Good Girl Pt. 03

"Just my neighbor." Allanah responded.

Just her neighbor. It shocked Dan to hear the words. Maybe it was true. Why wouldn't it be true? They had fucked. But, how much did that really mean?

If he was honest he would have recognized that there was a feeling that had been beneath the surface. It had grown over time—that much he knew. The sensation that came from falling for the neighbor girl. The girl next door that you weren't supposed to have or could never have.

He'd ignored that for so long and when it happened, he took it for granted.

Even now, he was at an arm's length with Sam. They had spent a night together and she had scarcely talked to him since. Dan couldn't tell if she was avoiding him. Now Allanah seemed to have moved on... After she told HIM to talk to Lauren. Was he being punished for what he'd done?

That's silly, he thought to himself. It's all silly. The universe doesn't punish people.

But people do.

He watched Allanah get into the car and before the boy could start the engine, she kissed him on the cheek. Dan felt his own cheek turn red, a deep, angry red that spread from his face into his heart.

That was the game? Then he could play it as well as anybody.

Couldn't he?

He thought about Lauren, about his cowardice. About everything that supposedly got in the way... It was all him. He had asked how he could learn to take and he felt himself at a crossroads and he was uncertain if he was ready to face the dilemma head on.

He gripped the back of his head and groaned.

"Why the fuck can't you just man up?" He said to the sky.

He should call her. He should call Allanah and demand to know what she thought she was doing—that's weak.

There was only one way to get revenge and that was to live well. He would show that he didn't need her either.

He picked up his phone and texted Lauren. The message, it felt desperate as he typed it. In a way it was a final hail Mary. The only thing that could start him on a potential course of change.

"I need you."

He waited for the reply.

*****

Nancy dressed herself in all black. Perhaps it was a little too poetic. An attempt to glean something from the event that would soon transpire. She wanted to make sense of it. For her actions to have meaning and color coding felt like a way to do that. To dramatize reality beyond what it was. Was that silly?

Nancy waved goodbye to her Mom.

"Where are you going?" She asked.

"I'm going to Allanah's."

"Don't they get tired of you?"

"No, not yet"

Her Mother laughed. "Okay, have fun." Nancy opened the door, "Allanah could always come here."

"Okay Mom."

The tunes had to be right. Nancy found her depressing break up playlist. It had all the right songs to pump her up for the reality that was soon to come.

She had never done this before—not in this kind of scenario. It wasn't like she lived in a world of older men. Jeffry was her first and she wanted to do things right. He was older and Nancy assumed he would prefer a sensibility about things. A measured response full of truth and possibly dignity. Isn't it what Nancy would want? A memorandum for what it was that made them fail? Or was it too soon?

Jeffrey had told her to arrive by four. It was 3:50, and she was about to turn into the parking lot but kept driving past. She wasn't ready. She did a few circles with her music and waited for inspiration to give her the strength to do what she needed to do.

By 4:30, the strength hadn't come. Jeffrey had started calling—texting—he left a few messages. He was desperate for Nancy. She pulled into the lot and put her hands to her face. She had to do this. Had to end what she began.

How would she start? "Dearest Jeffrey..." No, that was too formal. Nobody talked like that. What was she? A letter from the 1700's? She wasn't in the Notebook and Jeffrey wasn't Ryan Gosling. Though, from a certain angle, he could be the man's uncle.

She took a step out of her car and looked for room number 305. She gulped and knocked on the door.

"Finally, you're here. I've been waiting so long."

"Oh, have you? Sorry." She said.

"We have to be quick, I have to be home by 6."

"Right—"

Jeffrey closed the door and used his body to push her up against the wall. "You smell good," He said. "I've been wanting to fuck you so bad.

"Jeffrey—I think we need to talk."

"No time to talk. I want to fuck you at least three times."

Nancy sighed as he kissed her neck and pulled her shirt over her head.

Her black bra matched with her shirt and pants. He lowered himself to the floor and kissed her stomach. Despite herself Nancy felt the tradition of their sexual meetings get the better of her. She moaned and grabbed his hair. He pushed himself into her crevice. Rubbing his head and face in an act of admiration. He used his fingers to hook her panties and lowered them until they fell to the floor.

