Page 35 of Overachiever
They let the subject drop for a bit while they fill me in on some of the things I’ve missed back at home. It’s the usual. Not as many college parties since most students go home for the summer, but they’ve had some fun. I tell them about the job and the guys at work, then show them the video of Trevor grabbing the nasty dildo and holding it up.
“He deserved it. You’d hate him. Masculinity as fragile as a dried leaf.”
“Worse than Marty?” Graham taunts.
“I don’t have to be an asshole to be confident in my masculinity. I’m master of the pussy. Read those lips like a deaf gynecologist.”
Marty’s claims bounce off us as usual, and as we get our third beers, Graham focuses on me. “So, are you and Remee together then?”
There’s never been a question I’ve wanted to say yes to more, but it isn’t true. Not just yet. “We haven’t really talked about it. We’ve just been hanging out, having fun.”
“Does she know you want something more long term?”
No, because I’m a chickenshit who’s afraid she’ll put an end to everything if I tell her how I feel. “How do you know that’s what I want?”
Graham gives me a look and drinks his beer. “Owen, you’ve been crazy for her forever. How did you end up in bed in the first place?”
“She asked.”
Both of them stare at me, and I hold my hands up. “I swear. We were sharing a room after I got stuck with a roommate from hell, and she said we should fuck while we’re here. Like a friends with benefits situation.”
“Then you let her plug your ass,” Marty interjects.
“No! If she had, you’d know. I would’ve been clinging to the ceiling like a cartoon cat when you burst in. Enough about Remee.” I don’t want to be reminded that she may never want what I do, or that this thing between us could be temporary.
There’s a part of me hoping that hersummer flingthinking has changed. The way she hesitated on whether to tell our friends we’ve been sleeping together didn’t inspire a lot of confidence, but so much does. The way she laughs at my jokes, snuggles in close to me whenever she can, and always smiles when she sees me. The trouble she went through on my birthday to let me meet my favorite scientist, trusting me to tie her up when she’d never done it before, those aren’t things you do for a fling. After our friends leave, I’ll talk to her. I’ll tell her that I don’t want the summer to be the end.
“How long are you guys staying?”
“Just for the weekend. It was all the time off we could manage to get,” Marty explains.
“What do you want to do? Beach?”
“Yeah,” Graham replies, picking up his phone. “Let’s see if the others have had enough girl time to talk about you. They can meet us.”
It turns out they’re already at a beach, and after a quick stop by the motel to grab our stuff, we join them.
I’m glad to see Remee lying on a towel while Serena and Zara are in the water. “Hey.” I drop onto the sand next to her. Marty and Graham walk past us to join the others in the ocean, and Marty makes a whip snapping sound.
“Don’t. He’s into that. You’ll turn him on,” Graham warns, and I flip them off, then turn to Remee.
“How did it go for you? Do you need to relocate and change your name?”
“Nah, I’m a hero. Apparently tying up a guy is totally empowering and feminist according to Zara. And Serena is the least judgmental person in existence when it comes to sex. You could’ve been strung up by your feet, covered in peanut butter, and she wouldn’t have blinked.”
“Ooh, maybe next time.”
“How did it go with the guys?”
“I may need you to tell them that you did not, in fact, do butt stuff to me.”
Remee giggles and rolls onto her back, shielding her eyes from the sun with her arm. A light sheen of sweat covers her bare stomach. “Yet.”
“Dream on, Rem. I’m going to go swim before I get hard looking at you in that bikini.” She doesn’t hesitate when I lean over to kiss her.
“Go on. Play with your friends,” she says, smacking me on the ass.
We spend most of the day at the beach, and as evening sweeps in, we grab dinner to-go from one of the nearby seafood restaurants. The beach begins to empty as we sit on our towels and eat.
