Nobody Puts Baby in the Corner

I pulled into the college parking lot twenty minutes early, so I sat in my car, thinking. I glanced down at my wrist, which I had covered with the sleeve of my jacket. I pushed my sleeve up and studied my bruise. The black-blue imprint of Johnny’s hand was still extremely visible on my wrist. I glanced out the window and hastily pulled my sleeve back down over my wrist.

God, I hope nobody sees this.

I opened the door and climbed out of my car, stepping into a huge mud puddle. “Fuck.”, I mumbled to myself, slinging excess water off of my foot. I started towards the lecture building, still grumbling to myself.

“Hayliee!” I turned sharply at the sound of my name, finding Emmy, Callie, and a strange guy walking up to me.

Callie reached out and seized the guy’s hand as they reached me. She quivered excitedly. “This is David.”, she announced. “He’s my new boyfriend.”

“Awesome! It’s nice to meet you, David. I’m Hayliee.” I held out my hand and he shook it. Then I leaned in close to Callie’s ear. “Have you...you know?”, I asked.

She stared at me disdainfully. “Not all of us are sluts like you, Hayliee.” I let my mouth fall open and she continued, “I’m joking! No, actually we haven’t slept together yet. I’m trying to take it slow.”

“That’s great, Callie.”, I said. “A relationship shouldn’t be completely based on sex.”

Suddenly Callie perked up. “Hey, guess what? Emmy has-”

“Emmy has a test!”, Emmy interrupted. “A big test. That’s all I have.”

I glanced at her weirdly. “Okay...Good luck on your test, I guess. Now come on, let’s get to class.”

As we entered the lecture hall, Emmy’s phone started ringing. “Can you get that, Hayliee?”, she asked. “It’s probably a message or something from my mom and I don’t want to talk to her right now.”

I reached into her bag and pulled out her phone. The screen flashed ‘1 new message!’, so I hit ‘read’. ‘Hey Emmy. We still on 2nite?’ I glanced down at who the message from and gasped. I threw my arm out in front of Emmy to stop her, knocking the breath out of her.

“God, what the hell was that for?”, she shouted, rubbing her chest.

“Zacky?”, I questioned incredulously. “Why do you have a text message from Zacky that says ‘we still on 2nite?’.”

“Well...I’m seeing Zacky now.”, she said meekly. “He’s kind of my boyfriend.”

“Oh my God!”, I gasped. “Is that what Callie was trying to say earlier? ‘Emmy has a boyfriend?’ And it’s Zacky? Oh my God.” I placed my hand over my mouth.

“Shut up.”, Emmy mumbled, her face turning a hundred shades of red. “He’s sweet, and he asked me out.”

“I’m not trying to discourage you.”, I assured. “Zacky’s a great guy.”

“Thanks. Now can I have my phone back?”, she asked, holding out her hand.

“Here.” I slapped the phone into her open palm, and as I did, my sleeve slid slightly down my wrist.

Emmy seized my arm and shoved my sleeve up to my elbow. “Hayliee, what the hell happened to your wrist?”

“It’s nothing.”, I lied.

“It’s not ‘nothing’.”, she mocked. “Did Johnny do this to you?” I stayed silent. “Did he?”

I nodded my head, a stray tear falling from the corner of my eye. “Yea, he did. But it’s no big deal. We-We just got into a fight.”

“It must’ve been a pretty big fight!”, she exclaimed. “Why would you let him do this to you?”

“I didn’t ‘let’ him do anything.”, I hissed. “I-I don’t know what happened. We were arguing, and then it just got out of control. He-he said he was sorry.”

Emmy closed her eyes and breathed in deeply, signaling that I was in for a rant. “Sorry shouldn’t excuse what he did. If he’s hurting you, you should leave. After all, it’s not like you’re married or anything.”

“Actually...” I let my voice trail off and held out my left hand.

“Holy shit!”, Emmy exclaimed, grabbing hold of my hand. “Callie, get your ass over here and look at this!”

“What? What is it?” Callie hurried over, dragging David in tow.

Emmy thrust my left hand towards Callie. “Look at this rock on Hayliee’s finger!”