"Jeffrey! I need to tell you—Oh." Nancy said as his tongue found its way to her pussy. "Yes..." She said simply. "I love when you do that."

He continued and her hands gripped his hair ever tighter. She needed to stop. She knew that. She needed to deliver the message before all of this got too far. Before she would come to regret her adventures with him even more.

Still, she didn't find the words escaping her as the much older man continued to eat her young pussy.

He stood up and used her throat to lead her to the bed.

Nancy automatically removed her bra and tossed it aside for him.

"You look so fucking good." He said as he tore his shirt and pants off. As he approached her and kissed her body up and down. As he worshipped everything that she was. He worshipped her youth and her pussy and the feelings that she would soon provide him.

He worshipped the taboo. He worshipped that which he could never worship with Sam. That which had been forbidden to him and that he had not known he wanted. He was a desperate man and in this desperation he felt himself growing to a fix—a climax. A feeling that these moments all grow together and crumble all at once.

His cock was hard and he prepared himself to enter her.

"Jeffrey!"

He broke out of his trance. "What?" He asked harshly. Staring down and admiring her beauty.

"We should stop doing this."

He looked down at her and cocked his head to the side. "You're telling me this now?"

"I've been trying to tell you!"

Jeffrey sighed. "Okay."

"Okay?" Nancy replied. Would it be that easy?

"Okay." Jeffrey asserted once more.

Nancy pulled back from him and started trying to crawl off the bed.

"No." He said as he pulled her back. "You aren't going anywhere."

"We're done—you just!"

Jeffrey pushed her back on the bed and covered her mouth. "We're done, but I'm going to get one more good fuck out of you. You owe me that much. You owe me what I'm going to miss out on without you."

"Jeff—" Nancy said in a scrambled high pitch noise that scarcely shined through Jeffrey's hands.

He grabbed her body and trapped it beneath him by putting both of his hands on both sides of her and inserting himself into her. He hugged his hands over her head and started to thrust. He thrust as deep into her as he could and made sure to fuck her for all she was worth.

What was a young girl like Nancy worth? He supposed her youth granted her value. It granted her a value that he hadn't been able to attain. There was also value in the fact that he had grown to care for her—perhaps love her. He had started to feel something and now she was leaving him. Each thrust into her felt like a final goodbye. He could feel her struggling beneath him and as she struggled it helped stimulate the sex. It felt like a revenge. It felt so fucking good and he thrust faster and harder. He gave her his entire dick like the young cheap whore that she was. She had given her pussy to him for free. It had only cost his age. That was the impetus, wasn't it? It was all about this dynamic.

"Fuck!" He yelled out. If he listened he could have heard her yelling for him to stop and in there, there was a change.

Her moans started to shine through and he felt her hands grip his stomach. Tie around his back. Her legs as well. She had attached to him.

"Fuck me harder!" Nancy said.

He was more than happy to oblige. He moved within her and kissed her harshly, desperately. The last kiss you give to a lover before they ship off to war.

Jeffrey delayed his orgasm as many times as he could. Making sure to keep Nancy beneath him. They continued their passionate kissing. Their hate had turned to love making and the both of them had to admit that that was what they had been missing. A hatred that bloomed from wanting to be loved but no longer receiving it.

So Jeffrey pushed one final time into Nancy and filled her cunt with his cum. A final desperate push until she was filled to the brim and as he pulled out he could swear he felt his cum evacuating with his cock.

He kissed her again, and she kissed him. They laid back in bed.

"That was incredible." Nancy said.

"Yeah."

"When can I see you again?" Jeffrey asked.

"Weren't you listening?" Nancy said.

"You were serious?"

Nancy rolled her eyes. "I was serious Jeffrey."

"Didn't I just give you the best sex of your life?"

"You gave me good sex. I hope I'll have better."

He sputtered out noises that were supposed to be words. He sputtered out noises that were supposed to be curse words. "You're a whore."

"You're a cheater."

"Homewrecker."

"Don't ever talk to me again." Nancy said.

"Good luck with that. How are you going to explain it to Allanah?"

"I don't have to explain anything." Nancy said as she zipped up her pants. Just don't talk to me."

Nancy opened the door to her car and hopped in. She smiled then started to cry. She, despite herself, would miss Jeffrey.

*****

Ulric Weiss was a nice guy.

