Played (5 page)

By the time he unzipped my skirt and pushed
it down my hips, sweeping my panties with it, I had thrown caution to the wind
and was ready for whatever new experiences Justin was willing to give me. He
seemed determined to explore every inch of my body. When he kissed and licked
his way down my stomach and over the light thatch of hair that covered my sex,
something that felt like fear swept through me, but it wasn't fear. I didn't
know what was coming, but I sensed that it would be magical and I wasn't wrong.

His lips found the most sensitive part of
me, nibbling and teasing, followed by the flick of his tongue there. I couldn't
suppress the scream of pleasure and surprise. Startled, he held me with a hand
on each side of my hips and looked up. Greedy for more, I clutched his hair and
pulled him back to me, where he dutifully lapped until a shattering explosion
took me. I was still shaking when he moved back to lie alongside me, wrapping
me in his arms and holding me until the trembling had nearly stopped.

"Was that your first time?" he
asked softly. Still overcome, all I could do was nod.

"Did you like it?" That struck me
as funny. How could he have not known that I liked it? Never realizing it was a
rhetorical question, I kept nodding as tears of deep release began to roll down
my cheeks.

"Here, now, don't cry," Justin
said. "It won't be the last. Would you like to do something for me now?
Something I'll like as much as you liked that?"

I kept nodding, willing to do anything to
stay in this man's presence, feel his lips on me, and maybe have that glorious
shattering again. Though it had been incredible, I now felt hollow below, as if
something were missing from my body, and I knew just enough to know that it
could only be filled and completed by his body; by the member that was even now
being nudged into my hand again by the artful thrusting of his hips.

"Come on, baby, you know what I
want," he insisted. I thought I did, but I wasn't sure. Nor was I certain
how in our present positions he would be able to put it into me. I wriggled a
little and tried to spread my legs.

"No, not yet," Justin said,
sounding a little frustrated. With a sigh, he sat up and pulled me to a sitting
position, then straddled my lap, facing me on his knees. His manhood bobbed in
front of my face as he thrust a finger into my lips and pulled down until I
opened my mouth. His finger tasted of something unfamiliar and sensual, and it
occurred to me that this was the finger that had invaded my opening as he
pleasured me with his tongue. The thought surprised me enough to make my mouth
go slack.

"That's it, baby," he encouraged,
thrusting himself forward until I understood that he wanted to put it in my
mouth. Suddenly understanding flooded me, and I seized his shaft to guide it.
The warm, velvety skin felt divine against my sensitive lips. For a few
minutes, I reveled in those sensations, the thick ridge between the tip and the
rest of it, the veins that interrupted the smooth surface of the shaft.

His unique scent, heavy on the male musk
and only lightly smelling of his woodsy cologne, wafted past my nostrils and
undid me. With a moan, I wrapped my tongue around him and drew him into my
mouth, eliciting an answering moan from Justin. His hands guided my head to
pull back and then dip again to take him all in. Justin's fingers on the skin
just next to my lips drew my eyes to his as I took him all in again.

"That's good, baby. Suck, now." I
obeyed and was rewarded with his quick intake of breath before he pulled all
the way out of my mouth and bent down to kiss me deeply once more. Then he
again repositioned us, this time with me on my back and him crouching between
my spread legs. I heard a ripping sound and then he fumbled between his legs
for a moment before leaning forward to kiss me again.

"Pull them up, baby," he said,
placing my hands on my own legs, the fingers curled under my knees. I pulled
up, spreading my knees wide for him, as he fell into me.

I only became aware of how ready I was when
he thrust in with no further preparation, sliding in with little resistance,
assisted by my slick juices. I felt myself carried away, as if a giant bird had
swooped down, picked me up, and swooped back into the air. The earth dropped
away and I was suspended in a cocoon of pleasure so intense that I wondered if
I'd died and this was heaven.

Rihanna was deeply asleep when I got back
to the dorm in the wee hours of the morning. Grateful that I wouldn't have to
face an inquisition, I went to bed myself, hugging my excitement and joy to
myself. The peace wouldn't last long, though. I'd been asleep only a few hours
when my bed shook as Rihanna pounced on me.

"Where the hell were you,
girlfriend?" she shrieked.

"Oof, get off," I said.

"No. You worried hell out of me. I
deserve an answer. You couldn't leave a note? I thought you'd been
kidnapped." Rihanna’s indignant tirade got through to me at last and I
opened my eyes fully.

"Sorry, Ri. I had a date that came up
suddenly. You weren't home."

"What part of 'leave a note' did you
not understand? Jesus, I'd have let you know if I was going on a hot date, so
you wouldn't have to stay awake all night wondering if I was safe or being
raped and murdered."

"I'm sorry," I said again. She
was right; I should have left a note.

"So who was it? Anybody I know?" Rihanna
asked, mollified by my apology.

"I don't think so," I hedged.

"
I don't think so.
Girl, don't
make me beat it out of you. What. Is. His. Name?"

"Um, Justin," I said, unable to
think of a lie on no more sleep than I'd had.

