Chapter 10: The meet

Lying on my bed the next day, it was all I could do to not smack myself in the face over and over again for what I had done. Not only had I pissed Eve off, I had put her into a situation where our relationship stood to be exposed, if we didn't handle it carefully. On top of that, by now Brook will have heard that I was meeting Jade today. I could understand why they would be angry, but I didn't care, I knew I wasn't doing anything wrong. I just wanted to know what to expect next year. My greatest fear was that of the unknown, and this gave me a chance to take care of that fear. I didn't have a problem making new friends, and I knew I could handle the workload, but by just talking to someone who went there would be a huge load off my shoulders.

"Why so gloomy panda bear?" my sister's amused voice eased into my room.

"Go away," I mumbled, putting my arm over my face. I was in no mood for her garbage. The next thing I felt was her hand on my chest.

"But don't you have a date today?" she persisted.

"It's not a fucking date! And how the hell would you know?" I growled, annoyed with her near perfect ability to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

"A sister knows these things," she said in a hurt voice, like I had insulted her. Jade had called later that night, after realizing she hadn't given me a where and when. I was to meet her in the food court around noon. I looked to the clock and figured I could get a shower in before I had to leave.

"Well whatever. I'm taking a shower, sooo beat it."

"Tom, you..." she trailed off as she reached into her pocket and pulled out her vibrating cell, grinning broadly when she saw who was calling. I grabbed a fresh set of clothes and turned my back on her, heading for the bathroom.

"Hi Marshal! No, not yet. Well yeah of course you could expect that. No honey, I know how it feels sometimes. No, ya, not true ... that was his fault and you know it, Rick was a tool." I just so happened to turn around at the bathroom door and caught her staring at me as she talked. "Oh please. I know for a fact you won't have any trouble. No, don't worry, he's perfectly capable. Shush," she giggled girlishly, "did you really? So what did you do last weekend anyways?"

I stopped listening at that point, stepping fully into the bathroom and closing the door behind me.

When I stepped out, I could still hear her chattering away on the phone from her room. Shaking my head, I dumped my stuff in the laundry bin and gathered up my wallet and cell. I had arranged for a friend of mine to drive me to the mall, well aware that he wasn't doing anything this time of day.

By the time we got there I was legitimately nervous. I didn't understand that. And by the time I reached the food court I was sweating, and tense too, like ridiculously so. I looked hard but couldn't find her, figuring I was early, I went and bought myself some pizza.

I was halfway through my second slice when, "Hey there stranger," I nearly had a heart attack. On top of that, I was halfway to taking a bite and ended up with more sauce on my face than when I was baby eating spaghetti.

"Holy shit!" I yelped.

"Aww, poor thing," Jade cooed, stalking around the table from behind me. "Why so tense?"

"No idea," I confessed, plucking a napkin from the dispenser and beginning to clean my face off.

"Were you nervous about meeting me, Tom?" she teased.

"No!" I scoffed, feeling I had sufficiently cleaned my face of Pizzatella's secret sauce.

"Missed a spot," she smirked, pushing a finger into her tanned and freckled cheek. I swiped at my cheek with the napkin, but apparently to no avail.

She bit her lip playfully, "Nope." She wetted a napkin with a delicate tongue and quickly wiped my cheek before I could pull away.

I sat there stunned for a moment as she plucked a pepperoni from my pizza and popped it in her mouth. "So, is there something specific you want to know about next year? Or should I just unload my wealth of experience upon you?"

I nodded dumbly. She giggled girlishly, despite her husky voice she still managed to hit those delightful high pitches.

An hour later I was hanging on her every word, the girl could talk, and talk well. I learned more from her than I did from every piece of literature they sent me, the tours, and the website. She told me stories that included little tidbits that I never would have learned from adult instructors. She was involved in a sorority and as it turned out, was involved in the freshman orientation program. Which meant there was a good chance I would see her again when I went in for the overnight orientation in a week. That fact seemed to get her particularly excited, though she covered it exceedingly well. But by the time she started to lose steam, I apparently still looked a little out of it. We'd left the food court by then, slowly walking down the main drag towards the opposite end of the mall. I couldn't get over how tall she was, easily six-two or six-three. But she wasn't gawky or awkward at all, her confident persona fitting her frame.

