Licked (Devoured #1) (6 page)

As Julianna reached the bottom of the stairwell, her phone
started vibrating in her pocket. She put down her CVS bags and answered it.

“Dad?”

“Hey Ju.”

“I’ve been trying to get ahold of you for ages. What the heck?”

“I know, sorry. I’ve been up to my neck in meetings. You know
how it is. I figured you’d tell me if you had an emergency.”

“What’s Mom’s excuse?”

“She didn’t tell you? She’s in Napa with Aunt Sharon for two
weeks.”

Julianna rolled her eyes.

“I’m sorry. I thought you knew that?”

“Maybe she told me and I forgot.”

“So how’s your final semester going?”

“Good, Dad.”

“You like your teachers?”

“Yes.”

“Good,” he said, typing in the background. “You know you’re my
only eyes and ears on campus.”

“Right.”

“And your grades?”

“Same old.”

“So the B minus in behavioral psych that’s in the system right
now,” he said. “That’ll be an A after finals?”

“You know I don’t like it when you creep my shit like that Dad.”

“How else am I supposed to know what you’re up to?”

“You could call me more often.”

“And I should,” he said. “But since I already checked, you want
to tell me what the situation is?”

“It obviously hasn’t been updated since a few papers ago,” she lied.
“It’ll be fine after the last few assignments and the final go through.”

“When’s the final?”

“Tomorrow.”

“Okay. Sounds like you have it under control.”

“Totally.”

“Glad to hear it,” he said. “In that case, good luck. I know
you’ll do great.”

“Thanks, Dad.” Julianna stretched her calves against the bottom
step. “Do you maybe want to go to Geo’s or something to celebrate when I’m
done?”

“Yeah sure. Of course. As soon as I have time.”

“Okay.”

“I have to take this call, honey,” he said. “Good chat. Love
you.”

The dial tone came through loud and clear before Julianna had a
chance to say goodbye.

She exhaled and picked up the plastic bags, taking the stairs
two at a time.

It wasn’t that her parents were bad people that made her hate
them so much. It was just that, as far as she could tell, there was literally
nothing they wouldn’t rather do than spend time with her. And it was annoying.

She knew it could be worse. They had reminded her seven thousand
times how lucky she was to be upper middle class, but she knew other people who
were just as well off whose parents actually enjoyed their company.

Sure, she had everything she needed and wanted for nothing.
Still, it sucked knowing that she was last on their list of priorities. She
just wanted to be picked over something or someone else every once in a while,
even if it was only for a little thing, like another phone call.

Honestly, if her dad wasn’t the dean, neither of her parents
would even be coming to her graduation.

When she walked into her apartment, it was obvious that Sam and
Heather were in the middle of a serious conversation.

“Hey,” Julianna said. “Oh my God, Heather. You look like you’ve
seen a ghost. You guys okay?”

“She just realized what a man slut Rocko is,” Sam said, walking into
the kitchen area.

Julianna put her bags down at the end of the counter. “I thought
you knew that? You said you just wanted to have fun with him.”

Heather looked down at her lap. “I know what I said, but I
thought, I don’t know, since we’d been seeing so much of each other-”

“What?” Julianna asked. “You thought he wouldn’t let other girls
suck him off when he’s all coked up?”

Heather’s face fell. “I know it sounds stupid.”

“I told her if she didn’t like him, she wouldn’t be so upset,”
Sam said, taking a pizza out of the oven.

“That smells burnt,” Julianna said, crinkling her nose.

“It’s fine,” Sam said. “I like it crispy. You don’t have to eat
it.”

Heather interjected. “So what am I supposed to do, stop liking
him?”

Julianna took off a silver ring and rolled it back and forth on
the table. “Probably. Unless you’re willing to share him?”

“Maybe a little,” Heather said, “but not with the Tri-Delt twins
and their whole pledge class!”

“Ouch,” Sam said. “Tough competition.”

Heather looked at Julianna. “Sam told me you’d know what to do.
She said you would understand.”

Julianna turned to Sam. “Why would you think that?”

Sam shrugged. “I don’t know. Cause of Charlie?”

Julianna felt her face go hot. “That was completely different. Charlie
was supposed to be faithful to me. We were in a relationship. I didn’t know he
was going to fuck around behind my back before I started hooking up with him.”

“I know the situation isn’t exactly the same,” Sam said. “I just
meant you’d understand how she was feeling.”

Julianna took a deep breath and clenched her jaw. “Heather. I’m
sorry you’re hurting, but you need to get over it. Rocko isn’t good enough for
you anyway.”

