Rumor Has It: A Bad Boy Romantic Comedy (26 page)

Genevieve

The elevator ride felt like it took ages. Luke’s penthouse was at the very top of the building. My ears popped as the elevator climbed. When the doors finally opened, I was taken aback by what I saw. The penthouse covered not one, but two floors. There were huge floor to ceiling windows that overlooked the city. Expensive-looking artwork covered the walls. I recognized a few pieces. A Warhol and a Keith Haring hung above the bar on the far right side of the penthouse.

The space was huge and open. It felt like we were floating above the clouds. It was all a bit shocking. I knew Luke was rich; I had no idea he was this wealthy.

I cleared my throat awkwardly; I had no idea what to say.

“Sorry for the mess,” Luke said.

A couple of boxes were stacked against the far wall and a coat hung from the back of a chair. Other than that, the penthouse was immaculate.

“You should be sorry. What a dump,” I said.

Luke turned to me with a tense expression. For a brief moment, he thought I was being serious. Once he saw that I was joking, he started to laugh.

“Does it meet your approval?” he asked with a sly grin.

I shrugged. “It’ll do.”

“Do you want a drink?”

“No, I don’t drink.”

Though a part of me thought maybe this was a good time to start.

“Water? Juice?”

“No, I’m good.”

Luke walked to the bar and poured himself a drink. He swallowed it all in one gulp. Was he nervous? Surely not. Why would I make him nervous?

I took off my jacket and set it down on the couch. I walked to the window and looked down. People scurried across the sidewalk as small as ants. A wave of nausea hit me. I took a deep breath. I did not want to puke now. This was supposed to be our goodbye. I didn’t want Luke’s last memory of me to be cleaning up a puddle of vomit off his floor.

“Maybe I will have a drink,” I said.

“What would you like?”

“Whatever you’re having?”

I noticed too late that he was drinking straight alcohol. Gratefully, he didn’t pour me the same. He mixed it with soda and lime, then handed it to me. I took a sip. The soda did little to hide the strength of the alcohol. I coughed.

“Too strong?”

“No, it’s perfect,” I lied.

I took a drink and felt the nausea swirling in my stomach fade away.

“Where’s your bedroom?” I blurted out.

He choked on his drink.

“It’s, uh, in the back.”

He pointed over my shoulder to a dark hallway.

“Show me.”

I grabbed his hand and dragged him in the direction he’d pointed. I opened the first door I came to and was disappointed to find a gym.

“Upstairs,” he said.

A set of stairs at the end of the hall led up to a second floor. It was hard to imagine climbing higher than we already were. Luke’s apartment felt like it sat on top of the world.

The stairs led straight to Luke’s bedroom. It was a large, mostly empty room with artwork decorating the walls. In the middle of the room was a large bed with black velvet sheets. The sheets were thrown back messily like he’d just climbed out of bed.

“Sorry for the mess,” he said again.

I turned around, grabbed his shirt and pulled him to me. I kissed him hard. I don’t know if I was emboldened by the alcohol or the sense of finality that coursed through this last meeting. This had to be our last meeting. There was no other way for us to continue on together.

“Gen…” Luke protested. “Slow down.”

I grabbed his collar and ripped his shirt down the middle. This was not the time to slow down. I wanted to feel his body against mine and forget about my mother and the fact that this was the end. I bit his lower lip and ran my tongue inside his mouth.

“Fuck me,” I said breathlessly. “Fuck me hard.”

Luke grabbed me behind the knees and lifted me up. I wrapped my legs around his waist securely, as if he might change his mind and toss me aside.

Luke walked over to the bed and threw me down. I bounced on the mattress, then sat up and pulled off what remained of his shirt.

Luke’s hand slid over my stomach and came to a rest on breast. He kneaded my tits softly, then peeled off my top. I froze. Was I showing? Did I have a small baby bump? Luke’s eyes scanned my body. His face betrayed nothing. As far as I could tell, he didn’t notice a change.