She cocked her head and smiled sweetly, "What's the matter?"

"Nothing."

"You have the same look on you face as you did when those two girlfriends of yours stole you shorts." She giggled, "You aren't having girl troubles are you?"

"Kinda," I mumbled.

"But you have two!"

"Yeah, and I kind of pissed them off by coming here."

She gave me a confused look. She thought the same way I did!

"They don't trust you very much."

"What? Innocent little me?" she snickered, hip-checking me, almost sending me crashing into a perfume kiosk.

Pursing her lips in a supreme effort not to laugh, she grabbed me around the shoulders and steadied me. "I'm so sorry, I get a little excited sometimes and it doesn't help that I don't know my own strength." That was a boldfaced lie; she knew perfectly well what she was capable of.

Though, I was quite content to be steadied by her surprisingly strong embrace. "Yeah, I'm sure. You played hockey didn't you?"

She squealed in delight, "How'd you know?" I looked at her blankly. "Oh, right. Yeah, I played all high school."

"Now who's impressive?" I teased. She couldn't stop herself from blushing this time. "Ha! Finally!" I declared triumphantly, pointing at her now rosy cheek.

"Oh ha, you made me blush. It's not that hard," she said dismissively, turning her nose up and letting me go.

"Yes it is. You hide your emotions too much."

She stopped walking, "No I don't," she protested. I had kept walking, waiting for her to catch up.

She scurried up next to me, "I don't," she grumbled.

"Fine, big baby, you don't," I chuckled, trying to mimic her hip-check, and failing miserably. She didn't even move!

"Hmm, that was cute," she giggled.

Now it was my turn to blush, though, more from embarrassment than anything else. "Quiet you." We had passed the escalator and were headed towards the exit.

"Wait, where are we going?" I asked.

She smiled, "My car of course."

"Why?"

"I have some left over stuff I can give you, save you some trouble."

"You have that stuff in your car?"

She smiled sheepishly, "Well, no, they're at my apartment. You don't mind do you?"

"No, no that's fine." I thought for a second. "You have your own apartment?"

"Nah, I have two roommates," she admitted as we reached her car, a very flashy looking black sedan.

"Oh? And will we be seeing them while we're there?"

"We better not," she muttered to herself, then turned to me with a smile, "But if we do it won't be a problem, Amy and Big Beth are sweet."

"Big Beth?" I snickered.

"You'll see," she replied coyly. We headed out of the mall area, gunning for the more urban side of town. We'd been engaged in pleasant small talk until we pulled up to a very large apartment building.

As we got out she looked around and groaned, "Damn, they're home. Come on Tommy." The way she said my name set off a weird feeling in my gut, but I suppressed it savagely. Entering the building, we stepped into the elevator, alone. We leaned against opposite sides of the elevator car, listening to the lame music. She looked like she was trying to say something but couldn't quite manage it.

After a moment she took a deep breath and opened her mouth just as the elevator doors opened and a young couple stepped in. She closed her mouth and ground her teeth in frustration. When next the doors opened it was our turn to step out. She led me down a long hallway to a door marked '440'.

She raised her fist to knock on the door, figuring it would be easier to have one of the roommates open the door for her. But before her knuckles hit wood, the door was flung open by a thin, ebony skinned goddess. She was dressed in a pair of hip-hugging jeans and a white halter top. Her glossy black hair shimmered about her shoulders and her light brown eyes gave me a quick once over before turning on Jade. She looked like a less spoiled Tyra Banks.

"God, you take for-eva girl! The garbage disposal broke again," she scolded, seizing Jade's arm and forcibly yanking her into the apartment. I was left standing awkwardly in the door, temporarily forgotten.

"I swear, you two are absolutely retarded," Jade was saying. "Tom, come on!" she called back to me. I stepped in nervously, closing the door behind me. The apartment was a scene of chaos typical of young adults set free into the real world. Cheap, poorly arranged furniture, debris from parties long past strewn about, clothes thrown around in disarray, ect ect.

"Tom's here?" an extremely girly voce cried out from behind a couch set up in front of a surprisingly expensive looking television.