Heather’s eyes darted around the apartment and she spoke
quietly. “So you don’t think that maybe if I was better at stuff he would want
to be with me?”

“You mean better at sex?” Julianna asked.

“Yeah.” Heather brushed her blond bangs out of her eyes.
“Blowjobs, whatever.”

Julianna sat back in her chair. “Unfortunately, I don’t think it
would make much of a difference in this case.”

“Why not?”

Julianna blew air out her lips. “Jesus. I don’t even know where
to start.”

“Cause he doesn’t want a relationship first of all,” Sam chimed
in as she wrestled with the dull pizza cutter.

Julianna nodded. “And he’s on drugs all the time, right?”

Heather shrugged. “Sometimes.”  

“Have you ever tried to give a blowjob to a guy who’s high on
coke?”

“At this point, I suppose it would be naïve of me to say no.”

Julianna smiled. “Right. Well you know how you have to suck for
so long your jaw basically comes unhinged and sometimes nothing even comes of
it?”

Heather swallowed.

“The point is,” Julianna said, “technique isn’t really a factor
in that situation. That’s why he’d happily let a whole sorority pledge class
slobber all over his dick. Cause he’d get just as much out of it.”

“Julianna’s right,” Sam said. “And even if you thought you could
trust him to change, you can’t trust anyone he hangs out with.”

Heather pulled her knees up to her chest and rested her chin on
them. She stared straight ahead without saying anything.

“I’m sorry if you don’t feel better,” Julianna said, “but that’s
the truth.”

Sam nodded in agreement as she put some pizza slices on a plate
around a big blob of ranch dressing.

Heather cleared her throat. “Okay. So this is my fault. I
shouldn’t have let myself develop feelings for someone so clearly bad for me.”

The girls nodded.

“But,” Heather continued, “will you still teach me what you
know?”

“Me?” Julianna asked, knowing full well that she was talking to
her.

“Yeah,” Heather said. “Sam told me you taught her everything she
knows, and she thinks it’s one of the reasons things are going so well with
Kevin.”

Julianna looked over her shoulder.

Sam shrugged. “It’s true.”

“Well you’re very welcome,” Julianna said.

“So will you?” Heather asked.

“Are you sure you want me to teach you? I mean, it seems like
Sam is our resident sex
and
relationships expert these days.”

“No,” Heather said. “I want you to teach me.” She crossed her
legs. “If you’re up for it?”

Julianna looked at her. She wanted her to sweat it out, to think
she hadn’t already made up her mind.

“As a graduation present?” Heather asked. “Send me out into the
world with some knowledge that’s actually practical?”

Julianna faked surprise. “You mean you didn’t learn everything
you needed to know from Fifty Shades?”

“Are you kidding?” Heather asked. “The girl in the book knows
even less than Sam did freshman year.”

Sam put the pizza plate down on the table. “And that’s saying a
lot.”

“I know!” Heather said.

Sam dragged a slice of pizza through the ranch. “I was really afraid
of the penis snake back then.”

Julianna laughed. “Sure, Heather. I’ll teach you what I know.”

“Thanks,” Heather said, grabbing a slice of pizza off the plate.
“You’re the best.”

“As long as you find someone besides Rocko to test your new
skills on cause he’s a waste of your efforts, and you’ll have nothing to show
for it.”

“Agreed,” Heather said.

Julianna folded a piece of pizza in half and dipped it in the
ranch.

Sam licked some ranch off her fingers. “So now that that’s
settled, you guys coming out tonight or what?”

“I have a final tomorrow,” Julianna said.

“Yeah, but isn’t it for your psych class?”

“Yeah.”

“So you’re supposed to bomb it anyway. Isn’t that part of the
challenge?”

“I don’t think I’m supposed to
bomb
it exactly,” Julianna
said.

“Yeah, but it’s not like you need to study.”

Heather looked at Julianna. “What do you have going into it?”

“B minus.”

Heather crossed her legs. “What’s the status update on the sexy
prof?”

Julianna smiled and covered her full mouth with her hand. “He
wants me bad.”

Heather laughed.

“Like I’ve been teasing the shit out of him, and I think he’s
actually intimidated by me.”

Sam leaned against the counter. “How are you so sure he wants
you?”

Julianna swallowed. “Cause his hips don’t lie, or should I say,
what’s between them doesn’t.”

“Have you-“

“No,” she said, crinkling her forehead. “But I’m pretty sure I
could if I wanted to.”