"Omigod! You did
NOT
sleep with
your professor!"

I did my best to turn over, though she was
straddling me, and put my pillow over my head.

"Shit, Janey, what did I tell you? So
now what? Are you guys a couple? Tell me it was a one-night stand and I'll let
you up."

I pulled the pillow off my head and twisted
back to face her, a big grin on my face.

"God, I hope not! It was
amazing."

Rihanna scrambled off my bed and stood in
the middle of the room, pointing at me with a shaking finger.

"No good will come of this. Mark my
words," she said, her dark tones making me giggle.

"Since when have you been reading Victorian
novels?" I asked.

"Fuck you, I'm not speaking to
you," she said, flipping me off.

"Okay. Can I go back to sleep,
then?" I knew she'd come around eventually, but I was too exhausted to
fight about it, especially when she kept making me laugh and that made her even
madder.

"Fine. Whatever," was her parting
shot.

Too soon, my bed bounced again as Rihanna
jumped on it to wake me.

"Ri, what the hell?" I
complained.

"Wake up! It's noon and I'm
starved."

"Well, go get something to eat. I'm
sleeping."

"No, you're not. You're coming with me
and you're going to give me every detail. Roll out before I pour this glass of
ice water on you."

My eyes flew open to see that she indeed
had a glass of water poised to pour on me.

"Okay, okay! Don't," I gasped. Rihanna
got off my bed and stood back, watching to make sure I got up.

She might have been able to get me out of
bed, but nothing she did or said would make me give a graphic description of
the night I'd had with Justin. All I would say was 'amazing'. Finally,
frustrated, she gave up.

"So will you get an A in the
class?" she asked.

"Why does everyone assume I can't get
an A without sleeping with the professor?" I complained. "I was
already getting an A."

"Well, this cinches it, doesn't
it?"

"Whatever."

"When will you see him again?" Rihanna
continued to pry.

"Tomorrow morning, in class," I
said, smug with the knowledge that, while my answer was truthful, it wasn't
responsive. However, Justin hadn't said anything about next time. I assumed
he'd tell me at coffee in the morning.

The following morning, however, I sat in
the Student Union with my coffee, waiting for him in vain. Alicia came by and
asked if she could join me.

"Oh, hi Ali. Sure, why not?" I
said, brightening.

"Where's your boyfriend?" she
asked.

"Excuse me?" I responded.

"Where's Prof. Mackey?" she
clarified. "Isn't he usually here with you for coffee? I never see you
anymore, except in class." Our friendship hadn’t advanced much, as we’d
discovered we didn’t have a great deal in common.

"Oh, yes, sometimes he joins me."
The little white lie was for my benefit as much as it was for Justin’s. I
didn't know where he was, or why he wasn't there with me that morning, and I
wanted the whole thing to seem casual.

Alicia let it go at that, but seemed to
examine my face more closely than just a casual glance. We went our separate
ways when it was time for the next class. I spent the rest of that day and the
next in an agony of indecision. Justin had my number, why didn't he call?
Should I call him? Rihanna wisely stopped pestering me by Tuesday. By that time,
I was mad. Wednesday morning, I dressed carefully to wow any male who took
notice, and stomped off to class.

For the first half-hour, I'd raise my hand
for any question Justin asked of the classroom, regardless of whether I had a
prepared answer. He never called on me. I stopped doing it when I realized that
some of my classmates were throwing pitying glances my way, while others were
hiding smug smirks. After class, I went for coffee from sheer force of habit.

A girl whose face was familiar but whose
name I didn't know slid into a chair across the table from me. I looked up to
see a face full of sympathy.

"So, he nailed you and dumped you,
too," she said. My stomach did a flip.

"What are you talking about?" I
asked, knowing all too well what she meant, but unwilling to admit I'd been a
fool.

"Oh, come off it. It's his pattern. We
all know it, but we all hope we'll be the one to change him. He's a hot lover,
isn't he?"

I got up and left without another word. Let
her think what she wanted; I wasn't going to confirm or deny, as they said of
politicians.

On Friday, the same game played itself out,
without my participation, as I didn't raise my hand for the questions. If
Justin had just wanted to 'nail' me and then dump me, I wasn't going to
humiliate myself by begging.

Rihanna, however, was beside herself. It
took her all week to notice I was more subdued, but when she did, she was
relentless in ferreting out the reason. Friday night I finally broke down and
told her Justin had been ignoring me all week, without any explanation. She was
livid.

"That motherfucker! Want me to cut off
his balls for you, hon?"

I couldn't help but laugh. That's exactly
what
I
wanted to do, not let my friend fight my battles for me.

"Don't worry about it, Ri. It isn't as
if you didn’t warn me, and I did get a night of amazing sex out of it. So it
was a one-night stand, so what?"

"You used protection, right?"

"I think so."

"You
think?
" she howled.

"I'm pretty sure."

Mumbling to herself and shaking her head, Ri
went to her closet and pulled out a short skirt and U of U Utes basketball
jersey.

