9. Willow
Nine
Willow
I t was early Sunday afternoon and Willow was already starting to prepare for the night. To help her confidence, she decided to take care of the bush growing between her legs. She hadn’t had sex in over a year, and had stopped caring about her appearance down there. No one was seeing it except herself, but tonight she wanted to feel sexy.
She stripped off her clothes and sat on the edge of her bathtub as she began shaving from her ankles on up. Most beauty care like this she had to teach herself, since her mother was against normal beauty standards and preferred parading around with hairy legs.
By now, she was a pro at shaving. She sat on the edge of her tub, naked and spread-eagle, and her nipples began to harden at the sensation of her hand touching herself. But she had work to take care of.
She took her time making sure not to miss any stray hair and soon she was smooth and slippery. She spread her legs a little further apart and used the handheld shower head to rinse off the cream .
She took her time running the water over her sensitive area, making sure to rub her fingers around to get all the cream off. She slid her hand up her stomach to grab her breast and massaged her nipple as she continued to spray herself with the shower head. Everything on her was slick and she’d never felt so sexy.
She looked down at her bright pink center and her face flushed red as an image of Gage flashed into her mind. She told herself she was not going to have sex with him. She wasn’t even sure how he felt about her, but it sure didn’t hurt to imagine having sex with him. He was attractive and after him giving her his phone number, she was very conflicted about her own feelings. She had never ended up calling or messaging him, but something about him offering to help if she ever needed it turned her on.
She wondered if he had a six-pack under the black t-shirts he wore all the time, and pictured what the rest of his rosary tattoo looked like on his chest. He seemed like the type of guy to scoff at the idea of giving a girl head, but this was her fantasy and right now she wanted to visualize his shaggy blonde head between her legs.
She turned off the water and used the tip of her finger to trace around her opening, pretending it was his tongue exploring the most secretive part of her. In her fantasy, he told her he liked the way she tasted and ran his hands up her thighs, holding them further apart so he could get more of her pressed against his mouth.
She let out a small moan of pleasure as she stuck one finger into herself. She was surprised to feel how wet she was from thinking about him. She stuck in another finger and began thrusting them as her other hand rubbed her clit. She closed her eyes and pictured Gage sucking her sensitive bundle of nerves as he hand-fucked her, bringing her to climax. She bent her head back and let out a deep, throaty moan as pleasure exploded within her, her hands picking up speed. Once she peaked, she opened her eyes and leaned against the wall of the shower, breathing heavily.
“Fuck,” she whispered.
She was sad to see that he wasn’t there, just a figment of her imagination. She grew frustrated at herself for feeling that way, and reminded herself that she was not going to have sex with him. At least, not any time soon.
????
“You look so pretty!” Marla cried as Willow opened the door to her apartment.
Willow had decided to start her own makeover early and had already applied her makeup. She was currently wearing black yoga shorts and a ratty grey t-shirt, but apparently the makeup overshadowed that.
“Thanks!” Willow beamed and took the wine bottle Marla was holding out. She noticed a sack of snacks hanging from her other hand and her stomach growled.
“Sounds like you’re ready to break into these chips, I also grabbed some chocolate and a few protein bars because we need something solid in us if we’re drinking all night.”
Willow popped open the wine bottle and began pouring them each a glass. “Good thinking. So, I found out what Matteo is into to help us plan your outfit.”
Marla paused and looked down into the glass of wine Willow handed her. “I feel stupid. I’m not his type and even with me all glammed up he still won’t be interested in me.”
“How much would you like to bet I can get him interested in you?” Willow hopped off to her bedroom and returned with a blood-red dress dangling from a hanger. “Give me two hours and I’ll have you looking like you’re ready for a centerfold photo shoot with Playboy.”
Marla’s mouth hung open and her eyes sparkled. “Yes please! Even if Matteo doesn’t notice me, someone will with that gorgeous dress!”
It took them two hours to complete their looks. Marla had undone her braid and straightened her hair so it hung down past her round ass that the dress accentuated. She put in her contacts and wore the only pushup bra she owned. She had large breasts and the bra made them almost spill out of the deep V. Willow gave her a pair of fishnet stockings and black stilettos that added another layer of sexy to the look.