Heather pulled her bangs straight in front of her eyes and went
cross eyed looking at her split ends. “And do you want to?”

Julianna shrugged. “I do. Eventually.”

“I told you he was your type,” Heather said.

Sam crossed her arms. “Cause you’re a freak for geeks.”

“It’s true.” Julianna shrugged. “I’m not sure why. I think it’s
because with a regular guy, it’s just sex to them. But with a geek it’s, I
don’t know. It almost makes you feel like you’re helping them live out some
kind of fantasy.”

Sam laughed. “Yeah. Cause at the end of the day it’s all about
helping
people
.”

“Or maybe its cause geeks are good at all the things I’m not,
and I like to show them a whole new world.”

“Alright. Easy Aladdin,” Heather said. “How much have you shown
him so far exactly?”

“Nothing really.” Julianna shrugged. “Only enough so that he
wouldn’t be able to stop himself from imagining the rest.”

“And how are you going to make sure you get an A in the class?”
Heather asked, reaching for another slice.

“Easy,” Julianna said. “I’m going to do something to make sure
he remembers me long after graduation day.”

Heather’s eyes grew wide. “What are you going to do?”

“I haven’t decided yet.” Julianna slid the ring up and down her
finger. “Something good. Something that will guarantee he thinks of me when
he’s fucking his new wife.”

“He’s married?” Sam asked.

“Engaged,” Julianna said. “But I don’t know what the deal is.
He’s definitely not getting any at home.”

Heather furrowed her brow. “How do you know?”

“Cause he’s got zero dick control,” Julianna said. “I swear it’s
like I’ve got more control over his dick than he does.”

“You’re like a real snake charmer,” Heather said.

Julianna smiled. “I try.”

“And has he done anything to you yet?”

“Only in his mind,” Julianna said. “I’m sure of it.”

Kirk cleared his throat and stood tall before knocking on the
door.

“Come in,” a voice answered.

He turned the knob and stuck his head in. “Dr. Kenis?”

“Call me Paul,” he said, standing from his chair. “Dr. Kenis is
my father.”

Kirk entered the office and looked around. His first impression
of the office was of how brown it was: the desk, the carpet, the chairs, the
small patches of visible corkboard showing through the cluttered notes on the
wall. It was like being in the woods in the dead of winter. “Is this an okay
time?”

“I chose it, didn’t I?” Paul said, moving some papers off a
chair before pulling it up near the desk. “Have a seat, Kirk.”

“Thanks.” As he sat down, he pointed towards a picture of three
smiling faces in a brown frame. “Are those your kids?”

“The first two are definitely mine.” Paul passed the picture to
Kirk. “Jury’s still out on the little one.”

Kirk’s brow wrinkled.

“I’m kidding,” Paul said, leaning back in his chair.

“Oh right. I almost believed you for a second. You don’t look
old enough to have three kids.”

“I appreciate that. Would you believe the oldest one will be
twelve this year?”

“Wow.”

“I know.” Paul returned the picture to its prominent place on
the desk. “You have any little monsters yourself?”

“No.”

“Wife?”

“I just got engaged actually. Just before term started.”

“Congratulations!” Paul lifted his hands in the air. “I’m sorry.
I had no idea.”

“That’s okay.”

“This calls for a toast.” Paul leaned over and opened the bottom
desk drawer. When he sat back up he was holding two short glass tumblers and a
bottle of whiskey.

“Oh you don’t have to go to that kind of trouble.”

“It’s no trouble.”

Kirk pulled his collar away from his neck.

“What are you worried about?” Paul asked, pouring two double
shots. “It’s finals week! Our work is done.”

“I suppose that’s true.”

“Of course it is.” Paul handed Kirk a glass. “Can’t let the kids
have all the fun.” He raised his glass. “Congrats on your engagement, Kirk.”

“Cheers,” Kirk said, clinking glasses with the professor.

“Now tell me how you met your future wife and don’t give me any
of that work/family life separate nonsense. That might work for the engineers,
but this is the psych department. We’re people people, and we’re a family.”

Kirk swallowed. “I met her in college. She was a cheerleader.”

Paul listened intently, his eyes fixed on Kirk.

“I guess the moment I saw her at one of the football games, I
knew she was the one.”

“You’re saying you don’t remember the score of the game?”

Kirk smiled. “Not even who was playing.”

“Sounds like true love to me!”

“She’s from the area actually. That’s one of the reasons I
applied for a job here.”

“Cause she wanted to be near her family?”

“Yeah.”

