Insurmountable Read online

  Gavin held up one finger. “You guys stay here. I have to do something really quick.”

  On a hunch, I said, “Gavin wait up.” I walked the few steps to where he stood and pulled some cash out of my pocket. I handed it to him.

  “Who are you betting on?” His grin was almost a bit too cheerful.

  “Whoever you’re not.”

  “Are you sure about that? I’m betting on the winner.”

  And there it was. Did Gavin come here and gamble often? And what was the comment about his father about? I kept the questions to myself, but I had my theories.

  “Wouldn’t be fun otherwise,” I remarked.

  He headed off and when I turned, the girls had plastic cups in their hands. Not the red or blue variety. These were opaque with burnt colored liquid filled inside. Before I could stop them, they drank it down like shots. The guy that handed them the drinks winked at me before striding off. Fuck. I had a bad feeling.

  “What was that?” I asked the blonde because Red seemed to fight me at every turn.

  She giggled. “He offered us drinks. Wasn’t that nice of him?”

  My patience thinned but I said nothing more, not wanting to berate her for being stupid. I glanced up in time to see a guy talking to Red. Hurriedly, I snagged her around the waist and pulled her to my chest. “Sorry man, mine.”

  The guy eyed me suspiciously. With two girls slung under my arms like trophies, I must have looked like a true baller. It didn’t matter. I wouldn’t have left my sister with him that was if I had one. His eyes were hard, and his predatory glance made me wary. I didn’t know much about these girls but we’d brought them here. Thus, we had to protect them from their drunken selves.

  Gavin strolled up and knocked fists with the guy, and took the blonde from me. The guy gave us another curious glance then nodded to Gavin before melding into the crowd.

  I leaned over and whispered to my best friend. “They drank something some squirrely guy gave them.”

  His eyes narrowed. “What did he look like?”

  I didn’t spend my time committing to memory guys I saw. But his wink had thrown me. “Skinny, glasses, dark hair and a goofy expression.”

  My best friend raised his hand and snapped his fingers, which couldn’t possibly be heard over the noise. But out of my peripheral vision, I saw another guy who stood on a raised platform wearing dark shades, snap and point to someone else. It wasn’t long before the squirrel showed up, dark mop of hair and all.

  Gavin got in his face and said something under his breath. If I wasn’t mistaken, it sounded as though he’d spoken in a foreign language. Then, dropping the blonde’s hand, he placed his hands on either of the squirrel’s cheeks and slapped him a couple of times.

  “Sorry Gav, sorry ladies.” The squirrel said to us before backing off with an expression of someone properly chastised. I felt like I’d stepped into a mobster movie.

  What the fuck was my best friend involved in, and how didn’t I know? Then again, I’d played my family hand close to the chest. It was obvious that we both had secrets.

  “When the match is over, we’re going to have to call it a night,” he said, stepping up next to me with the blonde on his other side. I too held onto Red. She wasn’t balking at my possessive touch but she was lingering closer and closer to the ring, only held back by my hold on her.

  “What’s going on?”

  “He,” Gavin gestured in the direction the squirrel had gone, “assumed they were marks and gave them a little something extra in their drinks.”

  “Fuck man,” I said, not caring he hadn’t given the guy a name. “What kind of place is this?” Although I’d already assumed it was some underground fighting ring where heavy bets were placed on bouts that didn’t show up on cable.

  There was a thunderous roar and our attention was diverted to the center ring. One guy stood with his hands above his head. Clearly, he was the victor. Not seeing the other guy due to the heads in the way, I assumed the other contender was knocked out, or down for the count.

  Gavin loped off to gather the winnings, while I hung onto the two girls, who began to move. They writhed their bodies in some kind of mystical dance, inviting beguiled stares including my own. When Gavin showed up, it couldn’t have been sooner. I feared they might start a strip tease and a riot. I didn’t ask if I’d won or he did. It didn’t much matter. We had to get them out of there. I was secure in my fighting skills, but outnumbered as we were, no one could win against those odds. And the girls had indeed brought attention to themselves. With the fight over, guys had begun to look with hungry stares as the girls continued to move to unheard music.

