Senior Week Ch. 01: Tough Love

Nothing came to her and she spat a frustrated curse aloud as she opened her eyes and gave up. Her frustration began to morph quickly into unexpected anger and she let out a deep breath to stay in control of the dangerously short fuse she often found herself succumbing to. It sent a scary shiver down her spine as she recalled the last time she had felt such a swelling of impotent anger rise up through her pores.

It had been that morning after prom when she'd been in her ex-boyfriend's basement, hiding in the closet as his girlfriend had mockingly insulted her behind her back. The rage had seemingly come out of nowhere, and not only had it pushed her to blindly put herself in another hopelessly reckless situation, its dissolution had been the first crack in the foundation which had led to her complete emotional collapse later that day.

The sensation slivered sharply through her bones and Rachel's neck stiffened as she absorbed the rush. Gathering her wits, she finally unclenched her hands as the moment passed and normalcy returned. There was no one to be angry at here. No one was truly in the wrong. It was just a shitty situation. She sighed again and turned her head back towards the front door of her house. Feeling defeated, she chewed her lip and trudged back inside.

The loud clamor of the party greeted her senses as she made her way through the crowd with a tense scowl. Her furrowed brow softened, however, as she spotted her new friend (she was pretty sure his namewasDerrick) smiling in her direction from across the room. His eyes lit up brightly when he saw her return and she winked playfully in response. She was about to go rejoin him and pick up where they had left off when she stopped short.

Irritation pinched her senses and she cursed again, this time under her breath. She still felt confused and guilty over Kevin and she hated it.Hatedit. This wasn't how things were supposed to go. This was supposed to be a fun time! A relaxing time! She'd just spent two months in an emotional hell that she wouldn't wish on her worst enemy and she didn't want to be suffering anymore. It wasn'tfair.She had to solve this. She had to. She just didn't know how.

She felt powerless and frustrated and suddenly the only thing that made sense was to find Rebecca and talk the whole thing out. She knew her friend had brushed her off earlier but she simply wasn't going to take no for an answer this time. She needed help, and if she couldn't find Kevin, Rebecca would be the next best thing.

Rachel watched Derrick's excited eyes drop as she gave him another apologetic smile. She held up a finger and indicated for him to hang tight for one more minute. He shot her a mock, dejected pout but winked at her as he sipped from his cup. Rachel shook her head and flashed her eyes at him with playful lust. Oh, she'd be back, all right.

She turned back and again dove through the crowd, this time in search of her best friend. It couldn't have been more than a half-hour since she'd seen her last, but suddenly she seemed nowhere to be found. Rebecca was pretty easy to spot, and as the search began to prove as fruitless as the one for Kevin had, Rachel started to wonder if there wasn't some sort of conspiracy going on.

After several unsuccessful laps around the main areas of the condo, Rachel reached the stairs and decided she'd try Rebecca's room. It was actuallytheirroom; they were sharing. It had separate beds but other than that it wasn't exactly private for either of them. The girls had joked about creating some sort of signal or sign for if and when they found themselves wanting to bring some boy back up there. But they'd figured they'd cross that bridge when they came to it.

An automatic grin stretched across Rachel's face as she suddenly considered the thought. Was Rebecca up there getting busy with some guy? Was that why she'd seemingly vanished into thin air from the party? The night was pretty young but that didn't mean much. Rebecca could work just as quickly as Rachel could when properly motivated. She narrowed her eyes deviously and a shivery tremble tickled her senses as she recalled how she'd walked in on Rebecca and Brad having sex that night back in the fall. The tremble grew as her thoughts quickly switched to the time a little while later that she'd seen even more of Rebecca in a sexual manner...

Her lips curling with playfulness as she pretended to play detective, Rachel slowly brought her hand to the door knob and tested the handle. Locked. She shivered with excitement as the probability that Rebecca was indeed indisposed with someone became more and more likely. But who? Rachel realized shehadseen her chatting it up with some cute guy when they'd still been all together. Curious arousal streaking through her veins, she decided she simply had to know.

