ten
Vivienne Delacroix
“Viv, wait up,” Sebastian calls behind me. Ignoring him, I hurry down the hall. I’ve never been so humiliated in my life.
Footsteps echo in the empty corridor, and a second later, he grabs my arm and swings me around to face him.
“What the hell was that?” I demand, jerking free of his grasp.
“That was me saving your ass,” Sebastian says.
“Saving me?” I ask incredulously. “You made sure the entire school thinks I’m a complete slut.”
I bite down on my lower lip when I feel it trembling. Sebastian stares at my mouth for a second before shaking his head as if to clear it. A girl comes out of the bathroom and gives us a curious look as she meanders slowly past, obviously trying to overhear what we might be arguing about. It’s not exactly common to see the great Sebastian Swift talking to a nerd like me, and the fact that I’m crying only makes it ten times more gossip worthy.
When she’s past, Sebastian glances up and down the hall to make sure we’re alone, then tows me to the door that leads to the back stairway.
“What are you doing?” I ask.
“Come on,” he says, leading me down the stairs and pushing open the door to a janitor’s closet. He flips on the light, and we step inside, closing the door behind us.
“What’s with the stealth?” I ask. “Afraid my brother’s going to kick your ass?”
He crosses his arms and frowns down at me. “No one will think you’re a slut if they think we’re dating.”
I stare at him for a second. “Why would anyone think that?”
“Because we’ll tell them we are,” he says. “If I’m your boyfriend, not some rando you banged, it’s not slutty that you slept with me the same week your last boyfriend dumped you. It just means you won.”
“I think he already won,” I say, a tear slipping between my lashes. “He’s actually moved on. He doesn’t have to pretend. I’m totally lame for even considering what you’re saying.”
Sebastian shrugs and sinks down on a stack of overturned buckets. “Have it your way. I’m just saying, we could make him eat his heart out.”
“He doesn’t care,” I say, swiping angrily at a tear. “He’s got Krissy now.”
Just saying her name makes rage and humiliation hammer into my chest with each heartbeat. All that time, he promised they were just friends. How could I be so stupid?
“Oh, he cares,” Sebastian says with a knowing smirk. “If he didn’t, he wouldn’t have made a scene. Besides, it’s already out there. Even if I told people it wasn’t true, it’s too late. Everyone already thinks we fucked.”
I glare at him. “Thanks to you.”
He shrugs and gives me a devious grin. “I mean, I’m not opposed to making it true. It would give our story more authenticity. You’d know how good my dick is, in case anyone asked for details.”
“You’re an asshole.”
“What’s your plan?”
“I don’t have a plan,” I admit, wiping at a tiny tear in the corner of my eye.
“You have to have a plan,” he says. “Otherwise, you’ll lose face.”
“I’m not sleeping with you,” I say, sagging back against the cinderblock wall. “God, why’d you have to say all that? Now I’m going to have to do damage control from all your lies, not to mention Robert’s going to murder me.”
“I think he’ll murder me first,” Sebastian says. “Besides, it wasn’t all lies. I bet the stuff I said about his dick is true.”
“It’s not… Untrue,” I admit. “But it’s definitely not as small as your pinky.”
Sebastian throws back his head and laughs like it’s the funniest thing he’s ever heard. I’m glad one of us finds something amusing in this whole situation. “I knew it,” he says. “Dude totally has Napoleon syndrome.”
“And yet, he’s the one who had no problem getting a girlfriend the day after we broke up,” I say, new tears starting. I didn’t even want to break up with him. I just wanted him to prove to me that he wasn’t interested in her. But he did the exact opposite.
And now I have this humiliation piled on top of that one.
“Which means you need to get a boyfriend just as soon,” Sebastian says, making a sweeping gesture toward his body. “What do you say, Princess?”
“Why would you even do that?” I ask, laughing through my embarrassment.
“Come ‘ere,” he says, opening his arms. He pulls me in, holding the back of my head and pressing my face to his shoulder. “I’d do it because now that I know you, you’re actually a little bit cooler than I thought. I gotta look out for my boy’s sister, don’t I? And come on, that kid is shit. I’ll get back at him for everything he’s said to me by fucking his girl, and you can make him jealous.”
