Chapter 29 #2
He let me pull him down to bounce on the cot.
“Now, Stanley and Stella’s bedroom.” I whirled him past the curtain. “Bit of a mess, but housekeeping isn’t high on their agenda.”
Gavin laughed. “Nah, they’re more into fucking like rabbits.”
He peered around the set as if he were seeing it for the first time, then grabbed my hips and spun me to face him.
“I love this play,” he said.
“Why?”
“Because everyone’s so busy trying to conceal themselves, but it’s utterly naked at the same time.”
“Like you?” I asked softly. “You conceal yourself.”
His hands tightened on my hips. “I’m pretty honest, actually.”
“But you’ve got tricks up your sleeve.” I shook my finger at him. “I’m onto you, Gavin. You’re a shadow on the catwalk and behind the camera. You’re so good in bed, you don’t give me the chance to focus on you. What would happen if I made you the star?”
His dark lashes fluttered against sharp cheekbones. “I don’t know, Jordana.”
“Want to find out?”
He jerked a quick nod.
I tugged him toward the prop bed and pushed him onto his back. He let out a surprised bark of laughter.
Dashing into the wings, I pulled the stage curtain shut. I pounced on top of him and straddled his waist.
“Whatever happens here is all about you.”
“Jordana —” Gavin hesitated, glancing at the closed curtain, then exhaled. That gorgeous smile broke across his face. “Fuck it,” he breathed. “Go ahead.”
His honey-colored eyes held mine, inviting me to sink deeper as I ran my fingers through his hair. All the times he’d been in control, restrained me, peeled me open — those nights strengthened me to take the reins.
My palms met the sharp planes of his face. I sucked on his earlobe, driving a groan from him.
“Do you have any idea how beautiful and amazing you are?” I asked. Gavin’s breath quickened. I gave his collar a tug. “Do you?”
He let out a rueful laugh. “I guess not.”
“Let me show you. Let me worship you.”
I unzipped his sweatshirt, unbuttoned his flannel shirt. My hands and mouth traveled greedily over his chest. I licked his tiny flat nipples until they hardened into beads.
“Fuck,” Gavin gasped.
When he caressed my back, I grabbed his wrists and pushed them above his head.
“No distractions. This is about you.”
“Take your coat off,” he panted.
Releasing his wrists, I shrugged off my coat and let it fall to the floor. Tugging my sweatshirt over my head, I flung my bra across the stage. It landed on the kitchen table.
As I captured his mouth with mine, images and lines tumbled through my head. Stanley, attacking Blanche on this bed. Accusing her of acting like a queen, when she’s really a whore. A woman who deals in fantasy and imagination, as if that’s a crime.
I swear Gavin could read my mind, because he whispered between kisses, “Let me worship you too.”
I flushed. “You took your camera and put me at the center of your world. Now I’m putting you at the center of mine.”
His eyes fluttered closed, and he let out a low noise.
With men, I’d never been comfortable on top. But I was determined now. I drank in each moan from Gavin as I covered him with nibbles and licks. I ordered him to stay still when I shimmied out of my sweats and panties.
I teased him, stroking his iron-hard erection until it left a damp spot on his jeans. I unlaced his boots, enjoying how his eyes widened when I kissed the tops. Our clothes decorated the stage.
Finally, I settled astride him. Sinking down on his cock, I enveloped him in wet heat.
Everything was new. The angle of his thrusts inside me, my slickness coating his balls, my hands clasping his and pinning them against the bed, then releasing him so he could cup my tits. I bent low, pushing my nipple against his mouth. He sucked it in with a growl.
I was the one whispering words of praise: how gorgeous he was, how well he fucked me, how good he felt.
“You’re going to come soon, aren’t you?” I cooed. “Don’t hold back.”
“You first,” he grunted, caressing my hips. His fingers slipped into my warm valley to rub my clit.
“Oh,” I gasped. My pussy clenched hard on his cock. He was driving harder, and the position reached parts of me in entirely new ways. “Don’t worry about me…”
He gave me that heart-melting grin, and his face twisted with pleasure. “I’m not worried. I’ll come harder feeling your sweet little pussy squeeze me tight. Knowing we’re doing this together.”
“Yes, together…” I moaned, letting my control slip.
I threw my head back, crying out as I came. Gavin’s groans twined with mine as he thrust up hard, pulsing inside me.
He went slack, and I slumped on his chest. Without speaking, we rolled over so he was on top. I buried my face in his neck, utterly at peace. His skin was warm, and his hard blade of a body was safe and loving.
Finally, my eyes fluttered open. Smiling, I untucked my face from his neck to gaze at the lights above us.
I found myself staring into a pair of summer-blue eyes.
Corey’s eyes.
