Bad Boys & True Love

There’s one thing that I’ll never get over, no matter how many times I’m faced with it—and that’s the fact that beer tastes horrible. I get that some people like it, and it’s an acquired taste or whatever, but it’s just nasty.

All that being said, I was finishing up my third cup. When the last of it trickled down my throat and tingled on my tongue, I held it above my head to let the last few drops land on my tongue, giggling.

“Thirsty?” Drew mumbled from my side, smirking at me.

“Mmm,” I replied, turning to face him. I grabbed his biceps, squeezing them and feeling the muscle underneath his leather jacket. “I want to do something.”

He licked his lips, focusing my attention there. He flashed his teeth and I smiled back, looking up into his dark chocolate-colored eyes. “Like what?”

I sighed long and slow, working my way onto his lap. It was comfy and inviting and he didn’t seem to mind. My fingernail traced his jaw line. “I don’t know, anything.”

His hands landed on my thighs, nearing my butt. I giggled. Drew leaned in, his light stubble brushing against my soft skin and tickling me. “How about you show me one of your sexy dances…?”

I closed my eyes and shook my head. No no no no no, not fun enough! I wanted to do something crazy and I would remember forever and ever.

“Use protection,” one dude walked by said loudly. Drew laughed in response, tightening his grip on me.

“Let’s do something fun,” I purred seductively.

He quirked an eyebrow like he was daring me. “Let’s go swim in the creek.”

My eyes widened excitedly. This was perfect! I’d always wanted to go swimming at nighttime. I jumped off him and grabbed his hand.

Drew led me right to the creek. It wasn’t too far from the party, but no one else was around. I watched him curiously as he took off his leather jacket, his shirt coming off next. “Strip,” he explained.

I nodded understandingly. I kicked off my heels instantly—they weren’t that comfortable anyways—but struggled with the dress. I had it over my head, but for some reason it wouldn’t go past it. I laughed, stumbling slightly.

“Problems?” I heard him say. Even if I couldn’t see him, I knew he was laughing.

“It won’t…come…off,” I said, jerking it aggressively.

Drew pushed it back down on me, grinning widely. His bright white teeth were glowing in the moonlight. “You didn’t unzip,” he murmured, spinning me around. I almost lost my balance and toppled over, but he steadied me with his hands on my waist.

I heard the quick ‘zip!’ and my dress was down by the feet a second later. I grinned up at him.

He grabbed my hand and we stood at the waters edge. “Who goes fir—”I tried to ask, but was cut off abruptly by his strong arms hurling me into the water.

My feet scraped the bottom and when I came back up, I stuck my tongue out at him. “You—asshole!”

He cracked up in laughter and jumped in after me. I squealed and stayed real still so he wouldn’t land on me. The size of the splash alone sent me back underwater. I resurfaced at the same time he did. The tips of my toes dug into the mushy clay bottom.

Drew looked at me, perfectly tall enough to be standing up with his head above water. When he came closer, it didn’t make sense not to kiss him—so I did. At first it was just a peck, but when I ended it just as quickly as I’d started it, we both stared at each other. The moon’s reflection was bright on the water, and his eyes were shining hungrily. I didn’t know who kissed who this time, but I certainly knew that it wasn’t just a peck. I wrapped my arms around his waist to keep myself from drowning, my hands tangling in his dripping wet hair, and I felt his warm hands running down my back.

“Stella?!” someone called loud and clear. Our lips pulled apart with a funny sound that made me giggle uncontrollably. “Hello—where the fuck did you go?!”

“Christina,” I sang back as loud as I could. Drew grew impatient and moved his lips down to my neck. Tingles shot up and down my spine. “YOOWHO!”

I laughed at how ticklish he was making me and saw Christina’s head pop into view. “What the fuck are you doing, you psycho!” she shrieked.

Drew stopped kissing me and twisted his head around. Christina gasped loudly. “What the fuck?!”

“COME ON IN!” I yelled back.

She glowered at me. “Get your ass out, it’s nearly midnight and my mom’ll kill me if I break curfew again, Stell!”

“Come and get me,” I said. Drew laughed with me.

I was done with this conversation, so I detached myself from Drew and ducked under water to see how long I could hold my breath. When I came back up, gasping for air, Christina was still there, her arms crossed over her chest. I giggled when I saw how pissed she was.

“Aw, c’mon,” Drew complained, “don’t go pooping on our party!” I cracked up laughing. “Join us or leave us alone!”

Christina gave me a level glare and I found it very hard to remain serious. I hid behind Drew, running my hands down his side and searching for his tickle spot. When he squirmed suddenly, I grinned.

“STELLA!”

I looked around him. Why was she still here? “Just tell my mom I spent the night with you,” I told her. Drew nodded in agreement. “C’mon, Chrissy!”

She shook her head. “And how will you be getting home?”

Drew scoffed. “Me, you stupid bitch.”

I dug my fingernails into his sides and he flinched. When I looked up to apologize for him, she was gone. I sighed and sunk under water again. He pulled me up. I moved up to kiss him, but he gave a quick shake of his head. I whined wordlessly in response. “I’m tired,” he said simply, “we can go up to my house.”

I sighed, annoyed that and the kissing and the fun had to end, but nodded. He helped me get out of the creek and pulled on his jeans, instructing me to put on my dress. I did and grabbed my shoes.

“How’re we getting there?” I asked, careful where I stepped my feet.

“I brought my dad’s Mule down here, duh,” he said. He rolled his eyes.

I felt slow and confused. A Mule? Like, half-horse, half-donkey? What the fuck? “Uh…” And then I saw it. It looked more like an extreme golf-cart with big, menacing tires. I slid in and he started the engine. The fire was dimming and only a few people were left.

“Hey, where’s Mike’s truck?” I heard myself asking. It wasn’t where he left it. I shrugged it away; Christina wouldn’t leave me.

When we got back into the house where it was safe and a little chilly, Drew let our kissing resume. Only now we weren’t hindered by water, so there was nothing stopping us. He backed me into a wall, his strong arms on either side of me, his tongue exploring my mouth.

“Bedroom,” he grunted.

“Hmm?” I asked. All the sudden I was tired and things just weren’t registering as quickly. I struggled to open my eyes. “I’m sleepy, I wanna go home.”

He groaned loudly. “Fuck.”

“What?” I inquired, my breathing settling down now. “What’s wrong?”

“Your friends fucking left you, that’s what’s wrong,” he replied bitterly. He groaned again. “Let’s go, you can…you can call your mom or something.”

Alarm bells immediately went off in my head. I had a feeling that calling my mom was totally out of the question. I shook my head in protest, but his sharp eyes left little room for protest. Drew walked me to the kitchen and handed me the phone. “Call her,” he instructed gravely.

“Okay, okay,” I mumbled. I stared at the buttons and then up at him expectantly.

He eyes blazed with impatience. “Well?”

“What’s the number?” I asked in my best ‘duh’ voice. His eyes widened slightly. “I don’t know it!”

“Fuck!” He cursed loudly. “Fucking fuck!” He glared at me and I shrunk back. “Well, you’re sure as hell not spending the night and I’m sure as fuck not driving you.”

“What am I gonna do?” I whined.

Drew stared at me, his brown eyes hard and cold. He stared at me a whole century before his gaze softened. I felt myself trembling like a Chihuahua. Drew ran a hand through his dark hair. I was hesitant to touch him and offer him comfort.

“Come on,” he mumbled softly. I nodded, hot on his heels as he led me through his house. “You can—just sleep on my bed. Fuck…”

“Okay,” I replied meekly. My eyelids felt heavy. I didn’t take time to look around his room and just crashed straight into his soft mattress.