Willow wore a skintight lavender dress with a triangle cut out just underneath her breasts. She wore silver heels that matched the silver hoops dangling from her earlobes, and put her hair up in a curled ponytail. She didn’t mean to do it on purpose, but she was also wearing the lavender silk panties from the beach incident. She’d only picked them because they matched the color of her dress. She told herself that Gage wasn’t going to see them, anyway.
“Ooh, I’m getting me a boyfriend tonight!” Marla declared as she gazed at herself in the mirror and did a spin. “I’ve never felt so pretty before. Is this what it’s like to be you?”
Willow frowned at Marla’s reflection. “I’m not that pretty, I’m just average. Actually, growing up my bullies got me to believe I was the ugliest girl that ever existed.”
Marla’s eyes grew wide. “You used to be bullied? There’s no way, you’re so kind and sweet, how could anyone be mean to you?”
“Teenagers can be brutal, but I turned out the way I did because of them, so I guess I can’t be mad. Feeling like trash all the time made me want to reach out to others and make them feel good, because you never know the crap they have to deal with on a daily basis.”
“I like that. I want to be like you when I grow up.”
“Marla, we’re the same age.”
Marla shrugged in response and downed the last of the wine. Soon, they were ordering a ride to the club to start their night .
By the time they arrived, the place was packed. It wasn’t hard to find the four boys, though. They stood out, huddled up outside smoking cigarettes and talking to another group of six guys. One of them looked like a shorter and heavier version of Gage with short hair. Willow wondered if they were related.
She began to feel her flight or fight response kick in as she looked at the large group of testosterone-laden men. Ashamed that her ex-boyfriend could still control her emotions like this, she reminded herself that she was safe and approached the group.
“Hey,” she said as she eyed the strangers. Even with the bravery she used to push through the fear her ex had instilled in her, something about them made her nervous. She stood close to Marla and wrapped her arm around hers.
“Oh, you must be Willow!” A tiny girl, with a slight Southern accent, popped up from behind Horatio.
She was the same beauty Willow had seen with him at the music festival. Tonight, she wore a golden septum ring that matched the gold sequin dress that hugged her tiny frame. Her hair was styled in tight curls that barely touched her narrow shoulders, which had a light dusting of gold powder that covered her brown skin. Her brown eyes were lined with thick eyeliner, making her resemble a modern-day Cleopatra. She could see why Horatio was drawn to the striking beauty—she had an electric energy you felt just by looking at her.
“And you must be Sammy.” Willow smiled and felt her fear begin to fade at the sight of another girl, one who could hopefully control at least one of the boys.
“That’s me! Horse here told me you run that midnight coffee shop.” She pointed her thumb toward Horatio. “I used to be a barista before I worked at the marina and absolutely loved making drinks. I didn’t like working for a chain coffee shop, though. Too much politics and not enough respect for their staff. I’m glad I left. It was better for my stress levels, and I found a cute boyfriend at my new job.”
Horatio gave a shy smile and wrapped his arm around her waist. “Ready to go inside?”
“Absolutely!” Sammy tugged on Horatio’s sleeve and he obediently followed as she led the way into the darkened club.
Willow was about to follow them when the man who resembled Gage stepped forward and offered her his hand. Unlike Gage, he had a friendly smile and she felt comfortable enough to take his hand. He bent down and pressed a light kiss on the back of her hand and she silently thanked herself for remembering to put lotion on her rough skin earlier.
“I’m Robert, but you can just call me Robby. Uncle Clay has said a lot about you. He’s always impressed by young people who have a good work ethic.”
Willow gently slid her hand out of his and covered her mouth as she giggled. “Aw, Clay’s the best. I’m so glad he was willing to rent me the space. So, if Clay’s your uncle, that must mean Gage is your cousin?”
Gage snorted. “Unfortunately.”
“Oh stop it, you love me.” Robby attempted to smother his cousin with a hug, but Gage quickly stepped to the side.
