Mutual Benefits Ch. 09

Taylor closed her book, smiling for the first time that night; a satisfied smirk. "I'm, like, gonna ace this," she mumbled to herself.

"Here's hoping," I replied. "So, are we going to address today?"

"Huh?"

"What you said to me in the hallway. Your not-jealousy over Morgan and me."

Her expression soured. "Boy, you can't just, like, let that go, huh? She must mean a lot to you. When were you going to tell me you went on a date with her of all people?"

"I..." I sighed. "I probably should have told you when it first happened, but even by then you forbade us from talking. We met outside school by chance, and we found out about her crush by chance too. Kind of."

"Quinn, you moron..." Taylor commented, shaking her head. "It wasn't by chance. It wasn't, like, an accident."

"Well, even if it wasn't, so what? We should be allowed to talk. We shouldn't be forbidden from doing it."

"It makes everything complicated, Quinn. You said you hated drama, so I was trying to help you."

"Wait, you were trying to help me by forbidding me from talking to someone that was developing feelings for me, all because some drama could develop? Drama that you caused?" I asked, anger flaring in my eyes.

The same anger flared in hers, accompanied by the beginning of something welling up in her eyes. "Quinn..." she began in a quieter voice than usual. "...am I not allowed to dislike things?"

"Huh?" The question took me aback.

"Am I, like, allowed to see things coming, feel... feel threatened, and just use what I have to try to keep things okay?"

"So what, you thought if I liked Morgan, we wouldn't be able to keep studying? Or keep 'studying?'" I used my hands for air-quotes with the last word, displaying a joking smile.

"It's not funny."

My expression soured. "I'm trying to make jokes after hearing you basically manipulate your friends and their feelings just to feel in control."

"Shut up. That's, like, blowing it way out of precaution."

"Proportion."

"Sure, whatever. Weren't you the one that said you wanted to be friends with me, and you were worried that without studying, we wouldn't have a friendship?" she asked exasperatedly.

"So what, you didn't want me making friends because it might mean I'd have someone else in the world other than you?"

"Quinn, whenever any guy has anyone in the world other than me, they choose her. Every fucking time." The welling up in her eyes produced a single tear that streamed down her face. "Can you really hate me for trying to fight when he's... when it's just one friend?"

I sighed in sympathy. "Taylor, I don't hate you" I began softly.

"If she asks you on a date and I want to study, you'd pick her every time," she pouted.

"If you asked me out before her, I probably would have said yes," I replied back in earnest. "And you have someone like that now anyways."

"I just wanted you to not... get bored of me, I guess," she continued. "And now it's like, I already know we won't get to... you know..."

I stared at her, not finding words.

She continued. "...and I want to. Everyone else gets to, even while they're dating me. But now, I feel like... there's already this, like, wall between us. Either tell me there isn't a wall and we can still do what we've been doing, or there is a wall and I can't be blamed for what I did."

I chuckled. "Taylor, you really want to avoid responsibility, don't you? 'Either let me have what I want or tell me I was justified when I was being selfish.' I don't have to pick either of those two things."

"Oh fuck you, Mister High and Mighty," Taylor snapped. "Of course you 'see the light' or some shit now that you have a date. A date you wouldn't have if you hadn't, like, met me."

I chuckled again. "Is that it? Do you want me to thank you? Well, sure." I stood up and made an exaggerated gesture of gratitude towards her. "Thank you. Thank you, Taylor. I appreciate everything you did for me, and without you, I wouldn't have gotten this chance with Morgan. I'm sorry that it means you no longer have a monopoly on my social life. If you want that in a man, may I suggest you either find a man who's currently serving a prison sentence in solitary confinement or grow the fuck up."

As much of a zinger as that last line was, I knew it was crossing the line before it even made its way out of my mouth, and in case I didn't, the slap in the face Taylor gave me made me well aware of that.

Pain shot from my cheek across my face like electricity. She gave a hell of a slap. It ended up being so powerful that I started to lose my balance, and fell over onto my back. I wanted to tell her sorry, but some kind of shock reaction from the slap made me unable to speak, unable to do anything other than fall onto my butt and grab my cheek, looking at her.

She clearly wasn't satisfied with just the slap though. Clearly going for the maximum effect, she crawled over to me and sat herself down on my abdomen, forcing me to do nothing but look her in the face from under her.

