The Sunshine Project Pt. 02

"Borrowed a sweater. It's a little big." Why is she prying now? I have to play nice though because Beck is my boss. Well, not technically my boss. I am her assistant, but we both report to Sheila. Still, I have to do what she says.

"So you weren't at home?" She leans in and smirks at me. "Hot date?"

Oh god, not this. Anything but this. I knew she was a lesbian; I just didn't realize she knew I was too. I swallow the cold coffee in a big gulp and shake my head. "Nope, just hung with my bestie."

"Aw, come on. You're late. You're wearing someone else's clothes. Dish, girl." Beck gestures with her hand, and I sigh.

"You want to know the truth?"

"Hell yes." Her eyes widen like she's about to get the juiciest gossip of the week.

"I got fisted by my best friend and then shrank her dog with a plastic toy gun." I give her a wry, sarcastic look, and she bursts out laughing.

"What? Oh god, Allie, you're hilarious." Her laughter draws the attention of a few people nearby, and I shrug and act like I have no clue what's so funny, then turn back to her. "I really like that. You have a great sense of humor."

"Thanks?"

"Let's get lunch sometime, just you and me." She winks at me, and I have to admit, she has a great smile. I've never thought of Beck as a potential date, but I could maybe get used to the idea. Plus I owe her one big time for covering for me this morning. I may not even have to burn a vacation day.

"Not sure we're supposed to date coworkers." I sip the coffee again, pretending to play hard to get.

"I mean, what they don't know won't hurt them. Besides, if we have lunch and realize we're not really right for each other, we just go back to being coworkers." She looks me up and down, her eyes resting on the curve of my tits under the sweater. "I like you, Allie. I might even let you shrink me."

I deliberate a bit longer and nod. "Okay, lunch sounds nice. But I get to pick the place, and we drive separate. I need my Zeppelin as loud as I can get it when I drive."

"Deal," she winks at me and turns toward her desk to work, and I make my way to my desk and sink into the chair. Okay, so life isn't ruined--entirely. Beck is a decent human being. She's pretty. She has nice tits, and a great ass... Not as great as Jess's ass, but great. Fuck, why am I thinking of Jess? I bury my face in my hands and set the coffee down. It's going to be a long day.

***

When I let myself in to Jess's house later that evening, she is cuddling with Shep on the couch. He perks his ears up and leaps from the sofa, racing over to greet me. For the first time in months I'm not mauled by his snout diving into my crotch for a sniff. Jess looks sad. She has an open bottle of Hennessy on the table next to her with no cup. It has a few fingers' worth out of it already.

"Went for the hard stuff, huh?" I shut the door and drop my bag and keys on the table and walk over to her, careful not to step on the new tiny mutt. I drop to the cushion and scoot closer to her. "Babe, you can't keep drinking like this."

"GG is dead. Shep is like a fucking terrier or something. I fucked my best friend." She wails and flops over onto me. She's already a little drunk. I can smell the strong liquor on her breath. I've got to get her off that shit and maybe just give her a beer or something.

"Okay, hun. I'm here." I smooth her hair down her back and hold her while she cries. "Did you go feed Jackson after work?"

"Yeah. I did. I need to hire someone to work in the barn though. I don't know how to shuck stalls or whatever."

I chuckle. "You mean muck stalls. You shuck corn, hun."

Jess practically climbs on my lap as I hold her. She's so needy right now, and I totally understand. I would be too. I know what it's like to lose a family member, but not the only one I have left. When I was little my dad died in a car accident. Scarred me for life, but Mom really went to bat for us and helped us through it. My brother went off and joined the army, and I started college, though I'm taking the summer off. I'm glad it worked out this way, otherwise I wouldn't have time to help her like this.

"Allie, what do I do?"

"Okay, well it's going to fucking suck for a while, but you're going to make it. Every single day will get easier." I rock her back and forth as we talk.

"Did we really fuck?" she whines into my chest. Yeah, she's totally wasted.

"Yes, hun. We did."

Shep jumps up on her leg and whimpers. His ear falls to the side like normal, and his tongue hangs out of his mouth. If he were larger he'd be on her lap licking her face, but I don't think he can even jump on the couch. She needs him, so I bend and lift him up, and as if on que, his tiny paws are on her chest and his licker starts wiping up her tears. She giggles and squirms, holding him away from her face as she sits up.

"God, he's so fucking cute."

