I went up to Jackson's room, drying my eyes. He was sitting at the computer, focused on his game of Solitaire.
"Hi Jackson," I said softly.
He jumped, startled. "Hey! You okay? You look at little upset. Want me to beat his ass?"
I shook my head. "Not necessary."
He laid down in bed and I settled myself beside him.
"What did you guys talk about?"
"I asked how long he'd been cheating. He wouldn't tell me. He just said that he 'hadn't been keeping track'." I said, rolling my eyes.
"Fuck him," Jackson growled, and then he brightened. "Want to go out for dinner when I get my apartment? We'll go the city and everything! It'll be fun. What do you say?"
I grinned. A real date. It felt like years since I'd been on one of those. "Dude, seriously! Of course I want to
All of Jackson's boxes were upstairs by 5:30. We'd set to the task of unpacking all of them after we got home from dinner. Jackson dropped me off at home and told me that he'd be back to pick me up in an hour. I'd been instructed to dress up, so I slipped on a slinky red dress and spent an excruciating amount of time on my make-up. I curled the ends of my hair and stared at my reflection… not bad. I was just pulling on strappy black heels when Jackson honked his horn."Where are you going all dressed up?" My mom asked me."Out to dinner. I'm kind of in a hurry.""Were you even going to bother telling me you were going?""Okay, I'm going to dinner with Jackson in the city, then he's going to drop me off at Ellie's and I'm staying the night over there.""You think I'm stupid? You're going to stay with him. You're
We got back to Jackson's apartment around 9:30. He flipped on the lights and we both stood in the doorway, just sort of staring. The walls were an ugly off-white and the carpet was dingy… but it had its positive qualities. Such as the lovely… Okay, I've got nothing, but at least it had running water. There was a cheap futon from Wal-Mart and a TV on a flimsy stand. His bed was probably the most expensive thing in the entire apartment."It's not home," he complained. "It's weird that my parents aren't right down the hall.""They're only four miles away."He nodded. "You're right. I'm such a baby.""No you're not." I kissed his cheek, pulling him inside. "Tomorrow we'll clean it up… but we have other things on the agenda tonight."He smiled down at me. "I may not have much, but I have a bed… a
I wasn't going to wait for Jackson to finish boozing it up with Scott to go to bed. I went into the bedroom, took one look at the sheets, and left. Gross. Those were getting washed first thing in the morning. I wandered over to the couch, but that was wear Simon and Terry had been. With a groan, I got the blanket off the back of the couch and laid down on the floor. So much for a celebration.I was just drifting off to sleep when I felt Jackson drape his arm over my shoulders. I shrugged him off."Not tonight," I growled.He kissed my neck and I rolled over to push him away. I found myself staring right at Scott. I shrieked and got to my feet."Hello to you, too," he murmured."What the hell!?""Haven't seen you in a long time.""There's a reason for that. What the hell are
Jackson ate quickly, barely taking time to chew. I ate as slowly as I could, and I knew it was driving him crazy. He finished a good five minutes before me."I'll be in the bedroom," he told me. "You can join me when you finish… if you ever finish."He was lying in bed in his boxers when I came in. God, even as upset as I was, I ached with wanting him."Hey," he said softly."Hi," I replied. I sat on the edge of the bed. "I'm not mad that you drank… I just wish that you hadn't drank so much… because I really needed you, but you were out cold."He drew in a deep breath. "What happened, Sophie?""After everyone left, Scott was still here… and he… he…" Tears filled my eyes."Oh my God… he didn't… Sophie, he di
We went to my house and tried the door. It was locked. Guess the dumbasses forgot that I had a key."We have to hurry," I said, "I don't want to talk to them.""All right," he replied. We rushed up the stairs and into my room. Everything was pushed to the center of the floor. The walls had been painted a cream color and my bed was gone."I guess they were serious," Jackson said, looking around the room.There were a bunch of boxes full of my stuff on the floor. "At least they made it easy on me.""Do you want all of this?" He asked.I shook my head. "Mostly just the clothes. Let me look around."As I was rummaging through boxes and setting aside the ones I wanted, I realized the stupidity of what I was doing. I'd already established that moving in with him was a
We sat around for a while longer, then Jackson and I headed home. We still had a ton to unpack. I changed out of my jeans into a pair of his sweatpants. Sure, I had my own sweats, but something about wearing my boyfriend's clothes was so comforting."What would you think if I started dressing like a boy all the time?" I asked Jackson, coming out of the bedroom."Huh?"I grinned. "Your clothes are comfy... they're nice."
