Be My Friday Night (12 page)

“Oh fuck,” she said shuddering in delicious defeat.

“Exactly,” Otto said.

He solaced her with another long kiss as she undid his pants.

He was hard and hot to the touch. Sam ran her fingers along him. Otto sucked in a breath and watched her hand. Straddled over him, she moved her body up his, right to where he was hard. She gave him a quick, wicked grin, and placed her fingers inside her, temporarily sating her body. It had begun to ache again.

“Sam,” said Otto. His voice was sweet yet hot. Sam felt his eyes on her, yet she couldn’t bring herself to look at him again. If she did she’d come right there on the spot. She wanted the feeling of longing to stay until he was inside of her.

She let out a gasp, pulled her fingers away from her heat and stroked him again. The pad of her thumb made circles over him.

Otto’s breath caught. He watched her make a final circle. He held onto her hips and moved her up to him. He arched his back. Slowly, she covered him, each of them savoring every inch of him going inside her.

Her torso reacted to the sweet shock jutting with pleasure when he was completely inside her. They moved together. Each thrust filled Sam with sweetness and longing. Otto still felt new inside her, yet there was something steady about him. Whatever this was, it centered her, and it made him different than anyone she’d ever been with before.

It was with this realization that Sam’s body surrendered. Her back arched, and she burst. She bit into Otto’s shoulder to not make too much noise into the night. Otto held her. His body moved forward a few more times before he released into Sam. A low rumble escaped from his chest. After, he said nothing. He only continued to hold her as they both caught their breaths in the cold night air.

* * *

A
s Sam was having
her mind blown in the back of Otto’s truck, Holly stepped out of the backseat of Layla’s car. In the panic of possibly being discovered, Holly, Randy, Gus, and Layla had piled into Layla’s car. Layla had driven them away from the bronze mascot. Not wanting to leave town without Sam and Otto, Randy had given Layla directions to drive them to a field behind Winthrop High School’s football stadium. Holly, Layla, Randy, and Gus walked down a dark dirt path with only Layla’s sure footsteps, and cell phone light for guidance.

“Where are we going?” Holly said.

“Oh, I just want to see where this path leads us. You know, I think it’d be good if we all walked around a bit before we go find Sam and Otto. You know, give ourselves a chance to shake off what just happened,” said Layla.

“Sure, that’s fine, but where are we going?” said Holly as the four friends passed Winthrop’s massive football stadium.

“God, could you imagine playing in that?” said Gus, pointing at the mass of aluminum.

“It makes for quite a game,” said Randy. He shook his head half in disgust, half in awe.

“They practice in it every afternoon, and they have their practice fields for morning workouts,” Randy said.

They walked in single file to stay out of the light of the stadium and away from the dimmer lights that lined the practice fields. Layla kept her sights on the trailer by the fence, marking the end of the high school grounds.

“Layla, it looks like someone lives here,” said Holly. There was an edge in her voice as she realized where Layla was leading them.

“We’ll be quiet, and don’t worry, there aren’t any lights on,” said Layla in a hushed tone.

They came to the mobile home. Layla’s assurance didn’t keep everyone from ducking under the trailer window as they moved.

From around the corner, the low but deep rumble of an animal broke through the night. It vibrated in Layla’s heart.

She stuck her head around the corner and saw a wire cage, silvery under the moonlight.

Inside the cage stalked a large cat with a spotted coat. Its eyes glowed in the darkness. It focused on Layla. She let out a slow breath and forced her body to stay calm.

She waved off Holly, Randy, and Gus.

“I’ve got this,” she said out of the side of her mouth with the firmness she used with her students when she wanted them to do exactly what she wanted right at that moment. It worked. Her friends remained still.

She wished Sam’s baby sister was here. Kit was away at veterinary school, and like Layla, was an animal fanatic. Kit would completely understand what Layla was about to do. Kit would encourage Layla’s actions.

Slowly, Layla stepped toward the cage. Not making eye contact with the animal, she murmured soothing things to it. Her eyes searched for the latch keeping the cat trapped.

A shiny lock held the cage shut. Layla took a deep breath. She pulled out the metal cutter Sam had borrowed from Phil the other day. Sam had used them to hang some prints throughout the house. Layla had grabbed them on the way out the door.

“Layla, what are you doing? Is that a wire cutter? Oh jeez, where'd you get that?” said Holly in a hiss.