"Yeah, he sort of is." I see it now. He's almost like a puppy again, but cuter. Just a tiny version of himself.

"I like it." Jess forces him to calm down, curling him under her arm and patting his head. "I think I'll keep him this way. It reminds me of the day Grandpa Gus and I got him."

We have to figure out what happened to him and how to fix it. I know Jess says she likes it, but I'm not so sure it's safe. We don't know if there are side effects or if one of her neighbors is going to see him and freak out. For all we know, Gus was into some crazy government shit with his military job, and we have some top-secret weapon or something.

"Babe, I think you need to eat something." I force myself to think of Jess right now, not the predicament we are in, because someone has to take care of her while she's so depressed.

"I don't want to eat. I want more to drink." She sets Shep down, and he curls up on the couch cushion as she reaches for the Hennessy.

"Oh, no you don't." I take it from her hand and carry it into the kitchen.

"Allie, that's not fair. Give it back." She follows me, slapping her bare feet on the floor.

"No, Jess. Any more and we'll have a repeat of last night." I tuck it away in a cupboard and reach into the fridge for a beer. "Only, it won't be a shampoo bottle it will be one of these." I hold it up, and she grins as she takes it.

"You want to shove a beer bottle in my pussy?" Her hands masterfully twist the cap off without the aid of a bottle opener, and I grab a beer for myself. The idea doesn't sound bad to me, but we really need to talk about what's going on when she's sober. We can't just fuck again tonight--as tempting as that sounds.

"How about we put Shep to bed, and we just watch a movie?" I use the bottle opener stuck to the fridge with a magnet, and toss the cap into the bin next to the counter.

"Yeah, okay."

Jess's downtrodden face breaks my heart, but I know what she needs isn't alcohol or sex. She needs a good friend and a good night's sleep. I lock up and put Shep to bed, then herd her up to her room. I can't stop her from stripping off her clothing, but at least she leaves her panties on. She did the laundry, so my clothes are clean, folded and stacked on the corner of her dresser.

I climb into bed next to her as she lays down and flip on the TV. Jess scoots up close to me and lays her head on my lap while I pick a show.

"Al?"

"Yeah, hun."

"Is it really going to be okay?" She clings to my leg and tries to drink her beer while lying down. It spills all over my lap and the black skirt, but I was going to have to take it off anyway. I can't answer her question truthfully. I don't know if it's going to be okay. I don't even know what "it" is.

"It will." Even if I have to do something crazy to make it that way. It's what best friends do, right?

"Will you sleep with me tonight? I mean, not sex. Just be here. Hold me?" She slurps her sideways beer again and more drenches my lap.

"Yeah, I will." I push her head off of me and peel the soggy skirt off, then the sweater. I've been panty- and bra-free all day, but being naked in front of her is just as awkward tonight as it was last night. "Move over." I fold the blanket back and slide into bed. Jess scoots just like I ask her to, and I wrap my body around her.

This is what I wanted last night, to feel the solace of a human body in bed with me. It feels comforting but sadly bittersweet. This girl is so amazing, but we've made an agreement we're not ruining our friendship over something stupid. Besides, I have a shot with Beck, and if not Beck, a thousand other women I have yet to meet.

Tonight, though, I'm going to enjoy this. I down my own beer and breathe in the scent of her shampoo as I drift off to sleep, my tits squeezed between our bodies as she lightly snores.

Chapter 5

Cora

Danny's hands slide up my thighs beneath my skirt. They're calloused from his hard work, but I don't mind. He toys with the lace trim on my panties as I attack his mouth with kisses, plunging my tongue between his teeth to dance with his. I'm grinding, feeling his dick hard in his pants waiting to be freed from prison and come home where it belongs--inside of me.

"Mmmm," he groans, squeezing my thigh just millimeters away from touching my soggy panties. I bite his jaw, then his neck, letting my mouth roam around until I find his earlobe and nip at it. "I can't believe you're going to fuck me right here in this old car in your mom's garage."

Danny isn't the sharpest tool in the shed, but he's a hard worker, and his dick is massive. Besides, he was all American last year before graduation, and who else would the prom queen date? "Shut up," I tell him, covering his mouth with mine again. We kiss again, my hips still grinding against his lap. Danny's thumb wanders toward my core, pressing on the outside of my panties.

"God, you're so hot, Cora." He raises his hips up, pulling mine down as he does. He's rock hard and ready to go, and god I want him.

