Coercion (2 page)

Rooney worried his lower lip, shaking his head. “Man, please tell me you didn’t let your girlfriend plan your entire schedule.”

“So I pushed for one measly class with him. Is that so wrong?” Breeze beckoned to the joint Rooney absently rolled between his fingers until he passed it to her. She delicately accepted the spliff with her thumb and index finger then turned back to Michael. “Stop stalling. Your goals?”

Though hidden behind mirrored aviators, Michael’s eyes flicked to Rooney as a smirk danced on his lips. “Where do I even begin?”

“Well,” Rooney cut in with grandeur, “your boyfriend here promised to help me break the world record for sustained long-distance crawling. That’s nine miles, in case you were wondering.”

Breeze looked heavenward. “Why am I not surprised?”

“Beats me. You’ve only been going out with this loser for about a thousand years.” Rooney lightly smacked Michael’s shoulder with the back of his hand. “You’d think you’d know a thing or two about his future plans.”

“You’d think, wouldn’t you?” Breeze’s nose wrinkled as her mouth twisted into a pout before she sullenly took a pull on the joint.

“Thanks, Rooney.” Michael rubbed his temples. “I think you just got me in trouble.”

“What else is new? You two are always at each other’s throats. If one of you even breathes wrong, it’s war.”

“What do you expect? We’re both Geminis.” Breeze swept her bangs off her face with a flip of her hand as she passed the drug back to Michael. “We can’t help we’re outspoken and like to debate.”

“Debates, huh? That’s what you guys are calling them now?”

“That’s what they are.” Breeze looped her arm around Michael’s bicep and danced two lazy fingers up and down his chest. “Look, I know exactly what Michael should be doing, and Michael doesn’t. That’s how these debates start.”

Michael pressed his lips together as he slowly shook his head at Rooney. “I hate you so much right now, man.”

“I get the message.” Rooney clapped his hands together once and stood, tugging on the hem of his plaid button-down shirt and straightening out its wrinkles. “All right, Breeze, are you done quizzing me? I’ve got things to see, people to do, you know the drill.”

“You’re dismissed,” Breeze said in a lofty voice.

“Great. Catch you guys on the flip.” Rooney gave the building’s wall a slap before turning the corner, out of sight.

Michael took another hit while Breeze combed her hair with her fingers, staring at the thick line of pine and oak trees sharing a boundary line with the campus grounds. The sun crept higher as they passed the rest of the joint between the two of them, hidden in the building’s cool shade and surrounding foliage.

Michael felt the drug’s warm, honeyed feeling creep into his head and tilted his head back against the concrete, exposing his throat. Breeze wasted no time, placing her lips on his Adam’s apple and sucking softly. He closed his eyes and enjoyed the sensation of her teeth nipping at the sensitive skin on his neck and along his jawline.

Her tongue slipped between his lips, running along his teeth and the roof of his mouth. He put his hand on the back of her head, his fingers tangling in her curls as he pulled her closer. She giggled as she let him drag her onto his lap with little resistance.

“I missed you, baby.” She gently pushed his sunglasses to the crown of his head then kissed his eyelids.

“I just saw you yesterday.” Reveling in the feeling of her mouth on his skin, he kept his eyes closed as her kisses traveled to his earlobe. “Though I’m not surprised you don’t remember. You were wasted at the party last night.”

“Even so, I would always remember you.” One of her hands dropped to the crotch of his jeans and gripped his hardening cock through the faded denim. “And this.”

He smirked as he slid a hand up her blouse, cupping her small breast. As usual, she’d forgone the bra. “Just making sure. You were pretty blazed. I wasn’t sure you’d remember your own name.”

“Stop lecturing me.” She gracefully swung one leg around Michael so she straddled his lap. His hand never left her breast, and her nipple hardened beneath his touch. “I don’t need to remember much, do I? All I need to know is I want you to fuck me, and I do, right now.”

“Right now?” he echoed as she unzipped his jeans.

Breeze nodded, her teeth grazing her lower lip as his other hand slipped under her shirt. She shivered when his palm smoothed over her skin. “Right now, right here, behind this building. Consider it us christening the campus. Is there a problem?”

“None.” A gusty breath escaped his mouth as Breeze pulled his cock from his jeans. “I’m just glad to know we’re getting the school year off to a good start. I think I like college already.”