"Beth, don't touch him!" Jade cried in warning as a small shape launched over the back of the couch at me. I caught a glimpse of bright red hair and a cute face full of freckles flying through the air. She couldn't have been more than five feet tall.

I squeezed my eyes shut, resigned to the pain her impact would cause. It never came however. I opened my eyes and saw that same face suspended in midair, pale arms reaching out for me, fingertips mere inches from my face. 'Big' Beth was caught on Jade's shoulder, wriggling fiercely in her unmovable grip.

With a sigh, she gave up and sagged over Jade's back. "Jade told us what you did at the beach, Tom. I thought that was sooo..." she couldn't quite grasp the word she intended, "so awesome at any rate. My boyfriend wouldn't do that for me."

"Aw jeez, Beth, don't start with that again," Amy complained walking past the two and lightly back handing Beth's tush.

"Alright, I'm gonna lock her up, then we wont have to worry about your safety," Jade said, hauling Beth off to a door down a short hall.

"Lock her up?" I asked Amy incredulously.

"Yeah honey, when Beth gets ... um ... excited, she can get a little difficult to be around. And only Jade can reach the lock so, it works," she answered unabashedly, like it was obvious.

"Jade please!" I heard a muffled voice scream from behind the door she had just closed and locked. "Just give me an hour with him!" Jade laughed. "Okay I can do it in five, just give me five fucking minutes, Jade!"

"Like I said, when she gets excited she's hard to handle," Amy said, shaking her head.

"Let's go Tom," Jade sighed, pulling me into her room as Amy plopped onto the couch in Beth's place. Once in her room, she closed the door and sighed again, crossing the room and flopping facedown onto her bed. Once again I was left standing uneasy and awkward.

"I'm sorry about that, really I am," she rolled over and sat up, readjusting her huge chest.

"So ... um..." I started nervously.

"Oh, right, the stuff." She hopped off the bed and went down on her hands and knees next to it, reaching underneath. I would have to have been blind not to have seen her ass jutting into the air, staring at me. I could even hear the creaking of her shorts as the fabric stretched. Suddenly I was uncomfortably hot and I could not look away, even as she continued talking.

"I still have the sheets I used freshman year. The beds are like, fucked up..." she said in a strained voice, really trying hard to reach what she wanted, yet unwilling to get up and try from the other side of the bed. "You need special sheets, otherwise you end up with your feet sticking out the end. You know what I mean being as tall as you are. Trust me, I washed them several times, they've just been sitting under here." She finally pulled out a trash bag and stood up, handing it to me.

I gave her a 'you-can't-be-serious' look. She shrugged, "It was all I could find."

"Well, thanks Jade," I said graciously, smiling.

"Oh! And I have this," she said suddenly, digging into her pocket. She pulled out a plastic card and handed it to me. It was a fifty dollar gift card to a thrift store I had never heard of.

"What's this?"

"That place is a godsend! It has absolutely everything you'll need, and for dirt cheap too. Except for the sheets. I only used like ten bucks on that thing too so, and plus, you'll get another one when you go for orientation. The school has some kind of special deal with that store."

"Cool, thank you so much," I said genuinely.

"You're welcome," she chortled, clasping her hands behind her back and rocking her hips from side to side.

"So, um ... now what?" I asked nervously.

"Oh!" she started, apparently jarred back to reality by my voice, "Well there was this one little favor you could do for me." As she spoke, she wandered around her room, circling me once and stopping by the door.

"Sure, name it," I responded, turning to face her.

Her eyes lit up, "This." She seized my shoulders and pulled me into her. She must have 'misjudged' her strength again, because she ended up slamming back against the door with a loud thud.

"Yeah Jade, do work!" Amy's bored voice called from the living room. I however, didn't really notice, what with my face getting tangled up with hers. I tried to pull away, but this Amazonian proportioned beauty held on to me for dear life as she kissed me. Her big tits squashed against my upper chest in a strange new sensation that I hadn't quite experienced with Brook or Eve.

"Make love to me, Tom," she breathed, her voice easily the sexiest thing I've ever heard. I know it sounds bad, but if either Brook or Eve had a voice like Jade's, I would never leave them alone.

