Playing Favorites – Chapter 12

Christopher

Those last few days have been… less than ideal. First, Mr Ivanov gave us that surprise exam I saw coming for a few weeks. And even though I have been preparing for it, I still had a hard time going through it. Apparently, there’s no helping it: algebra will just never be something I’m great at. I think I did okay, maybe even good. I probably would have done even better if I wasn’t trying to steal glances at a certain someone all through the hour. Thankfully, I did much better at the physics exam. But, damn, is there some kind of rule that says two big exams had to take place on the same day? Oh, and there’s still the English exam coming up. I was feeling pretty drained when I made it back to my dorm room.

Second, my last practice session did not go so well. I mean, it was not the first time I got yelled at by Priddy, not even close, but there was a different energy in his rants this time. He wasn’t just angry, he was furious; and disappointed, almost dejected. I can’t blame him, really. Manny managed to three-strike me twice during the session. “Off my game” doesn’t even begin to cover it.

“He’s only mad ‘cause he knows you’re good,” Manny tells me in the locker room after the shower. “If you were a lost cause, he wouldn’t even talk to you.”

“I guess,” I say.

“Seriously, what’s going on? Is it about Jacinda again?”

I put on some body spray.

“Partly,” I say.

“Partly?”

And that would be the third thing. Tuesday morning, when I got to Toulouse’s for my shift, Zula asked to talk to me in private. She looked concerned.

“We got a really weird customer yesterday.”

“Was it that moron who always orders a coffee with ten creamers, then complains that it’s cold?”

“No, that one finally got banned last Friday, thank God. This one was the creepy kind of weird, actually.”

“Did he come on to you?”

“No, no, nothing like that. He was very polite, very well-behaved. But I got this vibe about him, you know?”

“Huh-uh. What did he do?”

“He ordered a cappuccino and a butter croissant, and he made some small talk. At some point, he asked if I knew someone who worked here.”

I frowned. “Someone?”

“Yeah. He gave me your name, and described you.”

My stomach turned to ice.

“What did you tell him?” I asked.

“I told him that sort of information was private as a matter of company policy. He asked me if I was sure, I said yes. Then, I asked why he wanted to know. He just kind of shrugged, thanked me, then left.”

A breath of relief left my mouth, relieving my tightened throat.

“Thanks, Zula.”

“You got it.”

“Do you remember what that guy looked like?”

“Mmh…” She tapped her chin. “Middle-aged guy, black hair going gray, green or blue eyes, I’m not sure. He looked really intense. Like, for a second, I thought he was on something.”

I instinctively pulled on the rubber band around my wrist. Yeah, that was him alright.

“Zula, could you do me a favor? If you see this guy around again, could you tell me?”

“Of course,” she said. “And if we’re on the same shift if he comes back, do you want me to cover for you?”

Zula is a God-send.

“Yeah, I’d appreciate it.”

 

The sound of Manny’s locker door being shut brings me back to the present. My best friend has been waiting for me to say something, his forehead wrinkled with worry.

“I… heard from my father.”

“Again? Shit.”

“Yeah, apparently, he’s trying to stalk me at work.”

“Fuck, man. You should call the cops.”

I snort without humor. “Yeah, I know the score. They’re just gonna tell me that, so long as no one is harmed, they can’t do anything. I can’t even count how many people have tried that against him.”

Manny finishes tying his shoelaces. I notice he’s so distraught he forgot to put gel in his hair.

“So… Hell, bro. What are you going to do? You talked to campus police, at least?”

“I did. They said they’ll be on the lookout, and to call them if I see him again.”

“Well, that’s something, I guess.”

Is it, though? Everybody here knows that our campus police does not have enough manpower for all the work they have to do, and that their rules are rather restrictive on what they can and cannot do. If they catch my father trespassing on campus, I’m 99% sure all they can do is ask him to leave, and call the actual police if he doesn’t. And by the time the cops show up, he’ll have had more than enough time to disappear. Hell, even if by some fluke they manage to catch him, I’m sure he’ll find a way to avoid an arrest. That massive, corrupt piece of trash knows the system; he’s been part of it for long enough. Hell, he’s part of the reason why the system is so broken.

And that’s where I am, where I’ve been for the last few days. So, yeah, I’m not exactly having the time of my life.

The fact that I can’t stop thinking about Jacinda doesn’t help.

Speaking of the She-Devil, I turn my smartphone back. Surprisingly, I’ve received no text or phone call. From anyone. Guilt clogs my throat. Guess Jacinda finally got tired of me giving her the runaround. It’s for the best, I try to tell myself. It’s better for everyone involved if we don’t get too… well, involved.

And no, it’s not a commitment issue. Not even close: I do want a relationship with Jacinda. Of course I do. But I know for a fact it would be a terrible idea. For now, at least.

Manny and I get hailed by some cheerleaders as we leave the locker room. Their recital is right after our practice, on Wednesdays, and a few of them regularly come to see us play. And apparently, a couple of them have taken a liking to Manny. One of them is a tall Hispanic girl with dyed blond hair and thick black eyebrows, and the other is a freckled redhead Catgirl who speaks with a strong and almost comical Southern accent. I should probably learn their names; they’ve been around a couple of times.

“Hey, Manny!” the tall one says. “Are you doing something tonight?”

“Not much,” he answers, flashing his teeth -including the one near the front, that he chipped while fucking around with a bat. “How about you ladies?”

“Carrie and I were thinking of going clubbing.”

The freckled one -Carrie- giggles nervously.

“Wanna join us?” The tall girl shoots me a look. “Your friend can come, too.”

“Uh…” I say. Before I can think of a nice way to turn her down, Manny says:

“Don’t bother, girls. Safe to say, you’re barking up the wrong tree.”

