Mina

"You told your dad you were going to quit," Mina Jordan said crossing her arms over her chest. She was eighteen, but still had a look of innocence. Her dark brown eyes were large and framed with thick black eyelashes. Her lips were plump and almost always smiling. She kept her black hair pulled away from her face in a simple ponytail that fell to the middle of her back. Her medium brown skin was so flawless; it glowed, even as she stood scowling at the two guys in front of her.

Bryan, her boyfriend of eight months leaned against his black Acura Integra and passed the blunt he had just toked to his friend. Jerrod quit smirking long enough to take a hit. Mina hated Jerrod. They'd known each other ever since grade school and each year that passed just added another level to her loathing. He was light-skinned with curly black hair, but somehow, not even marginally attractive. Worse was his attitude. He was just as catty as a bitch on the rag, yet he was trying to be a thug.

"Who told you that?" Bryan asked crossing his arms too.

Mina shrugged slightly. "I was in the kitchen when he was talking about it with your mom."

"What'd he say?"

She shrugged again, at which point Bryan rolled his green eyes skyward.

"He said that you told him you weren't going to smoke weed in the house anymore."

"I'm not in the house," Bryan said with a sly smile. "I'm in the driveway."

Jerrod snickered and Mina glared at him. She despised the way he giggled when he got high...add that layer to the ever-growing list.

"Well, I'm going inside before Don gets back from the store and catches you not-smoking in the house."

Mina was annoyed with Bryan' blatant disregard for his step-dad's rules, coupled with the fact that he insisted on being friends with that ass-hat Jerrod. She rolled her eyes and headed past them toward the house. Then Bryan did one of those things that guys do to get a girl to forget why she's pissed and remember why she hasn't dumped his ass yet. He grabbed her hand and pulled her to him, immediately planting his kiss. Her head swam, enveloped in the sweet smell of weed, Newports, and a hint of Nautica cologne. The gentle strokes of his tongue against hers had her knees ready to turn to jelly.

"Wait for me in my room," Bryan whispered when his lips finally freed Mina's senses. He gave her round bottom a firm squeeze and she nodded before she continued into the house.

"You hungry, hon?" Linda, Bryan's mom asked when Mina got back into the kitchen. She was holding her two-year-old granddaughter, Bryan's niece, Layla on one hip while spreading peanut butter on a piece of white bread with her free hand. Layla played with her grandmother's long blonde hair and smiled at Mina. That baby had stolen Mina's heart from the first moment she saw her. She was olive-complexion with bright green eyes and a perfect pink heart-shaped pink mouth. Her round cheeks were cherubic and she was always so happy.

"No thanks. I'm just going to go upstairs and wait for Bryan to get rid of Jerrod."

Linda frowned. "What are they doing out there?"

Mina sighed. "The usual."

"Don's going to freak if he sees that shit." Linda had a way with words...she didn't mince them. Mina had thought it abrasive at first, but she had come to appreciate the honesty behind Linda's harsh manner.

"I'll be upstairs."

Mina made it half way up the staircase before Linda yelled up after her. "Mina, you make sure Bryan uses a condom! Logan's on his second kid and this one's not potty-trained yet."

Mina stopped walking up the steps and cringed. There was something inherently wrong with discussing your sex life with your boyfriend's mom, wasn't there? "Okay, Linda!"

She was halfway though her Honors English assigned reading, the last three chapters of The Scarlett Letter, when her mind started to wander. She thought about school, the fact that there were only two more weeks until graduation, and that she was actually going to be the salutatorian. Then, she thought about how absent Bryan was from her life at school. The two of them had started dating the summer before Senior year and it wasn't long before she knew that he wasn't feeling school at all. Everyone had been so shocked when they started going out...the nerdy black girl and the white boy drug dealer was not exactly the picture perfect couple. Yet, for some reason, it had worked, even though Bryan had been at school less and less over the past few months. He insisted on taking Mina there and picking me up, but the time in the middle he was gone. She had just a month before admitted to herself that Bryan was indeed her first love. That admission had preceded Mina giving him her virginity. She was in deep now, and hoped that Bryan felt the same way.

Bryan stood in the doorway watching his girl read. Well, Mina didn't read books as much as devour them. She read almost anything that came across her path. Once, she actually brought a book along on a date. He had taken it in stride, not talking during the drive to the restaurant or home, per her request.

