Chapter Eleven
"So how are we going to do this?" I asked her awkwardly as I drove to Nanna's house.
"Do what?" She grinned at me. "I'm not sure I'm ready for car sex."
"Very funny." I rolled my eyes though the thought of car sex was very appealing. "I mean what are we going to tell your parents?"
"What are you talking about?" She looked confused.
"About us..." I gave her a quick look as my stomach dropped. I could feel sweat building up on my forehead.
"There's nothing to tell." She shrugged. "Unless you want me to tell them you deflowered me."
"Very funny." I frowned. "I mean are you sure we shouldn't tell them something?"
"Rhett, what would we tell them? That we've moved our friendship up to the next level and that we don't mean a relationship, we mean friends with benefits." She laughed. "I think not."
"You're fine with that?" I looked at her suspiciously.
"I already told you that suits me fine,"
"I see." I kept my eyes forward, not sure why I wasn't happier. Clementine was being so grown up about everything. If I'd known that she'd be down for friends with benefits, I would have asked her earlier. Though I couldn’t say that I felt ecstatic about the situation.
"So Jake is super excited about moving in with you."
"Your parents are going to let him?"
"Yeah." She grinned. "He talked them into it."
"Awesome."
"Yeah it will be. We won't be able to hook up at your place then."
"What are you talking about?" I pulled over to the side of the road and stopped, my heart beating fast.
"We can't hook up in your room when Jake is there, what if he sees us?"
"I don't care if he sees us." I gave her a direct look. "I don't care if he sees me running around like a monkey."
"Rhett, he can't see us. It will make things complicated."
"So?" I shrugged. "I don't care."
"I don't want my parents to know." She nibbled her lower lip.
"Why not?" I knew my voice was starting to sound pissed, but I was getting angry. Was Clementine ashamed to be with me?
"Because this isn't serious, they would be disappointed."
"Are you disappointed?" I asked softly and looked into her eyes to try and figure out what her emotions were inside.
"I'm fine." She grabbed my hands. "I knew when I went into this what your story was."
"What my story was?" I repeated and frowned. "What does that mean?"
"I know you don't do relationships."
"I see." My stomach churned at her words. Was she trying to use me as an excuse to not want a relationship with me?
"Let's not worry about this now." She sat back in the seat. "Let's go, my parents will be wondering where we are."
"Fine." I started the engine again, feeling put off. I wanted to talk about what was going on, but I didn't really understand myself.
"Last night was fantastic by the way." She touched my arm. "Better than I ever thought it could be."
"Thanks." I smiled and winked at her. "I wish I'd had time to show you how great morning sex is as well."
"Maybe you can show me later." She giggled.
"What do you mean?" My breath caught and I gave her a quick glance.
"Just because my parents aren't going to know what's going on, it doesn't mean we can't have some fun."
"At Nanna's house?" I said and smiled.
"Or in the yard."
"You wouldn't." My jaw dropped.
"I would."
"Holy shit, Clementine, are you for real?"
She burst out laughing then and I wondered if she would really go through with it. Shit, I wondered if I'd be able to go through with it.
"We'll see." She winked at me. "Maybe if you watch Devious Maids with me tonight."
"I'll watch it if you dress up like a maid." I grinned.
"Shit, you figured out my plan."
"You always were easy to read Rhett."
"What you trying to say?" I grinned as I pulled up to Nanna's house.
"Nothing." She grinned back at me. "Hey, I think you just got a text."
"Okay, Sherlock." I pulled my phone out and saw a text from Tomas. What up, bro? Wanna go to the Q bar tonight? Met these two hot chicks from England and they are dtf.
I read the text and smiled. Only Tomas could find two hot British girls who were down to f*ck. I put the phone in my pocket without responding. I didn't want Clementine to read the text and ask any questions.
"That was just a friend." I looked at Clementine and she shrugged.
"I don't care." She smiled. "You don't have to explain to me."
"I was just saying." I was irritated by her nonchalance. She wasn't acting how I'd expected at all.
"Let's go inside. I'm hungry." She grabbed my hand and we walked to the door.
"There you are." Jake opened the door and looked at us. "Why are you guys holding hands?" He frowned and Clementine dropped my hand quickly.