"Come on, we're going to the
game."

~~~

The huge dome of the Huntsman Center was full
to capacity. The game we'd see tonight was just an exhibition, though, which Rihanna
explained was a practice game against a visiting team that wouldn't count
toward season rankings.

"Ri, you realize I've never seen a
basketball game in my life," I said. I didn't even know what season
rankings were, or how the game was played.

"Yeah, yeah, I'll teach you what to
look for. You'll love it," she stated. I was not so confident, but to my
surprise, I did. It was so fast that often I was still puzzling over whether
the ball had gone through the hoop at one end, while the players were already
at the other end jockeying for position. Ri explained the scoring as it
happened, and showed me how to watch the large screen hanging from the ceiling
if I wanted to see a replay of what I'd missed. The diagrams were helpful, and
I began to detect patterns in how our team, the Utes, moved and circled, trying
to get the ball closer to the basket before attempting a shot. I couldn't
understand Rihanna’s disappointment when the score was so lopsided at halftime,
thinking it was the win that was important.

"We're killing them," she said.
"Coach will bench Drew and put in the second and third string. Come on, we
might as well go."

Disappointed that I wouldn't get to see the
rest of the game, I tagged along reluctantly. At The Pie, Ri explained.

"It's so much more exciting when the
game's close. Besides, I really wanted to see Drew more. I haven't been to
watch practices, and I'd like to know how he's improved his three-point
shooting since last year. He's NBA material if he keeps getting better."

I hated to ask, since she was already
disappointed. "What's…"

"NBA? Lord, why do I bother? You're
like a blank slate, you know? It's going to take years to bring you into the
twenty-first century." As I began to bristle, she relented. "National
Basketball Association. Pro ball. It's a big deal, Janey, trust me. If he got
drafted, he'd be able to get out of Ogden and do something with his life."

I was still a little miffed at the blank
slate remark, so I didn't answer.

When Rihanna judged that the game would be
almost over, we headed back to the stadium, meeting trickles of people heading
away. Since it was near the end of the game, Ri led us to seats that were much
lower than the ones we'd started in. From here, we could see much more clearly
in a way, but in another way, it was more confusing. I couldn't see the
patterns anymore, though I could keep track of the ball better. There were two
minutes left in the game, and we were ahead 88-54.

As Ri had predicted, her friend Drew was
sitting on the sidelines. The only exciting thing that happened after that was
a long three-point shot with 41 seconds to go, and then the other team
basically folded. Ri said they 'hadn't shown up', which I assumed was another
slang phrase, since they were clearly on the court. When the horn sounded, she
grabbed my hand and hustled me over to the players' exit, where Drew would see
us as we passed.

"Drew!" she shouted as he was
about to pass a few feet from us. His head came up and the look on his face
changed from neutral to a big grin when he spotted Rihanna.

"Hey, Ri! Were you here the whole
game?" His long stride had brought him to face us and he gave Ri an
enthusiastic hug.

"Nah, when they took you out, we took
a break. Good game, though," she said.

"Woulda been better if we had an
opponent," he said, looking at me with interest. Rihanna took the
opportunity.

"Janey Nielsen, I'd like you to meet
my bestie, Andrew Craig," she intoned. His big hand reached to engulf
mine.

"Nice to meet you, Janey,"

"Hi! Nice to meet you, too,
Andrew."

"Call me Drew, my friends do," he
invited, smiling. Turning to Janey he added, "You guys want to go have a
coke or something after I clean up?"

"Sure!" Rihanna answered for both
of us. When Drew had continued down the passageway, I looked at her curiously.

"He can't drink during the
season," she explained. Fine, then, we'd have a coke.

"Ri," I said, staring at Drew's broad
back and short hair. Even from the back, he looked built like a weight-lifter,
his deltoids and lats rippling under his Utes t-shirt as he walked.

"Yeah?"

"Um, never mind," I said. Rihanna’s
eyes followed my line of sight.

"Oh. Yeah, he's seriously hot,"
she said, shrugging.

"So, what's wrong with him?" I
asked.

"Nothing! What gave you that
idea?" Bristling, Ri was ready to defend the smoking-hot Drew.

"You aren't dating him?" I
ventured.

"Ew! That would be like dating my
brother. Seriously, I've known him since nursery school. Believe me, there's no
spark, but there's abso-fuckin-lutely
nothing
wrong with him." Rihanna’s
voice had risen, and Drew looked back at us.

"Wrong with who?" he asked.

"No one. We'll get a table, you get
the cokes," she answered.

I actually didn't want a coke, but if Drew
was buying, I wasn't going to make an issue of it. He came back to the table
with a tray that was laden with three large cups of soda and a huge tray of
French fries with cheese melted all over them. 

"Hope you girls are hungry," he
said.

Rihanna dug in and brought up a handful of
soggy fries, stringing cheese across the table to her mouth. Slightly repulsed,
I watched her with horrified fascination, taking in the change in her
expression as she bit into the gooey mess.

"Have some, Janey, it's manna of the
gods."