Senior Year Memories Ch. 22

Whatever Mallory was expecting, this wasn't it. "Too much. Less if the photographer thinks he can score with me, but even then, too much."

"What would you say to a year of free glamour photography? Something like that could really help elevate your career, couldn't it?" I asked.

"I'd say the offer's too good to be true," Mallory said. "Or that it comes with some kind of terrible twist."

"Only a terrible twist if you consider time with me bad," Josie said, not setting her coffee down but sliding her phone across the table.

Mallory picked the phone up and took a look at some of the pictures from Josie's portfolio.

I started, "Josie's one of the most talented photographers you're going to find in the region, and though it took some coaxing..."

"Translation: multiple orgasms," Josie interrupted.

I finished, "...she's willing to take some really, really nice glamour shots of you for the next year, or so long as you're staying in Regan Hills before heading off to college."

Mallory looked from Josie to me, a skeptical look on her face. "He's serious?"

Josie nodded. Mallory's eyes went wider. "You are serious."

"Completely," I said.

"And you're just doing this... for, what? Guilt? Christmas spirit?" Mallory asked.

"A little from Column A, a little from Column B," I said.

"I don't have any of the guilt, but I've got plenty of Christmas spirit. And if you, the semi-famous-but-bound-to-be-very-famous-cosplayer, give me all the credit and let people know where your awesome glamour shots come from, well, that'd be just fine with me," Josie said, smiling proudly.

"Of course I would!" Mallory said, looking back to Josie's portfolio.

"Well, then what's the hold-up? You gonna accept our gift or won't you?" Josie asked.

Mallory bit her lip again. "This... this is too much. I can't... shit. Okay. Fuck it, I'll take the pictures."

Suddenly, she threw her arms around me in a tight, powerful hug, before reaching one hand out to touch Josie's wrist gratefully.

"Thank you both, so much," Mallory said.

I looked across the table at Josie, who in spite of the sarcasm she brought to the conversation had such a look of genuine joy on her face that I reached out to her too. I knew I loved her, but seeing her unrestrained happiness in a moment of doing something nice... that was something else entirely.

I'd put it off and made excuses long enough. Then and there I vowed that it was finally time to check Josie Wong off my list.

***

Though I'd always intended for the McNeil women to be the first ones checked off of my Christmas good deeds list, I'd always meant for Josie to be the next one in line. My goal for her was a simple one, namely reuniting her with her best friend, 18-year-old Mia Roth, an emo rocker who'd been with Josie through the darkest days of her last breakup that left her close to suicidal. Early in November, Josie had introduced me to her, and to say things went badly would be putting it extremely lightly. Mia was pissed at me, thinking that I was going to break Josie's heart and put her in a similarly bad place. I, not knowing what to do, ran off and let Josie and Mia fight it out, leading to a breakup in their friendship that hadn't been mended for nearly two months. Josie said that she was fine without Mia while her best friend was being a bitch, but I wasn't nearly so convinced. There was a certain slight sadness to her without Mia as a friend, and if there was something I could do about it, I would.

The problem was, well, Mia.

I'd tried for a few weeks now to track her down so I could talk to her.

I'd say a good 70% of the time she was good at completely avoiding me. Another 25% of the time when I was able to catch up to her in school, she would just walk around me and keep going.

The other 5% would be those rare moments I actually got to talk to her for a few seconds. They usually ended with her beating a hasty retreat, but I got an additional "Fuck you" before she moved on.

I'd had more than one occasion so far where I seriously reconsidered what I'd do for Josie, but the more of a pain in the ass Mia was about this, the more determined I was to try to talk to her, even for just a few minutes. I won't say that I was obsessed, no, I know I wasn't that creepy, but as challenges went, it was one that got harder the more I threw myself at it, and that somehow only strengthened my resolve.

I was going to talk with Mia Roth, and god-willing, I was going to get her to talk to Josie.

If I didn't... well...

Alright, I didn't have another plan. If I failed at this, I was fucked and I knew it.

Thankfully, I had a little help on this task.

I strode nervously up the front walk to Mia's family's house and pressed the button for the doorbell. It took about thirty seconds, but I heard some fiddling with the lock on the other side. My heart was pounding, my hands shaking slightly, but I balled them up and somehow willed myself to calm down.