  The blast of cool air didn’t help clear their heads. Outside, both had grabby hands. In most situations it might not have been a problem.

  “You know how sexy you are?” Red crooned with her hands on my chest staring in my eyes. “If you didn’t know it, I would be so all over you.”

  Did she not realize she was already on me? She could barely walk for trying to climb my leg. I had to lift her up so we wouldn’t trip. Too bad I wasn’t a shit so I couldn’t just take advantage. At least on Red’s part, it felt very out of character, despite how little I knew about her.

  “Biscuit.” I stilled her hand from heading south. “Let’s get you home, yeah?”

  After coaxing them into the car, Gavin got us underway, with Red squirming in my lap. A few more rubs and I would embarrass myself.

  “Cops,” Gavin muttered, pulling the blonde’s head into his lap. Too many heads in a car may give them cause to pull us over.

  I quickly positioned Red on the floor and her innocent eyes stopped my heart. From a kneeling position on the floorboard, I could imagine her ruby lips wrapped around my dick. And damn if she didn’t started poking it with her finger. “You seem to have a hard thing going.”

  Flashing lights did nothing to stop the throbbing in my pants, with Red’s finger continuing to probe. I took her wrist to stop her just as her eyes started to lose focus. She placed her head in my lap, which tripled the twitching my dick was doing.

  Gavin and I were sunk in more than one way. The pressing issue was that if the girls continued to behave as they were, the cops might suspect they were more than drunk. If they’d been roofied like I suspected, Gavin and I could be headed to jail. It wouldn’t matter we hadn’t done it. The girls were too far gone to explain. And all my careful plans would go up in smoke. Worse yet, my father would be furious that I’d stained the family name. I tried to remain cool as Gavin slowed and pulled over onto the shoulder. He had his hand in the blonde’s hair. I turned away, not sure what was going on there.

  Several heartbeats later, the cops zoomed passed with another destination in mind. I blew out a breath and looked down to find Red passed out in my lap.

  5

  The night only got worse. We didn’t know what room was theirs. With no other option, we brought them into our place. Inside, Gavin and I traded glances at the living room but opted not to leave them there. We had two other roommates and didn’t know who they might bring home. We headed upstairs to our individual rooms. I already knew Red was going to kick my ass in the morning. But what choice did I have? Gavin and I weren’t going to share a small bed together.

  I followed Gavin up with the blonde, passed out, slung over his shoulder. I mirrored the move and fireman-carried Red up. At the top of the stairs, Gavin headed inside his room and I set Red down to unlock my door. She roused slightly and began to gag. I moved quickly and got her in the bathroom in time for her to hurl in the sink. I held her up with one hand and pushed her hair out of the line of fire with the other.

  When she was done I propped her against the wall behind me and turned on the faucet to clean the worst of it down the drain. She gagged again, but I was too late. I turned in time for her to spew all over her dress and my arms. The force of the puke leaving her body reminded me of the scene from The Exorcist. I stood there for a second with my arms extended, looking at the m
ess I would have to clean up.

  She muttered, “I’m sorry,” before gagging again. She was barely conscious, swaying on her feet.

  “You need to get out of the dress,” I urged.

  Her eyes fluttered open for a second only to close again. I had no choice but undress her. With her covered in spew, I turned on the shower and dumped her in, clothes and all. Even though the water was warm, it made her feisty. She slapped at the water as if it were an irritating bug. Somehow, I managed to hose her down. When she and I were vomit free, I helped her floppy arms through the armholes of her dress.