"I was just pulling him along, little brother." She rolled her eyes and ran into the house. I followed behind her still feeling put off.
"I'm here." Clementine called out and her parents came towards the door.
"There you are." Her mom exclaimed and then smiled as she saw me. "And you brought Rhett."
"Yeah, we hung out last night so..," Clementine shrugged.
"Where's Elliott?" Her father asked casually.
"No idea. We broke up." Clementine shrugged and her mother cried out.
"What already?" She sighed and looked at her husband. "He seemed so nice."
"It didn't work out, mom." Clementine rolled her eyes.
"Maybe Rhett scared him off." Her dad joked, but we all knew he was serious.
"It's not that we don't love you Rhett." Her mom continued. "It's just that we want Clementine to find a boyfriend, and well, her being best friends with a handsome boy like you is a put off to most guys."
"Mom." Clementine moaned.
"I'm just saying." Her mom continued. "You guys hang out too much, people are going to think it's not as innocent as it is."
"Mom," Clementine frowned. "Stop."
"I'm just saying, maybe you guys shouldn’t hang out so much." Her mom sighed. "Just until you get a boyfriend."
"Mom." Clementine’s voice was angry and her face was red. "Come Rhett." She grabbed my arm and pulled me up the stairs with her and into the bathroom. She closed the door, locked it and looked at me.
"F*ck me." She said directly and I frowned.
"What?" I stared at her as she pulled her pants down and her panties off.
"I said f*ck me," she half smiled. "Now."
"Clementine we can't." I shook my head and she smiled wickedly.
"Oh, but we can." She grabbed my shirt and pulled me towards her. Her hands fell to my jeans and she pulled the zipper down quickly and pulled my cock out before dropping to her knees and taking me in her mouth. She stopped sucking as soon as I got hard and then sat on the counter and spread her legs.
"I don't have a condom," I shook my head, as I moved closer to her.
"I'll risk it," she grabbed my head and kissed me. "Pull out when you're about to come."
"That's risky." I shook my head.
"Please Rhett," she whispered against my lips.
"Clementine," I groaned and ran my fingers to her p-ssy. She was already wet. I pulled her to the edge of the counter and rubbed my cock against her *. "You're such a bad girl, you know that right?"
She grinned and kissed me again and I entered her hard and fast. Her legs wrapped around my waist and I groaned as my cock slid in and out of her wetness. She tilted her head back and I moved faster and faster inside of her, feeling incredibly turned on by the danger of the situation. I tried to pay attention to my body. I knew I couldn't afford to cum inside of her. It was too big of a risk. Already just f*cking her with no condom went against my own practices, but I was loathe to deny her. I knew as soon as Clementine closed her eyes that she was about to come. I also knew that I wasn't quite there yet. I f*cked her hard and fast for a minute and then pulled out quickly. I pulled her down off of the counter and pushed her to her knees. She grinned up at me and took me in her mouth, before I knew what was happening I was coming hard and fast and she was swallowing it quickly. About a minute later, she stood up and licked her lips. "I don't know if I need breakfast anymore." She grinned and I shook my head.
"That was risky, Clemmie. I nearly came inside of you."
"So?" She laughed and kissed me. "I knew you wouldn't."
"How did you know?" I frowned and shook my head.
"I just did." She licked her lips. "I like the feel of you with no condom."
"Then get on the pill." I kissed her firmly. "Then I can come inside of you as well and you can see what that feels like."
"I can't believe we're talking about you coming inside of me." Her eyes were wide and she was laughing. "We've so crossed over a line."
"It's just an extension of our friendship." I smiled at her, but I knew that wasn't true. This was getting bigger than our friendship. We had been lying to ourselves that we could be best friends and lovers. Especially now that we were f*cking without protection. Shit was getting real. I closed my eyes for a second as I realized that I didn't know how I felt. I didn't know what to do. I thought back to what I'd just said. I'd told her I wanted to come inside of her. I wasn't even sure why.
The doorbell rang then and Clementine froze. "Shit, I think Penelope is here."
"Penelope?" I froze as well. All of a sudden all I could think of was my cock between her breasts.
