Chapter 6: Saturday Night, 11:09PM – The Best Presents Don’t Come In Boxes

After a few moments of introspection, he knee-walked forward, laying down behind the smaller girl and wrapping his arms around her chest. He leaned in and gently pressed his lips against the top of her spine.

“Mmm,” she hummed, unfolding her body. She twisted in his arms until she was facing him before she brought her hands to his face and stroked it. Then she kissed him, a soft, sweet kiss. “That was so good, Will,” she murmured. The reflected light from nearby street lamps gave them just enough visibility to see the glinting of each others’ eyes.

“I had fun, too,” he said with a lopsided grin. He reached his right hand under the back of her shirt, beginning to slowly draw random patterns with the brushing touches of his index finger.

She cooed, nuzzling against him. “Um,” she said. She pressed her hands against his partially bared chest. “Thanks for playing along inside, uh, you know, with my friends. I know it’s stupid but—”

“Kayleigh,” said Will, “it’s not stupid.” He cupped her chin, bringing her face up for a quick kiss. “Games are fun. Or, at least, that one was a lot of fun, wasn’t it?” I enjoyed it immensely.

She giggled, a girlish laugh that he hadn’t expected out of her. “It was,” she agreed, her tone warm. “I was so wet! I kept expecting you to throw me off your lap because I was soaking through onto you.”

Will snorted. “The way you were grinding your butt on me I wasn’t sure I was going to make it this far.”

“Oops,” she said, holding a hand up to her mouth. “Sorry, I wasn’t really thinking about it. {Oh no, I can’t believe I was that turned on!}”

“What had you so fired up, Kayleigh? My buddy was telling me you were a man-hater when I was watching you sing.”

She nestled her head into his neck. “Not all men,” she murmured. She kissed his neck. “Definitely not all. {I like you.}” She kissed the same spot again, giving his neck a sensual french kiss with plenty of tongue that made his toes curl.

She’s really, really sweet when she relaxes. I could get used to this. “He also said you threw a drink in his face.”

“It wouldn’t be the first time. {It happens every week or two.}” Kayleigh said. “I’ve got a bit of a temper...”

“I see.” She’s not apologetic about it at all.

“And a lot of guys just assume that since I sing a lot that I’m ... I don’t know, calling for a man? Sometimes I just like to sing!” she said, her voice rising even higher in pitch, brows furrowing. “And I don’t need guys trying to horn in or get in my pants all the time.” She looked up and her face relaxed. She gave Will another sweet kiss, this time on his jaw. “No offense. {I didn’t mean you!}”

“None taken, I understand where you’re coming from. Your friend said you went through a bad breakup,” said Will, caressing the back of her ear where it met her hair.

She sighed. “It was like, a couple months ago. Or maybe it started a few months before that, even. {It feels like forever.}I found out the asshole had been cheating on me with some girl from his classes. {I can’t fucking believe he’d do that to me after we were together for so long!}”

“I’m sorry you had to go through that,” said Will, his hand resting against the back of her head. What an asshole. I could understand if underneath the fierce exterior she was a bitch, but Kayleigh seems so warm and lovable now that she’s opened up.

“Thanks. But that wasn’t even the worst part of it. The worst part was that she was cute. She was totally my type. {She had such pretty red hair, not dyed like mine!}And this piece of shit didn’t even tell me until it was going on for long enough that I got pissed off instead of horny. {I was so jealous and mad that he kept her from me!}”

“Your ... type?” asked Will. Did I hear right?

“Yeah! I’m bi,” she said, looking up at him to gauge his reaction. When he didn’t comment, she added, “Didn’t you notice how the girls were eyeing both of us when you were fingering me? All of us like girls. Some exclusively, some as much as guys.”

“Er ... So the brunette who seemed uncomfortable—”

“You mean Patty? She ... likes girls more than guys. And she’s been a bit more butch since my last ... ugh.”

“Huh,” said Will.

