Antagonize Me Read online

  The first person I call is my grandfather. He laughs at my excitement and tells me he knew without a doubt that I would get it. That’s why he has already secured me an apartment. I nearly drop the phone when he tells me. The length that he goes to and the way he believes in me is beautiful. He goes on to explain that it will be available for me at the end of this week. My finals are today and then I’m done.

  Tonight is the last game for the football team and it's all I hear about when I go to the café to get breakfast. I sit down and look at the pictures of my new place. I feel someone take a seat next to me. I know who it is by his smell, and honestly, I was trying to avoid any conversation regarding that kiss.

  “CJ,” Tanner says, taking a seat. He goes to speak and before he does, Katrina skips over and places herself in his lap.

  “CJ, you’re coming tonight, aren’t you? It's going to be one hell of a game,” Katrina says flicking her hair to the side.

  “No, I have a lot to do.”

  “What’s more important than watching your man in action?” She winks at me. Tanner looks at me and his eyes go wide. “You’re a couple, aren’t you? You and Kyrone?” she asks, taking in my silence.

  “No, we aren’t. I have stuff to do,” I reply, wanting the conversation to end now.

  “Come on, it's going to be so much fun. We can sit together.” Does this girl ever take no for an answer?

  “I have to go, talk later,” I say standing and leaving. I make my way back to my room and see Hillary sitting on the bed, painting her toes. She looks up and smiles.

  “I saw the letter,” she says jumping up and wrapping her arms around me. “I just got accepted into a hospital in New York too, we so have to live together again,” she says still holding me.

  “What? Wow! Hillary that’s excellent.” I smile and hug her back.

  “I know. We should start looking for places, but first I think we should put our underwear on and have a girl’s night in, dancing.” I give her an odd look, that’s a very unusual thing to say.

  “Oh, come on, the movies make it look so fun. Let loose,” she says going over to my beats and turning them on. She then walks to our small fridge and pulls out a bottle of champagne, and grabs two glasses. “This is going to be so much fun.” Her smile doesn’t leave her face.

  “I have an apartment,” I tell her, referring to what my grandfather told me. She looks shocked at first.

  “Okay, well, when do we move in?” she asks, pouring us a glass each. I was hoping to be by myself, but I guess having her with me won't be too bad. She is one of my best friends and she doesn’t annoy me.

  “I’m actually leaving next week,” I tell her, to which she spits the champagne from her mouth and it lands on me. She holds up her hand.

  “What?” she shrieks. “How am I only just now hearing of this? Can I come a week later? I don’t start till then,” she says, calming down. I nod my head and strip my shirt off, which is now covered in champagne. She nods to my jeans as she reaches up and grabs the nail polish. I take them off and she starts to paint my toenails, which have no color on them whatsoever.

  “So tell me. What’s happening with you and Kyrone?” I lie down and contemplate my answer.

  “To be honest, I don’t know. But I’m leaving, so it's best not to think about it anyway.”

  She stops and looks up over my legs at me. “You sure that’s what you want? I haven’t seen you with anyone before, except Tanner of course, and that didn’t go so well.” I raise my eyebrows at her. “Don’t act dumb, I notice things,” she says looking back down.

  “Yeah, well, nothing I can do about that,” I say referring to the outcome. We are going different ways.

  “Are you gonna see him again before you leave?”

  “Probably.”

  “I think you like him more than you're letting on,” she says referring to Kyrone.

  “He’s definitely fun, and annoying, but mostly just fun.”

  “And the best fuck you have ever had?” she asks, giggling.

  “Yes, and the way he makes me scream and my toes curl? I can understand now why girls go after him.”

  “And they all want more, even when he makes the rules.” Her head tilts to the side as she studies me. “Except you. He wants more of you.” She drops her head and goes back to painting my toes.

  “Okay, enough of the talk. Everyone is out at the game and we are going to dance and have some fun. I want you to show me some moves and we’ll drink champagne.”

  We end up drinking two bottles between us, and every time she couldn’t do a move we would take a swig. This happened often and we haven’t stopped laughing.