  “I’m wet,” she complained. As if she’d finally given up, she swayed in the warm spray like she was about to pass out. When I turned off the water, I glanced around only to realize no spare towel had been left in there. I peeled off my shirt and fit it over her head. She couldn’t very well walk out of there dressed in made-see-through-when-wet bra and panties the color of her eyes. I had gotten an eyeful already. Her nipples were pinpricks and her soaking panties revealed that she was bare down below. My cock was granite, and it was going to be a hell of a long night.

  I carried her to my room and barely dried her off before she was passed out again. I laid her on my bed, propping her on her side, and headed back in the bathroom for cleanup. Dorm life had taught me survival skills like how to hand-wash clothes and clean up after myself when there was no staff to do so. I washed out Red’s dress, freeing it from most of the stains. I cleaned the floor with Lysol, along with the sink. Tired, I took Red’s dress and hung it on the corner of my chest of drawers by the slim straps using an old rowing trophy, to keep it from falling to the floor.

  After I dried her hair, I had no choice but to curl myself around her so that we both fit on the twin bed. I closed my eyes thinking I wouldn’t fall asleep, until I woke later by a sharp crack across my cheek. I sputtered to consciousness in time to stop another blow from making contact by snagging my assailant’s hands.

  “What the hell?” I spouted.

  Red jerked her hands from mine and back up stumbling to her feet. “What the hell?” She pointed towards her chest. “Why am I wearing your shirt?”

  The black Lacoste Henley did look good on her. I opened my mouth to speak but she wasn’t done with her rant. “You got me drunk, took advantage, undressed me and had me pressed against that.”

  She pointed at my dick. I arched a brow and said, “You can’t blame me for that. I don’t have control of it. It’s anatomy.”

  “Well keep your anatomy to yourself, asshole.” She snagged her dress, sending my trophy clattering to the ground. She pulled the dress over her head, leaving my shirt on underneath. She stormed out of the room and I stumbled to my feet in the jeans I’d left on.

  She was out the door, giving it a house-rattling slam before I could catch up to her. Gavin and the blonde were standing in the hallway with baffled glances when I turned from the door. “What was that?” the blonde asked.

  “That was your friend Hurricane Ungrateful. Tell her I said she was welcome for throwing up on me and making me clean up after her. And tell her she can keep the shirt. It can be replaced.”

  I didn’t bother mentioning she could easily be replaced too. I was about to head into my room when the front door opened. Red hadn’t locked it on her way out.

  “Bonjour.” Camille glanced up at us at the top of the landing. “Sorry, I knocked, but I heard yelling.”

  I pointed at the room to the right. “Give me a minute, yeah?”

  She nodded and headed in there. I didn’t have girls in my room for obvious reasons. Bad messages. The one and only girl who’d ever slept there was ungracious… and I was so fucking done with her.

  Out of sorts, I didn’t think why Camille just showed up that day. Instead, I found myself becoming overly friendly with her. It was a shit thing to do but it was a knee jerk reaction to Red. I had to exorcise Red from my head. To do that, I needed another target to focus on. Camille continued to be a willing participant and never took anything I did to mean more.

  Saturday night, Gavin got invited to some group’s poker night. In the basement of one of the co-ed dorms, several tables had been set up with theatrical props all around to give it a Vegas feel. I invited Camille to join me. She only had a week left and I actually enjoyed her company.

  With my knees bent as I leaned against a wall, I talked to Gavin, watching Camille make the rounds, talking to everyone. She was personable and everyone seemed to like her. In one week, she had made many friends.

  “You like her, don’t you?” Gavin asked.

  “Who? Camille?”

  Gavin’s brow arched and his lips pursed. “Don’t fuck with me.”

  “Yeah, she’s cool.”

  “What about her?” His chin raised towards the entrance to the room. I gazed up in time to see Red coming in with the blonde at her heels.

  “Not interested.”

  He laughed. “And I believe that.” He moved in their direction, leaving me to pretend I wasn’t affected by Red at all. I pushed off the wall and snagged Camille. She giggled and I found a free chair at a table and sat with her on my lap.