“Um, you’re not ... like... {You’re not anti-gay or anything, right?}” she trailed off, pulling away from him and furrowing her brows once more.

“No, no, it’s totally cool,” said Will with a smile, pulling her back and giving her another quick kiss. “Just not what I was expecting.”

“Okay, good. {That would’ve been disappointing.}Because I’ve known some guys who weren’t cool with it and that wasn’t cool. At all.”

“Kayleigh, really. No problems with me whatsoever.” He squeezed her to his chest, then began stroking the back of her head.

She gave a contented sigh within his embrace. “Good.”

Time passed.

“You never did answer my earlier question,” Will murmured into her ear.

“Hm?”

“Why were you so turned on tonight? I’m sure it wasn’t just my mediocre singing.”

“Oh,” she said. She looked down, fiddling with his shirt. “Um, promise you won’t get weirded out? {I hope you won’t dislike me if I tell you.}”

“I promise.”

“Well ... You look kinda like my ex—in a good way! Except that you’re like, way hotter. And then there was the way you called me out on the stage, even though it was your first time up there. I thought I was in ... And then we got out here and you’re better than him at fucking times a million...”

“A million, huh? If an [Arithmetician] is calculating it then I guess it must be true.”

“No—I didn’t...” she hid just her face in his chest, holding the sides of his shirt up to her ears.

They lay together for a while, enjoying each others’ closeness and company.

“Will, this is going to...” she said, drawing her head back to look at his face. “Um, I know we don’t know each other that well or anything yet—Er, I mean, I’ve really enjoyed—” she sighed. “I like you a lot. {Being with you is like finding a close friend I didn’t know I had.}I don’t know if this is a quickie or one night stand kind of thing for you or whatever, but, um, do you wanna stay over at my place tonight? {I haven’t had anyone over in a long time, and it’s been really fun talking to you.}It’s just that it’s been only me there for the past month, and it’s so empty and I feel so—”

He placed his lips over her mouth, cutting her off. She melted into him, eyes closed, as their tongues gently played with each other.

They separated, and she shimmied up a little to press her forehead to his. “I’ll take that as a yes?” she said, a hopeful tone in her voice as she stared into his eyes.

“I’d like that,” he said, swiping at the tip of her nose with his tongue.

“Ew, no!” she said, laughing. “I mean, no to the tongue thing, not—”

He kissed her again, more briefly this time. “I know what you meant, Kayleigh.”

“Call me Kay.”

“‘Kay.”

She blew a raspberry. “Real clever.”

“Do you, um, have to tell your parents or something that you’ll be out?” asked Kay. She looked over at him.

They were clothed again now, sitting in the front of the minivan as she drove them back to her apartment.

“Nah,” said Will. His phone remained untouched in his pocket. “I was planning to stay over at a friend’s anyway; we were going to the gym tomorrow morning.”

“Oh,” she said. Then her nose wrinkled cutely. “Was it the greasy guy sitting next to you?”

“Daniel?” He laughed. “No, we’re ... not close like that anymore. I meant Vinnie, the big guy across from me. The one your blonde friend wanted you to bring over.”

“That’s Olivia. She’s always after the tall guys. A girl’s gotta be able to wear heels, you know?”

“I can’t help but notice that you’re wearing sneakers,” remarked Will.

“I didn’t mean all the time! And I had to run errands when I got back from camping, so I had to rush over tonight to meet the girls. I didn’t have time to dress up,” she pouted.

“What would you have been wearing otherwise?” asked Will.

“Well, if I’d known that this was how my night would be turning out, I would have worn something a lot sexier. Then maybe you’d have been more intimidated when I pulled you over instead of getting me so hot I almost—”

“Kay, you’re gorgeous,” said Will. “And if you’d really dressed up then maybe I’d have been too intimidated to sing at all and we wouldn’t be here.” He grinned at her. “That’d be a shame, wouldn’t it?”

She looked over at him with a goofy grin. “Yeah...”