“Oh my God!”, Callie squealed. “Is that the ring Johnny gave you?” I nodded and Callie dropped my hand. She grabbed onto Emmy and they both started jumping and screaming.

“Guys, calm down!”, I yelled over their shouting. “It’s no big deal. I’m just getting married.”

“Exactly.”, Emmy interjected. “You’re getting married.”

I rolled my eyes. “Alright. Now come on. We’re going to be late and Professor Lampley will chew our asses out.”

“Yea. Hayliee’s right.”, Callie quipped. “We can drill her for details later.”

I smiled and we linked hands, starting up the stairs to find our seats, David strolling casually behind us.

. . .

After I arrived home from the college, I was so tired I could barely hold my eyes open. I dropped my bag at the bottom of the stairs and tried half-assedly to climb them. In the bedroom, I glanced at the clock. 2:56 p.m. I slipped off my jacket and quickly changed into a pair of sleep pants. Then I climbed into bed, tucking the comforter around my chin.

Oh well. Who gives a shit if it’s only three o’clock? I’m fucking tired. I dozed off, but was soon woken up as Johnny barged into the bedroom. He glanced at me in the bed and smiled.

“Damn, Johnny.”, I muttered. “Can you please try to be quiet? I’m trying to take a nap here, dammit.”

“Really?” He smirked. “I thought you were waiting for me.”

I shot him a peculiar look as he shrugged off his jacket. He pulled back the comforter and slid into bed, looping his arm around my shoulders and dragging me close to him. I felt his lips on my collarbone, and I knew what he was trying to do. I almost shrugged him off, but thought better of it. Hell, I wanted to be with Johnny. So why stop him?

His hand slipped below the waistband of my pants and he paused.

“What are you doing?”, I groaned. “Keep going!”

“So you’re not going to stop me?”, he asked. I shook my head and he pushed his finger inside me.

I ran my hands up his shirt, trailing them slowly over his toned stomach. I carefully slipped his shirt over his head and threw it on the floor. Immediately, he removed his hand from my pants and reached under my shirt. His thumb grazed my breast and I shivered. Soon enough, Johnny and I were both naked, save our underwear. Johnny reached over and pulled open the drawer on the bedside table. He fished around for a condom, and upon finding one, ripped it open with his teeth.

He made eye contact with me and smiled. “Hayliee, I love-” A sudden knock at the door cut him off midsentence. He groaned and smiled crookedly at me.

“We can ignore that, right?”, he asked, gently stroking my cheek.

“No.” I shook my head disappointedly and nudged him off of me. He sat on the bed for a few minutes, so I nudged him again.

“Well, what are you waiting for?”, I asked. “Go answer the damn door!”

“Why?”, he whined.

“It’s your house!”

“Fine.”, he grumbled, climbing out of bed. He stopped to pull on a pair of pants before heading downstairs. I quickly slipped on my clothes and hurried after Johnny. By the time I reached the landing, he had already thrown open the door.

I squealed when I realized who it was. “Derek!” I practically catapulted down the stairs, shoving past Johnny to hug my brother. “Oh my God! What are you doing here?” I looked behind him, where two other people stood. “With Tyson and Josh...?”

Derek pulled away from the hug. “I just thought I’d come and congratulate my baby sister on her big news.”

Suddenly, I noticed that Johnny had no shirt on. I nudged him in the rib. “Go put on a shirt.”, I whispered just to him. Then I turned back to my brother and his friends. “Come in and sit down!”

Once they’d made themselves comfortable, I sat down on the loveseat. “So, how did you find out I was getting married? I haven’t told anyone except Ada, Callie, and Emmy.”

Derek and I looked at each other and smiled. “Ada.”, we said in unison, nodding our heads.

“Speaking of getting married...” Derek leaned close to me. “Why didn’t that guy have a shirt on?” He stared at me knowingly and I blushed.

“Uh, Derek.” Tyson leaned forward and smacked Derek on the shoulder. “I don’t think your baby sister is a baby anymore.”

“Yea.”, Josh laughed. “She’s making babies now.” Derek and I both leaned forward and slapped Josh on the back of the head. “Ow!’, he exclaimed. “Why does everyone hit Josh?”