“Oh!” Carrie says. “Is he?…”

“Oh yeah,” Manny says, cutting me. “No wonder he came to live in San Francisco, huh?”

My teeth grind as my mouth stretches in a “you’re so paying for this” annoyed smile. My best friend in the world, people.

“That’s cool,” the tall girl says. “I can introduce you to some friends.”

Great idea. And I bet Jacinda would love that…

“I’m good, thanks.”

“So what club were you thinking?” Manny says.

Rolling my eyes, I step away while they discuss options and trade phone numbers. Gotta admit, Manny’s got game. He’s confident, easygoing, and he knows how to flash a smile. The fact that he’s an athlete and looks the part probably doesn’t hurt. The girls leave, exchanging giggles and whispered comments, and Manny catches up with me. It’s time to grab lunch.

“Thank you for that, dude,” I say.

“Ah, come on. You were gonna turn them down; I know you were. You’re too focused on you-know-who.”

“And that was the best way to do that?”

“Sure was! It turned the girls down without hurting them, and it was very funny. Thus, it maximized happiness for everyone, and was therefore the most moral course of action.”

“What?” I blurt out.

“I’m taking a philosophy class. We’re learning utilitarianism.”

“What the hell are you doing in a philosophy class?”

“Well, see… There was this girl…”

I roll my eyes. Of course there was. Wait, “was”?

“Did she turn you down?”

“Yeah. Boyfriend.”

“Oh. So why do you still take the course, then?”

“Well, it’s actually interesting.”

“Is it?”

“Yeah. The teacher’s a straight-up hottie, too. Like, supermodel hot.”

“Jesus Christ…” I pinch my nose.

“She’s a Dark Elf, bro! I’m only Human.”

“Manny, students can’t date teachers. That’s not allowed.”

“That’s okay,” Manny shrugs. “I’m just taking one semester. I can wait until it’s over.”

“Actually, I’m don’t think you can’t date a teacher even if you’re no longer taking any course she teaches.”

He opens his mouth, and I quickly add: “Or even just sleep with her.”

“What, for real? Come on, man… It’s like, what’s even the point of college then?”

Manny groans with disappointment. “And meanwhile, you’re getting some on the regular from Jacinda.”

“Not really, no,” I mumble. Not unless wet dreams count.

We get to one of the food trucks that are always around campus. Having not decided where or what to eat, we picked the first we happened upon. This one is called Cheese On Wheels. The name is pretty apt: it’s got cheese everything. Cheeseburgers, cheese fries, cheese dogs, cheesecakes, cheese salad, and of course just cheese on its own.

“It’s funny,” Manny says as we sit down on the bleachers around the baseball field, him with a double bacon cheeseburger meal, me with a cheesy beef hotdog and a slice of apricot cheesecake (I don’t like apricot much, but they were out of caramel apple cheesecake).

“Sure tastes funny,” I say, trying my hotdog. Ketchup is not supposed to taste sweet. That’s an insult to tomatoes.

“No, I mean, every time you start sucking at baseball, it has to do with Jacinda. What did you do this time?”

“Nothing.” Technically, that’s true.

“Did you say something you shouldn’t have?”

More like I didn’t say something I should have, I think as I try another bite. Nope, still tastes funny. There are many things I love about America, and American cheese is not one of them.

“No? Then did you do something you shouldn’t have?”

Where to even begin with that one? I probably shouldn’t have antagonized her to begin with, and kickstarted this whole thing. I certainly shouldn’t have asked to see her boobs, which are burned into my brain for ever more. I shouldn’t have kissed her. And I definitely shouldn’t have made her cum, a vision which gives me a boner whenever it creeps up on me -which is very often.

But I have done all of those things, and now I’m hooked. Jacinda is basically a sexpot version of Pandora’s box. Or cocaine with a perfect ass.

“Come on,” Manny insists with his mouth full. “What is it?”

I put down my hot dog and try the fries instead.

“Hell, you didn’t cheat on her with Hayley, did you?”

“What? No!”

Ah, geez, Hayley. I knew there was another reason why I should feel like crap.

I kept the unspoken promise I made to Jacinda on our date, and had a talk with Hayley. Basically, I told her that I was interested in Jacinda after all, then I apologized for saying otherwise and leading her on like that. This is the condensed version of course. The real thing had a lot more stammering in it. I expected Hayley to cry, to get mad at me, or just to bolt and never be seen again. Her actual reaction was arguably worse. She told me she understood, she wasn’t surprised, and she even thanked me for telling her.

Yeah. Hayley’s a good person. A good person I’ve let down, all because I couldn’t be honest with myself. Go me. Hopefully, our next study sessions won’t be awkward…

“Well, good,” Manny says, “Because cheating is not okay. And cheating on someone who’s got claws like razor blades? I can think of less painful ways to commit suicide.”

“Amen to that.”

“So spit it out, already! What was it? You’re lousy in bed?”

“Hey!” I yell.

“Just speculating, bro.”

“No, it’s nothing like that. I just… I kinda… ghosted her.”

Manny’s jaw drops. “What? Wait, what do you mean “kinda”?”

“She’s been calling and texting me over the last two weeks, so we could meet up, maybe go on another date. I gave her the runaround. Told her I was busy.”

My best friend frowns. “I don’t mean to call you a jackass, but what the fuck, bro? Why would you do that? Suddenly, you don’t like her anymore?”

“I do like her; of course I like her. It’s just…”

How to explain this? I’ve never told him about Amy. Heck, I’ve never told anyone. Maybe because I’m afraid even Manny wouldn’t understand, or maybe because I don’t want to think about that stuff. About… About what I did.

“I’m worried we might be moving too fast.”