“Borrowed it from Phil!” Layla said in a loud whisper back.

Before anyone could say anything else, Layla sped over to the cage and swiftly snipped the wires, giving the cat its rightful freedom.

Layla jumped away from the cage. Everyone, even the cat, looked surprised at what she’d done. The animal carefully considered Layla before hopping over the cut wire and into the night. It dashed toward the chaparral lining the high school campus.

“You know, if it had any good sense it’d run toward Grover. It’s the only community around here actually bordering some wilderness,” said Gus.

Everyone nodded in agreement. Randy quietly laughed about something from under the hood of his sweatshirt.

“What’s so funny?” said Layla.

“You just let a wild animal loose on Winthrop High’s grounds. You’re something else, you know that, Lay?” he said, looking at her with shining eyes.

Something burned inside Layla. She didn’t appreciate being perceived as “something else.” Nor did she appreciate Randy’s casual use of a nickname for her. She pointed the wire cutters in his direction.

“Randy, what’s wrong with you? Also it’s not wild! It was someone’s pet. We have to find it,” she said in a demanding whisper.

Randy held up both his hands in surrender. He gave her a disarming grin. This annoyed Layla even more. She opened her mouth to whisper loudly at him further. Behind them a light switched on in the trailer.

“Who’s there?” said a voice. Whoever was asking, his raspy voice let them know he’d just risen from a deep sleep.

“Run,” said Randy. The group took off running. They leaped and galloped toward the car. They knew if the trailer’s inhabitant saw their faces it would be the end.

* * *

O
tto
lazily wound one of Sam’s curls around his finger as he lay next to her in the bed of the truck. They were both foggy with satisfaction and giggly with the knowledge of what they’d just done.

“God, who do we think we are? We just did it outside in our rival town, and well, it was quite nice. I’m intrigued to see what happens when you have me in a proper bed,” Sam said.

Otto ran a finger down her bare side.

“I can’t wait. Also, it’s
our
rival town now?” he said, calling her slip.

Sam paused, trying to find words to clarify her verbal misstep when the sounds of a car motor shot her out of the fog.

“Shit, we need clothes,” she said, scrambling for her shorts, her sweatshirt.

She put the sweatshirt over her head and pulled the shorts on. Sam looked back, scanned the truck bed, and noticed the crumpled red lace of her underwear. In a panic, she balled her lingerie into her fist. Standing next to Otto, they looked toward the darkness to see two headlights driving toward them.

Layla’s car parked next to them. Her eyes widened as she witnessed Layla and Gus roll down their windows. Hurriedly, they both made it very clear it was time to leave Winthrop. Puffs of their breaths floated in the night air as they explained.

Sam and Otto dashed for the driver and passenger seats of the truck. Otto started the ignition. Sam looked out her passenger seat window to see a graceful, furry creature leap into the driver seat of Layla’s car. It landed in Layla’s lap.

Sam gasped and covered her mouth with her hands.

“What’s wrong?” said Otto. He quickly backed the truck out of its parking spot. He drove out of the parking lot and onto the main street that would lead them out of town and back onto the freeway.

“I think a large cat jumped into their car,” said Sam. She really couldn’t believe the words coming out of her mouth. Okay, she really couldn’t believe any of the situations she found herself in on this crisp fall night.

“Do you want to go back?” said Otto.

Sam turned and looked back at Layla’s car. All the doors were closed and its headlights were turned on. They all just needed to get the heck out of Winthrop. It was time to look forward, not look back.

“It’s okay. Just drive,” she said.

Otto gunned it, and they drove off into the night.

* * *

B
ack in the car
, Holly let out a blood curdling scream. Gus and Randy both lunged toward the front seat in response.

“It followed us!” said Holly.

Holly was now breathing quickly, but Layla sat in the driver’s seat with a peaceful grin on her face.

“It wants to come home with us,” she said.

“No,” said Randy.

“Roll up the window,” said Gus. Slowly, he lured the cat away from Layla, and onto the empty backseat.

“We can deal with it when we get back to Grover. Randy, we just have to make sure that thing doesn’t slash the girls before we get there.”

At that moment, Otto’s truck squealed past them.

“Follow that car!” said Holly.

Layla obeyed and they screeched into the night after Sam and Otto.

* * *

B
ack at Layla
and Sam’s house Randy refused to leave.

“Until the cat goes, I stay,” he said, taking a stand in the living room.

Layla rolled her eyes.