"Yeah I forgot I invited her over last week. You're cool with that right?"
"Yeah, of course." I offered her a weak smile.
"I know you guys don't get along, but I'd like you to be friends."
"Yeah." I nodded and she gave me a quick kiss.
"We haven't made a mistake, have we Rhett?" She nibbled her lower lip and gazed at me.
"Never." I shook my head and picked up her panties and skirt and handed them to her.
"I hope not." She sighed. "I don't want to lose my best friend."
"You won't." I shook my head. "Of course you won't."
"You're sure?"
"As long as you don't expect more, we'll be fine." I stared at her, not blinking.
"Yeah." She nodded, her eyes fading a little bit. "Of course I don't expect more."
"Well okay then." I zipped myself up and frowned.
"Clementine, where are you? Penelope is here!" Jake ran up the stairs and called out. I froze at the sound of his voice and watched in surprise as she opened the bathroom door. "Oh, hey," Jake looked at her and then at me with a puzzled look. "You guys have a weird friendship."
"You have a weird face." Clementine muttered back to Jake and I heard her running down the stairs.
"I don't know how you've been friends with her for so long." Jake shook his head and made a face and for some inexplicable reason I wanted to tell him we were more than friends.
"Oh Jake." I laughed and put my hands in his shoulders. "She's a good girl."
"Uh huh." He groaned. "She can't even keep a boyfriend." He laughed.
"My parents are starting to get worried. They really hoped Elliott and her would get serious."
"Why?" I frowned.
"So she'd have someone to look out for her at Harvard."
"What?" My heart stopped. "What are you talking about?"
"She got in." His eyes looked worried. "She didn't tell you?"
"No."
"Maybe she was waiting to hear if she got a scholarship for transferring."
"I see." Though I didn't. I was angrier and more pissed than I had been in a long time.
"It's cool that she got in." Jakes voice sounded stiff and his voice trailed off. "She's always dreamed of going there."
"I guess." I frowned and looked at the wall. I thought back to high school when Clementine and I had discussed colleges. I thought we'd both been excited to go to State together. I thought that we'd both graduate together. I sighed as I realized that those were my plans. I could vaguely remember Clementine talking about going to an Ivy League school, but I'd never paid much attention to her. Maybe state hadn't been both of our dreams. I'd just thought we'd go through it all together. "And what happens after graduation?" A voice whispered in my head. "What then?" I could feel my heart pounding as I realized that I had no idea what would happen next. I knew in that moment that I didn't want to continue working for my dad. In fact, I wasn't even sure I wanted to stay in Charlestown or South Carolina. What would happen if I moved? Could I convince Clementine to move with me? I frowned again. How in the hell was I going to expect her to move with me? That wasn't a realistic expectation of a friend. I felt sick to my stomach as I realized that life itself was going to change our friendship and not the fact that we were now lovers. I knew it would be too much to expect her to move with me, especially as I had no idea where I wanted to move to.
"You okay, bro?" Jake looked concerned again and I faked a laugh. I didn't want him to start getting suspicious.
"Yeah, I'm fine." I nodded as we walked down the stairs. I cringed as I heard Penelope's voice. I did not want to have to deal with her right now. I looked up and gave her a quick smile. "Hi Penelope." I said and everyone's jaw dropped including my own when she rushed over and gave me a quick hug and a kiss on the cheek.
"Hi Rhett." She smiled as she remained next to my side. F*ck is all I could think to myself. F*ck, f*ck, f*ck. I'd been worried that she might act obvious, but I'd never expected clingy.
"How are you?" I asked politely.
"Been thinking of you." She batted her eyelashes and ran her hands through her hair. I saw Clementine's parents looking at us curiously and even Jake looked confused.
"Where's Nanna?" I asked them all quickly. "I haven't seen her yet."
"She's in the kitchen with Clementine." Penelope placed her hand on my upper arm. "Let me take you to say hi."
"Uh okay." I nodded, thinking that now would also be a good time to have a quick conversation with her. We walked out of the living room and down the corridor and I pushed her quickly into the study.
"I missed you too big boy." She grinned and leaned forward to kiss me.
"No." I shook my head and cringed at the thought of her lips touching mine.