The drive had only taken about ten minutes; it turned out that she lived almost exactly midway between Will’s family’s house and the karaoke club. At her request, he lugged the mattress up the two flights of stairs to her apartment. They paused outside her door, and Will propped his burden up against the wall.

“Um,” Kay said, biting her lip and fidgeting with her keys. “Like I said, I just got back so it’s kinda messy, and I’m usually a lot neater! But it’s been a busy week...”

Will smiled reassuringly. “It’s cool, Kay. And even if it wasn’t, I’m stuck here now aren’t I? Basically a captive until you decide to let me go.”

She giggled. “Yeah, you better be real nice to me!” She fitted the key into the lock. “Here goes,” she muttered. She turned the key and opened the door, then stepped in. A light came on inside.

Will stared. This is ... not what I expected from an accountant. But also, maybe it is a little bit? He shook himself out of it, then grabbed the mattress and followed her in.

Kay was standing a little past the entryway in the kitchen alcove, petting a small brown kitten who was rolling around on the countertop. The entire area was spotless, save for a slightly-overflowing garbage can which had a wrapper for cup noodles sticking out the top.

But past that...

“Where would you like me to put this?” asked Will, pausing with the mattress in front of him.

She looked away from the kitten, continuing to rub its neck while she glanced back at him. “Well, I was thinking maybe ... Um ... If you saw the apartment, you know, maybe you’d get kinda freaked out and then you could just set that up here—”

“I’ll lean it up against the wall back here, if that’s okay,” he said. Without waiting for an answer, he waded deeper into the studio apartment, stepping carefully over the piles of textbooks and notepads, between manila folders with envelopes paperclipped to them, and around the wave of clothes that seemed to be exploding out of the bedroom. He reached the back of the room, finding an empty space next to the small, worn loveseat to lean the mattress up on.

Will turned back, spotting Kay in the entrance of the room. She was holding the kitten stretched out along her bust and chewing on her lip as she watched him.

She’s really nervous about this. But it doesn’t seem like a big deal? People have stuff, right? It has to go somewhere, and it’s so interesting seeing this side of her. “Do you need this to stay inflated or should I open the plug?” He gestured at the air plug near the bottom.

“You’re ... not freaking out?” she asked, her tone radiating uncertainty.

He made his way back across the room, continuing to avoid the clutter. She looked up at him, then squeaked a little when he reached out towards her chest. “The only thing I’m freaking out about is how cute that little guy is.” He stroked the recumbent cat’s belly, feeling it vibrate as it purred. “What’s his name?”

“T-Toby.”

“Hey Toby, you look pretty comfortable there. You know,” he said conversationally, reaching in to give the cat some scritches under the neck, “she told me earlier that I was a dead man if I touched those.” Huh, now that we’re standing here she’s actually a bit taller than I thought. Her head came to just above his shoulder.

She blushed. “That was—I—You can touch them now!” She blushed an even deeper shade of red, her face nearly matching her lipstick.

“Maybe later,” said Will dismissively, continuing to pet the cat. “His fur is so soft!” This cat is pretty adorable. I think she’s calming down a bit finally.

Toby stretched, nearly rolling out of his owner’s grasp.

“Whoa, that was a close one, mister!” said Kay in a babying voice, looking down at her cat. Then she looked back up, realizing she’d been caught talking in an embarrassing way.

Will stopped petting the cat and stepped in closer. He reached around her, cupping her butt. “I just realized.” He looked down into her hazel eyes and grinned. “I may be stuck in here with you, but as long as you’re holding that cat then you’re also stuck in a way, aren’t you?”

“What do you—mmf!”

Will woke with a start when something touched—no, licked—his ear. He smiled. I guess Kay’s happy this—wait.

He opened his eyes and looked down. Kay was still spooned in front of him, her head over his left arm, hands wrapped loosely around his hand where it was outstretched just below the pillow. He felt something wet on his forearm. Is she drooling on me in her sleep? That’s adorable. I bet she’s going to be soo embarrassed when she wakes up.