“Because you’re an idiot.”, Derek replied flatly. “Back to our discussion. Why didn’t he-”

“Johnny.”, I interjected.

“Okay.”, Derek continued. “Why didn’t Johnny have a shirt on when he came down to answer the door?”

I dipped my head, letting my hair fall in front of my face. “Um, I’d rather not answer that.”

“Ooh!” Josh and Tyson high-fived. “Derek, your sister’s got game!”

“Shut up.”, Derek and I grumbled at the same time.

“Hey, Hayliee.”, Josh started. “Speaking of baby-making, what’s taking your baby daddy so long upstairs?”

“I don’t know. I’ll go get him.”, I said quickly, eager for an excuse to leave the room. I raced upstairs, slowing as I reached the bedroom, and pushed open the door. Inside I found Johnny, fully dressed, sitting on the bed. I walked over and sat next to him. I reached up and rubbed his back. “Johnny, why don’t you come downstairs? My brother really wants to meet you.”

Johnny sighed heavily. “Are you sure? I feel like I made a bad first impression on him.”

“Are you nervous?”, I asked incredulously. He nodded and I kissed him on the cheek. “Don’t be. My brother will love you. And if he doesn’t, that doesn’t matter, because I do.”

Johnny glanced over at me and smiled. “I love you, too, baby.”, he whispered, and then his lips were on mine. He leaned me back on the bed, never breaking the kiss. Suddenly he pulled away and I felt his lips trailing down my neck. I closed my eyes and moaned softly, surrendering myself to Johnny.

“Hayliee?”, Derek called. “You guys okay up there?”

“Oh shit.”, I mumbled. I shoved Johnny away. “Get off me.”

“Hayliee?”, Derek repeated.

“We’re coming!”, I shouted back. I tugged on Johnny’s hand. “Come on, baby. Don’t be nervous.”

“Alright.”, Johnny sighed, getting up off the bed. I gently led him downstairs, and I noticed his hand gradually get sweatier.

I rubbed the back of his hand with my thumb. “Don’t be nervous.”, I said to him for what felt like the thousandth time.

Downstairs, Derek, Tyson, and Josh were too preoccupied to notice our appearance. I cleared my throat loudly, and they whipped around to look at us. “Derek, this is my fiancee, Johnny.”, I said, ushering him forward. I noticed Johnny’s eyes flicker towards the army lapels pinned to my brother’s uniform.

Derek held out his hand to Johnny, who reluctantly shook it. “Sergeant Derek Johnson.”, he said.

I raced up to Derek. “Are you trying to scare the shit out of Johnny?”

“Yes, I am trying to partially scare the shit out of ‘Johnny’.”, Derek replied mockingly.

I dragged him to the side. “What is your problem, Derek? I just spent the last five minutes convincing him to come downstairs and meet you, to not be nervous. Do not ruin this.”

“I’m sorry, Hayliee.”, Derek mumbled, shaking his head. “I just want him to know...if he fucks with you, he’s going to have me to answer to.”

I smiled at him. I appreciate that, Derek. But I love Johnny. And he would never, ever, do anything to hurt me.” As I said that, I thought about the bruise Johnny had left on my wrist, but pushed the thought aside. “Now, go and meet Johnny. And be nice. If he leaves me because you scare him off, you’d better sleep with one eye open for the rest of your life.”

“Alright.”, Derek laughed. “I’ll be nice to your fiancee.”

“Good.”, I said smugly. “That’s all I want.”

Walking back into the living room, I noticed Johnny standing in the exact place he was in when I left. I strolled up to him and laced my fingers through his. “You didn’t tell me your brother was in the army.”, Johnny hissed in my ear.

“You didn’t ask.”, I replied, leading him over to the couch. We sat down and I cuddled up next to him.

“A little warning would’ve been nice.”, Johnny said grudgingly.

I moved closer to him and carefully traced the curve of his neck. “Hey, if you act nice, I might reward you later.”

Johnny instantly perked up. “See.”, he whispered. “All I needed was a little incentive.”