He unhooked my bra and pushed me down flat on the bed. He kissed my neck, then my breasts and stomach. I thought he lingered for a time on my stomach, but it may have just been my paranoid imagination.

Luke unbuttoned my jeans and pulled them off forcefully. He’d apparently changed his mind about wanting to take things slowly. Not that I’m complaining. I wanted him to fuck me raw.

I grabbed his arm and pulled him down on top of me. I kissed his face and neck, then stopped. Fading scratch marks ran across his neck and down his back. Had I done that the last time we fucked, or had he been with another girl? Had he been with my mother? I nearly hurled him off me in disgust, but I knew for a fact my mother had not been back in contact with Luke. Even if she had, I don’t think Luke would sleep with her after stealing his credit card and lying to him about everything.

“What’s wrong?” Luke asked.

“Nothing.”

I kissed him again and ran my fingers through his hair. I dragged my nails down his back, following the path of the fading marks. It felt familiar. I
had
scratched him before. I breathed a sigh of relief.

A second wave of hunger rose inside me. I pushed Luke over onto his back and climbed on top of him. I slid down onto his hard cock slowly. My pussy pulsed as the head entered me.

I threw my head back. A small whimper passed over my lips.

Luke grabbed him hips and drove his cock deep. My hips started to move in fast circles. I focused on the head of his cock. If I angled my hips just right, I could work my g-spot perfectly.

Luke’s mouth fell open. He groaned as he watched my body sway on top of his. I ran my fingers through my hair, twisting and pulling. It was odd the way pain added an edge to the pleasure of sex.

Luke’s hands drifted up over my body. I leaned in a bit, encouraging him to massage my breasts. His soft hands passed over my nipples. He started to thrust into me harder. I met his strokes, moving my hips faster. It was like we were caught in a dance where the tempo kept increasing.

I rode him hard. Sparks of heat flooded my body; chills shot up and down my spine. Luke and I moved faster and faster until we couldn’t go any quicker.

The rush of energy boiling inside me came to a head. I put my hands over Luke’s and squeezed. I came as an explosion of energy broke inside me. I continued to ride Luke, but it was difficult. I felt weakened by my orgasm, though he finished soon after I did.

I collapsed on the bed beside him. I wanted to rest my head on Luke’s chest, but I was too hot. Sweat beaded my skin. I watched his chest rise and fall as he tried to catch his breath. He ran a hand through his hair then leaned over and kissed me.

“I’m going to go get us a drink. I’ll be right back.”

Unable to form a coherent sentence, I simply nodded. Luke kissed me again, then jumped out of bed. I watched his high, firm ass and meaty thighs as he walked away. I still couldn’t believe I was lucky enough to fuck a guy as hot as him.
Not for long
, a voice in the back of my mind said.

It was true. This was our last night together. Sadness threatened to destroy the rush of pleasure still coursing through my body. I wouldn’t let it. I was going to enjoy tonight. I’d only just gotten started with Luke.

Luke

I braced myself against the stairwell and caught my breath. My cock still throbbed wet and hot with the feeling of Genevieve’s pussy.

I rubbed the sweat from my brow with the back of my arm and continued on down the stairs. I reached the bar and poured myself a drink. I downed it all in one gulp. Genevieve’s behavior was strange. First she ghosts me, then she wants to fuck my brains out. It was odd. Why had she spent so long ignoring me only to jump on my cock the first chance she got? There was definitely something going on.

I poured a second drink for myself and a soda whiskey for Genevieve. I picked up the drinks and started to head back to my bedroom when the elevator dinged. Was someone coming up? I wasn’t expecting guests.

I put down the drinks and headed to the front door. The elevator opened directly into my apartment. You can’t get in unless you have a key. When I reached the elevator the doors were just closing. There was no one inside. Weird. Maybe it was a glitch? The building was new and they were still working out the bugs. The fire alarm randomly went off and sometimes the elevators shut down without warning. It was probably nothing.

