‘See you later,’ I waved to my mother and father as I opened the front door.
‘Where are you going?’ my father demanded.
‘Shopping,’ I lied. ‘I need some new shoes after my last ones were destroyed on the full moon.’
‘Oh. Do you … erm, need money?’
That was my father’s way of showing his guilt; offering to buy me something.
‘No,’ I said. ‘I have some money.’
He ignored me and fished around in his back pocket for his wallet before handing me a crisp fifty-dollar note.
‘Dad, I don’t need-’ I began, trying to hand back the money.
‘No, it’s fine. You buy yourself some new shoes.’
I felt guilty for deceiving him, but took the money anyway. I might as well try to get a little more pity out of him while I was at it.
‘I’m, um, going shopping with a girl from school,’ I lied. ‘She asked if I could sleep over tonight-’
‘A sleep over?’ my father repeated, his eyebrows raised.
Shit
. He knew I was lying. I was never invited to sleepovers.
‘Yeah … is that okay?’
‘Yeah … sure. You won’t be drinking or anything, will you?’
‘No, of course not,’ I said quickly. I couldn’t believe my luck.
‘Oh, all right then. Have fun, dear. Keep your phone on in case we need to reach you.’
‘Right … thanks Dad,’ I said, giving him a slight wave before leaving.
Well, it seemed as though I had to go and buy some shoes today.
I waited for Mr. Stone to pick me up from the allocated location, at the prearranged time. Checking the time on my phone, I found that he was five minutes late. No big deal; he’d probably be here soon.
Ten minutes late.
Maybe he has a flat tire
.
Fifteen minutes.
Maybe his car broke down
.
Twenty.
Maybe he fell asleep. I’d better call him
.
The phone rang out and went to voicemail. I didn’t bother leaving him a message. Annoyed, I wondered what I should do.
Go shoe shopping. Obviously.
Inspired by Mr. Stone’s fashion sense, I went shoe shopping at the thrift store where I was able to buy some school shoes, worn Doc Martens, and strappy sandals, with plenty of cash to spare. I went a little crazy, also buying a skirt, and shirt. I even had five dollars change to give to my father.
Shopping took only an hour, and I hadn’t heard anything from Mr. Stone. Feeling anxious, I decided to walk to his house, hoping he’d be home.
By the time I arrived on his street, I was exhausted from carrying the shoes and clothes I’d bought. My annoyance at Mr. Stone increased when I saw that his car was parked in the driveway. Huffing, I stormed towards his front door and banged loudly on it.
I could hear shuffling and scraping inside, and the door was answered a minute later. Mr. Stone’s eye peered through a tiny gap.
‘Where were you?’ I demanded. ‘I had to walk all the way here, and it’s
freezing
outside.’
‘Shit.’ Mr. Stone opened the door completely and I gasped.
‘What happened to you?’ I asked, my mouth wide.
Mr. Stone had a large purple bruise over his left eye, and a thin horizontal cut along the bridge of his nose.
‘Rose,’ he said with a weary smile. ‘I’m glad you’re here.’
Mr. Stone stood back to allow me entrance into his home. Stepping over the threshold, I kept my eyes on him.
‘Who did this?’ I demanded, as he closed the door behind me.
‘Come into the sitting room,’ he said, placing his hand on the small of my back. I allowed myself to be steered inside, where he sat me down on the sofa. I put my bags down and watched him fuss.
‘Would you like a cup of tea?’ he asked.
‘No, I’m fine,’ I said.
‘Are you hungry? I have cookies, and-’
‘Tell me what happened to your face,’ I said. I knew he was putting it off.
Mr. Stone sighed and perched himself on the edge of the sofa.
‘It’s nothing. It’s not important.’
‘I tried calling you,’ I said. ‘Why didn’t you answer?’
Mr. Stone pointed to the coffee table, where his cell phone sat. I could see instantly why he hadn’t answered; the phone was smashed to pieces.
‘Who did this?’ I demanded again.
Mr. Stone smiled warmly. ‘Just some kids.’