He felt the licking again, this time closer to the inner part of his ear. The tongue was raspy and rough. Toby, is that you?

Lick.

He reached back, feeling a small, furry head next to his own. It headbutted his hand. Cats are a lot nicer about waking you up. I remember that girl’s three dogs all came charging in as soon as the sun came up. Had to break that one off quick...

A paw came forward, stepping cautiously on his face. Then another one followed it before the tiny kitten tumbled over his head and into the narrow space between him and his new girl friend.

Toby righted himself. He placed one paw, then another, on his owner’s head, then began to softly knead her.

“Mm, I’ll give you all morning to stop that,” Kay murmured sleepily.

“Okay,” said Will. He continued to remain motionless, a big smile on his face.

“You’re really good at—hey! Toby! Oh my god, was I drooling on you?!” Her hands moved down his arm, furiously wiping at the wet spot she’d left.

Will wrapped his right arm around her under the sheet, his hand coming to rest on her naked breast. “The sex was amazing,” he said, “but the drool was what really made the night special for me.”

“No!” she whined pitifully.

Toby chose that moment to walk down and lay lengthwise over her side, trapping Will’s arm around her.

“Looks like he doesn’t want us to move for a while,” said Will. He kissed the nape of her neck, then gently bit the back of her ear before kissing that as well. “Is your cat always this good of a wingman or does he really like me?”

Steam rose up, beading on the old, black pipe overhead where it passed through the tiny bathroom. A single window, hatch-style, was open next to the bathtub, but it was far too small to adequately vent the heat and humidity.

Hot water sprayed out of the rusty showerhead and down onto his face.

“Stop blocking the water, Will! I’m cold!”

Small hands poked into his sides. Then they slid around and down his front. One hand cupped his balls while the other gently caressed his non-erection.

“Wow, Kay, you weren’t kidding about being horny after all that time being abstinent. We just—”

“Yeah, yeah,” one of the hands squeezed slightly.

“Oof.”

“Now get outta the way, I’ve still gotta do my hair.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“I am not old enough to be ma’am’ed by you! Oh, that’s so much better.”

Will moved his arms under hers while she shampooed her hair, cupping her breasts. These are also a little bigger than I thought. Sports bras are pretty amazing.

“Like ‘em, do you?” she asked. “What’s poking me back there? Weren’t you just making fun of me for being too horny?”

“I can’t help it, this is the first time I’ve seen you naked in real lighting.” said Will. He ran one hand down to tweak her navel piercing.

“Mm,” she leaned back into him, her hands slowing on top of her head. “You were driving me wild with that last night at the club. When I get turned on it’s like a direct line to my clit. Oh, fuck!”

The second time he tweaked it, she lost strength in her legs, remaining upright only due to his arm clamped around her chest. “At least wait until I’m done with my hair...”

Will released his grip, then spun her around by her hips. “Keep your head tipped back,” he said while his fingers brushed along the tattoo of a vivid, thorny rose which wound up and around her navel. “I don’t want soap in my eyes.” He grinned up at her as he sank to his knees.

“Ugh,” Kay groaned. She was curled up, naked, on top of her bed, lying on her left side. Her hair was still damp.

“That sounds about right for a send-off,” said Will, softly stroking her hair as he sat next to her head. “I’m really glad I got to know you, Kay. I had an incredible time.”

“How the fuck does a [Conversationalist] munch rug so good?” she moaned. “Fuck, you’re even better than Patty and nobody’s better than Patty. You sure you didn’t use some kinda Skill on me?” Her eyes fluttered open, focusing on him.

“All natural,” said Will. He rubbed his thumb along her earlobe.

“Wow,” she whispered. She closed her eyes for a moment, then opened them. “So, um ... you’ve gotta go now?”

“Yeah, my buddy’s probably down there wondering what kinds of kinky last-minute sex we’re having now.”

Kay giggled, then turned serious again. “If only he knew. Does that ... um ... Did...” she took a breath. “Was this just a hookup for you?”