I shook my head, rolling my eyes, and kissed him softly on the lips. We broke apart and I gazed at him adoringly. “I love you, Johnny.”, I whispered.

“I love you, too, Hayliee.”, Johnny replied.

A sudden cough caused us both to jump. “Hey, lovebirds.”, Josh said. “You might want to ixnay your little ‘canoodling’ session before your brother gets back.”

I blushed a deep shade of red and buried my face in Johnny’s shoulder. “You get embarrassed too easily.”, Johnny whispered.

“When it comes to PDA, yes I do.”, I retorted, my voice muffled by the fabric of Johnny’s shirt. “I don’t like stuff like that about myself to be talked about.”

“Then why do you keep kissing me in public?” I could tell by the tone of his voice that he was grinning.

I looked up at his face. “Well, sometimes I just can’t resist you.”

Josh coughed again, signaling that Derek was back. He sat down across from Johnny and I, eyeing us warily.

“Dude, what took you so long?”, Tyson asked.

Derek ignored him, moving forward in his seat. “So, Johnny, what do you do for a living?”

Johnny shifted uncomfortably beside me. “Um, I’m a musician.”

“Really?”, Derek questioned. “What kind of musician?”

“I’m a bass player.”, Johnny replied, sitting up a little straighter. “In a band called Avenged Sevenfold.”

“A metal band, huh?”, Derek asked, a hint of sarcasm present in his voice. I sat up a bit. I almost knew where this conversation was headed. “So, you’ll be leaving my sister along for months to go on tour, where you’ll get drunk and fuck other women?”

“Derek!”, I exclaimed, shooting up out of my seat. I snatched Derek from his seat on the couch and dragged him into the kitchen.

“Derek, what the fuck?”, I whisper-screamed. “What the fuck?”

“Hayliee, I don’t think you should be marrying a guy like that.”, Derek said. “A rockstar? Hayliee, he’s practically guaranteed to cheat on you.”

“You want to know something, Derek?”, I asked. “I cheated on Johnny.”

“What?”, Derek asked.

“I cheated on Johnny.”, I repeated.

“What...when?”

“The night he proposed to me.”, I whispered, wringing my hands together. “I went out with Ada and Kyra, and I got drunk. This guy took me home and...we slept together. In our bed, Derek. God, I’m such a fucking idiot!” I wiped tears from my eyes. “Johnny caught us, and...God, I couldn’t stand the thought of losing him! So, I was going to jump off the top of a building.” I paused. By now I was visibly shaking. “Johnny came and saved me, and...and then he proposed to me. And then he took me home, and we...never mind.”

“You slept together?”, Derek supplied. “God, why can’t you just say it?”

“Well...”, I started. “First of all, I don’t like to talk publicly about...private matters. And second, I definitely don’t want to talk about it with my big brother.”

“And I’m definitely not comfortable hearing about my baby sister’s, uh...‘bedtime activities’.” We both laughed awkwardly. Then Derek yawned. “Well, I’m exhausted.”

“Yea, you guys should hit the road if you want to get a hotel room.”, I said.

“Actually...” Derek rubbed the back of his neck. “We were hoping we could stay here.”

I rolled my eyes. “Fine. You can stay in the downstairs guestroom, and Josh and Tyson can sleep on the couch.”

While the guys were getting settled, Johnny and I snuck upstairs before they could stop us. Inside the bedroom door, Johnny slinked his arms around my waist and dragged me close to him.

“Where’s my reward?”, Johnny whimpered.

“What do you mean?”, I said, smiling at him wickedly.

“I was nice.”, he pouted.

“Yes, you were.”, I sighed. “So, I guess I should reward you.”

I leaned closer to Johnny and pressed my lips firmly against his. I slowly ran my hands through his short hair as he carefully carried me to the bed. He laid me down gently and climbed on top of me. He removed my clothes slowly, running his hands along my curves. I shivered, feeling myself let go.

Johnny gently pressed his lips against my collarbone, trailing up to my ear. “Do I win?”, he whispered.

I smiled. “Yes.”

“Where’s my prize?”, Johnny asked.

“Right here.”, I replied seductively, lacing my arms around his neck and pulling him down on top of me.