"What?" I gasped, managing to pull myself free of her full lips. "You don't even know me!"

"I know that you're caring and compassionate, you're funny, you don't care that I'm taller than you, I can go on but I don't think I need to." She managed to deepen her voice even more, "That's enough for me." Despite my unwillingness, the closeness of her body, her voice, and the tiny forays her hips made into my crotch had combined to make me extremely hot, shrinking my shorts considerably.

I gulped, "Jade, if you know that," I cringed as she spun us around, pinning me against the door, "uhn, if you know that, then you know I won't do this, can't do this to Brook and Eve."

"I know that, that's why this will be a one time thing. They could handle that, right?" I wasn't so sure about that, Eve got annoyed whenever I slept with Brook, this would probably drive her over the mental breaking point.

"No, Jade!" I said forcefully, maneuvering my arms in such a way as to push her back.

"B-but, your s..." she let the next word die on her lips, realizing she had just made a big mistake. It just so happened that my eyes fell on an award framed on her wall. It read 'For academic excellence senior year: Jade Alexa Marshall'

It took me a full second to put everything together. "Your last name is Marshall?" I asked in a hollow voice.

With a defeated sigh, she sat down on the end of her bed and looked up at me, "Yes."

"I can not believe she did this to me," I said quietly, my rage building.

"She just wants the best for me. I've never been very good with guys." She paused, struggling to say what she needed. "I've only had two boyfriends, and those didn't last past the first kiss."

My anger evaporated in an instant. "You can't be serious? You're gorgeous, you're twenty-one, and you're in college!"

She blushed lightly at the compliment and shrugged, "So? How is that going to help me, I'm not some easy slut. A purely sexual relationship isn't what I want. And those are the only guys I've come across." She muttered something else that I didn't quite catch.

"What?"

She looked away, and when she turned her hazel eyes back on me they shone with potential tears. "You're different."

I was totally confused. She wanted a meaningful relationship that wasn't based on sex, and yet, she had tried to sleep with me right off the bat.

"What did my sister tell you that made you think trying to sleep with me would accomplish anything? She knows damn well I'm in a relationship that I'd rather die than break."

Jade looked shocked at my confession, indeed, I too was a little surprised at myself. Generally at this age genuine love doesn't show itself, yet with that statement I knew exactly what I had on my hands with ... with ... with whom? What I had with Brook and Eve was certainly special, but ... I decided now was not the time to think about that. What I needed to do now was get out of here so I could make that decision.

"I figured you'd be more inclined to hear me out if ... if you saw how much I liked you."

I snorted, she was about as bad as I was a few years ago, thinking that sex was the gateway to love. "Jade, listen to me very carefully," I moved over to her and leaned in close, she shifted uncomfortably but turned her eyes up to mine, "you are a good person, I can tell. I may not be the most experienced person in the world so take my advice only on what you know about me. You don't need to fuck someone to know they're right for you, you'll recognize that quality when you come across it." I had no idea what I was saying, but I had to say something to put her mind at ease and hope that she didn't try to get with me again.

"Had I been ... smarter, I would have noticed Brook trying constantly to get my attention. Truth be told, even if we didn't realize it, we cared for each other. " Jade blinked at that, a tiny smile quirking her lips. "You'll find someone, and if not, someone will find you."

"Is that what happened with your boss?" she asked softly.

"Who, Eve?" Oh ... my ... god. "Shit." She smiled sympathetically and reached out, taking my hand and gently pulling me down next to her. She scooted over a bit, as if she thought by sitting too close I would get scared off.

"Now see, if I had done what Kelly had asked, I'd be on my cell phone right now." The wavering edge to her voice had disappeared, as had her tears and the hurt look on her face. For all intents and purposes she was perfectly fine.

I looked at her with pleading eyes, "Please..."

"Shh, shh, I'm not going to do that. You know why?" I shook my head slowly, glumly. "Because you obviously love her. I'm not an idiot Tom, this whole act of mine was just to get you to give that up for your sister." Shocked, my mouth hung open and my incredulous look made her smile. "Though, I wouldn't mind having a little 'fun' with you. You're are really great guy and I pray Brook and Eve realize just how lucky they are to have you." She was going to make me fucking cry, I could feel it way down in my gut. "Now look, everything I've told you is true, except for all that crap a few minutes ago, and I hope you know what I mean." I'd never been tricked like this before. I sniffed, feeling hot tears well up.