Since coming of age, Bryan hadn't been lacking in girls throwing themselves at him. He'd come along nicely. He'd kept his ink-black hair shaved close since middle school and even though he was on the pale side, it worked in his favor. His eyes were a blend of green flecked with gold. The effect was shocking when paired with his pale skin and framed with jet black eyelashes. He wasn't a big guy, but he was by no means skinny. He was thin, but solid, and still muscular. He'd put on bulk after years of putting in work in the only class he actually liked, PE/Weight Lifting.

Mina kicked up a bare foot and Bryan fought a sigh at the sight of her perfect toes stretching toward the ceiling. Mina was perfect. Her milk chocolate skin didn't have a knick or blemish. She was quite a bit shorter than him at around 5'4" and slender. He loved her body. He'd dated thin girls, but Mina was different. She had curves that could stop traffic, her breasts were a full C-cup, her ass was impossibly round, and her waist was tiny. She was wickedly smart and had a smart mouth to prove it. Plus she had the best sense of humor he'd ever come across in a woman.

Mina jumped when the bedroom door closed. Bryan entered with his lids drug-heavy over his green eyes. He fell on the bed beside her, ran his hands over his buzz-cut black hair and gave a crooked smile. "Put that damn book down. You can study when you get home."

Mina tossed her book onto her backpack and moved to sit next to Bryan. "You smell good," she whispered as he slid an arm around her. Mina didn't smoke weed, but loved the way it smelled on Bryan. The sweet scent had become a part of him. He was tall, thin, dark hair, green eyes, dimples, and he almost always smelled like weed. That was the simple summation of Bryan Dillinger.

"Is Don home yet?" she asked as Bryan began to kiss her neck.

"Nope," he muttered, sliding his hand under the t-shirt to cup and caress her breast.

"Your mom knows we're having sex," Mina said trying to concentrate on what she wanted to say.

"She assumed we were doing that after a couple weeks."

Mina groaned. "So she thought I was a skank like that?"

Bryan laughed. "She didn't think you were a skank. She thought you were like all the other girls I dated before. She didn't know you were different until she met you."

"I just think it's weird that she's talking to me about us having sex. I don't know how comfortable I am with it."

Bryan stopped kissing and groaned. "I'm not comfortable talking about my mom while I'm trying to get some. So let's change the subject or better yet, let's not talk at all."

Mina giggled as he unsnapped her bra and decided to shut up and enjoy. She moaned as Bryan covered her mouth with his and pushed her skirt up to her waist. He snaked his fingers into her damp panties and easily parted her pussy lips. Mina was wet with anticipation for him. She was so trained, it was almost Pavlovian. While most people got the munchies after they killed a blunt, Bryan got horny after a smoke. Mina had figured that out quickly once they finally started sleeping together. He would come to her, reeking of marijuana with a raging hard on. Now, it was to the point where it was an unspoken assumption that if she was around while he was getting high, they would have sex.

Brian pulled off his white t-shirt and kicked off his tattered jeans. Mina quickly stripped too, gently laying her knee-length denim skirt and black button-up across the computer chair.

Bryan groaned as he watched Mina join him in his bed. She had taken off her bra and her dark nipples had hardened immediately. It wasn't until she had joined him under the covers that she took off her red lace panties...the ones he'd bought for her.

Mina insisted on Bryan wearing a condom. She was uber-vigilant and he respected that. She'd managed to save herself until she was almost out of high school; she had every right to be concerned about the risks that came with sleeping with someone. He, however, hated condoms. He had a moment of longing each time their bodies met. He wished that last barrier was gone, so he could feel her completely, touch her without hindrance. Then, Mina would sigh or moan and he would forget. He'd take her each time, pushing all nine inches deep into her tight pussy and loving the way she felt, even with the condom between them.

"Oh, Bryan," Mina moaned. He was inside her, owning her. He'd been the only one to have her and every time their bodies connected, she knew she didn't want it any other way. He pushed into her all the way, still finding slight resistance. She moaned again when he filled her to capacity.

"Shit," he cursed. "You're so fucking tight."

