With an angry huff, I released his arm and pushed away from him. Mr. Pain-In-My-Ass looked down at the bite mark and then grinned a slow, lazy grin. "I always knew you liked it rough... but I would have never guessed you were into biting."
Holding back a frustrated growl, I pushed him hard enough to have him stumble back a step. I shoved my middle finger into his stupid, smirking face before stomping away.
His amused chuckles followed me, even as I left him behind in the storage room.
Don’t kill him. That’s murder. Do. Not. Kill. Him.
11
Lila
Later that day, Riley and I were lying in my bed, going through her Advanced Calculus homework. Riley had planned to major in business and after go to law school, that was her parents’ expectations, which wouldn’t be difficult for her since she loved Law and Politics.
Her weakness, though, was math. Absolutely everything that had to do with math. It was sucky for her since if she had to major in business, she had to pass her calculus courses with flying colors.
Enter me: Her best friend, her tutor and a genius in math. Lucky her.
“I don’t understand shit,” she whined, flopping on her back. Riley closed her eyes and threw an arm over her face, hiding from me.
I gave her a gentle nudge with my toes. “Let’s try the question one more time.”
“That’s the third time. I’m a hopeless case. There’s no way I’m getting into Harvard if I flunk Calculus.”
She was exaggerating. Riley was in no way flunking Calculus. She was currently in the mid-eighties, since she had been busting her ass night and day to practice all her equations and solving extra math problems. Riley Jenson was dedicated to a fault.
“Practice makes perfect, right?” I cajoled, gently. “One more time, babe.”
She lowered her arm a bit and peeked at me. “Then we can watch Riverdale?”
“One episode,” I reluctantly agreed.
“Binge watch the whole season?” Riley gave me puppy eyes, the ones she had mastered, which almost won me over.
I pinched her shin. “Now you’re pushing it, Missy.”
She hissed, pulling her feet away, and her bottom lip jutted out in a pout.
“Let’s go back to the question.”
Riley nodded and sat up, focusing back on her notebook. I explained the steps to her again, she nodded along and gave it one more try.
Twenty minutes later, she let out a shout of victory. “I did it!”
Yes, she did. Just like I knew she would.
The happiness on her face was infectious, and I found myself laughing with her as she did half a twerk on my bed.
We spent the next two hours working on our homework. Once we were done and had put all our stuff away, I went down to get us snacks while Riley loaded Riverdale on Netflix. She wanted to binge watch while I was settling for only two episodes. It was going to be a battle for sure.
Halfway through the first episode, Riley started to get edgier. She was sneaking glances at me, and I noticed the way she was practically poking a hole through her blouse.
I knew Riley long enough to know this was a sign of nervousness, and it had nothing to do with Riverdale. I waited for her to speak instead of pushing for information. If something was wrong, she’d tell me on her own without me having to force it out of her. It was a silent understanding between us. Riley has never pushed me about my past. I told her bits and pieces, and she accepted them without demanding more. I did the same with her. She only gave me what she wanted; we established this understanding early in our friendship.
Her silence didn’t last for more than fifteen minutes. “I have to confess something.”
I paused the episode and faced her. We were both sitting cross legged on the bed. “What is it?”
Riley swallowed hard and chewed on her lip, her brows pulled together in nervousness. Her body was strung tight with tension, and I didn’t like the dreadful look on her face.
She licked her lips, took a deep breath and started. “On Friday, after Maddox pulled you away and Colton grabbed me…”
The night of the haunted house? Confused, I nodded and waited for her to continue. “Yeah?”
“He pulled me behind the dumpster…” Riley trailed off, her eyes wide and glassy.
“Yeah. You told me. They are both assholes. If I could, I’d report them–”
Riley shook her head and cut me off, sharply. “No, listen. I didn’t tell you everything that happened.”
And then she… blushed. She averted her gaze for a second, and she went back to poking holes in her shirt.
“Riley…?” I slowly questioned.
She let out a loud, frustrated sigh. Her cheeks were tinted pink, but there was a guilty look in her eyes. “I messed up. I don’t know how it happened but it just… happened. One minute, I was screaming at him and I even punched him; he was laughing like a stupid, madman and then he pulled me close and… it just happened. I didn’t think. I wasn’t thinking.”
She was babbling, talking too fast, but I caught the gist of it. For her sake, I carefully concealed my shock. But… oh my fucking SHIT!
“Riley, did you… I mean, you two…?”
“No! We didn’t have sex,” she sputtered and blushed even harder. “We made out. Oh God, I can’t believe I’m saying this. But he pulled me into him and just slammed his lips on mine. I think it was the adrenaline. I was so scared, and then I was excited and like, my heart was beating so fast, I felt dizzy and then I just kissed him back.”
Don’t freak out, Lila. Don’t freak out.
“What happened?” I calmly asked, even though I was anything but calm.
“Colton pulled us down, so I could sit on his lap. And we just… um, kissed.”
“And?”
Riley buried her face in her hands, letting out a choked scream. “I’m horrible. Jasper was right. I’m a whore.”
“What? Riley!” I scooted closer to her and pulled her hands away from her face, so she would have no choice but to look at me. “Don’t say that!”
“We kissed. I don’t know when it happened, but he unbuttoned my jeans and put his hand inside and… he touched me, and it felt good, Lila. I know this sounds stupid, but it felt really good. It was crazy and everything was happening so fast.”
She broke off, looking at me like I could save her from whatever she was going through in her head. My poor Riley. I was shocked, speechless, so I could only pat her arm.
“Ifhame,” she muttered too fast for me to catch.
“You what?”
“I came! He was just touching me and… I orgasmed on his lap while we were sitting beside a disgusting, smelly dumpster.”
My jaw went slack, and I stared at her. Riley let out a cry, looking so conflicted and heartbroken. “I don’t even like him! God, I like Grayson, and I let Colton touch me like that. I’m horrible. Just like Jasper said.”
I snapped out of my shock at her words and grabbed her shoulders, shaking her. “Riley, you are not. Stop that.”
Her chin wobbled, and she bit harshly on her lip. She was so red now, her cheeks, her ears and her neck were all flushed. “Colton is the first guy… I mean after Jasper. I haven’t been with anyone else. I haven’t even kissed anyone since Jasper. I couldn’t bear it, and then with Colton, it just happened.”