“Do you want it to be?” he asked.

“I...” she trailed off. She reached up, locking her fingers into the hand that was on her head. “Will, I know I’m kinda messed up after the past couple months. I was in that relationship for three years, and having it end that way ... But having you stay over last night, it felt like I was finally starting to let go of all my anger. It’s been a while since I was so ... relaxed ... being anywhere near a guy.” She looked up at him nervously. “It’d be cool if we could keep in touch after this. Just as friends, I mean! I’m definitely not looking to date anyone now, serious or not.” She rubbed her thumb on his and smiled shyly. “But maybe also sometimes you can come over and let Toby wingman for you again?”

It seems like we’re on the same page here, at least. This is the most relaxed I’ve felt all week! Kay is just so easy to be around. And Toby is cute, too.

He leaned over to whisper in her ear. “I think we’re already pretty good friends after last night, especially after you drooled all over me. I bet your friends will enjoy hearing all about that next time I see them. Unless maybe you’ve got some way to persuade me not to tell them?”

She froze. Then her eyes widened. She righted herself and wordlessly tackled him to the bed before sucking him into a torrid lip-lock, her hands racing down his torso.

“Hey, man, finally. What happened to your shirt?”

“C’mon, Vin. You can guess. Thanks again for picking me up.” Will shut the door of his friend’s old station wagon, then fastened his seatbelt.

“No prob, Will, you know I’m here for you. Your bag’s in the back.”

“You’re a real lifesaver, you know that?”

“I do. You ready to get some squats in?”

“Oh, I’m ready, bud. I don’t know what kind of shape I’ll be in, but I’m feeling like today’s going to be a good day.”

“Alright, either get that shit-eating grin off your face or fill me in.”

“What did you guys get up to after I left?” asked Will. He stowed his bag into a locker, securing it with a combination lock. Then he bent over on the bench he was sitting on to slip on and tie a pair of sneakers. His phone buzzed next to him. For the third time.

Vinnie loomed over him, leaning on the row of lockers. “You gonna get that?”

“It’s probably Kay again, she’s really happy right now.”

“So ... you bribed the DJ to let you sing a song for a girl—which ended up being her favorite song—and then—oh, also you look like her ex—you hooked up and now she’s your girlfriend? That’s pretty fast, man.”

“It’s not quite as bad as that?” Will said, wincing. “And she’s not my girlfriend. I think she’ll calm down soon. She was really lonely and thought this was just a one night stand. When I said I’d be interested in keeping in touch she was ... enthusiastic.”

“That explains why you got to the car ten minutes later than you said.”

“If her cat hadn’t jumped up on us again it might have been longer.”

They made it out of the locker room and back into the gym, heading towards the squat racks. Will sipped at his protein shake. Not really a great substitute for breakfast, but Kay and I didn’t leave a lot of time to eat before I left.

“Will, I gotta ask, you doing okay, man? I mean, you’ve been acting pretty fucking weird lately. The last couple days have been over the top, even for you.”

“I’m fine, Vin, why? This another one of Don’s detective jobs?”

“Nah, this is me asking, Will. Just me.”

Will paused as they reached their rack, looking over at his friend. The gym was empty around them; Sunday mornings were not a popular time for leg day.

“Look, Will, I don’t wanna play this card, but it was me who was there for you when you came back. When you were ... different.” Vinnie stared him down, looking him right in the eye. “I was the one who was there for you, I looked out for you. And you don’t owe me anything for that. We played soccer, we hung out sometimes, that was enough for me to think of you as a friend. I did it because I wanted that friend back.

“And you’ve been good since you’ve been, man. It’s a blast having you around, even if I gotta deal with the other two rich jackasses—one of them being Bruh-master.” Vinnie smirked, but it faded quickly. He bent down, stretching out his legs. “But I never forgot how you were when ... when sophomore year started. That distant look, how detached you were. How skinny and pale you got. How nobody fucking cared, or even recognized you.”