Mina moaned and arched her back off the mattress. She wanted Bryan to fuck her. He had been so gentle with her the first few times they'd made love. It was almost like a fairy tale. Then one Saturday night, it was getting close to her curfew and she'd begged him to pull into a deserted parking lot on the way to her house so they could squeeze one in that weekend. He'd obliged and they had a quickie in the back seat of his Acura. Mina had never cum so hard in her life. Bryan had worked her pussy from the back, pulling her long hair so her back arched in a perfect C-curve that any yogi would have envied. He'd plowed into her, assaulting her cunt, in an attempt to expedite the process. Mina had shivered and delivered after only five minutes and that's when she knew that, while she was far from an expert in sexual matters, she definitely liked it rough.

"Fuck me, Bryan," she said wrapping her legs around his thighs. "Do it hard."

Bryan nodded and began to move within her. Under different circumstances, he would have preferred to take it slow. But his high had every nerve in his body on fire. Every inch of him that touched Mina's luscious body, inside and out, was screaming for more. He pounded her hot cunt mercilessly and smiled when she came so hard he could feel her toes curl against the back of his thighs. He followed suit and the two collapsed into each other's arms.

An hour later, around six, Mina blinked awake and almost screamed when her eyes focused on the computer chair. Logan was sitting in it...on top of her clothes! Logan was five years older than Bryan but didn't look anything like his brother. They shared the green eyes, but Logan had unkempt brown hair and was on the heavy side. He might have been able to pull off "cute" if he wasn't such an asshole, yet, he had at least two girlfriends at all times. It was the "I don't give a shit attitude" he had, but what Mina knew and those dumb bitches obviously didn't, was that Logan Dillinger really did not give a shit about anyone but himself.

"What the hell are you doing, Logan?" Mina snapped quickly making sure the covers were doing their job in hiding her from Logan's view. Thankfully, she was still covered.

"Mom sent me up to tell you guys to come down for dinner." Logan swayed back and forth in the chair and smiled.

"I didn't hear you knock," Mina said with a pointed glare.

"That's because I didn't. The door was unlocked so I opened it."

"Damn it Logan! Are you ever going to stop trying to see me naked?" Mina's voice was clipped as she suppressed the urge to yell.

"Not if I can help it." Logan leaned back and put his hands behind his head.

"You're sitting on my clothes, asshole."

"I know."

Mina rolled her eyes. This game with Logan was getting so damned old. "How's you're pregnant girlfriend?"

Logan visibly bristled at that. "She's not my girlfriend."

"Well, neither am I. So, get your ass out of here before I wake up Bryan."

Logan lifted a brown eyebrow. "Is that supposed to scare me?"

"Get the fuck out of my room before I get up and kick your fat ass," Bryan said sleepily from behind Mina. "She doesn't want you dip-shit."

Mina laughed and Logan stood up to leave the room. "Whatever, asshole."

Bryan slid a protective arm around Mina's waist and glared at his older brother. "And leave the panties here. I paid good money for those; I don't want you using them to jerk off."

Mina watched in shock and horror as Logan pulled her red underwear from the pocket of his baggy jeans and tossed them onto the chair with the rest of her clothes before he left the room. She wondered how upset Bryan would be if she torched those panties then and there instead of putting them back on.

***

"I'm glad you could come see me, Mina," Ms. Dexter, the senior class guidance counselor said with a grin. She was small, around 5'3" with a mocha complexion and hazel eyes. Every guy in school had a crush on her.

"I didn't really have much of a choice," Mina said falling into the hard plastic chair in front to the desk. "Mr. Phelps said it was very important."

Ms. Dexter's smile widened. "That it is."

Mina sat patiently staring at her counselor, waiting for whatever information she was holding behind that Cheshire Cat grin.

"I want to be the first to congratulate you on being valedictorian."

Mina gasped. "What did you say?"

Ms. Dexter's smile grew even bigger. "You are the top student in the class, dear."

"Omigod," Mina gasped. "What about Jacob Spencer?"

Ms. Dexter's grin faltered. "I really shouldn't discuss that..."

Mina nodded. Of course the school counselor had to respect her students' privacy.

"He got caught cheating in Physics. Somehow he got a hold of Mr. Phelps computer disc with all his tests on them and you know the policy."