Suddenly, I’m keenly aware of how close we are, that I’m standing between his muscular thighs, and if I leaned in just a little…
What the hell is wrong with me? I’m literally crying, but somehow I managed to think about Sebastian’s dick at the same time.
“What did he say to you?” I ask, drawing back.
Sebastian shrugs and avoids my gaze. “Oh, you know. The regular bullshit.”
I narrow my eyes. “Like what?”
“Like you all think I’m fucking stupid,” he says flatly, meeting my eyes at last.
“I don’t think that.”
He snorts. “Yes, you do.”
We stare at each other, so close he could pull me in and kiss me. But he doesn’t want to kiss me.
He wants me to know he’s not stupid.
“I’m sorry,” I say, shame washing over me. I have always looked down on my brother’s football buddies, even though I know Rob’s not dumb. My parents got him private tutoring and stipulated he had to keep his grades up if he wanted to play football. But a lot of his friends are constantly getting benched for bad grades, and half the kids we tutor are athletes. I guess I did take him for a dumb jock.
He shrugs. “It’s alright. I must be pretty fucking stupid to have run my mouth in there. Robert’s going to kill me when he finds out I’m banging his sister.”
I glare at him. “I’m going to tell him what happened.”
“Fine, fine,” he says, holding up both hands. “Just figured I’d give you a shot if you wanted to have me whacked. I mean, I’ve been kind of a dick to you over the years.”
“Kind of?” I ask, raising a brow.
He laughs. “Okay, maybe a full dick. A big, hard dick full of cum.”
“That’s a little more accurate.”
A moment of awkward silence falls after his overly sexual comment, during which I try not to picture his dick.
“Speaking of,” he says. “Now that we’re sleeping together, we should know some basics. I have a strawberry birth mark on my left pec and burn scar on my shoulder blade. And my dick’s eight and a half inches and this big around.” He makes a circle with his fingers that doesn’t quite touch.
“Wh-what?” I ask, gaping at him. He was palming it the other night in the car, but I didn’t get to see anything except the road. It’s not like he whipped it out. If he had, and it’s really that big, I probably would have driven off the road and killed us both.
He grins smugly. “A big brain’s not everything you want in a man after all?”
“Shut up.”
“What about you?” he asks. “Birthmarks, scars, bra size?”
“I’m not telling you my bra size,” I say, glaring.
“I’d guess a small C,” he says, openly examining my breasts.
“Stop it,” I protest, crossing my arms over my chest. “And I’m not sleeping with you, so this doesn’t matter.”
“I know that,” he says, catching my elbow. A little smile creeps onto his face. “But Chad doesn’t.”
Another stab of pain darts into me, but I keep myself together this time. “You really think he’d take me back if we made him jealous?” I ask, hating how hopeful I sound.
A funny expression crosses Sebastian’s face. “Why would you take him back?” he asks. “That’s the question. He’s not the prize, Princess. You need to think of this from the other perspective. He’s a puny little nerd who cheated on you. You’ve got a decent looking face and a bangin’ bod. Most dudes at this school would nail you in a heartbeat.”
“Gee, thanks.”
He grins. “No prob, Princess. And remember, you’re the one who dumped him.”
“I didn’t dump him,” I admit. “We got in a fight. I didn’t know we were breaking up. I didn’t want to break up.”
I take a breath to gather my emotions before I can start bawling again.
“So he dumped you? Ouch. That is harsh.”
“He didn’t dump me, either. But he moved on first, so now he’s the more desirable one,” I point out, slumping back against the door this time. “That’s how it works. He was probably going behind my back with her, and even if he wasn’t, he already has a girlfriend, so he won.”
“That’s because you’re letting him,” Sebastian says, wiggling his brows. “If you were with me…”
“I appreciate the offer,” I say, carefully running my fingers under my eyes and drying the last traces of my tears. “But I can’t do that. No one would believe it. And if we convinced him and then he found out I faked the whole thing, I’d look too pathetic to live. It would only prove how desperate I was to impress him. I’ll just have to suck it up and pretend it doesn’t bother me. At least I’ll keep my self-respect.”
Sebastian just shakes his head and stands. “Your loss. Eight and a half inches is harder to find than self-respect. Just ask any girl I’ve dated.”