There’s a lull during which Manny stares at me without blinking. Then, without any warning, he punches me in the arm. And goddamn, he doesn’t pull that punch.

“OW! What the hell, man?”

“No, you what the hell?! Moving too fast? That’s a bullshit excuse.”

“It’s not… Look, it’s just…” My head dips as I sigh. “I don’t want to get into it. It’s complicated, and, trust me, you don’t want to know.”

“Whatever, man. You do you, I guess.”

He sighs, and shakes his head in frustration. I don’t blame him. I know I look like I’m being an idiot, and possibly a jackass to boot. We finish our meals in relative silence, only making some short conversation about the weather and how practice is going to be a pain for the next few months. Eventually, we throw away our leftovers, and make our way down the bleachers. As we go through the gymnasium, we happen upon… a certain someone. A certain someone who is staring me down from her six foot six, and doesn’t look very happy.

“We need to talk,” Jacinda says.

“Uh-oh,” I hear Manny say.

“Actually, Manny and I were…” I begin to answer.

“No, we weren’t,” my best friend quickly interjects. “Bye, bro.”

“Wait!”

Before I can stop him, Manny has disappeared through a door, leaving me alone to face the incoming threat. My eyes trail over her, from top to bottom. Her face shows no expression, no anger or fury, but that just makes me more afraid. Behind that mask of calm, a storm is brewing, I just know it.

“Hey, look, um…”

“Let’s discuss it in private.”

She points at a supply closet.

“But-”

“I insist,” she says, grabbing me by the collar.

I knew Jacinda was strong, but damn. All of my struggling to escape her grip is about as effective as air conditioning on Pluto. I quickly stop, worrying that her sharp claws combined with her iron grip are going to tear my jersey apart. It’s a nice jersey, and it also happens to be my only armor right now.

There’s a faint smell of dust inside the supply closet. The place is, predictably, filled with various sports equipment: ropes, balls, pommel horses, mats… It’s cluttered and cramped. The cleaning crew also appear to be storing some of their supplies here, although I’m positive they’re not supposed to.

Jacinda throws me against a wall, pinning me in place by the shoulders. Given how mad at me she must be, I am deeply thankful for how much she’s holding back: she’s keeping me just hard enough that I can’t move away, but not so much that she’s hurting me. 

Sidenote: I should probably see a psychiatrist about how this situation is turning me on. I can’t help it: her fiery, unwavering gaze, the fact that she’s so close I can feel her body heat… and yes, the fact that we’re alone in a tight space. I’m not made out of stone.

“You’ve been avoiding me,” she says slowly, breaking the silence after about two minutes.

I consider denying it for a second, but think better of it.

“Yes,” I whisper, trying to avoid her eyes, but finding myself inexorably drawn to them.

“Why?”

My lips feel dry all of a sudden.

“Because…”

I take a deep breath. Then another.

“Because I’m scared.”

Jacinda’s eyes widen. A hint of sadness shines in them, making me feel like even more of an asshole.

“Of me?” she says. Her mouth distorts into a mirthless grin. “Because I’m a Hellhound, is that it?”

“No! No, of course not.”

“Then what?”

I rub the bridge of my nose. All right, Chris, let it all out. Who knows, it might actually make you feel better.

“I’m scared because of Amy.”

Her blood orange eyes start spitting fire once again as she leans back a couple of inches.

“You have a girlfriend?!”

“No, no-no-no!” I raise my hands to shield myself. “I mean, not anymore.”

Her claws twitch in a way that makes me shudder. Thankfully, she visibly calms herself down, and says:

“Explain.”

“Amy and I were together back in high school, in LA,” I say.

“Okay… So what does she have to do with us?”

She releases me, and I take a seat on a disassembled pommel horse next to me. Whatever its top part is made off is pretty hard and not particularly comfy.

“I met Amy in my first year in high school. At first, I didn’t like her. I mean, really didn’t like her. She came from a pretty well-off family, and she liked to show it. Me, I always had trouble with money, and I suppose I had a chip on my shoulder because of it.”

Jacinda declines to comment, but the way her mouth curls on the side indicates she’s far from disagreeing.

“I felt like she was always showing off her money, coming to school in her fancy car, in her fancy clothes, with her fancy phone. She was one of the only people in my grade who had her own computer, instead of one of the crappy ones the school provided us. The fact that she always hung out with other rich, snooty kids didn’t help. I spent most of high school avoiding her, and her circle of friends.”

“Like I told you, I used to work all kinds of jobs, back then. At the beginning of my last year in high school, one of my teachers suggested I try tutoring too. It was good money, he said, and I’d be helping some people who really need it.”

“I’m guessing Amy was one of your students,” Jacinda says.

“Yeah,” I say. “I wasn’t looking forward to having her as a student, actually, because I was pretty sure she would turn out to be a diva. But the money was good. Really good. Plus, beggars can’t be choosers. So I agreed to tutor her in history, geography, and Spanish. She was… She was not what I expected. Much more down-to-earth and less pretentious than I thought. Turns out, the things I disliked about her came from her being clueless or too coddled. Like, she made a few crappy comments about me being poor, but it was out of ignorance, not condescension. She simply had no idea what being poor was like.

“Our first lessons were a little rough, but eventually things got smoother. I started liking that girl. Then, I started really liking her. And… she started really liking me too. And, before long, she became my first girlfriend. It was pretty nice. That was the happiest time of my life. There was just one problem. Well, two problems. Neither of us could tell our respective fathers.”

“Why not?” she asks.

“Amy’s father was a very strict guy. He had hired me to tutor his daughter, not date her. That’s just not something he would allow. As for my dad… I didn’t even tell him about the tutoring job; I didn’t want him to steal my money like he always did. As for the girlfriend thing, I wasn’t sure how he would react to that, but I had an inkling it would be bad. The man didn’t even want me to have friends. Gotta keep his victims isolated, with no recourse, and no one to help them. Piece of shit.

