Everything was easier when the secret was out. Now I didn’t have to worry about looking at Austin wrong or saying something that might look suspicious. I didn’t have to watch my every movement, bite my tongue or clench my fists so I didn’t touch him.And I loved it.I loved that we could just be.I didn’t care about the whispers from people outside our circle of friends, the ones who didn’t know the truth, and I didn’t care about the looks that came from other girls. I just cared that I could fall into his arms when I found him standing outside my classroom, just like he was now.“Shakespeare hasn’t killed you yet, then,” he said as he smiled at me, taking my hand.I looked over at him. “No, not yet, but there’s every possibility of it in the future.”“Not a damn chance.”“How
“This is going to be a disaster,” Maggie muttered, pulling onto a street with houses worth more than I could ever dream of making. Most were three-story buildings, all with driveways, garages and perfectly pruned front yards.I fidgeted in my seat. A small voice in the back of my mind whispered about the differences in our lives. It reminded me how different it was here compared to where I started life in San Francisco. I glanced at Maggie and told the voice to fuck off.My past doesn’t define who I am. The here and now does.Gramps whistled low. “What, you got a pool and all?”“Hope you brought your swimming trunks,” she commented in a chipper voice.“Good job I did, then.” Gramps patted his stomach. “Love a good swim.”She turned the car onto a driveway leading to one of the three-story houses. The drive was lined by circular bushes and winter flowers. I looked up at the hou
Maggie ran her hand down my body, her fingers tracing the defining lines of the muscle. I sighed deeply, pulling her closer to me, and breathed in the vanilla scent of her hair. No matter where she had been or what she had done, she always smelt like vanilla.“What are we doing today?” I asked, my fingertips following the curve of her spine right to her ass.She shuddered. “I thought we could go riding.”“I get the feeling we’re not talking about bedroom riding.”She looked up at me, her hair messy, and smiled. “No. Horse riding. I don’t go at college and I miss it.”“I’ve never ridden a horse.”“I’ll teach you.”“Um.”“You taught me to fish,” she reminded me. “You made me fish!”“I guess there’s no way around this, huh?”She shook her head, rolling on top of me. Her knees went either side of my hips, trapping me, and her hair fell around my face. She slowly lowered her face to mine, sucking my bottom lip into her mouth and grazing her teeth across it. I slid my hands along her thighs
I slid down from Storm’s back and patted his neck lovingly, hooking his reins around a tree branch in the shade. I took my helmet off, shook out my hair, and looked under the roots for the basket I asked June to place there earlier. Storm turned his attention to the water I had given him, and I lied the blanket out on the ground on the other side of the small tree. Excited, I sat down and waited for Austin to catch up.Palm Canyon trail was one of my favorite to take – it always had been. Sitting there by the stream and letting Storm rest was a weekly pastime before I left for Berkeley. We’d do the other trails on our other rides, but our Saturdays were always reserved for this.And now I remembered why.The green of the fauna was a stark contrast to the barren desert beyond, and the rocks that dotted the stream were just big enough to sit on. It was beautiful here. Peaceful in the winter when no one came here.“How do I get down?&
I tugged the zipper of my jacket up higher as a cold wind blew in off San Francisco Bay, and fought the urge to turn and ran back to the marina. I won’t run. This was something that had to be done, for me.Maggie squeezed my hand, curling into my arm, and we began to walk into the small cemetery where my mom was buried.I felt sick. Emotion stronger than I had felt in a long time swirled around my whole body, from hatred to pity, fear to anger, yet through it all … Through it all was a bit of love for the woman that tried and failed to give me life.We weaved silently through the graves and markers, heading to the back of the cemetery. I held the white rose I bought tightly, clutching it to my chest, and tried to breathe deeply.I would never forgive her and I would never forget her, but I could finally be at peace with her.The small, black marble headstone sat alongside my
I hated him on sight.I'm not a hateful person. In fact, I'm actually really friendly, but something about Jack Edwards rubbed me the wrong way, and has ever since I first saw him weeks ago.Maybe it was the arrogant, smug smile on his face when girls eye him admiringly, or maybe it the was undressing with his eyes thing he did to said girls. Maybe it was the bragging, the I-don't-give-a-crap attitude or the knowledge he could get any girl on campus. Or, rather, any girl in the state.Maybe it was because I was attracted to him when I most definitely did not want to be, combined with the fact he reminded me of everything I left at home in New York.I shook those thoughts off and carried on looking around the room of the Sophmore house as if he didn't exist. It was hard to do - especially when he had three girls on his arm and other unmentionable body parts. Did I mention the guy is sinfully hot?He had this messy, sun-kissed blonde hair with natural highlights that most girls would -
JACKI have no fucking idea who this chick is who's hanging onto my arm. I'm pretty sure I've never seen her in my life, but she's kinda hot with nice tits so I guess she can stay for a bit. She's not hot enough to bang though, so she won't be around for that long.Blondie pressed her lips against my ear, and I hid my cringe by looking around the house. My eyes found Sandra Edwards – Princess of University of California, Berkeley.She was sitting at the bar with that bi girl. Shit, what's her name? Oh, never mind. Maggie and Leila are sitting with her, and I watched as they knocked back shot after shot of whatever it was Carl was throwing down their throats tonight. She shook out her auburn hair and the bi one dragged her up.My eyes swept her body, and I was vaguely aware Blondie was now sitting on my lap. Two hard globes pressed against my chest, and I knew instantly she's got fake tits. They were way too good to be true.Maggie took Sandra's hand, and she smiled, almost shyly. She
SANDRAI rolled over, wincing at the light coming in through the curtains. How much did I drink last night? Too much, clearly.“Good morning, sunshine!” Kayle shouted and kicked the dorm room door shut.“Nope, not over here.” I buried back under my covers.“I have coffee and muffins!” She pulled the covers down and I groaned, opening my eyes.“Why? Why?”“Why what?”“Why do I feel like I just got run over by a herd of wildebeest?”“One, I have no idea what a wilder beast is, and two, it's called a hangover.” Kayle held out a Starbucks take-out cup and my favorite blueberry muffin.I sat up and took them from her. “Thank you. Why are you not feeling this way?”“I'm one of the lucky ones.” She snickered and chucked herself on her bed. “I don't get hangovers. You, however, do, it seems. Maggie is the same. She'd usually be in bed all day.”“Sounds good to me.” I took a sip of the coffee.“But not today,” she sang. “Today we're getting down to business.”“Down to business?”She raised her