“Where the fuck did you take her last night?” I asked Keith when he came home later that day. “She caught me here when she came home early, and I had no idea what she was talking about.” “I took her to the club. That club.” His grin told me all I needed to know about which club he’d taken Celia to last night. Well, that and what she’d said. I’d suspected it was the club, but I wanted to be sure and couldn’t exactly ask her, now could I? “You need to tell us this stuff, Keith. It’s my day today, I needed to know what you did last night. Luckily, she kind of told me herself but if she hadn’t, I would have been clueless. Then she’d have figured out something was wrong.” “Relax, Colin, I was going to tell you, I just didn’t have time to yet. By the way, she’s into it if you were wondering.” He had that smirk on his face, the one that made me want to punch him sometimes but this was good news. It meant we could tell her our secret when we were ready and maybe she wouldn’t freak out so m
The next day, I got up and my nose was stopped up and I could barely think straight because my head hurt so badly. I went into class anyway, because I didn’t want to miss a day but by the time I got to my English class with Becky, I wanted to just go home. She cornered me as the class ended and dragged me down to the diner. “I need to talk to you. It’s important.” She’d hissed the words in a way that told me she wasn’t just trying to get me to go eat with her. She really had something she needed to tell me. “Listen,” I said with my head over the cup of coffee I’d ordered. I let the steam roll up onto my face and into my nose. It didn’t help, but it didn’t hurt either. “I feel like complete shit, so I’m sorry if I don’t seem interested. I am. I just don’t feel well.” “I’m sorry, but I need to talk to you. I don’t know who else I could trust with this.” Her eyes welled up and she leaned closer to whisper. “It’s about Mike.” I looked around but didn’t see the waiter anywhere. “Is he
The next day, I got up and my nose was stopped up and I could barely think straight because my head hurt so badly. I went into class anyway, because I didn’t want to miss a day but by the time I got to my English class with Becky, I wanted to just go home. She cornered me as the class ended and dragged me down to the diner. “I need to talk to you. It’s important.” She’d hissed the words in a way that told me she wasn’t just trying to get me to go eat with her. She really had something she needed to tell me. “Listen,” I said with my head over the cup of coffee I’d ordered. I let the steam roll up onto my face and into my nose. It didn’t help, but it didn’t hurt either. “I feel like complete shit, so I’m sorry if I don’t seem interested. I am. I just don’t feel well.” “I’m sorry, but I need to talk to you. I don’t know who else I could trust with this.” Her eyes welled up and she leaned closer to whisper. “It’s about Mike.” I looked around but didn’t see the waiter anywhere. “Is he
I had that miserable cold for a week before it finally started to go away. I missed a couple of days of classes and work, which worried me, but there was nothing I could do about being sick. Keith took very good care of me, and once I thought I’d made him sick too because I heard a faint sneeze but he was fine when I saw him. Now, the sneezy, snotty, achy everywhere sensations were gone and my head was clear again. I got out of bed and got ready to go to class. By the time I made it to work, I’d started to feel tired but I knew I was a whole lot better than I had been. I’d even lost my voice at one point, but now everything was much better.I met Keith at lunchtime, and he surprised me with news that we were going to a Halloween party that evening. He’d bought a costume for me and he had everything planned. I would be a Viking Valkyrie and he would be a pirate. It was just like my fantasy, only it sounded so much better. I got home that evening and took a shower quickly. I did my ha
Becky drove us to her warehouse apartment, and we took the elevator up to the floor where her apartment was. I saw that it was mainly one room, with a closed in space for the bathroom and the bedroom. There was also a loft, which was where Becky slept on a mattress on the floor. A bohemian life for a girl a that wasn’t sure she wanted to be a true bohemian.Yet, I thought ruefully, I’d wanted the conservative life and had ended up being the bohemian one. I was numb for a while and didn’t say a lot. Becky, on the other hand, wouldn’t shut up. “I’m so sorry, Celia. I didn’t know how to tell you, and I wasn’t sure. I didn’t want to make accusations that weren’t true, but I knew Keith was a player and that he and his brothers were fairly… kinky. I thought maybe you knew. Or that Keith had gone straight, finally.” She paused, dug out a bottle of scotch and poured two glasses. I gulped it, hungry for the delirium it gave so many. I wanted to pass out and forget the terrible words that Ra
I turned my phone on two days later. As I expected it buzzed so long with notifications that it nearly drained the battery. I swiped to clear all the notifications and then started to delete my accounts on my social media. I’d make new ones later, for now, I took the apps off my phone and enjoyed the silence. Becky had been true to her word and went over to get my stuff. They brought it over in Becky’s car and the car owned by the Bentley brothers. They put it all in the elevator, sent it up, and then left me in peace. They knew to leave me alone now, at least. Becky had told them I didn’t want anything to do with them ever again and had added a bit. She told them that what they’d done had humiliated me, which might have been worse than the deception they’d been pulled. She’d told me about the conversation when she came up with the last load of my belongings. That load had increased in my short time with the boys. I’d gone from a few possessions to boxes full of it. I had new clothe
“Hi, I’m Colin.” He held his hand out to me, and I stared at it uncertainly. I wanted to jump on him, wrap my legs around him, and kiss him until he fell on the lawn. But I held myself back, unsure, with my hands in the back pockets of my jeans. I couldn’t do this, could I? “Celia.” I looked around, uncertain, but with an ache to be in his arms that I could barely control.“I’d like to take you to dinner. Somewhere out of town, if you’d like.” “That might be nice.” I readjusted the bag slung over my shoulder and looked around. Nobody noticed us. Nobody whispered, they just went about their business and didn’t care. “Maybe somewhere with milkshakes?” “I know a place that makes the best peanut butter milkshakes you’ve ever had,” he replied, a grin on his face. He’d lost weight, and there were dark circles under his eyes, but in the gray depths, I saw hope. A plea for forgiveness. Something in me twisted, and my face followed suit. He rushed to me, took me in his arms, and held me t
“Hi, I’m Colin.” He held his hand out to me, and I stared at it uncertainly. I wanted to jump on him, wrap my legs around him, and kiss him until he fell on the lawn. But I held myself back, unsure, with my hands in the back pockets of my jeans. I couldn’t do this, could I? “Celia.” I looked around, uncertain, but with an ache to be in his arms that I could barely control.“I’d like to take you to dinner. Somewhere out of town, if you’d like.” “That might be nice.” I readjusted the bag slung over my shoulder and looked around. Nobody noticed us. Nobody whispered, they just went about their business and didn’t care. “Maybe somewhere with milkshakes?” “I know a place that makes the best peanut butter milkshakes you’ve ever had,” he replied, a grin on his face. He’d lost weight, and there were dark circles under his eyes, but in the gray depths, I saw hope. A plea for forgiveness. Something in me twisted, and my face followed suit. He rushed to me, took me in his arms, and held me t