I went back to the bar and decided to add cherry and lime to Genevieve’s drink. I could tell she didn’t like the first drink I’d made her. Maybe if it was a bit sweeter she’d enjoy it more. I was just picking up the drinks when I heard a crash from upstairs followed by a woman’s scream.

I didn’t think I just ran. Was Genevieve hurt? Was there an intruder?

At the foot of the stairs, I found Val. She was lying on the floor motionless with one arm twisted behind her at a painful angle. I stared at her dumbly. What was she doing here? How had she gotten inside?

Suddenly, she gasped. I fell to her side and cradled her head in my lap. Questions could wait for later. Val needed medical attention.

“Don’t move,” I said.

She cradled her arm to her chest and whimpered. Her lips moved as she tried to form words, but none came out.

“Don’t speak,” I said. “Save your energy. I’m going to get you to the hospital.”

“The baby…” she whispered.

“What?” I thought I hadn’t heard her right. Did she say ‘baby’?

“Our baby!” She screamed and clutched her stomach. Red blood stained the front of her jeans. “She did it! She killed our baby!”

A vicious look passed over Val’s expression. She looked up into the dark. I followed her gaze. Genevieve stood at the top of the stairs with a sheet wrapped around her naked body. Her eyes were wide with horror; her mouth hung open in disbelief.

“It was her! She pushed me down the stairs.”

Genevieve

After Luke left to fetch us each a drink, I stretched out across his bed. I pushed the negative thoughts out of my head and focused on everything I was going to do to Luke when he returned.

I grabbed his bed post and shook it. It felt sturdy. Maybe I’d tie Luke to it and fuck him until he begged for mercy. I smiled to myself in the dark.

“Something funny?” a familiar voice asked from the shadows.

I grabbed the sheets and pulled them around me. My mother stepped into the low-light pouring through the windows.

“Mom? What are you doing here?”

“How many times have I told you not to call me mom?” she said calmly.

Her response through me off; I had no idea what to say.

“I knew you’d come here,” she said. “As soon as I gave you that ring, I knew you wouldn’t be able to resist the urge to return it to Luke. You were just dying for any excuse to see him again.”

I looked down at the ring. My finger was bare. It was then I remembered I’d given it to Luke already. My mother would be furious. I hid my hand beneath the bed sheets, but it was too late.

“Where is it?” she demanded.

Her coolness disappeared like a dropped curtain. The calm mask she wore wasn’t real. She only wanted to intimidate me. This realization emboldened me, though if I’d been smart I wouldn’t have said a word. I would have dressed and left. The only way to win against my mother is by not playing her game.

“I gave it back to Luke. You should have seen how relieved he was to have it back. He finds the idea of being engaged to you repulsive.”

My mother’s eye twitched. A strange smile spread across her face as she reached inside her coat. For a second, I worried she’d pull out a weapon. What she did was far worse. She pulled out a small plastic bag filled with dark liquid. She tore it open and dipped her fingers inside, then started to spread it over the front of her jeans. The fluid glistened red in the light of the moon.

“What are you doing?”

“Buying in,” she replied.

“What?”

She didn’t respond she only smirked. Then I remembered the conversation we’d had when she’d announced she was marrying Luke. She’d told me she’d decided to ‘buy in’ by getting married. It was her way of saying she was securing her future.

My mother turned her back on me and walked out of the room. I heard a crash. I jumped up and ran out to follow her. By the time I reached the stairs she was lying at the bottom screaming.

Luke ran into view. He stood dumbfounded for a moment before falling to my mother’s side to help her.

Why had she thrown herself down the stairs? Was she trying to kill herself? No, that didn’t explain the red liquid. She mumbled and whispered to Luke, but I couldn’t hear what she was saying.

Suddenly, her accusing eyes fell on me. Luke looked up at me with an expression of shock. My mother winked at me, then twisted her face into a fake mask of fear and pain. Luke clutched her to his side and petted her hair. His eyes fell on the wet stain on the front of her pants. It was then I understood what she was mumbling: “The baby… she killed our baby.”