“So, yeah, dating was a stupid thing to do. But it also made us both happy. So we continued to see each other, and kept it a secret. We went on a few dates, had some fun…”

“Did you two…” Jacinda says, but she interrupts herself. “Nevermind, not my business.”

I smile. “We were two teenagers in our first relationship. What do you think?”

“Myeah,” she merely comments.

“We had to sneak out every time we went on dates. Hell, we couldn’t even hold hands in school, because word traveled fast. No doubt one of Amy’s bitch friends would have been all too happy to tattle on us. But I didn’t care. I was happy, maybe for the first time in my life. Who cares if we could get caught? Who cares about the consequences? For once, I actually felt wanted by someone else, something I didn’t even get from my mother.”

“Your mother didn’t want you?”

“No… Oh, I’m sure she loves me,” I say. “I mean, she got me here, and she took a big risk doing that. She just… Well, she didn’t make me feel wanted. I never asked, because I’m not sure I want to know, but I don’t think my parents… Well… I don’t think they’d been planning for my birth. In fact, I’m pretty sure it just made things more complicated, especially for Mom.”

“Fuck, I’m so sorry,” Jacinda let out.

With a sigh, I move on from that particular topic and go back to the main subject.

“One day, Amy and I got caught by her father. It had to happen eventually, but I guess we didn’t really consider that. We were living in the moment, and the future was more of an afterthought than anything else. It was pretty stupid how we got caught: we were making out in Amy’s living room. Didn’t even shut the door.

“But, surprisingly, Amy’s dad was cool with that. I mean, he wasn’t exactly thrilled that I was dating his daughter after he had told me not to, or that his daughter had been lying to him about it. He grumbled a lot, lectured us some, but eventually calmed down. It certainly helped that I told him we kept our lessons professional -as much as two hormonals teens can-, so it wasn’t like he was paying me to canoodle with his daughter. And Amy’s grades had gone up, which she showed him. He sighed, gave us a mini-speech about how he was a teen too once, how it’s important to be responsible, to not let our feelings blind us to… and so on. It was all very grounded and rational, not the kind of stuff I was raised to expect from a father.”

“So disaster averted, then,” Jacinda says, her tone slightly wary as she realizes that’s just the first half of the story.

“Yeah… And it fooled us into thinking we were golden. We became more relaxed about the whole thing, started going out in the open. Kids at school talked, but I couldn’t care less.” With a dejected sigh, I add: “I should have.”

“Your father learned about it too.” She’s not asking.

“He did. I’m still not sure how. Did someone tell him, did he follow us? I wouldn’t put it past him to stalk me to ensure I remained under his control. He confronted me about this one evening when I came home from school; it was nothing but screams and threats for fucking hours. I blanked most of it, but basically it boiled down to this: he wanted me to dump Amy, and give him all the money I’ve made tutoring her.”

“He straight up demanded the money you earned?” Jacinda balks.

I can’t help but smile at her shock. She really has no idea what it’s like to be raised by shitty people.

“Yes, he did. As repayment for lying to him, he said. I tried to tell him I had put it in my bank account, but he knew I didn’t have one. As a minor, I couldn’t have opened one without a legal guardian, and there was no way he would let me do that, or allow Mom to help me with that. So, yeah, he knew I had kept the money in cash and was probably stashing it somewhere. I tried to fob him off, but eventually, I broke down and showed him where I hid my money. In my room, behind a loose plinth blocked by my bed. 

“My father found the money and took it. All of it. It made me cry like I never cried before. There were nearly three hundred dollars there, and I had worked so hard to get it. Problem was, I had already spent some of the money Amy’s dad gave me. Dad did some quick math and figured it out. He screamed at me some more, and told me I owed for the rest.

“As to Amy… He made it clear I couldn’t see her anymore.”

“What? Why?”

“The reason he gave me was that a liar like me didn’t deserve to date, and that I should stay away from rich people.”

“He had a problem with rich people too?”

“He has a problem with pretty much everyone. But rich people piss him off because their very existence reminds him that he isn’t as rich as he wished he was. Of course, I’m pretty sure he would have had no problem marrying his way up the tax bracket, if he was been given the opportunity.”

Grumbling, I add: “I guess that’s one thing I inherited from him. Not liking rich people, I mean.”

“Unlike him, though, you seem to have gotten over that,” Jacinda says.

Have I ever…

“Of course, that’s the reason he gave me,” I say bitterly. “The real reason is that he’s a small time, petty-minded tyrant who gets off on inflicting pain to those who defy his fucking authority.”

“So did you dump Amy then?”

“No. Fuck no. Like Hell I was going to do what that asshole told me, especially after he stole my money. I decided to keep seeing Amy. I didn’t care what he would do to me.”

“He had already found you out once,” Jacinda points out. “You weren’t worried he would do it again?”

“Of course I was worried. Amy and I went back to dating in secret. We made sure not to ever see each other in public. I even erased all her calls and texts from my phone, just in case my dad poked his nose in it. I had a talk with Amy’s father, explained to him that I couldn’t tutor his daughter anymore; I told him it was because I could no longer manage both my own grades and hers.”

“I’m guessing you didn’t tell him the true reason to avoid getting him in trouble with your dad.”

I nod. “Fat lot of good that did, in the end.”

“Your dad found out again,” she says.

“Yeah. My fault, this time. Amy had decided to write me a letter. Between the final exams coming up and the rest, we had less and less time to see each other. Texting and calling were basically the only way we could still communicate.”

“Did she post it to your house?”