"I'm, like, in a really bad mood, so just listen," she ordered. "I'm not asking you to only pay attention to me. I'm not asking you to only talk to me, and I'm not asking you to only fuck me. I just want to feel, for once, like I'm not this replaceable little doll who just exists for other guys to look at, have, like, fun with, and then they throw me away or something. I'm allowed to say I deserve more than that. I thought something complicated was going to happen with Morgan. To be honest, I thought you two were gonna fight, after the first few, like, conversations you had. So yeah, I stepped in. That's not a crime. It's perfectly reasonable. And I don't care what happened, or what happens, between you two. What matters is the, like, principle. I asked you not to talk to her, and you said you wouldn't and did. I asked her to do the same too. Even my own friends. Can't even be honest with me. Fuck."

The fact that she was cute when she pouted unfortunately did not stop during her little rant. I listened as best as I could, but the fact that I was getting treated to a face full of cuteness plus knowing that she was on top of me, pinning me down... one could guess how my body was reacting. After a bit, I started blushing and shifting around.

She was in mid-sentence when I started shifting, and slowly stopped talking. "What are you- wait..." She looked behind her, to my crotch, revealing to her eyes the tent forming in my pants. "Are you serious?! Have you paid attention to anything I've been saying??"

I raise my hands up in front of my face. "I-I can't help it! It's my body's natural reaction! You thought Morgan and I were going to fight, you tried to stop it, you're not asking me to only like you, and you didn't like that I didn't tell you and you're worried about getting used and thrown away. I listened, alright?"

Taylor said nothing, still at her awkward angle from when she saw my erection and yet with her gaze pointed right at my face. "Hmm," she finally said, her stare returning to my crotch. She adjusted her body so she was fully back on me again, moving my body slowly backwards, sliding down my torso. Her face darkened again.

It was weird. She still looked angry, but like... determined. Like she was making a choice. Eventually, her body slid over my crotch. I winced as she slid the crotch of her own pants off of me... and then back on. It took a few of these to realize she was grinding her crotch against mine.

"Tay-"

"No. Not another word. Unless the word is 'stop,' I don't want to hear it, Quinn," she ordered. "Tell me to stop, and I will. Forever, if you want. But you have to say that." She looked me dead in the eye and continued to grind on me, her look still determined and slightly angry.

I stared at her for a while, a look of steel likely on my own face, as I tried to figure her out. What was her game here? Did she even have a game? Was this her way of trying to tell me that we both have feelings and what was happening was inevitable? 'I won't tell if you don't?' Whatever it was, I only stared back at her. A part of me wanted to open my mouth and tell her to stop, or just tell her anything, but for the life of me, I couldn't. And I couldn't ignore it -- my heart rate was rising. My breathing quickening. My fucking hormones be damned... I couldn't just ignore the hottest girl in the school grinding on top of me, looking at me like she wanted to mount me right then and there. We could get along great or fight, but one thing was abundantly clear -- we wanted each other, badly.

Slowly, trying my hardest not to make it timid, I started grinding back against her. As soon as she felt it, the smallest semblance of a smile formed on her face, and she nodded. She leaned forward, setting her hands down on the floor on either side of my head, and put her whole body into it, grinding her entire body up against mine.

I wanted so badly to not do this. Some rational part of me was screaming about how wrong this was. But I was hooked on her, and wanted more. As she moved her body against mine, I couldn't hold myself back and grabbed my ass with both hands, holding it and squeezing it, helping her grind herself against me.

"You like this ass?" she moaned for me.

I could only groan in response.

A sheen of sweat began to appear on her face, and she was getting more and more into it. Hell, so was I. I could have exploded in my pants if I wasn't careful, and if it wasn't for our previous 'studying sessions,' I likely would have. I wanted nothing more than to mount her and fuck my seed into her at that very moment, throwing her against the wall and drilling her like the bitch in heat she was.

Her pants began to evolve into little erotic moans, high-pitched and needy. We were both completely clothed and yet, after doing this clothed grinding for a couple of minutes, it was like this was the hottest thing in the world to us. The teasing and yet the fully understood mutual desire to fuck each other's brains out... it was palpable. We could both feel it. We both wanted it. We were both just laying there, desperately moving our bodies against each other, wanting it so badly, waiting for the other to make the first move. We were two teens addicted to each other's bodies, sharing that awkward teen lust of waiting for the green light.