She drew his bottom lip in between hers, and Michael couldn’t fight the moan that had been building in him as she eased her hand up and down his cock. The slow, liquid feeling in his head made every stroke feel even more intense, more erotic.

“Touch me.” She guided his hand to the front of her pants.

He deftly undid the buttons and slipped a hand inside her panties, unable to fight his grin. Even though he and Breeze had been dating for years, she still made him feel like he had the first time they’d ever fooled around.

Breeze tossed her head back, reminding him of a Breck model. “I love it when you touch me like that.”

“Like this?” His fingers found her clit and moved in slow, torturous circles.

“Yes.” She pushed her hips against him as she continued to stroke his cock. “Exactly like that.”

His hand still on her clit, Michael inched her pants down to midthigh, as far as they would go. He eased a finger inside her pussy, already wet with want. His heavy-lidded eyes watched as Breeze hissed out a “fuck” and writhed atop him as his fingers dipped in and out of her body. The drug combined with his lust made the moment feel otherworldly. For a moment, he could almost believe he and Breeze weren’t themselves, but rather a random, faceless couple sharing an illicit tryst on school property. The mental transposition sent another electric-like surge to his cock.

Breeze pulled away from him and rolled backward into the overgrown grass. “I can’t wait.” She pushed her pants down her legs then straddled him once again, her corduroys and her underwear pooling around one of her ankles.

His hands greedily rubbed the length of her bare skin, from her smooth calves to the backs of her thighs to her ass, the skin there growing cold in the morning air. He attempted to swallow an impatient moan in vain.

Breeze grabbed his cock, slowly guided him into her and cried out at the initial contact. She mumbled his name, her words sounding like whimpers as she pinned him against the concrete wall and rotated her hips over him.

He tensed as he slid deeper into her wet pussy, and his fingertips dug into her hips. “Jesus, you’re so fucking sexy.”

Breeze let out another moan, louder than the one before, the primal noise causing him to stifle one of his own.

“You’re gonna get us caught,” he whispered to her.

“I can’t help it, baby, I’m so close.” She braced herself against the wall, pressing her palms against the concrete for leverage as her movements became quicker. He bit his lip as his orgasm raked through him, the pot he’d smoked earlier making it feel like fireworks exploded inside his body. Breeze followed suit, letting out a scream of pleasure, and then collapsed against his chest.

They stayed like that for a moment with their damp foreheads pressed together, panting and waiting for their heart rates to slow while students shuffled around nearby, shouting to each other.

“Think they heard?” Breeze murmured.

“Probably, but so what? Put your clothes on and if anyone asks, we’ll say you were screaming because you hurt your leg sprinting to class.”

She giggled as she rolled off him and stuffed her other leg back into her pants. “Do you really want me to put them back on?” She pulled the corduroy to her knees and turned around to shake her bare ass at him, her summer tan lines still fresh on her skin. Her days spent in the sun, slick with baby oil, to achieve the golden brown look that made all the boys hungry had been well spent.

He leaned forward to smack her bottom, and she yelped and fell over in the grass. “Fuck yes, I do. I don’t want some horny loser to see and jerk off to you before English Comp or whatever.”

Breeze turned over onto her back, her pants still tangled around her legs. She remained gloriously naked from her breasts to knees. “That’s better than me jerking them off myself, right?”

“You have a point.” He tucked away his now limp cock and zipped his jeans.

Breeze let out a sigh as her hand traveled to the area between her legs and her fingers dipped inside her pussy. “I can’t put my pants on now. I’m a mess.”

“Here.” Michael pulled a piece of orange cotton from the back pocket of his jeans. “Use this.” He tossed the thin square of paisley fabric in her direction, but it fluttered in the air and fell a few inches from her outstretched fingers.

“You’re lending me your emergency bandanna?” Breeze snatched his offering and used it to wipe her upper thighs dry. “You’re so thoughtful.”

“So you’ve noticed.”

She balled up the used handkerchief and threw it at him, and he stuffed it back in his pocket as he watched her lift her pelvis toward the cloudless blue sky and yank her pants over her hips. Then he dove on top of her and she let out a squeal of laughter. His mouth found hers, and her shrieks died off, replaced with soft moans and giggles as their legs entwined. A cool waft of late summer wind swept over them, rustling through the tall grass and tickling their flushed faces. Comfortable drowsiness floated through Michael and went straight to his lips, his kisses becoming leisurely.