“No, she wasn’t stupid enough to do that. She slipped it in my locker, at school. It was a really nice letter. She told me how much I meant to her, and that she wants to be with me. I don’t think anyone had written me a letter before -for any reason. It made me feel so happy I kept it on me at all times, in my coat’s inside pocket.”

“Let me guess: your father searched through your pockets.”

“Oh, it’s stupider than that: I accidentally dropped the letter while looking for my keys, right in front of him. Of course, he immediately snatched it up and read it. Out loud. He made sure to laugh and mock me about it, like some goddamn middle school bully. That asshole was pretty proud of himself, and I made the mistake of thinking that would be it.

“When I went back to school the next Monday, I looked for Amy, but I couldn’t find her. The next day, same thing. I went from anxious to fucking scared. Her friends wouldn’t tell me where she was, either. It wasn’t until four weeks later that a teacher finally told me. Amy had changed schools, less than two months before the end of the year. Nobody knew why; apparently, her father moved away.”

“Moved away? Why?”

“I don’t know. I heard someone say it was for work.”

“You think your father did this.”

“I know he did this. I don’t know how he did it, but I just know it was him. I tried to get in touch with Amy. I called her and called her, but she must have blocked my number. Eventually, I bribed one of her friends to use her phone, and I finally managed to get through to her.”

My throat feels sore, and not because I’ve been talking for a while now.

“That… was not a fun conversation. She freaked out when she heard my voice. I asked her what happened, but all she said was that we couldn’t talk anymore. She begged me never to call her again. God, the fear in her voice… She hung up before I could say anything else. And I never heard from her ever again.”

I realize that, while I’ve been talking, my shoulders have hunched and my back has curled. I straighten up, cracking my neck while I’m at it. Jacinda is looking at me, in silence, her eyes expressing a million thoughts. There’s sorrow in there, as well as understanding, and some worry. But there is no fear.

“I’m sorry that’s happened to you,” she says.

“Thanks.”

“So this is why you ghosted me? Now that your father’s back in the picture, you’re worried he’s gonna scare me away?”

“Well… Yeah. Look, you don’t understand. That man is an asshole, but he’s a clever asshole. When he wants something, he can be very crafty and very determined. And he sure doesn’t stop at things like morals or the law. He’ll stop at nothing to get me to quit college so he can have my tuition money. If that means hurting the people I love, then that’s exactly what he’ll do.”

Jacinda stares at me silently for a moment. What she does next catches me completely off-guard. First, she punches me in the arm, at almost the exact same spot Manny chose earlier.

“OW! Really?!”

Then, she throws her arms around me and pulls me closely against her, startling me even more. Once the surprise has passed, I return the hug. Everything feels so right all of a sudden. She feels surprisingly soft despite her muscles. It’s her fur, I decide. Fuzzy and nice to the touch, it also carries a comforting smell that I’ve already decided I can’t get enough of. Strong, rich, both soothing and overwhelming, it reminds me of her taste -or Jacindaroma, as I’ve taken to call it. From the way she sticks her nose in my hair, I can tell she’s enjoying my smell too. That fact alone is enough to get me hard. Given how close we are, she notices immediately. She ends the hug, then punches me in the arm again.

“Oh, come on!” I say. “You can’t expect me-”

“You should have talked to me!” she says. “I get that you were worried about me, but that’s no reason to just ghost me! Do you have any idea how that made me feel?!”

“Ah,” I say stupidly. “Right. I thought this was because…”

“What? Your boner?” Jacinda says. God, that word sounds so hot in her mouth, in spite of her sassy tone -or maybe because of it. “Dude, I gave you a handie the other day, remember?”

I sure remember the blue balls she gave me, but I don’t say that.

“Look…” I sigh. “You’re right. That was shitty of me. I’m sorry.”

“Damn straight, you are,” she growls.

My stomach churns. She’s not just angry: I actually hurt her -ironically, by trying to keep her from getting hurt. I gently put my hands on her cheeks, and give her lips a quick peck.

“I really am sorry, Jacinda. What can I do to make it right?”

She opens her mouth, pointing one claw at me, then closes it. Her cheeks darken.

“You still owe me one favor,” she says.

“I do, but if you want, we can call this one a freebie.”

Jacinda bits her lower lip for a millisecond, then gives a quick nod.

“Okay, so… What do you want me to do?”

Her nose scrunches.

“Right.” She hesitates again, and crosses her arms in front of her chest. It’s clear she’s trying to look and sound confident, but her blush and that nervousness she can’t hide too well undercuts that in a rather adorable way. “Well, first of all, you are going to take me on a second date. I’m a little mad that you didn’t ask me during our first one, but then again I didn’t either.”

“All right, a second date. That’s fair.”

“Second of all, this will be a lunch date. At a restaurant. And I’m paying.”

I open my mouth to protest, but she cuts me off by flicking her claw at me again.

“Don’t argue. I know you’re broke, and I know you don’t like being pitied about it. But that’s not pity, that’s just common sense: you’re on a budget and I’m not. Ergo, I’m paying, and that’s final.”

“Okay, fine,” I grumble.

“Good. Now, third of all…”

Third of all? She’s really getting some mileage out of that freebie I offered.

Jacinda clears her throat, and seems to have some difficulty looking me in the eye all of a sudden.

“Like I said, I get why you ghosted me. But that doesn’t change the fact that your absence has made me… upset.”

“I realize that, I’m so-”

“I’ve been very… upset for the past few days,” she interrupts, her voice growing more tense with every word. Her foot begins tapping on the floor. “Ever since… You know, the car. And the more you dodged me, the more upset I got.”

“Um-”

“In fact,” she says, her claws twitching, “I’d say right now is the most upset I’ve been since… since ever!”