"Condom?" I ask him hastily. At least with a convertible the windows aren't getting fogged. And these old cars have so much more space than new ones--a positive note I suppose. I got stuck with a crappy car and twenty grand in a trust. The least I can do is enjoy the front seat.

"Got it...." Danny lifts his hips and reaches into his back pocket, pulling out a silver foil pack.

"God, get it out." I wriggle on his lap, backing so he can unzip his fly, but he tears the condom wrapper open instead. "I meant your dick, idiot." I roll my eyes and grab his belt buckle myself.

He scowls at me as he slides the condom out of the wrapper, and I undo his jeans. His dick is so long it stretches to his belly button, dropping a bead of precum that creates a fine string of moisture in the air when I hold him upright to roll the condom on. My pussy hurts--physically aches to have him inside of me, so the instant the condom is in place I pull my panties to the side and push up with my knees until I can slide down around him.

"Oh, fuck..." It's glorious the way he fills me, stabbing into my back wall like he wants to go all the way through me. I clench and rock my hips, settling him as deep as he can go as he starts thrusting. "Hold still," I tell him, grabbing his hips between my thighs. I grind, thrusting my hips to find the right position where his dick rubs my insides just right. "Touch my clit," I order, and his thumb is there, rubbing in a small circle.

"God, Cora." Danny reaches up my shirt and grabs my tit, kneading and pinching it. I ride him so hard the shocks on the old car squeak, and find a rhythm that I know will work to get me off. I'm so close to coming I can feel it in my pussy like a spring twisted so tight it will snap.

"Shit, now..." I hiss, feeling the first strong wave of orgasm hit me like ton of bricks. My body shudders and convulses, and Danny takes over thrusting. It's good--really good. I am loud too, moaning and howling. My breathing is erratic, my hair in my eyes. I'm peppered with beads of sweat, and I finish, panting and exhausted.

I arch my head upward, letting my blonde hair dangle across my back. My shirt is open in the front, panties scratching at my pussy while Danny fucks me. The car still squeaks, but I hear my mom from the door.

"Listen, when you two are finished, I need a word with you."

I close my eyes and heave out a sigh. So much for afterglow. Danny goes limp instantly and drops his head on the headrest. "Yeah... Whatever, Glenda," I mumble. I can practically see the hard eye roll she gives me as she shuts the garage door and leaves me in peace. I shudder with relaxation and my pussy clenches, squeezing Danny's limp dick out.

"God, you have to suck me, Cora." He pushes my hips back until I'm sitting on his knees, and he strokes his dick trying to get hard again.

"Uh, no thanks. I don't suck dick that tastes like condom." I reach between my legs and fix my panties. "Just climb up my trellis later, and I'll give you anal."

It's a compromise. He gets to blow in me without the risk of a baby, and I don't have to suck him off. Not that I mind sucking him off, but if I'm getting nothing out of it why do it? Besides, anal later means I get another orgasm. I wink and lean forward to kiss him, but he turns his head.

"That's not fair. I got you off, and I have plans later."

"And it was amazing, dear. But you heard my mother. I have to go talk to her." I open the car door and climb out, then fix my skirt and readjust my panties. "Trellis, nine p.m."

With that, I waltz to the door, turn over my shoulder to see him removing the condom, and let myself into the house. Glenda--Mom, but why call her that when she never really was a mother to me--is seated at the peninsula with a laptop out, pecking way at the keys. Her hair is bound up in rollers, a sheer scarf tied around it. Her silky red robe cinched at the waist dangles to brush over the travertine. Even when she's schlumping around the house she looks gorgeous. I can only hope I will be the same one day when I'm as ancient as she is.

"What is it?" I cross my arms over my chest and then realize my shirt is still open. Glenda looks up at me with a scowl.

"Fix yourself at least." She shakes her head. "You'd be wise not to stain the seats of that car. To the right person it's worth a lot of money."

Money--that's all she thinks about. It's all she's ever thought about, which is why she married Dean Knapke, Celina's wealthiest bachelor at the time. Gus told her to stay away, but she just couldn't listen, so I wound up at IC--Immaculate Conception the only private school in town--being shuttled from one expensive activity to the next. God, I'm glad high school is in my rearview, and I can just live my life now.

I button my shirt and take the stool next to her, glancing at the computer screen. She's on Ebay; images of toy guns scroll down the screen as she rolls the center mouse button beneath her manicured finger.