Breeze eventually broke away from him and brushed a strand of hair from his eyes. “We better get to class.”

He sighed. “You do-gooder.” He moved off her and slid his aviator sunglasses back into place. “This college thing better be worth the effort.”

“I’m sure it’ll be hard to surpass the vast opportunities presented to you by Gas ’n Go, but give it a whirl.” Breeze stood, scooping up the notebook she’d thrown aside earlier, and ran her fingers through the underside of her hair, fluffing it back into place. She buttoned her pants and bent to check her appearance in the reflection of Michael’s sunglasses. “You’re on your way to improving your life.”

Michael leaned back on his hands. “Are you suggesting I don’t already have it all?” He gestured to the trees and the building like a remiss game show host.

“Stop it.” Breeze wrapped her hand around his left wrist and tugged him to his feet. “You’re starting to make me really worried. You’re finally going to college and you’re acting like you’re heading toward the gallows.”

“What do you want me to do, skip to class? It’s not that big of a deal.” He slid his wrist out of her grasp and pressed his palm to hers, curling his fingers.

“How can you say that? Don’t you ever want to get out of Kenton?”

“Yeah, and I will. Don’t worry about me.”

“I can’t help it.” She sighed as Michael slid their clasped hands in the pocket of his fraying suede coat, and they left their spot by Rightmer’s wall and walked toward Verget Hall’s entrance. “You’re a part of me, so worrying about you means I’m technically worrying about me.”

“At last, your selfless side is revealed.”

“How am I not selfless? I’m willing to wait for you to finish school. Come on. I’m really uncomfortable with you not having a plan for the future.”

“It’s my life,” he said with an edge to his voice.

“Yeah, and it could be part of mine.” She tightened her grip, nearly crushing their entangled fingers. “My dream can be big enough for the both of us, you know.”

Michael could hardly keep from laughing as they stepped through Verget Hall’s double doors. He didn’t bother to remove his sunglasses. “Sorry, I don’t see how I fit into your dream of becoming an airline stewardess. What am I supposed to do, help you pass out pillows and bags of peanuts?” They merged into the swarm of bustling students. “Glad to see you’ll be putting that ever useful psychology degree to use, by the way.”

Breeze glared at him. “If you think my plans are so stupid, figure something else out, then.” She shook her hand free of his pocket. “And fast.”

She quickened her pace and walked a few steps ahead of him, adding a subtle yet effective twitch to her hips clearly designed to serve as a reminder of what he could be missing post graduation. Michael rolled his eyes in response, but couldn’t tear his gaze from her anyway.

While Breeze caught up with a few friends in front of their classroom and gave them all one-armed hugs, Michael leaned against the cool, painted cement-block walls opposite the girls and looked up and down the hallway. The cream tiled floor smelled of Murphy’s Oil and was already specked with clumps of dirt and a fresh layer of grit. Rushing to class, students zigzagged from one end of the hallway to the other, the double doors creaking open in protest and slamming shut.

A sudden onslaught of panic filled Michael’s chest. He couldn’t think of another place he least belonged. The frustration he’d felt during high school and thought he’d finally forgotten crept back to him. He took a deep breath and tried to remind himself that college would be effortless, much easier than his last four years spent trapped in the Kenton public school system. He was four years older—thus smarter—and in just two years he’d be a free man, able to do whatever he pleased, although he wasn’t quite sure what that was yet.

But graduation day had never felt more far away than it did right then.

“Ready?” Breeze asked him once she had finished socializing.

Michael shrugged his indifference. He let Breeze latch onto the front of his Allman Brothers t-shirt and tug him into the classroom where they’d both be fulfilling their history course requirement. He chose a seat in the back corner near the window while Breeze took the desk beside him, and he closed his eyes behind his sunglasses, hoping he’d be able to make it through what seemed like an already long school year.

The heavy wooden door to the classroom slammed shut, signaling the arrival of their teacher. Michael opened his eyes to see a blond-but-balding bespectacled man in his forties write
Dr. Cantarella
—presumably his name—on the chalkboard with a minimal amount of screeching noises.