"Aww, come here," she cooed, hugging me to her, my face pressed into her huge chest. "I swear on my life, I'll tell no one, ok? You can come over here anytime you want if you want to talk about it or whatever. It generally works out that if I'm not here one of them will be." She gestured at the door, meaning Amy and Beth. "But I'm serious; if it's just Beth, make sure you have a god damn chastity belt on or something." I choked out a laugh, feeling marginally better. "But um yeah, you have my number, call me anytime. Hopefully, this hasn't totally killed your relationship and I hope you wont think any less of me for what I did?"

Reluctantly leaving her breasts' comforting embrace, I sat up straight, wiping my eyes. "No, it should be alright. And no, I think less of my sister ... again."

"I'm sorry," she apologized, making a cute face.

Finally calm, I said, "Ah, no big deal. Nothing I can't fix."

"Good." she hugged me again, running a playful hand through my short hair. "So tell me, how is it sleeping with someone almost twice your age? She is thirty right?"

My face burned and I turned my head away, embarrassed.

"Oh please tell, what happens with Jade stays with Jade, I wont tell," she giggled, shaking me by the shoulder.

"Eve," I smiled, shaking my head, "Eve knows a lot about a lot. That's all I'm going to say."

"Oh boo! What about having two girlfriends? That must get," she bit her lip, "entertaining sometimes, huh?"

She was just a bit too interested in this topic. "Yeah, it can get ... interesting."

"Oh my god, you're no fun!" she whined, shoving me and nearly sending me to the floor.

I laughed, "What did you expect me to say?"

"I don't know, details. Amy never tells me the stuff she does with her boyfriend and Beth, well she does, but I don't want to hear it." I snorted before breaking into laughter. My eye caught the clock and I swore.

"Damn, can you take me home?"

She pouted, "But it's only four. Can't you stay?"

"I'd love to but I want to see Brook sooner rather than later. Eve probably told her some wild story."

"Oh, ok that makes sense." She stood and helped me up, handing me the trash bag from where I had dropped it by the door.

"Can I at least tell my friends we did it?" she asked before I had opened the door.

I thought for a second before smiling wickedly at her. "One, I think it's obvious to everyone we didn't," I said in a tone that suggested if we did, she would have been screaming and half the building would have heard her. "And two," I opened the door and stepped into the main room, "you can tell them you have potential." An excited smile threatened to overcome her fierce blushing.

"Nice to meet you Amy, give my best to Beth," I said coolly, walking towards the door.

"Yea, see ya 'round Tommy," she called back as I left. Jade, still rooted in her doorway, took a few moments to wipe the dumb smile off her face before rushing after me.

I was pushing the lobby button on the elevator when she caught up with me. "Did you mean that?" she asked breathlessly when the doors opened.

I stepped in, "Mean what?"

"That you'd consider ... you know?"

"I'm not following you."

"Toooom, dooon't," she whined, stamping her foot.

"Perhaps," I said quietly, "but if it happens, and I stress the word IF, no one's going to know about it, understand?"

She nodded her head vigorously, sending her sable hair every which way.

"Good." Without warning she grabbed my head and kissed me again, my back pushed into the mirrored elevator wall. I pushed her away, gasping for breath.

"Not now, Jade!"

"Sorry, I couldn't help myself," she replied guiltily, stepping back and tucking her hair back behind her ears. "You're a good kisser, even when you don't want to."

"Yeah well, I've had lots of practice," I said without thinking.

The doors opened and we stepped out into the lobby, heading for the front doors. "By the way," I started, "what in the hell is it about me that gets you older women all hot and bothered?"

"Don't you know Tommy?" she said as we climbed into her car, "it's all the rage nowadays to have a handsome young boy toy to play with."

Laughing, I said, "Really, is that all?"