Ulric Weiss was also a boring guy. That was all Allanah could think about as they sat at the beach. He'd mentioned football and perhaps that he would continue to play for the foreseeable future. What he failed to mention was that it was the only thing he had going for him. The problem with that was that he was also not that good.

She rolled her eyes when he was not looking and stared off into the distance.

"You're cute." Allanah said. He stopped mid-sentence. "Especially when you forget words.

He rubbed the back of his neck. "I'm not used to—"

"A girl being forward?" He nodded. "I'm not used to it either." Allanah said.

"Uh—want to swim?"

Allanah agreed though she didn't want to. A part of her regretted her revenge gambit from the get-go. She locked eyes with Dan moments after she had kissed Ulric. She had seen a new anger in his eyes—passion. It was something that he hadn't shown before. It felt like her actions were working. They were forcing Dan in the right direction.

She jumped into the water with this boy, Ulric, and the two of them played and splashed and though she didn't like the ocean all too much she found herself lost in it. He ran after her and at one point tackled her into the surface. They came out sputtering and she begged for him to stop.

He hoped that later that night she would be begging for the exact opposite. Was it cocky to presume they would get that far? Ulric didn't think so. He thought it was likely. Sure she hadn't responded a few months ago but she had responded now and that was the most important time. The moment he was living in. She had sent him a nude image and that told him she was desperate. Girls don't often do that, he reasoned. Especially not to guys they don't even talk to.

Allanah had a reason for texting him. Though her reason was not what Ulric presumed. Still, it gave him something to work toward.

After exhausting their time at the beach they walked along the town that ran parallel. There were ice cream shops and art shops. They went through each and every one that they had time for.

"I think that's a metaphor." Ulric said pointing.

Allanah turned around and saw a heart with a sword piercing through it.

"You think?" She asked.

"Pretty sure." Ulric said.

Allanah laughed and continued walking, he followed after her.

"Do you ever think about what symbols mean in art?" He asked.

"I am right now."

"I kinda..." Ulric trailed off.

"What?" Allanah asked.

"I've always wanted to paint."

"You don't?" She asked while looking up at a massive painting of a pot of flowers that slowly turned into psychedelic mesh.

"Football doesn't leave time for it... I don't think."

"Ulric, if you want to paint, you should paint."

He huffed and looked at the floor, "What if I'm bad at it?"

"Are you good at anything?"

Ulric laughed. "No. I guess not."

"What about football?"

"I hate that shit."

"You do?" Allanah said.

"I've been in it since my dad forced me in. I can't stop."

"Ask him to paint."

"I have."

"He won't let you?"

Ulric shook his head. Allanah got close to him. She pushed her torso close and looked up at him. He stood a considerable height above her. They locked eyes and for a moment she could feel a spark in his eyes. A connection that she hadn't felt before.

He leaned down and

Allanah pulled away. She turned back away from him.

This isn't happening, she thought. This isn't the way it was supposed to go. He was supposed to be boring. He was supposed to just be a distraction before the real thing. Before I get to the man that has my heart. This weak artist is pulling on strings he doesn't even know exist.

She turned around. He was rubbing his neck. "Did I do something wrong?" Ulric asked.

Allanah shook her head. "I... got nervous."

Ulric felt butterflies in his stomach. Allanah had been made nervous by him. For once it was not the other way around. She had admitted what he had already been feeling. What luck, he thought. He tried to hide a grin but Allanah could see it. They walked out of the art store and moved on to the next.

There was a picture of a heart stitched together. Another of cubist design. An abstract painting that ran from yellow, to green, and sparkling colors without. A pink house that fell from the sky and nearly landed until the artist chose to keep it suspended.

These were the choices, the moments, that were created in art and preserved. This was the theme that Allanah could pick out among all the paintings. That she could make a decision and at any time it might stick and she may never know it. An indecisive end to everything means that when there is an end... you'll never see it coming.

On the drive back to her house there was a silent tension. A knowledge that what had happened in the art store could have happened. She could have allowed her heart to put herself before her jealousy. She could have been happy for one moment with a boy that she didn't particularly like. Perhaps it wasn't so important to be in love with somebody as it was to understand somebody. In that moment she had felt herself growing closer to Ulric. She had felt his stupid honesty. It shone through because he was not complex. He had nothing to hide and nothing to lose by the interaction. All he wanted from her... was her. She was the center of his affection and that was what she had wanted—longed for. She was no longer competing with another woman.