"I want you to fuck me. I want to go all the way."

I had my eyes closed in concentration, but they shot open at that moment. I gave her an 'are you serious?' look, and in response, she bit her bottom lip and nodded. Any and all steely determination was gone, replaced with a pouty, begging, almost pathetic desire to go all the way. She was like a dam that was going to burst with just a little more pressure. She lost control of herself. She just wanted more. She wanted me. My cock. Inside her. Desperately, as if she couldn't bear to be without it.

In hindsight, this was probably one of my strongest moments ever. Here I was, equally pathetic, grinding back against her, wanting nothing more than to be inside her, to fuck Taylor Wise, to claim her as my own little horny bitch, and heck, to give her payback for everything she just put me through. And yet...

I shook my head, unable to stop my hips from moving even as I said what I said. "I don't think we should," I replied.

"I don't care, Quinn, I don't care what we should do. I just want you so badly, and fuck, you want me. My pussy is yours, just take it..."

God damn, she was making this painful. "No," I asserted.

She pouted, but nodded. "Okay," she backed down, understanding, still moving her hips too. Even though we weren't going to do it (and I just turned down a golden opportunity I might never have again), neither of us could stop our teenage hormone-addled bodies, both hot as firecrackers and ready to blow at any second.

Wordlessly, not needing to say anything more, we went at it for a while longer. Minutes? Hours? I couldn't say. It was a bit uncomfortable after a bit, but neither one of us wanted to stop, as if a spell would be broken if one of us so much as shifted. As far as I was concerned, unless divine intervention got in the way, we could have dry-humped each other until one of us died of starvation.

I had closed my eyes in concentration periodically, just to prevent myself from going too crazy or shooting a load into my pants, so I was both acutely aware and slightly disappointed when Taylor started to slow down. I lazily opened my eyes to see if she was okay or if something was on her mind or something like that, and found she was staring off at some part of the room. I followed where her eyes were leading.

Dreams seem to have this prophetic quality. MAybe we dream because we can sense these things coming. It still didn't make my heart stop any less than when I saw Morgan standing in the corner of the room, arms folded, expression blank, saying nothing.

Was this a dream? Was I dreaming? Was my mind just going to worst-case scenario? No matter what it was, I panicked. Not thinking straight, I practically shoved Taylor off of me, feeling the color drain from my face, and awkwardly stood up, backing away from Morgan to the opposite wall.

Painfully, Morgan didn't speak. I guess she didn't need to. Taylor just sat there, having recovered from me pushing her, staring at Morgan as if she was trying to stare her down. I couldn't see Taylor's face, so I didn't know what she looked like. All I knew was that Morgan's blank expression was driving me mad.

I attempted to speak, but all that came out was a dry nervous squeak. I cleared my throat, swallowed, and tried again. "H-how long have you been s-standing there? W-why are you standing there??"

"About a minute," Morgan replied in this ominously calm voice. "And because I was invited." Unfolding her arms, she turned to stare down Taylor again.

Taylor stood up as I processed what I was being told. "So... you knew about us?" I asked incredulously.

Morgan turned back to me as if I was the least important person in the room, and gently nodded. "I got the tears out when I was first told. I think you saw that." She turned to Taylor. "Though I bet someone here was expecting more tears. Well, I have no more tears to give, Taylor. I'm just tired. Tired of you."

Even from behind I could see Taylor open her mouth to speak, but she was quickly shut up by the second slap of the night. At once, Morgan's expression changed from blank to completely furious, and yet, her expression for the most part seemed calm. Her mouth hadn't changed, nor her nose, or any other part except her eyes. Her eyes contained a storm of fury, all centered on Taylor.

"This is what you wanted, right? For me to see? Did you think I'd blame it all on him and just forgive you? Did you think I'd never get tired of this shit?" She raised her hand again, causing Taylor to clearly cower and brace herself, but simply lowered her hand again. "I believed you when you told me. Showing me isn't proving, it's taunting, and you know that, you psycho."

I was stuck between feeling my heart sinking through the floor in guilt, and thanking my lucky stars that I hadn't taken Taylor up on her offer to fuck her.