  “Baise-moi… fuck me,” she whispered before kissing me. When we came up for air, the dealer had already placed cards in front of us. Red, the blonde, and Gavin stood at our table. All the seats were taken. I moved Camille to stand before I stood next to her.

  “Gav, you can have my seat. We’re going to head out.”

  I filled my words with innuendos from my eyes and smirk. I didn’t look at Red at all which was a feat because the view of her coming in the door made me groan in defeat. I had to leave before she could bewitch me further.

  Camille, on the other hand, made a lovely diversion. She was quite agile and taught me all kinds of French words when she spoke around my dick. I taught her just how loud she could scream so it was a win-win for both of us. I started to believe I might just miss her when she left next week. I would have to send Mom flowers. For once, her interference had paid off in spades, or should I say, a straight flush.

  6

  Camille breezed out of my life exactly how she breezed in. There weren’t any promises of keeping in touch, nor was there a lingering goodbye. Friday came and she was gone. Without her taking up some of my time, I noticed the change in Gavin. He was acting strange and aloof. The only thing I could get out of him was that he and the blonde were over.

  Gavin and I stood near the bonfire that raged in the center of the empty field. “What happened, hey?” I asked point blank. Camille’s straightforwardness had rubbed off on me.

  “She’s not for me.” His gazed was fixed and I knew the target well.

  “Then why are you staring at her?”

  The plastic cup crushed in his hand and he tossed it dead center into the bin that was nearby. “When you admit you’ve got it bad for her friend, we can have sharing time.” He paused for a second before he added, “This party blows.”

  He walked off and I let him be with his sour mood. I watched as he grinned at a girl who stopped him. He may have fooled her, but his eyes kept darting to the blonde and the guy she was talking to animatedly.

  I’d only come because he asked me to. I didn’t need a hookup. Practice would be in full swing soon. And I planned an early start of my own workout in the morning. So I turned to walk away when someone stopped me.

  “Tade.”

  I took in Red. Every time I saw her, she stole my breath. She may not have been model beautiful like Camille, but I still found her more attractive. And because of that, I should run. She had some power over me and my body hardened with need.

  “Biscuit.” I feigned indifference but I was anything but.

  Her blue eyes turned to gold in the flaming light. “Why do you insist on calling me that?”

  “Because you refuse to tell me your name.” My tone was flat, bored-like.

  She turned away, leaving me cold from the lack of heat her stare created. When she faced me again, her ru
by lower lip was caught between her teeth. I’d just about given up on whatever she wanted when she said, “I should apologize for the other night.”

  I quirked a brow, pressing her to go on.

  “I judged you unfairly.” She studied her feet and mumbled to the ground. “Penelope told me some of it and I remember some of it on my own.”

  I let her fidget and continued to say nothing.

  “I was wrong about accusing you. I remember how you took care of me and never once tried anything inappropriate.”

  She had the power to slay me and I couldn’t allow it. Better to end this conversation and move on. My head was on straight. The last thing I needed was to get involved with anyone. Camille reminded me that causal was good, or could be with the right person.

  “Is that all?”

  She seemed taken aback by my response. “No.” She paused, considering her words but only said, “I’m sorry.”

  “Yeah, okay.” I began to walk away.

  “And that’s it?” she called after me.

  I knew I should keep moving but I turned anyway. “Isn’t that what you wanted? Aren’t I fulfilling your expectations of me?”

  She fired back, “It was wrong of me to judge you without even knowing you. And I think you’re a decent guy.”

  I bit my jaw and moved forward. I leaned down so she wouldn’t miss a word I was about to say. “You had me pegged correctly all along. Right now, all I can think about is the color of your underwear and how long it will take to get it off you. I want to fuck you in the worst way and only once. Because after I do, the fantasy of you being beneath me will disappear and I’ll move on.”

  She jerked back as if I’d slapped her. Good, maybe she’ll leave well enough alone.