“WHAT’S UP, BABY BROTHER?”
“About time you answered your phone!” Clayton says as I toss my gym bag into the corner of my room. I’m taken aback by the deepness of his voice. He just turned thirteen, and already I can tell he’s about to hit the glorious days of puberty. “I have a serious question.”
“Uh oh. Do I need to sit down?” I joke, kicking off my basketball shoes. I push the speaker-phone option on my phone and set it on the bathroom counter as I start the shower.
“Mac and I are stuck on this mission in Grand Theft Auto and can’t figure it out. We’ve been here for hours, bro.”
I laugh. “I can’t believe I was playing basketball and missed your calls during this tragic time.”
“I know. What a shitty big brother you are.”
“Hey!” I scold as I peel my still-wet t-shirt over my head. “Since when do you curse?”
“It’s not a big deal. Mac says shit all the time.”
I frown. “You’ve been over at Mac’s a lot lately.”
There’s a pause on Clayton’s end and I still, wondering if there’s something he’s not telling me. “Sorry. I’ll cool it on the cursing, Mom.”
I laugh, asking him for more details on the mission he’s on and walking him through it while the bathroom steams up. We chat for a while, mostly about school, not even a little bit about mom or Carlton. It feels good to catch up with Clayton and I can’t help but feel like I should do it more often. Just because I’m not in the same state doesn’t mean I shouldn’t be there for him. I’m the closest thing he has to someone to look up to in his life.
That fact hits me hard. I haven’t heard from mom or Carlton since I gave them enough money to get them out of whatever trouble they were in last semester, which gives me hope, at least, that they’re doing okay. Still, just because I haven’t heard from them doesn’t mean I shouldn’t pick up my phone and call Clayton more often.
“Hey,” I say just as we’re about to hang up. “Why don’t you come down for family weekend? I’ll book the flight. We can hit the beach and go go-karting.”
“Really?” Clayton asks, excited.
“Yeah, really. I’ll even let you get your ass kicked in Halo if you’re lucky.”
“Hey, what happened to no cursing?”
“I’m twenty-one. I’m allowed to curse.”
He chuckles. “I really would like to. I feel like there’s a lot we never get to talk about with all the distance, you know?”
I run my hand through my fade, catching my own eyes in the mirror. “Yeah I know. It’ll be fun. I’ll text you later with the flight details. If mom is upset or has questions, just have her call me,” I add, jaw tensing at the mention of her.
“I doubt she will, but yeah, I’ll tell her. Love you, big bro.”
“You too.”
We end the call and I thumb through my music, pressing play on a J Cole song and setting it to shuffle through my playlist. I take my time in the shower, letting the hot water soothe my aching muscles from playing hard at the courts. My knees are tight, arms sore, and I’m ready to collapse in bed and watch ESPN. But as I step out of the shower and wrap a towel around my waist, I see a completely different option presented.
“Your clothes smell, dude.” Shawna says, her small frame leaning against the bathroom counter. “Like, bad.”
“Hi to you, too.”
“Hi,” she says, kissing me swiftly before propping her ass on the bathroom counter, shamelessly watching me dry off. “There’s an art festival in town. You should take me.”
I chuckle. “You have absolutely zero fucks to give about the normal way people do things, huh?”
“Normal is boring.”
“What do I get out of this deal?”
“My company, of course. Plus we can knock out that extra credit assignment for our art class. It’s a win-win.”
I brace my hands on either side of her legs on the counter, boxing her in, watching as her eyes follow the beads of water gliding down my chest. “Hmm… so what you’re saying is you want me to do homework with you. Sounds like a favor of sorts.”
She grins. “Okay, I’ll bite. What do you want in exchange, Bear?”
“Come to Key West.”
“No.”
I laugh. “You’re so exhausting. Just come with me. I want to bang you in at least four places on Duval Street.”
“So romantic.”
“It’s your kind of romantic and you know it.”
“Touché.”
“So you’ll come?” I ask, hopeful.
Shawna leans forward, her bright green eyes playful behind her black frames. “Nah.”
I drop my forehead to hers. “You’re impossible, woman.” She just giggles, but the sound is cut short when I press my hips forward, meeting hers. She wraps her legs around my waist, pulling me closer. She’s in a simple, strapless black dress, and with only my towel and her panties separating us, it suddenly feels a lot hotter in the bathroom.
“Well, if your persuasion tactics weren’t so awful, maybe I wouldn’t be so impossible.” She bites her lip, rolling her hips just enough to stir up the friction between us.
“You’re saying I’m not bringing enough to the table?” I ask, sucking her bottom lip between my teeth and reaching my hands into her jet black hair. When I reach the purple ends, I grip harder, tugging with just enough force to expose her neck to me. She gasps, arching her back.
“That’s exactly what I’m saying,” she breathes.
My hands still in her hair, I kiss across the swell of her breasts. “Well, let me sweeten the deal, then.”
In one fluid motion, I drop my towel to the floor, push her panties to the side, and slide inside her, pulling her hair harder as she cries out. She’s so wet, so ready, and I pull out before rocking back into her again, slowly this time, letting her feel every inch.
“Oh fuck,” she breathes, letting her legs fall open wider as she takes me in. My hands snake up her thighs, bunching her dress just above her hips as I flex mine again. I grow harder with each thrust, hitting her deeper every time, and she rewards me with nails digging just as deep in my back.
I work her slow at first, watching her mouth hang slightly open, her eyes focused on where we meet. It’s so hot that she loves to watch, and when she lifts her legs to rest on my shoulders, I find a new depth that makes us both moan. I know she loves when I work her clit, but this time I want her orgasm to come from the spot only I can reach inside.
Grabbing her ass in my hands, I lift her, just slightly, just enough to push deeper. Her head falls back, hair sticking to her back, and I take advantage of the access to her breasts. Using my teeth, I pull the top of her dress down and say a silent prayer that she’s not wearing a bra. Sucking her nipple ring between my teeth, I pump harder, the steam circling around us, our breaths shallow.
Suddenly, Shawna bucks against me, pressing her hands into my chest until I stumble back a bit. She hops off the counter, spins around, and bends at the waist, pressing her chest to the cool counter, hooded eyes finding mine in the mirror. I take my cue, stroking myself as my free hand finds her center. Slipping two fingers inside, she moans, and the sound jolts straight through me as I place myself at her entrance. When I rock into her, my hands gripping her waist, she gasps.
I start slow again, savoring the feel of her warmth around me, but before long she’s demanding harder, faster, more — and I deliver on all accounts. She comes first, her breath clouding the mirror, her eyes wide open and staring at me. It’s the sexiest fucking thing I’ve ever seen to watch her fall apart so unabashedly. I follow right after, cursing under my breath at the electric release only she can bring.
For a moment I stay inside her, resting my chest against her back, my arms around her, our breaths leveling out. When I finally pull out, Shawna stands, shimmying her dress down and adjusting the top in the mirror.
Moving her hair off her neck, I press my lips to her salty skin. “So, Key West?”
She grins. “Valiant effort, but it’s still a no.” She spins in my arms, kissing me once before smacking my ass playfully. “Now get dressed and take me to this art festival.”
I laugh, because what else is there to do? Shawna is unlike any other girl I’ve ever known, and even though she drives me mad, I wouldn’t have her any other way.
Well, let me rephrase that: I wouldn’t have her any other way characteristically.
There are countless ways I’d have her. Take her. Own her.
And we’re just getting started.