“And do you get along with them okay?”

Kirk tapped the pads of his fingers on the glass. “Would it be
terrible for me to say I tolerate them?”

“Not at all,” Paul said. “I totally understand. My wife is
Indian. She was raised here, but every time we visit her family I’m like
can
you all just stop singing for two seconds?!
”

Kirk raised his eyebrows.

“But it’s just how they talk, ya know?”

“Right.”

“All I’m saying is, when you marry someone, you might have to
marry their whole family, but at least you don’t have to sleep with them!”

“Amen to that,” Kirk said, raising his glass. Kirk had forgotten
how relaxing an afternoon whiskey could be. After all, the last time he’d had
one was never. “And how did you meet your wife, Paul?”

“She works on the other side of campus. She’s a chemical
engineer.”

“Wow.”

“Yeah, it’s great,” Paul said. “We both think we married up!”

Kirk laughed.

“I’m glad you set up this meeting, Kirk.”

“You are?”

“Yeah. It’s good to get to know the people you’re sharing the
tiles with.”

Kirk nodded.

“I should’ve done it weeks ago.” Paul swirled the whisky in his
glass. “To see how you were getting on here.”

“No news is good news, right?”

“So they say.”

“And how long have you been here?”

Paul rolled his eyes up and thought. “I want to say about
thirteen years because we were settled and Priti was pregnant.”

“Wow. So you’re the expert when it comes to how things work
around here.”

“I like to think I’ve learned a few things over the years, yeah.
But there’s not much to know really. When it comes to our department, we get
left alone for the most part.” Paul leaned back in his chair. “We get about the
same amount of funding every year as long as the program maintains its
reputation, which I’m sure you know is very good.”

“Yes.”

“And personally, I’ve found that the secret to earning your
tenure and being able to do your research in peace is keeping a low profile.”

“How do you do that?”

“Simple. Keep your students happy.”

“Keep your students happy?” Kirk repeated as if it were a piece
of meat he hadn’t quite bitten through the first time.

“Yeah,” Paul said. “Keep your classes engaging, your material
current and make sure you are available for students who need extra help. I’ve
found that if you do those three things, you can come to work, collect your
paycheck, and enjoy a decent quality of life.”

“Sounds straightforward enough.”

“It is. It is, absolutely.” Paul crossed his ankle over his
knee. “And I think it goes without saying that if you do those things it makes
my life a whole lot easier because I don’t have to babysit you or defend you to
anyone.”

“So everybody wins.”

Paul raised his glass again. “So everybody wins.”

Kirk drained the last of his glass and felt the whiskey warming
his belly. “And as the department head, do professors come to you often with, I
don’t know, disciplinary problems?”

“Not really, no.” Paul wrapped his fingers around his chin.
“Sometimes we have to deal with a cheating incident, but that usually only
happens with athletes in the lower level psych courses, so it wouldn’t be a
problem for you.”

Kirk nodded. “I’m just curious how you would suggest handling
problems like that because I know every school has different policies.”

“Well, if I were the jerk that was in charge when I started
here, I’d tell you to go read the employee handbook.” Paul leaned forward. “But
out of respect for your time, I’ll just tell you what’s worked for me.”

“Thanks.”

“Basically, unless someone is in physical danger or in danger of
damaging the programs’ reputation, I usually handle issues on a case by case
basis with the student directly.”

Kirk nodded.

Paul cocked his head. “Are you having an issue with a student,
Kirk? You know you can talk to me.”

“No,” Kirk lied. “Everything’s fine.” He shrugged. “I just like
to be prepared. Just in case.”

“My kind of guy. Was there anything else you specifically wanted
to ask me about?”

“No. I just wanted to stop by to catch up and let you know I’m really
starting to feel settled.”

“That’s great to hear.”

Kirk nodded. “Yeah. Everyone has been really welcoming.”

“Well, I always have time for good news,” Paul said, “but I
better get back to what I was doing before you stopped by. Can’t have this
turning into an afternoon drinking session.”

 “No.” Kirk put his empty glass down on the desk. “Can’t have
that.”

“Good luck with finals,” Paul said, “and I’ll see you at the
department meeting at the end of the week.”

“Sounds good. Thanks for your time.” Kirk stood up and shook
Paul’s chubby hand.

“Stop by anytime. My door is always open.” Paul patted him on
the shoulder. “Unless I’m in here drinking in which case you’re still more than
welcome.”

Kirk laughed. “I’ll be sure to remember that.”

Then he opened the office door and left, taking his secret with
him.