  “Okay, I want to do that move from Dirty Dancing. You know, the run and jump. You catch me,” she says, obviously intoxicated.

  “I will drop you on your face, Hillary,” I tell her trying to make her see sense.

  She waves me off. “Bullshit! Stay near the bed so if we both go over like a ton of shit, at least we won't break anything.” Before I have a chance to tell her no, she moves me over and stands back to her bed before running toward me. I’m shitting myself. I side step at the last minute and she goes flying over the other side of the bed, smacking her head on the floor in the process. I laugh. I can't help it, I just can't control it.

  “You totally suck at this game,” she whines touching her head.

  “You…” I laugh harder trying to form words, “You made that floor your bitch,” I finally spit out.

  “Oh shut it before I shove this champagne bottle up your hoo-ha,” she says chugging from the bottle. She sneers at me when I collapse on the floor from laughter and then she starts laughing too.

  “Do it again. Do it again,” I plead with her trying to stop the laughing, but my eyes are watering now too.

  As I stand back up, there’s a knock on the door. Hillary obviously has no shame when she’s drunk because she swings the door wide open dressed in only her underwear. I scream at her until I see it’s only Katrina. She looks between me and Hillary and Hillary grabs her arm and pulls her into the room.

  “Why are you in your underwear? And why on earth is your forehead red, Hill?” Katrina asks looking to Hillary. I can't help it, I really can't help the loud laugh that bursts out of me. Both girls look at me and Hillary joins in, touching her forehead like she can feel the red mark that will soon be there, but in a brighter shade of purple.

  “Okay, so obviously I’m missing something?” Katrina questions, looking lost.

  “We are having a girl's night, full of Dirty Dancing moves.” Hillary sways her hips to emphasize what she’s saying.

  “And Hillary kissed the floor.” I laugh. “With her head.” I laugh even harder.

  “Hey, where’s Tanner?” Hillary asks changing the subject.

  “They are taking showers and I wanted to see what you girls were up to. Now I don’t know if I regret that decision,” she says with a simple smile playing on her lips.

  “Kat, why did you date Tanner knowing CJ liked him?” Hillary asks, looking at Katrina and pointing at me. Shit! I duck my head and my face goes red. Not from embarrassment, but mainly from anger.

  “What?” she asks looking between us. “You… you didn’t want him CJ and I did. I love him,” she says playing with her perfect blonde hair.

  “It’s fine, Katrina,” I reply, walking back to the fridge for another bottle. Hillary really stocked us up with alcohol tonight.

  “It’s not fine. You’re friends. Friends don’t do that! I knew something was going on between them and that they both liked each other, so obviously you knew too, Kat.” Hillary is on a roll; I’ll give her that. I just wish this conversation were not happening right now.

  “I did, okay?” Katrina holds up her hands. “I’m sorry if I hurt you, CJ, I didn’t want that. I just knew I loved him. Hell, I think I have since I first met him.” She drops her head and I’m afraid she might cry. I don’t do well around criers, they make me uncomfortable.

&nb
sp; “It’s fine, Katrina, it’s over. You're happy. I'm happy,” I say sitting back on the floor and opening the bottle.

  “Yep, damn tootin' you're happy. You're getting the best sex a girl could need,” Hillary says placing her hand near the bottle, asking for it. She hands it over to Katrina and tells her to drink. “Okay, I think we can do this right. If the two of you stand there and catch me, I won't face smash again,” she says grabbing for my arm and positioning me once again. Then she does the same with Katrina.

  We try to tell her no, we really do. She’s just not listening to a word we say. Katrina is shaking her head, but Hillary is nodding her head. I can see we’re not going to win this battle at all. She’s feisty when she wants to be.

  “I want to be a dancing queen! Just bloody lift me and hold me. I'm not heavy,” she whines, trying to convince us.

  “Fine,” Katrina huffs, then kicks off her high heels and stands next to me with her legs spread wide and arms braced in front of her. She’s obviously been watching too much football because she looks like she’s about to tackle someone.