When the alarm clock trilled at 6:00 Jackson let out an exaggerated groan and smacked the clock. I rolled out of bed and Jackson, of course didn't move. "Too early," he muttered."For you. I have to get up so that I can look pretty."He cracked one eye open. "You look nice now," he mumbled."You have to say that.""No I don't. I could have just pretended that I'd gone back to sleep. I think I've made it abundantly clear that I find you attractive whether or not you're all dolled up.""Well, you go ahead and go back to sleep," I told him. "I'll wake you up around 6:30.""Do I have to go to school? I mean, seriously, I'm almost done.""Oh, quit bitching."I went to the bathroom and hopped in the shower. By 6:25, my hair was blown
When the doorbell rang I disappeared into the bedroom. Things were quiet for about ten minutes, then Jackson started to shout… shortly after that, Scott started to… beg. After a while it sounded like things were getting out of hand so I went out to check on them."Jackson, baby… I think you're done," I told him. Blood was pouring from Scott's nose and his eyes were both a dark, angry shade of red."You bitch," Scott managed to utter. "You weren't supposed to tell anyone.""Excuse me?" Jackson snarled. "Did you just call my girlfriend a bitch?" He hit him again and I approached him cautiously."Let him go… it's not fair to mess him up too bad, he's already ugly."Jackson's body was rigid and his hands were bloodstained. There was something feral in his eyes, he smelled like sweat and cologne.
Summer turned out to be the best time in our relationship. We spent every day together and didn't take any of our time for granted. One day as we were driving home from having coffee with Wyette and Brent, I glanced over at Jackson."I feel bad," I murmured."What for?""You never hang out with your friends anymore. Now you just hang with mine."He shook his head. "Your friends are my friends. The only real friends I've ever had, except for Brenda. Thank you for introducing us." He kissed my cheek. "And I'll get you guys into college parties.""Are you going to start drinking a bunch again?""No. I won't. Not after how hard you've worked to help me. We're going to Mom's tonight for dinner.""What are we eating?""Who knows? Something
I laid in bed and cried until about 5:45, then I fixed my make up. It didn't matter much to me what I looked like, but I was representing Jackson so I felt like I needed to be pretty. Sharon arrived at 6:00 to pick me up. She knocked on the door and I peered out at her. Her eyes were glistening with tears."I can't believe this," she whispered. "I know that he's still going to be here for a few months, and that he'll less than an hour away… but…" she shook her head."It's okay," I murmured. "I've been crying since he left.""He'll come back and visit. We have to be happy for him. You ready to go?"I nodded. "Yep…"When I got to the car, I saw Simon sitting in the backseat."I thought we should all go as a family," Sharon said to me. "Hope you don't feel too awkward. You
He lifted me gently and carried me to the bed. He tucked me in and then climbed in next to me."Get some rest, Sophie. I love you." He kissed me goodnight, and I fell asleep feeling better than I had in…forever.The next day at school, I cautiously approached Simon. He was standing with his arm around Terry. He was being the attentive, sweet boy that he had been to me when we'd first gotten together."Can we talk?" I asked softly."Where's Jackson?""With Ellie and Ronald. He doesn't need to be here for this. This is about us.""There is no us anymore, Sophie.""Look, can I please just have a minute? I'm not asking for much, Simon, just a minute. Please?""Just go, Simon," Terry said, shoving him lightly. "Go."