“Oh.”

“Yeah. Oh.”

I gulp down my saliva. “So, uh… what would you like me to-”

“I need you not to move for… until I tell you to.”

“Again? Fine, but this time, you better not start-”

Apparently committed to not letting me finish a single sentence, Jacinda grabs me by the shirt and kisses me in such a rush that for a second, I thought she was going to headbutt me. This kiss is hungry and fiery; given that this is Jacinda I’m talking about, that means something. It feels like she’s trying to devour me with her lips, and to strangle my tongue with hers.

Before I can protest -not that I was going to-, she lowers me not so gently on a gym mattress on the floor, her lips still glued to mine. She kneels down, leaning over me. Her hands slide under my shirt; I return the favor. The kiss ends just as I get bold enough to move my hands to her boobs. I’m worried she’s going to tell me off, but even as the tip of my fingers circle around her erect nipples, she keeps quiet. She reacts a few seconds later… by taking off her shirt and her bra.

Hello, girls. God, I’ve missed you so much. Jacinda leans down again, offering me a faceful of her breasts. I immediately take one of her nipples in my mouth. She shudders delightfully when my tongue samples it.

“More,” she whispers.

I give her nipple another lick, then another, then another, and then I just leave my tongue on it and keep licking. She gasps, and her paw encroaches on the back of my head.

“Use your teeth.”

Why not. Damn, her tits taste as good as they look. If I were to put my libido in charge, I’d end up sucking on, nibbling on, and licking those beauties for days on end.

“Harder,” she breathes.

Ugh, even in these moments, she’s bossy. Although I don’t really mind a girl who knows what she wants, and has no issue telling you. After all, isn’t communication the key to all successful relationships? It’s hot as fuck, too.

I give her nipples a bit of tough love. Not enough, apparently.

“Harder!”

Geez. Bossy and demanding. Fine, here’s some tougher love for you. I go from nibbling to biting, and then, when that doesn’t seem to elicit much of a reaction for Jacinda, to straight-up chomping. Meanwhile, my hands get busy too. Leftie brushes her hair, while rightie checks that her tail is just as soft. She shudders again; so do I. She moans, I groan. I’m enjoying this about as much as she is, but damn, I hope that’s not all she has in mind. If it is, my balls will turn so blue they’ll be ready for the next Yankees game.

“Stop,” Jacinda says, practically pushing me off her boobs. I almost whine.

She stands up. I try to do the same, but she plants her furred foot against my chest and pushes me down.

“I said: don’t move.”

“That’s not what you said when my mouth was on your-”

She growls, and I zip it, though not without a smirk.

Licking her lips nervously, Jacinda puts her hand on the front of her trousers. My eyes open wider when she zips it open. Yes. She lowers her pants, offering me once again the sight of her furry, muscular legs, and her black panties. Yes. Then, she hooks her thumbs in said panties’ band. Yes. All of my body catches on fire as that last piece of clothing comes off. Jacinda gulps her saliva, then drops her panties to her side. I extend my hand to catch them, but her foot stops me again, tapping on my arm.

“Don’t freaking move!”

She takes a deep breath, her paws covering her groin, denying me the most wonderful sight of all. Then, she takes another deep breath. I hear her mumble something.

“Just go for it.”

She’s psyching herself up. That is so cute. I get it, too: she wants to be the dominant party in this little game, which I don’t mind (Not. At. All.), but she doesn’t have much experience. Finally, she breathes out, and drops down on her knees. Holy shit. Her pussy, although still hidden by her paws, is just above my face. There’s barely a couple of inches between me and Nirvana. I even get a whiff of how horny she is. Her knees close around my head, trapping it in place. She stares into my eyes, hers burning with lust. 

Come on! Enough foreplay, just give it to me already. This time, I might actually beg…

After keeping me waiting for at least a couple of eons, she uncrosses her paws and moves them out of the way. I didn’t think I would ever say that sentence, but Jacinda’s pussy does not disappoint. Purple, puffy lips, shining with love juices, and a small patch of black fur above. Not a single hair around the lips, though. Aww, Jacinda. Did you shave just for me?

Seeing is one thing, but smelling it? Oh, Jesus. The scent of a girl who wants to fuck you. Why the hell do people spend so much on perfume? This is the only scent worth being smelled. Damn, and Jacinda’s is so powerful too. Sweet and peppery. Hmmm.

Jacinda hesitates one last time, then slams her pussy against my mouth. It hurts a little, but complaining is the furthest thing from my mind. Hell, anything is the furthest thing from my mind. Hard to think when Jacinda’s wetness is dripping on my lips. The only thing I can concentrate on is the fact that I only have to open my mouth to… Shit, some precum shot out of my dick just from me thinking that. Every single hair on my body shudders as I take another strong whiff.

“What are you waiting for?” she says, spitting with impatience. Apparently, as far as teasing goes, she still can’t take it, nevermind how much she dishes it.

“You told me not to move,” I say.

“You-!” she roars before stopping herself. Much more calmly, she continues: “Well, now I’m telling you to stop being a fucking smartass and stick your tongue up my pussy!”

With pleasure. “Fine.”