“Oh God.” I tried to bolt upright, but Gavin was on top of me. He turned his head sharply.
Corey stood by the divide between the rooms, his arms hanging loosely at his sides.
“That’s our bed, Jorie.” His voice was eerily calm.
“Corey, are you crazy?” I gasped. “Get out!”
Slowly, carefully, Gavin got up. He lifted his flannel shirt from the floor and draped it over me.
Corey’s eyes remained glued to mine. “It’s ours. You betrayed me.”
“It’s a fucking prop.” My voice cracked through the theater.
“Then why are you on it, screwing that sorry excuse for a man?”
“You should leave.” Gavin pulled on his boxers, his tone menacing.
“It’s only fair that I watched. You did.” Corey gave me a humorless smile. “Did you like my show with Eden?”
Gavin’s brow furrowed in confusion, and Corey spared him a glance.
“You watched too. Remember? Seeing Jorie with me?”
“So you tried to even the score,” Gavin said sardonically. “Let’s say you have. Move along.”
His voice was calm, but the muscles in his back were drawn tight.
Corey took a step closer. “I want what’s mine. You walked into this place and ruined everything. You stole from me! This is my house. My woman.”
“You’re delusional.” Gavin shook his head.
“This theater is mine. This school is mine. It’s the only place I have.” Corey turned to me suddenly. “You’re no better. Trying to take the spotlight from me, take that internship, take everything. You don’t deserve it. You’ve already had every privilege.”
“Corey, what—” An understanding clicked into place, something I’d known without knowing it. “You’ve been trying to cut me out. I don’t believe it. You work in the goddamned department office, and you’ve kept every email about every opportunity from coming to me. How fucking low is that?”
“It doesn’t matter.” His eyes were glassy. “Your only talent is getting guys to want you. You can only play yourself. You’re going to crash and burn once you graduate.”
“You know what, Corey? After twenty-one years, I am proud that I can finally play myself.” I took a breath. “I’m going to be just fine.”
He scoffed. “You couldn’t hack it on your own if you tried. Look at you, cowering behind his clothes, hiding in his bed, our bed. You’re no different than Blanche!”
“Show’s over,” Gavin said icily.
He stepped in front of me, giving me the chance to sit up and thread my arms through the sleeves of his shirt. I buttoned it quickly, my body fluttering with mixed signals: sex, adrenaline, fear.
“Get out of character,” he said to Corey, “and get off the stage.”
“You think she wants you?” Corey snarled. His shoulders hunched, fists curling, the calm veneer cracking. “She’s going after you to get to me. Do you know what she’s into, how she likes to be fucked? Does you know what she fucking crawls for?”
“That’s enough.” Gavin took a single step toward him. The air crackled.
Corey grinned, almost maniacally. “I’m doing you a favor, man. You mean nothing to her. She’s a viper. She’ll drain you and move on, just like she did to me.”
Gavin’s lip curled. “There’s nothing to drain, man.
You’re already empty. Filling up with attention — that’s why you act, huh?
And now you’ve got the perfect role. Bravo!
Finally, you get to show the world the vulgar, selfish, pathetic lowlife that you really are.
” Corey’s nostrils flared, but Gavin went on.
“Because underneath all that? You’re not a man. You’re a fucking baby.”
“Gavin!” I warned.
Corey lunged for Gavin, who grabbed him by the shoulders and shoved him away. Corey staggered back, crashing into the dining room table. Breathing hard, he picked himself up.
“You want this, don’t you?” he spat. “You’ve wanted to punch me in the face since we met.”
Gavin cocked his head, strangely calm. “Sure, but you don’t want this. You don’t want me to mess up that pretty face for closing night. You don’t want to be remembered as the Stanley with a broken nose. Say one more word against Jordana, hang around one minute longer, and I will.”
Corey turned to me. “This is all I have. You know that. And you defiled it. You broke into my house, desecrated my bed. You let him take the keys to our kingdom. You gave it all away.”
I stood, grateful that Gavin’s shirt hung to my thighs. “Listen to yourself! You are not a role. You’re Corey Young. This is a college theater department. We’re all just trying to put on a show, and — and live, and figure shit out—”
“Forget it.” Corey shook his head, shoulders slumping, and walked away.
As he approached Stanley and Stella’s front screen door, he whirled and leapt suddenly at Gavin, sending a punch at his face.
Gavin ducked, but the blow glanced off his cheek. His lean body blurred as his right fist shot out and smashed into Corey’s nose. His left fist drove upward into Corey’s stomach.
“Ugh, shit!” Corey doubled over, clutching his nose. Blood dripped between his fingers onto the stage.
His shoulders shook. Was he crying?
His hand fell from his face. He was laughing.