I could do this.

I could do this.

I was going to do this.

It was just a matter of-

The door swung open. The girl in front of me wasn't smiling, but the moment she got a look at me that not-smile became a sneer quick.

"If you're here for my twin, Brianna's off slutting herself out somewhere else with some lacrosse player. Otherwise, fuck off," Mia Roth said, slamming the door in my face.

Honestly, this went about exactly as well as I'd expected. I'd enlisted Josie and Mia's mutual friend (and my Christmas co-conspirator) Hope Harris' help to find out when Mia would be home alone and more amenable to talk. Sure, I'd had Hope arrange for a meetup between the two of them today, and instead of Hope showing up, I was here in her place. It was a shitty tactic to use (and one I was hoping wouldn't blow back on Hope), but I was getting desperate and running out of ideas, and since a similar idea had been so helpful in getting Rose, Brooke and Haley back together...

I pounded on the door. "Mia!"

"What part of 'fuck off' didn't you understand?" she called through the door.

"I just want to talk! I only want a few minutes of your time to try to convince you that Josie isn't insane, and that she really wants to be your friend still, and that I'm really not that bad a guy for Josie, or for anyone, really! I love her, and I want her to be happy, and I know you love her and want her to be happy too, but with the two of you enemies right now, she's not as happy as she could be! I know you seem accomplished at holding grudges, but if she's not feeling good about this then I have to think you're not feeling too good about this either, and if I can help you two work your shit out, then-"

The door swung open enough for Mia to sneak her face through. "Then what?"

I sighed. "Look, I don't think I'm the only one who thinks the world can use a bit of happiness right now, and if you don't want to be happy then that's all your choice, but I know you want Josie to be happy every bit as much, if not more, than I do, and if the two of you aren't talking then she's not happy. It creates a spiral of shit, maybe not as bad as the one you saw her through before when Jackson fucked her over but still pretty bad, and if you care about her as much as you've claimed to before, just give me five minutes of your time so I can prove to you that I'm not the demon you think I am."

Mia considered me for a long moment, her hand on the door and her face still taking up the gap in the doorway. Finally, grumbling, she swung the door wide open.

"Come in. And leave your shoes by the door; Mom'll kill me if anyone tracks dirt on her spotless rugs," Mia said, disgruntled.

It may not have been much, but this was still technically progress.

***

Though her family's house had the kind of suburban perfection to it that would've made Martha Stewart say they were trying too hard, Mia's room was much more indicative of her personal style. With walls covered in posters for bands I'd never heard of, decorations straight from Hot Topic, and bookshelves crammed to the gills with the dark and depressing, Mia's room looked exactly like the image that Mia herself tried to give off.

Not that Mia herself was a bad sight. Pale and with bright pink hair cut in a short bob, her already impressive curves were only accentuated by her short, 5'4" stature. Though her black jeans were just loose enough that it was difficult to get a good look at her ass, I knew it was nice and round. Her tank top, on the other hand, was tight enough to show off her immense F-cup tits (and that, in addition to not wearing a bra, it appeared her nipples were pierced). Her arms and upper chest covered in tattoos, her nose, ears and eyebrows pierced and her thick lips painted black, Mia was a strange mix of seductive and "stay away."

We hadn't spoken much since she brought me in here, but her scowl wasn't quite so harsh either.

I took this for progress.

"You know why I've hated you, right?" Mia asked.

"You've made that abundantly clear," I agreed. She used the word 'hated' in the past tense, though, so that was something.

"Good," she said. She had this look to her like a cornered animal, wanting to show her dominance while at the same time not fully sure of what the best next move was. In the end, she seemed to settle for needing a prop, striding over to her guitar and giving it a good once over. I stood where I was, trying to look as unthreatening as possible while still holding my ground.

"Good," she repeated. "Then I don't need to repeat myself."

I needed to play this safely, but I also needed to continue making progress. I asked, "Why'd you let me in here? Weeks I've been trying to do this, saying pretty much the same things whenever you gave me a chance to say a couple words... why'd you let me in today? I know it's not because I'm persistent, 'cause I think you're more stubborn than I'm persistent."