I probably should have seen it coming, but Jacinda’s nether lips are so hot they almost burn my tongue. It takes more than that to get between a willing teenager and pussy, though, so I keep going. Ooooh, Jacindaroma. While I could just lick the edges of her snatch -after all, she only ordered me to stick my tongue up there, she didn’t mention how deep-, that’s far more restraint that I’m capable of. I go deep, as deep as I can, and feel her up. Jacinda is really tight, which makes me hope that very soon, it won’t just be my tongue in there. In the meantime, this is a perfect opportunity to figure out her… favorite spots. I slide my tongue around, my gaze fixated on her face so as to gauge her reactions.  At one point, I try to grab her tail, but she catches my wrists, and sticks them down on the ground. She really wants to be the one in control, uh…

God, I’ll never tire of watching her when she’s being pleasured -so long as I’m the one doing the pleasuring, of course. Yeah, that’s it Jacinda. Look back at me with your beautiful eyes that spit fire whenever I find a good spot. Let me admire those facial lines that light up your cheeks whenever you get all hot and bothered. And moan for me; the louder the better. Here, I think this portion of your pussy needs more love. You like that? How about this? Yes? Good. Now how about…

“A-Are you spelling my name?” she says, giving me a double take.

“I was trying to spell mine, actually,” I reply between two licks. “Staking my claim, and all that.”

She flickers my forehead.

“Well, your H felt like an A,” she says, shaking her head to push her hair back. Suddenly, she hunches over me and howls: “Oh, FUCK!”

Aaand that’s her clitoris. I knew I could find it even with my eyes closed. I mean, it took some prodding, but…

“Again!” she orders. “HAAAH!”

The pleasure is such that her legs stiffen, squeezing my head some more.

“Enjoying yourself?” I say, smirking.

“Less talking!” Jacinda grabs my head and forcefully pushes it against her groin, while her thighs close even tighter.

I’m starting to have some trouble breathing, but I don’t care. I’ve never seen Jacinda act like that. It’s like she’s turning into a beast in heat. She grunts, fidgets, drools… And it feels like Niagara Falls down there. I make a mental note to wash my face thoroughly afterwards. Right as I’m about to bring her to orgasm, and as I begin to worry that doing so might result in my head being squashed between her powerful legs, Jacinda raises her hips, just high enough for my tongue to leave her.

“Wait! Hold on.”

She stands up for a brief second, turns around, and sits back down. I am now offered a perfect view of her ass, which gets even more perfect when she bends over, her tail shooting up and wagging excitedly. I feel her fiddling around with my pants. Wait, is she…

Jacinda quickly -if clumsily- opens my pants and slides down my underpants, then impatiently grabs my hardened cock. I sense her paw massaging it, caressing it from base to glans. Her hesitation is still palpable, and I even hear her whispering to herself again.

“Okay. Okay. Come on. You can do this.”

I’m about to ask what exactly it is she can supposedly do, when the answer comes in the form of a hot, wonderfully soft sensation around the tip of my dick. Oh my God. Unless my libido has pushed my imagination into taking over my sense of reality, those are her lips. Fuck! Yeah, definitely her lips. She just took my glans inside her mouth, and my whole body went into overdrive. I groan raspily. Her mouth feels like a hot towel wrapped around my cock. She keeps still for a full five seconds, like she’s not sure what to do next. Thankfully, she figures it out, and begins bobbing her head up and down.

It clearly is her first blowjob. She’s pretty sloppy, gags a couple of times, and I feel her fangs on my shaft more than once -something tells me that if I make her cum now, she might bite it off. I’m not complaining, though: a clumsy BJ is still pretty fucking great. Especially when you’re on the receiving end, and especially especially when a girl like Jacinda Abercromby is on the giving end. What she lacks in technique, she makes up for in passion.

“Did I say you could stop?” she snaps in frustration.

Oh, right. I resume my tonguing. God, it’s getting really hard to think clearly. Between her love juices pouring all over my face and the care she’s giving to my dick, I’m just about ready to lose my mind. I try to focus on both giving the best cunnilingus I’m capable of and not exploding inside her mouth. The latter proves difficult when Jacinda suddenly gets the idea to try to go all the way down on my cock.

“Wait, wait, wait!” I say, but it’s too late. Feeling the tip of my dick hit the back of her throat is my death knell.

“Glarg!” Jacinda protests.

It appears she choked on my dick at the same time I came. The result is… messy, to put it lightly. A lot of my cum pours out of her mouth, dripping down her chin. She gets off me, and wipes most of it off with the back of her paw.

“You could have warned me!” she says.

“I tried…” Damn, is that my voice? I sound prepubescent.

She sits down, sniffing the back of her sperm-covered paw. Timidly, she pokes out her tongue and tastes it.

“Do you like it?” I can’t help but ask.

“No,” she answers too quickly, blushing like hell. I love how she really can’t lie.

She turns away from me and gives it another lick, then another. Glancing at me, she realizes that I could see that.

“It’s bitter,” she explains, “and the texture feels wrong. But… it smells like you, okay?”

“You hounds and your scents.”

“Shut up.”

I sit up and move towards her, until I’m close enough to wrap my arms around her torso. Kissing her cheek, I tell her:

“That was great.”

“Yeah?” she says with a bashful smile.

“Yeah. And I’m really happy to have been your first.”

“You could tell, uh?” Her ears fold in what I gather is an expression of timidity. I can’t resist the urge to scratch one of them.

“Yes, but that’s okay. Like I said, it was great. Bit of advice though: deepthroating is a learned skill.”

“I thought I could do it,” she says, chuckling nervously. “I almost managed when I, uh…”

She bites her lip.

“When you what?” I say.

“When I… practiced before,” she admits.

I laugh. “You practiced fellatio?”

“Well, I… I mean, I was… I was worried, okay? Like, with my fangs, and uh… Okay, so, yeah, I practiced.”

“On what, bananas?”

“Erm, yes.”

Liar. I grin like the Cheshire cat.

“You used toys, didn’t you?”

“Shut up,” she says, her face darkening so much it might turn into a black hole.

“Did you picture me while you were practicing?” I whisper in her ear, which I have to crane my neck to reach.

“Shut up!”

“What was I doing while you were going down on me?” My tone has gone from teasing to… well, another kind of teasing. “Was I moaning? Goading you on?”