Gage glared at him. “Don’t you have to go inside and harasses some unsuspecting men?”
“Yes, actually, I do.” Robby patted him on the shoulder and strode inside the club. All the men she did not know followed him like ducklings, and nodded a greeting to her as they passed.
The pulsing music could be heard when the door opened and a stray strobe light lit up the doorway before the door came gliding closed. She looked at Marla, who had obviously been avoiding looking at Matteo since they arrived. She wasn’t sure how to handle the situation, since Matteo was also very obviously looking anywhere but at Marla.
“Well, we should probably join them,” Willow stated as she pulled Marla by the arm into the club.
Once inside, a surge of excitement tore through Willow. The music, the lights, the crowds of people dancing all around her made her feel so alive. It also helped that she had pre-gamed and was feeling the effects of the wine. She didn’t care that there was a line wrapped around the bar, or that twenty women were waiting to access the bathrooms, or even that some young guy had thrown up all down the front of his white button-up shirt due to a mix of drugs and beer.
She ran to the dance floor, and the blue and purple lights made her skin match the color of her dress and her dark hair even darker. The silver hoops she had chosen flashed when they reflected the lights, and brought attention to her face full of wonder and happiness as she bounced along to the beat.
It didn’t take long for her to lose Marla among the tightly packed crowd. Willow had stopped her dancing and was scanning the club when she spotted her friend’s red dress. She was grinding against a guy, but Willow couldn’t tell what the man looked like from her position. She ducked down and made her way through the swinging arms around her to try to get a glimpse.
A man stepped back and knocked into her, causing her to almost fall to the ground. He caught her before she could be stepped on and pulled her back up on her heels.
“Oh crap, you okay?” He yelled above the music.
She smiled and gave him a thumbs up, continuing to snake her way off the dance floor. She found shelter in a corner by the bar where it was a little bit quieter. The man that had accidentally pushed her followed her to the spot with an embarrassed grin on his face.
“Sorry again about that, but maybe it was fate? You’re really pretty and I would love to buy you a drink.” He spoke to her in a more relaxed tone now that the music wasn’t so blaringly loud.
Willow smiled and batted her eyelashes at the handsome man. “Aw, you’re such a sweetie, you don’t have to do that!”
“Of course I do, it’s the least I can do for almost getting you trampled to death.”
His smile showed a set of perfectly straight teeth which appeared blue due to how white they were. He had dark hair styled with a wave in it, which fit the aesthetic of the white suit and light pink V-neck shirt he was wearing. Settled against his tanned chest was a silver chain with the Sagittarius symbol on a charm. Normally his style would not have appealed to her, but not being one to turn down free alcohol, she decided to give him a try.
“Well, if you insist.” She took his arm so he could lead her over to the bartender.
Willow took one last look out onto the dance floor to try to spot who Marla was dancing with, and stopped dead in her tracks. There she was, face-to-face with Matteo, with her hands wrapped in his hair and their lips inches away from each other.
“Damn, I should have become a matchmaker!”
“What was that?” The man turned back around, but she shook her head and continued toward the bar.
He didn’t turn back around to ask her what she wanted, and proceeded to squeeze his way through the crowd to order their drinks. While she was waiting, she looked around the dance floor for a familiar blond head of hair, but was disappointed to not find it. The club was a decent size, so there was no telling where Gage might have gone. But, he didn’t seem like the dancing type, so she assumed he had gone to the patio.
The patio would be quieter with fewer people. And fewer people meant fewer girls to grind their ass on him. Not that she was jealous.
But maybe once she was done with this drink, she would make her way out there.
While she was still looking out at the crowd, the man had found a coveted spot at an open high-top and waved his hand to get her attention. Willow took a seat across from him and stirred the pink, bubbly drink that was between her hands. It was in a traditional margarita glass but was not any kind of margarita Willow knew. She took a sip from the black straw. It tasted of strawberries, watermelon, and citrus with a slightly bitter aftertaste that reminded her of an orange peel.
“I hope you like fruity things, I asked the bartender to make whatever she would like. I’m not positive, but you don’t really strike me as a gin and tonic kind of girl, so I needed help from a professional.”
