Alpha Girl (20 page)

I blushed furiously and writhed against the bed.

‘What are you doing to me?’ I hissed through clenched teeth. I was going mad.

Mr. Stone let his tongue part me as he searched for the sensitive, swollen bud. My breathing became sharper, and my toes curled around the bed sheets as the pleasure engulfed my body. The sensation was building as his tongue explored my sex. I trembled beneath him, my fingers threading through his hair as I bucked to meet his mouth.

I squirmed and moaned his name, begging for more. My hands on the back of his head, I pushed him downwards, desperately seeking more pressure.

I cried out as I reached the point of no return; my mind flooded, washing away every thought until I was left blissfully unaware of my surroundings. Wave after wave of pleasure crashed over me, and I lost control of my mind and body.

Mr. Stone held me tightly as the orgasm rocketed through me, reaching my toes and fingers. I felt like I was imploding; I’d never experienced anything like it before.

As the orgasm receded, my eyes searched for him, unfocussed and wanting. I was breathless, speechless, and extraordinarily weak from the intensity of the pleasure he had bestowed upon me.

‘T-T-T-’ I stuttered fiercely as the aftershock lingered over me, sending convulsions through my body. ‘Tom … Oh, god.’

Mr. Stone crawled back up my body to meet me, a triumphant smile on his face. He lay beside me and enveloped me in his arms so I was nestled in the crook of his neck.

‘You incredible girl,’ he murmured, holding me tight.

‘I’ve never.
Fuck
. Never had. Never felt.
God
.’ I couldn’t find the words.

He chuckled, and I could feel him exhale against my hair. ‘It seems you enjoyed that, my love.’

My love
. The words made my head spin.

‘Well, aren’t you smug?’ I teased, nuzzling against his neck.

Mr. Stone tilted my chin upwards and kissed my lips softly. I could taste myself upon his mouth, but it was not unpleasant.

I wanted to stay here, forever.

It was not meant to be, not at that moment, anyway.

The phone in his kitchen rang loudly, breaking the illusion of a world in which only the two of us existed.

Mr. Stone gave an exaggerated sigh. ‘Typical,’ he muttered as he began to get up from the bed.

‘Don’t answer it,’ I groaned, reaching for him.

‘It might be work,’ he said, jumping up.

Reality shifted into place. ‘Work?’ I repeated. ‘You’re going to school today? The morning after an episode?’

Mr. Stone laughed as he quickly pulled on a pair of boxer-briefs, followed by jeans. ‘You’re cute, Rose.’

I huffed, pulling the towel over my body. ‘Why?’

‘You avoid describing what you really are.’

He was referring to my refusal to say, or even think that horrible ‘W’ word.

The phone continued to ring.

‘Don’t answer it,’ I begged. ‘You need to recover after last night.’

It was true; despite the overwhelming happiness I felt about the current situation, there was no denying the fact that I was exhausted.

‘They’ll just call my cell phone if I don’t answer,’ he said, walking towards the door and opening it.

I sulked as Mr. Stone hurried to answer his home-phone, and tried very hard to listen to the conversation, but only caught a few words.

‘Mm … yeah, I can. Sure. No, no, it’s no problem. Okay, see you soon.’

By the time he returned I was nestled amongst the blankets of his bed.

‘Well, don’t you look comfortable,’ he said with a smile.

‘You’re going to work, aren’t you?’ I asked, checking the clock on his bedside table, which read eight o’clock in the morning. School started in half an hour.

‘They can’t find a substitute,’ he replied, opening the second drawer of his dresser and pulling out a long-sleeved shirt with a pin-stripe pattern.

I watched Mr. Stone get dressed in his usual quirky attire; today’s outfit included a bow tie, and a tweed suit-jacket with leather patches on the elbows. I couldn’t help but feel slightly abandoned. Our intimacy had ended so abruptly with a phone call, and I was feeling bitter about it.

‘I can drop you home on the way to work, assuming you’re not going to school today,’ he said, straightening his bow tie.

‘I never go the day after an episode,’ I said. ‘Everything aches.’

‘Me too,’ he replied, spraying some cologne on his neck.

‘You act like it’s no big deal … what we go through,’ I said, picking at a loose thread on the blanket.

‘There’s nothing we can do about it, Rose, so we might as well learn to live with it.’

I wanted to make him stay, but wasn’t sure what card I should play to guilt-trip him.

‘So that’s it? Love me and leave me?’ I asked.

Bingo
. He turned to me, his expression soft. ‘Oh, no, my sweet. You know it’s not like that.’

‘You’re in an awful hurry to get rid of me,’ I said, my expression miserable.

Mr. Stone crossed the room and slid into the bed next to me.

‘I’m sorry,’ he whispered, kissing me softly. ‘You know I’d like to stay here with you and finish what we started.’

‘So why don’t you?’ I asked, tugging his bow tie loose. ‘I don’t want to go home.’

‘Your parents will be worried about you,’ he sighed, kissing my forehead. ‘And I can’t have anyone spotting you in my house.’

He was right, but it didn’t make me feel any better. I felt like his dirty little secret that needed to be hidden away from sight.

‘Can I see you tonight?’ I asked.

‘We’ll see,’ he said. ‘We should both get an early night.’

Frustrated, I threw my legs over the side of the bed and stood up. Mr. Stone watched me as I walked across the room naked and picked up the garments he had given me to wear.

I dressed silently in the second hand clothes that were far too long in the legs and arms for me, but they’d have to do until I got home.

‘All right, let’s go,’ I said, heading for the bedroom door.

‘Hang on a second,’ Mr. Stone said, jumping up from the bed and grabbing me by the arm. ‘You’re not upset with me, are you?’

I shook my head quickly and averted my gaze.