"Well in your case," she eyed me hungrily, causing me to draw away from her just in case, "you just radiate youthful innocence, which I for one, want to take away from you, and take it away hard." As soon as she said that she couldn't stop herself from laughing, leaving me confused as the whether or not she was serious. Now that I thought about it, Eve had said something similar that first time in her apartment. Instead of having her take me directly home, I had her drop me off at Brook's house, which ended up being a shorter drive anyways.

As she pulled up to the curb and I made to get out, she stopped me. "Just think about ... please?" I was tempted to kiss her to ease her mind but didn't want to risk Brook seeing me.

"Aww, so cute." She scowled at me. "Try not to think about it, when it happens it'll happen." I deliberately said when instead of if, while I had her so enthralled with me I was going to have some fun with it. If things worked like I planned, the poor girl would end up thinking about what I said constantly.

She was beaming when I got out of the car and waved goodbye, making me feel bad for just a second before I told myself it would be worth it. She drove off and I turned around, heading for the front door, still holding the trash bag. It was a good thing I hadn't kissed Jade, because I wasn't five feet from the door when it slammed open, revealing a clearly angry Brook dressed in sweatpants and a t-shirt.

"You must have balls of steel showing up here with her," she hissed acidly.

A knot twisted into existence in my stomach, but I couldn't tell if it meant I wanted to get emotional or if I was just scared. I hoped for the former. Ignoring her words completely, I strode in and grabbed her up in my arms, hugging her tightly. A startled squeak was the only noise she could get out before her face became buried in my chest. I sniffed, feeling like I was going to fucking cry again! I rocked back and forth, lowering my face into her fragrant hair and taking a shuddering breath.

She put her arms around me and patted my back comfortingly, "Tom, what's the matter?" I didn't answer, resolving to hold her until I felt better. Surprisingly, it didn't take long, the knowledge that she was mine and that she wouldn't leave me over something as stupid as this misunderstanding, was reassuring.

I had calmed down enough after a few minutes to say, "I love you, Brook." I let her go and had to stifle a laugh as she dropped an inch back to the floor.

"I love you too, Tom," she said, totally confused and even more concerned that something was wrong. I sighed, relieved and exhausted.

I turned my head and wiped my eyes with the back of my hand, taking a steadying breath. "And you of all people know that my balls are hardly made of steel."

She laughed, letting go of the tension she had built up since she saw me pull up. "But seriously, are you going to tell me what happened today?" she asked.

"Sure." I made to start walking into the living room but she grabbed my hand and led me upstairs to her room. Apparently no one was home, which is why I became all the more uneasy when she closed the door to her room behind us.

"So?" she prompted, throwing herself on her large bed and making herself comfortable, "Dish."

I sat at the end of her bed, fearful that, as I told her about certain parts of my day, I would need to make a run for it. She eyed me suspiciously but said nothing, only gave me an expectant look. I started off explaining why I met Jade, setting her mind at ease almost at once. Apparently, Eve had given her the impression that I was meeting to partake in something a tad more sordid than finding out about my future. I was prepared to make a break for the door when I told her how Jade had come on to me the first time.

Cringing, I looked for any sign of what was to come. Se twitched, making me jump.

"She kissed you ... and then begged you to fuck her?" her voice was a disbelieving hiss.

"Well, um, yeah ... she worded it differently but that's the jist of it," I said cautiously.

She narrowed her eyes, "You didn't, did you?"

I glared at her, hurt that she would even think I was capable of that. It devolved into a staring contest that she eventually lost.

"Right, sorry," she apologized. I told her the rest of the story, thankful that she'd calmed down. She shook her head in disappointment when I revealed that the whole thing had more or less been set up by my sister.

I stood up and walked around her room, "No, I'm the one who should be sorry." I had my back turned and jumped when her arms wrapped around my middle.

"Alright, I don't want to talk about it anymore. I don't understand it."

"What?"

"Well no offense," she started, nuzzling her face between my shoulder blades, "but in high school, you weren't exactly popular with the ladies right?"

"Yeah, so?"

"Well now that you met Eve, there's something different about you. I know you've changed, that's what helped me ... you know, make my own move. But now Jade's on you. What happened?"

"Confidence," I said simply. "Didn't you know that girls love that?"