When he meets my eyes, his determined expression looks ghostly and sinister in the moonlight. “We doing this the easy way or the hard way? One of those earns you more money.”
A sheen of tears blurs my vision. I made this deal, knowing what came next. Suck it up and eat it, Ivory.
I turn toward the waiting door, press the heels of my hands against my eyes, and slide into the back seat.
My brain is already reaching for the dark notes of Scriabin’s Sonata No.9. The melody plays in my head as the weight of his body presses my back against the bench seat. I envision the complicated key strokes as he wrenches my panties to the side and shoves inside me, grunting, thrusting. So dry, so fucking painful, the fire between my legs coaxes more tears from my eyes. I focus inward, blocking him out. I’m nearly lost in the discordant music of my mind when a ring tone chirps from Prescott’s pocket.
“Fuck.” He fumbles around his legs and pulls his phone from the folds of his trousers. “Goddammit!”
“Get off me.”
“No. And I have to answer this, so keep your mouth shut.”
I shove at his chest, but he doesn’t budge. His hips thrust harder as hatred leaks in huge drops from my eyes.
“It’s my mom.” He sets the phone on the seat above my head, the cheery ring tone bleeding into my ears. “If she hears you, the most I’ll get is a loss in allowance. But you…” His finger hovers over the screen as his hips drive against mine. “You’ll get kicked out of school.”
Before I can tell him he’s a fucking moron, he taps the screen and puts it on speaker phone.
“What’s up, Mom?” He lifts his pelvis and slams back against me, the hunger on his face illuminated by the glow of the screen.
“Where are you?” The dean’s severe voice barks through the phone.
“Avery’s house.”
Who is Avery? I squirm beneath him, aching for this to be over with.
“You sound out of breath,” she says.
He cups my breast and squeezes. “Lifting weights. She has a sweet workout room.”
“Oh? Well, tell her mother I said hi. We need to do tea soon.”
“Yep.”
“Keep your hands to yourself, son. I don’t want any problems with her parents.”
I bite down on my lip to keep from crying out. His movements quicken, growing erratic. Thank God, he’s getting close, but how can he do this while holding a conversation with his mother? He’s so disgusting my skin recoils everywhere his heat penetrates my clothes.
“I saw you talking to that Westbrook girl at lunch,” the dean says.
My pulse skyrockets, but Prescott’s in a whole other dimension. His mouth hangs open in a silent shout as his body flails and jerks through his release. The moment he’s finished, I shove him off me.
“Prescott?” The dean exhales through the phone. “Are you listening?”
“Yeah. Ivory’s nice.” He stares at me and mouths, A nice fuck. Without looking away, he says aloud, “I don’t know why you have a problem with her.”
“She’s trying to steal your Leopold spot, Prescott. Not only that, she has a reputation with the boys at school. Stay away from her.”
He drags a finger over his eyebrow. “Yeah, okay. Gotta go.”
“Prescott—”
He hangs up and tosses the phone in the front seat. “Did you come?”
I angle away from him, covertly wiping away the tears as I growl, “Of course, I didn’t come, you idiot.”
He seriously thinks I enjoyed that? I’ve never had an orgasm, at least not that I know of. But if I’m capable of having one, it wouldn’t be with him.
I fix my panties and yank my skirt down. “Who’s Avery?”
He pulls off the condom and adjusts his slacks. “My girlfriend.”
“Girlfriend?” A thick lump forms in my throat. “Why are you cheating on her?”
“She’s a prude. But you’re not, are you?” He reaches for the V in my shirt.
I knock his hand away and grab my satchel from the front seat.
“Bet you’ve fucked more guys than there are keys on a piano.”
Eighty-eight guys? Heat tingles my face as I open the door and jump out. Truth is, I’m not sure of the number. Maybe half that? Maybe more.
He climbs out the other side and meets my eyes over the roof of the car. “Fifty-two white guys at Le Moyne and thirty-six black guys in Treme. Am I right?”
Fifty-two white keys, thirty-six black keys.