Reaching gently into her small shorts pocket, she held her breath as she pulled out the key to their room. Her fingers shook as she slid it into the keyhole and did everything in her power to turn it in silence. The lock popped with a start and for a few seconds Rachel simply stood still with frozen chills. Should she be doing this? Intentionally walking in on her friend? Her smirk deepened.Fuck it.She'd just peek stealthily. She was so, so curious.

Feeling like she was in a movie, Rachel turned the knob ever so slowly and gently pushed her weight into the door. It began to slide open as the inside of the room revealed itself inch by inch. Rachel held her breath as the scene opened up more fully. Her eyes narrowing, she stifled a gasp and grinned widely at what she saw.

The room had two double beds, each at a separate end of the room. Rachel had claimed the one closer to the door and her discarded red and white bikini from earlier still lay strewn across the comforter. But that wasn't what she was looking at or what was making her grin. Far from it. She licked her lips and swallowed reflexively as her eyes focused onto the scene at the other end of the room.

There, at the foot of the far bed, was her best friend on her knees, as a pair of lucky legs with pants dropped down to their ankles lay happily extended to either side of her body.

Rachel swallowed again and held her breath tight in a frozen, unblinking stare. Rebecca's head bobbed gracefully and the impossible curve of her ass popped as she knelt up high off her ankles. The thin, aqua material of her shirt stretched tautly across her spine before giving way to a tantalizing sliver of her tanned flesh just above her jean shorts. The powerful tone of her legs glistened as her thighs and calves flexed intermittently. Her flip-flops discarded in a nearby clump, the soles of her feet twitched to the curling of her toes.

Beyond that, all that was visible from Rachel's angle was the silky volume of Rebecca's long, wavy, dark brown hair. It bounced gently as she brought her head and neck up and down to a slow and deliberate rhythm over the edge of the bed. The subtle din of the party was still audible from the hallway, but Rachel could also hear the familiar sounds of gentle moaning and heavy, labored breaths. She set her jaw and tingled all over as she continued to watch her friend work. Rebecca was giving some guy a blowjob, and a pretty good one from the look and sounds of it.

She couldn't tear her eyes away from the scene and her mind raced as she found herself wondering who the lucky boy was. He was writhing in ecstasy as his hands rested over his face with each fist clenched tight. Rachel smirked as she siphoned vicarious pleasure from each pleasurable twist of his body. She knew Rebecca could work a dick well, even if her technique was markedly different from her own. Whoever was on the receiving end was certainly being treated to a serious treat as her friend's full, pillowy lips cradled his shaft in soft, snuggly perfection.

The boy's groans shook Rachel from her glassy trance and she felt a sudden surge as her thoughts switched the boyshe'dleft waiting downstairs. A tremor crept between her legs and she inhaled sharply through her nose. She was definitely going to suck his dick now; watching Rebecca work was simply too arousing.

Acting on the impulse, she finally peeled her eyes from the center of the room and turned her gaze back towards the door. Her fingertips tingled delightfully as she recalled the image of Derrick's final, playful pout and she focused her thoughts on just how enthusiastically she planned to make good on her promise to return to him. But the image flashed away from her brain as she reflexively snapped her head back to the intoxicating scene on the bed. She still needed to know who Rebecca was with. Her lustful curiosity simply could not go unsatisfied.

Her trembling core locked in tight as she twisted her body around and began to creep deeper into the room as stealthily as she could. Rebecca's back was turned and Rachel gritted her teeth tensely, hoping that both her friend and the lucky boy were both too engrossed in what was going on to notice her nearing presence. Her heart beat fast and strong as she craned her neck to try to get a look at the boy's face. But he was still blocking his head with his hands.

Rachel lifted her foot to take a final step when she froze on the spot. She gasped again, but this time it wasn't out of arousal. Pins and needles raced through every sensor in her body as something mysteriously familiar triggered in her brain. The boy's shirt. She'd seen that shirt on someone tonight. In fact, she'd just seen-.

Rachel's eyebrows crashed into her hairline as her heart stopped and her stomach lurched like the first drop on a roller coaster. Her one leg still suspended in mid-air, she summoned every ounce of coordination to keep from losing her balance and crashing wildly onto the floor. Her ears began to ring and breath rushed from her lungs. She'd seen that shirt on-.