‘Kids? Like kids at school?’
‘No. Like that long haired guy called Spider.’
‘
What
?’ I was outraged. ‘When?’
‘Last night,’ he said. ‘They jumped me as I got out of my car.’
‘I don’t believe it,’ I said, jumping to my feet, rage coursing through my veins. ‘I’ll kill him!’
Mr. Stone laughed, and sat me back down on the sofa. ‘It’s all right, really. I probably deserved it. I did punch him first.’
‘Yeah, but … he deserved it!’
Chuckling, Mr. Stone slid into the space next to me and wrapped an arm around my shoulders. I felt myself instantly calmed.
‘You worry too much,’ he said, pressing his lips to my forehead. I looked up at the big purple bruise.
‘It looks painful,’ I said. ‘Have you put ice on it?’
‘No,’ he waved a hand. ‘It’ll be fine.’
I jumped up from the sofa. ‘Stay there,’ I ordered him.
I hurried into the kitchen where I rummaged through his freezer. He didn’t have any ice cubes already frozen, so I grabbed a bag of frozen corn and wrapped it in a tea towel.
Walking back into the sitting room, I sat on the opposite end of the sofa. ‘Here,’ I said. ‘Lay your head in my lap.’
Mr. Stone did as I told him and rested against my thigh. Once he was comfortable I gently placed the bag of frozen corn over his eyes. He hissed in pain.
‘Sorry,’ I muttered, stroking his hair.
He smiled, watching me with his good eye. ‘It’s nice,’ he said. ‘Sorry I didn’t pick you up.’
I felt guilty for my assumption that Mr. Stone had forgotten me. He was in no state to drive with his swollen eye.
‘It’s fine,’ I said. ‘I can’t believe he did that to you. Did you fight back?’
‘No.’
‘Why not? You had no problem punching him the other week.’
Mr. Stone gave a slight shrug. ‘Only because he was coming onto you.’
I chuckled. ‘How very gallant of you. I bet you could have beaten him in a fight, though.’
‘I’m not a violent person, Rose,’ he said. ‘I suppose I deserved it,’ he sighed.
‘You did not,’ I scolded him. ‘You’re a hundred times better than Spider. Ugh. Did I mention that Sadie and Maria think I’m dating him?’
Mr. Stone frowned. ‘Why do they think that?’
‘Because of that text you sent me yesterday.’
Mr. Stone’s eyes widened as if he had just witnessed something terrifying. He sat up, the frozen food falling from his face. ‘They saw the text?’
‘Yeah, but don’t worry. I’ve got your number listed as ‘S’. So they didn’t know who it was. I told them it was Spider.’
Relaxing, Mr. Stone laid back down on my lap where I resumed stroking his hair. He pressed the frozen corn on his face and closed both eyes.
‘I’m glad you’re here,’ he smiled. I could see his eyes darting behind his eyelids.
‘I’m glad you invited me over,’ I replied, running my fingers down the side of his unshaven face. His cheek was extremely prickly.
‘I couldn’t bear it,’ he opened his good eye and found mine, ‘seeing you at school, but not being able to … well, you’re here now. That’s all that matters.’
‘You missed me?’ I asked teasingly.
Mr. Stone smirked but did not answer. Instead, he pulled the frozen corn from his face and sat up, turning to me.
He leaned in and kissed me tenderly, cupping my face in his hand. I was taken aback by his sudden display of affection, but I didn’t mind.
I kissed him back, wrapping my arms around his neck and exhaling through my nose. He pressed his mouth firmly against mine, as if trying to express all the feelings he couldn’t, or didn’t want to say. I felt his affection in the way his lips lingered on mine.
When he pulled away, we were both grinning. Even with the black eye he was still handsome.
‘I can’t believe you’re here,’ he said, running his fingertips along my cheek, studying the curves of my face.
I couldn’t breathe; I was far too overwhelmed with happiness.
‘I love you,’ I blurted.
Mr. Stone stared at me; even his bruised eye widened.