His eyes grew soft and another part of him grew hard. I loved his reaction to me… it made me feel powerful."Hellooo cupcake," he purred. "This isn't a you-let-me-get-all-worked-up-and-then-pull-away thing is it?"I shook my head. "Oh no. This is an I-tease-you-for-a-minute-and-then-you-rip-my-clothes-off thing.""Oh God… this is the best Valentine's Day gift I've ever gotten." He looked me up and down, his eyes lingering in all the right places. "You have no idea how hard it's been for me to wait.""I'm sorry," I said softly. "I just…""Don't apologize. That doesn't matter anymore… all that matters is tonight."We shared a moment of comfortable silence."I'm not sure if this is weird," Jackson began sheepishly, "But those wings are r
When the doorbell rang I disappeared into the bedroom. Things were quiet for about ten minutes, then Jackson started to shout… shortly after that, Scott started to… beg. After a while it sounded like things were getting out of hand so I went out to check on them."Jackson, baby… I think you're done," I told him. Blood was pouring from Scott's nose and his eyes were both a dark, angry shade of red."You bitch," Scott managed to utter. "You weren't supposed to tell anyone.""Excuse me?" Jackson snarled. "Did you just call my girlfriend a bitch?" He hit him again and I approached him cautiously."Let him go… it's not fair to mess him up too bad, he's already ugly."Jackson's body was rigid and his hands were bloodstained. There was something feral in his eyes, he smelled like sweat and cologne.
When the alarm clock trilled at 6:00 Jackson let out an exaggerated groan and smacked the clock. I rolled out of bed and Jackson, of course didn't move. "Too early," he muttered."For you. I have to get up so that I can look pretty."He cracked one eye open. "You look nice now," he mumbled."You have to say that.""No I don't. I could have just pretended that I'd gone back to sleep. I think I've made it abundantly clear that I find you attractive whether or not you're all dolled up.""Well, you go ahead and go back to sleep," I told him. "I'll wake you up around 6:30.""Do I have to go to school? I mean, seriously, I'm almost done.""Oh, quit bitching."I went to the bathroom and hopped in the shower. By 6:25, my hair was blown
We sat around for a while longer, then Jackson and I headed home. We still had a ton to unpack. I changed out of my jeans into a pair of his sweatpants. Sure, I had my own sweats, but something about wearing my boyfriend's clothes was so comforting."What would you think if I started dressing like a boy all the time?" I asked Jackson, coming out of the bedroom."Huh?"I grinned. "Your clothes are comfy... they're nice."
We went to my house and tried the door. It was locked. Guess the dumbasses forgot that I had a key."We have to hurry," I said, "I don't want to talk to them.""All right," he replied. We rushed up the stairs and into my room. Everything was pushed to the center of the floor. The walls had been painted a cream color and my bed was gone."I guess they were serious," Jackson said, looking around the room.There were a bunch of boxes full of my stuff on the floor. "At least they made it easy on me.""Do you want all of this?" He asked.I shook my head. "Mostly just the clothes. Let me look around."As I was rummaging through boxes and setting aside the ones I wanted, I realized the stupidity of what I was doing. I'd already established that moving in with him was a
Jackson ate quickly, barely taking time to chew. I ate as slowly as I could, and I knew it was driving him crazy. He finished a good five minutes before me."I'll be in the bedroom," he told me. "You can join me when you finish… if you ever finish."He was lying in bed in his boxers when I came in. God, even as upset as I was, I ached with wanting him."Hey," he said softly."Hi," I replied. I sat on the edge of the bed. "I'm not mad that you drank… I just wish that you hadn't drank so much… because I really needed you, but you were out cold."He drew in a deep breath. "What happened, Sophie?""After everyone left, Scott was still here… and he… he…" Tears filled my eyes."Oh my God… he didn't… Sophie, he di