Mina nodded. Phelps was no joke. If he even imagined any cheating going on, the F might as well be tattooed across your forehead. He even made all his students sign a contract saying as much. Mina knew Jacob was a sniveling little weasel that would do just about anything to get into the right clique or the right college. He'd copied off her tests all through sixth grade until she asked the teacher to move her and she'd stayed away from him ever since.

Jacob Spencer, in his blonde haired, blue-eyed perfection had finally been knocked off his pedestal. Mina wanted the feeling of pure joy she felt at that moment to last forever. Only one thing could make it better, she thought as she walked back to class...the look of shock and pride on her mother's face when she told her. Mina had spent most of her high school career under her mother's watchful eye. "You're black and a woman," her mother would say, "that's two strikes against you. You have to be better than everyone else. Second best won't get you anywhere." While most teenagers would roll there eyes and shrug off such advice, Mina knew that philosophy was the reason her mother was a successful attorney.

It was a miracle that her mother had let her date Bryan and she was able to keep dating him because her mother was ignorant to the real Bryan. She didn't know he smoked and sold weed. She didn't know that he was practically a drop out. All she knew was that he was polite and well-dressed when he picked her up for dates on Friday and Saturday nights, he picked her up every morning for school, and had her home by seven every school night. She had spoken with his mother over the phone a few times and she seemed to like Linda. Mina's mother was blissfully ignorant and all those unknown facts were the only thing keeping Mina's happiness in tact.

She practically screamed the good news to Bryan when he picked her up that afternoon.

"Wow," he mumbled easing the Acura through the school parking lot. "That's great."

Mina frowned. His face didn't match the words coming out of his mouth. He had actually looked crestfallen when she'd finished telling him her great news. She didn't expect him to jump up and down, but he almost looked like he was going to be sick.

Bryan shook his head as he made the left turn toward his house. There was something so wrong with this picture. He was dating the smartest person in the class. Valedictorian? How was it that Mina hadn't figured out that they weren't supposed to be together? Bryan Dillinger was not the right guy for a valedictorian to date. He wouldn't be going to any of those ten colleges that accepted her. In four months Mina would be moving into freshmen dorms and he would be exactly where he was now. Living with his parents and older brother. It just didn't make sense.

"Hey," he said waving at a gray Chevy Impala that passed going the opposite direction. "Remember when we first got together?"

"When you pulled my hair on the playground in first grade?" Mina said.

"Not that time, the last time."

"On my eighteenth birthday?" Mina said unable to keep from smiling. "Of course I remember."

"You were at the club sitting at that table all alone."

Mina rolled her eyes. "Give me a break. I wanted to finally see the inside of a nightclub."

"You looked so out of place."

"Trust me, I know."

"I've been having that out of place feeling lately." Bryan pulled into his driveway and pressed the garage door opener.

"Why?"

Bryan shrugged. "I guess I feel weird because you got accepted to all those out of state schools and shit. You're valedictorian and I'm not even going to graduate."

Mina tried to squelch the feeling of panic rising in her throat. "I thought you were going to summer school."

"I was, but I don't know if I want to spend what could be the last few months we have together in school all day."

"Don't talk like that," Mina sighed blinking back the tears that had quickly formed.

Bryan got out of the car and Mina followed him into the house. Their awkward silence was broken as soon as they stepped into the kitchen.

"Mina!" Layla squealed from her high chair.

"Thank goodness you're back!" Linda called from the living room. "You're dads stuck in the store because your brother decided not to show up this afternoon. He has a doctor's appointment and needs someone to watch the store for him."

Bryan sighed. "Come on, ma, you know I don't know shit about tools. Why can't one of his kids do it?"

Linda rolled her eyes. "Junior is in prison. David is two hundred miles away taking finals at State. Brenda is on her honeymoon and Andrew's bitch wife hates it when he ditches her with their two kids. You know she thinks he's way too involved with his family." She ticked her husband's kids off on her fingers one at a time.

"Damn," Mina muttered. "She is a bitch."

"I know, right!" Linda said glancing at Mina. "Promise me you won't turn into a bitch if you marry my son."

Bryan groaned. "Nobody is getting married," he snapped. "I'll cover the store until Logan gets there. I've got some business of my own to take care of before I take Mina home."

"I wouldn't count on your brother showing up. Last time I talked to him he was at Sandie's house. Now that she's already pregnant, they can fuck all damn day and you can bet money that's what his ass is doing."