Just before she said the word herself, the boy groaned again, the sound squeezing pleasurably from deep inside him. His balled fists unclenched and clenched again as he sighed and brought them up away from his face, pushing them into the headboard above him. His eyes were shut tight and his jaw locked as his reddened face came into full view.

But Rachel no longer needed to see.

She already knew.

***

Rebecca's throat tensed and she closed her eyes as she swallowed roughly. She held the sensation inside her for a moment before finally relaxing and opening her eyes again with a smile and shake of her head. She put the shot glass back down on the counter and set her jaw. It had been the third or fourth shot of vodka she had done that evening and it hadn't gone down quite as smoothly as the others. She grinned at the few friends around her though and put on a happy face as she pretended it hadn't affected her at all.

The party was kicking into high gear and everyone seemed to be having a good time. The din of excited chatter bounced off the walls, complimented by the rhythmic bass thump of the living room stereo. Red cups filled with cheap beer and an assortment of liquor bottles filled to varying levels spread throughout the condo. There was laughter, buzzed warmth, and a sense of unchained excitement in the air.

Everyone was simply on the same page. They had just graduated high school and were fully celebrating the first night of the rest of their lives. Rebecca smiled devilishly as she caught a glimpse of Rachel getting cozy with some cute taller boy across the room. She was glad her friend was finally getting back into the swing of things. She'd been so mopey about-.

Rebecca sighed as her gaze settled upon another person several feet away. His general appearance allowed him to blend in with the scene and Rebecca wouldn't have lingered over him had it not been for his expression. His face was touched with anxiousness and it contrasted starkly against the carefree atmosphere of the room. He was the one person who appeared not to be on the same celebratory wavelength as everyone else.

Kevin.

Rebecca sighed again, this time more out of exasperation than compassion. She could see that he was looking longingly over in Rachel's direction, but she didn't need the visual to know why he was upset. The whole weird tension between Kevin and Rachel clearly hadn't been resolved and was now threatening to put a damper on the entire week if it was not dealt with quickly. Rebecca knew that Rachel wasn't going to hook up with him but she also knew that he wasn't going to get over it in six days either. Something needed to be done and clearly the two of them had no answers.

Rebecca inhaled sharply as she saw Kevin suddenly contort his face and turn to leave the room. She looked back in Rachel's direction and smirked at the sight that had obviously rattled him: Rachel's new friend with his head bent closely into her ear and his hands probing her tiny shorts.

Rachel looked happy but she was also nervously flicking her eyes over to where Kevin had just been standing. They were clearly aware of each other. Rebecca gritted her teeth. This was getting ridiculous.

With a quick bite of her lip, she reached again for the vodka bottle and pulled it towards her. She filled her shot glass back to the brim and downed the liquor without hesitation. One of her friends giggled loudly and started to inquire as to why she hadn't waited for the group. But Rebecca had already turned and to leave. She made a beeline for the front door of the house where she had seen Kevin go and stepped out into the night air.

"Hey, you! Leaving already?"

Kevin heard the familiar voice ring out as he walked hurriedly across the common parking lot and back towards his rental unit. He had tried to be a good soldier but he simply couldn't stomach watching Rachel getting close with another guy. It was too raw. Too soon. He felt like an asshole since he had repeatedly reassured her that he was okay with everything. And for a few weeks, he had been. But being this close to her again was dredging up his feelings. He just needed to get away.

But the voice had interrupted his escape and he turned around with a start. Standing maybe twenty feet away was Rebecca. She had her hands on her hips and a half-annoyed, half-playful smirk on her face. Kevin swallowed as he took in the image.

Obviously, Rebecca was smoking hot. Physically, she was a marvel and her fiery personality blended well with her sharp features to make her appear even more starkly sexual in many ways. Kevin was definitely attracted to her but he didn't really know her that well and her imposing persona combined with his confusing feelings for Rachel had led him to barely consider her as any sort of realistically romantic target.

He realized that he had likely blown multiple opportunities with various girls throughout the years as he'd allowed himself to remain caught up in the fantasy that was him and Rachel together. Even as Rebecca stood in front of him, her smoldering eyes trained squarely in his direction, Kevin found himself wondering what Rachel was doing inside with that guy. He brushed the thought away with another hard swallow and responded.