"What's that?"

Her eyes flick to meet my gaze then return to the screen. "I got to thinking about what you told me--what that scrawny orphan told you."

"Jess?" I don't hate Jess; I just never got along with her. She's not blood, and the entire family hates the fact that Gus took her in after Uncle Jimmy--well, after the incident. And she's not even close to the same status as us. Senior year she was the emo kid everyone liked to pick on, and I was, of course, captain of the cheer squad, prom queen, and class president. No comparison at all.

Well, except maybe her raw looks. She has a great body--at least what anyone can see with all her clothes on. If she took off that damn t-shirt during swim lessons in PE she might have given me a run for my money. She's the only girl in town who looks good in anything she wears. She doesn't even need makeup.

"Yeah, about how the toys were worth a lot of money."

"She didn't tell me. Her friend said it, and I overheard it." Jess tell me anything? Ludicrous. I may not hate her, but she definitely hates me--and my family. Especially after what Glenda and Dean did to her after the reading of the will. The car is rightfully hers, but they moved it out before the lawyer read the will. I felt bad. I gave her that box of guns because I knew she was close to Grandpa, and she'd appreciate some old toys more than me.

"Well, look," Glenda says, turning the screen so I can see what she's looking at. "Just this one alone is worth twelve hundred dollars. Imagine what the other fifty are worth?"

I roll my eyes at her. I knew it was about money. "Yeah, that's nice." I stand and walk to the cupboard and pull out a glass and fill it with water at the sink. Looking out over the backyard I see Danny sneak over the fence and vanish into the neighbor's yard. He parks a street over and sneaks in, not that he had to tonight. Dean isn't home. Mom doesn't give a fuck what I do as long as I don't let Dean find out. "They're hers now."

"Well, we can get them back."

"Mom, let it go." I drink the water and set the glass down. With only a few weeks left until I leave to move into the dorm at OSU, I am merely biding time until I don't have to put up with her anymore. Changing the subject, I ask, "So should we have the T-bird serviced or something before I leave?" The thing sat in Gus's barn for years. Probably needs tires and belts, definitely an oil change.

"What do you mean?" She closes the laptop and looks up at me like I'm stupid. Her ruby lipstick is perfect, not a smudge on it, and her fake tits push out so far it looks unnatural. I can't believe she let Dean turn her into a real-life barbie doll just for his kicks and giggles. Doesn't she know he fucks his secretary?

"I mean, I can't do that shit on my own in Columbus. It's better if Dean helps me."

"You mean, 'Dad,' and you're not taking that car to college."

"What?" I haven't called Dean "Dad" in three years, but who's counting? "That's my car, in my name. You already took my money."

"No, we put your money into your college fund so Dean could use his own money to reinvest in the business." This is exactly why I call her Glenda and not Mom.

"Convenient that it all worked out for you then." I start toward the stairs, and she grabs my hand as I pass her.

"The car is worth at least thirty grand, Cora. It will pay for the remainder of your college and then you'll be educated, with no debt, and able to come work for Dean, just like we planned."

I whip around and yank free of her grasp. "What the fuck will I drive then? Because I have to have a car to get around town. Columbus isn't like New York City. The places I want to go have no subway station." I can't believe Grandpa left me all that money and they got me the car, and they renege on their responsibility as parents to help me with college. That should have set me up for life. Now I'm setting them up for an early retirement.

"Get a job." Her cold calculated glare makes me furious.

"I can't get a job. I have to go to college, and in case you forgot how the real fucking world works, it takes months or years to save up money to buy a car. I have two weeks."

"Well, then I suggest getting your ass over to that scrawny orphan's house and get your guns back. Because you'll just be walking if you don't have a car."

Glenda picks up the laptop and tucks it under her arm, then sashays off down the hallway. I stand there infuriated but unable to do anything about it. If I take the car and they disapprove, they'll just cut me off, and I have a few credit cards that need paid down before I can afford life as a college student, especially given the fact that my inheritance went to tuition. I am not about to eat prison Ramen just because I'm a broke college student.

I stomp up the carpeted steps, winding upward to the hallway. Four bedrooms in this house and I'm an only child. That is enough to tell the entirety of Mercer County how stupid my father is. It has nothing to do with need, and everything to do with parading his wealth and reputation. The most influential businessman in the city, and the only good that does is to keep his face on the billboards along 33 heading out of town toward St. Marys.