Allanah thought, was she ever? Had she created the enemy of Lauren from thin air? She was an ex of Dan's, she was a woman that existed as much as Oprah Winfrey did. Until she returned, she had been a myth. A non-person that could hardly have been counted. She could have died at any point in the last seven years and nobody would have known. Though now they knew she was alive and Allanah felt threatened. So threatened that she decided to use boys against a man. And that may have been misguided but for the moment she felt happy. The day had begun dull and morphed into something else. Her anger had been forgotten as her interest in Ulric grew... And when she forgot Dan, there was nothing to be upset about.

Ulric said goodnight from the drivers side. He looked sheepishly towards his feet.

"See ya," He said.

"Goodnight. Thank you." Allanah said through a near whisper.

He looked towards her, hoping for a kiss. Allanah was hoping for one too. The two leaned forward and their lips met. Their tongues pushed into each other's mouths and they found solace in each other.

His hands explored her and ran up her head. He held her closely and dearly and felt a soft innocence sweep over them. Their bodies locked. Ulric lifted his car's cup holder and pushed himself closer to Allanah. He desperately wanted to be near her, though not in a sexual way. He wanted to hug her and hold her and give life to her in a way that only love can do. He wanted these things in innocent abundance.

"Excuse me."

Allanah looked out the window and there was Dan.

"What are you doing?" Dan continued.

Allanah rolled down the window. "What the fuck do you want?"

"Just wondering what you're doing."

"We're making out."

Allanah looked over to Ulric for moral support. He was cowering and pushing himself as far away from Dan as possible. To him Dan was an adult, a figure to be respected. He wasn't in trouble but he certainly wasn't welcome and there is always an embarrassment to being found kissing.

"I can see that." Dan said. "What's your name then?"

"Ulric, sir."

"Do you know what time it is?" Dan said.

Ulric pulled his phone out and looked, "Nearly eleven."

"She should have been home an hour ago."

"Are you her dad?" Ulric said.

Dan was annoyed. "A concerned neighbor."

"So you're not her dad?" Ulric said.

"No, he isn't my dad. He's just a creepy neighbor that doesn't know how to mind his own business." Allanah said.

Dan stood closer to the car. "You're just a little bitch who doesn't know what she wants."

Ulric's eyes widened.

"Allanah, you need to go home now." Dan said.

Allanah wanted to refuse. Didn't want to move. Didn't want to give in to her older neighbor. To the man she had wanted this from. She wanted him to take control and here he was. Giving her what she wanted and now she didn't want it.

"Get out of the car. Now." Dan said.

"Allanah," Ulric said. "I think you should go."

"Why should I? So this creep can tell my parents I was kissing a boy? Maybe he should be honest about other things?"

"Other things?" Ulric asked.

"He knows what I'm talking about." Allanah clarified.

"Allanah, we both know if I was honest things would go to shit."

Ulric looked between the two of them. Certain there was subtext but being unable to decipher any of it. So instead he stared and hoped that something would change.

"Well, we wouldn't have to hide anything if somebody knew how to act like a fucking adult!"

"Fuck you."

"Hey!" Ulric said. "Don't talk to her that way."

Dan leaned into the car window. "What are you going to do?"

Ulric pushed himself further against his car door.

"That's what I thought." Dan said.

"Allanah, this is really uncomfortable for me. I think I should go."

Allanah huffed and stepped out of his vehicle. "You're right Ulric." She may have been disappointed. "I'll see you later."

Ulric drove off and left Allanah and Dan on the sidewalk. He pulled her off and entered his garage.

"What the fuck is the idea?" Allanah said.

"Who is he?"

"Who is he?" Allanah mocked.

"Answer the question." Dan said.

"He's a guy from school."

"You've never mentioned him."

"You never mentioned Lauren—"

"That was seven years ago! And you knew her!"

"Fuck you, Dan."

Dan looked back at Allanah's house.

"We need to be quiet." He said.

"Quiet. You want me to be quiet? After you pulled the concerned neighbor act on me in front of a boy?"

"I was trying to—"

"Trying to what Dan? Protect me?"