"It's okay." She smiled. "I can be quick."
"Quick?" I frowned and then stared at her through narrowed eyes as she started unbuttoning her blouse. "What are you doing?" My voice was annoyed and I was starting to get angry again.
"Rhett, darling, I want to..." She started and I froze. I couldn't deal with this shit right now. I took a deep breath and ran my hands through my hair.
"Look Penelope, I have to tell you something." I bit my lower lip. I wasn't sure if Clementine would appreciate the fact that I was about to tell her our secret, but I couldn't stand for her to not know.
"What?" Her eyes narrowed. "Are you ashamed that you f*cked me? Am I one of your disposable girls?"
I stared at her in shock. "We didn't f*ck. What are you talking about?"
"We almost did." Her eyes were bright and flashing and I realized my earlier assessments of her were correct. She was a crazy bitch.
"You sucked my cock for a few seconds and I couldn't get hard." I stared at her and watched her face go red.
"I sucked your cock, you got hard, you put your cock between my breasts and then you got soft cos you were drunk."
I stared at her for a few seconds and then looked away. I couldn't tell her I only got hard because I pretended she was Clementine. My stomach flipped as I realized that the shit was about to hit the fan and I had no way out.
"I don't understand why you're going so mean Rhett. I thought I was something special to you. I mean why f*ck with your best friends other best friend?" She shook her head. "Only shit where you eat if you know it's all good." She reached out to touch me again. "Don't you like me, Rhett?" I stared at her aghast for a few seconds. This was my worst nightmare coming true.
"Rhett, Penelope, where are you guys." Clementine’s voice drifted into the room before her. She gave us both a sweet smile and then spoke again.
"Nanna said to tell you lunch is ready." She paused and looked at us both again. "What's going on?"
"Nothing." I shook my head, all I could hear was the sound of waves crashing. I stared into Clementine’s eyes and she looked taken aback and worried. My heart broke and I knew that she knew something was off. I looked over and watched as Penelope quickly did her shirt buttons up. F*ck it! I looked back to Clementine and she stared back at me with a hurt expression and a question in her eyes. I shook my head and she sighed.
"Are you ready to eat?" She asked brightly and walked out of the room. I stared at her retreating back and I knew that she was upset. Worse still, I felt like shit. My head was pounding and I felt like I was going to hyperventilate. I didn't know what to do. She was leaving me. She thought I was fooling around with her friend. Her family wanted her to be with Elliott. She didn't want to tell them that we were dating. I froze as I realized I was now considering her someone I dated. I stopped still and rushed back upstairs to the bathroom, closed the door and ran cold water over my face. I stared at myself in the mirror, not recognizing the face staring back at me. Yes, I had the same vibrant blue eyes, the same funky blond hair, same facial hair, same lips, same nose, yet there was something different about me. I was no longer composed and easy going. I was taunt and agitated. I was also freaking out because I wanted Clementine to be my girlfriend. I wanted everyone to know that we were together. I didn't want her family thinking about her with another guy. I didn't want her thinking about being with another guy. I wanted her to be all mine. It wasn't enough to just be friends with benefits. The benefits were great, but I wanted more. I splashed my face with water again. What had come over me? I didn't do girlfriends. This would complicate everything and I wasn't even sure if Clementine wanted that. Then I thought of Penelope. She would ruin everything. With one word from her big mouth, it would all be done. I was pissed at myself for f*cking up, but a part of me was also calm about it. This was life. It never went the way it should. This was ultimately why I didn't believe in love. Someone or something inevitably came along to f*ck it up. I sighed as I realized that Clementine and I were doomed before we even got together. There was no point in even trying to see what could happen. I pulled out my phone and texted Tomas back. You know that I'm always dtf. That's my mo. See you tonight. I hit send and put the phone back in my pocket. I walked down the stairs and right out the front door and drove away. I felt bad for leaving Clementine without an explanation, but I knew she could get a ride from someone else. My phone started ringing about two minutes later. It was Clementine. I turned the phone off and drove home. I collapsed on my bed and pulled her pillow towards me and sniffed. Her scent was the straw that broke the camels’ back and for the first time in a long while, I found myself crying.