well, ya know. Party of the year and all.”

“Yeah, it’s a good party.” I fucking hate conversation.

“It’s a pretty drive up here,” she says.

This is excruciating. “Yeah, the national park isn’t too far from here.”

“Are you gonna hang with me tonight?” She bats her lashes, pulling her drink to her chest to try to draw my attention.

There isn’t much to look at. Honestly, Heather is pretty fucking simple. I’m starting to wish I hadn’t even come here.

I feel something change in the atmosphere. It’s striking, like electricity buzzing in the wind. I scan the party. Sure enough, there are Ashland and Penny, surrounded by some of the players by the kegs. It’s like I’m being punished. Try to get away from Ashland, ignore her, and she ends up in my vicinity unknowingly demanding my attention anyways.

I pull my phone out of my pocket and walk away, leaving Heather and her friend to talk about shit I couldn’t pretend to listen to.

What are you doing?

Ashland pulls her phone out, looks at it, and doesn’t even look for me.

Who is this?

I watch her and furiously type on my phone.

You know who this is.

She responds immediately while Penny nods along to something the guys are saying.

I dunno. Says Micropenis. Could be anyone.

Fucking cunt. I’m mid-text when Alexi grabs my shoulder. “Saw you talking to Heather. Thought you were ignoring Ashland?”

“Why are they hanging out with the three musketeers?”

He tries to hide a grin. “Are you jealous?”

“No, those idiots were just fucking betting that they could have sex with them. Doesn’t that bother you?”

He looks in their direction, assessing the situation. “I don’t know if you recall, but Ashland can hold her own. Penny, too. Who cares if they have a good time? Isn’t that the point of this weekend? If you want her so badly, go over there.”

“I don’t want her. You fucking invited them, and I’m only here to make sure none of you do something stupid.”

“Oh, so it’s your personal mission to keep the three of us from having any fun? Or is it just Ashland?”

I grind my teeth. “I’ve already told you it was just sex.” I return to my text.

Stay away from Barnes.

It was the wrong thing to say. Ashland shoves her phone into her back pocket and immediately puts her hand on Barnes chest, giggling at whatever he's saying. She puts her middle finger up on the back of her cup inconspicuously. I swallow, trying to get a fucking grip. We aren’t a thing. I’ve had sex with her and that’s it. The whole point of coming here was to not give a shit.

My mind wanders to the Weekender last year. The first time I met her. No wonder I hated her. She left me standing in the woods like a fucking idiot, but, man, banging her against that tree was the best sex I'd ever had. It was like my dick had a compass and was compelled to her. The Universe willed her back into my existence to torture me. Her hair was different, but I see her now.

“Approach or don’t, but don’t ruin everyone’s time because you’re only hard for Ashy.”

“I was looking for you,” a soft voice says behind me. Fuck.

Alexi glances over my shoulder and gives one of those charming smiles. “Hey there, Heather.”

“Hey.”

I roll my eyes and turn around as Alexi abandons me to talk to Heather’s friend.

“Sorry, got side tracked.”

“Oh, it’s okay. I was just gonna get another drink.”

There’s a suggestion there. A drink. If I get her drink then I can go over there and just see what’s happening.

I snatch her cup. “I’ll get it.”

I storm across the beach. Just a beer. That’s all I need.

“Hey, Barnes.” I lean my arm on his shoulder.

“Oh, Armory. Want a refill?”

I completely ignore Ashland, and she effectively ignores me. Penny is talking to Troy, flirting heavily. The two of them are so careless.

“Yeah, sure. Give me a beer.”

Ashland taps Penny on the shoulder, handing over a bottle of whiskey. I recognize it as the one Barnes keeps in his personal stash at parties.

“You two better slow down,” Barnes chuckles. “You’ll be topless in the lake in no time.”

“Good thing we have great tits,” Ashland giggles. Barnes looks at her like she’s a piece of fucking meat.

“Great ass, too." He hands me the cup like it’s an inconvenience.

“Yeah?” Ashland turns around. “You think?”

He puts the cup to his lips and drags his eyes over her body. “Oh, I think.”

She smiles at him, and I fucking hate it. She has never smiled at me.

“So you came here with Alexi?” he asks, nonchalant. It’s like I’m not even fucking standing here.

“Yeah, he invited Penny, but we’re a package deal.” She messes with her hair and bites her lip, oozing sex.

“Damn fucking right we are,” Penny giggles.

“What a fucking package.” Troy grins. “So I guess Daemon snagged himself two dates instead of one.”

They descend into laughter. “We aren’t his dates."

“Free agents,” Ashland says.

Barnes smiles. “So you know a little bit about football then?”

“Oh, I wouldn’t say that. We like parties though.”

“I don’t know if you remember me from the football party a few weeks ago,” Barnes smirks.

“Oh, I remember." Ashland's eyes glitter in the moonlight. Those are fucking bedroom eyes if I’ve ever seen them. “The bartender, right?”

“Yeah, that was me. I’m not tonight, though,” he says suggestively.

“Damn." She pouts. “Too bad. You make a strong drink.”

“I wouldn’t mind being your personal bartender." He steps closer to her, pushing her hair out of the way of his view of her tits.

“I’d like that,” she breathes, looking up at him.

“Consider it done.”

“Barnes.” I force him to give me his attention.