"I can still kick you out, if you'd like," Mia suggested.

"No. I'm right where I want to be," I said.

"Well, good for you, then," Mia said. Without looking up from her guitar, she sighed. "I don't want things to be like they are between me and Josie, but I thought... if I stood strong... that she'd miss me more than she wanted to be with you. I played that gamble wrong."

"That's one way of putting it," I muttered, loud enough for her to shoot me another scowl, enough that I took a step back and held my hands up placating.

"I don't like playing this manipulative bullshit because it's just so... high school... but I thought it might have been the only way to convince her. I was wrong, and now we're both miserable for lack of each others' company, and then there's... you," she said with some finality.

"What about me?" I asked.

Mia glowered at me. "What about you? Let's see... you're a guy who's just started having sex and is slinging dick all around the school without a lot of concern for what harm might come of it-"

"I'm getting better about that," I interrupted.

"-and even though you claim to be boyfriend-girlfriend with Josie, you still fuck around with all these other girls like it's no big deal-"

I interrupted again, "Because Josie and I have talked about this! She really gets off on it, and is free to fuck around with whoever she wants too, guys, girls, whether I'm there or not!"

Mia clearly wanted to continue, but rethought her next words. "That... that sounds like Josie."

"What we have is more than just sex," I pleaded. "Because... yeah, I have made some mistakes. I have done some stupid things because of sex, things I wish I could take back. I've hurt some people I never wanted to hurt, and I never want to do that again. Josie and me, our relationship's got more to it than just sex. We're together because we like to be together, because we love seeing each other and talking at the end of the day. She's everything to me, and I'd never, ever want to hurt her."

Mia looked up at me, considering. "Smooth words. The right words, even. Problem is, I've heard them before. With Jackson."

Jackson. Josie's old boyfriend, the one who broke her heart so bad she might've nearly killed herself if it weren't for Mia and her other friends.

Mia continued, "He was a pretty boy who was good with words and loved slinging his affections around school too. He was charming, he knew exactly what to say and when to say it, how to wrap Josie around his little finger to get her to do what he wanted, and when he got bored..."

She looked out her window, watching the wind through the trees outside. "If I could get away with killing that sonofabitch, I would. I really would."

"So you want to kill me, too?" I asked.

After a pause, Mia said, "I did."

"Then why am I different?" I asked.

"Because unlike Jackson, you're not trying to convince me that you're a good guy. A *nice* guy. Real good guys don't have to tell you that they're good, they just are. Even when he was stepping on her heart, Jackson was trying to make it look like he was the real victim, that his heart was breaking even harder than Josie's. You... you admit your mistakes. Not a lot of people do that these days. Too many guys want to look the martyr, to put all the stupid shit they've done on the women in their lives when all the blame rests with them. You take that blame. That's... that's rare. Commendable, probably, but definitively rare," Mia said.

Setting her guitar back down, Mia was clearly more confident with what she had to say. "Beyond that, I could still be angry with you for the way you're working your way through the women of this school, but I can't even entirely be angry with you for that, either, because I've got good sources who tell me that you're a considerate lover for a guy with a dick as large as yours is rumored to be. Most guys with a tool as large as you're said to be, they don't do much but get by on that size, but you try to make sure everyone has a good time. That's good and rare these days. Hope and Sarah have had nothing but good things to say about the sex you've shared with them, not to mention the good you've done in the name of your Christmas penance. You got Hope the girl of her dreams and Sarah a spot on the cheer squad? Though I wish they had more fulfilling dreams to aspire to, there's no denying that you helped them fulfill those dreams."

"I tried," I said.

"Yes, you did," Mia said. "It was still something you did out of a feeling of guilt, which doesn't make it entirely admirable, but it's also something you didn't have to do. You certainly didn't have to do it to the degree you did it to. You could've gotten everyone gift cards or tried to make it up to them with only sex, but you've been putting yourself out on the line, in situations where everything could easily explode in your face. I've been nothing but a bitch to you, but you've kept coming back, again and again, because you love Josie, don't you?"

"Completely and utterly," I said.

She looked me up and down, a little unbelieving. It was a look I was used to from many girls, and one that had stopped surprising and offending me a while ago.