My hands start caressing her cheek.

“Was I submissive? Or did I grab your hair and force my cock further into your mouth?”

I grab one of her boobs, and pinch her nipple, making her groan with pleasure.

“You…” she says. I interrupt her by brushing her pussy lips.

“Did you finger yourself while sucking my cock?”

“N-no… I was… Nnnh!” There’s her clit again.

“Tell me.”

“I was… ah… pinning you down. I was holding your legs -oh- with my hands, and b-blocking your arms with my knees. Ah! I forced you to- to eat my pussy.”

“Kinky,” I say, kissing her neck. The mental image, especially its moaning description by her, is getting me hard again. “And then?”

“Your… your hard dick was right in fuuuh… right in front of me. I teased -nnnh!- teased with my tongue until… Oh, gods…”

“Until I begged?” I kiss her lower and lower, now reaching her tit.

“Yeah. Hnnh. Yeah…”

“And then?” My lips brush that spot of fur above her pussy.

“That’s… that’s as far as I went before I…”

“Came?”

She nods sharply, her eyes closed.

“Speaking of which, you didn’t cum just now. Unless I didn’t notice… But as I recall, you’re pretty damn vocal about that.”

“No…”

“Mmh. Maybe I can make you beg.”

Jacinda opens her eyes again and shoots me a killer glare. Okay, fine, no begging. Not this time, at least… I push one of her legs aside, and lower my head to finish what I started. She sighs as she feels my lips giving her a very intimate kiss -with tongue, of course-, then leans back. And here I am again, feasting on my girl. No discovery this time, I go straight for the prize. I get real chummy with her clit, sucking on and licking it until Jacinda’s moans turn into howls. Yeah, she’s straight up howling. My male pride just grew by about fifteen percent. I slide a couple of fingers in her pussy, while I keep my gaze on her face to make sure I don’t miss what is indisputably the most gorgeous show on Earth.

Her gorgeous eyes burn with ecstasy as she orgasms. She howls even louder, nearly deafening me in the process. Jesus, I hope the walls are thick. Actually, I don’t: wouldn’t mind a few envious looks from the basketball team.

“Holy fuck!” she yells as she drops down on her back. “That was… Damn!”

“You’re welcome,” I say, my tongue numb. I place my head on the inside of her thigh, and allow myself some rest. Hmmm. I wonder what would make the best pillow. Her thighs, her boobs, or her ass? I’ll have to try them all repeatedly to be sure.

“Right,” Jacinda says after a couple of seconds. “We’ve got that History class.”

“Mmmh,” I mumble, nuzzling against the fur of her leg.

“Hey, come on,” she says, poking me in the shoulder with the tip of her claw. “Get off, I need to stand up.”

“Mmmno.”

“Wow, you dudes are really useless afterwards, aren’t you?” I shrug lazily. “If you don’t remove your head, I’m gonna trap it between my thighs and make you eat me again.”

“Not seeing the downside here,” I say.

“Move!” she says laughing, and playfully kicking me in the arm.

We both stand up. I arrange my clothes while Jacinda puts hers back on. Before I zip up my pants, I make sure to clean myself up with a couple of tissues.

“Let’s go get our laptops,” I say.

She opens the door, which apparently we forgot to lock. Thank God the janitor didn’t need his bleach or whatever. After a quick trip to the bathroom to splash some water on our faces, we leave the gymnasium. As we approach a group of students, a thought occurs to me. I slide my hand into Jacinda’s paw, and lace my fingers between her claws. She turns to me, her red-orange eyes shining with a new light.

“Yeah?” she says.

“Of course,” I say.

And on that, we’re on our merry way to our lockers, holding hands -or paws. This shouldn’t be a big deal; this definitely shouldn’t be a reason for me to smile stupidly. But here I am, making a big deal out of it, and grinning like a loon. Also, a part of me expected -anticipated, in fact- the people we come across to stare, to smile complicitly, or even to whisper some comments. But actually, nobody seems to care. Which makes sense, of course. It’s not like a couple on campus is the most outlandish thing ever. We’re definitely not the only couple either.

Ah. Correction: almost nobody seems to care.

“Hey, Nova,” I say.

Jacinda’s twin sister crosses our path right as we’re about to enter the main building, where our lockers are located. I’ve never seen so much smugness being contained in a single person’s smirk. That’s enough smugness to supply an entire prep school.

“Any comments?” Jacinda says.

Nova takes her sweet time answering, looking at our joined hands, our respective expressions, and at my mouth, her nose humming; I could still taste Jacinda on my lips, so it’s a safe bet Nova can smell her. Then, with one eyebrow raised, she says:

“Unless I’m mistaken, that’s the way from the gym, not the library. Extending your… area of operations?”

“Yeah,” Jacinda says, “and I might extend it to your bedroom if you keep this up.”

“Make sure to change the sheets afterwards,” Nova calmly replies, before moving on.

“Well, I guess your sister approves of us,” I say after she’s gone.

Jacinda mutters something as we make it to our lockers. I make sure my laptop is still in my backpack before putting the latter on my shoulder. As we get in front of our History classroom, Jacinda grabs me by the collar once again, and lays one on me. The more perverted side of my mind wonders if she can taste herself, and if she likes it as much as my own taste. Meanwhile, I can’t taste myself on her at all.

“Are you free next Saturday at noon?” she asks.

“Yup.”

“You like Mexican?”

“Sure.”

“I’ll pick you up at quarter to twelve.”

“It’s a date.”

A second date.

We make out some more. And more. And then, a little bit more. And again some more. It’s not until one of our classmates points out that the class is about to start that we finally separate. After making out one last time. And then another time for good luck.

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