Wait...

I exploded at Taylor. "Was this why you tried to-"

A single finger from Morgan, as well as the most deadly serious expression a human being ever gave me, stopped me mid-sentence. "I want to do the talking," Morgan simply told me. "Have your turn later."

She turned back to Taylor but was still addressing me. "This has less to do with you than you think, Quinn. That might sound harsh, but it's true. This isn't the first time this happened, and I was dumb to think the first time would be the last. She just does this." She shook her head at Taylor. "She can't help it."

"Fuck you," Taylor spat, the first words she said since getting caught, though getting caught was clearly her intent. "You're the one that keeps doing this to me. I'll stop when you do."

Morgan sighed, her normal expression returning. "I thought about inviting Joel over, you know. Give you a taste of your own medicine. You clearly wanted me to see, why shouldn't I want the same for you?" She paused. "If you're feeling scared imagining if that happened, then try to imagine how I'm feeling."

"He would have blamed Quinn though," Taylor pointed out.

Morgan lazily turned to face me, then turned back. She sighed again. "I hate that you're right," she mumbled. "What will it take for you to stop acting like you get to control everything?"

"So this is just something she does?" I couldn't help asking. "Or, at least, something she's done once? So you're not mad at me?"

"I thought I asked you to let me speak," Morgan rebutted me calmly. "I am mad at you. Of course I'm mad at you. But you never had the idea to do this..." She looked back at Taylor again as she finished her thought. "...just the lack of willpower."

I shivered as Taylor turned to face me. "I told you, Quinn. Every guy cheats."

I felt my blood boil. "You're the one that caused this!" I blew up. "You cornered me into this! I wanted to stop this and even told you that!!"

Morgan intervened. "I reserve the right to be mad at you for not stopping it. If you don't think that's fair, I don't know what to tell you. Are you also angry that Taylor isn't taking responsibility for her actions? How about you set the standard and take responsibility for your own?"

Jesus fuck, Morgan could be terrifying without even raising her voice when she wanted to be. She was still looking at me without saying anything, so I felt compelled to speak. "If I had... if we were boyfriend and girlfriend, like, officially, then I would have held my ground more," I defended myself. "Taylor explained to me the distinction between just dating and in a relationship, and only now I'm realizing she may have just been telling me what she wanted me to believe..."

Morgan looked at Taylor in confusion. "The difference between...?" she repeated.

"Way to, like, throw me under the bus, Quinn," Taylor mumbled at me angrily. "I was just telling him about my own experiences, and like... my..."

"Outlook."

"Outlook, yeah. That part is not my fault."

I cleared my throat, wanting to keep Morgan's attention while I still had it. "I have learned from this, and I don't want anything to come between us. I think I really do want to be your boyfriend, Morgan. I'll make the offer now, if you'll have me."

Morgan's look of confusion intensified as she turned to me. "Quinn, read the room," she scolded me. "Now is probably the worst time to make me that offer. It will take me a lot longer to make my own decision about that, especially now."

I hung my head, chastised, as Morgan turned back to Taylor. "I just don't get it," she began softly towards her. "You hate it, more than anything, when your heart is broken. You don't shut up about how all men just break your heart and sleep around with every girl they can find. So why the hell are you trying so damn hard to be the other woman?"

That broke some kind of barrier for Taylor. With the way she spat even the first word, I could tell she was furious. "Me?! You're the other woman here, not me! I knew Quinn first, and we had that connection first, and I bet you couldn't handle that! You always have to have what I have, even after I finally get the one guy that gives me what no other guy could!"

I was feeling confident about that last part until Morgan gave the game away. "Submission and loyalty? Really? Coming from the girl that has a boyfriend?!" Her face unhinged as she talked. Finally, anger spread throughout her face, and it was even scarier than I thought. I could only shrink down into the corner I had backed myself into, as the catfight continued.

...And continued, and continued... shows, movies and books did a good job of making these kinds of fights look more short and concise, and less pointless and... repetitive. Over time I was realizing two things. A, they had gotten to the point where they had recycled the same talking points to each other three frigging times, and B, it was getting late. I really did not want to have to be the one to intervene and be assertive, but some sixth sense in me was telling me that when teenage girls got like this, they'd do it for hours until they burnt themselves out, and I didn't have the patience for that.