  “Okay, lift me when I jump. We can do this, I know we can,” Hillary says jumping on the spot and warming herself up. My smile is hiding and I'm trying not to laugh.

  “One, two, three!” she counts, then runs in our direction. I do it again. I can't help myself. I’m not lifting her because I know it’ll end badly for me. Katrina doesn’t move though and takes the full weight of Hillary. They both go down like a sack of shit over the bed, arms and legs going everywhere.

  “Get your goods away from my face!” I hear Katrina shriek. Hillary starts laughing as they try to untangle themselves from one another and I burst into a fit of giggles. Katrina stands and looks at me.

  “You!” she shrieks so loud it sounds like a kid. “Why would you move like that?” I shrug my shoulders, trying hard to stop laughing.

  “I didn’t want her coochie in my face and I knew I wouldn’t have been able to lift her. Might as well give you a try,” I say, smiling so hard my cheeks are hurting.

  “My coochie is clean, bitch. It smells like motherfucking daisies,” Hillary says smiling with her hand on her hip.

  “I can't believe you said that word,” I say, referring to her use of coochie. Yes, I say it, but she’s mostly reserved unless she’s drinking heavily.

  “I'm going to see if someone wants to smell and possibly lick my coochie since I'm the only woman not getting any,” Hillary jokes while walking to the door and swinging it open. Just as she does, she shrieks and tries to cover herself. Four boys from the football team are standing at our door.

  “I would be happy to,” Lance says from the door.

  “Kill me now,” Hillary says after she hides behind the door.

  I'm still on the floor, I can't move. I think I may piss myself from laughing so much at the way she’s acting. I’ve never seen this side of her, possibly because I don’t often drink with them, but it's hilarious. Turns out I'm the only one laughing like a hyena on the floor and all four guys turn to me – Locky, Lance, Tanner and, of course, Kyrone. I laugh harder when I see Kyrone’s expression. Furious is the word I would use although I don’t know why. Tanner’s eyes take me in and I stop as soon as they do, realizing I’m in only a sports bra and underwear. Katrina notices as well and leans down and kisses me on the cheek before she walks to the door and grabs Tanner’s hand to take him away. His eyes look me up and down one last time before he leaves and I sure don’t miss the hint of lust in them.

  “Who knew you were hiding all that?” Lance says while waving his hand at me. I stand and realize what a mistake that was. The floor was definitely safer.

  “You ready for me, already?” Kyrone asks stepping in front of the boys and walking toward me. “Except you have underwear on, that’s new,” he says pulling the front of them so they snap back in place. He doesn’t have a smile though, his face is thoroughly enraged. He reaches behind him and shuts the door in the boys’ faces and Hillary shrieks again because now he can see her too. “Don’t worry, Hill, only here for Greeny,” he says referring to my now green hair. His eyes look me up and down. He leans in and gets so close to my ear, his breath sends shivers over me. “I like you better in my blue bed, naked.” He kisses just behind my ear and I melt into him, his strong arms capture me and my head lies on his chest that smells, well, just like him. Strong, sexy, arrogant, everything a man should and shouldn’t posses to the opposite sex. He has it all.

  “I'm leaving,” Hillary laughs behind us and shuts the door on the way out. I sneak a peek at her and see she has thrown a dress on. I'm still in his arms, his hands are running up and down my back then going to my ass. He slips both hands in my panties and squeezes tight. “Let’s get you out of these, I know how much you hate them,” his breath is on my collarbone as he speaks. My nipples harden when he pulls my underwear down.

  “What am I meant to do when you leave?” he questions in a voice so soft that I almost missed what he’d said. I don’t answer him as he backs me up to my bed and lays me on it, then his hands come to the front to undo my sports bra.

  “I could look at you all day,” he says, then his tongue is making its way from my belly to my hard nipples. I shiver with the heat then the cool that’s left, once his tongue has moved from that spot. I don’t speak while he attacks my body with his mouth. There isn’t much to say. I leave next week and this will be my last weekend here with him… with everyone.