“It’s not half bad! It kind of tastes like summer.”
The two sat in silence as Willow wracked her brain trying to figure out what to say to him. Small talk was not her strong suit, but she felt like a club was not the place to get into deep, philosophical discussions.
She chewed on the side of her lip. “My name’s Willow, by the way.”
“Thomas.” He held his hand out and she shook it. “So what do you do for work? You look like you could be a model or an actress.”
“Oh stop,” she giggled. “You’re being cheesy. I actually own a coffee house. I specialize with the graveyard shift crowd, so I’m open at weird hours to make sure our nurses and cops have access to the caffeine they so desperately need at two a.m.”
“Do you get much business?”
“Enough to keep me afloat. I’m lucky I moved to an area with a lot of overnight workers. I used to live in Michigan and I was sick of the winter weather, so here I am in Florida.”
“You’re originally from Michigan?”
“Kind of. I come from a long line of Travellers, so we never stayed in one place for too long and lived out of an RV.”
Thomas scrunched up his face. “You lived in an RV? Like you were homeless? You definitely don’t look like you came from homeless parents. ”
Willow bit back her irritation at the ignorant comment and reminded herself she was only going to use him for drinks tonight. “No, we weren’t homeless, our RV was our home. Think of it like a trailer.”
“Ah, so you’re trailer trash,” he laughed, amused by his own joke. “I’m just messing with you.”
She stared at him, not giving him any sort of response. She picked the piece of pineapple off the rim and studied it, noticing the edge of it had turned pink, before popping it into her mouth. She wiped pineapple juice off her chin, hoping she looked cute rather than like a messy child who needed a bib.
“Are you originally from Florida?” She asked, unable to handle the awkward silence.
“Born and raised, baby. Tampa’s my hometown and I’ll never leave it no matter how dangerous it may become. I’m standing my ground and protecting my home. I refuse to let these stupid leeches kill off my people and take our jobs, turning my city into ruin.” He shook his fist in the air like he was giving a powerful, though unsolicited, speech. “As much as I love a creative business idea like your coffee house, you better not cater to those filthy vermin. I don’t trust them, they’ll wait until you feel comfortable and as soon as you turn around, they’ll kill you.”
Willow had stopped chewing her pineapple and started planning a way out of this situation. She was interested in him, but he had instantly flipped that switch to the off position with his random rant. She knew the South was known for keeping racist ideals alive and well, but was not expecting to come across someone with those beliefs in a modern beachside club.
The energy around him had changed and she felt that he could become dangerous if angered, so she planned to get herself out of the situation safely. She started taking large sips of her drink, hoping to finish it off quickly so she could use the excuse of having to use the restroom to ditch him.
“I’m glad you like it, drink it up baby.”
Her drink felt the urge to make its way back up at his little line. There was something about his tone of voice that put a pit in her stomach. She decided to lighten the mood until her drink was low enough.
“What’s your favorite movie?” She asked.
“That’s a tough one, but I’d probably have to say it’s a tie between Silence of the Lambs and American Psycho . Both are iconic with amazing male leads. What about you?”
“ The Lost Boys , for sure.”
“The 80’s movie with punk vampires that drive motorcycles? Really? That whole concept was so stupid and it was a poorly executed movie. Terrible acting, terrible plot, and terrible costume design.”
She smiled flatly and stood up. “Okay, I’m going to go.”
Just as she feared, things escalated. He grabbed her arm and tried to pull her back into her seat.
“Where are you going? You haven’t finished your drink yet. That cost me a lot of money and you didn’t even drink half of it.”
“Oh, you’re right. How rude of me.” She grabbed the glass and chugged the remainder of the liquid, burping loudly and slamming down the glass. She hoped he was as offended by her gas as she was of his whole personality.
“I gotta piss, have a nice night.” She spun around and headed back to the dance floor to find a man with better movie preferences and a more attractive personality.
“Alright, I’ll see you later,” Thomas called behind her. The hairs on the back of her neck rose as his tone made it seem like a statement, not a question.