"Oh hey! Um, no, well, I mean, yeah I just was gonna go chill for a second. I, uh, wasn't feeling so good all of a sudden so I figured I'd take a break and then come back late-."

Rebecca cut off his mumbled excuse with a scoff and dubious grin. She shook her head and began walking towards him as she spoke.

"Kevin, stop. I know why you left. I saw her, too." Rebecca kept her face warm as she saw his expression begin to twist into one of awkward discomfort. She continued her approach and stopped just a few feet short of where he stood.

"Look, sweetie, yougottamove on from this, okay? You two just aren't on the same page right now and pretending that you are is only going to make things bad for everyone. You know Rachel maybe even better than I do. I don't need to sugarcoat it and tell you how she is. You're a big boy and you need to start acting like one. She is going to do what she is going to do this week and if you keep going on like you are, it's not going to be onlyyourvacation that you ruin."

Kevin winced at the blunt honesty of Rebecca's words. When she'd started speaking, he had expected that she would try to comfort him and give him a version of the standard "it will all be okay" speech. But that simply wasn't her style. Not only was she telling him to grow up, she was also flipping the situation on to him and letting him know that he was the one in the wrong.

Kevin realized that he'd always thought of himself as the victim, the suffering party in this equation. But maybe Rebecca was right. Maybe he had just as much responsibility to act as maturely as Rachel did. He started to form a rebuttal to her reprimand, but he sighed and changed course as the truth of what Rebecca had expressed soaked in. He felt the energy seep from his body and he slumped his shoulders as he spoke.

"Yeah. You're right." He sighed deeply and looked to the sky before returning to her face. "It's just hard, ya know? I thought for a minute that maybe-. Well, whatever. You're right. I'm being a child. But it's still kind of rough to see her and know that she's going to-."

Kevin swallowed the thought away and smiled weakly. "Youareright, Rebecca. And thanks for putting a check on me. But I'm still going to go and take it easy, I think."

He started to turn back towards his door when Rebecca reached out and grabbed his wrist firmly, spinning him back towards her. She looked at him very seriously for a second, before taking a deep breath and offering another warm smile. She brushed a few strands of her dark hair from her face and flashed her eyes at him.

"No. You're not going to go mope. That's not being an adult either. What you're going to do is come back to the party with me and-." Rebecca firmed her grip on his arm and raised her eyebrows as she felt him begin to mount a weak defense. She cleared her throat and continued.

"AND...you're going to come back inside and you and I are going to have a little chat about how this week will go. I'm going to give you a little pep talk and we'll work it out together. I promise you that once we're done, you'll be able to finally relax and start actually enjoying your fucking senior week. Understand?"

Kevin swallowed again as he took in Rebecca's focused intensity. She was beginning to look even hotter as she got more passionate, and truthfully, Kevin was already a little afraid of her. He was sure that there was nothing she could say that would make him feel better and he wanted to go back inside and see Rachel even less, but he found himself acquiescing with a weak nod and following her as they turned to head back.

The pair re-entered the house and the loud clamor of the party greeted their senses immediately. Kevin's stomach twisted as the memory of Rachel huddled up with her new friend flashed through his brain again. He swallowed hard and started to turn towards the living room when he felt Rebecca tug him in a different direction. She shook her head and indicated towards the stairs.

Kevin looked at her confusingly but she simply smiled and told him it was too loud to talk down there. "You're not ready to see her yet," she said plainly. She raised an expectant eyebrow and Kevin shrugged as he dutifully followed her up the steps.

Rebecca slipped a key out of her jeans pocket and led them both into a bedroom. Kevin walked in cautiously and flinched as he heard the door close and lock behind them. He spun around in surprise and shot her a nervous glance. But she simply smiled and told him that she didn't want to be interrupted during their talk.

Kevin nodded instinctively but he was a bit unsure about the whole thing. Being alone in her bedroom was beginning to make him pretty nervous. It wasn't like she had brought him there to hook up so what exactly was the big plan? What wisdom was she going to bestow on him that would suddenly make his years of feelings towards Rachel magically disappear?