"Whatever," she said, rolling her eyes and pulling her phone from her pocket. She typed a quick message into it and showed me the screen.

It was a message to Josie.

Mia: Your boyfriend's persistent. Maybe crazy. Still not sure I like him, but I still like you. Sorry I've been such a bitch. I don't want things to be like this anymore. Can we talk soon? Work this shit out like adults?

"Don't make me regret sending this," Mia said. "I don't like being wrong about this. I don't trust you, but I'm willing to give you a little trust, which is more than I give most people. Don't fuck it up."

"I won't," I said, meaning every word of it.

There was a silence between the two of us that lasted a good long moment, before almost simultaneously, both of our phones buzzed. We checked them at once. I laughed. She glowered.

Josie: Thank you thank you thank you!!! Didn't think it was possible for anyone, but you pulled it off! Have you fucked her yet? If not, why are you reading this when you could be fucking her and giving me all the juicy details?

"I'm gonna assume she sent you the same sort of message as me?" Mia asked.

"Depends," I said, showing her my phone as she showed me hers.

Josie: You have been a bitch, but you're lucky I love you. Let's talk when you two are done. You know you might like him more if you made him take off all his clothes and fuck you silly, right? Just an idea...

"Then, yeah, that seems about right," I agreed as we both put away our phones.

"So, she really wants us to have sex?" Mia mused.

"We don't have to," I said quickly.

"What, I'm not pretty enough for you?" she said, harshly.

Backpedaling quickly, I replied, "That's not what I-"

"I know," Mia laughed. I didn't know she could laugh. "Just having fun with you. No, it's just you being... you, call me crazy for being a skeptic. You're not really my type, but I've been with people who weren't my type because I knew what they could do and it sounded fun. I've shared guys and girls with my friends before, heard what Josie and Hope and Sarah had to say, but I look at you and it's not exactly something that's easy to believe."

"It might be hard to believe, but that doesn't mean it isn't true," I said, trying to sound smooth while I looked her up and down. It was difficult to argue that she wasn't hot in her own, unique, if absolutely bitchy way. I'd been gaining an appreciation for the offbeat-looking girls this year, and Mia certainly bucked a lot of traditional definitions of beauty in a way that I definitely liked (though most would be fools if they didn't at least have some appreciation of her amazing rack and what looked like a nice ass). It was enough that I was already somewhat hard, and having to adjust my position for it to be comfortable.

Mia took notice, looking down slightly. "So, are you really as good as everyone else says?"

"I haven't been on the receiving end of me, but I like to think so," I said.

"And with all your shuffling, I take it you think I'm sexy?" Mia said, rubbing her hands from her hips up to her massive tits, her eyes glancing downward again as she watched my reaction to her.

"Is it that obvious?" I said, sarcastic.

"Well... fuck it, I'm down," she said.

"For sex?" I asked, my heart beating considerably faster.

"If you think you can take me, yeah," Mia said, a hand going up to one of her breasts. I could see a hard nipple straining through the fabric of her too-tight tank top, just begging to be touched. She ran her thumb over it playfully, drawing my attention to it.

"I think I can. Yeah," I said, suddenly unsure of myself.

"We'll see about that. Now take your clothes off. All of them," Mia commanded.

I almost did a double-take, asking if I'd heard her correctly, but I held my tongue.

I didn't get the impression that Mia was the type who'd respond well to indecision, so instead I acted. I pulled off my shirt, revealing my bare chest to her.

Though I'd begun to develop something resembling muscles over the last few months of working out with Brooke, it wasn't enough to impress Mia. She said, "Keep going."

I removed my socks, then undid my belt, dropping my pants to the floor. With my cock straining the front of my underwear, Mia's eyes widened slightly. Her voice a little huskier, she continued, "Keep going."

I hooked my thumbs under the elastic of my underwear and pulled it down, leaving me completely naked in front of her. Now, I'd been naked in front of a lot of girls, but being naked in front of one while she was still completely dressed felt odd in a way I couldn't adequately describe. It felt instinctively embarrassing in its own way, not that my cock agreed with this. It stood tall and proud at all of its ten thick inches, bobbing slightly as I stood before her.