  He backs up and looks at me and the only reason I notice is because his mouth has left me and I feel strange without it there.

  “What are you doing?” I ask looking at me then to his pants where his erection is obviously straining.

  “We’re going to a party. Football has finished and there’s this big party. I have to go, and since I do, you do,” he says leaning back down, kissing my hard nipples and then biting as he does. I make a face because, well, seriously? I’m practically naked in front of him, and he wants to leave?

  “You’re joking, right?” I ask on the verge of being very angry. He smiles and grabs my hands then pulls me up. His hands go straight to my ass.

  “I will make it up to you, ten times over later on,” he says with a wink.

  His house is beyond packed by the time we get there. People are loitering everywhere and I’m way too sober to be here. As soon as we enter the house, people spot Kyrone and cheers break loose from everyone. Celebrating their captain, I try to sneak away while people come across to him and give him manly taps on the back and girls try to steal a kiss. Some I want to punch, especially when they can obviously see me at his side with his hand around my waist. When he leans over to hug Lance, I break away and sneak off to find the girls that obviously will be here with the rest of the school. I make it a few feet away from Kyrone when his arm captures me and brings me back to him, stopping my escape. My back is now flush with his front and he grinds himself into my ass with no shame whatsoever.

  “Five minutes and we have a date with a blue bed,” Kyrone whispers in my ear which results in sending shivers all over me. I nod my head and break free to find everyone. It doesn’t take long as they’re all outside near the pool. Hillary sees me first and calls me over, then Tanner spots me. His smile lights up and I’m surprised that the sight of him isn’t giving me butterflies like it used to. There’s still something there, it’s just not as strong as it once was. I watch while he whispers in Katrina’s ear then makes his way toward me. I look behind him to see Hillary shaking her head directly at me. She doesn’t want me to do anything stupid, and to be honest, neither do I.

  “Can we talk?” Tanner asks when he reaches me grabbing my hand. He starts to walk away from the party and I follow behind as he has a firm grip on my hand. We stop at the back of the pool shed and he sits down on the ground indicating for me to follow. I sit and place my hands on the grass, trying to grip it hard. I don’t know why he wants to talk. We’re friends, but things have been awkward lately to say the least.

&n
bsp; “I’m sorry. You’re my best friend CJ and I’m afraid to lose you.” I try not to look at him, but it’s hard. His words hold meaning and I can feel them. I think I’ll always have a connection with Tanner, no matter how big or small.

  “I know,” I say replying while looking down at the ground.

  “I’m not going to lie to you, I enjoyed kissing you. Hell, I want to do it again right now, but I don’t want to make you mad at me.”

  “I’m not mad, just shocked I guess.” Looking up and brushing my hair behind my ears, he looks surprised that I said I wasn’t mad. I give him a small smile. What happens next, I don’t expect. His lips land on mine, again. After everything he just said, I didn’t think he’d do it again. I remove my hands from the grass and reach up and push his shoulders back. His lips pull away from mine and I’m lost for words. I have no idea what to say!

  “Shit,” I hear Tanner say, and my head shoots up to see a very not happy Kyrone glaring over at us. Shit is exactly the first word that came to my mind also.

  “Tanner, no more! Just no more with the lips, okay?” I say to him while standing up. He nods his head and I walk off to look for Kyrone. I find him on the sofa, drinking with a girl on his lap. He isn’t paying attention to her. Actually, he isn’t paying attention to anyone. He seems lost in his thoughts. He notices my stare and looks to me then looks up at the girl perched on his lap and kisses her breast. I don’t stay to watch the rest and walk straight out the door. This is drama I don’t want, nor need.

  I don’t hear from Kyrone that night, and I didn’t expect to. We were not exclusive, but for some reason it hurts, just a bit, in my chest. Something I’m not too sure how to describe. I start the process of packing and decide to call my grandfather to let him know I will be leaving next week.

  “What’s wrong, Angel?” he asks softly when I’m not my usual bubbly self.

  “Nothing,” I reply, not wanting to get into it with him.