In an attempt to distract him from what I’d said, I kissed him with renewed ferocity.
Mr. Stone allowed it; perhaps he too wanted a distraction.
I couldn’t deny the feelings any longer. They’d built up inside me until they reached bursting point, and in that single moment of overwhelming emotion, I’d accidentally blurted it out.
But all was forgiven as we kissed with a new kind of passion,
as if the admittance had forced our relationship to the next level. It might have scared the hell out of him; but Mr. Stone kissed me more passionately than he’d ever done.
Mr. Stone laid me upon the sofa, covering my body with his. He slipped one hand beneath my head, lacing his fingers through my hair, placing his free hand on my stomach.
We were frantic; Mr. Stone pushed up my shirt to reveal my bra, while my fingers dug into his back.
I quickly pulled my shirt over my head and threw it across the room so I was wearing only my bra and jeans. Mr. Stone looked upon my body approvingly, before lowering his mouth to my breast and kissing the top of it.
He was driving me mad.
Next he kissed my neck, dragging his fingers along my bare arms until he met the waistband of my jeans. I helped him, fumbling with the button on my jeans, letting him drag them away from my body. Soon, I was wearing nothing but my bra and panties.
Mr. Stone’s hands caressed the soft skin of my stomach, before reaching around my body and unclasping my bra with ease. I pulled it away and threw it to the floor too.
He marveled at my breasts for a moment before laying me back down upon the sofa. I took deep breaths as he whispered sweet nothings into my ear and trembled with excitement as his fingertips moved lower, tracing my inner thigh, and then moving to graze the waiting warmth between them. He traced along the fabric of my underwear, before moving down the inside of my other thigh.
My body tensed with anticipation, my nails pressing into his arm as his hand slipped inside my panties.
His teeth grazed my neck and earlobe, making me shudder. Gently, he pressed two fingers inside me, kissing my neck at the same time. I cried out and gripped Mr. Stone’s shoulders.
‘Christ, Rose. You’re so tight,’ he groaned against my neck.
He massaged his fingers in and out of my wet desire, his palm rubbing against my clit as he did so.
‘Tom.’ I breathed his name, which seemed to make him shudder with delight.
Reaching a hand between our bodies, I searched for the bulge in his pants, which I knew would be there. I wanted to touch him too.
It was huge, and pressing against his trousers as if begging for release. I rubbed my palm up and down the lump until I found his zipper. I lowered it and slipped my hand inside, feeling his boxers.
He growled in my ear and pressed his fingers deeper inside my womanhood. I gasped, enjoying the pain and pleasure of it all.
‘You make it so hard to stay rational,’ Mr. Stone breathed into my mouth as he kissed me again.
I slid my fingers beyond the waistband of his boxers, pulling Mr. Stone’s throbbing erection free from his jeans. It stood thick, and straight, like a rigid pole.
‘Oh, Rose,’ he crooned, pressing his member between my thighs so I could feel its warmth against me. ‘I want you so desperately.’
‘I’m yours,’ I told him, arching my neck. ‘You can have me.’
I could feel Mr. Stone’s manhood pressing against the cotton of my underwear, probing at my entrance.
He sighed sadly, resting his forehead to mine. ‘I can’t,’ he whispered.
I cupped his face in my hand, my eyes searching for his. ‘Why not?’ I asked.
He bit down on his bottom lip. ‘I can’t take it from you … not yet. Not so soon.’ He was talking about my virginity.
‘But I want to,’ I said encouragingly. ‘I want you to be my first.’
‘I don’t want to hurt you,’ he said.
‘It’ll be okay,’ I promised.
‘It would be so easy to take you,’ he murmured against my ear. The sound of his voice sent chills through my body. ‘All I’d have to do is push your panties to the side, and with one quick motion you’d be broken.’
My breath hitched in my chest. The way he said it was frightening, yet thrilling.
‘Not broken,’ I breathed. ‘Complete.’
A smile curved Mr. Stone’s lips, and he kissed me again.