‘Rose,’ he said, his tone stern, like a teacher’s. He tilted my chin up so I was looking at him. ‘The world doesn’t stop because of our little problem. I have to work to pay the bills, and I can only do that if we remain a secret. Do you understand?’

I nodded. ‘Yes.’

He gave me a smile. ‘Good girl.’

I received a lingering kiss on the mouth before Mr. Stone took me home.

When I returned to my house my mother’s car was in the driveway, but my father’s was absent. I said goodbye to Tom, and walked up the garden path. My mother was at the front door before I’d even made it half way.

‘Rose!’ she cried, her cheeks stained with black tear-tracks. It looked
like she’d been crying all night. Her makeup was smudged across her face. She watched as Mr. Stone drove away, his face shielded by sunglasses.

My jaw set tight, and my eyes focused on the ground, I walked towards her, anger bubbling under the surface of my skin.

My mother embraced me tightly as I reached the front door. She was still wearing her clothes from the previous day. Needless to say, she looked extremely distressed. I did not hug her back; instead my arms remained limp at my sides.

‘Oh, Rose, we were so worried! We didn’t know what had happened to you!’

My mother ushered me inside and sat me down on the sofa where she handed me a glass of milk. Looking around, I noticed that the house was in disarray. Had I done this during my transformation?

Curtains were slashes, vases were broken, and the carpet was torn up.

There was so much I wanted to say to my mother, but at that moment I felt it was best to ignore her. Perhaps the guilt would be too much for her to handle.

‘Your father is out right now looking for you,’ she said before gasping. ‘Oh! Goodness, I have to call him.’ She fumbled with her cell phone and speed-dialed my father.

‘Hello? Yes, she’s here! I’ve got her. She came home! I don’t know … someone dropped her off.’

I heard my father’s panicked voice on the other end, but his words were indistinguishable.

‘Okay. Rose? Who brought you home?’ my mother asked, covering the receiver with her palm.

I ignored her and drank my milk.

Seeing that I was in no mood to talk, my mother returned to the phone. ‘No, no, ask her when you get home. She needs to eat and rest.’

My mother snapped her phone shut and looked at me, clutching her chest.

I stared at her, my expression impassive.

‘I’ve been going crazy all night,’ she said, fresh tears falling down her face. ‘Your father has been driving around since the crack of dawn, trying to find you.’

I stood up from the sofa. ‘I’m going to bed,’ I said.

‘Wait! Sweetheart, please don’t be mad at us,’ my mother begged, grabbing me by the wrist. ‘It will never happen again, I promise!’

I snatched my arm away from her. ‘You said that last time, when I was twelve.’ The anger was beginning to spill over. I would not be able to contain it for long.

‘I didn’t mean. I forgot-’ she stammered. I would not take pity on her distress.

‘You weren’t there for me.’ I said. ‘I woke up
naked
in the forest, freezing, and filthy. And it’s
your
fault.’

‘I’m sorry,’ she said, her eyes wide.

‘You’re just lucky I found someone nice enough to take care of me,’ I said, glaring at her.

‘Who?’ my mother asked, her gaze falling upon the ill fitting clothes for the first time. ‘Who found you?’

My nostrils flared. Did I dare tell her the truth; that there was another like me out there? No. I wanted to keep that bit of information to myself.

‘A hiker,’ I lied. ‘He found me beside a decapitated deer’s head. ‘He let me shower at his house, and gave me these clothes.’ I plucked the collar of the shirt I was wearing.

‘Sweetheart, that was very dangerous! He could have been a rapist! Imagine finding a young, naked girl in the woods! He probably though you were hopped up on drugs! Accepting a ride home with a complete stranger is very irresponsible. Something could have happened to you-’

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.

‘Something could have happened to me?’ I repeated, aghast. ‘Mom, something
did
happen to me! And you weren’t there to prevent it!’

‘I didn’t mean – I had to work late, and I lost track of time-’

‘You mean you were
fucking
your co-workers?’ I yelled at her.

She slapped me.
Hard
. Shocked, even by her own reaction, my mother clapped her hands over her mouth and stared at me with wide eyes.

‘Oh, Rose, I’m so sorry-’

I held up a hand to silence her. ‘Save it,’ I said. ‘You’re mad if you think I’m going to live with irresponsible parents like you and Dad.’

‘You need us to take care of you every month,’ my mother said.

‘No, Mom,’ I said. ‘I need you to take care of me
all
of the time.’

And with that I went to my bedroom and locked the door behind myself. Rummaging through my wardrobe I quickly found a sports bag I’d never used. I put it on my bed and began to throw various clothes into it.

‘Rose?’ my mother rapped her knuckles on my door. ‘I think we need to talk about what you said.’

‘Go away,’ I demanded, stuffing a pile of underwear into the bag.

‘What are you doing in there?’ she asked, trying to doorknob. ‘Open the door.’

‘Fuck off!’ I yelled, throwing t-shirts and jeans into the sports-bag.

‘Don’t talk to me like that, Rose!’ my mother yelled, furiously trying to open the door. ‘Wait until your father gets home!’

‘I won’t be here!’ I bellowed, zipping up the bag and grabbing my cell phone.

I unlocked the door and wrenched it open. My mother stared at me for a moment before noticing the large bag in my hand.

‘What are you doing?’ he demanded.

‘I’m leaving,’ I said, pushing past her.

‘You most certainly are not,’ she said, following me down the hall. ‘You don’t have a car.’

‘I’ll walk,’ I said. ‘I traveled
miles
last night.’

‘Where are you going to go?’ my mother demanded. ‘We don’t have any family nearby, and you
certainly
don’t have any friends.’

‘I’ll be a lot better off without
you
,’ I hissed, reaching the front door.

‘You’re acting childish!’ my mother said.